Author: Izzy N.

“Hubert, not yet a saint, is a ne’er do-well and a wastrel”(237).

On By Izzy N.In Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead2 Comments

Hubert, the patron saint of hunting, originally had a passion for hunting rather than focusing his time on his faith. When his wife died, he decided to leave the royal court and turned to hunting. According to the legend, while Hubert was out hunting, he encountered a stag. However, this stag was unusual because it stood with a crucifix between its antlers. His interaction was what initially turned Hubert’s life toward God. Hubert is the patron saint of hunters, dogs, and archers.


While sitting in the church, Janina thought of this legend, explaining that Hubert, the patron saint of hunting, should be the saint of sin. She believes this because it is not right that Hubert gets the name: The patron saint of Hunters when he was such a fan of hunting, and he realizes his mistakes because of the stag. Essentially, she explains that by turning him into the patron saint of hunting, he is embodying something he is not.
Janina says,

Janina says that,

 “IF HUBERT’S FOLLOWERS REALLY WANTED EMULATE HIM, THEY WOULD HAVE TO STOP KILLING. BUT IF THE HUNTERS HAVE HIM AS THEIR PATRON, THEY’RE MAKING HIM THE PATRON SAINT OF THE SIN HE USED TO COMMIT, FROM WHICH HE BROKE FREE.”

Therefore, Hubert has actually been created as the patron saint of sin. Oddly, Hubert is the patron saint for what he deemed a sin, and now he is the figure for that sin. Throughout the entire book, Janina has hated hunting and the mistreatment of animals, so after hearing that dogs don’t have souls in the church to now thinking back to a previous memory of this legend, I can sympathize with her feelings. However, I agree with most when they say she took it too far.

Comedy over Tragedy is Tragic

On By Izzy N.In Comedy/SatireLeave a comment

On a normal given day and I am looking for something to watch, usually my first thought goes to comedy. A romantic comedy because it is a feel good movie that doesn’t require me to think very much which for a lot of people is okay. Comedy keeps people stranger to the realities of the real world. Comedy teaches nothing but those who watch it stay happy and their mind is not taught to think any differently.

 I do understand, it is fun to stay in your own little bubble staying completely oblivious to anything else. There are many who believe that this is perfectly normal and fine. However, after believing this for so long I now beg to differ. 

Comedy doesn’t challenge the mind and therefore we never grow. With a tragedy we are forced to think about our lives and they force us to dig deeper than any comedy ever could. There is so much more depth and more layers compared to comedy which is very one dimensional. Comedy drags down the impact of the story. According to Aristotle he explains that, tragedy handles topics that are serious and important where comedy focuses mainly on human “weaknesses and foibles.”

Tragedy displays a complex understanding and introduces moral error through to transformation in a way that comedy cannot achieve and will not even attempt to.

Clueless and Jane Austen

On By Izzy N.In Comedy/Satire, FilmLeave a comment

The rom-com genius Jane Austen wrote Emma, where she created a swoony story with love triangles while also calling out her protagonist for her sheltered and blinkered view of the world.

Amy Heckerling, writer-director of Clueless, took inspiration from Austen and created a beloved movie even after 25 years. While the film is famous for its ’90s aesthetic, girlish luxuries, endless fashion ensembles, and nice cars, Clueless still is in a tricky place.

Heckerling, like Auestn, uses irony to show what it looks like when a self-involved person with every advantage realizes she needs to stop thinking she’s right about everything and is entitled to tell others how to live.

Clueless is a romantic comedy, but it is also a story about trying to be a better person, specifically about a privileged young white woman trying to be a better person.

In the beginning, Cher insists she lives a “way normal life for a teenage girl,” but she says this while using a computer to pick out her clothes in an uncommonly large closet. From the very first moments of Clueless, it is evident that Cher’s view of the world is entirely at odds with what it is. Much of the humor in the movie comes from that disconnect.

What’s both problematic and amusing about Cher is her ingrained belief that whatever she thinks, says, or does is correct, which is the very definition of white privilege. She has never faced any actual consequences for her actions and therefore has never been challenged.

The love interest, Josh, gives Cher a different perspective on the world. He constantly calls her out on “rich white girl nonsense” and her lack of curiosity about what’s happening beyond Beverly Hills. Her growing respect and love for him make her rethink her previous ideas.

By the end of the movie, there’s no reason to believe that Cher has changed so much that she stopped her previous activities altogether, but she has taken some positive steps. And even a positive step in a teen comedy can leave a significant impression on its audience, especially those who saw it at a young age.

Heckerling took inspiration from Jane Austen’s Emma from 1815 to create a story still relevant in 1995. Clueless critiques the lack of perspective that often goes with being white and wealthy. In its satirical moments, Clueless acknowledges Cher’s obliviousness while still forcing her to start figuring out how to hold herself to a higher standard.

The Legitimate is Legitimately Better

On By Izzy N.In King Lear3 Comments

As the most intriguing character, Edgar begins the play having a healthy relationship between Gloucester and Edmund. However, Edmund dislikes how he is known as the base and the root of a joke. 

Edmund grows angry and decides to deceive his brother and father by tricking them into believing that the other is trying to hurt them. Yet, he makes it seem that he is trying to help.

“The Prince of Darkness is a Gentleman.”

-Edgar, III. IV. 145

The devil will disguise himself as a good man to deceive. One would expect a devil to be mean, so he does the opposite, such as Edmunds’s actions toward Gloucester and Edgar. While Edgar was the one in disguise, Edmund posed as the devil in disguise because he had secret ulterior motives against Gloucester and Edgar. 

Starting as a fool easily tricked by his brother, Edgar then assumes a disguise as a mad beggar, Poor Tom, but then he carries his impersonation further. When Gloucester is blinded, he finds Edgar and asks him to take him to Dover to die. Edgar takes Gloucester and convinces him that his life has meaning and should live because of the divine wish held for him. Edgar represents kindness and forgiveness, which is crucial to being a good person. 

Through these events, Edgar exemplifies loyalty by leading his blind father to safety, even though others wrongfully mistreat him. He finally appears as an armored champion to avenge his brother’s treason. 

The contrast between Edmund and Edgar is apparent. He values loyalty, unlike his brother. His selfless dedication to those who are helpless and his positive influence on even the most depraved characters make Edgar one of the most crucial figures in King Lear. 

Real people love; love deeply

On By Izzy N.In Music Poetry1 Comment

Hozier is known for his soulful music and his lovely lyrics. “Like Real People Do” is from Hozier’s eponymous debut album that combines the genres of alternative/indie, electropop and country. It is a seemingly simple song that houses a lot of complex emotions, typical to Hozier’s lyricism.

I had a thought, dear
However scary
About that night
The bugs and the dirt
Why were you digging?
What did you bury
Before those hands pulled me
From the earth?

Hozier begins the song by presenting a detailed image of a person digging through the depths of the earth to find a person. On the surface level, the lyrics make the song an exploration of folk themes, something Hozier loves to do. The imagery of unearthly hours, unquiet grave and bog bodies is evident in the person who comes to the graveyard to bury their secrets and accidentally exhumes a dead soul. This soul doesn’t ask them to reveal their secrets and sympathizes with their dire situation, yearning for a kiss instead.

Digging up the dirt, that person was looking for something they’d buried and said goodbye to. Instead, they met this soul and unearthed him. This indicates their dark past and the awful things they’d been through. There is an unmissable touch of romanticism in the way his soul had been feeling “dead” after being “buried” without love but the seeker’s hands pulled him back to life. Surely, love has found him once again.

“Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do”

Their love turns its back on the ghosts of the past and decides to bloom right now. He says they should kiss like real people do and this refers to normal happy couples who live without worries. Even though they haven’t been able to attain that picture-perfect contentment in love like “real people” before, they can certainly try to live like them now. Their love will now grow organically and healthily in a place far away from the shadow of their misery. In this way, they teach each other the joy of loving and living again which their previous relationships were not able to provide them.

The Thought Surrounding Life

On By Izzy N.In Albert CamusLeave a comment

The Stranger introduces an original way of living that is deeply frowned upon by society. Not only was this way of living frowned upon by characters in the story, but also there were many readers who disliked Meursault as well. Readers, myself included, disliked Meursault for the reason that he lacked emotional attachment. He seemed so stoic and as if his emotions were completely turned off which made him seem inhumane. For example, the act of not crying at your mother’s funeral is troublesome and looked at negatively because it gives that notion that you didn’t care for your own mother. The way Meursault lives and thinks is fascinating but also so different it’s almost uncomfortable.

However, as the story went on I began to understand his thinking about life. Maybe the conversations that were had in class influenced my thinking. But the discussion about how there are so many different systems of life and how we must abide by those systems to not be an outcast in society was really interesting. Yet, even if one falls from the main system there is another system for the outcast. To add, the thought of taking full control of your life seems like it would make complete sense but the consequences are too extreme as seen in The Stranger.

Living in societes confining systems is tiresome and Meursault never realized that he was expelled from the ideas and instead he was influenced by the power of his own mind. Others cannot say the same. He had control over his life because he was not a slave to what society deems as correct or socially acceptable. However, when society says what a “horrible” person these ideas conclude they reject Meursault. Even in death he was hated, but life of true independence will upset society.

Outward Connections in “202 Checkmates”

On By Izzy N.In Memory/Past/History, Short Stories1 Comment

The interesting story about a father teaching his daughter about how to play Chess really goes more into depth than just the game. The game forces the players to think, and think hard about the moves to come. My father also taught me Chess but not just to have someone to play with, he believed it would help me later in life and Robert was doing a similar thing. The first line of the story is, “In my eleventh year, my father taught me defeat.” In the story, the focus that Robert had when he was teaching his daughter was to give her a sense of what it means to experience loss and to work hard to alter the loss to make it a win. Robert taught her what it means to lose and win, however he does not do a good job of truly explaining how to properly accept those losses and wins. Robert sort of selfishly taught his daughter Chess as an outlit where he can be happy with a loss in his life. He was able to feel the emotion that comes with a win while still experiencing so much loss outside of the game. My father taught me Chess for the sole purpose of making me think. He always told me I must be 2 steps ahead so I don’t fall behind. My dad made sure it was clear to me that winning or losing didn’t matter, and that it was how I played tha game and that it was a smart game full of thoughout moves. My dad’s motives for teaching me Chess were a lot different that the motive that Robert had when he decided to teach Chess.

Benjamin’s Bonds of love realted to real world

On By Izzy N.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

 Benjamin explains the minor flaws in Frued’s argument because there needs to be a “balance of separation and connectedness,” for individuality to truly form. She states that one has to recognize the differences and similarities between subjects and have a sense of connectedness in order to have a healthy sense of identity. For a person to actually find their identity they need to understand that they are not the other, they are an individual, yet still doing so without conflict. It is important to recognize differences and understand them. Her theory makes me think about my sense of individuality. Do I have it? Meaning a full sense of identity. If so, how did it happen? What did I do? It brings up so many questions that I truly do not know the answers to. How does one know they have individuality? The concept is still new to me. However, it does make me think about the amount of people that believe that women don’t have a great sense of self due to their gender, and the topic of gender is also a huge deal today. This can be tied in with the broader discussion about gender and that can be tied into politics and individuality and power. Many struggle with the search for individuality and many want power in some way. These are challenging topics to begin to understand because it happens for everyone. Everyone must experience these dilemmas in some way, maybe it is more difficult for others and maybe it’s easier for another. Maybe, an event had to happen for someone to truly understand. As I stated before, it is a very interesting topic to me but as a senior in high school I still have no idea what it means.