The Fast and the Fictitious – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to The Fast and the Fictitious. In each episode, students in English 2410, a Dual Enrollment Fiction course, will deep dive a story, highlight key takeaways, and relate the themes of the story to real life. 

In this episode, Karlee, Emma, and Oliver kick off season 2 by talking about the story “The Comedian,” written by Scotti Christerson, one of last year’s 2410 students. In addition to connecting the theme of the story to their lives, I think each had some eye opening moments when considering what Scotti did with her story and how they can do those same things in their own fiction writing. I’m very proud of these three. We hope you enjoy. 

Email the show! fastandfictitious@gmail.com

Read "The Comedian" by Scotti Christerson, All Rights Reserved

The Comedian_Scotti_

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): 

https://uppbeat.io/t/bosnow/party-rock 

License code: 77JKG6ITA09KQZX0

Jaycie and Audrey talk about "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver. In addition tot he story, they discuss topics such as why we judge books by their cover, how we are naturallyu attracted to empathetic people, how often we are unaware how we treat people, where empathy comes from, how we appreciate things more when they are taken away, how we can learn to be more grateful, whether or not people are put into our lives to show us what we need, the importance of sticking out from teh average, the importance of verbal communication in relationships, and how we look for things we don't like in other people in order to give ourselves power over them.

High School Seniors Daylin and Luke chat about Kate Chopin, irony within her stories "Story of an Hour" and "Desiree's Baby" and the comparison of the demise of the heroine in each. The guys also delve into other topics such as why we like stories in the first place, how much a person take before reaching their limit, when it's ok to laugh at tragedy, real life coping mechanisms, how we tend to internalize problems and more.

High school seniors Bryce and Jordan discuss Charlotte Perkins Gilman's icononc short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and talk about topics such as gaslighting in the 1890s vs modern times, the negativity of the internet, how a person's internal struggles might not be manifested outwardly, how people often create a false reality to hide from what's really going on,why people don't ask for help when they need it, a person's struggle being perceived as weakness, writing as an outlet, the value of face to face communication, the fear of failure, how we are often too concerned with what others think of us, setting achieveable goals, how, like the main character in the story, we all have walls that we must push through to become our best selves, and end with a powerful appeal to us all to remember that we are never alone.

High school students Kahlia and Kyler discuss Franz Kafka's story "A Hunger Artist" by questioning why we put so much stock in the value of social media. They also address falling prey to trends, the importance of perspective when it comes to social media, feeding our brains on background noise, the epidemic of low attention spans, how trends influence our perceptions and cheapen the value of things, what defines "Good Art," how we form group connections via mindless art, abstract art,  intention vs perception, and how the "intention of getting attention" factors in to the art people produce. Maybe a little Whip and NeNe, too.

I join Trent for this episode about "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl. In addition to the story, we talk about why we are so attracted to anti-heros, what makes a person capable of horrific acts of violence, what it feels like to be wronged, the usefulness of the "bad guy" in literature and art to allow us to acknowledge the darker parts of our psyche, the insanity of Bat-Man, the humor of Deadpool, the appeal of Darth Vader and Boba Fett, the unacknowleged cultural appropriation committed by Indiana Jones, and more.

In this episode, Scotti and Violet talk about Ernest Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain." The pair discuss topics such as the role of fate in our lives, whether we are predestined to have the things we have, whether people always know what they need, what is the best way to communicate what we need, how much unhapiness in life is normal, whether or not the little things really make us happ, why people settle, how we can better handle things we cannot change, where is the line to codependency, the nature of change, change as a process, how we cripple ourselves with indecisiveness, how our worst lessons are our best lessons, and whether or not we cut people from our lives because we are afraid of the truth.

In this episode, Christian and I discuss “The Life You save May Be Your Own” by Flannry O’Connor. Among the topics we discuss are why we repeatedly do things even if we know they are the wrong things to do, what is the source of guilt, to what degree does potential guilt play into our decision making, hypocracy, why we are quick to judge others, why we expect others to behave a certain way when we don’t hold ourselves to those standards, the nature of guilt, and being attacked by a chicken.

Jaycie and Trent discuss "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates. In addition to the story, they talk about topics such as the good and bad of parental control, how we can become more appreciative of people in our lives, the dangers of social media, why we compare ourselves to others, false internet idols and the effects on our mental health, lucid reaming, the amount of rebellion that is normal in a teenager, being self-aware, the trap of seeking negative attention, sibling rivalry, and more.

In this epsidoe, Khyler and Shine discuss Chinua Achebe’s short story “The Sacrificial Egg." In addition to the story, they talk about tradition vs change, tradition as community, cultural identity, being torn between two cultures, how we lose tradition over time, the importance of family in maintaining cultural identity, how material goods replaced abstract ideas as something significantly cultural, how superstition impacts a person’s ability to change, forced conformity,  how much of ourselves is ok to lose in order to assimilate into a dominant culture, how people feel obliged to accommodate “up”, sweet spaghetti, and more.