The average american has an obsession with the occult where they cant get enough of the supernatural, mystical or magical beliefs or phenomenons. They will absorb themselves in television, movies or books obsessing over the vampires or demons that appear in them. Young Goodman Brown is one of the first to experience the occult that will start America's obsession with this which can also be compared to Frankenstein.
America is mostly obsessed with the occult because people like to thrill their senses. We also wonder what lies behind death's door and mainly because of curiosity. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, Goodman Brown happens to come across an elderly man who is found out to be the devil. This can be related to the Salem witch trials which were occurring at the same time where women would be accused of being possessed by the devil and practicing witchcraft.
The occult can also be seen in Mary Shelly's novel, Frankenstein. In this, Frankenstein creates a creature made of deceased people and makes him come to life through practicing Ceremonial Magic and alchemy. This novel helped America's obsession with occult by showing that there is a possible afterlife and making people's obsession grow even more and still fascinate people today.
These show that Americans cant get enough of their supernatural and magical beliefs. Stories such as Frankenstein and Young Goodman Brown provide America with excitement and comfort, but also answers their curiosity. Today we still see several examples of the occult through television or books that are more recent and loved just as much as these older stories are. Some of them include Walking Dead, Twilight, Supernatural, Dracula, Vampire Diaries and many more.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Anti-Hero Comparison of Ichabod Crane and Han Solo
An anti hero is a central character in a story who lacks conventional heroic attributes. Whereas the traditional hero will stand for the values of courage and self-sacrifice, the anti hero often will act selfishly and without concern for others.
In the original Star Wars trilogy, Han Solo is immediately seen as the anti hero. The first scene where Han is shown in the Mos Eisley Cantina, all he cares about is his money that he will receive from Luke and Obi Wan Kenobi. Throughout Episode IV Han shows the traits of a classic anti hero, some examples include his statement to Princess Leia, "I ain't in this for you sweetheart and I'm certainly not in this for your revolution. I'm in it for the money... I expect to be well paid." He is also portrayed as an anti hero when Leia makes the comment to Luke saying, "Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything... or anybody." All of these traits show how Han Solo is selfish, only thinks about money, and doesn't care about anything which proves how he is the anti hero in Star Wars.
In The Legends Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Ichabod Crane is clearly portrayed as an anti hero. In the story, Ichabod Crane only wants Katrina Van Tassel for her wealth and land, not for love. This is shown with the quote, "He was satisfied with his wealth, but not proud of it; and piqued himself upon the hearty abundance, rather than the style in which he lived." which shows his greed for money from Katrina in order to make himself better off. On page 16, it is shown how Ichabod Crane becomes obsessive over Katrina's land, so obsessive to where he fantasizes how much money he could make off of selling the land and moving to another state. These quotes also shows how selfish Ichabod Crane is by him only thinking about what would be best for himself with the least amount of work possible. All Ichabod Crane cares about is his wealth and what would be best for him, rather than anything about Katrina.
Han Solo and Ichabod Crane share the classic traits of what an anti hero would do. Both are selfish, only concerned with what would be best for them and not thinking about anyone else. Han and Ichabod also both have an immense greed for money as that is all they try to achieve throughout both stories, not letting anything stop them from reaching this goal.
In the original Star Wars trilogy, Han Solo is immediately seen as the anti hero. The first scene where Han is shown in the Mos Eisley Cantina, all he cares about is his money that he will receive from Luke and Obi Wan Kenobi. Throughout Episode IV Han shows the traits of a classic anti hero, some examples include his statement to Princess Leia, "I ain't in this for you sweetheart and I'm certainly not in this for your revolution. I'm in it for the money... I expect to be well paid." He is also portrayed as an anti hero when Leia makes the comment to Luke saying, "Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything... or anybody." All of these traits show how Han Solo is selfish, only thinks about money, and doesn't care about anything which proves how he is the anti hero in Star Wars.
In The Legends Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Ichabod Crane is clearly portrayed as an anti hero. In the story, Ichabod Crane only wants Katrina Van Tassel for her wealth and land, not for love. This is shown with the quote, "He was satisfied with his wealth, but not proud of it; and piqued himself upon the hearty abundance, rather than the style in which he lived." which shows his greed for money from Katrina in order to make himself better off. On page 16, it is shown how Ichabod Crane becomes obsessive over Katrina's land, so obsessive to where he fantasizes how much money he could make off of selling the land and moving to another state. These quotes also shows how selfish Ichabod Crane is by him only thinking about what would be best for himself with the least amount of work possible. All Ichabod Crane cares about is his wealth and what would be best for him, rather than anything about Katrina.
Han Solo and Ichabod Crane share the classic traits of what an anti hero would do. Both are selfish, only concerned with what would be best for them and not thinking about anyone else. Han and Ichabod also both have an immense greed for money as that is all they try to achieve throughout both stories, not letting anything stop them from reaching this goal.
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