Something for School - Ignore

Subject: Something for School - Ignore Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:20 pm

Just so you all know (if anyone ever sees), my school has a website blocker, but they have yet to block Forumotion, so I can access these forums. I'm using this as an advantage to actually get my bloody homework printed so they don't argue. Expect random stuff.

English Essay:

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Quote :: How does Edgar Allan Poe fulfill the conventions of Gothic Literature in ‘The Black Cat’ (1843), “The Telltale Heart” (1843) and “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846)?

Edgar Allan Poe was a man who was well-known and familiarized for writing dark, depressing, and sometimes death-relating poems and short stories, commonly referred to as Gothic Literature. He lived in the Victorian Era, at which time great changers were occurring, due to changes in monarchy, laws, economy etc. and caused more people to feel scared, angered, and uncomfortable.
The genre, in which Gothic Literature derived from, appeared. It was certainly a change in genre for these people, and appealed to what they wanted. They were also appeal to appeal and/or relate to the characters at times, too.
The language and form in Gothic Literature is often very dark and gloomy. It also used words and phrases from the Victorian Era which may not be so commonly known or used today, which can really help to add to an effect. The pace at which it is written, from long slow words, to fast short words, helped to create suspense and climatic intervals; Poe was able to take advantage of this effect very well. One of the main conventions of Gothic Literature is to include fear. The stories are usually meant to strike fear into the readers, as well as make them wonder what is happening (suspense).
The effects achieved includes how writers are able to create suspense in literature, great descriptions and metaphors, and also to allow the readers to feel how the characters or narrators feels. They’re able to describe depression, anger, fear, sudden urges and perhaps bipolar emotions and expressions through out the text. The need to do something, ones reaction towards another’s actions, even the need to hurt or kill another are all well explained, thought out and demonstrated in this literature genre.

The Black Cat:
- (Brief summary) about a man who adored all of his pets, especially a black cat, Pluto. As he gets older, he becomes more aggressive. In a drunken state he mutilates and kills his cat, however, he is later followed by another cat, which he cares for as a replacement. At a climatic event, he kills his wife when she tried to stop him from killing the new cat, which he then buried within the walls, only to be discovered by the police when the mistakenly-buried cat’s cries could be heard.
- The narrator proves to be in some ways insane, but through out the story, he is constantly mentioning that he is not crazed, that he is perfectly sane. “These events have terrified – have tortured – have destroyed me.”
- The story follows all, if not most of the conventions of Gothic Literature, including death, suspense, climax, superstition, madness and horror.
- The imagery given by the text can prove to be quite gory and unappealing, such as having the cat’s eye drawn out, or an axe lodged into his wife’s head. This conveys both horror and shock.
- Superstition is clear when the second cat, very much alike Pluto, is introduced. The only difference is that the second cat has a white mark covering parts of it’s chest, and that Pluto had died – thus, this cat could be seen as an omen, a reincarnation, and thus, unnatural.
- The landscape is dark and gloomy, which certainly fits important aspects of Gothic Literature.

The Telltale Heart:
- (Brief summary) a supposedly sane man is maddened by an old mans fake eye. Night after night, the narrator watches the old man sleep, planning his attack, being ever so careful, while mentioning countless times that he is not mad, and tried to prove this. “If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when…” Once he finally comes to kill the old man and nearly hides the corpse within the floor boards, all is well, until the police arrive. It isn’t until the narrator can hear the hideous beat of the old man’s supposedly dead heart growing louder and louder does he grow mad and admits his sins.
- Very much like in ‘The Black Cat’, the narrator is convinced he is not mad, while several actions and the constant remind suggests he is to certain extents, but is in denial, or simply does not realize it. It is all too clear when, at the end, he can hear the thunderous heart beat of an entombed dead man.
- The story begins with the narrator explaining how the old man’s ‘vulture pale blue eye’ haunts him, and how he wishes it gone, but also tries to convince the reader, the audience, that he is perfectly sane.
- The closest to superstitious content we can find in this story is that of when the narrator mistaken his own heartbeat for that of the old man, which drives him insane, and destroys his apparently-perfect plan.
- The setting is in an old house at late hours, very common for Gothic Literature, and suits well.

The Cask of Amontillado:
- (Brief summary) the narrator, Montresor, plans to murder his friend Fortunato. He finds his friend drunk during a fair, and is able to coax him into his family catacombs with promises of amontillado, which not only contains an array of deadly toxins which causes Fortunato to fall ill, but also contains an alcove which Montresor is able to bury him in.
- There appears to be no superstitious content what so ever in this short story.
- The narrator appears neither insane, nor does he tried to rationalize his deed. It is never explained as to why he wishes to kill Montresor, other than “[a] thousand injuries and an insult”.
- The setting beings at a fair, which is rather cheerful, in a sense, but continues and ends in the catacombs, a collection of corpses, tombs, and toxic fungi. However, the narrator’s cold, dark appearance and intentions are frightening enough, despite him doing well to hide it from Fortunato.

Art Coursework:

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English Lit Essay:

Spoiler:

Quote :: Discuss Duffy's use of language in "Before You Were Mine" and two other essays.

Carol Ann Duffy is a feminist poet who seems to specialize in giving woman a voice where they previously did not have one. She seems to back up woman more than men, and speak affectionately about them. In this essay, I shall explore this in her way of language in ‘Before You Were Mine’, ‘Stealing’ and ‘We Remember Your Childhood Well’.

In 'Before You Were Mine', Duffy's language seems personal, as if she is speaking to someone. Within the title, the words ‘You’ and ‘Mine’ sound like possession of an object that the person she is talking to is an object that she possesses. Reading the poem, it soon becomes clear that she is talking about her mother, when discovering the message behind metaphors.
For the first two stanzas, she discusses her mother’s life before she was born. By mentioning “Marilyn [Monroe]”, she is implying that her mother’s life was glamorous, that she was beautiful and carefree before she became a mother. “I’m not here yet. The thought of me doesn’t occur in the ballroom with the thousand eyes…” Here, Duffy mentions how her mother does not think of her, as kids, when she lived her life. The ‘thousand eyes’ could refer to a disco ball, or the eyes of people around staring at her; things that wouldn’t necessarily happen after Duffy was born
Half way through the poem appears to be a breaking point, as the first two stanzas talk passionately about her mother’s previous life, while the last two after of when Duffy was born and her mother’s life changed dramatically for ever. She speaks of herself as a selfish child, when her “loud, possessive yell” claimed her mother as her property, that her mother had lost her previous life at that instant. In the final stanza, she goes back to remembering the previous life, but the including herself as she learns “the steps on the way home from Mass” and what she wanted as a child. She calls her mother a “ghost”, perhaps guilty that she’d taken her life away, after realizing what she had instinctually done since birth.

In ‘Stealing’, the narrator seems very egotistical. The questions at the start and end of the poem, and how they speak, make it seem as if they are being interviewed. The constant use of the words “I” makes it seem the narrator is focused on them self, that the world revolves around them, that they are better than they think. “I wanted him…” shows possession and desire, “…a mate” shows loneliness, and the need of a companion.
At the centre of the second stanza lies the word “hugged”, while every where else are harsher words dotted around such as “dead”, “cry”, “frozen stiff” and “life’s tough”. These all suggest that the person has a bleak, cold mind or personality, but the word “hugged” hidden within the words shows a warmth amidst the coldness, and ultimately, the need for something that only a friend could give them.
The final stanza shows rather simple words, those that would be used by one who was uneducated, such as “nicked” and “flogged it”. The narrator also seems to be impatient, as they “stole a guitar and thought [they] might learn to play.” They reason why they do all of this, as they mention in the final stanza, is that they are bored. “[they’re] so bored [they] could eat [them] self”.
The language through out is fairly basic, sometimes using slang terms instead of English. Duffy may have written in this way to create an effect of a person who is bored, uneducated, however egotistical. They don’t seem to talk about anyone else, other than upset children, or the snowman that they stole; it’s always about them self.

In “We Remember Your Childhood Well”, the general tone of the whole poem seems very controlled, but negative. The repetitive use of the words “no” and “nobody” suggests the narrator is against something. Further reading of the poem suggests it is a parent talking to their child, but the negative tone also leads the reader to think that the parent is not only disagreeing, but denying.
“Nobody hurt you. Nobody turned off the light and argued with somebody else all night.” Statements such as these seem rather too specific to be untrue. The use of the word “nobody” suggests 'somebody' was there, and that 'something' was happening, but what ever it was, the parents do not want the children to know. They are hiding secrets and denying things; all of this could be interpreted by the first stanza alone.
“Your questions were answered fully.” This sounds like an end to a discussion, or at least an attempt. Using authority this could very well end the topic and matter dealt with, but the following “No.” appears to break the first half of the stanza. This ‘no’ could be said by the child, disagreeing with what has been said, perhaps the same with the following “That didn’t occur.” but the parent continues regardless.
More examples of the word “nobody” still suggests that some body was there. “Nobody forced you… That was an extra holiday, with people you seemed to like.” Combining the two sentence fragments from stanza three and five shows denial. From one perspective, apparently the child did not wish to go, but was forced to with people who may very well have insulted or abused them, but the parent denies this still; the tone stern and commanding.
“What does it matter now?” Here, it seems like the parent is trying, once again, to end the subject, just as they had when they claimed the questions were already answered. “You were loved. Always. We did what was best.” Despite everything said, ‘what was best’ is known to mean that something terrible was done, but was all ‘for the best’. This last sentence practically contradicts every previous statement, since here it shows the clear possibility that something wasn’t done for the best; that they did something to the child and tried to claim that it was for the best. The words ‘you were loved’ don’t sound particularly as warm as they should from parent to child; it sounds more like a statement or fact than a comment of affection. The single word “always” just emphasizes this.