essential question 6

What parallels can be drawn between the Pardoner's Prologue and his tale? How is this tale different from the other two that we have studied? Think in regards to the Pardoner's voice and how Chaucer's style changes.

A parallel that can be drawn between the pardoner's prologue and tale is that both exemplify sin by showing what should not be done. Both stories give examples of people who sin. The pardoner and the three boys are representations of what people should not do in order to avoid sin. The pardoner being a priest of the church is charged with defining sin which he does by being a living example of a sinner: "I preach against the very vice I make my own living out of"(243). In his story the characters also live out these sins which he shows ends badly for them through their deaths. Also we see that in both stories that all their characters sins stem from good intentions that morph into their immoral deeds. The priest is charged with guiding people to living right but he now only serves to satisfy his own vices "Believe me, many a sermon or devotive exordium issues from an evil motive" (243). And the characters from his tale also had good intentions of enacting justice but it morphed into avarice. The planned to "be brothers in this affair [...] [to do] away with [Death] [...]" (251) but "no longer was it Death those fellows sought" (253); they instead only acted with their greedy thoughts.

Essential Question #5

My five member society consists of Jackie Chan, Sheldon (Big Bang Theory), Taylor Swift, Jessica Alba, and Elliot (Scrubs). These five people would create a functional society because of they all have qualities, abilities, and talents that will benefit the society through their collaborative work. Each person is charged with duties that pertain to their abilities and talents.

Jackie Chan is wise, strong, fast, agile, dedicated, and trained in the martial arts. His agility, speed, and martial arts knowledge has made him globally renowned fighter hence he would serve as an enforcer in the society instilling peace and order. His dedication and strength also qualify him to be a worker in the society. Jackie Chan would also serve the society as a mentor and guardian due to his wisdom and dedication which is exemplified through his social work and charitable actions. Hence Mr. Chan would be the enforcer, worker, mentor and guardian for my society.

Sheldon is comical, inventive, creative, intelligent, and brilliant. Sheldon’s comical and social inept behavior makes him the best villain and comedian due to his ignorance of feelings and emotions of hence him being the highlight of the show Big Bang Theory. His brilliance, intelligence, and creativity make him a great educator because he has the knowledge to teach and the ability to do so. His role as a villain and teacher would complement his role as a leader for the society as well. As a brilliant villain he has the knowledge of how to make a great society and has the ability to trick people into doing so. Thus Sheldon would serve as a villain, mentor, and leader in my society.

Taylor Swift is funny, entertaining, captivating, good natured, relatable, and philanthropic. She is so funny, captivating, and entertaining makes her the entertainer of the society. Her roles on shows like SNL and CMT Crossroads, as well as her singing career are more than exemplary in showing that she is well qualified entertainer. Her reliability, good nature, and philanthropy also solidify her role as a role model for the rest of the society. Her optimism and sincerity also add to her ability as great role model for society. Taylor Swift therefore serves as the entertainer and role model for my society.

Jessica Alba is loving, caring, protective, beautiful, and a mother. Jessica Alba’s beauty is unmatched as proven by her winning the number one spot in two polls, her role of lover in the society. Being the lover she would also serve as the procreator because of her beauty. Being a mother that is loving, caring, and protective she is well suited for being a procreator because she would be a good mother not only for her children but to everyone due to her motherly qualities. Hence Jessica Alba is the lover, procreator, and motherly figure in my society.

Elliot is unconfident, talkative, understanding, skilled, and a good physician. Her skills and actual profession as a doctor make Elliot the medical expert in the society. Her skills as a doctor is unquestionable as is the reason she is an attending at both a public facility and private practice in the television show Scrubs. Her unconfidence, loquaciousness, and understanding make her the caretaker of the society due to her ability to relate and get personal with every person there. Her unconfidence and loquaciousness also make her a great scapegoat as she does not have the confidence to defend herself. For that reason Elliot is my societies medical expert, caretaker, and scapegoat.

My society will strive because each person plays a crucial role that benefits the greater good. With Sheldon as their leader of this totalitarian society, they will be able to collaborate and work as cohesive machine. This society does have some problems though. Sheldon being villainous and sometimes unsympathetic of others may guide the society to a way of life that he thinks maybe more suitable. Also the people of this society often have recurring traits which makes them as equally qualified for some positions as the person who actually holds the position hence there may be conflict over who does what. Finally my society has no diversity due to it consisting of mainly Caucasians and one Asian.

Essential Question #4

Choice 2: Where do we see seduction and lust start to destroy Gawain, our young hero? What is the author trying to tell us?

Gawain would be a great hero, if it were not for his lustful desires. His susceptibility to lust is one of his worst weaknesses leading to him to make foolish and and inappropriate choices. He is so opt to take on seductive offers that it even has lead him to break the rules of a knight when he was seduced by the queen of his kind hosts. By being seduced, Gawain is holding himself from being a true knight and a true hero. Lust has also lead him to accept the seductive offer of the green knight, who can be considered a symbol of seduction and lust, which evidently could result in his death. This seems to be a metaphor and example of how easily he falls to enticing offers. It seems that the author is trying to tell us that we should not be hasty in making decisions and that we should instead be mindful of our decisions.

10 rules about dating

1. Never show up late! nothing says I really don't care about this then showing up late. But if you do show up late don't give excuses and just own up to it.

2. Be romantic, do something that shows how you feel about him/her. But don't do something cheesy, make it unique to your relationship and as your relationship grows make it more intimate with every date.

3. Never talk about old ex's or people you are interested in. Its a conversation killer and creates an awkward moment for the both of you.

4. Be engaged in the conversation. A conversation is two way you need to participate through listening and talking. There is a delicate balance, you can't be talking for the whole date or you won't learn anything about your date. At the same time you have to contribute to the conversation.

5. Don't use terms like love and marriage especially early on in the relationship because so often these terms are misused and should only used when there is absolute certainty.

6. Be open to each other differences and shortcomings. Nobody's perfect and it is just so easy to end a relationship just because they don't meet your idealized dream of what the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend should be.

7. Respect their space. You don't own them and they don't own you. Let them engage in conversation with whomever they want, just remember that the bond you two share is stronger.

8. Take it slow. As the wise John Legend says "We're just ordinary people, we don't know which way to go, cuz we're ordinary people, maybe we should take it slow" (Legend). Do not try to rush things. Take it easy and let your relationship blossom.

9. Be polite and courteous. No one likes a jerk, and no one wants to date a jerk. Be well mannered and respectful to your date and everyone you encounter.

10. Be yourself! Don't change who you are for anybody. Be proud of who you are, and if it just so happens that he/she does not like you for who you are then its their loss.

Essential Question #2

Discuss biblical allusions and religious symbolism in Beowulf.

Beowulf is an epic story that uses multiple biblical allusions and religious symbolism in order to enhance the plot. Biblical allusions are used to enhance the plot through biblical references to characters like Cain and through the predetermination of characters' fate as chosen by God. One thing that especially drives the plot is that Cain, the first biblical murderer, was the patriarch of Grendel, hence Grendel too has murderous tendencies. Therefore, the villain in this story was created from the bible, so the author creates a hero that is predestined by God to fight and defeat the spawn of Cain. The author is very keen on noting how Beowulf is predestined by God to defeat Grendel and his mother: "Ecgtheow's son [...] would have died far under the wide earth [...] had not holy God granted him victory" (1535-1540). The author also goes as far as having the characters like Beowulf crediting God for their good fortune: "I barely espcaped with my life from that combat under the water [...] our encounter would have ended at once if God had not guarded me" (64). Clearly God and Christianity plays a crucial role in this story, because the characters and plot owe their fate and actions to them.

Essential Question #1

What are the social obligations of a hero? Is Beowulf aware of his deification process?

Heroes, whether they are average joes distinguished by their courage or they are superhumans with paranormal abilities, are known as heroes because they are obligated by society to help the needy. No matter the time, the place, or the sacrifice, heroes are the men and women that come to the rescue to those who are in dire need of it. Heroes are quite similar to villains, in that both are usually powerful, either physically or socially. What seperates a hero from a villain is that a hero chooses his fate as a savior to the needy, while villains are the people who feed off the suffering of others and are the cause of this need.

This is why Beowulf is aware of his deification as a hero, because he knowlingly puts the burden of being a hero upon his own shoulder when "he gave orders that a good ship should be prepared [...] [because he planned] to assist the famous leader, the warrior king, since he [Hrothgar] needed hardy men" (199-201). Beowulf was aware of their need for help because he had "heard in own country of Grendel's crimes" (196). And instead of ignoring this awful news, he instead chooses to come to the help of Hrothgar and Hrothgar's people. By accepting Hrothgar's abstract call for help from grendel, the villain, Beowulf is accepting the social obligations of a hero and making them as his own. Hence by accepting his role as a hero he is also aware of his deification because he brings it upon himself.

Easter Assignment- Mr. Collins

Mr. Collins is a social outcast.
Mr. Collins is Mr. Bennet’s cousin. He is also a clergyman. Though Mr. Collins is a clergyman, he is a very awkward person. He has no aptitude for social interactions like basic conversation. His lack of affability hampers his ability to make friends. But surprisingly his awkwardness has not stopped him from being acquainted with Lady Catherine. Mr. Collins finds his acquaintance with Lady Catherine as a valuable resource, often bragging about it to people in every conversation he has. Mr. Collins is such an inept braggart that he even goes as far as to use his relationship with Lady Catherine as reasoning to marry Elizabeth: “It is the recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness. Twice has she condescended to give me her opinion on this subject […] she said ‘Mr. Collins, you must marry’” (Austen 101-102).
Mr. Collins is like the random colleges that try to get students to attend their college. Mr. Collins is a loser in every aspect. He has no good qualities, characteristics, or traits to brag about. He has only one accomplishment: his relationship with Lady Catherine. And he boasts of his great success in regards to this one accomplishment yet he really has nothing to boasts about. He has no close friends and no one likes him. Yet he brags to people in an attempt to uphold himself as this great person, but it is flagrantly obvious that he is an unknown, inept fool that no one is fond of.
Mr. Collins is like George W. Bush in that they both were unknowns until they got help to their rise to fame, and that they both are absolute losers.

Easter Assignment- Mr. Bennet

Mr. Bennet is an observant and humorous man.
Mr. Bennet is the owner of the Longbourn estate. He lives there with his wife Mrs. Bennet and their five children Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Lydia, and Kitty. He is an intelligible man, with a sarcastic attitude. He enjoys making quirky remarks about his family and friends: “If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of it […] This is the only point, I flatter myself, on which we do not agree […] I must so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly foolish” (Austen 30). But unfortunately his sarcastic attitude makes him very detached from his family and society. He does not really care enough about his family to punish his family for inappropriate behavior. Thus his family acts very peculiarly due to the lack of his enforcement of rules. And society ostracizes him and his family as strange people due to his family’s peculiarity.
Mr. Bennet is like a witticism. He is knowledgeable about people, life, and society. He also is humorous and sarcastic which enhances his witty observations. But like any witticism, he may be funny but he is useless to his family or anyone else in day to day life. He does not help to solve problems throughout the book because he is only useful in regards to funny facts about life. Instead of helping to find a resolution to problems in the book he is the actually the cause to most of the families problems. He does teach his children proper or ethical behavior. Instead he separates himself from his family and makes funny observations about them.
Mr. Bennet is like Dick Cheney in the sense that they both talk about problems they observed but they play no role in the resolution of the problem.

P& P # 15 4/9: 16- END

"This is a wretched beginning, indeed! My sole dependence was on you; and I am sure nobdy else will believe me, if you do not, Yet, indeed, I am in earnest. I speak nothing but the truth. He still loves me, and we are engaged" (Austen 346).

- As the book comes to a close, Elizabeth, usually the person to hold prejudiced views, is this time the victim misjudgements. In this scene she is telling Jane about her engagement with Mr. Darcy, and Jane voices her shock due to her belief that Elizabeth had resented Mr. Darcy. Jane made the inference that Elizabeth had hated Mr. Darcy due to the fact that she had only heard Elizabeth say negative things about Mr. Darcy many months before. Since Elizabeth had not mentioned anything else about Mr. Darcy, Jane naturally assumed that Elizabeth's resentment for Mr. Darcy was still present. Thus Jane Austen shows the dangers of judging people based on one experience.

Why do Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy trully love Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner?
a. because they rock
b. Mr and Mrs Gardiner helped Mr Darcy and Elizabeth to see the love they shared for each other.
c. Mr and Mrs Gardiner told Elizabeth that Mr Darcy loved her
d. because they are Elizabeth's favorite aunt and uncle
e. they are great people

P& P# 13 4/7: 10-12

"His behaviour to her sister was such during dinner-time as showed an admiration of her, which, though more guarded than formerly, persuaded Elizabeth, that, if left wholly to himself, Jane's happiness, and his own, would be speedily secured. Though she dared not depend upon the consequence, she yet received pleasure from observing his behaviour" (Austen 315-316).

- In this scene, Elizabeth is at a party observing Mr. Bingley and Jane. And we see that like in the beginning of the book, Elizabeth still eagerly makes observations and inferences about other people. But in this scene we see that instead of applying what she infered as fact, she leaves her inferences as hypotheses. Her not applying her inference about Mr. Bingley's feelings for Jane reflects upon how her previous rash judgements and prejudices of Mr. Darcy resulted in her rejecting Mr. Darcy, her perfect match. Ergo, she is not hasty to jump to conclusions when she observes Mr. Bingley.

The relationship shared between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in chapter 5 is like the relationship between:

a. Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet

b. Mr. Collins and Charlotte

c. Mr. Wickham and Lydia

d. Mr. Bingham and Jane

huck essay

William Lai

AP American Literature- Mr. George

March 21, 2009

Huck Finn contrasted to Tom Sawyer

            Have you ever compared yourself to one of your friends? How do you two differ? Usually there are some similarities but looking past those similarities there are vast differences. Mark Twain compares two characters in his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He compares the lives and development of two boys: Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. And at first glance they seem to be quite similar due to their age, playfulness, and curious nature. But when you look deeper into their personalities, their actions, and their development through the story, the reader can see that there is a big difference in how the characters developed along the lines of their morality and their perspective of the world. Tom draws from the values and beliefs that he grew up with, while Huck adopts his own view of the world.

            Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist, is a young boy who lived in two worlds. He lived in the wilderness with his father, where he was brought up in a rough environment, learning survival instincts and a very crude perspective of the world. He also lived with Miss Watson, a devout Christian, who would instill societal and religious teachings upon him. As result of two totally different people teaching him, a drunk and a devout southern Christian, he has developed a conflicting moral compass. This conflicted compass has two polar opposites: one being a crude view of the world, the other being the societal views of the south. With these contradictory influences he has two wells of knowledge to draw from when he must drink from his moral goblet.

            Huck having two opposite perspectives of what the south offers as moral perspectives, realizes that both perspectives are wrong for him. For example, Huck clearly understands that his father is a bad example of how to live so as result he knows that most of what his father has taught him should be avoided. And at the same time we see that the societal view that Ms. Watson tries to teach him also does not seem right to him. Both perspectives have good qualities as well as their vices. One can see this when he travels down the river with Jim, and their adaption of the concept of borrowing:

Pap always said it warn't no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back, sometime; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it. Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly right and pap was partly right; so the best way would be for us to pick out two or three things from the list and say we wouldn't borrow them any more--then he reckoned it wouldn't be no harm to borrow the others… We warn't feeling just right, before that, but it was all comfortable now (Twain 76).

Thus we see that Huck recognizes that there is some good in what his Pap has taught him, so he tries to use a combination of what Ms. Watson has taught him to create a hybrid of what his Pap taught him and what Ms. Watson taught him. But as Huck journey’s down the river with Jim, Huck begins to formulate his own ideas of the world around him.

            One of the most flagrant violations of what both Pap and Ms. Watson have taught him is Huck’s perspective on slavery. Both Pap and Ms. Watson would agree that slavery should exist. But on his travel down the river, Huck is given a chance to have a fresh perspective on the world. On his journey, he is free from the influences of his father, Ms. Watson, and the rest of society, allowing him to build his own value system. As result, he is given a fresh perspective on slavery. On his journey down the river he sees a side of Jim that he would have never seen if he had been living with either Pap or Ms. Watson. He sees that Jim is a human being with feelings: “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger–but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way” (98). That is why he finds the wilderness so diverting because he is free from Pap and Ms Watson’s influence. The wilderness is where he can be “lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day, smoking and fishing” (34), carefree of what others have taught him as right or wrong, free to live and learn on his own. And through this journey he formulates his own beliefs due to realizing the injustices that exist in society’s view of the world. Tom Sawyer on the other hand accepts this regimented perspective of world.

            Tom Sawyer, Huck’s best friend, is nearly identical to Huck besides the fact that he is educated and has lived in society all his life. These subtle differences play a crucial role in Tom’s moral development. By living in society he is not given the chance to develop his perspective of the world, but instead must take on the views of society. He is told what is right or wrong through the community, through his education, and even through books. He is forced to live with a set view that is structured around what society dictates to be proper, rather than be allowed to formulate his own opinions as Huck can. That is why Tom Sawyer is a by the book character, “Any book will tell you that” (275). Even when he is questioned on what society dictates as right but is flagrantly wrong, he is ignorant to the truth saying that “It don’t make no difference how foolish it is, it’s the right way—and it’s the regular way. And they ain’t no other way, that I ever heard of, and I’ve read all the books that gives any information about these things” (Twain 257). Thus Tom epitomizes the social views of the time due to his adoption of its social views and beliefs.

            One social view that Tom accepts is the concept of slavery. He believes, just as society believes, that slavery is fine. Contrary to Huck, Tom has not seen the pain and suffering slavery can cause, and the humanity in the people who are being enslaved. He has only heard from society and books that it is a necessity and as result is justifiable. One may say that Tom does not believe in slavery because he had tried to help Jim escape, but looking deeper into Tom’s actions while trying to save Jim, one can see that Tom was not trying to save Jim for Jim’s sake. Instead Tom only helped Huck to save Jim because he wanted adventure and excitement that is preached and praised in books and society, comparably to Huck who actually wanted to save Jim. One can see this through his actions on the night they attempted to dig Jim out. Tom and Huck could have easily broke open the door and got Jim out immediately, but instead Tom elects to dig him out. And when Huck offers that they dig him out with picks, Tom elects to use case-knives, saying that “I’ve read all the books that gives any information about these things. They always dig out with a case-knife […] And it takes weeks and weeks” (257). Ergo, Tom is only trying to have a good laugh at the expense of Jim and his friend Huck, showing that Tom as result of society, has adopted its morally corrupt views of the world.

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are two characters that are so similar in their age, curiosity, and playfulness. But underneath that, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are actually very different characters when it comes to their view of the world. Tom Sawyer, growing up in society, requires rules and regulations that are dictated to him by society. Comparably, Huck who lives and finds peace in the wilderness, apart from civilization and society, lives life based on what he believes to be right or wrong. Thus Mark Twain creates a comparison of two boys, showing the affect of their surroundings on their development as adults and members of a seemingly unjust world, one boy being the upholder of this society’s unfair beliefs, the other, the beholder of its trully cruel nature.

P&P #12: Ch. 7-9

"Into one house in this neighbourhood they shall never have admittance. I will not encourage the imprudence of either, by receiving them at Longbourn" (Austen 288).

- Here Mr. Bennet is talking to Mrs. Bennet about the Lydia and Mr. Wickham. And while talking about the two, Mr. Bennet openly shows his contempt for the two by not letting them in his house. But he does not clarify why he does not want them in house. The only word he uses that may explain his reasoning is when he says that he will "not encourage the imprudence of the either" (288). Thus the reader can assume that the Mr. Bennet maybe upset that his daughter was dumb enough to hastily choose to run away and marry a mercenary that only wants money to repay his debts. Ergo, Mr. Bennet is upset that he was used by Mr. Wickham through his daughter as a means to pay off his debt. And what made it worse was that fact that Mr. Bennet does not really have the money to pay Mr. Wickham, and instead Mr. Bennet had to rely Mr. Gardiner to pay him back. This makes Mr. Bennet think about how poor of a father he has been due to the fact that he has not saved enough money for his family.

Is the love shared between Lydia and Mr Wickham:

a. shared equally

b. unequally shared with Mr. Wickham loving Lydia more

c. unequally shared with Lydia loving Mr. Wickham more

d. none of the above

P& P #11 4/3: 3-6

"Yes [...] but that was only when I first knew her; for it is many months since i have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance" (253).

-Mr. Darcy is responding to Miss Bingley's rude remarks on Elizabeth, mocking him on how used to marvel her as a beauty. And suprisingly he agrees with her saying that he had thought she was beautiful. And surprisingly Elizabeth has become attracted to him, inverse of how the story played out in the beginning of the book: "never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain" (259). This goes to show that sometimes ones first impressions or prejudices of a person can and most likely are misleading. For example looking at Mr. Darcy, he believed Elizabeth to be a simple girl with a bad family, so he assumed he could easily win her hand in marriage. Instead he was rejected. And the reason he was rejected was because Elizabeth held prejudice views of him only looking at him the way Mr. Wickham described him to be and based off her first impressions. Both never took the time to learn about each other through actual interactions they had with each other; instead they just chose to hold prejudice views of the other person that they formed from a couple of observations.


Why does Elizabeth feel she is partially to blame?

a. she hated Lydia
b. she liked Wickham
c. she thought should have been with Lydia so that it would not have happened
d. she didn't tell anybody about his true nature
e. none of the above

P& P #9 3/31: 14-18

"There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much" (Austen 210).

-Mr. Wickham as revealed through Mr. Darcy's letter as a bad person, who masks his ugly soul with a visage, a pretense. While Darcy is actually a generally thoughtful person, he actually cares for his friends, which can be seen in his friendship with Mr. Bingley. These two characters are oppisites on a spectrum. And we see that at the beginning of the book, Elizabeth liked Mr. Wickham, and correspondingly she was a very prejudice person, making inferences and judgements without the facts. But as the story continues, Elizabeth becomes aware of Mr. Wickham's true nature, and we begin to see that she begins to fluctuate in her liking of Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy. At the same time, she is struggling to cope with the fact that she is actually a prejudice person, "She was still full of indignation [for Mr. Darcy]; but when she considered how unjustly she had condemned and upbraided him, her anger was turned against herself" (200). Thus these two characters are in essence like the modern day's equivalent of the little angel and demons that sit on our shoulders. She is stuck in between choosing the devil, Mr Wickham, or the angel, Mr. Darcy.

Why does Elizabeth not tell Jane about Mr. Darcy's reasoning for persuading Mr. Bingley to break his relations with Jane?

a. Elizabeth believes her sister to be to nimwitted to understand
b. Elizabeth is afraid that Mr. Darcy wanted to keep it private
c. Elizabeth thinks Jane does not care.
d. Elizabeth is afraid that it will only hurt Jane.

P& P #7 3/27: 6-10

"If his own vanity, however, did not mislead him, he was the cause, his pride and caprice were the cause of all that Jane had suffered and still continued to suffer. He had ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world; and no one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted" (Austen 177).

- Here Elizabeth is communicating her anger about Mr. Darcy breaking the union between Mr. Bingley and Jane. This incident just adds to her hate for Mr. Darcy seeing that she blames him for breaking her sister's heart. This only makes Mr. Darcy's situation worse, due to the fact that he admires Elizabeth, but Elizabeth absolutely hates him. And Mr. Darcy, not knowing how angry she is at him, will most likely try to do something to show his affection for her, which will result with her rejecting him, as well as her vehemently criticizing his actions and his personality.

Question:
Elizabeth feelings for Colonel Fitzwilliam are:

I. contempt
II. adoration
III. similar to how she felt about Mr. Wickham

a. I
b. II
c. III
d. II and III
e. none of the above

Pride and Prejudice 6 chapter 2-5

"she parted from him convinced, that, whether married or single, he must always be her model of the amiable and pleasing" (Austen 146).

Here, Elizabeth states that though they have gone their seperate ways, Mr Wickham will always serve as the model of what she finds appealing and nice. And she says this after she was convinced that she had "never been much in love" (144). But if she had not been in love, why does she use him as model for "what she finds appealing and nice"(146). She even said before that "there are few whom I love really love, and still fewer of whom I think well"(131), so obviously she must have had great intimacy for him if she still holds him as a model to judge other people. So obviously she had great esteem for him yet she insists that she was not. And the reason maybe that she is forced to face the fact that she was wrong about him when she first met him. She had thought him to be a good man, but now she has to face the reality that he in many ways is like Charlotte, a mercenary. So instead of facing the truth, she goes into denial and thinks instead that he is just someone that she had fancied.

What does this quote imply about Mr. Collins: "When Mr. Collins could be forgotten, there was really a great air of comfort throughout, and by Charlotte's evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten" (151).

a. Mr. Collins is amiable

b. Mr. Collins is very exciting

c. Mr. Collins is a vexing person

d. Mr. Collins is an abusive husband

e. Mr. Collins is interesting

P and P #5: Ch.21-1

"You wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if i speak ill of any body. I only want to think you perfect, and you set yourself against it" (Austen 130).

-Here, Elizabeth is acknowledging one of Jane's faults, saying that she is to optimistic, and to often looks to find the good in others. But the irony is that Elizabeth is the exact oppisite, she is too quick to judge, and often times to judge others in a negative light: "There are few people whom I really love, and fewer of whom I think well" (131). And Elizabeth prejudice, like Jane's optimism, often time blinds her from the truth. Thus Elizabeth is just as far from the truth as Jane is.

While talking to Jane about "her belief in the inconsistency of all human characters" (131), Elizabeth says, "I have met with two instances lately: one I will not mention, the other is charlottes marriage" (131). Who is Elizabeth refering to when she says "one I will not mention" (131)?

a. Mr Collins

b. Mr Darcy

c. Mrs. Bennet

d. Ms Bingley

e. Mr Bingley

P& P #3 3.20: 11-16

"And your defect is a propensity to hate every body" (Austen 56).

- Here we see Elizabeth states what she believes to be a  defect of Mr. Darcy, saying that he has the propensity to dislike everyone. This view is a very judgemental view of Darcy, showing that Ms. Elizabeth is a person that judges people from first impressions which is very defect that is typical for any age or time. Even Mr. Darcy responds by saying, "And yours is to wilfully to misunderstand them"(56). Jane Austen thus is providing an example of one of the problems with society. This judgemental attitude Elizabeth has could prove to hamper her throughout the book due to her fast judgements of people including Mr. Darcy.

This passage, "Jane and Elizabeth attempted to explain to her the nature of an entail. They had often attempted it before: but it was a subject on which Mrs. Bennett was beyond the reach of reason" (60), serves to show that Mrs. Bennett is

a. very tired

b. very intelligent

c. not understanding

d. not very intelligent

P& P #2 3/19: 7-10

"Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alamring, she had no wish of her recovering immediately, as her restoration to health would probably remover her from Netherfield" (Austen 41).

- Here the reader is exposed to one of the strange parts of society in the 1700s. Here Mrs. Bennett shows no grievances that her daughter is ill, but instead finds joy that she is sick due to the fact that Jane is given the opportunity to stay at Mr. Bingley's estate longer. And she hopes the longer Jane stays the more likely she will win over the heart of Mr. Bingley. Mrs. Bennett's strange infatuation in her daughter finding someone to marry is not solely experienced by her, but by the majority of the women in this book. And Jane Austen is clearly outlining how strange this interest women have in getting married through Mrs. Bennett and her eagerness in seeing her daughter become sick in order to spend more time with a man that she hopes Jane will marry.

The book Pride and Prejudice, is a story that challenges commonly held beliefs of the 1700s.

The arthur voices her disbelief in these beliefs through:

I. the protagonist, Elizabeth

II. Mrs. Bennett

III. Mr. Jones

A. I Only

B. II Only

C. III Only

D. I and II

E. II and III

Huck 185-209

"You could see it was a great satisfaction to the people, because naturally they wanted to know. A little thing like that don't cost nothing, and it's just the little things that makes a man to be looked up to and liked. There warn't no more popular man in town than what tha undertaker was" (195).

-The little things often times does bring great satisfaction. Most of the time people do not have time to really focus or pay attention to the small details. So often times we go after those small details or information that somebody knows because it is something that just intrigues us. For example gossip or that small story about something funny that happened that day is often something that people like to know not because it has any great relevance, but its just something to make the day a bit funnier.

"I thought them poor girls and them niggers would break their hearts for grief'; they cried around each other, and took on so it most made me down sick to see it. The girls said they hadn't ever dreamed of seeing the family seperated or sold away from the town. I can't ever get it out of my memory, the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's necks and crying; and I reckon I couldn't a stood it all but would a had to bust out and telll on our gang if I hadn;t knowed the sale warn't no account and the niggers would be back home in a week or two"(196).

- Here the reader is exposed to the loving and compassionate side of Huck. And the reader can get the feeling that Huck for all the hard ships he has encounterd, he is at heart a good kid for he even claims that "the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's necks and crying" to be a very strong image that haunts him. So we see that his compassionate side is very strong in his life. This probably is due to him being able to relate with them seeing that he has endured so much at such a young age. His compassion will most likely play a very prominent role in his developement from a boy to a man.

Vocab:

Histrionic: Characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected

"Don't ever tell me any more that a nigger ain't got any histrionic talent" (197).

Frock: A one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice

She said she'd have her frocks and a lot of other traps took out of her room if they was in Uncle Harvey's way" (184).

Huck

It here be the strangest thing that ever happened to me Jim. So I just set up my line to go fishing and was about to lie back when all a sudden I hear someone behind me so- so I turn around and there’s a girl standing there, just staring at me. She mustn’t be older no older than I was. Then she asks me, “Whats your name?” I answer, “Lee Johnson.”

            Then she just starts rambling a bunch of questions like “Where you from Lee Johnson? Why you here? What you doing out here?” And I am just standing there tryin a answer every question. Then I suddenly realize that she be knowing whole lot about me but I don’t know a squat about her. So I decide to ask her a few questions. I start by asking, “What your name be?” And then she says “That ain’t no way to ask a lady what her name is.” So I ask her again. “Excuse me, ma’am, but may I have the pleasure of knowing your name.” And she answers, “Why, my name is Mary Phillip.” And I follow up by asking “Well Miss Phillip may I have the pleasure of asking where you are from?” And she responds, “Only if you would be such a gentleman and walk me back to my house.” So I decide since the fish line probably won’t catch anything for a bit I might as well walk her home and try to find out where we are and get some fresh news.

            So I say, “It would be my pleasure ma’am.” Then she suddenly skips down beside me and grasps my hand. Then we start walking. We didn’t really talk for a while, but the silence was killing me so I decide to just ask her a question: “So why were you in the woods ma’am.” And she says, “That is none of your business.” Then I say, “I’m sorry ma’am for being so nosy, I just wanna know why miss like you would be out there in the woods.” And she replies, “Well if you must know I was looking for berries, but I ended up finding something a lot sweeter.” Then we stopped in front of a small shack. And suddenly she gave me a kiss right on my cheek and says “Thanks you Lee Johnson for such a lovely stroll.” And she justs walks into the shack. Now that is the strangest thing that could ever happen to a person, Jim. To be fishing one moment then getting kissed by a girl the next.

jim

Huck, ghosts be real, I swear it on my life. Ghosts be real as the water all around us be real. I even can tell you a story bout ghosts. Huck it be a story of all stories.

Well it be a dark night wen it happened, laws know why I cudn’t a slept that night and I wish I had. I been a tossin’ and turnin’ for a while when I finally just be getting’ up. I be thinking maybe I just need to get some water. So I rustle outta bed and start walkin’ to the kichun. And as I be walkin’ thur suddenly thur be a light shinin’ in the distance. It were a dim light but it were bright enough to see. Then I be hearin’ a soft singing. I were very interested so I get up close to the window to get me a good look. I saw there be a negro woman leading ten er eleven other negroes. At furst I thought I be dreamin’ but I remembered that this here was real cuz I couldn’t fall asleep. They were just walking through them woods. Their dim light be bobbing up and down in the distance. But aftur a cupple a minutes that light just disappeared. It spooked me real good.

I reckon they probably be ghosts of the negroes that died round that place. First time I ever see a ghost. It be a bad omen to see a ghost. But it be a worst omen to meet one of em. That be reason why the old lady was probably gonna sell me, I reckon. Them ghosts gave me here sum bad luck. So you remember that Huck, yea hear. Ghosts be real, as real as me and you. And they be nuttin’ but bad, bad luck. You stay straight clear of em’ yea hear, or else they be hauntin’ us and be giving us nuttin but chills and rotten luck.

Huck Fin page 129-157

"It didn't take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn't no kings nor dukes, at all, but just low-down humbugs and fraugds. But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it's the best way; then you don't have no quarrels, and dont get into no trouble. If they wanted us to call them kings and dukes, I hadn't no objecions, 'long as it would keep peace in the family" (Twain 136).

- The reader is exposed to two con artists in this section, and after a short while Huck realizes this. but instead of calling them out for not being a king and duke as they claim, he instead chooses to keep it to himself in order to keep the peace and "have no quarrels" (136). So we come to see Huck's survival skills come to play. He admittedly is willing to "call them kings and dukes" but he only does this so that the "family" can stay together. So in fact he is using the two con artists as much as they are using him and Jim. We see that in fact that this mutual relationship to use each other plays well when they hatch a great plan where they can tie up Jim during the day in order to claim safe passage through the south.

"And it warn't no use to tell Jim, so I didn't tell him. If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way"(137).

- Here we one of Huck's influences controlling his actions. In this case his father's teaching about how to maintain peace with Jim's "kind" you must let them maintain their own views. Thus he elects not to tell Jim that fact that they were being used by two con artists for a while. Once again we see that his father has a very large influence on his decision for he even says that  if he "never learnt nothing else out of pap", meaning that he is heavily influenced by what his father has taught him. Yet Jim is his supposed friend that is supposedly knowledgeable on a great many things. So we see that Huck is holding Jim up to two contradictory points of views.

VOCAB:

joggle: Move to and fro

"And by-and-by her waves would get to us, a long time after she was gone, and joggle the raft a bit" (131).

Scow: Any of various flat-bottomed boats with sloping ends

"A scow or a raft went by so close we could hear them talking and cussing and laughing" (130).

Huck Finn 89-129

 "When I got all wore out wid workm en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no mo' what become er me en da raf'. En when I wake up en fine you back agin' all safe en soun', de tears come en I could a got down on my knees en kiss' yo' foot I's so thankful" (98).

Here the reader is shown how close Jim and Huck are. Jim is making it very clear that Huck is very important to him. And Huck makes it clear that he also feels an attatchment to Jim: "It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back" (98). Thus they both share a close relationship, which is odd due to them being polar oppisites contrary to what would be considered a good friendship by their society's standards. Which makes one question what struggles they might face from both society, if they are caught, and internally from their beliefs. 

"Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I couldn't get that out of my consicience, no how nor no way. it got to troubling me so I couldn't rest; I couldn't stay still in one place" (Twain 100).

Here the reader is exposed to the turmoil that Huck is beginning to face on his journey. The quote expresses his conscience making him contempt for not ratting Jim out. Yet, only a few pages before he was expressing compassion for him: "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger-but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neigher. I didn;t do him no more mean tricks, and I would done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way" (98). Thus Huck is split between what his heart tells him is right and what he is taught is right, forcing him to choose between either his heart or society. And it is likely he will face other situations like this where he is forced to choose between what society tells and what he believes to be right.

Vocab:

Bushels: A United States dry measure equal to 4 pecks or 2152.42 cubic inches

"And warnt the cooking good, and just bushels of it too" (116).

Junketings: Taking an excursion for pleasure

"And have such junketings round about and on the river" (118).

Huck fin 3: page 47-66

Quotation:

"Jim knowed all kinds of signs. He said he knowed most of everything" (56).

- Here Huck is saying that Jim is very skillfull with accomodating symbols to whether they are good or bad luck. Thus Jim will play a key role in foreshadowing what will happen later on in the book because of his ability predict luck from objects or actions. Thus when ever Jim talks about their luck the author is most likely hinting to a future event.

"And he said that handling a snake-skin was such awful bad luck that maybe we hadn't go to the end of it yet. He said he druther see the new moon over his left shoulder as much as a thousands times than take up a snake-skin in his hand" (63).

-Here we see one of Huck and Jim's superstitions, relating to snake skins. They believe it be bad luck, to such an extent that it is one of the worst among all of the bad luck omens. And Huck goes on to say that Jim said that he reckons they "hadn't go to the end of it yet" (63), thus foreshadowing that something bad is to happen later on in the story. And most of the time when it comes to omen and symbols of luck we see they play true. An example of this is with the birds who fore told of rain. Thus something bad is going to happen to Jim and Huck.

Vocab:

Lolled: Hang loosely or laxly

"We lolled on the grass" (53).

Abreast: Being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge

"I see a bunch of smoke laying on the water a long ways up- about abreast the ferry" (47).

Huck Finn 1: 9-27

Quotations:

"So I went to him that night and told him papa was here again, for I found his tracks in the snow" (26).

- The reader is exposed to a boy that is trully wiser than his age would suggest. We see that when it comes to street sense, specifically pertaining to survival, Huckleberry is clearly prepared suggesting that his prior experience with his father was very abusive. Yet we see that there is still  has that child like mentality: "We played robber now and then about a month, and then I resigned. All the boys did. We hadn't robbed nobody, we hadn't killed any people, but only just pretended" (20). Thus the reader can expect later on in the book that he will respond to different situations with a maturity regarding survival but at the same time be dictated by his child like attitude leading to the two conflicting with each other when he tries to make decision.

"She told to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warn't so. I tried it. once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. I warn't anygood to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn't make it work" (19).

-Here we see Hucklebee's child like mentality. For all his maturity he still has the curiousity of any normal child, who at the same time thinks like a child. An example of this is when he quickly denounces prayer after he sees nothing to gain from it: "so at last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it any more, but just let it go" (19). This child like thinking will play role in how he chooses to live his life, at same time as his mature, survival instincts do.

Vocab:

Ambuscade: The act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise

"So I was on hand next day, Saturday, in the ambuscade" (21).

Betwixt: In the interval

"So he set down on the ground bewict me and Tom" (13).

William Lai

AP American Literature- Mr. George

February 24, 2009

Final Essay on Sin

Confession

            Confession is often times the most embarrassing and humiliating thing anybody can experience. It is the epitome of retribution, the ultimate payback; this constitutes the difficulty behind admitting to one’s mistakes or sins. It is said that it is a sinner's “duty to confess, to suffer public shame, and to make public atonement. There was a God who called upon men to tell their sins to earth as well as to heaven. Nothing that he could do would cleanse him till he had told his own sin” (Wilde 228). Therefore confession is vital for the washing away of sin. Confession can ultimately take place in many ways, whether it is confession to another person or self-punishment, as long as the sinner deals with the fact that they have sinned. Confession is a voluntary process that is based on one's choice to admit and recognize the fact that one has sinned and that is what God calls upon men to do.

            Looking to Oscar Wilde’s book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is abundantly clear that the redemption of sin lays in confession. In the book, the reader follows Dorian Gray for a period of twenty years observing Dorian live the ultimate life of pleasure and desire. Dorian lives this marvelous life of vanity and pleasure by using his everlasting beauty. By living this vain life of pleasure, his soul has become corrupt. This corruption is shown through the very portrait that allows him to sustain his beauty, making it the gateway to his soul: “the portrait Basil Hallward had painted of him […] was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin” (99-100). Wilde also makes it abundantly clear that this picture is absolutely hideous: “he saw in the dim light the hideous face on the canvas grinning at him. There was something in its expression that filled him with disgust and loathing” (161). Since the portrait is the gateway to his soul, the symbol of his sin, the reader can infer that Dorian must be an awful person with a treacherous past. Throughout his life, Dorian has sinned and fails to recognize or deal with the sin. By not dealing with any of his wrongdoings for most of his life, he lacks the knowledge or how to repent for them. When the effects of his sins finally catch up to him and he seeks a way to repent for his sins, he does not know how. With insufficient knowledge of how to deal with the situation, he chooses to not deal with his sins at all, and instead run away from them. An example of this can be seen when he tries to escape from dealing with murdering Basil.

          Dorian, instead of confessing to others decides to get rid of the body in an attempt to avoid his sin. Instead of getting rid of the body himself, he blackmails his former friend, Alan Campbell, to get rid of the body for him while Dorian tells Alan that he has saved his life. Alan responds, “Your life? Good heavens! What a life that is! You have gone from corruption to corruption, and now you have culminated in crime. In doing what I am going to do, what you force me to do, it is not of your life that I am thinking” (176). Campbell wonders what type of life is he really saving. Can Dorian’s life be saved at all?

Dorian's life is filled with corruption upon corruption, with murder and blackmail topping it all off. Dorian has only known a life where his every capricious desire is met, where every person succumbs to his will. He has lived a life of greed, vanity, and pride. He has never had to truly grapple with his sins, his vices, and his misdeeds. Multitudes of religions preach that life is a time meant to break away from our lives of sinful pleasure. For example, Buddhism says the meaning of life is to end suffering by eliminating one’s cravings and earthly desires. Christianity preaches that the meaning of life is to live as Jesus did, the savior of all humans, the ultimate representation of salvation. Most religions like Buddhism and Christianity preach of putting off worldly pleasures so that you may live life as God intends us, and we see Dorian has failed to do this; thus, it is impossible to save Dorian because he avoids his sin. Looking at The Crucible when characters confess their sins and grapple with them, they actually find redemption.

Oscar Wilde makes it clear that sinners must confess their sin to find redemption through the character Basil Hallward. Basil Hallward is the only moral character in The Picture of Dorian Gray. But like all the other characters, he too has sinned as well. In the book, Basil Hallward worships the portrait of Dorian Gray. Once he realized he was worshipping a false idol, he immediately confesses his sin and tries to find redemption for it. Basil even tries to help Dorian by having him confess to his sin and atone for it: “Pray, Dorian, pray [… the prayer that] was taught [to us] to say […] Lead us not into temptation. Forgive us our sins […] The prayer of your pride has been answered. The prayer of your repentance will be answered also” (162). Thus Oscar Wilde notes the importance of confession.

            In The Crucible, the protagonist, John Proctor, also is looking for redemption for sinning. He soon encounters a problem: where does redemption come from? He believed that redemption came from others, so he first sought forgiveness from his wife. Instead of finding forgiveness, he is met with a coldness “that could freeze beer” (Miller 20). Receiving this unexpected response he is shocked: “I should have roared you down when first you told me your suspicion. But I wilted, and, like a Christian, I confessed! Some dream I had must have mistaken you for God that day” (55). But he is not deterred after he failed to find reconciliation from his wife, and he again tries to seek it from others, with hopes that he might find it through the community.
            John Proctor admits to the community that he committed adultery, coming clean with his sin, but once again it bares the opposite effect he hopes for. He is thrown in jail, accused of witchcraft, and is still burdened with inner turmoil. This unexpected response frustrates him: “I say –say –God is dead!” (119). He nearly gives up his search for redemption and nearly admits to Judge Danforth’s accusation of witchcraft, but he finally finds redemption.
            John Proctor finds redemption through a revelation instigated from Rebecca Nurse’s shock in his agreeing of committing witchcraft:  “Why it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself?” (140). This sparks the idea that instead of seeking peace from his peers, he should seek absolution from God. When he confesses to God, he finds peace: “There’s your first marvel […] for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (144). And while Proctor goes to his death, the author makes it clear that through his confession he has been forgiven through Elizabeth: “He have his goodness now” (145).

Similarly, Dimmesdale, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, also faces the daunting task of finding redemption after committing adultery. But he takes a different approach instead, seeking reconciliation from God rather than from the public. He tried to repent for his sin by abusing himself both mentally and physically. He mentally punished himself through his silence because “he loved the truth, and loathed the lie” (Hawthorne 131), yet the community loved him as a saint. Thus, he loathed his miserable self, for he was the lie that he hated so much. This self-hate drove him to physically punish himself with a whip. These acts of self-retribution did not satisfy him though, because he still felt inner conflict over his sin, which manifested itself as the letter A on his chest.

Dimmesdale finds peace at the end of The Scarlet Letter when he mounts the scaffold with Hester and Pearl confessing his sin to the entire community: “People of New England! Ye, that have loved me! –ye, that have deemed me holy! –behold me here, the one sinner of the world!” (228). After this, he pulls off his shirt to reveal “what has seared his inmost heart!” (228), finalizing his confession. Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, shows that the community had forgiven Dimmesdale through Pearl, as she “kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies” (229). Then Dimmesdale says, “The law we broke! –the sin here so awfully revealed! –let these alone be in thy thoughts! […] He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy most of all, in my afflictions” (229), justifying that one must seek forgiveness from God through confession. Ergo, Dimmesdale confessed his sin to finally find redemption.

Dimmesdale shares a similar characteristic to Dorian, that he too has a symbol of his sin. For Dorian, his sin is manifested in his portrait, and for Dimmesdale his sin is manifested as the letter A on his chest. Both Dorian and Dimmesdale try to hide the symbols of their sins from the public; Dimmesdale hides his under his shirt and Dorian hides his under lock and key on the roof of his house. Although both share similar circumstances, Dorian never finds reconciliation while Dimmesdale does. The reason being Dorian, unlike Dimmesdale, hides his sin, in order to escape its punishment, trying to live a pleasurable, carefree life. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, hides his sin as a means to protect the community and as a way to punish himself and ultimately confesses his sin and shows his sin. Dimmesdale’s confession of his sin played a crucial role in his salvation, justifying the need to admit his sin and atone for it. Both John Proctor and Dimmesdale sought redemption for their sins through confession, either publicly to the community or privately to God. By confessing their sin, they found peace to the turmoil that had stricken them comparably to Dorian who instead never confesses and never finds peace.

            Another character that is similar to Dorian is Chillingsworth in The Scarlet Letter. Chillingsworth’s sin. like Dorian Gray’s sin, is manifested in his appearance. The more Chillingworth sins, the uglier he becomes: “what a change had come over his features, –how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure more misshapen, –since the days when she familiarly known him” (Hawthorne 102). Thus, it is clear that Chillingworth has committed a horrid sin like Dorian. And like Dorian, Chillingworth does not confess his sin or try to repent it, resulting in his death. Once again, the necessity of confession and the atonement of sin are shown through Dorian and Chillingworth.

It is a sinner’s duty to confess their sin and atone for it. Looking at all the characters from The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, the necessity of confession is blatantly obvious. Every character sinned in the three stories in some way, but all those that confessed their sin found redemption. Those that did not confess did not have to deal with repercussions of their sins in the mortal life, but instead had to deal with their sins in the eternal life. God calls us to admit to our wrongdoings and to atone for them, for “the Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard ‘delay,’ but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

 

 

 

Witticisms

1. People often try to escape death yet death is the ultimate escape.

2. People say practice makes perfect yet they also say nobody's perfect. Go figure.

3. Love is the heart working over the mind, reasoning is the mind working over the heart, and your soul is the culmination of the heart and mind in a harmonious union.

4. The person you love the most often times is the person that is the hardest to love.

5. Love is the union of intimate intentions and irrational actions.

6. For all the virtues in the world the vices always seem more prevalent.

7. The world is a colorful place but too many people look at it with a black and white perspective.

8. Stupidity is not a measure of quantative knowlege but a measure of how one applies their knowledge in their life.

9. Life is hard, get use to it and it might get better, run away from it and it will get worse.

10. Love is like the seasons, it starts off as barren and cold, then it blossoms and becomes warm, after that its hot and steamy, then it becomes mature and beautiful, finally it whithers and dies. (Winter to spring to summer to autumn to winter)

Chapter 15 and 16

Quote: "As Dorian Gray drove back to his own house, he was conscious that the sense of terror he thought he had strangled had come back to him. Lord Henry's casual questioning had maded him lose his nerve for the moment, and he wanted his nerve still" (Wilde 186).

Explanation: Here Dorian Gray is discussing the fear and horror he felt after Lord Henry had asked him about what he did the night of Basil's murder. He feels the anxiety of being reminded of the deadly night in which he thought he would never have to think about again. He makes the assumption that after getting rid of the body he would be able to get rid of the sin and the guilt but he is just reminded of this sin because of Lord Henry. So once again he must try to bear with his sins and the fruits of his life of pleasure. But he has no desire, let alone the means, to deal with the sin for he has lived this pleasurable life for a long time. And he will most likely be unable to thwart off bearing his sin for "the dead linger sometimes. The man up-stairs will not go away" (174).

Quote: "To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul [...] He had often tried it, and would try it again now. There were opium dens [...] where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new" (189).

Explanation: And as it is becoming glaringly obvious that Dorian must deal with his sin sooner or later, Dorian chooses to try to avoid it. It is choice based on the fact that he has never trully grappled with his wrong doings and errors. And now when one of his mistakes comes to haunt him he chooses to take the easy way out and try to run away from it, rather then deal with it. He tries to use the one thing he knows best to help him forget his woes, pleasure: "he was determined to forget" (189). But he nows that his sins are catching up to him, he knows that he must deal with them but he has no idea how to deal with them: "He was prisoned in thought [...] he wanted to escape himself" (193).

Vocab:
Bulwark: an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
"He jovially termed it- was shown to be the proper bulwark of Society" (185).

Incorrigible: impervious to correction by punishment
"Isn't he incorrigible?" (183).

Chapter 14

Quote: "It is impossible for you to refuse now. I tried to spare you. You will do me the justice to admit that. You were stern, harsh, offensive. You treated me as no man has ever dared to treat me-no living man, at any rate. I bore it all. Now it is for me to dictate" (175).

Explanation: Dorian is speaking to Campbell, explaining to Campbell how he had tried to spare him, how he tried to not be aggressive, but Campbell had forced him to. And he clearly stresses that Campbell is the only "living man" to have attempted to deny Dorian of his wish. He is clearly making a comparison of Campbell to Basil. They are alike in the sense that they do not appease Dorian to his every whim. But in the end both succomb to Dorian's desires: Basil to stop discussing the corruption of Dorian's soul and Campbell to burn Dorian's body and any evidence pertaining to the murder. So as of yet Dorian has had every whimsy he has had fullfilled; whether it be through his charm, blackmail, and if necessary murder.

Quote: "Your life? Good heavens! what a life that is! You have gone from corruption to corruption, and now you have culminated in crime. In doing what I am going to do, what you force to do, it is not of your life that I am thinking" (176).

Explanation: Campbell is responding to Dorian who says, "Alan, you have saved my life" (176). But Campbell brings up the point what type of life is he really saving? Is he saving a life that is worth saving in the first place? Dorian's life is filled with corruption upon more corruption with murder and blackmail topping it all off. Dorian has only known a life where his every capricious desire is met, where every person succombs to his will. He has lived a life of greed, vanity, and pride. He has never had to trully grapple with his sins, his vices, and his misdeeds. Buddhism says the meaning of life is to "end suffering by detatching oneself from cravings and conceptual attatchments" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life). Judaism say life is to "serve the one true God and to prepare for the world to come" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life). And Christianity teaches that man's purpose is "to glorify God and love him forever [...] love the lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbors as ourselves" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life). All of these religions preach of bettering ourselves so that we may care for others and we see Dorian has failed to do this; thus most of life, his precious youthful life, has been wasted and is not worth saving now.


Vocab:

Taper: diminish gradually

"He glanced at his own white taper fingers" (167-168).



Entreat: ask for or request earnestly

"I entreat you, Alan" (174)

Chapter 12 and 13

Quote: "How quickly it had all been done! He felt strangely calm, and, walking over to the window, opened it, and stepped out on the balcony" (Wilde 163).

Explanation: Dorian has just killed Basil and is now conveying his serene state of mind, as if nothing had happened. He seems to have no remorse and no regret for killing one of his closest friends. The reader can thus take this as a symbol of how far Dorian has been corrupted. He has gone to the point where he indulges every pleasure he feels: "Dorian Gray glanced at the picture, and suddenly an uncontrollable feeling of hatred for Basil Hallward came over him, as though it had been suggested to him by the image on the canvas, whispered into his ear by those grinning lips [...] He rushed at him, and dug the knife into the great vein [...] crushing the mans head down on the table" (162). 

Quote:  "Years ago, when I was a boy [...] you met me, flattered me, and taught me to be vain of my good looks. One day you introduced me to a friend of yours, who explained to me the wonder of beauty" (160-161).

Explanation: Here Dorian is addressing Basil and the fact that he first became aware of his beauty and met Henry a man of bad influence. He is acknowledging his vanity and is also linking it to Basil, claiming that Basil is the reason why he is so vain. His argument is that he first introduced him to the idea of his beauty and introduced him to people with bad ideas that corrupted him. This may be a motive for why Dorian had killed Basil.

Vocab:

Debauchery: excessive indulgence in sensual pleasure

"Did I teach the one his vice and the other his debauchery" (155).

Ignoble: not honorable in character or purpose

"It was some foul parody, some infamous, ignoble satire" (160).

Chapter 11

Quote: "He grew more and more enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul. He would examine with minute care, and sometimes with a monstrous and terrible delight, the hideous lines that weared the wrinkling forehead or crawled around the heavy, sensual mouth, wondering sometimes which were the more horrible, the signs of sin or the signs of age. He would place his white hands beside the coarse bloated hands of the picture, and smile. He mocked the mishapen body and the failing limbs" (131).

Explanation: Here Dorian Gray is looking at the portrait of himself and at his reflection through the mirror. The narrator explicitly explains the differences that Dorian notes between the two images. The first immediate thought that comes to mind is that he enjoys looking at the differences between the images. But looking deeper into the quote one comes to the conclusion that he does not find joy from the differences of the pictures he instead enjoys the carefree pleasure that he experiences, which is shown through the contrast of the images. The images serve as a manifestation of the pleasures he enjoys without fear of reprimand: "The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame; that was all" (Wilde 109).

Quote: "For the canons of good society are, or should be, the same as the canons of art. Form is absolutely essential to it. It should have the dignity of a ceremony, as well as its unreality, and should combine the insincere character of a romantic play with the wit and beauty that makes such plays delightful to us. Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities" (146).

Explanation [opinion]: I think that canons of good society should be totally seperated from the canons of art. I agree that society should have form and structure so that everyone can easily follow it, but I disagree that it should have unreality as well as insincereity. These elements are used by authors to capture our imagination and they do this because they are so radical to us. That is what makes plays and movies so enticing, for they speak of amazing and unthought of ideas and reactions to a situation that are more likely unsuited and inappropriate for normal life. Therefore canons of society should be different and seperate from the canons of the art.

Vocab:
Sojourn: a temporary stay
"An inn that is but suitable for the sojourn of a night" (136).

Enamored: marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
"He grew more and more enamored of his own beauty" (131).

chapter 9 and 10

Quote: "He regretted that he had not told Basil the true reason why he had wished to hide the picture away. Basil would have helped him to resist Lord Henry's influence, and still more poisonous influences that came from his own teperament" (Wilde 122).

Explanation: Dorian is showing some regret for the decision he has made to live the life of pleasure. Thus there is still some resentment of the direction he is headed, because he says that Basil could have helped him to avoid "Lord Henry's influence [and the] poisonous influences that came from his own temperament" (122). But instead of trying to withdraw from this immoral life, he chooses to continue because he believes that "the future was inevitable. There were passions in him that would find their terrible outlet, dreams that would make the shadow of their evil real" (123).

Quote: "The love that he bore him-for it was really love- had nothing in it htat was not noble and intellectual. It was not that mere physical admiration of beauty that is born of the senses, and that dies when the senses tire. It was such love as Michael Angelo had known, and Montaigne, and Winckelmann, and Shakespearer himself" (122).

Explanation: Dorian is explaining the love that Basil has for him. It is partially a love for his physique, "It was not that mere physical admiration of beauty that is born of the senses" (122). So there is physical attraction which is characteristic of homosexuality. But he also references another type of  love that Basil has, a love that is characterized by Michael Angelo, Montaigne, Winckelmann, and Shakespeare; all of whom had homosexual feelings that they shared and depicted through their art. He like them showed his homosexual feelings through his work. Thus Dorian is saying that Basil has traits that can be considered gay.

Vocab:

Misanthrope: someone who dislikes people in general

"He had absolutely notihing to do, almost died of ennui, and became a confirmed misanthrope" (113).

Reverie: absent minded dreaming while awake

"As he passed from chapter to chapter, a form of reverie, a malady of dreaming, that made him unconscious of the falling day and the creeping shadows" (129).

chapter 8

Quote: "It had made him conscious how unjust, how cruel, he had been to Syble Vane. [...] the portrait that Basil Hawward had painted of him would be a guide to him through life, would be to him what holiness is to some, and conscience to others, and the fear of God to us all" (100).

Explanation: This excerpt is explaining Dorian's mind set at the beginning of the chapter, when he is free of Lord Henry manipulative reach. Dorian has become more conscious of his actions and how awful he was to Syble Vane. And he notes that the picture serves as a physical symbol of his moral compass , his conscience. And Dorian makes a committment to being a decent person with good intentions, to being a good moral agent. But when Lord Henry visits Dorian, Dorian is again corrupted by Lord Henry's bad influence, and his former disdain for henry, "Yes, it was better let Lord Henry in , and [...] to quarrel with him [...] [and] to part" (100), becomes respect and reliance, "I am awfully obliged to you for all that you have said to me. You are certainly my best friend. No one has ever understood me as you have" (108).

Quote: "He felt that the time had really come for making his choice. Or had his choice already been made? Yes, life had decided that for him-life, and his own infinite curiousity about life. Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasure subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins-he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame; that was all" (109).

Explanation: Here Dorian finally makes the decision to live a life of pleasure and temptation, he will give in and fullfill every thought, desire, and hunger. Though he says that it is due to some other force and his curiousity. Yes after talking with Lord Henry he finally changed and is now fully subjected to Lord Henry's testing  of Lord Henry's morals but Dorian references the portrait saying that it would "bear the burden of his shame" (109), meaning he has some some shame for giving into this pleasurable  life yet chooses to do so anyways and he is shifting the guilt that comes from it to the painting. Thus he is making the decision to change, he is to blame for any bad consquences that are to come.

Vocab:

Abject: of the most contemptible kind

"I say nothing about the social mistake, which would have been abject"(104).

Affinity: kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship

"Was there some subtle affinity between the chemical atoms" (99).

chapter 7

Quote: "There were no signs of any chnage when he looked into the actual painting, and yet there was no doubt that the whole expression had altered. It was not a mere fancy of his own. The thing was horribly apparent" (Wilde 94-95).

Explanation: The narrator is explaining Dorian's perception of how the portrait of himself is changing. He first believes the image is changing noting that "there was a touch of a cruelty in the mouth" (94). But he goes on to conclude "The picture had not changed" (96). Ergo, the painting was not changing but he was. The painting represented the man he was, and the changes that were taking place in him. The portrait is the gateway to his soul as his soul was the inspiration for the portrait: "I won't tell you that [...] his beauty is such that Art cannot express it. There is nothing that Art cannot express [...] his personality has suggested to me an enitrely new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style" (12).

Quote: "For every sin that he committed, a stain would fleck and wreck it fairness. But he would not sin. The picture, changed or unchanged, would be to him the visible emblem of conscience. He would resist temptation. He would not see Lord Henry any more-would not, at any rate, listen to those subtle, poisonous theories that in Basil Hallaward's garden had first stirred within him the passion for impossible things" (96).

Explanation: "Dorian is realizing his change and is beginning to make a committment to not change any further. And he clearly recognizes that Lord Henry is part of the reason he is changing, for Lord Henry had "subtle, poisonous theories." So the first step towards stopping his change is to commit himself to become free from Lord Henry's influence, which may prove difficult because Lord Henry was the symbol of all the pleasures in the world that Dorian had never encountered. And like all temptations it is hard to resist, and that will be difficult for throughout the book Lord Henry has been teaching Dorian to feed his temptations with immoral pleasures. So whether Dorian follows through with his committment to avoid Lord Henry and to prevent the change himself is uncertain, though it is quite certain that it will most likely be uphill battle for Dorian.

Vocab:
Listlessly: in a listless (lacking zest or vivacity) manner
"And began to eat them listlessly"(93).

Ardent: characterized by intense emotion
"The quivering, ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the moth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing" (94).

Chapter 5 and 6

Quote: "And I don't forgive you for being late for dinner" (79). -Lord Henry

Explanation: Lord Henry is talking to Dorian Gray and showing his displeasure in Dorian's lateness. Yet Lord Henry is always late which he says is due to his priniciple, "his principle being that punctuality was the thief of time" (48). Henry thus is a hypocrite for he holds Dorian accountable for being late when he himself upholds a principle that dictates he should always be late. One can assume therefore that some of the rules and prinicples that he creates and lives by are only a ruse to get what he wants, showing his self excessive nature. And this nature fuels his unsatiable desire to find answers to his questions on immoral things which he uses Dorian to test. So Dorian therefore is a guinea pig to Lord Henry prideful search to feed his gluttonous appetite for knowledge.

Quote: "I wish I had, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if he ever does you any wrong, I shall kill him" (73). -James Vane

Explanation: James is speaking to his sister, Syble, about Dorian Gray and how he will kill Dorian if Dorian was ever to hurt her in anyway. This is similar to those father/brother figures that people often encounter in a family. But this also shows James underlying concern and love for Syble and her well being. He will go as far as to kill a man in her defense. This may play a role in the future of the story if Dorian mistreats Syble because of his moral turmoil caused by Lord Henry.

Vocab:

Incorrigible: impervious to correction by punishment
"You are quite incorrigible, Harry" (81).

Tableau: any dramatic scene
"She felt sure that the tableau was interesting" (66).

Chapter 4

Quote: "Lord Henry watched him with a subtle sense of  pleasure. How different he was now from the shy, frightened boy he had met in Basil Hallward's studio! His nature had developed like a flower, had borne blossoms of scarlet flame. Out of its secret hiding-place had crept his Soul, and Desire had come to meet it on the way" (Wilde 59).

Explanation: The narrator is explaining Lord Henry's joy of seeing how Dorian is changing as a result of him. This change may be for the good or bad but Lord Henry has no care about it because Dorian is the experiment and "the experimental method was the only method by which one could arrive at any scientific analysis of the passions; and certainly Dorian Gray was a subject made to his hand, and seemed to promise rich and fruitful results" (63). And from the accounts of others characters, his affects on others are usually bad so Lord Henry is only manipulating Dorian to please his need for intellectual hunger. Thus the reader can assume that Lord Henry may have no limit to how far he may push Dorian thus Dorean may undergo an extreme change in his personality as well as morality.

Quote: "Harry [...] I cannot help telling you things. You have a curious influence over me. If I ever did a crime, I would come and confess it to you. You would understand me" (56).

Explanation: Dorian is talking to Lord Henry and admitting to how susceptible he is to Lord Henry's will. Thus Dorian is already being manipulated by Henry, but he has no knowledge of it. He believes Harry is a person he can seek proper guidance from, and Lord Henry knows this: "You could not have helped telling me, Dorian. All through your life you will tell me everything you do" (56). 

Vocab

Doublet: a man's close fitting jacket; worn during the Renaissance

"I have watched her wandering through the forest of Arden, disguised as a pretty boy in hose and doublet"(55).

Rouge: makeup consisting  of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks

"Rouge and esprit used to go together" (51).

chapter 3

Quote: "Yes, he would try to be to Dorian Gray, what, without knowing it, the lad was to the fpainter who had fashinged the wonderful portrait. He would seek to dominate him -had already, indeed, half done so. He would make that wonderful spirirt his own" (Wilde 40)

Explanation: The narrator is explaining how Lord Henry wants to become a very strong influence on Dorian Gray: "He would seek to dominate him" (40). And it is clear that Lord Henry does not play a good influence with anyone he comes to contact, which is clearly outlined by Basil, "Your influence would be bad" (16), and by the Dutchess, "Lord Henry, you are quite delightful, and dreadfully demoralizing" (45). This means that if Dorian Gray was to seek guidance from Lord Henry it would be disastorous and life altering.

Quote: "I would sooner come with you; ues, I feel i must come with you. Do let me. And you will promise to tak to me all the time? No one talks so wonderfully as you do" (47). -Dorian

Explanation: Dorian is speaking to Lord Henry. It seems clear that Dorian has begun to grow attatched to Lord Henry similar to the way that Lord Henry wants him to be. This means that the reader can expect a change for the worse in Dorain Gray, due in part to Lord Henry's bad influence.

Vocab:

Egad: exclamation expressing exultation or surprise

"The men were a poor lot, but egad! the women were wonderful" (37).

Capricious: determined by chance or impulse or whim reather than by necessity or reason

"But had retired from the Diplomatic Service in a capricious moment of annoyance on not being offered the embassy at Paris" (35).