English Literature: Lauren Gapper

A Long Long Way : The Gas Attack After reading Chapter Four of Barry's A Long Long Way (in which Willie Dunne's regiment face the detrimental effects of the chemical warfare released by the German opposition), I was set an essay task to explore the presentation of the gas attack through a close-reading of a selected extract. This exercise gave me the opportunity to focus on the linguistic and structural decisions of Barry and, in turn, produce an essay that was detailed and specific in conjunction with the points that I made. Explore the presentation of the gas attack. Consider: the presentation of nature, the presentation of the gas, and the men’s reactions to the gas. Throughout Chapter four, Barry depicts sheer annihilation through the German gas-attack whilst simultaneously characterising its sinister aestheticism. There is also a sense of constant rising tension as the gas becomes ubiquitous and silently destroys even the microscopic elements of nature, des...

How We Are Hungry- Dave Eggers: A Review Tuesday September 3, 2019 I had not ever come across Dave Eggers until his collection of short stories, How We Are Hungry , popped up in my goodreads feed. The erratic tones he adopts in his protagonists and varying use of structure and person excite me, especially as I feel I have not exposed my self to enough literature of this kind. Recently, I have completed an Extended Project Qualification in which I explored the constructs of the Romantic Sublime and whether it has managed to transcend genre and, of course, time, and so I used Eggers' collection within this inquiry. Whilst this question has remained at the forefront of my focus for Eggers’ work, I felt it would be a rewarding exercise to give a more personal review on this collection as there were some notable pieces that I enjoyed and would have read for pleasure regardless of my project. Throughout the stories, however long or short they may be, Eggers’ distinct style shone th...