Here, one student a week will post a discussion thread for the class. It will be about something we discussed in class, an interesting link, or something out of the blue that is relevant to our class at hand. I look forward to reading your posts and I will use your insight in class discussion.
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Heres2YouMsRobinson · Sophomore English 2011/2012
Heres2YouMsRobinson 
We often do things without thinking about them enough. Many of the times we do thing for stupid reasons. The evil side of us gets you to do things mainly because its funny or someone dared you to. But our angel side makes you think about your actions and consequences that will come. In Lord of the Flies the children’s evil side came out a lot. It turned them into totally different people all because they didn’t think about what they were doing and who they might effect at the end of the day.
Michelle, this is a cute portrayal of the everyday conflict between good and evil. As we discussed in class, which decisions between good and evil do you think could have altered the destiny for the boys on the island?
This was really a good video. When we wrote our journals about a day in the life of our evil sides, this is exactly what i was thinking of. I thought of a little guy on my shoulder telling me to make all the wrong choices. I feel like Ralph and Piggy tried not to let their evil conscious get the best of them. I also think that Jack and Roger and a bunch of the other boys, the hunters, got so worried that they were never gonna leave this island so they panicked and let the evil side get the best of them.
I think this video was a good way to visualize what goes on in our heads when we try to make a decision. It is important not to let our evil side take over like Jack in Lord of the Flies. In this video, it was good how he was able to make the devil and angel on his shoulder go away and just think for himself. We should try not to listen to our evil side because we might end up making a bad choice that we will regret in the future.
I really liked the video michelle picked because when we spoke about our evils sides, I thought of how many movies and TV shows do this and I think its a perfect portrayal of how the evil side tries to make you do things you shouldn’t be doing while the angel tries to stop you. i feel like this shows exactly what goes on in our heads when we make a decision but just explaining it a little easier by putting the good and evil voices on your shoulders.
I really liked this video. It definitely showed what we spoke about in class with our good side vs. evil side. We go through choices like these daily and many times its hard to listed to the good side. While we were learning about this I was picturing in my head something exactly like this. Great video choice Michelle!
I liked this video because it shows what it goes in our heads when we’re making a decision. There are many other shows and movies that portray someone deciding good against evil in this way. There’s a similar concept of evil in Judaism called יצר הרע meaning evil inclination. We have to try to not let our יצר הרע get in the way of making the right decision.
This clip is an exact imitation of what we had discussed in class and what we were imagining in our heads. I just love the Features of each “mini-guy” one of them in dressed clean and disciplined while the other is very annoying not disciplined and eager to get the person to pick his idea.
I think this is the perfect video because it connected to Lord of the Flies and to our personal lives as well. Every day we have these conflicts within ourselves, and most of the time we don’t even realize it. I noticed in the video that the real human asked the angel and devil to go away and leave him alone. Sometimes we just want a clear mind and clarity to simply see the right and wrong of every situation. But it’s never that easy and we’re expected to make the right decisions.
This video was great. It is a perfect example of an individual conflicting between listening to their good side opposed to their evil side. Everyone makes those decisions where they have two opposing choices they can take upon and each choice would lead them in different directions. Its funny because during class while discussing our evil/good sides, I thought of this exact scene in the movie (Emperors New Groove).
This was a very nice video. That day we wrote in our journals about how we have an angel in one shoulder and the devil on the other, and how the decision process would go. This relates to what we were learning about in Lord Of The Flies. I feel like Ralph and Piggy and the other boys over reacted a little bit. They were thinking about how they might not ever leave the island. This thought in their head got the best of them and therefore was influenced by the devil on their shoulder. Good job Michelle!
I think that this video is like what we were told to wfite a journal on when there is something inside of you telling you to do the wrong thing.
I think this video was a great way to show how we conflict with ourselves in our everyday life. When we make decision we always go through the bad and good outcomes and it helps us grow. This was a great way to connect what we were learning in class.
I like this video. I think it was a good idea for what happened in Lord of the flies. For most of us its hard to make decisions about certain things but for other things we don’t even think about it and just do it even if its wrong. Just like the boys in the story. They barley ever thought about what they were doing and how wrong it was. i Like the video, very good choice.
Wow it seems like yesterday we were talking about Lord of The Flies how we wrote in our journals about our good and bad side and we discussed how the evil side came out on some of the boys in the story. Sometimes the evil side overtakes the good side and we start to do bad things. I like this video because this use to be one of my favorite tv shows growing up as a kid and now i could relate it to what i learnt in class.
i love this video because it shows that everyone has choices and they can do either the right thing or the wrong thing. the voices in your head help you decide. it is like the yetzer hara and yetzer hatov.
I think this video proved that sometimes we do bad things for really bad reasons and it shows our evil side. But sometimes or good side comes out and we start to think of what were going to do before we do it. Usually when we think before we act, the action will have a better effect on you then when you do something just because its funny or impressive.
i really liked this video. it was just like what we talked about in class. the good guy on one shoulder and the bad guy on the other. its a great way to show what goes on in our heads sometimes when making a decision. when we make a decision we think about the positive and negatives outcomes that can come out of it.
I thought of this video while we were having the class discussion on the book, “Lord of The Flies”. How the guy in this commercial and the boys in the book forgot about their original goal of escaping the island and became caught up in new goals. The boys for power and the guy in the commercial for pleasure.
Just like the guy got sidetracked in the video that David posted, how do you think the boys in Lord of The Flies were sidetracked from their original plan? What was their original plan?
Most of the boys in Lord of the Flies were distracted from their original plan. Their plan was to keep a fire signal going, so that a ship passing by will see and rescue them. Jack was the main cause of this distraction. He made his own goal, which was to hunt pigs. He was so side tracked by having fun, and being the best hunter, that he forgot the most important thing: to get home. Ralph and Piggy didn’t loose sight of their original plan.
The boys in Lord of the Flies got sidetracked from their original plan. I think that the boys got sidetracked because of Jack. All Jack wanted to do was hunt and be a leader, and he convinced the other boys to follow him and rebel against Ralph and Piggy. However, Ralph and Piggy didn’t get sidetracked. They stuck to the original plan. The original plan was to keep a fire signal so that anyone passing by would see the smoke and would rescue them.
the boys in lord of the flies got distracted just like the guy in the video. the guy in the video couldve had any wish but he chose something out of luxury instead of wishing to go home. sometimes luxury can sidetrack you from what your main goal is. just like the boys in the hunger games there main goal at first was to survive and get home, but they began to get sidetracked. they fought over leadership,and catching a pig became more important then the fire that could save them. the boys lost all morality on the island and forgot there main purpose-to get home.
In the Lord of the Flies the boys have a goal to keep the fire going so they can be rescued off the island. But little by little Jack and some of the other boys become caught up in hunting pigs and being the best leader. I think that if Jack just stayed with the group and listened to the ideas that others had to say, they might have been able to work together better and get off the island more quickly. This shows us how getting sidetracked from the original plan will just stall us from achieveing our main goal.
In this video the guy got sidetracked from the main goal and wished for things he didn’t need. In Lord of the Flies, everyone on the island also got sidetracked. In the beginning, when they first landed on the island and Ralph was their leader, their main goal was to keep the signal fire going at all times so that someone will see it and rescue them, However, later on, when some of the boys started to rebel against Ralph and go with Jack, they started to care more about hunting and shelter than finding a way to get rescued.
This video really shows the psychology of a human being under extreme conditions. Over here this guy is side tracked by his life-long desires to comfort him. This resembles Human Psychology by showing our instinct to try to get what we want. The interesting part about this psychology is the priorities of these wishes. All of this is everyone’s train of taught in the novel Lord of The Flies to all of the kids EXCEPT for Piggy and Ralph. Jack just wanted to serve himself and satisfy himself and his own needs. Ralph goes against his instinct and strives to rescue all of the boys on the island by religiously taking care of the fire.
When i was watching this video i didnt think it related to anything we learned in class. I thought of it more and realized that it related to lord of the flies. In this commercial they wished for all things that they didnt really need. In lord of the flies they made a fire to get rescued and everyone started rebelling against each other. If they didnt rebell they would have gotten saved much faster.
At first, I didn’t see the connection between this video and Lord of the Flies. But now, I thinks it’s the perfect example of what went on in the novel. The characters, especially Jack and Ralph lost sight of what was really important, which was to signal a boat. In the beginning of the book their goal was to make a fire, signal a boat, and get off the island not leaving anyone behind. Jack got very distracted with his hunting, completely losing sense of civilization. Ralph and the others got so absorbed in trying to protect their lives that they too lost sense of civilization.
I thought this was a creative and a very good video to connect to Lord of the flys. It was short and right to the point. It showed how they were not paying attention to what they really needed and were to focused on whats really not important, just like in lorn of the flys.
I feel like the boys in Lord of The Flies got sidetracked by their original plan. In the beginning, when Ralph was their leader, they tried to have a signal fire going at all times. Once Jack started to get competitive and rebel, even the slightest bit the boys lost track of their original goals. The boys that were watching the signal fire decided to leave the fire and go hunting with Jack. That was very irresponsible of them and because of them the first ship that passed didn’t know that they were on the island. I thought this video was very cute and really relates to the book.
At first I didn’t think this video related to the book but once I started thinking of it I was able to see the connection. In this video the man got side tracked and wished for unnecessary things. In the book The Lord Of The Flies everyone on the island also got sidetracked. In the beginning their main goal was to keep the fire going for someone to come and find them so they can go home. But then they started to rebel against each other and they stopped caring about the fire they built. Because of that they missed their first chance off the island. I think this video was very cute and I really liked it.
The original plan of the boys was to keep a signal fire on so they could be found and rescued. But instead they got caught up in other things and stared to rebel against each other. They were constantly fighting and were very violent towards each other. They didn’t listen to what each person had to say and thought they were better than each other. I liked this video and I thought it related to the book in a cute and interesting way.
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
— Dwight D. Eisenhower
“You do not lead by hitting people over the head — that’s assault, not leadership.”
— Dwight D. Eisenhower
This week in class we’ve been discussing everything about what you’d do if you were in the position the boys were in (in the book Lord of the Flies). We discussed everything from traits of a leader to debating who was the best etc.
So, what do you think about Eisenhower’s quotes above? Are they contradicting, logical, opinionated? How can you relate either quote (or both quotes) to any of the leader characters in this novel?
Wow Charles Chakkalo, those are two great quotes. I like them because if you think about them for a while, they make sense, Some might find it confusing, but think about it. Leaders lead by having other people under them doing what they what the leader wants, but with their own will. They are choosing to follow him. That’s what makes a good leader.
Yes Victor, there are actually many different theories and ways a leader can lead his people. We see many of theses various methods used througt history. Examples of the different ways of leading are, communisim, dictatorships, autocracy and more. Historically spekingthese quotes follow the logic of Confucious, the Chinese philosopher.
I agree with the first quote because if the follower agrees with the leaders ideas, he will try harder to get the job done. If the leader just bosses everyone around but the followers do not agree with this idea, they might not do the job well or may refuse to do the job at all. I also agree with the second quote because you should not force people to do what you want. Leadership is not about abusing your people.
I agree with both quotes. They both give you ideas of how to be a good leader. The first quote is saying leadership is when you give someone a job not only because you want it done but also the person your giving the job to wants it to be done. The second quote is saying that a leader does not force someone to do some thing and hit the person if they don’t do it. I think they each have something to do with one another because if a leader gives someone a job that the person also wants to be done then it wont lead him to hit the person witch will make him a bad leader.
These are wise and very logical words by Dwight D. Eisenhower. I agree with both of the quotes.I agree with the first quote because a leader has to make sure that, when he’s getting someone else to do something he wants done, he gives the job to someone who wants to do the job as well. In Lord of the Flies, a good example of Ralph being a good leader is when he gives the hunting duties to Jack because he wanted to lead over somebody and was good at hunting. He wanted to be in charge of the hunting. Ralph didn’t force him. I agree with the second quote because abusing somebody is not a quality a leader should have. Jack from Lord of the Flies tried to be a leader by abusing and controlling people. He was wrong and because of this he wasn’t a good leader in my opinion.
I agree with both quotes. I think they are both very logical and connect to what we discussed in class. Yes, a good leader has to be admirable, must get attention and get things to be done the way he wants it. But, he also has to be respectful and understanding to his people. In lord of the flies, I think Ralph is a true leader. He was a calm boy and wanted things to be done in the proper way. He assigned jobs to people that best fit them. It’s important to be a good leader because if you’re not, no one will follow you.
I agree with both quotes. I agree with the first quote because a leader has to take charge of a situation and assign people the job that best suits them. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph portrayed this type of leadership. I agree with the second quote because you cant obtain order by abusing people because that will eventually just make them rebel.
I think that the craziest part of The Hunger Games is the fact that we are all cheering for Katniss to kill other kids. At the beginning of the book, I thought that the capitol was insane, and I still do. But I forgot just how inhuman the whole idea of the games really was. Throughout the reading of The Hunger Games, all I really wanted was for Katniss to win, and go home. But what about the 23 other kids? They also had families and people who loved them. And I completely forgot about them. I realized this after watching a few trailers of The Hunger Games. Once I saw the kids actually dying, it hit me how barbaric the idea of the games really were.
I feel exactly the same way. The capitol is crazy and so insensitive to the way the games effect the peoples lives. The 24 tributes were someones brother, sister, daughter, son or cousin and just without choice thrown in an arena to fight to the death. But for what? Theres no satisfaction from killing innocent people. I also just wanted Katniss and Peeta to get home safely but what about the other kids that barley lived there lives to the fullest?
It’s funny because I imagined the the characters and scene totally different in my head, it was unnatural watching it. Then again the whole idea of the games is unnatural. Nina brings a very good point because throughout the whole book I didn’t think for a second about any of the other tributes, and what if their feeling ill, or homesick, or how their family is holding up knowing that their child has a 23/24 chance of dying. I think that this is an example of me expressing my selfish side even though I’m not in that situation.
I agree with Nina. While I was reading the book I was also cheering on Katniss. I wanted her to kill everyone so that she wouldn’t die. I didn’t even think of the other players. This made me think that if I wasn’t thinking of the other players was katniss’s mother or sister thinking of them or even the whole district? If I was some one from district twelve I’m not sure if I would feel bad for the other players or if I would just want my district to win. This book is really inhuman and its hard to believe that someone could even think of this kind of government.
While i was reading the book i didnt actually visualize the scenes and what it was really like. When i watched this video it made me see how scary it really is for them. This trailer makes me want to see the movie and now i am excited for it to come out.
This summer while i was reading the Hunger Games i was trying to visualize every moment in my head. It was one of the best books I’ve read. I do agree with Nina, these games are truly barbaric and inhumane. Throughout the book i was rooting for Katniss and Peeta to come out alive and to stand above all the others with victory. This is a really good trailer to kind of show us what the games would actually look like and how crazy the whole thing is
Wow, Nina Esses, that was a great video! Its funny because it was picturing it soooo different in my head. You know you has a point there, how we all forgot about the other 23 kids. The author was sort of biased towards her. Which I think was in a way very unfair.
I didn’t even think of The Hunger Games in the way that Nina viewed it until she said it. Now that I think about it I feel exactly the same way. We are happy that Katniss and Peeta survived and we think that it was all a happy ending but when you you think about it there were 23 other people who didn’t get to have that same happy ending. Katniss was the main character so if she survived we feel that everything is okay in the end but its really not because of all the grief that was caused to the families who had a relative die in The Hunger Games.
I agree with Nina completely. All the other kids had families too but the book is focused on her so all the other kids seem to be her enemy in our eyes. But the games are totally inhumane
Nina, I agree with you completely. I also never realized I was basically rooting for 23 teenagers to die. Just the fact that the capitol is forcing the idea of murder upon 24 teenagers is horrible, as well. It truly shows how barbaric they were at that time and I cringe just thinking of how our society would be if the government thought the same way.
One hundred percent I agree with Nina. She is totally right. When i read the hunger games all I thought about was who’s gonna win? I hope Katniss wins. I never really thought what about everyone else. I knew it was a horrible thing they were doing, but I never truly thought about the other twenty three people who were about to die. I guess thats why the book was so good and why so many people love it. The story is unrealistic but still very interesting and a story I would think no one could dislike.
As I said before, there are many different ways of leadership. There are extremely different logics. I am not siding with the capital here, but in their logic and they think its the correct way to rule. Compared to equal democracies now adays this really seems like a very brutal wat to rule, but who knows it could of been very calm during that time.
Your totally right I never really thought of the other kids family and who they’re going to effect. the other families might depend on that kid also. Even the thought of loosing your brother, sister, son, or daughter is insane.
I agree with what Nina said. When I was reading the book, I only really cared about katniss the whole time. I didn’t have sympathy for the other contestants and how much their family must of missed them. The only thing I could think about was katniss winning and staying alive. The video gave me a great look of what the Hunger Games were really like and the intensity of them.
This song is in relation to The Hunger Games. When I hear this song, I hear fear. Imagine the fear inside of the tributes, and yet they have to keep a strong and intimidating image. Walking into the arena, expected to kill every single person standing around you. And your so scared, all you want to do is just lye down and forget what you’ve done- who you’ve become. You think your close to the end, but you have no choice but to run, keep your distance. After awhile, it’s all you know. Distance. You forget the normal way to act around people. And you hate it. All you know is home. Not this fancy Capitol, and these rich people, or this deadly arena. Your so scared, you don’t know what to expect. You worry. You worry about your family. Are they holding up, are they finding food, or I hope their not worrying about me too much. I hate this place, it scares me. But this is where it ends, or has it just begun? Imagine that. What fear can do to a person. Acting in a ruthless manner. Distancing yourself. It’s scary.
Joyce, what an intimate way of looking at the emotional path of the characters in the Games. I love it.
I agree with Joyce. Fear can take over a person and cause them to act in a cruel and merciless manner. Throughout the games, their main goal was to kill every single person in the arena. Distancing yourself from all the other tributes so that they dont kill you first. This is a very scary thing to picture and think about. I think this song really relates to the hunger games because its all about fear and keeping your distance.
I agree with Joyce and i think this song was a good choice on how to prove her point. Fear is a main thing to help you or harm you in surviving. If you let fear take over you, it can lead you to making the wrong decisions, wish can end up leaving you in jeopardy. All your thinking about it is how to get through this alive and it can cause you to act in many different ways, weather its good or bad.
I agree with Joyce. i can see how fear can make a person act cruel. This song made me see how scary everything is.
I agree with joyce. All the people in the hunger games are scared. they have no clue what to do next or where to go next. Everyone wants to forget what they have done. No one is happy about about killing other people especially for no reason except for the enjoyment of others. All this fear can make a person go crazy and just do anything to get back home and try to be relieved from that fear.Even though all you want to do is survive and get back home you also feel guilty about killing people because once you win doesn’t mean its always the end.
the hole reason Katniss stayed alive was because of the way she portayed herself. is she hadn’t teamed up with peeta and pretended that they fell in love there was a great chance of her losing. the capitol fed off the drama and the star crossed lovers fearing that they both wouldnt be able to live happily ever after, because only one could win the games.the games is a fight to the death. that strategy made it possible for both Katniss and Peeta to win. District twelve couldnt remember the last time they had a winner from there capitol let alone two.
I think the reason Katniss staid alive is because of her goal to get to Peeta. If she didn’t have that goal there was less of a chance for her to win and she would have for sure tried to run and keep her distance for as long as she could. Of course she also wanted to get back home to her family but that was a long term goal and while she was thinking of her family she was also thinking that she was going to die and of the odds of her actually winning against all the experienced fighters. But when Katniss heard the capital say that two people could win as long as they are from the same district, she did as much as she could do to get to Peeta. Once she found Peeta she just wanted to get back to the capital so they can fix Peeta’s leg even if it meant she had to pretend to love Peeta. I think for Katniss having that goal is what made her less scared and what gave her the confidence to win the game.
http://www.layoutsparks.com/1/115787/gothic-castle-cross-peace.html
I felt that this picture includes many of the things we learned in class about gothic literature. When you look at this picture all you think about is fear. In the dark night, with the scary castle in the grave yard, I cant even begin to think what unknown things were once there or are there now. This picture is full of mystery and it leads to think about many different stories that you think might happen.
I agree with Margie. When i look at this picture the first thing that comes to mind is gothic literature. We’ve discussed this genre for so long and went through so many different conventions and this picture is perfect for visualizing what we’ve been learning in class. In this picture we seen the graveyard which is a key convention in gothic literature and this picture also includes the night time and the moon. Good job margie
I think this picture is a perfect representation of gothic literature simply because of all the gothic aspects. I actually enjoy listing all the gothic conventions I’m able to observe and point out and so I took the time to do it.
1. The setting of taking place in a graveyard
2. The large moon emphasizes that its night
3. The crosses
4. The atmosphere being filled with what seems like smoke
5. The man walking up the stairs adds a very creepy idea to the picture
This is really a great picture! I love the ascending stairs, I love how it shows the foggy night and the moon shinning so bright. This is exactly what we spoke about when we spoke about gothic literature. The first time we ever spoke about gothic literature, this type of picture is what came to my mind. It’s a great picture.
This picture is from the short story “The Tell Tale Heart”.The picture shows us how even though he hated his eye he took care of the old man and did whatever he could so that he would not suspect that he would eventually kill him. When I see this picture it makes me think how even a made up story could relate to our so called normal lives. In the news we’ve seen stories of so called normal people doing horrible things. Just like the narrator was saying about himself that he wasn’t mad because he was smart enough to think of this plan and complete it. I believe he was mad even though he was able to complete the horrible act because its still murder of an innocent person. It makes me think about in this crazy world people can be so nice and friendly and you don’t really know what is going on in there head or what there planning.
I agree with Jessica. I like this picture because it shows how the narrator is disgusted by the Old Mans eye. In the beginning you wouldn’t know anything was going on. He was being a regular nice person so that he wouldn’t be suspected of anything. And then finally on the eighth night, after visiting his room all week and watching him sleep the narrator decided to kill the Old Man. He looked like an innocent man but guilt always gets the best of us at the end of it all. Great job jess!
I agree with Jessica Hill. this picture shows the old mans eye and that you can’t trust someone just because they did one nice deed that benefits you in anyway. And thats what the narrator wanted. he did all these good things to remain unsuspicious and then finally killed him.
Jessica has a very good point. You really never know when someone is going to back stab you. It could come out of no where, just like in “Tell Tale Heart.” It really scares me to think sometimes how vicious and not sensitive people can be. We live in a crazy world and we need to be careful with who we befriend.
I love this picture. I think it shows Edgar Allen Poes hatred towards the old man. I personally loved his style of writing and the suspense he kept us in. I love that he made the characters so perfectly planned out. The plan of the main character, to be very nice to the old man was very strategic but at the end, the guilt still got the best of him.
This picture is from the short story “The Tell Tale Heart”.The picture shows us how even though he hated his eye he took care of the old man and did whatever he could so that he would not suspect that he would eventually kill him. When I see this picture it makes me think how even a made up story could relate to our so called normal lives. In the news we’ve seen stories of so called normal people doing horrible things. Just like the narrator was saying about himself that he wasn’t mad because he was smart enough to think of this plan and complete it. I believe he was mad even though he was able to complete the horrible act because its still murder of an innocent person. In this crazy world people can be so nice and friendly, but do we really know what is going on in there heads or what they’re planning?
i found this video a week ago and i thought it was a perfect portrayal of what we have been learning in class these past few weeks. As you watch this video you should try and think about how this relates to our discussions in class. What forms of gothic conventions can you spot out in this video?
i agree with what jayne said. this is a good portrayal of what we’ve been discussing in class. i never really thought of this movie as gothic but there are forms of gothic convention in this scene. including the setting, the long bridge and castle, when the dragn snatched the donkey and the colors of the scene. the colors are very darkish.
Jayne’s video is a perfect example of gothic architecture. The way this scene takes place in a huge castle, the way it’s dark and pretty much empty. I would never connect Shrek to an example of gothic literature, but I’m proven wrong. While I was watching this clip, I got the same spooky and disturbing feeling I got when we watched the Tell Tale Heart videos. It comes the prove that by adding a gothic scene to a movie, it adds a whole different feel to the movie.
Wow this video was a great portrayal of gothic literature from the beginning to the end. The video started off overlooking a dark and huge castle. Also, the music in the background was very creepy and scary and the setting was at night (very dark). Throughout the whole video there was a lot of suspense and fire. Just like the characters were so scared and didn’t know what would happen next, I did too.
This video really does show what we’ve been learning in class and there are many gothic parts to it. The old castle with the tops formed into a point, its very dark, theres lava all around them, the long and shaky old bridge. I’ve watched this movie so many times and i never really thought about how gothic it was until now.
this is a really good example of what we’ve been learning in class. in this video i could spot out some various forms of gothic literature we spoke about in class. The castle, the darkness, the dragon, the skeletons and the creepy music. i like this video to sort of help me point out these gothic conventions. good job jayne
I really like Jayne’s comparison of Gothism and the rescue scene in Shrek. It really does relate perfectly to what we’ve been discussing in class (Gothic literature, elements, conventions, etc.). I was able to point out many Gothic conventions while watching it
1. Castle
2. The dark/ stormy sky
3. Fire breathing dragon
4. Damsel in distress
I think its very funny how I’ve watched this movie so many times but never realized this part had so many gothic elements. The dark, dirty and ruined castle was a huge gothic element. The part when Donkey was being trapped by the dragon reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, Cask of Amotillado, when Fourtunado was being trapped by Montresor. The donkey, like Fourtunado, was confused as to what was gonna happen next. Also the donkey can be such a funny animal and Fourtunado was dressed as a joker when Montresor was planning his death. The backround music in the video also was a gothic element.
i think this is a very good example of gothic literature and architecture. this is the first time i ever thought of shrek the cartoon movie as gothic literature. certain scenes and the music give it the creepy effect which is seen in gothic literature. it creates a sense of fear and confusion. the castle and the dragon are also great portrayals of gothic literature.
Whenever I’ve watched this i never really noticed this but the tall buildings pointing upwards, the creepy music, and the dark colors really do make this a gothic scene.
This video along with many others shows many characteristics of gothic literature. It relates to many of the story that we have read in class. This was a good video to show more about gothic literature.
I think the movie Shrek is a good choice for gothic conventions. Just like we learned in class. It has the castle, the darkness, the fire, and the dragon. The movie Shrek is supposed to be a funny comical movie but in this part you really do see a lot of gothic elements, conventions, and architecture.
Mama – My chemical romance
“Mama, we’re all full of lies.
Mama, we’re meant for the flies.
And right now they’re building a coffin your size,
Mama, we’re all full of lies.”
When I first heard this song I didn’t really understand it and I felt like the whole song was just yelling. When I read the lyrics I realized that this is a real Gothic song. The boy is telling his mom how they are all going to die. This song is saying that death is inevitable, and even your mom who loves you cant even save you. The maggots (the flies) are going to eat your decomposing bodies. The outlook of the song is very dark and not hopeful. I chose this paragraph from the song Mama by My Chemical Romance. I think this songs relates to what we have been discussing in class. It has a lot of Gothic aspects to it, such as death and despair.
When I saw your post I looked on youtube and saw the music video and I really got scared. When I actually listened to the lyrics it got me creeped out. Your explanation of the lyrics are perfect.
This song is a very gothic song and i had to listen to it a couple of times before i really understood it. It has a lot of gothic aspects to it like death and also the background music was very gothic. this song was very creepy and i think it really relates to what we’ve been learning in class.
wow gail that was really deep! i 100% agree with you. at first i didnt understand what you were trying to show us but then i read your description and it all made sense.
When i first read this song i read it over and over again until i could really understand what it was talking about. When i finally understood this song i realized it had a lot of gothic conventions in it like gothic feeling and most importantly death, This song gives of a sort of negative vibe but i liked it and shows somewhat what we’ve discussed in class. Good job gail!
The first thing I did after I read what you wrote I looked up the song on youtube because I didn’t really understand what you were trying to say. The song was really scary I guess it was the lyrics and the way he sang it that was creepy. But I agree with you Gail that it has a lot of different gothic aspects in it because there is so much death in the song, you just cant help thinking about death and darkness when you listen to this song. I like how you chose to portray Gothic literature in a different way then just another video of a movie or picture.
Wow this is a deep song. At first i didn’t really understand what it was talking about. I understood the words i just couldn’t figure out the message behind those words. But as a listened to this song on youtube over and over again i got this sense of a gothic feeling and this feeling that death and darkness was filling the air. Good job Gail
This song happens to be one of my favorite songs. I’ve been listening to it for as long as I can remember, but I never really examined the lyrics or was able to see the connection between it and the concept of fear in The Hunger Games. Now thinking about it, I can totally understand how this song applies to the actual feelings of the tributes. I can see how hard, no, how mind blowing it must’ve been for them. Their fear has been the main reason for taking the measures they’ve took. Fear of so many things. Fear of the Capitol…Fear of the consequences that will be held on their families if they fail…The fear of death and…The fear of themselves.
I liked Jayne’s video. I thought that it tied together most of the gothic aspects that we discussed in class. The castle, fire, spooky music, lava, and endless bridge were just a few examples. I liked when the dragon’s eye popped out. It reminded me of the Tell Tale Heart. In a way, it was like the evil eye. Except in this video, there was an actual reason to be scared of it.
I agree with gail. This song is not easy to understand the first few times you hear it but once you really examine the lyrics you see there is no hope in the song. I think it is a great song to compare to gothic literature because it has a lot of characteristics of gothic thoughts and i think it was a good choice for what we are learning now in class.
This video of Harry Potter, I think connected a lot to what we learnt in class with gothic literature. The dark castle, huge dragon and sword are all symbols of gothic literature. You can see the fear in Harry’s eyes which leaves the audience wondering who will win this fight. This helped me understand and be able to picture more of what we have been talking about in class.
I like this video because it always helps to visualize something we’ve learned in class. I pointed out a few of the conventions we’ve learned in class and its so much easier now that I’ve seen them. I also like this video because its not a foreign movie, its a movie we’ve all seen and now we finally could connect more to it through what we’ve been learning in class. Good job margie
This video shows a lot of gothic literature and i never actually realized that so much of it was in this movie until it was pointed out to me. This video really helps me see clearly gothic literature and the roles it plays in movies and shows. I like this video because it really helps me understand what gothic literature is and how it could change the atmosphere of a movie.
Its always nice to see a video of something we know and love. I think this was a very good choice of video, not only because I love all the Harry Potter movies, but also because it shows gothic themes in it just like we learned in class.
I like this video because i love the movie and i love everything about it. I think its wonderful that we could look in everyday life and find things that relate to the in class discussions. In this video harry enters this chamber which is one of the gothic conventions we talked about and the atmosphere of this clip is perfect.
I enjoyed reading what Gail posted. When I first read the song I didn’t understand what it was talking about and how it connected to what we were learning in class. However, when she explained what it was about everything was starting to make sense. I understood that it was a gothic song because it was so depressing and had no hope at all. When I think of gothic literarure I think of darkness in my mind. It was amazing to see how songs can be related to gothic literaure.
“Walk with this tomorrow night. If nothing happens, then don’t come back. Forget about us, this place. But if you feel the Nightwalker in you awaken then return to where you belong. Return to me, and the streets will run red with blood.”
-Keith Kekic, Chloe of the Night
This quote talks about a devil who gives a skeleton charm to a wanna be vampire. The devil tells the new be if he feels nothing on his wanderings then don’t come back. But, if the new be feels the night walker urge awaken in him, he should return to his real home with the devil. If he does return to the devil than he promises the new be that together they’ll kill many people and cause the streets to run with blood. When I found this quote I thought of gothic literature right away because it sounded creepy. It also mentioned that the streets ran with blood and it immediately reminded me of “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar allen Poe, which we’ve been reading in class this week.
i agree with muriel. this quote kind of reminds me of “masque of the red death” because in this story everyone was dying out on the streets from the disease. the devil is like the disease because it going to cause people to die. this quote is very gothic because it is creepy and talks about death.
Jaynes blog was definitely a great way to show gothic literature. Different forms of gothic conventions in this video were the dark colors, the scary music, the big castle, the fire breathing dragon, the chains and Princess Fiona was like the dansel in distress.
This is a trailer for the premier of the gothic-themed series, The Secret Circle. Its a supernatural filled show about 5 witches bound to each other by magic. The gothic theme is unexplainable and while watching the video, it left me in such awe and confusion. Then is when I realized this was an example of gothic literature being portrayed in film. There are many forms of gothic elements being shown in the video. For example, the protagonists’ mother being tortured to death which caused the depression of her daughter. Also, the witches power was passed on to them from many generations before them. The old, run down house is where the 5 teenaged witches practiced their magic in secret. The theme song gives off a sense of discomfort and confusion which is ironic. Being that its a soft tune, yet leaving such an uncomfortable vibe is very odd. After watching this video I literally cringed and said, “I must see it.”
I happen to watch this series and the following episodes are even creepier. There is so much dark magic and unexplainable things going on which obviously makes this a gothic inspired show. After I read one of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories I have to sit for a while and just process all the information and I do the same for this show. And just like Marielle said, the theme song is the scariest of all. It makes me feel like there is much more to come even though the show is over.
i agree with Marielle i think this is a great example of gothic literature. The fact that it was passed down from generation to generation is another example of how it is gothic literature. The teenagers don’t even know how to use there powers fully and for the right reasons. It seems like they lost there focus and used something that could’ve been amazing for something bad. They fight and some get jelouse but they forget that they are all together in this and that they shouldn’t forget were this al started. They loose there focus as do many stories in gothic literature.
I agree with Mimi and Marielle as well. When it says that these powers were passed down from generation to generation it showed a convention of gothic literature, I also liked this video because it kept me in suspense and it made me want to actually watch this series. This girl doesn’t know how to control her powers but overtime she learns what to do and what not to do. I cant wait to watch how this series plays out and watch decisions she makes that could affect her life. Good job marielle
This video left me in complete awe as well. I became so absorbed in the trailer I felt as if I was there. Gothic literature was expressed very much in this video. As I was watching it I tried to imagine it without the music, and I don’t think it would even be half as creepy. It comes to show how much of an effect each aspect of gothic literature can have on a piece.
This video was a great way to show more about gothic literature. The fact that it is so scary and they have magical powers brings more aspects of gothic literature. I never realized how much gothic literature there is in our movies and shows today.
I defiantly agree with Marielles choice of this video to portray a gothic theme. When I watched the video I had the same exact feelings as Marielle. The series seems creepy, supernatural, and confusing, but i guess thats the way they make people watch the show. After watching it I am defiantly interested in it as well as I am in gothic literature as we learned in class.
After reading Gail’s explanation, I realized how scary this song was. Everything that he is saying is true. Dying is definitely unavoidable. As human beings, we have to try not to think about it. This song reminds me of a quote that we discussed in class. “And this to should pass.” It can be used in good times and in bad. When life is going good, this quote tells you to enjoy it now, because it will pass. All that goes up, must come down. And for the bad times, you will get through it. Everything is going to be okay. I think the boy singing this song has to realize that he should enjoy life now, because before you get the chance to enjoy it, it will be over.
In the preface of Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, Mary tells us a little bit about her background and how she came up with this story. In the preface she wrote:
“I had a dearer pleasure than this, which was the formation of castles in the air- the indulging in walking dreams- the following up trains of thought…….but my dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed- my dearest pleasure when free.”
This little section of the preface really interested me and made me think, what was my refuge when annoyed and my dearest pleasure when free? After a lot of thought and consideration I came to the conclusion that jogging and playing piano are my temporary escapes from the busyness of this world. When things pile on and become to much for me, I just need to take a break and play piano to relax myself. Sometimes I even go for a jog just to release a little bit of my stress.
What are some things that you do to release your stress?
I am relatively new to this class, and I felt that it would be very interesting to find out what everyone likes to do on their free time. Since I wasn’t in this class last year, I felt like this would give me the opportunity to get to know everyone just a little bit better.
Danielle….this is great. I love that Shelley escaped through her writing. Maybe we can use that to inspire our own writing.
What I do to release stress is I have a special pillow in my room. That pillow I like to call my “stress pillow”. What it is, is a pillow that is very soft, so when I get stressed out or angry, I run strait up to my room , find that pillow any throw it against the wall multiple times until all of my anger and stress is released. Some might find that very weird, but, hey it helps.
Unlike Mary Shelley, my escape from the world is music. I like to listen to songs that are related to my situation. Some how, it puts me at ease. I think it’s because the lyrics always reminds me that I am not the only one going through that problem. If anything, writing makes me more stressed. It tricks me into thinking that the situation is worse then what it really is.
Interesting Nina. Why do you think it is that writing is doing that?
Just like Nina my stress relief is music. Sometimes I even dance to let loose. Music and dancing makes me relax and only when I relax I am able to tackle my everyday school and home work. I think its important to know what relaxes you and not to juggle too much at a time.
I also agree with Nina. Sometimes when I’m in a bad mood i would listen to the music and listen well to the lyrics of the song. Sometimes that song would relate to me and its almost like I’m hearing this story in my head. When i listen to this song this visualization comes into my head as if its painting a picture in my head. And in the end when the songs over I’m in a happier and calmer mood.
I agree with nina a hundred percent! Music is the first thing i go to, to release dress or to relax. I also listen to music that relates to my situation as well as nina does and it helps a lot.
Im the same way Nina. After a long day of school ill come home and just look for good music and just keep listening to it over and over again. i like to sort of paint the picture of the song and sort of relate it to my bad day. I also like to express my feelings in writing. Sometimes ill come home and il just write everything I’m feeling and i get comfort from it. Everyone has different escapes. Mine are music and writing!
When i need to release stress, i always go to dance. Music and dancing both make me forget about everything else for a while and just have time for myself. Like nina, i listen to songs that relate to my situation. It helps so much
I totally understand how Mary would use writing as her escape, but speaking for myself I prefer not to limit myself to one specific thing that helps me relax. Theres practically a list of things I like to do that releases my stress. Like many of us, music is also one of my escapes and, ironically, so is silence. Sometimes I like to just go to my room, lay down on my bed, and stare at the ceiling. It really separates myself from my surroundings.
there are a few things that i do to release my stress or get my mind off of things. i enjjoy listening to music because it reelaxes me. i also take long showers to unwind. unlike marry shelley, writing does not relieve my stress because i have to think about how im going to word the sentence. just like michelle said it is imporatnt to find something that destresses you so you can handle things and not blow up.
I like this post a lot Danielle. I think it was a good very good choice for the blog. It helps us understand what Mary Shelley was going through when writing Frankenstein and even helps us understand the book a little better. Stress for me comes a lot from school but in no specific way i get rid of it. Thank God i don’t have problems with it but its nice to know some people know how to get rid of it in a productive way.
This is a trailer to a Frankenstien movie and I really thought it connected to what we were talking about in class recently. We discussed how monsters are a type of gothic literature and how they can be either scary or friendly. I also thought this introduces us to what we will be reading in frankenstien the book
Lorraine, this is a great vintage film! You’ll see how different the novel actually is from this and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
I totally agree with Lorraine. This video is very much connected to what we are talking about in class. This video make me excited to read the actual book of Frankenstein and learn more about the story.
Wow lorraine this is a really good video to watch. When Ms Robinson told us we would be reading Frankenstein i didn’t know what to expect. But after i watched this video it gave me a little background and kind of filled me in on what well be doing for the next month.And after watching this video I’m really excited to actually read the book and learn it in detail in the class.
I think this is s great video to show monsters misconception. The movie writers could’ve completely changed the way Frankenstein is portrayed in the book. Although i haven’t read the book yet i already see Frankenstein the way the movie writers portrayed him. He could have good intentions but the view of the film is from one point of view, one that is not Frankensteins.
I agree with what lorraine said. It was very similar to what we wrote in our essays and how like you create a monster and you don’t know what the outcome might be. and I’m actually a little excited to finally read this book and see if the trailer matches the book
I liked this video, mainly because it shows more of the book and less of the modern time Frankenstein. I was picturing Frankenstein more of how the movies today showed him but now i picture him differently, more like the book.
i like this video because it shows the difference the novel and the movie. before i read the novel i had no idea what to expect and in the time i thought that this movie would be a great representation of the novel. now i see what it really is about and how it differs from this video.
I don’t think this clip gives an accurate portrayal of Frankenstein, I was even able to point out several differences. For example, the scene of the monster coming to life completely clashed with the scene in the book whereas Frankenstein never said the words, “Its alive.” Let alone, at first, Frankenstein was disappointed with his creation. After watching the trailer for the actual film of Frankenstein, your also able to see how the writers exaggerate certain scenes in order to make them more “exciting”.
After having read most of Frankenstein, I did spot out some differences between the trailer and book. First off, I imagined the monster much different from what he looks like in the trailer. I also imagined the setting to be way different in my head. Before I got deep into the book I imagined the monster to be really scary and mean, since he was abandoned. But I was very surprised to find out how nice, friendly, and humanly he is turning out to be. But who knows? It could all turn around.
Wow! This video was really so different than the book. In this clip, it shows the monster as a mean, and cruel creature but as we see in the book he really started out with a love to humans and he just wanted to be loved. Another difference we see is that when the monster was created Frankenstein seemed so happy but in the book he was upset and disappointed. He felt like the monster was ugly and he didn’t want to be the creator.
I found a picture of Frankenstein creating his creature and bringing him to life. This week in class we’ve been analyzed and read chapter four. We discussed how Frankenstein was so caught up in getting the creation to life that he didn’t realize what the creation was going to look like. His expectations were tremendously high that he will never be satisfied with what he has. I like this picture because we see that Frankenstein is happy that his creation came to life. I hope this picture could help visualize this scene in the book.
i think that this picture does not really give me a great picture as to what happened in the book. Hollywood and directors made it a much diferrent scene than it was in the book. In the book when Frankenstein sees his creation he is extremly mad and runs away. The monsters appearnce is also changed in the book it does not decribe him looking that way at all. I wish that the picture stuck more with the meaning of the actual book then what Hollywood wants it to be.
me too. There is nothing like the book, but I guess to their defense there is the concept of creative license.
I agree with both sides of this dispute. I think that he looks happy from making his experiment come to life and accomplishing his goal that he set in the first place. But as we know from the book he is truly disappointed in his end result after all the effort he put into it. I think the picture is a good choice because it does shows Frankensteins true feelings before he realizes his hate for the creature.
i think this picture is the exact opposite of the reaction that Frankenstein had in the book when the monster came to life and opened his eyes. Frankenstein was scared, disappointed and ranaway when his creature came to life. however, in this picture it shows that Frankenstein is actually happy.
I agree with ikey that he looks happy in this picture although in the book, when the demon came to life frankenstein called him a catastrophe and he was not happy with what he created. This is why the picture is false.
Ikey, this is a great way to help me visualize how he felt the moment the monster came alive. He rarely felt accomplished of what he had done and was almost never happy, but this picture really portraits one of the few time he was happy in this novel.
Its so wierd how diferent the vision in my head is to this picture. I imagined it dark and scary, the monster should have no clothes and just so much more. I do like how we see how a book can change in everyones minds.
its astonashing how in the movie frankenstien is the monster but in the book its victor. i guess there is a very big connection between them.
I agree with mimi. I have always thought the monsters name was Frankenstein but that was just something the movies added in. As i was reading the book many things shocked me because i thought i knew what Frankenstein was all about, i knew it from the movies perspective and know i know it from the books.
I think this video is a great representation of how the monster feels. At a very young age this girl was exposed to evil. Therefore when she got older she chose to do the thing that she saw as a child. she took revenge on the people who hate her. This relates to the monster because his whole life from the second he was born he was treated with hatred. That was the reason for taking revenge on Frankenstein. He wanted to hurt Frankenstein because he hurt him. The monster was never treated with love and that was the cause for his madness.
Wow this is a very creative idea! I agree with you Mimi, This really reminds me of the monster. He was abandoned at such a young stage in life by the creator, just like this girls father died so early in her life. The monster had to fend for himself and he encountered bad experiences. Towards the end of the book we saw the the monster was having thoughts of revenge, and this movie is called Revenge because the girl wanted to take revenge on the person who killed her father. Good choice of a video Mimi.
I totally agree with mimi. This video shows exactly how the monster felt. He was abandoned at birth, he was never nurtured, and everyone he met treated him horribly. The monster had many reasons to take revenge on Frankenstein and his family, i’m not agreeing with what he did but i’m agreeing with his reasoning.
wow mimi this is an excellent comparison to how the monster feels! when your brought up knowing nothing but evil thats your first instinct to do bad. we should always bring up our children with good values so in the future they will only do good
This video actually gave me chills. Mimi I think you did a great job! The way this girl came about her identity is exactly the way the monster did. She went through experiences in the beginning of her life that completely affected the way her upcoming life came out. Just like the girl, the monster was abandoned not only by his creator but everyone else in a way. Every time he tried making a form of companionship he was judged and rejected making him assume his identity of a true monster. Also, I agree with Danielle in the irony of the name of the show being Revenge and that the monster took revenge. I find that very interesting
wow this video really showed me the thoughts of frankenstein just in a different way! i agree with marielle, this video gave me the chills and she came about her identity the same way the monster did. if the monster and the girl weren’t born seeing all this hate they wouldn’t want revenge. They both felt that they should act in the same way they’ve seen their whole life which just shows how important your actions can affect another person. i totally agree with mimi and her perspective on how the book and this video relate.
mimi’s video made me understand that the monster wasn’t so crazy for doing what he did. He did something that any human would do if they were put in his situation, and Frankenstein should have acted different toward the monster and maybe he wouldn’t have killed people.
Lorraine’s video was a great way to introduce the book Frankenstein. The book happen to be different from the movie but it still told us a little of what was going to happen.