DRJ #1: Hamlet, Act I

When reading the first act of hamlet it brings back old feelings. Like when I read it in high school and had no idea what I was reading or the book talking about.  As for any connection with the character, it just isn’t there. It probably has to do with the language and the odd ways of “old theater”. The character that stands out the most in this scene is the ghost. It would be a character that is remembered in any play simply for the concept of itself. As we learn the ghost in shape resembles the dead king. As the guards see him they are terrified and curious at the same time. The ghost is a protagonist in this scene and draws all attention. This character does fit the description of the classic tragic hero. The ghost represents the tragedy that holds this whole play. The theme of the act is to create a wondering for the purpose of the ghost. Is the ghost evil, and does it come with vengeance? “For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, Speak of it: stay, and speak! Stop it Marcellus” (138/39). All that is known is that it keeps coming every night for an unknown reason. They ghost will not speak to the guards or respond to them in any way. It is Ironic that Horatio would ask the ghost to speak of death even before he knew what the ghost wanted. As it turns out the ghost was there for the very reason. Why do you think Marcellus and Horatio both think the ghost will talk to Hamlet even though he would not talk to them?

Extra Credit Hemingway #11

When I turned eighteen I moved away from my family to go to college out of state. It was the first time I started living on my own and away from home. It was an exciting time for me, having my own car, job, apartment and being self-sufficient. The experience was great I learned a lot about life and started seeing it in a new light. After two years I flew back to visit my family and the house I grew up in. To my shock everything was different. Not just the fact that my old room looked smaller but the people I knew and grew up with changed. My family was the exception, they all stayed the same, I think it was because we emailed a lot and talked on the phone. My friends however were all different, with different personalities. Weather it was from growing up or being away from them for so long, or maybe a combination of the two. Reading Hemingway’s story made me reflect on my own personal experience and understand how Krebs was feeling. The longer the separation the more people change. It’s bound to happen, what is unfortunate is the fact that Krebs was away for a very important reason, to protect the ones he knew and cared for. When I consider how he must have felt when those same people he was fighting for neglected him or worse despised him for the very thing laid his life on the line. It generates anger in me knowing there are people like that. Hemingway does a great job of arousing those feelings and even if someone had no experienced isolation the story would still create a similar effect.

Walker Extra credit

If there’s anybody here that knows a reason why: On this hot day with no shade I stand here in Mississippi. Have I gone totally insane, what force compelled me to get married here on this front porch on this dusty highway 61. On these forsaken grounds with dogs barking and debris whirling around my head every which way, how much more can I take? Standing here makes me wonder what was I doing out here in the first place. Should I run or should I stay?

SSRJ #3 I am the grass... by D. Walker

This time I picked the story by D. Walker for several reasons. First I thought that the introduction of the story was written to capture the reader’s attention, and it did. The mood of the story lasted throughout the entire plot. I never really knew what was going to happen next. I was sort of relieved when nothing catastrophic happened. I kept on thinking that the narrator would have a flashback to the war and do something crazy. That was not the case in the end, quite the opposite actually. He felt regret for his actions and tried to the best of his ability to help a “former enemy”. The story gathered momentum nicely and had a good flow. The couple of things that really stood out to me were the flashbacks and the use of the grass as a symbol. When I was reading the title and then the story I was confused on how "grass" has anything to do with the story. As i read on "grass" became a symbol for “healing” and “cover-up” of the past. The flashbacks gave the story a purpose by showing the narrators inner feelings. By knowing his background we can see how difficult it would be to revisit the places which haunted his thoughts after he came back from the war. “After I was discharged from the Army, I went home to Chicago and hung around there for a couple of years, haunted by memories and nameless faces” (326). The part about the grass I did not fully understand until the very end when I finished the whole story and read the full poem by Carl Sandburg. Then all of a sudden everything tied in and made a final point. Even though the story ends with the Dinh’s hopes being shattered and his concept of life revolving in circles does not favor the outcome of the surgery. Even though the narrator was not personally involved in Dinh’s torture, he could not help but feel as though his wrong doings were somehow connected to this man’s troubles. “Because it is my nature, the fate of Dinh’s transplanted toe takes on a monumental importance”(336). Personally I had wished the story would end on a happy note with the thumb transplant working out well for Dinh. I was expecting that the whole time, since after all there has to be something good that comes out of the story. How different would the story be if the transplant took and the operation was a huge success? Would that change the way the narrator felt about his past or would it not have an impact one way or the other?

SSRJ #2 Soldier's Home

This short story me feel as though I know this person and drew compassion form the reader. All of the emotions of the main character are clearly portrayed. The city and house where he lives play a big part of how the reader connects with the story. As I was reading the story I started to sympathize the solder who has served hard only to come back home with not so much as a thank you or the deserved welcome. This was the one thing that stood out to me as the most impotent part of the story, since as a result it caused Krebs to lie about the war just to get some attention. It reminds me of my friend who served in Iraq as a marine. The same sort of thing happened to him. When he first came back from the war he did not want to talk about it and what happened there. The people, for which he jeopardized his health and life for did not respect him and his dedication for this country. He was very frustrated with the ignorant people running their mouth about things that they had no idea about. I think that is partly why I liked this story. Hemingway used atmosphere throughout the story to draw on emotions of the reader. Both the town and family settings are used for this purpose. We can tell it is a smaller town since Krebs would "walk down town to the library to get a book, eat lunch at home, reading on the front porch until he became bored"(186) and then again walk into town to play pool. The smaller town should theoretically treat its citizens better then a huge city, but that is not the case in the story. Hemingway purposely makes it so to gain sympathy for the returned solder. We can tell that he has a close family because "He was still a hero to his young sisters"(186) and his mother would make him breakfast and serve it to him in bed if he wanted it there. If the family was not close then their interactions with would be lacking the care for each other. Reading the story and feeling sorry for the solder who is unwelcome back to his own town you respect the fact that at least his family is close and caring to him. We can see this in the story when Krebs mother talked to him about his depressed condition "your father is worried too"(189) and "you know we love you"(189). The very end of the story when he said that he does not love anyone causing his mother to cry also drew on the emotions of the reader.

SSRJ #1 The story of an hour by Kate Chopin

This short story caught me completely off guard and made the story that much more interesting. It started out a little mundane to my taste and not the type of story that I would read in my leisure time. The main character, a woman with a heart condition, is just something that is not on my reading list. As the story went on and it seemed like everything was fitting into place. Mrs. Mallard was starting to handle the news and calm herself then the reader is shocked with the huge twist which makes the whole story exiting and surprising. There is nothing in my life that relates directly to the story and I hope there never is. The ending of the story reminded me of “Romeo and Juliet”. Both stories leave the reader wanting to change the outcome and somehow help the characters. Kate Chopin used irony in this particular story. She began with the image of Mrs. Mallard wanting peace and looking at the clouds and the outdoors for comfort and “freedom”. “There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and screamed to reach into her soul. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life”(15). As she sat there all she longed for was freedom and peace. Sitting by the window she was “drinking in a very elixir of life”(16) and regaining the strength to live on through the days alone. The conclusion was where the author uses irony to tie in the rest of the story. As Mrs. Mallard’s assumed to be dead husband walks through the door she is overtaken with tremendous joy which causes her heart to give out and she dies. “It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. But Richards was too late. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills”(16). Kate portrayed the character as wanting to be free of the pain and strong enough to continue living the rest of her life alone. As soon as Mrs. Mallard accepted that decision she ended up dying because of it. The only thing that really stood out to me as not entirely believable was the fact that Mrs. Mallard’s grieving time was so short. “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come”(16). It seems too soon to be looking past the burial ceremony and onto the rest of her life. Does anyone else think the same way?

Introduction

Hi, I'm taking this class to free up the little free time I have to spend with my family. This class will serve the requirements needed in order to for me to transfer to CSUS with an AA in Business Management and continue the rest of my education there. This is the first online class I've ever taken so I'm really looking forward to see how it turns out for me.