A Literary Analysis Of 'Where Is Here' By Joyce Oates

Suddenly, Jacob Marley’s ghost flies through the closed door. Marley’s ghost was tangled in chains, symbolizing that he was chained to his job and he only cared about money. Marley warned Scrooge that he would soon be visited by three ghosts. The three being the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Scrooge, on edge, went to his bed, but never fell asleep.

Gothic Literature is a genre that was popular between 18th to 19th centuries in North Germany. It is always being associated with Dark Romanticism which the emphasize was more on nature, terror and death, horror and many more. It involves dark and gloomy setting and also unexplainable things that are beyond human senses and reason such as ghosts and monsters. The main characters, on the other hand, are always ineffectual which they do not give much effect on the story plot. This can be seen through Washington Irving’s “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which can be considered as American gothic work in terms of its description of setting, the involvement of supernatural element in the story and also the characteristics of the main character.

Stories written during the Gothic Era have a dark nature to them. One story that highlights the prime elements of the Gothic Era is Dracula by Bram Stoker. Dracula incorporates the themes of the Gothic Era all throughout the book. Dracula is filled with settings that are isolated, dark, and sinister which are important characteristics of the Gothic Era. It

“ The Fall of the House of Usher “ by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about a man named Roderick Usher who initiates some events such as evoking his friend The Narrator as a protagonist to the dreadful mansion. The images such as the house and gothic ambience are used to reinforce the idea of giving the mystery to the reader. Edgar Allan Poe uses gothic elements to show how they affect the atmosphere and the characters. In the beginning , the gothic atmosphere of the house is indicated with terrifying images such as “ dull, dark and soundless ” that the feeling of horror vaccinated into reader by the thoughts of the narrator. Additionally , the house that the narrator mentions is illustrated as “ mansion of gloom “ which might be a sign that the aura of the house has something dreadful in it.

Why does gothic horror even matter in literature? Gothic horror can create numerous ideas found within a novel more interesting or suspenseful about what will happen next. These stories use different characteristics to create a gothic atmosphere in the story. During the Victorian era, the idea of gothic literature grew in popularity. It is influenced by countless ideas, including religious themes around this time period, and usually reflects on the characteristics of the people living in the Victorian era.

These murders are only thought of and happen because of supernatural occurrences. Poe’s poems, since they are romantic, are always dark and revolve around death and torture. Poe’s writings are gothic and the plots of gothic literature are always about murder, funerals, and torture. “Above all was the sense of hearing acute. (The narrator) heard all things in the heaven and in the earth.

“So, on the chill, damp, deepening dusk, the stranger wandered around the property while the mother set the dining room table and the father peered covertly out the window”. After examining outside the house and a very old swing set, the mother asks him inside. The inside of the house, how the stranger describes it, is new and very different than when he had lived there. He reminisces of how he used to live. Although the house is very beautiful and clean, his speaking of his memories of the house sets an eerie tone.

The story starts in a quiet little neighborhood where this family has lived in this home for several years without incident. Then one night, they are interrupted by a stranger who knocks on the door. Upon the father opening the door, he is greeted by a stranger who seems a little uneasy but asks if he can look around because he grew up there. Father allowed him to and then watched him out the window nervously. Mother was wondering what was going on and why father didn’t just ask him in.

This happens at the very end of the book when Jem and Scout are walking back for a school play and are attacked by Bob Ewell. During the attack the two children are saved by a mysterious figure in the night and Jem (who was knocked unconscious) is carried back to the house. After Scout makes it back Atticus asks her what happened, and she tells him about how they were attacked and someone saved them and brought Jem back. Now in the room with Jem on the Bed Atticus asks Scout who carried Jem back and she point behind the door to where Boo Radley is seen standing there. In this moment the reader realizes that Boo is not mean or scary in any way and is just a man who is misunderstood by

Edgar Allen Poe creates an atmosphere of suspense in “The Raven” and in “The Pit and Pendulum “making the reader wonder what is going to happen next by creating confusion. The typical gothic style of Poe’s writings is very dark and cold, affecting the narrator both mentally and physically. In both “The Pit and The Pendulum” and “The Raven”, both of the narrators are being tortured. In “The Raven” the narrator is being tortured mentally while in “The Pit and The Pendulum” the narrator is being tortured physically. Poe uses many gothic elements such as setting and supernatural elements making fear one of the most important unifying effects in the narratives.