Literary Analysis #3

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

The play takes place in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire and tells the story of the blossoming love between two young residents, George and Emily. The two have known each other since childhood; being neighbors, it is easy for them to converse through their windows on the second floor. As they grow older, George becomes condescending and full of pride as Emily defends his behavior when other children choose to make comments on it. George is touched by her actions and vows to try to be a better man who is worthy of her kindness. Despite some anxiety, the two eventually get married and live happily together. Sadly, this happiness does not last long as Emily dies during childbirth later on. Emily’s ghost watches her funeral alongside the other ghosts of residents who have passed away. While speaking to them, she makes the discovery that she is able to go back in time and view memories of happier times. Although she was advised against it, Emily chooses to go back to see her 12th birthday. She returns to the present day sadden by  the fact she could never be as happy as she was on her ninth birthday ever again. As she laments on this thought, George appears at her grave and kisses the headstone. Emily then remarks that the living just don’t understand.

The theme of the story is the inevitability of death. Over the course of the play we are informed of the deaths of some of the residents in the town. The residents are both young and old, male and female, minor and major characters. They include Joe Crowell, young and smart, who was to become an engineer but died in the war, George’s parents, and Emily. All of them were good people and yet they could not avoid death.

The tone is best describe as morbid but cheerful as well. We are informed by the narrator of the impending death of the characters, we know how they will die and when. At the same time we are given a love story to uplift our spirits and give us hope of a happy ending. This hope is crushed by the death of Emily and the sad tone continues on in her afterlife. She regrets not cherishing life enough and can only watch as George cries himself to sleep next to her grave.

The play serves as an allegory for life. It begins and ends but can also be a continuous cycle through reproduction. Emily dies during the birth of her second child but the circle of life continues with her children.
The narrator often breaks the fourth wall by addressing the audience directly and informing them of the events that occurred which resulted in the death of so many of the characters.
If viewed on stage, the play makes use of spare props. That is, having as little props as possible so that the audience can focus more on the characters and plot rather than the environment or space that they are in.
As readers, we read the play in third person point of view. We know the actions of the characters but are not given specific insight into a certain character’s thoughts or opinions.
Foreshadowing is present in the story as well. Although we are told of many of the deaths of the characters, we are not told of Emily’s. Instead on the day of the wedding, George goes to visit Emily’s family where they tell him it is bad luck to see the bride on before the ceremony. George does not see Emily but he sees her father instead. After George leaves, Emily’s father exclaims to his wife that it is also bad luck to see the future father-in-law before the ceremony as well. This implies that something terrible will happen to either George or Emily.
The watch of the narrator symbolizes the passing of time and the certainty of death(time running out) while the blooming flowers and birth of Emily’s child represent the life cycle and beauty of nature in spite of death.
         The author makes use of direct characterization rather than indirect to get the plot moving in such a short amount of time. He flat out describes George as an honest, young man who is mindful of the opinions of other while also describing Emily as a pretty and smart girl.

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

(Poetry is not my area of expertise)

A confusing piece of work it was
To read more than once I must
Eyes do not equal truth
The meaning hidden beneath its words

Chained we are by own minds
Freedom gained only through thought
The suns rays burn us
But do not illuminate our worlds

The reflection of ourselves
 Is not what we should scearch for
But of our actions
And experiences of life

Only then may our minds surpass the space of the universe
No longer confined to what we see

Brain with 10 legs

I chose to read A Tale of Two Cities because I already had the book in my collection and have always intended to read it. Luckily for me, my friends also chose to read the book alongside me. According to them we will one half of the book before Thanksgiving break and the other half during the break. Apparently I have also chosen to be the illustrator for our group although I do not know what sort of illustration I shall be doing.

Hamlet Essay Remix

Hamlet Essay

The term "performative utterances" refers to when a character's words correlate with their actions, a direct relationship between the two exists. In one of Shakespeare's many plays, Hamlet, the characters' actions and motives are portrayed through their utterances.  Because of the connection between actions and words, the reader is able to gain a grasp of what is to come more easily.

At the beginning of the play, Hamlet has no goal other than to avenge the death of his father. His plan seemed simply enough, to have his revenge by killing his uncle, Claudius, his father's murderer. The plot was justified in his mind, but as soon as it was spoken aloud and upon realizing it would be a difficult task to perform, Hamlet began to mull over different strategies to achieve his goal. This is an example of self-overhearing, a reaction to one's thought after it has been said aloud. Other characters, such as Gertrude and Ophelia, also display acts of self-overhearing. Ophelia with her feelings towards Hamlet and Gertrude when she becomes conscious of the sin she had committed by remarrying to her late husband's brother.

Like in Hamlet, performative utterances occur in real life everyday and once a person claims they will do an action, they are committed to it. When I tell my mother that I will depose of our garbage then I will do it, it may not happen at that current moment but I will get to it eventually like Hamlet eventually killed his uncle. I speak my actions aloud because now I have gained a sense of responsibility. Performative utterances also work in the negative, people will often tell themselves they cannot perform a certain, like a mathematics question, so they will not bother to try at all.

Self-overhaearing is present in life more often than one might believe. For me, my inner thoughts sound better in my head than when spoken aloud. I often regret the words that come out of my mouth after I utter them, they are not as attractive as they were in my mind. My own personal experience with self-overhearing is when I constantly believe that I am not skilled at anything, I think I have no outstanding qualities or skills. When I said this aloud once, I realized that while there is some truth to that statement, it is not all true. I have decent abilities in some areas, but because I have this mindset that I am useless, I do not apply myself to anything.

Because Hamlet is a play it is crucial for characters to display their motives/actions through their thoughts. There is no direct characterization, we as readers much infer as much as we can about these character's through their performative utterances and how they respond to self-overhearing. Aspects such as these, are key factors in the plot of a story as they provide insight into how a character thinks and adapts to the event happening around them.

Vocab #9

Aficionado: A person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity; an expert or connoisseur.
Browbeat: To intimidate someone into doing something, using abusive words; to bully or force.
Commensurate: In proportion; equivalent or correspondent.
Diaphanous: Light, delicate, and translucent; gossamer.
Emolument: A salary, fee, or profit from employment.
Foray: A sudden attack into enemy territory; a raid; a venture outside one’s usual area.
Genre: A category of artistic composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject; a classification.
Homily:  A discourse on or of a moral theme; a sermon or lecture.
Immure: To enclose or confine someone against their will; to imprison.
Insouciant: Showing a lack of concern; nonchalant; indifferent.
Matrix: An environment or material in which something develops; a situation within which something else originates.
Obsequies: Funeral rites or services
Panache: Flamboyant confidence of style or manner; flair or zest.
Persona: The aspect of someone’s character that is perceived by others; a voice or character representing the speaker.
Philippic: A bitter attack or denunciation; criticism.
Prurient: Having an excessive interest in lustful thoughts and desires.
Sacrosanct: Regarded as too valuable to be interfered with; sacred; untouchable.
Systemic: Of or relating to a system, as opposed to a particular part.
Tendentious: Favoring a particular cause or point of view that is controversial or may cause argument.
Vicissitude: A change of prevailing situations or fortune.

What I think about when thinking about Act III of Hamlet

Like many others, the first thing that comes to mind is the "To be or not to be" speech. Hamlet is seriously considering suicide and vents out his thoughts. I find it humorous that near the end he noticed Ophelia's presence and quickly attempts to change the meaning of the speech.

Hamlet also had the chance to kill his uncle but he didn't. He confronts his mother about the sin she has committed and tells her about his father's ghost. Polonius gets stabbed through the curtain and Hamlet calmly drags his body out after speaking with his mother.