The Twelfth Night

I believe that Shakespeare meant to show that love can make people both crazy and blind. Shakespeare shows how far some people will go to get love, for instance how far Olivia will go to get Cesario or how far Orsino will go to get Olivia. Malvolio really shows how far he will go for Olivia’s love when he dresses up in yellow stockings and acts crazy just to follow her instructions in a letter. Love makes people do crazy things and go to crazy lengths. Shakespeare shows this well in many cases in this story, but especially through Malvolio’s pursuit of Olivia.

The second thing that Shakespeare portrays throughout this play is that love is blind. He shows this through the flirting that happens between Viola (as Cesario) and Orsino. They flirt and show affection for each other but they cannot be together because they are both men. Also, how Olivia falls for Cesario without even knowing him. She just falls in love instantly without taking the time to see who he really was. Sebastian does this too when he marries Olivia without even getting to know her. He sees a beautiful woman and just marries her because he falls in love right then and there. This play is also about love at first sight. Sebastian falls in love at first sight, just as Orsino does at the end of the play when he falls in love with Viola.

This play conflicts with my views on love in many ways. For instance, I do not believe that love is something that can happen easily. I think that you should get to know someone before you fall in love with them; you cannot just be in love without knowing the person first. Looks are the only thing that most of these characters have to base their significant others off of. Very few actually spend the time to get to know the people they plan to marry before doing so. I also think that it is crazy that these characters work so hard for people that they do not even know. Malvolio worked so incredibly hard to win over Olivia when he was not even sure of her feelings for him. He destroyed his pride and his life by doing the crazy things that he did to win her over, and in the end he is alone. Viola also almost gives up her disguise on multiple occasions because everything is overshadowed by how much she loves Orsino in her mind.

These characters fail to look at love logically before they commit themselves to their lovers for life. It might seem romantic, but at the same time it is complete ludicrous. Although the play is adorable, it gives the illusion that once someone finds love, that’s it and there will be no issues to follow. I do not believe this is true. I think that even though Shakespeare shows how difficult it can be to find love, he fails to show that it isn’t always easy after that initial feat. As cute as the play was, it was indeed misleading and unrealistic. (521)

Luck and Lucky

In my mind, the word luck relates to fortune, specifically, good fortune. Someone with a lot of luck, a lucky person is full of good fortune. Randomly, good things will happen to them. Luck is not something that you can earn or gain, it just happens. People who are lucky just are that way. They might find money on the ground or a teacher might not check the homework the day that they forgot to do it. Luck is intangible; it is not something that can necessarily be measured either. Some people are lucky and others are not, but that can change. It is not a permanent thing either. It simply is what it is.

I chose the word luck because, honestly it interests me. Luck is something that cannot be described very easily. It had no definite definition. It means something different to every person. I am interested in where it came from and where the concept came from. How did the idea or concept of luck even come to be? It seems to be so different from most ideas. What brought about the need to describe luck? It is such a simple idea but it can be so complex because of the different associations people have with it.

For instance, I associate luck with the ability to be completely clueless to the answer to a question and then get the answer right by simply guessing without any knowledge or thought in the process. One instance of this would be luck. A person who can always guess the right answer would be considered luck in my book. Luck is most definitely a positive thing and something everyone would love to have. However, you cannot work toward luck, it is impossible. Pure chance is all luck really is.

The Pardoner's Tale

I rede that oure host shael biginne
for he is most envoluped in sinne
com forth, sire Host, and offre first anoon
and thou shalt kisse the rellikes everichoon
ye, for a grote: unbokele annon thy purse

This set of lines comes after the pardoner has finished telling his tale. It seems to me that he is asking the people to seek forgiveness from the pardoner. He suggests that the first person to go should be the Host. What I do not understand is why he asks the Host to go first? Maybe he is favoring him because he is the one "running'' this story-telling game. I can not see another reason why he would ask him to go first, however my reason does not make much sense because it makes the Host mad when the pardoner asks him to go first.

A Good Man of Religion

I have chosen to focus on the Good man ther of religion. In his portrait he is described as poor yet rich in knowledge. I think that this can relate back to the fact that he is a man of religion. He might be poor but he has his knowledge and God. These are two things that Jesuits in particular find very important. he is also described as clean which can be taken literally but also morally. If he is religious he most likely takes part in confessions and he is morally clean. Causer makes his point about this holy man through his appearance. He not only describes the appearance but also the character of this character through physical observations.

Gustave Dore

Gustave Dore was a french artist who did engravings, illustrations and sculptures. Many of his engravings were done in wither steel or wood. He preferred engravings to any other type of artwork, he did work as a commissioned artist for many authors and works of literature. He lived from 1832 to 1883. Gustave was already making art at age five and at age fifteen, he had his first illustrated work published. He began to carve his artwork into stone when he turned twelve. He began his artistic career publishing in Paris. As well as doing work for Milton, he also did illustrations for Dante. He also illustrated a version of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" and a version of the bible. His version of the English Bible did very well and in 1867 he had a major exhibition in London. Dore did most of his work in France and England. He was a true European Artist. He did his work for John Milton in 1866, this is when he did his artwork in Paradise Lost, including his famous depiction of Satan. I posted this and another image from Paradise Lost below, there are more images from Paradise Lost on the link below.

Gustave Doré

http://www.danshort.com/pl/

The Heavenly Hosts


Depiction of Satan

http://www.danshort.com/pl/

Post 4: Through the Guards Eyes

I hate my job, just staring at the ocean day, after day, after day. It is always the same, no one ever show up. No threat is ever posed. Why me? Why do I have to be the only person in this entire land that has to sit here and stare at the big, blue, pointless ocean? Honestly, why could I have not been a warrior like the other men? Or better yet, A King. I could do Hrothgar’s job better than he. He can’t even keep Grendal out of his silly little hall. What kind of king is that? Clearly, he should be doing this job, not me.

Funny, it looks like there is something on the horizon, a boat maybe… no. There is no way; my mind must be playing tricks on me because I have been looking at the plain ocean for so long. There cannot possibly be a boat. There has not been a boat in what seems like ages. But, it seems to be getting larger and coming closer. Maybe it really is a boat, maybe someone really has come to our land. Yes, it is a boat. For once my job is interesting. But who is it, could this be danger? Hopefully it is help for our fight against Grendal. It is most definitely a ship, a ship that has now landed on our banks. And men are disembarking. There are not many though… how could so few men come to fight? Are they a threat?  (The men disembark and talk to the scout, he then returns to his thoughts).

So they are not a threat, they are here to help protect us from Grendal. The King will be happy that they are here to help restore order. But how can this man be here to help if he only has fourteen men? He can’t honestly think that he can defeat Grendal like that? I mean yes, he is in very good shape and it looks like he could easily take on twenty men by himself and win. He is the picture of health and all of his men seem to be in perfect shape as well. They have the proper armor and the proper training from what he has told me. But it seems like he is a little cocky to say the least, if he thinks that he can take on Grendal with just fourteen men. This man is either insane or just overly arrogant. The king will be happy but now I must take this man and his troops to him and assign someone to watch their weapons. Maybe just staring at the sea was better than actually working… at any rate this man might actually be a hero. He does indeed have potential. He is by far a noble man it seems. I guess the fate of the great hall is in his hands now.  (486)

Rings

Rings are a huge theme in Beowulf. They appear everywhere and have high importance throughout the story.  The king is considered to be the bearer of rings. It is a very important part of the job of a king. When Beowulf and his army return home from fighting, the king is handing out rings to them. But why is this? Why are rings such an important part of this story and of this culture?

These rings are considered to be a form of bounty or treasure and are handed out to the warriors when they return from fights. It is almost like a medal for the people of these times. The rings are of value and can be worn on fingers or on chains around someone’s neck. This makes them more personal and more practical than something larger. A ring can be worn anywhere, where as carrying a chest of gold around would not be as practical. They are proof that the king has recognized them for something of great importance. These rings are almost a way of showing off the great service that the warriors have given to both the king and the people.

It is interesting to me that rings were so important back then, however it is even more interesting to me that people find it to be a distant thing. Even today in the United States of America, rings are given as rewards or trophies in a way. When a baseball team wins the World Series, each player is given a ring to commemorate they year that they were the best. This also happens for other professional sports such as football and basketball.

Even classes for high school and college have rings. They are a way for a class to commemorate their time together and their accomplishments through the years that they shared at an institution. These rings hold memories and accomplishments for the people that own them. For instance many people will were their college class ring for their whole life because it is a way for them to hold the memories of college close and make them feel more connected to their class as a community. The ring is something that they all have in common.

Of course, when we think of rings today, we usually think of engagement or wedding rings. This is another way that society uses rings to connect people. These rings connect people on a closer level, but it is interesting to think that rings were connecting groups of people so long ago. How could such a tradition withstand so much time? It was of importance in society then and it still is today. This only goes to show that some traditions can be timeless; the importance of the ring is clearly one that will last for quiet a while.  (471)

Favorite Books

1. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult- This book was recommended to me about ten times before I finally read it and I am so happy I did. It is sad but it has a good story to it. It is one of those books that you do not see the ending coming. I really liked it a lot though.
2. A Child Called It by David Pelzer- I was supposed to read this book for an online course and it was one of the most difficult things that I have ever read. The book is an autobiography of David's childhood, during which he was abused. It was the saddest book I have ever read in my life, I cried through most of it. It was a difficult read but I will never forget it.

3. The Catch in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- We read it last year in school and I have never enjoyed a school book like it. It kept my attention and was fun to read because it was about a high school student. It was definitely the best school book I have read.

4. 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult- I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, obviously. This is my favorite book of all time. It is about a school shooting and the trials to follow. It also shows the reader the past of the kids involved. It is very interesting and is very well written.
5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- Although it was difficult to read, I really enjoyed reading it. It had a good story and good life lessons as well. It was different from anything else I have ever read though because of the language but it was still enjoyable.

Post 1: Wuthering Heights

I chose the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. This book had a unique and memorable story that I found to be very interesting and fun to read. It was not just one single story of one relationship. The story had multiple relationships, both romantic and non-romantic, that intertwined very well with each other. The relationships between Catherine and Heathcliff, Catherine and Edgar, Isabella and Heathcliff, and Catherine and Hareton are all similar but different and all bring out different aspects of the story. These relationships also act as foils to one another. For example, the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff was very romantic and real, whereas the relationship between Catherine and Edgar was more forced and more for show than love.


The book was very interesting; however the relationships were convoluted and confusing. This book was interesting but also difficult to read. I will admit I got very confused at times. With two characters named Catherine that switch last names multiple times, it was hard to keep track of who was who. It was also difficult to understand who was married or in a relationship and who was a child of who. It was helpful to go over the list of characters on spark notes while reading the book.

I loved the way that Bronte treated social class and society in this book. Catherine loved Heathcliff, but she was clearly more in love with her social status than him. In choosing Edgar, Catherine shows that she values how she is viewed and how much power she has far more than her love for Heathcliff. My favorite part of this novel was that Heathcliff makes money and earns a higher social status; however it is too late for Catherine to be with him. It shows that it is a bad idea to choose a spouse based on his or her class. I think that this is a life lesson that can be applied to life today. Nobody should make decisions about relationships based on what they could get out of them. Catherine is always in love with Heathcliff but is also in love with what she can get from Edgar Linton. Unfortunately she ends up hurting both of them by marrying Edgar. Edgar is always conscious of her feelings for Heathcliff and becomes jealous at times and Heathcliff is hurt because he feels as though he is not good enough for Catherine.

I loved this aspect of the book because it not only applies to life now but it also is realistic and relatable. Although the book is complicated at times, it is easy to relate to which is what makes it so much fun to read. This book has so many different relationships in it that it makes it relatable to more than just one group of people. It is a versatile book that can be read by many different people with many different perspectives and still be enjoyed. The way that relationships are viewed and treated in this book was definitely appealing and was what made the book so much fun to read. I thoroughly enjoyed Wuthering Heights. (520)