Ollyvir Reagan
Bio
I'm nonbinary, they/them pronouns.
I'm sapphic.
I'm a Classics Major and an aspiring
Latin teacher.
I love Latin, history, math, art, and literature.
Stories (3/0)
Arguing for Augustine
There are thousands of works, which belong in the Western canon, each deserving a place in a so-called “great books” course. Among these canonized works is Saint Augustine’s Confessions. This work poses several intellectual challenges to modern readers, which makes it an excellent choice for a class designed to make students think. Moreover, it encourages a certain historical understanding of Christianity as the defining Western religion. If for no other reason, though, Confessions should be included in a course of “great books” not only for historical significance, but for the absolute beauty of its prose as an aesthetic object.
By Ollyvir Reagan5 years ago in Geeks
Read like a Professor
Family members do not always look alike despite being related. Likewise, though The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster do not seem similar at first glance, the two are actually extremely related. The selected readings from Foster’s textbook regarding quests, weather, and symbolism are readily applicable to Tim O’Brien’s novel. O’Brien’s work is full of subsidiary quests related to the main character’s prodigious quest, which is to battle in Vietnam. The weather in the The Things They Carried contributes to the altogether state of confusion, gloominess, and primal nature of the novel, as explained by Foster in his textbook. Symbolism is exceptionally present in O’Brien’s novel, and Foster deposits immense importance on the shoulders of symbolic meaning. The Things They Carried is easily read like a professor.
By Ollyvir Reagan6 years ago in Geeks
The American Nightmare
“It seems that many Americans covet the easy road to the Dream and in the process undercut the core values that established the Dream in the first place” (Warshauer). Due to the lack of respect for the morals on which the American Dream is founded, it is impossible to achieve. The notion of economic and social success is an illusion which has denied the reality of American life for the greater majority of Americans. Moreover, the United States’ economy is experiencing the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and it is directly correlated with the public opinion of the American Dream. A sense of entitlement is causing a decline in work effort while creating an inability to be satisfied with what one has already obtained. Americans are too slothful and unmotivated to apply themselves fully to succeeding. These factors contribute to the newfound impossibility of the American Dream.
By Ollyvir Reagan6 years ago in The Swamp