Blood Wedding/Comparison

What are the questions that underlie at least two of the works that you have read and how have the authors sought to answer those questions?


Because I've been tracking fate/destiny it is fairy easy for me to write about this prompt.

The question the playwrites present is if it is possible to change your fate or an outcome of an event. Is it possible for someone to change their destiny and make things better? This is seen in all three plays.


Oedipus is fairly obvious but I will go into it anyway. He has a phrophecy that he does not want to fulfull. He lives through life trying to get around it but he does not. Instead everything comes true and his life sucks.

The Wild Duck- Hedvig tries to fix her family's fate by killing herself. She believed that she would fix the situation for them if she did this. The play ended with the scene of the family examining her death so it doesn't really show if they were happy but one can assume that she did not fix any problems in her family.

Blood Wedding- I'm still unsure of this plot... but the Bridegroom's family was cursed.. correct? They lost the father/son already and it was only fate that something would happen to the Bridegroom. Everyone around the Bride and the Bridegroom pushed this marriage and saw it as success. However, the Bride ended up running away and being with Leo anyway, despite the fact that she already got married.

The authors use their plots and conflicts to show that people have very little control over their lives and fate and destiny drive everything.

Blood Wedding/ Comparison

Before I get into this post, I just want to say that this is by far the juiciest play I have ever read! I mean, the wife has a thing with her ex-boyfriend? Then the guy shows up at her wedding with his wife?! And then the scene ends with them running off together!!? AHH I would read this over watching Gossip Girl ANY DAY. Just don't tell Kacey Peterson...

I believe the most appropriate journal for this scene is the first comparison question...
"Readers are attracted to moments of intensity in a writer's work. By what means and with what effect have writers in your study offered heightened emotional moments designed to arrest the reader's attention?"

Blood Wedding- Throughout all of Act 2 the reader learns more about the Bride and her past. We learn about her relationship with Leonardo and the Maid even shoes him away. This conflict already attracts me and leads me to want to know more and more about the plot. I am drawn in as the Bride continues to lie to her husband throughout the act. Scene 2 attracts the reader and slowly heightens the emotional moment by slowly hinting at the fact that Leonadro and the Bride ran off together. First, the Wife is looking for Leonardo which hints at the fact that he is gone. However, the reader is only suspicious of this at first. Then the Bride wants to rest without her new husband which also hints at it. In the end of this act, when everyone discovers that they have ran off they all try to run after him. The drama is intensified by looking at how the Mother speaks. She says things like, "Born of an evil mother, and him-him, too! But now she's my son's wife!" and "Who has a horse? Right now-who has a horse? I'll give you everything I have: my eyes and even my tongue" (77). Her dramatic language intensifies this scene which adds to the fact the drama was already building up from the beginning of the Act!

Oedipus- Similar to Blood Wedding, the drama in Oedipus also added up, increasing the emotional moment. I saw this starting on page 221 with Jocasta's sharp turn. ( I know I have spoken about this passage a lot in my journals but it is significant...). Right before this passage, the audience finally realizes that this is when Oedipus will learn his fate. Because we know this, we are allowed to pick apart all actions that the actors (yes actors, they were all men at this time) take on the stage. By adding little details like the sharp turn, Sophocles increases the emotional moment by allowing the audience to notice them. He allows them to get more involved in the play by looking for other signs that only someone that understands the plot will see. Jocasta avoiding Oedipus's questions and trying to stop him also heightens the moment because seeing this angers me and I'm sure it angers other readers too. By getting the audience/reader emotionally involved it really intensifies the scene.

Blood Wedding/Literary Topics

Themes and Ideas--

While reading the first act in Blood Wedding, I noticed that the roles in society that the character in the novel played seemed very significant. It seemed like the society the characters lived in had strict rules on what they were allowed and expected to do, who they could marry etc...

For example, in the first scene when mother and Bridegroom are talking, the mother talks about how if he were a girl they would be embroidering and stitching and doing girly things instead of going out to the field. (page 7)

On page 36, the maid of the wife desperatly wants to see the gifts that the wife has received for her engagement. Instead of being friendly, the wife shoes her away. This makes it seem like there should be a distinct line between both the wife and the maid. As this scene continues, the maid is surprised with the wife's strength. She says 'You're stronger than a man!" on page 37. This was interesting for me because it seemed like it was an insult to the wife. This shows the roles they believed the men and women should have in the society.

I also noticed that whenever the wife and the mother-in-law talk to eachother, the structure of the play changes. Their dialogue is centered in the page instead of written in the middle. As of right now I do not know the significance of this but I will keep on thinking!

The Wild Duck/Comparison Journal 4

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out" To what extent do you find this statement applicable in at least two plays you have studied?

I think that this is extremely applicable in both Oedipus and The Wild Duck.

In Oedipus, the story focuses around him. He is royal, has money and power. Common people do not have these things! During this time, they watched Romanticized plays. From what we've learned about these plays in class, it seems like they make people look a lot better and they do not focus on the middle class. It seems like if the middle class was depicted in a play during this time, no one would be interested. Oedipus is basically life with the dull bits cut out because instead of showing everyday problems a poor/middle class person faces, the story is dolled up with the dull pieces taken out. The story shows a royal/rich family that tries to control their lives completely. This is normal for everyone, however because the dull parts are cut out, it makes the story much more interesting.

I saw the same idea for The Wild Duck. I believe that it is extremely applicable because the Wild
Duck includes family problems that everyone faces. However, to insure that it isn't too "boring" the problems are exaggerated and the boring parts of life ARE edited out... we never really see the characters just sitting and talking about nothing.

Tracking for The Wild Duck and Oedipus

I have been tracking the idea of fate and destiny in both The Wild Duck and Oedipus.

In Oedipus the King, the idea of fate or destiny is fairly obvious because of the prophecy that Oedipus fulfilled. The idea of fate is also mentioned throughout the play by the chorus. Ex p 209. Oedipus tried to get away from the prophecy or fix his life and instead he ended up gouging his eyes out.



The Wild Duck- I believe I saw the idea of fate and destiny in the symbol of The Wild Duck. Page 152 describes the capture of the duck. While trying to get away from being caught, the duck instead dove down to the bottom of the river and got caught in the weeds. This is similar to Oedipus and how he was trying to get away from the prophecy but instead ran into it. I believe this is fate because the duck was meant to be caught and he could do nothing about it.

I also see this in Hedvig's character. She was trying to fix things in her family by killing the wild duck. This only led to her messing up and killing herself. This is the idea of fate because she is unable to fix anything even though she was trying.


I found it interesting that in both plays, people were trying to get away from their issues. Instead they ended up causing more. This would be an excellent thing to write a world lit paper on!!

The Wild Duck/Comparison- 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.

So far I have only studied The Wild Duck and Oedipus. Between those two, I believe that the structure is more important in Oedipus than in The Wild Duck. I believe this because of how complex Oedipus is structured. The play, written during romanticism is not in prose and is split up into stanzas. I am unsure about a set pentameter because I am still unsure of how to count it. But I do feel that the style is more important in Oedipus because it gives us background about the play and the time it was written.

I believe that the plot is more important than the style in The Wild Duck. I believe this because all the language is written in prose. This shows that less thought and time were put into the style of the play and more time was put into the plot. The plot is also more important here because the audience is not expected to know the story of The Wild Duck before it started. This means that Ibsen has to put more work into constructing the story.

The Wild Duck/Comparison- Journal 2

"Although doubt is not a pleasant condition, certainty is an absurd one." In the light of this statement, explore the impressions of doubt and/or certainty conveyed in at least two works you have studied.


In The Wild Duck, doubt is seen on page 177 when Gregers and Werle are discussing Gregers' future and his salary. Werele says that Gregers' money will not last long but Gregers replies, "I think it will last my time." Doubt is seen here because we are unable to know what Gregers really means about his comment. It makes it seem like he has a plan to take his life away or maybe he will run away? Or maybe he has a large sum of money set away? Either way the reader is left doubting their belief of what is going to happen next because they do not know much about the situation right now in the play. We do know of the conflict between Werle and Gina which may connect to this but I do not see how it would. The doubt here allows the reader to be more involved in the play and question more things about it.

In Oedipus, doubt is seen throughout the play when Creon doubts that Oedipus has more power than himself. This is seen on page 193 in his long speech. He says that he would rather not be king because of all the complications that come along with it. Doubt here, allows the reader to see that Oedipus is not as powerful as he thinks he is and as he carries himself. This also allows us to be reminded of the prophecy and how it will come true.

IOP 6

My computer crashed so I think that I should keep everything on the blog just in case. This is me continuing my outline. After this, I will do abs and then study chem. My IOP was moved to Friday, which gives me more time to study for my IB Chem test




IOP Outline
Introduction-
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Published in 1985
• BACKGROUND INFO ABOUT ATWOOD
• Breif summary: The Handmaid’s tale took place in the city of Gilead. In Gilead, people were ranked and everything was controlled. Women could be either Handmaids, Wives, Aunts, or Marthas to be considered in the “higher” society. Men had much more power than women but they were still limited in what they could do. They could be Commanders, Eyes, or Angels. This novel opens with the main character, Offred, a handmaid, in the Red Center where she is brainwashed by the Aunts. The novel is written from Offred’s point of view. Her thoughts jumble the chronology of the book making the reader learns a little bit at a time about Gilead and the past society. As the plot continues, the reader discovers that most in the society are discontent about their position they hold and they break the rules
Thesis/Theme
• From the Commander to the Handmaid, the reader discovers that although people may perceive the government the same way, the power they hold in the society affects their actions towards it.
Scrabble Game
• The game of scrabble is fair because everyone has a chance to win. However, because some people are naturally smarter than others they are able to get ahead. This is how a right society runs. Where how hard you work or how smart you are correlates with the power you hold in the government. As you can see from the summary of The Handmaid's Tale, people were given advantages and rights randomly or just because of their sex or ability to reproduce. I went into this IOP believing that how much power a person had would correlate with their perception of society. However, after reviewing the text I discovered that the power they hold in the society only affects their actions towards it but not how they saw it.
• This game will be played by the characters I studied
o Offred – In the beginning, Offred lacked power in the society because of her position as a handmaid. She was confined to wearing the red dress and was –76, 79doc help "The fact is that I no longer want to leave, escape, cross the border to freedom. I want to be here, with Nick, where I can get at him. Telling this I am ashamed of myself." 348
o The Commander—“he sighs, relaxes his hands, but leaves them on my shoulders. He knows what I think, all right. You can’t make an omellete without breaking eggs, is what he says. We thought we could do better.” P273
o Moira-- "How do you stand it? Everything considered, I like this outfit better. So after that, they said I was too dangerous to be allowed the privilege of returning to the Red Center. They said I would be corrupting influence. I had my choice, they said, this or the Colonies, Well, shit, nobody but a nun would pick the Colonies.... So here I am. They even give you face cream. You should figure out some way of getting in here. " 324
o Ofglen- “It’s a beautiful May day,” Ofglen says. P58 "You could go into his room at night,she says. Look through his desk. There must be papers, notations. ..But the Commander is no longer of immediate interest to me. I have to make an effort to keep my indifference towards him from showing." 345
o Serena Joy
• f

The Wild Duck/ Comparison

"A writer usually attempts to create a bond of trust between writer and reader. How and to what extent have at least two writers you have studied been able to elicit your trust?"

In both Oedipus and The Wild Duck, Sophocles and Ibsen use dramatic irony to create a bond of trust between the writer and the reader. This creates trust because the audience is given the opportunity to know things that the characters are not.
In Oedipus, everyone in the audience knew his fate. As they watched the play, Sophocles put in hints in the text that would only be obvious to the audience that knows the end of the story. For example, near line 1075, Jocasta says "What should a man fear? It's all chance,/chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth/can see a da ahead..." as she tries to comfort Oedipus when he thinks of his mother. We are able to trust Sophocles here because instead of leaving the audience out of the loop, he leaves the characters out.
The Wild Duck also includes dramatic irony. The audience members hear of Werele's love interest with Gina on page 132. Later on page 153, Hjalmar, Gina's husband is happy that Werele is renting a room in his house. This is dramatic irony because Gina tries to get out of this situation where Hjalmar pushes it as he tries to make money. This leaves us trusting Ibsen because, like in Oedipus, he allows us to know what is going on first before his own characters.

Oedipus Question Two

Were the actions of Oedpius throughout his life justified? Explain. Predict other possible outcomes of his life if he had acted differently.

Oedipus Question 1

At what point does Sophocles exaggerate the dramatic irony? What effect does this give the reader?

IOP Outline
Introduction-
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Published in 1985
• BACKGROUND INFO ABOUT ATWOOD
• Breif summary: The Handmaid’s tale took place in the city of Gilead. In Gilead, people were ranked and everything was controlled. Women could be either Handmaids, Wives, Aunts, or Marthas to be considered in the “higher” society. Men had much more power than women but they were still limited in what they could do. They could be Commanders, Eyes, or Angels. This novel opens with the main character, Offred, a handmaid, in the Red Center where she is brainwashed by the Aunts. The novel is written from Offred’s point of view. Her thoughts jumble the chronology of the book making the reader lear a little bit at a time about Gilead and the past society. As the plot continues, the reader discovers that most in the society are disconent about their position they hold and they break the rules
Thesis/Theme
• From the Commander to the Handmaid, the reader discoveres that although people may percieve the government the same way, the power they hold in the society affects their actions towards it.
• In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows that the power one has in a society directly correlates to how they view the society and the government.
Scrabble Game
• A game of scrabble is fair. This is what a society is supposed to be like. However


TIME FOR A JOG!! be back later

One with greater power perceives a society differently than one with less. However, in The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows that many will settle in a corrupt society when given little, insignificant power. This power derives from breaking rules or simply having a choice or control of little aspects of life. Atwood uses characters to symbolize the people that will continue to fight and the people that are naive have no care. This novel shows Atwood’s feminist beliefs and the fact that people need to stand up for their rights and change instead of compromising for little things.


http://www.salisburypost.com/Entertainment/030710-Atwood-at-Davidson

IOP (Journal #4)

this will serve as a reminder for me to come back and do this

Scrabble Idea!

To get the class involved in my presentation and to emphasize the different power people have in Gilead, I wanted to make the game of scrabble represent the society.

Different characters will have different rules for the game because of their roles in society. Here are the examples

Marthas -- the Marthas in this novel saw the bad aspects of the government. However, they knew that because they were infertile they had no choice but to be a Martha. They were able to take care of the children and they liked doing this.
"It won't be long now, says Cora, doling out my monthly stack of sanitary napkins. Not long now, smiling at me shyly but also knowingly. Does she know? Do she and Rita know what I'm up to, creeping down their stairs at night? do i give myself away, daydreaming, smiling at nothing, touching my face lightly when I think they aren't watching? Ofglen is giving up on me, She whispers less, taks more about the weather. I do not feel regret about this. I feel relief." 349

Sooo.... the Marthas in the game will be allowed to play. However, when they gain points, all of them go towards the commander.

Aunts -- The Aunts are allowed to read and have authority over the Handmaids. When the handmaids get a point, so do the Aunts for teaching them. The aunts seem to stick with this society as they brainwash the others. They keep watch of the others in the game and keep them from "cheating" even though the rules are unfair.
"They also serve who only stand and wait, said Aunt Lydia. She made us memorize it. She also said, Not all of you will make it through. Some of you will fall on dry ground or thorns. Some of you are shallow-rooted. She had a mole on her chin that went up and down while she talked. She said, Think of yourselves as seeds, and right then her voice was wheedling, conspiratorial, like the voices of those women who used to teach ballet classes to children, and who would say, Arms up in the air now; let's pretend we're trees." 25

Handmaids-- Handmaid's can play but they can only when their words include their commander's first initial. Their points get split between the commander and the wife as the wife gets to have the handmaid's children.

handmaids not in mayday-- Ofwarren
"I say nothing at first, because I am tring to make out what she means. She could mean that this is a reminder of us of the unjustness and burtality of the regime. In that case I ought to say yes. Or she could mean the opposite, that we should remember to do what we are told and not get into trouble, because if we do we will be rightfully punished. If she means that, I should say praise be. Her voice was bland, toneless, no clues there." 364

"That isn't a term I remember. I'm surprised you do. You ought to make an effort..." She pauses. "To clear yor mind of such..." She pauses again. "Echoes." Now I feel cold, seeping over my skin like water. What she is doing is warning me.
365

handmaids in mayday
261 "I find it hard to believe in these whisperings, these revelations, though I always do at the time, Afterwards, though, I they seem imporobb.... I don't think this passage is significant anymore..

345 "You could go into his room at night,she says. Look through his desk. There must be papers, notations. ..But the Commander is no longer of immediate interest to me. I have to make an effort to keep my indifference towards him from showing."

"The fact is that I no longer want to leave, escape, cross the border to freedom. I want to be here, with Nick, where I can get at him. Telling this I am ashamed of myself." 348


after she got what she wanted, she didn't want to break apart from the government and break the rules!! just like how Moira was okay after she got what she wanted (kind of....)

"How do you stand it? Everything considered, I like this outfit better. So after that, they said I was too dangerous to be allowed the privilege of returning to the Red Center. They said I would be corruping influence. I had my choice, they said, this or the Colonies, Well, shit, nobody but a non would pick the Colonies.... So here I am. They even give you face cream. You should figure out some way of getting in here. " 324

Wives - marry the husbands. they have the most "power." The wives can play but it is all show. In reality, their words mean nothing and are just jumbled up letters. They get points regardless of their words.

"This idea hangs between us, almost visible, almost, palpable: heavy, formless, dark; conclusion of a sort, betrayal of a sort. She does want that baby." 266

Commander- The commander is the head dog. he controls the game, distributes the points. however, he can cheat and give himself points whenever he wants... he won't get caught and if he does there will most likely be no punishment for him. Even though he breaks the rules of the society, he goes along with it because he gets all the benefits of it!

"He is showing me off, to them, and they understand that they are decorous enough, they keep their hands to themselves, but they review my breasts, my legs, as if there's no reason why they souldn't. But also he is showing off to me. he is demonstrating, to me, his mastery of the world. He's breaking the rules, under their noses, thumbing his nose at them, getting away with it." 307

It sounds like I will first need to explain the perceptions of the society before I break out the game... I will also need to explain this using literary techniques

Chronology- The chronology of this novel has the reader finding out more and more about the society as time goes on. Therefore, the reader's perception of the society is biased because it clearly emphasizes the difference between the old society and the new. The chronology also allows us to see how Offred viewed the change of the society and the opinion of her friend Moira.

Point of View- Having the novel written in Offred's point of view also gives us the bias because we see everything and sympathize with her. This point of view also gives us an advantage because we are allowed to see her perception of the government what she thinks about it.

Conflict- there seems to be no conflict in the mind of the commander. However, the handmaids always have the conflict of giving kids etc... I wonder if there is internal conflict for the other women's positions? I know that Serena Joy has conflict as she wants the rules to be followed (and is upset when she finds out that the Commander had been seeing Offred outside of the ceremonies) but she also wants a child so she is willing to break the rules of the society.

IOP (Journal #3)

This Journal will include passages/ideas I find interesting in the novel that relate to my topic

-How the women's view of the society is limited. Different women can see different things
ex
Marthas -- cooks/etc/gossipers p 14
Aunts --not fertile women but they basically brainwash the other women so they have power in the society
Handmaids-- fertile women
Wives - marry the husbands. they have the most "power"
Econowives - poor women that are normal
Jezebels - prostitutes! see moria's passage
Unwomen -

Commanders - most powerful, run the government- break their own rules
Eyes - spies for the government
Angels - soldiers

govt take over 232
chess game p 178 198
persoective 185
mayday- handmaids 261 348
serena nick 265
commander 272 274 307- power
moria- 323
nick 339
offred nick 345
marthas 349
bodies 356 359
new ofwarren 364 365
commander serena end 377

Presentation Outline
Using chronology, perspective, point of view, bias… Atwood shows that the advantages one has in a society allows them to perceive the government differently.
Background info:
• speculative fiction!
• Left wing—supported change however no one in the “upper class” wanted change. They would go against it privately but not in plain view.

Oedipus the King Journal 4- Themes and Ideas

I have been tracking the idea of fate or destiny in Oedipus and it has popped out several times in Oedipus. Because of the phrophecy, Oedipus is "destined" to live it and everyone expects him to marry his mother and kill his father. He tries to go against this but because he is given this fate, there is no way to over come this.
This idea may be present because of how religious they are. As seen in the novel, "But if any man comes striding, high and mighty in all he says and does, no fear of justice, no reverence for the temples of the gods-- let a rough doom tear him down, repay his pride, brakneck, runious pride!" (975). This passage from the chorus shows that no matter what someone does, they are punished by the gods. Therefore, their lives are controlled by the gods and they just live under their commands.
Not only does the chorus mention destiny or fate in that passage. In the previous passage the chorus says, "Destiny guide me always/Destiny find me filled with reverence.pure in word and deed" (955). Here it seems like destiny is personified and given the ability to find someone and guide them. Destiny has always seemed like an idea for me. Like how manifest destiny is the belief that America will take all land coast to coast. I suppose this idea has guided us to take over the coast but i never thought that the destiny found us.
Later in the play, the chorus again mentions destiny. "You are my great example, you, your life/ your destiny, Oedipus, man of misery--/I count no man blest" (1320). The passage before this one explains that a man does not have more joy than a dream and his dream just "dies blazing into oblivion." This shows that men can dream but it is no more than that because they will never be able to do anything about it because of their destiny.
Oedipus also personifies destiny when he says "My destiny, my dark power, what a leap you made" (1146). By personifying destiny, he gives it more power and control in his life which emphasizes the idea that a man has no control over his life because he has a predetermined fate. Oedipus personifies destiny again, "What grief can crown this grief/It's mine alonem my destiny--I am oedipus!" (1485). "Well let my destiny come and take me on its way!" (1595).

Because both Oedipus and the Chorus speak of destiny, we know that not only does someone on the outside (chorus) know that destiny is taking over Oedipus' life but he does too.

IOP Brainstorm (Journal #2)

It has been awhile since my last IOP blog and it is not too long before my IOP. So first I am going to list the things I have done and the things I need to do. I am also going to use this blog to organize my thoughts on how I intend to meet and exceed all requirements of the rubric! Yes!

My first blog included what I planned on doing... which is essentially the same as the first two points here, however it is nice for me to get it all down again, and I also want to go into dept.

Things I have done:
-Read the novel (I would hope so!)
-Decided on my topic/book (this was done first). My IOP is on The Handmaid's Tale by a Canadian woman named Margaret Atwood. I will be looking at the different perspectives of the government/society and how a lot of them are the same. I will be using chronology to show how it alters the reader's perspective and also look at how the point of view allows us to view the society and the bias that it causes.
-I want to show the different perspectives using a game of scrabble. This is significant because of how Offred played the game with the commander. To me, the game of scrabble symbolized the society of the past. The game of scrabble is fair because everyone has a chance to win. However, because some people are naturally smarter than others they are able to get ahead. This is how a right society runs. However, in The Handmaid's Tale, people were given advantages and rights randomly or just because of their ability to reproduce. How each person views the game will be different because of the advantages they recieve in the society. I plan on showing this in poster form in the front of the room. The board will be divided into parts with essential quotes as well. I plan on having the class involved in this board game.

What I need to do:
-Figure out a clever way to give a brief overview of the text.
-Figure out a clever opening
-Pick out exact passages
-Plan out the board game

Now I am going to review the rubric
A: Understanding the works -- I understand it!
B: Interpretation and Personal Response- -- I need to be convincing in my argument/thoughts.
C: Presentation- Smooth transitions-- I will work on it
D: Use of Language- This will be difficult for me as I never speak formally. I will try my best. to give "Clear, varied, precise and concise" language.

Now that I have my thoughts all written down, I am going to do some background information on my text because in class Mrs. Wecker mentioned that Tigard students often get marked down on their IB papers because they do not mention the outside world. Although this is a different paper, I feel like it may be nice to know.

After a brief visit to the trustworthy wikipedia, I discovered that Atwood called this novel a speculative fiction and a science fiction book. Meaning she believes that some aspects of this novel are possible where as others are not. Atwood is also involved with politics on the left wing! This is interesting because people generally support change however, her novel involves people that fall under the government without acting against it. Could this be her exaggerating the other views?


I will conclude this journal for now and continue when I have more to talk about. Now that I have a game plan, I feel so much better.

Oedipus the King Journal 3-- Creative

--A diary entry from Oedipus

I have spent my whole life trying to keep the phrophecy from coming true. I have distanced myself rom Polybus to make sure that I would not kill him. that I would not kill my father. He loved me, deeply and I was his only child in his early years. How did all the effort I put into trying to keep him alive end wasted? All this time I tried to avoid my fate and yet my destiny followed me. Followed me because my parents were thinking the same thing when I was born. I wonder if they were looking after themselves or me.

I tried to hide the fact that I murdered Laius. It shouldn't have mattered at the time. He was of no significance to me, just another man that crossed my path. Creon was trying to put the blame on me but I was able to banish him . Now I feel like I need to banish myself.

I did not know my real father. I knew a man that loved me and that cared for me, but he was not my father. Do I know him if what I knew him as was incorrect? He is dead now, so is my real father. My parents, they gave me away and called for my death to avoid the prophicies. I was left tied up in a forest and yet I did not die. How have I lived through it all? How, after so much effort has the prophicy still come true? Not only have I tried to avoid it but my father has as well.

My thoughts are scattered tonight. I do not know what is left. I have or had or have it all. Power, confidence, father, wife. What is left for me?

Oedipus the King Journal 2

Journal: How does the background information on Greek Theater and History inform your reading of Oedipus? Use specific examples to explore the connections between context and content.

Knowing the background information about Sophocles really helped set up the play in my mind. I can imagine the audience being awed by his painted scenery. This fact made me realize that plays back then are a lot different than the movies we have today. Because the backdrops and props are not as high tech, people have to imagine things more. However, the fact that everyone knows the story also helps because the lack of these luxuries in the play allows people to visualize what they want or expect the story to look like. Because we are reading the play, the background information allows us to not only visualize the scene but we are able to pick out pieces of the play that we already understand. For example, because we were told in class about the story of Oedipus, it made following the book a lot easier. When Oedipus was talking to Jocasta, knowing that he was going to tell her that he killed Liais kept me on the edge of my seat. When he finally says "I am guilty" (937) it is kind of like finally taking a breath after holding it for a long time because you finally get the information. I wonder if the audience is like this too because this is how I get during every movie or book when I already know the ending.

Having this play at the festival for Dionysys allows me to see the tradition in this piece and how it is important to everyone in the community. It also allows me to understand that it was a religious event so the play is filled with references to Gods. The Chorus seems to end every scene with a passage that includes religion. For tonights reading it mentioned "Olympian Sky thier only father, nothing mortal, no man gave them birth, their memory deathless, never lost in sleep: within them lives a might god, the god does not grow old" (958).

Also knowing his life story is interesting too. I learned that he was born rich with slaves but had a lot of difficulties in his life that involved mistresses and prostitutes. This showed me his popularity but at the same time.... weren't playwrights not that rich/popular? Or was that a different time?

In one of the readings, it was mentioned that people were prevented from doing wrong because they respected laws and authorities. I thought this was interesting because it allows us to see how all negative actions are looked down upon. This is ironic because Oedipus has so much authority and power and yet he killed someone and has to live under that. This also shows how Creon arguing with Oedipus is out of line. Even if the things he said were right, the audience may first focus on the fact that he was disrespectful.

Point of View/Characters - Oedipus the King

In class, we discussed the background of Sophocles' play "Oedipus the King." We went over the fact that everyone in the time knew the story of Oedipus and all the performances were just retellings of the same story. Knowing this while reading the play, I noticed how much authority is given to Oedipus and how he is presented in such a formal way. This power given to him makes the play much more tragic. This also makes me wonder the audience notices this exaggeration and if as more and more people watched the play, his authority increased. Knowing this information also makes the play ironic because the audience knows that although Oedipus is presented in such a formal way, he is actually tragic.

Examples of Oedipus' characterization:

--Before the play starts, the description of the time and scene already describes Oedipus as "majestic"

--Oedipus also seems helpful as he helps a priest to his feet and says "You can trust me. I am ready to help, I'll do anything. I would be blind to misery not to pity my people kneeling at my feet" (15).
The word blind stuck out to me because he is blind to the fact that the audience already knows his fate!

However, as the section went on I noticed that his anger brought out a negative side of him.



But back to the main journal entry:

This play follows Oedipus but we are allowed to see everyone's actions and many of their thoughts. The narrative voice is extremely reliable because in life all we know is what we see and when we watch a play, we see all. The other questions should have been answered above.

IOP Brainstorm (Journal #1)

When we were thinking about this project during class, my first idea was to do The Handmaid's Tale and focus on chronology because I thought that was the craziest part of the novel. However, I realized that that would be too much like my dystopian project. My first idea would have been somehow showing what the reader goes through while reading the novel. Possibly with pictures?

This lead me to what I think will be my focus on the project, the different perspectives of the society and how people with different powers view it. Also, I can incorporate the different perspective the reader has as more information is given throughout the book because of how Offred narrates it. By doing this my topic could possibly be how power makes one see and handle life differently.

I can analyze the Commander and how he breaks the rules and yet he has so much power. He would never want to get caught however because his life is so fulfilling as it is right now. The two times of Handmaids that are in the novel would also be interesting to look at. The first Ofwarren and the second differ greatly, but is that only because Offred had not gotten to know the second one as well?

I could possibly show this by using a game of scrabble.