Journal #12 Blood Wedding

Creative: Poem 

Oh my love so soft and sweet, 

I cannot believe you tricked me with deceit.

Our marriage could have been so happy, filled with joy, 

then you ran away with him, and it all was destroyed.

But I may forgive you one day my love, 

when I look down on you from heaven above.

Because forgiveness is happiness, 

and I cannot live my life without bliss. 

So live your life in pain and sorrow, 

because for me, there's no tomorrow.

Despite all the hurt you've caused me to feel, see, and hear,

I still care for you my sweet, sweet bride, I'll always love you my dear. 

Journal #11 Blood Wedding

Comparison: Compare how writers in your study have explored the themes of disguise and deceit, and with what effect?

In the book Blood Wedding a lot of conflict arises because of disguise and deceit. The tragety and meaning behind the play comes from disguise and deceit. When the bride runs away with Leonardo, she is deceiving her former fiance. By doing this the whole wedding comes after her and kills Leonardo and, in term, her former fiance. This shows that because she used deceit and was deceptive, tragety struck her life.

In the play Blood Wedding, the wife of Hjalmar lied and was deceptive. She decieved her husband into thinking that their daughter Hedvig was really his, but in reality she had cheated with Werle and that is her daughters true father. After Hjalmar figured this out he showed no love towards the daughter he thought all along, was his. Because he treated her badly and said he had no love for her, tragety struck his life right as he realized that he loved his daughter no matter what. But it was too late, his daughter had already killed herself because she thought she was a burden to the family because of this lie her mother had been stringing along her entire life. This proves that disguise and deceit causes tention and tragety in life.

Journal #10 Blood Wedding

My dear mother,
I know you are concerned about my future marriage. I am writing this to tell you not to worry, and to have faith in me. I love my Bride no matter what, she is the love of my life. I know we have only known each other for a short three years but in that short amount of time I have learned that this woman that is my fiance, is my soul mate. Your pain because of dad and brother's death pain you so much, that you are taking it out on me. You are effecting my life in a negative way right now mother. I need you to accept the loss of our family members and move on. Whether that be to find a new husband or to escape the place where you live, I need you to find some way to move on. Right now you are a bitter, nosey, rude old woman and I miss my old mom. The mom that showed me limitless amounts of love everyday, and supported me in everything I did. But this mother left me the day father and brother died. I miss her everyday. Please come back to me. I love you and miss you my sweet mother.

Your son,
Bridegroom

Journal #9 The Wild Duck

Disscusion on litterary topics: Notes from a brainstorm session on "outrageous links" between any two of the plays.





Two plays: The Wild Duck and Oedipus the King.



Possible thesis: One cannot escape the truth...



Silimarities between the books:



1. Characters' treatment of knowledge and truth seems to effect their reputation.



2. The Characters' family and background effects their treatment of knowledge and the truth.



3. Characters instinctively shift the blame or assume things of others but eventually these methods fail and they are forced to accept the truth.



Sophocles:



1. Characters are most always wrong when they make assumptions and such because they do not have evidence for their assumptions--> makes characters that made assumptions look bad to other characters and the reader.



2. Characters shifted blame to avoid physical punishment.



Ibsen:



1.When character assume things of others they have evidence to support their assumptions and are most always right. --> makes characters seem more respectable.



2. Characters shifted blame to get out of damaging their reputation.

Journal #8 The Wild Duck

Comparison: To what extent would you agree that plot should be valued more highly than style in the work.

In the book The Wild Duck it is evident that the plot of the book should be valued more highly then the style of the book. The style of the book is very simple, straight forward, and secretive. Throughout the book the author uses a simplistic style of writing that allows the reader to easily follow the plot, yet keeps them interested. This proves that even though The Wild Duck has a simple writing style, its plot makes the tragety worth while for the reader. The author also has a very secretive plot in his writing. Even though the style is simple, the author is still able to make an obviously secretive tone and plot to the tragety. This also proves that plot is more important than style. 

This also applys to Oedipus the King. In this tragety the author uses a very simplistic style with some formal language. This allows the reader to be intreagued, yet still able to follow the plot line. But the plot is what keeps the reader interested in the tragety. The author of Oedipus creates a very controvercial and interesting plot in the story by including many twists in the tragety. This proves that the plot of the tragety should be valued more than the style. 

Journal #7 The Wild Duck

Discussion on literary topics: Techniques used.

One major technique that was used was the symbol of the wild duck that was dead in Hajlamars house. This duck symbolizes the characters' ignoring the truth. Three of the characters that this is mainly aimed towards is Hedwig, Eckdal, and Hajlamar. It is aimed towards Hedwig because she was healthy, completely healthy and then now she was diagnosed that she will go blind. The duck was perfectly healthy and suddenly just got shot down and died. They were both suddenly struck with sickness and possibly death. This connection is simply a physical connection. The duck connects to the character of Eckdal because he said that he found the bird but really he did not which means he was lying. This supports that the bird symbolizes the characters' innability to speak the truth. The character of Hjalamar connects to the duck because to the bird because he is neglecting not only the truth but also his entire family. He also ignores his weight and food problem as well. He is so consumed with his own personal satisfaction he ignores others, the truth, and his weight problem. The character of Greggers is the opposite of the symbol of the duck. He symbolizes the need to tell the truth because of how he wants to be the dog that caught the duck. This means that Greggers wants to be the one to end the cycle of lying with in Hjalamars' family because he only speaks the truth. 

Journal #6 The Wild Duck

creative: poem written by a character 

Why, oh why is it so,

that my dad and I fight to and fro?

We have never got along, 

but in the end we both are wrong.

One day we might make ammends, 

but until then our anger never ends. 

He offers me a business deal,

but all I want is togetherness and a family meal.

But never will he understand,

these feelings I keep at hand.

So I guess I will keep living without a father,

because I am simply business, so why bother.  

Journal #5 The Wild Duck

Comparison: "Not rounding off, but opening out." Comment upon the way the writers deal with the ending in the relation to the whole. 

In the books Oedipus The King and The Wild Duck there is a lot of connection to the quote "Not rounding off, but opening out." For example in The Wild Duck Greggers has a terrible relationship with his father. He had not spoken or seen his father in 15 years. This was because they did not have a good relationship and were mad at each other, so Greggers closed off his communication and relationship with his father. This shows the he was rounding off. Greggers' father Werle offers Greggers a business proposition, to be partners in their family business. But Greggers does not want to accept this offer because he was rounded off from his father. This could end up being a bad thing for Greggers because it is not known that this business proposition would be a bad idea. It could end up being a blessing in disguise. But because Greggers is closed off, he will never know whether this business proposition would have been benificial to him or not. 

Another example of being rounded off and needing to open up was in Oedipus The King. Oedipus lived his whole life not knowing a VERY important fact about his wife. This fact was that his wife is also his mother. He did not know this fact until it was revealed to him by another person because he had lived a closed off life with his wife/mother. If he had opened up to his wife earlier he would have found this out earlier and he would never had gone through what he had to go through. Which means he would still be that king, he would not be blind and he would not have married his mother. 

Journal #4 Oedipus The King

Comparison: Readers are attracted to moments of intensity in a writer's work. By what means and with what effect have writers in your study offered heightened emotional moments designed to arrest the reader's attention? 

There are several points in the tragety Oedipus The King where the author writes intense moments in the work. The author does this several ways. One way the author creates this heightened emotional moment is by keeping things hidden and secretive in the work. For instance one of the most emotional and disturbing points in the book is when Oedipus finds out that he is married to his mother. This was found out by revealing a series of secrets in this scene of the tragety. By unveiling the secret that Jocasta is Oedipus' mother, the author draws many emotions out of the reader and creates a better connection between the reader and the story itself. After finding this news out that Oedipus is married to his mother, the author unveils another astonishing moment in the story. The author then informs the reader that Jocasta commit suicide. Not only this but Oedipus stabbed his eyes with his mother's brooches and is now blind. These two pieces of information that are revealed after the previous dramatic scene where Oedipus finds out he has been sleeping with his mother, add to the readers now extremely heightened emotions. 

Another instance where emotions are heightened through the unveiling of secrets is when the audience finds out the Oedipus killed the previous king. The town and reader is unknowing as to who killed the previous king, because Oedipus must find out who committed the murder, and to banish that person. But once Oedipus figures out that he committed the murder, and the audience finds out this news, everyone is completely shocked. The emotions of hatred towards this person that killed the previous king are shifted from the unknown person that did it, now to the king. This shifting of emotions creates one of the most intense moments in this tragety.   

journal #3 Oedipus the king

Creative: diary entry from Oedipus.

Dear Diary,

I found out terrible and repulsive news today... I am married and procreating with my mother. The prophet was right all along. My father is dead and I am having sex with my mother. It makes me sick! I wish that damned Shepherd would have killed me like he was supposed to, then this desgraceful thing would not have happened. My mother! Oh, my mother. She knew all along! Yet she did nothing. She had no consideration for how I might feel. I should not have ran away in the first place. I should have stayed with my previous mother and father, and never have come to Thebes! Then this would have never happened. My eyes are contaminated, disgusted, and permanently marked with the sight of my mother.. ahh.. My eyes are of no use to me after being infected by my wife... my mother! I must rid myself of my vision to get those awful pictures of my mother out of my eyes. I will use my mothers brooches and make myself blind. Then, if Zues has any pity for me, I will be rid of the terrible images I now see of my mother... my wife.