Novel Paper Topic

For my novel paper, I think I want to write about how much society controls all of the women within the story, including wives.  I want to focus more on Handmaid's though and talk about how their new purpose in life is to be a sexual object.

The ending of "The Handmaid's Tale"

Well. I think the ending was pretty weird. Confusing. The author did not really tell us if the Eyes were really going to save Offred or not (but I hope they did).  I also think it was weird that the old Ofglen hung herself.  At least Offred was safe though.  It was also kind of graphic when the guards were beat to death by the Handmaids, and how Ofglen kicked one in his head although apparently she was putting him out of sympathy.  It seems like Offred actually has a lot of power, being that Serena Joy found out about her and the Commander's trip to the club, but she still did not rat.  I kind of want to believe that Nick was an Eye and ratted on her for having sex with him after the time Serena Joy set it up.  This book was confusing towards the end, but I still like it.

"The Handmaid's Tale" pgs. 199-255

At the beginning of this section, Offred talks about the summer in the past.  In the present, her and Ofglen have conversations of secret passwords.  Then there is a gathering of all the Commander's, Wives, Handmaid's, etc. and new angels are taken in.  It is kind of sad because they are crying.  Also, the Commander's wife wants Offred to have a baby so bad she tells her to have sex with Nick, then once Offred agrees, she receives a cigarette from the Commander's Wife.  Also, the Wife shows Offred a picture of her baby, which has now become a little girl.  Towards the end of the section, the Commander takes Offred to a hotel in a lingerie costume and Moira and Offred run into eachother.  Moira ran away and was caught and instead of having to go to the Colonies she was turned into a prostitute.  Weird......

"The Handmaid's Tale" pgs. 153-195

Offred talks alot about her new relationship with the Commander and how it is growing.  He lets her do alot of stuff he probably shouldn't.  He even gave her a magazine to read, they continue playing scrabble, and he decoded her Latin phrase, even though it was written by him.  Offred learned about how the previous Offred that lived in her room hung herself because Serena Joy found out about her secret relationship with the Commander.  Offred also keeps talking about times from the past with her daughter and Luke, and she even started talking more about how the whole new society began. It is getting really interesting!

The Handmaid's Tale pgs. 103-147

The handmaid Janine has a baby.  Moira snuck out by stabbing one of the aunt's in her rib and stealing her card to exit.  Nothing super exciting really happened in this section, other than the fact that Offred snuck into the Commander's study and they played scrabble.  She also mentions that she wants to forget her past and her name, which I think she shouldn't do.  She also talks alot still about her daughter and Luke.

"The Handmaid's Tale" pgs. 49-99

Well the passage ended with a weird sex scene.  But I thought it was interesting that Offred has many flashbacks to her daughter and to Luke.  I was kind of confused though when she was describing how her, her daughter and Luke were driving somewhere with their passports.  She was talking about that while the Commander was about to read from the bible.  I also think it is cool that her friend Moira is there, but it is sad that Moira had her feet hurt because she faked sick and went to the hospital.  It is also interesting about how Offred uses butter on her face (gross but at the same time understandable).  I am curious to see what happens with Nick and Offred.

"The Hand-Maid's Tale" pgs. 1-49

Ok..
I think this book is getting interesting already.  First the narrator describes the living conditions which I think is really weird.  They almost sound like prisons, or dorms (which are like prisons).  I think it is weird she can't drink coffee, smoke cigs or drink alcohol because she is a Hand-Maid.  I also think it is weird when Offren and Olgren go to the market and people spit at them and they see people hung.  I am assuming this story takes place in the future because Offren talks about how she use to go to college and remembers childhood memories.  I guess I am sort of confused as to why she is living this way now, she also mentions that she has flashbacks to her previous life with Luke but cannot remember everything because she "thinks she was drugged by the authorities."  I am looking forward to reading more of this story!

After presenting Macbeth

My group was assigned Act 3, and we chose scenes 1 and 3.  Scene 1 was Macbeth talking about killing Banquo, and then 3 was when Banquo was actually killed, so that is why we chose those scenes.  I know alot more about the scenes after acting them out.  It was a fun experience, my group was fun to work with.  I don't really remember the questions asked I think the people were just asking like why we chose the scenes, etc. 

My scenes (Act III Scene I and III) paraphrased

In both of the acts in my scene, I am Banquo. In scene one, I start out by talking about Macbeth and the weird sisters.  He starts to refer to how Macbeth's first prophecy came true, so he assumes the second prophecy to come true as well.  Banquo is invited to Macbeth's feast, and he accepts the invitation.  When Banquo leaves the scene, the two murderers come and Macbeth proposes the idea of murdering Banquo, and they accept. 
In scene three, the murderers all gather and are waiting for Banquo's arrival.  Banquo arrives with his son Fleance (who has no lines) and Banquo is murdered while Fleance escapes.  Once Banquo is dead, the murderers leave the scene to tell Macbeth about what happened.

My Freewrite

Lady Macbeth/Macbeth- Feminine vs. Masculine
I believe Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have switched gender roles.  Although Macbeth is king and Lady Macbeth is his wife, Lady Macbeth acts more masculine while Macbeth acts more feminine.  Lady Macbeth is more aggressive with her actions and controls almost every movement of Macbeth, until the end when he faces Macduff.

Ji was my partner and her question was..
They are not like that the whole play?
Answer: At the end he becomes more aggressive (as mentioned above)

The Rest of MacBeth

I read the rest of MacBeth.  Basically, the act starts out with the witches speaking to MacBeth again.  Then, Macduff runs away to England.  His wife and "babies" are left at his castle.  The murderers come in and kill one of Macduff's son, then his wife and all his "babies" are slain.  Macduff and Malcolm then have an in depth conversation, which none of it I understood.  From this point on, the scenes switch back and forth from Macduff to MacBeth, to kind of pick up where they are at.  Pretty much Lady MacBeth is diagnosed insane.  Macduff and MacBeth fight outside of MacBeth's castle.. MacBeth is slain by Macduff and he is the King of Scotland. The end. It was pretty good.. I remembered a lot of it, but this is a very different edition from what I read.  The details are different but still the same for the most part.

T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

I think it is strange the title of the poem is "The Love Song" because to me the poem has nothing to do with love, but is more explaining the life of J. Alfred Prufrock.  So instead of the title being "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" I think the title should be "The Life of J. Alfred Prufrock."  I also noticed he repeats many lines throughout the poem, such as "In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo" and "So how should I presume, And how should I presume, And should I then presume?"  Overall, this poem was pretty good.  I still am not good yet at finding the true meaning within poems.  I need to have work at that. Also, I thought it was odd that he said "Do I dare to eat a peach?"  I do not think peaches are harmful, so I think he should eat a peach.

Sylvia Plath's "Daddy"

I like this poem much more than "Lead and the Swan."  However, this one is a bit confusing as well.  I appear to not be very good at finding the hidden meaning among poems.  After reading this poem, it was made clear that the voice of the poem talking about her Daddy is a girl.  I figured this out after reading the line "With my gypsy ancestress" and "Bit my pretty read heart in two."  I believe if the narrator were male, the word pretty would not have been used to describe his heart.  It confused me at the end how she starts to talk about how her father died with a stake to his "fat black heart", and how she has killed two men and has had her blood drank for 7 years by vampires.  However, I am almost positive she is scared of her father.  She mentions in the poem that "I have always been scared of you."  I REALLY think we should discuss thes poems in class!

William Butler Yeats' "Leda and the Swan"

This poem was extremely confusing to me.  At first, I thought that when the poem started out by saying "A sudden blow:", that the writer was talking about shooting the swan.  This idea was reinforced again in the last stanza when the poem reads "So mastered by the brute blood of the air."  I am not really sure about this poem.  However, after re-reading it a numerous amount of times, I googled the poem and to see if there was any website that could help me understand it more.  A couple websites talked about how the swan is Zeus and he has come down to earth from the above skies and that Leda was raped by Zeus and now is going to lay Zeus' eggs.  There is no way I could have interpreted this from just reading the poem itself.  I do not really know whether I like this poem or not.

William Blake's "London"

First Stanza- Whoever is speaking is talking about how he wanders through the streets and remembers in his mind all of the faces he sees.
Second Stanza- He hears things, such as the cries of various people.
Third Stanza- He is now talking about how peoples' souls are within the palace.
Fourth Stanza- I do not really understand this section of the poem..

William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper"

First stanza- He is talking about his childhood, about how his mother died and how he was too pre-occupied to cry because he was sweeping.
Second stanza- His friend Tom Dacre cried alot who swept chimneys with him, and he had a shaved head.
Third stanza- Alot of sweepers have died, such as Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack.
Fourth Stanza- An angel from above came and took Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack's souls up to heaven.
Fifth Stanza- Details are given about their trip up to heaven.
Sixth Stanza- Tom was dreaming about the whole thing.

Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron"

After reading the short story "Harrison Bergeron", I am confused more than anything.  I understand the story, but I don't really understand what happened to Harrison and the ballerina.  I assume they were the emperor and the empress that were shot, but why did George and Hazel become upset about what they viewed on the television and then all the sudden forget it?  To me, it seems like this story is trying to get the point across that in the future, the government will be in pure control of everything and everyone.  This is a scary thought to think about.  It is scary to think that the government will disfigure people and their abilities so that everyone is equal.  This was a strange story, and was too short!  I wanted to keep reading.  I wish there had been more to the story.  It just seemed like the plot was given, Harrison escaped jail and was shot, then the end of the story.

Ursula Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From The Omelas"

The people of the Omelas are described as happy, and the life they live is anything but simple, although it may appear like that to the reader (I agree that it is simple).  I think it is so strange that the entire Omelas' community is aware of the young, helpless boy that is being deprived and held captive.  To me, doing something like this in a "world of happniess" just doesn't make any sense.  In the story I underlined how Le Guin mentions that for the Omelas, guilt does not exist.  "One thing I know there is none of in the Omelas is guilt."  Obviously, this shows the Omelas are lacking human characteristics, and are clearly not thinking about how they are hurting the helpless boy being held captive.

Shirley Jacksons' "The Lottery"

As I have mentioned previously, I enjoy reading dark stories. However, I did not really like this one. It was too sad to me, and made my stomach turn at the very end when Tessie was pleading to the townspeople. :( At the beginning of the story, the stones were mentioned, but it never really came to me until towards the very end of the story that the stones were going to be used in a stoning. I would have been terrified if I took place in the lottery drawing. It is strange to me why stoning is a tradition in this town.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"

I have never read this short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I was somewhat confused during the story, but at the ending when Hawthorne stated that it was an "omen dream", much more of the story made sense. I enjoyed the story a lot, being that it kept my interest the entire time because I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened at the communion. The main character Goodman Brown seemed naive and scared of his surroundings (I would be too though if I was Goodman). It is strange that Goodman had such an incredibly satanic and devil-related dream. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the story!

Charlotte Perkin's "The Yellow Wallpaper"

I have actually never read this short story before, although the name sounded familiar.  I think the story starts out somewhat slow, but then picks up in the middle, and especially during the end.  The paragraph was definetly the climax of the story in my point of view.  However, the climax and the events leading up to it were very confusing.  It confused me how Jennie left the narrator in the room, and then the next thing I know she was in the wall paper herself, and became a "creeper" among the other women "creepers" from the wallpaper.  It also confused me how John fainted and is now under her and in the way of her path, so she has to "creep" over him now?  I will most likely need an explanation to this story being that I have read it twice now already today.  Overall, the story was good, and I think the narrator becomes more ill and sick throughout the story mentally.

Edgar Allen Poe's "A Tell-Tale Heart"

After reading Edgar Allen Poe's "A Tell-Tale Heart", I am some what disturbed.  The hatred of the killer in the book towards the old man is intense.  The way he plans out how he is going to kill the old man, and talks about how he was incredibly nice to the man the entire week he planned to kill him is shocking.  This man, the one that killed the older man, resembles evil.  His thoughts are unneccessary.  Overall, I did however enjoy this story.  Just like "A Rose for Emily", this short story is full of darkness, and I enjoy reading dark stories.  They keep me thinking and are entertaining. 

William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

Although I read the short story "A Rose for Emily" in English 101, it was actually very interesting to read it again.  For English 101, I actually wrote an essay about the short story because it interested me so incredibly.  I really like how the overall mood in the story is dark, and Emily is perceived as being felt sad for by the townspeople, but yet very mysterious.  Emily is in fact an extremely mysterious character, being that many of her actions are kept hidden from the townspeople (ex: the body of Homer Barron was kept inside Emily's house until she later fell ill and died).  Throughout the story, it became apparent to me that the phrase "Poor Emily" was repeated numerous times.  I highlighted them all and noted that "pitying Emily is a popular hobby for the townspeople."  I really had no questions about the story, being that, again, I read the story last semester so I am quite familiar with it.