Love Hate

As I read the play, Much Ado About Nothing, I finally found the character that if Shakespeare had known me would have written for me. Beatrice seemed to me like the kind of person I am. She is strong-willed, “one of the boys”, too quick to open her mouth, and caring toward the people she loves. Beatrice is a trusting person when you first meet her, but if you lose her favor, it is almost impossible to regain her trust. She is a woman of strength in these times, and someone that I greatly admire.

My favorite scene in the play is that between Beatrice and Benedick at the party. I love how we can never truly know if Beatrice knows that it is Benedick under the mask, or if she is just sending a message to him through his friends. I love how she is able to anger him so easily, and that he is just steaming over it even after she has left his side. This

Page d'écriture: Jacques Prévert

Deux et deux quatre
quatre et quatre huit
huit et huit font seize…
Répétez! dit le maître
Deux et deux quatre
quatre et quatre huit
huit et huit font seize.
Mais voilà l’oiseau-lyre
qui passe dans le ciel
l’enfant le voit
L’enfant l’entend
l’enfant l’appelle:
Sauve-moi
joue avec moi
oiseau!
Alors l’oiseau descend
et joue avec l’enfant
Deux et deux quatre…
Répétez! dit le maître
et l’enfant joue
l’oiseau joue avec lui…
Quatre et quatre huit
huit et huit font seize
et seize et seize qu’est-ce qu’ils font?
Ils ne font rien seize et seize
et surtout pas trente-deux
de toute façon
et ils s’en vont.
Et l’enfant a caché l’oiseau
dans son pupitre
et tous les enfants entendent sa chanson
et tous les enfants
entendent la musique
et huit et huit à leur tour s’en vont
et quatre et quatre et deux et deux
à leur tour fichent le camp
et un et un ne font ni une ni deux
et un à un s’en vont également.
Et l’oiseau-lyre joue
et l’enfant chante
et le professeur crie:
Quand vous aurez fini de faire le pitre!
Mais tous les autres enfants
écoutent la musique
et les murs de la classe
s’écroulent tranquillement
Et les vitres redeviennent sable
l’encre redevient eau
les pupitres redeviennent abres
la craie redevient falaise
le porte-plume redevient oiseau.

Two and two four
Four and four eight
Eight and eight makes sixteen…
Repeat! says the teacher
Two and two four
Four and four eight
Eight and eight makes sixteen.
But there is a lyrebird
Who flies through the sky
The child sees it
The child hears it
And the child calls to it
Save me
Play with me
Bird!
So the bird descends
And plays with the child
Two and two four…
Repeat! says the teacher
And the child plays
And the bird plays with him…
Four and four eight
Eight and eight makes sixteen
And what’s sixteen and sixteen?
It makes nothing, 16 and 16
Especially not thirty-two
In any case
And it leaves
And the child hides the bird
In his des
And the children hear his song
And all the children
Hear the music
And 8 and 8 leave in their turn
And 4 and 4 and 2 and 2
And in their turn clear out
And one and one don’t make 1 or 2
And 1 to 1 leave equally
And the lyrebird plays
And the child sings
And the teacher cries:
When you are done acting like clowns!
But the other children
Listen to the music
And the walls of the class
Crumble gently
And the glass panes become sand again
And the ink becomes water again
And the desks become trees again
And the chalk becomes cliffs again
And the quill becomes the bird again.

Lifelong Love Affair

I had a very difficult time beginning this week’s blog. Not because I don’t have any experience with Shakespeare literary genius, far from it in fact. I simply could not sit down and describe how much Shakespeare has been a part of my life even before I began reading his plays, poems, and sonnets. My first introduction to Shakespeare was completely unknown; I went to see the new Disney film, The Lion King. The basic plot of The Lion King is that of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. It tells the tale of a prince to be, whose father is killed by an evil uncle: Scar. Like Claudius, Scar assumes Mufasa’s (King Hamlet’s) throne, and Simba (Hamlet) must reclaim the kingdom that is rightfully his. Though I did not know that the story unfolding before my eyes was based off of the marvelous work of Shakespeare, my love for his slightly twisted plots began to grow.

As I grew older, I realized that many of my favorite films centered around Shakespeare’s works. The Renaissance Man, for example, takes place on an army base. Danny DeVito, an unemployed business man in advertising, goes to the base to teach English to some select students who will not pass out of boot camp without some knowledge of the English language. One thing leads to another, and DeVito is teaching a group of soldiers Hamlet. Their comprehension of the play, and Shakespeare’s prose, in such a short period of time is incredible. Some of my other favorite films include West Side Story and Shakespeare in Love.

My experience reading Shakespeare dates back to summer reading the year I moved from Colorado. Having never read Shakespeare, I was expected to comprehend The Tempest. Unfortunately, I really struggled being able to fit my head around this play, and scored miserably on the test. It was not until later that year when my love affair with Shakespeare’s writing began. My eighth grade class read Macbeth. Though people in the class did not enjoy the play as much as I did, I was suddenly able to understand what was being said throughout the play–an incredible improvement from my attempt with The Tempest.

In the ninth grade I made my move to Phoenix Country Day, and I read Macbeth again in my freshman year. The Christmas of 2005, I received a gift that I still hold very close to my heart. My grandparents English presented me with a full collection of Shakespeare’s works that my grandfather used in college. This slightly tattered schoolbook has become my bedside companion for months. Due to my busy schedule, I have only had time to read one or two of the plays, but I love when I have the chance to pick it up and read the same pages my grandfather did over sixty years ago.

Though I did not begin reading Shakespeare until the very last year of middle school, his stories have been a large part of my life for years. The beauty of his words has lasted for centuries, and I am not the first to be completely spellbound. I hope that my love of Shakespeare will continue throughout my life, and I believe that my education at PCDS has paved the way for this lifelong affair. (545)

Men and Women in 1950s Columbia

While reading Gabriel García Máquez’s novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, I was very interested with the culture presented in the story, especially that between the roles of men and women. As we discussed these ideas in class, the cult of machismo, and the cult of virginity came up in our conversations. My interest level spiked. I had heard of “Latin macho” but I never fully understood it until I read this book. Pedro and Pablo are the prime examples of the Latin culture. They must stand up for their family honor, and kill Santiago Nasar. What is interesting about this story is to look at all of the different types of expectations of the culture on all of its people.

Women as a whole are not taken seriously in this culture, but class plays a large role in the expectations for women. Upper class women in a small town in 1950s Columbia, were expected to be mothers and wives when they grew up. They were taught important skills from their mothers, such as embroidery, cooking, childcare, and any other skill that might be necessary to take care of a family after they left their homes. They are expected to be pure on their wedding nights. Working class women are viewed as men’s play things, but they are also not taken seriously at all. Clotide Armenta tries multiple times to help Santiago Nasar. She even attempts to enlist the mayors help but he does nothing as well. She is powerless to help Santiago, because no one will take her seriously. Santiago Nasar is also guilty of treating women with no respect. He assumes that Divina Flor will very soon be an extension on his desires. He treats her with no respect, but also feels no guilt for his actions. Angela Vicario, on the other hand, can not be treated like that. When Bayardo San Roman was courting Angela, he did not ever touch her. She was a lady of prominence, and he would wait until the wedding night to take her. When she is not pure, it not only disgraces her family, but also disgraces Bayardo. He had spent thousands of pesos on the wedding, and he was humiliated to have to return his bride. He even did it in the middle of the night, and did not start up his car so that no one in the town would know for at least a couple of hours.

Men of this time are another story completely. They are expected to uphold their family honor, and be well versed in the bedroom. Young men often lose their virginity to the local prostitutes. The narrator, in fact, was in the arms of Maria Alejandra Cervantes when Santiago Nasar was murdered. I believe that the Vicario twins show the most obvious example of the Latin expectation for men. After Angela is disgraced and returned to her family, they must redeem the family honor. To do so, they either must kill Santiago Nasar, or threaten to do so, and be stopped in an honorable way. This would restore the honor, but keep their hands clean of blood. Pedro and Pablo do their best to be stopped by someone. They tell everyone they know that they are going to murder Santiago Nasar. Unfortunately, no one takes them seriously except for Clotide Armenta, and she is powerless to stop their actions.

The differences between men and women in this culture are absolutely fascinating. Women take a very primitive role, having no voice, and no rights. Men are expected to hold up the family. Honor is incredibly important to this society, and it is for this reason that Santiago Nasar was killed. The ideas that Gabriel García Márquez presents in this novel is an inside view to a culture he loves. (635)

Okonkwo Study Guide

1. What are the distinguishing features of Ibo culture as presented in the novel? How do these features compare with what you learned from your search?

The distinguishing features of the Ibo culture seem to be the importance of farming and the yams, religion, respecting the elders, hospitality, and family structure. The yam is one of the major themes throughout the novel. Ibo life revolves around farming, and that is their major crop. Many of the proverbs that the people say include something about yams. The religion is polytheistic, and the worship of multiple gods really interests me. When the white men and their “iron horses” (bicycles) began to flood into Umuofia, I knew that their religion and culture was going to be pushed to the limits. As the missionaries told the people that what they believed was wrong, and that there was only one thing to believe, I felt a pang of grief for the Ibo culture as it would never be the same again.

2. Which elements of that culture are most comfortable to us? Which most resemble elements of our (your) culture? Which seem more foreign, more difficult to accept?

The elements of the Ibo culture that are most comfortable to me are most of it. I highly respect their hard working mentality. I love the fact that the people have such high respect for the people around them. Their system of justice seems extremely fair to me, and I love the fact that the punishment for killing another clansman is being banished. This eliminates a lot of cases of murder, even if the clan in Umuofia is a warring tribe.

3. In what ways does Okonkwo embody the values and principles of Ibo culture? What are the strengths of his character?

He is a man who makes his own way in the world. Though he grew up in poverty, he still was able to make his way to being one of the leaders of the tribe. He is one of the hardest workers in the tribe; he constantly is tending to his farm, having two barns full of yams each year. He is able to support multiple wives, making him a man of power, and has many children. He is accepted into the spiritual world and the justice system as he is one of the egwugwu spirits. Okonkwo is an excellent wrestler, and he is also a very good warrior. All of these traits are what the Ibo culture would consider excellent.

4. In what ways does Okonkwo deviate from traditional Ibo values? What are his weaknesses as a character?

Okonkwo is so afraid of being weak that he steps over the line in many places. He kills Ikmenefuna, who calls him father. He beats his wife and children during the week of peace. Okonkwo does not control his temper, and often beats his family members more than what normal people in the Ibo culture do. He is rash, and he makes decisions too quickly, and this leads to his suicide. (505)

Cultural Similarities

As I began to read Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, I was completely entranced by the Ibo (or better known today Igbo) culture. To me, this almost pastoral lifestyle is very picturesque, and extremely attractive. As I began to research different aspects of the Igbo culture online, something kept popping up that caught my attention every time. The most common search result on Google always had something to do with Achebe’s novel. It seems to me that the culture of the Igbo people was captured almost perfectly in his writing – especially if you consider that he was a member of an Igbo tribe himself. No matter what my search, whether it be on the people, food, religion, whatever, Things Fall Apart was constantly being sited.

The religion of the Igbo people is polycentric. There are many different gods, but the highest of them all would be Chukwu. There are three different levels of gods in the Igbo religion. For the most part, the gods in the lowest group are the trouble makers. This was really the only thing in my research that I found to be different from the novel. In Things Fall Apart, the most important gods include those of the earth, and the sky. I have a feeling that it was after the colonization that many things have also changed for the Igbos, and it is difficult to obtain proper information pre-colonization state.

Food was one of the closest related issues to Things Fall Apart, which is completely centered on the farming community of yams, and other tubers. I was very surprised to find out that fufu in fact has a more dough-like consistency than like that of a mashed potato. To eat fufu, the Igbos roll the fufu into a ball, then make an indentation in the fufu to scoop whatever stew or soup they are eating into the fufu. It serves as a utensil and a starch for the Igbos.

For me, the majority of customs in Things Fall Apart were not difficult to accept. I understood the difference between men and women because mostly of the time period. The people were farming to keep on surviving, there was no other point to life than to become a good farmer, and that was what made a man. The issue of polygamy does not really bother me in this situation either, because again it was in an effort to continue life, and for the most part, these large family groups did very well as they were. The only thing that really bothered me in the entire story was how the Igbo people discard twins. In my mind that is the single thing that I can not except. Though I understand it is the Igbo culture, I can not bring myself to be alright with abandoning babies in the woods to die, completely alone, cold, and most likely starving.

Things Fall Apart is an incredible story that opens the Western eye to a different point of view. It is interesting to see the variety in cultures that occur, and especially to see that even with as many differences between us, there is still one major goal. That is to raise a family, be prosperous, and above all to leave a legacy for yourself. (545)

Cockroach, Dust, and Death.. Oh My!

It was a dark, Friday night. I found myself on the family room couch beginning to devour Kafka’s short story, The Metamorphosis, page after page turning before my eyes. As soon as I had finished rushing through the pages, I drifted into a light sleep. All of a sudden, something on my face began to twitch. The image of Gregor’s disgusting legs flailing in the air flashed through my mind. Twitch, twitch, twitch… I felt like something was crawling across my face. I jumped, trying to rid myself of the revolting, crawling cockroach that had invaded my personal bubble. I squirmed, I fidgeted, I jumped, and then I realized… it wasn’t a bug. It had been my dog, Princess, trying to wake me up, barely tickling my face with her whiskers. My mother was almost in hysterics, laughing at my reaction, my brother was embarrassed. Kafka had made an impression on me like no other author. He scared the bejeeters out of me!

In general, I stay away from horror, whether it be in films or novels or even short stories. I do not normally like to be scared from fiction. So to say that Kafka gave me the heebie jeebies is to say the least. The first few pages of description were what really did me in. Especially the legs that had a mind of their own. After I had come to terms with the whole “one morning I turned into a giant cockroach” thing, I thoroughly enjoyed the short story. The creepy crawlies began to die down after Gregor had rolled out of bed, and made himself known to his family. It fascinated me that his family could still understand him in the morning, making me wonder if he had not completely finished his transformation, or if his family simply wandered through their daily lives, expecting Gregor’s hard work to continue to support them. In this way, I am in complete agreement with the fourth expert in Mr. Coon’s blog.

As the fourth expert says, Gregor’s family hates him, but is also using Gregor as their single source of income, making him still an important wheel in their family life. My favorite character throughout the short story other than Gregor had to be his sister. She is the only one who shows the slightest bit of compassion throughout the story for Gregor. Unfortunately, this attention to her brother is only short lived. When she loses hope that he will not return to his normal form, she loses interest, and leaves him completely on his own to starve to death.

In all, though I did enjoy the story, I do not feel that I can really shed any light on a closer in depth analysis, for in truth I am still completely confused. Yes, I understand the predicament, but I can not really grasp what the Kafka is trying to tell us with this story. Maybe he just had a nightmare and this is what he came up with. I don’t really believe that, but I cannot really think of any other good reason for writing about turning into a giant bug over night! (525)