DRJ#4: Hamlet, Act IV & V

Initial Reaction: I think these last two scenes really show how Hamlet is actually not a mad man but rather a person who was struck by such news that caused him to go nuts; who also seeks revenge for his father’s death. In Act IV he really reveals how he is feeling vengeful against the king. He agrees to go to England not knowing that it is a plot for his murder. But later in Act five he reveals how he had figured it out and turned the scam on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. I did not expect Laertes, Gertrude, and Hamlet to die. I actually really strongly thought that Hamlet would end up getting revenge of his father’s death. I guess it doesn’t really matter since Claudius dies as well.

Character Analysis: I thought from the very beginning that Ophelia was sweet, reliable, and obedient to her father and brother to the extreme. In previous acts she believed and took in what her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius tell her about Hamlet. They tell her that he only wants one thing. She did not even consider the fact that they might be wrong. I think the character of Ophelia overall, symbolizes women and how their weakness can be taken over so easily so they just obey. Ophelia is used as a supporting character. She is similar to Queen Gertrude due to the fact that they are both obedient to the men in their lives. In Act four, Ophelia seems to be a mirror image of Hamlet. She seems to show the same qualities as Hamlet when he first heard that his father’s death was caused by Claudius. I think most of what she is saying is nonsense. It is obvious that she truly went crazy. In Act IV she commits suicide and the two gravediggers that were digging her grave poke fun at her since she had committed suicide.

Theme Analysis: One of the themes in Act IV is suicide. Since Ophelia has gone mad due to the fact that Hamlet killed her father, Polonius, she begins to rant on and on saying things that have no meaning. Upon her brother’s return she commits suicide by drowning herself. In Act IV, Scene 7, Gertrude reveals, “One woe doth tread upon another’s heel, so fast they follow. Your sister’s drowned, Laertes.” In Act V I think the theme that is mostly portrayed is revenge/forgiveness. Laertes and the King make a plan to kill Hamlet but their plan backfires and others are killed including themselves, and the queen. Hamlet ends up committing suicide by drinking the last bits in the cup that had poison in it. The two families end up dying, Plonius, Ophelia, and Laertes and Claudius, Gertrude and Hamlet. I think the death of these two families is symbolic because they were families that had something missing or just too many issues going on. Laertes asks Hamlet for forgiveness after he was the one that got stabbed by the poisoned, he says, “It is a poison tempered by himself. Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet.” Revenge fits in as a theme because Laertes was so caught up with wanting revenge of his father’s death not realizing that Hamlet was after the same thing with Claudius.

DRJ #3: Hamlet, Act III

Initial Reaction: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern remind me of the many times a friend of mine went behind my back. She talked about me to my other friends in the most disrespectful way. Just like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were going behind Hamlet's back, working with the king and queen to get to the bottom of his sudden madness.

Character Analysis: I chose the queen for this act. Queen Gertrude is a confused mother and wife that does not have even the slightest clue of the one who murdered her husband, King Hamlet. She wants only what is best for Hamlet and yet selfish at the same time. She remarried quickly after King Hamlet's death. So at the same time, it is possible that she may have known the details of Claudius' successful attempt to murder the King. In act three she allows Claudius and Polonius to set up a plan so that they know what lead to his madness. She repeatedly wonders as to why her son has gone mad. In Act III, Scene 4, she and Hamlet have a major conversation about the death of his father and her marriage to Claudius. At that moment, Gertrude feels ashamed and full of guilt because Hamlet brings out the inner self of his mother. Towards the end she feels frightened by Hamlet when he claims that there is a ghost of his father.

Theme Analysis: One of the themes in Act three is guilt or sin. Gertrude feels guilty by King Hamlet's death. In Act three, Scene 4 she says, "Oh Hamlet, say no more! You have made me see my inner self, and it's indelibly stained with guilt." So she can see that her marriage to Claudius made her look like a villian just as much as Claudius. Her son's madness made her feel more guilty. Sin can also be a theme because Hamlet kills polonius thinking it is the king behind the curtains. But Hamlet does not feel it is so. He says, "A murderous deed! Almost as mad, good mother, as to kill a king, and marry his brother..." I think Act 3 is the climax of the play because Claudius knows now that Hamlet knows he is the one who murdered the king. It is the turning point in the play.

DRJ#2: Hamlet, Act II

Initial Reaction: Polonius reminds me of my dad. He is overprotective of his son, Laertes and daughter, Ophelia. For the most part my dad is overprotective of my sisters and I. The way Hamlet is pretending to be crazy reminds me of many movies I have seen. They portray a character pretending to be something they are not to get something they need to help them with a certain situation or problem. Their selfishness always leads to a bad solution.

Character Analysis: For Act II, I chose Polonius. He is an overprotective, nosy, and confused old man trying go get to the bottom of Hamlet's maddness. I think Polonius would be a supporting character who develops Hamlet's character. He believes Hamlet's madness develeoped from the love he has for his daughter, Ophelia. Therefore, Polonius is developing Hamlet's character by making it seem that it is the passion and love he is feeling that caused his madness. And not the death of his father, King Hamlet and the remmarriage of his mother to his uncle.

Theme Analysis: The theme portrayed in Act II is Madness. The imagery used makes it easy to picture Hamlet as a crazy person. Upon his visit with Ophelia, Hamlet was dressed with rugged clothing, "all unbuttoned; without a hat; his stockings dirty; lacking gartes; and fallen round his ankles; pale as his shirt..." This makes it seem that Hamlet has gone mad from the love he has for the blinded Ophelia. When truly that was what Hamlet wanted to seem like to all others.

DRJ #1: Hamlet, Act I

Initial Reaction: Hamlet reminds me of someone I know. I have a friend who's father died and her mother married his brother. It is kind of ironic actually. She was away as well when she found out that her father died. The mother married his brother in less than a year later. My friend felt really disgusted in the situation. She did not know exactly what was going on. It was too weird to be true for her.

Character Analysis: I chose Hamlet. He is the protagonist of this story. He comes back after being away at school for awhile when he hears of his father's death. Upon his return he comes to find his mother, Gertrude and his uncle, Claudius married. His mind begins to twirl as he thinks of why the rush into such a marriage. Therefore Hamlet's fatal flaw is his anger toward Claudius. It is due to the fact that he is outraged that he has taken his father's kingdom and married his mother, all in such a short time.

Theme Analysis: The theme in the first act is evil versus goodness. The good here would be Hamlet and the bad would be Claudius. Hamlet is trying to get to the bottom of how his father died and his mother got remarried so fast. The ghost helps Hamlet by revealing how he was really killed. Hamlet and the spirit of his father want revenge from Claudius. Shakespeare uses a great amount of symbolism in the first act. Symboism is used when the ghost says, "A serpant stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark, Is by a forged process of my death..." Here, it is implied that Hamlet's father was stabbed with a poisoned sword.

Chopin Support for Thesis Activity

Thesis #1: Chopin's use of a unique writing style shows that women of her time were possessed by a lover and it was not an easy task to be freed. Also, Chopin suggests that Mrs. Mallarad's death ultimately lead to her freedom from her lover whom she was possessed by.

Thesis #2: Chopin intentionally predicts a women's unique reaction to her husband's death and then his return later on. Chopin purposefully does this because Mrs. Mallard and her husband did not have a very conversation filled marriage. So, it was Chopin's way of proving her point that women feel like they are stuck in a relationship and do know how to somehow get out or make it better.


Dawn's Comments: You have some excellent observations here. However, to adequately support a thesis, you need to cite examples of the author's use of literary elements from the text and then explain how this use creates the meaning suggested in the thesis.

SSRJ#4: Carver

This piece was interesting to me. It made me wonder why the couple was splitting up. I think this story was demonstrating the fact that when parents split up they do not realize that the child stuck in the middle is the one who will be effected negatively the most.
In the short story "Popular Mechanics," the author, Raymond Carver, uses a short to the point style in writing. He does not give any background information so that we know how the problem or arguement started. Carver starts the story with a scene by describing the weather. Then he transitions into the couples bedroom to where the arguement all began. Carver also uses irony because I felt that it was ironic that the "snow was melting into dirty water" at the same time the couple was splitting up. Although with Carver's style in writing for this story, he makes it difficult to understand the message. I think the message here was that one bad arguement can lead to bad decisions. In "Popular Mechanics" the couples urge to split up leads to a bigger arguement, which was over who gets the baby. The mother wants the father to leave without the child. But the father refuses to leave without the baby. I believe that Carver's intentions were that sometimes when a couple argues they forget how much they love one another and what was bringing them together. In this case it is the baby. I did not understand what Carver meant by the last sentence, "In this manner, the issue was decided." Did the couple finally come to and agreement?

Walker Extra Credit

He is not sure if he can aid his beloved;Roselily. He loves her pride and strength. He believes she can be changed for better. For a better life. A new beginning. For her. For him. Even for Roselilly's children. He is sure he will love her forever on.

SSRJ #3: D. Walker

I really liked "The Grass" by Daly Walker. It was really sad how he had to deal with life after the war. It seemed like he was affected by it to the point where he did not want his wife and daughter to know the things he had done and been through. I thought it was interesting when he goes back as a doctor to help the people of Vietnam. But he went in with a fear inside of him and bad memories from the war. When going back home he has a different view of the people. He even made a connection to a veteran like himself that fought for Vietnam.

I think the author, Daly Walker,uses theme to portray a meaning in "The Grass". I believe the theme in this story is that war can cause pain to any one person. But the way you deal with it is how you will be affected for the rest of your life. In the story Walker is ashamed of the things that he has done. so he does not want to let his wife and daughter know of such things. He is fearful that they will see him differently then they already had seen him. He could not stop thinking back to what happened when he was in Vietnam. It was like clicking the rewind button over and over again and then play. By going back after it had been several years it helped him cope with it. He helped the people of Vietnam and he even befriended a war veteran like himself, whom he tried to help by giving him thumbs. So he was affected by the war negatively. Although, he was able to cope with it really well when he returned as a doctor to help those in need. But what is the connection between Dinh and Walker? Why did Dinh feel so confident that the surgical procedure for his thumbs would work? I know he felt that Walker is a good surgeon but what other factors? Why do you think it did not work? How do you think Dinh was feeling?

Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Fatima and it is my second year in college. I am majoring in nursing as well as biology. I really enjoyed English 1A, although writing is not one of my best qualities. But I am taking this class to challenge myself and to fulfill the english requirements.