IntroductionIn every generation, there is a certain movement which has a philosophical influence on the society that it changes the way people think, act or perceive things around them. These changes could be religious, political, involve human rights. Arts and literary works may inspire some movements. The world is subject to profound changes since literature and arts are changing from time to time. The Gothic Romantic literature is one of the influential movements. Romanticism began in the 18th century when people started to revolt against the aristocratic society (Gannon 370). It relied heavily on exhilarating experiences and focused more on sensations such as trepidation, awe, terror, and horror. People wanted to get back to the ancient time. On the other hand, Gothicism developed in the 19th century. It emphasized mysterious events and frightening experiences (Matus Paragraph 1). Magic, blood, screams, corpses, and supernatural forces are some of the concepts which sum up Gothicism. Therefore, Romantic Gothic literature comprise fascinating stories which tend to highlight the dark side of humanity. This essay narrates a horrific story of a young man called Max who encounters mysterious nightmares for the better part of his teenage life.
The year is 1912; a 15-year boy called Max lives with his Aunt, Bella in a well-furnished house along one of the busiest streets in Ohio. Max is an orphan whose dad was a military officer who had died in line of duty while on a mission. His mother had also died under mysterious circumstances in 1910 after her body was found oozing blood in a bathroom. Her throat appeared to had been cut using a sharp object. When the police came to pick the body, the cut on the throat disappeared mysteriously to the amazement of the officers. The blood that had spread on the floor of the bathroom also dried up suddenly before forensic experts could extract samples for examination. Upon realizing these horrific events, the police on site refused to take the body into the ambulance. They sent a messenger to their seniors to inform them of the weird events but no one could believe their narration. They were warned that they would be dismissed from the service if they did not execute their duties.
The five officers unanimously agreed to take risks and resigned from the federal security department. Other officers who were not privy to the unfolding events were sent and picked the body. Unfortunately, they were involved in a grisly road accident on their way to the funeral home. The driver and three other occupants of the ambulance perished at the site of the crash. Luckily, one officer survived the carnage and was taken to the hospital. From his hospital bed, he told the media how the corpse they were ferrying started talking to them, creating commotion which led to the un-fateful events.
Since Max was a young boy, his aunt took him in. He was still young to comprehend what was happening and it was only when he turned 12 that he started encountering strange events. One night while sleeping, Max dreamt that he was sitting in open field when one police officer approached him and narrated to him the above story. The police officer told him that he died from a car crash while transporting his Mom’s body to the morgue. Max continued to experience similar nightmares for five years. All the officers who died in that crash appeared to him in different dreams for five years; they all narrated their versions of the story. One thing which stood out was that all the versions seemed similar.
Conclusion
Literature has a way of altering how people think and comprehend things. The emergence of Gothic Romanticism kind of literature has fulfilled this objective. Gothic Romanticism aims at highlighting the dark side of the human nature. These stories are meant to thrill and frighten the intended audiences (Foster 112). Max story regarding his nightmares can be classified under Gothic Romanticism due to the involvement of some mysterious characters. The fiction is shaped in such way that it tells a story in a mythical manner.
- Foster, Shirley. “Transnational Gothic: Literary and Social Exchanges in the Long Nineteenth Century.” The Gaskell Journal 28 (2014): 112.
- Gannon, Matthew. “The Work of Difference: Modernism, Romanticism, and the Production of Literary Form by Audrey Wasser.” Twentieth-Century Literature 63.3 (2017): 370-375.
- Matus, Douglas. “How Gothic Horror Related to Romanticism in England.” Language and Literature, 2016, http://penandthepad.com/gothic-horror-related-romanticism-England-20914.html
Introduction
In every generation, there is a certain movement which has a philosophical influence on the society that it changes the way people think, act or perceive things around them. These changes could be religious, political, involve human rights. Arts and literary works may inspire some movements. The world is subject to profound changes since literature and arts are changing from time to time. The Gothic Romantic literature is one of the influential movements. Romanticism began in the 18th century when people started to revolt against the aristocratic society (Gannon 370). It relied heavily on exhilarating experiences and focused more on sensations such as trepidation, awe, terror, and horror. People wanted to get back to the ancient time. On the other hand, Gothicism developed in the 19th century. It emphasized mysterious events and frightening experiences (Matus Paragraph 1). Magic, blood, screams, corpses, and supernatural forces are some of the concepts which sum up Gothicism. Therefore, Romantic Gothic literature comprise fascinating stories which tend to highlight the dark side of humanity. This essay narrates a horrific story of a young man called Max who encounters mysterious nightmares for the better part of his teenage life.
The year is 1912; a 15-year boy called Max lives with his Aunt, Bella in a well-furnished house along one of the busiest streets in Ohio. Max is an orphan whose dad was a military officer who had died in line of duty while on a mission. His mother had also died under mysterious circumstances in 1910 after her body was found oozing blood in a bathroom. Her throat appeared to had been cut using a sharp object. When the police came to pick the body, the cut on the throat disappeared mysteriously to the amazement of the officers. The blood that had spread on the floor of the bathroom also dried up suddenly before forensic experts could extract samples for examination. Upon realizing these horrific events, the police on site refused to take the body into the ambulance. They sent a messenger to their seniors to inform them of the weird events but no one could believe their narration. They were warned that they would be dismissed from the service if they did not execute their duties.
The five officers unanimously agreed to take risks and resigned from the federal security department. Other officers who were not privy to the unfolding events were sent and picked the body. Unfortunately, they were involved in a grisly road accident on their way to the funeral home. The driver and three other occupants of the ambulance perished at the site of the crash. Luckily, one officer survived the carnage and was taken to the hospital. From his hospital bed, he told the media how the corpse they were ferrying started talking to them, creating commotion which led to the un-fateful events.
Since Max was a young boy, his aunt took him in. He was still young to comprehend what was happening and it was only when he turned 12 that he started encountering strange events. One night while sleeping, Max dreamt that he was sitting in open field when one police officer approached him and narrated to him the above story. The police officer told him that he died from a car crash while transporting his Mom’s body to the morgue. Max continued to experience similar nightmares for five years. All the officers who died in that crash appeared to him in different dreams for five years; they all narrated their versions of the story. One thing which stood out was that all the versions seemed similar.
Conclusion
Literature has a way of altering how people think and comprehend things. The emergence of Gothic Romanticism kind of literature has fulfilled this objective. Gothic Romanticism aims at highlighting the dark side of the human nature. These stories are meant to thrill and frighten the intended audiences (Foster 112). Max story regarding his nightmares can be classified under Gothic Romanticism due to the involvement of some mysterious characters. The fiction is shaped in such way that it tells a story in a mythical manner.
- Foster, Shirley. “Transnational Gothic: Literary and Social Exchanges in the Long Nineteenth Century.” The Gaskell Journal 28 (2014): 112.
- Gannon, Matthew. “The Work of Difference: Modernism, Romanticism, and the Production of Literary Form by Audrey Wasser.” Twentieth-Century Literature 63.3 (2017): 370-375.
- Matus, Douglas. “How Gothic Horror Related to Romanticism in England.” Language and Literature, 2016, http://penandthepad.com/gothic-horror-related-romanticism-England-20914.html
