Witchy Woman

In a world where male dominance is standard, women are automatically inferior and powerless in the minds of society. In “Her Kind”, Anne Sexton explores this idea as her power is suppressed to simply running a household. Sexton juxtaposes the housewife and a witch to prove this inferiority and in general the stereotypes associated with women.
Beginning in the first stanza, Sexton characterizes herself as “a possessed witch” with twelve fingers further proving her sorcery. By describing herself as a witch she is inferring the idea that she is in fact an outcast but not for normal reasons. In her mind, she is an outcast due to the fact that she feels and believes she has power and will let no one suppress it. For this reason, she would be considered abnormal among society. Closing the first stanza, Sexton says, “A woman like that is not a woman, quite” referring to the idea that because she is an outcast, “a lonely thing”, “ out of mind”, “twelve-fingered” and harnesses a great deal of self-worth and power that she is not a “woman”. She does not and will not allow herself to fit into the mold of the common housewife. She would much rather be “persecuted” as a witch than succumb to societies silly ideas.
Continuing into the second stanza, we see Sexton’s segregation from society further as she lives in “warm caves in the woods.” One gets the feeling that she is almost exiled to the woods due to her failure to follow female societal protocol. Furthermore, this is the stanza where we clearly see Sexton brilliantly juxtapose housewife and witch. She talks of “fixing the suppers for the worms and elves” and “rearranging the disaligned” while filling the “house” with items. These tasks are traditional chores for a housewife; feeding the family, making sure the family is emotionally stable and content, and making the household comfortable and keeping it clean. Not only does Sexton compare witches to housewives but she also boldly states that she feels women are not inferior to men. One may notice that she fixes the dinner for the worms and elves; creatures that would be even more inferior to an already less important female. Sexton acknowledges the idea that away from suburbia and mainstream society, women are not substandard and can succeed in their quest for power. In finishing her thought she states that a “women like that is misunderstood”. A woman whose life is to simply feed, and dote on the household and its occupants does not fulfill her definition of what a woman truly is. For these reasons and more, she feels that women are underestimated and like we see in the third stanza, a force to be reckoned with.
In the third stanza, the most powerful of the three, Sexton sets up a situation reminiscent of an execution of a witch during the witch trials. On the way, she is humiliated as she “waves her nude arms at villages going by” to her fated destiny. In the end, the message becomes apparent as Sexton becomes a martyr. She is a “survivor”, meaning that she has surpassed the humiliation and trouble of being an outcast and is “not ashamed to die” if it means “dying” for her fight for female power and recognition of their substance.
All in all, Anne Sexton shocks society with her ideas as they were radical for the time. Obviously, throughout the poem, she has “been her kind”. Misunderstood, unashamed to die and not quite a woman by society’s standards. In my eyes, Sexton’s poem has so much face value but when looked at deeper, we can all relate, male or female. Especially in our time, where women are no longer stranded with a leash and collar to the household, this poem is a reminder of the fight. All it takes is one person to stand up for what they know is right. Sexton did just that. She worked through the hard times of making her way in the world while being an outcast and truly proves that power is harnessed by each individual and is simply waiting for its possessor to take advantage of it.
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Lo-lee-ta

For this assignment, I have chosen to read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This novel surpasses any previous notions I had about the novel. Being incredibly naive, I thought the novel would be a journey as to how an older man could possibly fall in love with a minor. I have found this novel to be rather disturbing and I am only 100 pages into it.
The fact that we know Humbert has committed a crime and proceeds to tell his story casts a shadow over every word I read. I anticipate and and am eager to learn of the whole story and explore the themes and motifs that the novel showcases.
Butterflies, doubles, games and other ideas present themselves constantly and give depth to the novel and connect all the different "nymphets" together. The quest to find and understand Lolita is interesting with a glimmer of fear behind it all. I hope to find loopholes of ways to present Humbert as more than a pedophile because I think that behind this facade their is more to him as a person.

Transformer

One of the most remarkable story lines within Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, is Linda’s transformation from passive to authoritative wife and mother. We see her blossom as a character as she learns to defend and support her husband without being a doormat.

Within the first scene of the play, we see Willy and Linda argue over something as picayune as cheese. Willy harshly criticizes Linda for what she thought was a nice gesture. The problem gets worse when Linda takes Willy’s grief and proceeds to act in an apologetic manner. In other words, we lose respect for Linda as she subjects herself to Willy’s selfishness. As we witness Willy’s inner destruction, Linda’s character starts on its journey to improvement. Throughout all of the banter between Willy, Biff and Happy, Linda becomes the sense of stability between them. She takes on a role of authority and is the mediator between father and son. In essence, she becomes the true, stable female figure of the household that is necessary to maintain order.

By the end of the play, Linda is in the limelight. She showcases the new, strong, and powerful Linda. We see the improved character in the final scene between the entire family. She puts Biff and Happy in their places as they ditched their father and hurt his feelings. This is evident when at the end of act two Linda yells, “Get out of here, both of you(Biff and Happy), and don’t come back! I don’t want you tormenting him anymore. Go on now, get your things together... Pick up your stuff. I’m not your maid anymore.”(1824) In this way, Linda portrays her authority over her grown children while simultaneously defending her husband. She has found a stable balance that could stabilize and unite her family. Linda has reached the end of her journey and achieved greatness in the reader’s eyes. She has become the women that we all wanted her to be.

Linda could be considered a hero as she battled hardship and overcame her “doormat” status. She has risen to dominator in the family and is able to be the motherly figure that determines their overall stability. Unfortunately we are left with the realization that she may have reached authority to late. Despite, the timing of Linda’s journey, as a character, she has developed into greatness.

Nothing more than a Doll's House

When did I understand the title, "A Doll's House"? Well that is simple. From the very beginning it was apparent that Torvald treats Nora like a little doll. She is put up in her house with her children, and maid and has a "peachy-keen" life or so it seems.
Within the first couple of lines, Torvald refers to Nora as "my little skylark", "my little squirrel" and "my little singing bird"(1681-82) to name a few. Aside from the fact that this made me nauseous, it is evident that Torvald is the dominator in the household. Furthermore, he seems like a puppet master controlling her every move and talking to her like a baby. Plus, Nora dumbs herself down to the level of a doll with no brain which further adds to my nausea. Overall, this situation is similar to our perceptions of a true doll house. We do not completely know what happens from the outside but we do know that we can manipulate the people (dolls) inside. Torvald does just this. He can manipulate his wife to do and agree with whatever he wants. For this reason, the title is appropriate for the play and entering Act II we may discover even more reasons to critique the play and feel even more nauseous.

Hamlet...The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Throughout the play of Hamlet, the reader is constantly questioning if Hamlet is truly mad or if there is an underlying scheme. Hamlet consistently showcases his moodiness and failure to deal with situations in an approriate manner. In Act III, scene IV, Hamlet reveals to his mother a secret that he has been hiding from the reader from the beginning.

During Act III, Hamlet is confronted by his father's apparition in front of his mother, Gertrude. Unable to see her dead husband's ghost, Gertrude rules Hamlet out as simply mad. In this case however, Hamlet is actually telling the truth and reveals that his previous acts of madness were fake and simply a show. For Gertrude, she doesn't know what to believe in that Hamlet has made her life Hell as she has worried about his sanity and overall well-being. Just like in the story of the boy who cried wolf, it is hard for Gertrude to believe her son. Now that Gertrude knows that her son has lied to her over a period of time, she questions if he is actually mad or if he is telling the truth. Being a good mother, Gertrude chooses to believe her son and keep a secret from Claudius as the apparition reminds Hamlet of his duty to avenge his (fathers) death. All in all, Hamlet is unreliable and if truly not mad, what is his underlying motive? Is it simply to avenge his father's death or is it something else?

During Act III, Scene IV, as a reader we start to not trust Hamlet just like his mother. We don't know what to believe considering the time we have spent analyzing Hamlet's madness. When we learn that he reveals his madness to be an act, our analysis no longer matters. What we do know is that the story of the boy who cried wolf is a legend that affects all of us. Hamlet learns his lesson in that people even those who are close to us will not believe things we say if we put on an act.

Contradiction in Antigone

The most interesting part of the play, Antigone, is analyzing Antigone and the way she approaches the idea of family. She is so obsessed with burying her brother, for good reason I might add, yet she is willing to dismiss her sister as a traitor and lose her forever. It is evident throughout the first part of the play that Antigone tries to do right but in turn she contradicts her idea of family and goes against the kin she has left.
Within the first few pages of the play, as a reader we learn that Antigone is adamant about family and in turn will do everything in her power to give her brother a proper burial. We honor Antigone in that she is willing to risk her life and face cruel consequences for her family. However, we see her ideas on kinship crumble right before our eyes. It is obvious that her intentions are good but when faced with opposition from her sister a family feud occurs. As Ismene and Antigone disagree on what is the “right” thing to do, they push each other further apart. Antigone simply sets her sister aside as a traitor and moves on with her plan to bury her brother at all costs. To most this would seem as a complete contradiction to Antigone’s character. She is so interested in being a good sister and doing what is right, yet she is so quick to write off her sister. Part of being a member of a family is listening to other opinions and ideas and trying to make things work. Antigone on the other hand, knows that there are no other options regarding her brother; therefore, she is unable to listen to her sister’s ideas and cautions. Although Antigone has strong thoughts on the topic of family, through her actions with Ismene, it is evident that she does not completely understand the complete idea of family. Furthermore, her sister is all she has left, so she should have been more receptive to her sister’s fears and tried to save their relationship.
In conclusion, Antigone allows the reader to take away some life lessons. Through her character, Antigone shows that having family values is important and all thoughts should be considered so that the family ties are everlasting.

Love Truly Conquers All.....Even Death

Ronald Blythe stated, “[Love] could have rescued Ivan Ilyich from all the fright and despair which terorized him during the final two weeks had he allowed it to. . . Love masters death [only at the end].” I could not agree more with Blythe. In my opinion, "The Death of Ivan Illyich," is not only about the literal death of Ivan but also the death of Ivan's soul. It is evident that occupation, status, and love are the key components that make up his soul and slowly die throughout the novella. However, his fading love with his wife is a subject for investigation in that, the pressure of a failing and unhappy marriage could be responsible for the death of Ivan Ilyich.
As the novel works from the end to the beginning, as a reader we see Ivan's life fail right before our eyes. It seems as though his wife no longer cares for his well-being. She is incredibly self-centered and is more worried with sucking more money out of the government instead of playing the role of grieving wife. She talks more about how Ivan's cries of pain and suffering bothered her to such an extent that she could not support or care for her husband. One could assume that her love and support for Ivan could have saved him. Even though Ivan became consumed with wealth and status, Praskovya's failure to love him is ultimately the last factor which kills his soul and eventually his persona. In this way, as we piece the puzzle to the mystery of Ivan's death, we realize that Praskovya had much influence in the matter. Whether simply speculation, her love could have conquered all, even death.
In this way, "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," is the curious quest to prove the power of love. We see how even when an occupation, status, or wealth is on the path to failure, love has the potential to fix emotional distress and suffering. For these reasons and many more, Tolstoy's story is a backward interpretation of the true power of love and how the quality of life can be forever changed by its extraordinary strength.