Monday, April 30, 2012

Wuthering Heights: I hate Isabella

"On ascending to Isabella's room, my suspicions were confirmed: it was empty." (Nelly)

Oh, how romantic! She runs away with the man who everyone told her to steer clear of! Such a TSwift song in the making! You know what kind of stuff T doesn't sing about? Marital problems, hatred of your spouce, and birthing children. Guess what happens to Isabella after her romantic run-away? All of the above. That's what you get for being a diva, thinking too highly of yourself, and not listening to others. She completely fabricated this image of a charmingly mysterious man who would be good to her. FABRICATED! Idiot.
I feel no sympathy.

Wuthering Heights: Family Tree

"The intruder was Mrs. Heathcliff."

This is the biggest jumble of names and relationships of my LIFE! How the heck is the average human mind supposed to keep these in check? They can't. So I made  my own family tree. Thank me later.
Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw                   Mr. and Mrs. Linton
                  I                                                     I
Frances=Hindley-Catherine=Edgar Linton-Isabella Linton=Heathcliff
             I                            I                                            I
   Hareton Earnshaw = Catherine Linton    =  Linton Heathcliff

Weirdest thing of my entire life.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Wuthering Heights: a correction

"Heathcliff" (pg. 30)

I've been spelling Heathcliff wrong the entire time... sorry!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Wuthering Heights: I'm gettin' deep here!

"A ray fell on his features: the cheeks were sallow, and half-covered with whiskers; the brows lowering, the eyes deep set and sngular." (Wuthering Heights, pg. 87)

I think I deserve a round of applause, not to brag or anything. But really, this could be one of the first times I actually go deep into the story! Cheers!
Anyways: If I was forced to pick ONE adjective to describe the tone of this book thus far, I'd go with "barren." Through the setting, style (with regards to the simple diction and syntax), and characterization (as I quoted above), Miss Bronte paints a barren picture. Wuthering Heights is a big lonely place with a moor and everything desolate you can imagine. The diction and syntax are skin and bones. Heathcliffe is often described to look very cast-down and almost dead. Hindley sucks out the life of Heathcliffe and Catherine through his tyranny. Basically, I think I did a really good job picking a word to describe the work thus far, but now my mental juices have run out, so I'm going to stop ranting! Yahoo!

Wuthering Heights: Pass the hot chocolate, please!

"One may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way..." (pg. 2)

Wow! What a cool setting! I feel like wearing a wool sweater and sitting by a fire while reading this. Not really a wool sweater; they're too itchy. But I do think the setting is a very nice touch to the story. It sets the scene from page 2 of hopelessness and indifference, much like the weather that surrounds Wuthering Heights. You get the image of wind-swept trees with no leaves high on a hill. I picture the house house to look like a small castle, made of smoothed brick and complete with a portcullis. The setting really applies to the story because instead of being a blank canvas, it helps the reader make a prejudgment on what lies inside the house. The first think I thought of when I started reading was sadness, grief and unhappiness, and I have yet to be proven wrong!

Wuthering Heights: Cry about it!

"Scoundrel! He is not altogether guiltless in this illness of mine; and that I had a great mind to tell him." (pg. 85)

Before I rant, this is Lockwood speaking about how Heathcliffe should take some blame for his illness. Why, I have not the slightest idea.
Now for my ranting: Lockwood needs a good slap in the face. I volunteer my services, actually. He just doesn't see when no one likes him! He goes over to visit his new landlord and barges into their house. Then he comes back the VERY NEXT DAY after it had been made very clear that he wasn't wanted. Then, he has the audacity to assume he's going to get invited to spend the night because he was the idiot that left his home before a blizzard. THEN, as if all of that isn't enough, this guy decides that his host should share some blame for his headache because he doesn't know how to not intrude on others. His idiocy is really shocking... and annoying.

Wuthering Heights: why I hate Lockwood

"'Were you asked to tea?'

I shall be glad to have a cup.'
'Were you asked?'
'No,' I said, half smiling. 'You are the proper person to ask me.'
She flung the tea back, spoon and all." (Wuthering Heights, pg. 9)

I'm just going to say it right now: I hate Lockwood. Hate with a capital H. If he were a real person, he would be exactly the kind that I can't stand: the kind that smile at you when you're really mad, that act like they know better than you, that are really condescending. That is Mr. Lockwood to a t. He's so oblivious to how much no one really likes him! I swear, this man grew up being told he was the bee knees and eating yogurt. I don't know why he'd be eatting yogurt, but it's something I wish I were doing right now. Greek is my favorite, especially with the kind that the fruit is at the bottom of and you have to stir it up and stuff. Go Greek! hehehe.
Anyways, all I'm trying to say during this post is that I hate Lockwood and he better shut up the rest of this story. I don't care that he feels light-headed or whose fault it is! That's something else: the man never owns up to anything being his own fault. EVER.

Wuthering Heights: Structure!

"and, having placed (a smoking basin) on the hob, drew in her seat, evidently pleased to find me so companionable." (Wuthering Heights, pg. 32)

You know, after I read Frankenstein, I had a vow to myself to avoid frame stories the best I could. I come to class Monday thinking how excited I am to read a work of so much literary merit. I open to page and 32, and what do I find??? A FRAME STORY. I think I died a bit inside.
So, now that I'm done complaining (for now), I've decided to devote my first blog entry to analyzing the use of the frame story in Wuthering Heights. Obviously, we would never be able to learn about Heathcliffe and crew through Mr. Lockwood, so the frame story is a way to start the story. What I don't get is why the frame story aspect is necessary! Couldn't the book have just been a chronicle of Wuthering Heights and what all happened there? What's the significance behind having an old maid tell her story and then listen to it through Mr. Lockwood? I don't know.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

ARE YOU DEAF???

"I endeavoured to gain from Frankenstein the particulars of his creature's formation." (Walton, pg. 156)

At first, I liked Walton. The tike seemed lonely. Now I realize his is nothing more than a blithering idiot. Did he not just hear Victor's +150 page story about his attempt at life creation?? I sure did! (Technically, I read it, but who's counting?) He is such a pompous idiot who thinks he deserves only smart friends. He's like the guys that walk around Oxford ten years after they've graduated still wearing their letter sweaters. GET OVER YOUR INTELLIGENCE! It seems to me that he thinks he could do a better job than Victor at responding to his creation. Doubt. It. I hate Walton.

Edmonde and the creature

"I intended to reason." (the creature, pg. 105)

Oh, Edmonde and the creature! They're twins, I swear! When Edmonde finds the treasure of Sparta off the island of Monte Cristo, the one thing he wantes to do is buy revenge. When the creature gains knowledge and understands his power, the one thing he wants is revenge. I won't go into the details, but let me tell you, they both get it ;). Honestly, I really like the creature. I think he's the underdog, and even though he kills quite a few inocent people, he didn't know how else to respond to his dire need for affection and love. He's still like a child in regards to that, I believe.

"Count" on me to find a COMC comparison!

"I was a shattered wreck, the shadow of a human being." (Victor, pg. 135)

There's a scene in the Count of Monte Cristo where Edmonde realizes that even though he has attained freedom, he has lost all he cares for to others. He goes almost insane, but clings to his revenge. It's pretty much the greatest movie of all time. Anywho, he reminds me a lot of Victor and the creature. I'll discuss the creature's comparison in another post, but Edmonde and Victor have a lot of similarities. Both lose the loves of their lives. Both are driven hopeless by revenge. However, Victor dies unhappy while Edmonde leaves a wealthy, happy, married man with a VERY good looking son.

Goooooin' to the Chapel


"My future hopes and prospects are entirely bound up in the expectation of our union." (Victor, pg 109)

Now, seeing as how this book is a sci-fi horror novel, I don't get many chances to swoon. Also, seeing as how Elizabeth bites the dust shortly after saying "I do", this isn't the best book to read for romance. However, I thought this whole segment where Victor and his father are talking about how Elizabeth is intended for Victor is very sweet. Victor talks about how he's always felt special love and a sense of duty to protect Elizabeth, and that is every girl's dream: to be safe. I guess this is further proof how wrapped up Victor gets in his creature because he doesn't think about his true love's safety, merely his own. Tres malade!

#JustinBieber

"...but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me." (The creature, pg. 103-104)

HE JUST NEEDS SOMEBODY TO LOOOOOOOVE! Hence the Justin Bieber title. When I first read this, I thought: Ah ha! Here is his motive for hunting Victor! Au contraire! He still wanted Victor to suffer, but he wanted to be happy whilest watching it. Kind of like asking for popcorn before a movie: you can still watch the movie, but it's a lot more enjoyable with popcorn.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

This is why I can never take this book seriously


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmYI0FqluQ

Last Rant

"... inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed." (The creature, pg. 90)

This shall be my last rant for a while, I think. I make no guarentees. This story also makes me think of cloning. Taking the genetic material of one person and replicating it into another. Sick. I absolutely abhor cloning. However, I do believe that clones have souls. All human life is willed by God, whether it's created in a petri dish or a womb. While the act of creating and attempting to create life outside of marriage and sex is incredibly evil, the actual life created isn't. I think that's what Victor fails to see here. He doesn't love his creature because he thinks since he made it, it's less deserving of dignity. Au contraire, mon frere! I feel so bad for the creature because he has been dealt such a terrible card in life. He's been stitched together from a bunch of corpses and he doesn't have a family. People that think they can create life outside of the family drive me up the wall. How would little Franky like it if his parents saw him smiling and were disgusted? Not one bit, I guarantee it. And yet, there Victor goes, treating his creature with such contempt. Brat.

"I'll never let go!" SPLASH

"I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me: I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge." (The creature, pg. 85)

After seeing The Hunger Games for the third time yesterday, I also saw the preview for The Titanic 3D for the third time. I just LOVE it when the main girl is on the plank of wood in the water and Jack is in the water and she says "I'll never let go!" and as she's saying it, she's letting go of him and letting him drown. I just thought that was funny. Why I quoted that is because I wanted to compare Frankenstein to Never Let Me Go. Once again, this is another pro-life post, so buckle in for some rants. I think there's a huge connection between the messages of these two stories. In Frankenstein, a life was created just to see if it could be done. In NLMG, many lives are created just to be destroyed. My question is WHY THE HECK DOES EVERYONE THINK LIFE IS SOMETHING TO MESS WITH???????? It is the greatest gift from God and what do we humans do with it? Act like we can make it ourselves. Well, things go seriously wrong when people have a mindset like that. What do you do if you get tired of the life you created? Take it away? You made it, right? WRONG! Ohhhh, it makes me soo angry!!

Can I get a whoop whoop?

"(The creature drooling and smiling happily at Dr. Frankenstien after he creates him.)"

Why did I use that quote, you might ask? I choose that quote because the creature is smiling happily, just like me. Why am I smiling? Because I just published my 100th blog post on this blog! YIPPIE!! I thought I deserved a shout-out for it. Anywho, back to the story. I'm pretty confused over something. That something is how a physically two-year-old creature has such eloquent diction. Not only is his diction incredible, but he comprends so much about life and has a ton of insights about it. Through observation, he picked up on poverty, how to help others, and love. I'm just kinda blown away by how far a drooling creature can come in to two years.

Because it's me and I can't not write a pro-life blog post.

"I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed." (The Creature, pg. 69)

I don't really care for this book. I don't enjoy reading about the sufferings of mankind. However, I think that this story sheds some light on a very true topic: pushing science too far. Frankenstein was consumed with this obsession to create life, and when he did, he was disgusted. It reminds me a lot of in vitro. People push themselves to extremes to create life, and by doing so, they degrade it. Life isn't something to mixed in a test tube or stitched together in a dorm room. Life is precious and it's not for humans to try and create without involving God. AKA: sex. The creature feels unwanted because he was not created in the perfect format: a family. Mary Shelley had some good foresight.