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Weird Weather Against the Pathetic Fallacy
No full textThis project claims the weather and nature in Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Summer People” is weird fiction and displays an eerie subversion of John Ruskin’s literary philosophy, “The Pathetic Fallacy.” By analyzing these texts through the lens of the weird fiction genre, the signifiers of the genre make the weather in these stories extend past common literary tropes. Ruskin’s work calls attention to the literary trope of assigning weather in literature emotion, yet Algernon Blackwood and Shirley Jackson intentionally deviate from the pathetic fallacy and make the weather in their stories weird and eerie by both breaking its connection with humanity and intentionally removing human emotion from the weather and natural settings. Examining these two pieces of literature demonstrates the ability of an author to subvert the pathetic fallacy and challenge literary conventions to create their work. Blackwood diverts from the pathetic fallacy by portraying weather and nature in “The Willows” as an indecipherable and external weird entity to accentuate humankind’s hubris by challenging the misconceptions of the protagonists. Jackson presents a weird story by manipulating the pathetic fallacy, making characters who notice absence and seek its presence, and presenting no discernible enemy in her story. Both stories display a hubristic relationship between humankind and nature but subvert this connection by introducing weird writing techniques like cosmic horror which produces an eeriness that pervades throughout these stories. This research gives insight on how authors subvert the pathetic fallacy, employ weird fiction techniques to challenge literary conventions, and use their work to challenge readers’ perceptions about the roles of nature in fiction
College Ready or Not? Exploring Undergraduate Perceptions of Their High School College Preparation
No full textThe purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate students’ perceptions of their high school preparation for college. Rather than relying on institutional measures like test scores or course completion, the study focused on how students themselves described their readiness and the supports they received in high school. By highlighting student voice, the research aimed to reveal strengths and gaps in current approaches to preparing students for higher education.
The study was grounded in Educational Equity Theory (Darling-Hammond, 1997), which emphasizes that fairness in education requires supports tailored to students’ individual needs. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used. Undergraduate participants were purposefully selected to represent varied backgrounds, and data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis included open coding, theme development, and synthesis through the lens of equity theory. Member checking and triangulation were used to strengthen credibility.
Findings showed that access to personalized advising, college-level coursework, and step-by-step guidance for applications and financial aid were critical to students’ sense of preparedness. Three major themes emerged: (1) unequal access to preparation between public and private school graduates, (2) the influence of socioeconomic status on preparation pathways, and (3) the effect of readiness on students’ confidence and persistence in their first college years.
The results highlight continuing equity gaps in college preparation and suggest the need for high schools to expand access to advising and guidance programs. They also underscore the importance of colleges offering targeted supports for students who enter with uneven preparation
