"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Awakening"


"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story from a woman's perspective on the vacation she is taking as her husband/physician thinks she is too "stressed". The cause of this stress is her newborn child, who she doesn't like to hold because it, more or less freaks her out. And so she is taken out to the country and forced to stay in a place she doesn't like and remains with in a room she cannot stand. Particularly its yellow wallpaper. The room it's self was supposed to be a room for children, despite what appear to be shackles on the walls and bars in the windows, making the room it's self more of a prison, if not in reality an institution. And the yellow wallpaper drives her to the point of insanity, where she sees a woman living in the wallpaper and she in fact begins to crept around on the floor, and the man we presume to be her husband passes out on the floor.


"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Awakening" both take on the role of motherhood in the nineteenth century. Wives were expected to have children and tend to their every need. In "The Awakening" Edna doesn't hate her children, but she prefers it when they aren't around and she doesn't value them over herself. The narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" doesn't even feel comfortable holding her child, preferring others to tend to it. It is interesting to note that both woman feel guilt over this, which is heightened by women they are close to who take on the domestic role for women with ease. This is for Edna, her friend Adele, and to the narrator it is John's sister, Jennie.


Both of the women are considered to be wrong. Women at the time were supposed to live for their children and husband, and neither of them are capable or satisfied doing so. For the narrator, this meant being sent to an asylum to try and correct her ways and fix her "slight hysterical tendencies." This goes horribly awry and she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, there by removing herself from society and "freeing" herself from the constraints that were placed on women. Edna tries to become attune to her emotions and find her place in society, who she wants to be and who she wants to be with. But she is pulled back and forth and cannot decide to be completely independent or to accept her life as it is. And she eventually is "freed" through her death, in which she is alone and in peace, letting the waves take her.


Though death or insanity may not be the first response when one expresses their desires to be free of a society that expects them to conform to a certain lifestyle. Yet both woman, are at peace and accept things the way they are at last in their final moments. To them, their children and husbands no longer matter, and neither do the opinions of society. Both these stories show woman authors showing their frustration in the society they live in and their attempt to show society what it is that they are in reality forced to give up.

Sherlock Holmes vs Pudd'nhead Wilson

     The ways that a detective works are common and you can find them in many novels when you analyze them closer. We saw the detective skills really shine in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which is really commonly known to be one of the better detective novels made. Even when you mention detectives many people will automatically think of Sherlock and Dr. Watson, even if they haven't read the stories. Sherlock Holmes can be known from stories told by people, shows, or even movies. Though the media may not portray Sherlock the same as the stories the name and idea of the character of him still stick around in their heads. So, Sherlock Holmes can be seen as one of the most known and most common detective stories out there. 

     Though detectives can be found in many other things, particularly other novels or stories. An example of this is the book we just finished in class called Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain. It shows the detective work that you could find when reading a Sherlock Holmes story. The character in the book uses certain things to help lead him into finding out exactly who the culprit is. Some of these things are finger prints, eye witnesses, and disguises. With these helpful pieces of evidence he is eventually lead to the culprit being “Tom” who he discovers is actually Chambers. So, him using these detective skills he uncovers not only who the culprit was, but also that Roxana had switched Tom and Chambers right after they were born so that her son could lead the life of a wealthy white. Even if Pudd'nhead Wilson doesn't have the great observation skill that Sherlock has he was still able to figure out who the real culprit was and not Luigi who was being blamed for the act of crime. 

      Pudd’nhead Wilson is no Sherlock Holmes but it helps show that a story can not be purely based off the detective skills that the main character has. Any novel that has somewhat of a mystery can be a detective story. These stories plots will be more centered around more of a storyline where they are focused on more developing characters or not just the solving of the chrime. Though Sherlock Holmes can do this because the main characters are mostly introduced since it is a series of multiple Sherlock stories, whereas Pudd’nhead Wilson is one book alone and has to put aside time for all the characters. In the end they are both good, but in their own ways.

Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I have never seen the TV series Sherlock before Thursday night when we watched it as a class, but I knew it was quite popular. I thought it was hilarious and very well done- they showed Sherlock’s sarcastic, smart-alec-y, very intelligent and observational side perfectly. Benedict Cumberbatch was perfectly cast for that role, as well as Martin Freeman as Dr.Watson. I didn’t expect each episode to be 90 minutes long, as long as a movie, though! But I hear that’s normal for UK TV shows.

            I have, however, seen the two movies that came out about Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. It was interesting to see the comparison of the more flirty and woman-loving Downey compared to the female apathy Cumberbatch showed. I don’t know which one would suit Sherlock more, because they’re both equally entertaining, but I have a feeling it’s Cumberbatch’s virgin version. Law’s Watson was a little more mature than Freeman’s version of Watson as well.

            I looked up fun facts about the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, that might have been overlooked by presenters in class and I found a couple very interesting things.

            -He wasn’t knighted for his fictional work (Sherlock Holmes), but for his non-fiction pamphlet written about the Boer War. This took place in 1902 by King Edward VII.

            -Doyle was once on the same cricket team as JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan.

            -He was friends with Dracula author, Bram Stoker, and was a classmate of Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, at the University of Edinburgh.

            -Doyle was close friends with Harry Houdini, though their friendship was strained due to differences in spiritual beliefs. Doyle believed in fairies, mediums, and ghosts, while Houdini did not and attempted to disprove these hoaxes his whole life. Here is a link to a small Drunk History video about this (warning: there is strong language):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POFaDJ5IJHg

            -The town in Switzerland that he used as the setting of Holmes’ death in his series made a statue of the famous detective in 1988 and named the square after Doyle himself.

            -Doyle was able to free a man wrongfully convicted in prison using his own time, money, and influence. The man, Oscar Slater, was released with a £6,000 compensation, which he did not share with Doyle.

            -Doyle died in his garden clutching a flower in one hand and his chest in the other. His final words were to his wife- “You are beautiful.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10561577/Arthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html

"Stop Fool!"


       Dan wasn't going to like this. I stood outside Dan's door and took a breath before stepping threw. He hadn't quite gotten out of bed yet, he was sitting there, rubbing his eyes since in his eagerness, he hadn't slept well.
       I asked how was his sleep, not really knowing how to start my advice.
       "Well enough," said he, "Is the girl ready?"
       "Well, almost, but that isn't why I'm here," and before he could protest I continued, "I've told you that marrying a woman isn't a proper plan, but now I'm begging. It will only bring ruin."
       "Ruin? Don't be a fool, there is nothing wrong with a king wanting a queen for himself."
       "You've said that, but Dan, this morning I saw the priests huddled around each other, whispering. They kept their voices low and watched me as I passed. Not even Billy Fish is aware of what it is. And he warned me--"
        "Stop it with your warnings. I will have a wife and our Kingdom will last centuries."
        "That is true, it has been done over and over again," started I, "but they were human. Our people, the priests and chiefs, they believe us to be gods. It may be peculiar that a god should desire a bride, what else explains the reactions of the poor girl last night, the priests this morning and the hesitation of the chiefs and priests when you made your desires known," said I.
        Dan's head had begun to turn red and he fumed. In all our time together as kings, he had included me as equal parts as him, and he had always been kind to me, even if it was him the people loved. But now that I was trying to dissuade him, nearly standing in his way, he could hardly think lower of me. He didn't say anything, it was all in his eyes. He felt like the peak of the tallest mountain, and he felt as though I was trying to bring him down.
        When a priest came to fetch him for the wedding ceremony, his anger lifted and he was back to the delighted self he had been the night before at the thought of having a wife. When I left his room I wished there was more I could say to convince him that this was a horrible idea. But he was king and he felt that no one should stand in his way, not even a fellow king.

Drawing and Listening Leading to a Better Understanding

    

     Before our discussion in class I never really thought of the different tools I could use to interpret some go the readings we do for class. Never before have I drawn what I was  reading to help get a better picture of the setting that is being drawn out in my head in a story. Also I usually don't prefer to have things read out loud to me, such as audio books. Though this was a different case because the voices chose for each reading was very powerful and helped voiced the emotion in them. 

     There were very noticeable differences from reading “Kubla Khan” on my own and listening to someone read it. Some of these were the tone, setting, and even the plot. The tone is easily mistakes when you are reading something on your own because on your own you can just use a muted tone. Then when Benedict Cumberbatch read the the piece you can hear what emotion should be felt in certain places throughout the story, also while he is reading it you can her some music in the back ground. The music can also help you see the mood that is being set in that particular instance, especially when it will get louder or even get more distant. I felt when he read it I got a better understanding about what exactly was happening in the story and what the author was intending for the readers to see. 

     The story of “Ozymandias” was definitely better when read by Bryan Cranston. He has such a powerful voice that helps the reader or listener in this case get a better image of what is trying to be shown. He projects his voice very well while reading it. Especially in certain places when his voice will get louder or even when he will have longer pauses throughout the story for more of a dramatic effect. Another noticeable thing when he is reading are the drums being played in the background. I definitely got a much better understanding of what was trying to be said in the story after he read it, because when reading it on my own I thought it was very short and that there wasn't much going on. Then when listening I almost got goosebumps because his voice was so powerful and I felt like I could perfectly picture the sands being discussed and the idea of the lifeless things. 

     Overall I think the different tools of reading these kinds of story is beneficiary. Without them I don't feel that I would have quite gotten the full understanding of what was trying to be said in these two stories. 

The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli: Gothic theme during the Romanticism era

As a class, we discussed the Gothic theme quite extensively and were shown a picture of a painting (see above) called The Nightmare by Swiss-born English painter Henry Fuseli. Though it does represent the Gothic style, it's actually considered a Romanticist painting.

It was made in 1781 in London, England and was quite shocking to the public, though many knew he was an odd man who was interested in painting the supernatural and dream-like already. His audience wondered what happened to the popular themes that came about in paintings at the time- there was no moralizing subject, there was no historical significance in the scene, there was nothing from the Bible or literature in the painting, it was simply a result of Fuseli's imagination. This puzzled critics and visitors of the Royal Academy exhibition, where it hung, because they were expecting something from what we now call the Enlightenment, or the “Age of Reason,” but this is what they got.

The light Fuseli uses in the painting seems to emphasize the innocence and virtue of the woman (her white gown) and make the horse's eyes pop out even more, which creates a creepy vibe. The shadows and darkness enveloping the characters emphasizes this even more.

People believe this was Fuseli's interpretation of nightmares coming to life, and I'm sure no one can debate that. The creepy figure on the woman's chest is considered to be an incubus, which is “a type of spirit said to lie atop people in their sleep or even to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women.” Though the title seems to be a pun on the horse in the background (night mare, mare meaning horse), it has another meaning behind it. According to Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), a “mare” or “mara” used to be defined as “a spirit that, in heathen mythology, was related to torment or to suffocate sleepers. A morbid oppression in the night resembling the pressure of weight upon the breast.” The horse wasn't there in the original painting, but was added as a final touch by Fuseli with no known reason, though it could be to surprise, shock, or horrify the crowd even more than they already were when looking at the evil spirit. There is a possibility he added it as a symbolic representation of the word “nightmare.”

Because of it's dark, mysterious features, it inspired many writers such as the poet Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin's grandfather), Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and many others. It is now considered an icon and has been used several times in parodies and comedic drawings.

Source:http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/henry-fuseli-the-nightmare-1781.html

The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky


With a sign I walk to the door and bar it behind Davy's kid. He might as well hunker down with the rest of us here. He may as well hunker down here, no reason to be walking around outside while Scratchy is drunk out of his mind.


As I make my way back to the bar, I can here that  drummer kid as panic begins to set in. Never been around guns before from the sound of it, much less in the way of a bullet before. Poor kid, it's a different world around here, not like those cities.


Break down the door? He can try, but no one that drunk could ever manage enough strength to break it down. His bullets are another matter though, it's possible they may wriggle through. Once he starts shooting at it though, that drummer better get down quick, don't want him getting hurt in his first day in town.


The guys are beginning to get irritated, it's bad enough dealing with Scratchy when he's walking around with his guns, but without the marshal here, the man could kill some one, they don't need that drummer reminding them.


Soon the nerves come for me too. Like a thousand ants are running up my spine. I grab my rifle quietly, don't want to alarm anyone, not that they aren't already wishing they had their own guns on them. I see the drummer, poor kids shaking to and fro. It would be better if he was behind the bar with me, so he could duck behind it in case. Don't know what I'm so worried about. I can just imagining that monster breaking down the door with a kick. He can't though, I know it. He's tried three times already.


I know Scratchy is one of the best shots there is here, and that don't make me feel any better. I find my self telling all this to the drummer. I remember that last time Scratchy got drunk, and the marshal shut him up with a bullet in the leg. I see the kid's eyes get wide, as he realizes how helpless we all are. Must be scared out of his wits.


I can hear him shouting down the street, slowly marching up the street. I imagine him swinging his pistols around his head.  As he gets closer I begin to make out his words, he wants a fight. Probably doesn't even know that the marshal isn't here to fight him and put him back in his place. What was so important in San Antonio that he had to leave for there. Now of all times.

Social Norms in Society  

     When reading Hard Times by Charles Dickens you will notice all of the social norms and importance of class during that time period. Today no one really cares, or even asks you, about your class in society or how much wealth you have. 

     An example of social norms for the time is the relationship between Mr. Bounderby and Louisa. She is supposed to be in her twenties and at that time the marriageable age was sixteen and up, so she could be considered somewhat of a spinster. But since she was in a higher class it was a little more acceptable to get married later than the norm. She thought hard about whether to marry Mr. Bounderby or not, as she had no other suitors and he had all the qualifications that her parents would want. They would have wanted an eligible bachelor to have wealth, high class, and a stable career. That is why it was typical for the man to be in his fifties and marry a young wife, which would be thought of as a trophy wife today. 

    

     Another social norm demonstrated in the book was the concept of divorce being totally out of the question. Today you can get a divorce with no questions asked while both the man and the woman can go on living with their lives and even marry again if they choose to. Back in the day if a divorce ever happened then the women could potentially be left with nothing. Back then the men totally supported their wives. In the case of divorce he could take the source of income and the children if he wanted. If their family wouldn't take them back they would have no where else to go. A man could go on to find another wife if he wanted but women would never get remarried. They would literally be left with nothing in life. So they all tended to stay married, even if they were unhappy in the relationship. 

     

     Class was a very serious part of who you were back then. If you were high class you would never be seen with someone who was from the lower class. In a way the lower class could be seen as scum to the higher class. Also a lower class man could never in any case be considered to marry a girl from a higher class. This is because the parents would have some say in the person who their daughter would marry and they would go for the man with more money. Families of lower class would attempt to get their daughters to marry into wealth so they could rise in class. 

     As you can see it was another time where their view on society is very different from ours is today. Though in the end they were doing what themselves and society viewed as normal. Personally I would much prefer living in the 21st century.

-MAL

Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: A Byronic Hero

Though Sweeney Todd is a fictional character, he is the prime example of the Byronic hero, and for many, many reasons.

Todd, from the beginning of the movie, is a noticeably traumatized by his wrongful imprisonment, loss of his wife to suicide (or so he thinks), and inaccessible daughter; all three tragedies that emotionally torture him have one common thread- Judge Turpin- who falsely accuses him to get to his wife, whom he rapes, and then takes his daughter as his own and eventually wants to wed her. This is too much for Todd to handle and he is bound of self-satisfying revenge, taking justice into his own hands and plotting to kill the judge. But he has one extremely violent outburst and murders someone who blackmails him, a man that would have ruined his revenge scheme. With an epiphany, he realizes he'll probably never see his daughter again, therefore having nothing to lose, and that since all men deserve to die, his own core belief, he would be doing the world a favor. And with plenty of manipulation, he is successful in killing the men who come into his shop for a shave and sends them down to the ovens to become meat pies for the restaurant below, showing his reckless, cunning, and ruthless side. By the end, he is depressed to find out that his wife had been alive all along, living as a crazy (due to attempted suicide by arsenic poisoning), homeless woman on the streets of London. Not only that, but it was by his own self-destructive hands that ended her life, due to a wrong-place-wrong-time situation.

One trait that Todd doesn't share with a Byronic hero is self-awareness. He doesn't realize that by choosing his version of justice over legality he is embodying Judge Turpin, the very man he hates. Turpin did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and took his power for granted in evil, immoral ways. Todd is taking his power, as a barber to unsuspecting, trusting victims, for granted as well and is seemingly ignorant of this connection between he and the one man he wishes to kill the most. There is a slight possibility that if Todd has recognized this connection to Turpin, he would've stopped his murder spree. Though, from what I can only imagine, Todd would most likely dive into a deeper depression and take his own life.

So, as you can see by his story, (and by the bold words,) Sweeney Todd had a majority of the characteristics of the Byronic hero.

Frankenstein

           We have just finished writing Frankenstein, 1818, which is the pre-edited version. Overall my feelings on the book was so-so. Because it was mainly composed on what Walton heard from Frankenstein, as a result, the readers do not feel transported to the scene but are merely weighed down by Frankenstein's feelings, or of the monster's feelings, depending on who is talking. These feelings can continue for many paragraphs. Along with this, the speakers go on long tangents about terrors and trials and long explanations. Frankenstein takes a long detour in his story about his misery by talking about his perfect childhood, before getting to the part of the monster. Elizabeth also, when telling Frankenstein about the death of William, goes on a long tangent about where Justine came from and how wonderful she is. This seems unnatural as Frankenstein should have already know all this since he always found her to be wonderful company. The ending was also in a way, disappointing, even though we are reassured that the monster is not evil and regrets all that he has done, Frankenstein is dead, and the monster vows to destroy it's self. Which could have been an early solution before he became as miserable and "wretched" as he now feels. It seemed necessary for the monster to drag Frankenstein to the north, unless he wanted to kill the doctor in this fashion, which his lament makes me believe isn't true. Although I do relate to the monster more so than the doctor, and i sympathize with him, and I feel that he is portrayed in a life like manner, his reactions were believable. I can't say this for the other characters. There manner of speech was far too elevated, even when talking to their closest friends, even in anguish, when one generally isn't concerned with how flowery their speech is. Even the maid, though educated, speaks like the rest of the "human" cast, regardless of the fact that she is on death row, so to speak. Frankenstein's also seemed to be overly dramatic, falling deathly ill multiple times, when ever the worst was upon him. I understand being so horrified and miserable that you are sick, but going from perfectly well to at the brink of death is a little uncalled for. Over all I found this to be forced in terms of drama and high class, but I did not hate the book.
         I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of creating life and enjoyed the monster very much as a character, enjoying the scenes he partook in to be my favorite parts. Although most of my distaste for Frankenstein comes from his abandonment of the monster, the moment it begins to breath, it is rather realistic. Before, he was too hell-bent on succeeding that he didn't look ahead to the implications, (another flaw), but because of this it is reasonable that once he is finished and can officially stand back to see what he's accomplished, he can realize what a horrid thing he has done. Immediately calling it a monster, despite having been looking at it the entire experiment. The monster's appearance is even the doctors fault since the doctor is the one who put him together like that. For Frankenstein to react with horror and run is reasonable, but the fact that he ignores the missing monster, not caring whether it is intelligent or not, or whether it is inherently evil. I think, even if Frankenstein didn't tell anyone about the monster, it would have been reasonable to have searched for it.
         Because this is the pre-edited version, i think it is natural that the style is a little wordy and the characters a little flat. I have no doubt that the other versions will perhaps read much better. I do though, recommend the book, even tough this isn't the point of the blog, but I think I might have discouraged some to read it, which I don't want to do.

The members of this blog are Mikayla Kennaugh, Alice Tranum, and Larissa Gilman hence our name, MAL. Whenever we post and comment we will sign it with our group name. With our blog we hope to have a better understanding and further analyze the different readings that we do in class throughout the week. As of now we are not going to focus on a particular subject or topic but have a more general blog. We hope to gain the interest of all who is reading to help start wonderful discussions. The intended audience will be English majors and all avid readers out there. WE hope you enjoy!
-MAL