Snow is, simply put, the best invention ever made by anything... ever. Even though nature/God/whatever deity you believe in made it. I guess I am a bit biased in saying that snow is so awesome, seeing as how I am a winter baby (I was born the day after Christmas), but I have enough people who would agree with me to where, no, I am not being biased at all. Snow is awesome.
Have you ever noticed that there are different types of snow? For example, there is snow that is light and fluffy. It ends up being pretty to watch as it pirouettes through the air, but it perishes upon reaching the ground, and even when it manages to cling together on the ground, it has about zero use to us. Then there is the heavy snow, the dense little snowflakes that rocket into the grass. It is not the prettiest snow to watch, but its velocity packs it together, forming a pristine, white blanket over the earth that is heartbreaking to shatter with footsteps. This is my favorite type of snow.
However, there are times that snow is not very good. For example, when you are a freshman on a pair of skis for the very first time on a snowy incline and you forget how to stop and are too afraid to bail out and there is a building with sharp rock stucco looming up in front of you, that is when snow is not so good.
Even though that did happen to me, however, I still love the snow and its very low coefficient of mu. It is beautiful and crisp and clean, and it makes me happy to look at it (even when the sunlight bouncing off of it is burning a hole in my retinas.) Does it irk you whenever the yard is covered in snow, and someone completely demolishes it by walking around before you got to see it all pretty and unbroken? I hate that. The end.
12.01.2010
The Black Veil
The Black Veil had many good examples of Dark Romanticism in it. It used human nature, psychology, and fear to bring about the author's message in the style typical of the era, and I would definitely recommend that everyone read this.
The story is about a preacher who, in accordance with the title of the story, wears a black veil over his face (Hawthorne). He does this suddenly and for no apparent reason and ends up frightening his congregation and friends (Hawthorne). This fear that they feel is the major component of the story that makes it so characteristic of Dark Romanticism.
The fear does not just begin, however. First, the townspeople are curious about their pastor wearing this veil (Hawthorne). They do not mention it to him, but they whisper among themselves and figure that it is only a temporary thing, a stage that the preacher is going through (Hawthorne). When the veil does not come off, however, the fear grows a little bit. They wonder if the pastor hides his face because of some secret sin he has committed, so that God cannot look upon his guilty face (Hawthorne). When they find no answer to this plausibility, they find themselves deeply affected by his sermon, beginning to feel "as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought" (Hawthorne). After a long enough period of time, people begin to avoid him entirely (Hawthorne). Children are afraid of him and the secrets that his veil might hide (Hawthorne). This building up of a pathos towards the preacher not only exhibits fear, a common theme in Dark Romanticism, but a look into the nature of the human mind, which tends to escalate things beyond their proportion when they remain a mystery.
On a lesser note, the author also used imagery and certain situations to create a dark atmosphere. For instance, the veil that the preacher wears is black (Hawthorne). Black insinuates evil, mystery, fear, and suspicion. It casts a dark shadow upon the preacher's character, which, even though he did not change very much at all, made the townspeople fear him all the more. Also, the fact that the only time they ever begged for him to be someplace was when a person was dying (Hawthorne). Also, the preacher liked to visit the graveyard in his evening walks (Hawthorne). This then associates the preacher with death and increases the curiosity and suspicion lurking around the veil. It was a very clever use of imagery and plot device in order to create an effect on the rest of the story.
While it was a bit dark, this story's mood is not a bad thing at all. At the end, it delivers a powerful message to the audience that I will not spoil here for avid readers' sakes. The characteristics of it and Dark Romanticism are what bring about the final message of the story, though, and thus make them more than just characteristics of a writing period. It makes them characteristics of life.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Black Veil." Twice-Told Tales. 1837. Eldritch Press. Web. 30 Nov. 2010..
The story is about a preacher who, in accordance with the title of the story, wears a black veil over his face (Hawthorne). He does this suddenly and for no apparent reason and ends up frightening his congregation and friends (Hawthorne). This fear that they feel is the major component of the story that makes it so characteristic of Dark Romanticism.
The fear does not just begin, however. First, the townspeople are curious about their pastor wearing this veil (Hawthorne). They do not mention it to him, but they whisper among themselves and figure that it is only a temporary thing, a stage that the preacher is going through (Hawthorne). When the veil does not come off, however, the fear grows a little bit. They wonder if the pastor hides his face because of some secret sin he has committed, so that God cannot look upon his guilty face (Hawthorne). When they find no answer to this plausibility, they find themselves deeply affected by his sermon, beginning to feel "as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought" (Hawthorne). After a long enough period of time, people begin to avoid him entirely (Hawthorne). Children are afraid of him and the secrets that his veil might hide (Hawthorne). This building up of a pathos towards the preacher not only exhibits fear, a common theme in Dark Romanticism, but a look into the nature of the human mind, which tends to escalate things beyond their proportion when they remain a mystery.
On a lesser note, the author also used imagery and certain situations to create a dark atmosphere. For instance, the veil that the preacher wears is black (Hawthorne). Black insinuates evil, mystery, fear, and suspicion. It casts a dark shadow upon the preacher's character, which, even though he did not change very much at all, made the townspeople fear him all the more. Also, the fact that the only time they ever begged for him to be someplace was when a person was dying (Hawthorne). Also, the preacher liked to visit the graveyard in his evening walks (Hawthorne). This then associates the preacher with death and increases the curiosity and suspicion lurking around the veil. It was a very clever use of imagery and plot device in order to create an effect on the rest of the story.
While it was a bit dark, this story's mood is not a bad thing at all. At the end, it delivers a powerful message to the audience that I will not spoil here for avid readers' sakes. The characteristics of it and Dark Romanticism are what bring about the final message of the story, though, and thus make them more than just characteristics of a writing period. It makes them characteristics of life.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Black Veil." Twice-Told Tales. 1837. Eldritch Press. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.
Masquerade
I have never really worn a mask before. I generally express my emotions fairly clearly to everyone around me, but even when I do not want people to know what I am feeling, I usually just separate myself from them until I feel better. I like this better than wearing a mask because I do not have to lie to people about how I am feeling, since I do not like to make other people mad or sad with how I feel about them.
However, why do people wear masks? That is a good question, and it has several answers. One reason that people wear masks, I think, is because they are afraid of the world. A mask hides them and their true self from the harsh and angry cries of critics and provokers. It acts as a shield from all the bad things on the outside that could possibly harm the sensitive soul cowering behind the mask.
Another possibility is that the person behind the mask is ashamed of themselves or something they have done. They do not want to be judged by people from the outside, not even by their friends and family. They are afraid of what they might lose if people knew their dirty little secrets, so they use the mask to hide their sins and mysteries.
A final reason that someone might wear a mask is that they find what they are feeling inappropriate to the situation that they are in, such as a person who has experienced a tragedy but is celebrating a friend's birthday. They might wear a mask of happiness in order to protect those around them from their own feelings of sadness ruining the general feeling of happiness. In this way, the mask wearer might wear his or her mask in order to conform to the people around them.
Now that I think about it, there have been times where I have worn a mask, but they are a bit too personal to put in public. I guess they will simply remain my secrets.
However, why do people wear masks? That is a good question, and it has several answers. One reason that people wear masks, I think, is because they are afraid of the world. A mask hides them and their true self from the harsh and angry cries of critics and provokers. It acts as a shield from all the bad things on the outside that could possibly harm the sensitive soul cowering behind the mask.
Another possibility is that the person behind the mask is ashamed of themselves or something they have done. They do not want to be judged by people from the outside, not even by their friends and family. They are afraid of what they might lose if people knew their dirty little secrets, so they use the mask to hide their sins and mysteries.
A final reason that someone might wear a mask is that they find what they are feeling inappropriate to the situation that they are in, such as a person who has experienced a tragedy but is celebrating a friend's birthday. They might wear a mask of happiness in order to protect those around them from their own feelings of sadness ruining the general feeling of happiness. In this way, the mask wearer might wear his or her mask in order to conform to the people around them.
Now that I think about it, there have been times where I have worn a mask, but they are a bit too personal to put in public. I guess they will simply remain my secrets.
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