The Independence of Hoichi

Blog #3
Week of  9/16/19

The work I read this week was from Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn. Kwaidan. This is a Japanese book that contains retelling of short stories that were passed down from generation to generation. The short story I read is called, The Story of Mimi-Hashi-Hoichi. The main character is a blind man named Hoichi - a talented musician. In the middle of the night, a mysterious man appears and tells Hoichi has been called upon by his lord to perform for him. He is then asked to return for next six nights. Although others might think this encounter as odd, Hoichi thinks of it as a great honor to perform to a lord, so he accepts. At this point in the story is when I started having my suspicions that something mischievous was going on. The mentioning of the number six alludes to the Bible as the sign of the devil.

On the second night, the priest - who took Hoichi under his care - finds out that Hoichi went out in the middle of the night without a guide. The priest made his mind up that Hoichi is in danger due to evil spirits. He immediately sets out to find the cause of Hoichi’s strange behavior. I think this part in the story is a great example of independence verses dependence. In comparison to western culture, the Japanese take it very seriously to take on the responsibility of nursing the elderly and sick. Therefore, I believe that when the priest experiences Hoichi's independence for the first time, his alarm bells go off. Hoichi’s dependence of needing help on a daily basis it ends up saving his life. On the other hand, due to his lack of independence, the priest’s actions to save him create quite a sinister result. In order to protect Hoichi, the priest orders his body to be painted in religious scripture from head to toe. On the forth night, when the guide comes to pick Hoichi up, the plan seems to be going well because the guide is not able to touch him. That is until he realizes that his ears are fair game because they were left bare, and rips them off. This was a powerful scene because it shows that in culture, even back then, people seemed to think religion had all the answers to life’s daily problems. In actuality, there are moments in life that just don’t have solutions but they are to teach us lifelong lessons. 

Twilight: Where Vampires Sparkle

Blog #2.
Week of 9/9/19

In the first installment of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga we are introduced to the main characters Bella being a human and Edward being a vampire. We experience the development of their relationship throughout the book. Their first encounter is when Bella walks into class and once their eyes meet on that first day of school there is an almost chemical reaction between them. Edward seems repulse by her but also cannot keep his eyes off. This causes her to think something is wrong with her but as days go by she experiences things, involving Edward, that are unexplainable. Situations like when Edward saves her from being smashed by a van in the school parking lot seeming to appear out of nowhere. This is the part in their relationship where Bella starts asking questions but instead of answering Edward just brushes them off. Instead of leaving the odd encounter alone like other girls in this situation might do she becomes intrigued and starts investigating. Once Bella finally discovers that Edward is vampire and though he tries to show her that he is a monster and dangerous for her to be around it does not sway her. Nothing he says or does will change that because she sees his immortality as a gift rather than a curse. They have literal curve balls thrown at them but it does not detour them form staying together.

            After years of hearing the stories of vampires such as Nosferatu I think as humans the story line started to become a bit boring and too stereotypical. The whole hideous creature who dwelled in a gloomy castle became a bad reminder of all the real monsters in today’s world. I think when people pick up a book today they want to connect with the characters and be able to relate to them in some way. So, the story of the vampire changed and vampires like Edward became more humanized and appealing to their audience.

They Call Him Mr. Frankenstein

Blog #1
Week of 8/26/19

Entering the world of darkness, Mary Shelly’s book, Frankenstein, portrays the deeper understanding of gothic genre and its era. It is best portrayed through a prominent pattern of utilizing gory and exaggerated descriptions. To illustrate, Shelly’s descriptions successfully creates an eerie atmosphere - through use of grim imagery - that sucks the reader’s attention into the twisted mind of the narrator’s perspective: “I saw how the worm inherited the wonders of the eye and brain” (p. 70, Shelly). After reading this particular scene, the protagonist’s, Victor Frankenstein, sense of extreme description was described during his first encounter of the dead had made me physically cringe. On the other hand, Frankenstein’s tone of excitement, while describing the dead, caused it to be more disturbing because it was full of pure delight and satisfaction. Although this was one incident in the novel of wretched description, it is appropriate due to the novel’s genre.

The gothic genre interpreted in this novel was enhanced when Victor Frankenstein created the wretch. Through this, Frankenstein ends up feeling regret subsequently reanimating the monster, “… I sought to avoid the wretch whom I feared every turning of the street…” With the understanding of self-reproach for Frankenstein, it is inevitable that different suspenseful events will occur as the novel progresses, hence shaping that psychological twist for the reader. Through this, the author allows the reader to feel what the narrator is going through, first handedly, such as walking down city streets aimlessly by trying to escape from personal demons and mistakes.

Gothic genre is viewed in many different ways to be seen as dark and gory; however, there is a little humor hidden underneath. Shelly does a tremendous job at creating the contrasting aspects through her use of imagery and tone in her writing. This novel was an interesting read because of the idea of taking a dead man and recreating him into Frankenstein's ideal image of his perfect creation. With all of the hard work and effort Frankenstein put into his creation, it ended up backfiring - just like a normal person living his or her daily life. The novel amplifies the exaggeration of a person's regret of his or her actions.