Blog #8

Both the film and the novel begin with the following quote from Dr. Johnson: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." How do the main characters go about making beasts of themselves and does it really relieve their pain?

Part 1)
I thought the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was interesting. I think it gave a pretty life like depiction of a life of drug abuse. But if I wasn't looking for stylistic film devices, I probably would not have noticed them. I bet a lot of people watch the movie and think its funny because of all the crazy drug abuse, but they probably don't pick up on the symbolism and the use of different camera views to create different perspectives.

Part 2)
The main characters engage in taking many mind altering drugs in order to escape reality. When they are under the influence of the drugs, they are reduced to a beast-like state that is in some ways less then human. They lose control of their motor and cognitive functions. Therefore, they cannot properly move or think like the other humans around them. They chose to be in this state the majority of the time because they do not want to deal with the pains of real life. It seems to be much easier to live life through the altered perception of drugs than to confront the true reality of their lives. However, no matter how many drugs they take, and how much of them they take, they always come back from their altered state and their real lives have not changed. The drugs only allow them to temporarily escape and reality is always waiting for them when they come down from their high. The main characters' solution to being back in reality is to simply take more drugs to escape again. However, this solution will not work forever. Eventually, if they continue their drug abuse, they will most likely face the reality of death. The drugs do not really relieve them of their pain, because they always have to come back to reality. If anything, the drugs make their pain worse because it keeps them from doing anything to improve their real lives. The main characters in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will soon realize that if they keep running away from their problems, they will only get bigger.

Blog #7

The characters in an Oscar Wilde play often sound alike--they sound like their author. Are the witticisms of Wilde's characters a distraction to the plot or do they actually help to build the individual characters?

Part 1)
I enjoyed this drama. It was short, quick to read, and funny. I understood more of the jokes in this drama than in The Taming of the Shrew. I think it would be even funnier performed with the different intonations of the voices and the actions of the characters. There was not a long plot, but the characters definitely tangled themselves into a mess in a short amount of time. I was interested in finding out how everything was going to work out. But, I was surprised at the ending that no one cared that Jack (or Ernest) turned out to be Gwendolyn's cousin.

Part 2)
The witticisms of Wilde's characters do have a similar style, however, each character has their own twist to the jokes they make. The different characters are still developed to have varying personalities. It's the clashing of the different flavors of witticisms that makes the characters' interactions so humorous. For example, most of the witticisms made by Algernon characterize him as an outspoken smart aleck. The jokes that Jack makes characterize him as a little more serious. In the scene with the cigarette case, the men take on very different roles. Algernon is setting Jack up the whole time. He knows the truth, but he is just picking Jack apart until he admits it. The two different personalities mesh with each other to create a back and forth, funny conversation. Similarly, the characters of the women in the play are developed very differently. The witty remarks that Lady Bracknell makes would not have the same effect coming from Cecily and vice versa. Although the type of humor is similar throughout the play, each character uses the humor a little differently.

Blog #6

Most of the humor in Taming of the Shrew is based on romantic conflict. Choose one of the many conflicts between two (or three) characters where romance is in the air. Looking at particular passages in the play, discuss how is humor generated by the situation and what sort of subtext that humor may or may not be concealing.

Part 1)
So far, I am enjoying the play. Sometimes it is a little hard to follow, but it reads quickly. I definitely think that it would be much better to watch the actual play performed than to read it. I'm pretty sure that I don't understand all of the jokes. I can tell some lines are supposed to be funny, but I don't know why. I find it interesting that the women have no say in who their husband is, and that marriage is based on material things.

Part 2)
The interaction between Petruchio and Katharina is an interesting romantic conflict. Petruchio wants to marry Katharina because he wants her dowry. Although most men do not think that putting up with Katharina's wench-like personality is worth her dowry, Petruchio insists that he can tame her. Katharina wants absolutely nothing to do with Petruchio, and repeatedly insults him. Petruchio, however, does not deter. The meeting of these two extreme characters is humorous. While most women probably respond submissively to Petruchio dominating attitude, Katharina resists it. Even when Petruchio tries to be sweet to Katharina, she insults him:
PET. Nay, come, Kate, come; you must not look so sour.
KATH. It is in my fashion, when I see a crab.
PET. Why, here's no crab; and therefore look not sour.
KATH. There is, there is.
PET. Then show it me.
KATH. Had I a glass, I would.
PET. What, you mean my face? (35)
The humor in this passage shows the feisty personality of Katharina. She, most likely, will not be a typical housewife that will cater to her husband. Her humorous insults however, could be concealing her want for a romance and a husband. Maybe she does not know quite how to express her feelings.

Blog #5

Both of these stories use suspense to build to somewhat bizarre climaxes. Looking at one of the stories, discuss how the ending was foreshadowed by the text, and what sort of lesson the author is hoping for the reader to gain.

Part 1)
I think "The Lottery" is an interesting short story. It is very well written, but the end is really depressing! Was this a real ritual? Because if it was, that's really disturbing! The ending is just really bizarre. It's bad enough that she is picked to be stoned, but then it's terrible that the one's who stoned her are her own townspeople, including her youngest son!!!! Looking back at the story was unsettling, because everything that seemed normal, like children gathering stones, was really twisted into something horrifying.

Part 2)
"The Lottery", by Shirley Jackson, begins by painting a picture of sunny day in a small and pleasant village. The people in the village seem very close and friendly towards each other. The children play together while the parents talk and joke. The main excitement in the village is the lottery that will be conducted later in the day. Everything that has to do with this lottery seems to be a happy and fun excitement. However, at this point, the reader is unaware of exactly what kind of lottery it is. The fact that the lottery is described as a "ritual", foreshadows that this is not the typical lottery. Also, the reader begins to question why the specifics of the lottery are so vague. After the lottery begins, the actions of the characters foreshadow that something is amiss. The narrator describes the crowd as, "quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around." There is an excitement about this lottery, but it is a nervous and fearful excitement. The reader gets a further clue to the negative nature of the lottery when the winning family is not excited. The wife, Mrs. Hutchinson, objects, saying, "It wasn't fair!". This foreshadows that winning the lottery is not a good thing, but the reader is still unsure as to why. When the village runs out to get the pile of stones, the reader finally learns the consequence of the lottery. Although there were many clues to the ending, they were subtle, resulting in a shocking and bizarre ending. The author wants a shocked reaction in the reader to show that everything is not always as it seems. People need to look hard at the situation to predict the ending. What appeared to be a fun town event turned out to be the opposite.

Blog #3

Examine the narrator from either "The Yellow Wallpaper" or "A & P." What does the narrator reveal about him or herself indirectly? What sort of transformation, if any, does the narrator experience during the course of the story?

Part 1)
I liked the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, but it didn't have much of a plot. It was just the narrator getting crazier and crazier. I thought the diary format was interesting because it made it seem like the entries were really from a crazy woman. I like the ending because it leads the reader to believe that the woman continues to circle the room forever.

Part 2)
The narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" gradually reveals her increasing craziness to the reader. In the beginning, she says that her husband does not believe that she is sick. Her husband, who is a physician, has diagnosed her with "temporary nervous depression". At this point, the reader knows that the narrator is not well, and is trying to get better. However, the reader does not fully know the extent of her illness. The narrator than begins to drop hints that she is in a worse mental state than at first thought. She starts with seemingly innocent comments about her dislike of the wallpaper: "I'm really getting quite fond of the big room, all but that horrid paper." Over a couple of entries, the narrator starts to obsess over the wallpaper and how much she hates it. The wallpaper consumes her thoughts, and she starts to write entire entries solely about the wallpaper. The reader begins to witness how her craziness is progressing. The narrator than begins to give life to the wallpaper in her imagination. She imagines that the wallpaper is moving, she begins to smell the wallpaper, and she imagines that a woman living behind the wallpaper. The narrator's hysteria grows when she assures herself that the woman in the wallpaper escapes and walks around outside during the day. Just when the reader is sure that the narrator is crazy, she surpasses this state. She locks herself in the room and tears down all of the wallpaper. Then she convinces herself that she is the woman behind the wallpaper. What began as a minor case of depression turned into an extremely serious state of hysteria.

Blog #2

How does Donne's use of irony in "The Flea" or "Woman's Constancy" affect the meaning of his poems? How are we to respond to his speakers?

Part 1)
I thought that this poem was very interesting. At first, it seemed strange that someone would write a poem about a flea. But, it made me want to read it to find out. Some of the language and words used were a little confusing, like "thou deniest", "maidenhead", and "triumph'st". I definitely had to read it a couple of times. I thought it was funny because guys will say a lot of things to get a girl in bed, but I've never heard of a guy using an explanation of a flea as a reason to sleep with him. I also thought that it was interesting that the two people in the poem were not grossed out because of the flea. It was almost normal to them to have a flea in their bed. Nowadays, they would not be so calm.

Part 2)
Donne uses a lot of irony in his poem, "The Flea". First of all, the title of the poem is ironic and leads the reader to believe that the poem is simply about a flea. However, the poem is about much more than a little flea. The speaker of the poem, most likely male, is talking directly to another person, most likely female. The man is trying to convince the girl that since a flea has bitten them both, the girl mine as well give up her virginity to him. The speaker proposes that since the flea has bitten them both, both of their blood is mixed in the flea, and therefore it is almost like they have already made love. The speaker says, "It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be." He argues that they are practically married because of this flea, saying, "Where we almost, yea, more than married are." Surprisingly, the woman does not fall for this and moves to kill the flea. The speaker tries to discourage her, saying that by killing the flea, she will spill their blood and be committing murder and even sacrilege. He tells her, "Let not to that self-murder added be, And sacrilege, three sins in killing three." He suggests that the flea, in some way, possesses the holly trinity by saying, "three lives in one flea". The entire poem is ironic because it uses a flea as an example of sex, marriage, and religion. It is ironic that the speaker suggests that the woman giving her virginity is not only approved by God, but would be against God not to. Using this irony adds to the depth of the poem and emphasizes the point he is trying to make. The reader is to respond to the speaker by interpreting the meaning by looking past the literal aspect of the poem. The reader must identify the irony in the speaker and analyze the use of this irony.

Blog #1

What is the relationship between Hughes's "I, Too" and Whitman's "I Hear America Singing"? How does Hughes respond to Whitman's conception of America?

Part 1)
I enjoyed reading both of the poems. Whitman's poem portrays the pride that Americans have in their work. He talks about each worker singing while they work and being content with their work. I thought it was interesting that the jobs that he mentions are jobs that were popular in the past. I liked how he showed that the people worked hard during the day and partied hard at night. It shows that there are benefits to working hard. Hughes poem was very interesting to read after reading Whitman's. He puts a different spin on the idea of America and points out that there is more to America than the people that Whitman mentions. I thought his poem was more realistic and down to earth.

Part 2)
Whitman describes the blue collared workers of the past and their pride in working. He describes all of them singing while working, showing that they are content with their jobs. He points out that there are "varied carols" and describes several different trades of the times. He also says that each song is personal to each worker, saying, "Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else." He includes that the workers sing during the day, but also, "at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs." Although he describes happy people, he does not mention any of the bad aspects of American life during that time. Hughes responds to Whitman's poem in "I, Too, Sing America." He points out that Whitman did not include all Americans in his poem. He talked about many people, but mostly blue collared white workers. Hughes adds that there are other groups of people, like, "the darker brother." He argues that he is also an American, but sings a slightly different tune. He shows how he is separated by saying, "They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes." He is not discouraged by this situation, and says, "I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong." He knows that in the future, the situation will change and he will no longer have to eat in the kitchen. He knows that the way he is treated is not right, and he knows that more people will realize that in the future. He says, "They'll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed." The last line, "I, too, am America", is very powerful and shows that he wants people to know that he is a part of America. Whitman, possibly unintentionally, does not give a well-rounded picture of American life. Hughes adds the idea that Americans are even more diverse than in Whitman's poem. Hughes provides a more realistic view to life in America.