Essential Questions

"Romanticism was the movement that created pieces of reading and art that were more focused on the creativity and inspiration of an individual. Southern Gothic Romanticism is a sub-genre of Romanticism and Gothic Fiction that is specifically set in Southern America. Unlike Gothic Romanticism, Southern Gothic takes the would be monsters and heroes then changes them to be people of Southern America. Gothic Romanticism tends to lean more heavily on the supernatural and grotesque in a purer form. Dark Romanticism focuses on the darker themes and symbols"(Quick).

 Romanticism was the movement that rejected the classics and the ideals of the Industrial Revolution. Authors of this genre leaned towards individualistic ideals and the emotions of the character. They rejected logic, facts, and the weighing of success on technological advancements only. Often, the plot centers around optimism and teaching lessons. In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", Ichabod Crane was so confident he was going to win Katrina's hand, but he ultimately failed.
If Romanticism was a rebellion against the classics, then the Southern Gothic genre took it one step further, by also twisting the ways of Romanticism. It takes the happy-ish nature setting and contorts it to be dark or foreboding. The whole nature of the Southern Gothic stories pointed to the society that was deeply faulted and was doomed to fail. With that in mind, these stories don't get a happy ending, and if they do, it wasn't the one that was expected. The stories also had a common them of the unknown or supernatural. Events that couldn't or wouldn't be explained guided the plots.

 The darker sides of Romanticism came into play as the American culture came into play. Life in the new world was tough and harsh. These hardships were reflected in their writings. Everything was new. So why not write something to emphasize the new environment and experiences? The early settlers also wanted to be set apart from their English counterparts.  As America grew the culture began to differentiate within the nation itself. Many questioned the morals and ways of the South. In Southern Gothic Romanticism the characters and setting helped point out the flaws that people associated with the American South, Ultimately as the culture shifted, so did the way Romanticism was perceived. In "A Rose for Emily" the setting is in a broken down home of a once proud and wealthy Southern family. The main character ends up committing murder that was not discovered until after her own death.
   
 Every genre that has come to pass has influenced writers today. For example way the Puritans viewed the world with strict rules and punishments is seen in today's Dystopic fiction. In both, the society imposed strict rules that must be followed. Another example, would be the society in
The Scarlet Letter. The supernatural elements of Gothic can be seen in popular series today. The elements of the Romanticism Genres are being written into stories today. Modern authors take the aspects of genres already created and tweak them to make their own work, reflecting today's society and culture just as the authors of the past.


 
   

The Legend and The Song

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

The story of Ichabod Crane captures readers imaginations with a tale of mystery. It is the tale of how Ichabod comes to Sleepy Hollow to be the headmaster of the town's school. He was a gluttonous man, so he took to finding odd jobs to get money to feed his unsatiable appetite. He falls in love with Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, and the lands she was to inherit. His one big competitor for her hand was Brom Bones, the local stud. It seems to be a simple story ,but it has a dark undertone of suspicious nature. "The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions" (Irving 1). Those superstitions keep hold in the reader's mind while reading. One of the biggest tales is that of the "Headless Horseman". The tale was mentioned several times through out the story. The retelling of this tale and with the conformation of witnessing the horseman by Brom Bones during a party at the Van Tassel estate is one of significance. For soon after leaving the party, Ichabod was to be chased by the very spirit mentioned! The morning after Ichabod was nowhere to be found. The only remains being his horse, hat and a smashed pumpkin. Soon after his disappearance, Brom made his move. "Brom Bones too, who shortly after his rival's disappearance conducted the blooming Katrina to the altar, was observed to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related, and always burst into a hearty laugh at the mention of the pumpkin, which led some to suspect that he knew more about the matter than he chose to tell"(Irving 13). The legend ends on a note that is open to interpretation by the reader. The imagination is free to run wild. Was Ichabod scared off by Brom? Was he taken by something more with a supernatural backround, meaning the headless horseman as the old wives say? That's what makes the story so interesting.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
This song has a double meaning. On one hand, the home the singers yearn for is the spiritual one. They will meet up with those who have gone before them in the afterlife, hence the phrase "But still I know I'm heavenly bound". On the flip side, the song is talking about escaping the bonds of slavery. They want to be free to go home where they feel they belong. During this period of time, people who were going through hard times (terrible really) were very reliant on their faith to get them through the day. It is a prayer and worship all wrapped into one. Though the slavery of African-Americans is not around in America today, other hardships are still present. Through this song many people still find hope. They will look for deliverance.

Story Analysis and The Writer's Way

The Fall of the House Of Usher Analysis

      Receiving a letter from a child-hood friend, the narrator rushes to the house of Roderick Usher. Upon his arrival, he describes his  meeting of his friend, he notices Usher to be weak and nervous. He was a in a state of distress. Usher's sister Madeline has a strange illness that no doctor can explain.
      While the two are talking, the man catches a glimpse of Madeline, who doesn't show any outward signs of illness. The narrator is unsettled by her presence though he does not know why. Looking back to his friend, Roderick is even more distressed. When a door, at length, closed upon her, my glance sought instinctively and eagerly the countenance of the brother—but he had buried his face in his hands, and I could only perceive that a far more than ordinary wanness had overspread the emaciated fingers through which trickled many passionate tears"(Poe 7). Something has obvious disturbed the brother, and since nothing has happened except the presence of the sister, we can assume he felt her presence.

      The next few days the narrator and Mr.Usher participate in activities that were suppose to distract Mr. Usher from the ongoing events. Usher took to the guitar and sang a ballad called "The Haunted Palace". This is a reference to the ghastly, lonely appearance of the House of Usher. "But evil things, in robes of sorrow, Assailed the monarch's high estate; (Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow

Shall dawn upon him, desolate!) And, round about his home, the glory That blushed and bloomed Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed"(Poe 9). Mr. Usher sings this ballad, but out of everything he could sing he sang this song of a desolate house, much like his own, that is haunted by evil, and the houses story is forgotten, just like the House Of Usher. The ballad and reality coincide, but what of the evil. Madeline seems pretty. 

     Usher says earlier,

"To an anomalous species of terror I found him a bounden slave. “I shall perish,” said he, “I must perish in

this deplorable folly. Thus, thus, and not otherwise, shall I be lost. I dread the events of the future, not in

themselves, but in their results. I shudder at the thought of any, even the most trivial, incident, which may

operate upon this intolerable agitation of soul. I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute

effect—in terror. In this unnerved—in this pitiable condition—I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive

when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR". 

He knows something is going to happen to him. It's going to be bad, and he is completely terrified.
     He and the narrator go on to bury his sister. She is not buried in the family tomb however. She is buried in a room under the house. Roderick doesn't want her to be examined by doctors because of the mysteriousness of her condition.
     After the succession of a few days the inhabitants begin to feel strange. Usher comes to the narrator asking if he heard something. The narrator tries to calm him down by reading him a novel. That does not help the situation, because the events in the story are being echoed in reality. Usher starts muttering. Saying his sister was coming for him. That he should have known better than to bury her when she wasn't dead. He knows what's coming before it happens and just as the story and ballad foreshadowed, his sister comes to exact her revenge as an undead, as ghosts could not be so physical. She fights with her brother and he ends up dying.


The Writer's Way

        The writer's of Gothic fiction often criticize the nature of humans. They show this usually by having a character in their stories who revel in the negative aspects of our nature, brings out the negative aspects in others, or they are fighting against those aspects and ultimately fail. Most authors of this specific genre tend to lean towards the view that every human has a bad side to them, and fighting against that side is pointless, often having dire consequences. The stories written will never have a happy ending. The end will either be terribly strange or awful.

Southern Gothic Romanticism- "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" and "A Rose For Emily"

Romanticism  was the movement that created pieces of reading and art that were more focused on the creativity and inspiration of an individual. Southern Gothic Romanticism is a sub-genre of Romanticism and Gothic Fiction that is specifically set in Southern America. Unlike Gothic Romanticism, Southern Gothic takes the would be monsters and heroes then changes them to be people of Southern America. Gothic Romanticism tends to lean more heavily on the supernatural and grotesque in a purer form. Dark Romanticism focuses on the darker themes and symbols.

Elements of SGR

• Main character who is grotesque or unusual in some way. Either in personality,figure or both.They tend to invoke a reader's pity and disgust at the same time. The bizarre aspects of their character bring to light the faults of the South.
• Plot usually has some sort of supernatural,or mysterious events that guide it.
•  The time period of the majority of this genre is during the decay of the old Southern Aristocracy. The setting is usually old and decaying as well.

"The Life You Save May Be Your Own" is set in an old house. The story features an old woman and her daughter, who seem to keep themselves away from the rest of society. The mother is a shut in and the daughter cannot talk. The other main character is Mr. Shiftlet. He is a disabled man who has a negative view of the world. Mr. Shiftlet is a man who cleverly says no a lot to in fact get what he wants. All through the story Mr. Shiftlet has used others to get what he wants. He ends up with the family's car and the daughter as a wife. He later drops her off claiming her to be a hitchhiker. Going down the road Shiftlet sees a boy and offers him a ride.  Picking up the boy seems to show some guilt for dumping his newlywed. He also uses the boy's company to offload his problems. When the boy jumps out of the vehicle and the weather starts darkening, all the chances Shiftlet has had to redeem himself have gone and passed. 

"A Rose For Emily" is set in an old house, one for the wealthy class of the South. The women of the house is Emily Grierson, a women who was from a wealthy family line, but had little to no money herself. Grierson had a secret. She was a murderess, though that wasn't discovered until after she had passed and been buried. How could that be?
          Emily was a recluse. Emily was rarely seen going in and out of her house, she had a man that worked for her so she did not have to run into town herself. No one came and visited her either.
          She was the only person living in that big house. That man being excluded. The town thought her very lonely. They pitied her. So when she bought a large amount of poison they did nothing. Writing it off as a future suicide attempt because of her being so lonely.
          The town made assumptions without investigation. When a man she had been associating with disappeared, it was thought to be because the man's work that had brought him to the town was completed. When her neighbors started smelling a foul smell, it was thought to be an animal that her worker had killed. The subject was dropped because no one wanted to tell Emily, a lady, to her face that she smelled. All of these factors contributed to her murder going unnoticed. 

Short Story Socratic Questions - "The Black Cat"

Closed-Ended Question
How was Pluto killed?

Pluto was hanged.

Open-Ended Question
Why does the narrator kill his cat Pluto?

Pluto is killed because the man is a drunkard, which causes people to do horrible things. He first cut the cat's eye out. The cat was sane enough to want to stay away from the man, but it's behavior of running caused the man to become irritated. "...hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence;—hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin..."(Poe 6). Also, the man committed the killing BECAUSE he knew it was wrong.

World Connection Question
What negative situations are still seen in our lives today that were mentioned in the story?

While most people don't accuse their pets of being witches, hang their pets, or stuff their wives in an alcove of a basement, there are still things touched in the story that are still relevant to today. The narrator was a drunk. He also abused his wife and his pets. Domestic violence, substance abuse and animal cruelty are still a big part of society today.

Universal Theme/ Core Question
Are there really people in the world who do bad things just for the sake of doing them because of the fact they know it's bad?

Yes, there are people in the world that commit wrongdoings because they know it's wrong. Examples of this would be sadists and teens who do something wrong purposefully to get back at their parents.

Literary Analysis Question
How does the background of the black cats add to the madness of the story?

Black cats, as pointed out in the story, were thought to be the disguise of witches. After killing Pluto another cat comes forth with the markings of a noose about it's neck. So, were there two black cat's or one? The more common answer is one. That means that the first had come back to life reincarnated to taunt his master and drive him insane. The 'reincarnation' is then takes on the form of a demon-like creature and is found upon the corpse of the man's wife. "Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman"(Poe 14). The being had taunted him to his doom. The cat's presence adds a supernatural element to the story, overall darkening it as a whole.