"I know so well what becomes of unmarried woman who aren't prepared to occupy a position. I've seen such pitiful cases in the South - barely tolerated spinsters living upon the grudging patronage of sister's husband or brother's wife! - stuck away in some little mousetrap of a room - encouraged by one in-law to visit another - little birdlike women without any nest - eating the crust of humility all their life!
Is that the future that we've mapped out for ourselves? I swear it's the only alternative I can think of! [She pauses.] It isn't a very pleasant alternative, is it? [She pauses again.] Of course - some girls do marry." (2.34, Amanda).
The mother daughter relationship in this play is sickening. How do you forget that your daughter is physically and mentally handicapped? She's obviously not going to lead a normal life. Marriage is not a duty, but a gift that is optional in women's lives. Ruth and Amanda will be just find without a gentleman caller. This is only encouraging the young girl to derrive all of her self-esteem from male attention, which will in turn cause her to have low self esteem. Marriage isn't for everyone, but it has to be in this family because all of the pretty and popular girls are doing it. It's all so cliche and petty.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Glass Minagerie 2
"Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things u p my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." (1.1, Tom).
Tom's honesty from the start is admirable. He knows he won't retell the story perfectly, but the emotions will be conveyed. I enjoyed how real Tom's narration felt because of this speech. While his family is pretty far fetched, his emotions are not. It's typical for a young boy to feel abandoned or unloved, but it is rare for that same boy to have a dillusional mother and an impaired sister. However, the mom's mental capacity and the sisters physical capacity were minor details in the play. The emotion really carries the reader from scene to scene.
Tom's honesty from the start is admirable. He knows he won't retell the story perfectly, but the emotions will be conveyed. I enjoyed how real Tom's narration felt because of this speech. While his family is pretty far fetched, his emotions are not. It's typical for a young boy to feel abandoned or unloved, but it is rare for that same boy to have a dillusional mother and an impaired sister. However, the mom's mental capacity and the sisters physical capacity were minor details in the play. The emotion really carries the reader from scene to scene.
Glass Minagerie 1
"House, house! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to—" (3.17, Tom).
Tom doesn't feel at home at his own house throughout the play, and it quickly becomes a major conflict. Tom has wasted his childhood in order to support his mother and sister, and gets no thanks for his sacrifices. He is enslaved to his mother. Tom is at an age of exploration, but his mother has cut his dreams down. This scene foreshadows Tom's departure. We can assume arguments like this one happened frequently. Tom wanted to spread his wings and fly, but his home cut his wings right off. It's interesting to see how long it took him to leave though, as if he felt indebted to his family.
Tom doesn't feel at home at his own house throughout the play, and it quickly becomes a major conflict. Tom has wasted his childhood in order to support his mother and sister, and gets no thanks for his sacrifices. He is enslaved to his mother. Tom is at an age of exploration, but his mother has cut his dreams down. This scene foreshadows Tom's departure. We can assume arguments like this one happened frequently. Tom wanted to spread his wings and fly, but his home cut his wings right off. It's interesting to see how long it took him to leave though, as if he felt indebted to his family.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
As You Like it 3
"I know you are my eldest brother: and in the gentle condition of blood, you should so know me. The courtesy of nations allows you my better in that you are the first-born; but the same tradition takes not away my blood, were there twenty brothers betwixt us: I have as much of my father in me as you, albeit; I confess, your coming before me is nearer to his reverence." (I.i)
Look who has the last laugh, Oliver! Just because you're the older brother doesn't mean you can be a jerk. Yes, you normally get to inherit your father's position, but that doesn't make your little brother garbage. Oliver feels a sense of entitlement, while Orlando just wants some respect. Orlando wants Oliver to realize that family treats eachother better than that. Unfortunately, Oliver was just to cruel in the beginning so I knew he would convert and learn to love Orlando. However there was a throller in the end when Orlando gets the Duke's land and title. Can royals really just choose which son gets it? I always thought it had to be succession. Anyway, it is a perfect example of karma. I just wish Oliver wouldn't have been alright with his father's decision. Atleast one character needs to have a sad ending in every piece of literature.
Look who has the last laugh, Oliver! Just because you're the older brother doesn't mean you can be a jerk. Yes, you normally get to inherit your father's position, but that doesn't make your little brother garbage. Oliver feels a sense of entitlement, while Orlando just wants some respect. Orlando wants Oliver to realize that family treats eachother better than that. Unfortunately, Oliver was just to cruel in the beginning so I knew he would convert and learn to love Orlando. However there was a throller in the end when Orlando gets the Duke's land and title. Can royals really just choose which son gets it? I always thought it had to be succession. Anyway, it is a perfect example of karma. I just wish Oliver wouldn't have been alright with his father's decision. Atleast one character needs to have a sad ending in every piece of literature.
As You Like it 2
"Men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives." (4.1.154)
To be honest, I was a little taken back my all of the weddings, and fake weddings throughout this play. People do not coincidentally all find their true love that quickly at the same time. Then I decided that the marriages had to be symbolic of something because this is literature. According to the quote, men are blossoming and new when they are searching for Mrs. Right, but cold when they get married while women also start out bright and cheery but change for the worst because of marriages. I think this means in a nutshell that marriages force people to grow up. With that in mind, Shakespeare is merely making all of his characters grow up and become mature. Marriage opens another chapter in a couples life just as December brings about the new year. These people don't need to be silly anymore because they've found love.
To be honest, I was a little taken back my all of the weddings, and fake weddings throughout this play. People do not coincidentally all find their true love that quickly at the same time. Then I decided that the marriages had to be symbolic of something because this is literature. According to the quote, men are blossoming and new when they are searching for Mrs. Right, but cold when they get married while women also start out bright and cheery but change for the worst because of marriages. I think this means in a nutshell that marriages force people to grow up. With that in mind, Shakespeare is merely making all of his characters grow up and become mature. Marriage opens another chapter in a couples life just as December brings about the new year. These people don't need to be silly anymore because they've found love.
As You Like it 1
"Always the dullness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits." (1.2.59)
This "comedy" isn't very funny at all, so I was thinking maybe Shakespeare had a weird sense of humor. Mass marriages just aren't very funny. Cross dressing doesn't make me laugh. Sexual innuendos lose their hilarity after age thirteen. This is not how I like it, Shakespeare. I feel like this play is only a comedy because it's technically not a tragedy and it had to be something. In the absence of death, everything is funny I suppose. It's a sick world out there. I was just hoping for some good, clean old time humor, but I'm coming to learn that there isn't such a thing.
This "comedy" isn't very funny at all, so I was thinking maybe Shakespeare had a weird sense of humor. Mass marriages just aren't very funny. Cross dressing doesn't make me laugh. Sexual innuendos lose their hilarity after age thirteen. This is not how I like it, Shakespeare. I feel like this play is only a comedy because it's technically not a tragedy and it had to be something. In the absence of death, everything is funny I suppose. It's a sick world out there. I was just hoping for some good, clean old time humor, but I'm coming to learn that there isn't such a thing.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Reflective Essay
Certain themes have entertained people throughout the ages. These themes create works that are considered to be classic or timeless. Interestingly enough, most works of literature, entertainment, and music share the same base theme based on popularity of older works. Themes, like jealousy and manipulation are key components of many works because they create conflict amongst characters that will forevermore evoke a great response in most audiences. Othello, in particular, portrays the destructive ability of manipulation and jealousy on love. Although they are more modern, the movie Mean Girls, and the song Suspicions by Tim McGraw mirror the Shakespearean tragedy Othello by having common themes of being manipulated into being jealous of a very close companion.
In Mean Girls, best friends turn against each other when a new girl comes to town and tests their relationship. With Cady’s help, Gretchen realizes that she is just as desirable as Regina and Regina must be taken down. “Gretchen Wieners had cracked” (Mean Girls). Gretchen never would have thought to question Regina if it were not for Cady just as Othello would not have been suspicious of Desdemona if it were not for Iago. Iago knew that Cassio had a “smooth dispose” (I.iii.397) and because Othello was” of a free and open nature” (I.iii.399), it would be easy to deceive him. This kind of manipulation creates the central conflict in both pieces. Without the manipulation, neither Regina nor Othello would have become jealous, their relationships would have remained perfect, and both works would have been utterly boring and ultimately forgettable.
Similarly, In Suspicions (Suspicions by Tim Mcgraw Lyrics), Tim McGraw can’t shake the thought of infidelity. Their love cannot grow because Tim “just know(s) what's on every man's mind” (McGraw). Once unfaithfulness is implanted in someone’s mind it is nearly impossible to move on from the thought. Othello leads himself to kill his own beloved wife, while Tim merely hate(s) (himself) for what (he’s) thinkin' of” (McGraw). While the extreme jealousy is an indication of the extraordinary love that these men have for their women, but it ultimately leads to their self-destruction. Also, neither man came up with their suspicions on their own, but was deceived into becoming critical of their relationship and coming to the conclusion that their lover was unfaithful. An outside force destroyed their love to the point that “she must die, else she'll betray more men” (V.ii.1-7).
A perfect mix of manipulation and jealousy make plays, movies, and songs both entertaining and timeless. Othello was just a start to a never ending line of movies with these themes. Shakespeare’s brilliance paved the way for some of the best chick flicks and country blues ballads of every other time period. The play is so timeless because its conflicts are so relatable. Unfortunately, people will always be able to relate to being manipulated, and being jealous. Jealousy will always make an audience sympathetic while manipulation will always make the audience empathetic. Shakespeare may have lived hundreds of years ago, but his almost psychic ability to tap into such controversial themes of modern society will help Othello remain a spectacular and frequently studied piece of literature.Works Cited
McGraw, Tim. ”Suspicions”. Let it Go. Curb, 2004. CD.
Mean Girls. Dir. Mark S. Waters. Perf. Lindsay Lohan, Rachel
McAdams, and Tina Fey. Paramount, 2004. Film.
Perrine, Laurence. Othello. 2002. Perrine's Literature:Structure, Sound, and Sense. Fort Worth: Harcourt College. 1361-462. Print.
Rihanna- California King Bed Lyrics
My song, California King Bed by Rihanna, from the point of view of Othello perfectly describes a decaying romance while hints at a little bit of irony. While I'm sure that the song wasn't written with Othello in mind, it still fits. Rihanna sings about how while she is romantically involved with someone, she feels like the love in the relationship is gone just as Othello, for a short time, is married to Desdemona but questions her love for him. In the bridge Rihanna refuses to question the man about his love for her just as Othello resorts to killing to Desdemona instead of asking her if she was cheating. Both Rihanna and Othello associate showing emotion as weakness, but both are filled with emotion.Also in the bridge, Rihanna has moments where she can feel the love but it almost makes her even more upset just as Othello was distraught just before he killed Desdemona because she was being so calm and faithful to him. On the ironic side of things, the song describes how a couple feels distant while laying on a bed. Now, I believe that one person being dead on the bed while the other if alive and murdering is just about as distant as it gets. Othello and Desdemona were separated by death, and I am pretty sure that death constitutes for more than ten thousand miles.
"Just when I felt like giving up on us, You turned around and gave me one last touch That made everything feel better And even then my eyes got wetter. So confused, when I asked you if you love me But I don't wanna seem so weak Maybe I've been California dreaming"
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