In the Gothic story "The Fall of the House of Usher," it can be assumed that Madeline Usher is a vampyre. This is assumed fore several reasons. One reason being that upon meeting Roderick, the narrator describes him as having pale skin and silken hair that is disregarded, and that Madeline had features identitcal "in their very minutest development."Another is that Roderick's eyes could be "tortured by even a faint light," which is a common trait in vampyres. One more is the burial of Madeline by Roderick. By burying Madeline in a coffin, the light will not reach Madeline, not even the light of a full moon, which would revive Madeline. Very spooky and vampyric. Like this text.
In Gothic Romanticism, stories tend to have themes of vanity and self-righteousness that indirectly criticizes society as a whole. For example, in "Masque of the Red Death," while there's a nice big party going on inside the palace of Prince Prospero, the people of common blood are dying outside of the palace to the Red Death. The palace itself is meant to keep the sickness out, but despite this, the stranger dressed as a Red Death victim still gets inside the palace, suggesting that the high and mighty guests of the ball are just normal people who think that just because mommy and daddy were nobles, they're immune to everything the world throws at them. And in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," the friends all turn young again and become egotistical because of how great their younger selves are, and their lust to stay young eventually overtakes them, showing how terrible society is.
Aww ye.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
Southern Gothic Romanticism questions
Southern Gothic Romanticism is exactly what it sounds like. It's Gothic Romanticism focused on the southern United States. The main trait of this, along with the normal Gothic Romantic traits and being in the south, is the presentation of Gothic Romantic. These traits are used to explore social problems of the south by using spooky and macabre events to examine southern culture. And of course, as is expected of Southern Gothic Romanticism, these stories present the location trait of Southern Gothic Romanticism. These two stories compare to Dark Romanticism through character presentation.These two stories also present a character that can be seen as grotesque and indecisive in their feelings toward someone ("A Rose for Emily" has Emily while Mr Shiftlet is for "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"). "A Rose for Emily" also brings a lot of disturbing topics with the story, including murder, a decaying mansion, and, most disturbing, necrophilia. With these dark and horrifying topics, these two stories are reeking of Dark Romanticism, but "A Rose for Emily" reeks just a bit more.
In the short story "A Rose for Emily," Emily is a woman who goes through a rough life, but eventually finds love. However, she kills her spouse with arsenic. Not only that, she was also a thanatophiliac, which is usually illegal. This crime goes undetected until the day after her death. This is because there was "one room in that region abovestairs which no one had seen in forty years." The room had been blocked off from public entrance since Homer Barron and her had wed, so no one had been there in, as the quote states, forty years. Also, for the majority of Emily's life, her front door was "closed." This implies that Emily was not seen at all, save for from a window occasionally, so no one could really ask Emily what was going on or why her house stank. Because it apparently stank really bad. One more reason is just that: her house stank. It was really disgusting, and someone even filed a complaint, and another followed after that.
In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," there is a character that goes by the name of Mr Shiftlet. Mr Shiftlet abandons his wife at a diner and soon regrets it. About the time he's regretting it, he finds a hitchhiker. As he's conversing with the hitchhiker, the story takes a new twist. Mr Shiftlet talks about mothers, and this diatribe sets the hitchhiker off. The hitchhiker calls his mother an old flea bag and Mr Shiftlet's a stinking pole cat. This makes the story because as is implied by he felt a responsibility to pick up a hitchhiker since he has a car. This responsibility gives him time to contemplate what he's going to say to the hitchhiker when he picks him/ her up. The back and forth was premeditated. We can see that this premeditation of events is present throughout the story, mainly through the events that took place for him to obtain the car. From this we can establish what type of person Mr Shiftlet is: a person who needs everything to go perfect and will plan out everything to get something to be perfect. And this is perfect for what Mr Shiftlet does in the story. This is how the back and forth with the hitchhiker Mr Shiftlet picks up makes the story.
Southern Gothic Romanticism is exactly what it sounds like. It's Gothic Romanticism focused on the southern United States. The main trait of this, along with the normal Gothic Romantic traits and being in the south, is the presentation of Gothic Romantic. These traits are used to explore social problems of the south by using spooky and macabre events to examine southern culture. And of course, as is expected of Southern Gothic Romanticism, these stories present the location trait of Southern Gothic Romanticism. These two stories compare to Dark Romanticism through character presentation.These two stories also present a character that can be seen as grotesque and indecisive in their feelings toward someone ("A Rose for Emily" has Emily while Mr Shiftlet is for "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"). "A Rose for Emily" also brings a lot of disturbing topics with the story, including murder, a decaying mansion, and, most disturbing, necrophilia. With these dark and horrifying topics, these two stories are reeking of Dark Romanticism, but "A Rose for Emily" reeks just a bit more.
In the short story "A Rose for Emily," Emily is a woman who goes through a rough life, but eventually finds love. However, she kills her spouse with arsenic. Not only that, she was also a thanatophiliac, which is usually illegal. This crime goes undetected until the day after her death. This is because there was "one room in that region abovestairs which no one had seen in forty years." The room had been blocked off from public entrance since Homer Barron and her had wed, so no one had been there in, as the quote states, forty years. Also, for the majority of Emily's life, her front door was "closed." This implies that Emily was not seen at all, save for from a window occasionally, so no one could really ask Emily what was going on or why her house stank. Because it apparently stank really bad. One more reason is just that: her house stank. It was really disgusting, and someone even filed a complaint, and another followed after that.
In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," there is a character that goes by the name of Mr Shiftlet. Mr Shiftlet abandons his wife at a diner and soon regrets it. About the time he's regretting it, he finds a hitchhiker. As he's conversing with the hitchhiker, the story takes a new twist. Mr Shiftlet talks about mothers, and this diatribe sets the hitchhiker off. The hitchhiker calls his mother an old flea bag and Mr Shiftlet's a stinking pole cat. This makes the story because as is implied by he felt a responsibility to pick up a hitchhiker since he has a car. This responsibility gives him time to contemplate what he's going to say to the hitchhiker when he picks him/ her up. The back and forth was premeditated. We can see that this premeditation of events is present throughout the story, mainly through the events that took place for him to obtain the car. From this we can establish what type of person Mr Shiftlet is: a person who needs everything to go perfect and will plan out everything to get something to be perfect. And this is perfect for what Mr Shiftlet does in the story. This is how the back and forth with the hitchhiker Mr Shiftlet picks up makes the story.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Essential Questions For Southern Ichabond Life-Saving Misfit Twiddle McUsher's Cat Suffering From Red Death Because of Heidegger's Experiment and a Lack of a Low-Swinging Chariot
1. The Romantics obviously, by explanation of Romanticism, have very strong beliefs of individualism and optimism in their work. They believe that the unlikely hero does have a chance to get the girl and/or enjoy happiness. For a good example, take The Tirade of Ichor-bond Whooping Crane. Ichabod was a normal teacher that had nothing exceptional about him except his intellect, which wasn't even that big of a deal. His rival, Brom Bones, was the epitome of "man," with a nice "Herculean figure" and a great amount of skill in "horsemanship...races and cockfights," and Brom wanted the same girl. Who got the girl? Ichabod did. Another great example is "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The Misfit was a guy who knew he was bad, but also knew he was better than most, showing his individuality. He found enjoyment in nothing but killing, which was not only something sick to find pleasure in, but also something that goes against the 6th commandment (not necessarily enjoying it, just doing it). Though when having his "moment of grace" when he realizes that killing doesn't bring him pleasure anymore, he has a chance to change for the better, showing optimism from O'Conner.
2. Romanticism was a movement in literature that cause the main focus to drive from being a logical human being using facts (Classicism) to being a hippy-dippy, aesthetic-obsessed fairy that focuses on individualism, emotion, and nature. Gothic Romanticism is Romanticism with a more dark twist, focusing on the mysterious and horrifying. Southern Gothic Romanticism is Gothic Romanticism, just set in southern USA. The similarity between them is that they are all forms of Romanticism, including what's been stated above. The difference is in presentation. Romanticism is a nice way of going about being a fairy. Gothic Romanticism is a way of going about being that people like Megan Lloyd and Jaseph "Edgy" Orion Vorel would enjoy immensely. Southern Gothic Romanticism is just putting Gothic Romanticism in the south and changing the diction.
3. The Southern Gothic Romanticism movement spawned as a response to the post-Bellum Southern world. The south wasn't in the best of shape as a society, so the optimism was doing more harm than help. Hence the name, elements of Romanticism were kept, but the pleasure aspect of the idea was changed.
4. With the restrictions of Puritanism, it was kind of hard to have much imagination, and that meant writings that weren't logical were very frowned upon. So when a movement that allowed imagination arose, people took advantage of that. Of course it took time for people to become used to this, and it took time for the movement to reach the United States, but all of this happened. What truly prompted it though was the connection and happenings of nature and imagination. Taking a look at the night sky when it's cloudy is very spooky, so why not write a story involving that? The answer is "yes. Do it."
5. With the rules of evolution and growth, history and past lessons influence future outcomes and future decisions. As such, past writings will always be present in the future. Romanticism is a movement of literature that focuses on nature, individualism, and emotion. Any book that focuses on the beauty of nature as an important feature (The Lord of the Rings) is a book influenced by Romanticism. Any book that focuses on individualism (Anthem and 50 Shades of Gray) is a book influenced by Romanticism. And finally, any book that focuses on emotion (Revolution and especially Twilight) is influenced by Romanticism. From this, it can be seen that Romanticism is not only an influence of today's writing, it is very present.
1. The Romantics obviously, by explanation of Romanticism, have very strong beliefs of individualism and optimism in their work. They believe that the unlikely hero does have a chance to get the girl and/or enjoy happiness. For a good example, take The Tirade of Ichor-bond Whooping Crane. Ichabod was a normal teacher that had nothing exceptional about him except his intellect, which wasn't even that big of a deal. His rival, Brom Bones, was the epitome of "man," with a nice "Herculean figure" and a great amount of skill in "horsemanship...races and cockfights," and Brom wanted the same girl. Who got the girl? Ichabod did. Another great example is "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The Misfit was a guy who knew he was bad, but also knew he was better than most, showing his individuality. He found enjoyment in nothing but killing, which was not only something sick to find pleasure in, but also something that goes against the 6th commandment (not necessarily enjoying it, just doing it). Though when having his "moment of grace" when he realizes that killing doesn't bring him pleasure anymore, he has a chance to change for the better, showing optimism from O'Conner.
2. Romanticism was a movement in literature that cause the main focus to drive from being a logical human being using facts (Classicism) to being a hippy-dippy, aesthetic-obsessed fairy that focuses on individualism, emotion, and nature. Gothic Romanticism is Romanticism with a more dark twist, focusing on the mysterious and horrifying. Southern Gothic Romanticism is Gothic Romanticism, just set in southern USA. The similarity between them is that they are all forms of Romanticism, including what's been stated above. The difference is in presentation. Romanticism is a nice way of going about being a fairy. Gothic Romanticism is a way of going about being that people like Megan Lloyd and Jaseph "Edgy" Orion Vorel would enjoy immensely. Southern Gothic Romanticism is just putting Gothic Romanticism in the south and changing the diction.
3. The Southern Gothic Romanticism movement spawned as a response to the post-Bellum Southern world. The south wasn't in the best of shape as a society, so the optimism was doing more harm than help. Hence the name, elements of Romanticism were kept, but the pleasure aspect of the idea was changed.
4. With the restrictions of Puritanism, it was kind of hard to have much imagination, and that meant writings that weren't logical were very frowned upon. So when a movement that allowed imagination arose, people took advantage of that. Of course it took time for people to become used to this, and it took time for the movement to reach the United States, but all of this happened. What truly prompted it though was the connection and happenings of nature and imagination. Taking a look at the night sky when it's cloudy is very spooky, so why not write a story involving that? The answer is "yes. Do it."
5. With the rules of evolution and growth, history and past lessons influence future outcomes and future decisions. As such, past writings will always be present in the future. Romanticism is a movement of literature that focuses on nature, individualism, and emotion. Any book that focuses on the beauty of nature as an important feature (The Lord of the Rings) is a book influenced by Romanticism. Any book that focuses on individualism (Anthem and 50 Shades of Gray) is a book influenced by Romanticism. And finally, any book that focuses on emotion (Revolution and especially Twilight) is influenced by Romanticism. From this, it can be seen that Romanticism is not only an influence of today's writing, it is very present.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The Tale of Ichabod Crane
What is Romanticism?- Double Response
Response to "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (aka "Headless Horseman")
The story "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a Gothic Romantic masterpiece beyond it's time (which is ironic since Romanticism somewhat focuses on the past), with it's involvement of a twilight-enveloped spooky forest, a spooky mansion, and most of all, a headless horseman. In fact, these three reasons are more than enough to capture the imagination of any reader today. But, the fact that all of these details are in the context of a love story (a funny love story at that), which is the main topic of anything that isn't drug or sex focused nowadays, this is a great story for today's readers.
The horseman had apparently has his head "carried away by a cannonball in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War." This quote shows how the already cool sounding HEADLESS horseman lost his head. Decapitation is a means of death that fascinates a lot of people to watch and hear about, so to read that rather than having his head be cut off he lost it to a cannonball, that's just crazy.
Women love big, buff men. This story has just that. Take a hopeless teacher that knows nothing of romance and wants a beautiful woman named Katrina, throw in a guy with a "Herculean frame" who has great skill in "horsemanship...races and cockfights" and was the "umpire in all disputes," AND wants the same girl as the protagonist (the teacher, Mr Crane), and there's a grand old rivalry in this story.
One final thing is that we don't know what happened regarding Mr Crane and Katrina. That stimulates the imagination. Much like we don't know about the Bermuda Triangle or the Illuminati, which are both spooky and imagination-capturing subjects.
All-in-all, to round this up, this piece of literature is amazing. It's very stimulating. It should capture the imagination of any and all readers above an IQ of 50. I loved it.
Response to "Swing Low Sweet Chariot"- "Just like, a leather bound Bible"
The spiritual "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" is a song that was originally written to show the escaping of slavery. The escaping of the physical conditions of slavery is shown through the chariot coming down to "carry me home," with the "home" being the holy kingdom of Heaven. This faith in the chariot "swinging low" is shown as faith in God, with the hope that He shall save the slaves from the torment inflicted by their masters. Through this connection, it is seen how this song is reflective of the time period. Now by today's standards, with this song, this might not have anything to do with today, for this song was written and sang as a song for escaping slavery. However, people today are slaves. Slaves to themselves and the problems that plague their own beings. Depression is one of the masters that people tend to be slaves to, and they might sing for the chariot to "swing low" and "carry" them "home." Will it happen? Maybe. Maybe not.
Response to "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (aka "Headless Horseman")
The story "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a Gothic Romantic masterpiece beyond it's time (which is ironic since Romanticism somewhat focuses on the past), with it's involvement of a twilight-enveloped spooky forest, a spooky mansion, and most of all, a headless horseman. In fact, these three reasons are more than enough to capture the imagination of any reader today. But, the fact that all of these details are in the context of a love story (a funny love story at that), which is the main topic of anything that isn't drug or sex focused nowadays, this is a great story for today's readers.
The horseman had apparently has his head "carried away by a cannonball in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War." This quote shows how the already cool sounding HEADLESS horseman lost his head. Decapitation is a means of death that fascinates a lot of people to watch and hear about, so to read that rather than having his head be cut off he lost it to a cannonball, that's just crazy.
Women love big, buff men. This story has just that. Take a hopeless teacher that knows nothing of romance and wants a beautiful woman named Katrina, throw in a guy with a "Herculean frame" who has great skill in "horsemanship...races and cockfights" and was the "umpire in all disputes," AND wants the same girl as the protagonist (the teacher, Mr Crane), and there's a grand old rivalry in this story.
One final thing is that we don't know what happened regarding Mr Crane and Katrina. That stimulates the imagination. Much like we don't know about the Bermuda Triangle or the Illuminati, which are both spooky and imagination-capturing subjects.
All-in-all, to round this up, this piece of literature is amazing. It's very stimulating. It should capture the imagination of any and all readers above an IQ of 50. I loved it.
Response to "Swing Low Sweet Chariot"- "Just like, a leather bound Bible"
The spiritual "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" is a song that was originally written to show the escaping of slavery. The escaping of the physical conditions of slavery is shown through the chariot coming down to "carry me home," with the "home" being the holy kingdom of Heaven. This faith in the chariot "swinging low" is shown as faith in God, with the hope that He shall save the slaves from the torment inflicted by their masters. Through this connection, it is seen how this song is reflective of the time period. Now by today's standards, with this song, this might not have anything to do with today, for this song was written and sang as a song for escaping slavery. However, people today are slaves. Slaves to themselves and the problems that plague their own beings. Depression is one of the masters that people tend to be slaves to, and they might sing for the chariot to "swing low" and "carry" them "home." Will it happen? Maybe. Maybe not.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Socratic Seminar Questions for the Short Story We Picked
"A Proper Male is a Darned Golly Difficult Look" Socratic Seminar questions
C-E Question: Why did the Misfit change his name to such?
Answer: The Misfit felt his punishment for one of his crimes was not enough, so he changed his name for said reason.
O-E Question: Is the grandmother's moment of grace in her back-and-forth with the Misfit a true moment of grace?
Answer: It can be seen as one. She is calling upon Jesus to save the Misfit and to guide him back from his life of evil while also calling upon Jesus to save her. However, she does not bring up Jesus at all until she feels it is necessary, which can be seen as a lack of faith in him, so rather than a true moment of grace, it could be seen as a method of weaseling out of a bad situation (which didn't work).
W C Question: Is the moral nihilism presented through the Misfit still very prominent today?
Answer: Moral nihilism is defined as two things: either the idea of a complete lack of a moral system, or the idea that since morality is human created, it is artificial and completely subjective to opinion and is open to different outcomes. With the cynicism, anarchy, and "edginess" present in today's society when looking at all that is happening, yes, yes it is.
U T Question: Is the Misfit truly deserving of the grace of the Lord despite his doubt that Jesus Christ may not be the true son of God and his doubt of the miracles performed by Jesus?
Answer: While God does say have unquestioned faith in me and you shall have my grace, the Misfit is deserving of the grace and salvation given by Him because the Misfit does not believe himself above anyone except for those he knows do worse than him. He also has his moment of grace when he says killing brings him no more pleasure, showing he might be able to change. This opportunity for change is what allows him to be a fair recipient for the Lord's grace.
L A Question: Is the author's take on Southern diction an accurate one?
Answer: From having a mother that was born and raised in Mississippi and comes back with a heavy southern drawl every time we come back, I say nay. However, this story was written in 1953, and things change in 60 years.
C-E Question: Why did the Misfit change his name to such?
Answer: The Misfit felt his punishment for one of his crimes was not enough, so he changed his name for said reason.
O-E Question: Is the grandmother's moment of grace in her back-and-forth with the Misfit a true moment of grace?
Answer: It can be seen as one. She is calling upon Jesus to save the Misfit and to guide him back from his life of evil while also calling upon Jesus to save her. However, she does not bring up Jesus at all until she feels it is necessary, which can be seen as a lack of faith in him, so rather than a true moment of grace, it could be seen as a method of weaseling out of a bad situation (which didn't work).
W C Question: Is the moral nihilism presented through the Misfit still very prominent today?
Answer: Moral nihilism is defined as two things: either the idea of a complete lack of a moral system, or the idea that since morality is human created, it is artificial and completely subjective to opinion and is open to different outcomes. With the cynicism, anarchy, and "edginess" present in today's society when looking at all that is happening, yes, yes it is.
U T Question: Is the Misfit truly deserving of the grace of the Lord despite his doubt that Jesus Christ may not be the true son of God and his doubt of the miracles performed by Jesus?
Answer: While God does say have unquestioned faith in me and you shall have my grace, the Misfit is deserving of the grace and salvation given by Him because the Misfit does not believe himself above anyone except for those he knows do worse than him. He also has his moment of grace when he says killing brings him no more pleasure, showing he might be able to change. This opportunity for change is what allows him to be a fair recipient for the Lord's grace.
L A Question: Is the author's take on Southern diction an accurate one?
Answer: From having a mother that was born and raised in Mississippi and comes back with a heavy southern drawl every time we come back, I say nay. However, this story was written in 1953, and things change in 60 years.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
So uh, this is my scary story, 1st draft
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15mEhITQyOijINGttkALkov0zPW0AbSK87emFvjZ-mp8/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15mEhITQyOijINGttkALkov0zPW0AbSK87emFvjZ-mp8/edit
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