DRJ# 4

DRJ 4; Hamlet Acts 4&5

Initial Reaction:
Acts 4 and 5 reminded me of all the Shakespeare dramas I've read. In the end, everyone ends up dead.  Usually the hero has to die and the person to live to tell the story is the best friend or a foil character. Like in Braveheart or Troy. I was confused in what was going on when Hamlet was talking to the gravedigger. Reading Hamlet for a second time, I have reached different meanings of the story and can appreciate it better.
Character Analysis:
Gertrude was an interesting character. She was an antagonist like Claudius because she seemed to be on his side more than wanting to be there for Hamlet. She didn't waste a minute in telling Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius and he was an insane person. She never speaks up for him. Since the beginning of the play, she ignores Hamlet's sadness for his father and wants him to quickly forget and accept Claudius as his father. Hamlet lost his respect for Gertrude because of her wrongdoings. I think Gertrude feels remorseful for the mess she's caused but feels like she is too far deep in the hole there is no way to make things right again with her son. When we are in the middle of making mistakes, we sometimes don't think about the long term conflicts that will arise. Gertrude was not expecting her son to turn away and her life ending because of her disloyalty to her ex-husband and son.
Theme Analysis:
Shakespeare creates a gloomy mood throughout the scenes and characters to make a point of time and mortality. "Death is strict in his arrest." (5.2.337) Shakespeare concludes with this quote that Hamlet had to use his time wisely because death could come at anytime in any form. Ophelia's time was cut short and she never got to find out if Hamlet's affection for her was real or not. Hamlet truly confessed his love for her after he found out she had died. It was too late. Hamlet did not get to tell the true story of his father's demise before he got stabbed by Laertes and Gertrude dies at the moment when she finally shows compassion and care for her son. "The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet." (5.2.284). While we are alive, we have to live our lives to the fullest and grab everything we want to get out of life because death can spring out at anytime.

DRJ #3

DRJ 3: Hamlet, Act 3

Initial Reaction:

My mind couldn’t bring up a movie that reminded me of Act 3 and I don’t know anyone who acts like the characters. However Act 3 was full of surprises. Such as Hamlet’s change of heart towards Ophelia and Polonius getting stabbed by Hamlet.

Character Analysis:

I would like to talk about Ophelia for this character analysis because I think this is where she started going crazy (before she found out her father died). I see Ophelia as a supporting character because she is Hamlet’s love interest and the fact that Polonius and Laertes use her to spy on someone she loves shows that she has a certain affect on Hamlet that can make or break him. I think Ophelia brings the good and hope out of Hamlet but he believes those values are for cowards.  In Act 3, Hamlet realizes that in order to become inhumane person he must forget all the emotions that make him human, such as love. Ophelia tries to oppose his rejection but she is to no avail. Her heart is broken after Hamlet says all these cruel things to her and professes that he fell in a trap when he met her. “Oh, woe is me, T’ have seen what I have seen, see what I see!” (3.1.161)

Theme Analysis:

I think the main theme in this Act is guilt and Shakespeare uses denouement to unravel the guilt that his characters are feeling and start to portray to others around them. For example, the play that Hamlet set up for the King and Queen was meant to find out the truth of who killed his father. “One scene of it comes near the circumstance which I have told thee of my father’s death. Observe my uncle…” (3.2.69-73). Claudius’ reaction to the play solves the assumption to Hamlet and he is ready to get revenge. Hamlet has a talk with his mother and calls her out for wrongdoings as well. “Mother, you have my father much offended.” (3.4.11) Gertrude was not expecting Hamlet to make her come clean about her adultery and it gave Hamlet a justification to kill her. Polonius is guilty of so many things but mainly for being a busybody. Hamlet resolves that problem by stabbing him on mistake thinking it was Claudius behind the curtain. Hamlet also feels guilt about waiting to take revenge when he sees his father’s ghost again while talking to Gertrude. “Do you not come your tardy son to chide…” (3.4.108). Even the ghost is watching Hamlet as he prolongs the resolution to his father’s death and it makes Hamlet feel guilty that he has not already taking his place.  

DRJ#2

DRJ#2: Hamlet, Act 2:

Initial Reaction:

I liked this act better than the first act. It starts to get more interesting now that I start to see Hamlet’s plan begin to take effect. I find it interesting how Polonius wants to know everything that Laertes is up to while away in Paris. He is like a father who wants to keep tabs on his child in college and making sure more learning is going on instead of partying.

Character Analysis:

Claudius is the major antagonist in this play. He wants his brother’s power, money, family, and life which led him to murdering his brother. Claudius also wants to keep Hamlet from becoming king by ruining Hamlet’s reputation. He gives everybody the idea that Hamlet has gone crazy because of his strange actions.

Theme Analysis:

Shakespeare wants to tell his readers that what goes around always comes around when it comes to acts of deceit. He uses the protagonist, Hamlet, as an approach to turn the tables on the antagonist, Claudius. Claudius thinks he will never be found out for killing his brother but little does he know that Hamlet is aware and is working on his revenge. “The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” (583-584)

DRJ #1

DRJ #1: Hamlet, Act 1:

Initial Reaction:

Reading Act 1 of Hamlet made one particular movie stand out, The Lion King. They both are alike in that a son has to regain power of his kingdom and avenge his father’s death. Like the ghost of King Hamlet who commanded Hamlet to kill his brother that murdered him, Mufasa reminded Simba to go back and fight for his place in the throne and to step up as the true king. The line King Hamlet’s ghost said, “Remember me,” (1.5.92) sounded like the scene in The Lion King when Simba sees his father in the clouds.

Character Analysis:  

The protagonist is of course Hamlet. He is the prince of Denmark and the true king to the throne. However his place was taken by his uncle Claudius. I believe at first that Hamlet feels deceived by his uncle but after he gains a vision from his father’s ghost then he feels like he should deceive others in order to get revenge. At this point in the story Hamlet does fit the criteria of the tragic hero. He is of noble birth and is generally virtuous. He mourns the most for his father’s death than his own mother, Claudius, and the whole kingdom.

Theme Analysis:

Shakespeare uses irony to shed light on the dark side of family ties. The meaning of family can be put aside when lust and power overcome you. Claudius and Gertrude screwed up the family by sleeping together and murdering King Hamlet. It is ironic that Claudius and King Hamlet are brothers but are nothing alike and Claudius turns out to be the enemy of his brother and nephew. “But no more like my father than I to Hercules.” (1.2.152-153)

Chopin Thesis Activity

Thesis#2

The whole time Chopin keeps Mrs. Mallard locked up in the room gives her the opportunity to finally see the beginning of a new life just by looking out the window. “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.” Spring relates to beginning anew and the start of life. This is what Mrs. Mallard had been missing feeling nonexistent in her marriage. “…whose lines bespoke repression…but now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky.” Chopin compares Mrs. Mallard depressed state to the beautiful images of nature. This makes her come alive once again.

SSRJ#2: Colette

SSRJ #2: Colette

Initial Personal Reaction:
  Before reading this story I wasn't expecting it to be about a man's hand going crazy in his sleep. It completely put me in a loop when the wife was shocked at the reaction she was witnessing and how it changed her attitude about him...just by him sleeping. I felt sorry for her because she was now living in fear. She probably was in fear already for getting married to someone she barely knew but know she is unsure about what kind of person he really is. It made me think about how my husband sometimes jolts in his sleep and I watch him to make sure he is okay or just incase I need to wake him up from a nightmare but it doesn't make me afraid of him though.
Literary Element/Thematic Analysis:
  Colette uses symbolism to magnitize domestic violence in her short story "The Hand." Alot of the time, marriages back in the 1920's were seen as a business and the husband was the boss. The wives were taught and raised to be submissive to their husbands. So much, in fact, that standing up to their husbands could result in a physical beating. Husbands always had the upper hand and they made sure to constantly remind their wives of that. Even though Colette didn't mention that the young bride had been a victim of physical abuse by her husband, she hid the idea behind the hand of the husband and how violently he reacted in his sleep. A wife knows the power of her husband if she has ever been hit by him. So as the woman in the story sees his hand jolt in a strange way she becomes afraid of him and that to me shows how Colette symbolizes how women were afraid of being struck by their husbands. Colette brillently describes how the husband's hand looks scary and vile to portray the reality of a marriage behind close doors.
Questions/Comments:
  I think since the husband was a widow he was dreaming about his wife that he either killed or she just passed away. What do you think his nightmare was about?

SSRJ #1: Straight

Initial Personal Reaction:
  This story was graphic to me and it made me feel sad for Clarette and how tough her life was. At first I thought she hated her life but once I got to the end I read it over a few more times did I start to understand that she was tired of the same thing happening around her community. Also she was trying to keep the streets away from her kids because she didn't want to see them go down the road like all the young inmates at the prison she worked at were going. What struck out to me was that a Caucassion author was writing about an African American woman and she was really descriptive in their culture. Like how they go to shops and get their hair braided. Which goes to show it doesn't have to be a African American that can only relate to another African American. It just depends on where you were raised and the people you were always around. Straight grew up amongst African Americans and has an African American husband. I have cousins and friends who are like the men that Staright describes. They carry a certain image about themselves that comes off as being street smart and tough. This story made me think about them because some of them do get in trouble with the law and it was because they let their image get the best of them.

Literary Element/Thematic Analysis:
  Straight creates a sense of tone in "Mine" in the way she has Clarette, the narrator in the story, critically describe her job, the inmates at the jail she works at, and the people she interacts with everyday. She uses words of anger and disgust when she describes the tattoos of all the inmates and how they wear their clothes. She is constantly criticizing the culture of the younger generation. Like how her son's hair looks like Ice Cube, which is a rapper who is seen as a tough guy from the hood. Or comparing all the inmates to dogs because they have tattoos wrapped around their arms and necks like collars. Straight suggests that their is a pattern that keeps the young people in a "stay in trouble" mentality. Whereas Clarette wants to keep her kids out of the norm and get them to behave in a civilized or educated sort of way. Which is why she wants to see Ray Jr. learn how to play the piano instead of getting into fights at school. Straight uses tone to give Clarette a sound that is sort of calling out for help that the rough life of the streets does not reach her kids.

Questions/Comments:
  I had a hard time trying to find a signficance for the title of the story. To me it is called "Mines" because Clarette was describing everything that made up her own world. Anyone else have another interpretation of the title?

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