tentative paper topic

The unstableness of the society

The Handmaid's Tale pages 251-311

Serena Joy gets Offred hooked up with Nick. Offred doesn't stop after that night though, she continues to go see nick. The ceremony of the hangings had a big impact on Offred. After seeing that she felt that she would do anything just to live. When meeting up with Ofglen the next time she noticed this was a different Ofglen. She was very skeptical of this Ofglen and wondered what had happened to the previous Ofglen. Then this Ofglen told her that she had hung herself. Offred didn't know if she could believe her but upon hearing this considered that plan for herself. She had suicide running across her mind especially when Serena Joy accused of doing something wrong. The black van came and she was worried that her punishment was coming. However this punishment was not from Serena Joy to her surprise and it may not even have been a punishment after all. Nick Told her not to worry that it as "Mayday" and seh was being saved. As readers we never know what really happened to Offred. It is up to us to make our own assumption. I believe Nick truely was a good guy and was trying to help her, otherwise why would he have kept letting her in his door night after night. Of course, this is what everyone wants  to believe.

The Handmaid's Tale pages 199-250

Serena Joy wants a child, badly. She told Offred that she would help her conceive because there was a big possibility that it was her husband's fault. She told Offred that she could put her and Nick together and in reward she could give Offred a picture. This picture she was referring to was of her child. So we now know that Offred's daughter is alive! However, this is a big risk for Offred to take. Janine conceived her baby this way and it turned out not making it after all. The commander has become very interested in Offre's opinion. She tends to be a little sassy in response too. Ofglen informs Offred that they know that she is meeting with the commander alone. Ofglen seems to know everything. She tells Offred to find out anything she can.

The Handmaid's Tale pages 151-195

Offred begins to reveal how the society came to be. The transistion seemed rather sudden. She explains how one day she went to buy cigarrettes at the store on the corner and her card number was rejected even though she had thousands of dollars in there. Soon after that instance, she describes how she was let go from, her job. Offred still visits the commander frequently. He has began to let her read and on the last visit they even had a conversation. Offred finally learns what the Latin phrase means, "don't let the bastards grind you down." The comander sees it as an old joke he used to use when he was younger but Offred sees how it makes perfect sense in the circumstances. When the Commander asks if there is anything else she would like Offred responds, "I would like to know" "Whatever there is to know" "What's going on." At the end of this section we see Offred beginning to pray, pray for help. We see Offred evolving so much in this section she is becoming stronger and has an urge to make a difference.

The Handmaid's Tale pages 49-99

In this section we see a lot of change taking place. First of all we learn that Moira has escaped. Through an ingenious plan Moira was able to disguise herself as Aunt Elizabeth and get her way out of this place. Offred also has an intesting meeting with the Commander. He invites her to play a game of scrabble and asks for a meaningful kiss at the end of their "date." I am not sure as to why the commander is doing this but the first thought that ran across my mind is that maybe he is testing her knowledge because he is afraid of what she is capable of doing. The words Offred was spelling out showed that she must be very intelligent. At the end Offred starts reflecting about the holocaust, and is starting to make a sort of connection.

The Handmaid's Tale pages 49-99

We start to learn a lot more about the narrator in this reading. We finally learn her name, Offred, but we don't know her real name for she likes to keep that hidden. We learn that she has a kid although she doesn't know if the child is dead or alive for it was taken away from her when she came to this place and the child was only about 5. Offred always talks about her friend moira from college, and in this section Moira comes to join Offred in this place. Moira isn't handling the situacin very well. She has tried getting out but to no avvail. In the last part Offred is being fucked by the Commander. She prefers to use this way of stating the circumstance because it was by no means enjoyable to the both of them, but she couldn't consider it rape either because she had in a way made this choice. Her saying that she had a choice in it makes me question what kind of choice she had.

Handmaid'd Tale pages 1-49

I was a bit lost at the beginning of this book because it jumps right into the story. Not giving any background inofrmation at all. However, as the story goes on the explanation for why things are the way they are begins to be revealed little by little. The setting of the story is very odd, it seems almost like a prison, with barbed wire surrounding the area and guards watching over. It descibes how the place has no ropes, chandeliers, or anything that someone could strangle themself and how no one can talk or write. This sounds like a very dissatisfying place to reside. The purpose of the narrator in this situacion seems to be of reproduction. The narrator tells how she hadn't always lived like this. All of this makes me wonder why this situacion is the way it is, what is going on here.

Presentation Experience

Acting out our scene was fun although it was a bit difficult to distinguish the characters since we had to play more than one character. Preparing it made me think more about what was actually happening. Reading it in old english feels kind of awkard and is hard to understand at first but when breaking my lines down and seeing what I was actually saying helped me to better understand what was going on. Overall it was a good experience and I think it got the main point of the situacion across to the viewers.

Act 4 scene 1 part paraphrasing of second witch

I am Playing the Part of the Second witch then by default the part of "All" the witches and the part of the second apparation in Act IV scene I of Macbeth.
Second Witch: Three times (referring to the cat meaowing in the previous line) and the hedgehog whined one time.

All: Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble (just a spell being put on the ingredients of the cauldron to make the mixture evil).

Second Witch: Slice of a snake from a swamp throw into the cauldron to boil and bake; eye of a newt,  toe of a frog, wool of a bat, tongue of a dog, forked tongue of snake, a stinger of a small  snake, lizard's leg, and a young owl's wing (all thrown into caulron) to make a powerful charm. Get very hot to boil and bubble!

All: Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble (the spell being repeated).

All: Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble (the spell being repeated yet again).

Second Witch: We will cool the pot with a baboon's blood. After that the charm will be finished and ready to go.

Second Witch: I can feel something wicked near by the tingling in my thumbs. Doors, open up to whoever it is that is knocking.

All: Something for which there is no word for.

Second Witch: We demand you to!

All: Come, spirits whether high or low. Show yourselves and what it is you do.

Second Apparation: Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth

Second Apparation: Be violent, daring and firm. Laugh at other men and their power becasue no man born of a woman will ever be able to hurt you.

All: Listen but don't speak to the apparation

All: Don't go trying to find out more information.

Second Witch: Show

All: Show him and make him mourn. Come like a shadow and go away like one as well.

MacBeth Freewrite

Lady MacBeth and MacBeth seemed to have a very tight realtionship but it was very obvious that Lady MacBeth wore the pants in the relationship. MacBeth was very unsure about the murder, but Lady MacBeth kinda forced him into it. After the murder he was feeling guilty while Lady MacBeth just shook the act off and had the attitude that what was done was done and nothing could be changed. At the end there is a flip flop in the characters attitude and place in their relationship. MacBeth started to wear the pants in the realtionship and did not feel the need to approve things with Lady MacBeth. He went on to muder the wife and children of MacDuff which Lady MacBeth was not too happy about. She began to feel the guilt that MacBeth felt in the beggining. The guilt ate her to the point that she gave away the secret that they murdered the King and ended up, what the readrs are left to think, hanging herself. In the beggining no one would have guessed Lady MacBeth to be the one to give away the secret but the trasitions of these characters made this ending possible.

How do you plan to do the transitions?-Tiffany
I plan on stating from where they started off to where they are now much of the same order as in my freewrite. First I will state Lady MacBeth's Macbeth's beggining states, them the transition taking place,and lastly where the two end up.

Macbeth (Acts4-5)

Surpirse, surprise MacBeth kills more people. When warned about MacDuff potential threat MacBeth decided to haveMacDuff and his family murdered. However, since Macduff fled to Englad Macbeth was only able to have his family killed. What I did find rather surprising was how MacBeth's wife was the one to reveal the secret. She had always seem rather strong when it came to keeeping the secret. She was always encouraging MacBeth to forget about it, what was done was done. So, it was quite ironic that she was the one being eaten away by the guilt to the extreme that she committed suicide. Malcom end up being the hero in the end. Even though Macbeth won the fight against the siward's son he lost the battle against Malcom. Malcom returns to his fellow soldiers with MacBeth's head and they live happily ever after!

Macbeth (Acts 1-3)

This book got off to a quick start. Macbeth and his wife wasted no time in getting started with their murderous plans. Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, have a very tight knit relationship they can read each other very well. Lady Macbeth is very devious. I think she is the real brains behind the whole scheme. She is able to cover up everything very well while Macbeth starts to break down mentally. His guilt is eating at him and not only that but he is being haunted by Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth just seems to be digging himself a deeper hole as the story goes along. He is always needing to kill more and more people to conceal his secret. Already having killed Duncan, the men in Duncan's chamber, and Banquo. It leaves one to think if this murdering ever come to an end.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prurock

The way I interpreted this poem was a man from another form of life was telling the story of the life he lived to someone on earth. The last ling saying “Till human voices wake us and we drown” makes me think that he has passed on from the human form of life. I think he is trying to give advice to someone down on earth someone that he was close with. By analyzing his own life I think he is trying to help someone else to realize how important their time on earth is and not to waste it. I am not really sure what is meant by all of the examples he uses but I’m sure there is some deeper meaning behind them.

Daddy

This poem is clearly staged during the holocaust. In the beginnig of this poem the narrator seems to have high respect for his or her father. That is until he or she found out that he or she was a jew and his or her father was a nazi. He or she criticizes his or her father for what he did to him or her andthe jewish people.  At the end the narrator makes it known that he or she is not proud of what his or her father did. He or she doesn't want any association to him. Their relationship is through, all ties are cut off.

Leda and the Swan

Woah! This poem seemed very confusing. All I got out of it was a girl supposedly being raped by a swan. However, I am clueless about the meaning one is supposed to take out of this. After searching for explanations on the internet i discovered that there is greek mythology hidden in this poem, that the swan represents a greek god named zeus and that Agamemnon was a greek king that won the trojan war. Being unfamiliar with greek mythology, this story still  doesn't seem to make sense as far as explanations go.

London

The guy wanders through the streets
near the Thames river
and points out that in every face he meets
He sees sadness and weakness

Everytime he hears a man cry
everytime he hears a baby cry
everytime he hears someone fighting for rights
he hears someone's mind that is restricted

The chimney sweepers are not pround of their job
The churches are disgusted by what is going on
and the soldiers are dissapointed as well
The ruler of this nation is to blame for the murders

He hears the most when walking down the streets at midnight
He hears how harmful the prostitutes are
by killing the baby
spreading disease and not allowing marriage to happen

The Chimney Sweeper

The boy was young when his mom died
His father sold him for his labor
but he couldn't hardly cry
For his job was to sweep chimneys and that was what he must do

There was a little boy named Tom Dacre who cried when his hair
curley hair was shaved I told him
to be quiet because when your hair is gone
the soot can not ruin it

He listened and kept quiet
but as he was sleeping he saw something
that some of his fellow sweepers
were killed and put in coffins
An angel came to save them with a key
he opened the coffins and set them free
they were now in a happy and in a place where they could run freely
play in the water and lay in the sun

Leaving all of their worries behind
they go into the coulds and flow with the wind
Then the Angel told Tom that if he were a good boy
God would take care of him

Tom woke up early in the morning
and they went to work
even though it was cold Tom was warm and happy
because he was reassured that if they followed their duties they would be taken care of.

Harrison Bergeron

Equality is a value that our society strives to maintain and strengthen but is it possible that this value could ever be taken too far? I think this story goes to show that in some circumstances equality can be seen as overpowering. When individuals are not able to express there own individuality, it is a sign that equality has been taken too far. In Harrison Bergeron everyone is taken down to the same level. If the person was too smart he or she is dumbed down and if the person is too pretty he or she is uglied up. This seems ridiculous to us but when we see Harrison break against the norms of the society we see he gets shot down, literally. We see that the situation of equality had been taken way too far. If something goes too far it is hard to stop. To make things easier, as a society we must enforce equality only to a certain level. The quote “different but equal” reminds me of this story. It is possible to uphold both concepts at the same time and a balance of the two is needed.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Reading about the city of Omelas, it sounded almost too good to be true at first. With no need for a leader, police, or anything along those lines, and always being happy without feeling guilt this seemed like the perfect utopia. However, when I found out about the little boy in the cellar my perceptions changed. These people were using this kid as a scapegoat. Much like the lottery, the child was sort of a sacrifice. If the child was not in there suffering the city would supposedly not be brought prosperity. It was because of the kid that their world was allegedly so joyous. The thing that really intrigued me was how they didn’t feel guilty about treating this child to such harsh conditions. As it said at first people would cry but eventually theywould come to realize that if they let this kid free now it would not do much good. I think that is a terrible way to look at the situation. At the end it said how some people left after seeing the child. This may seem better then just staying and putting up with the situation, but I think ultimately these people realized the problem and just avoided it. I don’t think they really did the right thing by walking away. If they saw it as wrong I think they should have made it known and stood up for the problem. Turning your back on a problem is never a fix even though “you” may not see it anymore the problem still persists.

Tentative Paper Topic

Character comparison of "A Rose for Emily" and "The Tell-Tale Heart."

The Lottery

Much like "Young Goodman Brown" the title of this story deceived me. When I think of the lottery I think of winning a large sum of money, something people are usually happy to win. However in the short story "The Lottery" winning is not such a good thing. I never expected the winner to be stoned to death. I think this story shows how conformity can be dangerous. Although, this tradition had been going on for years and years that doesn't make it right. Not all traditions are good tradtions. There must have been people in this community who realized how wrong it was, but yet becase everyone else was up for it, no one wants to put themselves out there and declare it wrong. This happens a lot in society although and this story portrays that, just in an exteme manner.

Young Goodman Brown

The story "Young Goodman Brown" is not anything like the title might indicate. When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be about a “good man” as the title states but ironically this story is about a man choosing evil. I believe this man wasn’t very strong in his beliefs which caused him to be easily swayed from his faith. Faith, being Goodman Brown’s wife plays a very important role in the telling of this story. One could read the whole story with the lower case faith and it would still make sense, because the author intended for this to be taken allegorically. Whether it was a dream or not I am not sure, but either way it did affect him and that is all that really matters. Goodman Brown sees everyone as evil after the initiation has taken place, but I think he is just seeing sinners. However, everyone is a sinner, that is just part of human nature. Throughout the story one can see the fight of the human conscience mind. Goodman Brown often stops on his journey to contemplate his decision but in the end it is the evil that wins over the good and his life is forever changed. I think this story is trying to teach that one needs to be strong in their faith to help them make good moral decisions.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Before reading this story, I never knew one could analyze wallpaper so much. Wow! I think this woman was mentally ill and being stuck in a room for so long just casused her case to worsen. She had nothing to do with her time and so she absorbed and investigated her surroundings, specifically the yellow wallpaper. However, her investigation was taken to an extreme, she began to see things that are not even physically possible. I think this just supports the case that she had to have been mentally ill. I don't really what the representation is of the woman that she was seeing in the wallpaper and through her windows, but I do think that something was haunting her. Maybe, it was her illness and the lifestyle she was foreced to live because of it.

The Tell-Tale Heart

Whenever I hear about murder stories, I always wonder what was going on inside the head of those murderers. This story, "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Alan Poe does just that. It takes the reader inside of the mind of the murderer, who is narrating the story. This story is written in a form where the narrator is directly talking to the person reading it, therefore giving the reader a closer connection to the character behind the story.
The whole motive for this murder is to get rid of the evil eye that is haunting the main character. He claims that he is not mad, but I think anyone who can commit such a crime must be somewhat mentally unstable. The old man that displays this evil eye is described as such a nice man. It is just his eye, which resembles that of a vulture, that triggers a motive for it to be ridded of. I found it interesting the way the murderer went about murdering the old man. He could not find the srength to commit the crime unless he physically saw the eye. When he finally did see the eye, he found the strength to commit the crime. One thing I was very questionable about was why it took so long for the police to get there after the noise was reported. It must have taken him a while to cut up the body, meticulously place the pieces under the floor boards, and remove any remaining evidence. It just didn't seem right to me that all this could be done before the police arrived to inspect the place. When the police first arrived the murderer acted so nonchalantly about the act he just committed. However, eventually the guilt began to eat at him. This ringing noise couldn't have been something that was everyone was hearing. If it was so unbearable to him and other people were hearing it as well something would have been mentioned or done about it. I think this just shows how strong the human conscientious mind can be. It may let you make your own decisions, but once the decision is made it will let you know if it was right or wrong.

A Rose For Emily

I found this story to be very weird and kind of creepy. Miss Emily's character was very unpredictable so I was always questioning her decisions and behavior like: why did her house smell so bad for so long, why did she get aresenic, and why was it that she never left her house and that no one ever came over?  All of this seemed very suspicous and made me think she was going to committ murder or something. Although, the end of the story reveals that Miss Emily was really in love with this man, Homer Barron. The single strand of hair sitting in the pillow next to Homer Barron's dead body signifies how much love Miss Emily had for him. So why did all the suspicious behvavior go on? Did she really kill him? I found it hard to put everything together. However I did see a resemblence as to how Miss Emily held on to Homer's dead body just as she strived to hold on to her father's dead body. But I am still left confused, trying to piece it together.

English 101 and About Me

In English 101 we learned how to do reasearch, write, and cite the material correctly. We focused a lot on MLA style of writing and citing papers, but also a lot of grammer. We did some grammar lessons and SLCS to help us correct our grammatical errors. We wrote a reasearch academic based paper, literary analysis, and several others that I can not come up with a name for at this time.

I am not much of a reader or a writer for that matter. Therefore, unsurprisingly English is my least favorite subject. I don't know that I really have a favorite subject, but in high school P.E. was always my favorite class. I enjoy partaking in sports especially track and cross country. I am not currently involved in any sports but I still like to run and stay active. I hope this class can help me to become a better writer. Good writing is such a useful skill to have, which is why I wish I was a better writer.