Sunday, April 18, 2010

Paper topic

I've been thinking about the next paper, and I think I would like to write my paper on child molesters as villains, and why authors choose them to be their antagonists. I could definitely use Heart Shaped Box, but other than that there isn't much. Andy did mention some short stories by Peter Straub that featured child molesters, I would definitely have to read those. I could also make connections to Catcher in the Rye while discussing preservation of innocence. Most of all I want to explore why child molesters are good antagonists. Because of the nature of their crimes, they continue to haunt their victims long after the crime is committed. I think they're the closest thing you can get to a real life villain.
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5 comments:

  1. DanielApril 18, 2010 at 10:52 PM

    Oh I think many would agree that child molesters are worse than real life villains. This does sound like an interesting paper idea, especially once you expand it to more works. BTW, you did originally consider doing the Bermuda Triangle topic for this paper, did you not?

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  2. Charlie NewmanApril 20, 2010 at 6:06 PM

    "The Chambered Fruit" was a short story we read that featured a child molester. The girl is murdered, so we can't see how she is affected as an adult. However, we do see the attitude of her ghost.

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  3. Andy DuncanApril 20, 2010 at 8:03 PM

    Rickert's "The Chambered Fruit" is a good suggestion. The two Straub stories I was thinking of are "Bunny Is Good Bread," in his collection Magic Terror, and "The Juniper Tree," in his collection Houses Without Doors. Amelia Beamer and Gary K. Wolfe discuss both stories in their essay "Peter Straub and Transcendental Horror," online here.

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  4. elizabeth howellApril 21, 2010 at 10:25 AM

    I think child molesters are so scary because the need to target children its almost like an animal instinct that they can not control. They have the highest rate of repeat offenses and sometimes are even given medications which eliminate their sex drives. They really do seem like monsters to me.

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  5. KentApril 21, 2010 at 3:27 PM

    Thanks everyone, the comments helped out a lot. I had forgotten about "The Chambered Fruit," so thanks for that. You're right Daniel, I was thinking about doing the Bermuda Triangle paper. I might still do it if this one doesn't work out. I'm hoping it will, though.

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