HUMA 1780 EXAM REVIEW DEFINITIONS & MAIN TOPICS
HUMA 1780 EXAM REVIEW DEFINITIONS & MAIN TOPICS GOTHIC - Gothic tales have many specific elements: 1. Use of setting to evoke fear/anxiety in the reader using physical/atmospheric elements. 2. Elements of the uncanny: existence of mystery; unstable/blur of classification. • We can no longer distinguish one thing from another. • Animate and inanimate no longer distinguished from one another. 3. Elements of estrangement: the process of the familiar made strange. • Things have gone horribly wrong. • Transformation of things we don't recognize. • Familiar world that becomes estranged to us. 4. Art of grotesquery: distortion of forms and features that are unsettling and can be frightening. • Ex. A Rose for Emily - Emily is described to me made into a gargoyle. 5. Presence of Doppelgangers: representations of a double. • Can be physical, metaphoric, literal or complete opposites. 6. Simultaneous feeling of attraction and repulsion: contradictory. • The feeling of being repulsed or wanting to look or avoid something, yet somehow being attracted towards it. o Ex. A car crash - we don't want to look because of all the destruction, but at the same time we want to look out of curiosity. 7. Fear of life. • Life is feared because it has transformed into something unfamiliar, and therefore death is welcomes as a hope to escape. • Deals with human/physical corruption. Gothic Examples: • Dracula • William Wilson • Black Swan • Frankenstein Sound • The use of minimal sound. o Makes a film seem mysterious and gloomy; makes the viewer anxious; puts you on edge; amplifies when there is sound. o Sound effects such as: Creaking doors Howling of a wolf Sounds of wind Atmospheric elements: rain, thunder etc. o Ex. In Dracula (1931), when you hear the sound of horses against the rocks of the ground, it doesn't seem like there is a driver driving the horses; this sets the scene that something is wrong when he is on his way to Dracula's house.
Setting • Night is associated with gothic tales because it creates an atmosphere of fear. o Creates uncertainty - evokes fear because we don't know what's out there. • Occurs in a castle or large house; creates mystery - what could be hidden or lurking in the house? o Vastness: large; isolated; enormous. o Seem to be less controllable environments. o Intimidating/Overwhelming • The use of spider webs, staircases and larger-than-life-looking objects. • Antiquity: Everything looks as if it hasn't been touched (dusty). • Subterranean world: World of the underground is important in a gothic; we first see beetles, the rat, the armadillos, and the coffins in Dracula, and Dracula is first introduced emerging from the smoke. We are introduced to the supernatural being of Dracula before Renfield enters the house and meets him. SOUTHERN GOTHIC - A type of story in which the story takes place in Southern America. Typically, these stories are characterized by grotesque incidents (i.e. wars, etc.). • Example: A Rose for Emily - William Faulkner o Setting is in the US. o Blurring of the real and the inanimate. o Emily and her house are described in similar manners. The house is described with human characteristics similar to those of Emily. o Slave owners o The pain of civil war depicts the story. o A forbidding atmosphere. o Old mansion. o Decay, putrefaction and grotesquerie. o Oppressive society that is undergoing rapid change. o Emily = damsel in distress. Mentally instable Necrophilia She is described as a monument. NARRATIVE POV - How the story is being told (film or text). NARRATIVE STRUCTURE - The conventions or how it's organized. How are the chapters organized/written? EMBEDDED NARRATIVE - A story within a story. EPISTOLARY - A narrative form that follows the form of a letter. • (i.e. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley) TALL TALE - A story with unbelievable/improbable/unusual elements. • Vernacular - Everyday language use; not proper English or standard use of English language. • Stories that are embellished.
• • • •
Hyperboles are used. Humor is used. Common in American frontier. Example: Big Fish (2003) - Dir. by Tim Burton o Ed Bloom tells his son about many unusual events that took place in his young adult years. He met a witch who showed him her glass eye that revealed how he would die. Spent 3 years in bed attached to a machine b/c he was growing too fast. Discovered the hidden town of Spectre. Worked at a Circus and discovered that the ring leader is a werewolf. At the end his stories were technically true, just embellishments.
THE FRONTIER - A grand, natural space that has been unconquered by man. • Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis: The Frontier shapes our future. A space where men are men. A grand, natural space that must be conquered. • Those who conquer it become better. The Frontier shaped the American being and characteristics. • Drove American history. • The frontier helped pull America away from European ideal and to develop their own identity. • The idea of novelty: o Not relying on ancient/traditional form. o Energy → Response → Self-reliance → Independence → Individualism o New forms and new time periods mean different and new ways of doing things. o Concept of liberty = free; unfettered; in order to selfactualize individual expression of oneself. o Access to free land. National spirit Dependent on American traits o Mobility Social; not just physical. • Expansion to the West changed people's views on their culture. o Why is the West important to the development of America? Territorial expansion of resources. Composite Identity/Nationality because of the interaction in the space. • Composite - made up of various parts or elements. • The expansion of the American frontier in combination with European immigration to American soils.
Defined characteristics of an American Identity. • Democracy can be traced to the importance of the West. • Without the frontier there would be no developed meaning of democracy. The further West you move, the closer you move to independence, liberty, self-reliance. • Liberalism, freedom, and enlightenment. Essentialized the notion of nationhood. • "this is the way.." • No deviation
SERENA JOY - (Handmaid's Tale) She is neither serene nor joyful - not her real name. • Pseudonym - A fictious name to conceal one's identity. THE TRICKSTER - A person who cheats or deceives people. • Influences tradition and culture. • Example: Nanabush in Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapusking NATIONAL NARRATIVE - Narratives that deal with common aspirations or aspects to a whole nation/ stories that demonstrate the development of the nationality of a nation. • Example: The Hockey Sweater - Roch Carrier o What comes to mind when you think of Canada: Hockey Nationality - Quebec vs. the rest of Canada Big territory Native culture (marginalized) o The Hockey Sweater: POV of a child, children have simpler views. Shows division between Quebec and the rest of Canada (not wanted a TML jersey, only a Canadiens jersey) DOPPELGANGER - A physical/literal/metaphorical double of an individual or the complete opposite of an individual. • Example: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Viktor Creature • Misunderstood • Misunderstood (ugly) • Lonely/Isolated • Lonely • Wants to end death b/c his • No "mother" mother died. • Smart • Smart - science/medicine Viktor and the Creature are doppelgangers. • Same characteristics. CONTESTED SPACE - A space that two or more people are in dispute over. FRAMED NARRATIVE - A narrative that contains smaller stories within one main story/narrative. • Example: Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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Holmes tells Watson a story that he tells the audience. Dr. Watson is Holmes' sidekick. Only knows what Holmes tells him, and he retells that information to the audience. Watson gives the reader a perspective which allows for distance as well as proximity. Watson shares his knowledge and his ideas while investigating, yet Holmes sets him straight and he tells the audience of what Holmes told him. Watson constructs a false story around Irina's character and misreads her. • Irina's false story occurs within the story that Watson is telling the audience.
SHOPPING CART - Appears in The Road - Cormac McCarthy • A shopping cart is typically used in grocery stores/ big box stores in order to put any items in to carry around. Most of the time, the items that are put in these shopping carts are basic items that humans need such as food, water, clothing etc. • Ironic in The Road o The father and his son use it to carry their lives from one place after an apoalypse. o They find scarce materials and place them in the cart. o They have difficulty finding the simplest things such as water, food etc. DYSTOPIA VS. EUTOPIA Utopian/Dystopian Narratives • Utopian Narrative - A good place that's no place. o A form of fantasy fiction in which a non-existent political and social system are depicted. o A fictional, ideal world. o Used to criticize a current social/political system through contrasting. o Descriptive - describe economy, social and cultural aspects, etc. o An exaggerated version of recognizable aspects of the real world. • Dystopian Narrative - A bad, undesirable place. o An individual's worst nightmare. o A fiction, non-ideal world. o A form of fantasy fiction. o Author questions: What would happen if this were to take place? o Always references the real, present world. o Rely upon real and present orders and take those to come up with "end results". o Past - ideal that is no longer possible in the present. Never really existed. Stands as an ironic juxtaposition to the realities of the present. o Many depict a totalitarian state - central authority uses punishment, propaganda and other forms of power to control the state. Often Totalitarian States contain theocracies - one state and one religion are the centralized authority. • The Church and the State are one.
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Lord of the Flies is an example of a dystopian narrative. Feminist Dystopian Narrative = The Handmaid's Tale.
UTOPIA Good (good place) ← EU| TOPIA No (None/0/No place)↙ ↘ Place • An ideal that will not be realized. o Perfection isn't possible. • An ideal place. Example: • No crime • No hunger • Human rights/equality • No pollution • Good health/no illnesses • Equal wealth • Happiness However, one person's utopia is another person's dystopia.
DYSTOPIA • A bad place/ nightmare. • Doesn't exist. • Both Utopia's and Dystopia's are not a prediction of what's going to happen. o Exaggerate what's happening now to get to us. • Almost always run by a totalitarian government. o Government has full control. o Surveillance, punishment etc o Meant to make everyone homogenous (the same). Gets rid of diversity. Uniforms, shaved heads, slogans they repeat all the time etc. • Involves a protagonist that will feel/experience things a different way. • Dystopia = good intentions gone wrong.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood: • A feminine dystopia. • Physical and spiritual oppression. • Media manipulation. • Control of human thought. • Decreased birthrates caused the government to attempt to control reproduction. o The control of women's bodies though their political subjugation. Women cannot vote, hold property or jobs, read, or do anything else that might allow them to become independent. • People agree to the terms as long as they get something in return. o Offred's mother says that compliance is okay as long as there are a few compensations. • Sexual violence is evident in this book. o Women who comply with the government are "safe" from all rape and sexual violence. Terms to ask about: • Serena Joy • Remittance Man • The Trickster
• • • • •
Thomas Builds-the-Fire Discourse of Abundance Marthas Blind Prophet Nanabush
POSSIBLE ESSAY TOPICS THE FRONTIER • Turner's Frontier Thesis • Big Bear • Stage Coach • Tay John • Columbus • Frankenstein • The Road • Book of Eli THE TRICKSTER • Dry Lips • Big Fish • Thorpe • Tay John • Big Bear FRAMED NARRATIVES • Frankenstein • Big Bear • Tay John • Big Fish • Sherlock Holmes • Dry Lips • The Handmaid's Tale
Setting • Night is associated with gothic tales because it creates an atmosphere of fear. o Creates uncertainty - evokes fear because we don't know what's out there. • Occurs in a castle or large house; creates mystery - what could be hidden or lurking in the house? o Vastness: large; isolated; enormous. o Seem to be less controllable environments. o Intimidating/Overwhelming • The use of spider webs, staircases and larger-than-life-looking objects. • Antiquity: Everything looks as if it hasn't been touched (dusty). • Subterranean world: World of the underground is important in a gothic; we first see beetles, the rat, the armadillos, and the coffins in Dracula, and Dracula is first introduced emerging from the smoke. We are introduced to the supernatural being of Dracula before Renfield enters the house and meets him. SOUTHERN GOTHIC - A type of story in which the story takes place in Southern America. Typically, these stories are characterized by grotesque incidents (i.e. wars, etc.). • Example: A Rose for Emily - William Faulkner o Setting is in the US. o Blurring of the real and the inanimate. o Emily and her house are described in similar manners. The house is described with human characteristics similar to those of Emily. o Slave owners o The pain of civil war depicts the story. o A forbidding atmosphere. o Old mansion. o Decay, putrefaction and grotesquerie. o Oppressive society that is undergoing rapid change. o Emily = damsel in distress. Mentally instable Necrophilia She is described as a monument. NARRATIVE POV - How the story is being told (film or text). NARRATIVE STRUCTURE - The conventions or how it's organized. How are the chapters organized/written? EMBEDDED NARRATIVE - A story within a story. EPISTOLARY - A narrative form that follows the form of a letter. • (i.e. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley) TALL TALE - A story with unbelievable/improbable/unusual elements. • Vernacular - Everyday language use; not proper English or standard use of English language. • Stories that are embellished.
• • • •
Hyperboles are used. Humor is used. Common in American frontier. Example: Big Fish (2003) - Dir. by Tim Burton o Ed Bloom tells his son about many unusual events that took place in his young adult years. He met a witch who showed him her glass eye that revealed how he would die. Spent 3 years in bed attached to a machine b/c he was growing too fast. Discovered the hidden town of Spectre. Worked at a Circus and discovered that the ring leader is a werewolf. At the end his stories were technically true, just embellishments.
THE FRONTIER - A grand, natural space that has been unconquered by man. • Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis: The Frontier shapes our future. A space where men are men. A grand, natural space that must be conquered. • Those who conquer it become better. The Frontier shaped the American being and characteristics. • Drove American history. • The frontier helped pull America away from European ideal and to develop their own identity. • The idea of novelty: o Not relying on ancient/traditional form. o Energy → Response → Self-reliance → Independence → Individualism o New forms and new time periods mean different and new ways of doing things. o Concept of liberty = free; unfettered; in order to selfactualize individual expression of oneself. o Access to free land. National spirit Dependent on American traits o Mobility Social; not just physical. • Expansion to the West changed people's views on their culture. o Why is the West important to the development of America? Territorial expansion of resources. Composite Identity/Nationality because of the interaction in the space. • Composite - made up of various parts or elements. • The expansion of the American frontier in combination with European immigration to American soils.
Defined characteristics of an American Identity. • Democracy can be traced to the importance of the West. • Without the frontier there would be no developed meaning of democracy. The further West you move, the closer you move to independence, liberty, self-reliance. • Liberalism, freedom, and enlightenment. Essentialized the notion of nationhood. • "this is the way.." • No deviation
SERENA JOY - (Handmaid's Tale) She is neither serene nor joyful - not her real name. • Pseudonym - A fictious name to conceal one's identity. THE TRICKSTER - A person who cheats or deceives people. • Influences tradition and culture. • Example: Nanabush in Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapusking NATIONAL NARRATIVE - Narratives that deal with common aspirations or aspects to a whole nation/ stories that demonstrate the development of the nationality of a nation. • Example: The Hockey Sweater - Roch Carrier o What comes to mind when you think of Canada: Hockey Nationality - Quebec vs. the rest of Canada Big territory Native culture (marginalized) o The Hockey Sweater: POV of a child, children have simpler views. Shows division between Quebec and the rest of Canada (not wanted a TML jersey, only a Canadiens jersey) DOPPELGANGER - A physical/literal/metaphorical double of an individual or the complete opposite of an individual. • Example: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Viktor Creature • Misunderstood • Misunderstood (ugly) • Lonely/Isolated • Lonely • Wants to end death b/c his • No "mother" mother died. • Smart • Smart - science/medicine Viktor and the Creature are doppelgangers. • Same characteristics. CONTESTED SPACE - A space that two or more people are in dispute over. FRAMED NARRATIVE - A narrative that contains smaller stories within one main story/narrative. • Example: Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
o o
Holmes tells Watson a story that he tells the audience. Dr. Watson is Holmes' sidekick. Only knows what Holmes tells him, and he retells that information to the audience. Watson gives the reader a perspective which allows for distance as well as proximity. Watson shares his knowledge and his ideas while investigating, yet Holmes sets him straight and he tells the audience of what Holmes told him. Watson constructs a false story around Irina's character and misreads her. • Irina's false story occurs within the story that Watson is telling the audience.
SHOPPING CART - Appears in The Road - Cormac McCarthy • A shopping cart is typically used in grocery stores/ big box stores in order to put any items in to carry around. Most of the time, the items that are put in these shopping carts are basic items that humans need such as food, water, clothing etc. • Ironic in The Road o The father and his son use it to carry their lives from one place after an apoalypse. o They find scarce materials and place them in the cart. o They have difficulty finding the simplest things such as water, food etc. DYSTOPIA VS. EUTOPIA Utopian/Dystopian Narratives • Utopian Narrative - A good place that's no place. o A form of fantasy fiction in which a non-existent political and social system are depicted. o A fictional, ideal world. o Used to criticize a current social/political system through contrasting. o Descriptive - describe economy, social and cultural aspects, etc. o An exaggerated version of recognizable aspects of the real world. • Dystopian Narrative - A bad, undesirable place. o An individual's worst nightmare. o A fiction, non-ideal world. o A form of fantasy fiction. o Author questions: What would happen if this were to take place? o Always references the real, present world. o Rely upon real and present orders and take those to come up with "end results". o Past - ideal that is no longer possible in the present. Never really existed. Stands as an ironic juxtaposition to the realities of the present. o Many depict a totalitarian state - central authority uses punishment, propaganda and other forms of power to control the state. Often Totalitarian States contain theocracies - one state and one religion are the centralized authority. • The Church and the State are one.
o o
Lord of the Flies is an example of a dystopian narrative. Feminist Dystopian Narrative = The Handmaid's Tale.
UTOPIA Good (good place) ← EU| TOPIA No (None/0/No place)↙ ↘ Place • An ideal that will not be realized. o Perfection isn't possible. • An ideal place. Example: • No crime • No hunger • Human rights/equality • No pollution • Good health/no illnesses • Equal wealth • Happiness However, one person's utopia is another person's dystopia.
DYSTOPIA • A bad place/ nightmare. • Doesn't exist. • Both Utopia's and Dystopia's are not a prediction of what's going to happen. o Exaggerate what's happening now to get to us. • Almost always run by a totalitarian government. o Government has full control. o Surveillance, punishment etc o Meant to make everyone homogenous (the same). Gets rid of diversity. Uniforms, shaved heads, slogans they repeat all the time etc. • Involves a protagonist that will feel/experience things a different way. • Dystopia = good intentions gone wrong.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood: • A feminine dystopia. • Physical and spiritual oppression. • Media manipulation. • Control of human thought. • Decreased birthrates caused the government to attempt to control reproduction. o The control of women's bodies though their political subjugation. Women cannot vote, hold property or jobs, read, or do anything else that might allow them to become independent. • People agree to the terms as long as they get something in return. o Offred's mother says that compliance is okay as long as there are a few compensations. • Sexual violence is evident in this book. o Women who comply with the government are "safe" from all rape and sexual violence. Terms to ask about: • Serena Joy • Remittance Man • The Trickster
• • • • •
Thomas Builds-the-Fire Discourse of Abundance Marthas Blind Prophet Nanabush
POSSIBLE ESSAY TOPICS THE FRONTIER • Turner's Frontier Thesis • Big Bear • Stage Coach • Tay John • Columbus • Frankenstein • The Road • Book of Eli THE TRICKSTER • Dry Lips • Big Fish • Thorpe • Tay John • Big Bear FRAMED NARRATIVES • Frankenstein • Big Bear • Tay John • Big Fish • Sherlock Holmes • Dry Lips • The Handmaid's Tale
