Lok Yiu Louise Fung

Post a response to what you read this week discusses what elements from other genre have been used in the work you read.  This week, I read No Woman Born by C.L. Moore. The plot focuses on a singer/actress/dancer Deirdre who was almost killed in a fire, and saved by a scientist who transfers her brain into a golden mechanical body so that she can speak, dance and sing just as she could as a human. This results in a female cyborg of sorts, who has no face and no expressions, but sounds and moves just as Deirdre had. This short story reminded me of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley with its "gothic" aspects, although it leans more towards science fiction rather than the horror genre of Frankenstein. I believe this is a modern and futuristic retelling of the story of Frankenstein as the audience is able to easily fine parallels between the two stories. One of the gothic aspects of Frankenstein (that I discussed in an earlier blog post) was that it introduced the monster or supernatu...

How was myth reinvented within the context of the story you read for this week? In what ways were the myth made relevant to the contemporary world? This week, I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. The myth is reinvented in the modern contemporary world where it revolves around a nameless 7 year old (the narrator) who has to deal with supernatural creatures after a suicide of an opal miner who lived at his house. Gaiman reimagines the traditional myth by creating supernatural world within a contemporary world, and making it seem believable that these creatures can exist with regular humans. Throughout the story we see the narrator befriend Lettie (an 11 year old girl) and her family that consists of Ginnie and Gran. However, it is revealed that they have been that age for a long time, and are not actually human...this reflects the mythological characters who are immortal. The character of the flea/Ursula also originated as a worm in the narrator's foot and it crea...

Fantasy of this type is pointed at young adults to help instruct them in the complexities of navigating the world. In what way were complex moral issues and spiritual challenges presented in the work you read for this week? This week I read  A Wrinkle in Time  by Madeleine L'Engle. This novel was definitely a Young Adult, coming-of-age novel, as the plot revolves around finding and accepting yourself for who you are, learning the uniqueness of being an individual rather than conforming as well as just the hardships of growing up. Meg, a tween navigating her way through school, feels like an outcast because everyone thinks she's dumb and weird. She's not beautiful like her mother, not "normal" like her twin siblings and she's not ridiculously intelligent and eccentric like Charles Wallace, her five year old brother. Meg believes that she can't have any friends because she's weird. One of the biggest challenges she (and the rest of her famil...

Discuss how the work you read for this week reflects or doesn't reflect elements of the classic journey of the hero.  This week I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and although I've watched snippets of the movie series, I haven't had a chance to read it until now. When comparing The Hobbit to the classic stages of the Hero's Journey, I believe it follows most of the elements. According to the 12 Stages of the Hero's journey, it begins with the Ordinary World. The beginning of The Hobbit also showcases Bilbo's ordinary world, living as a hobbit and living in his homey hole in the ground where he enjoys good food and a comfortable lifestyle. The second and third aspect of the Hero's journey is the Call to Adventure and the Refusal to the Call, this comes when Gandalf approaches Bilbo and invites him to join him in an adventure, but Bilbo is happy to be living at The Shire in the comfort of his home and doesn't want anything to do with Gandalf. As much...