Hamlet post 2

Upon reading different Shakespeare play's, it sees as if all the love stories end horribly. It makes you think what happened to Shakespeare in his life that these stories end the way they do. Stories such as Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet all seem pretty consistent. There is always a barrier keeping the higlighted couples from seeing each other. However, they do get to interact throughout the play. The fact that Shakespeare always puts his couple at a disadvantage could signify the importance of communication in a relationship. I do think it is weird that all of these love couples have to deal with death. It seems to give Shakespeare a darker tone. We tend to think of love of happy and bright but this isn't the case in these stories. We see in other plays that people have to deal with the death of a lover. We will see if this too is the case with Hamlet and Ophelia.

Cuckoo's part 4

When we last left off, McMurphy had taken a group of the patients on a fishing trip. During this trip the guys bonded more and formed a tight bond. Being around McMurphy gave a bunch of the patients courage to be strong although they did not know how to use it yet. The trip gave all the members a sense of the outside world. During the trip it seemed as if McMurphy as the father. He often sat back and watched the others interact. It seems as if everyone feels safer with him around. Due to the fact that the patiennts are so attacched to McMurphy, the Nurse basically loses all of her power. This has to be a big blow to the Nurse because she's used to having everything in the palm of her hand. However like anyone who has ever been threatened, she trys to eleminate the source of her down fall. This happenes when she has a lobotamy for him. This is her way of regaining her power and showing everyone else that she is still and will always be the one in charge. This move not only stpped McMurphy but it put fear back in the others which would make the Nurse haooy again.

Cuckoo's Nest part 3

With the influence he has over the other patients, McMurphy begins to encourage them to really rebel on their own. However, McMurphy doesn't give in to the Nurse so soon. HE stills takes her lightly and jokes about serious matters. McMurphy planned a trip with a hooker with to get out of the ward. This shows that he didn't respect the Nurse's authority and that he could get away with whatever he wanted. The nurse did not approve of the trip but Spivey did. This angered the Nurse because McMurphy went behind her back and she couldn't do anything about it. In this section we start to learn more about Chief Bromden and his past. He begins to inwardly react more to what's going on around him. He has a flashback to when he was young and how he was always ignored. We learn that when he was young, people came to his settlement attempting to buy the land for government renovation. From what we learn he wasn't really given any ones full attention. This corresponds to the modern day chief because he contemplated blowing his cover to sign up for the fishing trip. This puts him in a peculiar position because he never had anything tempt him so much. This is interesting to see how this plays out because with Bromden in the picture a lot of people could change their attitudes because of things they did or said around him.

Coleridge and Shelley

In Kubla Kahn's poetry, it seems as if he is trying to caution us against diving too deep in our imagination. In the beginning of the poem, there is a beautiful image portrayed through Kahn's poetry. The land consists of ten miles of fertile land, measureless caverns, a sacred river and more. Upon reading this description, one can not help but to instantly think of a paradise. With the given description there is no immediate flaw present with the land. However, Kahn goes on to say that the land is enchanted and savage. This changes the whole perception of the land. When adding in that the land has negative flaws to it, it seems to diminish the value of what was described as originally. The message that I think is trying to be portrayed is that you can't take the good without the bad. Often times people like to imagine a Utopia or a perfect life. It seems as if Kahn is bringing us back to earth with this poem and tell us that everything isn't going to be as we want it.

In Shelley's poem it seems to be three different speakers. The first speaker acts as sort of a narrator who relates a story from history that has social or political relevance from history. The traveller brings in an important observation. He notices what can possibly be a statue from a pile of remains. The traveller was also responsible for bringing forth information. It turned out that the pile of remains was really a monument named Ozymandias. The monument said "My name is Ozymandias, King of kings, look on my words, ye Mighty and despair!" This seems like Ozymandias had some type of power, or at least he thought he did. To pronounce yourself King of Kings you clearly have to have an enormous sense of entitlement. However the statue is in ruins. This most likely means it was destroyed by some type of force. This could be signifying the brutal end to those how think of themselves higher then they are or those who have social and political power

Cuckoo's nest part 2

Part two of Cuckoo's nest started to attract me more to the book. It's always hard to get into a book when someone suggests it because you expect it to be mind blowing from the first word on. In part two of the book. the characters naturally start to grow more. We see the patients start to ignore the Nurse so they can get what they want. However most of them are still scared of her and her power to keep them there as long as she pleases. During this section it becomes apparent that the Nurse can easily manipulate McMurphy. This is due to the fact that he has such a strong effect on the other patients, but the Nurse has the final say in how long he stays. This is why all the others fear the nurse. They fear her power because all it takes is an order from her and she can make the patients life a living hell for as long as she wants. McMurphy continues to try to push the limits and see how far he can get. It will be interesting to see if the Nurse breaks down completely or if McMurphy's actions will subside after time. When the way McMurphy is acting he seems to be like a young child in a new enviornment. He is going to take all he can before being stopped or stopping due to satisfaction. It is interesting to see what side gives first.

Cuckoo's nest part one

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a very interesting book. Not often in literature can we read something of this quality and subject matter. When I think of a Psych Ward, I feel like something crazy is going to happen, literally. As I expected the book has a lot of "interesting" components.

Chief Broom is an interesting character. He chooses not to speak and to act deaf so that people won't pay attention to him. Because of the fact that Chief Broom has no verbal interaction with others, he hears things that people wouldn't want him to hear because they don't think he's listening. I think that it is smart of him to keep to himself because that keeps him from confronting with others, and it keeps him from getting into trouble.

Nurse Ratched is in charge of the ward. Many of the people in the ward fear Nurse Bromden. This could be a metaphor that symbolizes the fear people have of authority. Nurse Brombden can also be seen as a strict parent. The people who have been checked into the ward can not fully operate on their own. Therefore, Nurse Bromden can be seen as an authority figure in the ward. In class we had a brief discussion about whether or not Nurse Bromden was attractive. This could be pivotl to why the reason people fear her so much. If she wasn't attractive, her appearance could be intimidating to those in the ward. On the other hand, if she was attractive people could fear her beauty and feel as though they have to respect her because she is aabove them in some way.

Overall the beginning of the book is going to keep me going to see what happens with all of the characters.

Hamlet Post #1

Hamlet starts out to be an interesting play. The setting of the play sets us up for what is soon to come between the neighboring countries. The sub complication, the appearance of King Hamlet's ghost, adds to the complications of a young Hamlet. Hamlet is deeply troubled by the fact that his father had so recenlty died and his mother quickly moved on to mary his uncle Claudius. This angered Hamlet because it seemed as if his mother nevers topped to mourn his father, The King's death before moving on. It is easy to see why Hamlet is so disturbed at the beginning of the book. The King and Queen see that it seems to be something bothering Hamlet so they send two of his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to try and find the root of his problems. They bribe his friends to find the answers instead of them talking to Hamlet like a reak friend. This shows me that Hamlet's parents do not really care for his well being. This sets up Hamlet as a character who is going to have to make it on his own. I am waitng to see if Hamlet gives into whatever his parents have in store for him.

1984 Post #2

O'brien is essentially telling Winston that he can't beat the system. He starts off by telling Winston he is already at a disadvantage because he has yet to humble himself. The way society is set up during the time of the novel, the people are programmed to have a one track mind. The Party does what it can to limit the variety of things that the people encounter. However, Winston refuses this way of life from the party. He branches out on his own and looks for answers he's not supposed to have.
Obrien says that submission is the price of ones sanity. This basically means that the more you put up a fight, the more you will wreck your brain trying to find answers. This is shown in the book when all of society seems somewhat content except for Winston. This is because Winston is trying to hard to obtain answers that have been purposely made unavailable.
Obrien states that only the disciplined mind can see reality. That statement can mean a few different things. The disciplined mind can be referring to the mind of the people as a whole. Their minds can be noted as disciplined because of the fact that everyone is on the same mind wave. The disciplined mind could also signify a mind that is spoon fed everything from an outside source. This can be seen as disciplined because the mind is only given access to what the controlling force wants the mind to know. Winston would not be a part of this disciplined mind because of the fact that he tries to rebel from the party. Winston causes himself more grief because he is prying for answers and reasoning that he is not getting.
This theme that Obrien presents ultimately plays a role in what happens to Winston in the end. By speaking on how Winston's mind is not disciplined, it shows in the end of the book. Winston seems to be put in a very awkward position when he finds out the truth about Obrien and The Party. Obrien is trying to stress the fact that all of the grief and confusion could have been avoided if Winston would have conformed to the way of the people.

1984

1984 was a very interesting book. The book struck an interest with me because of the mystery behind Big Brother. It was a case where the government purposely withheld information from its people, and it altered the only information the people had access to. This is a genius way to keep people in your control, keep them ignorant. I think the master mind behind Big Brother and the different parties was wise enough to know how to control a large group of people.

Winston is very interesting as a main character. The access we have to his mind guides us through what it was like living in that time period. We see through the eyes of Winston how things were operated from someone who worked for one of the government run ministries, and someone who was amongst the normal citizens. Winstons thought process helps clarify the customs and the social norms of that time era. Winston intrigued me in the sense that he was a brave man. Knowing of the consequences of opposing Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police, Winston went ahead and started his on investigation about what was really going on. It was interesting for him to do that with all the powers above him watching his every move because he couldn't possibly know who he could trust and who he could not. I think the way the book was set it up it portrayed Winston as a direct threat to Big Brother because of his willingness to try and bring him down.