Author: kelgro23

My favorite thing that we have discussed so far in class is Victorian Traditions. It is interesting to learn where most of our traditions came from and realize how similar we are to Victorians in many ways. These traditions including; weddings, Christmas, funerals, etc. The traditions that we use today, such as a white gown at a wedding and a Christmas tree during Christmas all came from the Victorian Era. As well as black and flowers to mourn during funerals. The traditions of a funeral caught my attention the most. I wouldn’t so much say I enjoyed it the most, but after thinking about it more I realized how strange it is the way that we mourn our loved ones. I thought it was interesting that we still to this day send flowers to the deceased when back in the Victorian Era, this gesture was used to mask the smell of the dead. Which we no longer need but people still send flowers, most of which I’d assume don’t know that is where the tradition came from.

 

I didn’t think the midterm was bad. I was nervous because I didn’t know exactly what to expect but I think the outcome of it was good. As long as you paid attention and read the stories, you should have been able to answer any of the question options given. Some questions were a little more tough than others, so it was nice that we had a variety of questions to choose from, this way if you didn’t know or understand a question you had others to choose from. It was nice that we were able to reference our notes and the stories for a refresher in answering the questions. I feel the outcome of the test was good and I wouldn’t mind if the final is set up similarly.

 

It is clear that Holmes is very fascinated with Irene Adler. She is the only person to have ever been able to get one over on Holmes. He never misses the details of anything and he did when it came to Irene. The fact that she is the equal to Holmes and is a woman is what I believe to be why he is so fascinated with her. I do not think there was romance there, although it was mentioned how beautiful Irene was, I think that it is more infatuation that Holmes felt for Irene. He only met her briefly from what I obtained from the story, and there was no physical romance between the two, although it is unknown whether that it something Holmes would have like to pursue with Irene because of his fascination with her.

 

I am obsessed with the show Law & Order SVU. Like I have seen every single episode and after binge watching them all day I believe I have what it takes to be a detective! (But I really don’t, at all). From that show, I could compare Sherlock Holmes to Olivia Benson (she’s my idol!). Olivia really puts her mind and soul into solving the crimes that she is presented with. Her only life is the Special Victims Unit and she pretty much has no time for anything outside of it. No love life, no kids, much like Holmes. Throughout the show Olivia has had many failed relationships that have been shown, due to the demands of her work and her dedication. Olivia does eventually adopt a child so maybe after all, there is not someone that can be compared 100% to Sherlock Holmes. He is his own unique person, much different from any other in his line of work. I speak of these people as if they are real and not characters! You can really get drawn in by these characters and feel like the part that they play is who they are.

It was impressive after realizing all the tiny details that Holmes payed attention to in “The Red Headed League” to solve the crime. Throughout the story we were presented with the exact same information that Holmes was presented with and it is just the simple fact that he pays attention and analyzes every little detail. Most people just don’t pay attention to things as Holmes pays attention to them.

I was surprised when Holmes became physical because he seems to be more of the brainy guy than a guy who would partake in the rougher aspect of dealing with the crime. To me I think of Holmes as the brains of the operation but nothing further, so when he became physical with the robbers I was a little shocked. As for John Watson, I think he should have been more careful in putting so much trust into someone he barely knew, and he may not have found himself in such a situation.

 

I thought this photo was a good representation of Sherlock Holmes. It shows that he looks at the finer details of things in order to solve mysteries. Holmes is very peculiar in his work and looks at every little detail, a lot of which others may pass up without noticing. The way that Holmes’ mind works is much different from the average Joe. Holmes analyzes each person he comes across as well as each detail of a crime that he is presented with. He takes his time is solving crimes before revealing exactly how he did it. Holmes is a unique individual in many ways and is extremely intelligent. This photograph shows a man looking at the finer details with the expression of deep thought on his face, much of how I would expect Holmes to look while he is deep in thought.

 

The story of Schalken’s Painter is a creepy one. To imagine an arranged marriage between a young girl and a much older man is sickening, but it was not at all uncommon in the Victorian Era. The descriptions used throughout this story gave an eerie feeling throughout the reading, such as, the color of the man’s skin and the gown that Rose was wearing at the end, as well as the coffin that he woke up next to. The idea of arranged marriage and vampirism can be somewhat compared to one another. When a vampire sucks the blood of an individual, they are taking control of that person’s life, as if saying they are now in charge of them. This is also how an arranged marriage would have worked. Once Rose became his bride/wife, she was no longer her own person but rather more his property.

 

The Body Snatcher was a very creepy story. Just the thought of dead bodies being stolen to be dissected gives me the creeps. It is one thing to have a body donated for such things, but it is another to physically dig the body up and bring it in for dissection. It’s also quite disrespectful, although the person is already dead, it’s just plain wrong.

Throughout the story, Stevenson used many tactics to build suspense. From the beginning when Fettes heard the name Macfarlane it built the suspense in the readers to want to continue reading to find out just how Fettes and Macfarlane were connected. Once met face to face, their encounter also made us need to know more about what exactly happened. The different characters throughout the story and the events that took place kept Stevenson’s readers on edge.

Using the setting of a dark rainy evening always sets the mood for suspense. Nothing good comes of such a night, so you know something bad is going to occur when it is pitch black and raining.

Looking at the photo “Hastings from the Beach” I get a weary feeling from it. The people in the image look to be just staring out to the water but I don’t get the sense that they have gone swimming. They are wearing dresses, hats and cape-like tops, while the men are in pants, long sleeves and hats. This is not attire that would normally be worn to swim at the beach. Although it is in black and white, it looks to me like it may be a chillier time of year, judging by what they are wearing, and the sky looks like it may have been gloomy. I get a sense that they are there thinking and reflecting on thoughts in the company of one another rather than being there for their leisure pleasure.

 

The Victorians were into many weird things that can be known as “freak show” attractions. These shows entertained its people by showing the abnormalities in others, such as; dwarfs, giants, fat people, thin people, conjoined twins, etc.. The Victorians never viewed these individuals until money was handed over, much like today. If you want to view/attend something you must pay beforehand. Things that can be compared to this today would be drag shows. Drag queens have become very popular in todays society where people are watching drag shows on tv, attending drag shows in person. I have no personal experience with it, as well as nothing against it but I would assume people are into it because of the uniqueness and entertainment of these drag queens and the way that they express themselves.