Sunday, August 20

words I've learned recently

Here are two words that I've learned recently that have helped me understand a few things. They're both German, but I don't think that's a coincidence or anything like that.

bildungsroman - a novel which chronicles the story of a single individual's growth. For example, Ender's Game and its sequels are a series of bildungsroman.

Schadenfreude - no direct English translation, it means "taking pleasure in another's misfortune." I understand that one completely, and have a big problem with it, in the fact that I think that is what a lot of the humor in today's society is based on, and that's, as my daughter would say, "yucky."

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