Clark Waggoner's List: Literature and Analysis

This article explores Nick Hornby's brilliant short story, "Nipple Jesus". In it, Hornby tackles religion, politics, sex, family and financial responsibility, art and its relationship with the individual, the artist, and society through a "six foot two and fifteen stone" security guard whose only skill is being big, to profound and entertaining effect.

In his "The Philosophy of Composition" Poe tells us that he begins writing with "the consideration of an effect" (1598). Almost all of Poe's poetry and fiction give evidence to support Poe's claim that the intended effect, upon the reader, is indeed central to his creative work. This article explores that intended effect and its centrality in Poe's famous short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher".

This is part one in a new series of articles all of which are designed to inform and guide anyone who might want to know a little bit more about the rich tradition of art, letters and philosophy we have inherited from those who came before us. As human beings, our connection to the past is one of the greatest resources we have which imparts perpetual significance to the works discussed in this article, no matter how old they are.

Any attempt to say something meaningful about the literature of William Faulkner must acknowledge the overwhelming task of saying anything at all about his literature. This truth makes itself most apparent in an attempt to write about Absalom, Absalom! In this article, which examines Absalom, Absalom!, the character of Thomas Sutpen is examined through the lens Joseph Campbell's Hero Archetype and is revealed to be the specific American version of the hero: the anti-hero.

Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most prolific if not best American writers of the second half of the twentieth century, first earned a reputation for himself as a science-fictionist with his early works, The Sirens of Titan and Cat's Cradle. This reputation, however much it vastly underestimates and misunderstands Vonnegut's work and its significance to the modern era, has been difficult for Vonnegut to escape. It does, however, provide insight into the aspects of the modern situation that Vonnegut sees as central and meaningful. Bluebeard, which trades a more traditionally Vonnegut mad scientist for a retired, eccentric expressionist painter, the same painter from Breakfast of Champions, tackles the issues which have traditionally blurred Vonnegut's role in the literary and popular fiction traditions. This article explores these issues within Vonnegut's version of the fairytale, Bluebeard.

The tradition of oral poetry is shared amongst many ancient cultures, traditions and language families. While there are many similarities, both in the mechanics and the subject matter of these ancient texts, some of the more subtle differences can be extremely enlightening given their significance in understanding the uniqueness of each individual culture and tradition they evolved out of. The Kalevala is a perfect example of how subtle differences in ancient textscan enlighten our understanding of the uniqueness of an ancient culture. This article examines the specific and unique understanding The Kalevala imparts to our Western Tradition.

This is part two in a continuing series of articles all of which are designed to inform and guide anyone who might want to know a little bit more about the rich tradition of art, letters and philosophy we have inherited from those who came before us. This article looks specifically at some of the best and most important works of 20th Century American Postmodernism. It discusses authors such as Joseph Heller, John Barth, Kurt Vonnegut, Don DeLilo, and David Foster Wallace.

An etymological study of a word or term is one that traces its development and usage throughout the past. These studies are often interesting because language always develops and changes for reasons. This article is a basic etymological study of the English adjective "strapping". It traces its path throughout time and examines the reasons why the meanings behind the word have changed.

The reputation of Hamlet as one of Shakespeare's greatest plays often times overlooks one of the greatest achievements of the play. While many scholars acknowledge the play as the birth of the modern man, few seem to place as much significance on the language of the play as they do elements such as theme and character. This appears to be oversight, given the fact that the play is one of the single greatest examples of creative use of language in not only Shakespeare's works, but perhaps all works in the English language. This article examines Hamlet from a linguistic perspective to enhance our appreciation of Shakespeare's genius.

When William Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949, his works in the United States had been out of print for almost a decade. While writers like Steinbeck and Hemingway dominated the American literary landscape, Faulkner was, at best, an afterthought. This article examines how someone who was out of print in their own country could win a Noble Prize years and years before his American contemporaries.

An examination of the first appropriation in Western Literature and how it set the tone for the way the rest of us would appropriate. Focuses on Virgil, Homer, and the relationship between the Aeneid and Homer's Epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. This relationship between these texts is important because it laid the groundwork for how and why other writers in the Western Literary Tradition would also appropriate previous works.

When Kurt Vonnegut published his first novel, "Player Piano," in 1952, he wrote about corporate culture taking over in America. It was the end of WWII and Vonnegut, as a young novelist, wrote about a distant future where the corporate powers that were beginning to dominate the American landscape seized the opportunities presented by the fragile post-war economy. Today, 57 years later, Vonnegut's vision is much closer to reality than anyone browsing the "new fiction" section in 1952 would accept. Vonnegut is a visionary. This article examines the lasting value and effect of Vonnegut's ever-true vision and work.

Given the status of the Bible in the western literary tradition as one of the most appropriated and alluded to of all ancient and religious texts, it is not unusual that William Blake writes so extensively about it. While a great body of Blake's mature works, including the longer works "Milton" and "Jerusalem," deal with biblical themes, his early central work, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell," gives insight not only into themes that would later occupy Blake's longer works, but also into the unique status of the Bible in western literature

This article discusses William Faulkner's novel, Light in August. It examines specifically the character of Joe Christmas, one of Faulkner's mos enigmatic and tragic characters. The article examines how the real tragedy in the story of Joe Christmas is the racial prejudice of his family and his fellow man. The article presents the discussion within the context of understanding Faulkner's work and it's significance as a whole.

This article discusses the young British novelist Zadie Smith's second novel, The Autograph Man. It examines the novel for how it deals with the themes of celebrity and obsessions within modern culture. This article also helps to establish a literary precedent for her works as those worthy of critical discussion.

This article discusses the similarities between Gilgamesh and the Biblical Flood account found in the Book of Genesis. Rather than taking one of the traditional positions on the relationship between the two texts, this article attempts to change our attitude about how we react when discussing the Bible in connection with other works in order to foster a healthier and more open environment for discussion of ancient texts and criticism.

This article examines the Apology, one of Plato’s central dialogues. In it, Socrates is on trial for his life, yet rather than win the trial and defeat his accusers, Socrates takes a curious defense. This article explores Socrates’ defense from a philosophical perspective in order to understand what Socrates could have meant by it and why he made it. It includes interesting photos and links to books related to the discussion.

This article examines the works of William Faulkner as a whole and asks questions about why he wrote about what he wrote about and how he was able to transform the materials of a small stretch of land in Mississippi into literary ground fertile enough to allow him to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. The articles contain pictures, reading recommendations, and links to other articles by the author on William Faulkner.

This article examines Candide the book by Voltaire. It is one in a series of literary reviews about literary books. It examines the irony in Candide de Voltaire as well as Candide’s philosophy. It examines, specifically, how different characters fates within the book represent Voltaire’s attitudes towards different philosophies. It also has links for an ebook of Candide for your electronic book reader or Kindle.

This article examines the American literary tradition, specifically early American writing, to understand the roots of the concept of Manifest Destiny. It examines literature in America as well as literature and nature during colonialism in the Americas and on into the United States as it expanded westward. The article also has links, books, ebooks, and ebook readers as well as other academic resources available.