Dealing with death so far in AP Lit

There are many similarities between Hamlet and other pieces we have read this year in AP Lit. When one looks at similar themes throughout all the novels, short stories, and plays we have read, the most prevalent is dealing with death. In The Things They Carried, this theme is a constant struggle for the author and many other characters as they readjust to civilian life after the war in Vietnam.  Some of the characters have trouble coping with the destruction they saw during the war and kill themselves as a means to put an end to the memories. In Mrs. Dalloway, Septimius Smith suffers from a sever case of PTSD after he returns home after World War One. He too decides to kill himself, however, he does it as a way to avoid the mental therapy he was set to receive. In The Dead, Gabriel must deal with what appears to be the death of his marriage once he learns his wife still has feeling for a boy from her childhood and realizes his marriage has turned cold and desolate. Although death is never directly discussed in The Wasteland, there are indirect references to it and the First World War. If one examines the scene where the author writes about the quietness and abandonment of the Thames River, the reader can interpret this as being due to the death of a country's liveliness because of the costs of the war.  In Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to deal with the death of his father. Hamlet learns the death was a murder and is conflicted with how to go about righting this injustice; this quest eventually leads to Hamlet losing his sanity and much more. The theme of dealing with death is present in all of the pieces we have read this year, in one way or another.

Ophelia- the odd woman out

In Hamlet, the character Ophelia seems very strange and seems to serve a particular purpose. So far, the reader has seen Ophelia as a loving daughter, a caring sister, a timid lover, and a mad woman. These are a lot of roles for one character to fill; even with Hamlet, the reader only sees him as a vengeful son and an insane prince. Because of these many roles she plays, she is different. She acts as an element that holds the storyline together and move it along when it is necessary. For example, at the end of act four, Ophelia's actions serve as an impetus to the play's story line while also adding an additional layer of complexity. Not to ruin act four for anyone who has not read it yet, but Ophelia falls into a creek and drowns.  This throws Laertes back into a crazed rage Claudius just calmed him down from. Ophelia also embodies many of the play's themes, such as madness and tragedy. Once she loses her father, she seems to fall off the proverbial deep end. Later, her madness leads to her tragic death when she decides to sing to herself instead of trying to get to shore. Ophelia is an odd character who ties many aspects of Hamlet together.  

Hamlet post 2

So far in Hamlet, many of the key themes have been very apparent . The largest theme, tragedy, has been seen since the first scene of the first act, with the appearance of the ghost of old Hamlet. Although this is unknown to the reader until later in the act, this is where the evidence of Old Hamlet's murder first appears.  This occurs in the fifth scene; the smaller theme of remorse is also seen in this scene. When Older Hamlet first tells Young Hamlet about his murder, Older Hamlet seems to be hold remorse for some of his actions during his life because he talks about he was was murdered before he could make up for some of his sins. Another large theme that has been seen by the end of the second act is Hamlet's insanity. This was seen when Young Hamlet goes to Ophelia and acts in an odd manner. This could have in part been due to seeing his father's ghost, but this also causes the reader to question  whether or not he saw a ghost. The two themes of tragedy and insanity have been two of the largest theme so far in Hamlet

Hamlet post 1

Shakespeare's Hamlet drastically differs from any other piece of his I have read in the past. While I have only read two other pieces of Shakespeare before hand (Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night), it is easy to see they are different in many ways. Of the two, the most different from Hamlet is Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night follows a cross dressing woman through her part in a mysterious love triangle. It is a comedy. This kind of play is completely different form the sort of play Hamlet is. Romeo and Juliet is more similar, though still very different. While it does focus on the final tragedy between the love struck rebels, Romeo and Juliet distracts from this with its romantic aspect. Hamlet does not seem to any other large theme associated with it to distract from this. It is also important to note that the types of tragedies from both pieces is different. In Romeo and Juliet, the story is considered a tragedy because the two young lovers kill themselves out of grief of losing the other while at the prime of their lives. This heart wrenching type of tragedy is very different from the type seen in Hamlet. As we discussed in class the other day, Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, where the avenger becomes consumed by the hatred of  the villain and eventually takes on an identical person because of it. Hamlet is a unique piece of literature, even when compared to other works of Shakespeare.

The Wasteland and allusion

In The Burial of the Dead, lines 31 - 35 are another language. After researching these lines, I discovered they were German. In fact, these lines come from the famous German Opera Tristian und Isolde. The lines loosely translate to "Fresh wind blows / to the home. / My Irish child, / where are you now?"  In the opera, these lines are part of the first lines from a young sailor to Isolde. When translated into English, these lines give off a sort of taunting impression. This allusion affects the rest of the poem by giving the reader the impression that nothing is forever and anything can be taken away, similar to how Isolde is being taken away from her home. These lines add to the gloomy tone running through this section of the poem.

Metaphor and symbol

Metaphor: "... staring at him with her rabbit's eyes."

Tenor- Miss Ivor's personality and appearance

Vehicle- eyes of a rabbit

The author equates Miss Ivor's eyes to the eyes of a rabbit. This metaphor builds a better image of both her physical appearance and her social behavior. If one ever looks at three of a rabbit, he or she would notice it is small, black, and beady. This gives Miss Ivor's a sort of nosey and judgemental demeanor. 

Symbol: Ireland

Tenor- powerful memories

Vehicle- Ireland 

Throughout the short story, Ireland portrays both literal and figurative meaning. Physically, it is the homeland for Gabriel and many other characters. However, figuratively, the country represents either positive or negative memories depending on the character. For Gabriel, it proves a negative reaction; whereas in his wife, Ireland provokes a positive emotion. It has this effect on her because it revives a lost lover  from her childhood. The symbol causes friction between the two characters, and  becomes increasingly when Gabriel accuses her of only wanting to return to Ireland because it reminds her of her earlier love. 

Septimus Smith

In Mrs. Dalloway, Septimus Smith suffers from a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a veteran of World War One, Septimus is haunted by countless, gruesome memories of trench warfare. What haunts him most though is the death of his friend, Evans. When he dies, Septimus fears there is something is wrong with himself because he feels very little emotionally. This hints towards his later psychological problems. When Septimus returns to England after the war, with his new wife Rezia, his PTSD becomes increasingly apparent. From the first scenes of the book when a car backfires to his death, his PTSD hardly leaves him. Rezia Thinks it is best for him to see a doctor once Septimus begins to talk about killing himself. Septimus sees two doctors. The first is Dr. Holmes, who believes Septimus is fine and only needs to sleep and adjust his diet. The second is Sir Williams. His conclusion is entirely different from Dr. Holmes. Sir Williams believes Septimus is "out of proportion" and Should relocate to one of his homes out in the country for treatment. It is interesting how Sir Williams uses the term "out of proportion". He does this as a way of convincing his patients he has some power in curing them, when he really does not. Septimus' PTSD is a large part of the story and who Septimus is.

Ms. Kilman

Ms. Kilman is an interesting character in Mrs. Dalloway. While she is a minor character, she  represents a hoard of different ideas. The primary thing she exemplifies is the repressed German during and after the war. Before working as a tutor for Elizabeth, she worked as a school teacher. Once the war broke out and quickly reached the stalemate of trench warfare, Ms. Kilman was fired because of her German heritage. She feels she is being cheated of a life she deserves because of this. Ms. Kilman portrays the oppression that  Anglo-Germans faced in England suffered through during this time period simply because of their distant relation to the enemy. Another idea she exemplifies is the separation  between the upper class and the rest of British society. Although Ms. Kilman never says anything directly to Mrs. Dalloway of a negative calibre, Ms. Kilman's tone suggests a deep hatred for Mrs. Dalloway's grandiose lifestyle. This sort of adversity portrayed in this section of the book shows some of the tension between the social classes in England during this time period. Also as a religious woman, she could see Clarissa's secular life as unnecessary and selfish. While Ms Kilman is not a crucial character to the story's plot, Woolf uses her as a way to better show the influence of the setting. 

Word

Emigration 

Question

Why was Shakespeare talked about so much around pg. 70?

Peter Walsh

In Mrs. Dalloway, Peter Walsh is a major character who plays a major role in both the development of the study and Clarissa. Peter has know Clarissa most, if not all, of his life. Ever since their early days at Bourton, he has had feelings for her, extreme feelings for her. He believes the happiest moment in his life was the day Clarissa asked him to join her on her boat. Later that summer, he asks Clarissa for her hand in marriage. She broke his heart into countless pieces by rejecting him. Dejected, he leaves Bourton immediately and doesn't see Clarissa until the day of her party. He is back in London to talk to lawyers to finalize a divorce for his new love, Daisy, who lives in India. However, it is obvious he is still madly in love with Clarissa when he decides to make an unannounced visit to Clarissa's house. This visit climaxes when Peter breaks down in front of Clarissa and she kisses him in effort to try to comfort him. For Peter, this action confuses him even more. After being interrupted by Clarissa' daughter, Peter rushes out of the house and Clarissa yells to him that her party is later that day. This kind of chaos and drama seems to portray the kind of man Peter is. He is a very dramatic and emotional guy who has trouble dealing with his emotions. He and Clarissa's husband, Richard, are polar opposites. Where Peter is a man struggling with his feelings and prospective on life, Richard Dalloway is a rock. He is a stable, even-headed, well respected man who doesn't seem to allow his emotions to affect him. This is possibly on of the key reasons why Clarissa decided to marry Richard over Peter, as a matter of practicality versus passion. But Peter serves as a  glimpse back to the past and what "could have been".

9/30 Reoccuring Interuption

In Mrs. Dalloway, characters have had intimate encounters that are constantly interrupted by a third party. The first example that springs to mind is when Clarissa kisses her friend Sally Seton when they were teenagers. Sally Seton is a young rebellious girl who's behavior is very abnormal for a woman, especially for woman of the time period of this novel (18th century). Clarissa is drawn to Sally perhaps because of this quality. This attraction leads to the two girls to kiss one night when they are together. Clarissa says this is possibly the best experience she's ever had. Before their intimate moment can continue or escalate, Peter Walsh interrupts them. The other example of an intimate moment being interrupted is when Clarissa and Peter are interrupted by Elizabeth, Clarissa's daughter. This occurs after Clarissa begins to comfort Peter when he breaks down in front of her. Similar to the intimate moment between Clarissa and Sally, this moment is interrupted before it can continue or escalate, which could be likely because of their past feelings for each other. This theme of constant interruptions causes the reader to think of "what if" situations similar to what Dr. Spiegel talked about last week in class. Be this coincidence or a writing style Woolf uses on purpose, I found this very interesting.

9/26/14

I found today's lecture on the different eras of art very interesting. Before, I had never really considered the relationship between art and literature. I had always thought that each evolved  independently from the other. But after today's lecture, I have come to realize that art movements and literary movements are linked in a variety of ways. One of the most important ways is the similar way in which artists and authors convey a belief, be that with brush strokes or sentence structure. For example, the Impressionist era at the beginning of the 20th century celebrated ones personal experiences. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is considered an impressionist novel because of the way it over emphasizes Marlow's experiences through out his journey on the Congo. It does this by dwelling and drawing out events as they appear to have happened Marlow. When I read this over the summer, I knew that Heart of Darkness was different from most books out there; however, I didn't know that it was considered different because of how it portrays Marlow's view of what occurs. I think this relationship is very interesting and is an aspect which many people overlook when they look at literature.

Mrs. Dalloway post 1

Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf, is incredibly different from most books out there. What makes this novel different is the manner in which it is told. It is told in a style know as free indirect discourse. What this means is that the story is told from mixture of third and first person view. This allows the author to include aspects from characters personal thoughts without much transition; this kind of writing is obvious in Mrs. Dalloway.  From the first few paragraphs, it is easy for a reader to witness how the story line Of the novel bounces from one though to another without a second glance. Woolf's writing style captures the unfocused and easily distracted portion of the human mind. At the bottom of the first page of text, "For having lived in Westminister-... this moment of June," the reader gets a good idea of how free indirect discourse sounds.  In the first sentence of the paragraph, Woolf goes from simply stating a fact to questioning it in a way that comes off in an incredibly natural manner that many can relate to. In other words, the writing style follows a nearly identical path as one's train of thought would in everyday life. This sort of writing style is unique to Mrs. Dalloway and other novels by Virginia Woolf.

I am looking forward to reading this book, as it is the first book by Virginia Woolf I have read. It is also the first time I have encountered this kind of writing style.  

The things they carried post 2

The Things They Carry  is unlike any other war story I have heard or read before. The last book I have read based completely on the premise of war was Unbroken, which one could easily consider a conventional, run-of-the-mill war story. Unbroken focuses primarily on an Italian American boy named Louis Zamperini. He is taken prisoner after his plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean, and spends the next five years as a POW and the rest of his life trying to recover from the gruesome events he witnessed. While these novels have many differences, there are many aspects the books share. The similarity I find most interesting is what they consider a war story. In The Things They Carry, O'Brian talks about how a true war story makes you feel things in the pit your stomach. The way these two books achieve the affect of becoming a "true" war story is different. Unbroken achieves this by first humanizing and building up Louis as a likable character that the reader can develop emotions for later in the novel when the cruelest acts imaginable begin to happen to him. O'Brian does this in a number of ways; the largest being how he creates personalities for the characters based on those he served with. This adds an affect of forced factor of reality. The Things They Carry and Unbroken can both be considered "true" war stories under O'Brian's belief of what a war story is, because the two novels force the reader to feel gut wrenching emotions in response to the horrible things that happen to the main characters.  

9/7/14 The Things They Carried

The title, The Things They Carried, is incredibly symbolic through out the novel. The first chapter of this book is dedicated to naming all the odds and ends soldiers would "hump" with them through the jungles of Vietnam. The author outlines what many of the men in the platoon carry physically and emotionally. Physically, the men are loaded down nearly 40 pounds of equipment, food, water, and clothing. "The things they carried were largely determined by necessity" (O'Brien 2). They only carry things that are essential to living through the mission. The less they carry, the better off they are. Most men don't carry anything for their personal hygiene like a tooth brush or soap. They are willing to give up this luxury if it meant they have a lighter load on their backs and a better chance of surviving. Emotionally, they carry just as heavy a load as they do physically. Sometimes this weight becomes too much and they snap, resulting in random acts of violence like torturing a baby water buffalo or killing an abandoned puppy The man who carries the most mentally in the platoon is perhaps Jimmy Cross. "As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, ... and the responsibility for the lives of his men" (O'Brien 5). But the weight of those men's lives aren't the only thing he carries. He also carries his love for a girl named Martha he left back home in the US. He carries the knowledge that she will never really love him, despite how she signs her letters to him. Between all the responsibilities and facts he shleps with him through the jungles of Vietnam, Cross has on of the toughest roles in the platoon. The things they carried, physically and emotionally, is significant in the lives of the men in the novel.

Unaccustomed Earth post 2

Unaccustomed Earth  is very different from books I have read in the past. While I have read other short stories, I have never read anything quite like the stories Lahiri writes. Most stories I have read have been stories like Rip Van Winkle and To Build a Fire. Both these stories cover monumental events like falling asleep for 100 years or braving the Alaskan Wilderness in -70 degree temperatures. This is not the case for most of the stories in Unaccustomed Earth. These stories capture normal events like a visit from a relative, a wedding, or the course of a marriage. Lahiri is able to take these events and turn them into stories that capture the reader’s attention. However, not all of the stories in the book are these basic events. Some of the stories include deaths of loved ones or dealing with addiction; life altering events. While these sort of events are less of a challenge to make interesting, Lahiri does an excellent job at ensuring they will be nothing other than page turners. Her ability to bring the characters off the page and include such minute details give the reader the ability to really understand the story. Unaccustomed Earth is very unique in the topics of the stories and the thought and imagery in each of them.

Unaccustomed Earth post 1: themes

Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a series of short stories each of which follows a Bengali man or woman through many walks of life. The stories range from visits from a parent to getting over past loves to dealing with the deaths of loved ones. A few consistent themes run  through the stories. The two most prevalent themes are adapting to life after the death of a loved one and coming to face one's personal issues. In the first story, Ruma and her father are adapting to life without her mother. Ruma's father has gotten over the passing of his wife and moved on to loving another woman, but Ruma is still filled with grief and pain over her mother’s death and she believes her father is too. This theme of healing from the passing of a loved one is also seen in the last 3-part story of Hema and Kaushik. In this story, Kaushik loses his mother to breast cancer at the age of sixteen. Devastated by this event, Kaushik shuts out his new stepmother and stepsisters in the second part of the story when they try to fill the void left by his mother, and isolates himself from his old life.The other theme that appears again and again in Unaccustomed Earth is coming to face one's problems. This theme is most obvious in the fourth story about Sudha and her alcoholic brother, Rahul. In the story, Rahul develops a serious drinking problem once he goes off to Cornell for college. It gets to the point where he drops out of school and has a few encounters with the law. Eventually, he runs away from home and stops communicating with his family for about a year. The next time Sudha hears from him, she learns he has turned his life around and has gone through rehab. This idea of coming to face one's flaws is a large theme in Unaccustomed Earth. 

Heart of Darkness 3

Heart of Darkness is set at the turn of the 20th century during the Imperial age. During this era, Europeans believed that the white Christian man was superior to every other race.  Europeans believed that it was their duty to civilize and bring culture to Africans and others  by forcing their European and Christian ideology upon the colonized. In Heart of Darkness, one can see that Africans are treated much differently and in some cases they are treated hardly as humans. The natives are seen as savages by the Europeans because they are different and these differences create fear and intolerance. When Marlow first arrives in the Congo, he takes note of how a group of "criminals", largely Africans guilty of nothing, are being treated as slaves. Later, when Marlow and his crew are traveling up the river, he notices how the Europeans on his boat are terrified of the natives who are working on the boat. This kind of fear and closed mindedness is what causes the discrimination, both in the novel and in recent history. In the past century the world has witnessed astonishing changes for women, African Americans, and many other groups. However, there are many social injustices that continue to prevail today. Prejudice still exists towards those who have a different sexual orientation  and those who adhere to different religious beliefs. Hopefully the world will continue to see the positive trend that has led to more personal freedoms for those who have been unjustly persecuted.

Heart of Darkness post 2: the title

Further symbolism is found in the title of the book -- Heart of Darkness. One thing the title is symbolic of is the Congo itself. When the novel takes place, the jungle is a large, undiscovered, undeveloped and mysterious region of the world.. The jungle is full of native tribes referred to as "savages". The title could also be symbolic in describing these savages. Heart of Darkness could be referring to the primitive nature of these natives. For examples, one could look at how the tribes are violent and cannibalistic. However, the most striking and meaningful way in which Heart of Darkness is symbolic is the meaning it carries of the white, European man. The title eludes to the greed and savagery of civilized men. The best example of greed in the book is Mr. Kurtz. He starts out as an average man who enters the jungle in search of ivory. On his quest to get as much ivory as possible, he becomes a savage who takes to sticking heads on posts outside of his cottage. Heart of Darkness is symbolic of the savagery of civilized men in the way they treat Africans during colonization and how brutal business is. For example, one of the station managers thinks it is best to hang a competitor encroaching on their land and to warn of others searching for ivory. There is little different from this and a natives placing heads on stakes to ward off others. The name Heart of Darkness refers to both the savage side of the natives in the jungle and the ruthlessness of colonization. The title of the book is symbolic of many things and captures many of the key themes thoughout Heart of Darkness.

Heart of Darkness 1

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a classic novel that captures the story of imperialization during the late 19th  and early 20th century. This book has several unique elements, such as the way the story is told, the central theme of imperialization in West Africa, and the literary devices the author uses in the novel. To begin, this story is told as a first person narrative by a man named Marlow, who is a river boat captain in the Congo. What makes this book unique is the way Conrad tells Marlow's story. The book is written with Marlow as the orator, telling his boat mates about his journey. This device creates an perspective to the book  as the majority of the novel is a monologue. To the reader, this can be  confusing as this unique style of writing presents a different and unusual perception of the evolving story. Another unique element of this novel is  the topic it encompasses. The age of imperialism in Western Africa could be viewed as a dry and complex  topic to read about. However, Conrad is able to capture the subject  in a manner that keeps the reader’s rapt attention throughout the book. He does this by employing the oration by Marlow, the constant use of thought-provoking imagery, and hiding complex symbolism throughout the story. Imagery is a very prominent literary device Conrad interjects beautifully throughout the story line.  He describes the Congo like a stunning portrait that captures everything about the river, the jungle, the native people, and the life as a boat captain. He goes as far as to describe how the flies swarm corpses. This kind of imagery brings the book into a whole new light that manages to capture the reader’s attention. Another unique aspect of Heart of Darkness is the symbolism Conrad uses throughout the book. The two most obvious examples are  ivory and Mr. Kurtz himself. The ivory and its effect on Mr. Kurtz shows how greed grows on a man. Where the ivory represents an easy profit and greed, Mr. Kurtz embodies the effect of greed on a man's soul. This colorful and powerful theme of greed and its relationship to man enriches the storyline.The extensive multilayered symbolism in this short novel is astonishing and adds to the unique qualities of  Heart of Darkness.