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The Sick Rose By William Blake

O Rose thou art sick.

The invisible worm,

That flies in the night

In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy.

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A Review on Touchmove by Peter Mayshle

Mayshle's Touchmove stirred up some big questions on kindness, self-image, morality, and objectification of women.

The story started steady, although foreshadowings are all over the place. Particularly on the first part when the setting was still at the present where the main character is playing chess with his younger brother, Roman. I actually reread the story and after rereading it, the lines hit me differently, like when Roman breathed over the main character's queen, there I realized that it is a foreshadowing infused by Mayshle to give hints about the personality of Roman and what's about to come.

The story had its first turning point when the woman brought up the thing about the short towel. The towel was mentioned repeatedly and it's not hard to notice that Mayshle is telling something there. The towel was used as a cover, both literally of metaphorically. Notice how the woman changed when the mc told her that there was no other customer, I think it symbolises a particular scenario that commonly happens even in real life. We've all been embarrassed of sharing ourselves when lots of people are around, we often use some kind of mask (as for the story, the towel) to hide our true selves. We've all been there, you know it.

The character development happened to mc was so fast that it didn't even feel like a development, it's more of a complete change of heart. Because at first, he completely thought that he'll get laid that night, that he'll have fun, but the moment he saw the scars and the bruises of the woman, all of sudden he realised that what the woman needs is to be treated with respect, and so he did.

Going back to the present, where the mc and his brother Roman was about to end their game of chess, it is also then where the mc realised that Roman has still a lot to learn about life, respect, morality, kindness, and why not to objectify women.

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A Review on Breathe by Alessandra G.L. Gonzales

Gonzales' Breathe raised both questions and awareness about how a long distance relationship is, it also questioned the true meaning of love, and it put a particular problem on the spotlight that most Filipino Families are afraid to confront.

"The trick is to keep breathing." That's it, that's the tweet. I don't know if it's just me but the first line of the story really is a killer. It's one of the most amazing foreshadowing that I've seen from all stories I've read. It's just full of possiblities, it's full of something that you'll only know if you'll finish the story and look at it closely.

As the story goes by, the plot thickens and emotions build up. A notable scenario was when K thought that I's leave is just an excuse and that I is only growing feathers. It sounds so simple but it sings sadness. I think, at that time, K is already preparing to be left behind. She said it so subtly as if she's so used to that, as if it's just okay and she shouldn't invest much time for that because she still has many problems to think, like her chicken suit.

Gonzales made a very good job using the chicken suit as a symbol. The chicken suit is K's cry for help, that she's so suffocated with the roles she plays at different areas of her life. Then Isaak came and help her peel it off, but I, too, left her.

On the last part, K said "... and I don't know what day it is today." I think what that means is that K has finally given up on some areas of her life. But as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, I think that symbolises hope. That life goes on still.

Maybe, the key after all is to just keep breathing.

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A Review on The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams

Williams' The Use of Force raised questions about the proper use of force, who should use it, and when to use it.

I'd say that the story is a brief, image-driven tale told from a first-person narrator's viewpoint in terms of technical and narrative structure. To support my claim, notice how Williams eschewed quotation marks, that allowed the thoughts of the doctor to blend with his observations of the child and her parents. He employed small quantities of figurative language and uses plain yet visually evocative language to explain the action instead, that proved how skilled of a writer Williams is.

The diction that Williams used to explain the increasingly aggressive efforts of the doctor, the "reduced to splinters" the "heavy silver spoon" pushed by the doctor at the "back of her teeth and down her throat until she gagged," all convey an impression of harm and violation. The techniques he used wasn't that of a doctor's intentions as a healer, but maybe of man's obsession for superiority resulted in Mathilda's mouth bleeding and her eyes being blinded by "tears of defeat."

All those hints of harm and violence evoke a philosophical commentary on the nature of violence, because look, traditionally, doctors are the symbols of healing and rationality who protect, nurture, and cure vulnerable children such as Mathilda. But when the doctor didn't do what he supposed to do, that stirred up questions in the heads of the readers, questions like "What if it's really happening in real life?" or "What's the true nature of violence?"

Well, looking back, Sigmund Freud argued that all of us have this intense wanting to be violent, because as per Freud, aggression is one of our driving force, to live, to die, and whatever is in between.

Re-reading the story made me admire Williams more, because as a writer like him I know how hard it is to present your thoughts in a simple but impactful manner.

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A Review on Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen

The Emperor's New Clothes raised questions about what's one's true self, obedience to authority, and conformity.

I think, the key characters here are the imposter weaver, the people in the empire, and emperor, of course, but the most important character would be that child who broke everyone's delusion by shouting that the emperor ain't wearing anything at all. That scenario, which likely happened in a matter of seconds made the huge impact on the readers.

That particular scenario made Andersen's story a great prompt for philosophical discussion. At first glance, the story might look bland but after the huge turned out of events, it left its readers asking questions, like the moral dilemma. Because you see, when each character was confronted with the invisible suit, none of them answered the very visible truth. All of them lied to themselves in order to save themselves from what? Social ridicule?

I know, I know, each character had their choice whether to admit that they can't see the suit or not— life's a choice, we all know it, but the main point is, why nobody other than the little child told the truth? When it is them, the older people, know better, just like what they always used to say.

I know you'd argue that it's for the greater good, that sometimes you need to lie to save yourself and the people you love from the unpleasant things that the world is ready to throw, but look, when everyone started agreeing with the child, notice how the power shifted, from the emperor and his servants, to the people of the empire. All of sudden, the people are no longer afraid of the ridicule they'll get, and that my friend, is the power of the ruling class.

Sometimes, all we have to do is to stand up and tell the truth to change the world, i.e., whatever our definition of the world is.