1
“Story of An Hour” Reflection
“Story of An Hour”, a short story by Kate Chopin, follows Mrs. Mallard who loses her husband, but through her loss gains happiness not sorrow. In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard is described by passive adjectives, specifically “paralyzed… pressed down,” and “Haunted” (PP 4), which is reflective of the place of the woman in the classic patriarchal household of the time period, showing her as oppressed even by the memory of her husband. But once she reflects on her loss, she notices the “new spring life” (PP 5) and the “Sparrows” (PP 5), which are both symbols of freedom and talks about her new chance at life free from her husband’s oppressive maleness. She sees her new freedom as a chance to “live for herself” and only herself, not supporting anybody else, even though she will mourn and “weep” for her lost husband. Chopin’s story tells us that Mrs. Mallard is a full and complete human being who doesn't need her husband to be happy, and although she loves him, she is better off without him.
2
Fletcher Smith
Lynn Kameny
English 2
May 25th 2015
Violence With Reason
“Help!!! The aliens are coming!!!!” The author types furiously while looking for a good hook for his essay. Transition. The “Villain” Shylock from the play The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare has positive character traits like generosity and patience, but he throws them all away by letting his anger consume him and turn him to violence. During Shakespeare’s era of European history, Jews like Shylock had already been persecuted by Christians for hundreds of years. Shylock himself has been attacked mentally and physically his entire life, and had never been able to express his anger at the Christian population for forcing him into a ghetto. That being said, there is no excuse for his barbarous actions. Although he may have been acting with a reason, Shylock’s reckless thirst for vengeance and disregard for anything other than violence far outweighs his positive attributes and pushes him into the realm of villainy.
In his lifetime and his father’s lifetime, and his grandfather’s lifetime, Jews had been viciously attacked by Christian like Antonio; Christians who wanted more than anything to convert them to christianity. Like seriously, Jewish conversion was like so normalized at that point that the Jews who didn’t convert were forced into, you guessed it, a ghetto. Along with that want for conversion came hate towards the Jews who didn’t convert. While there was a lot of physical abuse towards Jews “You that did void your rheum upon my beard, and foot me as you spurn a stranger cur over your threshold” (I, iiv, 127-8) , Jews also suffered lot of verbal abuse. Shylock tells antonio “You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog, and spet upon my Jewish gaberdine, and all for use of that which is mine own.” (I, iiv, 121-3). Both of these quotes show some of the fruits of Christian hate. What I can’t show however, is the internal scarring that these events are sure to have left on Shylock’s shoulders. The real atrocities though, aren’t the acts themselves, but the reactions of the “Good christians”. For example, look at Antonio’s reaction to Shylock asking him to stop his own wrongdoing. “I am as like to call thee so again, to spet on thee again, to spurn thee, too.”(I, iiv, 140-1) It is plain to see that Shylock has been damaged by these events as anyone who is sane would be. Shylock is aggravated at everybody and just wants a vent for his emotions.
Despite all of his trials and tribulations, Shylock still seems to have a good heart, even if it has been hurt a few times. An example of this is how he treats his servant in relation to his Christian counterpart Bassanio. He tells Lancelet, “Thou shalt not gormandize [with Bassanio] as thou hast done with me… And sleep, and snore, and rend apparel out.” (II, v, 3-5) Skylock let Lancelet sleep on the job, and eat with him and his family, and replaced Lancelet’s clothes when they were worn out. This quote proves that Shylock is much more forgiving and lenient than any of the Christians. Along with being more lenient and forgiving Shylock can be seen as caring when he is running through the streets, distraught about the fact that his daughter ran away from him. “Oh my daughter… Oh my daughter, fled with a christian.” (II, viii, 15-16) Shylock’s panic can be felt in the text as he wanders through town, searching for his daughter. It’s obvious to see that Shylock cares deeply for certain people. Shylock is not only a villain, but a caring person who just wants to be left in peace to his business and family.
Even with all of his good traits, Shylock is still a villain. His violent actions far outweigh his kindness, even if he is just following the Christian example, and his past experiences are no excuse for his murderous motives. After all, Shylock literally tried to take a piece of Antonio’s living body. “Let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body pleaseth me.” (I, iii, 146-9) Mentally stable people don’t try to kill other people. This piece of dialogue alone should prove shylock’s instability and the fact that he’s a villain. When Shylock was in court with Antonio, his abuser, “Most rightful judge!... Most learnéd judge, a sentence! Come, prepare.” (IV, i, 292/95) Shylock celebrated and thanked the judge when he was awarded the opportunity to kill Antonio, which by itself is both terrifying and an obvious sign on Shylock’s mental damage. If Shylock is excited about death, then he is a villain, no matter what.
In conclusion, Shylock is a villain. In spite of his good qualities, his terrifying actions prevail and shape him into the antagonist of the play, even though the only reason he is a villain is because he has been shaped by the demons that surround him. Shylock is a villain, no matter how you look at it, even if he is just one of many.
"Timeline of Jewish History in Italy | Jewish Virtual Library." Timeline of Jewish History in Italy | Jewish Virtual Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2015.
3
“Story of An Hour” Reflection
“Story of An Hour”, a short story by Kate Chopin, follows Mrs. Mallard who loses her husband, but through her loss gains happiness not sorrow. In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard is described by passive adjectives, specifically “paralyzed… pressed down,” and “Haunted” (PP 4), which is reflective of the place of the woman in the classic patriarchal household of the time period, showing her as oppressed even by the memory of her husband. But once she reflects on her loss, she notices the “new spring life” (PP 5) and the “Sparrows” (PP 5), which are both symbols of freedom and talks about her new chance at life free from her husband’s oppressive maleness. She sees her new freedom as a chance to “live for herself” and only herself, not supporting anybody else, even though she will mourn and “weep” for her lost husband. Chopin’s story tells us that Mrs. Mallard is a full and complete human being who doesn't need her husband to be happy, and although she loves him, she is better off without him.
2
Fletcher Smith
Lynn Kameny
English 2
May 25th 2015
Violence With Reason
“Help!!! The aliens are coming!!!!” The author types furiously while looking for a good hook for his essay. Transition. The “Villain” Shylock from the play The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare has positive character traits like generosity and patience, but he throws them all away by letting his anger consume him and turn him to violence. During Shakespeare’s era of European history, Jews like Shylock had already been persecuted by Christians for hundreds of years. Shylock himself has been attacked mentally and physically his entire life, and had never been able to express his anger at the Christian population for forcing him into a ghetto. That being said, there is no excuse for his barbarous actions. Although he may have been acting with a reason, Shylock’s reckless thirst for vengeance and disregard for anything other than violence far outweighs his positive attributes and pushes him into the realm of villainy.
In his lifetime and his father’s lifetime, and his grandfather’s lifetime, Jews had been viciously attacked by Christian like Antonio; Christians who wanted more than anything to convert them to christianity. Like seriously, Jewish conversion was like so normalized at that point that the Jews who didn’t convert were forced into, you guessed it, a ghetto. Along with that want for conversion came hate towards the Jews who didn’t convert. While there was a lot of physical abuse towards Jews “You that did void your rheum upon my beard, and foot me as you spurn a stranger cur over your threshold” (I, iiv, 127-8) , Jews also suffered lot of verbal abuse. Shylock tells antonio “You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog, and spet upon my Jewish gaberdine, and all for use of that which is mine own.” (I, iiv, 121-3). Both of these quotes show some of the fruits of Christian hate. What I can’t show however, is the internal scarring that these events are sure to have left on Shylock’s shoulders. The real atrocities though, aren’t the acts themselves, but the reactions of the “Good christians”. For example, look at Antonio’s reaction to Shylock asking him to stop his own wrongdoing. “I am as like to call thee so again, to spet on thee again, to spurn thee, too.”(I, iiv, 140-1) It is plain to see that Shylock has been damaged by these events as anyone who is sane would be. Shylock is aggravated at everybody and just wants a vent for his emotions.
Despite all of his trials and tribulations, Shylock still seems to have a good heart, even if it has been hurt a few times. An example of this is how he treats his servant in relation to his Christian counterpart Bassanio. He tells Lancelet, “Thou shalt not gormandize [with Bassanio] as thou hast done with me… And sleep, and snore, and rend apparel out.” (II, v, 3-5) Skylock let Lancelet sleep on the job, and eat with him and his family, and replaced Lancelet’s clothes when they were worn out. This quote proves that Shylock is much more forgiving and lenient than any of the Christians. Along with being more lenient and forgiving Shylock can be seen as caring when he is running through the streets, distraught about the fact that his daughter ran away from him. “Oh my daughter… Oh my daughter, fled with a christian.” (II, viii, 15-16) Shylock’s panic can be felt in the text as he wanders through town, searching for his daughter. It’s obvious to see that Shylock cares deeply for certain people. Shylock is not only a villain, but a caring person who just wants to be left in peace to his business and family.
Even with all of his good traits, Shylock is still a villain. His violent actions far outweigh his kindness, even if he is just following the Christian example, and his past experiences are no excuse for his murderous motives. After all, Shylock literally tried to take a piece of Antonio’s living body. “Let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body pleaseth me.” (I, iii, 146-9) Mentally stable people don’t try to kill other people. This piece of dialogue alone should prove shylock’s instability and the fact that he’s a villain. When Shylock was in court with Antonio, his abuser, “Most rightful judge!... Most learnéd judge, a sentence! Come, prepare.” (IV, i, 292/95) Shylock celebrated and thanked the judge when he was awarded the opportunity to kill Antonio, which by itself is both terrifying and an obvious sign on Shylock’s mental damage. If Shylock is excited about death, then he is a villain, no matter what.
In conclusion, Shylock is a villain. In spite of his good qualities, his terrifying actions prevail and shape him into the antagonist of the play, even though the only reason he is a villain is because he has been shaped by the demons that surround him. Shylock is a villain, no matter how you look at it, even if he is just one of many.
"Timeline of Jewish History in Italy | Jewish Virtual Library." Timeline of Jewish History in Italy | Jewish Virtual Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2015.
3