Author: Professor Lucas Kwong

Group 3. Post a Create, Clue, or Connect critical response by 11 am Tuesday. 250 word minimum. Try to do a different type of response than your last post.

CREATE: Draw a visual representation of either a) the scene where Dyer + Danforth are being chased by a Shoggoth, b) the “degenerate” murals depicting the end of the Elder civilization, or c) the final “nameless evil” that lurks beyond the tallest mountains and overshadows the protagonists’ escape.

Include a quote and a brief (2-3 sentence) explanation of the details in your drawing. Upload as a JPG.

CLUE: Pick one of the passages that answers one of the reading questions.  Comment on the literary elements (setting description, point of view shifts, character development, style, etc) present in the passage. How might they provide a clue to understanding any of the following themes?

-Encountering “the sublime,” either in nature or in architectural space

-Political radicalism + colonialism

-Nature as a “gothic space”

-Scientific attempts to understand abjection

-Religious experience without organized religion (e.g. Catholicism)

CONNECT. 

Pick one of the passages that answers one of the reading questions.  Comment on the literary elements (setting description, point of view shifts, character development, style, etc) present in the passage. Connect it to one of the texts we have read so far, either noting parallels or contrasts between its Gothic elements and those of the text you’ve chosen.

Group 2: Post a Create, Clue, or Connect critical response by 11 am Tuesday.

The post should focus on the contents of 1 particular paragraph.

The Create post should involve either a visual representation (in the form of an uploaded JPG) or a creative writing elaboration (fiction or poetry).

The Clue and Connect posts should both go beyond summary and analyze how specific literary elements (e.g. plot development, setting details, character choices) might articulate broader themes. Some of these may include:

-Abjection

-The sublime

-The uncovering of secret revelations that destabilize identity

-The subversion/challenging of race, class, or gender norms

-The symbolic significance of “ruins” or abandoned architectural spaces.

Clue posts should speculate how the passage might provide a clue as to Lovecraft’s philosophy or outlook on history + science.

Connect posts should try to compare/contrast the paragraph with another text we’ve read this semester.

Hi class,

Good to see you today – I look forward to reading your papers.

Some notes:

-Please finish Part II as well as Parts III-V of “At The Mountains of Madness” for Thursday’s class. These are shorter parts, and if you wish, you can listen along to the audiobook here (scroll down to the video info to click on a specific section). Please print and bring to class!

No formal annotations this time, to leave room to think about Gothic Spaces presentations (see below).

-Blog group 1 (Sierra, Brian, Kerri, Jeremy, Janiya), please review the critical response prompts, and select 1 to respond to. As usual, try to ensure that you cover all the prompts amongst yourselves. Post by beginning of class on Monday.

-Below are your Gothic Spaces Presentation groups, followed by suggestions for virtual, cinematic, or real spaces your group could focus on. You will have some time to discuss with your groups on Thursday, but you should spend some time (~15-20 mins) investigating some of these titles and deciding which might appeal. Alternatively, if you have another idea, you should come prepared to discuss your preferred choice.

Video Game group: Kerri, Brian, Jeremy, Freddie

Suggested video games: Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Anchorhead, Amnesia, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth

Each of the prompts should be answered by at least 1 member of blog group 2. Please confer amongst yourselves as to who will write which prompt.  (Each member should try to do a different category than the one(s) they’ve already done!) Responses should be at least 250 words and posted by 11 am the day of class. Please remember to select the appropriate Blog category before posting.

CLUE. Pick one detail related to any of the following:

-plot (a major event that amps up conflict, or revelation that provides key backstory)

-point of view (a moment where the narrator shows his limits, or moves between describing what he knew “then” and what he knows “now”)

-setting (descriptions of atmosphere or geography)

Write about how that detail might provide a clue as to the story’s perspective on any of the themes we’ve discussed in class: tampering with nature, American conquest of the unknown, and/or the inability of scientific language to adequately “explain” what the narrator encounters.

CONNECT. Pick a passage and connect it to any of the texts we’ve discussed in this class so far. It could be a point of contrast or a parallel. Make sure you expand on the comparison, beyond simply saying “it’s the same” or “it differs.”

CREATE. Draw a visual representation of any of the scenes in this section. It doesn’t have to be intensely detailed, but it should be a bit more involved than the visual annotations we did last class. Upload it as a JPG, and in 3-4 sentences, explain what the picture represents. Include direct quotes that refer to the text of the story.