/lit/ - Literature

>>5792301
i tend to believe that deconstructing gender, while quite fun in a mischievous way, is potentially dangerous. you might pull one too many bricks out of the old cathedral by asking such silly questions, and it will come crashing down around you!

>>5792433
i feel a similar sensation. i also browse this board constantly. i don't know why! but i keep asking myself, not "what is meaning of life" or any of these kinds of questions, but i ask myself simply "why are all of these people talking on the internet?" sometimes i imagine everyone on earth in the same room talking at once. the noise! and wouldn't we all get tired and be quiet eventually? is this endless talking just a way to exert excess energy? well, that might truly be pointless then. i believe deeply in the value of silence. it is sacred. we are silent when we are defeated, humbled, and in awe. these are feelings we rarely experience on the internet. here, you never have to be proven wrong. it is very simple to continue to argue, argue, argue, and dismiss everything someone writes by ignoring it. let us create something better! let us work together! amen! amen!

a lad with a whip moved toward a donkey
the donkey brayed melodramatically
the lad lifted the whip but it was clearly a whip designed
for an adult to use.
the old man had said to whip the donkey, and he sat a distance away
on the porch, the tip of a wheat plant hanging from his mouth.
he ordered this of the boy
for entertainment purposes, for he was old and cantankerous
and loved to see a youth perform a pointless act of brutality.
yet when he say the youth unable to wield the heavy leather whip
he felt anger
and moved to the boy, with disappointment
and the boy felt two things
one, he felt glad he did not have to whip the donkey
yet he felt scared of the old man, for the old man's wickedness was glaring
like sun in his eyes.
and he felt the man rip the whip from the his hand
and the man yelled for the lad to stand aside and watch! look here!
and the old man whipped the donkey, which could not run,
being tied to a post,
and he whipped the donkey again and again,
til blood, from the donkey
and sweat, from the shrivelled, fervent man
dripped on the baked sand, fallow ground, weeds.
the lad cried,
and the man called him a sissy. go to your room, then, sissy!
play your video games! drink your soda,
you are no kin to me!
the boy entered his room, began playing an online game
and yelled obscenities to his teammates and enemies
that would make the old man very proud, indeed.

>>5791426
this is charming, given that you are not a native speaker, but also because it is cute and simple. just to touch up on your grammar the second line would need to be reworded, perhaps as "and he never wrote a note"

>>5791357
OP, definitely want to reply to the image you posted.

i want to say something about this psychological analysis. i think it is precisely the dreams of the narrator which prohibit him from reaching out to the others on the train. that, as well as the attitude toward them. they are specimens! gorgeous, unsuspecting specimens. in this mindset, it is absolutely impossible for the narrator to communicate with the others on the subway. but if the narrator chucked this attitude and inner monologue it would be exceedingly easy to simply say hello, and make small talk (the height of compassion and philosophy) with anyone, anywhere, just to pass the time, which is all we are doing here anyway!

>>5792054
oh my god dude... if you get into oxford i will be so jealous! what a beautiful school. and the idea of wearing the awesome clothes they wear there, living in the ancient dormitories. think of all the beautiful souls who passed through those corridors... you are truly blessed if you go to oxford!

anyway... i have no idea how to prepare. surely you should have been preparing the last ten or so years! not much you can do now..

there is some thing so interesting about the imagination. the rituals, the songs, the history fascinates the mind like a well cut jewel. there is a theatre to the catholic church (and some other christian churches, like eastern orthodox) that no other religion really accomplishes. there is an order and a sequence to it that is very beautiful and carries a lot of weight. the incense, the organ playing, the marble floors and vaulted roof, the metal work, the stained glass... it is lovely. i am not speaking of everything here, or trying to offer any answers. but aesthetically, i really admire the catholic church. i only wish it was still in latin... i actually like the old style. i like the history, i like to feel distant from the lord, who sits in cold glory and austere light. i like to feel humble and yet a part of the great body of christ. i went to church recently and i just didn't feel this. the priest was conversational with his sermon, which was short and seemed rushed. all over the church babies were crying, to the point that it felt like a mad house they way they shouted insanely. i wanted to be in a quiet, sacred place. but i found myself in a gilded daycare! blast it all! the church is dying... at least, here.

>>5792165
i would like it more if critiquing was a team effort. i like to distance myself from my own work, and take the critiquers side, analyzing my own piece as if it were alien to me. it is more fun this way.

>>5792093
i don't think catholicism is really on that argument and debate game. they are just so fuckin legit... they have the most "based" rituals and imagery. idk man, nothing can compete. they are fundamental to our society. they're "giants, and they ain't gonna move til they provoked" (dr. dre 2001) and they don't waste time with every person who has a problem w/ them because it is "ok" if you aren't catholic... catholicism is a promotion of charity and good will, it has very little to do with proving they are right, cuz they ARE right.

>>5784103
this has been removed
>>5784538
pretty good. i feel that this speaks to the entire board of /lit/ and 4chan. it inspires in me a paranoia of conspiracies which are created to make people in the modern world unhappy. the tension between the narrator and the subject being spoken to is palpable in a 1984 big brother way.
>>5784602
your poem betrays a perception of self and of life that is empty and hollow! i am sad to say i relate to it wholeheartedly. i do believe that there may be more depth inside of your head if you would just stop looking at yourself so much... you are too self conscious to let your colors fly, so you resort to coffee, cigarettes, whisky and women. i am much the same!
>>5784657
this is sick flow which i am going to steal and put over a beat. sorry homes. great artists steal.
>>5784663
this flow is not as sick as above flow, however it would sound good if rapped in british accent in the same song as above flow with a beat by SALEM
>>5784751
this is a good psychological analysis of social anxiety and OCD. however it hits a note that is a bit too personal in regards to the author. perhaps best kept in a diary for later analysis. then again, it is beneficial to air out these sentiments in public. i wish real life didn't have to be like this, but, then again once again, it is better than the alternative, since so many people are repulsive now.
>>5785855
another very deeply sad bit of writing. author seems to be describing his own neurosis and disappointment at life...

i want to assess all of these but i can't... i'm sorry... it's too dark in here. the words seem to be jumbled...

>>5791770
interesting. i remember when i first read the new testament i felt that when they talked about food sacrificed to idols that mcdonalds would fall under that category. however, if mcdonalds started giving out free hamburgers, like, you get max 5 free mcdoubles a day, in the name of Jesus, that'd be a win for charity.

>>5790805
catcher in the rye is a very good book.

>>5791956
pascal says that god encompasses every divergent train of thought and brings everything opposed together under an umbrella of harmony. does this help your predicament? i'm not sure if any book has the answer for every person, but through reading you will find what resonates with your worldview and experience, and then you can use these strong ideas as building blocks for your life.
>>5791968
this seems true. but literature can be an enjoyment for those of us who are unable to experience life the way god intended. don't be too hard on us... i would love to have a Good life but it has not come to pass yet.

>>5790363
to me, this is a legitimate argument for the existence of demons... the devil uses internet and tv for his purposes.

>>5791949
no, it's not their fault. i have demons.

>>5791955
don't be mean.

>>5790689
there is an idea which says, problems of the mind can be solved through speaking about them... speech puts abstract thoughts into concrete form. and when you speak to another person who listens, the two of you will find faults (lies, contradictions, inconsistencies, or plain ol' evil and mean sentiments) in your speech and through analysis, these faults can be mended.

>>5791911
great post

hey OP why don't you go for a little run or play some b-ball or soccer. this isn't really a problem that literature can solve for you! if you want uplifting books though, try the new testament!