Blog 1: Part 1 Reflection

In Part one, when Riva was comforting her younger brothers. "I put my arms around him and hold him close. I kiss his light brown hair. 'I am so lucky to have you two, my wise darling brothers. I still have you two to hold onto. I love you both so much.'" As the mother figure, she cares for them both so much. Even in the worst of times, she worries that she's making the right decisions. Her maturity level exceeds any of a child I have ever encountered. This isn't necessarily a good thing, because it means that she's had her innocence robbed from her. She withstood a nightmare without a second of complaining. This is amazing to me.

Blog 9: Lawyer. To Defend or Not to Defend (A Little Late)

My decision would be to defend the accused. My first reason is that personal life shouldn’t effect one as a lawyer. Just because defending this person may cause for friends to turn against me is not a good enough reason to decline. A real lawyer wouldn’t let his or her personal life effect business decisions. Basically, if you’re good at what you do, you should be able to defend even the guiltiest of the accused. Atticus Finch proved himself to be an upstanding citizen when accepting the rape case. He is one of the few characters who, despite what the rest of the world thinks, does not discriminate against blacks. I believe that Atticus really loves law. He gives a new name to scummy lawyers.

Blog 16: News Report on Chapter Four

April 2, 1940 - With each passing day, more and more Jews are being captured and forced out of their homes. The once happy neighborhoods have turned to a glum, depressing environment. The silence suddenly breaks out in chaos with a "Forward, march!" These two simple words mean horrific things to come for the innocent men, women, and even children. The chaos gets louder. Screaming and crying...BANG!...then silence. A pregnant Jew is pulled out from the marching line of bobbing heads, and thrown to the ground. Another scream can be heard...following another shot...then the dreaded silence. 

This game is much like cat and mouse. The evil Nazi soldiers trail around the Jews as if they were mice.  What the cats don't see is that the mice have names, families, lives. The naive young children who are separated from their loved ones scurry around, wide-eyed, in hope of finding someone, anyone to stand by them. The victims of the Holocaust - Jews, gays, and different people alike - have endured more than any human ever should, for unjust reasons. All we can do is remember those who were lost and pray for this war of hate to be over.

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.