King Lear Trailer

Antigone #12

Anouilh develops the conflicting idea of truth versus lies to emphasize the conflict between characters. Most of the disagreements in the story are spawned from a lie or ambiguity that has previously happened. The early fights came from Antigone sneaking out and being unclear about her motives. In the reading tonight, the argument between Antigone and Creon grew out of Antigone's past, as Creon says. Also, it comes from Antigone not knowing the real story behind Polynices and Eteocles, but it is hard to know that Creon's account of the story is truthful too. I think that Anouilh created this tension between truth and lies to highlight that no one really knows anything, and that it's hard to know who to believe. The entire back story of Oedipus and all of the contradiction in the events of Antigone  all build into this tension. It could be that Anouilh is using this tension to create a theme for the play, which is that not everything is true. Of course that needs elaborating, so in a longer phrase, you can't believe everything you hear, and sometimes even what you see, and the only truth there is is the truth that you make for yourself. Essentially, each person is entitled to their own beliefs.

Antigone #11

The tone of the chorus shifts dramatically in this part of the play. At first they seemed to empathize with Creon and were just listing events of the story and giving background. In tonight's reading they gave a long definition of what tragedy is and explained it to the audience. They said the word "you" a lot more frequently, which I thought could be Anouilh's way of breaking the fourth wall because he is drawing the audience in by use of the word "you". This breaking of the fourth wall serves significant because it reconnects the audience to the play and assures that they understand where it is going. It seems to me that Anouilh is very direct with explaining the play and intentions to the audience, but when it comes to the actual characters of the play, they are much more ambiguous. This lends the audience to confusion because there is times in the play in which they do not know what to believe, and this set up for lies and betrayal came from the beginning chorus because they highlighted all of the past betrayals of Antigone's family. Since the chorus in this part still adds to the lies it essentially has the same motives as the beginning chorus but just goes about it in a different way. I'm also curious as to if the chorus is a single man or still a group of people? I feel it could go either way.

Antigone #10

Events

-Oedipus is the king, but then he dies

-He had two sons, Polynices and Eteocles. After his death they agreed to alternate being king every other year. 

-Eteocles refused to give up the throne when it was time so Polynices rebelled.

-Polynices attacked with the aid of 6 other princes and each was defeated at each of the 7 gates to the city.

-Eteocles and Polynices killed each other in the fighting and Creon became king.

-Eurydice is knitting next to Creon until she goes to die.

-Creon orders that Polynices may not be honored and whoever honors him receives death. 

-Antigone wants to give Polynices a proper burial and tries to convince Ismene to help her and Ismene refuses.

-Haemon proposes to Antigone, even though he was talking with Ismene all night. As a result his death is predicted by the Messenger.

-Antigone sneaks out and has an argument with Haemon.

-Nurse questions her when she comes home and Ismene shows up and does the same.

-Antigone goes to bury Polynices.

Reflection

In the way Anouilh structures events there seems to be a lot weight on trickery and betrayal between brothers, sisters, friends, in relationships, and with the law. This sets up the story as being one filled with lies and false belief which follows along with the preceding story of Oedipus the King, which is also filled with lies. Another result of the large amount of lies in the first 48 hours of the story is that it helps to set up Antigone as a tricky character, mainly because she lied to the nurse about why she went out so early in the day. Antigone's family also has a result of living in lies, trickery, and betrayal because of her two brothers, and the story of her father. All of which set her up to be a rebellious character in the story, especially against a preset law. This structure of the back story that highlights the lies sets it up so that it is already centered around betrayals and secrets.

Topic Sentence

Leonardo is given an aggressive nature by Federico Garcia Lorca in Blood Wedding, to demonstrate how he is a key reactant to the tragic events of the story.

Blood Wedding #9

Journal #9: Create a list of themes that Lorca creates in the play.

• Family problems/feuds are passed down through the youth. 

This is a pretty obvious theme seeing as the hatred of the mother for the Felix family causes the death of her son and the other Felix brother. The son was trying to ease the mother's worries through the whole play because he was not as worried, but since his mother kept up her paranoia and hate it translated down to the sons life and eventually caused him to be killed.

• Past relationships only bring pain if you stay in touch with the person.

I thought this because of Leonardo and the Bride. When the bride has had no contact with Leonardo she is absolutely ready to marry the groom. After Leonardo contacts her however, she begins to have doubts. These doubts she begins to form eventually lead to her running away with Leonardo which results in the death of Leonardo and the death of the Groom, leaving the bride in despair.

• Those that are controlled are left ignorant to what is really going on.

I thought this because the son is heavily controlled by his mother, especially during the scene when the mother, father, groom, and bride all meet up. The fact that he is left ignorant is because he is being bossed about by his mother and because he is trying to please her, he becomes oblivious to the fact that the bride is slipping away from him. He is also so caught up in the lovey-dovey stuff that he loses sight of the true story, and that eventually leads to him losing his bride.

Blood Wedding #8

Journal #8: How does the set change between acts and what effect does the set have on the atmosphere? 

The set changes from a vineyard, farmland setting to a very nice house in act two and then to the forest for part of act 3. In the beginning the atmosphere is quite lively although since it is mainly in closed rooms on the farmland the atmosphere could also be fairly intense because everything is happening so quickly and rapidly in the small spaces. When the setting changes from the houses to the courtyard (?) of the Bride's nice home the atmosphere seems way more relaxed and friendly for awhile, due to the upcoming wedding. Even though the atmosphere is relaxed there's still a threatening anticipation due to the speed and intensity of Leonardo compared to the other guests. The setting of the forest in the third act is very ominous. Forests are usually set up to be like that, especially since this is realism, not romanticism. The forest makes it ominous because death is there and there is talk of death, and ultimately death in the forest. This sets the rest of the atmosphere for the play as being ominous or mournful.

Blood Wedding #7

There are a variety of youth in the second act. Why? How does Lorca use the youth to affect the themes of the play?


Lorca uses the youth in the play to represent the generational struggle that has been part of the major families in the play. When this play was written, family feuds were still very common in Spain so the fact that Lorca uses the youth to symbolize this adds to the realism of the play. Some of the major fights and larger moments in the play come from this long term struggle between Mother and the Felix family. The youth can represent how it does not matter what age you are, you can still be pulled in to a hundred year old conflict. Also, the youth can show how they are important to what happens in their families even though they are smaller pieces of the puzzle. Maybe Lorca was trying to say that children are important factors and their problems can affect everyone so they should not be over looked. 

Blood Wedding #6

Which characters appear to be miserable int he play and why?  When and how do the characters express their misery? What do the characters desire and what stops them from going after what each desire?


The bride and the mother are both the characters that are most miserable in the play. The bride is miserable because she first has an internal conflict about marriage and then she loses both of the men that she loves. The mother is miserable because she does not want to lose her son, and she fears letting him away from her home. The bride expresses her misery when talking to the maid in Act 2 Scene 1. The mother expresses her misery openly to her son in the very first act. Both expressions are verbal, although the mother's is far more erratic. The  bride desires a happy marriage but Leonardo stops her from achieving that when he shows up speaking of the past. The mother wants her son to stay safe at home but his own goals and desires pull him away from her and result in his death, which ultimately stops the mother from achieving what she desires. 

Blood Wedding #5

Journal #5 Examine how Lorca characterize the archetypes of the play.  Does Lorca embrace or reject the archetype?  What is the effect of the characterization? 

I feel that Lorca embraces the archetype in the play. He embraces it by purposefully taking the names of the characters away except for Leonardo. This type of characterization, to me, de-individualizes the characters of the story. Names are usually partnered with originality and that is a crucial part of the human experience, so therefore by removing the names of the characters Lorca dehumanizes them. Except for Leonardo. The effect of this is that it forces the audience to focus more on Leonardo than the others. This results in more of a identification with Leonardo and it separates him from the other characters. Because of this Leonardo is seen as an outcast and the audience is more inclined to pity him but reject him at the same time. Due to Lorca's use of archetypes Lorca creates a separation between the major characters of the play.

Blood Wedding #4

Well the first, and most obvious symbol in act one of Blood Wedding is the knife. Like we talked about in class today, the knife is clearly as symbol for death. I also think it could be seen as a symbol for severing or tearing a life apart, like a serrated blade. This is because the murder of the Groom's brother and father was done by a knife and that tore their family apart emotionally. Also, at the end of the story it takes two more men from their respective families, so basing it off of those two events the knife could be seen as a symbol for separation. Another symbol I saw in the first act was the vineyard. To me personally I see a vineyard as a place of growth and life and as a source of money by selling wine. In the book, it also represents that, especially in the first act but in act two, I saw it turning into more of a symbol for decay, since the bride's father's vineyard was somewhat shabby. The symbol of the vineyard throughout the book serves as a small foreshadowing if it is seen as representing decay, and that in turn sets up the rest of the story.

The Wild Duck #2

Ibsen uses the motif of disease and illness to show the detrimental effects of living a false life and forcing an illusion upon someone's life to solve a problem in your own. When Gregers and Werle are arguing at the end of Act 1, Werle tells Greger that,"You have seen me through your mother's eyes. But you ought to remember that her eyes were- were- clouded now and then" (Ibsen 90). This quote happens during the middle of an argument so clearly that gives a negative and destructive connotation to illness. After talking about Gregers' mother's clouded eyes they continue fighting and then Gregers accuses Werle of messing up Hjalmar's life and says, "And there he is now [...] without the slightest idea that what he calls home is built on a lie" (Ibsen 90). This is important because it is a mention of lying and deceit during an argument immediately after the mention of clouded eyes which connect to being blind. This quote shows how Ibsen is making a connection between illness, specifically failure of eyesight, to the destructive effects of lying. When Gregers comes to the Ekdal home later in the story, Act 2, him and Hjalmar talk about Hedvig's eyesight and Hjalmar tells Gregers that him and Gina do not "have the heart to tell her anything about it. She suspects nothing" (Ibsen 101). This is another connection between lies and eye disease. The fact that eye disease comes up with lying connects to a negative thing pairing with not telling the truth. This helps to prove that Ibsen uses disease and illness to show the detrimental effects of lies.

The Wild Duck #1

Prompt 2:


I feel like Ms. Sorby has false conceptions of herself. She is a very kind and giving woman, but at this point in time she is still a housemaid that is employed under Werle. It seems that she is beginning to see herself as wealthy before she actually becomes married to Werle, but in reality she is just a handmaid for now. I think that it is safe to say that Hjalmar has false conceptions of the other people around him. He is in the blind about Gina having an affair with Werle and he thinks that Hedvig is his biological daughter when in reality she belongs to Werle as well. The person that recognizes the facades is Gregers. Gregers calls out Werle on everything at the end of the first act, and then makes all of it aware to Hjalmar near the end, sending Hjalmar's life into a downward spiral, which ultimately results in Hedvig's death. Hjalmar reacts to learning about the facades at first by freaking out and becoming angry with everyone, but then after Hedvig's death he accepts all of the new facts he has learned about his life. His wife Gina reacts rather calmly but that is only because she has known all of this information the whole time. When Gregers reaches the conclusions early on in the novel he reacts by getting excited about bringing his father down, and heads to Hjalmar's to set the tragedy in motion.

We #3

Motifs: There is a more apparent repetition of facial features and body parts and D-503 recognizes and describes people by their body parts in the final third of the novel. He does this because he has his soul so he is more imaginative with his description but he is also on a thin line between going back to his old ways of being straight-forward and fully accepting his soul. This is because his descriptions of people are often very creative and out of the box, but his ways of categorizing them is very logical. Body parts may also be foreshadowing for the Great Operation because D-503 describes a doctor as having "scissor-lips" and since it was a doctor and scissors are a surgery tool, it may be a way of subtly foreshadowing the Great Operation.

Setting: The setting changes to more of nature than sealed in walls in this final section of the book. Instead of being trapped within the walls of the city, D-503 breaks through the barriers by going beyond the green wall with I-330 and also flying into space with the Integral. Going beyond his enclosure really shows how he is going against society because of this soul he develops. He fully accepts having his soul in this part of the book, and because of that he almost attempts a traitorous act against the One State. The lack of boundaries in this last third of the book show how D-503 has broken all of the control that his government has over him.

Language: The language of this section of the novel is almost as it was in the second third. It is very complex sentence structure, however most of the sentences end with an ellipse. This is because most of this last part is D-503's internal conflict between himself coming to a resolve so he has a lot of thoughts that conflict, so his sentences trail off as a result of that. Although, in the last entry of the book, all of his sentences become short, and logical, and there is not one ellipse in the entire entry. This is because he had the Great Operation done on him and the part of his brain that contained the imagination/soul he developed was removed. As a result of this his sentences become very direct and logical as they were at the beginning of the novel. This shows how D-503 has come full circle since the start of his journal.

We #2

Motifs: In the second third of the novel there is more use of colors in D-503's description of things. These colors are used by Zamyatin to show how D-503 is beginning to develop a soul/imagination. In the first third, most of his descriptions were rather bland, but as he becomes less logical his descriptions broaden into a wide variety of colors. Also, things that are see through, such as glass, windows, and ice are repeated more in the second third. They show how D-503 is becoming more of a transparent person since he is developing a soul. Before, he was just a solid, opaque, logical person, but now he is thinking thoughts he never would have thought if he had remained as he was in the first third.

Setting: The setting in the second third seems to be more confined than it was at the beginning. At the beginning of the novel, even though D-503 mentioned the wall, it seemed to me like the place he was in was more open. Now, in the second third D-503 mentions houses and walls a lot which gives a feeling of being trapped. He is often in small places such as his room and the use of the green wall adds to the sense of being sealed in. This sense of being sealed in represents how D-503 is having an internal conflict between logic and having a soul. He is trapped within himself and often talks about how there is two of him, showing how he is having a troubling conflict within himself, in that confined space.

Language: The language in the second third of the novel becomes far more fanciful than it was at the beginning. At the beginning D-503 is very strict to his mathematical ways, but in the second third his mind begins to wander. Instead of having straight, logical sentences, D-503 begins to speak in more similes and has longer, more complex sentences. These also relates to how he is beginning to develop a soul, because without the soul he thought with straight logic. But now he is developing a soul, and this causes his sentences to become more complex since he is questioning everything.

We #1

Motifs: There is a surplus of motifs in We. An often mentioned motif is religion and God. God plays a big part in this society, not because the people believe in a god and have religion, but because there is an absence of God and religion. This helps to define the society because many times D-503 talks about how the people are on the same level as gods, and therefore are one and the same. This lack of religion shows how the people of the society believe that they have found the answers to almost everything through their mathematical ways. It helps to show that this society is based on mathematics, science, and logic.

Setting: The setting of the novel is very futuristic for when it was written (1920-1921). D-503's descriptions of the ancients in the 20th century are very accurate depictions of what actually came about during that time period. The setting of this novel is in a futuristic glass city that has almost entirely boxed out nature except for a botanical garden somewhere in the city. The fact that there is no wild nature allowed in the city walls shows how the society, and people in that society, are far more advanced scientifically and mathematically than the primitive life of the "savage", being us, the reader.

Language: The language of the novel is quite advanced. There is a good amount of higher level words, which plays into the fact that the people of this society see themselves as more intelligent than the old society. Also, poets are very important in this society and they play a big part in putting what happens in this mathematically dominated society into words. The poets are all required to write down things about their perfect mathematical society, and this makes words very important in a society that is dominated by math.

The Stranger #5

Trevism

1. Don't complain. -This is a principle because a person should never complain about what they have, especially a person that has a lot of wealth. This is because you should try to reach a level of happiness with whatever you have. You're better off than someone else if you have food on your plate, so why make a big deal if you can't have dessert.
2. Ask smart questions. - This is a principle because if you already know the answer to a question don't ask it because it wastes time and time is a gift. If you're going to ask a question make it meaningful and ask something you can get a worthy answer out of.
3. Be respectful of your parents. -This is a principle because your parents brought you into this world. You should always be grateful for them. Respecting your parents is a key part of Trevism because parents provide and take care of you and that should never be forgotten.
4. Try new things when presented with an opportunity. -This is a principle because you never no what you may miss. While you're alive you must try to get all you can out of your life and you can help yourself to do that by trying everything you can.
5. Meet new people. - This is a principle because you should always be trying to meet new people and make more connections. The more connections you have, the farther you can go. Meeting people is a great way to experience things and will add to life experiences.
6. Be frugle. - This is a principle because saving money is almost a must in times today. If you spend too freely you'll end up running out of money or in debt. Being in debt is not good because owing people money will eventually build up against you. The trick is to spend carefully.
7. Be a good Sameritan. - This is a principle because it is a good quality to help others. Helping others makes them feel good and it makes you feel good. Often times karma returns the gift if you are nice to someone else.

The Stranger #4

Meursault comes to the conclusions that life has no meaning and that every person is living just to die. Although, he does also find that it is possible to find happiness in the little things. I think that Camus wanted to reader to realize that Meursault came to these conclusions. Not in an attempt that the reader believes them as well, but to inform the reader and dissuade them from believing those things in their own life. Except for finding happiness, I think that that was his main message near the end of the story. Camus was trying to get people to understand that they can find happiness in anything.

The Stranger Journal #3

I think that Camus chose to split the novel into two parts because he was trying to emphasize the changes taking place in Meursault and his life. First, the fact that he makes it two parts just clearly shows that Meursault is a different person. He's the same character but his personality has changed and that is shown in part two, especially when he says that he "lost the habit of analyzing" himself (Camus 65). The use of colors is still continued through the two parts. Meursault lost the ability to analyze himself but he is still good about analyzing other people's actions and his past. There is a strong appearance of religion in the second part, when the magistrate is trying to convince Meursault to adopt God, and religion is almost absent in the first part of the book. The most interesting thing I found is that the intense imagery of the sun and light have almost entirely gone absent from part two of the novel. I think Camus chose to do that because he was trying to highlight the fact that Meursault was in a dark prison cell, and there is a 'lack of hope' in part two as well. At first it seems like Meursault could get out of his situation but when he tells the Magistrate he doesn't not believe in God his chances of being freed drop significantly. Speaking of which, the lack of light imagery could connect with Meursault's rejection of religion! God=light. Boom.

The Stranger Journal #2

I think the reason Camus chose to write in first person was to help the reader better identify with Meursault. From a first person point of view it is easier for the reader to understand his thoughts because in third person omniscient the reader is being told what the character is thinking but they aren't really experiencing it for themselves. I think the purpose for Camus doing this is that it gives the readers more inside knowledge into Meursault. It helps us (the readers) to better understand his actions, why he does what he does,  and his intentions when the other characters in the story can't. Also, first person point of view allows the reader to make their own assumptions about the character of Meursault since they do not get to experience the other characters opinions. This is important to the novel because Meursault is a complex character to me, and he his constantly changing and first person point of view allows the reader to keep up with that change more fluidly than third person.

The Stranger Journal #1

Ramond Sintes is described as a pimp, who is quite hot headed and often gets into fights because he sees himself as a big tough guy. He comes to play the role of Meursault's "pal", which I'm assuming relates to how people are best friends. In this way he begins to have a stronger influence on Meursault as they grow closer and I think that Sintes' hatred of his ex-girlfriend's Arab brother and friends transfers over to Meursault. With Sintes, I think that Camus is trying to represent the beginning of the change in Meursault's life since they were not "pals" before Meursault's mother passed away, and Sintes now represents the mental change Meursault is going through.

Marie Cardona is introduced as a pretty girl that quickly becomes Meursault's girlfriend. I think her role in the novel is to bring out the Nihilism that is in Meursault. This book was written with many philosophies and I think that Marie is a representation of Nihilism. She continuously asks Meursault if he loves her and then brings up the question of marriage and Meursault replies that it doesn't matter. This implies that he believes love has no real meaning to him and starts to show how he begins to think nothing matters. Also, Marie is a contrast to Meursault. She is always asking him questions and pushing the relationship while Meursault is somewhat lazy in my eyes. This contrast shows Meursault's lack of motivation to do anything which can also connect to Nihilism through Existentialism. Meaning that, in the article we read in class today, it said that when an existentialist realizes that their is no meaning behind their life they often fall into despair or Nihilism.

Salamano is brought in to the novel as a character who rages at his dog that is suffering from Mange. However, through all of his hate it is still clear that he loves his dog because he faithfully walks it twice a day, and when he loses it he becomes quite sad. I think that Salamano serves as a contrast to Meursault because he takes care of his dog even when it is old and difficult to care for and he often comes frusterated with it, which contrasts with how Meursault just moved his mother out when caring for her got too difficult. In making this contrast I think that Camus is trying to emphasize Meursault's lack of emotion, not all emotion, just his feelings of sadness which I think in turn characterizes Meursault.

Journal #8

Part 1:

I think that Hurston chose the title she did because the book is heavily centered around religion. There are many biblical references throughout the story and often times they may come across as cynical. I think Hurston's purpose in naming the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God  is because she wants possibly hint at the fact that while people believe in a certain religion, the "god" that they follow often times does not come through in their time of need. She highlights this just before the flood near the end of the novel. "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching god" (Hurston 213). Just after this line is said, the flood begins and everything goes down hill.

Part 2:

An alternative title I think Hurston could have used for her book is Sunset. It's a little simplistic but I think it really ties into the story well. Two out of three of Janie's husbands all end up in death, which is connected to the sun-down imagery throughout the story. It links to all parts of the novel, and since the book is also cynical of religion at times, I think sundown sums it up pretty well. The sun being gone is associated with a lack of a presence of God, which in a sense is critical of religion.

Part 3:

The title of my pastiche is Skyscrapers.  I think that this is the best possible title for my story because the imagery of skyscrapers comes up a large amount. It becomes a critical motif in the novel and helps to tie everything together. It also builds into the theme greatly and personally I think that most main ideas in a story would make a good title for that particular work. To me the motif of skyscrapers stood out the most and I felt that it would be a good way to incorporate the reader into the story right from the get-go.

Journal #7

1. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." (Hurston 1)

Zora Neale Hurston is using this line to compare ships to dreams of men. She does this to show that dreams of men are often times just too far out there to accomplish. Like ships on the water searching for land. Men are just waiting and searching for their boat to land. Meaning that they don't necessarily act out toward accomplishing their goals and just wait for it to come to them. This connects to Their Eyes Were Watching God  because it shows the contrast between men and women. With the women doing what they want, to get what they want.

2. "Nanny's head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree [...]" (Hurston 16)

In this quote, Hurston uses the tree to symbolize life. She uses it in the sense that Nanny is literally old and looks like a tree because of her age. Also, she uses it symbolically to represent life. It works in this way because Nanny is elderly and the quote is trying to say that she is elderly by comparing her to the old roots of a grand tree. The tree comes up repeatedly throughout the novel, representing life again and again. Sometimes old and some times new.

3. "She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree [...]" (Hurston 14)

This quote is used by Hurston to characterize Janie. This quote characterizes Janie by putting her in a lazy sort of naive set of mind because she is just 16. This is only the beginning of the story and after all of the events of the novel are said and done, the characterization of Janie is far more mature sounding which parallels the fact that she has matured throughout the novel.

Journal #6

In my revisions of my pastiche rough draft I chose to revise a good portion of my writing. I mainly focused on the sentence structures and complexity and the dialogue. Most of my writing needed to be taken up a level. Some of it was written with a humor that did not fit the mood or theme I was trying to progress towards. I gave the writing a more sophisticated appeal in my eyes and sped up the pace some so that the reader might stay more interested in this time. I think my revisions definitely helped my pastiche progress towards the final copy.

TEWWG Journal #5

Pastiche


Then Peter began to think of Success. Success, that ever elusive creature with such a stealthy disguise who resided deep in America. The needed one who hid from every man and woman,  even though he hid in plain sight, in front of their very eyes. What reason does success have to hide, and what lucky person will ever be able to find him? He sits on top of buildings to better view his country. Sits patient and thoughtful all day with his choice made, waiting for a sign to confirm his selection. Been sitting in that very spot before there were people or a town or a country or a civilization. Peter was bound to receive a idea in his mind at any moment. He was nervous and frightened too. Poor Jack! He shouldn't have to confront this decision himself. Peter sent Consuela to him to set up a meeting, but Jack quickly Refused.  Those investors were okay with the small business owners, but they couldn't be held reliable for a situation like his. He'd be fine if the six-headed fiend offered a large sum of cash. He was going to succeed for sure. That was what he assumed. But Consuela told Peter differently, so he knew. And then if Consuela did not, the next week would tell Peter for sure, for Jack and his investors were huddled around a picnic table beneath an umbrella. Those investors would never have stayed that long before and clearly did not agree with Jack's ideas. Just sat around the table and fought. Failure, that sore loser, had claimed victory over Jack.

Statement of Intent


Re-reading my pastiche made me realize that I should have switched the places of my two abstract nouns. Since this pastiche was done very tight I had tried to copy the way the abstract nouns were used but since I used my more positive noun first, that messed it up because Hurston uses two abstract nouns that are more negative whereas I chose one that could be positive. Also, I tried to create a metaphor with a material object like Hurston does with the "feather from his wings" but with the nouns I chose the only phrase that makes sense was "an idea" which doesn't necessarily work as a metaphor in this situation.

TEWWG Journal #4

Chapter 7 page 102

Syntax
The beginning passage at the start of chapter 7 uses many short sentences that flow very quickly. It seems that Zora Neale Hurston uses the short, quick sentences to create a sense of time moving by quickly and the exhaustion that comes with all of the hassles of Janie's relationship with Jody.

Word Choice
Hurston's word choice in this passage is not as clear to me as some of the other techniques she uses but I did notice that at the beginning of the passage she used the word fight, and at the end she uses flight. This could connect to the fight or flight response that humans and animals experience when they are in a conflict. This works into the novel because at the beginning of the story Janie tried to fight, but it did not work with her first husband so she fled (flight). This is what happens with her second husband as well, as we are beginning to see here in this passage, and since that is repeated we can assume that she could end up in the same situation with her third husband.

Tone
The tone of this passage is clearly rushed because of the flow of the sentences, but it could also be tired and filled with longing. Hurston uses words such as "Now and again she thought of.." and "considered flight" to represent Janie's longing for a different live in a different place and her desires to "fly away". This sets a tone of longing for Janie.

Sound Devices
Hurston uses assonance by repeating the vowel sound of a "u". She uses words like "sun", "up", "rut", "come", "nothing" and "was", which all have an "uh" sound in them. The repetition of the sound creates a chugga-chugga sound in the back of the readers mind, which creates an image of a train which could symbolize Janie's life which is chugging away like a train.

TEWWG Journal #3

1.) "De Sun-maker brings it up in de mornin', a nd de Sun-maker sends it tuh bed at night." (pg 60) Biblical Reference

2.) "You keep seeing your sister in the 'gator and the 'gator in your sister" (pg 64) and "They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down." (pg 67) Parallel Structure

3.) "Speakin of winds, he's de wind and we'se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows." (pg 66) Metaphor

4.) "If you'se smart lak you let on you is, you kin find out." and "Yuh skeered to lemme know whut it is, 'cause yuh know Ah'll tear it tuh pieces." (pg 85) Dialect

5.) "When the mule was in front of the store, Lum went out and tackled him. The brute..." (pg 75) Allusion

Analysis
2.) Parallel structure is important because it helps to connect two separate passages or parts of a novel that would otherwise not have any relation to each other. It helps with figuring out meanings of certain passages and  getting a better grasp of the story. Zora Neale Hurston uses parallel structure in these two sentences to give the reader a better image of the mayor. She does this by using parallel structure early in the passage within a sentence about someone's sister. Saying that you see your sister in the gator , and you see the gator in your sister. Later, she uses parallel structure again in another sentence, by saying the town bows down because the mayor has power, and the mayor has power because the town bows down. This two sentences can connect because they have a similar structure, and this can paint a picture in the readers mind that the mayor is in fact a gator, in the metaphorical sense. This meaning that the mayor has the town in his power, but he only has the power because the town fears him, like a woman could fear an alligator.

5.) An allusion is typically used to reference a different piece of literature or a passage earlier in the book to make a connection. Zora Neale Hurston uses the sentence on page 75 to allude to the first page of chapter one. On the first page of chapter one, the narrator says that when the sun goes down "Mules and other brutes" have occupied the skins of the towns people. This allusion Hurston decides to make connects the story together and helps paint a better image in ones mind. The mule, being a hybrid animal, symbolizes that by day, the townspeople are workers and friendly, but by night, they switch personalities like they were two different people in one. The brute represents how cruel everyone in the town is behind other people's backs. This allusion backs up the saying that you can tell everything you need to know about a novel from the first page.

TEWWG Journal #2

Rules of Dialect (Adapted from Star Wars and LotR)  Character 1
1) All sentences are short and to the point.
2) Most sentences must end in an exclamation point.
3) The order of the sentence is switched so that the verb is first. Only done about half of the time.
4) If the character is talking about them self, they must do so in third person.
5) Must add an "s" to the end of any verb that is about them self. Such as, "I wants."
6) The word "will" is not used when talking about what other people will do.
7) Almost all of the sentences are repeated, especially those that end in a "!".

Character 2 (Made this up)
1) All sentences end in a question mark.
2) Does not use the word "my", only "me". Such as MEself instead of MYself.
3) Emphasis is put on the second vowel of every word, shown by capitalizing the letter in the place of emphasis.



Dialogue/Layout taken from page 36


"Come here, come here! I needs help from you. Move this couch, we must! Yes, we must, we must!"
"Can't you do it?"
"No, no, no! Gregory is strong, yes! Yes! But the couch is far to heavy for Gregory alone. Lift this end you can."
"Why not find somEbody elsE? Me back is hurting?"
"No, your help I needs! This couch is a fancy couch. Worth very much! Very much! I needs to have you help carry it. You help keep it nice and fancy!"
Gregory stayed strong like a rock wall, while he waited for Mr.T to give him a final answer.
"You, I thought to come to for help, yes!" He continued to remain statute and Mr.T was silent except for a few words,"I'll help with yoUr coUch? As long as me back don't start hurtIng morE?"
"Gregory doesn't know what will happen to your back. Long way up stairs! Far up the stairs - but easier with two! Yes, easier!"
When Mr. T finished with the couch, he laid down on his bed for his back. But morning came soon, so he rose and went to chair by the window. The breeze came through the open pane and blew the curtains aside. He sat on that chair for a long time, until Gregory came by, asking for his help pushing his car that died just up the road.

TEWWG Journal #1

How do you perceive Janie?


I perceive Janie as a woman that has been through a good amount of turbulence and change in her life, which makes her come across as wise and mature. However, I also see a more distraught, troubled and lost Janie behind the grown, silent woman all of her friends see when she returns home. The darker side of Janie jumps out more than the wise Janie because when she is talking with her best friend Pheobe in her backyard, she says, "Yeah, Pheobe, Tea Cake is gone. And dat's de only reason you see me back here - cause Ah ain't got nothing to make me happy no more.." (Hurston, 9). This line Janie says, shows that she does not want to be home and she preferred her life with her old husband, Tea Cake. This preference of her old life connects to the "lost" feeling about Janie I get when reading this first chapter. I think that because, now that she is back, she doesn't know what to do with herself anymore since she has no husband and has grown older.

How do you perceive the narrator?


Okay, this may seem like a large assumption, but to me, I think that the narrator was made to come across as a white person. I'm not entirely sure why Zora Neale Hurston would make a decision like that, unless she were trying to use this book to connect with white people during the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. She might have done it to try and break through the social barrier, by using a more educated sounding narrator than her characters so that the white people of the time could connect and understand the narrator better and therefore relate to her story. I also think that the narrator may be white, because of the contrast in language between the characters and the narrators speech. The characters often use words such as "Ah", "de", " 'bout", and "dat", whereas the narrator uses more descriptive full words like "monstropolous" and "dialated" and "zest". This contrast really stands out to me and I think it is the authors way of differenciating the narrator from the characters in terms of education. I'm not trying to say that it is a bad thing, just that it is a different way of going about it, especially with the racial tensions of the time period.

Post #4

1)  Meursault is the                         in The Stranger.

2) The part of the plot in 1984 when Winston gives in to Big Brother and submits to living a controlled life is the    
                               .

3) and 4) "Words walking without masters; walking altogether like a harmony in a song." (Their Eyes Were Watching God, 2) In this sentence there is                                       and a                            .

5) " 'What she doin' coming back here in dem overhalls?" (Hurston, 2) There is a clear example of the author's
                       .

Word Bank: personification, resolution, similie, protagonist, diction

Blog #3 - Assonance

Assonance

Assonance is one of my favorite things. I've spent a lot of time practicing a sentence that uses a lot of assonance because it is fun to say. Assonance is the repetition of certain consonant sounds like "oo" or "aa".

Ex. How much wOOd cOUld a wOOd chuck chuck if a wOOd chuck cOUld chuck wOOd? A wOOd chuck cOUld chuck as much wOOd as a wOOd chuck cOUld chuck if a wOOd chuck cOUld chuck wOOd.

Blog #1

1. Which of the three books did you enjoy the most and why?

I enjoyed 1984 the most. I liked it the best because I found the plot of the story very interesting. The story dragged me in because Winston Smith's never breaking desire to dissent against Big Brother constantly grabbed my attention. The book was extremely descriptive and that helped to keep me interested because things were constantly being talked about and I did not find any dull moments.

2. Which of the three books did you enjoy least and why?

I least enjoyed Their Eyes Were Watching God because the language in the novel was difficult for me to understand. It makes sense that the book was written that way because of the time period of the novel, and that dialect fits well with the characters, but I found the book hard to understand at some points due to the diction.

3. If you were to write an essay on the third novel what element or elements would you focus on in that essay and why do think they are important?

If I were to write an essay on The Stranger, I would focus on how Meursault changes throughout the novel. I would focus on his attitude toward certain people and things and how his views change by the end. Also, during the chapter on the murder it might be possible to compare the tone of that chapter with the tone of previous chapters to help explain Meursault's change.

Blog #2

Alliteration

The repetition of a consonant sound throughout a phrase. I have a lot of fun with Alliteration because it is really just fun to use and to find in readings. It can be a useful literary element for helping to create an image.
Ex.  Sally Sells Seashells by the Sea Shore
This example uses the "S" sound to create an feeling of being near the ocean in the reader's mind. While not very obvious unless paid attention to, the repetition of "S" makes a sound like the ocean when read aloud. Alliteration is a good way to add feeling to a passage while being subtle.

Ex.  Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.

Peter is piping while picking his peck of pickled peppers