Brittany Allcorn, Spring 2010 Over the years rhetoric has come to signify a manipulative and persuasive tool associated with politicians who use it to try and mold the minds of their audience. However, as many scholars like to note, rhetoric is not a simple persuasive tool but is a fountain of logic, expression, and art.… Read more Rhetoric: Not Just Persuasion – ENL 257: Introduction to Rhetoric
Mandy Aguiar, Spring 2010 In the 2006 version of All the King’s Men, Willie Stark was an honest man from Mason City Young who was running for governor of Louisiana. It seemed to Willie that despite his good intentions no one wanted to hear what he had to say. When speaking in front of an… Read more One of the Boys – ENL 257: Introduction to Rhetoric
Elizabeth Mulready, Fall 2009 The language of literature can affect a reader in many different ways. Intentionally, an author can manipulate the language he or she uses to create a specific meaning. In Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, the narrator portrays language in a certain manner to stir feeling in the reader. Humbert Humbert’s changing voice… Read more The Deceptive Veil of Language in Lolita – ENL 258: Literary Studies
Katrina Semich, Fall 2009 Seamus Heaney’s poetry depicting the bog is inspired by the people found within bogs in Denmark. Heaney’s Irish background gives him a unique perspective on the violence committed to these people as a form of sacrifice. His bog poems combine the violence of the past and present with an overarching desire… Read more Seamus Heaney’s Bog Poems: Inspiration and Imagination – ENL 258: Literary Studies
Abby Ringiewicz, Spring 2010 Peter P. Remaley’s article, “Chekov’s ‘The Cherry Orchard,’” illustrates both the complexity and the vagueness of Chekov’s play. The common debate among critics, Remaley points out, is whether The Cherry Orchard was written as an intended tragedy or a comedy. The article demonstrates that many critiques have argued both; and truly… Read more Intricacy in The Cherry Orchard – ENL 258: Literary Studies
Crystal Blomquist, Fall 2009 The writings of James Baldwin often explore the concept of identity within the African American community, and his short story “Sonny’s Blues” is no exception. The story depicts the struggle of two brothers in discovering their own identities. The two live in a racially segregated world, and like many other African… Read more Sonny and His Blues – ENL 259: Critical Methods: Theory and Practice
Cindy Berube, Fall 2010 Just a night out, that’s all it is. I see him at the bar with my old friend Jose Cuervo, so close I can almost taste them. I convince myself that I won’t make the same mistake as before. I won’t fall for it, not again. The atmosphere is inviting and… Read more Falling – ENL 260: Intermediate Composition
Kara Schoen, Spring 2010 Most people believe they’ve seen true beauty; in the eyes of lovers, in the sun sinking deep below the marble sky or in the birth of a long-awaited child, but true beauty that exists isn’t physical. This beauty rises from the ashes, after you’ve been trapped in a long and painful… Read more Lovely – ENL 260: Intermediate Composition
Mandy Aguiar, Fall 2009 Everyday females are bombarded by the media with an idealized concept of beauty. Once the standard is set, society reinforces the message. Girls as young as four and five years old are being affected negatively by this social standard. It begins by playing with Barbie dolls, watching Disney movies, and reading… Read more The Perfection Game – ENL 260: Intermediate Composition
Malini Frederick, Spring 2010 Heroin has gotten a bad reputation. All you hear about it is negative. But the thought of legalizing it? You are probably shaking your head in horror. Really though, what personal experience do you really have with heroin? Isn’t all you know based on the media, which we know is biased… Read more Why Heroin Should be Legalized – ENL 260: Intermediate Composition