Blog Post #20 TEWWG Socratic Seminar Part 2

Task #1

Janie sees maturity

Janie seeks reason

Janie finds meaning

Task #2

TEWWG is a novel about the statures of growth. As part of the growing experience, acceptance is a needed virtue. The idea of growth also parallels with the other texts that we have read from the beginning of the school year. First of all, the novel parallels with the poem “The Poison Tree” by William Blake. “And it grew both day and night. Till it bore an apple bright.”(Blake) is a line that shows in which the growing process is a slow and steady ideal. However, the novel also manages to say that the growing process can bring in meanings which are bright as that of the apple. Therefore, it can be seen that life is a system in which an ideal is searched for. For a more darker connection, “The Black Walnut Tree,” by Mary Oliver along with the TEWWG novel shows that the power of growing involves very darker times. For example, Janie underwent many dark times with Logan Killicks and Jody Stark, before she found the perfect soul mate, Tea Cake. The poem itself only takes a small section of the growth process where the struggling occurs, which is battle against the mortgage. In addition, the novel and poem both connect at an instant in which there are sacrifices. The main narrator of the poem is in the debate of sacrificing the Black Walnut Tree, while Janie, in some instances, sacrificed her personal independence for the sake of love. As said by Janie “she saw her life like a great tree in life with things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone,” (Hurston 8).

Task #3

Both the play of Hamlet and the novel of TEWWG, parallel with the idea of destruction caused by the emotion of love. Janie and Ophelia both care the tender and innocent nature of being submissive. As Hamlet was to Ophelia, Janie had her two husbands similar to the characteristics of Hamlet. They wanted Janie to abide by their rules, which Janie did without question. In addition, they would psychologically abuse her similar to how Hamlet did to Ophelia. Hamlet says “get thee to the nunnery,” (3.1.119), which is similar to the idea of how Jody Starks insults Janie with his speech about her social stature and age. There comes a time in which these characters start to fight back directly or indirectly. Their moves trigger the male to step down from his domination. It comes to the scenario in which the male must now depend on the female. In Hamlet, the death of Ophelia strikes him emotionally, in which he starts to confess about his love for her. He sees that his love for Ophelia to be more emotionally striking than of the death of his father. In Janie’s instance, she talks back at Jody Starks which immediately triggers a sense of insecurity within the male. Janie says to her husband, “you have tuh have power tuh free things and dat makes you lak un king uh something ,” (Hurston 57). This immediately causes for the male to step down and ask for mercy. Therefore, both the novel and play talk about the destruction of the male when he falls into the contraption of love.   

Blog Post #19 Socratic Seminar Their Eyes were watching God

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Blog Post #18 Hamlet Final Essay

Blog Post #17 Hamlet Act #5

Blog Post #17 Hamlet Act 5

Why dear lord, I cannot hang on to this grief any further. There is a justification for the bad to be buried in hell, but why must the good not prevail? My dear Lord Hamlet let your soul feel no more turmoil or confusion. “Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince!” (5.2.323). As you are gone “the rest is silence,” (5.2.322). For your funeral, I must put a on a song to commemorate our friendship. This song is known as “Count on me” by Bruno Mars. Why, this is the only song he has sung about friendship, while the others simply dealt with young romance. If you are in heaven, I will reach out to touch your soul when you need a simple friend to comfort you. For I will remember, when you said “O God! Horatio, what a wounded name,” (5.2.309). For I am heavily wounded. This song is especially suitable as it makes references to a friend’s companionship to help guide a friend’s tormented soul.  “And let me speak to th’ yet unknowing world,” (5.2.344). I was the light that guided you through this unknown world of corruption. From King Claudius to your friend Rosencratz, none of them carried a single bit of loyalty towards you. They were simply involved in “carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,” (5.2.345) which cannot be explained, but only seen.  As the song implies, “You’ll always have my shoulder when you cry” (Mars), regardless of the burial of your body.   

I feel this song evokes the mood of hopelessness, but with a little hope. As ironic as my explanation, “Fall ‘n on th’inventors’ heads : all this can I Truly deliver,” (5.2.349-350). Meanwhile, the tone that Bruno Mars evokes is a feeling of hope even during the darkest of times. I feel that throughout our moments of friendship, we were stuck in very dark times with dark people bidding on your being. Why, in such moments when Claudius was gambling your life with Laertes. Simply Wretched! From here on out, “with sorrow I embrace my fortune,” (5.2.353). This song will represent that despite dark times, our moments were the only sense of light within the kingdom of Denmark. Your trust in me was your only lightness, I could feel very well. I was that friend who embraced your anger and spied against your very enemies. I will spread your legacy despite the capture of Denmark by Fortinbra’s. About Hamlet, the kingdom will say Horatio “his mouth whose voice will draw on more,” (5.2.356). Today, friends and enemies “bear, Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage,” (5.2.361). As the song finally says, I am the light to guide your boat. I will be there for you, Lord Hamlet, whether it is heaven or hell. When you are in need remember me. When people say there is no true friendship “never believe it,” (5.2.305).

Blog Post #15 Extra Credit

                                                                          #The Shakespearean James Bond  

                                                                          Horatio: Having a nice time listening to my Friend

                                                                          Rozencratz: Who?

                                                                          Horatio: For Hamlet of course

                                                                          Rozencratz: But why?

                                                                          Horatio: That is a secret.

The selfie picture is shown as Horatio posing for a selfie pose, as he is spying on the King and Queen during the play. Horatio simply exemplifies the virtue of “anger.” Horatio as a character is very loyal to Hamlet; simply he feels the same emotions as that of Hamlet. Simply, Horatio is also committing a crime due to the unbearable “whips and scorns of time (3.1.70). Horatio commits a crime of spying on the king and queen due to the lawfulness of the kingdom. As a character, his flaw contemplates him to do deeds that Hamlet’s enemy is also committing to, espionage. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, sends Rosencratz and Guildenstern in order spy on Hamlet. For the duty of loyalty and anger on Hamlets behalf, he listens to all of Hamlet’s instruction without question. He simply abides by Hamlets saying “Why, any thing, but to the purpose,” (2.2.259). Therefore, Horatio’s flaw “anger” seems to carry a blind purpose to the orders of that of Hamlet. 

Blog Post #15

Why Hamlet has said some forbidden words which are famous in today’s odd world. With the “to be or not be” soliloquy, Hamlet uses many negative connotations of his current situation. Most of these connotations arise from imagery that he proposes. Some examples of this imagery are such as “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortunes,” (3.1.58)  and “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,” (3.1.70). These were two images that he painted within my ringing mind as he uttered forbidden words of death. Hamlet mainly appealed to the logos and pathos aspect. The logos aspect mainly stems from my friends logic that “no traveller returns , puzzles the will,” (3.1.80). Hamlet very sure is using mind when judging the intricacies of heaven. However, he appeals to the emotions through the aspect of pathos when he states outrightly “Whether’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer,” (3.1.56). He shows mankind that his situation is the most desperate of such. Why everyone hearing his statement will string a tear. My dear friend represents his paradox through the first line he says in the room “to be or not to be,” (3.1.55). This line shows that he himself contradicts within his mind. An idea of parallelism can be seen in his noble structure of english, in which he states “To die, to sleep, to die,” (3.1.64-65). The very words of “to” are stated without any impending doom. Why this also shows the concept of the infinitive within the english language. The tone and diction within my friends statements are simply casual for our times. Why Shakespeare presents us in the most commercial of manners. However, through the shadows of time, this diction can be seen as highly complex to many english scholars. The tone is simply treacherous as it shows Hamlet suffering from the very dark of times. An idea of synecdoche can be seen when Hamlet states “No traveler returns,” (3.1.80). By this, he means that no dead person has come back alive into this world; which is definitely cryptic when said as a statement. Hamlet makes his assumptions that life on earth takes a very predictable stance; meanwhile, the futures of the afterlife cannot be predicted. It cannot be simply said that this lad will make it to heaven, while other will make it to hell. Furthermore, my dear friend points out the truth that a humans restricted thinking brings in lawfulness which therefore can cause for justice to be not served in the case of death. My friend makes the awful decision of facing death, as he is intolerable to the lawfulness around him. The major opposition seen within my friends argument is the idea of contemplating death. He first accepts it with outright passion, however towards the end he rejects it for the purpose of revenge. Another opposition seen within the statement is idea of thought. Firstly, with the first half of the statement, Hamlet appeals mostly to the pathos aspect of the audience. However, towards the second half of the statement, Hamlet uses intuition in order to state his views to audience. The third opposition is seen within the Hamlet’s criticism of his consciousness. Upon entering the room, Hamlet listens to his conscious mind very obediently. However, towards the end of the speech, he simply ridicules his conscience by stating “thus conscience does make a cowards of us all,” (3.1.82). Hamlet simply concludes the his internal philosophy states that contemplating death is a risky ideal, which he thankfully thought over.

I have observed many actings of my friends statement, however there is one of such that captivated me the most. Laurence Olivier. Why god bless his soul. The statement was shown mainly through a close-up shot, in order provide intimacy with the audience. The shot provided clear emotions from Olivier, which in return allowed for audiences to observe the feelings more clearly. The editing was done in such a manner as in which the act transitioned continuously between the waves and Hamlet’s face. This allows for tense movement to build up within the fearful audience. The only sense of the diegetic sound was the spiraling waves of the water, with non-diegetic music occasionally flashing through the ears of the audience, this allowed for audiences to be unpredictable as to what the next act might be. Meanwhile, the setting was shown as cliff with an ocean underneath it. This creates a sense of a possible area for death to be contemplated. The costume is very light on Hamlet, in order to show a sense of loss within his life. It creates simply a sense of emptiness. However, Hamlet has a lot of makeup on himself in order to show that he is a lad in line for the royal throne. All in all, he is depicted as a royal character with a very dark life.

Meanwhile, the other two lads were not up to the mark. I rank Laurence Olivier’s depiction first; next, I believe Mel Gibsons depiction is next best; meanwhile, Branagh’s depiction was marked as third place in my sincere opinion. Gibson’s and Branagh’s depiction are simply very too dark or light based within the context. Only Laurence Olivier obtains the right equilibrium. 

Blog Post #14 Memento Trailer

Blog Post #14 Hamlet and Movie Connection (Horatio)

Why, I am very outraged about the dire situations in which Hamlet is obviously dealing with. Why, on top of this insanity, I have watched a moving picture called Memento. The lad, Leonard  Shelby, carried drawings within his body; his situation simply resembled that of my dear friend Hamlet. The lad within the film and Hamlet would make tremendous acquaintances all due to their revenge drama within their lives. Both avenge the dead soul. Leonard avenges his dead lover, while Hamlet avenges his father. The very person that they avenge carry dark implications. The villains within the respective drama’s believe that the “business is well ended,” (2.1.85). However, they fail to notice the other half of the story which is revenge. Both, Hamlet and Leonard are confused psychologically, but they are clear in their motives for revenge. They both must continually ask questions and be suspicious of those around them. Hamlet must be careful of Rosencratz and Guildenstern, as I am the most loyal of friends. Both, Leonard and Hamlet are very lost in thought; however, they must continue to question the espionage taking place within their surroundings. Some people such as the ambassador might define the conditions of Hamlet and Leonard as “to define true madness, What is’t but to be nothing else but mad?” (2.1.93-94). But I believe that madness gives strength to my friend Hamlet as well as Leonard. To Hamlet “Denmark is a prision,” (2.2.223), while to Leonard his intellectual perception is simply a prison. They must escape.

Leonard’s companion has once said “trust yourself, trust your own judgment,” (Memento).  It has come time for Hamlet to trust his judgments of the dangerous souls around him. Hamlet has made the decision to believe in the existence of the ghost as “a dream itself is but a shadow,” (2.2.244) Even if me, Marcelleus and Hamlet were dreaming about the ghost, it is simply our intuition stating the truth. However, we can prove the validity of our intuition during the staged play that Hamlet has set for Claudius to observe. Moral corruption has its ways of seeping through the heart. Why, corruption can be seen within the very eye of Claudius. His idea of using Rosencratz and Guildenstern are very noble examples of him using espionage against my dear friend Hamlet. “Fare you well, my lord,” (2.2.210). Lord Hamlet jr. please keep your judgments intact like Leonard, as they will be the greatest assets within your revenge. With that I must finish typing my blog post in front of this ghostly machine.    

Blog Post #13 Act I (Horatio)

I am much oppressed to see that my dear friend Hamlet is in the center of ideologies full of corruption. Why he cannot single handedly take matters into his own hands, but how should I help him. Hamlet has simply gone outraged as I overheard his rumblings within his hall. I only have “a piece of him,” (1.1.19), but I must search for others as he has lost them all after his father’s death. To make matters worse, King Hamlet senior has told his son to vow revenge against the very corrupt Claudius. Why, before me and Marcellus could reach Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet senior “vanish’d from our sight,” (1.2.119). If I observed this ghost, I would call for it to bring an army in order to fight the corrupt souls within the walls of Denmark. Why should Hamlet feel the burden, himself?  Hamlet’s anger after hearing his father shows his haste with revenge against Claudius. “While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred,” (1.2.236). I must stop Hamlet’s urgency to vow revenge against the corrupt, as it will bring very grave dangers beyond his powers.

Furthermore, in this blog post, I must convey the corrupt state of affairs within the happenings of Denmark. Claudius is simply a corrupt individual driven by lust for the queen and greed for the throne. Claudius contains “some vicious mole of nature,” (1.4.24). Since nature has chosen his origin he cannot be saved from the treacherous hands of corruption or from Hamlet’s bloody revenge. All actions have a price, time has come to which he must now pay. What Claudius believed once dead is now alive revisiting “the glimpses of the moon,” (1.4.53). Claudius, beware! Hamlet Senior has unleashed the fury of his son on you, due to your treacherous act of murder. Why you have done very much than murdering King Hamlet secnior. You have stolen his love which is the queen. Why true love will live over lust, Claudius. Beware! 

Blog Post #12 (Character Discussion)

Within my blog, I have chosen to focus on the character of Horatio. There are many aspects that I find very interesting within this character. Most of all, his loyalty to Hamlet is what strikes me the most. From research, Horatio is a character that is not willing to continue his life in the case of Hamlets death; this aspect of loyalty brought me a liking towards this character. As a reader of Hamlet, I would like to dwell deeper into how this loyalty to Hamlet came about to Horatio. As of now, several questions are floating in my head of whether this loyalty is part of a conspiracy against the character of Hamlet. If these questions carry true, then I will be able to come about interesting blog posts. Another aspect about Horatio is that he is very knowledgeable; however he does not use this knowledge in creative ways. In my view, I see that this character is not using his full potential. I see as if this character his hidden beneath the huge shadow of Hamlet. This character would be highly useful to write in the social media space, as Horatio is a man of actions than words. I can write about the reasoning’s about Horatio actions through his perspective. This character is seen as merely a side character; however, Horatio carries complexity through his friendship with Hamlet. Through my blog it can be expected that I will be very loyal to Hamlet as well as being safe within the politics involved within the plot. Through this character I wish to track the theme of “action vs. inaction.”

Blog Post #11 Who's There. Words. Words. Words

“Who’s There?” Words, words, words

Gokul Muru, Rachel Darrah, Tanner Csendes, Adam Manguiat

Thesis: By using direct and informative dialogue, the use of midnight as the setting of the scene, and defensive diction that implies a tense gathering, the first scene of Shakespeare’s Hamlet expresses a suspicious tone when Bernardo asks “Who’s there?”(1.1.1) to suggest that man is an animal of constant vigilance.

Outline:

Thesis: By using direct and informative dialogue, the use of midnight as the setting of the scene, and defensive diction that implies a tense gathering, the first scene of Shakespeare’s Hamlet expresses a suspicious tone when Bernardo asks “Who’s there?”(1.1.1) to suggest that man is an animal of constant vigilance.

• Informative Dialogue
• “Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold yourself,” (1.1.2)
• This is a command for the person to identify themselves so the threat level can be assessed. In addition, the syntax incorporate a semicolon which present a slight pause, therefore implying that Francisco is speaking with caution when confronting the unknown. He is exemplifying a character that is constantly vigilant.
• “Bernardo has my place. Give you good night,” (1.1.17)
• This line is basically outlining the change in shifts and the change in temporary power that is taking place after all of the identities and allegiances were revealed.

• Mid-Night Setting
• “‘Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco,” (1.1.7)
• This line directly implies that the words “bed” and “twelve” represent the setting of midnight in a more direct manner. Also, the idea man as a vigilant animal can be present in the form of Francisco as he is awake when everyone is laying in bed.
• “You come most carefully upon your hour” (1.1.6)
• The idea of vigilance is directly referenced within the line. The setting of midnight,itself, is characterized as being harmful to the presence of man-kind. This line also implies that Bernardo has approached Francisco's location with stealth and so he remained undetected - a shadow in the night - until he asked “who’s there?”

• Defensive Diction
• “Friends to this ground” (1.1.13)
• The word “Friends” immediately illustrates that in Shakespeare’s world there are both friends and foes in existence. This one word captures the fact that man has a reason to be vigilant as any conspiracy can be laid upon them. Because Horatio identified himself as this instead of stating his name or position, his allegiance was the most important thing that he established to show that there was no danger from him.
• “The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste,” (1.1.11)
• “Rivals” and “Haste” are two such words that capture vigilance within a man. “Rivals” shows the meaning of enemies, while “Haste” shows the meaning of urgent action. The incorporation of words in this sentence allows for readers to understand the realm of Shakespeare’s characters who have to keep their eyes open in order to fulfill their duties, this idea can be mainly seen in the scenario of Bernardo with his apprehension towards Horatio and Marcellus.

Blog Post #10 Thesis Statement Revision

Prompt: Carefully read the passage from “Dream Child; a Reverie,” paying special attention to descriptive details and sentence structure. Then, write an essay in which you analyze how Charles Lamb’s style contributes to his portrayal of his “dream children,” his grandmother, and his own childhood.

Initial Thesis Statement: Lamb through the story “Dream Children; a Reverie” depicts that grandmother and children as people who the narrator wishes to be someday as he uses powerful imagery to describe character, allusions that relate with the overall character, and diction that create the positive atmosphere in the story.

ARGUMENT/FOCUS   

_No_Does my thesis statement address each part of the essay question?

_No_ Is the point I'm making one that would generate discussion and argument, or is it one

that would leave people asking, “So what?"

_Yes _ Have I focused on an interesting contradiction, tension or paradox between two things?

Example: “Although the escalation of violence in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men eventually results in two deaths, it is through violence that compassion is revealed when George, in a violent but merciful act, saves Lenny from cruel mob justice.”

_Yes__ Is my thesis too vague? Too general? Should I focus on some more specific aspect of my

topic?

__Yes_ Does my thesis deal directly with the topic at hand, or is it a declaration of my personal

feelings (“I think”/ “I feel” statements)?

LANGUAGE

_No__ Does my thesis indicate the direction of my argument? Does it suggest a structure for

my paper?

__No_ Is the language in my thesis vivid and clear? Have I structured my sentence so that the

important information is in the main clause? Have I used subordinate clauses to

house less important information? Have I used parallelism to show the relationship

between parts of my thesis? In short, is this thesis the very best sentence that it can be?

                                     No__  Is the thesis statement written as a complex sentence?

Revised Thesis Statement:  With a more humanistic approach, Lamb depicts the “dream children”, his grandmother, and his childhood with both a tone of gracefulness as well as a slight edge of darkness mainly through his use of spiritual description and cumulative syntax; only his use of these devices through this manner has allowed the reader to feel the humanistic complexity within this presented story.  

Revision Process: When observing my initial thesis statement, I find that it carried less argumentative diction, therefore resulting in a weaker statement. Moreover, I stated my main points directly without forming a sense of complexity within the process; the points did not produce any thought within my reader, when they read this thesis, they would ask: So What? To avoid this “So what?” question, I used the onion technique that I learned in the Sophomore year of my high school career. This technique involved writing a thesis statements, but asking “so what?” for each question. I kept questioning my thesis statement until I arrived at an optimal one. This was the revision process I used to write my revised thesis statement.  

Blog Post #9 Scores for Grammar Quizzes

Category	Total Possible	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3
Finding subjects and verbs in simple sentences	15	12	15
Making subjects and verbs agree	15	15
Correcting the fragment in simple sentences	15	12	15
Combining sentences using the three methods of coordination	15	12	15
Combining sentences using subordination	15	15
Correcting the run on	15	10	11	15
Choosing the correct pronoun form	15	10	15
Choosing the correct verb form	15	9	14	15
Using correct capitalization and punctuation	15	14	15
Choosing the correct word	15	13	15
Choosing the correct form of the irregular verb	15	15

Blog Post #9 Reflection #2

Reflection #2

When observing the scores of my quizzes with the re-testing, I am able to see that I demonstrate mastery of a 100% with all subjects. These subjects range from the sentence structure, itself, to the parts in a sentence, such as subject, verb, and pronoun usage. This result of complete mastery depicts to me that I have the ability to apply these concepts into my future writings.

The most relevant idea that I am able to perceive from this experience is that I have gained the ability to put the sum of the parts (noun, verb, and pronoun usage) into a whole (sentence structure).  However, the most interesting aspect of this experience was the methodology I used to obtain mastery for all subjects in the grammar quizzes; I would look at each part of the sentence in an abstract manner. I would take each building block such as subject-verb agreement and observe if there is any mistake with it. Afterwards, I put the sentence together and would find the correct structure when it came to the fragment, coordination, and run-on exercises. Initially, my first time taking these quizzes, I looked at all aspects as a whole without dissecting each section of the sentence. Now I see the importance in breaking the whole into a sum of parts.

I have learned the importance of how all components of a sentence such as noun, verb, and pronoun can make a complete thought or idea. In addition to the idea of grammar, I have also learned to use the tools such as OWL Purdue more effectively when it came to learning grammar. After this experience, I have set new long-term goals as an English student. I now carry the goal of being an effective proofreader as well as a writer. Ultimately, I learned that writing takes patience to put the skills together.