Weekly Blog: Week 15

Today we stood along the 17-yard line on the BHS football field. Surrounding us were underclassmen circling the track like we did two years ago. Seeing our lives ahead of us, the whole 73 yards, made me see the important things in life. We can't worry about the little things; they only amount to a few inches of grass. I want to look back on my life, though, knowing that on every dash I did something great--I achieved something significant or impacted someone's life. I can't wait to read Siddhartha and see what kind of book inspired this activity.

Weekly Blog: Week 14

I made a deeper connection in Hamlet last week when I decided to write my essay not on the weaknesses in women, but the weaknesses of men in the play. They try to prove themselves strong and powerful by ordering around the women who they know will be obedient, and the women have to allow themselves to be controlled, which on some level takes much strength. People often try to prove themselves to others and live according to set expectations. These expectations leave us with no room to develop goals for ourselves if we try to abide by those of others. This creates limitations for men and women in society, which is what happens in Hamlet.

Weekly Blog: Week 13

This week we examined art that portrays Ophelia. There were so many views of her, but I thought most of them make her seem helpless, as if she is waiting to be saved. Ophelia demonstrates the classic 'damsel in distress' by being thrown around by men, waiting for one of them to end the madness and allow her to be her own person. She is manipulated and objectified throughout the play, and in the end, she gives up. She is done waiting for someone to save her, and she can't handle being controlled any longer.

Weekly Blog: Week 12

In Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare makes it seem as if the shrew gives in at the end and the man wins, while really, she has control over him from that point on after the story ends. I was thinking today that the women in Hamlet are viewed as much weaker than the shrew, and I am wondering whether or not the women have a deeper purpose than to be just puppets. So far, it seems as if the only depiction of gender differences Shakespere is trying to convey is that of men being superior. They care more about power and manliness than the love and respect they should show towards their mothers, daughters, and lovers. It is almost as if by showing this, Shakespeare can prove how men are weak for not standing up for the ones they love and instead proving them weaker.

Weekly Blog: Week 11

It seems as if many things are exponential. A problem, for example, can worsen more and more as time goes on. A person's actions can lead to another's, which often continues to happen endlessly. Hamlet's madness and inability to decide what to do increases throughout the play, as does the complexity of the number of people involved. Ophelia's love of Hamlet becomes greater suddenly in the play, as such happens in life, too. Friendships become stronger at an exponential rate, and these seem to be the best kind. I feel like I'm rambling about this, but I've noticed lately how life is so sudden and so often exponential, for better or worse. Hamlet is an example of this, and if you look around there are more all the time.