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Crit Hit

Okay so I managed to get my crit without an ou id and without paying for printing so i’ve got 5 pieces on different topics that range from 5 pages to 65 pages. I didn't even know there were that many words. It was a bit of struggle to find crit because the book is under 30 years old but I got my stuff. The crit splits in two ways- either crit of the way the book is written and its style- or of themes in the books, like violence terror and incest. Most of the crit i agree with- or at least don't have enough opinion to disagree- but the incest one is way off so i'm gonna slam tackle that one.

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nsfw

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so tsh is full of like beautiful prose and references to all kinds of literature and examinations on morality and immorality and the presence of religion on the psyche and stuff but also it gets real weird about sex a lot. And when i say weird sex stuff i mean the weird part. The first s*x part occurs when the narrator is out of his gourd on lsd and he's hallucinating the whole time and i swear that's the tamest sex scene in the books. So the narrator richard has feelings for the one girl in his class camilla but whenever he talks about how attractive she is he always emphasizes her short hair or masculine clothes or how much he looks like her twin brother who richard is also obsessed with but less “comfortable “ around.  let's take a single moment to work this one out richard.  Charles also hooks up with another member of the group Francis- but only when they are drink so it's not gay i guess .The majority of the relationships occur within the 6 student groups- sometimes they hook up with people outside the group but that's always brief the major relationships stay within the group. And speaking of staying within something there is incest. What incest in a gothic novel. Yes. And twins ! So charles and camilla have had a close relationship for a while and no one thinks this is weird. Even when the narrator finds out he doesn't have a particularly strong relation besides disbelief.

To me all this nsfw stuff reflects on the pysch of the group- they are very much separate from the rest of the community which leads to both the close relationships and lack of regard for social norms- these are very much characters who don't pay attention to outside beliefs

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Violence

So this book deviates from the typical depiction of murder and suspense in that we know what is going to happen the whole time-it's like hitchcock's theory of suspense extended - and the violence proper isn't the focus, liek it usually is used to promote shock or horror or disgust. Tsh focuses more on the explanation for the events then the events itself- and the majority of the book is focused on the fallout caused by violence. Murder and suicide take up only about 10 or so pages total- the other 543 focus on the results and explanations for the violence.

So since tsh is part murder mystery- tho the mystery isn't how or who but why- there is a fair amount of violence. By the end of the book, you have a deer hit by a car, a farmer torn apart( literally it's weird) a murder by cliff shove, a suicide attempt, and a successful suicide , in under 600 pages. So violence is common in the book, but it's not typical violence. The murder is the main source of action, but the reader and the narrator aren't even there for it- its just described to us by a character who doesn't even properly remember it . The violence that we are present for its described sparingly- the narrator says he can't properly remember it- he goes into almost dissociative state during it, almost watching in the 3rd person. The suicide at the end is sudden- it ends the book

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The outsider

So the concept of an outsider pops up a lot in southern fiction- someone new comes into town and either brings the outside world into a secluded community or finds the hidden secrets of the town. Historically, the south never really developed mass transit like the railroads , and the agricultural nature of southern economy separated people. There's wasn't much movement- it was the north that people immigrated to - the south was usually left. Combining this with the post civil war idea of a carpetbagger( one of my favorite words) , which was a term used to refer to northerners coming down to profit of the south- they were not well liked.

The outsider pops up a lot as narrator- a big example being nick carraway in great gatsby- because they help guide the reader through an unfamiliar situation. As nick learns about gatsby and west egg, so does the reader. The outsider also introduces conflict, as an outside perspective moves in and people react

In tsh, you get  a like bit of both . The narrator, Richard Papen, comes from california and humble beginings. The affluent, secluded new england setting of hamben college is as strange to him as it might be to the reader.He gets sucked into the weird, almost culty nature of the greek class as does the reader- entranced by the dress and money and actions of the other students. Richard is more of an observer than a force of action though- he neither kills or attempts to stop the killing featured in the prologue, but rather watches, statue stiff as henry pushes bunny.  

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Gothic horror in tsh

So earlier i mentioned that i wanted to read a southern Gothic book ( genre is a social construct) but in the same breath said that tsh takes place in new England so like explain

so southern Gothic obviously is southern- the writers come from the south , the stories have characters from the south, they are set in the south, and the big one, the theme,s are parts of southern culture. The defining themes of southern Gothic are isolation, violence, racism , the grotesque , irony, and the past. Most of these come from the event that had a huge impact on the south - the war of northern aggression ( the civil war ) . But you can find violence and horror and decaying bodies all across the 50 states , so you have these derivations of like Midwestern horror ( us) southwestern horror and northeastern horror. Ultimately I find these to southern Gothic with location specific details,  as the main source of conflict and action comes from the same things as in southern Gothic . So im going analyze parts of tsh using the view of southern Gothic because this book is 500+ pages and im gonna get lost 

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TSH

TSH has my favorite quality in a book- it is completely crazy but so well written you don’t notice the strangeness. I keep reading and getting competently wrapped up in all the language and scenery that i don’t even notice everyone in this book is a. so incredibly pretenses    and b. absolutely nuts until i reread it and notice something like these characters so so isolated that they don’t know that the moon landing happened. Or that Bunny’s essay gets away from him so much  that it ends with the absolute nonsense of ‘ And as we leave Donne and Walton on the shores of Metahemeralism, we wave a fond farewell to those famous chums of yore.”Tartt gets you by getting you as sucked in as the characters themselves are. 

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a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.

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TSH

So the book starts with a prologue, but the prologue action occurs chronologically in the middle of the book . Anyways, the book starts with a murder, which is certainly a way to start something. The prologue gives some important- but vague- information. We know the names of two characters - Henry and Bunny - and we know that Henry pushes Bunny off a cliff as the narrator watches, apparently part of the plan. The murder takes place quickly- its over in about 2 lines-but the narrator tells us that thee vent has consumed his entire life. Fun. In chapter 1, we learn the name of the narrator- Richard- and some of his life story. See Richard here comes from fairly humble beginnings - a lower middle class family in an ugly California town - and ends up, purely by coincidence- a pamphlet literally falls on him- going to a small, recluse new England college in an attempt to escape his ennui. But once he arrives and tries to enroll in a Greek class, he finds that the teacher only accepts five students in his class, which sounds like an absolute nightmare. But thankfully Richard manages to find himself a way in by helping the Greek students with their homework. Btw, these students only take classes with one professor. 

It’s clear- even without the prologue- that something weird is going on here. The setting of an isolated college is a sign of danger,w whenever people are isolated in theses kinds of novels, things to do not go well. And the main characters are even more isolated - taking classes with only one teacher and four other students. These are the kinds of people who say things like”  It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely?” The first chapter starts the unease, creating a sense of discomfort and planting the seeds for the sudden action that the books starts with. 

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The secret history

So I knew that I wanted to do something southern Gothic  because A. I like it B.We dont do a lot of it in school and C. I have a lot of opinion about it. The problem is Southern Gothic comes in 2  forms- short story and long long long epics. I needed something that had more than 2 pages and less than 50000. I narrowed down to We have always lived in the castle as i lay dying and the secret history. The secret history won cause Faulkner gives me a headache and We have always lived in the castle gives me the spooks . cant wait for some greek and murder . 

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Clothing in Handmaids tale

So clothing plays a big part in handmaids tale. What people can and cant wear is restricted by their role in society, and all the clothing serves to visually separate people as well . What I noticed is that the clothing also reflects different periods in american history . So I wanted to do a analysis of the outfits different classes wear . Gotta start with the handmaids obv , which are described as  “ The skirt is ankle-length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over the breasts, the sleeves are full. The white wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen. I never looked good in red, it's not my color.” So first of all they have horse blinders on thats fun. Handmaids seem to have most of their sense removed- no talking, minimal seeing, little thinking. The form of the dress is most similar to the dresses worn by the early pilgrims- also a highly fundamentalist Christian society that limited women's choices. And the empire cut of the top is designed for the purpose of the handmaid- pregnancy. The color of the dress is also a whole mess of symbolism - the color red is associated with sex, passion, communism, and going off literature the scarlet letter- a book about an accused adulteress in early america., aka a woman who breaks social and sexual code. The handmaid uniform is a blend of both practically-the cut and the coverage- and reinforcing the social convention 

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Bel canto, with it’s florid language, lengthy descriptions of music , and focus on relationships. might seem off putting to those put off romance. I have to admit, “romance “ like the kind found in Nicholas sparks books, bore or repel me too. But Bel Canto is so much more than your standard “Boy + Girl + Tragedy” novel . The stakes a much higher. Bel canto is set during a failed coup, resulting in a hostage situation with various political and economical leaders, an opera singer, 50+ terrorists as young as 12 , and a translator. The setting is interesting in its self, but the book’s focus expands beyond the conventions of the romance genre as well .Questions like “ Why does love have different values to different people?” How do you adjust to impossible situations” , and “when both terrorists and hostages are trapped, what separates them?” 

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Poetry

My first choice for my poet is definitively Rupi Kaur. I’ve seem of her poems floating around and I really love the fragmented, almost Sappho like style of her pieces. I guess my second choice would be Warshan Shire, who was featured in Lemonade with some of her poetry being recited, and her style is also really appealing. 

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Amanda has permission to stop comparing her growth against other people. She also has permission to stop wearing makeup to school

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Literately merit

1. Entertains the reader and is interesting to read. 

I had a real good time reading this bad boy so 1 point for bel canto 

2. Does not merely conform to the expectations of a single genre or formula.

Oh I already talked about this one but yeah ! The book is a blend of romance and political thriller- but the two different genres make it unique +1

3. Has been judged to have artistic quality by the literary community (teachers, students, (Hey, that’s us. Our ideas count (?))  librarians, critics, other writers, the reading public).

Bel canto has a ton of awards - the penfaulkner , the orange prize, booksense, national book critics award  , and to get more of a common mans perspective , a 3.9 on goodreads . +1

4. Has stood the test of time in some way, regardless of the date of publication. (So it’s gotta be like how old, ‘bout a hundred?) 

Bel canto is 15 years old , which is pretty old to me , but compared to like canterbury tales, it is a baby.

5. Shows thematic depth: The themes merit revisiting and study because they are complex and nuanced. (Hmm, nods sagely) 

Oh yeah. What is love? How does it vary? Why does it bury? How do situations change people? How do people adapt? +1

6. Demonstrates innovation in style, voice, structure, characterization, plot and/or description. (This is really hard since everything’s a remix, right.)

The biggest innovation to me in the book was the narration- the 3rd person, jumping around person to person constantly, showing all the different peoples lives and thoughts, was one of my favorite parts of the book, and its not a style that get used too much  +1

7. May have a social, political or ideological impact on society during the lifetime of the author or afterward. (Huh? “May have?”)

Bel canto definitively deals with a lot of “bigger” issues, mainly politics, revolution and wealth. The book was based on the lima crisis , so thats not too surprising. I don’t know how much this book changed, but given its popularity and critical acclaim, i’m sure it had some impact +1

8. Does not fall into the traps of “pulp” fiction such as clichéd or derivative descriptions and plot devices, or sentimentality rather than “earned” emotion.

Pratchett really got me invested in these characters so even when the big climax was foreshadowed and lampshade and even directly stated, it still had an effect on me +1

9. Is intended by the author to communicate in an artistic manner. (Artistic? like High Art? We can talk about that.)

I have no idea and i cant say anything definitive about author intent 

10. Is universal in its appeal (i.e., the themes and insights are not only accessible to one culture or time period).  (So then it’s popular?)

Love, politics and death are found everywhere +1

I gave it 80%, bel canto passes 

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bel canto

Usually I go into a school book with some knowledge of the events in it, usually cultural osmosis . All I know about bel canto was it contained terrorists and music ( like a book called  beautiful singing wouldn’t contain some music ) so I went in blind. And I really liked this book. A lot. It’s kind of strange book- the action occurs only in the first and last chapter, and the rest is all characters interaction. It’s a romance, but the couples the book has been developing  are broken in the last page , with a wedding in the epilogue of two characters who were in different relationships. It’s a thriller, but the action is contained to two spots- and the characters know that the final standoff will end with their deaths( though they forget this. ) 

But i Don’t think books need to adhere to a certain genre and the language in this book was beautiful. I’m a sucker for descriptions of food, flowers and clothes, and Pratchett got me. The biggest problem I had was telling all the characters apart(which was probably done on purpose) I basically had to create an index for myself to remember who was who 

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If everyone is stereotyped , does being stereotyped not matter ? Or does bring stereotyped vary from person to person ?

STEREOTYPES

I always thought that stereotypes were always a negative assumption about someone based on their race, religion, or gender. I never actually thought about the fact that some stereotypes are good and that sometimes people want to live up to their stereotypes. When talking with my group (aka Riya and Erika), I realized that everyone no matter what has some sort of stereotype. It could be from a sport you play, a class you take, or even the clothes you wear, but most importantly a stereotype could arise from your age. Our generation, specifically, is stereotyped as a whole bunch of teenagers who are too obsessed with social media to know anything about the world. I know that I, personally, don’t fit that stereotype so it really Irritates me to no end. What I really took away from this discussion is that everything and everyone is stereotyped in some way, but each stereotype holds some truth.

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If everyone is stereotyped , does being stereotyped not matter ? Or does bring stereotyped vary from person to person ?

STEREOTYPES

I always thought that stereotypes were always a negative assumption about someone based on their race, religion, or gender. I never actually thought about the fact that some stereotypes are good and that sometimes people want to live up to their stereotypes. When talking with my group (aka Riya and Erika), I realized that everyone no matter what has some sort of stereotype. It could be from a sport you play, a class you take, or even the clothes you wear, but most importantly a stereotype could arise from your age. Our generation, specifically, is stereotyped as a whole bunch of teenagers who are too obsessed with social media to know anything about the world. I know that I, personally, don’t fit that stereotype so it really Irritates me to no end. What I really took away from this discussion is that everything and everyone is stereotyped in some way, but each stereotype holds some truth.