...clearly conform to the conventions of the fantasy genre in a number of ways. The main elements of fantasy are discussed in relation to the two texts, with examples provided. This essay will discuss several of the core characteristics of fantasy literature, including the concepts of magic, otherworlds, good vs. evil, heroism, special character types and talking animals. These characteristics of literature are all identified in the two texts, Assassin’s Apprentice by Hobb and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Fantasy, as a genre of literature, is a story or series of stories, which exhibits certain definable elements that make the plot unreal and challenge the reader to suspend disbelief. There are many of these unreal elements, which feature in the fantasy genre. These unreal elements vary from mythical beasts roaming an imagined world to Earth-like natural settings in which animals take on human characteristics. There are also clearly recognizable conventions of fantasy, such as toys coming to life, miniature humans, magical powers, and time-warp stories. A fantasy novel would usually encompass more than one of these unreal elements. However, a fantasy story needs to possess only one of these unreal features in order to be classified as a part of the fantasy genre. Put simply, a fantasy story is one with at least one element that cannot be found in the human world. Magic is the most basic element of fantasy; magic is what draws a reader to fantasy. Magic involves charms, spells...
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...he filmed in April of 2011. In this video, an L.A. street dancer named Lil Buck performs a style of dance, which is commonly referred to as “gangster walking”, while classical musician Yo-Yo Ma accompanies him on the cello. The performance cannot be compared to anything else – the blend of street dancing and classical music is truly a unique combination. It’s a combination that we don’t see in everyday life, a distortion of reality – which is most likely why Jonze was drawn to the idea. From his early days as a music video director and all throughout his career, Spike Jonze has had a penchant for escaping the confines of reality. From one of his earliest music videos, which plays in reverse, to films like Being John Malkovich and Where the Wild Things Are, in which he literally brings the viewer in to a new reality. This distortion of reality is a mirror of Spike’s obsession with straying from convention, in narrative and filmmaking technique. While Spike and his characters may seek to escape the confines of reality, what they are really seeking under the surface is acceptance. Spike’s work reveals a common human tension – the desire to be unique, yet also accepted. One reoccurring theme that reverberates through much of Jonze’s work is the idea of a distorted reality. Jonze has proven to be a master of manipulating the techniques of filmmaking to create this effect. During his time as a music video director, Jonze directed a...
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...“Fiction presents more opportunities for creating uncanny sensations than are possible in real life” (Freud, 18). This quote comes from an essay written by Sigmund Freud in 1919 entitled “The ‘Uncanny.’” In this article, Freud discusses the subject of uncanniness and proposes what he thinks deems certain events or things to be labeled as uncanny. Freud states, “the ‘uncanny’ is that class of the terrifying which leads back to something long known to us, once very familiar” (1-2). Freud theorizes that one would find something uncanny if he had previous exposure to it, but was now viewing it in a horrifying manner. For example, a doll is not supposed to be terrifying. Dolls are loved by young children and seen as innocent or harmless. However, a fictional story about a doll that becomes possessed and kills people is frightening to people of all ages. This scenario would be considered uncanny because a doll, such a familiar thing, has deviated from the norm and turned horrific. Freud’s essay continues to flourish around the idea that it is most frightening when something so familiar turns into something so terrible. This feeling of mixed emotions can be referred to as “cognitive dissonance.” In the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, cognitive dissonance is defined as, “psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously.” While Freud himself never mentioned this psychological term himself in his article, it is very obvious that it has correlation...
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... Our world today is populated with distinctive cultures and their unique languages, communication, beliefs, etc. that make our universe exquisitely diverse. As human beings, we tend to adapt to our own culture quite fast and we become used to perceiving our group of people as the only thing that is "good." We fear wanting to assimilate or broaden our knowledge to other cultures, for it is our natural instinct to shut out anything unfamiliar to us. In her essay, "Arts of the Contact Zone," Mary Louise Pratt argues for importance of understanding the point where two cultures clash, the contact zone, and that it can be powerful to engage in one's culture by expanding our grasp of knowledge and wisdom in the diversity we live in today. Pratt introduces three major concepts in her argument that exemplify the objective of her essay: the contact zone, autoethnographic texts, and transculturation. Upon viewing two other pieces by Richard Rodriguez, “The Achievement of Desire” and Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Rodriguez and Anzaldua demonstrate Pratt's argument by supporting her concepts about the influence of contact zones between two juxtaposing cultures. In her argument, "Arts of the Contact Zone," Pratt introduces the theme of her argument, the contact zones: the point where cultures clash and come together in unison. Where one culture has a lot more power than the other. A contact zone is the root of how every race and ethnicity should come...
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...suggest balance and to present pairs of ideas of equal value. 3. Use complex sentence to emphasize the most important ideas and to subordinate less important ideas. 4. Avoid "empty" sentence frames that say little or restate the obvious. 5. Use present tense when referencing details in a literary work except for passages written in the past tense. 6. Incorporate short, key quoted phrases into analytical sentences. 7. Avoid the use of such words and phrases as "you" and "the reader" that often lead to wordiness. 8. Avoid the phrase, "In conclusion," when opening the concluding paragraph. 9. Avoid gratuitous complements and superlatives. Paragraph Development 1. Use Pattern 1 paragraph frames for most paragraphs in the body of academic essays. 2. Begin body paragraphs with claims as topic sentences that repeat key concepts from the thesis sentence. 3. Always introduce the speaker, context, and/or significance of block quotations. 4. Always follow block quotations with a response that clarifies the significance of the quoted passage. 5. Avoid lengthy quotations. 6. Use a balanced reference to the readings of a text, including combinations of allusions, paraphrases, summaries, and quotations. 7. Enhance the discussion of the topic sentence with both primary development (explanation of the main idea in the topic sentence) and...
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...Before I started writing, multiple ideas rushed in my mind. I have quite a few places that evoke certain feelings, and/or that hold very special memories of mine. All of these places actually revolved around an natural source of water. After seeking guidance, I decided to write about my favorite beach, where I created mountains full of memories there. I have been going to Barcelona Beach for fourteen years, but I tried to limit my personal experiences to emphasise the private aspect of my Barcelona. I developed my essay to deliver the strongest use of imagery, I could. To fully influence readers to agree with my thesis, I used very vivid descriptive words to appeal to the reader’s senses. Throughout the entire paper, I tried to explain how...
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...gay community in schools, while in Filkins’s “Atonement he focuses on the military and how they are ordered to murder people (peaceful people) solely based on the fact that they look different than you and me. Collectively these essays provide the same point of view by joining many nonfiction elements, hate unfortunately is a common cause of unfortunate death demonstrated through style, diction, and characterization. Erdely suggest the theme of hate through her style and strong point of view. The diction of her work is for the optimistic reader. Erdely takes a clear stance on the hate against the gay community in schools, the reader is given her point of view with cleaver diction and brawny...
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...In his essay, “Fairy Stories”, J.R.R.Tolkien explains that authors, or sub-creators, must develop secondary worlds with infinite possibilities. Tolkien suggests an effective secondary world, must contain circumstances that are realistic in the sense of the secondary world’s laws, altering the reader’s belief system. Also, sub-creators, developing these secondary worlds, must continue sustaining the reader’s disbelief by developing curiosities, encouraging the reader’s exploration. An author utilizing Tolkien's secondary world is J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This novel traces Harry’s journey of discovering his magical abilities, through a world of wizards. In her novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's...
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...Queer Cinema Essay One Camp and Drag The stylistic choices camp and drag have been around since the 1920’s. Camp is anything that falls under a category of being kitsch, cheesy, melodramatic, or low brow. It also suggests effeminacy. Drag is simply dressing as a gender opposite the gender one identifies with. Therefore, camp and drag are directly related. These elements add to the overall effect of a film and can either hurt or hinder the success of a film. There are strong elements of both in Johnny Guitar. Johnny guitar is a 1954, Western film that challenges the roles of women in the wild west. The film had a mediocre reception even though it stars film legend Joan Crawford. The story focuses on Crawford’s character Vienna who has builds a saloon out side of town and wants to build her own town once the railroad is built. However, the town’s people, led by Emma Small want her gone. So, Vienna hires Johnny Guitar for protection. This inciting incident is where the story begins. Throughout the trials and tribulations the characters face, camp and drag fuel the plot and the interactions between the characters. Elements of camp and drag are evident through the environment, and scenery and, and Vienna’s wardrobe. Johnny Guitar is essentially a western, however the scenery slightly disagrees. There are two instances where the scenery does not adhere to the rules of a western film. The first is Vienna’s saloon and the second is the Dancing Kid and his gang’s hideaway....
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...A reflective essay is a piece of writing that basically involves your views and feelings about a particular subject. The goal of a reflective essay is to not only discuss what you learned, but to convey the personal experiences and findings that resulted. Writing a reflective essay is your chance to reveal and talk about your personal insight about a topic. Reflective essays are used as a self-assessment measure of sorts; they allow you to address your experiences and what you've gained. The reflective essay consists of your individual views on the matter and an explanation of your stance. The goal of this essay is to successfully relay your own beliefs, attitudes and observations. In some reflective essays, you'll be required to support your conclusions by citing materials such as books, journals, articles and other resources. A reflective essay should reflect your own thoughts on the subject matter, not those of others. The poem by Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B”, brought back memories of myself growing up during the times where it was truly a white only and black only world. It was not college that I had to endure the color barriers but it was going to elementary through high school. I went to an all black school until I entered high school. The plot seems to take on a very structured, by providing detailed background information. The plot is clearly connected to the setting as Hughes states “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there...
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...Taste of Freedom - Student comment: This essay is not made by a student with english as his primary language. It is subject for grammatical errors. Have you lived your life the way you’ve always wanted to live it? Or are you looking back at missed opportunities and regrets, which are slowly taking over your state of mind. In our current society, where individualism dominates and the spotlight is pointed at personal achievements, a lot of people find themselves living in the past or in their minds as the only solution for satisfaction or as an escape from reality. This is situation that Ray Drower is stuck in, in the short story “A Taste of Freedom”. Ray indirectly gets confronted with his opposite and the one he always wanted to be like. The story has two settings during its timespan of several weeks. The story sets off in the suburbs in England, which in most cases associates with areas that are heavily dominated by family residents just like the Drowers. Suburban families can be of a wide variety of social classes, but are mostly middleclass. The atmosphere is due to the family environment, which surrounds the neighborhoods, affected by the mentality of settling down. Most people settle down, when a family is being established. The level of disturbance and noise is probably at a minimum due to this and the isolation from the wildlife of the city. The most disturbing thing may be the dog next door barking at a constant rate. The story takes place in the modern time, even though...
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...American Literature because it does contain the essential elements...
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...together in any two of the set texts in Block 4? ‘The lure of the real’ (Bogan,A.2006) and the ‘power of the fantastic’ (EA300,Block 4) are used to create dramatic effect and depth to narratives, in interesting and diverse ways. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive. When the real and the fantastic combine, truly delightful and often informative, stories are created. Novels differ in their proportional use of realism and fantasy. Realism is commonly used to convey a sense of believability, to give gravitas to characters and to enable a child reader to understand through the presentation of the familiar and recognisable. Fantasy can be viewed as a “departure from consensus reality.” (Hume cited in EA300. Block4.p169). This could exist in the form of imaginary play, dreams, unworldly creations or literal impossibility. This essay will concentrate on Swallows and Amazons and Tom’s Midnight Garden. Each text has different approaches to the use of reality and fantasy. However, they convey similar themes and messages through various presentations of ‘the real’ and ‘the fantastic.’ Ransome and Pearce anchor their stories in reality by creating a “powerful sense of place and” a “celebration of freedom underpinned by family security.” (EA300, Block4) Ransome achieves this by distinct geographical representation of the Lake District in his description. The Walker’s are allowed relative freedom under the watchful eyes of ‘natives,’ predominantly their mother. Pearce’s approach...
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...Compare-Contrast Essay The thought of doing an essay for most people can at be quite intimidating because of the need to be technically proficient, following the mandatory expectations outlined and some might find them boring because they feel like it is too restrictive in nature. That is merely just a common misconception though, there are several different styles of essays and the two that are going to be discussed are descriptive and narrative essays. The narrative essay's main purpose is to tell a story using characters and a plot, where perhaps a problem is given, and the events that unfold eventually explain a solution to the problem or issue presented. In contrast the descriptive essay can be very powerful in the fact it is written using the five senses (visual, audible, taste, tactile sensations and smells) this allows the author to bring a scene or object to life in the mind of the reader. While narrative essays are almost like a movie that is played out in the judgment of the reader, the descriptive essay paints a vivid photograph or place the reader can experience and this is why descriptive essays are the superior of the two styles. One of the best qualities that narrative essays are able to offer over descriptive essays is they are structured to appeal to the simplest of mankind's urge to share a good story. There are various forms in which we can find a narrative writing example such as a poem, play, novel and the obvious essay. There are times...
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...of the past and that it no longer exists; however, that is not the case. In this brief essay I will discuss the similarities and differences between the poem “What It’s like to be a Black Girl” and the short story “Country Lovers”. Each story depicts women who experienced racism or prejudices in some shape or form, whether it was because of the color of their skin, being a women or social economic background; in either case the results end up the same. The problem of racism is a complex one; it is difficult to characterize it or place it into one category due to its far reaching effects and implications. The moral issues generate social concerns. ("Racism in america," 2002) Some may have experienced various forms of discrimination such as gender, economic status or weight, but how many have actually experienced racism based on their race? Patricia Smith wrote the poem “What It’s like to be a Black Girl “, this was written in 1991. (Clugston, 2010) There are several different tones Patricia uses during her poem, the first is sad a young girl describing how she feels. As the poem progresses you hear the rage or the bitterness in her voice as she gets older. In this poem she uses similes to describe her pain going through puberty and not bring able to control the way she looks or her body. “It’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything wrong”. (Clugston, 2010) In this poem she does not...
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