On page 63, the Player says that the “single assumption” that makes us sure of our existence is, “that somebody is watching…”. I found this quote especially interesting because it reminds me of our discussions in class about reality being subjective. In this case, Stoppard is claiming that the only thing proving our existence is someone else agreeing that it is true. Our reality is based on other people’s perceptions as well as our own.

This train of thought led me to remember the well known quote, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. This riddle raises the idea that observation is key to reality. This riddle makes us ponder what we consider to be reality and how it can be proven if nobody else is around to attest.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are constantly confused throughout the play. This confusion represents their lack of understanding the vast universe. Stoppard uses language and symbols to represent their disarray with the world.

Stoppard proves language cannot accurately describe the truth. When Rosencrantz forgets his name, it is proven that a name is no real way to classify someone. A name is just a word and as Guildenstern mentions, “each of them is…plausible” (38). Since language cannot correctly describe someone, the accuracy of language is diminished.

Stoppard uses the coin tossing to represent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s lack of control of the world. The fact that the coin lands heads over and over again proves that the world is completely out of our control. The world constantly surprises us and the unexpected can always occur. I believe that Stoppard uses this example to demonstrate that there are instances in life that are completely out of our control.

In my first reading of The Hours, the main two things I noticed were oxymorons being used for description and Clarissa’s conflicting love and resent for the world of objects.

When describing a June morning, Clarissa describes herself as “scandalously privileged” (8). I found this description interesting because these two words usually work against each other. They are fairly opposite. However, in this case, they worked productively in order to describe  that being privileged leads to a scandalous life many times. Clarissa also describes the day as “painfully clear” which I found intriguing. Once again, these descriptive words are rarely used together but in this instance, they work to convey how beautiful the world is. Also, that it is almost too gorgeous to bear.

Clarissa’s love for the world around her is obvious through her descriptions. Clarissa “loves the world for being rude and indestructible” (14). She swoons over the beauties of the world. Yet, she later on says, “There is no comfort, it seems, in the world of objects” (22). I found this confusing because she seemed to love the world for every little detail before this line.

I am interested to see what else I will learn through the creative description and character’s thoughts in The Hours.

In “As I Lay Dying”, Faulkner writes in a stream on conciousness. His style is loosely formatted and jumps around just as the human brain does. Faulkner is able to imitate the way the human brain processes images and occurences and puts them into words. This way of writing is very different from the structured books I am used to reading, but I found it intriguing because I am able to be placed inside the heads of the various characters. Everyone processes situations differently than the person next to them, even though we might not be able to see this by simply watching their actions. Faulkner places us inside the heads of the characters in order to understand their opinions and this allows me, as a reader, to get to know that character effectively.

This week, I have been reading numerous poems by Emily Dickinson. Dickinson’s poems often have double meanings and can be interpreted differently. However, I have picked up on two main themes of death that she portrays through her poetrty.

Dickison sends the grim message that although we hope for an afterlife, nobody can be certain of one. This is the message in her poem “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died”. Dickinson was raised Christian, but struggeld to trust the Christian belief that one goes to Heaven or Hell as a result of one’s actions in life.

Another insight that Dickinson presents about death is the idea of immortality. She speaks of human’s goal to be immortal in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death-”. She poses the idea that humans are selfish and egotistic to believe that they go to Heaven after death.

While reading Dickinson’s poetry, I was not sure if Dickinson believed in Heaven or believed in no afterlife at all. She abstains from depicting a single-minded idea by mixing up her tones and underscoring the importance of certain topics.

I chose this poem because I knew it was about Rosa Parks from the title and I thought it would relate well to “Song of Solomon” in that they both refer to racism and a fight for justice.

The first stanza starts with speaking about Rosa being on the front bench of the bus, “the time was right in a place so wrong it was ready”. I believe that this line can be seen on a wider spectrum than just a time to fight racism. It is referring to conquering an opportunity when given the chance. We can all feel when it is time to stand up for ourselves, and we should not let this chance pass us.

I liked the diction used in the third stanza. It reads, “the clean flame of her gaze”. I thought this gave us a strong image of exactly what Rosa’s eyes looked like at this time. She was determined, had set goals, and was also in fury of the injustice occuring around her. The word “gaze” also alludes us to think that this is something she is not going to give up easily. One holds their gaze as he or she holds their dream.

This poem also refers to how Rosa Park’s was very refined during her protest. The poem says, “In her sensible coat” referring to her air of composure and how she put aside any furious feelings she had, in order to look calm and collected on the outside. I believe that this poem points out this characteristic in Rosa Parks because, in general, people that stay reasonable and composed during an argument, or in this case, a protest, seem to convey a logical point of view that trumps other people’s belligerent acts.

The main symbol I have noticed in “Song of Solomon” is white people representing evil and wrongdoing. Whenever a white person is refrenced to, it is in a negative manner of that person doing something corrupt. The white people are constantly racist towards African Americans, and this causes Milkman and all the other black characters to suffer. An example of this is Milkman’s father’s death and how the white employer neglected to help. On page 100, “white madness” is referenced to as how white people murder eachother for no reason. Milkman said, “bizarre killings amused them”. This statement refers to how Milkman, and African Americans in general, believe that white people have no heart and are purely evil. I am interested to see if this symbol stays constant throughout the novel or if a white person will finally be represented as something other than evil.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Hamlet in class. The story line is very interesting and often unpredictable. As we mentioned in class, Ophelias death was quite odd and so was her funeral. Laretes jumps into Ophelia’s grave wanting to embrace her one last time. Hamlet seems to be challenged by this act of love and jumps in the grave promptly after Laretes. Hamlet must have felt threatened that Laretes loved Ophelia more than he did, and so he chose to challenge Laretes in this way. Throughout the play, we see men getting jealous or feeling threatened by eachother very often. Another example is Hamlet feeling threatened by his mother’s new husband. This type of relationship between a son and a father-in-law seems to occur even today because of the sense of losing the woman they love (in this case, their mother). I believe one of Shakespeare’s main themes in this play is the competitiveness men have over women they love.

I will read “Of Mice and Men”. I chose this book because it is a shorter book so I feel like I can be done reading it fairly quickly then be able to focus more on my essay. Joy suggested this book to me and that’s how I heard of it!

The other day in class, we were talking about Emma and how she tries to control every aspect in her life. Most people would agree that it feels good to have control over one’s life. However, there are certain limits to having this control.The concept of a person wanting to control everything is a common occurrence in our day-to-day lives. Jane Austen suggests that when a person tries to be too controlling, he or she loses respect for other people.

Emma believes that she knows best. She has an air of arrogance about her at all times. This confidence is what leads Emma to believe that she can “help” Harriet by finding a better place for her in society. She does not respect Harriet enough to let her make her own decisions about men. For example, when Harriet received the letter about the proposal, Emma already believed she knew the correct thing to say back. When a person is extremely controlling, he or she tends to not take other people’s opinions into account.

The concept of a controlling person loosing sight of other people’s thoughts, and therefore not respecting them,  is a universal truth that Jane Austen proves in “Emma”.