jvoegele.com > Essays

Essays and Opinions

These are some essays and short opinion pieces I've written over the years, most of them for college courses. I once held the delusion that I was a Writer, but I've since reread my work and decided that I tend to OVERSTATE MY ASSERTIONS. Oh well, I still feel that there's some good material in these essays, and I learned a lot writing them so all was not wasted. Those with an interest in semiotics might enjoy these pieces, although they might be most useful to college students with a looming deadline. Please note, however, that all materials are copyright © Jason Voegele, and may not be used for any reason without permission.

• Jeremy: A Modern-Day Richard Cory

  This is an essay about the video for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy". It analyzes the role of the "traditional family values" myth from the perspective of the outcast and discusses the dangers of believing in such myths.

• Recursive Advertising: The Joke's on Us

  This essay discusses the popular parody trend in advertising and manipulation of consumer desires by such advertisements. Do you remember the old Bud Light ad that had men dressed as women so they could score free beer on ladies night? It was funny, right? Sure, just be wary.

• The Shawshank Redemption: Prison U.S.A.

  I've never thought that The Shawshank Redemption was a perfect movie, but from a thematic standpoint it has a lot to say about life as one giant institution. Do you have bars on your windows?

• Thought and Language

  An essay evauluating William Faulkner's use of stream-of-consciousness in As I Lay Dying, and how language, as a medium for expressing thought, is inherently limiting to such works.

• Some Thoughts on Schindler's List, the Novel

  This is a short review of the novel Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally, which was of course the seed for Stephen Spielberg's miraculous film.

• Naturalism in "The Open Boat"

  A short essay on Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" which offers the rather grim perspective that we're no more than flakes of cosmic dust in an utterly indifferent universe.

• Thoughts on "The Things They Carried"

  Another short discussing Tim O'Brien's story "The Things They Carried". An excellent story about emotional weight and transcendence.

• Thoughts on Blade Runner

  A brief exploration of the wavering boundary between reality and perception, as evidenced in the film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, and based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

• Hopkins: Priest and Poet

  A work in progress regarding the role of religion in the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, with a particular focus on his poem "Carrion Comfort".

Science Fiction fans might also be interested in the essays and journals I've written on several SF topics for the Literary Science Fiction homepage.