My creative piece 'HUNT' delves into the self-destructive psychology of lust and greed, drawing heavily from my study of American Gothic Literature. My piece follows the maniacal journal of Javier, appropriating the conventions of mystery and madness as well as the macabre, to illustrate man's propensity to succumb to madness when his dominion and power are doubted and thus, overthrown.
In researching the different Literary Worlds, endless possibilities and creative choices opened up. I sought out a genre that not only piqued my interest but which would also distinguish my work from my whole class. Later, 'upon a midnight dreary' I settled on pursuing Gothic literature (more precisely American & snippets of Victorian Gothic), after I was transfixed by my terror-binding read of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. Never(more)theless, my efforts in experimenting with the Gothic genre were disheartening, as each project unwound without any strong sense of tension or, for that matter, fear. Thus, I narrowed my writing process to captivate my fears of the unknown and the uncanny, appropriating the dark omens and curses of ancient Aztec mythology, further abstracting the consequences in interfering or exploiting with 'the ways of God in Nature'.
Our assessment implored us to annotate one mentor text thoroughly. However, I went to annotate multiple, ranging from Bram Stoker's Dracula and Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. My analysis, though inspiring my repertoire of rhetorical devices, struggled to help me genuinely discern or understand the essence of Gothic writing, until I further researched Poe's philosophy, the 'Unity of Effect'. On the revelation that these theories could strengthen; or sufficiently blacken the horror of my creative choices, I studied The Origins of the Gothic by professor John Mullan, and 'The Uncanny' by Sigmund Freud. These in-depth studies into what made Gothic tales so distressing in their nature as well as their execution, bolstered my story's eerie depictions of sacrificial lambs, desperation and the dread present in Javier's frenetic diction. For example, the imagery of tears "blackening the snow as vinegar parts water" evoked something familiar, uncovering a 'special feeling of disquiet' similar to 'pondering, wandering, loose bundle of terrors' which underpins the notion that true fear, arises from the uncontrollable subconscious.
Before the final conceptualisation of my Extension 1 piece, I had neglected the gravity of my literary world's contextual features. Fortunately, after some advice from former HSC students, I sought out for my creative to challenge that of the transcendental movement, subverting the notions of 'unity' and 'goodness' in all of creation. Similarly, my piece derails the concept that insight is supreme over logic or experience, by judging that neither can truly comprehend the paradoxes of power and lust. Javier's story thus extrapolates on the impervious and ignorant attitudes perpetuated by greed; and how such unkempt temptations allure him to the deepest and darkest corners of human behaviour. The protagonist's narrative voice, which is secondary and unreliable, goes forth in expressing these notions not only through what he says but what he leaves out. For example, when Itzcoatl, our protagonist's 'companion' drowns helplessly, Javier omits the notion that Itzcoatl is human, only commenting on his 'lustreless' eyes to motivate his frantic escape. Similarly, my piece employs aesthetics to illustrate Javier's often cruel descent into psychological instability. These frantically scribbled words, asks the reader if they 'Would you love me still?', illustrating the bane of a broken man, whose obsession with reputation has instigated his torment.
Ultimately, this assessment has proved itself as the most distressing and demanding creative piece as of yet. However, I am more than determined to undergo more creative pieces like it, further enhancing and diversifying my creative intuition for the terror of HSC.
