Orwell's Politics & Language - 9.28.15

Orwell's essay on politics and language is relevant to today's political era as they all use a sense of euphemism to make things sound better than they are. Just like how it sounds better to say pro-choice instead of saying you are for abortion. Something that I thought of relating to the idea of this "euphemism" is when the South Carolinian governor, Mark Sanford, said he was on vacation hiking the Appalachian Trail but he was actually with his mistress in Argentina. So now people use the phrase "hiking the Appalachian Trail" in order to discussions of political scandal. George Orwell's essay is also relevant in the fact that people use "pretentious diction" when talking in order to seem impressive and knowledgable.

Plays versus Novels - 9.25.15

Plays are fundamentally different than novels in the fact that plays are typically written with acts and scenes, and also they can be based off of fact and fiction, while novels are based off of fiction (usually). Plays also can show what a time period was like, they could show the culture and how they speak. Also, plays are short in length, while novels are extensively long and can have more than one book in a series. A storyteller might opt to write a play if his writing has an extreme amount of dialogue and action parts. The writing of a play could help the reader imagine what is going on, plus a play can be manipulated to be played in different time eras, or to present different motifs throughout a story. Just like in the movie Macbeth that was watched in class this week -- I pictured it to be set in a 12th century Scotland and the director of the play set it in 20th century Soviet Union. By the director doing this it made the motif of paranoia caused by guilt ever more present. In conclusion, a play can be easier to write, and they are easier to manipulate to the way you desire.

Relevance of Macbeth in the 21st Century - 9.16.15

     In Shakespeare’s Macbeth there are issues and situations presented that are seen even today in the twenty-first century. Issues and situations such as: corruption in power, war, and psychological issues are all evident throughout the entire play of Macbeth.

To begin, one of the first situations seen revolves around corruption in power, and deception. The witches, who obviously influence Macbeth in rising the ranks from Thane to King, but they deceive him by never saying how to go on doing so. Macbeth’s corruption of power could be seen in several of ways. “That I did kill them.” (2.3.125) In this quote Macbeth is saying that he killed the murderers of King Duncan, however, he never had the permission to kill them. Then again in act three scene one, Macbeth hires three murderers to execute Banquo and his son, Fleance, because Banquo had suspicions of what Macbeth was up to as the witches’ prophecies were fulfilled of him rising in the ranks. In order to connect power corruption to today’s modern society would be with the wealthy and their tax deductions and loopholes. Not everyone happens to know it is going on but we tend to let it slide as when Lady Macbeth fakes a faint when Duncan is found dead to steer the conversation away from why Macbeth killed the servants. 

     The very next example presented in Macbeth is war, and it is seen in the final act when rebel Scottish and English forces fight to overthrow Macbeth’s short reign as King. The English forces who are far more superior than Macbeth’s successfully overthrow Macbeth and his kingship. Personally, when this happened I thought of when Osama Bin Laden died in 2011 and it was a triumph for the American people as of what happened on the terrible day of September 11th. Another connection to modern day war also lies in the Middle East as there is devastatingly a never ending war there between many countries, all of whom have a general dislike for one another. 

     Now, onto some psychological issues throughout the play. They are seen in both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and both revolve around the guilt that they have for the deeds they have committed. Macbeth has seen visions twice throughout the book, once in act two, and the second time in act three. The first vision that Macbeth has is of “A dagger of the mind, a false creation.” (2.1.50) In this instance Macbeth is approaching Duncan’s room and preparing to assassinate him and after the deed is done the guilt devours him, so Lady Macbeth has to take over and set up the scene to make it seem as if the servants were the ones who killed Duncan. The second vision that Macbeth has is after he sends three murderers to kill Banquo and his son. The vision is of a bloody ghost, that ghost being Banquo. Only Macbeth is able to see this ghost which goes to show that there is something actually wrong with him. In my opinion I would diagnose him with post traumatic stress disorder or possible psychotic depression. [I did a research paper on depression and other various types of depression last year] Next, we can go on to see an example of psychotic trauma to Lady Macbeth. In act five she is seen sleep walking, and while sleeping walking she washes her hands and talks to herself. Her washing her hands could show of how back when Duncan was killed that she feels some guilt for those actions and how her hands were also bloody from the act of helping killing him. To connect these examples of psychological issues to today’s modern era, it could solely revolve around PTSD and depression. PTSD is often seen in people who come out of war, or have done things that have affected them greatly. An example of something that could affect you greatly is the act of killing a man. So both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have contributed to the act of killing a man, and in part with this they face the consequences of guilt, or just being partly scarred for life.

     In conclusion, Shakespeare’s Macbeth has show some similarities to today’s modern issues and situations such as corruption in power, war, and psychological issues that could be seen around the globe.

Macbeth and the Psychoanalytic Theory - 9.14.15

     In my opinion the play would be a tiny bit different than it is if Lady Macbeth were absent from the text. I believe this because in act two when Macbeth assassinates Duncan he brings back the bloody dagger with him and Lady Macbeth takes the dagger back to Duncan's room and sets the scene for the blame to be placed on the servants. So if she had never done this then Macduff and the others would have found out that Macbeth was the initial murderer of Duncan and not the servants. Then again, if she was absent from the play would Macbeth have taken such immoral measures to kill Duncan, or would he have gone by and waited for something to happen to him and take the place as King without doing anything to the measure of murder. 

     If Lady Macbeth were to play a man, I believe that this story would be no different as it already is. In saying that, I infer that whoever the man is whether it be a close friend or a family member that the person would still have pushed Macbeth to go to such lengths as assassination in order to make way to the throne. 

Macbeth Act II - 9.13.15

     In Act II of Macbeth the assassination of King Duncan is completed by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. There have been reactions from the all the characters at large. The first reactions seen by the reader is seen in the character Macbeth. His reaction was of guilt and sorrow as he has never purposefully killed an innocent man, nevertheless a king. “I will go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not.” (2.2.65-67) This quote is giving it all away of how Macbeth feels about his deed, and that how he did not want to return to the Duncan’s room and place the dagger to strategically have the death blamed on the servants. Macduff, who is the Thane of Fife arrives at the castle in the morning to awaken Duncan, but instead he finds him dead and says “O horror, horror, horror!” (2.3.73) showing that he is surprised about the death of the king.  Meanwhile, Macbeth also acts surprised by asking “What is the matter?” (2.3.75) in order to play the role of an innocent bystander. When Malcolm and his brother, Donalbain, learn of their father’s death they decide to flee the country. Malcolm flees to England while Donalbain goes to Ireland which will later cause suspicions on the death of the king, and who did it.
     After Donalbain and Malcolm flee the country to Ireland and England, suspicions float in the air of what really happened in the death of Duncan. “They were suborned. Malcolm and Donalbain, the King’s two sons, Are stol’n away and fled, which puts upon them Suspicion of the deed.” (2.4.35-38) Macduff had said this because in act one Malcolm had just been named the heir to the throne, and it could be seen that Malcolm and Donalbain had bribed the servants to kill their father in order for Malcolm to make his way to the throne faster than expected. All of these responses leave Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to go unpunished for the crime as no one suspects that they were the ones who planned, and committed the assassination of King Duncan. It is suspected that Malcolm and his brother were the ones who planned the death of their father, and bribe his servants in order for them to rise in ranks. When there is no punishment afflicted upon Macbeth, the sovereignty will fall on him.

Macbeth Act I - 9.9.15

Prompt #2

     The three witches, or “weird sisters” in Shakespeare’s Macbeth play an important role throughout the play. Without the witches, the story would not have developed and Macbeth would have never known of the witches’ prophecy. The witches prophecy was about how Macbeth would move through the ranks from “Thane of Glamis!… [to] Thane of Cawdor!… [to] king hereafter!” (1.3.51-53) As far as I know the witches are setting up the rest of the play. Not much later after Macbeth is told of the prophecy he will be named the Thane of Cawdor. With him being named the Thane of Cawdor he must absolutely believe that the prophecy is true, and that he is certain to become King of Scotland. Late in act four King Duncan names his son, Malcolm, the heir to his throne. After Macbeth hears of this he then believes he must assassinate Duncan in order to advance as king. So, it is almost impossible to say that the witches have not played an important role in this play as they develop the plot and help contribute to the roles of every other character in the book. 

     To be perfectly honest, I do believe that the witches portrayed in this book do fit the criteria of my view on stereotypical witches. However, the only faulty description of a witch in Macbeth  is how Banquo describes the witches as having “beards” and I have not once imagined that a witch should have facial hair. So yes, these witches do fit their own stereotypical view as they are filthy, almost supernatural, and at the beginning of scene three the second witch says that she was “Killing swine” (1.3.2) therefore giving information that the witch was most likely making a potion of sorts. The supernatural aspect of the witches goes with the idea that they can “predict the future” and how the “Witches vanish.” (1.3.81-82) Lastly, I have believed that witches are manipulative, and in this play they prove to be also. The three witches are manipulating Macbeth into doing things that are out of his nature, like assassinating King Duncan. However, the witches did not say directly that in order to become king he would need to kill Duncan, they just said that he would go from Thane of Cawdor to king hereafter. 

     In conclusion, it is certain that the three witches play an important role in Macbeth as they contribute to the development of the play and characters. The witches also do fit the stereotypical ideal of witches as they are manipulative, almost supernatural, and filthy. 

A Whole Heap of Ashes - 9.4.15

     In Thomas Foster's writing of A Whole Heap of Ashes he talks about how The Great Gatsby is not actually about Jay Gatsby. Before reading this I believed that all of the book revolved around Gatsby, but Foster's points proved otherwise. Prior to analyzing this book as a class I believed it was about Gatsby's love story and his journey to win back Daisy Buchanan. However, in the background Fitzgerald gives away information about the society of the 1920's. So from this, it is to be acknowledged that Foster must be saying that instead of the book being written about Gatsby it is in fact written about society during the 1920's. 

     So to begin, Thomas Foster mentions that, "the 'good' people are terrible, everyone is a cheat or a fraud, and the one person who fully embraces the  principles of success and advancement is destroyed." (Foster 145) This quote is basically telling us that everyone runs rampant and was careless about their morals and others surrounding them. Nick had moved from the West to East full of expectations, all being ruined by the end of the novel. Everyone in this novel is a "watcher" and everyone gets what they need or expect to see from everyone else. In other words, everyone is interpreting each other. For example, Nick lets the reader interpret that Tom is in a way a violent and unlikable character from descriptions like, “..he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner.” (Fitzgerald 9) Foster describes nick as “stiff and snobbish” (Foster 142) which helps influence the reader that it is easy for Nick to disapprove of everyone, and with his midwestern values it helps contribute to that idea.

    So all in all, I agree with Thomas Foster on the idea that The Great Gatsby was not totally in fact about Gatsby himself. To give more reason behind why this story does not actually revolved around Jay Gatsby, each character represents something different about the 1920 society. Gatsby represents the “American Dream” and that dream was to go from “rags to riches” meaning from poor to rich. Tom represents money and wealth, Daisy represents women of the “elite” social class, and lastly Jordan represents all the changes of women during that decade. The changes of women during that decade included voting rights, and more independence given to women all over the country. Lastly, Nick represents midwestern values which were obviously much more different than eastern values.