Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

1. Define: Personification.

Dictionary.com defines personification as the attribution of human characteristics to things or abstract ideas.

2. Briefly explain how personification is used throughout the story. Include as part of your explanation the importance of the objects being personified. Another way to word that might be: how does the personification of said objects advance the story/plot?

Personification is used for Sweeney's blades the most. He refers to them as "his friends" and that they will do great things together. He treats them as if they are alive and can feel the pain that he does and that they need to seek the revenge as much as himself. The personification of the blades advances the plot by letting us know what their purpose will be. They will seek drops of rubies and complete Todd's revenge for him.

3. What to you is the major theme of Sweeney Todd? Explain why you feel that theme makes a difference to the story as a whole.

Vengeance is the main theme for Sweeney Todd. Benajmin Barker was imprisoned for a crime he never committed forcing him to leave his wife and daughter to Judge Turpin. He only wishes to take everything away from Judge Turpin as The Judge had done to him.

4. In your own words, describe each of the major characters—you should have at least You are welcome to use mostly adjectives, but be sure that whatever words/phrases you use that you are very clear and specific.

Benjamin Barker - Sweeney Todd - His life was ruined when he was falsely accused of crimes that forced him to be imprisoned for fifteen years away from his wife, Lucy, and daughter, Johanna. He seeks revenge against The Judge whom made it all happen. He is blinded by his blood-lust and inexplicable appetite for revenge. Murdering Judge Turpin is his greatest desire.

The Beadle - Beadle Bamford - Judge Turpin's greatest accomplice. His soul purpose in the play is to do the will of Judge Turpin. He's his faithful assistant so to speak. He is mean and vindictive, hateful even.

The Judge - Judge Turpin - The Judge is powerful and he knows it. People respect him, but only because they don't know how vindictive he really is. He saw a beautiful woman and he wanted her for his own and didn't care what he had to do to get that. Even after her husband's imprisonment and the fact that the woman wanted nothing to do with The Judge he took her daughter as his ward just so he could keep her.

Mrs. Lovett - Mrs. Lovett is desperate and lonely. She's always had a thing for Sweeney Todd and lies to him to try and get her way. She is a rather dirty person and despite her efforts, not much of a cook either. She becomes Todd's accomplice in disposing of the bodies and even sacrifices some of her happiness with Toby to accommodate Todd's efforts at revenge. She is a dreamer and dreams that Todd will love her one day after his revenge is completed.

Toby - Tobias Ragg - Toby is detrimental to the story. He starts out as Adolfo Pirelli's slave-boy. Taking beatings from his master and doing all of his bidding until his master decides to take a trip to see Todd where Todd murders him. He is taken in by Mrs. Lovett who treats him far better than Pirelli ever did and he grows affectionate towards her but more and more suspicious of Todd as the time goes by. In the end, it is Toby who ends Sweeney Todd's murderous rampage slitting his throat after witnessing Todd throwing Mrs. Lovett into the bake oven.

The Old Woman - Lucy Barker - She was married to Benjamin Barker and mother to Johanna before Judge Turpin set his eyes upon her. She wound up taking poison and it greatly diminished her mental capacity until she was just some old beggar woman on the street. She suspected the evil things that were going on inside the pie shop and tried to warn others about it. The only one who knew who she really was was Mrs. Lovett. When she was brave enough to investigate the barber shop, she was murdered unknowingly by her husband that she had lost so many years ago.

Johanna Barker - The daughter of Benjamin and Lucy Barker. She never knew either of them She only knew of Judge Turpin who had imprisoned her many years ago and wanted her for his wife. She was disgusted by this and grew sadder and continued to refuse him. She felt hope when she saw Anthony and tried her best to help him save her.

Anthony Hope - He was a sailor with whom encountered Todd on his way back to London. He talked about his hopes and dreams while Todd told him how vile and dirty London was. He still thought of Todd as a friend though. On his way through the streets of London he was completely taken by the vision of Johanna in the window and immediately fell in love with her. He took a beating for staring at her, but vowed to steal her and save her from her horrible prison anyway. He claims he can feel her presence even if he couldn't see her, which to me is some deep kind of love. He does save her in the end and their future is unknown after that.

Adolfo Pirelli - He was a fraud of a businessman claiming his elixirs could do things they really couldn't. He lost a bet to Barker only to come by Todd's place later to try to blackmail him. He had remembered who he really was and was the first victim Todd murdered so he would stay silent. He was a sly and mean man who deserved what he got.

5. The names of the individual characters play a major role in the story, especially for Sweeney Todd and the Beadle. Do a little research and explain, especially for these 2 characters, the importance/significance of their names, especially in regards to the story itself.

Benjamin Barker - Sweeney Todd - Sweeney means small hero. Todd means fox. I've not really been able to find any real meaning to his name, so I am just gonna go by what I think... Sweeney is more of a last name. It seems his name should be reversed to Todd Sweeney. I believe the meaning in this is because Todd is so set forth in his revenge that he doesn't even see himself as a person anymore, so why should he have a real name.

The Beadle - Beadle Bamford - Dictionary.com defines a beadle as a parish officer having various subordinate duties, as keeping order during services. This is what he actually does too. He follows The Judge around doing everything that Turpin asks of him without questions. He may also be referred to as a beetle which is the most populated species of bugs there is, even still today symbolizing how common a man like that is.

Anthony Hope - He is bright and cheery and expects the world to be great. He gives great hope to Johanna that he will save her.

6. Sweeney Todd is called a dark comedy. Define: dark comedy—in your own words.

A dark comedy to me is when everything is funny but that it's so ironic under the horrible circumstances of the story.

7. Name and briefly explain at least 3 examples of how Sweeney Todd is a dark comedy. The more specific you are, the better your grade will be.

When Todd is at the market challenging Pirelli and he sings about his elixir being piss. Todd is insulting him, but you can't help but to laugh they was they did the whole scene. It's hilarious!

The scene where Mrs. Lovett is imagining a future for herself, Todd, and Toby. The future she imagines is by far from perfect. She is so utterly happy throughout it, but Todd has the same glum, meaningless expression upon his face, like yeah, whatever.

When Pirelli is upstairs trying to blackmail Todd because he knows who he really is. Mrs. Lovett is downstairs with Toby gibing him gin and meat pies o distract him. Toby's affection towards gin is hilarious. He passes out from so much when in reality he shouldn't even have any gin to begin with!

When Todd is about to slit Judge Turpin's throat. They are singing together while The Judge has his eyes closed, Todd's face grows more and more in depth as he's imagining they way to complete his task. It's very dramatic and suspenseful but full of humor too.

8. Define: irony.

Dictionary.com defines irony as the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.

9. Discuss at least 3 examples of irony in the play. Again, the more specific you are, the better your grade will be.

Irony is woven throughout this entire play.It was irony that caused Anthony to find Johanna and fall in love with her and then to ask her own father, Sweeney Todd, for help to steal her from the man he's seeking revenge upon. Of course he agreed after he learned who she actually was.

It was irony that caused the dramatic ending of Todd slitting the throat of his beloved Lucy only to later realize that she was the wife he had lost. He was so caught up in revenge that he didn't give her a second thought when she thought she knew him. If he had than the story might have gone differently.

It was also ironic that the boy, Toby, whom he reluctantly didn't murder because of Mrs. Lovett's affection towards him was the one to slit Todd's throat while he was holding his dead Lucy in his arms. Todd didn't even stop to think about fighting back. He just rose his head up so that Toby could murder him, more than likely out of shame of what he had done.

At the very beginning when Anthony and Todd are singing together. Anthony is all about how great London is while Todd sings about how horrible it is. It was ironic that Anthony didn't comprehend anything Todd was singing about or he did but just refused to hear it.

10. Consider carefully the direction of the movie. By that, I mean how Tim Burton directed it—what he did with lighting, colors, the actors themselves, etc. Take at least 3 different direction techniques and discuss/explain how they add to or take away from the overall story itself.

Tim Burton did a wonderful job in my opinion adding drama with the way he directed this movie. He used dark colors and lighting emphasized by the bright red blood to add intensity and meaning throughout. Not much of the story is bright and cheery except for the parts where Todd is remembering his past or when Mrs. Lovett is imagining the future. I believe the way that he brightened all the blood in this movie represents Todd's feelings as it is heavily shed, so dramatic like he is with his search for vengeance.

11. What is your favorite part of Sweeney Todd? Why is that part your favorite?

My favorite part is when Todd comes home for the first time to Mrs. Lovett's shop. I love the song she sings while making her pies and forcing him to try one of the worst pies in London. It's so very comical!

12. What didn’t you like about Sweeney Todd? Why didn’t you like that part?

The ending of course. When Todd slits the throat of his wife, Lucy, unknowingly and almost Johanna too in his quest to seek revenge against the great Judge Turpin. He ended up murdering the only woman he ever loved and now he'll never know his daughter which was the whole point of his revenge in the first place.

13. Even though you may not have actually seen a play like Sweeney Todd performed on stage, do you think you’d prefer the movie or the stage version? Explain your answer.

I would love to see it on stage, although I'm sure it wouldn't be as dramatic as Tim Burton made it with all the brightly colored blood, I think it would be an amazing experience.

14. What didn’t I ask about Sweeney Todd that you would like to talk about? (You MUST put something here…..I’m SURE I missed something that caught your attention that I didn’t ask about!!!!)

I would love to know more about what happened to Anthony and Johanna! Did they get away safely? Fall in love and live happily ever after? I would like to think so, especially for Johanna, whose family was torn apart at the seems by her evil keeper! What happened to Toby? I guess he would have been deemed the hero of the story since he was the one to end Todd, although Todd should be deemed a hero for ending The Beadle and The Judge. They both deserved their deaths.

Oedipus by Sophocles Part Two

I had to read this play more than once to fully understand it. You can tell by reading it that it was written a long time ago as the language Sophocles uses is harder to understand, at least by me. I would much rather read this whole play as a short story rather than a play. I believe that it would make more sense to me as a whole and I would enjoy it a whole lot more. Although, after reading this play, I wouldn't mind actually seeing this particular play in a theater. I believe that it would be well worth watching.

I had to look up many words throughout the entire play to see what they meant, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more time consuming. Within the prologue itself, I had to look up the meaning of a multitude of words such as suppliant, emissaries, and pangs in order for me to fully understand the play.

Some questions...

Why did the King Laius bother binding a baby so small? It would take a baby months to develop any kind of movement therefore leaving them utterly defenseless left on a mountain in the first place, so the point in tying his feet together to me was complete nonsense.

I can understand why Jocasta committed suicide after learning that Oedipus was her son, but did she not think of her other children? What will they do for comfort now? Who shall help them get through this great tragedy?

Why did Jocasta allow the one person who witnessed the murder of King Laius to go into the fields. Was she already suspicious of Oedipus? Did she maybe have a feeling of what was to happen?

Oedipus by Sophocles

1. Who wrote the play? Sophocles wrote the play Oedipus the King between 430 and 425 BCE.

2. Briefly define the Oedipal Complex. This is when a boy prefers his mother over his father. He feels he must compete with his father to gain his mother's attention. When the role is reversed and it's a girl and her father, it is referred to as an Electra Complex.

3. What is the setting of the story, specifically, the where? In the front of the royal palace in Thebes. Villagers are standing there awaiting the arrival of King Oedipus so that they might question him about what is going on throughout the kingdom.

4. As the play opens, what horrible thing is going on? There is a plague afflicting the city of Thebes and the townspeople are asking King Oedipus what they shall do about it. Oedipus is ensuring the townspeople that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the Pythian halls of Phoebus to maybe learn an answer for his kingdom.

5. Whose death must be avenged in order for the horrible thing from number 4 to end? King Laius's death must be avenged to return order to the kingdom and stop the plague that is running throughout. His murderer must be either killed or exiled from Thebes.

6. Who is Oedipus’ wife? Jocasta, whom is also his mother, is Oedipus's wife.

7. Who is Oedipus’ mother? Jocasta, whom is also his wife, is his biological mother. Merope helped to raise Oedipus after his biological father had ordered him left to die.

8. Who is Oedipus’ father? King Laius is Oedipus's biological father. Polybus helped raise Oedipus after his biological father had ordered him to be left to die.

9. Who killed the King of Thebes (the answer for #5)? Oedipus murdered his own father, King Lauis, in self-defense not knowing whom he was, as his own father or the king of Thebes.

10. What is Oedipus’ tragic flaw? Oedipus is tortured over what he had done, even in not knowing from the beginning. He felt horrible guilt and knew that he had to do what he could to stop the plague from consuming the town and so he begged Creon to exile him from Thebes.

11. As you read through Oedipus, you'll note that sight/vision/seeing (including "second sight") is very important to the overall story--in the literal as well as the metaphorical/symbolical aspect. You don't have to do this in complete sentences if you don't want--- When they talk about blindness and darkness in this play, they are not only referring to actual blindness, they are referring to the mental state of the persons. The only actual person in the play who is blind is Tiresias, who is also the seer ironically. When they refer to the blind wrongs that Oedipus has done, they are referring to the acts that he has committed that he didn't know he had done yet, which were killing his father and marrying his mother.

12. Describe/discuss/explain/list how sight/vision/seeing/"second sight" is/are used in the play to advance the plot--to advance the story as a whole. Include an explanation of why it's important as well as how it helps you (the real audience) understand (get) what others on the stage and in the play don't understand. To see the guilt, pain, and anguish on one's face is not something that you can gully understand without seeing. Oedipus was truly disgusted with himself after learning the truth which you wouldn't be able to tell without visually seeing it. Oedipus blinded himself by using the pins from his dead mother/wife's dress to blind himself thinking that if he did this that himself and no one else might be able to see the evils that he had committed.

13. As a play, there's a lot that can and can not be done on the stage. Explain why you think some things within this play in particular are done on stage while others are done off stage. Some things are too visually disturbing to actually see. They are better left to the imagination than to the eyes.

14. Do you believe in fate? Explain fully your answer. This is a tough one. Sometimes I do believe in fate and others I don't. I guess I haven't really sat down and decided one way or another. It seems that sometimes that things are meant to happen... generally when they are good things. When something bad happens though, its like how can that have been meant to happen? Who is deciding our fates? Is it not supposed to be ourselves? This isn't merely a question for me to decide upon now. To me, it is like asking if a person believe in God. It's not a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no. There are many factors to consider and too many uncertainties to go along with those. I am undecided about this topic as I am about a lot of others.

15. Explain how fate plays a role in Oedipus. The prophecy foretold the events that would happen. King Lauis thought he was ending the prophecy by leaving his son to die on the mountain. Fate did not wish for this to happen and intervened by the servant showing pity on the baby and taking him elsewhere to live. When the oracle told him some of the prophecy, he thought it meant that he would kill whom he thought were his parents, Merope and Polybus, and so he left home, another measure of fate, and ended us going towards Thebes where his real parents actually were. One way or another, a prophecy is meant to be fulfilled.

16. Have you ever thought how ironic this play is? It's weird how the events come together and make everything happen the way it does. If things were to happen just a little bit different the story would be completely changed. It is rather ironic. It actually coincides with the story of Moses from The Bible. Babies abandoned at birth because a prophecy foretold that they would do something later in life if they were to live. If they had been murdered as there parents wished for them to be then the prophecies would not have been fulfilled.

Extra: Name either one of the other two plays in the Oedipus Trilogy—punctuation count. Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone are the other two plays written by Sophocles to go with the Oedipus trilogy.

"Madam and Her Madam by Langston Hughes pg. 1080-1081

I worked for a woman,
She wasn't mean--
But she had a twelve-room
House to clean.

Had to get breakfast,
Dinner, and supper too--
Then take care of her children
When I got through.

Wash, iron, and scrub,
Walk the dog around--
It was too much,
Nearly broke me down.

I said, Madam,
Can it be
You trying to make a
Pack-horse out of me?

She opened her mouth.
She cried, Oh No!
You know, Alberta,
I love you so!

I said, Madam,
That may be true--
But I'll be dogged
If I love you!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As I was searching through all the poetry in the book, I came across a whole section of poems by Langston Hughes, whom I looked up and found out exactly who he was. I could tell by his poems that he was very passionate about his African-American heritage, but in this particular poem... I believe all mothers especially can relate tot his poem as we work so much and sometimes we aren't sure what its for. The poem tells of a servant with all of the chores she must do to keep her madam happy. It lets us know how she feels likes she's used and tries to ask her madam about it, only to be told that her madam loves her. Who wouldn't love someone who does so much for them?!
I thought this would be great to share because this poem is straight to the point and humorous as well. After searching through so many more detailed and meaningful poems, I thought this was a nice change! I think if you read it, you might find the humor in it as well!

"Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost pg. 1068

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction of ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I first read this poem when I read Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer for the first time. Many books will start a chapter by including an epigraph, which is an opening quote before the chapter begins. When I read this, I concluded that Bella would have to make a choice, because I took it to represent that she was choosing between Edward who represents ice and Jacob who represents fire.
I think this poem was written mostly to represent how the world might end and to which might be better to endure, fire or ice. Many people think that the world might end by the sun going supernova and burning us all to a crisp or by a nuclear winter which would freeze us to death. I'm not sure that I believe any of this, although I do agree that the earth, like everything will parish one day... just hopefully it is far, far away.
I think this poem is worth sharing because it represents a battle and/or a choice to be made that we should all be aware of eventually. If you had the choice, which one would you choose?

"Where's the Baby?" by Alice Williams Brotherton

Oh dear, where is the Baby gone?
I can't tell where I missed him;
Why only last night in his crib
I tucked him safe and kissed him!
This boy, with marbles, top and ball,
In knickerbockers dressed,
This cannot be the baby small
I cradled in my breast.

I wanted the weenty teenty thing
In dresses soft and white,
That I could cuddle, kiss, and sing
Soft by-lows to at night.
But stay--here are the self-same eyes,
His very dimpled chin,
These are his rosy pouting lips
With milk-white teeth within.

This is my Baby.--But how changed!
I hear his merry shout
As he goes sliding down the stair,
And dancing in and out;
Splashing and dashing through the brook,
With brow and check of tan.
Heigho! My baby's gone; instead
I see,--a little man.

Ah well, when evening comes again
With sleep and story-time,
A little white-gowned form will come
Into my lap to climb;
His wee head cradled on my heart
Will still this yearning pain.
O then I'll know that I have found
My baby-boy again!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I found this poem online at a little website called Black Cat Poems. It's a rather large collection of all types of poems put together in one place and categorized by subject or poet.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I found this poem to be exactly how I feel about my oldest son especially. How they used to be your little baby and then they are growing up to be so big and you wonder where all the time has gone and where your baby has gone. The realization that its only when they really need you that you can catch some small hint that they were your little baby. It makes you sad to realize that they soon will not need you and all you have left are your memories when they were small and relied upon you so much.
I know that this poem will touch any parent as we have all bee through this stage where we wish our children were small again. We seem to forget that they won't always need us and we don't cherish all the little moments as much as we should. Then we turn around one day, and our babies are gone, grown into bigger children or teens or even adults. We sit there and try to figure out how that happened and where did our sweet little baby went.

"Runaway Love" by Ludacris ft Mary J. Blige

Runaway love

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Now little Lisa's only nine years old
She's trying to figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's all alone and ain't never met her family
Mama's always gone and she never met her daddy
Part of her is missing and nobody will listen
Mama's on drugs getting ****** up in the kitchen
Bringing home men at different hours of the night
Startin' with some laughs, usually ending in a fight
Sneakin' in her room while her mama's knocked out
Trying to have his way and little Lisa says 'ouch'
She tries to resist but then all he does is beat her
Tries to tell her mom but her mama don't believe her
Lisa is stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get some clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Little Nicole is only ten years old
She's steady trying to figure why the world is so cold
Why she's not pretty and nobody seems to like her
Alcoholic step-dad always wanna strike her
Yells and abuses, leaves her with some bruises
Teachers ask questions she makin' up excuses
Bleeding on the inside, cryin' on the out
It's only one girl really knows what she about
Her name is little Stacey and they become friends
Promise that they always be tight 'till the end
Until one day little Stacey gets shot
A drive by bullet went stray up on her block
Now Nicole stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Little Erica is eleven years old
She's steady trying to figure why the world is so cold
So she pops 'X' to get rid of all the pain
Plus she's having sex with a boy who's sixteen
Emotions run deep and she thinks she's in love
So there's no protection he's using no glove
Never thinking about the consequences of her actions
Living for today and not tomorrow's satisfaction
The days go by and her belly gets big
The father bails out - he ain't ready for a kid
Knowing her mama will blow it all outta proportion
Plus she lives poor so no money for abortion
Erica is stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack
She say she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Don't keep on running
I know how you feel
I've been there
I was runnin' away too
I will run away with you

Runaway
Runaway love
Don't keep running away
I'll run away with you
If you want me too

Yeah, I can only image what you're going through ladies
Sometimes I feel like running away myself
So do me a favor right now and close your eyes
And picture us running away together
when we come back everything is gonna be okay
Open your eyes...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lyrics taken from LinkstoLove.com.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This song always makes me sad. It represents all the things wrong with children and our society these days. Its beyond saddening to hear of the things these little girls go through in this song, but what's even more depressing is to know that all the obstacles these young girls are experiencing happen every day, everywhere! It can make you realize how much help, guidance, and support that we need to offer and enforce on all children today. Adults shouldn't have to go through this kind of pain, let alone the little children, whom are supposed to be nothing but innocent. This song needs to be shared and to be heard so that it can educate more people into helping the children of our future.

"Here a Pretty Baby Lies" by Robert Herrick - pg.627

Here a pretty baby lies
Sung asleep with lullabies:
Pray be silent, and not stir
Th'easy earth that covers her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When I first read this poem, I had to reread it to completely understand it. I'm drawn to stories about children and babies especially. I think that's just the mother in me. The word baby caught my eye and I read it and was confused for a minute until I realized what the poem was about. It's quite sad actually.
The poor baby in this poem wasn't actually sleeping like the first three lines suggest, but in fact was in their final resting place. I feel for the parents of this baby and wonder whether the author was writing form his own experience.
This poem appears to be not only innocent, but short, and sweet, but is actually very moving and heartbreaking by the end line.

Poetry

Poetry is anything that I can read that flows together harmoniously. It doesn't always need to rhyme or even make that much sense. I'd like to think that a lot of music is like poetry as well since it seems to me that poems and songs have a lot in common such as their style and length as well as their ability to rhyme. Poems can be about anything and they don't even need to make complete sense. Most poetry is heartfelt and means a lot to the writer, which is why they have written it to begin with.

The Short Story I Liked the Most

The story I liked the most was The Horse Dealer's Daughter by D.H. Lawrence. To me it's sort of like a classic little story of boy meets girl, boy saves girl, and boy falls in love. I really enjoyed this story a lot. It wasn't completely predictable. Jack didn't have any feelings for Mabel at the beginning, not until he saved her from drowning. Then, it was like his brain short-circuited and he knew that he loved her. It was almost as if he felt obligated to love her in the end. I'm not entirely certain that Mabel and Jack really had a true kind of love. It seems to me that they were both needy and lonely and wanted to force themselves to love the other. I am almost certain that there love did not last.

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe (p. 513)

Spirit of Perverseness

I believe that the spirit of perverseness is when we are redirected away from doing something we would normally do that was right into doing something that we would normally deem bad or wrong.I believe this would most likely come from being under extreme duress or maybe with the help of alcohol or drugs.

A few years ago, my husband and I allowed his half-brother, Shane, to come ad stay with us. He had no where to go and even though we live in a small house with three children of our own, we can't turn anyone away if they ask us for our help. Things were fine at first which normally they are, but then we started notice things missing. The first of which was our rent money. We didn't say anything, because we had no proof and you can't just go around accusing people of things. We managed to make it through that and then my son came to me one day and asked me where his game-boy was. We searched high and low for it with no luck whatsoever. I just knew what had happened to it. I was beyond furious as I called my husband to let him know of the events that were about to take place. I was even more furious as I ended the call with my husband, as he wanted to let it go too. I wasn't having that. It's one thing to steal from me, but a whole other thing to steal from my kids. I called Shane at his workplace and dared him to come back to my house in not so many kind words. I packed his stuff being very dubious about what I had done with them. He was meticulous when it came to his teeth, he took care of them better than I believe a dentist would do to his own. I did all sorts of unholy things with his items from rubbing his clothes in the dirt to putting his toothbrush in the toilet and actually brushing the bowl. I know I would have never done any of those things if I hadn't been provoked by madness and I do know that it was wrong to do them. I don't necessarily think it made me a bad person but it was completely out of character for me. I have never felt bad about doing this though, in fact, I would love to know if he actually ever used that toothbrush again!

"The Curse" by Andre Dubus (p. 563)

It was maybe a year ago. I was sitting at my desk doing something I can't remember on the computer. I looked out the window and saw a woman whom I'd never met walking up my drive-way. I immediately went outside to greet her and to see if there was something I could do for her. She was dirty with tear-stricken eyes. She smelled of alcohol ad had bruises on her body. I knew from my own experience what her problem was. She seemed completely confused and didn't know where she was. I brought her inside my home and offered her something to drink and my ears so that she could tell me her problems. I was mortified in listening to her story of domestic violence and tried to offer the best advice possible. She finally stopped crying long enough to let me know her sister's number so that I could call her to pick her up. I saw that she safely was returned home to her sister. I would very much like to know that I had indeed helped her in some way, although I cannot be sure of that. I know a lot of people would have just called the cops on an odd woman like that in your yard, but I felt responsible somehow, like she came to me for help. She never did tell me her name, but I very much would have liked to known.

"The Horse Dealer's Daughter" by D. H. Lawrence (p. 471)

Mabel - short, sullen-looking, 27, not so good-looking, the servant of the house, felt established from having money, brutally proud, no friends, lived in the memory of her mother, went to church regularly, mindless, persistent, lonely, fearful, suicidal until she was saved by Joseph, whom to which she became betrothed
Joe - carefree, chews tobacco, the oldest, 33, broad and handsome, his face was red, black hair, thick, his eyes shallow and restless, brown eyes, curious, sarcastic
Fred Henry - the second brother, erect, clean-limbed, alert, cold-blooded, brown hair, well-tempered, blue eyes
Malcolm - the youngest brother, 22, the baby of the family, jaunty nose
Lucy - the other sister, doesn't live close by to the rest of the family
Jack Fergusson - young with a slight Scotch accent, doctor, slave to the countryside, works a lot, undetermined, fearful, also lonely, weak, a hero for saving Mabel, a bit too proud, thought himself to be too good for Mabel but ended up loving her anyway
Joseph Parvin - the father of the family, uneducated, fairly large horse dealer, married twice, died and left his children in debt

Books and Movies

Is it just me, or does it seem like every new movie coming out in the theaters is based on a book? I'm not saying that most of them aren't good or anything. I'm just wondering if anyone out there in Hollywood can come up with anything original anymore. Like I said, some of them are good..but some are just horrible! Let's look one of the newest ones, Red Riding Hood, based upon a child's story that's been around since FOREVER! How many different versions of the same story must be told? Whether it be by book or movie! I heard of another new one coming out called Snow White and the Huntsman... Another Snow White movie, seriously, none will top Disney's version! It is amazing though how they can take a short story and make an entire movie from it. I just would like to see more originality when they do it.

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

So, I just recently finished reading Twilight, yet again. I know this is supposed to be what you would call a "tween" book, but I can't help myself. I find the mythical type of genre to be the most enticing. I want to read about people, places, and objects that are completely unreal. It gives me things I can dream of. I tried to ignore the Twilight phenomenon ad I did for quite awhile too, but I gave in after New Moon came out in the theaters. I was bored one night last year and I found Twilight on television and I gave in and watched it. It just opened my eyes to another world. I immediately found the books at my local library and read them all in a matter of days. I have been obsessed ever since. I've re-read the entire series multiple times and have seen all the movies to date. I so wish that a series of books that you enjoy would never end and that there was always more to write about. Although, I can not completely agree that Stephenie Meyer is an excellent author, I find many mistakes in her work, I can agree that she is completely full of imagination and knew how to write an amazing story.

"Luck" by Mark Twain (p. 213)

My husband and I have been searching for a house to buy. We don't make a lot of money so our range is a lot smaller than most people would try to buy. We started combing through the housing market back in October of 2010, searching for a larger house to accommodate our family of five. We looked and looked. We must have seen at least 4 dozen houses before finding one that we really loved. I was apprehensive to even look at this particular house since I believed it to be out of our price range, but it was so spectacular that I couldn't resist. It was a very large 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom brick split level home with huge white columns on the front porch. To me, it looked like a mini mansion. Our real estate agent convinced us that we had a chance since it was a short sale home, which is that the owners were trying to sell it for less than they owed to the bank. My husband and I decided to take a chance and put an offer in on the house, for as much as we could afford. We didn't think it hurt to try even though we didn't think we had that much of a chance. I mean, this home was gorgeous, valued at almost $200,000! We put our max offer in at $84,000. We sat back and waited and waited and waited. We were really worried when our agent told us there were 3 other offers on this house. And then, we waited even more. A month after we put the offer in, we received a call from our agent telling us they had accepted our offer. You can't imagine how excited we were that they picked our offer! We felt like the luckiest people in the world and started on the inspections for our mortgage. Needless to say, we didn't get our dream house. The house needed a new roof and we couldn't afford to pay for it right then and there. So, the bank would not allow us the mortgage and they gave our dream home to the next highest bidder. They let us know a week before Christmas. It was terrible for all of us. They just closed on that gorgeous house a couple of weeks ago, letting it go for $6000 less than we had offered!

"Blue Winds Dancing" by Tom Whitecloud (p. 313)

The most important thing in my life is my children. I cannot and will not pick any one over the other, so I will describe all three.

William(12) is around 5'1" with piercing blue eyes and long, sandy brown hair. He is shy and so very curious. He's is so very smart but lacks more in the common sense area. He's on student council and in the Battle of the Books. He is in Boy Scouts and has his future planned out since he was 8 years old. He is my first born and I expect so much more out of him because of that even though I shouldn't. He makes me feel happy every time I see him and proud at the same time. I'm happy because despite what everyone said about me having him so young, I believe I've done a decent job at raising him. We had to leave his father when he was very young and I was a single parent for some time, but that left me to teach him things that a father should have taught him. He represents so much for me. He wants to be so many things when he grows up. He inspires me to be more than I am now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Xander(8) is around 4'2" with dazzling greenish-brown eyes and short, crew-cut brown hair. He's very outgoing and makes friends so easily that I'm a little envious of his ability to do so. He's always full of energy and loves to explore new things. He's not as book smart as his brother is but he tries so very hard to be. I am proud of his efforts and take comfort in knowing that he still knows about many thing his older brother can't comprehend. He's always healthy and rarely ever gets even a cold. He spends as much time outside as possible and loves to help other people especially his grandpa accomplish tasks that they couldn't do by themselves otherwise. He's always so vibrant and happy that I can envision that he will do great things in his life so long as I push him to achieve more than he think he can.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piper(4) is only about 3' with muddy brown eyes and long dirty blond hair. She's so full of herself and also much to young to describe her in a full capacity. She is so full of life and energy that it could make you smile and wonder how she does it. Since she's so young, she sees nothing wrong with the world and is incapable of truly being unhappy about anything. I wish so much that I could share her perspective on life, how everything is great and your always happy about it. Anything can make her smile even an empty cardboard box. She's completely unburdened by anything and life is always open to all possibilities. A free spirit... hopefully always.

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

Marriage and Relationships

Women
Differences
Mrs. Hale is a very neat woman whom likes everything to be in order and doesn't like to leave things undone. She seems very strong and confident. Mrs. Peters seems more timid and much weaker than Mrs. Hale, but she also seems to be more quiet and compassionate as well. Minnie was unhappy with her life. She had had so much more before she had married and wanted some of what she had back.
Mrs. Mallard was a young woman whom had a heart condition. She seemed to be abandoned when she heard the news of her husband's death and overwhelmed with grief but later was ecstatic about her new found freedom.

Similarities
Both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters seemed to be observant and were convinced that Minnie had indeed murdered her husband merely out of loneliness and unhappiness.

Minnie and Louise both wanted to be free from the life they had, free from their husbands and they both ended up that way in the end with Minnie in jail and Louise dead.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Men

Differences
The men in A Jury of Her Peers seem bias against the women and are convinced that Minnie committed this horrible crime right from the beginning without any evidence to speak of.
Richard just seems genuinely concerned about how Louise is handling the news of her husband's demise.

Similarities

In both the stories, not much is said about the husbands, but assumed through the lives of the wives. Only enough was said that made me believe that both the wives were not that happy with their lives and both had wished they had more to look forward to in the future without their husbands.

It seems to me like in both stories the wives feel trapped in their marriages and just want a way out. It's sad that Minnie had to murder her husband to escape after she snapped after he killed her canary. It was also very sad that Louise had to die after seeing that her husband was still alive and that she would not have the freedom that she thought she would.

"A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell (p. 189)

Marriage and Relationships

Women
Differences
Mrs. Hale is a very neat woman whom likes everything to be in order and doesn't like to leave things undone. She seems very strong and confident. Mrs. Peters seems more timid and much weaker than Mrs. Hale, but she also seems to be more quiet and compassionate as well. Minnie was unhappy with her life. She had had so much more before she had married and wanted some of what she had back.
Mrs. Mallard was a young woman whom had a heart condition. She seemed to be abandoned when she heard the news of her husband's death and overwhelmed with grief but later was ecstatic about her new found freedom.

Similarities
Both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters seemed to be observant and were convinced that Minnie had indeed murdered her husband merely out of loneliness and unhappiness.

Minnie and Louise both wanted to be free from the life they had, free from their husbands and they both ended up that way in the end with Minnie in jail and Louise dead.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Men

Differences
The men in A Jury of Her Peers seem bias against the women and are convinced that Minnie committed this horrible crime right from the beginning without any evidence to speak of.
Richard just seems genuinely concerned about how Louise is handling the news of her husband's demise.

Similarities

In both the stories, not much is said about the husbands, but assumed through the lives of the wives. Only enough was said that made me believe that both the wives were not that happy with their lives and both had wished they had more to look forward to in the future without their husbands.

It seems to me like in both stories the wives feel trapped in their marriages and just want a way out. It's sad that Minnie had to murder her husband to escape after she snapped after he killed her canary. It was also very sad that Louise had to die after seeing that her husband was still alive and that she would not have the freedom that she thought she would.

"Neighbors" by Raymond Carver (p. 137)

To me, minimalism is when you do everything minimally. You use the fewest resources when building or the fewest amount of ingredients when baking. You try to conserve as many resources as possible no matter what you may be using them for. You don't like to waste anything or any time doing needless tasks. Minimalism could also go towards how you do your job or spend your free time.

Examples that illustrate minimalism.

1. Carver sets the scene of Bill and Arlene taking care of their neighbors apartment while they are away somewhere which he could have put in especially since the Millers' were being kind enough to look after their home.
2. The kitty... she could have been described more and maybe given a name although Kitty seems to be minimal enough to let us know.
3. When Bill took the pills from the cabinet at the Stones' apartment. The only description we received was that they were for Harriet Stone and she was supposed to take one a day. He slipped them into his pocket not even knowing what exactly they were.
4. The Millers' were supposed to water the plants. They filled the picture and went to water. Went to water what? A few more details would have surely set the scene more for us as readers.

"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver (p. 180)

Life Lessons

I was very pigheaded when I was younger. Against my mother's advice, I married when I was only 15. The day after my marriage, my husband started physically abusing me. I made excuses to my family to explain my bruises and lacerations. I went through this for two years, always implying to myself that it was my fault and never having enough courage to protect myself. When I was 17, I became pregnant. I miscarried due to kick in my stomach. I became pregnant again rather quickly almost losing this one too due to another kick in the stomach. I somehow managed to carry my child until he was big enough to survive outside of the womb and gave birth to a healthy baby boy right before I turned 18. Mostly things were fine at first, but the stress of parenthood at such a young age was, I gather, too difficult for my then husband to handle. He continued to abuse me. One day, when my son was only three months old, he proceeded to attack me while I was holding my tiny baby in my arms. He went out and I left him that day and never looked back. My eyes were opened due to the fact that if he could harm me while I was holding his baby than the time would come when he would abuse him as well and I couldn't have that. After all, it is supposed to be a parent's job to protect their child. If I had not had a child, I would probably still be very stupid and still be with the abuser. I am very grateful that he helped me open my eyes to get out of that situation.

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner (p. 89)

The word I have chosen is the word inextricable.

The definition of this word from Dictionary.com says that inextricable is an adjective with three different meanings.
1. from which one cannot extricate oneself: an inextricable maze.
2. incapable of being disentangled, undone, or loosed, or solved: an inextricable knot.
3. hopelessly intricate, involved, or perplexing: inextricable confusion.

A Rose or Emily by William Faulkner
Chapter 5 - Page 94 - 5th Paragraph

"What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and binding dust."

I believe that this word was used to explain more of how Emily felt for this man. I believe she loved him so much and then something horrible happened between them. Instead of just letting him go, she murdered him with the arsenic, and still she couldn't let him go. So, she made him into a shrine for himself laying him in the bed and arranging his room to make it seem like he would always be there with her. I believe this particular word was used to implicate how the man became entangled in Emily's life as well as in his death.