Gregory, by Panos Ioannides

When people first start reading a book there is one burning question: "What is this story about?" It’s a heavy question, especially for a fiction novel with so many fabricated details. You can fix this by saying a story is all about decisions. Of course, there are other themes, but the entire story is connected by the questions characters ask themselves and the outcome of their own answers. We can think about how this mimics real life. How every day we are forced to consider life's chance situations; some casual, some pressing, but all of them impacting our final growth as people and those around us to some degree. A good example of this is when in the book "The Outsiders", our protagonist Jonny decided to kill Bob in self-defense, this resulted in Jonny and Ponyboy going on the run. The decisions, the choices, that were made by Jonny change the course of his and his cohort's entire lives in an instant--directing the whole final tale and story outcome.

“By The Waters of Babylon” is a short story written by Stephen Vincent Benet that explores the innate behaviors of human beings and describes the aftermath of a nuclear war. In the beginning of the story, the narrator, John, introduces a taboo that is normal amongst his tribe,“The Hill People.” This indigenous law states that it is forbidden to cross the great river and to look upon the Place of the Gods, for it was greatly populated with spirits and demons. As a manifestation of John’s step towards adulthood or priesthood, John embarks on his curiosity voyage to the Place of the Gods, defying the well established rule within their tribe. Upon his arrival, he stumbles on an elusive and isolated setting with advanced technologies, which he deemed magical. Due to John’s expedition, he accumulated a plethora of knowledge and soon realized that the Place of the Gods was only a superstition and it was, in fact, a city of men.

Change is constant with a society that is always recreating itself. From the Enlightenment period to the Industrial Revolution there is a massive difference when comparing these two societies of their norms and daily life.

Phaedo is a recount of Socrates’ final hour before his death, written by Plato in the form of a dialogue between Phaedo (Socrates’ prison guard) and Echecrates (1). In Socrates’ final hours we find him surrounded by like minds, pondering what happens to the soul after death, and if death is truly the end or just a new beginning. Those present at the prison include Socrates, Apollodorus, Simmias, Cebes, and Phaedo (2).

Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go

Gorgeous women, vengeful gods, helpful gods, numerous riches, ugly monsters, and a hero with his crew. The Odyssey of Homer, translated by Allen Mandelbaum, tells of the hero Odysseus' journey home from Troy. At his home in Ithaca, Odysseus' estate and wife, Penelope, have being overtaken by suitors. Odysseus' son, Telemachus, begins a journey to discover news of his father. After being away from home for numerous years, Odysseus' main goal is to reach home and regain his wife and estate. Along the way Odysseus learns many lessons about life as he grows from an immature lout to a humble, mature man.

In the excerpt from the novel Under The Feet Of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes Estrella goes through a character development from a feeling of ambivalence about school and her teachers to an understanding why she must go through the process of a foreign language. The author does this by using figurative language, diction, and tone.

By all means, death can take on many forms, illness can take the lives of millions, and wars can take the lives of thousands, however, murder is an intimate and decisive choice. While the psychosis of hundreds of killers have been examined, there is not a singular bond that will group them together conclusively. Comparing both murders, Montresor, in The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe and The Misfit, in A Good Man is Hard to Find, written by Flannery O’Connor, will shed light on each their motives. In both stories, conflict and vantage points are used to give the reader a different encounter with the murders; however, the themes in each story have significant differences. To explore these differences will allow readers to have a clear understanding of the true morals of the stories; and how life, as well as death, can be viewed.

Feuds and arguments between individuals who may disagree with or dislike one another are a common occurrence in everyday life, often varying in degrees of intensity, but rarely reaching a point of extremity. However, in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, This threshold of extremity is reached by the narrator of the story, Montresor, who explains that his acquaintance, Fortunato, has repeatedly and irreparably insulted him over the course of years, and uses it as justification to take justice into his own hands and seek retribution through murder, despite there being no proof of Fortunato's guilt other than Montresor’s claims. His motive for murdering Fortunato can be attributed to his state of mind, as Montresor’s lack of guilt, empathy, or remorse highlights him as a character with psychopathic tendencies. As the story progresses, Montresor’s cold and calculating nature leaves the audience full of dread and suspense while he lures the oblivious Fortunato towards his inevitable demise. The employment of rhetorical devices such as irony, theme, and structure builds the suspense for the ultimate climax of Poe’s gothic masterpiece.

A story may depend on the structure of the book and how well it flows from page to page, but yet it strictly depends on the word choice and how effective the author is able to apply rhetorical devices. Stories such as A Separate Piece, A&P, and The Man I Killed, is able to effectively portray the character’s emotion, thoughts, and the intent of their actions. The authors use heroic, rhetorical strategies to reveal Tim, Gene and Sammy’s struggle to overcome their own selfless desires and ignorance toward the consequences, resulting with each protagonist’s life lesson.

Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles and was is titled Oedipus Rex in Latin. It is one of the most well-known Greek tragedies. As is the case with Greek tragedies—or roughly most tragedies that make their way to stage—fate plays a key role in the events in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus discovers there is a plague on his city. The only way to lift the plague is by slaying the former king’s killer. As the play’s acts unfold one discovers about the prophecy concerning Oedipus. The prophecy states that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. But was this just by chance or his predetermined fate.

In his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe tells the story of a man, Montresor, who is ridiculed and belittled by what initially appears to be the villain of the story, Fortunato. Poe is not often taken seriously as a writer because of his tendency to include his personal characteristics, experiences and feelings into his works. Thus, the expression of the man who “vowed revenge” REF appears to mirror vulnerability of that of an orphaned Poe. He uses this raw vulnerability to

Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846) is narrated by Montressor. He is a gothic narrator, as his motives are associated with revenge and mental instability. In fact, the story opens with Montressor’s description of revenge of his friend Fortunato, who supposedly “insulted” him, and he lures Fortunato to his family’s catacombs for his death. However, Montressor is unwilling to reveal Fortunato’s insult and he is uncertain of why he wants to commit the horrendous act. Montressor’s narration is unreliable, and as the story unfolds we deduce his mental state. By carefully analyzing the tale, Montressor’s psychological dilemma encourages us to find the missing pieces of the puzzle and interpret the events in a metaphorical sense suggesting that the events are far less associated with revenge but more with Montressor’s guilt.

Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, has risen many questions concerning the main character and whether or not he acts on free will or if his future is predestined by the gods. I am going to test the theory that although Oedipus believes he is acting on his own free will, he is in fact a victim of the gods. I will analyze several different sources that discuss fate and human agency in Oedipus the King and then proceed to build my original argument on the archaic debate.

Stories are told through various forms of literature, and the overall point of telling a story is to convey a message, a meaning that the author wants the reader to interpret and understand. The author does