Wrap Up

I found it interesting that throughout the class, each consecutive text contained some of the original forms of what we defined as being a Gothic story. Even though the with time the type of Gothic emerged and transformed into the next form of Gothic (Gothic-Female Gothic-Southern Gothic) they all carried the undertone of being Gothic. I liked how each text stood alone within the Gothic roots, yet still helped promote the introduction of new or redefined Gothic themes. A good example of this is the representation of women having little to no voice in The Castle of Ontranto, and some of the following Gothic texts we read after that were more of the Female Gothic genre. This use of multiple subgroups in one main genre helped paint a picture of the emerging times and the general views and practices that each consecutive text represented. I enjoyed the continuation of the seeting as being a key role to the way the text was presented to the audience. I also enjoyed the recurring theme of protagonist and antagonist lending itself towards the idea of the doppelganger character and the universal duality of man kind. Even though these were ideas that we could find throughout each text, it was interesting how each author was able to present it in their own unique way because of the evolving audience within the varying time frames these texts were created.

Yellow Wallpaper

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "the Yellow Wallpaper", there is a strong sense of symbolism between the wallpaper and how the narrator (John's Wife) is feeling throughout the text. As the story progresses and the narrator spends more time in the room with the yellow wallpaper, a more complete picture of the pattern emerges for the reader to imagine. As the pattern emerges into a woman behind bars, there is a parallel with when she appears in the paper and when the narrator seems to be controlled by her husband (John). During the day when John is gone and the narrator has freedom to move about the property, we also find that the woman from the paper is seen creeping though out the property. At night when John is back and keeping a close eye on his wife, the woman from the paper is back in the walls trying to escape from the bars. This could symbolize how women in society feel oppressed by their husbands and men in general and feel like they have no freedom. Only when they live alone or are not bond by societal relations with males, do they seem to thrive and and have freedoms. Along the same note, even when they practice these freedoms, they feel that it still may be frowned upon in society, hence the creeping about during the day.

Jean-ah Poquelin

Upon examination of the story of Jean-ah Poquelin, there is a strong parallel and symbolic notion in regards to how Jean acts in social situations and how people view him to the way that blacks were viewed in society as opposed to reality. Within the text we find that Jean's marshy swamp like property was surrounded with superstition and the citizens seemed to fear and mock him. When he does seem to interact within the town appears very civilized and for the most part well mannered, just a bit harder to understand because of his french tongue, even though he can speak in English. This parallels the discussions in the movie from class, "Black Notions", where it explained that blacks were viewed in society as a caricatured version of them selves, but were in reality quite civilized. The movie also discussed how even though blacks were well versed in proper English, the common view of their speech was a strong, almost incomprehensible dialect. Just as Jean died of and seemed to gain respect at the end of the text, in the same way the veiws of the Southern Black as being uncivilized had started to diminish and the Black race at least begin to earn some of the respect they deserve with equal rights as time went on.

Charles Chessnut

In Charles Chessnut's "Goophered Grapevine" expands on the stereotype of how blacks are associated with nature when he conjures up the story of Henry being an extension of the grapevine. He parallels Henry's health with the health of the grapevine in that when the grapevine bloomed, Henry appeared to become stronger and more spry. When the grape season was over and the plants withered, his health seemed to wither and deteriorate until the new spring arrived the following years. It also described his hair as growing with similar characteristics of the grapes themselves making it sound like he was more than just a part of nature but in a way he was nature himself. Also, in the way that the grapevine owner had to take care of the fields during the winter and harder times, he took care of Henry to make sure neither would completely wither away and die.

Our Nig

When considering the writing style used in by Harriet Wilson for "Our Nig" it makes us question why the story was written as a fictional novel in limited third person narrative instead of a first person autobiography. Considering that most women, much less blacks during the time that this was written had little to no voice in society. By making it more fictional she would be able to get more people to read, and thus hopefully understand the oppression that she had to endure. If she had left it as an autobiography, people might not have cared as much. Also, it may have been written as a fiction because she can remember the emotions and feelings that she experienced but might not remember all the causes of her emotions within the contexts of her sufferings.
When considering if this text can be deemed as part of Gothic Literature, i believe it can be, but more under the influence of Female Gothic. While it does have a sense of the castle where she is made to sleep in the attic and a sense of terror/horror brought about when describing the beatings and whippings she received. It would qualify as Female Gothic because while it does focus on the dominance of white over blacks, it parallels the form of oppression that Female Gothic uses to show the oppression of women in a male dominated society.

Usher

In "The Fall of the House of Usher" Edgar Allen Poe parallels the house's description and mirrors it with the description of Usher. Poe describes the house as having once been a structurally sound and beautiful house but now seemed to be worn out and barely still standing. In the same way we get the idea that Usher had been a healthy and well off individual who has now fallen into a more run down and depleted state of existence. In the same way that the house appears to have one major flaw that will cause its destruction at any moment, Usher has a somewhat hidden flaw that effects him in the end. Eventually Usher "cracks" under pressure when he believes that he buried his sister alive and she has returned to haunt him. In the same way, the house "cracks" due to it's flaw causing it's structure to fail. In this we can see the parallel in how both the house and Usher have rotted from the inside and thus eventually collapse under their own pressure that has built up over time.

Young Goodman Brown

Hawthorne used "Young Goodman Brown" as an allegory reflecting the inescapable human nature to sin. It portrays the fact that it doesn't matter who you are who how good you may appear to society, you will still fall short and end up sinning. This is represented in the point of who all is at the late night "meeting" in the middle of the forest (ministers, deacons, teachers, etc.) The story also suggests how even when we try to avoid sin, it will eventually catch up with us and sometimes find us charging towards it in the end. It is also representative of how some people allow their sins to effect and control their lives while others seem to hide their sin to the point it may appear that they themselves are without sin.

Lois the Witch

When considering Lois the Witch, we can find several parallels towards a "Cinderella formula" type story line. First off, we find that our main character ends up living with her aunt (and in this case three cousins). When they become like family, the two female cousins become like step sisters who act like "evil step-sisters" in the end when they either blame Lois to be a witch, or do nothing to help her. We also find parallels with the fact that Luis is waiting on the guy back in England to come to America to marry her. In a way this is her Prince that would save her from the affliction she deals with in her aunt's household. While in her aunt's house, she is some what treated like part of the family in that they house and feed her, but they still condemn her for not having faith enough and not being of the immediate family. The idea of Lois waiting on her Prince and the idea of witch craft in itself ends up getting many people in trouble in the story.

On Novels

On the point of reading novels, i find that it can be both good and bad. When reading we can gain higher insight into the multidimensional characters that reflect the variety of people we may encounter in our lives. While some of these characters may be caricatures of our reality, they can still help us understand the varying degrees in which we should (or should not) interact with such characters. Also, novels can include a wide range of views that the author may express in regards to society and governing powers. These views may be included to express their liking or disliking of the political system and social hierarchy that the author themselves are engulfed in. This may be in an attempt to help persuade the reader to favor one political and social systems over a current system. By writing these views, the author may be expressing themselves in the only way that people will not completely ignore them. Novels can also help the readers find a way to live more vicariously through the characters that they may become attached to in the novels. By living through the characters the reader themselves may be more content with the means by which they live and feel better about themselves if they do not have to deal with as much drama and affairs that most novels characters have to deal with. Unfortunately these same novels of drama and family affairs could cause a longing and a want for more in ones own life where the reader feels their own life should be of novelistic quality of unending drama. These readers may search out and end up ruining their own lives in attempts to be more like the overly caricatured characters they read about. So as far as reading novels being good or bad, it more depends on the person reading and how influenced they may become based on what they read.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

While we know that Dr. J and Mr. H is defined as part of gothic lit, we can sense that it is a precursor to detective fiction in several ways. First, we find that Mr. Utterson serves as what can be perceived as a detective. Throughout the novel we find that he is the one that is continually seeking out answers to the odd events that occured. We also find that he is the one whom several letters are addressed to. These letters being read at the end of the story act as a means of solving an unsolved case. The way that he continues to visit Dr. Jekyll, even though as a friend, also can be perceived to be as an act of curiosity aimed at understanding and solving the odd happenings that had occured. These continual visits to talk with Dr. Jekyll can be paralleled to interigations and keeping an eye on a suspect.

Castle of Ontronto

Throughout Castle of Ontronto we find a prominent use of the ideals of chivalry. Even though the peasant stranger has no ties to any ladies in the castle, he offers forth his protection for their safety even to the point to where he would lose his life. It makes us question does he actually have feelings and emotion for any of these ladies or is he simply fulfilling his duty to members of a higher class to protect and serve. Even when he fist met Isabella in the middle of the night he offered up his protection so she could escape. This time we can assume that his actions we based on the code of chivalry to protect a woman. When he meets her in the forest and he offers to fight for her and protect her even to death, this encounter raises question on if he is acting based on a chivalrous code or if he actually cares for her on a deeper emotional level. At the conclusion of the novel we find that he does love her but it was more of a secret love that he felt he should not be let known. Once Matilda, his true love died, he was able to admit his feelings for Isabella so he would actually be able to go on living happily.

Assignment 1

Hi my name is Justin, and I am a Junior studding Mechanical Engineering. I was born and raised in McKinney Texas were i first started studding architecture and engineering in high school. I have always enjoyed trying to solve puzzles/brain teasers and anything math related. Even though i don't know much about Gothic Lit and architecture, i find it interesting. As far as reading goes, i enjoy it but i don't always have much time to.

I have read and agree to the terms of the course syllabus.