Irony

"You traveled to seek happiness, but a fatality seems to pursue you..." pg 133

Everywhere that Frankenstein goes, his creature follows him. He keeps trying to run away from the problem and deny the existence of his creation. However, his foot steps are very obvious and have done so much damage to Frankensteins life. The best thing for him to do is to confront the monster but he is to scared to stop the thing that he created.This vicious circle will probably cause the downfall of Frankenstein. He has no choice but to create a companion for his creation but the first monster killed off 3 of his friends. Frankenstein is torn as a result of his foolish decisions. I think that he should kill Frankenstein so he doesn't have to worry about him destroying his life anymore.

Marriage

"I confess, my son, that I have always looked forward to your marriage with our dear Elizabeth as the tie of our domestic comfort, and the stay of my decliniong years." pg 109

Victor's father finally tells him that he should probably marry Elizabeth sooner of later. His father is getting very old and the whole family has gone through much pain lately. I think that it would be the perfect thing to call Victor down and make him go back to him old self. I wonder how Elizabeth has been taking Victor since he has been home. He has been completely different from his old self and walks around depressed. They are not as close as they used to be yet she still wants to marry him. Vctor knows that he has to complete making the monster before he marries her but he keeps putting it off. I think that they will never get married because of all the bad decisions that Victor continues to make.

Antagonist

"I do refuse it," I replied; "and no torture shall ever extort a consent from me." pg. 104

Frankenstein is refusing to create a companion for his creation out of fear. He is terrified of his first creation and the thought of making another makes him tremble. When he doesn't look at his creation, he feels sorry for him and even wants to help him. I think that he should just listen to what he is saying and try to understand what he feels. It is not fair that he rejected his creation right after it came to life. He had to learn about the world all on his own and had gone through immeasurable pain. I think Frankestein makes himself miserable by over thinking everything. If he would find someone to be with his creature, they would both be happy. Instead, he is causing unncessary death by making the monster upset. The monster will only kill more people as Frankenstein keeps refusing.

Protagonist

"I swear," he cried, "by the blue sky of Heaven, and by the fire of love that burns my hear, that if you grant my prayer, while they exist you shall never behold me again." pg 107



The monster is a tortured person who just wants to love and be loved. I sympathize with him at this part and i really feel sorry for him, especially since he was just rejected by the family that he had watched over for a very long time. The creature is trying as hard as he can to get Frankenstein to understand what he has been going through during his life on earth. He wants him to understand that if he had a companion his life wouldn't be such agony. All Frankenstein wants is for his creature to go away and never bother them again. However, the creature promises that if he makes a mate for him, he will disapear and never interfere on his life again. I think that Frankenstein should grant him his request in order for them to both have peaceful lives.

Foreshadowing

"Pardon this gush of sorrow' these ineffectual words are but a slight tribute to the unexampled worth of Henry, but they soothe my heart, overflowing with the anguish which his remembrance creates." pg.114

Many times throughout this story I forget that Frankenstein is telling it. When I was reading this part i was really confused at what was going on. I thought i missed something that happened to Henry and I kept rereading. The frame story goes so deep that the reader forgets that it is a recall of the past and not the present. I knew that something bad was going to happen to Henry because of this foreshadowing sentence. This built up the suspense for the next chapter. I was holding on and couldn't put the book down until I found out was going to happen. Unfortunately, the monster kills Henry in revenge. This is predictable but what happens to Victor in return is not. I never expected him to be blamed for his best friends death.

Did the monster kill William?

"What did he there? Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother? pg. 50

The family blames the innocent Justine as the murderer of William and she eventually admits to this out of fear. However, Victor is convinced that his monster did it. I thought that the second that I read that his brother was killed. But when the monster starts to talk about his secluded life and all the innocent things that he did, I changed my mind about it. I still have not figured out who killed the brother but now I don't think it was Justine of the monster. It seems that the monster wouldn't hurt a fly. I hope the book eventually tells us who did it because I can't guess the ending to this one. Victor makes himself sick blaming himself but in the end I don't think it is his fault. Hopefully the ending of the monster's story makes him feel better.

More Irony

"I was siezed by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe". pg 61

After hearing about the death of his brother, Victor rushes home to be with his family. He hasn't seen them for years and years. Clerval tells him that they need him home to console Elizabeth. However, Victor experience more pain and anguish than all of them combined. Even when the family begins to get over it, Victor always wears a face of despair. His father yells at him saying that he loved William very much but there comes a time when you should move on. Also, when Elizabeth starts to get over it she tells Victor that he needs to let it go. She tells him that it wasn't his fault and there is nothing he can do about it. This, however, torments Victor even more. It is ironic that Victor came home to comfort his family and he ends up causing them even more worry.

frame story

"Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me, -- let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!" pg 12

The story starts on with a boy writing letters to his sister telling him about his thirst for adventure. It was hard to jump into these letters because the audience receives no direct information about these characters. Soon after, the brother starts telling his sister about a figure of a man that they saw out on the ice (the monster!). This is foreshadowing because it gives us clues to the mystery of this being. Then they discover a man who is almost froze to death. They carry him aboard and he reveals his story to the brother in the intent of teaching him a lesson. I keep forgetting throughout this story that it is being told. Later, the monster starts to tell another story to the man who is telling the story to the man that is telling us the story. (sooo confusing) It is a story within a story within a story. And i wonder if it will go on?

Irony

"Dearest Clerval," exclaimed I, "how kind, how very good you are to me. this whole winter, instead of being spent in study, as you promised yourself, has been consumed in my sick room. HOw shall I ecer repay you?" pg 39

Victor spends two whole years completely entranced in his creation of life. He works himself sick night and day making the monster. Ironically, in the desperate creation of life, he is slowly killing himself. He doesn't take care of himself and doesn't even stop to get rest. When Clerval comes to see him, he finds Victor in horrible condition. He is restless and he has dark circles under his eyes. Victor is so concerned with the human that he is creating that he stop worrying about himself. In the end, it all catches up to him and he stays in bed for a very long time. He misses out on spending time with his family and lives in fear that the monster will eventually come back.

Simile.

"The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home." pg. 19

Victor looks at Elizabeth in many different ways. He looks at her as a family member because he has grown up with her his whole life. Even though they are not related, she is like his sister because they were raised by the same parents. However, he also looks at her as his companion. He calls her "my Elizabeth" and is constantly reflecting on her beauty. Also, on his mother's deathbed, she asked told them to join in union. Part of me thinks it's creepy that these two have been raised like siblings but have a romantic relationship. In these times, however, it was normal to marry your cousin. The way Victor looks at Elizabeth is extreme. He looks at her as a pure and beautiful spirit and i think she is the only thing that keeps him sane.

Climax

" "When it's done, only one of us will walk out of this room alive,"Assef said. "If it's him, then he's earned his freedom and you let him pass, do you understand?" " (pg. 287)

This is a make or break moment for Amir. He has come all this way and put himself in incredible danger for this boy. Amir knows that it is time to redeem the sin he comitted when he was a young boy. He is scared but confident that he will be the one walking out of that room with Sohrab. It is a huge step for Amir and a turning point in his life. Before, he was a coward and would have ran out of the room as soon as he found out who he was dealing with. Hearing the truth about Hassan being his brother made the pain of his action illuminate that much more. Amir fights for his nephew because he has realized that that is the most important thing to him. It will give him the peace of mind that he has been longing for since childhood.

Assef

His name escaped my lips: "Assef." "Amir jan." Amir comes to face to face with his biggest enemy. He has no idea that the person that has Hassan's son is the same man that raped Hassan. I think that when he realizes who he is dealing with, he becomes even more desperate for Sohrab. Amir is angry as all the thoughts of what this man has done to both Hassan and Sohrab rush into his head. He wasn't able to stop Assef from raping Hassan years ago but Amir is determined to stop this abuse on Sohrab. When they fight, Amir has peace of mind. He has finally fought back for once in his life. He has finally stood up for something. He laughs as Assef is hitting him because Amir is being set free from all the torture that he has gone through thinking about what he let happen to Hassan. Assef is mentally insane and he lives for violence. He represents Amir's biggest struggle and in this chapter, he is overcame.

Resolution

"I don't want to go to another orphanage," he said. "I won't ever let that happen. I promise you that. " I cupped his hand in both of mine. "Come home with me." His tears were soaking the pillow He didn't say anything for a long time. Then his hand squeezed mine. And he nodded. He nodded. To me, the story ended right at this point. This is the time when Amir is preparing to start anew with Sohrab. He has moved on from his past and has finally decided to do something about it. Sohrab has had a rough life and it is up to Amir to do whatever he can to make things easier for him. He promises he will never let him go back into an orphanage. This promise is telling him that he will always make sure he has a roof over his head and food to eat. He is promising him that he will always take care of him. Amir is finallly making ammends with Hassan by taking in his son.

Dynamic Character

"Would you like to come to America and live with me and my wife?" (pg. 320) Amir asks Sohrab to come and live with him and to become part of his family. Amir has made a big change in his life because he has finally stopped thinking so much about himself and is concentrationg on other people. He knows he owes this much to his best friend Hassan. Before, when tragedy presented itself, Amir ran away from the truth and did nothing to improve the situation. He would not stick up for himself or Hassan. Now, he fights for Hassan's son and is sticking up for himself. He is becoming more like his father and he is learing how to take on the world. This change makes him the hero of the story. His main interest now is Sohrab and giving him a better life.

Flashback

"Baba marinating lamb for my thirteenth birthday party. Soraya and I making love for the first time, the sun rising in the east, our ears still ringing r\from the wedding music, her henna-painted hands laced in mine....How dark, almost black Hassan's blood had looked in the snow, dropping from the seat of his pants..." (pg.310) This paragraph of flashbacks is a progression of all the happy things that Amir is remembering to the bad things. He is dreaming this things because they have had such a huge impact on his life. The author puts these flashbacks in to show the reader how Amir is reminiscing on them and is moving on in his life. Amir is redeeming his sin against Hassan as a child by adopting his child. He is finally forgiving himself for the wrong he has done. This transition begins a new life for both Amir and his nephew.

Baba

As soon as Amir and Baba come to America, Baba changes into a completely different person. I was really confused at the transition. He becomes weak and small. In Kabul, Baba was the richest guy around. Everyone knew him. He was a giant guy with a booming voice. In America, Amir talks about how Baba lost a whole bunch of weight and he's sad all the time. I would be sad too if everything that I have worked for my whole life was lost. When they transititoned to America, all they brought with them was two suitcases. It is always sad to see your dad be vulnerable because that is the person you look up to your whole life and you believe nothing bad can ever happen to them. Amir goes through this again when Baba gets cancer and becomes very sick. In Kabul, Baba would get mad at him if he didn't stand up for himself or if he would cry. He didn't like to see this weakness in his son. Now, Baba is sick on the couch and relies on Amir and his wife to take care of him. The tradition to America completely switched their roles.

Amir is an idiot

It's not Amir's fault that those boys raped Hassan. However, it is his fault that he continued to watch it and not intervene. It is understandable that Amir was afraid that if he stepped in they would do the same thing to him. He knew that probably would happen so he ran away and let his best friend be hurt. Throughout the story it makes me really mad how Amir can't just fess up to what he did. All his regret would go away and he could finally move on with his life. Him and Hassan would become good friends again. The guilt that he has is eating away at him for years and years. Why can't he just own up to it? If I were him, I probably would've had that conversation with Hassan a long time ago. It would have made it so they wouldn't have left and they would probably still be friends. It's sad to me that they are as close as brothers and this tragedy can seperate them for good.

Foreshadowing

"I will never forget how Assef's blue eyes glinted with a light not entirely sane and how he grinned... as he pummeled that poor kid unconscious." This quote comes from the scene where Amir and Hassan are cornered for the first time by the neighborhood bullies. Amir knows what they can do to them because he has seen it happen to other kids before. He refers to this look in Assef's eyes again when he is raping Hassan. This is used as foreshadowing to let the reader know of the horrible things that are about to happen. Assef is insane and gets genuine pleasure out of beating other kids up. He smiles to himself as he "pummels"someone. In this same way, he is cheerful when he rapes Hassan. Amir knows that he will not stop for anything because he is mentally insane."Years later, I learned an English word for the creature that Assef was, a word for which a good Farsi equivalent does not exist: sociopath." I didn't know what this word meant so I looked it up; a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. I think this describes him perfectly because he does not see the moral wrongness of what he is doing whatsoever.

Protagonist

I think that Hassan is the protagonist. Even though he is not the central character of the story, he plays a very heroic role. Hassan is always building up Amir by telling him how he will write amazing books when he is older and how great of a kite flyer he is. Even when Amir throws the fruit at Hassan, he refuses to hit him back. Hassan shows Amir what it means to be a best friend and not just a servent. When Hassan and Amir go off to the hill to play one day, they are followed by the three huge bullies of the neighborhood. They both know that they don't stand a chance against them. However, Hassan stands up for both of them. He pulls out his slingshot and points it right at the bully's head. They know that the bullies will get revenge on them eventually but Hassan is brave enough to put an end to it.

Antagonist

In the Kite Runner, I believe that the narrator, Amir, is the antagonist. He is puts his best friend Hassan down all the time by mocking his inability to read. I think that the reason Amir is mean to Hassan is because he is jealous of the way his father cares about Hassan. Amir doesn't get very much attention from his father and when Hassan comes around, his father tends to strike up a conversation with him. Rahim Khan relates more to Amir than his father does. Amir also doesn't stand up for Hassan when he gets raped. He knows that Hassan would do it for him but he is afrad of what they will do to him if he intervenes. As a result, he ruins the friendship they have. They will no longer play together and talk to eachother like they used to. Because of Amir's cowardness, he puts his childhood to an end.

adultery

The whole adultery scene is confusing to me. It seems as if it is just symbolic. The woman represents Willy's discontent in life. Willy is always concerned about being "well liked". This woman seems like a means to attain that specific end. His wife loves him even when he rebukes her and causes her to worry constantly about his delusional state. However, this lady regards herself as a means for Willy to get to the buyers more efficiently. This desire to be "well liked" is a coping tragedy for all the abandonment he has dealt with from his father and brother. In the end, it ends up making his son Biff abandon him as well.

THEMES

One of the themes in this play is abandonment. We see abandonment from Willy's father in his past. We are not given much information about Willy's father but we can assume that is similar to his relationship with Biff; a sad misunderstanding. When his brother departs for Alaska, leaving Willy alone, we see him develop a fear of abandonment. HE then decides to raise a family and make his sons perfect with an understandment of how to be successful. When Biff learns of his father's adultery, he loses all respect for him. Everything that he was taught growing up goes out the window. Biff no longer desires to impress his father of be the man that he is. Finally, when Willy thinks that his son is about to become successful at last, Biff shatters him telling him of his illusions at Frank's Chop Shop. Biff then abandons his father in the restroom. This theme shows us the reason why Willy lives in his delusional state. His constant let downs have reformed him to be the sad man he is.

FOIL CHARACTERS

Throughout this play, Willy and Biff are foils. They are constantly arguing with each other. Ironically, they are both working to impress each other and seem to keep failing. They are constantly making things up about themselves to build themselves up. Biff's idea of business is suffering and agony. Willy believes that it is the only way to make a prestigious living for his family. Willy also talks about how "Biff is a lazy bum". He thinks that his lack of material success reflects that he is lazy. Really, Biff desires to be outdoors and work hard around a farm. In the next sentence, Willy contradicts himself. He says, "Biff is anything but lazy". This delusion shows how Willy is hopeful that Biff will someday become successful. He is not ready to give into the idea that Biff is not trying to become a salesman like Willy is. Just like Willy is delusional about Biff's future, he is also delusional about his own past. He puts himself on a pedestal and is always bragging about the many achievements that he has had.

Physical Componets

The stage directions in this play are extremely specific. It makes the play more unrealistic. When the music begins during a scene and the lighting changes, it adds effect to what the character is saying. However, it is meant to be seen and not read so it doesn't come off the same way. For example, when Tom is talking about getting out of his house and seeing the world, the picture of their father lights up. As he keeps making his point, it lights up even more. This would make sense if we were the audience watching the play. However, it seems unrealistic reading it. Another example is the songs that come on. Randomly when Tom is making up with his mother, Ave Maria starts to play. The perfectness of the songs and the lights creates the unrealistic tone.

protagonist and antagonist

I think that the antagonist in this play is Amanda. She seems like she is always pushing her kids around with things she wants them to do. She has no concern for what they want in life. She signs Laura up for college and trys to throw all of these different things at her that clearly are not what she wants. It is sad because Amanda has good intentions but she is going about it all the wrong way. Amanda also does this with Tom. She is constantly fighting with him. Amanda does not agree with what Tom does every night. She doesn't believe that he is actually going to the movies and she thinks he is off doing bad things. At first, I thought Tom was serious about all the sarcastic things he was saying to his mother. It caught me off guard. I think that Amanda is so scared of what Tom is doing because she is afraid that he will do what his father did and leave them.

FIGHTING SCENES/ EMILIA

yesss. stab. stab. stab. I cannot help but laugh when I read these fight scenes. It's sad because people are dying but it's funny because they say things like Roderigo, "Oh, I am slain!" (V.i.28.) It's funny because he's yelling oh no im dead! Not very realistic. I am really interested to find out how the Othello movie portrays this fighting scene. It was pretty hard to follow because so many people were stabbing each other. The triangle of Iago, Roderigo, and Cassio was severely confusing.

I am really proud of Emilia. She stood up against Iago. FINALLY. After him telling her to shut up and go home every time she talked was getting really old. He was a jerk to literally everyone in this story. At the end, she dies a hero. Emilia reveals the truth to Othello to let him know how innocent his wife really was. Because of this, her husband stabs her. His rage causes such a mess at the end of this play.

TRAGEDY

Did everyone die? Typical. When I was reading the end, I was getting really sad. It's so unfair that Desdemona has to die for no reason. "in her be, even the bed she hath contaminated" (IV.i.190). And the villain lives. Shakespeare always does that to me. Anyway, this was definitely a tragedy. Hence the death. Tragic. They all happen at like the very last second of the play. At the end of Act IV, nobody had died yet. I was getting super nervous when I started reading Act V because I knew it wasn't going to be happy. The worst part of the play is when Othello learns the truth. The man he thought was his honest friend turns out to be plotting against him and causes him to kill his wife. Othello is so shaken by this that he takes his own life. It is interesting to me because they say that Othello took his life because he was "great of heart". Nowadays, suicide is not looked at as a noble or brave act.

SUSPENSE

One of the questions is to answer how suspense was created. There is so much unknown information flying around in this movie. At this point, Iago is controlling a good majority of the characters. Othello has been lied to and is lacking crucial information (i.e. his wife is innocent!). He is in the dark about almost everything. Othello has no idea who his real friends are. Iago has this huge master plan that he is constantly telling the audience through the play. Once all the characters exit, he turns to the audience and unravels his next steps in the grand plan. Therefore, the audience has all of the information when the main characters are left in the dark. This lack of information leads to the death of Othello, Roderigo, Desdemona, Emilia, and probably other people that we don't even know about. Moral of the story, Iago and the audience are the only people who know the truth.

SMART GUY...

Iago is so evil. It seems like he has ridiculous anger building up inside of him. He does all of these things to break down Cassio, Othello, and Desdemona. He suspects Othello of sleeping with his wife Emilia. Big deal? He treats his wife like crap. If I were her I would get away, too. I think there is a deeper motivation for everything Iago is doing. Nobody would go that far to tear happy people apart. His master plan is very impressive, though. I keep waiting for someone to call Iago out but everything he plans works out perfectly...so far! I really like Othello. I think he is a hard working, honest person. He won Desdemona fair and square and he treats her very well. People keep calling Othello black and ugly. It's obvious how easy it is for Desdemona to see pass that because Othello is such a good husband to her.

GOOD AND BAD PEOPLE

The protagonist in the first three acts is clearly Iago. He is doing everything he can to get back at Othello. He pretends to be his faithful friend. Iago uses Roderigo like a tool to help complete his master plan. He tricks him into thinking that he will eventually get Desdemona. Little does he know, Iago is taking all his money and has no intention of setting him up with Desdemona. Iago is horrible to his wife. He treats her with incredible disrespect and always tells her to shut up. The antagonist is Cassio. Unlike Iago, Cassio treats all women like princesses. He has great manners and always greets them and talks with them. Because of this, Iago uses this quality to turn Othello against him. Cassio is a good man and has always worked hard under Othello. However, Iago is bringing out the worst in him by giving him alcohol and spreading all kinds of rumors about him. Again, his jealousy is causing him to act as the bad guy.

THEMES

JEALOUSY: The first three acts is all about how jealous people are. Iago shows a lot of jealousy towards Cassio. He doesn't think that Cassio deserves the lieutenant position. He goes to great lengths to destroy the relationship between Cassio and Othello just for his own selfish desires. This shows how destructive jealousy can be when you let it control your decisions. Iago only cares about himself and as a result, becomes a two-faced person. Roderigo is also a jealous person. He goes and "tells on" Desdemona just because he is jealous of Othello. He has gone begging for Desdemona many times and he is jealous that he was not the one to win her over. Another theme of these acts is racism. The only reason that Barbantio is upset his daughter has married Othello is because he is black. Othello is widely respected but he is referred to as black and ugly. They even call him the "old black ram" I.i.87. The fact that Iago and Roderigo are so racist towards Othello also shows how jealous they are of him.