For this blog in my British Literature class, I was given two options:
1) Read several Beatrix Potter books
2)Watch a film based on an Oscar Wilde play
Well, just like any other high-achieving, very smart student, I watched the movie. To my surprise, I actually liked it! The movie that I chose to watch was The Ideal Husband. While I watched this movie, I took some of the techniques I had learned in my high school Shakespeare class and applied them. I paid attention to the characters; What were their purposes? Comical or for the plot? I paid attention to foreshadowing: What does he mean when he says this? What does the father's role in wanting his son to get married have to do with anything? I also read the short summary of the movie that's on the back of any movie (which means I didn't really know much about it at all) before I watched it so that I could better understand what it was about. What I knew about the movie before I viewed it was that some man was about to be blackmailed.
The hardest thing about watching this movie was the fact that it's done in the old English way. This makes sense since the play was written in 1895. So, if anyone was wondering what this movie is about, then you should just watch it. It's only an hour and a half long, and - while it doesn't have very much of today's action, violence, or profanity in it - you just might surprise yourself with watching the movie.
I thought the main story of the movie was a very interesting part of the play. While this story was the main idea, there are other events that are happening. For example, Lord Goring's father and his love story. This happened to be my favorite part of the movie. I liked the character; he was charming, funny, handsome, and a typical lady's man. I also sympathized with him. His father kept placing tremendous pressure on him to get married, and when we find out that he almost did get married, (thank God he didn't get married to Lady Cheveley) the reason for the split is a good one. I could tell that this character was put into the play for comic relief. While he was part of the problem for awhile, (messing up when he thought Lady Gertrude was in the room next to him and Sir Robert instead of Lady Cheveley), you couldn't help but love him.
I guess I should probably talk about the big idea of the whole play: Sir Robert's folly. He made a stupid mistake, but he loves his wife so much and doesn't want that to change, so he never tells her what he did. I can't help but feel for this man. While it's wrong to lie to your spouse, he was only trying to protect her. He was only trying to keep up this perfect image of himself that she had in her mind. I like this idea. It's so real to today's society. We all hold certain things in our lives to a higher standard than what they are that, when we find out something bad they or it did, we can't help but feel betrayed. We only set ourselves up to be let down. We can't expect everything to be perfect or anything to be honest.
Now that you know my opinion of the movie, I hope that you can see why I think that. It's full of many different stories that intertwine to make one interesting view. Stay tuned, and next time I'll be looking at something else from the British area!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Let's Tackle Some Poetry
Kudos to each and every one of you who enjoys poetry, because I am not in your group. I'm sorry to say that, when I read poetry, about two lines into the probably beautiful piece of work, my mind suddenly starts to wander. By the end of the poem, if it's about dogs, I'll probably be thinking about what's for lunch. There's the only rare occasion when I actually understand what I'm reading, and I must say that William Wordsworth has finally caught my attention on a poem simple, yet slightly interesting.
My British Literature professor mentioned that many people don't enjoy Wordsworth's poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," because it's too "cute." While this accusation might be true to some extent, I rather enjoyed the poem. There are some things in it that make me feel connected to him in a weird way. It could possibly be because I enjoy being outside, and it reminds me of things that I love.
There are a couple of things that I want to look at in this poem with you. I may be using some of the things that my class has discussed with the poem, mixed with my opinion. Feel free to throw your opinions at me, too, if you think I'm completely wrong!
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
(Thank you http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww260.html for the poem!)
Okay, in my class, we discussed how many of the things in this poem are given human qualities (personification), while humans are given nonhuman qualities. Why does he do this? When he mentions the daffodils fluttering or dancing in the breeze, or tossing their heads in sprightly dance, what does it make you think of? Are the daffodils actually dancing, or do you imagine them being tossed back and forth in the wind? So, while we don't actually imagine the daffodils tip-toeing around a stage to a beautiful song, the words create a much more beautiful way to describe how he sees them. He also uses this method in the last lines when he mentions how his heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils. I feel a similar experience to this when I think of hiking at Devil's Lake in Baraboo, Wisconsin. When I feel down about something, I imagine myself hiking up the bluffs and seeing that breathtaking view which only personally taking on the challenge of going up them can satisfy.
I also enjoy how Wordsworth mentions how no person could be but gay when he or she is experiencing exactly what he sees. I guess that no one could ever experience that exact thing; I mean, he is a cloud when he's writing this, but you get the idea.
Finally, the thing about this poem is that it's about these wonderful daffodils.
(Thanks Google for the picture)While yes, they are beautiful, he thinks that they are the best thing that he experiences while he is this cloud. How could that be? He sees beautiful sparkling waves from the lake that they are near, he sees hills and vales, but all that he truly loves are the daffodils? What I think Wordsworth is really getting at here is that we need to find beauty in everything. Yes, the daffodils are beautiful, but if I were the cloud, I'd probably have to write about the view of everything altogether! I guess that's why I'm not the cloud, Wordsworth is, and if he is, indeed, trying to say that there is beauty in even the smallest of things, then I wish that I could say, "Got your message man!"
It's a beautiful poem; I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
My British Literature professor mentioned that many people don't enjoy Wordsworth's poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," because it's too "cute." While this accusation might be true to some extent, I rather enjoyed the poem. There are some things in it that make me feel connected to him in a weird way. It could possibly be because I enjoy being outside, and it reminds me of things that I love.
There are a couple of things that I want to look at in this poem with you. I may be using some of the things that my class has discussed with the poem, mixed with my opinion. Feel free to throw your opinions at me, too, if you think I'm completely wrong!
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
(Thank you http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww260.html for the poem!)
Okay, in my class, we discussed how many of the things in this poem are given human qualities (personification), while humans are given nonhuman qualities. Why does he do this? When he mentions the daffodils fluttering or dancing in the breeze, or tossing their heads in sprightly dance, what does it make you think of? Are the daffodils actually dancing, or do you imagine them being tossed back and forth in the wind? So, while we don't actually imagine the daffodils tip-toeing around a stage to a beautiful song, the words create a much more beautiful way to describe how he sees them. He also uses this method in the last lines when he mentions how his heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils. I feel a similar experience to this when I think of hiking at Devil's Lake in Baraboo, Wisconsin. When I feel down about something, I imagine myself hiking up the bluffs and seeing that breathtaking view which only personally taking on the challenge of going up them can satisfy.
I also enjoy how Wordsworth mentions how no person could be but gay when he or she is experiencing exactly what he sees. I guess that no one could ever experience that exact thing; I mean, he is a cloud when he's writing this, but you get the idea.
Finally, the thing about this poem is that it's about these wonderful daffodils.
It's a beautiful poem; I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Some of the Icarus Girl in my view
The first novel that I managed to read is The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi. This book got me interested right away; it was easy to understand and I highly suggest it to anyone. If you have that burning desire to open up a book, then I'd suggest for you to quickly read it NOW so that when you finish this post, it'll make sense!
Okay, there are a few passages that I want to look at because, honestly, they don't make sense in the real world! Once you read them, you'll understand where I'm coming from. Take a look at this one. The book's text is in a different color than my own thoughts. Just remember that TillyTilly has brought Jess here:
Colleen McLain's kitchen was much, much neater than Jessamy's.
...The room was filled with a light steam, which was emerging from the pot bubbling out stewy smells on the cooker. Meat, potatoes and some kind of green vegetable, maybe. It was the bubbling pot, the fact that Mrs. McLain was actually in the process of making dinner and would probably return tot the kitchen any minute, that alarmed Jess.
"We're going to get caught, TillyTilly!" she whispered. She ignored TillyTilly's snort of derision as her eyes began surveying the room for places to hide.
Both Jess and Tilly froze as the sound of a woman yelling floated in through the doorway. From upstairs?
...Jess laughed aloud, then clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. TillyTilly began pulling her towards the kitchen doorway. Jess bent her knees to make herself heavier, but it didn't work. Tilly continued to drag her, and she began to panic.
...They were tussling in the passage now. Jess managed to snatch her arm back.
...Then Mrs. McLain came down the staircase, swinging down the passageway towards the kitchen, a laundry basket filled with crumpled clothes tucked under her arm.
(oh no!)
Jess seized her friend's arm, realizing that she and TillyTilly were standing directly in Mrs. McLain's path, that they couldn't just run away without making things look worse than they were-
But Mrs. McLain wasn't looking at them.
Her eyes seemed to slide over them as if they were part of the pristine, stripy wallpaper that covered the passage walls.
How could she have missed them?
...What had just happened?
..."How come Mrs. McLain couldn't see us?"
TillyTilly looked at her without smiling or saying anything. It was a patient look, come on, Jessy, think about it.
..."We're invisible," she said hesitantly, then at TillyTilly's nod, more boldly: "We're invisible!"
"And she can't hear us, either, so I don't know why you were making such a fuss about me laughing," TillyTilly added.
(pages 100-103)
Alright, that's a bit of the story that just baffles my mind. The two are invisible? What?! Oyeyemi only confirms that this happened later in the story when Jess uses that secret against Colleen. It clearly happened. I mean, Jess knows something about Colleen that nobody else knows - except, of course, for TillyTilly - but it still doesn't make sense. This book is not about fairy tales, and while it's not based on a true story, it wouldn't surprise me if some other little girl has gone through such a strange experience herself.
Both Jess and Tilly froze as the sound of a woman yelling floated in through the doorway. From upstairs?
I rewrote this line because if Tilly knows that no one can see or hear them, why does she freeze? Maybe because she didn't expect the yell, but the line has an intensity that makes me feel the same way that Jess is surely feeling, like, Oh crap, I don't even talk to this girl and now I'm going to get caught and then she's going to call my mum, and why did I even come here? I don't like this girl! Oh man, I hope that yelling isn't for me! I guess one of the biggest parts of this passage that I like is that it really shows the mystery of TillyTilly and what's going on in Jess's mind. While I never truly understand who TillyTilly is or if she's actually real or not, this part of the novel really makes me believe that she is.
The next part I want to look at is when Shivs meets TillyTilly; it's probably the creepiest part of the whole book, if you ask me.
Jess looked at TillyTilly, who held up a finger to her to indicate that she couldn't say anything, then began walking in a wide circle around Shivs, noiselessly climbing up onto the bed and jumping down again when she had to walk behind her. I don't get why she does this. It's definitely creepy, though. The fact that all she does is walk around Shivs, but Shivs still knows she's there is just mind blowing. She was looking at Shivs carefully, unsmiling, almost grim-faced. This just shows how much TillyTilly dislikes Shivs. Jess, watching, was briefly worried that TillyTilly might break her promise and do something, but she showed no sign of any such intention.
Siobhan was struck by how cold she felt, but it was a constantly moving coldness, sometimes giving way to normal air, as if it was expanding all around her. She feared that it might tighten, and she longed to rub her arms, but didn't dare drop them in case she saw TillyTilly. She didn't want to see her at all: from the moment that Tilly had come into the room, Shivs had felt a...badness. It was the only way to describe it: it was like being sick and hearing rattling in your ears that wasn't really there; it was slow, bottomless, soundless, creeping...and it wasn't just inside her stomach, but inside her head as well, slowly building in pressure. She'd had to make sure that she wasn't imagining it, she'd needed the security of Jess's touch to ensure that she wasn't alone in the room with this...thing. This was not another girl. This was not the kind of imaginary friend that you'd mistakenly sit on. She was a cycle of glacial ice. This paragraph really just shows how bad TillyTilly is. If Shivs can feel these things without even seeing the girl, then I'm not sure I even want to know what TillyTilly really is.
...She almost shouted out, almost. But she didn't-she was tougher than that, and anyway, she realised with a breathtaking suddenness, this was not her fear to hold but Jess's. This thing meant to harm Jess, punish her in a bad way, the worst way, maybe. Siobhan was scared that Jess was going to die. She had to tell her.
(pages 204-205)
This part of the story just gets me scared. I reread this, imagining myself to be Shivs, and tried to experience exactly what she did. The description in this passage is so intense and so eerie that it got my heart racing again even while I was typing it. At this point in the book, it's still incredibly hard to say if TillyTilly is a real person or not, but her spirit is definitely there. There is something with Jess, making her experiences legitimate, not just part of the imagination. It also played a major effect on Shivs, too, because she left almost right away after "meeting" TillyTilly.
The book, as a whole, is a rather interesting read. It makes you question yourself as you read it because it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't. While I hope no person, especially anyone as young as Jess, ever has to experience anything like this, I'm sure there are many that do. This book peers into different worlds that many people don't experience or even think about, and makes us wonder what could really be out there.
Oyeyemi is a fantastic writer, and reading her writing was a wonderful experience. If you read this book because of this post, then I think I've done my good deed for the day!
Okay, there are a few passages that I want to look at because, honestly, they don't make sense in the real world! Once you read them, you'll understand where I'm coming from. Take a look at this one. The book's text is in a different color than my own thoughts. Just remember that TillyTilly has brought Jess here:
Colleen McLain's kitchen was much, much neater than Jessamy's.
...The room was filled with a light steam, which was emerging from the pot bubbling out stewy smells on the cooker. Meat, potatoes and some kind of green vegetable, maybe. It was the bubbling pot, the fact that Mrs. McLain was actually in the process of making dinner and would probably return tot the kitchen any minute, that alarmed Jess.
"We're going to get caught, TillyTilly!" she whispered. She ignored TillyTilly's snort of derision as her eyes began surveying the room for places to hide.
Both Jess and Tilly froze as the sound of a woman yelling floated in through the doorway. From upstairs?
...Jess laughed aloud, then clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. TillyTilly began pulling her towards the kitchen doorway. Jess bent her knees to make herself heavier, but it didn't work. Tilly continued to drag her, and she began to panic.
...They were tussling in the passage now. Jess managed to snatch her arm back.
...Then Mrs. McLain came down the staircase, swinging down the passageway towards the kitchen, a laundry basket filled with crumpled clothes tucked under her arm.
(oh no!)
Jess seized her friend's arm, realizing that she and TillyTilly were standing directly in Mrs. McLain's path, that they couldn't just run away without making things look worse than they were-
But Mrs. McLain wasn't looking at them.
Her eyes seemed to slide over them as if they were part of the pristine, stripy wallpaper that covered the passage walls.
How could she have missed them?
...What had just happened?
..."How come Mrs. McLain couldn't see us?"
TillyTilly looked at her without smiling or saying anything. It was a patient look, come on, Jessy, think about it.
..."We're invisible," she said hesitantly, then at TillyTilly's nod, more boldly: "We're invisible!"
"And she can't hear us, either, so I don't know why you were making such a fuss about me laughing," TillyTilly added.
(pages 100-103)
Alright, that's a bit of the story that just baffles my mind. The two are invisible? What?! Oyeyemi only confirms that this happened later in the story when Jess uses that secret against Colleen. It clearly happened. I mean, Jess knows something about Colleen that nobody else knows - except, of course, for TillyTilly - but it still doesn't make sense. This book is not about fairy tales, and while it's not based on a true story, it wouldn't surprise me if some other little girl has gone through such a strange experience herself.
Both Jess and Tilly froze as the sound of a woman yelling floated in through the doorway. From upstairs?
I rewrote this line because if Tilly knows that no one can see or hear them, why does she freeze? Maybe because she didn't expect the yell, but the line has an intensity that makes me feel the same way that Jess is surely feeling, like, Oh crap, I don't even talk to this girl and now I'm going to get caught and then she's going to call my mum, and why did I even come here? I don't like this girl! Oh man, I hope that yelling isn't for me! I guess one of the biggest parts of this passage that I like is that it really shows the mystery of TillyTilly and what's going on in Jess's mind. While I never truly understand who TillyTilly is or if she's actually real or not, this part of the novel really makes me believe that she is.
The next part I want to look at is when Shivs meets TillyTilly; it's probably the creepiest part of the whole book, if you ask me.
Jess looked at TillyTilly, who held up a finger to her to indicate that she couldn't say anything, then began walking in a wide circle around Shivs, noiselessly climbing up onto the bed and jumping down again when she had to walk behind her. I don't get why she does this. It's definitely creepy, though. The fact that all she does is walk around Shivs, but Shivs still knows she's there is just mind blowing. She was looking at Shivs carefully, unsmiling, almost grim-faced. This just shows how much TillyTilly dislikes Shivs. Jess, watching, was briefly worried that TillyTilly might break her promise and do something, but she showed no sign of any such intention.
Siobhan was struck by how cold she felt, but it was a constantly moving coldness, sometimes giving way to normal air, as if it was expanding all around her. She feared that it might tighten, and she longed to rub her arms, but didn't dare drop them in case she saw TillyTilly. She didn't want to see her at all: from the moment that Tilly had come into the room, Shivs had felt a...badness. It was the only way to describe it: it was like being sick and hearing rattling in your ears that wasn't really there; it was slow, bottomless, soundless, creeping...and it wasn't just inside her stomach, but inside her head as well, slowly building in pressure. She'd had to make sure that she wasn't imagining it, she'd needed the security of Jess's touch to ensure that she wasn't alone in the room with this...thing. This was not another girl. This was not the kind of imaginary friend that you'd mistakenly sit on. She was a cycle of glacial ice. This paragraph really just shows how bad TillyTilly is. If Shivs can feel these things without even seeing the girl, then I'm not sure I even want to know what TillyTilly really is.
...She almost shouted out, almost. But she didn't-she was tougher than that, and anyway, she realised with a breathtaking suddenness, this was not her fear to hold but Jess's. This thing meant to harm Jess, punish her in a bad way, the worst way, maybe. Siobhan was scared that Jess was going to die. She had to tell her.
(pages 204-205)
This part of the story just gets me scared. I reread this, imagining myself to be Shivs, and tried to experience exactly what she did. The description in this passage is so intense and so eerie that it got my heart racing again even while I was typing it. At this point in the book, it's still incredibly hard to say if TillyTilly is a real person or not, but her spirit is definitely there. There is something with Jess, making her experiences legitimate, not just part of the imagination. It also played a major effect on Shivs, too, because she left almost right away after "meeting" TillyTilly.
The book, as a whole, is a rather interesting read. It makes you question yourself as you read it because it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't. While I hope no person, especially anyone as young as Jess, ever has to experience anything like this, I'm sure there are many that do. This book peers into different worlds that many people don't experience or even think about, and makes us wonder what could really be out there.
Oyeyemi is a fantastic writer, and reading her writing was a wonderful experience. If you read this book because of this post, then I think I've done my good deed for the day!
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