Victorian Lit @shoqueenglish-blog - Tumblr Blog

“The great ordeal was in front of us; at last we were about to make our last effort...”

Chapter 14 begins with slow anticipation of the climax as the charaters and readers are about to come face to face with the hound. We can tell that none of them were actually expecting a hound. I found Holmes’ reaction to be quite surprising since he ran quickly after the hound. He did not think once about the dangers of encountering the hound alone. This instance of his quick reaction sums up Holme’s smart and witty nature.

A Horse’s Tale of Suffering

In Black Beauty, Anna Sewell emphasizes the poor conditions faced by the horses. This is clearly shown in Ginger’s case when she refuses to follow their orders. She is punished so heavily which eventually leads to her demise. This also serves as a teaching point for Black Beauty to obey the human masters in order to avoid punishment. These horses are so focused on finishing their tasks and obeying their masters that they forget to live their own life. For instance when the masters opened the fences for them so the horses can wander freely, Black Beauty felt extremely lost and confused that he just simply plopped down on the grass.

Kids should definitely read this novel to gain a broader sense of life and know that suffering does exist. This will help them be more grounded and be able to relate with more people as they get older.

starlightstarbright12

I made a slide show of some of the important concepts and characters from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Some of the masters who treated Black Beauty well were included. I did not include the ones who abused Black Beauty. I decided to include the bearing rein because it is such an important aspect of the book. The bearing rein was the reason Sewell wrote the book. Some of the pictures were from the movies that were made based on the book.

kimberleyfrytamu

I love this! For my project, I am actually making a poetry book from the perspectives of different character in Black Beauty. I am going to do Black Beauty, Ginger, Merrylegs, Squire Gordon, Jerry, Reuben Smith, Nicholas Skinner, Captain, John, and Lady W. I think it is important that I include a wide variety of characters so we can see some perspectives that aren’t through the eyes of Black Beauty. I love that you mentioned the bearing rein in your video because I am actually going to incorporate that into one of my poems. In Black Beauty, Lady W orders for the tightening of the bearing rein. So my poem from her perspective will shed light on the bearing rein and I will use a scholarly article that talks about the harmful effects of this rein on horses. All the poems will be very different and I think it will be fun to get try to get into the mindset of some of these characters.

shoqueenglish-blog

You did an amazing job with the video! It does a good job of grouping the protagonists together. I also love how you illustrated the important concepts such as horse auctions and bearing rein. I feel that this video should be shown to people as they are reading the novel so they can understand the characters better since it humanizes them. The music in this video gives it a very calming and soothing tone which signifies the aura of the horses.

I feel that the relationship between Ms. Warren and Vivie is quite unique. Based on Act 1 and 2, Ms. Warren still thinks of Vivie as a little child that needs to be taken care of. However in reality, Vivie is far more mature and has a completely philosophy when it comes to leading her life. When Frank told Mrs. Warren that Vivie drinks wine, she was completely thrown off. I think it is extremely interesting how little Vivie knows of Ms. Warren since she was sent to reside in boarding schools from a very young age. This leads to these two young women having very few interactions with each other.

“That’s lucky for him-in fact, it’s lucky for all of you, since you all are on the wrong side of the law in this matter. I am not sure that as a conscientious detective my first duty is not to arrest the whole household.”

In chapter 13 from The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes comes forth and complains about the lack of evidence from this case. He reminds Watson that even if they know that Stapleton is responsible for Sir Charles’ death, it is still not enough for them to prove their case. This eventually leads Holmes to rely on Laura Lyons’ testimony for his case. Another point I found quite interesting from this chapter is when Holmes and Watson analyzes the family portraits lining the Baskerville Hall. After Holmes covers a portion of the painting which includes Hugo Baskerville’s hair and hat, they realize that Jack Stapleton looks exactly like Hugo. This helps Holmes realize that Stapleton is actually a Baskerville and is after the inheritance. I feel that Conan Doyle purposely have Hugo and Jack look alike to depict that evil will always look the same behind all the layers.

Chapter 12 from The Hound of the Baskervilles

I found Watson’s reaction to be completely priceless as he discovers that the man he’s been searching for is actually his own partner, Holmes. Initially, I was also surprised when Holmes came back since he left earlier. But at the same time, I could see Holmes leaving everything and everyone behind to take a step back to gather his information. In fact, Holmes knows two critical facts that Watson is unaware of which are the fact that Stapleton had a brief intimate relationship with Lyons and that Beryl and Jack Stapleton are actually spouses. His findings lead him to the conclusion that Jack Stapleton is Sir Charles’ killer. Eventhough Holmes does not clearly explain his reasoning to Watson, Watson readily agrees with him. This shows how Watson deeply respects and regards Holmes’ opinions.

The depiction of Laura Lyons

In chapter 11 from the Hound of the Baskervilles, Laura Lyons shares some interactions with Dr. Watson. Watson found her quite difficult to interview since she avoided answering any questions relating to Sir Charles. She finally agrees to give more information to Watson after he assures her that he is trying to protect Sir Charles’ reputation. I feel that Laura puts on this tough outer shell on purpose so men would not get the chance to trample all over her and talk down to her. During Victorian times, a woman’s role was strictly to take care of the home, comfort the husband, and raise the kids. However, Conan Doyle’s female protagonists followed this model but also broke free from this stereotype. For instance, Laura Lyons find herself in control of the men’s situation. In fact, she knows enough about Stapleton’s plans. Therefore, women like Lyons help Holmes see the case fully through prosecution.

oscarswildin-blog

yes i really did just spend an hour on this, so tag yourself - which hound of the baskervilles character are you?

i’m henry baskerville rip

shoqueenglish-blog

This is so creative!! I love how you incorporated the characters from Sherlock Holmes with descriptions of various millennials. From this picture, I can relate with Dr. Mortimer and Dr. Watson!

oscarswildin-blog

Logical Fallacies in Hound of the Baskervilles

Something that makes every single mystery (especially a murder mystery) much more interesting is the use of herrings.

No, not the literal nasty smelling fish “herring” - the “herring” that is used to enhance the “plot twists” and throw a wrench in reader theories while reading a mystery.

The most notable of these is the “Red Herring”, officially defined as “a logical fallacy in which someone deliberately introduces an irrelevant subject or topic to throw an argument off course or divert people’s attention”. In words that aren’t the dictionary’s, a Red Herring in a mystery is essentially the person framed with seemingly-obvious evidence to make the reader believe they committed the crime, but didn’t actually do it.

Conan Doyle uses the Red Herring fallacy in Hound of the Baskervilles by pointing out correlation between the escaped convict and another murder, and also between the butler Barrymore and his tendency to walk around the house late at night (and also coincidentally have a beard) in the same way that the suspect does.

Examples of Red Herrings in other famous literary works include: Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: (Harry, Ron, and Hermione all thought he was trying to steal the Stone when it was actually Professor Quirrell) (honestly…Snape in the whole series) Malcolm in The Sixth Sense: turns out he was literally dead the entire time and isn’t just a child psychologist but a dead child psychologist with unfinished business who isn’t really helping his patient not talk to dead people at all. Disney’s Frozen: Elsa seems like the bad guy, but it’s actually Hans, who later gets punched in the face by Ana, which is glorious. Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief: Percy believes that Hades is the one who is trying to destroy Mount Olympus (which would make sense), but it turns out to be Luke instead.

jlusk50-blog

That’s such a great point to bring up about Barrymore the butler being a Red Herring. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to say Doyle mentioned Barrymore’s beard and the beard the man in London had specifically for the purpose of misleading the reader. Because Stapleton did not have a beard, nobody would initially think the perpetrator was him. Had it not been mentioned that he had a fake beard, I think we would have still been suspicious of Barrymore as maybe Stapleton’s accomplice.

shoqueenglish-blog

I found it really intriguing how you brought up different examples of Red Herring from various literature. Conan Doyle made good use of a Red Herring by targeting Barrymore. It definitely distracted the readers from who the real suspect was. But this definitely enhances the plot and gives the ending more of a twist. I find these types of novels more interesting to read since the ending truly catches you by surprise.

jmonty26-blog

Reviews from Kids Under 18 about “Black Beauty”

“I couldn’t put it down!I was fully expecting to hate this novel, but I found that I couldn’t put it down. For some reason, the thoughts of a horse captivated me and I was totally engrossed in the story. It really teaches a lesson about animal cruelty and everyone should at least give it a try. Even if you don’t think you’ll like it, you may be surprised.“ age 15

“Perfect for everyone over 10I loved it. I love horses, and i hate how mean people are to horses. Sometimes, i sit in a corner and think about all that i can do to help these horses. This is a good book, and i feel that everyone should read this book.” age 12

“love it! this is a sad book but it gets better threw the book i want to read it again and again and again” age 9

I have a question that I want to point out. Is “Black Beauty” a children book or not? I personally feel that it is a children’s book for a number of reasons. Reason number one, it is the perfect story to show children in learning how to treat animals the right way vs. the wrong way. Reason number two, all the movies that have come out are circled around a children’s movie. No movie has come out very dark or blunt. They have all been children friendly movies. Final reason, when reading it it just feels like a book for children. However, I feel it should be read by people of all ages because the author tells and writes a great story.

michelle-castro-g-blog

I love that you included quotes from kids. It does feel like a children’s book, the fact that it’s through an animal’s perspective helps it be more kid/family friendly. It also has morals which are also present in children’s books. I personally think that it was targeted more towards the general public rather than just children. Goblin Market was said by the public to be a children’s poem, even though the author said it wasn’t, but the fact that she was a female author put the poem into the children’s literature category. So that might be the case here as well. The fact that it is a female author and it’s and animal’s perspective make it seem more of a child’s book.

victorianlitblog-blog

The discussion on Black Beauty being a children’s novel is so interesting to me. I would love to think that a story about a horse would be a great relay of cruelty in a context children could understand. I find it odd that the children seem to have enjoyed it - but how would this hold up if the novel were actually about human slavery? I feel it as though it was an allegorical story written under the rouse of being a children’ s book on a horse’s life. I believe there is a much deeper level of complexity top the story although it does present otherwise. Children likely enjoyed it because it was written in simplistic terms but again I think it was intended for everyone, like you said in the initial post - all should read it because it is a great story on hardships, and religion, and suffering, power differentials, etc.

shoqueenglish-blog

I feel like you have done a great job by thinking outside of the box by asking kids to give their review of what they thought of Black Beauty. The exact quotes from the children definitely helps us see their train of thought. When reading this novel, I felt that it could definitely be read by elementary school kids so they can learn the basic morale of respecting and taking care of animals. At this age, they probably will not understand that this novel does serve as an allegory of human slavery. Therefore, this novel should also be introduced to high school students in their English classes. At that point in their life, they will obtain the bigger picture and truly appreciate Black Beauty.

The Representation of the Bloodhound

In Neil Pemberton’s selection, he discusses multiple ways how Conan Doyle uses the bloodhound to enhance his plot. For instance initially, the bloodhound functioned as a ghost who haunted others down for revenge. However at the end, we find out that the bloodhound is actually a real animal that is trained to hunt. Conan Doyle uses bits of Victorian culture such as the doglike characteristics of the bloodhound such as “sniffing a scent out” or “finding the culprit” to attribute to Holmes’ investigative style and how he comes up with his reasoning. This leads to the bloodhound having a sense of detective and productive connotation. It can be used to understand Sherlock a little more since we cannot read his thoughts from the first person point of view.

Character Analysis of Vivie

In Petra Dierks-Thurn’s article, “Incest and the Trafficking of Women,” the character of Vivie is portrayed very thoroughly. I definitely admire her since she was able to free herself from Ms. Warren’s and Liz’s lifestyle. She was able to set up her own niche which focused on preparing women taking charge of their own bodies and mind. She symbolizes the New Woman as she takes on progressive causes such as education. Vivie’s journey from a conflicted woman who has been tempted by “familial romance-both the erotic and genealogical-filiative kind” can inspire other women in that era to break free from society’s shackles placed on women.

The condition of the horses vs slaves

In Robert Dingley’s article, the condition of horses is analogous to the black slaves whose freedom and way of life is stripped away. It goes on to show that it is absolutely wrong to deny horses their freedom just as it is for human slaves. These horses are treated very poorly by their masters and they are continually sold at lower prices on to the next master. This is similar to how the slaves are treated when they are separated from their families and sold to different masters.

I feel that Sewell uses horses to draw the analogy of the harsh and unfair conditions faced by the human slaves so more children can read an understand. This would help shape the mindset of the emerging generation.

Comparison of Men and Female Prisoners in Newgate’s selection

I found the behavior and sense of community for men and female prisoners interesting. Newgate highlighted the difference in the piece when he stated, “The gaolers are kind and friendly in their manner, and are ever ready to perform any services which are consistent with the regulations. From the men’s side we went to the women’s, which is its exact counterpart...” (Newgate, 141). The loneliness and absence of the comfort of their loved ones brought the men together and were able to form a great rapport. Regardless of the violations they committed, the male prisoners rarely misbehaved with each other. Whereas, prison life drove female prisoners apart as they rarely formed any friendships with their fellow prison mates. This shows that females are actually more vulnerable and are less likely to step out of their shells if they are displaced in an unfamiliar environment. This could be due to the fact that during that era females were encouraged to stay within the domestic sphere and not interact with too much outside company since that could potentially put them in danger.

“One woman who is depraved can do more harm to society than a dozen men…”

Carpenter primarily focuses on the harm brought by female delinquency or the possession of “seven devils.” This quote is an essential example of this. Women can act as a nurturing figure and are easily able to spread demoralizing values to children. These children can now grow up and can become future convicts of this society. This also reminds me of the Victorian value of the English mom educating her kids so they can lead their nation. Therefore, if a family unit consists of a degraded mother who fails to educate her kids and instead teaches them theft, cheating, and other punishable crimes, it will heavily detriment the society.

In addition, Carpenter discusses the cyclical nature of prison life for female convicts. I completely agree with her point. They should be given an effective punishment during their time in prison. This would help female convicts to leave prison and live a better life and also contribute to society.

kimberleyfrytamu

In class the group discussed the differences and similarities between Goblin Market and the Song of the Shirt. At first glance, I would have never compared these two poems. Yet, upon closer analysis, I can definitely find some similarities between the two poems. Both contain repetition, yet the tempo is quite different. In Song of the Shirt, the intensity of “Stitch! Stitch! Stitch!” and “Work! Work! Work!” allows for the reader to imagine being in that situation and stuck in that cyclical pattern. It actually gives me anxiety even reading that poem because I feel as though I have to speed through it. In contrast, Goblin Market also contains repetition, but it isn’t as intense and obvious. In class, we also talked about the idea of cycles. While Song of the Shirt is meant to show the reader the cyclical nature of working in the Victorian Era, one can argue either way for Goblin Market. In Song of the Shirt, Hood illustrates how hard one works but it will never be enough. You are stuck in that cycle of working and you can’t get out until you die. In Goblin Market, Laura and Lizzie both end up “happy” because they get married and have kids. I put quotation marks around happy because it can be argued that they are not actually happy because they are giving into societal norms by marrying and raising kids. This could be cyclical because this is the traditional way of doing things and you can’t escape it no matter what you do. Or, they could truly just be happy with how things ended up.

shoqueenglish-blog

I also found the comparison of these two selections to be very fascinating. The Song of the Shirt portrays women as defenseless as they have to sit in a room and work long hours. In the Goblin, the women are also portrayed as innocent and defenseless as they are not aware of the poisonous attributes of the fruit and one of the girls fall prey to this outcome. I feel that both of the women of these selections are working in a cyclical way but in their own way. The woman in Song of the Shirt is the laborer and the in the goblin, they are the consumers.

“Come buy our orchard fruit.”

In this selection, the goblins are portrayed as very insistent on talking to the girls to buy their fruits even though they clearly did not want to. The repetition of this line really emphasizes their cruel and persistent nature. The girls are clearly defenseless against these goblins. The goblins selling the fruit can also serve as an analogy for the fruit that Eve took in biblical literature. Sadly, one of the girls took it since they did not know of the unfortunate outcome

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