Othello #6

"Unkindness may do much, and his unkindness may defeat my life, but never taint my love" (Shakespeare 4.2 158-160). This quote is crucial to understanding how Desdemona truly feels about Othello. Previously in the book we have been shown that they really are in love, but this shows specifically how faithful she is to who she believes to be her one and only, true love. By saying this, she is saying that she loves him so much that even if he were to kill her, her love for him would stay the same. No one would say something like this unless they really meant it. This quote is also an example of foreshadowing to the death of Desdemona. Somehow, she knows her fate and in saying this, it clearly becomes known to us too.

Othello #5

"O devil, devil! If that the earth could teem with woman's tears, each drop she falls would prove a crocodile. Out of my sight!" (Shakespeare 4.1 244-247). This quote is said by Othello on page 93, right after he hits Desdemona. He is saying that his striking her didn't really hurt her emotionally, she is simply trying to make him feel bad about his actions and for accusing her of cheating on him. He said "crocodile" because they are able to shed fake tears to lure their victims and that is exactly what he believes Desdemona to be doing. This is proof that he is losing trust in her and doesn't idolize her quite as much anymore.

Othello #4

"Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore! Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof; or, by the worth of mine eternal soul, thou hadst been better have been born a dog than answer my waked wrath!" (Shakespeare 3.3 355-360). This is where we really see how much Othello truly doesn't want to believe the thoughts that Iago has been putting into his head. Before Iago started going through with his plan of making Othello think Desdemona has been cheating on him with Cassio, Othello had no doubt as to how much Desdemona loved him and how faithful their relationship was. Othello cares about Desdemona greatly and doesn't want to risk losing her by accusing her of having an affair with Cassio. Because of this, Othello makes it clear to Iago that if he wants to see another day, he better have concrete and indisputable evidence. After this exchange, Iago continues his extremely two-faced ways by going on about how much he does not want to reveal this evidence to Othello only to hurt him, but immediately goes on to tell him of the "proof" he had learned of earlier in the day.

Othello #3

"What? Michael Cassio, that came awooing with you, and so many a time when I have spoken of you dispraisingly, hath ta'en your part-to have so much to do to bring him in?"(Shakespeare, 3.3 70-74) The way the Desdemona so praisingly describes Cassio shows a lot about the kind of man he truly is. Although Othello soon starts questioning Cassio's honest qualities, Desdemona had no doubt as to how good of a second in command, and person in general, he was. Desdemona states how before she had fallen for Othello, Cassio was constantly on his side putting in a good word for him and for that alone she believes Othello should give him a second chance. If it weren't for Cassio, it is likely Desdemona and Othello wouldn't have gotten married and been so happily in love. She doesn't seem to understand why Othello is having such a hard time taking Cassio back. This is because she does not know of Iago's deceiving and manipulative ways.

Othello #2

"I do suspect the lusty Moor hath leaped into my seat; the thought whereof doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards; and nothing can or shall content my soul till I am evened with him, wife for wife. Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor at least into a jealousy so strong that judgement cannot cure. (Shakespeare 40)." Iago is clearly unable to allow Othello to be happy with Desdemona, as well as in other aspects of his life, and is set out to destroy him. He cannot accept the fact that the woman he "loves" has married another man, let alone the "poor trash of Venice", which is what Iago will come to refer to Othello as a few lines down. The fact that he considers himself so much better than Othello, mainly because of the colors of their skin, shows how shallow of a man Iago really is. If he can't destroy Othello by winning over Desdemona, he is going to mentally defeat Othello causing him to destroy himself.

Othello #1

"I fetch my life and being from men of royal siege; and my demerits may speak unbonneted to as proud a fortune as this that I have reached. For know, Iago, but that I love my gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition put into circumscription and confine for the seas' worth"(Shakespeare 11). By saying this, Othello makes it clear very early in this play how much he truly cares for Desdemona. This will be important to the rest of the play because he basically states how he would do pretty much anything for her and wouldn't give her up for anything. I believe this somehow foreshadows to an event later in the play where it will be imperative that he protect their love and hold on to her with everything he has. This quote also gives a little insight into the type of man Othello is. He has experienced a lot in his life already and now he is experiencing love. Similar to the other battles he has faced, Othello is not willing to give up easily on his love.

12 Angry Men Essay 12-1-09

Melissa Johnson

Honors English/E

November 30, 2009

12 Angry Men Essay

Guilty As Charged

It is up to you, the jury, to keep this killer off the streets, away from you and away from your families. It is imperative that you do not see this boy as a young, confused boy who deserves to experience life. You must see him as a troubled, boy who killed his father and is more than capable of killing more innocent human beings. I ask you now to think about the oath you took the day you walked in this courtroom. The words of that oath do not only apply to the people around us, but to our country and to upholding its dignity. You owe it to the people of the United States of America to make your decision based on the cold, hard facts.

Now, I am going to share with you some background information about this boy. His whole life he has been surrounded by violence. It has been proven in the past, time after time, that children who grow up in less than desirable circumstances are the ones that tend to lash out in their teen years. Although it is believed the reason this young boy killed his father is because he was done taking his fathers beatings. Is death really a fair way to stop beatings? Please ask yourself this, would killing someone be the first thing that comes to your mind after an argument? Most would answer no, which proves that we must keep those who would answer yes somewhere that they will not cause danger to others. By letting this boy roam free, we are endangering other citizens.

In this case, we are given two pieces of visual evidence from different witnesses. One being from the old man who lives downstairs, and one being from a woman who lives across the el train tracks from them. The old man claims to have heard the father and the young boy fighting, and clearly heard the words “I’m going to kill you!” come from the boy’s mouth. Right after that, he heard a body hit the floor and quickly made it to his door, only to see the young boy running down the stairs and out of the building. If this is not evidence enough, the woman across the way claims to have actually seen the killing with her own two eyes. If you still have an ounce of reasonable doubt in your mind, please consider these questions, first: why would these two people go to the trouble of making up stories, only to put themselves through this tedious court process? And second: what do they have to gain from this? The answer is: nothing.

Along with these two pieces of visual evidence, we also have one piece of very tangible evidence: the knife. Do any of you honestly think that there could be such a great coincidence that the knife found at the crime scene is the same kind the bou bought earlier that day? The man who sold the knife to him testified, in front of all of us, that it was the exact knife he sold to the young boy, and it was the only one of its kind. If that is not evidence enough, his shaky alibi should tip your scare to the boy being guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He claimed to be at the cinema, but when asked about the movie he saw, he couldn’t even give any general facts. On top of that, no one who was at the theater that night could identify him. When you pay to go see a movie, do you not even pay enough attention to remember the genre or title of the film? I think we can all agree in saying that we do.

If you let this boy loose on the conclusion of him being not guilty, it will constantly be on your conscience. To be honest, I believe it should be there because you will be unleashing a killer into our streets. By doing so, you are opening countless more opportunities for him to take the lives of others. No one is asking you to kill this boy; we are asking you to come to an honest and well thought out verdict. We are simply asking whether he is guilty of killing his father or not and the answer is yes.

This boy is like a piñata. The more he is beat and tossed around, the closer he gets to his breaking point. This crime may have only been the whack that caused the first pieces of candy to fall. If you let him loose on the conclusion of not guilty, it is inevitable that the final break will come and he will wreak havoc on countless innocent people. When he goes on to commit more crimes, it will remain on your conscience until the day he receives the punishment he deserves. If you all do your jobs and come to an honest and well thought out verdict, that punishment will come sooner rather than later. No one is asking you to kill this boy; we are simply asking you to uphold the duty you owe to the United States of America by protecting those around you and taking a murderer off the streets.

Antigone Essay

Melissa Johnson

English-E- Mr. George

November 9, 2009

Antigone Essay

Oedipus and Creon, Different yet Very Much the Same

All rulers are faced with their own struggles, but also have their moments to

shine. When being faced with these struggles, there are many ways they can be dealt with that may lay the foundation for how they are viewed throughout their reign. The two infamous men with power that Sophocles writes about, Creon and Oedipus, deal with their own share of obstacles that they overcome in ways that may be viewed as similar, which can cause them to be judged differently than expected. Oedipus and Creon share similar traits, but the differences between the two famous rulers of Thebes seem to outweigh the similarities. Oedipus faces many challenges that are brought upon by his doomed fate while Creon brings most of them upon himself.

The most prominent difference between Oedipus and Creon is that Creon is more to blame for everything that happens to him. This is true because he was never struck with a horrible fate, such as Oedipus’s, and he had an example set before him. If Creon had looked to Oedipus’s mistakes as exactly what not to do as king, he would have put himself in a much better position. Another important difference between the two is that Creon made promises to the people of Thebes, and clearly stated that he would not make the same mistakes that Oedipus did: “I am the kind of man who can’t and never could abide the tongue-tied ruler who through fear backs away from sound advice” (Sophocles, 198). By saying this, Creon puts himself in the position of having to live up to that promise and prove to the people of Thebes that he would not be as ignorant as Oedipus. Ironically, Creon does the exact opposite and struggles to listen to other’s warnings and advice almost as much as Oedipus did.

Both Oedipus and Creon, along with many in power back then, had the misfortune of being consumed with pride. This consumption often led them to being very quick to judge others who were simply trying to display the truth. Their pride led to this extremely judgmental characteristic because they could not handle others questioning their knowledge or innocence. It is clear in both Oedipus Rex and Antigone that both kings tend to immediately threaten those who, in reality, haven’t done anything wrong. In Oedipus Rex, the blind prophet, Tiresias, is straight forward and tells Oedipus he is the one who murdered King Laius. Without even considering the fact that he may be right, Oedipus threatens Tiresias:

TIRESIAS: I say that you and your most dearly loved are wrapped together in a hideous sin, blind to the horror of it.

OEDIPUS: You think you can go on blabbering unscathed?

TIRESIAS: Unscathed indeed, if truth is strength.

OEDIPUS: It is. But not for you, you purblind man: in ears and mind and vision (21).

In Antigone, Creon proves that he shares this trait with Oedipus during his conversation with the sentry. When he states that it is a shame Creon doesn’t have better reasoning, Creon responds by saying, “A logic chopper and a wit! But don’t imagine that will save your skin” (204). Creon especially would have been better off and more able to change the way things played out if his sense of pride didn’t stand in the way of him listening to others. It would have also helped Oedipus, but not as much, because he wasn’t able to prevent most things from happening due to his fate.

Oedipus and Creon were also similar in that they were both extremely stubborn; however, Creon wasn’t quite as ignorant as Oedipus. Unlike Oedipus, Creon came to and realized that he had made some serious mistakes and that he wanted to change things. He attempted to free Antigone in order to allow her to marry his son, but it was too late. Creon found her dead body in the chamber, with his sons’ body alongside. Although by the time he realized what he had done was wrong it was too late to change the outcome, at least he tried. By the time Oedipus had realized his mistakes, it was impossible to even attempt to change things because everything had already taken place. It is clear that Creon felt much more responsible for the situation while it was happening, which proves that he is much less stubborn than Oedipus was during his rule: “It’s hard to eat my words, but harder still to court catastrophe through overriding pride” (240). He was willing to accept that he did not want to cause even more chaos and that he needed to put his pride aside for the time being in order to save his son, Haemon, and his future daughter in law, Antigone, from facing their dreadful ends.

It is important to know that although there are many similarities between Oedipus and Creon and how they ruled Thebes, there is also a multitude of differences. Those differences are important because they could be considered how Oedipus and Creon were seen as both people and as leaders. Although Oedipus was not as responsible for the events that took place during his reign as Creon was, everything evens out because he did not even try to change the outcome. Overall, like any human beings, they shared many weaknesses and had many of the same downfalls, but they were nowhere near being the same person, even in their infamy.

Antigone Quote Discussion 3 11-5-09

"Do not be surprised that heaven-yes, and hell- have set the Furies loose to lie in wait for you, Ready with the punishments you engineered for others." (Sophocles, 239) . By saying this, Tiresias is giving a blatant warning to Creon, similar to how he had previously warned Oedipus of his horrible fate. He is telling Creon that because he is forcing death upon Antigone for burying her brother, he himself will face a horrible future. Although Creon may not necessarily be killed, his afterlife will not be pleasant and the Gods will be ready and waiting in Hades to give him what he deserves. These words end up actually affecting Creon and making him think about his actions. He finally decides that he is not doing the right thing and that he will set Antigone free, but it is too late. Because of him, his son had already committed suicide due to Creon forcing death upon his lover whom he is supposed to marry, leading to the suicide of the queen.

Antigone Quote Discussion 2 11-4-09

"Turning the wise into fools you twist them off their course and now you have stung us to this strife of father fighting son...Oh, Love..." (Sophocles, 227). Stated by Antistrophe I, a great example of foreshadowing. Antistrophe gives insight into how much the concept of love will affect the rest of the play. Falling in love can greatly change how people think and cause them to make decisions that they wouldn't usually come about. By saying this it is telling us that we will see people acting out of character later in the play because their views on certain things, and people, have changed.Basically, Antistrophe is referring to love as a person and blaming them for making people think "irrationally" and causing Haemon to disobey Creon, which he would otherwise never do.

Antigone Quote Discussion 1 11-3-09

"And if this hurries me to death before my time, why, such a death is gain. Yes, surely gain to one whom life so overwhelms" (Sophocles,210). In saying this, Antigone makes it clear that she is proud of doing what her brother asked of her by giving him a proper burial and that she does not regret anything she has done. She is willing to face any consequences that may come her way due to being loyal to her brother. She states that she would rather die than continue to live her "overwhelming" life with regret of not burying him. She specifically says that dying is a "gain to one whom life so overwhelms", meaning that due to the terrible fates that her family has been cursed with in the past, she lives a rough life and would rather end it now. This quote also represents how Antigone is different from most women of her time and she is really willing to step out of the mold of how women should be and stand up for what she believes is right.

Oedipus Quote Discussion 4 10-20-09

"Had I only died then. I should not now be leaving. All I love and mine so sadly shattered" (Sophocles,73). In saying this, Oedipus shows how distressed he is because of the situation that has just become clear to him. He states that he would rather have died as a baby, because if that were the case, he would not have been doomed by the oracle and he would not have caused pain on so many people that he came to love. This is the first time in the text that Oedipus is really open about taking the blame for something and realizing that he was the reason his mother/wife committed suicide, his father died, and for all the confusion the entire city of Thebes has faced.

Oedipus Quote Discussion 3 10-19-09

"Light of my days, go dark. I want to gaze no more" (Sophocles,67). Stated by Oedipus, this quote clearly shows how he is reacting to what he has just learned. Finally, it seems as though everything is being pieced together, but in the worst way possible. He has learned from the messenger and the shepherd that he is in fact doomed by the prophecy, and he is actually living it out. Upon discovering that Jocasta, his own wife, is also his mother that left him for dead, it is clear that all the other parts of the prophecy were also true. By saying "light of my days, go dark" Oedipus is making it obvious that he does not want to face his past and he would have rather lived not knowing any of this information.

Oedipus Quote Discussion 3 10-15-09

"If he thinks in all this turmoil of our times that any word or act of mine was ever done in malice, done to harm, I'd rather end my life than live so wronged" (Sophocles, 28). This is a clear representation, made by Creon, of how the people of Thebes look to Oedipus with great respect. They realize all that he has done to help them and truly care about how he sees them and what he thinks of them. When Oedipus begins suspecting Creon of the murder of Laius, or of trying to pin that murder on him, he defends himself and is willing to do pretty much anything to prove his innocence. Creon does not want Oedipus to think that he would betray him but at this point Oedipus is beginning to blame everyone of things without appropriate evidence. Later in this reading, he finally begins to realize that he may be guilty, which will lead to him making less assumptions based on the faults of others.

Oedipus Quote Discussion 2 10-13-09

"Hardly Creon. You are your own worst enemy" (Sophocles 22). Stated by Tiresias, in response to Oedipus asking if it was him or Creon who thought up that Apollo said he was going to fall from power. This line, though short, is crucial to what Oedipus has in store for himself. It is already clear that Oedipus finds no problem in questioning others, but doesn't think twice about his own actions. By saying he is "his own worst enemy" Tiresias is somewhat foreshadowing internal conflicts that Oedipus will face later on. He is his own worst enemy in that he is the murderer that he has set out to find, and with that realization will come many more struggles that he will have to face.

10-9-09-Oedipus Quote Discussion

The quote I chose can be found on page 9. '"Here," says the god. "Seek and you shall find. Only that escapes which never was pursued."' I think this quote by Creon is significant to the story so far partly because of the irony involved in it, considering he is speaking right to the murderer, and because I think it exposes the reader to important subjects that will be seen later in the story. Creon is giving Oedipus a sense of hope, that whenever you look for someone or something, your journey will be fulfilled and it will be worth it in the end. In this case, if they go out and search for the one who killed their king, they will find him, and bring him to justice. I think that sense of hope that Creon gave Oedipus will stay with him throughout the story, and make him a determined and committed man.

H/W 9/11 A Separate Peace

“We were careless and wild, and I suppose we could be thought of as a sign of the life the war was being fought to preserve….They noticed our games tolerantly. We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction.” (Knowles, 24). When Gene states this, it expresses the theme of freedom that will be carried on throughout the novel "A Separate Peace." Phineas, Gene, and all the other boys at the Devon School are considered lucky at this time in history, considering most others their age were off to fight in World War II. They are still young enough to have the freedom of choice, choosing to either join the troops or stay in their comfort zone and continue school. Although this sense of freedom wont last long because once they turn 18 they are bound to be drafted, they completely take advantage of the time they have left with each other in a place that, even though they may not always admit, they love. Finally, this quote expresses the war as a reality, saying that it is being fought to simply preserve a "sign of life." The boys at Devon are constantly being seen as reminders of life before the chaos of the war.

HW 9/10 ASP Summer Reading

There are many different ways in which the novel "A Separate Peace" is affected by World War II. The fact that this war was going on during such a vital time in these young boys lives unquestionably changed their outlook on many different aspects and made them think very differently about otherwise simple things. The characters in this book all had somewhat different ways of looking at the war, whether choosing not to believe it was even going on, or diving right in and enlisting as soon as possible. Finny had come up with his own way to look at the war, in some type of denial, saying it was only something made up by those in charge and able to convince others to go along with it. Even though his natural physical abilities had made him a perfect candidate for war, because of what he had always told himself, he didn't enlist until it was too late. Although Gene never truly believed Finny's theory, he went along with it until the war became so real to him that it couldn't be avoided. During this time, they saw many of those around them leave for war and things beginning to change.These are only a few examples of external conflicts the characters faced due to the war, but looking more deeply you will be able to see the internal conflicts that are also involved. Many boys in their time were unsure of what to do with their lives, like many teenagers even today, which caused them to turn to the only obvious choice, war. Those who felt they were "incapable" of certain things tended to join in order to find their "inner hero" which is somewhat what Gene tried to do throughout the whole novel. He searched for something that would make him rise above Finny, which proves the internal conflicts were greatly linked to the external conflict of war, although most were fighting wars against themselves. This novel is only a peek into the many ways war affects people of all ages, whether mentally or physically, even those in places that war seemed only to be a distant and irrelevent thing to their everyday lives. Without the war, in no way would this novel be considered a "masterpiece" of great depth and creativity.