Dead Until Dark

Since I am a fan of the True Blood show I was excited when I found out it was a series of novels. For entertainment purposes I enjoyed Dead Until Dark, however the main character Sookie Stackhouse has some anti-feminist characteristics. Right away I saw parallels between Sookie and Bella from Twilight obliviously because they both are in a romantic relationship with a vampire. Also the side character Sam ,who is a shape shifter, parallels Jacob the werewolf from Twilight. On the other hand Sookie is much more powerful because she can read minds. Also her personality is stronger than Bella’s, for example Sookie saves Bill from the Rattay’s when they are in the parking lot. The author Charlaine Harris plays into the male gaze when she describes the outfit of Sookie when she was at Fantasia. The character Bill has a lot of similarities to Edward in the Twilight series. They are both much older than there significant others. The relationship between Bill and Sookie is unhealthy because of how controlling Bill is towards Sookie. Throughout the novel Bill is calling “mine” like she is a piece of property. Even though Sookie is slightly irritated by the fact Bill wanted her to dress more formal she sometimes abides by his wishes. This is controlling because Bill is trying to dictate what clothes Sookie can wear out. Also Mr. Compton is always putting Sookie into dangerous situations like when Sookie came over for a date and two vampires were waiting at the house. Sookie warns Bill about the infected human and she heroically saves his life for the second time. Although Sookie has a quick tongue towards the vampire she admits that she had to steal her lines from her brother Jason Stackhouse.
For the most part the book and the HBO series are lined very well besides the fact Terra is missing from the book and Bubba is not in the T.V. show. Like most True Blood fans I was extremely disappointed Terra is not in the book because the dialogue between Bill and Sookie gets dry in parts of the book and Terra provides great entertainment. She strong female character always adamant about telling Sookie she is making a mistake with Bill Compton. Not only is Terra witty she is a good addition to the story because often in the novel you are wondering why on earth is Sookie is putting herself in harm’s way for the vampire she just meet. Another difference is that the show downplays the fact Rene is a grimy individual and as a viewer you are surprised when he ends up being the killer. While reading the book Harris hints at the fact Rene is a suspect for the murders. Rene is posted in front of Dawn’s house when Sookie got to the house. Also in the beginning Rene is buying weed of the Rattay’s which playing into the fact he is a eventually killer. Another example is that in the book Harris’s reveals Rene’s Cajun accent is fake and in the HBO series they drag you along not knowing it is a bullshit accent. There are other slight differences such as Jason’s car in the book he has a black lifted truck with pink swirls on it in the show it is just a plain red truck. I think the character of Jason Stackhouse is a good example of a female gaze. For example his sister always commenting on how he is so attractive, multiple female characters chasing him down, he is a gentlemen, and the star quarterback of the football.

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter

I enjoyed reading Anita Blake’s Vampire Hunter and would recommended anyone that is a fan of vampire literature to check out the comic book. Originally the story was the novel and later converted into the comic book form. This allows the author to broaden the audience to comic book fans that would not normally read the novel. However, converting the text of a novel to a comic book can be problematic. One reason is the in order to fit the text into the comic book the speech bubbles of characters tend to be very long. Since this is one of the first comic books I have read I sometimes had trouble reading without getting lost in the pictures. This confusion may not occur if you are familiar with the style of comic books. Another reason the conversion from novel to comic book could be problematic because the artist doesn’t correlates the text and pictures very well. Often the text describes Anita as an extremely tough and strong individual, on the other hand the artist illustrates Anita as sad and sober in the same picture. An example of this is when she is telling Theresa to get out of her way and in the picture she has he arms crossed and looks like she is going to cry. The artist depiction doesn’t fit the scene and should have been altered. One criticism of the comic book is that the text and illustration don’t always lineup correctly. However, the artist does come up with some really amazing drawings such as the guy’s arm attempting to grab Anita in the first few pages of volume one. This shows the speed and agility of Anita Blake’s character. Also I noticed that the artwork displayed in the story is aimed at the male gaze. The body of Anita Blake is drawn by the artist as the stereotypical attractive female. Certain characteristics of Anita Blake are exaggerated in order to enhance the stories male gaze factor such as her large breasts and skinny waist. Another example of the male gaze in this book is shower scene in volume two. During this scene the whole page is just Anita Blake taking a shower. This seems unnecessary and doesn’t pertain to the story at all and most likely is there to increase the stories male gaze. I also noticed during volume one that Anita Blake is sometimes were a penguin shirt. She wears several different penguin shirts throughout the book. Without reading the actually novel the reader may be confused by the reoccurring theme, however in the book it describes how she is in love with penguins. I thought it may represent how she is cold blooded because she is a vampire hunter. This is another example of how some of the storyline from the novel is not converted well into the comic book series.

Fledgling

I really enjoyed reading the book Fledgling by Octavia Butler and would recommend anyone interested in vampire literature to check it out. The book breaks the stereotypical plot the most vampire stories follow were a human female is in a romantic relationship with a male vampire. In Fledgling Butler’s main character has the looks of an eleven year old human female, however the vampire named Shori is actually fifty years old. Throughout the book the author goes against the standard vampire plot and creates new attributes and changes other characteristics we typically see in vampire literature. An example of this is Butler describes the vampires as Ina instead of using the word vampire. Another example of this is humans don’t turn into vampires, however they are infected by the Ina’s venom and without constant access to their saliva they will die or die searching for the Ina that infected them. Normally in this genre the strength of the vampire is determined by its age, however in the Fledgling Butler changes this by explaining how women are more powerful than men. During the book several characters tell Shori how scary she is especially for her size. Most vampire literature doesn’t portray women to be powerful, however in Fledgling women are inherently stronger than men and show tremendous amount leadership. For example, Shori is a great leader taking several people under her wing to protect them even when she lacks memory or knowledge from the past because of her accident. Typically a vampire is described as being pale, however in this book the Shori is a African American because her mother felt it would be an advantage to be able to stay in the sun for a longer period of time.

In Fledgling the plot development is great. The way she describes the venom in such detail is fascinating. I like the way they the author explains the logic behind being infected instead of turning into a vampire because it makes a lot more sense. Throughout the novel you are at the edge of your seat because you are curious who has attacked the Ina communities. Also I enjoyed the book because of all the violent action with Shori, Celia, Brooke, and Wright. During the book sex is a main theme. At first the reader is appalled at the relationship between Shori and Wright because you think she is eleven. Later you find out the she is actually fifty, however I still found is somewhat disturbing when they describe the sex scenes, especially when she described Shori constantly hopping onto Wright’s lap so they can make love. Also the author describes an complex sexual relationships between the Ina family. The Ina have a mate normally three siblings of the opposite sex and they also are in a relationship with many symbionts (humans that have been bitten). The idea of this multiple partner relationships may stem from the fact the author is a Mormon. Also the author explains that Shori’s brother are sexually territorially of her and that they are attracted to her sexually. This is disturbing, however it explains why the men and women families are separated between two communities to avoid incest. I really like this book because of its entertainment factor and that it goes against sexist ideals.

Twilight

In the book Twilight, the main character Bella Swan is displayed to be a self-conscious teenage girl that moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington. During the move the author briefly describes Bella, however main major features of the character are left out of the description. By leaving Bella as opened ended character it allows any reader from all walks of life to relate to her situation. Bella is described to be a very clumsy to the point was it is unbelievable. For example when she is in gym class Bella describes falling all over people several different times during a basketball game. Honestly in real life I don’t really see this happening. Also when she is hiking in the woods with friends she states how she feel over multiple times. Throughout the book the author displays Bella as an extremely uncoordinated person. For example, “I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry” (Meyer). The clumsy theme perpetuates the social construct that women are less athletic. Another example of this is when she drops her books as she is trying to avoid Edward after class. A theme that is constant throughout the book is that fact Bella’s self confidence is really low. She describes herself as an idiot and brainless. There are many examples were she feels beneath Edward because of her lack of intelligence. On the other hand Bella is able to trick Jacob in to telling her secret information. This shows she is not completely helpless on her own. Another example of her low self confidence is when she describes Edward as out of her league and how it was stupid for her to consider the idea of being with him. In Twilight the author Meyer uses lots of foreshadowing to hint that Edward is a vampire, an example of this when Meyer states, “No blood, No Foul” (Meyer). Edward says this line with a smile implying his thirst for blood. Also Meyer foreshadows the future when she describes Bella’s dreams and how she is chasing Edward and cannot catch him. This is foreshadowing Edward leaving Forks to protect Bella from harms way. Although most of the writing is corny there are a few sentences that stood out as really good writing. I like how the author describes the Bella’s old truck as “mind numbing”. However, the author portrays Bella as a really weak person unable to stick up for what she wants. During the book Bella is attempting to drive home herself and Edward physically forces her into the car without much verbal and physical resistance from her. This perpetuates the false stereotype the women need to be taken care of by men. Another example of this is when Edward saves the day and rescues Bella from James. I would not recommend anyone to read this book it’s writing is at third grade level, it lacks action and excitement, and also Twilight perpetuates sexist stereotypes.

Introduction

Hey everyone my name is Eric I am a senior here at Ohio University. This is my last class before graduation and I am excited that the subject is English and the theme is vampires. Lately I been watching a lot vampire shows and movies, such as True Blood and Twilight. I always think books are better than movies, so far I think that theory holds true for Twilight. I am looking forward to reading more and further discussing the books in class.