"Not rounding off, but opening out." Comment upon the way the writers deal with the ending in relation to the whole. In your answer you should refer to two or three of the works you have studied.
I noticed that in the two plays that we have read so far there has been death or suicide at the end of each one. In Oedipus, Jocasta kills herself and in The Wild Duck, Hedvig kills herself. In Oedipus, There is a lot of deceit and secrets kept. Jocasta is really Oedipus' mother and he actually killed his own father who he figured out is Laius. I believe that because of this lie and deceit and Oedipus' ignorance, Sophocles tries to deal with the ending by having Jocasta kill herself which is a way to make the story more tragic. Jocasta cannot deal with the fact that she lied to and married her son so a way to fix it is to kill herself. I think that Sophocles might have done this to show that you need a good family relationship and then nothing will go wrong then.
In The Wild Duck, There is also deceit and lies. Werle is the reason for Edkal's downfall. Also Hedvig may not actually be Hjalmer' daughter which means that Gina has lied to him.Hedvig cannot deal with the fact that her dad is shunning her now so she kills herself to. Ibsen, believe, dealt with the whole ordeal by killing Hedvig and i think that he did that to make the family feel guilt for not having a good relationship with each other and having secrets and deceit.
Showing posts with label Comparison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comparison. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Wild Duck Journal #2
Compare how writers in your study have explored the themes of judgement and punishment, disguise and deceit, or love and frendship, and with what effect.
In The Wild Duck, I think that there isn't exactly love and friendship, but the opposite of that. There is no love shown. It seems that Gregers does not like or respect his father Werle and it is shown when he moved out because he does not have a good relationship with him at all. The body language and the facial expressions like "with a cold smile" and "without looking at him" from Gregers also suggest that he does not have any love for his father. Also ot seems that Hjalamer does not have a lot of love for his daughter Hedvig. He makes her do his work for him even though it will hurt her eyesight. It is the same in Oedipus. In the play Jocasta gives away Oedipus when he is born. She alsotells the Shepherd to to kill Oedipus. This shows that she has no love for her own son. Instead of trying to change fate, she excepts it and selfishly trys to deal with it.
There is also disguise and deceit in The Wild Duck and Oedipus. In the Wild Duck, There is deceit because it was thought that Ekdal brought upon his own downfall, but it was Werle. It is the same with Oedipus, He does not know who his parents are and he thinks that Polybus is really his father but Jocasta is decieving him. She is actually his mother and Laius is his father. This shows deceit and disguise in the play.
In The Wild Duck, I think that there isn't exactly love and friendship, but the opposite of that. There is no love shown. It seems that Gregers does not like or respect his father Werle and it is shown when he moved out because he does not have a good relationship with him at all. The body language and the facial expressions like "with a cold smile" and "without looking at him" from Gregers also suggest that he does not have any love for his father. Also ot seems that Hjalamer does not have a lot of love for his daughter Hedvig. He makes her do his work for him even though it will hurt her eyesight. It is the same in Oedipus. In the play Jocasta gives away Oedipus when he is born. She alsotells the Shepherd to to kill Oedipus. This shows that she has no love for her own son. Instead of trying to change fate, she excepts it and selfishly trys to deal with it.
There is also disguise and deceit in The Wild Duck and Oedipus. In the Wild Duck, There is deceit because it was thought that Ekdal brought upon his own downfall, but it was Werle. It is the same with Oedipus, He does not know who his parents are and he thinks that Polybus is really his father but Jocasta is decieving him. She is actually his mother and Laius is his father. This shows deceit and disguise in the play.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Wild Duck Journal #1
"Visual action can be as important as stage speech." How far do you agree with this claim. In your answer you should refer to 2 or 3 plays you have studied.
I agree with the claim that visual action is just as important as speech. To be able to fully understand what is going on you need to be able to picture it in your head and the text that explains what they are doing. In Oedipus, the text for that is needed to be able to figure out what is going on. In Oedipus, it says "Oedipus strains to see a figure coming from the distance. Attended by palace guards, an old shepherd enters slowly, reluctant to approach the king" (Sophocles). It is good that they show us what the characters were visually doing. In this we know that something is wrong and that there is something that he does not want to say to the king because the shepherd is hesitant about seeing the king. This gives us insight before the shepherd starts to talk that there is something wrong.
In The Wild Duck, The various visual actions help us as readers to understand what some of the characters in the books are thinking through there body language. Before Gregers is about to talk in one scene it first saying that he is "trembling" This helps us to think of how he is feeling even before he talks. In another part it says that Gregers "Looked at Werle coldly". This helps us to know what Gregers thinks about Werle before he talks. All around I think that visual actions are very important and gives us as readers insight into the characters by knowing what their body language is and their facial expressions.
I agree with the claim that visual action is just as important as speech. To be able to fully understand what is going on you need to be able to picture it in your head and the text that explains what they are doing. In Oedipus, the text for that is needed to be able to figure out what is going on. In Oedipus, it says "Oedipus strains to see a figure coming from the distance. Attended by palace guards, an old shepherd enters slowly, reluctant to approach the king" (Sophocles). It is good that they show us what the characters were visually doing. In this we know that something is wrong and that there is something that he does not want to say to the king because the shepherd is hesitant about seeing the king. This gives us insight before the shepherd starts to talk that there is something wrong.
In The Wild Duck, The various visual actions help us as readers to understand what some of the characters in the books are thinking through there body language. Before Gregers is about to talk in one scene it first saying that he is "trembling" This helps us to think of how he is feeling even before he talks. In another part it says that Gregers "Looked at Werle coldly". This helps us to know what Gregers thinks about Werle before he talks. All around I think that visual actions are very important and gives us as readers insight into the characters by knowing what their body language is and their facial expressions.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Oedipus Journal #3
To what extent would you agree that plot should be valued more highly than style in the work. In your answer you should refer to two or three works you have studied.
I agree with the statement that the plot should be more highly valued than style in the the work, but i do believe that the style of book is also very important. In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The plot and the style of Zora Neale Hurston are both important but I believe that the plot is ultimately what makes a person like the book or not. Her dialogue in the story is very important in helping the reader understand the book. "Dat sho is de truth, now" (40). Its southern accent helps to increase the book's authenticity and helps a reader to be able to imagine what is is really like in that time period and understand the culture. She also uses a lot literary techniques which helps a reader to use their senses and understand the text better. I really did like the book, but in the end the plot led me to not like the book as much. I believe that during the book Janie is trying to find a sense of independance and she finds that with Tea Cake, but in the end he dies. That i believe that, although it does not ruin the book, it puts a damper on it.
In Oedipus, I like that the author writes the book as a play and I like that style about him. This effects the way I think about the book but, That is not the reason I like the story so far. I liked the plot and that they need to find the murderer in order to save Thebes. Though when iI read about his fate, it made me not like the story as much. "It is my fat-I must make love with my own mother, shed my fathers blood with my own hands."(1090-1092). This makes me not like the book as much. The fact that he must sleep with his mother is weird and unnescesary to make a good play. Thie plot is what ultimately draws a reader in and keeps them connected to the book. The style is important in helping you understand the text, but a person is going to base their opinion whether they like the book more on the plot than on the style in which it is written.
I agree with the statement that the plot should be more highly valued than style in the the work, but i do believe that the style of book is also very important. In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The plot and the style of Zora Neale Hurston are both important but I believe that the plot is ultimately what makes a person like the book or not. Her dialogue in the story is very important in helping the reader understand the book. "Dat sho is de truth, now" (40). Its southern accent helps to increase the book's authenticity and helps a reader to be able to imagine what is is really like in that time period and understand the culture. She also uses a lot literary techniques which helps a reader to use their senses and understand the text better. I really did like the book, but in the end the plot led me to not like the book as much. I believe that during the book Janie is trying to find a sense of independance and she finds that with Tea Cake, but in the end he dies. That i believe that, although it does not ruin the book, it puts a damper on it.
In Oedipus, I like that the author writes the book as a play and I like that style about him. This effects the way I think about the book but, That is not the reason I like the story so far. I liked the plot and that they need to find the murderer in order to save Thebes. Though when iI read about his fate, it made me not like the story as much. "It is my fat-I must make love with my own mother, shed my fathers blood with my own hands."(1090-1092). This makes me not like the book as much. The fact that he must sleep with his mother is weird and unnescesary to make a good play. Thie plot is what ultimately draws a reader in and keeps them connected to the book. The style is important in helping you understand the text, but a person is going to base their opinion whether they like the book more on the plot than on the style in which it is written.
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