Monsters and Ourselves

We recently read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in class.  This is a novel of a scientist who creates a potion releasing his evil into pure human form.  Dr. Jekyll becomes obsessed with his evil self and over time is able to turn into Mr. Hyde without the potion.  Dr. Jekyll falls in love with his ability to do evil and get away with it.  He believes he is doing no run and says that Mr. Hyde is him, but he is not Mr. Hyde. 

I think that the basis of this novel represents the evil that is in all of us.  Mr. Hyde was small in stature compared to Dr. Jekyll, showing that even if there is a little bit of evil in someone, it can still take over.  I believe that everyone has a little bit of evil in them, its whether or not they can control this evil that matters.  Many times in society you will see people who have good reputations and a clean slate, but in the end will be remembered for one ill-advised mistake they made.  This is the evil in everyone.  Examples of this are politicians.  Many stories come out in the news about scandals committed by them every year and all of a sudden those people have never done anything good in the eyes of America.  They will be remembered for whatever mistake they made.  That is why I do believe that everyone does have at least a little bit of evil in them, it's whether or not they can control it that they will be judged on.

A Room of One's Own

In the essay "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf, Virginia is invited to a lecture on women and fiction.  On her way there, she sets foot on the grass at Oxbridge College.  Women, however, are not allowed on the grass, which is an area of thought at a university, and must stay on the path.  She then goes to the library, where she soon learns that women aren't allowed in unless they are with a Fellow of the College or have a introduction note from one.  Each of these are examples of women's thoughts being interrupted by limitations set up by men.  This is why Woolf is arguing that woman need money and a room of one's own to be able to be great novelists. 

I agree with Woolf in that women need a room to themselves to be a great novelist becuase this means that women without limitations can do whatever they believe they can do.  I believe that woman should be equal to men in the workplace and at home.  However, in modern society, as much as people try to make things equal, there are still those who still try to hold back women.  Acoording to the National Committee on Pay Equity, women make 77.4% of what men make at the same jobs and stay-at-home moms make up 97.7% of stay-at-home parents.  As can be seen, women are still held back.  This is slowly changing over time and maybe one day, women will be seen as equal everywhere.

A Doll House

A main theme in literature is gender issues, especially women's rights.  An example of this is the play "A Doll's House."  In fact becuase of the issues presented the play is also known as "A Doll House."  Throughout the play, Nora admits that she had forged her father's signature in order to pay for a trip to improve her husband's conditions.  Krogstad wants to press charges for this crime, but Nora believes that nothing will ever happen to her.  This just shows Nora's ignorance to the world.  She believes that a ridiculous miracle will happen in which her husband takes the blame for her crime.  Her husband also treats her as a child.  He tells her what to do and often refers to her as "girl."  He easily holds all of the power in the relationship and believes that Nora would get nothing done if not for his guidance.  This is why I believe that the play should be called "A Doll House."  Torvald treats Nora like she is a doll.  She does what he tells her to do and she has really no other importance to him.  When she leaves his main reason for her to stay is to keep his reputation up.  Nora posseses nothing in the house, except she is in control of the children. 

Although the treatment of women is more equal to men now than it is during the time period of the play, there is still one similarity that stands out.  This is the need for independence.  Nora believes that she needs time to herself to become her own person.  She leaves her old life behind including her children.  She also disobeys Torvald unnoticably by eating macaroons and swears.  In modern society women are taking jobs, living on their own, and having their own lives in general without men. 

Cultural Relativism

"The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" shows that even though there are many differences between cultures, every culture follows "some moral rules that all societies will have in common."  This occurs because these rules are "necessary for society to exist."  Examples of these rules shown in the article are lying and murder.  It says that there are laws in place against both of these in all cultures.  Even though there are different punishments for each of these, there are punishments. 

Recently, the Sandusky Scandal is a prefect example of how certain morals are present in all cultures.  The United States's Justice System had its own way of handling the situation, whereas other cultures have their own ways of resolving the issue.  In the United States, all charged will have to go through court and will then be handed their punishments.  In another culture, such as the Peoples Republic of China, the perpetrators would be arrested without a court trial.

Cultures sharing the same morals is also present in literature.  In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo murders a man in his village accidently.  Even though his village is more violent then most, he must still face a punishment for murder.  In this case, he had to leave his village for seven years.  There is also punishment for murder in the Christian community, which is being arrested and put on trial.  In my opinion, I think it is a good thing for all cultures to have to at least a few morals in common because it gives us at least something to agree on and will hold all people together.

Hamlet

Overall, Hamlet is a serious play about Hamlet's revenge of his father's death.  In his revenge, many people die along the way, including Ophelia, who was in love with Hamlet.  The gravediggers who were digging her grave argued whether or not she should have a proper burial in the churchyard because all indications show that she committed suicide.  Their conversation in the play is comedic and many critics believe that a scene like this should not be present in a play as serious as Hamlet.  It is humorous because the gravediggers are just going on with their normal day's work and giving each other riddles to solve and singing songs.  It is a break from the tension in the rest of the play, and after their short conversation, the play goes back to that tension with Ophelia's funeral.  Scenes like this are seen often in Shakespeare's plays.  They are known as comic relief and are included to contrast the tragedy of the rest of the plot. 

I believe that a scene of comic relief is necessary in a play like Hamlet.  It shows that even if something terrible is happening in your life, everyone isn't going to know what's going on and they are going to continue their own lives.  The gravediggers don't know that they are talking to Hamlet when he asks who's grave they are digging.  Because of this they make jokes about digging their own grave becuase they are the ones actually digging it.  In life, not everyone knows your problems and most people have their own problems to take care of.  All of the time, people make remarks and jokes about something that they know or have heard about.  Someone around them may have personal experiences or problems with that and may have a bad reaction and negative feelings towards that person.  In Hamlet, Hamlet questions the gravedigger because he is digging up skulls of people who Hamlet had known, like the jester Yorick.  This causes Hamlet to realize that no matter how great you are, even if you were Julius Caesar, eventually everyone turns to nothing but dust.

That is why, in my opinion, the play needed a scene of comic relief.  Not only does it relieve tension in the audience, but it also proves that in life what happens to one person doesn't effect the lives of everyone else.

Grendel

Many times in life people look at someone or something by what they want to see.  In Beowulf, the kingdom's people believe that Beowulf is a villain who is out to get them.  In Grendel by John Gardner however, we see the story through Grendel's point of view.  At the beginning of the novel, we find Grendel scavenging in the woods.  He kills animals for food, but leaves no remains.  Everything that Grendel does is in nature's best interest.  He wastes nothing.  When Grendel watches the people in the surrounding villages, he notices that they kill only to kill.  It is a game to them.  This frustrates him.  When he goes to talk to the villagers, they think he is trying to attack them, so they attack. Becuase of their acts towards him, Grendel becomes obsessed with killing and turns into a villain in the end.

In life, many times we don't notice it, but we are always judging others.  Even though we may not take notice, people are affected by things we say and take it to heart.  This can cause people to take a turn for the worse and isolate themselves.  An example of this would be bullying of any kind.  Kids take in what others say, and when they hear things about themselves enough times, they will start to believe it.  This causes a great deal of pain and the kid may become mentally weak.  Like Grendel, they may begin not to think straight and do something that they wouldn't have normally done.  I think that people should try to think about what they say before they say it.  In Grendel, if the villagers would have listened to Grendel in the first place they might have not suffered due to his rebellion.  This also applies in the real world as well.  I believe that the world would be a better place for everyone if people would stop hurting others.  In my opinion there needs to be stricter rules on bullying to try and put a stop to it.

Beowulf

An issue presented in letirature is what are the characteristics of a true hero.  This can be seen in the poem Beowulf .  Grendel is the first monster that Beowulf slays, but before Beowulf's arrival to the Land of Shielding, every man that had attempted to kill him in turn was killed by Grendel.  Everything they did had no effect on him.  No one in the kingdom wanted to face Grendel until Beowulf arrived.  Beowulf came because he heard of the Danes' stories and wanted to help.  The characteristics that Beowulf had had never been seen before by Hrothgar and his followers, and they believed that the characteristics of Beowulf must be those of a noble hero.  These characteristics are loyalty, bravery, and pride.

These same characteristics can sometimes be seen in today's world.  With the tenth anniversary of September 11th earlier this month, we are reminded that there still are modern day heroes.  The firefighters and the police of New York risked and some even sacrificed their lives to save others.  This shows great bravery and their loyalty to our country.  The men and women who survived have great pride in what they did that day, and those who died for their country will always be remembered.  They truely are heroes.