Saturday June 9th, 2012
Blog # 15

       Throughout the semester, I was obligated to work on a blog containing 15 entries, this being the last one. From blog one, I have realized that the entries have been varying in length as well as sophistication. It seems as if my entries are longer on the topics I have been interested in. Those topics are the ones I have had to most to talk about. My blogs acknowledge all sources properly by using citations or links. They are also supported with examples from the text as well as being in an easy to read style.

        Writing online for me was incredibly different from my other writing experiences in the past. I have never wrote any online blogs before or even discussed a certain topic with the use of blogs. Although it was a new experience for me, I have learned a lot while writing the blog entries. From the beginning to end my blog has changed dramatically. I have improved on my grammer and spelling as well. While writing, I have also realized that discussing certain topics of Kindred, Much Ado About Nothing and poems had a great effect on me. I was able to understand them better. To help me write my blog entries, I have occasionally, read other classmate's blogs to obtain a few ideas of how I can write it on my own.

        The lessons that were taught in the class, has helped my writing and reading abilities. So, in that case, I wouldn't be taking any of them away. Everything that our proffessor, Dr.X has lectured about was thourougly detailed and helpful. The most memorable moment was when we played the jeapordy game as a class. We had the chance to learn about the characters from Much Ado About Nothing. It taught me a lot and at the same time I had a lot of fun. For future students, I'd reccomend to stay up to date with all the homework and blogs. They shouldn't save everything for the end of time. With these reccomendations, the class will definalety be a breeze.

        Please re-read Blog # 13
            Thank you

Much Ado about Nothing

June 2nd,2012
Blog #14

        Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare was the first drama that I've ever watched. I ended up really enjoying it. This will be my last blog entry. I was told to choose one blog that I am most proud of and that would probably be Blog #13. In that blog, I've discussed how Claudio and his fellow soldiers had come to Hero's grave site to express their deep sorrow and guilt. Claudio and John Pedro had realized that they killed Hero, even though she was innocent. This blog taught me an important lesson which was to think before you act.

        While watching the movie and reading the book, I had also learned a few other things. The Literary Quiz was really helpful to me as well. It had taught me the difference between tragedy, comedy, dramatic irony, soliloquy and aside. Watching the film version of Much Ado about Nothing, helped me understand the book better. The powerpoint presentation also helped me a lot. I was able to understand the setting of the book. Another way the presentation helped me was by telling me about the characters. After watching the movie, it was a bit unclear to me. Finally, Dr.X's lectures about contexts and characters, alliances and happy endings made the book very understandable.

        Thanks to my favorite professor, Dr. Ximena Gallardo, everything was so easy and helpful. I salute you from the bottom of my heart.

Much Ado about Nothing

June 2nd, 2012
Blog #13

        When Claudio realizes that Hero is innocent, he and his fellow soldiers go to her tomb to express their great sorrow and guilt. He going to re-honor her innocence by saying, "So the life that died with shame lives in death with glorious fame"(5.3.5). Claudio imagines Hero as a heroic "Knight" of the " Goddess of the Knight" who was killed not by swords, but by slanderous tongues." Since Claudio is an excellent young fighter, he imagines Hero as a "Knight" (fighter) who was killed by him. This cruel action against the "Knight" makes him remorse and penitence. Claudio's tribute to Hero's chastity and his vow to commemorate the anniversary of her death convince that he is truly sorry and I think it was not a show off. His public admission of Hero's innocence plus one night's vigil at her tomb is sufficient punishment for him. Even though he is a count he does all the things only because he loves Hero genuinely. Claudios acceptance to marry Leonato's niece, lightened his guilt and also  Leobato's niece looks exactly like Hero. So, he decided to marry Leonatos niece. In my opinion, Claudio made the right choice.

Much Ado about Nothing

Wednesday, May 21st 2012

Blog # 12

                                           
                             http://www.google.com/search

        Now we are reading the book Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare. We were told to write blog # 12 out of three questions. I have chosen Question # 1.

      Benedick and Beatrice meeting after a failed wedding is the time to give a moderate face of their love. When Claudio and Don Pedro falsely accused the cousin of Beatrice (Hero), Beatrice becomes very angry. She says, "Oh God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market place". (4.1.300). When Benedick comes to her and says that he loves her, she wants him to prove his love by killing Claudio. It is a big risk for Beatrice to ask Benedick to kill Claudio because she might lose her love forever. On the other hand, Benedick is surprised when he hears that, because Claudio is his best friend. He has no choice left when Beatrice says,"You kill me to deney it. Farewell."(4.1.287). He has to kill Claudio if he wants to prove his true love for Beatrice. Instead, he says that he will challange Claudio. Benedick risk is, he might lose his best friend forever, but he will gain Beatrices love. I dont think he should kill Claudio. By killing him he will risk Hero's reputation in public. People will think that maybe the lie is the truth. I think the death of Claudio would break up their relationship because Benedick would never forgive himself after killing his best friend.

Much Ado about Nothing

Monday, May 21st 2012

Blog # 11  

      
                            http://www.google.com/search


        We are reading a book called Much ado about nothing by Shakespeare. We also saw a movie about that book. As a class, we had a long discussion about the movie that we saw. We were told to write blog # 11 out of three questions. I have chosen Question # 2. This is the first book by Shakespeare that I have ever read, and I really enjoyed reading this book.
     
         In my thoughts, match making (arranged) marriage was very common in the past. Even in this modern time, Asian countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and India have parents that choose the bride/groom for their children. They look at the family background and financial stability like Leonato sees for her daughter. I don't think Claudio genuinely loves Hero. He just sees Hero's background more importantly. When he was asking Don Pedro: "Hath Leonato any son, my lord?" (1.1.234). This dialouge clearly shows that if Hero is only child to Leonato, She will get all the assets of Leonato. If he can marry Hero, he will have all the property in the future. His idea of love is that, she is pretty and virgin. He does not love her truly, thats why he could not protest his love against John Pedro. He just gets angry. I dont think Hero loves Claudio nor does she hate him. Since she is an obident doughter, she just followes her fathers decision. In my opinion as an Asian woman, it does not matter if they love each other or not before marriage. They can fall in love after they spend time together.

     


       
     

Blog # 10
Saturday, May 12th, 2012

          It is really hard for me to choose one blog that I am most proud of, because I think, I am proud of every blog that I have done so far. Though, if I had to choose, I'd choose blog number nine. In that blog, I was able to look back in Kindred to deeply analyze the heroism of Sarah, Alice and Dana. They all sacrificed their lives in different aspects. While reading about Dana, I have learned a very important lesson. She had taught me to help others in spite of fear.

        Kindred is the first book that I had really liked. It was a very emotional book. The quizzes on Kindred were very helpful for me. I understood the chapters very well. The brainstorming in class discussion helped me a lot as well. I was able to write my blogs  as clearly as possible.

        While reading my house mates blogs, I saw that they were talking about the slavery connection from the 1800's and the present time. One of my house mates talked about the domestic violence. She/he wrote, "Women who are abused are either embarrassed or afraid to get the abuser in trouble because they love them." That is so true. As a women, I had realized that we sacrifice our lives for our loved ones.

Heroism

Blog # 9

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

                                                 Google

According to Fowler, endurance and sacrifice are in fact, the characteristics of the hero. Sarah, Alice, and Dana are forced to endure constant exploitation and degradation to survive and to allow others to survive. 

In the novel Sarah works in Tom Weylin’s house as a cook, who endures all the humiliation to survive. Tom Weylin took away her three children out of four. The only one left with her is Carrie, who is unable to talk. Sarah is like a mother to other slaves. She is the one they come for advice when they needed it. She also gives them the left over food that the Weylin family didn't eat. 

Alice is also a hero in the book. She could not stay with her beloved husband because of Rufus. Rufus is obsessed with her. He wants Alice anyhow. Finally he bought her with all his money. Rufus rapes her so many times and made her pregnant with two kids. She wants to run away from him but could not do it thinking of her children's safety. When Rufus takes her kids away, she could not tolerate that and eventually hangs herself. Dana also a hero in the book. Even though she is a smart and educated young girl, she had to put up all the bad things that Weylin and his wife did to her.

According to the Rogets 21^st Century Thesaurus, hero means a person who redeems,aids in time of difficulty. To me Dana is the most heroic character in the book, who saves Rufus's life so many times when he is about to die. The first time when she had her dizzy spell, found herself in a green place. She has no clue what was going on. When she sees a boy in trouble. “Before me was a wide tranquil river, and near the middle of that river was a child splashing, screaming….Drowning! I reached to the child in trouble. Later I could ask questions, try to find out where I was, what had happened. Now I went to help the child.” (Butler 13) Without thinking of the consequences of the unknown place she saves the little boy from drowning. The second time when Dana had her dizzy spell she found herself in Rufus's house. When Rufus put up the fire in drapery. She put out the fire as quickly as possible. She saves Rufus as well as his family. As they were talking, Rufus called her nigger and Dana does not like that. “I helped you, I put the fire out, Didn’t I ?” “ yeah.” All right then, you do me the courtesy of calling me what I want to be called.” (Butler 25) Dana expects him to treat her with more respect.

            

                                                        

"The Storm," "The Rope," "The Epilouge"
Blog # 8
Tuesday, may 8th 2012

                                                 Google

We have to write blog # 8 after reading "The Storm," "The Rope," and "The Epilouge". We were told to choose one question out of three.

In Kindred the author did not talk much about domestic abuse. He showed the domestic violence with slavery. As I read the prologue I knew that Kevin did not do anything to Dana, but the police still thinks that Kevin is the reason of Dana's loss of the arm. Since Dana is a black women and Kevin is a white man, people think black and white people don't get along with each other even in 19th century. Stereotyping is the biggest issues between Dana and Kevin's relationship. "I never thought you would be a fool enough to let a man beat you." Says Dana's cousin to her when Dana returns to the present all bruised after being whipped by Tom Weylin.

The reasons why abused partners stay in an abusive relationship back in the old times (1800's) was because women used to stay home and take care of their children. They were not allowed to work or get education. So even though they were abuse by their husband or master they had no choice but to stay in an abusive relationship.
I am from Bangladesh, and from my personal experiences even in the modern time I saw so many women still staying in an abusive relationship, only because they don't have enough education or stereotyped as women who only give birth and stay home.

"The Fight"

Wednesday, 25th April 2012
Blog # 7

                               Aframerhist.wikispaces.com


        We are reading the book Kindred by Octavia Butler. After finishing chapter "The fight" in class we were told to choose one question out of four and write on it.

        I have finished reading the book Kindred by Octavia Butler. As i read the book I noticed that Rufus simply an alteration of his father for so many reasons. Tom Weylin is the owner of thirty eight slaves on his plantation. He is very cruel with his slaves. He whips them if they do a little mistake and never sees them as a human being. He sells slaves to pay off his depts. He does not allow the slaves to learn how to read and write. As a white man, he is less educated. He does not want black people to get educated. In that way he would feel inferior to black people. He is even so cruel to his own son. He whips his own son like a slave.
       
         I don't think if there any major evidence of Dana's influence on the young Rufus in his adult character. Dana tries enough to make Rufus into a good man but still he does what he wants. He imitates his father towards the slaves and even Dana. He whips her, sends her to the field to teach her a lesson and even attempts to rape her at the end. He whips the slaves like his father and also sells them to pay off his debts.

        Because of his father's influence Dana could not change Rufus behaviors towards the slaves.

The Fall

Monday 23, 2012
Blog # 6
                                           

                                   

                                         Wikipedia

        In class, professor Ximena Gallardo is teaching us how it was to be a slave in the old times. To get a better idea of the slavery, we are reading a book called Kindred by Octavia Butler. The assignment was to choose one question out of three. I chose to write about the ways Dana was dangerous to the way of life in the Weylin household.

        Dana is dangerous to Tom Weylin in many ways. She is a smart black women who can read and write. As a white man, Tom Weylin is less educated than Dana. So, he feels inferior to her and acts weird. The Weyland plantation in Maryland education for the slaves were prohibited. The white people did not want their slaves to know how to read and write. They were scared that if they learn how to read and write, they would be able to rebel against their owners. Weylin tried to convince Kevin that she is too smart and educated as a slave and told him to sell her before she ran away. Since she was an educated slave, she could teach the other slaves how to read and write. She could also teach them how to write freedom passes which would help the slaves to set free.

        She is also dangerous for his household because he thinks that not only slaves can be educated by her, but Dana can also educate Rufus as a different white man. Then he might see the slaves from a different view point. It was like a red signal to Tom Weylin.

Blog # 5

Monday April 16th 2012
Slavery in the United states

                                                   
                         Image from Weallbe.blogspot.com

        This week in class we are learning how it was to be a slave in the old times. To get a better idea of the way slavery worked, we are reading a book called Kindred by Octavia Buttler.

        Long ago, blacks and whites were treated differently. Blacks were slaves to the whites. The basic punishments of slaves for the usual crimes such as theft and absence from work were a ring around the ankle, imprisonment in the dungeon, an iron crook around the neck and sometimes the breaking of bones. Harriet Jacobs had a book called Incidents in The Life of a Slave Girl. She explained how there was a planter in the country who had 600 slaves. He treated them like they were nothing. A favorite punishment was to tie a rope around the slaves body and suspend them from the floor. A fire used to set above slaves and it was cooking a piece of fat pork. As it cooked, the immensely hot drops of fat repeatedly fell on their flesh. Another house slave Lewis Clark in Kentucy described some punishing methods in his autobiography. Overseers would use anything to beat slaves, including brooms, tongs, shovels, and even the heel of the slippers.

        The law didn't protect the slaves and that way, the overseers were able to do as they wished to their slaves. The overseers even bullied the slaves into increasing productivity. If they thought they were lacking activity, they would use the whip as a way for punishing the slaves. The acts of the overseers scared the slaves to not rebel against their owners.

     

Blog #4

March 31st, 2012

I am most proud of blog number three. I’ve learned so many things while completing this. The blog talks about the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and what it means. It includes many metaphors, figuaritive language and repetitive phrases. Based on the poem’s tone and language I had learned that love is not always as grateful and warm as it should be.

By reading this poem and writing an entry about it, I’ve learned how to interpret the language in poems such as metaphors, smililies, figuative language and repitition as well as symbolism. For example, in the poem when it says “chronic angers”, I was able to understand that it had described the bad  relationship of the father and son. I’ve also learned that one symbol can stand for many different meanings. One example is shown by the different perspectives of the Statue of Liberty, Some say that it represents freedom while on the other hand, others think of it as a symbol of New York. I’ve also been taught by reading “Literary Terms I: Poetry. It taught me how to differenciate the speaker from the characters.

Working with the House members was very helpful. We discussed specific things about the poem and we were able to connect each other’s opinions. I was able to take their thoughts and perspectives of the poem and create new ideas of my own. If I had the chance to do another activity like this, I’d take it. It gives me the opportunity to learn more about various topics.

I have completed my House member’s evaluation. Their blogs had taught me that there are many ways to describe a metaphor and a symbol. The way they interpret something may be different from the way I do and it all depends on the person.

"Those Winter Sundays," by Robert Hayden

"Those Winter Sundays," by Robert Hayden

Monday, March 19, 2012

Blog # 3

               Robert Hayden, photographed by Jay Semple 

                                     from Wikipedia

 One of the poem that I have decided to write is called “Those Winter Sundys"Written by Robert Hayden, it was first published in 1962.

     It is a short poem, only consisting of 14 lines and 3 stanzas. There is no rhyme scheme involved, it is written in free verse. However, Hayden used many elements to enhance the poem, such as metaphors, figurative language, and repetative phrases.

Here is a quick summary of the poem:


      "Those Winter Sundays" Describes how a father shows love for his family and he gets nothing in return. The father wakes up every Sunday morning (Line 1) in a freezing cold house in order to make fire with his tired ached hands (Line 3). No one ever thanks his father (Line 5) for his love and concern for his family. In second Stanza the speaker describes how his father used to call him only when the rooms were completely warm and comfortable (line 7).  Chronic angers of the house (Line 9) decribes the inside condition of the house besides temperature. Its means the relationship between family members is not that good. In final stanza, depicts the father and son relationship. Eventhough they live in a same house act like a strangers. He remembers how he spoke to his father indiferently (Line 10). Although, the father has devotion for his family, he gets nothing in return.
      
     I think the speaker is the author and the readers are the  audience in the poem. This poem is very simillar to pablo Neruda's "Sonnet XI" which is also a poem of regrets.
I think the tone of this poem is regret. The speaker regrets that no one ever thanks his father for his concern and love.


     The main image in the poem is the winter sundays. It is describing a cold season. I believe the key words could be grouped so:


    1. "Sundays too my father got up early"---indicates that the father not only wake up                                  
         in weekdays but sundays too he wake up early.
    2. "The blublack cold"---a clear image of a harsh freezing cold in the morning.
    3. "Cracked hands that ached"---indicates that the father's hands are tired and weak   
        from working weekdays.
    4. "chronic angers"---describes the relationship between father and son is not that   
         good.
    5. "The cold splintering and breaking"---depicts how the cold is diminishing by the   
         fire.
    Based on the poem's image, key words and tone, the overall theme of this poem is that love is not always as grateful and warm as it should be.
   

       Link to you tube video on Pablo Neruda's "Sonnet XI"
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pildv4lo3hw

     

     

     

Poem: "First poem for you"

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Blog # 2

http://mini-friday.blogspot.com/2010/05/fire-padlock-tattoo-for-man.html

                                               
         This week, we are studying figurative language in poetry in class. So i decided to write an entry on Kim Addonizio's poem "First Poem For You."

          I really don’t like to read poems and write about them, but when I read “First Poem For You” by Kim Addonizio, I actually loved that poem. The message of this poem is one’s deep regret about their relationships.The most touching and heart breaking lines are “They’ll last until you’re seared to ashes; whatever persists or turns to pain between us, they will still be there." She seems happy to know that the tattoo will last until death but she is scared about seeing an end to their relationship. 

     I chose an image of a boy with tattoo on, because when I read “I like to touch your tattoos in complete darkness, when I can’t see them”, I assumed that the speaker of this poem is a girl talking about her boyfriend’s tattoo.

    If I had choose a person to e-mail this poem to, I would e-mail it to one of my best friend. She got divorced recently. Atleast I could send her a message through this poem that relationships can’t be guaranteed permanent nowadays like tattoos.

          

"Perfect Rose"

Wednesday, February 7, 2012

                            Photographed by Canon in 2006
                                          from Wikipedia
             

This week We are learning about symbol and illusion in class, so i decided to write an entry on Micheal Ferber's "Rose"which was published in 2000.

First, here is my paragraph of the entry:

           " There were several varieties of rose in the ancient world, as there are hundreds in the modern, but the rose in poetry has always been red (or "rose") in color, unless otherwise described. "Red as a rose" is the prime poetic cliche, and poets have used every other term for red to describe it, such as shakespeare's "deep vermilion"(sonnets98) or the "crimson joy" of Blake's"Sick Rose". The rose blooms in the spring, and does not bloom long; the contrast is striking between its youth in the bud and its full-blown maturity, and again between both these phases and its final scattering petals on the ground, all in the course of a week or two. It is rich in perfume, which seems to emanate from its dense and delicate folds of petals. It is vulnerable to the canker-worm. And it grows on a plant with thorns. All these features have entered into range of symbolic uses."

Paraphrase of the paragraph:
         
             Roses came in quite a few varietes and there are hundreds of them in the modern world. They bloom in the Spring and does not stay for long and appreciated their smell in delicate folds of petals. This type of flower has been used in poetry for many years and always described in the same color, red. poets throughout the years have used every other kind of term for red to describe it. Some of them include "deep vermilion" from Shakespear and "crimson joy" of Blake's "Sick Rose".


             I chose this paragraph because whenever I think of a rose, the first thing that comes into my mind is the color red and also its purity. From my country, I have learned that in poems, the rose represents a girl. We compare a girl's character with roses, because of their purity and beauty.


"Rose." Dictionary of Literary Symbols. ED. Michael Ferber.
     Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge,1999.172-177.
     Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.