Info Trac

I could not find any good articles of critism in Info Trac on this book or the author....sorry

Stylistic Elements of Note

Archtypes
–Innocent Embarking on a Journey
•Eleanor
–Caregiver
•Dr. Montague & Theodora
–Friend
•Theodora
–Evil things
•Ghosts
–Enchantress
•Luke

•3rd person
•Bildungsroman (Eleanor changes in the novel from shy and innocent to adult like and out going)
•Tragedy
•Symbolism
–Hill House
•Protagonist
–Eleanor
•Antagonist
–Ghosts/haunting

Reasons for Being a Classic

This book is a classic because is one of the best horror novels ever written. The way Shirley Jackosn puts together words and how she describes things help the reader really get into the novel and help the reader imagine the whole story. It is recognized by many people. And it was made into a movie.

Growth of Eleanor

Eleanor is shy and unhappy with her life. She lives with her sister and her sister's husband, who are mean to her and show her no respect. Eleanor grew up taking care of her mother who was sick. She never did anything fun or exciting because she was too busy making sure her mother was doing ok. Eleanor longed to be loved by someone. She just wanted to be happy and loved. Eleanor goes through a paranormal experience when she was youger, which later on helps her be chosen for Dr. Montague's research at Hill House. Dr. Montague invites her to spend the summer with him and two other people to research paranormal events. She agress and but has problems getting the car from her sister, but finally decides to take a stand and just takes the car. Eleanor meets Theodora who helps Eleanor not be so shy. She falls in love with Theo thinking that they were ment for eachother and that they were going to leave this place and live with eachother. Because of all the hauntings taking place because of Eleanor, she starts to feel like she is at home and she starts to break out of her shell and become more outgoing.

Summary of the novel

The novel starts out telling a brief background introduction. Then it goes to talking about Dr. John Monatgue and how his true passion is in the study of supernatural phenomena. Dr. Montague wants to get a couple assistants to go live in Hill House for the summer to research the hauntings that go on there. So he finds a list of people that have had experience in the paranormal events. He finds two assistants named Eleanor and Theodora. There is then another person named Luke that goes to stay at the house with them to keep an eye on them, because his family owns the house.

The novel talks about how Eleanor had taken care of her sick mother untill her death. Eleanor lived with her sister and was very unhappy there. Eleanor wants to feel loved and have a home of her own. Eleanor takes her and her sister's car and drives to Hill House hoping for a little adventure. Eleanor arrives first at Hill House, and is greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Dudley, the care takers of the house. They warn her to be careful and they also scare her.

Next to arrive is Theodora, Theo, who becomes friends with Eleanor right off the bat. They explore the old house and its grounds until they get scared and run back to the house. When they get back they meet Luke and Dr. Montague. They all get along quite well.

The fisrt day nothing really that scary happens every thing is normal until the second night, they start to hear scary sounds. So it goes on so that at night there seems to be ghost and hauntings, but during the day it is very peaceful.

As time goes on a love triangle starts to form between Eleanor, Theo, and Luke. Eleanor and Theo both like Luke, and Luke keeps leading both them on. Then in little time, Eleanor and Theo start to feel a connection between eachother. But when Eleanor tells Theo of how she is planning on moving back with her and living with her, Theo decides she doesnt want that so she makes Eleanor mad but flirting with Luke alot more and showing him attention.

The messages about Eleanor start appearing on walls and windows. The hauntings beging to turn physical and the group start to begin conserned for their safety. Everyone starts to blame Eleanor for the events taking place because all the events are connected with her. Eleanor then begin to fight whcih causes more hauntings. They later find out that there was a fued between two sisters long ago over a boy, and find out about that story.

Eleanor is then kicked out of the house because Dr. Montague is scared for the safety of Eleanor. So Eleanor leaves, but as she is leaving she is forced to speed her car and turn into a tree causing her own death, but before she hits the tree she is confused that she is trying to kill herself and tries to stop it but it is too late. Eleanor dies.

Insane or Haunted

At the end of the novel, The Haunting of Hill House, the protaganist, who is Eleanor, is some what protrayed as being haunted, but how the author puts together the dialoge, she makes Eleanor say things that do not exactly make sense, so then it seems that Eleanor is not haunted, but just insane. In the novel, Eleanor is killed when her car is suddenly out of control and runs into a tree, the reader is ment to believe that it was a suicide, but is uncertain because of the reader does not know the ground, the reason, or the purpose of her apparent suicide. But when Eleanor uses the interrogative - "Why am i doing this? Why am i doing this? "- which implies that her unknowing may mean that there are more than one consciousness. The reader will never know if she was possesed by another or if it really was her own consciousness that made her turn the wheel and run into the tree. Shirley's novel draws upon the history of unresovled social, cutlral, and pyschological tensions that fuel the debates over the 19th century.



http://www.thejungiansociety.org/Jung%20Society/e-journal/Volume-2/Castricano-2006.pdf

Writing Style

In the novel The Haunting of Hill House, you begin to read about eerie events that take place like doors shaking, writing on the windows and walls, and creepy sounds. This eerie vibe helps captivate the reader's attention. How the writtter uses words in this novel helps make it one of the best horror books of all time.


Shilrley Jackson shows her unique and off the wall writting skills through this novel in an incredible way. Shilrley writes so that the characters are in a childish monologue showing that there conversations in the novel are less adult like and more child like.


Shirley also had a great way of showing characters pain. Eleanor is a prime example because she is the character that goes through the most pain and realization. Shirley makes readers relate to Eleanor or atleast pity her. with Theodora, Shirley shows foil. She shows this because in the novel Shirley makes Eleanor and Theodora exact oppposites.

This is certainly a novel you will not foget.


http://www.rambles.net/jackson_haunting59.html