Why Read Shakespeare Discussion

 1.

The writer states that the first time around, Shakespeare is hard work and not particularly rewarding.  This makes it hard for students because their first impression of Shakespeare lacks something that gives them any drive to continue in reading.
2.

When you finally get shakespeare, you actually get an understanding of the yourself and the world around you.   Shakespeare helps you understand who you are and the world around you through his literature.  As one reads, he experiences things that he might not get to experience, and tests out the world without actually dealing with consequences.  He helps you realize the typical misconceptions about reality, like the dents in the mirror that Shakespeare provides.  As you read, you develop personal stances that develop you personality as a whole.  You also develop a better understanding of the world by interpreting his deep passages that truly say a lot about the world.
3.

Each of the five arguments are as follows:       Helps when developing interests:   Particularly in Shakespeare, the first time one reads it he is not going to get much out of it, for he doesn't "get" it in the first place.  But, each time one re-reads it he will reveal something new.  Mack states that you should read shakespeare because each time you read it you discover something new which will further your admiration for this dense literature.  This ability works for all art, and teaches to practice changing perspective, and to develop interests in something you didn't see before.   To gain experience:  Mac says you should read shakespeare because it gives you a chance to experience the world without leaving your chair.  You get to discover, learn, and grow from things without having to bear the consequences.  Through this experience, you learn things about life and morality which give you an enhanced perspective on the world.   To learn about yourself:  Through the vast exploration that Shakespeare provides, you also learn about yourself.  By comparing the feelings of other characters you can relate and discover your own opinions about the world.  Also, many topics of your own thought derive from shakespeare, so learning about shakespeare is just an extension of learning about yourself.     To heighten your skills:  When it comes down to it, in a profession, everyone is equally practiced in the topic of their own work, but what separates on who gets the high and low paying jobs is their knowledge in other fields of work.  Shakespeare allows one to heighten their abilities in a cast amount of areas which allow you to be more efficient when working in just one field, for you can implicate your other skills to help you.  Enables you to feel for others: Shakespeare will allow you to be able to feel how others do, and with your own individual intelligence integrated with this emotional intelligence, you are truly wise.     Each of these reasons allow one to put their value in the right place, which ultimately allows one to enjoy life to the fullest.
4.  I find none of these arguments convincing, until I incorporate that each of these arguments can be applied many different things, and what he says is just a metaphor for something bigger.  Since his question is so specific, yet his answers apply to the value you get from well written, difficult literature, I personally want to state that I feel that not only shakespeare does this, but many authors present these reasons to read their books.  Since Mac's answer diverts itself from specifically answering the question (that so many others gave inadequate answers to), I completely reject it.  I read the text to find out the benefits of reading shakespeare alone, not just good literature.  Although what he says it very wise, his question does not suit his answer and disagree with each equally.

Woolf, a Passionate Writer

Reading through each of Woolf's entries, it was clear that she had a nagging desire to improve her writing.  She demonstrated how helpful it is to keep a diary because one is able to look back on his work and notice flaws.  She was extremely critical with her writing, proving that she was learning so much because she could return upon her past work and give so much critisism.  For a writer to individually improve without the help of others shows Woolf's capability. She would often talk about her previous writing, which is partly because she wanted a casual topic to write about and because she could justify her reputation by saying that her abilities are better then they appear.  What I find most interesting is that her pure love of writing and use of a diary allowed for her entries to be placed in an article.  She has ultimately proved her skill, because her writing has lived longer than she has.

what to do with free time

I really enjoyed this article because it was well written yet casual.  I also enjoyed noting that I follow each of these rules when I read (when I am not too lazy).  Although, what I found most intriguing was towards the end.

 Dodgson wrote that games do not give you a future benifit, where as exercising your knowledge and mental health does.  I disagree, because playing games are a form of exercising mental health.  One can learn a lot from a game if it requires skill.  If that skill is helpful in your future field, even better.  Not that reading does not help you hone your skill, because it surley does, but it is just different than playing games. Games test your abilities, which give you a chance to learn from your mistakes.  Reading expands your abilities, giving you knowledge but not practice.  Both are different, and one is not better than the other.  Where the most benifit lies is where you spend your recreation.   For example: If one wants to be a lawyer, he can read law novels and play trial simulators.  Here, both forms of recreation are benificial.  If he reads comedy, and plays video games then both forms are not very benificial.  The wisest benefit from recreation the most, so as long as they are having fun.

The Innocence of Immoral Actions

A very aggravating and disturbing part of Antigone was the sexist and disturbing remarks made by the men of Thebes, specifically Creon.   "Are the men of Thebes personally to blame for their misogynistic actions,  or has the environment they live in warped their minds and opinions?"  Like slavery, the environment plays a large role in their opinions and is a determining factor of how they treat the others around them.  But, this gives them no pardon.  The mysogynists of Thebes are each responsible for their own actions, and should be able to form their own opinions.  Morality should not have to come with so much effort.  Look at slavery, it took America so long to determine what was morally wrong about slavery.  This begs the question," Is there anything the people of today are doing morally wrong, that they don't even know about?".  Well, it is hard to say how our views as a country will change in the future, but certainly our countrys views are different then others. In places like Uganda, it is illegal to be a homosexual and the ultimate penalty is given to any people that are,... death.  It is surprising how differently the world views things, and really demonstrates how our opinions make us who we are, and who others think they are.  Take away the influencing environment and then see who somebody is and what their beliefs are,...would they be free of blame?

Was Antigone cruel to her sister?

Even though Antigone was presumably cruel to her sister, she was actually looking out for her best interest.  It is not possible for a sister to go to such means to bury her brother yet be genuinely cruel to her own, very alive, sister.  There are several times in the play when Antigone says very questionable things to her sister.  For example, Antigone first denies that her sister had anything to do with the crime.  She does this in a way that appears that all Antigone wants is to be the center of attention.  Also, later in the play Antigone states that she is the last member of her house, when Ismene is clearly still alive and well.  As the readers understanding of the play develops, he understands that Antigone is must be purposely trying to make Creon forget about her sister by completely excluding her from the situation.  Also, Antigone's clever personality contributes to the readers understanding of Antigone and her motives.  In conclusion, Antigone cared more about the safety of her siblings than the fame of her death, therefore the only explanation of her cruelty towards Ismene is that she was trying to stealth her from the prosecuting eyes of Creon.

Is an individual ever justified in breaking the law? Why or why not?

Yes, an individual can be justified in breaking the law.  First one must remember why laws are in place; laws are ultimately present in order maintain the safety of society.  The law sometimes cannot ensure someone's safety, and sometimes the law can inhibit one's safety.  Therefore breaking the law is typically justifiable when one's safety is in question.   For example, it is justifiable if one's daughter needs emergency care and he goes over the speed limit so he can get to a hospital faster.  Breaking the law is sometimes necessary; it all depends on the situation.  That is when the judgement of the citizens come into play, and why it is necessary to keep the initial intentions of the law at mind.

Gogol's Insecurity

One of the main intrests in Namesake for me was to see if Gogol will ever lose his insecurity.  He didn't like his name, he chose only non-bengali friends, and was constantly insecure in any social situation about his culture.  Living in an American world, Gogol grew up hating his difference in society.  Although he did not neccesarily become less insecure, it is easy to see why he would be so scarred.  It is a demenstration on how much one truley knows oneself if they doubt their own personality.  At the time the novel finished Gogol still had a loss of self knowledge.

Ashima's True Home

 As the saying goes, "Home is where the heart is", is an important way of grasping Ashima's change of what she considers home.  Initially her heart was in Bengali, all of her family lived down there and she had strict ties to her Bengali culture.  After some time, most of her close family members passed away and she had been starting to adopt many american cutures over in New England.  Once Ashoke died, she really lost her main connection to her past life in Bengali.  She felt home was in America because that is where her heart was.

Forced Love

The relationship between Ashima and Ashoke is overwhelmingly interesting considering that they are two people with no real connections living with each other in a foreign country.  Ashoke has the better end of this because he got to chose his woman and has been to America before, but Ashima is almost ripped from her day to day life with another man in another world.  Ashoke and Ashima portray that even though love isn't there initially, it can be found.  Their relationship has lasted through the beginning of their journey in America, and whether it lasts in the future is entirely up to their character.    

The Importance of Culture

When moving to a new country, it is especially difficult to maintain past culture in a society that is so different.  This struggle is noticed, but one might ask himself why.  Why would one want to maintain his cultures, customs, and beliefs? I almost sounds like a dumb question,  but this topic needs consideration considering wars have started because people have not wanted to change their culture.   It could be a mixture of reasons of why someone might maintain their culture like for comfort, routine, family, or purpose.  In many ways those are the reasons for why people protect their culture.   Though, on a deeper level of thinking, there is an interesting  view to why we hold culture so dear.  To be oneself is something that many people strive for; to realize that trying to fit in only allows one to disappear with the average.  To know oneself is to be able to form independent opinions and to have developed likes and dislikes.  Our culture is apart of us that we contently know, and is held as a framework to our individuality.  One's culture is his baseline, apart of him to fall back on when he sees a stranger in the mirror.  To stay true to a culture in a new country is especially impressive.  Some might wear their culture in a way that is described as a "this is who I am, even though all of you are different" look.   One's culture is vital to knowing himself and stands strong when he stands weak.

Why is Ashima so sad?

Being able to relate to Ashima is tough when trying to understand what she is going through.  Even if one has had to live in a different country each experience is completely different making the feelings Ashima is experiencing quite hard to comprehend.  Even Ashoke cannot understand why she feels so glum sometimes.  Although, what seems most evident in the book is that she misses her family dearly.  The culture shock from Bengali to America must be very acute considering that she is a female.  Ashoke, a male, would have gone work if he still lived in Bengali, which is not any different from what he does now. Ashima, a female, would typically be surrounded by her family working at home.  Not only in America is she away from her family, but the American lifestyle is not nearly as familial.  The elimination of her family and this loss of community is the prominent reason why she is so sad. One particular event that supports this is when Ashima could not stop thinking of her family and how she is missing the equivalent of christmas back home.  She is shopping thinking of everyone she cares of to get them gifts.  After she had put so much effort into her odd gifts for her family and endured a crowded train ride home, she realizes that she left all of her gifts on the train.  She breaks into tears before the public so sad that she wont be able to get gifts for her family she misses so.  When she then finds that no one had stolen her gifts and receives 100% of them back, she establishes her first connection with her city.  This connection was formed because someone saving her bags for her is something only her family would do in Bengali.  This first connection is the start of her settlement into her new world, a sense of community that has long been forgotten.

Names

Although it is so easy to judge someone based on his name, does it really define him?  I say no.  Our names may tell us where we are from, but our names have no such influence on our personalities.  A name doesn't define a person, a person defines his name. For example, lets imagine a hypothetical person named Mark.   When people say: you don't look like a Mark, or: the name Mark suits you, there is no ultimate definition of how all Marks should act or look like which they relate to.  In reality, these people are just relating Mark to other people they know also with the name Mark.  They are basing someone off the personalities of others with the same name, because those others didn't only define their name for themselves, but for other people as well.   Names are not some final ultimatum, that define who one is and who he will ever be.   Never forget that the way people remember one's name is how he defines it, and it is up to him to decide how he will do so.

Compare and Contrast Dede and Minerva. How are they alike? How are they different?

             Some might say that Dede and Minerva are at complete opposite ends of a spectrum considering their personalities, but they can also be considered alike as well.  Minerva and Dede are alike because they both stand up for what they most prominently believe in.

             Dede believes in the direct protection of her family and loved ones.  She does things that protect her family and avoid situations that might put herself and others in danger.  For example: Dede burned the letter that had potential of putting minerva in serious trouble.  Also she did not join with her sisters to rebel because she had  her protection in mind (considering any rebels in her town were killed).  It is also true that she did not join with her sisters largely to the fact that her husband, Jamito, was against Dede putting herself in danger.  Dede wanted to protect Jamito from hurting emotionally by not agreeing to rebel with her sisters.


             Minerva believes in the indirect protection of not only her family, but everyone on the island.  She stood up against Trujillo and rebeled with her sister for the betterment of society for the future.  She thought less of herself and the danger to her and thought more of the people and the things they deserved.  Her rebellions started an uprising against Trujillo, and she influenced the locals to fight back which eventually led to the assassination of Trujillo.

            Overall both girls have their differences, but in the deepest parts of each other's personalities, one word rings clear: Mirabal.

Why is fact over fiction important to the In the Time of the Butterflies and why did Avarez choose not to add more fiction to make the book more interesting?

   The overall truth of the novel gave the writing so much more value because when the reader puts him/herself in the shoes of the protagonist, they are experiencing a story that is actually real.  It is so much more valuable than adding more fiction to make it more interesting because it actually happened and it gives the reader such a deep connection with the characters because there is no doubt in fact.  If the author decided to make the story less based on how accurate it was, the reader would have less immersion into the novel because doubt still remains.  Expecially to the people of the Dominican Republic, the story would have contradictions to what they remember when Trujillo was is rein.  It is almost an insult to the people of the island because the book would by lying about what really happened there.   Avarez referenced it as a web.  Her web would trap her readers in her immediate accuracy in the novel so there is complete immersion into the novel.  It is also personally gratifying to the reader to know that this thrilling novel actually has truth behind it, and that it is not only an interesting story, it's history (to an extent) . In conclusion, the truth of the novel is vital to its success because of its immersion and relation to the people of the Dominican Republic.  Overall the extra mile taken for accuracy was completely, utterly worth it.