Epiphanies are supposed to be rare moments in which a person uncovers some great realization about their lives, and this realization is life-altering. Sherman Alexie is not the first author to use epiphany in his stories, but he is perhaps one of the few to use it in such a new, and perhaps more genuine … Continue reading →
ABSTRACT Current literature focuses on Swiss German phonetics as well as its commonalities with German. I wished to discover if there are any prejudices or preconceived notions among native speakers of Swiss German concerning the accents associated with different dialects of Swiss German. I used a survey that asked native speakers to rate some of … Continue reading →
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain is Peter Sís’s autobiographical account of his childhood in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia. Illustrated by Sís and marketed as a children’s book, The Wall blends its simple surface narrative, which details the rise and fall of the U.S.S.R. chronologically across his boyhood, with historical facts, personal journal entries, and … Continue reading →
Homes speak volumes about their occupants. Individuals bleed their qualities into their homes through conscious or subliminal choices: architectural style and location “symbolically suggest […] social class, personality, […] and personal background” (Aragonés et al). The same osmotic process occurs in reverse, however, the house rubbing off on its inhabitants just as noticeably. In Ian McEwan’s … Continue reading →
Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children chronicles India’s struggle for cultural unification after independence through the personal events of Saleem Sinai’s life, beginning with his birth at the exact moment of India’s partition from Pakistan in 1947. As England leaves the crown jewel of its colonial empire, India strives to somehow meld its spiritual ancient past with … Continue reading →
Abstract For the past twenty years, young adult vampire literature has become increasingly popular. In this study, we analyzed novels from this genre to determine current trends in the depiction of vampires. Historically, vampires have been portrayed as evil, blood-sucking creatures but more recently, as our analysis shows, they are being portrayed in a positive … Continue reading →