Lokifan

I had a lovely Christmas! I will post about that soon. But right now I am going to give you A FACEFUL OF OPINIONS. As ever, differing opinions welcome but be prepared for my likely reply of LET ME TELL YOU WHY YOU’RE WRONG :P

So a news story at the moment here in the UK is that at Oxford University, there at students campaigning to have their statue of Cecil Rhodes pulled down. Cecil Rhodes, if you don’t know, was a famous nineteenth-century politician and philanthropist -- his estate funds the Rhodes scholarships.

Guess where he got the money. Go on, guess. Did you guess ‘stole it from South Africans as part of the imperial project’? Well, you should have, because where else did nineteenth-century shitheads get their wealth?

( the past is a foreign country, but sadly one we cannot subjugate and loot )

All right, dear flist, I have a question for you. The majority of fandom (whether it’s a small majority or an overwhelming one seems to depend on which corner of the interwebs you inhabit) was dissatisfied with Deathly Hallows. So if you were JKR’s editor, in a power suit and awesome boots (that goes double for you, son_of_darkness) which parts would you want changed? Chopped out, added in, cut down UNTIL IT WAS NO LONGER HALF THE BOOK AND MONUMENTALLY DULL. *coughs* Not that I have any particular bias. Would you concentrate on making it less of a minefield of plotholes you could lose a leg in, or would you just want Draco to be touched inappropriately?

The marvellous frantic_mice recced my fic Unforgivable (if you follow the link, READ THE WARNINGS), and she said very clever things. Between that and the talking in the comments, I’m suddenly missing literary analysis like whoa! It has been months since I analysed a book, and it’s a month until I get to go to UEA and be an English student, with all the blathering about literature that entails.

For God’s sake, I wrote an email to a friend composed entirely of haiku today. Clearly I need to get my English-nerd on.

So I’m posting this essay. I wrote it for a writing competition, so I could include non-fiction. I didn’t win the competition, but I think this is pretty good meta; I’m almost certain it’s what got me into UEA. Do be aware this wasn’t written for LJ originally!

It’s all about monsters in fiction, though. Because it’s themed, rather than character-based, I never got to Voldemort: but don’t be afraid to bring him up in the comments! Or the Master (the Buffyverse one or the Whoverse one!), or Angelus, or Davros. Come, fannish friends, and tell me about books.

Oh, and if you don't want to read my Teal Deer about the portrayal of monsters in fiction, and how it varies from Gothic novels to children's novels to modern YA, check out the bibliography. Those books are AWESOME.

( Bibliography )


( Here Be Monsters )

Gacked from alixtii. This is actually a very interesting one. I apologise for my obscure characters.

1. McGonagall (HP)
2. Cordelia (Buffy/Angel)
3. Milly (Chrestomanci)
4. Ira Hath (The Wind on Fire trilogy)
5. Nasuada (Inheritance trilogy)
6. Martha (Doctor Who)
7. Fred (Angel)
8. Janet (Chrestomanci)
9. Nazca (The Gentlemen Bastards sequence)
10. Lilah (Angel)

( The Questions )