Beginning the Short Story

The first thing I realized with my short story is that I was not sure where to start. After a bit of thought, I started with a kind of dream that Fenrir was having. I plan on using flashbacks to recount his story to the audience, but it seems a very daunting task to do it all in around 1000 words. The second obstacle was the irony. I plan on making Fenrir seem like a misunderstood "monster" (if he could be called that). My version of Fenrir would be an honourable wolf who was not a coward, and was deceived by scheming gods. But I'm not sure how to do that and put it into my story. So far, I think the irony incorporation is proving to be the hardest obstacle to overcome. What I find exciting is that I can essentially write the aftermath of one of the most famous myths in Norse mythology. I can describe my own interpretations and descriptions of the characters and their personalities, as well as write an account of the processing behind Fenrir's decision, which kind of gives rise to the details that are missing in the actual Norse myth. My draft is coming along a bit slowly, since I'm trying to incorporate irony, but not doing a very good job of it. It's coming along nicely, but I think if I knew more on how to incorporate the irony, it would be moving faster.

Short Story Analysis

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the short stories because it not only gave me some new inspiration on how to write my short story, but each one of them had their own unique characters and plot that were really interesting to read about. I realized that irony is a big part of the writing of a short story, particularly one in the view of the monster, which is quite unusual in itself. The authors of the stories use a lot of irony in describing the original "heroes" of the stories themselves in the view of the monster. The irony used seems to have been done to satirize the heroes and that they are no better than the actual monster. For example, in "The Hollow Man", Partridge uses irony because the monster categorizes its victims depending on how much it likes them, since it says that it "instantly liked him best." It's ironic because monsters don't usually "like" their victims. In the "Creature from the Black Lagoon", the narrator uses its awareness of its lack of evolution as irony, since it didn't evolve at all since the beginning of time, even though it was born to swim, the narrator was "out of his element." In the "Rakshasi", the narrator says resentfully that her contract could have been "over anytime [Jonathan] chooses." It shows that while she kept her contract alive by doing her master's bidding, the master himself did not keep his own promise to her. There are many other instances of irony throughout all three short stories.
Another thing that I learned from reading the short stories is that they use dialogue to explain or show a specific experience or event. For example, in "The Hollow Man", “"Tomorrow mornin’,” blurted Redbeard, “we’re gettin’ away from here. I’m not dealin’ with no crazy hermit."” It shows the unwillingness of Redbeard to confront the "hermit", or the monster, which gives the monster a motive to mind control Grizzly to kill Redbeard. In the "Creature from the Black Lagoon", there is dialogue between the human characters, but the most important is the internal dialogue that the monster has with himself, in his reflection of his behavior towards Kay: “What was less saddening, finally, than a narcissist’s solitude? I'd been drawn to Kay the way insects singled out the younger shoots or leaves not yet toughened or toxic.” This is also a form of irony, since it's unexpected that the creature would have such thinking skills, able to reflect on his actions. In the "Rakshasi", the author includes dialogue to foreshadow some future events. For example, as Amrita is talking to Catherine, her isha's wife, she tries hinting at obtaining her freedom, but Catherine replies with “‘I know. But his obligation...’”. This foreshadows a later realization as the narrator admits to planting the seed of doubt into Catherine's mind in order to put her plan for obtaining her freedom into action. In fact, at the end of the story, Amrita does get her freedom with the help of Catherine.
In conclusion, irony and dialogue are two among many particular devices that the authors use in their short stories, which were important in driving the story forward.

The Hollow Man: Irony

Norman Partridge uses some irony within his short story "The Hollow Man", which describes a kind of parasitic monster that needs a human host. However, at the same time, it can fly around at will. Partridge uses irony by having his monster laugh at the sight of companions turning against companions and death. He uses irony with the monster's categorization of the four adventurers, saying that the monster "liked [Grizzly] best". It becomes irony because it is the opposite one would expect. Would anyone laugh at death and homicide? No sane human would ever laugh at something as grim as death or homicide. Another thing that was unexpected was for the monster to categorize it's victims on how much it liked them. Did Grendel ever say he liked Beowulf? Did Batman ever say he liked the Joker, the Penguin or Bane? Thus, this is quite an unexpected turn of events. However, later on in the story, we realize that the monster had good reason to like Grizzly, since he was, perhaps, the most fit for survival and the best host out of the four for the monster.
I think this story was very well written because it includes a lot of descriptive detail, which enhances the "showing not telling" theme that is prevalent in most short stories. Partridge also brought out the sinister nature of the monster with the monster's actions, like how the monster laughed at the traveller's predicament. Another thing that made the story grim was the description of the hollow man that the monster inhabited first. It seems like the hollow man had rings in his neck and it was basically a kind of pet of the monster, as well as an extension of the monster. Mixed with the irony Partridge uses, his story is memorable as a frightening account of a parasitic monster.

Monster Presentations Day 2

After day 2 of expert Monster Presentations, I think the one of the most outstanding presentations was the Kamaitichi by Billy. One reason why his was a good presentation is because he was very enthusiastic about his monster, which was rather infectious and it made me pay more attention. In addition, the visuals were very nice paintings where it visually enhanced his presentation. Another thing that was very good about his presentation is that his monster interested me. The Kamaitachi is a very interesting monster in the sense that it is one being made up of three other minor beings that contribute to the name of Kamaitachi. Another presentation that I thought was outstanding was the one about the Chupacabra done by Jay. He had a very thorough analysis and explanation of the blood-sucking monster, including a classification. Jay's volume was also sufficient so that it was very easy and clear with what he was saying. I think the things that make a good presentation is good volume, visuals and enthusiasm that enhances your presentation.

Monster Presentations Day 1

After the first day of presentations from experts on their respective monsters, I think Sonal's presentation on the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who. The first reason why her presentation is exemplary is because of her eye contact and good volume. Her voice easily carried forth from the front of the room to the audience and it really helped add up to the appeal of her presentation. In addition, she started out nicely with a kind of counterexample with the traditional vampire, saying that the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who is not the traditional vampire, but a special one only found in Australia. The second reason her presentation is good is because of the attractive visuals she included in her presentation. These visuals really gave a good impression on her presentation, making it very memorable. It was a kind of cartoon-y feel to it and it was very simplistic. She had a sequence of visuals of the same cartoon-y feel to it that also gave appeal to her presentation. In addition, her change of tone and and enthusiasm boosted the appeal, which enhanced her presentation. With her visuals, eye contact and volume, her presentation was enhanced immeasurably.