What is Romanticism?

This story captures the imagination of the readers today because it talks of something a lot of modern Americans enjoy; Ghost stories, the supernatural, myths and legends. The story has a 'headless horseman' tale and the entire story is based upon that one myth. Which is like how we have 'true' stories about certain mythical creatures like bigfoot, sasquatch, yetis, and mermaids. Also it captures the imagination today with it's details, like how it says, "A small brook murmurs through it and, with the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks the uniform tranquility." The story has a way of describing the settings in this sentence that allow the reader to picture it in his head and really imagine and understand what is going on. Also the story describes Ichabod very well therefore it helps the reader imagine all the scenes with him, like when he is riding the horse he would look funny because of his stature. 

Swing low, Sweet Chariot

-This song is about escaping the physical conditions of slavery because it talks about how she wants a band of angels to take her away from her present condition; captivity. She wants to escape this slavery and she know she cant do it by herself so she wants an angel to help her. In the song it says, "sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down, But still my soul feel heavenly bound." This shows that this song is about religious faith and hope because it talks of how she wants to come home; to Heaven. It talks of a sweet chariot coming to take her home. This song is also reflective of its time period because it mentions a chariot, not a car, or train, or bus, but because it was written in around 1909 they didn't have cars. Although they the first car came out in 1908 they weren't popular with slaves because they didn't get out of the camp. So therefore Wallis Willis wouldn't put it in there if no one even knew what it was. This song can also relate to modern day because of all the bad, corrupt things that are going wrong, and we just look for something or someone to take us away from it.

Gothic Romanticism: Hawthorne, Poe and Baudelaire

There are many interpretations of “The Fall of the House of Usher”. One interpretation suggests that Usher’s nervousness and weakness are the results of Madeline Usher’s being a vampire. Using details from the story, write an analysis of the story that supports this interpretation.

In the story The Fall of the House of Usher Madeline Usher is a vampire but you do not find this out until the very ending of the story right before the collapse of the house of the Ushers. From the very first time the narrator sees Usher he is full of fear. What he fears- maybe death, fear itself, or is it the fact that his one and only sister is a vampire- only he knows but whatever it is it is scaring him to the verge of death. One of the possible things that can be putting him on the 'edge' like this is the fact that he knows his sister is a vampire.Although it is hinted throughout the story by ushers nervousness and that even the physicians couldn't tell what was wrong with her. They, trained and with a degree, couldn't recognize her 'disease'. Usher was scared for her and of her because he knew something was wrong with her but yet she walked around like she was perfectly fine. When Usher is being read to, he confesses. "We have put her living in the tomb!...I heard them...many days ago...yet I dared not- I dared not to speak!" So he knew that she was alive and it caused him to be even more nervous so that he was almost paralyzed with fear.

Gothic writers express themselves by criticizing human nature. They criticize the fact that we hide things deep down inside, and if you can pry it out of the deep cabinet they have hidden this secret in, then you will realize that the monster you just released is far greater than you ever imagined. They communicate this with the reader by hinting at this secret until the story hits its peak of action, when the secret is revealed. For instance in The Fall Of The House Of Usher, the secret that is hidden is the fact that Madeline is a vampire, but Poe throws in certain perfectly planned out parts in the short story to reveal that she is a vampire. Then at the end, right before the fall of the house of usher, the secret is revealed and then everyone knows for sure what Madeline is. So when reading a Gothic Romanticism novel or short story, one must read very carefully for certain symbols, signs and things that hint to the 'secret'. The writers of Gothic Romanticism have very similar feelings towards human nature in the fact that they use gloomy and sullen words to symbolize human nature that how it can be a very sad, dour object. For Instance the Fall of the house of usher uses a storm in the end to destroy the house, and this can symbolize how something can tear us down.

Socratic Questions for "A Good Man is Hard to Find

Where does the Grandmother want to go instead of Florida?

          -Tennessee

Why does the Grandmother not want to go to Florida?

          -The children go there every year and she would like a variety and also a           convicted felon just broke out of jail in the south.

Would the children be more or less grateful/thankful for the trips if they were born 100 years ago? Explain?

          - They would be much more grateful because 100 years ago one couldn’t have        just travelled 300 miles in one day. Also they would be more grateful because    they wouldn’t get very many “road trips” because it would be too expensive to        travel.

If the theme of the story is, “one should be more thankful for what he/she has,” how can this apply to a s\child who is bitter about riding the bus home? Explain?

          -The child should understand that even though he may think it is bad, some    people don’t have as much as him. Some people have to walk 5 miles just to go     to school and he should be more thankful that he even has transportation.

Would the theme change if the story was written in the first person view of the child? Explain?

          -Yes, the story would have been written with a short patience, a bored attitude       and a very small attention span. The theme would have been somewhat close    to, “Unexpected things can happen very fast,” which is completely different than         the theme listed above. Also the story would have been cut short because the       boy died earlier than the end of the short story.