Punishment is something no one likes to be a part of. Seeing as how you are all teenagers, I’m sure each and every one of you has endured some kind of punishment. However, there are several different kinds of punishment. I’m not just talking about the kind put upon you, where your parents take away your cell phone or television privileges for a week or two. There is also the kind of punishment that you inflict upon yourself. People do things that they regret and often can’t live with. This comes as a result of not fully thinking things through. In this book, I think the punishment is not Raskolnikov getting put in jail in the end, but more having to live with what he had done throughout the entire book. Raskolnikov kept getting sick and fainting whenever the murder was mentioned. He was quite obviously in a state of depression, madness and paranoia. I’m sure if Raskolnikov had known how he would feel after the murders, he would have severely reanalyzed the sit uation. Punishment from someone else is often less painful than the punishment you put upon yourself. When other people punish you, the punishment eventually ends. Sometimes you have to live with your own punishment for the rest of your life.
All in all, the punishment lesson is really all I learned from the book. Although I knew it before, it became apparent to my life and reinforced itself. The rest of the book did not enlighten me to any new lessons. I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book, however, I didn’t like any of the book, at all. The only intriguing part was seeing how Raskolnikov was torturing himself after he murdered the two women, but if Raskolnikov hadn’t committed the crime in the first place, there would have been no need for torture. I still don’t even understand his true intentions for murder. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, as harsh as that sounds. I’m more than happy to be finished with it, although I probably shouldn’t say that. I know we’ll likely being working on it more when class starts. I’m really excited…
Showing posts with label Felice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Felice. Show all posts
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Summer Reading assignment: Crime and Punishment journal #1-- Felice
Like I’m sure many others did, I found the first twenty-seven pages of Crime and Punishment ridiculously hard to get through. It took me about two hours in total, not because I didn’t understand it, but because it was rather dull. Not to offend anyone who may have enjoyed the beginning (Ms. Tramantano) but I’m the kind of person who enjoys a book with a lot of dialogue. The intricate details of Crime and Punishment do not interest me in the slightest.
In all honesty, I find the beginning of the book difficult to blog about. I feel as if I don’t have that much to say. One of the first things that I thought about Raskolnikov was that he was depressed. “He had entirely given up attending to his daily affairs and did not want to attend to them.” Being as how I did two essays this past year on depression, I can rightly inform you that a symptom of depression is loss of interests once enjoyed. I thought that might play out to be a big part of the storyline. Also, I hated not knowing Raskolnikov’s name until page seven. I like being able to associate a face with a name. Not being able to do so made me enjoy the book even less.
I also don’t understand why Raskolnikov wants to kill Alyona Ivanova. What exactly did she do to make him want to kill her? She didn’t seem like a mean person, just a business woman. Did anyone catch the real reason Raskolnikov wanted to kill the pawn broker? Was there a reason to catch? If so, please enlighten me.
Lastly, as others have mentioned, Marmeladov was an unnecessary character in my eyes. We learned more about his life than we did about Raskolnikov’s. I felt like his life’s story was irrelevant to the plot.
In all honesty, I find the beginning of the book difficult to blog about. I feel as if I don’t have that much to say. One of the first things that I thought about Raskolnikov was that he was depressed. “He had entirely given up attending to his daily affairs and did not want to attend to them.” Being as how I did two essays this past year on depression, I can rightly inform you that a symptom of depression is loss of interests once enjoyed. I thought that might play out to be a big part of the storyline. Also, I hated not knowing Raskolnikov’s name until page seven. I like being able to associate a face with a name. Not being able to do so made me enjoy the book even less.
I also don’t understand why Raskolnikov wants to kill Alyona Ivanova. What exactly did she do to make him want to kill her? She didn’t seem like a mean person, just a business woman. Did anyone catch the real reason Raskolnikov wanted to kill the pawn broker? Was there a reason to catch? If so, please enlighten me.
Lastly, as others have mentioned, Marmeladov was an unnecessary character in my eyes. We learned more about his life than we did about Raskolnikov’s. I felt like his life’s story was irrelevant to the plot.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Summer Reading Assignment Journal #3: A Streetcar Named Desire--Felice
I think that the most memorable part of A Street Car Named Desire is hands down the rape scene. I assure you almost everyone’s third blog about this play will mention the rape in some fashion. Scene ten consists of dialogue between only Stanley and Blanche and ends in rape. The first time I read this play, I was in complete shock. During my second reading, I searched everywhere for even the slightest bit of foreshadowing and yet I found none. The rape itself makes no sense to me. Of course it is known that Stanley has a bit of a temper, but who knew his anger towards Blanche would turn into a sexual encounter. To be honest, throughout the whole play I was waiting for Stanley to hit Blanche, the way he did Stella early in the play. Physical contact, yes. Rape, no. What shocked me the most was that in the beginning, I had thought that Blanche was going to pursue Stanley. I obviously could not have been more wrong. What upsets me most is that Williams never clarifies whether or not Stella knows that Stanley raped Blanche. He leaves this incident very open ended, which leaves the reader with many unanswered questions. It seems to me as if Stella is in the dark about the occurrence, but if so, why would Blanche not tell her? I understand why Stanley wouldn’t tell Stella, but I can’t imagine Blanche not telling her. However, if Stella did know about the rape, why was it being completely ignored? Did Williams “accidentally” leave out a scene?
With all of that being said, I don’t sympathize with Blanche at all, which is something I have n0t addressed at all in my two previous blogs. I feel as if she brought her fate upon herself due to her excessive lying. It’s a life-long lesson that lying only gets you in trouble, one that is taught at a young age. It seems Blanche never got the memo. If she hadn’t lied her way through life, she probably would have been married and living comfortably. Instead, she ended up in a mental institution. Which way of life would you prefer?
With all of that being said, I don’t sympathize with Blanche at all, which is something I have n0t addressed at all in my two previous blogs. I feel as if she brought her fate upon herself due to her excessive lying. It’s a life-long lesson that lying only gets you in trouble, one that is taught at a young age. It seems Blanche never got the memo. If she hadn’t lied her way through life, she probably would have been married and living comfortably. Instead, she ended up in a mental institution. Which way of life would you prefer?
Summer Reading Assignment Journal #2: A Streetcar Named Desire--Felice
Before I begin my second blog, I would like to address a comment that was posted on my first blog. “You say that you performed the role of Blanche in 11th grade English, in order to ‘become her and feel her emotions’, I can certainly understand the desire to do so whilst reading any play, but to me Blanche is a character I would want no part of!” Josh said to me. Although it is true that she is a heartless woman with next to no sympathy for anyone else, that is precisely what intrigues me about her. It is very interesting to attempt to look into the mind of someone who is so unlike yourself. For me, reading the part of Blanche answered a lot of questions about why she acted the way she does and also why people I know in real life act the way they do.
For me, this play really seems to be about unconditional love. On page 57, Blanche and Mitch’s conversation is interrupted by Stanley’s drunken rage. Stanley takes his anger out, not only on a radio, but on Stella, as well. In the description it says “She backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out.” (57) When Stella leaves the house and Stanley calms down, Stanley tries to get Stella to come back home. “Stell-lahhhhh!” he yells. (59) ‘Miraculously’, Stella does come back to him. In reading this, I found Stella to be ridiculously naïve. The first thing I thought after reading that part was that if my husband ever laid a forceful hand on me, there’s no way I would speak to him for days, much less the same night. However, after I finished scene three, I paused to think about love. As cliché as it sounds, love is supposed to be one of those unbreakable bonds. When you’re in love with someone, you see the best in that person and often ignore the worst. Although it is true that Stanley hit Stella, Stella loves him and clearly can’t stand to be away from him. Although I’m sure that I wouldn’t stand for my husband hitting me, many love their husbands so much that as soon as an apology is heard, they are forgiven.
Another thing I found strange at first was the seemingly random conversation between Blanche and Mitch. Mitch was a polite, innocent man still living with his mother. Blanche’s eccentric personality was obviously quite the opposite. I then thought back to a quote Blanche had said earlier in the play. “I know I fib a good deal. After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion…” (41) I remembered this quote while reading other things Blanche was saying to Mitch, such as “I’m not accustomed to having more than one drink” (54) and “Stella hasn’t been so well lately, and I came down to help her for a while. She’s very run down.” (55) Both of those statements were blatant lies. She seemed to be attempting to charm Mitch by lying about her drinking habits and the reason she had come to visit Stella. However, everyone knows that good relationships are based on honesty and truth. As long as lies exist, a lasting relationship cannot prevail. This seems to be foreshadowing that a relationship between Blanche and Mitch could not happen due to Blanche’s deceitful ways.
For me, this play really seems to be about unconditional love. On page 57, Blanche and Mitch’s conversation is interrupted by Stanley’s drunken rage. Stanley takes his anger out, not only on a radio, but on Stella, as well. In the description it says “She backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out.” (57) When Stella leaves the house and Stanley calms down, Stanley tries to get Stella to come back home. “Stell-lahhhhh!” he yells. (59) ‘Miraculously’, Stella does come back to him. In reading this, I found Stella to be ridiculously naïve. The first thing I thought after reading that part was that if my husband ever laid a forceful hand on me, there’s no way I would speak to him for days, much less the same night. However, after I finished scene three, I paused to think about love. As cliché as it sounds, love is supposed to be one of those unbreakable bonds. When you’re in love with someone, you see the best in that person and often ignore the worst. Although it is true that Stanley hit Stella, Stella loves him and clearly can’t stand to be away from him. Although I’m sure that I wouldn’t stand for my husband hitting me, many love their husbands so much that as soon as an apology is heard, they are forgiven.
Another thing I found strange at first was the seemingly random conversation between Blanche and Mitch. Mitch was a polite, innocent man still living with his mother. Blanche’s eccentric personality was obviously quite the opposite. I then thought back to a quote Blanche had said earlier in the play. “I know I fib a good deal. After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion…” (41) I remembered this quote while reading other things Blanche was saying to Mitch, such as “I’m not accustomed to having more than one drink” (54) and “Stella hasn’t been so well lately, and I came down to help her for a while. She’s very run down.” (55) Both of those statements were blatant lies. She seemed to be attempting to charm Mitch by lying about her drinking habits and the reason she had come to visit Stella. However, everyone knows that good relationships are based on honesty and truth. As long as lies exist, a lasting relationship cannot prevail. This seems to be foreshadowing that a relationship between Blanche and Mitch could not happen due to Blanche’s deceitful ways.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Summer Reading Assignment: A Streetcar Named Desire: Journal #1-- Felice
Being that this is the second time I have read A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, there were details that I was able to review in greater detail. When we read the play out loud in Mrs. Bertero’s English class, I faithfully read the part of Blanche DuBois every day. In attempting to become her and feel her emotions, I was able to grasp the kind of person I thought she was. Although I didn’t notice as much the first time I read it, the second time I read this play I noticed that in the first few pages when Blanche was introduced, she was very curt in the way she spoke to Eunice; she used the least amount of words possible. Through these curt actions that Bla nche displays, Tennessee Williams is deceiving his audience by making readers believe Blanche is a shy and quiet woman, who for the most part keeps to herself. We soon realize that Blanche is quite the chatter box. However, she does not exactly have nice things to say. One of the first things Blanche discusses is how disgusting Stella’s living conditions are. Offended to say the least, Stella immediately tries to defend her home. “Aren’t you being a little intense about it? It’s not that bad at all! New Orleans isn’t like other cities.” It is in these short sentences that I can sense how much love Stella has for Blanche. If someone were to have insulted my home so blatantly, I would not have been as polite in my response as Stella was to Blanche. Only when you love someone do you take such offensive words so lightly. After reading this, I knew that Stella’s love for Blanche would be a main theme of the play.
Reading the beginning of the play again reminded me of how kind Stanley was to Blanche when they first met. Stanley was a perfect gentleman, asking typical questions about her profession and how long she’d be staying. As soon as Blanche mentioned h ow tired she was, Stanley told her to take it easy. If I hadn’t already read the book once before, I would have thought they were going to form a relationship, possibly even one of a romantic nature. On another note, at the very end of the scene when Stanley asked about Blanche’s ex-husband, I was confused as to why she was going to be sick at the thought of him. This caught my attention. There was clearly a story behind “the boy” to whom she was once married. At the time, I honestly had no idea how the boy could fit into any kind of story, but I was only 81 pages into the play and really anything could have happened. I made several false assumptions while reading the first scene of the play.
Reading the beginning of the play again reminded me of how kind Stanley was to Blanche when they first met. Stanley was a perfect gentleman, asking typical questions about her profession and how long she’d be staying. As soon as Blanche mentioned h ow tired she was, Stanley told her to take it easy. If I hadn’t already read the book once before, I would have thought they were going to form a relationship, possibly even one of a romantic nature. On another note, at the very end of the scene when Stanley asked about Blanche’s ex-husband, I was confused as to why she was going to be sick at the thought of him. This caught my attention. There was clearly a story behind “the boy” to whom she was once married. At the time, I honestly had no idea how the boy could fit into any kind of story, but I was only 81 pages into the play and really anything could have happened. I made several false assumptions while reading the first scene of the play.
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