Caleb's Virtual Bookshelf

Caleb's Virtual Bookshelf

Great Expectations

At first, the winding nature of Great Expectations and the length of it bored me. Due to this, I put it down for a month or two and then went back to it. Again, it initially bored me, but this time I read further and slowly became increasingly immersed in the twisting story. The main thing that captured my attention was the mystery as to who Pip's benefactor was. Initially, like Pip, I had assumed that his benefactor was Miss Havisham. I was surprised to find out that it was a convict by the name of Magwitch who had found his fortune in the colonies. This book taught me patience due to the initial boring investment of time that led to a fascinating story. It also taught me to not trust assumptions because they could always be proven wrong, like Pip's assumption/expectation as to who his benefactor was. Akin to other books that we read in class (Gulliver's Travels), this book serves to critique society, specifically the justice system of the English.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a piece of literature about a young African American woman named Janie and the struggles that she finds throughout he life with regard to relationships and racial discrimination. I found this book to be powerful because it not only addressed racial discrimination and its evils (which I had seen addressed in other books before); it also demonstrated how this racial discrimination affected every facet of Janie's life, whether it be her relationships, her perception to others, or her economic status. Thus, this book allowed for me to have a greater appreciation of how minorities are affected by discrimination. Like other books that we read in class (Beloved), this book serves as a commentary on racial discrimination and how powerful of an effect it can have on a person's life.

All the King's Men

All The King's Men is a novel that changed my fundamental understanding of politicians and politics in general. The story is told from Jack Burden's perspective. He serves as a political advisor to Willie Stark, a politician who eventually become the governor of an unnamed state. By providing the perspective of a political advisor (Jack), the politician (Willie) can be foiled uniquely in a way that juxtaposes with the way that the public perceives him. This book taught me that there is a large and sometimes dark underbelly to politics that the public does not know about. I learned that this underbelly should be recognized and that we should be aware of it at all times. Like with other books that we read in this class (Dante's Inferno with the Guelphs and the Ghibellines), one of the purposes of this book is to serve as a political commentary. 

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is a book that has influenced my views upon the extent to which a government should be able to play a role in our lives. In the story, a dystopian society revolves around the concept of quick and fleeting pleasure and has firefighters that burn books instead of putting out fires. The main character, Guy Montag, is one such firefighter who ends up reading the forbidden books. Not only did this book make me question how much power a government have, it also made me question the value of quick and fleeting pleasures. I discovered through this masterpiece that long-term pleasures are the only truly valuable ones. Like other works that we have read in class (Gulliver's Travels), this work is a commentary upon Western society, where short-term pleasures are typically valued more than long-term ones.

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale is a book that has taught me to value my basic human freedoms and liberties and to not take them for granted. In the story, Offred is forced to serve as a fertile concubine after her basic freedoms are slowly stripped from her following a coup in the United States. This strikes to home for me because I live in the United States, where these basic human freedoms are currently guaranteed. It is unimaginable to think about my personal freedoms being striped from me and this book gives me a sense of horror in that aspect. Like other works that we have read in class (Persepolis), this work highlights and attacks the basic human nature of taking our rights and privileges for granted.