DRJ #2

DRJ #2 Christina Putnam

Initial Reaction: My initial reaction to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was that they truly cared about Hamlet, but as Act 2 went on my perception shifted. They were visiting Hamlet because they were ordered by the King, not because they cared about their friend. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern came to talk to Hamlet on the King's orders and they were willing “to be commanded” (2.2.32). I found it interesting how Hamlet could see through their act and pressed them to tell him why they really had come to visit him.

Character Analysis: The character Polonius can be characterized as the King's right hand man. He too cunning, deceitful, and loyal to the King. In fact, Polonius described how his brain “hunts the trail on policy,” which suggests he is politically cunning, in his dialogue with Claudius (2.2.47-48). He is the father of Ophelia and Laertes, and Polonius appears to misunderstands his daughter. He tries to give Ophelia advice about Hamlet and even resorts to trying to trap Hamlet into professing his love for Ophelia. Polonius thinks that Hamlet's insanity is cause by his love for his daughter, and he uses his daughter to spy on Hamlet.

Theme Analysis: Shakespeare uses irony to show how revenge is both the cause and result of death. Throughout the play, Hamlet struggles to avenge his father by seeking revenge on his murder (2.2.555-560). What is ironic, is that seeking revenge creates a never ending cycle of murders, which just adds to the death toll. Laertes seeks revenge on Hamlet for killing his father; however, Laertes ends up killing himself “with his own treachery” when he gets cut with the poisonous sword that was meant for Hamlet (5.2.309). Revenge is caused by death, and leads to nothing but more death.  

DRJ #1

DRJ#1 Christina Putnam
Initial Reaction: Initially, I thought Hamlet was a little dry in the beginning, but after the Ghost was introduced I was hooked. Marcellus, Bernardo, Horatio, and Hamlet's sighting of the Ghost reminded me of the television show Gifted Man, which is about a doctor who sees the ghost of his dead ex wife. At first I wondered if the Ghost was telling the truth about the death of King Hamlet. Polonius and Laertes reminds me of the stereotypical over protective father and big brother. Ophelia is an interesting because she desperately wants to please her father and brother, but at the same time she wasn't afraid to criticize and warn Laertes against “doing as ungracious pastors do” (1.1.45-50). In other words, she warned him against being hypocritical.

Character Analysis: The character Claudius is full of himself, power hungry, unsympathetic to Hamlet, yet loving to his wife Gertrude. Ultimately, he us all about using other people to accomplish tasks that will cover up his problems. He is one of the main characters of the play, and his fatal flaw is his desire for power. He wanted to be king so bad that he killed his own brother. Claudius could be classified as the antagonist because he killed Hamlet's father, and later seeks to kill Hamlet. I'd say that the conflict caused by Claudius is intentional because his lust for power caused him to kill his brother. One doesn't just “accidentally” pour poison in their brother's ear or accidentally sleep with his brother's wife. However, Claudius does seem to genuinely care for his wife Gertrude; he just wants to see her happy, which shows his heart isn't completely blackened by greed and murder.

Theme Analysis: Through repetition, Shakespeare is highlighting that while suicide might have a certain appeal, the fear of the unknown generally outweighs taking one's own life. Hamlet repeatedly expresses how “weary, stale, and unprofitable” life is to him, but his belief that God made a law against suicide holds him back from doing it (1.1.129-1535). Hamlet has grown weary with living, especially because his father just died, but he doesn't know what will happen if he dies. Uncertainty about the after life is what keeps most people motivated to live. We know what to expect on earth. What would happen if Hamlet broke God's supposed “law” against suicide? 

Hamlet?

My first thought about Hamlet was, "meh this looks long."


About 5 pages in I thought is was boring. 


After that, I WAS HOOKED. 


This may just be my favorite play/drama I have ever read.


I Tweeted all my favorite lines as I read them. 


I think so much of the play is applicable to life today, especially the subjects of good/evil, faithfulness/disloyalty, forgiveness, and revenge. 


Favorite line: May you wonder if the truth is a liar, but never wonder if I love. 

Extra Credit

Roselily CCWQ #8:
   
his peace. 
I gave her a passionate kiss. The crowd cheered. Firecrackers went off, and the dogs began to yelp and bark. I see the warm smiles the guests give my wife, but when they look at me their smiles looked pained. I was grateful they didn't interject when the minister asked, "is there anybody here that knows a reason why these two should not be joined?" They judge me for my religion, but I will not be shaken. I am a man of God, and I don't need to explain myself. I grab my wife's hand, and our new family piles into our silvery gray car.

I Am The Grass CCWQ #10:
     The day came for the surgeon to go home. I sent a car to take him to the airport, but I couldn't bear to accompany him or see his face again. Saying goodbye to the surgeon wouldn't be as simple as joking that in my next life I will have thumbs, because the fact of the matter is that I won't. Yes, he had tried his best to give me thumbs, but it didn't work. I am in the worst pain of my life, second to what I endured in war, and I have no thumbs, or big toes.
     The surgeon can get back on a plane, return to his country, and wait for another chance. What about me? Will I get another chance? Our lives move in cycles, repeating themselves endlessly like the four seasons. Planting. Weeding and waiting. Harvesting. Fallowness. 


The final section rewritten from Dinh's point of view leaves me with a less optimistic theme than when the story was written from the surgeon's perspective. The fact that Dinh couldn't show up at the airport left an echo of bitterness and showed a loss of hope. A possible theme could be that there aren't always second chances. 

 

Chopin Thesis Activity

Thesis #2: By contrasting images of life with those of death throughout "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin highlights the struggle of a person imprisoned by societal pressures and thereby kept from fully being alive.

One instance where Kate Chopin uses contrasting images of life and death to reveal how societal pressures can hinder one from being fully alive is through Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine. While Mrs. Mallard had locked herself in her room and "was drinking in the very elixir of life through that open window," Josephine feared that she was making herself ill. In actuality, Mrs. Mallard was experiencing “life” for the first time, as opposed to making herself sick as her sister feared. Another example is when Chopin write, “when the doctors came they said she had died of a heart disease- of joy that kills.” The doctors assumed that Mrs. Mallard was overjoyed that her husband was alive; however, hearing that her husband was alive, which meant she would no longer be free, caused her death. 

SSRJ#2: Colette

Christina Putnam; SSRJ#2: Colette

Initial Personal Reaction: Other than “A Rose for Emily,” this story is one of my favorites thus far. One of the things I liked about it was that it was relatable. Don't worry, I didn't marry a strangler! I related to the story because the “young woman” seemed to be close to my age. I identified with the young woman because I too have been so excited I couldn't sleep, and I have apricot-pink curtains too. The bedroom setting added to the intimacy that was suppose to be between husband and wife, but the intimacy turned into fear.

Literary Element/Thematic Analysis: In Colette's story “The Hand,” the symbol of the husband's hand reveals that marriage is an institution that shouldn't be rushed into. In the beginning of the story, Colette uses the narrator to reveals that the young couple had dated for one month before they got married, and that they had been married for just two weeks. The wife gazed upon her husband's hand only to realize that “I've kissed that hand!... How horrible! Haven't I ever looked at it?” Because of their short relationship, she hadn't time to explore every inch of her husband. Later in the story, the wife cries out in fear because of the hand; “it [the hand]... grabbed a fistful of the sheet, dug into it with its curved fingers, and squeezed, squeezed with the methodical pleasure of a strangler.” The wife's unfamiliarity with the hand was symbolic of how she really didn't know her husband as well as she thought she did, and her fear could have been avoided had she not rushed into marriage. It wasn't an accident that Colette placed an emphasis on the brevity of the marriage. Through the symbol of the husband's unfamiliar hand, Colette is sending a warning message to society that marriage shouldn't be rushed into.

Questions/Comments: Why do you think the character's names were omitted from the story?

Was the wife only attracted to the husband on a superficial level? Because he was blond and played tennis, or was it something deeper? 

Do you think the husband killed his previous wife? If so, do you think the current wife realized this?

If you have any feedback regarding my “theme/thesis” I would love your input! Don't feel obligated to answer all of the questions either.