Bash! the wooden front door swung open, interrupting the silent sunset. My father stumbled in tripping over the deteriorating ledge of the door. Then immediately twisted striking his large fleshy pink hands closing the door, his fingers fumbled as they reached for the rusty crimson chain lock. The oddness of the situation caused confusion to fill the air fogging up my mind. He took a profound breath whilst placing his hands over his pounding heart. Slowly slithering down the door, causing the century old brown paint to flake off and fall to the ground.
‘Why were you running?’, ‘Who were you running from!?’.
Tension began to grow gradually in my chest like a cooker building steam ready to explode at any second. My father’s flushed faced
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They marched with pounding feet towards the heart of the village containers of kerosene in hand. One of the faces turned in my direction the gaze so direct it pierced my soul like a spear. There was a slight pause of realisation as the stranger's eye's widened with wonder. He screamed “Sikh!” pointing his index finger in my direction, simultaneously all the members turned their heads and experienced the same awe. The mob's direction has changed, now facing me with black, gothic raven- like eyes marching passionately. The hair on my arms rose creating tiny irregular goosebumps. Fear crept in with its bony devilish nails caressing my shoulders ready to consume me. A strong jerk at my nape pulled me backwards out of the range of the mob and fear. My father slammed the window, bolting the lock, his veins pulsing and a Kirpan clasped in his right hand. Our eyes met only for a second, as his warm grip wrapped around me and we ventured the last set of stairs together. As I reached the third floor I could clearly hear explosive screams and shouts from the front door. I shivered to the bone scrambling into the candle lit room on the third floor.
We positioned ourselves in a perfect circle hand in hand, praying, we whispered “Waheguru” in unison the white noise of our voices compared drastically of that outside. I closed my twitching eyes, my lids felt damp from the cold sweat perspiring from my forehead. My organs lined up on a circus tightrope doing back flips, twists, and
us shall you leave this earthly abode. Oh no, you will run by my side
home. Aubrey falls in love with a Grecian girl who he tries to save from the
“My revenge has just begun! I spread it over centuries and time is on my side”(Stoker 366). Nearly 200 years later, 18th-century gothic novels still influence modern-day Gothic literature. Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula is highly influential in regards to modern-day Gothic literature and films. The Twilight Saga, written by Stephanie Meyers and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, is a romance series about a human girl that falls in love with a vampire named Edward. Eventually, the human love interest, Bella, becomes a vampire and the two live on together forever. The Vampire Diaries television series, written by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, is about a town overrun by people with secret immortal lives, such as being a werewolf or vampire. There are
In today’s literature there are many types of genres that people find fascinating, all the way from fantasy to non-fiction. A very interesting genre is Gothic Fiction, where many elements are used to such as violence, ghosts, monsters and many other dark and mystical elements that make up Gothic Fiction. There are many great authors who are well known for their dark gothic style such as Edgar Poe, who has written the short story “Fall of the House of Usher” and the “Black Cat,” or Horacio Quiroga who has written “Feather Pillow” and a more recent author, Ransom Riggs who has written Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. These three author’s stories all have gothic elements, such as psychological issues, death and fear that parallel one other which shows a common trend between gothic literatures.
One of the corner stones in gothic literature is the characterization of female characters as weak and submissive. This notion can be tracked all the way back to 1764, when Horace Walpole wrote what many assume to be the first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. When the sickly Conrad dies, his sister Matilda expresses her apprehension to her attendant Bianca over the increased scorn of Manfred. “No, Bianca; his heart was ever the stranger to me – but he is my father, and I must not complain,” (Pg. 37). Matilda understands what her role in the household is and accepts it, despite of Manfred’s increased scorn. Matilda, as well as the other female characters, exhibits no negative or evil traits or thoughts yet are treated with nothing but contempt. They are submissive for no real reason beside from that was how men expected women to be in the time of the novel. The purpose of this essay is to show that if the reader does not understand the feature of the
Elements of Southern Gothic Literature Literature comes in all types of styles and one type is Southern Gothic. But what makes a story develop into this type of Southern Gothic style? There are many characteristics that are apparent in literature, so what conditions are distinct that would give them the term Southern Gothic literature? What kind of elements do we call for when trying to find this type of literature? Southern Gothic is a literature that has a style all its own.
Gothic literature was developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth century of the Gothic era when war and controversy was too common. It received its name after the Gothic architecture that was becoming a popular trend in the construction of buildings. As the buildings of daunting castles and labyrinths began, so did the beginning foundation of Gothic literature. The construction of these buildings will later become an obsession with Gothic authors. For about 300 years before the Renaissance period, the construction of these castles and labyrinths continued, not only in England, but also in Gothic stories (Landau 2014). Many wars and controversies, such as the Industrial Revolution and Revolutionary War, were happening at this time, causing the Gothic literature to thrive (“Gothic Literature” 2011). People were looking for an escape from the real world and the thrill that Gothic literature offered was exactly what they needed. Gothic literature focuses on the horrors and the dark sides to the human brain, such as in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein. Gothic literature today, as well as in the past, has been able to separate itself apart from other types of literature with its unique literary devices used to create fear and terror within the reader.
Key Elements of Gothic Literature Jasmine Giles People enjoy reading gothic literature due to its heart rate exciting nature. Without having to engage with any real danger, it is common for the reader to feel anxiety and impaitence when reading gothic fiction. In order for the reader to feel these emotions, the author uses certain elements, such as a gloomy setting and old-fashioned dialoge. In the stories “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”, by elgar allen poe, and “The Landlady”, by Roland Dahl, there are many similarites that remanticize the idea of horror and mystery. Some elements, however, bring out the disbolical horror of gothic literature: the setting, characterization, and the motif of suspense.
Gothic encompasses many genres of expression. Gothic artists speak out through the forms of literature, architecture, film, sculptures, paintings, and music. Many times, one genre of Gothic inspires another, creating fusing parallels between the two. In this way, each genre of Gothic rises to a more universal level, coalescing into the much broader understanding of Gothic. Gothic writers, such as Mary Shelley, influence Gothic music, as one sees in stylistic devices including diction, setting, and tone.
At last I arrived, unmolested except for the rain, at the hefty decaying doors of the church. I pushed the door and it obediently opened, then I slid inside closing it surreptitiously behind me. No point in alerting others to my presence. As I turned my shoulder, my gaze was held by the magnificence of the architecture. It never fails to move me. My eyes begin by looking at the ceiling, and then they roam from side to side and finally along the walls drinking in the beauty of the stained glass windows which glowed in the candle light, finally coming to rest on the altar. I slipped into the nearest pew with the intention of saying a few prayers when I noticed him. His eyes were fixated upon me. I stared at the floor, but it was too late, because I was already aware that he wasn’t one of the priests, his clothes were all wrong and his face! It seemed lifeless. I felt so heavy. My eyes didn’t want to obey me. Neither did my legs. Too late I realised the danger! Mesmerised, I fell asleep.
As we walked through the woods on the dark cold night in October we notice screaming of what we had thought to be the neighbor girl. We creep closer to the large mansion and climb the gates to get in the massive front yard. As me and my friends Kevin, Douglas, and randy reach the front door, we slowly creep open the front door, we hear screams and yells and very quickly leave the situation. We head back to the house for the night and decide that we will make a plan and return to the mansion tomorrow.
Southern Gothic Literature is a subgenre of Gothic fiction writing, which takes place in the American South. The Southern Gothic style is one of that employs the topics such as death, bizarre, violent, madness, and supernatural. These tools are used “to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South (Wikipedia).” The view of the South which is self-identified as the “national” or “American” view is basically a colonial Romance, with the rest of the nation identified with the forces of the light and the South with the forces of the darkness (Wacker 107).The authors of Southern Gothic typically use damaged characters to make their stories better, and to show deeper meanings of unpleasant Southern characteristics. These characters are diverse from society due to social, physical or mental disabilities. However, not all characteristics of the characters are bad; it is that a mixture of good and bad is found in most of the characters. Two authors who express the Southern Gothic writing style are William Faulkner, who wrote “A Rose for Emily,” and Flanner O Conner, the author of “Good Country People” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
There is one known very influential writing style called Gothic Literature. It is not only considered to involve the horror or gothic element but is combined with romance, superstition, women in distress, omens, portents, vision and supernatural events to name a few (Beesly). The history and beginning of this era is not well known. From a few writers came this writing style that has impacted the world. A famous artists known for this type of writing is a man named Edgar Allan Poe. He wrote many short stories and poems that include horror, gothic, and romance just mentioned.
I wearily drag myself away from the silken violet comforter and slump out into the living room. The green and red print of our family’s southwestern style couch streaks boldly against the deep blues of the opposing sitting chairs, calling me to it. Of course I oblige the billowy haven, roughly plopping down and curling into the cushions, ignoring the faint smell of smoke that clings to the fabric. My focus fades in and out for a while, allowing my mind to relax and unwind from any treacherous dreams of the pervious night, until I hear the telltale creak of door hinges. My eyes flutter lightly open to see my Father dressed in smart brown slacks and a deep earthy t-shirt, his graying hair and beard neatly comber into order. He places his appointment book and hair products in a bag near the door signaling the rapid approaching time of departure. Soon he is parading out the door with ever-fading whispers of ‘I love you kid,’ and ‘be good.’
McLeod, W. H. (2000). Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh identity, culture and thought. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.