Alternate Ending part 2

Sharon White

English 263

Essay: Interviewing the Vampire

Throughout this semester, we have read a numerous amount of books that were interesting and the whole concept made a lot of sense once the semester went on, but this book really made me think about it once I finished reading it. One thing that this book made me think about was , the grass is not always green on the other side meaning that, Louis finally realized that a vampire was not were what he want at all. As this semester come to a close I look at books in a whole different light. I do have to say the books you choose to get your point across this semester was genius. What I mean by that is each book has a special meaning. I was sure how this book was going to end like all the other which included killing of the vampire, or having the interviewer being the vampires next victim. However, to my surprise the book had a very different ending as I had predicted when I read the first thirty or so page. As I began to read the book, “Interview with a the Vampire” by Anne Rice, I was not as interested in the book as most people most likely were. What really got my attention while reading the novel was the setting of where the story of the interviewee started, which was in New Orleans, Louisiana during the period of slavery. The author, Anne Rice goes into details of things associated with New Orleans which included the music, the diversity and the swamps. What really drew my attention on Louis, the vampire that is telling his story to, “The Boy” his recollection on his past before and after his vampire days. Louis describes in detail of his brother's death and how everyone blamed him for it. The whole story was focus on Louis and his life experiences. I really like the given autobiography of Louis and his background information before going into the actual story of what is happening now in this novel, which at this point I am hooked and wants to read the rest of the book. Louis in the story, meets a man named Lestat that is the one to blame for Louis's immortality.

As I read, (page21), Louis described how if felt when he was turned into a vampire:

“ I saw nothing but the light when I drew blood. Then the next thing was sound. A dull roar at first and then a pounding, like the pounding of a drum, growing louder and louder, as if a enormous creature were coming up one slowly through a dark and alien forest, pounding as he came, a huge drum.

Louis was describing the transformation from human to vampire. This is also where Lestat, become the focus point and dominant person in Louis life. The way that the author describes the making of Louis is that he was reborn. As I continued to read the story I see that Louis was just an impressionable man, but as the book goes not he finally became a man, but learned to think for himself. The main character Louis, seems to have experienced a lot as a child and that is another reason I choose this book to write an alternate ending because it gives off a different side of the story that hasn't been told and it comes from your own imagination.

My alternate ending was about the Boy waking up and realizing that he was, by mistake turned into a vampire by Louis when Louis attacked him. On this realization, he finds out that Louis is going to look for Armand back in Europe and the Boy plans to find him to get answers. When he gets to the ship deck, he meets a guy named Timmiy and they talk and 'befriend' each other. Once in a room together and alone, they Boy kills Timmiy for his one-way ticket to Britain and gets on the ship waiting for the journey ahead of him.

What I tried to accomplish with this creative project to utilized my writing skills yet show that there are different ways that a story can be told just using your imagination in a way that would make sense and connect to the story instead of having something that doesn't fit in and makes no sense what so ever. Making a alternate ending for the story was a very good idea for me because I got to have my saying in how the story goes and show off some of my reactivity and writing skills.

Even though I believe I did a really good job, I am concerned with the length of my alternate ending. My alternate ending is only about a page long. My alternate ending is a page long because I don't want to go into another dramatic scene. I want to go into a “spot” where it leaves the reader hanging and wanting to go buy the next book in the series instead of telling what happens like the Boy going to Europe and finds Louis and lives happily ever after. I feel that it doesn't seem right to end off a book like that when you want to have another book after it. One good example of this is the famous Harry Potter Series. I am a fan of Harry Potter. At the end of book 1, the Chamber of Secrets, they didn't end the book with Harry, Hermione, and Ron finally killing Voldemort. They didn't do this because they wanted to keep selling books and more sequels than just that first book, so they ended with him as usual going back home for the summer to the Dursley's and until the next adventure (book) farewell. I feel that the Harry Potter series was a perfect example of what I am trying to point out. So I am concerned yet satisfied with the length of my alternate ending.

Even though I am concerned with the paper, I also enjoyed righting my paper and using my creativity to come up with something that fits the story boundaries and is somewhat enjoyable to read. The best part of doing the alternate ending was the brainstorming part and putting piece by piece together. When I first started my alternate ending, I got out a piece of paper and started brainstorming. After coming up with a plausible ending, I went to type. I like my story because it gives an insight on what could have happened if he, the Boy, actually woke up and realized that he was a vampire and set off to find Louis for answers to his many probing questions. I believe that my plot for my ending was well thought out because I took about a week or so working on my actual plot before typing anything on the computer. I thought of many ways it could go. I could have the Boy be turned into a vampire by accident and have Louis and Lestat fighting then the Boy jumps in and helps Lestat because Louis hated him, or that The Boy went looking for Lestat and begged Lestat to turn him into a vampire then have Lestat acting like he was and kill the Boy for his own usage of blood supply. However, I decided to go with my 3^rd choice of the Boy becoming a vampire going on a European journey in hopes of finding Louis so the Boy would have a immortal companionship like the relationship Lestat and Louis once shared.

I decided to do “Interview with a Vampire” by Anne Rice instead of the other books we read because “Interview with a Vampire” seemed like the fun one to do, having the drama that happens in the story, the traveling and the interviewing that is happening throughout the story and the overall plot of the story. I also chose this book because this was the book that I was less familiar with other than the novel we read called “Carmilla”. This book creates a picture in my mind that a two people are in a dark room, one with the usual reporter outfit with paper, a pen or pencil with the tape recording somewhere near and a odd, creepy looking vampire speaking softly sitting in a chair telling his story in a dim lit room. To me, a story can easily be told by the settings of the story.

Alternate ending Part 1

Alternate ending

Starting in the middle of Page 339

Opening his eyes, he feels a weird yet cool sweep over him as he glared into the sun. He takes a moment to wipe off his head yet he notices that his hand is sparkling like diamonds. For a moment, he lays there dazed and confused. Louis said that he wasn't going to be turned into a vampire but here is his own skin gleaming in the light. Quickly, he stands on his feet and close the dusty, torn curtain to block the light's view inside.

          He stood and thought. Why did his skin glimmer, where is Louis and how do I find him. Finally, he places his mouth on his teeth and feel the sharpness of his canines. Realizing what he was, he immediately goes to go his tape recorder that he left on after that violent attack. Replaying the recording, he hears mumbles barely able to tell apart.

          “Need to find...Armand...Europe....Maybe in Theatre des Vampires.”

          Louis! The first person he needs to talk to about becoming a vampire. Maybe them two can pair up together and rule the world. Wait, no that can't happen. The first thing I need to do is contact Louis and get in touch with him, the Boy thought.

          “Well, looks like I'm going to the Theatre des Vampires!” the boy announced as if he were in front of an audience.

          Scribbling down this address, he tries to find a coat or something for cover. In the cupboards of the building, he finds a long coat and a cowboy hat. With this, he is off into the daytime, on his way to the ship deck and to get something to eat because his stomach was rumbling really bad.

          On his way to the ship deck, he stops at a McDonald's and orders himself a hamburger. Eating this hamburger however didn't fill his need for food.

          Parking his car on the side of the road, he sits there and think. What do I need? Why am I so hungry?...

          Finally, he pulls off and heads to the ship deck with an idea in mind.

          “Excuse me, but when is the next ship leaving to England” The boy asked a man in line waiting for a one-way ticket to Britain.

          “Umm... in about an hour or two, but I'm getting my tickets now so i'll be able rest and get a good seat” said the man who's name was Timmiy.

          They both talked yet, the Boy didn't get his ticket. Once in a final room, together and alone they sit on the bed and talked fifteen minutes before the ship leaves.

          “Aren't you going to get your ticket because by the looks of it, they are almost already sold out? ” asked Timmiy

          “Don't need one...because you have it” the boy said finally taking off his hat and revealing himself.

          Quickly, the Boy attacked Timmiy using the same techniques as Louis used on him. The quenching thirst and hunger suddenly ended when the blood was finally wiped off of his face.

          Coming out with his ticket in hand, overstuffed, and having back on his hat, he gave his ticket and got on the boat to find a good spot.

          “Next stop, Britain” the Boy mumbled under his breath as he stood and looked over the blue horizon only to see a challenge coming ahead of him.

My Final Project

I have decided that because of the time that I was given, doing a alternate ending or a facebook page, I have decided to drop the facebook page and would rather focus more into the alternate ending that I will post tomorrow.  The reason I dropped the facebook page was because I was clueless on what to add on a facebook page (because I am never on it) so I decided to drop it, sorry for late notice.

Sharon

My reflection on the Semester

 For my last blog, I am going to talk about the course overall, how I felt about using this course via blogger instead of the original and regular D2L site. I will also talk about my three favorite novels throughout this course. This course has changed the way I thought about normal and common simple stories such as Dracula, Interview with a vampire, and the novel of I am Legend.

This is my first course using blogger. My previous knowledge of blogger was at its minimum point because the only way I knew blogger existed was because of advertisements that I would get on my Yahoo Mail account. However, this course has shown me the basics of using blogger and now my resources have been risen because now I actually took the time to figure out how exactly everything worked on blogger. I think that this course is better because personally, I don't like the D2L. Yet, I like how this class took a different perspective on how to complete work using different resources that are available.

During our course, we have read many novels including: Dracula, Interview with a “vampire” “Carmilla”, “I am Legend” and many more. However, my favorite book of this course was “Interview with a vampire” by Anne Rice. I picked this book out of all the novels that we have read in this course because I like the story that came along with the story. “The Boy” is giving an interview to a vampire named “Louis” who has a heck of a story to tell. I say that I liked the format because it's in a interview form and yet not. It is also very organized and has a well thought out plot that makes it a really good book. The stunning surprise at the end made me like the story because I never thought that “The Boy” would go out looking to be turned into a vampire. I like stories that through you off, and you did not see what was coming. I was shock by the end.

My second favorite book was the novel “I am Legend” by Richard Matheson. I like this novel because it gives off a story that has a meaning behind it. Once you break it down into parts, it doesn't really talk about vampires invading the man named Neville but keeping him pure. Deciphering this story , it tells that this story really isn't about vampires. Its about discrimination about people being impure and at this time (1800's) it would most likely be African Americans and this story would be a good usage of propaganda towards abolitionist during that time. This book has also take me how people view people of color. “I am Legend” is one of those stories that make you truly describes the author views. Mr. Richard Matheson keep the audience interested.

My third favorite book was “Carmilla.” I like “Carmilla” because of this stories creepiness. One thing that this story has is suspense and I like suspense because it keeps you guessing until the very end and usually has a dramatic end. In this story, they finally kill off Carmilla, yet the make it very dramatic. To kill her, they staked her, burned her, etc. just to kill her and to make sure that she doesn't come back alive.

Overall, this was a really fun class and course to take. I enjoyed this course a lot because I didn't have to go on the D2L site every time I wanted to do some homework or to check something simple as the professor's email address. This was my first experience using blogger and I am proud to say that I have learned something new from this course. One thing that I learned in this course is to analyze things that may seem certain yet has a certain meaning to it. Literature in my eyes have changed and that is why I liked this class so much. I think that I have really learned a lot of things to assist me in my journey in being a writer.

Let the right one in : the ending

 For this blog, I am going to talk about the Novel “Let the right one in” by ending part of the story. This weeks assignment was to read the rest of the novel and to read the essay “Childhood's End: Let the Right One in and Other Deaths of Innocence” by John Calhoun. First, I am going to have a review of the story, the ending part of the story, then collaborating on the Essay “Childhood's End: Let the Right One in and Other Deaths of Innocence”.

This story is about a twelve year old boy named Oskar who is constantly bullied.

“Pi-ggy?”

He had put his hand up in class, a declaration of existence, a claim that he knew something. And that was forbidden to him. They could give a number of reasons for why they had to torment him; he was too fat, too ugly, too disgusting. But the real problem was simply that he existed, and every reminder of his existence was a crime.

They were probably going to “baptize” him. Shove his head into the toilet bowl and flush. Regardless of what they invented, it was always such a relieve when it was over. So why couldn't he just pull back the lock, that was in any case going to tear off the hinges at any moment, and let them have their fun?

...And Oskar squealed like a pig. That was part of it. If he squealed they would sometimes leave it at that. He put extra effort into it this time, afraid they would otherwise force his hand out of this pants in the process if punishing him and uncover his disgusting secret.” page 10-11

Oskar in the process, meets a girl named Eli who seems like a strange 5 year old girl to Oskar and turns out to be a nearly 200-year old Vampire who has a “assistant” named Hakan. Hakan is a 45 year old man who does Eli's deeds by killing people for blood and things of that sort in exchange for money. The problem with Hakan is that he is a pedophile and wants to get intimate with Eli in exchange for deeds without pay.

Last week, we read parts one and two and now we have finished the book. In the rest of the story. Hakan once again fails to return blood and has gave himself up to be eaten by Eli,-as as we now know who was a boy but switched to a girl, only to become a vampire himself. Oskar and Eli become more close and finally share their first kiss together only having Oskar to become “Hazed” by this kiss. Hakan gets killed and Eli helps Oskar from drowning by his bullies, kills his bullies and Eli and Oskar run away and live happily ever after.

At the end of the novel, the police officer investigating the murder of two boys and the disappearance of another boys describes Eli as “an angel, yet hardly one from heaven”. I believe that Eli is an angel in its own category. Eli has helped Oskar get out of this life that consists of bullying, name calling, etc. yet the way of solution is killing somebody. Even though she has done good she has done bad which gives here a name of “an angel” yet “hardly one from heaven. I would describe Eli as a helpful, and “Gothic” type person. I say “Gothic” because she gives off the hint of not wanting to be bothered during the day but I think that this is because she is a vampire and has to sleep through the day. Yet when wanted, Eli can be a very cool and exotic “young” girl.

Let the right one in

            For this blog, I am going to talk about the Novel “Let the right one in” by John Ajvide Lindqvist. This blog, we read pages part one and two of the novel. I will talk about the author John Ajvide Lindqvist, what happens so far in the story and my predictions of what is going to happen in the future/latter part of the novel.

            John Ajvide Lindqvist was born December 2^nd, 1968 in Blackeberg. John Lindqvist is a Swedish writer. He wrote his first story called “Let the right one in” which is actually the book that we are reading right now. He has wrote many horror novels and short stories. John writes most of his books in Swedish and is currently forty two years old and on December 2^nd, he will be forty three years old.

            The novel “Let the right one in” is about a 12 year old boy named Oskar. Oskar has been bullied to death by his fellow classmates. Two good examples are 1) when the policeman came:

“Oskar's chest felt like it was about to burst. He knew the answer to the question. It hurt him not to say anything when he knew. He wanted the policeman to look at him. Look at him and tell him he was right. He knew it was a dumb thing to do, but he still put his hand up

“Yes?” “It's heroin, isn't it?” “In fact it is.” The policeman looked kindly at him. “How did you know?”

Heads turned in his direction curious as to what he was going to say. The policeman nodded.

...Oskar didn't feel the need to say anything else. He had been looked at and spoken to. Had even been able to tell the cop he read a lot. That was more than he had hoped for.

He let himself sink into a daydream. How the policeman came up to him after class and was interested in him, sat down next to him. Then he would tell him everything. And the policeman would understand. He would stroke his hair and tell him he was alright; would hold him and say...

“**cking snitch” Jonny Forsberg drove a hard finger into his side.” pg. 8

            This shows that Oskar likes attention most likely and because 2) he has serious problems with embarrassment. A prime example of this is:

“Yup, he had pissed in his pants again. He rinsed it under that tap, squeezing out as much water as possible.

Incontinence. That was what it as called. He had read about it in a pamphlet that he had sneaked from the drugstore. Mostly something old women suffered from. And me

There were prescriptions medicines you could get, it said in the pamphlet, but he did not intend to use his allowance so he could humiliate himself at the prescription counter. And he would definitely not tell his mother; she would fell so sorry for him it would make him sick. He had the Pissball and it worked for him.” pg. 9

           Oskar's life is pretty messed up once we get deeper into the story. Haken is a different story. Haken is a pedophile which to me is disgusting. He takes care of a 200-year old in a kids body vampire who Oskar befriends with. To get Eli blood, he looks and searches for people who are physically active yet older adults in exchange for money. Haken is very “into” Eli. Unlike Eli, Haken is a human being, yet plans to become a vampire when he dies. Eli and Oskar start to become really close after Oskar finds out that she is a vampire.  I predict that Eli and Oskar are going to become enemies because they have a strong friendship that seems like if it takes a wrong turn things will go bad really fast.

Final project proposal

For my final project, I am going create a face book page for the Story of "Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice.  This face book page will consist of characters, places, etc. from this novel , I am also going to create an alternate ending for the novel.

Echoes of Dracula Literary Criticism

Dr. Kathy Davis Patterson Essay, The Echoes of Dracula, describes how society view the difference in other nationalities of people. Dr. Patterson opens her essay with one of the most ground breaking cases in American History, Brown vs. Board of Education, hitting segregation at its core. Dr. Kathy Davis Patterson discusses the link between vampires and radicalized constructions of monstrosity which, n since the beginning of time that racial inequality has made it way in American history. Dr. Patterson's essay.

In Patterson's essay, she talks about the novel “I am Legend”, connects that to the descriptions of the vampiric people to segregation and discrimination. Discrimination is one thing that has been in our society both in the United States and around the world dating back thousands of years with the example of the egyptians,etc. To the commonly known Holocaust of the Jews during World War II. Discrimination means, according to dictionary:

1.) an act or instance of discriminating.

2. treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

Discrimination is one thing that most likely will never leave because everyone is going to not like something whether it is a type of group of people or something so simple as a group of food. Some people don't like things or objects and may never will which under certain circumstances could include a certain type of racial group of color.

The story of “I am Legend” is about a man name Richard Neville. As stated in Patterson's essay:

“Neville’s race is established very early and very directly as Caucasian. Matheson describes him as “a tall man, thirty-six, born of English-German stock,” complete with bright blue eyes (14).

Both Neville’s body and his house are under constant threat, watched by vampires who seek any means of access. Violence is one potential route, as witnessed by the amount of time Neville spends stringing garlic, replacing boards, and repairing the damage vampires inflict on the house at night. The most dangerously effective strategy, however, is sex. Female vampires can rouse Neville’s lust with ease, and he agonizes with the knowledge that “The women were out there, their dresses open or taken off, their flesh waiting for his touch, their lips waiting for – My blood, my blood!””.

Neville is an only known survivor in a post-atomic war and the people who got infected with the bombs became the living dead. They became blood-sucking nocturnal animals that thirsted for Neville's blood. During his survival, many things happened. For example, time during the story, he left his garage door open while visiting his wife's grave.

“Once Virginia is truly dead, Neville places her body in a casket and locks the casket in a marble crypt to which only he has access. When he discovers the crypt’s iron door ajar, his fears are vividly expressed: “If they’ve been at her, I’ll burn down the city … I swear to God, I’ll burn it to the ground if they’ve touched her” (36). Neville’s dread of vampire/minority incursions and his obsession with the continued purity of Virginia’s body drives him to emotional extremes. Although her casket remains intact, he violently expels the body of a male vampire who sought shelter within the crypt.”

When he arrived home, it was to late. He was attacked yet he made it in his house boarded up and alive. He then started to wonder exactly how do these nocturnal creatures work and during this time, he made certain experiments to how this biochemical hazard started in the first place. At the end of the novel, Neville gives himself up and gives into the vampiric creatures finally ending with the statement, “I am Legend”. Then the novel ends with a series of excellent mini-stories.

Segregation is firmly stated in this essay. One example, is the Brown vs. Board of Education cases that opened up a series of multiple cases against segregation on all levels. During these Brown vs. Board of Education, a book was in the workings and finally came out in 1954. Another segregation example in this essay is at the beginning where Patterson talked about European English Jews stepping on English soil.

This paragraph states that during a meeting in the novel “I am Legend” they described these “...into a black unholy animal” as a way to describe these persons infected by this biochemical bomb. I believe that when they say “black unholy animals”, I think that they are talking about darkness and not necessarily their skin color. Black is the usual color when connecting to darkness. One thing to back me up on this is that while this was being said, a preacher was talking and the word after “black” is “unholy”.

“Reflecting on the plague that caused vampirism, Neville recalls the Black Plague and thinks to himself that “Something black and of the night had come crawling out of the Middle Ages” (28). At a moment of intense frustration during a hangover, his hatred of the vampires surfaces and he despairs: “It was no use; they’d beaten him, the black bastards had beaten him” (35). When the plague first began to spread and people began to panic, Neville recalls being dragged into a revival meeting where the preacher exhorted his audience: “Do you want to be changed into a black unholy animal?” (113) Perhaps the most telling expression of the vampire as an Africanist presence in the novel occurs during one of Neville’s alcohol-induced mental ramblings. His raw sarcasm is worth quoting at length”

Overall, Dr. kathy Patterson's essay is definitely and eye opener. I think that Dr. Patterson take on the book is dead on the spot. The story of “I am Legend” is just one of the many books that depict how people of color are looked at and treated for being different, but is that truly the reason? My take is that people with this state of mind is just afraid of what is different. I think that the author, Richard Matheson is definitely an intelligent man, but is very closed minded. Matherson's book, “ I am Legend” is just what Dr. Patterson stated in her essay “a the rambles of a very disturbed man. One thing I can say is that society has came a long way from this kind of thinking, the fact that there is a movie of this book, “I am legend” which a black man plays the staring role, shows the society is changed in so many ways.

Interview with a Vampire part two

Hello and Good evening,

For this week's blog, I am going to talk about the latter part of the novel “Interview with a Vampire” by Anna Rice and the essay “Anne Rice and the Queering of Culture” By:  George Haggerty.  This blog assignment was to finish the novel and to read this essay and analyze it while answering a series of questions.

    My favorite part of the book was the ending.  The ending concluded that the vampire did not succeed to prove his point of being a vampire because of the reactions of the boy asking to change him into a vampire.  To me, the best part is at the ending after he wakes up from being bitten by this vampire named “Louis”:

    “When he heard the vampire's voice, he leaned forward, listening very carefully, then hit the button again for another place and, hearing that, still another.  But then at last his face brightened, as the reels turned and the voice spoke in an even modulated tone: “It was a very warm evening, and I could tell as soon as I saw him on St. Charles that he had someplace to go...”
    And quickly the boy noted:
    “Lestat...off St, Charles Avenue.  Old house crumbling...shabby neighborhood.  Look for rusted railings.”
    And then, stuffing the notebook quickly in his pocket, he gathered the tapes into his briefcase, along with the small recorder, and hurried down the long hallway and down the stairs to the street, where in front of the corner bar his car was parked.” pg.340

    This part of the book was the ending of the story where The “Boy” leaves to find Lestat most likely with the objective of being turned into a vampire himself so he can experience the supernatural powers and immortality that a vampire has.

    If I was the “Boy” interviewing “Louis”, the vampire, I would have a different reaction to what happened in the actual story.  I would go with the different path because I believe that eternal damnation is worser than immortality.  Immortality is never actually certain because there are many ways that vampires can be killed and once you are killed, you are not going to heaven.  So a question I would pose is do you think that the pros over come the cons or the cons over come the pros.
   

George's Haggerty essay talks about how the novel “Interview with a vampire” and about anne rice and one main topic in George Haggerty's Essay: “Anne Rice and the Queering of Culture” goes on is Homosexuality.  Homosexuality is, according to Haggerty, is present all through the book:

    “Rice may well be tapping the Vampiric past in her delightfully lurid tales, but she is also tantalizing the homophobic present with her sleek and sultry undead.  It strikes me that the homoerotic of Rice's vampires are at least as culturally telling as anything that happens in Byron, or LeFanu, or even Stoker.  Rice makes her vampires homoerotic bonds that surface everywhere in Rice's Vampire Chronicles function as part on the self-consuming culture that has produced them.  For Auerbach, “Rice's infraction of the final Stoker-instigated taboo brings a special electricity to Interview with a Vampire, giving its predators a glamour more socially engaged vampires lack” (154).  Glamour is part of what Rice's gorgeous creatures and late-twentieth-century cultural conservatism.  To understand this relationship we need to answer several questions...”

    Saying this, George Haggerty point of view is saying that through Anne Rice's Vampire books, a series of homophobic showings that are presented in this novel and in particular, the book we just finished reading, “Interview with a Vampire.” 
   

Interview with a Vampire = a GOOD book

Hello,

For this blog, I will be talking about the newest novel that we are reading called “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice and about Anne rice's life. Reading this book, will give a different perspective of vampires as it did from the last novel we read named “I am Legend” by Richard Matterson. Richard Matterson focused his vampiric beliefs more from biological reasons instead of supernatural yet in this story, we are looking into the superstitions of vampires instead of Richard Matterson's point of view.

Howard Allen O'Brien was born on October 4^th, 1941. She became known as “Anne” when she enter a Catholic school. In 1958, her family moved to Richardson, Texas from New Orleans, Louisiana. Anne attended Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas and later going on to Texas State College finally graduating at San Francisco State University. Anne's first job was an insurance claims examiner in San Francisco, California. After returning to Denton, she married Stan Rice. Anne Rice had 2 children, Michele Rice and Christopher rice only losing Michele to leukemia before her fifth birthday.

Anne rice moved back the New Orleans in 1989 and owned lots of properties. As achieving as this may be, Anne Rice has written over 28 different novel's including the one that we are reading right now called “Interview with a Vampire”. “Interview with a Vampire” is about a Vampire who talks about his life to a reporter. This vampire named “Louis” has two-hundred years worth of information.

“Louis” and “The Boy” Go on about a series of events between “Louis” and his immortal companion named “Letat. For example:

“Over and over I dreamed that he was at the head of the steps and I was holding his arm, talking kindly to him, urging him back into the bedroom, telling him to gently that I did believe him, that he must pray for me to have faith. Meantime, the slaves on Pointe du Lac (that was my plantation) had begun to talk of seeing his ghost on the gallery, and the overseer couldn't keep order. People in society asked my sister offensive questions about the whole incident, and she became an hysteric. She wasn't really an hysteric. She simply thought she ought to react that way, so she did. I drank all the time and was at home as little as possible. I lived like a man who wanted to die but who had no courage to do it himself. I walked black streets and alleys alone; I passed out in Cabarets. I backed out of two duels more from apathy than cowerdice and truly wished to be murdered. And then I was attacked. It might have been anyone-and invitation was open to sailors, thieves, maniacs, anyone. But it was a vampire. He caught me just a few steps from my door one night and left me for dead, or so I thought.” pg. 11

The “he” is referring to Letat. Letat is an “Old World Vampire, looking for a companionship and he spots “Louis” and turns him into a vampire to make him his immortal companionships. Their relationship is a roller-coaster to where it gets out of control where he parts with Claudia. Claudia is a 5 year old human who was “Louis” food. Claudia was dying from a fever and Letat made Claudia a vampire so they could have a Vampire “daughter”. Claudia and Louis then venture onto Europe looking for more vampires like them. During their ventures, they come across Letat who they attempted to murder before leaving New Orleans to come to Europe.

Question

This is a quick question that I thought of on the book "I am Legend",  If us humans were to be 'Legends' then were would all this evidence go?  This video is showing people doing amazing things, so how would all this evidence be gone?  This is saying that if this happened in modern time not the time this story was suppose to be meant in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0Cazxj_yc

I am Legend PART TWO

Hello,

For today, this blog will be about the second part on the story “I am Legend” by Richard Matheson and answering the question of when Neville ends the novel by saying, “I am Legend” what did he mean. This week we finished the story “I am Legend” from page 183. This book was a very good one and it touched on a subject that I didn't notice before.

From page 184 to the end of the book was very good as I intended it to be. As my predictions said that they were most likely these blood-hungry creatures did end up getting Richard and at the end of the book he did die. One character during this book was that I was actually interested in was actually not Neville himself, but this mysterious women that seems to be a 'survivor'. Her name is Ruth. It turns out she is a creature yet can contain herself and keep herself out for some time during daylight hours.

The 'topic' that overalled this book was the saying of “I am Legend”. At the end of this story it stated.

“Robert Neville looked out over the new people of the earth. He knew he did not belong to them; he knew that, like the vampires, he was anathema and black terror to be destroyed. And abruptly, the concept came, amusing to him even in his pain.

A coughing chuckle filled his throat. He turned and leaned against the wall while he swallowed the pills. Full circle, he thought while the final lethargy crept into his limbs. Full circle. Anew terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am Legend.” (pg.170)

This was on the last part of I am Legend. When he says “I am Legend”, I think that he means that how in modern world we thought that vampires, big-foots, etc. were legends that people tell their grandchildren and things of that sort. It was the other way around and that non-infected humans were legend because now these infected humans could tell their grandchildren “legends” of people who were different and weren't infected and maybe weren't infected by crosses, who used to eat onions and things of that sort.

After the story, “I am Legend”, the book “I am Legend” went on to different short stories wrote by Richard Matheson that were really great. One story that I liked was the short story called buried talent. This fat guy is the owner of a ping-pong carnival game and this mysterious man comes in and pays his quarter and get his three ping-pong balls and makes every shot. During these shots, this man seems to get weaker and weaker which includes sweating, tiring, etc. This comes to a point where the owner tells the guy that he has to leave the carnival game. I believe that this is saying that when people don't do good, then they do not get rewarded. By me saying this, I am meaning that this fat guy had prizes that were mostly for 'display' only. I am not sure who this mysterious guy was suppose to be because it seems that he is draining out this fat guys life with every shot this person makes. If I would have to take a good shot at it, I would say this person would have been death, yet I have my doubts.

Overall, This book was very good and I enjoyed this one with the point of view. The movie of “I am legend” was good yet you could say the 'base' of the story was plotted yet seriously plotted as “ it went this way in the book, so that is how we are going to do that in the movie”.

I am Legend

Hello,

For this blog, I will be talking about the novel “I am Legend” By Richard Matheson. “I am Legend” is about a man named Robert Neville who lives in a world full of bloodthirsty creatures who only come out at night. He hopes that he is not the only surviver and tries to find more uninfected people. To start off this blog, I am going to talk about the author, Richard Matheson, what happened so far up to page 183, then go on about how the previous books we read were from supernatural points of view, yet in this story, it is more biological then supernatural.

Richard Matheson was born in New Jersey on February, 20, 1926 and is still living. Richard is of Norwegian decent and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943. He went into the military and was in World War II. After the war ended, in 1949 he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Richard Matheson got married to Ruth Ann Woodson in 1952 and has four children.

Richard Matheson made his first short story in 1950 named “Born of Man and Woman”. This story is about a child being beaten and neglected and finally taking up for himself. Richard Matheson published his first novel in 1953 called “Someone is Bleeding”. Richard Matheson also wrote several scripts for the hit TV show “The Twilight Zone”.

During the beginning of the book, we get a basic overview of Richard Neville's day. Working, eating, whatever else, then sleeping, during the night. During these pages, a multitude of things happen. Richard is planning on soundproofing his house from these nocturnal creatures, growing of the garlic, etc. This all seems to go well until he goes to his wife's (virginia) burial ground and after visiting her crypt, realizes that it is only three o'clock in the afternoon, yet he soon realizes that his watch is actually broken and that he left the garage door open. When he gets home he arrives to an angry mob of bloodsucking creatures waiting for him and he manages to beat them off and safely gets back into his house. After time passes, he gets his house back in order.

During the reading pages, One question that he had on his mind was the effects of certain things to these vampires. One good example is that Richard was wondering why does garlic, sunlight, and crosses effect zombies and why do you have to stake them in the heart to kill them. He conducted many experiments on how this works and is still baffled.

In the previous stories, Vampires were more magical and supernatural. Yet, in this story, these creatures developed from bombings that happened. Richard's wife and kids became infected and now Richard lives alone. During the story, they say that the United States have won the war yet his family thinks that the United States haven't won the war, the insects have. Insects were carrying diseases from the dust that was in the air and were infecting people with contagious diseases.

Overall, this part of the book is very good and I am ready to write my next blog about the ending of this book. This book is also very unpredictable. It does not give off as much foreshadowing so you would have an idea of what is going to happen next and that is what I like about the book so far. This book is not like any book that I have heard of before because when I think of vampires, I think of Legends, yet in this book this “new age” is kind of taking over and I believe that they are going to eventually get Richard.  

Dracula part two

Hello

For the past two weeks, we have been reading the book “Dracula” and for this blog, I'm going to talk about the book “Dracula”, and the author of the book Bram Stoker.  Dracula is a very good book and it is very recommendable.

The author of “Dracula” is Bram Stoker. Abraham “Bram” Stoker was born November

8, 1847. He was born in Ireland, Dublin to be exact. During his childhood years, Bram was a very sick child and during his sickness his mother would tell him stories which could have influenced his latter writings. In 1864, Abraham “Bram” Stoker enrolled in Trinity College: Dublin. Stoker got married to Florence Balcombe in 1878. His first book was “The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland” and was published in 1879, the same year that he had one son named Noel. Stoker wrote eighteen books. He died in 1912 at the age of 64.

“Dracula” was a very good book. Even though I basically understood what happens in “Dracula” by logical sense. Yet when you read the novel you go into further details which is why I like the book. Further details include the three women that were hunting humans like Dracula were, that, one setting scene in story actually took place in an asylum, etc.

“Fear for me! Why fear for me? None safer in all the world from them than I am,'

and as I wondered at the meaning of her words, a puff of wind made the flame leap up, and I see the red scar on her forehead. Then, alas! I knew. Did I not, I would soon have learned, for the wheeling figures of mist and snow came closer, but keeping ever without the Holy circle. Then they began to materialize, till-if God have not take away my reason, for I saw it through my eyes-there were before me in actual flesh the same three women that Jonathan saw in round forms, the bright hard eyes, the white teeth, the ruddy colour the voluptuous lips. They smiled ever at poor dear Madam Mina; and as their laugh came through the silence of the night, they twined their arms and pointed at her and said in those so sweet tingling tones that Jonathan said were of the intolerable sweetness of the water-glasses:-

Come, sister, Come to us. Come! Come!' In fear I turned to my poor Madam Mina, and my heart with gladness leapt like flame; for oh! The terror in her sweet eyes, the repulsion, the horror, told a story to my heart that was all of hope. God be thanked she was not, yet, of them. I seized some of the firewood which was by me, and holding out some of the Wafer, advanced on them towards the fire. They drew back before me, and laughed their low horrid laugh. I fed the fire, and feared them not; for I knew that we were safe within our protections. They could not approach me, whilst so armed, nor Madam Mina whilst she remained within the ring, which she could not leave no more than they could enter. The horses had ceased to moan, and lay still on the ground; the snow fell on them softly, and they grew whiter. I knew that there was for the poor beasts no more terror.” pg.-317 chap.-XXVII

This is my favorite segment of the book because it shows how these ladies who are trying to get to this man but can't because of the kind of protection the man has around him and Madam Mina. These paragraphs also have lots of descriptive language because you can actually imagine this happening. When I read this, I imagine a big fire, dead horses, three woman trying to get to this man that are making small sounds of laughter, a sick woman inside a ring, etc., and this is why I love this book!

Dracula part one

 Hello,

Reading Dracula was very interesting. People usually know the story of Dracula where Dracula kills people then Dracula gets killed. Yet in this novel “Dracula By: Bram Stroker”, it goes into deeper detail than we would usually know. For this blog, I am going to talk about what has happened so far in this story.

During the beginning of this book, Jonathan Harker goes to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula where he can close off a deal of selling an estate in London. As he takes several nots for his fiancee, Mina Murray, he encounters strange things. The innkeeper's wife at the hotel that Jonathan is staying in gives him a crucifix that goes around his neck:

“Just before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a very hysterical way.

'Must you go? Oh! Young Herr, must you go?' She was in stuck an excited state that she seemed to have lost her grip of what German she knew, and mixed it all up with some other language which I did not know it all. I was just able to follow by asking many questions. When I told her that I must go at once, and that I was engaged on important business, she asked again:

'Do you know what day it is?' I answered that it was the fourth of May. She shook her head as she said again:

'Oh yes! I know that, I know that! But do you know what day it is?' On my saying that I did not understand, she went on:

'It is the eve of St George's Day. Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?' - pg. 12

This old woman is trying to say that everything that is evil is going to have its full power. After this quote it say that the old lady begged on her knees for him to wait his journey out and start in a few days.  This quote gives of some forshawdoing by saying Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?'.  It says that something is going to happen and that where he's going my not be the smartest idea.  Yet when business is done then it needs to be done and yet he continued on his journey to Count Dracula's residence.

When he arrives at the castle, he has dinner with Count Dracula and talks about various topics like the evil spirits that are in Transylvania. The next day, Jonathan notices that there are yet no mirrors in this castle and shaves with a pocket-mirror', when Dracula comes to join him however, Jonathan realizes that Dracula is not seen in the mirror and Dracula throws out the mirror. During that same day, Dracula warned him that he mustn't sleep in any other chamber than his own, yet despite his warnings, one night Jonathan goes out and falls asleep in another chamber he is awakes and sees three women and Dracula burst in.

“When I was in my room and about to lie down, I thought I heard a whispering at my door. I went to it softly and listened. Unless my ears deceived me, I heard the voice of the Count:-

'Back,back, to you own place! You time is not yet come. Wait. Have patience. Tomorrow night, tomorrow night, is yours! There was a low, sweet ripple of laughter, and in a rage I threw open the door and saw without the three terrible women licking their lips. As I appeared they all joined in a horrible laugh, and ran away.

I came back to my room and threw myself on my knees. It is then so near the end? Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Lord, help me, and those to whom I am dear.” - pg. 52

At this point in the book, Lucy has died. I think that Lucy has become one of Dracula's victims, and Mina finally gets a notice of her death. Jonathan has suspicions of who did it yet falls into a deep sleep and seems to forget what happens. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Carmilla Part 2

Good Evening everyone,

This book was very good. This book “Carmilla” was very interesting to read because this is one of my first vampire novels to actually breakdown and read one fully instead of skimming the back and putting it back on the bookshelf. “Carmilla” was new to me because I now the basic things about vampires like garlic, sun-light, being immortal, etc., but “Carmilla actually went into further details than usual stories about vampires. For this blog, I am going to talk about the essay “The Vampire in the House: Hysteria, Female Sexuality, and Female Knowledge in Le fanu's 'Carmilla.” By Tamar Heller. Then go on about the book.

The essay “The Vampire in the House” is was a very 'intriguing' piece of writing to read. To start off, I would say that this essay was very hard to read because I could barely follow it. Yet when you catch on to what they are talking about then you understand what they are talking about. For example:

“One may ask, of course, whether a genteel young Victorian girl could have recognized homoeroticism if she had seen it. (Queen Victoria, after all, reportedly refused to believe that such a thing existed.) “Carmilla” still predates the emergence of a clearly defined category of lesbianism by several decades. Nonetheless, it is worth remembering, as Sara Putzell-Korab reminds us, that, even in the presumed heyday of the “female world of love and ritual,” there was some anxiety about close relationships between young women. This anxiety sprang from a fear, even if as yet only partially articulated, of the sexual implications of suck friendships, while also belying a wariness about the formation of emotional bonds that might hinder a girl's entry into the world of heterosexuality (Putzell-Korab 180-85”

“Such an attempt to be a detective – as the apparently passive heroines of female Gothic try to do-threatens to decenter the authority of male medical detectives. Laura's attempt at detection is most visible in the comment where she wonders whether Carmilla is a boyish lover, but an even more revealing moment where her desire to know wars with her desire to cover up is a perplexed comment on her “trembling” response to Carmilla's “hot kisses”: “Are we related? What do you mean by all this? I remind you perhaps of some one whom you love; it you must not, I hate it; I don't know you-I don't know myself when you look and talk so (292).

These two examples are telling about the story Carmilla in the relations to lesbianism. One strong point in this novel is lesbianism. Carmilla and Laura in this story seem to have a “connection” and Laura thinks that she might be in love with Carmilla yet, it turns out that Carmilla is actually a vampire and was drinking/sucking Laura's blood almost every night hence the drained feeling of Laura in the morning and to Carmilla, Laura was just another person that she could victimize.

In the ending of this book is very good. At the end, 'Carmilla' now known as 'Mircalla' has finally 'died'. This book overall would be a 9 out of 10 because of the ;dfakdalfd in this novel This book overall would be a 9 out of 10 because of the foreshadowing in this novel. During the book, the novel gave off that something was going to happen and that something was wrong with Carmilla because of her unusual habits like sleeping most hours of the day, etc.

--Sharon

Hello,

For this blog, I will be talking about the book “Carmilla” from pages 1 to 292. This book is very interesting as we get into the theory of vampires. As to summarize the book, the book is about a girl named Laura who lives in this castle in a very dense forest. Laura becomes very lonely because she has nobody to talk to except for passing people and her governess. One day, a woman arrives named Carmilla. Laura seems to be very attracted to Carmilla. Laura ends up getting sick and it turns out that Carmilla is actually a woman named Mircalla and was a vampire so they went to Mircallas's grave and basically did everything they could do to make sure Carmilla wasn't coming back which includes cremation, staking and decapitated. This book is very good and gets a 9 rating out of a 1 – 10 rating.

To start off this blog I would like to go into detail about the author of this book which is Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was born in Dublin to a very wealthy family. Joseph Sheridan started off writing poems during his childhood years and went to Trinity College and studied law and graduated in 1837. Le Fanu wrote and published his first story, 'The Ghost and the Bone-Setter' which was in the Dublin University Magazine in 1838. He then joined the staff of the Dublin University Magazine and decided to go and start his career in journalism.

Joseph got married in 1842 to Susanna Bennett and had a total of four children. As some of his horror stories seem depressing, this was because his wife had died in 1858. Le Fanu was very depressed about this. After this, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu became 'The Invisible Prince' because of his lifestyle. One reason they call him that is because he rarely went out into the town. His lifestyle dramatically change when the death of his wife occured. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu died February 7^th , 1873. His works were finally published in 1923.

On going to the book, homosexuality was very identifying once you realize that it is actually in the “Carmilla”. Laura seems to be widely attracted to Carmilla and seems to be turning Lesbian. According to the Online Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, “Lesbian” means 'A woman who is homosexual. To state this in 'common english' terms, she likes other women. I believe that Carmilla had some special power that makes people (male and female) to be attracted to her, thus a connection happening between Carmilla and Laura.

The Catholic Emancipation was a period during the 18^th and 19^th century where in britain, people were trying to reduce the restrictions of people who were Roman Catholics. One of the broken restrictions were that Roman Catholics would be able to sit in the British Parliament. The British Parliament is a board of people who hold all the Legislative power in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland ( http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/cath2.html ).

The Irish Famine was during the 19^th century. During this period of time there was mass starvation in Ireland. The reason was because a potato disease caught wind in most potato crops and about one-third of Ireland's population ate potatoes and depended on potatos, Irelands population dramatically decreased ( http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/introduction.htm ).

I think that the relationship between these two examples with 'Carmilla' is that during that time of where this book takes place these things are happening, lessening of people, food starvation, which could lead to an outcome of sickness.

Overall, This vampire novel was very enjoying to read,

--Sharon    

Wuthering Heights pt.2 Ending

Good evening,

First of all, 'Wuthering Heights' is a good book. Even though it was written in the 19^th century it has a very nice flow once you get to understand what is actually taking place in the book. I really like the ending of the book because sadly Healthcliff ends up dying but Cathy and Hareton marries each other which I thought was a very sweet way to end a book. for this blog I will be rewriting the scene on page 14 to 15 from Cathy's point of view.

{'This chair is bleedin' bored.' I thought as I sat in this chair sipping some tea, looking at the textures of the ceiling. 'Healthcliff treats me so badly, and all I asked was 'Must tea?'' I don't get it. All I did was ask was he (Lockwood) to have any tea. I was very proper of me to ask before I gave him some. Healthcliff though has been acting very angry towards me for what did I ever do to him. “Maister, Maister, he's staling t' lantern!' shouted Joseph. I then constantly hear hounds barking, something must be going on with that Lockwood guy.

I see Healthcliff and Hareton walk past me, so I decide to get up and go take a look for myself. I can barely see anything yet I see Mr. Lockwood on the floor badly bruised by those hounds. How horrible of those hounds! To be truly honest I never really like dogs. They always reminded me of Healthcliff, very fierce indeed.

Zillah then rushed past me and cried “Well, Mr. Earnshaw, I wonder what you'll have agait next. Are we going to murder folk on our very door-stones?” “Yes I muttered loud enough so only I can hear. Its about time something interesting happens because I am sick of of Wuthering Heights. “...Come in and I'll cure that. There now, hold ye still.' After a well quarter from the hour, I saw Zillah ushering Mr. Lockwood upstairs.}

The reason that I chose this scene to do was because during pages 12-13 there was an incident about whether Lockwood was to have tea or not. To me, this was very interesting because we also had no part with Cathy during this incident on page 14 and I decided that we could hear what Cathy had to say and what she did when all of this was happening.

When it comes to Lakshmi Krishnan about putting Wuthering Heights in the vampire category and I think that her argument is not convincing enough because even though they share characteristics they do show sympathy and not just death, death and death as her topic is 'Gothic Literature'.

Land inheritance had a big part in this novel. One way that Healthcliff got ownership of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Height was by marriage and Debts. The way Healthcliff got Wuthering Heights was by debts that his step brother couldn't pay and he got Thrushcross Grange was by making Cathy and Linton marry each other then when Linton died ( Healthcliff intentionally let him die by restricting any medical aid while sick) Healthcliff inherited all of the property. Yet when Healthcliff dies Hareton owns both of the estates because he is next in line for them.

Overall, If I chose a 1 through 10, I would choose an 8. I chose this number because the thing was that this story was very good yet I think the language in this novel was mildly complicated to understand and for me it seemed like it took me forever to finish the book.

--Sharon

My online Artifact

This essay will talk about how a successful literature love story is wrote. As my online Artifact, I am using the 'Best Love Stories in Literature: Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, and Romeo and Juliet. Wrote on May 28, 2009 by Jeris Swanhorst ( http://www.suite101.com/content/lasting-love-stories-in-literature-a120919 ) . My online Artifact explains what are some 'needs' that almost every successful love story has.

I choose this Artifact because it includes the book 'Wuthering Heights' and because it shows the details about the components that are needed. I also chose this book because the article looks very well written and after you read it you can tell that it had some thought behind it instead of just something put together. The author is also very well educated also and not just someone that is there who has no degree and just wanted to put it on there just to do it.

Jeris Swanhorst went to Minnesota State University, Mankato and earned her Bachelors's degree in English and Literature, then went on to collect her Masters degree in the same field. She has also studied Film, World Literature and British Literature. Since 2006, Swanhorst has taught college English and Literature for MSU, Mankato and for Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.(http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/jswan)

When Swanhorst wrote this article, I think that she was trying to get out that every great love story in Literature have something in common, which are forbidden/brief love, a love triangle, and young love. I believe that she is trying to persuade the audience that if these ingredients are put right into the bowl then you get a perfect love story and in her article she gives three examples: Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering heights, and The Great Gatsby and what I will be doing is talking about how Jeris wrote this article and giving my part in it but, first of all I think I should give some background into each story that will be talked about.

The first story is 'Romeo and Juliet'. 'Romeo and Juliet' is about two teenagers who fall in love yet shouldn't be together because both of their families are at war Romeo and Juliet ends up getting married and Juliette and her maid concocts a plan that Romeo and Juliette will be able to live together. Juliet will drink a potion that will make her seem deceased and be buried in a family crypt yet, when it all comes romeo only hears that Juliette is dead and goes to her crypt and drinks poison and dies by her side. Then Juliette wakes up and sees him dead and kiss him and once realizing that the poison won't kill her she kills herself with a dagger and dies by his side.

The second story 'Wuthering Heights' is about two young lovers, Healthcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. When Catherine decides to marry Mr. Edgar Linton because of financial reasons, Healthcliff plans to destroy the Earnshaw and the Linton family empire.

The last story mentioned in this article is 'The Great Gatsby.' In the 'The Great Gatsby' Jay Gatsby is in love with daisy who married Tom when Jay Gatsby was in the Great War. Jay and Daisy gets reunited and see each other frequently yet Nick also is starting to like Daisy. Daisy ends up having an car accident in Gatsby car and Gatsby gets killed because people thought that he was driving when the accident happened.

Every love story should have a young love. Jeris explained how each book had a young love story like in Romeo and Juliet, they were teenagers, in Wuthering Heights, they liked each other when they were kids, and The Great Gatsby, they were young. I believe that she put this as one of the three ingredients is because it is more romantic to be young and in love than old and in love. I myself do feel the same way. To me, it gives the usual scenario of young love yet with a twist. For example, Romeo and Juliet love each other and they end up both dead for love. Another example is that in 'Wuthering Heights' Healthcliff acts like he can't live with Catherine yet can't live without her .

Every love story should also include a love triangle. When comes a love triangle, drama seems to fall right behind it. Reason being is that usually when a love triangle happens there is fame and fortune involved. For example, in The Great Gypsy, Tom, Daisy and Gatsby are in the love triangle. Daisy marries Tom for the same reason Cathy marries Healthcliff in 'Wuthering Heights' and that Juliet is already promised to Paris yet, she loves Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet'. As I said there usually comes drama and indeed it did which included lots of arguments, sword battles and so on and so forth. This talk was actually my favorite part in this article. I say this because it talks about love yet in a strange way because usually one person has to choose and each person has pro and con factors like statuses, money, true love, handsomeness, etc.

The last ingredient to a love story should include a restricted or brief romance. This section of the article was my least favorite because it shows that during a certain time, you couldn't hang out with a certain group of people even when you had nothing to do with the argument. For example, in 'Romeo and Juliet', their families were enemies and were not able to publicly see each other even when they had nothing to do with it. Also in 'Wuthering Heights', Healthcliff and Catherine had a restricted love because the Earnshaw family kept threatening to put him out of the house plus she wanted to marry Mr. Edgar because he had more money than Healthcliff did even though she knew that she loved Healthcliff.

At the end of this article, Jeris goes on to explain about how young romances are changing. Her example was of twilight which I thought was a very great connection. She was trying to get out that romances are not cut short but are lasting. For example in the series Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Edward and Bella live happily ever after instead of something happening. Yet twilight does have some components shown in this essay. For example, Edward and Bella are both young and there is a love triangle going on throughout the series between the human, Bella, the wolf, Jacob, and the vampire, Edward, yet no brief or restricted love is present in this text.

Overall, I really liked this article. It connected very well with the story 'Wuthering Heights'. There is also a comment part on the article where you can leave your own comments so the reader can add there own 'two cents' into whether they liked it or what they agree or disagree with.  

Wuthering Heights Part 1

Hello,

            During 'Wuthering Heights', there are many types of personalities that can be depicted by the characters social status which back in the 19^th century in England would be described in three classes. Those classes are lower class, middle class and upper class and for this blog I am going to be talking about different personalities that are shown in the story so far.

            When we first meet Healthcliff we see him as a bitter and atrocious man. He was considered to be(before returning Wuthering heights) in the lower class. Healthcliff was brought into the Earnshaw family as an orphan and lived in the Wuthering Heights estate which at the time was owned by the Earnshaw family. Yet when Hindley Earnshaw died (Healthcliff's step-brother), Healthcliff inherited the estate because of the loans he gave to Hindley and ended up not being able to pay him back. As of now in the book Healthcliff is very vengeful because not a while after he moved back into Wuthering Heights Catherine died after giving birth to Healthcliff's son, Linton.

            When we get into further detail of Wuthering Heights we get to meet people that either live there or comes there. One that caught my eye was Joseph. Joseph comes of to me as a type of person who keeps to himself, mutters, very stubborn and obsessively religious. One of the problems that I had while reading the book was actually understanding what Joseph was saying because I don't usually see that everyday.

            On the other hand, When we meet Catherine Earnshaw, we see her as a person who worries about money and statuses and back then it did not matter for love because what mattered was where you were in the community and by how much money you had.

“You may see some: and he (Mr. Edgar) won't always be handsome and young, and may not always be rich.”

“He is now; and I have only to do with the present. I wish you would speak rationally.” (Wuthering Heights, pg 73)

By Catherine saying this it says that she cares more about riches than the actual love of a person. Her own heart tells her that she loves Healthcliff but his riches are low because his social status is deemed as lower class and Catherine goes ahead and marries Edgar instead of Healthcliff.

My favorite Tv Show

My favorite Television show is The Bernie Mac Show.  I like comedy and here is the theme song/ introduction of the television show.

First Assignment

Hello and good evening to all,

            My name is Sharon. I am also a returning student and is majoring in finance.  I am so excited to see another semester and I think that this semester is truly interesting even though I am not truly that into vampires.  I was really shocked when I saw the reading material for this class, yet I hope that the settings in the story are in different areas of the United States and the world because the geographical areas of the world interest me.  I would also like to say that I am native to Mississippi. I will be pleased to work with you all this semester on this course.

Three things I like to do:

1. I love to write because I dream of being an author!
2. I  like to read and my favorite author is Terry McMillan.
3. I  love to exercise.

Three of my favorite foods:

1. My first favorite food is Trail Mix Granola.
2. My second favorite food is Speghetti.
3. My third favorite food is roasted turkey.

Three of my Favorite countries:

1. France.  I like France because of the Eiffel Tower that is located in Paris because it is a peice of artwork in my eyes.
2. Mexico.  I like mexico because I like the language spanish. I like how spanish let you roll your tongue.
3. China.  I like china because over 1 billion people live in china.  That's interesting and to even add more to that, China isn't even the biggest country geographical wise.  The biggest country is Russia!

The reason that I joined this course is because I am a reader and I love a good book and I think that these series of books will be interesting to me.  One of the reasons that I joined this class is because one of my favorite hobbies is reading.  To me, reading is like an adventure nothing is more interesting than a good book.  A good book can tell fiction, facts and even someone's life story.  Books can bring different things to your life and that is why I chose this class.