John asks Brian, “You’re beginning to figure it out now, aren’t you?” after spending time together writing a piece of southern gothic literature, which turns out to become a piece of more contemporary southern gothic literature. In southern gothic literature most people think of the old definition but Stown shows us the more contemporary piece of writing. Mostly every element of southern gothic literature matches the classic definition but irony, outsiders, and social issues have a more contemporary definitions. Stown is a piece of contemporary Southern Gothic Literature because of the elements of irony, outsiders, and social issues.
Irony is a very important characteristic of southern gothic literature. Irony, as defined in classic southern gothic literature, relates to slavery. It refers to how the south was rich before the Civil War and then went down in the dumps after the Civil War. The irony the reader hears of in Stow is with people. It deals with John’s personal belief and the values of John and possibly being destroyed when he is gone. Throughout the podcast, there are many different actions that are ironic. An example of irony in Stown is how John portrays his beliefs about tattoos. John beliefs that tattoos are terrible and doesn’t think that anyone should have them, yet, he has them. John stats “He’s covered up with tattoos. He’s almost skin and bones. He looks like a crackhead.” John explains “He’s standing here, shirtless and tattooed.” John hates tattoos,
Gothicism is a representative of the South’s nobility eventually being defeated after the American Civil War. The characterization of Miss. Strangeworth symbolizes the gothic elements of the South’s “higher society” before the Civil War. The non-participating
Southern gothic writing is a genre of Southern writing. The stories often focus on grotesque themes. While it may include supernatural elements, it mainly focuses on damaged, even delusional, characters. It was inspired by original gothic writings from the 18th century. The idea of gothic writing was to expose the problems society at the time faced that weren’t talked about in the public eye. Although inspired by Gothic literature, Southern Gothic does not dwell on suspense and the supernatural. Rather, there is a dark humor in the stories as we will see in Faulkner’s works. The authors of southern gothic specifically wrote about the problems of southern culture and the problems it had on society. The stories take place in the south and in typical southern settings like plantations, old houses and towns. The characters
Verbal irony is used throughout the story as well and relates to the theme of hypocrisy. Throughout the story, many things are said that might confuse you or not make sense which is verbal irony. One of the characters, Old Man Warner said, “ Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves”(Jackson 4). This is ironic because he is making it seem that cave men and their lifestyles are modern which in reality they are not. Another example is told by Mrs. Delacroix, “ You’re in time, though. They’re still talking away up there”. Here she is talking to Tessi Hutchinson acting like their friends and everything is fine, but at the end of the story when Tessi is the one being stoned, Mrs. Delacroix picks up the biggest rock to throw.
"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.
Irony, a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. Throughout Night there is use of situational and verbal irony. This use of irony keeps the reader interested. The use of irony causes the reader to know things that the characters often are not aware of.
One of the many types of irony used to demonstrate the characters’ actions is verbal irony. The court scene in Act III shows an example of verbal irony. Mary Warren and John Proctor are being questioned in affiliation to Elizabeth’s possession of any poppets. Parris was trying to validate the fact that maybe they were uninformed of her custody of these, that maybe she could have hidden her poppets.(The Crucible Verbal Irony 1) In reply to Proctor, Parris says, “We are here, Your Honor, precisely to discover what no one has ever seen.”(Miller 104) He is simply meaning the court is trying to come upon the poppets that allegedly Elizabeth had hidden in her house, that no one has ever
“John B McLemore lives in Shittown, Alabama,” Brian Reed quoted. Many people today can relate to some of the problems John faces in S-Town. Most of these problems are derived from southern gothic characteristics within the podcast. The podcast uses many different southern gothic characteristics in order to make it more interesting. Many of the examples of these characteristics are more modern so that they relate to our current society. S-Town is a piece of contemporary Southern Gothic Literature because of its use of social issues, irony, and outsiders.
There are a lot of theories and opinions that differ between whether Stown is a classic or contemporary part of Southern Gothic Literature. Southern Gothic Literature is a genre of Southern writing that often uses violence and grotesque topics. It also used many other elements that go through the whole story and each element happens multiple times, especially in Stown. The listener was always in suspense and never knew what was going to happen next, especially when John was in the subject. This piece is going to show how each element can contradict each other and how this piece is classic, so as the reader, they are in for a fun ride. How decay, violence and irony can prove that this podcast is classic. Stown is a classic piece of Southern Gothic Literature because of decay, violence and Irony.
Southern Gothic literature is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style. It is unique to Southern America. Southern gothic style is a style of writing that engages very ugly and ironic events to study the value of the American south and its people. In this essay, I’m going to go over each story and give some details about the authors and their backgrounds. On one page, I will be comparing and contrasting all three stories. I will show how they’re similar through tone, plot, and scene in the story. And at the end, I am going to describe the three stories; “A Rose for Emilycomma inside quotes”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Sanctuary”. Period inside quotes All of these short stories are good examples of southern gothic writing, because
In the book “ The Book Thief “ irony is used a great deal of the time. Irony is an event that is different than what you would expect to happen. The book thief is about an orphan who lives with a family while the Holocaust is happening, the story is told by Death.
Southern Gothic literature has rooted itself in American culture and created several classic short stories that have pushed literary boundaries and minds. Among the most influential of these Southern Gothic stories is “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner; “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Good Country People”, both by Flannery O’Connor. After first discussing what characteristics make up the genre of Southern Gothic, each of these stories will be evaluated and discussed in terms of what makes each of them a prime example of Southern Gothic literature.
Without doubt, Edgar Allan Poe’s story is one of the author’s masterpiece. The story is an exhibit of artistic genius with various literary features well incorporated. Among them, irony, defined as, “A figure of speech which is a contradiction or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs”, is the most evident. Allan Poe demonstrates the use of various types of irony throughout the play, which he uses to pass the intended message to the audience.
Throughout the course of history, literature has gone through considerable changes. Dating back to its humble beginnings in folklore, fables, and storytelling all the way up to the scientific books and dramatic novels of today. Literature is arguably the centerpiece of all mankind. It is useful for record keeping, education, and bringing cultures and societies together. It has allowed us to expand our minds by painting a picture of the beautiful places this world has to offer outside of our corners of the earth. One genre of literature I find especially intriguing is Southern Gothic Literature. It is a subclass of gothic fiction, specifically set
Irony is an element which is found all throughout the best and worst pieces of literature. This is an element of literature which gives the reader an understanding of the story. In Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”, he uses three distinct forms of irony which add to the story. Irony is basically the expression of one’s meaning by using language to signify the opposite. In this story, Chaucer uses dramatic, situational and verbal irony all throughout his story. By incorporating these kinds of ironies, Chaucer is able to paint a picture through his story. This in turn adds to the overall theme of the story.
As Brian and John B. Mclemore walk through the maze John had built himself, John exclaims “It’s kind of funny being lost in something you designed yourself.” This ironic statement perfectly describes the life of John in this piece of southern gothic literature. The story of John’s eccentric life is told spectacularly told by Brian Reed in Stown. Stown’s southern setting and values makes it a piece of southern gothic literature, but Stown goes further and relates to today making it more contemporary. S-town is a contemporary piece of southern gothic literature because of the social issues, decay, and irony it presents throughout.