1. Engl 190 Literary Hauntings
Summer 2014, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 9.00-11.30 am, 1185 Wiekamp Hall
Dr. Emmeline GROS, 3111 Wiekamp, egros@iusb.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 11.30-1.00pm (call 574.520.4490)
Course rationale
Hauntings of all kinds permeate our everyday life. Whether on the stage of Shakespeare’s
dramas, in religious rituals, in Dickens’ and Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, in horror
movies or TV series (Ghost Whisperer, Haunted House, Medium, Desperate Housewives,
etc.), the undead are everywhere.
Haunted houses, monsters, ghosts, madmen and madwomen, specters, vampires, and a
wide variety of other creepy, mysterious, and dark things will fill our semester’s texts.
This course will give us the opportunity to read and compare works that employ haunting
or spirit possession as a central motif. In it, we will consider how and to what extent
storytellers use ghosts and haunting in their narratives. Among the questions we’ll ask:
why is American Literature, and Southern Literature in particular, so enamored with the
ghostly, the ghastly, and the supernatural? Because ghosts figure prominently in many
canonic literary texts, we’ll look at literary hauntings in order to think about the silences
and the omissions that ghosts can make visible. What effect does the supernatural have
on us as readers? What’s the appeal?
As part of this inquiry, we’ll think through the relationship between the supernatural and
history itself. Specifically we’ll ask: what it is about the US’s particular history—a
history that is informed by enslavement, forced land removal, and immigration—that
makes it such a rife space for the appearance of all sorts of ghosts. We’ll ask then a series
of questions that look something like this: why is American literature haunted in the way
that it is? How does haunting disrupt our notion of traditional historical progression?
What does it mean when the past refuses to stay put, bubbles up, and careens into the
present? What kind of historical possibilities does the novelistic form provide that the
history textbook simply can’t?
Over the course of the semester, we’ll do some serious soul searching, tracking down the
appearance of ghosts and spirits in 19th and 20th century American literature. We will
pay special attention to souls that are given a race, gender, and/or sexuality. We’ll think
about who has a soul, who doesn’t, who can get it, and who can’t. Some food for thought:
W.E.B. Du Bois maintains that black folk are gifted with second-sight and possess two
souls, the 19th-century transcendentalist Margaret Fuller claims women possess a special
electrical composition, and Yiddish culture understands the soul, or neshama, as
exclusively Jewish. We’ll consider the significance of employing a spiritual rhetoric (like
the examples just mentioned) against the backdrop of a mainstream science which was
often racist, sexist, and homophobic. In other words, we’ll ask whether a belief in spirits,
ghosts, and generally spooky things can be its own form of resistance against social and
historical injustice.

2. 2
Contact Information
One of the many advantages of attending a university like the University of Indiana South Bend is
that you can maintain much readier and more extensive opportunity to meet and work with
professors, from your first semester onward. I strongly encourage you to communicate with me
about any issues concerning this course. It doesn’t help for you to be confused or frustrated about
certain aspects of the course without letting me know. You can contact me at: egros@iusb.edu or
emmelinegros@gmail.com
Novels for Summer 2014
Carson McCullers, The Ballad of the Sad Café
Stephen King, Christine
Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw
Charlaine Harris, Chapter 1. Dead Until Dark
Short Stories for Summer 2014
Edgar A. Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Masque of the Red Death”
“The Black Cat”
William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”
Flannery O’Connor, “A Goodman is Hard to Find”
Carson McCullers, “The Ballad of the sad Café”:
Charlotte P. Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Ellen Glasgow, “Whispering Leaves”, “Jordan’s End”
Emily Dickinson, ‘One need not a chamber to be haunted’
“A Strange Case” in Spooky Stories from Indiana
Additional Readings for Summer 2014
“The secret of writing a good ghost story” (Susan Hill)
“The Gothic as a Portrait of a Fallen Word” (M.R. James”)
“Beyond the Hummingbird, Southern Gargantuas” (Patricia Yaeger)
“Gargoyles, Grotesques, and Marginalias”. (Anthony Di Renzo)
“The Plight of the Gothic Heroine” (Reka Toth)
“The Madwoman in the Attic” (Gilbert and Gubar)

3. 3
CALENDAR
1. July 8 Getting familiar with ‘hauntings’. Reading Literary Hauntings:
conventions, architecture, the Gothic, what makes a good ghost
story?
2. July 9 How do they build up suspense?
Handouts: The Dark Side of Individualism & Reading hauntings
Edgar A. Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”
3. July 10 Why/How do they write that Stuff?
Debrief n°1. due
Quiz on “The Dark Side of Individualism”
Danse Macabre by Stephen King;
Handouts: “Eek! We love to scare ourselves silly!”) and The Nature
of Horror: Terror vs. Horror. Poe, “The Black Cat”
RESSOURCE PRESENTATION: Presentation of your own favorite
scary novel to class.
4. July 15 LITERARY CIRCLE #1. The Haunting of the Hill House
Handouts: Why Don’t they Just Leave?.
Debrief n°2. due
5. July 16 A place for ghosts: Haunted Rooms, Haunted Houses
FOCUS ESSAY #1DUE
Debrief n°3.due
A Strange Case” in South Bend: to what extent does this ‘case’ fit
the conventions established by Edgar Allan Poe? (in Reading Log).
6. July 17 One need not a chamber to be haunted: insane or else?
Debrief n°4.due
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
One need not a chamber to be haunted by Emily Dickinson
7. July 22 The Ghosts and the Voice of the Repressed.
Debrief n°5. due
LITERARY CIRCLE #2. Henry James, The Turn of the Screw
8. July 23 Gender and Ghosts: The Extreme Guy and the Deviant Femme
Handouts and extracts: Reclaiming ‘gender’ power
Debrief n°6.due
William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”

4. 4
RESSOURCE PRESENTATION: Write your own ghost story in
50 words. Here is an example: “The couple next door were
fighting again. I couldn’t help myself: I put a glass against the wall
to listen. But what I heard was a tiny, buzzing voice, in the glass,
in my ear: I am awake, it said. I am awake. Help me. Help.”
9. July 24 The Southern Gothic /Grotesque
Flannery O’Connor, “A Good man is Hard to find”;
“Beyond the Hummingbird, Southern Gargantuas”
“Gargoyles, Grotesques, and Marginalias”.
RESOURCE PRESENTATION: Freaks in Southern Culture.
Debrief n°7.due
10. July 29 LITERARY CIRCLE #3. McCullers, The Ballad of the Sad Café.
Debrief n°8. due
11. July 30 Cultural Hauntings: Other Monsters, Other Hauntings
Ellen Glasgow, “Whispering Leaves”, “Jordan’s End”
FOCUS ESSAY #2DUE
Debrief n°9. due
12. July 31 Vampires, Zombies, and Co.: The Spectral Turn
True Blood Intro/Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wet5OM7RR8Q&feature=kp.
In your reading log: what colors do you see? What images do you
see? What are some lyrics you remember from the song? What
books, TV shows, and movies do you know that are about
vampires? Research vampires/zombies in the US and in the US
South. Bring your findings to class. (in Reading Log).
Chapter 1. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
13. August 5 LITERARY CIRCLE #4, Stephen King, Christine
Extract 2 by Stephen King “why do you write that stuff?”
“Haunted Men: Masculinity in the Ghost Story”;
14. August 6 RESOURCE PRESENTATION: Select a text that you feel should
be included in our consideration of haunting: what type of haunting
would it correspond to?
Debrief n°10. due
15. August 7 Final Exam

5. 5
Grade Breakdown
‘Debrief’ Participation/Quizzes/Focus Essay/Literary Circle: 45%;
Final Exam: 35%
RESSOURCE Presentation: 20%
Class Discussion & Participation
Since this class is largely discussion-based, arrive to class prepared with the proper
readings. A student’s participation is assessed by his/her contribution throughout the
semester. Use the following as guidelines for this portion of your final grade:
• To earn a "C," do the minimum: read and prepare assigned readings so you are never
at a loss if you are asked a question, but speak only when called upon, do "ordinary,"
plain-vanilla presentations and responses. This is the "bottom line" for getting a "C" in
this part of the course.
• To earn a "B," prepare assigned readings thoroughly, initiate discussions about them
by asking good questions or suggesting ways to interpret readings, do presentations that
reveal that you have done good additional work that you can make both interesting and
meaningful to our discussions, and participate actively in those discussions.
• For an "A," take it up another level entirely: prepare readings thoroughly, find and talk
about connections among them and among other aspects of culture (then and now), take a
real leadership role in class discussions, including working actively to get others involved
in the talk, make your presentations and responses "sparkle" by bringing to them
something really special in terms of your own contributions, interests, skills, and abilities
to think in broad even interdisciplinary terms. Most of all, remember that an "A"
indicates the very best grade a person can get; that should tell you what sort of work you
need to do to earn the grade of "A."
If you miss class, contact a classmate for notes, reading assignments and handouts – or
check our Course Website. (Please do not email me to ask “Did I miss anything
important?”)
Your first assignment, and the assignment for every class, is to read this syllabus. The
chief requirement for this course will be regular and energetic participation. This course
relies upon a participatory, collaborative learning experience. This will require you to do
the readings well in advance, and often more than once. There will be quizzes, short
reflection response papers, literary circles assignments and a final open-book exam in
class.

6. 6
Debriefs
Class blog (100-150 words)
At the end of each week, I will ask one of you to enter your reflection on the activities
and readings discussed during this class: To reflect is to think back on something, to step
back in time and relive a moment, event, or series of happenings. That is the primary
goal of writing a reflective response. The secondary goal is for you to put together in
writing what you have learned about the selection.
A reflection paragraph is an opportunity for you to critically engage with and connect to
the reading and discussion we had done in class. You may choose to comment on
content and/or the form of the piece of writing. The reflection paragraph is a dialogue
between you and the reader about the activities you have done in class. Post it on the blog
page on Oncourse.
Although a reflection paragraph is rather short and is not a formal research paper, it
should be analytical in nature where you take the opportunity to use your own judgment
to agree, disagree, like, dislike, and relate to the text(s) and activities and EXPLAIN why.
You may choose to write a response that is whimsical, poetic, satirical, and/or witty.
However, your tone of your reflection paper should not interfere with the clarity and
cohesiveness of your writing.
Guidelines for Writing
1. Before you read a selection, make a note of any discussion questions or ideas that
occurred in class that day.
2. As you read, keep your questions and ideas in mind. You may want to note whether or
note the piece you are reading provides you with information or perspectives on one or
more of these areas. If so, explain how. Give examples—SUPPORT your ideas.
3. You may choose to briefly summarize the main points or premises of the selection, but
this is only one part of the reflection paragraph.
Ask some of the following questions of yourself to help you prepare what to write:
*What insights have you gained from the reading/activity?
*What are the limitations (not so great moments) of the reading and why?
*How does the text or ideas presented in the text/in class relate to you?
*Did the reading make you question or think about something else?
*What questions were you left with after reading?
*Did you agree or disagree with what was written? Why or why not?

7. 7
Literature Circles
(Tuesdays: 7/15; 7/22; 7/29; 8/5)
One of the projects you will be participating in this semester is Literature Circles. For
those of you who have never participated in literature circles, these are groups usually
made up of 3-5 people who read the same book. Each person, however, is assigned a
different role:
- Discussion Director—comes up with ideas and questions from the reading
- Investigator—digs up background information about the book and/or its author
- Connector—finds connections between the book and the world and/or its readers
- Literary Luminary—selects significant passages for discussion
- Critics Tracer—looks at how critics have interpreted this story.
Your group will be assigned 2 of the following novels. Email me your top 3 choices in
order of preference by Wednesday, 7/9, 12pm.
- The Haunting of the Hill House, Shirley Jackson
- The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
- The Ballad of the Sad Café, Carson McCullers
- Christine, by Stephen King
Your task will be to lead a class discussion with your classmates. To facilitate this
discussion, each of the group members will be assigned one specific role:
Discussion Director: Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group might
want to discuss about this part of the book. Don’t worry about the small details; your task
is to help people talk over the big ideas in the reading and share their reactions. Usually
the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings, and concerns as
you read. You can list them below during or after your reading. You may also use some
of the general questions below to develop topics for your group.
Sample Questions
• What was going through your mind while you read this?
• How did you feel while reading this part of the book?
• What questions did you have when you finished this section?
• Did anything in this section of the book surprise you?
• What are the one or two most important ideas?
• What are some things you think will be talked about next?
Connector: Your job is to find connections between the book your group is reading and
the world outside. This means connecting the reading to similar events at other times and
places, or other people or problems that this book brings to mind. You might also see
connections between this book and other writings on the same topic or other writings by
the same author. You might also want to connect the topic to the author’s life or period.
There are no right answers here. Whatever the reading connects you with is worth
sharing!

8. 8
Investigator: Your job is to dig up some background information on any topic related to
your book. Choose one of the following. Once one of the following investigations has
been done by a group member, you must choose from the remaining investigations. Place
a check by ones that have been done.
• the geography, weather, culture, or history of the book’s setting
• information about the author – her/his life and other works
• information about the time period portrayed in the book
• pictures, objects, or materials that illustrate elements of the book
• the history and derivation of words or names used in the book
• music that reflects the book or its time
This is not a formal research report. The idea is to find bits of information or material that
helps your group better understand the book. Investigate something that really interests
you – something that struck you as puzzling or curious while you were reading.
Sources for information
• the introduction, preface, or “about the author” section of the book
• library books and magazines
• online computer search or encyclopedia
• interviews with people who know the topic
• other novels, nonfiction, or textbooks you’ve read
Literary Luminary: As the Literary Luminary, it is your job to read aloud parts of the
story to your group in order to help your fellow students remember some interesting,
powerful, puzzling, or important sections of the text. You decide which passages or
paragraphs are worth reading aloud, and justify your reasons for selecting them. Write the
page numbers and paragraph numbers on this form along with the reason you chose each
passage. You must choose a minimum of 3 passages. Some reasons for choosing
passages to share might include: * Pivotal events * Informative * Descriptive *
Surprising * Scary * Thought-provoking * Funny * Controversial * Confusing *
personally meaningful
Critics Tracer: The role of the critics tracer is to look up the library database (Jstor,
Academic search premier, etc) or the internet and read one article or two that will give us
a new "entry" into the story: how do critics read this story? what do they say about the
Gender roles in this story? what do they say about the place of "haunting" in this story?
Try to come up with one (or two) article(s) (that you will hand out to me) and try to
challenge our reading.
[Optional] Travel Tracer: When you are reading a book in which characters move
around often and the scene changes frequently, it is important for everyone in your group
to know where things are happening and how the setting may have changed. So that’s
your job: to track carefully where the action takes place during today’s reading. Describe
each setting in detail, either in words or with an action map or diagram you can show to
your group. You may use the back of this sheet or another sheet. Be sure to give the page
locations where the scene is described.

9. 9
Group presentation in class (Tuesdays: 7/15; 7/22; 7/29; 8/5)
Each of the novels in this course is rich with historical, social, political and cultural
references as well as being references themselves for later literature and film. For this
option, students will work together in groups to present information on a chosen novel, its
structure, its creation, its author, its characters, its later references in art – any information
that the group finds interesting about its novel. It’s the group’s job to decide what is most
important to show/tell the class, therefore be discerning about the information and
dynamic about the presentation. Since a group will introduce each novel on the day that
it’s scheduled, the presentation needs to inspire students to read, discuss and generally
find out more about that novel.
During this presentation, each student must participate in the actual presentation. The
material should be presented cohesively; in other words, the presentation should clearly
show that the group members have shared research, reviewed one another’s work and
integrated each other’s presentations as seamlessly as possible. In the past students have
used maps, film clips, songs, historical games, PowerPoint demonstrations and even
websites to demonstrate and enhance their presentations and their grades. You may use
any of the audio visual equipment in this room – have some fun with it!
For the presentation’s contents, first and foremost, each group needs to discuss how its
novel fits into the Gothic tradition by using excerpts from the novel. Research on the
production and reception history needs to be included also. For instance: How was it
written? In what form was it originally published? Can you show us an example? What
did critics say about it? Who read it? (These questions are provided to help you with your
research; not all need to be answered.) This portion should give the class a sense of the
novel when it was originally published. You may also provide historical information:
What political, social or cultural events are referred to or inspired the novel? Did the
novel influence any parodies? Did it inspire any artwork or films? Is the author’s
background important to know? Don’t just recite summaries or information from the
novel’s introductory pages; tell us what you found out about this novel. Excite us with
your presentation.
This presentation requires each group member to perform research either in the library or
on the Web. EVERYTHING THAT YOU CONSULT NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN
YOUR WORKS CITED/BIBLIOGRAPHY. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN
A LOWERED GRADE.

10. 10
Focus Essays
Due July 16 and 30
“It may be that place can focus the gigantic, voracious eye of genius and bring its gaze
to point. Focus then means awareness, discernment, order, clarity, insight--they are like
the attributes of love. The act of focusing itself has beauty and meaning; it is the act that,
continued in, turns into meditation, into poetry.”
“Place in Fiction”
In the Art of Fiction, David Lodge writes fifty short essays on various topics that together
comprise the “art of fiction.” He begins each essay by quoting a passage from the text, a
quotation that serves as a starting point, an illustration, and or an exemplar of the aspect
of fiction about which he writes in that chapter. By using the initial passage and by
keeping the essay brief, he necessarily and intentionally focuses his attention on a
particular topic. I call his essays in The Art of Fiction, focus essays.
You will write three 250/300-word (exclusive of the passage[s] that you quote) focus
essays. These focus essays should be single-spaced. Title your essay in a way that
announces the focus. Follow the title with the quotation that illustrates your focus and/or
generates your discussion. At the conclusion of the essay, include a Work Cited for the
text that you use. Make two copies of your essay: one I will read and comment upon; the
other I will place in a three-ring binder that anyone may read to more completely learn of
others’ “awareness, discernment, order, clarity, insight.” Include your focus essays (all
versions) in your reading log.
Focus Essay 1: from one of the 3 extracts, “The secret of writing a good ghost story”
(Susan Hill) – “Gothic and Marvel, intro by M.R. James”- “The Gothic as a Portrait of a
Fallen Word”: pick one sentence that you agree or disagree with and support your answer
with texts we have read in class (including The Haunting of the Hill House). 300 words
max.
Focus Essay 2: from one of the 2 extracts, “The Plight of the Gothic Heroine” – “The
Madwoman in the Attic”- pick one extract/sentence that you agree or disagree with and
support your answer with texts we have read in class (including The Ballad of the Sad
Café). 300 words max.

11. 11
Reading Log
Non-graded
Keep a weekly Reading log during the semester and bring it with you to class. In this log,
you may record questions that you anticipate answering by the reading assignments or
questions that you are using to guide your reading, or questions of what you want to
learn. The reading log is the place to record your reactions after reading, to make
connections among the readings, class discussions, and your on-going research, as well as
with your life (past, present, and future). If you annotate your text as you read, the
reading log is the place to copy the significant quotations and to think through why these
phrases or sentences are so striking or relevant. These “readings” can be recorded in the
reading log as well as in the text itself. Bringing the reading log to class is an
encouragement to keep up with this assignment, and to have your thought form the week
before at hand for the discussion. And yes, this takes time, but it will be worthwhile.
Consider if you now had a record of all the books that you have read or of all the movies
that you have seen! Reading Logs may be hand written (even in your class notebook and
labeled later—or word processed (just print the pages to bring to class and gather them
together later). Since the final exam will be an open book exam, this reading log is very
important.
My Book Project
August 6
You will select a text that you feel should be included in our consideration of haunting,
analyze it, and present your findings to the class. The texts that students selected are
wide-ranging: in the past, they have included Scooby Doo, The Sixth Sense, and Harry
Potter the Chamber of Secrets. For this in class-presentation, you should provide the class
with an example of your chosen text and make an argument about how that text
represents haunting and how it relates to the themes covered in the course.
Final Exam
August 7. 9.00 am
I envision a cumulative final exam of short answer identifications and essays covering the
‘haunting’ cosmos, bibliographic and critical resources, major themes, style, and
biography. The questions will be drawn from our reading, discussions, and the
presentations made in class. There will be choices in all sections of the exam. Sample
Question: “In ….., Stephen King argues …..” To what extent does this apply to the texts
and authors we have studied this semester? Support your argument. I will fashion this
final exam as an open-book exam.

12. 12
Key Questions for ENGL 190: Literary Hauntings
Use these questions to prepare for the examinations during the semester. Take notes on
these topics as you read each author, and get into the habit of comparing and contrasting
writers. By doing so, you will be well prepared for class discussions, you will construct a
valuable overview of the course material, and you will be ready for the examinations
without having to "cram" at the last minute.
1. How would you respond to the argument that an interest in horror is sick and
perverted--the sign of a twisted society and mind? That gothic tales are not
serious literature but a waste of time at best and at worst an actual danger to
society (like violent pornography)? Is there any "redeeming social value" in
horror, or is it a peculiar (and even sick) indulgence?
2. Why do people read (and presumably enjoy) tales of terror when terror is usually
considered a painful emotion? What function might these stories perform for their
readers?
3. How do you define gothic literature? What elements do you expect to find in a
tale of terror? What qualities or components or conventions distinguish it from
other kinds of writing? Can a work simultaneously belong to several genres (e.g.,
sci-fi and horror, or more recently, romance and horror)?
4. What qualities make for great horror literature? What are the criteria you apply in
deciding which stories are better than others?
5. Examine one of the conventional or "stock" characters that reappears throughout
gothic literature--e.g., the over-reaching scientist, the vampire, the werewolf, the
mad murderer, the ghost, the "thing with no name." How do various authors treat
this stereotype, keeping it recognizable yet making it particular and unique to a
specific story? How does the figure change over time? What do the changes
suggest about the cultures from which it emerges?
6. How are women depicted and treated in gothic literature? Do you agree with
those critics who find gothic fiction a particularly sexist and misogynistic genre?
What female writers have produced horror fiction throughout literary history?
Does their work differ from that of male authors?
7. Is humor antithetical to horror? Does humor diminish or increase the horror?
What is the psychology involved? (In thinking about this topic, you might want to
read Thomas De Quincey's famous essay "On the Knocking on the Gate in
Macbeth.")

13. 13
8. How does the point of view affect your reading of particular gothic tales? Why
has each writer chosen this particular narrative perspective for the story? How
would a change in the point of view alter the impact of the story?
9. Explore the role of human sexuality in gothic literature. How does it function?
What does it have to do with terror? Do you agree with Joseph Twitchell
(Dreadful Pleasures: An Anatomy of Modern Horror, 1985) that horror literature
and film are essentially explorations of adolescent sexuality?
10. What is your own position regarding the debate in the documentary Fear in the
Dark between Clive Barker, who argues that horror is most effective when it
shows readers/viewers something they have never seen before and could not
conceive on their own, and Robert Bloch (among others), who argues that horror
is more effective when it leaves the depiction of evil and monstrosity suggestive
and shadowy, thereby tapping the readers' own imagination? What specific
examples illustrate and support your position?
11. Analyze the use of religion and theology in gothic literature. In what ways do
authors present an orthodox or conventionally religious vie w of the world? To
what extent do they suggest some alternative vision of reality and of the
supernatural as it influences human life? How do writers use religious symbols
and motifs in their stories?
12. Examine the conclusion of particular gothic stories. How would you describe each
writer's rhetorical strategy at the ending? Does the tale provide a satisfying sense
of closure, or does it disturb by its implications or incompleteness?
13. Explore setting in gothic literature. How much attention do specific authors give
to setting, and why? To what extent does setting become significant beyond
providing a physical locale for the action--that is, what does it also contribute to
mood, symbolism, characterization, and theme? To what extent do particular
writers follow conventions of gothic setting or violate those conventions for
unusual effects?
14. How do gothic stories change over time? Which conventions alter with shifts in
literary history, and which remain the same? How do particular gothic stores
reflect their historical-social-cultural-aesthetic milieu? In what ways do they
mirror the culture that produced them? Are today's stories scarier, more violent,
and less subtle than classic horror from the past?
15. Explore the nature of evil in particular tales of terror. How do various writer
perceive evil in the scheme of things? Who or what constitutes evil for them?
What remedies (if any) do they propose for evil? Does what a society considers
evil change over time?

14. 14
16. Referring to an excerpt from Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House,
Stephen King writes, "Analysis of such a paragraph is a mean and shoddy trick,
and should almost always be left to college and university professors, those
lepidopterists of literature who, when they see a lovely butterfly, feel that they
should immediately run into the field with a net, catch it, kill it with a drop of
chloroform, and mount it on a white board and put it in glass case, where it will
still be beautiful . . . and just as dead as horseshit" (Danse Macabre [1981], p.
268). Do we spoil or enhance the experience of a story or film by analyzing it
intellectually? Do we "murder to dissect"?
17. What kind of relationship(s) do our authors develop with their readers? What
role(s) do they assume as narrator and assign to us as readers? How do they seem
to want us to respond to their works? What exactly do they do to elicit particular
responses from us? How would you describe their rhetorical strategy? How
successful are they at implementing that strategy?