http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/fiction Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:59:31 -0400 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:59:31 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1917/the-structure-of-fiction-and-the-emergence-of-the-other-than By Dani W. Park - In this essay, I will analyze the structure of fiction, arguing that this structure is a duality that rests upon a spirit that defines and propels fiction in reality. This spirit, which I refer to as the Other-than, is the metaphysical embodiment of radical change that seeks to emerge in reality. The structure by which this spirit of fiction emerges, however, depends on two components- the Imaginative and the Written. The Imaginative is the divided and individuated form of the Other-than that is imbued within each work of fiction and is therefore incapable of ideological influence; the Written... Mon, 18 Oct 2021 07:21 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1917/the-structure-of-fiction-and-the-emergence-of-the-other-than http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1793/ergodic-textuality-in-egan-and-ozeki-the-rhetorical-dialogism-of-time-being By Taylor G. Hein - Human beings decided that time is linear. We continually assert that is made up of the past, present, and future, proceeding infinitely and mercilessly in an exclusively forward motion. Thus, our lives and our relationships are experienced linearly. Grounded in the fear of its purported rigidity and absoluteness, we lament time’s passing and the war it wages on our bodies and our minds. So, we conclude that we are powerless against it. Over its short history, humanity has proven itself to be epistemologically inclined, desiring to remain in the realm of culturally imposed ideals of &ldquo... Tue, 08 Sep 2020 09:56 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1793/ergodic-textuality-in-egan-and-ozeki-the-rhetorical-dialogism-of-time-being http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1762/the-military-masculine-storytelling-and-role-playing-in-phil-klays-stories-of-war By William R. Fuller - This paper explores the conflict between hegemonic and new masculinity in Phil Klay’s Redeployment, illustrating the changing conception of gender roles and masculinity in storytelling about war. This paper juxtaposes traditional conceptions of masculinity by examining failures in role-playing in Klay’s short stories. Conflicts arise out of social expectations of the “hero,” the relationship between masculinity and femininity, and trauma caused by war. An additional important relationship is that of the storyteller and his tale. Importantly, some of Klay’s characters... Wed, 03 Apr 2019 07:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1762/the-military-masculine-storytelling-and-role-playing-in-phil-klays-stories-of-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1716/globalization-of-chinese-online-literature-understanding-transnational-reading-of-chinese-xuanhuan-novels-among-english-readers By Yuxi Wang - Since its emergence in the 19th century, fantasy fiction has proliferated throughout the world, from the global craze of Lord of the Rings (1954) to Harry Potter (1997). As a sub-genre of fantasy based on Chinese traditional mythology and martial arts literature, Xuanhuan novels have achieved immense popularity among both critics and readers (Gai, 2006). The appearance of the first Xuanhuan novel written by Huang Yi, A Step into the Past (1994), which combined science fiction, time travel, historical military and martial art elements, started a process which has caused this genre to sweep through... Thu, 21 Dec 2017 10:10 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1716/globalization-of-chinese-online-literature-understanding-transnational-reading-of-chinese-xuanhuan-novels-among-english-readers http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1553/sex-and-sexual-violence-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein By Rachel Chung - Told through the framed account of a Captain Walton, who encounters Frankenstein in pursuit of his monster across the frozen northern sea, Frankenstein begins with a brief account of his picturesque childhood. Frankenstein begins his great experiment at university in Ingolstadt, where he brings his horrifying creature to life. A year after panicking and abandoning the monster, Frankenstein learns that his brother, William, has been murdered. Frankenstein’s conviction that his monster is the murderer is confirmed when he encounters the creature in the mountains outside of Geneva. In another... Thu, 09 Mar 2017 09:26 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1553/sex-and-sexual-violence-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1549/harry-potter-is-gay-an-investigation-of-queer-fan-culture By Tianna K. Mignogna - Not long after J.K. Rowling published the first Harry Potter book on June 26, 1997, The Boy Who Lived exploded into an international phenomenon. Teachers read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to wide-eyed students and parents read it aloud to put their children to sleep, continuing to turn the pages into the night. So many people wanted to escape to Harry’s magical world where nearly anything was possible – and these people began to respond to this universe in very real, critical ways. For some fans, like those at MuggleNet.com, that meant creating websites and publishing... Thu, 02 Mar 2017 12:02 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1549/harry-potter-is-gay-an-investigation-of-queer-fan-culture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1495/post-colonial-duality-and-identity-in-ballards-the-crystal-world By Emma O. Volk - J. G. Ballard’s The Crystal World (1966) is a prismatic text, apparently translucent yet linguistically opaque, with moments of unexpected ontological intricacy. Like the crystals consuming the forest, Ballard’s descriptive language itself multiplies, encrusting the novel in adjectival embellishment and convoluted pseudo-science. Yet beneath the pop-apocalyptic overtones, The Crystal World is a text deeply informed by its post-colonial setting. In his seminal work Colonial Desire: Hybridity in theory, culture, and race, post-colonial theorist Robert J.C. Young identifies the &ldquo... Mon, 14 Nov 2016 09:45 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1495/post-colonial-duality-and-identity-in-ballards-the-crystal-world http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1032/developing-weirdness-through-cartographic-destabilization-in-jeff-vandermeers-annihilation By William J. Hugel - In Laird Barron’s (2014) essay for the inaugural edition of Year’s Best Weird Fiction, We Are For the Weird, he details his idea of a weird tale as a story that “contravenes reality in some essential manner . . . [that] emanates disquiet or disorientation” (p. 14). He goes on to quote an interview he conducted with Weird Tales magazine in which he further defines the weird as that which has a “sense of dislocation from mundane reality,” (Barron, 2014, p. 15) a notion that mirrors Jeff and Ann VanderMeers’ (2011) introductory review of another weird tale... Mon, 11 May 2015 09:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1032/developing-weirdness-through-cartographic-destabilization-in-jeff-vandermeers-annihilation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/985/the-arcane-and-the-rational-lovecrafts-development-of-a-unique-mythos By Dale A. Crowley - The early 20th century saw the rise of a unique subgenre of science fiction and horror literature known as weird fiction. H.P Lovecraft, one of its more prolific and lasting contributors, is rightly considered one of the fathers of the genre. Like the rapidly modernizing world around him, Lovecraft developed his own universe and mythos that was itself a unique mix of old and new. He created monsters that would have been at home in fairy tales or the ancient mists of folklore. At the same time, these ancient, mythic evils were at odds with Lovecraft’s 20th century protagonists – men... Thu, 15 Jan 2015 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/985/the-arcane-and-the-rational-lovecrafts-development-of-a-unique-mythos http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/920/characterization-in-john-updikes-youll-never-know-dear-how-much-i-love-you By Greta B. Reichert - Despite Updike's personal beliefs, various scholars argue that his works tend to be character driven rather than plot driven. The protagonist is an integral component in Updike's “You'll Never Know, Dear, How Much I Love You.” Updike's characters are perhaps the most important elements of his stories, especially this story, because they embody traits that bring them – and the stories – to life. Though Updike asserts characterization is not his main focus, his narrative “You'll Never Know, Dear” is an example of a short story that is driven and directed by its... Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:06 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/920/characterization-in-john-updikes-youll-never-know-dear-how-much-i-love-you http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/817/rudyard-kiplings-literary-and-historical-legacy By Kelley S. Kent - Critical opinion of Rudyard Kipling, his imperialism, and his oeuvre has radically changed in the last century. Depending on the literary history and the time period, Kipling has been seen as either an exclusively South African poet (Warren 415), or “as little of an imperialist as Conrad” (Fowler 337). Always, however, he is a poet, novelist, and short story writer of the British Empire, whether or not critics believe Kipling supports that empire in his oeuvre. One measure of critics’ praise or censure is their critical opinion of Kim (1901). Although few think the novel has... Mon, 25 Nov 2013 08:54 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/817/rudyard-kiplings-literary-and-historical-legacy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/606/literature-as-a-social-tool-education-and-cohesion-or-class-domination By Hannah A. Weber - English literature is all-encompassing: it ranges from societal utilitarianism of the didactic through to the celebration of individualism embodied in post-modern work. Literature, as part of a larger cultural body, is both instructive and entertaining, and has the power to facilitate personal understanding and encourage social cohesion. The society depicted in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is disillusioned with literature: the populace has forgotten its potential to educate and entertain, and has become sceptical of the intellectual elitism it is seen to represent. People are now captivated... Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:55 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/606/literature-as-a-social-tool-education-and-cohesion-or-class-domination http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/591/the-word-pocalypse-joss-whedons-dollhouse-and-dystopian-language By Elizabeth Padden - In my linguistic analysis of Dollhouse I will begin by examining four words: Attic, Echo, Active, and Doll, selected for their frequent usage in the series and for their exemplification of the way in which new meanings are associated with words that already have preexisting meanings. Using Hayakawa's definitions of the two categories of word meaning, denotative and connotative, I will deconstruct the preexisting meanings of the selected words and address their relationship to new denotations and connotations associated through context. Literal denotative meanings and associative connotative meanings... Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/591/the-word-pocalypse-joss-whedons-dollhouse-and-dystopian-language http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/568/tim-obriens-the-things-they-carried-postmodern-fiction-for-a-postmodern-war By Laurence R. Kowalewski - In the western history of human existence the event, idea, and act of war stands totemic in the landscape. Borders both physical and mental have been defined by its threat and execution, and its aura hangs heavily over the last century as the bloodiest in the entire narrative of humanity.[1] During a period widely considered to be the most perfect example of the efficient, mechanised destruction of life—the Holocaust—David Rousset gave a name to the experience he saw inside the internment camps as “l’univers concentrationnaire,” a world apart.[2] This succinct explanation... Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/568/tim-obriens-the-things-they-carried-postmodern-fiction-for-a-postmodern-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/340/cyborgs-and-robots-a-logically-ordered-existence By Jeremy S. Page - Ilene Serlin's statement does not simply establish an opposition between the 'logically ordered' state and the state of 'spirit and soul,’ but creates expectations of the latter. A society based on order and logic defends its citizens from the ‘darkness to be contained’ (145) which, for Serlin, seems to be an integral part of a natural (human) existence - the je ne sais quoi that separates humanity from hybridised 'Cyborg' creatures. This paper applies Serlin's analysis to the logic/spirit dichotomy portrayed in the Dr. Who episode Dalek and Beckett's young adult novel Genesis... Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:56 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/340/cyborgs-and-robots-a-logically-ordered-existence http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/83/the-passage-from-now-to-then-examining-historical-literature-through-marguerite-yourcenars-memoirs-of-hadrian By Deva Jasheway - When considering historical literature that is based upon people who once lived, readers often ask where the details are taken directly from historical accounts, and where they differ. This is a perfectly valid lens through which to view the work, but one should not attach too much importance to faithful adherence to historical accuracy. A novel like Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian undeniably transports the reader back to the time of Hadrian, but it does not relate the progress of his life exactly the way it was. It cannot, because Yourcenar was not a Roman scribe; in this case she was... Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:27 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/83/the-passage-from-now-to-then-examining-historical-literature-through-marguerite-yourcenars-memoirs-of-hadrian http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/70/anton-chekhov-and-the-development-of-the-modern-character By Sawyer A. Theriault - One of the most prominent literary elements in Chekhov’s work is that of character; he was a writer who had “great feeling for the inner emotions of his characters” (Freedman 1). This becomes evident through Ochumelov, a police inspector, in the story “Chameleon”. Ochumelov is walking through a marketplace when “all of a sudden the sound of a voice came to [his] ears”(Chekhov 1). After following the voice he discovers that it is Khryukin, who has come by the lumberyard to pick up wood. Khryukin claims to have been bitten by a stray dog and demands compensation... Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:55 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/70/anton-chekhov-and-the-development-of-the-modern-character http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/54/viewing-four-vonnegut-novels-through-the-lens-of-literary-criticism By Lindsay D. Clark - I like Kurt Vonnegut because he’s innovative and unique, his literary voice speaking out of a time period I love, when he “was actually helping to breathe life into a new genre—modern, pop fiction,”[1] according to critic Tom Verde. Even though he himself isn’t a radical, and in fact most of his beliefs (according to him) stem from a childhood spent during the Great Depression, the unrest of the sixties and seventies allowed him not only liberation in what he could write about—science in an age of dizzying technological advancement; religion, sex, and tradition... Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:55 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/54/viewing-four-vonnegut-novels-through-the-lens-of-literary-criticism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/43/future-hell-nuclear-fiction-in-pursuit-of-history By Trevor J. Doherty - What is a cyclical history? Why does humanity seem doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? Are we doomed to this machine called fate? What is a soul, and how do I express it? Predicting what futures may lay ahead for humanity if we continue on some popular cultural paths, a body of twentieth century authors has created literary experiments designed to test the limits of human imagination. Nuclear warfare, artificial intelligence, inter-galactic travel, and the nature of spirituality itself all come woven together in the texts, which are profoundly affected by enlightened science... Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:26 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/43/future-hell-nuclear-fiction-in-pursuit-of-history