Thomas Southey's Blog

The short story, an occurrence at owl creek bridge has some really powerful themes and is a very highly regarded work for several reasons. I believe the twist ending is the most important aspect of this story. I would really like to cover the second to last sentence where your understanding of the story really takes a sharp turn for the worst. Just as you thought our protagonist is simply free he is woken up by the white light of death. This opens such a wide variety of discussions. However all correlate to the one theme that there is no winning in war, there is no glory or satisfaction. This story makes you question the value of life like no other, in terms of morality and logic it truly does reinforce this message.  “As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon--then all is darkness and silence!” This is one of the last sentences in the story however I find them ...

Octavia Butler's "Blood Child" is a truly disturbing and grotesque story. However, a theme of slavery and abusive control is largely present and is the basis for the story. Nevertheless, Octavia insists the story is not about an almost enslavement of the Terran, and more of a love story. I question how it's not about slavery and control and more of a love story. We are shown two main species. Terran and Tlic, are on an alien planet that the Tlic inhabit. The Tlic are spider/centipede/scorpion-esk creatures. They have a “symbiotic” relationship, meaning a mutually beneficial relationship between different animals. of the Terran helping the Tlic and the Tlic helping the Terran for their own goals. However this couldn't be less true, this story is about the Tlic enslavement of the Terran. The Tlic force the Terran to be a host for their larva/eggs, in which they grow in your body and eventually you must remove them or die. The Tlic are much larger and stronger than t...

2. Sentence Analysis The short story "The Machine Stops" has been remarkably consistent with its predictions since it has been written in 1909. In specific and arguably the best-predicted aspect of the future is the countless strikingly accurate depictions of the effects of covid on the world. After analyzing just the first sentence in the story I realized that I could connect it to the current pandemic and its effects on people. In the dystopian society, we are shown a world in which people have moved underground due to some unknown reasons, however, we are to assume it was due to pollution or societal collapse. The story does an incredible job at exaggerating the possible outcomes of the pandemic and describing what true social collapse will look like in isolation as well as the overwhelming fear of technology and its power. Given the time period that this story was written in, fear of technology was booming as well as technological advancements. Causing people like the aut...

What do you wish you could see, hear, read, or experience for the first time all over again? I love music (in the last year alone I consumed ~200,000 minutes or 3,333 hours of music, aka A LOT, there are ~8700 in a year), and I consume a lot of it however there are certain songs that I have come across from social media or just by myself. And I experienced a part of the song that sends chills down my spine or the relaxed state it puts me in. Only a handful of songs could ever accomplish this, those artists I still try to follow today. However, the issue with music, especially ones that can cast this spell on me is that the feeling doesn't last long, the song is still good but the feeling fades. Listen to it over and over again and you lose the magic of it. I tend to enjoy the music of most genres with the exception of a few that I can't stand. However, I can't pin down any genre in specific but I like a lot of indie/rock music however I will try to show a wider variety. Mus...

Write about something (an experience, an object, a tradition, a person, a song) that makes you happy.   There is a lot of technology terms that are way oversimplified or maybe unclear.      I honestly don't hold too many items or experiences close to my heart. I tend to grow out of it or get bored of it very fast however the one item that has been my pride and joy for the last four years is my hand-built computer and the experiences before and leading up to its construction. I have had some other items as a very young kid that I thought would never leave my side. When I was born my Tia had given me a small blue blanket as well as a little stuffed Eeyore from Whinnie the Pooh; the classic show that almost every kid has watched. I don't know why it was those two things that I held dear to me from such a young age but they stuck with me for easily 7 years. When I was seven or so I started to get bored of the blanket and plushie slowly not having them in my bed and just ...

Write a detailed portrait of a particular animal or object (but not the subject of your Natural History Essay). Use specific, concrete nouns and strong, active verbs to bring this animal or object to life for your reader.      For the last 3 years, I have been blessed to live with my 3 years and a half old westie (Western Highland Terrier). His name is Queso or Cheese in English. He is a very short bone color dog with a pitch-black nose and eyes and oversized ears. I have an overabundance of memories just in the short time we have lived together. So I thought I would share some with you. I would first like to give a little bit of context as to who is Queso? It is very hard to summarize him into just a few words. I would probably call him a cat in a dog's body. I know it sounds strange however it's never been closer to the truth. He fully embodies all the characteristics one, from sleeping over half the day to his sometimes sociable and loving nature to being completely un...