DRJ #2: Hamlet, Act 2

DRJ # 2 Hamlet, Act 2

                Reading Act 2 wasn’t as interesting as the first Act. The beginning of Act 2 caught my attention until the actors came. I thought there would be more action with Polonius and Hamlet. I thought for sure Polonius was going to mention his daughter’s name while he was having a conversation with Hamlet.  I feel Polonius not wanting to have any confrontation with Hamlet quite yet. This is familiar to my character. When something is bothering me to the point I’m really irritated, I see that it’s hard for me to come out and say what I really want to say. I beat around the bush. It annoys me so Polonius character annoys me as well. 

                Polonius demeanor is like a child who wants to tell on other students or even worse, a parent who is overbearing and thinks their child deserves better than the other kids in the class. He believes he knows the reason why Hamlet has been acting “crazy.” All because Ophelia followed her father’s ordered and ignored Hamlet.  I believe Polonius is causing conflict to make his family look impressive to the King and Queen. He even put his life on the line if he were wrong about the assumption of Hamlet’s negative behavior.

Not only did Polonius mention his daughter was the cause of the conflict but Hamlet, Rosencrantz , Guildenstern and the first player all mentioned a whore in Act 2. Even the actors that came, I felt their play was derogatory towards women.  Then in the end when Hamlet was speaking to himself he says “Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words, and fall a-cursing, like a drab, a stallion” (1629) Drab and stallion mean whore. So “women” was used as a figure of speech multiple of times throughout the act.

DRJ#1 Hamlet, Act1

DRJ #1 Hamlet, Act 1

                After reading Hamlet Act 1 the play started to remind of the move Sixth Sense. I know that maybe sound awkward but the concept of Hamlet, Horatio, Bernardo and Marcellus seeing and talking to a spirit reminds me of the boy in the movie talking to the dead people. Either because the dead people wanted closure or in one case the girl’s mother killed the daughter by poisoning her and the girl spirit wanted the boy to tell the father what really happened by showing him a video. So it’s neat to see the same scenario in today’s films.

One character that stood out to me besides Hamlet was Laertes. He was a bright kid who loved his sister dearly and was true to France. As he was boarding the ship, he was making sure his sister would write him and lecturing her on young love. He was doing what older brothers would do and that is to protect them from any man. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind and what lies on his heart.  I’m not sure what his part is in the play but eager to find out.

I believe Act 1 was about loyalty.  It expressed Laertes finishing his duty at Denmark so he could return home. Towards the ending of the act Hamlet made an oath to his father’s spirit to take revenge on the old King’s death. That requires loyalty. Also, Horatio swears that he may never tell a soul about seeing the spirit of Hamlet’s father.  The main dialogue between the King and Hamlet had to do with the extension of mourning from Hamlet which raises the conflict.  Hamlet is still in mourning and Claudius is saying it’s due to “of impious stubbornness, ‘tis unmanly grief;” (1597).

Walker: Extra Credit

He does not know if he loves her, although he believes that he does. He found her as a prisoner and was able to release her from her past.  She sees him as the savior or at least she must, she has found a good man and he intends to show her his love and take care for her children. He is unhappy with the quickness in which she wanted to proceed, he wanted to court her and show her his need. She is rushing into this bond that they will share, and fear is what he has now that they have come near. He knows she is uncertain. He does not fit in this world of hers but no matter, as he intends to take her to his. Over time she will love him and see him for him. Their lives will be happy, full of joy, this he can promise on this sacred of days.

SSRJ #4: Carver

SSRJ #4: Carver

            When I was reading “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver, the one thing that was going through my head was the sadness of family problems. Then I thought more about the title and realized how perfect it was for this story. Every relationship and marriages have issues. Which would be consider popular and the issues are the mechanics. That’s how I was looking at it. The conflict here was emotional and intense. Even though we didn’t know the depths and the reason for the argument but it ended in a tragedy.

            The conflict between the couple did set the tone. It begun right when the women snatched the baby’s picture and took the man only minutes to realize he wasn’t leaving without the child. I believe this is where the tone was picking up. He headed down stairs and that’s when all chaos breaks loose. Carver didn’t need to explain much for us to feel the tension. Even though we didn’t know names or much about the setting it was enough for the reader to understand the pain of each parent. What was hard for me to grasp was the pain they were putting their baby through. I’m not a mother but I can’t imagine losing my baby because I caused the death. I’m not sure how I would have handled this conflict. How do you think you have managed this issue?

Hemingway: Extra Credit

Coming home at the end of the war was tough for Kerbs. He came home late, after all the heroes welcomes, and he was shunned. He felt he had served his country and no one seemed to care about his sacrifices. This would be a very difficult way to return to your life. You have faced great fears, uncertainty and death and even the people closest to you don’t seem to understand.  

I have been in a situation where I left Texas in the middle of my senior year to come to California and when I returned back home things have changed. My friends have all moved away for college. All my family was back in California. When I was reading I was feeling Kerbs emptiness. By remembering this experience I can understand a little better why Kerbs was acting the way he was. I had nowhere to turn to. I felt I had to start all over. Krebs felt like no one cared and that was the way I felt. I was lost. What I had to remember and what Kerbs could have learned was that I had a loving family no matter how I felt and where I was. I could see this issue still coming up with present day soldiers. Even though times are different now and we welcome our soldier’s home, I am sure there are still some situations like this. It is unfortunate to think about anyone being treated this way by the very citizens they were trying to protect. This would be where my sister could relate exactly to Kerbs. She has a story very similar.

SSRJ #3: Colette

SSRJ #3: Colette

When I first started to read this story I thought to myself, “I could use a romantic story right now”. Then the more I read I realized that this story wasn’t as romantic as I was hoping. After the first couple paragraphs, I felt I was thrown a curve ball. I was a little uncomfortable but more so disturbed. I started to literally picture a monstrous hand with claws and covered with ware wolf hair. I know that is exaggerating some but that was the picture I imagined. I think she was making a big deal about “the hand” which had me thinking irrational thoughts her husband’s hand.

I believe Colette was trying to make a point to tell us, we may not know people as well as we think. There is always another side of us that we hide. Maybe not intentionally but we do. I believe this is true. You would be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t. In this case the hand is the symbol. It’s the main object. It is used to describe a different side of her husband. Something that she has never noticed or has never paid close attention. There are probably reasons why his hand acted in an animal like way and put fear in the wife. My thought was, he could have been dreaming or it had something to do with his previous wife. But the neat part was even though she has never witness “the hand” she overcame her fears of it and kissed it. Do you believe the hand represented another side of him she never knew about?

SSRJ #2 Oates

 SSRJ #2: Oates

            Reading “Three Girls” made me feel like a teenager again. I thought about the time my sister and I were at this restaurant we thought we saw George Strait. But, it wasn’t. We had gotten all excited. I do have a recent experience that is similar to the story.  Long story short, this summer I was coaching AAU basketball and we had a tournament in L.A. Well, after one of our games we were outside having a team meeting and some of the girls thought they saw Dwight Howard. If you don’t know who that is, he plays for the NBA. After we went looking around, we found out it was him. We were the only one who knew and were able to take pictures with him. It was a cool experience.  I think the narrator writing in first-person made me feel as if I was there with her.

            The story being told in first-person helps draw attention to the reader and paint that picture. You’re able to see the plot clearer. To me I felt I was sitting in the same book store the girls were at. I think Oates wanted us to feel the suspense of following Marilyn Monroe. Wondering if we were ever going to be seen by her or catch a glimpse of what she was looking for. Did you ever feel you were part of the story? I sure did. I believe Oates did a wonderful job by making the reader understand the night life of New York and what part they were at. She explained the plot well. If I were to walk by the Strand Bookstore I would probably recognize it. I can’t really give an interpretation of the last sentence. What did u think it meant?