Crazy Bird #4

After reading the last part of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest I have decided to base my last blog on the character McMurphy.  In my previous three blogs I have always ended asking the question is McMurphy really crazy and in my opinion is he's not.  In my own views I believe McMurphy is just a con artist.  A con artist also known as confidence man which basically defines McMurphy's character.  McMurphy enters the hospital with a whole lot of spunk and instantly becomes the patients "hero."  With his witty remarks and cleaver ideas McMurphy showed that he was not afraid of his hospital fate.  McMurphy clearly knew he was not crazy and in reality he just had a messed up childhood.  Getting attention was he's number one priority and being neglected was not an option.  So to obtain some attention McMurphy began to act out in ways that people did not like.  Because people did not like the way he acted they went against him saying he was insane.  McMurphy is the type of person that will not change for any one and because of this strong trait he carries it eventually leads to his demise. 

Crazy Nest # 3

At the end of Part 3 McMurphy's mood drastically changes and Bromden is the first to notice this. Was seeing McMurphy's past a reason for his sudden mood change or was it just the fact that he missed the outside world? The fishing trip gave the men in the ward a mental boost and abled them to act like civilized people. They were able to communicate with people other then the nurses, helpers and the other patients. Coming home from the trip definitely would have put a downer on my mood but for all the men besides McMurphy were in high spirits. Has McMurphy final realized he is just like then men in the ward and that his future will be the same as theirs?

McMurphy is a strong character but like everyone we have a weak spot and for McMurphy I believe its the outside world. He has been a manipulator since he was ten years old and has used that to his advantage in the work world and his own life. Now that he is in the hospital his tricks and manipulation are finally catching up to him. If he were to stop his madness would he be were he is now or the be person he is? All my questions lead up to my initial question since McMurphy's entered this novel and that is, is McMurphy really crazy or does he just like the attention?

Cuckoo's Nest #2

Was McMurphy the cause of Cheswick's death? Was his death an accident or was it suicide? Since McMurphy has entered the hospital he has definitely shaken things up in there. By rebelling and voicing his opinions has made him the an ideal leader for the other patients to look up too. With McMurphy's presence there the patients feel they now can voice thier own opinions more freely and have the feeling of being invincible due to his presence. This was clearly the case for Cheswick an acute patient at the hospital. Cheswick began rebelling against the nurse and speaking his mind more often because he knew that McMurphy would back him up. As soon as McMurphy found that the staff was responsible for how long his stay would last after his mandatory time he began to conform to the rules. Cheswick becomes outraged during a group meeting and then is sent to the distrubed ward shortly after his return Cheswick dies. Was Cheswick so fad up with the hospital that he wanted to take his life? Was his death due to his visit to the disturbed ward?

Cheswick's experience up at the disturbed ward could have been a factor in his supposed suicide. With his short time up there Cheswick might have realized that with his permanent stay at the hospital will just get worse and felt that he did not need to live anymore. McMurphy could have also been a factor in Cheswick's death. To Cheswick, McMurphy was some one who was going to save them all and after McMurphy's decision to confirm Cheswick finally ran out of hope that some day he would be able get out of the hospital. Or Cheswick's death could have been a mire accident just as the book explains it to be with out looking deeper into his death. There are many ways us readers can look at Cheswick's death, all depending on how you interpret the story and its characters. For me Cheswick's death was a mire accident, which was just another unfortunate event that had happened to Cheswick.

Cuckoo's Nest #1

Fog. What does the fog represent? And is Bromden the only that can see this fog? Since Bromden's stay in the hospital he has be subjected to the so called "fog machine." The fog clouds Bromden's vision but at the same time gives him a sense of security. I believe that the structured routines' of the hospital bring out the fog for Bromden. Bromden has came accustomed to his daily tasks and is almost like a zombie in a way, which is how Nurse Ratched wants the hospital to be ran. Also maybe in his life before the hospital, he mostly likely lived a structured life due to his tribe and their laws. Following the rules his whole life is what keeps Bromden in fog but if he were to break out of his shell and do something out of the ordinary it just maybe bring him out of that daze. But would Bromden do this or will the sense of security the fog brings hold him back the remainder of his life. Playing safe and conforming to the rules is what I believe keeps bringing the fog back. If Bromden's actions were to change would the fog still be there? The fog slowly drifts away for Bromden as soon as McMurphy comes into the picture. McMurphy brings a change and that is exactly what Bromden needs to be "free" again.

I believe any one sane or insane can see the "fog" or something else that resembles it instead. Being punished for a week during the summer brought me into a daze for the whole week. Everyday i woke up, ate breakfast and had the whole day to myself. I would sit around and do nothing each day. During the week i felt as if the days went by aimlessly and nothing had phased me, which is basically how Bromden feels everyday. After being off punishment and going out again with my friends and doing what i wanted i felt out of my comfort zone. Being cooped up in my house for so long I had got so use to it that being outside again and doing things with my friends didn't seem right to me. I can relate to Bromden's "fog" in ways and understand how he feels once McMurphy enters the hospital. If you don't create change, change will create you.

Hamlet Post #3

This week in my blog I would like to continue discussing our conversation with our visitors from the Lantern Theater Company. In class we discussed the play and how the actors portrayed the characters. One of the main things that we focused on was Ophelia's character and her actions. After listening to my peers and our visitors from the Lantern Theater Company I have pondered the idea that Ophelia was just as crazy as Hamlet was. I believe that Ophelia's family was trying to hide the fact that Opehlia was just as "mad" as Hamlet. By forbidding her to see Hamlet, her family probably thought it could keep her sane and her being with Hamlet would just bring out the worst in her and trigger an episode just like his. Once Opehlia's father dies there is no one there to hold her back and to keep her secluded. I believe when Ophelia starts acting up towards the end of the play, that that is the real Opehlia that has been hiding the whole play. Opehlia's character has so much more to her then the audience sees and I believe that Shakespeare should have elaborated on her character more. Opehlia could have brought just as much to the table as Hamlet did and even more, only if her character wasn't so held back. *In this blog I would like my reader to focus on the character Ophelia. Think about how she is portrayed in this play and the potential Opehlia of had if her character was explained more.

Hamlet Post #2

Something I would like to discuss in Act II would be Ophelia's love for Hamlet. As in act I, scene iii Ophelia is told by her father Polonius that she is forbidden to see Hamlet. In the beginning of scene i of act II, Ophelia runs to her father proclaiming that Halmet has confronted her wild-eyed and unkempt, by grabbing and holding her without uttering a word. With the information given to Polonuius by his daughter he then wants to tell the King and Queen, assuming that the reason why Hamlet has gone mad is because of his love from his daughter. Ophelia is said to love Hamlet, but if Ophelia really loved Hamlet would she have ran and told her father about their confrontation? Is Ophelia's love for Hamlet as true as Hamlet's love for her? These are the questions that I have came up while reading Act II.

Ophelia is a young beautiful girl who obeys not only her father but her brother too. Ophelia is demanded not to see Hamlet despite of her feelings for him, in Act I, scene iii. Ophelia obeys her father’s wishes by running back to tell her father of Hamlet and hers confrontation. After reading this part in the play, I have come to second guess Ophelia’s love for Hamlet. If Ophelia was really in love with Hamlet and cared about him deeply why did she go back to her father telling him of their meeting? By doing this Ophelia not only put Hamlet in a bad position but put herself in one as well. With evidence of Hamlet acting erratically, it surely brings the rumors of his madness to a truce. If Ophelia truly cared about Hamlet, my first thought would have been that she would of not told her father of their confrontation. This would have saved Hamlet from new speculations of his madness. If I were in Ophelia’s position I would have done anything to make sure Hamlet was not accused of madness and me being the reason for current mood/actions. Would Hamlet have done this to Ophelia if he were in her position? Or was Ophelia just scared to disobey her father? Each line in this play that is spoken has a hidden meaning be hide it and initially leads to the plot in this play.


*While reading my blog I would like my readers to first think about Hamlet's and Ophelia's love, after doing so then i would like you to take my question inconsideration. Read my ideas and beliefs about their love and compare them with yours. Where my ideas convincing? Also I would like my readers to look at the mechanical conventions in my blog, making sure it flows correctly.

Hamlet

After reading the blog and the questions that were accumulated I have decided to focus on the aspect of belief and perception in Act I, scenes I and II of Hamlet. In the beginning of Act I Bernardo, Marcellus and Horatio all claim that they have seen the ghost of the late King Hamlet. My question is do they really see the ghost and/or is the image of the ghost just a scheme from these men.

The first thing I would like to approach is, if the image of the ghost is real. I believe this depends on the reader and the writer. Obviously Shakespeare believes in the ghost/spirits aspects, and decides that he wants the ghost to represent something which is the late King Hamlet. Now if you were the reader and had a strong belief that ghost are not real and do not have any meaning to them, then this will have an impact on how you perceive the story. As for me ghost are not real, so reading this section in the play made me ponder the idea of the whole “ghost” thing as being a scheme.

The reason behind believing that the appearance of the ghost is a scheme is because the men who have claimed to seen this ghost might have something against Hamlet or his family. They could then use the appearance of the ghost to their advantage to persuade Hamlet with their thoughts and ideas. The men claim that the ghost appears still in his armor from his last battle with the King of Norway. Having made the “ghost” with his armor still on, could hit that something is unfinished or not right. With putting these ideas in Hamlet’s head they could advance their status in the kingdom by maybe killing off the new king or an important player in Hamlet. The ghost can be interpreted in many ways, and the way that I see the ghost is just another way to advance one self’s in the kingdom.

*In my first Hamlet blog I would like my readers to focus mostly on the mechanical conventions in my blog. Since this is the first blog without having a structured question i would like to know if my writting flowed and if I got my point across in my blog.

Coleridge & Shelley

1) The power of the imagination is often exalted in Romantic poetry. In your opinion, does “Kubla Khan” celebrate the imagination or caution against its indulgence? To whom might Coleridge be writing and for what purpose(s)?

Our English text book states that the power of imagination is often exalted in Romantic poetry and in my opinion “Kubla Khan” definitely fits this statement. Although Coleridge references real people and places in his poem, he does go off into the extraordinary. In Coleridge’s poem he fabricates a dome in the sky, which is described to have an unimaginative beauty with rivers, trees, flowers, winding paths and even an Ethiopian maiden. I believe Coleridge writes this poem for people who want to escape their ordinary lives. This poem describes a fantasy land that does not have any problems and when some one reads this poem for that moment they can escape to this land and be in peace.


2) Even in the brief space of a sonnet, Shelley suggests a number of narrative frames. How many speakers do you hear in "Ozymandias"? What does each of these voices seem to say to you (or to others) as listeners?

In Shelley’s “Ozymandis” sonnet I found that she used four narrative frames, being the traveler, narrator, sculptor and Ozymandis himself. The very first line of this sonnet belongs to the narrator, which starts this poem off by saying that he meant a traveler from an “ancient land.” This then bring us into the second speaker which is the traveler. The traveler gives details about a sculpture that once stood on this land. He or she explains that this piece of art work is in pieces but still you can see the great details that were put into this statue. After the traveler explains the details of the ruins it then goes to talk about the sculptor which is the third speaker in this poem. The sculptor gave the details on the face of this statue due to his feelings towards Ozymandis, whom the statue was for. Underneath of the statue was a saying by Ozymandis himself, which makes him the fourth speaker in this sonnet. Ozymandis states that he is the king and for everyone to admirer his land that he rules, which shows that he is very arrogant and that is how the sculptor perceived him.

Blake's Poetry

1) Yes, I do agree with the editors of the textbook that Blake's poetry had the power to enact social change by appealing to the imagination of the reader. The editors of the textbook claim that the Romantic poets hoped to bring about social and political change through their poetry which I believe Blake does. Blake describes the harsh conditions and psychological turmoil that child workers of the late 1700's endured. Blake lets the readers know that most of the children in the 1700's where sold into these harsh working conditions by their own parents. These children walked around with a smile on their faces showing no pain but deep down inside they were emotionally and physically drained and unhappy. Blake wants his readers to put themselves in these children’s shoes because he feels that a change is desperately needed.

2) After reading the Parliament transcript I had registered a clearer image of what Blake was trying to portray about child labor. The transcript described the harsh conditions and punishment the children endured which made Blake’s words come to life. I believed the editors included the Parliament transcript as a primary source document because they were showing the reader the meaning behind Blake’s poems.

Gulliver's Travel

a) Questions:

1. Why didn't Swift put a translation to the Lilliputians words in his book?
2. Why did he talk about "the primitive way of breaking eggs?" And what was its purpose in the story?
3. What do the Lilliputians represent and why are they so small?
4. Why do they hold Gulliver hostage? What threat do they believe he poses to them?
5. At the end of the story are they using Gulliver's size to their advantage? Is that the main reason why they let him go with out killing him?

Important Excerpts:

pg. 654: “But I should have mentioned, that before the principal person began his oration, he cried out three times, Langro dehul san”

I choose this excerpt because I believe the phrase that the Lilliputian spoke was related to Gulliver’s future. I think the phrase that was spoken was a sign of relief that Gulliver was there. The relief being that they final have power on there side against the island of Blefuscu. The Lilliputians could use Gulliver’s size to their advantage and final end the dispute with Blefuscu. I believe this phrase foreshadows Gulliver’s future by him being the key to end their on going conflict.

pg. 655: This excerpt that I chosen is where Gulliver ask the Lilliputians to feed him. The Lilliputians then give him an abundant amount of food and drink satisfying Gulliver’s hunger to the fullest. I believe that the massive amount of food that is given to Gulliver is a bride. They want to set terms good with Gulliver because they have future plans for him. This excerpt is important because it has to deal with Gulliver’s future at Lilliput and possibly could deal with his future after he leaves the island of Lilliput.


Predictions: After reading Gulliver's Travel I believe some students might have trouble understanding why the Lilliputians are so small compared to Gulliver. For students to understand this a little bit better I would probably suggest them to research a little about Swift's work and the purposes of some of his writing. Then with that information hopefully the student can then put together Swift's reasoning’s of making the Lilliputians so small. Another aspect in this story that I believe will give trouble to students is why Gulliver didn’t just break through the ropes that were tying him down. Gulliver obliviously had the size to his advantage and could of easily gotten away. To understand Gulliver's reasoning’s, I believe the student should find the full excerpt of Part 1 of Gulliver's travel. The reason why i suggest this is because our text only gives a excerpt of this book not the full book mostly likely leaving out information that could lead to why Gulliver did not rebel.


b) After working in our teaching groups I believe it made us think more into the story. I say this because one needs to know the back round and a sufficient amount of information to teach a class. This teaching group gave me a new perspective now on our English lessons. This is because I know now the thought process behind putting a lesson together. With forming our question and its possible answers I was able to evaluate parts of the story in a different ways that I never would have done.

c) On Monday when we present our teaching groups the one thing I would like to change is to put more information supporting our question. I feel that with a little more information it will help us out when we go to explain our lesson to the other groups. For our lesson plan my group and I have decided we would start with out predictions first. We have based most of our predictions around our question so it would then ease into our question and its supporting information. With this approach my group members and I hope that our lesson plan will end in a success.

1984 Final

During George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, Inner Party leader O’Brien addresses many doctrines into which have numerous meanings behind them. This specific doctrine, that O’Brien speaks to Winston during his torture deals with how Winston is “a flaw in the pattern”(pg210) in the INGSOC society. In this society all knowledge rests in the hands and minds of the Party members and the reality is what the Party says it is. Winston does not believe what the Party presents to him. Because of this Winston is sent to the Ministry of Love where he undergoes his reintegration process in which O’Brien speaks this specific doctrine.
O’Brien claims that Winston is not “sane” meaning that he is someone who has not been manipulated to think what the Party wants them to think. Winston is the type of person to think deeper into things which was not aloud in their society and not capable in Newspeak. In O’Brien’s doctrine he states that “When you delude yourself into thinking that you see something, you assume that everyone else sees the same things as you” which Winston does when he believes that O’Brien is part of the brotherhood and believes O’Brien thinks just as he does. The way Winston thinks goes against the regime of the Party, which leads him into “thoughtcrime” which is the main reason why Winston is in reintegration with O’Brien.
INGSOC has mastered many methods to make people confess imagined crimes; forget thoughts and memories of the past. Ultimately in the end INGSOC goals are to actually make you love INGSOC itself, in which O’Brien does to Winston. One method they use the most is torture. Throughout Winston’s torture sessions, he becomes increasingly eager to believe anything O’Brien tells him. At one point because of all the pain he had endured he saw for a fleeting instant what O’Brien wanted him to see. Pain affects the way we think and act, and it also gives the person who is afflicting the pain power because they know under excruciating pain that person will submit to anything. By torturing Winston O’Brien hopes to cure him of his “insanity”, and his false notion of a reality other then the one the Party presents.
“You must humble yourself before you can become sane” is the last line O’Brien stated in his doctrine. I believe this last line for tells what Wintson will have to endure to reach his “sanity.” He is tells Winston once you have accepted the way of the Party you will then be able to live free about the society. Ultimately at the end this is Winston’s fate, he finally accepts the Party’s depiction of life. For Winston to accept this way of life he had to endure agonizing pain, be humiliated and confess to crimes he never committed which fell under the part where he “must humble” himself first. After enduring these activities he was then able to be free, where he no longer second guessed the Party and finally his inner transformation was complete.

Orwell's 1984

In Orwell’s 1894, a recurring theme that I recognized was control. The Party did not only control every source of information but the bodies and minds of each individual. The Party had the power to rewrite any newspaper, book, speech, poem, and even a historical event. In this book the main character Winston, was one of the people who alter these types of media. The information in each was changed to fit the current standings of Oceania’s economy. Being a citizen of Oceania meant that you were not aloud to keep any documents, records or photos from the past. The Party’s intentions of this were so that each individual would slowly forget their past life and come to terms of the past that the Party presents to them. In the beginning of the book Winston discusses that he was not left any documents or photos from his past, which makes it hard for him to remember how society was before big brother and even the memories of his own mom and dad.
Manipulating the minds of the people of Oceania was also the Party’s forte. No person was aloud to ever think any contradicting thoughts of the Party, which in newspeak terms it was considered doublethink. If doublethink was committed by any person, they were punished and viciously tortured. The torturing was meant so that the individual comes to terms of the reality that the Party enforces upon the whole economy. Along with having your thoughts invaded, you were also subjected to having your body controlled by Big Brother. The party enforces every individual to participate in a rigorous morning work out, no matter the age, sex, or physical condition you are in. Along with these workouts, the mind control and the rearranging of the past, your every move was watched and studied. The party looked at people’s actions to see if they were loyal or not to the party. With any wrong move it could be taken that you were in the brotherhood and quickly lead to an arrest and dim future. The recurring theme of control played major parts in this story and with out this power, the plot, climax and characters would not be what they are.