King Lear: 2 greedy sisters with an ungood dad ungood edm wants $ from edg and glou #fight eyes lost #luvtriangle plot discovered everyone dies #oops
Hamlet: dad dead ghost says so hamlet crazy in luv with mom and gf O. Many fights poison swords and deaths all around
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Prediction of Winston's Future
Winston seems much too smart for his own good. His intelligence seems to be at a much higher level than the rest of the population. He consistently catches Big Brother and the Party in their constant lies and in their ploys to alter history. Winston continues to write in his diary, even though he blatantly knows it would be punishable by death if he was ever caught. In chapter seven, Winston brainstorms a way to overthrow Big Brother, which would be by provoking the Proles because they make up the largest group of people in Oceania. If Winston tries to execute this plan, I believe the Thought Police could get a hold of him and could make him suffer.
Winston's thoughts seem to destroy him more than anything. He repeatedly claims he knows the consequences of his rebellious thoughts and actions, yet he still does it regardless. He may be setting himself up for a life of danger and little to no satisfaction. If Winston does end up being confronted by the Thought Police, I wonder if he will give up and give in to the Party, or if he will try to flee the country or do something else to escape the corruption.
Winston's thoughts seem to destroy him more than anything. He repeatedly claims he knows the consequences of his rebellious thoughts and actions, yet he still does it regardless. He may be setting himself up for a life of danger and little to no satisfaction. If Winston does end up being confronted by the Thought Police, I wonder if he will give up and give in to the Party, or if he will try to flee the country or do something else to escape the corruption.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
1984 Blog-- Ministry of Truth Reflection
In class, we learned that the Ministry of Truth, also known as minitrue, is the ministry that is in charge of the news, entertainment, education, and fine arts. Basically, this means this group of people is in charge of molding the population's opinions and shaping the future generations thoughts and aspirations. This seems very dangerous especially because of the extreme bias displayed in favor of Big Brother and his Party. In chapter 4, it becomes Winston's job to use an old, complicated speakwrite in order to alter the original documents to make them correspond with the newer, later versions. The level of corruption is high. The Ministries changes are often what ignite the sense of doublethink in the people. The example Winston gives in the book was with the chocolate rations, and how the Ministry of Plenty tried to convince the people they were getting a greater portion, even though the amount of chocolate they received was in fact reduced. The people probably realized this, but chose not to acknowledge it at all.
In Oceania, they do not have a solid written constitution like we have in the United States. Here, we abide all our laws by the document written by our Founding Fathers as it sets the foundation for our entire country. But in Oceania, whenever Big Brother feels like it, they can adjust the former laws to their liking. This leaves room for corruption and space for Big Brother and his party to take complete totalitarian control. We learn that the workers in the Ministry of Truth must alter all their works to coincide with the doctrine of the party. This includes sports, astrology, short stories, literature, and even pornography; all to influence Oceania's population about the party.
I question the productivity and intelligence level of the people in charge of the Ministry of Truth and the party because of the comparison on page 44. There is a huge difference between Newspeak and Oldspeak. Oldspeak looks like the modern English language we read today, but the Newspeak translation looks exactly like something a young child would type up nonchalantly. I think that this even brings more of a negative connotation towards not only Big Brother and the Party but also the Ministry of Truth.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Explication of Peace by George Herbert
Immediately, I noticed that the main point this poem is attempting to bring across is how allusive and hard to achieve the concept of peace truly is. Around the world, diplomats, politicians, and scholars have been tentatively working on a plan for peace, yet it is seemingly impossible. Many people often find it hard to connect with their personal inner peace as well. The author of this poem uses a set of seven different journeys or mini-anecdotes to emphasize how hard peace is to come across.
The more I read this poem, I believe the author is talking about their efforts to achieve inner peace. The author utilizes the literary technique of enjambment in the first three stanzas to make us think she possibly might come across the peace she is looking for but repeatedly, the answer is no. In the last four stanzas, the author of the poem tells the tale that she was told when she met a reverend while on her personal path to peace. The reverend tells the story of a prince who lived a sweet, wholesome life and after he died, there were twelve stalks of wheat that grew out of his grave. This was a strange occurrence but this wheat spread throughout the earth and was a source of nutrients and peace for the people. In chapter six, a symbol was explained as a very well-known technique in figurative language and in this poem, I believe the wheat was meant to represent peace.
Earlier, the author referred to a time they were searching for peace in the Crown Imperial, a beautiful, bright flower. A flower that is almost completely opposite of a crop like wheat. The moral that is trying to be brought across is that peace is not going to be found in the most glamorous routes or "the most traveled down paths". Peace is going to be found where it is least expected, in a solution that not many people would choose.
The more I read this poem, I believe the author is talking about their efforts to achieve inner peace. The author utilizes the literary technique of enjambment in the first three stanzas to make us think she possibly might come across the peace she is looking for but repeatedly, the answer is no. In the last four stanzas, the author of the poem tells the tale that she was told when she met a reverend while on her personal path to peace. The reverend tells the story of a prince who lived a sweet, wholesome life and after he died, there were twelve stalks of wheat that grew out of his grave. This was a strange occurrence but this wheat spread throughout the earth and was a source of nutrients and peace for the people. In chapter six, a symbol was explained as a very well-known technique in figurative language and in this poem, I believe the wheat was meant to represent peace.
Earlier, the author referred to a time they were searching for peace in the Crown Imperial, a beautiful, bright flower. A flower that is almost completely opposite of a crop like wheat. The moral that is trying to be brought across is that peace is not going to be found in the most glamorous routes or "the most traveled down paths". Peace is going to be found where it is least expected, in a solution that not many people would choose.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Explication of Metaphors by Sylvia Plath
Chapter five's topic revolves around all different types of figurative language. This includes similes, metaphors, and how poetry's language is almost always figurative, not literal. The poem Metaphors by Sylvia Plath begins with the line, "I'm a riddle in nine syllables" and the rest of the poem stays true to the word "riddle" as it was a list of what I first thought were irrelevant metaphors. Plath names off all sorts of things that I believed had no meaning such as, "an elephant, a ponderous horse", "this loaf's big with it's yeasty rising", and "O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!" However, when I googled this poem, I discovered some interesting analyses. There are nine lines in the poem, each line containing nine syllables, to represent the nine months of pregnancy. After I discovered this, the poem began to make much more sense to me. Plath is using what seems to be unrelated metaphors, to describe her experience as a pregnant woman, making these metaphors suddenly make sense.
The line about the melon and two tendrils creates the image in the reader's mind of a woman with a large, round belly, far along in her pregnancy, with two little legs sticking out. When she talks about a loaf growing bigger with it's yeasty rising, this could come to symbolize a child, growing in the womb, becoming bigger and bigger each day, almost like how a piece of bread dough expands with the presence of yeast. Plath's last line is "Boarded the train there's no getting off". I think she has finally come to the realization that pregnancy leads to parenthood, and that's a journey that there is no escaping from. Usually, pregnancy is discussed in a light that is glamorous, beautiful, and rewarding, but this is not how pregnancy is discussed by Sylvia Plath. She describes her experience as something she takes with a grain of salt, and not favorably but acceptably.
The line about the melon and two tendrils creates the image in the reader's mind of a woman with a large, round belly, far along in her pregnancy, with two little legs sticking out. When she talks about a loaf growing bigger with it's yeasty rising, this could come to symbolize a child, growing in the womb, becoming bigger and bigger each day, almost like how a piece of bread dough expands with the presence of yeast. Plath's last line is "Boarded the train there's no getting off". I think she has finally come to the realization that pregnancy leads to parenthood, and that's a journey that there is no escaping from. Usually, pregnancy is discussed in a light that is glamorous, beautiful, and rewarding, but this is not how pregnancy is discussed by Sylvia Plath. She describes her experience as something she takes with a grain of salt, and not favorably but acceptably.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
The most villainous character of King Lear
I believe Edmund is the most villainous character in King Lear. Personally, I think one of the worst and most evil things a person can do is to deceive their family. Edmund continually does this and more. He feels neglected and ostracized because of his status as an illegitimate child so I can see how one may feel empathy and sympathy for his situation, but Edmund takes it to a whole other level. He turns his father, Gloucester against Edgar, who happens to be the "legitimate" son. I definitely sense major jealousy coming from Edmund. Then, just when he has the trust and love that he always wanted from his father, he turns around and betrays his father as well. Edmund is the reason that the Duke of Cornwall and Gloucester get into an argument where they both end up scathed. If Edmund was around during the days of modern psychology, he would definitely be classified as a sociopath.
Not only does Edmund figuratively stab his family members in the back, he interferes with relationships as well. Both Goneril and Regan are married, yet they fawn over Edmund. This causes tension between these two sisters because Regan, recently widowed, wants to already remarry Edmund. On the other hand, Goneril, with no reservations about the Duke of Albany, wishes to claim Edmund and be his mistress. This is a complete lack of respect on Edmund's behalf as well, more reinforcing his status as the most villainous character in King Lear. Edmund almost seems too smart for his own good. During these times, bastard children were probably criticized for not only being borne out of wedlock, but for their mental and physical capabilities too. Edmund clearly disproves this because of his scheming tactics that he masterminds all on his own. I am curious to see what will happen to Edmund in the last act of the play because I have a feeling that other characters will catch onto his wrongdoings and make him face some sort of repentance.
Not only does Edmund figuratively stab his family members in the back, he interferes with relationships as well. Both Goneril and Regan are married, yet they fawn over Edmund. This causes tension between these two sisters because Regan, recently widowed, wants to already remarry Edmund. On the other hand, Goneril, with no reservations about the Duke of Albany, wishes to claim Edmund and be his mistress. This is a complete lack of respect on Edmund's behalf as well, more reinforcing his status as the most villainous character in King Lear. Edmund almost seems too smart for his own good. During these times, bastard children were probably criticized for not only being borne out of wedlock, but for their mental and physical capabilities too. Edmund clearly disproves this because of his scheming tactics that he masterminds all on his own. I am curious to see what will happen to Edmund in the last act of the play because I have a feeling that other characters will catch onto his wrongdoings and make him face some sort of repentance.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Explication of Bereft by Robert Frost
The first thing I noticed about the poem Bereft, by Robert Frost was the rhyme scheme. It looks something like this: AAAAABBACCDDDEDDE. I don't know what poem this qualifies as but this is something unusual and interesting. Robert Frost gives the wind and it's actions animalistic qualities and even personifies. The wind blowing through a pile of leaves is compared to a snake, "Leaves got up in a coil and hissed, Blindly struck at my knee and missed". The wind is described early in the play like a lion, "Change like this to a deeper roar". This imagery can even make the reader recognize and hear the strong and vicious wind; it is not just a brisk breeze. When commenting on the auditory aspects of the wind, he says "Something sinister in the tone/Told me my secret must be known". There is personification in giving the wind a personality that is somewhat malicious.
I looked up the word "bereft" and dictionary.com told me that it could mean "suffering the death of a loved one, bereaved". At the end of the poem Frost says, "Word I was in my life alone, Word I have no one left but God". There must have been a death and the wind is the symbolic of the messenger delivering that awfully painful message. This poem carries similarities to King Lear in the fact that both pieces of writing believe in the fact that nature carries messages. In King Lear and in this poem, the nature is not peaceful and romantic, it is vengeful and ferocious. Frost says in the first line of the poem, "Where had I heard this wind before". This implies to the reader that this is not the speaker's first time dealing with a death, which is where this somber tone begins.
I looked up the word "bereft" and dictionary.com told me that it could mean "suffering the death of a loved one, bereaved". At the end of the poem Frost says, "Word I was in my life alone, Word I have no one left but God". There must have been a death and the wind is the symbolic of the messenger delivering that awfully painful message. This poem carries similarities to King Lear in the fact that both pieces of writing believe in the fact that nature carries messages. In King Lear and in this poem, the nature is not peaceful and romantic, it is vengeful and ferocious. Frost says in the first line of the poem, "Where had I heard this wind before". This implies to the reader that this is not the speaker's first time dealing with a death, which is where this somber tone begins.
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