Tragedy #6

Which characters appear to be miserable int he play and why?  When and how do the characters express their misery? What do the characters desire and what stops them from going after what each desires? 

What I noticed from the reading this night was that Bride is very miserable. Throughout the play I think mother and Bridegroom are also miserable. During the 2.1 Bride didn't want to get married and was very confused on what she wanted to do. I think her conflict with who she truly loves was getting in her way. "There are dark clouds- an ill wind inside me. Who hasn't felt that?". I think that through this quote it shows how miserable bride is to be getting married even though she is happy. I think that bride expresses most of her misery when she is around her maid, because she doesn't express her  anger around Bridegroom nor father. Lorca does this through the syntax. He changes the syntax and also the word choice in order to show her two different feelings. I think bride desires to be with Leonardo because in the end she ends up escaping with him, and this could possibly be why she doesn't really want to marry Bridegroom because she is still in love with Leonardo. I think what keeps bride from escaping with Leonardo is that they are both married and that they don't want to make themselves look bad.

Tragedy #5

Journal #5 Examine how Lorca characterize the archetypes of the play.  Does Lorca embrace or reject the archetype?  What is the effect of the characterization? 

Lorca uses the idea of old-fashioned marriage among the upper class that parents of both of the bride and groom should be in agreement if they should marry as an archetype. In Blood Wedding during these scenes the father and mother meet to come to an agreement and plan the wedding. This is an old-fashioned type of ideal that Lorca shows throughout this scene. I think Lorca rejects this archetype because in the end the couple ends up never getting married. Bride escapes with another man and they never showed that they truly loved each other. Also he would reject this idea because he was embarrassed of being part of the upper class and this is seen as an upper class tradition. The effect of this characterization is that it shows a distant relationship between all of the characters(which is also shown through the motif of distance). 

Journal #4- Blood Wedding

Choose any two symbols that emerged in this scene and discuss their significance.  While you are certainly welcome to connect that significance to the entire text, I want you to focus on the details of how they are used in these first 12 pages.  Look at the stylistic choices surrounding their use and build up to a discussion on the role they play or will play in developing theme/character/setting/tension...

Knife- I think that the knife is mainly used by the mother and when she does talk about it, she feels passionate about what she is saying. There is tension built because of what the knife brought upon their family. Also it is not just the knife but other dangerous weapons as well such as a pistol and a shotgun. The mother is very exaggerated when she talks about the knife. She also says that the wound cannot be taken back and how a small item killed a big man. It creates the theme that 

Blood- Even though blood is only mentioned once I see that it is starting to develop a theme that is bigger throughout the rest of the book. When ever his mother mentions it, she usually uses it in a family context referring to family related problems. She talks about blood in a way that can be carried and is mobile even though your blood is predetermined and you have no control over it. I believe that this symbol creates the theme of fate/destiny and how your blood is predetermined like your fate.

Tragedy #3

Journal #3: Consider which characters are at fault for the events that are unfolding and why? Is there a character without blame?  Why or why not? Is there a character who should carry more of the blame?  Do any of the characters take responsibility? 
I think Gregers is responsible for all of the events that are unfolding because he is the main instigator. When he insists on entering their home he does it willingly, because he knows that he is going to "open Hjalmar's eyes". the whole story ends when he finally accomplishes this. He has lonely conversations with each of he characters except Gina. When he has these conversations he always asks questions and plants little seeds in order to tell them the truth. Gregers has put the truth into Hjalmar's life and has ruined it doing so. Also, Gregers is the one that told Hedvig what she needs to do so Hjalmar can forgive her.
I think Hjalmar and Hedvig are the ones without the blame because they are the ones that seem to be affected with the truth coming out. Hedvig is faced with death because of the truth Gregers put upon their family. And Hjalmar loses everything that is important to him and therefore these two only face what is being put upon them by the real character that hold the blame, Gregers.
I think Gregers should carry more of the blame because he is the motivation to all of the tension that is created in the house. He also is the one that motivates Hedvig to kill the wild duck. Everything seemed bliss before Gregers came in.

Tragedy #2

How does Ibsen use the motif of decay, disease, illness, etc and to what effect?  Use at least three quotes in the defense of you claim. 
I think Ibsen uses the motif of decay, illness, and disease to show the deterioration of humanity and what we are becoming. Relling says " All right, I'll tell you, Mrs.Ekdal. He's suffering from an acute case of moralistic fever"(178). He is talking about Gregers and how he doesn't have any morals and therefore he can't find a true meaning and purpose in his life. He uses the moralistic disease to show that is lacking a quality of humanity and instead is becoming sick because of this. Hjalmar says while talking to Gregers "Gina didn't stay long here in the house; there was so much confusion- your mother's sickness and all"(125). I feel like the sickness that she had was the same perception that she passed down to Gregers which is now why he is "sick". It shows the deterioration of humanity because Gregers was given this perception that was a "sickness" that does not allow him to see his purpose in life. Also Hedvig's blindness is considered a sickness " Oh, you can well imagine, we haven't the heart to tell her. She suspects nothing. She's carefree, gay, and singing like a tiny bird, she's fluttering into life's eternal night" (148).Hedvig's sickness shows the deterioration of humanity because who she is changes because of her disadvantage and people treat her differently. Like Gregers she is giving this "disease" through a parent and it shows how their morals are being corrupted and are becoming different because of their adopted perception.

The Wild Duck #1

Option 2: Examine how characters perceive themselves or others.  Who has false conceptions of him/herself?  Who has misconceptions of others?  Who recognizes the facades created by other characters?  Does the character embrace the facade, ignore it, or confront it?
I believe that Gregers has misconceptions of himself. Mostly because he questions his purpose in life and what he has to live for. He sees Hjalmar as a man that has found his purpose in life and knows what he has to life towards. I feel that Gregers now realizes that he does not have any true purpose in life and therefore seeks to questions what he is doing with his life and turns to Hjalmar to do this. Gregers wants to have a definite purpose but instead he has many instead. He says that he wants to be a clever dog, but then at the same time he says he wants to open Hjalmar's eyes. Gregers seems to have a misconception on who he is as an individual.


I think Gina has misconceptions of others because she always seems to be hiding something and therefore interprets things in a negative way. She is trying to hide the truth from others and she thinks they're always on top of her. When in fact they meant another thing. This idea of not meaning what you meant is what Gina interprets as a person's misconception.


I think Relling does embrace Greger's facade and does recognize it. He shows this by questioning him at times and making it hard for Gregers to answer. He questions Greger's purpose in life and brings back memories that Relling has of him. He believes that Greger's facade he is putting on is that he may seem confident on the outside but is morally deteriorated and can't find his purpose in life. He acknowledges that Gregers isn't who he is and warns everyone else on his observations. 

1984 #3

Motif- Throughout 1984 there is a motif of endlessness prevalent throughout each section and is shown in many different ways. In the beginning it is shown through the opening and closing of doors, drawers, etc. Also when Orwell uses "to and fro" indicated the motif of endlessness. "There is no difference between night and day in this place. I do not see how one can calculate time."(231). In the last third of the book Orwell uses the motif of endlessness through not knowing what time it is. Through not being able to keep track of the time of day it creates a sense of endlessness. Through this motif I think Orwell is saying that once one succumbs to a totalitarian type of control and get rid of the past, there is no way of knowing because we have giving into the their version of the truth and everything is suddenly unknown and it becomes endless.

Setting- I think that the confinement of many of the places that Winston goes to reveals a theme throughout the book. Wherever Winston goes it is always in a room or in a confined setting. " A bench, or shelf, just wide enough to sit on ran around the wall, broken only by the door and, at the end opposite the door, a lavatory pan with no wooden seat. " (225). When Winston is brought to the Ministry of Love he still encounters the confinement of the room that he is forced to live in. The confinement symbolizes the extent to which the Party has over you and wants to keep you ignorant by only giving you a limited amount of space.

Language- There is a change in syntax once they convince Winston that the truth lies within the Party. " Winston shrank back upon his bed. Whatever he said, the swift answer crushed him like a bludgeon." (206). He gives up hope since they have forced him to accept their truth and not his. The syntax has changed from a lot of detailed and hopeful text to a more simple and lifeless text which gives the effect of giving up hope.

Cultural Influences- "And it was probable that people changed somewhat after twenty years in a forced-labor camp." (228). During this era the concentration camps and the purges were forced labor camps that many people had to endure and like in this book they would have "somewhat [have] changed after twenty years in a forced-labor camp.