Crazy Little Thing Called Love

So what is this crazy little thing called "love"?

Is it a mere mirage

that disappears and fades

as the moments

pass by

Or is it a second

an instant

a though

a flash?

Ok, so here's whats up: is love only a chemical reaction that stimulates us for an instant? Is love what we are forced to believe in thanks to the over romanticized world we live in?

As I write, I think about all the "love" that I have witnessed in my life in all of its phases (my sister's wedding, my parent's constant bickering, my friend's infatuation with the hottie in the grade above, another friend's parents divorced yet amicable). Are these things all love?

Personally, I think that love is something which is felt only at instants. Love is the ability to tolerate your partner's vices. It's the ability to see the good in all things.

Reading Pride and Prejudice I see many kinds of love (the love that is shared between Darcy and Elizabeth at the end of the novel, the honest love felt by the Bennet's uncle and aunt, the forced and unconvincing love felt between Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet). What are all of their stories? Is all of their love true and genuine?

P.S.

ID LIKE TO INVESTIGATE WHICH MARRIAGES IN THE NOVEL ARE CENTERED ON LOVE AND WHICH ON CONVENIENCE FOR MY ANALYTIC ESSAY. GOOD OR BAD IDEA?

A Man's Dilemma

Ok so here's my dilemma....

I talk too much. I'm slightly too comfortable with everyone and honestly, I really don't get embarrassed easily. I tell things as they are and many times, I suffer from this habit. However, when it comes to mushy gooshy things, I tend to hold back... ALOT. I overanalyze and I always question my impulses. And the worst part is that because of my inability to act instinctively (almost Hamlet-like), I almost always get fucked over.

Many times in my life I question my method and I ask myself whether I should change in any way. Maybe hold back a little? Perhaps act a little bit more mysterious?

As I read Pride and Prejudice I find myself looking at the ways that the characters associate with one another. One character which really called my attention was Mr. Darcy. Throughout the whole novel he is seen as a big headed, unsociable ass. He doesn't express himself and constantly repels all types of communication that is addressed at him. He doesn't dance with Elizabeth at any of the balls and all that he does throughout the beginning part of the novel is criticize everyone and everything that he sees.

Darcy seems to have an inability to speak or maybe he is just using this "mask" to hide his true personality. He uses this shell to protect himself and not let anyone near him sentimentally except the people that have always been there for him (Bingley). He has suffered from the things that his good friend Wickham did to him and his sister and he has created this shield in order to protect himself and his family from getting hurt again.

Should I, like Darcy, become a sheltered introverted person because of all the pain that I've had to deal with? Or should I just take out my umbrella and protect myself and my smile from all the world's shit that just keeps tumbling down on me?

Gold Digger

She take my money, well I'm in need

Yeah she's a triflin' friend indeed

Oh she's a gold digger way over time

That digs on me

I aint sayin she a gold digger,

but she ain't messin' with no broke Mr. Darcy

Now I aint sayin she a gold digger,

but she aint messin with no broke Mr. Darcy

Look, personally I have really become attached to Elizabeth Bennet. She is an intelligent, outspoken, and strong woman which does not keep quiet about some of the social paradigms which her family hold so dearly (crazy ass Mrs. Bennet). I respect her for this. Sadly, however, along the middle of the book I noticed something which was quite... disappointing.

It seems funny to me that the first time we are told about Eliza's interest in Mr. Darcy is right after she runs into him at Pemberley and sees his “large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground" (page 181). Do you think that Elizabeth fell in love with Mr. Darcy because of all the things that Mrs. Reynolds says about Mr. Darcy as a man? Or do you think that Elizabeth is merely witnessing the amount of material wealth which Mr. Darcy owns which then induces her newly felt love and interest for Darcy?

You Got Mail

Right now as I am sitting staring at my computer screen, my desk is vibrating wildly due to messages from friends of mine that live in England, Italy, Miami, Spain, and the US. In less than a second, their thoughts are transported almost magically across the air and are expressed to me on my small cellphone's screen. With these modern tools, I am able to check up with my friends that are thousands of miles away in a matter of seconds. In a society that is so advanced technologically and so interconnected, it is difficult to imagine how the Bennets lived. How should it feel to be isolated and alone in the world with the company of a flimsy paper and pen? Would it be possible to nowadays escape from all the viral information we are suffocated with in our everyday life? I think not...

It is incredible to read about how the Bennets' only way of communication was through letters. When Lydia decides to run away with Wickham, I think that the way that Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet, and all the Bennet sisters reacted was absolutely amazing. I think that if I decided to run away with some girl, my parents would go absolutely insane. I think that the society in which we live in has become accustomed to being fed information constantly. Had I lived in 19 century England, then my parents would have just hoped that I would be off getting married in some random town.

Zuleta's Hands

I really enjoyed Zuleta's blog about "Hand Gestures." Believe it or not, I have never watched the movie "Pride and Prejudice." For now, I've preferred to stay away from the movie in order to make my own little movie inside my head. Zuleta's blog, however, showed me a crucial aspect of the novel which I hadn't really focused on. Prejudice in the novel is a very shrouded theme in the novel and personally, in my own little movie I was making in my head prejudice hadn't come up as clearly as it did in the movie "Pride and Prejudice." It's really interesting to see how body language can show so much about inter human relationships. Soon after I finish my reading of Pride and Prejudice I will check out the movie myself!

Men Men Menly Manly Men Men Men....

HELP:

DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW A MAN SHOULD ACT NOWADAYS?

Should I wear a "thug life" t-shirt and be a straight up gangsta-homie with everyone I meet?

Should I wear a nicely trimmed tailormade three piece suit with a bowler hat and use big fancy words?

Or how about I just wear a nice tie-dye shirt with some rice-picking purple pants with a big-ass peace sign hanging around my neck and give out only peace and love?

Men have always been evolving. I don't understand, but it seems to be that we have gone through hundreds of fashions and mannerisms in the past century! What is the obsession with showing off and trying to always be the "newer" more "modern" man? Why has it gone from talking about "fancy looking madams in quaint carriages" to "get'n me sum bOaTz & hOezz"?

As a male member of society, it's difficult to know what it is exactly I am supposed to do in order to fit in.

Reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice honestly makes me sort of sad....

I would absolutely love to be alive during this epoch where it is the norm to be a nicely dressed gentlemanlike person. Nowadays, I would just be called a fag for having the audacity to use words like "piqued" or "panegyric" or even the velvety "acquiesce." Characters like Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Bennet all make me extremely jealous because I would be more than happy to live like them without getting shot today.

No, but really... I find it really interesting that people have changed so much and it really makes me wonder where we're all going as a people? How might we look in two centuries?

Delicate Diction

Ok so here we were reading about incest, family murders, apocalyptic cannibals, satanic music, prostitutes, and alcohol and suddenly now we begin to read about some poofy-dressed, fancy speaking, english women??? Ok.... so either Mr. Tangen is going through some type of personality crisis or he misspelled the name of the book we were supposed to be reading...

I am really enjoying this novel although the macho misogynist inside of me is telling me not to. I like the fact that in Pride and Prejudice I do not have to dig for any hidden messages. I am simply falling in love with all of the characters and taking their superficial problems and issues and making them mine for the time that I read the book. I love the way that Jane Austen presents all of the characters to us. As readers, we are being spoon fed all of the information and honestly, it is quite lovely. Austen makes it very easy to follow her story and uses very elegant and intricate yet simple language to do so.

For now, I do not have absolutely any criticism. I am enjoying the book and am interested in seeing whether Jane Austen will be able to maintain this effortless grasp on me as an effeminate reader.

Death and Skull

In Act V Scene I of Hamlet we see the appearance of two very important objects that have a great effect on Hamlet's mental reasoning. I am referring to Yorick's Skull and Ophelia's corpse in Act V Scene I. In this scene, Hamlet is exposed to two lifeless bodies that make him value the unavoidability of death. Throughout the whole play, Hamlet deals with the inner conflict about whether he should or should not kill his uncle and avenge his father's death. Most of the play is made up of Hamlet's long intricate soliloquies in which he expresses his thoughts towards death. Watching David Tennant's version and reading the play, I feel that it is not until this part of the play where Hamlet sees and interacts with Yorick's and Ophelia's dead bodies that heactually decides that he must do something in order to avenge his father. The corpses instigate a certain change in Hamlet's mind and remind Hamlet of the frailty of life. It is because of this that I am convinced that if Hamlet had not been exposed to these emotionally upsetting stimuli, then he would have probably not been able to so aptly kill his uncle.

Philip H. Calderon. The Young Lord Hamlet, 1868.

I found this work very interesting because it depicts Hamlet as a young child. In the highly imaginative scene, Hamlet is actually riding on the back of Yorick. This helps us imagine the relationship that Yorick and Hamlet had and how the encounter with his skull may have affected Hamlet emotionally

Crazy

Ok so here I am reading Hamlet and watching David Tennant's Hamlet on YouTube and once again I'm faced with the same question that has been bothering me from the beginning of the whole play.

Is Hamlet going crazy?

I have absolutely no idea whether I should trust in Hamlet as a reader or whether I should pity his condition. In all of ACT III we can see a Hamlet that shows illogical and nonsensical traits although there is a certain "method to his madness." An example is when he is with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and begins to randomly talk about the recorders. At first I thought, "Oh lord, here we go again with his foolish behavior" but then out of no where, Hamlet actually turns the whole recorder business into a way of insulting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Also, the whole play that Hamlet decides to put on is very curious with all the absurd players with absurd dialogs. To most of the people in the court, Hamlet has gone crazy. They think that his actions are completely irrational when the truth is that Hamlet is actually thinking quite clearly through it all. His lucidity contrasts greatly to his odd behavior.

I am interested in hearing all of my classmates' opinions on this subject and I hope that in the play we may pick up more clues that might help me answer this question of Hamlet's sanity.

Buddies, buddies, buddies!

No matter what kind of person one is, no matter what beliefs one holds true, no matter whether one is good-hearted or bad, one will always have someone who will be there to accompany oneself through one's endeavors. Friendship is important. We all need people who will be with us in the good times and in the bad. For Hamlet, this remains true. Although in most of the play he is depicted as a very solitary and absorbed character with all his long and intricate soliloquies, he still has a companion that is with him through all his troubles. This person is Horatio.

In lines 50-90 of ACT III SCENE II, the play within the play, we can see the special relationship that Hamlet and Horatio share. By putting on the play within the play, Hamlet is trying to see whether his uncle reacts to the plot. If his uncle reacts and shows signs of nervousness, it means that he is guilty of regicide. Hamlet decides to confide in his friend Horatio and tells him of his presentiments and his plan to uncover his uncle.

In Hamlet, Horatio is the only character that has freely chosen to guide and accompany Hamlet. All other people of in Denmark are either spying on Hamlet or think he is going insane. Horatio is the only character who represents genuine friendship in the whole play.

Analyze This!

"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought"

How true this is. Lets ask ourselves, what makes our human condition sometimes appear so dark and gloomy? What makes our lives so difficult compared to bees for example? Why do these little creatures live their lives routinely and every so swiftly without ever suffering? Perhaps what makes us different from the many other creatures in this world is our stupid and imbecile tendency to think! Had we been truly intelligent and somewhat sophisticated creatures, we would have evolved and had let go of this stupid burden in our lives.

What Hamlet says in his soliloquy in ACT III SCENE I is absolutely true. In his life, he is hesitant and because of his hesitation (which comes from his innate susceptibility towards thought!) he does not act quickly in response to his thoughts. He loses his savage ability to act on instinct because of thought! His need to think and question what he wants to do is ultimately what dooms him! We can see how in David Tennant's Hamlet, Hamlet is hard on himself and is even frustrated when he is giving his soliloquy (posted above is an excerpt). The intonation and facial contortions of the actor supports this theory that Hamlet is hating himself and his human tendency of analysis.

Mother always says,

"Think before you act!"

How absolutely STUPID can this be. I'm not saying this to criticize the millions of mothers that have said this, but I just think that it's something that limits us. Something that makes us, as humans, question our actual level of advancement. All wars have been fought, all murders have been committed, all affairs have been had, all deceptions have been executed because of our need to think and our unfortunate inclination towards analysis. Perhaps this gift that has been bestowed on us called "free will" has actually been more of a curse than a gift.

Active Voice

1. The statue is being visited by hundreds of tourists every year.
2. My books were stolen by someone yesterday.
3. These books had been left in the classroom by a careless student.
4. Coffee is raised in many parts of Hawaii by plantation workers.
5. The house had been broken into by someone while the owners were on vacation.
6. A woman was being carried downstairs by a very strong firefighter.
7. The streets around the fire had been blocked off by the police.
8. Have you seen the new movie that was directed by Ron Howard?
9. My car is in the garage being fixed by a dubious mechanic.
10. A great deal of our oil will have been exported to other countries by our government.

1.) Hundreds of tourists visit the statue every year.

2.) Someone stole my books yesterday.

3.) A careless student left these books in the classroom.

4.) Plantation workers in many parts of Hawaii raise coffee.

5.) Someone had broken into the house while the owners were out on vacation.

6.) A very strong firefighter was carrying a woman downstairs.

7.) The police had blocked off the streets around the fire.

8.) ?

9.) A dubious mechanic is fixing my car in the garage.

10.) Our government will have exported a great deal of our oil to other countries.

An Actor's Alternative

In theater and in movies, the script gives a certain amount of space for the actors to interpret their roles and create their own characters based on the way that they see in the person they are representing. As we can see on both of the videos posted on Mr. Tangen's blog, many times actors interpret their roles very differently even though their roles are based on the same plot, dialogue, etc...

In the Branagh version, Hamlet is a more noble and statuesque figure. In Tennant's version, Hamlet is a more vulgar and blunt character. It is amazing to see how great the difference can be between two of the actors portraying the same role.

Response To Rachel's Blog

I really want to discuss and go over Krapp's Last Tape in class to be able to really understand it because honestly I don't think that I grasp it to it's full extent. It is because of this that I have decided to look around my classmate's blogs and see what they think about this interesting play.

I chose Rachel Jovene's post "Tears and Sweat" because I really liked how she focused on a particular element that may not have been that evident at first. She talks about how it is inferred that Krapp goes to drink alcohol when he leaves around the middle of the performance. She then says that this reflects that he is drinking the alcohol in order to forget what is happening (or didn't happen) in his life. She also says that he uses alcohol as "his means of escape."

She then talks about how it is interesting to see how Krapp's physical characteristics support her thesis.

I really liked how she used her almost detective-like skills in order to find out something about the character.

Great post, Rachel!

Krapp's Dilemma

I think we all suffer from having good times and bad. Yeah, that's right. We suffer because of all the ghastly GOOD times and the brilliant BAD ones.

What am I talking about?

We live life. In it, we experience moments and situations which can either be labelled as PLEASANT and UNPLEASANT.

• "In order for there to be a good moment, there must be a bad moment to make it so."
• "All good things must come to an end."
• "What goes up, must come down."

If we think about these expressions we realize that we are always going to be stuck in this cycle.

When watching Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape I asked myself why would Krapp listen to his recordings after so many years.

I started thinking about Krapp's character. Old. Unstable. Disturbed. He's clearly depicting a state of "bad."

Just like everything and everyone in life, he probably had a "good" period. Maybe this is what Krapp is doing by listenning to his recordings so ferverously. He is trying to grasp and remember the good times as a way to escape the life that he is living.

For whom is Krapps making his recordings for???? I hope in class we discuss this.

Ubiquitous Shakespeare

As Kenneth Branaghn said in the YouTube video we watched, Shakespeare has become a present part of our lives. Shakespearean terminologies have become part of our quotidian speech and it is almost impossible to get away from their use. I am looking forward to reading and performing Hamlet. I hope that it contextualizes many of the things that we use in our lives (for example as Branaghn mentioned the "method for his madness," "to be or not to be," etc.). Can't wait to start our reading and eventually our performance. I also hope we might get a chance to watch this film.

Response

I really enjoyed this blog. I think that the act of re-reading a book is extremely helpful and personally, I can say that I have re-read certain books and that I've honestly gained a lot from doing this. An example of a book I've done this with (which I mention in one of my blogs) is The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is one of my favorite books and I think that, as Sonya Chung said in her blog, it is truly incredible how you can really squeeze the juice out of certain books.

DreamZzZzZzZzzz...

Dreams. They're everywhere and they seem to be one of the few things that humans still haven't been able to fully understand. Some people think of dreams as the way our subconscious desires are made tangible, others think of dreams as the means by which we are given messages from beyond the grave. Everyone interprets their dreams differently and we can see in The Road that the father interprets his dreams as a type of warning. On page 18, Cormac McCarthy writes, "He (father) said that the right dreams for a man in peril were dreams of peril and else was the call of languor and of death." We can see that in his situation, the Father had to interpret his dreams as warnings in order to stay alert in the world that he lived in.

You can also find the giving of importance to dreams in The Giver, written by Lois Lowry. In the book, Jonas is a 12 year old boy that lives in a utopia where everything is state-controlled and there is no space for any type of free-will to be exercised. For Jonas' family, a daily routine was "dreamtelling." This happened every morning at breakfast where all of the members of the family told their dreams and then as a family, they "discussed (...) the warning the dream had given." In the novel, the people would have to take daily pills that would control the amount of dreams that they would have.

As we can see, dreams play a crucial role for us as creatures. Whether they are some type of fortune-whispering natural phenomenon or whether they are a simple window into our subconscious, we may never know.

Doorman's Tale

Friends, now it is my turn to tell my tale

of one fine night I almost went to jail.

It all began when I arrived at work

and the cleaning lady gave me a smirk.

You see, I spend my days as a door man,

call me "portero" or even "bacan."

Now let me get back to my recollection,

right when I saw her I got an erection!

She then told me her name was Socorro,

I told her I'd invite her tomorrow.

I guess you could say I then went insane

cuz of the idea that popped in my brain.

The owners where out on summer vacation

England or France or some distant nation.

You think they'd mind if I borrow their suite?

I supposed not if I left it real neat.

I told Socorro to meet me at ten,

she'd dress up as Barbie and I'd be Ken.

She arrived wearing huge pink stripper heals.

I could not wait to hear her high-pitched squeals.

In their apartment we drank their champagne,

we smoked their pot, then snorted their cocaine.

Button to button, zipper to zipper,

it happened right as I tried to like her.

The doors burst open and we were butt-naked,

I won't lie, I think we nearly fainted.

It wasn't as if we were stealing stuff,

we were just having sex, kinky and rough!

As you can imagine, I lost my job...

Just because they thought I wanted to rob.

But don't worry friend, all hope is not gone

Socorro and I now have a child, Yon!

What's Going On?

Ok, so I was in my house reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy and I honestly had a lot of questions about what was going on. What could have possibly happened to the world that might have led to the father and son having to fend for themselves in such a hostile environment? Where was the mother of the son? Why are they running away from something if everything appears to have died?

As I was reading I came to a specifically useful part that, with the help of those "how to read" tips that we learned from that guy in the video, allowed for me to answer many of the questions I had. I am talking about the conversation that the father and the mother of the son had on pages 55- 58.

I am sort of assuming most of the following information based on what I understood from the passage, I am not saying it is 100& accurate...

• Woman, Man, and Child were survivors of some cataclysmic event on Earth

"We're survivors he told her across the flame of the lamp.

Survivors? she said.

Yes.

What in God's name are you talking about? We're not survivors. We're the walking dead in a horror film" (pg 55)

• Woman suicides because loses faith in her existence (most likely shot herself with the pistol)

"We used to talk about death, she said. We don't any more. Why is that?

I don't know

It's because it's already here. There's nothing left to talk about.

I wouldn't leave you.

I don't care. It's meaningless. You can think of me as a faithless slut if you like. I've taken a new lover. He can give me what you cannot. Death is not a lover

Oh yes he is

Please don't do this

Im sorry" (pg 56-57)

• There are other survivors that would "rape, kill, then eat" the Man, Woman, and Child (maybe zombies?)

"Sooner or later they will catch us and kill us. They will rape me. They'll rape him. They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you won't face it..." (pg 56)

• The Child was not wanted by mother

"My heart was ripped out of me the night he was born so don't ask for sorrow now. There is none. Maybe you'll be good at this. I doubt it, but who knows" (pg 57)

2012?

What a strange novel. I mean, personally I think that in the last few years directors, authors, writers, producers, EVERYONE has gone "apocalypse crazy." There have been hundreds of movies about aliens, zombies, climate change, devil-children, etc. in the last few years and I'm sort of tired of it. All of these incredibly original and genuine tales all have the same clear and concise message: we're fckd.

Now i guess I have to talk about The Road in order to not fail at blogging so here it goes...I don't really know if I like this book. I know that it's like regarded really highly and I know that they wouldn't make a major motion picture based on a crappy book and for now I can't really complain since I haven't finished the book...but it's just that like, the whole story with it's gloomy and somber tone is sort of dull (but then again, something like "Apocalypse: The Musical" wouldn't be so.... "believable"..... wouldn't it?). But once again as I said before, I sort of expect greatness from this book because of all the reviews and stuff. I hope it doesn't let me down like all of the other works about the world coming to an end. Cuz seriously, all this talk of us being doomed is sort of beginning to affect my way of looking at life. Who knows what type of crazy stunts I might pull off before December 21, 2012 just to make sure I don't die without having really "lived to the full extent"... It would really suck to wake up December 22, 2012 after doing something stupid...

P.S.

(What a great idea for a movie, btw... the first frivolous and lighthearted apocalypse movie about a boy that does some crazy stupid shit before the world supposedly comes to the end but then the next day wakes up........ HA .... OMG WE COULD MAKE A MUSICAL!)

What Drives Us

DRAFT #2 FOR ESSAY ON GG AND CTS

Passion moves people. It drives humanity and it acts as an instigator for human actions and choice. Both Fitzgerald, in his novel The Great Gatsby, and Ondaatje, in Coming Through Slaughter, use symbols such as the green light and the cornet to portray the passions of both Bolden and Gatsby and how these led to their demise.

A symbol that Fitzgerald uses is the green light that Gastby could see across the bay from his house. This green light, which Gatsby stares at for hours on end from his house, symbolizes the love and wanting that Gatsby has for Daisy. The light stands for the hope that Gatsby has that one day he will meet Daisy again. Although Gatsby may have never acted on this urge to meet personally with Daisy after living close to her for so long, the green light is a physical representation of the still-present and burning love that he feels. Fitzgerald also leads us to realize that although our passions are wonderful things, they are strong and can lead us to misery and strife. We can clearly see that Gatsby’s acting on his passions ultimately led to the death of an innocent woman.

Ondaatje takes on a slightly different approach to this subject of passions. In his novel Coming Through Slaughter, Buddy Bolden is a character who seems to lead a double life. In one life, he is the average barber and on the other, he is an alcohol-drinking, prostitute-loving musician. Ondaatje makes Bolden’s passion be the music, in this case his cornet. In the beginning of the novel, we are shown a stark contrast between both of Bolden’s personalities and we are shown that when he performs, he reaches a completely higher level of being. Slowly, as the plot progresses, we can see that the passions in Bolden’s life are systematically driving him mad. Although his music was incredible, with his eccentric shows and mind-boggling mixes between gospel hymns and blues, it degenerated him. His passions ultimately let to his insanity.

As I have clearly demonstrated, both Fitzgerald and Ondaatje use symbols in their novels to show us the powerful, yet dangerous qualities of our passions. You can see it as either Gatsby’s green light or as Bolden’s cornet. Both authors are trying to show us that our passions move us wether we want them to or not, the important thing is being able to maintain control.

Satire!

This section of The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer, reminds me of what I've studied regarding the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reformation movement which denounced the Church's abuses (selling of indulgences- "The Pardoner's Tale) and resulted in a schism within the church. This movement began in 1571 and ended in 1648. I've done a little bit of research and I found that The Canterbury Tales were written at the end of the 14th century. This means that the Protestant Reformation had not begun yet in Europe. This leads me to believe that this book is a satire. It has all aspects of satire which we studied last year in our Pre-AP English course and is clearly proposing a social commentary that targets the vices of Europe in the end of the 14th century.

The Raven

In Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven, we can see a perfect example of the use of symbolism. The raven that is "perched upon a bust of Pallas" is a representation of the memory that was Lenore. The raven, a bird of ill-omen, also symbolizes death or the ending of a cycle. Using this information, we can deduce that perhaps what has happened is that the narrator has lost Lenore. We can't be sure whether she has died or perhaps she has left him, but we do know because of the desolate and grim tone that there has been a significant event that has hurt the relations between narrator-Lenore.

We're All F****d

Wars have been fought and blood has been spilled because of people's beliefs. Some people believe that God has ordered them to kill, others believe that He has ordered them to give up all of their belongings, others believe that the second coming of Jesus has already come (Vissarion), etc. The point is, throughout time people have had hundreds (if not thousands) of beliefs and the amusing thing is that they actually base their sometimes absurd beliefs on documented and biblical documents. Because of these beliefs things like the crusades, the holocaust, and the genocides in Darfur and Rwanda have been occurring. There has been intolerance and discrimination ever since the beginning of human civilization and we can clearly see examples of these innate and dark human tendencies in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

In The Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale, there are two characters that personify this mortal inclination towards having nonsensical and absurd beliefs and actually back them up with historical and even biblical text. Alison is a lustful woman that has been married multiple times with many rich, old men for purely economic reasons and she tries to justify her actions by using what some might consider "logical" or "coherent" thinking. For example in this excerpt from lines 57-72, we can see how she uses biblical text to back up her sinful and shameful actions:

So what, then, if people say bad things about marrying more than once? Lamech, Abraham, and Jacob were all holy men, as far as I can tell, and they all had more than a couple wives, as have many others like them. Has God ever expressly forbidden marriage before? Huh? Or has he ever commanded people to remain virgins all their lives? I know as well as you that St. Paul only recommended women to maintain their viriginity—he never ordered it. Giving advice and making commands are two different things, and he left it up to us to decide how to live. Besides, if God preferred virgins, then He would pretty much be against marriage, now wouldn’t He? And if people weren’t having sex, well then how would we make more virgins? No, St. Paul would never order anything that God himself wouldn’t want. Anyway, whoever wants to aspire to maintaining their virginity can do so, but we’ll see who comes out on top in the end.

Another example is Jankin and how he personifies the typical misogynistic man that believes that all women are horrid creatures that do not deserve respect or liberties and has the audacity to back up his illogical beliefs by using the Bible and certain other ancient texts. We can see a perfect example of how he did this in lines 650-655, "And then Jankin would break out his Bible to find that proverb in the book of Ecclesiasticus in the apocrypha that tells men not to let their wives go out and about." Also, on lines 772-775 we read, " And then Jankin would break out his Bible to find that proverb in the book of Ecclesiasticus in the apocrypha that tells men not to let their wives go out and about."

People have the habit of adamantly believing whatever gives them the chance to justify what they actually want to do. What does this mean for us as a people? Do we have a moral compass? Or do we simply "bend the rules" in order to do whatever the f*** we actually want to do? We're doomed...

Black and White

There is an extremely evident contrast between the two tales that we have read so far, The Miller's Tale and The Knight's Tale. In the latter of the two, we see a chivalrous and noble story about the love, courage, and tenacity. On The Miller's Tale we see a vulgar and indecent story filled with sexual references. Both of these stories contrast quite clearly in that the narrators are both obviously of different classes, come from different places, and undoubtedly have more differences than similarities.

One of the few similarities that both stories have is that they both treat the subject of the art of enchanting and seducing. In the The Knight's Tale we can see two charming, courteous, and well-bred men who are able to attract Emelye, a beautiful and proper woman. On The Miller's Tale, we see a variety of characters such as John, a stupid old carpenter; Nick, a scheming and mischievious student; and Absolon, a gullible lovesick parish clerk.

It's interesting to see how these personalities contrast and how the narrarators differ so much in personalities and backgrounds. I'm very interested in seeing how the novel progresses and meet new characters, each with their own set of interesting and unique qualities.

Q and (hopefully) A's

I have a question which I hope to be able to answer after finishing all of The Canterbury Tales;

How does the fact that they are going to a pilgrimage play into the types of stories the traveler's are telling?

I am curious about this because it seems to me that the kind of improbable story that the Knight tells may have some type of meaning in regards to the type of person he is. I hypothesize that perhaps when we have finished reading all of the stories, we will be able to say that maybe these devotees are going on the pilgrimage in order to cleanse themselves of some type of offense or misdeed that they have comitted. I am interested in continuing The Canterbury Tales in order to more fully comprehend the author's purpose for writing the book.

What Drives Us All

Everything we do has a purpose and whether we want to or not, we are driven by our passions. Passions come in many ways, be it love, hate, anger, etc. In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer we can see the incredible power of passions in The Knight's Tale. Both Palamon and Arcite are madly in love with Emelye. Arcite, thanks to Perotheus, has been freed from jail but is banned from the land. On the other hand, Palamon is still able to see Emelye from his jail cell, but is incarcerated and therefore will never be able to be with her. The passion that they feel leads both Arcite and Palamon to do a series of unusual and even ludicruous things such as desguising oneself and risk death, escape from jail, and even go without sleep because of the insurmountable love that they feel towards Emelye.


Thinking about these things that both Arcite and Palamon did for love I couldn't help but see parallels in many of the movies and shows we see nowadays. For example one that came to mind was the whole story of King Kong and his immense love for the beautiful girl. This wild and uncontrollable beast is led by his passions and ultimately dies in their sake.


Another plot that came to mind was that of the whole "Mario" video game saga. The whole plot develops around the love that Mario feels towards Princess Peach. In the video game, an ordinary plumber decides to face life threatening obstacles in order to save the beautiful damsel in distress.

Constantly on the Move

As I listened and watched the video of Dorian Merina's poem Migrations, I couldn't help but focus on a curious phrase that was repeated various times throughout the poem:

"On the boats come the blood, the blood, the blood"

What could this mean? What could Merina be trying to tell us, the readers, by using such strong imagery? After contemplating for a while, I began to think about how this whole course is based on traveling and I immediately realized that water is one of the most important means of transportation in the world. People have always been using water to get somewhere, and that is why I have come to an understanding that perhaps what Merina is trying to express is that blood, a substance that represents passion, love, vigor and life, has always been travelling on boats. People are always on the move, just like ideas and emotions and I think that perhaps Merina is trying to show that we are what keeps the world moving. We are the energy that has always and will always keep the world from going stale.