From Hell by Allen Moore

            I really really enjoyed this graphic novel because it truly is weird.  The use of dark shadows and scratchy drawings makes the story just that much weirder.  You also just get the sense that you are "big brother" when watching this story unfold by the way things are framed and how uncomfortably close you seem to be in the dialogue between the characters.  I still am not entirely sure of the whole plot even after reading it but its pretty funny in a twisted way.  Someone goes around killing 4 girls because it will save the males and also they were conspirators of the government.  Which then contradicts the later is different because they believe the government is killing all of these girls.  its a very interesting take on the ripper killings with the Moore spin of antagonizing government. 

The Grudge

           Personally, I love the J horror movies and all of the Grudges.  However I particularly didn't like Ju-on but i loved the grudge.  I think the main difference between the 2 is that since one was made americanized, I feel the threat of the grudge coming was way more real.  There are points in Ju-on that have very little rationality and almost just a jumbled mess of things going on.  Where as the American remake "the grudge" they stick to the rules of the world.  We get more of a sense that there is a way out in the American Grudge until its taken away from us because she is so powerful and really follows her own rules. 

Vampire Academy

       The obvious topic to talk about regarding the vampire academy is relationships and how abusive they where.  Instead Confinement is a theme I think is more powerful symbolically and rationally.
Rose Seems to always be confined.  Whether it be in in her room as punishment, the academy in general or within her own thoughts,  She is always trapped. Which also links to the themes of insanity and death.  Rose seems to be struggling with this idea of whats worse being insane and evil or being dead? And towards the end of the book it becomes eminent that thats what is holding her back.  She seems to come to a kind of conclusion that she is savings the souls of the wicked by killing them before doing harm. 
           Personally i didn't find this read very intersting because it almost seemed like a tween story ( which it is) and i just cant connect to those anymore.  I wish i was able but i feel as though most of the characters are whiney for little to no reason.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

            Vampire stories are one of my favorites which is why I chose to read Dracula by Bram Stoker.  Not only was that a long read but I feel as though its one of the longer reads that are just the right amount in length.  When starting to read it they actually had a very intriguing hook.  Jonathan Harker is one of those characters that has an interesting perspective and is very intelligent.  When we discover he is trapped it makes us concerned and how much of his circumstances there are true.  However as we continue he's a pretty stable and unchanging character.  I think his biggest point is when he was the first one to attempt to stab Dracula after Mina's death. 

             The most rememberable thing and refreshing thing from this novel that took place in the 1800's is how well mina is treated.  She is one of the original strong empowered females in novels like this.  As one of the very few characters, we see her past and notes and letters from her actual experiences which make her more sympathetic and like her more.  She is so liked that she it the one holding all the other characters together.  And so pure that when she does become a vampire, her usableness to be holy is super contradicting and makes her character even more complex than what it was already. She was the biggest advocate of the new woman to show women are more than their average roles.  Which starts to play into the over all themes of gender thought this entire book

         She tends to through the men off because of her confidence and "Man Brain".  I think thats why I enjoy this book so much is because Minas personality and ability to throw everyone off is almost commical.  And how them men treat her for the most part equally is super refreshing fro the 19th century

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

                     When it comes to monster stories I tend to have a love hate relationship with Frankenstein.  I personally think Mary Shelly is not an interesting writer, nor do I enjoy the format of letters.  However, I think it is an important book for people to read at least once due to the fact that it is one of the keystone books of this genre and does a very good job at a few different things


                    I think its important to realize that this book was, for the time, revolutionary for her to write this book.  It was a giant step into bringing women to the surface as not just object but as thinking and intelligent beings.

                   One of the most interesting thing about this book is that we feel for the monster which older ignorant individuals tend to forget.  The more human we make these monsters the better we can understand our own flaws.  Frankenstein's monster is the perfect combination of an abandoned child and showing the negatives to our revenge and own personal greed.   To me its quite funny when I read any monster books because we are never just scared about the monster, but what the monster represents and what it represents within us.

Watching Young Frankenstein was an interesting perspective on this entire structure of the monster movie because we are almost so accost to our flawed characters that we are more scared about silly jump scares from people than the actually scary and disturbing things.