Much to my own surprise I liked Sookie a lot more than I thought I would. She Comes from a small town and represents a typical American girl. Her character is extremely easy to relate to and takes her gift for a disability. I found it very inappropriate for her constant weeping at times and almost thought I was running into another Bella character. However, after reading into the story more she turned out to be a lot more independent and opinionated then Bella. The greatest difference and possibly the only aspect that saves her from falling into the passive role is her ability to stick up for herself and fight back. There was a killer around and just like Antia she did not back down to the perpetrator.
I also felt her view on sexual experience resembles the same message from the passage we read in class. I believe we even discussed this in class that she feels good about herself after she decides to have sex with Bill for the first time. Her details and narrative experience having sex for the first time reminds me of one of those cheesy soap opera scenes where the candles are romantically lit and awkward giggles are sounding to intensify the anticipated pleasure. These further probes she is in control of the situation and is not as immature and passive as a typical young girl. I personally do not agree with this message but it does nonetheless represent Sookie’s strength.
In addition, having a male like Bill around the entire novel does again underscore Sookie and other female character’s need for men in their life. Even badass protagonist like Anita needs men to protect them once in a while. This is disappointing and does limit women’s independence in these vampire novels.
I have never seen True Blood so I am excited to see how well the two are alike. I do not hate Snookie and I do believe she develops as the novel plays out. I look forward to reading the next book in the series!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Anita Blake Rocks!
She is witty, sexy, stylish and can kick some major vampire ass. Anita Blake has been my favorite protagonist in all the vampire novels we have read in class so far. I will admit, I was a bit turned off that the narration was in comic book form. This book would also not be the first one I would choose if I wanted to expand my vocabulary or be enlightened by symbolism. However, after a few pages in, it was nice to have animation and action to fill my mind with images as I read. I think all the characters played a major part in this novel and I enjoyed how it was a mystery. It was interesting to find Anita working her way to try and solve who was killing all the vampires. I was a little disturbed with all the graphic images but felt like it added to how much Anita can kick ass.
There are several images that lead me to believe the male gaze is present in most of this story. For example, in volume two when she is taking a shower every little detail of her body is uncovered except for her womanly parts of course. This takes away the vampire fighter image and turns Anita into a sex object. Also, in her novel Anita is constantly surrounded my men who help her get out of situations. Toward the end of Volume two when Anita and Edward are in Nikolas's territory trying to kill all the bodies in the coffins Anita needs Edward's help. Also, Phillip pretends to be her lover and she needs help of a male when she fights off the zombies in the grave yard. This all suggest that she does need the help of a man.
One major difference I have found in this novel in comparison to the others we have read is the lack of romance present. In Twilight, it is evident Bella loves Edward. In Fledgling, Shori falls in love with Wright and her other symbionts. However, in Anita Blake's story she clearly has one thing on her mind; her job. She seems very independent living at her own place, taking on the responsibility of killing all the vampires in town and constantly wondering what happened to her friend Catherine. Although she admits at the very end her love interest lies in Jean- Claude, there is no sexual tension between them during any great parts of the story. Likewise, he does control her mind sometimes and appears to be very intimidating but Anita works through all of this and always lets her job come first no matter how much she says she is done working.
I really like Anita and her vampire killing tactics. She was able to kill Nikolas because of her wittiness in distraction. She puts a great name out there for all vampire slayers. It would have been neat to read this in a new form other than comic, but the pictures are nice to dramatize just how much vampire damage the girl can really do!
There are several images that lead me to believe the male gaze is present in most of this story. For example, in volume two when she is taking a shower every little detail of her body is uncovered except for her womanly parts of course. This takes away the vampire fighter image and turns Anita into a sex object. Also, in her novel Anita is constantly surrounded my men who help her get out of situations. Toward the end of Volume two when Anita and Edward are in Nikolas's territory trying to kill all the bodies in the coffins Anita needs Edward's help. Also, Phillip pretends to be her lover and she needs help of a male when she fights off the zombies in the grave yard. This all suggest that she does need the help of a man.
One major difference I have found in this novel in comparison to the others we have read is the lack of romance present. In Twilight, it is evident Bella loves Edward. In Fledgling, Shori falls in love with Wright and her other symbionts. However, in Anita Blake's story she clearly has one thing on her mind; her job. She seems very independent living at her own place, taking on the responsibility of killing all the vampires in town and constantly wondering what happened to her friend Catherine. Although she admits at the very end her love interest lies in Jean- Claude, there is no sexual tension between them during any great parts of the story. Likewise, he does control her mind sometimes and appears to be very intimidating but Anita works through all of this and always lets her job come first no matter how much she says she is done working.
I really like Anita and her vampire killing tactics. She was able to kill Nikolas because of her wittiness in distraction. She puts a great name out there for all vampire slayers. It would have been neat to read this in a new form other than comic, but the pictures are nice to dramatize just how much vampire damage the girl can really do!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Fledgling
Octavia Bulter's Fledgling is empowering, inspiring and for the most part very uncomfortable to read. When I first began to read this vampire story about a fifty-five African American woman trapped in a ten-year-old young girl's body who having sex with a middle aged white man named Wright I was a little concerned. I thought my mind was violating some type of law with the vivid grotestque images forming in my mind. Then I began to read through a feminist lens and realized Shori kicked some major ass. She told people what to do, she led the group and kept fighting for her and her new family's life even after fires were breaking loose. I would definitely like to have the fearless vampire girl Shori go around helping me defeat people then Bella any day.
After taking a closer look this story represents not only bloodsucking and pleasure giving vampires roaming the city, but it's more about the nature of breaking free from racial, sexual, age and gender ties. Although I will admit it was a unique way of demonstrating these tactics in a plot like so but it really does get the point across. Shori does everything she can to protect those she cares about and her exceptionalities are what allows her to defeat the bad guys. Yes, she is black and in the body of a ten year old but with all honestly it is clear she wins the herione award in this story.
Unlike Bella in Twilight, Shori is by no means passive or does she succumb to a man. If anything, the men in this novel listen and go under her wing of force. In general, I'm very glad this novel was part of the curriculum because it shows that the women protagonist in vampire genre come in many different shapes and sizes.
After taking a closer look this story represents not only bloodsucking and pleasure giving vampires roaming the city, but it's more about the nature of breaking free from racial, sexual, age and gender ties. Although I will admit it was a unique way of demonstrating these tactics in a plot like so but it really does get the point across. Shori does everything she can to protect those she cares about and her exceptionalities are what allows her to defeat the bad guys. Yes, she is black and in the body of a ten year old but with all honestly it is clear she wins the herione award in this story.
Unlike Bella in Twilight, Shori is by no means passive or does she succumb to a man. If anything, the men in this novel listen and go under her wing of force. In general, I'm very glad this novel was part of the curriculum because it shows that the women protagonist in vampire genre come in many different shapes and sizes.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Lusting For Freedom Exercise
1. “I had sex young and, after the initial awkwardness, loved it. For days and nights, I rolled around in a big bed with my first boyfriend, trying out every possible way to feel good body to body”
Response: The first lines in this essay were very straightforward. I felt uncomfortable reading them at first because since it is not socially acceptable to have sex so young I didn’t know exactly how to response. The imagery was also very intense.
2. “Unfortunately, moral codes and legal demarcations complicate rather than regulate desire. And judgments like "right" and "wrong" only build barriers between people and encourage shame within individuals.”
Response: I had never really thought about sex in this light. I actually like that the narrator focuses on the idea that having regulations only separate people. This makes me think of sex more as making love then a human crave and desire.
3. “Sex can also be power because knowledge is power, and because yeah, as a girl, you can make it do different things: I can give it to you, and I can take it away. This sex is me, you can say. It is mine, take it. Take me. Please keep me.”
Response: I do believe in some aspects sex does represent a sign of power and knowledge. Since she is a girl, I do agree that it is something that can be given or taken away. However, the last line seems ironic because to me I associate her begging with a type of weakness.
4. “It gives you someone to hold on to when you can't feel yourself.”
Response: This particular quote really stood out to me. I do feel like many young girls merge into the world of sex at such a young age because they are insecure and need someone to make them feel loved. In the essay, the girl stated that her mother was away most of the time and there seemed to be no mention of her father. Therefore, this could possibly imply she needed sex to make herself feel better.
5. “The impulse that told me that I deserve to live free of shame, that my body is not my enemy and that pleasure is my friend and my right.”
Response: I really like the usage of the word impulse in the quote. It seems that she had no control and her impulse told her to be okay with her body and use it in any possible way she desires. I like how she suggested her body is not her enemy and she can involve herself with pleasure any way she pleases despite what culture may think.
6. “Hiding in shame or running fast to keep from looking is a waste of what is most precious about life: its infinite ability to expand and give us more knowledge, more insight and more complexity.”
Response: I do agree that must young girls who decide to be sexually active or happen to conceive at such a young age do feel shameful. I never looked at the situation in terms wasting the precious aspects of life. I believe what the narrator is trying to state that most girls should not look at their sexual experiences as regretful experiences but having the power to seek what who they are and what their body has to offer.
Relation to Fledling: When I initially read this article I had Shori in mind. Although Shori is a fifty-five year old woman, she still embodies that of a ten-year-old girl. I want to say that she perhaps could possibly share the same views as the narrator in this essay in relation to the power and knowledge having sex brings to her. In Fledgling, Shori stays strong and healthy by feeding off her symboints. There is an obvious correlation in this essay because the narrator suggests that she understands who she is and the control of desire she obtains by having sex. Far too often the government monitors pleasure and things the human body desires. In fledgling, since Shori is a vampire it is acceptable to break away from all of these regulations and she makes having sex with multiple partners acceptable. She appears to be young but her addictive bite and physical strength for a woman denies any sign of weakness.
The narrator is trapped in a world where hatred among women and their sexual desires are seen in the wrong light. People portrayed her as a whore and a girl who probably grew up in a very unstable home. Her mother was never there and for goodness sake she lost her Virginity when she was eleven. In addition, it is rather hard to feel sorry for this girl does not even regret her sexual encounters having been so young. Yet, simultaneously it is hard not to feel enlightened that she is so proud of knowing and being so comfortable with what her body has to offer. It is a shame that she has to change herself for so many men to feel right or accepted. Then again, it comes in the package of dealing with the emotions and pain of having to grow up and to come to understand her body.
Shori’s may be just as complicated yet her sexual behavior is much more accepted. The two share common lifestyles yet in Shori’s world there is a much more identified balance between her sexual desires and understanding who she is as a woman. She is allowed to be promiscuous and for Ina’s the more partners the stronger she will be. I believe the most incredible aspect about Fledgling is Shori is able to break away from societal values and create a world where sex, race and age is almost nonexistence in reaching the goals of her desires.
Response: The first lines in this essay were very straightforward. I felt uncomfortable reading them at first because since it is not socially acceptable to have sex so young I didn’t know exactly how to response. The imagery was also very intense.
2. “Unfortunately, moral codes and legal demarcations complicate rather than regulate desire. And judgments like "right" and "wrong" only build barriers between people and encourage shame within individuals.”
Response: I had never really thought about sex in this light. I actually like that the narrator focuses on the idea that having regulations only separate people. This makes me think of sex more as making love then a human crave and desire.
3. “Sex can also be power because knowledge is power, and because yeah, as a girl, you can make it do different things: I can give it to you, and I can take it away. This sex is me, you can say. It is mine, take it. Take me. Please keep me.”
Response: I do believe in some aspects sex does represent a sign of power and knowledge. Since she is a girl, I do agree that it is something that can be given or taken away. However, the last line seems ironic because to me I associate her begging with a type of weakness.
4. “It gives you someone to hold on to when you can't feel yourself.”
Response: This particular quote really stood out to me. I do feel like many young girls merge into the world of sex at such a young age because they are insecure and need someone to make them feel loved. In the essay, the girl stated that her mother was away most of the time and there seemed to be no mention of her father. Therefore, this could possibly imply she needed sex to make herself feel better.
5. “The impulse that told me that I deserve to live free of shame, that my body is not my enemy and that pleasure is my friend and my right.”
Response: I really like the usage of the word impulse in the quote. It seems that she had no control and her impulse told her to be okay with her body and use it in any possible way she desires. I like how she suggested her body is not her enemy and she can involve herself with pleasure any way she pleases despite what culture may think.
6. “Hiding in shame or running fast to keep from looking is a waste of what is most precious about life: its infinite ability to expand and give us more knowledge, more insight and more complexity.”
Response: I do agree that must young girls who decide to be sexually active or happen to conceive at such a young age do feel shameful. I never looked at the situation in terms wasting the precious aspects of life. I believe what the narrator is trying to state that most girls should not look at their sexual experiences as regretful experiences but having the power to seek what who they are and what their body has to offer.
Relation to Fledling: When I initially read this article I had Shori in mind. Although Shori is a fifty-five year old woman, she still embodies that of a ten-year-old girl. I want to say that she perhaps could possibly share the same views as the narrator in this essay in relation to the power and knowledge having sex brings to her. In Fledgling, Shori stays strong and healthy by feeding off her symboints. There is an obvious correlation in this essay because the narrator suggests that she understands who she is and the control of desire she obtains by having sex. Far too often the government monitors pleasure and things the human body desires. In fledgling, since Shori is a vampire it is acceptable to break away from all of these regulations and she makes having sex with multiple partners acceptable. She appears to be young but her addictive bite and physical strength for a woman denies any sign of weakness.
The narrator is trapped in a world where hatred among women and their sexual desires are seen in the wrong light. People portrayed her as a whore and a girl who probably grew up in a very unstable home. Her mother was never there and for goodness sake she lost her Virginity when she was eleven. In addition, it is rather hard to feel sorry for this girl does not even regret her sexual encounters having been so young. Yet, simultaneously it is hard not to feel enlightened that she is so proud of knowing and being so comfortable with what her body has to offer. It is a shame that she has to change herself for so many men to feel right or accepted. Then again, it comes in the package of dealing with the emotions and pain of having to grow up and to come to understand her body.
Shori’s may be just as complicated yet her sexual behavior is much more accepted. The two share common lifestyles yet in Shori’s world there is a much more identified balance between her sexual desires and understanding who she is as a woman. She is allowed to be promiscuous and for Ina’s the more partners the stronger she will be. I believe the most incredible aspect about Fledgling is Shori is able to break away from societal values and create a world where sex, race and age is almost nonexistence in reaching the goals of her desires.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thoughts on Twilight
I'm not going to lie, after reading the first couple of pages of this teen obsession, romantic love, I want Edward Cullens to marry me novel I was pretty much a helpless speck of dust sucked into this addictive story like the rest of world. I must say Stephaine's Meyer's writing style makes it extremely easy to follow along and very difficult to put the book down until the very last page. I really enjoy her use of stream of consciousness and the way she makes it so easy to step in Bella's shoes thoughout the novel. More importantly, who wouldn't want a tall handsome figure with beautiful characteristics to be in their life. Edward Cullen is so easy to fall in love with I even found myself forgetting sometimes he is suppose to be a scary vampire that could lose control at any time and kill Bella.
Okay, enough about Bella's perfect world and why I should go to bed dreaming about my new fantasy of marrying a vampire instead of Justin Timberlake. Far too often are messages such as anti-feminist values overlooked in stories such as Twilight. This is because so many readers are blinded by the love story floating on top. I want to make it a point to say how aggravated I am on just how much an empty character Bella really is. She is passive, stays in the kitchen while her father cleans guns and drinks beer, she lets Edward tell her what to do and eventually her entire world revolves around this one guy that can kill her at any given moment. Please do not get me wrong, I was once an adolescent nieve teen where my world revolved around a boy. However, it gets rather annoying to find Bella will not even stick up for herself once. I mean if this were Buffy she would have already given Edward the keys to the street and been able to protect herself.
I understand this is novel is a phenomenon in today's society and does teach young girls about adolescence to an extent. Then again, one must ask themselves from a feminist point of view what this story is telling young girls about love. That perhaps the way Edward controls Bella and how Bella is so passive toward the situation is how all relationships should be? These are just a couple of the many questions that one must think before letting their young child read this book.
Furthermore, yes, Twilight is addicting and a very easy read to get lost in the world of fantasy and love. I think there are some aspects of Edward that I too would allow him worthy of being hung up in my room. However, looking at the way gender roles are stereotypically geared toward a certain light, almost makes me wonder what the underlying message really is in this must have novel that everyone craves to read.
Okay, enough about Bella's perfect world and why I should go to bed dreaming about my new fantasy of marrying a vampire instead of Justin Timberlake. Far too often are messages such as anti-feminist values overlooked in stories such as Twilight. This is because so many readers are blinded by the love story floating on top. I want to make it a point to say how aggravated I am on just how much an empty character Bella really is. She is passive, stays in the kitchen while her father cleans guns and drinks beer, she lets Edward tell her what to do and eventually her entire world revolves around this one guy that can kill her at any given moment. Please do not get me wrong, I was once an adolescent nieve teen where my world revolved around a boy. However, it gets rather annoying to find Bella will not even stick up for herself once. I mean if this were Buffy she would have already given Edward the keys to the street and been able to protect herself.
I understand this is novel is a phenomenon in today's society and does teach young girls about adolescence to an extent. Then again, one must ask themselves from a feminist point of view what this story is telling young girls about love. That perhaps the way Edward controls Bella and how Bella is so passive toward the situation is how all relationships should be? These are just a couple of the many questions that one must think before letting their young child read this book.
Furthermore, yes, Twilight is addicting and a very easy read to get lost in the world of fantasy and love. I think there are some aspects of Edward that I too would allow him worthy of being hung up in my room. However, looking at the way gender roles are stereotypically geared toward a certain light, almost makes me wonder what the underlying message really is in this must have novel that everyone craves to read.
About me
Hello All! To start off, I am an English Education major and i'm going into my third year here at OU. I love Athens, I love living here in the summer; it's very relaxing! I am currently in a partnership called CARE and it is pretty nice because I am able to fit in observation hours more frequently than an average education student. For fun, I love to read fiction novels and i'm a huge Shakespeare buff. In addition, you will probably never catch me going a day without running, it's my way of keeping my mind clear and staying healthy. I am going into my second year as an official executive board member of Student Senate's SAC (Student Activities Commission). I really enjoy working with people and love having the responsibility and leadership in terms of making OU an overall better campus to be on.
I really look forward to taking this course especially when I found out it revolves a great deal around Vampires. I must say, I wasn't the biggest fan of the Twilight saga but after reading Twilight for this class I was very surprised how much I enjoyed Stephanie's writing style. I look forward to reading the other novels assigned and discussing them in class. I feel this course will be very demanding in terms of work load but it seems rather interesting thus far. I look forward to an awesome five weeks and to be enlightened with other classmates opinions when it comes to Vampires, gender roles and what ever else will come about (:
I really look forward to taking this course especially when I found out it revolves a great deal around Vampires. I must say, I wasn't the biggest fan of the Twilight saga but after reading Twilight for this class I was very surprised how much I enjoyed Stephanie's writing style. I look forward to reading the other novels assigned and discussing them in class. I feel this course will be very demanding in terms of work load but it seems rather interesting thus far. I look forward to an awesome five weeks and to be enlightened with other classmates opinions when it comes to Vampires, gender roles and what ever else will come about (:
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