looking back

My favorite thing that we did in this class this semester was definitely the movie Hamlet essay.  It was the most unique essay I had ever done in high school and it was really interesting the way we analyzed one scence for 2 weeks and trying to pick out the smallest details that the director put in their to see if we can get the signs that the director wanted us to get.  I had to dig very deep into this movie and it is something that I dont normally do, I usually just watch the movie but to be able to write a 3-5 page essay on once scene of a movie is incredible and is something that i know i will have to do in college, so this was great practice.  Having to anyalze two films and their differences to each other, but also their differences to Shakespeare's version, really challenged me to think critically on the movies performance choices.

Preformance Choices

I was Queen Gertrude and my performance choice was one of becoming very seductive while empowering myself by touching and feeling Ashkan.  I was very furtive and sly with my words while I am trying to persuade Ashkan to stay in Denmark.  Ashkan was very sarcastic and trying to belittle me with his over exaggeration of the word Seems.  Our performance choice of Ashkan exaggerating and trying to belittle me, is very like Hamlet as he is frustrated and angry with his mother.  His mother, me, plays the part of innocence and seductiveness, trying to convince Ashkan that I did no wrong and that he should remain in Denmark.  Hamlet, Ashkan, is not fooled by my acting or my furtive and sly and seductive persona.

Prufrock

"No I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be."  In the poems we see all the difference between Hamlet and the poet.  Hamlet is the Prince while TS Eliot advises the Prince.  The poet is an attendant lord while Hamlet will never be degraded by his father and is a natural tragic hero.  Hamlet has a lot of strength by the end of the play and we don't see that with TS Eliot who talks like he is another sheep in the herd.  The poet is ok with taking the role of a peasant.  While hamlet wants to fight and be a leader in his society.  That is obviously later on, in the beginning we see the similarities between Hamlet and TS Eliott where they are both very hesitant and TS Elliot is very fragmented in his writing, illustrating his inability to make up his mind and his indecisiveness.  We see this in the beginning of Hamlet where Hamlet is always debating and couldn't make up his mind whether or not to kill his step father.  We also saw Hamlet's indecisiveness as he prepared to kill the king on multiple occasions but then aborted his mission.  Yet we see a major difference in the growth of the two characters, as we see that Hamlet has grown to face his indecisiveness and ultimately kills Claudius.  While TS Elliot is still confused and is still indecisive as he is going through his mid life crisis, TS Elliot does not fully accomplish anything or grow and we can see that to be a testament to their place in society and their future.

words

The significance of the graveyard scenes is effectively portrayed through the clowns lower class status and Hamlet's metaphorically holding of the skull.  We see that language of the clowns are in prose and not in iambic pentameter and we see that their prose is not highly sophisticated.  Also when Hamlet holds the skull we see his metaphoric death and its a foreshadow of when his mom dies right in front of him.  We also see that the words loose and fishmonger are significant in the way that Hamlet describes Polonious with the word loose meaning the control of his daughter of when he will let her go and unleash her to Hamlet.  We see also that the word fishmonger accurately describes Polonius as Hamlet states it in a very distraught and cynical way.  We can see Hamlets hatred for Plonius.  The passage of "Do it, England" We see that Claudius is only worried about himself.  We see that the importance of being selfish is what Claudius prides himself on unknowingly.  The danger that Claudius was put himself into,subconsciously hes become selfish in order to protect his name. In times of trouble he is only looking to save himself and is not becoming a leader.  The passage between 805-810, we See that Caudius again is being selfish in that he is manipulating poor Laertes.  This manipulation leads into Claudius master plan to kill Hamlet and get him out of the way.  We see that Claudius is an instigator.  Lastly, we see in the passage 826-830 that everything comes to an end and we have a sad ending.  Laertes confesses to Hamlet and we ultimately see the tables turn as Laertes and Hamlet team up against Claudius.  We also see that the poor Gertrude drinks the poison and we are unaware of its significance?  Did Gertrude commit the sin above all, suicide?

Figurative Languag

In Hamlet we see figurative language in many aspects of the play to give either comic relief or to add to the overall dramatics of the play.  We see dramatical irony at a very pivotal point in the play that is a huge turning point for Hamlet and his demise.  We see this dramtical irony when Hamlet is going on his rant and rave on his mother and insulting and belittling her, then the Ghost shows up.  Everyone in the audience and the reader know that the Ghost is there, but Gertrude has no idea.  This is important because while Hamlet is acting crazy, the proof that the Gertrude gets to make sure he is crazy is that Gertrude is unable to see that the Ghost is there, leading her to believe that Hamlet is talking to the air.  This dramitical irony, where the reader and audience know something that the actor does not, is extremely pivotal as if Gertrude had known he was talking to a Ghost, then she would not have looked at Hamlet in a way that he is actually crazy.  Maybe that he is frustrated and upset, but not crazy.  Once she sees this, then she confirms his insanity and lets Claudius know about it so that he is also informed about his mental insanity so that the King can take action.  One little thing like the Ghost appearing to everyone, could have altered the events.

Claudis vs Larertes

Claudius is fully aware of Hamlet's threat not only to Claudius life but also to his power as king.  If Hamlet lets everyone know the truth, that might as well be the end for Claudius.  Thus, with that in mind, Claudius is extremely careful in the way he manipulates Laertes, in order to get Laertes against Hamlet.  If Claudius can Laertes against Hamlet, and ultimately kill Hamlet, then Claudius only threat is gone.  The way Claudius does this is through his clever word play.  He makes it seem that he sympathizes with Laertes and that he is on Laertes's side.  We all know that he is a different motive, to get back at Hamlet. The way he does this is through asking Laertes a lot of questions that are someone soft and sympathetic.  These questions make Laertes realize that Claudius is not trying to get him and that Claudius is on his side.  The way Claudius asks these questions is in such a way that it soothes and calms down Laertes.  This allows Laertes to be more rational and not let his emotion get the best of him.  Obviously in order to first save Claudius from any harm and then to get Laertes against Hamlet.  The way Claudius does it, is in such a way that Claudius in some way is trying to merge the two forces together to go against Hamlet.  Ultimately we see that Claudius is fearful and instead of becoming a leader and solving the problem, Claudius instigates to make the problem worse, always trying to save himself, showing his selfishness.

Hamlet vs Mothe

We see that Hamlet is extremely upset at himself and I feel that this anger is geared towards a lonely bi standard, his mother.  Hamlet's anger comes from the fact that he is holding in that it was Claudius who killed Hamlet sr. and he is so frustrated and disappointed in himself for not doing anything, that he is trying to belittle his mother to make his mother feel bad and to feel frustrated and confused like Hamlet.  We see Hamlet's insecurity and distress that he must deal with and overcome.  In this scene, Hamlet does whatever he can to make is mother angry and tries to make her regret her decision of marrying the King.  This is extremely immature and really shows that he has gone mad.  The way he approached his poor old mother was extremely rude and out of context.  Hamlet should be aware that his mother has to be subservient to the King as women back in the 1200's had a very little voice and had to follow whatever the man was saying.  So Gertrude did not need to hear that what she is doing is wrong and if anything this causes more pain and distress for Hamlet as ultimately he makes his mother confused and angry and Gertrude goes and tells the king that it was Hamlet that killed Polonius.  If Hamlet  would not have belittled his mother, then maybe his mother would have kept it a secret, but his poor attitude and tone leads him to dig even a bigger hole for himself that he needs to get out of.  If Hamlet would not have belittled her through his harsh words and tone then maybe Hamlet might have been saved and she might have covered up for him but the fact that his mother was not only speechless to Hamlet's attack but also saw this man's madness, made her realize that maybe Hamlet is really turning mad especially when he talks to the air, when the audience knows it the ghost.  This is the beginning of the end.

sounds

In most of Shakespeare's plays, he uses blank verse.  This is unrhymed iambic pentameter.  Iambic pentameter is when there are 10 symbols per line with 5 stressed and 5 unstressed symbols.  This was very common in England.  In Hamlet we see both blank verse and free verse.  Both are utilized and can effectively be illustrated through Hamlets speech.  When he speaks in free verse, we see less emotion as the words are endless, while in blank verse, we see his emotion better as he only has 10 symbols to convey the emotion that he wants.  In Hamlet we see sounds as an important feature to the play.  It gives the words and intentions more meaning.  In one of Hamlets soliloquies, he says egg shelled then he repeats the word greatly and the g sound.  The g sound is very rough and tough and egg shelled is very sturdy as well.  In his speech he is trying to convince himself that these soldiers are fighting for an illegitimate cause and i am still standing here not having fought or done anything for his legitimate concern. The strong g's illustrate that he must become more strong and have more fortitude.  He is greatly angered and frustrated with himself.  This can be clearly illustrated through Hamlet's sounds.  In Frosts poem, we can see sound clearly through the end when the boy lays on the bed and we hear the puffing of his lips and the breathing of the boy.  This demonstrates the despair that he is in and makes the scene more real and dramatic.  Through these sounds, we can also get a better sense of the setting and the roll the setting plays in the poem.  In Popes poem, we see the opposite as the words and the sounds soften up the tone.  the words soft strain gently blows.  As in Hamlet we saw that the g sound was rough and heavy, this g sound is light as a feather and it flows with the smoothness and softness of the poem.  We see that sounds can have different meanings in the play and can have different effects on different pieces of literature.

Conclusion

To conclude, Claudius and Hamlet are both victims of preconceived judgments yet through Shakespeare brilliance, we see that the roles are reversed, and their prose are mere acts to illustrate to their subjects what the they want to see.  Hamlet is perceived as a weak and innocuous man, due to his love and reverence for his father.   When Hamlet is alone we see that he is internally extremely strong and mature through his recognition of the importance to revere his father and his strength not to rebel against his majesty.  Yet, Hamlet's attitude is altered when he realizes that his majesty has killed his father.  Hamlet puts on a show that he crazy in order to figure out a way to get revenge on his father.  This is revealed as Hamlet's purpose changes.  First he wanted to just go off innocently to college and educate himself, but know he must put on a show in order to get attention so that ultimately he can get revenge for his father.  However, Claudius is a contrast to Hamlet as Claudius is perceived as strong and forceful man in front of his subjects.  However through his prose we see that in front of people he is an extremely fearful and weak interiorly.  We see that Claudius manifests himself through his prose, into a very remorseful person, when he is alone, when he realizes that what he has done is horrible.  We see that he is repenting only when he is alone, since he is trying to hind his true heart and he is too weak to express his true feelings in front of everyone else, in an effort to maintain his power.  This effectively illustrates the importance of prose and words.  We all speak using words, but maybe the words we say and the way we say them has an effect on our personality and the type of person we are turning out to become?

Symbols/Theme

In Yeats, The Second Coming, there are many symbols and themes that represent multiple things, yet all have the same theme of the end of the world and the rebirth of Jesus trying to save the world.  The first symbol of the Falcon, represents the people that have lost control and can not be tamed.  The Falconer is the higher power trying to tam the the people who have lost control.  The lion body and the head of the man, represents the biblical allusion of the of the half beast half man, representing how society is transforming from a man to a beast.  Which leads us to the next symbol of the beast.  The beast represents Jesus and how he is a beast just like the commoners demonstrating how when Jesus preached, he always preached that he is a commoner and he is like everyone else.  This is all under the branch of the end of the world and the Messiah coming.  Jesus is reborn to save the people of most likely the dangers of industrialization and part of the progressive era where people lost their morals.  The themes in Hamlet are revenge and the players are a symbol of revenge.  Also the theme of deception vs reality is prevalent as the king seems to be strong on the outside but on the inside is extremely weak.

Body Paragraph

Claudius is perceived as a strong and masculine king, while Hamlet is perceived as weak and "unmanly," but we see through Hamlet's direct prose the difference in both their in true reality.  Claudius's interwoven prose demonstrates his instability.  "Mirth in funeral...dirge in marriage" (1.2.12)  The oxymoronical words, "mirth" and "funeral" demonstrate his weak personality.  We see that Claudius is not fully focused and he seems suspicious.  The audience is deceived into thinking that Claudius is the savior, yet his interwoven words casts doubt on his true intentions and his core strength.  This is conflicted with Hamlets prose, though his step father happily humiliates his step son, Hamlets inner strength is effectively portrayed through extremely close examination of the text.  "A beast would have mourned longer"  (1.2.152) Hamlet is regretting his decision that he succumbed to the Kings pressures of discontinuing his mourning.  This demonstrates Hamlet's loyalty as he followed the Kings orders while understanding the importance of mourning his beloved father.  At first sight we think that Hamlet is weak and indecisive but these qualities of subserviency to his superior while understanding the importance of his fathers death demonstrates his inner strength.  Still having the ability to not retaliate when his step father called him out and while effectively recognizing that he must continue to mourn for his father.  This effectively contrasts his step father who seems settled and confident and calm on the outside, but is unraveling his true emotions through his prose.  With Hamlet who seems weak and tense and nervous, yet his prose and his actions conversely demonstrate his loyalty and equanimity.  To conclude, we see that the perception of these two characters are actually reversed in reality.

Hamlet and figurative language

The passage i have chosen to look at is when King Claudius is the room in the castle talking about Hamlet and his mourning that is too exaggerated.  Figurative language is permeated throughout this passage.  The imagery that Hamlet uses like green, effectively illustrate the exaggeration that is expressed in his prose.  Green as an imagine makes it seem that Claudius really is caring, but through further examination, we see that this his true feelings come.  Through the figurative oxymoron of wisest sorrow, we see that although Shakespeare incorporates oxymoron, its for the benefit and for the understanding of the scene.  We also this when he says defeated joy.  This oxymoron as well demonstrates his double sided persona.  Even though his brother died, we see that he doesn't really care. This figurative language illustrates king Claudius true feelings through Shakespeare's use of figurative language.  Also, Claudius compares his state to war.  This image and simile effectively are ironic because it wasn't a war that killed Hamlet sr., yet it was Claudius internal war with himself that killed Hamlet sr.  We see that with this type of figurative language, we can see what is truly going on in Claudius head, and either knowingly or unknowingly expresses it.  Again we see the oxymoronical language of Claudius as he this figurative oxymoron of defeated joy, effectively illustrates his jumbled and confusing prose that illustrates his true nature, sly and cunning.  "Our state to be disjointed and out of frame" this figurative line is filled with imagery that demonstrates that the king feels one way on the exterior to the his wife and his son and the rest of his subjects, but of course internally he does not feel this as he was the one that Hamlet sr.  So Shakespeare's figurative language effectively reveals the true inner persona of Claudius.

Setting

The setting of a novel or a play is very important as the setting is the only physical aspect of the novel or play that is concrete.  We can always interpret differently the characters and their attitude and purpose.  But the setting can never be taken away from the story.  In Austen's Pride and Prejudice, setting plays an important part to the story and the plot. We see that the Bennets and the Lucas' live in the countryside in Longbourne.  This is not the richest and most wealthiest spot in England.  The houses are not as elegant as some of the houses else where.  This immediate conclusion that the other characters make about the Bennets is evident with Ms. Bingley as she immediately dismisses Jane as a viable partner for Bingley.  Ms. Bingley wants his brother to marry Darcy's sister who lives in Pemberly.  The setting of Pemberly is significant as it is the place that all the estates are and where most of the rich people reside.  The quick judgment of the people that live in Pemberly is evident as it is the place that all the extravagant and the rich people reside.  The characters make the judgement that the rich should marry the rich and the not the poor.  Ms. Bingley takes Bingley to London.  She tries to get her brother away from the "poor setting of the Bennets" and takes him to London, where people are of the same social standing as the Bingley's.  In Hamlet, the setting of is really important to the plot and theme of the book.  When Hamlet is in the woods with Horatio and Marcellus, we can come to the conclusion that because of the setting we see that there might be something dark happening or something bad.  As the scene progresses, we see that the conclusion we make about the setting, is true as the ghost tells Hamlet about the person who killed Hamlet sr.  Also as seen in the movie, we see that the King and the Queen live in an extravagant palace.  This demonstrates their superiority.  In both pride and Prejudice and Hamlet, we see the importance of setting as it dictates the for the most part the plot.

First Paragraph

Language is something that we all use to express our feelings and our emotions.  Whether the language is expressing positive or negative emotion, it all depends on the way the words are expressed and with which tone of voice the words are expressed with.  Shakespeare uses the tone of the speakers voice through their prose to either withstand some sort of emotion or feeling or to express emotion or feeling.  In Hamlet,  King Claudis is troubled by Hamlet's inability to move on after Hamlet's fathers death.  This is troubling for Claudis as he knows the more Hamlet will dwell, the more likely it will be that Denmark will find out that it was Claudis who killed Hamlet sr.  Hamlet is troubled with the fact that he is unable to go back to germany and study and he is also troubled with the unsettled murder of his father.  Claudis's tone hinds that emotion while Hamlet's tone expresses that emotion.  While both Hamlet and Claudis use their unsettled emotions in their prose, through further examination of the text, Hamlet is able to express his emotion clearly through his direct prose while Claudis must interweave his words to act as a figure head and hind his true emotions.

Comparing Chracters

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, I like to see it as a war of words.  This war of words lies between Claudis and Hamlet.  Although it may seem that Claudis is a loving father and a protector of his new step son, reading in between the lines and not the way that it is expressed, illustrates to the reader, Claudis real true deceptive side.  Instead of grieving and mourning his brothers death, he interweaves his happiness on the inside that he just got married to his brothers wife with the grief that he must show on the exterior.  The language and the paradoxical words that Claudis incorporates make this evident.  "Wisest sorrow... defeated joy...dirge in marriage...mirth in funeral."  Although it might seem that Claudis is mourning is brothers death, the subtleness of his language that is incorporated by Shakespeare makes it seem that there is something not right about the whole situation.  We later find out that Claudis killed his brother, then married his wife then temporarily denied his son of the throne.  Also we can see that Claudis is very strong, commanding and controlling.  We can see this through the fact that Claudis doesn't allow Hamlet to go to college.  This effectively illustrates the fact that Claudis is selfish and that it must be his way or its no way.  He wants Hamlet to stay for no reason except his own.  Claudis just wants the power to illustrate his power since he didn't really deserve to be next in line to the thrown.  Compared to Hamlet, Hamlet is more true to himself and he is not seeking the power.   There is no underlying meaning in what Hamlet says and although it might be rude, Hamlet is always true in his words.  This difference is effectively seen when Claudis is at the court talking to his nephew, the language that is employed there makes it seem that Claudis is a great man and that he will be giving the throne to Hamlet next.  This thus effectively illustrates the similarities between the two as they both can sometimes be rude in their comments, but the difference is the way that Claudis says it is subtle and interwoven while Hamlet just tells an aside and is completely truthful.  Also we see that Claudis is more nervous then he should be.  The down play of his brothers death is effectively illustrates his lack of care and the fact that he had something to do with his brothers murder.  He puts his son down and makes his son feel like dirt in order for everyone else to think that he needs to get over his fathers murder since Claudis needs the issue of Hamlet sr. death to fade.  His ironic and condescending language effectively illustrates his insecurities and his fear.

Chracters

In Pride and Prejudice, there are many ways characters are introduced and presented.  To start off we have the protagonist Elizabeth and Jane.  And we have the antagonist who are the Bingley sisters and Mr. Darcy, in the beginning as well as Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet to a certain extent.  Also, Jane Austen incorporates foils to effectively illustrate the characters personalities.  We see this in the beginning as Jane and Elizabeth are presented as effective foils of each other.  Right from the start the distinctions in their character are clearly illustrated and can be clearly followed throughout the novel.  These distinctions really show us the type of characters they develop into as the novel progresses.  Also Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy are presented as effective foils of each other and although these foils are accurate for the majority of the book, we can say that Mr. Darcy has a "coming of age" story where he realizes he was wrong about Elizabeth.  Elizabeth goes through the same thing, except Elizabeth has an epiphany when she says "till this moment I never knew myself."  We see this as a growth and a development of character throughout the novel.  Also throughout the novel, there are round and flat and stock characters that effectively bring difference in the novel.  The round characters in Pride and Prejudice are Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as they have a range of emotions that effectively changes throughout the story.  The flat characters are Jane and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Bennet as for the most part, all three of them stay as stagnant character and don't really change over the course of the novel.  There is also one stock character that fits into a stereotype.  Mrs. Bennet fits the stereotype of wanting all her daughters to become married and all she cares about is the money and the reputation, not the love.  Her reputation as the crazy psychotic mother.   Also in pride and prejudice, there is direct characterization where the narrator flat out tells you about a character and doesn't really show you.  This happens when the narrator tells you about the reputation of Mr. Darcy and also when the narrator tells you about the Bennets.  There is also indirect characterization, this is where the narrator shows us rather than tells us.  When Mr. Darcy denies a dance with Elizabeth, that is showing us the real and true character of Mr. Darcy.  In Hamlet, this is completely different as there is no narrator, the introductions of the characters are completely different. In pride and prejudice where there is direct and indirect characterization to demonstrate the characters in the novel, in hamlet, we are only and can only be introduced to the characters through the language of there prose.  We don't have a narrator explaining it to us so we have to read in between the lines to fully understand the type of character the it is in Hamlet.  This is more difficult where there can be multiple interpretations of a character while in the pride and prejudice, you can easily interpret each character.

Claudis vs Hamlet

In Shakespeares Hamlet, language and the incorporation of language is very important to the plot and the understanding of the interactions between the characters.  Claudis's language after the death of his brother is one of very surprise to me.  Instead of grieving and mourning his brothers death, he interweaves his happiness on the inside that he just got married to his brothers wife with the grief that he must show on the exterior.  The language and the paradoxical words that Claudis incorporates make this evident.  "Wisest sorrow... defeated joy...dirge in marriage...mirth in funeral."  Although it might seem that Claudis is mourning is brothers death, the subtleness of his language that is incorporated by shakespeare makes it seem that there is something not right about the whole situation.  We later find out that Claudis killed his brother, then married his wife then temporarily denied his son of the throne.  This event is more evident through the subtleness of his language.  Also when Claudis is at the court talking to his nephew, the language that is employed there makes it seem that Claudis is a great man and that he will be giving the throne to Hamlet next.  However, this language is misleading as we have seen in the previous seen his true feelings.  Thus the language that is incorporated by shakespeare is meant to at times to mislead the other characters in the book causing dramatic irony.  Hamlet's language is quite different as when he has an aside, this type of language is to express the truth, even though it might be rude.  This thus effectively illustrates the similarities between the two as they both can sometimes be rude in their comments, but the difference is the way that Claudis says it is subtle and interwoven while Hamlet just tells an aside and is completely truthful.  Through Hamlet's language we see his dejected countenance and his mourning for his father and his subservience to his step father.  However in Claudis's language we see his power and his valor yet we also see his "kind and generous" demeanor.  Also another difference is that Hamlet's language is not interwoven or it does not have a secondary meaning behind it like his step father.

Compare and Contrast

The two basketball poems can be effectively split up into a variety of ways that will each lead to clear effective writtting but also structural issues.  The first way to split the poems up is to have separate paragraphs on each poem.  Have one paragraph on the slam dunk and have one paragrph on the fast break.  Within that you can first write about the first poem and really get a full sense of the poem and the mysticity behind the poem and then write a second paragraph on the fast break and really foucus on the overal meaning and implication of the poem.  Then in the second paragraph you can compare the two poems based on not only the plot but also the diction, the time of the poems and the smoothness of the poem.  You can compare that the time of the first poem is on a longer more general story of playing basketball while in the fast break poem the description of one play of the game.  Also the choppiness of the poem the slam dunk poem makes it seem that basketball is not smooth and it is not flowing.  This is a big distinction and maybe the reason why you have the mysticism of the poem and the choppiness of the poem because the story is a story of the boy who has to overcome adversity and uses basketball as a realease.  It demonstrates the fact that he had a choppy life and it wasnt smooth.  Compared to the fast break poem where for the most part the team had a smooth and easy lane to the basket.  This way can be effective but i belive that you lose the over arching theme of the question.  When you write essay's it has to be specific and it has to answer the question.  It has to be on topic and specific, go more in depth on one topic rather than broad on mulitple topics.  Sure you want to use those examples that you find but it is not necessary appropriate for the prompt.  Thats why i belive that if you split it up and focus on the tone of the poems, and the time of the poems because you can focus on two specific ideas and develop it fully.  Although it might be harder to acomplish, due to the indepth and the complexity of the format, it is much more succint and too the point.  It doesnt go off on tandems that dont relate to the topic.

Plot

In every novel or story that we read there is always a plot.  Yet there are different means of incorporating the plot.  In Pride and Prejudice, the story starts from the beginning as in its not in the middle of action.  In the exposition, it explains the background to the story and lets the reader know who everyone is.  Giving a brief introduction.  However, what is interesting about Austen's novel is that there are 2 main plots going on at the same time with both totally different means yet the same outcome for both.  The raising action is when Mr. Bingley and Ms. Bennet start falling in love with each other and that leads to them dancing at the  ball and then continuing their romance when Ms. Bennet visits the Bingley and the way Bingley expresses his love for her.  Yet we reach the climax when Elizabeth reads the letters from Bingley's sisters.  That climax really is the hight of the tension of the novel.  The failing action is the consequence of the break up and how when Ms. Bennet leaves for London hoping to see Bingley but she doesn't.  However there is another raising action as Bingley comes back to the Bennets house looking for Jane.  The first few nights while he is at there house, the raising action occurs leading up to the marriage proposal.  Once Bingley proposes, we reach the climax and as Jane accepts, we start to see the failing action of her family finding out.  We reach the conclusion as they all live happily ever after.  Also at the same time Liz and Darcy first meet and we see the raising action as Darcy humiliates Liz.  He also very arrogant, yet his arrogance is tamed as he starts to fall in love with Liz.  This is a continuation of the raising action as he continues to chase for her heart, but after she found out that Darcy ruined her sisters marriage, Liz denies Darcy once again.  This is still the raising action until we lead up to the climax.  "Till this moment i never knew myself" this is Liz's self realization that she has mistakenly discerned Darcy.  The failing action is when he proposes a second time and she accepts.  The failing action is also when she has to go tell the family about her marriage.  The denouement is that they live happily every after.

Animal Poems

Both of these poems explain the cruel death of animals in nature.  The first poem is more harsh than the second one where in the first one the narrator actually kills the woodchucks and in the second one the deer is already dead and the man approaches how to handle the deer's death.  The tone in the first one is very destructive.  The verbs used in the first one are harsh like knockout bomb, beheading, killing and hunt.  These verbs effectively communicate the destructive nature of the first poem and effectively ilustrates the narrators relationship with nature.  This relationship is a very unappreciative relationship where the narrator kills the woodchucks as if they were not animals.  Dehumanizing the animals to mere unimportant objects.  "Underground the quiet Nazi way" this effectively ends the poem as we see everything come into perspective and really see the narrators relationship with nature.  The tone is effectively contrasted but the outcome is just the same.  The tone of the second one is that the man is more observant and really cares about nature.  He runs all the consequences in his head before he makes a decision to throw the deer over the edge.  He understands that if he leaves the deer, it will be worse for the road as more deer will come and more will die either from cars hitting them or from guns.  The man does the logical thing and throws the deer off the edge.  The man has more appreciation for nature than the narrator in the first poem yet both of the poems end up with the death of an animal.

DW Harding

Summary of one point/disagree: The one important point that DW makes is that the book was actually written by Austen and intended to be read by the people that Austen actually detests.  DW makes this point because in the novel, DW concludes that Austen must have been the opposite of someone like Mrs. Bennet or Mr. Collins and thus Austen must have detested those figures in society.  As DW continues, he states that he believes that the people reading the book would have been blind to the caricatures and the exaggerations of the characters.  Suggesting that the audience would die of laughter but not fully understand the message that Austen was trying to give.  This is contradictory and I effectively disagree with because if Austen intended the readers to be the people who she detested, but DW states that these people would have been blind and not realized the message.  I believe that Austen effectively utilizes caricatures and these caricatures and exaggerations are clear and illustrate the flaws of society in the 1800's.  I believe that the audience would have seen and recognized the "lesson" internally maybe not externally.

Agree: I agree that this book is a book of relief and escape as stated by DW.  During the 1930's and 1940's,  people were not only going through the worst depression ever in the history of the United States but also a war was about to start and people were anxious and weary and uncertain.  This was a very negative time period without a lot of laughter and excitement.  I believe that this book effectively was an escape from reality and into a the reality of a dysfunctional family that brought laughter and excitement into the boring and stressful lives of the people in the 30's and 40's.  Ultimately as DW states a sense of relief and thankfulness as this book rises the sprits of the reader.

Revision

I have a whole week to revise my essay.  After going through my essay multiple times I really need to re word my sentences to get rid of a lot of fragments and passive voice.  Also I need to become more specific in my thesis, what are the negative and positive consequences, not just stating it.  Also I need to add a little something more to my thesis whether that is adding a new complexity to my thesis or just adding a few more words to make my thesis a little more bold.  Something that I have to do is be more specific and vere away from becoming too general.  Keeping away from generalizing and staying on the specific examples and tightening my essay is something that i need to do.  Getting rid of the generalizations and adding the specifics.  Also something that I need to do is to delete sentences that are repeating.  Sometimes I write the same idea twice in a row and that is something i need to stay away from.  If I do that, then I will be able to cut down my essay a lot in size.  Length is also something i need to do because i tend to write a lot so i need to tighten my writing.  Also i need to bolden the beginnings and ends of paragraphs to make my point more clear. Lastly, i need to unify my essay through my thesis statement developing throughout my essay.

Outdoor ed

What an expirence!!!!! i cant put or describe in words the emotion that I felt towards the end of outdoor ed. I asked the seniors last year, what happens on outdoor ed and what do we do and let me say it was completely different than i thought.  I was excpecting one thing but I expirenced another.  The boys talk was really assuring for me knowing that we for the most part cleared anything that was lingering in the air. The ropes course was really fun and the leap of faith was my favorite.  It looked easy on the ground but it was really hard and scary when you got to the top.  Also I think we were really unified as a grade when we  completed the task of going over the wall in 31 minutes.  But nothing will ever come close to the closeness and the emotion i felt with the rest of my grade during the last activity.  I really did not want to leave outdoor ed.

Essay 2 paragraphs

In Life, societal pressures exists at all levels and in all time periods throughout the worlds history.  Weather that is the way we evolved, where the only way to survive is to conform to society or if that is how society is run, where fitting in and conforming is the norm.  We see varying degrees of this societal pressure in the 1800's Pride and Prejudice, 1940's History of Love or even in the 21st century with modern society.  In each one of these circumstances, extreme amounts of individuality and conformity occur in which each circumstance leads to positive and negative consequences.  Mrs. Bennet and Charlotte are the extremes of conformity where marriage for wealth and status is the only thing that matters and Elizabeth is the opposite where she wants to marry not for wealth but for happiness, but is isolated.  Bird is an extreme individual as he tries to become a lamed votnik, but is outcasted and Leo is an extreme negative conformer of society as all he does is fear his death. However in each individuality and conformity, the negative consequences can be negated through finding balance between becoming an individual and conforming into society.   Indeed, societal pressure weighs down heavily on some, urging them to succumb to their insecurities and to wilt under adversity; while others defy these societal pressures and ascend these difficulties to shatter their insecurities, while in both cases negative consequences arise which can be negated through finding a balance of individuality and conformity.  Furthermore, finding the balance between individuality and conformity is key to enjoying lifes full spectrum.

 Elizabeth and Bird are both extreme examples of individuals, which create negative and positive consequences that are inevitable because finding a balance does not exist.  In Elizabeth's society, marriage for wealth is the norm and is what the young unmarried women look for, not for true love and happiness.  "Leave me to judge for myself" (Austen 74).  Elizabeth's strength is effectively illustrated through "myself," which was something women in the 1800's didn't have.  Women back then didn't have a voice in society and were effectively controlled by male aspiration. Elizabeth's individuality where she can decide what she wants is a positive aspect of becoming an individual and not conforming to societies standards and norms.  Elizabeth's voice and happiness are herd as she denies Mr. Collins; however, her happiness comes at the expense of her mothers happiness. "Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry" (Austen 77).  Mrs. Bennet is infuriated by Elizabeth's decision to refuse marriage with Mr. Collins, yet this is very ironic as Mrs. Bennet's remorse and anger comes from Elizabeth's joy and happiness.  In this circumstance, where is the middle? Where is the balance?  Elizabeth either refuses or accepts.  If she accepts then she conforms and her mother is extatic, and she is miserable.  Even though ideally everyone should be satisfied, in most circumstances it is impossible to please everyone.  Also, growth as a character in the novel occur with characters who are on extreme ends of the spectrum, either extreme conformist or extreme individual.  Elizabeth's self growth occurs when she realizes that she was wrong when she discerned Wickham.  "Till this moment, I never knew myself" (Austen 141) Elizabeth's epiphany that she viewed Wickham like the innocent one, when the whole time, it was Whickham that spent all the money.  This epiphany allows the reader to see Elizabeth's self growth as a character where she is bold enough and is not afraid to say that she was wrong.  This is due to her individuality which allows her to self evaluate herself.  However this individuality comes at a price, Elizabeth is very isolated from the rest of her peers. "I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men" (Austen 7) Elizabeth's individuality can also lead her to isolation.  She doesn't put her self out there for other guys and is not open to form relationships with a lot of the men in the book.  Her fastidiousness is evident and it is quite uncommon among women, who would fall in love with the next person they would see.  However, this leads to isolation and a lack of recognition by certain men.  However what should Elizabeth do? conform to society and have multiple male counterparts or should she stay an individual and allow herself to grow?  The more she conforms, the less she is able to grow, Charlotte and Whickham.  Where is the balance?  Elizabeth could keep searching for balance, but it will be impossible to achieve.

Ranking Essays

Order in the way i grade


A. Has a good arguable thesis, interesting.  Logical structure with indepth analysis and evidence.  Not just a summary but but indepth sources and anlaysis.  Clear style and word choice.  Flows smoothly and it is easy to understand where the author starts and where the author finishs. A

B. Has an arguable thesis but is a little repetitve.  Has a logical structure with indepth but repetive analysis.  Its the same thing throughout the last two paragraphs.  Quotes often to long but are at times used very effectively.  Has sophistocation and clear for the most part. B+/A-

C. Has a very vaugue and uninteresting thesis.  Very illogical and confusing structure.  Evidence and quotes are vaugue and do not really go indepth.  Very vaugue and lacks sophistacation.  Quotes not fully developed and does not have a strong veiwpoint and indepth argument. B-/B

Essay

In Life, societal pressures exists at all levels and in all time periods throughout the worlds history.  Weather that is the way we evolved, where the only way to survive is to conform to society or if that is how society is run, where fitting in and conforming is the norm.  We see varying degrees of this societal pressure in the 1800's Pride and Prejudice, 1940's History of Love or even in the 21st century with modern society.  In each one of these circumstances, extreme amounts of individuality and conforming occur in which each circumstance leads to positive and negative consequences.  Mrs. Bennet and Charlotte are the extreme of conformity where marriage for wealth and status is the only thing that matters and Elizabeth is the opposite where she wants to marry not for wealth but for happiness, but is isolated.  Bird is an extreme individual as he tries to become a lamed votnik, but is outcasted and Leo is an extreme negative conformer of society as all he does is fear his death. However in each individuality and conformity, the negative consequences can be negated through finding balance between becoming an individual and conforming into society.   Indeed, societal pressure weighs down heavily on some, urging them to succumb to their insecurities and to wilt under adversity; while others defy these societal pressures and ascend these difficulties to shatter their insecurities, while in both cases negative consequences arise which can be negated through finding a balance of individuality and conformity.

Marvell's Coy Mistress

This poem is a type of poem with a high amount of sexual tension.  "Am'rous birds of prey" this is at the end of the poem and is what all the sexual tension leads up to.  Throughout the poem, it starts off with slow and a nostalgic argument.  Then as the poem progresses, the urgency for the man is intesified as he knows that he wants to finish off the deal and have sexual relations with the girl.  He insults her and then puts fear into the womens heart, just the same way Mr. Collins does with Liz.  But all of this is the sexual tension that builds up and builds up to reach the "birds of prey".  This illustrates the rough and angry sex they have with each other as the argument builds up.  This is rough sex and the bird of prey pretty much signifies the man ripping apart the girl metaphorically in the stanza before and the birds of prey also signifies the girl ripping the guys heart when in the  beginning she refuses to have sex with him.  At the end, the man seizes the day and the girl follows.  At the end they both become "birds of prey."

Outside reading

The outside reading book that I am going to do is called the The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman.  This book from what I have been tolled is about the way John Paulson bet against the market in 2008 as in he predicted that housing markets were going to drop.  It turns out he was right and he ended up making something crazy like 17 billion in one year and 20 billion all together in the total 2 and a half years.  The economy in 2008 is a very fascinating subject for me.  Going into the summer, I had no idea of what happened and what has been going on in the economy, housing prices and jobs and interest rates.  However, I got an internship to work in nyc with my family on hedge funds and real estate investment, so i started to research and research and research for days after days.  I gave up two weeks of my time at home researching mbs and cdo and credit default swaps and all of those interesting stuff that lead to the fall in the economy in 2008.  I started by watching the movie Too Big To Fail, that movie was really eye opening as i was able to get some sort of an idea of what happened in 2008.  I also read wikipedia and reports  from B of A and and Citi and for two weeks did my research and study.  Then i went to nyc for 2 weeks and worked their and that was really an amazing experience going to work everyday.  However i did this all during the summer and now that school started, i don't have the time to look things up and read as much so i wanted to read this book to keep my mind in that economical state.  I also want to try to read the Wall Street Journal once a week if i have time.

Billy Collins "Introduction to Poetry"

"But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it."  This line caught my attention, is the author saying that we should not interrogate the poem and make lines all over it and make outside connections to this poem? I think the author is trying to convey to us that yes its frustrating as a teacher when the student looks to in depth to the poem and tries to create a meaning by not analyzing but overanalyzing the poem.  The author is trying to say that his students cant just look at the poem the way it is and read it to enjoy it, they always try to find the meaning of the poem rather than figuratively using our 5 senses to feel and understand the poem. Ultimately the author wants them to have fun and enjoy the poem and to look at clearly what is on the page and not try to be to clever by finding double meanings and hidden meanings. That is the first thing that we all try to do, is to find out the meaning of the poem.  So we try and try and try too hard to figure it out by overanalyzing the poem, this is what the author is attacking, the way his students approach poetry.  I find this concept to be true in my life as sometimes i overanalyze tasks and questions or i try to find the answer when there is no answer to the question.

Welcome

Hey, My name is Daniel Azadegan.  I have been at Buckley since the 7th grade and I cant believe that it is almost done.  I am starting my this year here more pumped and excited than any other year prior.  I hope that by the end of this year, i will be ready to start a new chapter in my life.  Now that u have just said it, it is kind of scary to think about.  But lets get to know me a little better, I love sports love love love sports.  I play tennis, golf, and basketball for fun.  I love all types of music except for heavy metal and intense rock as well as country music.  I am a big of the red hot chili peppers as well as the Beatles, david guetta, tiesto, avicii, kanye west, and jay z. And ill admit i like a few of britney speares and katy perry's songs.  My favorite movies are catch me if you can and back to the future.