Handmaid's tale topic

For the Handmaid's paper I am choosing to write about the names of the characters. I will discuss why the handmaid's names start with "Of" and how the Eyes, Aunts, handmaids, commanders, etc. resemble the meaning of their names.

THe Handmaid's Tale VI

So did Offred escape?
I was kind of dissapointed in the ending of the story because I was hoping she would be reunited with her family.
At the end of the novel events started to move really fast. She decided that she would rather give in than die which let me down. I looked up to Offred the same way she looked up to Moaria. She is no better than her friend that dissapointed her. She ended up not doing anything but maybe got saved in the end from luck alone.

Handmaid's V

I think it is interesting how the Handmaids value such ceremonies as the prayvaganza to communicate with one another.
It was also interesting how the commander took her "out"
The commander says that Gilead is good becaue it prevents women from getting beaten, work if they don't want to, and their husbands runnig out on them.
It is ironic that the nuns are either sent to the colonies or can convert for not having sex and they used to be looked up to for that.
It also seems that Gilead separates the virgins and the handmaids from the whores.

Handmaid's IV

The relationship between Offred and the commander is getting quite curious. I wonder if his wife knows. When Offred met her in the garden Serena said something along the lines of "Nick has been a well friend of ours" and that made me think that she knew about the relationship between Offred and the commander; until she suggested that Nick could inpregnate Offred. I think this is ironic because Offred has feeling for Nick and now Serena is suggesting that she has his baby.
I was surprised to learn that Ofglen had the same thoughts as Offred.
It was also weird when Offred had to hold in her hysterical laugher and feel asleep over her drawer.

Handmaid's III

I think that it is weird that a birth of a baby is such a big deal. I understand that it is rare but the ceremony involved with the birth is strange and dramatic. They are all excited but there excitement is tampered by the possibility of having an unbaby.
The word unbaby is a cruel term. Not only do they consider an unbaby to be deformed, but not even human.
When Aunt Lydia showed the porn she commented on how Gilead is much safer for women now because they cannot be raped or used as sex toys. Gilead is no better than the past because the women are still being raped in a sense.
When Moira escaped it was a blow to Gilead because they think their society is perfect in defining one's identity. Moira was able to escape her identify and raises the spirits of the prisoners of Gilead.
Also surprising, was how nice the Commander was.

50-99

The story is starting to pi ck up and become much more interesting. I thought it was mysterious how Offred had an affair with Luke and that is how their relationship started. I felt pity for her as she has her flashbacks about her daughter and trying to escape with fake passports. Must be tough to lose your family you love.
It is also strange how the commander is always late for the ceremony. I can also understand how the wives would be jealous. I wonder how this society was allowed to come about.

1-49 Handmaid's

At the start of this novel I was curious on why the gym was so well descripted. It seemed like it was more of a prison than anything. When Offred was placed into the room it seemed to be an improvement until it went into detail about how it is nonsuicidail and she can't escape. Offred seems to be used for reproduction, but I'm not sure yet. The angles spark my curiousity and why they cannot look at the women.
I think it is weird that Offred is able to go shopping in such a strict society. I thought she was young until she thought of her husband and kid in her past life before this society.
The religion and state seem like they are not separated anymore since aboritions are harsly punished and young men cannot masturbate because it is a sin. Then why can the handmaids be used?
It is also weird how Offred cannot remember how her daugheter got taken away from her cleary.
Another thing that bothers me is how the woment are so controlled, not just by men, but by the aunts too.
It is also strange how Offred knew how the woman looked liked and acted like that scribbled the Latin phrase on the floor.

my experience

I think acting out the scenes of MacBeth was a great idea because it made me think more critically about the play when having to act it out. It also gave me a better understanding with the implied stage directions. Knowing who the character is directly speaking too, makes the play a lot easier to understand. Not only was this good academically it forced the class to interact with each other.

MacBeth scenes

In Act 3, Scene one I am playing the role of MacBeth. MacBeth is pretty much telling Banquo good luck on his ride at first. Since  MacBeth is afraid of Banquo he hires murderers to kill him on his ride. He continues to conspire with the murders throughout the scene.

In Act 3, Scene 4 I play the role of Fleance. I do not have any speaking lines, but I am riding along side Banquo, my father. Fleance and Banquo get attacked by the murderers MacBeth hired, but Fleance got away.

MacBeth paper

For my MacBeth paper I want to write on fate. If his choices were determined from the witches prophecy or of the seed they planted. If his choices were determined by the prophecy he would be controlled by fate, but I believe that MacBeth acted of his own free will and just took action on the witches prophecy.

Nate asked, "How do you prove this."

I plan on using my sources to backup my thesis.

That other girl that always sits to Nates left, but I don't know her name said, "make sure you read through the play and find support"

And I will most definitely do that even though its going to be hard

Daddy

I understood the setting of this poem took place around the Holocaust.
It seams as if the author was taken,  being thought that she was a Jew, and she was trapped.
She wasn't actually a Jew and began to act like one though.

Leda and the Swan

What the Hell!?
What I just got out of this poem was Leda just got raped by a swan, and i think that is MESSED UP!!!

Harrison Bergeron

I thought this story was rather haunting. I wouldn't want to live in a society where everyone was equal in physical and mental abilities. I like being unique and witnessing other people's talents. Living in a society like that, we wouldn't get anywhere.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

In the beginning of this selection, I knew this town was to good to be true. I thought to myself, "there must be some catch to this." I wonder what the town's reasoning was to keep a small child locked away in misery. Where did this belief come from. I think the people who walked away knew better. They knew that this was not right, but couldn't stand up to the town.
I didn't like this story. I thought the narrator was to descriptive and my attention kept shifting elsewhere.

paper topic

For my paper topic I would like to write about the lottery. My paper would be about how the stoning was a sacrifice to have good crops. Never in the story did it say they were Christian as I recall. Maybe that's why the townspeople didn't seam so upset about the lottery.

The Lottery

As i began reading I wondered right away, "what kind of lottery is this?" What kind of lottery lets kids participate and what kind of lottery involves stones?  The author seams to empasize the pile of stones a lot. The air seams heavy throughout the beginning. The nevousness before the lottery seams like they're waiting for something bad to happen, instead of good. When Bill got the slip of paper, Tessie was enraged. The lottery most not be good after all.
It doesn't surprise me that Tessie was the one that ended up winning the lottery and getting stoned. At the beginning of the story she already stood out by being late. It might be fate that she was the one to get stoned. Her personality seamed rude compared to the other wives who arrived on time.
 "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," is a quote used. I wonder if the lottery is a sacrafice to have good crops. The town was talking down on the surrounding areas that have givin up the lottery. Maybe they think they won't have a good crop like they will. Why else would the town decide to kill somebody at random?

Young Goodman Brown

In the beginning of the story I already knew something evil was amidst. Faith's reaction to her husbands departure was quite haunting. She knew he wasn't up to anything good. Maybe it was her dreams that tipped her off?
Young Goodman Brown felt guilty and was paranoid throughout the story. On his way to the forest he was afraid the Devil was watching him. When he came across the stranger I knew this had to be the Devil. As they travel through the forest Goodman Brown keeps thinking about Faith. When he's taking a break he hears voices, but never sees anyone. He thinks these voices are real, but I don't. If the Devil as a magical staff then what is able to stop him from tricking Goodman Brown into hearing voices?
I think Goodman Brown's journey through the forest actually happened. I do think that everything he saw and the voices he heard were tricks of the Devil.
Because of this one night, Goodman Brown is forced to live a life of fear and being paranoid.

Yellow Wallpaper

Overall I liked this story. At first I pitied the narrator and thought she was not ill and her husband was overreacting. I kept wondering to myself, what kind of husband locks his wife in a room? He had a reason that I never came to understand.

                As the story proceeds the character does actually become crazy.  Maybe there was something in the wallpaper. She stated at the beginning of the story that the house was eerie. Or maybe the narrator was crazy the whole time and her husband took her to this house and room so she wouldn’t be a threat to others.

A Rose for Emily

When I started reading A Rose for Emily I pitied Emily. Her father died and her funds were low. But, as the story continued my feelings changed towards her. I began to think she was a little stuck up because she wouldn't venture out of her home or marry.
I didn't think she was mad until she went to the store to get arsenic and wouldn't give a reason why. I caught onto the foreshadowing about Homer Barron disappearing soon after the arsenic was bought and her house was locked up.
I also don't think Barron was homosexual. I think he likes to have a fun time with his guy friends and doesn't want to settle down.

The point of view for this story was what made it so interesting. If it was 1st person it would have been completely different. It was for the best to know other facts the narrator threw in.

A Tell-Tale Heart

This selection is very interesting. The first sentence really captures the reader's attention and the rest of the selection is based around it.
"True!-nervous-very,very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?"
This stops the reader in their tracks to begin with. Why is the character nervous? And why will we call him mad?

I think the character is, of course, mad. They eye of the old man brought out strong emotions in the character that it heightened his senses. It's unreal how the character takes up a whole night nervously and carefully putting his head in the door to the old man's room first, and then fixating the lantern on his eye. Although the character is quite nervous the reader will find he gets more confident leading up to the old man's death.

In fact, the character gets so confident he invited the police into the old man's room where his dead body parts lay. I think the character did this to show power and the eye did not control him. In the end he did not escape his struggles the eye has caused him. Maybe he went mad from the guilt.

I thought this piece was rather depressing, but I found myself wanting more of the story when I was done reading it. Poe can really capture the reader by using amazing descriptive details.