Annotated Bibliography
December 19, 2020
How Writers Read
The Haunting Of Hill House
The Haunting Of Hill House written by Shirley Jackson was published in 1959. This story begins with Dr. John Montague sending out 12 letters with an invitation to spend the summer at a known haunted house by the name of Hill House. However, only two women showed up, Eleanor, and Theodora. Along with Luke, a member of the family that owns Hill House, and Dr. Montague, the four of them would be together throughout the summer. The idea was to study “the causes and effects of psychic disturbances in a house commonly known as ‘haunted’” (Jackson, 1).
On the first page of this book, I already had so many questions that I needed answered like: Is the house really haunted? What “walks there alone”? Will the doctor finish his experiment? Will these questions even be answered? However, while I was reading more and more of this book I wasn’t sure if my questions would be answered. As I finished the book I felt as if some of these questions were answered although some answers left more lingering questions like: How did her friends at Hill House react to Eleanor’s fate? When I first started reading this book my “reading for” was to not only answer my questions but make sense of the things presented in this book that are by all definitions of the word unsensible. As I finished this book I realized that not all things were made sensible. However, I was genuinely surprised at the ending, as Eleanor left the house my questions began racing around my mind once again. Questions like: What now? Where is Eleanor gonna go? What is everyone else going to do? What about the house? However, as I kept reading all my new questions were quickly answered. As Eleanor drove herself into the tree before leaving the grounds of Hill House, I had a kind of “Oh” moment. Realizing that all my questions were answered gave me some clarity, but not sensibility. Even Eleanor does not know what or why she was doing what she was doing. As my fellow group member Rachel says in her comments “I think the choice of the word “insensible” is a perfect description of the effect of Hill House. The book left me with many unanswered questions. Shirley Jackson never fully explains the phenomenon the characters experience throughout the book; I believe this is a blessing and a curse. Although I was left with many unanswered questions, the unsettling Hill House never lost its shroud of mystery. Hill House defies understanding and it makes one question sanity.” As you can see we all had the same feeling of questions echoing in the back of our minds.
According to Mckee, a premise is an open-ended question. So what is the open-ended question that presents itself in this book? I would say that the premise is: What if a group of people who have experienced paranormal events moved into a haunted house to investigate it? Both Eleanor and Theodora have experienced something that cannot scientifically be explained, which is why Dr. Montague had chosen them to reside at Hill House with him in the first place. Eleanor had faced a haunting experience when she was younger that Dr. Montague believes may had something to do with her father: “when she was twelve years old and her sister was eighteen, and her father had been dead for not quite a month, showers of stones had fallen on their house, without any warning or indication of purpose or reason, dropping from the ceilings, rolling loudly down the walls, breaking windows and pattering maddeningly on the roof” (Jackson, 4). While Theodora had what seemed to be more telepathic than paranormal experiences; “perhaps the wakened knowledge in Theodora which told her the names of symbols on cards held out of sight urged her on her way toward Hill House” (Jackson, 5). After making the journey to Hill House both women found an instant connection in each other standing in the dark and dreary “haunted” house. As I read more of the book I believe that the premise may need to be tweaked a little bit. I would say that the revised premise is: What if a group of people who have experienced paranormal events moved into a haunted house together and investigated it for the summer, while one of them has a secret connection to the house that is unknown? As I read more of the book I really realized how centered around the character Eleanor the story is. We almost always know how Eleanor is feeling about a situation, and she is also the only character whose journey to the house we followed at the beginning of the book. Also, we know much more about this character than any of the other characters. So I believe the premise should also specifically involve Eleanor even if it is not by name.
“The house was vile. She shivered and thought, the words coming freely into her mind, Hill House is vile, it is diseased; get away from here at once” (Jackson, 23). This was Eleanor’s first thought however once Theodora gets there her mind is almost instantly changed: “Thank heaven you’re here,” (Jackson, 30). This scene leads me to find a controlling and counter idea. The controlling idea being: Companionship can help get you through tough situations. And the counter Idea being: Being alone can lead to fear and helplessness. While at Hill House Dr. Montague sets some guidelines to follow for everyone’s well being, among these guidelines he sets one rule above others: Do not send anyone anywhere alone and do not travel throughout the house alone. This rule becomes crucial after the first actual sign of the house being haunted.
“‘When Luke and I are called outside, and you two are kept imprisoned inside, doesn’t it begin to seem’ –and his voice was very quiet–‘doesn’t it begin to seem that the intention is, somehow, to separate us?’” (Jackson, 99). After this night the group wakes up the next morning with excitement in their eyes, and surprisingly acting okay despite the circumstances the night before. However, this rule becomes crucial again when the doctor realizes he broke his own rule by sending Luke to ask for coffee.
“My notes” the doctor began, and then stopped as the door opened so suddenly that in Eleanor’s mind was only the thought that Luke had not dared face Mrs. Dudley after all, but had stood, waiting, pressed against the door; then, looking at his white face and hearing the doctor say with fury, “I broke my own first rule; I sent him alone,” she found herself only asking urgently, “Luke? Luke?” (Jackson, 106).
As the book goes on after this scene we can see the characters start to divide and turn on Eleanor a little bit, especially the character Theodora. This character towards the end of the book was almost bullying Eleanor. I did not expect this to happen since in the beginning of the book Theo and Nellie were the best of friends. As we see the characters change and adapt to the house we can also see the house change and adapt. As the characters divide and start to form cliques Eleanor is left alone.
“Can you read it?” Luke asked softly, and the doctor, moving his flashlight, read slowly: HELP ELEANOR COME HOME.” (Jackson, 107). When Luke comes back from asking for coffee he notices that there is something on the wall written in chalk. Eleanor does not know why her name appeared on the wall asking to “Help Eleanor come home” but we can only assume that Eleanor is tied to Hill House deeper than even the doctor knew. Although we never really find out what happened in this scene many of Eleanors fellow housemates believed that she had written it. However, as the audience, we see that the house has a weird control over Eleanor. Did she write it? After this scene, I thought that although I had not finished the book yet I thought that how the book was going to wrap up was all depending on that scene. Although I did not see the characters dividing after this scene it makes sense that they did. After Eleanor goes a little crazy and starts dancing around in a dream-like state putting all the other members of Hill House in danger, especially Luke who comes to Eleanor’s rescue and saves her life. Although Eleanor’s life comes to an end after this scene in the book when they kick Eleanor out of Hill House for her own good. As Eleanor is driving away from the haunted house she runs her car into a tree which seems to be at the will of the house. This proves that: The controlling idea being: Companionship can help get you through tough situations. And the counter Idea: Being alone can lead to fear and helplessness. And sometimes even death…
As you can probably tell from the first part of this post the genre of this book is a horror/mystery/ ghost book. As my groupmate Rachel says in the second blog post: “The Haunting of Hill House follows familiar patterns from the horror and mystery genres. The story starts with strangers receiving letters to meet at a house and investigate whether it is supposedly haunted. The letters being sent to strangers with no previous acquaintance reminded me of the Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None or the plot of Clue.” I couldn’t agree more with my groupmate. This book especially reminded me of Clue. The fact that all the rooms are themed to different colors is a very interesting part of this story. It also appears that the colors match up with the character’s personality. Theodora who was in the green room appears to be very well put together, clean-cut, always has her nails done, she seems to be successful, and also a little jealous of Eleanor. These traits match with green according to Jennifer Bourn who is an advent artistic blogger “The color of life, renewal, nature, and energy, is associated with meanings of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment. Green is also traditionally associated with money, finances, banking, ambition, greed, jealousy, and wall street.” (Bourn 1) The character Luke is reluctantly in the pink room, and his characteristics consist of; flirty, charming, and charismatic. Luke also seems to be carrying on a secret relationship of sorts with Theodora, while Eleanor has a crush on him. These characteristics make sense in a pink room because according to Jennifer Bourn “A delicate color that means sweet, nice, playful, cute, romantic, charming, feminine, and tenderness is associated with bubble gum, flowers, babies, little girls, cotton candy, and sweetness.” (Bourn 1) Although Luke does not have all of these characteristics he has some. The third room was the color yellow and it was inhabited by Dr. Montague who has almost all of the characteristics associated with yellow according to Jennifer Bourn “The color of sunshine, hope, and happiness, has conflicting associations. On one hand, yellow stands for freshness, happiness, positivity, clarity, energy, optimism, enlightenment, remembrance, intellect, honor, loyalty, and joy, but on the other, it represents cowardice and deceit.” (Bourn 1) The last character that was staying at Hill House in the color themed rooms was Eleanor who was in the blue room. According to Jennifer Bourn the color blue is associated with “Represents both the sky and the sea, and is associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, expansiveness, inspiration, and sensitivity. Blue also represents meanings of depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith, heaven, and intelligence.” (Bourn 1) Although Eleanor does not possess all of the characteristics she does not have she either pretends to have, or wishes she had. For example: Ever since Eleanor had to take care of her mother twenty four hours a day, she had always wanted freedom and I think that speaks a lot about her character and what she desires from her journey to Hill House. The colors are so much like a Clue because every character is named for the color they wear and also look like the color they are meant to represent. Although this part of the book is a lot like a Clue it also has a lot of originality to it. As my groupmate Rachel says in her blog “However, Jackson is not one to follow any genre to a “T”.
“Chapter six of Kaja Silverman’s book The Subject of Semiotics, discussed five codes used in narrative. The repetition of words, phrases or ideas to represent something larger than itself is an example of the semic code.” The semic code is the code that my groupmate Rachel chose to analyze, this quote from her blog also made me realize I had been noticing the same ideas being reinforced into the reader’s minds as she was. In her blog she says “There is so much to unpack in this characterization. I use the word characterization because Hill House is a character; it is not sane, it permeates darkness, and it just might outlive us all.” I agree Shirley Jackson wrote Hill House as a character; it is not just a house. “The descriptions of Hill House are endlessly unsettling. Eleanor’s first reaction to the house was that it was “vile” and “diseased” ; these are rather strange descriptions for a house (Jackson 23). Theodora repeatedly calls the house “filthy”, which is surprising given the fact that the house has been kept impeccably clean aside from a little dust and a stuffy atmosphere. The doctor calls the house “evil’ (Jackson 60). The descriptions “alive”, “dark”, “filthy” and “evil” are just a few of the repeated phrases used regarding Hill house.” As Rachel says in her blog there are a couple words being used to describe Hill House that do not make much sense. As she says in her blog Theodora calls the house “filthy” as Rachel also said this does not make much sense because the housekeeper Mrs. Dudley tends to the house everyday. So are the descriptions these characters are using house they see the house or the feeling the house instills in them? I believe that this is the feeling the house is giving them. One example of why I think this is in the text Theodora seems to like things clean and fresh. However, when Theodora’s room was vandalized by the house her clothes were covered in blood and her room walls were all well. The house seems to already be in all of their heads at this point. I believe that along with being in these characters heads the house has also been able to give off feelings that it wants these characters to feel. Which is another example of human characteristics that this house has. Along with the words being used to describe this house as unusually human-like, this house also has the capability to make others feel things and somehow make a connection with them.
They can’t turn me out or shut me out or laugh at me or hide from me; I won’t go, and Hill House belongs to me. (Jackson 181)
This is a line in the last act’s climax which was the scene that had Eleanor’s story come to an end tragically when she kills herself at the whim of the house. Eleanor died alone without any companionship, except for the house.
There is a lot of symbolism in this book and my groupmate Alexa also picked up on it. In Alexa’s blog she uses this quote:
“Don’t do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have
trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don’t do it; and the little girl glanced at her and smiled a little subtle, dimpling, wholly comprehending smile, and shook her head stubbornly at the glass. Brave girl, Eleanor thought; wise, brave girl.” (Jackson, 15)
This quote is very important to this story not only because of the symbolism that is rattled throughout this passage but also because “the cup of stars” appears in the story more than once. The first time Eleanor hears of this cup is in a small diner in the town that Hill House resides near. Eleanor is expressing her new found love of adventure and rebellion and decides to stop in town and get a cup of coffee alone in the diner even though Dr. Montague told the guests of Hill House not to stop in town. She notices a little girl sitting not too far away from her refusing to drink her milk. The waiter does not understand why because the milk is very good. However, the little girl’s mother knows it is because the glass that the milk was served in was not her “cup of stars”. Eleanor understood why the little girl did not want to drink out of the ordinary glass, and even encouraged the little girl to remain unique and only accept her “cup of stars”. This cup does not only represent the night sky, because for Eleanor it is a symbol for everything she wants. The next time this cup is brought up is when Eleanor gets to the house and the characters start introducing themselves. “Eleanor thought, looking down at her hands which were badly shaped. We could have afforded a laundress, she thought; it wasn’t fair. My hands are awful. “I have a little place of my own,” she said slowly. “An apartment, like yours, only I live alone. Smaller than yours, I’m sure. I’m still furnishing it—buying one thing at a time, you know, to make sure I get everything absolutely right. White curtains. I had to look for weeks before I found my little stone lions on each corner of the mantel, and I have a white cat and my books and records and pictures. Everything has to be exactly the way I want it, because there’s only me to use it; once I had a blue cup with stars painted on the inside; when you looked down into a cup of tea it was full of stars. I want a cup like that.” (Jackson 41) Although the scenario that Eleanor drums up for herself is very nice we as the readers know that this backstory is not true. Eleanor stole her crazy sister’s car and drove to Hill House to escape from her. However, this cup is what she strives for. Not only does the cup represent originality and freedom it also represents Eleanor’s desires. This is what she wants after she leaves Hill House and she believes that the person Hill House has already started to make will help her be her own person. As Alexa says in her blog “ This opposition of freedom vs. constraint helps reinforce the controlling value. Living a life of constraint will lead to being unfulfilled and being left unsatisfied vs. living a life of freedom will lead to a life of fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction. Another opposing value is giving up vs. holding on. If you give up something that you love and care so deeply about because others want you to, you are giving in to other’s urges to be like them or conform to their idea of you. But if you hold onto something that means so much to you, you can resist the urge to be like everyone else and be happy with what means so much to you.”
As I said in my blog and Rachel touched on in hers is the controlling idea being: Companionship can help get you through tough situations. And the counter Idea being: Being alone can lead to fear and helplessness. However in Alexa’s blog she combines them to form “this idea of companionship, or lack thereof and the opposing values of living for yourself vs. living for others, which can help reinforce another controlling value. Living without companionship will lead to a life of loneliness, fear, helplessness, and lifeless vs. living with companionship will lead to a life of happiness and a feeling of contentment. The opposing controlling value is living without companionship can help you to find yourself and understand your own worth vs. living with companionship does not always leave you feeling content and happy if the companion is negatively affecting your way of life.”
“ The narration holds us hostage and drip feeds information and answers, yet there are simply more questions and mysteries than can be solved. The audience is submissive to the text, brought along for the ride regardless of where it may go.” This is from my groupmate Jay’s blog. She mentions that the reader is submissive because they are along for the ride. I could not agree with her more, this book does not give the readers any glimpses into the future storyline. We also have as much information as the characters do, except for our educated guesses about what was going to happen next in the plot. However, even those guesses left us filled with surprise and questions once the book progressed. As Jay also puts in her blog “Yet, who is behind this narration? The narrator’s limited perspective would imply that it would be one of the characters, as they would not have the meta knowledge of an omniscient voice. All signs seem to point to our narrator being Eleanor, as we spend much of the novel inside of her head – yet there are some times where we briefly step into the shoes of other characters as well. The conclusion I have come to is that it is a narrator with omniscience, yet it is one that chooses not to share all of its observations. The narrative knows exactly what’s going on, whether the ghosts are ‘real’ and what influence is corrupting Eleanor, it knows all of the secrets that we are not privy to, and yet the truth is kept from us.” This is part of the book that left everyone asking “Who is the narrator”? Although Jay’s guess of it being Eleanor is the most logical we cannot say for sure because we don’t really know. This is where the relationship between the narrator(s) and narratee(s) becomes clear. All the audience can do is look through this tiny peep hole that the narrator has presented us. Although we do not have much information we crave more. As my groupmate and leader John said “The next question is: why are they narrating at all? Who are they talking to, and to what end?” Are we never meant to know these answers? Maybe we aren’t as a way to keep Hill House alive somehow or “standing” as the book says.
Reflecting On Core Value Three
Writing Arts students will demonstrate the ability to critically read complex and sophisticated texts in a variety of subjects. This is the writing arts core value three, and before this class I probably would have made something up about how I learned so much about this value. However, after this class I feel as though I have grown and learned so much about the technicalities of reading on this level and about myself not only as a writer but as a reader as well. My group members and I had a very good selection of books to read during this class, although I am going to talk about my growth after reading my book. I have always been a huge fan of books that have a darker side to them. Up until this point my favorite book has been Salem’s Lot by Steven King, however after reading Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House I realized how much I like looking for the codes, and premise, and controlling and counter ideas, and everything else that this class has opened my eyes to.
Although I learned so much from this class at times it was hard to work with a group especially when you’re all relying on each other so much. However, I enjoyed working with my groupmates. Plus working together in a group like this not only made things easier, especially to ask questions and get help, but there was also a comfort that we were all going through the same thing together. Whether it was being confused about the assignments or the order of the blog posts, there was always someone to ask or someone who needed the same help.
“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.” (Jackson 10) This quote is a quote from the book I chose for my group to read The haunting of Hill House. Before this class I would have just looked at this as a strong opening passage. However, now I can spot the fact that this is the first example of the semic code produced throughout the book. The semic code is a recurring word or idea in a text. In this book the recurring idea was that Hill House was not necessarily a house at all, but a character. However this one code is not the only thing I learned. I also learned the hermeneutic code, the proairetic code, symbolic code, and the cultural code.
An example of the hermeneutic code from this text is the last passage; “Mrs. Sanderson was enormously relieved to hear that Dr. Montague and his party had left Hill House; she would have turned them out, she told the family lawyer, if Dr. Montague had shown any sign of wanting to stay. Theodora’s friend, mollified and contrite, was delighted to see Theodora back so soon; Luke took himself off to Paris, where his aunt fervently hoped he would stay for a while. Dr. Montague finally retired from active scholarly pursuits after the cool, almost contemptuous reception of his preliminary article analyzing the psychic phenomena of Hill House. Hill House itself, not sane, stood against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.” (Jackson 119) This passage is the last passage of the book however it leaves us with the most questions. The big one being: How do Eleanor’s friends from Hill House react to her death? An example of the Proairetic Code is the event of Dr. Montague inviting Eleanor and everyone to Hill House this event led to the rest of the events in the book. An example of the symbolic code is Eleanor’s “cup of stars” although this is a little imaginary teacup with stars painted on it, this cup stands for much more. Eleanor’s “cup of stars” represents everything she hopes to accomplish in life. While still keeping her uniqueness of this cup of stars. And the last code is the cultural codes. An example of this is the culture embedded in a story.
Along with these codes I also learned a lot about premise and controlling values. According to Mckee, a premise is an open-ended question. The premise that I decided fit The Haunting of Hill House is what if a group of people who have experienced paranormal events moved into a haunted house together and investigated it for the summer, while one of them has a secret connection to the house that is unknown? While the controlling idea being: Companionship can help get you through tough situations. And the counter Idea being: Being alone can lead to fear and helplessness.
In conclusion, I learned more in this class than I have learned in a long time. Writing Arts students will demonstrate the ability to critically read complex and sophisticated texts in a variety of subjects. According to professor Kopp this core value has three outcomes, however, I believe that I got a little of all three of the outcomes: Outcome 1: Students will notice and question the limits imposed by their initial point of view when approaching a given text, allowing them to think through the moving parts of a text, to understand and articulate the purpose behind its design, the targeted audience, and the context the text responds to Outcome 2: Students will be able to bring critical perspectives into conversation with a given text Outcome 3: Students will be able to evaluate how to incorporate the conventions and the knowledge gained from critically reading such texts into their own writing.
Readings
Butler, Robert Olen., and Janet Burroway. “Cinema of the Mind.” From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction. New York: Grove, 2005. 63-84.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces.. Second ed. Princeton: University Press, 1972.
___. “The Impact of Science on Myth.” Myths to Live By. New York: Penguin Press, 1972.
Culler, Jonathan. “Story and Discourse in the Analysis of Narrative.” The Pursuit of Signs: Semiotics, Literature, Deconstruction. Ithaca: Cornell U.P., 1981.
Gallop, Jane. “The Ethics of Reading: Close Encounters.” Journal of Curriculum Theorizing (Fall, 2000): 7-17.
Jensen, Michael. “Integrity: Without it, Nothing Works.” Rotman Magazine (Fall 2009): 16-20.
Mamet, David. “Countercultural Architecture and Dramatic Structure.” On Directing Film. New York: Viking, 1991. 57-66.
McKee, Robert. “Structure and Meaning.” Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: Regan, 1997. 110-131.
Phelan, James. “Introduction.” Living to Tell About It: A Rhetoric and Ethics of Character Narration. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2005.
Porter, James. “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community.” Rhetoric Review. 5.1 (1986): 34-47.
Rabinowitz, Peter. “Truth In Fiction: A Reexamination of Audiences.” Critical Inquiry. 4.1 (1977): 121-141.
Seitz, James E. “A Rhetoric of Reading.” Rebirth of Rhetoric: Essays in Language, Culture, and Education. By Richard Andrews. London: Routledge, 1992. 141-55.
Silverman, Kaja. The Subject of Semiotics. New York: Oxford UP, 1983.
Blog Posts
Comments:
Venesa Porter
Oct 27, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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While reading Night I already had some knowledge about the holocaust through classes and other books I have read throughout my life. However this book gave me a whole new perspective on this subject. The way Wiesel describes what is going on around him is haunting, and gruesome and at some points even had me feeling sick. My perspective was also changed because of the way this class is having us read and look for certain concepts in the text. Having to emerge myself in a text and become a certain audience I found myself constantly looking for the premise, controlling ideas, counter ideas, and the code helping me better understand the text.
Venesa Porter
Oct 13, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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Alexa, I think your blog post is really good the way you talk about the phrases used throughout the book that surprised you. I guess in a situation like that you have to think about other things to keep yourself from realizing how bad things really are. Something that stuck out to me in the book was “Then the entire camp, block after block, filed past the hanged boy and stared at his extinguished eyes, the tongue hanging from his gaping mouth. The Kapos forced everyone to look at him squarely in the face. Afterward, we were given permission to go back to our block and have our meal. I remember that on that evening, the soup tasted better than ever…”(Wiesel 63) Witnessing a horrible thing like this Elie realized that he could have been hanged like that just as easily, and him being grateful to be alive made his food taste better. This event in the text shows what little they have to be happy about. They could either be hung anytime of the day or they could be alive eating soup.
Venesa Porter
Oct 13, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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“I watched other hangings. I never saw a single victim weep. These withered bodies had long forgotten the bitter taste of tears”(Wiesel 63). This statement tells us that Elie Wiesel can no longer refer to these people as human beings he uses phrases such as corpse and body. He cannot even refer to himself as a human he says “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me”(Wiesel 115). Was it because he was desensitized to it or because he had to in order to survive and keep his sanity? Or is it because being treated like animals caused them to subconsciously become animalistic themselves? However, Wiesel says that he did not do anything to save himself so maybe you can’t help but adapt to a situation like this, because human instinct is fight or flight, but Wiesel did not fight back and it was impossible for him to run. So what then? Maybe he even referred to them as bodies and corpse because he believed they were all already dead. Even after they were liberated Wiesel refers to himself as a corpse which leads me to believe he still believed he should have died in the camps.
Venesa Porter
Oct 27, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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Alexa I like your premise “What would happen if someone struggling with mental disorders dealt with his problems head-on?”. I did not expect this book to have a premise such as this. The title Supermarket does not give much insight into what the story is about, however when you read it and realize it is set in a supermarket it makes more sense. I also think that your controlling idea is spot on, in the end of the book when Frank dies Flynn says that he is standing in the supermarket. However the only difference between the end of the book and the beginning is now Flynn was standing in the supermarket with his “sanity”. Therefore facing your demons does bring sanity. All the signs of Flynn being insane really stuck out to me as well. Once I noticed one sign it was hard not to notice the rest. For example anytime Flynn talks to Frank and someone else shows up Frank always just disappears.
Venesa Porter
Nov 4, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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She doesn’t refer to Callum by his name until later in the book. Is it because she really doesn’t have any emotion or because she chooses not to? I really like the quote that you chose in the beginning. It says a lot about not only how humans see reboots but also how Wren sees herself. Also it does a good job on setting the pace for your blog post. I know in your post you say that she “has to face reality with nothing to protect her” but doesn’t she have Callum to protect her? She is stronger physically, but he has access to his emotions. Wren is still learning about her new found feelings and we can see that throughout the book Callum expressing his feelings towards her centers her own feelings.
Venesa Porter
Nov 6, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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Alexa you had great textual evidence in your blog and you placed your evidence nicely in your blog post. I also like the fact that you put in your blog the way Wren thinks Callum sees her. There are many parts of the book where Callum questions why Wren kills people, and every time Wren tells him it was her assignment. She never felt anything for the people she killed until she met Callum, one example is in the book when Wren and Callum escape and a group of guards catch up to them and Wren kills them. After she kills them she actually thinks about it, she would have never thought about it before. Wren also always looks to Callum to see if he looks away or thinks of her as a monster the way she thinks of herself.
Nov 6, 2020·reading37home.wordpress.com
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Something that stuck out to me in the book is that everyone seems to believe that the reboots are all emotionless. However we see that a lot of them express emotion even Wren. Humans run from the reboots and look away in fear, they believe that they are monsters, even parents of the reboots do not want to see their rebooted kids. There are many examples in the book of reboots having emotion such as: reboots dating, Wren falling for Callum, Ever caring for Wren, and Wren caring for Ever, Ever crying, etc. So clearly they do have emotions, so why does everyone including the reboots believe they are soulless monsters that would go around killing people. Go around killing people if HARCC does not control them. Then again we see that Addy’s father wants to see her and keep her protected, and he is a guard for HARCC. Does he know something HARCC is trying to keep secret?
Venesa’s Blog (mine)
“Whatever Walked There, Walked Alone”
The Haunting Of Hill House written by Shirley Jackson was published in 1959. This story begins with Dr. John Montague sending out 12 letters with an invitation to spend the summer at a known haunted house by the name of Hill House. However, only two women showed up, Eleanor, and Theodora. Along with Luke, a member of the family that owns Hill House, and Dr. Montague, the four of them would be together throughout the summer. The idea was to study “the causes and effects of psychic disturbances in a house commonly known as ‘haunted’” (Jackson, 1).
On the first page of this book, I already have a burning sensation of knowing the answers to the questions it presents. Is the house really haunted? What “walks there alone”? Will the doctor finish his experiment? Will these questions even be answered? As I read more and more of this book I wasn’t sure if my questions would be answered. Or if they were to be answered would they be answered in the way I wanted/expected them to be? So I will be reading this book to not only answer my questions but make sense of the things presented in this book that are by all definitions of the word unsensible.
According to Mckee, a premise is an open-ended question. So what is the open-ended question that presents itself in this book? I would say that the premise is: What if a group of people who have experienced paranormal events moved into a haunted house to investigate it? Both Eleanor and Theodora have experienced something that cannot scientifically be explained, which is why Dr. Montague had chosen them to reside at Hill House with him in the first place. Eleanor had faced a haunting experience “when she was twelve years old and her sister was eighteen, and her father had been dead for not quite a month, showers of stones had fallen on their house, without any warning or indication of purpose or reason, dropping from the ceilings, rolling loudly down the walls, breaking windows and pattering maddeningly on the roof” (Jackson, 4). While Theodora “perhaps the wakened knowledge in Theodora which told her the names of symbols on cards held out of sight urged her on her way toward Hill House ” (Jackson, 5). After making the journey to Hill House both women found an instant connection in each other standing in the dark and dreary “haunted” house.
“The house was vile. She shivered and thought, the words coming freely into her mind, Hill House is vile, it is diseased; get away from here at once” (Jackson, 23). This was Eleanor’s first thought however once Theodora gets there her mind is almost instantly changed: “Thank heaven you’re here,” (Jackson, 30). This scene leads me to find a controlling and counter idea. The controlling idea being: Companionship can help get you through tough situations. And the counter Idea being: Being alone can lead to fear and helplessness. While at Hill House Dr. Montague sets some guidelines to follow for everyone’s well being, among these guidelines he sets one rule above others: Do not send anyone anywhere alone and do not travel throughout the house alone. This rule becomes crucial after the first actual sign of the house being haunted.
“‘When Luke and I are called outside, and you two are kept imprisoned inside, doesn’t it begin to seem’ –and his voice was very quiet–‘doesn’t it begin to seem that the intention is, somehow, to separate us?’” (Jackson, 99). After this night the group wakes up the next morning with excitement in their eyes, and surprisingly acting okay despite the circumstances the night before. However, this rule becomes crucial again when the doctor realizes he broke his own rule by sending Luke to ask for coffee.
“My notes” the doctor began, and then stopped as the door opened so suddenly that in Eleanor’s mind was only the thought that Luke had not dared face Mrs. Dudley after all, but had stood, waiting, pressed against the door; then, looking at his white face and hearing the doctor say with fury, “I broke my own first rule; I sent him alone,” she found herself only asking urgently, “Luke? Luke?” (Jackson, 106).
Although I have not finished the book yet I can only imagine that how the book will wrap up is all depending on this scene:
“Can you read it?” Luke asked softly, and the doctor, moving his flashlight, read slowly: HELP ELEANOR COME HOME.” (Jackson, 107). When Luke comes back from asking for coffee he notices that there is something on the wall written in chalk. Eleanor does not know why her name appeared on the wall asking to “Help Eleanor come home” but we can only assume that Eleanor is tied to Hill House deeper than even the doctor knew.
Comments:
Alexa: Venesa, I really like your controlling and counter ideas. Companionship can help you get through tough situations vs. being alone can lead to fear and helplessness. As we know, Eleanor lacks companionship. Her father died, her mother died, and her sister is kinda crazy. Eleanor doesn’t have a true friend or companion, that is until she comes to Hill House. Hill House has become her companion. Despite the hauntings and terrors she experiences at night, Eleanor still wakes up each morning being happy to be there. She thinks she deserves to be there, she finally earned that joy that she deserved. Hill House is the companionship Eleanor has been longing for. Now that she has it, she cannot live without it. On page 91, Dr. Montague asks Eleanor to promise that she will not get caught up in Hill House. “I think we are all incredibly silly to stay. I think that an atmosphere like this one can find out the flaws and faults and weaknesses in all of us, and break us apart in a matter of days. We have only one defense, and that is running away. At least it can’t follow us, can it? When we feel ourselves endangered we can leave, just as we came. And,” he added dryly, “just as fast as we can go. […] Promise me absolutely that you will leave, as fast as you can, if you begin to feel the house catching at you.” “I promise,” Eleanor said, smiling” (Jackson, 91).
Rachel: I think the choice of the word “insensible” is a perfect description of the effect of Hill House. The book left me with many unanswered questions. Shirley Jackson never fully explains the phenomenon the characters experience throughout the book; I believe this is a blessing and a curse. Although I was left with many unanswered questions, the unsettling Hill House never lost its shroud of mystery. Hill House defies understanding and it makes one question sanity. Your discussion of the idea of companion made me look back at every phenomenon that happens in Hill House. If my memory serves correct, all the “hauntings” only occur when the group is divided. Whether Theo and Nell are separated from the doctor and Luke or when the friends are separated from Mrs. Montague and Arther. The house only ever strikes when they are divided. Will their friendship be enough to protect them from the house?
Alexa’s Blog
What Is Your Cup of Stars?
Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is a horror/psychological thriller. Most horror novels feature some type of supernatural element that creates realistic fears for the reader. When I think of a scary novel, I think of mystery, suspense, fear, surprise, and death. All five of these elements are apparent in The Haunting of Hill House. Along with these elements that create an ominous feeling within the reader, Jackson includes a ton of symbolism and repetition to add to the feeling, atmosphere, tone of the novel.
Don’t do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don’t do it; and the little girl glanced at her and smiled a little subtle, dimpling, wholly comprehending smile, and shook her head stubbornly at the glass. Brave girl, Eleanor thought; wise, brave girl. (Jackson, 15)
There is a ton of symbolism in this passage. While eating at a diner, Eleanor watches a family as the little girl is insisting on her cup of stars. The father is annoyed and says how the mother is spoiling the little girl. The waitress is surprised that the milk she gave the little girl is not good enough for her. But Eleanor sees that is much more than just a cup of stars. The cup of stars represents so much more. Kaja Silverman writes about Roland Barthes’ five different codes: semic, hermeneutic, proairetic, symbolic, and cultural. Codes allow the text to transform from a “readerly” text into a “writerly” one. A readerly text “purports to be a transcript of a reality which pre-exists and exceeds” itself. Furthermore, the readerly text “tightly controls the play of signification by subordinating everything to this transcendental meaning” (Silverman, 242). However, the writerly text emerges at the site of the readerly text as if from an archeological dig,” wherein the reader reveals “the terms of its own construction,” terms which are rife with contradiction and filled with irreducible differences (Silverman, 246). For this blog, I would like to focus on both the symbolic and cultural codes.
Silverman writes that the symbolic code inscribes into literary and cinematic tests antithesis which are central to the organization of the cultural order in which they belong (Silverman, 270). I feel like The Haunting of Hill House was made for this blog. There is a ton of symbolism within the text. The first sign of symbolism I noticed within the novel was the cup of stars. “Eleanor looked up, surprised; the little girl was sliding back in her chair, sullenly refusing her milk, while her father frowned and her brother giggled and her mother said calmly, “She wants her cup of stars” (Jackson, 14). Eleanor agrees she too wants a cup of stars. This cup of stars represents more than just a tiny cup that you see stars at the bottom of once you finish your drink. The cup of stars appears in the story more than just this once. What is Eleanor’s cup of stars? What is Eleanor’s reason for fighting the urge to be like everyone else? Maybe it is her chance to finally be free from a burden such as her ill mother or crazy sister. Her desire to be free, doing something for herself is her cup of stars. An opposition apparent in this symbolic code is freedom vs. constraint. This opposition of freedom vs. constraint helps reinforce the controlling value. Living a life of constraint will lead to being unfulfilled and being left unsatisfied vs. living a life of freedom will lead to a life of fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction. Another opposing value is giving up vs. holding on. If you give up something that you love and care so deeply about because others want you to, you are giving in to other’s urges to be like them or conform to their idea of you. But if you hold onto something that means so much to you, you can resist the urge to be like everyone else and be happy with what means so much to you.
The face of Hill House seemed awake, with a watchfulness from the blank windows and touch of glee in the eyebrow of a cornic. Almost any house, caught unexpectedly or at an odd angle, can turn a deeply humorous look on a watching person; even a mischievous little chimney, or a dormer like a dimple, can catch a beholder with a sense of fellowship; but a house arrogant and hating, never off guard, can only be evil. (Jackson, 24)
Another huge symbol in The Haunting of Hill House. On the very first page, Hill House is described as “not sane.” I’ve never heard a house be described in such a manner, have you? Hill House has very humanistic characteristics. We could even claim that the house is alive. Hill House is alive and it is aware of its occupants. Within Hill House are lifeless elements haunting its occupants, especially Eleanor. There are several occurrences where the hauntings are directed towards Eleanor, for example, on page 107, when the words “Help Eleanor Come Home” is written on the wall. The same message is written in blood in Theodora’s room. Or starting on page 141, another example when Mrs. Montague and Arthur are reading the notes from the planchette and the spirit is saying that Nell, Eleanor, is lost without a home or a mother. Eleanor is always hearing her mother’s voice calling for her. In both blog 1 by Venesa, and blog 2 by Rachel, there are mentions of the idea of companionship. They talk about companionship helping you get through tough situations while the lack of companionship, or being alone, can lead to fear and helplessness. We can combine this idea of companionship, or lack thereof and the opposing values of living for yourself vs. living for others, which can help reinforce another controlling value. Living without companionship will lead to a life of loneliness, fear, helplessness, and lifeless vs. living with companionship will lead to a life of happiness and a feeling of contentment. The opposing controlling value is living without companionship can help you to find yourself and understand your own worth vs. living with companionship does not always leave you feeling content and happy if the companion is negatively affecting your way of life.
Cultural codes “speak the familiar ‘truths’ of the existing cultural order, repeat what has ‘always been already read, seen, done, experienced’” (Silverman, 242). The symbolic codes, freedom vs. constraint, living for yourself vs. living for others, and submission vs. resistance are all codes we are aware of and familiar with. These symbolic codes can help reinforce our cultural codes. The codes that are controlling Eleanor. As the book progresses, Eleanor slowly loses her cup of stars. She loses her freedom, her living for herself, and attempts to resist.
Comments:
Rachel: Great post Alexa! You introduced the language of “writerly” texts and the code very well. I often forget how important reading is for writing. This method of close reading is a great reminder. I especially like the opposing values that you posed through the symbolic code. Your proposed values tie very well with the other blog posts. I agree that The Haunting of Hill House is the perfect book to search for codes. I found so many that I had a hard time deciding on which to focus for my blog. You mentioned times when the codes reinforced cultural codes. Were there times in the book that went against cultural codes? Throughout the book, I noticed the characters mention wishing Hill House would burn down. I fully expected Hill House to burn down at the end of the story. I expected good to defeat evil. I expected the happy-go-lucky gang of misfits to survive and defeat the haunted house. However, the narrative ended on a negative charge. In the end, the protagonist kills herself while under the influence of the house. Hill House wins; evil wins. This goes against my expectation that goodness will prevail and thus defies cultural codes and the codes of most horror novels.
Rachel’s Blog
Hill House Belongs To Me
The author’s biography in the front of the book describes Shirley Jackson’s writing style as “…characterized by her use of realistic settings for tales that often involve elements of horror and the occult”. I am familiar with the horror/ ghost story genre after watching scary movies practically every weekend with my three sisters. From my experience, horror movies are always less scary when my sisters are with me. The Haunting of Hill House follows familiar patterns from the horror and mystery genres. The story starts with strangers receiving letters to meet at a house and investigate whether it is supposedly haunted. The letters being sent to strangers with no previous acquaintance reminded me of the Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None or the plot of Clue. The warnings from the nearby town to stay away and the investigation of strange phenomena permeating from a house reminded me of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Lurking Fear”. However, Jackson is not one to follow any genre to a “T”. Instead of the one-dimensional paranormal investigator, Dr. Montague, being the main protagonist as might be expected, the majority of the story is told from a third-person omniscient perspective focusing on the character Eleanor Vance. Eleanor at first appearance is a lonely mousy young woman, but as the story progresses Eleanor’s thoughts are quite complex, imaginative, and sometimes “not sane”. Eleanor’s unique perspective takes this story from just another ghost story to a psychological ghost story.
To begin, the story may be a haunted house story, but it lacks the “pop-out scares” of many other works from the genre. Jackson makes her readers shiver through tiny and perpetually unnerving descriptions of the Hill House.
Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more.
(Jackson 1)
There is so much to unpack in this characterization. I use the word characterization because Hill House is a character; it is not sane, it permeates darkness, and it just might outlive us all.
… the face of Hill House seemed awake, with a watchfulness from the blank windows and touch of glee in the eyebrow of a cornice.
(Jackson 24)
The descriptions of Hill House are endlessly unsettling. Eleanor’s first reaction to the house was that it was “vile” and “deceased” ; these are rather strange descriptions for a house (Jackson 23). Theodora repeatedly calls the house “filthy”, which is surprising given the fact that the house has been kept impeccably clean aside from a little dust and a stuffy atmosphere. The doctor calls the house “evil’ (Jackson 60). The descriptions “alive”, “dark”, “filthy” and “evil” are just a few of the repeated phrases used regarding Hill house. Chapter six of Kaja Silverman’s book The Subject of Semiotics, discussed five codes used in narrative. The repetition of words, phrases or ideas to represent something larger than itself is an example of the semic code. The semic code is my favorite to look for because it requires me to read every work the author writes and compare similar word choices throughout the book. To me, the description of Hill House reminds me of a leper, it is a living being that is infected by a sickness. If you dare to approach Hill House, be prepared to suffer the consequences. What makes the novel so unsettling, is the direct juxtaposition of the dark foreboding house and the lively companionship of the occupants. Four strangers brought together to investigate the house become a family of sorts. Dr. John Montague is a supernatural investigator looking for prestige. Theodora is a beautiful charismatic young woman with some telepathic abilities. Luke Sanderson is a certified rake who will likely inherit Hill House. Eleanor is a mousy woman who has spent her youth nursing a controlling mother and is now seeking an adventure and a place to call home. These four complete strangers take an instant liking to one another and immediately find ways to spend cozy evenings together despite their stranger circumstances.
My groupmate Venesa proposed the controlling idea of The Haunting Hill House as “Companionship can help get you through tough situations and the counter idea as “Being alone can lead to fear and helplessness”. Eleanor’s companionship did not save her in the end. Her friends abandoned her in her most vulnerable moments. They knew she was being affected by the house, but they kept her there for their own selfish reasons. The doctor wanted to finish his research. Theodora wanted a plaything to adore her and to abuse when the mood hit. When they finally decided to send her away, they pushed her out into the world without any support. In the network of controlling values, a possible opposing value, “Companionship leads to quarreling and peer-pressure” and “Being alone leads to the fulfillment of one’s dreams”.
Since I often watch scary movies with my sisters, it is not surprising that I picked up on a repetition of relationships between sisters throughout the novel. I originally thought that it was insignificant, but I chose to explore it anyway. The audience is introduced to Eleanor’s older sister, Carrie, during a quarrel between the sisters about the use of their car. Eleanor claims that she deserves the right to use the car she helped pay for on her trip to Hill House, but Carrie selfishly cares more about keeping the car than her younger sister’s well being. One of the first things said about Eleanor was that “The only other person she genuinely hated, now that her mother was dead, was her sister” (Jackson 3). This is not the only sisterly confrontation in the book. While learning the history of Hill House, it was revealed that the original owner of the house had two daughters. The daughters battled over the custody of Hill House after their father’s death. The spinster eldest sister left the house to the young woman who acted as her companion, rather than bequeath it to her sister. The younger sister endlessly harassed the companion until the young woman killed herself. My group leader recommended that I look for instances in the book that made me think of sisters without the author overtly saying it. Eleanor and Theodora become fast friends within their first few days at Hill House. Their fond sisterly relationship is not an exception to the precedent set by the other sister pair in the book. Their quarrel starts after Hill House starts singling Eleanor out. All Eleanor wants is to belong to a family and belong to a home. The house takes advantage of Eleanor’s weakness by separating her from the crowd and making her feel like she belongs only to Hill House. Dr. Montegue worries that Eleanor’s longing for acceptance will cause her to “welcome the perils of Hill House with a kind of sisterly embrace” (103). On page 107, the phrase “HELP ELEANOR COME HOME” appeared in chalk on the wall. Immediately, Eleanor is disturbed that she is being targeted by the house. Theodora suddenly accuses Eleanor of writing it herself for attention. Eleanor becomes incensed and snaps out of her stupor. The group believes that Theodora was just trying to distract Eleanor from being afraid. However, Eleanor doesn’t believe that to be the true motivation, and their relationship never fully recovers. Theo and Nell, like true sisters, constantly alternate between love and hate. They confide in each other in one minute and spit bitter words to each other in the next minute. As the book says, “Fear and guilt are sisters…” (127). Nell and Theo are jealous of each other and have an underlying battle for the group’s attention and Luke’s attention. The sisterly references throughout the book were full of jealousy, spite, malice, and fighting over possession. Nell’s relationship with Theo is one of the closest she had in her life, but even it was fraught with strive. Even Hill House and Eleanor wage a battle of sorts over possession of Eleanor herself. Eleanor wants to belong to people and a home, but relationships are complicated. Giving yourself to another comes at a cost. Jackson references the French Folk story Bluebeard, while Elenor is exploring Hill House on page 27. In the story for Bluebeard, a young woman marries a wealthy man who has killed seven of his previous wifes and locked their bodies in a basement room. The woman’s curiosity gets the best of her and she looks in the room. Bluebeard is furious and it takes the woman’s sister, Anne, and their brother to save her from the wrath of her husband. Within The Haunting of Hill House there is an example of filial love that saved the day and brought about happiness. There is the idea that once you find your forever home and your tribe of people, your life will be great. Eleanor found a group of people to appreciate her, but even they weren’t able to save her.
In the last act’s climax, Nelly seems to be under the influence of the house and the group urges her to leave. Nelly does not want to leave her friends, the house that calls to her, and the person she has blossomed into under its roof. Her friends are sending her away for her own safety and want her to distance herself from the house and forget the whole experience. Nelly believes that they want her to leave so that can continue to have fun without her.
They can’t turn me out or shut me out or laugh at me or hide from me; I won’t go, and Hill House belongs to me.
(Jackson 181)
In a desperate attempt to avoid the depressing life she would be returning to and to bind herself forever to the house, she put the pedal to the metal and aimed her car towards a tree in the driveway.
In the unending, crashing seconds before the car hurled into the tree she thought clearly, Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Why don’t they stop me?
(Jackson 182)
These last thoughts of clarity before her demise make the whole situation sadder. She didn’t die believing she belonged; she died believing her only friends let her down.
Comments:
Alexa: Rachel, I like how you described Eleanor’s thoughts as “not sane.” Just as you described her thoughts as not sane, Hill House is described as not sane on the very first page. There is no doubt that there is a connection between Eleanor and Hill House. Although she found companions such as Theodora and Luke, I feel like her real companion was Hill House. When she was forced to leave Hill House, she decided she could no longer live, no longer go on. Hill House had totally caught her and consumed her. As you mentioned, Eleanor says that Hill House belongs to her. Who would Eleanor be without it?
Jay’s Blog
Finishing The Haunting of Hill House will leave one with many questions, but perhaps one of the most pressing is that of how much of the story we as readers actually got to see. The story begins before we get our limited perspective – the history of the house, the deaths, the turmoil – and ends beyond what we’re allowed to see. We only get a brief, foggy window into the goings-on at the old Hill House, and much like watching the countryside move past through a rainy windshield, there’s much that readers don’t get to see.
While many books give the readers a sort of ‘bird’s eye view’ perspective, in which we are given as much information as we need to understand the story as it unfolds, Hill House gives us no such luxury. Much like amateur paranormal investigators in an old, crooked house, we as readers are helpless against whatever forces are exerted against the story, and by the end of the experience no one can be sure what was real and what wasn’t. The narration holds us hostage and drip feeds information and answers, yet there are simply more questions and mysteries than can be solved. The audience is submissive to the text, brought along for the ride regardless of where it may go.
Yet, who is behind this narration? The narrator’s limited perspective would imply that it would be one of the characters, as they would not have the meta knowledge of an omniscient voice. All signs seem to point to our narrator being Eleanor, as we spend much of the novel inside of her head – yet there are some times where we briefly step into the shoes of other characters as well. The conclusion I have come to is that it is a narrator with omniscience, yet it is one that chooses not to share all of its observations. The narrative knows exactly what’s going on, whether the ghosts are ‘real’ and what influence is corrupting Eleanor, it knows all of the secrets that we are not privy to, and yet the truth is kept from us.
Some say this novel relies on terror, not horror, and this is quite true. Human beings are creatures that have undeniable curiosity and a need to know things. The monsters we don’t see will always be scarier to us than the ones that we can, as our imaginations run themselves into the ground when we don’t have the answers we crave. The fact that the narrative withholds information from us is by design, not incidental or a simple result of stylistic differences. If we knew exactly the nature of the house, the fear would lessen considerably. Even though we naturally crave answers to what happened here, the story cannot give them to us without destroying itself and the tension it built.
Ghosts? Demons? Eleanor’s own latent powers gone awry? Perhaps even a Salem-esque mass hysteria brought on by contaminated food or water? Even the most suitable answer would feel like an anticlimax, because people will naturally be less afraid of things they can understand. The story would lose its power to unease the readers by explaining itself too thoroughly, as much of its power comes from not allowing the audience to keep its balance. Like a funhouse with a floor that shifts, it would be helpful, yet antithetical, to give someone handrails to hold onto.
When one loses their balance, instinct kicks in and they will reach out to try and steady themselves. Much in the same manner, readers of open-ended and enigmatic fiction such as this will create their own answers. Once again, this is by design. A narrative that ties up every loose end has no need for readers to continue to think on it, and will not remain in the mind for nearly as long. Yet, stories that raise unanswered questions, leave room for theorizing and debate, those stories cling to the inside of a reader’s head like a leech. Is that not the goal of most authors? To leave an impact on the reader, remaining immortal inside of the heads of others?
When I read, I read for the experience. I read to live through the characters, to walk paths I’ll never be able to in my real life. It’s enriching and entertaining, and serves to stimulate one’s imagination with something far removed from reality. As a sort of escapism is part of what I read for, it may come as a surprise to know that I do quite enjoy horror. To read something for the escape, for the experience, it doesn’t necessarily mean wish-fulfillment; it is just a satisfaction of the innate human hunger for new things one hasn’t seen before. I have no personal desire to be haunted by unknown entities in an old house, yet sharing in those encounters through a novel is an entirely different story indeed.
Another factor is the fascination. As much as I do enjoy stories that are easily digestible and cohesive, I do just as much love a story that leaves me with questions. I naturally love to theorize and discuss the media in which I consume, for as a writer by nature I like to build off of what others create. If a narrative comes to me full of holes and open ends, I take fresh clay and fill those gaps in – this does not mean the original narrative was flawed or lacking, not at all, for the process of my own alteration is part of my enjoyment. I like seeing a story that isn’t fully contained in a bubble and still has room to grow, even if it will never have an official continuation. It makes for an enjoyable discussion to ask others who have had the same experience whether they believe the hauntings at the old Hill House were real or not.
Notes:
- What is the point of view?
- Who is the narrator addressing?
Jay’s notes:
-Significance of Eleanor meeting the same fate as the previous owner
-Unreliable narrator – are we as readers seeing what’s actually happening, or just what Eleanor thinks is happening (perception vs reality)
-Person vs Self, how much of Eleanor’s struggles are self-inflicted (+ symbolism of her being her own undoing in the end)
Venesa: In Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting Of Hill House a word that is brought into question a lot is their sanity as a group. “No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.” (Jackson, 1) One person in particular is Eleanor, whenever there is a haunting we can always see that Eleanor is questioning whether or not it is in her head.
John:
Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House paints the picture of a woman who longs to be accepted, and, in the end, fails to achieve that acceptance. For most of the novel, I submitted to Eleanor’s pain and feelings of foolishness. Put simply, I felt really bad for her. By the second half of the novel, she is nearly constantly made to feel like “A fool, a ludicrous fool,” whether it be by Theodora’s biting comments, or her own intense fears, or Doctor Monatague’s dismissive rationality. I was submissive to Eleanor’s narrative (Jackson 127). Why was everyone being so horrible to her, “I thought, and stopped in wonder at the thought,” why was everyone being so horrible to her (Jackson 171)? But it was on page 137 that I had my first genuine moment of resistance to Eleanor’s narrative of victimhood. Theodora makes a cruel reference to Eleanor and Luke’s private conversation, one that we can only assume Luke shared with Theo for a good laugh, and then it hit me. This is all too much. It’s as if every action in the novel is part of some conspiracy to make Eleanor feel alone and foolish. It’s as if, maybe, we are viewing the narrative through Eleanor’s interpretation of the events, and not the actual events as they took place. As Peter Rabinowitz might say in his article “Truth in Fiction: A Reexamination of Audiences”, this is where I may be stepping out of the ideal narrative audience, the audience that submits to the narrator without question, and closer to the authorial audience, the audience that understands the relationship between the narrator and all possible audiences.
Rachel:
In the first chapter of the book, the audience is introduced to Dr. John Montague, who has a PhD in Anthropology with a passion for investigating supernatural manifestations. He is looking for participants to help investigate a haunted house. He laments that paranormal investigation isn’t as easy as it was in the time of Victorian ghost-watching parties because “…skeptics, believers, and good croquet players are harder to come by today…”(Jackson 2). Dr. Montague decides to invite people by letter who have experienced paranormal activities and would be open to investigating Hill House. Dr. Montague was looking for a certain audience for his ghost hunt, much like narrators have certain audiences in-mind for their book.. Dr. Montague’s invitations contain “…a certain ambiguous dignity calculated to catch at the imagination of a very special sort of reader” (Jackson 2). Not only does this line address Montague’s letters but also the way the narrator addresses the audiences. The book is written with just enough calculated ambiguity to keep the audience interested and their imaginations running wild. The doctor’s ideal participant already has experience with paranormal phenomena. What is the narrator’s ideal participant? A skeptic? A believer? A good croquet player? If skeptics and believers are hard to come by, what is everyone else?
Alexa:
- How does one begin to resist a role that you have already submitted to?
- Audience: actual, authorial, narrative, ideal narrative
- Submissive reader —> resistant reader
- “It is my second morning in Hill House, and I am unbelievably happy. Journeys end in lovers meeting; I have spent an all but sleepless night, I have told lies and made a fool of myself, and the very air tastes like wine. I have been frightened half out of my foolish wits, but I have somehow earned this joy; I have been waiting for it for so long. Abandoning a lifelong belief that to name happiness is to dissipate it, she smiled at herself in the mirror and told herself silently, You are happy, Eleanor, you have finally been given part of your own measure of happiness. Looking away from her own face in the mirror, she thought blindly, Journeys end in lovers meeting, lover meeting” (Jackson, 100).
- As a submissive reader, I felt really bad for Eleanor. We are aware of Eleanor’s past. Her father died, she took care of her ill mother, she has experienced weird things such as rocks falling on her house, and her sister is crazy. Eleanor has never been her own person, she’s never been free. This is what it took to make Eleanor happy and to make her feel a sense of freedom. She said she earned this “joy.” The night before her and Theodora were being haunted but she still felt a sense of joy and happiness.
Color Meaning Sources:
Bourn, Jennifer. “Color Meaning: Meaning of The Color Blue.” Bourn Creative, 15 01 2011.
Bourn, Jennifer. “Color Meaning: Meaning of The Color Green.” Bourn Creative, 25 01 2011.
Bourn, Jennifer. “Color Meaning: Meaning of The Color Pink.” Bourn Creative, 15 11 2010.
Bourn, Jennifer. “Color Meaning: Meaning of The Color Yellow.” Bourn Creative, 05 02 2011.
Read the Room 