"The Fall of the House of Usher"

      Edgar Allan Poe can be considered the darkest writer of American Romanticism. His stories and poems are one of a kind and his descriptive style of writing grabs the readers attention within the first few lines. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is considered to be one of Poe's best works. The story is about a incest family who inbred for many years to keep the family blood pure. Usher and his sister are twins and are starting to feel the disorders and mutations of their tradition. Fitting into the gothic writing style; the setting was described as a remote and isolated place, the characters were being tormented psychologically and physically, and violent incidents were incorporated into the plot. The house(setting) was described as gloomy, faded and old. The descriptive language used throughout the story gives the reader a sense of mystery and leaves them wanting to read more.

    

"Man kills 2 Edison co-workers before turning gun on self"

     The article "Man kills 2 Edison co-workers before turning gun on self" written in the Los Angeles Times by Richard Winton and Angel Jennings talks about the horrific rampage that a Southern California Edison worker went on. The names of the victims and shooter is still unreleased. The man opened fire on his co-workers in the information technology offices. He strategically targeted certain employees and supervisors. Although the motif is still unclear, many believe he was angry and was in a conflict with the managment 'He told some people to leave and he was very deliberate about who he shot, he did not like management.' a source said. Before turning the gun on himself the shooter managed to kill two employees and put three more in critical condition.
     It is incidents similar to this that forces one to wonder what can cause a person to commit such a heinous crime. He took the lives of many and hurt their families. Whether or not the victims did or did not do anything, nobody deserves to be shot and killed. If he was going to commit suicide in the end, he could have just spared a few lives and just killed himself.

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

     Edgar Allan Poe is known for his dark and gothic writing style. Almost all his works fit in with the definition of a gothic piece of literature. Gothic literature is best described as; a story that takes place in a dark and isolated place, the plot involves violence, the characters are tortured mentally and physically, and the presence of a supernatural power. This week in class we read and discussed "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. The man in the poem appears to be in a weak state of mind, he is trying to forget about his lost love. The setting is in a remote area and at midnight which gives the reader a sense of darkness. Lenore, his lost love is no longer present in his life and from the tone of the poem one can conclude she was a victim of violence. The man is obviously being mentally tormented because he believes he is having a conversation with a bird. He has become hopeless and believes that the bird will also leave him, which reminds him of his failures and losses. The raven can be considered to be supernatural because there is no such thing as a talking raven. All of these are characteristics of gothic literature and Edgar Allan Poe has done a great job in presenting it in "The Raven"

"A surreal, and deadly, scene in a Hollywood intersection"

     The article "A surreal, and deadly, scene in a Hollywood intersection" published in The Los Angeles Times describes an event like it was taken from a movie. A shooting in the heart of Hollywood. A twenty six year old gunman started shooting at random motor vehicles and pedestrians until he was gunned down by police. It was what seemed to be a normal Friday afternoon on the busy intersection of Sunset and Vine."As the violence unfolded, pedestrians ducked for cover and drivers slammed on their brakes to avoid the gunman. Dozens of people, many of whom described it vividly in Tweets, said it didn't even seem real at first." Many believed they were shooting a movie, after all, this is Hollywood, however the situation quickly turned real. The gunman wounded three, one man was shot in the neck and was rushed to the hospital and is now in critical condition. Luckily the only death was the death of the shooter. 

Favorite scene

      We recently finished reading The Scarlet Letter, and I have to admit it was not the most appealing book we have read. However The Scarlet Letter did have some very interesting scenes. If I had to pick it would most definitely be when Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold. As he is standing there he notices Hester and Pearl, he invites them to join him on the scaffold. Dimmesdale feels warmth as he is standing next to Pearl and Hester. He begins to wonder what would happen if the towns people were near to see him. Suddenly they see a meteor in the sky that is shaped like the letter "A". In their time they believed in myths of that sort, Hester and Dimmesdale believe it was for "Adultery", however later on it is clear that the towns people believe it represented "Angel" as a sign that Governor Winthrop is in heaven. This scene represents the sorrow that Dimmesdale is feeling and causes the reader to feel sympathy for him.