What do we Learn about the World of this Novel from the Description of its Physical Landscape and those who Inhabit it

January 17, 2014Uncategorizedliviempson

From the description of the novels physical landscape, i am able to withdraw that it is a inhospitable unpleasant and dark place which attracts lonely people. ‘Lies the most horrible quicksand on the shores of yorkshire.’ The physical relation depicts the idea that this bay is a place where lonely and lost people come to dwell, as quicksand relates to the idea of depression and getting dragged under. This also gives us an implication of the type of people who come to the bay. ‘The whole of the quicksand shivering and trembling’ The author personifies the physical setting of the sand and gives it characteristics to achieve the idea that even the sand which is ‘trembling’ is afraid of this inhospitable place…In the description there is no mention of colour whatsoever which adds to the bleakness and eeriness of the bay. From reading about the people who inhabit the bay, it is clear that they are suffering in some way. ‘She looked very quiet and wretched.’ The description of Rosanna suggests that she is stuck in time-and this particular bay has a memory as she revisits it every day. The reference to a ‘stain to a ‘stain’ on the jacket can also resemble that places, people and things can have a residue, they can loiter and stain your memory and soul.

Compare the depiction of Pip and Ishmael in the openings of ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘Moby Dick’.

January 17, 2014Uncategorizedliviempson

From the way Pip and Ishmael are both depicted in the passage, it is apparent that they are at different stages in their lives. ‘My infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.’ This explores the idea that Pip is still a young child and not very mature as he can’t pronounce his own name properly. This contrasts with the character of Ishmael who is an older man and has a wise understanding of the world, ‘Some years ago–never mins how long precisely, I decided to sail around a little and see the watery side of the world.’ This implies that Ishmael is independent and is at a later stage in his life, unlike Pip, who is still very young.

One of the most observable contrasts between Ishmael and Pip, is that Pip can’t stand being by himself, where as Ishmael needs it. At the end of Dickens’ introduction to Pip, he is described as “the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all”. This quotation implies that Pip is still so young and significantly alone in the vast world, without the comfort of anyone. He is a young boy without any parents or siblings, and this idea haunts him. Ishmael, on the other hand, would explode without solitude. As soon as he feels pressured or encompassed by “Manhattoes” he decides that it is “high time to get to sea as soon as” he quickly as he can. For Ishmael, being out on the see is the only way he can escape from his busy everyday life, and enjoy himself. It is this craving for isolation that separates Ismael from Pip.

Another variation between Pip and Ishmael is there contrasting acknowledgements and awareness’ of the world. Ishmael has travelled and seen ‘many of the watery parts of the world.’ He has a wise understanding and view of what is happening around him, and I can extract the idea that he has a secure job in a thriving city where people strive to work hard and achieve. ‘tied to counters, nailed to benches, clinched to desks. ‘He has obviously succeeded in life, and under any circumstances, he can flock everyday life and afford to sail on the sea by himself. Pip, on the other hand, is completely different. ‘As I never saw my mother or my father…’ Pip has grown up without any adult guidelines, so he has had to make guesses to fill in many of the unfilled gaps in his life. ‘and that small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.’ Pip is confused, insecure and unsure about life and growing up in the world, whethers Ishmael is more sure of himself and has clear guidelines of his life.

Who (or what) was really to blame for Duncan’s Murder?

December 11, 2013Uncategorizedliviempson

Overall, I think Lady Macbeth was the key and most crucial indictment for Duncan’s murder. Although other characters within the play did contribute to the death of the king, such as Macbeth himself and the three witches, Lady Macbeth’s role in his death is the most prominent and influential.

Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness, overriding all his unwillingness and objections. Using cunning and tricky words, Lady Macbeth makes Macbeth think he has to kill Duncan for his benefit. Lady Macbeth suddenly becomes interested in the murder when she realised it could benefit her. “We will proceed no further in this business” She then realises what she could benefit from the situation, and becomes obsessed with being Queen.

Macbeth is hesitant to kill a good King due to his own ambitions, but is persuaded do do it. One way Shakespeare achieves this idea of control and power that Lady Macbeth has over Macbeth is through emasculation. The theme of the relationship between gender and power is key to Lady Macbeth’s character and how she can be depicted as manipulative. Throughout the play, she is referred to as a masculine soul inhabiting a female body. ‘Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.’ This links and arises the idea that masculinity is linked to the ‘direst cruelty’ Lady Macbeth feels that Macbeth is overly nice, and this will stop him seizing the crown. She accuses her husband of being a ‘coward’, and when he tries to back down, uses her ruthlessness to persuade him he isn’t masculine enough. Macbeth, being a brave and patriotic soldier who has fought and succeeded in wars, can’t bear to have his masculinity challenged and questioned.

Overall, I think Lady Macbeth is the key character to blame for the murder of Duncan. Without her tenuous persuasion to commit the deed, Macbeth would have never have killed Duncan. Lady Macbeth fed him the ideas, and implanted them like a seed, which she kept watering. When Macbeth tried to back down, Lady Macbeth challenged him in a personal way, and made him feel like a coward.

The Differences Between the Two Videos of Macbeth

November 19, 2013Uncategorizedliviempson

From watching the two videos, I am able to see the story of Macbeth presented in two completely different ways. The most apparent difference between the two versions of Shakepseare’s most famous play is the era in which they were set. The music, settings costume and effects emphasise and give an indication to when they were set. The second video is presented as a modern day interpretation of Macbeth, (perhaps a futuristic or modern day scenario) and the first version is set in the past.

The first video starts on a foggy deserted beach. There is heavy rain and howling wind, and the overall atmosphere is very eerie. As the scene progresses, we get an insight of the battle which provides a metamorphosis to the start of the scene. As it builds up, we are presented with a more patriotic and nationalistic atmosphere as the men have just won the battle and victory is in the air. The soldiers are wearing typical old-fashioned military uniform. They are protected by worn-out armour and are all equipped with swords or horses. The music playing darkly in the background gives a gothic and unsettling feel to the scene, and when the music speeds up, it creates a build up of tension that gives us the idea something significant is about to happen.

The second video starts in a modern day hospital. There are large advanced machines, breathing life into the injured patients in the hospital.The witches are dressed in nurse costumes, and are holding various medical utensils. The way the witches are portrayed give them a very creepy and untrusting sense. The patients in the hospital are all suffering from gory and sanguinary wounds from the war. The witches are portrayed as something alien,possibly representing a futuristic take on what the world will become. The flash lighting and sound affects also add to the tension and creepiness of the scene.

Overall, both plays portray and capture the correct storyline and feelings encouraged by Shakespeare’s renown novel, Macbeth. They both continually dramatise and accentuate the theme of the supernatural and dark world throughout the play. The witches are also centre rolls in both the versions.

In what ways could ‘A View from the Bridge be viewed as a Tragedy?

November 4, 2013Uncategorizedliviempson

Throughout a View from the Bridge, we get the sense that a tragic ending is inevitable. At the beginning of the play, Alfieri tells the audience about another lawyer similar to himself, two thousand years ago. ‘He heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.’ Through this speech, Miller lays out the inescapable end of the drama, and the tragedy of Eddie’s unavoidable ending, which is coincidently death. During the play, Alfieri comments on and articulates the deeper moral and social implications of the play. Alfieri is a key to distinguishing Eddie as the tragic figure, as he portrays to us as an audience what he thinks will happen to Eddie and almost foresees his future. ‘His eyes were like tunnels’, this depicts to us just how well Alfieri can see through Eddie Carbone, how his downfall is so predictable.

There are several ways in which a View from the Bridge is similar to or resembles a Greek Tragedy or drama. Traditionally, in Greek tragedy the character with the heroic characteristic is the one that drives the main character to his devastating fall. In this situation, Eddie is the tragic character who is helpless in the face of his own devastating fate. In Greek tragedies you see the main character fall to a lower place from where they originally started.

Another aspect, which adds a tragic element into the play is the characters traits. In a way, all the characters in the play are somewhat involved in a problem or tragedy of their own. Marco is faced with the hardship of having to leave his family thousands of miles away, in order to work and provide for them. Rodolpho had the misfortune of being constantly disbelieved questioned and misunderstood over his love for Catherine. Catherine lived in the tragedy of not having much freedom, being overruled and over loved by Eddie, loosing both her parents from a young age and made to feel bad about her love and desire for Rodolpho. Beatrice has the misery of feeling unloved and second choice to Eddie. And Eddie, has to bear the pain of letting the person he has loved and cared for for so long go. Into the hands of a man he dislikes. The development of Catherine and Rodolpho’s love is something that the increasingly protective Eddie couldn’t tolerate. Eddie’s self pride and dignity blocked his vision, and eventually as the play drew to an end his jealousy got deeper, then he finally did the unforgivable and unforgettable.