And then there were none

  1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

            In the play Macbeth, Macbeth’s downfall is his desire for power. At the beginning of the play, he is a war hero, highly esteemed by the Scottish king, when he encounters three witches. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane of Cawdor and eventually the king of Scotland. As Macbeth starts to see these prophesies come true, his desire to have power conflicts with his duties as thane and as king.

            After winning a war for Scotland, Macbeth finds out King Duncan has named him thane of Cawdor. As thane, he constantly thinks about the prophesy three witches told him: he will be king of Scotland. When King Duncan comes to his house that night, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth conspire to kill the king in order to obtain kingship for themselves. As king, Macbeth spends a majority of his time worrying about his old friend, Banquo, and his son, Fleance. Along with the witches’ prophesy that Macbeth would be king came the prophesy that Banquo would father a line of kings. Because of this, Macbeth has Banquo murdered and tries to kill Fleance. The more Macbeth feels his power is in danger, the more he tries to prevent it from being taken from him, even killing an innocent man’s family out of fear. This prevents him from completing his duties as King because he fails to protect his people, intentionally harming some them instead.

            Macbeth’s need for power and the murders he commits because of it leave him insane, and eventually lead to his death. After Banquo is killed, his ghost appears to Macbeth, along with three other apparitions. Seeing these ghosts, Macbeth raves and appears to his guests to be talking to himself. As his castle is under attack, and Macbeth realizes his end, he still fights, unable to give up his power willingly.

            Macbeth’s struggle between his desire for power and his responsibilities as king provides for most of the action in the play. Had he been able to stand up to his wife and not kill King Duncan, Macbeth never would have had any issues, and Macbeth never would have been written. His inability to mediate between private passion and responsibility not only provides for his inevitable downfall, but also the meaning of the play as a whole: power left unchecked ultimately results in destruction. Macbeth’s power as king is left unchecked, and his inability to balance that power with his duties leads to the destruction of himself, his friends, and the throne of Scotland.

I kinda wish Gambler would take the rain clouds away...

Author:
Leslie Marmon Silko

Setting:
Mostly post-WWII in the southwest United States (New Mexico). Includes flashback-like passages set in the same area, but pre-WWII.

Plot:
Tayo has just returned from the Philippines and fighting in WWII to a world completely different than the one he originally left. His uncle and cousin are dead and there's been an awful drought in the area. The changes and just being in the war in general have left Tayo unable to live the life he had before; he constantly throws up and can't hardly sleep, always dreaming when he does get some sleep. Tayo slowly starts getting better(ish) and he realizes that the other guys who were in the war are also having a hard time getting back to normal. They've all turned to alcohol as a way to self-medicate. Eventually, Tayo and his family come to terms that white medicine won't help him, and Tayo sees Ku'oosh, who performs an ancient ceremony on Tayo. That doesn't fix everything though. Ku'oosh sends Tayo to Betonie, another medicine man with more expertise in the interactions between Natives and whites. Betonie performs part of a "new ceremony" that he and Tayo come up with. He then sends Tayo home to finish it himself. Tayo meets up with Harley and Leroy and slips up a little, but moves on and continues his search for Josiah's cattle, as part of the ceremony. Tayo heads north into the mountains and finds the cattle in a white man's pasture, thanks to the help of a mountain lion. Two patrolmen then find Tayo, who has trespassed, and they arrest him. However, when they find the mountain lion tracks, they let Tayo go so that they can track the animal. It starts to snow, so Tayo knows they'll never have a chance of finding the mountain lion. He follows his cattle down the mountain and ends up at the house of T'seh and a hunter, where the cattle have been corralled. T'seh keeps the cattle until Robert can bring the cattle truck to bring them home. Shortly after his return home, Tayo has to run from the police and Emo, and he avoids capture by following T'seh's instructions. Tayo runs to a mine and realizes he must stay the night there in order to fully complete the ceremony. However, Emo shows up and beats Harley to death to try to get Tayo to come out, but he doesn't. After he completes the night there, Tayo goes back to Ku'oosh and tells him about what happened. Ku'oosh says that T'seh was actually a spirit who had given Tayo her blessing. Tayo spends one last night in Ku'oosh's house and then the ceremony is over and the drought ends and the destruction of the whites is stopped.

Significant Characters:
Tayo- half white, half Laguna Pueblo. Story follows him through his ceremony completing to heal himself as well as the land/people.
Grandma- Grandma Spider figure. Super traditional. Tries to help Tayo where she can.
Rocky- Along with Harley, Emo, etc. Rocky shows the side of the Native Americans who fully embrace white culture and are embarrassed by Native culture.
Josiah- Tayo almost-replacement for his absent father. An awkward mixture of Native and white culture, but generally a decent role model for Tayo.
Night Swan- almost a Yellow woman figure. Provides the way for the cattle to be in the story, which is important. Tayo and Josiah both sleep with her. Lots of blue, which I guess is associated with holy people, so apparently she's holy.
T'seh- Yellow woman! Helps Tayo find the cattle and finish the ceremony. Restores life to the earth.

Style:
Has a limited omnipresent voice, but who is actually speaking is somewhat unclear. Possibly Grandma Spider, possibly Yellow Woman, possibly Tayo (though telling a story about yourself in 3rd person is weird). The narrative mostly focuses on Tayo, though there are parts that deviate from that and tell stories of other characters also. The story seems so unbiased about the events that the tone is hard to decipher, though it does give the feeling that certain things (alcohol) are terrible and other things are much better. There weren't a whole of profound examples of figurative language, though there were some similes thrown in to help with understanding. The biggest (or I guess just my favorite) example of symbolism was in the cattle and how they represented a "new breed" of Indians that were needed for the changing times, ones who could accept white culture, but not give into it completely. As for motifs, there were lots of circles and colors and the number 4 and wind directions.

Quotes:
"But it left something with him; as long as the hummingbird had not abandoned the land, somewhere there were still flowers, and they could all go on" (88).
~I can't remember why I liked this quote so much, but I had it starred. I think it was because it showcased the fact that we all can find something happy and meaningful even when everything seems ruined.

"The liars had fooled everyone, white people and Indians alike; as long as people believed the lies, they would never be able to see what had been done to them or what they were doing to each other" (177).
~I feel like this, along with the rest of the paragraph it's a part of, is really the whole point of the story. That until we know who we really are, we'll never be able to see who anyone else really is. That was the problem with Emo and them: they didn't know who they were, so they only saw Tayo and white people as terrible things. And because they (we) don't know who they (we) really are, the hatred for the other people they (we) don't understand is what's going to (is) destroying the world.

Theme:
Nothing is all good or all bad.
~Yes, it is actually a quote from the book. But I feel like it really summed up the whole point of the book. Tayo eventually learns that white culture isn't completely bad, but parts of it, like the alcohol and destruction of the land, are. The idea that there's a balance in everything shows up in the fact that Tayo is half-white, half-Indian and in the cattle being part Hereford, part Mexican.

Wait. The AP test is WHEN?

      Well, I feel like I haven't looked at my blog in at least 3 months. That's obviously not the case, but it has been a while. Since the last time, we started and finished Ceremony. Two words: thank. goodness. Don't get me wrong, I did like the story overall, but the longer I read it, the more I felt it was much longer than necessary. I felt like the same concepts and messages could have been portrayed in a shorter novel, but I guess it's one of those "I coulda done that, but didn't" things people sometimes feel about paintings. I had a hard time annotating it, too, because all I could see were colors and directions, and just those alone don't create much meaning. It was nice to get a new perspective, though. One that wasn't about accepting or denying white culture, but kind of finding the happy medium. So props to Silko for that.
      We started our final book, Fifth Business, last week, and I'm happy to say I actually enjoy reading it. I think the whole premise of it is hilarious. I mean, who writes a 250 page letter to their boss detailing their entire life story because of some newspaper article (which wasn't even offensive)? I'm excited to hear what my classmates think about it when we discuss it on Wednesday. Also, I don't think I can put into words how glad I am we aren't annotating it. I feel like annotating ruins books for me, and since I like this one, I don't want it ruined.
     We've also continued preparing for the AP exam. And I'm still no where near ready. Yay! I'm kind of hoping I'm just psyching myself out, and it actually isn't going to be as bad as I'm imagining it. I think what I need to work on the most is actually open prompts. I know we've been working on them all year, but I got to pick the prompt to match a book I had in mind, which obviously won't happen on the AP. But I'm sure I'll be able to somehow tie one of the works we've studied this year into it, so that will definitely help.

Here's a really pretty piano song if you want to relax:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVaaRx1-kSs

That is all.

You know, I actually kinda miss this play...

1984. Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

Edward Albee’s play The American Dream is his criticism of the formation of a new ideal, a new dream that came to popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Albee uses Grandma and the Young Man to showcase the differences in the old American dream of hard work and real values and the new American dream of having money and artificial values. One line from the Young Man provides the most obvious statement of these differences: “I'll do almost anything for money" (109).

At this point in the play, Grandma and the Young Man are talking about what kind of work the Young Man is looking for. Up to this point, the audience has only seen glimpses of Albee’s criticism of the new American dream through Mommy and Daddy’s commodification of everything in their life. Neither of them has outright said they are looking to be wealthy, but comments about “satisfaction” and Mommy only marrying Daddy for his money have left the audience with the sense that they are money-seeking, corrupt people. When they adopt the Young Man, after he says this line, and appear to finally be satisfied, it is clear to the audience that money is the driving force in Mommy and Daddy’s lives.

The Young Man’s line was effective when Albee first wrote the play, and in the years since then, the line has become more effective, but only on the surface. The Young Man as a character is devoid of feeling and as a result is sometimes difficult to relate to, and this line only enforces that at first. The idea of doing anything for money is preposterous to most audiences. When it becomes clear that this line was Albee’s big strike against the American dream and way of life, the audience’s first reaction is to take offence. The line takes an accusatory tone, suggesting the American people will do anything for money. However, instead of taking to heart what Albee is saying and changing their ideas of happiness and success to better reflect the old American dream, audiences shrug off accusation assuming Albee could not be talking about them specifically. This enforces the idea that the Young Man’s line is only effective on a surface level.

Albee’s use of his characters to represent the differences in the new and old American dreams helps the audience relate to the message Albee is suggesting. Although the Young Man seems impossible to relate to for most of the play, when he says, “I’ll do almost anything for money,” the audience is forced to consider what they would do for money and if they are more like the Young Man than they thought they were. 

The color yellow is a mystical experience

Author:
Tom Stoppard

Setting:
I suppose it's the set of Hamlet. There isn't a lot of setting description given, but assuming this play takes place when/where Hamlet does, it would be Elsinore (and a boat) in the 15th century. Although I guess the point is that it starts over each time the play is played, so the time setting is kind of whenever the play is being acted/read.

Plot:
Well. Because this play is mostly absurdist, there isn't a whole lot of plot development. But it follows Ros and Guil through their "quest" to find out what's wrong with Hamlet. It starts with them playing a game of coin flipping, just passing time. They slowly remember why they're at Elsinore, that they were "summoned." Then they meet the the players who offer to perform a show for them. That turns out to be a porno they're encouraged to participate in. Ros doesn't get it, Guil gets offended, they leave and players play to nobody. Ros and Guil are then introduced to Claudius, who mixes them up (something that happens a lot). They find out why they've been summoned, though they are still a little shaky on how they go about their quest. They play the question game, which is kind of like tennis, and Ros looses (shocker, I know). Guil suggests they act out how they're going to question Hamlet, but Ros doesn't understand what he's saying. He eventually understands, and begins questioning Guil (acting as Hamlet). They don't get anywhere. Then the real Hamlet shows up, and the real questioning ends much like the fake one: they don't get anywhere. The players show up again, and The Player is upset at Ros and Guil for leaving them with no audience, saying there's no point if there's no audience. Ros makes his speech about being dead in a box, etc. and the King and Queen come back. Insert scene from Hamlet. After that's finished, the players start practicing their play as Ros and Guil watch. They notice that the two "spies" are wearing the same clothes as them, but don't realize it's supposed to be them and they play is foreshadowing their imminent death. How sad. Claudius comes back to tell them to find Polonius' body, so they set about doing that. To no surprise of the audience, they fail at that too. Next, they're told to take Hamlet to England. Then they suddenly wake up in barrels. On a boat. They hear music and find out that the players are also in a barrel (yes, they all fit in a barrel...). After some arguing, more games, and planning, Hamlet switches the letter to the King of England while Ros and Guil sleep. They're now taking themselves to their death. Pirates attack (nice one, Shakespeare) and they all jump back into the barrels. When the pirates are finally gone, Hamlet's barrel is missing. Ros and Guil read the letter, upset they won't be able to fulfill their duty anymore, and find that they hold orders for their own hanging. They're both upset, wish they could change it, think they missed their opportunity out of their fate and that they'll "get it next time." Ros finally says he doesn't care, he's had enough and is relieved they've come to their end. He disappears. Guil doesn't notice and continues to talk to him. Once he does realize Ros is gone, he makes the point that "[they'll] know better next time." Then he disappears too.

Significant Characters:
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- Since they're essentially the same person, they get lumped into one significant character. They don't accept that they're controlled by the actions of Hamlet, so they're stuck. Ros finds small meanings in life, making him happier than Guil, who tries to find BIG meaning in life (and everything in it) even though there's none to find.
The Player- Kind of the opposite of Ros and Guil. He understands that he's confined to the action of Hamlet, so he has more "freedom" than the main two. He brings the real "life's a play, we have no control" meaning to the play.

Style:
Again, plays don't have narrators. There are also no omniscient characters. The tone is mostly happy-go-lucky with hidden, deep, VERY serious undertones. There's Ros, enjoying a game of coin flipping, then BAM! Guil comes in with the "what's the point" questions. The most obvious motif is identity. Or rather, lack of identity. There's also the messing up of the Lord's Prayer motif, showing the futility of prayer/religion/God/etc. The main symbolism was in the coins (fate, lack of control) and the boat (death).

Quotes:
"Wheel have been set in motion, and they have their own pace, to which we are... condemned" (60).
~ This is kinda the point of the whole play. We're all "condemned" to what's already been planned, started, etc. Guil got it right for once.

Guil: "You die so many times; how can you expect them to believe in your death?"
Player: "On the contrary, it's the only kind they do believe" (83).
~ This is the big "art can't imitate real life" theme. Guil's point is that the death isn't real, so how are people supposed to believe it? The player is saying that nobody believes in their own death. They only believe in the deaths they see on stage.

"Be happy- if you're not even happy what's so good about surviving?" (121)
~Awww, Ros. (: This pretty much characterizes Ros in one line. Ros found meaning in himself, not life, so that made him happy. But Guil kept trying to find meaning life, and there wasn't any to find, so he was unhappy and unsatisfied.

Theme:
Art can't imitate real life.
~Pretty ironic, huh? Using art to make the statement that art is meaningless. Throughout the play, Guil has stand-offs with The Player about how he doesn't know anything about death because he's just an actor and he only plays death, he never experiences real death. And at the end, Ros and Guil just disappear, they don't actually die. Which isn't very realistic.

Why does Sirius always die? ):

Did you guys know it's been exactly one month since our last response to course materials? I checked. Why? Cause, you know... it seemed important? I also found a funny gif about being a second semester senior. Yep. That's been my weekend. Anyways. On to the assignment.

Starting with the obvious, we finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I actually really liked this play. I didn't like annotating it, but I liked reading it. Watching the movie really helped me understand it too, because there were a lot of parts that I guess I just didn't get the stage direction of when I read it. And it turned out to be important to understand that. Who woulda guessed? It also helped me feel the emotions of Ros (who was totally Sirius Black) and Guil at the end, just before they disappear. Ros was so upset and sad, I actually felt really bad that he had to die. It made me mad at Hamlet, which is depressing because he's just a character in a book, as are Ros and Guil.

I don't think I liked the existential thing going on in the play. I like to think there's bigger meaning in life and that there is a God who actually cares. Being told over and over about the futility of our actions, "we're all just actors and Earth's our stage," etc. wasn't really my cup of tea. But I liked the humor that brought into the play with all the ways Guil tried to analyze their situation, doing so completely wrong.

That brings us to Ceremony. I'm on page 60. I'm actually really starting to find it interesting. The first time I read the first couple pages, I was so lost and was sure I'd hate the book, but when we read those pages in class and Holmes helped us see some of the symbolism and what not, I actually understood what was going on. That really helped with the later parts of the book I read to. I'm getting faster at picking up on time shifts, which is definitely super helpful. I don't know if you guys have read the back cover, but there's a quote from Sherman Alexie saying it's one of the most important books ever, and I really like Sherman Alexie, so I'm putting my faith in him and hoping for a great 183 pages left.

Finally, the closed prompt. First off, I'm so glad we don't have to find the meaning "they" want us to find. As long as I can support my claim well and it's not COMPLETELY wrong, I can find whatever meaning I want. Part of my hesitance about writing those essays was that I wouldn't find the right meaning, but I think most of what I find is reasonable enough to work. I did better on this prompt than on the one we did towards the beginning of the year, but that's mostly because I didn't drop a goal this time. I also think setting up my essay not according to technique really helped out.

19, 19, 198...4

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

      In his novel 1984, George Orwell creates a society referred to as a dystopia: the opposite of a utopian society. The Party is always watching, always right, and completely in control. Winston Smith, the main character of the novel, has generally accepted these truths until the point in his life where the novel begins. As the novel progresses, Winston goes from an upstanding member of society to a recurring rule breaker and back again.

      To prevent a revolution, the Party monitors the thoughts of the citizens. Thinking about breaking the rules is breaking the rules. In fact, thinking badly about the Party or Big Brother is considered the worst crime one can commit. At the beginning of the novel, Winston has decided to write a diary, even though the act could get him killed. He finds ways to be out of view of monitors and hides his diary in case the Party searches his apartment. Winston hates the Party and the rules they set forth and defies the standards of the society he lives in by recording these thoughts in a diary.

      As part of their reign, the Party outlaws sex for any purpose other than creating children. The Party chooses who each person will marry to ensure there is no physical attraction between them that could lead to breaking this rule. Winston, however, finds himself more and more frustrated with the Party and its rules. After receiving a note from a girl at work, Julia, that had the words “I love you” written on it, Winston begins an affair. Constantly finding new places to meet so the Party won’t catch them, Winston and Julia form a relationship based on the physical attraction and love the Party tries so hard to prevent. Although both are members of the Outer Party, Winston and Julia go against the societal norms to be together.

      As his big act of rebellion, Winston attempts to join the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is a group no one seems to know much about, other than they work to overthrow the Party and Big Brother. The Party emphasizes that the leader of the Brotherhood is the most dangerous man alive, and as a general rule, society believes this. The standard in the society is to fear the Brotherhood and distrust anyone who seems affiliated with them. However, Winston thinks the Party is lying. He does not believe the Brotherhood is dangerous, and even seeks out O’Brien, whom he believes to be a member of this mysterious organization.

      Throughout 1984, George Orwell paints a picture of the many different ways Winston Smith defies societal standards and goes his own way. Winston feels he has lived under the harsh control of the Party for too long, and the constant feeling of repression has pushed him to rebellion. Whether it is having a forbidden relationship, recording his criminal thoughts, or attempting to join the Brotherhood, it is clear that Winston has had enough of the standards his dystopian society holds.