Brent Beebe
Dr. Cari Keebaugh
Lit-210-OL1
12/16/2017
Gothic Elements within a Film:
Utilizing gothic elements to establish a narrative in movies is an extremely popular and effective way of telling a story. Filmmakers have adapted their creative thoughts on gothic elements to film to provide the same impact that past Gothic writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickenson and Nathaniel Hawthorne so effectively used in their literature. In the article “Elements of a Gothic Novel” by Robert Harris he provides a list of the core gothic elements. Robert Harris gives most of the credit to Horace Walpole for creating the gothic elements. “The Gothic Novel was invented almost single-handedly by Horace Walpole, whose The Castle of Otranto (1764) contains
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One of those elements is the following. Robert Harris wrote “An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The work is pervaded by a threating feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown” (Harris). When combined with your own imagination this element presents a scary and intimidating environment. The main character of Big Fish, Edward Bloom is telling the story of “The Witches Eye”. In this scene, Bloom tells a story of how about how five of his friends from the neighborhood went to see if a Witch existed. The suspense and the unknown were built up when Bloom speaks of where the Witch resides. “It’s common knowledge that most towns of a certain size have a witch…if only to eat misbehaving children…and the occasional puppy who wanders in her yard” (Big Fish). This quote builds the suspense of whether it’s possible if a witch exists and if she truly eats children and puppies. When they arrive at the witch’s home one of the friends asks.” Is it true she got a glass eye” (Big Fish)? Bloom then says. “For she had one glass eye which was said to contain mystical powers. I heard if you look right at it you’ll see how you’re gonna die” (Big Fish). The suspense is even further enhanced by this account. Eventually, the witch shows two of Blooms friends her eye. Both see their deaths and are shocked by what they saw. Bloom then contemplates whether to look at the Witch’s eye. He …show more content…
“Powerful love. Heart stirring, often sudden, emotions create a life or death commitment. Many times, this love is the first the character has felt with this overwhelming power” (Harris). In the scene at the circus in Big Fish Edward Bloom is hit with this “Powerful Love” (Harris) and instantly falls in love with a girl that he sees at the circus. Bloom says” They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops” (Big Fish). During this scene time has stopped and as Bloom approaches the girl he removes popcorn that is suspended in air and walks by people frozen in place. Bloom does not get a chance to speak to her, but he says the following. “I saw the woman I’m going to marry. I know it. But I lost her. I’m going to spend the rest of my life looking for her. That or die alone” (Big Fish). The scene uses the gothic element of romance as it displays how dedicated Bloom is to marry his future wife but also it exhibits Bloom’s further maturity as he starts his first job to obtain knowledge of his future wife’s whereabouts and
us shall you leave this earthly abode. Oh no, you will run by my side
Big Fish is like an incomprehensible film, which never ceases to stop surprising its viewers. The story is an amazing fantasy created by Tim Burton, which transports the viewer to another dimension by means of the main character’s experiences and adventures through the film. In the story the viewer finds a father, Edward Bloom, and a son, Will Bloom. The father is an extravagant storyteller, in which his son grew up hearing his tales and begins to doubt their credibility. Throughout the film the viewer can catch a glimpse of numerous acts of magical realism, but overall identifies the characteristic of mirror reversals which adds a special touch to the story when intertwined with the father and the son as they undergo a life changing journey.
In Daniel Wallace’s novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and Tim Burton’s film, Big Fish, the relationship between the dying protagonist, Edward Bloom and his estranged son, William Bloom, is centrally to the story in both the novel and film. Like many fathers in today's society, Edward Bloom wishes to leave his son with something to remember him by after he is dead. It is for this reason the many adventures of Edward Bloom are deeply interwoven into the core of all the various stories Edward tells to mystify his son with as a child. Despite the many issues father and son have in their tense relationship as adults, Daniel Wallace and Tim Burton’s adaptation of Wallace’s novel focalizes on the strained relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom. In both Wallace’s novel and Burton’s film, they effectively portray how the relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom is filled with bitter resentment and indifference towards each other. Only with William’s attempt to finally reconcile with his dying father and navigating through his father fantastical fables does those established feelings of apathy and dislike begin to wane. With Burton’s craftily brilliant reconstruction of Wallace’s story does the stories of Edward Bloom and his son blossom onto screen.
When it comes to Southern Gothic literature, most authors that had written in this genres stories were younger such as twenty-one through twenty-four when the stories were created. Southern Gothic Literature has always been around and it will continue being around as long as it remains a popular genre. Now, what is Southern Gothic literature? It is a type of writing that was created in the south. The genre surrounds itself “on grotesque themes. While it may include supernatural elements, it mainly focuses on damaged, even delusional, characters”. (What Is Southern Gothic Literature? 1). The whole point of Southern Gothic Literature was to
“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.
Looking at Gothic Horror The horror genre remains very popular with cinema audiences even nowadays because the special effects today make creatures look even more terrifyingly realistic and it also means that you can film stunts or scenes like somebody turning into a werewolf for example, much more easy to film and much more effective. An example of a modern horror film that consists of very effective special effects is 'Underworld' that makes use of computer generation to make some impressive transformation scenes. The advances in technology give modern horror films an edge over classics and a modern audience expects a lot more from a horror film nowadays.
Gothic elements are used to show suspense, symbolism, and drama, while also setting dark and twisted tones about the story and its characters. In the passage "The Fall of the House of Usher" the author uses Gothic elements to entice the reader with details of ominous character persona and setting.
"The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop is saturated with vivid imagery and abundant description, which help the reader visualize the action. Bishop's use of imagery, narration, and tone allow the reader to visualize the fish and create a bond with him, a bond in which the reader has a great deal of admiration for the fish's plight. The mental pictures created are, in fact, so brilliant that the reader believes incident actually happened to a real person, thus building respect from the reader to the fish.
Big Fish is the story of Edward Bloom, an old man with a wild imagination and his son Will Bloom who don't know what to make of his father because he's not sure what in his father's life that was fact or fiction. Will was crying out for a closer relationship with his father, and he felt that closer relationship was being blocked by stories that his father told.
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.
Horace Walpole and Charles Brockden Brown began the gothic traditions, but it is Edgar Allan Poe who mastered it. Poe’s gothic tales embed the problems of society under scenes of terror and horror. He reveals the
Gothic Elements are vital to the foundation and development of Gothic Literature. These element provide a sense of realness and depth to a story. These Elements include death, entrapment, and fascination with the past.
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.”
“The Fish,” written by Elizabeth Bishop in 1946, is perhaps most known for its incredible use of imagery, but this analysis does not merely focus on imagery. Instead, it is based on a quote by Mark Doty from his essay “A Tremendous Fish.” In it he says, “‘The Fish’” is a carefully rendered model of an engaged mind at work” (Doty). After reading this statement, it causes one to reflect more in-depth about how the poem was written, and not just about what its literal meaning lays out. In “The Fish,” Bishop’s utilization of certain similes, imagery in the last few lines, narrative poem style, and use of punctuation allows the audience to transport into the life of the fish; therefore, allowing them to understand Bishop’s ideas on freedom and wisdom.