Chapter 10: It's More Than Just Rain Or Snow
The importance of weather in stories is extreme. Like E-X-T-R-E-M-E. (I hope you enjoyed that Katie- I figured it might make you laugh. Then again who knows.) The weather sets the mood of a story or scene. Rain and thunderstorms can set an eerie, scary, and even dreary atmosphere. Sending chills up readers and viewers spines, and causing the hairs on their arms and necks to raise. Whereas sunshine can set a feeling of happiness, timelessness, joy,etc. Weather plays a key role in how the reader or viewer feels.Weather can also be symbolic. Rain can represent purification and transformations. Wind can be symbolic of peace and transformation. Weather really plays a key role in mood and also in symbolizing pivotal moments in characters lives.
Chapter 11: More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
There are two kinds of violence in literature. They are specific injury that authors cause characters to inflict upon themselves or others, and the narrative violence that causes characters harm in general. An example of specific injury that causes harm would be like in Looking For Alaska when Alaska dies, it was basically Pudge's fault. He could have chose to stand up to Alaska, and refused to have let her leave until she was sober, yet he chose to let her drive away hammered. Therefore when she died in the car accident all of the hurt and pain that he felt, as well as all of his friend, it was his fault. An example of narrative violence would be like Jamie lying on her deathbed from A Walk To Remember. There is not actually a guilty party in narrative violence. The effects of each on the reader vary. The first makes the reader emotionally connect to the characters whether they sympathize with them, or despise their very existence. The effects of the second one are that the audience looks for somebody to blame because as a society today we still do that. We always look for somebody to blame rather than simply accepting responsibility.
Chapter 12: Is That A Symbol?
In the short story Popular Mechanics the couples baby is a symbol of societies lack of concern for the treatment and suffering that children go through, when parents fight and argue. People constantly want to take sides, and say who is in the right, and who feels bad for who. Yet nobody acknowledges the troubles that the children have to go through. Think about it. How is a child not supposed to feel broken? Children love both of their parents, and it's a scary thing to think that they are going to separate when the adults behave civilly. Now just imagine two people screaming at each other. Then imagine being a kid right in the middle of it all. You can't take sides, so what do you do? What can you do? Pretty much nothing. Yet, if the parents were really good parents at all they would step aside from their pity arguments, and take their childrens feelings into consideration because isn't that the important thing, their children? They should atleast have one thing in common, the love for their children? Yet, no... This is exactly what happens in this short story. The couple refuses to act civilized, and behave like adults. They insist on putting their baby right in the middle, LITERALLY, of all of their problems. So what happens to the poor baby. The baby gets broken in half, once again LITERALLY. This is a perfect symbol of how broken homes break children.
Chapter 13: It's All Political
Take into consideration the short story The Lottery. Ok. There is a little town. The town comes together and is having what appears to be a social gathering. Well then each male from the town walks up, and draws a strip of paper from this old box. Why? Oh just wait. Well after every male has a paper, they open them up simultaneously. All of them are blank with the exception of one. This one has a dot, so this mans family must go in front of everybody onto the stage. Then each member of his family receives a paper. Again all of them are blank with the exception of one. What is on that one? A DOT!!!! Who would have ever guessed? So what happens to the one with the dot. Well they are brutally stoned by every person and child in the town. Even the kids throw stones. So how does this relate politically. Think about it. Instead of town members you have politicians. Each politician can have a civilized conversation with the other politicians. So they are talking. Well then it comes time to call their meeting to order. This is it the defenses come up. The moment the politicians get the opportunity to attack they do. Shooting down others ideas, and criticizing them to every person they can. Putting them down, so that they can get more votes or appeal.
Chapter 14: Yes, She's A Christ Figure, Too
Alice is a christ figure too. Alice who? Alice. Who's Alice? The Alice. Who is the Alice? What other Alice fell down a rabbit hole, and was shrunk and then enlarged, and had slay an over sized type dragon creature. Oh. Ok. That Alice. Yes, Alice from Alice In Wonderland. Wait a minute how is she a christ figure. Well think about it. She is wounded not long after making it to Wonderland in the arm by a creature of the Red Queen. She is in complete agony because she struggles with the decision to do what everybody deems proper, and to marry a man, or to do what she wants, and be independent. Does she please herself or those she loves? She is self sacrificing. Really? Yes. She is willing to face the red queen, and go to her castle, and save her friends. She had to walk most of the places she went. Other than a few when she went to her destination by dog or other creature. She spent time alone in an unknown land under a hat. She was tempted. She could have easily taken the red queens side, and perhaps she never would have had to fight the magical creature. She was in the company of the white queens followers. These followers served her side in all of her adventures. She was able to forgive. She decided to live her life for herself in hopes of bettering the world.
Chapter 15: Flights of Fancy
In the short story, The Lame Shall Enter First, Sheppard has a son named Norton. Norton has lost a lot at such a young age. His mother died, and his father lacks all interest in his son. He has no siblings or family to take an interest in him. He is a deprived childhood. He has been deprived of love, and of a childhood. His father takes in this troubled boy by the name of Rufus. Sheppard adores Rufus. Rufus emotionally tortures both Sheppard and Norton. Eventually Norton takes a rope and loops it around his neck. Then he jumps from the attic, as if leaping towards the stars, which is where he believes his mother to be. Why does he do this? Rufus told him that his mother was in the stars, and that if he done that he could reach her. So he believes that he will see his mother again. This is pretty symbolic. The flight to his mother is symbolic of Nortons new found freedom. He has escaped the emotional abuse his father has inflicted upon him, and now he is free. He has escaped the turmoils of the world, so that he can be reunited with the only person he feels has ever loved him, his mother.
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