Goth Research Paper

Improved Essays
“What’s up, Dracula?”- Sneered a group of bulky football players as they passed Aleister, a Goth, on the hallway of Frederic highschool. The black clad, pale as a moth teenager kept walking by with his head down, unaffected by the sneering from the walking hulks. Lost their interest, the footballers kept going on, not before reminded Aleister how much of a weirdo and loser he is, then quickly went back to their usual topic: sports and girls. As Aleister was walking to his locker, he heard their voices from afar, “Jesus! Watch where you are going, nerd!” followed by the sound of books being slapped away from someone’s arms, and then dropped on the floor. No one helped, but rather enjoyed the scene. Aleister watched from afar, the nerd is called …show more content…
For the purposes of this paper, a Goth is a fan of Gothic music, which is a subgenre of rock and roll that came out of the punk scene in the late 1970s (not the viking tribe, where the word “Goth” originally came from). Some of the well-known Goth bands are Bauhaus, The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Sisters of Mercy,.... and no, Marilyn Manson is not Goth, he’s just...weird. Most people who considered themselves as Goths dress the part, which generally involved lots of black clothings, whiteface (lots of foundation, but be careful not to be confused with an evil mime), and black lipstick (both genders were known to apply black eyeliner). Goths love pageantry, fantasy, and drama, and their wardrobe is usually filled with period costumes, whether taken from the distant past (commonly known as Romantic Goth, who love Victorian clothings, and enjoy Gothic novels) or distant future (also known as Cyber Goth, who favored glow sticks, plastic hair extensions and techno music). There are many types of Goth, and the Gothic family tree has expanded into so many branches that even to determine what is and what is not Goth was impossible. Themes appealing to Goths tend to be about the dark aspects of human existence-such as death, romance, and feelings of loneliness or isolation. And not surprisingly that many Goths were drawn to the scene due to experienced abuse, discrimination, or systematic ridicule at the hands of “mundanes” (or “normal people”, as they are …show more content…
The word “Nerd” first came to be known as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss's book “If I Ran the Zoo” (1950), then at some point the word took on connotations of bookishness and social ineptitude. Throughout my existence, I have yet to seen the word being used anywhere else beside in high school. Stereotypical nerds are commonly seen as intelligent but socially and physically awkward (most commonly seen as an ugly, skinny kid with inches-thick glasses on their face, and completed the look with a silly hairstyle, with a stack of books on their hands). They would typically be portrayed as either lacking confidence or being indifferent or oblivious to the negative perceptions held of them by others, with the result that they become frequent objects of scorn, ridicule, bullying, and social isolation (Which I personally doubt they would give a dime about). However, many nerds may eventually find a group of similar people to associate with (Comic fairs and sci-fi conventions are like heavens to nerds, where their number rose to an astronomical scale). A typical Nerd will often possess great knowledge on topics related to science, mathematics, engineering, linguistics, economics, literature, sociology, geography, mythology, history, and technology. They can talk about one topic for hours, while completely ignore the force of time and space, leaving the listener (me most of the time) dumbfounded as the topic will become increasingly difficult to comprehend and soon

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    When we think of the words nerd and geek, we think of a smart person with freckles and thick-framed glasses. They are usually bullied by the athletic people of a school and are at the lowest rung of the social ladder. But why do we also think about that same person being harmed and ridiculed? Why can’t we praise their intelligence and use it to improve our society?…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My audience could also be parents that want to understand them better. My paper could also draw the audience of teachers of Gothic teenagers. The teachers that want a way to connect with their Gothic students in class and help other students connect with them too. Goths Culture in Modern Society Over the last thirty-seven years, Goths have made…

    • 2186 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, is written in a series of letters and diary entries in order to display a distortion of events. Although the diary entries of Jonathan Harker is more personal, allowing the reader to be drawn into the plot, the diary entries also includes bias. The mental state of the Harker is unstable due to his fear of Dracula and death; therefore, his diary may not portray an accurate description of what exactly happened. Words spoken as facts in the diary cannot be fully trusted and deemed credible for Harker does not know the truth of everything himself. Instead, the reader has to form their own opinion of the truth.…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Leonid Fridman's "America Needs Its Nerds" his argument states that Americans idolize social and physical skills instead of academics. Fridman uses pathos, how being a nerd and/or a geek is not a bad thing but a good thing, and facts to strengthen his argument. Pathos can be found throughout Fridman's argument. Fridman uses experiences pf students - college, high school, elementary - to display different moments a "nerd" or "geek" can feel isolated. For example, in paragraph three Fridman tells the reader that even Harvard students are "ashamed to admit, even to their friends, how much they study.…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    "America Needs Its Nerds" by Leonid Fridman is a powerful crafted argument on the social status or so called geeks. The hard hitting imager Fridman uses carries the words on the paper into a motiopn picture playing in ones mind. Nerds, were would we be without them? " Nerds and Geeks must stop being ashamed of who they are.…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    “America Needs Its Nerds” Analysis Essay Kaitlyn Burbridge Leonid Fridman argues that nerds are an essential to our country's continuity. He uses a series of techniques to develop his argument. Fridman starts by describing our country’s ways of bullying our nerds by using phrases like "anti-intellectualism" and "ostracism.” He then proceeds to identify the greatness of nerds by using phrases like “intellectually curious and academically serious” and "the pursuit of knowledge.” This technique alone makes nerds seem vital in U.S. society.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the essay, “America Needs Its Nerds,” Fridman discusses various reasons why intelligence in American society should not be scene as a curse, but as a blessing. He praises intelligence throughout his paper constantly arguing against society’s classification of brilliant minds. Furthermore, Fridman uses diction, parallelism, comparisons, and rhetorical questions to persuade the reader to view intelligence as the limelight of society. Instantly, Fridman states his thesis which is strongly platformed on the central idea of society’s view of the “intellectually curious and academically serious.” In addition, when Fridman writes, “Derogatory terms like nerd and geek,” the reader senses a passive aggressiveness in the negative connotation he uses to describe the general idea of intelligence in society.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    As i read “america needs nerds” by leonid fridman,i gained an understanding of how mr fridman develop and creates his argument .In “america need nerds” Mr fridman argues that “society has derogatory terms like geek and nerds for the intellectually curious and academically serious”.in the passages he develops his argument with supportive statement,facts and evidence,in line 5-9 he gives the actual definition of geeks which doesn't define a person that is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, he also speaks from observation of those whom are ”ashamed to admit how much they study even to their friends” at line 14.Mr fridman also states in line 25-26 how those with the gift of intelligence don’t have don’t have a chance to learn social skills…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Southern Gothic Essay

    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages

    There are many books and stories that fall under the genre of gothic literature. Then there is the southern gothic genre which has its own qualifications. The stories, “A Rose for Emily,” “The Book of the Grotesque,” “Good Country People,” and “Paper Pills” all meet the qualifications to be categorized as southern gothic pieces of literature. Now the question rises, “what makes these stories southern gothic”? All four of these stories use different southern gothic conventions.…

    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    America Needs Its Geeks

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The term 'nerd' can, and does, mean different things to different people. When someone is called a nerd by their friends it is not considered a big deal, but when a stranger calls another stranger a 'nerd' or a ‘geek’, it can be seen as aggressive. The sole idea of 'America needs Its nerds' by Leonid Fridman is that America does, if fact, need its individuals that would rather read a book than go out and party, who would rather study than play football, who would rather build upon their academic prowess than their social or physical skills because without kids like these, America; the great, world-class superpower, would be full of sheep who follow the trend of being anti-intellectual and who intentionally dumb themselves down to fit in with people who follow the same stupid trends. One of the points that Fridman makes is that people who are a little less socially amble are often called names like 'geek'. A 'geek', Fridman writes, according to Webster's New World Dictionary, is a street performer who shocks the public by biting off heads of…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Gender Roles In Dracula

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Phenomenon of vampires is highly incorporated in today’s popular culture with a large number of books, films, and TV-series about them emerging every year. Still, many people cannot deny that Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is an exceptional literary creation that stood at the origins of the cult of vampires. Not only did this Victorian novel, written in 1897, become a landmark piece of gothic literature, but also it defined the contemporary form and image of vampires and paved the way for multiple interpretations in modern culture. Nevertheless, “Dracula” is not just an outstanding horror fiction book. It is also a profound insight into Victorian age – a defining time in the history of the Western world, when so many cornerstones of society began…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The movie Revenge of the Nerds is focused on two best-friends, Gilbert and Lewis, who are freshman at Adams College. For the purpose of this paper, we will focus mostly on Gilbert and his path of self-authorship. Gilbert arrives on campus with Lewis and they move into their new dorm. They are excited to be on campus and start living the college life. This excitement of their new living situation comes to an end when a local fraternity – Alpha Beta – burns down their frat house during a raucous party.…

    • 1591 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Shianne Valdez Ms. Fodor ACL4-1- Literacy Analysis 16 November 2016 Dracula, Bram Stoker Literary Analysis One of the most famous horror novels today, fascinating many readers, Bram Stoker wrote the book “Dracula” to set some ground rules for what a vampire shall be. Because John Harker denies all the warning signs on his way to Dracula’s castle, one can see Bram Stoker’s use of Victorian era superstitions. The Victorian era is displayed in this novel through social structure, as we know includes the upper class, middle class and the working class.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Halloween Research Paper

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It started with the apple truck. The driver had lost control, his gargantuan vehicle swerving with an almost sentient vigor, apples flying out and rolling wildly around the road, until the truck threw itself into a nearby house. The chief of police, a stout, mustached man who avoided doing work at all costs, declared no signs of foul play, but we knew better. Our little town of Greenbrook was no stranger to the paranormal and unexplainable, and it was taken for granted that some kind of spirit had gotten into the truck – after all, why else would it have launched itself at the former residence of a serial killer?…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Children are waiting for this day, they lie in wait month by month and plot what costumes they will wear on this day; they figure out who amongst their friends and family will gather the most candy; this day is called Halloween. Halloween is the one day in the whole year where people and children alike dress up in costumes and go door to door in order to accumulate candy, however, one would not think that Halloween was not always a child-friendly holiday but had a shadowy and foggy past. Halloween then and Halloween now are completely two different people. Halloween in the past was first a day that marked a new season, but soon became a time where terror resides in the hearts of the Celts. Halloween today, has taken a dark turn where sadists and commercialization have sucked the fun and the historical truth out of Halloween.…

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays