"It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night - and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over. Only gradually did I become aware that the automobiles which turned expectantly into his drive stayed for just a minute and then drove sulkily away. Wondering if he were sick I went over to find out - an unfamiliar butler with a villainous face squinted at me suspiciously from the door." (Page 113)
I feel it is only appropriate when finishing another novel to use a blog title that invokes curiosity. Well, confused reader, I am referring to the epic scene in Ice Age with the Dodo birds when Sid wants to get a watermelon for the baby. After destroying 2 melons in their fight, Sid and the dodo birds see the third and final melon and one of the birds says, "the last....melon," in an extremely quotable manner. I would just post a video on here but I can't find one that is the right scene and in english. So you'll just have to imagine it. Hers's a picture:
I've decided that I liked this book. It kind of felt like watching 90210. There's always some new drama that the writer can spin into the plotline just in time to keep me intrigued.
But I can't imagine that these characters are as unrealistically attractive as the ones on 90210. Anyway, the story actually kept me entertained, and the drama was almost juicy in a way. The ending was quite unexpected, I must say. I definitely did not see 3 deaths coming. It kind of felt like reading a Shakespeare tragedy there at the end. Oh well. All's well that ends well. Sort of.
"I've always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end." (Page 154)
I like Nick. He's a wholesome character. In fact, he's the only character in this book that I didn't want to strangle at least once. A close second for my praise was Jordan, but she was just plain annoying at points in the story. Especially when she was just lounging without a care in the world in the beginning of the book when Nick meets her for the first time at the Buchanan's house. That scene reminded me of Mrs. Bennett of Pride and Prejudice during one of the scenes in the movie when she is just lazily sitting on the couch. And I like Mrs. Bennett, so this is a tough comparison for me to admit! Okay, I can't find a picture of this scene anywhere online, so you'll just have to imagine it.
Anyway, Nick was capable of liking Gatsby but not liking him at the same time, and I can relate to that. I guess I'll have to believe his comment about always disapproving of Gatsby, but I have a hard time doing that when I think about how much care he took in arranging everything after Gatsby was shot. Someone had to do it, I guess.
"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete." (Page 163)
Wilson and Gatsby didn't have any interaction until the night when one of Gatsby's decisions impacted Wilson's life forever (or at least for a few days until he killed himself). Gatsby let Daisy drive. And then he didn't make her stop when she hit someone with the car.Wilson found out who had killed his wife (or so he thought), and BOOM! External conflict! Wilson v. Gatsby. They both lost. Unfortunately, Wilson decided that the only way to avenge his wife was to kill Gatsby and then end his own life. It's slightly depressing to think that this whole story passed rather happily with parties and drunken people until the very end when the splat-woosh factor set in. (Those of you who have ever had the privilege of learning from Mrs. Helbing know what this means. Those of you who don't: think of it as the (to use a nicer word) feces hitting the fan. Splat. Woosh.) I liked the action though. It gave the book substance, and I think I understand all of the hype surrounding this critically acclaimed novel. Bravo, Fitzgerald.
"Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour, while at her request I remained watchfully in the garden." (Page 107)
I want to like Gatsby. I really do. But he's not helping himself. Every time I begin to have any sort of sympathy for him, he does something stupid like cheat with another man's wife or cover up a murder. So, I've decided his is the antihero of this story. He certainly lacks courage: it took him 5 years to speak to Daisy because he was worried she wouldn't love him if he wasn't rich. He lacks grace because he stupidly decides to spend time with Daisy and her husband more than once. He's intelligent, but he's not street smart, and he doesn't possess any worthy morals that I can discern. He is having an affair of sorts with a married woman, and then he allows her to kill someone and get away with it. Unfortunately, I sustained a bit of sympathy for him throughout the book simply because I find him kind of pathetic. He doesn't have any real friends, and the woman he loves leaves him. Plus he gets shot.
' "That's a great expression of yours, isn't it?" said Tom sharply.
"What is?"
"All this 'old sport' business. Where'd you pick that up?" ' (Page 127)
I must say, I was a bit relieved when Tom finally called Gatsby out on all of his "old sport"-ing. I was getting frustrated with it, and I wasn't even speaking to him! I noticed that this particular motif of Gatsby's occurs almost every time he speaks. It isn't confined to when he is angry or when he is being pleasant. It's just his thing. I guess I can understand that, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. It almost feels like a defense mechanism, though. It's Gatsby's way of ensuring that the listener won't think he is being rude or mean. It invites camaraderie and confidence. It actually almost makes him sound paternal, like a father patting his son on the back after a baseball game. Classic. Amurrican.
I can practically hear this guy saying, "Good job, sport."
"Then I was lying half asleep in the cold lower level of the Pennsylvania Station, staring at the morning Tribune, and waiting for the four o'clock train." (Page 38)
The end of chapter two confused the heck out of me, and to be completely honest, I ended up glossing over some of the drunken banter between Myrtle, Tom, the McKees, and all of the other randoms that decided to walk across the pages of chapter two because I just couldn't see the significance in some of it. Tom has a mistress, she's a little chubby, and she's a bit of a diva. They all like to drink. There. I just summarized it for myself.
I could handle all of the insanity up until the end when Tom randomly punched Myrtle Wilson in the face and broke her nose because she kept repeating Daisy's name and then the above quote happened when I'm assuming he awoke from his blackout. Who knows? I could definitely use some clarification on this particular scene. He mentions standing by somebody's bed, underwear, a great portfolio, and then Pennsylvania Station. All after accepting a lunch invitation from Mr. McKee that has yet to actually happen at the end of chapter five. Hmm.
"Reading over what I have written so far, I see I have given the impression that the events of three nights several weeks apart were all that absorbed me. On the contrary, they were merely casual events in a crowded summer, and, until much later, they absorbed me infinitely less than my personal affairs." (Page 56)
A Series of Unfortunate Events: we've all read them. Or at least, we read them until we were too depressed to carry on. (Although I must admit that Lemony Snicket does remind the reader every 4.2 seconds that they could be reading something less real and therefore less morbid. I'm not bitter though.) This popular series by Lemony Snicket is written in such a way that the author occasionally takes a step back from the story and addresses the reader about what is to come or how they should throw the book aside and run away to their grandma's house for cookies or blah blah blah...........zzzzzzzzzzzzz............I fell asleep. He uses his depressed tone of foreboding to entice the reader into carrying on with the innately tragic story of three little orphans. When he pauses to talk to his reader, Lemony Snicket likes to explain why he is telling the story the way he is or how certain events will make sense later.
Nick reminded me of Lemony Snicket on page 58 when he paused from his storytelling for a moment to address the reader about how he is writing the story. He wants to emphasize that the events he had previously described weren't the only things going on in his life. That's when he breaks into his description of work and New York. I don't know about you, but I was relived to learn Nick has an actual life.
"A caddy retracted his statement, and the only other witness admitted that he might have been mistaken." (Page 58)
My friends and I have a little thing we like to do called "sketch hands." I created them when we were walking in a weird alley downtown at night during NCYC on our way to dinner. We were in a big group, so we were perfectly safe, but it still felt a bit sketchy. They are like awkward hands, except instead of impersonating Ricky Bobby when he doesn't know what to do with his hands, you make one of your hands look like a gun, and then you hold the thumb of your hand that is making the gun as if you don't know what to do with it. Basically, you hold your thumb of your right hand between your pointer finger and your thumb of your left hand. Go on, try it. You know you want to.
What's the point of these ramblings? Well, I threw up my sketch hands when I read the passage about Jordan Baker being clever enough to evade punishment or reproach. To be honest, I just don't like her. I feel like the whole narration about her on pages 58-59 are foreshadowing a time when she is going to cause something bad to happen and get away with it. She makes me nervous, and I just don't trust her.
"I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gave to the restless eye." (Page 57)
It's no coincidence that good ole F. Scott put Nick's description of New York right after his first encounter with one of Gatsby's parties. He wanted to juxtapose the energy and excitement generally connected with both places. At Gatsby's party, there are ridiculous amounts of people wandering about the house and grounds. Some are famous and all are engrossed in their own little world of entertainment for the evening. The same is true of New York. There are certainly famous people roaming around New York, and all of the citizens are trying to live their lives in their own way while also enjoying themselves. There is quite a hustle and bustle in both situations, and Nick likes to sit back and watch the comings and goings of each is he is not presently engaged in some conversation or activity. Fitzgerald knew what he was doing when he equated Gatsby's home to New York simply by placing them page to page in the book.
Looks a bit like the front cover of the book, doesn't it?
"You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody's looking at him. I'll bet he killed a man." (Page 44)
All of the opinions floating around about Gatsby are almost comical considering how many friends he has. (Or quasi-friends since no one knows anything concrete about him.) Descriptions abound as to what he does and from where he came, but nothing seems to be absolute. The author did not do this by accident. All of the misconceptions and guesses as to what defines Gatsby's life actually define and characterize him. He is elusive, to say the least. He is also extremely private and prone to leaving things to the imagination.
This scene reminded me of the song by Adele "Rumour Has It." It's all about exactly what the title states - a rumor. Gatsby's character is preceded by rumors no matter where he goes, and he seems unwilling to quell the confusion with a few simple statements about his life. He definitely keeps his acquaintances guessing. Which, of course, only adds to the mystique swarming his every move.
"...he was unable to rise from his bed, and in a few days he died in my arms." (Page 147)
This reminds me of when I had two guinea pigs. One of them had to be put to sleep because it was too old to function, and the other one died about a week later because it was lonely. (At least, that's what my parents told me. I was about 4, and they might have just been protecting from the truth that they didn't want our guinea pigs anymore.) Either way, the death of Victor's father particularly upset me because I like Victor's father. He was a passionate, loving man who cared for his family above all things. He supported his son and encouraged him to find his way in the world. However, it wasn't the loss of the father that upset me most but the loss of a guardian for Ernest. The poor kid got kicked to the curb in the wake of his father's death and Victor's departure to track down and kill the creature. I almost wish Ernest hadn't even been written into the story so he wouldn't have had to be abandoned and forgotten amid Victor's plans and travels. Or the creature should have just killed him off too to save him a lifetime of sorrow.
Not that I want Ernest to die, but I know he would have some serious mental and emotional problems from literally watching his entire family die. The kid deserves an Oscar or something for his hardships.
So here you go, Ernest. I'm sorry for your loss...es.
"The murderous mark of the fiend's grasp was on her neck, and the breath had ceased to issue from her lips." (Page 145)
The creature is a killing machine. I was sitting in class today thinking about all of the people he had killed, and I wished I could think of a new, stronger word for killing. I was reminded of a scene from Kungpow when the protagonist makes an entire speech about creating a new word for killing because killing in bad and wrong. He comes up with "badong." I found a clip of him giving the speech on youtube, but it unfortunately had a cuss word in the title of the video, so I couldn't put it on here. So here's the speech he gives:
"Killing is wrong. And bad. There should be a new, stronger word for killing. Like badwrong, or badong. Yes, killing is badong. From this moment, I will stand for the opposite of killing: gnodab."
So it's not exactly a speech, but it is a few sentences. That counts. The creature was a bit of a jerk to Victor even though Victor rejected him from the moment he was born. They were a destructive relationship from the start. What a shame.
"...stature gigantic..." (Page 91)
"A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife." (Page 145)
If Mary Shelley tells me his stature is gigantic one more time... I get it! He's huge! Let's not dwell on it. Every single time the poor guy enters a scene the whole focus shifts towards how massive he is. Which I guess makes sense. The reader experiences the same internal shock at how huge the monster is...again and again and again. Also, what is with this guy and his creepy grinning. He gets a sick pleasure out of ruining Victor's day, and I'm sick of it. This motif of his "gigantic stature" alludes to any instance when the creature dominates a scene. Whether it be from his murderous ways or how frightened the rest of the characters are of him, the creature's height is emphasized when he is a threat. His stature and physical appearance are not as much of a focus when he is simply speaking to Victor or living in a weird, secluded hovel by a family that somehow doesn't notice their 8-foot neighbor. However, Shelley doesn't miss a chance to mention his height when it fits into the scene. (No pun intended.)
"How I have lived I hardly know; many times have I stretched my failing limbs upon the sandy plain, and prayed for death. But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die, and leave my adversary in being." (Page 149)
These guys have some serious issues between them. I feel like conflict isn't even the right description for the actions surrounding these two. It's more like a knock-down, drag-out, battle of the wills and senses to the death. With some internal conflicts mixed in. They remind me of a song.....surprise, surprise! It's from Wicked the Musical; what else?
It's a sketchy recording, but they're the absolute best. These two guys legitimately loath each other at times in their lives, but, like Glinda and Elphaba, they like each other sometimes too. Unfortunately, unlike the two leading ladies of Wicked, things do not end in the ultimate song of forgiveness and hope for the future. They just die. Better yet, the creature commits suicide. Not a good day for him.
"Agatha fainted; and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage." (Page 96-97)
This is a slightly depressing scene to think about. The creature spends about a year spying on the DeLaceys and blows it in about 5 minutes. He gets the old, blind father to be supportive of him for all of about 10 minutes, and then his looks fail him, and he is feared once again. So, I've decided his hubris is how deformed and frightful he looks. The poor guy can't catch a break, and his physical appearance leads to his lack of a woman and self-esteem which leads to his eventual demise. It all connects to his spooky appearance. Oh darn. I searched google images for the scariest and most accurate version of the creature I could find. I like this one best:
Imagine coming home to that!! And sitting next to your kind, old father. Tsk tsk. Like good ole Mrs. Bennett says in Pride and Prejudice, "tis a shame [he's] not more handsome."
"By very slow degrees, and with frequent relapses that alarmed and grieved my friend, I recovered." (Page 39)
Victor Frankenstein is no doubt a genius. However, he is a giant drama queen! I understand getting freaked out by an 8 foot monster in the dark, but seriously, he wanted the monster to be alive. What did he expect? Make an 8 foot creature, and then have it instantly become cute and fluffy? No. Not at all. He got what he wanted, and then he went totally insane for a year, and scared his entire family with his silence and absence from their lives! He barely contacted them at all for the 2 years he was working on the creature, and then he avoided them until his brother died. Then he was a total debbie downer until he left again! He had to go on some noble quest to save the world from the problem he started in the first place. I like the guy, but he is a teenage girl sometimes.
"I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me." (Page 69)
Rejection is a disabling thing. The creature was born, and immediately he was rejected and hated by the only thing he knew: Victor. This reminded me of one of the first few scenes in the musical Wicked. Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, was born green, and her family instantly developed feelings of disgust towards her. They couldn't just love her. They had to freak out about their green baby and basically ruin her adolescence even though her mother was to blame for getting drunk and sleeping around.
5:50
The creature suffered from the same instant rejection by his father of sorts. It completely messed with his psyche because he just wanted to be loved. Fortunately, he was able to discover that there is good in the world, and he did not turn out to be evil.
"I see by your eagerness and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be: listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject."
I've used that title before for a blog, but it seemed to fit. This is the most extended anecdote I have ever read. Victor is telling his story to Robert in order to inform him of a truth he learned from his life. He is trying to help Robert, and Victor is using this story to aid him in his mission of informing Robert about the side effects of too much scientific discovery. Not only is this a frame story, but it also a long parable (that just happens to have actually happened in the storyteller's life as opposed to a made-up story) that has a purpose of relaying a message.
Mary Shelley wrote this story to also inform the world not to pry further than is necessary into science. There are negative effects of scientific pursuit, and nothing can ever be unlearned. Once a theory or discovery grips the mind of a person, it is there to stay.
"All men hate the wretched; how, then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!" (Page 68)
Wait, what?!? The creature can speak? I had this mental image of a groaning thing in my mind that could only make sounds, but this guy has a better vocabulary than I do after only two years of life! He reminds me of the e-trade baby that talks in the commercials. The kid should be goo-goo-ga-ga-ing, and it is sitting at a computer selling a product to a television audience. Kids these days!
When the creature spoke the first time, I did a mental double take. I wasn't quite sure if Victor was still speaking to Robert Walton, and I was just confused or if this menacing creature was actually sophisticated. Either way, I did not expect what Shelley threw at me. Bravo.
"Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity." (Page 80)
If that isn't foreshadowing, I don't know what is. The creature is explaining his tale to Victor, and he seems to have an innate sense of his imminent demise or someone else's. Mary Shelley doesn't strike me as the type of author to accidentally use the word 'fatal,' so I'm confident someone's going to die. Someone has to die though. It's Frankenstein! That name just screams terror and death in the world today, and then mentality had to come from somewhere.
Mary Shelley has favored foreshadowing in the first 12 chapters of this book, and it reminded me of the song "The Best is Yet to Come" today while we were discussing this scene in class. However, in this case I was replacing the word 'best' with 'worst.' This story is bound to get juicy, and my guess is it will only be in a positive direction after some serious negative events.
"And we have decided to move into our house because my father - my father - he earned it for us brick by brick." (Act III, Scene 1, Page 148)
Walter has finally become a man! While discussing this in class, I decided that this scene in which Walter accepted the consequences of his actions and stood up for himself was like a scene from the movie Brother Bear. Brother Bear is probably one of the cheesiest, most heartwarming movies I have ever seen, and now I am going to share a bit of it with you.
This scene demonstrates when the youngest brother learned what it means to love and be responsible for some you care about. So, from this moment forward, Walter is now Walter the Manbear!! Congratulations to him! Walter learned to be proud of himself and be responsible for the decisions he makes because the implications of his decisions affect his loved ones. Walter the Man bear is now the true head of his family, and he can live his life with confidence in himself.
Question #9: In literature, as in life, a character might feel trapped. Discuss a character from Raisin who feels trapped and give examples of the ways in which this character chooses to deal with those feelings.
(Dispiritedly) "Well, I guess from all the happy faces - everybody knows." (Act I, Scene 2, Page 57)
I don't expect you to understand the reference in my title for this post. If you do, then we just became best friends. There is a fantastically horrible movie called KungPow in which the protagonist becomes trapped in a tiny net. The entire movie is a huge joke that makes me roll around with laughter every time I watch it. The humor behind the net is that it is probably the easiest trap to escape, but it seems overwhelming to the Chosen One at the time he is in it. Here's a clip to help you understand:
Ruth is definitely preggers, and she is not the least bit excited about it. For the first half of the play, she is planning on having an abortion because she feels trapped by the idea of having another person to care for and feed. In her current living arrangement, she doesn't see how she can raise another child and retain her sanity. She feels trapped by this baby, her marriage, and her tiny apartment. In her mind, the only way to relieve that stress is to get rid of the baby. I am definitely not saying that Ruth's problems are a joke like this tiny net; I really just wanted to use this clip. However, once Ruth learns that the family will be moving to a house, she is relieved of one of her stresses. And then her marriage turns around, and she begins to remember why she ever fell in love with Walter. All of this means the baby gets to live! Ruth was able to embrace her new child because her mind wasn't plagued and trapped by her limited future.
Question #5: Show how Raisin deals with the generation gap - the problems that the older generation has in dealing with the younger generation and vice versa.
"Mama, you don't understand. It's all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don't accept. It's not important. I am not going out and be immoral or commit crimes because I don't believe in God. I don't even think about it. It's just that I get tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves for its own stubborn effort. There simply is no blasted God - there is only man and it is he who makes miracles!" (Act I, Scene 1, Page 51)
Ouch. Imagine raising a daughter to believe in God and then having to listen to her completely dismiss God and his powers. It's no wonder Beneatha got smacked across the face. Mama has to worry about providing a good life for her children, and on top of that she has to tolerate this blasphemy from her daughter. In Mama's time, something this rude deserved a slap in the face, and Bennie has to deal with that tradition from her mother's time. Mama struggles to understand the questioning personalities of young people during the time of this story. Beneatha is growing up in a generation that has the tendency to question everything and search for answers, and she is naturally an inquisitive person. Mama doesn't quite understand this questioning mentality, and Beneatha can't relate to Mama's strict standpoints: what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. No gray areas. All black and white. Bennie and Mama need to experience a blending of their viewpoints.
"Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." (Scene 1, Page 1236)
He certainly does not give me illusion. He gives me disappointment and no hope for the underdog. Amanda doesn't get what she wants. Tom doesn't get what he wants. Laura doesn't get what she wants, but she does get what she needs: an improvement in her self-esteem. And that right there, ladies and gentlemen, saved the play. The ending did not exactly entertain me like a magician would, but I was at least happy for Laura in a content kind of way. She was abandoned the only other constant man in her life: her brother, but she also was given confidence by an equally impacting man: Jim. Although I ended this play with anger at Tom for leaving, I also was proud of him for achieving one life goal of his. He got away. He gave me the truth about his life whether I liked it or not, and I am thankful for that.
"There was a Jim O'Connor we both knew in high school - if that is the one Tom is bringing to dinner - you'll have to excuse me, I won't come to the table." (Scene 6, Page 1264)
Some of the most debilitating memories in this play revolve around Laura. I blame her incredibly low self-esteem for this. The memory of her handicap in high school has haunted her for 6 years and prevented her from forming any real relationships in her life that could improve her life. Just the thought of a high school acquaintance coming to dinner causes her to be ill, and she is only coaxed out of this sickness by the good manners and delightful personality of Jim.
The other negative memory surrounding Laura is Tom's memory of her when he leaves. He is trying to change his life, and he is haunted by the guilt of leaving his little sister. The memory of his betrayal towards her grips him at times, and he has to drown out the thought of her with movies and alcohol further proving that the memories surrounding Laura are primarily obstructive of self-improvement.
"Go to the movies, go! Don't think about us, a mother deserted, an unmarried sister who's crippled, and has no job!" (Scene 7, Page 1288)
This is one screwed up family. Amanda is very loving towards her children, but she is also quick-tempered with them. She's been hardened by a lifetime of disappointments. She always dreamed of marrying a man with land and servants, but she ended up marrying into the working class and eventually being abandoned by her husband. And to make matters worse, she still practically fawns over her jerk of a husband and honors him with a giant picture in the middle of their home. Their relationship is quite complex, to say the least. As hard as Amanda tries, Tom is still turning out to be very much like his father, and he doesn't seem to care. The main difference between the two men is that Tom loves his mother and his sister. When he calls Laura crippled, Amanda reprimands him and says that she isn't noticeably crippled. In the quote above, however, tension causes Amanda to eat her own words and call her own daughter crippled in an attempt to stop Tom from leaving.
Tom loves Laura, but not enough to stay. He loves Amanda, but not enough to obey her. He doesn't love himself enough to believe that he could ever do great things. Family complexities at their finest.
"To-morrow is the joyful day, Audrey; to-morrow will we be / married." (V.iii.72)
I grew up loving the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (or as my family calls it: SB4SB) because I was raised watching it. It's pretty much the greatest movie/musical ever. It's the movie I watch when I am home sick and I feel like doing absolutely nothing. Here's a quick synopsis: it is based in 1850 Oregon in the backwoods. A backwoodsman who just happens to be the oldest of 7 boys meets and marries Milly - a city girl who is basically a wonder woman when it comes to housework and farmwork. Also, she's gorgeous and has the voice of an angel sliding down a rainbow. So naturally Adam (the eldest of the boys) is drawn to her instantly in this highly realistic movie. By the end of the movie (after multiple ridiculously amazing song and dance numbers), the other 6 brothers have all found wives and they all get married at the same time. Fun fact: the brothers names are Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense (call him Frank if you don't want him to beat you up), and Gideon Pontipee. It's a strapping group of Bible-named young men.
Unfortunately, I can't find a youtube clip of the wedding scene, so you'll just have to be satisfied with the best dance scene you have ever seen (the second half of the clip is the best because it is when the brothers who are mostly from a ballet company or a gymnastics team show their true talents):
The marriages in "As You Like It:" Rosiland to Orlando, Celia to Oliver, Audrey to Touchstone, and Phebe to Silvius all occur in Act 5, and they complete the essence of the comedy. Apparently, in a tragedy everyone dies, and in a comedy everyone gets married. What a way to live!
"The other daughter to the banish'd Duke, / And here detain'd by her usurping uncle, / To keep his daughter company; whose loves / Are dearer than the natural bond of sisters." (I.ii.11-12)
....and apparently dearer than the natural bond of brothers. The brothers in this story do not do the Lean On Me lyrics justice. Two sets of brothers are juxtaposed: Oliver and Orlando and Duke Senior and Duke Frederick. And guess what? They're horrible brothers! Nothing like Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly:
(I really wanted to put the "did we just become best friends" scene on here, but they use some explicit terminology so this will have to suffice. If it doesn't play, then that's quite unfortunate for you. Sorry.)
Oliver is older than Orlando. Duke Senior is older than Duke Frederick. However, Duke Frederick does not follow the rules of society; he takes over his brother's position as duke and banishes his brother to the desert. Oliver has a right to his land and an obligation to help his younger brother, but he doesn't. Because he's a little meanie pants. The juxtaposition of these two sets of brothers shows that societal rules are not the only ones to follow; one should also adhere to family obligations. The two mean brothers - Oliver and Frederick - do make up for their annoying qualities throughout most of the play by finally loving their brothers and giving them what is rightfully theirs. However, by that time Orlando is already set to marry Rosalind eventually and on his way to dukedom, so Oliver was a tad late with his generosity. But the show must go on!
"I had rather hear you chide than this man woo." (III.v.52)
Well, this is awkward. The dramatic irony is practically dripping from the pages of this adorable little book because Phebe is in love with a man who's actually a woman. And to add to the insanity: that man who is actually a woman is in love with Orlando who loves her back but doesn't know it is her so he is pretending to be in love with a man that is actually the woman he loves. (intake of breath) It's all very unfortunate for Phebe because she's in love with a woman. I mean, talk about embarrassing. The audience knows of Rosalind's disguise, as does Celia (who is also in disguise), but the rest of the characters are completely ignorant. So I have to ask: are they just used to really feminine guys in this forest? Because I doubt a duke's daughter looks masculine enough to be a strapping young man. But oh well. Shakespeare was a bit worn out with comedies when he wrote this anyway. This whole situation just reminds me of the scene is She's the Man (I'm sure no one else has alluded to this movie in their blogs yet, Mr. Costello...sarcasm...so you're in for a treat) when Olivia Lennings proclaims to Viola that she is just going to walk up to Sebastian (Viola's brother who she has been impersonating for 1 1/2 weeks) and kiss him. Here's a clip in case you don't get the idea:
As audience members, we're pretty lucky to know that Ganymede is actually Rosalind because I would be extremely confused if I didn't know. Or maybe I would just feel really awkward watching Orlando pretend to love a man.
Control is something that humans have striven for since the beginning of time. Economists attempt to control the future of the stock market, meteorologists attempt to control the weather, and family members attempt to control the lifetime of a loved one with medicine and machines. Humans possess an innate desire for power over that which cannot be feasibly controlled, and humans frequently learn of the inevitability of negative consequences when they attempt to gain control of the uncontrollable. Iago, John Tucker, and the Ancient Babylonians are among those who know of the unavoidable negative consequences of their actions.
Throughout Othello, Iago proves that he is nothing if not manipulative. He is in almost complete control of Roderigo’s actions from the beginning of the play, and he successfully strings Roderigo along like a puppet for much of the play. Along the road to his eventual prosecution, Iago gathers into his control the lives of Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Emilia, and practically every other member of the play. Not only does Iago possess an uncanny affinity for making people do what he wants, but he also seems to be completely confident in his schemes and abilities. Before the end of Act V, Iago appears to be successful in his endeavors to ruin Othello’s marriage, kill Roderigo, and take Cassio’s job. However, the courage of Emilia, his seemingly submissive wife, prevails, and all becomes right after most of the cast is already dead. But better later than never. After Iago’s failed domination of the world he inhabits, Lodovico condemns him to the mercy of Cassio by telling Cassio, “To you, lord governor, / Remains the censure of this hellish villain; / The time, the place, the torture: O, enforce it!” (V.ii.372-374) Iago’s actions led to a lifetime of torture at the hands of his adversary.
Meet the modern-day Iago: John Tucker. He is high school’s hottest hunk in John Tucker Must Die, a movie that combines comedy with girl-power after John Tucker decides to break the girl code and date three girls at one time. Like Iago, John Tucker is an expert at manipulating those around him, but, also like Iago, he faces retribution at the hands of scorned women. John’s social demise and eventual rebooting is a result of his decision to date three girls at his high school who travel in different social circles. But these girls find out and team up with the new girl to destroy John’s reputation. When the girls discover that they are all dating John Tucker, the new girl, Kate, delivers a line that sets their whole plan in motion: “It seems to me that if a guy treats you like that…I’d get even.” (John Tucker Must Die) After this fateful meeting of the four women, John’s status as the super-jock falters via an instance of raging hormones on the basketball court, an extremely public scene in which John slips into a set of underwear that are about as feminine as undergarments can get, and a movie theater preview proclaiming John’s affliction with an STD.
Despite all of these attempts to destroy John’s social status, he somehow regains his popularity just as Iago does after each scandalous event with the help of his unending confidence and manipulative words. John doesn’t meet his fate until the most eventful birthday of his life thus far when he literally gets cake thrown at his face. (link to witness this highly entertaining food fight:http://movieclips.com/nf4XS-john-tucker-must-die-movie-truth-comes-out/)All of the hits to John’s reputation and his face full of birthday cake prove to John that his actions do indeed have negative consequences and those consequences surface eventually.
Iago’s and John Tucker’s cocky demeanors surface in the Book of Genesis within the foibles of the Ancient Babylonians. This particular group of people believed that despite their inferiority to God, they could build a tower tall enough to reach Heaven. Their purpose in building this Tower of Babel was to “make a name for [them]selves; otherwise [they] shall be scattered all over the earth.” (Genesis) They did not build the tower to praise God and thank Him for their ability to construct such a tower. Therefore, they faced God’s wrath for their over-confidence. God knocked down their tower and caused them all to speak in different languages as punishment for their misdemeanors. The punishment the Ancient Babylonians received is similar to that of Iago and John Tucker in that they all lost something they valued. For Iago, it was his freedom. John Tucker lost his ability to secretly date more than one girl at a time, and the Babylonians lost their tower and conversational skills. All three of them learned of the inevitability of negative consequences when they attempted to control the uncontrollable.
If you have about 20 minutes, watch these three clips that tell the story of the Tower of Babel in the clearest way possible: through children's television. I loved this show as a child. (And by child I mean young teenager as well.)
Works Cited
Genesis.The New American Bible. Revised ed. New Jersey: World Catholic, 2011. Print.
John Tucker Must Die. Dir. Betty Thomas. By Jeff Lowell. Perf. Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, and Sophia Bush. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 2006. DVD.
Perrine, Laurence. “Othello.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Fort Worth. HarcourtCollege. 2002. 1361-1462. Print.
lyrics to The Girl is Mine by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney: http://www.ultimate80ssongs.com/songs/j/jacksonm-girl.htm
Paul)
"Michael, we're not going to fight about this, okay"
(Michael)
"Paul, I think I told you, I'm a lover not a fighter" (aww.......)
Shakespeare's tragic love triangle ended much less amiably than Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's gentleman-like duet about their shared love for a woman. However, they are both equally entertaining. Paul and Michael go back and forth about the girl saying "well, after loving me, the girl said she couldn't love another..." This conversation set to music is all in good, friendly spirits whereas Othello's love for Desdemona is actually fatal. No joke. And Roderigo's unrequited love for Desdemona is just pathetic and not manly at all like Michael's and Paul's. Roderigo is in love with a woman who has never given him any reason to believe she cares for him in return. Paul and Michael have obviously both spent some time with the object of their affection. However, the passion and desire for the woman in both of these scenarios is equally intense. Michael Jackson definitely should have written the soundtrack to Othello. Or maybe just the musical Othello. On Broadway. Oh I can see it now!! Shakespeare's Othello: The Musical!
I spent forever trying to find a video or track of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson singing on youtube, but I couldn't find anything. So I hope this can suffice. I'm really sorry if the video is inappropriate or offensive in any way. I realize the words aren't exactly the same.
"This heavy act with heavy heart relate." Exeunt (V.ii.371)
I can't honestly say that I'm sad to see this play go. It was entertaining, but it was enough after about three acts. To be frank, I hated having to read an entire act a night, but the past can't be changed so I
will move on. The characters in this play were definitely interesting, and some of them even had a few endearing qualities. Desdemona's practically sickening loyalty to Othello until the very end of her life was admirable but kind of pathetic. One of the last things out of her mouth was "Nobody, I myself." (V.ii.122) She wouldn't even blame Othello for his murder when she had the chance. (The fact that she could speak after being strangeld was slightly unrealistic, but oh well. C'est la vie and all that jazz.) Lodovico was satisfyingly distant and unimportant. He wasn't near enough to the action to be manipulated personally, so I could find some pleasure in reading about him. Roderigo was just a lovesick idiot. End of story. And the rest of them were crazy in one way or another. But I guess if the play has lasted this long since it was written, it's a good thing. So I will end on a good note and say that I'm glad I read it if only to know that I want to watch the whole movie to reward myself for getting through it.
"Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. / From this time forthI never will speak word." (V.ii.302-303)
#thatawkwardmoment when you have a chance to redeem yourself or at least explain yourself and you don't. Oh, Iago. You're an idiot. Othello literally offered you a chance to explain yourself and possibly save yourself from countless hours of torture at Cassio's vengeful hands, and you said nothing.
As I've stated before, I don't like Iago. Not only because he's a total jerk, but because he isn't relatable. He doesn't offer the audience any chance to pity him because he won't tell us the real reason he does anything. Yes, he's offered various motives for his follies: wants Cassio's job, Othello might have slept with his wife, blah blah blah. These would at the very least be valid, lasting motives, but no. Iago can't stop his plotting and scheming when the solutions of those motives comes to fruition. Honestly, I think Iago is just plain bad. He is one of those villians who doesn't need a reason. He reminds me of the Joker who always tells a different story about how he got the scars on his face in the form of a smile. Each story is equally believable, but each is also denied by the next story. Iago and the Joker just hurt people because they can. Their motivation is probably rooted in childhood deprivation or internal dissatisfaction with themselves. Again, no pity. Sorry boutcha.
"To beguile many and be beguiled by one. / He, when he hears of her, cannot refrain / From the excess of laughter. Here he comes." (IV.i.95-97)
I am getting sick and tired of Iago's little asides during the play. If the guy isn't annoying enough just by being himself, let's throw an undiluted dose of Iago's inner thinkings on practically every other page. I understand the point of his tidbits of insanity that he so willingly gives to the audience, but this is ridiculous. Iago manipulates everyone (I have this image of a puppeteer in my head), and then he goes further to manipulate the audience into thinking along with him. And the most bothersome part is that it's compelling! I actually want to know how he's going to ruin the next character's life. However, I am not team Iago. Not in the slightest. As the wonderful Grace Weisenbach said, "I am Team Anyone But Iago." Wise words. It's convenient to know what is going on in Iago's head, but it's frustrating to not know everything. Because darling Iago could never actually share anything helpful or desired with the audience he entertains so much. I think the guy is a bit attention deprived and is acting out because of some deep-rooted desire to have control over something. But I don't pity him. At all.
I can't say that I know everything about what is going to happen in this play, but I can assume a few things. Iago is probably going to successfully screw things up. He might even screw them up in the way he desires, but somehow Othello will continue with his life and success because he is the protagonist. Iago will probably end up losing his wife because let's face it, they aren't really in love. Any man that can look at his wife and say things like, "Nay, it is true, or else I am a Turk. / You rise to play, and go to bed work." (II.i.114-115) to his wife is not capable of sustaining a relationship. He outright told his wife she was a (I'll use the word that hopefully won't get me a detention) harlot! That's completely rude and disrespectful. Iago is going to suffer for his horrible, devious actions. And I think his suffering is partially going to be a result of the loss of his wife and his friends.
Responding to Question #4:
How is dramatic suspense created? Contrast the amount of information possessed by the audience as the play proceeds with the knowledge that various individual characters have: what is the effect of such a contrast?
I've learned to realize that whenever Iago is left alone on the stage, I am about to learn some other deep insight into his evil plan. And I get excited for it. His tone changes, and he becomes more like the evil character he is as opposed to the gentleman he pretends to be. Even in the clip we watched on Wednesday, we saw a shift in the character portrayed by the actor. Iago's voice changed slightly, and he looked directly into the camera. Suspense is created through the expectancy of information whenever Iago begins a soliloquy.
Audience members know as much as Iago knows because he tells them. He clearly explains his feelings and decisions to those watching him in the audience. However, his fellow characters are not this privileged. Othello says this about Iago, "This fellow's of exceeding honesty, / And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, / Of human dealings." (III.iii.259-261) Othello and the other characters think they know Iago as a gentleman and loyal companion when he is, in fact, just the opposite. He is loyal to no one but himself. The effect of this is that Iago is loved by the characters (except maybe not by his wife), but he is despised by the audience members. This literary tactic evokes sympathy from the audience as we watch/read as the characters walk blindly into Iago's traps.
Responding to Question #2:
Is the play a tragedy or comedy, a melodrama or a farce? If a comedy, is it primarily romantic or satiric? Does it mingle aspects of these types of drama? How important to experiencing the drama is the audience's awareness of the classification of the play?
I have never read "Othello" before, but from what I have gathered so far, it is going to turn out to be a tragedy. It does contain some comedic value that lies just below the surface, but it is mainly (so far) the tale of a man who is not content with his position in life. Iago is jealous of Cassio, and he doesn't seem to be able to just be happy. He is extremely talented at manipulating the characters around him, and he likes to be one step ahead of everything. He is a bit melodramatic about some of his complaints in his soliloquies such as the one found on page 1382 of our text stating, "I hate the Moor, / And it is thought abroad that "twixt my sheets / He's done my office. I know not if't be true, / But I for mere suspicion in that kind / Will do as if for surety." (I.i.366-370)
Iago has issues with the Moor because Othello did not appoint him to Cassio's position and Iago is trying to devise a plan of destruction for Othello as revenge. During this soliloquy, he brainstorms ways to hate Othello, and his hatred of the Moor is partially based on the rumor that Othello slept with Iago's wife. Which is a bit ridiculous because Iago also blatantly admits that he has no proof of an affair. He simply needs a reason to hate Othello, and Iago will do whatever it takes to reprimand Othello even though the rumors about Emilia and Othello are most likely not true. Iago is crazy.
To someone not analyzing the classification of the play, it might seem a bit comedic because of Iago's hilariously ridiculous plans and schemes, but it is important to understand that this is indeed a tragedy.
