Project 3: Analysis of The Old Man and The Sea

The old man and the sea written by Hemingway is one of his most famous novel in his career. By this novel, Hemingway establish his important position in the world literature history. Though online research during today’s class, I think I got the main idea this great novel. 

The old man and the sea tells a story of a old fisherman, whose name is Santiago, has gone 84 days without catching any fish at all. However, he gets a big marlin fish on the 85th day. He spends two days and two nights trying to catching it, and finally straps the marlin and thinks about the high price the fish will bring him at the market. Unluckily, on the way to his home, many sharks are attracted to the trail of the blood left by the marlin in the water, eat the most parts of the marlin, and leave the huge skeleton of the marlin. The old man falls asleep as he gets to the shack and has a dream, a dream for forgetting the cruel reality. 

First, from this story, I saw a brave old man who never gives up hope. He does not get anything in the first eighty-four days, and he still believes that he will have good luck in the eighty-fifth day. Thus, because he keeps trying and never abandons the hope, he finally gets the big marlin fish. 

Additionally, although Santiago is so lucky that meets such a big marlin, the process of capturing the fish is really hard to imagine. Santiago spends two days and two nights fighting with that marlin. His hands, arms and back are injured by the rough rope, and he only drinks and eats little water and food during these two days. He never gives up catching the marlin, and he eventually wins the battle after the fish gets tired in the third day. In this part of the story, the old man shows us what a real man should be. I think the detailed description of fighting against the marlin fish just reflects how brave and firm the old man is. The author Hemingway seems to believe that there are only two options: defeat or endurance until destruction; Santiago clearly chooses the latter. That is why Santiago succeeds after a two-days fight. 

In the last part, the marlin is eaten by many sharks, and Santiago gets nothing but the huge skeleton of the fish. Some people might consider Santiago is a loser here as he loses everything after a long battle. However, in my opinion, I do not agree with that. Although Santiago gets so exhausted, although he does not have a completed marlin fish, he has never been defeated. He tries and pursues for his dream at least. He is not afraid to challenge, and he never surrenders to the sharks. Just like what Beethoven said, “ I can be destroyed, but can not be conquered”. I think the old man just did what Beethoven said, and he is definitely a winner in idealism. No matter if he gains or loses, he should be respected by everyone. 

I think Hemingway uses the different things in the novel to represent the different things in the real world. Apparently, the marlin fish is the dream to the person, the shark is the destiny that people have to undergo, the sea represents the human society, and the process of capturing the fish reflects the fights between people and adversities. Also, I think this story is related to Hemingway’s personal experience at that time period. As we know, Hemingway joined the World War 1, World War 2 and Spanish War, and people were still in the great fear. Therefore, the chaos and confusion of the society hurt Hemingway deeply, and I guess that is one of the reason why Santiago is so old, but still has hope in his blue eyes. Santiago may represent Hemingway himself. 

I will find out more information in the next following days.

Project 2: Guiding Questions and Locating the Source

Today I mainly search the background information of Ernest Hemingway. As my guiding question is to find out the influence on Hemingway’s works by his personal experience, I consider the background information is really important to know. However, I have to say, this guiding question is just the elementary direction of my project, I might find something more interesting and change the idea in the following research. 

Through today’s research, apparently, Hemingway’s personal experience is strongly related to his work. I also found something interesting which is that most of Hemingway’s work is based on the wars or revolutions during the period from mid-1920s to mid-1950s and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Additionally, he has a really distinctive writing style which is characterized by economy and understatement. 

For his works, I am going to choose two or three as the examples to analyze. For now I am only sure The Old Man and The Sea is one out of three, and I still have not chosen the rest yet. 

Today after school, I almost finished reading The Old Man and The Sea. However I do not think I get the idea of this novel. Thus, I will do some background research and try to understand it during the tomorrow’s class. 

Everything is going well.

Macbeth Analysis

we finished Macbeth by reading the book online and the movie in the class. I think Macbeth is the most interesting character to me in the play, thus I want going to analyze Macbeth in this blog post.

A lot of people consider Macbeth is one of the most famous tragedies in Shakespeare’s work. However, I did not have a really sad feeling after I got the main idea of this play. At the beginning, Macbeth was a brave man, a hero fight for his king. But what factor leads to the death of Macbeth, what makes him keep doing the cruel things and could never come back?

In my view, first, it is because of his enormous ambition. It is absolutely right for a warrior to have ambition. It is definitely true that almost every great emperor in the history was ambitions. However, in this play Macbeth did not get what he wanted from his ambition. Why Macbeth has such a huge ambition? As we know, in the Act 1, Scene 1, Macbeth met the three witches on the way back to the country. The three witches predicted that Macbeth would be the Thane of Cawdor, and then the king of Scotland. Since the first prediction came true a little time after the three witches left, Macbeth paid attention to what they said and believed he would be the king later. The words witches told him became the catalyzer, activated the dark character deep in Macbeth’s heart, and made him get crazy to pursue the kingship. Therefore, he killed Duncan, although he knew Duncan was a good king.

Secondly, through the book, we can tell that Macbeth did not want to kill the king when his wife told him to do. Thus the instigation from his wife is also a main factor. I consider Macbeth had conscience when he and his wife started to plan to kill the king. As shown in the book, Macbeth was hesitated and scared. However, his wife said “To be the same in thine own act and valour, As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,' Like the poor cat i' the adage?”(Act 1, Scene5). I think these words that lady Macbeth said strongly influenced Macbeth behavior. It is a common sense that a man does not want to be looked down on by the other. Thus, lady Macbeth’s instigation increased Macbeth’s motivation of killing the king and get the kingship.

If we say Macbeth felt nervous or anxious of killing Duncan, his action of killing Banquo was cruel and without any guilty feeling. The reason why Macbeth killed Banquo was that he felt Bnaquo might be the future problem to him. He became so arrogant and ruthless after being the king. He trusted the witches too much, and that made a lot of nobles leave the country.

Although Macbeth is a tragedy, a lot of people think that the death of Macbeth is resulted by himself. This play not only presents the tragedy of Macbeth, but also the tragedy of that time.

That is my understand to Macbeth.

Project 1: The Reschedule For The Project

I got my schedule for project changed today. I was trying to work during the break, and finish the first two parts of the projects, which are finding the guiding questions and locating and evaluating the sources. However, the break seemed to be so attractive to me that I did not do the homework at all. My friends and I traveled around in South Carolina, went to the North Myrtle Beach, and shopped in several big malls. It was really a wonderful time.

Since I enjoyed such a nice break for about ten days, I have to reschedule everything for my project. I feel the time is really tight as I have to finish all the research parts in the half month. I am going to finish the first two parts in before Apr 18, start making the notes in the next week, and finish both outlines and draft in the next following week.

I think I can do the research part well. However, the first several days of May will be a difficult time for me. I have some AP tests and SAT 2 Tests at the beginning of May to parpare, and I need to finish the final paper at that time.

Thus, I am going to complete the research part as soon as I can, and start the writing part earlier to save the time for the tests.

Extra Credit: Analysis of Shakespeare Sonnet 18

William Shakespeare is the most famous English playwright and poet in Britain during the European Renaissance periods. Sonnet 18, often alternately titled Shall i compare thee to a summer’s day, is one of the best-known of 154 sonnets of his work.

SONNET 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest: 

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Just like what I said in the last blog, it is really difficult for a me to comprehend the main idea of Shakespeare’s work. However, in this poem, according to my understanding and the researches on the internet, I think Shakespeare wants to show the humanism thought, beauty and love.

In the first sentence of the poem, he indicates that poem happens in a summer. As we know, the summer in Britain is not as hot as in Rabun Gap. The summer in Britain is more likely to be a late spring here which is the time that everything is active and vital. This part suggests that the “thee” is in the best time of his life.

In the first six sentences, Shakespeare compared “thee” with “darling buds of May”, “ Summer”, and the “Eye of heaven shines”. In his view, “summer”, “bud” and “sun” are “too hot” or “too short”. Thus, he argues that “thee”, his beloved, is more attractive than anything else and certainly he thinks his beloved is better.

In ninth and tenth sentence, Shakespeare also says that “thee” “sometimes declines from fair and the changing of nature”. However, in his opinion, “thee”, his beloved, will not “fade in the eternal summer”, even the “Death” could not claim “thee” for his own. Therefore, his beloved will live on forever through the words of poem, and we could consider this poem as a glorify to the beauty.

This poem praises the love as well. In the poem, he says “Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade” . In my opinion it is more than the beauty, it is a power that is able to conquer anything. That is the love form the human heart. As long as human exist, the love will never disappear.

Additionally, hough the resource on the internet, most scholars now agree that the original subject of the poem, the beloved to whom the poet is writing, is a male, though the poem is commonly used to describe a woman.

Reference:

"Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day." Shakespeare Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/18detail.html>.

"Sonnet 18 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnet_18>.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

I read the scene 3 of the Tragedy of Macbeth during the Thursday's class. I have to say Shakespeare’s work is really difficult to understand. The old English usage and the vocabulary are so hard for me that I have to check the dictionary and discuss with my classmates for lots of times. However, I still finished reading the third scene in the first act and made some notes by the Diigo. I think I got the main idea of this part.

In this part, three witches are gathered waiting for Macbeth and disappear after telling Macbeth that he will be the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor and the king. Macbeth and Bnaquo are both surprised that what the witches say is true when Ross and Angus come the tell Macbeth that he becomes the Thane of Cawdor. However, they are so confused and nervous with that as they are afraid that they would betray the king.

In my opinion, this part is just the beginning of the whole story. Macbeth’s thought is changed by the witches’ words. Although Macbeth is confused, however, I think, he would believe the witches and go for the king. As we know, the king is still alive now, he has to betray the king to be the sovereign. The pursuit for the higher authority has never stopped, and this desire caused a series tragedies. I guess, that is why people call this play a famous tragedy.

New Project of American Literature

We are starting a new project in the class. What we need to do is to go researching the author or movement about American literature on the Internet. The topic is not limited in a particular person or a specific movement, but anything about the American literature in the history.

We have not decided our topic yet. However, we are more interested in the literary movement than a specific person. As we searched on the Internet, we find some really good topics such as the Movement of Sentimentalism, or the movement of Southwestern Humor which David was interested in.

In my opinion, we should find a topic which is more related to ourselves, as it is easier for us to explain the impact to our daily life. Usually, the movements in the American literary history would bring a new thought to the people, or a new revolution in the literature. Thus, I think, writing a movement which changed our ideas or we have experienced is really a good thing to do.

We will talk more about the topic later during the class.