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?