Oedipus the King

I found myself enjoying this short play. Plot twists play a large part in many major Hollywood motion pictures, and it's entertaining to see that plot twists were used so long ago in plays. How a man goes from being born into royalty only to be disregarded and taken in by another royal party is a very interesting concept. Out of his own fears of prophecy, he runs away from his home only to eventually do exactly as it was foretold he would. He goes from being a savior to his people to being the cause of the entire kingdoms misfortunes. The play also allowed for a lot of visualization with regards especially to how Jocasta killed herself, and Oedipus' gouging his own eyes. I would probably read other works by Sophocles as I really found myself enjoying this piece more than I had believed I would when I started to read it. Below is a link to part 1 of a 12 part play on Youtube on Oedipus the King, which I found to be interesting.
Submitted by Barry Erlandson

Different Views on the Same Story

Reading Sonny's Blues
Recently I read Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin for a class reading assignment. I don't like to read but if I do read it's usually about war stories. Reading this story was different and I actually liked it. I had formed an opinion about this story and posted my opinion. I started to read my classmates thoughts on this story. I was amazed at how many viewpoints were expressed over this one story. A lot of people read something completely different even though we all read the same story. I then decided to google James Baldwin and read about his background. This article gave a whole new slant to this story! This exercise actually made the reading assignment interesting. It also showed me how the same story read by different people can be interpreted in different ways!!!
Submitted by Nyle Cooley

To Build A Fire

Although we have already started our second unit on drama, the first reading I wish to address is from Unit 1. Of all of the literary reading assignments from this unit, To Build A Fire by Jack London was definitely my favorite. London's vivid description of the setting kept me interested in the story. His use of the main character's interior thinking to document the change in his exterior circumstances was both impressive and captivating. To me, the most striking part of this approach was the fact that, as the main character's circumstances became more and more dire, his attitude became less and less serious, and thoughts became more imaginative. This was particularly interesting to me because it was pretty accurate in relation to reports of what happens to an individual before dying, especially in cases of hypothermia. I remember learning, in high school, that once hypothermia kicks in, the mind shelters the body from the reality of its impending end, and causes the individual to feel a sense of warmth and contentment. London's character definitely displayed this contentment at the end of the story, when his mind wandered and he drifted into "the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known." In conclusion, London's illustrative method of writing, along with his creative incorporation of realistic events, has definitely sparked my interest in him as a writer. Needless to say, I feel drawn to read more of his work, and would recommend this piece to anyone interested in reading a classic, well written short story.
Submitted by Alyssa Bell