Imagine a world in which books are illegal. No creative outlet at all. Just consuming entertainment and ideologies provided by the government. This is the world that Guy Montag finds himself in. Guy is a firefighter, but instead of putting fires out, he starts them. Books are banned and burned. TV is everyones drug of choice and independent thinking is null and void. Fahrenheit 451 isn’t just a random number plucked from the air. It is the temperature at which books burn.

Set in the twenty fourth century, we follow Guy on his quest for knowledge. We hear from his mentors, Faber, Beatie and Granger, each providing insight into a life without literature. It is then that Guy encounters Clarisse McGlellan. A seventeen year old girl who opens his eyes to the bigger picture with her penetrating questions. She ignites a spark of doubt in Guy’s mind. His resultant search for knowledge destroys the unquestioning ignorance he used to share with the rest of the society in which he lives. Guy battles basic beliefs of his society throughout the novel.

Looking for Alaska opens as the protagonist, Miles Halter, leaves his home in Florida to attend Culver Creek Preparatory High School in Alabama for his junior year. He uses Francois Rabelais’s last words—"I go to seek a Great Perhaps"—as his argument for leaving home at such a ripe age in order to seek said Perhaps before he dies. Miles is fond of reading biographies, and particularly of memorizing the subjects' last words.

Soon after arriving at Culver Creek, Miles meets his roommate, Chip "The Colonel" Martin. The Colonel soon provides Miles with his very own nickname: "Pudge," supposedly ironic as Miles is tall and slender. The friendship between the two roommates leads to an introduction to the Colonel’s friend, Alaska Young. Alaska is described as an attractive yet emotionally unstable girl. Pushing aside the moments of her rage, Pudge develops his first crush.

The tossing of new students into the school lake is a customary prank at the Creek, but Miles also had his arms and legs duct-taped together, which is not. This lead the Colonel to understand that this was not just an ordinary prank. After taking part in a prank war with the weekday warriors, the Colonel and his friends become closer to one another. Pudge eventually ends up falling for Alaska. One night, whilst drinking, Alaska and Pudge 'hook up'. Alaska then receives a phone call and then freaks out; enlists the help of the Colonel and Pudge in order for her to escape from Culver Creek. They comply, but do not know where or why Alaska is acting the way she is.

The question that is asked throughout the book is the last words of Simon Bolívar, a Venezuelan military and political leader who played a key part in gaining Venezuelan independence from Spain. On his deathbed he asked 'Damn it, how will I ever make it out of this labyrinth?' The meaning of this is debated at great length by both the characters and the readers; is the labyrinth life? Is it death? Is it suffering? It is apt that last words is a recurring theme in this novel, they are Miles' obsession but he may never know Alaska's own last words.

The main themes of the book, friendship and love; add a light-hearted side to this coming of age story. John Green creates realistic characters and friendships that stay with you long after you turn the final page. If you like Catcher in the Rye then this book is definitely for you, with a very similar writing style to Salinger, there are many similarities between Miles and Holden Caulfield.

The Theban Plays by the Greek philosopher Sophocles tell the story of the rise and fall of Oedipus and his house through three different plays, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus andAntigone. Oedipus was already a legend in Sophocles’ times, comparable to the modern Arthurian saga. Originally, only the story of Antigone, Oedipus’ daughter, was written in 442 B.C. (aye, B.C., these plays are older than the very religion our society is based on), who defied the new king of Thebes, Creon, by attempting to bury her brother against Creon’s will, having to ultimately choose between defiance – which would result in the death of her body, knowing though that justice had prevailed – or submission – the death of her soul, as she would have to deny what she knows to be right.

This inner conflict is mirrored in the depiction of Antigone and her sister Ismene, who initially refuses to help Antigone in her plan. However, when accused of complicity by Creon, she is willing to admit to it, if Antigone allows her to do so. To a certain extent, Ismene is the most underrated character in the plays. She describes her heart as frozen, whereas Antigone’s burns. One could argue that the sisters stand for the mechanisms that allow society to work. Antigone is the burning torch of moral absolutism that can only exist in the ignorance and arrogance of youth; she is willing to rather pay even the highest price than not follow her heart and morals. Eventually, this must destroy her, as society cannot function if what is good and right is valued higher than the good of the people as a whole (yes, this is worded correctly).

Ismene, on the other hand, who advocates moderation, understanding and capitulation to male superiority and also happens to be the more beautiful of the sisters, submits to the morally wrong and subsequently survives. She is the only member of Oedipus’ family that is neither killed nor slayed by their own hand. She stands for the survivors of the human race, those that choose life over righteousness and Sophocles manages beautifully to describe the pain, the fear and the guilt that comes with that decision, for more often than not choosing life is the more difficult, more painful option.

In Oedipus Rex, we learn of the eponymous prince of Corinth, who has to learn that he is prophesized to kill his father and bed his mother. To avoid this, he leaves home and travels to Thebes, where he saves the city after defeating a sphinx and becomes king by marrying Jocasta. After years of peaceful reign, a plague befalls Thebes and only if the murderer of the old king is found and banished the city will recover. Thus, Oedipus swears to find and exile the assassin, unbeknownst that the quest of unravelling this murder will destroy his life. Finally, written just before Sophocles’ death and first performed posthumous, Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of Oedipus’ death and how even his death will influence the future, as well as setting up Antigone.

The plays address the power as well as the danger of knowledge, especially foreknowledge. However, in a cruel twist, showcasing Sophocles’ skills as a writer, knowledge is also the one thing that could have saved the entire family. The story relies on the initial prophesy that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, and his subsequent attempt to avert the fulfilment of this prophesy. But the only reason that prophesy is fulfilled is because it had been made in the first place. If that would not have happened, Oedipus would have never been cast out by his biological parents; he would have never left his adopted parents to save them from this fate, never travelled and thus met and killed his real father and never entered Thebes and met and bed his real mother. However, and here comes the twist, would he have known that he was adopted, he presumably would have never left his home and none of the above would have happened. Thus, knowledge can be a weapon used for doom and rise alike, and it is the wrong knowledge that one needs to be afraid of. Clearly, in The Thebes Plays the knowledge of one’s future kills, whereas the knowledge of one’s past is imperative to survival.

The power and importance of knowledge is constantly mentioned through the use of sight as metaphor for it.

If all this sounds rather confusing, fear not, theatre was a way to pay homage to Dionysus, the God of drama, who also happened to be the God of wine, which is why the threat of having to deal with a wasted audience might or might not have been the reason that classic plays have a chorus (o.k., the reasons are actually much more serious and professional, but I like my explanation better). The chorus delivers a framing narrative for the story told and ensures that the audience understands what is happening on stage, why it is happening and, even more importantly, all the interesting bits and pieces that are not shown. For example, no death in The Theban Plays is executed on stage, the audience is told about most of them by the chorus. In other words, the chorus is used to move the story forwards, all the while making sure that everyone still knows what is happening.

This is only a small insight into The Theban Plays. Even after more than two millennia, the plays are still well worth reading. It does not matter if one starts reading them because of the language, the story or to find out how many other books you can think of that were inspired by the plays. The Theban Plays are not just some of the oldest fiction still read, but also some of the best.

Air3 Book Club #2

The Fault in Our Stars

From the outset, The Fault in our Stars, by John Green seems deeply depressing, within the first paragraph alone we are told that the protagonist is suffering from thyroid cancer and depression. However there is something strangely endearing about Hazel Lancaster. Her witty observations contrasting with her bouts of cynicism provide a realistic and loveable character that I quickly found myself growing attached to.

The story follows Hazel on her journey as she meets Augustus Waters, a fellow cancer sufferer (He is an amputee with osteosarcoma) . As soon as we meet Augustus, it is clear there is a spark between the pair, he is smooth and debonair as well as very upfront. Augustus loves a metaphor, and shows us this by constantly having a cigarette in his mouth, it is however, unlit. He makes the point that if he can hold something with the ability to kill him between his teeth, but not give it the power to do so, he is taking control over at least some part of his life.

The two share a bond over literature, particularly Hazel’s favourite book, An Imperial Affliction. The main character in the fictional novel, Ana, is also suffering from cancer and aspects of her life seem to mirror that of Hazel’s. The book comes to a head and eventually finishes half way through a...

(See what I did there?)

Hazel obsesses over the book and even compares it to being like her bible. However just like a reflection of the Bible itself, Hazel does not get all the answers she wants from An Imperial Affliction. She wishes to know so much more about what happened to Ana and her family after the books ends, this is direct reflection of Hazel’s own insecurity of what will become of her own family at the end of her life. She has so many unanswered questions, and the author Van Houten, who contacts them via his receptionist, is flattered by this, stating that he will only answer her questions in person.

This is where An Imperial Affliction becomes even more central to the plot when Augustus incites a round-the-world quest to seek out its author, whom Hazel describes as “… the only person I’d ever come across who seemed to (a) understand what it’s like to be dying, and (b) not have died.” The great struggle, is not Hazel and Augustus fight against cancer. It is in fact, two young people fighting to understand their power as readers and story-makers … and most of all, their power to choose their own destiny. As Augustus puts it, “You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world… but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.”

Marit Mathisen, Stirling University Student and self confessed “Nerdfighter” said “having read it very soon after losing two grandparents to cancer it helped deal with the grief. I love how you can cry and laugh on the same page”.Throughout the book I felt like I was on the journey with the characters themselves, I felt the moments of fear and happiness just like the people before me on the pages. I felt their pain and moured losses. To quote the book itself; “That's the thing about pain...it demands to be felt.” and I certainly felt it reading The Fault in our Stars.