Another Emma Discussion

In this blog I will continue to discuss Jane Austen's novel Emma. In particular I will try to analysis Emma's behavior and actions in the beginning of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Emma is described as "handsome, clever, and rich," and that her only flaw is that she is too confident and used to getting her way. She is slightly spoiled by her father and is very stubborn; Emma is very steadfast about not wanting to get married and remaining single. In the beginning of the novel, Emma had set up her friend Miss Taylor with her husband Mr. Weston. Since Emma successfully hooked up Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston, Emma has gained confidence in her match making abilities. Emma tried to set up her friend Harriet with Mr. Elton, even though Harriet wants to get married to Robert Martin. Emma remained very stubborn about the fact that Harriet is too good for someone like Robert Martin and tried her best to convince her friend that Mr. Martin was no good. The young Emma tried her best at getting Mr. Elton and Harriet to be together as often as possible, and even convinced Mr. Elton to draw a portrait of Harriet. Through all this time, Emma remained oblivious about the fact that Mr. Elton truly did not want to marry Harriet. Mr. Knightly, Emma's neighbor, pointed out that Mr. Elton did not like Harriet and instead liked Emma herself. But Emma ignored Mr. Knightly's insight ad stubbornly believed that Harriet and Mr. Elton were made for each other even when there was evidence against that belief. When Harriet came down with a cold, Mr. Elton was still looking forward to the party without her and declined Emma's suggestion to stay at home, since Harriet is sick. Even against all this evidence, Emma continued to believe that Harriet and Mr. Elton were fated to be together and because of this belief Emma was shocked when Mr. Elton proposed to her. Emma rejected the proposal and not only hurt Mr. Elton but her innocent friend Harriet. One huge flaw that Emma has is her stubbornness. She ignored her neighbor's insight about Mr. Elton's true feelings and dismissed Mr. Elton's obvious lack of interst towards Harriet, because of his Emma hurt many people. Emma hurt Mr. Elton by crushing on his feelings. Futhermore, she destroyed Harriet's chances with Mr. Martin even though they both liked each other. Finally, Emma hurt Harriet by ruining her chances at marriage with the person she likes and giving her false hopes that Mr. Elton likes her. Altough Emma has many good personality traits, her stubborness helps offset them.

Emma Discussion

In this blog I will discuss the beginning of Jane Austen's novel Emma. Before Austen started her novel she said, " I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," so she planned on making a very different and unique heroine for her book. In the beginning of the novel, Emma is described as "handsome, clever, and rich," and that her only flaw is that she is too confident. I think that although Austen thought that nobody would like her unique character Emma, because of those traits I think that it makes Emma a very likeable character. I can see that at the time, Emma was very unlike how most females were expected to be at the time, since it was made in the nineteenth century, so Austen thought that her character would not be liked. But I think that since Emma is very confident and sure of herself, she breaks the social norms at the time and becomes a inspirational character. Many women now would like to be like Emma now, since many people would like to be confident, rich, and beautiful. All of these positive qualities makes Emma a very likeable character, even though she may make mistakes. Emma is also proud of her accomplishments, which is seen when she was boasting about how she set Miss Taylor and her husband Mr. Weston. Emma is inspirational since she is quite able to take pride in her past accomplishments, which many people would also like to do too. But Emma has her negative qualities like being very stubborn. These negative qualities make Emma seem more human and relatable to others. Emma's stubbornness was seen when she insisted that Robert Martin is not good enough for Harriet, even though Harriet does not want to reject the offer. Robert Martin was a respectable, well-educated, and well-spoken man.  Although Emma thought she was being helpful, she ruined Robert Martin's chance for marriage with Harriet. Furthermore, Emma crushed Harriet's heart, since she was very sure that Mr. Elton liked Harriet, but was completely wrong. As a result of Emma's stubbornness, she ruined Harriet's potential marriage with a great guy, crushed her heart, and angered Mr. Elton, since he thought that Emma wanted him. But since Emma is able to make mistakes, it makes her more human and relatable. By making Emma have such qualities, Jane Austen has created a character that many like, even though she thought that not many would.

Hamlet Act 2 analysis continued

Today I am going to analyze act 2 scene two of William Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet. In the scene Claudius and Gertrude order Hamlet's friends to spy on him to find out the reason for his foul mood. Polonius than tell the king and queen about Hamlet's love for his daughter Ophelia. Polonius shows the royals love letters and poems that Hamlet has given to his daughter Ophelia as proof of his love for her. To further prove that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, Polonius suggested that the Claudius, Gertrude, and himself should hide behind a current as Hamlet and Ophelia talk. They notice Hamlet walking while reading and Polonius offered to talk with the prince. Polonius attempts to converse with Hamlet, who appears insane; he calls the old man a “fishmonger” and answers his questions irrationally. Yet, Hamlet's words seem to have hidden meanings; Polonius mentioned that his replies were "pregnant" with meaning. As Polonius leaves Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and talk with Hamlet. Hamlet asks why they were sent to him and his friends tell him that they were just visiting. The prince saw through this lie and said that he knows the real reason why they were there. I am going to paraphrase what Hamlet tells his friends; he told them, "I will tell you why. My anticipation will reveals how you are trying to prevent your discovery about your secrecy to the king and queen's demands. Lately I have lost all my happiness and stopped all my customs." This part of the scene is very important and may be one of the most important in this scene, because it shows the mirthless situation Hamlet is going through, since not only is his family trying to discretely spy on him they are using his best friends to do it. Furthermore, these lines are important, because it shows that Hamlet is fully aware of his family's plans and intentions, which can show that Hamlet is sane and fully aware of his situation. With these lines Shakespeare helps establish not only Hamlet's mirthless situation, but also his awareness of his family's discreet plans. These lines connect to early in the act when Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude, " At such a time I'll lose my daughter to him./ Be you and I behind an arras then./ Mark the encounter." Polonius was telling the royal family about his secret plan to discreetly hid and watch Hamlet engaging with his daughter, so that it will prove Hamlet's madness; this connects to the lines I chose, since in both his family is developing plans to spy on Hamlet.

 

AP Lit Hamlet Act 2 analysis

                    Today I am going to analyze act 2 scene one of William Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet. In the scene Ophelia, visibly upset tells Polonius that Hamlet, unkempt and wild-eyed, has accosted her. Hamlet grabbed her, held her, and sighed heavily, but did not speak to her. Polonius tells her that Hamlet must be mad with his love for Ophelia, since she has distanced herself from him ever since he ordered her to do so. Polonius speculates that this love-sickness might be the cause of Hamlet’s moodiness, and he hurries to tell King Claudius of his idea. I am going to paraphrase what Polonius told Ophelia after she told him about Hamlet's recent actions; he told her, "Come with me. I will go to the king. Hamlet is very deep in love. His love sickness ruins himself. It causes his moodiness, just like any passion does on Earth." Ophelia has just told Polonius about how Hamlet grabbed her arm and did not speak. So, in this section of the scene, Polonius is saying that he will tell the king about Hamlet's love sickness. These lines are important because they clearly establish how people think that Hamlet is not in his right state of mind. Furthermore, the lines are important because they show that Polonius and Ophelia believe that Hamlet's love sickness is causing his abnormal behavior. Moreover,  the lines show that Polonius and Ophelia believe that they need to inform the king about how Hamlet's love with Ophelia is the cause of his abnormal state of mind. With these lines Shakespeare, helps portray to the audience how negatively Hamlet's love is viewed by everybody. These lines connect to another discussion about Ophelia and Hamlet's relationship in act one when Polonius told Ophelia, " You must not take fire. From this time. Be something scanter of your maiden presence" (1.3. 118-200). Polonius was telling Ophelia to avoid Hamlet and to not give him her virginity in act one, while in act two he tells her to avoid Hamlet, because and to come with him to tell the king about the relationship, because it is causing Hamlet's abnormal behavior. In both acts, Ophelia is told to avoid Hamlet, which is how the lines connect to each other. So clearly act two helps reinforce the fact that Polonius does not want Ophelia and Hamlet together. By deciding to discreetly go to the king and queen behind Hamlet's back, Polonius helps reinforce what Hamlet called him earlier in the play, a fish monger. Scene one of act two continues helps continue the negative chain of events on Hamlet's life, since Polonius is planning on telling the royal family about the prince's recent love.

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 4 Discussion

             Today I am going to analyze act 1 scene four of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. In the scene the king decides to throw a celebration, due to the fact that Hamlet is not going away for his studies. Hamlet describes to Horatio that the celebration makes a fool of the Danish people. Specifically in lines nineteen and twenty-one, Hamlet really insults his uncle's actions. I will paraphrase the lines Hamlet said. " This idiotic celebration, makes the Danes look foolish to other nations. They will think that the Danes are drunks and idiotic, the custom ruins the Dane's achievements, although many achievements were great." The key words here are "taxed" and " soil". The word "taxed" denotes " to lay a burden on; make serious demands on. In these lines, the word could refer to the disruption of the Dane's reputation, because of the king's disgraceful celebration and how that will result in other countries looking down on the country. The king lays a burden on his country; the word taxed is used to show that the king burden's his people through the celebration. Another definition of the word taxed is to make serious demands on; the word can show that the king's celebration makes a serious demand on his people, because in return for the celebration, the Dane's foreign reputation will be soiled. The word "soiled" can be either a noun or a verb. As a noun soil can be a country, land, or region but as a verb soil can mean to sully or tarnish, as with disgrace. Hamlet said the word soiled to represent both the fact that the king's celebration represented the country, land, and people of the country. Furthermore, the verb soil means to tarnish or sully, and Hamlet could have said soiled to show how the king's celebration tarnish's the Dane's reputation with foreign lands. Shakespeare put the words taxed and soiled for their double meanings in the scene to further portray Hamlet's disdain for Claudius's celebration. These lines are important because they clearly establish the state of anguish Hamlet feels about the king's celebration. These lines connect to act two when Hamlet says to his uncle, "  A little more than kin, and less than kind"(1.2. 65). In the lines in scene two, Hamlet was showing that he does not view his uncle highly and does not want to be very closely associated with him; this connects to the lines in scene four, because in both acts Hamlets detests his uncles actions, and scene two shows his lack of love for his uncle. He finds the party a disgrace to the Danes, and thinks that Danish achievements are becoming undermined, due to the disgracefulness of the king's celebration. With these lines, Shakespeare helps establish the fact that Hamlet dislikes almost everything that his uncle does. Hamlet spends much of the act complaining about a celebratory, which further demonstrates how much disdain he feels for his uncle, the king of the Danes.

 

 

Hamlet anaylsis

I believe that in the first act of Hamlet William Shakespeare put the ghost of the previous king Hamlet to show the dead king's significance to the play. In the start of the play Hamlet, the guards have been seeing the dead king for days and have shown it to Horatio, who is the friend of Hamlet. By seeing the dead king, Horatio thinks of the event as an ill omen for the future. Horatio believes that the dead king's ghost is a warning about future military defeats of the country. He tries to speak to the dead king, but the ghost does not reply, so Horatio thought of telling Hamlet about what has occurred. The young Fortinbras is thought to attack the country to regain the lands that the previous King Hamlet had conquered, so the previous king's actions can help incite a war, which may later on drastically affect the play. Later on, Hamlet discovers that his uncle will marry his mother even though less than two months have passed since the previous king's demise. Through this discovery, Hamlet loses respect for his mother and his uncle, furthermore through the discovery of marriage, Hamlet wishes that he can die and join his father. Through the absence of the previous King Hamlet, Hamlet lacks a father figure and is pessimistic about the world, which can later drastically affect  his actions and how he perceives events in the future.
                 Later on, Hamlet guided by Horatio meets his dead father's ghost and follows it. The dead king reveals to Hamlet that his death was unnatural and that Hamlet should take revenge for him. Through the revelation about the previous king's plea for revenge, the plot of Hamlet's life takes a huge turn. William Shakespeare put the previous king to drastically impact Hamlet. Hamlet feels depressed and saddened that his mother feels no remorse or guilt over getting remarried to the previous king's brother. Moreover, Hamlet decides to follow his dead father's advice and try to take up his plan for revenge, so his father clearly has much impact on Hamlet's life, even affecting his feelings towards their his relatives. Hamlet's father has a strong influence over Hamlet even though he is dead; Shakespeare may have done that to show how people can influence us even after they are gone, which shows how much thought he has put into his play Hamlet.

The Blind Always Come as Such a Suprise Anaylsis

"The Blind Always Come as such a Surprise" is a poem by Ted Kooser and I will go line by line trying to analysis the poem from my perspective. In the first line, the narrator says that the "Blind always come as such a surprise," which also is the title. I believe that the narrator was saying that whenever one sees blind people the sight is unusual and surprising. The next line says that the blind fill up an elevator. Basically the narrator was saying that when the blind get on an elevator their presence feels very intimidating and large when compared to the average person that gets on elevators. In addition, the next line says that the blind come in the elevator with a great white porcupine of canes; the narrator may have said that the canes where whte porcupines to show that the canes are very innocent, but the average person does not want to get in its way, just like people would avoid porcupines. Furthermore, the next line says that the blind went into the elevator as a noisy crowd; the narrator may have said that to show that the blind's presence is feels much larger than the average person and that every action they do feels "bigger" than an average non-blind person. The next line says that the event was like being in the eye of a hurricane. Ted Kooser put that in the poem to show irony, since he included both the words eye and the phrase eye of a hurricane, which looks like an eye. He did this since it is ironic that the blind can create an image of an eye, even though their eyes may not work. The narrator later says that the dashboards of cars stopped; this line is put in the poem to show that people stop in their tracks when the blind come onto their sights. In addition, the next line says that people's shoes stood still on the trains; this is line was put into the poem to further emphasize that the blind's presence stops people in their tracks, since their presence may feel intimidating towards others. The next couple of lines says that sentences are struck down in mid-flight by the canes of the blind; the narrator was basically saying that when the blind come, people stop suddenly stop their conversations. Furthermore, the couple of lines say that the blind change our lives and tap across the bright circles of our ambitions; the narrator was basically saying that the blind can positively impact people and make them focus on their ambitions. Finally, the last line says " Like cracks traversing the favorite china," but unfortunately I do not know what to make of this line and do not know how to interpret it.