A Rose For Emily

“A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner is a story about a woman who refused to accept change. When her father died, she denied his death for three days, arguing that he was still alive. Emily Grierson was said to come from more of a prestige family, but after her father’s death, she was left with nothing. The mayor at the time exempt her from taxes, saying that it was a way to repay her for the money her father lent the town; a way to hide the charitable handout. The story also shows how Emily found love in a northern, day laborer, which had the townspeople talking. She had bought arsenic one day, which was thought was to commit her own suicide, but by the end of the story, the readers find out what horrible deed was done. After her death, city authorities searched through the house, and found in an old, seemed to be abandoned room, the decayed body of Homer Barron, her former lover. Next to his body, was an indented pillow with strands of Emily’s gray hair. Killing the man she loved was a way she could keep him forever, in her struggles with coping with reality.

There were several gothic elements to this story, which were displayed through the descriptive settings and the small town secrets. Gothic settings take forms of architecture as well as nature. Gothic moods are set by descriptions of settings; cold, dim, gloomy, etc. Another element in Gothic literature is small town secrets, where the secrets are horrid and can make some people go mad.

Charles Johnson uses the same elements in countless other stories, one being “The Exchange Value”. In this story, the old women led a mysterious and secretive life, which the two brothers were curious of. As they break in the house they find out that, she inherited a large amount of money, which then she was afraid to loose, and became a hoarder. Also in Twin Peaks, there are many examples of secrets, and how secrets lead to destruction. As we see in, “A Rose for Emily” her once lovely house, has began to decay and tarnish. Her house was dark and dirty, filth piled itself among the walls, and horrible smells emerged, and was described as “an eyesore among eyesores.” Throughout the story, there is a sense that something was being hidden. The narrator mentions strange things such as the purchase of the arsenic, and then again how Homer returned to Emily and both were never seen outside again. Emily’s deranged secret was that the arsenic was used to kill Homer, keeping him locked away to be with her forever.

In each of these three stories, elements of gothic fiction appear strongly. The settings help to set the mood of mystery and suspense and as the stories play out, the secrets are revealed. Small town secrets, in all examples, have been anything but pleasant. These secrets, like stealing the money, which caused the disorder of hording, and Emily’s secret murder, show how terrible secrets bring people to go crazy.

Replacements: an afterthought

I neglected to mention Poe's "The Black Cat" and how I noticed it's similarities to "Replacements". A very obvious similaritiy is the husband's urge to hurt-even kill-his wife's pet. But what is different is that in "The Black Cat" the husband hurts the cat out of twisted thoughts of alcohol-fueled madness, whereas in "Replacements" the husband's contempt for the creature is simply because it doesn't seem normal. It doesn't fit with the world he grew up in. There has to be something wrong with it. And it is pulling him away from his wife. Her mothering instincts appear to take over and dominate her entire existence. Strangely enough, other women who own these creatures appear to behave in the same way. What kind of hypnotic hold do these creatures hold over their "owners"? Could they somehow be related to infertility?

Replacements: genre study

Fear of loneliness, fear of the unknown, fear of darkness, fear of nature. These are a few of the themes found in good examples of Gothic fiction. Bring it all together, give it a pinch of thought, and let it simmer for a while. What you have to feast on is a giant, bubbly, piping-hot bowl full of death. Yes, that is a very extreme and blunt way of putting it. But can't you see it? I can--in one way or another the one thread connecting these stories (indeed, all horror/goth stories) is the mystery of death. Some stories we read focused on what appeared to be a somewhat dreamy and inquisitive look into death, such as Shirley Jackson's "The Lovely House" and the Twin Peaks episodes. However, even though they were at times whimsical in dealing with death and the dark unknown, there was still an ominous atmosphere.
My theory can be split up in a number of different ways when referencing the Gothic genre. Closest to the fear of dying is the fear of loneliness, which was explored in Lovecraft's "The Outsider", as well as in Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Anderson's "Death in the Woods". And in "The Icebound Hothouse", our main character is overwhelmed with the desire to be inside that hothouse. For whatever reason he carries on about, it boils down to a matter of his desire to escape from the cold, to enter where it is warm and alive. And once he is there among the flowers, the porcelain husk of a beautiful woman (once warm and alive, but now dead-cold-alone) crashes down, destroying his warmth and once again bringing the cold and snow into his life. And of course we all remember where the story goes from there. Not very pretty. Or alive. Being lonely and feeling abandoned could quite possibly be what death is like.
Poe's "The Black Cat", which I will get to again later, depicts how one man handles death. Does his urge to hurt the cat indicate that he is curious about death? Or perhaps life is what he wants to learn about. Or he could also be a heartbroken and psychotic drunk. I believe his alcohol-eroded mental stability brings him to somehow investigate death and pain. In a strangely opposite perspective, I see the main character in Oates's "The Temple" as feeling a caring love and tenderness towards the dead. She feels the bones she discovers must be respected. And, in the end, it is the lifeless bones that cure her loneliness. Interesting...the lonely bones and the lonely woman brought together show how in a way death has brought them solace.
Which leads me to Tuttle's "Replacements". When this semester began, I had no idea where my eager imagination and desire for learning would take me. The last thing I expected, however, was to find myself wrapping up my Gothic Lit class by talking about the importance marital strife had in relation to it. Beginning with King's "Children of the Corn" and continuing with Carver's "Little Things", Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", Cheever's "The Enormous Radio", Bradbury's "The Veldt" (erosion of the family more than of a marriage with that one), and finally Tuttle's "Replacements", the simple drama of a couple fighting and falling out of love has become a central theme in many of the gothic stories we have read. And what happens when a couple separates? Two more very hurt and lonely people begin to wander the planet, shaking off whatever kind of wreckage has stuck to their skin and clothes. Which again connects to how close loneliness must feel to death. And unfortunately, as the darkness of solitude relates to death, so does the darkness and intimidating density of a mysterious forest relate to being lost and alone. Emotionally, anyway.
These thoughts leave me to wonder if our true fear isn't death or the darkness, but the possible (eventual?) natural erosion of love. That is the essence of being deserted and left in the shadows. I wonder if it is right to think that in the end we all die alone?

I have been staring at this screen for what seems like hours. I honestly can not think of anything else to add. I end my blog entry with that question.

The Lonesome Place (Cultural Context)

The Lonesome Place is about two young boys, Steve and Johnny. The narrator of this story is Steve and Johnny is his best friend. These two young boys are terrified to walk by a grain elevator at night. There is no light and seems almost abandoned. Almost every night one or both of the boys has to walk by the elevator. They always run as fast as they can to get to the other side.The next day they tell stories of what they saw. They believe there is a creature living in the place behind the elevatory and each night they add something new to what it looks like. Steve and Johnny believe so adamantly that something is there that Johnny actually tells his parents about it and then gets punished. For some reason Steve's mother always makes him go down to the store just when it's getting dark. He always begs and pleads with her, saying that he will going in the morning to get what she needs, but ne never seems to prevail. The boys eventually grow older and seem to somewhat forget their fear of the lonesome place. They know how spooky it is and sometimes take girls there so the girls will walk close to them, but even Steve states that no matter how pretty the girl is he never lingers there. One day the boys find out that a little fat boy named Bobby Jeffers was killed by the grain elevator by some sort of animal. The boys then start to believe that it is their fault because they left the creature there to get someone else who couldn't run as fast as they could.
Fear of the unknown has a lot to do with this story. The boys were afraid of what they couldn't see. It was fine to walk past the grain elevator by day, but at night the creature came out. I think the boys were just having the same fears of the dark as any other little boy or girl would have. They imagined the creature and basically kept adding to its image until they forgot about it. Even as adults people are afriad of what they can't see. When you're a child there's a monster in that dark spot with no light, but as you get older the fear morphs into more practical things. Instead of there being a monster in the dark, maybe there's a thief or someone there waiting to hurt you. Fear of the unknown, especially the dark is a pretty worldwide phenomena.

"Death in the woods" (Cultural Context)

“Death in the woods” written by Sherwood Anderson is a sad story of one woman’s loneliness and strive at life to hardly survive. Her life would only consist of a duty to care for “others”, which were her animal friends on her small farm and the joke of a family inherited. The story of the poor woman portrays the lives of people who once lived during the capitalistic society, when the powerful reign of “Marxism” flourished. Being that Sherwood Anderson was a writer during the “modernism” period, encourages Anderson to depict the hardworking way of life that most American’s faced during the industrial revolution.

Such as the story of Mrs. Grimes who only knew a life of loneliness and enslavement. All through her life she was nothing more then a slave and piece of meat to others. Her life only consisted of serving unkind, cold hearted people beginning with the German framer, her boss who tried to take advantage of her sexually and even the ones closest to her, Jake (her husband), and there only son. No one in the town had ever known anything of the woman besides that both of her men were low life thieves and criminals who had little respect for anyone or anything. Since neither the father or son were ever home for long periods at a time, the woman had to look after the farm and face the responsibilities that came with it even if it meant she could barely survive. “Life was work, and work was life” for the old woman who knew nothing more. The old woman once young and beautiful never got to enjoy her life because of the burden of others. Work meant feeding the Men, horses, dogs and the few chickens that had to lay eggs so she could gain income. Not only was her life miserable but also unexpectedly cut short because of the long, hard, cold days of work and traveling through snow for miles, which her body could no longer endure.

The woman in the story is the definition of the way of life that millions faced during Karl Marx’s period of “modernism”. Marx’s main fear and anxiety was for the people who worked everyday of their lives during the Industrial Revolution, which would ultimately exploit them for their contributions to society and received little to no sympathy for it. Capitalism is unkind to society and can bring pain to the people who follow it. This is what the story entails of the sad short life of the woman who knew nothing but of hard work. Capitalism ultimately means to work and never rest. When the woman stopped to sit and rest from working for one second, she died. Women and people who are less fortunate in life are not only providers of life but are crucial to a societies development.

"The Lonesome Place" Cultural Context

The story, “The Lonesome Place” by August Derleth, is told from the point of view of the narrator, Steve, and his best friend, Johnny Newell, who are both around the age of seven. They are both scared of this dark place and absolutely terrified of this thing that they believe lurks in the darkness of the grain elevator, “the lonesome place”, that’s nearby their community. Steve’s mother always sends him to town to do errands which means passing the place in the dark on his way home. To the narrator “the lonesome place” seems harmless when he passes it at dusk, but when the sun goes down is when he fears whatever’s inside the most. Johnny and Steve always tell their own stories of when they have to run past the lumber yard and grain elevator because of the scary creature they believe lives there and they conjure up their own idea of what the creature looks like. They say it has scales, and a long tail like a dragon’s, breathed hot as fire, but had no face or mouth in it, just an opening in its throat, and it was as big as an elephant, and has clawed feet like a soft-shelled turtle. They also say that the creature waits to prey on fearful children. After Steve and Johnny grew up and became less fearful of “the lonesome place”, a young boy, Bobby Jeffers, is killed there. It appeared that he had been mauled by some kind of animal, but Steve and Johnny feel responsible because they believe that it was the monster they created out of their fears when they were children. “You were never afraid of it by day, but by night it was a different place; for then it was lonesome, away from sight or sound, a place of darkness and strangeness, a place of terror for little boys haunted by a thousand fears (193).”

I think this story has a lot to do with the fear of being alone. On page 192 Steve says that he and Johnny were never afraid to go past “the lonesome place” together, but they weren’t together often. Steve went that way a lot of the time because it was the quickest way to town when his mom made him go. He goes on to say that you could hear kids playing in the time they had left to be outside and that made him feel not alone somehow. The narrator could “go down into that dark place under the trees” and he wouldn’t think of being lonesome because there was a notable presence of other people around. When he comes back from town, the sun is completely set and even though the streetlights are on, the light doesn’t reach “the lonesome place” near the elevator; it is “half a block long, black as black could be, dark as the deepest night”. When Steve is alone is when his imagination runs wild, so wild, that he believes there’s some kind of monster that he has to run from until he reaches his home; he was creating something out of his own fear and when you’re alone, especially for a young boy who’s only seven, there’s no one there to tell you that it’s just your imagination or to assure you that there’s really nothing there.

Steve was so afraid to walk by it alone that he would argue with his mom that he would go to town in the morning before he had to go to school or for her to send his sister. On page 193 Steve says, “I would walk slower and slower, the closer I got to the lonesome place. I would think of every way around it. I would keep hoping somebody would come along, so that I could walk with them.” He never wanted to face “the lonesome place” alone so he would wish for someone, anyone, to show up to walk with. When he reaches the end of the place he runs. He keeps running from something he created from always having to walk past this lonesome place by himself and because it’s in his mind, it will never go away and he won’t stop running until he reaches the safety of his home. Not only was Steve passing the place alone, but so was Johnny and that’s when they would compare what they felt and saw; Johnny was doing the same thing Steve was, but Johnny was so convinced that there was some creature that he would tell his parents, making his dad give him a “licking”. When Steve and Johnny are individually alone and have to go past “the lonesome place” there’s no one to constrict their imaginations and give them a sense of protection and comfort. They have to face this fear they created alone.

"The Lonesome Place"

The Lonesome Place is a story about two young boys, Steve and Johnny. The story is centered aroung an old abandoned grain elevator, which the boys call The Lonesome Place. It is an old elevator surrounded by trees and old piles of lumber. Steve and Johnny are afraid of this place when it is dark out but not during the day. During the day it is simply an old grain elevator and piles of lumber that are never bothered but when it is dark out there is a creepiness to the place and the boys believe a creature lives inside the elevator. The boys always run past the place at night because they are scared. One night the boys are overcome by fear and while they are running they create an image of this creature. They imagine the creature to have scales, big claws, a long tail, and no face. When the boys are older they find out that a young man has been killed at the lonesome place. Steve and Johnny blame this on themseleves because they never told anyone of this monster that they had created.

I think the main thing this story is focusing on is fear of the dark. The boys are normal children living in a normal town, but they are overtaken by fear of a creature living in an old elevator. The creature obviously isn't real, as the boys can see during the day that nothing is there. I think the author is trying to show the reader that darkness can make people change their thought patterns. Something that is completely normal and peaceful during the day can be strange and scary in the dark. The author demonstrates that people automatically think differently when they can't see everything around them. Darkness provides an eery setting that easily creates thoughts of evil and monsters. This story shows that people are reassured when they can see what is in front of them, but in the dark, a person's imagination can run free because there is no visual proof that something is or is not present. The author also points out that fear of the dark is foolish by making Steve and Johnny feel guilty about the death of Bobby. The reader can understand that Bobby's death was not their fault and there was no creature that killed Bobby, but since Steve and Johnny are so afraid of the dark, they think it is their fault and they believe that the monster truly exists.

"Death In the Woods" Cultural Context

"Death in the Woods" by Sherwood Anderson is a tale of the plight of man just to work to survive. This story was written just when Marxism was becoming popular and the story represents the plight of man in a Capitalistic society. It shows how this woman is exploited for gain. She began as a slave for the German (as Marx said "Everywhere man is in chains") and ends up being a slave to her husband Jake Grimes and thier son. The woman has to walk and carry heavy loads just so she has something to eat and so that she can feed her animals so that they can produce food for her and her family. She struggles everyday just to do this. The story is clear that she has to work hard just to survive in terrible living conditions. In modern times, this is just like people living paycheck to paycheck in order to produce a livelihood. People today have to work to produce a profit for the company that they work for. This story tries to show that if we stop working to the point where we are breaking our backs, we will die.

When Karl Marx wrote his "Communist Manifesto", his fear and anxiety was that the workers of the world were being exploited for the good of the elite. The woman in this story is being exploited first by her German owner, when she is a slave to him, and secondly to her husband and son. This story takes place during the Industrial Revolution. The Proletariat (the woman) were in terrible working conditions so that the Bourgeoisie (the German, her family) could live better lives. The Proletariat had to do back-breaking work just as the woman does.

The perspective of this story is that the plight of the woman in trying to survive ultimatley leads to her death. In Capitalism, if you stop working you will die. When the woman stopped to rest, she died. According to Marx, the Proletariat was being treated poorly and unjustly just as the way that the German and her husband and son treated her. Anderson is trying to depict the horrors that Capitalism can bring. She struggles everyday just so she and her family can continue to eat and to live. It is the story of the plight of man in a society that is based on exploitation.


"Nevermore" -the Ravin

Cultural Context of "The Lonesome Place"

The story “The Lonesome Place”, written by August Derleth, is about these two children, named Steve and Johnny, who are around the age of seven. The story starts off with Steve, the narrator, confessing to the readers that he has committed a murder. The boys then start talking about their fear for the darkness and this place they call the Lonesome Place. The Lonesome Place is an old grain elevator surrounded by nothing but trees, sheds, and lumber piles. There are no houses nearby making it very lonely and dark at night. The Lonesome Place was a different place during the day than it was during the night. During the day, it was surrounded by maple and oak trees, sheds and lumber piles that were never bothered, and most importantly, it was not a scary place because of the light. During the night, it was dark, lonely, away from sound and light, and it had a strangeness that terrified the little children. Johnny and Steve were convinced there was some kind of monster, or “Thing”, living in the Lonesome Place. At night, they would run as fast as they could past the place and the next day they would share their stories of the Thing. Although neither one of them had actually ever seen the Thing, they described it as having big, clawed feet, ugly, sharp, and soft claws, scales, a long tail, and no face. As they got older, they forgot about the Lonesome Place altogether until one night when a little boy is found dead in the Lonesome Place. They are convinced it was their fault because they kept the Thing a secret from the village.

I think the cultural context of this story is the fear of darkness. The narrator compares the Lonesome Place during the day and during the night. During the day, the boys are not afraid of it and have no problem walking past it. However, during the night, they sprint as fast as they can past it because of the darkness that surrounds it. At night, their imaginations run wild and they create this monster in their heads. Steve’s mother always makes him run errands at night and he pleads and begs her to let him go in the morning. He even asks his mom to make his little sister go instead of him. Steve describes how he would walk slower and slower just to stay in the light longer and once he got to the Lonesome Place he would run as fast as he could past it until he reached the light again. In the story, only the little children are afraid of the dark. While Steve argues with his mother every night about not wanting to go to the store, she does not see that he is afraid to go out into the night. When he comes home all out of breath and pale, she tells him not to rush home and does not even bother to find out what exactly he is running from. When Steve tells his mom that one night he will not be back because of whatever is out in the darkness, she calls him “silly” and tells him the booger-man was caught. Even his little sister can tell that he is afraid of something when she calls him a “fraidy cat”. On his way to the store there is usually some light left and there are still little children out playing, but on his way back there is no more light and all the children are locked in their houses.

“Death in the Woods” (Cultural Context)

The story, “Death in the Woods,” is about a poor helpless woman named Mrs. Grimes, who was treated badly her whole life by cruel people, such as, the German framer, her boss who took advantage of her, Jake (her husband), and her son, who never showed her any respect. Grimes purpose in life is to feed animals, and her family. As Jake, and her son come and go as they please, she is left with the problems of keeping everything in order. When she was discovered dead in the woods, the narrator makes it his goal to really explain the true story of Mrs. Grimes’ life.

Sherwood Anderson was a writer of the literary movement called “modernism.” In this time, writers discuss how Western society’s work conditions, daily life, and social organization progressed into a new era of the “industrialized world.” Especially after the Industrial Revolution, effects emerged. The American way of life changed drastically. Machines were used instead of one’s hands, and located in large factories, instead of their homes. The working class was the ones who suffered the most because they spent endless hours of labor for very little pay, as for the wealthy became wealthier. This caused a major social gap between the communities. The result that developed was a change in how others treat one another. In “Death in the Woods,” the story takes place in the late 1800’s, around the time of the industrial revolution. The town, however, does seem rural, but is expanding causing the citizens to only look out for themselves instead of being an intimate community they once use to be. As I said before, the poor became poorer, and the rich became richer. The penniless Grimes family was looked down upon by the towns’ people, for Jake was a horse thief, and the son was a clone of his father. Jake, her husband, had made an attempt of being friendly with the others, but failed. They were considered low lives, since John, Jake’s father, and Jake spent all their sawmill fortune on unimportant things. The people of the town should have had pity for the woman, but instead, turned the other cheek when she was in their presence. She was considered “nothing special” and “one of the nameless ones that hardly anyone knows.” This kind of segregation is seen all throughout the story, except the part with the butcher. He was the only person who ever showed her any form of kindness, and compassion. This could represent how others should be. Anyways, back to the point, the author is in fear of how people are developing, as a result of the new cultural change. A perfect example is when the narrator over heard the unfamiliar hunter claim he found a dead body in the woods. The boys did not know any of the men they were following on their way to the corpse. When the narrator claimed the events that were happening, he says, “They took the body to the undertaker’s, and when the blacksmith, the hunter, the marshal and several others had got inside, they closed the door.” In a close knit area, the boy should have been able to know the men’s names. I believe the author is upset with the new changes in life. It makes all the people in the story sound so disconnected and heartless to Grimes. Sherwood’s perspective on the issue is that we will all become strangers to everyone else, and not care about others. Well, someone might think, if they were not so close, how come the narrator knew so much about Grimes? To be honest, the story seems to be embedded with much fiction. As he lives through his life, experiencing more situations, her life story starts to change. When he was describing the story of Jake and the German farmer fighting, the one part he admits, “I wonder how I know all this. It must have stuck in my mind from small-town talks when I was a boy.” The narrator also claimed events happened that parallel his life, such as, the dog circle death ritual, and the girl who works on the farm in fear, and is hated by the farmer’s wife. As a reader, the information that is given to us is not valid. All we know that is true is the time he saw her body that day in the woods.

Another concern the author has in this story intertwines with concept of inequality but with gender roles. Grimes was treated horribly all her life. Her duty was to feed animals, or people who acted like animals. This reflects the woman’s role in a family. It did not matter if she had an identity or not, just as long as she nurtured the family. Especially in many housewives lives, their identity disappeared because their family is the only part in their lives. In the story, Grimes would just tremble when an argument broke out or was always silent because she “was fixed” that way. She was never able to express herself or her feelings. She was just an object that was a provider. She was a provider with food, and an object of sexual desire. In the story, the German farmer took advantage of her, and did not have to “feed her husband-in a certain way. That hasn’t lasted long after their marriage and after the babies.” Even after her death she stills plays the provider role. When the dogs did their death dance, they stole her backpack full of food to feed themselves. Also, her dead body became young and beautiful again in the snow, making her desired by men that found her. In this story, I feel the author is making a point that women are seen as providers, but are worth more than that. The narrator said the brother did not tell Grimes’ story right because he did not understand the beauty in it. When time went by, and the narrator was able to “piece” it together, he was “impelled to try to tell the simple story over again.” It shows how significant she actually was for the boy to try to understand her story until he was an adult.

The Striding Place

The short story “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton takes place in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England where Weigall and his go on a trip of grouse hunting which they do every year. After their long trip the men decide to go to sleep, but Weigall remains up thinking about his friend Wyatt Gifford that has disappeared two days prior. Weigall decides to take a stroll in the woods and while doing so, he reminisces about the good times him and Gifford shared together. The roaring river is heard through the trees up ahead, and Weigall decides to walk towards it, through the trees where the only light is the stars above. As Weigall looks into the rough waters he seems a hand waving in the water, he then breaks off a branch and pushes the figures hand. Weigall realizes that the body is caught in the rocks and jumps in to save the figure; which seems familiar to him. After Weigall rescues the body he listens for a heartbeat and then tries to give CPR, but upon closer inspection, his close friend Gifford that he had rescued, has no face.

This story had its interesting moments but sometimes was a bit hard to understand. The one cultural concern that jumped out at me was the fear and anxiety of what happens in the afterlife. Weigall remembers Gifford discussing that he thinks people are able to see their friends and family one more time after you die, but those are his specific beliefs. Weigall doesn’t really share his beliefs on the subject, but it’s possible that some people might have shared the same thoughts depending on the time period in which this has taken place in.

I think Gertrude portrayed the concern of the afterlife in an odd way, but it seems like it fit into the story line. Weigall’s friend was missing, and he happens to hear the river that has claimed so many lives and remembers what Gifford thinks about seeing his friends for the last time after he dies, and then Weigall actually finds Gifford dead, but with no face. Maybe Gifford’s face missing represents some type of symbolism that he was unable to see or experience anything after death, the fear of the unknown relates to the unknown of the afterlife.

Cultural Context of The Damned Thing

In Ambrose Bierce’s “The Damned Thing”, Hugh Morgan is not only dead, but his body is battered. The locals, a jury, and a coroner are in the cabin of the deceased person to determine the cause of death. There was a man named William Harker, the only witness to Hugh Morgan’s death who says there was something in the field of oat bushels that Hugh Morgan referred to as a “damned thing”. Everyone else laughed at what William Harker said, and one person sarcastically said that he should go back to the insane asylum. At this point, the reader recognizes the cultural fear that still is extremely debatable to this date, the supernatural. People were first taught that among the supernatural, things such as ghosts, were in purgatory as the good people according to God went to heaven, and the evil people would go to hell. There were a decent amount of people who believed in ghosts, however the rationalists would laugh and mock these people.
This is what happened to poor William Harker, as he would become more frustrated with the jury. At the end of the story, the jury agree to say that Hugh Morgan was killed by a mountain lion. In my opinion, the author of the story, Ambrose Bierce is trying to tell his audience the reason why people deny the supernatural is because it is not well known. If there’s one thing that people fear, it is the unknown. In Hugh Morgan’s diary, he acknowledges that people will never believe in the “damned thing” because the eyes and ears of human beings are imperfect as there are rays the human eyes are not able to say. The ears are imperfect as well because of the black birds that fly away together even though no one has been able to hear a warning before they fly. The author may also be saying that humans are very lucky to have the intelligence, hearing, seeing, and other gifts we have, but we are still not perfect.

In the Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton was an interesting, yet I found it hard to follow and understand. Though one thing that is clear is the Cultural Context within the story and that was the concept that we do not know what is in store for us in the afterlife. Since this story was written in the early 1900s we know that this concept will always be a fear and a mystery for all of us. Along with what happens in the afterlife it also talks about another common question that is associated with the afterlife. This is if our soul will live on; if it lives as a sperate part from the body or if it remains with the body.

In the story Weigall's childhood friend goes missing for two days. While he was looking for his friend he has flashbacks of when they talked about what happens after death. His friend Gifford said that he "cherrished the theroy... that the soul sometimes lingers in the body after death" (159). He belives in this theroy that we are able to see our friends and family one last time before we move on. Though, we will never know, there is no proof or fact that this is what happens. He aslo talks about how he believes that the body and soul will remain together. "The body and soul are twins, life commrades-- some-friends, sometimes enemies, but always loyal in the last instance" (159).

When looking at this concept I agree with Atherton in putting this concept into her story. This adds an overall edge that makes us think what will happen. Though, we will never know, we can only guess and that is what I think makes this story interesting. She takes a concept that will always be a question for almost every human being, we may have an idea, but we will never really know what will happen, until it does and by that time we cannot tell anyone, so know one will ever know.

The damned thing by Ambrose Bierce

The damned thing writes about the social anxiety or fear of the unknown. in the story the damned thing is an evil thing that cannot be described because no one is sure what it actually looks like. The problem with the damned thing besides the fact that its evil is the fact that no one knows when or how it is going to strike. in the book it desribes how the movement in the grass and the fluster of the birds in the trees are the only things that allow someone to know that the damned thing is near. Looking deeper into the idea of the unknown, society hates the unknown. it is not a comfortable feeling not knowing what is truly going on. another thing that this story shows is people and how they are not able to wrap their minds around something that is not concrete. the witness in this story was looked on as being crazy because of his account of how the man died. its easy to just push the insane button when something is not easily explained. if the majority of people do not believe what is happening than the people that actually do are easily referred to as crazy. it was eaiser in the story to rule the death becasue of a mountain lion than too actually search for the damned thing. people are to scared to find the unknown because its the unknown. this animal or creature could be insanely scary and truly evil or it could be something that does not look evil at all but truly is. society hates the fear of not knowing whats going on and i think thats the most important social fear that this story depicts.

Cultural Contexts of "The Striding Place"

Upon reading "The Striding Place" by Gertrude Atherton, one major cultural anxiety shot out at me. This anxiety seems to be present in every society present, past, and most likely future. The anxiety I speak of is that of what happens after death and what is the connection between spirit/soul and body. This may also be considered a cultural fear for some because there is not documented proof as to what happens after death and if there is such a thing as a true soul or spirit of a person. I am not stating that there is no such things as souls because many people believe in souls and life after death, but rather that there is no definite understanding about these things.

Throughout the story, the thoughts of death, what happens after death, and the presence of human souls are brought up. Midway through the story, the main character recalls a conversation with his friend, who he is searching for, about the connection of soul and body. He remembers his friend stating that the soul is a conscious prisoner in the body during times of madness. He also states that he likes the theory that the soul sometimes remains in the body after death. This seems like an anxiety that faces many people. People are unsure as to whether or not that statement is true. Death is a sensitive issue on its own, but to add to that the thought that the soul still could remain in the body seems to bring up a huge anxiety of possibly fear. He also goes on to say that he wants to become a mahatma in India so that he could truly explore the relationship between soul and body through allowing his soul to travel across different astral planes of existence. Then the main character asks about whether he should deem his body unfit for his soul after his travels through those planes of existence. This also brings up a huge fear. This suggests that not only can the soul leave the body, but can travel across other planes of existence.

The main character makes a reference to the afterlife when he comments about the striding place. He describes the place and says that no other place had the right to claim so many ghosts, if ghosts there were. Here he brings up the thought that there may are may not be such a thing as ghosts. Many people believe in ghosts and the supernatural because they feel like they need a connection to someone they knew after that person dies. Finally when he pulls his friend from the water he states that he has no face. I think he means that the body is lifeless and that the soul has left his friend's body. By saying what he said about the faceless body, I think we get a preview as to what the author's view on the soul is like. I think the author believes that there is a connection between soul and body and that the soul can leave the body at the time of death.

Cultural Contexts "The Striding Place"

“The Striding Place”

By: Gertrude Atherton

Cultural Contexts

I found this story to be very hard to understand. I didn’t make sense to me at all. Not even in the end when you find out what happened to Gifford. But I believe that this story has a main key issue that is discussed. That things are not always what they seem to be.

I saw this right from the begging that the author was trying to discuss the way things appear to be versus the way things really are. When the author talks about the English’s woods and how they are painted out to be so beautiful but when you get in them you realize how unsatisfying the hype is. Another example is Gifford is painted out to be a prankster and is always playing practical jokes on the group. But it turns out in the end that he really doesn’t have the face to muster a joke.

Unfortunately things not being what they seem is something that we find in today’s society as well. Even history shows us that things aren’t what the seem. Take Communism for example, the perfect form of government. On paper it seems like the best thing for society. Then comes the Soviet Union, and boom, communism turns out to be not the best thing in the world. The thing people have to understand is that things are never what they seem to be. Everything can seem perfect at one point or another, but unless you take into account every aspect of human nature you will not find out what it really is.

In this story it is evident that the woods are not what they seem to be. “An English wood is like a good many things in life-very promising at a distance, but a mellow mockery when you get within it.” (Oates 157, from the story “The Striding Place”) Basically, there is a grand picture of the woods, but once you get in it you are like “Wow this isn’t that special”. The author is trying to make society take a look at what we hold up on a pedestal and make us look at if they really deserve to be up there. Not all things in the world are what they seem. If society learned this then I think there would be fewer depressed people in the world.

The Damned Thing- Cultural Context

In, “The Damned Thing”, by Ambrose Bierce, he demonstrates the cultural fears of the unknown. In the story, Hugh Morgan was experiencing things out of this nature. He wrote in a diary that something must be out there. Stars disappear in the sky as if something was moving in front of them, he found evidence of “it” and he has a feeling of wanting to be pushed out of his land, home, and world. He started to think that this thing was making him mad, or that he already has been due to his obsession of trying to solve this mystery. He had William Harker visit him so that he could see if he thought he was mad or not. While Harker’s visit, Morgan took him quail hunting. It turned out to be something bigger then a quail, it was “that damned thing”. This mysterious creature would lead to Morgan’s demise.

The fear of the unknown has been around since the beginning of time. It is hard believe that out of all the space outside of the world, we are the only living things around. It is common for people to believe in ghost, aliens, and other things to try to make sense of the strange phenomenons. Today there are still stories and tv shows of how different people are encountering aliens, and seeing ghost. In this story, despite Morgan's diary entries, the jury explained his death caused my a moutian lion. It was clear in his diary that there was something else out there, haunting him. Bierce conveyed how the unfamiliar can make people go mad. “We so rely upon the orderly operation of familiar natural laws that any seeming suspension of them is noted as a menace to our safety, a warning of unthinkable calamity.” (Pg 124)

"The Reach"

In “The Reach” written by the author, Stephen King, the main character of the story is Stella Flanders who is celebrating her 95th birthday with her family. She has never been on the mainland because she has felt that she never had to go there. This is why she never has crossed the reach to go from the island to the mainland. In the beginning of the story, the author sets the story by saying that it takes place in the Autumn season where the weather is cold, and the tree leaves were colorless.

The dark and depressing Autumn setting is what makes this story of the gothic genre. The story takes place in Maine which is in the New England area which is where the author Stephen King grew up, and that he tries to bring those elements of his life into the story. This setting also sets up the main theme of the story, death. Stella is very ill, and is near the end of her life as she sees ghosts of people who were in her life. When she finally accepts her death, Stella finally crosses the Reach to meet her loved ones that are already deceased.

Subsoil.

In the story subsoil has no point of view from any of the characters involved. This is a different technique then most of the stories we have already read. The story was told by what seems to me to be a person that is just watching and is not part of this bazaar potato story,just like us,the reader. Instead I feel like I was just reading a story that was as if I was watching it on TV or in a movie. I was only able to know what the writer told me about and I was in much suspense. The readers do not know what any characters thoughts were through out. I suppose this does keep the ending more of a surprise and more or less, less predictable because we can't see into the characters way of thinking. The potato's seem to really bother Nyle, though we really do not understand why or what he is thinking. However, I think I would be pretty bothered after I just saw an old gross potato in a mr. potato head box. You think someone would have done something with it or even the smell would have came into the picture. Even after dinner the people who owned the house showed Nyle the cabinet filled with potato's. This seemed very strange to me because why on earth would two people need so many potato's, they do not last very long and from what it seems, its not a very busy bed and breakfast.
Needless to say, I really didn't see this ending coming the way it did. The potato sprouts attacking a guest in the middle of the night is a nice touch.

Subsiol by Nicholson Baker

In the story “Subsoil” by Nicholson Baker, it is being told to us by an outside source. I think that this is an important aspect to this story because we are only able to see what everyone else can see. We aren’t able to hear his thoughts, so we don’t know the reasons behind what is happening. An example of this is how focused Nyle was on the open door.
After eating soup with the Taits, Nyle is shown where all of the old, shriveling potatoes are kept. Before going back to his room he notices that one of the doors is left open. This is something he thought about before going to sleep. This bothered him so much that he couldn’t fall asleep until something else occupied his mind. Even after falling asleep, when he woke up again, he thought about the open door. He was about to go downstairs and close the door himself when he noticed the potato sprout coming through the keyhole.
If Subsoil had been told from Nyle’s point of view, I think Baker would have been giving away too much information. We are unable to hear Nyle’s exact thoughts, so we can’t really be sure why he was so interested in the cabinet door, and all of the potatoes inside. Potatoes aren’t something I would automatically assume someone would be afraid of, but from the beginning the narrator gives a sense of life and feeling to them. Nyle was bothered because he had never been hated by a potato before, but we aren’t told why he would think that it hated him, leaving us to think about it on our own. With the limited information the story held more suspense than it would have otherwise.

Exhange Value: some loot for your life

While reading this story, quite a few thoughts began to swirl around in my head. Among the most curious was the fact that this took place in what appeared to be New Orleans. Or at least somewhere in Louisiana. That notion quickly led me to wondering if the setting was pre or post Hurricaine Katrina. Although I don't recall seeing any direct references to it, the overall theme of the story (money, and the unique "prison" it creates) can certainly be applied to the Katrina tragedy. The poor, the put-upon, and the destitute need the freedom of having money to rebuild their lives. But how far should one go to get that money, and when it comes to $$ do words like "enough" and "too much" even exist? I think they should, but they do not. It took more than just money to revitalize New Orleans. I think that love, spirituality, the company of friends, family, and inner-peace were also just as important.

The central fear in this story is the fear of loss. Specifically, we don't know how much we can truly lose until we have a lot of stuff to lose. Early in the story Cooter refers to the riches they have found in the old woman's apartment as being 'cursed', and he could not possibly be more correct. But not in the sense that the items themselves were cursed. Owning her riches is the true curse. Even though it is most pleasant to have a life of a certain amount of fortune, along with that fortune comes the responsibility of what to do with it: spend it? A very fun thought, but isn't it true that we should $ave our money? Invest it, perhaps? That is not exactly the wisest thing to do with money these days, is it? In a strange way, it seems as though money can confuse a soul and make it stop caring. There is so much prestiege placed on having nice things and lots of money, but the truth is that $$ indeed does not buy happiness. It buys stress, paranoia, and more often than not the desire to have even moooore of it. And the money that the old lady/Cooter/Loftis procured is tainted in the sense that it has not been earned. However I find that to be a strange notion, since the old lady worked for the person who willed her the money. Therefore, didn't the old lady technically work for the money?

All their lives Cooter and Loftis were poor. They dreamed of the "big $core", and didn't seem to care how they got it. To them the solution to all of life's puzzling twists and turns could be solved with money. But soon after discovering their new riches, they began to feel the emptiness of owning "stuff". There was no true substantial inner value in what they had. Self-satisfaction and self-indulgence were no longer the glowing flames of warmth and comfort. I think that perhaps everything would have turned out alright for these two if Loftis never sold his ring for candy. He did not see the true value in the ring, only the value in a yummy Clark bar.

Every penny of their new loot that was spent was money they didn't have anymore. And they were desperate to keep it, much like the way the old lady was. Having money was the ultimate, the pinnacle of achievement in life. And they had it, and they were very apprehensive about giving it up. Money is also revered this way in real life. Actually, even moreso. There is an overwhelming, dreadful fear of not having it. I found it interesting in this story that we were given a somewhat different perspective: the complicated fear of having it.

Here is an abstract thought, but one that I feel passionately about nonetheless: I hate money. I have absolutely zero respect for it. In one way or another it hurts every man, woman, and child on the planet. "But Jamie, we need money to survive." Yes, we do. And I hate that. It is a prison.
Cooter and Loomis finally got their big score, and they are liable to lock themselves inside their apartment with it forever and waste away.
Cooter and Loomis will be dead...mere rotting meat...yet the ca$h and pianos and the tree will still have value long after they are gone.

Well, that was certainly uplifting (sigh)

**some pretty nifty and horrific dead-old-lady-gore, though

Exchange Value

Loftis and Cooter are two brothers living in an apartment building working just to get by. Miss Bailey an older woman lives in the same apartment and has been missing for some time. Loftis and Cooter thinking she is an easy victim for robbery discover her decaying in her apartment surrounded by an abundance of wealth. Which the boys later discover has been willed down to her by a previous employer. After surveying all the wealth in the apartment Loftis decides that the total wealth of Miss Bailey's stash is worth approximately $879,543 dollars.

When Loftis and Cooter finally transfer Miss Bailey's stash into their apartment. I immediately noticed a difference in perspective in both Loftis and Cooter. Cooter starts to daydream about the endless possibilities that Miss Bailey has just willed down to him. He says that he could now afford a trip to tijuana if he so choosed. Cooter describes Miss Bailey's wealth as "Raw energy, and Loftis and me, like wizards could transform her stuff into anything at all". The two brothers see this wealth as a new lease on life. Loftis goes out an buys a "boss silk necktie, cashmere socks, and a whistle-slick maxi leather jacket". This mood however shifts very quickly after the landlord discovers Miss Bailey's death and an eerie mood sets in. Loftis and Cooter go from very optimistic about their future to fearful of its opportunities. Loftis remembers back to a point where he sold his mother's ring for a few pieces of candy. Loftis says that "As asoon as you buy something you lose the power to buy something". I believe this is a perfect description of how the brothers feel about spending the money. There is a definite mood swing from unparalleled excitement and trips to tijauna to a feeling of fear. Loftis leaves Cooter in the house alone while he goes to work and disappears nearly a week. Cooter refuses to spend any of the money to feed himself or to fix the broken a toilet. Which I couldn't help to relate back to Miss Bailey storing her fecal matter in cans due to a broken toilet. I feel that Miss Bailey felt very similarly to Loftis and Cooter when she acquired this unknown wealth. The wealth and fear of opportunity I believe was the demise of Miss Bailey and ultimately Loftis and Cooter.