This Class is Lit:

 

Cole Harp

 

“In the Abyss,” by H.G. Wells, is a story about a man, Lt. Elstead, who travels to the ocean floor, and discovers an underwater civilization living there.  Elstead is worshipped as a god by these creatures.  The story makes heavy use of light, which represents Elstead’s desire to learn.  Even after escaping the underwater civilization the only thing that Elstead wants is to return to the abyss that the creatures call home.  It is worth noting that after escaping Elstead chooses not to tell anyone of his discovery, be it out of fear for being thought of as insane, or out of greed.  A third reason Elstead may not want to tell anyone about his discovery is respect for the civilization as people may want to try and exploit the creatures.  When taken on a more symbolic level the story is no longer about a man discovering a mysterious civilization, but a man longing to learn.  People are naturally curious, and want to learn and invent even if there is danger involved.  Wells’ story confirms the notion that people want to learn as once Elstead escapes his mysterious captors he immediately wants to return despite the apparent danger.  Elstead represents mankind, and the civilization symbolizes knowledge.  Elstead, or mankind, wants to learn about the civilization regardless of the inherent danger, and is willing to risk his life in the pursuit of that knowledge.

 

 

Rugrats:

 

Jane Elizabeth

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a well-known piece of literature among the millennial generation among others. The protagonist, Charlie, is a young boy who does not come from wealth and is just hopeful for the future. When Wonka gives people across the word the opportunity to come and visit the factory, Charlie along with his family, especially his grandfather, becomes hopeful he will get to experience visiting the factory for a day. Throughout the entire piece, the tone continues to be hopeful and optimistic. When Charlie was first opening Wonka bars, he did not have much luck. But, once he found the money on the street, he knew exactly what he should use it for. When Charlie finally has the satisfaction of opening a Wonka bar with a golden ticket, it is foreshadowing to his future. As the plot line continues, Charlie continues to stand out among the other children at the factory. Once all 5 children and their parents complete the tour of the factory, Charlie and his grandfather are the only two people left standing. What I mean by this is throughout the journey of the tour, children continue to disobey Wonka’s rules and requests, but Charlie is the only rule follower at the conclusion of the story. I think the text’s main audience was originally to children because the protagonist can relate to younger people. Although I feel like the intended audience is for youth, the message is beneficial to all.  The author’s main argument might be that if you do what you are told then life will pan out like it should. But, even though you are doing what is right, there might be bumps along the way.

 

 

Lith Lords:

Hunter

 

1.     From the information given, I am able to picture the creepiness of Count Dracula and the almost naivety of John Harker, as well as the imposing and morbid setting of Castle Dracula.  The narrator of the story is John Harker, both through diary entries and his personal experience in the story. John Harker is a young, logical man, who does not believe in the supernatural. He is a man of science and is bewildered by the seemingly bizarre religious practices of the natives.  The tone, style, and general atmosphere of the text is fairly dark with a slight bit of humor. Dark humor, yes, but humor nonetheless. The plot of the text is a young man that doesn’t believe in the supernatural being thrust into a supernatural adventure fraught with danger. I believe that the original audience was the general population. I think the author was trying to argue that in an age where science dominates religion and mythology, there are still things that cannot be explained. I believe he was trying to make people realize you need a combination of faith in the supernatural as well as faith in science.

2.     The story of Dracula is set in Romania. A young man from England is on a trip working as a land solicitor for a client in Castle Dracula. On the train to his destination, the locals act very strangely, providing him with things to protect him from supernatural monsters. Being a man of science and education, John Harker chalks up to being in a rural area. However, as he arrives and settles into the castle, things begin to get weird. The Count behaves very strangely, and the door to the castle disappears completely. The only way out of the castle is to jump out of the window, which will most likely result in death.  Three unusual, beautiful young women, wander about the castle acting strangely. John comes to the conclusion that he is a guest in a vampire’s castle, and that he is next on the menu. Thus John shifts from a strong confident character, to a man terrified of the unknown. He makes the decision to jump out the window rather than be murdered by Count Dracula for his blood.

 

 

This Class is Lit:
 

Lindsay

 

The characters are described as a boy, a girl, and a nightingale. I assume that from the way they act, the humans are probably teenagers. The boy is described as a student, and the girl is also referred to as the Professor’s daughter.The nightingale seems to be observing the boy and girl and can understand what is happening between them, but they do not understand the nightingale. The setting is in a garden, where there are lots of flowers but one very prickly rosebush. The narrator is a third person looking in on this situation, but shifts perspectives between each of the main characters. I think the tone of the poem is wistful at first when the boy is in love, but then turns dramatic when the bird makes his big move, and then ultimately emotional and angry at the end when the bird dies but the girl still rejects the boy’s rose. The text seems to draw some parallels to the story of Jesus Christ, and his sacrificial act of love when he was crucified on the cross so that everyone else could experience eternal life in Heaven. I think the author’s main argument is just to make readers think about what sacrificial love is and how powerful that act can be, but how often it goes unnoticed by its intended recipients. To summarize this plot, a young boy is in love with a young girl and the only way he can show his love is to give her a red rose. However, the red rose is trapped in a thorny rosebush. An on looking nightingale sees the boy’s strong feelings for the girl, and chooses to sacrifice it’s own life to get the rose. However, the boy doesn’t understand that the bird loved him enough to sacrifice itself, and just takes the rose to the girl. But when he gives her the rose, the girl rejects it in favor of jewelry from a prince.