Adam Swift Post # 2

In chapter 1 of The Gilda Stories we discover a very different type of vampire. Gilda is a black lesbian vampire who kills her rapist. This is the first time that Gilda kills. She compares the blood running down the man to the warm bath she was once given by her mother. This is a disturbing but it is a very good representation of what the young Gilda is feeling. The bath was a very memorable thing for her and it is a form of cleansing. When she kills her attacker, it is a way for her to cleanse her fear and anger towards him. This scene is also showing the Gilda’s strength and importance as a woman.

In class we talked a lot about whether drinking blood was considered a bad thing. I think in Gilda’s case it is not a good thing but it is necessary. I think that her actions do not make her an evil vampire. Gilda needs the blood, but she tries to be the best she can be in the situation. Another vampire is Eleanor who is very self-centered, manipulative and controlling and does not use her powers for good. When Gilda is given the opportunity to kill someone she doesn’t go through with it. If she were to kill it would make her just like Eleanor.

Leah Villari, Post 2

Before I started reading this book, I had some preconcieved notions of vampires. Because of things like The Vampire Diaries(one of my favorite shows) and the Twilight movies/books made me believe that vampires should be pure white, beautiful, can be evil, and can't go out in the sun. From reading these first few chapters of the book, these characterists seem to be contridicated. In chapter one we learn that she drinks blood but in return helps people become better by looking into their dreams. She contradicts the previous notion of vampires being evil and killing carelessly. Gilda says how she rarely kills, only when she really has to. We also find out that she is black, a lesbian and can go into indirect sunlight. Her eyes turn a orange tint when she is mad or having strong feelings.

I feel that Gilda is good contrary to what others may think. Although it seems as if she is only taking blood for her own well being, she could have killed them right there or let them suffer with the open wound. She has enough of a heart to want to look into their dreams and fix what flaws they have. If she really was bad she would go around maliciously killing innocent humans, having no regard for human life itself. Gilda has enough respect for herself and others that she knows her limits and feels badly when people are troubled. When she encountered the man who had unclean blood, she felt sadness for him. I also felt that Gilda can be seen as a good character because she really doesnt have any choice in the matter- she's a vampire and therefore needs blood to survive. I feel that she is good for what is but could be better. She could seek out troubled individuals and try to help them but then I'm really sure if she would truly be good. The fact of consent also has to be considered because it's not like Gilda's going to ask if it's okay if she helps them before she draws blood. I also feel that a typically good natured person would want to be helped to be a better person in society.  

Ashlyn Zgoda Post 2

From the progression for chapter 1 to chapter 2, the new Gilda's character developed immensely. We see her come into herself as a person, going from a child running from slavery to a vampire woman. In class the question that was raised about her character was is Gilda good or evil. Most of the class seemed to agree on the fact that she was kind of neutral, neither good nor evil.

Though in my opinion I think Gilda is good for what she is, a vampire. In chapter 2 we can see the comparison of Gilda to Eleanor, who was evil. Eleanor did things only for her own benefit, and fed off of others fear and discomfort. She enjoyed messing with others, and masked this with a fake innocent exterior. I think one part of which makes Gilda good is that, even though she was warned by many people, she still gave Eleanor the benefit of the doubt and made her own decisions on wether she was deceiving her or not.

Another thing that I believe makes Gilda good is that she still feels happiness and joy. She has love for others than herself, unlike Eleanor. And also, even when she is doing something seen as wrong which is taking blood from others without permission, she still tries to make the experience more pleasurable for them even though she does not have to.

Laura Giunta Post 2

In the story The Gilda stories, it is very interesting to learn about the main character Gilda. She is a vampire unlike any others we are used too. First off she is a woman and African American. As a young girl she was a slave on a plantation. Ironically when she was young she was being attacked by a man and ended up killing him. In contrast as a vampire she was taught not to kill but to help others. Again this is very different from our idea of vampires who thirst for humans blood and do not care whether they live or die.

Gilda has had a long journey already and still has many years ahead of her. She is still learning a lot about her kind now that she has moved with Sorel and his family. Gilda has come to know the good and bad side of vampires and is till trying to find out who she is. Hopefully she will continue to follow the beliefs of Bird and the first Gilda and not follow Eleanor who has been nothing but trouble since they met.

Allison Shubert Post # 2

I find Guilda interesting because she isn't really a regular stereotypical vampire. It seems like the the only similarities that Guilda has with a vampire is her appearance and the fact that she is immortal as well. Vampires are known for being scary, and evil and are typically male. Guilda is a female vampire who uses her powers positively and takes blood from people and gives something in return.

One topic we discussed in class was whether Guilda genuinely likes helping people, or if it is wrong that she is using these people for their blood. She needs blood for her to survive, like any typical vampire, but in return for the blood Guilda gives the person something helpful. It is argued whether is she is good or evil for somewhat using these people for their blood. Personally I think she is good, because it is not necessary for her to give something in return for their blood. She does it because it seems the the fair thing to do since she needs blood to survive, and at the same time she's benefiting the person whom she's taking the blood from.

Maggie DeMarco - Post #2

From chapter 1 to chapter 2 the main character Gilda has evolved and developed into a dynamic character with great power and beauty. She began as a quiet human, struggling through life, seen as an outcast. Gilda has changed into a strong vampire woman. This is something I find interesting, the fact that she is a woman. Most times you think of a stereotypical vampire, you think of a white man dressed in a cape. Gilda however is an ethnic vampire who conceals her identity by dressing as a man and only going out at night.

Going off of this, and something we addressed in class, is the idea that Gilda has to dress like a man in order for it to be “socially acceptable” for her to go out at night. It may have been this way because if she were to go as a woman it would have been suspicious, as women were not likely to travel alone, especially at night. Gilda’s character can be seen as good or bad. In my opinion, she is good because although she does evil by sucking people’s blood, she does it the nicest way she can, and tries to fulfill their wishes. She could be straight evil like Eleanor, who tricks people and plays with their minds.

Bobby Stroud, Post 2

During one of our class discussions we compared a list of characteristics shared by stereotypical vampires vs. the characteristics of Gilda. The two had many similarities, as well as many differences. One of the differences was characterizing Gilda as good and other vampires as evil. This was primarily because she showed consideration towards others and in some circumstances, actually tried to be helpful.

In Chapter 2 once the new Gilda has taken over, it seems as if she is trying to follow in the same path as the Gilda that came before her. For example, when Gilda has the opportunity to kill Samuel she declines and it is very likely that she makes this decision because the first Gilda did not kill a lot. For this reason I feel as if both Gilda's are good compared to other vampires. However, this doesn't exactly make her good because she still kills and as" vampire ways". She is only good by comparison.

Kaitlyn Dickey, Post 2

One thing I find very interesting about this book is how differently the vampires in this story are portrayed compared to current vampire characters in movies and on television. Usually, we have always been told that vampires have fangs, they're evil, can't be in any sunlight, or they're really cold and sparkle in the light. Two popular vampires that come to mind are Dracula or Edward Cullen. In this story, Gilda can read minds, she is good, has much wisdom and she can be in indirect sunlight. One thing I found very interesting is that she is a women, which breaks the stereotype because even though other women vampires have been portrayed in other stories, usually when you think of a vampire you think of a man.

Another topic I wanted to discuss was one we talked about in class, which is whether Gilda was good or evil. I believe that although Gilda might not be purely good, she is not at all evil because she doesn't have a choice. The circumstances given to her force her to take other people's blood. Because it is something she did not want nor choose she can't be blamed for trying to survive. She also tries to help people by reading their minds, and trying to make up for all the wrong she does. I do understand the point that was made in class about her not being exactly good though because for the victims, Gilda was a very bad thing. 

Post #2

Gilda's (the girl) demeanor seems to change during her time spent at Woodard's. When she first arrives at Woodard's, she is in a state of shock, having experienced several hardships. Although she is slightly withdrawn in the beginning, she soon becomes accustomed to Woodard's and opens up to those who befriend her. This helps her to become more social with other people.

In the second chapter, Gilda travels to Sorel's. When Anthony takes Gilda to see Sorel, she able to easily converse with both of them. Gilda opens up to Sorel and when it is apparent that she is still upset about Bird's leaving, Gilda is reassured by Sorel that she will come around when she is ready. The openness that Gilda displays in this chapter strengthens the idea that she has become more social with those she knows she can trust.

Chelsa Wlodarczyk, Post #2

Hannah Lutley #2

Chapters one and two of The Gilda Stories were this week's readings. In class the main topic of discussion seemed to be based around people being good and people being bad. Looking at Gilda and her life as a vampire, many see her as a bad person but then she is also seen as a good person for helping them. In chapter one Gilda is a young girl who is having to deal with the change in life. She is referred to ask the Girl because it shows how she really has no identity. She is faced with having to deal with killing her rapist and then adapt to the life in the brothel. Once she settles in and gets to know Gilda and Bird she then has to deal with Gilda ending her life and making the Girl the new Gilda.

In chapter 2 Gilda has to watch Bird leave her side. As a result of this Gilda had to learn her ways alone. She learned restraint when she was faced with the thought of killing Samuel. She was able to control herself from the urges because she knew it was wrong. She seems to struggle because she knows that she needs to feed off human blood in order to live but we see her showing a good side by helping the people she feeds off of. In my opinion Gilda tries to be a good person by helping the person she needs blood from but also because she need blood to survive so that's what she does. Gilda is different then Eleanor because Gilda tries to be good and Eleanor knows what she is doing is wrong and she doesn't care.

Post #2- Jaime Wallace

From the beginning of chapter 1 to the end of chapter 2 it is obvious that the character of Gilda has changed immensely. In the first chapter she was just a young girl caught up with the ways of her life in which she did not choose. On her way from the plantation life to freedom she was forced to kill the man that was raping her. This quiet young girl at first was just trying to get by because she wasn't anything special and to be honest the girl fought hard to get and keep her freedom. Her spunk and attitude got her through what may have seemed like the hardest part of her life.

The youngest girl was transformed from a quiet human to an independent and very Strong vampire. This new Gilda was strong and she certainly was not a slave anymore. A question was brought in class, now that Gilda had changed was she considered good or evil. I thought that it was a very interesting question because in the first chapter she had no choice but to kill a man and now in the second chapter she had the choice to either kill another man or let him live. It is not Gilda's fault that she needs to feed off of humans to live but I think it is very clear that she is good because she chose to let Samuel to keep his life.

Zack's Post #2

I found that Gilda's character developed dramatically from the first to second chapters. In the first section of the book we read, Gilda was merely a little human girl, seemingly powerless against the evils of society. Despite her physical attributes, she took matters into her own hands and ran away from her plantation in search of a better life. Not only that, she also killed a man who attempted to rape her and return her to her plantation. Although Gilda was small, her heart was big, and this enabled her to fend for her self much more than the average little girl. Running away, and all the perils that came with it, was an act much more brave than most adults have ever performed.

In the second chapter, Gilda is transformed from a little girl to a powerful vampire. She managed to keep some of the same qualities that she had as a little girl through this transformation. While locked in battle with another vampire, Gilda had the opportunity and the ability to kill Samuel, but was able to hold back. She knew Samuel did not deserve to die, and there was no sense in killing him. I found it impressive on Gilda's part that she showed this restraint even though her knew powers made killing much easier. Gilda had already had the taste of killing someone when she was a little girl, and it is interesting that she was able to hold back doing it again when the opportunity was there.

The topic of class seemed to focus of the discussion of good vs. bad. Not many people could decide if Gilda was a good character or a bad, many people put her in the middle of not being either because she has both good and bad qualites. Although Gilda does take people's blood (because she needs it) she reads there mind and tries to figure out what is wrong with them. This would allow Gilda to help them. Although this can be seen as selfish, it is the main thing she needs to survive and because of that should Gilda be labeled as "bad" because she is doing the necessity to survive?

On the other hand Eleanor is on the bad end of the spectrum for sure. She is mean and manipulative and does not care what she does to other people. To me, what makes Eleanor worse than just "bad" is that sometimes she doesn't even do the bad thing herself, she drives other people to do it. For example, she used her "friendship" with Samuel's wife to make Samuel very jealous causing him to kill her.

After class and thinking about this discussion, I realized that Gilda could be labeled as good because she is doing just the necessary to survive, she is not being selfish and killing for blood, and nobody can be faulted for keeping themselves alive.

Cassidy Weeks, Post 2

Andrew Post #1

I decided to write my post on the third prompt we were given, which is about how two of the short stories that we have read are told from the perspective of an outside narrator. I think that the authors of "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston and "Fleur" by Louise Erdrich told the story through the perspective of an outside narrator in an attempt to possibly exaggerate how we view the central character of the story. We get to see how the other people of society view the central character instead of how the central character views the other people. This could be helpful to the reader because we get to see the the central character in a whole different light. We can help get a complete picture of what is going in when we can see things from different perspectives. We can see the story in another way, and it can help us get a better understanding of the characters and how they act and believe. A new perspective allows us to see things in characters that we would not have been able to see, and both of the authors of these pieces help to show us this.

Zack's Post

Zack Schwartz: Post 1) Although all of the stories we have read so far contain one or more characters that are considered to be outcasts, the word outcast contains a very unique meaning in each one. In Alice Walker's poem "Be Nobody's Darling", she clearly portrays outcasts as protagonists. She urges people to go against the current, and be their own person. This way, one can truly live a free life. Had Martin Luther King Jr. and other famous "outcasts" not followed Walker's advice. Society would not be the same today. Being an outcast can lead to progress, and is often necessary.
Louise Erdrich embodied an "outcast" using a very different character than the outcasts Walker described. The main character in her story is Fleur, an evil and mysterious girl who is surrounded by rumors of murder. She is avoided because people fear her, and also because she is viewed as different. It is a different situation entirely to be shunned because of evil actions than to be put down because you are trying to be free or put down social injustices. I believe outcasts can be both positive and negative, depending on the reasons for which a person is cast out of society. Society can be cruel to those who are aiming for change, yet also cruel to those who are evil. How a person responds to this adversity determines the quality of their character.

Zack Schwartz, Post 1