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Neo-Regionalism And Realism In Literature
Regionalism is a largely American term which refers to texts that concentrate heavily on specific, unique features of a certain region including dialect, customs, tradition, topography, history, and characters.
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Westerns, Anti-Westerns and Neo-Westerns
Western is a genre set primarily in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century in the Western United States, the “Old West”. Before WW2, these stories were a celebration of American expansionism.
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People In Hell Just Want A Drink Of Water by Annie Proulx Short Story Analysis
“People In Hell Just Want A Drink Of Water”: When it comes to neighbours who’ve been through terrible hardship, no one asks all that much of you. You’re not going to fix their problems, but you can extend just a little kindness and that’ll go a long way. “People In Hell Just Want A Drink…
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Job History by Annie Proulx Short Story Analysis
Reading “Job History” in 2017, I propose an updated subtitle: “The Life and Times of a Trump Voter”. Annie Proulx doesn’t seem to go public with her voting decisions but her interest in the environment and the ideas in her fiction suggest she’s probably not on board with what’s going on in the USA this year: [Annie Proulx’s]…
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The Mud Below by Annie Proulx Short Story Analysis
“The Mud Below” was first published in the 1998 summer issue of The New Yorker and is the second short story in Proulx’s Close Range collection, retitled Close Range: Brokeback Mountain And Other Stories after the movie adaptation.
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The Half-Skinned Steer by Annie Proulx Short Story Analysis
“The Half-Skinned Steer” by Annie Proulx is, as said by Mary Lee Settle “as real as a pickup truck, as ominous as a fairy tale.”
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Wallace and Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf Or Death
In Wallace and Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf Or Death, Wallace and his dog, Gromit, open a bakery and get tied up with a murder mystery. But, when Wallace falls in love Gromit is left to solve the case. GENRE BLEND OF ‘A MATTER OF LOAF OR DEATH’ comedy, horror, romance >> cosy mystery STORY…
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Scarecrows In Children’s Stories and Horror
The best horror objects and settings are those you’ll also see peppered throughout cosy stories for children: Circuses, playgrounds, chants and lullabies, hide and seek… scarecrows.
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Twist Endings, Reversals and Reveals In Storytelling
Reversals and reveals are vital for creating momentum and suspense in a story. Certain genres are required to be more page-turny than others, and all children’s literature must be page-turny. So you’ll find reversals and reveals everywhere in children’s literature.
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Mr Big by Ed Vere Picture book Analysis
STORY STRUCTURE OF MR BIG Mr Big is a tale told by a storyteller narrator, who we meet on the very first page and then soon forget. Almost all picture books have third person narrators but most often we don’t consider who that might be, so there must be a good reason for introducing Mr Big’s…
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The Pied Piper of Hamelin: Legend Or Fairytale? Analysis
The Pied Piper is not technically a fairytale. It is at least part legend. Hamelin was a real place, and it is believed that once, in this German town, all of the children really did disappear in a short space of time.
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Rapunzel The ur-Story Of Young Female Sexuality
Whether it’s women locked in attics, teenage girls protected by their fathers, children living in gated communities, missing girls or dead mothers, Rapunzel is a significant ur-story. THE HISTORY OF RAPUNZEL The life of a fictional woman hasn’t diversified much over the years. Rapunzel is not the only girl who was locked up — take the…
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Rumpelstiltskin Analysis
The tale of Rumpelstiltskin asks a moral question: Who is the worst of the three men? The lying father who gives away his own daughter, the greedy King who threatens death, or the proto-men’s rights activist dwarf? Or is it the daughter herself? This is my all-time favourite fairy tale because it’s so twisted. It’s…
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Badjelly The Witch by Spike Milligan (1973)
“Badjelly The Witch” is better known as a radio play than as a picture book, at least to any New Zealand child of the 80s. There wasn’t much in the way of media entertainment back then, and I looked forward to Radio New Zealand’s Sunday morning children’s show with Constable Keith and Sniff the German…
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I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore
Here’s what happens in the 2017 indie American film I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore: When a depressed woman is burgled, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbour. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate…