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Themes of gothic literature
Elements of gothic literature
Themes of gothic literature
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In the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were known for their use of gothic elements in their types of writing. The plot of gothic literature novels typically involves people who become involved in complex and oftentimes evil paranormal schemes, usually against an innocent and helpless heroine. Poe used gothic dimensions to explore the human mind in extreme situations. Hawthorne examined the human heart under conditions of fear, vanity, mistrust, and betrayal. Even though Hawthorne and Poe used the gothic elements, they still used different types of darkness to portray their writing to the reader.
American literature is known for its unique and distinct qualities. American literature has many different peculiar characteristics, but the themes and styles that the authors use make it stand out. For example, the book “Outer Dark” by Cormac McCarthy is an American gothic novel about two siblings, Culla and Rinthy, who have a baby together. Culla does not want this baby, so he leaves it in the woods and tells his sister it died. When Rinthy finds out that the baby is not dead, she leaves alone to find the child, and Culla sets out to seek his sister.
Elements of Southern Gothic Literature has multiple impacts on the endings of stories. Flannery O’Connor used Southern Gothic Literature in her short stories such as “Good Country People”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”. Flannery O’Connor uses spinsters, horifing endings, and mental insibility with one or more characters in the three stories previously mentioned. Flannery O’Connor used Souther Gothic Literature in many of her short stories for example, in “Good Country Poeple” O’Connor used spinsters, horrifying endings, and mental insibility.
With the coming and going of the American Civil War, the way of life, thinking, and culture of the country was radically changed. This change that many believe occurred only in the southern portion of the United States instead took place across the country as a whole; the south being the place that is most discussed when looking at pre- and post-civil war differences. The Antebellum South that once was a thriving community was no more. Instead everything was turned on its head. Before the Civil war, idealism was this idea of the Antebellum South portrayed in popular culture; the quintessential example that we use for the Antebellum South is the movie, Gone with the Wind, in which everything was viewed through rose-colored glasses.
Southern Gothic is a term used to describe the grotesque feeling of the South. When portraying “Southern Gothic” in photography we see the South in a way that others do not imagine. They include darkness, landscapes, churches, graveyards, moss and water; everything that makes up the south. These pictures depict the social issues and cultural character of the American South. There is deep history in the south that has stayed around to haunt the future.
In Roald Dahl’s The Landlady the genre is not Southern Gothic Literature. It has the opportunity to be but it ain’t , y’all. It’s utterly American (British) Gothic Literature but mysterious just like Southern Gothic.
Karina Quintanar Microeconomics Dropbox 1 05 May 2017 An important entrepreneur that I would consider an “entrepreneurial legend” would be John Pierpont Morgan or better known as J.P. Morgan. J.P. was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1837 and he died in Rome, Italy in 1913 (History.com Staff).
In gothic literature, the elements used by the author depicts how the piece of work is going to unfold. Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving depict the themes of psychological issues and entrapment through the short stories: “Black Cat”by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”by Edgar Allan Poe, and “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. The gothic theme of entrapment is commonly used across various pieces of literature. Entrapment is the idea of being contained by something either physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Outsiders are not always obvious, and it is a part of growing up and learning everywhere. The Southern Gothic genre is meant to tell narratives of the south with a hint of creepiness to add to the overall message of it. The genre evokes many emotions through the numerous messages given through all forms of literature. It still has power today because if the authentic stories and morals it gives. Violence, imprisonment, amd outsiders are all negative aspects of the south, but it does not take an ample amount of labor to make it positive and learn from
The First thing that makes this story southern gothic literature is the characters. Miss Emily was one of the main character is this short story she is southern gothic just by having a servant who was African American named Tobe because only in the old southern times had slaves. Another thing that
Gothic literature is a style of literature that takes place in the past, most of the time it has someone who dies and it has a creepy vibe/tone behind it . Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” is a good example of Gothic literature because it shows how a man goes to visit an old friend and see how his friend and his friends twin sister die. “The whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day. ”(13)
Gothic Literature is a genre that was popular between 18th to 19th centuries in North Germany. It is always being associated with Dark Romanticism which the emphasize was more on nature, terror and death, horror and many more. It involves dark and gloomy setting and also unexplainable things that are beyond human senses and reason such as ghosts and monsters. The main characters, on the other hand, are always ineffectual which they do not give much effect on the story plot. This can be seen through Washington Irving’s “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which can be considered as American gothic work in terms of its description of setting, the involvement of supernatural element in the story and also the characteristics of the main character.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most influential writer of all time, as he was one of the first writers to explore darker themes through literature such as death and revenge. He has revolutionized the gothic genre for years to come. Throughout the many gothic works of Edgar Allan Poe including, The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, and many more; Poe gives a unsettling tone which defines most of his writing. Poe tries to do this through incorporating specific literary techniques like erie imagery and cryptic diction.
Analyzing Development: “Where is Here?” by Joyce Carol Oates Gothic literature holds an allure that readers and audiences often draw into; its combination of wickedness, mystery, death, and even romance stirs a sensation, a charm no other genre has. Through this charm, Edgar Allan Poe, the "founding voice of American gothic tradition," was able to pioneer interest into many future writers in the American writing industry. Specifically, modern writer Joyce Carol Oates implicated traditional gothic elements from Poe. Using dialogue, diction, and the interaction between characters, Oates carefully establishes the foundations and elements of spookiness into her gothic story—“Where is Here?”
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” tells the story of a young woman who is battling severe depression. The protagonist is essentially locked away for the summer as a cure for her psychological disorder(s) (Craig 36). Being locked in the house with the yellow wallpaper worsens her mental state and eventually drives her to insanity. Throughout the course of the story, the protagonist’s mental state noticeably declines; she claims there are people in the wallpaper and believes it is haunting her. Several Gothic themes are scattered throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper”; however, the protagonist’s isolation, the presence of insanity, and the occurring idea of supernatural elements are most prominent and can be used to justify “The Yellow