Othello Act 4 and 5

My initial reaction to Othello's act IV and V is very mixed, I felt sorrowful yet happy that the fight of Desdemona and the evilness of Iago will soon be over. The character of Iago occurred to me more than any other characters on the play. He seems to get everything he wants by easily manipulating people's personal opinion and judgements. Even from the start, it was given that Iago is the main antagonist of the play. All of his little sneaky lies and persuasions led to this big mess that unfortunately led to the death of three people. It is very sad how he can easily manipulate all of the other characters in the play; just like how actual people in this world manages to do that. This reminds me of the president; whatever he says most likely the person he told will follow his orders without thinking if its right or wrong, or what will be the outcome of his actions. It is very tempting to scream at the top of our lungs that Iago is definitely jealous and is trying to ruin every positive thing. I also sense the frustration of Iago in these acts.

Act 3, Othello

In Act III of Othello, my initial reaction is being worried and pity for Desdemona. She is one of the main characters that played a big role for this Act to be meaningful. Despite Desdemona's compassion, she gets misinterpreted just like every other person in this world. Though we all know that Desdemona is not guilty, the characters in the play doesn't know that and that is why this play becomes tragic. Desdemona reminds me of Cinderella. She is sweet, caring, and innocent. She is very nice to everyone even if she knows that others are already taking advantage for her. Because of the accusations she got from Othello I felt sympathetic with Desdemona's character. The author used character to emphasize that irony is more than just a literary element. Shakespeare effectively used the character of Desdemona to point out the main ironies of the story. First of, Desdemona is this sweet and naive mistress of Othello. Her caring personality led to hardship of her and Othello's relationship. Although we all know that Desdemona is just trying to help Cassio regain his rank, Othello on the other hand misinterpret his wife's generosity because of Iago's lies. Just like in scene three where Desdemona is begging Othello to give Cassio another chance, then Othello immediately thought that Desdemona only wants Cassio back for her own benefit. It is fascinating how Shakespeare manages to provide people with different interpretation through writing this single play.

Act II, Othello

In the second act of Othello, I thought that Cassio's character is very similar to my cousin's personality, Katy. Everyone in the family favors her; just like how Othello favored Cassio over Iago. Cassio wasn't too much of a character, but others still favors them. Even though she's younger, my family thinks that she knows better than her older brother just like how Iago criticized Cassio for lacking of battle experience. Also, he got easily manipulated to fight Roderigo and made him lose his position of being Othello's lieutenant. Shakespeare intentionally used character to show how people can be easily manipulated if influential people tells them what to do, especially if the person is in higher authority. Iago’s character can easily manipulate people; therefore, it was easy for him to make Othello jealous by telling him that Cassio is Desdemona’s type of guy and that they kind of had something for each other. 

Act 1, Othello

In Shakespeare's tragedy, "Othello," the character that sticked up the most to me is Iago. He instantly reminded me of Snow White's step mother, the queen. His frustrations with Othello, led him to his evil plans to ruin Othello's life. Iago used Roderigo to put his actions to work just like how Snow White's step mother used the "apple." I identify Iago as the antagonist of the play. He caused the conflict intentionally to win the king's favor, who happened to be Desdemona's father. With the help of Roderigo's love for Desdemona, he managed to put in bad impressions about Othello to Desdemona's dad. I think that the theme is tragedy. Since there is a love story where antagonists are trying to ruin their relationship and happiness.

Popular Mechanics

In Raymond Carver's "Popular Mechanics," he surreptitiously suggested the theme of parent's conflict about their own child. Both parents, the mother and the father, were struggling to get the baby on their own side. The lack of detail in Carver's short story made it very unique that we, as the readers, could put our own interpretations throughout the story. He also made a good use of symbols like the flowerpot and the structure and setting of the house. My initial reaction to the story is that both of the parents were too selfish to not think about how the baby feels. The setting of the story is very dark, which implied the theme of conflict. The darkness was emphasized on the little details that Carver used when both parents were arguing all around the house without turning the lights on. I also find it very daunting that they involved the baby in their "fight," to the point where they both have to hold their child in its arms. In my opinion, no parent that loves their child should do such thing. I also thought that the title fits the story best. At first, I did not get the significance of the title, but later on the story Carver absolutely implied that the theme of the story occurs in a normal household in this generation. Furthermore, I thought that it was very clever of him to make a "script" like story that lead to the use of a third person's point-of-view.

Chopin

Thesis 1

Chopin perfectly employed the women’s struggle for equality during the early 1900s as well as today by showing her violent reactions for the little situations she have experienced. Chopin also implied how Mallard is aware of the “right” way for women to behave, but what she thinks internally and how she truly feels are anything but correct. Her actions were the result of her desire for "freedom."

Thesis 3

Chopin's use of short paragraphs perfectly elaborated an hour in Mallard's life. Through the uses the author's use of dense structure portrayed the intense hour Mallard contemplating about her idea of independence and her complex problem of oppression. The use of repetition throughout the short story emphasized the oppression Mallard has been experiencing in her life. 

Hemingway

In Hemingway's short story, "Soldier's home," he created the sense of irony and character. At first one  might think that the story will be about a soldier that came back to a home that is welcoming and grateful that the solider, Krebs, is back home safe. Instead, Hemingway's story reflected the opposite of my thoughts. Krebs came back to his "home" without feeling the honor he must be getting just like how the people in his community gave credit to the other soldiers a while ago before Krebs' return. As a soldier, Harold did his obligation and fought for our country, yet he did not receive any recognition. Krebs is not quite home yet. Krebs tried to fit back in the society he came from before the military, but due to his new point-of-view, he recognizes a different way of life. He wished to have a simple life despite the modernity and extravagance of his new old hometown. It seemed for Krebs that everyone is somewhat connected in a way that he has to talk in able to fit in. He also wished for a simple life not just because he is not familiar with the new ways anymore, but also because he wants to live a quite life and having to not life about his experience in the military.

Who Am I?...

Hey everyone! My name is Psalm, I'm a typical 17 year old striving for success. This is my third semester here at Sierra. I'm currently majoring in biological science and hoping to get into University of Pennsylvania's pre-med program and major in dermatology after completing my AS. I can be a little shy at first, but I easily warm up to people, sometimes. I play the guitar and piano. I love singing and my favorite singers are John Mayer and Jason Mraz. I enjoy playing sports such as volleyball and golf; I was a part of my previous high school's cheering squad, but many does not consider cheer as a sport, so I'll leave that up to you guys! I'm also very family-oriented; I always make time for my family and friends. I like to things slow and give priority to what and who I value the most. Even though English is not my first language, I still enjoy reading Nicholas Sparks' novels. Last Song is one of my favorites by him. I'm looking forward to this class not just to improve my understanding in Lit, but to also make new friends while earning units! :)

 "Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections."  -Unknown