Academic Essays

Hey, that's my eye! And these are my essays! In the process of getting my Master's in literature, I wrote many academic essays. I'm proud of a lot of them, so here they are.

An investigation of game-related word choice in Stephen Crane's short story focusing on how masculinity impacts the characters' behaviors. This was one of the first things I wrote in college that made me feel like I might know what I was doing.

An interrogation of classic Dungeons & Dragons module Queen of the Spiders by Gary Gygax. I argue that masculinity and chivalry are enacted by fighting enemies of the American value system. Includes images from the modules which are quite surprising.

This analysis of Breaking Bad was written within days of the show's conclusion, arguing that Walt's fixation on masculinity ultimately makes him villainous and more importantly how economic power is equated with masculinity. 

The experimental poem Holocaust by Charles Reznikoff edits together Holocaust survivor testimony into poetic form. I was deeply touched by this book and sought to explain that Reznikoff's minimal editorial position forces the reader to determine what objectivity is for themselves. 

I decided to tackle Mark Danielewski's bizarre and fascinating House of Leaves, ultimately explaining any character in the novel who seeks to control their world ultimately goes mad, inviting thought about what meaning and the drive to control things really are. 

I earned my Master's degree in literature with this project. My proposal ended up being the best representation of the work; my defense was performed through written and verbal questioning, and I tend to do my best when speaking off the cuff, so my further notes are more than a bit disorganized. But it's this foundation that I believe really says what I meant to do and did. Choice theory essentially says that there's a difference between a novel and a choose-you-own-adventure novel, a video and a video game, something you observe and something you participate in. And then, how do we define these slippery texts? I searched for literal years and couldn't find anything remotely like what I was arguing, and so I'm especially pleased to get this out there. And if you check it out, please drop a message below--I'd love to hear your thoughts.