American Gothic Conventions

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at the use of American Gothic in three works, John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," Richard Wright's "Native Son" and the Charles Laughton directed film, "The Night of the Hunter". The paper shows how gothic elements such as terror, heightened emotionalism, foreboding, dreamscapes and the supernatural are all used to broaden the reading or viewing experience of the audience. The paper also explains the underlying concept of "inescapability". The paper concludes that these works are all among the finest of the American Gothic tradition.

From the Paper:

"In Pilgrim's Progress, at least three elements of American Gothic - the use of foreshadowing, emotional tension, and the use of the supernatural ("Typical Elements of American Gothic Fiction," no.5 and no.8) - are immediately apparent. For one thing, the opening scene of the text depicts the narrator in a dream-like state wherein he envisions a man, clothed in rags with a "great burden" upon his shoulders, reading what is (ostensibly) the Bible and weeping with trepidation; it is shortly thereafter that we discover the man's city is about to be destroyed by heavenly fire and that he sees no escape for his family and for himself (Bunyan, "Part I," para.1-2). Not long thereafter, the spectral Evangelist appears to the distraught Pilgrim and tells him to proceed towards a spot of light (the pilgrim is standing in a great field) which will guide him to a wicket-gate at which he will find all the answers he seeks (Bunyan, "Part I," para.8). The dramatic introduction of this inscrutable figure is wholly in keeping with the supernaturalist elements of the gothic tradition ("Typical Elements of American Gothic Fiction," no.6) and it helps also to make Bunyan's protagonist likeable inasmuch as it emphasizes how the pilgrim is at the inescapable mercy of forces beyond his control."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bunyan, John. "Pilgrims' Progress: Part I - The First Stage." Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 13. Jul. 2005. Calvin College. 16 Dec. 2006 <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bunyan/pilgrim.v.i.html>
• Ebert, Roger. "The Night of the Hunter (Film Review)." Rogerebert.com: Great Movies. 24 Nov. 1996. Roger Ebert. 16 Dec. 2006 <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961124/REVIEWS08/401010344/1023>
• The Night of the Hunter. Dir. Charles Laughton. 1955. VHS. MGM/UA Home Entertainment, 1998.
• Ravage, Jack. "The Night of the Hunter (Review)." Film Quarterly, 42.1 (1988): 43-46.
• "Typical Elements of American Gothic Fiction." N.d. Middle Tennessee State University. 16 Dec. 2006 <http://www.mtsu.edu/~saw2z/gothicfictionweb/AmericanGothic.htm>

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