Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Malcolm X

The chapter entitled ‘Homeboy’ in the Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley offers intriguing aspects of how Malcolm X transforms his physical appearance when he moves to Boston. In Boston Malcolm is exposed to the different lifestyles black folk have adopted. Malcolm’s most defining moment in Boston occurs when he makes a conscious decision to separate himself from the ‘Hill’ negroes in Roxbury by associating more with “negroes who were being their natural selves and not putting on airs” (Autobiography, 43). Among these less uppity negroes Malcolm befriends a man named Shorty, who introduces Malcolm to the ‘conking’ process whereby Malcolm’s kinky reddish hair is made to look more straight and shiny. As ‘Homeboy’ nears an end, however, Malcolm is quick to voice his disgust about his decision to change his hair’s texture. He claims it is his “first real step towards self-degradation” (Autobiography, 54). Indeed his conk is representative of a type of self-deterioration because it reflects Malcolm’s inward desire to identify with his white oppressor as well as it reveals his own mental inferiority about being black.

However, Malcolm’s analysis of his conk is often contended. In fact it is insisted by many that the conk was instead part of a black youth fashion that was in style in the 1940’s. Robin D. G. Kelley clearly illustrates this opinion in his book titled “The Riddle of the Zoot: Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics During World War II” when he states, “Malcolm’s interpretation of the conk, however, conveniently separates the hairstyle from the subculture of which it was a part and the social context in which such cultural forms were created” (161). Hence it is argued that the conk should not exist isolation from the zoot suit, the orange shoes or the hipster language. The conk was an important asset of the swanky dress that “young hep cats” (Kelley, 162) wore to the Roseland Ballroom to partake in the numerous lindy-hopping dance competitions. Essentially the conk represented the manifestation of a particular black urban identity that was popular in that era.

Alternately, when viewing the conk from Malcolm’s perspective, it was physical expression of how Malcolm subconsciously needed to embody the white man’s image. In his childhood years, Malcolm perceived the white man as a personification of freedom and control. After his father’s unfortunate death, Malcolm witnessed white welfare workers destroy his family unit. Malcolm observed that the people who monopolized the control of the detention home, the Swerlins, were white. The owner of the restaurant, where he was first employed as a dishwasher, was also white. Even the teachers at the school he attended in Mason were white. Thus as a child, Malcolm was constantly surrounded by white people who held power and authority within the immediate society. Conking provided Malcolm with a “smooth sheen of shining red hair – real red – as straight as any white man’s” (Autobiography, 64). When he altered his hair’s texture, Malcolm thereby acquired a mistaken sense of self-liberty. He now resembled the white man. He could now emulate the white man’s superiority and dominance which he learned as a young boy. This imitation was specifically demonstrated when Malcolm displayed and pursued his affinity for Sophia, a white woman. However such mentality overshadowed Malcolm’s true character and contributed to his own denigration of self.

Somewhat similar to the ‘Hill’ negroes, Malcolm had his own inadequacies about his black complexion. Again with reference to his early years Malcolm was taught that blacks were inferior and often viewed as pariahs in their own communities. In chapter two of his autobiography Malcolm’s recall of his encounter with his English teacher Mr. Ostrowski, demonstrated how Malcolm was subjected to believing that he would never truly succeed despite his advanced intellectual ability. With such ideas cultured in his thinking, Malcolm’s conk provided an avenue where he felt he could physically equate himself and thus gain acceptance among the white society. As Farah Jasmine Griffin so correctly states in her book, “Who Set you Flowin’?: The African-American Migration Narrative”, “As long as he is willing to undergo this process, he is not willing to reject the standards of white society”(137). Thus the conk, the fundamental symbol of Malcolm’s self-hate and ignorance, stifles his ability to envision himself as different to the white man.

Although initially Malcolm regrets that he subjected himself to the painful conking process, it was basically his first understanding of how the white man conquered the black masses. Understanding his own frame of mind at that stage in his life granted him insight as to how blacks literally became brainwashed and deluded by the white influences within their society. Malcolm himself had physically experienced this mental oppression. Hence later in his lifetime, as an advocate for black empowerment within the nation of Islam, Malcolm X showed extreme communicative competence and skill in convincing his followers that black supremacy was the key to independence from the white man’s dominion.

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The Catcher in the Rye

Jerome David (J.D.) Salinger was born on New Years Day 1919, in New York City. Born into a wealthy family Salinger grew up in a fashionable neighborhood in Manhattan. He attended a number of colleges, but did not graduate from any. However, he always excelled in his creative writing classes. Salinger joined the army and fought in Europe. While fighting he kept on writing, and upon his return to the United States he published many of his writings, and his only full-length novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Other novels by J.D. Salinger include Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters and Seymour, An Introduction, Nine Stories, I’m Crazy, and many more.

The setting of the novel starts out at the private boys school Pencey Prep, which to Holden is a very discomforting place to live. To Holden, this school represents “phoniness”, and brings up nothing but “phony”, cruel people. He feels as if the school is misleading, and over-exaggerates the school into sounding like something it is not. Once the setting moves on, Holden travels to a more livelier, less hostile place, New York City, between the 1940’s and 1950’s. In the novel, Holden does not give a very detailed or good description of any place he has been in, but he does however thoroughly describe the places he loves, and feels the beauty. He often described the showcases at the museum of Natural History, or the carousal in Central Park. Everything that Holden described happened to him and affected him happened over a two-day period, years before this story is told.

Holden Caulfield is narrator of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. He tells the story from a mental institute in Southern California. Holden is trying to tell the reader about the events that took place over a 2-day period the previous December. He begins his story by recalling failing out of his elite prep school, Pencey Prep, and often adds in the other many schools he has failed out of. After he was told of failing out of Pencey Prep, Holden decided to set off for New York, and take a “vacation” before going back home. During his “vacation”, Holden explains symptoms of impulsive spending, depression, social inactivity, and sexuality problems, prior to his eventual nervous collapse.

Holden is very sensitive, and often feels the impulse to help and protect others. Not so much the strong and the bold, but the innocent and the weak, especially children. He is drawn to people who represent innocence, and are unique. Holden has trouble growing up, and he wish’s he could stay a child forever, with no worries, since growing up removes him and others from innocence. He is also quite intelligent, but fails out of schools because of his lack of motivation. Holden feels as if school is just another part of the “phony” world around him in which he wants no part of. Holden is also very confused when it comes to sexuality, and religion that adds to his nervous breakdown.

Phoebe is Holden’s ten-year-old sister, and best friend. Holden feels that Phoebe is the most trustworthy link in his family, and that he can tell her just about anything. Phoebe is very pretty, smart, and mature for her age. However, he often forgets that she is only ten-years-old, asking her to sneak out or do something that would be inappropriate for her age. She often gives Holden much advice and is helpful to him. She has red hair, and is “roller skate skinny”. Her favorite movie is The 39 Steps, and has memorized it word by word. Elephants also fascinate Phoebe. Although she can see right through Holden, she does not understand his darker thoughts. When she finds out Holden’s true passion in life, all she can say is “Daddy’s going to kill you”. However, Phoebe helps Holden realize that kids and people need to grow up. To do that, they need to take chances, and to “grab the gold ring”. She also helped Holden realize that in order to grow up they need freedom, not someone guiding them along step by step, but to let go, even though they may fall.

Allie was Holden’s close friend growing up. He and Allie had some kind of connection, almost telepathically, sensing each other wherever they were. Although Allie has been dead for three years now, Holden often thought of him, and spoke to him when he felt overwhelmed. Allie died of leukemia on July 18, 1946 at the age of eleven. Holden often spoke of Allie as the “most intelligent” and “nicest” person in the family. Although Allie was a ghost and mystic presence throughout the novel he represented hope, death, and innocence. He gave hope to Holden by leaving him his old baseball glove, in which he wrote poems all over it. This was very inspirational to Holden. Allie represented death, by dying in 1946 leaving Holden with great pain, hurt, and sorrow. He also he represented innocence in his short, yet good life.

Jane Gallagher was the girl Holden had always remembered and had feelings for. He often thought about her, especially after his roommate (Stradlater) took her on a date. He remembered her as the sweet girl he used to play checkers with, hold hands with, and comfort when she was distressed. Holden Also admires Phoebe, his sister and most trusted friend. He often confides in Phoebe, and shares his dreams with her. Holden often spoke about Jane and Phoebe and loved them for their innocence. As the novel The Catcher in the Rye’s title indicates, the dominating theme of this book is the protection of innocence, especially young children. “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.” Holden saw innocence as the moral asset to life.

“Phony”, which is probably the most used phrase and word from the novel The Great Expectations plays a large part in the plot itself. “Phony” in Holden’s terms is an explanation for everything that is wrong in the world around him, and just another excuse to withdraw himself from it. Holden is so judgmental, that he spends most of his time looking for “phoniness” in others, and does not see the “phoniness” within himself. He admits that he is a compulsive liar and is often sneaking around pretending to be older than he really is. Holden wants us to believe that almost the whole world is phony and most people are trying to be something their not, except for him.

Death is a constant theme throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Holden often mourns over the death of his late brother Allie. When Holden feels alone, or hurt, he often speaks to Allie. Holden frequently wishes that Allie could be alive again, living life with him, and is haunted by the thought of Allie in the graveyard surrounded by dead people and tombstones. Holden also wishes that life could just freeze, and everything could just stay as beautiful as it is. He also associates death with growing up, which causes him to reject life, growing up, and he tries to fight the biological clock. Holden loved the museum of Natural History. He thought, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move …. Nobody'd be different.” He loved this museum because nothing changed, almost like the clocked stopped, helping to enable him from change, and death.

Our world today doesn’t often touch on such a sensitive subject such as loners, and loneliness. People nowadays are often disclosed from groups, and cliques because of their ethnicity, background, or looks. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye Holden describes his loneliness as if others do not except just because of his views on the world, or he is lonely because he wants to protect himself from being hurt. Being a loner, or loser often relates to other problems and disorders, such as nervous breakdowns, depression, and suicide. Also if the person decides to take their loneliness into someone else’s hands it can turn to homicide. This is such a sensitive subject cause many people do not want to believe that they make others or make themselves feel this way.

The novel The Catcher in the Rye, however, I don’t think I fully understood it. The story jumped around a lot, from one subject to the other, and if it weren’t so pessimistic, it would have been much better. Although the upside to the book is it is different from many books I read. I enjoyed how it only focused on one character, and traced him as the story progressed, and I could see how he had changed. But over all I quite enjoyed this novel, and I wouldn’t have chosen a different one.

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Macbeth

Introduction
An immediate contrast between Shakespeare’s original version of the opening scene of Macbeth and Polanski’s film adaptation is the difference of the times in which each of the versions was produced. Shakespeare wrote and staged his production for a 17th Century audience whereas Polanski produced his film for a more sophisticated audience in which he had to translate the scenes using a variety of techniques, and this proved a huge advantage. Polanski was able to explore a character in a way in which it was impossible to do on stage. Film is obviously more advanced than techniques in Shakespeare’s time, and then again a modern day audience would find it harder to relate to as this scene we do not believe in the influence of witchcraft so strongly any more. A 17th Century audience would have a far better grip and understanding of the play as its themes were relevant to the topical issues of the day. This is why modern day directors must create new ideas to portray Shakespeare’s plays, so that people can relate to them.

Shakespeare found himself writing in times where witchcraft was seen to be a very common practise arousing a great deal of speculation and fear. Hundreds of people were executed because it was thought they were practising witchcraft. Thus by introducing the theme of witchcraft in the opening scene Shakespeare was able to capture the imagination of his audience. Film directors like Polanski who are attempting to translate Shakespeare’s themes for a modern day audience must use a variety of techniques to convey the atmosphere of the original. Any director who is wishing to create his own production of Macbeth must create an atmosphere for the scene, setting an ominous mood which will grab an audience’s attention.

Polanski had a definite advantage over Shakespeare because a film scene such as this one is so difficult to recreate on stage. This raises the question of what Shakespeare could actually do? There was no television in those days, he made the most out of what he had. Shakespeare’s sound and visual effects were simple and primitive and other than this he could do no more to create the atmosphere specified as the play was performed in the hours of daylight.

Setting
Shakespeare’s setting is described as an ‘open place’ with thunder and lightning in the background However, in Polanski’s film the opening scene is set on an open desolate beach with the tide out and the sand expanding into the horizon. Cliffs which run alongside the beach contradict the feeling of openness perhaps echoing one of the themes of the play, that of contradiction. We notice at the start of Polanski’s film there is a lone bird in the sky. This could represent a sign of normal life compared to the abnormality of what is about to occur. Shakespeare’s use of thunder and lightning in the scene is significant as in superstitious times it was believed that fierce storms released forces of evil, and were omens of unrest in individual people and even whole countries. Polanski however, chooses to open his scene with a red sky which acts as a warning, predicting bad weather, a sign that would be familiar to a modern audience.

In this way Polanski seems to subtly suggest the disruption which is to follow in Scotland due to the murder of the rightful king by his kinsman Macbeth. His approach is original and the landscape he chooses suggests that no living person should be able to survive in such surroundings and conditions making the environment seem at once both realistic and yet set apart from the everyday world. The scene ends with fog which thickens and obscures the landscape. This appears to refer to an occasion later on in the play when Lady Macbeth asks in scene 5 for, ‘thick night to pall in the dunnest smoke of hell’, calling on the powers of darkness and evil to help her plot Duncan’s murder. This leaves the viewer with a sense of uneasiness and draws us into a world of intrigue which is mysterious and yet somehow believable.

In contrast the seventeenth century Shakespeare could do very little about creating scenery and the only use of colour was when the stage was draped in black to represent tragedy, therefore he concentrated on language and dramatic effectiveness with simple easily recognisable effects.

Sound and Music
The sound and music which is used in Polanski’s film is very different from that which Shakespeare would have used in his production. Shakespeare’s ‘thunder and lightning’ recreated using a large drum or by banging implements together was effective in the seventeenth century as it was immediately identifiable as a sign of evil, due to the belief that fierce storms released or were caused by forces of evil. Nowadays the idea of witchcraft is mocked because people are far less superstitious. We do not associate thunder and lightning with evil the way a seventeenth century audience did. It is necessary therefore for directors today to use far more striking effects to catch the attention of the audience.

Polanski uses silence to create tension and interrupts this with a series of disturbing sounds. In Polanski’s film, the cry of a gull flying over the beach suggests the disruption of silence that would otherwise prevail on the deserted beach. Also to be heard is a distant scream which is an effective technique in unsettling the viewer before revealing the witches. Also if we listen carefully to the witches, one of them has a wheezing cough which is perhaps a sign of disease or death. As well as this there is a creaking noise heard coming from the cart the three witches use to transport the ingredients of their strange spell.

We also notice one particular tune played at intervals throughout the film which has an odd tuneless discordant effect suggestive of bagpipes which reinforces the Scottish theme of the play as well as suggesting distortion and evil. This has a dramatic effect as we hear it before the witches appear and as they depart. Another technique which is used by Polanski to creative effect is the use of the camera. He begins and ends with long shots of the beach but he focuses mainly on the witches and their features. This conveys that they definitely arrive at the beach with deliberate intentions. Also all the images are clearly defined until the point where the mist intensifies and the witches vanish mysteriously.

Props
In Shakespeare’s time props were very limited and in some cases they were dispensed with altogether. In Act 1 Scene 1 there is no mention of props but nowadays modern directors like Polanski would use props very often and audiences are likely to expect such things. For example, a witch’s cauldron which is a common token of witchcraft is used in many versions but Polanski avoids traditional props like this and instead he creates his own.

He announces the witches’ presence with a stick scraping in the sand. This is clever because it is at first unsettling but then creates a false sense of security from which the grotesque nature of the scene unfolds, as the witches go on to produce a severed hand which holds a dagger. These could be associated with evil and weapons of today as well as suggestingforthcoming murder of Duncan by Macbeth. Polanski also uses a hangman’s noose which could be related to the death of the Thane of Cawdor, an event we witness for ourselves in the film. There is a possibility that this could be linked with the fate of Macbeth, a fellow traitor.

The three witches appear to sprinkle herbs on these items which could suggest some sort of magical spell. It might also symbolise seeds sown by the witches, which will later grow, for instance the seeds of Macbeth’s ambition which spur him on to murder. The objects are then buried and blood is sprinkled from a phial over the sand. Blood is usually associated with death and evil which relates to Macbeth. The witches then draw a circle in the sand with the old withered bent stick that we saw earlier in the scene. The circle is known to be a magic symbol and this heightens the sense that a spell has been cast. Then all three spit three times each to seal the spell. This is again significant because multiples of three were considered as magic numbers. The fact that the objects were buried reinforces the theme of evil and death and suggests that evil will work in mysterious ways. The reason why the witches bury them might perhaps be to create a hidden force which mysteriously influences events and this also reinforces the sense that the witches are an underlying influence in the play.

The witches have serious intentions which are obvious as the manner of the burial is so formal and ritualistic, suggesting the casting of a spell. The sense of unnaturalness is reinforced when the witches leave no footprints as they walk away,underlining the suggestion of their supernatural powers.

Witches
The only occasion when the witches appearance is mentioned in Macbeth is in Act 1 Scene 3, where they are described as “withered and wild in their attire”. In the seventeenth century when Shakespeare was writing and directing he was there to instruct people on the actor’s costumes but nowadays it is up to the director to decide how and when an actor wears a costume. Polanski has the three witches dressed in a mixture of filthy old rags and more conventional robes which gives them a sense of evil yet a hint of normality. The eldest witch seems to be more stereotypical than the other two in terms of her dress as she is clothed in black robes with a long cloak and a black headdress which covers everything except her face and ears. As Polanski uses his camera effects to zoom in on the witches faces, we also see that the eyes of the eldest witch are covered in skin. This indicates a theme of unnaturalness. The middle aged witch is dressed quite conventionally with a headdress which covers her ears and she seems respectable and ordinary. This perhaps suggests how evil and witchcraft can permeate even the most “normal” individuals. An other thing is that she appears to be deaf yet she is able to communicate with the others. The youngest witch is roughly in her twenties and does not speak so we assume that she is dumb. We notice that she has dirty fair hair and red blotches on her face and she seems to be somewhat reliant on the eldest witch perhaps acting as an apprentice, learning her craft.

The witches seem to be harmless when they first appear but this is a deceptive quality. Polanski’s witches do not display traditional properties and this indicates witchcraft is not the stereotypical preserve of cackling hags, pointy hats and broomsticks that we may have imagined. Indeed it appears much more unsettling as the witches commence their solemn ritual. It seems that they all need each other to survive and they work as a unit. It is also hinted that each of them has given one of their senses to the devil in return for supernatural powers. Therefore we are reminded of the saying ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ We notice that they have similar accents and they remain seriously absorbed in their task. However, we are given the impression that each of them has an individual personality. Polanski mixes hints of normality and deformity creating a sense of disquiet which turns to horror, as the witches reveal their more gruesome side to shock the viewer.

Text and Conclusion
When Shakespeare was producing scripts he was communicating to an early Jacobean audience and did so as realistically as he could. Polanski basically does the same for a modern audience therefore. Although he sticks mainly to Shakespeare’s dialogue he has altered the text to suit the target audience. Polanski firstly transfers the rhyming couplet that ends the scene to the beginning. “Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air” The witches chant this individually in a ritualistic tone which suggests the perversion of a Christian prayer as they walk around the burial spot having sealed their spell. The use of this opening line makes the scene sound more mysterious and strange. The riddle emphasises the idea of good versus evil and suggests the deceptive nature of appearances working with the imagery of a red sky which fades to grey to reinforce the suggestion that all that appears “fair” at the start will become “foul” in the end. Polanski drops the references to the witches’ familiar spirits Paddock and Greymalkin probably because they would be less meaningful for a modern audience. The early Jacobean audience would have recognised such superstitions due to their widespread concerns about witchcraft. A consequence of Polanski’s alterations is that Macbeth’s name now occurs at the end of the scene where the second witch pauses with dramatic emphasis: “there to meet with…Macbeth” This seems to highlight the main character acting as a perfect introduction for the title sequence. It also directly connects the witches ritual with Macbeth and implies they are responsible for his fate.

Shakespeare was often impeded by the fact that when on stage actors had to leave through a curtain or door, but Polanski does not have to overcome this problem. His witches walk away from the burial spot, two together and one dragging a cart. The camera zooms in to show them departing. The mist then rises and intensifies to the point where the witches are no longer visible. Then the title “MACBETH” appears with background music. The witches leave no visible trace of their presence on the sand, suggesting they have been hovering or gliding along. This is a visual equivalent of the fog and filthy air which Shakespeare uses to end the scene.

In Polanski’s film the opening scene acts as a prologue which is shown just before the title. This can be conveyed as showing that Macbeth is not wholly responsible for his own downfall and is somehow driven on in his ambition by the witches Macbeth’s reaction to the witches predictions in Act 1 Scene 3 suggests he already longed to become king, however, the witches appear to trigger ambition.

Polanski takes artistic liberties which work to translate Shakespeare’s key themes for a modern audience. He has a mysterious atmospheric style which creates a threatening impression and disturbs the audience. However it seems to be quite realistic in the medium of film and clearly has several advantages over stage performances. The stage in many respects is very limited especially in Shakespeare’s time period. The use of props and special effects were very basic and there was little or no lighting as the play had to be performed in daylight. The main advantage of stage performances was that you could see the actors live. There are obviously many more advantages in film, one of which is the opportunity to rerecord scenes until the director feels that the scene is perfect. This means there are fewer mistakes than on stage. There are also many camera angles and editing techniques which can be used to great effect.

Polanski was able to use light, sound and fog effects which were created to suit the situation. He could also film many scenes at different locations. These factors enabled him to make Act 1 Scene 1 more effective. Polanski could use special effects but Shakespeare would have found it difficult to create an ‘open place’ on stage and relied on his text and actors to convey his themes.

In conclusion, whatever way you look at it Macbeth is a skilfully written play which still remains popular both on stage and in film nearly four hundred years after it was originally written and performed.

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

Adolescence

In the extract “Adolescence” from Bob Geldof’s autobiography “Is That It?” there are numerous issues such as sex, peer group, fashion, music and religion raised in the extract. Geldof uses strategies and techniques that positions me as a reader to respond in a certain way to the issues represented in the text.

One way that Geldof positions us to respond to fashion is by the technique, point of view. It is through first person’s point of view where the secret thoughts of a single character are transposed. And that happened through Geldof’s point of view. While the point of view is through Geldof’s eyes, we can see that he appreciates fashion according to its role model and wore different sorts of clothing’s right throughout the text. Not only does this text uses point of view to respond to this issue, but also with the use of short syntax. By using short syntax, it is trying to make a point to us whereas long syntax’s is used to change the setting. To illustrate my point, here is an en example taken from the fifth paragraph, “At fourteen I liked clothes. I wore shirts that has different coloured collars with a tab button. I wore denim shirts with a false polo-neck beneath the open shirt collar.” The words in this extract are vivid and simple. We are positioned to see that he seeks new fashion according to its current role model.

Selection of detail is another method where we are positioned to respond to the issues right throughout the text. The selection of detail such as “denim shirts” “false polo-neck beneath the open shirt collar” “plastic belt with a huge tin buckle” etc, shows us that he is going through his adolescence life where he starts to like clothing’s and he becomes more of a person in his prime, getting involved with politics and reading. We are positioned to see that he is going through the time of intellectual expansion into a mature one.

He uses descriptive words to create the characteristics of adolescence in him. “I felt sorry for his loneliness, but I did not want to be with him. I wanted to be with my friends. There is no point in a forty-years-old trying to come to terms with someone who is fourteen or fifteen.” This shows that he is fonder of being with his peer group rather than his family. He believed that peer group is more essential than family. And not only is he selfish but he also tend to be self-focused “My father is irritated by my reluctance” and that is what the adolescence character’s are like. We are positioned to make out that it is true, what he is going through is his adolescence experiences.

Sex is another issue in the text that helped to create the humour in the start to get us as readers into reading the text. In Ireland, there are restrictive social environment with regards to sexual expression, so sex was a competitive event in those days, and most of them carried their only condom which was smuggled in like it was a good luck charm. At break, the boy’s talk would always turn out to be sex and it was peer pressure to belong to the crowd even if it means lying or pretending. But it was ironic that sometimes, they had to hide something because the people wouldn’t believe them. Geldof was one of the people that had to hide something from everyone else because no one at school would have believed despite the fact that he had his first time with Mrs Armstrong. We are positioned to see that sex symbolised manhood and that it was bloodthirsty.

The last issue represented in the text is the church. Geldof hated the church with a passion. They were almost his natural enemies. Geldof tries to make fun of the priests and the churches by mocking them with stupid questions like “What sort of fish is it?” Not only did he mock them, but he also talked back to the priest and this shows that he is brave however, not respectful. When the day you are born the church seeks to own you, which was the reason that Geldof hated the church.

We are positioned not only to see that the church is a symbol of control and Geldof’s attitude is presented negatively on it but also that he liked the way of freedom and independence.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The initial setting of the play's scenes is Athens under the reign of Theses and Hippolyta, who are themselves characters from ancient Greek mythology. But it must be understood that the "Athens" of A Midsummer Night's Dream is neither that of ancient Greece nor of its Renaissance counterpart, but an amalgamation of the former with the folk culture of Elizabethan England. After Act I, the play shifts to the "fairyland woods" and remains there through Acts II, III, and IV, returning to "Athens" in Act V for the concluding weddings and the performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe" by the uncouth, unskilled, but irrepressible company of Bottom and his fellow mechanicals.

Act I
Scene I: The play opens in the Athenian court of Theseus as he looks forward to wedding his bride, the former Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, some four days hence at the summer Solstice. The "blocking" character of the play arrives in the form of the aged Egeus, the father of Hermia. He wants his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius and he is vexed by her love for another Athenian youth, Lysander. Hermia refuses her father's demand, while both Lysander and Demetrius press their suits to Theseus. The wise Athenian ruler upholds the law as it stands: he first rules that Hermia must either follow her father's preference for Demetrius or remain unwed forever. But Theseus also gives Hermia and Lysander some time to accommodate themselves to his decision and then calls Egeus into a private, off-stage consultation. All the players leave save Lysander and Hermia, with the former uttering the famous sentiment that, "The course of true love never did run smooth" (I,i., l.134). Another Athenian maid, Helena arrives. She is both a (former) friend of Hermia and a rival for the affections of Demetrius, whom Hermia spurns but Helena loves. Hermia tries to assuage her friend's jealousy by revealing to Helena that she and Lysander plan to run away into the woods near Athens, leaving Demetrius free for Helena to pursue. Left alone on stage, Hermia tells us that she will attempt to gain Demetrius' favor by telling him about Hermia's plans and then following him into the woods. Thus, Lysander and Hermia are in love; Demetrius loves Hermia and rejects Helena; Helena nonetheless loves Demetrius and is jealous of her childhood friend, Hermia. This somewhat confusing arrangement is the premise for the play's comic proceedings in which the love of all four characters will be "redirected" by the magic of Puck at the behest of the Fairy King Oberon. (Jump to the text of Act I, scene i)
Scene II: With the premises of the main plot out of the way, the play shifts to another, humbler section of Athens, the house of the carpenter Peter Quince. Along with several other tradesmen (Snug the joiner, Flute the bellow mender and, most comical of all, Bottom the weaver), these unschooled amateurs intend to stage a performance of the tragic love story Pyramus and Thisbe at the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, with Bottom assigned the role of Pyramus. In an extremely funny scene in which the cast's inadequacies as playwrights/actors are acutely evident (Bottom wants to play Pyramus, Thisbe, and a lion to boot), the group agrees to rehearse their "surprise" play in the woods to which Lysander and Hermia have fled. (Jump to the text of Act I, scene ii)

Act II
Scene I: The setting now shifts to the woods outside of Athens and stays there through Act IV. Here we encounter the character of Puck, a mischievous spirit who has the power to cast spells and to fly at lightening speed. Also known as Robin Goodfellow (an impish spirit figure common in medieval English folk-lore), Puck speaks with one of the enchanted forest's myriad fairies before their king, Oberon (whom he serves), and their queen, Titania (whom the "lighter" fairies serve) arrive in the midst of an argument about a changeling boy whom Titania has taken but whom Oberon wants. She refuses to give the boy (who does not appear as a character) to her husband, and when she departs with her train of woodland fairies, Oberon devises a scheme to punish her through a joke. He instructs Puck to obtain a magic flower extract, which he will then apply to Titania's eyes as she sleeps. This particular drug has the power to make Titania (or anyone else) fall in love with the first warm-bloodied creature she (or he) sees upon awakening. While Puck goes on this errand , Demetrius enters, followed by the lovesick Helena. After watching Demetrius cruelly reject Helena, Oberon tells the returned Puck to use some of the same love potion on the "young Athenian" and to arrange for Helena to be the first thing he sees and falls madly in love with. (Jump to the text of Act II, scene i)
Scene II: In another part of the woods, after Titania's fairy train sings her to sleep, Oberon arrives silently and doses his wife's eyes with the love potion. The eloped lovers, Lysander and Hermia then appear, exhausted from their journey, and fall asleep. Puck enters and seeing the young Athenian Lysander alongside Hermia, mistakes them for Demetrius and Helena. Given his instructions and his error, Puck doses the eyelids of Lysander. When Helena appears in her pursuit of Demetrius, Lysander awakes, sees her, and falls in love with her, spurning Hermia. But it is not Lysander whom Helena wants, and she berates him for the fickleness of his love toward Hermia. Helena leaves in a huff, the love-stricken Lysander now chases after her, and Hermia is shocked to find him gone when she awakens. (Jump to the text of Act II, scene ii)

Act III
Scene I: Nearby in these magical woods, Quince, Bottom, and the other amateurs begin their rehearsal of Pyramus and Thisbe, and more hilarity is generated as they display their abysmal ignorance of stagecraft again. When Puck comes across these "hempen home-spuns," he transforms Bottom's head into that of a jackass. Although Bottom is unaware of the change, the other rude mechanicals are frightened by it and flee. Bottom consoles himself by singing a song that rouses the sleeping Titania. She sees Bottom, donkey head and all, and falls madly in love with him. The Fairy Queen takes this ludicrous figure as her paramour, commanding her troupe to serve his wishes and whims. (Jump to the text of Act III, scene i)
Scene II: Having witnessed these proceedings, Puck reports to Oberon that their joke on Titania has been even more successful than they had hoped. But Demetrius enters followed by Hermia and he continues to spurn her. Seeing this, Oberon realizes that Puck has "dosed" the wrong Athenian youth (Lysander). Oberon tries to rectify the mix-up, by applying the love juice to a (conveniently) sleeping Demetrius, ordering Puck to lure Helena to the spot so that he will see her when he wakes up. Helena does appear, with still-bewitched Lysander pleading his love for her. Demetrius then awakens to see Helena, and now both he and Lysander are again madly in love with the same girl, but this time it is with Helena. As both profess their affections toward her, Helena interprets their love to be a jest, a conspiracy meant to mock her. When an equally confused Hermia appears in search of Lysander, Helena thinks that Hermia too is involved in a conspiracy to embarrass her. The two young women argue with and insult each other; Lysander and Demetrius do the same and stalk off to fight for Helena's hand. In a farcically complicated series of events, Oberon sees the tangle that remains and uses an antidote to straighten it out. With Puck's aid, he arranges for Lysander and Hermia to be in mutual love again and for Demetrius to remain in love with Helena. (Jump to the text of Act III, scene ii)

Act IV
Scene I: As Oberon watches in amused delight, Titania arrives with her ass-headed paramour Bottom. Blind to both his supernatural and his natural faults, Titania welcomes him to her flowery bed, where he is pampered by the members of the fairy train but develops an inexplicable hunger for hay. Oberon tells Puck that Titania has relented on the issue of the changeling boy and that he plans to release her from the spell that has caused her to become enamored of Bottom. Puck relieves Bottom of the donkey head (that the weaver has never been aware of himself). Oberon applies a love potion antidote to Titania's eyes; when she awakes, she can only remember a "dream" in which she was in love with an ass. Titania's fairy train casts a spell of sleep upon Lysander & Hermia, Demetrius & Helena, and all of the tradesmen so that they will think that the fantastic events of the night are merely dreams. Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus enter in their hunt for Lysander and Hermia. Although Egeus demands that Lysander be executed, because Demetrius now loves and wants to marry Helena, the good Theseus dismisses the charges. Both of the "right" couples will be wed along with Theseus and Hippolyta. They all depart for Athens and the marriage festivities, all the tradesmen also leave except for Bottom, who then rises from his slumber and speak of a strange dream that he can only half remember. He decides to dismiss it all, concluding that "Man is but an ass" if he speaks of his dreams. (Jump to the text of Act IV, scene i)
Scene II: The other mechanicals worry about Bottom's absence and consider how it will affect their performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe" before Theseus and his bridal court. A befuddled Bottom enters and proclaims that the show will now go on. (Jump to the text of Act IV, scene ii)

Act V
Scene I: The sole scene of the play's concluding act is given over to Bottom, his cohorts, and their production of "Pyramus and Thisbe." Although warned in advance by his counselor Philostrate that he has heard their sketch and found it to be "nothing," Theseus insists upon letting these locals entertain him, his bride, and the paired Athenian couples. "The Tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe" is a complete farce: Bottom mispronounces the name of his beloved as "Thisne," the play has a prologue in which the characters assure their audience that they are only playing "fake" parts; both Moonshine and Wall appear on stage as personified characters. Throughout all this, Theseus, Hippolyta and the others make light-hearted comments and criticisms about the play. When the performance ends, all the mortals depart, while Oberon, Titania, and Puck appear with their fairy retinue. This provides Puck the opportunity to present the play's closing epilogue in which he thanks the audience for their kind indulgence in watching a play with a "weak and idle theme," saying that what has gone before is no more harmful than a dream. (Jump to the text of Act V, scene i)

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A Doll's House

A Doll's House is a play written in 1879 by Henrik Ibsen. The play is a journey of the character Nora's self-discovery and struggle against the oppression of her husband Torvald and the society that he represents. Ibsen uses non-verbal elements such as screen directions and setting descriptions to symbolise aspects of characters and their relationships to each other.

The opening scene of A Doll's House is preceded by a description of a room in the house in which the two main characters, Nora and Torvald Helmer, live. "A comfortable room, tastefully but not expensively furnished". This description represents the Helmers' place in society. They are middle class, not extremely wealthy, but with enough money to survive comfortably on. Middle class society in Norway in this time was quite patriarchal. There were strict social edicts about a woman being a good wife and mother. Women who tried to find independence, or were forced to work like Nora's best friend Mrs Linde, were often seen as lesser beings. This first setting description sets the scene for the entire play and supports the controversial main theme of the play, Nora's rebellion against this rigid society in her final decision to leave her husband when she realises she needs to make something of herself and find independence.

Non-verbal elements are used to develop Torvald Helmer as a character. The way that Torvald treats and sees Nora is the main device in which the audience is positioned to see Torvald, as a patronising and controlling man and husband. In Act 3 it is revealed that the mailbox is for Torvald alone to access as only he holds the key. NORA "We're lost, the letter's in the mailbox." MRS LINDE "And your husband has the key?" NORA "Yes, always " Torvald's study is also a private room that Nora is prevented from entering. This shows that he does not perceive Nora as intellectual enough to be involved with any business or for that matter, any important matters in life.

Again Ibsen uses non-verbal elements in the play largely to construct the character of Nora. The Christmas tree, which is described in the opening scene, is a parallel with Nora's life and emotions during the play. The same as "The children mustn't get a glimpse of it (the tree) till this evening, after it's trimmed. "Nora is not allowed to be seen out of the house unless she is looking beautiful and acting like a proper wife and mother. This opening message begins to convey to the audience the values of the society the play is set in. Another non-verbal element used to express Nora's helplessness in her situation is expressed in the first act when it is revealed that Nora does not even own a key to her own home. "A bell rings in the entryway, shortly after we hear the door being unlocked, Nora comes into the room".

In the first act, Nora buys herself a bag of macaroons that she has been prohibited to eat by Torvald. "Torvald had forbidden them" He's worried they'll ruin my teeth ."This is a foreshadowing of Nora's final rebellion against Torvald. This also serves to form a connection with the two characters Mrs Linde and Dr Rank who are aware that Nora is lying to Torvald when she says, "Yes but these are some that Kristine (Mrs Linde) gave me".

The Tarantella dress that Nora wears in Act 2 is perhaps one of the most powerful symbols of Nora and her relationship with Torvald. "Torvald wants me to be a Neapolitan peasant girl and dance the Tarantella that I learned in Capri." This again shows Torvald's assumed control over her on the grounds that she is his wife and therefore is his possession. By choosing her dress and asking her to dance the Tarantella he controls her sexuality. He wishes to show Nora off, as if she is a doll, to all the guests at the party they attend with the knowledge that afterwards, she will be his. "All this evening I've longed for nothing but you' my blood was pounding till I couldn't stand it, that's why I brought you down so early." Ironically, only Nora knows, with the knowledge that she is going to commit suicide after the dance, that this dance and this night is her final chance to be a doll for Torvald. The way that she dances conveys this to the reader who knows the truth, but not to Torvald, who is completely unaware of Nora's secret plan. However, he does notice that her dancing is somewhat over exuberant, "the performance may have been a bit to naturalistic- I mean it rather overstepped the proprieties of art." Furthermore, it is Nora's Tarantella costume that makes her a possession of Torvald, and makes her his doll wife. In Act 3, when Nora decides that she must leave Torvald and "stand completely alone" and discover herself and the world out there" she changes out of her Tarantella costume and puts on her regular clothes to leave the house where she has been Сimprisoned' by Torvald for such a long time

Finally, it is not only the clothes that Nora wears to dance, but also the dance itself that carries symbolic meaning. The Tarantella is a popular native dance of Southern Italy. The name Tarantella derives from the name of a poisonous spider; the Tarantula. In fact when a person is bitten by the Tarantula they begin jumping to relieve the pain and this jumping is the first step of the Tarantella dance . This dance can be compared to Nora trying to rid herself of the pain and problems of her life. It has also been said that when the dance is stopped, the victim will die. This relates to the suicidal intentions of Nora as she plans to kill herself after this dance.

The porcelain stove has very symbolic meaning throughout the play. It is portrayed as the heart of the domestic space. It is often referred to as a provider of warmth and comfort. "lets get cozy here by the stove." Additionally, the stove symbolises Nora's place as a wife and the way society expects her to act in this role. Whenever Nora moves towards the stove in the play she moves back to her place as a wife. For example; NORA (going towards the stove) "Yes whatever you say Torvald, "and when Helmer and Krogstad are discussing "bank business" NORA (nods indifferently and begins stirring up the stove."

Non-verbal elements are used in a lesser way to develop a relationship between Nora and Torvald's childhood friend, Dr Rank. The depth and complexity of this relationship is revealed to the audience through non-verbal elements such as the lamp. This serves to heighten the meaning of certain events, especially the conversation between Dr Rank and Nora when he reveals to her that he is in love with her. The main part of the conversation takes part in very low light, conveying to the audience that it is a private and perhaps secretive exchange. When Dr Rank is on the verge of professing his love to Nora, "You know that you can trust me more than anyone else". And "Do you think (Torvald's) the only one who'd gladly give up his life for you." Nora orders the light to be brought in to bring the reality, that she is married to Rank's best friend and that Rank is dying of syphilis, back to the situation. She asks Rank, "Aren't you a little bit ashamed, now that the lamp is here." The light is again used as a symbol of information being revealed when Torvald finds out the truth about Nora's forgery and Krogstad's blackmail against him.

At the end of the final scene, when Nora leaves the house assumedly for good, the screen directions help to provide closure for the play and for the audience. Although this is still a very open ended play, and many watchers would be left wondering how Nora survives and whether she manages to change her life for the better away from the controlling influence of Torvald. "From below the sound of a door slamming" shows that she has walked out of her past life for good.

In conclusion, Ibsen uses non verbal elements such as screen directions and screed descriptions to add a heightened dimension of meaning to the characters in A Doll's House and their relationships throughout the play and as powerful symbols that help Ibsen to convey ideas and themes in the play.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Too Close to the Bone

In her article "Too ‘Close to the Bone’": The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness", Roberta Seid, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, examines what she calls the historical context, as well as the negative effects, of society’s ideal of slenderness. Seid main point in the article is that the current ideal body size of society is much too thin to be healthy. While Seid does have a well founded belief, her use of logical fallacies and a few extreme views may make her readers that the rest of the paper is also unsound.

In the article, Seid makes the claim that the pursuit of slenderness has become almost religious in nature. She shows that there is reward and punishment by society in following the doctrine of this religion, and that virtue is shown by pounds, clothing sizes, and body measurements. Seid goes on to say that never in history has the body ideal been as thin as we have made it. In fact, Seid claims, thinness was often looked down upon, and those who were slender were pitied by society. Earlier societies believed that plumpness meant that you were emotionally well and healthy.

The societal trend toward slenderness, Seid notes, began after the turn of the last century. The ideal toward slimness as it is currently practiced began shortly after World War II, with a large movement to make Americans lose weight. These ideas intensified in the following decades, defining normal-sized Americans as "overweight." Seid makes the claim that it was common belief that if you were overweight, it was simply because you lacked the willpower and desire to lose weight. Seid mentions, however, that many studies have shown that thinner people are not necessarily healthier than larger people. She also notes that efforts to reach the societal ideal often yield negative results, such as eating disorders and the inability to lead a rich and productive life.

Seid also examined why women are more affected by this struggle for thinness. She suggests that the societal ideal, even for women, is more masculine than most females can achieve. Also, as Seid points out, women are held to more stringent standards in all areas of society, and body appearance is no different. Seid then proposes ideas on what future historians will make of our desire for thinness. She then goes on to suggest that it would be terrible if women did not rebel against this "religion". Seid further claims that this "religion" of slenderness is appropriate for only those whose ideals do not extend beyond physical appearance.

In her piece, Seid uses the fact that no society in history has ever placed as much importance on slenderness as modern Americans have. While this may very well be true, there is a logical fallacy in condemning slenderness based upon this fact. Just because it was done in the past does not make it right. For example, until 1865 the United States allowed slavery to be legal, but that does not make slavery right. The same is true for slenderness. Just because society valued a plump figure before the turn of the last century does not make it the right ideal for our current society.

In addition, Seid uses binary reasoning, or the reasoning that there can be only two options, by implying that you can either be slender or healthy. This has many problems. First of all, there is not necessarily a distinct separation between slenderness in good health. Many slender people are in outstanding physical condition. Moreover, the use of binary reasoning excludes the third possibility of being unhealthily overweight.

Another example of binary reasoning in “Too ‘Close to the Bone’” is the statement that people who care about their personal fitness and health cannot have any purpose in life beyond their physical appearance. It wrongfully implies that people can only be concerned with a single issue in their life.

Roberta Seid has seemingly created a new, personal ideal for herself. This is by no means a bad thing, for no two people are identical, and that includes body type. However, Seid has seemingly used this ideal for society, in which many so-called “normal sized” Americans are now below, and has drawn the conclusion that they are “too close to the bone”. On the contrary, Americans in general are far from being at unhealthily low body sizes for their personal health.

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Pride and Prejudice

Tony Tanner is writing about the terms of Charlotte Bronte’s criticism on Pride and Prejudice in “Knowledge and Opinion: Pride and Prejudice”. As sited in his article, Bronte states, “I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen in their elegant but confined houses” (103). Tanner wants to reconsider the reasons the appeal of the novel was so popular and what relevance, if any, it can still have for people living in very different social conditions. Also, he wants to show different ways to look at the novel to see why Bronte despised it and to find the novels relevance to us.

By adding Wickham in the novel, as a solider staying home, Austen showed that contemporary history does touch the periphery of this novel. Austen also added in money and courtship to her novel, as suggested by Tanner, to show potential problems that can occur in that social stature at that time period. Both focus towards the goal of achieving a satisfactory marriage. Marriage is a way society secures its own continuity and minimizes the possibility of anything approaching violent charge. Tanner also suggests that readers, at first, would see this novel’s title as Dignity and Perception, and Austen has the readers learn to see the proper title Pride and Prejudice, because her book is most importantly about prejudging and rejudging. Tanner suggests that a very important part of the book is how it touches on some aspects of the whole problem of knowledge. Tanner then brings in John Locke’s view of knowledge. According to Locke, it is “worth while to search out the bounds between opinion and knowledge; and examine by what measures, in things where of we have no certain knowledge, we out to regulate our assent and moderate our persuasion” (106). He uses Locke’s view to help support his belief of the importance of knowledge.
Tanner puts an emphasis on the first impressions in Austen’s novel. Elizabeth’s lively
mind allows her to the quality of registering consciousness to affect the intensity of the registered impressions. She is capable both of complex impressions and of complex ideas. This liveliness is also one of the qualities which wins Darcy to her. According to Tanner, without experience there’s no reason and without impressions there’s no experience. This suggests the particular importance of first impressions, because, although they may need consecutive correction, complements, and so on, they constitute the beginning of experience. However, Tanner explains that opinions are constantly changing as people’s behavior appears in a different light. Elizabeth most importantly comes “to wish that her former opinions had been more reasonable, her expressions more moderate” (111-112). The passages in Austen’s novel, according to Tanner, describing her changing reaction to Darcy’s letter are among the most important in the book.

The first half of Pride and Prejudice, according to Tanner, has been a dramatic performance, but in the second half a mixture of narrative, summary, and scene carries the plot towards the conclusion. As he says, “this reveals that Austen felt able to take advantage both of scenic representation and of authorial omniscience using third-person narrative” (121). But there is another interesting aspect of the combination of the dramatic and the epistolary, particularly bearing in mind that the word performance fades after Elizabeth receives Darcy’s letter. If the human being is to be fully human, then to the energy of performance must be added the wisdom of reflection. Tanner suggests that Austen believed in the value of social rituals such as balls, dinners, and evening entertainments. Within these social rituals, people meet for the first time, and first impressions happen.

The characters in the novel have a major influence on the ideas presented by Austen. Tanner begins to evaluate each character and explaining why they help support Austen’s ideas. Mr. Bennet ignores his fatherly role by always taking refuge in his library, and Mrs. Bennet looses herself in her performance. These gestures show disengagement from the necessary rituals of family and society. The two extremes in the novel are Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mary Bennet. They both find themselves superior to people who they also see as being useless. Lady Catherine thinks this because of her social stature, and Mary Bennet thinks this because of her intellectual superiority. Darcy changes from being just like Lady Catherine to being in harmony with his reflecting self at the end of the novel. Jane Bennet is incapable of role distance, but she has such a generous and high-minded conception of the roles she has to perform that she strikes us at all times as being both sensitive and sincere. The same could be said of Mr. Bingley because he shows us so much vulnerability. Elizabeth shows us that she can perform all the roles through her irony in the situations presented to her.

There is another aspect to the problems which can be posed by lack of social space. In a clearly stratified class society, such as Austen shows, there are invisible restrictions, boundaries, and separations, which the properly deferential person will not dare to traverse. According to Tanner, “There are quite a number of malicious remarks about people in trade made by some of the members of the landed aristocracy” (128). In this society, as in any highly structured society, it is a matter of some moment just who may be connected to whom. One of the gratifications of the book is that Elizabeth and Darcy seem to demonstrate that it is still possible for individuals to make new connections in defiance of society. Tanner says that Austen portrays “a society which stresses social control over individual ecstasy, formality over informality, sartorial neatness over bodily abandon, and alert consciousness over the more Romantic states of reverie and trance” (130). Her society is concentrated on how men and women may live in harmony with each other. All this, according to Tanner, influenced the notion of love and its relationship to marriage.

Elizabeth’s quality of liveliness is what Darcy is said to lack, and it is the main quality that Elizabeth will bring to their marriage, according to Tanner. Social rules tend to fix people in groups. Elizabeth is happy to leave the social group if it means she can laugh and live. Tanner says marriage is a part of the social grouping and is also a restriction. Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth through her playfulness and her ability to not have society control her. Society depends on the tension between playfulness and regulation. “In their gradual coming together and Darcy’s persistent desire for Elizabeth we do witness the perennial yearning of perfect symmetry for the asymmetrical, the appeal which ‘playfulness’ has for ‘regulation’, the irresistible attraction of the freely rambling individual for the rigidified upholder of the group” (136). The satisfaction produced by the match is generated by the happily united Elizabeth and Darcy by the end of the book. According to Tanner, in the figure of Elizabeth Bennet, Austen shows us energy attempting to find a valid mod of existence within society.

Tanner strikes up a good point when he starts his article with the goals of a satisfactory marriage. I agree with Tanner when he suggests that money is a problem that needs to be overcome before entering into a successful marriage. However, I disagree with his idea of readers calling the book Dignity and Perception. When I read the book, I automatically saw the title Pride and Prejudice being relevant to the book, how Elizabeth had to overcome her prejudice against Darcy, and Darcy had to overcome his pride to create the ideal marriage between the two of them at the end of the novel.

I agree with Tanner’s emphasis on first impressions in the novel. And by using Elizabeth to support this point was a good idea considering the entire book is based on the actions and thoughts of first impressions, especially hers. I disagree, however, with Tanner when he suggests the book is broken up into a drama section and a plot and summary section. I believe the whole novel has a plot in some way or another and is entirely filled with drama; otherwise the book wouldn’t be as interesting to read as it was for me. I agree with his view that this particular society focuses on balls, dinners, and entertainment to meet with others of the same stature and, at theses function, first impressions are made which is proven by Darcy and Elizabeth. I also agree with Tanner when says that people use theses events as ways of separation. I believe theses events help segregate the social classes so that society can go on functioning the way the aristocracy want it to function.

I agree with Tanner when he suggests that a successful marriage depends on the harmony of men and women in a society, but I also think that it’s about learning to find the harmony so that living together is possible. It’s not as easy as just having the harmony, to me. I agree with Tanner’s use of Elizabeth and Darcy as an example of this harmony. Elizabeth and Darcy both have to come to realize that they have a harmony together, but in order to do that, they had to find that harmony throughout the novel and it wasn’t always easy, just as I suggested.
I agree with most of Tanner’s points. I really disagreed with his view on the plot of the book. He needs to re-read the book and take a good look at all the plots in the first half and the drama in the second half. Overall, I think he makes some very good observations about the novel. I think that he could put some more emphasis on some of those points though, such as the harmony in society.

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A & P

In the story “A & P,” by John Updike, Sammy is a very complex character who has mixed reasons for quitting his supermarket job. On one hand, he is strongly against the policy that the supermarket enforces. It states that people must come into the store with their shoulders covered. On the other hand, he is trying to impress one girl whom he likes. Finally, his pride causes him to make an irrational decision, which is quitting his job. If I were Sammy, I would not have quit my job over something that petty. If everyone quit their jobs over something that insignificant, then no one would ever work.

The policy enforced by the supermarket strongly offends Sammy. Sammy feels that the treatment of the girls coming into the store is unreasonable and therefore, he decides to quit. This evidence comes at the end of the story. The girls are confronted by Lengel, the store’s manager, for wearing bathing suits in the grocery store. The girls decide to leave rather than argue with Lengel. The fact that Sammy follows through with his decision to quit is very intriguing because there is nothing to gain. It also forces the reader to evaluate his motives for quitting. Is he quitting to impress the girls or is he sincerely objecting to the store’s stringent policy? We see that he proves to the reader his discomfort on the store’s policy of having shoulders covered. He portrays this anger by thinking, “Remembering how he made that pretty girl blush, makes me so scrunchy inside I punch the No Sale tab” (837). Sammy’s sincerity is very admirable but it alone does not constitute a good reason for quitting his job.

In the story, there is an abundance of evidence to confirm that Sammy quits his job to impress a girl. We know this because from the moment she walks into the store, he is mesmerized with her beauty. In the story, he often refers to her as “the queen” (833). If that isn’t enough, he also obsesses over every detail that the girl has to offer. After all his admiring, he finally realizes that he has to overwhelm this girl to get her attention. So, while the girls are walking out, he tells Lengel, his boss, “I quit’ just loud enough for the girls to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero” (836). Instead, they leave and Sammy’s attempt to impress the girl fails. Also, at the end of the story, he hopes that when he walks outside, the girls will be out there waiting for him, but this does not happen (837).

Sammy also makes the illogical decision to quit his job because of his pride. Sammy is given several opportunities to retract quitting his job, but instead he decides to follow through with his threat. Part of this reason is because of his pride. He tries to save himself the embarrassment of pleading for his job back. In the story, he says, “Once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it” (837). This also confirms the fragility of a person’s pride. For him to back out now would be the ultimate concession of defeat. He does this, even though he knows that there will be consequences with his parents because of his rash decision. We know this because Lengel says to him, “Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your Mom and Dad,” and Sammy thinks to himself, “It’s true, I don’t” (837). Sammy’s pride clouds his better judgment and causes him to make the wrong decision. He would rather disappoint his parents than damage his pride and this is all for girls that wouldn’t even talk to him.

The most important of Sammy’s motives for quitting his supermarket job, is to impress the girl that walked into the store. His decision is made in haste and is very irrational. He is convinced that his reason for quitting is based on the way that Lengel treats the girls, but if that is the case then why does he disrespect the other customers? In the story, he refers to them as “sheep” (836). In one case, he refers to a customer as a witch. If store policy really mattered to him, then why did he wait to quit? If the policy was that bad, wouldn’t he have quit before the girls even came into the store? The truth is, that if those girls had never walked into that store, then he would still be working at the supermarket. If I were Sammy, I would have never quit my job over something that insignificant.

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