Do you remember being a child? That big imagination that you had; when the world was as big as your backyard; when the world was as adventurous as you wanted it to be. You dreamed of being royalty, a superhero, or even a dentist. …Not just any dentist, but like, a vampire-killing dentist. A child
And That’s the Problem I Have with History
Sunita, having been summoned by an upset sounding Lauren, hurries off, leaving the glass of water she was drinking precariously perched atop a filing cabinet. A bored Jack eyes the glass, and nodding, proclaims that it is half full. Georgia, sitting at the table across from him, looks up from her computer monitor and shakes
Conflict as Catalyst for The Story: How The Use of Conflict in Storytelling Makes Stories Worth Reading
“If there’s no conflict, there are no stories worth telling—or reading.” -Veronica Roth Life in our universe on earth is centered around the constancy of conflict, with some little glimmers and glances of peace shining through it. The scientific law of entropy, or the gradual descent from order into chaos, serves as not only an
Being
This movement we call ‘living’ is not about becoming anything; I say this with fervour and passion because ‘becoming’ implies moving towards something in an imaginary future. We say to ourselves, ‘I need to become a doctor or a lawyer, or I need to be successful and rich’. Obviously then, becoming something, or someone, else
Do It Your Way
The quote that Henry Ford said is super important and will always be relevant in anything you are trying to accomplish. In this world today, if you keep asking everybody for an opinion on something, you may never get the solution you are looking for. That is the main point. Most times, your vision is
From the Universe to Ourselves
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.” – Michel Foucault. Discuss. Foucault’s academic title was Professor of the History of Systems of Thought. He was interested, principally, in “Man as
A Midwest View
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.” – Michel Foucault. As I approach my daunting thirties, I find myself frequently reflecting on my life, as well as what different lives
Breeding Hate
‘Hate breeds hate’ is a line from a film about hate, about rage, about division. Though it was released in 1995, it remains relevant today. We live in a time of division. The global economic crash of 2008 exposed fault lines in our economic systems that had been ignored for decades. The American election in
The Conflicts of Our Lives
Every writer knows that a good story requires colourful characters and conditions where they can express themselves. An interesting plot is unconceivable without a conflict. It does not matter whether it is a quarrel between two persons, a confrontation between different groups or a mental fight. From fairy tales to social novels, from plays to
The Meaning of Perfection
“Our life dreams the Utopia. Our death achieves the Ideal.’’ – Victor Hugo “Utopia means elsewhere.’’ – John Malkovich From the moment we are conceived, our parents strive to build a perfect world for us: peaceful, full of happiness, free of worries and without wars and conflicts. They undoubtedly try their best, but do they
A story that breathes
In the movie ‘Finding Nemo’, Dory, says to Marlin, concerning his son Nemo – “If nothing happens to him, nothing will ever happen to him.” I think this quote goes for all life. No life starts in a box, or under a bell jar, or behind steel bars. Life starts as a fight and enters
The Omnipresence of Conflicts
“What has been your greatest conflict?” the interviewer asked. “My greatest conflict?” I blankly repeated back. “Yes, what has been a conflict that you have experienced in life and have overcome?” the interviewer repeated. “Umm, let me think…” I faltered. I could feel my face turning bright red and my hands becoming clammy with sweat.
Worrisome Wonder
“He wanted to marry her, so he proposed. She said yes. Their families were happy. They had a great wedding and they lived happily ever after. The end.” “He wanted to marry her, so he proposed. She said yes. But their families hated each other. The families did not want them to get married to
The Tale of Hong Kong
One afternoon, when Bruno came home from school, he was surprised to see Father smartly dressed in his uniform and heading to the door. “Papa, why are you leaving again?” Bruno asked, a little cross, for Father had only returned last night after a three-day duty, and he was looking forward to tell him about
A Story without Conflict is like a Plant without Water: It is Necessary
One day after witnessing an argument between my mother and I, my grandmother asked to speak with me in the dining room. I could hear the urgency in her voice. I quickly followed her into the dining room and slowly pulled out a chair to sit down. My grandmother sat beside me at the table,
How ‘Right’ is Michel Foucault?
This essay is a discussion on Michel Foucault’s statement “I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning”. I will also explore what might have been on his mind when he made
From the writer’s perspective
Even though a good story is a gem, it should not gloss over the character’s struggles, pains, anger or regrets but it should rather try to find the warmth, humour and the human spirit of the people who are, too often, buried beneath the mountains of conflict. It is for this reason that this essay
‘Become someone else that you were not in the beginning.’ – Foucault.
It’s necessary to know exactly what you are to avoid a misplaced priority from the beginning phase of your life. Literally, ‘necessary’ simply means needing to be done of present. When something is necessary it’s essential and not optional. Now let’s highlight a better opinion which I stand by that says, IT’S NECESSARY TO KNOW
Educate against Morals
Ethics are dissolvent. Ethics are a danger for the perfect community. When a society is perfect, that is, when it satisfices with justice all the needs of its’ members, and at the same time it is a fair and supportive actor in the global community, all the intentions of questioning it to change it must
Conflict, Change, and Meaning
Is conflict necessary? Veronica Roth, author of Divergent, once said, “If there’s no conflict, there are no stories worth telling – or reading.” She was referring to writing a utopia, which she defined as “a world without conflict, in which everything is perfect.” She claimed that the setting itself, if it is indeed perfect, inherently