The Passage by Justin Cronin is a science fiction, horror novel about a young girl named Amy who is determined to save everyone from vampires, also known as “virals” that are infected with a super virus spread by bats that is very contagious in a post-apocalyptic world. Even though the novel takes place over many centuries Amy continues to be the main character. There are many themes in The Passage by Justin Cronin such as mortality, hope, religion, and the many flaws of human nature. Most of these themes are brought about because this book is considered horror and gothic literature. Horror literature is defined as “popular fiction and drama whose chief purpose is to thrill its audience with dread, disgust, and terror. Although many old works …show more content…
Like most apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic novels mortality or more so immortality is one of the major themes in The Passage. All of the vampires in the novel and Amy are immortal because of the highly contagious virus. Professor Lear travels to the Bolivian jungle because he believes he has found the cure but ends up discovering how viral the vampires really are. Although the vampires are immortal they seem to be inhuman and soulless. Then there is Amy who is also an immortal but is seen as almost an angel in disguise. Her angelic role can also be linked to the religious aspect of this novel which I will elaborate on further on. Many argue that death is essential to storytelling. Justin Cronin used mortality and immortality in The Passage to prove that mortality in humans is inevitable, but one of the greatest fears humans have. “We are all mortal people in the world, but sometimes we often want to go beyond the time and the space” (Spenser 2013). I also have discovered that in almost all apocalyptic novels, especially The Passage that the immortal creatures are most often seen as the evil or bad characters. This could be because “immortality is necessarily to be viewed negatively” (Slusser Westfahl Rabkin …show more content…
There is a lot of Christian symbolism in this novel. One of those that really stands out is how Amy is portrayed. Like I said before, Amy was also inhuman because of the virus, but she was not like the other vampires. The other vampires continued to savage for victims but Amy hid away and when she was rediscovered she had an angel like role in the novel, even asking to make snow angels. Although she did not have very many coherent thoughts or feelings she still did what was right. For example, toward the end of the novel peter gets ahold of vials that can turn the non-infected humans into virals, who are the same as Amy. Before peter can do anything with them Amy destroys the vials of the virus in a fire so no one else can end up like her. “I’m sorry, Peter,” Amy said. “But it would have made you like me. And I couldn’t let that happen” (Cronin 863). This just showed how angelic and heroic Amy was. Even though she was “inhuman” she could not handle seeing another person end up like her. Also, another example of depicting Amy as a religious entity is the idea that Amy symbolizes the second coming of Christ. Although this religious depiction of the novel is more out there than most of the others, it has a lot of evidence to back it up. In this depiction, Amy is again seen as the religious figure in the novel. One of the characters Alicia, who was a viral, is only revived and brought back from the dead when
Holt Renfrew- The company that was to become Holt Renfrew was founded as a hat shop in Quebec City, Canada, in 1837, by Irishman William Samuel Henderson. In 1849, William introduced furs into the business and three years later sold the shop to his brother John. In 1860, G.R. Renfrew became a partner to form Henderson, Renfrew & Co. After another change in partnership in 1867, John Holt joined the company that would officially become Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd. in 1908. Historically renowned for fine furs, Holt Renfrew received the prestigious honor of five generations of royal warrants under Queen Victoria's reign and appointed Furrier-in-Ordinary to her Majesty. In the 1930s and 1940s, international designers were added and the oldest existing
This implies that the birds and nature in general are drawn to Eve because of her captivating voice. Frost also describes Eve as adding an “oversound” which is a harmonizing tone (4). The way Frost describes Eve is somewhat illuminating, making her seem like a goddess of some sort. Frost paints Eve’s tone as “meaning” which could be interpreted as a tone of importance (5). Birds being captivated by a woman’s voice is reminiscent of Cinderella and her singing friends of nature.
From start to finish the author uses pathos to capture the reader’s attention. Kaplan paints a fearful, gruesome, scary picture of how throughout history people have viewed vampires and zombies. The author shows this with his word choice, metaphors, and the stories he chooses to explain. From the start, the author uses words such as fear, scared, morbid, evil, and terror throughout his entire story. In just the first page of the text he uses the word fear three times accompanied by terror when writing about vampires in ancient times. Kaplan uses metaphors throughout the story, but especially in his introduction to capture the reader’s attention. Examples of this include when he states, “they are predators like lions and play upon the terror
In the article, “Why Americans Should Quit Watching Football,” Charles Camosy states that football is a very violent activity and should be discouraged until the game is altered in some way. He does this by describing how a movie that shows violence in the NFL would not be popular because Americans do not want to see the violence that goes on behind the scenes. Camosy then goes on to say that he is a fan of football himself. He states that “Left unrestrained, I could easily watch five, six games in a typical weekend” (qtd.in Camosy). This shows that he himself is a fan of the violence he wants changed.
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
I do not agree with decision of Centenary College.The liberal arts is an important thing for our college students in America. Liberal arts will make you smarter and ready for the real world. Taking these classes will make you smart and will help you get a good job. If it were me making the decision, the college would still have liberal arts classes. Cutting liberal arts would be like cutting a history class. We need classes like this to help us be successful. Many people are not taking these classes any more. According to a professor, liberal arts colleges have dropped from two hundred and two in nineteen ninety to one hundred thirty-six in two thousand nine. The Wisconsin Lutheran College quite teaching political science after losing a three
This book was the society’s version of a bible, and everybody cherished it deeply. Upon her treatment date, she grew more and more excited as it was essentially a rite of passage. The disease was possibly one of the worst things in the world in her opinion. This was until she experienced it herself. Despite
In the novels that I have chosen to study, several themes are prominent in both. Both novels deal with a brutal murder of a young female, and the impact surrounding her death. They also deal with the idea of the dead, directly or indirectly communicating with the living. The novels address the theory that ‘ghosts’ cannot move onto the next life until they have resolved unfinished business on Earth. The idea that the living are tied to those who die and untimely death is also present in both novels. As well as these themes which are present in both novels, the novels also share a similar non linear
Both “Knocking” by Rick Hautala and “The Road Virus Heads North” by Stephen King are masterfully crafted horror stories that lead readers on a psychological rollercoaster. The authors are able to generate such a detailed and in-depth atmosphere that it causes readers to picture themselves in the terrifying situations that they have devised for those reading. Through the evolution of “monsters”, point-of-view and atmospheric conditions which help to create a mood that engulfs readers both King and Hautala are able to write brilliant horror stories.
Along with her past tendencies she also questions religion a few times once the criminal, The Misfit, comes into play. Her forgiveness for being a devoutness to Christ, even considering everything her family has to go through, truly shows how far someone could go to save them self. O’Conner creates a character that is not
The author beautifully illustrates how family can be found in the most unexpected places, even when everything you’ve ever known is falling down around you. One of the first times the idea of family is fully explored is in an emotionally charged moment between Wolgast and Amy. Amy is in a coma after being injected with the virus. Wolgast has bravely sat with her through day and night, with no protection from the potential for a deadly virus. As he reaches total desperation, he tells Amy about his daughter Eva, who died at one year old.
The book is laced with emotionally and erotically boosted encounters. A person who would enjoy reading about vampires, the urge to keep reading comes within the first few chapters; in this story early as chapter three. The novel is a new vampire paradigm that casts a steady
The opening paragraph of the story describes how peaceful the dead woman looked in her bed before her children could say the final goodbye to their loving mother. Her facial features looked calm, and her long white hair was carefully arranged as though she wanted to leave this world as beautiful and blameless as her life was. At the beginning of the story her character was introduced as a "sweet soul that lived in that body," who managed to raise two successful children alone by "arming them with a strict moral code, teaching them religion, without weakness, and duty, without compromise."
Literature is representative of the time in which it is produced. Literature can reflect societal views, attitudes, and fears.Vampire literature, in particular, often represents the fears of a society.In the Victorian Era, a time of intense sexual repression, it was common for vampire stories to reflect the fear of sexuality that was rampant in society.
Canterbury is an English cathedral city which was a popular pilgrimage site in the Medieval Era. However, in the Middle Ages, the members of the clergy did not always live up to their lofty expectations and standards. The Church’s credibility, at this time, was diminishing due to the actions of its officials. Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, took this pilgrimage and along the way met a few of these questionable clerical figures. During the General Prologue of the work, Chaucer provides a comical representation of all the characters he meets on his journey.