Skip to main content

The Aquatic Uncle

This week we are attempting to distinguish between writing in genre and writing that may use elements of the genre but that is essentially literary. Discuss this question in relation to the work(s) you read for this week. Do you think this is an important or necessary distinction, or not? Is your experience of the text affected by these questions?

This short story to say the least was, disturbing. However, I do not think that disturbing, in this case, is necessarily bad. In The Aquatic Uncle by Italo Calvino, there are many boundaries and limits being pushed and bent. While this piece can likely be considered science fiction or fantasy short story, there is a certain amount of glory and risk in that it doesn't try that hard to be either of these things. It has the elements in science fiction through the biological nature of the story, and how much of it is based on a singular scientific theory. How this information is applied and reused is a completely different story. The distinction here is not necessary. There can be works that are clearly within the realm of science fiction but have many other genre elements or push the boundaries of what is expected from a science fiction piece. Just the same is true for if a piece doesn't really fit into just one genre. In my personal ideal world, these boundaries of what should and shouldn't be in specific genres would not exist. Let pieces of work (literary or otherwise) just exist as they are, to be interpreted by each individual. My experience of the text is not affected by these questions. I thought that the piece was extremely peculiar, and unlike anything, I had ever read before. Although for me, that's part of why I enjoyed reading it, it was so bizarre and weird that it made it really interesting. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bloodchild

Discuss how the text(s) you read for this week's assignment did or did not reflect the values and perspectives of majoritarian culture. This piece did not reflect the values and perspective of majoritarian culture in the ways that it was portrayed as distinctly alien, and that humans were the invaders of another planet, and that in order to survive, humans had to have relationships with alien creatures that laid eggs inside of our intestines and organs. This storyline specifically is not something that people tend to think of on an everyday basis. The young main character of the story being chosen as the one to carry the alien babies, and going back and forth on whether to go through with it or not, is ultimately somehow a little bit closer to how we think. If there is any major decision we have to make as humans, it is often dragged out and thought over the possibilities many times before finalizing anything, let alone if other people's lives are at stake. This piece does re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bloodchild

Bloodchild  by Octavia Butler What is your reaction to the text you've just read? My reaction to Bloodchild by Octavia Butler is a mixed one. It seems as though there's a boundary between the so-called alien or Tlic's perspective and the human or Terran perspective. People that had witnessed the transformation of the society from it's original state to one that lives symbiotically with the Tlic's are much more resistant to the idea of the Tlics and may even despise them. Particularly the brother in the story that had seen the pain and even death that can come as a result of them implanting into people. The implanting itself is a very disturbing image that can result in a nauseous feeling. The image that comes to mind when they describe the worms crawling inside of people as Tlic's young babies is revolting. Although it begs the question of whether it's possible to have symbiotic relationships to this extent with other species, and is this something that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interview with a Vampire

In this weeks reading, Interview with a Vampire,  something that stood out to me was the way the author depicted what was considered good versus evil. Since the majority of the book is told from Louis's perspective, through dialogue in his interview, we get to learn about his beliefs as a vampire versus the other vampires around him. For example, Louis is depicted as a generally good character at the beginning. This is shown through his squeamish and hesitant nature about killing humans and his empathy towards their lives. He also points out that he doesn't realize he is able to take animal's blood rather than a humans. This appears as a sense of morality. This morality is directly contradicted with the personality of Lestat. He is depicted as a tough vampire who doesn't feel empathy and will hunt anyone he pleases. Later in the book he turns a little girl into a vampire which leads to his "death." He later comes back to life on more than one occasion to get h...
1 comment
Read more