Kayah's Comp Blog

There is a large portion of conflict between adults and children in The Ocean at the End of the Lane due to the fact that adults and children, especially the unnamed boy narrator, seem to exist in different worlds. While the narrator is very aware of magic and the sinister forces at work, the adults seem oblivious to the bad things happening around them. There is also apparently no way to get through to them when they are under the spell of Ursula Monkton, leaving our narrator alone without any adult support except from the Hempstocks. The adults are also used as a barrier in the story to keep the narrator from reaching his goals, like Ursula intercepting him when he tries to escape or his father actually trying to drown  him as punishment for disrespecting Ursula. Adults are of no help to the boy and he instead has to navigate around them during his adventure. The conflict is never truly resolved since the narrator's story ends while he is still young and his adult self reflecting...

I think the statement that border walls divide is more true. I think that borders and the division between people that they create tend to foster an unhealthy "us vs them" mentality and further push people away from other groups and communities. Closing yourself off with borders can also create an echo chamber and remove outside influences, perspectives, critique and analysis that may be beneficial to the society or group. However, I do think that borders and dividing walls have their uses.  I think they are most beneficial for certain groups of people. Border walls can be used to protect vulnerable groups, like marginalized races and identities, closed religions and groups heavily harmed by colonization. Creating a safe, divided space where harmful influences are kept out can allow damaged communities and people to grow and recover.

The three parts of the triple goddess are the maiden, the mother and the crone. The different phases are aligned with the phases of the moon - the maiden for the waxing moon, the mother for the full moon, and the crone for the waning moon - and the phases of life. The maiden represents youth and excitement. Lettie is a young girl and she takes the narrator on an exciting and terrifying adventure. The maiden is also associated with qualities like intelligence and independence which Lettie possesses. Exploration is another aspect of the maiden, usually referring to self-exploration and introspection but we could apply it here to the exploration of the world and the magical, unseen forces around the narrator's home. The mother is older and a little wiser and, as her name suggests, maternal. Mrs. Hempstock shows this in her love for her daughter as well as how she cares for the narrator and keeps him safe, providing him with food and shelter. The crone is wise from her old age an...

In this short, two people board the world's longest elevator. After a short period, the woman pulls out her phone and begins playing music over her speakers. In response, the old man pulls out his phone and plays classical music. They take turns increasing the volume to try and drown each other out, until another woman boards. After a moment the new woman pulls out her phone and begins playing electronic music. The screen fades to black and we see the elevator crowded with people, all playing music on their various devices loudly. The elevator stops again to let on a man with a large boombox on his shoulder. Everyone puts their music away, assuming he's going to blast music and drown them all out. Instead, he puts in a tape and then plugs in his headphones to listen respectfully to his music. The girl smiles at the old man and the short ends. I have experienced people playing their music out loud in public, which strikes me as incredibly rude and strange. While it was rude fo...

1999 Wildfire by Brockhampton - I really love this band, and listening to it reminds me of my friend who introduced me to them. This song, in particular, is one of my favorites because Joba's verse is ridiculous - he just raps about being a wizard in the shire and eating cheese. Pumpkin Party in Sea Hitler's Water Apocalypse from Homestuck Vol. 9 - I was a big fan of the webcomic Homestuck when I was younger. Homestuck ran from April 13th 2009 until April 13th 2016 and is over 800,000 words, but it also contains flash animation, flash games and lots of excellent music. This song is one of the best from the comic. Also, there's the obvious joke here that I'm stuck at home. Out of Control by Oingo Boingo - This is my favorite song by one of my favorite bands from one of my favorite albums. Basically, Oingo Boingo's entire discography could be on this playlist, but I narrowed it down to just one. Fake Your Death by My Chemical Romance - One of my favorite songs f...

When I was reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the line "You don't pass or fail at being a person." stood out to me. I remember agreeing with it instantly, and I still feel the same way after having had time to reflect more on the novel. I believe that all human beings have inherent worth and dignity simply by being alive. Human beings do bad things. There are people who may be inherently "bad", perhaps because they were born that way or perhaps due to their environment and circumstances. Even still, a person has worth. All people have the capability to do good. All people experience what it is to be human: to feel, to think, to love, to experience pain. The human experience is shared by all of us in some capacity, even people with personality disorders that we may consider "inhuman". Dehumanizing can be so incredibly painful because we are human. Black individuals have been dehumanized as part of the long history of colonization, slavery, and ra...