James Patterson's book “Witch & Wizard” is about two teen wizards, Whisteria and Whitford Allgood. Whisty and Whit are brother and sister living in a dictatorship-like society called the New Order (N.O.). In the N.O. any disobedience or ideas of magic will be punished. Also, anyone under the age of eighteen will be evaluated and corrected if they do not comply with the N.O.'s ideas. The dictator of this new society is referred to as The One Who Is The One. The One is supposed to be an all powerful leader, who has powers far greater than Whit and Whisty. The story begins when Whisty and her family are being captured by the N.O.'s Special Forces. This book is a great recommendation to those who like Gothic literature and dark depressing events …show more content…
One of the settings takes place in a mental hospital converted into a prison. The mental hospital is described as dark, gloomy, and dank. The cell Whit and Whisty are being condemned to can be compared to a futuristic dungeon. The text states, “I brandished my drumstick as if it were actually a magic wand. To my complete and utter astonishment, we heard a real live crack of electricity, and actual sparks flew out of the end of the stick. The TW gave a startled cry, and then there was a boom like a jet had just broken the sound barrier. When the smoke cleared, Whit and I were standing there, looking at … well, an honest mistake. But a very bad mistake all the same. I COULD HAVE SWORN I said pumpkin. Didn’t I say pumpkin? Um I think I Just turned the Tattling Weasel into a lion” (127-128). The text explains the book features Gothic literature as a primary theme; there are many other examples of magical events in “Witch and Wizard”. If you have a fetish for Gothic literature, this is a book for you. Even if you do not have a fetish for Gothic literature, this book will make you develop …show more content…
Later in the book Whisty and Whit learn of their powers and train to rise up against the N.O and The One Who Is The One. The text states, “Let’s review: 1. I, everyday ordinary Wisty am a witch. Washboard-tummy Whit is a wizard. We don’t exactly know how to control our powers. 2. Whit and I were sentenced to death by an insidious individual named The One Who Is The One. 3. And my parents are wanted for treason. And we still have no idea where they are, or whether they are still alive. 4. We were tortured in a magic- dampening prison. So possibly we’re more powerful than we even know. 5. A dead girl- who just happens to be the true love of my brother’s young life- showed up mysteriously and rescued us from prison. 6. I turned Byron Swain into a weasel. That, I’m very proud of. 7. The world is actually plural, not singular. Between the Shadowland, Freeland, Overworld, and Underworld, it’s hard not to lose count. 8. And one of those worlds is being run by a bunch of kids … from the manager’s desk in a semidemolished department store. It isn’t paradise, but at least it’s a place where freedom still reigns. 9. I am asked to help orchestrate a prison raid that might save kids from being vaporized” (193-194). The text explains that even though the two teen wizards have gone
Various authors develop their stories using gothic themes and characterizations of this type to lay the foundation for their desired reader response. Although Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Peter Taylor’s “Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time” are two completely different narratives, both of these stories share a commonality of gothic text representations. The stories take slightly different paths, with Poe’s signifying traditional gothic literature and Taylor approaching his story in a more contemporary manner.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
The novel The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, is a story that takes place in South Africa, and is narrated by a young English boy by the name of Peekay. The story follows his life, including both negative and positive events that shape who he is. Through his negative experiences with inequality and prejudice against others, Peekay develops his moral code that everyone should be treated equally.
story has a division between romance and death. When analyzing a gothic novella, the reader
Punter David, ‘The Literature of Terror’, in A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day, The Modern Gothic. Harlow, eds. (UK: Pearson Education, 1996)
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
Cashdan, Sheldon. The Witch Must Die: The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales. New York: Basic Books, 1999.
...hey are made to try his experiment for teleportation. The children travel to different worlds and are followed back by a witch who, after destroying her own world, wants to rule theirs. The children work together to stop the witch and send her back to her original world. Unfortunately, the place they expect to go is not where they end up, which results in the witch escaping in to the newly created world of Narnia. On the bright side, Diggory nourishes his mother back to health and plants a tree which will later be used to build a wardrobe that becomes a doorway to Narnia. Because The Magician’s Nephew is written late in the series, the reader, who already knows about Narnia, learns how Narnia came into being and how the human race became involved there.
Now we have examined three stories written by two well distinguished authors known for their Southern Gothic Literature and found many similarities in each story. Each story has its form of the grotesque we have Miss Emily, the Misfit, the Grandmother, and Marley Pointer and let’s not leave out Helga. The characters of each story has some form of cringe inducing quality, meaning some kind of attitude about themselves that gets under ones skin. Then as we can see from the stories they all are Southern based each story is in a Southern setting. And the final thing we look for in Southern Gothic literature is tragedy which all three stories possessed.
Gillian Flynn and Edgar Allen Poe apply gothic literature of psychological issues and violence throughout their gothic literature in, Sharp Objects, The Black Cat, and The Raven to illustrate a dreary storyline.
The witch is both vulnerable and a powerful figure. The resulting tension between power and powerlessness as a response to laws created by those in power, rather institutionalised power: men, can be seen as expressed through such binary metaphors as that of physical strength and beauty versus weakness and ugliness, kn...
...me situations or events in the book and Harry Potter is an excellent source. On top of all the parallels between real life events and situations from the book, Harry Potter is fascinating and truly beautiful literature. Ms. Rowling’s is a refreshing, clever and very imaginative author. Her intelligent writing causes the reader to wonder and look maybe from underlying amounts of detail and distinctive use of words and phrases. Harry Potter tickles the imagination and steps out of the bounds of normal children’s literature. Not only does it stir some intellectual thinking but at the same time entertains the reader in a fun and unique way. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone sets new rules in children’s literature; it is truly a masterpiece full of so much imagination and fantasy.
Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. Norton Critical ed. 3rd ed. Ed. William M. Sale, Jr., and Richard J. Dunn. New York: W. W. Norton, 1990.
Harry Potter is an orphaned boy whose parents were attacked and killed by the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort. The boy survived the horrible slaying, which left him with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. He lives with his disagreeable uncle and aunt and unpleasantly selfish cousin during summer months. The boy attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he learns about potions, flying on a broomstick, and fighting off the evil Lord Voldemort.
Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. Norton Critical ed. 3rd ed. Ed. William M. Sale, Jr., and Richard J. Dunn. New York: W. W. Norton, 1990.