Ben S – Story Power

Finding Meaning: The Stranger & JR

On May 22, 2025

When deciding which two books from this year to write about, it seemed fitting to pick two ‘paradoxical ones’. While I enjoyed reading The Stranger, I will stand by the claim that it is a bad book; I have a deep seated dislike for Camus and Absurdism. Conversely, JR was possibly the biggest struggle to get through out of any book I’ve ever read. Despite that I adore it.

Since JR wasn’t a class book, I’ll give a quick synopsis: JR, a 6th grader from Long Island, is obsessed with money. He buys penny stocks and garbage bonds in hopes of getting rich and through sheer luck succeeds. He sets his music teacher, Bast, as the puppet CEO of his company so that the world doesn’t find out that the newest multimillionaire is a 12 year old. The central conflict of the book is Bast’s struggle to compose a piece of music amidst the chaos of his new life as the CEO of a business he has no control over.

The Stranger and JR take similar paths to arrive at very different conclusions. Both explore the struggle to find meaning within a society that molds us into preset norms. The Stranger‘s solution is essentially to just ignore it; live life how you want to and find happiness in simply existing. That never really sat right with me though. It seems unrealistic; for every social norm you choose to ignore, there a countless others that you are unconsciously influenced by. Enjoying life for what it is isn’t ridiculous, but claiming that the things we do and the societies we create are devoid of meaning overlooks a crucial part of human life.

Conversely, JR recognizes this difficulty and simply acknowledges it. The society we live in affects our lives greatly in both positive and negative ways, but it is inseparable from the human experience. Instead of disregarding society, JR suggests that we live within it and attempt to create something of meaning through the things we do and make. Even just the struggle to make something meaningful is enough to validate our lives. We can’t escape the pressures and absurdities of society, but we also can’t be crushed by them.

It is this connection between literary works that amazes me the most about literature. Through books, we can find how other people answer the big questions of life and find guidance from that. Everyone is searching for a way to find meaning in their lives. Whether you follow The Stranger, JR, or something completely different, the fact that these books both attempt the same thing despite being completely unrelated proves the interconnectivity of the human experience.

Satire: Pure Comedy

By Ben S

On March 4, 2025

In Course Stuff

Father John Misty’s album Pure Comedy is, in a sense, a satire of a satire. You start the album staring down at earth from far away. The album opens with a six minute track recording all the absurdities of human life. With over a hour left in the album, Father John Misty has already painted every facet of human life, from birth to religion to love, as one big joke. When you look at life from this far away, it’s hard to do anything but laugh.

For the next four songs we stay out in space. FJM presents us with more satirical stories about humanity’s ridiculousness. From far away we can sit and laugh at ourselves. The album reaches an intermission midway through. In the twelve minute track: “Leaving LA”, FJM sheds his songwriter personality and with that the detached satire that the album has had so far. He stops satirizing all of humanity for a few minute to take a look at himself. His far-removed, songwriter’s attitude towards human existence is even more ridiculous than the human existence that he mocks. In a world so full suffering and absurdity, is satire what we really need?

Nevertheless, the second half album continues with more satirical stories, now much more nihilistic than the first. By the time we reach the penultimate song, FJM has declared that thought is pointless, the world is too polarized to ever come together again, and that art is dead. This is the world we live in. It is utterly devoid of real meaning despite our desperate attempts to find it. This is where most albums end; this story has been told thousands of times. Human life has now been fully satirized. The absurd truth that this is life and we have no choice but to live it has been fully revealed.

The album does not end here though. In the penultimate song, FJM is confronted with death. The whole album has been an attempt for him to remove himself from the reality of life by satirizing it. By being the one to recognize the comedy of life he believed he could rise above it, but there is no escaping death. He is forced to come down to earth and recognize that life is a game we all have to play. It may be ridiculous, but in the end there’s nothing more ridiculous than trying to escape life. Maybe nothing matters and the world will end tomorrow. We will never know, and so the album ends with the line: “there’s nothing to fear”.

What Makes a Good Servant?

By Ben S

On February 3, 2025

In Drama/Theater, King Lear

Among King Lear ‘s many themes, the concept of service stands out as a lens through which we examine the characters and their moral choices. Service in King Lear is not just about duty or obedience; it is a reflection of integrity, love, and humanity in a world filled with betrayal and chaos.

At the heart of the play is the relationship between Lear and his servants, particularly the faithful Kent and the Fool. Kent’s unwavering loyalty, even after being banished for speaking the truth exemplifies true service. He disguises himself to continue serving Lear, demonstrating that genuine service transcends personal pride. Similarly, the Fool, though often dismissed as a mere jester, serves Lear by offering wisdom and harsh truths, acting as a moral compass and voice of reason.

Contrasting these figures are characters like Oswald, Goneril’s steward, who represents servility rather than true service. Oswald’s blind obedience to Goneril’s commands highlights the dangers of serving without moral integrity. His actions show the distinction between those who serve out of love and duty and those who serve for personal gain or fear.

The theme of service also extends to the subplot involving Gloucester and his sons. Edgar, disguised as Poor Tom, serves his father selflessly, guiding and protecting him despite Gloucester’s earlier actions. In contrast, Edmund’s betrayal of his father and brother reveals the consequences of serving only oneself.

Ultimately, King Lear suggests that true service is an act of love. It is not about power or status but about compassion and loyalty, even in the face of suffering. Through the characters who embody genuine service, Shakespeare shows us the enduring value of selflessness and humanity.

“Holy Shit” by Father John Misty is Poetry

By Ben S

On December 5, 2024

In Music, Music Poetry, Poetry

After 9 incredibly insincere love songs on Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty’s sophomore album I Love You, Honeybear, we are confronted with the penultimate song: “Holy Shit” (here’s the lyrics to the song). Throughout the album Tillman chronicles his romantic crusades, satirizing the entire institution of love from marriage to sex. He makes a pretty solid argument too. By the time we reach “Holy Shit”, love and romance seems a little ridiculous. But on this track Tillman finally evokes sincerity and completely turns the table; he doesn’t take back anything he’s said, but even so he completely invalidates it. The song acknowledges all the absurdities of life, but asserts that none of that is really important.

In the opening verse, Tillman writes:

Original sin, genetic fate
Revolutions, spinning plates
It’s important to stay informed
The commentary to comment on

The entire song relies on juxtaposing heavy and “important” topics with meaningless ones to emphasize that all things things we put so much importance are really kind of arbitrary. Religion, science, politics; is any of it really more important than spinning plates?

The first chorus of the song goes:

Oh, and no one every really knows you and life is briefSo I’ve heard, but what’s that gotta do with this black hole in me?

Throughout the entire album and the verses of the song, Tillman espouses the absurdity and lack of real meaning within most of the things we attempt to attribute value to in life. He claims that these things may have no meaning, but we are still here. Even if nothing we try to care about really matters, there’s still a “black hole” in all of us. There is something that pervades the absurdity; just saying that none of it matters is an unsatisfactory conclusion.

The song closes with the lines:

Oh, and love is just an institution based on human frailty
What’s your paradise gotta do with Adam and Eve?
Maybe love is just an economy based on resource scarcity
What I fail to see is what that’s gotta do
With you and me

That ‘something’ that is truly important and central to life is love and relationships. From a rational standpoint love may be a social construct, designed to preserve our species, but even so, love prevails. It is not rational and it doesn’t need to be. There’s so many things that are ridiculous in life. If we take a step back and look at human society as a whole it’s kind of comical. But right here, right now, that has nothing to do with “you and me”. Holy shit.

Time and Memory in Beloved

By Ben S

On November 21, 2024

In Beloved, Memory/Past/History, Toni Morrison

One of the most interesting and compelling aspects of Beloved is that its story does not follow chronological path. Morrison disrupts time and memory, indicating the non-linear mechanism of trauma. The whole novel constantly switches between past and present, with characters often experiencing flashbacks, fragmented memories, and moments of reflection. This disrupted timeline corresponds with what happens to the characters throughout the entire novel, especially Sethe, who is constantly haunted by her past.

By manipulating time, Morrison explores memory on a deeper level. Characters relive moments from their past, but often not in a linear, cohesive manner. For example, the traumatic experiences of slavery and her decision to kill her child are recalled by Sethe in flashes, often without clear transitions. This reflects how trauma doesn‘t follow a neat, linear path; it haunts and disrupts, often emerging in bursts. In this way, the fragmented structure of the novel allows the reader to experience the psychological trauma caused by Sethe‘s difficult past, but also the broader effects of slavery on African American history.

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Story Power

Blogging the Lit Life

Author: Ben S

Finding Meaning: The Stranger & JR

Satire: Pure Comedy

What Makes a Good Servant?

“Holy Shit” by Father John Misty is Poetry

Time and Memory in Beloved

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