What I have learned about technology!

Wow! What can I say about all that I have learned in regards to technology throughout this course. I can say that my eyes have been opened to a whole new world of technology. I have learned how to use a blog, create an on-line poster, post videos to you tube, and how to utilize an on-line library. In this course I have struggled and succeeded. The on-line environment is very different from taking a course in a class room setting. In a way I feel that I miss out on some of the interpersonal feelings and the atmosphere that you receive in a class room setting. However, in this course I feel that we were introduced to a whole new style of learning, and I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed it!
There are many different challenges that I have encountered during the duration of this course. For example, the work load was tremendous. There was many assignments that were very challenging, and the subject matter was completely different from an other English course I have taken in the past. I feel that the on-line environment makes writing less stressful for me. I feel that I am less timid about others reading the things that I have written, which allows me to be more confident in my writing. I also feel that the on-line environment allows for more positive feedback from my peers. With the format of this course, and other on-line courses I have taken, I have received numerous comments from other students regarding my work. The positive feedback helps to promote my self-confidence.
I felt that the blog was the most beneficial technology we utilized this semester. I allowed us, as students, to show a piece of our personalities. We displayed this in the visuals we choose and the links we attached to our blogs. It was fun to watch the choices my fellow students made, and I felt that it made the writing more interesting. I had a lot of fun with the glogster on-line poster, and I like that I was able to put a spark of personality into my project. The technology in this course forced me to think outside of the box and encouraged me to put forth an incredible amount of effort. I loved the challenges presented in this course and I found myself spending much more time on the projects in this class than in my other two courses. Although this was a challenging course filled with a lot of hard work and a few stressful moments, I feel great about what I have learned throughout this course.
Being an on-line student is sometimes a challenging adventure, and , in other courses, there has been moments that I have felt I was teaching myself the information. However, in this course, every assignment I did felt like it had a true learning purpose. Technology is an amazing thing, and sometimes it just takes a little push to get to know how to use it.
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For the final presentation...

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Final Presentation

Reflection on the Course

Dear Mr. Laura Cline,

This has been a truly amazing class; in fact I feel that I have learned more in this course than I have in an of my previous college courses. I love the positive feedback and the constructive criticism I have received in this course. I feel that the positive feedback is one of the reasons I have been successful in this course. We have explored many different readings in this course that have had has the affect of making me think outside the box. Furthermore, my organization skills, as they apply to my writing, have changed in a positive way, which I feel will help me in both my career and my future college courses. Along with all of the positive aspects of this course, there has been many areas which have challenged me. As a whole this has been a great course.
The readings in this course have been very interesting, and have defiantly challenged me in many ways. For essay number two we were asked to write a essay on a poem. In general I have a difficult time reading some poetry. When reading and analyzing poetry, you must be able to interpret the deeper meaning behind the writer’s purpose. In some of the poetry presented in this course, the idea or meaning was deeply imbedded into the words of the poem, and I felt that it was difficult to read between the lines. However, after reading through them many

times, the purpose of the assignment at hand become more clear and I was able to write about what I saw as the poems meaning.
The two large reading assignments in this course, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker, were challenging in their own way. I feel that I have defiantly improved my ability to analyze and think critically about not only reading, but also in other aspects of my life. I will be able to use and improve my ability to think critically as a student in my future classes, in my future career as a physical therapist, and in my life long journey as a mother.
This course has taught me to be a more organized writer. I have learned to think about what I want to write about while I am in the process of readings instead of waiting until after I have finished reading to develop my ideas. In the past, I would read simply for the pleasure of reading. I was never worried about thinks like, why did the author write this, or what is the deeper meaning behind this novel. I believe that, after taking this course, I will take a second look at everything I read to see if I can see the meaning behind it.
I feel that I have improved my ability to do things such as, write a focus statement, use organizational strategies, apply sentence structure strategies, locate and document information on sources, and evaluate readings. A focus statement is very important in writing. I have developed the understand of where to use a focus statement, and, when going back to read the things I have written, I have a better understanding of how it helps to tie the whole paper together. I have also developed many different organizational strategies. After my last essay, I now understand that an effective paper will use good organization. The paragraphs should be placed in order of effectiveness. I should use my strongest paragraph at the end of the essay, before the conclusion, so that I will leave my reader with the most convincing information at the end. In writing it is very important to use proper sentence structure. A paper can loose its effective and convincing affect if the sentence structure is of poor quality. Although I understand the rules of proper sentence structure, I sometimes have a difficult time putting those rules into use in my own writings. This is an area that I will continue to work in. Another area that we have spent a lot of time on in this course is documenting sources. This is a tool that I feel I will use throughout my college career and into my future career. Sometimes finding all of the needed information in order to properly document a source can be difficult, especially while working with online sources. However, I feel that I have further developed my understanding of the importance that this task holds, and I will work to improve my understanding of this skill. Furthermore, I have learned to evaluate readings. In this course we were presented with a variety of text to read and evaluate; all of which presented a challenge. This course has helped to develop many strategies for effective writing, evaluating and documenting.
As a whole, this course has been a very positive learning experience for me. Using the techniques I have learned will continue to prove beneficial in my future career as a student, mother, and as a professional. I have learned to evaluate and think critically when reading, and I have developed a stronger knowledge of organizational skills. The positive feedback and the constructive criticism have been the most helpful aspects of this course. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to experience this course, and I would recommend it to anyone!   

Thank you sincerely and respectfully,
Rebekah Prieto

Image: http://www.journeygrrrl.com/books4coaches/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/open_book.jpg

http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/write-a-literature-review

Death is Prevelant

Rebekah Prieto
Cline
English 102
6 November 2011   

“Death is Prevalent”

    From the beginning of their supposed existence, vampires have been a superficial creation developed to represent fear, which humans have in the expectance of death. In a time when death from disease or plagues was ever present, the creation of a monster was developed to explain the fear of the unknown. Take for example the novel written by Bram Stoker, Dracula; this novel was a dark a deadly tale of sadness and death. However, if one looks at the deeper meaning behind the story, they will see that it really displays the tragedy that lies behind the fear of death and the desire for eternal life.
    Author Bram Stoker, who was for many years a very ill child, was plagued from an unknown disease that prevented him from even the most basic luxuries in life, such as walking. (Hall 383). It was not until he was seven years old that these aliments seemed to diminish into thin air (Hall 383). Hall notes that during Stoker’s childhood, “his mother told him stories of her own childhood during the cholera plague in Sligo, recounting instances of life interment and corpse burnings” (Hall 383). Perhaps it was his fear of death, which plagued him in his early childhood, that developed the great monster in his mind who we all know as Dracula. At almost every turn of the page in this novel, the reader is informed of some deathly instance, and it seems as though death and mutilation are ever prevalent. Count Dracula works his destruction in the form of a plague, and, although the characters in the novel seem to know that death is inevitable, they tend to surround themselves with superstitions and religious convictions in hopes that they will remain untouched by this devilish inevitability. His tempting manor draws his victims in until he is ready to unleash his deathly plague. Just as in any common illness, the Count chooses his victims wisely. The death he brings is to the young and weak souls of women and children. The first victim of death is grotesquely described when Jonathan Harker describes, “If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail, as of a half smothered child” (Stoker 591 -592). This tears at ones heart and makes one sick to their stomach to even think about; these feelings are so very much the same as when we are told sickening news of an illness or death that has fallen upon a young child. The similarities between death and the superficial creation of vampires are unparallel.
    Dracula has been an ever popular novel from the time it was first published. In fact it has never been out of publication since day one. Countless reenactments of the novel and displays or creations of vampires have been developed. Although their appearance and attitudes have been changed through out the years, vampires undoubtedly still display eternal life and the depiction of death. This simple fact demonstrates how the human race, despite the advances of modern medicine, still fears or dreads the possibility of unknown or unexplainable death. Stoker writes “Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all, and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain” (Kindle Locations 2781-2782).  This is much the same as the way we treat death from unknown causes; if science cannot provide us with an explanation, the shadow of death must have only been from natural causes.
    Lurking in the shadows of ones mind is the ever famous Count Dracula. He is the representation of sickness, or the fear of sickness, that surrounded people of the time period in which it this novel was written. It was a time when many individuals fell ill from things such as plagues and unfortunate illnesses. It was also a time when the advances in modern medicine that we have today were not yet available. So, rather than searching for an explanation, the frequency of death needed to lie in someone’s hands. Those hands were none other than the ones belonging to Dracula.
    Almost every character in the novel Dracula is related to death or illness. Jonathan Harker for example, comes down with a very serious brain fever which he can best explain as the working of Dracula. Lucy becomes very ill and rests on and off the brink of death throughout a substantial portion of the novel; this is also only explained as the workings of the unknown, Dracula. Lucy’s mother is also very ill throughout the novel, and her final death comes through the workings of none other than, you guessed it, Dracula! Dr. Van Helsing, well, he is a doctor, who studies bizarre illnesses; he is always surrounded by ill individuals, and he makes it his life‘s journey to conquer this plague known as Dracula. Dr. Seward runs and insane asylum, thus he is constantly surrounded by sick individuals. One in which always makes reference to his “Master“, also known as Dracula. Mina becomes very ill, and it is thought that the only way to save her life is to rid the world of the monster of death known as Dracula. The evidence of unknown death and illness are shown to the reader time and time again through the presence of Dracula.
    Vampires have always seemed to hold the myth defying ability to change and challenge the rules we know to exist. It was even noted by author Stacey Abbott that, “Dracula is represented as a creature that eludes these attempts at categorization, just as he defies nineteenth-century concepts of time, gravity, and physics, by personifying the changing definitions of these accepted scientific principles.” (17 ). Dracula, and other gothic vampires, represent the way that death has many different faces, and has the ability to mutate its self into many different things. Just as death, vampires are sneaky and have a sense of vengefulness about them. Take for example Dracula who has this very educated disposition about himself, he appears to know of many different cultures and times of existence. Death has been around from the beginning of time and seems to gain knowledge through its years. As a population, humans search for answers and strive to elongate life.
    Death, although sometimes frightening, is the one sure thing in life. All humans will all die some day, and it can only be hoped that it will be a gentle and peaceful happening. Stoker writes, “For life be, after all, only a waitin' for somethin' else than what we're doin', and death be all that we can rightly depend on“(Kindle Locations 1101-1102). The fear is that death will come by means of some horrific event or disease. The monster created as Dracula represents the more frightening ways that one can die. For even in the 1992 film version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the story begins with the unfortunate death of Dracula’s wife. Dracula then sets out to bring torture and death to everyone he comes in contact with. Like death, no one is safe from the fangs of Dracula’s vengeful search for revenge. Death often brings uncertainty and fear; Dracula brings the fear for certain death and suffering.
    The doctors in the novel, Van Helsing and Seward, represent the desire for the knowledge to cure all aliments that bring forth certain death. Dracula, like death and disease, stumps the doctors, and, despite their unfailing devotion, Dracula continues to stump their knowledge. Dracula, like many diseases, is very sly and sneaky. Michael Delahoyde writes, “Dracula ultimately wants to blend in, to draw no attention” (pp 11). Dracula can change his appearance in order to deceive his victims. Disease can travel through the air virtually unseen. Dracula has the power to change the weather and create thick fog in order to hide or travel undetected. Disease can be present with someone for a long period of time before it ever shows its presence. The similarities between Dracula and death or disease are almost uncanny.  
    Vampires, even with all of their terror and grotesque displays of vicious acts, are desirable beings in the minds of humans. Though they may never admit their desires, humans show their lust for the lives of superficial beings, known as vampires. It is the search of every medical researcher to find some cure that will help to elongate the lives of humans, and the illusion of vampires seems to holds the key to eternal life. People desire the eternal life that vampires hold, because they fear death. Not a day passes when the news reports the death of some poor individual who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Death has no sympathy; much like the supernatural vampires of the nineteenth century. Dracula was written as a horror story, and that is a message it portrayed very well. Stoker writes, “If ever a face meant death, if looks could kill, we saw it at that moment” (Kindle Locations 3087-3088). Vampires have a look that can kill just like death yet they remain eternally in this world, again, just like death. The very fear of staring death in the face can bring a person to commit acts that they never thought possible. Thus, the idea of selling your soul to a vampire in return for eternal life may not be an idea that would be so far fetched.  
    Vampires, like Dracula, represent so many disturbing things. Ed. Laurie Di Mauro writes “…critics find that the vampire in literature serves to reflect society’s views on sexuality, death, religion, and the role of women, and functions as a psychological metaphor for humanity’s most profound fears and desires.” (391) Fear and desire are two things that drive humans to the depths of their souls. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of disease, and fear for their souls can have such a psychologically damning affect. The desire for more, for life, and for a world where there is no fear can drive one to the edges of earth.
    Bram Stoker’s Dracula was, at one time, thought to be flawed. He wrote with such detail, being certain to not leave any strings unattached. He focused on all of the modern technologies of the time, and he described the scenery so well that one can not help but to have a perfect vision of the places in their mind. However, this was all just a façade for the deeper horror that stirs in a readers mind. Vampires, and undoubtedly the vampire known as Dracula, may represent many things. However, none is greater than the representation of death, fear, fear of death, and fear of disease that are present through every and any looking-glass that one may be looking through. Vampires, especially that created in Dracula, are nothing more than superficial creations developed to help justify death and disease.

Work Cited

Abbott, Stacey. Vampires: Life after Death in the Modern World. University of Texas Press.     Austin, TX. December 2007.     http://site.ebrary.com/lib/yavapai/docDetail.action?docID=10245687
Delahoyde, Dr. Michael A. BRAM STOKER: DRACULA. Washington State University.     Fall     2009. Web. November 6, 2011. http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/dracula.html
Di Mauro, Ed Laurie. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 46. Detroit: Gale Research.     1993. P391-454
    http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit?vrsn=1.0&dd=0&srs=AL    L&locID=yava&b1=KE&srchtp=b&d1=TCLC_046_0006&c=10&ste=10&stp=Date    Descend&dc=tiPG&d4=0.50&n=10&docNum=FJ3556550006&b0=Dracula&tiPG    =0
Hall, Sharon K. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon K. Hall. Vol. 8.     Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. p383-403
    http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit?vrsn=1.0&dd=0&    srs=ALL&locID=yava&b1=KE&srchtp=b&d1=TCLC_008_0024&c=20&ste    =10&stp=DateDescend&dc=tiPG&d4=0.50&n=10&docNum=FJ35497500    24&b0=Dracula&tiPG=0
Stoker, Bram (1995-10-01). Dracula. Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition

Annotated Bibliography

Delahoyde, Dr. Michael A. BRAM STOKER: DRACULA. Washington State University.Fall 2009. Web.
 November 6, 2011. http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/dracula.html

I will be using this site under the suggestion of Mrs. Cline. This site gives some very insightful information regarding the characters of the novel. I will use lines from the site to show the weakness of certain characters, which made them perfect victims of Count Dracula. He describes how Lucy was very vulnerable, due to her habit of sleepwalking, which made her the ideal prey for the Count, who represents sickness and death. Delahoyde also makes some good points about the background of the author Bram Stoker, which should prove to be very useful in pointing out how Stoker was using Dracula as a leazion for death. 

Hall, Sharon K. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon K. Hall. Vol. 8.Detroit: Gale Research,  1982. p383-403. http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit?vrsn=1.0&dd=0&srs=ALL& locID=yava&b1=KE&srchtp=b&d1=TCLC_008_0024&c=20&ste=10&stp=DateDescend&dc=tiPG&
d4=0.50n=10&docNum=FJ35497500    24&b0=Dracula&tiPG=0

This article, which is from the Literary Criticism site of the Yavapai College library website, provided me with some very insightful information regarding the author Bram Stoker. I will use the information I have obtained from this source to show how, in Stoker’s young childhood years, he was a very ill child. I will be applying this to my essay by demonstrating that, because of the illness he had and the deathly stories he was told by his mother, he has portrayed Count Dracula has the monster who haunts the nightmares of the sick and weak.

Stoker, Bram (1995-10-01). Dracula. Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

I choose the novel by Bram Stoker as my primary text, because it is a novel that has surpassed the trial of time. Through out the many, many years since this novel was written, it has remained a popular read. I will use many different quotes from this novel in my final paper to show how Dracula is actually meant to be the object death that so many people from that time fear. During the period in which the novel was written, many people were the victims of plagues and other diseases, which often times implied the realization that death is inevitable.


(the formatting of the citations was impossible to get right, while posting to the blog)
 

Final Project: Vampires

Vampires : Dracula

 For the final project I am planning on completing Option #2. I choose this option simply because I found it easier to decide on a text that involved a monster. Also, I like the idea of using the secondary texts, which I feel will be easier to find while using a popular text. I am planning on reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This story interests me, because, much like Frankenstein, I only know some of the story. I am interested to see what the true story is like!

    The research I am planning on conducting will be done through the library resources Literature Criticism Online and Literature Online. Also, I have found that there is some very useful information on the Monsters website (http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/monsters.html), which I plan to incorporate into my paper. The fifth place I plan to conduct research is by viewing the 1992 movie Dracula directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
    Like I have said before, I tend to be a very analytical thinker. During my reading and research for this project I hope to keep an open mind so that I may not just read the black and white on the page, but rather read between the lines to uncover the deeper meaning behind the novel. I am looking forward to the challenge this project may present!


 To read more about Dracula Click Here

My Letter to Laura Cline

October 23, 2011

Dear Laura,

    This class has been very interesting thus far! You have done an incredible job of helping me to think outside of the box. I have done things such as create a blog and post a video to U-Tube; those are both things that I have never attempted before beginning this class. During the first week of school, I must admit, I was not sure I was going to make it through the semester. I struggled with the assignments and found myself frustrated, however, once I took a minute to breath, I realized that the challenges presented had the potential to be fun.
    The biggest challenge in this class so far has been, by far, learning to write analysis. I am a very analytical person, and the type of abstract thinking that analysis takes does not come easy for me. By the end of this course I hope that I can develop a better sense of how to effectively read and write using critical thinking skills. I struggle with picking through poems and different writings to try and decipher what an author really meant to say or imply.
    Literary analysis is much different than any college writing I have done. In English 101 we learned persuasive writing, and in other courses we write things as they are. Approximately nine years ago I took a college critical reading course and even in that course I do not remember ever having to think so hard about an authors work as I do in this course.
    The readings in this course have been very interesting. I have never particularly enjoyed poetry, so writing an entire paper on a poem was truly a difficult task. I have however, learned that it is important to pay close attention to what you are reading and possibly take notes. To contradict my previous statement, I really enjoy the readings by Sean Nevin and Alison Hawthorn Deming. Perhaps I have just not explored the world of poetry in enough depth? That just might be a goal of mine for the coming years.  
    On-line classes are very interesting way to learn! I sometimes miss the lectures and environment of the class room setting, however, due to my schedule, my options are very limited. You have successfully created an on-line environment where I feel that I am actually able to learn things in ways other than just learning for my mistakes. I feel that all of the links and video posts have helped me to grasp the concepts in the course. I hope that by the close of the semester I will have greatly improved my analytical writing skills.
    I thank you for the great and positive learning environment. I feel that you provide very helpful constructive criticism that explains in detail the things that should be corrected and why. I am very excited to complete the remainder of this semester and hope that I will become a better writer in the process.

Respectfully,
Rebekah

“Frankenstein, the True Monster”

Rebekah Prieto
Cline
English 102
16 October 2011   

“Frankenstein, the True Monster”

    Perhaps it is the manner and society in which I was raised that leads me to read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with a physiological bias. Many critics have interpreted the book by assuming that Shelley must have been portraying Victor Frankenstein as a replication of herself. For example when Barbara Johnson writes “… a representation of maternal rejection of a newborn infant, and to relate the entire novel to Mary Shelley’s mixed feelings about motherhood. Having lived through an unwanted pregnancy from a man married to someone else only to see the baby die …” (Johnson p. 246). While others have chosen to focus on the religious references such as when Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar write, “It is Eve, after all, who languishes helpless and alone, while Adam converses with superior beings …” (p. 230). However, I believe the creation of the novel Frankenstein is an extreme example of the way people are treated when they are considered outcasts in society. Through the information provided in the novel it does appear that Frankenstein, or rather the idea to write Frankenstein, was truly just intended to be a ghost story. However, I believe that writers tend to somehow convey their feelings towards personal or social experiences through their writing. I do not believe that this is usually a conscious occurrence; however, some of writing comes from what we know or see combined with our imagination. Shelley, in writing Frankenstein, portrayed the physiological experiences that might go through ones mind when they are perceived as a an individual who does not fit the account of a “normal” human being. This may comes from the physical or mental abilities one possesses. At a first glance one may see this story as one which depicts Frankenstein as a sort of heroin, but after a closer look one will see that he himself is the one who created the monster and then proceeded to torture him by refusing to provide him with the emotional support, love, and kindness that all humans need to survive. This confirms that V. Frankenstein is the true vision of monstrosity in this novel.
    Frankenstein was once so involved in his creation. He was proud and reassured that he would be positively recognized for his endless hours of work. When Frankenstein says,
    No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in     the first   enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I     should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species     would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe     their being to me. “(Shelley p. 32)
one feels that he is an honorable man. After Frankenstein sees his creation living for the first time he judges him solely on his appearance. He never even gives his creature a chance, like an explosion he defies his creature any hope of success. He is like the mean child who teases another child for being different. It is because of Frankenstein’s utter disgust in his creation that all of the death and misery is created. Shelley elaborately displays the way a person can be made into an outcast of society by the actions of merely one individual.        
    Shelley ostentatiously displays Frankenstein’s creature as a kind a caring being who only desires love and affection. One cannot help but to feel sympathy towards him. Despite his gigantic stature and unruly appearance he is portrayed as a gentle giant of sorts. He studies humans with the desire to learn their ways for he feels that if he can speak their language and act as they do then just maybe they will accept him in all of his frightening glory. When he decides to make an attempt at approaching the humans whom he observes as kind and accepting, he plans for days. In human like manor he is nervous and scared of being rejected. “My heart beat quick; this was the hour and moment of trial which would decide my hopes, or realize my fears. … it was an excellent opportunity; yet, when I proceeded to execute my plan, my limbs failed me and I sunk to the ground” (Shelley p. 89). This is not the attitude that a monster would have. If Shelley had intended to write the story with the creature as the monster she would not have portrayed him in such a noble and kind manor. This provides further evidence that Shelley intended for her readers to perceive Frankenstein as the true monster.
    It is apparent that Shelley wished for her audience to sympathize with the creation of Frankenstein. She shows him making courageous attempts for acceptance; from this one can see that the only thing he desires is the warmth and kindness of someone. However, Frankenstein has ripped this very hope from his creatures grasp. Frankenstein’s cruel manor is further experienced through out the remainder of the novel when one realizes that this poor outcaste was not even so much as granted a name. To the day of his death Frankenstein was out to destroy his creations very being. A simple request was all that the nameless creature desired, and this was to be granted a female of his kind so that he would be forever loved and finally shown the warmth and kindness he desired. The evil heart of Frankenstein could not even provide this token of kindness to the creature he so carelessly brought into this world.
    The constant tortures on Frankenstein’s emotions are the very thing which turned him from a kind hearted and sympathetic being into a cruel and vicious murderer. Shelley conveys the reality of the consequences which may occur during extreme cases of torment and rejection. These occurrences, in the novel, are a direct result of the true monster, Frankenstein. Shelley shows us further the emotions which Frankenstein’s creature endured when she writes,
        You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seem to have knowledge of my crimes     and his misfortunes. But, in the detail which he gave you of them, he could not sum up     the hours and months of misery which I endured, wasting in impotent passion. For whilst     I destroy his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and     craving; still I desire love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice     in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me? …     Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the savior if his child? Nay     these are the virtuous and immaculate beings!  I, the miserable being and the abandoned,     am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. … (Shelley p. 155)    
In reading this account of the creations emotions, Shelley demonstrates her utter disgust in the cruelty people who are viewed as different are shown in society. I believe the reason this novel has been viewed as a masterpiece is due to Shelley’s emotional regard for individuals who may appear “different”. It is clear that she feels a high regard for people of this nature, furthermore it is apparent that she must have felt that people who treat people poorly should not be afforded happiness.
    If you take a deeper look into the novel Frankenstein, the images of cruelty and torture are ever present, and this is the very set of images which make this a “ghost“ story. In a response written by George Levin, “… there is no such comfortable explanation for the evil of Frankenstein himself.” (Levine p. 209), it is shown how no one in their right mind could covey Frankenstein as a hero or a good and moral human being. The sickening reality is that, in Victor Frankenstein, Shelley has succeeded in creating a character as evil as the devil himself. Frankenstein attempts to portray himself as the victim. When he is accused of Clerval’s murder, he falls deathly ill; when his brother William his murdered, he falls into a deep depression. One might see these ultimate circumstances as a reason to view Frankenstein as the recipient of supreme remorse; however he only fell into these deep emotional drawbacks for fear of being convicted of murder. Frankenstein’s narcissistic characteristics are those of a demented and physiologically unwell human being. Shelley’s attempt to demonstrate how sever physiological torture can make one seem as though they are a monster is beautifully displayed in her novel Frankenstein. She has also displayed the effects of being deemed and outcast by one individual can create horrific consequences.  

Work Cited

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Hunter, Paul J. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,     Inc.,1996. Print.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Hunter, Paul J. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,     Inc.,1996.Levine, George. Frankenstein and the Tradition of Realism. pg. 208-214. Print.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Hunter, Paul J. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,     Inc.,1996. Johnson, Barbara. My Monster/My Self. Pg. 241-251. Print.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Hunter, Paul J. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,     Inc.,1996. Gilbert, Sandra M., Gubar, Susan. Mary Shelley’s Monstrous Eve. Pg. 225-240. Print.

The Revision Process

Generally speaking I do not have a very organized writing process. Usually, I first research my topic, then I decide what my focus will be. After that I begin writing my opening paragraph; that is usually the point in which I develop my thesis statement. The rest of the paper usually flows on from there. I try to make enough time during the writing process to take a few days rest from the paper. I feel that this assists me in getting a fresh outlook on the writing I have already done, and helps me to see different angles for what I still need to write.

    I do usually try and make time for revising, however this is my first college course which the teacher gives extensive feedback and allows for further revision to the paper and allows for a second grade. I truly appreciate constructive criticism and I think it will help develop me into a better writer. The information provided on this weeks assignment gave some very helpful information that I hope to incorporate into the revisions I will be making on my recent analysis of a poem entitled “Dread”.
    After reading the comments of my first draft, I realize that I need to work on the organization of my paragraphs and being sure that there is a clear topic to each paragraph. I also need to be sure that I follow proper MLA formatting. I will take several precautions while I work to make my paper suitable for submission as a final draft.
    Revising can be a very useful technique when working to make a paper presentable as college paper. It can allow one to take a second look at the work they have already done and conform it into a perfectly structured paper. During the revision it is more important to look at the whole structure and not just the grammatical errors in the paper. One should look at the structure of the paper as a whole and revise the organization accordingly.

For more information on revising visit: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Revising.html

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidouy67ZQWEjYl2RR65wLUM7ao2D9Kf0Htt8VKaPnbKpTs4D1uTPzx5VTjw4Lk7OxeKDZPcTT5cyZ0sO65OZnK5fdcBcvkRC9GoK1WFnqfuDhTFxxXxLEyE-2cHGuodA3RQEYLOXNcSIDU/s1600/writing-girl1.gif

“Close Reading of a Passage”

“Yet, as I drew nearer home, grief and fear again overcame me. Night also closed around; and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I felt still more gloomily. The picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw obscurely  that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings. Alas! I prophesied truly, and failed only in one single circumstance, that in all the misery I imagined and dreaded, I did not conceive the hundredth part of the anguish I was destined to endure.”  (Shelley 47)

“Close Reading of a Passage”

    I find this to be a very important paragraph in the story because it is at this very moment that V. Frankenstein comes to the realization that he will only continue to suffer during the remainder of his life. It is, in a way ,foreshadowing the events which are to come. When V. Frankenstein states, “Yet, as I drew nearer home, grief and fear again overcame me.” (Shelley 47), he is not yet aware of the full repercussions of his creation, however, it appears that he somehow knows that he is to blame for the terrible misfortune his family has endured. This is further shown when he professes, “ I prophesied truly, and failed only in one single circumstance…” (Shelley 47). He is feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt over the circumstances surrounding the last six years. He is remembering the day which his life turned from utter excitement experienced in the final days of bringing life to his finest creation to the instantaneous change to complete fear and disgust and what he had done. How does he know at this moment that these events, the creation of the monster and the death of his brother, are intertwined? When he says, “ … and I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human being” (Shelley 47),  it is as thought he knows that this is only the beginning of his suffering and he will never again feel happiness.
    This is the point in the story when a vast transition takes place; a point in which the reality of his actions abruptly overcomes him. He knows, without any factual evidence, that he has cause an enormous amount of pain in the lives of the ones he loves. In concluding this paragraph V. Frankenstein confesses, “ … I did not conceive the hundredth part of the anguish I was destined to endure” (Shelley 47). He is overwhelmed with guilt. He seems to be reassuring himself that he did not intend for the misery, which has bestowed his family, to occur. The feelings presented in these sentences hold a great deal of importance to the entire story.


Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1996. Print.

Visit: http://www.maryshelley.nl/  to learn more about Mary Shelley and her novel Frankenstein

“Dread”

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Essay #2: Writing about poetry
Rebekah Prieto - ENG102

“Dread”

    The poem by Mary Karr, “Field of Skulls“, is one which is full of dread and horror. The imagery presented could rattle you right down to your bones. When Karr writes, “a field of skulls, angled jaws and eye-sockets, a zillion scooped-out crania”(10-11), she is making thoughts enter your mind that you never thought possible; thoughts which make you want to purge any defilements you possess. This poem, written about a twisted and disturbed individual, shows how incredibly demented ones mind can become if fear is allowed to take over.
    The representation of fear is present anywhere you look. In the beginning Karr writes, “let’s say the window you’ve picked is a black postage stamp you spend hours at, sleepless, drinking gin “ (2-5). I wonder why this individual, who I see as a man, is so afraid, is it because he has had something terrible happen to him? Is it because he is mentally ill, maybe. I think it is because he has been a drunk his entire life, he has never been successful, and he has become deeply depressed about his status in life. He fears, or could it be that he wishes, he will be taken to live in the concentric sphere surrounding the earth which carries the celestial bodies of the worlds most feared and malicious demons.  How can one person become so demented? He looks at the night sky and all he can see is evil. He feels that demons are closing in around him.
    Perhaps this is a man who has done wrong to someone. Perhaps he has succeeded in an unrighteous act of evil and now he must pay for his wrong doing. He is afraid. His acts are schizophrenic in nature. “Perhaps that disgruntled mail clerk from your job has already scratched your name on a bullet—that’s him rustling in the azaleas” (17-20). His hallucinations are

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overcoming reality; he fears that everyone is out to get him. He is no longer able to function
normally. Has he become mad beyond recovery? Will the vexed demons teach him a lesson?
    “You caress the thought, for it proves there’s no better spot for you than here” (20-22). He has become a hermit; he is afraid to leave to safe corridors of his home. These lines only help to prove his fear and dread of the night’s monstrosities. Or is it he who is the monster? He sits on his sofa telling his fears to no one but the emptiness which surrounds him. Why is he talking to himself? What is he plotting? He has no one to turn to; he is completely alone. He is trying to decide if this world, with all of its deceitfulness and spit, is worth being a part of.
    This poem is written as if it is his mind speaking to him. I hear it as a woman’s voice. She is reminding him of all the evil he is made of. She is threatening him. It is a dark and frightening poem full of intense imagery. I feel the fear running through my blood as I read line after line, “for criminals roam your very block” (13-14) and “plus minor baby-eaters unidentified, probably in your very midst”(16-17). I can see this disgusting man, dirty, hasn’t shaved in days, and sweating from the fear and alcohol running through his ragged veins. His blood runs cold. His thoughts of the evil that roam the earth’s surface are merely comparisons of himself. His conscious is eating him alive. Will he survive?
    I am disgusted by most every line. The images is my head make me want to cry in fear. The dimensions of evil intertwine in my mind. I can’t help but think that the author is talking about someone she knows; what else could possess her to create such evil thoughts. Maybe this is a man who has done her wrong; killed her soul. Now she is out to torment his every thought. Will she torture him until he is no more? Does she wish for him to become a part of the “Field of Skulls”? “You stare and furious stare, confident there are no gods out there” (24-25). She is

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telling him that he can look for as long as he wants but no one will ever come to save him. She is telling his that even God can not save him now. He will pay for his wrong doings. He will suffer.
Like Chinese water torture he will sit in confinement; a prisoner in his own home he will remain until he can take no more. The thoughts of what is waiting for him in the dark of night are pulling on his emotions. He stares out of the blackest window and as he cringes at the dark; he is afraid, yet he cannot help but to stare. He fears that if he stops looking that will be the moment the demons will take him. She is succeeding in her devious plan to make him suffer.
    Towards the end of his battle his conscious seems as though she is feeling some guilt about the anguish she is causing him when she says, “In this way, you’re blind to your own eye’s intricate machine” (25-26). She is telling him that if he just opens his eyes he will see that there is nothing there; there are no demons waiting to gobble him up. She is saying that he has allowed himself to become blind and now his eyes are playing tricks on him. The suggestions help you see that even though she has been out to cause him the ultimate fear, she has a heart. She is feeling some guilt about the hurt and fear that she has caused and the numbness she has created. Then she comes to her senses and regains her focus. She is angry about the wrong doing he has imposed on her and now she will make him suffer. She can feel that the end is near; her plan to end him is now within reach.
    He is unable now to see reality, ”If the skulls are there” (28) “could they not stare with slack jawed envy at the fine flesh that covers your scalp, the numbered hairs” (30-32). He is frightened to his core now. The demons and monsters are licking their lips; they want to take his very flesh. This cannibalistic imagery is used to further implement the fear and dread he is feeling. The idea that they are staring at him with “slack jawed envy” (31) represents that his

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demented thoughts have completely taken over his soul, and will soon take his flesh.
    He can no longer take the torments of his mind, of his conscious, and of his body. He will now end his own life, “at the force your hands hold?” (33). With his own two hands, the force, he is no more. His conscious has succeeded in her mission; her goal was to make him suffer and ensure that he would possess the ultimate fear. She drove him completely crazy to the point of death. He has now received what he must have deserved.
    The fear and dread in this poem are enough to make anyone fear the night, fear demons that roam the earth, and dread the very thought of going crazy. Her propose was to show how the mind has the power to drive someone to taking their own life. There is amazing yet disturbing imagery through out the entire text of the poem.  Mary Karr’s “Field of Skulls”, is an ultimate example of extreme monstrosity and horror.

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Work Cited

Mary Karr, “Field of Skulls” from Viper Rum. Copyright © 1998 by Mary Karr. Web. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171884


Comments: My formating got a little screwy when I copied and pasted
 
I am still unsure if I am summarizing or analyzing??? I would like any input you have whether it is on my grammar or the content. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Response to a poem

I chose this poem for two reasons; first because as a young girl I always dreamed about fairy-tales and hoped they really could come true, and second because as a mother I often read fairy-tales to my children.

The poem by A.E. Stallings takes the idea of stories we all have learned and loved as children and disassembles all of their appeal. A seemingly harmless child’s story all-of-a-sudden becomes frightening and unattainable. She seems to sabotage the idea of a fairy-tale right from the start when she points out all of the “impossible tasks” that they hold. I can’t help but wonder what made her feelings toward fairly-tales so jaded. Yes they are full of fantasy and adventure but these are the ideas that help children engage their imagination and creativity. When she says “Gather the chin hairs of a man-eating goat, Or cross a sulphuric lake in a leaky boat”.( 2-3 )she is exaggerating the obstacles that most be overcome. Is she referencing obstacles in life? Is she saying that we shouldn’t dream of sustaining things in life that seem to be impossible? Is she suggesting that because things are difficult we should just give up?

She uses rhyming, which helps the flow of the poem but almost poses a type of irony. As she attacks the even idea of playful fairy-tales she is engaging in jaunty trickery. As she enters into the second verse she pulls your imagination back into play when she says “You have to fight magic with magic” ( 9 ). You begin to feel that perhaps her coarse negativity towards the idea of a fairy-tale is taking a turn towards playfulness, and then she sends your bliss into a spiraling decline when she says “Marry a monster. Hand over your firstborn son.” (14).

I can’t help but think that she has misinterpreted the point to all fairy-tales; the point is that regardless of the obstacles we are presented with in out lives we must fight the battles a keep looking until we find our happily-ever-after. When she says “Marry a monster” (14) is she saying that a happy, fairy-tale marriage is only an object of ones imagination? When she says “Always it’s impossible what someone asks” ( 8 )is she saying that people always set their expectations to high? Fairy-tales are created to engage your mind in playful dreams, to create desires and pull forth your imagination; Stallings rips the dreams from our fingertips an forces them into a pool of dread.


Help to encourage a life time love for reading! Whether it is a fairy-tale or an auto biography, make it fun!

http://www.readingfoundation.org/

  A. E. (Alicia) Stallings. Fairy-tale Logic. 2010. web http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/238826


Photo: http://www.deepintolove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/wallpaper-Fairy-Tale-Lake.jpg

Summary vs Analysis

Example of a summary or plot synopsis for the famous story of Hansel and Gretel:

    Hansel and Gretel is a story of two young children, a brother and sister, who come from a very poor family. Their step mother convinces their father that they must take the children deep into the forest and leave them there because there is not enough food for the four of them. On her second attempt the stepmother is successful in loosing the children in the thickest part of the forest. As the story goes, the children search for three days trying to find their way home when the stumble upon a gingerbread house. This is an encouraging site to their hungry tummies and they begin to vigorously eat the house.
    The house in all of its glory is actually a trap created to catch young children. The evil witch who built it developed a malicious plan to fatten and then eat the children. On the day the children were to be eaten, Gretel cleverly decided to push the old witch into the oven and lock the door. She released her brother Hansel and they took the dead witches precious pearls and stones. They ventured back into the forest and eventually found their way home to their father.
 
In their absence their step mother had perished. Hansel and Gretel lived happily ever after with their father and they never had to go hungry again.

Example of an analysis for the famous story of Hansel and Gretel:


    This crude and unusual story is a common and classic children’s story. It’s interesting to think that this is the type of store parents wish to read to their children due to the frightening situations and scenarios which take place. Although the end result is rather pleasant, the events leading up to it are heartbreaking and evil. The story displays the harsh reality of hard times in the 1800’s. A time when this type of situation, such as the decision Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother forced upon their father to leave them deep in the thick of the forest to be eaten by wild beasts as to prolong their own lives, may not have been to far fetched.
    It is yet another story that portrays stepmothers as being ruthless, cruel, and vengeful. Just like popular fairytales such as Cinderella and Snowhite, Hansel and Gretel creates an uneasy feeling towards stepmothers. In a society, like the one we live in today, there are many families that are mixed with a combination of stepmothers, stepfathers, step siblings, and half siblings. This makes the thought of teaching children that stepmothers are cruel a very scary thing.  Parents should think twice before they expose their children to such a wretched story that is full of death, deceit and cruelty towards children.
    A positive side to Hansel and Gretel’s story is that it demonstrates the way siblings should work together and how creative their minds can be. When Gretel pushes the old witch into the oven and releases her brother from the cage, the store is showing us how willpower can help us become stronger both physically and mentally. While this story has some very positive ideas, it is frightening for young children. Parents should consider the negative affect this story may have on their children before they expose them.

Helpful websites that explain the difference between a summary and a plot synopsis are:

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/summary.html

http://www.westga.edu/~mhenry/summary%20vs%20analysis.htm

Resources for Images:
Ginger Bread House Picture: http://www.dinikusuma.com/pictures/2010/12/Hansel-and-Gretel-09.jpg
Witch Picture: http://crookedkitty.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/hansgretfinalfornow.jpg

URL for intro Video

"Good Readers and Good Writers"

As I sat at my computer, with my dictionary by my side, I read the document by Nabokov. I admit that I did have to use my dictionary on more than one occasion and the format in which this document was written forced me to reread it several times. With this being said, I would agree with Nabokov that “the good reader is one who has imagination, memory, a dictionary, and some artistic sense” (Nabokov p615).
When I was a teenager I hated the idea of having to read. I believe this was primarily due to the fact that reading was often something that was forced upon me. I had to read for the sake of my school work and I was never given the option of what I wanted to read. Once I “grew up” and realized the great adventure and knowledge that one can obtain while reading a great novel, journal, or autobiography, my eyes were opened to a whole new world.
I believe myself to be a “good reader”. I always have my dictionary close to my side and when I read I am not afraid to go back and reread the material as many times as it take to understand it. I also believe that it is easier to be a “good reader” if you are reading something written by a “good writer”. A “good reader” must have an active imagination because that is what makes reading so exciting. For example, last summer I was reading a popular trilogy and I was able to see the characters, the landscape, and the scenarios all in my mind. I visualized the people and places as if I was there watching it. Reading, regardless of the material presented can be an incredible experience!

Nabokov, Vladimir. “Good Readers and Good Writers” pp 615

Image from: http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/reading.jpg