"The Rainbow" Blog Post

Part I

            In the novel The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence uses polysyndeton, the symbol of blood, and imagery to contrast the “far-off” land of the urban world with the woman’s simple, rural existence that flows in her family’s bloodstream, emphasizing her unquenched thirst for knowledge.

            A woman who wants to be part of the “world of cities and governments” (line 20) wouldn’t make that great of a story, but the fact that this longing goes against her very nature is what opens the reader’s eyes to her situation. Rural life is the essence of her family’s very being; it is what they “know in their blood” (line 8-9). Lawrence goes on to describe that “their faces” are “always turned to the heat of the blood” (line 12) which signifies that her family always follows their gut feeling to be close to nature and, consequently, “far-off” from the “active scope of man” (line 19-21). The woman looks out to the “world at large” (line 31-32) while “the Brangwen men faced inwards to the teeming life of creation” that flowed in “their veins” (line 27-29). This once again depicts how the rural life seems to be rooted in the blood of the family, yet the woman strays from this, rejecting “blood-intamacy” (line 16) that stems from her family’s very nature.

            The polysyndeton with the word “and” throughout the passage stresses the extent to which the woman’s ideal and actual lives differ. Facing outwards to the city, she discovers…

Part II

            My partner (Derek) scored my essay a 5-6, which I thought was a little generous considering it was not even close to finished. I agree that my analysis was reasonable and I could present my ideas with decent clarity and control, but I did not closely analyze how Lawrence employs literary devices because I barely got to discussing them when time ran out. I feel like if I articulated my ideas on paper in a more timely fashion and got the chance to write everything I was thinking I would have scored better.

            One thing I would do to make my essay better is discuss the contrast between the complacency of the men and the tension within the woman. I touched on this with my discussion of the “blood-knowledge” but I could have talked more in-depth about the woman’s internal struggle to gain knowledge (and the way Lawrence uses both the repetition of the word “knowledge” and tense diction to portray this idea). Lawrence uses words like “strained” (twice actually), “hung”, and “battle” to describe the woman’s “deepest desire” to gain knowledge. This deep yearning is contrasted with the men’s complacency and the fact that, although they look towards the sun (a symbol of growth), they are stuck in a rut that she wishes to escape.

            Another technique that emphasizes the men’s complacency is polysyndeton, which I began to write a paragraph but wasn’t really going this direction with. I was going to discuss how it pointed out the differences between the men and the woman, but this does not cut into the deep and complex meaning of the piece. Yes, they are different, but how, and why does this make the passage meaningful? After further analysis of the passage, I began to see that the repeated use of the word “and” seems to mirror the kind of repetitive work that the farmers partake in day in and day out. This monotonous working exemplifies the fact that these men are utterly and completely unmoving in their being, forever sentenced to working the earth and helping other organisms grow while ignoring their own potential to gain knowledge. For example, the men “looked out to the back at sky and harvest and beast and land”. This would also be a great place for me to address the complexity of the passage and the seemingly contradictory position that the men are in as “their faces” turn to “the heat of the blood” (or the sun).

            This idea mixed with the idea of the woman looking outward to gain knowledge could have made a really good paragraph. I could have discussed the juxtaposition of the woman “looking out” the front of the house and her husband looking “out to the back”. This simple comparison captures the essence of the woman’s position. She is looking out in front, forward, which can symbolize progress and movement towards knowledge, while her husband looks backwards, towards “sky and harvest and beast and land”, towards what the family has always done, towards complacency. This also would have been easy to tie back to the “blood knowledge” idea as the shear fact that there is a huge difference in the way the woman and the men see the world and this is the source of her current position. The woman tends to look forward and yearn for growth through knowledge while the men grow complacent in their tendency to look back.

Final Portfolio Reflection

One of the assignments that I’m most proud of is the second Hamlet character post. I really captured the essence of Hamlet’s character in this post because it mirrors his self-hatred that he spewed in his soliloquy in Act 2. My favorite lines are “Actors of Hollywood have more valor than I do. Players of the 1600s have more emotional connection to the loss of loved ones than I do” because I paralleled what Hamlet addressed in his soliloquy (the fact that the players could garner more emotion than him) with the movie trailer and came up with a similar line that he may have uttered in response. I embedded the quotes into my sentences well which allowed me to create a mixture of what Hamlet said and my own input to create a realistic reaction he would have had to seeing the Taken trailer. One thing that I could have done better was the introduction/background information. I needed to make sure the reader knew the plot of the movie, but I feel like I could have incorporated my character’s voice into it better to provide for a smoother transition into the rest of the blog post.

I learned to compare and contrast quotes from different sources as I compared Hamlet’s cowardly inaction to Bryan’s heroic actions. After this post I found it easier to write blog post #5 where I had to perform a similar task. Comparing quotes from the song with quotes from the play was much easier after I did basically the same thing with the second blog post.

Another blog post that I really like is the creative project one. I wanted to do something with food for my project because of the major theme of hunger in The Life of Pi (plus I’m always looking for an excuse to eat food), and I thought of a really good way to do this while addressing complexity and deeper meanings of the text. I also wrote a very clear and concise thesis for this project and included quotations from the book that related closely to both my thesis and the brownie cookies themselves. The most important thing about this project, however, was that I learned to write theses better as a result. I went in after school for help on my thesis writing and it really showed in my project which I was very happy with.

My participation in class changed for the better over the course of the trimester. At first I was really unsure with my abilities and a little afraid of being wrong in my analysis of literature which hindered my ability to search the deeper meanings of pieces. As the trimester progressed, though, things began to click and I became more comfortable contributing in class.

The last half of the trimester I found myself contributing to almost every class discussion. For example, when we were discussing the use of metaphysical conceit in John Donne’s Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God I pointed out the irony in the author’s description of God’s actions as they seemed to have connotations of lust, yet still described the author’s desire for chastity (“Nor ever chast, except you ravish me” (Donne)). I actively engaged in the conversation and left class feeling a lot more comfortable with the poem.

One of my goals for the trimester was to improve my multiple choice scores on AP practice tests. We took a practice test in the beginning of the trimester and I performed less than desirably (I got 59% of the questions correct) and set some goals for improvement. My first goal was to score at least a 70% on a multiple choice test at the end of first trimester by practicing my skills throughout the tri. This trimester (in addition to writing multiple choice questions in class and taking another practice exam in class) I practiced my multiple choice skills on an AP test I found online. I think it was the culmination of all of these steps that led to me reaching my goal of a 70% on the multiple choice we took at the end of the trimester. I think with more practice in the B section of the course I will become even more comfortable with this section of the exam and I will be able to reach my 85% goal.

Another one of my goals was to be able to analyze poetry more effectively. I remember in the beginning of the trimester I had trouble even comprehending the meaning of some pomes so I made it my goal to read and analyze a couple poems (especially ones from older time periods) per week so that by the end of the course I could have the ability to read and analyze a piece of poetry in less than five minutes. I included a specific time in my goal because come May I will be under strict time restraints when reading pieces and answering questions about them. At first I would just read a poem and try to understand the basic meaning, but as I practiced, I started to piece together techniques the poets used to create that meaning, even in pieces of writing from older time periods. In this section’s final exam, for example, there were some questions about a Shakespearean sonnet on how Shakespeare shaped the meaning. I ended up only missing a couple questions in this section which is far better than the beginning of the trimester when I couldn’t even decipher what the authors were trying to portray. I do have a lot of room for improvement, though, as the poem at the end of the test didn’t go as well…but I have no worries! I haven’t reached my goal yet, but I will continue to practice poetry analysis and I expect to be able to consistently read and analyze a poem in less than five minutes by the end of second trimester.

Hamlet Blog #6

Character Post #5

I chose the song "Some Nights" by Fun. because it closely outlines the struggles that Hamlet went through prior to his death and the indecision that he experiences throughout the play.

In the fifth and sixth lines of the song, the singer says "but I still wake up, I still see your ghost / Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for". There are a couple parallels to Hamlet in these lines. The first, and most obvious, is that Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.25). Although Hamlet immediately desires to “sweep to [his] revenge” (1.5.31) he quickly becomes unsure of himself. Hamlet is convinced that the spirit who visited him “is an honest ghost” (1.5.138), but at the same time is uneasy about killing Claudius because it would be one of the worst sins to commit. Hamlet has to chance to kill Claudius while he is praying but doesn’t in fear of sending “this same villain…to heaven” (3.3.77-78). While Hamlet wants to listen to his father’s ghost and get revenge, another side of him keeps him from doing the act and thus, Hamlet is not sure what he stands for. The song even repeats this line, asking “what do I stand for?” which directly relates to the internal struggle Hamlet has the entire play.

In lines 10 and 11 of the song the speaker asks “This is it, boys, this is war, what are we waiting for? / Why don't we break the rules already?” These lines associate with Hamlet’s soliloquy in Scene two of Act two. He effectively asks himself “what am I waiting for?” when he says “o, what a rogue and peasant slave am I” (2.2.475) and when he ask himself “am I a coward?” (2.2.497). Hamlet knows that he wants revenge but is “pigeon-liver’d” (2.2.504) and cannot bring himself to “break the rules already” (by killing the king, which is considered a sin against nature) like the song suggests.

The singer says “some nights, I wish that this all would end” which carries strong connotations of death. This longing for death and escape from pain is also present in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, where he ponders whether “’tis nobler in the mind to suffer” or “to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them” (3.1.57-60). Hamlet wonders if it would be better to just die much like the singer admits that sometimes he wishes that it “all would end”. An interesting complexity in this parallel is that the singer wishes this upon himself “some nights”, a time when most people are sleeping. In the soliloquy, Hamlet equates death with a long sleep and therefore ponders why he is awake and alive during this dark time of his life. “To die: to sleep”, it seems only natural that when night falls on his life he should sleep, but instead he decides to live (3.1.60).

The song seems to end with an address to a lover or ex-lover which can be compared to Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia before they both died. The singer says that he thinks “it’s for the best [they] get [their] distance”. When Hamlet confronts Ophelia in Act three he wants as much distance as possible, telling her to get “to a nunnery…and quickly too” (3.1.132). A fitting way to end a song that tributes Hamlet’s struggles: with blunt “farewell” (3.1.133).

 

[Note: I did not include a video because of explicit lyrics and the lack of a clean version of the music video on YouTube]



"Some Nights" by Fun. lyrics

Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck.
Some nights, I call it a draw.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off

But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know anymore... oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh.
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh

This is it, boys, this is war, what are we waiting for?
Why don't we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype - save that for the black and white
I try twice as hard and I'm half as liked, but here they come again to jack
My style

And that's alright; I found a martyr in my bed tonight
She stops my bones from wondering just who I am, who I am, who I am
Oh, who am I? Oh, who am I? mmm... mmm...

Well, Some nights, I wish that this all would end
Cause I could use some friends for a change
And some nights, I'm scared you'll forget me again
Some nights, I always win, I always win...

But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I still not sure what I stand for
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know... (come on)

So this is it? I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I miss my mom and dad for this?

No. When I see stars, when I see, when I see stars that's all they are
When I hear songs, they sound like this one, so come on
Oh, come on. Oh, come on, oh come on!

Well, This is it, guys, that is all - five minutes in and I'm bored again
Ten years of this, I'm not sure if anybody understands
This one is not for the folks back home; Sorry to leave, mom, I had to
Go
Who the **** wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?

My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she called "love"
Man when I look into my nephew's eyes...
Man, you wouldn't believe the most amazing things that can come from...
Some terrible nights... ahhh... oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh

The other night, you wouldn't believe the dream I just had about you and me
I called you up, but we'd both agree
It's for the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance... oh...
It's for the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance... oh...

Character Post #4

I just read of Ophelia's awful disposition, and I tell you if it weren't for her father and Laertes's "groundless slander" (Seng) she would not be mad as she is. I agree with Seng that Polonius and Laertes steal Ophelia's innocence by implanting distorted views of my love for her in her head which "is clearly the beginning of her tragedy" (Seng).

"I lov'd Ophelia. Forty thousand bothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum." (5.1.216-218). We were perfect for each other and everyone else thought so too! My mother even "hop'd" that she would "have been my...wife" (5.1.191). If only Laertes and his father had not made "an accusation of guilt where no guilt has been" (Seng).....but of course I had a hand in this too. But I would not have killed Polonius if it weren't for "his spying, sneaking, and eavesdropping" (Seng). Even the song Ophelia sang supports what I believe. Ophelia sings that "Young men will do't, if they come to't; / By cock, they are to blame" (4.5.59-60). What treacherous words her family has put into her innocent mind! This song is a direct reflection of the skewed view of man, and thus me, that her father and brother have forced upon her.

It is funny how Ophelia seems to be proclaiming more truth when she is mad than when she is in a stable mental condition. She said that she would "give [Laertes] some violets, but they / wither'd all when my father died" (4.5.175-176). A direct stab at Laertes's ill instructions from months ago and he pays no heed! When Ophelia was going off the handle singing these ballads, Laertes blew it off as nothing as he was busy plotting his revenge. Does he not realize that all he has told her over the past months has taken its toll? I heard that he himself said "a young maid's wits" are "as mortal as an old man's life" (4.5.154-155). What a hypocrite. I guess Laertes really does possess "wooden understanding" (Seng).

Ophelia's mental state makes me regret killing her father less and less, because if it weren't for him, she would be in her right mind right now.

Hamlet Blog Post #3 To Be or Not to Be....

Soliloquy Analysis

The metaphor of sleep is introduced fairly early in the soliloquy as Hamlet ponders "to die: to sleep; / no more; and by a sleep to say we end / the heart-ache" (3.3.60-62). He admits to not knowing "what dreams may come" (3.3.66) when we venture into the "undiscover'd country" of death (3.3.79). The concrete imagery of the "whips and scorns of time" that relate to the negative experiences of life contrast with the vague description of "something after death" to further elaborate on Hamlet's uncertainty of what really comes after death (3.3.70-78).

Hamlet appeals to ethos in the very beginning of the speech with the famous line "To be or not to be: that is the question:" (3.3.56). This acts almost as a concession between both sides of his divided mind: the passionate and emotional side of his mind that wishes to end his life and the logical side that wants to make sure death would actually be a better choice. This line is him admitting that he does not know what will happen after life, and therefore builds his validity as a speaker because no "traveler returns" from death (3.3.80). This admission builds ethos in the beginning and allows him to effectively discuss the ramifications of each side of the dilemma he is facing, which leads into the logos of his soliloquy.

Hamlet is a very thoughtful, and therefore logical, character. He first muses that "to die" is "to sleep" and therefore "perchance to dream" (3.3.64-65). He is sequencing what he believes happens to a human when we "[shuffle] of this mortal coil", and attempts to logically think through the situation, which doesn't work out because he almost unintentionally brings his emotions into the discussion (3.3.67).

Emotionally charged words like "whips" (3.3.70) and "oppressor" (3.3.71) provide pathos and thus support Hamlet's emotional beliefs by painting life as an unconquerable struggle, a "sea of troubles" even (3.3.59).

The thoughtful, longing tone of the soliloquy emphasizes Hamlet's internal struggle and this is achieved mostly through his diction. To live means certain "calamity" (3.3.69) while to die assures "the dread of something after death" (3.3.78). The negative word choices attached to both sides of the dilemma help reinforce Hamlets distress.

Hamlet utilizes two main metaphors throughout this soliloquy: death as a long sleep and life as a troublesome sea voyage. The sleep metaphor is quite obvious as Hamlet continually addresses that "to die" is "to sleep" (3.3.64), but the metaphor of water can be less obvious. It is mentioned first in the fourth line of the soliloquy when he says that life is "to take arms against a sea of troubles" (3.3.59) and is then brought full circle near the end of the speech when Hamlet states "with this regard their currents turn awry" (3.3.86), meaning that people are typically sailing along the rough waves of life and reach an impasse where they have the choice to end it, but the currents of life carry them away from death towards more turmoil. In addition, there is a complexity to be noted about the symbol of water being used in the context of death. To give in to the water in this situation is dying when submersion in water resembles baptism and therefore is typically connected with rebirth.

Life on earth: "whips and scorns of time"  (3.3.70) "pangs of despis'd love" (3.3.72) "grunt and sweat" (3.3.77) etc
Afterlife: "end / the heart-ache" (3.3.61-62) "To sleep: perchance to dream" (3.3.65) "the dread of something after death" (3.3.78)
Death: "his quietus make / With a bare bodkin" (3.3.75-76) "undiscovr'd country" (3.3.79)
Humans/thinking: "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer" (3.3.57) "thus conscience does make cowards of us all" (3.3.83)

Line 77-78 is one opposition as Hamlet goes from looking down upon the "grunt and sweat under a weary life" to considering "the dread of something after death" (3.3.77-78). Another place where he wobbles back and forth is lines 64-65. "To die; to sleep" obviously paints death as an attractive option, but it is followed by "perchance to dream" where Hamlet considers the possibility that the "dreams" of death are worse than his present condition (3.3.64-65).

The philosophical question Hamlet is zeroing in on is what really comes after we die? As he said, no one has actually returned from death to tell what it is like, so how can we be sure of anything about it? The only thing that we know for sure is our current position in life, and this, he determines, is what drives humans to avoid death solely because of the fear of the unknown.

Mis En Scene

The Kenneth Branagh version is composed almost entirely of diegetic sound (except for the very subtle non-diegetic music that begins about halfway through the scene). This exemplifies how alone Hamlet is by only having the sound of his voice be heard. It takes place in a large room where no one else is which is important to depict Hamlets alone-ness. The only two important props are the dagger and the mirror. The dagger in his right hand shows just how easily Hamlet could end his life. It illustrates that the real struggle is a mental one, and that he is oh so close to ending it all. The mirror is an interesting prop that brings up the idea of Hamlet discussing the idea with himself. The over the shoulder shot of Hamlet allows for an intimate look at the passionate and logical sides of Hamlet having a conversation.

I would like to begin by saying the Laurence Olivier version is extremely creepy. The setting is atop a tall tower above a cliff and Hamlet is standing on the edge. There is the diegetic sound of Hamlet speaking, but also a non-diegetic voiceover of what we assume is Hamlet's thoughts. This adds to the internal discussion I referenced earlier and depicts it quite well. The camera angle is a full body shot that allows for the actor's movements to be seen which is important in showing his indecision in killing himself.

In the Mel Gibson version, Hamlet is walking around a sort of catacombs and looking upon the graves of others. The only sound in the scene is Hamlet's voice which, as earlier stated, is to highlight the solitude of his pondering. Both of these decisions add to the closeness to death that Hamlet is experiencing. He could easily end his life, and showing symbols of death around him only emphasizes his indecision. interestingly, there are some further away camera angles in this clip which probably serves to display the deathly setting.

In the Ethan Hawke version, at first there is only non-diegetic voiceover. It shows a man walking through the aisles of a video store looking around and the voice is presumably his thoughts. Then, as stated above, the character chimes in almost as if in discussion with the original voiceover. The modern setting adds a humorous complexity to the speech; typically choosing a movie to rent is an unimportant and easy choice, but in this case the man is pondering the very essence of life and death. He is wearing modern clothes to emphasize the fact that this is not a representation of the literal play, but rather an allusion.

The Kenneth Branagh version is most effective in portraying my soliloquy. I am an extremely philosophical man and this scene captured my puzzlement and concentration most accurately. The emotional side of me is constantly nagging that if I cannot deal with the troubles of life that I should simply end it all, but my logical side always stares back at me and makes me question what exactly that death entails. This is perfectly symbolized through the over the should shot of me in the mirror. Although this version depicts the point Hamlet is trying to get across best, it could improve. I think that as a viewer the scene becomes monotonous because the camera angle is constant the entire scene. Yes, it is important to include the over-the-shoulder shot, but it does not need to be the whole clip. I think that if the director decided to include some close-ups of Hamlet it would provide for a change in viewpoint while preserving the intimacy of the shot. Also, I would not have included any music in this scene. I find it cheesy and I think it would be more effective to have no non-diegetic sound, that way Hamlet can be depicted as entirely alone with his own thoughts.
 

Hamlet Blog Post #2

"I will look for you. I will find you. And I will kill you."

In the movie Taken, the main character's daughter gets kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers and is sold. This father, Bryan, vows to find and kill everyone involved in the girl's kidnapping, no matter the cost.

Oh, if only the tracking down of my father's killer was my challenge. "What an ass am I!" (2.2.510). I cannot even bring myself to plan my revenge, let alone carry it out. The man in that movie, bold and brave, only had to worry about finding his foe, for he was not "pigeon-liver'd" and could handle killing those he despised (2.2.504). The lengths that one will go to in order to avenge and save a family member are outrageous, and sadly I am not blessed with the same motivation, for it is far too late for me to save my father. In the movie, Bryan would "sacrifice anything for [his daughter]", but I, left only with the words of a "spirit" that "may be the devil", am forced to take revenge without the chance of gaining my family member back (2.2.526-527).

Bryan says that he "will tear down the Eiffel Tower if [he has] to" in order to avenge the kidnapping of his daughter, while I, "like a whore, unpack my heart with words" (2.2.513). What man does not have the guts to take revenge on an immoral beast like my uncle? No man. Actors of Hollywood have more valor than I do. Players of the 1600s have more emotional connection to the loss of loved ones than I do.

And here I sit, for some reason still pondering when I really should be taking action. Instead of doing the deed, I am delaying justice, uselessly crying out "O, vengeance!" instead of claiming revenge that is set aside for only those possessing true masculinity (2.2.509).

Hamlet Blog Post #2 Video

Hamlet Character Post #1

"I doubt some foul play" (1.2.254).

 

No, it is more than just a suspicion. I know that my father was murdered...and by the two people who should be the closest to him! Oh, what an adulterer my mother is, "the funeral bak'd meats" could "furnish forth the marriage tables"  for crying out loud (1.2.180-181). It took less time for her to fall for my savage uncle than it did for her to mourn the death of her beloved. She was so hasty that before "the salt of most unrighteous tears / Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, / She married" (1.2.154-156). No time to mourn when you are busy covering up a murder, I guess. What a filthy wretch.

 

I know they did it. I witnessed the ghost of my deceased father today, and he recounted the event to me. I just cannot get over the shallow, incestuous nature of my mother! She helped Claudius plan it, I'm sure of it. How dare my own mother tell me that "all lives must die", for no lives should die at the hand of their own brother (1.2.72). And Claudius! If my mourning is "unmanly" then what be of his cowardly disposition (1.2.94)? Murdering the very man sent by God to rule, if anyone is unmanly it is certainly him.

 

Blog #12

Character Choice

I chose to focus on Hamlet because, based on the research I've done so far, he and I have a lot in common. He is extremely thoughtful and philosophical. Also, Hamlet can be very indecisive (which is a trait that I most definitely possess), but at the same time makes impulsive decisions. I share this paradoxical personality with him which I think will make it more seamless for me to blog from his point of view. In addition, this paradox opens the doors for complexities in the characterization of Hamlet that I can study to understand deeper meanings in the text, so focusing on his character throughout the play will further this opportunity.

Blog Post #11 Part 2: Storyboards