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Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Replacements


Chris Ganson
Blog #5

    The Replacements is a interesting story written by Lisa Tuttle. One of the main gothic motifs in the short story is the fear of the supernatural. I thought that Lisa Tuttle did a great job incorporating the supernatural. The supernatural is described as some kind of otherworldly being or object which is frightening due to its refusal to adhere to the laws of nature. In The Replacements, Stuart stumbles upon a ugly looking animal that he ends up killing with his shoe. He states that the animal “is something that should not exist, a mistake, something alien” (Tuttle 460). Later in the story, when Stuart gets home he finds out that his wife, Jenny, brought back a similar looking animal. At the end of the story you find out that the animal likes to suck blood and is believed to be a vampire. 

     One of the other main gothic motifs found in The Replacements is the outsider. In the story, Stuart is the only one that seems to fear the animal. He believes that the creature could carry various diseases such rabies or foul parasites from South America or Africa (Tuttle 465). Everyone else that Stuart knows, such as his wife and secretary, love and take care of the strange creatures. I believe that Lisa Tuttle did a good job incorporating the outsider motif. In the short story, Stuart is the only one able to see the potential dangers of taking care of a strange animal that sucks your blood for food.

     Overall I thought that the story was compelling and strange. I wasn’t really that scared while reading the short story, but I found myself wanting to know more about where the creature came from. I definitely would recommend The Replacements to some of my friends. I think they would enjoy the mystery behind the strange creatures. I would give The Replacements a solid 4 out of 5.


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