...Gothicism in Detective Fiction The Hound of the Baskervilles By Yue Zhao Submitted to the School of Foreign Studies in Partial Fulfillment to the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English (International Trade) Under the Supervision of Ms. Tang Jun June, 2012 Acknowledgement I would like to pay tribute to all those people who have given me a hand in the process of writing this thesis. Without their gracious help, the accomplishment of this thesis would not be so smooth. First and foremost, I deeply appreciate my supervisor, Ms. Tang Jun, who has provided me with so many valuable comments and constructive advice all the way through. But for her constant and invariable patience and kindness in guiding me, it would be more difficult for me to go through all the confusions and find a right direction. My thanks also go to the teachers who has given me suggestions, which benefit me a lot when I make the original plan, in the opening defence. With their help, I get to know where I should go next. Last but not the least, I extend my thanks to my classmates and my dearest parents for their encouragement and support. Wheneve I feel frustrated with my work, they are always there. Gothicism in Detective Fiction The Hound of the Baskervilles Abstract: As one of the most influential people who are never alive, Sherlock Holmes, written by Arthur Conan Doyle, attracts researches. The Hound of the Baskervilles...
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...Notable features of Gothicism in particular are Cecily’s daydreams of Algy being a medieval knight-in-shining-armor and her elaborate paintings of their imaginary love affair within the pages of her diary. Additionally, the change of scenery for Lady Bracknell’s interrogation of Jack depicts her as almost a sinister gothic countess. Instead of having the interview immediately upon the time of the engagement in Algernon’s apartment, Lady Bracknell chooses to have Jack come to her home the next day. Upon arrival, Jack appears to be miniscule compared to her towering, luxurious estate with a grand staircase. The interview is set in a rather large room with two servants sitting on either side of her, recording notes. Lady Bracknell has a glass of water, a bell, and a notebook...
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...The term 'gothic' has many different forms. The most important and original form is architecture during the medieval period. It starts out with the great cathedral, Saint-Denis, of Paris. Then the Westminster Abbey of London was built. These are characterized by their pointed arches and flying buttresses. Gothicism also came in the form of art. Tres Riches Heures du duc de Berry, by the Limburg brothers, showed elegance through statements in the best known way of gothic art. This popular style of art is called manuscript illuminations. Manuscript illuminations are text followed by decoration, usually gold. During the mid-18th century, literature took a new step having the first gothic novel, "The Castle of Otranto," first published in 1764. This novel was combined with a horror and mystery genre (Martindale). Gothicism began to be apart of churches by having stained glass windows and pictures of biblical people. The style of nudity from Adam and Eve was also portrayed to be gothic. As Gothicism grew it rose to the 1980's and started a movement called punk, and later related to Fantasy Art. It then, in the 1990s, blossomed to what is called Neo-Gothic Art. It is inspired by Charles Alexander Moffat and is a period when the people wanted to express themselves as more than normal in a number of ways. A person of example would be Marilyn Manson, whose personal style and music is characterized as being "dark" and "mysterious" (Folkenroth). Characteristics of gothic novels have...
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...and this extract is no exception. The female character is “beneath” the monk who “witnessed without mercy the convulsive trembling of her limbs”; he is described as “inhuman” and this reinforces the idea of male dominance in Gothic texts because it is clear to see who’s in charge. The monk is physically empowering the female character which creates a sense of horror within the extract since it is physically happening to the victim. The extract is introduced with “The monk continued to kneel upon her breast”, so from the very beginning the unnamed female character is sexualised and also presented as weak and powerless in the extract. Lewis has done this because it is typical of the Gothic genre to present women as powerless towards men. Gothicism pressures the rules and morals of religion by representing it as being corrupted. Lewis has used this convention throughout the whole extract since it is a monk that has raped someone and the only colour that is mentioned then is “blackness”, this could connote the corruption of the monk’s soul since he is no longer pure or innocent the way he should be. The narrative voice is in third person which shows omniscience and since this is about monk it could be the voice of god who knows and sees the sins he has committed and his “future punishment” could be hell. Representing religion as corrupted is a real taboo however Lewis has taken this convention and has used it throughout the extract by having a monk who is believed to be an epitome...
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...Elements of Fiction In the story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the characterization is most found in three different characters. The first one is Tessie Hutchinson. She arrives late to the lottery, admitting that she forgot what day it was, she immediately stands out from the other villagers as someone different and perhaps even threatening. Whereas the other women arrive at the square calmly, chatting with one another and then standing peacefully by their husbands. Tessie arrives flustered and out of breath. The crowd must part for her to reach her family, and she and her husband endure good-natured teasing as she makes her way to them. Although Tessie quickly settles into the crowd and joins the lottery like everyone else, Jackson has set her apart as a kind of free spirit who was able to forget about the lottery entirely as she performed her chores. The other two characters are Old Man Warner, for his being the oldest and perhaps wisest to the lottery, and Mr. Summers for his frighteningly amount of power. The point of view in The Lottery uses the third person dramatic point of view to tell a story about an un-named village that celebrates a wicked annual event. The use of the third-person point of view, is an effective way of telling this ironic tale, both because the narrator’s reporter-like blandness parallels the villagers apparent apathy to the lottery, and because it helps build to the surprise ending by giving away bits of information to the reader through the...
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...Rebekka Westermeyer ENG Comp 1 McGough 3/12/2015 The Gothic Novel In the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century, gothic fiction arose as a new genre in the literary field. Functioning as cult literature gothic literature compels readers to think, and really consider the immense emotion writers could stimulate. Often overly dramatic with its supernatural, horrific, and suspenseful material, this melancholy form of literature prompted the use of darkness and mystery in order to spawn feelings of obscurity, secrecy, and trepidation. Gothic literature operates as a pulp genre that was often seen as an intense type of romance with its stylized, non-realistic, idealized or emblematic tales presented in the form of an adventure through the use of a discovery quest. Yet its evocative powers of horror and terror explore the gratification and titillations of shockingly perverse. Before being applied to the context of a literary form the term gothic originally referred to an ancient Germanic tribe that derived from what is now known as southern Sweden, before migrating to the shores of the Baltic Sea known as the Goths. This tribe eventually split into two factions that would be known as the Visigoths or West Goths and the Ostrogoths or East Goths. Centuries would pass before the term gothic would once again emerge this time with a different meaning. Sometime during the renaissance Greco-Roman culture was rediscovered by Europeans. In this rediscovery the term “gothic” now referred...
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...stays on the substance of it in a general sense unsound if Garrison implies that a skillful perusing of "Ligeia," for instance, should turn the reader's affections from loathsomeness toward Intellectual Happiness. There is a general sense in which Garrison might be right about the reader's involvement. A story of dread may add to upgrading a reader's mankind - as do every single important gem - by practicing and enhancing his recognition and points of view, his sensitivities and self - mindfulness; just so far may such a story play out a morally profitable capacity. Be that as it may, as Garrison illustrates, associating such a capacity with a story, for example, "Ligeia" is no basic issue. Garrison's proposal appears a protection of Poe's Gothicism, a quality frequently thought of questionable...
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...only hear his words. The monster is also used to criticize the thought that inner beauty shows a person’s virtue. Victor is beautiful and lives a great life, as he is first describes his parents’ love “I was their plaything and their idol, and something better—their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery”(29). Victor’s appearance shows that he had everything he ever needed in life. This luxury is opposite to the creation and one can sympathize with the wretch because he does not the same advantages There are clear contradictions between the wretch and Frankenstein, they each show ideas of Romanticism and Gothicism in different ways. The creation’s appearance and lust for vengeance cause him great grief and show how miserable he is. Unlike Victor, he feels pain his entire life and has no real experience of joy. Shelley uses this to show that human nature is sometimes unfair or unjust in how the reader is able to sympathize with the wretch but none of the characters in the book can. ...
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...I agree with her to a degree that it is good writing but she takes it too far. It is good but not as good as she says. Her arguments are elitist. According to her claims Brown can’t be understood and appreciated by most. I believe that it can be appreciated and enjoyed without her fanatical devotion. Like most good literature there are many levels to Brown’s writing. Reading through it once with a basic understanding you can still get a message from it. She believes unless you appreciate it to her unreasonable level then you don’t appreciate it at all. She also clearly believes that those who aren’t as enamored with it as she is don’t deserve it at all. Her arguments could also be applied to many other works that came with the wave of gothicism that Brown was towards the start of. While I agree that some of his ideas are quite revolutionary. I believe he was part of a greater movement not the single representation of these new ideas. She also clouds her arguments to add credibility. By extending paragraphs overly with complex language she makes her arguments harder to extract from the essay to criticize. In conclusion, I believe that she is too extreme in her adoration of Brown’s work....
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...I chose to study and analyze J.M.W. Turner’s Slave Ship for this project and found it to be very interesting. Immediately while looking at the piece you get a strong sense of emotion and drama that is being portrayed. There is a lot of depth and warmth in the colors that are used and wide swift brush strokes to create the images. The first image that caught my eye was of waves crashing on the left side of the painting. The white tips of the waves are very noticeable against the softer shades of the ocean. Behind the waves is a ship which is the next part of the painting that drew my attention. The ship seems to be caught in the rough waves of the sea and barely able to keep afloat. There is a glimmer of light from the sun peeking through and then what appears to be objects floating in the water. Without knowing the title of the painting I probably would not have known what these objects were but because the piece is title Slave Ship that leads me to believe that the images in the ocean are supposed to be humans, or slaves, that either fell out of the boat during the rough waves or tried to escape and swim away from the ship. The most interesting part of the painting is how the artist is able to seamlessly mold all of the images and emotions into one. It almost looks as though the piece was made in one continuous motion. The strokes and the colors used create a very powerful image and create a dramatic reaction for the viewer. This particular work of art by J.M.W. Turner was...
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...iridescent waterfalls, and rock paved mountains, and ferocious unsettled seas. In Plato’s Atlantis, the Sublime of nature was paralleled and supplanted by that of technology- the extreme space-time compressions produced by the Internet. As a whole Plato’s Atlantis was a powerful evocation of Sublime and it’s expression of the Romantic and it’s involvement in the post-modern. It featured: a glimmering runway with short reptile dressed models on platform shoes that expedited to a peeking look into the future of fashion. McQueen’s suicide on February 12th of 2010 after the suicide of Isabella Blow and days after the death of his mother Joyce left the fashion world reeling. Tearstained eyes remembered the legacy of McQueen and his romance, Gothicism and love of transferring models to a realm of superhuman existence through his creations and their megaphone of symbolism. Revisiting the meaning of art, McQueen was the diamonds in a chandelier hanging from a house that has only known normality and safe repetition. His risks and meaningful engulfment in his eccentric mind’s ocean of ideas are what define true art. He broke boundaries and introduced a new kind of beauty into the narrow minded. Alexander McQueen represents authenticity and imagination that stands for more than just a generalized and accepted aesthetic. ...
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...ENG 102 06 May 2013 Southern Aspects of Gothic Literature Southern gothic writing is a sub genre of the gothic writhing that was originated and most popular during the 1800s in Europe. Southern gothic is unique to American literature in the way that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events that guide the plot (wisegeek.org.) Unlike gothic style it uses the tools not for the purpose of suspense, but to explore the social issues, and reveal the cultural character of the American south (people.duke.edu.) It is considered to be “Grotesque” which displays a character whose negative qualities allow the author to highlight unpleasant aspects in southern culture. Its defining feature is that it symbolizes problems created by the established pattern and then questions the established pattern’s morality and ethical justification (wisegeek.org.) Some of the other specific features that this style of literature has, is its freakishness; being an outsider; imprisonment; violence; and even the sense of setting in which it takes place(wisegeek.org.) There is usually an important character that is set apart from the world by some kind of negative way, or disability (wisegeek.org.) Some characters may not follow the established cultural pattern but in the end they are considered heroes. Some kind of difference allows them to see a new way of doing things that help bring people to the dark side. When speaking of imprisonment, it is both literal and figurative (wisegeek...
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...The Lottery and Bartleby, the Scrivener Gothic Literature is known for its presentation of hidden darkness of the human condition. The appearance of Gothic literature can often include parts that shock or place terror in the reader. However, its important to also understand that the human condition can be determined while reading different pieces of Gothic literature. In the short stories Bartleby, the Scrivener, written by Herman Melville and The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson are both pieces of Gothic literature that can compare to each other because they discover different human conditions. When reading The Lottery we are introduced to a beautiful summer day, where the residents of a small town gather for an event known as the lottery. Mr. Summers is the man who controls the lottery and who is the man to bring the black box to the gathering area. While Mr.Summers stands and shuffles the papers inside it, the residents make sure they are carful to keep distance from the box. The residents are joined by Tessie Hutchinson the main character and who is Bill Hutchinson's wife, when the lottery begins the men are called by their family names to draw from the black box. Old Man Warner who is the oldest man in town criticizes that the lottery is necessary for a good harvest, and that people in the other towns are stupid for entertaining the idea. Once the drawing is finished, Mr.Summers directs that the men look at their paper to see who has been picked. It has been revealed...
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...One great way to briefly turn the conversation toward myself at a party is to answer the question, "So, what do you do?" with, "I'm a writer." Not that most of the people I've met at parties have read my novels or short stories or feature articles; when they ask, "Have I seen any of your stuff?" I shrug and the conversation moves on. If I want attention for an hour or so, however, I'll tell them my horrible secret — for several years I made much of my freelance income writing term papers. I always wanted to be writer, but was told from an early age that such a dream was futile. After all, nobody ever puts a classified ad in the paper that reads “Writers Wanted.” Then, in the Village Voice, I saw just such an ad. Writers wanted, to write short pieces on business, economics, and literature. It was from a term paper mill, and they ran the ad at the beginning of each semester. Writing model term papers is above-board and perfectly legal. Thanks to the First Amendment, it’s protected speech, right up there with neo-Nazi rallies, tobacco company press releases, and those "9/11 Was An Inside Job" bumper stickers. It's custom-made Cliff Notes. Virtually any subject, almost any length, all levels of education — indulgent parents even buy papers for children too young for credit cards of their own. You name it, I've done it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the plurality of clients was business administration majors, but both elementary education majors and would-be social workers showed up...
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...“Although terrifying, many of the stories are also darkly comic.” Consider at least two of the stories from The Bloody Chamber in the light of this comment. * candidates must consider at least two stories here – they may consider more * exploration of the ways in which the stories may be considered terrifying, an aspect of the gothic – likely reference to the numerous instances of horrific violence, sexual depravity, supernatural powers, psychological fear etc * exploration of the ways in which some of the stories may be considered comic – “Puss-in-Boots” is obviously comic – other stories have moments of sardonic humour, often created by surprise or defiance of our expectations * Response to the word “darkly” in the question and its implications of black comedy – laughing at things which are not normally considered funny – expect some personal response here – sense of humour is very individual! * some candidates may discuss Carter’s language – her intermingling of the poetic and literary with the bluntly crude may be seen as a source of dark humour, equally her choice of structure may make her writing darkly comic – her use of juxtaposition – some readers have seen the absurd brevity of “The Snow Child” as comic and it is unquestionably “dark” Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’ certainly embeds an element of terror within the collection. However, despite claims of horror apparent in the Marquis from the very start, it is also reasonable to argue that...
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