Alvin Mei, Period 7, 5/17/22

 Alvin Mei

Period 7

5/17/22

• Literacy & Learning

• Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or non-fiction covered in class.

• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or non-fiction covered in class.

Anne Rice depicts immortality as a curse in Interview with the Vampire. Louis’s story shows him living for centuries and experiencing loss after loss after loss in his life. First, he witnessed his brother’s death, then what he believed to be Lestat’s death, and finally, with Claudia and Madeleine’s death. At the end of the book, Louis’s interview culminates with the interviewer missing the point of the story entirely, and wanting to become a vampire himself. Anne Rice’s depiction of the “static” type of immortality is a very interesting take on it. Claudia is an adult in a child’s body, frustrated that she is always treated like a doll by Lestat, and can never grow up. It is reminiscent of gender dysphoria, which is experienced by trans people when they are distressed because they strongly feel that their sex assigned at birth differs from their gender identity.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

Interview with the Vampire’s depiction of immortality enforces the viewpoint that our mortality was not something that should be feared. The immortal vampires suffer through life, and eventually give up when they run out of endurance. Louis never really enjoyed the brief moments of his life, worried about what they would do next. In Grendel, Grendel was invincible because of the dragon’s charm, but he felt even lonelier after that. Grendel finally felt alive again when he encountered Beowulf, someone that reintroduced mortality back into Grendel’s life. This class influenced my critical perception about mortality through these stories. Of course, I still think that we should try our best to avoid an untimely end, but I feel that after these stories, we should not fear our eventual end and enjoy the time we have on this Earth.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

What I’ve learned allowed me to see my mortality differently. I decided that instead of moping around like Grendel did, I would try to live life as much as I can. It is my last year in high school, and I will probably not see a lot of these in a very long time. So I am trying to spend as much time with my friends and acquaintances. Four years would feel small when I eventually grow old, so I am determined to enjoy these times now.