Differing from the theme of this blog, I am going to rant about sports.
Just when the Knicks were finally starting to show a little bit of heart….Just when they were actually winning a few games, second in the Atlantic, one of the biggest trades in recent Knicks’ history takes place. Trading Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and Mardy Collins was a great decision by Donnie Walsh! I liked Randolph and Crawford, but both had large contracts, and this move will put the Knicks under the salary cap limit for the first time in my life. It will be tough to watch games at times because the team lost a lot by trading their top two scorers and top rebounder; however they will be in a good position in 2010- with or without Lebron James.
….
The Stephon Marbury situation is just RIDICULOUS! He is so talented, but he wastes every single ounce of talent in his body. Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, and Mike D’Antoni are not perfect, especially Isiah Thomas, but they did not get to be hall of famers in the NBA or overseas for by knowing nothing about basketball. Stephon Marbury, you were the common denominator in every one of these battles. You need to realize that you have issues and stop acting like a spoiled child. I wish I could get paid 21 million dollars to do nothing. Think about that.
….
I am itching for some Mets news this off season. They really have not done much yet; except pick up Delgado’s option for 2009. I am hoping that extend an offer to Oliver Perez. He was one of their most consistent starters. He has great “stuff”. He is a big game pitcher; just look at his games against the Yankees or in the 2006 post season. Perez had inconsistencies in the past, but finally seems to have gotten it together in New York. The starting rotation in 2008 was one of the best things the Mets had. Having a rotation of Santana, Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey would be strong. The Mets would just need a serviceable 5th starter to replace Pedro.
I would like to see the Mets trade Luis Castillo for an outfielder or relief pitcher. He is not good anymore, he is constantly hurt, and his contract is huge, so it might be difficult, but Castillo is not going to help the Mets in 2009. Murphy at second base hitting second in the lineup would be good as long as Murphy can play a decent defensive second base. He is a very patient hitter, and he is a cheap option for second that would give the team more money to spend on the bullpen.
The bullpen is awful. Get rid of it. Please. First they need a closer. K-Rod is the best closer on the market, but he is going to be expensive. He would be a good fit for the Mets, but they should be careful about how long of a contract they give him. The velocity on his fastball has dropped, and his motion to the mound gives me nightmares of a career-ending injury to come. He falls so far off the mound that he practically lands on his knees. He has to be putting considerably more stress on his elbow and shoulder than most pitchers in order to generate that type of momentum. Omar should go get K-Rod, but he might want to buy some extra insurance on that elbow because it would be awful to have to pay to closers that are not even able to pitch.
The Mets also need a left fielder that can hit. It does not have to be a long term solution because Fernando Martinez will hopefully be in Citi Field at some point in 2009, but he has to be able to hit. The lineup was not that good after Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado.
I can not wait to go to Citi Field, or as it was called in the Times Herald Record today, Citi/ Taxpayers’ Field. Citi Group could make up a small portion of their losses if they were not buying naming rights for the new stadium.
LETS GO METS!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Do People Really Change?
I agree with Tim O’Brien that very little changes about a person from birth to death other than superficial attributes and physical things. Much of who we are as people is formed from early childhood lessons that stick with us forever. Physical things may change. Opinions may change. Friends may change, but a person’s values and key characteristics, what defines us, do not.
As a small child, I always wanted to keep up with my older sister. My Mom told me how I used to get out of my play area to follow my sister when she would leave the room because I wanted to play with her. I was fairly stubborn and determined then, and I still am today.
My parents taught me to be honest and work hard. They used to have to make me do my homework and do chores to earn my allowance. Now, I do all my school work on own and work for things that I want. Work is my addiction. I always take on a lot of responsibilities and commitments, and it does not appear that the status quo will be changing soon.
While my situation may not provide the most credibility because I have only lived seventeen years, a look at my grandfather’s life provides a much more convincing argument. My grandfather grew up on a farm and bought it from his parents. He grew up working hard every day and was taught not to waste anything. Even in his later life, after he sold the farm and took a job in industry, he still lived fairly simply an acted the same way. There were few occasions where he would buy frivolous items or take a day off, even when he could.
Someone can change their physical appearance, find new interests or friends, or even change an opinion, but they never truly change their basic values; as O’Brien writes, “But the essence remains the same,” (236). Values and characteristics that all people gain early in life become foundations for everything life presents. These characteristics and values become twisted into so many aspects of life that that to escape them is a near-impossible feat. Values are like the footings of a building; even after the building has been torn down, the evidence of where it stood still remains.
As a small child, I always wanted to keep up with my older sister. My Mom told me how I used to get out of my play area to follow my sister when she would leave the room because I wanted to play with her. I was fairly stubborn and determined then, and I still am today.
My parents taught me to be honest and work hard. They used to have to make me do my homework and do chores to earn my allowance. Now, I do all my school work on own and work for things that I want. Work is my addiction. I always take on a lot of responsibilities and commitments, and it does not appear that the status quo will be changing soon.
While my situation may not provide the most credibility because I have only lived seventeen years, a look at my grandfather’s life provides a much more convincing argument. My grandfather grew up on a farm and bought it from his parents. He grew up working hard every day and was taught not to waste anything. Even in his later life, after he sold the farm and took a job in industry, he still lived fairly simply an acted the same way. There were few occasions where he would buy frivolous items or take a day off, even when he could.
Someone can change their physical appearance, find new interests or friends, or even change an opinion, but they never truly change their basic values; as O’Brien writes, “But the essence remains the same,” (236). Values and characteristics that all people gain early in life become foundations for everything life presents. These characteristics and values become twisted into so many aspects of life that that to escape them is a near-impossible feat. Values are like the footings of a building; even after the building has been torn down, the evidence of where it stood still remains.
Friday, October 3, 2008
"Why I Write" by Frank McCourt
Angela’s Ashes was a way of purging the emotions I carried inside myself for the first nineteen years of my life. The memoir was not about making money; I lived most of my life without money so it is not a necessity now. I wrote because I needed to tell other people that poverty is real. We really did live in a shack infested with fleas that would flood during the winter. When I wrote that we had nothing to eat, we really were starving. The babies really would cry because they had nothing but sugar water. We only had the clothing on our backs and broken shoes. The smell from the lavatory was real. The sickness was real, and it affected us greatly.
I write because of my sister and brothers who died due to our poverty. I did not fully understand what had happened then, but I know it hurt me inside. It was painful to watch my brother as he waited for Ollie to come home. Knowing Margaret died was worse because Mulachy and I were jealous of her. Everyone paid so much attention to Margaret; my father even stopped drinking then. It was worse after she died because then Mam got so upset and we had to move to Ireland where most of our family hated us. I needed to let those bottled emotions out.
I write because of the mistakes my father made. I love the father that would tell me stories of Cucchulain. The father that would come home drunk and singing was even tolerable at first, but after years of his habit, it was too much. He drank the baby’s money, and Mam sent me to pull him out of the pub. No father should make his son have to drag him home from the pub and then leave his family. However, when my father left I was able to work and bring home wages that he never did. Walking home with a few shillings in my pocket gave me a sense of pride that I never dreamed of experiencing and best of all, working enabled me to come back to America.
Being in America has allowed me to escape the poverty and sins I committed; now I can let everything go. I can write everything out on paper and put it aside so that I can try to move on with a different part of my life. I write so that other people will know that the suffering they hear about is real, and I hope they will be thankful for their good situations or find hope if they are suffering. Writing is a process that allows me to look back at my life and analyze what has happened to me. Through writing I can look at what happened in my past and understand it with a sense that I did not have when I was nineteen years old. I did not understand everything that happened to me in New York and Ireland, but I can reflect back on it through writing and fill in the missing pieces. Completing Angela’s Ashes was like finishing the puzzle of my life, and now I can set the puzzle aside and be at peace. I write so that I can heal.
I write because of my sister and brothers who died due to our poverty. I did not fully understand what had happened then, but I know it hurt me inside. It was painful to watch my brother as he waited for Ollie to come home. Knowing Margaret died was worse because Mulachy and I were jealous of her. Everyone paid so much attention to Margaret; my father even stopped drinking then. It was worse after she died because then Mam got so upset and we had to move to Ireland where most of our family hated us. I needed to let those bottled emotions out.
I write because of the mistakes my father made. I love the father that would tell me stories of Cucchulain. The father that would come home drunk and singing was even tolerable at first, but after years of his habit, it was too much. He drank the baby’s money, and Mam sent me to pull him out of the pub. No father should make his son have to drag him home from the pub and then leave his family. However, when my father left I was able to work and bring home wages that he never did. Walking home with a few shillings in my pocket gave me a sense of pride that I never dreamed of experiencing and best of all, working enabled me to come back to America.
Being in America has allowed me to escape the poverty and sins I committed; now I can let everything go. I can write everything out on paper and put it aside so that I can try to move on with a different part of my life. I write so that other people will know that the suffering they hear about is real, and I hope they will be thankful for their good situations or find hope if they are suffering. Writing is a process that allows me to look back at my life and analyze what has happened to me. Through writing I can look at what happened in my past and understand it with a sense that I did not have when I was nineteen years old. I did not understand everything that happened to me in New York and Ireland, but I can reflect back on it through writing and fill in the missing pieces. Completing Angela’s Ashes was like finishing the puzzle of my life, and now I can set the puzzle aside and be at peace. I write so that I can heal.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Angela's Ashes
“Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us as night.” Oscar Wilde
This quote from Oscar Wilde relates extremely well to Angela’s Ashes because poverty, sin, and misery are more than just a state of being or an emotion for the McCourts. Wilde represents the same sentiment in the quote above by personifying poverty, sin, and misery. Wilde also says that poverty, sin, and misery are connected, and they are for the McCourts as well.
The McCourts always fall back into the clutches of Poverty, and being in a state of poverty affects so many parts of their lives. For example: they have to live in a rat and flea-infested home that floods and connects to a lavatory for an entire street, The children become sick and die, and their family dislikes them. The problems that affect the McCourts mount and lead to other problems because money affects so much in the world. It is appropriate that Wilde personifies poverty because poverty touches so many aspects of life; like a person is more than just their appearance.
Wilde writes, “Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her,” indicating that the two are connected. The same is true for the McCourts; such as when Frank steals lemonade and a box of food.
“There’s a van pulling away from South’s pub leaving crates of beer and lemonade outside and there isn’t a soul on the street. In a second I have two bottles of lemonade up under my jersey and I saunter away trying to look innocent” (McCourt 236).
Frank knows that stealing the lemonade is wrong, but he is so desperate to feed his family. Frank feels extra pressure to help because he is the oldest and his father is not home. While it is wrong to steal, he is not able to see any other way because he does not have any money. Not only does the poverty affect the physical things in the lives of the McCourts, but it affects the mental aspects of life. Sin followed Poverty close behind.
The line in Wilde’s quotation, “Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night,” makes the poverty situation described in the quote come full-circle. Once again, misery and shame are personified showing that they can have many different layers and levels. The actions of Misery and Shame show that the emotions stay with the people every day; life is a constant struggle for the McCourts. For example, Frank explains his family’s shame when they do not have food while Mr. McCourt is in England:
“At times like this Mam tells us to stay inside. We have noting but bread and tea and she doesn’t want the tormenting neighbors to see us with our tongues hanging out, suffering over the lovely smells floating up and down the lane,” (218).
This quote shows that the McCourts are desperate, but they do not want to be seen in that state in order to protect what dignity they have left. The McCourts wake up every morning to little, if anything, to eat, their horrible apartment, and the problems of life. The problems do not go away in the course of the day; the problems are waiting every night as well.
This quote from Oscar Wilde relates extremely well to Angela’s Ashes because poverty, sin, and misery are more than just a state of being or an emotion for the McCourts. Wilde represents the same sentiment in the quote above by personifying poverty, sin, and misery. Wilde also says that poverty, sin, and misery are connected, and they are for the McCourts as well.
The McCourts always fall back into the clutches of Poverty, and being in a state of poverty affects so many parts of their lives. For example: they have to live in a rat and flea-infested home that floods and connects to a lavatory for an entire street, The children become sick and die, and their family dislikes them. The problems that affect the McCourts mount and lead to other problems because money affects so much in the world. It is appropriate that Wilde personifies poverty because poverty touches so many aspects of life; like a person is more than just their appearance.
Wilde writes, “Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her,” indicating that the two are connected. The same is true for the McCourts; such as when Frank steals lemonade and a box of food.
“There’s a van pulling away from South’s pub leaving crates of beer and lemonade outside and there isn’t a soul on the street. In a second I have two bottles of lemonade up under my jersey and I saunter away trying to look innocent” (McCourt 236).
Frank knows that stealing the lemonade is wrong, but he is so desperate to feed his family. Frank feels extra pressure to help because he is the oldest and his father is not home. While it is wrong to steal, he is not able to see any other way because he does not have any money. Not only does the poverty affect the physical things in the lives of the McCourts, but it affects the mental aspects of life. Sin followed Poverty close behind.
The line in Wilde’s quotation, “Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night,” makes the poverty situation described in the quote come full-circle. Once again, misery and shame are personified showing that they can have many different layers and levels. The actions of Misery and Shame show that the emotions stay with the people every day; life is a constant struggle for the McCourts. For example, Frank explains his family’s shame when they do not have food while Mr. McCourt is in England:
“At times like this Mam tells us to stay inside. We have noting but bread and tea and she doesn’t want the tormenting neighbors to see us with our tongues hanging out, suffering over the lovely smells floating up and down the lane,” (218).
This quote shows that the McCourts are desperate, but they do not want to be seen in that state in order to protect what dignity they have left. The McCourts wake up every morning to little, if anything, to eat, their horrible apartment, and the problems of life. The problems do not go away in the course of the day; the problems are waiting every night as well.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Why the Name Schell?
The last name Schell is fitting for many of the characters in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for various reasons.
Lets start with Oskar. Oskar is clearly struggling with depression following the tragic death of his father. Oskar does not fit in well with other kids his age; for example, the interactions between Jimmy Snyder and himself backstage during the production of Hamlet. Oskar’s knowledge of information that is not typical for his age group, combined with his inventing, both indications of a possible mental disorder, separate him from children his age. Oskar even references zipping himself into a sleeping bag, as if it were a cocoon. While Oskar has lost some of his innocence as a result of the tragedy, he attempts to comfort himself by ignoring the truth as much as possible. Oskar carries a tambourine with him as he visits the Blacks. The tambourine is comforting and shows how Oskar tries to remain as innocent as possible. Oskar also tries to protect his mother by hiding the messages that his father left on the answering machine. In this sense, he is bringing others into his shell for protection.
In a different sense, Schell is a fitting and significant name because Oskar’s journey to all the Blacks because Oskar is breaking out of his shell. Oskar is going out of his comfort zone trying to find information about his father. This is a large task for Oskar because in the back of his mind he knows that the information he receives can finalize his father’s death which he has been attempting to hide from.
The name Schell is also significant in discussing Oskar’s mother. Like Oskar, she hides the fact that she received a phone call from her husband to protect Oskar. She also could have been protecting herself by ignoring the fact that she received the phone call, Oskar’s mother is not making her husband’s death final.
Schell is a fitting name for Oskar’s grandparents as well. Both people have a lot of bottled emotion that they keep from one another. Oskar’s grandmother knows that Thomas truly was in love with Anna; yet she continues a relationship with him for many years hoping that he will love her, when she is really hiding from the truth. Thomas has trouble expressing his emotions towards his son; for example, all the unsent letters he wrote to him. All the bottled emotion Thomas has could be considered a shell that he unable to break through.
Lets start with Oskar. Oskar is clearly struggling with depression following the tragic death of his father. Oskar does not fit in well with other kids his age; for example, the interactions between Jimmy Snyder and himself backstage during the production of Hamlet. Oskar’s knowledge of information that is not typical for his age group, combined with his inventing, both indications of a possible mental disorder, separate him from children his age. Oskar even references zipping himself into a sleeping bag, as if it were a cocoon. While Oskar has lost some of his innocence as a result of the tragedy, he attempts to comfort himself by ignoring the truth as much as possible. Oskar carries a tambourine with him as he visits the Blacks. The tambourine is comforting and shows how Oskar tries to remain as innocent as possible. Oskar also tries to protect his mother by hiding the messages that his father left on the answering machine. In this sense, he is bringing others into his shell for protection.
In a different sense, Schell is a fitting and significant name because Oskar’s journey to all the Blacks because Oskar is breaking out of his shell. Oskar is going out of his comfort zone trying to find information about his father. This is a large task for Oskar because in the back of his mind he knows that the information he receives can finalize his father’s death which he has been attempting to hide from.
The name Schell is also significant in discussing Oskar’s mother. Like Oskar, she hides the fact that she received a phone call from her husband to protect Oskar. She also could have been protecting herself by ignoring the fact that she received the phone call, Oskar’s mother is not making her husband’s death final.
Schell is a fitting name for Oskar’s grandparents as well. Both people have a lot of bottled emotion that they keep from one another. Oskar’s grandmother knows that Thomas truly was in love with Anna; yet she continues a relationship with him for many years hoping that he will love her, when she is really hiding from the truth. Thomas has trouble expressing his emotions towards his son; for example, all the unsent letters he wrote to him. All the bottled emotion Thomas has could be considered a shell that he unable to break through.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
History- Richard III
Shakespeare’s histories take real life events, often involving the British royal family, and exaggerate and dramatize them for stage. Histories were a way for people to learn about there past without the aid of a text book. Richard III incorporates many dramatic and tragic elements that are found in other genres of Shakespeare’s plays.
ActIII Scene I
YORK
I pray you, uncle, give me this dagger.
GLOUCESTER
My dagger, little cousin? with all my heart.
PRINCE EDWARD
A beggar, brother?
YORK
Of my kind uncle, that I know will give;And being but a toy, which is no grief to give.
GLOUCESTER
A greater gift than that I'll give my cousin.
YORK
A greater gift! O, that's the sword to it.
GLOUCESTER
A gentle cousin, were it light enough.
YORK
O, then, I see, you will part but with light gifts;In weightier things you'll say a beggar nay.
GLOUCESTER
It is too heavy for your grace to wear.
YORK
I weigh it lightly, were it heavier.
GLOUCESTER
What, would you have my weapon, little lord?
YORK
I would, that I might thank you as you call me.
GLOUCESTER
How?
YORK
Little.
PRINCE EDWARD
My Lord of York will still be cross in talk:Uncle, your grace knows how to bear with him.
YORK
You mean, to bear me, not to bear with me:Uncle, my brother mocks both you and me;Because that I am little, like an ape,He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.
BUCKINGHAM
With what a sharp-provided wit he reasons!To mitigate the scorn he gives his uncle,He prettily and aptly taunts himself:So cunning and so young is wonderful.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, will't please you pass along?Myself and my good cousin BuckinghamWill to your mother, to entreat of herTo meet you at the Tower and welcome you.
YORK
What, will you go unto the Tower, my lord?
PRINCE EDWARD
My lord protector needs will have it so.
YORK
I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.
GLOUCESTER
Why, what should you fear?
YORK
Marry, my uncle Clarence' angry ghost:My grandam told me he was murdered there.
PRINCE EDWARD
I fear no uncles dead.
GLOUCESTER
Nor none that live, I hope.
PRINCE EDWARD
An if they live, I hope I need not fear.But come, my lord; and with a heavy heart,Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.
A Sennet. Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM and CATESBY
This passage disturbed me the most out of the horrible thing Richard did. Richard gives his dagger to Prince Edward as a gift, a noble gesture. Richard acts as if he is the good Uncle that is acting in Price Edward’s best interest, when he really plans to kill him as he killed Prince Edward’s father. Richard is extremely manipulative in how he plays off of the price’s fear of the tower, and convinces him that it is the safest place for him to be. In this passage, Richard meets the most opposition to his plans, and it comes from the least likely suspect, his young nephew, which makes the scene more disturbing. Prince Edward, despite of his age and innocence, is able to see that Richard is up to no good when Richard has fooled many adults. Somehow, Richard convinces the prince that he has nothing to fear, and Prince Edward goes to the tower where he will be murdered like he suspected.
I enjoyed Richard III the most out of the Shakespeare works we read because Richard is a very interesting character. Richard is a horrible person, but he is intriguing at the same time because he is manipulative, evil, and has no conscience about his actions. Richard creates so much drama throughout the play; he is like a puppet master. I hate Richard because he is an extremely evil and cruel person, but I could not wait to see what he would do next because he is absolutely brilliant in the way he can control everyone even though they know he is controlling them.
ActIII Scene I
YORK
I pray you, uncle, give me this dagger.
GLOUCESTER
My dagger, little cousin? with all my heart.
PRINCE EDWARD
A beggar, brother?
YORK
Of my kind uncle, that I know will give;And being but a toy, which is no grief to give.
GLOUCESTER
A greater gift than that I'll give my cousin.
YORK
A greater gift! O, that's the sword to it.
GLOUCESTER
A gentle cousin, were it light enough.
YORK
O, then, I see, you will part but with light gifts;In weightier things you'll say a beggar nay.
GLOUCESTER
It is too heavy for your grace to wear.
YORK
I weigh it lightly, were it heavier.
GLOUCESTER
What, would you have my weapon, little lord?
YORK
I would, that I might thank you as you call me.
GLOUCESTER
How?
YORK
Little.
PRINCE EDWARD
My Lord of York will still be cross in talk:Uncle, your grace knows how to bear with him.
YORK
You mean, to bear me, not to bear with me:Uncle, my brother mocks both you and me;Because that I am little, like an ape,He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.
BUCKINGHAM
With what a sharp-provided wit he reasons!To mitigate the scorn he gives his uncle,He prettily and aptly taunts himself:So cunning and so young is wonderful.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, will't please you pass along?Myself and my good cousin BuckinghamWill to your mother, to entreat of herTo meet you at the Tower and welcome you.
YORK
What, will you go unto the Tower, my lord?
PRINCE EDWARD
My lord protector needs will have it so.
YORK
I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.
GLOUCESTER
Why, what should you fear?
YORK
Marry, my uncle Clarence' angry ghost:My grandam told me he was murdered there.
PRINCE EDWARD
I fear no uncles dead.
GLOUCESTER
Nor none that live, I hope.
PRINCE EDWARD
An if they live, I hope I need not fear.But come, my lord; and with a heavy heart,Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.
A Sennet. Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM and CATESBY
This passage disturbed me the most out of the horrible thing Richard did. Richard gives his dagger to Prince Edward as a gift, a noble gesture. Richard acts as if he is the good Uncle that is acting in Price Edward’s best interest, when he really plans to kill him as he killed Prince Edward’s father. Richard is extremely manipulative in how he plays off of the price’s fear of the tower, and convinces him that it is the safest place for him to be. In this passage, Richard meets the most opposition to his plans, and it comes from the least likely suspect, his young nephew, which makes the scene more disturbing. Prince Edward, despite of his age and innocence, is able to see that Richard is up to no good when Richard has fooled many adults. Somehow, Richard convinces the prince that he has nothing to fear, and Prince Edward goes to the tower where he will be murdered like he suspected.
I enjoyed Richard III the most out of the Shakespeare works we read because Richard is a very interesting character. Richard is a horrible person, but he is intriguing at the same time because he is manipulative, evil, and has no conscience about his actions. Richard creates so much drama throughout the play; he is like a puppet master. I hate Richard because he is an extremely evil and cruel person, but I could not wait to see what he would do next because he is absolutely brilliant in the way he can control everyone even though they know he is controlling them.
Comedy- A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare’s comedy is characterized by with, puns, and sexual innuendos. A Midsummer Night’s Dream does feature some slapstick comedy in the scenes set in the woods. These scenes feature a lot of buffoonery; humor that is funny because of its stupidity, not because of its intellect. The Taming of the Shrew exhibited these same qualities. The Taming of the Shrew also utilized the fact that people tend to find humor in the pain of others as long as the pain is not severe. For example, the royalty had fun at the expense of the drunk my making him believe that he was a king. The tactics used by Shakespeare can be found in today’s comedy. Slapstick and buffoonery are used in standup and variety shows, and the other tactics are implored in various TV shows, movies, and comedy shows.
ACT III Scene i
Bottom
There are things in this comedy of Pyramus andThisby that will never please. First, Pyramus mustdraw a sword to kill himself; which the ladiescannot abide. How answer you that?
SNOUT
By'r lakin, a parlous fear.
STARVELING
I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.
BOTTOM
Not a whit: I have a device to make all well.Write me a prologue; and let the prologue seem tosay, we will do no harm with our swords, and thatPyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the morebetter assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, am notPyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will put themout of fear.
QUINCE
Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall bewritten in eight and six.
BOTTOM
No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight.
SNOUT
Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?
STARVELING
I fear it, I promise you.
BOTTOM
Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: tobring in--God shield us!--a lion among ladies, is amost dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearfulwild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought tolook to 't.
SNOUT
Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion.
BOTTOM
Nay, you must name his name, and half his face mustbe seen through the lion's neck: and he himselfmust speak through, saying thus, or to the samedefect,--'Ladies,'--or 'Fair-ladies--I would wishYou,'--or 'I would request you,'--or 'I wouldentreat you,--not to fear, not to tremble: my lifefor yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, itwere pity of my life: no I am no such thing; I am aman as other men are;' and there indeed let him namehis name, and tell them plainly he is Snug the joiner.
QUINCE
Well it shall be so. But there is two hard things; that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber; for, you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight.
SNOUT
Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?
BOTTOM
A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac; findout moonshine, find out moonshine.
QUINCE
Yes, it doth shine that night.
BOTTOM
Why, then may you leave a casement of the greatchamber window, where we play, open, and the moonmay shine in at the casement.
QUINCE
Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of thornsand a lanthorn, and say he comes to disfigure, or topresent, the person of Moonshine. Then, there isanother thing: we must have a wall in the greatchamber; for Pyramus and Thisby says the story, didtalk through the chink of a wall.
SNOUT
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
BOTTOM
Some man or other must present Wall: and let himhave some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-castabout him, to signify wall; and let him hold hisfingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramusand Thisby whisper.
In this passage, there is a great deal of buffoonery in the woods. This passage is humorous because of the stupidity of Bottom and the other cast members. They are so worried about the ladies being scared by the killing and the lion because they believe it will appear so real on stage. This is humorous because the audience knows that the cast is composed of horrible actors, so the fact that the actors believe that their parts will appear life-like is funny. The scene also shows the arrogance of the cast, especially Bottom, which is humorous because he is the worst actor of the bunch. It is humorous that several prologues are included into the play to explain that the events are not real because every one watching the play knows that the play is imaginary, and there would never be a prologue before every action in a good play. The description of the wall is particularly amusing because a wall is an inanimate object that really does not need to be acted out in the first place, and the idea of a person trying to be a wall, one with a hole no less, is particularly amusing. Acting out a wall is not the most intelligent idea, or the most necessary element of the play. The funniest part of this entire passage is that the cast spends so much time and puts so much effort into the little, unnecessary nuances that they are adding to the script instead of working on their acting, which is atrocious.
A did not enjoy A Midsummer Night’s Dream that much because I miss a lot of the suttle bits of humor that Shakespeare incorporates into the play when reading it. The scenes of buffoonery or slapstick humor are clearly funny, but that type of humor is much more effective when acted out because how humorous the scene will be is determined a lot by timing. Timing, expression, and context are very import to humor, and so much of that is missed when reading a play. One can understand much of the implied emotions when reading the play, but plays are truly meant to be performed for an audience.
ACT III Scene i
Bottom
There are things in this comedy of Pyramus andThisby that will never please. First, Pyramus mustdraw a sword to kill himself; which the ladiescannot abide. How answer you that?
SNOUT
By'r lakin, a parlous fear.
STARVELING
I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.
BOTTOM
Not a whit: I have a device to make all well.Write me a prologue; and let the prologue seem tosay, we will do no harm with our swords, and thatPyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the morebetter assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, am notPyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will put themout of fear.
QUINCE
Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall bewritten in eight and six.
BOTTOM
No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight.
SNOUT
Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?
STARVELING
I fear it, I promise you.
BOTTOM
Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: tobring in--God shield us!--a lion among ladies, is amost dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearfulwild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought tolook to 't.
SNOUT
Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion.
BOTTOM
Nay, you must name his name, and half his face mustbe seen through the lion's neck: and he himselfmust speak through, saying thus, or to the samedefect,--'Ladies,'--or 'Fair-ladies--I would wishYou,'--or 'I would request you,'--or 'I wouldentreat you,--not to fear, not to tremble: my lifefor yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, itwere pity of my life: no I am no such thing; I am aman as other men are;' and there indeed let him namehis name, and tell them plainly he is Snug the joiner.
QUINCE
Well it shall be so. But there is two hard things; that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber; for, you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight.
SNOUT
Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?
BOTTOM
A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac; findout moonshine, find out moonshine.
QUINCE
Yes, it doth shine that night.
BOTTOM
Why, then may you leave a casement of the greatchamber window, where we play, open, and the moonmay shine in at the casement.
QUINCE
Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of thornsand a lanthorn, and say he comes to disfigure, or topresent, the person of Moonshine. Then, there isanother thing: we must have a wall in the greatchamber; for Pyramus and Thisby says the story, didtalk through the chink of a wall.
SNOUT
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
BOTTOM
Some man or other must present Wall: and let himhave some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-castabout him, to signify wall; and let him hold hisfingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramusand Thisby whisper.
In this passage, there is a great deal of buffoonery in the woods. This passage is humorous because of the stupidity of Bottom and the other cast members. They are so worried about the ladies being scared by the killing and the lion because they believe it will appear so real on stage. This is humorous because the audience knows that the cast is composed of horrible actors, so the fact that the actors believe that their parts will appear life-like is funny. The scene also shows the arrogance of the cast, especially Bottom, which is humorous because he is the worst actor of the bunch. It is humorous that several prologues are included into the play to explain that the events are not real because every one watching the play knows that the play is imaginary, and there would never be a prologue before every action in a good play. The description of the wall is particularly amusing because a wall is an inanimate object that really does not need to be acted out in the first place, and the idea of a person trying to be a wall, one with a hole no less, is particularly amusing. Acting out a wall is not the most intelligent idea, or the most necessary element of the play. The funniest part of this entire passage is that the cast spends so much time and puts so much effort into the little, unnecessary nuances that they are adding to the script instead of working on their acting, which is atrocious.
A did not enjoy A Midsummer Night’s Dream that much because I miss a lot of the suttle bits of humor that Shakespeare incorporates into the play when reading it. The scenes of buffoonery or slapstick humor are clearly funny, but that type of humor is much more effective when acted out because how humorous the scene will be is determined a lot by timing. Timing, expression, and context are very import to humor, and so much of that is missed when reading a play. One can understand much of the implied emotions when reading the play, but plays are truly meant to be performed for an audience.
Tragedy- Macbeth
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not a tragedy merely because of the numerous deaths that result from evil intentions, but because of the corrosive transformation of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the deathly ambitious people they become. Shakespeare presents this transformation in a subtle way that becomes increasingly dramatic way. Lady Macbeth is very womanly, polite, and upstanding, but upon learning of Macbeth’s rise in power, she is hungry for more. This is when Lady Macbeth exhibits an example of gender role reversal; she takes charge of the situation upon realizing that Macbeth does not seem to have the confidence to take the next step needed to put himself ahead, and murder Duncan. Shakespeare presents these characters in a way that the reader or viewer of this play follows the Macbeths along their journey of rising power all the way to the summit of the mountain, and then stumbles back down the mountain with them.
ACT II SCENE II
Macbeth
I am afraid to think what I have done.
Look on’t again I dare not.
Lady Macbeth
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures. Tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
For it must seem there guilt.
She exits ( with the daggers) Knock within
Macbeth
Whence is that knocking?
How is’t with me when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnasube,
Making the green one red.
Enter Lady Macbeth
My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.
[…]
Macbeth
To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself.
In this scene, clearly Macbeth is distraught over his decision to murder Duncan. He feels uncomfortable in his own room; every single noise gives him fear because he knows so little of himself anymore. His actions have stricken him so terribly that nothing could change what he has done. Macbeth is extremely distraught, while Lady Macbeth is fine with the situation, and a bit ashamed at Macbeth’s skiddish behavior.
Macbeth’s behavior is characterized to be like that of the stereotypical woman; timid. Lady Macbeth is extremely bold, disgusted by Macbeth’s behavior. She has to take the daggers back to the scene, or do the dirty work. The way that Lady Macbeth says that her hands are the same color shows that she does feel badly about what has happened, but she has to move on, and Macbeth should be ashamed that he needs to be comforted, and just move on because he has more important things to focus on. Lady Macbeth has to take control of the situation, and be the one that is comforting the other, when one would normally expect the roles to be reversed.
The gender roles reversal plays into Macbeth’s demise, because not only his own ambition is his driving force, but more so the ambition of Lady Macbeth. She is the dominant person in the relationship, and her ambition is corruptive of the upstanding, rising members of society that she and Macbeth were.
I enjoyed the gender role reversal in Macbeth because it put an interesting twist on societal norms for the time period. The role reversal leads to intense language that exhibited desire and disgust, amongst various other emotions throughout the play. Shakespeare painted a picture with his words that even without seeing the play acted out, one could visualize the look on Lady Macbeth’s face when she has to hold Macbeth together, and the fear in Macbeth’s face when he sees the visions. Other than the major scenes involving Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, I had trouble following most of the remainder of the play. It was not that the words did not make sense, but that I could not visualize what was happening. It probably would have helped to see Macbeth acted out.
ACT II SCENE II
Macbeth
I am afraid to think what I have done.
Look on’t again I dare not.
Lady Macbeth
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures. Tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
For it must seem there guilt.
She exits ( with the daggers) Knock within
Macbeth
Whence is that knocking?
How is’t with me when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnasube,
Making the green one red.
Enter Lady Macbeth
My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.
[…]
Macbeth
To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself.
In this scene, clearly Macbeth is distraught over his decision to murder Duncan. He feels uncomfortable in his own room; every single noise gives him fear because he knows so little of himself anymore. His actions have stricken him so terribly that nothing could change what he has done. Macbeth is extremely distraught, while Lady Macbeth is fine with the situation, and a bit ashamed at Macbeth’s skiddish behavior.
Macbeth’s behavior is characterized to be like that of the stereotypical woman; timid. Lady Macbeth is extremely bold, disgusted by Macbeth’s behavior. She has to take the daggers back to the scene, or do the dirty work. The way that Lady Macbeth says that her hands are the same color shows that she does feel badly about what has happened, but she has to move on, and Macbeth should be ashamed that he needs to be comforted, and just move on because he has more important things to focus on. Lady Macbeth has to take control of the situation, and be the one that is comforting the other, when one would normally expect the roles to be reversed.
The gender roles reversal plays into Macbeth’s demise, because not only his own ambition is his driving force, but more so the ambition of Lady Macbeth. She is the dominant person in the relationship, and her ambition is corruptive of the upstanding, rising members of society that she and Macbeth were.
I enjoyed the gender role reversal in Macbeth because it put an interesting twist on societal norms for the time period. The role reversal leads to intense language that exhibited desire and disgust, amongst various other emotions throughout the play. Shakespeare painted a picture with his words that even without seeing the play acted out, one could visualize the look on Lady Macbeth’s face when she has to hold Macbeth together, and the fear in Macbeth’s face when he sees the visions. Other than the major scenes involving Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, I had trouble following most of the remainder of the play. It was not that the words did not make sense, but that I could not visualize what was happening. It probably would have helped to see Macbeth acted out.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
208 "If thou must love me" ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The theme of "If thou must love me" is love someone because you are in love, not to say that you have been in love, or for superficial features that may change, or that your view of may change. The poem is written as a sonnet, a form indicating the poet's Shakespearen influence, and every other line contains end rhyme. The end rhyme is integral because it brings together the poem following the hypens which indicate pauses and interjections. The speaker is a first person narrator who is speaking to someone that appears to a past lover. The position of the speaker is important because the message presented in the poem is given more effectively than if the speaker was directing their feelings towards a general group. The reader can sense emotion that the speaker is feeling because they are putting their feelings out in the open, not censoring them for a particular audience.
The hyphens, an aspect of the punctuation, serve a purpose in this poem because they express the emotion that the speaker is feeling. For example, one can see the exasperation of the speaker when she states, " Do not say' I Love her for her smile- her look-her way,'" (3). Love is personified in this poem when the speaker states, "Love's sake...love's eternity," (13-14). Love in the literal sense is an idea or concept, there for it can not have a time frame or a possession, but it is a nice detail because love is just as important as a person or most-prized possession, and often spoke about in that manner. An interesting detail of this poem is the capitalization of Beloved when the speaker states, "For these things in themselves, Beloved, may/," (7). Beloved is capitalized like it is refering to a person, but it is really refering to features mentioned in previous lines. The repetition of the word love is ironic because the speaker is telling their audience not to overuse love; do not love everything because love is so special, that it should not be constantly thrown out about everything, yet the word is used numerous times. The overuse of love illustrates the speaker's point though because she is telling the audience not to love but for the really important things, and repeating the word illustrates how it is not just overused in conversation, but overused in general.
"If thou must love me" initially struck me because is sounded similar like Meredith's speech to Derek in Grey's Anatomy, which is one of my favorite TV shows. However, it has a good message, do not love something or someone for their superficial features, but for what is inside them because that is who someone really is. It is a good message to take away, but it is also very cliche`. We all have probably read other poems or novels or watch a movie that had a similar message, but a good message will probably never die. I also like the old English that the poem is written in.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
The hyphens, an aspect of the punctuation, serve a purpose in this poem because they express the emotion that the speaker is feeling. For example, one can see the exasperation of the speaker when she states, " Do not say' I Love her for her smile- her look-her way,'" (3). Love is personified in this poem when the speaker states, "Love's sake...love's eternity," (13-14). Love in the literal sense is an idea or concept, there for it can not have a time frame or a possession, but it is a nice detail because love is just as important as a person or most-prized possession, and often spoke about in that manner. An interesting detail of this poem is the capitalization of Beloved when the speaker states, "For these things in themselves, Beloved, may/," (7). Beloved is capitalized like it is refering to a person, but it is really refering to features mentioned in previous lines. The repetition of the word love is ironic because the speaker is telling their audience not to overuse love; do not love everything because love is so special, that it should not be constantly thrown out about everything, yet the word is used numerous times. The overuse of love illustrates the speaker's point though because she is telling the audience not to love but for the really important things, and repeating the word illustrates how it is not just overused in conversation, but overused in general.
"If thou must love me" initially struck me because is sounded similar like Meredith's speech to Derek in Grey's Anatomy, which is one of my favorite TV shows. However, it has a good message, do not love something or someone for their superficial features, but for what is inside them because that is who someone really is. It is a good message to take away, but it is also very cliche`. We all have probably read other poems or novels or watch a movie that had a similar message, but a good message will probably never die. I also like the old English that the poem is written in.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
The warden said to me ~Etheridge Knight
"The warden said to me" is about the hierarchy of black and white in society, and the rifts that it causes. The speaker is an African American named Etheridge that is imprisoned. Etheridge is recalling a conversation that he had with the white warden. It appears that the warden's question is asked innocently out of curiosity with no malintentions, but the response from Etherdige is conditioned by poor treatment that African Americans have received since slavery. It is important that the speaker is African American because the message would likely be different if it came from a white person. In the situtation presented, if the speaker had been white, there may have been a condescending answer or one said with an unawareness of reality. The fact that this poem is presented as a conversation is also important because it shows that the warden and prisoner are on close levels; no one is being condescending or difficult.
The ideas of this poem that are conveyed through the speaker, tone, and presentation, are further enhanced by literary devices. Knight uses paranthetical thought to present the ideas that the speaker is having, but does not verbally present; for example, "(innocently, I think)," (2). Etheridge does not think the warden's question is asked with a malicious intent, but he is hesistant because of actions and ideas presented by society. Diction is also very critical in this poem. Knight presents the warden to be on a similar intellectual level as the the prisoner; for example, "'Say, etheridge,/ why come the black boys don't run off/ like the white boys do?,'" (2-4). The warden does not use proper English, just as the prisoner, Etheridge, does not; for example, "'Well, suh/I ain't for sure,"' (6-7). It is also important that the name Etheridge is not capitalized, just as suh is not capitalized. This shows that there is a minimal level of respect between the warden and prisoner. Etheridge is respectful enough to refer to the warden as suh because of what he was taught as a black boy growing up, but he does not respect the warden. The warden is not trying to be condescending or nasty to Etheridge, but the fact that he refers to the grown prisoners as boys is disrespectful.
"The Warden said to me" was interesting to me because it represents a miscommunication between races. I do not believe that either of these characters are truly racist towards one another, but because of what they are taught from a young age, they have racist tendencies. This example, which could be found in many other writings and texts, is a reflection of how family and society can influence a person's beliefs. The warden and Etheridge do not have any reason to dislike each other except for their positions in life, neither has done anything to the other. I feel that this situtation is not only found between black and white during the time period that the poem was published, but it can be found today in many forms, such as clicks. It is as if, we learn from mistakes, but can not completely rid ourselves of them because they are somehow ingrained in our nature.
The ideas of this poem that are conveyed through the speaker, tone, and presentation, are further enhanced by literary devices. Knight uses paranthetical thought to present the ideas that the speaker is having, but does not verbally present; for example, "(innocently, I think)," (2). Etheridge does not think the warden's question is asked with a malicious intent, but he is hesistant because of actions and ideas presented by society. Diction is also very critical in this poem. Knight presents the warden to be on a similar intellectual level as the the prisoner; for example, "'Say, etheridge,/ why come the black boys don't run off/ like the white boys do?,'" (2-4). The warden does not use proper English, just as the prisoner, Etheridge, does not; for example, "'Well, suh/I ain't for sure,"' (6-7). It is also important that the name Etheridge is not capitalized, just as suh is not capitalized. This shows that there is a minimal level of respect between the warden and prisoner. Etheridge is respectful enough to refer to the warden as suh because of what he was taught as a black boy growing up, but he does not respect the warden. The warden is not trying to be condescending or nasty to Etheridge, but the fact that he refers to the grown prisoners as boys is disrespectful.
"The Warden said to me" was interesting to me because it represents a miscommunication between races. I do not believe that either of these characters are truly racist towards one another, but because of what they are taught from a young age, they have racist tendencies. This example, which could be found in many other writings and texts, is a reflection of how family and society can influence a person's beliefs. The warden and Etheridge do not have any reason to dislike each other except for their positions in life, neither has done anything to the other. I feel that this situtation is not only found between black and white during the time period that the poem was published, but it can be found today in many forms, such as clicks. It is as if, we learn from mistakes, but can not completely rid ourselves of them because they are somehow ingrained in our nature.
217 The Lipstick on the Mirror ~Tom Disch
"The Lipstick on the Mirror" is making a negative statement on Hollywood and advertising that have created empires off of convincing women that they should look a certain way. The speaker of the poem is an omniscient narrator that has been watching the "wicked queen", who symbolizes industry and advertising, influencing the "common" people. The tone of the speaker is very negative and disappointed, it is also condescending in the way that the speaker points out the negative actions of the queen. The speaker and their tone is effective in this poem because they are like the reader of a fairytale. The "wicked queen" is an allusion to the wicked queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is a commonly known fairytale with a moral at the end. From the beginning of the fairytale, one can tell that the wicked queen is going to be the antagonist, so when the wicked queen is used as the main subject of the poem, the reader can sense from the beginning that industry and advertising, symbolized by the wicked queen, is going to be looked upon in a negative light. The punctuation creates a rhythm because many details are placed in lists; for example, "Hosiery and bras, as consumers, enchanted," (19). The listing nature of the details of the poem allow for more and more detail to be added; the rhythm makes it seem as though the speaker could find numerous details to support their case with little effort. It is also effective how Disch uses adjectives almost as if they are nouns; for example, "Would lap it up, gazing in their lesser/ Mirrors to see themselves in royal attire," (7-8). Lesser could mean that the women are looking at what they consider to be their lesser beauty, but lesser really goes with the word mirrors.
Disch uses personification, among other literary techniques, often such as when he writes, "Whose compact mirrors would whisper," (12). He makes it seem as if looking in the mirror is what causes the problem, but insecurities force the people to hear what the mirror whispers. Another technique used is repetition of the word her. This is important because it shows how the women in this poem are looking at someone else's features instead of looking for good in themselves. The inclusion of a list of different ethnicities affected by the queen is an important touch because it shows how the evil of the queen has spread far beyond her realm, just as ideas of marketing and Hollywood have traveled far beyond the United States. Probably the most important line of the poem is the last when the mirror replies to the queen's question, "Though, Majesty, thou," (35). This line is important because is shows that the industries do not necessarily see anything wrong with the dramatic effect they have on society.
This poem is completely relevant to our lives because Hollywood continues to take over our lives. The number of tabloids and gossip shows increase exponentially every year, and with that more stories about stars with issues come out. For example, how many days out of the year has Britney Spears been on the news? Answer: too many to count. Advertising and industry has created standards for all people, not just women, as referenced in the poem, that cause more and more people to resort to extreme behavior in order to fit in. Examples: fad diets, plastic surgery, and miracle drugs. "The Lipstick on the Mirror" was very interesting because it shows that media, society's mirror, has been a disease affecting society for a long period of time, and the disease apparently has no cure because it is even worse now.
Disch uses personification, among other literary techniques, often such as when he writes, "Whose compact mirrors would whisper," (12). He makes it seem as if looking in the mirror is what causes the problem, but insecurities force the people to hear what the mirror whispers. Another technique used is repetition of the word her. This is important because it shows how the women in this poem are looking at someone else's features instead of looking for good in themselves. The inclusion of a list of different ethnicities affected by the queen is an important touch because it shows how the evil of the queen has spread far beyond her realm, just as ideas of marketing and Hollywood have traveled far beyond the United States. Probably the most important line of the poem is the last when the mirror replies to the queen's question, "Though, Majesty, thou," (35). This line is important because is shows that the industries do not necessarily see anything wrong with the dramatic effect they have on society.
This poem is completely relevant to our lives because Hollywood continues to take over our lives. The number of tabloids and gossip shows increase exponentially every year, and with that more stories about stars with issues come out. For example, how many days out of the year has Britney Spears been on the news? Answer: too many to count. Advertising and industry has created standards for all people, not just women, as referenced in the poem, that cause more and more people to resort to extreme behavior in order to fit in. Examples: fad diets, plastic surgery, and miracle drugs. "The Lipstick on the Mirror" was very interesting because it shows that media, society's mirror, has been a disease affecting society for a long period of time, and the disease apparently has no cure because it is even worse now.
212 "Money" ~ Victor Contoski
The theme of "Money" is that although it may seem that money can make a person happy and buy them whatever they please, it will become an unhealthy obsession that will cause problems; the money will control the person instead of the person controlling the money. The speaker of the poem is an omniscient narrator, which adds to the effectiveness of the poem because the speaker knows everything. Personally, the speaker has a feel of a grandparent trying to give you advice because they have been down that particular path and want someone to benefit from their experiences. There is a shift in the poem between the second and third stanzas. The speaker changes from telling the reader how money can be tamed and bring happiness to a more pessimistic tone, telling the reader that money will take control of you easily. This shift is effective because the poem acknowledges common beliefs that money can fix problems and buy something that will make a person happy, and then the poem acknowledges the other side of the situation. It is like giving a piece of bad news and telling the good news first to lessen the blow, but the bad news is not any easier to receive because good thoughts and hopes were just crushed from a higher level than they would have been at if someone had just given the bad news.
Contoski personifies money when he writes, "It will nest/ in your pocket/ or curl up in a corner/reciting softly to itself/ the names of the presidents," (3-7). From these lines, money is made out to be like a pet that provides pleasure to its owner. The lines are comforting when the money recites the names of the presidents to itself, like someone counting sheep to fall asleep. These lines are representative of a person becoming too comfortable with pleasure that money may be bringing them. The speaker goes on to tell the reader that money may be impressive to friends and find you love, but not true love or friendship because, as Contoski writes, "But like an amoeba/ it makes love/ in secret/ only to itself," (12-15). Contoski alludes to a microorganism that reproduces asexually to reference that money loves money; someone that becomes your friend or falls in love with you that would not have if you did not have money, is only in it for the money. The point where a person becomes obsessed with material possession and money is shown when the speaker states, "Fold it frequently/it needs exercise," (16-17). This is an allusion to someone counting or looking at their money. However, the last two stanzas are most telling of the theme of the poem, Contoski writes, "Then one day when you think/ you are its master it will turn its head/ as if for a kiss/and bite you gently on the hand./ There will be no pain/but in thirty seconds/ the poison will reach your heart," (21-29). Someone may think that they are in control of everything, but their obsession will quickly affect them, and before they no there is a problem, it may be too late; hence the poison reaching the heart with no pain felt.
Through this poem, Contoski is making a statement that money, although it may buy you nice things, those material possessions are not what is most important; in fact the happiness those items bring may be false.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Flight Motif
From the opening pages of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man when the reader is introduced to the main character Stephen Dedalus, the flight motif is introduced, and will be carried on throughout the novel. Stephen’s last name comes from the Dedalus Myth in Greek mythology. Dedalus is thrown in prison because King Minos is convinced he has helped the Athenians escape, so Dedalus builds a pair of wings out of feathers and wax in order to escape. Stephen is imprisoned by his guilt and by others who try to make him conform to what they want. For example, Stephen’s father told him to make friends with the right people, like he did, but Mr. Dedalus was not always the upstanding citizen that he appears to be. Stephen is imprisoned by his homeland because it is not accepting of his plans for his future, just as Dedalus sees no escape by land, only flight.
As Stephen’s life continues, there are numerous instances where he is compared to a bird or birds are strategically included in a description; for example, “His throat ached with desire to cry aloud, the cry of a hawk or eagle on high, to cry piercingly of his deliverance to the winds,” (183-184). Flight is a symbol of Stephen finding his soul and freeing himself from the influence of others and Ireland. After Stephen realizes that his passion lies in writing, the flight motif becomes even more evident because at this point, Stephen’s relationship with his family is at its weakest, and he is realizing that the politics in Ireland are very constraining. Stephen is not living in the Ireland that he recalls from his childhood; people have to act like sheep such as the students taking notes in one of Stephen’s classes, leaving little space for thought and creativity.
Stephen needs space to contemplate his thoughts, like the birds have freedom to fly throughout the skies. His mind and soul needs to escape the heavily fortified prison cell created by guilt and constraints; symbolized by the birds and flight into the vastness of the sky, where there would seemingly be room for everything.
Quote
“Last and crowning torture of all the tortures of that awful place is the eternity of hell. Eternity! O, dread and dire word. Eternity! What mind of man can understand it? ... You have often seen the sand on the seashore. How fine are its tiny grains! And how many of those tiny little grains go to make up the small handful which a child grasps in its play. Now imagine a mountain of that sand, a million miles high, reaching from the Earth to the farthest heavens, and a million miles broad…And if that mountain rose again after it had been all carried away and if the bird came again and carried it all away again grain by grain: and if it so rose and sank as many times as there are stars in the sky, atoms in the air, drops of water in the sea, leaves on the trees, feathers upon birds, scales upon fish, hairs upon animals, at the end of all those innumerable risings and sinkings of that immeasurably vast mountain not one single instant of eternity could be said to have ended,” (142-143).
This passage is an example of Joyce’s ability to create descriptions. He takes the word eternity, which already creates thoughts of something never ending, and creates images upon images of something never-ending, something completely unfathomable. This technique is called hyperbole, exaggeration to illustrate a point. Joyce also uses repetition of the concept of immeasurable things; the atoms and drops of water are all things that are seemingly immeasurable. The exclamation marks emphasizing the emotion being put into this speech really create a sense of emotion; one can sense the dramatic feel of this speech. The rhetorical question also does a good job of setting up the reader for the description to follow because it causes the reader to question the understanding that they have of eternity, making them more vulnerable to the explanations to come.
Opinion
From the opening pages of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man when the reader is introduced to the main character Stephen Dedalus, the flight motif is introduced, and will be carried on throughout the novel. Stephen’s last name comes from the Dedalus Myth in Greek mythology. Dedalus is thrown in prison because King Minos is convinced he has helped the Athenians escape, so Dedalus builds a pair of wings out of feathers and wax in order to escape. Stephen is imprisoned by his guilt and by others who try to make him conform to what they want. For example, Stephen’s father told him to make friends with the right people, like he did, but Mr. Dedalus was not always the upstanding citizen that he appears to be. Stephen is imprisoned by his homeland because it is not accepting of his plans for his future, just as Dedalus sees no escape by land, only flight.
As Stephen’s life continues, there are numerous instances where he is compared to a bird or birds are strategically included in a description; for example, “His throat ached with desire to cry aloud, the cry of a hawk or eagle on high, to cry piercingly of his deliverance to the winds,” (183-184). Flight is a symbol of Stephen finding his soul and freeing himself from the influence of others and Ireland. After Stephen realizes that his passion lies in writing, the flight motif becomes even more evident because at this point, Stephen’s relationship with his family is at its weakest, and he is realizing that the politics in Ireland are very constraining. Stephen is not living in the Ireland that he recalls from his childhood; people have to act like sheep such as the students taking notes in one of Stephen’s classes, leaving little space for thought and creativity.
Stephen needs space to contemplate his thoughts, like the birds have freedom to fly throughout the skies. His mind and soul needs to escape the heavily fortified prison cell created by guilt and constraints; symbolized by the birds and flight into the vastness of the sky, where there would seemingly be room for everything.
Quote
“Last and crowning torture of all the tortures of that awful place is the eternity of hell. Eternity! O, dread and dire word. Eternity! What mind of man can understand it? ... You have often seen the sand on the seashore. How fine are its tiny grains! And how many of those tiny little grains go to make up the small handful which a child grasps in its play. Now imagine a mountain of that sand, a million miles high, reaching from the Earth to the farthest heavens, and a million miles broad…And if that mountain rose again after it had been all carried away and if the bird came again and carried it all away again grain by grain: and if it so rose and sank as many times as there are stars in the sky, atoms in the air, drops of water in the sea, leaves on the trees, feathers upon birds, scales upon fish, hairs upon animals, at the end of all those innumerable risings and sinkings of that immeasurably vast mountain not one single instant of eternity could be said to have ended,” (142-143).
This passage is an example of Joyce’s ability to create descriptions. He takes the word eternity, which already creates thoughts of something never ending, and creates images upon images of something never-ending, something completely unfathomable. This technique is called hyperbole, exaggeration to illustrate a point. Joyce also uses repetition of the concept of immeasurable things; the atoms and drops of water are all things that are seemingly immeasurable. The exclamation marks emphasizing the emotion being put into this speech really create a sense of emotion; one can sense the dramatic feel of this speech. The rhetorical question also does a good job of setting up the reader for the description to follow because it causes the reader to question the understanding that they have of eternity, making them more vulnerable to the explanations to come.
Opinion
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was very enjoyable because of Joyce’s writing style and the difficulty of reading it. Admittedly, through the first part of the novel, I did not enjoy reading it because I felt it was boring, lacking any true plot that creates captures you as a reader. As the novel progresses, and the writing becomes more detailed and sophisticated, the novel became exponentially more enjoyable mainly because Joyce’s ability to create a picture and trigger all the senses through his descriptions was captivating such as in the descriptions of Hell. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was a challenging novel because of Joyce’s ability as a writer; there were several instances where a passage could be read and all of the important details would not be noticed the first time, but that is not bad thing. I would rather be challenged by what I am reading versus bored because the material is too easy.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Heart of Darkness
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The Difference Between Mr. Kurtz and Marlow
Mr. Kurtz is intended to be the picture of everything that is evil and twisted deep in the human soul that can be unleashed with the proper stimulus or lack of restraint, while Marlow is the soul who is saved by stepping back before it is too late. Obviously cutting off people’s heads and placing them on stakes is not what would be considered normal, or right by any means, but neither is destroying a culture.
Kurtz finds a part of himself that is quite disturbing and embraces it, but the fact that he was stimulated by the ideas and greed of colonialism can not be denied. The expedition creates scars in the jungle, belittles the native people because their culture is different, and is responsible for the death of many more than Kurtz has killed. For instance, the story of the ghost in the boiler that is used to take advantage of the native’s beliefs so that he will work for them, or perhaps it was just for the entertainment of the expedition. Then there is the dead body of the road that is considered a good thing.
Marlow may think that he is making the right decision by recognizing how out of control Kurtz is, but what he does not realize is colonialism is a huge part of why Kurtz is the way he is, and that he just chose colonialism. Both Kurtz and Marlow are wrong in their decisions, but the difference between the two is that Kurtz recognizes what he is doing, and Marlow does not. Kurtz’s last words, “The horror, the horror,” make it evident that he is disgusted with himself and what he has done, Marlow does not realize what a mistake he is making by being involved with the expedition and accepting colonialism.
Quote-
"They were common everyday words- the farmiliar, vague sounds exchanged on every waking day of life. But what of that? They had behind them, to my mind, the terrific suggestiveness of words heard in dreams, of phrases spoken in nightmares. Soul! If anyone has ever struggled with a soul, I am the man. And I wasn't arguing with a lunatic either," (Conrad 149).
Mr. Kurtz is intended to be the picture of everything that is evil and twisted deep in the human soul that can be unleashed with the proper stimulus or lack of restraint, while Marlow is the soul who is saved by stepping back before it is too late. Obviously cutting off people’s heads and placing them on stakes is not what would be considered normal, or right by any means, but neither is destroying a culture.
Kurtz finds a part of himself that is quite disturbing and embraces it, but the fact that he was stimulated by the ideas and greed of colonialism can not be denied. The expedition creates scars in the jungle, belittles the native people because their culture is different, and is responsible for the death of many more than Kurtz has killed. For instance, the story of the ghost in the boiler that is used to take advantage of the native’s beliefs so that he will work for them, or perhaps it was just for the entertainment of the expedition. Then there is the dead body of the road that is considered a good thing.
Marlow may think that he is making the right decision by recognizing how out of control Kurtz is, but what he does not realize is colonialism is a huge part of why Kurtz is the way he is, and that he just chose colonialism. Both Kurtz and Marlow are wrong in their decisions, but the difference between the two is that Kurtz recognizes what he is doing, and Marlow does not. Kurtz’s last words, “The horror, the horror,” make it evident that he is disgusted with himself and what he has done, Marlow does not realize what a mistake he is making by being involved with the expedition and accepting colonialism.
Quote-
"They were common everyday words- the farmiliar, vague sounds exchanged on every waking day of life. But what of that? They had behind them, to my mind, the terrific suggestiveness of words heard in dreams, of phrases spoken in nightmares. Soul! If anyone has ever struggled with a soul, I am the man. And I wasn't arguing with a lunatic either," (Conrad 149).
In this quote, Marlow is speaking about Kurtz and what has driven him to his current state. This gives a clear indication that Kurtz is intended to be Marlow's alter ego. When Marlow says, "The farmiliar, vague sounds exchanged on every waking day of life...of phrases spoken in nightmares," it suggests that Kurts is a sane human being, who understands precisely what he is doing. The fact that the words he speaks seem as though they could be straight out of a nightmare, yet they are common, shows that this evil could be something that everyone could fall victim to; despite the fact that Conrad may be suggesting that this is something that only men could experience. The proper stimulus could make any common aspect of life turn into a "nightmare" because people possess an animal instinct that becomes harnessed by societal influences and self-restraint.
I was a little confused the first time I read Heart of Darkness, but once I understood it, it was very interesting. I liked how Kurtz is intended to be Marlow’s alter ego, and it is like Marlow is looking in a mirror the entire time. Conrad makes some great descriptions, and he is very concise, and to the point
Invisible Man
Throughout Invisible Man, it is clear that a major theme is white is right, and this philosophy appear to be the major problem for the narrator as well as other minor characters, but these characters were also facing problems within their own race. Just take a look at the narrator and how Dr. Bledsoe tricked him with the letters in an attempt to set the narrator up for failure and “keep him running”. Or, if you are not convinced, the brotherhood’s use of the narrator. The brotherhood, which was suppose to unite the African Americans of Harlem used the narrator and ended up creating an enemy out of him, as well as Brother Clifton. Then there is Ras, who uses violence to try to win the freedom that he feels the African Americans deserve, but he is making an enemy of the Brotherhood which is fighting for the same goal; just in a different manner.
Ellison not only highlighted the issue of black versus white, but the issue of black versus black. This issue is not just amongst the African American race; you could probably highlight the same issue within any race, but it comes down to a bigger issue. The entire issue of problems within a race stems from problems between people. Differing opinions create tensions and arguments because both sides feel that they are right and the other is wrong. A huge part of most problems is miscommunication between strong-willed people. Not that one person needs to give up on their argument, but someone has to be the bigger person and say that there is an issue that needs to be resolved. The moral of this novel comes down to the fact that we all just need to get along. (As cheesy as its sounds). The problem is not just black and white; it’s bigger than that.
“He believes in you as he believes in the beat of his heart. He believes in that great false wisdom taught slaves and pragmatists alike, that white is right. I can tell you his destiny. He’ll do your
bidding, and for that his blindness is his chief asset. He’s your man, friend. Your man and your destiny. Now the two of you descend the stairs into chaos and get the hell out of here,” (Ellison 95).
This quote is said by the black doctor at the Golden Day after Mr. Norton becomes ill over what he has seen in the old slave quarters. Mr. Norton could be considered an idealist because he wants to help young African Americans, and feels that the world can be changed; yet at the same time he believes that white is right, despite truly wanting to create change. Typically an idealist would probably not believe in this philosophy, but Mr. Norton is so naive about his own thoughts and actions that he does not realize that he is influencing the problems in some ways. When the doctor says, “His blindness is his chief asset, he means that Mr. Norton will not see the real horrors that the black race encounters. Then when the doctor says, “He’s your man and your destiny,” he is referring to the fact that the narrator is blind to the truth himself, and that he too will eventually be shocked when he recognizes what really goes on. The last line, “Descend the stairs into chaos,” refers to the fact that even though people are attacking each, there is prostitution, and other problems inside of the Golden Day, the people recognize the truth, while there are even more problems and people that do not recognize them outside the walls of the Golden Day.
Invisible Man is definitely a well-written novel that could be read multiple times, with new aspects, symbols, etc. being found each time. However, in my opinion, it was too long. By the time the narrator had reached New York and gotten involved with the Brotherhood, the theme of the novel was evident, but there continued to be more examples of the theme. By the end of the novel, it just seemed unnecessary that there were so many examples of how the Narrator was used, made into what others and not being what he wanted. The novel probably would have been just as powerful if some of it had cut out. I was honestly bored, and no longer cared what happened by the time the novel ended.
Player Piano
A major point that Vonnegut makes in Player Piano is that people sometimes forget what happiness is. Everyone thinks that technology will make things better, easier, and there will be more time to do things that are fun. Technology definitely has its perks, I could make a list of at least a hundred things I couldn’t live without, but sometimes it just makes things boring. Technology can make things so easy that it doesn’t seem like any work was done. For instance, when I am finished typing this, I am going to press publish and I’ll be done with this assignment and have saved a tree, but it doesn’t feel like as much of an accomplishment because it is so easy to just click a few buttons.
Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but look at Bud; he created a machine that does his job better than he can and he no longer has a job. He no longer has a purpose, and there are plenty of real people who are like this. For instance, the ATM has made it unnecessary to have as many bank tellers, and the copy machine has eliminated the job of the scrivener. A big part of life is having a place where one fits in and a purpose, Vonnegut demonstrates this through the examples of technology, and Paul’s struggle to choose a side of the river. Paul relies on technology for so many things that he could not make it on the other side of the river, but he does not want to be run by the machines.
Technology is obviously necessary in today’s world, but where should the line be drawn? Somehow, it needs to be determined how much technology is a good thing, and at what point everyone will literally become a heap of metal unable to do anything for themselves.
Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but look at Bud; he created a machine that does his job better than he can and he no longer has a job. He no longer has a purpose, and there are plenty of real people who are like this. For instance, the ATM has made it unnecessary to have as many bank tellers, and the copy machine has eliminated the job of the scrivener. A big part of life is having a place where one fits in and a purpose, Vonnegut demonstrates this through the examples of technology, and Paul’s struggle to choose a side of the river. Paul relies on technology for so many things that he could not make it on the other side of the river, but he does not want to be run by the machines.
Technology is obviously necessary in today’s world, but where should the line be drawn? Somehow, it needs to be determined how much technology is a good thing, and at what point everyone will literally become a heap of metal unable to do anything for themselves.
This is really an entire passage, but my favorite part is this,
‘“ Well, I’ll be getting back to work. Long as this here is going to be your farm, you might’s well fix the pump. Needs a new packing.’
‘Afraid I don’t know how,’ said Paul.
‘Maybe,’ said Mr. Haycox walking away, ‘Maybe if you had gone to college another ten or twenty years, somebody would have gotten around to showing you how, Doctor,”’ (135).
I love Mr. Haycox! It takes some guts to disrespect your future landlord and boss like that. I also like how he refers to the farm as his before this conversation. I’m not trying to knock education in any way, but Mr. Haycox is right, there are some things that you just can not learn in school no matter how many years you attend. Paul is obviously very bright and works very hard to be able to earn his doctorate, but it is not going to help him fix the pump or do a lot of other things, and this society bases everything off how smart you are when it comes to tests. This entire scene is scary in a way because are society is just like this in so many ways; I mean for years everyone has been preaching to us that you need to get good grades and do well on your SAT’s, or your not going to go college, and you’ll be a failure at life. Just a little bit of an overstatement. School is important, but there are some intangibles that you will never learn there. Most importantly, just because you don’t become a doctor, you are not an idiot, and the world as you know it will not come crumbling down.
When I first started reading Player Piano, I didn’t like it because it was another utopia/ dystopia novel. It just seems that the majority of the novels with that theme are so similar that you could interchange the characters from one story to the other, and that, for the most part, the plots are borrowed from one author to another. Vonnegut’s use of black humor made his novel, which otherwise falls into this category, unique, and I wouldn’t mind reading another one of his novels just to experience more of it.
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