Amanda L. Rautio 5 ebook.jpg__PID:f166e883-4e7c-40c4-beab-bb4d0cfe53eb

The Sum of My Undergraduate Degree

Call it being Type "A", being anal retentive, intelligent, stupid, crazy, on-crack, but I saved every single paper from my undergraduate degree (at least most of them.)

Most people write their papers, wipe their brows with tear-soaked tissues, and say "thank fuck that's done so I can never think about THAT again," before moving onto the next paper.

To me, I thought that was a waste. If I'm going to spend five years of my life writing papers, researching, and learning how to think deeply and critically, how can you measure your actual progress without keeping that record? So. I kept it. And it is very obvious how much I grew even year to year, never mind how much I grew from year one to year five.

Preserved entirely, I present, ALL of my papers that have survived (alas, when my mac died on me, I didn't have every single one backed up, so you can see the gaps in the earlier years). I have published them so it actually adheres to the dates they were submitted, and from most recent to least recent.

The growth is astonishing.

All the essays are available for free below, but a bound edition will soon be available, and the funds from the sales of this book will be 100% going to my student debt.

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Juvenilia: University-Era Essays

Delightful Wordplay and Concealed Conflict in 'Jane Eyre'

Delightful Wordplay and Concealed Conflict in '...

Amanda Rautio

Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, employs a wonderful turn of phrase, all stemming from Jane’s last name, “Eyre”. It is so unbelievably multifunctional, I could barely tolerate my excitement and...

Delightful Wordplay and Concealed Conflict in '...

Amanda Rautio

Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, employs a wonderful turn of phrase, all stemming from Jane’s last name, “Eyre”. It is so unbelievably multifunctional, I could barely tolerate my excitement and...

A Discussion on Psychological Gothic

A Discussion on Psychological Gothic

Amanda Rautio

The two pieces you will read this week have a great deal to do with how our modern conceptions of the gothic are understood -- first, Freud's "The Uncanny" or...

A Discussion on Psychological Gothic

Amanda Rautio

The two pieces you will read this week have a great deal to do with how our modern conceptions of the gothic are understood -- first, Freud's "The Uncanny" or...

Milton's "Areopagitica"

Milton's "Areopagitica"

Amanda Rautio

Prior to this course, I had never encountered the word Areopagitica. When I looked it up in my dictionary, I was delighted to see it was not listed. When I googled...

Milton's "Areopagitica"

Amanda Rautio

Prior to this course, I had never encountered the word Areopagitica. When I looked it up in my dictionary, I was delighted to see it was not listed. When I googled...

Comus as a Literary Character

Comus as a Literary Character

Amanda Rautio

I have always been particularly interested in Greek mythology, but I have never encountered the name Comus before. Comus is an integral part to the story as he serves several roles: not...

Comus as a Literary Character

Amanda Rautio

I have always been particularly interested in Greek mythology, but I have never encountered the name Comus before. Comus is an integral part to the story as he serves several roles: not...