QT 3 Reflections

 

WOW! I can't believe it's the end of third quarter already. What's going through my head right now is acing this AP Literature exam. All I've learned throughout the course of this year will be on this exam. I'm excited yet prepared because I know I've been studying & will do my best. I would like to give a special thanks to my teacher  Ms.Ahearn for these 40-min timed writes, literary quizzes/crossword puzzles, and my 3A classes' socratic seminar. Through these various activities I know I'll do my very best on this exam! AP LITERATURE is the best english class I've ever had throughout my 4 years of High School. I feel that it's basically prepared me for college, and I'm ready for English 101. I can't wait to ace this exam.*****woohoo!!!

Quarter 2 Reflection

Wheeew! Its finally the end of QT. 2! Wow I can honestly say this class is preparing me for college. This quarter might have not been easy as QT 1. But I definitely challenged my self and ended up passing w/ a B! From reading August Wilson's Fences and to Shakespeare's  Othello, it made my reading and comprehension skills increase. Being exposed to different literary works definitely helped me in NOT judging a book by it's "title." The most challenging experience that occurred this quarter was me battling procrastination/senior-itis. At one point, I really started not to care about the whole high school phase, but then reality hit me when I had a letter sent home saying I was failing a class. Failing a class?? Right then in there I knew I had to do better, and that I need to stay focused and not let this "senior thing" get to my head. I'm ready for the even BIGGER challenge I'll be facing in QT 3 balancing Aplit/Exams, prom, and etc. but I know I can do it I run that extra mile!

Othello: Character Analysis Paper

                                                                                                            

           

                            Character Analysis: Shakespeare’s Othello

   6. Does Othello fall as the result of a tragic flaw? Why or why not?

            A tragic hero is a person who initially is well-respected and holds a high reverence within society. They are of high moral worth and are highly ambitious in what they set out to achieve. A single mistake or tragic flaw can, bring them to damage, with a loss of everything that they possess. In William Shakespeare's Othello, the protagonist, Othello is an exceptional example of a character that falls as the result of a tragic flaw. In the play, Othello; a black moor downfalls from a highly respected general to a jealous man who murders his own wife and himself. To begin, Othello; who’s portrayed as a man that shows greatness; was a general from Venice who received high respect from his townspeople. However, Othello suffers from a moral dilemma, “jealousy.” Othello becomes convinced by scheming friend;Iago, that his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful to him with his lieutenant, Cassio. Othello believes Desdemona should no longer live due to the thoughts that have been made up in his head regarding her unfaithfulness. In the end, Othello deals with love lost in which his gullibility and jealousy were the two main reasons that led him to his downfall. Author William Shakespeare uses the literary device, characterization to portray Othello as a man who is entirely good but contributes to his own destruction by some moral weakness (the "tragic flaw").

       

            In the beginning of the play, Othello is characterized as a compassionate military noble man who has a passionate love for his wife Desdemona, whom is of extreme purity. The manipulative character, Iago takes over the play and uncovers the hero’s tragic flaw; eventually being jealous and gullible. Although Othello is usually perceived a very firm man, it can be seen when he refuses to let Iago persuade him to get angry at Roderigo in Act 2 Scene 1. Shakespeare demonstrates dramatic irony allowing readers to realize Othello’s tragic flaw for the fact that he hands his full trust over to a man who is two-faced and dishonest (Iago). “...My ancient; a man he is of honesty and trust. To this conveyance I assign my wife”. This line expresses Othello’s misunderstanding of his flag, Iago, who is already plotting against him for his own means. After witnessing Iago’s scheme with Roderigo at the downfall of Othello in the previous act, it suggests Iago is truly a villain. However in his innocence, Othello is blinded to it and by it. This was revealed by a simple influence by Iago. Even though Iago used intense manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello to be jealous; Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him constantly questioning Desdemona and his friend/officer, Cassio.

              The progress of Othello cores around the jealousy of the rival as the medium with which his tragic flaw lands his downfall. As the play progresses, and Iago ruins the mind of Othello more and more effectively, Othello becomes increasingly gullible. His emotion causes him to lash out and become weak in everyway possible. The ending is the goal of Iago’s to the tragic flaw. Another flaw he faced was being one of the guys; he trusted the wrong person, Iago, and distrusted his wife because he was likely to base his trust on male friendship. He distrusted Cassio, at Iago's advice, because the claim against Cassio was one he understood.

            In Act IV Scene I, Othello falls into a trance after being a victim again to another one of Iago’s cruel lies of the imaginary affair between Desdemona and Cassio. “she must die, else she’ll betray more men…” (Act V Scene II). Othello plans the death of Desdemona, which includes smothering her in her bed. Othello believes Desdemona should no longer live due to the thoughts that have been made up in his head regarding her unfaithfulness. Due to Othello’s jealousy, Desdemona suffers deeply. After killing Desdemona, Othello begins to suffer with incredible guilt.

                 The handkerchief was the first gift Desdemona received from Othello; she keeps it about her constantly as a symbol of Othello’s love. Iago manipulates the handkerchief so that Othello comes to see it as a symbol of Desdemona herself. Othello learns about the handkerchief, and his guilt worsens. He asks for the truth regarding the handkerchief: “…How came you, Cassio, by that handkerchief/That was my wife’s?” (Act V Scene II). Othello’s reveals this before his suicide, “speak of one that loved not wisely, but too well, of one not easily jealous but, being wrought, perplexed in an extreme....” This shows that Othello came to the realization of the tragic flaw of his gullibility and lack of wisdom has led to the dreadful situation. With Desdemona dead, Othello discovers the truth concerning the handkerchief and kills himself for murdering his wife due to the great regret he feels. In conclusion, Othello’s jealousy and gullibility corrupts his exceptional leadership, which led to his tragic downfall. Throughout the play, Othello sank deeper and deeper into his own blur of disbelief which led him to kill not only Desdemona but also himself. So it’s in fact true that Othello's jealousy, gullibility, and inability to see past it remains the reason for his downfall. 

          The evidence stated in my previous claims suggests that nobody is more responsible for Othello, than Othello. He kills his wife; he faces the knowledge that she was innocent; he kills himself fully aware of his foolishness, and dies in misery. Throughout the play Shakespeare shows the reader Othello’s fall as the result of a tragic flaw ending in a tragedy. The tragedy was that Othello allowed lies to challenge his faith in life, and in doing so, he destroyed what he cherished most. In other words, jealousy and gullibility has the power to destroy.

Quarter 1 Reflection.

 Ahhhhh! Quarter 1 went by so fast. I feel I am learning so much every day from literature, so far this year.  Before this class, when I thought of Literature I thought of long boring stories. After just one semester in AP Literature, my mindset on literature has changed. Literature is not just boring words on a page that someone wrote because they had nothing better to do. The study of literature is important. Literature exposes me to new ideas, it causes me to think.

Reading can be a very easy task when you are engaged in the material. My strength in reading is that I actually love to annotate so I can really understand the key concepts of the material. This can be a very good strength during timed exams, such as the AP Lit exam. My weakness in reading is that sometimes when I’m not interested in the material I can breeze through and not remember half of what I read. My reading goal for next quarter is to think of the bigger picture in the text, like the diff. themes and literary devices. I have to spot them. This quarter I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed what we read about. I didn't know we would have such plays as Oedipus Rex. 

Writing used to be my least favorite part of any English class. This quarter I started to enjoy writing because of the process that led to our writing. Breaking things such as the Socratic Seminars down into intervals really helped me develop a great paper. My writing goal for next quarter is to really take my time on my pre-write. This quarter while writing I grew in the area of catchy opening statements. While doing the opener part of my Oedipus Rex paper, I had fun and thought of four attractive openers in no time at all. This quarter the process of our Socratic seminars, and outline helped me become a better writer.

Fate against Choice in Oedipus Rex

               

1. In Oedipus Rex, is Oedipus a helpless victim of fate or were there ever times when he could have acted to prevent his own downfall?

               “Destiny (fate) is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for it is a thing to be achieved.” –(William Jennings Bryan) Some may disagree with this quote, but I find it in fact very true. Although fate does seem to have control over most conditions, I believe that choice has more to do with this play then it's really recognized to.  In the Greek play Oedipus Rex freewill and fate are two contesting characteristics of King Oedipus, Sophocles blends throughout the play. Oedipus is responsible for the tragedy of his downfall. Although Oedipus was the hero in the story, his life was filled with so many tragedies, some of which he brought upon himself due to his pride. Sophocles uses the literary device, characterization to portray Oedipus as the tragic hero. The tragic hero is the character who faces the most difficult challenges in the story which reveals Oedipus’s battle between fate vs. choice.

         

                   In the beginning of the play, Oedipus is characterized as a very affectionate, boastful, confident, and a leader that contains careless swiftness.  He faces some difficult events in the play that includes the city of Thebes suffering from a plague and a drought. His over confident and prideful mentality were some factors that led to him being a tragic hero by choice. It explains in the quote that “Here I am myself you all know me, the world knows my fame:  I am Oedipus,” by the climax of this tragedy, however, Oedipus’s name will have become a curse, so that his suppliants are now terrified even to hear it and cries, “You, you’re that man?” Sophocles establishes this idea in order to characterize Oedipus as a leader with too much pride. As the play progresses, Oedipus takes action by choice when Creon informs him about the murder of Laius that happened years back. In the text, “I’ll start again-I’ll bring it all to light myself!” Oedipus’ swiftness in wanting to take control brings about his choice in wanting to do so. The reader gains a sense that Oedipus is taking the initiative to bring all these things upon him; Sophocles uses this to suggest the conflict of fate vs. choice. This is an understanding of how choice overpowers fate in Oedipus’ decision making allows the reader to realize the importance of choice in the primary issue.

                    During the play, Tiresias, a blind prophet, comes in led by a boy. He tells Oedipus that “…the killer you are seeking is yourself.” Oedipus refuses to believe this, and suspects a political scheme with the objective of dethroning him. Oedipus had a choice in believing blind prophet, Tiresias’ truths but his pride wouldn’t let him.

Sophocles molds Oedipus’ characterization that not only is he affectionate for his people, but he’s cruel to those who tell him the truth. It is explained in the text “…you scum of the earth, you’d enrage a heart of stone!...and given eyes I’d say you did the killing single-handed!” Oedipus also mocks his blindness, while Tiresias curses Oedipus that he will soon be blind. Oedipus is characterized as arrogant because of the tone he uses when speaking to the prophet Tiresias. Oedipus had a choice of remaining calm, asking Tiresias why and how he came up with his truths instead of being rude. Sophocles uses arrogance as Oedipus’s characterization in which he converses with other characters in a way that (such as humbly or firmly) reflects both his status and confidence. It came to my understanding that nothing forces Oedipus to kill Laius; there is no accident. The location of a crossroad for this scene is representational of Oedipus' choice. Oedipus could have chosen to ignore the dispute and end it peacefully, but he instead lashes out. Sophocles utilizes that representation in this scene. The crossroad also serves as a figurative crossroad in Oedipus' life, the point in which Oedipus can turn away from the fateful prophecy or begin fulfilling it in which fate vs choice is the matter.

               As Jocasta tries to calm Oedipus, she says “Listen to me… no skill in the world, nothing human can penetrate the future”. Her claim harms the reputation of the power of the oracle and blind prophet to predict the future and determine fate. She advises Oedipus to live by chance regardless of his fate. Jocasta continues “It’s all chance, chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth can see a day ahead… Better to live at random, best we can”. Sophocles conveys this idea of Jocasta being against fate so she can be the representation of choice. Jocasta and Oedipus are union by marriage but ironically their symbolic means struggle against each other. When the Shepard and messenger begin to tell the truth, Jocasta encourages Oedipus to “Stop- in the name of god, if you love your own life, call of this search”. Jocasta remains the figure of choice; she advances Oedipus not to conform to fate but to choose his own destiny. “Let the storm burst, my fixed resolve still holds,... birth? Nothing can make me other than I am.” When Oedipus arrives at Thebes, he is presented with yet another choice; to become the king and to wed the queen. Once again, Oedipus' choice puts him one step closer to fulfilling the prophecy. Oedipus is not forced into marrying Jocasta, this is simply his decision. Fate was not responsible. While Oedipus’s fate of killing his father and sleeping with his mother is sealed, he only learns that he has fulfilled his fate through constant searching. Therefore, it’s his fault that the tragedy is discovered, not the fault of fate.

                   The most obvious reason Oedipus is responsible is that by the end of the play Oedipus has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus states, "…..Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my father’s bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!" It was all by Oedipus’ choices that could’ve prevented him from his downfall, only if he made the right choices. If we choose to cast blame, we are taking a detour on a path that can lead to a glorious destination. Far better to accept responsibility, learn from our mistakes, and move on. Like William Jennings Bryan said, we need to recognize that, "Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” Oedipus is presented with a series of choices throughout the play, and his arrogant and stubborn nature pushed him to make the wrong decisions. And those decisions that ultimately led to his downfall. By the end of the play, Oedipus' downfall is prophesized, and Oedipus does fulfill the prophecy. The truth of the matter is that Oedipus' choices are what led him to fulfill the prophecy. The evidence from my previous claims suggests that nobody is more responsible for Oedipus, than Oedipus. Through Oedipus Rex, Sophocles shows the reader the consequences of carelessness in decision-making.