The ending

WOW. what!? i cant even beleive that that was the ending of The Grapes of Wrath. So basically, it ends with us having no idea what happens to the Joads, just Rose of Sharon breast feeding an old man. Thats so beyond disgusting and it just really diappoints me. I know that it is a lot of symbolism, but i wish it jsut wasnt so obvious so we actually had to think a little. I know it symbolises hope and a new beginning and thats great, but really, id rather know what happens to the family. Im very upset and thought id just share my feelings.

Quotes

I thought I would blog about some important quotes from Grapes:

“Lying on its back, the turtle was tight in its shell for a long time. But at last its legs waved in the air, reaching for something to pull it over. Its front foot caught a piece of quartz and little by little the shell pulled over and flopped upright” (pg 15- 16 chapter 3)

This turtle symbolizes so much. It basically describes the book, but in terms of a turtle. The turtle flipping over symbolizes that there are very hard times ahead. They are going to struggle and struggle to get back on there feet but eventually they will, but with great hardship. The quote goes on to say that the turtle will drag dirt over seeds, which shows he will then be prosperous. So through these hard times, the Joad’s will end up starting fresh and be successful once again.

. “They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat.” (pg 37 chapter 5)

This quote is talking about the bankers. He is saying that they really only live for the profit. Profit is the same to them as air is to different men. If they didn’t have a profit, they would die, like people would die without air. This is actually very sad because it takes away all the human qualities of people and they just don’t care about what happens to others anymore. This is important to the whole context of the novel because this is how the whole troubles of the Joad’s and all of these families started; they got their land and homes taken away by heartless bankers who are only in it for the money.

“Goin' to California? Here's jus' what you ... need.Looks shot, but they's thousan's of miles in her." (pg 66 chapter 7)

This quote shows all the lie and corruption that went on throughout the novel. Chapter 7 is all about the car salesmen and how they take advantage of people. This is what people would do in order to live. They are all ripping each other off because that is what they think they have to do in order to live and feed their families. This is constantly going on and then it just ends up harming everyone.

Hamlet and his mom...sick.

So what we watched today was absolutely disgusting. I dont know about you guys, but i did not read that part of the play was Hamlet and is mom basically having sex on a bed....even if you think it was acceptable that moms and sons were more touchy back then, ms. Clinch, im pretty sure it wasnt acceptable to dry hump your mother. haha wow. but anyway, i imagined it as more of the other version of the movie portrayed. I feel like they were more jsut talking and Hamlet was expressing his anger in a normal why, not by making out with his mother. I know that he might have the Oedipus Complex but i feel like Gertrude was the one who initiated the whole bed scene. Anyway, I just wanted to express my confusion and dislike of this scene. It's quite disturbing to me. 

a funny poem i found

SORTING LAUNDRY 

by Elisavietta Ritchie

  I found a funny poem that i really enjoyed. She talks about laundry as more than just doing a boring chore its about love and relationships. the sheets and pillow cases could represent her long time lover. She talks about the towels which were on sale which made me picture a couple shopping for their things they need. I found a biblical allusions with the socks because how its impossible to find pairs of socks, to Noah's ark, like each sock has a pair like how each animal has a pair. I also agree with how you also find treasures in your clothes, which i love. I also think she's saying that she cant "fold the clothes" by herself which i take as going through life by herself. I think of the "wrinkles" as little problems all throughout life that have to be sorted out and fixed. I think its so cool and funny how the author took something thats so apart of everyday life and applied it to love and life in general. 

Fortinbras and Hamlet

These two characters have so much in common yet act differently. Fortinbras' father was also killed, but by King Hamlet so he wants to attack Denmark, which sucks for Hamlet. Fortinbras is much more quick to want his revenge and doesnt think it through. Hamlet, on the other hand, carefully thinks through all his decisions before making and final decision. He wants to make sure that Claudius is the one who killed his father before making his plans for revenge. This makes Hamlet very indecisve but then its weird because he will then make really rash decsions out of no where. Hamlet it one confusing guy. Hamlet is a very thoughtful character and thinks through every little thing. Half the play is Hamlet debating whether he should avenge his fathers death or not. Fortinbras is very decisive and immediately decides to avenge his father and lies to his uncle to do so. He is much more of a warrior and is much more worried about conquest and Hamlet is not at all worried about it. So although they have similar situations, they both act completely different.

sex with ophelia?

Have Hamlet and Ophelia had sex? thats the big question. Im going to have to say yes to that. First of all, Hamlet was so so hurt that Ophelia betrayed him, the type of hurt that doesn't just come along with a little crush. Also Ophelia had some of his things, which is a little fishy. The one thing that made it seem like maybe they weren't was the fact that hamlet said I loved you once and she said you sure made me believe so, so that makes it seem like they are literally talking about love not sex, because you cant make someone believe that you had sex with them, its a for sure thing. i feel like this book has no answers and it annoys me because i just want to know what is really going on and stop guessing! but hey, its good and keeps my attention for sure. 

Mel Gibson and BBC

I thought it was really interesting seeing the two different version of Hamlet and how different a scene can be interpurted. I think that the Hamlet in the BBC version was extremely dramatic and almost seemed like he was ruining the whole play. i could not watch him without thinking that this whole thing is ridiculous and laughing. I thought the Gibson version was much more realistic and seemed more modern day acting. i liked how he was a lot calmer and didnt act like a drama queen. i also think that the BBC hamlet was very miscast and seemed like he was forty. I think that Gibson was much better cast. Although the Gibson version was by far my favorite, i think that maybe the BBC version was more true to what Shakespeare actaully wanted it to be like, but i cant say that for certain. I really like watching the movie versions because i think it helps us to understand better.

The dust bowl

well, as i do my research on the dust bowl, i thought i could also blog about it. THe dust bowl was all throughout the 30's and it was caused by severe dust storms, drought and because the farmers didnt rotate their crop. Acres of farmland became useless and families were falling apart. People were starving and not getting any money. it was a really hard time and especially since it was around the depression too. It left almost 500,000 homeless. It was a huge diaster. Because of this, there was a huge migration with millions of poeple. noone knew what to do. The governements response was to conserve the soil, but nothing really helped. Im really excited to read this book though because ive hread its really good so im pretty pumped.

Lion King and Hamlet

Wow. I cant help but notice how Lion King is basically the story of Hamlet in every aspect except Simbas mom didnt get married to Scar. Scar kills Mofasa and then he wants to take over the crown except Simba gets to be king eventually. Im thinking that this means that Hamlet will most likely get to be king in the end. Hamlet thinks he can trust Claudius jsut like Simba thinks he can trust Scar. I think Mala is just like ophelia too. It makes me really excited that this is based off of Hamlet because i love The Lion King!

Slumdog millionare

i recently saw slum dog millionare and it was actaully really good. it was by far the best moive that i saw over the break and it was exciting becuase it basically won like every award. When i left the movie theater i kept re-thinking the movie in my head. It made me feel so bad for the kids in india. when that speker came to talk to us it reminded me a lot of how it looked over in india, except there wasnt really an aids problem, but there were so many people that were homeless and kids that were orphans and people that would just come a shoot one another. i dont know it was jsut really sad but it made me really excited because it was really good and im glad that it won so many awards.