James Carlson #15: Outside Reading: Pride and Prejudice

The purpose of stories is to communicate the experiences that are generally found to be incommunicable traditionally. The emotions I experienced from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice best exemplifies this fact and attests to stories versatility in telegraphing a multitude of ineffable qualities. For instance, the simplest impulses I experienced from the novel were occasional laughter due to amusing situations between the characters. While it may appear that I have successfully communicated one of my experiences in the novel, I believe the emotion means more than that and cannot be categorized so easily. Is “laughter” so universal as be only a singular experience with a singular emotion attached to its meaning? Is not the moment when I laughed at the ridiculousness of Mr. Colin’s behavior different than the time when I laughed at the blatant naivety of Jane? I believe these experiences, even when from the simplistic impulse known as laughter, are indefinable. Moreover, the more complex descriptions, established thematic tone and numerous other influences over the story shape the experience into something entirely individual to the reader and yet universal in effect.           

James Carlson #14: Outside Reading: Call of Cthulhu

After reading H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Call of Cthulhu I recognize themes of horror that are indicative within other authors texts such as Steven King and Edgar Allen Poe. While these individuals are unapologetically dedicated toward the composition of horror literature and have evident gothic themes within a majority of their works, I believe these similarities reflect a symbiosis in stories that go beyond authorial construction. These authors may compose and tell the narrative but the content in which so many other works find analogous themes and, more subtly, overarching tone seems to have a life all its own. Categories like horror create a unique experience that is difficult to pin down but when it is displayed through particularly horrifying events or moments in a story, seem almost too obvious. The stories for these emotional moments serve only as temporary vehicles for these experiences. It is the experience itself, while communicated through the story, which truly invigorates the experiencer.

James Carlson #13: Outside Reading: The Odyssey

In reflection of the power of myths’ relevance in Ancient text such as Homers The Odyssey I am reminded of the persistent capacity of story telling within humanity. While it is evident that communication is an imperative mechanic of the human race, I believe its function to be more rudimental and engrained then most give it credit. The enchantment of the Story enraptures listeners in a way that’s almost ineffable. Story transcends reason, or as C.S. Lewis once said, simple excitement. The power of the story resonates within a human being, making them experience emotions in relation to the experiences of the characters. When Odysseus, the protagonist of the Odyssey, adventures onward through a harrowing quest back home, the reader has the empathy necessary to experience the travails of the Greek hero during its delineation.  Story and myth more than take us on adventures, however. The act of storytelling and myth experiencing has been an activity as old as the human species itself. 

Topic of Choice #4 LAST ENTRY

To Dr. Redick and all my fellow clasmates,

     I want to say thank you to all of you. First of all to Dr. Redick who gave me the chance to be in this upper level class. There was no reason for you to let me in, but you let me anyways. You opened new ways of thinking and challenged my thought process in a way that I had never encountered. Thank you for the passion that you do everything with. It is a contagious passion that most of your students catch. Next I want to thank my classmates. As the youngest member of the class, I was terrified to read what I had wrote in front of you guys or even enter into class discussions. But you all treated me as an equal. Thank you. Hearing all of your thoughts during class discussion also challenged me and made me grow. Thank you.


With a grateful heart,
Walker Lee Vaughn

Topic of Choice #3 Poem

A creature so powerful, yet gentle
A musical roar that brings existence from non-existence
A lion that becomes a lamb
A king over my life
HIS NAME IS ASLAN!

Topic of Choice #2 Good vs. Evil

In most of C.S. Lewis's books, there is a clear evil side and a clear good side. Of course these are fantastical ideas of good vs. evil, but there is something to be said for being able to enter into these worlds. For some reason, reading books like the Chronicles of Narnia seem to make good and evil more clear in real life. The enacting the myth by entering into the story and buying the fantasical ideas of good and evil makes good vs. evil easier to see in the real world

Art Ross - Outside Reading 4, "The Eighteen Inch Journey"

Does the Ocean Sleep Alone - Poem by Jessie Miller

Does the Ocean Sleep Alone is a poem written from the perspective of the Ocean about her relationship to herself and the things around her. I think Nature has a great deal to tell us about Myth. Lewis spent significant portions of his books setting up landscapes for us, creating the world. The first views of Malacandra are incredible and Narnia stretches before one's mind like a blanket. When Lewis describes them they are so real to us. They reflect the Real and even in all their beauty are only shadows of the Joy that awaits us.

"At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in. When human souls have become as perfect in voluntary obedience as the inanimate creation is in its lifeless obedience, then they will put on its glory, or rather that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch." - The Weight of Glory

Myth lets us catch some of the light falling from a minute crack in the door.