The End

My Freshmen year at the UofA is over meaning my comp 2 class has officially ended. I have learned so much from my teacher and the other students in my class. I never knew you could learn so much about vampires, reading and writing all at the same time. I have to say this has probably been one of the most interesting Composition classes I have ever taken. Twilight and other vampire novels have gained a whole new respect from me. Who would have guessed!

The Fans of the Twilight Series

Many Twilight readers take the series to serious. The Twilight series is a fun and easy read that is the kind of book to that easy to get lost in. People will take that imaginary world that Stephanie Meyer has created and begin to wish it was real life to the point of pushing sanity. Many readers of the Twilight series take the books to literal and believe that women should be defenseless and men should come to there aide. Some teenage girls who read the series now believe that an Edward Cullen is somewhere in the world for them. Maybe not as a vampire but that perfect male figure is waiting to swoop them off there feet. When reading the Twilight series you must always remember that this book is fiction and to not let it affect your life outside of the imaginary world.

Messages to the Reader from Vampire Novels?

Many people might not believe that a vampire novel could send a message to the reader but many of them do. Stories like Dracula, Carmilla, the Giaour, and Northanger Abbey send messages to the reader. They send messages to the reader like be careful with who you trust and to guard your heart. All of these books can send valuable messages and teach life lessons. They may be 19th century novels but they can help with 21st century issues.

Twilight Fans and Dracula Fans

Would I recomend Dracula to my friends who are Twilight fans? Twilight and Dracula are two very different vampire books. Dracula is a 19th century vampire book that is written about an ugly vampire that feeds off of young people to sustain life. While Twilight is a vampire book written towards teenagers that thrive off of young love and unrealistic romance novels. Many of my friends who like reading Twilight would most likely not like Dracula. There are the exception of a few friends who have read both books and like the fun read of Twilight and the harder read of Dracula. But in the end I would not recommend Dracula to my friends who are obsessed with Twilight.

Essay 4

Our final asssingment for comp 2 is a reflective essay on our writing experience at the University of Arkansas and what we have learned from the Twilight series and nineteenth century Gothic literature. We are also supposed to write about our future and growth in writing. Just by writing these blogs I have learned a whole new way to write. Writing a blog is all about sharing your thoughts and ideas which opens up a whole new way of writing.

Dracula

In Comp 2 we just finished reading Dracula. I found Dracula really interesting and different from other vampire novels. Compared to all of the other vampire novels we read in class Dracula showed another side of the vampire. Dracula was presented as a ugly vampire and this is very different from modern vampire novels where all of the vampires are presented as beautiful and unrealistic. I really enjoyed reading the novel and getting a differnt perspective on the the vampire.

Differences of Carmilla and Dracula

The main difference between Carmilla and Dracula would most likely be the characteristics. Dracula is portrayed as an very ugly man. He is extremely hairy and not handsome at all. In contrast Carmilla is beautiful and majestic. Both characters hold power over there victims but Carmilla's seem more willing because of her beauty than Dracula's who are just under his trance.

Similarities of Carmilla and Dracula

Carmilla and Dracula are both vampire books with many similarities. The main characters in each book thrive off of young women to keep them young and alive. Young women seem to have the best blood for vampires to sustain life. Carmilla and Dracula have the same vampire characteristics. They both have to sleep in coffins and in order for them to die a wooden stake has to be driven through there heart. The two vampires also seem to have a mystery about them in the books, this keeps the other characters in the books guessing about them.

Carmilla

Carmilla is a book truly written by a male. It a is a story of a female vampire who preys on another female. The story was written as a kind of mystery, as the true life and name of Carmilla unfolds and her past victims and lives begin the unravel.

Group Project

It's been a while since I last posted a blog so a lot has happened in my comp 2 Twilight class. We recently presented a group project. In our project we discussed the myths and so called realistic vampire stories in Asia, Africa, and Pre-Colombian America. I presented the Asian portion teaching the class about the Kappa. The Kappa in Japanese Shinto religion is a water spirit that pulls little children, travelers, and sometimes animals into the water and drowns them. I learned a lot during this project about asian culture and beliefs.

Project 2 Northanger Abbey or The Vampyre

Project 2 assignment is coming up and I still have not decided what 19th century novel to write about. For the assignment we have to compare Breaking Dawn to a 19th century novel. I'm still deciding between Northanger Abbey and The Vampyre. If I decided to go with Northanger Abbey I would focus on the woman's role in Breaking Dawn and Northanger Abbey. If I decided to write about The Vampyre I would compare and contrast the vampiric characters in both texts. Four more days until the essays due date, I better make a decision.

Byron's The Giaour

The past couple of classes in comp 2 we have been going over the Giour. At first I didnt understand half of the poem. The poem jumps around from character to character without smooth transitions. This can be very confusing and you can easily get lost in the reading. Luckily Ms. Hodges has broken down the poem for the class and now I have a better idea of what the poem is about.

Catherine vs. Bella

After reading Northanger Abbey I have come to the conclusion that Catherine is a better role model than Bella from Twilight. Catherine does not seem nearly as delicate as Bella, and shows that she does not need a man in her life to protect her and make her own decisions. Of course Bella is surrounded by Vampires and Werewolves so she does need more protection but she comes of as too needy. Nevertheless both Bella and Catherine end up with the love of their lives and all is right with the world.

Channing Tatum Vs. Edward Cullen

This past weekend I watched the Vow and it made be think of breaking dawn in many ways. But what stood out the most to me was Channing Tatums undying love for his wife in the movie. It reminded me of Edward Cullens love for Bella and how he would be willing to die if anything ever happend to Bella.

Breaking Dawn the movie!

I just recently watched Breaking Dawn and I was surprised that I actually liked the movie. The three other twilight series movies were nowhere near as good as the most recent movie in my opinion. The acting seemed to improve and the ending had a great cliffhanger.