The novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson explores otherness within a community, as well as the sympathy and lack of judgement that a family can provide. Jackson also presents change as both unavoidable and dangerous for a family that seeks protection from the outside world. The sisters, Merricat and Constance… Continue reading

In ‘How Much Land Does a Man Need?’, Tolstoy uses the construct of Pakhom to describe the futility of greed, as it is an unfulfilling desire which eventually leads to death: in this story, as a metaphor for unhappiness and the loss of true wealth. ‘How Much Land Does a Man Need?’ begins with two… Continue reading

The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, critiques the rest cure through a gothic semi-autobiographical short story, grappling with autonomy and symbolism with an unnamed narrator. It discusses themes of liberty through irony but also consciously juxtaposes light versus darkness, ultimately using the yellow wallpaper as a plea for society to recognise aspects of depression and the limitations of the rest cure. … Continue reading

The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy explores an unconventional point of view where marriage is portrayed like attritional warfare, and society simply acts as a body of people who corrupt our view on this unification before the papers are signed. The novella defends the idea that women should be appreciated, using many female characters to debate the notion argued in his book, yet the ultimate argument surrounds the toxicity within,… Continue reading

Magnetism, a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores celebrity glamour and how magnetism isn’t always a forgiving trait. The story provides a portrayal of George Hannaford, whose construct explores desire and resentment through a partially disintegrating marriage and a threat rooting from unrequited love.   Magnetism centers George Hannaford, an actor with such charm that most call him magnetic, yet Fitzgerald presents this as a fatal quality. This characteristic causes insecurity in his wife, Kay, while George faces temptation by a young… Continue reading

In ‘The Metamorphosis,’ Franz Kafka constructs a family so deeply imbedded with consistency that once their son, Gregor, undergoes a metamorphosis, it becomes clear that his personal value was solely linked to his ability to support his family financially. Through the metamorphosis of both Gregor and implicitly his sister, Grete, Kafka prompts us to question if the literal transformation… Continue reading

Another Country, a novel by James Baldwin, redefined the female perspective of vulnerability and exposure by placing male dominance at the centre of its narrative. Ida demonstrates the bias against black women in America through both her pivotal relationships with Ellis and Vivaldo, her construct exploring a desire to overcome generalised bias towards her and… Continue reading

Stoner was written to portray a society which is shaped by emotional absence.  John Williams created the environment around his protagonist to mirror what life is like for an outsider who is silently disappointed by his own existence. This essay will outline the meaning behind how Stoner’s family contributed to his defeat and similarly, how he… Continue reading

How Leroux’s description of noise overpowers everything else  The Phantom of the Opera was a novel that thrived on the power of sound and music. It created silence and a description of speech which dominated the words’ meanings.  Gaston Leroux demonstrated the influence of what we can hear and how it subdues everything else, with discernible… Continue reading

The Hilarity in Absurdity. ‘The Importance of Being Earnest,’ by Oscar Wilde was indescribably entertaining and an utterly hilarious read, which I hadn’t expected in the least from an 80-page play.  The wit of Wilde’s writing and the ending that couldn’t have been more fitting, ensured that I kept turning the pages until I had reached the very… Continue reading