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Death And Pain In Sharp Objects

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Gothic literature encompasses many different elements such as death, pain and blood to create a dark, grotesque and almost disturbing mood. These elements make for a suspensful plot and give clear images to what is happening. In the novel, “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn the narrators sister, Marian dies a slow painful death which haunts the narrator Camille and her family their whole lives. Marian’s devastating death(which is later found to be murder) leads to Camille to turn to self harm in the form of cutting herself which creates a future of pain and shame. The novel revolves around the elements of death and pain be creating a story line of Camille’s life through the tragic events that occur- the death of her sister, the investigation of two girls who were strangled and her mother’s violence and psychological issues. The theme of death is reflected by …show more content…

Alicia’s family “had before them a waning life, bleeding away day by day.” (Quirgo 2) Alicia in feather pillow slowly died from what the doctors thought was; an unexplained loss of blood. Later her caretakers discovered that a parasite was sucking all of her blood from her pillow in her sleep. This story highlights the element of blood by using it throughout as a result of pain and suffering. The short story “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe exemplifies the gothic elements pain and death through the narrator’s psychological issues. The narrator inflicts pain on his wife and cat out of blame shown in the line, “I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain. She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan.” (Poe 5) The gothic works “Sharp objects by Gillian Flynn, “Feather Pillow” by Horacio Quiroga and “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe all incorporate the gothic elements death pain and blood in a variety of ways that complement

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