Fear in Literature, Tuesday 4th period

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

This week when the students arrived, they'd find their teacher in better health and poorer spirits than previously.

Jon waved at the board. It had written on it: The Dark: Fear of the dark and things unseen.

"I hope you all read 'The Shadowy Street' for today," he told them. "You may have noticed Ray uses a similar conceit to Poe in our first story: that of finding other stories and merely transmitting them. This one is structured as two tales in one, and the overlap isn't clear until towards the end. So, why do you think he's done that? Do you think it's effective in conveying the horror? Which section do you think best imparts that visceral fear of the dark and the unseen?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "Or should we just have given up and watched Pitch Black? Discuss."


At the end of class, he wrote their assignment on the board. "For next week, please read 'Fire Watch' by Connie Willis."

Comments

Class activity

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Discuss the story and how it deals with the fear of the dark. Discuss why fear of the dark is so primal. Or try to convince Jon to make it a movie day anyway.

Re: Class activity

[onlyajones]

“I don’t know what a ‘Pitch Black’ is,” Jo admitted, who was still playing catch up with everything that had had been happening history and pop culture wise since 1952, “but I thought the German manuscript was quite effective at highlighting the fear of the dark and how it impacted on the lives of the main characters because they couldn't see what was happening in the house at night,” she said.

Re: Class activity

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Pitch Black is a movie," Jon explained. "One that would go very well with the theme of today's class." He nodded at her explanation. "The German manuscript is definitely more explicitly about the fear of the dark. I'm interested if you think it's helped or hindered by the fact that the narrator helps the being."