Horror of Horrors Essay - 1081 Words

Conrads Heart of Darkness and Coleridges Rime of the Ancient Mariner each portray a globe-trotting journey that takes a turn for the metaphysical. Often grotesque, but always eye-opening, the imagery and abstraction present in these works serves to emphasize their spiritual nature. While this nature is not be ignored, equally perceptive techniques present moral ambiguity, social commentary on the role of women, the actions of a sinful soul in a place with no law, and, ultimately, redemption. Kurtz and the Ancient Mariner present sin and ambiguous morality in a lawless place. Redemption for the Mariner is given by his penance, while Kurtzs redemption occurs only after his death, through Marlowe. Kurtz, though the things that he does†¦show more content†¦But he cannot be judged. Even the man who redeems Kurtz cannot judge him. Marlowe refuses to think of Kurtz as a good man. But even so, Marlowe was â€Å"... loyal to the nightmare of [his] choice.† (P.61). Kurtz was th e lesser of two evils to Marlowe. Not a good man, but by no means the worst man. Marlowe believes that Kurtz was nothing more than a voice. He had something important to say, and so said it. Marlowe also believes that it matters not whether a powerful voice is right or wrong. â€Å"... For good or evil, mine is the speech that cannot be silenced.† (P. 37); Marlowes view is that when something needs to be said, there is no matter of right or wrong, only necessity. This is Kurtzs redemption. His voice needed to say something, and so it was said. The Ancient Mariners actions also lie in a moral gray area. The Mariner shoots the albatross, an omen for good travels, out of jealousy and pride, hoping to claim full credit for any success the voyage will have. He kills this innocent omen, merely because there is no rule of law to stop him. His envy and pride took the better of him. But from the outset, the Mariner knows what he has done. â€Å"... And I had done a hellish thing,/ An d it would work em woe/ For all averrd, I had killd the bird/ That made the breeze to blow .... † (L. 91). Worse yet, his crew pardoned his sin, saying that â€Å"... [he] had killd the bird/ That brought the fog and mistShow MoreRelatedHorror : Horror And Horror Film Essay2210 Words   |  9 PagesMerriam Webster defines â€Å"horror† as â€Å"painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay.† A popular definition of horror film argues that horror is subjective-anything that evokes the emotion of horror in an individual is a horror film to that individual. (Horror Writers Association) This definition is far too dependent on the audience for its categorization. Although, the emotional argument being made in films is an essential factor when defining a genre, it cannot be the only device considered for definingRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Films1360 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, an d to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience.† Horror films have been to Hollywood since the early days of cinematography. Horror films are very interesting to watch because horror movies are scary and we don t know what is going happen next. That kind of suspense in the movies makes us watch moreRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Movies Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesHorror isn’t a Single Genre You’re sitting in a dark room with your eyes glues to the television screen, bowl of popcorn sitting loosely in your lap. On the screen is a dark shadowy figure chasing a woman throughout a house and watching this scene is making your heart pound out of your chest. This is the feeling you get when you typically watch a horror movie, you feel like you’re about to explode due to the tension on screen. There are many subgenres of horror movies and it seems like most peopleRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Movies1659 Words   |  7 PagesHaving Halloween just around the corner the horror genre has been on demand. What is a horror genre? Horror is defined as being â€Å"an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust† and genre is defined as being â€Å"a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter† according to Oxford Dictionary. Therefore a horror genre is a horror film in one of the many categories in a genre that makes the audience feel fear, shock or disgustRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Movies898 Words   |  4 Pagespeople, but the one that takes it all is horror movies. Horror movies allow friends to bond, helps face fear and it is best known for its thrill. How do horror movies bond friends? Horror movies are made to scare the viewers. Some horror movies are too gore which makes the person not want to see it alone. Going in pairs or even a group allows the person to feel safer. Having friends beside them allows the person to feel secure when a scary scene is on. Horror movies not only allow friends to hangRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Films1228 Words   |  5 Pagesunknown. Horror has been around for years, instilling fear into individuals. It makes us scream. It makes individuals feel as if they are going to die. Horror Films has a story behind their twisted, sick fantasies of monsters, murders, demons, and beast including ghost stories. All of these fictional charterers have a historical representation behind them. The main historical moments behind the horror movies we encountered as children all had a relation to what was going on in the world. Horror filmsRead MoreThe Horror Genre Of Horror Essay2741 Words   |  11 PagesIntroduction The horror genre is one of the oldest genres used in storytelling. It was used in old folklore stories and was commonly used during the ancient Greek plays. Horror genre became one of the first genres to be adopted into filmmaking in the 1920’s. Though the word horror to describe in the film genre would not be used until after Universal Pictures released Dracula and Frankenstein both in 1931. J. A. Cuddon (1984) defined horror in The Penguin Book of Horror Stories as â€Å"a pieceRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Films858 Words   |  4 PagesHorror films are alluring to viewers for many reasons. Horror movies have longed to serve a purpose which is to scare and also provide stories about the dark scary side of life. People watch horror movies to get scared, for the thrill and most of all plain old entertainment. Three main characteristics of horror films are according to Maggie McCutcheon is scaring people into creating morals, Stephen King differs and says that hor ror films are made to let people’s emotion and fears rein free, andRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Films1288 Words   |  6 PagesThe joy and excitement of a horror movie is such a great feeling to have. So many people ask why do people enjoy watching horror Films if they are only going to make you get scared and not be happy the whole night? That is something really easy to answer for example, horror movies are one of the genres that will make sure you got your money worth and you didn’t waste money on a movie that you didn’t enjoy. Another fact would be is that when anyone goes into a horror film nobody knows what to expectRead MoreThe Horror Of Horror Movies Essay1619 Words   |  7 PagesName Instructor Course Date Outline I. Introduction Thesis statement: We are all mentally ill and that we crave horror movies to bring some normality to ourselves. II. We are all ill mentally and that we crave horror movies to bring some normality to ourselves. i. Horror movies allow us the experience of intense emotional excitement from the unacceptable actions and their consequences in the films. ii. Reestablishes the feelings of essential normality, and; it is innately conservative and even