Gothic literature Essay Example for Free

Gothic literature Essay In response to the question â€Å"is gothic literature purely escapist? † considering Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Walpole’s novel The Castle of Ontranto, which is recognized as pretty much establishing the genre, the answer is yes. Castle of Ontranto Brief Plot summary The plot of Castle begins full tilt as Conrad, son of Manfred of house Otranto, is crushed by a giant helmet on his wedding day, also his birthday. Because of the marriages political connections, Manfred decides to divorce his wife, Hippolita, and marry Conrads betrothed, Isabella. Amid speculations about an ancient prophecy claiming That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it, Manfreds second union is disrupted by a series of supernatural events involving many oversized limbs, ghosts, mysterious blood, and a true prince (Wikipedia). Castle of Ontranto represents the quintessential Gothic story. It created the genre. Key examples of this can be seen as follows: 1 Note: that Gothic literature is escapist through the use of contrasting specific elements to create conflict and draw the attention of the reader. (the main themes most common in these two novels are: horror vs romance, good vs evil, and the element of mystery basically the known vs the unknown. ) The Castle of Ontranto opens with the line â€Å"Manfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda (chp1). † This is a very fantastic scenario from the main character being a Prince to the daughter being a beautiful eighteen year old virgin in an era when many women in prestigious families were married off by the age of 14. The author goes on to point out how the son Conrad three years younger than Matilda is ugly sickly frail and pale. The act of immediately contrasting Conrad’s ugly sickliness with Matilda’s beauty and pure virginity, significantly defines the gothic genre, which is literally defined as â€Å"an important genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. † -Another important contrast other than horror and romance is good and evil. This can be seen in Walpole’s novel through the differences in the characters. The Castle of Otranto revolves around a curse that has been placed upon the family of Manfred, ruler of the principality of Otranto. The curse is slightly ill defined, but apparently threatens the end of Manfreds rule and destruction of his family. Manfred is a greedy man who plots and schemes to outwit this curse. He is clearly the villain of the novel and contrasts strongly with the three leading women, Hippolita his wife, Matilda his daughter and Isabella the intended wife of his son. These women represent the forces of good throughout the novel. NOTE: Heroines in gothic books as well as in contemporary horror is a common theme a major example of this being emphasized in Northanger abbey can be seen when Austen says, â€Å"Chapter 1 But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventfuly lives. † (page 9) NOTE: examples of Romance as a theme in Northanger Abbey â€Å"Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. † Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey â€Å"In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes. â€Å" Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, 1818

Edward Norton ? Sinuous Talent, Unyielding Determination :: essays research papers

The son of a Carter Administration, federal prosecutor and an English teacher, as well as the grandson of famed developer James Rouse, Edward Norton was born in Boston on August 18, 1969. He was raised in the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, and from an early age was known as an extremely bright and somewhat serious person. His interest in acting began at the age of five when his baby sitter, Betsy True (who went on to become an actress on stage and screen), took him to a musical adaptation of Cinderella. Shortly after that, Norton enrolled at Orenstein's Columbia School for Theatrical Arts, making his stage debut at the age of eight in a local production of Annie Get Your Gun. Although young, Norton already exhibited an unusual amount of professionalism, and took his subsequent roles seriously. After high school, he studied astronomy, history, and Japanese at Yale, and was also active in the university's theatrical productions. Edward attained almost instant stardom with his film debut in the 1996 Primal Fear. For his thoroughly chilling breakthrough performance as a Kentucky altar boy accused of murder, Norton was credited with saving an otherwise mediocre film, and further rewarded with Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Remarkably disconnected from all of the hype that is usually associated with fresh talent, Norton has gone on to further prove his worth in such films as American History X, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Fight Club. After earning a history degree, Norton spent a few months in Japan and then moved to New York, where he worked for the Enterprise Foundation, a group devoted to stopping urban decay. Again, Norton continued acting at every opportunity, and eventually decided to become a full-time actor. In 1994, he appeared in Edward Albee's Fragments after deeply impressing the distinguished playwright during an audition. Norton then joined the New York Signature Theatre Company, which frequently premieres Albee's plays. With a number of off-Broadway credits to his name, Norton won his role in Primal Fear after being chosen out of 2,100 hopefuls. He nabbed the part after telling casting directors in a flawless drawl that he was a native of eastern Kentucky, the same area where the character came from; legend has it that the actor watched Coal Miner's Daughter to learn the accent. The intensity of Norton's screen test readings stunned almost all who saw them, and the actor became something of a hot p roperty even before the film was released.

Early Modern Period

1450-1750 Early Modern Period Major Developments I. Questions of Periodization A. Major points 1. Shift in power to the West a. Rise of the West with fall of China and India creates imbalance in power that favors Europeans for next 200 years 2. World becomes smaller – almost all civilizations touched by trade 3. New Empires – Spain, Portugal, England, France, Netherlands, Ottoman, Russian, Mughal, Ming 4. Age of Gunpowder B. Changes at end of Postclassical Era 1. Independent societies (Aztecs, Incas) falling apart 2. Arab power declining 3. New invasions – Mongols 4. Ottoman Empire gains power a. Europeans threatened by new force to East 5. Chinese flirt with trade, but Ming bureaucrats pull back 6. Europe enters age of exploration C. Western Europe 1. Unusual agricultural civilization 2. New view of family – nuclear a. Love toward spouse b. Affection toward children 3. Return to rational thought 4. Stable political structures a. Absolute monarchy b. Parliamentary monarchies 5. Religious reformers a. Reform the Church b. Protestant Reformation D. Effects of Global Economy 1. By 1750, almost everyone knows everyone 2. Food exchange – new staple crops to Africa (corn), Europe (potato) 3. Unequal relationships – master, slave, owners, workforce 4. Slaves and serfs 5. Diseases E. Themes 1. Declining emphasis of nomads 2. Direct relationships – ambassadors replace intermediaries (Nomads) 3. Gender relations remain patriarchal 4. Labor relations change – master/slave – abuse of indigenous peoples 5. A few commercial leaders get rich 6. Environmental changes a. ood, animal, disease exhange 7. Native vegetation a. Deforestation for staple crops b. Grazing land for newly introduced beasts of burden 8. Centralization of governments a. Modern government 1. bureaucracies 2. agencies 3. admiralties 4. treasuries 5. general staff 6. state banks 9. Nation-states began to emerge a. solid political units with fixed borders b. sense of national unity c. populations relatively homogenous – language/e thnicity F. Larger Trends 1. Americas overwhelmed by outsiders 2. Three trends a. Western expansion . Globalization of trade c. Gunpowder 3. Reactions a. Embrace by choice b. Embrace by force c. Choose to remain independent, involve in trade on own terms G. Why 1450 and 1750 1. 1450 a. End of the Middle Ages b. Beginning of the Northern Renaissance – away from Italian city-states c. English evicted from France d. Unified France began to exercise its power e. Globalization of trade begins f. Direct contact between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa/Americas g. End of the Byzantine Empire h. Ottoman Turks rise to power

Causes And Consequences Of Global Warming - 2177 Words

Jainam Shah Professor Larry Menna SOIM-UB 125.007 04/03/2016 Causes and Consequences of Global Warming in California Fossil fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas, have facilitated global economic development by stimulating the industrial sector. Formed when organic matter gradually concentrates over the span of millions of years, fossil fuels constitute the world s primary source of energy. Upon extraction, they are processed in refineries to create invaluable raw materials such as fuel oil, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas which meet 82 percent of U.S. energy demanded by catalyzing the generation of steam, electricity and power transportation systems (US Energy Information Administration). Fossil†¦show more content†¦These gases insulate the atmosphere and lead to a gradual increase in temperature over a period of time leading to climatic changes. Over the past 20 years, nearly three-fourths of human-caused emissions came from the burning of fossil fuels (U.S. Dep. Of Energy). The general consensus was that the negative externalities caused by greenhouse gases would take several years to materialize, which enabled the corporations to rationalize their actions and give greater impetus to economic profits over environmental sustainability. However, with increasing scientific research and growing awareness about the more immediate consequences of climatic changes, global warming has come to forefront as a social issue that requires corporations to claim immediate responsibility for their actions. An industrial powerhouse such as California, with its variable climate zones, scarce water supply, and dependence on industries is an ideal case study and testament to the fact that global warming is a social problem that has far-reaching tangible consequences for the current generation as well. A study by scientists at NASA and Columbia University measured climate data between 1901 and 2014 and inferenced that average temperatures in California have increased by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit over 113 years (Geophysical Research Letters). They also noticed that there was a dramatic