Othello

Music and movie clips illustrate a powerful way to send a message. The killer's "Mr. Brightside" and a compilation of "Othello" merge surprisingly well. The song and compilation become in sync. The scene of Othello choking Iago in the sea matches well with "jealousy, turning saints to the sea ... choking on your alibis." In Iago's monologue, the audience can see how evil, he is. In the beginning, Iago admits and acknowledges to being a villain. In comparison to the Tim Blake Nelson's "O", the character Hugo (Iago) never reveals this, verbally. Hugo presents no motif for his actions. The viewers must assume that, Hugo is mentally disturbed. When Iago says "When devils will the blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows" he is justifying his actions of manipulation. This example is like leaving raw meat on the ground and seeing if a dog eats it. Iago sets a trap and free will determine a victim's fate.

Trifles

In drama, it is better to observe a play rather than read one. The two videos about Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" illustrate different perspectives about the play. Both videos show the main points of the story. Utilizing the videos, the setting of the story line becomes more mysterious and suspenseful. The music adds to the mood and may give people the chills. The flashbacks make the story very clear about Mrs. Wright's motive to kill Mr. Wright. In the original play, the reader is left with an unclear ending and the rest is left to the imagination. Rather than being read, drama comes alive through performance.

A poetic struggle

Using poetry, poets detail struggles people face, by using figurative language. Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It" shows more than someone staring at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial wall. The speaker illustrates the effects of war and the toll it takes on a person's mind. Glazing upon the wall, the speaker reflects of times he went to Vietnam and the horrors war brings. The speaker starts by saying "My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite" conveying two things, the literal meaning of a mirror reflection and the speaker loses a sense of himself. Using the wall once more, the speaker states "I'm stone. I'm flesh" makes this individual seem harden, but still a human being with feelings. Counting 58,022 veterans whose names are on the Memorial wall, the speaker feels surprised that his name is not on the wall, because he feels partially dead. At the end, the speaker sees a lady brushing off names off the granite wall, that perhaps death itself is taking names of his list. Sadly, the speaker comes back to reality and realizes it is only a mother's reflection brushing off her son's hair. In the end, the speaker come to terms with reality.

Natasha Trethewey's YouTube video describes three poems that show racial struggles. One of the three poems is called "Incident." In this poem, the speaker is a child describing an event of the "KKK" lighting a cross on some one's yard. Through a child's perspective, the speaker does not realize what is going on, because the poem refers to the men in white gowns as "angels" and the burning cross as a "Christmas tree." The "angels" disappear like they were never there. The poem ends "we tell the story every year" makes this seem like a reoccurring problem. Through the eyes of a child, the literal meaning becomes more than what appears.

Smith and Plath

In poetry, tone helps with understanding its meaning. In "Not Waving but Drowning" by Stevie Smith, the tone is "matter of fact". In the second stanza, the dead man's friend is emotionless towards the death of his friend. Once the dead man speaks, the tone remains slightly the same with a hint of despair. The dead man is covering up his emotions, the same way he covers his depression from his friend. The statement "(Still the dead one laying moaning)" (515) emphasizes how sad he is, but at the same moment he is correcting his friend. The dead man is potentially numb from depression which makes the tone somewhat emotionless. He gives up all hope in the very end when he states "And not waving but drowning" (515), which gives a tone of despair.

In "Metaphors" by Sylvia Plath, the tone is negative towards pregnancy. The speaker states "I'm a riddle in nine syllables" (528) meaning she contains a nine month problem. The second example is "Boarded the train there's no getting off" (528) illustrates at a point of no return. These responses leads one to believe that the tone must be upset. No happy mother would consider themselves "a means, a stage, a cow in calf."

Langston Hughs video

When music and literature intertwine, both the readers and viewers see a bigger picture. The video shows works of Langston Hughes and the blues. The performers pour out their souls on the stage and their facial expressions show the love they have for the blues. The images show the perspective of the audience and the exterior of the blues. The exterior of the blues shows the good times they experience, but the viewers of the video see a deeper meaning of the blues through Langston Hughes. The poem "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes describes the state of mind of a blues musician in Harlem. The tone is mournful as the speaker describes "He made that poor piano moan with melody." The performers on stage shows happiness, but the speaker illustrates a state of loneliness and depression. A musician can seem happy and full of energy, but towards the end he falls asleep and unhappy singing to the tune of the blues.

Rebellious

In literature, there are many ways to reveal rebellion. "Cinderella" by Anne Sexton, rebels from the original happy fairy tale of Cinderella with a darker and more realistic version. In the overall story, Cinderella defies her stepmother by going to the ball. Instead of the traditional fairy godmother, the poem contains doves. Another change is the violent manner in which the sister tries on the slipper. The tone of the story is also rebellious. First off, the poem maintains a sarcastic tone because it shows phrases, such as, "that story" (Sexton 649) and referring to the ball as "a marriage market" (Sexton 649). The tone and the ending of a fairy tale is normally upbeat. In the outcome, the poem's challenges the traditional "happily ever after" ending with a more realistic and a manner of "no nonsense." The sarcastic tone of "Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust" (Sexton 650) implies that they lived happily, but only in a perfect world untouched by reality.

In "Homage to my hips" by Lucille Clifton, the speaker shows that she is rebellious and different from everyone else. The speaker challenges the "social norm" and does so with pride. The poem implies no one controls "these hips" and shows her rebellion by telling the reader "they don't like to be held back. these hips have never been enslaved, they go where they want to go they do what they want to do" (Clifton 765). The speaker makes it clear that "these hips" are capable and powerful enough to control men. The speaker indicates that no other can take charge of herself and she is capable of controlling others.

Reaction to Dangerous Minds

Poetry is an effective way to relate and influence people. Dangerous Minds shows how the teacher uses poetry to relate to her students. Everyday conflicts such as death, lurks in every corner for these students. In "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas, is one of the poems the teacher uses to influence her students. The poem shows how a dying man should not die with ease or without a fight. The teacher tells the students that they should not give up on school because doing so will lead to their inevitable deaths. Staying inside school and off the streets is the teacher's way of saving the students and for them to avoid death.

Reaction to LeGuin

When authors decide to read to their fans they can sometimes make their work more vivid. Leguin is very likable and is passionate about her work. Before she even starts reading, I feel this warm kindness radiating off her. You can see that her audience is affected by the way she reads. She is well spoken and shows this as she reads the passage. With every word spoken, I can visualize the story in my head. Every word she speaks is like a brush stroke painting a picture in my head. Hearing Leguin live makes the story that much better. The best way to describe this is like when you go to a live concert, the show is always better than just listening to their music. The same applies here and just hearing and seeing LeGuin speak almost makes her work become alive. Coming from me, a person who does not enjoy reading, I can consider reading this book, because hearing her read is making me interested.

Reaction to Cisneros

Sometimes, seeing the author speak along side with their writings makes it easier to understand. Overall Cisneros is very monotone. In this video the tone is very neutral but it is her message that stands out the most, "She wants to make opportunities, not wait for them to be made for her." Cisneros describes how Esperanza does not want to rely on anything such as "chance", instead she wants to do it "on her own abilities." Cisneros and the quotes both shows how much Esperanza wants to move forward in life and not just settle for something small. Throughout the entire video I did enjoy the pictures, music and visual quotes. This video brought both visual aids and a speaker which is key in keeping the audience's attention and focus. If the video loses one of these key elements, I feel like the message will not have a great impact to the audience. Also, I love how the music builds up towards the author's message, from slow paced then changes to a very optimistic beat like there is still hope for Esperanza and that she is not giving up.

Tone

Tone is a very important part of literature. Tone can make a story come alive and show the reader changing emotions shown by the author's attitude. From the beginning of the story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin, the tone is very calm and yet mysterious. It is not until the secret is revealed about the child that the tone changes and becomes disturbingly dark. In the story "The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World" by Gabriel Marquez, the narrator describes how the villagers bring a dead man come alive, by giving this character a name, some quality traits, and potenial doings. Normally when thinking of death you would normally relate it to sadness, but the tone manages to be a pleasant one.

Cisneros and Tan's Experience

The values that are learned from our parents are passed down and help us grasp a sense of individualism and connection to our past. Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets", shows us how she had no idea of the significance of her Chinese past. She shows her transition progressively when she arrives in China shortly after her mother's death. Her mother's death was her connection to her past,"And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.... Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish."

"The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros described how first generation Americans define the "American Dream." The American Dream, according to Cisneros, consisted of owning a house that she and her family could be proud of. Cisneros had moved from place to place never ending up in a place where she could ultimately call home. She described, "A real house. One I could point to. But this isn't it. The house on Mango Street isn't it. For the time being, Mama says. Temporarily, says Papa. But I know how those things go." Cisneros ultimately knew that she and her family would unlikely find that place where they could truly call home.

Presentation of Females

The way females were presented in this story was very harsh and primal. Considering the time and location the author was born plays a huge role on what inspired her to write this story. I suppose for the time and location this story had taken place, it was probably considered proper and part of their culture. I personally believe that non of this is ethically correct and that a person's freedom should not be restricted to this standard. It is crazy how our culture and the way females are represented differ from many other foreign countries. From my prior experience in the military and from traveling in other parts of the world, it is sad to say this way of life still occurs in many parts of the world today.

Julian

Girl

After reading the story "Girl", I honestly thought she was thinking to herself. I thought she was constantly trying to remind herself of what type of person society wanted her to be. Almost like she was drilling this in her head or in other words, beating herself up about being a lady. I felt like this was a first person narration but that she was referring to herself mostly in the third person by using words such as, "you." I believe this because the setting almost seems like a negative and stressed environment and that this could lead to possible mental or emotional problems that would lead some one to think like this.

Julian

The Appointment

The theme from both the video and the story is clearly about death. The moral is somewhat unclear and can be interpreted into many things. One thought is that nobody can run away from death. Another idea is that death comes in many unexpected forms. I like the overall concept of the video because if you think about it, the story is ridiculously short like a trailer. I thought the idea of death disguised as a fortune teller was a great concept. A fortune teller telling some one's future makes sense, but a merchant telling you your future seems a little off to me. My final thought is if I were to pick a movie of my own that reminded me of this story, I would strongly recommend "Final Destination."

Julian

Welcome

Hi everyone I am Julian. I am currently taking ENG 102 as a requirement and to be honest, I am not much of a reader or writer. I hope I will learn something from this class that I can apply to the real world environment. I feel most effective in classes that I can apply to my life in some way. Hopefully the stories we read will be interesting and easy to write about.

Julian