Norfolk

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, the city of Norfolk held an importance throughout the entire novel. It wasn't brought up every chapter and would often be forgotten for a long stretch. We see in this last section, that it was a concept that was very near to Kathy's heart always. The students at Hailsham used Norfolk as a way to joke about where all the things that they had lost over the years had gone. As they got older, they didn't really think that old belongings had ended up there but that it was still a mysterious place. The mystery behind it was something that brought all of those students together as they moved towards the Cottages. Even as they got older, those who went to Hailsham would remember the rumors that they believed of Norfolk. This memory, as well as all of the memories of Hailsham, allowed donors and carers to cope with the harsh reality that lay before them.

Kathy still uses her memories as a way to cope up until the end of the book, and I'm sure, until she completes. "So maybe on some level, I am on the lookout for Hailsham" (Ishiguro, 286). She never wants to forget their memories and claims she never will. They are ingrained within her. These memories take her up to the very last aspect of the book in the very last paragraph. She brings up the rumors about Norfolk from when they were young for the very last time. She just lost the love of her life and was using Norfolk as a way to feel his presence again. Since he was lost, she wanted to believe that she would find him in the place that all lost things go. "I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough...I'd see it was Tommy" (Ishiguro). She would always remember her journey. She would never give up that livelihood in which had been instilled inside her.

Never Let Me Go

As the reader, when one sees the title of a novel come up in the story line, there is definitely some significance. In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, the title comes up as an extremely important song. It comes up over and over again throughout the novel. In this last section, however, we really see how significant it really was. 

The song "Never Let Me Go" was one that carried both Kathy and Madame through hard times in their lives. Both women interpreted it's meaning in different ways. It's ironic that the song's intentional message had no effect on either of the women, either. Both took the song for how they needed to. 

Kathy envisioned this song as a mother who originally couldn't have children, holding her miracle baby in her arms. This mother was then singing the chorus to her baby as she cradled her tight and close to her heart. Kathy must have interpreted this song to mean this subconsciously if not consciously of the fact that none of her kind could have children. It was instinctual, however, that she would want a child to love and to hold. This further signifies that these clones have feelings, emotions, and souls. 

Madame's interpretation of the song after witnessing Kathy sway to the song in her daydream was quite different. "When I watched you dancing that day, I saw a new world coming rapidly...a harsh, cruel world. And then I saw a little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain"  (Ishiguro, 272). This is a pretty long quote and I have cut it down quite a bit. However, I felt it to be one of the deepest, most significant points of the whole novel. Madame took this moment and used it to further drive her feelings of a change in the way things were done. This moment touched her deeply to the fact that she's never forgotten it. In it, we see that she was never really afraid of the students. She was afraid of the new world in which she lived in. She longed for a better future for Kathy, for these other children. However, society was too far gone for any hope of the resurrection of the old way of life. 

The Truth Comes Out

By this last section of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, the mysteries behind every secret come unveiled. These truths that Kathy and Tommy found, weren't all that heartwarming. In my opinion, they were downright depressing. Yet, I am conflicted as how to feel, and it is evident that the characters in this novel have that same feeling.

On one hand, Kathy and Tommy feel as if they have been cheated out of life. Cheated out of a chance to be a normal human being. They feel that since deferrals aren't real, then there was no point in going through grueling years of creativity and art classes. They feel as though their lives had been pointless up until the part of their caring and donating. "Why did we do all of that work in the first place? Why train us, encourage us, make us produce all of that? If we're just going to give donations anyway, then die" (Ishiguro, 259). And then, the next question that is brought up is "Why Hailsham at all?" (Ishiguro, 259). The confliction occurs then when Madame and Miss Emily express why they did what they did. These women, and the other schools that were opened that resembled Hailsham, sought out to protect these clones, these children. The world had become so complacent in this new technology and new realm of using clones to cure normal humans, that no one wanted to face the reality of it. "How can you ask a world that has come to regard cancer as curable, how can you ask such a world to put away that cure, to go back to the dark days?...you were kept in the shadows, and people did their best not to think of you" (Ishiguro, 263). Madame and Miss Emily started a movement to help students like Kathy and Tommy. They wanted to prove that these clones were like any other human being, they had souls.

The discrepancy occurs when students like Kathy believe that the whole world is full of hope. They had, after all, been raised in school that allowed hope. Only, these Hailsham students come to find that there was never hope. Never was and never will be any hope. So who was better off in the long run: those who were never given the opportunity to hope for a better future? or those who were allowed hope only to be crushed by reality?

Ruth's Confession

All along as I've read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, I have longed for a deeper relationship between Tommy and Kathy. I finally got my wish in section 4! All along, I would get hints that the two were really made for each other. There seemed to little bits of foreshadowing that these two characters had a deep connection that Ruth never really shared in, even though it was Ruth and Tommy that had been a couple for a long time. Kathy even expresses that she had always felt this separation between the three of them. "The way it is, it's like there's a line with us on one side and Ruth on the other" (Ishiguro, 285). I think that Ruth always knew this in her heart. That is why she went out of her way when they were at the Cottages to exaggerate the fact that Tommy supposedly would never like Kathy "like that."

Ruth expresses her deep regret of this in this last section. "I'd like you to forgive me, but I don't expect you to...The main thing is, I kept you and Tommy apart...That was the worst thing I did" (Ishiguro, 232). She had done this because of her nature. She never wanted to be left out of the possibility of getting deferred. She always wanted to be the center of attention. She always wanted to be the most privileged or at least thought to be the most special. However, once she is farther along in her donations, she understands that she may have costed Tommy and Kathy their chance for a positive future. Although Tommy and Kathy find out that there is never hope for a more positive future, Ruth died hoping for them. "Ruth wasn't like that. She always wanted to believe in things" (Ishiguro, 284).

Possibles?

There are many aspects of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. As the end of the second section of this novel draws to a close, there was yet another mysterious piece of the puzzle revealed. Kathy finally brings up an part of their life journey that gives a little more clue as to how and why these certain students were brought into this world. "Since each of us was copied at some point from a normal person, there must be, for each of us, somewhere out there, a model getting on with his or her life" (Ishiguro,139). The book leaves it just at that with no further explanations. There are only skeptical guesses about what these "possibles" really are. No matter what their individual theories were, however, they all had one thing in common. "We, all of us, to varying degrees, believed that when you saw the person you were copied from, you'd get some insight into who you were deep down, and maybe too, you'd see something of what your life held in store" (Ishiguro, 140). These students have been left only to guess really of what their futures hold in store from them. They very minimally know where they came from. I believe that the students, even if they keep it to themselves, feel as though they need to see who they were copied from, or else, they won't feel as if they know where they belong in the world.

I have a few ideas as to what these "possibles" and "copies" mean. I think these copies could be one of two things. I believe that they were genetically manipulated cells that were grown in a lab somewhere so that they are backup bodies of those who's DNA they were copied. It, also, could be that they were physically born from mothers, but then immediately turned over to science so that they were still backup bodies for who they will donate their organs to. I think their copies were born with diseases or illnesses that they will down the road need a transplant. These students then were made for the sole purpose of spare parts. If their possible needs the heart or brain transplant, then he will be made to die for the purpose of their possible living. I find it unfair then for these students from Hailsham. It seems as though they don't really understand what is going on. If my hypothesis is correct, these students will never have the same fate as their possibles.


I found this very disturbing.

Ruth, Ruth, Ruth

Kazuo Ishiguro does not paint Ruth in a very good light in this part of Never Let Me Go. Ruth comes out more and more as an attention seeker. We got this impression of her when she made up the whole story about the pencil case. As soon as the students in Kathy's grade all move on to the Cottages, Ruth stays this same way.

Ruth starts to do whatever all the Veterans are doing, especially when it comes down to interacting with Tommy. Another thing Ruth started to do what pretend as if she knew everything about every book. Everyone of the Hailsham students were trying to fit in and the only way they thought to do this was by reading books. I'm not sure if this had any real significance but they sure thought it did. Ruth also was trying to fit in, but she always takes everything like this to the next level. It seems as if she doesn't know when to stop. By her trying too hard to fit in, she is really drawing more attention to herself. Ruth comes across as a follower of whoever she feels she will benefit from the most. She wants to be the center of attention and just wants to feel important. I agree with Kathy's description of Ruth when she says that "there were two quite separate Ruths. There was one that was always trying to impress the veterans, who wouldn't hesitate to ignore me, Tommy, any of the others, is she thought we's cramp her style.." (Ishiguro, 129).

Since Kathy is the narrator as tells memories and stories with an older perspective, we can see her views change from where she was in the story and how she is now telling the story. We see that she views the way Ruth was differently as she got older. "I never appreciated in those days the sheer effort Ruth was making to move on, to grow up and leave Hailsham behind" (Ishiguro, 130). She even expresses that Ruth was acting this way to represent the her friends and the Hailsham students as a whole. What really stood out to me was when Kathy said, "we were all of us struggling to adjust to our new life" (Ishiguro, 131). They were all trying to fit in, and this was the only way Ruth knew how to do it.

Couples and Sex

Sex seems to become a huge part in this section of the Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is mentioned and described for a few chapters. Because the students at Hailsham, and all of the others like them, cannot have children, having sex has lost alot of the emotions that "normal people" feel. The "normal people," for the most part, have sex as a way to show each other their love and to procreate to bring their love into something tangible in the world. Miss Emily explains to them that they need to realize this difference between them and normal people. She expresses that they needed to "behave like them. (They) had to respect the rules and treat sex as something pretty special" (Ishiguro, 84).

The way this new fad went around Hailsham reminded me of how it is through most high schools. It seems as if everyone has done it, and if you haven't you are the odd one out. Kathy expresses that "sex had got like 'being creative'" (Ishiguro, 98), which meant that if you weren't familiar with it, then you were left out.

I feel as if Kathy's idea of it was opposite of how people today or in the "normal" society thought of it. "I needed to get familiar with sex, and it would be just as well to practice with a boy I didn't care much about too much. Then later on, if I was with someone special, I'd have more chance of doing everything right" (Ishiguro, 98). I can see what Kathy means when she expresses this view. It probably is hard for me to understand fully, though, because I am "normal." I see the biggest difference in that you would want your first time to be with someone you really care about and not who you don't care much about.

I still don't know why Kathy keeps having one night stands. Hopefully that much is explained later on in the novel. I feel as if that represents a deep problem within Kathy's character. I can just only wonder as to what other stories she with tell us about her teen self at the Cottages.

Miss Lucy

Kazuo Ishiguro does a great job of building the suspense behind the character of Miss Lucy in Never Let Me Go. As I read, the speaker leaves a series of cliffhangers at the end of chapters and at the end of story-breaks right before the little symbol. The speaker likes to tell many stories within stories over and over again. What I noticed is that many of these memories have to do with Miss Lucy. She seems as if she is a major character and has a major influence on many aspects of the plot.

Miss Lucy is a character that seems to be uneasy about the way things are run at Hailsham. The way she speaks to her classes, she gives the impression that she feels as if the students are treated unfairly in terms of being fully aware of their futures. It seems very convenient that right after Miss Lucy is extremely blunt to a whole crowd of students at the pavilion that rainy day about their futures, she is no longer a guardian there. My guess is that Miss Emily was not so keen on the idea of the students thinking too deeply about what is awaiting them in the future. There are many secrets that the students are too embarrassed to further pursue; however, the students are told everything. The problem is when they are told. When Miss Lucy tells the crows that they have been "told but not told" (Ishiguro, 81), she proves Tommy's idea that, "the guardians had, throughout all our years at Hailsham, timed very carefully and deliberately everything they told us, so that we were always just too young to understand properly the latest piece of information" (Ishiguro, 82). Miss Lucy then went on to tell them all information that they had already known; however, hearing it now, it was bound to sink in since they were older.

Another thing about Miss Lucy that puzzles me still is her relationship with Tommy. Towards the beginning of the novel, she helps Tommy through some of his struggles by telling him not to worry about not being creative and that maybe he is just a late bloomer. Because she was so genuinely passionate about this response to pull Tommy aside and reassure him about his creativity, that's why I was so confused when she took it all back. She explains that being creative is a big part of the next steps in their futures and that being physically fit isn't enough.

Acquainted with the Night

Robert Frost's Acquainted with the Night was another deeply depressing poem. Frost presents an extended metaphor over the entire poem. He parallel's the speaker's misery and loneliness with the night time. There is obviously a strong resemblance there with that emotion. "I have looked down the saddest city lane" (Frost, 976). The speaker has hit rock bottom in terms of depression. "dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain" (Frost, 976). The speaker has done something that he is ashamed of that quite possibly could have led to his solitude. Although he is unable to interact with others, the poem offers a sense that the speaker wanted to escape this terrible lonely life he was in. He felt almost jealous that no one called out to him.The poem has a lot of repetition. Many of the lines start with "I have." The poem even ends with the same line as it began with. This fact expresses a sort of cyclical pattern in the speaker's life. The speaker seems to have forced himself into a lonely, miserable cycle that he can't get out of. The poem is written without any symbols of hope or redemption.

Dover Beach

Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach is another poem in which the speaker is deep in thought. As the speaker and his love are standing and adoring the English Channel, the speaker begins to come to a realization. He determines that although the water (and all of the world) may look beautiful and calm, it is actually sad and miserable. He ponders even deeper by expressing that there is this same emotion all over the world to all humanity. The speaker himself has lost all faith in humanity. He exemplifies this when he proclaims that there is a dwindling amount of faith in the world itself! "the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain" (Arnold, 893). The speaker's list of the miseries of life goes on and on. It's length and detail show his position on the quality of the world. He even acknowledges that he has lost faith. To compensate for not having any faith, he exclaims to his love that they must stick together forever. Without this woman, I feel he would become a deeply disturbed man. The terms he uses to describe the world and humanity are pessimistic and depressing enough. Without the speaker's only joy in life, I believe he would crumble without faith.

Sorting Laundry

I feel like so many people can relate to Elisavietta Ritchie's poem Sorting Laundry. I know I, as well as so many others, over-think certain aspects of our lives. The structure and content of this poem show that the speaker does this as well. She starts off talking about sheets and pillow cases then gradually gets more specific. She ends up talking about the smallest details of what she finds in the pockets of the laundry she is folding. One can tell that she is in deep thought as she does this. The consistent structure of the poem also symbolizes the consistency of what she is doing. She folds laundry over and over again, day after day. This time of the day when she folds laundry doesn't do her much good, however. She begins to over-think parts of her life. Specifically, she starts doubting the strength of her relationship. One can infer that the speaker is in deep thought when it says, "you brought from Kuwait, the strangely tailored shirt left by a former lover..." (Ritchie, 842). This ellipsis causes a natural pause in the poem. This pause stands for when the speaker is deep in thought and lost in her own worries in her mind. In the whole poem, the speaker seems to be in a very strong relationship with her current lover. Whatever she began to doubt in it can only cause harm. Sometimes, over-thinking can lead to destruction.

The Convergence of the Twain

Thomas Hardy's poem The Convergence of the Twain was structurally written in a unique way. The eleven different stanzas coordinated well with the formation of the ship and with its lead up to the destruction of it. There was one section of this poem that really stood out to me. "Alien they seemed to be: No mortal eye could see/The intimate welding of their later history" (Hardy, 779). The quote has a lot of deep meaning to me. This quote stresses that the ice berg that sunk the ship and the great Titanic were growing at the same time. That is just so awesome to think about. Everything has a reason. I believe that it was fate that the two collided. This poem exemplifies this because the speaker says expresses that although the two objects seemed to be completely unrelated, they would one day be joined together forever.

The concept of fate in this poem is significant. Hardy was writing this to prove a point. I believe this point to be that there was an ultimate and greater reason for the Titanic to sink. Hardy wanted to show that the Titanic sunk to discourage the mindset of those that the ship was built for. Beauty and wealth isn't so important when you look at the big picture. All of the parts of the ship that were made for only the very well off are pretty insignificant rotting away at the bottom of the ocean.

My Mistress' Eyes

My Mistress' Eyes by William Shakespeare really showed how the imperfections of a couple make a true relationship. Also, it shows how a man looks to his woman. Throughout pretty much the entire poem, the first twelve lines, the speaker is addressing how his girl is not perfect. The tone almost comes across as insulting to her. "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" , "I have seen roses (of different colors), red and white, but no such roses see I in her cheeks" , "And in some perfumes is there more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reeks" (Shakespeare, 885). I do not see how those would be compliments to any woman. I know I would be extremely offended.

"And yet," (Shakespeare, 885),  there is a shift in the poem, right at the very end. The last two lines reveal the speakers reason for basically putting down his mistress. He says that despite the many faults and imperfects, he still could not compare her to anyone else. He is completely drawn to her alone. This last line is a bit ironic. He expresses that he can't compare her to anyone, and yet, he had been comparing her to anything and everything the entire first twelve lines of the poem.

Barbie Doll

Marge Piercy's poem Barbie Doll was extremely depressing. It portrayed how our society kills children physically and emotionally. Although we hear everyday that another person, (child, teen, anyone), dies of an eating disorder or some other emotional disease of the mind. Have we ever wondered what is the problem? Could it be our societies portrayal of how we ought look, act, and sound? Piercy portrays this view in a very direct and blunt way.

The poem shows how the society this young girl lived in expected her to live as a doll. She was supposed to give up her human qualities. From a young age, she was looked down upon for having a healthy human appetite and a natural human figure. By constantly being reminded of her "big nose and fat legs" and her "fat nose and thick legs" (Piercy, 835) this young girl began to develop extremely bad and dangerous habits. The town was essentially controlling her life just as a doll is controlled by everyone else. They didn't stop until they turned her exactly into a doll. With this new transformation came the lack of life that made her most resemble a Barbie Doll. By "cutting off her nose and her legs" (Piercy, 836), she killed herself trying to fit in. "Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said" (Piercy, 836). That is just down right cruel. The girl finally looked the part that everyone was expecting her to play. Too bad that this new woman couldn't even be there to hear the praises of those she desperately wanted to hear.

A Jury of Her Peers

All throughout Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers there was a discrete difference between the men and the woman shown by their actions and their attitudes. Then men made it obvious that they felt superior and mroe intelligent to the women. They make it sound like the women are only as good as their homes are clean."Dirty towles! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?" (Glaspell, 412). All of the men had this condescending tone in their voice; the county attorney had the most. This man was especially facetious in his last line in the short story, "Well Henry, at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it." (Glaspell, 426). These men could not take seriously the fact that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters had found anything in the kitchen, let alone the exact motive Minnie Wright had for killing her husband.

This is where we saw the biggest difference in the characters. While the men went upstairs and outside to the barn to look for solid evidence and motives as to why Minnie killed her husband, the women were rummaging through the kitchen just trying to understand her. They were more concerned with how she had been treated over the twenty five years and why after all that time she felt the need to kill her husband. Because all women at that time were treated with inferiority, they could understand why Minnie came off the way she did. Then when they found the dead canary that had obviously been strangled by John Wright, they understood why Minnie snapped. Minnie had been isolated from everything. She had been locked up in that house forced to fulfill the duties of an expected housewife. Her husband had killed her passion of singing and had not given her any children; therefore, when he killed her only love, that bird, she went off in a rage. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters could understand where she had been coming from and continually lied to their husbands about what they had been doing. Mrs. Hale even went to the extent of hiding any evidence of Minnie's true motive. They stuck up for their kind, their female gender. If they did not, who would?

Hunters in the Snow

In Tobias Wolff's Hunters in the Snow it was hard to pick one character who fully deserved sympathy. Each character had many flaws, yet each seemed to have elements of sympathy or pity. Personally, I felt the most pity for Tub. He seemed to get the short end of the stick throughout the story until right towards the end. He seemed to be left out, the butt of Frank and Kenny's jokes, and the one they left behind. "Tub was having trouble getting through the fences. Frank and Kenny could have helped him; they could have lifted up on the top wire and stepped on the bottom wire, but they didn't" (Wolff,189). On top of not helping Tub through the forest when they could recognize that he was struggling, they made fun of his weight and his endeavor to lose weight. However, my view of him shifted when he shot Kenny and they left him in the truck.

I also felt bits of sympathy for Frank. It is common to feel for the man that is going through a divorce. But then again, I felt the least amount of pity for this man because of what he professed to Tub. "this so-called babaysitter, this so-called fifteen year old has more in her little finger than most of us have in our entire bodies" (Wolff, 198). I do not have any sympathy for any man who leaves his wife for his children's baby sitter who is a minor of only fifteen years old.

I felt no sympathy for Kenny throughout the entire first three quarters of the short story. He seemed to be a jerk to Tub all the time and seemed to have the least amount of patience with him. Then, when he shot the dog, I lost all sympathy if I had any at all. By the end though, I realized that he had been treated very poorly by Tub and Frank. He had been accidentally shot but shot none the less. He was wounded and needed a hospital, yet the two other men didn't seem in any hurry to take him to get help. Not only that, but he was stuck laying in the bed of a truck during blizzard like conditions.

Othello

Shakespeare's character,Othello, in his play Othello the Moor of Venice goes through an incredibly large transformation thought the course of this play. His cool, calm, and collected demeanor at the beginning shatters by the end. Othello's tragic flaw becomes his jealousy. One could even argue that his excessive love towards Desdemona's was his hubris. Because he loved her so much, he became insanely outraged to the point of seizures when he found that she had been cheating in him. This jealousy rose within him to the point where he couldn't allow that calm Othello back inside him ever again. The calm Othello would have asked Desdemona's from the beginning what was happening and would have believed her when she denied it. Iago's manipulation of Othello exemplifies the holding effects passion and love have on people. Othello couldn't believe that the woman he had fallen so madly in love with had betrayed him. This love is what.  Ironically, forces him to kill his lovely wife. "I will not kill thy unprepared spirit. No, heaven forfend. I would not kill thy soul" (Shakespeare, 1450,V.ii.31-32). He still cares enough about Desdemona's that eh doesn't want to harm her soul.

Desdemona

As Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice progresses we see Desdemona remain a flat character. As a reader, I feel much sympathy for her. She has no idea of what is being said behind her back.one could tell that she can pick up clues that Othello is a bit perturbed by whatever she did by the different way he acts toward her. It would be devastating having a husband who was so loving who then all of a sudden treats one as a servant and wants one dead. Othello doesn't even try to get her side of the story to see that she would never do such a thing until after he allowed Iago to get inside his head. Shakespeare portrays Desdemona as completely sweet, honest, and a bit naive. She does what Othello asks because she has unconditional love towards him. I thought it was ironic how even on her death bed, she blames herself for her death because it must be the truth if Othello thought it. "Commend me to my kind lord" (Shakespeare, 1453, V.ii.124). Even here, she speaks  kind words of her beloved husband who just tried to strangle her.

We see Desdemona's true character as we hear Emilia and her discussing what kind of wives they should be. She becomes so flabbergasted that "there are women who do abuse their husbands in such gross kind (cheat on them)" (Shakespeare, 1444,IV.iii.60-61). The fact that's he gets so upset that there are women like that, she shows that she is not a strumpet as Iago portrays.

Minor Characters in Acts IV and V

As Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice progresses, we see minor characters becoming more important. For example, we see Bianca becoming a more prominent character through her random small actions. Bianca plays a huge part when she goes to see Cassio about the handkerchief. By her showing up, she plays along well with Iago's plan. The handkerchief becomes the ocular proof that Othello wanted. Also by Bianca saying, "a likely piece of work that you should find in your chamber and not not know who left it there! this is a minx's token, and I must take out the work? There, give it to your hobbyhorse" (Shakespeare, 1431, IV,ii.143-146), Othello, in the background, thought she meant Desdemona for sure. Because of the way Iago has portrayed him, Cassio seems like the man has a lot of women. Othello, then, was not surprised by one of his mistresses showing up.

Roderigo also takes on a much larger role in these acts. He is the first character to stand up to and doubt Iago. He starts to see how sly and villainous Iago truly is. It's been evident to us as the readers that Iago treats him as lowly and subservient. Iago speaks in prose when conversing with him because he doesn't feel he has to speak as sophisticated as iambic pentameter. He makes Roderigo do all the dirty work and took all his money! Roderigo goes ahead and tries to kill Cassio as Iago asks of him, but then later on reveals to the rest of the characters the true man Iago is. Roderigomcouldnbe considered dynamic as well.

Act V: Emilia

As Act V of Shakespear's Othello the Moor of Venice progresses toward the end of the plot, we see some exceptional shifts in some of the characters' demeanors. The biggest character change that I saw was in Emilia. From the beginning of the play, Emilia's character is seen as subordinate to the others. Iago was a terrible husband to her which was evident from his mysogyny. He disrespected all women let alone his own wife. He treated her as his property, and she was to do what he told her to. She was even considered a sort of maid or servant of Desdemona; although, Desdemona thought of Emilia as more as a friend than as a subservient. Throughout all of this, Emilia's character is portrayed as a quiet woman who does what is expected of her without fault. However, by the end of Act V, Emilia changes drastically.

First, Emilia comes back to check on Othello and Desdemona even though Othello clearly told her to leave and stay away for the night. Then, after Othello has harmed Desdemona to the point of death, Emilia realizes that all of this was Iago's doing. She realizes that by her giving that hankerchief to Iago, Desdemona's death was finally sentenced. From then on, she shifts her focus toward her husband. She throws Iago under the bus and expresses the true man he is. "You told a lie, an odius, damned lie, upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie!" (Shakespeare, 1455, V.ii.179-180). Then after Iago demands her to stop talking, (just as he had in the very first few scenes), instead of backing down, she says, "I will not charm my tongue, I am bound to speak. My mistress here lies murdered in her bed!" (Shakespeare, 1455,V.ii.183-184). She then goes on to tell of how exactly Iago was the one to blaim for the entire manipulation of the events. She trully came alive by the end of the play.

Act III- 2

Act Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice progresses, we can see how big of an effect Iago has on Othello. He was able to easily plant the seed of doubt in Othello's mind that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Iago does this gradually by interjecting hints of his disapproval of their friendship. Iago tries to make more out of the situation when Desdemona and Cassio were talking by saying, "Ha! I like not that" (Shakespeare, 1405, Act III.iii.35). He also tries to make it sound like the entire time Othello and Desdemona have been together and from the time they began courting, Cassio and Desdemona were having secret relations. "Did Michael Cassio, when you wooed my lady, Know of your love?... I did not think he had been aquainted with her" (Shakespeare, 1407, Act III.iii.95-100). Iago tries to play off his sly tricks by saying that they were just paranoid thoughts. He proclaims that his thoughts could be and probably are wrong.

I found it extremely surprising that Othello fully believed Iago. He let this worry fill his mind and cause him to believe the worst in Desdemona. How could he have changed his mind so quickly when he was jsut so infatuated with her? Maybe it was just as easy to fall out of love with her as it was to fall in love with her.

Act III- 1

Some of the characters in Shakespeare's play Othello the Moor of Venice seem rather unimportant. My favorite of these, for example is the clown. This "clown" as it says at the very beginning in the information is Othello's servant. This character brings a bit of humor into the play. In act III, he only appears in scenes 1 and 4. When he does, he seems to aggrivate those around him by his use of humor in serious situations. " 'Dost thou hear, my honest friend?' 'No, I hear not your honest friend, I hear you.' " (Shakespeare, 1403, Act III. i. 19-20). This quote shows that the clown thinks he is hilarious but Cassio does not find it at all appealing. Cassio even gives the clown money to go do his job. The clown also appears in scene 4. After Desdemona asks where Cassio lies (as in where does he sleep), the clown says, " I dare not say he lies anywhere...He's a soldier, and for one to say a soldier lies is stabbing" (Shakespeare, 1419, Act III.iv.1-4).  Here, the clown is just trying to mess around with Desdemona. His dialogoue, though, does not seem to serve any purpose.

Another character that comes into play in Act III is Bianca. She is the mistriss of Cassio. Since she hasn't been involved in the plot of the play yet, it seems as if she isn't all that important. However, after a small event that involved Bianca, I believe she will be caught up in the middle of a terrible situation. "Sweet Bianca (Giving her Desdemona's hankerchief)" (Shakespeare, 1425, Act III.iv.173-174). By giving her this hankerchief which caused much fuss between Othello and Desdemona, Bianca was put right in the middle of a dramatic situation.

Act II

One part of Act II in Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of Venice that really stood out to me was what Cassio says when he becomes drunk. "Aye, but, by your leave, not before me. The Lieutenant is to be saved before the Ancient" (Shakespeare, 1394, II.ii.93-95). To me, this quote showed that Cassio was a little arrogant. This was the only spot in these acts that has shown this side of him. It confuses me. Is this pride he exemplifies a normal trait that is just shown through his drunkenness? Or is it just a trait tht comes out when he is drunk and is not a part of him normally? From Cassio beig perceived as such a noble man, it's shocking to me that he could be serious about his thoughts o rankings among God. It does not seem that he feels superior to Iago for the rest of the play.

Also in this act, Iago shows his attitudes toward his wife and all women. He claims that all women ought to just "suckle fools and chronicle small beer" (Shakespeare, 1387, II.i.159). This means that he thinks all women need to just cook, clean, and make babies. He also shows that he is superior to his wife buy telling her that she speaks way too much. In reality, she has no say in anything in her life with Iago as her husband. I even got the hint that he wasn't so attracted to his wife anymore.

Act I

In the first act of Shakespear's play Othello the Moor of Venice, Iago is portrayed as a very complex character. He isn't necessarily complex in his character traits and in the literary term definition of the word, but has a very strategic plan working within his mind. What I think shows serious situational irony is Iagos whole entire vengeance on Othello. Iago expresses, "I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets he's done my office. I know not if it be tre, but I for mere suspicion in that kind will do as if for surety" (Shakespeare, 1382, I.iii.366-370). If this was Iago's only reason for revenge, I found it rather impractical and harsh. However, Iago does these evils out of hatred towards Morroccans, as well. Still, hating someone's race does not give them the right to destroy their livelihood.

Also, I find humor in the fact that Iago keeps beig referred to as "honest'." He is by far the least honest character in this entire play. It is even argued that he is the most dishonest villain! I have to say that so far, I do not see Iago passing Voldemort in the race for best villain.

I do enjoy this play so far. I like the fact that there are many characters. I enjoy story lines that one could tell have been thoroughly thought out. These kinds of plays challenge the reader to really think to try to understand the complex mastermind of Iago.

The Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour was extremely ironic to me. The entire story was full of irony. At the very beginning, there was situational irony. After hearing the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard fled to her room to be alone. One would think this was due to the grief of such a sudden, unexpected tragedy. However, she was full of emotions of confusion and GUILT! "...a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: 'Free, free, free!' " (Chopin, 1). This was so ironic to me! Her husband just died. Why was she expressing such joy at now not having a husband!?  She thought about how she could live single and enjoy life. She expressed how she lived her husband only "sometimes." I don't understand how a woman who just lost her husband could have these cruel thoughts pass through her mind.

Then, the irony really took over. Mr. Mallard comes home! After they that grief, confusion, and newly found emotions, her husband turned out to be alive! The shock of this discovery caused the heart attack of Mrs.Mallard. This discovery of the life of Mr.Mallard caused the death of Mrs.Mallard,

You're Ugly, Too

The way Lorrie Moore wrote her short story, You're Ugly, Too, was really interesting to me. There were interruptions on pretty much every page. These intrusions were italicized. They sounded like they were by the speaker of the short story. These intrusions into the story also made me believe that the speaker of the story was a student or a former student of Zoe Hendricks. "Professor Hendricks seems to know..." (Moore, 353). This quote shows that the speaker refers to Zoe as Professor.

There was also an allusion to the well known character Heidi. "You were supposed to be Heidi. You were supposed to lug goat milk up the hills and not think twice. Heidi did not complain" (Moore, 354). The people in New Geneva had a very different mindset than did those from Maryland. In New Geneva, one was supposed to always have a positive attitude toward things. Any but would seem horrible and rude. This is why many were intrigued with how Zoe acted. She didn't try to conform to the town and their crazy attitudes.

The Apparition

In line 15 of John Donne's poem The Apparition, the speaker proclaims that his love for the woman "is spent." The tone of the poem as a whole agrees with this. After reading this poem, it struck me as a man arguing with his wife or soon to be exwife. This man claims that when he dies, he is going to haunt this woman until she lives more of a ghostly life than he. The quote, "And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected, thou, bathed in cold quicksilver sweat, wilt lie, a verier ghost then I " (Donne, 889), shows this. The speaker does not say why he expresses such harsh terms throughout the poem. I believe that the author of this poem used the word "vestal" for a reason. That terms screams mistreatment towards sexual behaviors to me. However, in it's context, I feel that instead of this woman being threatened due to losing her virginity, I feel this woman may have cheated on the speaker during their marriage. This coule be the reason why this man feels no love towards this woman for his love was built on trust which was forever broken.

Popular Mechanics

There was much irony in the plot of Popular Mechanics by Carver. The parents were very much neglectful with their young child. While fighting for custody and possession of their baby, the parents physically harm their child to the point of death. The parents began to handle their son as an object, not as a fragile infant. They were so worried about who got to keep him, that they forgot to worry about the welfare of their son.

There was also much symbolism in this short story. From the very first paragraph, one should have noticed that the story was going to be gloomy and depressing. "...where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too" (Carver, 1). The flowerpot had significant symbolism as well. The flowerless flowerpot represented a baby-less home. It was a little bit of foreshadowing, too, in a very symbolic way. Also, carver used the terms, "slipping out of their hands" and "going from her." These terms seem to show that the baby would eventually slip completely away from them and completely away from life.

Eveline

Eveline Hill in James Joyce's Eveline had an internal conflict. She was torn between whether to follow her own dream of moving away or staying home. If she moved away with her love, Frank, they could get married. They could start their life together. However, she was not fully sold on this idea. She felt she needed to stay loyal to her family. Before her mother died, she promised to keep the family together and keep the house upheld. I think that their father was a drunk. More specifically I think he was a mean drunk who was verbally and physically abusive. It was awfully sad to me to see that Eveline was trying to convince herself that her father was nice enough to stay with. " He would miss her. Sometimes he could be very nice. Not long before, when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a long ghost story and made toast for her at the fire" (Joyce, 220). She goes on to name another. She could only think of two instances when her father was nice to her and to her brothers. Yet, Eveline says, "It was hard work- a hard life- but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly undesirable life" (Joyce, 220). I think Eveline was afraid of venturing out into a new life. I think she was a character who liked to remain in the same pattern and lifestyle.

How I Met My Husband

Alice Munro's  How I Met My Husband had multiple central themes. The biggest theme that I picked up from this short story was that love is blind. The narrator of this story is Edie. She is also the protagonist in this short story for she drives the action. Only being a young girl of the age of fifteen, Edie is till naive and vulnerable to the whole love scene. You can tell from the reading that she is curious and interested in falling in love and in experiencing the interactions that go along with being in a relationship. Edie's naivety was showed through her lack of full comprehension of what "intimate" meant in one of the final scenes. She also showed that she was a young innocent child still by waiting day after day for Chris to send her that letter. "It never crossed my mind for a long time that a letter might not come. I believed in it coming just like I believed the sun would rise in the morning" (Munro, 145). Edie had tossed out all possibilites that what she and Chris had wasn't actually love. She centered her whole excitement and joy solely on receiving a letter from a man who was never coming back for her.

I do not believe that Chris was a bad guy. Do I agree with all his decisions? No. But I do not believe that Chris was a character who liked to prey on little fifteen year girls. Some might argue that knew she was a young, naive girl. However, I don't think Chris had any idea how old she was. I think he just believed she was shy but was infatuated with him. I think he took advantage of the fact that she liked him and used it to make her fall even harder for him. I believe Chris could not stay in one place for too long. He was one who liked to travel alot and move around the country. Leaving his fiance was inevitable and it had nothing to do with him kissing Edie. I do not think he should have made out with her or promised her letters and a way to find him. However, if he had not promised letters, Edie would not have waited every day, day after day at the mailbox. In turn, she would not have met her husband.

Lonely Hearts

In Wendy Cope's Lonely Hearts, the poem is written in the structure of a newspaper or magazine article seeking someone for the speaker to date. I believe the speaker is lonely and in need of some change in her life. However, she doesn't want too much change. The ad she placed did not merely just state, "I am looking for anyone." The speaker has qualifications that the man must meet. The main line Cope repeats frequently throughout the poem, "Do you live in North London?" (Cope, 973), must be very important to the poem. I believe this is the biggest priority of the speaker.

I cannot tell if each tercet is a different ad that the speaker placed or if the entire poem was to be published at the same time all together. If each was printed seperately, then I believe it is the same speaker for each, still awaiting for her love. And each tercet gives even more specific details that would make the two similar to each other. I believe the speaking woman is in need of granting of her wish to make a change in her life. This change can only be met with the involvement of a new gentleman in her life. Yet, the man would still have to be like her with similar interests.

Delight in Disorder

Robert Herrick used an oxymoron as the central idea of his poem Delight in Disorder. This oxymoron is found right in the first sentence of the poem. "sweet disorder" (Herrick, 979). The words "sweet" and "disorder" seem like they wouldn't go together at all. However, the speaker of this poem is placing these words together to say that he likes disorder. Along with this, the speaker makes references to articles of clothing several times throughout the poem. I interpretted this poem to mean that the speaker prefers his women to be natural and to just be themselves. The speaker does not think that the extra clothes and extra efforts on appearance matter in terms of his love. He thinks they are just pointless. I inferred this from his phrases "ribbons to throw confusedly" (Herrick, 979) and "in the tempestuous petticoat" (Herrick, 979). He also compares a linen scarf to a distraction.