Alana S. – Story Power

Author: Alana S.

What Walt Whitman and Billie Eilish Have in Common

On May 1, 2025

In Music, Music Poetry, Poetry, Power and Identity, Romanticism

Much like the poem “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman provides an overarching view of his opinion of the human experience, Billie Eilish’s “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” provides a similar view point. Eilish released Birds of a Feather as the second single of her album “Hit Me Hard and Soft” in July 2024. Eilish uses repetition, imagery, and an extended metaphor in order to illustrate the all consuming nature of relationships alongside their temporary nature.

Eilish repeats the word “forever” many times throughout the song whether it be in the context of a long lasting joy or a long lasting sorrow. This repetition allows the listener to understand the all consuming power of this relationship for her. In addition, in many occasions where this word was used, it appears to imply that an important part of her life has ended and that she will therefore have to go through “forever” without that piece of her life. Eilish also repeats the word “‘Til” many times which could work to imply an approaching ending or the remembrance of a past ending. While the lyrics to the song are sad, the song sounds almost hopeful. I am not sure about each and every one of her listeners but for me, this dichotomy alongside her description of the comings and goings of “forever” made the song increasingly powerful and it added a layer to its complexity.

By using the imagery of the phrase

‘Til I’m in the grave

Eilish allows the listener to fall into a different world and picture themselves in her shoes.

Simultaneously, the phrase is used to bring her audience into her headspace. She is so in love with this one person that she can not imagine living any kind of life without them. Later in the song, she uses imagery to further this point. She sings,

and if I’m turnin’ blue, please don’t save me/nothing left to lose without my baby

Without this person that Eilish loves, to her, life is not worth living.

In addition to these little moments throughout the poem, Eilish uses the entire song as an extended metaphor for the complexities of life. Her song contains the temporary and timelessness, love and heartbreak. As a whole, she comes close to summarizing the human experience within the ins and outs of the poem that is this song.

The Defense of Comedy as an Art Form: Young Sheldon

By Alana S.

On February 28, 2025

In Comedy/Satire, Empathy

Aristotle defines a comedy as a story in which a sympathetic character has a rise in fortune. I think that this is an incredibly important art form because it allows us to learn more about the world as a whole while enjoying ourselves. When people go looking for entertainment, they want to watch something that takes them away from the real world because the real world is exhausting. Comedy provides this escape for those who are watching but it is not a complete waste of time as we are still learning something.

I recently watched Young Sheldon and upon being asked to defend comedy as an art form, I knew that I would use this show.

Young Sheldon walks the audience through the life of a child genius and his average family. The audience learns about the benefits of Sheldon as well as the challenges that come with having a unique child. In every episode, you are sure to laugh many times but a lesson is always learned by the end whether that be listening to those around you or being patient with the world and not consistently rushing to get things done.

Alongside the little lessons that are learned on an episode to episode basis, there are larger lessons that can be learned throughout the entire show. I think that the most important lesson that can be learned is that no matter what happens, life will go on and there will be people to help pick you up along the way.

As a whole, every night when I came home from a long day of school and activities, I looked forward to watching an episode of Young Sheldon so that I could have a break in the day but it was not only a break. Every time that I turned on an episode, I was learning a lesson about the world around me and the people in it.

SNL and the Fragility of Democracy

By Alana S.

On February 23, 2025

In Binaries, Comedy/Satire, Drama/Theater, Memory/Past/History, Modernism

A few weeks ago, I watched the Founding Fathers Cold Open on Saturday Night Live. On my first watch, I thought that this was hilarious and I was cracking up throughout the skit however, when my AP Lit teacher asked my classmates and I to analyze a modern piece of satire, I decided to revisit this particular skit and I found it to be kind of scary.

The skit begins with the “founding fathers” signing the Declaration of Independence. “John Hancock” then asks “Alexander Hamilton” to share his opinions on their new nation to which Lin Manuel Miranda comes out and begins to rap about what he hopes for in this new country. Within his first few lines, “Hamilton” is interrupted by “Donald Trump” and the remainder of the skit is “Trump” discussing the future that he envisions for the country.

Throughout the skit, many satirical techniques are employed however, here I will only name a few.

During the skit, the actor that played Trump consistently used youthful slang such as “zesty”, “take the L”, and “in my ___ era”. This is incredibly ironic because both the current president (Trump) and the most recent president (Biden) were the oldest presidents in the History of the United States. By creating this binary between young and old, SNL is showing how ridiculous it is that for people so close to the end of their lives to take on the kind of responsibility of running a country just as it would be crazy for a tween or a teenager to run the U.S.

The fact that SNL made this skit about Trump’s first week back in office a parody to the signing of the Declaration of Independence is another example of satire. Some of the things mentioned were either a step back from the progress that society has made with equality since the signing of the Declaration of Independence or it was something that the founding fathers were trying to avoid in their new country such as having a king (the skit implied that Trump may one day take on a role similar to that of a king).

Finally, SNL used both hyperbole and understatement in creation of this skit. When “Trump” first interrupts Miranda, he says that he is in his “king era”. This can be viewed as a hyperbole as while President Trump is currently using a lot of power, it is unlikely that he will adopt a role similar to a king. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the writers of this skit used understatement to illustrate the unhappiness of the American people after his first week in office. To show this, near the end of the skit when “Trump” is talking about the all time high of the price of eggs he exclaims, “Who would have thought it’d be easier to get a ceasefire in Gaza then bring down the price of eggs?”

While the goal of SNL is mainly comedy, most of their skits also provide a commentary on some aspect of society. In this particular instance, they bring to light how worrisome this bombardment of executive orders was and how the United States may continue to change in a way that many do not believe to be positive in the coming years. SNL is trying to make light of a situation that they believe to be potentially dangerous but they are also cluing in society for what is to come.

Is Suffering Necessary to Grow?

By Alana S.

On January 29, 2025

In Drama/Theater, King Lear

In class this week, my AP Lit teacher asked us to consider the nature of suffering. Is it necessary for us to grow? To learn to value life? We are in the process of reading King Lear, a play with plenty of suffering, and while I have my answers to these questions, the play gives many different answers.

Before I dive into this question, I think that it is important to define suffering as it is a word with many possible meanings. For the purposes of analyzing the play in the context of these questions, suffering will be defined as any inconvenience that causes one to have non-positive emotions.

In act III scene VI of the play, King Lear puts his daughters on a fake trial (one of those watching the trial was Edgar) before Gloucester announced that there was a plot on the king’s life and they would need to remove themselves from their current place of residence. At the end of the scene, everyone exits except for Edgar and Edgar has a soliloquy analyzing how suffering has impacted his life. He noted that after going through a period of suffering, his pain has begun to seem “light and portable” (III.vi.117). He sees suffering as a thing that has made him stronger and, as such, it can be inferred that he sees suffering as a necessary prerequisite to growth.

Gloucester views suffering in a different way. After his eyes have been forced out and he has been turned out on his own by Goneril and Regan, he decides to head towards the cliffs of Dover presumably to commit suicide. In this case, his suffering is too much for him to even consider growth, he simply wants to be put out of his misery.

I think that (within reason) suffering is a necessity for growth. Suffering can teach us how to deal with the world around us and the emotions that come with it along with providing opportunities to learn from our personal mistakes. Suffering can also teach us how to value life as once we have experienced something harmful or negative, we will place an even greater emphasis on the benefits of life and the good experiences that we get to have whether they be tiny like a cup of coffee or large like an international vacation.

Is “Thumbs” by Sabrina Carpenter Poetry?

By Alana S.

On December 2, 2024

In Music, Music Poetry

Although it was originally released as a single, “Thumbs” by Sabrina Carpenter was released again in her Evolution album in 2016. This song, without a doubt, is a poem. While I am not sure what exactly Carpenter meant to do with the song, to me it appears to remove all complexity from the world and highlight the stupidity and repetitiveness of many of our systems.

“Thumbs” provides a sensory experience while listening to it. Listening to this song while paying attention to the lyrics will give you a headache as Carpenter tends to talk herself in circles. The song begins with:

Somewhere in the world there is a father and a mother

And the father is a son who has a mother

The mother has a daughter, who gets married to the brother of the mother

And they’re all just tryna multiply with one another

Carpenter spends this first verse as well as many others explaining simple issues in far too many details; trying to piece together this family tree is nearly impossible without a pen and paper yet I think that this was done intentionally. Carpenter is placing the audience in their own minds. When we think of society, we think of incredibly complex, interweaving systems, similarly to how Carpenter is trying to describe this family. In reality, it would be very simple if all of the flowery language and extra words are removed much like how society could appear very simple if we removed our overly analytic way of viewing it.

While Carpenter does use far more words than necessary throughout this song, she does present a rather condensed commentary of society. For example, she uses her second verse to make a commentary on capitalist society that some have written books over:

Somewhere in the world, they think they’re working for themselves
They get up everyday to go to work for someone else
And somebody works for them and so they think they got it made
But they’re all just working to get paid the very same

Here, Carpenter appears to be arguing against certain pillars of work in society yet she does so in a very unique way. She does not present loads of evidence, charts, or long-drawn philosophical commentaries, she simply lays out the confusions of the typical 9-5 job and moves on. This condensation of a deep argument further connects “Thumbs” to poetry.

Finally, this entire song is one long idiom alluding to the repetitive and somewhat lifeless air of society. Carpenter repeats the phrase

They gonna keep on twiddlin’ them thumbs

several times throughout the song. This phrase alludes to a constant state of boredom. It implies that people are just sitting around waiting for things to happen to them while not trying to tilt the scale in one direction or the other. Carpenter uses this idiom in order to continually show the audience the pointlessness of sitting in an office all day as they would not be growing their brains nor would they be enjoying themselves. Carpenter is using figurative language to try to get people to go out and enjoy their lives.

Why don’t we talk about sex from the female perspective?

By Alana S.

On November 14, 2024

In Beloved, Empathy, Modernism, Mutual Recognition, Power of Stories/Storytelling, Toni Morrison

In my AP Lit class, we have been asked to discuss the sexual encounters in Beloved. We talk about all of the different events that have occurred, but I fear that we are missing one of Morrison’s key points.

Throughout the novel so far, from the sweet home men and the cows all the way to when Paul D temporarily lost attraction to Sethe after sleeping with her for the first time, each sexual encounter places a focus on the male desire (with the exception of Sethe and Halle in the corn field, however, I would argue that that does not place the focus on desire but on the feelings of freedom and the protection that the other sweet home men provided them). The female desire is not taken into account until Beloved goes to find Paul D in the shed.

In the book, Beloved is originally portrayed as a creepy and almost antagonistic character and later in the novel we find out that not only is she a strange person but she also happens to be the ghost that has been wreaking chaos in 124.

I have no idea why Morrison made this choice in the novel. I do not know if this is a continuation of the story of 1873 or if it is a commentary of how sex is perceived in modern day society but I know that Morrison made a conscious choice in giving the female perspective of sex almost solely to the only antagonistic, creepy, and destructive woman in the novel.

How can culture be preserved while fusion occurs?

By Alana S.

On October 28, 2024

In Exit West

Towards the end of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, a world that was ravaged by war begins to calm, slowly but surely, and around the world migrants and natives begin to fuse their cultures. New foods were a result of this fusion and Nadia was excited to try all that was there to offer: “…new cuisines that were being born, for many of the world’s foods were coming together and being reformed in Marin, and the place was a taster’s paradise…”(Hamid 218). While Nadia was enjoying exploring these new cultures and how they fused, Saeed wanted to preserve his culture and language. These two, who were so close, had completely different interactions with this new world but, is there a way to have both?

Culture is a center piece in the lives of many whether through nationality, language, traditions (familial or community based), religion, etc and frequently, culture can impact our decisions, thoughts, and feelings however, if we sit in our cultural spaces and refuse to venture out, we loose the ability to discover the world through different perspectives as well as the ability to engage in productive dialogue that can strengthen bonds and increase understanding.

I think that both Saeed and Nadia need to find a middle ground where they fuse pieces of their culture with the culture of those surrounding them but I am not quite sure how they would do this well, if at all, or whether they would end up being too timid like Saeed or loose much of their culture like Nadia.

Does Sisyphus Suffer?

By Alana S.

On October 6, 2024

In Albert Camus

In his essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” Albert Camus argues that Sisyphus does not endure the eternal suffering that he was condemned to but instead that he was able to find moments of joyfulness in his punishment. Camus argues that while it may have been physically strenuous for Sisyphus to push the rock up the hill, he was able to find moments to himself in his thoughts on his way down the mountain to begin pushing the rock back up. In the very end of the essay, Camus argues that the process of life and struggle in itself is fulfilling.
I agree with Camus in many aspects of his argument. I have a hard time believing that Sisyphus could have enjoyed pushing a rock up a never ending hill but I can understand him finding solace in his moments to himself on the way down. He was able to ponder whatever he wished whether it be fond memories, philosophical questions, or funny stories in his imagination and I have no doubt about the human ability to find joy within these thoughts.
I also agree that many struggles in life are fulfilling however, I do not see this as the case in this situation. I think that struggles are only fulfilling when we are working toward a main goal or we know that we will learn a lesson along the way. In Sisyphus’s case, he must have realized at some point that this would be his life for the rest of eternity and as such, he could not have thought himself to be working toward a goal or learning a lesson.

What Constitutes Healthy Grieving?

By Alana S.

On September 24, 2024

In Albert Camus

The Stranger by Albert Camus begins by informing the reader that the narrators “Maman had died” (3). As the story follows the narrator in the days after his mother’s passing, he seems to be stuck in an emotionless state. He acknowledges what is going on around him while removing any sort of emotion attached to it. He even goes so far as to refer to his mother by her first name to remove the emotion from the situation.

This made me begin to wonder: how is Meursault grieving? Is it healthy? What constitutes healthy grieving?

Once he arrived at the old persons home, Meursault refused to look at his mother and he did not really comprehend what was happening at her funeral, he simply walked there and left. When he returned to his home after the funeral, he immediately dove back into his everyday life: he went on a date, went back to work, and observed his neighbors. He did not cry, take a break, or do any sort of tradition grieving. He did not seem to even think about his mother’s death at all.

While everyone handles grief differently, was this method of unwavering normality healthy? Should he have taken a few days off of work to think about the joyful moments he had with his mother?

I wonder how this method of grieving will affect Meursault in the future. Will intense emotions erupt? If so, will he become a stranger?

Story Power

Blogging the Lit Life

Author: Alana S.

What Walt Whitman and Billie Eilish Have in Common

The Defense of Comedy as an Art Form: Young Sheldon

SNL and the Fragility of Democracy

Is Suffering Necessary to Grow?

Is “Thumbs” by Sabrina Carpenter Poetry?

Why don’t we talk about sex from the female perspective?

How can culture be preserved while fusion occurs?

Does Sisyphus Suffer?

What Constitutes Healthy Grieving?

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