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Articles from Paul Thompson | Selfgrowth.com
- Kurtz and his Heart of Darkness - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2011 from Paul ThompsonIn Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad presents us with two men who are, more or less, polar opposites. Charlie Marlow is a compassionate, humane man with a stockpile of integrity, and he is a lover and pursuer of truth and justice. Mr. Kurtz, on the other hand, is a bit of a &$%!@#.Both men are ...
Views: 708 - Life and War: WWI and WWII in British and American Fiction - by Submitted on May 06, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWhile there are plenty of novels written about wars, sometimes the absence, aftermath, or anticipation of a war can define a literary work just as much. No one need doubt how World War I affected Frederic Henry in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. In fact, no one who’s read any Hemingway can doubt ...
Views: 705 - Life is Not Futile if You Are Not Macbeth: You Have More Than One Chance on the SAT - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2011 from Paul ThompsonAlthough Macbeth is not exactly an idol for the ages, given that he committed murder in a crazed pursuit of power, he certainly does have some notable words to impart through the illustrious voice of Shakespeare. Catch this monologue:To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty ...
Views: 1241 - Lifestyles of the Fabulously Rich and Dissatisfied in The Great Gatsby - by Submitted on May 18, 2010 from Paul ThompsonAs America’s most famous novel about the Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby helped create an image of the 1920’s as a ten-year party ranking high in the list of eras to visit given time-traveling capabilities. The decade is now synonymous with fringed flappers, bobbed hair, and glamorous ...
Views: 4836 - Losing Their Heads: Inner Beasts in Lord of the Flies and Macbeth Summary - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWilliam Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies is probably not the best book to read if you want to feel good about humanity or feel comfortable about babysitting a family of little boys all by yourself on a Friday night. It is also not a good beach read for pig lovers. Instead, it is a blunt ...
Views: 1563 - Love Stories from Romeo and Juliet to the Catcher in the Rye - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2011 from Paul ThompsonIt’s pretty easy to name famous works of literature that center around a love story. Troilus and Criseyde, Romeo and Juliet, not to mention the complete works of Jane Austen. The Bible has Adam and Eve, The Iliad and the Odyssey even have a love triangle, consisting of Menelaus, Helen and ...
Views: 870 - Macbeth, AP Calculus and Soccer: The Stressful Life of a High School Senior - by Submitted on Apr 08, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThere’s been a lot of research conducted lately about the amount of stress that high school seniors are enduring. Apparently it’s skyrocketed recently, and researchers and social scientists are trying to figure out why this is and what can be done.This is pretty shocking, considering that ...
Views: 1180 - Madness, Futility, and Death: A Shakespearean Take on Poe’s “The Raven” - by Submitted on Jul 24, 2009 from Paul ThompsonEdgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is one of the most easily recognizable poems in the world, ranking it right up there with “Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit.” Written from a first-person perspective, the poem chronicles its narrator’s rapid descent into madness, paranoia, and the macabre after a ...
Views: 2459 - Manly Men…or not: Comparing Masculine Strength and Weakness in Beowulf and of Mice and Men - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonSocietal gender norms tell us men that are supposed to be strong, virile and masculine. They are not supposed to be weak, indecisive or—god forbid—sensitive.At least that’s what stereotypes and gender binaries tell us. But such norms are human conventions, and humans are of course imperfect ...
Views: 2258 - Minor Characters, Major Impact: A Look at the Minor Characters in Hamlet, Macbeth and To Kill a Mockingbird - by Submitted on Mar 25, 2011 from Paul ThompsonMinor characters serve an important role in literature. Frequently, it’s the minor characters in novels that the reader will connect with and especially enjoy, even more than the protagonist. Mansfield Park’s deliciously manipulative Mary Crawford is infinitely more intriguing than the painfully ...
Views: 4364 - Monster Madness: Fighting and Facing the Unknown in Beowulf and Lord of the Flies - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThe word "monsters" usually recalls childhood fears of some ugly thing lurking underneath your bed, just waiting for your feet to dangle over the side so it can pull you under. It makes you remember the time when you were afraid so afraid of the dark that you had to dash quickly out of room ...
Views: 939 - More Than a Summary of Their Parts: Hamlet, Macbeth, and Catcher in the Rye - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWhile opinions on literature differ significantly, most scholars agree on which works of literature can be considered “great.” Not necessarily “great reads” but great as in the effort the author made to create them, the impact they had on the world around them, and their likelihood of standing ...
Views: 1125 - Movin' On Up: Reading Education as Social Mobility in Great Gatsby Quotes and Jane Eyre - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonPink Floyd was wrong. Very wrong. So wrong in fact that its famous lyric, “We don’t need no education,” is an assault on the ears of anyone who considers themselves to be grammar aficionados.As ironically implied by its error-laden sentence, Pink Floyd was definitely wrong about needing ...
Views: 1341 - Mythology, Zeus, the Raven, and the Future of the Written Word - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2011 from Paul ThompsonTechnology seems to be advancing faster than we can keep up with it in these modern times. With bookstores closing and kindles and ipads flying off the shelves, we have to wonder how it will change the world of print. It is certainly affecting the way books are read. Will this technology impact ...
Views: 1543 - Old Money vs. New Money in the Great Gatsby - by Submitted on Mar 25, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThe concept of “new” and “old” money is hard for the average modern reader to understand. In most parts of the country, the term “nouveau riche” isn’t often used, and with the onslaught of new Internet millionaires and billionaires in the last decade, the judgment is certainly no longer there. ...
Views: 15143 - Party Time: Party Settings in Romeo and Juliet and Great Gatsby quotes - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonAh, parties. Who doesn’t love a good party? You’ve got awesome food, drinks, cool people, loud music and unrestrained hijinks abound. Beyond being an opportunity to go buck wild or to be a social animal, parties also serve a purpose of potential serendipity. What we mean is that the human ...
Views: 1220 - Persistent Characters in the Old Man and the Sea Could Take On Zeus or AP Macroeconomics - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2011 from Paul ThompsonPersistent, passionate characters make good stories. We love passionate characters that fight tooth and nail for what they want. Those characters that believe they would take on Thor to get their prize are the ones we return to again and again. Great Gatsby is a clear example of this; Jay ...
Views: 1101 - Putting a human face to tragic history in The Diary of Anne Frank and To Kill A Mockingbird - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2011 from Paul ThompsonPerspective is everything. Oftentimes, it makes the book what it is. Consider The Diary of Anne Frank. The Diary of Anne Frank is often considered a literary exemplar that stands for the atrocities during the Holocaust. It is taught in high school classes and served up as examples on CAHSEE, ...
Views: 779 - Quotes from Macbeth and a Look at Hamlet in Exploring Gender Roles - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWhat does it mean to be a man or a woman in today’s society? None of us can fit into a neat, tiny, little, stereotypical box based on anything, including our gender. How do we define gender and how are these roles presented in literature? Often, many of our favorite characters defy gender ...
Views: 1899 - Readers and Writers: What Does Reading Huckleberry Finn do to a Student's Writing? - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThere are a variety of different theories as to how to best teach students to write. Some teachers argue that a deep understanding of writing mechanics is necessary for becoming a good writer, and that all teachers should emphasize the rules of spelling, grammar, and diction. Others believe that ...
Views: 644 - Reading Romeo and Juliet and Romeo Juliet quotes as a story of typical teen and parent tension - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWill Smith was right: sometimes parents just don’t understand. Of course, he said that before he himself was a parent of Karate Kid Jayden and Whip-My-Hair Willow, but we digress. Parental misunderstanding is a common angst-ridden teen’s complaint, but it is a complaint that is well founded. ...
Views: 1862 - SAT, ACT, AP Exams: What To Do (And When) For College-Bound Students - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWaiting until the senior year to start making oneself attractive to colleges is one of the biggest mistakes a high school can make. Colleges like to see sustained achievement across all of the high school years, both academic and extracurricular. When an admissions officer looks at an ...
Views: 555 - Seniors: Declare "Undeclared" and focus on your AP Calculus Exam - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonChoosing a major is one of the most important decisions a high school senior can make. Close runners-up include: who to take to prom, whether to start the wave at graduation, which ACT prep book to purchase and what to write in people's yearbooks. A person's can major can determine he entire ...
Views: 827 - Southern Identity and the Causes of the Civil War, German Identity and WWII - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2011 from Paul ThompsonA true Southerner is classified by three distinct characteristics: a love of a fried food that people from the other regions of the country may respect, but will never understand; strong feelings about the superiority of their state university’s football program; and finally, very certain ...
Views: 826 - Study Smarter, Not Longer: ACT Prep, PSAT and Practice AP English Literature Exams - by Submitted on Jul 07, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWith all the emphasis that is placed on standardized testing these days, you might think that those tests one might think that they truly measured a person’s intelligence. But it’s impossible to measure a person’s intelligence with just one test, especially one like the SAT. What if a student ...
Views: 695 - Sure, You Love To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes and Characters, But Will Your Sixth Grader? - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThe age that a person is first exposed to a particular work of literature can greatly affect how she relates to it. Giving someone a book to read before she is ready for it can prevent her from ever wanting to give it a chance again. She can decide that's weird or too confusing, and even though ...
Views: 865 - Teenage Behavior in Romeo and Juliet, Catcher in the Rye and Selection of Romeo and Juliet Quotes - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonTeens are notorious for being impulsive, hormone-driven and conflicted human beings. Though such a statement smacks of stereotyping, such portrayals have been justified by science—just ask any neuroscientist how the teen brain reacts to a deluge of testosterone or estrogen.Yet, this idea is ...
Views: 3034 - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: A Classic That’s Just Plain Fun - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWe here at Shmoop know that reading the classics isn’t always easy work. There’s a reason that they’re considered classics in the first place - they are multi-layered and intelligently written (suck on that, John Grisham), and generally require quite a bit of in-depth scrutiny and analysis in ...
Views: 860 - The Allure of Wealth in The Great Gatsby - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThe vast majority of popular literature has long revolved around the lives of the rich and powerful. Until recently (the last couple of centuries or so), it was almost exclusively just that. Books and plays about kings and queens, princes and princesses, knights, wizards, famous warriors and a ...
Views: 1722 - The Cautionary Tale of Shakespeare’s Macbeth - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth contains a lotof life lessons. Number one: Don’t listen to stranger bearded women when wandering through a fog. Number two: Never let anyone bully you into doing something you don’t want to, even if it’s your wife. And Number 3? If you want to become king, the ...
Views: 1361 - The Frailty of Dreams in Of Mice and Men - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2011 from Paul ThompsonYou’re still young, so we’re sure you still have plenty of dreams. That’s not to say that we, your elders (hey - some of us are barely thirty!) have lost the ability to dream or no longer have any good ones. It’s just that, after you’ve lived a number of years out there in the real world, you’re ...
Views: 1087 - The Great Depression - What’s So Great About It? - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThe Great Depression was an undeniably awful period of time in our nation’s history. The word ‘great’ is really just used here to signify the large extent to which the dire economic situation affected the American population in the 1920s. However, when we examine it more closely, perhaps the ...
Views: 1002 - The Literary Benefits of Having an Orphan for A Protagonist in Tom Sawyer and Jane Eyre - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2011 from Paul ThompsonOrphans are a go-to favorite for some authors. Think Harry Potter or Cinderella. Or perhaps Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist, the boy who never could get enough of that slop his caretakers called porridge. Then, there is Dicken’s Great Expectations in which an orphan named Pip who falls in love ...
Views: 1494 - The Memo Said: A connection between the SAT and AP US Government has been discovered - by Submitted on May 06, 2011 from Paul ThompsonMmmmm….yeah. Did ya get that memo??Oh. You mean the memo that says it’s my year to take the SAT? Yeah. I got it. What about it? I have plenty of time to prep… Does this internal conversation sound familiar? Then hold onto your hats and glasses ‘cause here we go!It’s your senior year and ...
Views: 711 - The Red Badge of Courage, The Great Gatsby and Atonement: Crucial Texts for WWI, WWII and the Civil War - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWhile novels should never replace non-fiction books in any history classroom, works of fiction written around and about important historical events can add an extra level of depth to a student’s understanding of history. Just as historical context can improve a reader’s understanding of a novel, ...
Views: 955 - The Scheming Tom Sawyer and Hamlet - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonEvery myth has its trickster character. In the Greek tradition, you’ve got Hermes. In Roman mythology, there is Mercurius. In many native American folklore, you have the coyote. And in the American literary tradition? Well, we’ve got Tom Sawyer.Technically, Mark Twain’s famous mischievous but ...
Views: 822 - There’s Something Rotten in the State of Denmark... and It Isn’t the Eggs in Our Hamlet - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2011 from Paul ThompsonThere’s a major problem with trust between the characters in William Shakespeare’s most famous play - Hamlet. How can you blame them? They’re not the most upright, honorable bunch. In fact, they make Dexter look like a sweetheart.A couple of these Hamlet quotes pretty much say it all in a ...
Views: 1037 - This little Piggy: Taking a Look at the Meaning of Pigs in Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies Quotes - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2011 from Paul ThompsonPigs get a bad rap some times. They’re passed off as gluttonous, greedy animals, covered in filth and sometimes their own feces. For humans, being called a pig or a hog is something rude and degrading, intended to make one feel ashamed or inferior.That’s how we generally view pigs: a dirty, ...
Views: 941 - To Kill a Mockingbird: The Effect of Racist Influences on the Young - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2011 from Paul ThompsonAmerica has a long history of racism. Unless you’ve spent your entire life with your head under a watermelon, you should be well aware of the negative stereotypes that African Americans have long had to endure, and the discrimination with which they continue to be faced. Believe it or not, there ...
Views: 2837 - Twelfth Night: Dude Looks Like a Lady - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2011 from Paul ThompsonTo this day, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night remains one of his most widely read, performed and adored comedies. Wonder if it has something to do with the cross-dressing.Seriously. There is a lot of cross-dressing in this one. Yes, true, it’s only one character who does the dressing up, but it’s a ...
Views: 928 - Visions of Dystopia in The Giver and “The Lottery” - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2009 from Paul ThompsonLois Lowry’s The Giver is only one in a huge series of classic “dystopian” literature. (Think “utopia,” then think Third Reich.) What makes it stand out from novels like 1984 or Brave New World – aside from the iconic grizzled-old-man cover – is that you might have memories of reading it already ...
Views: 8818 - What Does the CAHSEE Miss? - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonAmerican high school students are very familiar with college entrance examinations; they come in all forms. SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement tests are amongst the ones most commonly taken while still in high school, and many colleges and universities frequently require that students complete math ...
Views: 731 - What Students Learn in AP US History or AP US Government Can Help Them in Their Other Classes - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2011 from Paul ThompsonAs undergraduate and graduate programs get more and more interdisciplinary, it does not seem that high schools are following suit. The traditional high school curriculum is still strictly divided into academic subjects: English, history, math, science, foreign language and the arts. Students are ...
Views: 522 - What Your Favorite American Author Says About You - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Paul ThompsonIn his best-selling novel High Fidelity, Nick Hornby asserts that what a person likes (books, movies, music, etc.) is more important that what a person is like. No need to get to know someone well, observe her in a variety of situations and truly judge her character; no, all anyone needs to do ...
Views: 1231 - Wherefore Art Thou: A search for the romance in Romeo and Juliet - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2011 from Paul ThompsonWhen people are trying to describe an incredible love story, a beautiful romance, a couple so right for each other they seem to have been predestined by fate, two names are almost always on the tips of their tongues: Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare's tragic tale of two "star-crossed ...
Views: 576 - Why Shakespeare Breaks Basic Writing Rules in “Sonnet 18,” “Hamlet,” and “Romeo and Juliet” - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2009 from Paul ThompsonShakespeare famously opens his “Sonnet 18” with the question, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” and then proceeds to do exactly that. Aside from establishing rhythmic continuity and rhyme scheme, this may not seem like the best use of the reader’s time – especially considering that ...
Views: 1577 - Why there are no female versions of The Outsiders or Catcher in the Rye - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2011 from Paul ThompsonIt's rare that a story featuring an adolescent girl is considered a "classic" novel. Sure, there are tons of books that star teenage girls. They get made into television series like Gossip Girl or movie franchises like the Sisterhood of Travelling Pants or The Princess Diaries. There's nothing ...
Views: 1105 - ‘Fear Itself’ in The Diary of Anne Frank - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2011 from Paul ThompsonHundreds of fantastic novels, essays and other writings have been penned about Nazi Germany. Gruesome, shocking portrayals of what went on in the concentration camps, how many lives were lost, the aftermath and prospect of dealing with indescribable grief that followed. But The Diary of Anne ...
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