The story of Dunstan Ramsay’s life begins in 1908 when Ramsay is 10 years old. He and his best friend and worst enemy Percy Boyd Staunton have been sledding together and have quarreled, and on the way back to town Percy throws a snowball containing a small rock at Ramsay, who jumps aside, causing it to miss him and strike the passing-by Mary Dempster, the pregnant wife of Deptford’s Baptist minister. The shock of the snowball hitting her head causes her to go into labour and deliver a premature baby boy, Paul Dempster.
Dunstan steps back from his narrative to inform us as to the reason we are being treated to his life history. The year is now 1969, and he is writing to the headmaster of the Colbourne boy’s school he had taught at to protest the tributary send-off he was given upon his retirement. Ramsay returns to his description of his childhood and hometown, Deptford, which is located in Southern Ontario, on the Thames river.
Paul Dempster survives his birth, but is premature and weak. Ramsay suffers guilt and horror over his involvement, a feeling that will affect the rest of his life. As Dunstan grow older, his association with the Mary Dempster comes to hurt his popularity at school, though he realizes that he enjoys her company and is, as he realises later, in love with her.
Mary Dempster goes missing and Dunstan, joining the town effort to find her, discovers her copulating with a tramp. Amasa Dempster does not press charges against the tramp so he is released and warned never to return to the village. The town is abuzz about what the Reverend will say at his sermon next Sunday, and it turns out that he has chosen to resign from the parsonage and live in poverty. One night the townspeople paint their faces black and riot outside of the Dempster home, and Dunstan is disgusted that Amasa does not go out to face them. Amasa becomes a shell of a man and Mary is strapped up in a harness and not allowed to leave the house. Dunstan resumes his visits with Mary and Paul by sneaking in through her window while Amasa is out.
1914, the war started, Dunstan soon withdraw from the war due to his injury. He was unconscious for six months while he is being cared for at an English army hospital. He was being lovingly cared for by a devoted nurse named Diana Marfleet. Dunstan had been presumed dead as his tags were lost in the battle, and he is shocked to learn that he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, and less affected to learn that his parents died in the influenza pandemic of early 1918 after receiving the news that he and his brother were dead.
Diana entices Dunstan back into life and helps him adjust to his new prosthetic leg while also initiating him into sexual existence. She intends to marry him, but when Dunstan refuses, she confers him St. Dunstan, who fought off the temptations of the Devil. Dunstan says that he will not marry her because he doesn’t want another mother-figure in his life.
Dunstan goes back to school at the University of Toronto and earns an MA in History. After college, Dunstan takes a job as a schoolmaster. Boy and Leola got married and traveled to Europe, and Dunstan visits the continent for his own amusements. Dunstan returns to the battlefields of Europe to search for his Madonna statue. Dunstan takes up the challenge of learning the histories of all the Catholic Saints, and becomes something of an expert in the field of hagiology.
As Dunstan develops into an eccentric teacher, Boy tries to educate Leola into a higher social standing without much success. When the Prince of Wales visits Canada in 1927, Boy is selected as an aide for the Prince, and the event is possibly the greatest moment in Boy’s life. A year later Boy’s son is born and named Edward David Staunton.
Dunstan’s school hears a guest lecture from a man named Joel Surgeoner from the Lifeline Mission to help the needy. Dunstan recognizes the man as the tramp he saw in the pit with Mary Dempster all those years ago, and follows the man to talk to him. Dunstan is surprised that Mary Dempster made the tramp into an honest God-fearing man. Joel mentions that he considers Mary Dempster a Saint, and Dunstan takes this as being all-too-real.
Dunstan finds Mary in Toronto. She is being cared for by her aunt, Bertha Shanklin. The two women are not used to the company of men and Mary is not up to being reminded of the traumas in her past. Bertha allows Dunstan to come back and get to know Mary as a new friend, and not the boy from long ago.
In 1929 Boy protects Dunstan from experiencing the Great Depression by having him invest in Boy’s own company, the Alpha Corporation, which is a sugar-refining business. At the time Dunstan is more preoccupied testing his hypotheses about the Portuguese Saint Wilgefortis. He travels to a small village in Tyrolean Austria to investigate a shrine, and finds that a travelling circus, Le grand Cirque de St Vite, is in town. By an astonishing coincidence, the young magician who jumps up on stage turns out to be an older and sleazier Paul Dempster, who has obviously made a living on the trade Dunstan first schooled him in some 15 years earlier. Paul is going by the name Faustus Legrand, and is not pleased to be reminded of his former life in Canada. Dunstan returns to his investigations of Uncumber and later discovers that Paul stole his wallet.
Dunstan continues his weekly visits with Mary Dempster, but it is becoming a chore to him. Next he compiles his first book, A Hundred Saints for Travellers, which is intended for simple identification, while his next book explores why people need saints. Dunstan becomes an eccentric friend for Boy to promote at his various social functions. In this chapter Dunstan also covers the early years of David and Caroline Staunton, along with Boy’s rampant philandering. But in 1936 things take a tragic turn in the Staunton household when Boy’s hero finally ascends to the throne, only to abdicate it by the end of the year. That Christmas proves to be the undoing of the Stauntons, and by the time Dunstan arrives for dinner, Boy has stormed off, Leola is crying, and the kids are traumatized for life. Leola tries to seduce Dunstan and remind him of when they were together. When Dunstan decides to leave, she screams out “You don’t love me!” Dunstan flees the scene, only to be called back by one of the Staunton servants, and when Dunstan returns, Leola is wrapped up in her bed after having slit her wrists and bled all over the bathroom. She had intended to kill herself but had done a poor job of it. She also left a note confessing her love for Dunstan. Dunstan is sure the nurse has read this note, and possibly told the children, but he has the unfortunate duty of helping Leola return to life, as Boy has disappeared on a drinking binge and does not return for many weeks.
Leola dies of pneumonia. Dunstan suspects that she may have purposely brought on her own death. Dunstan handles her funeral arrangements, as Boy is consumed in his work as the head of the fictional Alpha Corporation for the duration of World War II. Dunstan is also named temporary Headmaster of Colbourne College. At the conclusion of the war Boy has the unenviable task of informing Dunstan that he will not be continuing as Headmaster, due to his perceived peculiar interests and lifestyle, although Boy admits that those same traits make Dunstan an asset as a professor at the university. Dunstan angrily protests, feeling he was shabbily used, but eventually agrees to return to his former role as Dean of History. To save face, Dunstan asks that the Board announce that the vocation change was Ramsay's idea, and asks for a 6 month leave of absence before he returns to work. Boy agrees on behalf of the Board, and Dunstan leaves on his sabbatical.
While traveling in Mexico City, Dunstan attends a magic show. To his surprise, the show is artistically done, evoking feelings of mystery and wonder. The magician, Magnus Eisengrim, turns out to be none other than Paul Dempster.
Dunstan meets Paul’s entourage's autocrat, Liesl, who physically is extremely ugly, but possesses great intelligence and charm. She convinces him to ghost-write a fictional autobiography of Eisengrim.
Dunstan temporarily joins Paul’s entourage, creating for him the illusion of the Brazen Head, a kind of fortune-telling act. He tells much of his life story to Liesl, often shocking himself with how indiscreet he is being. He asks Liesl not to reveal to anyone what he has told her, and Liesl refuses. Meanwhile, Dunstan becomes inescapably attracted to Einsengrim's head showgirl, Faustina. He often peeks at her while she is undressing, and finds excuses to talk to her. He is further shown to be acting in a way counter to his own personality when he smacks another showgirl on the bottom and winks at her when she protests. One night after the show, Dunstan, hoping to catch a glimpse of Faustina, finds her naked and passionately kissing Liesl; the experience deflates him and sends him into deep depression.
Liesl shows up at Dunstan's room that night, beating him for his inability to handle his attraction to Faustina. She then attempts to roughly seduce him; Dunstan becomes enraged and furiously attacks Liesl, breaking and bloodying her nose before she escapes through the door. After releasing his pent-up aggression, Dunstan feels more relieved than he has in years. Liesl returns a few minutes later and explains that releasing him from his anger was her intent all along. She suggests that Dunstan is suffering from the "revenge of the unlived life": the guilt he feels over events in his life have prevented him from truly living it: he still agonizes over Mary Dempster's condition, and he's never realized just how good he was to accept Leola as a friend when she rejected him in favour of Boy, and even to accept Boy who insisted on mocking him for losing out in their love triangle. Liesl suggests that Dunstan has “never led a real life,” and that his role in life is that of “Fifth Business.” Dunstan then makes love to Liesl, and despite her unattractive appearance, he calls it the most healing experience of his life.
Returned to Canada. Dunstan tells Mrs. Dempster that he has found Paul. This news makes her distressed and agitated, and she has to be moved to the locked area of the hospital. Boy goes into politics, with limited success. He gets married again, to a practical, ambitious businesswoman, Denyse Hornick. Boy and Dunstan are nearing their sixties; Dunstan senses that old, long-concealed parts of their personalities, such as Boy's inability to deal with events that do not unfold according to his desires, and his own propensity to unleash a sharp-tongued comment in the middle of a conversation, are re-emerging.
In 1959, Mrs. Dempster dies after Dunstan transferred her to a private hospital more to her liking using the funds from Eisengrims's biography as well as monthly payments from him; Dunstan takes care of her cremation and funeral. On a visit to Europe, Dunstan meets with the aged Blazon, who approves of the self-discoveries that Dunstan has made since meeting Paul and Liesl. Dunstan finally rediscovers the sculpture of the Madonna he had seen during the First World War in an exhibition room in Salzburg.
He explains that Paul had brought his show to Toronto. After the performance, Paul, Dunstan and Boy meet in Dunstan’s room for a short chat. Old secrets and grudges now come out: about money, Leola, and Paul’s real identity. Dunstan tells Paul what really happened to his mother, years ago in Deptford: the snowball that Boy threw had a rock inside it. Dunstan shows them the rock, and a box containing Mary Dempster's ashes. Dunstan admits his own guilt, and urges Boy to confront his own inner self, but Boy refuses to admit any fault.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Hamlet Summary
The story starts off with a guard patrolling at the gate, which Horatio comes in soon after with another guard to take the spot of the current guard. Marcellus and Bernardo asked Horatio to join them in patrol because they believe they have seen a ghost walking around the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmark. Horatio who is a scholar and a good friend of Prince Hamlet does not believe a word of what the two guards are saying, until he met the ghost himself. The ghost resembled as King Hamlet, the former king who has just been murdered by his own brother, Claudius.
Horatio told Hamlet about the situation, and Hamlet himself volunteered to take watch. While he is patrolling the gate with the guards and Horatio, they encounters King Hamlet’s ghost again. The dead king pulls Hamlet away and told him about the story of his death, and demands Hamlet to save Denmark from the incestuous disease caused by Claudius.
Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father’s death, but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness. Claudius and Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior and attempt to discover its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet in conversation with the girl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad, he does not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares that he wishes to ban marriages.
A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will have the players perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by which Hamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he will surely react. When the moment of the murder arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up and leaves the room. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but finds him praying. Since he believes that killing Claudius while in prayer would send Claudius’s soul to heaven, Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge and decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearing for his own safety, orders that Hamlet be sent to England at once.
Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding there. He draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime, he is immediately dispatched to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, Claudius’s plan for Hamlet includes more than banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of England demanding that Hamlet be put to death.
In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the river. Polonius’s son, Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father’s and sister’s deaths. When Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicating that the prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes’ desire for revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with Hamlet in innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’ blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet will die. As a backup plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will give Hamlet to drink should Hamlet score the first or second hits of the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia’s funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio that he believes one must be prepared to die, since death can come at any moment. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.
The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but declines to drink from the king’s proffered goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison. Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his revenge.
At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entire royal family lying sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to take power of the kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.
Horatio told Hamlet about the situation, and Hamlet himself volunteered to take watch. While he is patrolling the gate with the guards and Horatio, they encounters King Hamlet’s ghost again. The dead king pulls Hamlet away and told him about the story of his death, and demands Hamlet to save Denmark from the incestuous disease caused by Claudius.
Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father’s death, but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness. Claudius and Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior and attempt to discover its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet in conversation with the girl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad, he does not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares that he wishes to ban marriages.
A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will have the players perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by which Hamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he will surely react. When the moment of the murder arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up and leaves the room. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but finds him praying. Since he believes that killing Claudius while in prayer would send Claudius’s soul to heaven, Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge and decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearing for his own safety, orders that Hamlet be sent to England at once.
Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding there. He draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime, he is immediately dispatched to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, Claudius’s plan for Hamlet includes more than banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of England demanding that Hamlet be put to death.
In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the river. Polonius’s son, Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father’s and sister’s deaths. When Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicating that the prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes’ desire for revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with Hamlet in innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’ blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet will die. As a backup plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will give Hamlet to drink should Hamlet score the first or second hits of the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia’s funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio that he believes one must be prepared to die, since death can come at any moment. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.
The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but declines to drink from the king’s proffered goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison. Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his revenge.
At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entire royal family lying sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to take power of the kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.
Pride and Prejudice Summary
The news that a wealthy young gentleman named Charles Bingley has rented the manor of Netherfield Park causes a great stir in the nearby village of Longbourn. The Bennets have five unmarried daughters—from oldest to youngest, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia and Mrs. Bennet is desperate to see them all married. After Mr. Bennet pays a social visit to Mr. Bingley, the Bennets attend a ball at which Mr. Bingley is present. He is taken with Jane and spends much of the evening dancing with her. His close friend, Mr. Darcy, is less pleased with the evening and haughtily refuses to dance with Elizabeth, which makes everyone view him as arrogant and obnoxious.
At social functions over subsequent weeks, however, Mr. Darcy finds himself increasingly attracted to Elizabeth’s charm and intelligence. Jane’s friendship with Mr. Bingley also continues to burgeon, then Jane pays a visit to the Bingley mansion. On her journey to the house she is caught in a downpour and got sick, She was forced to stay in Bingley’s mansion for several days. In order to tend to Jane, Elizabeth hikes through muddy fields and arrives with a spattered dress, much to the disdain of the snobbish Caroline Bingley, Charles Bingley’s sister. Caroline’s spite increased even more when she notices that Darcy, whom she is pursuing, is more attached to Elizabeth than it is to her.
When Elizabeth and Jane return home, they find Mr. Collins visiting their household. Mr. Collins is a young clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s property, which has been “entailed,” meaning that it can only be passed down to male heirs. Mr. Collins is a pompous fool, though he is quite enthralled by the Bennet girls. Shortly after his arrival, he makes a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. She turns him down, wounding his pride. Meanwhile, the Bennet girls have become friendly with militia officers stationed in a nearby town. Among them is Wickham, a handsome young soldier who is friendly toward Elizabeth and tells her how Darcy cruelly cheated him out of an inheritance.
At the beginning of winter, the Bingleys and Darcy leave Netherfield and return to London, much to Jane’s dismay. A further shock arrives with the news that Mr. Collins has become engaged to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend and the poor daughter of a local knight. Charlotte explains to Elizabeth that she is getting older and needs the match for financial reasons. Charlotte and Mr. Collins get married and Elizabeth promises to visit them at their new home. As winter progresses, Jane visits the city to see friends (hoping also that she might see Mr. Bingley). However, Miss Bingley visits her and behaves rudely, while Mr. Bingley fails to visit her at all. The marriage prospects for the Bennet girls appear bleak.
That spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte, who now lives near the home of Mr. Collins’s patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is also Darcy’s aunt. Darcy calls on Lady Catherine and encounters Elizabeth, whose presence leads him to make a number of visits to the Collins’s home, where she is staying. One day, he makes a shocking proposal of marriage, which Elizabeth quickly refuses. She tells Darcy that she considers him arrogant and unpleasant, then scolds him for steering Bingley away from Jane and disinheriting Wickham. Darcy leaves her but shortly thereafter delivers a letter to her. In this letter, he admits that he urged Bingley to distance himself from Jane, but claims he did so only because he thought their romance was not serious. As for Wickham, he informs Elizabeth that the young officer is a liar and that the real cause of their disagreement was Wickham’s attempt to elope with his young sister, Georgiana Darcy.
This letter causes Elizabeth to reevaluate her feelings about Darcy. She returns home and acts coldly toward Wickham. The militia is leaving town, which makes the younger, rather man-crazy Bennet girls distraught. Lydia manages to obtain permission from her father to spend the summer with an old colonel in Brighton, where Wickham’s regiment will be stationed. With the arrival of June, Elizabeth goes on another journey, this time with the Gardiners, who are relatives of the Bennets. The trip takes her to the North and eventually to the neighborhood of Pemberley, Darcy’s estate. She visits Pemberley, after making sure that Darcy is away, and delights in the building and grounds, while hearing from Darcy’s servants that he is a wonderful, generous master. Suddenly, Darcy arrives and behaves cordially toward her. Making no mention of his proposal, he entertains the Gardiners and invites Elizabeth to meet his sister.
Shortly thereafter, however, a letter arrives from home, telling Elizabeth that Lydia has eloped with Wickham and that the couple is nowhere to be found, which suggests that they may be living together out of wedlock. Fearful of the disgrace such a situation would bring on her entire family, Elizabeth hastens home. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet go off to search for Lydia, but Mr. Bennet eventually returns home empty-handed. Just when all hope seems lost, a letter comes from Mr. Gardiner saying that the couple has been found and that Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia in exchange for an annual income. The Bennets are convinced that Mr. Gardiner has paid off Wickham, but Elizabeth learns that the source of the money, and of her family’s salvation, was none other than Darcy.
Now married, Wickham and Lydia return to Longbourn briefly, where Mr. Bennet treats them coldly. They then depart for Wickham’s new assignment in the North of England. Shortly thereafter, Bingley returns to Netherfield and resumes his courtship of Jane. Darcy goes to stay with him and pays visits to the Bennets but makes no mention of his desire to marry Elizabeth. Bingley, on the other hand, presses his suit and proposes to Jane, to the delight of everyone but Bingley’s haughty sister. While the family celebrates, Lady Catherine barges into the Bennet house hold. She corners Elizabeth and says that she has heard that Darcy, her nephew, is planning to marry her. Since she considers a Bennet an unsuitable match for a Darcy, and also the fact that she is hoping her nephew and her daughter would get married. Lady Catherine demands that Elizabeth promise to refuse him. Elizabeth refuses, saying she is not engaged to Darcy, but she will not promise anything against her own happiness. A little later, Elizabeth and Darcy go out walking together and he tells her that his feelings have not altered since the spring. She tenderly accepts his proposal, and both Jane and Elizabeth are married.
At social functions over subsequent weeks, however, Mr. Darcy finds himself increasingly attracted to Elizabeth’s charm and intelligence. Jane’s friendship with Mr. Bingley also continues to burgeon, then Jane pays a visit to the Bingley mansion. On her journey to the house she is caught in a downpour and got sick, She was forced to stay in Bingley’s mansion for several days. In order to tend to Jane, Elizabeth hikes through muddy fields and arrives with a spattered dress, much to the disdain of the snobbish Caroline Bingley, Charles Bingley’s sister. Caroline’s spite increased even more when she notices that Darcy, whom she is pursuing, is more attached to Elizabeth than it is to her.
When Elizabeth and Jane return home, they find Mr. Collins visiting their household. Mr. Collins is a young clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s property, which has been “entailed,” meaning that it can only be passed down to male heirs. Mr. Collins is a pompous fool, though he is quite enthralled by the Bennet girls. Shortly after his arrival, he makes a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. She turns him down, wounding his pride. Meanwhile, the Bennet girls have become friendly with militia officers stationed in a nearby town. Among them is Wickham, a handsome young soldier who is friendly toward Elizabeth and tells her how Darcy cruelly cheated him out of an inheritance.
At the beginning of winter, the Bingleys and Darcy leave Netherfield and return to London, much to Jane’s dismay. A further shock arrives with the news that Mr. Collins has become engaged to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend and the poor daughter of a local knight. Charlotte explains to Elizabeth that she is getting older and needs the match for financial reasons. Charlotte and Mr. Collins get married and Elizabeth promises to visit them at their new home. As winter progresses, Jane visits the city to see friends (hoping also that she might see Mr. Bingley). However, Miss Bingley visits her and behaves rudely, while Mr. Bingley fails to visit her at all. The marriage prospects for the Bennet girls appear bleak.
That spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte, who now lives near the home of Mr. Collins’s patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is also Darcy’s aunt. Darcy calls on Lady Catherine and encounters Elizabeth, whose presence leads him to make a number of visits to the Collins’s home, where she is staying. One day, he makes a shocking proposal of marriage, which Elizabeth quickly refuses. She tells Darcy that she considers him arrogant and unpleasant, then scolds him for steering Bingley away from Jane and disinheriting Wickham. Darcy leaves her but shortly thereafter delivers a letter to her. In this letter, he admits that he urged Bingley to distance himself from Jane, but claims he did so only because he thought their romance was not serious. As for Wickham, he informs Elizabeth that the young officer is a liar and that the real cause of their disagreement was Wickham’s attempt to elope with his young sister, Georgiana Darcy.
This letter causes Elizabeth to reevaluate her feelings about Darcy. She returns home and acts coldly toward Wickham. The militia is leaving town, which makes the younger, rather man-crazy Bennet girls distraught. Lydia manages to obtain permission from her father to spend the summer with an old colonel in Brighton, where Wickham’s regiment will be stationed. With the arrival of June, Elizabeth goes on another journey, this time with the Gardiners, who are relatives of the Bennets. The trip takes her to the North and eventually to the neighborhood of Pemberley, Darcy’s estate. She visits Pemberley, after making sure that Darcy is away, and delights in the building and grounds, while hearing from Darcy’s servants that he is a wonderful, generous master. Suddenly, Darcy arrives and behaves cordially toward her. Making no mention of his proposal, he entertains the Gardiners and invites Elizabeth to meet his sister.
Shortly thereafter, however, a letter arrives from home, telling Elizabeth that Lydia has eloped with Wickham and that the couple is nowhere to be found, which suggests that they may be living together out of wedlock. Fearful of the disgrace such a situation would bring on her entire family, Elizabeth hastens home. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet go off to search for Lydia, but Mr. Bennet eventually returns home empty-handed. Just when all hope seems lost, a letter comes from Mr. Gardiner saying that the couple has been found and that Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia in exchange for an annual income. The Bennets are convinced that Mr. Gardiner has paid off Wickham, but Elizabeth learns that the source of the money, and of her family’s salvation, was none other than Darcy.
Now married, Wickham and Lydia return to Longbourn briefly, where Mr. Bennet treats them coldly. They then depart for Wickham’s new assignment in the North of England. Shortly thereafter, Bingley returns to Netherfield and resumes his courtship of Jane. Darcy goes to stay with him and pays visits to the Bennets but makes no mention of his desire to marry Elizabeth. Bingley, on the other hand, presses his suit and proposes to Jane, to the delight of everyone but Bingley’s haughty sister. While the family celebrates, Lady Catherine barges into the Bennet house hold. She corners Elizabeth and says that she has heard that Darcy, her nephew, is planning to marry her. Since she considers a Bennet an unsuitable match for a Darcy, and also the fact that she is hoping her nephew and her daughter would get married. Lady Catherine demands that Elizabeth promise to refuse him. Elizabeth refuses, saying she is not engaged to Darcy, but she will not promise anything against her own happiness. A little later, Elizabeth and Darcy go out walking together and he tells her that his feelings have not altered since the spring. She tenderly accepts his proposal, and both Jane and Elizabeth are married.
Ceremony Summary
Tayo is an Native American who just returned from World War II, returning home to the Laguna Pueblo reservation. Tayo finds himself in a very unstable mental state. He would constantly have flashback or think about the war and throw up until he passes out. He cannot figure out why he is having such problems, and neither can any of the doctors in the hospital.
Tayo was stuck in the hospital for a really long time. And the trauma of thinking he saw his uncle Josiah's face among a crowd of Japanese soldiers he was ordered to shoot, and then of watching his cousin Rocky die, drove Tayo out of his mind. A period of time in a Veterans' Hospital gets him well enough to return to his home, with his Grandmother, his Auntie, and her husband Robert. This is the family unit that raised him after his mother, who had conceived him with an unknown white man, left him with his aunt at a very young age. Back at his aunt’s house Tayo faces not only their disappointment at the loss of Rocky, but also his continued grieving over his favorite uncle Josiah's death. He also contends with his guilt over a prayer against the rain he uttered in the forests of the Philippines, which he thinks is responsible for the six-year drought on the reservation.
As he slowly recuperates, Tayo realizes that he is not alone. His childhood friends Harley, Leroy, Emo, and Pinkie who also fought in the war contend with similar post-traumatic stress, self-medicating with alcohol. The company is little comfort. His old friends spend their drunken hours reminiscing about how great the war was and how much respect they got while they were in uniform. These stories only make Tayo think about the tremendous discrimination the Native Americans face at the hands of the whites, whom they nonetheless seem to admire, and he is even more saddened and infuriated. Just as Tayo begins to give up hope and to wish he could return to the VA hospital, his grandmother calls in the medicine man, Ku'oosh. Ku'oosh performs for Tayo a ceremony for warriors who have killed in battle, but both Ku'oosh and Tayo fear that the ancient ceremonies are not applicable to this new situation.
Tayo is helped but not cured by Ku'oosh's ceremony. It prompts him to consider his childhood, especially the summer before he left for the army. Although Auntie did her best to keep the two boys separate, Tayo and Rocky became close friends, and the summer after they graduated from high school, they enlisted in the army together. That summer, Josiah fell in love with Night Swan, a Mexican woman who lived just outside the reservation. At her urging, he invested in a herd of Mexican cattle, which Tayo helped him to care for. As so often happens, there is a drought that summer. Having heard the old stories of how droughts are ended, Tayo goes to a spring and invents a rain ceremony. The following day it rains. In addition to helping the crops and the cattle, the rain keeps Josiah from visiting Night Swan. He asks Tayo to bring her a note. Tayo delivers the note, and in the process is seduced by Night Swan.
Realizing that his ceremony has not been enough for Tayo, Ku'oosh sends him to the nearby town of Gallup to see another medicine man, Betonie, who knows more about the problems incurred by the contact between Native American and white cultures. Although he is skeptical of Betonie's strange ways and especially high connection with the white world, Tayo tells him of his what is troubling him. Betonie listens and explains that they must invent and complete a new ceremony. Tayo accepts. Betonie tells Tayo stores of the old ceremonies as he performs them. Then Betonie tells Tayo stories of his grandfather, Descheeny, and the beginning of the creation of a new ceremony to stop the destruction the whites, an invention of Native American witchery, are wreaking on the world.
Betonie sends Tayo back home, reminding him that the ceremony is still far from complete. When he meets Harley and Leroy on the way home, Tayo slips back into their lifestyle for a moment, but soon moves on, heeding the signs Betonie told him of as he searches for Josiah's cattle. Tayo follows the stars to a woman's house. After spending a night with the woman, Ts'eh, Tayo heads up into the mountains. He finds Josiah's cattle fenced into a white man's pasture. While Tayo breaks into the pasture, the cattle run off to its far reaches, and Tayo spends all night looking for them. As dawn approaches, Tayo is about to give up when a mountain lion comes up to him. Tayo honors the mountain lion, and follows its tracks to the cattle. Just as he herds the cattle out of the pasture, two white patrolmen find Tayo. Not realizing that the cattle are missing, but knowing Tayo has trespassed, the patrolmen arrest Tayo. Before they can bring him to town, however, they notice the mountain lion tracks and let Tayo go in order to hunt it. As Tayo heads out, it begins to snow. Tayo knows this will cover the tracks of his cattle and of the mountain lion, making the patrolmens' efforts fruitless. On the way down the mountain, Tayo meets a hunter, who lives with Ts'eh. When they arrive back at her house, she has corralled Tayo's cattle, which she keeps until Tayo and Robert return with a cattle truck to gather them up.
Returning home with Josiah's cattle, Tayo feels cured. However, the drought persists, and Tayo knows the ceremony is not complete. He goes to the family's ranch with the cattle, where he finds Ts'eh . They spend the summer together, but as it draws to an end Robert visits and warns Tayo that Emo has been spreading rumors about him. Shortly thereafter, Ts'eh tells Tayo that Emo and the white police are coming after him. Before she leaves, she tells Tayo how to avoid capture.
Following Ts'eh's instructions, Tayo easily evades the white police. Still running from Emo, he meets Harley and Leroy. Almost too late, Tayo realizes that Harley and Leroy have joined forces with Emo. Running again, Tayo finds himself in an abandoned uranium mine. As he looks at the gaping hole left in the earth, Tayo realizes that this is the last station of his ceremony, the one where he incorporates an element of white culture, the mine. All he has to do is to spend the night there and the ceremony will be complete. Soon Emo and Pinkie arrive. From a hiding place, Tayo must watch them torture Harley to death, and restrain himself from killing Emo in order to save Harley. With the help of the wind, Tayo survives the night. He returns home and goes back to Ku'oosh. After hearing all about Tayo's ceremony, Ku'oosh pronounces that Ts'eh was in fact A'moo'ooh, who has given her blessings to Tayo and his ceremony; the drought is ended and the destruction of the whites is stopped. Tayo spends one last night in Ku'oosh's house to finish off the ceremony, and then he returns home.
Tayo was stuck in the hospital for a really long time. And the trauma of thinking he saw his uncle Josiah's face among a crowd of Japanese soldiers he was ordered to shoot, and then of watching his cousin Rocky die, drove Tayo out of his mind. A period of time in a Veterans' Hospital gets him well enough to return to his home, with his Grandmother, his Auntie, and her husband Robert. This is the family unit that raised him after his mother, who had conceived him with an unknown white man, left him with his aunt at a very young age. Back at his aunt’s house Tayo faces not only their disappointment at the loss of Rocky, but also his continued grieving over his favorite uncle Josiah's death. He also contends with his guilt over a prayer against the rain he uttered in the forests of the Philippines, which he thinks is responsible for the six-year drought on the reservation.
As he slowly recuperates, Tayo realizes that he is not alone. His childhood friends Harley, Leroy, Emo, and Pinkie who also fought in the war contend with similar post-traumatic stress, self-medicating with alcohol. The company is little comfort. His old friends spend their drunken hours reminiscing about how great the war was and how much respect they got while they were in uniform. These stories only make Tayo think about the tremendous discrimination the Native Americans face at the hands of the whites, whom they nonetheless seem to admire, and he is even more saddened and infuriated. Just as Tayo begins to give up hope and to wish he could return to the VA hospital, his grandmother calls in the medicine man, Ku'oosh. Ku'oosh performs for Tayo a ceremony for warriors who have killed in battle, but both Ku'oosh and Tayo fear that the ancient ceremonies are not applicable to this new situation.
Tayo is helped but not cured by Ku'oosh's ceremony. It prompts him to consider his childhood, especially the summer before he left for the army. Although Auntie did her best to keep the two boys separate, Tayo and Rocky became close friends, and the summer after they graduated from high school, they enlisted in the army together. That summer, Josiah fell in love with Night Swan, a Mexican woman who lived just outside the reservation. At her urging, he invested in a herd of Mexican cattle, which Tayo helped him to care for. As so often happens, there is a drought that summer. Having heard the old stories of how droughts are ended, Tayo goes to a spring and invents a rain ceremony. The following day it rains. In addition to helping the crops and the cattle, the rain keeps Josiah from visiting Night Swan. He asks Tayo to bring her a note. Tayo delivers the note, and in the process is seduced by Night Swan.
Realizing that his ceremony has not been enough for Tayo, Ku'oosh sends him to the nearby town of Gallup to see another medicine man, Betonie, who knows more about the problems incurred by the contact between Native American and white cultures. Although he is skeptical of Betonie's strange ways and especially high connection with the white world, Tayo tells him of his what is troubling him. Betonie listens and explains that they must invent and complete a new ceremony. Tayo accepts. Betonie tells Tayo stores of the old ceremonies as he performs them. Then Betonie tells Tayo stories of his grandfather, Descheeny, and the beginning of the creation of a new ceremony to stop the destruction the whites, an invention of Native American witchery, are wreaking on the world.
Betonie sends Tayo back home, reminding him that the ceremony is still far from complete. When he meets Harley and Leroy on the way home, Tayo slips back into their lifestyle for a moment, but soon moves on, heeding the signs Betonie told him of as he searches for Josiah's cattle. Tayo follows the stars to a woman's house. After spending a night with the woman, Ts'eh, Tayo heads up into the mountains. He finds Josiah's cattle fenced into a white man's pasture. While Tayo breaks into the pasture, the cattle run off to its far reaches, and Tayo spends all night looking for them. As dawn approaches, Tayo is about to give up when a mountain lion comes up to him. Tayo honors the mountain lion, and follows its tracks to the cattle. Just as he herds the cattle out of the pasture, two white patrolmen find Tayo. Not realizing that the cattle are missing, but knowing Tayo has trespassed, the patrolmen arrest Tayo. Before they can bring him to town, however, they notice the mountain lion tracks and let Tayo go in order to hunt it. As Tayo heads out, it begins to snow. Tayo knows this will cover the tracks of his cattle and of the mountain lion, making the patrolmens' efforts fruitless. On the way down the mountain, Tayo meets a hunter, who lives with Ts'eh. When they arrive back at her house, she has corralled Tayo's cattle, which she keeps until Tayo and Robert return with a cattle truck to gather them up.
Returning home with Josiah's cattle, Tayo feels cured. However, the drought persists, and Tayo knows the ceremony is not complete. He goes to the family's ranch with the cattle, where he finds Ts'eh . They spend the summer together, but as it draws to an end Robert visits and warns Tayo that Emo has been spreading rumors about him. Shortly thereafter, Ts'eh tells Tayo that Emo and the white police are coming after him. Before she leaves, she tells Tayo how to avoid capture.
Following Ts'eh's instructions, Tayo easily evades the white police. Still running from Emo, he meets Harley and Leroy. Almost too late, Tayo realizes that Harley and Leroy have joined forces with Emo. Running again, Tayo finds himself in an abandoned uranium mine. As he looks at the gaping hole left in the earth, Tayo realizes that this is the last station of his ceremony, the one where he incorporates an element of white culture, the mine. All he has to do is to spend the night there and the ceremony will be complete. Soon Emo and Pinkie arrive. From a hiding place, Tayo must watch them torture Harley to death, and restrain himself from killing Emo in order to save Harley. With the help of the wind, Tayo survives the night. He returns home and goes back to Ku'oosh. After hearing all about Tayo's ceremony, Ku'oosh pronounces that Ts'eh was in fact A'moo'ooh, who has given her blessings to Tayo and his ceremony; the drought is ended and the destruction of the whites is stopped. Tayo spends one last night in Ku'oosh's house to finish off the ceremony, and then he returns home.
Death of a Salesman Summary
Willy Loman is an old salesman, who just got back from his car crash. He has being working for the company for many years. And now he is at his declining moment. Biff, Willy’s elder son just came back from a long journey in the outside world argues with Willy on almost everything. Linda, Willy’s wife, tries to convince or rather persuade Willy to control his temper and tries to make Willy stop acting so emotional all the time.
Willy constantly has flesh backs about Biff in high school, and when he himself was still a star of his company. In his flesh back he talks about how great Biff will be one day. And how Biff is the star, and he has to act like the star. Step on top of other people, and shine before everyone else. Then he would be dragged back to reality. Where he has to admit that he is getting old, and that everything is different from how it was back then.
Biff and his brother Happy talks about getting a life out in the country, away from Willy and away from the city. They talk about how easy it would be if they were to live outside and have a life on their own.
The next day, Willy goes to ask his boss for a job in town while Biff goes to make a business proposition, but neither is successful. Willy gets angry and ends up getting fired when the boss tells him he needs a rest and can no longer represent the company. Biff waits for hours to see a former employer who does not remember him and turns him down. Biff then steal a fountain pen. Willy goes to the office of his neighbor Charley, where he runs into Charley's son, Bernard, which is now a successful lawyer. Bernard tells him that Biff originally wanted to do well in summer school, but something happened in Boston when Biff went to visit Willy that changed Biff’s mind. Bernard told Willy how he tried to reason with Biff, and get him to finish school. But they ended up beating each other to the ground.
Happy, Biff, and Willy meet for dinner at an old restaurant that the family used to go to. When Willy arrives, he was expecting good news from Biff, but instead Biff blows at him with a crap load of bad news. Happy tries to get Biff to lie to their father. Biff tried Happy’s method and failed miserably, and finding his father getting angrier. And ends up in a flashback of what happened back in Boston, the day that Biff came to visit Willy. Willy’s flashback of him cheating on his wife with another woman, and was caught by Biff. This action was the factor that ended the relationship and the trust between Biff and Willy.
Biff leaves the restaurant in frustration, followed by Happy and two girls that Happy has picked up. They leave a confused and upset Willy behind in the restaurant. When they later return home, their mother angrily confronts them for abandoning their father while Willy remains talking to himself outside. Biff goes outside to try to reconcile with Willy. The discussion quickly escalates into another argument, at which point Biff forcefully tries to convey to his father that he is not meant for anything great, that he is simply ordinary, insisting that they both are. The feud culminates with Biff hugging Willy and crying as he tries to get him to let go of the unrealistic dreams he still carries for Biff and wants instead for Willy to accept him for who he really is. He tells his father he loves him.
Rather than listen to what Biff actually says, Willy realizes his son has forgiven him and thinks Biff will now pursue a career as a businessman. Willy kills himself intentionally crashing his car so that Biff can use the life insurance money to start his business. However, at the funeral Biff retains his belief that he does not want to become a businessman. Happy, on the other hand, chooses to follow in his father's footsteps.
Willy constantly has flesh backs about Biff in high school, and when he himself was still a star of his company. In his flesh back he talks about how great Biff will be one day. And how Biff is the star, and he has to act like the star. Step on top of other people, and shine before everyone else. Then he would be dragged back to reality. Where he has to admit that he is getting old, and that everything is different from how it was back then.
Biff and his brother Happy talks about getting a life out in the country, away from Willy and away from the city. They talk about how easy it would be if they were to live outside and have a life on their own.
The next day, Willy goes to ask his boss for a job in town while Biff goes to make a business proposition, but neither is successful. Willy gets angry and ends up getting fired when the boss tells him he needs a rest and can no longer represent the company. Biff waits for hours to see a former employer who does not remember him and turns him down. Biff then steal a fountain pen. Willy goes to the office of his neighbor Charley, where he runs into Charley's son, Bernard, which is now a successful lawyer. Bernard tells him that Biff originally wanted to do well in summer school, but something happened in Boston when Biff went to visit Willy that changed Biff’s mind. Bernard told Willy how he tried to reason with Biff, and get him to finish school. But they ended up beating each other to the ground.
Happy, Biff, and Willy meet for dinner at an old restaurant that the family used to go to. When Willy arrives, he was expecting good news from Biff, but instead Biff blows at him with a crap load of bad news. Happy tries to get Biff to lie to their father. Biff tried Happy’s method and failed miserably, and finding his father getting angrier. And ends up in a flashback of what happened back in Boston, the day that Biff came to visit Willy. Willy’s flashback of him cheating on his wife with another woman, and was caught by Biff. This action was the factor that ended the relationship and the trust between Biff and Willy.
Biff leaves the restaurant in frustration, followed by Happy and two girls that Happy has picked up. They leave a confused and upset Willy behind in the restaurant. When they later return home, their mother angrily confronts them for abandoning their father while Willy remains talking to himself outside. Biff goes outside to try to reconcile with Willy. The discussion quickly escalates into another argument, at which point Biff forcefully tries to convey to his father that he is not meant for anything great, that he is simply ordinary, insisting that they both are. The feud culminates with Biff hugging Willy and crying as he tries to get him to let go of the unrealistic dreams he still carries for Biff and wants instead for Willy to accept him for who he really is. He tells his father he loves him.
Rather than listen to what Biff actually says, Willy realizes his son has forgiven him and thinks Biff will now pursue a career as a businessman. Willy kills himself intentionally crashing his car so that Biff can use the life insurance money to start his business. However, at the funeral Biff retains his belief that he does not want to become a businessman. Happy, on the other hand, chooses to follow in his father's footsteps.
American Dream Summary
The book starts off with Mommy and Daddy sitting in the middle of the stage/ their living room. They kept on complaining that you cannot get any satisfactions these days. Then Mommy switches the topic to her buying a hat in the morning, and meeting the chairwoman of her woman’s club. Mommy was telling Daddy how they had an argument over whether the hat she just bought was in the color of beige or wheat. Mommy then returns to the store and demand an exchange in order to receive satisfaction.
Then Grandma comes into the play, carrying a bunch of very neatly wrapped boxes. These boxes foreshadow Grandma’s absence in the future. Grandma complains about how old people are always get ignored or pushed around by younger people. She complains about how the younger generation would call them deaf, think they are crazy, ignore them, or just tell the elderly to shut up.
Then Grandma talks about how she Mommy only married Daddy for the money and not really anything else, then started talking about nonsense. Mommy told Grandma to shut up and go do what old people does. Mommy try to threaten Grandma by saying that she will call the van people to take Grandma away, meaning she is going to call retirement home and get Grandma taken away, Grandma states that she doesn’t care, and she would rather be taken away, which again foreshadows that Grandma is going to leave.
Mrs. Barker, which is the chairwoman/ professional woman/ the woman that’s supposed to satisfy whatever Mommy and Daddy was looking for, showed up at the door. Daddy couldn’t find the courage to open the door, he wanted to wait a little longer, but there is no reason for them to wait, since they don’t even know what they really want.
Finally when Daddy opened the door, Mrs. Barker comes in and they have a brief conversation/ introduction. Then they went down to business. Talking about what Mrs. Barker actually came for, which no one not even Mrs. Barker herself has any idea. Everyone was really confused, it was to a point where they thought that Mrs. Barker was here for the boxes that Grandma had neatly wrapped. Which is another foreshadow of Grandma going away.
Grandma refuses to behave and told Mommy that she has hid everything, and by everything, she actually meant that she has packed everything into her boxes. So when Mrs. Barker asks for a drink of water, Mommy or Daddy couldn’t find the cup, water, kitchen, and everything else.
Grandma then explains to Mrs. Barker, or rather hints her about the situation. She told Mrs. Barker about Mommy and Daddy’s first adopted son, which was brutally murdered by Mommy and Daddy not too long ago. Mrs. Barker listens to the story and responds appropriately. Mrs. Barker still couldn’t understand the moral behind the story. But she went to find Mommy, because apparently Mommy cannot get the water to Mrs. Barker. Then the doorbell rings again.
The young, typical American Boy, with a nice body, look, and everything shows up looking for a job. Grandma saw the boy, and cannot make out why she’s got a feeling that they met before. The young man talks about his past, it is part of his interview. After Grandma listens to his sad story about him and his twin Grandma realize that this young man is the twin of the you boy that Mommy and Daddy murdered.
She then arrange the young boy to stay at the house and live with Mommy and Daddy, she told the idea to Mrs. Barker, and had her go and tell Mommy and Daddy.
While Mrs. Barker lives again to find Mommy and Daddy, Grandma left the house for good, but the young man knows that Grandma is still in the house.
When everyone returns to celebrate the satisfaction Mommy and Daddy received. They didn’t realize that Grandma is also in the scene with them, but the young man noticed. Grandma broke the fourth wall and tells the audience, that this is the end of the story.
Then Grandma comes into the play, carrying a bunch of very neatly wrapped boxes. These boxes foreshadow Grandma’s absence in the future. Grandma complains about how old people are always get ignored or pushed around by younger people. She complains about how the younger generation would call them deaf, think they are crazy, ignore them, or just tell the elderly to shut up.
Then Grandma talks about how she Mommy only married Daddy for the money and not really anything else, then started talking about nonsense. Mommy told Grandma to shut up and go do what old people does. Mommy try to threaten Grandma by saying that she will call the van people to take Grandma away, meaning she is going to call retirement home and get Grandma taken away, Grandma states that she doesn’t care, and she would rather be taken away, which again foreshadows that Grandma is going to leave.
Mrs. Barker, which is the chairwoman/ professional woman/ the woman that’s supposed to satisfy whatever Mommy and Daddy was looking for, showed up at the door. Daddy couldn’t find the courage to open the door, he wanted to wait a little longer, but there is no reason for them to wait, since they don’t even know what they really want.
Finally when Daddy opened the door, Mrs. Barker comes in and they have a brief conversation/ introduction. Then they went down to business. Talking about what Mrs. Barker actually came for, which no one not even Mrs. Barker herself has any idea. Everyone was really confused, it was to a point where they thought that Mrs. Barker was here for the boxes that Grandma had neatly wrapped. Which is another foreshadow of Grandma going away.
Grandma refuses to behave and told Mommy that she has hid everything, and by everything, she actually meant that she has packed everything into her boxes. So when Mrs. Barker asks for a drink of water, Mommy or Daddy couldn’t find the cup, water, kitchen, and everything else.
Grandma then explains to Mrs. Barker, or rather hints her about the situation. She told Mrs. Barker about Mommy and Daddy’s first adopted son, which was brutally murdered by Mommy and Daddy not too long ago. Mrs. Barker listens to the story and responds appropriately. Mrs. Barker still couldn’t understand the moral behind the story. But she went to find Mommy, because apparently Mommy cannot get the water to Mrs. Barker. Then the doorbell rings again.
The young, typical American Boy, with a nice body, look, and everything shows up looking for a job. Grandma saw the boy, and cannot make out why she’s got a feeling that they met before. The young man talks about his past, it is part of his interview. After Grandma listens to his sad story about him and his twin Grandma realize that this young man is the twin of the you boy that Mommy and Daddy murdered.
She then arrange the young boy to stay at the house and live with Mommy and Daddy, she told the idea to Mrs. Barker, and had her go and tell Mommy and Daddy.
While Mrs. Barker lives again to find Mommy and Daddy, Grandma left the house for good, but the young man knows that Grandma is still in the house.
When everyone returns to celebrate the satisfaction Mommy and Daddy received. They didn’t realize that Grandma is also in the scene with them, but the young man noticed. Grandma broke the fourth wall and tells the audience, that this is the end of the story.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Synthesize of Course Material #4
The two novels we read, Ceremony and Pride and Prejudice are suppose to be very good novels, with many morals in them. But to be honest I didn't like either of them. I think Ceremony is too full of violence, alcohol, and not enough events are actually going on, while Pride and Prejudice is the complete opposite, there are no action happening at all, and its all about relationships between girls and guys, and trying to get married. If these two novels could some how combine and the story plot be mixed up a little bit, it would make a very interesting novel.
Synthesize of Course Material #3
Plays
Both Death of a Salesman and American Dream are classic, and I just love both of the story. I might not have liked them two month ago, but now thinking back, I have applied them to a lot of my work without even realizing that I am doing so. I wrote three essays on Death of a Salesman and two on American Dream. These two plays have great examples to the moral of life. And even though through out the entire Death of a Salesman I don't like Willy, even now, I still don't, but he's spirit and hes care for his family has lead me to think about myself. And that I have actually slowly been pulling away from my family. Although I am not even close to what how Willy treats his family (not even close, and that's hope I never will.) But it did make me think about bonding more with the family since I will be leaving for college very soon. And American Dream is just a classic comic that whenever I think about the story I still laugh about how naive the characters are.
Both Death of a Salesman and American Dream are classic, and I just love both of the story. I might not have liked them two month ago, but now thinking back, I have applied them to a lot of my work without even realizing that I am doing so. I wrote three essays on Death of a Salesman and two on American Dream. These two plays have great examples to the moral of life. And even though through out the entire Death of a Salesman I don't like Willy, even now, I still don't, but he's spirit and hes care for his family has lead me to think about myself. And that I have actually slowly been pulling away from my family. Although I am not even close to what how Willy treats his family (not even close, and that's hope I never will.) But it did make me think about bonding more with the family since I will be leaving for college very soon. And American Dream is just a classic comic that whenever I think about the story I still laugh about how naive the characters are.
Synthesize of Course Material #2
AP test multiple questions, they are the biggest struggle I had since the beginning of AP Lit. I have no idea how I am suppose to answer those question, even though the very first time I took the practice, I got over half of the questions right, but that doesn't mean I know the material. I out of ten questions I did, I guessed on six of them. And these guesses aren't even close to being an "educational guess".
I feel like we need to work on the questions more, even though they are quite boring, but they do involve using your brain a lot, and I am not even close to being ready for them. So as of now, if I take the AP test I would be very surprised to even get a three...
Synthesize of Course Material #1
DIDLS
Diction-
the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.
Imagery-
the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images
Detail-
an individual or minute part; an item or particular.
Language-
a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition.
Syntax-
the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
DIDLS is very what we use to analyze a passage, either a short story, news paper, or an essay. Readers can use these techniques to break down the passage, and deeper understand what the author is talking about, and DIDLS iis used for AP testing too.
Diction-
the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.
Imagery-
the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images
Detail-
an individual or minute part; an item or particular.
Language-
a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition.
Syntax-
the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
DIDLS is very what we use to analyze a passage, either a short story, news paper, or an essay. Readers can use these techniques to break down the passage, and deeper understand what the author is talking about, and DIDLS iis used for AP testing too.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Revision of Open Prompt #4- 10/30/11
1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
Deceitfulness and betrayal are the central conflict in Death of a Salesman. In the story, before we know the ending to the story, we see that Biff constantly scorn at Willy, most people will think Biff’s action are very disrespectful, and that he is very ill-mannered in almost every way possible. But as we read on, we begins to see that the reason behind Biff’s action was the deceitful life he had to live under, and the feeling of being betrayed by his own father, caused Biff to seem like the villain of the story.
The Lomans are almost all extremely self-deceptive, and in their respective delusions and blindness to reality, they fuel and feed off of one another. Willy, the main focus of the story, convinced himself that he is successful, well-liked by all, famous everywhere, and that both of his sons are destined for greatness. Unable to cope with reality, he entirely abandons it through his vivid fantasies and ultimately through suicide. Linda and Happy similarly believe that the Lomans are about to make it big. Not connected with the reality, and believe that Willy truly is famous. But the other members of the family, Biff, grows to recognize that he and his family members consistently deceive themselves, and he fights to escape the cycle of lying.
Biff went away from home for a few years. He wants to get away from Willy, and get away from these lies. He knows he is not good enough of a person or worker. And he knows he cannot be successful in the world of business. He wants to be himself and not the person in his father’s dream. Biff knows the lies his family is living under, he tries to convince everyone in the story, but he was accused for being lazy and not trying. While Biff is the only one that sees the reality, he was cast away from the rest of the family, causing conflicts to happen within the Lomans.
Death of a Salesman is full of betrayal. Willy betrays Linda’s love and Biff’s trust with his affair. As the chief betrayer himself, Willy is preoccupied by the fear of betrayal. His frequent accusations that Biff is spiteful reflect his understanding that Biff’s failure in business is a rejection of Willy’s own dreams of success, and that Biff’s inability to keep a job is related to Willy’s love affair. Even outside of his family, Willy feels that his boss is betraying him by firing him, but Howard says that there’s no room for feelings of betrayal in the business world.
No one else but Biff knows the story behind Willy’s betrayal. Biff was the only one at Boston when he caught Willy having an affair with a young woman. He immediately loses all of his respect toward his father. Unable to accept the truth, Biff left the family without saying a word to the rest of the family. After he came back, Biff said Willy was a fake but refuse to tell why, causing conflicts between Linda and himself. Willy feels everything that went wrong is a betrayal toward him. And Biff is the only one that knows the wholes story, he is also the only one that understand the Lomans are living under a lie, so Willy feels Biff is betraying him in everyway.
Biff went away from home for a few years. He wants to get away from Willy, and get away from these lies. He knows he is not good enough of a person or worker. And he knows he cannot be successful in the world of business. He wants to be himself and not the person in his father’s dream. Biff knows the lies his family is living under, he tries to convince everyone in the story, but he was accused for being lazy and not trying. While Biff is the only one that sees the reality, he was cast away from the rest of the family, causing conflicts to happen within the Lomans.
Death of a Salesman is full of betrayal. Willy betrays Linda’s love and Biff’s trust with his affair. As the chief betrayer himself, Willy is preoccupied by the fear of betrayal. His frequent accusations that Biff is spiteful reflect his understanding that Biff’s failure in business is a rejection of Willy’s own dreams of success, and that Biff’s inability to keep a job is related to Willy’s love affair. Even outside of his family, Willy feels that his boss is betraying him by firing him, but Howard says that there’s no room for feelings of betrayal in the business world.
No one else but Biff knows the story behind Willy’s betrayal. Biff was the only one at Boston when he caught Willy having an affair with a young woman. He immediately loses all of his respect toward his father. Unable to accept the truth, Biff left the family without saying a word to the rest of the family. After he came back, Biff said Willy was a fake but refuse to tell why, causing conflicts between Linda and himself. Willy feels everything that went wrong is a betrayal toward him. And Biff is the only one that knows the wholes story, he is also the only one that understand the Lomans are living under a lie, so Willy feels Biff is betraying him in everyway.
Revision of Open Prompt #3- 10/14/11
1991. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.
When it comes to writing about contrasting places, Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities shows the stunning history of the French Revolution. The “tale” of the two cities is quite different, in that London is portrayed as heaven where crimes are supposed to be justified yet Paris is hell where the French Revolution booms and a lot of un-justifying cost many innocent people to die. Even though two completely different events go on in the two cities, the sense of injustice was shown by Dickens throughout the novel.
In A Tale of Two Cities the two cities, London and Paris, are contrast in the incidents that occurred. Britain just experienced the loss of America in the American Revolution. The war caused Britain to rest and fall back on extreme military use. When there is no war, there is no huge loss of money and troops. Citizens follow orders, and everyone is happy, but the court is not taking cases seriously, they judge by how ever people want things to be. There was no real law either, because everyone is so free of will. Meanwhile in France, aristocrats are getting nastier and demanding more from citizens. The class differences are getting so big and ridiculous, and the aristocrat are abusing their power to a point where they need four people to make breakfast for them. Soon the French Revolution begins, killing numerous aristocrats and anyone that has power or money, France immediately turned into a blood shedding land. The blood shedding of aristocrats soon turned to the blood shedding of anyone who does not like the guillotine. The injustice that occurred in both cities creates either fear or carefree mood.
Dickens portrayed London as a heavenly place where everyone is nice to each other, no war, no battle, no real crime, no real law, no precise court, and no justice. Yet in Paris people are chopping off each other’s head. Paris started out as a revolutionary, an act to make the country better and bearable for everyone. The act then soon turned into random blood shedding, killing about forty thousand people. Dickens’ extreme contrast of the neighboring lands showed how London and Paris affect each other, either in violent way or justice.
In the end Dickens points out that the two countries are so different yet they are both injustice. In Paris thousands of people died without a real reason, and none of those that died had a chance of defending themselves before they were sent to the guillotine, and this happened every Saturday morning. While in London, those who committed crimes are not being punished enough, but those that didn’t do anything are being punished. The judge of the court are lacking on their job, judges listen to public desire and allows the desire to become reality. While the two cities might seem very different in that one is killing thousands of people and the other is so peaceful nothing happens. They are actually really similar in that there is no justice.
Revision of Open Prompt #2- 10/03/11
1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.
A lot of stories start out with a character doing something very drastic, or very extreme, and it usually sets the tone of the story. Like Curtains, the Broadway musical written by Rupert Holmes. All the audience set their attention on Jessica Cranshaw at the beginning of the musical, then a sudden death happened at the very beginning, a mysterious murderous case beginnings. Althouh when Holmes wrote the story he was careful not to show too much details as to what will happen, but he gave the audience enough information that the audience can know this will be a comedy-tragedy musical.
Although Jessica wasn’t the main character, and her death really meant nothing to the audience, but her death is the setting of the musical, it is because of her death, that all the crew are stuck inside the little theater, and it is because of her death that a lot of problems are solved in the musical, and also the beginning of a love story between the main characters. The first scene of Curtains set out the plot for the rest of the musical.
In the second half of the first scene, viewers learn that no one likes Jessica, and everyone hoped she either leave or die. So at that point everyone was considered suspect. Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, local Boston detective, showed up and locked up everyone from the show in the theater. Immediately viewers would see that Cioffi is now in charge of the scene. Everyone is under his control. Viewers might not know what would happen next, but comprehend that the rest of the musical would occur inside the theater. At this point viewers would understand that there is a killer on the loose, a detective trying to catch the killer, and everyone inside the theater is a suspect.
A lot of writers would show a dim detail of the plot which provides the basic background of the story at the first scene. This writing style prevents readers/ viewers from knowing too much about the detail of the story, yet understand what is going on and would guess around for answers. It creates a mood for the audience causing them to predict what would happen later on in the story. Holmes’ Curtains is one of the stories that provides enough information for audience to predict but not enough for audience to know the detail.
Revision of Open Prompt #1- 09/16/11
2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good — are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Ambiguous characters such as Severus Snape from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter are often viewed as less of a main character and more of a side character that is put in a novel to make the story more interesting. It is often hard to understand their motif in the story. But in most cases the ambiguous character will lead the protagonist to success. Severus Snape is such of a character, throughout the entire series of Harry Potter, readers have thought of Snape as a villain, no one would have thought that he was the person leading Harry Potter to defeating Voldemort.
In the first book of Harry Potter, during the Quidditch game with Slytherin, everyone thought it was Snape’s doing, that Harry’s nimbus 2000 was acting suspicious, Rowling used great details to write her characters, no one would have expected Snape to actually be trying to save Harry Potter, other than trying to have him killed. And of course no one would have “suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell” to be the person that was attempting to kill Harry Potter.
In the seventh book, we found the secret behind Snape and Dumbledore. We found out that Snape was actually the whole reason why Harry Potter hasn’t died yet, and that they plotted to defeat Voldemort using Harry Potter from the very beginning, it is almost to drastic of a change between the personality of Snape. Rowling used many dictions and details to create an evil ambiguous character, and in the six book, audience, were certain that Snape is an actual villain. But in the seventh book, the evil villain suddenly changed to a hero, the ambiguity of the character cost audience to view the character in a complete different emotion.
Ambiguous characters are very important. They make the story more interesting by confusing the readers. Making readers to think one way at the beginning but conclude in another way. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series Snape always seem like he is the evil character. But in the very last book we found out that Snape has been helping Harry Potter all along.
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