The Non-Conformist, Ralph Waldo Emerson
By Charisma Glass
   Throughout history, there have always been people who faced individuality with confidence and self-assurance. Bravery is seen when they accept social rejection and embrace the freedom of original thought. Such qualities can be seen in a non-conformist like Ralph Emerson. Emerson shows such behaviors and expectations in his essay, "Self-Reliance." Here he reveals his opinion on life in society, and the laws that should govern the human soul.
   Catholicism and Christianity surrounded Emerson as adult and child. It was considered that a person who attended church was a "good" person. The philosopher did not see why going to this man made building showed integrity and spirituality. He believed that true holiness belonged to individual persons. In his essay he writes, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your mind." In his opinion, true wonder can be sought within oneself, as seen with, "A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he." He sees that humans possess their own kind of miraculous nature that can be found outside of society.
   As a non-conformist, Emerson strongly berated those who tried to fit society's standards. In his essay he states, "I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions." He expresses how humans strive to mark a place in the world through titles and reputation, going so far as to point out that charity is often another form of gaining acceptance. Emerson illustrates his disdain for giving money to the poor and charities because he sees them as a way to gain social recognition. He expresses, "I confess with shame I sometimes succumb and give the dollar, it is a wicked dollar, which by and by I shall have the manhood to withhold."
   Emerson finds his own truths without help or pressure from church or friend. Even as a younger man, he accepted the role as a rebel after discussing human nature with a friend, who told him that some impulses may be work of the Devil. Emerson said, "They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the Devil's child, I will live then from the Devil." Rather then conform he decided to be who he felt he was.
   Emerson continues by writing, "Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it." He believes that anything that deviates from what the individual deems acceptable and appropriate, is wrong. Most merely accept society's standards of "good" and "bad." Along with that, he says, "No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature." Again, he shows that human impulses should be put higher then society's regulations.
   While most prefer to remain unnoticed and reserved in a judgmental world, there are those who willingly contend with the laws and regulations weighted upon them. They see that change is for the best, and that many eyes need to be opened. Emerson is one of those souls who never stop until their voice is heard, spouting wisdom in speech and writings. In his essay, "Self-Reliance," he gives the opportunity to see the world in which he observes. He shows that while society may be the majority, it should not over rule the marvelous mind that humans possess.

Psychoanalysis in Literature
By Charisma Glass
   When analyzing a book, here are many different theories one can use to understand the meaning and concepts presented in the literature. While many offer good ideas, one uses a particularly unique method that involves the analysis of human nature. That is the psychoanalytic method. It can be used to decode the meanings of the author and the actions of the characters he created.
   The theory of psychoanalysis was first developed by a German psychologist by the name of Sigmund Freud. He believed that everyone has an unconscious that influences his or her behavior and decisions. Stored in the unconscious are hidden memories and desires that root from early childhood. These thoughts and feelings are kept from an individual because they create too much guilt or are too horrifying to recall. By repressing the issues, they create an imbalance in behavior.
   This imbalance involves the id, the superego, and the ego. The id demands self-satisfaction and simplicity in thought. When influenced by the id, one might say to himself, "I am hungry, I want food and I want it right now." The superego regulates the id by encouraging morals with careful thought. It is believed that the superego follows society's expectations and rules, and encourages such behaviors upon the ego. The ego is caught in the middle, and is forced to be the regulator. It must listen to both sides and make decisions from the experiences and morals that have been learned.
   Freud also taught about the Oedipal and Electra complex. The Oedipal complex involves how little boys often resent their father and desire their mother. The little boy wants to take his father's place and be with his mother as head of the family. The opposite is seen with the Electra complex, as little girls wish to take the place of their mothers and take her place with the father. Such themes are often seen in literature.
   One of the more obvious texts containing the Oedipus complex is 'The Metamorphosis'. In this story, Franz Kafka creates an obscure idea that leaves the reader wondering which words to believe and which to analyze. This is where the theory of psychoanalysis comes in.
   With the help of this Freudian concept, the reader can fully comprehend the author's intentions. One distinct connection of theory to story is the main character, Gregor. In the beginning of the book, the reader learns that Gregor devotes all of his time to working as a salesman. He is the one in his family who brings in the paycheck and financially supports his family. By doing so, he takes the role of the father. He pays for the house, for the hired help, and saves up in order to send his sister to a conservatory. The Oedipal complex is seen here. He is the father and the husband to his family, as his real father stays at home living a "leisure" life.
   By using psychoanalysis, one can see another factor of Gregor's personality. Before Gregor began seeing himself as vermin, he lived strictly by his superego. He did exactly as his family wished without thinking about himself. By listening only to his superego and ignoring his id, he throws himself off balance. Thus, the metamorphosis occurs. As Gregor now lives as a vermin, he exists only with his id. He can do nothing but eat, sleep, crawl etc and therefore live a simple existence. The id is now in control of his life, and thus his death as well.
   Those are just a few of the main ideas that psychoanalysis uncovers. While Metamorphosis continues to puzzle many readers, the Freudian theory of analyzing helps to make the story more understandable. To this day, psychoanalysis is used and revered as something of great importance and use in the breaking down of literature and the characters involved.

Quidditch vs. Hockey
By Cain Blackroot
   While living in the United States, I witnessed an odd sport, not unlike Quidditch, played by Muggles. The game is called Hockey, and through its use of equipment, the positions played and the layout of the game, I hope to show that the two previously mentioned sports are very similar. For those of you with a love of quidditch, I recommend checking out this sport, it is very fast paced and fun.
   Hockey players are typically large men, outfitted in padding to protect them from one another, as they lack the capacity to charm their equipment to better protect their health. This is, in my eyes, where the differences between this game and quidditch stop. Each player carries a stick, which does resemble a broomstick, with which they chase around a small black piece of rubber called a 'puck'. These sticks are used to handle and shoot the puck at a goal on either end of what is referred to as a 'rink'. Now, the odd thing about this rink is that it is covered in a sheet of ice for the players to skate upon. Instead of flying, they use a muggle contraption called ice skates to slide about on the ice. I liken the skates to the ability of quidditch players to use brooms, as it allows the hockey players to move faster and more fluidly than if they were running. To stop the puck from entering the goals is a goaltender, much like the one we see in quidditch. His sole purpose is to block the puck from entering the goal. As you can see, it seems the players of this game have a lot in common with quidditch players, using a stick as the primary tool, not having to run and chasing around an object which they use to score.
   Another similarity is the position system. Hockey teams have six players on the ice at once, three 'forwards' who's objective is to score, much like our chasers, two 'defencemen' who typically try and stop the forwards by knocking them over, not unlike our beaters and the previously mentioned goaltender, who does serve the same purpose as a quidditch keeper. Players are allowed to run into each other, as well as body check one another into the wooden boards surrounding the ice. My reasoning for this is they cannot bewitch balls to do it for them (as in bludgers) so they must use their own bodies to do the damage. The obvious dissimilarity here is the lack of a seeker-like position, the hockey game being over at the end of sixty minutes of playing time. Again, I put this up to the lack of magical abilities of the Hockey commissioners.
   The layout of Hockey has been largely discussed in the rest of this essay, but for a quick recap it has six players, each armed with a stick, who chase around the puck to try and score whilst being slammed into by the other players. The rink is an ice-covered oval, which is surrounded by wooden boards. Each goal is worth a single point, the team with the most points at the end of sixty minutes wins. If there is a tie, the teams play until one scores another goal, thus ending the game and winning.
   In conclusion, I see hockey being the Muggle version of quidditch, bearing far more resemblance to our fine sport than any other Muggle game I have seen. Through the use of their specially crafted equipment, their practiced positions, and the unique concept of the game, the Muggles have made an excellent sport, one that is great fun to watch.

Kant
By Michael Garvin
   To be able to explain what Kants metaphysical "Copernican" idea is, one has to get a small background in place. The saying "Copernican revolution" hails from the 16th century and the astronomer Copernicus, who pointed out that so far, it had been assumed that the movement of the sun and the stars was real movement. That means that the Earth was immobile, and that sun and starts moved around it, but Copernicus argued that it was actually the Earth that moved, and the sun and stars that was immobile. The reason for why it seems like sun and stars move is that the Earth actually rotates around its own axis.
   But how does this relate to Kants metaphysical philosophy? To explain this, we have to get an overview of how much of Kants early metaphysic is built. The first step we have to ask ourself the question about how to understand the universe and its contents. But like all other huge problems, we need to break it down into smaller, more manageable parts. Like, for example, "How do we actually know various things about the world and things existing in it?" This question can be answered by stating that our knowledge of the world is based on objects. These objects have properties, participates in events, takes up space, exists in time, follows logical, physical, arithmetic and geometric laws, and is causally related to each other. This can be called the object-orientated side of the answer. But in addition to this, we have another side, that consits of our perceptions, observations, thoughts and other subjective sides of the case. This we can call the subject-oriented side.
   In other words, the object-oriented side is about the traditional metaphysical questions, while the subjective side is more concerned with philosophy of mind and epistemology. But a huge question still remains. How can the object-orientated things fit in with the subject-orientated? This, like all other topics here, can be broken down into smaller questions. How does our subjective thoughts give us knowledge about the objektive world? And how can these thoughts, that are subjective after all, hold some sort of objective truth?
   This is the background for why Kant made his so called "Copernican revolution". He claims that this problem is one of the fundamental problems for the metaphysical, and his philosophy is completely coloured through his theory that in any solution to the metaphysical problem, both object.orientated and subject-orientated phenomenons alike must must be seen as depending upon each other, and in realtiy, be one.
   In other words, a coherent theory about one of these two ways of looking at the problem be possible without already being a theory about the other. More specifically, Kant means that no coherent theory regarding objective properties, objects, events, space and time, matter or causal relations can be put forward without already being a description of our subjective perceptions, thoughts, concepts or judgements of these things. In other words, the nature of the reality we know cannot be different from the nature of the mind that knows it. Or as he says in the preface to his second edition of the Critic of Pure Reason:
   "Hitherto it has been assumed that all our knowledge must conform to objects. But all attempts to extend our knowledge of objects by establishing something in regard to it a priori, by means of concepts, have, on this assumption, ended in failure. We must therefore make trial whether we may not have more success in the tasks of metaphysics, if we suppose that objects must conform to our knowledge."
   In other words, Kant means that since all attempts at solving the metaphysical problem through studying it from the object-orientated point of view has failed, we will have to try the theory that we can solve the problem by imagining that the objects has to depend on our knowledge and minds.
   The reason why this has a huge place in Kants philosophy, is that this is all about his attempt to solve the problem that was put forward by the relation between the object-orientated and the subject orientated in metaphysical philosophy. And like Copernicus idea about the universe, Kants idea about the metaphysical has had a huge impact in his field of study.