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?