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My Literature & History II Padlet Introduction

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My Literature & History II Padlet Introduction

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The purpose of this padlet wall is to discover connections between early American culture to the culture and values of current day. Through pictures, media, and literature, one can use artifacts to make a strong claim that history can in fact repeat itself. If I reflect on classroom readings and compare it to what I see today, I will have a better understanding of how a society can negatively/positively impact all humans involved.

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The Memoirs of a Slave & Soldier: Equiano and Native Guard

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The Memoirs of a Slave & Soldier: Equiano and Native Guard

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The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano can strongly relate to a collection of poems I read last year in my Poetry and Poetics class, Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey. Published in 2006, Native Guard strives to complete the same style of writing as Equiano in a personal narrative format. Written from the viewpoint of an African American soldier and ex-slave who served in one the first official black units in the Civil War, the speaker continues to compare his traumatizing experiences in his past and present life. Witnessing death upon battle grounds, starvation, hard labor, and flashbacks of ill treatment from previous slave owners, the speaker finds his own story unforgettable in America's dark racist history. There is a passage I found inside Native Guard that reminded me of Equiano's initial reaction watching slaves be treated poorly among the slave ship. The speaker describes dreams he's had about soldiers who have been killed stating, "Their bodies- haggard faces, gaunt limbs...starved, they suffer...death makes equal of us all: a fair master" (Native Guard 29). Overall, the two works share a similar form of writing and bring awareness to the mistreatment and trauma African American slaves had to endure during this time period.

The picture below is a group shot of a troop during the Civil War in 1861. Some African American soldiers are represented in this photo.

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To provide some comedic relief this week, I found a relevant connection from a clip of the movie, "Step Brothers" to Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker.

"Step Brothers" is a comedy that was released in 2008 starring Will Farrell and touches on the possible dangers of waking up sleep-walkers like we discussed in class. In this specific scene below, Will Farrell's step father wants to wake up his son and step son, but the mother of the house warns her husband to never wake up a sleep walker because they could cause harm to themselves or others. The father does not listen to her warning because he is annoyed at their immature behavior and decides to wake up the two sons. This ultimately results in the two sons beating up their father unintentionally with Hulk Hands and throwing him down the stairs.

Although this clip strives to poke fun at somnambulism, it is indeed a disorder that could result in negative consequences after being awakened.

This clip can connect to our reading this week in chapter 1 when Edgar Huntly first notices a sleepwalker, later identified as Clithero, digging a pit where Edgar's best friend, Waldegrave was murdered. Edgar did not know of Clithero's intentions digging late into the night and decides to shout at him to gain his attention. Thankfully, Edgar is not harmed by the shouting at Clithero, but the result of that could have been physically dangerous. Edgar could have been seriously injured by Clithero who remained non-violent. Even though the reader does not get a glimpse of physical violence caused by Clithero sleep walking, the Gothic novel displays odd actions preformed by Clithero before he disappears such as digging half naked, and crying loudly (Page 10).

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Violence & Vengeance: The Revenant & Edgar Huntly

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Violence & Vengeance: The Revenant & Edgar Huntly

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My literary connection this week involves similar themes of violence and revenge prevalent in both Edgar Huntly and the movie, The Revenant.

Released in 2016, The Revenant takes place in 1823 when frontiersman, Leonardo DiCaprio is mauled by a bear and barely escapes death. The rest of DiCaprio's hunting gang leaves him to die alone in the wilderness, but right before leaving, a racist member on his team murders DiCaprio's half-Native American Son in front of him. Feeling betrayed, the rest of the plot for the movie is DiCaprio's survival and his search for revenge on his team member. I found this artifact when I remember watching this movie at the movie theater with my brother. I am a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan.

The connection I see from this story to Edgar Huntly is how both main characters lost family members due to unexpected violence. Both characters then sought out revenge from losing loved ones. Edgar Huntly in Chapter 17 describes how he devastatingly lost both his parents as they were killed by Indians in their home. From this moment that damaged his past, Edgar's sparks of vengeance come alive when he kills an Indian with a hatchet before saving a captive farmer's daughter from death. Edgar states before killing the Indian, "Let the fate of my parents be, likewise, remembered" (171). The Revenant concludes with DiCaprio finally hunting down the murderer of his son and he kills him. Both Edgar Huntly and The Revenant share violence through guns, hatchets, and other weapons.

This is the trailer to The Revenant below. The movie was rated R for the scenes of explicit violence.

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The Revenant | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX

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Gothic Novel Elements-Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker & Suspiria

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Gothic Novel Elements-Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker & Suspiria

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This week with finishing up Edgar Huntly, I wanted to specifically touch on the elements of Gothic novels that are presented in both what we are reading and a horror/thriller movie from our day, "Suspiria".

After a little bit of research and some class discussion on the common elements presented in Gothic novels, Gothics evoke: fear, horror, nature, death, gloom, mystery, trauma, violence, supernatural elements, romantic elements, and suspense. Mostly popular through 1800-1900, Gothic literature is still a genre that many readers love and appreciate. Gothics are great to read during the spooky season of Halloween, which made reading Edgar Huntly a little more enjoyable.

Edgar Huntly presented many of these elements in the novel including a little romance between Mary and Edgar. Death is a main element because the novel is supposed to focus on the death of Waldegrave, but drama is also mixed between characters. Gloom and horror are additionally inside Edgar Huntly from strange sleepwalking, mysterious caverns, and late night walks to the grave of Waldegrave.

Posted below is a the trailer to the remake of the movie, "Suspiria". I saw this movie in theaters because of general interest and because one of my favorite actresses stars in it. Released in 2018, the producer, Luca Guadagnino utilized many Gothic Elements in his movie including fear and horror of mysterious deaths occurring in the ballet studio of Berlin. There is also eerie background music in the trailer that emphasizes there's a murderer on the loose with images of pools of blood.

Both works come to show similar Gothic elements of death, horror, and mystery. Just because one work was released before the other, Gothic elements in general are displayed in a lot of horror movies in current society to still get viewers on the edge of their seat.

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Suspiria - Official Trailer | Amazon Studios

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This week in class we read the story, The Female Marine by Daniel Cohen. I found a plot connection to this work of protecting virginity as a virtue present in movie, "Cruel Intentions".

Cruel Intentions was released in 1999 and stars Reese Witherspoon in this drama/ thriller. To recap on this movie that I've watched a million times, Reese Witherspoon, an innocent high school student who wishes to keep and value her virginity until marriage, unknowingly becomes a part of a sexual bet between two step siblings who want to take away her good morals and virtue. As the step-brother slowly catches feelings for Witherspoon in attempting to seduce her and win the bet, the step-sister creates wicked backstabbing plans to screw up the lives of Witherspoon and the step-brother. Below is the trailer for the movie and if you look closely, Reese Witherspoon writes an article for a magazine on how she plans to wait until marriage to have sex for her own moral reasons. Later in the movie, Witherspoon's morals and virginity no longer exist because of the step-brother winning the wager of seducing her. The ending of the movie is beyond epic and is one of my favorite scenes because the step-sister gets what she deserved coming to her. KARMA.

Cruel Intention's plot can relate to The Female Marine when Louisa Baker, the main character tells her readers how much she cared and felt emotional when losing her virginity over a man that didn't care about her or her values. Baker in fact refers to her virginity as her only gem and states, "I was conscious of having forfeited the only gem that could render me respectable in the eyes of the world"(62). This evidence comes to show how Baker's virginity was valued as a personal virtue and how it quickly became meaningless.

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'Cruel Intentions' 20th Anniversary Trailer

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My padlet post this week will be to provide a plot connection between Washington Irving's, "Rip Van Winkle" to Marvel's "Captain America The First Avenger".

In summary, "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by Irving that describes a dutch villager named Rip Van Winkle who after falling asleep in the mountains wakes up 20 years in the future. Published in 1819, when Rip Van Winkle mysteriously wakes up after many years passing, he misses the American Revolution and reflects on everything else that has occurred during his time asleep. One of the most notable moments that emphasizes change in time passing in Rip Van Winkle's life is when he runs into his daughter who now has her own child named after her father (39). Rip Van Winkle also discovers from his daughter how his wife that he dreaded died from braking a blood vessel (39). All of these changes from family and society within 20 years were quite significant to Rip Van Winkle's life.

I can connect the plot from Rip Van Winkle to another story that similarly marks the passing of time in the movie, "Captain America The First Avenger". Near the end of the first Captain America movie, Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, wakes up from being frozen under ice in the Arctic and finds himself in a different time. Before crashing a plane into the ice to save America, Steve Rogers was a soldier in World War II. After being trapped for 80 years under the ice, the government finds Rogers and life has notably moved on without him. Fast forwarding to the beginning of the second Captain America Movie, "Captain America The Winter Soldier", Rogers reunites with his old girlfriend from the first movie, who has now aged and has dementia. His girlfriend, Peggy Carter recognizes Rogers after 80 years, but grew up raising a family of her own while he was frozen under the ice. Peggy Carter remembers Captain America and their relationship however, she forgets how many times she has seen him since he woke up. Additionally, Captain America had many friends that he fought with in the army during World War II, but almost all of them had died during the time he was frozen.

As sad it is, times moves quickly and you cannot stop the passing of it. When time progresses, life carries on and changes to the lives of your friends and family begin to occur.

Below is the trailer for the first Captain America movie that was released in 2011. After watching this movie with my brother, I now can get a sense of the emotional impacts that come with the passing of time.

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Captain America: The First Avenger - Trailer

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I am happy to announce that this week I finally found a literary connection with our novel, Hope Leslie to a play called "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. Both works incorporate  and highlight the historical event of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692-1693 colonial Massachusetts.

I stumbled upon reading "The Crucible" in my 9th grade English class and instantly enjoyed the book for it's drama between villagers. The play, "The Crucible" was first preformed in 1953 and begins telling a story of the Salem Witch Trials in Salem Massachusetts. A group of village girls are accused of partaking in witchcraft in the forest and one of the young women, Abigail is the niece to the reverend in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When all the women were caught in the forest, they decided to place blame on other villagers in town for practicing witchcraft to deflect their actions of conjuring spirits and casting spells. Many innocent villagers were falsely accused of witchcraft and then executed, all from lies told by Abigail and her group of women.

The similar reference of a Witch Trial can be traced inside Hope Leslie when Jennet accuses Nelema of practicing witchcraft on Hope Leslie's tutor, Mr. Cradock (109). When Mr. Cradock was bitten by a venomous rattle snake, Nelema was brought in to ail him with certain antidotes to get rid of the poison (107). Jennet witnesses looking through a key-hole Nelema mysteriously moving her wand and her body next to Mr. Cradock with Hope Leslie in the room. From this moment forward, Jennet tells Mr. Fletcher Nelema's practice of witchcraft to which Hope Leslie defends her in this accusation (112). The next following morning, a trial was set for Nelema and she ultimately was pronounced worthy of death (113).

One work a historical romance and the other a play, both stories highlight devastating fatal effects that occurred to some innocent individuals during the Salem Witch Trials.

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As the introduction to my padlet wall suggests, looking at all the early American texts I have analyzed over the course of this class, I can now fully understand and elaborate on how making connections to early American culture through story plots, elements, themes, and genres can relate to contemporary moments in what we read and watch today. One can enjoy reading some of the classical works of established authors such as Washington Irving’s, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for its eerie elements that it provokes, and still connect their reading experience to what has been similarly adapted on the screen, such as Disney’s, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Taking a story from a historical text and transforming or editing some of the plot or hidden messages to provide another version in film is a creative tool commonly used by many producers today, so reading experiences can be somewhat relived or relatable. This action creates a nostalgic feeling between work and the viewer, which can ultimately show appreciation for the author’s original story. I learned taking all the early American texts together how much appreciation I have for original stories that changed the face of literature for their historical context.
While making my padlet posts I discovered through analyzing an author’s or producer’s ideas on how they create their work and reasons why they choose to highlight a specific topic, their material usually provides underlying messages of controversial or problematic issues raised in the society of the setting. Inside the Female Marine, women gender roles and occupations for women are important themes worth examining for the historical time period in 1815, when women were not supposed to have the same jobs as men unless they were secretly in disguise. In other words, an author’s work strives to match the historical context of the specific time period suggested, which allows readers such as myself to discover and envision pivotal moments and conditions in history worth additional evaluation. For example, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano explicitly outlines in a memoir format the poor cruel conditions of slave trade in captivity, along with the emotional historical truth of unjust slavery around the time of publication in 1789 early America. My first post on this work emphasized my awareness on the historical injustice of slavery. Highlighting Equiano’s oppressive experiences in my post while creating a connection to another slave narrative I read in a poetry class forced me to highly question early American racist culture and remember white involvement in these dark events. I learned that by putting the two unique works together side by side, America’s repressive actions towards African Americans are still existent today in forms of police brutality, and how analyzing early literature has the urging power to let readers not forget about the past. History of crucial past events and experiences would have never been recorded if it were not for authors documenting or commenting through literature significant moments of social development.
To connect the posts made within all our unique texts, human behavior and interaction in early America has been shown to project significant turning points in history that carried extreme emotional, unsettling outcomes for individuals who were undervalued, lower-class, or perceived as inferior. Many of these innocent individuals such as women, accused witches, and minorities were perceived more or less as a threat to society, so they were consequently punished or excluded. These posts helped me identify that early American culture was highly ignorant to non-conforming individuals, and society did not keep an open accepting mind for change. Change began over the progression of time along with individuals who stood up for their opposing views, which is how change works efficiently today, however, early American culture, just like any culture, had norms, religion, and traditions that needed to be followed to be considered a true civilized citizen. Following what your neighbors and community practiced created strict control and judgment over what you couldn’t do in a society. Comparing this statement to present moments recognized now, there is more of a split in adopting and defending a culture you’ve been immersed in just because other individuals have. The influence of individual thinking and acting that is presented in the characters Hope Leslie, Equiano, Magawisca, Lucy Brewer, and Edgar Huntly relates to humans in a modern society who tend to follow what is in their best interest, whether that means breaking away from external forces. I have learned through reading and exploring the characters of our texts and analyzing individuals in our modern society, acting and thinking out of own heart serves the strongest purpose.