The Stranger 3

Mersault feels compelled to kill the Arab who assaulted Raymond. He cannot make the decision whether to hurt or leave the Arab alone, so he lets himself go free and releases his free will. He frees himself from care and lets the influence of other take over, "It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it. But the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on my back" (58). All of the external influences of life, represented by the "beach", are pushing Mersault to kill the Arab. Mersault feels pressured to act in violent ways towards the man he feels nothing for. Because he is indifferent to the man and world around him, it makes it easier for him to kill.

"We Real Cool" - Gwendolyn Brook

Thesis: Gwendolyn Brook's use of end rhyme in the poem We Real Cool sets the prideful tone of the seven pool player in the pool room.

Most every line of the poem We Real Cool ends with the word "We".  The repetition of "We" in every line emphasizes the collective nature of the group and shows their up beat confident tone. The end rhyme persists until the last line where it abruptly ends, stating, "We/ Sing sin. We/ Thin Gin. We/ Jazz June. We/ Die soon."(6-8). The abrupt end in end rhyme and repetition signifies the end of the group and the death of the pool players. The poem's structure symbolizes the brief, yet fun, lifestyle that the pool players live. The abrupt end signifies the untimely death of the players due to their reckless and care free lifestyle.  

The Stranger 2

When speaking to his neighbor Raymond, Mersault hints at his casual racism and dislike of the Arab race. Raymond intends to write a letter to his mistress, begging her to come back so he can ultimately beat her. He asks Mersault for preform this task for him, however, Mersault declines. It is not until the race of the mistress is revealed when Mersault changes his mind; "When [Raymond] told me the woman's name I realized she was Moorish. I wrote the letter" (32). While Mersault makes no direct connection to the woman's race and the beating, his sudden change of heart and willingness to write the letter (which leads to a beating) implies his dislike for the Moorish race. By casually slipping in his racist thoughts, Mersault foreshadows a much larger racist conflict inside of himself. 

"My mistress' eyes" - Shakespeare

Thesis: The outlandishly-hyperbolic tone of the speaker in "My mistress' eyes" displays the speaker's mocking attitude towards cliched romantic poetry.

In the poem "My mistress' eyes", the speaker mocks traditional romantic metaphors. To emphasize his jeering attitude, the speaker creates a multitude of ridiculously hyperbolic metaphors in which he describes his lover. At one point he remarks, "Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head" (2-4). The speaker mimics traditional love poems through the use of numerous cliches and metaphors to describe his lover. The speaker, however, reveals his mocking tone through his use of comedy. The metaphors, traditionally used to describe beauty and pleasurable features, outline the mistress' ugly and horrid outer shell. In the final couplet, the tone shifts from mockery to sentimentality. The speaker reflects on how it is nonsensical to use such intense metaphors to describe love. He believes that his love is rare and valuable and is not to be described through such comparisons.

PODG7

Oscar Wilde uses vivid imagery of the opium districts, in which Dorian travels, to reflect the grim and dark emotions that Dorian attempts to suppress. The scene is set as,

"A cold rain began to fall, and the blurred street-lamps looked ghastly in the dripping mist. The public-houses were just closing, and dim men and women were clustering in broken groups round their doors. From some of the bars came the sound of horrible laughter. In others, drunkards brawled and screamed" (135).

The dark and dreariness of the street reflects Dorian's complex emotions towards his murder of Basil. Wilde attempts to hide and suppress Dorian's emotions; Dorian acts very casually at Lady Narborough's party, albeit he speaks suspiciously around Henry. Dorian does not directly state the reason for his unhappy feelings. In order to reveal Dorian's true feelings, Wilde projects Dorian's bleak emotions on the weather and the poor district. The scene is described as "cold" and "ghastly", just as Dorian's emotions are chilling and ghostly. Despite his attempts at controlling his emotions, Dorian feels regret for killing his friend. His main goal in traveling to the opium district is "'To cure the soul by means of the senses'" (135). Dorian wants to drown his feelings in artificial happiness and pleasure brought on by opium high. While his emotions are not explicitly stated, one can see the true feelings of Dorian gray projected onto the secne around him.

PODG6

The influence that Lord Henry has on Dorian effectively turns Dorian into a new version of himself. One of Lord Henry's favorite pastimes is to delve into, and influence, the minds of anyone who listens. When he meets Dorian, Henry takes a particular liking to the naive and innocent young man. He quickly influences and corrupts Dorian's mind and leads Dorian to behave like himself, Henry. When Basil catches Dorian in the street, late one foggy night, Basil describes to Dorian the many boys which he has influenced and wrecked. Basil says to Dorian "One has the right to judge a man by the effect he has over his friends" (110). In Basil's speech to Dorian, there are many parallels to Basil's earlier speeches to Lord Henry about Henry's influence over Dorian. Like Lord Henry, Dorian has negative effects over many of his acquiescence. Just as Lord Henry leads Dorian down a bad path, Dorian is leads many of his young, possibly innocent, friends into a corrupt life of half truths and overzealous indulgences.

The Tiger vs. The Lamb

Thesis: In the two poems, William Blake contrasts the creation of a Tiger and a Lamb, by the same God.

Body One: Both poems discuss the creation of a being by God. The first poem describes the who created the Lamb, and the second poem describes who creates the Tiger. Each animal is spoken to in a different, contrasting tone.

• "Little Lamb, who made thee?/ Dost thou know who made thee?" (The Lamb 1-2). In the The Lamb, the speaker asks the Lamb, in a superior tone. The speaker looks down on the Lamb as one would with a child. 
• "Tiger! Tiger! burning bright/ In the forests of the night,/ What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry" (The Tiger 1-4) In The Tiger, the speaker speaks to the tiger at an equal level. The tone used by the speak in The Tiger is fearing and ominous than the tone used in The Lamb.

There are two distinct tones used in either poem. While each talks about the work of God and his creations, the tones of each poem contrast each other. 

Body Two: The speaker in both poems addresses that the animals are created by God. In The Lamb, the speaker is sure that the Lamb is a creation of God. However, in The Tiger, the speaker questions if God could make such a fearful being.

• "Little Lamb I'll tell thee!/ He is called by thy name,/ For he calls himself a Lamb" (The Lamb 12-14). The speaker is sure that God (Jesus - The Lamb) would create a creature that bears his own name. He is sure that the such an innocent and pure animal, such as the Lamb, must be created by benevolent God.
• "When the stars threw down their spears,/ And watered heaven with their tears,/ Did he smile his work to see?/  Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (The Tiger 17-20). The speaker asks a rhetorical question to the tiger: "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (20). He does not understand how God could make such a intimidating being. 

Body Three: The overall comparison of the poem is between God's creations. The Lamb is a perfect creation of God. The tone towards the Lamb is innocent, and the speaker does not question the animal's existence. But the Tiger is seen as a frightening beast. The speaker of The Tiger questions if the God created the animal, for it is so unlike his previous creations (the Lamb). The tone towards the Tiger is negative and foreboding.

PODG 5

The relationship between Dorian Gray and his portrait shows a role reversal in the views of aestheticism. In aestheticism, life's purpose is to imitate art, and art's purpose is to look beautiful, and to be enjoyed. However, this element of aestheticism is flipped in the relationship between Dorian and his painting. Dorian's painting is a reflection of his conscience. The painting imitates life; it's picture changes and reforms to represent Dorian's sins and actions. On the other hand, Dorian is a physical representation of art. He even admits it to Basil that he values, and enjoys himself very much. Dorian describes, "'more than I owe to you. You only taught me to be vain" (79). Dorian is a person that values himself over others. He is a beautiful walking art piece that is admired by Basil, Lord Henry, and many others. While he succeeds at imitating art, his portrait does the opposite and imitates life.

PODG 3

The conversations between James, his mother (Mrs. Vane), and Sibyl foreshadow the the ultimate demise of of Dorian and Sibyl's relationship. In the conversations about Dorian and Jame's father, Mrs. Vane refers to both Dorian and Jame's father as gentleman. Mrs. Vane says, "But there is no doubt that the young man in question is a perfect gentleman" (47). She then later on states, "He was you father, and a gentleman. Indeed he was highly connected" (52). In drawing this parallel between Dorian and Jame's father, Mrs. Vane also foreshadows the ultimate fate of Dorian and Sibyl's relationship. Jame's father was not married to Mrs. Vane when they conceived children, and he went on to die, leaving Mrs. Vane, James, and Sibyl alone. By connecting Dorian and Jame's father because they were both gentlemen, Mrs. Vane unknowingly also connects the two by their failure to maintain a proper relationship. The dialogues between Mrs. Vane and James show the possible demise of Sibyl and Dorian's love through comparison with the late father of James and Sibyl.

PODG 2 - 11/19

Lord Henry indulges in influencing the minds of his friends and acquaintances. While talking to the people attending Aunt Agatha's dinner, Henry reveals his love for attention and his ability to attract the minds of anyone. The scene is described as "[Henry] felt that the eyes of Dorian Gray were fixed on him, and the consciousness that amongst his audience there was one whose temperament he wished to fascinate seemed to give his wit keenness and to lend colour to his imagination" (31). Henry is able to capture the minds of those he speaks to. His flamboyant speech, full of half-truths and 'dangerous' comments intrigues people which allows him to plan ideas into their heads. Henry's wife speaks about her husband saying, "I always hear Harry’s views from his friends" (33). Henry's ideals clearly rub off on his friends. He has the ability to influence anyone with his bold personality.

My Son the Man - Sharon Olds

Thesis: Sharon Olds Alludes to great magician Harry Houdini in order to paint a picture of the relationship with her growing son.

Para 1: Olds compares her son to Houdini's escape strategies to characterize her son's physical maturation.

"Suddenly his shoulders get a lot wider,/ the way Houdini would expand his body/while people were putting him in chains" (1-3)

-Olds takes the visual image of Houdini puffing out his shoulders and chest and applies it to her son's growth. The visual image evoked by the allusion helps the reader to better understand the mother's view of her child; how the mother sees her boy turning into a man and growing up.

Para 2: Olds again uses allusion to describe her son growing older. She compares her son's separation from her with one of Houdini's famous escapes.

"Now he looks at me/ the way Houdini studied a box/ to learn the way out, then smiled and let himself be manacled" (14-16)

-In alluding to, and ultimately comparing her son's growth to, Houdini's escape, Olds capture the thoughts of her son. Olds is able to describe his need for separation from his mother and for independence. The allusion to Houdini describes the son's mental and emotional changes.

PODG 1

Wilde promotes the use of aestheticism through the character dialogue between Basil and Lord Henry. When discussing Dorian, Lord Henry and Basil touch on the fact that art should portray beauty. Henry says, "beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begin" (2). In writing this, Wilde emphasizes that beauty and intellect have no overlap; aestheticism follows this same principle. Furthermore, Wilde advances the use of aestheticism when Basil describes why he does not wish to publish his painting. Basil states, 

"An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in an age when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty. Some day I will show the world what it is; and for that reason the world shall never see my portrait

of Dorian Gray" (8-9)

Basil does not wish to publish his picture because it contains more than just beauty. The portraits holds a deeper meaning to Basil and that goes against Aesthetic principles. The description of Dorian and his portrait by Basil and Lord Henry are used as a tool by Oscar Wilde to promote and justify the Aesthetic movement.

PODG - Preface 11/13

In the preface to Portrait of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde uses various suggestions and aphorisms to convey the meaning of art and aestheticism. Wilde supports the ideals of Aestheticism stating that art is not to be delved into; art is only to be enjoyed for its beauty. Wilde suggests that there is no moral purpose or use for art. He writes, "The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless". Through deductive reasoning, Wilde implies that art, because it is useless, is something to be admired intensely. Art serves no purpose besides enjoyment. The aphorisms and statements of Wilde in the preface outline the major ideals of Aestheticism.

In the preface, Oscar Wilde also outlines his attitude towards his readers. Because of his strict adherence to aestheticism, Wilde wants critics and readers to enjoy art, and his work, for it's outer beauty. Wilde does not wish for his audience to seek for a deeper meaning. He praises those that view art for only its surface elegance and wittiness; Wilde articulates, "Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty". Those that follow the principles of aestheticism are the ideal audience of Wilde. He does not care about the opinionsof those who think otherwise.

'The History Teacher' - Billy Collins

Thesis: In the poem 'The History Teacher', Billy Collins utilizes a specialized from of understatement, euphemism  in order to reveal the irony of the teachers actions.

Paragraph 1: The teacher uses euphemisms on multiple occasions in order to protect and shelter his children from the evils of the world.

"Trying to protect his students' innocence/ he told them the Ice Age was really just/ the Chilly Age, a period of a million years/ when everyone had to wear sweaters" (1-4)

-The teacher downplays the effects of the ice age and vastly understates the true importance that it had on    the world.
-The teacher, in an attempt to understate the importance of the ice age, uses humor saying: "when everyone had to wear sweaters" (4). With the humor he creates through obvious fallacy, that humans did not have sweaters in the ice age, the teacher shelters his kids from the true importance of very eventful eras.

"And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age,/ named after the long driveways of the time" (5-6)

-Again the teacher uses a euphemism to understate the importance of an important era in history. His avoidance of the truth is to protect the innocence of the children and to shelter them.

Paragraph 2: The teacher's understatements are ironic because of the fact that the kids are just evil and cruel despite the teacher's attempts at sheltering them.

"The children would leave his classroom/ for the playground to torment the weak/ and the smart,/ mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses" (14-17)

-Despite the teacher's attempts at downplaying important eras and violent excursions, such as the use of the atom bomb and how the Boers fight, the students ironically are violent. The euphemisms shelter the children, but the teacher's goal of protecting them fails when the children are let out on their own.

1984 #8

O'Brien, Winston, Julia, and countless other citizens of the distopian society in 1984 are members of the anti-party organization named "The Brotherhood". The goal of the Brotherhood is the ultimate demise of the Party. members of the Brotherhood must "give [their] lives [...] commit murder [...] betray [their countries [...]" (172) and ultimately sacrifice their entire lives to the rebellious society. In the world today, in reality, there exists a group of people who's beliefs are very similar to those of the Brotherhood. The hacker-activist ('hacktivist') group Anonymous works, very similarly to the Brotherhood, as an immeasurable entity who's goal is to bring down the system and protect individual rights. While the Brotherhood aims to bring down the oppression of the Ingsoc Party, Anonymous strives to maintain individual freedom and privacy on the expansive 'world' of the internet. The biggest connection between the two groups is their main ideas. The Brotherhood states that, "The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not and organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible" (176). Anonymous, likewise, adheres to the idea that "you cannot arrest and idea" (twitter.com/atopiary) as tweeted by Anonymous hackivist "Topiary" shorty after being detained for internet crimes (forbes.com). The appearence of groups like Anonymous can prove how society today is beginning to emulate the oppressive nature of the Ingsoc Party. Governments around the world, such as the United States Government, are wanting more and more control over their citizens. Actions of US organizations such as the National Security Agency and US bills such as SOPA and PIPA (internet regulation bills) show examples of governments wanting more and more control over their citizens, just as the Party did to Oceania (rt.com) (thomas.loc.gov). Actions of Anonymous and of the Brotherhood have doubleplusgood intentions in bringing freedom to citizens.


Sources:

-https://twitter.com/atopiary
-http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2011/07/27/scotland-yard-announces-lulzsec-hacker-topiary- arrested-in-u-k/
-http://rt.com/usa/news/nsa-whistleblower-binney-drake-978/
-http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.03261:

1984 #3

In 1984, by George Orwell, the confusion of the distopian society is exemplified by the fragile border between life and death by the Though Police. In such a word as the one Winston lives in, any dislike towards the government is a death sentence. Those who know too much, those who think too much, and those who are suspicious of Big Brother are doomed to "vaporization". Winston considers himself as one of these people set for ultimate termination. While eating lunch at the Ministry, Winston ponders those who will likely perish. He thinks,

"Mrs Parsons would be vaporized. Syme would be vaporized. Winston would be vaporized. O’Brien would be vaporized. Parsons, on the other hand, would never be vaporized. The eyeless creature with the quacking voice would never be vaporized. The little beetle-like men who scuttle so nimbly through the labyrinthine corridors of Ministries they, too, would never be vaporized. And the girl with dark hair, the girl from the Fiction Department — she would never be vaporized either. It seemed to him that he knew instinctively who would survive and who would perish: though just what it was that made for survival, it was not easy to say" (61).

While it is easy for Winston to distinguish who will be killed, it is extremely difficult for him to figure out why. Winston cannot determine what traits allow for survivability and this shows the corrupt nature of the society he is in. Any wrongdoings lead to being killed, however not all wrongdoings are set in stone. The laws that Big Brother has put in place only account for so many things; the Thought Police prosecute those who break unwritten laws as well. The thin line between lawful and unlawful shows the true distopian nature of 1984's London. There is no way to dertermine true right from wrong.

1984 #2

The hypocrisy of Winston's job and his thoughts shows how the world in which Winston lives is extremely distorted and mangled. In the novel 1984, the thoughts and beliefs of the protagonist Winston are explored. He feels that the world he lives in now is much different that the world he grew up in as a boy. Winston is upset with the lies and propaganda that the government spread. He knows things that the government lied about but has no way to prove it,


"The Party said that Oceania had never been in alliance with Eurasia. He, Winston Smith, knew that Oceania had been in alliance with Eurasia as short a time as four years ago. But where did that knowledge exist? Only in his own consciousness, which in any case must soon be annihilated" (34)

Winston knows that the government's lies are wrong. He knows that the government represses facts and erases any proof of events that the government deems wrong. However, it is Winston's own job to change the facts and "[bring] the past up to date". The thing that Winston hates so much is what he does for a living. This behavior emulates the hypocritical society in which Winston lives; where "WAR IS PEACE" "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY" and "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH". The juxtaposition of either side enhances the feeling of a true dystopian society.

'The Road Not Taken'

In The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, the choice made by the narrator to take the road less traveled is symbolic of the choices one makes in life and their consequences. The two roads symbolize something much greater than literal roads, they symbolize two major paths that one has to take, and cannot turn back on. The narrator states, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,/ And sorry I could not travel both" (1-2). The narrator can only choose one road, or one path in life, he cannot fall back and return to the other. Like any decision in life the narrator reflects on what he has done and if it was the correct choice. He says, 

"I doubted if I should ever come back./ I shall be telling this with a sigh/ Somewhere ages and ages hence:/ Two/ roads diverged in a wood, and I,/ I took the one less traveled by,/ And that has made all the difference." (15-20).

The narrator took the "road less traveled", the more difficult and tougher choice in life. However it has been rewarding and gratifying to him, it "has made all the difference". The choice the narrator makes is unknown. One might speculate that it is Robert Frost, expressing his life through poetry and his risky decision to become a poet. Clearly Frost benefited from his poetry, so perhaps, though his use of figurative language, Robert Frost symbolized the roads as the decisions he has made in his life that have led to himself becoming a poet.

Marlow's description of his helmsman is a perfect example of Chinua Achebe's "junior brothers" in the novella Heart of Darkness. Achebe details the words of African Missionary Albert Schweitzer, a man who devoted his life to service in Africa, however, reared to the Africans as his "junior brothers". In Heart of Darkness, Marlow exemplifies this lofty, pretentious, European viewpoint of being superior to the Africans when he speaks of his dead Helmsman. Marlow says,


"Well, don't you see, [the helmsman] had done something, he had steered; for months I had him at my back -- a help -- an instrument. It was a kind of partnership. He steered for me -- I had to look after him, I worried about his deficiencies, and thus a subtle bond had been created, of which I only became aware when it was suddenly broken" (124).

The helmsman is portrait as merely a tool, and "instrument" to Marlow. His attitude towards the helmsman, in that Marlow "look[ed] after him, [and] worried about his deficiencies" (124), is just like Europe's seemingly didactic relationship with the Africans, their 'junior brothers'. Marlow does not see the helmsman as an equal to him, he feels as if he is a junior brother, someone inferior to his righteousness.   

Marlow's Foil

In Heart of Darkness, there are very key similarities between the Russian and Marlow. The two characters are literary foils to one another. The Russian, like Marlow  is a sailor. He has traveled the world seeking experiences and adventures. Just like Marlow, the Russian has traveled into Africa looking for new undertakings. While on the river, the Russian meets Kurtz and is enthralled by him. Marlow describes him as saying, 

"The tone of these words was so extraordinary that I looked at him searchingly. It was curious to see his mingled eagerness and reluctance to speak of Kurtz. The man filled his life, occupied his thoughts, swayed his emotions" (130-131)

The Russian is obsessed with Kurtz and Marlow find this strange. However, this is ironic of Marlow to say. Marlow, just like the Russian, is very attached to Kurtz. Just the thought of losing Kurtz to the natives puts Marlow on edge. Yet, Marlow differs from the Russian in that the Russian is naive. The Russian blindly follows Kurtz, despite the unjust things he may do. Marlow, when he gets to see Kurtz for who he truly is, begins to change his opinion on this once 'great' man.  

The Racism of Marlow

The author of Heart of Darkness makes it clear that the protagonist, Marlow, is blatantly racist. Marlow describes very few Africans as actual human beings; he often resorts to calling them black figures, and black things. Conrad even goes so far in making Marlow say:

“The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—this suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity—like yours—the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly" (105)

Marlow does not hide his racism. While he may be much more sympathetic towards the Africans and the evils of European Imperialism, he cannot hide the racism in which he inherits from the central dogma of the time, and the elitist European view. While Marlow is so easily described as a racist, it is much more complex in judging the beliefs of Joseph Conrad. Conrad hides behind many narrators in his telling of the story. The racism portrayed in the book is not necessarily attributed to Conrad himself. In the passage above, Conrad is almost hyperbolic in describing Marlow's views of the black men. The utter disgust Marlow feels in being related to the Africans is very exaggerated. While one may see this as Conrad channeling his own innate racism through a character, one could also describe it as satire. His overly embellished description of Marlow's racism is but a tool to exemplify the evils and miss-judgement of Imperialism. While many see Marlow as a reflection of Conrad, Marlow may just be a tool used by Conrad to better enhance his anti-imperialistic message.

'Introduction to Poetry' - Billy Collins

In the poem Introduction to Poetry, the narrator uses figurative language to better explain how he wants us to view and read poetry. In the first ten lines, the narrator uses five metaphors to argue how we should read poems. He states: "I want them to water-ski/ across the surface of a poem/ waving at the author's name on the shore" (8-10). The narrator wants readers to glaze over the poem like a jet-ski would glaze over a lake. He does not want the authors to go any deeper than the surface. He wants them only to read the poem for its most basic meaning and form. However, the readers do not want to do this. According to the narrator, 'all [the readers] want to do/ is tie the poem to a chair with rope/ and torture a confession out of it/ They begin beating it with a hose/ to find out what it really means" (12-16). The readers want only to analyze the poem deeply and look for some inner meaning, against the want of the narrator. The narrator tries to easily explain his views on poetry and how it should be read through metaphors, however he also knows that people want to read poetry to analyze it, not to enjoy it for what it is on the surface. 

Heart of Darkness Blog One

One of the main themes in the book The Heart of Darkness is the nature of imperialism. Marlow, the protagonist and one of the narrators of the novella is thrust into the imperialistic business expenditures of nineteenth century Belgium in the Congo. In the beginning of the book, Marlow is indifferent toward the Belgium imperialism. Unlike many of the other European 'agents' who operate in the Congo, Marlow is not in it for the money. Marlow describes how, when he was younger, he always had a yearning to travel to Africa and faraway places he sees on maps. Marlow is in it for the adventure and the experience of freshwater sailing in a faraway land. Marlow, also, is rather oblivious to the why most people come to the Congo. Marlow, when talking to a fellow European says: "I couldn't help asking him once what he meant by coming there [Africa] at all. 'To make money of, of course. What do you think?'" (86). In asking this question, Marlow shows his naivete of imperialism and why it truly happens. To the other European, it is obvious that money is the main factor why people ventured to the Congo; but to Marlow, there are many other reasons, his being adventure, to travel so far away from home. As time passes, I expect Marlow's views to change as he discovers the true intentions of the Belgian king and his imperialistic ventures.

35/10- Sharon Olds

Thesis: The  foreboding theme of ageing is expressed in the poem 35/10, by Sharon Olds; the figurative language and connotation of specific words used by Olds add to the ominous replacement of old with young.

Paragraph 1: The title of the poem itself has its own connotation which helps the reader better understand the setting and theme of the story.

-The title "35/10" literally denotes to being two separate numbers, one greater than the other. The denotation of the word has little meaning and can confuse the reader; the only thing the title gives is the impression that something is greater, in size, than the other.

-The connotation of the title provides much more meaning to the reader. "35/10" can be attributed to the ages of the parent and daughter. This, paired with the denotation of the word, gives the reader proper information regarding the age of the mother and daughter, it allows the reader to better understand the poem by giving context.

Paragraph 2: The use of specific diction allows the author to illustrate the true separation of the daughter and her mother.

-"Brushing out our daughter's brown/ silken hair before the mirror/ I see the grey gleaming on my head,/ the silver hair servant behind her." (1-4)

-The poet uses "Brown" and "Grey" to signify hari color, but also to signify age, The denotations of these colors are of how old, or young, the person is. The grey haired mother, the "servant", is visibly changing, the streaks grey "gleaming" as an imminent sign of aging. The daughter's hair however is brown and silken, her hair is youthful and new. The denotations of the words grey and brown add to the comparison of ages and the overall theme of replacement.

Paragraph 3: The figurative language used by Olds further exagerates the age difference between the daughter and her mother.

-As my skin shows/ its dry pitting, she opens like a moist/ precise flower on the tip of a cactus; / as my last chances to bear a child/ are falling through my body, the duds among them,/ her full purse of eggs, round and / firm as hard-boiled yolks, is about / to snap its clasp" (8-15)
-The daughter is said to be like a budding flower on the tip of a cactus and having a purse full of eggs. These comparisons compare the daughter to new things. The flower is representative of new and youthful, the flower is blooming with a purse full of eggs. The blooming and purse represents puberty and the maturation of the daughter. These comparissons emphasize the daughter's maturation and imply that she is to come up and replace her mother who's "[eggs] are falling through [her] body". The daughter is set to replace her mother as nature always does.

"Mirror" - Sylvia Plath

Thesis: 

The life of a mirror is epitomized through the point-of-view poem Mirror, by Sylvia Plath; the characterization and personification pair with the multiple metaphors to define the sights of a mirror, sitting in a girl's room.  

Paragraph 1: 

-To best represent the life of the mirror, the entire poem is written with the view point of the mirror itself. All narration is 'spoken' by the mirror.

          -"Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,/ Searching my reaches for what she really is" (9-10)

          -The direct narration of the mirror allows the reader to identify who the narrator is. Through analysis    

           of the title and narration of the poem, the reader is able to infer that the mirror is speaking, the mirror

           is the one who is telling their story.

Paragraph 2:

-The figurative language used by the mirror enhances the narration and provides a more complex view of the mirror's surrounding and life.

          -"In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman/ Rises toward her day after day, like a        

           terrible fish" (16-17)

          - The comparison and detailed description provide insight on what the mirror is thinking and what the

           mirror sees as the months an years go by. 

Paragraph 3: 

-The personification of the mirror creates a relatable yet ominous connection to the mirror.

          -"Whatever I see I swallow immediately/ Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike./ I am not cruel, only 

           truthful-/ The eye of a little god, four-cornered" (2-5)

          - The mirror watches and sees objects all around it, it takes in information like any human may do, this 

           creates a connection to the mirror, we are one like the mirror. However, the mirror has a menacing   

           feature, it has no emotions. The mirror eerily watches its world, the solitary room, with no opinion or 

           feelings. This view into the mirror's 'mind' gives the poem an uncanny mood: the mirror is almost a

           supernatural being, who will forever spend his life observing a dying woman.

Thesis: In the poem Shall I Compare the to a Summer's Day by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses an multiple comparisons, and descriptive imagery to exemplify the beauty of the one being described by the poem.

Paragraph one: Shakespeare creates an extended metaphor, comparing the subject to summer, to describe the beauty of the subject.

-"Shall i compare thee to a summer's day?/ Thou art more lovely and more temperate" (1-2)
-Through the entire sonnet, Shakespeare draws parallels between the subject of the poem and the beauty of summer. He makes it clear that the subject is as alluring, if not more than, the season of summer.

Paragraph two: Shakespeare uses imagery to supplement the meaning of his extended metaphor.

-"Thou art more lovely and more temperate:/ Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May" (2-3)
-Shakespeare says that the subject is not as extreme as the summers day, which is windy and harsh. The subject is much more mild.

Paragraph three: Shakespeare uses a final comparison which states how the subject's, unlike summer's, beauty will not go away.

-"But thy eternal summer shall not fade/ Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st" (9-10)
-Shakespeare contrasts the subject stating that, unlike the season of summer's beauty, the beauty of the subject will remain forever.

In Act five, Scene one, lines one through ninety-seven of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero changes his ways and initiates the 'comic solution' of the play. Throughout the entire play, Prospero uses his magic and spells to get revenge on those that defied him. However, in Act 5.1, Prospero revokes his magic and forgives  the Lords who went against him; for a protagonist in a Shakespearean comedy, this turn-around is expected in the comic solution. In the solution, all disguise and falsehood must be wiped away. Prospero's character accomplishes this when he says he will break his staff and throw his book of magic into the sea, therefore surrendering all of his magic and destroying the one thing that brought disguise and illusion into the play. The comic solution must also result in a happy ending, which Prospero accomplishes by saying: "Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury/ do I take part. The rarer action is/ In virtue than in vengeance" (5.1 26-28). Prospero feels compassion for the other Lords, he is empathetic to what is happening to them so he ends the spell cast against them and forgives them for their injustices. By accomplishing these tasks to complete a comedic conclusion, Prospero has proven his character as a true protagonist of a Shakespearean comedy.

The Tempest and Shakespearean Comedy

When William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest, he followed his own model of how to write a comedy. One main theme of a Shakespearean comedy is: the comic individual. In the play, the protagonist, Prospero, is a fine example of the comic individual. The comic individual must must be the one at fault for their own downfall; as a result of their irrational actions, they lose something. Prospero, as a result of his neglect of his Dukedom, loses control of his city and is exiled to a small island, forced to live in seclusion. Prospero is very distracted by his books and his studies, as he describes in Act 1 Scene 2; he neglects his city and allows his brother to oust him from his post.

A second key element to a Shakespearean comedy is: the comic solution. Every comedy must come to a happy ending in which the deception of the comic individual is wiped away, and he is able to see, once again, his true job. In The Tempest, the comic solution comes in Act 5 Scene 1 when Alonso forgives Prospero and returns him to Duke status. At this point Prospero knows what he has done and know that he must be more vigilant as the Duke of Milan. He knows not to be distracted by his books or studies anymore and is returned to his senses. In the end, everyone is returned to Italy, Prospero has been returned, the King has been forgiven, and Ariel has been freed. Not tragedy occurs.

-Kevin Connor