Reading Response: The Company of Wolves

    After reading “The Company of Wolves” a short story by Angela Carter, I must say that I am once again amazed by the depth within her writing.  Her ability to speak to and communicate with parts of  the reader’s mind, through her writing, is stunning.   Though this story is a re-envisioned adaptation of “Little Red Riding Hood” it truly stands alone from the original tale recorded by Charles Perrault in 1697. 

    Often, in a fairy-tale of this nature, a reader will find the story focused on a single unearthly evil. However, within this tale, many mystical creatures such as witches, ghosts, hobgoblins, and ogres are offered up to the reader by Carter drastically darkening the setting in which this story takes place.  Through Carters intricate descriptions the reader is forced to build the black and unsettling scenery that surrounds the main storyline of this tale.   This is evident, from the very beginning of the tale, by her descriptions of the “grave-eyed children” and the “acrid milk and rank, maggoty cheese” produced by the goats that are tended  by the children.

    Another of the many interesting aspects within this tale are Carter’s bleak descriptions of the “wolves” themselves.  She makes many references to the solitary existence of the “wolf“, which I find comical, as the “wolf” in this tale does not end up alone .  Carter writes of the “wolfsong” and the murderer that it speaks. She also explains that the “wolfsong” carries an “inherent sadness” within it “as if the beasts would love to be less beastly if on they knew how and never cease to mourn their own condition.” Carter is speaking not only of the classical forest dwelling wolves of our world, but of the werewolf as well.  For the purposes of this story her focus seems to be placed more specifically on the twisted existence of the Lycanthrope. 

    Carter takes this myth to a new level by peeling away at the original story to expose many of the hidden sub-textual references in Perrault’s fairy-tale.   I was unable to make the sexual innuendo connections that she so easily points out.  For instance the meaning of the color red, the age of the girl in correlation to coming-of-age,  or that the girl is a virgin.  A woman who was not afraid to write about taboo subjects, Carter, really re-creates this story highlighting many interesting points and changing the outcome in more ways than one.

    Upon reaching the end of this story, I am left with many thoughts and questions.  For one, to me, this story seems to be taken out of context, almost as if it is missing a prelude and an adequate ending.  What happened?  “Little Red” was scared one moment, and the wolf was scared the next.  It ends with them in bed.  Being a lycanthrope, does the werewolf turn her?  Do they live out existence together? Has this all been part of “Little Red’s” plan?  Many questions hidden are created by this amazing tale.  After reading this, I now know, that as long as I continue to read works written by Angela Carter, I will never cease to be stunned, shocked, or amazed.

Reading Response: Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?

    Ursula K. Le Guin’s piece titled “Where Do You Get You Ideas From” proved to be one of the most inspiring pieces of literature that I have had the pleasure of reading this semester.  Her thought provoking analysis of the “truth” behind being a writer really sank into me, as I think that it would for any person that is interested in or aspires to write. She uses many interesting writing skills here that, I am not sure I have truly considered ever using myself and they, make a deep impact on the reader. 

    Guin’s straight -forward, and upfront approach to scribing her positions and thoughts, on specific aspects of writing, into text is awe inspiring, and the first thing that I noticed when I began to read this essay.  Writing in a style like this comes across as if you are talking to, perhaps, your best friend, or someone that you share an intimate relationship with.  It’s just straight-forward and perhaps that is why it comes across as genuine.

    In this piece she offers a lot of information, and quite a bit of advice along the way.  For me, this was amazing.  I immediately felt like I desired nothing more that to share in the ancient wisdom of my close friend, and soon after this enlightening knowledge is passed on to me, the oppressive shackles and chains binding my true artistic and creative abilities fall away. Now I am free, now I can write. Am I doing it wrong?  Don’t I have to start with an idea?   Questions, I may never ask again.

     Beginning by first trying to dispel any myths associated with the creative writing process, Guin begins to scrape away that the supposed shell enclosing the mysteries of writing and the creation of stories.   Her comparison of a writer’s work to that of a magician, at first to me, was hilarious, however after contemplating it for a little while, I began to realize that writing, much like music, painting or any other art are the closest things to magic on earth that I have ever witnessed.  The creative power of the human mind truly is amazing, and we get to see it exposed the most through an artist’s renderings.

    As the paper progresses, Guin illustrates many aspects that she feels she is “working with” as she is composing or creating her masterpiece.  One of the aspects that she approaches on this subject is the pattern of the words. What? You mean I am not crazy for not finishing a paper until it sounds right to me?  Magical!  Who knew?  I thought that I was crazy for writing something quickly and then spending an enormous time editing and revising!  It would seem I am wrong.  She talks much about patterns in writing, something I hadn’t ever really thought about. “Image patterns“, “idea patterns“, “syntax and grammar patterns” all just pieces of a larger puzzle that allow one human to convey a vast amount of knowledge, thoughts, ideas, and emotions, through tiny little characters that we call letters. 

    I guess that I cannot say I will ever question myself as a writer again, however I don’t believe that I will do it as much anymore. Except ,when I am revising!