Intro to English Studies

  A ccording to C.P. Snow, there are two cultures, and those two cultures are constantly clashing with each other. These cultures in question are those of scientists (specifically, "physical" scientists) vs. intellectuals (specifically, "literary intellectuals.") Throughout his lecture, C.P. Snow stresses that the two groups have such differing opinions of each other that it's difficult to find common ground. While intellectuals pessimistically believe that scientists are too optimistic about mankind, scientists are troubled by the intellectual's lack of concern for mankind, and are anxious to "restrict both art and thought to the existential movement." (p. 6) C.P. Snow suggests that the reason there is such a clash between the two groups is because of not only a sense of superiority each group has over the other, but also a mutual lack of understanding.    Our class’s novel of note, Childhood’s End, was published in 1953, while the Two Cultures le...

 This entry was made a week past its due date, because I was in a funk thanks to medical problems (specifically, migraines) and mental health problems (specifically, depression.) So, not great. I'm catching up with my classwork, though. I suppose it's better to make an entry later rather than never. Now that I've caught up with Childhood's end, up to Chapter 14, I have two theories about what might happen next for the third section of the novel.  Theory #1: Jan dies.  Whether he dies during the flight, as soon as he lands, or while he's interacting with the environment, I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if he died during the flight, because Chapter 13 ends with him falling asleep, but then- " He never heard, far-off and faint through the mighty walls, the protesting scream of Earth's atmosphere, as the ship climbed swiftly back to its natural element. And he never felt the stardrive go on. " I can be a bit of a pessimist, so when I r...