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A Love for the Night I still remember the nights when I would pretend to fall asleep. Lying in bed, I waited for my parents to drift off. I did this to stay up a little longer, to read a few more chapters of my book, or to write small scenes for my not-so-impressive novel. I would fall into the pages, reading until my eyes drooped and sleep beckoned me. One night, my mother saw a light under my door and came in to check on me. I had my laptop in hand, deeply immersed in writi

Backstory The first thing I realized from reading William Faulkner is that he was brilliant at making the writing feel alive. When I first read A Rose for Emily, I remember being intrigued from the start. The opening line, "WHEN Miss Emily Grierson died" made me pause and wonder what more of the story could be told. I mean, Emily, the main character, has already died, and I had assumed it would be over her funeral with a story on her life after. Later on through the story, yo

I have been in love with stories ever since I was a little girl. I have mentioned in one other post that I would stay up reading and writing on my computer in the dead of night with school in the morning. Yet, ever since, it is still by far my favorite thing to do: a quiet room, my imagination filling my vision, enjoying the moment in my stories. Now, going into my final two semesters of my undergraduate, I have thought of all the stories that I have read throughout my academ

A kid's drawing of what appears to be a sad Frankenstein One of the most widely discussed ideas in Frankenstein remains the redefinition of monstrosity. Mary Shelley tears down the assumption that monsters are born rather than made, forcing readers to realize that many ideologies of social rejection, neglect, and fear manufacture violence. The creature's body may be grotesque, but his moral corruption is something that was learned. From the moment of his creation, this 'c

Frequently used open book lying on a wooden surface When I tell people that I am an English Major, I usually get one of two responses: a quiet smile that hints at the question, "Oh, so you just like reading?" or the question, "So... what do you plan on doing with it?" Sadly, both reactions miss the true point. I do enjoy reading, even if it is seemingly an obsessive addiction. But it is more about what I have learned through studying English. It is less about books and more