#lit analysis

[icemankazansky]

@pscentral event 13: tropes

#top gun: maverick #maverick mitchell #top gun meta #tropes #cinema tropes #film tropes #tom cruise #lit analysis #your girl doing some chill literary analysis #my gifs

[vampiresuns]

ngl, I am yet to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and watch the adaptation, but one thing that's popping out to me is the amount of people I've seen who assuming that, because Katniss knows the Hanging Tree song, she must be related to Lucy Gray, almost entirely forgetting the source material and its author.

because there are no chosen ones in The Huger Games. Never have been. There are a lot of elements that border on magical realism/the supernatural in the novels, from the character perspectives, but there is no predestination: it is all choice. Katniss isn't special because she's related to someone, she's special because of what she chooses and what that means in the context she's in.

if Suzanne Collins did one thing is write a web of social constellations and memory in constant conversation with the present. It doesn't matter if Katniss is or not related to anyone in TBOSAS. what matters is oral tradition and folk culture of the districts, specially D12 and within that district, The Seam, cannot be controlled. that it exists regardless of Capitol control. that it will always exist regardless of Capitol control. it is in direct conversation with the irl experiences of BIPOC in Appalachia and the working class in Appalachia (and in many places of the world by similarity of irl circumstances due to colonisation and class struggle alone) who have rich oral traditions that constitute an important part of USAmerican Folk, but exist on its own right.

you could interpret it as them being related, sure. nothing stops you: it could be just a hc, it could be analysis with more or less textual evidence, that's up to you. but as people in fandom or who engage with the world of THG we shouldn't ignore this reading bc it's so, so blatant. it is right there. in the end, one of the greatest tools these characters had to overthrow, cheat and avoid the Capitol was the existence of a second history, a local, working class, brown kind of history that in real life and for the characters is taken as non-existent and not valuable for the people in power.

and because it is not of importance, because those people think the people they oppress are barely human and therefore incapable of "actual" culture, it creates a massive blind-spot. these people have the audacity to keep existing. believe me the reason why Katniss knows those songs is because the Seam had the audacity to keep singing — not because it was capital P political, or capital R Resisting. but simply because they existed, against all odds. they lived, against all attempts to exterminate them.

there will still be singing, in the dark times. Suzanne Collins knows that.

#tbosas #thg #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #txt #lit analysis #jules.txt #suzanne collins #again i haven't read it Yet but knowing the author and the main trilogy and having read that several times I am absolutely willing to bet #my analysis is not very far off and has legit textual support #also it's unsurprising that at least in video based platforms like instagram or tiktok the people talking about it are white #about it: how they Have to be related #also somewhere in this site is the post that compares Katniss' to Snow and that post. I am kissing in the mouth

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

The similarities between Julius Caesar’s assassination and the Ides of Marsh are well documented in fandom. It’s also generally agreed that the fall of the Night’s Watch will mirror the fall of the Roman Republic, which was quite ironically brought on by Caesar’s death. But I never see it acknowledged that Julius Caesar, some time after the establishment of Octavian’s Augustus’ rule, became deified (meaning that he was worshipped as a god or to put it bluntly, Julius Caesar ascended to godhood).

What does this have to do with Jon Snow? Well, apotheosis (1, 2) is one of the most important stages that comes towards the end of a hero’s journey. Here, the hero reaches some higher level of understanding or personhood, and this allows them to complete the hardest trials still to come in their journey. We see mental changes, but these could also be accompanied by physical changes. A good example of this in high fantasy is Gandalf’s death and return as Gandalf the White. In other myths and stories, we can point to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In ASOIAF, we have mini versions of this with Bran Stark and Jojen Reed, two children who experience life or death situations but came back with heightened magical power (Bran especially).

Jon Snow is currently at his “journey to the underworld”/“belly of the whale” moment, where he is to (presumably) face his greatest trials. Apotheosis usually comes after this stage (and is often preceded by other stages such as the “meeting of the goddess” and “atonement with the father”, both of which could very well appear in Jon’s journey as he learns of his true identity and purpose).

But what would apotheosis mean for Jon? That’s the key question. He is sure to experience profound mental changes and trauma, but these are sure to be accompanied by great magical changes that manifest physically. In the same way that Bran came out of his coma and started his journey as the last greenseer (well, once Bloodraven kicks the bucket), Jon is sure to come out of his death experience a far more powerful being. The thing is that Jon needs to change into the hero Westeros needs and the magical act of dying and coming back to life should play a role in that.

However, it won’t all be fine and dandy for him. GRRM has criticized Gandalf’s return where he seemingly came back to life better than ever with no great effects. In the same way that Jon is literally experiencing a descent into the underworld (a step that is sometimes figurative for many modern heroes), we can also ascertain that he will experience a very literal ascension into godhood (or the closest thing we have to that in ASOIAF). But magic always comes with a price. And whatever sort of “god” Jon turns into post-resurrection, he won’t be a very pretty one.

#asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #jon snow #I didn’t have space for this in the post but I think we’re bound to see an anti parallel at work with jon and euron greyjoy #euron very much wants to become a god - heck he has a whole spiel about being worshipped like one #but euron will likely be a false god #the way stannis will likely be a false savior #but SOMEONE has to be the real deal right…? #and if you’re like me and you believe jon will attain his hero’s boon - aka lightbringer #then it’s probably gonna be #belly of the whale (death) > meeting the goddess/atonement with the father (learning rlj) > #return to the living > apotheosis > ultimate boon (finally forging lightbringer and proving himself to be azor ahai) > ?? > kinghood/profit #yeah idk #julius caesar #historical parallels #the heros journey #lit analysis

[porcelana-r0ta]

“He is family. That is kind of what family does-” she stopped short and shifted to lean back more firmly into the wall “well… what family should do.”

Zuko gave her a puzzled look but did not push. That made sense in a way. Not much, but some. If he thought about it then his uncle came to mind but that burned his heart so he snuffed out the thought and looked elsewhere.

Excerpt from Boiling Friendship by Lynnrose on Ao3.

I read this passage from Boiling Friendship and was stricken with sadness.

Zuko, thinking of his dear uncle when Mai talks about what family should do for each other. Zuko, who must look away when he thinks of a parent's kindness. Iroh, who had to look away when faced with a parent's cruelty.

#I'm going to be fucking SICK #fanfic writers are on another level #fic analysis #lit analysis #fanfic #ao3 #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #atla zuko #uncle iroh #iroh atla #prince zuko

[ghostgirlkisses]

*two literature majors hanging out*

“dude wtf am i even writing right now”

#literature #english major #lit analysis #coqeutte #manic pixie dream girl #girl interrupted syndrome #coquette #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #lizzy grant aka lana del rey #lobotomy chic #girlblogger

[actuallymanu]

Kafka's Metamorphosis: My Ramblings

Hello world (Luna)! Since I got this account like...2 days ago, I'm just gonna post whatever insane ramblings I have in my brain into here, and that's all that is necessary for me.

I finished Metamorphosis this morning, and knowing not only how he saw himself, but also how he saw his father:

"You never hanged me, but I always felt the rope around my neck"

In all honesty, I saw this quote attributed to Kafka's writing, but I cannot find the quote itself so please take this with a grain of salt. However, the quote still applies to the book itself.

Ramblings:

Turned into a bug, Samsa's first thought when he transforms is not about him. In fact, never — not for more than 2 or 3 instances for which he is almost instantly punished — does he think about himself. Rather, his every thought, his life, and his existence seem to be consumed by his family.

He lives for his family. He breathes for them. But in his essence, what is he, if not for his family? Now, he must know. He must know because he has no family any longer. He's a vermin hiding inside a house that was no longer his the second he was not the perfect son, although he paid for it.

Even as a bug, he thinks of his family. Completely starved for any kind of human treatment for himself, he still hides underneath a blanket for his sister's comfort.

And yet, he hopes, silently, that she would move it and look upon him with the adoration she used to have for her brother. But she doesn't.

She treats him like he is dead, and feels guilty about it. That is why she empties his room like one would a missing or gone relative. She believes her life is ruined by his transformation, more than his. She is who matters because she retains her human form. In fact, that is why she doesn't let the mother clean the room.

She doesn't want to treat his room or him as something that should be cared for because she knows she does not care for him. When her mother tries to, it proves the neglect that she has been showing him. She cannot be confronted, just like her father couldn't, with the truth that their beloved.

Samsa is almost immediately resigned to his fate. He aches and longs for communication with the only ones he loves. He aches for belonging, so much so that he is willing to live with the torture of the room as long as he can see that it is his own. He aches for communication.

But he cannot bother his family. He cannot do it. So he screams silently.

They clear his room, and he only asks for a single painting to remain.

They leave him scraps that he returns untouched, only hoping that they notice his starvation

They leave the door slightly ajar while refusing to engage in conversation with him, and he stays in the shadows to not horrify them with his appearance.

His father tries to kill him, and he stays on the floor to not scare him further.

He hides in silence under a blanket to prevent his sister from witnessing what she considers disgusting.

His sister's music plays and is not fully appreciated his only thought is to protect her and play for who would truly appreciate her — him — but only through her free will.

He wakes up as a cockroach and though he describes the pain as debilitating, he still tries to force himself to work for his family.

However, his family only thinks of their own. No longer human, Samsa was no longer their concern. If he could not be a part of the family as a human, he could no longer be a part of the family at all. But they cannot admit to themselves the cruelty of their actions in their pursuit of freedom.

Samsa did not have the privilege of a job he enjoyed for his family.

Samsa observed the world with the innocent eyes of an observer.

"Was he an animal if the music could captivate him so?"

No, Gregor Samsa. You were the one with the most humanity of them all.

#the metamorphosis #franz kafka #gregor samsa #cockroaches #lit analysis #ramblings #in all honesty the book is a lot deeper than “oooh family evil” and i actually have a lot to say about it but I'm tired #kafka

[pinkrangerv]

Hello Kids It's Literary Screaming Time

Okay so I've been seeing A Lot of trigger warnings for racism\Orientalism\anti-semitism\etc in Dracula. And this is good on some level, because you do need a heads-up walking into this--hey, bad guys are being, well, Bad Guys.

On the other hand, I've also been seeing a lot of 'well, it was A Product Of Its Time'. So let's break this down.

At the time, anthropology--the study of other cultures--had just been formalized. And you need to understand: British baby anthro was SUPER FUCKING RACIST. So racist. Everyone who wasn't British was 'primitive', British people were 'more evolved', and ergo Britain needed to rule over everyone.

There was also the concept of the English Gentleman (the whole 'act like you're not an ass' thing varied, but we're looking at England right now). Part of that was just 'don't be so arrogant you don't listen to those of lower caste than you'. That was one of the hallmarks of a True Gentleman; that he could make clear decisions, but that he also took other people's emotions into account, even when it was Obviously Wrong.

Bram Stoker is fucking Irish. Ireland was invaded by England...idk, forever and a fucking day ago? And is STILL occupied territory. (Brexit was just like...SUPER fucking fun because England took over Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and everwhere they could and called it 'the UK'. It is not a United Kingdom. It is occupied territory.)

The end result here is that Bram Stoker was VERY VERY AWARE that the 'ethnic people' were considered 'primitive' and that was bullshit BY ENGLAND'S OWN RULES.

Okay, so now we have Jonathan. He's a baby Gentleman. Wandering around an unknown land. What does he do first (other than apparently have a meltdown over paprika)?

He totally ignores the people BEGGING him not to go to the VERY DANGEROUS CASTLE.

This is taking English arrogance and racism to an extreme, and this ENTIRE NOVEL is Jonathan paying for it.

Now let's look at Dracula. He's clearly well-informed about England; he uses English racism; he uses English manners. In other words, he's a PARODY of the English Gentleman--he's a violent kidnapper who wants to devour Jonathan, but he's POLITE about it and uses The Right Racism Words.

This is not 'Bram Stoker was racist'. This is a deliberate parody of English culture, and the horror comes from how the 'good guys' of England are actually monsters.

The racism is not there for you to agree with. The racism is there for you to go 'wow, racism and arrogance suck ass'.

#lit analysis #Dracula Daily #let me scream in Nerd at you #History is fun #so is parody

[imaginesandbandfiction]

if someone asks what my writing means after it’s already published, i’m going to start answering with “i am not at liberty to say” because i am no longer the person who wrote it. when i get ideas it’s like im possessed, that bitch was crazy and i have no idea what she really meant.

it’s up to you to figure out what it means to you. Maybe it’s just a cool story or maybe it’s a really shitty story, idk. i just wrote some words down.

#writing #writer #reading #books #poetry #meaning #fanfic #fandom #fanfiction #imagine #imagines #fanfic writer #novels #mine #mini essay #discourse #literature #literary analysis #analysis #lit analysis #analyzing books #thoughts #words #writeblr

[dilfpassing]

okay ive been thinking about american psycho all day . i think the business cards in american psycho are so important to the characters because they’re literally a representation of the self, in the most blatant and bold way possible. Literally, a name, a position, and an address: everything the doppelganger yuppie elite class explored in the novel and the movie strives to have. Both the book and the movie present them with such a comical and absurd tone --- because really, how different are they --- but to the characters, it is of the utmost importance that their business card is the best, because the men in this story have no way to relate to each other besides competition, posturing, and status. Bateman becomes so enraged when Luis changes his business card --- adding gold lettering, not black --- because Luis, the outlier of the group, attempts to change the mold.

Luis is not a “good” moral paragon of a character in either the book or the movie, engaging in the same yuppie culture as the rest of the characters, but the one thing that Luis has that the others don’t is a deviance in personality. Luis is either bisexual or gay with a fiancee (later wife) to posture as heterosexual in public, but even with his facade of heterosexuality, it is obvious to everyone in his social circle that he is attracted to men. His individuality sets him apart from everyone else in the circle --- while it is possible that he may not be the only queer person in the group, he is the only visibly queer one, which sets him apart from the group. Bateman is so enraged by this individuality (which is further compounded by his homophobia and his disgust over Luis’s obvious crush on him) that he is driven to attempt to murder Luis right after the business card reveal. It wasn’t the business card, it was the deviance from the norm: instead of black lettering, Luis chose gold. Luis chose to be different, something that Bateman both detests and longs for, something that Bateman feels he cannot have, something he feels must be punished. And, when Luis reacts with passion, Bateman is left completely confused, emasculated, and helpless.

The business cards in American psycho are an absurd display of surface-level identity in 1980s American yuppie culture, and the way the book and the movie both weave them into the story is just so completely genius and fascinating to me.

#american psycho #lit analysis #whoops

[mindpalaceofmyown]

Androgyny in Hesse's Work

Spoilers (a little bit) for Steppenwolf and Demian.

So we all know that Hesse was deeply influenced by his travel to India and Hinduism/Buddhism in general? But here is another recurring theme in his work: androgyny among the "guiding" characters for the protagonist.

Now, in Hinduism there are multiple accounts of deities changing gender, manifesting as different genders at different times, or combining to form androgynous or hermaphroditic beings (have to cite Wikipedia here sorry for the sourcing T-T).

These same traits are described for Hermine/Herman in Steppenwolf and Max Demian in, well, Demian. Both of these characters help the protagonist grow in some way, eg. have a profound influence on their life. I really wanted to connect this to Hindu deities because of the apparent androgynous component as well as the "divine" help that is provided by these characters. In a way, this connection can also help infer something about the overall meanings of the works, but that is a separate topic.

Anyway, the Hinduism themes in Hesse's work are like Pokemon to me, I have to find them all.

#demian #max demian #sinclair #emil sinclair #hesse #hermann hesse #hermine #steppenwolf #lit theory #lit #lit analysis #hinduism #hinduism theme #androgyny #androgynous

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Show vs. Tell in The Darkest Hour

The thing about Lancelot's sacrifice in The Darkest Hour is that his motivations are all over the place. I welcome a debate over this, but I find it very difficult to see it as a sacrifice for Gwen, or even Arthur, even though that's clearly what the show was going for.

On the one hand, you have the influence of Arthurian legend, which ties Lancelot's story firmly to Arthur's and Guinevere's. We see this reflected in their close bonds in the show; more with Gwen, but Arthur also was shown to think highly of him in previous episodes (they didn't have many interactions in this two-parter, and none that weren't about Merlin).

We also have his spoken motives: he and other characters bring up his duty as a knight (his conversation with Merlin in Part One where Lancelot tries to convince him to go back to Camelot). Additionally, there's the promise he made to Gwen. So you've got both his affection for her and his sense of duty pushing him to protect Arthur (he says this himself during his conversation with Merlin in that cabin TDH2, that he'll go on with the quest that it's because of the vow he made). At the end of the episode, Gwen also says this (to Arthur, during the pyre scene.

In terms of composition and design, everything points to these being Lancelot's motivations.

And yet. None of this fits with his actual actions during the episodes.

We can overlook him talking almost exclusively with and/or about Merlin, because creating a relationship with the main character is a fast and easy way to endearing him to the audience, in addition to giving him more screen time, which would serve the same purpose.

But, if looking after Arthur's his first priority, how come he immediately tries to get his sworn protector to leave? Sure, Merlin's not a warrior, but it's not like combat skills are of any use against the Dorocha. Also, of the three episodes they'd met before this one, twice Merlin's proven to have privileged information about the threat they were facing. Even just as an extra hand to do chores, look for firewood so no one's ever alone could be useful. Lancelot ought to have known that having Merlin around could only make Arthur safer, yet he insisted that he should leave.

But, okay, let's say that, as a knight, he doesn't feel comfortable with anyone who doesn't know how to fight or who didn't swear an oath endangering themselves; especially if they're his friend, like Merlin is.

How does he justify leaving the quest to take Merlin to Camelot? Any other knight might have volunteered if he'd kept quiet for a bit longer and he could've advised them to go through the Valley. By being the one to take him, he's pretty much abandoning Arthur to his luck and breaking his promise to Gwen. Sure, all the knights are sworn to protect Arthur, but he and Merlin are the ones most devoted to him, for their own reasons. Or they should be. Instead of protecting him with his life, as he promised, Lancelot chooses to take Merlin back to Camelot, despite Merlin's own protests! You know, the guy who always seems to know more than anyone else what's going on and who wants above all else to protect Arthur? (Then again, Lancelot may not have heard said protests, being in such a hurry to ride off that he interrupted his goodbye to Arthur lmao. Sorry, that scene's kinda funny to me, like, Merlin begging Arthur to let him stay and Lancelot in the background, tapping his watch.)

So he rides off with Merlin, leaving Arthur to finish the quest alone, except that they run into the Vilia and they heal Merlin. What does he say to their statement that Arthur needs them both? No can do, I need to get Merlin to Camelot. It's okay, they'll heal him! As he sees for himself the next morning! This should make him change his mind about going to Camelot, right? Except no, it does not. Even after seeing him running around, spearfishing, after trying to smack him with a stick, when Merlin wants to get back to Arthur, Lancelot immediately shuts him down. Even once he agrees, it's only after Merlin makes it clear that he'll go with or without him.

(Then you have that convo in the cabin where he's like "I have to go because I promised Gwen that I'd protect Arthur" like babe you left him. 0/0 would not ask for a promise again.

The funniest thing is that having them go on their own also serves a literary purpose. It gives him and Merlin the opportunity to talk in privacy, giving the audience their due exposition, when around others they'd have to censor themselves to keep their secrets, Merlin's magic and Lancelot's love for Gwen.)

Then skip to the confrontation with the Cailleach. He already knew that Merlin was planning to sacrifice himself instead of Arthur. Arthur himself was unconscious. The only thing he had to do to protect him is stand there and look pretty. For all his penchant for self-sacrifice, we already knew he feared death, because he said himself that it was difficult to imagine knowingly giving his own life. But he still walked through the Veil.

Let's be clear. The person he saved by doing that was Merlin.

Not to say that there was no way of seeing that as protecting Arthur. He'd just been told by two magical sources (the Vilia and Kilgharrah) that Merlin had a huge destiny. It's likely that Merlin had told him the same thing before, as he was pretty loose with his declarations of how he was meant to protect Arthur. So, it's not impossible that he thought that the best way to protect Arthur, not just that once but in the future, was to save Merlin. You can definitely say that. Just like you can definitely get from Spain to India by sailing west without ever stopping on land. You will have to doge a whole ass continent that spans two hemispheres, though. And have fun in the Pole!

Anyway, this isn't meant to be a shipping manifesto. And while I love those two, and enjoy screaming about them to the void, it isn't even about them either. I most definitely don't mean to undermine Lancelot’s love for Gwen. I just wanted to point out this discrepancy between what the show says (Lancelot sacrificed himself for Gwen, Arthur and Camelot, in that order) and what it does (Lancelot sacrificed himself for Merlin).

#Merlin BBC #mbbc 4x01 #mbbc 4x02 #The Darkest Hour Pt 1 #The Darkest Hour Pt 2 #The Darkest Hour #Lancelot #Merlin #Merlance #Mercelot #lit analysis

[medievalfantasist]

Hi!

I wrote a book. (Another one, technically.) The audiobook is available today (Sept. 26, 2023), and the paperback drops tomorrow.

Here is the absolutely gorgeous paperback cover.

And the just-as-gorgeous audiobook cover.

It's a deep dive into the ways that medieval literature, myth, and epic have sort of trickled down and bubbled up into modern literature, and how that specifically has informed and influenced Neil Gaiman's work. I cover Sandman, The Books of Magic, Stardust, Beowulf, and several others.

These are available wherever you get books, but here's some links in case you need them: University of Iowa Press | Tantor Media

Anyway thanks for reading.

#it's being obnoxious about my writing hour #neil gaiman #medievalism #lit analysis #literary analysis #completely outing myself here #yes hello this is my real name #(I'm old enough to remember when we called them “muns”) #shut up

[stitchingsins]

No you don’t understand Scrooge isn’t an asshole because he doesn’t celebrate Christmas he’s an asshole because he’s hoarding his wealth during the season of GIVING. He doesn’t become a good person because he sees the joy in the holiday, he becomes a good person because he sees how just sharing a fraction of his wealth would help the people around him. He’s terrified that he will die leaving no legacy but that of a miser. He becomes better after realizes that using his blessings to help those around him is the only way to find joy after decades of making himself miserable for the sake of “moving upwards.”

ITS NOT ABOUT CHRISTMAS

It’s just a method of showing the effects of capitalism. It could have been literally any other gift centric holiday and the messaging would be the same.

#christmas carol #charles dickens #ebenezer scrooge #literature #classics #analysis #lit analysis

[dogboyism]

the oracle was stoned by chester wilson iii

#m #poetry #prose #vent literature #lit analysis #favs

[paperstarwriters]

(you don't have to publish the ask but make sure it's anonymous) please please please don't worry about the anon I think it might be the same person who made a harrass discord group...of course it's good to acknowledge wrongdoings of creators but it doesn't make anyone obligated to stay away from fandom. If you don't support the racist mess that happened it's totally fine if you stay in arcana fandom. Don't worry.

of course, of course. I'm not feeling pressured to leave the fandom right now don't worry about that. I know seeing it can cause a bit of anxiety, and for a little while it did make me feel anxious, I recalled why I wanted to write a lot of the fanfics I make in the first place, I didn't like how they wrote Muriel's ending, and I didn't like how they represented him a lot, so I wanted to make something that fit the image I had of him instead.

Anyways, I was much more curious about the note they made about the problems with Julian being a bird or the various bird motifs and that being antisemitic. I was wondering how or why that was the case, as when I tried searching it up I wasn't really able to find any definite explanations, so I was wondering if they could point me to a resource or something on the topic. I've heard that a merge between an owl and a human can often be antisemitic especially when that owl is presented as an almost demon-like entity with feathers forming horns like that of a great horned owl, and their beak being presented as a large hooked nose. That much, I do understand, but I'm unclear if it applies to the wider range of birds as well, or not.

In my initial search I found a story called Jewbird written by Bernard Malamud, an American-jewish author, and while it serves as the allegory of antisemitism not only coming from outside but inside as well, the nature of the intelligent bird being representative of an older more traditional Jewish individual (according to another source who were likely more able to draw the parallel than I was), presents him as a human-merged with bird individual and the whole point of the text seems to present it as the pure opposite of being antisemitic.

Of course, I can see the possibility of it, that he was presented as a bird in order to subvert the initial expectations and stereotypes, in the same way that Maus by Art Spiegelman does, but I would still like to be better able to understand the bird-antisemitism connection. Does it apply to specific birds? What kind of bird-like representation causes issue? Would the image of birds flying freely over the sky be considered problematic imagery? Why and how? is it the caged bird that is problematic? Why and how? Is there any possible way that this birdlike imagery can spread into other spaces and cause issue? Should Julian never be given feathered wings, regardless if you're creating a bird image or not? is his bird familiar problematic as well??? this is like telling someone unfamiliar with racism against African-american individuals that cotton is not good to them without telling them about the whole history about slavery and cotton picking, leading them to believe that they just take issue with the material of shirts or something.

I know I probably sound kinda nit-pickey, but I am genuinely curious and would love to avoid making any antisemitic mistakes when including Julian and Portia in my works. I wish to avoid this all the time, of course, but most especially now, as discussion on Palestine has spurred a lot of antisemitism due to the cultural genocide from Israel. And while it's clear that what Israel is doing, it's also clear that not all Jewish individuals support that, even though some news groups or people talking about it frame it as if it is.

Of course I'm open and eager for discussion on the other LIs as well and the intricacies of their problematic representation and how that must be handled corrected or re-framed, especially since in the early more.... hostile days of this fandom, I tended to stick to Muriel's route since I hadn't played the other routes in a while/all the way through so I'm a little unaware of all the other characters' misrepresentations (so if you're mentioning Muriel I probably have heard about and considered that one before—this man does not leave my brain lmao)

I can see the possible issues on Nadia being constantly represented as domineering failing to recognize softness in her (which I belive, though correct me if I'm wroing, is about dark skinned women being seen as violent and tough instead of soft or kind), and Asra being represented through Orientalism (mystic, but lesser other with messy foreign traditionalistic magic that must be corrected through the western logic and science—this partly originated in ancient greece so not entirely western as in America)

But yeah, I'm just really curious about it, cause my initial search only brought up news articles about people apologizing for being antisemitic, or the history of antisemitism. Rather than some of the various possible forms of antisemitism or it's possible relation to birds.

#answering asks #the arcana #I put it in the tags on that one post sorry. You probably didn't see because you didn't want to scroll through the hate post #and that's fair #but yeah I'm here for research purposes & to remember and learn from the mistakes of the others in the past. #Anonymous #julian devorak #portia devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel #muriel the arcana #Muriel of the kokhuri #antisemitism #lit analysis

[pinkrangerv]

Let's Scream More About Literature

Okay so I've gotten...Some Comments on my other post. Let's start breaking down an important skill here on this webbed site:

Are you supposed to agree with what's happening in the text, or not?

Let's consider Dracula. Racist terms are thrown around easily. Jonathan is casually racist. Dracula is literally blood libel made into a sapient being.

But what happens when all these things are put together? The racism, blood libel, and homophobia...are Dracula. Are Dracula's weapons. He 'commands' Romani people because he is evil and mind-controlling an oppressed group, not because Romani people are evil.

Dracula is literally what happens when you take all the racism and anti-Semitism and homophobia and whatever, and make them into a literal monster that wants to eat people. The metaphor here is that bigotry is 'eating the British alive'.

I promise this is not a book that supports bigotry. Please, PLEASE learn the difference between 'it's in the book' and 'I'm supposed to agree with it'.

(Side note: This is the same mistake people make about Lolita. It's a book about a pedophile. You're supposed to find the main character disgusting. Instead, people use it...to support pedophila. Please do not make this mistake with ANY book. You are SUPPOSED to disagree with things in the text. This is not Happy Sunday Moral Tales For Three-Year-Olds. You're supposed to have opinions.)

#lit analysis #I'm going to go bang my head against a wall now #please none of you ever read Lolita #you are not ready #Dracula Daily