Southern Gothic

Poe was a very skilled nineteenth century gothic writer. In the Fall of the House of Usher Poe is obviously not yet adept at writing in Gothic style. But in one of his next works The Pit and the Pendulum Poe hits the Gothic mark quite nicely. Edgar A. Poe was indeed a Gothic writer pioneer, many of his works have lasted to present day. The stories of Fall of the House of Usher and The Pit and the Pendulum are two of Poes most striking Gothic Writings. In the fall of the House of Usher Poe…

Although Shirley Jackson wrote a few novels and quite a lot of short stories, she is noted for her writing, “The Lottery”. Jackson was quite famous for her shocking and horror ends in her fiction writing that are quite opposing to her appearance and manner. She was noted for exploring oddness in everyday life, and The Lottery, perhaps her most classic work in this respect, studies humankind's capacity for evil within a modern, accustomed, American scenery. The title “The Lottery”, tells you…

The story of Beetlejuice is a gothic, abnormally riveting tale that includes a number of bizarre characters. However, one of the most important characters in the story, which acts as the driving force for the storyline, is possibly the most underestimated. Lydia Deetz is a significant catalyst in the progression and movement within Beetlejuice because of her courage and unorthodox nature. Within the story of Beetlejuice lies a structural pattern called a romance narrative circle, albeit an…

In the book, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson, it is about one man with two different personalities. Dr. Jekyll is the protagonist in the story and Mr. Hyde is another form of Dr. Jekyll, who plays the antagonist. They are the same person, but with two different personalities. The character struggles in the story because he is unable to control the other personality in the actions he takes. The two different personalities are different from each…

Many people can recognize the name Edgar Allan Poe, one of America’s most influential writers. He was praised for his suspenseful moods and pessimistic energy incorporated in his literary works. Not only that, Poe was also recognized for his deranged characters that had dark auras surrounding them. It is believed that the reason behind his crestfallen style is due to Poe losing several loved ones throughout his life, including his wife and his mother. “The Cask of the Amontillado” is one of his…

Madness! A look into Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL Famous American poet, Allen Ginsberg is well known for his vile mouth, three-part poem called “HOWL”. It was published in 1956 and was looked as part of the Beat Generation’s turning point in the social movement and became part of one of the great works of American literature history. This poem expresses his thoughts and feelings on his life experience during a rough time period, post-World War II. It is mostly described as an angry, sexual and very…

Banned Books Banned books are books that have been challenged by someone and removed from a self for various reasons. The book “More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” was banned for graphic violence such as stories of a one armed man who escaped from an insane asylum who broke out and brutally murdered teenagers. There are is also a story of a man who was a jolly butcher who grounded up people and served them as “wonderful sausages”. There are also stories of the practice of satanic rituals.…

Imagine being hated because of your disabilities. Then when you go out into public everyone stares at it. The narrator in “The Tell Tale Heart” is sane not insane because. First, the narrator stalked the man using very good strategy. At midnight every night the narrator would go into the old man’s bedroom and shine the light directly at the “evil eye.” That is proof that the old man is completely sane. “But even yet i refrained and kept still.”(The Tell Tale Heart pg. 204) Next, the…

In “The Bottle Imp” by Robert Louis Stevenson the author uses a variety of literary devices to entice the reader. Stevenson uses literary devices such as suspense, foreshadowing, flashback, and surprise ending. A notable literary device that is used is suspense. Stevenson uses suspense not only to entice the reader, but to make sure the reader is aware of what's going on while raising questions of what will happen next. To clarify, an example of suspense being used in the story is in paragraph…

“Home is where the heart is.” No matter the time period, fantasy or real, home as been a place where most feel safe. However, many horror films, ghost stories, and other genres of fear use this aspect of home very acutely. Setting in any text, whether it be a house, a garden or a graveyard, is important to the plot of a story to further it and assist the tension. Edgar Allan Poe and Joyce Carol Oates use setting to set a manor of hostility and mystery within their texts. In the texts, The Fall…