“Gothic literature is concerned with the breaking of social and moral codes” – to what extent do you agree with this criticism of gothic writing? Gothic literature often encompasses a large amount of taboos and transgressions that continue to populate the genre today, in which the breaking of social and moral codes is still a popular element that is continually explored. However, critiques often focus upon the driving force behind this exploration within the genre and its effectiveness where moral and social codes remain largely culturally relative and the line between normal and abnormal is unclear. This ambiguity continues to puzzle both readers and critics alike in a fashion that only breeds curiosity and fascination within society of what social and moral codes are available to be broken, particularly within literature. In many ways, the character of Heathcliff within Wuthering Heights may be seen as a complete antithesis to the conventions of society; the name “Heathcliff” acts as both his Christian name and surname in contrast to the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights with many names shared across the generations.
Through the bewitching stories we see that Barth is exploring an entirely new style of writing, sometimes confusing, sometimes fragmented, but always captivating. The Literature of Exhaustion is said to be a contradicting document due to the fact that it comes from a novelist, however John Barth has made it his responsibility to change the face of literary art, and the movement known as postmodernism. In his essays he discusses the importance of a flexible literature a genre that can be continually reinvented with out changing grammar or words. He attempts to do this in the form of novels, such as The Sot-Weed Factor, and novellas collectively known as Chimera, and a collection of short stories, Lost in the Funhouse. The collection of short stories is a great example of his idea of Postmodernity.
Fanny Burney: Evelina (1778): An Introduction The Epistolary: Pamela, like its greater and tragic successor, Richardson’s Clarissa (1747-8), is an epistolary novel; that is, the narrative is conveyed entirely by an exchange of letters. Later novelists have preferred alternative devices for limiting the narrative point of view to one or another single character, but the epistolary technique is still occasionally revived – for example, in Mark Harris’ hilarious novel Wake Up, Stupid (1959). [1] The Epistolary Relies on: - The correspondents being physically separated from one another - The correspondents having the means to convey letters to one another - The readers’ credulity not being stretched too much by the premise that anybody would ever write this many letters – if taken to an extreme (as in Clarissa) it can lead the reader to wonder how the writer had the time to do all the things they are writing about because they are always writing! Problems / Challenges for the Writer of Epistolary Fiction: - All of the above! (See Shamela, in particular, for Fielding’s attack upon the limitations of the epistolary) - Anybody writing epistolary fiction in the latter eighteenth century was arguably in the shadow of the form’s greatest practitioner, Richardson - These problems in Evelina: see, for instance, Volume I, Letter XV (Mr. Villars to Evelina): “I cannot too much thank you, my best Evelina, for the minuteness of your communications; continue to me this indulgence, for I should be miserable if in ignorance of your proceedings”:[2] Burney is forced to manufacture a reason why Evelina should write so many letters!
In “The Fall of House Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe uses different aspects of narrative to generate different moods and feelings in the story. One of the most essential on influencing aspects of narrative is the setting, specifically, House Usher. he actual location of the house is never revealed in the story, along with the time period in which the story takes place. This is probably because the mood of the story would be much harder to maintain if the story had given such precise facts, as it would ruin some of the tension created by this mysterious location. The area surrounding the mansion is the initial setting of the story and is one of the first spooky and theatrical settings Poe renders in his tale.
Gothic Characteristics of Edgar Allan Poe’s ”The Black Cat” In this short essay I intend to collect the most important Gothic features of Poe’s short story, The Black Cat. However, the definition of the literary Gothic is not at all unified. Hence, I would like to discuss first the possible determinations which we can use in analyzing The Black Cat. The Gothic fiction is often defined by its stock devices and its use of a particular atmosphere for essentially psychological purposes. It attempts to immerse the reader in an extraordinary world in which ordinary standards and moral judgments become meaningless and good and evil are seen as inextricably intertwined.
And, is one category better than the other? Noel Gallagher voiced his frustration in an article in the guardian, stating that “read fiction is a waste of f***ing time” and that he only takes interest in factual books, in which things “have actually happened”. He points out how it is often difficult to suspend belief in something fictional, often reverting to thinking as he puts it, “This isn’t f***ing true”. Although Gallagher’s argument may appear rather blunt, it does raise an important point about ‘snobbery’ from people who feel comfortable with words, looking down upon those who aren’t. We must remember however that Noel Gallagher is a song writer himself, so naturally he writes his own fictions in his songs, which like reading, are just another medium of expressing emotion and creative ideas.
“Orientation” meets the criteria for Goldwag’s rule of postmodern fiction story telling due to the way the character contradicts himself within the same sentence, “ This is your phone. Never answer your phone” (484). It is also expressed through the random series of events that appear to lack a plot. However, this is what Orozco is aiming for. He is comparing the real world to the style of his writing, which at first seems messy and insignificant but comes together at the end and
With his tale of corrupt patriarchy filled with mystery, romance, and tragedy, Horace Walpole bridged the gap between the wantonly romantic and the excessively realistic (Scott 11); filling the space with dark settings, stark characters and tangled narratives. It was the sum of all these parts that became the formula that is still followed today by writers of the genre. This essay will outline various elements of the typical gothic novel, and the way in which they are associated with excess in the themes, characterisation, and style of writing. In doing so, the differences in the techniques used in Walpole’s novel Castle of Otranto, and M.R James’s short story Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad, will be identified and discussed. The primary objective of Gothic novelists is to rouse the reader into eliciting emotional responses such as shock or fear (Hume 284).
Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera's novel is a novel of themes and variations. These themes, and the variations on them, are the dichotomies of lightness and weight, soul and body, strength and weakness, and fidelity and infidelity. Other themes are "the event" of totalitarianism, misunderstood words, the Grand March, and death, among others. The plot is not put forward as a straight chronology, but jumps around in time, with the author later interjecting bits that were left out previously. This makes the book more difficult than it needs to be.
This crosses traditional boundaries set forth by Victorian literature, as no single voice guides us through the story. Rather, Rhys juxtaposes the voices of the two main characters in order to open the audience up to an entirely different world than what was presented in Jane Eyre, even though this novel acts as a prequel. The use of multiple narrators really strengthens the identities of the characters presented. In Jane Eyre, while Rochester may not always be a fan favorite, it is conceivable that he is a decent and likable character. Through his narration in Wide Sargasso Sea, it becomes more and more apparent that he is not a great person.