The Vainberg Experience

       It’s Funny, but Why?      Humor may be one of, if not the most, interesting devices in literature and media. What you find funny may be drastically different from what someone else does. For the sake of viable analysis, I will use my own sense of humor to analyze why I find the Iocane powder scene in The Princess Bride peak humor. At first glance, I was a bit lost as to why I found that scene funny. I was breathless with laughter the first time I watched it (I am referring to the movie, not the book), but why?      Upon further examination, it comes down to the stakes at hand juxtaposed with the attitudes of the characters, and ultimately how the scene ended. The scene is a life or death scenario. Vizzini, the confident bard, and Westley, the cunning hero, put their lives on the line in a gambit over princess Buttercup. In the exchange of two wine glasses, one of which was allegedly poisoned, Vizzini and Westley carried on a wit...

  Have you ever wondered why your English teachers are so obsessed with a two thousand year old story? The answer lies with the constants of the human experience. We, as people, are enthralled by these stories because although times have changed, humans have not. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles may seem like a pointless old-timey read, but in understanding it, doorways to understanding literature, and more importantly, ourselves, are opened. Intertextuality plays a big role in its importance because consciously or unconsciously, the influence and themes of Oedipus have made their way into all forms of literature and art since its conception. Oedipus explores how one’s virtues may lead to ruin. This concept still enthralls us to this day because we have experienced it firsthand, and by the same means, it’s found itself in literature and art ever since. In analyzing Oedipus’s character, we find his virtues. He is brave, deeply loyal, and has a strong sense of justice which he relentles...