I Have Issues With Hamlet.

Also known as a response to course materials.

Really, almost all we've done recently has been Hamlet. Read Hamlet, talk about Hamlet, watch Hamlet, listen to Hamlet things, read about more Hamlet things. I now understand why this course was described as "American Dream stuff, HAMLET HAMLET HAMLET HAMLET, a few other things, AP test." If the entire test is on Hamlet, I'm going to ace it. Give me a quote and I'll list the act, scene and line number, as well as all the hidden meanings or alternate interpretations you want.

Of course, as assigned literature seems to work, I hate Hamlet. Admittedly, Romeo and Juliet still takes the cake as the worst Shakespeare I've ever read, but Hamlet comes in close second. I suppose I just have issues with main characters who act like entitled, narcissistic, brooding idiots. His situation is pitiable, don't get me wrong; I'd be far from cheerful if my father had just died, and my parents wanted me to move on like it was nothing. The problem with Hamlet is that he revels in this. He considers himself the saddest of all the sad, the only one entitled to true misery because clearly he's the only one to be in a bad situation. His family has problems? Laertes just had his father killed in cold blood, has no mother to turn to, his sister was driven insane and killed herself, and oh right, he can't just kill Hamlet and get his revenge. And Hamlet says Laertes has no right to be sad...

Right, moving on to what we've actually done in class. Reading Hamlet out loud was... painful. It's never fun to read out loud text that hasn't been pre-read, and it only gets worse when that text happens to be in Shakespearian english. I like reading out loud, and I could barely struggle through it, even after abandoning all emotion. To make matters worse, Shakespearian english isn't only hard to read, it's hard to understand. That means that while struggling to keep up, we could hardly be expected to understand anything that was going on.

The films were a step up at times, but could be frustrating. I disliked the first and second versions and the third I had my issues with. The first was just boring, and the plain sets, while an understandable reach back to old times, didn't help me see the play as a world so much as... a play. The characters, too, seemed a bit flat to me, though Ophelia had her moments. Hamlet, in that version, had the creepiest voice I'd ever heard, so I couldn't take him seriously at all. The second version was a step down, for me. I didn't like the characterization of Hamlet, who was too self-preening for my tastes. The ghost made me laugh and I couldn't take anything it said (whispered? Hissed?) seriously, especially after it spat "unnatural" for the fortieth time. The fight scene at the end was... legendary. So incredibly over-dramatic, exaggerated and unrealistic that I was shocked they called it fencing. If you want a theatric sword fight, that's fine, but don't try to make it fencing!

In most respects, I found the third film a great improvement. The shift to modern times was fairly elegant, the palace was a neat and interesting choice, and Tennant played Hamlet well. Admittedly, it's a different take on the character than I had expected, adding more wild and often more realistic emotion. I was pleasantly surprised by the Hamlet/Gertrude scene, and his lounging about on the throne captured how I imagined he'd act with his faux insanity and superior language letting him get away with anything. It helped that Tennant was clearly having fun with his role (and that I'm probably more of a Tennant fangirl than I previously believed). Plus, the fight scene was an absolute blessing. Real fencing! Real, actual fencing! Hardly a single block or parry- that's how real bouts go.

It's been interesting talking about the different interpretations of Hamlet, if anything. Our discussions about how insane Hamlet is and how the relationships work have been one of the more amusing things we've done, though some of the critic interpretations made me writhe. I suppose that's just how Hamlet is going to go for me.

Anonymous targets Westboro Baptist Church for planning Newtown Picket

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/16/anonymous-targets-westboro-baptist-church-for-planning-newtown-picket

In this article discussing Anonymous's responses to the Westboro Baptist Church, the author uses selective details, strong diction and clever language to encourage an already popular anti-Westboro bias.

Bias in this article is most evident in its use of details. The details selected are extremely one-sided. Not only do Anonymous and its supporters get more quotes than the church, three to the church's two, but they also get far more attention in the article; Westboro defense and reasoning gets a total of two short paragraphs, while the entire rest of the article is directed against the group. Some details are downright deliberate, such as that Anonymous released info that "can be easily accessed on sites like armywtfmoments.com." Unbiased articles rarely directly link readers to sites where incriminating information can be found. In addition, quotes from the church are not necessarily used to counter bias. The placement of the reported tweet "Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment," it was directly preceded by a reminder that this was released ''hours after the tragedy." Not only was the placement indicative of strong bias, but the diction was telling as well.

Diction plays a large role in the bias of this article. Before any facts are given, the church is called a "hate group" and is later called "vicious."All language used to describe them is negative, with no effort given to hiding clear bias. The poll attached to the article is similarly telling. There are only three choices, one deeming the group "Total lunatics" and the other, the only positive choice, "They have a point on some issues." There is no choice to support the church in any way beyond marginal agreement. However, the article is short and to the point; the word count runs out and the diction runs dry quite early, but the language is clear.

In general, news articles have a set, scholarly language. Coming off as overly biased through their language can make a story illegitimate, no matter how good the information. The article in question pulls this off fairly well, and despite questionable diction, as the language tends to stay simple and detached. This use of language lends itself to bias well. Had it been written with an emotional air, the representation of both sides would be instantly brought into question to a far greater extent, despite the fact that representation is already unequal. Facts could be suspected to be exaggerated. With the simpler style, information is given at face value, leaving it up to the reader to decide who they support.

Death of a Salesman

Setting: New York City, a small house surrounded by apartment buildings. Small, barren back yard. Kitchen. Sometimes, an office building or hotel. Post-WW2 era.

Characters

Willy- the main protagonist, and main tragedy. An aging man with a stubborn streak and a dream to become a success by being "well liked." Refuses to accept reality and fades into his own memories. Puts his dreams on Biff's shoulders before killing himself. Awestruck by the American Dream.

Biff- the second main protagonist. A realist, sees the world as it is and understands the futility of Willy's dream. Always willing to accept cruel truths and work past them. Represents the west, happiness and opportunity. Popular jock.

Happy- Biff's brother. A lot like Willy. Doesn't accept the truth, carries on Willy's dream. Very sexual.

Linda- Willy's wife. Never sexualized. Always supportive of Willy and his dreams, even though they end up hurting him. Also blind to the real world. 

Howard- Willy's boss. Very new-world, merciless and self-centered. Doesn't care about sentiment. 

Charley- Willy's neighbor and only friend. Not very close, doesn't get along well with Willy. Willy's foil- succeeded by accepting the world as it is. 

Bernard- Charley's son and Biff's foil. Found success because his father didn't press him. Unpopular geek kid. 

Ben- Willy's brother. Usually seen in non-memory hallucinations. The epitome of success, if through questionable means. 

Plot

-Willy comes home after nearly crashing the car. Rants for a while as Linda tries to calm him, then goes downstairs to get food. 

-Boys hear him. Share optimistic plans.

-Collectively, the family makes a plan to get Biff and Happy into business. 

-Argument. Linda reveals Willy's plan to kill himself.

-Optimistic morning. Willy leaves and is fired.

-Goes to dinner with his boys. Biff reveals that the plan failed. Willy goes into his memory.

-Remembers his affair.

-All go home. Biff tells Willy he's leaving for good. Willy agrees.

-Willy gets in a car and kills himself to give the insurance to Biff.

-Funeral. 

(More details in your annotations and in Sparknotes- make use of resources)

Voice/Style

Point of view- A play. Limited omniscient. Typically following Willy, even through his memories. 

Tone- very grim and agitated, like nothing is right. Never comfortable. Happy scenes are overly optimistic and carry a note of dread. Sad scenes are hopeless and brutal. 

Imagery- Not much, being a play. Setting was set well and conveys the message of the play early on. Willy's movements bring out a lot of emotion and characterization. 

Symbolism- Full of it. See annotations inside book cover for full list and notes. 

Quotes
"Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground."-Willy
-Basically Willy's life in one line. He's toiled and toiled and toiled, but nothing has been done. He'll leave nothing behind to grow, and nothing he's done has come to fruition.
"The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you’re a salesman, and you don’t know that." -Charley

-Willy isn't made for his job. He wants to be sentimental, but his job is demanding and very material. He only cares about memories but the world only cares about the things he can sell. 

Theme

-The capitalistic world will eat you alive if you buy into it, and only by breaking away can you be happy.

-Biff goes to the west to find opportunity, away from the more capitalistic east.

-The tragedy takes place in cities and the business world.

-The apartments, car, devices, etc. are all from a capitalistic world and all fail Willy.

-Whenever they're in a business-like situation, tragedy occurs. 

Response to Course Materials (Dec 2)

The majority of our time in class has been spent with Death of a Salesman, more specifically the film version. I was honestly rather surprised that we spent so much time going over the movie and so little (in comparison, at least) time going over the actual text. Perhaps it just felt that way to me because I dislike the movie more. Either way, it was really quite interesting to compare the two, as we spent several days doing. I hadn't realized there'd been any changes made at all until I read the book as the movie played in the background. It certainly gave me some respect for the filmmakers. I had assumed cutting out text would be fairly easy, but reading the text with that in mind made me realize how much every line counted. Cutting even a single line took away from the conflicts and characterization. I suspect it's mostly because of its form as a play. It's meant to be acted out, so fluff is just a waste of the audience's time.

The rest of our time has been spent reading Hamlet aloud. I am extremely glad Mrs. Holmes is here for this. Typically, out-loud readings of Shakespeare's plays are nothing but painful in highschool classes. Nobody knows how to pronounce his abbreviations, everyone is so confused with their words that adding any actual spirit or voice is impossible, and we're bombarded with new, complex information at such a fast rate that actually comprehending it is a mammoth task best reserved for later readings. Mrs. Holmes has made the "comprehending" part a lot easier. Frustratingly, I'm still baffled by some of the language, and her explanations make everything fall into place. She's also added a lot to the characters, which I found rather flat before. Polonius is my favorite.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the play. While I don't doubt that it's brilliant, I've heard so much about it and it's been referenced so many times that I have to wonder what about it makes it so memorable. Hopefully we can find out.

Twinkie Maker Hostess to Close

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324556304578122632560842670.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6


     In a possible attempt to mourn the passing of an old and well-known company, this article covering the reasons for Hostess's end shows a clear bias against unions through the use of strong diction, selective detail, and imagery.
     The article starts off with strong, positive word choice concerning Hostess, and this trend continues. The second paragraph describes Hostess products as "iconic treats", and Wonder Bread as a "pantry staple". Indeed, Hostess foods are rarely called anything but "treats" or "baked goods". The word "treats" implies sweetness and fondness, a rarity to be relished. The only counters used are mentions of consumer wishes for "healthier snacks", which implies only that the products are not living up to new health standards, not that they are any less than a favorite. Diction is also used against the unions. When courts and the Hostess company cut wages, the union was stated to "relent" in its resistance, as if they were harshly attacking the company. There is little harsh language when it comes to the companies actions against the unions.
     Detail use in the article is extremely selective, making a point of how much the company is loved and how much it flourished, as well as taking the blame off of it. Union strikes were said to "affect roughly two thirds of Hostess's 36 plants, and made it impossible for the company to continue producing its baked goods". The damage that would be done to union workers was mentioned, but more attention was spent to Hostess. Notably, their "more than $2 billion in annual sales." By repeatedly mentioning the success of the company, it is shown in a favorable light, and the unions that participated with it are blamed for its failure.
     The argument further praises Hostess through limited but effective use of imagery. One woman recalled that "her mother put Twinkies in her lunch", and a man desperate for Wonder Bread "left with two shopping carts full of the bread." These little stories bring to mind people who are fond of Hostess foods, and bring on a nostalgic feeling to readers.

Open Prompt 3

1975 Also. Unlike the novelist, the writer of a play does not use his own voice and only rarely uses a narrator's voice to guide the audience's responses to character and action. Select a play you have read and write an essay in which you explain the techniques the playwright uses to guide his audience's responses to the central characters and the action. You might consider the effect on the audience of things like setting, the use of comparable and contrasting characters, and the characters' responses to each other. Support your argument with specific references to the play. Do not give a plot summary.

     While tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth are often hailed as some of the greatest in literature, others may not come across so obviously. In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, the great tragedy of the play comes slowly, building as the characters realize what kind of world they live in. Character contrasts, interactions and setting all subtly manipulate the reader to respond in confusion and only slowly build an understand of the occurrences in the play. 

     Morals and goals provide excellent juxtaposition between the characters in the play, especially between related characters such as Granda and Mommy or the young man and his twin. The old woman and her daughter share few no to values; where Mommy obsesses over the exact color of a hat she only wanted to impress others, Grandma takes care of a blind dog that will never provide her with anything, but holds deep sentimental value. Sentiment vs. material may provide the main conflict between them, but mixed in is a fight between personal pride and popular perception. Grandma quickly shows a lack of arrogance; when she won a competition, she entered in a fake name so nobody would know she'd won. Mommy, in the meanwhile, cares only for what others think. She likes Mrs. Barker only for her popular and powerful role and uses empty threats against Grandma to give the impression of having more power than she really had. These contrasts added to the idea that the characters represented ideas linked but essentially opposites; the clashing of the old traditions and the new ways of materialism. The young man and his twin had a much simpler contrast, though its power rang deep and became one of the most important cornerstones of the play. The twin, imperfect from birth due to being human, was sentimental, flawed and potentially richly rewarding. It was through his dismemberment that the young man changed to become what he was. Shallow, emotionless and only in it for the money, the young man was the child's opposite. Through this, the young man's role as the new "American Dream", and by extension the child's role as the rejected dream, become uncomfortably clear.

     Characters, however, cannot send messages simply through existing alone. Instead, they must be active, acting and reacting to others. Once again, Mommy and Grandma take this and run with it. In every interaction with Granda, Mommy is childish and controlling. She can't stand Grandma speaking up or criticizing, instead using force- often through Daddy- to stop her. Shutting her up by threatening to break her TV or call the "Van man" hints at the idea that materialism does not stand for the old traditions cropping up again, but what power does it have to really stop them? Mommy similarly shows a high level of control over Daddy, who she treats like a small child, manipulating and mocking viciously. It's when she loses this control that she gets truly angry and controlling. Mrs. Barker played the role of the woman competing for Daddy's loyalty, and when she won, Mommy refused to let Mrs. Barker exercise any further freedoms in her household, refusing to let her smoke even though she'd offered her the ability only seconds before. Materialism and the consumer must be in control. 

     The home that the characters interact in is another important hint at the meanings within the play. When introduced to the play, the first thing the reader is told to see is a plain apartment. There is no detail; the walls, floor and furnishings, beyond two bland chairs, are left unmentioned. Clearly, the apartment they live in has no personal touches or sentimental objects. This leaves the home vague and undefined, like it's anyone's home, or everyone's. As the play continues, it's made clear that even this simple home is a maze; Daddy claims he can't even find Grandma's room, and Mrs. Barker gets lost within to such an extreme that she can't hear people shouting her name. The home of the classic "new american" family is less simple than it would seem, a labyrinth on the inside. 

Response to course mablarghablargh

Blargh has been the name of the game lately.

Let's start with Death of a Salesman. I… wasn't sure what to expect. Something else, regardless. The entire movie made me twitch, though. Willy Loman rubbed me the wrong way and I could not stop hating him from start to end. Maybe it's because I harbor a deep, unconscious hatred towards old people, I'm unsure of the cause. The character just made me angry, and I think that tainted the entire play. I could no longer enjoy it. I felt no sentimental attachments to the characters, so when Willy died I just shrugged. Woo. He died. He bugged me anyway. Can we give Happy some attention? Maybe apologize for his terrible name? How much he must have been bullied! This play is paying attention to the wrong characters! Blargh!

Hmph. Maybe discussing it in class will help.

Moving on. We have done very little in class beyond watch the movie, but we have been busy at work with our blogs. I… have been less busy at work with mine. I detest analyzing news articles with ever fiber of my being. Don't get me wrong, I could hold a long conversation on the topic and be enthralled, but writing it… Things just don't work. Hence why I will be losing points for not completing that assignment. Blargh. At least I've found the open prompts useful, but I still drag my feet when completing them. They're just so… bland. I feel limited and voiceless, like I'm just writing something everyone knows. I hope I can start writing essays I find engaging, because I feel like all I'm doing now is lulling myself to sleep.

Lastly. The terms test retake. I studied, I swear. I even played the games. I printed out the terms sheet. But… Well, BBC's Merlin suddenly reclaimed my life. Then I wanted to draw. Then I had to study math. And I was tired, I had to sleep… And then my score, well. One word for that.

Blargh.