DRJ # 4

This act is very intense. Ophelia is commits suicide, Laertes is out for revenge, and Claudius wants to kill off Hamlet so he can be in peace. This act by far was the most intense out of all the previous acts. The predicament at hand seems to be a movie about murder. Two people are planning it and even planning another plan just in case the first one doesn’t go through. Claudius and Laertes really want Hamlet dead and in this scene it shows.

         The character that stands out the most is Laertes. He is all about killing the person responsible for killing his father and turning his sister crazy. Laertes plays the protagonist in this act fighting for justice. He believes that Hamlet needs to die for the fact that he has killed Polonius. However this protagonist has a fall because Claudius is playing him and helping him plot the murder for Hamlet. Claudius is helping him because he also wants Hamlet dead. Laertes is playing a foil character to Hamlet. Laertes is fighting for justice the right way while Hamlet is doing it the wrong way to where he looks crazy.

The theme of this act is Madness. Everyone in this act seems to be going crazy. Ophelia commits suicide, and Laertes and Claudius plan to kill Hamlet. The way that Claudius and Laertes plan to kill hamlet is horrible. Not only do they come up with one plan, but they come up with a couple plans. This shows how mad they are at Hamlet. They want him dead and only dead. The author uses this theme to show that Hamlet has caused many people to want to kill him. He has caused chaos and some people want him dead now. Madness is taking over everyone in this act and now people are turning against each other and pointing fingers at one another. This act was very important in showing that chaos has now taken center stage.

DRJ # 3

Act 3 has tons of things going on. There is a lot of information that is given in this act. Everyone seemed to be doing something especially Hamlet. I this act however, Hamlet seems to become harsher and bolder in his actions and words. Act 3 really showed the type of character that Hamlet is.

The character that was significant in this act was definitely Hamlet. He was all about putting on this “murderous” type appeal where he is in a way preparing himself to become a murderer. He is really rude to Ophelia and his mother Gertrude more so than all the previous acts. He is in full force on showing who really killed his father and doesn’t seem to care on who he hurts in the process. Hamlet is the antagonist constantly trying to blow the covers off his mother and uncle causing conflict intentionally so that others can know the truth. By plying this rebellious, “murderous” role in this act shows the audience that he is now in action.

The theme for act 3 is Revenge. This whole scene was about Hamlet going about a way to bring attention to the fact that he knows the truth. He knows that the king killed his father and wants the queen to know that she is wrong for loving his uncle. The author uses revenge in this act to show how rebellious Hamlet is. Hamlet is so desperate to kill his uncle that he is acting like a crazy man. This theme also brings out the fact that he is so involved in this revenge that it’s in a way making him lose his mind. There is even a part in the act where the ghost enters the room with Gertrude and Hamlet. When Hamlet begins talking to the ghost Gertrude sees nothing, just Hamlet talking to air. This scene really reflects on revenge is taking over Hamlet.

DRJ #2

In the short drama “Hamlet”, act 2 was long and sort of all over the place. There seem to be man things going on making it hard to keep up with. This section was harder for me to understand than act 2. There also seemed to be a lot of reading between the lines to better understand this act.

The particular character in this act was Polonius. The type of person he is seems to be really unknown. Yes he is a father of 2 and a servant for the King but he seems to be really nonchalant but yet still up to something. In act 2 I really can’t put my finger on it. He seems to be a suck up to the king and queen and will do anything to make them accept him. He seems to be the protagonist of this act. The fact that he is trying to set up young Hamlet to prove a point shows that Polonius is starting conflict intentionally to get Hamlet in trouble and at the same time have the king and queen accept him more.

The thematic analysis of act 2 is about character. Act 2 kind of puts Polonius in a couple of situations to show the type of man he is and to show his flaws. From what was portrayed in this act shows that Polonius is up to something. It starts off b Polonius having his servant get information of Laertes to “make sure” he is working on his music, he is trying to set up Hamlet, and trying to prove his “loyalty” to the king and queen. The character of Polonius shows that Polonius is an unstable man who will do anything for acceptance and must not be trusted

DRJ #1

In the short drama Hamlet act one was very interesting even though I had to read it three times I really enjoyed it. Although none of the characters remind me of people I know some of the situations do sound familiar. For instance, when Claudius kills his own brother elder Hamlet, he does it for the crown and Hamlets woman. People all over the world kill for the possessions of another. Reading act one was like watching an episode of “The first 48.”

The character in focus in act one is Claudius. He is the brother of elder Hamlet and the new king of Denmark. In act one he seemed sneaky and suspicious epically when young Hamlet was mourning for his father (who was not dead for more than two months) was told by Claudius to pretty much snap out of it and let him die. Claudius is definitely the antagonist in the story causing conflict intentionally by the killing of his brother and the marrying of young Hamlets mother. He causes conflict in the story to show who his character really is which is a sneaky man who does anything to get what he wants.

The thematic analysis for act 1 is about evil and good. The evilness comes from the characters of Claudius and Gertrude on the flipside the good comes from Elder Hamlet and his young son. Claudius is a man who will do what he can to get what he wants. He is a character of mystery. It could be seen that he was up to no good in the first section of act one and was proven at the end that he was the one that took his own brothers life and lied and said it was something else. Claudius being an evil character sets up young Hamlets character who will be a foil character who will do what should be done – get revenge. Hamlet is true goodness.

SSRJ #2 D.walker

   To begin with, I read D. walkers story called, "I am the Grass". There were numerous things going on in the story. My initial response was that Walker is going through a lot of issues internally and doesn’t seem to have the right tools to deal with those issues. Even though he is no longer in war he is still in war with himself. He seems to be living two lives’ and is having trouble letting the other one go. Now that he is out of war and now is a family man, he still thinks he’s a bad man because of all that he has done in war. In the story there comes a point where Walker realizes that he needs to take that negativity and turn it in to positivity and this is the point where he grows.
  The literary element that is being used is the plot. D.Walker knows he has done horrible things in Vietnam and try’s his best to get rid of those memories. He does everything to going back to school and becoming a doctor to having a little family of his own. However this doesn’t seem to help him. The only way that helped him make sense of all that he has done is to go back to the very place and back to those very people and help them out. This plot that the author has used is significant because since he is back in Vietnam, the place that has caused him so much pain. When he returns to this place he begins to have flash backs and even some memories on what they used to call the people who reside here. When he is partnered up with a man known as Dinh he comes to a place in himself where knows he is growing. When Dinh needs help himself with making new thumbs, Walker sees Dinh as he is waiving a white flag to him. Dinh had his thumbs removed by the enemies in war and during the operation to replace them;Walker gets flashbacks to when his thumbs were removed by Dinh’s enemies. This point where walker changes. To help this man scared from war also helped Walkers scars. The way the author uses this plot to show how Walker is changing is great. The point in the plot that was played a big part on Walker was when the outcome of Dihns thumbs failed. Right after seeing the outcome, Walker was to fly right back home. The ways the plot was set, showed that even though he could not help everybody, he tried his best.
*Questions:
The end where Walker was hoping to see Dinh at the airport, what did you guys get from that?

SSRJ #1: Hemmingway

*Initial response: After reading, “Soldiers Home" by Hemingway I could not help but feel empathy for Krebs. He comes back home to Kansas after spending a couple years in war, to find that things are different. When Krebs went to war, it was straight out of college so when he comes back a different person he realizes that the town and the people are different in his eyes. Krebs went to war a teenager and came out a man. In the story it shows how Krebs is having a hard time adjusting to how life is supposed to go on now that he is back home. The literary element that sticks out to me the most is the setting. Hemingway writes this story so good that it seems as if I was Krebs experiencing what was taking place in front of me. As I was reading the story I felt for Krebs because I could see how he comes back home a different man and has to pick up where he left off and is lost. He had to grow up quickly when he joined the marines however back home is a different lifestyle. He doesn’t seem to have any fight left in him because the story goes on to say that Krebs avoids confrontation. He also doesn’t seem to have any drive left in him either and it shows when Krebs gets up every morning sits on his porch then goes to play pool. It seems as if he is going through some depression.

*Literary element: Hemingway does a wonderful job describing how enlisting in the marines straight out of high school and coming home a man is a hard task. Hemingway shows this experience by using the setting as a literary element. Hemmingway is trying to show how Krebs is having difficulty adjusting to life as a "normal" person. Krebs comes back from war and he seems as if he comes home right where he left off. His mother still cooks for him, his father doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with him, the girls are different, and he really can’t figure what to do next. He has this set schedule of sleeping in, walking to the library, going home for lunch, sitting on the front porch, and playing pool. This shows that he is trying to adjust but it doesn’t seem to be working. Hemingway shows that his environment is different from where he left off and on top of that the character Krebs is different so it seems like too much to handle for Krebs.

*questions/comments: I think Hemingway wanted the reader to infer something from the character known as the father of Krebs but I really could not point out his meaning for doing that. The Father of Krebs is mentioned but really doesn’t play a big role. Did anybody make any inferences on Krebs’s father?