For those of you who do not know, I did my presentation on the literary career and influence of Eliza Haywood. I am not going to go into detail about her because I am going to save that for my actual presentation, but will post some links about her and some her works and explain a little bit about them, and for you to read though if you want.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09699080000200114?needAccess=true

This is a link to a book titled Women’s Writing, and it is by Sarah Prescott. I won’t go into detail with this article because I talk about in my presentation, but it focuses on Eliza Haywood’s first novel Love in Excess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Haywood

I had to post the Wikipedia site because it gives you a quick read that highlights the important aspects of Haywood’s life. This will give you a basic understanding of Haywood before I do my presentation.

Selected Fiction and drama of Eliza Haywood is a eBook you can find on the UNB libraries. It gives you some stories from her, as well as some of the ones I mention in my presentation, but do not have enough time to talk about them. So, if you want to go and read them for yourselves, some of her works, such as The Wife, can be found here.

Why that is it for my presentation blog, and I hope you look forward to my presentation.

This is an excellent question and I had to think about it for a few minutes? If you look at the context of today, then I would for sure say yes. However, it is a controversial topic for the 1800’s. So, after thinking about it, I have decided that libertinism is good for women, even in this time period.

As I am sure all of you are aware, women did not have the same rights back than that we do now. Women were viewed as objects of their fathers, and later on, their husbands. So, for a women to speak out was considered loud and not obedient, which being quiet and obedient were qualities men looked for in a wife. Women also were expected to be perfect at all times.

Why I say yes is because women were viewed as “the unthinking sew.” (Eliza Haywood). Not many women dared to write about women, and men did not know the lengths women went through to get ready. In Jonathon’s Swift’s poem, The Lady’s Dressing Room, he writes about walking into a women’s dressing room and being appalled by what he saw. What he saw were brushes and paints, which she used to make herself presentable. He also realized that women sweat, use the washroom, and have dandruff. (The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, 379). Swift writes that he is very surprised to learn that women are not naturally perfect.

That poem really rubbed Lady Mary Wortley Montagu the wrong way, so she wrote a poem called The Reasons that Induced Dr.S to Write a Poem Called The Lady’s Dressing Room. She writes how women are indeed humans as well, and have many of the same problems that men have to deal with, such as sweating and and having to go to the bathroom.

So, ever giving some evidence, I think libertinism is good for women because women are people too, and they needed to have the same freedom that men do. So, women would write to show men that they could be educated too, and also their bodies were human as well. So, I think it was good because by doing this, it was a step in the right direction for the freedom that women have today.

After looking back on my previous definition of a zombie, and now hang ENGL 3722 under my belt, I thought about my definition of a zombie, and what it is now, and I have to say, I would not change the way I view zombies. I still feel that zombies have to have greenish/greyish skin, as well as have to be missing some body parts, like an eyeball or a limb. I also feel that the only way to kill them is to shot them in the head, and they have to be monsters that all they want to do is kill you, as well pass on the plague through their bite.

Many of the readings we did followed my definition of a zombie, like World War Z and Pride and Prejudice+ Zombies. Although, unlike in Pride and Prejudice + Zombies, my view of zombies is once you are bit, you are going to become a full-fledged zombie, and do not have to eat human brains to do so.

I have never been a huge fans of zombies, but if someone asked me this question last year, this would be my response: That it is a dead human/monster that is after your brains, and you should do everything in your power to stay clear of them. A zombie is not someone who succumbs to the plague, but can still be reasoned with, but someone, even if it was your best friend,just wants to eat you know.

After carefully considering this question, I believe that Canada is a good place to be if the zombie apocalypse ever happens. Firstly, Canada is a pretty remote country, so we already know how to ruff it. For example, there is so much nature and wilderness, so many Canadian citizens will go camping in the summer, or if they are really dedicated, the other three seasons as well. So, because of this, many already have some form of a survival kit ready for camping. So, if the zombies ever do make their way to Canada, many already have a kit to help them survive in the woods when they are fleeing the zombies.

Secondly, since there are many off the map roads in Canada for people to travel on, there is always a chance that your car might break down. So many Canadians, even if they do not go camping, might still keep an emergency food stash in their car, as well as a first-aid kit, and maybe even a blanket if its winter to keep them from freezing to death.

Thirdly, Canada is a pretty cold country, so Canadians are already accustomed to living in the cold, as well as have the proper clothing for this season. This puts us at a huge disadvantage from our American neighbors. Many of them will be fleeing up here in hopes of escaping the zombies, but they are not going to be prepared to deal with the cold like we will be, so we will survive longer.

Lastly, cities and towns are more spread out in Canada. This means that we will have a slightly lower chance in running into the zombies compared to the United States. There are so many populated areas down there that more will be affected, which means more zombies to kill and flee. I’m not saying Canada will not have to deal with the zombies, but it will just be easier for us to avoid them as well as have a (hopefully) smaller break out.

After looking at these predicaments, I do feel that Canada is s safe country to be in if the zombie apocalypse ever happens.

This blog post I will be focusing on the zombies that are portrayed in Pride and Prejudice + Zombies. On the surface, the zombies seem like any ‘normal’ zombie that come to mind. They are practically decayed, with body parts missing, and their main goal is to hunt down humans and devour them. However, one thing I found about the zombies in this film that stood out to me is when someone is bitten, they do not become full fledged zombies until they eat a human’s flesh. Once that takes place, then they become zombies, or as they are called in the film ‘unmentionables,’ then they lose all sense of reason.

However, before they get a taste for human flesh, they may start decaying, but they have not lost their reason. They are still able to communicate with people, and go about doing ordinary things like they were able to as humans, like going shopping. However, they are not able to go out in public because one of two things would happen: people will either run away screaming, or they will be killed instantly.

When I first saw that zombie interacting with Elizabeth at the beginning of the film, I was very confused as to why this zombie was not trying to kill her. Roughly half way through the film, it is all made clear as to why that is. Wickham brings Elizabeth to this society of unmentionables (sorry, but I forgot the name of the place) and Elizabeth is baffled by all the zombies sitting in the room like they are humans attending church. Wickham goes onto to explain that the reason that they have not fully turned zombie is because they have been eating pig brains, so they are satisfying their hunger, but also keeping their human logic and reason with them.

I found this interesting because many of the zombie works I have either read, or more likely just been told about, or it just goes against my image of an zombie, I found this intriguing. To me, this was a unique approach on how the zombie works, and I found it refreshing.

So, a few weeks ago, I watched Pride and Prejudice + Zombies for the first time. I was on Netflix one day, and I just happened to stumble across it. So, thinking of this class because I know we will be discussing the book soon, I decided to watch it, and I have to say, I was not disappointed. When I clicked start, I thought this was going to be a boring movie. However, was I ever wrong! I enjoyed the movie so much that at some point, I plan to go back and watch it again. My favorite part of the film would have to be the interactions between Darcy and Elizabeth. I am not a romantic person, and am satisfied with watching one romance movie, or reading a romance novel, a year. However, I enjoyed Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship, and the build up to it. Plus, it was not a super cheesy romance either that you see in a lot of other work.

One of my favorite scenes would have to be after Darcy proposed to her the first time, but she said no. A little later on, when Jane and Elizabeth head off to rescue their sister, she is reunited with Darcy, and together, fight off the zombies that are emerging from the ground. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was super happy when they were reunited.

However, one of the scenes that pulled at my heartstrings was when Darcy and Elizabeth galloped their horse across the exploding bridge, escaping the zombies. When the debris somewhat clears, Elizabeth finds Darcy’s body, and at that moment, I did not know if he was alive or not, especially with the camera zooming out from from them. I was devastated! If Darcy died, I would hate the movie for the rest of my life. However, once Darcy enters the room and proposes to Elizabeth again, I was so happy, I was practically bouncing up and down in my seat.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film, and if you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am looking forward to Christopher Jessulat coming in next week to discuss his book The Decline next week. I love to write fictional novels, so my questions will be based more on his writing process.

1.How and why did you start writing?

2.What was your favorite book to write?

3. Your least favorite book to write?

4.Why choose to write about zombies?

5.Would you write about any other kinds of monsters?

6.What is your general writing process when writing a novel?

7.How long does it take to edit and publish a book?

These are some of the questions I would like to ask Christopher, and I hope it will help my own writing. I’m sure I will think of more questions before next week!

In my presentation tomorrow, I will be discussing zombie folktales from three different parts of the world: Arabia, Iceland, and Tibet, and will talk about the Arabic ghoul, the Norse Draugr, with its history still being present in Iceland and Norway today, as well as the Tibetan ro-langs. In my presentation, I will give a little bit of background on each, as well as a story involving each kind of zombie. There is a total of four stories, and I am going to tell you right now that some of them are quite weird, but you will have to wait and find out for yourselves tomorrow. Below are links of the sources that I use in my presentation, but I could not discuss in full. So, after listening to my presentation, and you want to read more about my material, these are the links below:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277816715_The_Mythical_Ghoul_in_Arabic_Culture

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0015587X.1946.9717812?journalCode=rfol20&

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/462495

In addition, below I will post links of related and/or other zombie folktales that can be found around the world:

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/462495

This link talks about how Korea has formed their own definition of a zombie, and some call it the Han, where zombies are not man-eating monsters, but still possess their human emotions, and feel sad about using their humanity.

http://www.cromrev.com/volumes/vol34/vol34-complete.pdf#page=20

In this article, Lucy Swanson talks about how zombies are viewed differently from different parts of the world, and talks about zombies in works such as Night of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead.

https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11686

Lastly, this article looks at the difference between folktales and myths of zombies versus the horror movie versions of zombies that I’m sure you are more familiar with.

if there anything else you guys would like to find and post in an upcoming post, feel free to leave a comment or ask me after my presentation. I hope all of you are looking forward to tomorrow!

As I mentioned previously, one of my favorite sections to read in this book was the Kyoto, Japan, which starts on page 204. I honestly cannot say why I liked this section, but I did. I guess one of the reasons could be that I can relate to him a little. I have always enjoyed being alone, even when I was a kid. Now that I am older, I like to stay in my room and have nobody bother me. However, one part I found funny, but also concerning, was when his parents stopped coming home. I found the line “The only reason I cared was because of the precious minutes I was wasting having to feed myself. In my world too many exciting things were happening.” (Brooks, 207). I found it funny because I was just picturing him trying to cook something. In my mind, I read it in the context that he never tried to cook anything in his life, and I was imagining his struggle with the food and pots and pans in the kitchen, but not knowing how to use them.

However, what I found concerning was that that was the only reason he seemed to care about his parents, was that he was wasting time getting his own food. If I were in his shoes, I would be terrified, thinking that I was stuck in this horrible world all by myself, as well as not knowing if my parents were dead or not.

Another aspect I enjoyed was reading this poor boy’s struggle on escaping the zombies. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking “Wow, this would be me!” He was living a perfectly normal life, until one day, he was thrown into the world of zombies, and had to figure it out as he went. I guess when I really think about it, though, must people will be in this category. I can say with confidence that none of my friends and family are preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

I have not finished this novel yet, but I am almost done. I definitely plan to finish it because I am really enjoying it. It’s a page turning novel, and I especially enjoyed all the cultural aspects of it. When I first started reading the novel, I knew it was also a movie, so I went and watched the trailer on YouTube. The trailer seemed exciting, although from what I saw it did not follow the book. However, I would like to watch the movie, and do a compare and contrast between the two in a future blog post.

I am almost done reading World War Z, with only about one hundred pages left to go, I decided to write about my thoughts on the novel. To be honest, when I first stared reading this book, the way it is layed out, like in every part there is an interviewer who is asking different survivors about how they did it, and what their experience was like, I honestly thought that this was real, and I was like “What? When did the zombies take over? I should start watching the news more.” However, after a few more minutes of reading, I figured out that it was a fictional novel, and none of what I was reading actually happened. So, after having my stupid moment, I got more into the novel.

I am really enjoying reading this novel. I like how Max Brooks focused on all parts of the world, so he gave me the idea of what surviving the zombie apocalypse would be like around the world. Some of my personal favorites are Parnell Air National Guard Base, Tennessee (pg. 168) and Kyoto, Japan (pg. 204). The reason I like Parnell Air National Guard Base, Tennessee is because the women the story was following was a in a tense survivor predicament. I found I could somewhat relate to her because she is a pilot, but many of the other pilots she is working with are men. I can understand that if zombies were taking over the world, many would trust a women pilot, and much whether have a male pilot because of your typical stereotypes, sad but true. I also found I could get into it more because I found for some reason that I enjoyed her being lost out in the middle of nowhere, with no another human being for miles because Rollins, her copilot, was devoured by the zombies. I could not imagine being in this situation. I would be beyond terrified if I was in her situation. So, I admired bravery and determination for the situation she was in. However, my favorite part I read in this section was when she went to check out a crashed truck, and found a body in it. Then suddenly, she was surrounded by zombies. I was on the edge of my seat this whole time because I kept expecting her to run out of amo, and for the zombies to reach her and pin her down. However, she took out all the zombies and came out unscathed.

I will have to continue this in another blog post because I have to get to class, but in my next blog post, I will discuss the Kyoto, Japan story, as well as look at some of the things I did not like about the novel.