Legit Lit

Maggie King

Essay

Electronic Text

The Legitimacy of Audio Literature

The legitimacy of literature can be conveyed through any medium, whether heard or read. Most would tend to correlate literature with a lengthy novel of countless pages, however these same stories can be expressed through speaking. The tradition of storytelling has been passed down from generation to generation, to instill certain values and messages one should live by. These were not written down, nor were they published to have in the privacy of one’s hands. Books in audio format not only share this similarity, but they can be looked at as a legitimate source of reading without the eyes being involved.

Listening to a story can be just as effective as visually reading one. The two  involve the same kind of effort. In The Gutenberg Elegies, Birkerts recounts a time he was driving while hearing a book on cassette stating, “So I listened and listened- listening takes time…”(143). The effort made in reading a book is the same effort it takes one to listen. The audience must still comprehend the statements being made while following the story’s plot. It is not the eyes that make sense of it all, it’s the brain. Through listening, the ears take in information for it to then interpret. Listening is an important aspect of literature that allows the reader to fully engage in the experience.

Going off of that, while listening to a story one can  be even further absorbed in the message. Words can be distracting, but listening can be engaging. No where does it state that the term literature only applies to novels lengthy enough for one to sit and read. Even Birkerts admits, “Sitting still is too much like being in a classroom (143). The pencil doodles, the mind drifts.” In fact, I believe that hearing a story can be more effective than reading one because the audience is hearing the emotions and voice behind it. The voice can make what is being heard immensely more powerful and meaningful.  Sure Birkerts might argue that listening is the easy way out of analyzing a message, however there is no indicator that says reading must be difficult in order to have worth.

Words written on a page are there to serve a purpose. Simply put, “…the word on the page is implicitly a memory device”(145). It is a way to ensure the message, to physically have the meaning on paper. Stories can be altered through speaking, but there is no denying what is seen right in front of the reader. This can be a positive aspect of books but still does not take away from the legitimacy of a story on tape. If literature was limited to ink and pen, then stories from the past would be lost. Birkerts agrees story telling is the oldest form of literature that has proven to still be effective today.

There can be something just as magical as a book as there is in being read to. From an early age we are exposed to using our ears as a form of reading. One has not always been able to look at words on a page and know what they mean. It was the ear being trained to listen and comprehend what was being told that created the imagination and interpretation of the story. Birkerts raised a valid question with, “Is it the feeling of being read to as a child, or something deeper, more ancient?”(143). The words coming out can be more genuine than the words being looked at and even as a child we can see this.

It is said if you, “Change the medium, you change the message”(143) but this however is debatable. A medium is simply a segue for the mind to wonder. A hard back book is no more legitimate than a podcast being played. The two both entail aspects vital to literature and that is a message. Why should it matter the books be published when the audio can be broadcasted? Are not the two the same, both reaching an audience?

The fact if the matter is, books in audio format are just as, if not more legitimate than physical words presented on a page. Hearing a story takes just as much effort as reading one does and can be even more convincing than that of a book. The experience the listener has when hearing a story, may be a different experience than reading it, however the author of the words just wants to convey a message. It may be said that a voice takes away from the reader’s own interpretation, yet from what I have found only strengthens the legitimacy of the literature.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Birkerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies.Faber and Faber Inc. New york. 1994.

electronic text

Electronic text: Cassettes on tape (audio books, novels, podcasts, npr)

Statement: Through any medium of text whether heard or read, the message and story being conveyed is a legitimate piece of literary writing.

Birkerts: “Close Listening”

They Say, I Say : Chapter 9, Ebonics idea of that grammar might not matter as much as message being conveyed does not need to be read, but can be heard

Ideas: One might feel even more emotion or connection with story being told with a voice behind it; the listener is being fully engaged; words are spoken anyway

Other side: Peoples interpretations can be swayed through voice

some outlined thoughts

topic: Are electronic texts legitamite sources of writing worthy of being recognized as a way to convey a message? Thoughts: Is it translation or transmission? The medium, what does it matter? Private vs. public and the intimacy of a book vs. a computer How we are wired now days with different forms of writing and how that controls our lives. Quotes from books: “Now days being a writer is mainly about the realities of producing new work and finding outlets for it.” pg 41 “ This notion of hiding, secreting myself in a text was important to me- it underlies to this day my sense of a book as a refuge.” pg 35:

Beauty and Reality Through Frankenstein and Stepford Wives

Maggie King

English

Film and Book Essay

Beauty and Reality

At first glance the similarities between the novel Frankenstein and the film Stepford Wives may seem far fetched. One is presumably about a monstrous creature while the other beautiful perfection. However, when taking a more analytical approach, it is quite clear of the commonalities they share and the message being conveyed. More often than not, initial reactions of beauty are veils to a reality not easily recognized. Through different elements of lighting and scene setting, the audience’s interpretations are influenced into believing certain truths about the characters, shedding light on their shortcomings as well as their strengths.

Perception of beauty is for some an obvious encounter. Usually when one sees a physically appealing person the desire to believe their personality matches that, increases. In the film, Stepford Wives, a young woman and her family move to an isolated community in Connecticut to get a fresh start to their seemingly fallen apart lives. Once there, the outward persona of perfection and allure are illuminated by the heavenly looking lighting and flawless women who reside there. To an outsider this environment is beyond comparison, yet the darkness that it holds erodes away through the abnormal behaviors the so called perfect women mask.

In Frankenstein the concept is very much alike. The setting paints a picture of mystery and darkness that already sways the reader into believing the story to be that of  a horror. This creature that is created out of one man’s madness and one author’s imagination, possesses qualities distinguished as a monster and outcast. Causing terror and killing innocent, Frankenstein is quickly depicted as a vicious threat to society. It would be easy to dismiss any further exploration in the meaning of the tale, however as stated perviously, what is so clear to the eyes can be so false in reality.

How one interprets Stepford Wives is predominantly based on the angelic exterior the woman broadcast. A scene in the movie shows a group of debutante ladies prancing around in preppy knee length dresses, while doing aerobics. As odd as this sounds, the thought that these women could possibly be robots would never cross the viewers mind. The influence of the lighting validates this unparalleled world. It quickly becomes  apparent there is more to these ladies than meets the eye and the peculiar actions that can not be rivaled, are the result of one’s desire to create ultimate beauty.

Paralleled, Frankenstein is a product of one mans attempts to recreate. His loneliness and somewhat erotic behavior lead him to  generate a savage like creature with more depth than acknowledged. As the story continues, Frankenstein sheds his hard facade to reveal his longing for companionship and acceptance.  What society sees on the outside is a monster incapable of feeling, when in reality, expresses the same emotions that would constitute as a beautiful part of the human condition. The yearning for perfection and acceptance not just outwardly, has been a constant battle men and women have faced since the beginning of time.

Through many mediums, this notion can be uncovered. In a book such as Frankenstein, for the reader to understand the fact that there is more to the creature than expected, one would have to fully engage in the context being presented. On the other hand, in the film Stepford Wives, this concept can be understood through the visual aspects of lighting, script, and sound that guides the viewers interpretation of the movie. The radiance of the film easily portrays a false beauty, while the mystique of the novel hides the true.

Sometimes the deeper one looks into the light, the darker situations can become. Although the Stepford Wives depict a flawless community, the beauty of their appearance is tarnished by the selfish motives of perfection. Frankenstein is identified with horror and abnormality, yet possesses something that the Stepford Wives do not, and that is the inner beauty of true emotion. The translation of Frankenstein is not completely the same as the one in Stepford Wives, but is the same idea that beauty is not necessarily correlated outward and inwardly remains constant. Through the using of different mediums, comparing the two, holds logical to the  notion that what is seen on the outside is not always the reality of the situation. The film Stepford Wives and the novel Frankenstein share qualities not simply seen, yet definitely there when analyzing the true beauty of what we create.

Stepford Wives and Frankenstein

I chose to compare Frankenstein to the film, The Stepford Wives. At first the relationship may seem far fetched, but in reality the two share many commonalities. In my essay I will discuss the theme that beauty and perfection is left to interpretation and what is viewed as monstrous, all depends on the angle in which it is approached. In Frankenstein, to an outsider the creature is viewed as strange, creepy, and abnormal. Beauty is hard to find in such a distorted looking being. As in Stepford Wives this is also true. Husbands program their wives to perfection, showing no flaws in this isolated community. When an outsider comes in and sees these abnormally perfect women, she views it monstrous and wrong. I will compare these two different situations and tie in the similarities they share with a common theme of who determines beauty and at what price is it made? Although Frankenstein is obviously unattractive and the Stepford wives stunning it depends on who is viewing it.

Frankenstein

Maggie King

English

Frankenstein

Frankenstein Through Paradise Lost

“ …and some times I allowed my thoughts, unchecked by reason, to ramble in the fields of Paradise, and dared to fancy amiable and lovely creatures sympathizing with my feelings, and cheering my gloom; their angelic countenances breathed smiles of consolation. But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows, nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adam’s supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me; and in the bitterness of my heart, I cursed him.” pg 118

Many readers of Frankenstein have preconceived notions of a classic horror story, however, through the weaving of intertextual writing, we find that to be false. Far more than the abnormal creature that Victor creates, the story’s about man’s downfall and the longing for companionship. It also sheds light on the moral decisions all humans must grapple with every day. The loneliness that Frankenstein feels shows through in an excerpt from Paradise Lost in reference to Adam’s supplication.

Paradise Lost is a poem written by John Milton and through the telling of Adam and Eve, explains God’s intentions. The two were tempted by a serpent to eat fruit from the Forbidden Tree thus, disobeying God’s order and committing man’s first sin. After defying God,their creator, Adam and Eve felt ashamed by their nakedness. Ashamed is also what Frankenstein feels. Adam had begged forgiveness from God and now Frankenstein believes God has left him.

Where was this forgiving and sympathetic Almighty he had heard so much about? Frankenstein, upset by his own misfortunes felt alone.

Mary Shelly wisely embedded passages into the story that had shown the true emotions of an outcast who desires acceptance and companionship. “But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows, nor shared my thoughts.” He wanted Victor to create another for him, someone to engage in conversation with, someone to ease the pain that he so truly felt, and most importantly someone like him. Isolated, he yearned for what all humans yearn for and thats to feel wanted and not alone. He looked toward God for the answer, but there was no response. “He abandoned me; and in the bitterness of my heart, I cursed him.”

Adam and Eve, creations of God, became embarrassed of what they were. Standing unclothed, their nakedness brought them guilt. Frankenstein, aware of his irregular physical features detected the same. Even someone ostracized as monster, had the capacity to feel emotion and experience the human condition. “But where was mine?”, he asked himself. Where was his God? He questioned God just as Adam and Eve did.

Parallels between Milton’s Paradise Lost and Shelley’s Frankenstein allow this novel of man to be told. Glamorized by Hollywood to be a tale of a frightening monster, this story in reality is of man’s grappling with life’s inquiries and desires for acceptance in diversity. This is made apparent to the reader through the intertextual writings that Mary Shelley integrates into the story of Frankenstein.

Bibliography:

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. MacMillan Press Ltd. Boston, New York, 2000.

February 19th

What I hear in these sections of Frankenstein is the desire for companionship. “I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create.” (pg 128)  When I hear this I think about times that I have related to what the creature must be feeling. Frankenstein is obviously feeling lonely and despite his being labeled as a monster or creature, he still has the capacity to feel emotions that humans can, making him not as different as we might think.

I did wonder why Victor destroyed the other creature. We discussed in class that there was most likely a moral issue  but then also shed light into feminism ideas. Also, why did is have to be a woman? Why not a male for friendship?

post for February 1st

I find the argument that we merely “skim” when reading to be somewhat true. When Birkerts says that we have text that surrounds us everywhere that we glance at and ignore, I think he is making a valid statement. Quite often we pass billboards or advertisements without stopping to think of the meaning it is trying to convey or the relevance to our own lives. This can be compared to the engagement a book has with it’s reader that technology or other forms of literature lack. What they lack is the ability for the reader to escape into a story that has more meaning to them than a random website of useless facts. The quote ” For how we receive information bears vitally on the ways we experience and interpret reality.” on page 72 I think says it best. When we are taking in so much information randomly from many different sources, it is going to have a different effect on our reality, than it would if it were coming from a book. A book is a single piece of literature with meaning. Our minds can expand when we have to sit and think about what we are reading and gradually understand the message a book is conveying as one reads. I also love the quote that says, “The explosion of data-along with general secularization and the collapse of what the theorists call the “master narratives” has all but destroyed the premise of understandability.” on page 75. I think it explains that with all of this information that bombards us on a daily basis, we are not taking in any of it, nor are we trying to find any meaning or understanding in it. We are “managing” the information rather than comprehending it.

First assignment

The Gutenberg Elegies so far has been a good book, with interesting concepts. Sven Birkerts has the pessimistic view point that technology is ruining literature and what it should be about. The idea that when words are written on paper and privately read by an individual, the meaning is different, is something that I tend to agree with. However, I do believe that there is still legitimacy in words that are shared over places such as the internet. There is something magical though about curling up with a book in the sanction of one’s own bedroom. I have found books to be more of an escape from the world, while technology and the internet seem to be more of a connection on a global level. Indeed practically anyone can access webpages and view certain material posted in a matter of seconds, but it is a book that they must go out in purchase and keep to be their very own. I may seem to side more with Birkerts, however I do see the argument that technology is merely a more efficient mode of communication that can allow a concept or idea to reach a wider range of people. I do realize that words are the same  whether they be on a screen or piece of paper, but when really wanting to experience the affects of literature and the escape from reality, I tend to agree that this may only be attained by the book in hand.

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