AP poetry essay

    The stand out use of connotatively unsettling words, alludes to the lingering question in the narrators mind and his uncertain tone . Within the first stanza alone, the narrator presents the reader with an uncomfortable situation; weighing a dog with a bathroom scale using the displacement of their own weight. The scenario's discomfort is highlighted by the use of the words, 'awkward', 'bewildering', and 'shaky'.  It is later mentioned in the last stanzas of the poem that a relationship of the narrator's ended under uncertain terms. The unsettling words used in the first stanza, 'awkward' and 'bewildering' are again repeated in the last, capitalizing on the narrator's allusions. The way in which the narrator brings up the relationship, in the context of a mundane activity, causes the reader to believe that the relationship is always present in the narrator's mind. The lingering tones of regret and wistfulness are evident in the far fetched metaphor of weighing a dog, and the dynamics in which the narrator carried on a relationship with another person. To be reminded of such an event in everyday tasks emphasis's the extent to which it occupies the narrator's mind.

Poetry Notes

Musical Devices
-arrangement of sounds, repetition, and variation
Alliteration; repetition of first letter sound
Assonance; repetition of vowel sound
Consonance; repetition of consonant sound
Anaphora; repetition of an opening word/phrase

Rhyme; repetition of accented vowel sound
    -masculine; one syllable rhyme
    - feminine; two or more syllable rhyme
    - internal rhyme; multiple rhymes within a line (ehhem)
    -end rhyme; end of line rhyme
    - approximate rhyme; similar not exact

Rhythm and Meter
Rhythm; recurrence in sound pattern
Accented/Stressed; emphasis
Rhetorical Stress; clear intention
End stopped line; run on line corresponds with next
Run on; continues on next line
Caesuras; varying rhythm of lines
Free Verse; aware when necessary
Foot; one accented, 2 not

Metrical Variation; varying measure
Substitution; replacing feet
Extrametrical syllables; added at beginning or end
Truncation; omission of unaccented syllable
Scansion; defining form
Expected Rhythm- heard rhythm
Grammatical/Rhetorical pauses; punctuation or line breaks

Sound and Meaning

Onomatopoeia; word that represents sound
Phonetic intensives; sound connects to meaning



 

Title Signifigance

    The title, Pride and Prejudice, is a representation of the two characters, Darcy and Elizabeth. The two emotions, pride and prejudice, are commonly felt but rarely made evident on purpose by those who feel them. With no personable narrator and the the two feelings put up front by the title, the reader is forced to identify the feelings in the characters; mainly that Elizabeth is prejudice and Darcy is prideful. Elizabeth is prejudice towards Darcy, especially in her first impressions. Darcy is prideful, not in the negative light Elizabeth interprets. The personality traits are the security fronts the characters use during the times when they are forced to put them selves out in society, especially when searching for potential suitors.

The Lighthouse and legacy

     It is evident from the very beginning of the novel that Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay are representations of life purposes and that Lily finds herself caught in between them. Mrs. Ramsay's purpose in life is to be charismatic, nurture relationships with others, and find happiness in the present. Mr. Ramsay obsesses over intillectual hierarchies and strives to be admired and admired for his work, a legacy he may not live to see: "How long would he be read - he would think" (161). Lily stuggles to decide which legacy she wants to Perdue because she wants to be admired for both her intellect and her self as a person. However, ten years pass and Lily is still unsure of her purpose. As everyone prepares to go to the lighthouse, a symbol which can be interpreted as guidance and purpose, Lily is stil questioning: "What does one send to the lighthouse? ... What does one do? Why is one sitting here after all?" (218). In the end, Lily decides that art and expression are the thoughts that pervade her mind the most and after ten years lily finally finishes her painting.

Mrs. Ramsay's enduring influence

      Mrs. Ramsay's influence was the thread that held together the relationships in the beginning of "To the Ligthouse" and even though she has passed away suddenly, her significance is still apparent:  “Mr. Ramsay stumbling along a passage stretched his arms out one dark morning, but, Mrs. Ramsay having died rather suddenly the night before, he stretched his arms out, they remained empty” (141).  This is especially the case in terms of Mrs. Ramsay's relationship with Lily. She has a constant presence in Lily’s consciousness although her impression of her has changed. Initially, Lily was both in awe and discouraged by Mrs. Ramsay; impressed by her charisma but still apprehensive at the reminder of social expectations for women. However as the years pass, Lily has grown to respect the ways in which Mrs. Ramsay effected her, and Lily is finally able to complete painting  after  ten years. Mrs. Ramsay's death is sudden and goes unexplained throughout the novel, meant to be a statement of the spectrum of time and how in the span of the universe, a single death is insignificant. However Mrs. Ramsay's life is captured in Lily's painting  and is a single source of stability in the characters' ever changing lives: “nothing stays, all changes; but not words, not paint.”

Mrs. Ramsay characterization

Mrs. Ramsay is characterized as a beautiful and charismatic woman who is widely admired as well admiring of others. At face value, her marriage to Mr. Ramsay seems idealistic however, when it is scrutinized in other characters' thoughts, flaws begin to appear. Lily, a young intellectual, is in awe of Mrs. Ramsay's perfectly  traditional lifestyle, a path Lily herself has made a conscientious decision to avoid. While Lily is impressed by Mrs. Ramsay's accomplishments, she can't help but also question the possibility of unfulfillment that may accompany Mrs. Ramsay's lifestyle. This thought is addressed later on by Mrs. Ramsay when she thinks, "...he will never be so happy again, but stopped herself, remembering how it angered her husband that she should say that. Still, it was true" (62). On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mr. Ramsay is fully aware of the compromises Mrs. Ramsay makes despite her undeniable strengths. Mr. Ramsay's thoughts confirm what Lily speculates. He realizes that while it is his role of the marriage to be the intelligent, accomplished half, he realizes that his success would be nonexistent had it not been for the charisma of his wife.

Research Paper Outline

(the info sheet said to share outline on a google doc but just in case, I'm posting it here too.)

Life and Work of Dorothy Parker

    Dorothy Parker was an American writer with a sharp tongue and biting wit who lived through one of the most vibrant times in American History. Despite her satirical style, Parker’s life was filled with misfortune and struggle that is reflected in her work. Even though history remembers her as a humor writer, her work extends to social criticism, civil rights activism, war reporting and brutally honest life reflections.

s1) Dorothy Parker, born August 22 1893 New Jersey. Died June 7th, 1967.

Journalist, writer, and poet, civil rights activist.

- Wrote for the The New Yorker Magazine, Vogue, Vanity Fair,

- Formed a group called the Algonquin Round Table with writer Robert Benchley and playwright Robert Sherwood

- After Hollywood, still a well-regarded writer and poet, wrote a play entitled Ladies of the Corridor in 1953

Early Life

Despite her legacy as a humorist, Dorothy Parker was born into a tragedy riddled family. Her life filled with sudden catastrophe inspired her signature telephone greeting, “What fresh Hell is this?”.

- Born August 22 1893 New Jersey. 3 much older siblings .

- Parents Jacob Henry Rothschild & Annie Eliza (Maston) Rothschild

-Mother dies 1897,father married Eleanor Frances Lewis 1899

- Never close with stepmother, dies 1903

- Attended Blessed Sacrament Academy because of Stepmother even though she was Jewish

-At age fourteen, Dorothy dropped out of school never receiving a High School diploma although she was an avid reader.

-An uncle was killed on the Titanic

-Father died 1913, broke after a decline in business as a garment manufacturer, Dorothy was 20, began playing piano and taught at a ballet school.

-Within a year she broke into the magazine business by selling her poem “Any Porch” to Frank Crowninshield, editor of Vanity Fair. He later helped her get a job writing captions for Vogue in 1914.

-1917 she married Edwin Parker, a stock broker. Married for ten years until Parker returned from WWI an alcohol and morphine addiction. Kept the last name ‘Parker’.

Career

-At Vanity Fair she became New York's only female drama critic at the time

-Critic job led to her invitation and the creation of the Algonquin Round Table at the Algonquin Hotel

-The Algonquin Round Table was a group of famed New York writers who gathered at the Algonquin Hotel to meet and discuss events for over a decade. Notable members included: Dorothy Parker, Harold Ross,Robert Benchley; columnists Franklin Pierce Adams and Heywood Broun, and Broun’s wife Ruth Hale; critic Alexander Woollcott; comedian Harpo Marx; and playwrights George S. Kaufman, Marc Connelly, Edna Ferber, and Robert Sherwood

-ART came to define American humor of the era.

-Throughout the 1920s, her life took on the surface glamour of the Jazz Age

-Despite her surface success, Parker had a troubled personal life, unsuccessful love affairs, suicide attempts . (This parallels the characteristics of Jazz Age).

-The most intense of these, with writer Charles MacArthur, ended in pregnancy, abortion, and a suicide attempt

-Married Alan Campbell, a writer and former actor who shared her Jewish-Gentile heritage, he was also speculated to be bisexual. Moved to Hollywood and wrote or contributed to scripts for thirty-nine films. (2)

-Poem Unfortunate Coincidence reflects on Parker’s failed relationships.

-As the popularity in sound motion pictured increased, so did the demand hollywood script writers. Many members of the Algonquin migrated west. Parker followed reluctantly because of her, “deep distrust of any place outside the borough of Manhattan.”

--1930s and 1940s, spent time in Hollywood, California writing screenplays with her second husband Alan Campbell, including the 1937 adaptation of A Star Is Born (Academy Award Nomination)  and the 1942 Alfred Hitchcock film Saboteur. In 1937, Campbell and Parker had a combined salary of $5,000 a week, unheard of during the Great Depression.

Later Years: (Source 3)

A political activist, Parker supported the Actor's Equity Strike in 1919, criticized pretentious and hypocritical men who hid behind leftist politics and art in several of her poems, and was arrested for protesting the Sacco and Vanzetti executions in 1927. (2)

-She traveled to Spain during its civil war and returned to write two of her war stories, "Soldier's of the Republic" and "Who Might Be Interested".

-She was involved with the Communist Party in the 1930s, led to her being blacklisted in Hollywood.

-"The Lovely Leave" and "Song of a Shirt, 1941," examine war from a domestic point of view

-Her pro-communist sympathies were noted by the F.B.I.; the agency kept a nine hundred page file on her.

-She and Campbell divorced in 1947, and remarried in 1950. Separated 1952-1961. Campbell dies of a sleeping pill overdose in 1963

-Moved back to New York in 1964

-Died of a heart attack in 1967 at age 73. She left her estate to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. foundation.

Writing Style

Dorothy Parker wrote from experience and often followed themes of female life including love, men, their unreliability, social standards and of course death. Death in Parker’s work is most often characterized as untimely or prospective. One of her most well known pieces describes various methods of killing oneself, several she had tested personally.

Resume Analysis

Razors pain you;

Rivers are damp;

Acids stain you;

And drugs cause cramp.

Guns aren’t lawful;

Nooses give;

Gas smells awful;

You might as well live.

- A her matter-of-fact view of life and death

-Ambiguity in title. Without accents, it means to carry on despite obstacles, a message evident in the poem. With the meaning of a sort of summary, it is a statement of her experience towards the struggles in her personal life including four suicide attempts. (1)

-When "Resume" was published, some people admired the way she had transformed a near-fatal experience into dark humor.

Humor: “Humor to me, Heaven help me, takes in many things. There must be courage; there must be no awe. There must be criticism, for humor, to my mind, is encapsulated in criticism. There must be a disciplined eye and a wild mind. There must be a magnificent disregard of your reader, for if he cannot follow you, there is nothing you can do about it. There must be some lagniappe in the fact that the humorist has read something written before 1918.” Dorothy Parker, The Most of S. J. Perelman, by S. J. Perelman (1).

- Parker’s poems function as a vehicle for social criticism

-Her wit was her weapon, used to tell truths close to her experience

-Satirized stereotypical female characters, more bitterly than playfully.There were limited occupations available to American women during the Twenties and Thirties, decades when the predominant image of the American woman was the sexually free, even promiscuous, flapper. (1)

-Her humor is explores the bittersweet, serio-comic, a depiction of the sexual double standard and uneasy relations between men and women.

-An example of work that follows the style of the time is 1927’s “Arranged in Black and White.”

- “Big Blonde” is one of Parker’s most celebrated pieces. It won the O. Henry Prize in 1929 for best short story. The story reflects much of Parker’s personal life including tumultuous relationships, career struggles and a suicide attempt by the main character similar to her own. (2)

Works Cited

Source 1)

"Dorothy Parker Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. <http://www.biography.com/people/dorothy-parker-9433450>

Source 2)

Parker, Dorothy. The portable Dorothy Parker. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. Print.

Source 3)

Pettit, Rhonda . "Bio-Critical Summary and Selected Bibliography: Dorothy Parker." Bio-Critical Summary and Selected Bibliography. Modern American Poetry, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets

To The Lighthouse Narration

    One of the most stand out characteristics of Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse is the unique way in which it is narrated. The story follows the thoughts of several characters through a variation of stream of conscience, none of which is in first person. By giving each character similar means of expression, the characters' thoughts and personalities are an opportunity for the reader to form opinions or interpret morality. With a lack of omniscient narrator, the thoughts of the characters are presented without further explanation. By observing different themes and events through multiple perspectives, the ideas presented are thoroughly explored through the different demographics of the characters. While the multiple insights broadens the experience for the reader, it could also cause confusion based on the uniform means of narration.  
(apparently I pressed save instead of publish yesterday.)

Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Outline

   Lord Henry Wotton is a self indulgent character who, with his eloquence and status, creates a deceiving image of sophistication.  Henry's role in the story is the most detrimental to Dorian's fate because he is the first to introduce Dorian to the hedonistic lifestyle and later unwilling to help him recover his righteousness.  
   Henry is the first character to cause Dorian to be concerned for the mortality of his beauty, "When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you" (164).
  Henry, on several occasions, completely alters Dorian's opinion using adages that don't seem to have little validity. Dorian is initially very enthusiastic at the notion of marrying Sybil Vane, but one conversation with Henry seems to convince him otherwise. "Never marry at all Dorian. Men marry because they are bored; women because they are curious: both are disappointed" (191).
    When Henry returns later in the story as an older man, he has lost much of the finesse that made him notable. His lack of investment and understanding in what he has done to Dorian emphasize the degree to which his advice should not be taken.
  Basil introduces Dorian to his vanity and is the artist who painted the portrait, but his guilt is redeemed when he acts as a conscience for Dorian even though he refuses. This is evident in the scenes in which Basil learns of Sybil's suicide and when he is reunited with the painting in its grotesque form. "Dorian, this is horrible! Something has changed you completely" (261).

Alan Campbell

    In chapter 14, the character, Alan Campbell, makes a brief appearance to unwillingly assist Dorian in the disposal of Basil's body. In order to gain Alan's help, Dorian threatens him with blackmail about information that is never revealed: "I have written the letter already...If you don't help me, I will send it. You know what the result will be" (332).  Even though the secret is unexplained, given the time period and "intimacy" of the relationship, it can be inferred that Alan is gay. In Victorian England, homosexuality was a crime punishable by imprisonment, Wilde himself was found guilty in 1895. While it isn't a huge threat by today's standards, revealing Alan equivocates Dorian's crime of murder. The ruthlessness of Dorian's threats are further evidence of how he has devolved from a decent person over the years by being willing to destroy the lives of close friends. Alan Campbell is not only a plot device used to benefit the story, but also a social political statement of the time.

The Flea and The Apparition

   The poem, "The Apparition" serves as a sequel to the poem, "The Flea," with the speaker of the first poem seeking revenge against his lover as a ghost. The betrayal and resentment between the speaker and hos lover is highlighted by the use contrasting situations such as are feeling sympathy for traditionally unsympathetic characters and wavering approval of traditional beliefs.
   The main subjects of the poems are a ghost and a flea, things that are typically considered evil or invasive are both described as having innocence: "The blood of innocence" and "threatenings rest still innocent". To distance the woman further, the speaker describes her as "cruel" and "wretched". By giving otherwise unsympathetic, the speaker is antagonizing his love and making her seem more vindictive than the flea or the ghost.
   The female lover in both poems is unable to please the speaker sexually even though she displays opposing behavior in the separate occasions. In "The Flea", the speaker is frustrated by his love's refusal to sleep with him, "Thou knowest that this cannot be said a sin, nor shame nor loss of maiden head". However in "The Apparition" the woman is still shunned when she herself is rejected sexually: "Think thou call's for more...thou should shouldst painfully repent". In an era when women were held to a virtuous standard, the -- emphasizes the hostility the speaker feels towards his love from how she has betrayed him.

Sonnets

    Both poems, "On the Sonnet" and "Sonnet" explore the purpose and characteristics of sonnets although one does so in a critical manner while the the other takes a more instructional approach. Keats' poem criticizes the sonnet as being too constrictive,"If by dull rhymes our English must be chained." He encourages poets to explore their own abilities and resist the conformity of traditional poetic structure.
     The second poem by Billy Collins presents sonnets  with historical context in a very scientific manner almost as a formula for others to follow, "All we need is fourteen lines...insist Iambic bongos must be played." Both poems explore the qualities of sonnets,Keats' poem is opinionated while Collins' is informational.

still crazy after all these years

    At the reunion of Basil and Dorian, Basil makes it very clear that he disapproves of Dorian ways stating his name,"implicated in the most terrible confession I'd ever read."  Basil's description of Dorian's sins is noticeably vague, giving few clues as to what exactly Dorian has been doing. This ambiguity allows the readers to both imagine the worst possible outcome the way Basil does and gives leeway for a timeless reaction. While social taboos vary throughout the times, Dorian's misconduct stays relevant in the minds of the readers. If the audience and characters are uncertain of Dorian's past sins, they have little perception of his future actions especially Basil's spontaneous murder. In the time that has lapsed between chapters, Dorian has undoubtedly been reinvented as the villain of the story.

Dorian's Reaction to Sybil's Death

   There are several parallels between Shakespeare and the Picture of Dorian Gray, one of the more obvious being the similarities between the deaths of Ophelia and Sybil Vane. Both the love interests of the title character, both characters commit suicide due to rejection by their significant others. Ophelia and Sybil drown themselves in similar  manners but the reactions of Hamlet and Dorian differ greatly. While Hamlet reacts emotionally to Ophelia's death, the opposite happens to Dorian. Instead of grieving or feeling guilty for Sybil's death, Dorian reacts with prominent indifference, an obvious sign that Henry's influence has begun to take affect. Dorian's detachment does not go unnoticed by Basil: " Something has changed you completely[...]You talk as if you have no heart, no pity in you" (261). At this point in the novel, it is definite  that Basil's influence on Dorian, is moot due to Henry's overwhelming philosophy.

Lord Henry Wotton: Hypocrite Extrodinaire

   Lord Henry Wotton is a man of many opinions and philosophies but his life is not as provocative as he leads others to believe. Henry preaches a hedonistic lifestyle, "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it", but he rarely acts upon his own philosophies. He presents himself as an intellectual with extensive theories on the inner workings of society yet he adheres to the polite behavior he condemns. Since Henry doesn't practice what he preaches, nor anyone else with the exception of Dorian, it is possible that Henry in actuality knows very little about humanity and his famed intellect is merely an act.  
   However, Dorian Grey takes everything Henry says seriously and applies it to his decisions: "That is one of your aphorisms. I am putting it into practice, as I do with everything you say" (191). Dorian's openness to accept Henry's theories is the catalyst to his eventual downfall and proves that  Henry's theories are actually dangerous to society and were never meant to be followed. The reason for Dorian's eagerness towards Henry's tendencies is because initially, Henry carries himself as an intriguing and composed individual. This façade shifts towards shallowness as Henry's hypocrisy becomes more apparent.  

Graduation Plans (Ian Fleming fucked my expectations)

Guidance office, Senior year

the whole place resonates with fear and uncertainty

They say these times define your identity

Which is why,

They insist we sit down and evaluate

Exactly what you want to do when you graduate.

In an office done up plain,

We sit down to pick my brain

“What do you want to do?

Is there anything you’d like to be?”

She asks with the patience of person paid to give guidance to high schoolers.

But, I know exactly how to respond.

“James Bond” I say.

My assurance could be wearing a tuxedo

its so suave.

But I’m reciprocated with a scoff.

Her face is unamused and answer corresponds,

“You can’t major in James Bond.”

Not the answer I wanted to receive

But it doesn’t seem unreasonable.

To live and let die

as a british secret service spy

Armed with gadgets supplied by Q

An Aston Martin to pursue the enemy.

To fight villains bent on ending the world

Accompanied by a girl

as beautiful as she is ruthless.

The truth is,

I too want to sleep with copious amounts of women,

Drink cocktails garnished with twists of lemon

from fancy glasses.

Car chases through mountain passes.

To be the man of legends.

Of course, all that power can go to your head.

There’s a reason most Bond girls end up dead.

When your life is a plateau of success

Everything that might detract becomes excess.

Only lust, because love will impose.

Vesper Lynd, you were so close.

Perhaps shaken not stirred

Is more like a dream deferred

Than suitable life goal

Reality is rarely the knight in armour err… Tuxedo

But rather the anti hero.

The one who isn’t fighting evil and kind

but battling the grey area within their mind.

Never is life so cut and dry.

Like Catcher in the rye,

Finding Holden likeable was tough

but he was just learning to grow up.

Or Scarlet O’Hara,

Born with a silver spoon in her mouth

Then navigating her way through the war stricken south.

This is what life is about.

Don’t give into the archetype and cliché.

Of course if you want to fill your life with bad jokes and sexual innuendo

whatever thats okay

in fact I would encourage that.

But keep an eye out for plot twists
 

be a character who persists.

And when villains stop to explain their plans for world domination before they kill you

There is a good chance you’ll be able to undo whatever constraints you’ve been tied up in.

That’s not life advice, thats just common sense

She gets the joke but refuses to laugh, “Be realistic”
 

I think about education, travel, finding the unknown.

And say, "You know, I’ve always really liked Indiana Jones."

Trees are now metaphors for life style choices

   Both poems, which center around imagery based on trees, use the symbolism of nature to describe the speaker's outlook and intentions.
   The poem, "Loveliest of Trees", discusses the speaker's age and how he has limited time to live now that he has gotten older: "Of my threescore years and ten, twenty will not come again." Instead of dwelling on him age and inevitable death, the speaker takes on a "seize the day" attitude by enjoying the beauty of cherry trees, "I will go to see the cherry hung with snow." The speaker's  optimism is also highlighted because setting of the poem is spring, a time of rejuvenation and beauty.
   Unlike the indulgence of the first speaker, the speaker of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", is hesitant to his impulses. After finding himself in, "the woods and frozen lake the darkest evening of the year", the speaker decides to carry on with his duties despite finding pleasure in his surroundings. This aversion is summarized the last lines of the poem: "The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep". Similarly to "The Loveliest of Trees", season also reflects the disposition of the speaker. The dullness and listless aspects of winter parallel to the speaker's decision to turn down a gratifying experience to take care of previous commitments.

Dover Beach

 The tone of the poem, Dover Beach, is complex because it alternates between despondence to the possibility of change by drawing parallels with the description of the sea itself.
    Certain choice phrases throughout the poem provide an overall pessimistic tone. The lines, "The eternal note of sadness" and " flow of human misery" are distinctly referring to a state of anguish that arrives with the tide (14,18). The stanza that introduces "the Sea of Faith", does so in the past tense, suggesting that hope is no longer present, hence the speaker is reminded of his pessimism.
    The gloomier tone is contrasted between the poem's alternating lighthearted beginning and end. The speaker first describes the sea as a thing of beauty calling it, "Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay" (5). This form of description reappears again in the last stanza as the speaker addresses his/her 'love' about, "a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new." This line introduces the possibility of a better situation than the one they are in currently.  The optimism is short lived because the poems last line return to their present situation of "confused alarms of struggle and flight".  Because of the speaker's constantly changing outlook, the reader is led to believe that the speaker is in a difficult situation, trying to stay optimistic for the sake of his love, but ultimately failing.

synecdoche

   The first lines of The Stranger serves as synecdoche for the rest of the novel because they establish Meursault's detachment and overall lack of recognition of social standards that continue throughout the story and play a crucial role. In the opening lines, he describes learning of the death of his mother, "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram form the home" (1).  The indifferent tone in which he discusses an otherwise significant event, present throughout his narration. Meursault also shows a lack of understanding as to what others find appropriate. The 'joke' about how his mother's death wasn't his fault went unappreciated by his boss and when Meursault is actually guilty of murder, the rest of the characters continue to disapprove. For a novel with an unconventional main character, especially one with an unorthodox consciousness, it is important to establish the methods in which the story will be told. 

Stranger and Foreigner

    The title of the book, The Stranger, is translated from the French word, L'Étranger, which could also mean 'foreigner'. In the context of the story, Meursault is a French man who has been exiled to French Algiers, making him a literal foreigner. In the context of Meursault's state of mind and actions, the stranger makes for an appropriate title because he is portrayed as an outsider, isolated by society. This is a role Meursault accepts. On the eve of his execution, he says, "I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world" (122). He has been put in jail for murder in the first degree and labeled as an enemy of the community, being referred to as "Monsieur Antichrist." His physical separation from the rest of the world is additional evidence that he is also a physical stranger to the world. He understands that his impartial feelings and irrational actions are not compatible with the workings of society, thus making 'the stranger' a logical title for the book.

Monsieur Antichrist

  After his arrest for the murder, it is apparent that Meursault's bizarre emotional detachment is also recognized by the characters in the book. After questioning Meursault and being disgusted by his indifference, the magistrate shows him a crucifix and calls him, "Monsieur antichrist" (71). By referring to him as "Monsieur Antichrist", he ostracizes Meursault from the moral good of Christianity and declares that he doesn't have morals. The magistrate and the court's uneasiness towards Meursault's behavior is further evidence that his morals are not aligned with the rest of society. Not only is his emotional indifference apparent in his narration towards the audience, but also the characters in the book which jeopardizes any sympathy they would have towards him. The lack of empathy from supporting characters of the court does not make for a positive outlook for the plot's conclusion.

Void of Feelings

  The most prominent characteristic of the main character, Meursault, is his detachment and lack of emotions towards the world around him. In the opening lines, he describes learning of the death of his mother, "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram form the home" (1).  The 'matter of fact' manner in which he discusses an event, especially death, is unsettling. An expected reaction towards death would be one of sadness or anger however, Meursault doesn't seem to exhibit any emotion. His indifference towards major life events continues in his relationship with Marie. When she asks whether or not he loves her and if he would like to get married, Meursault responds indifferently, that perhaps he does, but probably not. The lack of emotion from Meursault puts in question his morals and ability to react appropriately in situations.

All Roads Not Taken

What is the irony in the poem, "The Road Not Taken".

   Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", describes the account of a man who makes a decision that he thinks will define his life only to predict its irrelevance and his unwavering belief.
"The passing there had worn them really about the same." Frost describes the two roads, whether they be literal or metaphorical, as nearly identical and uncharted. It seems illogical to put so much consideration in a simple decision let alone how it will affect him years into the future.

The speaker imagines years into the future that he will recount his decision saying, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I- I took the one less traveled by." By saying he took the road less travelled, he appears to be audacious in his life choices by braving the unknown. Realistically speaking, all roads, metaphorically speaking, are untraveled. It is impossible to predict one's future the same way it is to revisit decisions from the past.

"I shall be telling with a sigh...that has made all the difference." Even though the speaker greatly contemplates his choice, his decision ultimately would not have made a difference because regardless of which road he took, the results would have been unfamiliar. His realization is evident in his 'sigh' which suggests that he now understands the uncertainty of life. Despite this, he continues to portray himself as intrepid.

Hamlet Mortality Essay

   The theme of mortality is prominent force in the decision making of the play's characters. Mortality and the destination of one's soul after death affects the characters choices, actions and defines their moral boundaries.

Gertrude: "Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity" (I.ii.).

Hamlet sees a ghost whom he believes to be his father. If it is true that Hamlet is not delusional and he has in fact seen evidence of life after death, it is not congruent with his opinions that carry on throughout the play.

  Claudius gambles his mortality in exchange for his happiness. "I am still possess’d of those effects for which I did the murder" (III. iii). He could either kill his brother and gain the power he desired and risk the potential destination of his soul.

Ophelia uses mortality as an escape from the confinements and tragedies she experiences. Having no control over her existence being a young, unmarried woman, Ophelia's suicide is her only and final declaration of control.

 Death is the great equalizer of life.  Even though there are differences in people in life, once they are dead, they are all the same and end up the same. Hamlet's sadness at the death of Ophelia creates a balance to the cruelty with which he treated her in the past. However other character's are not empathetic towards his grief because the situation is Hamlet's fault.