My Mistress' Eyes

Now, I am not one to get into the lovy dovy stuff that poetry often entails; however, this poem, from my interpretation deals with some of that.  Shakespeare in My Mistress' Eyes uses examples of fabulous attribute that women in poetry usually have. " And in some perfumes is there more delight"(885, Shakespeare). He uses other examples of extravagant things and states that his mistress does not have these attributes or other things like that are superior to those of his mistress. However, near the end, he states that he loves his mistress because she does not have those things as they are described.  She has her own lip color, her own breath smell, her own breast color, her own voice that are all unique to her. This is what Shakespeare makes clear as to what he loves in his women.  Essentially, he is saying in a modern translation that he loves her just the way she is and that he would not ever change a thing. 

Barbie Doll

The poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy is one that is full of irony.  The title itself is ironic at the end of the poem.  Barbie: the classic image of what every perfect girl should like like.  However, in reality, Barbie wouldn't even be able to stand due to some feature.   This comparison to Barbie shows how this perfectly fine girl was pushed to the brink due to societies messed up rating system.  The girl, a person with healthy differences in her appearance, was always being compared to an inanimate doll that people strived to be like.  Albert Einstein once said, "But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”  This quote could easily be applied here.  

Referring to question 3, the answer of it could be take in two ways.  One way is that these description assisted her fate by making her look more like a male.  In this, she may have been criticized more. Additionally, these "strong arms and back"(835, Piercy) may have made the terrible procedure that she did to herself easier. 

Jury of Her Peers

Referring to question one, and the title A Jury of Her Peers, it appears that the age, date, and society that this article takes place reveals a level of gender discrimination.  The title itself is ironic due to the fact that when this article was written, a man had the right to have a jury based on his peers.  Women are largely regarded as inferior in this story. "...women are used to worrying over trifles"(412, Glaspell).  This quote is followed by the remark, "...what would we do without the ladies"(412, Glaspell)? I got the feeling of sarcasm that would coincide with the rest of the story.  
As the story progresses and we the readers see the clues that the women are collecting, I get the feeling and image of the classic, sneaky, seemingly submissive wife.  These are the women who men assume are futile and dependent on them, but instead they are outsmarting the males. These women are obviously not submissive and stupid as their society would have us the readers believe.  Rather, the are intellectual individuals who aim and eventually succeed in finding out the motives behind the murder.  Mrs. Wright was an unhappy individual who saw no escape.  

Hunters in the Snow

Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff was extremely interesting.  Frank: a hippie.  Tub: a lier who is obsessed with food. Kenny: a sly individual who enjoys keeping secrets and causing conflicts between people.  Referring to question one, sympathy expands and evolves as the story moves on.  Initially, we feel sympathy for Tub. He's mocked and bludgeoned for his supposed gland problem.  We also have an initial hate for Kenny that accompanies the sympathy we feel for Tub.  We feel sympathy for Tub until we shoots Kenny and admits that he has no gland problem at all.  Kenny, the one shot, invokes sympathy through cries and pleas for help as illustrated in this quote,"It was a joke. Oh!(193, Wolff). We see that Kenny was simply being a juvenile, immature person who inadvertently makes Tub shoot him.  Overall, I feel sorry for Kenny as well as Tub in the end.  Kenny is stuck in the truck at the mercy of two people who obviously do not like him too much.  

Othello 4

Act five of Shakespeare's Othello went by extremely fast.  This act was truly crazy due to the revelations, the action, and the heartbreak.  As was predicted, Desdemona perished at the hands of Othello.  Also, as expected, Othello later has a moment of clarity where he realized how truly toast he is and how much of a mistake he has made.  "O Desdemona! Desdemona! Dead!"(V, ii, 280, Shakespeare). This quote shows a moment of "Oh my gosh, what have I done?" Othello realizes how truly he has messed up and how much he has thrown away.  Iago, the sneaky, evil devil that he is, refuses to say anything after the results of his actions are shown to him.  Ironically, Othello dies while the villain lives to be tortured another day.  Though not exactly ironic, the situation is probably for the best.  Iago now is going to be tortured severely for the crimes he has committed.  Othello then committed suicide due to his rather crappy predicament.  With his reputation and wife gone, Othello really has nothing more to live for.  

Othello 3

Roderigo seems to kind of be the classic red shirt Star Trek character.  He is the guy you always send in and never expect to come back out.  Particularly in the first scene of Act 5 for Othello, we see how really useful Roderigo is.  We see that Iago initially wanted Roderigo to kill Cassio.  However, knowing that Cassio is in the military, the likelihood of that was fairly slim.  As Roderigo was being stabbed, Iago came up behind Cassio and stabbed him.  It was dark and he quickly ran away to avoid being discovered.  Further example of Roderigo's usefulness is when Iago actually stabs him. "Oh, murderous slave, Oh, villian!"(V, i, 62, Shakespear).  This quote shows that Iago is showing his allegiance to Cassio and Othello by stabbing and eventually killing the man you supposedly hurt Cassio.  He used Roderigo to further win over the gratitude of Othello.  

Othello 2

As with any quality play, foreshadowing will likely be clear in the plot.  This being the case, Shakespeare decided to use foreshadowing in Othello through the characters Desdemona and Bianca.  The most obvious example of foreshadowing came from the song the Desdemona sang while her and Bianca were in her chambers.  Though this song does not exactly foreshadow a death, it doesadow foreshadow negative things that may soon occur.  "I called my love false love..."(IV, iii, 53, Shakespeare).  This quote shows the Desdemona may be believing that her first love, Othello, may have been an actual false love.  Additionally, her placing her wedding sheets on my be sign that she is ready to die.  Earlier, she implies that she wished to end this marriage on the seem sheets that it started on.  This could be foreshadowing for a possible death later on.  

Othello 1

Iago had begun to take some new techniques and methods under his belt.  First, he is actually straight forward this time.  Every other lie that he has ever fed to Othello was one that was implied but no factually stated.  Shakespeare makes Iago seem like a suspicious little creature in the beginning of Othello; however, as the play progresses, it seems as though Iago has become much more confident in his system of lying.  "With her, on her, what you will"(IV, i, 45, Shakespeare).  This quote is an example of the upfront and outrageous statements that Iago has started to use.  This method of straightforwardness amplifies Othello's certainty that Desdemona is surely doing him wrong.  
Additonally, he begins a new technique for manipulation by allowing others to say what he would say. Hearing Cassio describe his feelings about a women that he has obviously has interesting situations with leads to Othello being very upset.  He is upset, however, because he believes that the women that Cassio is talking about is Desdemona.  Cassio was in fact talking about Bianca and Iago told Othello that he will be talking to Cassio about Desdemona; therefore, Othello only assumed that the talk was about Desdemona.

Othello 4

Though racist, people in Shakespeare's Othello do treat the victims of their racism differently compared to today's racists. Othello, a black male who was previously a slave, is a well respected general.  Though some are racist to them, I do not believe that all of it is maliciously racist, it is just a welcomed part of their society.  "Your son-in-law is far more fair than black"(Shakespeare, I, iii, 1379).  This quote, though sounding malicious, may indeed just have been their well accustomed custom.  Though fairly odd to modern people, it was probably okay then because as the reader sees, there are not physical restraints to what black individuals may do.  Similarly, women, though treated with some amount of sexism, are treated with some respect, too.  After Cassio's fight, Desdemona was woken up.  Othello, seeing that his wife was awake, slapped Cassio for doing that.  This particular action showed that people of the day still treated their women with some respect contrary to what Iago tries to portray to the readers.

Othello 3

Racism, Sexism, and any other "ism" that can be described is prevalent in and towards many characters throughout the play.  Racism specifically takes a role in many conversations and comments.  Othello, being of Moroccan dissent, is on the tail end of some rather racist remarks.  "...Or else the Devil will make grandsire of you"(Shakespeare, 1, i, 1364).  In the footmarks, the Devil is portrayed as a black individual.  This representation may give a glimpse as to the feelings that may surround Othello and other black or colored people of the time.  In Othello, Shakespeare gives the reader a glimpse as to how different races were viewed.  

Similarly, sexism also plays a major role in the plot.  Iago, a manipulative little weasel, is severely sexist, especially towards his wife.  He literally has no good praise that could be given to any woman.  This given portrayal may allow the reader to see why Iago is so intent on persuading Othello that is wife is cheating.    

Othello 2

Irony, specifically with Iago and Othello have also played important roles so far in Shakespeare's Othello.  The master of manipulation, Iago, has showed to be good at making people believe in what he wants them to believe.  "If she be black, and hereto have a wit, She'll find a white that shall her blackness fit"(Shakespeare, II,i, 1386).  Essentially, Iago, the master of manipulation himself, is claiming that women, all women, can manipulate their way out of any situation.  His own manipulation is also rather effective.   Additionally, I believe that conversation between Iago and Desdemona that this quote was found in delivers a message of foreshadowing.  As we see act three progress, we continue to see Iago manipulate and persuade Othello through the guise of a honest and trustworthy man.  Iago is able to sneak his manipulative techniques through the classic, "I'm only trying to help" act.  Iago claims that he never wants to speak his true thoughts because he fears that they may harm the receiver. However, by doing that, he is essentially egging the receiver on to keep asking for the information.  From a third person view, this guy is an obvious lunatic and no one even sees it!

Othelllo 1

Trust seems to be a real problem for many of the people in Shakespeare's Othello.  As I continue to read through act three, even Othello is experiencing multiple situations involving trust.  First, his Lieutenant Cassio is involved in a reputation ruining fight.  Because of this, we see that Othello cannot trust his supposedly most trusted man.  Secondly, his new wife, Desdemona is seriously trusting Othello's patience and trust.  However, he testing his trust is not by any means by her doing.  The mischievous Iago is implanting fallacies inside of Othello's head.  Unfortunately, I do not believe that Othello currently has the guts to just go and find out immediately instead of even looking through Iago. However, we do see that Othello is serious about finding the truth and will do anything to find it.  "Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, Be sure of it, give me ocular proof"(Shakespeare, III, iii, 1416).  I feel that trust will continue to be an interesting factor in the outcome of this play due to its prevalence at the beginning with Brabantio all the way to the end of act three.