Brian Chan – ENG 3407, Gothic Lit, Fall 2019

Brian-Beloved 256-324

“Some brought what they could and what they believed would work. Stuffed in apron pockets, strung around their necks, lying in the space between their breasts. Others brought Christian faith—as shield and sword. Most brought a little of both. They had no idea what they would do once they got there. They just started out, walked down Bluestone Road and came together at the agreed-upon time. The heat kept a few
women who promised to go at home. Others who believed the story didn’t want any part of the confrontation and wouldn’t have come no matter what the weather. And there were those like Lady Jones who didn’t believe the story and hated the ignorance of those who did. So thirty women made up that company and walked slowly, slowly toward 124”.

From this, I would assume that a group of people are heading to 124 for either a party or prayer, since the group is 30 people. However, the quotation mentioned some of the group members bring Christian faith as a shield and sword. I realize that they aren’t going to a party or prayer now, since they brought something as a symbol of protection. The group is most likely heading towards something evil or dangerous; a ghost or spirit perhaps. The group is also composed of 3 types of people. The believers, non-believers, and everyone else. This moment is very familiar, similar to that of Shrek, when the group of men approach his home with pitchforks and torches. In this case, a group of men are approaching the house of 124 with items of Christian faith. Both seem to want to ward off what they believe to be “evil”.

Beloved 180-258

“Funny how you lose sight of some things and memory others. I never will forget that whitegirl’s hands. Amy. But I forget the color of all that hair on her head. Eyes must have been gray, though. Seem like I do rememory that. Mrs. Garner’s was light brown–while she was well. Got dark when she took sick. A strong woman, used to be.”

Beloved is referring back to her memories. She mentions never forgetting Amy’s hands, possibly during the time when Amy helped her when crossing the river. I realized that Beloved remembered Amy not because she was white, but because of her actions. This goes to show that a little goes a long way, be it a small favor of gesture or a deed of a lifetime. Beloved’s of memory of Mrs.Garner also proves that kindness isn’t short lived. Rather than treating slaves poorly like Schoolteacher, Mrs.Garner was kind to all and on one occasion, even gave Sethe a pair of crystal earrings as a wedding gift.

From the beginning until the end, memories are very influenced. People perceived in a negative way are often forgotten while people who are perceived in a positive way are remembered. For Beloved to say that its funny to lose sight of things and memory others, she simply means that we tend to memorize the good parts of our lives.

Beloved Page 120-180

When he turned his head, aiming for a last look at Brother, turned it as much as the rope that connected his neck to the axle of a buckboard allowed…they fastened the iron around his ankles and clamped the wrists as well, there was no outward sign of trembling at all. Nor eighteen days after that when he saw the ditches…door of bars that you could lift on hinges like a cage… He was sent there after trying to kill Brandywine, the man schoolteacher sold him to.

Based on this, I think the man is either a prisoner or slave. However, at the last part we see that he attempted to kill his new owner. This means the man is both a slave and a prisoner. Later on in the story, he stops trembling when he realizes he is being led into a line of other people chained together. The man was most likely fearing for his life, but is comforted to see others in a similar if not the same predicament. This type of fear is relatable, as we have all done something that we knew not to do. Not having concern over possible consequences is costly and actions will come back to bite you.

Seth’s memories of trying to cross the river and her encounter with Amy (38-41)

“My mama worked for these here people to pay for her passage. But then she had me and since she died right after, well, they said I had to work for em to pay it off. I did, but now I want me some velvet.”

From the passage, I learned that Seth was never given the liberty her mom worked for. Seth is on the run for her life (literally), away from slavery. Unlike her mother, Seth has a more progress in getting away and wants velvet. I think the velvet symbolizes a fresh start, because the Amy, woman she encountered, described velvet as a world just born; clean and new.

I think the haunting effects of slavery is the constant risk of being betrayed/captured and ending up in a possibly more worse situation.

Brian-Group 1- Clue

In the Mountains of Madness, I feel like there is abjection. When members of the group are killed/go missing, William and his fellow crew member are more concerned over new discoveries rather than people dying. Maybe they were so shocked, they didn’t know how to react. There is also the sublime. When the pair discovered that the mountains were actually walls surrounding a city of some sort, that makes us wonder. Who could’ve made all this? The missing creatures that they found earlier? Who knows. As far as the uncovering of secret revelations destabilize identity, I’m not too sure, as I’ll have to look more into the story. I feel like there definitely are gender norms in Mountains of Madness. All of the crew members seem to be men and not a single women. This makes me wonder if Lovecraft thinks of women as inferior and incapable of thinking or enduring weather conditions. The ruins/city are symbolic as they represent the past, a civilization that once flourished, and human curiosity to expand the understanding of their world. The passage gives a clue to Lovecraft’s outlook on science by showing that everything may not be what they seem, such as the mountains actually being walls of a city. This also hints that Lovecraft believes there is a lot of mysteries out there that we may not know. Not only that, but could abnormal creatures like the ones in this story exist? After all, we haven’t even explored the all the oceans entirely. Maybe we’ll find something as bizarre as what Lovecraft describes or even more.

Group 1- Brian. Clue

In the story of Dracula, there are 2 scenes that offer clues to the book’s attitude towards colonialism. One of those scenes is when Dracula goes to take over London. This hints colonialism because Dracula is trying to take over the land with his own race, which is just like colonialism. Also, Dracula takes control of Mina and Lucy instead of just killing them. If he killed them straight away, that would probably be related to an invasion or some sort of terrorizing attack. Just like how Great Britain wanted to take over weaker forces, Dracula was very similar if not the same. Let us remember that he is from Transylvania, making him a foreign invader. Van Helsing mentions, “adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world”. This sounds just very much like colonialism doesn’t it? Except that colonialism isn’t exactly always evil. Sometimes its just to expand while other times are to get stronger. The vampires are like the evils of colonialism. They want to take over with their own intentions, but not for the greater good. Dracula, is especially a symbol of evil. He has hunger for not only blood, but power as well. When the men managed to stake Lucy, they basically released her from Dracula’s control. Lucy was reclaimed from Dracula. A colony (Lucy) being freed from a larger power (Dracula). I feel like there is some symbolism of savagery that the British saw their empire as counteracting, but not too much unless I missed something along the way.

Brian Chan Group 1 — Connect

In the story, we see that Stoker shifts to very different sort of narrative letters about the friendship between Lucy and Mina. First we learn that the women are best friends. Lucy is married to Arthur and Mina is married to Johnathon. We see in the story that the Mina likes Lucy with “all the moods and tenses of the verb”. This means she loves Lucy in the lovey dovey way. I think this means Mina is bisexual, since she loves Lucy and is married to Johnathon. As for Lucy, she has a thing going on with men. There are about 3 men who want Lucy as their partner. She wants to marry them all, even though that is messed up in today’s world. In terms of internal struggles, I feel that Johnathon’s doesn’t mirror those of Lucy’s. Lucy faces a problem of lovers and lust while Johnathon is straight up dealing with a vampire who wants to take over the world with his own race of undead. Lucy’s subplot foreshadows the intrusion of Gothic themes into her story by giving away hints that are obvious to us. Hints such as being ill, having 2 bite marks on the neck, and glowing red eyes is a dead giveaway. (Pun intended) People don’t have glowing red eyes, even if they’re sick so we know something is up. Since Lucy has 2 bite marks on her neck and is up at night, does that mean she got rabies from an animal bite? We don’t know yet and that gives us an idea that maybe, just maybe some Gothic themes are going to occur.

Brian Chan- Connect

The tower that Theodore is imprisoned in and the virtual cathedral are similar in emotions. They both make you feel like you’re going up, since both tend to lean upwards and give you a sense of isolation. They are different by the tower being a lonely and not so roomy space while the cathedral is very spacious and has a much more unique feel. These sites are a “sublime” experience. They are both majestic and macabre, but maybe mainly majestic. That is because towers are usually filled with princesses and cathedrals are seen as holy places with beautiful designs. The tower is described as dark, maybe to make it stand out from the other towers, since it is a castle after all. If something stands out, people tend to feel different about it. An example would be an antique phone among modern phones. Potential buyers, especially collectors, will think of that antique phone as a very prized possession rather than a regular phone, even though some individuals may not feel that way. So does the tower being dark make it more mysterious/lonely/isolated? Perhaps. As stated in the story, “And he ordered some of his attendants to carry Theodore to the top of the black tower, and guard him strictly.” A castle can be a good or bad place, depending on the story. In this case, we see it is a black tower, so it is most likely not a good place to be. Guards guarding someone at the top of a black tower sounds like a Disney princess story. Someone in distress or of valuable assets.

Author: Brian Chan