DRJ#4

It’s hard to find a similar character or situation reminds me about anyone in this act. It’s an act including too many information. The conspiracy of Claudius; the survival of Hamlet; the death of Ophelia and the idea Claudius told Laertes that it’s Hamlet whom should be blamed for the death of Polonius, these are the climax of the play.

Laertes caught my attention in this act. He is an innocent man who is fooled by Claudius. It’s totally understandable that he wants to revenge to Hamlet for the death of Polonius. After all, Hamlet did kill his dad. And then, he receives the news of the death of his sister. Laertes is totally alone. The conflict between him and Hamlet is raised by Claudius. He fits the concept of a classical tragic hero.

I can see two big subjects in this act. One is revenge of Laertes the other is deception of Claudius. Claudius’ deception is the cause of the revenge of Laertes. So I think deception is a major one. It’s a big contrary between Claudius’ second deception of trying to kill Hamlet after he was feeling guilty about killing old Hamlet in act 3. But his deception is also the cause of the death of himself at the end.

DRJ#3

I can’t think of anyone similar to the characters in Act 3. But the situation of Ophelia is definitely familiar to every girl who ever been in a relationship. It’s funny to find a regular situation between girls and boys in a play about revenge. Ophelia loves Hamlet. But she is hurt because Hamlet suddenly changed. She’s lucky that Hamlet is only faking. In real life, we girls never understand why he changed for no reason?!

Ok, back to the play analysis. The queen is surely a major character in this act. She surely did win all the things—a new husband and her loving son. But I don’t think she planned for this, neither does the old Hamlet. The ghost showed up and told Hamlet to comfort his mother. From the talking between the queen and Hamlet, I think she did struggle for the marriage with Claudius. She is shamed of the words Hamlet said. She is just a woman who doesn’t think enough.

This act pulls out the subject of guilt. The play Hamlet arranged to test the reaction of Claudius makes Claudius feeling guilty. “Oh, my offence is rank. It smells to heaven. It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t a brother’s murder.” He is looking forward forgiveness from god. On the other hand, the queens tried to talk to her son and persuade him stop making Claudius mad. On the contrary, Hamlet makes Gertrude understand that her betrayal to old Hamlet hurts Hamlet. She is guilty too.

DRJ #2

There are two plots going in this act. One is the planning of the play that is going to show to the new king. The other one is Polonius doesn’t agree with the love between Hamlet and Ophelia. Polonius is trying to protect his child who actually wants to marry Hamlet. Like the old British style stories go, the father will agree with it eventually.

In this act, Polonius is an interesting character. He is playing as an antagonist here. But he doesn’t mean to. He doesn’t think it’s a good idea that his daughter keeps seeing the prince Hamlet. He tried to stop that and the thought what he has done triggers the anger of prince Hamlet and makes him hurt her daughter physically. So Polonius goes to see the king and ask for help. Polonius raises the conflict about the relationship of these two young people.

I can’t really find a theme in this act. But loyalty of Polonius can be one of them. He doesn’t like the prince being with his daughter. Still the planning of the play which is going to show to the new king to remind him about the murder, Polonius helps Hamlet with it. This is the loyalty to prince Hamlet and the old king Hamlet.

DRJ #1

Act 1 introduces the beginning of the story. The old Hamlet died and his brother took over his kingdom and his wife. Ophelia is in love with young Hamlet. She wants to marry him. Hamlet has to pretend he’s already gone out of the sadness of his father’s death. That is a kind of situation that every of us have been through.

I’d like to discuss the new king. Despite what evil things he has done to his brother, I am inspired by his courage and ability to control his fear. Im sure he is sacred that he would be found out. But going for what he wanted, he has held a funeral and then a marriage as he planned. Indeed, he causes the biggest conflict in the story intentionally because he is running his plan. Again, im inspired.

As the first act, showing all the interrelationships and causes of the story, there is a lot of foreshadowing, like the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia; how “sad” the Queen is about her husband’s death; the spirit told Hamlet how the old king died. The biggest topic of this act is the new king and his hypocrisy. He talked about how sad the how kingdom is for the death of the old king. And then he marry with the old queen soon. “as ‘twere with a defeated joy, with an auspicious and a dropping eye, with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole”

#2 Colette

This story is creepy. The description about the hand during the electric jolt and the reaction to the passing car is the creepiest part, thanks for the detail of the hand. But I like it because it uses a superficial description about the hand to represent the marriage of this couple.

I think Colette used symbolism in this story. He used the view of the wife to the hand to represent their marriage live.  In the story, the lady married a widowed man after three months they first met. She liked everything she saw on him. That is the purpose of marrying her husband. But after seeing the jolt and cramp she started a new look on her feelings to her husband. Instead of writing her life and feeling directly, Colette used the ways she looked at her husband as a symbolic. She married the guy for his look at first. Then after they have been through something in their lives, troubles, or arguments, she would start get tired of this marriage because there is no true love here. But I like the ending too. She kissed her husband’s hand again, despite her feeling. This is a symbolic of her deciding staying in the marriage and trying to get over the challenges in their live with her husband.

I don’t think in such a short time, she would have strong feelings (love) about her husband. In another way, part of the reasons that her husband married her may be covering his sadness of losing his ex-wife. But why did she choose to stay along her husband and start a real marriage live?

#1 Faulkner

When the story started, I thought it was like any other story I have read, however, towards the ending, after discovering what Emily has been doing all this time, it actually shocked me because I was not expecting this ending. It made me think how different every person thinks, everyone has their own mindset and it is hard to predict someone’s actions before they do something. Something very interesting popped up in the story, and that was the title “A Rose for Emily” which has nothing to do with the story. I am still trying to think what does the title has to do with the story because there is no trace of any roses in the story. This is story reminds me of episodes of “Criminal Minds” which shows all kinds of murders that we will not expect that it will happen at all. What happened in this story is something unbelievable for me.

In the story, the author tried to tell us that even a high social status and a quiet personality can show sympathy for dead people, however, before sympathy, there is murder. And the author used many elements to keep the readers interested, flashbacks, the author started from the present and then he flashed back to the past to show us the life of Emily and what she has been doing for all these years, and towards the end, the author brought us to the present to solve the mysteries that Emily has been keeping. Another element is the atmosphere, by presenting in the readying certain gothic elements like the gargoyle, dark painting, father’s statute, etc, the environment was heavy and obscure which keeps the reader in fear. And of course irony because no one was expecting, or at least I was not, that Emily will keep the dead body so well preserved and in good shape for so many years; and the strangest part is that she has been sleeping with the dead body for so many years.  The irony is that why kill someone that you like? 

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