ACT 4 AND 5 DRJ#4

Initial reaction:

A particular story comes to mind when Hamlet talks about the skulls and wondering about the occupation and how ironic if one skull would've belonged to a land owner. My brother told me this story of a man who came across new land and the indians told him he can keep as much land as he can walk on. So the man walked for weeks to get his piece of land and unknowingly stopped eating and sleeping. In short, the man ends up dead from trying so hard to obtain this land. The ironic part of the story is that through all the land the man wanted, the only land the man truly needed was a place to bury his body. 

Character analysis: 

The character the grave digger is a man who buries a hole for Ophilia’s grave. He is also a man who has met Hamlets’ whits as well as his cunning ways in the play bringing a sort of pleasurable and amusing interaction between both characters. The Grave digger is not a main character but is a supporting character Shakespeare uses to bring out the theme of death once more in the play however, this time Shakespere brings out the humorous part of death. The grave digger does this to contrast what we believe death to be a dark thing as something comical this gives a lightheartedness on the play by jokingly talking about the iorony of digging a Christian’s grave who has commited suicide. This is a good contrast to what the reader has been reading latley about suicide and death.

Theme analysis: 

In the play “Hamlet,”Shakespeare uses character in order to reveal the irony of death with all humans.

For instance when Hamlet sees the second skull, being thrown out onto the ground in the grave site that Ophilia will become buried in, he questions the occupation of the skull the person once was and finds the irony in their position: “why may not that be the skull of a lawyer?...Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock about the sconce with a dirty shovel and will not tell him of action of battery.”( 5.1 90-94) Here Shakespere questions the skull of a once powerful lawyer now dead with his skeleton left behind, is now powerless. Showing us that after death we are fragile and we are no longer anything.

Again Hamlet makes another ironic comment on death of the human “ This fellow might be n’s time  great buyer of land with his statues his recongnizances..The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box, and must inheritor himself no more.” (Act 5 95-103) What is being said here is that the irony of another man’s position in death the skull could’ve had been a man who was a land owner and in the end the man has gained nothing, and ironically the only land he has in the end is the land to bury his body with. Once again Shakespeare shows us the irony of death that when we exit out of this world we have nothing.

Moreover Shakespeare uses the dead human body being no longer anything as Shakespeare makes the grave digger say that the person whom he is digging the body for is niether a man nor woman but was once a woman showing that we are nothing after we die. Also they use Alexander the great who is very infamous warrior looks the same as the old jester that played with Hamlet they both died and are  reduced to nothingness in the end and no matter how great or small the person was, they all die the same and become equal. Shakespeare shows this when he makes Hamlet question if Alexander the Great looked like the jester Yorick when he we buried and by Horatio agreeing that they look and smell the same.

Act 3 DRJ #3

Act 3 Drj #3

Initial reaction: 

This play both Hamlet decides to let go of Ophilia and drop thier relationship, being able to do this and have no remorse for losing her, shows that Hamelt is able to turn off emotions as quickly as one is able to turn off a switch. It reminds me of myself when I need to get things done, I am able to quickly let go of my emotion.  

Character Analysis: 

Ophilia is Hamlet’s girlfriend, she thinks and say whatever everyone else tells her to do. Ophilia is one of the main characters in the story her fatal flaw in the play is that she does what every one tells her to do and to think that once her father dies, she loses sense of heself and begins to become mad like Hamlet. Ophilia does not fall under the description of a tragic hero because she does not have a goal in the play, her only use in the play is to bring about the sexist feelings Shakespeare has for woman. 

Theme Analysis: 

Through the use of characters Shakespeare portrays his feelings towards woman in that they all are unhonest through marriage and love. For instance, during the play, Hamlet talks to Ophilia about the “happiness” he feels for his mother moving on so quickly after her father’s death. In the prologue of the play  Ophilia  comments that the play is too short. Hamlets uses a curt response to her inquiry as he compares the shortness of the play to a woman's love.(3.2 139) Moreover, Hamlet uses the character Ophilia giving Hamlet the letter to express his feelings about woman and thier different faces they put on a deceit for their husbands and how marriages should be “I heard all about you woman and your woman cosmetics too. God gives you one face and you put on another....Whoever is already married ( except on  person i know will stay married- all but one person.(3.1143-148.)

As well as in the play, the characters talk to one another about how the wife will never love another and during that time, Gertrude says that she doth protest too much for a woman who lost her husband making his character Gertrude say this reflects the way woman have no lost respect for marriage and thier husbands. ( 3.2 216)

DRJ #2 Hamlet Act 2

DRJ #2: Hamlet Act II

Initial reaction: 

Polonius in the act 2,  becomes to be known as mumbler. Thinking too much he mumbles the words or rather he travels on with his sentences as he gets lost in his train of thought or becomes distracted. This character reminds me of my friend, he as well likes to talk in the style Polionious does. My friend tends to meander in his speech to a point where it becomes frustrating in trying to understand his train of thought and fails like Polonius to come up with straight answers. 

character analysis: 

Polonius himself is a father of two children and is King Claudius’s court lord Chaberlin he is as well a very controlling man.  Polonious’s fatal flaw is that he has a tendency to want to be in the middle of the situation his need to control things and solve which later on in the story we find out that brings him to his downfall. Polionious causes a conflict by trying to solve out what the root cause of Hamlets madness by believing Hamlet is crazy because he has lust for love. Although he is an antagonist, Polonius is a supporting character in the play  “Hamlet” he reveals to the readers the certain thing they might think the possibilities of why Hamlet has gone mad to the other characters and to the people that are watching the play so they can too can come to the conclusion to the reason why Hamlet is crazy.

Theme: 

Shakespeare in the play “Hamlet,” uses tone in the soliloquy of Hamlet’s speech to reveal the truth about revenge: it can drive a man into insanity. For example on Act 2 scene 2, through out his soliloquy (lines 526-570), Hamlet is alone and the readers then have a chance to see the inner thoughts of Hamlet and to see how his mind works. Throughout the whole soliloquy, Shakespeare uses dashes exclamation marks, to reveal Hamlet’s feelings about revenge he has to take out on his uncle. In the beginning of the soliloquy, Hamlet has just seen a actor in the play cry for Hecuba the queen who cries over her dead husband. At first hamlet states : “oh what a rouge and peasant slave am I!”  (2.2 526) Hamlet calls himself a dishonest lowlife he is for not placing his own promise to his father to kill Claudius. Then he begins to asks himself what kind of person people will see him if he kills the king : “Am I a coward? Who calls me “villain”? Breaks my pate across? plucks my beard and blows it in my face? tweaks me by the nose?” (2.2 547) This reveals his sort of scared side of him of what people will think of him once he kills the king. Soon he calls himself brave for having a task for heaven and hell to complete before him yet, he has done nothing that he promised his father’s ghost.(2.2 560-570) And at the end he stops cursing his ways he's been dealing with revenge and soon comes to the idea spontaneously out of no where that guilty people tend to confess their crime out loud when there is some sort of artsy element revealing feelings. “ A scullion fie upon’t foh! About my brain- Hum, I have by very cunning of the scene been struck to the soul that presently have proclaimed thief malefaction.” (2.2 564-570) The speech begins as tone which he feels sympathetic for himself less exclamations and dashes are used here to show this. Soon Hamlet describes himself as being brave and gives him self a accolade feeling for what the heavens are asking him to do.Shakespeare  then uses a abundant amount of exclamations and dashes to show a quick train of thought Hamlet has as he is angry for not killing his uncle all ready. Lastly at the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet comes to peace though this emotional roller coaster by to coming into a conclusion of how to take revenge on his uncle for killing his father. Through this whole play we see the many of emotions placed together  in a distorted way in thoughts and feelings, this is one of the many things that prove Hamlet has gone crazy for revenge.

ssrdj #1 Hamlet

Initial reaction: 

In the play “ Hamlet”  the three characters Laertes and Polonius and ophilia reminded me of a similar relationship between my father and brother’s relationship with me.Both men in Hamlet, tell Ophilia of that to think about Hamlet and how to behave by following social norms and Ophilia simply listens to them and follows their advise. Both my brother and my father also do this to me they both share the same sort of norms and therefore, share with me knowledge of how to apply it and what I should think about it, sometimes like Ophilia i do what I am told from them.

Character analysis: 

Horatio is  Hamlet’s friend from college, he is a man of logic. Haratio's fatal flaw in the play “Hamlet” is that when he cannot control the things around him,he begins to stop using his logic and acts on impulse instead. For example to keep the Ghost of the king to stay and talk to them, horatio agrees for Mercelus to stab the ghost with the spare it is only after the ghost has left, Horatio believes now that stabbing the ghost is obtuse for the ghost is air and therefore cannot become injured if stabbed by  a knife.( 1.1 140-143) Although Horatio is a main character he in Aristotle concept he is not a tragic hero, for his only duty in act one is to inform Hamlet of the ghost standing on guard which looks like hamlet’s dead father. Shakespeare uses Horatio as a foil character, to Hamlet. In Act one, both Horatio and Hamlet interact with the ghost yet their encounters with the ghost shows major contrast between the actors. In act 1 Horatio does not believe that the ghost truly exists from what his friends have told him about the ghost they have seen meandering around. (1.1 54-56) In contrast when Horatio informs Hamlet about  the ghost, Hamlet quickly asks Horatio with copious questions of the ghost appearances; Shakespeare uses short sentences throughout Hamlet asking the questions making Hamlet sound hasty. (1.2 227-240) This shows the way he is fast to accept things  and that he acts on impulsive emotion. 

Moreover, when Horatio meets the ghost for the first time his first words to the ghost were regarding the fact of the ghost walking around late at night looking like a dead king dressed for battle as if it were some sort of way to signify the tragedy to Denmark. Where as Hamlet, when he becomes in contact with the ghost, which the ghosts only action so far is entering, Hamlet immediately begins to refer the ghost as “Hamlet senior, King Father” when he first sees it. (1.4. 42-48)  Clearly when contrasted with Horatio, Shakespeare reveals his character Hamlet as a man who thinks through only their emotions rather than logic.

Theme Analysis:

Shakespeare use his main characters, in the play “Hamlet,” to demonstrate Shakespeare’s belief of the humans contain falsehood through appearances. To illustrate, when Gertrude talks to Hamlet about his clothes he is wearing and walking around somber she tells Hamlet to get over his fathers death and every one dies. Hamlet agrees, so then she asks then “ so why does it seem so particular to you?” (1.2 75) Hamlet he disagrees with her use of the word “seems” to describe his feelings towards his fathers death “customary suits of solum black, nor windy susurration of forced breath, nor fruitful river to the eye..together with all forms mood, shapes and grief they can denote me truly. these indeed seem for they are actions that a man might play.”( 1.2 76-86.) Here in this quote he is saying that with how he dresses and places his head down or the sighs he makes for his fathers death, any man can seem as through they are sad by doing these emotions and wearing a particular wardrobe to describe their false feelings. 

SSRDJ #1

Initial reaction: 

In the play “ Hamlet”  the three characters Laertes and Polonius and ophilia reminded me of a similar relationship between my father and brother’s relationship with me.Both men in Hamlet, tell Ophilia of that to think about Hamlet and how to behave by following social norms and Ophilia simply listens to them and follows their advise. Both my brother and my father also do this to me they both share the same sort of norms and therefore, share with me knowledge of how to apply it and what I should think about it, sometimes like Ophilia i do what I am told from them.

Character analysis: 

Horatio is  Hamlet’s friend from college, he is a man of logic. Haratio's fatal flaw in the play “Hamlet” is that when he cannot control the things around him,he begins to stop using his logic and acts on impulse instead. For example to keep the Ghost of the king to stay and talk to them, horatio agrees for Mercelus to stab the ghost with the spare it is only after the ghost has left, Horatio believes now that stabbing the ghost is obtuse for the ghost is air and therefore cannot become injured if stabbed by  a knife.( 1.1 140-143) Although Horatio is a main character he in Aristotle concept he is not a tragic hero, for his only duty in act one is to inform Hamlet of the ghost standing on guard which looks like hamlet’s dead father. Shakespeare uses Horatio as a foil character, to Hamlet. In Act one, both Horatio and Hamlet interact with the ghost yet their encounters with the ghost shows major contrast between the actors. In act 1 Horatio does not believe that the ghost truly exists from what his friends have told him about the ghost they have seen meandering around. (1.1 54-56) In contrast when Horatio informs Hamlet about  the ghost, Hamlet quickly asks Horatio with copious questions of the ghost appearances; Shakespeare uses short sentences throughout Hamlet asking the questions making Hamlet sound hasty. (1.2 227-240) This shows the way he is fast to accept things  and that he acts on impulsive emotion. 

Moreover, when Horatio meets the ghost for the first time his first words to the ghost were regarding the fact of the ghost walking around late at night looking like a dead king dressed for battle as if it were some sort of way to signify the tragedy to Denmark. Where as Hamlet, when he becomes in contact with the ghost, which the ghosts only action so far is entering, Hamlet immediately begins to refer the ghost as “Hamlet senior, King Father” when he first sees it. (1.4. 42-48)  Clearly when contrasted with Horatio, Shakespeare reveals his character Hamlet as a man who thinks through only their emotions rather than logic.

Theme Analysis:

Shakespeare use his main characters, in the play “Hamlet,” to demonstrate Shakespeare’s belief of the humans contain falsehood through appearances. To illustrate, when Gertrude talks to Hamlet about his clothes he is wearing and walking around somber she tells Hamlet to get over his fathers death and every one dies. Hamlet agrees, so then she asks then “ so why does it seem so particular to you?” (1.2 75) Hamlet he disagrees with her use of the word “seems” to describe his feelings towards his fathers death “customary suits of solum black, nor windy susurration of forced breath, nor fruitful river to the eye..together with all forms mood, shapes and grief they can denote me truly. these indeed seem for they are actions that a man might play.”( 1.2 76-86.) Here in this quote he is saying that with how he dresses and places his head down or the sighs he makes for his fathers death, any man can seem as through they are sad by doing these emotions and wearing a particular wardrobe to describe their false feelings. 

Thesis 2: 

Chopin uses the death of  Mr Millard to show the beginning life of his wife:Mrs Millard. To show the relation between a life ending and a life beginning for both characters, Chopin uses the window outside of Mrs Millard’s room to reflect on her internal emotions. The window is filled with liveliness such as the “lovely breath of the rain” and notes of a distance song.”  With the death of her husband, Chopin shows the reader that Mrs Millard is no longer being influenced by the“that blind persistence with which men and woman believe they have the right to impose will upon fellow creature.”    In short, with Mr Millard gone, Mrs Millard no longer obligated to meet the social pressure of being house wife she is free. 

SSRJ#2: Colette

Personal reaction:

  “The Hand” by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette made me feel sad about the idea of  how easily someone can fall out of love for a person. The element which Colette used the best to her abilities that seemed to  the most intriguing to me was the use of  symbolism throughout the short story. It reminds me of my sister who has also known a man for a month yet talking they are discussing marriage.

Literary element: 

In the short story “The Hand,” Colette uses symbolism to her advantage by expressing the idea of being opposed young people rushing into marriage with falsehood idea of what they think their lover is like compared to who they really are. In the story “The Hand” Colette bases the story on a wife who has married a man she has known for a month and through one night she begins to come with the terms that she does not know who she married.In the beginning, the wife is smitten and admiring her husband as he sleeps, as time progresses in the night, Colette makes the character no longer face her new found lover, and the character begins to notice her husband’s repulsive hands. Colette then makes the hand its own individual entity as she uses it, to waking up to the sound of a screeching car. The idea of the hand having its own entity symbolizes a side of the  husband his new wife did not know about. Through out the night, the hand takes shape two times the first one is an ape, apes usually symbolize falsehood, Colette is revealing to her character the man she knows is not the man she loves, and may in fact not be the man who she thinks him to be. Secondly the hand then takes in form of a crab claw, both animals  crab and ape are aggressive creatures this reveals the man is himself a very dominant and aggressive. This aggression can also  be shown when her husband is laying in bed and the hand has a bad dream it “dug into it (the sheets) with its curved fingers, squeezed, squeezed with the methodical pleasure of  a strangler.” This startles the woman showing as she says Oh! the exclamation shows she has not seen this behavior in her husband.

Questions and comments:

Did any of you guys get the vibe that the husband killed his former wife?

SRJ: Straight #1:

Personal Reaction :    

The short story " Mines" by Susan Straight, made me feel sympathetic for adults who are divorced and have to play the role of both the woman and man of the household. Of the short story, one part that protruded out of the context, is the characters in the story, although the main character suppressed her unhappiness among her peers about playing two roles in her life, the characters around her symbolize and bring out her true feelings that revels the main character’s true feelings about her predicament.

Reading this short story it made me think of my father who played both as the mother and father of the household, although he was gone most of the time at work, he still tried to make time for us now after I read this story, I honestly cant figure out how he managed to work and come home and cook as well as put us to bed.

Literary element: 

To illustrate the struggles of divorced parents being both the provider and the house wife, Straight uses Clarette the main character’s possessions as well as friends in the short story to unsurpress her feelings about being the provider and the house wife of her household. For instance, when it comes to money, it is clear she is struggling to make enough to support her family. Through out the story, she keeps track of money an object is worth such as when she brakes when the purple plastic phone, she exclaimed that it costs five dollars and ninety nine cents. Moreover, the character while washing her daughter’s old Navy capris she stated: “ one trip to Old Navy in spring, one in fall all I can afford.” By keeping a list on how much items cost, and that she can only afford to provide her children clothes two times a year reflects how very little income she makes to support her family.

As for the characters in the story they reveal some of  Clarette’s feelings about herself and her children. For example, when Clarette sees her friend Tika’s lipstick upon seeing the lipstick Clarette quickly convinces herself that she does not have time to make herself look decent because she is running around doing chores and trying to make a sustainable income for her family. As well as Alfonso in the story represents her children, even though he is essentially not her child she puts the burden on herself to watch out for Alfonso to make sure he is safe. In the end of the story she, sacrifices her safety for him by fighting off his prison mates that are crowding and fighting him, this shows that he like her children she has made sacrifices for them.

Questions and comments:

Whats the relationship of the Ray Junior and his father? Why is Ray Junior hiding things from his father?

Hey all students of english class!!!
 This is Kasandra Vargas's  blog spot, and welcome. I'm hoping to have a lot of fun discussions, and if you don't recognize the name from the class then I shall be miss piggy for all the whole semester causing confusion amoung all students in the class room mwahahahaha! >:D