Kay Drew's Views

Photo Source To Cinta Hallowed grounds can hold many dark and troubling secrets; you just have to be willing to listen. Levi didn’t. He could, of course. He had the ability to listen to the departed; he chose not to. It was easy enough – Levi just tuned them out. Tonight was no different. Spirits tried communicating with him as he wandered through a random New York cemetery – paper pad and pencil in hand. After a day of janitorial work, Levi enjoyed drawing a tombstone or two. It was his way to chill. Near a stunted elm tree, he found himself in the midst of the oldest memorials in the churchyard. Made from resilient limestone, the carvings, although weathered from decades of sky-born perspiration and gusting breezes, were far more intricate than those carved in the last twenty years. They were art pieces, not just slabs of ultra-shiny rock that looked shellacked. Passing by the pirate-themed marker, Levi smirked. His interest was piqued; he almost allowed i

In A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs creates the quintessential Marty Stu character with John Carter. A Marty Stu is a male character who's perfect (TV Trope Pp. 2-3). No matter what he attempts, he succeeds with little struggle. He’s also dashingly handsome and has few, if any, faults. This character’s perfect in every way. While reading the book, I looked for John Carter’s weaknesses. Sadly, he has none. I am left disappointed, wishing Burroughs had given the protagonist some sort of err in his disposition.  After unexpectedly transported to Mars, John readily learns the Martian language within a week. In that time, he becomes a chieftain – not once, but twice. By the end of the novel, he's Prince of Helium. John achieves these honors through battles. Amazingly, he has perfect aim and manages to kill several beings by punching them in the jaw. He is injured; however, John quickly heals from his wounds and suffers no ill-effects from them. Moreover, Joh

Hello everyone! I hope you're well. This quick post is to announce an update in the contest contest! All you will have to do is answer the 3 questions below.  Please, post your answers as a comment and leave your name and email so I can contact you. The first 5 people with the correct answers will get a short story dedicated to them! There are still 4 winners to be chosen! Who will it be? You? 1. What is this blog site about? 2. What was my first  entry about? 3. Where are 2 places can you find me on the internet? *hint look in the links section* I will extend the contest until May 31st!

Hello everyone! I hope you're well. This quick post is to announce a contest! All you will have to do is answer the 3 questions below.  Please, post your answers as a comment and leave your name and email so I can contact you. The first 5 people with the correct answers will get a short story dedicated to them! 1. What is this blog site about? 2. What was my first  entry about? 3. Where are 2 places can you find me on the internet? *hint look in the links section* Entries start today, April 27, 2013. It will close on Tuesday, April 30, 2013. Date subject to change or be extended! 

For better or worse, many are slaves to troubles and experiences, be it a job, bad romance, or illness. Sometimes, it’s important that these bonds are broken. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the idea of slavery and freedom is woven throughout. Many characters within the book are trapped in their own unusual troubles from which they are ultimately are freed. Jonathan Harker is unwittingly enslaved by his employer, Count Dracula. After arriving in Transylvania, Harker is forced to live within a few rooms of Dracula’s castle. During his month long stay, the Count persistently questions Harker about the inner-workings of English life. Ultimately, he uncovers Dracula’s true nature. Fearing for his life (and rightly so), he flees to a convent into yet another form of bondage. This time, it’s a slavery of the mind; Harker suffers a mental breakdown. True to his perseverant disposition, he eventually recovers, slays Dracula, and starts a family. Lucy, a friend of Harker, is also ensnare

The world can be a selfish place. Each country has its own beliefs and political system that is safeguarded. If a government feels their country, its traditions, and the general lifestyle (the way of life) is being threatened, war is declared. Furthermore, people often act to benefit themselves. From an early age, humans work to better themselves in attempts to gain something - be it wealth, items, protection, or sameness. The idea of protecting sameness fuels the monarchy in The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. Argaven, the monarch in the novel, is a being hell-bent on keeping his world at a slow and steady pace, where the normal speed limit is 25 MPH (Le Guin 37). He even shuns an alliance with a solar system 17 light years away; even though chances for war would be slim to none, while economic and educational growth would be bountiful. Is there a reason Argaven chose this path? As a patriot of the country, the King naturally wants to protect his world and its

Man’s need for a simple life was what HG Wells discussed in “The Star”. During his time, the Second Industrial Revolution was in full swing. Things changed rapidly as new inventions were produced. While some approved of the situation, Wells, among others, “lamented the momentous changes… to the landscape, social relations, and the very souls of England's people” (Koot par 4). To understand the situation, let’s remember the inventions from the late-1800’s (Ryan par 12). The telephone, electric light, and typewriter were developed during the 1870’s.   The first skyscrapers and elevators showed up in the 1880’s, while the phonograph, electric generator and internal combustion engine came in 1890’s. These inventions led to machines of travel. To the majority of Victorian Europeans, those things sound like wonderful innovations. This allowed for the freedom of exploration and independent living. However, that freedom brought the disintegration of village life. Previously,

Mars is the main setting in A Princess of Mars by Burroughs and The Marian Chronicles by Bradbury. The ability to spot the red planet without a telescope, all the while unable to visit, makes this exotic. Is Mars life like ours? Do aliens have the same hopes and dreams? Through storytelling, Bradbury and Burroughs solidify these musings. Carl Sagan famously stated, "Mars has become a kind of mythic arena onto which we have projected our Earthly hopes and fears.”    Burroughs’s book paints a rugged, barbaric picture. His martins are inhuman; both in appearance (some are green and have 4 arms) and personality (the beings are cold, cruel, and unloving). Even the technology presented is rudimentary. This Mars is an archaic, ignorant society which hyperbole mirrors Burroughs fears for Earth. Without further evolution and inventions, civilization won’t rise to its potential.      Mars, in The Martian Chronicles , is similar to Earth. Some of the areas actually look like subu