Activiy 1.7

Activity 1.7

Hamlet’s motivation for his transformations is mainly that of his desire to avenge his father, as the ghost asked him to. His anger from other people’s reactions and choices of what to do after King Hamlet’s death frustrate him, and madden him. When this madness it truly insane, or simply just anger is not clear. His seems to become harsher towards people, less forgiving and more bloodthirsty. His appearance seems to change less, however from seeing the ghost, he becomes pale, and his hair stands on end. The well known quote “you look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” fits into this very well.

Hamlet’s transformations are believed to be madness by all of those closest to him. Polonius believes that he has found the reason for his madness—not the fact that his father has died and his mother remarried so soon, but instead it’s that he’s deeply and madly in love with Ophelia. He’s concentrating completely on her, writing her poetry and love letters. Ophelia’s unsure reaction must be part of the cause as well. Ophelia herself seems a bit fearful of Hamlet’s transformations. She’s not comfortable with his maddened nature. She believes that he is mad in some way or another. Horatio may be the one person who does not believe Hamlet to be mad. He sticks by him through the whole changes that Hamlet makes, and seems to respect him quite a bit. In return, Hamlet also always shows Horatio more respect that other people close to him.
Gertrude does not like the transformations, and is worried that her son is truly going mad. She tries to find out what its wrong many ways, and always tries to talk with him about it. Hamlet however, pushes her away, and she is somewhat fearful of him because of it.

Activity 1.5

Activity 1.5

Thesis statement: Gertrude does everything she does because she loves her son, Hamlet, and wants to help him; nothing is done without consideration for him in one way or another.

Marrying Claudius right away would ensure she still has some power, to keep her son safe and perhaps next in line for the throne. Hamlet believes she’s done something awful by marrying Claudius, however she doesn’t see it that way.
“What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue
In noise so rude against me?” (III. iv. 14-51)
Gertrude truly sees what she’s done as something good for Hamlet.


Gertrude is heartbroken to see her son acting as madly and angry as he does. She wants only to help him be happy again.

“‘Forgive me this my virtue, For in the fatness of these pursy times Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.’
‘O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.” (III. iv. 147-202)

Hamlet here is still explaining how angry he is, and why, and she sees his point of view, and is very hurt. She didn’t ever mean to hurt him as she accidentally did. Gertrude even asks her son for his opinion on how to talk to Claudius after her meeting with Hamlet.

“‘The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel only to be kind. Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. One word more, good lady—’
‘What shall I do?’” (III. iv. 147-202)


She goes along with the plan Claudius created that would go on after the play, to find out what was bothering Hamlet. She could have done this for the sake of her son, not for the sake of Claudius.

She agreed to talk to Hamlet in her room after the play, hoping to learn what was bothering him so. Was it really the fact she had married so soon, or something else? But she cared enough about her son to do this for him.
(Cannot find the example in the text I wanted to use, really sorry.)

Activiy 1.6 (No, they're not in order.)

Activity 1.6

Hamlet is securely past the first level of Maslow’s Hierarchy. We notice that he’s striving for revenge and focused on those psychological needs that he’s trying to fulfill. For much of the play he is trying to discover whether the ghost of his father was telling the truth about his death, or if he was just a hallucination. This would be listed under the highest level on Maslow’s Hierarchy, the ‘acceptance of facts’. Once this need has been met, Hamlet moves onto his next psychological need: avenging his father, by killing his uncle, Claudius. This need, however is temporarily abandoned when Claudius sends him away to England. His needs are lowered to a more basic level, (the second lowest level, to be exact) which is simply to survive and escape from certain death. Arriving back in Denmark, Hamlet resumes his plans for avengement, climbing higher on the Hierarchy.

One interesting thing about Hamlet is that he never seems to need to meet anything on the fourth level of the Hierarchy: esteem. His respect of and for others seems to either always be there for certain people. But for others—even when Hamlet is focused on the highest level—he shows little respect ever. He never acts as if he lacks confidence, and his self-esteem looks to be anywhere but low. It’s interesting, because though someone can jump back and forth on the levels if it’s required for them, Hamlet almost can be considered someone who almost cannot be ranked. There are levels that he doesn’t seem to ever try to achieve, some which he has little difficulty with, and some which are seemingly combined.

Activiy 1.3

Activity 1.3

Reality known:
The play takes place in Denmark.
King Hamlet has died.
The queen, Gertrude has remarried to Claudius, the late King’s brother.
Hamlet discovers that Claudius murdered King Hamlet.
Hamlet is considered by some to be insane.
Hamlet murders Polonius.
Ophelia becomes depressed and goes mad.
Hamlet is sent off to England.


Hamlet- Hamlet mourns the death of his father probably more than anyone. He believes it’s wrong for his mother to have married Claudius so soon after her husband’s death. He shows his anger of this towards both his mother and stepfather. Hamlet begins to act more and more crazy, deceiving people into believing he is—he himself denies that he is mad. When he is sent off to England, Hamlet eventually manages to escape and get back to Denmark.
Because of Hamlet’s knowledge that Claudius killed his brother, he becomes angry, and bent on killing Claudius. This becomes him main focus, and he seems impartial to everything else. This affects him in that his hated for his stepfather isn’t exactly hidden forever. He eventually dies from a plot created by Claudius.

Claudius- Claudius is one of the few people who know the truth about the death of his brother, King Hamlet. Claudius was actually the reason for his death; he poisoned the king. Claudius believes Hamlet to be insane. He does not understand all of the ranting he does, and with all of the traumatic events that had happened to Hamlet, Claudius believes them to have pushed his stepson over the edge. He first says he’ll send Hamlet off to England to be out of the way, and to help him get better from all of the troubles going on. He decides afterwards, once he knows that Hamlet is aware of his murderous acts, that he must kill him, to solve the problem.
Claudius feels guilty for the acts he’s committed, and asks forgiveness for his sins. Hamlet overhears this, and decides to wait to kill him, so that he will not have been forgiven of future sins. Claudius sends Hamlet off to England to be rid of him, as he causes a bit of trouble around the castle, and once the play has been acted, and he realized that Hamlet knew about King Hamlet’s murder, Claudius adds that Hamlet should be killed, and that knowledge die with him. By sending him away, Hamlet was able to come to some realizations, and when he came back to Denmark, he was determined even more to kill the King. He does succeed, probably partially due to the fact that Claudius tried to be rid him.

Gertrude- Gertrude is unaware that Claudius has killed her husband for the throne. She believes that his death was accidental. She chooses to marry her husband’s brother, for whatever her reasons may be, in her eyes, this could be the best thing for her to do. When Claudius tells her that he’s going to send Hamlet to England, in his best interest, Gertrude believes that it truly could help her son. She sees him as delusional, when he sees the ghost in her room, and she cannot. By sending him away, Gertrude feels that it’ll be the best thing to do. By the end of the play, Gertrude’s ignorance disperses and she finally sees the truth, which only happens as she is dying from the poison.

Ophelia- Ophelia loves Hamlet, but when his focus turns onto killing Claudius, and she sees him becoming full of what appears to be madness and rage, she fears him and what she believes he’s becoming. She also hears from people that Hamlet is mad, and that she must find out what the reason for it is. So she beings to see that he is crazy.
Between the torment of losing her lover, and the death of her father, Ophelia becomes very depressed from it all; falling into a state of madness as well, finally ending in death ( not concluded whether it was by accident, or suicide.)

Polonius- Polonius was probably blinded a lot for the love of his children, Laerites and Ophelia. When he sees that Hamlet is acting mad and may be a danger to his daughter, Polonius is willing to go along with Claudius’s plans to discover Hamlet’s cause of personality change. Along with the fact he feels he must follow the king’s orders, Polonius had many a reason to spy on Hamlet, which in the end caused his death.

Laerties- With the death of his father, Laerites thinks that Claudius is to blame, and focuses his anger and sorrow briefly on him. Claudius assures him this is not the case, and blames Hamlet for everything. When Hamlet returns to Denmark, Laerties has accepted the plan to kill him. While Laerites does indeed manage to hit Hamlet with a strike that will kill him, Hamlet also is able to do the same to Laerties.

Journal Reflection.
The family unit in society is so very important. In Hamlet, it’s visible that the royal family, who very little acted like a ‘family unit’ all turned against each other in one way or another. In the end, it ultimately resulted in the whole family dying from each other’s murderous plans. Polonius’s family, which was a more caring and close family, did as well die, however they did because they were trying to avenge, or to protect their family members. Without family units in society, people would not be able to learn the important lessons; society might be more separated.

Deliverable: Activity 1.2

Hamlet activity 1.2


Deliverable: Identify the major family units in the play and develop a family tree to illustrate the relationships among the family members. Identify what crises affect each family. Describe how each family copes. Compare and contrast how the roles of a stereotypical nuclear family are fulfilled in the play.

Royal family:
King Hamlet was married to the Queen, Gertrude.
Their son was Hamlet.
Claudius is the brother of King Hamlet—the uncle of young Hamlet. He marries Gertrude after the murder of King Hamlet; becoming Hamlet’s step-father.

Crises:
The death of King Hamlet and Gertrude marrying his brother so quickly afterwards. One could also argue that Hamlet’s acting of/or truly going mad also counts as a crisis.

Coping:
I don’t really see a lot that can be called coping in this family.
Hamlet lashes out at the people closest to him, feeling betrayed. He also seeks revenge on his uncle for the death of his father.
Gertrude marries Claudius, perhaps to keep herself secure as Queen.
Claudius, as being the one who murdered his brother, prays for forgiveness for murdering his brother, and attempts to remove Hamlet from Denmark.

Comparing to a stereotypical nuclear family:
Similarities--> Son is unhappy and confused as to how his mother could remarry so soon after the death of her husband.
-->Mother wants to help her son and support him, as she loves him dearly.
-->There’s a lot of stress and sadness in the family, as there would be, when a death occurs.

Differences--> One brother usually doesn’t kill another.
-->A son usually doesn’t take out revenge on their uncle, and then again, it’s not too common for the uncle to become the son’s stepfather.
--> Father’s ghost usually doesn’t come to his son and tell him to avenge him.


Family of Chamberlain:
Polonius is the father of Laerties and Ophelia. Their mother is not mentioned.

Crises:
Ophelia’s decent into madness and her state of depression. The death of Polonius later on in the play is also a crisis.

Coping:
Ophelia can’t seem to deal with the death of her father, and goes into a state of madness. Laerties is angry when he finds out about both his father and then his sister’s death, and wants to kill Hamlet for what he’s done.

Comparing to a stereotypical nuclear family:
Similarities--> Laerties is angry towards the man who has destroyed his family.

Differences--> Normally attempted murder is not a way that someone deals with problems. People usually try and save a person from going mad, rather than leaving her be.

Note:

My ISU isn't in proper format, but I'm handing it in on paper, so I hope that doesn't matter. I just posted it now to show that I completed it before the deadline. Hope there's no problems with that.

Second ISU

Humour is an important part of life. It cheer one up almost anytime, even reminders of sometime funny can make someone grin. There are so many different types of humour that can be found almost anywhere. In the Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, there are so many different types of humour that can be found. Satire is a large focus of his, but as well, to keep the jokes rolling in smaller scenes and not just the novel in general, he uses many literary devices to create humour. Pratchett manages to write using a distinct mix of different types of humour which aids in defining his style of writing—making it distinctly his own.


Many times in The Colour of Magic, Pratchett makes use of irony as a comedic device. The two most noticeable here are verbal irony, and dramatic irony. Verbal irony as sarcasm is used in this novel, as well as verbal irony simply where a character says something, yet means another. One of the characters, Twoflower, desperately wants to live the ‘adventurous’ life, living and breathing authentic perilous journeys and such. He has, before meeting Rincewind, never experienced anything remotely exciting before. Twoflower mentions to Rincewind that “[He] doesn’t take risks. About the most exciting thing that happened to [him] was knocking over a pot of ink. [He] assess[es] risks.”’ (Pratchett, 34) Knocking over a pot of ink is not exciting and though the reader could argue whether this is irony or not; whether Twoflower knows this and simply means that he’s not an exciting person, or rather does he just truly believe that knocking over a pot of ink could be considered funny. In some cases, this could be considered sarcasm, if Twoflower felt contempt for the absence of excitement in his life. However, Twoflower is rather a distracted character, and quite good natured, so for him, he would say it without any contempt, creating an amusing result.
When Twoflower and Rincewind are into their adventure, the tourist comes up with what he thinks are brilliant suggestions. They usually are something that people would disagree with, but Twoflower cannot figure this out.
‘“I have a great idea!” He burbled.
“Yah,” said Rincewind, wearily. “Why don’t we get Hrun to accompany us to Quirm?”’ (Pratchett, 100) Rincewind is completely against inviting Hrun the Barbarian to accompany them, as he is convinced the warrior would rob them of their provisions and money and then leave them to die. He doesn’t really mean what he says, and yet he doesn’t say it in a mocking tone. He says “[he] thought [Twoflower]’d think of it,” (Pratchett, 100). This is humourous not only in irony, but also that the reader can identify that Rincewind has become tired of his friend’s ideas.


Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that a character does not. This is used in interesting ways throughout the novel; the dramatic irony does not include a large amount of the plotline, but instead focuses in smaller situations that take place.

‘Later, he remembered only two things about the fight. He recalled the uncanny way in which the wizard's sword curved up and caught his own blade with a shock that jerked it out of his grip. The other thing—and it was this, he averred, that led to his downfall—was that the wizard was covering his eyes with one hand.’ (Pratchett, 113-114)

The reader and Rincewind are aware of the true nature of the fight. They both know why Rincewind was able to win the fight without having any training—the magical sword did all the work. Rincewind’s opponent, however, has no idea of this; and as Pratchett writes this scene in third person, from the opponent’s point of view, the reader can laugh at the ignorance of the character. Rincewind also has been given his moments of ignorance, which in a case or two, can almost count as well for slapstick humour.

‘First, an enraged she-bear had barged through the undergrowth and taken the throat out of his horse with one swipe of her paw. Then, as Rincewind had fled the carnage, he had run into a glade in which a number of irate wolves were milling about. His instructors at Unseen University, who had despaired of Rincewind's inability to master levitation, would have been amazed at the speed with which he reached and climbed the nearest tree, without apparently touching it.’ (Pratchett, 71-72)

Before Rincewind ran into all of this trouble, Twoflower had came through and stirred up all of these animals. This is found funny to the reader as they are aware of the cause of these problems while Rincewind believes it to be just his bad luck, but the irony is what is unbeknownst to him.


Sarcasm is often considered to be the same thing as verbal irony; however there are important differences. Ridicule of the topic being discussed is required for something to be considered sarcastic. Verbal irony simply put is when someone says one thing, yet means another. There does not have to be any scorn in one’s voice. Pratchett uses both verbal irony and sarcasm throughout this novel, and both are different. Rincewind, one of the main characters in The Colour of Magic, is quite good at being sarcastic. As he has been dragged into an adventure he’d rather have stayed out of, almost anything ticks him off and his response is more often than not, one of mockery.

‘It held biscuits that turned out to be as hard as diamondwood.
"Captain Eightpanther's Travellers' Digestives, them," said the imp from the doorway to his box. "Saved many a life at sea, they have."
"Oh, sure. Do you use them as a raft, or just throw them to the sharks and sort of watch them sink?"’ (Pratchett, 45)

Having just been chased by thieves and almost attacked by animate luggage, Rincewind is thoroughly disappointed to find out that there is no good food around. Unfortunate events such as this happen to him all the time in The Colour of Magic; disappointed by them, Rincewind responds with sarcasm in a way that sparks laughter in the reader.


Rincewind also amuses readers by looking pessimistically at both Twoflower’s life and his own. Every situation will always be made the worst of, in his view. Twoflower at one point suggests that for an escape, they might leap out the window of their room.

‘“A great way of escape,” muttered Rincewind, from his perch halfway up the wall. “You said it looks out over the Edge. Just step out, eh, and plunge through space and maybe freeze solid or hit some other world at incredible speeds or plunge wildly into the burning heat of a sun?” (Pratchett, 185)

While Twoflower had suggested the window simply to leave out no options, Rincewind looks down at this, and has found almost every available end result to that suggestion. It’s amusing to read this, seeing as the reader will recognize that the wizard is contradicting himself when he says it’s a ‘great idea’ and then goes on to list anything and everything negative that could happen; hinting that he obviously doesn’t really like the idea.


Pratchett strongly bases his plot around parodies and satirical jokes, playing off ancient mythology and mocking different beliefs and theories. Funny about this also, is that he chooses not to prey on one certain culture or theory, but instead uses many different ones and mixes them together, showcasing a satirical group of the eclectic beliefs on Earth.

‘Great A’Tuin the turtle comes, swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf […] He thinks only of the weight. Most of the weight is of course accounted for by Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen, the four giant elephants upon whose broad and star-tanned shoulders the Disc of the World rests.’ (Pratchett, 1)

Pratchett himself mentions that he did indeed borrow off ancient myths to create this world of which the Discworld rests; and of course, the Discworld happens to be flat—once a theory of the Earth. The reader may catch onto these analogies, finding humour in how Pratchett chooses to make fun of them.

‘An alternative [theory], favored by those of a religious persuasion, was that A’Tuin was crawling from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, as were all the stars in the sky which were, obviously, also carried by giant turtles. When they arrived they would briefly and passionately mate, for the first and only time, and from that fiery union new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. This was known as the Big Bang hypothesis.’ (Pratchett, 2)

The use of the word “obviously” in the quote above is important to the humour of it. Pratchett alludes to how people sometimes believe in a theory and act as if they are right, whether they can prove it or not. Here is the assumption that this theory is the only correct theory so how can one not agree with it. What else adds to the humour is Pratchett’s interpretation of the “Big Bang theory” for the Discworld; well known is the original hypothesis among societies and here it is turned into a satirical version.


Pratchett makes many small but noticeable jabs at society’s beliefs and along with concepts that are usually taken for granted or never really questioned. People have always created theories as answers for natural phenomena that at the time cannot otherwise be explained. Pratchett uses this, along with the “everyone says” tone of writing, to give a comedic outlook on theories and premises. ‘The imp gave him a kind but pitying look.
“Lightning is the spears hurled by the thunder giants when they fight,” it said gently. “Established meteorological fact. You can’t harness it.”’ (Pratchett, 44) The sentence here that strikes the most humour is “established meteorological fact.” The imp is explaining what lightning is, and how it’s been a proven fact, yet when Rincewind mentioned that he wished to harness it, the reader immediately thinks about harnessing the energy; when the surprise and absurdity of the explanation from the imp is revealed, it’s amusing to recognize how unreal it would be.

‘“Inn-sewer-ants,” repeated Rincewind. “Tha’s a funny word. Wossit mean?”
[…]”I Work out the odds against the cargo being lost, based on weather reports and piracy records for the last twenty year, then a add a bit, then you pay me some money based on those odds—”
“—and the bit—” Rincewind said, […]
“—and then, if the cargo is lost, I reimburse you.” […] “I get it. It’s like a bet, right?”
“A wager? In a way, I suppose.” (Pratchett, 34)

The reader will most likely share the surprise that Twoflower does when Rincewind compares insurance to a bet. When examined, one notices the similarities that exist between the two. Pratchett plays on this, pointing out somewhat of a flaw in the idea of insurance when Rincewind asks if Twoflower “bet Broadman it wouldn’t catch on fire?” (Pratchett, 59) The Drum was on fire when this conversation went on, and the reader knows that Broadman purposely set it on fire, so that he would get the money for it. The reader realizes the foolishness of Twoflower’s actions, and how insurance policies have interesting flaws to them.


There is a grand amount of humour throughout The Colour of Magic; this essay only covers a few examples of what can be found inside. Originality resides because of the mix of comedy, and how it’s used. There are so many various types of it and they’re all so funny, especially when mixed together; as they have been in Pratchett’s novel. Through the irony, the satire and the humourous other bits that are thrown in, there’s enough to say that Pratchett has defined a style of writing inside comedic literature, that he can call his own—and is distinctly identifiable.

ISU second book choice.

I (finally) chose my second ISU novel. Something off the list... (again). It was kind of funny when I told Mr. Murray that most of the book choices on the list where not very interesting; at least in my own opinion. Anyways, I chose Colours Of Magic by Terry Pratchett. It sounds quite interesting-- and I now just need to find a hard copy of it somewhere. Ottawa Library, I'm hoping!

Standardization Final

1. It appears that promoting the English language in the Eastern Districts in an offense.

2. Liberal candidate for this riding, Boudria,even insults Anglophones.
2.a. Puts his campaign ads only in French.

4. Majority of funding goes to the French.
4. a. New flag was put up to celebrate the French but not for English.

3. Anglophones are the minority
3. a. We deserve the same rights as the French do when they’re the minority.

5. English people are excluded from government jobs in this region.

Therefore

6. We deserve the same right of the Francophones.

Standardized Argument Numero 2

I don't know about this one... I think I may have my therefore statement wrong. Some insight, please?




1. It appears that promoting the English language in the Eastern Districts in an offense.

2. Even the Liberal candidate, Boudria insults Anglophones.
2.a. Puts his campaign ads only in French.

4. Majority of funding goes to the French.
4. a. New flag was put up to celebrate the French.

3. Anglophones are the minority
3. a. We deserve the same rights as the French do when they’re the minority.

5. English people are excluded from government jobs.

Therefore

6. We deserve the same right of the Francophones.

Week # I've already lost track.

Well I thought I should just do a general update on by blog, something other than just the assignments I've been working on. The rugby tournament on Friday was so much fun, but of course I accomplished no homework whatsoever that day, or Saturday even. You know where you have those days where... you just cannot get anything done? It was one of those days. So ha, I left myself a lot to do on Sunday. And most of that was taken up other work anyways. Hmm.

I'm glad my sports are slowing down now, and I can concentrate on just the schoolwork for a while!

Standardized Argument #1.

Okay, I hope this file doesn't take forever to load. I had to scan it in, and the editorial itself was quite large; so I had to make the whole file readable.



STANDARDIZED ARGUMENT #1.

1. To face death with high spirits is tough to do.

2. Death physically surrounds us through lifeless landscape.

2. a. Follows us culturally.

2. a. i. Examples are the War Memorials we have, and the memories of those we keep by our hearts.

3. It’s one thing to accept that death happens, even to ourselves,

3. a. Another thing entirely to comprehend that simply put: after death, we will not exist in this world we call home.

4. Death diminishes this world.

4. a. Older we get, more our world shrinks.

4. a. i. More our level of sadness over those who die, grows.

4. b. Close or distant to us, all death lessens us, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

5. Professionals suggest what the “grieving process” should belike, dividing it mainly into “stages” using a vocabulary filled with “normal” and “healthy”

5. a. This is what could be considered one of the toughest times of a person’s life.

THEREFORE

6. Death it terrible. Period.

7. No matter how prettily we try to colour this picture, the loss of a life is instinctively sad.

7. a. Especially those who are so close to us.

Logical Fallacy - Special Pleading

Here we go...

Special Pleading.

Latin Name: Precipuus Oro

Definition: When standards or expectations are applied to people around a person, and yet they are exempt from those standards without any justified reasoning.

Syllogism:

1. Person A accepts standard(s) S and applies them to others in circumstance(s) C.

2. Person A is in C.

3. Therefore A is exempt from S.

Ex #1: Julie thinks for high marks in school, one must do their homework. Julie doesn’t do her homework all the time, yet she thinks that she should still get high marks in school. So therefore, she should not have to do her homework.

Ex #2: Person 1: If someone steals something, they should be punished for it.

Person 2: Wasn’t your best friend caught for theft, and you defended her?

Person 1: But she’s my best friend, so that’s a different story.

Why it’s fallacious: The standards and expectations that are set may not be agreed on or liked by everyone, but everyone does have to follow up with them. One specific person cannot fairly be removed from said standard simply because they personally do not like them.

So when used in an argument, one basically is saying that there is not equal consideration for everyone. They kind of use the argument that they themselves are “better” and therefore their argument should win against their opponent. Simply because they are not considered in the set of expectations or standards.

Personally, I wouldn’t really want to use this fallacy, because

Media Example: The actually article is 7 pages… so that might be a bit long. So I’m summing it up a lot!

After an Uruguayan model was told she could be world famous after loosing even more weight, she went on a strict eating diet and lost a lot of weight. Right after one of her shows, she admitted to not feeling well, and then dropped dead.

Many people began insisting that the preferred size of models was larger than a size zero, and while many people say that they agree with this, and fit auditions at an average of size 8, their magazine shoots won’t happen, because they’re regarded as too big in the photographs. Then the designers will be out of money, and they cannot have that. So they are “the exception.”

Links to info:

http://www.opifexphoenix.com/reasoning/fallacies/specialpleading.htm

http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/special-pleading.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-405600/Are-size-zero-models-catwalk.html

(This is the link to the media example)

Lit. Crit. Essay Test

When using terms and concepts of Structuralism to criticize a piece of work, one looks at the underlying structure of a story and only the archetypal text is considered significant. If one story is based off another then the second story will said to be worth nothing; as only the original will be important. The film Unbreakable (2000), is about David, a man who is in a fatal train crash and miraculously survives it. With the aid of a man diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, David slowly begins to discover why he lived through the accident, and how he can become a hero for people who need one. Though one could say that Unbreakable is very original in its storyline, it does in fact have many similarities to the 1999 film, The 6^th Sense.

In both The 6^th Sense and Unbreakable the main characters, Malcolm and David, have a condition which they do not believe exists. By choosing not to accept what they are, the people around them are affected, often by negative aspects. Ghosts in The 6th Sense are unaware they are dead and that they dwell as ghosts. Cole explains this to Malcolm during the movie, and as a ghost, Malcolm is rather unaware. But, being dead affects Cole, at first who is terrified of him. As the movie goes on, Cole begins to look forward to meeting with Malcolm and slowly problems begin to resolve. Malcolm’s wife is shown as being tormented, and having depression. Malcolm views this as part of the problems in their relationship, while in truth it is his death that has distressed her.

Following a similar line in Unbreakable is David, who cannot die, get sick or hurt. He is exceptionally close to having invincibility. This is shown after he was in two bad crashes; one that should have proved fatal and the other very close. Because of his love for his wife, David acted as if he had been injured in the accident, and fooled himself into thinking he was. Though in reality, David came out of both disasters with nothing as small as a scratch. The only way that David is able to be hurt is through water. David’s son, Joseph is in awe of his father, who he thoroughly believes is invincible. Yet he is also disappointed by the fact that David refuses to take any action towards finding out if he does indeed have some sort of superhuman powers. David’s relationship with his wife, Aubrey is as well falling apart. The beginning of the film shows them as distanced, and Aubrey admits later on that she desires to leave her husband.

Throughout the movie the main characters have a relationship with their significant other which is unstable, and a relationship with a young child, where the main character seems to tread very carefully when around them. The 6^th Sense has Malcolm trying to help Cole deal with what her believes are hallucinations. Not being able to see them, or identify that he himself is one, Malcolm does not believe that Cole actually sees, speaks to, and is sometimes harmed by ghosts. Malcolm also is in what he sees as an unstable relationship with his wife. He sees her doing what he considers cheating, and while he tries to fix the relationship, he cannot achieve anything. There exists what feels like a silent gap between the two.

Likewise, David’s young son truly accepts that his father has heightened strength and that he cannot die. Joseph tries many times to prove this to his father, almost shooting him with a gun at one point. This makes for a tense relation between them, as David tries to find a balance for his son’s expectations. David does little in his marriage to keep it together, admitting that he does keep his wife at a distance, and he’s not sure why. Aubrey can tell that he does, and admits to wanted to leave him. David does, however, love his life and after he talks with her, they decide that they need to work out problems to fix their relationship.

In both films there are many clues, some which are in plain sight, that lead up to a surprise ending. Many of the hints are linked by colours in The 6^Th Sense and Unbreakable. Both twists similarly result in an important character turning out to be something that they didn’t first appear to be. When the main characters discover these unexpected truths, they realize that it had a large impact on their lives in ways that had not thought of. The finale of The 6^th Sense shows Malcolm as he comes to the awareness that he had been dead during his time spent helping Cole. Throughout the whole film, the watcher is deceived into thinking that Malcolm is living so that the shock is shared with said character at the end.

At the end of Unbreakable, David meets one last time with the man who persuaded him to look into his potential hero characteristics. As they stand talking together, David shakes hands with him, and is shown that he was in fact the one who set up the train crash. Everything had been done simply so that he could find David. When watching the film, initially one sees David’s friend as someone who just feels strongly that they are connected in many ways. At the climax, it is shown that instead, all he wants it to become David’s arch nemesis—like something out of a comic book.

While Unbreakable has much to do with comic books, and The 6^th Sense has no relation to them, these two movies do have similar aspects to them from their character’s journeys to the problems and characters that Malcolm and David must face. As well, the unexpected twists that their lives take and the conclusions that they arrive at. So from using Structuralism to study Unbreakable, it is not an archetype, but rather a very well produced film based off The 6^th Sense.

SHORT ISU ESSAY

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the protagonist, Dorian Gray desires eternal youth and receives it. Those around him admire his beauty which never fades; or that which everyone believes to be his beauty. With Gray’s wish fulfilled and his image staying the same, what was inside of him grew ugly. Dorian Gray was envied for his youth and admired for his “perfect” life, but in reality, if one knew Gray’s true face, they would no longer be envious.

Because of the choices Dorian makes, deaths occur around him, one after another. Some of people he knew well—and all were of those connected to him. Knowing that all of these deaths related in one way or another to him, Dorian constantly has the guilt and remorse in the back of his mind, and showing on his painting.

“I have no doubt it was not an accident, Dorian, though it must be put in that way to the public. …[Sybil] said she had forgotten something upstairs. They waited for her, but she did not come down again. The ultimately found her lying dead on the floor of her dressing room.” (Wilde, 101)

Dorian breaks Sybil Vane’s heart when he tells her he doesn’t love her anymore, and chooses not to marry her. He does it in such a harsh way that Sybil is severely heartbroken and kills herself rather than suffer the pain. Dorian realizes he was cruel, and while he had planned to make it up to her, she died before he got the chance. This guilt followed him, along with other deaths, including a warrant for his own.

The next casualty was by Dorian himself of his friend, Basil Hallward, who sparks anger when he realizes how horrid Gray’s life has become. He attempts to get Dorian to repent, however Dorian refuses to believe it is possible. In his anger, he murders Hallward instead.

“He rushed at [Basil] and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind the ear crushing the man’s head down on the table, and stabbing again and again.” (Wilde, 165)

After his death, Dorian carries the worries of being accused of murder, and required a way to make all the evidence disappear. This was on his mind all the time until he could resolve the issue. Even after, the though of his death plagued him.

“The whole thing is hideous and cruel. Is the man…?”

He could not finish the sentence.

“I’m afraid so.” Rejoined Lord Henry. “He got the whole charge of the shot in his chest. He must have died almost instantly.” (Wilde, 212)

All along James Vane had disliked Dorian, and vowed to kill him if any harm came to his sister, Sybil. The man in the above quote is found afterwards to be James Vane.

“A cry of joy broke from [Dorian’s] lips. The man who had been shot in the thicket was James Vane. He stood there for some minutes looking at the dead body.” (Wilde, 218)

Though this was the only death the comforted Dorian, the events leading up to James’ death made Dorian fearful for his own life. As well, until the identity of the man was discovered, Gray felt badly about the death, more so than most of the other men.

Dorian Gray was miserable. He receives the eternal youth which he had so desired, yet it made him unhappy. He had been expecting that his life would be simple, as the picture carried all of his sins, and that he could get away with anything. However, his actions still shaped what his life was to be like, and it was not at all what had been imagined.

“Dorian Gray was lying on a sofa…Life had suddenly become to hideous a burden for him to bear.” (Wilde, 216) Less and less did Dorian enjoy his youth, as life for him becomes heavy.

“‘Each of us has a Heaven and Hell in him, Basil!’…

‘My God, if it’s true,’ he exclaimed, ‘and this is what you’ve done with your life, why, you must be worse even than those who talk against you fancy you to be!’” (Wilde, 164)

There are people who disliked Gray, and as his life falls apart, more people begin to dislike him. Close friends refuse to believe such a beautiful person could be so horrid, until Basil sees Dorian’s true face and recognizes that indeed the young man could not ever be happy.

“‘I wish it were fin du globe,’ said Dorian with a sigh. ‘Life is a great disappointment.” (Wilde, 188)

Instead of enjoying his life, Dorian Gray constantly was reminded of all his wrongdoings and crimes. As Dorian chooses thoughtless actions for himself, over the better for others, there was the subconscious realization that he was not making himself feel any better. Further and further into the novel, his past begins to haunt him.

“He was imprisoned in thought. Memory, like a horrible malady, was eating his soul away. From time to time he seemed to see the eyes of Basil Hallward looking at him. Yet he felt he could not stay. The presence of Adrian Singleton troubled him. He wanted to be where no one would know who he was. He wanted to escape from himself.” (Wilde, 197)

Dorian is still followed, even years after the incidence, by the guilt of Basil’s murder. And although his painting received the wear of evildoings and sins, these still got to his soul.

“What sort of life would his be, if day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep! As the thought crept through his brain, he grew pale with terror, and the air seemed to him to have become colder.” (Wilde, 210)

Panic attacks seize Dorian Gray many times when his wrongdoings come to mind. They constantly follow him everywhere and they never release him.

“There is no one with whom I would not change places, Harry. Don’t laugh like that. I am telling you the truth. The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am.” (Wilde, 213)

In the end, everyone who wished they could be like Dorian Gray came to dislike him. All the roles were reversed. He longed to be normal; like everyone else.

Dorian's life was miserable and was spent less in pleasure and more in suffering. Every misconduct he had committed stayed with him and was not discarded into the painting. From the people surrounding him he could hide his sins; not from himself, however. For one to know that they were the cause of the deaths of so many people would be troubling. For Dorian Gray, this was a large factor in his disconcertment. So for most people, the life of Dorian Gray would not fit the definition of the ideal life.

Bibliography:
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tor Publishing, New York: 1999.

Essay writing is coming along.

And it's going better than usual. Hmm... I don't know why that is. I usually strain for enough information to write my essay on--or maybe it's because I always leave it until the last minute? Ha ha.

I think I'm going to end up with more than enough pages. That's a comforting thought though. Better to remove writing, than try to strain for enough!

ISU Essay #1 -- Outline!

*EDITED on October 11th. Noticed a few spelling errors... so I fixed them up. I'm sure to find more later on.

Here's my *updated* thesis along with my outline.

Thesis: Dorian Gray was envied for his youth and admired for his “perfect” life, but in reality, if one knew Gray’s true face, they would no longer be envious.

Reason 1: Because of the choices Dorian makes, deaths occur around him, one after another. Some of people he knew well—and all were of those connected to him.

“I have no doubt it was not an accident, Dorian, though it must be put in that way to the public. …[Sybil] said she had forgotten something upstairs. They waited for her, but she did not come down again. The ultimately found her lying dead on the floor of her dressing room.” (Wilde, 101)

“He rushed at [Basil] and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind the ear crushing the man’s head down on the table, and stabbing again and again.” (Wilde, 165)

“The whole thing is hideous and cruel. Is the man…?”

He could not finish the sentence.

“I’m afraid so.” Rejoined Lord Henry. “He got the whole charge of the shot in his chest. He must have died almost instantly.” (Wilde, 212)

Reason 2: Dorian Gray was miserable. He had gotten the eternal youth which he had so desired, yet it made him unhappy.

“Dorian Gray was lying on a sofa…Life had suddenly become to hideous a burden for him to bear.” (Wilde, 216)

“Each of us has a Heaven and Hell in him, Basil!”…

‘My God, if it’s true,’ he exclaimed, ‘and this is what you’ve done with your life, why, you must be worse even than those who talk against you fancy you to be!” (Wilde, 164)

“‘I wish it were fin du globe,’ said Dorian with a sigh. ‘Life is a great disappointment. (Wilde, 188)

Reason 3: Instead of enjoying his life, Dorian Gray constantly was reminded of all his wrongdoings and crimes.

“He was imprisoned in thought. Memory, like a horrible malady, was eating his soul away. From time to time he seemed to see the eyes of Basil Hallward looking at him. Yet he felt he could not stay. The presence of Adrian Singleton troubled him. He wanted to be where no one would know who he was. He wanted to escape from himself.” (Wilde, 197)

“What sort of life would his be, if day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep! As the thought crept through brain, he grew pale with terror, and the air seemed to him to have become colder.” (Wilde, 210)

“There is no one with whom I would not change places, Harry. Don’t laugh like that. I am telling you the truth. The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am.” (Wilde, 213)

Thesis

Oh my, it's been a long while since I've done any blogging. Probably not the best thing. Well here's my thesis for my first ISU essay, on Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray. (It was quite a good book!)

Thesis:

Though Dorian Gray was envied for his youthfulness and admired for his “perfect” life, proof showed that a darker Dorian Gray existed beneath his image, shown through his actions, recklessness, and reactions in different situations

Accountability Agreement.

Here it is!

Accountability Agreement

Focus: What do you want to accomplish in this class or during this year?

1. I want to achieve between an 80 and 85% in this course.

2. I hope to be able to write better structured essays, following the proper formatting. Right now I’m really bad for not following the format…

3. I want to be able to have stronger wording in my writing, for persuasive essays and debates. That sorta thing.

4. To get a level 4 or 5 on the AP English Exam.

Contributions: What contributions will you make to this class or to the school this year?

1. I’m going to do my best to really pay attention and try to enjoy the poetry unit.

2. I want to join a lot of clubs and school activities this year, it being my last year and all…

3. I want to start taking part in class discussions more, I’ve always been more silent, so I can contribute with opinions and stuff.

Accountabilities: For what will you be held responsible?

1. Handing in all my work on time. There are no excuses now!

2. Not slacking off in any way. I tend to procrastinate a lot, I won’t do that this year.

3. I guess I could say I’ll be held accountable for my contributions, too.

4. Preparing more for tests and exams.

Support: What help, and from whom, will you need in order to achieve your accountabilities?

1. I’ll definitely need help from my friends and classmates, to remind me to do my work right away, instead of leaving it to the last minute.

2. Emily L. is a really good person to study with, so I’ll ask to prepare for exams with her.

3. My parents; they have really good input most of the time, so getting their help and ideas is a good idea.

Measurements: How will you know what success looks like?

1. When I get my essays and assignment marks back, and they’re at the level I’m aiming for.

2. If my midterm marks are at the level I want to reach.

3. If I’m enjoying essay writing and poetry more than I have before.

4. If I feel confident on the tests and quizzes.

Consequences: How should you be rewarded if you succeed? How should you be punished?

1. I’ll wait until the end of the term, I think, to reward myself for any/all the success over the semester. Then, I won’t be tempted to slack off or anything.

2. For a reward, I never really thought about it. Probably buy something I‘ve been wanting.

3. When I do poorly on assignments, I always get frustrated and more determined to do better next time. If I do bad, then I know I’ll have less free time, spending more time on later assignments.

Julie Barton.

Blog Post Number One!

Alrighty! First time using a blog, ever.

It took me long enough, but I finally chose an ISU novel; Sophie's Choice by William Styron. I think I'll be able to get some good essay ideas out of it. Looking forward to start reading it, but for now, I've got to finish up my Accountability Agreement.