These essays and capstone papers were submitted by students who took Arts One in 2017-2018 and selected to be published in this annual journal of Arts One student work, entitled ONE. Please see this page for more information about the journal.
Though the essays are provided here for public reading, they are all still copyrighted to their respective authors (listed on each article) and may not be reused or reposted without express permission of those authors. Of course, paraphrasing or quoting from them with proper citation is encouraged!
V as Conductor
July 13, 2018
by Carson Lamont
June 2018
In Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta, the eponymous V declares, following the word’s etymology, that “anarchy means ‘without leaders’” (195). However, just as the text’s evaluation of fascism does not necessarily coalesce with dictator Adam Susan’s evaluation, V’s evaluation of anarchy is distinctly his own.
The Perfect Match: Satire and Suffering in the Poor Mouth and the Inconvenient Indian
July 13, 2018
by Angelica Joy (AJ) Calapiz
June 2018
As James Joyce, the most influential Irish novelist, writes, Flann O’Brien is “a real writer with the true comic spirit”, a spirit that pervades The Poor Mouth. There is no doubt humour is a crucial factor of the book, a momentous aspect that seems to make the misery and suffering described enjoyable.
Power Glove: Biopower and Video Games in The Three-Body Problem
July 13, 2018
by Liam Title
June 2018
One of the key concepts discussed in Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality is that of biopower. Loosely defined, biopower is “the disciplines of the body and the regulations of the population,” with these practices constituting how “organization of power over life [is] deployed” (Foucault, 139). Given this definition, a significant aspect of biopower’s depiction in Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem is in the titular virtual-reality game of “Three Body”.
Cleanup on Isle Five
July 13, 2018
by Scout Wasdell
June 2018
After many years of being asked, “If you were on an island and could only bring one thing, what would you bring?” one may be frustrated after reading The Tempest for never having said magic powers. With magic powers, one can do practically anything: conjure food, build a raft, or enslave an island’s native inhabitants.
We’ll Take a Cup of Resistance Yet, for Absolutism is not the End
July 13, 2018
by Danielle Youlan Luo
June 2018
Rooted in scientific deduction and reasoning, Thomas Hobbes’s depiction of authority is a response to his understanding of human behaviours in the state of nature. Hobbes maintains that inherent human aversions and passions propel the disintegration of the state of nature into the state of war, since unregulated behaviours often result in the conflict of interest (Hobbes 76).
I will love/even unwilling: bell hooks and Sappho on love as an action
July 10, 2018
by Louie Leyson
Sappho’s enshrinement in pop culture “as [a] love goddess,” according to bell hooks, has been essential in suppressing a long-held narrative of love constructed primarily by male poets (hooks, xxi). However, Sappho’s conceptions of love (at least in their fragmentary, translated forms) do not seem to fulfil hooks’ criteria for romantic love. While hooks views love as a verb, the subject[1] of Sappho’s poetry primarily experiences love as a noun—a flame, a hook, a snare.
Ruined?
July 10, 2018
by Naoki Hasegawa
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down recounts a conflict that occurred between a Hmong family and an American hospital regarding the treatment of a Hmong epileptic (in the eyes of the Western medical tradition) girl, Lia Lee. The author, Anne Fadiman, makes her best attempt to give both sides of the story.
The White Tiger
July 10, 2018
by Jessica Dai
Aravind Adiga’s novel The White Tiger tells the story of the self-made man, Balram Halwai, who claims himself to be many things: a servant, a philosopher, an entrepreneur, and a murderer. Although these professions are certainly apart of Balram’s repertoire of trade, his journey from his birthplace— which he dubs the Darkness—to his office at the end of the novel in the Light (Bangalore), serves as an overarching metaphor for the transition of India from the old into the new.
Men Are from Earth, Women Are from Earth, Too: Gender in bell hooks’ all about love
July 4, 2018
By Sophie Chen
In a society so deeply imbued with patriarchy, women and men struggle to navigate their relationships with love and power, leaving many distraught and hopeless. bell hooks’ all about love: new visions is both a celebration of love and its cathartic abilities, as well as a call to action. She urges her readers to embrace a shared meaningful definition, thus treating the enigmatic concept as a verb rather than a noun. However…
The Effects and Reflection of Space in Émile Zola’s Germinal
July 4, 2018
By Bianca Chui
In Émile Zola’s novel Germinal, the distinction between characters from differing social classes can be seen in their outward appearances. However, a subtler distinction can be seen through the use of space. Zola uses contrasting physical surroundings, from the larger perspective of a neighbourhood to the smaller perspective of living quarters, to showcase the differences in social class.
Panasonic: The Power Of Language In White Noise
July 4, 2018
By Maggie Coval
Used to establish keystones of identity, emotion, and culture, language defines many of the parameters of human life. In his novel, White Noise, Don DeLillo analyzes the power and limitation of language in a technologically advancing world.