Sorry Mr. Coon! I Completely forgot!

I am reading We Were the Mulvaneys for my final english essay. At this point I am almost finished with reading the novel and I plan on discussing the deterioration of the family. Sorry!

Sorry Mr. Coon! I completely forgot!

I am reading We Were The Mulvaneys for my final english essay. At this point I am almost finished with reading the novel. I plan on discussing the deterioration of the family.

A Woman’s Alienation from Society

In the poem “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton, the three stanzas each act as three stages in the speaker’s life. Anne Sexton cleverly uses the metaphor of a witch in order to portray a woman alienated from society. This metaphor refers back to the Salem Witch Trials in which the women labeled as witches were rather women who were different from society’s expectations. The metaphor of a witch is employed throughout the entire poem even though the word witch is only explicitly mentioned in the first stanza. In essence, “Her Kind” is the story of a woman’s stages in life and her experiences with alienation from society.

The first stanza introduces the speaker as a witch who only comes out at night, representing not only her separation from society but also the way society perceives the speaker to be. Simply because she is different, “twelve-fingered,”(line 5) and “dreaming evil,” (line 3) the society views her as evil and subhuman—“not a woman, quite” (line 6). When the speaker says she is “braver at night” (line 2) she gives the sense that at this stage in her life she is not quite ready to show her true self and therefore hides from the “normal” world. The speaker portrays “normal” life to be monotonous when she describes her crusade “over the plain houses, light by light” (line 4).

The second stanza describes the traditional, socially accepted home “filled with skillets, carvings, shelves,/ closets, silks, innumerable goods” (lines 9-10). She continues the metaphor of a witch, however, when she says, “fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves” (line 11). This quote hints that although she displays herself to society through the appearance of her house as a normal woman, on the inside (or in the privacy of her own home) she is still separated in her mindset from society. When the speaker says “A woman like that is misunderstood,” (line 13) she is most likely meaning that the woman’s integrity and intelligence go unnoticed because only the superficial possessions in her house are acknowledged.

The third stanza completes the third stage of the speaker’s experiences in her life as an alienated woman. Sexton uses imagery and alludes to the Salem Witch Trials. She creates the image of a nude woman being driven in a cart, exposed to the public, and tortured and burned at the stake. This intense image shows the extremity of the speaker’s alienation from society and the way she feels when society judges her and makes her an outcast. When the speaker says, “your flames still bite my thigh,” (line 18) it suggests that the psychological pain society inflicted upon the speaker is like an unhealed wound: the memory of it still affects her. In a way, the physical pain used in the Salem Witch Trials is transformed into psychological torture for the time period of this poem. The quote, “A woman like that is not ashamed to die,” (line 20) signifies her acceptance and pride of being unlike the traditional expectations of women and her preparedness to be vilified by the society because of it.

The repetition of “I have been her kind” at the end of each stanza acts as the thread throughout the poem; it connects each of the stanzas together to form the experiences of the speaker rather than three separate types of women. The three stanzas represent the speaker’s stages of feeling alienated from society. She begins by hiding her true feelings and avoiding society, then attempts to put up a superficial front in order to deceive society, and then finally she allows her true sentiment to be seen by the public and consequently accepts her alienation from society and the thematic “social death” that ensues. (628)

Acknowledging Depression

One day in class, Mr. Coon noted that depression is not reported in elders as much as in other age groups. This comment was inspired from my statement that Willy seems to be depressed. It is important to know that this observation was made when we were still only analyzing the first act of Death of a Salesman. Obviously by the end of the play we know that Willy is depressed and suicidal. As I was thinking about Mr. Coon’s comment in class, I started to think that not only is depression not reported in elders often but also, during the time period of Death of a Salesman, I do not believe that it was common to address those problems to a family member. In other words, even if a woman knew that a family member such as her father or husband were depressed, she probably would not have brought it up in discussion with him.

I think that Linda’s relationship with Willy is the perfect example of a woman who knows her husband is depressed but would not dream of addressing him with it. Linda puts up with Willy’s “crankiness” and whining in situations like when she buys a different cheese and Willy complains. She always supports him and tries to help him by encouraging him to change his job so that he does not have to drive as much. In addition to looking out for Willy’s best interests for his profession, it is clear that she also tries to help him because she knows it would be better for his health. Linda acknowledges that the “accidents” Willy has are instead attempts at suicide. Therefore we know that she knows Willy is depressed and suicidal yet she still does not outright confront him with it. Again, when Willy is gardening late at night, she does not go out to talk to him nor does she let her son Biff. She tells Biff, “You’re not going near him, “and, “Will you please leave him alone?” (pg.1825). In a way, Linda both protects and respects Willy by treating him this way. She protects her already emotionally weak husband from an attack from his son. At the same time, one could say that she respects her husband too much to tell him she knows he is depressed because it would consequently bring his weakness to the front. Unfortunately, because Linda does not confront Willy with his depression, Willy commits suicide and Linda is left to mourn. (414)

The Meaning of the Title: "A Doll's House"

At what moment in the play do you understand why it is called A Doll’s House?

Although this question was placed under the Act 1 section of questions, I feel that only hints of the true meaning of the title appear in Act 1. In my opinion, I never fully understand why it is called A Doll’s House until Nora gives her own interpretation and analysis of her role as a “doll” to both her father and her husband Torvald. Leading up to this point, however, the play gradually reveals the meaning through Nora’s short anecdotes of her father and through the reader’s perception of Nora and Torvald’s relationship.

From Torvald’s very first line in the play to his last conversation with Nora, Torvald treats her as an inferior—almost as a child—and essentially treats her like a doll on display in a dollhouse. Not only does he use demeaning nicknames such as “my little sky-lark” or “my little squirrel” but he also interacts with her as if she is a silly girl, playfully chastising her for eating candy that day. Through these daily interactions between Torvald and Nora, one begins to grasp the meaning of the title. Furthermore, the collection of Nora’s comments about her with her father also helps in painting the picture of the title’s significance. The reader can draw from her stories that her father treated her and saw her in the same way Torvald does.

Most significantly, however, is when Nora comes to the realization of how devoid her life was of independence and self-accomplishment. I believe that this is the moment at which the reader is able to have a true understanding of why the play is called A Doll’s House. Nora acknowledges that her father, “used to call [her] his baby doll, and he played with [her] as [she] used to play with [her] dolls” (pg. 1730). Again Nora interprets her life to be like a doll when looking at her life with Torvald: “[O]ur house has never been anything but a play-room. I have been your doll wife, just as at home I was Daddy’s doll child” (pg. 1730). By the end of the play Nora is able to make a mature observation about her life despite her upbringing to be a naïve and ignorant woman. It is through this observation, that the true significance of the title becomes whole. (399)

To Kill or Not to Kill? That is the Question

Hamlet struggles with the inner conflict of the morality of avenging his father’s death as well as his own death. In each of these situations, Hamlet spends a majority of the plot trying to rationalize them. Hamlet eventually comes to a conclusion for both of his inner conflicts.

Upon the ghost’s request for Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius, Hamlet immediately agrees to it, and then later on begins to question it. One of the greatest questions of this story is: Is it morally right to kill another man in order to avenge a family member’s death? In the end, I personally do not believe that hamlet fully answers this question—Shakespeare leaves that to be an eternal mystery for the readers to decide. Instead of giving a direct answer, Hamlet finds other reasons and motives in order to justify committing a murder. In a sense, one could argue that that could be the answer—murder is not fully justified on a basis on avenging one’s father—however, I do not believe that is what Shakespeare meant for us to interpret from this. Hamlet ends up emphasizing his own personal motives for killing Claudius rather than for his father. I find it true that most people do end up acting as Hamlet does and finding personal reasons in order to make the act seem more morally acceptable.

Hamlet struggles to decide whether or not suicide is morally justifiable as well. It is clear from the moment Hamlet speaks in the play that he feels no desire to live; he was not afraid of the chance that the ghost could try to kill him. He continues throughout the play to mention his suicidal thoughts. I believe Shakespeare shows this not only to display his emotional state after the death of his father and the re-marriage of his mother both also to enhance the fact that Hamlet repeatedly questions the morality of both killing someone and oneself. The epitome of Hamlet’s pondering of suicide is in his “to be or not to be” speech. He comes to the conclusion that although he does not have the desire to live, to commit suicide is a sin and he therefore could not and would not do it. In this case, Hamlet does end up with a resolute answer to the question of suicide. In conclusion, Shakespeare makes a point of showing Hamlet’s inner struggles in order to complicate the originally somewhat simple mission to avenge his father through killing Claudius. (418)

Antigone the Hypocrit

As I’ve skimmed over Antigone, I noticed that Antigone is a rather hypocritical character. I am not able to fully analyze the reasons for this but I’m hoping as I write this blog I can gain further insight into this question. Her reasons while trying to persuade her sister Ismene to go against King Creon’s order and bury their brother are contradicted when she is fighting with Ismene again in front of King Creon. Initially, Antigone emphasizes the obligation as a sister to rightfully bury her brother Polyneices just as her brother Eteocles was.

Antigone gives Ismene the opportunity to either become “a true sister, or a traitor to [her] family,” by choosing between burying Polyneices or allowing his corpse to remain unburied and eaten by animals (1326, line 27). When Ismene refuses to help her bury their brother, Antigone immediately criticizes Ismene and informs her that the dead will hate her for betraying her family in this way. Even when Ismene promises not to tell anyone, in an effort to protect her sister, Antigone turns it back around on Ismene and tells her to tell everyone so that “they’ll hate [her] when it all comes out if they learn that [she] knew about it all the time!” (1327, line 70-71). One can respect Antigone’s resolute standing on what should be done in this situation despite her persistent jabs at her sister because of her opposition. Unfortunately, however, she contradicts herself and in actuality acts as Creon did when she criticized him. In this way, Antigone is hypocritical and therefore loses the credibility that she originally had. Once Creon discovers that she had attempted to bury Polyneices, Antigone wants to have all the glory for it and therefore refuses to let Ismene take partial credit. Ismene, on the other hand, is, in a way, doing exactly what Antigone had preached to her in the earlier part of the play: she remained loyal to her sister and was willing to die for her. But Antigone is able to only focus selfishly on being the one sister to die for her blood. Instead of embracing her sister’s loyalty, Antigone responds to her, “You shall not lessen my death by sharing it.” I think it is a shame that Antigone loses sight of her true reasons for burying Polyneices. She starts out with strong ambition and just incentives but ends up treating herself and Ismene in the same respect as Creon does to Eteocles and Polyneices. (413)

In the novella “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” the realization of death in the future is the only way that Ivan Ilych is able to understand and see life as it truly is. Throughout his entire life, he never lived a full life; his job decisions, his marriage, and friends were all created without passion. Ivan led a hollow life until he grew ill from a seemingly innocent injury and began to the flawed indifference that society had. After his first doctor’s visit, he comes to the conclusion that “for the doctor, and perhaps for everybody else, it was a matter of indifference, though for him it was bad,” (pg. 296).

From that day on, Ivan became more aware of the reality of his illness and the fact that his life previous to it was meaningless. I find it ironic that the arrival of death for Ivan is what forced him to realize the fake people and world in which he made a point of surrounding himself. He, who was once a man who took pride in the superficial and hollow social aspects of his life, was now “left alone with the consciousness that his life was poisoned…and that this poison did not weaken but penetrated more and more deeply into his whole being,” (pg. 299). Even though he calls this illness a poison, I think that it actually was his one chance to break apart from the pathetic rut that he called life. Although in his eyes he was pitiful and somewhat deserted by his family—wife in particular—as a result of the illness, he ended up shedding his superficial layers and discovering the harsh reality of life under all of the fluff that he once enjoyed so much.

I started out looking down upon and lacking respect for Ivan and his life, but after learning of his “reality slap” and seeing him also hate the very fake and deceiving world that I despised so much, I ended up feeling pity and appreciating his change of person, despite how late it came in his life. I felt relief to know that finally Ivan had realized that everyone was going to die when he said “…they will die too! Fools! I first, and they later, but it will be the same for them,” (pg. 301). That quote is the epitome of the contrast between the life Ivan left and the life he came into after his illness. It is clear that the rest of society has the conception that they will never die, as seen in Peter’s comments at the beginning, however; there is hope that not all are so naïve in the way that Ivan mentions this occasionally throughout the rest of the novella.