Prompt:Fantasy of this type is pointed at young adults to help instruct them in the complexities of navigating the world. In what way were complex moral issues and spiritual challenges presented in the work you read for this week?
Response:
For this week, instead of reading Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, I went way back and revisited the first Harry Potter book by J.K Rowling. It had been so long ago since I had read that book that I am fairly certain I was young enough my parents actually read it for me. So, after having grown up and read the rest of the series by myself, I decided it was time to go back and revisit The Sorcerers Stone with a fresh eye. The first thing I noticed was that the book was a lot more whimsical than I remembered, and the characters so young. This really drove home the concept of growing up with the series, the characters plot and writing matured as I matured creating such an sort of uncanny bond with my generation that will probably never go away.
Putting aside the heavy dose of nostalgia for a second, looking back as a more mature and analytical reader it becomes apparent that The Sorcerers Stone, as well as the rest of the Harry Potter series, is just chalk full of moral lessons. It's practically a how to guide for our young and half formed moral barometers as children and this comes as no surprise seeing as the entire series is essentially an amalgamation of various folklore and myths across the globe used to teach lessons. At the very heart of the series is the message "love trumps evil" repeated over and over again, as seen through the power embedded in the sacrifices Harry's family and friends make for him, most notably his mother's love saving him from the death curse. The importance of family and friends are emphasized as well as the innate value in all people, regardless of bloodline or financial status, and that courage comes in all forms (Thank you Neville). All together the messages paint a pretty wholesome picture and are a great way to drive home love and acceptance in all who read the books.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Week 6: Heroic Journey
Prompt: Discuss how the work you read for this week reflects or doesn't reflect elements of the classic journey of the hero.
Response:
The book we read for this week was The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien which, unsurprisingly, reflects the classic hero's journey to a "T." This heavy reliance on the Heroic Journey, in addition to blending tried and true mythos from across the ages, is a large part of why this classic story has become so wildly successful. The story starts off in the "ordinary world" segment of the journey, in this case it is a quite shire where hobbits live peacefully. Bilbo Baggins meets a wizard named Gandolf who calls him to adventure with 13 dwarves, however, the small hobbit is so overwhelmed by the rambunctious dwarves that he initially refused his call to adventure, as dictated by the hero's journey set up. At the last moment Gandolf, Bilbo's mentor, changes his mind and Bilbo crosses the first threshold of the hero's journey by desperately running out of the shire to catch up with the dwarves on their mission.
The bulk of the story covers the "test/allies/enemies" portion of the hero's journey testing Bilbo with three trolls, the giant spiders and Gollum while introducing allies such as the Elves, Eagles, Beorn, and Lake town humans and enemies like the the goblins, the wargs, and the wood elves. This is all along the way to the "approach" of the Lonely mountain accumulating into the final ordeal which is a massive five army battle and defeat of the Smaug. Bilbo then receives a small amount of treasure from the dwarves as payment and takes the long way back home. After recovering from his wound in Rivendell, Bilbo finally returns to the Shire with gold and a new perspective on life and adventures. This then completes the Heroic Journey perfectly and finishes the epic tale of The Hobbit.
Notes:
Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Class, Meeting the mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Tests/Allies/Enemies, Approach, Ordeal/Death&Rebirth, Reward/ Seizing the Sword, The Road Back, Resurrection, Return with Elixir
Hobbit Bilbo Baggins lives quietly in the shire, Gandalf asks Bilbo on an adventure, Overwhelmed by the 13 dwarves Bilbo refuses, Mentor Gandalf convinces him (the hobbit I once knew), Leaves the shire to catch up with the dwarves, Allies=( Elves, Eagles, Beorn, Lake town humans) Enemies= (the goblins, the wargs, and the wood elves) Trials= (3 trolls, the giant spiders and gollum) Tokens= (elvish dagger and magical ring), Approach the lonely mountain cave, Battle of 5 armies, Receives a bit of treasure, Take the long way back, recovers from wound and weariness in Rivendell, Comes back to shire with gold
Response:
The book we read for this week was The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien which, unsurprisingly, reflects the classic hero's journey to a "T." This heavy reliance on the Heroic Journey, in addition to blending tried and true mythos from across the ages, is a large part of why this classic story has become so wildly successful. The story starts off in the "ordinary world" segment of the journey, in this case it is a quite shire where hobbits live peacefully. Bilbo Baggins meets a wizard named Gandolf who calls him to adventure with 13 dwarves, however, the small hobbit is so overwhelmed by the rambunctious dwarves that he initially refused his call to adventure, as dictated by the hero's journey set up. At the last moment Gandolf, Bilbo's mentor, changes his mind and Bilbo crosses the first threshold of the hero's journey by desperately running out of the shire to catch up with the dwarves on their mission.
The bulk of the story covers the "test/allies/enemies" portion of the hero's journey testing Bilbo with three trolls, the giant spiders and Gollum while introducing allies such as the Elves, Eagles, Beorn, and Lake town humans and enemies like the the goblins, the wargs, and the wood elves. This is all along the way to the "approach" of the Lonely mountain accumulating into the final ordeal which is a massive five army battle and defeat of the Smaug. Bilbo then receives a small amount of treasure from the dwarves as payment and takes the long way back home. After recovering from his wound in Rivendell, Bilbo finally returns to the Shire with gold and a new perspective on life and adventures. This then completes the Heroic Journey perfectly and finishes the epic tale of The Hobbit.
Notes:
Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Class, Meeting the mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Tests/Allies/Enemies, Approach, Ordeal/Death&Rebirth, Reward/ Seizing the Sword, The Road Back, Resurrection, Return with Elixir
Hobbit Bilbo Baggins lives quietly in the shire, Gandalf asks Bilbo on an adventure, Overwhelmed by the 13 dwarves Bilbo refuses, Mentor Gandalf convinces him (the hobbit I once knew), Leaves the shire to catch up with the dwarves, Allies=( Elves, Eagles, Beorn, Lake town humans) Enemies= (the goblins, the wargs, and the wood elves) Trials= (3 trolls, the giant spiders and gollum) Tokens= (elvish dagger and magical ring), Approach the lonely mountain cave, Battle of 5 armies, Receives a bit of treasure, Take the long way back, recovers from wound and weariness in Rivendell, Comes back to shire with gold
Friday, February 10, 2017
Week 5: Witches and Women in Genre
Prompt: Discuss the witches in Aunt Maria. Are they stereotypes or archetypes? What do the characters say about the way our culture models women with power?
Response:
Aunt Maria in the book Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones certainly embodies many of the classic stereotypes of a witch, a strong iron willed female who manipulates those around her to do her bidding and "zombifies" men. While these views of witches are in fact widely held in the collective unconscious they paint too one sided a character to truly be an archetype and thus remain relegated to stereotypes. This vilification of strong woman is not limited to witches, in fact if you think back to even the most benign movies you will see this fear perpetuated. Classic Disney Princess movies are a fantastic example of this particular portrayal of women; Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and even The Little Mermaid all feed into the idea that that strong assertive women are evil while feminine and gentle woman are inherently good. (Snow white vrs Evil Queen, Aurora vrs Maleficent, Cinderella vrs Lady Tremaine, and Ariel vrs Ursula) This relegation of strong alpha women to evil or "bitch" roles demonstrates our current patriarchal culture's fear of female power and as gender equality progresses you can see a direct correlation in the media of more positively portrayed strong women (Rey from The Force Awakens). This progress, however, does not erase the years long bias our culture has created.
The cool thing about the book Aunt Maria is that even the vilification of Maria the overall message of the book does preach gender equality and balance between the masculine and feminine within one person as seen metaphorically through the sister and brother, Mig and Chris, ultimately needing to work together to become successful.
Response:
Aunt Maria in the book Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones certainly embodies many of the classic stereotypes of a witch, a strong iron willed female who manipulates those around her to do her bidding and "zombifies" men. While these views of witches are in fact widely held in the collective unconscious they paint too one sided a character to truly be an archetype and thus remain relegated to stereotypes. This vilification of strong woman is not limited to witches, in fact if you think back to even the most benign movies you will see this fear perpetuated. Classic Disney Princess movies are a fantastic example of this particular portrayal of women; Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and even The Little Mermaid all feed into the idea that that strong assertive women are evil while feminine and gentle woman are inherently good. (Snow white vrs Evil Queen, Aurora vrs Maleficent, Cinderella vrs Lady Tremaine, and Ariel vrs Ursula) This relegation of strong alpha women to evil or "bitch" roles demonstrates our current patriarchal culture's fear of female power and as gender equality progresses you can see a direct correlation in the media of more positively portrayed strong women (Rey from The Force Awakens). This progress, however, does not erase the years long bias our culture has created.
(case in point, thank you Fox)
Week 4: The New Weird
Prompt: Discuss what is "weird". Use specific examples from what you read this week. What do you think it is so compelling about the "weird?"
Response:
For this week I read Clive Barker's novella "Cabal". Interestingly enough this story can almost be divided into two separate plots and two separate genres. The story starts out with the main character, Boone, being gas lighted by his own therapist into believing that he was a serial killer. This part of the story goes on to reveal that Decker, the therapist, was the true serial killer and was using his patients as scapegoats. While certainly macabre (and more than a little messed up) this part of the novel lacks a lot of key supernatural and spectacular characteristics that weird fiction generally possesses. In fact, its gritty realism seems to be more fitting of the crime and psychological thriller genres.
This being said, the rest of the book after getting into secret city of Midian and meeting the nightbreed is certainly a prime example of weird fiction. When examining the nightbreed it is difficult to put a finger on what exactly they are, the physical and supernatural attributes are just an amalgamation of legends all blended into a nondescript entity that the reader can never truly know as well as an iconic vampire or zombie. In true weird fiction fashion, this sense of unknown, that defies the laws of nature without any sort of explanation, uses the reader's curiosity to compel them to read more.
(Key Take away: Boone's lover Lori was like the original 'ride or die' girl in the beginning there...)
Response:
For this week I read Clive Barker's novella "Cabal". Interestingly enough this story can almost be divided into two separate plots and two separate genres. The story starts out with the main character, Boone, being gas lighted by his own therapist into believing that he was a serial killer. This part of the story goes on to reveal that Decker, the therapist, was the true serial killer and was using his patients as scapegoats. While certainly macabre (and more than a little messed up) this part of the novel lacks a lot of key supernatural and spectacular characteristics that weird fiction generally possesses. In fact, its gritty realism seems to be more fitting of the crime and psychological thriller genres.
This being said, the rest of the book after getting into secret city of Midian and meeting the nightbreed is certainly a prime example of weird fiction. When examining the nightbreed it is difficult to put a finger on what exactly they are, the physical and supernatural attributes are just an amalgamation of legends all blended into a nondescript entity that the reader can never truly know as well as an iconic vampire or zombie. In true weird fiction fashion, this sense of unknown, that defies the laws of nature without any sort of explanation, uses the reader's curiosity to compel them to read more.
(Key Take away: Boone's lover Lori was like the original 'ride or die' girl in the beginning there...)
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Week 3: J Horror and Asian Supernatural Narratives
Prompt: Do the assumptions of the work - the nature or even existence of good and evil for instance- reflect a different cultural orientation than that expressed in "western" horror or the gothic? In what specific ways do these assumptions seem to differ?
Response:
The reading for this week was A Wild Sheep Chase by internationally celebrated author Haruki Murakami. While his work can be hard to pigeon hole into any one genre and this particular book is more of a literary piece, it does share many elements associated with J Horror. Asian horror tends to revolve around a direct connection to the landscape and its spirits. Here, unlike in western culture, the supernatural is an omni present and chaotic neutral entity that has no clearly defined good and evil. This holds particularly true in Murakami's novel, which centers around a quest to find a sheep spirit which has been possessing men in order to "further the sheep agenda/consciousness." The sheep is portrayed as neither good nor evil, just a sheep living its life and doing what it does best (possessing humans). This stands in stark contrast to any western possession stories which demonize the entity in order to give the reader a classic a sense or fear and horror by visually stimulating their F3 responses. J Horror on the other hand finds another way to create a sense of fear and unease, and that is through apathy. In this genre biggest fear is of the mundane, loosing you're purpose, drive, identity and passion all in one fell swoop. In the novel the narrator and his girlfriend remain unnamed and they move about the story in an almost haze, dissociated from the strong emotionally triggers and moving through life and death in a constant and bleak state. While not classically scary per say this disconnect definitely succeeded in generating an uneasy almost supernatural feeling while reading, creating a strong argument for it to be classified as J horror.
Response:
The reading for this week was A Wild Sheep Chase by internationally celebrated author Haruki Murakami. While his work can be hard to pigeon hole into any one genre and this particular book is more of a literary piece, it does share many elements associated with J Horror. Asian horror tends to revolve around a direct connection to the landscape and its spirits. Here, unlike in western culture, the supernatural is an omni present and chaotic neutral entity that has no clearly defined good and evil. This holds particularly true in Murakami's novel, which centers around a quest to find a sheep spirit which has been possessing men in order to "further the sheep agenda/consciousness." The sheep is portrayed as neither good nor evil, just a sheep living its life and doing what it does best (possessing humans). This stands in stark contrast to any western possession stories which demonize the entity in order to give the reader a classic a sense or fear and horror by visually stimulating their F3 responses. J Horror on the other hand finds another way to create a sense of fear and unease, and that is through apathy. In this genre biggest fear is of the mundane, loosing you're purpose, drive, identity and passion all in one fell swoop. In the novel the narrator and his girlfriend remain unnamed and they move about the story in an almost haze, dissociated from the strong emotionally triggers and moving through life and death in a constant and bleak state. While not classically scary per say this disconnect definitely succeeded in generating an uneasy almost supernatural feeling while reading, creating a strong argument for it to be classified as J horror.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Week 2: Vampires
Prompt:
The contemporary vampire tale has become a means of exploring a relationship with a complex and contradictory character, revitalizing the plot of forbidden love. In your reading for the week what pairs of ideas or representations does the author place in opposition to one another?
Response:
Note: Having already been more than passably familiar with both of this week's reading suggestions, Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire and the first couple of Vampire Academy Books, I chose a different vampire themed novel from the provided "Buffy's Book Club" list. The book I read was Sunshine by Robin McKinley. As a preteen, my mom and I where huge fans of her book Blue Sword and after I found out that the book's female protagonist not only shared my family nickname but also spelt it correctly. (Rae NOT Ray) it seemed like such serendipity that I decided I must immediately read this book for our vampire literature week.
In my opinion Robin McKinley's world building in her book Sunshine, while at times a little scattered, does take a unique approach to vampirism. (or about as unique as you can get with centuries old mythos that has been reworked thousands of times) McKinley creates a new vampire fusion that pays homage to the classic blood thirsty monster while at the same time touching upon the more modern concept of an empathetic vampire who's existence blurs the lines between human and monster. The "good vampire" in this case is a centuries old vampire named Constantine and, as par for the course in modern vampire fiction, Con is "not like other vampires." He mentions on several occasions that he is trying to be more considerate of humanity than his nemesis Bo but, interestingly enough, it is not quite clear wether or not he actually stops killing humans all together or just doesn't torture them anymore. McKinley doesn't go full on vegetarian vampire here and her character Con retains enough "otherness" about him to constantly remind the reader that he is in fact a creature of the night and not just the mysterious bad boy who sits next to you in Bio.
In contrast to Anne Rice's sensual monsters, who are overcome by guilt and passion, McKinley's vampires seem entirely devoid of remorse, conflict, or even passion. They seem to experience emotions on an entirely removed and wholly different level. It's a little "vulcan-esque", though definitely not as endearing as our beloved Spock. Constantine lacks any inner turmoil over his vampire-ness and the morality of feeding upon humans when he himself used to be one and even though he hated the vampire who turned him that was more due to personality conflicts than any moral dilemma on his part. Even a whirlwind "forbidden love" between Rae and Con, though perfectly set up, ultimately never comes to fruition. In fact, Constantine is mainly described by Rae as alien, terrifying, and just downright ugly; not the start of a budding human/vampire romance despite the sexual magnetism.
As far as the rest of the mythology is concerned, Robin McKinley keeps it pretty classic. No sparkling just plain old torching in the sunlight, super strength, hypnotic eyes, and needing invitations to cross thresh holds. However, after toggling back and forth between classic and modern interpretations of vampires McKinley does in fact diverge from the commonly accepted lore to add a unique wrinkle to this vampire story. Her vampires themselves exist quite literally in a alternate physical reality, bending space and time to travel and living in pocket dimensions un reachable to humans. That part is pretty cool, and trippy. I'm still not quite sure how it works.
The contemporary vampire tale has become a means of exploring a relationship with a complex and contradictory character, revitalizing the plot of forbidden love. In your reading for the week what pairs of ideas or representations does the author place in opposition to one another?
Response:
Note: Having already been more than passably familiar with both of this week's reading suggestions, Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire and the first couple of Vampire Academy Books, I chose a different vampire themed novel from the provided "Buffy's Book Club" list. The book I read was Sunshine by Robin McKinley. As a preteen, my mom and I where huge fans of her book Blue Sword and after I found out that the book's female protagonist not only shared my family nickname but also spelt it correctly. (Rae NOT Ray) it seemed like such serendipity that I decided I must immediately read this book for our vampire literature week.
In my opinion Robin McKinley's world building in her book Sunshine, while at times a little scattered, does take a unique approach to vampirism. (or about as unique as you can get with centuries old mythos that has been reworked thousands of times) McKinley creates a new vampire fusion that pays homage to the classic blood thirsty monster while at the same time touching upon the more modern concept of an empathetic vampire who's existence blurs the lines between human and monster. The "good vampire" in this case is a centuries old vampire named Constantine and, as par for the course in modern vampire fiction, Con is "not like other vampires." He mentions on several occasions that he is trying to be more considerate of humanity than his nemesis Bo but, interestingly enough, it is not quite clear wether or not he actually stops killing humans all together or just doesn't torture them anymore. McKinley doesn't go full on vegetarian vampire here and her character Con retains enough "otherness" about him to constantly remind the reader that he is in fact a creature of the night and not just the mysterious bad boy who sits next to you in Bio.
In contrast to Anne Rice's sensual monsters, who are overcome by guilt and passion, McKinley's vampires seem entirely devoid of remorse, conflict, or even passion. They seem to experience emotions on an entirely removed and wholly different level. It's a little "vulcan-esque", though definitely not as endearing as our beloved Spock. Constantine lacks any inner turmoil over his vampire-ness and the morality of feeding upon humans when he himself used to be one and even though he hated the vampire who turned him that was more due to personality conflicts than any moral dilemma on his part. Even a whirlwind "forbidden love" between Rae and Con, though perfectly set up, ultimately never comes to fruition. In fact, Constantine is mainly described by Rae as alien, terrifying, and just downright ugly; not the start of a budding human/vampire romance despite the sexual magnetism.
As far as the rest of the mythology is concerned, Robin McKinley keeps it pretty classic. No sparkling just plain old torching in the sunlight, super strength, hypnotic eyes, and needing invitations to cross thresh holds. However, after toggling back and forth between classic and modern interpretations of vampires McKinley does in fact diverge from the commonly accepted lore to add a unique wrinkle to this vampire story. Her vampires themselves exist quite literally in a alternate physical reality, bending space and time to travel and living in pocket dimensions un reachable to humans. That part is pretty cool, and trippy. I'm still not quite sure how it works.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Week 1: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the Gothic genre
Prompt:
Discuss a specific example of the gothic as it appears in Frankenstein. Choose one example that is particularly prominent, exaggerated, or interesting in its "gothic-ness" and then describe it. What was the effect of this element of the reading?
Response:
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein embodies many elements recognized today as part of the gothic horror genre, expertly combining them all into a single story that pioneered the genre. Shelley touched upon gothic tropes such as dreary locations in the mountains or on the water, sublime terrors revolving around death and the supernatural, suspense, and even elements of romance as witnessed by the monsters consuming passion for a female companion; but perhaps the most pervasive aspect of the literary work is the heightened state of emotions leading to sickness or even madness.
While The Monster of Victor Frankenstein's machinations, with his 7ft frame, inhuman strength, and watery eyes, certainly is something of nightmares, the main source of fear in the piece isn't the gruesome monster and his murderous acts themselves but rather the mental anguish and guilt these actions inflict upon Victor, his creature. At many points in the book Victor, as well as other characters, become so emotionally overwhelmed that they becomes physically ill. The suspense between the murders and the guilt afterwards create such mental anguish to be the true horror of the novel. This gothic theme is witnessed by The Monster's revenge, he makes it clear that his goal was not to kill Frankenstein but rather to enact his true revenge by slowly killing Frankenstein's most precious people until the man is reduced to such a "wretch" filled only with sorrow. In fact if the inciting reason for The Monster's revenge itself is examined it is the intense emotion of loneliness and alienation that drove him to the brink of madness and murder in the first place. In the end the death for Frankenstein and his monster was a kindness on both accounts so they would no longer be tormented by the true horrors of life.
Discuss a specific example of the gothic as it appears in Frankenstein. Choose one example that is particularly prominent, exaggerated, or interesting in its "gothic-ness" and then describe it. What was the effect of this element of the reading?
Response:
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein embodies many elements recognized today as part of the gothic horror genre, expertly combining them all into a single story that pioneered the genre. Shelley touched upon gothic tropes such as dreary locations in the mountains or on the water, sublime terrors revolving around death and the supernatural, suspense, and even elements of romance as witnessed by the monsters consuming passion for a female companion; but perhaps the most pervasive aspect of the literary work is the heightened state of emotions leading to sickness or even madness.
While The Monster of Victor Frankenstein's machinations, with his 7ft frame, inhuman strength, and watery eyes, certainly is something of nightmares, the main source of fear in the piece isn't the gruesome monster and his murderous acts themselves but rather the mental anguish and guilt these actions inflict upon Victor, his creature. At many points in the book Victor, as well as other characters, become so emotionally overwhelmed that they becomes physically ill. The suspense between the murders and the guilt afterwards create such mental anguish to be the true horror of the novel. This gothic theme is witnessed by The Monster's revenge, he makes it clear that his goal was not to kill Frankenstein but rather to enact his true revenge by slowly killing Frankenstein's most precious people until the man is reduced to such a "wretch" filled only with sorrow. In fact if the inciting reason for The Monster's revenge itself is examined it is the intense emotion of loneliness and alienation that drove him to the brink of madness and murder in the first place. In the end the death for Frankenstein and his monster was a kindness on both accounts so they would no longer be tormented by the true horrors of life.
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