Essential Question #7

Do you think that Hamlet has created his own insanity, or has he lost his sense of reality completely?

Hamlet has created his own insanity by handling the death of his father poorly, and thus he has lost a sense of reality. Hamlet’s insanity is understandable given the extremely traumatic circumstances. Hamlet suffers with the question of existence: “to be or not to be” (3.1.64). He cannot distinguish his purpose in life, and it is for this reason that he loses his sanity. Hamlet considers that the trials and tribulations of life may be too much to endure. As a result, he deduces that death would bring him peace and an escape from the hardships of life. Hamlet even confides his insanity in his friends: “I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises […] the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory” (2.2.318-322). There a are numerous instances in Acts 2 and 3 where Hamlet either directly states his crazed state or he indirectly portrays this demeanor, such as his paranoid attitude that leads to the death of Polonius. When Hamlet was lost to find the meaning of his existence he was also losing his sense of reality. No one can live normally when they do not see the point of living. Considering that this is a Shakespearian Tragedy, I am certain that Hamlet’s depressed attitude will ultimately lead to either his death or the death of many others.

Essential Question #6

Between the Pardoner's Tale and his Prologue a connection of the theme of morality can be drawn. In both, he describes vices and tells of their consequences. In the prologue the Pardoner is straightforward about sins and their consequences. However, in the story he uses the moral of the story to teach a lesson in an indirect way. The Pardoner speaks generally about sins, while his tale seem to focus on greed and envy. The Pardoner even seems hypocritical because he tells a story in which there is a moral that teaches other to live in the opposite way that he lives. He takes money from people seeking repentance in exchange for a fraud of a pardon.

The Pardoner's Tale quite different from that of the Miller and Knight. The Miller and Knight seem to try to live by the morals presented in their tales. However, the Pardoner is just the opposite. He is similar to the three young men in that they share similar desires of greed. Also, the Knight shared similar qualities with characters in his tale because he told a tale about Knights. The Miller was very humorous, and so was his tale. All of the characters have similar connections to their tale. The major difference so far is that the Pardoner is the first one to not live by the moral he teaches, unlike the Knight or Miller.

Love, War, and Chastity

There can be many similarities drawn between Arcita and the temple built to the god of war, Mars. Mar’s temple is described as a place filled with horrors. It shows people who are suffering from violence. It has a lot to do with battles, and especially victory in battle. This is where connections can be drawn to Arcita. Arcita is the one who decides to fight over Emily with Palamon even though Palamon saw Emily first. This shows Arcita’s violent side. His love for Emily seems to lead him towards violence and deception. This is demonstrated when he changes his name and fools Theseus to become closer to her. He exhibits characteristics similar to those shown in the temple because he is driven crazy with his love for Emily. Arcita prays to win the battle for Emily, but he does not pray to win Emily. This shows that he is more focused on battle, or war, than love. Arcita did win the war but not his woman. He suffered a death similar to the ones shown on the portraits in the temple. This seems suiting because he lived by the principles of war, thus he also died by them.

Love and war constantly coexist in literature. In fact, they seem to be almost reliant on one another. This is because one is always intensified with the presence of the other. Love can exist without war, but when wars are fought for love, it makes the love more complete and significant. On the other hand, war can exist without love. However, it is also true that when a war is fought with the fiery passion of love, it is a much more satisfying war. Love often creates wars. It is an inspiring and driving factor that causes many characters to do illogical things. Soldiers in war are often driven by the women they love. Love gives hope to men, and it gives them a reason to fight and live. Most love makes people be willing to die for one another, and this connects with war. Love can end wars, and love can end in a war. Love and war are connected: one can lead to another, one intensifies the other, and one can destroy the other.

My Society

My society would be focused around the leadership of Gandalf the White Wizard. Gandalf is very wise and would be able to devise the major plans for the society. His leadership was demonstrated in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He was able to organize people of many different races into achieving a common goal, which was no easy task. Gandalf would surely by the person to lead this society based upon his wisdom and magical ability.

Under Gandalf there are several key supporters. One of these members is Nurse Joy from the Pokémon series. During each episode of the Pokémon TV show, Nurse Joy is able to cure various illnesses. She is a capable healer who would be very important to the society. She is also extremely polite and helpful, so she would comply with whatever guidelines she was asked to follow.

Jimmy Neutron is another important part of the society. He would always be updating the technology in the area. This would make thing very efficient, provided his inventions do not backfire as the sometimes do in his television show. Jimmy is also somewhat of a comedian and an entertainer. This is because many of his inventions could serve multiple purposes. They were both useful and entertaining. He could invent things that would improve every part of the society due to his large intellect.

Darth Vader would be the one who would keep society in line. Given his dominant traits observed in The Star Wars Saga, he would easily be able to keep everyone in control. This is because of his army of stormtoopers, which he is seldom lacking, and his ability to use the Dark Side of The Force. He would instill fear into any revolutionaries, who would be far too scared to challenge Darth Vader. Even if some one were daring enough to stand up to him they would most certainly perish before his might.

Lastly, Optimus Prime would be the hero of this society. Should anything ever happen to go wrong he could save the day. Hopefully this would be a rare circumstance, and things would seldom go wrong. But if there were ever a need for a hero, he more than meets the requirement. Also, since Optimus is a Transformer, he could remain in truck mode, and stay out of the way when he was not needed. He could stop any evil forces that wished to destroy the society. He would work in cooperation with Gandalf, Jimmy Neutron, and Darth Vader. All of these people together could not be overcome by anyone.

When considering possible problems of this society, there are a few that do come to mind. Firstly, there is no prominent womanly figure. Gandalf is the fatherly figure of the society, but there is no queen or lover or princess or mother. This could result in some imbalance. Another problem is the malfunctioning of Jimmy’s inventions. His inventions often go wrong, which make for great TV episodes, but they do not make for good societal inventions. Jimmy would have to work extra hard in order to make sure nothing went wrong. Possibly the biggest problem is having Darth Vader as a part of this society. He is the biggest threat and a danger to the well being of the society. After all, he is a member of the Dark Side. He would have to be controlled and used as an enforcer only. However, whenever someone in Star Wars attempted to control Vader, he killed them. Hopefully this would not be the case in this society. Vader would have to use his evil powers on members of the society only when necessary. If he turned against the establishment, which is not unlikely, he would have to be controlled. The only one who may have a chance against Vader is Optimus Prime. This would leave a huge responsibility on Optimus’ shoulders because should he fail, the society would break down.

Essential Question #4

We begin to see seduction and lust corrupt Gawain when he has an affair with the wife of his host. The host was extremely hospitable to Gawain because he was a knight. Knights during these times were greatly respected because they were supposed to follow the noble chivalric code. Gawain's host expects him to do the same and does not suspect him of any misdeeds. However, Gawain has become corrupted by his weakness for women. This seems to be Gawain's essential flaw that is unavoidable. He is confronted by women in many circumstances, so it will be difficult for him to overcome this character flaw. When he is confronted by his host's wife he gives in to the temptation. The author is trying to tells us that may be another circumstance in  the future when Gawain will be able to resist breaking his chivalric code, but currently he is giving in to temptation and he is weak.

Code for Relationships in 2009

1. If you love a girl, she deserves to know, because this is information that will change her life and yours. Do not keep your love a secret.

2. Expect to pay when you go on dates with her. She may someday decide to pay, but always expect this to be your responsibility.
3. Do not change yourself for a girl, be who you are, or else she will realize that you are a fake.
4. If you are lucky enough to end up in a relationship with a girl that you love, treasure her and keep her close to you.

5. Never appreciate her any less than you did when you first fell in love with her. Never take her for granted no matter how long you are together. Always keep that feeling of initial love.

6. Her happiness should be the source of your happiness.

7. If making her happy does not bring you complete joy, then you are with the wrong girl.
8. Do not pester her, if she wants to be alone for a while, let her.

9. Do everything that you can to protect her and keep her safe. You should be willing to give everything up for her sake if you truly love her.
10. You have to be strong for her, sometimes you will have your own problems to deal with, but she should always come first.
11. Don’t leave her for selfish reasons, spend as much time with her as possible be with her as much as you can because making her happy makes you happy.
12. Tell her that you love her, but do not make these words meaningless, you must show her what love is, not just tell her, or else those three words will lose significance.
13. If she decides that she no longer wants to be with you, let her go. If you love her, you will want her to be happy no matter what, even if that mean she has to leave you. If she is happier without you, then you have to let her go.

Beowulf 2

Discuss biblical allusions and religious symbolism in Beowulf.

There are many instances of biblical allusions in Beowulf. One example is that Beowulf is regarded as being “chosen by God” to do great things. Beowulf himself often says that he is only able to survive these ferocious battles because God protects him. He also says that he has courage to be victorious in battle, and this courage can be compared to faith in God’s protection. This is similar to the role of a prophet in the Bible, who is chosen by God to accomplish a certain task. Beowulf’s task is saving the Danes from the evil of Grendel and Grendel’s mother. Beowulf follows Christian beliefs so far, and this has made him very successful.

There is another instance in this reading that seems to be a direct Biblical reference. After Beowulf uses the sword that belonged to the race of giants to kill Grendel’s mother, he returns with the hilt. Then a story is told of how the race of giants was destroyed by a massive flood in ancient times. This is exactly like the story of Noah in the Bible. When people turned away from God, a massive flood destroyed them all, just like the giants.