class and social ranking

"Not Mr. Heathcliff, surely?"  This was said on page 159.  Nelly was asking this to someone when she heard that someone else has possession of Wuthering Heights.  It in fact was Heathcliff, and Nelly did not like this idea at all!  She did not trust Heathcliff, and she did have good reasons not to.  Nelly then decided she wanted to return to Wuthering Heights with Hareton.  However, Heathcliff did not allow Nelly to come back.  Rather, he had Hareton stay as a servant to him.  This is a way in which Heathcliff got his revenge.  This has to do with class and social rankings because since Heathcliff was the ruler of Wuthering Heights, he can make people do what he wants them to do, such as work as servants.

foreshadow

"This writing, however, was nothing but a name repeated in all kinds of characters-large and small-Catherine Earnshaw, here and there varied to Catherine Heathcliff, and then again to Catherine Linton."  This line was said in the first half of the book.  However, it helps when talking about the chronological order of the novel.  At this part, Lockwood finds these names written on a wall.  This foreshadows Nelly telling the story of Wuthering Heights.  This part at the beginnings prepares the reader to know that either Catherine gets married three times, or she has some important relation to all them in some way.  Later in the story, they explain that Catherine and Heathcliff once loved each other.  She was an Earnshaw, and she married a Linton.  This foreshadowing helps with the order of the story.

protagonist

"Excuse me!  But I know Edgar is in bed, and I cannot stop myself."  This was said by Isabella to Nelly.  Isabella came to Nelly asking her for help to get away from Wuthering Heights.  Heathcliff and Hindly have been fighting so much recently, and Heathcliff treats her terribly.  Nelly in the story I think is the protagonist.  She is the women who is telling the story of Wuthering Heights to Lockwood.  She always helps the family in the way she knows best.  She watches after little Catherine and Hareton.  The only time she failed as a caregiver or kind person was when she left Linton.  Linton was begging her not to leave him with such a monster, but she does anyways because she was afraid.  However, Nelly still seems like a very good person.

antagonist

"Hallo Nelly," cried Mr. Heathcliff, when he saw me,"I feared I should have come down and fetch my property myself."  Here in this statement, Heathcliff is speaking about his son, Linton.  Linton is the son to both Heathcliff and Isabella.  Heathcliff is saying that Linton is his property, and that his mom is a skank.  He is very cruel to Linton and treats him more of a servant rather than his son.  I think that Heathcliff is the antagonist of the story because he is very cruel to everyone!  At the beginning, I would have said Hindly as the atagonist.  However, it seems that Heathcliff has done much more evil things in the story than Hindly has.  Heathclifff is just caught up in getting his revenge that he will make anyone's life miserable, even his own son.

character being evil

"But, for all that, I was not going to sympathize with him- the brute beast."  This was said on page 148.  In this quote, Isabella came to Nelly asking for help.  She was complaining and worried about her life with Heathcliff.  He was not treating her well at all, and basically just treated her as his servant.  She also was terrified because Heathcliff and Hindly have been fighting almost every day recently.  Isabella has lost all respect for Heathcliff.  I think now that Heathcliff has just turned evil.  I do not think originally he was evil.  In my opinion, Hindly treating him so cruely as a child made him this way.  The only reason Heathcliff married Isabella was to get his revenge on Hindly and Catherine.  He never loved Isabella!

Heathcliff wanting revenge/ "Wuthering Heights"

"There was scarcely time to experience a thrill of horror before we saw that little wretch was save."  This was said when Catherine was bit by the dog, and the Linton's would not allow Heathcliff to come because he looked dirty and not good enough.  Also, one night the Linton's came to the Earnshaw's one night for dinner.  Hindly decided to lock Heathcliff up in the attic.  He did this because he thought that Heathcliff was not good enough and looked dirty.  Well, Heathcliff finally decided that he had enough, and left Wuthering Heights.  Now he is back, and I think he is searching for revenge.  This shows that people need to treat people like they want to be treated because things could not turn out so well.  I wonder what Heathcliff is going to do to get his revenge.

Misery leading to bad things/ "Wuthering Heights"

"Earnshaw had come home rabid drunk..."  This was describing the night that Hindly was drinking, along with many other nights after his wife's death.  He was very miserable and depressed, so he turned to alcohol.  This actually happens many times in society today.  People feel like drinking can just make them feel better and alleviate their problems.  However, it can make a situation worse.  Hindly just was very upset and felt very lonely, so he thought that drinking would make him feel better.  Even though Hindly made this mistake, it is how he overcomes this challenge that shows the real type of character he is.  However, I do not think that Hindly seems like the best person.  So, he may just make himself look even worse, unless he decides to turn his life around!

First person Narrator/ one theme "Wuthering Heights"

"I have just returned."  This is an example of first person narrator used throughout the story.  Lockwood is actually the one who is saying the story.  Nelly is explaining the story of Wuthering Heights to Lockwood.  I think I have noticed some themes throughout the story.  One I think is treating someone badly, can always turn bad for yourself also.  Heathcliff was treated terribly by some people, especially Hindly.  He ran away from Wuthering Heights for a while, but then when he was older he returned.  He had cleaned up and he had money.  Hindly saw this and was much kinder to him.  However, it was too late; all Heathcliff wanted was revenge.  He wanted revenge on Hindly, and he also wanted revenge on Catherine for marrying another man instead of him.  I wonder what will happen next!

Foreshadow/ "Wuthering Heights"

"This writing, however, was nothing but a name repeated in all kinds of characters, large and small..."  This quote describes when Lockwood saw Catherine's name written many times.  However, her last names varied from Earnshaw, Linton, and Heathcliff.  I think this was to foreshadow the part of the story when Catherine loved two different men, Heathcliff and Edgar Linton.  I think Earnshaw is used to describe her name before she was married.  Catherine wanted to marry Heathcliff because she was madly in love with him; however, she married Edgar because he was what her father, Hindly, would approve of.  She knew that her father thought very lowly of Heathcliff.  This really upset and angered Heathcliff.  However, when Catherine was about to die, she wanted to see Heathcliff more than she wanted to see Edgar.  This proved that she had the greater love for Heathcliff.

Characters and frame story/ "Wuthering Heights"

"And that minx, Catherine Linton, or Earnshaw, or however she was called- she must have been a challenging- wicked little soul."  This describes the time when Lockwood found the writing on a wall or bench that said these two different names for Catherine.  The character list is actually a bit confusing.  However, this story of all the characters relation is told by Nelly to Lockwood.  This is an example of a frame story because it is a story within a story.  Nelly is explaining the history of Wuthering Heights because Lockwood had a nightmare.  The characters start with Catherine and Heathcliff when they were younger and worked for Hindly.  Then, Catherine marries Edgar.  They then have a daughter, who they name Catherine.  A few hours later after the birth, the older Catherine dies.  Nelly is like a servant, and she is to take care of Catherine.  Also, Isabella is Catherine's sister-in-law, and then married Heathcliff.  However, she was very unhappy after they got married.  Also, there are two families who were like enemies at the beginning: the Lintons and Earnshaws.  However, at the end, they became civil with each other.

Victor or creature?

"I swear to you, by the earth which I inhabit, and by the earth which I inhabit, and by you that made me..."  This was said by the creature.  Here, he was promising Victor that if he made him a companion, that he would leave Victor and his family alone forever.  However, Victor destroyed the companion he was making for the creature, so the creature killed his family.  This enraged Victor, and they became enemies.  However, I feel sorry for the creature, and I blame Victor for his miserable loneliness.  Victor created him and could have treated him with kindness.  Instead, he ran away at the first sight of the creature.  This made the creature feel terrible about himself.  Then, it just went terrible from here.  Because of the treatment he was receiving, the creature began to kill people because he was so angry.  I think that killing people was too terrible for the creature to do to feel better, but he did feel so alone.  I just wish they had a counselor for the creature or something! hahaha

Mood

"Cursed, cursed creator!  Why did I live?"  This is the line that the creature said after the Delacey family rejected him.  This was one of the main reasons that caused the creature to hate humans.  He finally decided that humans were awful when he saved the young girl, and then got shot.  All these instances affected the creature's mood.  Before all these experiences, the creature was actually pretty kind.  However, now that everyone treated him so terribly, he changed his mood completely and decided he was going to try to get back at Victor and kill his whole family.  Victor's mood was also affected many times.  Whenever Victor saw or thought of the creature, he became terrified and went through a depression.  It is a bit ironic because they both were the cause to their moods and feelings.

Comparison to the movie

"About this time we retired to our house at Belrive."  This was the part in the novel when Victor went on a journey after Justine's death.  Victor went on many journeys by himself.  He would be alone very often because he was very afraid of the creature and basically in a state of depression.  However, when he was alone, he would often drive himself mad.  In the movies, the creature is portrayed as a huge monster who wants to hurt everything in sight.  However, in the novel, the readers get to experience how the creature actually felt.  Many, as I have, feel sorry for the creature because of how alone and miserable he felt.  Also, in the movies, they do not show how the creature was very kind at first and just wanted to have a friend.  In the story, he actually saved a girl's life, but then was shot for it.  However, in the movies, he just was displayed as this evil, horrible creature.  I think that they did not base the movie off of the book because there was no happy ending what so ever, and Victor went on so many journeys, which would be hard to show in the movies.

Antagonist

"I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach, and then close with him in mortal combat."  This was said by Victor when referring to the creature.  To Victor the antagonist would be the creature because the creature is out to get him and his family.  However, to the creature, the antagonist is Victor.  Victor is the reason for why the creature is the way he is the way he is.  Victor made the creature feel very lonely and created him looking hideous, which caused the creature to feel miserable about himself.  When so many humans rejected the creature because of the way he looked.  This caused the creature to have much hatred for humans and caused him to act out on his hatred and anger.  He began to kill Victor's family, which is why he would be considered a major enemy to Victor.

Tragedy

"At these moments I wept bitterly, and wished that peace would revisit my mind only that I might afford them consolation and happiness."  This was said by Victor after Justine died.  He was very sad first of all because he was very upset that both her and William were murdered.  However, he also felt some guilt for their deaths because he created the creature that killed them.  When Justine was being questioned and accused of William's murder, Victor did not speak up even though he knew that it was the creature that killed William.  Along with this tragedy, there are many other examples.  One would be the death of Henry, who became a very good companion to Victor when he felt lonely.  The worst tragedy I think would be when the creature killed Elizabeth.  This was on Victor and Elizabeth's wedding night, which made it even more upsetting.  This tragedy caused Victor to become very angry, and that is when he decided to go search for the creature to get his revenge.

My opinion

"I had been the author of unalterable evils, and I lived in daily fear lest the monster whom I created should perpetrate some new wickedness."  This is a line that Victor said before he approached the creature.  He was very afraid of the creature until one day he decided to stand up to him.  I actually am enjoying this story!  At first, I thought the book was a little slow and confusing.  However, now it is becoming more intense, and I want to know what will happen next.  I think that what will happen soon will change the story completely.  My idea is that the creature is going to try to communicate with the family.  Then, the family is going to become very afraid because of the way the creature looks.  I then think that the creature will become outraged at this and will become evil.  This is just my assumption because I thought the creature was supposed to be evil in this story, but he actually seems very nice and innocent!  I am very curious to see if my assumption is correct!

Simile/ The creature

"He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener..."  This is an example of a simile because the author is comparing how someone is sheltering Caroline to the exotic being sheltered by the gardener.  The creature has very many traits.  First in the story, he seems very scary and evil.  However, as the story continues, he is actually a nice creature so far.  He was just not nurtured in the right way, and he blames Victor for that.  He also blames Victor for his loneliness because Victor did not treat the creature as a creator should.  Now, the creature is trying to learn about life by watching this family.  He wants to learn their lifestyle and how to speak their language.  By watching this family, the creature has learned many things such as not stealing from the people because he realizes it brings them pain.  He does not want to cause them pain!

Victor and creature's relationship

"Devil," I exclaimed, "do you dare approach me?"  This was said by Victor towards the creature.  I think it is ironic how Victor speaks to the creature like this because he used to be so afraid of the creature.  Before he says this to the creature the book says, "I trembled with rage and horror..."  This shows that before Victor spoke to the creature so cruely, he was terrified.  I think that when Victor saw the creature he became outraged because he thinks that the creature killed his brother, William.  He felt that he needed to yell at the creature in order to stand up for his brother.  However, Victor needs to be careful of what he says to the creature and how he says it because the creature is very powerful.  The creature tries to put up with how Victor is treating him, but he reminds him that if he continues to treat him badly, then the creature will hurt him.

Verbal Irony

"Thus I relieve thee, my creator," he said, and placed his hated hands before my eyes, which I flung from me with violence;"thus I take from thee a sight which you abhor."  This was said by Victor.  When Victor told the creature that he did not want to see him, the creature places his hands over Victors' eyes.  This is an example of verbal irony because the author is trying to show that the creature was being sarcastic with Victor.  This basically shows a funny, sweet side to the creature.  It displays that he is not mean and angry, but that he also likes to have fun just like regular people.  It always shows that the creature is not afraid of Victor.  He even tells Victor that he does not want to hurt him, but if Victor keeps treating him badly then he will.  He also reminds Victor that he did create him very powerful and strong.  I feel that Victor was trying to stand up to him, but this made him fearful again!

Bible allusion

"Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rater the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed."  This was said by the creature when he was speaking to Frankenstein.  This is an example of an allusion because the creature was referring to Adam in the Bible.  I actually thought this whole chapter was a little ironic.  This is because the creature earlier did not even know how to speak, and now he is referring to things in the Bible.  Also, he has been watching this family and learning things from them.  In order to win them over, he wants to learn their language.  He wants to be able to communicate with them so he can explain himself because he does not want them to be afraid of him by his appearance.  I wonder if the family will be afraid of him, and this will cause him to become angry and evil.

Symbolism/ Act 3

"Lord, if this little old plant don't get more sun than it's been getting it ain't never going to see spring again."  This plant displays symbolism because it symbolizes the family.  In this quote, Ruth is implying that if the plant does not began to live in a new environment it will die because there is only one window.  She is also implying that if the family does not live in a new environment, their family will fall apart.  This is one of the main reasons why Ruth wants to move to a bigger, better house.  Also, at the end of the story, Walter changed completely.  He became the man that his whole family wanted him to be.  He stood up for his family, and he displayed the pride he had in himself and in his family by telling the man that he did not want to take the money anymore because they were moving.  I thought this was a great way to end the story!

Act 2

"Beneatha (Emerging grandly from the doorway so that we can see her thoroughly robed in the costume Asagai bought...)"  This is said at the beginning of Act 2.  Beneatha is dancing and singing around in the costume Asagai bought her.  I think this shows that she is beginning to have feelings for Asagai.  Asagai, in the last act, told Beneatha that he had feelings for her, and she said she did not feel the same way toward him. However, I think she does, but she is scared to because he is African, and that is a different race then her.  Not that Beneatha is racist, but she thinks much about race.  Also, I think she is worried that Mama would be angry toward her because she is very opinionated about being with people who have different traditions and customs.  I am excited to see what is going to happen!

Diction/ Act 1

"What you mean out?  He ain't hardly go in there yet."  This is an example of diction that is used throughout the play.  Ruth said this quote.  This diction helps to show that the Youngers are not highly educated.  They are African Americans, and this play is during the time when discrimination and racism were going on.  This would explain why they may not have been highly educated because they were most likely not allowed in certain schools.  In addition, this play is very interesting!  It is very upsetting how depressed and disappointed Ruth and Walter are with their lives. They do not have much money, and I think that Walter blames himself for that.  Walter wants to open a liquor store with his friends because he thinks it will bring much money for his family.  Ruth, Walter's wife does not like this plan morally, and this causes some tension between Ruth and Walter.  At the end of this act, Ruth says she is pregnant, and Mama says she may be thinking of an abortion.  I truly hope she never had an abortion, but they never said what she decided to do.

Scene 7

"Blue Roses!- My gosh, yes- Blue Roses!"  Jim said this when he was  remembering how he and Laura went to high school together.  Laura reminded him that he called her Blue Roses.  One thing I noticed about Amanda during this scene was that she acted much different around company, especially Jim.  When Tom says that he did not pay the electric bill, she did not act very angry.  Besides this, Jim tells Laura that the girl he was supposedly engaged to, they were actually never really engaged.  The girl just said it out of wishful thinking.  The unicorn in this play actually plays a big part!  I think it was supposed to symbolize Laura, how she is different, but she is still greatly loved.  However, the ending to this play was very upsetting.  I feel that Amanda drove Tom away by always asking him questions and telling him what to do.  This is one of the main reasons why he left! 

The Glass Menagerie Scenes/ Simile

"...fingers that soothe and caress like strains of music, bodies as powerful as Etruscan sculpture."  This is an example of a simile said by Tom in "The Glass Menagerie."  Tom was comparing bodies to Etruscan sculpture.  In this story, Tom and his mother, Amanda, do not exactly get along.  I think this is for many reasons.  However, when Tom was younger, his father left him, his sister, and his mother.  I think this has much to do with how they all act toward each other.  Amanda is so worried that Tom is going to become like his father, an alcoholic, and just leave their family.  Tom hates how his mother bosses him around all the time and always tries to tell him what to do.  I also think that Laura is very affected by their fighting.  A couple times in the story, she is referred to as a "cripple."  However, I think this has nothing to do with how quite and socially awkward she is.  I think the fighting really gets to Laura, and so she basically has become a mute and is scared of getting hurt.

The Glass Menagerie/ Allusion

"Animals have sections in their stomachs which enable them to digest food without mastication, but human beings are supposed to chew their food before they swallow it down."  This is an example of an allusion.  Amanda is referring to animals in order to explain her point even more.  "The Glass Menagerie" is actually a very interesting play!  I really enjoy it much more than the Shakespeare plays.  First off, this play is much more easier diction, unlike Shakespeare.  Shakespeare was in a type of diction where most people did not understand.  If you tried to comprehend his plays, it took much focus.  "The Glass Menagerie" is very more modern, and I am very interested in what is going to happen! 

William/ Act 5

"Five and twenty, sir."  This quote was said by William when Touchstone asked him how old he was.  In this scene, Touchstone threatened William that if he stayed around Audrey, he would kill him.  Because of this, William left and was never in the play again.  In my opinion, I truly do not know what the point of William being in the play was.  He was in there for a very short time, and then he never returned.  The point may have been to make Touchstone look very intimidating, but I am not sure.  Frankly, this story was a little strange to me.  There were some comical parts, but I just did not get the point of it.  However, unlike in usual Shakespeare stories, this one has a happy ending.  That was the best and most noticeable part to the play.     

Irony/ Act 3 and 4

"Sweet youth, I pray you, chide a year together: I had rather hear you chide than this man woo."  This line shows irony for certain reasons.  Well, what is ironic is about this is that Ganymede is actually Rosalind.  The funny thing is is that Phebe has fallen in love with Ganymede, but she thinks it is a boy.  One can tell that Phoebe has fallen in love with Ganymede because of what she says here.  This means that she would rather him scold her rather then a man try to woo her.  In Act 4, Oliver and Orlando have reunited and renewed their relationship.  Orlando saved Oliver when a lioness was trying to attack him.  In addition to saving Oliver's life, Orlando had a wound on his arm from the lioness.  Now, I will see if in Act 5, Duke Senior and Duke Frederick renew their relationship. 

Dialogue/ Act 1 and Act 2

"O, no; for the Duke's daughter, her cousin, so loves her, being ever from their cradles bred together, that she would have followed her exile, or have died to stay behind her."  This is a quote from "As You Like It", and it is displaying dialogue from the story.  The dialogue is words and sentences said in the way they would have been said during Shakespeare's time.  This line also talks about the love of the two cousins, Celia and Rosalind.  I personally thought that their relationship was a little strange.  They always talked about how much they loved each other, and how they would die if the other one left.  In Act 1, Duke Frederick even wanted to exile his own niece, Celia because Rosalind would have been depressed.  There are also two pair of brothers in the story who do not get along.  They are Oliver and Orlando and Duke Frederick and Duke Senior.  Their relationship within the story is so much different than Celia and Rosalind. 

Othello Essay

Relations to Othello

Othello was a very interesting story, which was very intense and dramatic.  Much of the story involved a man named Othello.  He was hearing rumors that his wife, Desdemona had been cheating on him.  This made him very angry, and he craved revenge.  In order to get his revenge and to teach Desdemona a lesson, he killed Desdemona through suffocation.  There are many stories, news, and music in today’s world that relate to Othello.  One song that really comes to mind when reading this story is “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood.  Also, in current news, there was a story about a man, Josh Powell who killed his family in order to hide his secrets.  He possibly also killed his wife two years earlier.  All these stories are very tragic; however, they all relate to the character Othello in the story.

“Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood is a song that relates tremendously to this topic.  It is about a boy who cheated on his girlfriend, and she now wants to get revenge.  She does many damaging things in order to get the revenge she wants.  As the song states, “I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up 4 wheel drive; carved my name into his leather seat.  I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights; slashed a hole in all 4 tires.  And maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.”  These are some of the lyrics to the comical song, “Before He Cheats.”  It shows how she destroyed his car, and wrote her name in order to give him a reminder of what he did to her.  There is also a line in the song that states, “I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl. 'Cause the next time that he cheats, oh, you know it won't be on me” (“Before He Cheats”).  In addition to getting revenge, this line shows that she did that damage to his car and his life because she wanted to teach him a lesson to not hurt anyone like that again.  “Before He Cheats” reminded me much of Othello in Othello because when he thought that Desdemona cheated on him, he got his revenge by killing her.  He states, “It is the very error of the moon.  She comes more nearer earth than she was wont and makes men mad” (Othello).  In this line, Othello is basically blaming Desdemona for her own death, and that she had drove him to this point of killing her.  He also said that he wanted to teach her a lesson because he did not want her to hurt anyone else like she hurt him.  This song talks about her revenge and anger the entire time.  It also speaks about how she does not want him to hurt anyone else, so she is going to prevent that. 

In current events, there was a man named Josh Powell, who had two young boys and a wife who disappeared mysteriously two years ago.  He actually was a suspect of his wife’s murder, but the police and attorneys did not have enough evidence to prove it.  Powell said that he and his kids went on a camping trip at midnight in the freezing cold the night his wife disappeared.  Police found this statement very suspicious, and it made Powell look even guiltier.  The day he finally regained custody of his kids, he set his house on fire, and killed them all.  In the article it states that Powell told his two boys that “he had a big surprise” (Josh Powell).  It was said that a possibility of his reasoning was that Powell was thinking that his kids were beginning to remember too much about their mother’s death (Josh Powell).  This terrifying and horrific story reminded me of Othello because he also killed his wife.  Othello says in the story, “She’s like a liar gone to burning Hell.  ‘Twas I that killed her” (Othello).  This line is significant because it proves that Othello did kill his wife, and at that moment, he did not regret it.  No one is positive if Josh Powell killed his wife, but it is beginning to look like he murdered his wife (Josh Powell).  If he did kill his wife, in his mind the reasons were correct and were probably the same reasons of Othello.  The way this story also relates to Othello is that it was said that Josh Powell most likely killed his two sons because they knew too much about their mother’s death.  In Othello, Cassio would have killed anyone who figured out his devious plan.  This terribly depressing and frightening story related very much to Othello through the violence and reasoning. 

Othello involves much violence, and people acting very devious and sneaky.  “Before He Cheats” and the story about Josh Powell relates much to Othello.  They all speak of revenge or violence in their stories.  Even though all of these instances talk about revenge, it is not the answer.  As tempting as it may be, getting back at someone for something they did never helps a situation.  It is always best to be the bigger person and just figure out a better situation to the problem.

Bibliography

Josh Powell to Boys: "I've Got a Big Surprise" - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. CBS News, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.  <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57374542/josh-powell-to-boys-ive-got-a-big     surprise/>.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Harcourt, 1623. Print.

Underwood, Carrie. "Before He Cheats." Play On. Max Martin, 2008. CD.

 

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57374542/josh-powell-to-boys-ive-got-a-big-surprise/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8&ob=av2e= video of "Before He Cheats"