Deborah
ENGL 3850-02N
Supernatural Lit
Dr. Coats
30 April, 1998
The Final Jeopardy Question Is:
Aw, shucks, Dr, Coats...You really want my li'l ol' opinion? (You know I'd give my opinion anyway, so it's a good thing that you asked, right?) Out of the two and thiry-four you assigned, I had read the Poe, the Saki, and the King (no pun intended). I had read other stories by Bradbury and I had heard of both Lovecraft and Stoker; I also knew that a book of Psycho existed. But if I had to narrow it down to three examples of 'what should Dr. C. teach the next time this class rises from the grave,' they would have to be the Lovecraft, the Bradbury, and the King.
Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed checking "read Dracula" off of my list of things to do in life, but those three just outshine old D. The short stories by Ray Bradbury provoked a lot of discussion in class. I think we enjoyed hearing how everyone else thought about the way the stories turned out. Each story could be interpreted differently by each personality who read it. The same goes for the Lovecraft story, "The Outsider." A few of us are still debating whether or not the narrator was dead during the story, after the story, or not at all. I believe each of us can see ourselves in the narrator's place (as we all are outsiders in one form or another) and see the story through our own eyes. Lovecraft may be slow and ponderous at some points, but we, as members of an e-mail society, need to experience the lush imagery of authors of the past. If we do not read from the works of the past, we cannot understand the writers of today.
Last, but most certainly not least, we have the dear boy from Bangor, the mastermind in Maine, Mr. Stephen King himself. What supernatural/horror lit class could be considered complete without Mr. Pop-culture-references-while-he's-shredding-the-flesh-of-a-guy who-deserves-it? We few, we happy, bloodthirsty few, always breathe a sigh of content as we find King on the syllabus. You know, kind of like the sigh before you reach the top of a really, really tall rollercoaster? The sigh that precedes the most gut-wrenching scream imaginable... You can watch a King story happening in your mind. (It's kind of impossible not to.) Even King stories are subject to discussion. A few in the class still don't agree on the deep, hidden motives behind "The Boogey Man." (Sigh. I think I've always wanted to write the words "The Boogey Man" in a paper. It makes my spell-check beep like there's no tomorrow.)
So, to sum up. Loved the course. Loved the Literature. Loved the discussions (and arguments that still persist to this very day!) they provoked. If you have to cull the flock for next time, however, I do suggest retaining the Lovecraft for history, the Bradbury for fierce discussion sessions, and the King to keep the kiddies awake at night. Ta!