For this week we were asked to read
books and novels that involve witches. For this week I ended up reading The Tough
Guide To Fantasyland by
Diana Wynne Jones. This book humorously examines the common tropes of a broad
swathe of
This book is really different from the other books of had to read
for class. The basic storyline of this book is it is a guide to fantasyland,
which is a world where all fantasy novels
that feature dragons, knight, wizards and magic
together in a realm. The book is set up like a brochure/travel guide to
fantasyland and it tells you the dues and don’ts when your there.
I think the concept of this book is interesting and cute for younger
audience and I think caters to the audience it was shooting for very well. While
reading this I did not get too much on an aspect of witches. In addition to the reading I looked for how
witches are used in different forms in the present day. In the end I selected
to explore American Horror Story: Coven.
Summary:
The Story primarily follows the antics
and events of a coven of Salem descendants who reside within a boarding school,
Miss Robichaux's Academy, centered in New Orleans, Louisiana. The academy is
run by Headmistress Cordelia Foxx, who has always lived in the shadow of her
mother, Fiona Goode.Fiona is the Coven's "Supreme", a witch born
every generation who embodies countless gifts and magical abilities, namely,
the Seven Wonders of Witchcraft. Danger lurks inside the academy's past due to
the mysterious butler Spalding and his relationship with Fiona. The entire
coven is accessed and evaluated by the Council of Witchcraft, which includes
Fiona's old rival and Cordelia's mother figure, Myrtle Snow.
Zoe Benson is sent to the Academy after
discovering that she possesses a strange genetic affliction that traces back to
the days of Salem. She is a descendant from the Salem coven and there[fore is a
witch herself. Upon arrival, she meets telekinetic movie star Madison
Montgomery, human voodoo doll Queenie, and enigmatic clairvoyant Nan. One
night, Zoe and Madison attend a frat party and meet a fraternity headed by Kyle
who takes a likening towards Zoe. Madison is gang-raped by the other frat
members and vengefully flips their bus with her powers, killing seven on board
including Kyle. Madison attempts to revive Kyle by attaching other limbs to his
body and cast a resurrection spell. The revival works but Kyle returns as an
aggressive and simple-minded creature. The presence of a revived corpse
attracts Misty Day, who has the power of necromancy and even
revived herself after being burned at the stake. Misty begins a friendship with
Zoe and often takes care of Kyle.
Meanwhile,
Fiona is cursed with an untreatable cancer due to a new Supreme rising to power
within the Coven. Fiona tries to cure herself and regain her youth at all
costs. A famed voodoo priestess and rival of the Salem witches named Marie
Laveau, has regained her youth and immortality by bargaining with the voodoo
devil, Papa Legba. To get a rise out of Marie, Fiona frees the immortal and
buried alive Delphine LaLaurie, a 19th-century slave killer, who mutilated
Marie's lover by transforming him into a Minotaur. Delphine becomes a maid at
the Academy and struggles with adjusting to the modern world due to her past
history as a racist.
The past
slowly unravels as it is revealed that Fiona killed the previous Supreme in
order to take charge of the Coven. Myrtle discovered the truth and tried to
reveal it by enchanting the only witnesses tongue, Spalding. Spalding later
cuts his own tongue out in order to protect Fiona and has remained mute ever
since. Spalding also helps cover up the secrets of the Coven including when
Fiona slits Madison's throat, believing her to be the next Supreme. Zoe
discovers Spalding's secrets and kills him, turning him into a ghost that
haunts the Academy. Cordelia is blinded by acid in a freak attack by witch
hunters, one of whom she is married to. Myrtle is framed by Fiona as the
attacker and is burned at the stake. Misty revives Myrtle along with Madison,
all who return to the coven with vengeful notions as Madison seduces Kyle and Myrtle
slaughters the rest of the Council and so on…
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With American Horror Story: Coven, it pushes the concept of being a
witch to the extreme. One example of Coven pushing the concept of being a
witch is the use of domination, killing and manipulating that each female
character does to become stronger as an individual and their magic. Coven is different from other TV series,
movies and novels in the way they used girl power with magic.
With Harry Potter the series
is all about a young boy named Harry Potter and his adventures as he attends
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns how to perform magic and
comes face to face with his archenemy, Lord Voldemort. The book series Harry Potter they use witches in a
different way than Coven. Hermione Granger is one of the main female leads in
the series. Even though she is a strong character and she can defend yourself
she does throughout the series needs to be saved by someone like Ron or Harry. Her
main purpose is there to keep Harry and Ron safe and on track. With the witches
in Coven it is all about being the
top witch of the coven and to see which individual will fight and kill to get
the top spot. With this series it’s more
of which witch can dominate other people to get their way.
Overall there are many different types of witches. It seems that
witches are making a comeback into media and they are going to be sticking
around for a while. I do recommend The Tough Guide To Fantasyland if
you want to have an easy read. Also if you like blood, drama and magic then I
recommend watching American Horror Story Coven.
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