English Analysis

Start at 6:08
Analysis

Ben Sax
Per 1
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Mrs. Wecker

Family over Fortune

In the movie Click, it tells a story about a man, Michael Newman, who obtains a powerful remote control that enables him to control time at his own will. So, when he abuses his power, he causes all sorts of mayhem, from getting a fellow co-worker to lose his job, to never being able to spend time with his children. This is due to the remote taking over when Michael fast-forwards when certain criteria is met in his life that he wants to skip. However, Michael is able to overcome this, and puts aside his own fortune with the remote, even sacrificing his own life for the sake of his family. This can be seen in the hospital scene, where the director uses lighting, camera angles, and symbols to show how Michael has dedicated himself to his family, abandoning his previous self in order to put those he loves before his fortune, and committing himself to a life-threatening, nearly impossible situation.

Throughout the scene where Michael finally realizes the importance of his family, the director uses lighting to show the change that Michael had is going through. Before that scene, Michael had always been in a sort of light, which shows how he was kept in his own world, safe in his own fortune thanks to the remote. However, in the hospital scene, he becomes darker, which shows how he had a change of mind. The lower contrast is not used to show Michael becoming more evil, but rather it emphasizes how he is no longer tricked by the light, which represents his feelings of personal gain and not thinking of family, but rather of business. The director also uses lighting as a temptation for Michael to abandon his family and forever remain in a deceiving light of his business self. This is seen in how the character Morty always had his face more illuminated, and how he was trying to dissuade Michael from going out of the hospital. That is how the director uses lighting to show how Michael abandoned his previous principles for his family.

Camera angles also reveal a hidden message throughout the scene. While Michael is running outside of the hospital in order to reach his family, there are no high angle shots present. Most of the shots of Michael are on level with Michael or underneath him, adding to the sense that Michael has determination of getting to his family and accomplishing the task. However, the camera angles also show how the task of Michael contacting his family is nigh impossible. This is seen in the high angle, Bird's Eye view of Michael running towards the car that his son, Ben, and his daughter, Samantha, are getting into. This emphasizes that even though Michael is now determined to get to his family, the odds are against him, and it seems like an almost impossible undertaking.

The director also uses symbols to convey ho Michael forsook his own fortune in order to atone to his family. One such symbol is the exit door of the hospital. The camera zooms in on the door, giving it a more ominous feeling, but it also represents how Michael is exiting his old way of life in order to fix his family, and ultimately cause his downfall. The hospital itself also represents Michael's old life, and how he wanted to change his life. That is why, even though he was in critical condition, Michael refused to adhere to his old ways anymore and turned his back on the hospital, thus turning his back on saving his old life and fortune.

The director used lighting, camera angles and symbols to convey how Michael had forsook his own fortune in order to make amends to his family. He went so far as to run out of the hospital to talk to his son, and tell him that "family comes first", not the family business. That is how far Michael is willing to go in order to save his family.

The Most sad Movie Scene EVER!!! aka Movie Journal from Click

Movie: Click

Start Scene: 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 36 seconds

Length: About 3 minutes and 8 seconds

Description: After "disposing" of a medical nurse who tries to contain him, Michael Newman starts to limp out of the hospital in order to talk to his son. He then confronts "Morty", a spiritual being who gave Newman the cursed remote, and tries to convince Newman that he can still live, if he stays in the hospital. However, with the camera pan and dolly cart never stopping, it shows the determination that Newman has to talk to his son, Ben, after his son said that he would cancel his honeymoon in order to keep the family business up and running. As Newman exits the hospital, the camera closes up on the exit sign, emphasizing the end of Newman's life if he walks out of the hospital. But Newman keeps going, and trudges on into the rain after spotting his son calling for a car to come pick him up. The camera always runs away from Newman, signifying the impossibility of Newman reaching his son, until it goes into a longshot view, which shows just how far Newman has to go to reach his son. Suddenly, the camera focuses on Newman as he falls to the ground. Unable to catch his son, he starts calling Ben's name. At first, the camera keeps Ben at a distance, once again showing the impossibility of Ben seeing Newman. However, at the last minute, Ben sees his father and runs toward him, which brings Ben's wife, his daughter, Samantha, his ex-wife Donna, and her new husband Bill. After they all gather around him, Newman relates some advice and forgiveness to each of them. To Ben, he tells him that family is more important, while his son's in tears, and tells him to go on the honeymoon. To his daughter, he apologizes for not making it to 200 and tells her he loves her. To Bill, he flicks him off, (O.O), and then gives him the OK sign, signifying his approval. Then to Donna, after Morty tells him of a note in his pocket, he gives Donna a note that tells of when he first confessed his love to Donna. Donna then replies with "Forever and Ever Babe!" Morty then tells Newman that it is time to go and the scene ends with the death of Michael Newman.

Journal Entry 5 Anouilh Antigone

One theme that was central to the story of Anouilh's Antigone was how family is important, for it can leave to a kind and stable life. However, in all of the Greek tragedies that I read, this is not the case. In Oedipus, he kills his father and marries his mother, who kills herself. In Medea, Jason forsakes Medea and his children, only to have it come back and hurt him in their deaths and Medea's treachery. In Antigone, Creon shows no emotion of heart break or sorrow for killing Antigone, and also loses both his son Haemon and his wife Eurydice. each of those stories, the families break up ever since the beginning of the play: Oedipus was almost killed when he was a child and killed his parents; Medea killed her brother and a king, only to then be cast aside by Jason for another; and Antigone, with her father, mother and brothers dead, doesn't listen to her sister and kills herself. Anouilh's Antigone is the only one that emphasizes the importance of family at all. This can be seen in how Anouilh included a scene of romance between Haemon and Antigone, and when Creon told Antigone about her 2 brothers. In both of those, the people showed that the other were important to them, Antigone is important to Haemon because he loves her, and important to Creon since Haemon loves her.

There is also this theme of equality of the sexes in Anouilh's Antigone. In Anouilh's Antigone, women are given a more equal part, which can be seen in how Antigone is given more lines in the play, as well as having the main focus on her. Though it also includes Creon a good deal as well, and Haemon a little more as well. So there is a more equal gender roles. In all the other plays, either one gender or the other is more domineering. In Oedipus, Oedipus was the main focus, in Medea, Medea was the main focus, and in Antigone, Creon was the main focus. All of those plays appealed more to feminism and men instead of equality of gender.

Journal Entry 4 Anouilh Antigone

During Antigone and Creons debate, Anouilh repeated a lot of different words and phrases. This produced different effects in the story. One of the repeated words or phrases was fastidious. Creon first used the word in order to describe himself, that he is "fastidious. [He] like[s] things clean, shipshape, well scrubbed" (pg 34). This shows how even though Creon is kind of laid back at times, he will not stand around and do nothing when the time arises for someone to help. However, Antigone then turns the word against him by saying "You [Creon] are too fastidious to make a good tyrant" (pg 35). This implies that Creon is a bad tyrant, since he can't be pleased like most ones, he keeps looking for more. What this repetition does is emphasize the insubordiantion versus a power, in how Antigone blatently went against what Creon said and made it worse. A phrase that was repeated was the phrase kitchen politics. Creon first says it when he is reminiscing about Oedipus, and trying to tell Antigone "what went on in the back room, in the kitchen of politics" (pg 39). This shows that Creon nkows all of Oedipus' story of what happend to him. Though once again, Antigone rebukes Creon: "Creon, you spoke the word a moment ago: kitchen of politics. You look it and you smell of it" (pg 43). By saying this condescening thing about Creon, Anitgone is saying that Creon looked too much into Oedipus' life and may have interfered with it.

Antigone also uses phrases that could be interpreted different ways. One phrase was "You [Creon] are too fastidious to make a good tyrant" (pg 35). This could mean 2 different things. It could mean what I said above, that Creon is more of a bad tyrant, since he is never pleased with his people. Or, it could also mean that Creon could not be a tyrant at all, since who would want to be a bad one. Another phrase that could be interpreted in different ways is "When it was absolutely certain that nothing, nothing could save him. Then he was at peace; then he could smile" (pg 43). This is when Antigone is talking about her father, Oedipus. One way to interpret the phrase is to say that he really was at peace, that he was happy that now his question had finnally been answered. However, it could also mean resignation; Oedipus could have just given up on fighting the prophecy and become happier.

Journal Entry 3 Anouilh Antigone

The character that I am playing in the group performance is the Chorus in Anouilh's Antigone. The only real motivation that the chorus person has, since it is only one person, is to try and account the events of the play and explain certain aspects of the play. That is why the Chorus explains the characters in the begining and then defines tragedy later on in the story. This motivation affects the story because it pauses what's going on in the story and then offers an explanation to what is going on. This helps establish a closer relationship with the audience since most do not know the story, since it is conveying more to a modern generation, instead of ancient Greece. Some evidence:

"Well, here we are. These people are about to act out for you the story of Antigone" (pg 3)
This was done to get the audinece introduced to the characters of Antigone. To get them used to the story.
"The spring is wound up tight. It will uncoil of itself. That is what is so convenient in tragedy." (pg 23)
This was used in order to explain to the audience tragedy and its significance in the play.

Journal Entry 2 Anouilh Antigone

Literary Devices

• Smooth Silken Hair of Isemene (Image): Your Beautiful hair! How easy it must be never to be unreasonable with all that smooth silken hair so beautifully set round your head" (pg 10): This image of Isemene establishes her rank in society and how she thinks. Since society has always expected her to look a certain way and help her to look that way, it also made her act a certain way too. Isemene's hair shows her obedience, for it is not wild and our of control, but primped up and beautiful, thanks to the beauty products that society gave to Isemene.
• Foil: "I'm older than you are. I always think things over, and you don't. You are impulsive." (pg 11): This foil is between Isemene and Antigone. This foil shows just how different the 2 sisters are. Antigone was raised up to be a little bit more wild, which is why "little boys- [and] little girls" (pg 16), who are some of the most wild, look up to Antigone. They look up to her as a kind of idol. However, Isemene talks about how she always thinks things through. This is because she thinks about how to work with the societal laws and restrictions, while Antigone just goes with her passion.
• Parallel Structure: "There you go, frowning, glowering, wanting your own stubborn way in everything" (pg 11): This alliteration helps out in a certain way. By having multiple -ing endings, it tells of how Antigone is always doing these actions, never anything else. Also, the "i" in "-ing" could represent Isemene herself. By having that in there, Isemene could just be trying to convince herself that she is not the same as Antigone.
• Symbol of Earth, Wind, and Water: Why didn't I "understand that I must not play with water- [...] Or with earth [...] or run in the wind so fast[...] (pg 11): All of these symbols help to emphasize Antigone's character. Water represents her how she is able to flow around anything, to find a way around or out of trouble, but also shows that she goes where she pleases. The earth shows how Antigone has a stubborn resolve. And the wind shows again how she is free, but also a little bit playful and mischievous. Curious to note the absence of fire, which was in the Sophocles' play about Antigone.
• The Number 1000: "A thousand arms will seize our arms. A thousand breathes will breath into our faces. Like one single pair of eyes, a thousand eyes will stare at us" (pg 12): This shows the enormity of the forces working against Antigone and Isemene. It also shows that Isemene thinks that there is no way to work against Creon, for he has the power to call these odds against the pair of sisters.
• Stereotype: "It's all very well for men to believe in ideas and die for them. But you are a girl!" (pg 13): This is the stereotype of how men can go and do whatever they want while women stay in the background in the same place forever. It also tells of social status issues. A man can fail at something and still work to get his reputation back. If a woman were to lose her reputation, Isemene thinks that the woman would have a hard time getting it back.
• Foreshadowing: " Antigone: I'll tell you everything. [...] Haemon: We'll have other evenings my sweet. Antigone: Perhaps we won't" (pg 16): This foreshadows Antigone's death, even though the audience already knows. It tells also of how resolved Antigone is, for she is facing the destiny to die head on, instead of faltering. She tries to make preparation for her death

Journal entry 1 Anouilh Antigone

There were a lot of things that happened in the 1940's that could have influenced Anouilh as he wrote his own version of Antigone. For starters, women were given more freedoms, and allowed to "put themselves out there" more and more, meaning that the women were not tied down by the thoughts of others. This can be seen on how men would ogle at the girls, and then the girls would ogle back in the play. Also, there are going to be technological advances made in a more modern Antigone. This can be seen on how Antigone asked her Nurse to go get her some coffee, as well as the new sense of time of o'clock being used instead of just night and dark and sun and light. Also, as everyone knows, the Second World War began in the 1940's. This could give more shape to the conflict between Antigone and Creon, for Antigone could try to bury her brother out of religion, but Creon may not like that, (at least if he is German). Also, the marriage system in the 1940's was different then in ancient Greece. In ancient Greece, normally a woman was put up with a man if the man desired said woman. In the 1940's, that practice was abandoned, and men then had to ask the woman to see if they would desire to be wed, giving the woman the opportunity to back down if the person asking is not a suitable husband. One other thing that would influence the book is the responsibilities of man. In the 1940's, men had a sense of duty, that when it came down to them needing to do a task, they would fulfill it. This can be seen in how Creon takes over Oedipus' kingdom after Oedipus' sons die. These are just some of the things that could influence Anouilh while he wrote his own version of the tragedy of Antigone.

Journal entry 2 Antigone

Antigone
"Save yourself, I don't grudge your survival" (88, 624).
"I'll hate you all the more for silence-tell the world!" (64, 100-101)
Physical Appearance- moderate height, slight blond hair, soft facial features, around 16 years old, confident yet passionate voice.
Personality- fiery,passionate, yet loving, caring and reverent. Strong morals and stubborn resolve.
Why- Moderate height does not give a person a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Blond shows rebelliousness, more passionate color. Fiery and passionate are the defining qualities of Antigone.

Isemene
"Yes, if you can, but you're in love with impossibility" (64, 104)
"What do I care for life, cut off from you?" (87, 618)
Physical- 18, Slightly taller than Antigone, brunette with rich flowing hair, a little older features, yet still same softness, a little bit more developed and brown eyes, sweet voice.
Personality- Nice, passionate about family, hesitant with challenges, caring for sister.
Why- Slightly taller helps to establish the older sister persona. Brunettes feel a little more calmer, especially paired with brown eyes, but also can become passionate. Brown eyes also give soothing feel. Hesitancy shows how Isemine was in beginning, yet passion, to emphasize her later on. Sweet voice shows how Isemine just wants what is best for Antigone.

Creon
"What? The city is the king's- that's the law!" (97, 825)
" I warn you... a worthless woman in your house, a misery in your bed" (93, 725-726)
Physical- TALL, robust, slight pot belly, balding hair, dark brown hair with streaks of grey. Hard, steel eyes. Big nose, yet not huge, and regular eye shape. Muscular, yet showing signs of lack of working out; becoming out of shape. Booming voice.
Personality- Stubborn as heck, worried even more. Not trusting, second-guesser. Almost never happy.
Why- Booming voice establishes one in charge. Pot belly and degeneration of muscle show a luxurious, kingly life. Yet balding hair shows the stress the man is going through. Hard steel eyes to emphasize his stubbornness and one way of thinking.

Haemon
"Father, I'm you son... you in your wisdom set my bearings for me- I obey you" (93, 709-710)
"But if I seem young, look less to my years and more to what I do" (96, 815-816)
Physical- young, around 18, handsome, good build, short brown hair, deep, blue eyes, normal nose, not pointy or chunky.
Personality- Wise yet naive to situation of love, obeying of father, yet rebel with love. Very loving, and a little immature. Loyal to family and lover.
Why- Gives picture of a picturesque Greek Prince. Also, good build will help to get ladies, such as Antigone to love him more. Deep blue eyes and blue hair give off the romantic prince look. Immaturity personality helps to show age, and that emotions can blind him.

Sentry
"I didn't do it, didn't see who did- be fair, don't take it out on me" (70, 269-270)
"I'll never come back, you've seen the last of me. I'll saved, even now, and I never though, I never hoped-" (373-375)
Physical- lanky, not much muscle. 27 years old, in prime, yet heading towards old age. Only moderate height. Darting eyes, nasally voice, and a sharp nose. Short cropped hair.
Personality- shy, careful, slightly annoying, and apologetic.
Why- lanky look gives off inferiority as a person, as does not a lot of muscle. Moderate height lets others be higher and dominate him, yet allow him to do his job, as he can then tower over others. Darting eyes, nasally voice and sharp nose contribute to annoying feeling.

Leader of the Chorus
"Like father like daughter, passionate, wild... she hasn't learned to bend before adversity" (82, 525-527)
"You'd do well, my lord, if he's speaking to the point, to learn from him," (96, 810-811)
Physical- old, 60s, white hair/beard, kind of an old/grandfatherly voice, limp, shining teal eyes.
Personality- Compliant, passionate, chivalrous, believes in older traditions, yet is open to new ideas.
Why- Shining teal eyes show wisdom in words spoken. Limp provides a mean to give others a feeling of superiority over him, even though a limp is not all bad. Grandfather voice means the man will be heard, for the crowd will listen to the voice of someone wise. Compliant personality since the Leader needs to please just about everyone in the play.

Journal Entry 1 Antigone

Knowledge Level (The recall of specific information):

• Who is Creon's son?
• How does Isemene become involved in Creon's fantasy of judgement?

Comprehension Level (An understanding of what was read):

• Why did Creon's son defend Antigone, and all other women?
• Why didn't Creon accept the advice given to him by his son?

Application Level (The converting of abstract content to concrete situations):

• How does love affect the relationship between Creon and Haemon?
• What sort of bond is shared between Isemene and Antigone?

Analysis (The comparison and contrast of the content to personal experiences):

• Would Haemon's actions be considered an ancient form of chivalry?
• How does Creon show greed, though he resents it by refering to money and rule?

Synthesis (The organization of thoughts, ideas, and information from the content):

• How could Haemon have reworded his speech to appease his father and teach him at the same time?
• Is Antigone going to submit to the sense of morality within the society?

Evaluation (The judgment and evaluation of characters, actions, outcomes, etc…)

• Should Creon be looked upon as the same as Oedipus was in Oedipus Rex?
• Will Isemine reveal another self within her, or is she always compliant with another person's decrees.

Journal Entry 3 Medea/Oedipus Catharsis, Antigone

In Medea and Oedipus, both of them have similar forms of tragedy within them, such as a high character, an implied moral order, fate, and catharsis. For starters, both stories have a central, tragic protagonist that is risen to great hieghts before being torn down. Oedipus was king of Thebes, and then was cast out as a beggar. Medea was a too be queen, and then became a murderer and wanderer. Both of the stories have implied morals too. Oedipus just wanted to try to help his people as much as possible, while in Medea, it was wrong for Medea to kill her sons just to torture Jason. Both also have their ties in fate. Oedipus was tied into his fate since the Oracle at Delphi proclaimed his prophecy, and Oedipus ultiamtely fulfilled it due to his own actions. Medea had her own fate to kill all who hurt her, and this was influenced by her desire to hurt Jason. Lastly, both have Catharsis. In Oedipus, the audience is purged of greed and arrogance at the sight of Oedipus' downfall. In Medea, the audience is purged of blind rage and revenge, else they err in judgment, and make a decision like Medea to kill her sons and to poison a woman and king.



3 Literary Terms in Antigone

1. Rhyme- "There's noting, no pain-our lives are pain- no privates shame no public disgrace [...]" (Antigone, pg 59, line 5-7). This Rhyme emphasizes the agony of not being able to live life the way that they wish. It also helps to show that Antigone is one wisdom, for to speak in rhyme usually means wisdom.
2. Imagery- "He grappled the Dragon none can master-Thebes- the clang of our arms like thunder at his back" (65:138-139). This quote does 2 things. It tells of how powerful and resiliant Thebes is to be able to resist the Argons. But it also gives a bit of foreshadowing. By saying that Thebes is a dragon no one can master, it could mean that Creon will once more be led to his downfall.
3. Repetition- "Zeus hares with a vengeance all bravado, the mighty boasts of men" (65 140-141). Zeus is often repeated throughout the whole of the book. This means that Zeus could be a chief diety among the people of Thebes. Also, shows foreshadowing again. Creon may get to full of himself, and boast of Thebes. That is when Zeus will strike down Creon, and tragedy will ensue.

Journal Entry 2 Medea

Both Jason and Medea have a very different outlooks on the different of the Gods. Besides evoking the names of traditional gods, such as Zeus, the characters appear to hold a certain regard towards other gods. Medea seems to have more respect for the gods, espeacilly Hecate, or Artemis, who is the goddess of magic and witchcraft. This can be seen in how Medea states that "Hectate, [...] the goddess who abides in the shrine of my inner hearth-the one I reverence most of all the gods and chosen to abet me" (pg 45, line 396-399). This choosing of a female goddess represents how she is a feminist and believes in the power of women, instead of a more traditional woman who puts faith into Zeus and Apollo or even Posiedon. It also makes it sound like Medea works with the gods, instead of getting them to do things for her, and holding reverance towards them. Jason has a much different outlook on the gods. Jason also talks a female goddess, the goddess Aphrodite. Yet, Jason says how "it was Aphrodite adn no one else in heaven or earth who saved me on my voyage" (pg 50, line 526-527). By saying it in this way, Jason seems not to hold as much respect for the gods, since he is not speaking about Aphrodite with reverance. Also shows how men hold themselves above women, since he is saying how Aphrodite did his bidding for him and saved Jason.

The comparison of Medea and Jason's beliefs in the greek to emphsize the aspect of men in society. It is significant, for it shows that men see themselves above women in all aspects, even the women gods themselves.

Journal Entry 1 Medea

The chorus' in Medea and Oedipus vary greatly. For starters, the most obvious difference is who comprises of the different chorus'. In Oedipus, the whole chorus is citizens of his city, so you can infer that there are both men and women in that group. In Medea however, the chorus is only comprised of women. This shows the gender roles that were around during Greek century were very different. Men tended to only care about those who were in higher power than themselves, usually only other men, while leaving any woman who is not young and desirable to rot. Women on the other hand cared for those men in power as well as other women around them. Another difference between the 2 chorus' is how they act. In Oedipus the king, the chorus wanted Oedipus to solve the problems in the sick city of Thebes. Before the tragedy of Oedipus is revealed, Oedipus is seen as a grand figure willing to help the denizens of his city any way that he can; so it is the chorus who needs help. In Medea, the role is reversed. Instead, it is the chorus' that comes to try to comfort Medea, who is in emoitonal distraut over Jason choosing another woman over her. Medea is seen as a very emotionally hurt woman in the beginning of the play, one who seeks vengence as well. The chorus is there to try to comfort her, instead of Medea helping the chorus.

Journal Entry 5 Oedipus

Sophocles evokes fear and pity among the memebers of the audience in various ways, in his plays.

In Oedipus, Sophocles makes the audience feel fear by showing the massive change that happens to Oedipus. In the beginning, Oedipus is kind and caring, but later gets distrustful of everyone, finnally ending in misery. It gets the audience members to think that they themselves might be caught in the same kind of loop as Oedipus, thus causing fear among them to change so they don't become like that. The audience also feels fear in Oedipus. This happens when Oedipus is argueing with Tiresias over Oedipus' future and fate. With a first glance, the scene seems exciting and thrilling, for if no one has seen the play, then they would be wondering who really did kill the person. However, a classic Greek audience member already knows the stroy of Oedipus. So, when they see Oedipus trying in vain to go against his own fate, it evokes pity, for the audience already knows that the "helmsman" has already been caught in his twisted fate, and that he is too blind to see it.

In Medea, Sophocles makes the audience feel fear and pity, as in Oedipus. The audience feels fear, for when Medea kills the king of Iolcos. This would strike fear in the hearts of the audience, for Iocles did in for love; she thought that it would help Jason move up to the throne. However, it ultimately lead to their casting out. This would make the audience afraid, for they would not like to end up like the couple and let their emotions cloud there judgement of what they should do. The audience also feels pity for the couple. This is revealed when Medea has to kill her own brother. The reason why is because you can surmise that Medea was likely close to her brother. So it evokes pity on the audience, since they know that Medea had to decide to act, and chose the lesser of 2 loves.

Journal Entry 4 Oedipus

The image that I chose to track was the image of eyes.

"Come to [...] your own father's hands that served his once bright eyes so well-" (Sophocles Oedipus 248:1622-1623). This is spoken by the now broken Oedipus. He tell of how his eyes were once bright. This could mean that it could be his innocence, of how he supposed himself uncorrupted. This is because Oedipus, before he found out the truth, never thought that would fulfill the prophecy. After the prophecy was fulfilled, he no longer had that innocence about him, so he gouged out his eyes in torment.

"You, you'll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know!" (237:1405-1408). This again refers to Oedipus' self-inflicted blindness. He also does this in order to prevent him from seeing anymore of the grief in the people that he caused them, since he is the one that caused the misfortune for the town. He also gouged out his eyes because his eyes fooled him; he could not tell who his real parents where. Thus, as punishment, Oedipus gets rid of his eyes. He did it so he couldn't be fooled by such things ever again.

"Blind who now has eyes, beggar who now is rich, he will grope his way toward a foreign soil, a stick tapping before him step by step" (185:517-519). This is what Tiresias tells to Oedipus before he leaves Thebes. It foreshadows the torment that will befall on Oedipus. However, Oedipus chooses to ignore the words of the wise man, rather believing that he can still change his own destiny.

The author uses the imagery of eyes in order to characterize Oedipus. The eyes show that even though Oedipus can see, he can't figure out the truth, even when it is right in front of him. Oedipus even states that he is "Oedipus the ignorant" (182: 451). This shows that he is ignorant to all of the things around him, only taking in the things that he deems worth his time. The imagery also shows the tension in the play. For while the time that Oedipus can see, he is wrought with discontent, for he constantly worries about the prophecy. After he blinds himself, he then lives in agony, furthering the tension that he has, for he feels that he needs to save himself from his crime, thus putting a large burden on him on top of being blind.

Journal Entry 3 Oedipus

• Sophocles basically describes the men as being the prominent ones, the ones with all the power and glory. The women often take a more subordinate role, and are only widely renowned as long as the fame of the husband lasts. Such is how Jocasta is well known, being married to Laius and the famous Oedipus.
• I think that Jocasta's reaction was good in some ways and yet bad in others. It was good on how she tried to comfort her husband is good. This is because, not necessarily just women, but all people, should show compassion to the people that they love. This reveals that strong relationships are important within a person. However, she, like Oedipus, overreacted at the end of the act. It was when she was trying to dissuade Oedipus from finding the truth out about his birth. She could have handled it a little bit better, or could have just told Oedipus what she was thinking. Instead, she freaked out and "locked" herself away from him. So it tells how women should be supportive of their husbands, but also how they should not overreact with decisions he makes and tell him their opinions.
• Oedipus is the exact person that guys should not model themselves after. He's the kind of person that has a kind of cover, and then exposes the true, grotesque self that he is. All of his arrogance and anger, rage, irrational fear and worry are also things that guys should try to stay away from. Creon, however, is what people should aspire to be. He does not let his emotions get to far out of hand, and he makes sure there are facts to back up his words. That is how men should be: cool, calm and collected.
• The male gender seems to speak to the women as a kind of crutch. The man always trusts the woman more than anyone else that he knows. He also turn to her when he needs her, but other than that, she is basically supposed to be on her own. Men speak to themselves how they are going to protect that which they have, and how they are going to prevail. The women talk to themselves how there husband is doing and if there is any way that they can help their husbands.

Journal Entry 2 Oedipus

I think that Oedipus is showing signs of a deficient leader. This is because of how the man changed so drastically in this part of the play. In the beginning of the act, Oedipus gives a grand speech in front of his public, basically saying how he will use any sort of resource to hunt down the perpetrator of the crime the murder of Laius. And so, already hearing from the oracle, from the word of Apollo, he seeks out the man Tiresias. When Tiresias arrives, Oedipus makes a big show of how he is so thankful that Tiresias has come and how Tiresias is the one who can save the city. After Oedipus forces Tiresias to tell him the murderer, after of course Oedipus forces Tiresias to tell him after Oedipus discredited Tiresias and said he was working against the city, Oedipus doesn't even believe him. He went through all the effort to find the mystical all-knowing prophet, and he basically rejected him, (even though Tiresias is never believed). That is a very bad way to spend his resources, or treat the opinion of another, and defiantly more wiser, person. Also, Oedipus told Tiresias to "Rescue yourself, your city, rescue me-" (Sophocles 2:2:355). This shows how Oedipus basically put himself and his possessions before the rest of the city, since after saying that line, he hastily said "rescue everything infected by the dead" (2:2:356). A leader should not put himself before the people of his city. He should always try to care for them first. Lastly, after Tiresias stated that Oedipus was the killer, Oedipus immediately tries to put the blame onto another person: Creon. He tried to make a scape-goat, even though all Creon did was get Tiresias, by showing that Oedipus wondered if "this conspiracy his [Creon] or yours [Tiresias]" (2:2:431). This shows how quickly Oedipus wanted to have the blame off of himself. A leader should take responsibility for his actions, or if the accusations of said actions are false, then a leader must remain cool and collected, and explain his innocence, rather then blaming another.

My impression of Oedipus changed drastically. In the first part of the play, he seemed so nice and caring, even if he was a little bit pompous and full of himself. You could see how he wanted to protect his people and care for them. He was also a lot calmer. In the second part of the play, he becomes more erratic and hostile. He also states how only he wanted to be saved, before adding everyone else, showing selfishness. He also became very poisoness and angry at something that there was no need for anger for.

I would describe Creon's personality as loving and obedient. This is due to how he did not angerly challenge Oedipus' decree against him, he just wanted his king to listen.

Tiresias I would describe as cautious, and yet prideful. This is due to how he wanted to protect Oedipus from the truth that he knew, but, when his hand was forced, was willing to tell the truth to Oedipus. Tiresias also seems a little bit cynical, for he didn't seem to have a lot of faith in Oedipus being able to deal with what he was about to tell him.

Oedipus reading 1

Summary-

1. Oedipus is introduced and is asking the people gathered round his alter why they have gathered there and what can he do to help.
2. A priest of Zeus states, for the crowd, that everyone has gathered, young, old, married, unmarried, to tell Oedipus that the city is falling apart and sick.
3. The priest then further states that since Oedipus has overcome challenges before, such as the Sphinx, and is then a men above the rest, so he has the power to help save the town of Thebes and rule over a fertile land.
4. Oedipus pities them, and knows the anguish felt by all since he is the king, so he figured out the one cure: to send a man, Creon, to Delphi to speak to the prophet to find out what has to be done to save the city, and states that Creon should be back, right as Creon comes back.
5. Creon says he knows what the oracle said good news, but is worried about how the people would react, so he offers Oedipus to go inside to speak, but Oedipus would rather have the people here the news.
6. Creon then explains that Apollo says to cleanse all the evil from the land, and says to start by banishing or killing the man you killed the former ruler, Laius.
7. After hearing this, Oedipus then desires to know where the person who killed Laius is, where Laius was killed, and if there were any witnesses, which Creon states that the killer is in Thebes, that Laius was lost on the way to the Oracle, and all but one person was killed who saw the crime, respectively.
8. Creon then states that the man who saw the crime said thieves struck him down, which Oedipus thought unlikely unless the thieves were payed, then Creon stated that when Laius died, no one else came to lead, and they didn't try to find the killer for the Sphinx persuaded the people not to look into it.
9. Oedipus then says that he will find the murderer and bring him to justice no matter what, town is then happy to hear him say that.
10. Townspeople are praying to the gods to let the curse on Thebes end, and asking the gods to strike the sickness down and protect them, and they'll do anything to make it happen.
11. People then lament how the city is dying, people are becoming sick and poor, that it is a great thing starting to waste away, and how so many women and children die, and how the gods should rescue them.
12. In one final plea, the townspeople pray to individual gods, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus to beat back the death of the sickness.

Literary Techniques

• Imagery- the imagery of death helps to convey the tone of the city of Thebes. It tells of a city desperate for revitalization and salvation, how the people want to be saved from death by the various deities.
• Repetition of cry- the repetition of crying out shows the disparity of the situation. Also reveals how emotional Greek people are, for they don't speak out to different gods, they cry out, voices in panic and grief over all the death. They also actually cry over all the deaths that have occurred.
• Rhyme- the rhyme of price and sacrifice emphasize the ancient ways of the Greek. Most often then not, Greek people did not just give money or pray like in modern day church, most of the time, either an animal, or even sometimes a child was to be sacrificed to the deities of ancient Greece. Thus, the Greek paid a high price, for sometimes animals were very important, like to farmers and herders, and no one wanted to give up their son or daughter.
• Rhyme- the rhyme between rise, cries, and eyes (pg 169, ln 213-217) all have a kind of "I" sound to them. This helps to convey that each and every person in the city at that point is suffering in the city. Not just a group of people.
• Simile- "Thebes like a great army dying"(pg 169, ln 194) - this simile again hints at a few different things. In a more literal sense, Thebes could have been a powerful nation at one time, and now is just wasting away, and is now weaker then it used to be. It could also mean that the people, once disciplined and prosperous, are now weaker, and can't do as much as they used to.
• Metaphor- "there is no sword of thought to save us" (pg 169, ln 195). Once again it is kind of a war- like reference. It also shows that the people are without any kind of dictating action, they want the change to happen, but they are not passionate enough to take the issue into there own hands. It also means that the people do not think for themselves, that they rely on the gods to answer questions.
• Interesting to point out that a lot of the time it is the children and the women that are falling victim to the sickness. Also the ones doing the crying a lot of the time are seen as women, it does not specifically mention men, like it does women on (pg 169, ln 309). This could emphasize how the Greeks lived in a male dominated society.

Rough draft Dystopian novel

The Resistance

Try living in a society for a day, where there are no luxuries, no emotions allowed except hate, and there is no place in the world to go where a person is not under a the scrutiny of another. 1984, written by George Orwell, creates this brutal society where the general population is kept inferior and in constant fear. This society falls under the rule of a party call INGSOC led under the figurehead of a man named Big Brother. George Orwell uses Winston’s physical and psychological rebellion against Big Brother to convey how people desire to control their own lives; this shows that no matter how oppressive the government is, there will always be resistance de to human nature.

The primary ways that Winston fights against society show us that human nature is to rebel against an oppressive government that is in place. The primary reason that he does this I s due to the protest that he feels within his own body. While discussing the truth or untruth of the history texts, he states, “The only evidence on the contrary was the mute protest in your own bones, the instinctive feeling that the conditions in which you live were intolerable and that at some other time they must have been different” (Orwell 63). The fact that he feels this protest in his bones to the oppression that the government puts on him shows us that, although he has never lived in a better time, the instincts of his body are that this is no how he was meant to live. Through this we can see that he is unhappy with his conditions in Oceania and that he wishes for it to be different. The fact that he wants it to be different also shows us that it is in his nature to want to be fulfilled and happy. This is Orwell’s way of showing us that it is in human nature to rebel against an oppressive government that doesn’t fulfill our needs. Winston also shows us that it is in his nature to rebel when he participates in the Two Minutes Hate, “Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police; and at such moments his heart went out to the lonely, derided heretic on the screen, sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies” (Orwell 16). The fact that Winston, instead of hating the enemy of the Party, instinctively turns to feeling hope and love towards Goldstein shows us that it is a natural occurrence to hate the object that is oppressing you, and also natural to love that which stands for your freedom. This demonstrates that the people will automatically rebel against anything that oppresses them. Orwell shows us that this is a natural, good thing to do through Winston’s rebellion.

One of the ways that Winston specifically resists the government of Ingsoc by using his mind. The two ways by which Winston uses his mind in order to fight against the power of Ingsoc is through his diary and the article on the capitalists. The first is his diary. Winston first finds the diary in an old shop in a proletarian market. After buying the item, he committed an act that could lead to his death. Yet, as he mused about a past recollection, “His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals - DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER over and over again, filling half a page” (Orwell 19). This is where Winston reveals the first inklings of his hatred of the Party and Big Brother. Even though he had to mask his true intentions, he was still starting to resist against the government of Ingsoc. In the diary, even though he could be killed for writing in it, the book allows him to reveal what he really thinks about the government he serves under. After he writes in the diary, he starts to think of the consequences of the action: a visit from the Thought Police. Winston began to become paranoid at the thought of the police arresting him, and yet does not try to redeem himself with any words of condolence. Instead, he writes further in his diary, stating that “theyll shoot me i don't care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother” (Orwell 20). The passage written reaffirms what Winston previously wrote. Winston could have done many things to reconcile what he has done, from smudging the ink so it was illegible, to burning the book, or “to tear out the spoiled pages and abandon the enterprise altogether” (Orwell 19). Instead, Winston wrote more with animosity towards Big Brother, for he ‘did not care’ whether anyone would find out about the diary or not; the diary reveals Winston’s true thoughts.

Another way that Winston used his mind to resist Ingsoc was through the photo and article on Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford. Winston first comes across the photo in an article that he needed to change in the Ministry of Truth. When he first saw it, he was so overcome with fear over the photo that he pushed it under the other papers that he needed to “fix”. This led to Winston using his mind, since he was able to deduce that “The point was that at both trials all three men had confessed that on that date they had been on Eurasian soil. […] There was only one possible conclusion: the confessions were lies. Even at that time Winston had not imagined that the people who were wiped out in the purges had actually committed the crimes that they were accused of. But this was concrete evidence;” (Orwell 67). The photo was not taken seriously back when Winston first had the photo, he was not completely against Ingsoc yet. But, with the hindsight granted from experience, he would have decided to keep the photo if he was resisting the government during that time. This shows that Winston would like to change events, make it so he could further resist the government. Even while Winston was being tortured, when they showed him the same photo, he cried out “’It exists!’ […] it did exist! It does exist! It exists in memory. I remember it” (Orwell 204). This further proves that Winston resisted the government that was trying to say that the photo did not exist. By proclaiming that the photo did exist, Winston went against what the government was trying to force him to believe.

“To embrace her was like embracing a wooden image” (Orwell 58). Winston’s wife felt no pleasure in having sexual intercourse, and she was part of the anti-sex league. The government wanted people to have sex like Winston’s wife did, they didn’t want people to have pleasure because the people might rebel against the government. They were trying to take all the emotions away except hate. For example, the government wanted to take away orgasm scientifically so that people would not feel pleasure during sexual intercourse, but rather just do it for pro-creation. “No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act” (Orwell 105). Winston tries to show that he is rebelling against the Party by having sexually intercourse with Julia. The party views sexual intercourse as something that is very wrong and that people should not feel pleasure in doing so. But Winston does it anyways and this quote shows that the action he takes in fact does hurt the Party.

The natural tendencies to physically and psychologically rebel against an oppressive government show that people want to control their own lives. Those people will try their hardest to rebel against the one in charge for as long as possible, since rebelling against the society usually ends up in severe punishment. So, do you think that you’ll be able to survive in the suffocating, totalitarian atmosphere of Airstrip 1?

Dystopian novel group paragraph

My laptop is having issues, so I'll print it out at school, if I can.


One of the ways that Winston specifically resists the government of Ingsoc by using his mind.
The two ways by which Winston uses his mind in order to fight against the power of Ingsoc is through his diary and the article on the capitalists. The first is his diary. Winston first finds the diary in an old shop in a proletarian market. After buying the item, he committed an act that could lead to his death. Yet, as he mused about a past recollection, “His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals - DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER over and over again, filling half a page” (Orwell 19). This is where Winston reveals the first inklings of his hatred of the Party and Big Brother. Even though he had to mask his true intentions, he was still starting to resist against the government of Ingsoc. In the diary, even though he could be killed for writing in it, the book allows him to reveal what he really thinks about the government he serves under. After he writes in the diary, he starts to think of the consequences of the action: a visit from the Thought Police. Winston began to become paranoid at the thought of the police arresting him, and yet does not try to redeem himself with any words of condolence. Instead, he writes further in his diary, stating that “theyll shoot me i don't care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother” (Orwell 20). The passage written reaffirms what Winston previously wrote. Winston could have done many things to reconcile what he has done, from smudging the ink so it was illegible, to burning the book, or “to tear out the spoiled pages and abandon the enterprise altogether” (Orwell 19). Instead, Winston wrote more with animosity towards Big Brother, for he ‘did not care’ whether anyone would find out about the diary or not; the diary reveals Winston’s true thoughts. Another way that Winston used his mind to resist Ingsoc was through the photo and article on Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford. Winston first comes across the photo in an article that he needed to change in the Ministry of Truth. When he first saw it, he was so overcome with fear over the photo that he pushed it under the other papers that he was assigned to fix. This led to Winston using his mind, since he was able to deduce that “The point was that at both trials all three men had confessed that on that date they had been on Eurasian soil. […] There was only one possible conclusion: the confessions were lies. Even at that time Winston had not imagined that the people who were wiped out in the purges had actually committed the crimes that they were accused of. But this was concrete evidence;” (Orwell 67). The photo was not taken seriously back when Winston first had the photo, he was not completely against Ingsoc yet. But, with the hindsight granted from experience, he would have decided to keep the photo if he was resisting the government during that time. This shows that Winston would like to change events, make it so he could further resist the government. Even while Winston was being tortured, when they showed him the same photo, he cried out “’It exists!’ […] it did exist! It does exist! It exists in memory. I remember it” (Orwell 204). This further proves that Winston resisted the government that was trying to say that the photo did not exist. By proclaiming that the photo did exist, Winston went against what the government was trying to force him to believe.
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Dystopian Journal 3

Topic C

Orwell wrote 1984 in order to portray a warning to those people in the future. It also criticized the Totalitarian regimes by pointing out the oppressive ways in which the government in 1984 (Ingsoc) treats its citizens. Orwell wrote about how the totalitarian regimes would control all aspects of life, including what you did, what you felt, even what you thought, to a certain extent. The citizens would not be free at all, they would not have any rights of there own, and they would not be able to do anything without explicit consent from their respective governments. I think that the authors vision was very believable for his time, but has lost some of its luster over the decades. The reason why is because the author wrote it after the Nazi regime fell and when the Soviet regime was gaining power. Orwell was worried that the other countries would be swallowed up by totalitarian governments, and was worried about them ,especially his home country of Britain, where, by the way, the novel takes place. If a major totalitarian government came to power, there is no doubt that they would control their citizens similarly to that of how Ingsoc treats the proles. The hope that the author inscribes within the novel is the hope that not everyone will succumb to the totalitarians rule. He hope that some people will have the will, strength or even gall to stand up to the government and fight for what they believed in.

249 words

Propoganda

I think that this propaganda poster is refering to those people, (I believe it was women, since they were recruited en masse in order to construct the weapons of war during WW2), who were constructing the weapons for the soldiers. It would be widely accepted, because the poster is not trying to be demanding of anyone, it places a person in danger if the weapon that was created does not work. This is meant to play on the emotions of the workers to make sure that they do not make any mistakes during the construction of various weapons. The audience would not feel manipulated or controlled since they would want to work to the best of their ablitity in order to ensure the safety of the soldiers, more often their husbands and sons. Like said before, it plays of the emotions of the workers. I think it is appropriate for the society, because it is geared towards americans, and the american society is democratic, so it won't say anything that will force it's population into action, but rather motivate them. I think the slogan will stick in the mind of the women workers, for if that situation actually happend, it could mean the death of a loved one.

Dystopian novel group analysis

Pattern: Winston is constantly living in fear. He always comments on how any kind of action that seemed to radical as a folly and dangerous. He always sees certain things as follies, and yet he commits them anyway, such as the writing in his journal, or going off to see Julia. He is not supposed to do the things that he does any way as well, for it is against the views of Big Brother, so his death or torture is a real possibillity. "He could not help feeling a twinge of panic. It was adbursd, since the writing of those particular words was not more dangerous than the initial act of opening the diar; but for a moment he was tempted to tear out the spoiled pages and abandon the enterprise all together" (Orwell 19)

Why does Orwell use a character who lives in fear rather than a courageous hero? What message is Orwell trying to say by using a weak protagonist? What significance is there about the journal or Julia.

Orwell uses Winston to show that even those who live in fear of another can rise up and challenge authority with the right catalyst.

Journal Entry 2 1984

Topic A

"'I know what you expect me to say,' he said,. 'You expect me to say I'd sooner be young again. Most people'd say they'd sooner be yong, if you arst 'em. You got Your 'ealth and strengthwheyou're young. When you get to my time of life you ain't never well. I suffer something wicked from my feet, and my bladder's jest terrible. Six and seven times a night it 'as me out of bed. On the other 'and there's great advantages in being an old man. You ain't got the same worries. No truck with women, and that's a great thing. I ain't 'ad a woman for near on thirty year, if you'd credit me." (Orwell 78)

This came as a final response to an interview that Winston was trying to do. Winston was trying to interview an old man in order to find out what truly happend in the past. The reason why is because "life before the Revolution was completely different from what it is now" (Orwell, 76). Winston wanted to find out if there was anyone else out in the world that could give a different story about the early 1900's, since he knew that the information in the history books had been tampered with. One of the changes made to the textbooks was when Julia was taught that "the Party had invented the airplanes" (Orwell 127). However, the novel then later states that "(In his own schooldays, Winston remembered in the late Fifties, it was only the helicopter that the party claimed to invent[...]" (Orwell 127) This shows the change that the textbooks went through. So, Winston tried to find someone who could tell him of the past, but no one left was around to tell him, some only gave him insignificant details. It is in this way that the Party fulfills one of its Key phrases: IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. Everyone doesn't know truly what the past was, since Ingsoc can go and change the history whenever they want. This helps the government of Ingsoc keep the populace under control, since they glorify the party, and condemn all others. The government then encourages the people to worship the information handed to them, and punishes any people who do not show enough zeal with death.

Word Count: 261

Journal entry 1 1984

English Dystopian Novel Journal 1
Winston is the main character in the story 1984 who takes action against the government put in place in the novel, known as “The Party”. Winston is just an ordinary Outer Party Worker who works in the Ministry of Truth for a living. Before he even realizes it, he starts to go against the teachings that Big Brother, the novel’s Totalitarian dictator. As he goes to a shop in the poorer section of Air Field One and he then proceeds to buy a diary. Winston then writes in it, at his own risk.
Winston is victimized in the story in various ways. For starters, he is in constant worry that he is being watched and that his thoughts are monitored. Basically all of his freedoms, freedom of speech, writing, and even thinking have been deemed bad in this dystopian society. He is also one of a lower class, and as such is not treated as well who is in the Inner Party.
So, in order to put up a bit of resistance against the government, Winston decides to write in the book. At first, he is worried about the diary, but he slowly gets more and more used to it, as he eventually writes in its pages “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!” in all capital letters. This marks as the beginning of the conflict against The Party.
Winston believes that doing this is utterly meaningless. He believes that he is writing in order for another generation to read what he wrote in his time. Unfortunately, he believed that the Thought Police would eventually find the book and destroy its existence, so he did not have much confidence in it.
The Consequences for his actions is death. It is because that if anyone, a child, women, friend, or just a regular stranger finds any hint of anti-Big Brother in Winston, he is charged with being a thought criminal. Thought criminals are then sent to either death, or twenty-five years in a forced labor camp.
Word Count: 339

Journal entry 7.5 Stranger

Sorry, this is really the journal set for February 27, the one after the "create your thesis" blog. I thought that the thesis thing was the next journal, so just letting you know which one this journal is.

I believe that Camus creates a part one and a part two in order to highlight a change that happens inside of Mersault. In the first part, he was more uncaring, and did not mind anything unless it was for his own benefit, but in the second part, he realizes the importance of other peoples opinions, whether they benefit him or not.

One parallel idea that is in both of the parts is this air of uncaring about Mersault. In the first part of the novel, Mersault is frequently seen not doing things unless it is for his own benefit, such as when Raymond offered him a cigarette, Mersault took it because he did not have a cigarette at the time. This is also when he refuses to acknowledge other peoples feelings and respond to them. In the second part of the book, he goes through a little bit of a change. He still does not care about what others think of him, but he starts to acknowledge how others feel. This is justified by how Mersault almost felt like crying during his trial, because he could feel how much everyone hated him.

Camus achieves a certain effect by creating two different parts with similar ideas. It shows that Mersault comes to a realization about life. That he does not need to care about what others think of him, but he should acknowledge what they have to say.

Journal entry 8 Stranger

I beleive that Mersault comes to the conclusion that everyone acts the way that they want to act, and that it was their beliefs that fuel the actions. This is defended by how he stated that he felt like crying at his court hearing because he felt that everyone hated him. After coming to the realization before his execution, he discovered that they were just acting based on what they believed in, and that he should not care about what others believe about him. That is why he hoped to see a crowd of angry people at his execution, since he no longer cared about what others believed in.

I think Camus doesn't want people to come to the same conclusion. I think he wants people to benefit from this book and be able to express themselves more openly. This comes from the fact that the person who acted very intrapersonal ended up dead after a trial. Mersault could have saved himself if he was more emotional and cared about what others believed in. Then he might have been more sincere at his Maman's funeral, and about how Marie wanted to marry him. Camus wants people to be more open with their emotions.

I believe that Mersault was happier though, at the end of the novel. The reason why is because he no longer complained about the day, he reminisced about what he liked, and found no spite. He also stopped talking about the sun so much.

Journal 7 Stranger

Since I was absent from your class for two different days, I do not know if I can create a very effective thesis, but I will try to construct one to the best of my ability.

As for the other journals, I'll talk to to you about them tommorrow morning before.

Thesis: People must show themselves openly, not stay under the cover of their desires.

journal Entry 6 Stranger

Sorry this is late, I was absent from school due to being sick. Told me in class today that I could turn in this journal today.

1. Word Choice- Camus always uses short, and simple words to describe what is going on in the stranger. This helps create a certain pace in the story, since the author doesn't get bogged down in writing down long, descriptive paragraphs. It also shows a little about Mersault and how he thinks. Why doesn't Camus let Mersault have any eloquent, emotional dialogue?


2. Sentence Structure-Camus always uses short, yet descriptive sentences to convey what is going on in the story. This is important, for it helps to keep the story to the point in novel. It keeps the story focused on Mersualt's story, not giving the reader any distracting metaphors or large imagery sentences. It also helps to let the reader make conclusions for themselves. Why doesn't Camus give any longer sentences to convey a deeper meaning.


3. Images- Camus always uses the image of alcohol, lust, and smoking in the story. This helps give a light on the characterization of Mersault. Why doesn't Camus use any lighter images, such as a simple sea or a lovely abode?


4. Symbols-Camus uses the sun through out the novel. It seems that the sun is symbol of pain as it always seems to be hurting Mersault's eyes or causing him irritation. Why does Camus convey the sun as a painful symbol, rather than one that caused romance, or serinity?


5. Figures of Speech- Camus seems to make Mersault the black sheep in the novel, while all the other characters seem similar to each other: they are all more openly emotional and are happy. This helps develop a unique characterization of Mersault as well as a different outlook on life. Why doesn't Camus make a character that is similar to Mersault?


6. Rhetorical Devices- When comparing the narrator, who is Mersault, to when Mersault is actually talking, it seems that there isn't really a lot there, that it is kind of barren of any thought. This helps develop Mersault's character. Why doesn't Camus let Mersault's character deepen a little bit?


7. Patterns- Camus always makes Mersault complain about the sun and how it hurts him. This helps give away a unique metaphor and how Mersault responds to the outside world. Why does Camus make the sun work against Mersault?


8. Narrators-Camus seems to use very little dialouge in the story, and yet Mersault is the one narrating what is happening to him. This helps give incentive as to what Mersault is thinking about various issues, but keeps the other characters secret opinions a secret. Why does Camus let Mersault narrate Mersault's own life instead of telling the story or Mersault himself?


9. Structure- The days in the novel The Stranger are always going by at a rapid pace, usually having muliple days go by in a chapter. this creates a fast paced novel, and shows that it will focus only on the topics that are needed, and won't go into a lot of detail. Why doesn't Camus have a few chapters that slow the day down?

Journal Entry 5 Stranger (+ New Philosophy)

... Since my old philosophy didn't follow the old guidelines, I'll make a new one, (I thought that we could have more fun with it than was told. Forgot to check the blog, since I knew what to do, sorry!).

New Philosophy: Respectism

Note: most of these rules come from the basic foundations of chivalry.

• All who are created are provided with the potential to give respect to others- comes from chivalry, of how everyone should treat people with utmost respect.
• Respect has the power to create a peaceful coexistence. - If everybody respects one another, than there would be no reason for quarrels.
• Respect can be given, or taken - If a person does an inhonorable act, there respect is taken from them.
• The path to redemption is to respect the one who you disrespected - If a person apologizes for something they did wrong, then they can be forgiven by the other person, thus giving his respect back and earning the respect of the other person.
• Being respectful in ones life can grant you eternal peace within ones self - If you are always respectful to everyone, then you don't feel guilty or bad because you do not do any harm to them.
• This peace is the highest degree of respect - The peace created can make a person live a life of ultimate bliss, without a care in the world, since he/she does not have to worry about conflicts with others.
• If this peace is lost, it can never be obtained again. - If someone did a spectacular thing, it is almost impossible to get respect back from others as they would all hate and mistrust the person.
• One must achieve control over their physical and mental desires in order to become truly respected - If a person can't help but do inappropriate acts, then they'll never get any respect from anyone else.

Now, Mersault severly contradicts with the philosophy of respectfulism. For starters, he does not give anyone a heart-filled response, always answering in small phrases like, "I don't really care", (or something along those lines). He is always disrespecting peoples feelings, like Marie for instance, she asks consistently if he loves her and he always say that he doesn't really know. At the very least Mersault can give her a decent response. Another thing that Mersault does is he has no control over his physical desires. I mean really, he openly said that in a movie theatre he fondled Marie, he could have given her more respect and maybe just kissed her and that's it. That is his main physical desire: he lusts for Marie. Those are how Mersault conflicts with the philosophy of respectfulism.

Journal Entry 3 Stranger Philosophy

My philosophy: Gamerism

Doctrines

• All games were created to please the senses of the person.
• All games were created by one large company with different companies as its branches.
• The gamer is just a person pursuing the joy of gaming through any means.
• The gamer can either act independently or can interact with the company or other gamers.
• Even if the company is vast, flaws are still created, the company is not a perfect machine.
• There are often 2 types of gamers: players and obsessors. The players play the game just for fun of gaming, excepting the fact that the system might be flawed. Obsessors play games meticulously, and often try to correct the problems caused by the company.
• All gamers must obey the law of the company by not playing games that are ill suited for them.

Journal Entry 3 Stranger

I will be keeping track of the imagery of the sun as well as the imagery of smoking.

Sun

1. "The office overlooks the sea, and we took a minute to watch the freighters in the harbor, which was ablaze with sunlight." (Camus 25) This passage is used to appeal to the readers senses, and get a feel for the scenery.Emphasizes the harshness of the sun.

2. "We were out of breath; the truck was bumping around on the uneven cobblestones of the quay in a cloud of dust and sun." (Camus 26). This shows that even a goal can be kept from you by other things, such as the dust and the sun clouded the truck.

Smoking

1. "[...] and when I woke up I felt like having a smoke." (Camus 26) This shows that Mersault is trying to comfort himself with a smoke, and is not trying to deal with a problem, but rather find things that will make him temporarily happy.

2."I was smoking Raymond's cigarettes because I ran out" (Camus 31) This shows the continuence of Mersault finding a way to avoid direct ways to deal with problems. It also shows that he will use others to get what he wants.

3.

Journal Entry 2 Stranger

to me, at least, it seems that Mersault is just going and sleeping a lot of the time. Sometimes that's ok, but, at least to me, you would stay awake when keeping vigil over someone. So it just kind of gives me an impression that he just doesn't care about the things around him. Another thing that he did really made me want to be angry with him as well. During the vigil, he constantly complained about a little old lady that was crying because Mersault's Maman was her close friend. He just got really tired of it and wanted her to be quite. When she finnally did quite down, he basically said, 'Finally she shut up.' That made me thing that Mersault doesn't have a heart, but it also makes me feel a little sad for him because he is not being very open with others. One last thing that got me was when Mersault said that it really didn't feel like anything changed after his mother's death. That made me think that he really just didn't care about the world around him.

I think Camus would create a protagonist like Mersault to give the story a more life like feel. Everyone thinks that when a mother dies, the son or daughter is supposed to be the one that mourns the most, and is always seen with a tear-stained face, and sobs for weeks, etc. Camus shows in this that he wanted to create a story that was different then the mainstream fantasy publications. Also, Camus might have wanted to create a protagonist like Mersault in order to convey a certain message about good and evil in that there really isn't any in real life. There are only situations and how a person percieves them and gets threw them.

Journal Entry 1 Stranger

The 2 translations given of the Stranger are both translated in different ways. There are many examples in which the translations are different. One example is how in translation 1, the character states that "I can spend the night there, keeping the usual vigil beside the body, and be back here by tommorrow evening." This gives a more detailed statement of what the character is going to do. It also gives a little bit more insight into what the character thinks, for since he said "the usual vigil" this can conclude that he has either done it before, or has seen it before in his religon. In the second translation though, the character mearly states that "I can be there for the vigil and come back tommorrow evening." This does not give the reader as much detail and leaves more room for specualtion as to what the character is like. It also gives the reader a sense as if the author meant to hury the reader along this segment, maybe passing it by as unimportant.

The effect that the 2 translations give are multiple view points of the story from different translators perspectives. The reason why is because one translator might find one part of the story appealing and emphasize on it, while another mearly looks over it and just writes what is neccessary. This gives the reader a rare insight into what the book could really mean, since the translations are sometimes mearly written based on speculation.

Journal Entry 9

The structure used in Their Eyes Were Watching God is very important to the text of the novel. Take for example the beginning and end of the story. Both use a reference to the sea, in the beginning, it is a boat, in the end a net. The boat represent the beginning of a grand journey, which Janie ended up taking, accompanied by Logan, Joe and Tea Cake. She goes on this journey and endures many hardships throughout the story, from running away from her first husband, to watching her second erode away, to even having to kill her third and final husband. After all of this happend, at the end of the story, the auothor uses the net to convey how the journey finally came to an end. The net is eventually used to take Janie back from her journey and take her back to reality, when she was telling the story. Even though she wanted to stay with Tea Cake, the net shows how even though she did desire to stay with Tea Cake, being with him in her present memories is what suited her best. This is how the structure used in the beginning and end of the novel is very important.

Journal entry 8

The title is very important in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The reason why is because in the end, all of the people view God as the superior being in the novel. This can be showed by how people called God the "Ole' Massa" and how when they needed to turn to a major answer, such as whether they were going to live or perish, they turned to God, not to humanity. The reason why they might be watching for God, is so that way they could see a little bit of good in a situation, that the characters in the story would look to a bright, and optimistic future, since God is seen as in the heavens, and heaven is supposedly a wonderful place. That is how the title of the story is significant to the characters.

Journal entry 7

Mrs. Turner is heavily affected by how her husband treats her, or rather, by how her husband doesn't treat her. The man does not try to do anything to keep her back or to make her abide by any sort of rules that some men did in the early 1900's. He also did not strike her or dare to hush her up. This gave Mrs. Turner a load of confidence and superiority, since she thought that she was better than everyone else, just because no one told her that she has gone too far. In fact, Mrs. Turner even reversed what husbands usually do to their wives in that time: she struck him.

There role in marriage is to show how a marriage can end badly if the love for the pair dissappears. This can be proved by how neither Mrs. or Mr. Turner try to confront the other about issues and talk things out, all that happens is that one gets yelled at by another. Also, it is apparent that they don't particularly like spending time together, since most of the time Mrs. Turner is out and about and talking with other people, instead of being at home. One more thing that could signify how the love has run out is that the pair may consider themselves a bad pair, since only one out of the five children that they had survived to the age of 20.

This pair is very different compared to Janie and Tea Cake. For starters, Tea Cake is the one in charge of the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake, doing things like forbidding Janie from seeing Mrs. Turner, as well as hitting her just to show Mrs. Turner who is boss in the relationship. Mrs. Turner is the one in charge of her relationship, seeing as she hit her own husband, and can do what she wishes. Also, Tea Cake actually cares about Janie, such as he doesn't want her to go to work sometimes just because she is tired. Mr. Turner doesn't really care about what happens to Mrs. Turner, as shown how he did not try to help her when she was being trampled on.

Journal Entry 6

116
"The train beat on itself and danced on the shiny steel rails mile after mile."
Personification
This quote is important in pointing out Janie's feelings. When Tea Cake asked Janie to come live with him in Jacksonville, she became very happy. The train also represents a transition from the area where Janie was dominated by another, Joe, to a place where she stood on equal ground, with Tea Cake. Also, usually when people dance, they have fun and are happy, which once more shows Janie's feelings.

118
"The room inside looked like the mouth of an alligator - gaped wide open to swallow something down."
Simile
This simile shows Janie's desperation in trying to find the 200 dollars that she brought with her when she went to Jacksonville. If the money was lost forever in the room, it was almost hopeless for her to get it back, just like their is almost no hope in getting something out of an alligators mouth. The simile could also represent a final farewell to the influence of Joe, for the 200 dollars was from Joe's money, once it was gone, Joe was out of Janie's life.

117
"... so Janie never told him about the two hundred dollars she had pinned inside her shirt next to her skin."
Symbol
This symbol is the last bit of Joe that is left in the story, as well as the remaining remnants of Janie's previous life in Eatonville. Joe made a lot of money while he was mayor of Eatonville, so taking some of his money is like Janie taking Joe with her one last time. The money also represents Janie's previous life of upper class and riches, and maybe her desire to hang on to that for just a little bit longer. But once Tea Cake becomes more prominent in Janie's life, the money is no longer important to Janie, which is why she doesn't get mad at Tea Cake for gambling away her money.

Journal Entry 5

Janie has gone through many changes since the begining of the story Their Eyes Were Watching God. For starters, Janie has developed a motivation after the death of her second husband. Her motivation is now to make decisions on her own, without the guiding eye of another. Before she met Tea Cake, Janie had been controlled by her husbands Joe and Logan. She was not able to have a motivation to strike out for herself since both trie to control her, Logan by making her work, and Joe by forcing her to be a little trophy wife with no voice. With the curtain closed on her first two husbands, Janie is able to break free of the bonds set up by those two and is motivated is to follow her own decisions, in other words, choosing a husband that she wants to marry, not one predetermined by someone else, such as her grandmother.

There has also been notable changes in Janie's attitude. In the begining of the story, when Janie was married to both Logan and to Joe, whenever she was faced with a decision, she always needed to ponder it for a little while. This was due to the uncertainty inside herself, for she did not act with in mind to what she wanted, she only wanted to prevent conflict, like not arguing with Joe when he told Janie to go inside the store. Once the husbands where out of the picture, Janie was able to realize what she wanted, and therefore grew more decisive and forward in her speech. Janie also seems to be enjoying herself more for she believes that she is with the one that was meant for her, that one being Tea Cake. With Joe and Logan, she never seemed to laugh when she was with Joe or Logan, but once Tea Cake entered the picture, she always has a hard time keeping a smile off her face.

Journal entry 4

Ok, here’s my journal entry. Hope it’s good enough.
So Lisa started to dream of love. Love, the radiant figure with light flowing forth from a bright,
beaming smile who lives in the hearts of all. The master of feelings who lives intertwined within
the wants and desires of mere mortals. What need has love need for love, and who could provide
it? She hovers in heavens that houses the sleeping children, men, women. She stands at the
ready, bow taught, arrow nocked, ready to unleash a storm upon the populace. She remains ever
vigulent, waiting in the sky before time was time, and love was simply love. She was likely to find
feathers floating amongst the clouds of fantasies. She was happy and exuberant as well. Good for
James! He finally confronted the feelings welled up beyond the years. I offered my help, but was
swiftly turned away by non-seeing eyes. Anyone could have helped with depression or sadness,
but with love they were baffled. He would be all right, just as soon as he gets himself prepared
for the final shot. He was going to be with her. That was what he believed. And if he was denied
true happiness, at the institution, all would be able to recognize the staggering loneliness, the
blank expression, and the weight of sadness felt by all. People would not have thought to show
up to the meeting came and readied themselves for good or the opposite. They just grabbed a
chair and waited with baited breath. A story, those arrows, had blanketed the village.

IB English Journal entry 3

Here are the 5 literary elements that I was able to locate in Chapter 4 of Their Eyes Were Watching God:

1.
pg. 27
Consonance
"Round dust dark Ah reckon."
I believe that the author did this in order to do two different things. First off, I believe that the author used the "dust dark" consonance in order to convey to the reader that Logan would be getting back to the farmhouse around dusk instead of dark. Now, the main reason why the author doesn't just say "dusk" or "dark" is because by using this consonance, the author is giving the dialect a more real aspect. If Logan just said "dusk" or "dark", it would not have been the same as how the African Americans talked back in the late 1800's, early 1900's.

2.
pg 27
Imagery
"It was a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn't belong in these parts. His coat was over his arm, but he didn't need it to represent his clothes. The shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world."
This imagery matters to the story because it gives us a new look at a new character in the story, Joe Starks. Now the author didn't have to explain what Joe was wearing. She decided to use the Imagery to display certain characteristics about Joe. For one thing, the man is confident, for he is able to walk along a country road without any worry about robbers, which could be a problem for him considering he is wearing such expensive clothing. Another thing that the imagery tells us is that, yes the man is rich, but that he also set out with a purpose. If it were just one of the local rich folk that might have been in the area, they would just take in the scenery on a coach. Instead, you read about Joe going down the path with nothing but the clothes on his back. This means that the man has to be going somewhere.

3.
pg. 31
Simile
"Logan with his shovel looked like a black bear doing some clumsy dance on his hind legs."
This simile adds a little bit of comedy relief to a more serious part of the story. It also provides a little bit of insight about how the reader thinks of Logan. The reason why is because out of all of the clumsy animals the author could have chosen, she chose the strong and powerful black bear. This must mean that even though Logan might have been old and clumsy, he was still proud and strong, and that if he was roused by something, he would release a fury like that of a bear. This reasoning is justified by the death threat that Logan makes later on: "Ah'll take holt uh dat ax and come in dere and kill yuh!"

4.
pg. 30
Juxtaposition
"Ah wuz thinkin'... de way you act."
(Note: This is a long phrase, it was just shortened using the "...")
The author used this passage to point out the differences between Janie and her first husband, Logan. In the story, (at least so far), Janie had only desired to love and be loved in return. This meant that she wanted the person she married to be sweet to her and treat her well, and to be free to do her own will. This is not what Logan wanted to do with Janie. I believe that Logan wanted Janie for one reasons. That reason was to take her and basically make her into a worker, with all of insistence's of coming out and doing all of the farm work, and even going out to get Janie a mule of her own. Logan believed that all of that work would go and "make somethin' outa yuh [Janie]." This kind of thinking conflicted with Janie's free spirit, and helped to highlight Logan's desire to turn Janie into a working woman.

5.
pg. 32
Epiphany
"What was she losing so much time for? A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good."
This passage is very important in the development of the charecter Janie. This passage shows that she figured out that she was not going to be able to handle a life that Logan could provide. To go a bit deeper, it also shows us that Janie isn't going to remember what her grandmother said about marriage and that she can be easily led away by another man if she thinks it is a little bit better than what she had. Take Logan and Joe for example. Logan wanted her to work, and stopped trying to care for her after a certain point, and Janie didn't particularly like that. Then Joe comes around, and even though he isn't exactly what she's looking for, she chooses him over Logan and runs off with Joe.

IB English Journal entry 2

There are many ways as to how the setting in Their Eyes Were Watching God affects different literary elements. It affects the atmosphere of the story in a couple of ways. The telling of the pear tree blossoming gives the reader a bit of happy and giddy atmosphere to the story, almost a little bit of a child's fantasy. Once Janie had to return to Nanny's home though, she was thrown back into reality, and the atmosphere became serious and solemn. The setting of the story also gives contrast between a couple of charecters. For Logan, he was represented in his home as a hard-working man with ties to ethics. As Janie tried to interact with Logan, he always tried to get her out and work on his property, rather than just letting her relax on the porch of the home and loving her for the sake of loving her. This causes Janie to further repel Logan, for she keeps the vision of the blossoming pear tree in her heart, . In other words, she wants someone to love her as the bee loves the pear blossom. Once Joe was introduced, Janie realized that life with Logan would not work, that she would not be able to handle an every-day routine with a man that no longer cared for her. So, she went with the man that sweet-talked her and sounded like he truly loved her. The setting in the story also affected the charecters motivation. Once more going to the pear tree, as Janie stared at the relationship between the bee and the pear tree blossoms, her motivation changed. From that point, she wanted to be truly loved, and didn't want to marry someone just for protection or because she would have a great life with someone whom she didn't love. No matter how bad it got, Janie became motivated to find the one person that she could love, the "bee" to her flower".

Journal entry 1

There is a vast difference between the language used in the narration and in the actual Dialouge in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God. The narrator helps to move the story along, and uses a formal english style. The narrator talks without the use of any kind of slang or mispronunciation of words. The actual dialouge that goes on in the story is that of ex-slaves back in the late 1800's when the slaves developed their own slang version of english. This type of english employs many sounds using "-d", "Ah" and other kinds of speech used by the ex-slaves until they got an education or learned how to talk regular english. That is the difference between the narration and the dialect.