OBSESSION and

HUMAN NATURE

Literary LionsIssue 12 Autumn 2015

CONTENTS:

obsession• the state of being obessed with someone or something. “she cared for him with a devotion bordering on obsession”• an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind. “he was in the grip of an obsession he was powerless to resist”

human nature• the general psychological characteristics, feelings and behavioural traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans.

“he had a poor opinion of human nature”

1

• An Introduction to Obsession in Literature

• Film Review : Take Shelter

• Macbeth: A Play About Obsession with Power

• Poetry in a Masculine Environment

• Poetry : Fusion and Wrath

• Prose: The Duke of Mayfair

• Great Gatsby: Obsession with Wealth or Love?

• Human Obsession : Identity

3

5

9

11

13

16

19

21

DEFINITION:

2

EDITOR IN CHIEF & DESIGNJosh Nagle

ARTICLE CONTRIBUTORSAlex Leissle

Dhruva PrestonCharlie TalbuttMax ThomasJoss Davies

Karim HenideConnor Peterhans

This is a magazine designed, edited and produced by Hampton Sixth Formers and coordinated by English teacher Mrs Bartholomew.

Welcome to the latest issue of the Literary Lions magazine.

The main question we wanted to examine in this edition was whether obsessive behaviour is intrinsic to human nature and therefore something beyond our control. In an attempt to answer this we have referenced cinematic sources and a wide variety of literature, ranging from Shakespeare to modern day writers.

As well as exploring existing works on this theme, we have included a number of student pieces to demonstrate its vast scope for application in creative writing.

Josh Nagle

EDITOR’S NOTE:

o“He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of many great writers concerned with the value and meaning of obsession in the legendary “The Great Gatsby”. Jay Gatsby himself is obsessed not only with Daisy - his love interest whom he treats like the treasure ending an Arthurian quest - but also with himself and his fortune.

This is in the context of a booming, hedonistic 1920s New York, yet obsession itself is timeless: an element of the human behaviorism that reapplies itself to any time or society. It is for this reason, perhaps, that obsession is so greatly explored throughout literature.

Christopher Marlowe’s play ‘Doctor Faustus’, performed first in 1594, is a classic that conveys the path of a man obsessed, but occurring more than 300 years before Gatsby’s time. Faustus becomes enthralled with the pursuit of knowledge, to the point where he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge of the dark arts. Some would consider this pursuit of knowledge admirable, yet Marlowe describes Faustus’ path of destruction as a result of his obsessive desire for knowledge. By the end of the play Faustus becomes the embodiment of a Jester, telling himself in a dramatic final speech, “Ah Faustus,/ Now hast thou but one bare hour to live,/ And then thou must be damned perpetually”, highlighting explicitly how Faustus has given in to an eternity in hell and the pointlessness of it. Obsession can be destructive.

Yet, by definition, obsession is an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind - a state of fixation towards someone or something. However, despite this, obsession has adopted negative connotations in our society.

An introduction to obsession in literatureBy Alex Leissle

3

oPerhaps this occurs as a result of bad things happening to the obsessed – especially throughout literature, a primary definer of our culture - where they become so engulfed by their own desires or intentions that they lose sight of what is healthy and right, like Faustus and many others. Victor Frankenstein never knew the gravity of what he was creating and the negative impact that it would have on his life as well as those around him. He couldn’t see past his obsession for science and the advancement of knowledge, and suffered the consequences as that destructive force motivated him to overreach the bounds of nature.

However, I hesitate at suggesting that obsession is a purely negative phenomenon. The Spike Jonze directed film, ‘Her’, suggests that love is ‘a form of socially acceptable insanity’ as portrayed by the main character Theodore, who falls in love with a Siri-esque operating system. Earning Cannes’ recognition, ‘Her’ questions whether love and passion is merely a positive reflection of obsession, and what the line is between obsession and socially acceptable passion.

Michael Ondaatje’s ‘The English Patient’ suggests otherwise. The war patient protagonist himself becomes so totally obsessed by the English woman Katherine that his logic becomes unrealistic and dangerous. After being injured in a plane crash, the patient decides to hike through the desert in search for help only to return to her dead corpse. Obsession in the form of love can prove dangerous: no matter how much we try, an obsessive force always seems to end negatively when we cross the line between motivation and obsession.

Despite all this, there’s something instinctive about obsessive behaviour: we aren’t taught socially to be obsessed with something or someone (in fact it’s often frowned upon). Yet, somehow, obsession works its way into all of our lives at some point and its something that we all learn how to deal with. Literature, arguably, is and has been one of the foremost ways of considering this as an existential question in our society and will continue to be so as long as innovative and challenging writers exist. In the meantime, we are best served by engrossing ourselves within our own literary culture, but without becoming too obsessed with it.

4

Take Shelter tells the story of a man, Curtis, with a seemingly “good life”. He is neither swimming in riches nor plagued by despair and poverty. What is most important about this is the level of contentment he holds with his current state. From the first scene of the film however, Curtis experiences strange dreams of an ominous nature about large uncontrollable storm clouds and coloured raindrops provoking his loved ones to attack him and his daughter maniacally. These vivid dreams and strange local events prompt Curtis to enhance his derelict storm shelter in his backyard so as to avoid dire consequences for himself and his family. He has doubts however as to whether his visions are genuine, as his mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia at a similar point in her life. As Curtis makes plans to save himself and his family from an impending apocalyptic storm, the audience, and his wife Samantha, fear more for his mental health.

TAKE SHELTER

Jeff Nichols Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Tova Stewart

FILM REVIEWBy Dhruva Preston

5

What is most impressive about this film is that, despite some powerful CGI, the film creates its tension organically through an array of talent in the cast and crew. Nichols (the director) wanted to make the film focus on anxiety, fear and stresses with which people could identify. He showed how feelings like these could be dealt with in modern life using a married couple (Curtis and Samantha). Considering he was looking at the effects of communication on a couple, he felt it imperative to cast two leads that could represent a strong marriage together believably, which he found in Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

You have to communicate with your loved ones; and if you’re having fears you have to turn to the person closest to you and share those feelings with them; and if they’re still there when you get done talking, then you’ve got someone worth keeping in your life. (And) That’s what the movie kind of became for me.

– Interview with Mekado Murphy, The New York Times, 2011

One of the most compelling features of this film was the acting from the two leads, accompanied by an invaluable supporting role from Shea Whigham as Dewart, Curtis’ best friend and accomplice in building the shelter. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain give superb individual performances yet the strength of their performances stems from their ability to act together in the less intense scenes. Considering that throughout the film Curtis chooses to hide his feelings from other characters, there is little explosive content in the first half.

You’ve got a good life Curtis. I think that’s the best compliment you can give a man; take a look at his life and say, ‘That’s good.’

– Dewart (about 10 minutes into the film)

““

””

6

At the same time, Chastain subtly displays her despair slowly increasing as her husband moves further from sanity as she becomes his only lasting confidant and shield from the rest of the world. There is not a moment in the film when you don’t believe the two are actually a married couple working through a serious problem together. Their chemistry is undeniable and enthralling, which is a major factor to the film’s success.

The main premise of the film revolves around the question “Will Curtis’ apocalyptic visions materialise, or is his state of mind slowly deteriorating into paranoid schizophrenia?”. As the film continues, we begin to lose focus of this question and turn rather to a secondary question, “Will Curtis accept what is obviously happening to him?”. This is answered in the last 15 minutes of the film during which, helped by an impassioned soundtrack by Wingo, even the toughest viewer will shed a tear in a moment of emotional catharsis.

Shannon, through some minor mannerisms, manages to create a sense of unease and tension. He portrays a man working his hardest to operate functionally to provide for his family and not let others help him, while obviously being terrified of whatever approaches him. Curtis avoids talking to anyone about his problem, despite every other character he is close to offering him help at some point during the two hours. Shannon effectively presented this fear of letting others in without allowing the character to become too weak or lacking in control.

7

Also responsible for the creation of tension was Adam Stone in his cinematography, especially in scenes involving storm clouds and the final few shots of the film. Both his use of CGI and bare landscapes helped immeasurably in creating the eerie atmosphere that was achieved.

However, despite all the stellar performances I have mentioned, main credit must go to Jeff Nichols. In only his second feature length directorial and scriptwriting performance he has managed to rally the cast and crew into working in unison towards a shared goal. Every scene of the film fulfils a purpose in progressing the story or developing a character. The script concentrated on basic everyday conversations, allowing for characters to develop in a realistic way, using the cast’s ability rather than over dramatized unrealistic dialogue.

Nichols’ directing allowed for the rest of the cast and crew to individually work towards creating a chilling psychological drama in a style unique to Nichols alone, which few others worldwide could effectively imitate. This film was completely deserving of the Palme d’Or win at Cannes in 2011.

Nichols acquired the help of a number of his previous cast and crew from his directorial debut (“Shotgun Stories” also starring Michael Shannon) in the soundtrack by David Wingo, who managed to instantly turn scenes depicting ordinary life into eerie and suspenseful events, assisted by the director’s own brother, Ben Nichols of Lucero.

8

‘Macbeth’, one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, certainly draws attention to the corrupting nature of power, and the lengths individuals will go to in order to wield it. The eponymous protagonist, to the superficial eye, may seem to be inducted gradually into political power’s corrupting influence and, through the prophecy of the Three Witches early in the play, may feel destiny-bound to take the Kingship (and the power that comes with it) for himself.

However, there is another option- that his wife, the vixen, Lady Macbeth, controls him. The fact that she is associated with darkness (through her madness later in the play) and imagery of the devil indicates that she is the one baying for power, which she would acquire as Queen of Scotland, and the strong woman behind Macbeth.

At first, when Macbeth and Banquo pass the Witches they do not stop, perhaps indicating that Macbeth has always had a sense of personal ambition, that he may one day be King, in the recesses of his mind. The notion ‘Shall be King…All hail Macbeth and Banquo’ certainly piques his interest and confirms a desire that he would only address in deep privacy, away from Duncan and the other Thanes. There is an argument that the Witches are the manifestation of Macbeth’s own desire for power, and that he is simply projecting his own wishes onto the three women who he seemingly identifies as ‘witches’.

a play about obsession with power...but who wields it?

By Charlie Talbutt

9

The imagery in the Goole film shows a three-pronged Devil’s formation, perhaps showing the invitation of evil and lust for power into Macbeth’s mind. Lady Macbeth’s obsession with power however conspires to control Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s soothing words after Macbeth has killed Duncan are odd, to say the least, and perhaps indicative of the fact that her desire for power is finally upon her. She intends her blandishments to calm her husband, who’s having trouble with the guilt of murdering Duncan. By saying “what’s done, is done”, she seems to brush over Macbeth’s guilt and negates their responsibility as a couple in his murder. She merely sees Duncan, and to some extent Macbeth, as stepping stones to her claiming power for herself.

Her dreams of ‘darkness and terror’ later in the play bring back the memories of Duncan, and infuse her with guilt at having wrecked a terrible revenge upon Macbeth, a revenge of her own creation. Macbeth, during his brief stint as King, wields power but in the pivotal act of the play, the killing of Duncan, it is Lady Macbeth who pushes him to commit this act of sin and take power for both himself, and her.

10

Writing poetry in an all boys school was never going to help me win the approbation of my peers; and to be perfectly honest, neither is using flowery vocabulary like ‘approbation’ and ‘peers’. Despite this, I’ve continued to write for the last 15 months to the dismay of many who eloquently articulate how ‘poetry’s a bit gay, mate’. Their low levels of interest in writing are quickly unveiled by their disappointing misuse of the word ‘gay’, but that’s another argument for another time.

So why do I write poetry? Surely it’s something that’s only on the bucket lists of middle aged men with greying hair and loosening necks? The simple answer is I have no idea. I guess what is easier to explain is why I started. Previously, I had never really taken an interest in poetry and merely disregarded it as the pretentious piffle it so often is. However, as I slavishly memorised quotes from Yeats’ poems for my AS exams, I found myself pondering why anyone would possibly want to write such a thing? Perhaps Yeats was bullied at school and simply wanted to punish thousands of school children to purge the memory of his troublesome childhood? Perhaps only men like Yeats, who when rejected by Maud Gonne decided to propose to her daughter Iseult instead, were strange enough to write poetry? In order to get a deeper understanding of why, I decided to dive in head first and give writing a poem a go…

Poetry in a MASCULINEenvironment

11

“ If you want to earn ‘bare P’, try your hand

at poetry.”

byMaxThomas

Things didn’t move swiftly from there. Occasionally I would jot down the odd rhyme dreaming I was the lyrical genius that is Pitbull: ‘Picture that with a Kodak / Or, better yet, go to Times Square, Take a picture of me with a Kodak.’ Unfortunately for my poor family, who I regularly subjected to readings of my poems, I was churning out the same old drivel again and again and again. Eventually I discovered there was such a thing as a poetry competition, where hapless judges are forced to read the emotional outpourings of hormonal teenagers, and I decided that this was definitely the thing for me.

One of these competitions was called ‘Tower Poetry’, which offers a £3,000 top prize, solely due to their deceased benefactor Christopher Tower who left £5,000,000 to Christ Church, Oxford in his will to set up a poetry competition, much to the horror of his expectant relatives. To my amazement I won second prize, meaning that I had won £1,000, a ridiculous amount of money for writing a meagre 18 lines. For anyone wondering, that’s roughly £4.93 per word.

In conclusion, I want to boldly suggest that you drop your lifelong dream of becoming an economist or a banker in order to fill your piggy banks. If you want to earn ‘bare P’, try your hand at poetry.

12

“ If you want to earn ‘bare P’, try your hand

at poetry.”

The results were disastrous. My first poem was about a girl who thinks her father is a teddy bear. Now I knew poetry could be bad, but this was surely an abomination. Somewhere up there God would be looking down on me and thinking ‘Oh Christ! What have I created?’. Despite my apparent lack of ability, I found that I actually enjoyed writing the poem. It was oddly therapeutic, just like any other form of procrastination that we all do whilst handcuffed to our desks to revise. And so, in a disturbing and hallucinatory epiphany, not too dissimilar to Homer’s in ‘The Simpsons Movie’, I had transformed into the very thing I dreaded: a distinctly amateur poet.

Urban Dictionary - P - Slang to represent money.

byMaxThomas

FusionOur father, who art not home, ran when I was three.My mother’s heart is locked in love, her tears stirred in her tea.What would you like for dinner dear? Every meal’s the same.Cooking’s rather good for me! She slowly bakes her shame.

I can’t remember my own dad, but every day he’s here.Bubbling, boiling through my blood. Is he the puppeteer?I cut myself to set him free, the parasite who dwells.Go! I say, I shout, I scream. He’s trapped within my cells.

Can a flower change its shade? Can a sinner learn to pray?Pervasive, patriarchal thrust, that stains like Midas and his lust.His cells pass on his DNA, if only I could break away.

This is his body. This is his blood.Take them I’ve been given duds.When I grow old, so does he. He’s in the mirror copying me.

My mother cannot look at me; she says I have his shark-like eyes.He worms up through my spinal cord and uses me as his disguise.

I think we think it’s me who thinks, our speech in sync cells interlinked.We are one. We wear my skin. Peel it back and you’ll find him.

By Max Thomas

13

14

Wrath, one of the seven deadly sins.The blood boils and the rage begins.Anger slowly takes over the heart.One loses all morals, it rips the conscience apart.

Wrath, controls you without a thought.Out of the way! Here comes the juggernaut. It loves to see people suffer and feel pain,It is from this vision; it receives all its power and gain.

Wrath, the blackness which conjures up inside.No one can run, no one can hide.It will reach you, no matter the distance.One prays it will leave from your existence.

Wrath, the spark lighting the fuse.Expect cuts, injuries, the skin will bruise.Pray for mercy, pray for it to end.Make sure you plead, make sure you defend.

Wrath, the fire which can’t wait to burn.Another soul ended, another life earned. It’s the hunger which can’t wait to bite,It’s always waiting, always ready to fight.

Wrath, the sin able to possess any man.Unwanted, undesired yet always around.The smallest trigger can achieve the greatest of lights.It is the evil lurking amongst the night.

Wrath, the fourth sin.It waits and waits, with its dark grin.For if it ever breaks free,There will great torment not only for you, but also for me.

WRATH

By Joss Davies15

This is a story – my story – of my life, a life that was flipped, turned upside down. Let me tell you about how I became the Duke of an opulent district named Mayfair….

‘Last stop, Sir. We’ve reached the last stop, Sir.’ I jolted awake. A bus driver was shaking my arm. After a three hour journey on a humid summer afternoon, I had arrived. My body was drenched in sweat. I stumbled to my feet and tumbled off the side of the bus, clutching a scrap of recycled paper with a hastily scrawled postcode on it.

I was headed for the financial centre, the hub, the epicentre of commerce. I was an eager 17 year old with an unquenchable thirst for money and a fascination with the stock market.

I navigated my way through to the conference centre, a temple of greed, glittering with glass and chrome. Where was the famous stock market guru who was to deliver his speech? Excited, I imagined how his words could change my life and pave the way for a life-changing opportunity….

‘You’re early,’ smiled a security guard, raising an eyebrow and scrutinising my cheap suit. I felt a little rejected by this, but moved on silently, out into the fresh air.

Something caught my eye: a middle-aged man with a lion’s mane of thick hair, a loosely tailored linen shirt and smart corduroy trousers. Expensive yet not traditional. And his loafers were navy python leather. A true individual, an entrepreneur. ‘You here for the talk?’ he queried. I was dumbfounded; it was Anton, the guest speaker, the market-master that Wall Street all spoke of in hushed tones. ‘Yes, Sir. Yes I am,’ I managed. He smiled, looked at me with piercing grey eyes, and gave me his card. Then left, to prepare for his lecture.

“ And his loafers were navy python leather. ”

“ ... an unquenchable thirst for money...”

The Duke of Mayfair

By Karim Henide

16

As I sat in the front row of the conference room, I marvelled at Anton’s style, his knowledge, and his courage – or was that madness? – I liked his story, I liked his style, and I loved the game. I felt like his disciple as I listened to his utterances of pure business gold. Gradually, he rounded down his lecture and closed his presentation, smiled at his applauding audience, then fielded questions. Gradually, his fans dispersed.

I stayed after the others had all left. Anton turned to me and invited me for a drink at the bar, which evolved into another bar, and another – you know how it is. It turned out that Anton was searching for an apprentice, and he ‘had seen something in me.’ But what? Greed? Ambition? Human nature? In the next bar, Anton ensured that the best area was cordoned off as ‘VIP’, and, within minutes, his fellow traders had arrived.

The champagne and cocktails flowed. The final bill was so huge, the receipt was draped around us

“ ... his courage - or was that madness ? ”

“ had seen something in me . But what ?”

all like a sash. Others glared at us and looked on, but we didn’t care. I certainly didn’t. I was one of the boys now. We were protected in our own bubble of materialism and greed.

Talk became scarcer as drink became more abundant. We downed glass after glass of shots, daring each other. Who would be the last man standing? We were idle…and alive! Anton smiled that devilish smile of his, slammed his hands on my shoulders, and exclaimed: ‘I’m going to make you a MARKET GOD!’. He raised his hands to the roof of the smoke-filled nightclub, the glitterball light flickering across his face as he uttered some strange incantation and beat his chest. I joined in, with warmth in my heart, his most ardent follower.

“ ... but we didn’t care. I certainly didn’t. ”

“I’m going to make you a MARKET GOD! ”

17

205

Half a decade has passed. Our US economy, and the British economy have both failed. And see how far I have come from that fateful day in the summer when I first met Anton. I’m standing naked on a bar table in Mayfair. MY Mayfair – I subsidise it enough.

The crowd roars as hundreds of litres of gold champagne rain heavily onto the floor, forming valleys of decadent froth as my followers chant ‘205! 205! 205!’ Crocodile skin loafers; bottles and girls are thrown in the air.

It is a heavenly hell-pit. But I don’t care. I am number 205 on the Forbes list.

“ It is a heavenly hell-pit. ”

18

GREATGATSBYF. SCOTT FITZGERALD

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, an unquestionable obsession for most characters is the accumulation of wealth. An enormous amount of importance is set by an individual’s capital and the power associated with it. From a socio-historic perspective, this definitely reflects the 1920s trend of huge demand for more money and commercial goods and can be seen as an extension of the ‘American dream’, whereby anyone could make huge sums of money and live a comfortable and financially secure lifestyle.

However, Jay Gatsby does, in some way, demonstrate how a preoccupation with the material can lead to relative isolation, thus causing a quest for a deeper level of richness- most often found in love. His inability to win Daisy’s heart ultimately shows how all the riches in the world are worthless if you have no one to share and truly enjoy them with.

Throughout the novel, lavish parties and extreme illustrations of wealth provide a snapshot of the consumerist culture that existed at that time in America. For example, there is a poignant passage describing a scene where Gatsby begins to throw his clothes ostentatiously around his room in order to show Daisy and Nick the extent of his luxurious fashion tastes. The use of polsyndetonic listing for the colours that include ‘apple-green’, ‘lavender’ and ‘orange’ serves to emphasize the range of Gatsby’s wardrobe and thus reinforce his enormous spending power. The effect on Daisy is just as Gatsby would have desired, as ‘she sobbed’ at how ‘beautiful’ his garments were. Fitzgerald is perhaps introducing a sense of irony at how obsessed with materials people have become, to the point where it causes them to have extremely emotional reactions to what, in reality, are just some expensive clothes.

Obsession with wealth

or love?

19

By Josh Nagle

Fitzgerald contrasts the pleasure these material items bring to Gatsby’s relative gloom as he contemplates his own loneliness. Daisy’s house is just across the water from Gatsby’s and has a ‘green light on the dock’. The fact the light is green could be symbolic of a number of things. It could represent Daisy’s femininity and desirability for Gatsby, as the colour green is often associated with fertility. However, green can also represent envy and could show how Gatsby’s desire for Daisy has made him extremely jealous of her husband Tom, despite (according to American society at that time) Gatsby being far more successful in terms of financial and public standing. In any case, the light conveys how Gatsby’s desire to be close to Daisy is within his reach as he can see it, yet the gulf between them means that it is ultimately unobtainable. Thus it really acts as a constant reminder of what he wants most dearly, but cannot have.

Overall, although the recent Hollywood cinematic version of the Great Gatsby puts great focus on the mad parties and materialism, from the novel it is plain to see that the underlying obsession is actually love and emotional fulfillment. The story provides an apt warning of the old saying that money and riches do not always bring happiness, despite what the rest of society says.

20

21

HUMAN OBSESSION :

IDENTITY Some of the most powerful literature that has ever been written consists of the questioning of self-identity. The term “identity”, in relation to literature, often refers to the self-perception of characters. Authors and poets use them as vehicles to investigate the extent to which we can be defined ie. have a meaningful and autonomous existence.

This question has been, and is, frequently used in feminist literature where writers ponder whether women have a definite self, independent from marriage and materialism. This was particularly prevalent within patriarchal societies that oppressed women, leaving them devoid of any voice in the public sphere. Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway does exactly this, as the eponymous character throughout the novel desperately attempts to define herself through trivialities, but, as Shannon Forbes points out, this “ironically” leaves her with “virtually no self at all”.

Post-modernist literature is similar in the sense that it raises questions of any fixed identity, but approaches the topic far more radically, dominated by style at the expense of plot and substance. Post-modernism as a whole is based on the assumption that there are no absolutes that we can single out in the world; more relative and abstract thought is required. As you would expect, this holds true for its depiction of identity. Our identity is not something that we can easily pinpoint, symbolically obscured by a multifaceted narrative. Samuel Beckett’s trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable is an exceptional example of obscured identity. Karen Mills describes the way his narrators “lose themselves in a frightening world of nonsense where even their own identity ceases to have a grounding” in these tales of neurosis.

By Connor Peterhans

22

Philosophical thinkers have considered the concept of “identity” for thousands of years. The father of western philosophy, Socrates, was one of the first to question any sort of absolute identity, asserting, “the only thing I know is that I know nothing”. Other thinkers since then have attempted to tackle the issue, one of the most famous being Scottish philosopher David Hume. He believed that in order for identity to exist, the “self” must be constant. However, as an empiricist, he thought that all knowledge can only be derived from impressions, which are transient. It must follow that we do not have knowledge of a “self”, and therefore there is no reason to believe that it exists.

For many years, humans have been driven by an intrinsic motivation to explore the concept of “identity”, borne out of a longing to determine the nature of self. Though considered in many different forms, such as literary and philosophical works, all seem to arrive at the conclusion that identity, in all its forms, is indeterminable.

The Creative Writing magazine produced by Hampton School Sixth Formers.

“Without obsession, life is nothing.

John WatersAmerican film director, screenwriter & author

”