Angel Oquendo

Professor Kwong

ENG 3407

11.14.2019

Today we finished up our presentations for Gothic Literature and Visuals in class and my group made up of Ayshe, Angel, Fareema, Janiya were chosen to report on a real life Gothic space. We did some research and decided on doing our research on Bran Castle located in Romania. We split up the tasks/slides and I chose to research the architecture design of the castle and how it relates to the Gothic and how the decor and “props” from inside the castle and how they relate to the Gothic. I spoke about the types of towers the castle has and how the size and location of the castle gives off sublime feelings and an overall creepiness to anyone seeing this castle in real life. Also doing the inside / “props” of the castle, I spoke about  the decor being beautiful and it being centuries old and at first glance things seem normal and beautiful but upon further inspection it tells a different and darker story. The paintings in the castle of Vlad the Impaler, a warrior known for being incredibly cruel and sadistic to anyone and everyone, paintings of the hung and tortured, and creepy yet fitting animal skin rugs in various rooms of the castle. Almost forgot to mention the torture chambers in the castle, full with wooden torture devices. Doing this presentation and the research leading to it, it taught me that projects do not really need much in-person discussions and can be easily done through group chats and collaborative slide programs.