Gothic Elements In Salem's Lot

1030 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literature is the mirror of society

The book Salem’s Lot by Stephen King is an exceptionally crafted gothic literary piece! It continuously keeps the reader on the edge of their seat while keeping them fully immersed within the story! The book is set in 1975 starting in a small town in maine that is overrun by vampiric monsters. King uses Gothic Literary elements like Gloomy decaying setting, Supernatural beings, monsters, and phantoms, Heroes, and Intense Emotions to round out the story and create a bond between the reader and the text. King had an amazing talent for describing the landscape, he gave the Marsten house the perfect feeling of darkness and evil that i had portrayed among the town. He is able to establish a baseline between the readers depiction of the house itself and how he wants it to be seen. It is clear that he wants the reader to believe that the Marsten house is the stereotypical haunted mansion, but it is so much more than that. “...where those trees rose against the sky, the peaked, gabled roof of the Marsten House. He gazed …show more content…

Whether it be a relationship, fear, anxiety, or happiness he has the power to shift the overall feel of the book. And it is clear that reading Salem’s lot brings out the real fear! From the start of the hunt for Barlow a strong hatred is created between him and Ben, especially due to the murder and transformation of Susan (Bens sweetheart) that really pushes him over the edge. “...Trembling, Ben let the letter fall to the table. He looked at the others. Mark stood with his hands clenched into a fist…” From this passage it is clear to see the anger, frustration, and downright hatred that the group feels towards Barlow. They have all been to Hell and back, and with Barlow constantly taunting them on every decision they make, or every person they lose, it's amazing that none of them went insane! This kind of hatred can only be created after a long trail of pain, suffering, and

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Escaping Salem And The Salem Witch Trials

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.

    Read More

  • Salem Possessed: The Social Origins Of Witchcraft

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft explores and breaks down the events that took place in the small village of Salem in 1692. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed, use primary sources, both published and unpublished, to tell the crazy and eventful history of Salem. They go into great detail in why some folks were accused of being Witches, the arrests and the so popular Salem Witch Trials. The main reason for this book was to try and find out what caused the terrible outbreak of events that happened in Salem and they do so by looking into the History and Social life in the famed Salem Village. The history of Witchcraft in Salem is a well-known story from High School on and this book goes in depth about why things happened the way they did and how the social aspect played a big role is the story.

    Read More

  • The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    Salem Village was one of many non-urban inhabitants. They were looked upon as country folk because of their interests and beliefs in the church and growing tobacco to survive in this new land. There was not much for children to do except go to church, work on the fields, or go to school. You can imagine how bored these children can get. In such a secluded lifestyle as this, you would be a crazy person if you were at all different, and this episode would be so different that it would be traumatic to the people of this small village. Traumatic as it was, I believe the people just did not know how to react in such a situation.

    Read More

  • Who Is Abigail Williams Angry In The Crucible

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials marks a vulnerable era in history. The play allows us to see that uncontrolled rage, pride, and even religion at times, can lead to destruction and mayhem. With these factors, it’s quite clear to see why Salem was vulnerable to these

    Read More

  • Film Review of The Crucible

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    story takes place in Salem in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. The story starts

    Read More

  • Imagery In Salem

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the use of repetition and Imagery, Cotton Mather significantly enhances his account, “Wonders of the Invisible World”, of what exactly happened in the dreadful Salem Witch Trials. The trials began in the summer of 1692 after accusations of witchcraft started to surface in the settlement. Many were condemned, however, contrary to popular belief, none of them were burned at the stake. Mather was asked by the judges of the trial, shortly after it ended, to explain and record what had transpired in Salem. He employs literary elements to dispel skepticism as to if his writings are genuine and be accepted as history.

    Read More

  • Hysteria in The Crucible by Arthur Miller and in the Red Scare

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    The children of Salem did not have many forms of entertainment, especially during the winter. There were no movies or radios, and the adults were always busy with work. Many took to reading as a form of entertainment. The young people of the town became interested in books about fortune telling and prophecies.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • Corruption In The Crucible

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the adolescents wail in their pretentious horror of a fictional bird, Proctor slowly realizes the conformation that Satan has entered Salem. Arthur Miller’s tragic allegory, The Crucible, shows the destruction of sinister Salem in 1692. The protagonist, John Proctor, a damnable farmer, has a lecherous affair with the antagonist, Abigail Williams, an ignorant and covetous juvenile. Satan mixes their interior motives to manufacture a catastrophic concoction. The ingredients of destruction consist of selfishness, immaturity, and corruption. The voracious desires of the natives of Salem lead to their evil and self-indulged intentions.

    Read More

  • Witch Hunt Mania - 1450 to 1750

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kallen, Stuart. Witches, Magic & Spells. Minnesota, Abdo & Daughters, 1991. 5, ?Salem? -http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem 6,

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story is set in seventeenth-century Salem, a time and place where sin and evil were greatly analyzed and feared. The townspeople, in their Puritan beliefs, were obsessed with the nature of sin and with finding ways to be rid of it altogether through purification of the soul. At times, people were thought to be possessed by the devil and to practice witchcraft. As punishment for these crimes, some were subjected to torturous acts or even horrible deaths. Thus, Hawthorne’s choice of setting is instrumental in the development of theme.

    Read More

  • Salem Witches and Ergot of Rye

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    While researching texts written about the Salem Witch Trials, I found a few authors who published articles and books about the Salem Witch Trials. These authors often showed that the most likely cause of the fits coming from the victims was produced by ergot of rye. However, I could not find much discussion about another important source of the fits’ cause: witchcraft. My goal in this paper is to produce a convincing argument that the victims during the Salem Witch Trials that experienced strange behaviors came from ergot of rye rather than witchcraft.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins Of Witchcraft

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to understand the outbreak of the witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, explore the social and economic divisions and tensions within Salem and the surrounding communities. Both Boyer and Nissenbaum have a strong background in history. Paul Boyer (1935-2012) was the Merle Curti Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a cultural and intellectual historian who authored several other books. Stephen Nissenbaum was a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst who authored several other books as well. In Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of

    Read More

  • Film Analysis: Hocus Pocus

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    The three witches are being punished for their witchcraft in 1693 as they were taking the souls of countless children. 300 years later, on Halloween, a skeptical boy by the name of Max, his younger sister Dani, and his school crush Allison go to investigate the Sanderson sisters house to see if any kind of supernatural things take place. While in the house Max lights the black candle, not truly believing that anything would happen, but the Sanderson sisters come back to life, and this would be the beginning of chaos striking the city of Salem and all the children within it.

    Read More

  • Gothic Elements In 'The Moonlit Road'

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    The story The Moonlit Road, has three gothic literary elements. These gothic elements include supernatural elements, experimental writing techniques, and horror. There is a supernatural element in the Late Julia Hetman story is being through the Medium Bayrolles. She says after she dies, “O God! What a thing it is to be a ghost, cowering and shivering in an altered world, a prey to apprehension and despair!” (Bierce). This is a supernatural element because Julia dies and becomes a ghost. The Moonlit Road, becomes a gothic story because she died and become a ghost and walked around in an altered world that is not like the world we live in. Julia’s death is supernatural because Julia had no control of it. The next gothic element to be introduced

    Read More

  • Theme Of Delusion In The Yellow Wallpaper

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    The house is described as, “The most beautiful place! It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people” (251). However, Jane’s delusion is just that, a delusion encrypted by her mind to have her think she is living in quiet luxury. She goes on to talk about how the bed is nailed down to the floor, the walls are covered in scratches, the windows are barred, and there are rings in the walls. Obviously, Jane, despite being told by her husband that she is fine, is slowly beginning to lose sight of reality. The reader should know at this point that this “mansion” is nothing short of an insane asylum John has taken Jane to so she can rest and calm her troubles. But Jane and John’s troubles are only beginning when she is forced to sit in solitude with the awful yellow

    Read More

More about Gothic Elements In Salem's Lot

Open Document