Blog 15: Holocaust Topics and The Cage

The Jewish Holocaust took place in Europe from 1933-1945. It was a mass murder of millions of followers of Judaism. The Nazi Party consisted of political followers of Adolph Hitler's views. Hitler lead and organized the genocide. Ruth Minsky Sender is a Poland-born holocaust survivor. After her mother being taken from her, leaving her with her brothers to take care of, she was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was seperated at the gates from her brothers. She was finally liberated by Russian forces. Mittelsteine was the second camp she was sent to and eventually rescued from. A personal memoir is a writing of an encounter the author had themselves. The Cage is a story of one girl who encountered the horrific genocide known as the Holocaust, and her experiences throughout.

Blog 14: How Petruchio Tamed Kate

From the first time they met, Petruchio was overbearing of Kate, forcing her to do and say things she didn't want to at the time. His first step to taming the shrew was to get her father's permission to marry her, and making it seem as if she wanted to marry him by saying that, when it was just the two of them, Katherina hung on Petruchio's neck. Of course this was false, but it didn't stop Petruchio from getting his way. His determination and stubbornness throughout the whole process allowed for him to be successful. First, he showed up late to their wedding in order to show her who had the upper hand in the relationship. Embarassed and weeping, Katherina still married him once he did arrive, dressed poorly and unclean. Once she lived in his house, he didn't allow for her to be fed or rested, as he did with his falcons to train them. She begged for food and first began to respect Petruchio. He also was purposely demanding toward the help in front of Katherina, but later explained to them it was only an act for Katherina to look up to him. As the play went on, she became more and more willing to obey him, realizing that there was nothing more she could do. Finally, in Act V Scene ii, Katherina expressed her true feelings about marriage to her sister Bianca and the widow who was wife to Hortensio. When the two women did not obey their husbands, Katherina lectured them on how a good wife should act. Katherina and Petruchio's relationship reminds me of 

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's marriage. Petruchio would be Angelina while Katherina would be Brad. From an outsider's perspective, it seems as though Angelina has the upper hand in the relationship and forces respect. Of course no one will ever know what really goes on inside their home, but one can always wonder.

The three lines that stood out to me most were, first: Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe,/And craves no other tribute at thy hands/But love, fair looks, and true obedience-/Too little payment for so great a debt.

In the lines displayed above, Katherina puts men on a pedestal. She took a complete 180 and now truly believes that women should treat their husbands as kings in return for taking care of them. She is a contender to those who believe that the role of a wife is in the kitchen and the role of a husband lies in the office.

One of the only things that Katherina does not mention is the mental aspect of their relationship. I predict that she believes that women are more advanced, mentally, than men but does not wish to disrespect her husband by either expressing that particular opinion or lying about it.

Blog 11: Shakespeare's Language

1. Blank Verse is verse without rhyme or set rhythm.

2. a) But wait! What time of day is it?

b) You are more lovely and more innocent.

c) If it were done when it was supposed to be done then all would be well.

d) They fell in love easily and quickly, and got married without a second thought.

NYT Article & Power in OMAM

1. At the time of OMAM, there was the Great Depression going on. In the New York Times article, it discusses the recession that is occurring at this time. 

2. The false sense of comfort that the article presents is the bidding up of stocks. 

3. If the US thinks that we are going to recover than we will. No one is spending because of the recession but if we all ignore the problem and start to spend again everything will go back to normal.

Blog 7: The Boss

George says that Lennie is his slow cousin who was kicked in the head by a horse as a child, which is a lie. He suspects that George is taking Lennie's money and tells, "But don't try to put nothing over, 'cause you can't get away with nothing." He lies and says that Lennie is shy so that he won't ruin this job for them as he has in the past. 

Pandora's Box

1. The one thing that did not make its way out of the box was the ability to know what's going to happen before it does. This would eliminate the idea of hope. All of society would be depressed and unsurprised each day.

2. If disease had not escaped Pandora's box, the world would never experience tragedies like plagues. Although these things are unfortunate, they keep the population in check. Without them, our planet would be too over populated.