My Favorite Monster

So, as you may have guessed by my clueless reactions in class, I have seen NONE of the movies that we have discussed.  On top of that, I can’t recall seeing any “monster” movies…..possibly but I’m probably just too old now to remember 🙂

What I can tell you though is that, so far, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is one of my favorite stories.  What appeals to me in this story is the fact that Dr. Jekyll is just like many of us.  There are things that he wants to be able to do but because of his place in society he can’t.  So he creates a way to be able to accomplish all of these “taboo” acts without anyone knowing that it is him.  How many of us have said, “If I could just………”  We all have things that we have thought about doing or have wanted to do, but have chosen not to because of what your parents, society, or even God might think.  And I think that is what makes Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde my favorite so far……he is actually in each & every one of us.

This pic is my favorite! It represents both sides but in an inkblot version like the psychologists use. Very fitting!

Generally Speaking

I guess I would have to say that the most interesting thing that I have learned about the Victorians is how alike our modern day society is to what theirs was.  It is really unbelievable.  From the way that technology was advancing (for their time) to the societal issues to government issues……we really are living much the same way that the Victorians did (maybe on somewhat of a different level in some areas but still very much the same).  One of my favorite things at the moment is learning about the Victorian monsters.  I love mystery!  Reading about these monsters and trying to guess and figure out what made them the way they are is very interesting.  I also really like how the authors of the Victorian Era would subliminally write about what issues their society or themselves were facing.  I don’t know that I ever would have figured it out on my own, but being able to go through these in class together has really been great.  I look forward to learning something new about the Victorians every day!

To Love or Not to Love? That is the Question

Mrs. Vance, I must say that you have done it yet again!  I am so in love with this movie!  I honestly thought that I would be fighting sleep the whole time that we watched it.  But I am way more relieved that we didn’t read it….because I would not have understood it at all!  I love the way that all of the characters tie in together in an unsuspecting way.  My favorite part of the web…….Pip is in love with Estella, who is the child of Magwitch, who Pip was kind to so he sponsored his costs to be a gentleman.  WHEW!!!  I seriously had to hold back the tears as we watched it all unfold.  In a perfect world, I would have loved to have seen Pip break down the walls that Estella had built and watch her accept his love.  But sometimes, a person can be too damaged to successfully overcome the destruction that has been done.  I do believe though that through her tears, Estella possibly had the capacity to love, she just didn’t know how to.  And that is somewhat how the movie ended, that maybe it would happen, or maybe it wouldn’t…….but we will never know!

Crime & Punishment

After reading about the life of the Victorians, we know that crime was prevalent.  To try to get a handle on it, the Victorians started a “police force”.  But to start off with, the police would get anyone for anything.  With the sudden amount of prisoners, they had to have somewhere to house them.  If the crime was to be punishable by death, it usually happened in the public.  Everyone saw you die, as if it were entertainment.  Long-term prisoners were housed on prison hulks and eventually shipped off.  Some of the more short term offenders were actually given pretty spacious quarters, which is very different than what our prisons have today.  Another difference in then & today is how our prisoners are treated.  Then, they were put in solitude, forced into silence, shut off from everything.  Our prisoners today, on the other hand, have it pretty good!  They have at least 3 meals a day, free healthcare, they are allowed visitors, and more.  Some prisoners today actually have it better off than the free man.

A Few Odd Characters

As we are getting a littler further into “Great Expectations”, we are beginning to see some new faces.  So far, the most intriguing is Miss Havisham.  Yes, she comes off as being awful but I think that underneath all of that is a very pitiful and broken person.  She has lost herself & become delusional due to what happened to her.  What’s even worse….she is grooming Estella into being an evil person, but maybe not intentionally because of her mental state.  And poor Pip….he is just along for the ride.  He has no idea what is coming to him.  He is so eager to please someone & feel wanted & do more with his life that he doesn’t see the dangers ahead of him.  At least he has Joe who genuinely care for him, not like his sister, Mrs. Joe.  She is wretched!  And I honestly found it quite funny that she died during one of her hissy fits.  Serves her right!

           Miss Havisham

Great Expectations VS Charles Dickens

After reading/watching Great Expectations and reading about Charles Dickens’ childhood, there are some parallels that become quite evident.  The first major parallel that I see is that between Pip and Charles Dickens as a child.  Dickens was separated from his family while growing up & was put to work.  In the first chapter of Great Expectations, we meet Pip who is an orphan and is being taught black-smithing.  Also in the movie, Pip encounters a prisoner.  Dickens’ father was also held prisoner for some time concerning bad debt he had accrued.  Pip is represented as a timid and scared young boy who dreams of having a bigger and better life.  I think Dickens most definitely felt this way as a child.  He was alone.  He was scared.  He probably witnessed a lot of anger and he was sure to have been angry within.  He also wanted more; dreaming of becoming something more & doing better with his life.  And I also think, that as Dickens became a writer, he used his writings as an outlet for those feelings & emotions that he harbored from his childhood.

Victorian Transportation & Communication

With the invention of the railway system & the telegraph, the Victorians were able to establish a whole new world!  The railway system allowed a new,faster way of travel & transportation of goods.  Before the railway, the only way of getting from here to there was by horse and that usually took DAYS!  Not only did the railway system provide a new way of transport, it provided new job opportunities for the Victorians. They also began to make underground railways when the cities began to get overcrowded, and the use of turnpikes and canals increased.  All of these were profound inventions that forever changed how we are able to travel today.

Now on the side of communication, the Victorians were only able to communicate by the old fashioned letter (“mailed” on horseback)….that was until the telegraph came along.  This was HUGE!!!  This invention forever changed the way we would be able to communicate.

THE Test

I’ll be very upfront in saying that when we first started talking about the way that our midterm would be laid out….I was freaking!  I am the kind of person that normally learns more from notes and memorization & can ace any test that way.  So to have to dig deep and come up with answers that I “thought” were correct was very much outside of my comfort zone.  I am more of what you would call the “book smart nerd” and not at all the “weird artsy nerd” & I struggle with having to tell what I think something should be and why.  I know we had “the world at our fingertips” but that didn’t ease my fears.  BUT, I somehow managed to pull it together. Other than the little time crunch we had due to technical difficulties with the 1st test, it went MUCH better than I had expected.  The 2nd test was a little harder, but in the end, I think I pulled it off pretty well…..I hope so anyway!  And I honestly wouldn’t mind if our final was similar. Even though it was harder for me, I am proud that I stepped out of my comfort zone & produced answers that I am proud of.

What did I like most about the Victorians?

I honestly don’t know if I can choose just one topic that I really liked….I loved all of it!  I will be the first to say that I entered into this class with the most horrible attitude.  “Dreading it” does not even come close to accurately describing my feelings then.  But, Mrs. Vance, I have to commend you for bringing this class to life!  I have truly loved every aspect of this.  The topics that stood out the most though were those of the monsters, such as Jack the Ripper, Amelia Dyer, & Burke & Hare (just to name a few).  Creepiness just intrigues me.  I would love to know what went wrong in their minds that caused them to murder or just to know how they justified it.  With the living conditions that plagued the Victorians it’s not hard to see how they turned to lives of crime.

Another topic that I sincerely enjoyed was that of my presentation, Mary Seacole.  When we were in the process of choosing our topics, I originally wanted one of the names that was familiar to me.  By the time I got around to voicing it, those topics were all taken.  So I decided on Mary Seacole since she has a background in nursing and I was not disappointed!  She was so brave and persistent throughout her life.  The deeper I dug, the more intrigued I became and thus I wanted to dig even deeper!  How cool was it to find out that Florence Nightingale just MIGHT have spread rumors about her????

So thank you, Mrs. Vance, for enlightening my life!  I will forever remember that “We are the Victorians”!

Schalcken the Painter

I really enjoyed the suspenseful ending to “Schalcken the Painter”!  The story pretty much leaves you to use your imagination to figure out what happened to Rose.  Did she jump?  Was she thrown out of the window? What happened to her?  All that we know for sure is that she is gone without a trace!  I think it was pretty obvious though that something bad was going to happen to her from the very beginning.  But to be honest, since I don’t really know that much about vampires it’s hard for me to put together any sense of connection with vapirism and arranged marriages.  And I still couldn’t decipher how Mrs. Vance was trying to put it together!  I was lost!  I CAN look at both of them separately within the story.  The man of Rotterdam was a bluish color.  We often associate vampires with being a very pale or discolored figure.  And Vanhausen definitely bought Rose from her father in order to marry her.  La Fanu draws you in with his very descriptive use of words for the surroundings and actions that take place within the story.