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.

I really wish I weren't sick right now

My brain has been turned to complete mush because of this awful cold that so rapidly dehabilitated me this week. And unfortunately, my memory seems to have suffered the worst of it. But here's what I do remember about class since the last time we did a response:
First off, the obvious. We started a new play! When we did our first read of Hamlet, I played Rosencrantz, so it's actually a lot of fun for me to see him portrayed in what I would call a "silly" way. My class is extremely helpful in my attempt to understand the play because there are some people who just get it, and they always let the rest of us in on the secret. And in the case of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, that makes the play much more enjoyable. I actually really like the style and idea behind the play. Although it's a little hard to grasp at times, it's something I enjoy reading. I'm excited to see where it will go from here and how many times our actors will mix themselves up.
We've also been doing a lot of work with multiple choice practice lately. Surprisingly, I've found I do much better with poetry pieces than with prose pieces. In the homework we had, I was always getting lost in the prose pieces because they seemed to drag and I'd lose focus halfway through a sentence. It kind of reminded me of reading excerpts from The Scarlet Letter in American Lit. Grading that homework also brought on the realization/fear that the AP is approaching fast, and I'm no where near ready to get the score I want. Unlike most tests I take, I'm actually more worried about the multiple choice section than I am about the essay section. I'm pretty good at writing essays, so as long as I remember to break down the prompt and figure out what they're REALLY asking me to do, I should be okay with that.
Open prompt revisions? Sure, let's talk about those. At first, I didn't think it would make any noticeable difference to revise my open prompts. But after I reread the comments I got on them and then tried to follow up with what they were saying, I found that a big chunk of my body paragraphs changed (hopefully for the better).
Well. I think that's as much thinking as my brain can handle for tonight. Good thing this is the only homework I had.

What's a lit class without Shakespeare?

Author:
William Shakespeare

Setting:
15th(?) century Denmark, in and around the castle Elsinore

Plot: (don't worry, this one's shorter than my one on DoS)
In the beginning of the play, Old Hamlet is dead and his wife has remarried his brother. These events have made Hamlet extremely depressed. One night, he sees his dad's ghost and discovers that Old Hamlet's death was actually a murder committed by Claudius (the brother). Hamlet vows to get revenge by killing Claudius, and spends most of the next four acts debating whether he actually should follow through with it or not. By the end of the play, almost everyone in the castle is dead and Fortinbras (royalty from Norway) takes the throne, cleansing Denmark of its corruption.

Significant Characters:
Hamlet- Obviously, as the title character, Hamlet is important. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark, charged with seeking revenge for his father's murder.
Claudius- Claudius is Old Hamlet's brother, Hamlet's uncle. He murdered Old Hamlet then married his wife and took the throne for himself. Very selfish.
Ophelia- Ophelia is Hamlet's secret (kinda) lover. She eventually goes crazy and kills herself, presumably pregnant with Hamlet's child.
Polonius- Polonius is Ophelia's dad and next-to-next-in line for the throne. He's essentially Claudius' right hand man. Hamlet kills him on accident.
Laertes- Laertes is Ophelia's brother. He's a kind of foil to Hamlet in that he also seeks revenge for his father's death, but he doesn't debate it for an entire play. He ends up killing Hamlet with a poisoned sword.
Horatio- Horatio is Hamlet's best friend and the only one he really trusts and cares about. He's also the only one who lives through the bloody end.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- These two are Hamlet's ex-best friends. They spy on him for the king and end up getting killed in place of Hamlet.

Style:
The play, as a play, has no narrator and no omniscient characters. It doesn't really follow one specific character, but focuses on Hamlet and Claudius the most. The tone Shakespeare uses, usually dark and contemplative, helps the reader feel Hamlet's emotions about the events of his father's death and mother's marriage, and the revenge he's promised to seek. One major motif throughout the play is that of incest. Obviously, this applies to Gertrude and Claudius. It can also be applied to Laertes and Ophelia, though their relationship can also just be seen as strong family ties with no sexual undertones involved. The figurative language I noticed most often were similes, metaphors, allusions, etc. to the Bible: Old Hamlet was supposed killed by a snake (serpent in the garden), was actually killed by his brother (Cain and Able), and Hamlet eventually cleanses Denmark (Christ figure). The only real symbol in the play was Yorik's skull, which symbolizes the certainty of death and the physical consequences of it.

Quotes:
"None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest."
"Then is doomsday near: but your news is not true." (II.ii.237-238)
~This quote is one of the best examples of Hamlet's lack of faith in humanity. Hamlet constantly tests those around him to see if they're honest with him, and their usually not. These lines foreshadow the many failed tests that happen in the next couple of scenes.

"So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, / An thou hadst not come to my bed." (IV.v.65-66)
~These lines are part of Ophelia's singing during her display of craziness. This particular song gives reason to believe Ophelia wasn't as innocent as those around her seem to believe and that she was actually pregnant out of wedlock.

"If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart / Absent thee from felicity awhile, / And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain / To tell my story." (V.ii.346-349)
~One of Hamlet's last lines, this really seems to wrap the story up. After all that's happened and the lessons Hamlet has learned about revenge, Hamlet doesn't want to die in vain. He tells Horatio not to kill himself, but to tell his story as a warning, and as a way to clear his (Hamlet's) reputation.

Theme:
Seeking revenge won't yield any rewards.
~Possibly the only thing Hamlet truly learns throughout the play is that revenge doesn't get you anything. His seeking revenge on Claudius lead to him accidentally killing Polonius, which lead to Laertes seeking revenge. Laertes' plan to kill Hamlet backfires and ends up killing him as well. Eventually, everyone who had any part of anyone's revenge is dead. However, Fortinbras stopped his quest for revenge and is rewarded at the end of the play by gaining Denmark for his kingdom.

I still don't remember this book very well...

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

      In the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë introduces the characters in the present, but she does not stay there for long. The majority of the book is a retelling of a story from the past that eventually helps the reader understand Heathcliff. His relationship with the past leaves him bitter and, arguably, insane.

      In the beginning of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Lockwood arrives at the home of Heathcliff. The reader, and. Mr. Lockwood himself, is left wondering why Heathcliff is distant and bitter. Mr. Lockwood acts on his curiosity and asks a house maid, Nelly, to tell him Heathcliff’s story. As she tells the story throughout the novel, the reader concludes that all of Heathcliff’s faults seem to start with his poor relationship with his adoptive brother Hareton, and reach a peak with Catherine choosing Edgar.

      Although he loves Catherine, Heathcliff has a poor relationship with her brother Hareton. Because their father treated Heathcliff as if he were his own son, Hareton takes his anger out on Heathcliff, constantly bullying him and treating him as less of a person. This leads to Heathcliff’s actions later in the novel when he comes back to their house and wins the inheritance from Hareton as part of his revenge. The last straw for Heathcliff is when he overhears Catherine tell Nelly that she couldn’t possibly marry him. He runs away and is a completely different person upon his return later in the novel. From the moment he returns, Heathcliff tries to get Catherine to chose him, even though she’s already married to Edgar. Heathcliff is no longer just a boy with a crush, he’s a man who will do just about anything to get the revenge he wants.

      As part of his revenge, Heathcliff marries Isabella Linton and puts himself in line to inherit her family’s property. This marriage, having nothing to do love, is doomed from the start. Heathcliff treats Isabella so poorly, she flees to London, where she raises their son alone. After she dies and their son, Linton, returns to live with his father, it is clear that Heathcliff has no intentions of treating him the way a father should treat his son. To Heathcliff, Linton is just another reminder that he didn’t get Catherine. Because Linton isn’t Heathcliff and Catherine’s son, he means next to nothing to Heathcliff.

      The novel comes full circle when Nelly’s story catches up to the present. Mr. Lockwood and the reader both now understand why Heathcliff is bitter, and why the others in the house are reserved. Heathcliff’s relationship to his past is what sets the plot for the entire novel, providing for different characters to get involved in various ways as he seeks his revenge for the love he lost.

Who suffered more: me or Hamlet?

      I mean, sure, his dad died and what not, but he didn't have to annotate himself. Which is what most of the last... six weeks has consisted of. Minus break, of course. I have to admit, I really struggled with this one. Although I picked up on some of the Shakespearean terminology, most of it still left me confused, which made annotating really difficult. I usually try to have a good variety of DIDLS and personal reactions to the story line, but I couldn't get into the play enough to have good reactions to most parts. As a result, my copy of the play is covered in many little purple "diction," "syntax," and "language" notes. Which I guess isn't completely terrible, considering the fact that pretty much everything we do involves DIDLS. The one thing that really helped me through parts of the play was Ms.Holmes' commenting during our first read. I never would have picked up on a lot of what she told us.
      Still on the topic of Hamlet, comparing the movies was a kind of relief for me. I happened to picture the play almost exactly as Branagh did, so when we watched Bennett's version (I hope that's the right director, it took a good ten minutes to find him on the internet), I felt like I got everything wrong. Even though we only watched parts of Branagh's version, it helped me a lot with grasping some of scenes I either missed when we read them or just didn't understand.
      The other thing we did with Hamlet that impacted me was the use of language sheet we did. I missed the first part of class that day, so I only answered a few of the questions, but even just that was helpful. I hadn't really thought of Hamlet's use of language as being intentional; I just thought he liked to show off his superiority. Going through some of the scenes and focusing just on how he used language helped me focus on that more when I annotated other scenes I thought he might be using his language intentionally. That definitely helped me get some more purple "language" notes written.
      Not related to Hamlet, we started doing mood and atmosphere practices, which has been a very interesting experience in 3rd hour. Although we sometimes don't really focus on mood or atmosphere, we get there eventually, so we do get some practice in. And we do it in a fun way, which makes it more meaningful for me. Reading the other hours' examples also helps me more with mood, because I'm more of a reader than a writer, so sometimes I get more out of reading their examples than writing mine.