An important theme in Jubilee by Margaret Walker (Walker 1-490) is freedom. The three important characters in the story, Vyry, Randall Ware and Innis Brown, are constantly engaged in the quest for freedom. This entails not just their political liberties, but also the freedom to choose one’s marriage partner and the freedom to configure interpersonal…
Author: admin
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
The book in question is insightful, thought-provoking and controversial. One of the positive aspects of the book is its elaborateness. Having taken up a challenging thesis, the author goes about proving it with a rigorous scholarly approach. But as with all theses there are problems of omission and commission. The book presents an interesting view…
Cell Phones and Brain Cancer
Cell phones are ubiquitous symbols of the technological age. With a cell phone our aural and cognitive faculties are extended in an unprecedented manner, making our living experience very unique. For example, wherever we may be located geographically, we can get in touch with family members anywhere in the world and at any moment we…
Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhan on the Relationship Between Media Technology and Culture
Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams have made key contributions to our understanding of media and its relationship to society and culture. McLuhan, in particular, has been an influential thinker on the subject and his ideas continue to be debated to this day. McLuhan’s work laid emphasis on how media is not an exclusive domain, but…
Pablo Picasso: A short biography
Pablo Picasso is one of the greatest visual artists of the twentieth century. Born in Spain in 1881, he later moved to France where he spent most of his productive years. Though the public remember him as a painter, he also excelled as a sculptor, graphic artist and ceramist. He gained reputation on the basis…
The Purloined Letter: An Analysis
Edgar Allan Poe is a master of the short story form. All the skill and craft required of a short story are evident in The Purloined Letter. This short detective fiction is about displaying the cleverness of the investigator (Auguste Dupin) in solving a case. As is the norm in this genre of fiction, “the…
Documenting the Media Revolution, Books, Version 2.0
Introduction: Many people think of e-books as just another medium of conveying content. To the authorial content that is conveyed comes with several added values. The cumulative effects of these enhancements offer a fundamentally new manner of experiencing content. In the context of libraries, it is becoming increasingly evident that functions like information gathering, harbouring…
On the Jewish Question by Karl Marx
Karl Marx’ essay ‘On the Jewish Question’ is elaborate, insightful and addresses a pressing issue in 19th century Germany. First published in his collection of early philosophical writings, the essay considers Jewish emancipation in the realm of politics and civil society. The essay is partly a polemic to Bruno Bauer’s proposal to the Jewish Question….
‘night, Mother by Marsha Norman: Analysis and Themes
’night Mother by Marsha Norman is a thought provoking play. The entire drama is contained in the single act of the mother (Mama) and daughter (Jessie) talking. The subject of their conversation surrounds the casual yet sudden announcement by Jessie that she is going to end her life. One of the hallmarks of good theatre…
Features of Psychology, Symbolism, Characterization and Theme in Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself
One of the remarkable features of Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself is its adaptation of the epic poem genre. But, while classics of this genre have at their center a heroic figure, Whitman introduces a new vision of the heroic. Instead of glorifying acts of great courage and feats of tenacity and will power, the…