August 26, 2026

LEONA ZHOU

The moment the movie started and we got into the Lonely Mountains of the Dwarves, I already knew this was going to be really good, as I was so taken away by the absolute beauty the place was. It is nothing like the book! I read the rest of the books a few years ago so sometimes it felt somewhat long, mundane, and even a little hard to imagine, but after watching The Hobbit it definitely made me want to go back and re-read the whole book again. Personally, I imagined the dwarves to be a lot more stubby and cute, until the movie knocked me into the sense that these are a breed of brilliant and really tough battle-worn species. I really loved the moment when they were on the Carrock after the huge Eagles dropped them off where Thorin apologizes to Bilbo and gives him a hug. That was so sweet and genuine, and definitely a much-needed moment after all the company has been through so far; as for the adaptation of the movie, character casting-wise, I’d say they did an excellent job. However, even though the movie (not even the extended version) was quite long, I still felt they had shortened events and constricted the timeline. They sped up many of the events like how instead of when the trolls caught all the Dwarves and Bilbo in sacks, in the book it was Gandalf who rescued them all. In the movie, they had Bilbo take a more heroic role, and Gandalf only came in the end. Also, when Gandalf left before that, in the book, it was where he quietly disappeared without notice, but if that was put in the movie I guess the movie-makers didn’t think that would make as much sense if Gandalf didn’t have a reason: like getting in an argument with Thorin’s stubborn grasp on how he will never go to the Elves for help. This was a way for the audience to learn Thorin’s hatred and prejudice through pain of the past. Furthermore, Radagast in the books originally did not make an appearance until the Council of Elrond, but he appeared in the movie warning Thorin and his company about the strange and dark things he was discovering happening to his poor animals and plants. This foreshadows something way greater and darker starting to take over the lands and it may be starting from west Rivendell. Later with the Elves, Saruman and Gandalf discuss this and argue over the point of the journey to retrieve the Dwarves’ gold. Getting back to my personal reactions: my most re-watched part of the movie was the ‘Misty Mountains Cold’ song. It was nothing like I imagined it to be when I first read it! If I felt something inside, then I know Bilbo definitely felt a strong calling to his Took side. It was so enchanting, and had such raw elegance to it. I imagined it to be one-sided in guttural and rough. I think it’s amazing how it shows that despite the Dwarves’ tough outer layers, they have a gentle grace for beautiful things (after all, they made beautiful things).

August 25, 2026

LANA LUU

In Chapter 37 “The Reaper Whose Name Is Death” is one of the saddest chapters in Anne of Green Gables. In this chapter Anne loses someone who was very important to her. Anne was not able to cry since she had so many emotions when Matthew died. “I think you won’t misunderstand me when I say I want to be alone. I’m not afraid. I haven’t been alone one minute since it happened—and I want to be. I want to be quite silent and quiet and try to realize it. I can’t realize it.” I think Anne could not cry because she was shocked that he died and she couldn’t understand that he was dead. Matthew was one of the most important people in Anne’s life. When Matthew first met Anne he liked her unique personality and loved Anne because of who she was. Matthew was quiet and shy, but he showed he loved Anne by what he did for her. He listened to Anne and made her feel like she belonged at Green Gables. Matthew is special to Anne since he was always so caring and never judged her when she got into trouble. He was more than a friend to her. He was a father to her. His death represented more than just a loss of a friend. Matthew’s death also shows how Anne changed. In the beginning of Anne of Green Gables she was not able to control her emotions well but, by Chapter 37 she became more responsible. When Mattew died she thought about how Marilla is feeling. “But it’s not her sorrow—she’s outside of it and she couldn’t come close enough to my heart to help me. It’s our sorrow—yours and mine,” says Anne to her friend Diane, about Marilla. Matthew’s death was very emotional for everyone in Avonlea. His kindness will always be with Anne. In conclusion, this chapter was very emotional and almost made me cry since Matthew was such an important person to Anne.

July 26, 2026

NATALIE LIU

The Way Up to Heaven: Spoiler Alert – only read this if you have already finished the story.

“The Way Up to Heaven” by Roald Dahl is focused on two married old folks, Mrs. and Mr. Foster. Mr. Foster treats his relationship with Mrs. Foster like a mean sibling would, purposefully using Mrs. Foster’s fear of being late to pull a prank that extends the necessary time to stay. Reading this feels like you’re watching a slow-motion car crash and want the collision to complete. Dahl immediately hooks you in with Mrs. Foster being all dressed up and packed, waiting; she has a “pathological fear of missing a train, a plane, a boat”. My initial reaction to this was feeling irritated by Mr. Foster’s behavior, because his calculated delays felt agonizingly cruel. The reader’s experience mirrors Mrs. Foster’s distress in those moments, when a “tiny vellicating in the corner of the left eye, like a secret wink,” twitches as the clock ticks. The plot relies on a strict and rigid timeline, just like how Mrs. Foster always likes to be. In the story, you want to root for Mrs. Foster amid Mr. Foster’s negativity. This negativity is amplified by the household staff, who choose to side with Mr. Foster. While the driver openly states that Mr. Foster is delaying on purpose, the butler, Walker, demands he stop, pretending to be oblivious to the obvious pranks. By defending Mr. Foster and enforcing his false narrative, the staff effectively gaslights Mrs. Foster, deepening her isolation within her home.

The plot uses a repetition of missing the gates and then the weather crisis, to build pressure and stress. The turning point is the next day, when Mrs. Foster goes to catch her flight again, and Mr. Foster has something to give to her for their grandchildren, a comb box. When Mrs. Foster catches his blatant lie, the power dynamic switches. Mrs. Foster gets into the house, yet after hearing a noise, she quickly runs out and directs the driver to leave. After a few months, she comes home and calls the elevator repair; Mrs. Foster has finally sought revenge. The irony of this all is that Mr. Foster chose to take the elevator to stall, but ended up dying in it, and along with the title, the way up to heaven shows Mrs. Foster’s new heaven-like experience on earth without the disturbance of her husband.

July 16, 2026

TIMPER XU

In the short story “Afternoon in the Jungle”, Albert Maltz revealed the society under the Great Depression with an absurd fight between a thirteen-year-old child and “a small, shabby man of forty-five”.

Everything started with imaginative play: Charles Fallon threw imaginary missiles and picked up imaginary money, but then his dreams were interrupted by a lady who “came out and told him to stop leaning against the glass and move along”. His day became worse when he didn’t have money to buy the candy that he wanted; then, change suddenly came as neighbor Mr. Sheehy dropped a 50¢ coin (worth almost $15 in today’s money) when he was getting on a bus.

Due to the limited time, Mr. Sheehy told Charles that he’ll give him a dime if he could find the coin he dropped; Charles decided to find the coin, but he didn’t think of giving it back: “It would be the simplest thing in the world of course to tell Old Man Sheehy that he had not been able to find it”. So he decided to borrow three pennies from his mother to buy chewing gum; then, he could fish the coin up with the gum. The main conflict of this story starts now.

Overall, Maltz’s story gives us a peek into the physical and psychological conditions that people went through in the Great Depression: readers can see how the collapse of the economy caused a once normal or even wealthy family to become penniless, how people like the “small, shabby man of forty-five” being forced to live off of picking up coins, how the Roaring ‘20s popped like the imaginative play Charles imagined. Indeed, entirely new industries were invented, such as high level scavenging. Picture to yourself the lengths this small man went in his pursuit of lost treasures: “Secured to the inside of his coat by leather straps were four lengths of broom handle, whittled to reduce their thickness, each about three feet long, each fitted at one end with a rubber socket by which it would be joined to another length”. Naturally he is better equipped for salvaging the 50¢ piece.

It isn’t only the life under the Great Depression that Maltz showed; what he also wanted the readers to feel is how extreme poverty and unemployment turn everyone (including children) into beasts that only care about money (this is why this story is named “Afternoon in the Jungle”). The change of Charles from a child who plays on the streets to a beast that “grabbed a chunk of ice” and “flung it” at a person for 50 cents is the strongest evidence and provides a snap back to the title, as does the last line: “Charlie stood trembling in triumph, his face turned to stone. It had become dark.”

March 28, 2026

TIMPER XU

Rather than saying Larry’s essay is a pure reflection on the Idaho chapter of State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, saying that it is a guide that leads readers to understand the history that is behind this chapter would be more reasonable and accurate.

The series, WPA State Guides is the starting point of this history: it is the first series that gathered and edited the information of every state, which revealed how the USA isn’t only what you see in your own hometown or state.

Decades later, State by State is written; it is more interesting, shorter, and easier to understand compared to the “lengthy books named the WPA State Guides”.

In A Panoramic Portrait of America, every author of every state is independent, so every chapter is equally important and interesting, and when we consider that we live in a federal republic of fifty more or less interdependent states with their own governments and laws, we can see that the book is a valiant and accurate reflection of our country.

Look at Idaho! The author never wrote boring, dry, outdated history: the author shown his views on Idaho with the conflicts between the US government and “the Tukudeka tribe”, the author wrote about the natural landscape, and his own thinkings about change (“The history of our planet is one of absolutely relentless change. Everything…eventually goes extinct”).

The most special part of A Panoramic Portrait of America is that it is alive, you can feel emotions and thoughts from it, like a person telling you a tale from their hometown.

ARCHIVE