King Lear Trailer

Journal #12- Antigone

Anouilh create a tension between the contrasting idea of truth vs. lies when Creon talks about the story of Eteocles and Polynices.  When Creon starts out by revealing the true story of Polynices, Antigone immeditiately reacts by saying "That's a lie" (39). She immediately sets this border and concretes herself to the idea that her Uncle hates Polynices which is why he is attacking and blaming him. But as the story continues, and Eteocles gets revealed as a traitor too, Antigone begins to rethink her death and whether she really wants to die or not. The fact that the people of Thebes were told a lie about Eteocles and Polynices creates a tension between Antigone and Creon as the truth is revealed,  but it also creates a tension within Antigone herself in whether she should trust her uncle, or since he lied to the entire city of Thebes, he would probably be lying to her too just to keep is power and help his son. The idea of truth vs. lies creates a tension between Creon and Antigone because Creon is a King that should be trusted since what he says is what should be the truth, but he is revealing to Antigone a lie he created so that he can keep his power and loyalty and not show the entire city of Thebes that all his family members were traitors. This way, he makes sure that he reveals only Polynices was a traitor and represents himself as a great King that helped give Eteocles what he deserved as a great ex-king, and give Polynices what he deserved, which is rot without getting buried. Creon seems to be ashamed that he has to reveal this which creates this tension, but he does it in order that he keeps Antigone living for his son. Antigone on the other hand is somewhat shocked to hear this because she did not expect this story to be true at all. But a tension grows because she is not sure on whether this is a true story and its worth her while to listen to Creon and take back her actions, or what he is saying is something to keep Antigone alive so that he can have a future King when Haemon marries Antigone and they have a child.
Therefore the conflicting idea of truth vs. lies bombards the audience on what to expect happen next because we don't know who to trust or not to trust and what will happen or how will it change the characters thoughts or actions since a truth was revealed to them, but we are not sure if it is actually the truth or just a trick.

Journal #11- Antigone

The chorus started having a stronger and deeper role. In the beginning, it was just giving us an overview about what happened before, like a narrator, but now it had strong meaning behind what it says. The chorus brings in tragedy, and it is describing it as if talking to us directly and trying to make us feel what tragedy is like. I also feel like it is trying to give us a definition somehow to understand tragedy better, so that when we continue reading the play, we have a good idea of what tragedy is and be able to figure out what is tragic about the play. Anouilh uses a strong tone, that seems informative at some points, but also persuasive at other times. For example, when he says "Don't mistake me: I said "shout": I did not say groan, whimper, complain. That you cannot do." The chorus seems to persuade the audience to make sure they are doing what he is telling them to do. I think Anouilh does this using the chorus to somewhat show that he favors tragedy more, and wants the audience to receive the right type of interpretation of tragedies. The chorus seems to be saying that the play is tragic, and that we as readers should be able to understand that this is not a melodrama, but a tragedy. It is saying that once it starts, it continues on its own the tragedy begins to grow and keep going. So like how we started with Antigone revealing that she is the one that buried her brothers, and so the tragedy continues from there. Since the chorus also says that in tragedies, everyone's destiny is known, he is emphasizing that Antigone is a tragedy because Antigone knows her destiny and one that will end up in death because of her actions.

Journal #10- Antigone

Events before Nurse catches Antigone sneaking into the house:
-Antigone is sitting by herself, thinking that she is going to die. She will rise against her uncle, the King.
-Haemon is talking to Ismene, Antigone's sister. He is engaged to Antigone, but it happened in an off way. During a ball once, he was dancing with Ismene, but before the dance was over, he went and looked for Antigone and asked to marry her. But Haemene did not know that he will soon die because of this decision.
-Creon, is a King. When Oedipus was King, Creon was no more than a brother-in-law to the King, but now that he is the King, he is a strong King and does his job.
-Eurydice, Creon's wife, sits knitting all the time, until comes the time for her to die.
-The Messenger will soon come to announce Haemon's death. He has a premonition of catastrophe which is why he does not mingle with others.
-The guards sit and play cards, but are always on duty. They do anything they are told, even if it was the arresting of the King himself. They are afraid of their wives, but their children are afraid of them.
-When Oedipus died, his two sons, Eteocles and Polycines agreed that they share the throne of Thebes in alternate years. But when Eteocles refused to step down after his full year, a fight broke between him and his younger brother Polycines. They fought and ended up killing each other, in which Creon had to take over Thebes. Since Creon supported Eteocles, he gave him a proper and honorary burial, whereas Polycines body was ordered by Creon to rot without being buried and without anyone to go into mourning for him.

Anouilh explains the previous days events with the chorus in a normal tone as if they are just telling us a short summary about everything in the past. Although he explains them in short paragraphs, he gives the basics as to lead us towards what to expect. He does this is a way as to prepare us to what will happen. He is revealing the story in the beginning, but he is not revealing what will happen which makes the reader want to know how everything will untie. He also hits the main and important points in the beginning just to give us an overview as to what happened in the past in the kingdom, so we know the reason behind Antigone's want of burying her brother. This structure makes us interpret the characters differently as to who they are. With those little details, we tend to immediately have a thought about whether this character is bad or good. It also makes us also want to know a little more about the back story about each character and the reason as to why they did each thing, so it invokes us as readers to continue reading the book to know more about it. It also gives us a basic view as to what we expect the motivation of the characters to be, but it could be a way to play with our minds, and in the plot, have something else revealed that could shock us since we did not expect it to happen. For example, I see Ismene as this character that is jealous that Haemon chose Antigone rather than her, and is therefor trying to steal him away from her sister. I see Haemon as somewhat unconscious about the things going on around him, and just accepts what he is told. Creon seems like this person that is trying to gain as much power as he can since he is a king now.

Topic Sentence

The Mother is a highly demanding person when it comes to her desires, but a big part of her reaction towards what she does is due to her want of keeping her honor within her community. Her honor is represented throughout the novel by her decisions as well as the way she reacts with other characters.

Journal #9- Blood Wedding

Themes in Blood Wedding:
- The past
Looking back at the past is represented throughout the book and it brings in different ideas as to who the characters are and what their relationships are with other characters. The past of each character is represented differently and plays a role into how each character reacts depending on the view of their past. With the mother, the past is something that makes her angry and overprotective over her only son, and causes her to carry this feud her entire life. But on the contrast, when we look at Leonardo's wife, and she remembers her husband's past, it makes her upset to see that he still remembers his ex-wife.
-Desires
Desires of the characters is another big theme throughout the play. Each character has desires that are either to his or her own benefit or to the benefit of their family, yet there are those desires that they cannot fulfill. Like the bride, she desires to be with Leonardo throughout the play, yet the situation she is in does not help her fulfill her desires, until we see her run away with him. The mother's desires are those of wanting the best for herself as well as her son. Her choices throughout the book are to the benefit of her and her son.
-Control
There is this element and theme of control in the play within the characters, and this theme tends to play differently with the genders of the characters. The mother's control is one that she sees as best for her family. She controls her son because she wants to make sure that he will always have a good life in the future. She even controls what should happen and tends to be the one with the last word, since everything should go her way, and she expects everyone to respect her and her decisions. On the other hand, when we look at Leonardo's control, he seems as someone that is controlling his family and expecting him to listen to what he says and respect him, in order to achieve is dark desires. He is using the horse so much in order to  go and see the bride, yet when his mother-in-law hears him say he is using the horse, she immediately says it is fine, and he can kill it too. This shows that there is this force of control over his family, although not represented directly.

Journal #8- Blood Wedding

The set changes from this exciting and joyful wedding scene, to this dark, violent and intense forest scene, with woodcutters, the moon and death. With the new set, and the darkness of the play appears. There is a clear view of blood as a good way of revenge in a way, yet there is this fear on who will end up dying in the end, which we do know who it us, but in the first reading that was the feeling. There seems to be this strong feeling of revenge on Leonardo and the Bride for doing what they did, and so blood seems to be the only answer. Of course with the scene, Leonardo and the Bride show this affection between them, but it seems like not a very fun one, because they are both scared and know that it will not end up the way they wanted it to. With this scene, we can also see that the Bride is regretting what she did now, but is not convinced to let go of Leonardo yet. Overall, the set changes this atmosphere into a dark one, and creates an intense feeling of anger in the reader against the Bride and Leonardo as well as creates suspense for what is about to happen. 

Journal #7- Blood Wedding

The youth in the play represent the desires of young women at that time, but without them knowing of the circumstances or the effort in takes in the decision of getting married. Lorca tries to show the innocence of them as youths who don’t think of anything but their future life, believing it will be great and accomplished easily. But Lorca contrasts them to the Bride to show that once a girl grows up, she will face hard decisions. Everyone is innocent when they are young, but as they grow up and experience new things, they change and become aware of the circumstances and even become conflicted on what the right decisions is, which the girls do not understand yet, but the Bride is in that sort of situation. Lorca also uses the youth to bring in this excitement and represent the view on marriage as seen by society at that time. He seems to do this to show that since they were little, girls were taught that marriage is the road to take whether now or sometime in the future. He creates this desire that they have wanted, but uses the Bride to show the struggle and break the desire that those girls are dreaming about and push them into reality so that he moves them away from this dream that they have been taught for all their life, and understand the actual things that happen. Lorca uses the youth in the play to represent the theme of innocence that is portrayed and whether the characters are truly innocent or they all have dark desires within them. He also uses it to represent the theme of false hope and what is desired versus what can actually be achieved. 

Journal #6- Blood Wedding

I think the Bride is the one that is miserable in the entire play, because she is set to be married to someone who she somewhat loves, but is still conflicted on whether she loves him or Leonardo. She has this inner conflict between herself on doing what is right or what she wants. If she marries the bridegroom, she knows she will make everyone happy, but she won't be happy yet will force herself to be happy. But she also knows that if she runs away with Leonardo, she will make him and herself happy, yet make everyone else miserable. The Bride expresses her misery when she is with the maid. We see the first and most clear signs of her misery when the maid talks to her and is getting her ready for the wedding, but she does not seem to be in a good mood. Her misery was also clear when she was talking to Leonardo in Act II scene I. She expresses her misery with Leonardo in the form of constantly remembering her past. The Bride desires expressing her feelings towards the other characters, but she feels confined within this society where she should respect her parents desires and do as she is told. She does not want to make her family look bad in front of the rest of the society, therefore she hides her feelings, until she was pushed and somewhat forced to express her desires in the end with Leonardo, which she ended up regretting in the end. She was unsure of what she wants, and therefore she expressed her feeling in the wrong way and at the wrong time.

Journal #5 Blood Wedding

Lorca uses the father as an archetype of wanting the best for his daughter. During that time, a father saw a woman's life best with her husband. When she gets married, she makes her entire family happy because they can ensure that she will have a better life with her husband and kids. And so the father plays a man that thinks about only the best attributes of his daughter, so that he can increase her chances of getting married. He is stereotypical as to the man of the house that gives his order, yet wants the best for his own family, especially his daughter. When mother and the bridegroom arrived to his house, the bride did not come until she was ordered by her dad and this is an archetype because it shows the respect given to the dad and how she obeyed her dad until he ordered her to come in. The father is the one that gives the order and therefore should be respected. He even tells his daughter not to be serious because she will soon be her mother and this is an archetype of traditional roles of the father since he wants the best for his family and make sure that his daughter does what her husband's family wants her to do. Another archetype of the father is the idea that he wants his family and the bridegroom and his family to live next to each other and this is a very traditional archetype since families at that time wanted to always be close to each other and enjoy having a big family bonding with all the members together. I think Lorca rejects this archetype just because the bride did not really have a big say on whether she wants to marry someone or not, which created the big tragedy in the end. He probably thinks that the parents take on the role of being the ones with the final decision, but the person who is getting married should be the one that says yes or no, not the parents.

Journal #4- Blood Wedding

Knives: In Act I Scene I, knives are used as a way to represent the mother's anger. Whenever she talks about the knife, she becomes angry and dramatic which gives us as readers a background on why she reacted that way. The knives are a way of representing the split between the characters and the cause of their division as a society. The knife also foreshadows the death of the two characters that kill each other in the end. The idea of the knife is also represented as a small object that can cause big damage and so this represents the idea that every little thing can cause big damage.. in a way, just the bride's actions although they might be little in some aspects such as the way she thinks, it can actually cause big damage. The knife is also use as a symbol of trouble. When the bridegroom tells his mother that he wants to take the knife with him to the vineyard, she gets startled and gets angry and says, "I don't know how you dare to carry a knife with you!" (6). She clearly sees the knife not only as a threat to her son, but also a threat to others. After her husband's and son's death due to the knife, she does not trust it and has an immediate hate against it.
Flowers and plants: In Act I Scene I, quite a few references are made to different kinds of flowers. The mother is the one that uses the reference to the flowers throughout the Act and this shows her love towards her husband and son. When she talks about them, she says, "Two men who were like two geraniums" and "A beautiful man, with life like a flower in his mouth" (6,7). The mother represents them as two innocent characters that are beautiful and innocent as flowers whose lives were taken away. The idea of flowers representing them is like the innocence in them and their beautiful and nice nature in life. Even when mother talks to her neighbor about his soon to be wife, she says "I wish they were like two thistles that would prick any wagging tongue that touched them" (14). I believe that when Mother says that, she is referring to her son's future wife and her son's future mother in law. She says it this way because she does not anyone to be talking about her son's future wife in a bad way, therefore she wants them to prick anything said about them so that she keeps everyone's thoughts pure about her son's future wife and his future mother in law. But this also foreshadows to the Bride because the Bride will be someone that pricks the entire family and wounds them. She is the one that will cause the tragedy in the book. The tone of the passage when Mother says that line seems somewhat sad and depressed which could also be foreshadowing to the tragedy in the end. Even the idea of weeds foreshadows the depressed feeling and the tragedy of the death because weeds are things that ruin the nice and beautiful flowers and plants, and therefore it could represent the idea of the Bride being a week and her son a flower, where the Bride ruins and causes the death of her son.

The Wild Duck Journal #3

I think Gregers could be the one the is mostly at fault because he seems like a catalyst to everything that is happening. He is bringing those ideas and thoughts to the Ekdal family that destroyes them, and yet he seems satisfied with it. When the characters are already in grief, he increases it and therefore seems to the reader as this annoying character that should just stay away from the life of the family, because whenever he walks into the house, he brings in more trouble.
Relling should probably be a character without blame because although he created those lies in the Ekdal families; he did it as his responsibility since he is a doctor. He had the right intentions of helping the family and therefore he should not really take any blame for what happened.
But I also think most of the characters take a blame some way or the other. Hjalmar wouldn't have as much as an extreme blame because he was the one that everyone hid the secrets from and therefore it affected him badly. Although it was not completely Hjalmar's fault for Hedvig's death, he does take responsibility for it. He feels like he is the one to be blamed, although it is not really his fault since he was just part of this web created by all the other characters the same way as Hedvig was part of the web too.
Gina should definitely carry the blame the most, yet in the play, she seems to act as if she had nothing to do with Hedvig's death. She becomes emotional when Hedvig dies, but then she just says that it was meant to be and that she should continue her life with Hjalmar. I feel like she should take a lot of blame towards the event that happened because it seems like she didn't really mind Hedvig's death, and she found that Hedvig's death is a way she could trick Hjalmar into staying with her by acting that he will need her comfort.
Gregers, on the other hand, does not take responsibility at all. He feels like he just did what his ideals were and accomplished his destiny. But he should also carry more of a blame because he seems to have had the right intentions of helping the Ekdal family, but in the end, it seems like he just did that as a way of accomplishing a goal that has been caused due to jealousy of the Ekdal family from their strong relationships, to the idea of being the thirteenth man on the table. Since the beginning, when Werle referred to Hjalmar as the thirteenth man, Werle didn't really take notice or count in his son. And so in the end, Gregers was probably jealous that his dad didn't count him in as a thirteenth man to be joining this regular group of people that always gathers together.

The Wild Duck Journal #2

Ibsen uses the motif of decay, disease and illness to show the secrets hidden within the characters as well as reveal their motives. After Gregers ask Hjalmar to go for a walk with him, Relling says to Gina, "He's suffering from an acute case of moralistic fever" (178). Relling states that Gregers has a moralistic fever which is causing him to do what he is doing. His "fever" is what is giving him the motive to bring out the truth in the Ekdal family. Although Gregers might not believe in having this fever, it shows how the character has secrets hidden within him that he wants to reveal about others, and therefore creates a facade of Gregers.
Even Werle's blindness is interesting. Mrs. Sorby says, " No need to hide it any longer, much as he'd like to. He's going blind" (190). Werle wants to keep his blindness as a secret within his family, but Mrs. Sorby does not mind revealing it to everyone. If Werle's blindness was kept a secret, than no one would understand that Hedvig is Werle's daughter, but that fact that Mrs. Sorby said he was blind, it reveals the secret that was hidden. It also reveals Werle's motives of keeping everyone living under this web he created which we would have never understood the reason behind it if it wasn't for revealing his blindness.
When Hjalmar talks about Hedvig to Gregers, he says, "Yes. You see, there's the gravest imminent danger of her losing her sight" (147). Hedvig's road to blindness shows how she is living under this trap that she does not know anything about. She was placed in this place that she believes is true, with a family, when it is nothing but a lie that was created with her as a catalyst to the lie created by Gina and Werle. Her blindness brings the idea of secrecy within the entire family, and how she is unaware and does not understand things that goes on around her. Her blindness also reveals her motives of trying to understand things that go around her. When Hjalmar found out about the truth, she tells Gregers that she wants to know what is going on and does not want to wait until she grows up. Therefore this shows her motives that was created by her blindness.

The Wild Duck Journal #1

In The Wild Duck, a character that stood out with false conceptions about himself is Gregers. He believes that after all those years, he came back to his fathers house to learn that he has a mission in life that he has to accomplish. Gregers believes that the only way to fix things and accomplish his mission is by revealing the truth. He brings in little hints now and then within the novel but does not clearly state what they are until it is revealed in the end. Gregers mission in life clearly led to the death of an innocent child. Since he was away for a long time, he feels like nothing is better than the truth because he see's the Ekdal family living under this deep and dark place where the truth is hidden, therefore it should be revealed. Even though he didn't plan for Hedvig's death, he had false misconceptions about himself by believing that it was the right thing for him to do.
Hjalmar is a character that had misconceptions about others. Hjalmar belives throughout the story that Gina is this faithful, amazing woman that he was lucky to be with. He does not have a single hair of doubt about her. Although she acts upon certain things strangely, like not wanting Gregers to rent their room, he does not question her. Even Gregers misconcepts Gina because he did not know that she would be the one marrying Hjalmar and also lying to him and creating this fake family bond that worked fall a long time.
Relling is a character that somewhat recognizes the facade created by Gregers. He doesn't know that this facade is revealing Gina's mistakes, but he knows it is something that could destruct the Ekdal's family. There is a possibility that Relling thinks that Gregers is going to destroy the facade created by Relling himself on the Ekdal families by giving them a misconception of something to thrive for yet will never happen, such as the invention that he put forth for Hjalmar. Relling somewhat confronts the facade that Gregers is creating but he is not certain about his position. Gregers also most certainly recognizes the facade created by Gina which is why he wants to reveal the truth and feels that he has this mission in life of making the family better. He does not ignore this facade, but confronts it in an indirect way.

Journal #3- 1984

Motif: In the last third of the book, a new motif of light comes up. In the second third it was darkness, but in this third, it is light. The light represents the way the Party wants to show itself to the citizens of the society. Throughout the book, we see darkness and the idea of a lost city, a dark city hat is covered with dirt, and is dark, with everyone afraid to go outside. But in the Ministry, everything is lit. Like Winston said, "The place where there is no darkness." This motif represents the idea of hope. The Party shows the people that the Party is all about hope towards the Party and that it wants the best for its people and wants to ensure the people that the Ministry is a place of hope for them where they can be cured and removed from their ideas of rebellion against the Party. In the beginning of the last third, the Ministry of Love is described with "concealed lamps flooded it with cold light" (186). The idea of cold light represents the reader with an idea of the Ministry being cold and inhumane, yet trying to represent themselves as curers to the citizens. Later in the novel, O'Brien "shone glaring lights in his face until his eyes ran with water" (199). The use of light is also used as a way to make the people suffer. Strong light hurts our eyes, and so the Party uses it in a way as to show that too much hope for something other than what the Party offers, is painful and should not be done. For example, Winston had so much hope, believing that he can overthrow the Party, but that was not true. Because too much hope is painful, and so Winston was sent to the Ministry of Love to be tortured for having a lot of hope. Instead, the Party wants the people to have hope that would be loyal to the Party, like hope for victory against their enemy countries and so on.
Setting: The setting of the last third of the book takes place mostly in the Ministry of Love. This Ministry is basically a prison that tortures people in order to obey the Party. Although it is torturing the people, in the eyes of the Party, it is a way where they "care" for the people, and do it for the benefit of the people so that the people would be better citizens. When O'Brien says, "Shall I tell you why we have brought you here? To cure you! To make you sane! [...] We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed. The Party is not interested int he overt act: the thought is all we care about" (209). That is the biggest reason on why they call it the Ministry of Love. They try to allude to the people that the Ministry cares about them and wants the best for the people,  but in fact, the Party does it for their own benefit of being a stronger power. This setting is used as a way to show the strength in the control of the government. and bringing out their final reasoning that nothing can beat the Party's control. They reveal all their tricks and treacheries to the reader and the reader understands that there is no use in revolting against this government, unless a big number of people such as the proles, could possibly get together and somehow fight against the government, which may even be hard to achieve. The Ministry is a dark, sort of scary place that no one would want to be in. This setting also reveals how the Party knows every little information about the people, in which they can use in Room 101 to torture the people and make them confess or betray their loved ones, by bringing out the people's biggest fears.
Language: The language in the last third of the book is very violent. The descriptions of everything going on represents the violence in that society and the way the Party takes control of its people through its violence. It teaches them a lesson and represents to the reader that whatever steps the party needs to take to remain in control, it will do. Even through the sentences used, Orwell tries to create some suspense and does not make the reader prepared to what would happen next. Orwell somehow excites the reader and makes them nervous and wanting to know what would happen next through his use of language. Even the language in the dialogue is short, and up to the point, with the element of confusion in it. Orwell uses dialogue in a way as if it is happening for real, creating a lot of imagery. The confusion and narration used in between dialogues representing Winston also gives the reader the feeling of reality and struggle. Winston constantly uses the phrase "I don't know" when O'Brien asks him questions, because he does not know what the right answer is and is afraid to answer something in the wrong way, which would cause him to be tortured even more.
Cultural Connections: In the novel, there are so many connections relating back to World War 2 and a totalitarian government. Orwell based his novel off what was happening in England at that time during World War 2 and the fact that Germany was becoming very strong and starting to take control of everything. He was worried of having a totalitarian government, and believed that this is what would happen with Germany takes over, and that no one will be able to revolt against them because they will be too strong and have control over every single aspect. Even the idea of the way people lived shows a cultural connection to the way people were living in England during World War 2. There was constant bombing on England know as The Blitz, where Germany constantly attacked Britain killing a lot of people and keeping them fearful of their lives, the same way as the Party constantly bombs the citizens. So Orwell seems to be representing the Party as Germany that took over England.

Journal #2- 1984

Motifs: The motif of victory is not represented as much in the second third of the book as it was in the first third. Instead, many other motifs began to show. The motif of darkness was one that I constantly recognized in the second third of 1984. The Party seems to be represented in many ways through the idea of darkness, but indirectly. Mr Charrington's antique store is described as a "tiny, dark shop" and he seemed to lead a "ghostlike existence" because "the old man seemed seldom or never to go out of doors" (125). When I first read this, I would think that it is just a small dark store because the man running it is old, and nice, and had nothing to do with the party. But instead, Mr. Charrington was a Thought Police. This idea of darkness is represented through the Party as to show that they exist everywhere even in the least expected place. When Winston was talking with O'Brien, O'Brien said, "You understand that you will be fighting in the dark. You will always be in the dark" (144). Winston agreed to that without even knowing what the meaning behind it was. He just thought is was a way to hide from the Party since he will be part of the Brotherhood. But O'Brien used it as a way to represent the Party. When he says that Winston "will always be in the dark," it is showing that Winston will always be under the control of the Party no matter what he does, because they Party is everywhere, even in the dark when the people would think they would be hiding, they wouldn't be. They will always be watched by the Party wherever they are, and this way the Party can make sure they maintain their control the entire time. Even having O'Brien say that represents the darkness of the Party that they would play along with someone to get them to admit everything, but then they would not be with that person, like O'Brien with Winston. They would be against them and be disguised under a darkness that no one expects.
Setting: The setting of most of the second third of the novel in Mr. Charrington's shop. Winston and Julia rented out the room on the top of his shop, believing it to be as a hideout place. Since all the proles seem to live life to the fullest, without any concerns of telescreens, Winston and Julia thought that same thing about the room. It was small and no one has lived in it, therefore they believed that it is safe. Instead, it was set up in a way as to give the reader a feeling of freedom that the characters have, but later realize that no one can mess around with the Party. Seeing the proles with no telescreen, Winston and Julia easily fell into the trap of Mr. Charrington's room as a hideout place. Before realizing there was a telescreen, the setting of the room was used as a way to express all the thoughts of the characters that have been hidden from the Party. They expressed their freedom and talked about all the things they would never dream of talking about. This setting was used as to let the reader feel that here is a safety zone and a hideout place when a Party is in control, and gives the reader a sense of relief that they were able to find a place where the characters don't have to be oppressed by the Party's control. But it was used as a way to shock to the reader. When the telescreen suddenly spoke and the thought police walked in into the room, it created the climax of the story. And so this setting of the room was used as a way to give the reader something that they did not expect at all. It was used as a way to prove to the people living in that society that the Party is always in control, and even the least expected place that a person would think would not be under that control of the party, is actually under the Party's control.
Language: When Winston meets Julia, the language of the novel becomes somewhat nice and breezy, with descriptions of flowers, and love and the sun. Orwell changes the language from a dark kind of controlling language, to a smooth and happy language. "It was a vast, luminous dream in which his whole life seemed to stretch out before him life a landscape on a summer evening after rain" (132). Orwell uses descriptions of flowers and love and rain to give the reader a sense of calmness and freedom from the control of the Party. He plays with the readers minds by showing the freedom and happiness of the characters, but little do they know that everything would change again, and they would be caught under the Party's control again. Although he does not completely use this language in the entire third, it is enough to change the reader's thoughts and make them think that the Party is not that strong and that there are many ways in which people can escape that oppression, but it was used to lead the reader to the shock of the intelligence of the Party.

Journal #1- 1984

Motifs: There are quite a few motifs in the book, but one that reoccurred constantly is the motif "victory." The party uses victory in describing most of its items from gin, to cigarettes to houses etc. They try to allude to the people of that society that what the people are given is victory and it is something that everyone should appreciate, but in fact, it is the least thing that we as readers would expect to have. The cigarettes are all crumbled up, the gin tastes horrible, yet it is recognized as being a "victory" item. This way the party can gain the control of all the people and show them that the party is giving them victorious items the same way they win wars victoriously. The people of that society thing that they are given the best of the best since it is labeled victory, but truly, the Party is giving them nothing. It is using those items just to allude to the people that they are having the best.. like the gilded age when a country alludes to be great from the outside, but when it is seen from the inside, it is in its worst conditions.In the beginning of the book for example, Winston "took down from the shelf a bottle of colorless liquid with a plain white label marked victory gin. It gave off a sickly, oily smell, as of Chinese rice-spirit. Winston poured out nearly a teacupful, nerved himself for a shock, and gulped it down like a does of medicine" (8). This clearly depicts what the Party is trying to do with the people. It is portraying to them items as victory items but they are definitely not. After Winston drinks the gin, his face turns red because it tastes like "nitric acid" but he had to hide it from the telescreen in case it sees him because they should show that they respect everything given to them by the Party and should feel proud of having that, because if they don't, they would get punished.
Setting: The setting of the book plays a big role in contributing to the understanding of that society. The setting is in Airstrip One, aka London, England, which is part of the larger continent of Oceania. In Airstrip One, the houses are small and old, the roads are dirty and empty, there is no privacy because everyone is constantly watched by the telescreens. Even the people's living conditions are bad. This setting contributes to the understanding of the society in the book as a place of control, where the government, in this case the Party, has everything and the people have nothing. It shows how strong the Party is controlling everyone from living conditions to actions. "Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper intro spirals" (6). The world outside is empty and cold, with nothing but dust and pieces of paper everywhere. This shows the emptiness and fear of the people living in that society because every step they take is watched. Since the setting is in Europe, it reveals the idea of a totalitarian government which was happening in Europe at that time. The setting also brings the dull and fearful feelings of the people living in that society and shows how miserable they are, but cannot do anything about it.
Language: The language in 1984 is very formal and descriptive. The formality of he book shows the effect of the control of the Party and how everything should go by order. It shows the strength and control taken over the citizens and the idea that order and formality is an importance to being part of the society. The descriptiveness of the book also shows the detail in setting, but also represents the society and every detail taken by the people is seen and is counted as important because the Party has to know every little detail from the people to remain in control. For example, "Parsons was Winston's fellow employee at the Ministry of Truth. He was a fattish but active man of paralyzing stupidity, a mass of imbecile enthusiasms- one of those completely unquestioning, devoted drudges on whom, more even than on the Thought Police, the stability of the Party depended" (22). In this quote, Parsons is described very thoroughly which shows the  reader the extent as to how the Party should know every little detail of a person. The language is also very formal which also shows the order and control of the Party.

Journal #5- The Stranger

The name of my philosophy is: Individuality through fundamentals

1) Know that what you do today, affects the future: Your present is an important part that creates your path to the future. This principle developed from seeing everyone around me that either has had a successful life or their life did not turn out as well. People should be careful because one mistake could lead to a disastrous future. For example, if someone gets addicted to a drug, that could lead them to a horrible future. Whereas if someone remained bright and stayed away from the downsides in life, they will have a bright and good future ahead of them.
2) There is a God and everyone must believe in Him: There is a God that everyone must believe in. I came to this principle from my religion. God is the one that created the world and there is an after life. Every religion knows that there is a higher power out there, however way they see that power exists. I know that God created the world as a test that would lead us to the path we will end up in, in our after life. There should be a strong relationship and belief in God because although we don't see Him, he is a big impact on us and has been for as long as man existed.
3) An individual shapes their own life through their actions: I came to this principle through watching others around me as well as the media. What a person does is what shapes them and creates their own identity. Whether it is through the love of music, or literature, or business, or science, the way a person perceives things is what makes them individuals. Everyone one has their own likes and dislikes and that's what makes them their own person. The way they react to their surroundings also identifies because for example, a person can either react violently towards an insult, or just walk away and ignore it and act that they didn't even hear that insult.
4) Achieve the goals that you set for yourself before it is too late: Everyone has a goal in life that they plan on achieving, yet many don't even get close to it, or even if they are close to it, something happens that may have affected them. Those goals are what help a person move on. It is what makes them look at something ahead of them and know that they have something to do that could lead them to something better. Without goals, there would be no reason to live life in a specific way because there is nothing a person is looking at that they would want to have. I came to this principle from the experiences throughout my whole life so far.
5) Negotiate things whether with another individual or society as a whole: Negotiation is a key to success because it could lead to a compromise. But when negotiating, be reasonable and have a clear thought. Whether you negotiate with an individual and come to an agreement that would suit both of you, such as a negotiation with a roommate. Or if it is a negotiation with society as a whole where you can come to a compromise that could benefit not only you, but the people in the society as well. This principle developed through past events that happened in the world as well as events that happened to people I know.
6) Individuals create their own morality: Everyone creates their own right and wrong. This principle developed through my background and beliefs. What one may see as right, many other may see as wrong, and many as well may see it as right. How we come up with our own morality is through the events we have been through, the actions we take, and our beliefs. For example, drinking alcohol may be seen as right for some people if it is taken in minimum amounts, whereas others may see alcohol as completely wrong. Some even forbid the drinking of alcohol due to their beliefs.
7) Everyone views the world differently: What you see as one thing, someone else might see as another. Everyone has a different way of thinking. Someone can view one thing positively, and someone else can view the same thing negatively. Someone can agree with something, and someone else can disagree with it. There are always different views on things and this is what makes the world so diverse. This is one separates a child from and adult, one idea from another and so on. This principle developed by just going though everything and seeing my surroundings as well as others.
8) There is always jealousy even from the closest person to you: Jealousy is something that is embedded in us whether we accept it or not. We always want to be better then the others around us, yet when we see someone become better then us, we can't help ourselves but be jealous. Although it does not show from the outside, it exists within us and is always present in our thoughts. This principle came to me through personal experiences and just through viewing the world as it is.
9) Always help the ones in need because you will be rewarded: There is always someone that is need whether through food, money, clothes, or a house. Giving is a key to happiness. When a person gives something and knows it can help someone else, it is always the happiest feeling in the world. Although we might not see the person who that help might go to, that person being helped will be so thankful for those that helped him or her. We will also be rewarded by God, because He always wants us to be generous and help others in need and he can always help us be successful and give us more if we help others through our willingness not by knowing that we are required to. It should come from the heart. This principle developed through my beliefs and culture.
10) Express your thoughts because they are worthwhile and there is always someone that will agree with you: Your thoughts are very important to express your individuality. There will be someone that disagrees with you, but there is also someone that will agree with you. Expressing your thoughts should be in a way that you know can be helpful and beneficial to you and possibly others. This principle developed through personal experiences.

Journal #4- The Stranger

In the end of the novel, Mersault comes to the conclusion that the world is indifferent and has no reason behind it. He understands that death is inevitable whether it is today or fifty years from now. He lost hope in fighting for himself, knowing that he will die soon; but he has not lost hope about his thoughts and past life. He held on tight to his thoughts and knew that what he did through out his life is what happened and whether he did it one way or another, it makes no difference. He realized the absurd life he lived in and that everyone's life is chosen by the same fate because everyone will eventually die. He just gave up on the world and saw that it has no meaning to it. Camus shows the end Mersualt comes to, but does not want the reader to come to the same conclusion in life. He wants us to take advantage of what we have and follow through, because giving up could lead us to what Mersault ended up with. He wants each one to be his or her own person because that is what matters in the end and that is how Mersault turns out.

Journal #3- The Stranger

Camus divided his novel into two pars to show Mersault's development as a character. In the first half of he novel, Mersault is just stating the facts and the obvious around him. He just gives out his thoughts without any consideration of the consequences. He is very simple and is easily understandable through the syntax. The sentences are short and so it makes him seem as a character that is up to the point with no twists and turns.
For example, in chapter 1, Mersault says, "I was tired. The caretaker took me to his room and I was able to clean up a little. I had some more coffee and milk, which was very good. When I went outside, the sun was up" (Camus, 12). This shows Mersault's simplicity and the idea of him as a character that just states the fact.
Now in the second half of the book, Mersault develops as a character and begins to understand and change his way of thinking a little. After killing a person, which was probably a big impact on him but he didn't realize it yet, he feels like everything changed. The was he begins to interpret things around him changed, because he starts to understand things and not only state the fact. For example, he says, "I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored" (Camus, 79). Mersault begins to understand things more deeply instead of just stating the facts and having nothing to look forward to in life.

Journal #2- The Stranger

2) I think Camus uses first person point of view to make us imagine what the protagonist is going through. When it is a first person point of view, we can see things directly through that person and understand their exact thoughts, actions and what they feel about their surroundings. It helps us imagine that the protagonist is telling us the story directly, not through another person. Camus didn't choose third person omniscient because he does not want to describe things in detail and the thoughts of Mersault through his point of view. He wants to show Mersault as himself and as an independent character and his own ideas to support the idea of existentialism. If he were to say he said"..." and then he would describe the characters thoughts in his point of view, it wouldn't show the nature of Mersault through the way he acts and talks. The use of first person relate to Camus' theme of amorality of people because it supports the idea of being amoral through Mersault.

Journal #1- The Stranger

The policeman: The policeman was described indirectly through his actions. He is seen as someone with a lot of authority that is respected by the people. What he says is what should be done. He seem's to be like a tough guy that no one should disobey. The policeman plays the role of authority that everyone must respect. He is seen as someone with a higher power that no one dares to disobey. With the policeman, Camus is trying to reveal the there is always a stronger power of authority that will enforce its rules on. Raymond, a reckless character that seems to always get in fights, respects the policeman and is not not seen as someone of that high of  power in front of him. 

Mersault's boss: Mersault boss came out to be like someone that always looks forward for a better life. He has high ambitions and always looks for success in his life. He feels that Mersault is young and has great ambitions in life, but when Mersault puts him down, he gets disappointed. Through his boss, Camus reveals Mersault's partial past. The boss is also used to express Mersault's thoughts that reveals what kind of a character Mersault is. 

The strange little woman: The way this woman is described shows her as someone that has a basic routine in life and gets excited when she see's something new. This is similar to Mersault because he also has a basic routine that he seems to follow everyday. This lady plays a role of exposing Mersault as someone that looks at others differently, yet doesn't seem to notice his own self as similar to those around him. Through her, Camus tries to reveal that people have daily routines and everyone looks at others differently and we realize peculiar things about others, yet we tend to forget that who we are looking at are similar to us. It also shows that once we start to know about something and focus on it, we end up forgetting it after some time. 

Journal #8

1) I think Zora Neale Hurston settled on this title because it gives us the feeling of the strength God has on humans. She creates the effect of the power struggle humans tend to face and the idea that in the end, God is the one with the most power that can control things on earth. The signs of God are used throughout the book to show his power, and the fact that she also describes people being like a godly figure at times shows that in the end, their power will collapse like it did for Jody and only God can have that control. So the big idea behind it is that people look up to God and He is the one that can have power over all. This alters my reading because it shows that no one is capable of having the strongest power other than God.
2) An alternate title she could have used is "Indecisive Struggle." It think it would altered one reading because it would show the struggle many of the characters in the books are facing. It would also represent the characters being indecisive in many of the decisions they face and struggle through it because they are not sure of their own selves.
3) The title of my pastiche is "The Universal Control" because it represents the control of power faced everywhere not with only a certain group of people. I think it is the strongest possible title because it represents part of Hurston's theme behind the use of power to take control which fits into my pastiche. 'Universal' shows the universality of control over other individuals.

Journal #7

1) Symbolism: "This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it" (Hurston, 55). The head-rag that Janie wears when she is married to Jody is an important symbol that represents power. Jody uses the head-rag to control Janie and make sure that she remains like a mule led by him. The head-rag also represents the fact that Jody begins to see Janie as an old person and that she has to cover her hair not only because of jealousy, but because he wants to make her feel as someone that doesn't attract anyone. "The other women had on percale and calico with here and there a headrag among the older ones" (Hurston, 41). In the beginning when Jody married Janie, he wanted Janie to feel higher ranking than all the other women in the town. Old women were described wearing head-rags and now that he wants her to wear a head-rag shows that he see's her as an old woman which creates a conflict between them.      
                                                                
2) Personification: "The sea was walking the earth with a heavy heel" (Hurston, 162). This is an important personification because it represents the power of the sea that was being foreshadowed since the beginning of the book. It is a connection to the hurricane and how much pressure the hurricane puts on the earth with the use of water. It shows the strength of water in nature and the way if affects it. It shows that water can be a good and a bad thing. It can be good during droughts, and for plants and humans and animals, but when it is in a big quantity, it becomes a lot of pressure of the earth like someone wearing high heels standing on someone else's foot.

3)Simile: "Then Joe Starks realized all the meaning and his vanity bled like a flood" (Hurston, 79). This quote is a great reflection of a simile and the feelings of Joe. Joe realized the effect of him being faced by someone that is supposed to be weaker than him. He saw himself put down and lowered by his own wife in front of an audience and that cut his vanity causing it to bleed. He saw all his hard work and control to achieve this just torn apart by Janie because she refused to be insulted as an old woman. This shows the feeling a controller goes through once something they don't want to hear happens, and that they are not strong unless everyone bows to them and respects them like a King.

Journal #6

By the feedback I got when we exchanged papers, I was able to figure out what to revise. I got good feedback that helped me decide my revision process. When I revised my paper, I changed a lot of the narration in order to make it fit Hurston's narration style. I revised my dialogues. I revised the syntax and the flow of the paragraph. I also removed some things that didn't seem to fit the pastiche and I added things to make the pastiche have a better idea of where it is going on. I think my revisions made the pastiche better than the first way it was written and made it have a better fit into Hurston's style, but more feedback will assure me that I am heading towards the right direction.

Journal #5

Then Dolly began to envision Dreams. Dreams, that precious goal we tend to follow, that waits for us until we reach it. The unforgettable one that lives deep inside us, without a border line for him to end. What reason is there for Dreams to hide, and what force can go against him and break him? He sits silently beneath us, watching our actions take place. Sits wordless and proud everyday with his enthusiasm preserved, waiting for every step to bring us closer to him. Sits to remain followed, to remain wanted, and to remain accepted. She was bound to find a petal from his flowers in her garden someday soon. She needed help and willingness to find him. Pitiable Bob! He need't follow his goal with a passion to be able to reach for it. She sent Carla to help invigorate him, but he felt it was redundant. Life doesn't always please everyone, cuz they got to work hard to find what pleases them. He'd be okay if he was given what he wanted without any challenges. He would then be able to reach for his dream. That's how he thought it worked. But Carla told her differently, therefore she knew the truth. And even if she didn't say so, the next morning she was certain to have know, because a group of administrators arrived to review his exam that test his understanding. Administrators that hardly appear, came and knocked at his door for a surprise. Just walked in without a word of opposition. Hope, that wondering creature, had conquered the earth.

Journal #4

Page 84

Syntax: In this passage, Hurston had all the sentences about the same length which gives the passage a good flow of sentences. She doesn't make them too complex nor too simple. This way she helps structure the passage in a way as to make each sentence flow with the next and make it easier to follow along.

Word Choice: Hurston's word choice helps depict the characters thoughts through out the novel. The use of "ten immensities away" shows the reader how far apart Jody and Janie are growing. She uses it this way to also show how hard it is for Janie to talk to Jody even though they have been married for a long time. This also shows how long it took Janie to get to that point where she is able to face Jody without being too weak.

Tone: This passage has a restrained tone. This is because Janie seems to be determined to have a good talk with Jody in the beginning, but then she gets restrained and begins to get nervous and worried about talking to her own husband. But then later in the end of the passage, she realizes that she has to talk to him even though it will be something hard to do.

Sound Devices: "Something stood like an oxen's foot on her tongue [...]." This sentence has the assonance of the word 'o' in it that helps make it sound like a rhyme. It also makes the sentence sound heavy in a way as to make us feel how hard it is for Janie to face Jody and talk to him.

Journal #3

1) "Dis occasion is something for us all tuh remember uh our dyin' day. De first street lamp in uh colored town. Lift yo' eyes and gaze on it." (pg. 45)  Symbol
2) "[...] the mule was around the store like the other citizens. Nearly everybody took the habit of fetching along a handful of fodder to throw on the pile. He almost got fat and they took a great pride in him." (pg. 58) Comparison
3) "It was like seeing your sister turn into a 'gator. A familiar strangeness. You keep seeing your sister in the 'gator and the 'gator in your sister, and you'd rather not." (pg. 48) Metaphor
4) "Didn't buy 'im fuh no work. I god, Ah bought dat varmint tuh let 'im rest. You didn't have gumption enough tuh do it." (pg. 58) Characterization of Jody
5) The spirit of the marriage left the bedroom and took to living in the parlor. It was there to shake hands whenever company came to visit, but it never went back inside the bedroom again." Personification

Analysis:
2) The fact that everyone in the town began feeding the mule and taking pride in him is a comparison to the town itself. When Jody first came, the town was small, there was no leader or store, but Jody's arrival helped the town improve and invited more people to it. The town became bigger, there was a store in it, and a leader that could help lead them and this made them proud of being part of that town. So the mule getting fatter is a comparison to it because the same way Jody helped the town grow, they are helping the mule grow and have a better life than what it had when Matt was his owner. It brings pride to them that they helped improve a life, even if it was an animal, just to give the mule the same feeling they had when Jody came along.

5) The spirit of the marriage is a personification to Janie and Jody's marriage. It says that the spirit left the bedroom to the parlor just to shake hands but it never went back to the bedroom which shows that Janie and Jody are breaking apart. They are getting separated further more as time passes. At first, the bedroom was an area for them to keep a connection  and move on together, but not anymore. The connection they had was being lost and now, that connection is only an outer image to their surrounding. There is no spirit that makes their marriage special. It is only a way to show the town that Mr and Mrs. Starks are a married couple that they rule this town.

Journal #2

I am going to mimic page 7 of Their Eyes Were Watching God. There will be 2 characters in this mini story where one is a young British tourist and the other is an Egyptian tour guide.    

Rules:

(Egyptian dialect)

1) The 'th' in the, that etc. become a 'z' sound

2) The 's' in words also becomes a 'z' sound

3) The 'p' in words changes to a 'b' sound

4) 2 r's are used because the 'r' is rolled

(British dialect)

5) Mate is a common word used for 'friend'

6) Wicked is another word used for 'great' or 'awesome' 

7) 'ou' is used instead of just 'o'. For example, colour instead of color, flavour instead of flavor. 

       It was a scorching hot summer in Egypt when George Watson, a young British tourist, decided to go visit the pyramids as a part of his vacation. With his camera and a cold bottle of water set, he stopped a taxi to take him to his destination. Arriving there, he was amazed by all the pyramids he saw, but needed help around the area. So he spotted a tour guide that he thought could help him. 

       "Hi there mate. I just arrived here and thought that you could  help me around. If you can show me around the area and tell me about some of the history of the pyramids that would be wicked."

      The tour guide thought for a moment and suddenly replied with great enthusiasm. "Hello man. Yez! I would love to do zat. I don't have anyzing to do. Let us starrt wiz za byrramids over here. But firrst tell me how long arre you ztaying overr herre in Egybt?"

       "I am staying in Egypt for another week mate. I already bought a lot of souvenir's but my favourite is the shirt I got for my brother. It says 'I've been to Egypt' in bright colours all over it."

       "Zat's wonderrful. Did you rride a camel yet? And did you trry all ze food? It iz verry good and tasty."

       "No, not yet. But I definitely will sometime soon! And I did try so many dishes! But I still have more to go!"

       "Oh yeah. It'z good zat you arre enjoying ze time here. But let uz starrt ze tourr."

       The tour guide showed and told George everything he knew about the pyramids, and the pictures he took were sent to his family in Britain who enjoyed each and every single one of them.

Journal 1

In the first chapter, I perceived Janie as someone that is envied by many others for her beauty, and the wealth given to her by her ex-husband(pg.2). She seems to take the other people's thoughts about her indifferently, yet get's bothered that they judge her for what she has done. She also seems to be proud of herself by the way she interacts with Pheoby and talks about her thoughts of the other women in the village that talk behind her back. The way the other women in the village begin asking questions about Janie (pg. 2) makes me perceive her as someone who pursues what she wants and is indifferent about what other's think of her actions.

I perceived the narrator as a third person omniscient narrator because she seems to know everything about the characters and what's happening at every moment. But the narrator is more focused on Janie Starks, the protagonist of the book. The narrator also seems to be feminist because in the first passage of the novel, she describes men's life as either successful or unsuccessful yet when she talks about women, she says that they "act and do things accordingly." (pg.1) I also perceived the narrator as creative due to the way she uses narrative techniques.

Post #4- Sample test

1) In 1984, 'the place where there is no darkness' is an example of _________
2) "[..] the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume," is an example of a ____________ (Their Eyes Were Watching God, pg. 2)
3) 1984 is an example of a totalitarian government. This is referred to as a(n) __________
4) “If you go too slowly there’s the risk of a heatstroke. But, if you go too fast, you perspire, and the cold air in the church gives you a chill.” (The Stranger, pg. 12)
5) "You don't believe me, do yuh? You don't know de women Ah kin git to mah command." (Their Eyes Were Watching God, pg.36)

Word Bank
A. Contrast
B. Dialect
C. Foreshadowing
D. Allusion
E. Simile

Post #3- Irony

Irony: Statement or situation in a novel that appears to be one thing, but is actually the opposite of its literary meaning. The statements are contradicted but what they actually appear to be later on. Irony is an important part of an author's writing because it gives the reader something unexpected. It is with the use of irony where a book becomes interesting and surprising. For example, in 1984, the Ministry of Love is technically the Ministry of  'hatred.' This ministry is a place where it tortures the citizens if they do anything that would threaten the government's power. If a person did a crime against the government, even if it was just inner thoughts, they would get sent to the Ministry of Love to get punished for their "crime." This way they assured the people that the Ministry of Love is a place where people would get tortured not because the government hates them, but because the government loves them and wants them to be a better and loyal citizen like everyone else.
Another example would be like this picture below. It's just a funny irony I found:

Post #2- climax

Climax: Climax is the point  in story that takes you off your seat or makes you excited or surprised. It is the the event that makes the reader want to continue reading till the ending. It is usually unexpected which is why it is the best part of the story. The climax is a very important part of a story because it is the part where the story ends up revolving around. If it wasn't for the climax, an author would have a hard time trying to find a way to end the story and a reason on why to end it this way. For example, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the climax would be when Snow White welcomes the witch to the dwarfs house, when she wasn't supposed to,and ends up eating the poisoned apple.

Post #1

1) The book that I enjoyed reading the most was 1984. The book had so much detail in it but it also had a lot of description of what the main character's thoughts were throughout the book. It had a lot of suspense in it and it just made me want to continue reading without stopping to see what would happen next. It is very interesting because it shows how much power a government can have on a person and change a person's mind through torture, spies, and constant watching to make them believe what the government wants them to believe. Even children are taught to be spies for the government and help imprison their own parents if they thought they were a threat to the government. The idea behind the book of a totalitarian society is something that I enjoyed reading, because its different than what I always read, but would never want to be part of that society. It also shows us what some countries have been through in the past and makes me thankful about the way we live today.
2) The book that I enjoyed the least would be The Stranger. I enjoyed it the least because the book didn't really have something behind it that excited me or made me want to continue reading it. The main character was only affected by the environment surrounding him, especially the sun, which caused him to do a lot of things that someone who is in his normal thoughts would not do. He was amoral and came to the conclusion that everyone will end up in death so there is no reason to fight for your life whether you die naturally or you are executed, which made me understand what he thinks but didn't make the book that much interesting to me at all and I just did not agree with what the author tried to say. Also, the main character only wanted to please himself from time to time with Marie and he didn't even care if he married her or not, as long as she is pleasing him in what he wants, he feels like everything is complete. Even another job opportunity in France and his mother's death made no difference to him. Although the author wanted to show the irrationality of the world, his book wasn't something that I liked very much.
3) If I were to write an essay on Their Eyes Were Watching Gods, I would focus on a couple elements. One of the main one would be the author's use of the language. Reading this book took me sometime because of the the way it was written, but the author wrote it this way to make us imagine and see the story in our minds as we read it. She wanted to portray an African American story and through the language, she was able to make it possible. Another element I would focus on would be the dreams of people like Janie's grandmother who was in slavery, compared to Janie who had a better life than her grandmother. This is an important point because someone like her grandmother, would only dream of a better life which includes leisure and wealth, whereas Janie doesn't think about those. Instead, she thinks of a life where she would fall in love and want to be married to that person because of her feelings about them, not marry them because of their assets.