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The act of confession in literature

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (James 5:16)

“It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.”
Oscar Wilde


Charles Darwin begins his famous On the Origin of Species with a confession. After relating some details of his early journey on the H.M.S. Beagle, he explains that questions he asked during his trip accumulated into “a sketch of the conclusions” that he now presents in this volume (95). He writes, “I hope that I may be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision” (95).

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Contemporary American Landscapes

Contemporary American Landscapes:
A comparison of The Sorrows of an American and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

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A discussion of perfection in Origin of Species

Sarah Bechdel
The Story of Evolution and the Evolution of Stories
Professors Paul Grobstein and Anne Dalke
February 13, 2009


A Discussion of the Word “Perfect”
Its Role in Origin of the Species
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