Yet another NM-190 assignment posted onto my blog. I will be analyzing my short story's genre and target audience...
GENRE
FANTASY
Kelsey Lantrip
N190 Spring Semester
February 17, 2010
Target Audience and Attitudes
FANTASY
Kelsey Lantrip
N190 Spring Semester
February 17, 2010
Target Audience and Attitudes
Gender: Female
Age: 5 - 16
Interests: Fairy Tales, Princesses, True Love, Facebook, Elves, Myths, Friends, Ice Skating, Dresses, Beautiful Things; there are some girls who play sports, such as volleyball, tennis, basketball, soccer, and softball.
Habits: They bite their nails when they are nervous and love bright colors. They have an innocence about them, and are very trusting and naive.
Other things they like to watch or read: Nancy Drew, American Girl series, Disney Princess movies, Tinkerbell, Chick-flicks, Pride and Prejudice, etc.
What they do in their spare time: Play with friends, Cook, Watch movies, Read books, Make up stories, Sing songs, Dance, Dream, Act out make-believe, Hang out at the mall, Have sleepovers.
Things they buy: Dolls, Purses, Make-up, Magazines, Clothes, Shoes, Books, Movie Tickets, Candy, Bubbles, Glitter.
Where they live: With their parents/guardians.
Income level: $0 - 700 (on an aside, their parents make much more. Between $50,000 - 150,000)
Maximum education: Freshman in high school [college undergraduates can be lumped in here too].
Anything else that is relevant: These girls adore fairy tale endings and happily ever after. They love beauty and anything that has to do with magical enchantments.
Blyss - A Short Story. I have gone through and highlighted the adjectives/descriptive words.
It was a SMALL town where nothing exceptional ever happened. Where every day was much the same as the one before. The scenery was dull and drained of color. The people were dull, the food was dull, the buildings were dull – in short, life was dull. No one complained, for no one knew life was to be anything different than MERE existence. They were born, they lived, they worked, and they died. That was all.
And things might have gone on that way forever, were it not for the arrival of Blyss. She was an oddity, to be sure. Born to a YOUNG peasant couple, Blyss was, well, different. Because, unlike the rest, Blyss was infused with color. Her eyes were SAPPHIRE blue, and they twinkled with a merriment of their own. Her hair was not limp and grey, but JET black, and it shone with a HEALTHY sheen. Her skin was RADIANT, somewhat olive in hue, and contrasted STARKLY with the CLAMMY, WAN complexion that all of the other townspeople shared. Blyss’ lips were a PALE pink, and when she laughed, it sounded like music was issuing forth. Blyss was alive with life, filled TO THE BURSTING with hope, joy, and love.
As she grew, Blyss continued to blossom. Wherever Blyss wandered, color followed in her wake. Flowers sprang up in the cracks and crevices, flavor was added to the hitherto BLAND food dishes, and the dreary, drained town began to drink in the life that radiated from Blyss. The townspeople adored her. Like the winter that melts into spring, Blyss’s presence transformed the dull purposeless townsfolk into people filled with hope. No one knew how to explain the phenomenon, and no one questioned the STRANGE occurrences. Rather, they embraced the changes and welcomed Blyss with open arms.
There was, however, one who could not endure Blyss. His name was Bytterly, and he was the landlord who oversaw the townspeople. Bytterly loathed the sight of Blyss, and he detested the brightness that resonated from her presence. He preferred the darkness, and resided in a large estate outside of the town limits. He watched with INCREASING disgust as the MISERABLE town began to come to life. As hope, love, and joy started to permeate the streets, Bytterly’s thoughts grew darker and darker. A DEEP anger arose in him, and he became consumed with wrath. He hated the very mention of Blyss, and resented the life that radiated from her person. Seeing her, and her vivacity, gave him pain.
Blyss became MORE lovely with each passing day. She worked HARD, helping her parents by earning wages by laboring in the fields. Blyss had MANY admirers among the YOUNG men. ‘Love’ was a new feeling, one that had not existed before her arrival. Feelings had been dead, but the RENEWED life that radiated from Blyss changed everything. The boys fell over themselves to impress her, and each of them sought to make her laugh. For her laughter rang out MERRILY, causing those who heard it to pause and smile. Blyss had an INFECTIOUS joy about her, a RADIANT light that shone forth from her person.
Jaedon admired Blyss from a distance. Unlike the other boys, he was reserved. Quiet and contemplative, he found MOST of his thoughts turned to Blyss much of the time, yet he did not OUTWARDLY express his love for her. Often, however, the two of them would work side by side, conversing together like OLD friends. Their attachment grew STRONGER every day. Blyss’s feelings for Jaedon began to deepen into something more, and she looked forward to their meetings. He had eyes only for her, and felt most alive when he was near her. Some have called it ‘true love’. But the truth about love is that it is more than a feeling. It is a commitment built on a STRONG relationship.
As all these things were transpiring, Bytterly sat seething inside his DISMAL mansion. Enveloped in darkness, despising the light, he could not bear to see his LITTLE peasants’ newfound happiness. Too long he had let things be, but enough was enough. It was more than he could endure. Tormented, he determined in his heart that he would feel no more. He would wait for night to fall, and then he would bring an end to the disturbance of his ‘peace’.
He STEALTHILY crept through the town, through the NARROW streets and WINDING alleyways. The fragrance of FRESH blossoms hung in the air, and the aroma sickened him. He cringed, and plunged onward, willing himself to continue. Bytterly stopped outside of a TINY cottage. Reaching into his cloak, he extracted a SMALL bottle. Clutching it TIGHTLY, he opened the door. Ignoring the CREAKING hinges, he pressed into the room, scanning the place until his eyes lighted upon a SLEEPING form. He felt her rather than saw her. Bytterly had never been so close to her, and hate welled up inside of him. He was repulsed by her, and it took all of his will to accomplish his task. DEFTLY, he removed the lid off of the bottle and poured its contents onto Blyss’s blanket. He then held the DAMPENED cloth beneath her nose, forcing her to breathe it in. Satisfied that she was unconscious, he lifted her LIMP body and silently made his way back through the town.
Upon his arrival home, he carried the OBLIVIOUS Blyss to a DISMAL chamber. The life was leaving her. Her color was fading, and her complexion began to turn pallid. Down the stairs, deep into a DANK dungeon, Bytterly deposited Blyss into a WRETCHED, WINDOWLESS room. And there he left her.
The next morning dawned. The townspeople awoke DROWSILY, as though from a dream. In disbelief, they stared at their surroundings in DISMAY. The VIBRANT colors were fading. The flowers had SHRIVELED up during the night, and the blossoms were STRICKEN. The buildings were once more DREARY shells. And the people felt the life drain from their bodies. Their complexions were ashen, their hair returned to grey, and their limbs were heavily laden once more. The lightness and brightness disappeared. In vain did they search for Blyss. She was nowhere to be found. In their hearts, they knew that he had taken her. Hopeless, they accepted their fate. How SWIFTLY they abandoned hope.
All but one. Jaedon’s love for Blyss had developed into much more than a fancy or a feeling. He clung to the hope that she might come to love him as he loved her. Her disappearance was a blow indeed, but rather than to lose hope like the others, Jaedon determined that he would not let Blyss fade. More than anything, he wanted her. He longed for her. In his mind, MERELY existing without Blyss was not living. He would not be satisfied with anything less. While the others were certain that Blyss was dead, Jaedon would not believe the rumor. He could not.
That night, Jaedon set out to find her. No one in the village had ever set foot inside the 'GREAT house’. Armed with his scythe, a sturdy rope, a parcel of food, matches, candles, and a heart swelling with hope, he left the town behind him and advanced toward Bytterly’s estate. He knew no fear, because he did not FULLY comprehend whom he was going up against. Jaedon was young and optimistic.
He had the good sense not to waste his time with the MASSIVE door. As for his plan, he did not have one. He was improvising as he went along. Jaedon crept up to a window and peered inside. He saw UTTER blackness. Sizing up the window, he gave it a shove. It didn’t budge. Picking up a LARGE stone, he took several steps before hurling it WITH ALL HIS MIGHT at the glass. The shattering pane cut through the silence as shards tinkled to the ground. Wasting no time, Jaedon leapt into the house.
Feeling his way through the darkness, with his heart beating LOUDLY inside his chest, he inched along. From the depths of the mansion, echoes began to reverberate off of the walls. A FAINT, SICKLY light made its way towards him. Jaedon headed for a table and QUICKLY took cover.
Bytterly came into view. He surveyed the GAPING hole. Seeing him in the light, Jaedon shuddered. Suddenly, Bytterly turned toward Jaedon’s hiding place. The gleam of the candle illuminated Jaedon’s CROUCHING form, and cast shadows on Bytterly’s HOLLOW face. The landlord was COLD, HAGGARD, and his features were eaten away by hate. His PIERCING eyes stared at Jaedon with something akin to disbelief.
It had never entered Bytterly’s mind to even consider that anyone would attempt to rescue Blyss. He had assumed that the villagers’ feelings were tied into Blyss’s life force, and that removing her from the equation would have eliminated ALL the NEWFOUND sensations. Bytterly had not counted on anyone ACTUALLY retaining feelings after Blyss’s departure. Jaedon’s love for Blyss caught Bytterly off guard.
Without giving it much thought, Jaedon drew out his scythe and lunged toward Bytterly. Placing the blade against the landlord’s throat, he demanded to know where Blyss was being held. His eyes lit with passion, his hand firm and steady, he was not to be reasoned with. Looking into his eyes, Bytterly saw a fire that could not be quenched. He told Jaedon that it was too late to save her. That her life had faded and that she was nothing more than an EMPTY shell. Jaedon’s eyes burned with ferocity as he again demanded that Bytterly disclose her whereabouts. Upon learning where she was, Jaedon rendered Bytterly unconscious and hurtled down the corridors, down to the chamber where she lay.
Blyss was as still as death. ASHEN, STRICKEN, she was hardly recognizable. Tears filled Jaedon’s eyes as he beheld her there. Rushing to her side, he cradled her head in his arms. As his tears dropped onto her face, and SPARKLED LIKE DIAMONDS, FAINT SPOTS of color appeared in her flesh. As he clung to her, he whispered the words that he had never had the courage to say to her. I love you. I love you, Blyss. And I always will.
She moaned in response. FAINTLY, but it was a sign of life. Alert, Jaedon was filled with hope once more. Blyss was reviving, SLOWLY. Trembling now, he began to breathe his breath into her lungs. This time, he gave her life. The BRILLIANT color began to return to her body, though not as vibrant as before. It was as though something had died in her. Jaedon held his breath as her eyes FLUTTERED open. Her glittering, SAPPHIRE eyes locked onto his, holding his gaze. And he knew, then and there, that she would always be his. Because those BEAUTIFUL eyes that SPARKLED and SHONE said it all. I love you, Jaedon. And I always will.
And they lived in UTTER bliss to the end of their days….the end.
*feel free to correct my mistakes - my mind isn't quite sharp right now. I may make more changes to this later...but it is posted at least.
Age: 5 - 16
Interests: Fairy Tales, Princesses, True Love, Facebook, Elves, Myths, Friends, Ice Skating, Dresses, Beautiful Things; there are some girls who play sports, such as volleyball, tennis, basketball, soccer, and softball.
Habits: They bite their nails when they are nervous and love bright colors. They have an innocence about them, and are very trusting and naive.
Other things they like to watch or read: Nancy Drew, American Girl series, Disney Princess movies, Tinkerbell, Chick-flicks, Pride and Prejudice, etc.
What they do in their spare time: Play with friends, Cook, Watch movies, Read books, Make up stories, Sing songs, Dance, Dream, Act out make-believe, Hang out at the mall, Have sleepovers.
Things they buy: Dolls, Purses, Make-up, Magazines, Clothes, Shoes, Books, Movie Tickets, Candy, Bubbles, Glitter.
Where they live: With their parents/guardians.
Income level: $0 - 700 (on an aside, their parents make much more. Between $50,000 - 150,000)
Maximum education: Freshman in high school [college undergraduates can be lumped in here too].
Anything else that is relevant: These girls adore fairy tale endings and happily ever after. They love beauty and anything that has to do with magical enchantments.
Blyss - A Short Story. I have gone through and highlighted the adjectives/descriptive words.
It was a SMALL town where nothing exceptional ever happened. Where every day was much the same as the one before. The scenery was dull and drained of color. The people were dull, the food was dull, the buildings were dull – in short, life was dull. No one complained, for no one knew life was to be anything different than MERE existence. They were born, they lived, they worked, and they died. That was all.
And things might have gone on that way forever, were it not for the arrival of Blyss. She was an oddity, to be sure. Born to a YOUNG peasant couple, Blyss was, well, different. Because, unlike the rest, Blyss was infused with color. Her eyes were SAPPHIRE blue, and they twinkled with a merriment of their own. Her hair was not limp and grey, but JET black, and it shone with a HEALTHY sheen. Her skin was RADIANT, somewhat olive in hue, and contrasted STARKLY with the CLAMMY, WAN complexion that all of the other townspeople shared. Blyss’ lips were a PALE pink, and when she laughed, it sounded like music was issuing forth. Blyss was alive with life, filled TO THE BURSTING with hope, joy, and love.
As she grew, Blyss continued to blossom. Wherever Blyss wandered, color followed in her wake. Flowers sprang up in the cracks and crevices, flavor was added to the hitherto BLAND food dishes, and the dreary, drained town began to drink in the life that radiated from Blyss. The townspeople adored her. Like the winter that melts into spring, Blyss’s presence transformed the dull purposeless townsfolk into people filled with hope. No one knew how to explain the phenomenon, and no one questioned the STRANGE occurrences. Rather, they embraced the changes and welcomed Blyss with open arms.
There was, however, one who could not endure Blyss. His name was Bytterly, and he was the landlord who oversaw the townspeople. Bytterly loathed the sight of Blyss, and he detested the brightness that resonated from her presence. He preferred the darkness, and resided in a large estate outside of the town limits. He watched with INCREASING disgust as the MISERABLE town began to come to life. As hope, love, and joy started to permeate the streets, Bytterly’s thoughts grew darker and darker. A DEEP anger arose in him, and he became consumed with wrath. He hated the very mention of Blyss, and resented the life that radiated from her person. Seeing her, and her vivacity, gave him pain.
Blyss became MORE lovely with each passing day. She worked HARD, helping her parents by earning wages by laboring in the fields. Blyss had MANY admirers among the YOUNG men. ‘Love’ was a new feeling, one that had not existed before her arrival. Feelings had been dead, but the RENEWED life that radiated from Blyss changed everything. The boys fell over themselves to impress her, and each of them sought to make her laugh. For her laughter rang out MERRILY, causing those who heard it to pause and smile. Blyss had an INFECTIOUS joy about her, a RADIANT light that shone forth from her person.
Jaedon admired Blyss from a distance. Unlike the other boys, he was reserved. Quiet and contemplative, he found MOST of his thoughts turned to Blyss much of the time, yet he did not OUTWARDLY express his love for her. Often, however, the two of them would work side by side, conversing together like OLD friends. Their attachment grew STRONGER every day. Blyss’s feelings for Jaedon began to deepen into something more, and she looked forward to their meetings. He had eyes only for her, and felt most alive when he was near her. Some have called it ‘true love’. But the truth about love is that it is more than a feeling. It is a commitment built on a STRONG relationship.
As all these things were transpiring, Bytterly sat seething inside his DISMAL mansion. Enveloped in darkness, despising the light, he could not bear to see his LITTLE peasants’ newfound happiness. Too long he had let things be, but enough was enough. It was more than he could endure. Tormented, he determined in his heart that he would feel no more. He would wait for night to fall, and then he would bring an end to the disturbance of his ‘peace’.
He STEALTHILY crept through the town, through the NARROW streets and WINDING alleyways. The fragrance of FRESH blossoms hung in the air, and the aroma sickened him. He cringed, and plunged onward, willing himself to continue. Bytterly stopped outside of a TINY cottage. Reaching into his cloak, he extracted a SMALL bottle. Clutching it TIGHTLY, he opened the door. Ignoring the CREAKING hinges, he pressed into the room, scanning the place until his eyes lighted upon a SLEEPING form. He felt her rather than saw her. Bytterly had never been so close to her, and hate welled up inside of him. He was repulsed by her, and it took all of his will to accomplish his task. DEFTLY, he removed the lid off of the bottle and poured its contents onto Blyss’s blanket. He then held the DAMPENED cloth beneath her nose, forcing her to breathe it in. Satisfied that she was unconscious, he lifted her LIMP body and silently made his way back through the town.
Upon his arrival home, he carried the OBLIVIOUS Blyss to a DISMAL chamber. The life was leaving her. Her color was fading, and her complexion began to turn pallid. Down the stairs, deep into a DANK dungeon, Bytterly deposited Blyss into a WRETCHED, WINDOWLESS room. And there he left her.
The next morning dawned. The townspeople awoke DROWSILY, as though from a dream. In disbelief, they stared at their surroundings in DISMAY. The VIBRANT colors were fading. The flowers had SHRIVELED up during the night, and the blossoms were STRICKEN. The buildings were once more DREARY shells. And the people felt the life drain from their bodies. Their complexions were ashen, their hair returned to grey, and their limbs were heavily laden once more. The lightness and brightness disappeared. In vain did they search for Blyss. She was nowhere to be found. In their hearts, they knew that he had taken her. Hopeless, they accepted their fate. How SWIFTLY they abandoned hope.
All but one. Jaedon’s love for Blyss had developed into much more than a fancy or a feeling. He clung to the hope that she might come to love him as he loved her. Her disappearance was a blow indeed, but rather than to lose hope like the others, Jaedon determined that he would not let Blyss fade. More than anything, he wanted her. He longed for her. In his mind, MERELY existing without Blyss was not living. He would not be satisfied with anything less. While the others were certain that Blyss was dead, Jaedon would not believe the rumor. He could not.
That night, Jaedon set out to find her. No one in the village had ever set foot inside the 'GREAT house’. Armed with his scythe, a sturdy rope, a parcel of food, matches, candles, and a heart swelling with hope, he left the town behind him and advanced toward Bytterly’s estate. He knew no fear, because he did not FULLY comprehend whom he was going up against. Jaedon was young and optimistic.
He had the good sense not to waste his time with the MASSIVE door. As for his plan, he did not have one. He was improvising as he went along. Jaedon crept up to a window and peered inside. He saw UTTER blackness. Sizing up the window, he gave it a shove. It didn’t budge. Picking up a LARGE stone, he took several steps before hurling it WITH ALL HIS MIGHT at the glass. The shattering pane cut through the silence as shards tinkled to the ground. Wasting no time, Jaedon leapt into the house.
Feeling his way through the darkness, with his heart beating LOUDLY inside his chest, he inched along. From the depths of the mansion, echoes began to reverberate off of the walls. A FAINT, SICKLY light made its way towards him. Jaedon headed for a table and QUICKLY took cover.
Bytterly came into view. He surveyed the GAPING hole. Seeing him in the light, Jaedon shuddered. Suddenly, Bytterly turned toward Jaedon’s hiding place. The gleam of the candle illuminated Jaedon’s CROUCHING form, and cast shadows on Bytterly’s HOLLOW face. The landlord was COLD, HAGGARD, and his features were eaten away by hate. His PIERCING eyes stared at Jaedon with something akin to disbelief.
It had never entered Bytterly’s mind to even consider that anyone would attempt to rescue Blyss. He had assumed that the villagers’ feelings were tied into Blyss’s life force, and that removing her from the equation would have eliminated ALL the NEWFOUND sensations. Bytterly had not counted on anyone ACTUALLY retaining feelings after Blyss’s departure. Jaedon’s love for Blyss caught Bytterly off guard.
Without giving it much thought, Jaedon drew out his scythe and lunged toward Bytterly. Placing the blade against the landlord’s throat, he demanded to know where Blyss was being held. His eyes lit with passion, his hand firm and steady, he was not to be reasoned with. Looking into his eyes, Bytterly saw a fire that could not be quenched. He told Jaedon that it was too late to save her. That her life had faded and that she was nothing more than an EMPTY shell. Jaedon’s eyes burned with ferocity as he again demanded that Bytterly disclose her whereabouts. Upon learning where she was, Jaedon rendered Bytterly unconscious and hurtled down the corridors, down to the chamber where she lay.
Blyss was as still as death. ASHEN, STRICKEN, she was hardly recognizable. Tears filled Jaedon’s eyes as he beheld her there. Rushing to her side, he cradled her head in his arms. As his tears dropped onto her face, and SPARKLED LIKE DIAMONDS, FAINT SPOTS of color appeared in her flesh. As he clung to her, he whispered the words that he had never had the courage to say to her. I love you. I love you, Blyss. And I always will.
She moaned in response. FAINTLY, but it was a sign of life. Alert, Jaedon was filled with hope once more. Blyss was reviving, SLOWLY. Trembling now, he began to breathe his breath into her lungs. This time, he gave her life. The BRILLIANT color began to return to her body, though not as vibrant as before. It was as though something had died in her. Jaedon held his breath as her eyes FLUTTERED open. Her glittering, SAPPHIRE eyes locked onto his, holding his gaze. And he knew, then and there, that she would always be his. Because those BEAUTIFUL eyes that SPARKLED and SHONE said it all. I love you, Jaedon. And I always will.
And they lived in UTTER bliss to the end of their days….the end.
*feel free to correct my mistakes - my mind isn't quite sharp right now. I may make more changes to this later...but it is posted at least.
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