A piece of my heart

Just a REMINDER: Make sure you include a quote in your blog!

Also from last week, I don't "hate" Poe. I don't understand him AND I was sick. Further, even if I did understand his motivation better I would not prefer his writing. However, I still recognize him as an important literary figure and am glad we all participated in a nice study of a selection of his work. ALSO, I ONLY like sappy comedies....just in case anyone was wondering ;)

I have decided I really like Russians. (:

I throughly enjoyed this weeks reading of Dostoevsky and "Notes from the Underground". In fact I was so entertained I read the whole packet and got to the end wishing I had a little more to read. I don't know if any of you read the beginning notes on Dostoevsky, but I definitely recommend them for your understanding of this reading.

The Underground Man is angry, mad, cynical, and any other descriptive word to describe a grumpy old guy. He is the antithesis to the "beautiful and sublime" (which he quotes at least 7 times) we learned about from Kant. He stands in direct opposition to the socialist idea that man can be taught to work for his greater good, which is the good of all. Specifically, the audience can see his rant in section VII on this topic, "If his eyes were opened to his true, normal interests, he would stop doing nasty things at once and immediately become good and noble, because, being so enlightened and understanding his real advantage, he would realize that his own advantage really did lie in the good". He continues onward to satirically poke fun at this notion of a man attaining this better knowledge. The Underground man believes that a normal man is stupid, and will make choices based on what he wants whether or not it benefits himself.

This philosophy was a hard pill to swallow. I always believe the best about people often to my detriment. (sometime ask me about Silk ;) I wave and smile when I see people on the street, forgetting my small, white, female stature...Further, I am confused when my baggy shorts and tshirt do not hide the fact that I am a woman. (It really is always a surprise to me). The point not being that I will stop advocating for the poor, neglected, homeless, and fatherless; but rather, recognizing the nature of mankind. Just because the deeper I look into my soul I find a want to help more and more people does not mean that everyone else feels the same exact way. This does not hinder nor terminate my love for the broken, instead in a weird way it enhances this love.

My comment on Katinas!

The Fall of the House of Usher is my favorite too! I totally agree with the bubble thing, but I always thought of this kind of unstable mental condition as like ok hang with me here haha you know how on Tvs now a days they have this nifty thing where they can put a smaller screen of a different channel up in the corner so you can watch two channels at once? well I see it as Ushers fading reality as the bigger screen and his mind as the smaller one, but no matter how much you turn up the volume on the bigger screen, you can always hear the smaller one, nagging nagging nagging until finally it takes over and you just turn both off. Which would be Ushers death-destruction of his mind and reality.

Oh and I love your coffin description!!

Poe and Aliens?

While I do enjoy mostly Poe's Poems, my favorite of his short stories has always been The Fall of the House of Usher...except for the end, but I will get to that.

When the narrator considered what it was that so unnerved him about the Usher house, he thought, " It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth."

I love this quote because one, it really shows waht Poe's writings are basically all about: not the natural, real, tangile things that scare us, but really its our own minds. The last sentence, "considerations beyond our depth" is great because it kind of hints at the insanity of Usher. I feel like "depth" most likely means into our very being, the unknown within us. It is interesting to think about what are unhinged thoughts are capable of producing. In Usher's case, it was capable of producing images and visions that in the end killed him.

Now for the dreaded ending...but not dreaded in the way you think. It is scary in a way, yes, but for some reason I am always left unsatisfied and a bit disppointed at the ending no matter how many times I read it. FOR SOME REASON IT ALWAYS MAKES ME THINK OF ALIENS!!!...I have no idea why but I always get the feeling of a kind of cowboys vs. alien thing going on.

I cant explain it so please dont ask me to.

Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us."

I know everyone's talking about fear of the unknown in their blogs, but this is one of my favorite quotes of all time and relates to Poe in that way very well. In Poe's writing, he plays on the readers innate human fear of the unknown, the fear of that which cannot be seen or predicted. If we think about it, I think its pretty safe to say that we all share that fear. If we think of it from a Christian mindset, then that very fear is what keeps us from doing what we are called to do most of the time. When we begin to see the potential and power that God has, it is intimidating to say the least. When we realize the literally infinite potential that God has and the implications that has in our lives, it's a pretty terrifying thought. However, I also believe that in that fear, in that realization of the unknown that we face is where we can truly allow God to work in a big way in our lives.

Reading Poe

I love Edgar Allen Poe, and reading his stories came at the perfect time! Now, growing up and learning about him in elementary and middle school a lot of my teachers would say the Poe was just crazy and dark, and that is why his stories are so horrific. I however, disagree. I think that the reason his poems and tales are so suspenseful is because of horror, yes, but also because of Poe's understanding of the human mind and the internal struggles characters have in his tales.

Everyone can relate to the issues his characters have in some small way. We all obviously are not tortured and thrown in pits and held in captivity; however everyone has experienced getting over an enormous amount of homework and tests, finally finishing, only to be assigned more homework and tests. Readers can also relate to character's feelings of fear, guilt, or doom like how the characters feel in "The Fall of the House of Usher."

I don't think Poe was crazy or satanic at all. I believe he knew exactly how to extract emotions from readers and did so perfectly. I love how Poe describes people's mental state in his stories and just love his writing in general!

That's all for now; back to studying for the honors test!

-Susan

I commented on Tori's post, "At least, for a moment, I was free!"

Time Swings On...

Having read "The Pit and the Pendulum" before in high school it was nice to read it again and see how differently I read it now. From beginning to end of the story time seems to drag. It keeps the readers on the edges of their chair. Poe takes a good bit to describe the swooning of the character and the judgement. Then, suddenly the character is awake and in the cell with the pendulum swinging closer. I thought that the idea of the pendulum was really cool. As a clock pendulum swings marking off the seconds and taking each person closer still to his impending demise, so the pendulum, with it's seemingly unavoidable sentence, swings ever closer. It is intriguing how fascinated by death people are when they look it straight in the face. Some, like this character, take an uncanny pleasure in watching it loom ever closer and closer. This story definitely makes one stop and think about how time is ever moving and we don't know how much longer each of us has. On a side note, I remember being very relieved and glad that the story ends happily with the character escaping.

Yes, Poe, FINALLY!

Poe, because I love him!

Poe was one creepy son of a gun, and I would LOVE to listen to him speak about himself, just to see what he says. 

The Fall of the House of Usher is my personal favorite. The character’s own senses turn against him and make him go insane! I imagine that he was in his own kind of bubble in his last days, that no matter what the narrator said or did would really help in the long run (as we obviously find out). Kind of like his mind was in its own coffin, breathing, yet unable to get out, and eventually the darkness just over comes and wins over sanity. His own mind makes him go nuts! Would I like more imagination? No thank you!  

He just creates this fear that you can't run away from because the cause of the fear is within you... It's so dark and dreary, that it is perfect for this time of year, Halloween!

Insert creepy laugh here.

For the Moment, at least, I was free!

      This was my first introduction to Poe's writing.  I can honestly say the only thing I knew about poe is that his writings would be dark, and I was anxious about reading them, but I strapped my Honors Lit. boots on and trudged on ahead.  I loved the Pit and Pendulum, and it was my first work of Poe to read.

      My favorite line in this story was, "For the moment, at least, I was free". Through everything this victim of the the Spanish Inquistion has suffered through he was finally free! Then it gets worse for him, something more terrible awaits him.

     This is something everyone can relate to in life, even though not everyone has had such torturous events happen, they've experienced that feeling. I know I have. The moment when you think you've won the battle, and then the real war is just about to start.

     Poe seemed to capture this struggle all humans face and he presents it in a way that frightens us. He plays on emotions through humans worst fears, the unknown that will bring death. Poe knows what similar experiences, thoughts, and fears humans share, and he uses that. I think that's what I enjoyed the most when reading his writing, the fact that he knows what scares us. He knows how to relate to the readers darkest fears and desperations.

     On a side note, my friends enjoyed watching me read this. They took many opportunities to scare me when they could tell(by my facial expressions) that I was getting into the story. Several times I jumped either because of maniacal, malicious laughter broke out from behind me, or someone banged on the table. (Also listening to love songs while reading Edgar Allen Poe, is a very strange mix)

P.S. Commented on Tori Burger's post

I hate reading Poe...

 
I don't understand how a person can get so much joy from taking his audience into the deep dark crevices of the worst nightmares they have yet to dream and then abandoning them to let them die a slow, gothic-lit death. It's morbid and cruel! Ok, I'm done ranting...

Poe knew all too well how to give a good scare. The best way to freak someone out and keep them paranoid beyond belief is to let their own imagination take control. Their own personal worst fears are put in place of what we don't know because we HAVE to provide an answer for everything. And then, like with most horror movies, the real thing doesn't do justice to what our imaginations came up with. Some of us do the same thing in everyday life, such as when preparing for an honors test and we are convinced the test will look nothing like what we expected when in reality we arrive to class to find we were prepared for the test all along :) at least, that's what I'm hoeing for... 

Poe has never been a favorite of mine as far as poets go but I am grateful that Miller discussed him in non-stereotypical light. So many people write Poe off as a creepy recluse with a tendency

to focus on fear of the unknown. In reality Poe is much more than that, he is the genius who fathered detective fiction, Holmes and Watson would never have existed without his guidance. I have never studied Poe at depth but I enjoyed the opportunity to work it out with peers. My favorite of his works was not discussed unfortunately, but the concept behind this piece is how guilt drives us to the brink of insanity, which I can't wait to discuss in more detail with Crime and Punishment.

p.s. posted on Cameron White's

Afraid of the Dark

Ah, this one takes me back to the tenth grade, where I was under the teaching of the great Mrs. Watson. Her take of The Pit and the Pendulum, as well as Edgar Allen Poe influenced us to believe that his works were creepy, and that because of that, he was a creepy man. To call this man a creep just because he wrote nightmarish pieces of work would be to make a false accusation. It is eye-opening to try and see Poe as the philosophical type. He put this kind of fear in me when I read this piece. It is not that i am necessarily afraid of the dark as much as that I am afraid of what is in the dark that I cannot see. It is a fear of uncertainty, and Poe makes this come alive the the concept of the ‘unknown’.

p.s I posted on Nick Hamptons blog

The importance and necessity of fear

As I read Poe and other stories from the "thriller" genre, I came to a self-realization kind of thing: that being afraid isn't a bad thing at all. And really, we should look forward to fear.

Don't call me crazy yet. Somehow my rational mind found a way to rationalize the irrational concept of fear. What is really frightening about fear? It's the fact that we don't know what's going to happen; and it's also deeper than that......it's seeing what is coming, and knowing you have no power at all to stop it or control it at all.

This sounds horrible I know. But I actually see it as something good. We should view fear as a tool, not as an obstacle. You see, fear when utilized properly can compel us to our greatest triumphs. The hottest fires produce the purest ores, the darkest rooms showcase the brightest light. Fear is an opportunity; a chance to propel oneself to do great deeds. To accomplish things we couldn't under normal circumstances. The threat of losing your very life if you cannot accomplish a goal. The possibility of losing your loved ones. Nothing can spur a person on to great deeds more. Had the man in Pendulem and the Pit had tried so dilligently to escape if there wasn't something threatening his life? Most likely not. Without fear where would we be? How many soldiers on the battle field were able to act valiantly because of what defeat would bring? The fear of losing all they love? Fear when weilded correctly is just as important as ambition, because with every fear comes an opportunity to tame that fear and use it to your advantage. Fear is important and we need it. Perhaps Poe agreed?

Fearing What is Unseen...

So, it has been made clear that the fear of the unknown is the hot topic for the week. I’m not bashing that, because it is a great topic.

I think that we can all relate to the readings, not necessarily being trapped in a pit watching as a pendulum which is our ultimate demise swings lower and lower, but the fear of what is before us. We all have had moments where we don’t know either a)what will happen next, or b)how we will deal with what actually does happen next. In saying this, we must recognize that the fear does not come from what happens next, it spawns from the fact that we don’t already know what will happen next.

Sure, our unknowns may not be nearly as intense as what we read about, but they still bring about a feeling of fear. This is why many Christians are afraid to do things that are unfamiliar or that we don’t have an idea of how they will turn out. I have been reading a book called The Trellis and the Vine lately, and in it, Tony Marshall states that we get caught up in doing the “stuff” at church so that we don’t have to do the difficult, or scary, things that we need to do. He asked something along the lines of, which is easier: to go work for the church and rake up some leaves, or share the gospel with your neighbor over the back fence?

Even though Christians are commanded to preach the word, we find it uncomfortable not knowing how the person will react to what we say. I know it seems weird to compare Poe with the Christian walk, but a fear of the unknown can be applied pretty much anywhere in life.

P.S. I commented on fear and faith by Amanda.

Poe, Halloween, and the Irrational Fear Behind Both!

I first read The Pit and the Pendulum in the 9^th grade, and I absolutely hated it. I have a very overactive imagination that made everything I read or watched, 10 times more intense than they actually were. My imagination is still just as overactive, but I am now better able to control it. When I first read The Pit and the Pendulum, I remember shaking as I read each and every word, my imagination conjuring up images I had no want to see. I remember reading about the pendulum getting closer with each pass, I was so afraid and my heart was in my throat as I read.

As I reread the story this week, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the detail Poe put into his works. I guess that’s why he’s considered to be such a great author. As the beginning of this story was read out loud in class, I couldn’t help but think how ironic it is that we read these Poe stories right before Halloween. The suspense fits perfectly with the season of fear. The fear of the unknown, which is what Halloween really is, in the most simple of definitions. All Hallows Eve, the night when people left gifts for those unhappy spirits they knew nothing about, for fear that something evil could happen.

Perhaps the reason I hated The Pit and the Pendulum when I was younger was because I had no idea what I should imagine. I was afraid of the unknown elements I was being introduced to. My mind had to make something new up and as I had no starting point to go from, I had to pull from the most extreme recesses of my thoughts.

When I first heard we were going to be reading Poe this week, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy anything we went over. But the discussion we had in class, left me on the edge of my seat, wishing the class could continue indefinitely. Poe no longer scares me as much as he did when I was younger, because I can now understand and comprehend more. I now know more information and there is less of the unknown element to his works.

Now, I must return to writing my Sociology paper and studying for the midterms I have tomorrow. Good luck to all my fellow classmates, I know everyone will do well.

Until next week,

~Meghan

P.S. I commented on Jamie Kilpatrick’s Buried in Thought

Usher

This one really freaked me out. It also reminded me of The Vampire Diaries. Elena's doppelganger wanted to hurt her. The doppelganger in the story can either confine you or help you expand. Sometimes we need to go out of our comfort zone instead of rely on the normal.

What You Don't See Is Scarier Then What You Do See

So reading Poe really got me into the Halloween spirit. I read Poe in high school and I was immediately hooked. I liked when we were talking about how the dark can play tricks on your mind. When we're engulfed in darkness, our depths of perception become confused. The man in The Pit And The Pendulem wakes up in complete darkness. Poe plays well on our fear of the unknown and how it can take over our minds. The loss of perception can really let the imagination run wild. Who could say that the cold, stone wall that the man was feeling was not the body of a fierce dragon or that the slime was not blood and guts? Anything could have been in the pit with him and it is that fear that Poe uses to make this story so terrifyiing and suspenseful. A lot of people say that it is not the dark that scares them, but what could be in the dark with them. This also reminded me of something that a movie critic once said about scary movies. He claimed that "what you don't see is scarier then what you do see." A lot of horror movies play on that concept and it seems to be very effective. A lot of times, the evil creature in the scary movie does not even hold a candle to what I was picturing in my mind so I really enjoy when you never actually see the monster at all. I have an incredibly active imagination which is what makes horror movies so fun to watch for me. I know that if I was in the dark, I would prefer to not know what else in it with me. Sorry for all the ramblings. I just really love the horror elements that Poe used to make his stories so terrifying.

P.S. I commented on Samuel Oliver's blog, "The Unknown......AHH!"

Fate

Edgar Allan Poe is an unmistakable name, not because of the name itself but because of the author to whom it is attached. Edgar Allan Poe wrote in a logical manner about the dark side of the human mind, and despite not being a big fan of horror, I love reading Poe's works. What I took from "The Pit And The Pendulum" seems to be different from most other people. Everyone else is talking about the dark side and horror, but I wish to bring something else to the table. With darkness there is also light. We wouldn't know what one is without the other. Man is imperfect and his nature isn't pure, but yet we can rise above those base natures. In "The Pit And The Pendulum", there are definitely moments where the narrator gives in to despair, but there are moments where he definitely rises above that and exhibits more "noble" emotions. He feels despair and yet he doesn't give up hope, and even at the very end he is about to throw himself in the pit instead of being literally pushed into the pit by the blazing walls. Even though his life was going to be taken, he made the choice to go out on his own terms. The way that a man or woman faces what is thrown at them in life shows his or her character. Anyone who wants to comment, please do!

P.S. I commented on "Buried In Thought" by Jamie Kilpatrick

Fear

I have to say, I ABSOLUTELY loved the Pit and the Pendulum. I saw this play in high school. I am not a fan of horror movies or scary movies at all. In fact, I hate them :p there is something about them however that draws you into them to where you can not help but be curious and not turn off the t.v. The pit and the pendulum was like this for me. The way the mind works under this kind of experience makes it seem like it was going insane, the body was not there. Our biggest fears would be what we call the "unknown." In this story, the unknown was exactly what was being portrayed. Darkness, the unknown, and fear, it all shows how the mind reacts within the body.

ps. I commented on Jamie K.

Buried in Thought

I’ve never liked horror movies or most scary stories, but I actually really enjoy Poe. His works have been my favorite so far this semester. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s because the narrators are more precise and scientifically minded.

When I was younger, I had a strange irrational fear that I was going to be buried alive even though I had never heard of anyone being buried alive, and I had never seen it in a movie. I refused to stay in the dark, and I refused to go to sleep in a room alone. This lasted for a few years. I am no phycologist. I don’t really understand the human mind, so I can’t explain the source of my fear, but I think it says something about the dark side of the mind. Even as a seven year old, I understood that there were people who found pleasure in the pain of others, and I was afraid that I would be the victim. This may be the reason so many people dislike Poe. His writings make us look at part of the human mind that has the ability to not only do wrong, but to take pleasure in evil. But... taking pleasure in evil... isn’t that what we all do when we sin? Maybe we’re all crazy. But instead of putting a man in a dungeon like in “The Pit and the Pendulum,” or a woman in a coffin like in “Fall of the House of Usher,” our flesh is constantly trying to torture and bury ourselves alive.

Posted on Lane's "That Guy"

the unknown............AHH!

I had never thought before about what it is people are most afraid of, but when, in class, we talked about it being the unknown I felt like I had just gotten slapped in the face. I thought to myself, "Duh! You idiot." It was so obvious. I have seen tons of horror/scary/sci-fi movies. I should know this. Then I started to think of all of the scary movies that were my favorite and I realized that all of them have the element of an unknown creature/thing.

Yesterday I watched the movie Don't be Afraid of the Dark. In the beginning of the movie you hear these creepy voices telling this little girl to come play with them. It was pretty scary and I was freaking out until about halfway through the movie I finally saw what these voices looked like and I was not impressed. They looked like six inch tall golem creatures that could easily be curb-stomped. It would have been much better if i had never seen them at all so my imagination could just run wild.

P.S. I am a licensed movie critic.

P.S. P.S. I commented on Kelsey Moore's "Just One of those Things"

As many people have been saying, I would have to agree--I don't care all that much for Poe. That being said, I must say that there are certain things I cannot deny the validity of. Concerning the horror of the unlimited self--I'd have to say that is true. We've got to realize there is truth in that; we have to see the darkness in ourselves before we can go anywhere. We can't dwell in that darkness as Poe does. For some reason I tend to prefer Emerson, I find his writing more interesting by far. I can't handle Poe's scientific, precise narrator bit, it doesn't even seem real. Come on, who thinks like that? It's absurd.

But then again, so is Emerson with his giant transparent eyeballs. These people are crazy.

And they're making me crazy, too.

Isn't that how it's supposed to go in this class though? If it's a search for truth--we're going to run into a lot of false before we get there. I also think that we're going to find broken bits of truth mixed up with a heap of false, though. I try to look for those bits in everything I read.

(Commented on Lane's)

Just one of those things

I’m not going to lie, I actually really like Poe probably for all the reasons that everyone else hates him. I like things that people usually think are creepy or haunting – Tim Burton, music composed in minor keys, and Edgar Allen Poe. It's just personal opinion. That being said, I enjoyed this.

One thing that really stood out to me was when we were talking in class about the Pit and the Pendulum and Dr. Mitchell talked about the mind of this person. He said “It doesn’t matter how many bones they break, if they haven’t broken your will, they haven’t won.” It was this idea of immortality being defined by your will. This made sense because to me this is the same thing that we talk about as Christians. We say that it doesn’t matter what happens to us here on earth, but we all want to leave a legacy, or a lasting impact on our society, which in turn, gives us a sort of immortality.

Thoughts?

I commented on Lane's post "That Guy"

Distortion

With Poe we see that fear comes not only from the unknown, but also from the distortion of things like time, space and location. An example is in The Pit and the Pendulum "In groping my way around the prison, I could not fail to encounter this rag upon completing the circuit. So, at least, I thought; but I had not counted upon the extent of the dungeon or upon my own weakness."When things are distorted we become confused and without having been in the situation before, don't know what to do. It is different from what we are used to and that takes away the comfort. For example if you were a football player and after playing for years, the rules suddenly change or become "distorted," you may no longer be confident in your skill. We trust too much in the world around us to stay constant. Once it turned around, we are swept up in it if we don't have something steady to hold onto. Instead of counting on the things in our lives to stay stable, we should give our lives to God to take care of because He is the only rock in this chaotic world.

That Guy

There always has to be that one guy that has to support what no one else is. I suppose that that guy tonight is me. Everyone talks about how but they hate or dislike Poe but I thoroughly enjoy reading him as much if not more than the other authors we've read this semester. Let's look at Poe for a second. He was found face down in a gutter in need of medical assistance and he later died in a hospital in Baltimore. There is no clear answer to how he died or why. He married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She later died at a young age. Edgar Allan Poe wrote about what he knew. What he knew was pain, suffering, battles with insanity, and depression. This may be strange to us after reading Wordsworth and his description of the area around Tintern Abbey. The area around Tintern Abbey is what Wordsworth knew. We need to take these things into account when we read Poe. Would a biologist write a dissertation on History? The obvious answer is no and Poe writing about happy things would be the same as the aforementioned biologist. I think that we all have a little Poe in us, Poe being dark, demented, slightly insane as a result of things that happened to us in the past and is currently molding our future. So next time you have a bad day, think it would be a good day in the life of one Mr. Edgar Allan Poe.

P.S. I commented on Rachel's blog

Control and the Lack

Today in class we were discussing the fear of the unknown and why we fear it. For me, it is not so much the unknown that I fear, but rather the inability to control even myself in the unknown. I fear not the lack of knowing what is ahead, for that is something I have grown to embrace. However, not being able to control myself in my travels through the unknown.

"We waited in vain for the arrival of the sixth day--that day to me has not arrived--to the Swede, never did arrive. Thenceforward, we were enshrouded in pitchy darkness, so that we could not have seen an object tat twenty paces from the ship."

My fear is to be the Swede, to have lost control of my circumstances, to be caught off guard and unprepared for change, unprepared for chance. Often times, this is my approach with trusting Christ and what He is doing. It is interesting that someone announced this behavior of mine last night to me, and it left me in awe. "Samantha, you hope too much and never trust at all." It caught me off guard and I had no idea what my friend was trying to say: "Hoping is like closing your eyes and wishing for a pony to be there when you open them. Trusting is knowing that when you do, the pony will be there."

With Christ, there is not a dark abyss, but rather it is a blinding light, hindering your ability to function--a total loss of control. "What she is not, I can easily perceive; what she is, I fear it is impossible to say." I can easily say what my God is not, but what He is...I cannot comprehend.

...I completely lost where I was going to go with this, and I am afraid I have run out of time. After all, I have rehearsal.

COMMENTED ON WILL'S

fear and faith

"It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there be nothing to see. At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me."

For the narrator, his worst fear wasn't what he could see; rather, it was that he wouldn't be able to see. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was surrounded by darkness and couldn't see anything. This was the freakiest part to me. He couldn't see if anything was near him or if something was about to attack him, so he wouldn't be able to protect himself in any way. At least with the pendulum he could see what was going on, and come up with an escape- even if it was torture to watch the pendulum slowly descend. To live in constant fear of what could be approaching in the darkness would be enough to drive anyone mad.

In the same way, many of us fear not being able to see. The loss of control when you can't see is frightening. But isn't that what God asks us to do? Step out in faith and obedience, even if we can't see where He's taking us? "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 ...I have such little faith sometimes. The darkness of the unknown, the loss of control, the surrender required... it scares me. Just being honest with all of you. I might be the only one like that. However, I know that the One who my faith is in will never forsake me, so I follow. "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never farsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9:10

Commented on Sam's "Control and the Lack"

Dislike/Dislike Relationship

Not going to lie, I do not like Poe... He is a strange, creepy, morbid, crazy (I could keep going) man. I feel like he picks out the most disturbing topics he can find and writes on them. If I had it my way, I would not read his works... His writings do not interest me at all... He would not like me at all because I do not like his writings... That is just the way it is, and I am not going to apologize for it!!! Rachel and I have already been talking about it.

PS - Posted on Rachel's

for better or worse.

Poe is creepy. The end.

He seems to have a couple of either thematic reoccurring fears or obsessions.

1. (obviously) death

2. insanity "a sickly smile quivered about his lips; and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried, and gibbering murmur, as if unconscious of my presence" (House of Usher)

3. a person who is buried alive

4. a person who is unaware of his surroundings

5. a person speaking gibberish

Throughout all of his work the reader can easily notice his building descriptions. He reveals the ending of the story within his constant descriptive foreshadowing. His verbal illustrations are so powerful that I would NEVER want to read Poe by myself in an empty mansion. I may never go in another mansion again. I am really wondering if Poe has a bigger goal, other than scaring the pants off his audience....Entertainment? Joy and I don't understand Poe or scary movies....oh well. guess we will just watch sappy ones (:

**ps i posted this on the UM Epic