Gerard K. O'Neill

As soon as my sneakers hit the grimy sidewalk outside the concert hall, I could tell something was amiss. There was no squealing of brakes from the mid-day traffic, or any jogger along the sidewalk. As I continued down the block, I did not hear the resonance of pubescent chatter from the playground down the street, nor the squabble of vendors. All around me was utter silence. Remember when your parents would proclaim, “Silence is golden.” ? Yet after lounging my cello onto my back and stumbling…

In Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick distinguishes humans from androids by their ability to develop empathy through the social interactions between androids and humans, in which they highlight each other’s differences, thus Dick reveals that the lack of empathy within human society leads to the misunderstanding and segregation of societal classes. The characterization of androids and people within Rick’s society displays the potential effects of Dick's society if it…

Cayden Brinton Comp. 1 Edwards 30 October 2017 Mandela Effect Debuted in 1962, millions of people grew up reading the well-known children’s book series, The Berenstain Bears. Being sold in more than 23 languages, the well loved stories were the common childhood memory of millions. The book expanded to become a tv series. With its popularity, it would only be natural that the name would be remembered. However, many fans remembered it as The Berenstein Bear with an “e” (Does This Picture Look a…

Substance D. Philip K. Dick -a highly regarded science fiction writer who is said to be one of the greatest of his time (Metzger and Straub 88) brought this idea to life in his novel A Scanner Darkly. By referencing his first-hand experience with narcotics, Dick was able to accurately illustrate the mind of a substance abuser and portray the potentially harmful effects drugs may have on the brain; however, his novel contradicts society’s…

Two of the most popular children's literature series of the 21st century, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, both put characters in situations with war and violence. In a world where there is a greater evil to defeat, characters are only benefitted when finding another ally with a common interest. Katniss Everdeen and Harry Potter gain allies when involved in a conflict. Both present the action of conflict directly in front of the characters, causing a change in a…

The Battle of Palo Alto took place on May 8, 1846 and lasted only 3 hours. The battle is marked as the first major engagement between Mexico and America during the Mexican-American war even though the battle took place days before America declared war on Mexico. The battle was short lived, proving the American artillery tactics and armament far superior to that of Mexico. The number of casualties Mexico took during this short battle was more than double that of America. Zachary Taylor, an…

In Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the character J.R. Isidore is what most people call a “chicken head.” The term “chicken head” was given to those who were mentally damaged by the radioactive dust that has covered their atmosphere. Even though J.R. has been mentally damaged, he is by far the most empathetic character in the novel. Most of the so-called “normal” humans think people like J.R. are less than human. J.R. goes as far as saying, “But what does it matter to me?…

The Odyssey by Homer tells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca who is on his journey back home after fighting in the Trojan War. His journey home takes over a decade with many troubles and tribulations. For the over a decade he had to leave his wife, son, and kingdom. Odysseus serves as the model for an epic hero. An epic hero is a brave and noble character who is both physically and mentally stronger than the average man. Though this idea comes from an ancient story, it is still relevant…

Manifest Destiny was a term coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845 to describe the overwhelming notion that America wanted to expand exponentially. Most Americans during this time period felt it was a divine right to expand and settle the entire continent. This idea of expansion was not new, but an old view, that many great explorers and nations followed while establishing themselves. America was now no different, and looked to gain greater dominance over their own land. To do this, America took…

Spoiler Alert...Obliviate! On September, 1997, the magic was born. J.K Rowling had just published the book ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’. It was an instant success as children, teens, adults, and the elderly loved the magical world of Hogwarts and following Harry Potter on his adventure. Then on November 16th, 2001, the magic was literally brought to life as it came out as a movie. There were so many mixed emotions from people. Some loved seeing it come to life and some wished it…