Blog 13 Essay draft

Name:Edna Rios

Date: May 24,2010


" All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"
-Jack



The author Stephen king whom wrote "The Shinning" was born in Maine in 1947.He is the author of multiple books and screen plays.He is best known for his horror and fiction literary works.Stephen King wrote novels such as "Carrie","The Shinning","Dark Tower" and many more.He has also received multiple awards and has been nominated for many others. Some awards such as the Alex Award,Balrog Award,Black Quill Award and many others.Stephen king works are well known and enjoyed as well as the shows he has been staring in. He currently lives with his wife enjoying the warm weather in the winter as they travel as the forecast changes.

"The Shinning" by Stephen King is based on a family of 3,father,mother and son and their experiences in the Overlook hotel that rest on a mountain top in Colorado.The father Jack has taken the position of the hotel care taker during the winter time.His family and him are the only ones staying in the hotel or so they thought they were.As their time spent in the hotel, changes begin to occur and the family start to realize they aren't alone in the hotel.Jacks anger and abuse as well as alcoholism allows for the ghost in the Overlook hotel to posses him into attempting to kill his family.The Son Danny begins to see ghost and disturbing foreshadowing of the hotel past.During their stay at the Overlook jack is warned by the hotel cook about the sinister room 237 and the family before them.The family before them, the father killed his family by chopping them and later after killing himself with a shotgun.

There were numerous death in the hotel as well and the ghost begin to speak to both Danny and jack.Jack goes insane and begins to take actions as the father before him did.As Danny begins to see more ghost related imagines such as the two twin girls that died and begins to go into shock and sees the overflowing of blood in the hallway of the hotel the mother begins to notice the change in her husband.She carries a bat in order to protect her son and herself from her husband.As the chase begins"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the mother seeks ways to protect her family but never imagine the act she has to do in order to protect.As Danny begins to be chased by Jack he realizes he is leaving behind a trail to be caught by.He begins to back track and hide from jack.Wendy the mother finds a way out of the hotel and sees her son get out and with the knife strikes jack while so he freezes in the snow cover ground.Without doubt the mother accomplishes and her family is safe yet leaves behind the father in order to live.

Stephen king literary work "The Shinning" expresses the use of psychoanalysis.Psychoanalysis is the set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders;based on the theories of Sigmund Freud."The Shinning" has used the fathers alcohol abuse and inner anger to release and take range in the attempt to kill his family."God, I'd give anything for a drink. I'd give my god-damned soul for just a glass of beer" shows his addiction. The frustration he feels with his lack of writing allows his family to be targeted with no possible reasoning other then his depression.His anger weakens him and allows him to be possed by ghost and gives him motives to kill. Jack no longer has any self control but his determination has increased as his stay in the Overlook extends.Stephen king similar experiences has been put into his novel ''The Shinning" as his character Jack follows the same foot steps as king.Not only does his underlying motives is written within the characters but as king writes his novel.The viewing of a fellow friend passing had opened his skills in writing to target horror literary and with his character Jack whom is a writer action is to kill.Jack Torrance:" Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in". within the mother her underlying motive to keep her family together and happy she seems to miss out the signs that her family is in danger so she becomes blind and ignores the signs.

"The Shinning" is a must read novel and movie.The author Stephen king makes his novels a must read,cant seem to put them down.With "The Shinning" you will find the horror to be intense but begin to notice how alike the author is with his character and their psychoanalysis.Each character has its motive but before reading the novel read Stephen king biography in order to understand more of where king got his talent to write.''The Shinning" gives his character a motive but with out reading till the end you will not seem to see it clearly.

sources:http://www.stephenking.com/the_author.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/

Blog Entry 12 Initial writing

While reading through " The Shinning" by Stephen King i will be thinking about the psychoanalytic Criticism.Psychoanalytic criticism came from Sigmund Freud, It expresses the authors inner desires and anxiety through his literature.Stephen Main character Jack has some similar characteristic as Stephen king,they both are writers and both certified teachers well as having a drinking problem. Through Stephen works you find out that in some way he relates to his character.The Main Character will have to fight inner conflicts with good and evil.The evil inside him wants to kill his son and wife but the good/love for his family makes it through so he does not.Just as Stephan King looked for a new job as his curtain career failed Jack career fails and has him in search for a new job as a care taker in the hotel.Stephen king uses his personal fears into his literature work. Stephen king fear of death is used in his novel as death is what Jack is trying to commit and his son Danny sees through out the hotel.The inner anxiety the author might have felt that leaked into his literature was the viewing of the death of his friend that may have caused the psychologically inspiration of his dark literature. The Psychoanalytic Criticism is shown throughout "The Shinning" and even through the movie his overcoming with demons so he says has been shown in his literature "The shinning" as jacks son Danny sees two twin sisters standing in the hotel hallway that have been dead but are in seek of playing with Danny. While going through "The Shinning" you may ask yourself why is it so scary to continue reading but so addictive to not let down is Stephen king grabs our attention with our fears. He brings out the fear of death and what our society seems to have seen "Ghost". Stephen kings gives the idea of being able to see beyond the living and being a child with telepathically powers seems scary. "The Shinning" gives the reader the fear of entering a empty hotel and through out the reading finds "Murder" written backwards "Redrum", two twins in which have been killed by their fathers then to find a naked what seems to look youthful till is seen through the mirror and happens to be a old saggy looking women.Thats should scare ANYONE!. Stephen king literature work has its way of grabbing the attention of the reader through writting a novel that describes a mental stage of the character and its illness.

Blog entry 11 :My chosen Story

The story that i choose is "The Shinning" by Stephen king. I choose this story because it fits perfectly with our English course "supernatural".Ive heard about Stephan king books and even seen people reading his books on the train.I was glad to see that "The shinning" even had came out with a movie that i remembered watching in a movie class i had in high school.I am looking forward to seeing if the book is the same as the movie.

The Plot to this book is a hotel is place on a mountain in which a family goes to stay at.The father is a writer and the mother is a women with the good intentions of keeping her family together.Together there is a son whom seems to be able to speak to ghost and notices two twin sisters standing in the hotel hallway during a day the family was stuck in a snow storm. The father attempts to murder his family but will they ever make it out the hotel? (You must read the book in order to find out what happens next)

For my final project i will be using Psychoanalytic Criticism i feel no one else in the class will take that approach since we haven't discussed much of it during class.I remember learning it in my phys.101 class and noticed Stephan king uses no explicit sexual scene in the novel, many Freudian metaphorical representations of sexuality were noted. 'Misery' also dwelt on a battle of the sexes as fought between the main protagonist, Paul Sheldon, and Annie Wilkes, the middle-aged, manic depressive woman who 'took care' of him after surviving a car wreck.I feel if i try the psychoanalytic criticism approach i can open my broad of the Freud theory as well.

Entry on Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_(film)

Blog 10 Reflection

The past few weeks we've been taught about Monomyth by Joseph Campbells. Monomyth is the hero's journey and the steps through it.Ive learned that a hero isn't born a hero but is given the opportunity to become one through his journey and if he/she returns home.That within films and t.v. shows a hero goes through test and if and only if he/she passes them they become the hero.By watching the film Spirited away i really noticed the steps,the people that get in the way of a hero's quest.Watching the interview of Joseph Campbell was very interesting.Never did i ever think things the way he does.Gives more light to what we see through everyday actions.It was enlightening the way he define a hero that it doesn't have to be a super hero but just a every day person.

Remake of Blog 7

Hero's Quest

Hancock

Elements in the movie Hancock is giving a human super human powers as well as using symbolism such as a eagle to represent him being the one to over view the city and watching over its prey(criminals as well as victims).Just as will smith character does not like the people in his city they do not like him either.Hancock is given a quest of proving himself to the city the need of him.His calling was given by a spokesman named ray.Who is almost like his companion throughout his quest.His challenges of not allowing his ego over come him and not prove himself worthy as well as later within the movie he is given the opportunity to find out who he was and is but must fight for his life or keep the only way of knowing close by.

Blog 9 Hero's Quest & film Part 2

Name: Edna Rios
Date: May 3, 2010
Professor Dr. C. Jason Smith

When looking for a movie that consist of a hero's quest what better movie then the movie Hancock.Hancock was released 2 July 2008 by a director named Peter Berg.It is taken place in Los Angeles California with a single man ( will smith being the actor) whom carries superhuman powers.He has the ability of supersonic flight, invulnerability, immortality, and super-strength.His biggest problem is not only is he a drunk but while trying to save the world he is costing the city a fortune with all the destroying he has caused in the process. Him doing what he thinks is a good duty, the people of the town feels he is actually a nuisance with his rude attitude and drunken ways.The town are reluctant to thank Hancock for rescuing and stopping crime till he saves the life of a public relation spoke person.

He is offered a chances by Ray Embrey, the spokes person he saved to show the city the need they have for him if Hancock turns himself in for all the subpoena and lawsuits.Hancock agrees and is sent to jail and as so the crime rate rises and he is in need to stop a bank robbery and not till then did the city realize the need of Hancock in their city.Being offered by Ray Embrey to dinner with his family he meets his wife that little did he know have superhuman powers as Hancock did.In the process of finding her powers Hancock finds out about his past.He knew little to nothing about his past until she began to explain all the little details of what he couldn't put together. That being that they were made as one and that he lived 3000 years with his power and the last of his kind.He is a fallen angel.

Hancock was given an journey or what Campbells calls Monomyth. Joseph Campbells said that a monomyth was referred to as the hero's journey, refers to a basic pattern found in many narratives from around the world.

Will Smith character was given a journey from the very beginning of his exists, he was given superhuman powers that before he's accident made sense in having but afterward he had to live a life without knowing he was once loved and cared for.Hancock was given powers he used to save the city but had to battle his inner conflict of being alone and not understanding who he was.In the process of finding out who he was and the life he had before,thanks to Mary the spokesman wife he had to figure out a way in healing himself from a terrible shooting done during a liquor store robbery.Not till after the realization that although he would normally be able to heal that being together with what was his wife Mary, that together they were harming themselves being weaken.

The Hero in this film was faced with a task. Hancock is given the chance by Ray to turn himself in,in order to show the city he is much needed.After all those lives he had saved and crimes, he still needs to prove himself worthy all because of his poor behavior.He must allow himself to lower his ego to prove a point. Hancock must enter prison and withhold himself from setting free and going back to his habit of drink and living a sober life without liquor and superhuman powers. In the past he had saved his Spokesman Ray from a train that was derailing and heading for a collision.Therefore allowing the Hancock to be in jailed it would improve his public imagine within the city and show his need within the city.When the crime rate rises he is being called in to stop a bank robbery in which changes it all for Hancock.

The return of the hero is once Hancock is being called by the Chief of Police to stop a violent bank robbery with the whole city watching he is being applauded for his actions.He gets to be set free from jail and stops the robbery. Will Smiths Character is now being allowed to use his superhuman powers for justices and so he believes life will go back to normal not knowing that Mary is his weakness.His one chance of understanding who he was and someone to have the answers to his questions he must keep away from.He now can return to his normal life saving the city but now he leaves off understanding a little more about himself and that he isn't alone any more.

During the viewing of this movie I've noticed some symbolism and archetypes.A symbol that is being shown throughout the movie is an Eagle. The eagle symbolized strength, courage, farsightedness and immortality.Hancock being a metaphor for America being the "eagle".His courage is strength as the "super hero" and even his view.He sees the city from above just as the viewing of an eagle.The archetype is when Hancock changes and in return the city likes him, he begins to like people

"A myth to live by" by Joseph Campbells meaning the deep power of myth on the inner, spiritual lives of human beings throughout the ages (including our own age).Will smith character is give super human powers in which he uses them for good and has the ability of endless life.Around the world myths are define differently and within this movie the myth of a human being giving super human powers seems unbelievable and the ability to fly as if he was a creature.

Work Cited :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myths_to_Live_By

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448157/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth