Why Read Shakespeare

 The characters and the story are complex so the reader does not fully understand what is happening. Mack says that to understand Shakespeare we must read the plays over and over until we get it.

2. Mack says when you fully understand Shakespeare you start to realize things about yourself through his stories and you learn more things about the world around you. Also, that trying to understand Shakespeare will prepare you for the struggles you will face later in life.

3. Learning about yourself- You can reflect your feelings through characters in Shakespeare in characters like Macbeth and Hamlet and that many of our own ideas originated from Shakespeare's writings.

.A time for exploring- you can use Shakespeare as a way to find yourself. Also, as you are able to understand the complicated characters of Shakespeare you will be able to understand the complicated people in your own life with more clarity. It can also prepare you for when you go out on your own in the world later in life.

A different take on skills-He argues that while you need your specific job skills for your job you will probably not stay in the same job throughout your whole life, so throughout life you will need these basic skills that can transfer from job to job that you can learn from  reading Shakespeare.

Their is knowledge and their is knowledge- through reading Shakespeare your heart and mind will become closer to each other and become closer to a cohesive unit. This is because through reading Shakespeare you will be able to understand more things about the heart.

A time for developing interests-Through reading Shakespeare you will slowly adapt to liking it. He compared it to listening to new music you might not like it at first but after a while you could enjoy it. While at the same the same time he understands Shakespeare is hard to understand at first.

4. Out all of his arguments the one I aligned  myself the most with was the basic skills because I do learn important themes about life through Shakespeare's plays. For example in Macbeth I get a good look in how bad being greedy can be and how it can ruin whole nations. As well as the power of love through plays like Romeo and Juliet.

Benefits of Keeping a Diary

In Virginia Woolf's diary the one thing I take away from them is not her battle with old age but how she tested new writing styles and idea's in her diary entries. If no one else sees what you write their is no harm in trying something new and maybe you will like that new style in the end. If you are not being graded or being critiqued by an outside source you have no limitations on what to try and this is why they are so important to writers. Writing in a diary can also be beneficial to keeping your skills honed. Last week we were introduced to a illustrator of children's books and one thing that caught my interest   was the fact that he said if he did not draw everyday he would have a hard time getting back into the groove of writing. If you write in a diary everyday even if it is a silly entry that makes no sense at all you will keep yours skills honed. Another benefit of keeping a diary is using it as a form of therapy. A diary could be used as a way to just release all your fears and other troubles without being judged. In conclusion while I do not own a diary I do see the many benefits a writer could have from owning one.

The Art of Reading

 In Lewis Carolls Four Rules of Digesting Information and Mastering the Art of  Reading, two of the four main points really caught my attention and caused me to dwell on the subject even more. The first point was do not skip around a book looking for spoilers. This point is very relevant in todays time of t.v shows and movies. Take the movie the Sixth Sense if you knew the whole time that Bruce Willis was dead it would of ruined the sense of mystery and the shock of that final scene. I am very guilty of this, many times I have read the last few pages of the book very early on. They may seem totally out of context when I first read them, but by the end of the novel I start to realize what I just read and it ruins the ending for me. The other point that stuck out to me was do not read the next chapter with out understanding the last one. I am very guilty of this. In my rush to finish the book i will totally miss major plot points or even get the characters mixed around leaving me dumbfound later in the novel as the story progresses.

Was Creon trying to be a Villain

When I first read the play Antigone my first thoughts were Antigone is the hero and Creon is the villain but were these classifications appropriate? Once you really dive into the book you start to see that Creon was not trying to be a villain at all he was only trying to keep the welfare of his nation on the forefront. Antigone broke a law and there is no arguing that. She broke a law and should of been punished as she did. It does not matter if it was right in the god's eyes she broke the law, so Creon should not be punished for having to carry out his own laws. In today's society there are many examples of the law and religion fighting it out, but in the land of the living the law stands above the laws of religion in strictly secular terms. Like earlier blog posts you are sometimes justified in breaking the law, but you will still be punished for what you did even if was for the greater good. In conclusion Creon should not be portrayed as a villain because he made a law and it was broken, so a punishment was justified.

The Point of Antigone Being a Girl In My Opinion

In the play Antigone we see our main character being a woman in Antigone, but what is Sophocles point of doing this in the play. I believe this was done to put more of an us against them feeling throughout the play. If Antigone was a man it would be a lot less more about defying her place in society but a power struggle for who is right. In Antigone being a girl it brings up social questions and gives more of a feeling of hopelessness in the play. This is exemplified by Ismene stating they as women can not stand up to men. Then throughout the play we see examples and references to Antigone being a girl and how that is out of place again raising the question of gender equality. In more practical terms I think Antigone was a girl for the love interest of Haemon. This really intertwines motives inside Creon's family and creates more sub plots and power struggles throughout the play. In conclusion Sophocles made Antigone a girl to raise questions of gender equality and more of a feeling of hopelessness throughout the play.

Is an Individual ever Justified in Breaking the Law?

In a law there always seems to be exceptions; even if these exceptions are minuscule and do not happen very often they are present. These exceptions do not mean you are following the law, but you are breaking it for a just cause. Most of these exceptions seem to center around a love for someone. If a loved one was dying and you could not afford the medicine or antidote; you would not just let them die. You would probably steal the medicine for the betterment of the loved one. It does not mean what you did was right, but you did it for the greater good of your loved one. Nobody can say they would just stand idle as a loved one was in pain and you could not do anything that was legal to help them. On that same note you should not exploit this love for someone. You should not break the law unless you or your loved one are in immediate danger of dying or being permanently scarred. These times to break the law are small and far between, so I do not want to give the idea that if you have a headache you should break into a supermarket for Advil. If one law was never to be broken it would be murder. If you kill the person out of protection you are protected under the law, so if you kill a person not under the law there should be no exceptions. In conclusion you can break the law for a betterment of a loved one, but  at the same time there are laws that should never be broken.

A Change to the Community

Making changes has always been difficult. People always have different points of view, and can never seem to agree on a common idea. So whatever change I will want to make to a community, the severn community in this post, will be disagreed on by many people. The one change I would like to make to the severn community would be a later start time. It has been stated in numerous studies that teenagers tend to stay up later, and if we had a later start time kids would arrive at school much more energized and more willing to learn. With this later start time we would have to sacrifice an hour more of school, but we would still only be getting out at 3:30 a very reasonable end time. With more energized students better grades could be achieved, and also a more positive vibe given off by students. A later start time would also eliminate that first period slumber that many students go through. On a more technical standpoint it is said teenager should get around 9-11 hours of sleep; to achieve this you would have to go to bed at 9pm which is very hard for some teenagers. If teenagers could stay up an hour later they would be more likely to get that recommended sleep time. In conclusion a later start time would lead to more energized students, and improved academic performance by students.

What Beliefs I Hold Closest to Myself

When you try to describe yourself to others what are the first words that come to mind? I think the few things that first come to mind about me are essential things in my life that I can not live without. The first thing is honesty; you can not get through life telling lies. People will not trust you, and overall people will see you as an untrustworthy person. Even if the truth is harder to tell you must do it because people will respect you more once you have said it. When the honesty hurts someone you can not just say how bad you feel about them; you must try to relate to them. This is were my second belief comes into play, empathy. It is useless to tell someone who is feeling sad how everything is going to get better;  instead if you relate to them and even tell them something about you that relates to the situation they have a better chance of improving from their current situation. My third belief is integrity, this is because if you go through life cutting corners you will come to a day you can not cut those corners. Integrity is not doing the right thing when there are people around because you are expected to do the right thing. It  is what you do when there is nobody around because there is no pressure to do the right thing its just yourself and the situation ahead. This belief of mine was echoed in the national honors society speeches; the way the speaker explained what integrity was to her really resounded with me and my interpretation of integrity. My fourth belief is to be humble. I think all students at severn need to have an understanding of how privileged we are; we should not boast about are achievements and possessions. Instead we should be thankful for them, and understand how lucky we are to be in this position. My final point is that just be kind to others. Do not try to bring others down because that does nothing for you. Instead help others when they ask for help or even just compliment someone when they are seeming to have a bad day. In conclusion these traits are some things that I hold close to myself, and I think others should hold at least some of these traits close the themselves.

A Clash of Cultures Concerning Ashima

 Near the end of the novel we learn Ashima is going to split up her time with six months in India and six months in America. I think the real question is which six months is she home? We discussed this a little in class, and Ashima even calls America her home. But, I would like to focus on why she is even going to India if America is her home. I think Ashima almost feels obligated by herself to visit India even if most of the family she knew there is dead now. This is because in the beginning of the novel she constantly talked about going to India, but at some point she wanted to stay in america more. I think now that she can go to India for six months straight she feels she must because of all the time she lost in India. But, while in America I think she constantly tried to create a little India with all of these Bengali friends and it worked in a way.  I think in the midst of creating this little India she started to represent these Bengali friends as her family, so America becomes her home. She does the American thing in blending her culture with some aspects of the American culture, so even if it is not the America you and I see; it is the America Ashima see's

The Importance of Moushumi Keeping Her Old Wedding Dress

When reading the Novel we are even a quick little detail that I think is of extreme importance, and is not capitalized enough in this novel. I think Moushumi keeping the wedding dress is a form of revolt against her parents and even the marriage itself. It is said many times in the novel that this marriage worked out perfectly two Bengalis marrying each other; this is not want Moushimi wanted she wanted a marriage were she married an American man not another Bengali man. Even though she loves Gogol, I think she is upset with herself for marrying a Bengali man almost being biased against Gogols ethnicity.  This point of herself being unhappy with marrying a Bengali man is also capitalized in her affair with Dimitri. I think the dress is almost a reminder to her that she almost went through with this revolt against her parents, and it almost worked. I think this is also foreshadowing the state of their marriage she is not willing to get rid of everything from her past relationship. So she  is not ready to completely accept Gogol as her husband. Also the keeping of her maiden name is another indicator of her unhappiness with marrying another Bengali man. She does a very american thing in keeping her maiden name, and this is the exact opposite of what Indians are supposed to do. In conclusion I think the wedding dress is an important indicator of Moushumi's unhappiness not with Gogol, but with marrying another Bengali man.

Who is Living the American Dream in Gogols eyes?

This far into the novel we have two distinct families the Gangulis and the Ratliffs. Each family are polar opposites of each other, but i believe they are both living a form of the American Dream. In the 19th and 20th centuries a flood of immigrants came to the U.S seeking a better life, and many of them received this. The Gangulis fall directly into this category, they left everything and India and formed a prosperous life for themselves and their children. While still partially holding on to their culture. While on the other hand the Ratliffs are living another kind of American dream, pure wealth. This is the more appealing of the two american dreams, and why shouldn't it be? I think the more important thing in this is what Gogol see's. I think he is blind to the fact of how much his family is achieving and living the American dream. I think he does not fully understand this because of their continued practice of many Indian customs, and not truly accepting parts of the American culture. I think if Gogol saw how much his family has changed from their roots, and how they have improved so much from the start; he would think that his family was living the American Dream. While on the other hand all Gogol see's is the fact that the Ratliff's are the essence of the American dream. The extravagant dinners, the lake house, and just the luxury of life for the Ratliff's has him immediately turn a blind eye to his families American dream, and focus on the dream of being wealthy.  So in conclusion I believe that Gogol has turned a blind eye to his families American dream, and has become enamored with the lifestyles of the rich.

Was Changing his Name the Right decision?

 When I hear that someone got a name change I really think of two things. First, when immigrants arrive at Ellis Island they will change their name for a more American name. Then the other instance is an attention grab from some celebrity or sports player. Even my grandfather changed his name from Manocher to Micheal so it was easier to understand. In Gogols situation it is not done to be more understood by others; it is just a pure dislike of his name. I think that his actions were a fair thing to do at first the only connection he had to that name was that his father just liked the author Gogol. If i was Gogol i would see this as a selfish move by my father; he only did it because he liked the author. This all changes with the revelation that his father named him this because it represents everything that happened after the train crash. Now this name has an intense emotional value to Ashoke, and I think it was unjust for Gogol to get rid of this name just for a dislike of it. He can easily just be called Nikhil by his friends and introduce himself as that name. This practice is widely used here at Severn; many kids have nicknames they go by that are not their original names. Gogol could just get over the fact that his name is not the best, but it means so much to his father that he should not change his name because his dislike for it. Even if his new name represents his heritage more, Gogol does change his name to be closer to his heritage; he just does it because he doesn't like his name.

Comparing rice ceremonies

Now after reading three chapters into the novel we have experienced two different rice ceremonies Gogol's and Sonali's. These two rice ceremonies are very different and shows the Ganguli's evolution into Americans.  Gogol's rice ceremony is a small event with a small amount of people coming, they serve traditional food and it is a somber event. With Ashima wishing her brother was there. While Sonali's rice ceremony on the other hand was done in the "American" way. A building rented on campus with an industrial kitchen, and so many people are invited that the whole place is needed. I think the more important symbolism in this book is the what the children do at the rice ceremony. Gogol refuses to take anything and eats a little of food, while Sonali takes all three items and eats nothing. I think this symbolizes that Gogol is the more Indian of the baby he went along with the rice ceremony, while Sonali  takes all three things against the rules, and as one person puts it, "this one is a true american."(Lahari pg 63). I think Sonali is a part of the evolution of the Ganguli's into Americans, and they are slowly changing into Americans for their kids sake.

Finding Support in a Foreign Country

 In chapter two and three of The Namesake we start to see Ashima and Ashoke form a small community of other Indians in the same situation. This I find very interesting because I have personal experience with behavior like this. My Grandfather was born in Iran and once he came to America to become a doctor. He made friends with many other Iranians, and these friendships have lasted for decades. On the flip side when he brought my Irish grandmother back to Iran she became friends with a lot of other Americans living in Iran. This behavior of making friends of the same ethnicity as you in foreign countries, stems off the fact of wanting some normality and remembrance of home. This explanation easily fits into Ashima and Ashoke's situation, these Bengali friends become a second family even participating in family events, like Sonali's rice ceremony. This is mirrored in all of my grandfathers friends attending my parents wedding. This group of friends were family to my father, they ate together, vacationed together, and have countless stories to tell me when they all meet up. Even though great friends were made, I actually think this practice is a little counter intuitive. We see Ashima stuck in India even when she's in Cambridge, and these friends help her stay in this paralysis. If they went out and made friends who had different backgrounds and were "American". They would adapt much easier to the country they are living in at the moment not the one they used too live in. Even if making friends of different ethnicities might be a little harder to new immigrants.  I am not saying they shouldn't make these friends, but if you don't expand your horizons you could always stay in the country you used to know.

A Focus on Ashoke

In the end of the first and in the beginning of the second chapters of this novel we start to have a more clear defined Ashoke. He has more depth to his name, but what should we think of all this information? Ashoke seems to be a very contemporary Indian, not staying in his parents house after marriage and moving to America. This contemporary mindset comes from not being forward minded, but from his close to death experience with the train, "He imagined not only walking, but walking away, as far as he could from the place he was born and the place he nearly died."(Lahiri, 20) I think Ashoke came to America for a fresh start and to run away from his fear and memories that come with India. This is interesting because while Ashima compares everything to India, Ashoke left his family voluntarily for  America. This is now two conflicting mindsets. Ashima who wants to be home in India, while Ashoke wants to be far from India. I think this conflict will be addressed in the novel because it is a battle of the old and new India. As we see in the novel Ashoke suffers from some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Every once in awhile he sees lurid images of being stuck in that train, the interesting thing instead of believing God rescued him he thinks Gogol the russian writer rescued him. I think Ashoke feels in debt to the writer because with out that page in his hand he believes he would of never been rescued. We easily see this with Ashoke naming the baby Gogol trying to fulfill the debt he feels to this writer.  In conclusion Ashoke is an interesting character because his mindset conflicts with his wife's mindset and feels in debt to a writer he has never met.

Making Early Predictions in the Novel

 So far in the Namesake we have seen our main character Ashima start to have contractions and go to the hospital, and while in the hospital we have seen flashbacks to her time in India and meeting her husband. I believe this will go on throughout the novel with a mix of flashbacks and current day events. I think this will be to contrast the culture in India and the culture in America. We have already seen a little of this in Ashima comparing how she would go to her parents to give birth in India. Compared to in America she goes to a hospital which she holds equivalent to a place of tragedy, not a place of life. Also, I think a main point of the novel will be her naming the baby and this is because the baby is American and will probably receive an Indian name, but he might want to have a more normal name. I am just predicting this off the fact that both his parents names aren't the most average American names. So the baby and later the child might not feel in place with a name that sticks out. Also i think another point of the story too go along with the name is the Americanization of the Ganguli's solely because we have seen so many comparisons to American and Indian culture in the book so far. Also we have had the flashbacks to India which show parts of the Indian way of life. In conclusion I believe the main plot points of the story will be the baby's name, and the Ganguli's struggle or resistance with the American culture.

If the Novel was Summed up in Seven Words

In the Time of the Butterflies is a book of unlikely heroes that became something bigger than they ever imagined. The thought of three sisters being the national symbols of freedom is a very unlikely thing in the heavily man led Domincan Republic. Which has had women take a back seat in social and political events since the beginning of the nation. These unlikely sisters defied the Dominican culture and denied the common thought of the time that women were not equal to men. The sisters then became the main symbols of the revolution. This is were I get my novel summary in seven words it is, The Unlikely Heroes Who Became the Revolution.Trujillo at that time was untouchable every rebellion was cruched merciessly with an iron fist, he was thought to be invincible. Then come along these three culture deifying sisters who become the symbols of the revolution. Trujillo tries to silence the sisters at first, but fails and this leads to the legend of the sisters growing to immense proportions. He puts the sisters on house arrest and the sisters names were still coherrent with the revolution. After Trujillo finally kills the sisters the legend grows more and more, and they still are  the images of the revolution. After death the sisters still defy Trujillo, and all that he stands for. In conclusion i believe that the sisters became the revolution against all odds culturally and politically, and their legend fueled the revolution.

How Julia Alvarez Makes Trujillo Such a Despicable Person

In the novel In The Time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez we all knew who the villain was, but what Julia Alvarez excelled at in this novel was the introduction and creating the character of Trujillo. In introducing Trujillo as the savior of  the Dominican Republic we are shown what the Dominicans actually believed. Not introducing him as the terrible tyrant he was shown as in the western media.   This puts the reader in the shoes of the Dominicans, and not just a condescending westerner looking at the situation in the Dominican Republic. One of the main glorification's of Trujillo that stuck out to me was the people of the Dominican Republic had a picture of Jesus then a picture of Trujillo, showing the blind support and love they had for their dictator. When Minerva first heard of who Trujillo actually was she was shocked, how could her glorious leader be such an evil person. Sinita took weeks of coaxing to tell Minerva what happened to her family, and the secret she knew about Trujillo. We now see how powerful and extensive Trujillo is, the people who know about who he is are scared almost speechless when thinking about him. This revelation opens up Minerva's eyes, but really didn't do justice to how evil Trujillo truly was.  We just have heard of stories of Trujillo's atrocities and how bad of a person he was. This is completely changed by one of the most tense scenes in the book, the party at one of Trujillo's many mansions. When dancing with Trujillo we see he is a slime ball, trying to come on to Minerva and get closer to her.  Even though  the slap might be the most exciting moment of the chapter, I believe we see the true extent of Trujillo's evil after Minerva slaps him. The fear the family is in for the next few months show the true extent of Trujillo's power, and how the people fear him. In conclusion Julia Alvarez does a great job of introducing Trujillo to us by using stories, and characters having personal experiences with Trujillo.