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The Importance of Being Earnest Act 3

All I have to say after finishing act 3 is wow. Really didn't see that twist coming. First, the act begins with Gwendolen and Cecily questioning whether they are going to forgive Jack and Algernon for lying about them being brothers and Ernest being Jack's name. Algernon and Jack then use the excuse that they did it in order for Jack to see Gwendolen and for Algernon to see Cecily as mouch as they can. So the two ladies buy the excuse and forgive them. But then Lady Bracknell refuses to give her blessing for Jack and Gwendolen's union. Right when Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen are about to leave, Miss Prism is questioned by Lady Bracknell about a lost baby from twenty eight years ago. We learn that this lost baby that was found at a rail station turned out to be Jack, which turns out to be Lady Bracknell's sister's son making Algernon and Jack brothers after all. Then we find out that Jack's name is in fact Ernest, named after his father, and they he's been telling the truth about his name and his relationship with Algernon for years! Crazy twist in the end but one other thing comes from it... Jack and Gwendolen are now first cousins that are engaged....

The Importance of Being Earnest Act 1

Oscar Wilde composed the comical play, "The Importance of Being Earnest" during the Victorian times. The two main characters in "The Importance of Being Earnest" are Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. Jack Worthing lived in the countryside of Hertfordshire, England. There he was the legal guardian of a girl named Cecily Cardew. They also lived with her governess, Miss Prism. He often went to the visit his friend Algernon at his flat in London. 

"The Importance of Being Earnest" portrays the double life of people, back in the Victorian time period. Here, people often were very secretive and liked to keep their public life separate from their private one. Jack Worthing pretended to have a maniac brother named Earnest Worthing in London, as an excuse to visit the city. However, when he goes to London, he would go upon by the name Earnest Worthing. Back in those times, Earnest was a respectable name and every woman would dream of marrying someone by that name. He would go to Algergon's flat to see his cousin, Gwendolen. They were both in love with each other, but she was more in love with him, due to the fact that his name was Earnest. If Gwendolen accepted the proposal, he would kill off his brother. Lady Bracknell was not in agreement with the proposal because she found out that Jack was found in a suitcase and didn't have any parents. Algernon called this double life, "bunburying". He knew that Jack was lying and wanted to find out more information of where he lives in the countryside, so he can go pursue Jack's ward, Cecily. He heard that she was fond of Jack's imaginary brother so he wanted to pass as him.

This play also has a bit of sexuality. In the first scene, where Algernon suspected Jack of eating the cucumber sandwiches he made for his aunt, he says "Well, my dear fellow, you need not eat as if you were going to eat it all. You behave as if you were married to her already, and you're not, and I don't think you'll ever be." This is a way of telling him to keep his hands off Gwendolen. 

The Goblin Market

The Goblin Market is a poem about two sisters Lizzie and Laura. At night there are little goblin men that sing a song to get people to buy their fruit. Lizzie is not interested in their fruit and stays away from them whenever they come out. She warns her sister Laura to stay away from them too. One of Lizzie’s friends ate their fruit and lived a horrible and died at an early age. Laura ignores her sister’s warning and trades a lock of her hair for some of the goblin’s fruit. After Laura eats the fruit she begins to have intense cravings for the fruit. At night she waits for the goblins to come out again but she can no longer hear their song, but Lizzie can. The causes Laura to be depressed and she no longer fulfills her daily responsibilities and prematurely ages. Lizzie is deeply saddened by her sister’s current state. She creates a plan to buy fruit from the goblins to bring them back to Laura so she can return to normal. After Lizzie pays the goblins for the fruit they try to convince her to stay with them and eat the fruit. When she refuses to eat the fruit the goblins become angry and attack her. They held her hands and tried to force her to eat the fruit. They we unable to get her to eat it but managed to cover her in the juices of the fruit. The goblins then retreat and Lizzie goes home. Once she sees Laura she tells her to consume the fruit juices that covered her. Laura does and then she returns to normal. Lizzie and Laura both grow up and become mothers. At the end of the story Laura tells her children how her sister saved her. I feel that this story demonstrates how a someone’s family  would be willing to do anything to save them , even if it  includes risking their own lives .

The Goblin Market and The Defence of Guenevere

The "Goblin Market" is a poem by Christina Rossetti, about two maids named Lizzie and Laura. Laura is tempted by the goblins whom sell all sorts of delicious fruits and call out, "Come buy our orchard fruits, come buy, come buy." One day, despite Lizzie's warning against the goblins, Laura exchanges a lock of her golden hair for the fruits and eats them all as if they were the most amazing she's ever eaten. After devouring the luscious fruits, Laura sleeps till the next morning only to crave for more fruit. She searches for the goblin's again but she ends up never finding them or hearing their simple cry, and also getting sick in the process. Lizzie feels sympathetic so she goes to find the goblins for the fruit that they bear. Resisting the goblin's temptation, Lizzie makes the goblin's so mad that they throw the fruits at her. With fruit juice all over her, she runs to Laura so that Laura can kiss the juice off her cheeks and miraculously recover. In the end, Lizzie and Laura are both married and eventually share the story of the goblin's with their own children.

"The Defence of Guenevere" is another poem created by William Morris. This poem actually refers to the legendary story of King Arthur with Guenevere(Guinevere). In this poem, the narrator is Guenevere  who is on trial for committing adultery. Gauwaine, one of King Arthur's trusted knights, is the prosecutor of the trial and is accusing her of sleeping with Launcelot. Guenevere often denies the accusation and repeats the lines, "nevertheless you, O Sir Gauwaine, lie," very often. She uses her beauty as a defense and says that her beauty alone should show her innocence of this trial. In the end, Launcelot comes in to rescue her and when he does, "her cheek [grows] crimson."

These poems have a lot of similarities in the sense that the theme of both is temptation. Both poems closely relate to the story of Adam and Eve, in which Eve was tempted by the serpent into taking the apple from the tree. Similarly, Laura is tempted by the goblins into taking their fruit and when Guenevere is lured into choosing hell's blue colored cloth.

At the end of "The Defence of Guenevere," Launcelot finally comes to rescue Guenevere and when he does, she starts blushing like crazy. Does this prove that she does actually love him? That she was drawn by lust and seduction? Was she right about the fact that it's hard to tell right from wrong? I think so. Yet I think that even if we are tempted, we also have the willpower to say no. So allurement should not be used as an excuse for what she did. She probably does regret the fact that she cheated on King Arthur, but instead of owning up to her mistake she blames her beauty for everything. She is of arrogance and self-pity, which makes me support Gauwaine.

At the end of "Goblin Market," Lizzie and Laura live to tell the goblin tale to their children. I think they told their kids so that their kids can hopefully learn from their mistakes and to think twice before doing something. It's almost like the saying, "never take candy from a stranger," that is often told to kids as a warning to be careful. Lizzie and Laura learn to be careful in choosing which path to take, and to lean on each other throughout any difficult situation.

Yes, we all make mistakes and get easily drawn into the evils of the world. Instead of taking the right path, we take the path that easily attracts us. It's true that there are many times we will be tempted in our life, but that's what makes us wholly human. Honestly, all we can really do is learn from the mistakes and try to gain strength to resist walking towards that wrong path or choosing the blue cloth.

Story of an Hour

Mrs. Mallard, a frail woman in an emotion sense, ultimately dies of "joy." As we look into the context of this short text, we begin to discover Mrs.Mallard's sense of entrapment; she feels trapped by everything and everyone around her, and the moment she finds out about her husband's death, a sudden sense of enlightenment rushes through her veins. It is not a rush of excitement, but a rush of thought and wonder; wonder as to what could be beyond this sort of trap she's been living in, a wonder so far out of her reach the only sort of freedom she actually has are the windows and the doors. But knowingly she cannot get herself to go through these objects of freedom, and instead is trapped in a state of constantly wanting to please her husband before herself, and this ultimately causes the death she suffers from said "joy." Is it really the joy that we all come to know and want though? Or is it merely a figment of her imagination to actually experience a certain type of joy that will bring one step closer to enduring this freedom she's never had the chance to experience. Mrs. Mallard's death in a sense can be considered an untimely death based on her lack of freedom; hearing of her husband's death gave her an hour to think about the freedom she could have, but this hour is torn short the moment her husband shows up at the door and x's out all opportunities of her ever being free to explore everything beyond her eyes. Unfortunately her freedom was short lived, but in a way I can say that her death would have been better than a life of entrapment behind four walls trying to please a man she loves, or for that matter, doesn't love, rather than sit there and wonder what could have been. 

The Story Of The Hour

                   In my senior year in high school, i read this short story because we were reading the awakening by Kate Chopin, and it contained this story in it. This short story is about a woman called mrs.mallard who got news of her husband passing away. Instead of this being a story of grief and dealing with the death of someone you're supposed to love dearly, it is a story of a woman who is finally free. The truth of the matter is, that this woman was not happy with her husband. Right away, she accepted the fact that he was dead, and wept immediately which isn't typical behavior. As she was in her room, gazing out the window she noticed the "new spring life" which is a symbol for the start of her new life as a free woman. The "patches of blue sky showing here and there" can be a symbol for her inner self trying to make it's way through. When she whispered the words "free, free, free!" that was her inner life talking. A life she never let out, but was what she always secretly wanted. It seems like she was trapped in her marriage, like she wasn't happy and only stayed with him because it was the right thing to do at the time which makes sense because this story was written in 1864.

                Something powerful that she says is "she would live for herself". This is powerful because it means that she wasn't living for herself before. She feels liberated and even says that "she had loved him-sometimes, often she had not" She was truly not happy. Hearing of her husbands death, caused her not grief, but relief, the complete opposite. Instead of her being in complete shock and resistant to accept, she was more than willing to accept because she looked forward to being free. That open window, is her new life. Her husbands death opened a window of freedom for her. Now instead of her wishing life wasn't long, she longed and prayed for a long life where she could enjoy days for herself.

            The ending was something unexpected. After she finally gives in to her inner desires, she comes face to face with the brutal reality that crushed her freedom. Instead of being full of joy that her husband is indeed alive, it brings an end to the feelings she was beginning to have. Its kind of ironic, you would think that she died of heart disease- of joy that kills when really she died because she could no longer be free or live her days for herself.
                 

Blog Dates

In case you forget your blog date: You are responsible for the main post on the date/reading assigned to you. It should be posted before coming to class. Everyone else must respond to their peers (one of the main posts) weekly. September 10 Chopin - Lina & Karina September 13 Goblin Market and The Defence of Guenevere - Melanie Morgan & Celena September 17 - The Importance of Being Earnest - Jessica September 20 - The Importance of Being Earnest - Eddie October 1 - The House on Mango Street - Arissa & Justin October 4 - The House on Mango Street - Israa & Katie October 8 - Persepolis - Melanie H & Mark October 11 - Persepolis - Luke & Sonya October 15 - Persepolis - Katrina & Gerida October 18 - Persepolis - Inisha October 22 - Persepolis - Sara October 25 - A Wife's Story - Malory & Jessica November 8 - Yeats' and Boland Poetry - Kevin November 12 - Doyle - Samer November 15 - Doyle - Dakota November 19 - Cesaire - (no one) November 22 - Fanon - Brian

The Myth of Sisyphus

If you haven't read or researched Albert Camus (1913-60) before, here's a bit of info about him. Camus was a writer and philosopher or we can say he was a writer that was very interested in philosophy. He was specifically interested in Existentialism. His writings explore and question existence. Many of his characters realize that life has no meaning and the only meaning life has, is the one we give to it.

Sisyphus, our absurd hero ( he sees life as a constant struggle - there is no hope), rolls a boulder up a hill forever. That's his life. Over and over. He pushes the boulder up, at the top he lets it go, and then he watches it roll down to the bottom. He walks to the bottom, and repeats. Pretty painful. Or is it not?

Camus is asking us to think differently about Sisyphus' eternal punishment. We are supposed to "imagine" him happy. Why? Camus tells us, "Happiness and the absurd are two sons of the same earth. They are inseparable." Sisyphus becomes "superior to his fate. He is stronger than his rock." What is Camus asking us to think about? Is Sisyphus a hero after all? How can he ever be happy?

Welcome to Literature in a Global Context! This is where we will discuss our readings, thoughts and ideas before coming to class! Each week 1 - 2 students will post there own formal post about the reading of that week. Everyone else will respond to the post.

At the end of the semester, we can look back at the posts and see how our understanding of the texts and themes change.

I'll post the first major post on "The Myth of Sisyphus."