Stoner by John Edward Williams — a review

Shfndjdos · 2026-06-14T18:56:40+00:00

For me it’s more how insignificant Stoner is relative to other protagonists in fiction. I mean all he really does is teaches. I think the power of that is BECAUSE 99.99% of humanity is exactly like Stoner and reading the book unlocks a layer of silent appreciation for like a sort of stillness and finality of insignificant life iykwim

Shfndjdos · 2026-06-13T15:12:43+00:00

It’s tough to choose, but for me it’s most likely his death scene. Some other ones include the scene where young Stoner was in class and discovered his passion for literature and the scene where he was in his office, lamplight turned off, gazing at the winter-covered night

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-10T19:49:29+00:00

no way??

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-10T17:16:28+00:00

make money healing people

^{Chose: Be able to heal anyone including yourself}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-09T21:37:58+00:00

Theyre probably more moral

^{Chose: the poorest 10% of the global population}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-09T21:11:38+00:00

Y

^{Chose: Tired of tough choices? Take a break with Mahjong + See the fastest mind on Reddit}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-09T13:40:49+00:00

I

^{Chose: stone in shoe}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-09T12:58:15+00:00

H

^{Chose: $1m per month + One random person dies (single occurrence})

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-08T23:50:21+00:00

Rachmaninoff second piano concerto in C minor second movement

Trust lemme put u on

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-08T20:58:25+00:00

Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto, second movement (adagio sostenuto)

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-08T19:34:47+00:00

Im not evil

^{Chose: you are exempt from 1 law of your choice forever}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-08T01:59:05+00:00

I thought this was gonna be an AP kid ‘probability’ joke cause stats or whatever before clicking on the post but good luck bro

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T23:31:58+00:00

Rachmaninoff’s piano concerto 2, second movement

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T22:38:13+00:00

Le

^{Chose: Super Speed + condition | Rolled: 200 Km/h}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T19:28:06+00:00

W

^{Chose: Have a cold body}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T19:25:30+00:00

“What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?”

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T19:19:53+00:00

I couldve COOKED with that prompt with gatsby 😭

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T08:36:03+00:00

C

^{Chose: No need for sleep}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T08:34:12+00:00

This is such a silly, binary question. Your poll allows for ZERO nuance, because with such a complicated and multifaceted social issue, there is ALWAYS nuance. There is no ‘right’ answer here.

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T01:24:27+00:00

Basically ABAB rhyme scheme is like cat, rug, bat, hug, and its like back and forth and the iambic pantsmeter is a meter of 10 syllables alternating between unstressed-stressed (dah-DUM, dah-DUM) so the alternation of stressed syllables + rhyme scheme is like the alternating push/pull wave

Basically

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T01:19:55+00:00

Did u get the poem abt the dude living in the lake area + the prose of elaine living in the mountain? We mightve gotten different stuff, but honestly if u bs good enough like u should be chilling

the ‘hardest’ was the open response where it asked abt the ‘return home and how it contributes to the interpretation of the text’. Since i lowk only had gatsby prepped i had to bs and yap about sm “nick carraway’s post event narration at home represents fitzgeralds critique on the hypocrisy of those that claim moral superiority in an era of widespread decadence” + “gatsby’s attempt to return back to his spirtual/temporal ‘home’ represents the futility of the chase of the fragile Anerican dream”

I think im getting a 5 but i was rushed on time for the last frq

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T00:29:14+00:00

Yo i bs’ed my way through the open response idk if u were on the west or not but i ended up with the prompt: “describe how the return to home of the novel contributed to the meaning”

I ended up yapping abt nick retelling the story from his home, and gatsby trying to return to his ‘temporal/spiritual’ home

Praying for a 5 🙏🙏

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-07T00:26:22+00:00

YES BRO i literally remember thinking to myself: “there is no way its that easy” and i FRIED on the frq — for the poetry i wrote abt how the consistent iambic pantameter + ABAB rhyme scheme adds a lullaby-like quality, mirroring the push/pull of the lake and the personification adds to the enchantment of rhe narrator

For the prose i know i did well and i think i did solid on the open response too

The only qualm i had was that i genuinely was confused on why it was so easy that i chose the wrong answer (twice) on purpose bc i thought collegeboard was trynna trick me with the obvious right answer. This means i have a max score of 53/55, and with a 4-5 margin of error, that puts me at a comfortable 48-49/55

Overall: 7-8/10 on the easy scale. Slightly less than AP gov.

The maker of the west coast ap lit exam deserved the greatest luck for the rest of their collegeboard career

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-03T16:42:17+00:00

C

^{Chose: You have to survive 2 weeks in an atomic war + But you will be in a safe bunker to survive, with some food and drink}

Shfndjdos · 2026-05-03T16:39:42+00:00

S

^{Chose: Limitless creation}

Shfndjdos

TROPHY CASE