The Modern Day Faustus

Good Evening AP Friends-

This week's blog assignment requires you to consider how a certain archetype can weave its way into modern day. As you can see from your readings, our friend Doctor Faustus is a true Renaissance man, trading away his soul for knowledge, knowledge and more knowledge (and some crazy fun too).

As we discussed, this legend has taken many forms throughout history, and the story of people selling their soul for personal gain has been translated many times.

For this blog assignment, consider how this tale might be updated for today's world. Who would Faustus be? Would he still be a doctor of divinity, law and medicine? Would "he" still be a "he" or might "he" be a "she"? For what would he/she trade his soul? As you read in this past assignment, Marlowe's Mephistopheles appears to Faustus as a Monk in order to reflect the preoccupation with religion and its impurities of the day. In what form might Mephistopheles appear today? Why would he appear this way?

As you answer this question, consider how your new and improved Faustus will reflect the desires, interests, and deepest wishes of our current society.

Also: Please check your work for spelling and grammar before you post to avoid being laughed at by other readers.

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

“But the world itself, that which exists around us and inside us, is never unilateral. Never is a man or a deed wholly samsara or wholly nirvana, never is a person entirely saintly or entire sinful… And if time is not real, then the span that seems to lie between world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between evil and good, also is an illusion.” (pg. 112)

This quote is a very essential part of the book because it focuses on the main idea of the book: Enlightenment. The books message is basically that if you let go of all the suffering in the world, you are able to achieve Nirvana. Siddhartha, the protagonist in the book, goes out on a journey to achieve Nirvana. When Siddhartha’s childhood friend, Govinda came to visit him, he asked Siddhartha several questions. He no longer understood how a person could possible obtain Enlightenment. He questions whether a person would ever be able to let go of all of the suffering in the world. Govinda had failed to reach Nirvana after several years of hard meditation and sacrifice. Siddhartha explained to Govinda that life cannot be completely perfect, it is impossible to become free of the illusion.

I chose this particular passage from the book because I felt I related to this message. From my interpretation of the quote, Siddhartha tries to tell Govinda that people aren’t always innocent and they’re not always bad as well. From my point of view, its saying that you can’t lose your faith in people due to the way other acts. Siddhartha also mentions that certain things take time just as there is “between world and eternity.” Everything has its time and place and if it didn’t then everything existing would all be an illusion. The quote also informs the reader to keep a sense of alert of the people around you because a person that you think you know and trust well may not be that kind of person at all. I also think this passage also refers to the Ying-Yang symbol which represents that good and evil go hand-in-hand. Like the Ying-Yang symbol, no person on Earth is “entirely saintly or entire sinful.”

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged- Eugene's Response

"He saw an evening when he sat slumped across his desk in the office. It was late and his staff had left; so he could lie there alone., unwitnessed. He was tired. It was as if he had run a race against his own body, and all the exhaustion of years, which he had refused to acknowledge, had caught him at once and flattened him against the desk top. He felt nothing, except the desire not to move. He did not have the strength to feel, not even to suffer. He had burned everything there was to burn within him; he had scattered so many sparks to start so many things, and he wondered whether someone could give him now the spark he needed, now when he felt unable ever to rise again. He asked himself who had started him and kept him going. Then he raised his head. Slowly, with the greatest effort of his life, he made his body rise until he was able to sit upright with only one hand pressed to the desk and a trembling arm to support him. He never asked that question again."-Rand 36

This single passage contributes greatly to the message of the book as well as the development of the character of Hank Rearden. Those of you who are familiar with Rand's works of literature are most likely knowledgeable of her philosophy of objectivism. For those of you who are not, it is based on the principle that beings exist in contact with reality by perceiving it, and proper morals include the persuing of ones individual joy and not living off others. An objectivist view: "If something I do contributes to your well being, so be it. But I do not do it for your benefit. I do it for mine and mine alone." This particular passage is centered mainly around the issue of an individual acting alone in order to perform an act. In this case it is Rearden's act of lifting himself off a desk, and furthermore, acting as an individual to exist. Rand describes Rearden's exhaustion as being the result of years of ignored fatigue. She goes on to say Rearden wonders if anyone else could give him the impetus to sit up and revitalize himself. At this, Rearden gathers all his strength and picks himself up from the table. This act of overcoming a moment of extreme weakness marks a change in Rearden's past that has greatly affected his character in the present. He acted alone in order overcome this moment and further asserted himself as an individual: one who does not need the help of another to help one continue. We see in the last line of this passage that he decided at that moment, to move on from that question and never pose it to himself again. He answered it, and never needed to think of it again as a moment of weakness.

I think this passage greatly contributes to the work as a whole. It's assertion of the importance of an individual spirit is extremely important to the message of the novel as a whole. Beyond that, it is a passage that is beautifully descriptive of Hank Rearden. The imagery used in the passage "he had scattered so many sparks to start so many things" is beautiful. The author's choice of diction is also interesting. Her choice of the word "spark" to describe Rearden's various acts instead of the more popular "scattering of seeds." "Spark" was probably used to reference the millions of sparks at Rearden's metal plants. As stated before, it also gives the reader a brief insight into Rearden's past, which allows one to see how he became who he is in the present.

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

"...Niendo thought that, by giving presents of much food, he would induce the strangers to pass on without harming us. And so it proved...soon after the sun rose over the hill, a large band of soldiers came into the village, and we all went into the houses and sat down. We were not long seated when the soldiers came rushing in shouting, and threatening Niendo with their guns. They rushed into the houses and dragged the people out. Three or four came to our house and caught hold of me, also my husband were tied together with cords about our necks, so that we could not escape. We were all crying, for now we knew that we were to be taken away to be slaves. The soldiers beat us with the iron sticks from their guns, and compelled us to march to the camp of Kibalanga, who ordered the women to be tied up separately, then to each cord, and the men in the same way. When we were all collected--the soldiers brought baskets of food for us to carry , in some of which was smoked human flesh..." (pg. 133)

The story described in the quote is that of an African woman named Ilanga. The importance of this quote is not only the content but also the rarity of it. During the Belgian colonization of the Congo many Africans went through the same atrocities as Ilanga did. Most of the accounts of this era are from European soldiers that administered the tortures. Because of this many of the stories are biased by either downplaying the acts violence or by not even mentioning them. Illanga shows us a first hand depiction of the brutalities. She, like many Africans, was living peacefully in her village but was taken hostage to be used as a slave. As a slave she would have to do an assortment of both laborious and shameful jobs such as working the fields or as mistresses to their white owners. The men would have to become soldiers or carriers, which were people who would have to carry about 60 pounds worth of tools or resources. Many of the slaves would die of beatings or of exhaustion. There would be other horrific stories like a captain decorating his house with the heads of Africans of the beating of all the kids in a town because two of them laughed in the presence of a white man. This passage is essential in the book. The author is successfully attempts to shed light on the holocaust that has occurred in the Congo. This history of the Congo is not known to many. Many consider King Leopold as one of the world's greatest humanitarians but Hochschild strongly shows the reality of the circumstances.

Personally, the passage is extremely powerful. As a reader one cannot help but feel bad for Ilanga. She is an innocent victim to the merciless greed of King Leopold. To King Leopold, and his subjects in the Congo, the life of an African was literally worthless. I compare this account to those of victims during the holocaust. Although, King Leopold did not want to eliminate every African in the world, the end result was the same: the extermination of a huge amount of the population. The passage shows us exactly how horrifying the colonization of the Congo was.

The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

"Running is many things to me: survival, calmness, euphoria, solitude. It is proof of my corporeal existence, my ability to control my movement through space if not time, and the obedience, however temporary, of my body to my will." -Henry DeTamble
-The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Page 154)

This quotation is essential to the novel because the protagonist, Henry DeTamble, a time traveler, is always running: running from himself, running to save himself, and most often running to the love of his life, Clare. By reading this thought, we enter Henry's mind and are able to understand the importance that running holds for him. Henry's need, as well as his love of running, is what keeps him alive. Henry's ability to time travel is more of a curse than a gift; the only promise it has given him was meeting Clare Abshire. Since he is unable to control when he time travels, where he goes, and for how long, he must quickly adjust to any situation. Henry can only bring himself when he time travels; therefore he appears in a different time and place, naked and vulnerable. Running is the basis of his survival; he needs to run in order to remain alive. When he instantaneously appears somewhere in his past or future, he depends on his ability to run.

I chose this passage because I can relate to his profound need to run. To me, running is my survival, calmness, euphoria, and solitude as well. Running keeps me sane when things are unsettling, and stressful. It's an escape for me to let go of my anger, sadness, and frustrations. When I get anxious, running is a way for me to be me without words; no explanations are needed while running. I can express my feelings with each movement against the ground. Even when I am in a good mood, running helps to bring those feelings to the surface. When I run, I feel a sense of promise and productiveness. As my pace quickens, everything else around me slows down, I am the one leading, I am the one in control at that very moment. For the time that I am running, I am in command of myself and the world around me; there are no surprises, just me, and the ground beneath my feet. With each stride, I change a part of myself: physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Running keeps me in shape and my body healthy; mentally I am able to be alone with my thoughts, I can reflect on feelings without interference. Running has taken a spiritual form for me as well. I have depended on running to help me find answers, answers to questions involving the world around me, and answers to questions involving myself. Although I sometimes feel as though I'm running to escape my life, and everything uneasy around me, I'm actually running towards the person I'm becoming, just as Henry was always running to the person that he loved.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

"BIFF: No! Nobody’s hanging himself, Willy! I ran down eleven flights with a pen in my hand today. And suddenly I stopped, you hear me? And in the middle of that office building, do you hear this? I stopped in the middle of that building and I saw – the sky. I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and time to sit and smoke. And I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! Why can’t I say that Willy?

WILLY: The door of your life is wide open!

BIFF: Pop! I’m a dime a dozen and so are you!" - Page 132, Act 2, Death of a Salesman (Miller)

This piece of conversation between Biff and Willy seems very much like the turning point of the book to me.  It is fair to say that Willy Loman has been chasing the American Dream his whole life and he himself tries to be a typically "well-liked" personality to achieve that. It is also fair to say that Willy has failed to achieve his goal but he has been in denial about it throughout the whole play. Even though he does not admit his failures, he desperately wants his sons, especially Biff, to succeed in life and fulfill his personal dream. However, that did not come true for him either as his sons are nothing spectcular but only mediocre. Biff especially has failed miserably in the business world as he has been making money through plantation and farming. Willy could not accept that fact either as he keeps on encouraging himself wrongly that Biff would eventually succeed and achieve the American Dream. Basically he has been out of touch with reality the whole play. Approaching the end of the play, Willy and Biff have an argument and the conversation above is part of it. This piece of the play is ever so important because it brought Willy right back down to earth and back in touch with reality. It was made clear that he has achieved nothing in his life and contrary to his hope neither has BIff and nor will he ever. In a way, the argument also freed Biff from his father's unrealistic hopes because he has been tied down by the targets his father set out for him to achieve. Dramatic turning points like this often lead to even more striking conclusions and in this case it certainly did. 

I picked this part of the play because it stands out. The rage, anger, fury and drama are all at its highest point by this stage- even higher than the scene when BIff caught Willy with the Woman in boston. The author's use of language is fitting to the scene- such as biff calling his father by the name. Biff's tone is almost of desperation begging Willy to let him free. This definitely is the high point of the book because all the actions, daydreamings, mutterings, and conversations prior to the argument have lead the play there- to the fight. After the fight, it was all downhill and left with very little to be exited about. The argument does get me thinking because Willy never seemed to recover from his denial process even though Willy could not have made his feelings clear in a more foreward manner. What got me thinking is the reason behind Willy's suicide. Did he crash the car because of all the emotion that Biff expressed such as crying that made Willy feel the love. Or is it a way to plead for forgiveness to his son who was the only one to find out about his affair? Or is he still in denial thinking that Biff can invest the insurance money in business and succeed?

Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
“Lord, let us feel pity for Private Jenkins, and sorrow for ourselves, and all the angel warriors that fall. Let us fear death, but let it not live within us. Protect us, O Lord, and be merciful unto us. Amen.”
This passage is a quote said by Lieutenant Carroll. A little background to the situation, in the novel the first person just died, Jenkins, even though the war has gone on for a while, it was the first death, of a friend, acquaintance, and a warrior that the narrators has witnessed. This is the quote that gave this book an emotional side. It provided the feelings that everyone there is there together. It fit well into this novel because there was a background theme of racism and how it disappears on the battle fields. An example would be the setting, a time were there were strong feelings of racism, especially shown later when an experienced lieutenant took control of the squad and decided to rearrange the way that they designed the way in which they patrol, so that the two black people were more exposed. No matter how angry they were, they were still willing to sacrifice there lives on the battle field for each other putting aside previous aggression and racism. This is significant in the novel because it shows the bond they share in the battle field.
This quote stood out to me because the soldier that died was considered angel warriors, not just angels, and not just warriors, but angel warriors. That means that they had a spiritual bond as gods children and they were battling for survival. If I was called an angel, I would love that, if I was called a warrior, I would love that, however, if I was called an angel warrior it would mean that I did something, that I did my job here in this world and died as a hero. The diction of this book is picked carefully, like how they pray, the way they are set up on patrol, shows feelings that cannot be expressed by simple narration. Walter Dean Myers chooses his words carefully to convey the message of war and personal struggles, and the fact is that this quote by Lieutenant Carroll expresses the message that it does not matter who you are out there, you are an angel warrior once you arrive here on the battle field. This passage probably was the most important piece in this book because it showed the unity of everyone on the battle field. Moreover, it was the passage that stood out to me because of its diction and connotation.

No Exit – Sartre’s mockery of hell

“Open the door! Open, blast you! I’ll endure anything, your red-hot tongs and molten lead, your racks and prongs and garrotes- all your fiendish gadgets, everything that burns and flays and tears- I’ll put up with any torture you impose. Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough. [He grips the doorknob and rattles it.] Now will you open? [The door flies open with a jerk, and he just avoids falling.] Ah! [A long silence.]”

Jean-Paul Sartre accommodates his characters in his work to illustrate his philosophy of “bad faith” and perdition. No Exit is a play that depicts an absurd and ironic representation of hell, by fitting three alike characters in a same room to make each other’s existence, literally, “a living hell”. This passage thought, has an important meaning to both, the theme of the story and Sartre’s philosophy. It resembles the idea of condemnation and how one of the characters has finally realized how hell has been set up for him and chooses to receive physical punishment instead, as to keep participating in the “psychological war” going on in the room – the idea of surrender; in other words having bad faith. Self-judgment plays an important role in this story as main topic as well, having a major impact among all three of the characters, principally on the one stating the quote, Garcin. He is unable to decide for himself whether or not he is a coward and bases his beliefs on the other characters’ judgment rather than listening to his own; being this the reason that he decides to escape the room to avoid listening to them. In the end, they come to conclude that hell is “other people”.

The play as a whole is intriguing and comical, giving an exceptional definition of hell that no reader would imagine. But this passage specifically, is shocking for the audience since it shows an ironical scene and ridicules the male figure. Garcin is the only male of the room and, as depicted in Sartre’s time, expected to be the more robust. However, towards the end of the play he shows to be the weakest and least valiant to accept his fate. He is the first one to drop his dignity and relinquish. Furthermore, the passage sets the theme and portrays the lack of self-judgment most of humanity lacks, guiding themselves for the voices of the surroundings. Garcin gets to admit that mental punishment is the real hell and the best way of redemption.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

JIM: “No Laura I can’t (he rises from the sofa.) As I was just explaining, I’ve – got strings on me. Laura I’ve- been going steady! I go out all the time with a girl named Betty. She’s a home-girl like you, and catholic, and Irish, and in a great many ways we- get along fine. I met her last summer on a moonlight boat trip up the river to Alton, on the Majestic. Well- right away from the start it was love! Being in love has made a new man of me! The power of love is really pretty tremendous! Love is something that- changes the whole world, Laura! It happened that Betty’s aunt took sick, she got a wire and had to go to Centrailia. So Tom- when he asked me to dinner- I naturally just accepted the invitation, not knowing that you- that he- that I- (he stops awkwardly) huh- I’m a stumblejohn!” (page 88-89)

I chose this passage from the novel, The Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams. This was a pivotal scene in the novel because it ruined Amanda’s and Tom’s hopes for Laura. Amanda (Tom’s and Laura’s mother) wants the best for her children. She hoped to get Laura married and requested Tom to bring a gentleman for Laura to dinner. Amanda always boasts about the 17 gentleman callers she had when she was Laura’s age and how she met their father. Their father later left them to travel the world. Tom agreed to bring Jim, a guy who works with him in the factory. Laura had known Jim from high school (he was the boy she had a crush on). Everything was going smoothly. Jim and Laura talked for a while and danced. While waltzing, Jim broke Laura’s favorite glass piece (a unicorn) from her glass collection, which she loved very much. Towards the end of their conversation, Jim kisses Laura. Afterwards, Jim mentions that he is in a hurry and has to go meet his fiancée, Betty (quote above). When I read this, the only thing going through my head was….. “noooo, why?!” I thought, “why would he kiss her and provoke her into liking him if he was already engaged?” Laura said nothing. She gave Jim the unicorn that he broke (which became a horse after the horn broke off) in order for Jim to remember her. Amanda went through all that trouble cleaning the house, cooking, and dressing up Laura and nothing worked out. This scene is imperative because it contributed to the tragedy of the play. Laura, who is crippled had finally been set up with a gentleman, and it turned out that he had a fiancée.

Medea- Euripides

"Do you think I would have groveled like that before the king if I did not have a plan? No. I would have said nothing. I would not have touched him. But he-oh what a fool-he has given me a day. A day! If he had banished me now, right now, he would have thwarted all my plans. So. Now. This day will see the death of all my enemies. Death to the king, his daughter, and my husband...There is only one thing i am afraid of: being caught as i enter the house or while setting the fire. They'd kill me on the spot and my enemies would have the last laugh..." - Medea
-Medea by Euripides (22-23)

This part of the passage is when Creon, King of Corinth tried to banish or exile Medea from the city because of fear. He was afraid that she would basically do some sort of black magic to get back at Jason. Jason was Medea's husband, however; he divorced her to marry the princess of Corinth; Glauce. The whole royal family is afraid Medea may do something to harm the family, so they believe it is in their best interest to send her away. Although they try to send her away on the very exact day, Medea pleads for an extra day to find a place to stay and a safe area for her two sons. Which is a lie to get this extra day. The King does not believe she can do any harm with one day, so he grants her his wish which is exactly what Medea wanted. She decides to use her children as a way to kill the king and princess by planting poison within the gifts. This plan succeeds as seen later on in the story, but she also decides to kill her kids to make Jason absolutely miserable. She wanted to kill the kids because then Jason would have nothing else to look forward to and his whole life would be destroyed.

I chose this passage because it really summarizes what Medea wants to do and her reason behind it. As it says in the passage, she does not want them to have the last laugh.(King, princess, Jason) This motivates her to go all out to make sure nothing positive can come out of everything she does. This passage stuck out to me because it opened me up to how clever Medea is by first, convincing the King to let her stay one more day, and second, for figuring out a way to execute her whole plan. Also, this part stuck out to me because it says death to the king, the princess, and the husband, but in reality she really does not kill Jason. The kill part could mean figuratively as she took everything hes ever had away. This story and passage made me realize how much woman hate it when men leave them in this type of manner. Jason's excuse was that he left her because he wanted a better life for the kids, but hes the reason Medea killed them. Medea is a great novel of a strong women who stands up for herself and goes out to get what she wants. She may have gone a "little" overboard by killing her kids, but during those times, a divorced woman is no woman at all.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”


This passage fits into the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen because it was the first sentence that helped imply what the book would be mainly about. The novel was about women who were looking for a rich man and he was expected(if single) to be in search of a wife as well. The fact that Austen used this sentence to open the book was smart on her behalf because she managed to keep it light, and interesting while it was could still be viewed as skeptical so that the reader would want to read more into the novel rather than to just stop there.
This passage is important in relevance to the book's message because it hinted that not all assumptions in the novel, especially the ones made by women, would be correct. For example, Elizabeth was prejudiced toward Mr. Darcy because he was wealthy, and this is similar to the fact that many of the women in the novel had different thoughts regarding wealthy men, and what a wealthy man's thoughts could be.


I selected this passage because it was interesting and I liked the way Jane Austen used a complex sentence that would open a book that almost contradict it's topic sentence. To me, this sentence was most likely spoken by Mrs. Bennet because she was the one who always assumed that men were always in search of a women and especially the wealthy men. I especially liked how the first sentence did not say men in general, but it specifically chose wealthy men. It seems that the novel, and many women all around the world, only want to be associated with wealthy men. I wonder how different the book would be if the leading men were not wealthy, but when I think about it, I know that the book would not have been well known at all. It seems to be that the topic which the first sentence is speaking of is a topic which many different people ponder, including wealthy men themselves. Jane Austen chose the perfect first sentence in my opinion, and it is one of the factors in her book that makes it so memorable. The first sentence was intriguing, and it is meaningful in a different way. The rest of the novel seemed to be in contrast to the opening sentence, but for an inexplicable reason, many people still believe that the opening sentence was perfect. Maybe it was because it implied that the book was very satirical towards women and the way they view rich men. Regardless, I agree with many people and felt that the opening sentence was intriguing to me.
-Mitchell Mirtil

Catherine and Heathcliff- A love that runs soul deep

“I’ve no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven, and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn’t have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.” –Catherine Earnshaw
-Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (Bronte 76)

Bronte’s theme of a love that never changes is illustrated through this passage. Catherine gives us a taste of her character as a selfish and superficial person who only cares about social class. Her decision to marry Linton while still very much in love with Heathcliff portrays that Catherine’s love for Heathcliff is truly deep and will never change. She refuses to marry him because of his social inferiority and explains if he was not of a lower class she would marry him. Catherine’s decision not the marry Heathcliff despite the fact that she loves him more than she loves herself makes her selfish and foolish. Her feelings for Heathcliff are obvious and simple yet her choice not to act upon those feelings displays Catherine’s obsession with the social hierarchy of 19th century England. She chooses to be unhappy and rich than to be happy, in love, and poor. Catherine’s willingness to hurt the only person who loves her in exchange for the wealth and high status displays that although she loves Heathcliff her obsession is so strong that she will not “degrade” herself to marry him. Moreover, Catherine knows she will not be happy with Linton and admits that she does not love him.
Bronte’s language is this passage is beautiful because it explains the passion of Catherine and Heathcliff’s love. It also brought mixed feelings. It made me happy that she finally confessed her love for him. When Catherine says “… Whatever souls are made of, mine and his are the same…” it explains the real meaning of love. This passage also made me want to scold Catherine for her stupidity and for the pain she is causing Heathcliff. When he overhears Catherine’s speech up to how it would degrade her to marry him, I wanted to yell at Catherine for being so foolish. However, I also wished that Heathcliff would stay to hear the rest of the speech so he could understand that their love is tremendously deep. I also chose this passage because Catherine realizes that she loves him and that she realizes why she also cannot marry him. This realization gives me as a reader a deeper understanding of Catherine despite how much I disagree with her choice to not be with the love her life.

Tom Exposes Himself in The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Tom: “Yes, movies! Look at them- All of those glamorous people- having adventures- hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up! You know what happens? People go to the movies instead of moving! Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in America sits in a dark room and watches them have them! Yes, until there’s a war. That’s when adventure becomes available to the masses! Everyone’s dish not only Gable’s! Then the people in the dark room come out of the dark room to have some adventures themselves- goody, goody! It’s our turn now to go to the South Sea Island- to make a safari- to be exotic, far- off! But I’m not patient. I don’t want to wait till then. I’m tired of the movies and I am about to move!” (Williams 61).

This passage introduces a depth to Tom’s character. Beforehand his feelings about life were vaguely expressed as unhappiness, frustration, and monotony. He went to the movies to get out of the house after a hard day of work at a warehouse. This novel takes place during the Great Depression Era and life was very difficult during that time. Many people were out of work and constantly losing their jobs and there was a fear of not being able to survive. Tom lived a hard life as the main source of income flowing into his house. He was the breadwinner of the family and he lived with his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Until this point, it was not completely understood why he went to the movies every night besides getting away from his mother. Through this dialogue, Tom explains his obsession with movies. The idea of escapism is to picture a different life, an easier life full of adventure rather than struggle. Tom goes to the movies to live someone else’s adventures and he eventually becomes sick of it. He wants to have his own journey. He is jealous of the adventures that people have in films and wants to embark on his own this time. This is the point in the play where it is discovered that Tom plans on leaving his family, just as his father did, because it is his time to live a dream and is officially done suppressing his needs for the needs of others. It is his turn to make his own “movie.”

This passage stuck out to me as I read the play. I found it interesting and actually found it true. I watch many movies and this got me thinking. We do watch movies to live in the actor’s adventures and excitement. If we go to watch a romance film, we experience the romance between two actors and if we go to watch a horror movie, we live in the thrilling scary scenes. But once the movie is over, life is the same as it was before we went into the theater. In the case of Tom, that was the part he was done with. When he watched the movie it was entertainment that allowed him to escape his miserable life, but when he got out, his stress was outside the door waiting for him. He is going to leave his family to pursue his dream. As much as it is hard to believe that he would leave his mother and sister with nothing, I understand why he is doing it. It is difficult to live when one's dreams are concealed in the background. He had reached the breaking point.

-Maddy Hirshan

The Glass Menagerie - summer reading

“Go on, I trust you with him! There now—you’re holding him gently! Hold him over the light, he loves the light! You see how the light shines through him?...It’s no tragedy, Freckles. Glass breaks so easily. No matter how careful you are…” - Laura
– The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (pg 83-86)

This statement is essential in describing the main character Laura. Throughout the play Laura is portrayed as a woman who is weak and unable to move further in her life. The mother seemed to have lost her hope in finding her daughter a suitor as a result. The author Tennessee Williams depicts Laura as being frightened to face the world on her own. Regardless of the opportunities she was given, Laura seems incapable of handling it. This was supported by her inability to complete typing school or high school. Similar to the glass animals Laura collects, she was fragile; whoever dealt with her had to be extremely cautious. However, in spite of the caution taken around the glass animals, they can be broken; it seems inevitable. Laura repeatedly proves that she is unable to carry out a normal life. She continuously needs someone to be with her and help her perform her responsibilities. The glass animals symbolized Laura. They were incapable of carrying on a normal life. The glass animals were forced to be placed far from the other household objects since they were too fragile.
I chose this passage because it explains Laura’s character. When one is reading the play he or she would never truly understand her character unless he or she learned about the glass animals. The author finally shows the readers the extent of fragility of Laura. The passage makes the reader wonder if a person who appears fragile can ever overcome their weakness. “Hold him over the light, he loves the light! You see how the light shines through him?” Even though the animals were fragile there is a certain aspect which had beauty. The beauty captured people’s attention. The glass animals illustrate that even though they are fragile they display strength through the beauty when shown in light. I think this passage gives the entire play meaning. It made me realize that people have to be careful with certain people; however, once they get past a certain point, the person appears less fragile. The person actually begins to appear strong through their character.

Medea-Euripides (SARAHWOLIN)

But on me hath fallen this unforeseen disaster, and sapped my life; ruined I am, and long to resign the boon of existence, kind friends, and die. For he who was all the world to me, as well thou knowest, hath turned out the worst of men, my own husband. Of all things that have life and sense we women are the most hapless creatures; first must we buy a husband at a great price, and o'er ourselves a tyrant set which is an evil worse than the first; and herein lies the most important issue, whether our choice be good or bad. For divorce is not honourable to women, nor can we disown our lords . . . --Medea

This quote is from the beginning of the play and it describes the situation that women are put in when there husbands leave them, and her feeling towards her husband. The part of the passage; “. . . first must we buy a husband at a great price, and o'er ourselves a tyrant set which is an evil worse than the first; and herein lies the most important issue, whether our choice be good or bad. For divorce is not honourable to women, nor can we disown our lords . . .” elaborates on the idea that women give up a lot when they marry a man. In Madea’s case, she leaves an amazing family to marry Jason. However, he leaves her to marry a princess, and being a divorced woman of this time period, it would ruin her chances of ever living a happy life, because she would never be able to get married again, and because she was forced to leave Corinth she no longer has a place to live. Medea is a play about sacrifice, and correcting errors. In Medea’s case, her husband made the mistake of leaving her for a princess, so she spends the whole way of plotting to fix this mistake, and eventually she does by kill Creon, his daughter, and she even kills her own children. Killing her children was a sacrifice she made to fix the mistake of Jason leaving her for a princess. Jason also tries to fix his mistake of not marrying a princess. So for his children to have a better life, he decides to marry the princess of Corinth and hopes that this will allow his children to become noble.
I chose this selection mainly because of the last statement; “. . . divorce is not honourable to women. . .” This statement is important because the hole reason Medea wants to kill everyone is because she doesn’t want anyone to view her as week, and she doesn’t want anyone to think that she is letting Jason get away with leaving her for a princess. Medea spends a while talking about her honor during the play, and it is obvious that that is what is truly important to her, if it were anything else she would have never killed her children.

AP Hamiltonians: Welcome to our Blog!

September is here, and it's time for you to get your heads out of the sand and back into the books (see related image).

Please begin posting your summer reading "meaningful passage" assignment. In your post, be sure to provide your reader with the following:

1. a sample of your chosen passage with correct citations.

2. an explanation regarding the meaning and literary merit of your passage in relation to the work as a whole.

3. your own personal explanation regarding the selection of your passage.

Please see the paper version for a more detailed version of this assignment.

Due Date: Monday, September 21st