Read “Lying in Bed” by G.K. Chesterton and write a blog post that analyzes the 4-5 most important strategies used by the author.
rhetorical strategy 1: metaphor
He compares his carpet to turkish delight
"I found the Turkey carpet a mass of unmeaning colours, rather like the Turkish Empire, or like the sweetmeat called Turkish Delight."
rhtorical strategy2: allusion
He makes an allusion to a bible passage verse when discussing his wallpaper
"I could not understand why one arbitrary symbol (a symbol apparently entirely devoid of any religious or philosophical significance) should thus be sprinkled all over my nice walls like a sort of small-pox. The Bible must be referring to wallpapers, I think, when it says, “Use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do.”
rhetorical strategy 3: parallel sentence structure
This sentence has a parallel structure separated by a semicolon
"Especially this is so in matters of hygiene; notably such matters as lying in bed.."
the parallelism is "matters of something"
rhetorical strategy 4: descriptive words
he uses lots of descripritve adjectives to spice up the writing
"rich and mingled colour like some strange fairy rain;"
rich, mangle, and fairy all make the writing much more fun to read
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
preparing for synthesis question
Read Preparing for the 2007 Synthetic Question and blog a bit (100-200 words) about what you learned from the advice and where the advice seems to fall short.
the article gives a really good job informing us how we should get started. Like how to read and analyze the information give and how to start off wit the thesis. it is helpful advice in that regards. Getting started can sometimes be the hardest part. But, the advice falls short in describing HOW the sources should be included in the essay. It is important not to just plop the quotes in and the article doesn't really give good examples of how to really SYNTHESIZE the sources! It kind of misses the big picture!!!
the article gives a really good job informing us how we should get started. Like how to read and analyze the information give and how to start off wit the thesis. it is helpful advice in that regards. Getting started can sometimes be the hardest part. But, the advice falls short in describing HOW the sources should be included in the essay. It is important not to just plop the quotes in and the article doesn't really give good examples of how to really SYNTHESIZE the sources! It kind of misses the big picture!!!
a modest proposal
Read A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. In a 300 word blog post: What’s the purpose of this piece? How does the satire serve a rhetorical purpose or put forth an indirect claim? Please excerpt 3 sections and comment more directly on them.
The purpose of this piece is discuss teh numbers of poor and homelsss women with fatherless children.
"I do therefore humbly offer it to publick consideration, that of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed,
twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one
fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep,
black cattle, or swine, and my reason is, that these children are
seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded
by our savages, therefore, one male will be sufficient to serve
four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may, at a year
old, be offered in sale to the persons of quality and fortune,
through the kingdom, always advising the mother to let them suck
plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump, and
fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an
entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the
fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned
with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the
fourth day, especially in winter."
this exerpt from the passage seems like it should be a sarcastic joke, but i can't tell if the author is serious or not. IT seems a bit strange to recommend that people eat children. I don't know what to really think from this passage. It also talks about breeding children like cattle and basically diminished children as not human and on teh same level as teh animals we breed and eat.
The purpose of this piece is discuss teh numbers of poor and homelsss women with fatherless children.
"I do therefore humbly offer it to publick consideration, that of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed,
twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one
fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep,
black cattle, or swine, and my reason is, that these children are
seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded
by our savages, therefore, one male will be sufficient to serve
four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may, at a year
old, be offered in sale to the persons of quality and fortune,
through the kingdom, always advising the mother to let them suck
plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump, and
fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an
entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the
fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned
with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the
fourth day, especially in winter."
this exerpt from the passage seems like it should be a sarcastic joke, but i can't tell if the author is serious or not. IT seems a bit strange to recommend that people eat children. I don't know what to really think from this passage. It also talks about breeding children like cattle and basically diminished children as not human and on teh same level as teh animals we breed and eat.
hamlet blog
1. Why does Hamlet wait so long to kill Claudius? What are the reasons for his hesitation? How valid are they? How many times does he have the opportunity to attack Claudius? What are his reasons for not doing so?
hamlet has doubts at first that the story he has heard from the ghost is actually true. They are valid doubts because he has no proof that his uncle has killed his father. He has 2 opportunities to kill his uncle. The first time it is because of his doubts and the second because his uncle is praying and if hamlet were to kill his uncle then, he would go to heaven and hamlet wants his uncle to go to hell.
2. Hamlet claims that his madness is feigned, an “antic disposition” which he puts on for his own purposes (I.v.172). Why would Hamlet want to feign madness? How can an appearance of insanity help him achieve his ends? Is he really sane throughout the play, or does he ever cross the line into madness? What about Ophelia’s mad scene? Is it real or feigned? Is there “method in her madness” as well, or is she entirely irrational? Why has she gone mad? (What two reasons do her songs suggest?)
hamlet feigns madness so his uncle doesn't find out that hamlet knows the whole story. This way his uncle will be caught by surprise and hamlet has the advantage. I think he crosses the line into madness when he calls of the wedding and when he kills ophelia's father because he is just blindly attacking and killing anyone that appears to be his uncle. He has "gone mad" with hate. Ophelia's mad scene is real though. She first goes mad when hamlet rejects her in marriage and the then when her father is murdered.
3. Pay attention to the treatment of the women characters Gertrude and Ophelia. Is there any basis for the Freudian interpretation of an Oedipal attraction between Hamlet and his mother? Hamlet does seem obsessed with his mother’s sexuality. How old is Hamlet? How old do you think Gertrude is? Is Hamlet’s disgust at Gertrude’s sexuality justified? To what extent is Gertrude guilty? Was she “in on” her husband’s murder? Has Claudius confided in her since the murder? How does Hamlet’s perception of his mother affect his behavior or attitude toward Ophelia? Why does he tell Ophelia to go to a nunnery? Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? If so, why is he cruel to her?
Hamlet and ophelia kiss and he is obsessed with her sex life with claudious. Hamlet is in his 20s and i think Gertrude is in her late 30s-40. I think it's justified because it creeps him out that his mother is with his uncle/ the man who killed his father. Gertrude is guilty that she is with his uncle. No she was not in on her husband's murder and no claudious has not confided in her since the murder. Because of his mother's incest, Hamlet turns bitter towards women and rejects ophelia He tells her to go to a nunnery and not get married because he wants to bad marriages because he is so creeped out. But he really did love ophelia because after she dies he tells his brother he really did love ophelia. he was cruel because he was bitter.
4. Suicide is an important theme in Hamlet. Discuss how the play treats the idea of suicide morally, religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important statements about suicide: the “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (I.ii.129–158) and the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy (III.i.56–88). Why does Hamlet believe that, although capable of suicide, most human beings choose to live, despite the cruelty, pain, and injustice of the world?
hamlet concludes that people chose to live in pain because of fear for what will come next after death. I think there is also the religious aspect since suicide is a sin and those who commit it will go to hell.
5. Choose a soliloquy in the play to look more closely at. Paraphrase it and then connect it to the larger themes in the play.
I chose the first soliloquoy "o,What a rogue and peasant slave am i!" act 2 scene 2 lines 555 to 635. This soliloquoy is where Hamlet plots how he will catch Claudious and make a final judgment of whether or not he is guilty of murdering his father. HE goes on a rampage about his trap to test Claudious if he reacts guiltily to watching a play that mirrors the murder of his father. This is connected to the larger theme of the play on wether or not: claudious is guilty and hamlet is mad.
hamlet has doubts at first that the story he has heard from the ghost is actually true. They are valid doubts because he has no proof that his uncle has killed his father. He has 2 opportunities to kill his uncle. The first time it is because of his doubts and the second because his uncle is praying and if hamlet were to kill his uncle then, he would go to heaven and hamlet wants his uncle to go to hell.
2. Hamlet claims that his madness is feigned, an “antic disposition” which he puts on for his own purposes (I.v.172). Why would Hamlet want to feign madness? How can an appearance of insanity help him achieve his ends? Is he really sane throughout the play, or does he ever cross the line into madness? What about Ophelia’s mad scene? Is it real or feigned? Is there “method in her madness” as well, or is she entirely irrational? Why has she gone mad? (What two reasons do her songs suggest?)
hamlet feigns madness so his uncle doesn't find out that hamlet knows the whole story. This way his uncle will be caught by surprise and hamlet has the advantage. I think he crosses the line into madness when he calls of the wedding and when he kills ophelia's father because he is just blindly attacking and killing anyone that appears to be his uncle. He has "gone mad" with hate. Ophelia's mad scene is real though. She first goes mad when hamlet rejects her in marriage and the then when her father is murdered.
3. Pay attention to the treatment of the women characters Gertrude and Ophelia. Is there any basis for the Freudian interpretation of an Oedipal attraction between Hamlet and his mother? Hamlet does seem obsessed with his mother’s sexuality. How old is Hamlet? How old do you think Gertrude is? Is Hamlet’s disgust at Gertrude’s sexuality justified? To what extent is Gertrude guilty? Was she “in on” her husband’s murder? Has Claudius confided in her since the murder? How does Hamlet’s perception of his mother affect his behavior or attitude toward Ophelia? Why does he tell Ophelia to go to a nunnery? Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? If so, why is he cruel to her?
Hamlet and ophelia kiss and he is obsessed with her sex life with claudious. Hamlet is in his 20s and i think Gertrude is in her late 30s-40. I think it's justified because it creeps him out that his mother is with his uncle/ the man who killed his father. Gertrude is guilty that she is with his uncle. No she was not in on her husband's murder and no claudious has not confided in her since the murder. Because of his mother's incest, Hamlet turns bitter towards women and rejects ophelia He tells her to go to a nunnery and not get married because he wants to bad marriages because he is so creeped out. But he really did love ophelia because after she dies he tells his brother he really did love ophelia. he was cruel because he was bitter.
4. Suicide is an important theme in Hamlet. Discuss how the play treats the idea of suicide morally, religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important statements about suicide: the “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (I.ii.129–158) and the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy (III.i.56–88). Why does Hamlet believe that, although capable of suicide, most human beings choose to live, despite the cruelty, pain, and injustice of the world?
hamlet concludes that people chose to live in pain because of fear for what will come next after death. I think there is also the religious aspect since suicide is a sin and those who commit it will go to hell.
5. Choose a soliloquy in the play to look more closely at. Paraphrase it and then connect it to the larger themes in the play.
I chose the first soliloquoy "o,What a rogue and peasant slave am i!" act 2 scene 2 lines 555 to 635. This soliloquoy is where Hamlet plots how he will catch Claudious and make a final judgment of whether or not he is guilty of murdering his father. HE goes on a rampage about his trap to test Claudious if he reacts guiltily to watching a play that mirrors the murder of his father. This is connected to the larger theme of the play on wether or not: claudious is guilty and hamlet is mad.
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