Never Let Me Go Section 4: Madame and Miss Emily

                The characters of Madame and Miss Emily illustrate Kazuo Ishiguro’s utilization of indirect characterization and symbolism in order to enhance the themes of Never Let Me Go. When Kathy and Tommy arrive on Madame’s doorstep to talk to her about applying for a deferral, they unexpectedly enter into a conversation with both Madame and Miss Emily which answers many of their questions about their existence and lifestyle that had bothered them since a young age. Because I had been under the assumption throughout reading the entire novel that Hailsham had been an institution supported by the donation program in order to raise the clones which would one day become their source of vital organs, I was highly surprised to learn of Madame and Miss Emily’s true motivation behind running Hailsham. Miss Emily explains that, at the time Hailsham was founded, most clones were raised in inhumane environments and given no hope at a life deemed worthy of a normal human being; therefore, their entire lives were spent in misery and inferiority until the process of donations began for them and they reached completion. Miss Emily and Madame found this practice to be highly unjust, and therefore they founded Hailsham as an institution to provide clones with a proper living environment and education in order to give them as normal a life as possible for as long as possible. Furthermore, by educating the children and gathering their work into large collections, Madame and Miss Emily hoped to prove to society that these clones had souls and were humans just like them. Therefore, these two women, who were initially depicted as having little affection for the Hailsham students and were often depicted in an even foreboding light, indirectly characterized themselves through this conversation with Kathy and Tommy as being very admirable, moral women. This indirect characterization is therefore essential to understanding the roles that Madame and Miss Emily played in the novel and ultimately understanding the purpose of the lifestyle that Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth lived at Hailsham.

                In addition to utilizing indirect characterization through the characters of Madame and Miss Emily, Ishiguro also employ symbolism through these two women. Despite the immense measures and countless hours of tireless work which the women gave to provide the clones with a better life, Miss Emily ultimately admits to Kathy and Tommy that both women were always a little repulsed by the very idea of them. Miss Emily admitted this to Kathy and Tommy when stating, “…Marie-Claude is on your side and will always be on your side. Is she afraid of you? We’re all afraid of you. I myself had to fight back my dread of you all almost every day I was at Hailsham. There were times I’d look down at you all from my study window and I’d feel such revulsion…” (Ishiguro, 269). I found this opinion of the women towards the clones to be highly symbolic of social issues in society today. While human cloning for the purpose of organ donations may not exist today, other fairly similar issues do plague society, such as human trafficking and extreme poverty and disease in third-world countries. Although people do see that these injustices are highly immoral, they are also repulsed by some of the poor creatures who are victims to these tragedies, and while some try to help, these injustices have yet to be truly terminated because too many people are repulsed or indifferent. Therefore, I found the fact that the very women who were trying to help the clones were also afraid of them to be symbolic of the way that many social issues in society today are dealt with; thus, the role of both Madame and Miss Emily at the conclusion of this novel due to indirect characterization and symbolism is essential to understand the work’s meaning.

Never Let Me Go Section 4: Significance of Title

                Just as is the case with many novels, plays, and poems, the title of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is incredibly important to understanding the overall meaning of the work. The title Never Let Me Go originates with a song that was very important to Kathy throughout her life. At one of the Sales at Hailsham, Kathy purchased a Judy Bridgewater tape containing the song “Never Let Me Go” and instantly felt a connection to this particular song, listening to it over and over again when she was alone. This Judy Bridgewater tape had further significance in the novel when Tommy bought her a copy of it in Norfolk during their time at the Cottages, and a slight dispute over this tape became the beginning of the unraveling of the friendship between Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy before they left The Cottages for their training. However, the significance of the title Never Let Me Go stems much deeper than reflecting the name of Kathy’s favorite song. In reality, this title reflects one of the central struggles which Kathy deals with in the novel: the balance between knowing what aspects of life to hold on to and which aspects to let go. The most important aspect of Kathy’s life which she fervently “never let go” of was her memories, and I personally believe that this act was vital to her happiness and perseverance in life. Throughout the novel, Kathy made it clear that she made every effort to remember as much as possible about her childhood at Hailsham and adolescent years at The Cottages, as well as her twelve years serving as a carer. In fact, Kathy was unique in this regard, for her other friends and companions seem to treat their memories of Hailsham with much less importance. For example, nearly every veteran at The Cottages opted out of keeping their collections from Hailsham, Laura lost nearly all ties with her Hailsham friends once she began dating a young man from another institution, and Ruth forgot many details about their years at Hailsham. However, no matter how many years passed, Ruth always retained memories of even the minutest details of her childhood and even held on to her collection. I believe the fact that Kathy chose to never let go of these things was essential to her survival because of her solitary lifestyle as a carer. Because of her very nature and lifestyle as a clone, her future as a donor, and especially after the closing of Hailsham and the loss of both Ruth and Tommy, Kathy’s memories were truly all she had left to sustain her. Therefore, determination to hang on to these memories is reflected in the title Never Let Me Go.

                On the other hand, because Kathy had a tendency cling to all the things she loved, she often faced difficulty with letting go of things that were best set free. For example, Tommy was somebody that Kathy eventually learned she had to let go of despite the pain it may have caused her. Although Kathy and Tommy loved each other and served as one another’s support system throughout their lives, the time at which Tommy was to give his fourth donation became the fork in the road of their lives at which Tommy simply needed to go one way while Kathy went another because of the differences in their lifestyles as donors and carers. Tommy best expressed this when saying, “I keep thinking about this river…and these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other…but in the end it’s just too much…that’s how I think it is with us. It’s a shame, Kath, because we’ve loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can’t stay together forever” (Ishiguro, 282). Therefore, the title Never Let Me Go is so significant because it reflects Kathy’s inner turmoil as she deals with both guarding her memories so as to feel as though she has not been let go by those who love her while also understanding that, when you truly love someone, the best thing you can do for them is to let them go anyway.

Never Let Me Go Section 4: Theme

                One of the more prominent ideas presented in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go which I ascertained to be one of the themes of the novel was the idea of taking advantage of every moment of one’s time and embracing life regardless of one’s circumstances. Time is clearly a very important aspect of this novel; the ways in which Ishiguro manipulates time through Kathy’s retrospective point of view and the occasional lack of the chronological order of memories greatly enhances the work. Moreover, Kathy’s ability to draw comfort and strength from her memories even when she experiences crushing solitude and a foreboding future further contributes to the importance of time and memory. However, I personally believe that one of the most important contexts in which time is presented in the novel is in the sense that it is a fleeting entity which much be treasured with the utmost value. In other words, in looking back at her life, Kathy laments that there was much potential happiness in her life that she missed out of simply because she felt she was “too late;” she wish she would have used her time differently. This is best illustrated in the example of Kathy and Tommy’s relationship. Although they were best friends and one another’s confidants for their entire lives, they were never romantically involved because of Tommy’s relationship with Ruth. Once Ruth encouraged the two of them to become a couple and apply for a deferral years later, however, they did eventually begin to advance their relationship by having sex and beginning the process of falling in love. While this new relationship did make Kathy happy, she found it next to impossible to experience this happiness without also feeling a twinge of regret and remorse that they had not begun their relationship sooner. Kathy explained, “But something was definitely gone… so that feeling came again, even though I tried to keep it out: that we were doing all of this too late; that there’d once been a time for it, but we’d let that go by…” (Ishiguro, 241-242). This quote therefore calls to mind a major theme of the book: that life is too evanescent to allow it to speed by while remaining passive to new opportunities and possibilities. Furthermore, although one’s circumstances and possibly even their fate often cannot be changed, the way in which one uses his or her own time is entirely under their control, and therefore taking advantage of every moment becomes critical.

                This central theme of using one’s time to the fullest also coincides with the message of the novel of forcing one to face their fears in the hopes of finding contentment. On one hand, Kathy looked back on her relationship with Tommy and felt nothing but regret that they hadn’t explored a romantic relationship sooner; on the other hand, she still faced ominous aspects of her future with fear and a tendency to put off what she did not want to face, such as speaking to Madame about a deferral. However, after Kathy realizes that she wished she would have been unafraid to have fallen in love with Tommy sooner, she realizes that she also must overcome her anxiety of applying for a deferral so that she would not later look back on her passivity in this regard with regret, as well. Through these examples, the important theme of valuing and appreciating one’s time and taking advantage of every opportunity possible becomes clear in Never Let Me Go.

Never Let Me Go Section 4: Dynamic Character

The extent to which Ruth develops into a dynamic character in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is revealed in Section 4. Although Ruth was characterized throughout parts 1 and 2 of the novel as being somewhat of an antihero, she transforms her personality in a number of ways shortly before her “completion” as a donor. Throughout parts 1 and 2, Ruth proves herself to be consistently selfish, controlling, overpowering, and condescending. Her domineering personality could be seen in the way she constantly treated her dearest friends with disrespect and wore an air of superiority around them while simultaneously flattering veterans at The Cottages and attempting to befriend them. Furthermore, she was selfish in her relationship with Tommy, constantly rebuking him for his natural behavior and personality while also having the occasional affair with other young men. Ruth’s tendency to be so critical and manipulative tarnished her relationships with both Kathy and Tommy before they parted from each other to begin their training; however, through spending some time away from Tommy and Kathy and undergoing the pain of donations, Ruth apparently sees the flawed nature of her ways and eventually develops into a much more genuine person, making her a very dynamic character. This dramatic transformation is revealed when Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy take a car trip to see the boat ear the Kingston. To begin with, Ruth passivity when Tommy and Kathy gang up on her reveals that she has become more wary than fiery; she lost her desire to defend herself by criticizing others at all times. Furthermore, her frailty and fear of climbing through the barbed wire fence illustrates how her donations have made her timid as opposed to bold and controlling as she used to be. Most importantly, on the way home from the adventure, when Kathy stops the car so that they can admire a billboard boasting a picture of an office setting, Ruth suddenly admits to Kathy and Tommy that she knew she was wrong and that she regrets her behavior in the past. She asks for their forgiveness although she claims that she does not expect she deserves it from them. The single event which most fully manifests her transformation, however, is the moment in which Ruth admits how selfish she was in keeping Kathy and Tommy from being in a relationship together all those years because she refused to break up with Tommy. In a huge act of selflessness and humility, Ruth says, “…I kept you apart. I’m not asking you to forgive me for that. That’s not what I’m after just now. What I want is for you to put it right. Put right what I messed up for you” (Ishiguro, 232). From this point, Ruth proceeds to suggest that Kathy and Tommy begin a relationship and pour all their time and energy into attempting to get a deferral from Madame. Although the deferrals never existed, the complete conversion which this humble request of Ruth reveals proves that she is truly a dynamic character. Through the process of donations, Ruth changed from a selfish friend who thought of her own needs and desires before those of her friends to a girl who was willing to sacrifice her pride and allow her best friend and ex-boyfriend to fall in love in order to prolong their lives while hers withered away. This utilization of a dynamic character by Ishiguro was a truly important aspect of the novel which greatly contributed to the work’s meaning.

Never Let Me Go Section 2: Narration/Point of View

One of the most intriguing aspects of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is Ishiguro’s choice in having the story told from Kathy’s point of view as she looks back and reflects of the past events of her life. To begin with, the fact that Kathy is recalling all the events of the story while offering slight glimpses at her current circumstances immediately and automatically produces a certain amount of foreshadowing which builds a sense of suspense in the reader. However, beyond this, the unique narration of the novel offers a number of insights into the essence of the story. For example, Kathy commonly uses the phrase, “I don’t know how it was where you were…” which implies a few essential things. First of all, the reader is lead to question who the “you” is which Kathy is addressing. Is the audience of her recollections intended to be one of the patients for which she is caring? Or perhaps she is addressing the community of clones at large? Furthermore, it is important for the reader to note that, by using the phrase, “I don’t know how it was where you were, but at Hailsham…” throughout the novel, Kathy implies that several institutions were in existence which housed and educated clones just like at Hailsham. These further leads the reader to question how many clones were supposedly in existence in the novel, since Kathy has yet to specify any ballpark number of students even at Hailsham alone.

The most important aspect of Kathy’s narration, however, is that is makes the story much more personable. The topic which Ishiguro focused Never Let Me Go on is certainly very controversial: the idea that clones could be made of human beings, raised and educated leading more or less perfectly normal lives, and then slowly murdered via donation of vital organs for the sake of others as though they were not human beings at all. While this idea has never been put into practice in today’s world, something along these lines could in fact be very possible in the near future given today’s incredible medical technology. Had Ishiguro not chosen to tell this story for the point of view of a clone herself, the story could have taken a much more objective approach, and the idea of raising clones for the sake of saving the lives of others may not have been portrayed in such a gruesome light. Rather, objectively speaking, a reader might even find the idea of producing clones in order to harvest their organs for the sake of others to be a good idea. However, the moment that the reader begins to see this idea through the eyes of a clone, the idea immediately transforms into a gruesome, torturous, and unjustifiably horrible act. Hearing Kathy talk about the theory of “possibles” and explain that, “Since each of us was copied at some point from a normal person, there must be, for each of us, somewhere out there, a model getting on with his or her life” (Ishiguro, 139) is almost eerie in nature. The fact that Kathy explains this fact to the reader so matter-of-factly and nonchalantly is almost striking. Having Kathy narrate the story almost forces the reader to picture what their own life would be like if they knew that they had been created as the exact model of another “normal” human being just for the purpose of giving their own organs to help others live. In this context, the idea of cloning becomes absolutely repulsive. Therefore, I believe that Ishiguro intentionally chose to have a character as likeable as Kathy narrate the story as a literary technique to bring attention to one of the overarching themes of the novel, the inhumane way in which many people are already treated in today’s world and the dangers of mistreatment of others in the future.

Never Let Me Go Section 2: Attitude/Perspective

                The fact that the main characters in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go are very unique is very obvious for a number of reasons. For example, the students have been “modeled” after other human beings and raised in a society all their own which is isolated from the rest of the world for the sole purpose of growing up and ultimately dying to donate their vital organs to others; in other words, they are clones raised to be slaughtered for the benefit of the rest of humanity. Despite the many intriguing aspects of these individuals which arise from their incredibly unique existence, the aspect of their personalities which I find to be the most intriguing is their attitude towards their fate. While Miss Lucy was right in her analysis that the students and Hailsham had been “told and not told” (Ishiguro, 82) of their purpose in life, the students certainly did have a reasonably good understanding of their ultimate destinies: to live brief lives which would ultimately result in their own deaths as well as the deaths of their dearest friends all for the sake of donating vital organs to others. Certainly this treatment must have seemed unjustifiably cruel and inexplicably unjust to them; however, the students at Hailsham never seemed to protest their fates. However, when told by Miss Lucy that they would never be able to follow their whimsical dreams of becoming movie stars or celebrities because of their duty in life, they did not protest or even question her; rather, they simply accepted this unfair reality as truth. Furthermore, if a topic was introduced for discussion that made the students consider their futures, they would often opt to leave the matter alone than express their feelings or curiosities. For example, the students at Hailsham had a mutual understanding that nobody would ever ask the guardians about their inability to have babies, the idea of discovering their “possibles” one day, or why Madame took so much interest into creating a gallery out of their artwork. Rather than gain a better understanding as to why they were so different from the rest of society, the students simply seemed to contentedly accept their uniqueness and ultimate duties in life. Perhaps this acceptance of their lifestyle originated in their ignorance for any other way of life than that which they learned to live at Hailsham; nevertheless, I found the students’ passivity towards their unjust lifestyles to be incredibly shocking. This was particularly surprising to when Kathy noted that, at The Cottages, “Another thing I noticed… was the big hush that would descend around certain veterans when they went off on “courses”—which even we knew had to do with becoming carers. They could be gone for four or five days, but were hardly mentioned in that time; and when they came back, no one really asked them anything” (Ishiguro, 132). Perhaps this general consensus that delicate topics related to their futures were too overwhelming to discuss was a coping mechanism for the young adults. Regardless, I still find the attitudes of these individuals, or clones, to be surprisingly accepting of their cruel existences. As the novel progresses, I believe it will be interesting to see if Kathy, Ruth, or Tommy decide to challenge their fates and attempt to live a more normal lifestyle or fight for the equality of all clones.

Never Let Me Go Section 2: Symbolism and Irony

In chapter 11 of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, an important discussion takes place between Kathy and Ruth regarding Ruth’s collection from Hailsham which I found to carry a good deal of symbolic meaning and irony that ultimately leads to a greater understanding of some of the themes of the book. In this conversation which takes place at The Cottages, Kathy asks Ruth if she kept any pieces of her collection from Hailsham with her after coming to The Cottages. Ruth responds solemnly by confessing that, while she had initially intended to keep her collection, she gave it to Keffers to dispose of once she realized that none of the other veterans at The Cottages seemed to hold on to any components of their own collections. To begin with, I found Ruth’s act in throwing her collection away to be very ironic. Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy had spent their entire lives up to this point at Hailsham; therefore, all their friends, relationships, memories, possessions, and so forth were directly tied to this one location. Once departing for The Cottages, however, the students’ collections became their only tangible remnants from this past life besides one another. Unfortunately, because Ruth was always very conscientious of impressing the veterans and was preoccupied with making every effort to “fit in” with them, she lost all sense of connection to her collection the moment she realized that no veterans had seemed to keep possession of their own collections. Believing that holding on to her collection would make her appear childish in front of the veterans, Ruth therefore resolved to dispose of her collection by giving it to Keffers to sell. I find this ironic in the sense that Ruth readily sacrificed her only tangible remnant of her past life, where she not only belonged, but thrived and was both well-known and well-liked, in an attempt to belong in her new lifestyle.

In addition to Ruth’s sacrifice of her collection from Hailsham being ironic, I also found this fact to be symbolic of the lifestyles which these young adults were asked to lead. These young individuals have been created, educated, and raised for the sole purpose of being sacrifices for the rest of society. For example, the students were trained in art so that their best work could be sold to Madame and serve as “evidence;” their bodies were created and refined so that they could one day donate vital organs. All their lives, these young adults, who are presumably clones, have been asked to continually make sacrifices for others for nothing in compensation for such generosity. They create beautiful art, yet are asked to give it away; they make friends, and are made to become separated from them after leaving Hailsham and other stages of life; they build lifelong relationships with each other and are then asked to care for one another as they die in the process of donation; they lead lives that are as normal as possible through their young adulthood and are then asked to sacrifice their lives in order to donate vital organs to others. Although Ruth did willingly give away her collection to Keffers, the manner in which she recalls this instance implies that she did not particularly enjoy giving up her possessions. For example, Ruth remarked, “I put them all in a bin bag, but I couldn’t stand the idea of putting them out with the rubbish… I suppose he just took it away and put it in some bin… but at least I didn’t have to know that” (Ishiguro, 131). I find Ruth’s sacrifice of her possessions to be symbolic of all the sacrifices which the students are asked to make in their lives. While the students seemingly accept their designated lifestyles and fates without question, this does not mean that they necessarily enjoy the fact that they are forced to donate their vital organs. Similarly, although Ruth did not particularly want to throw her possessions away, she seemed to feel pressured that making this sacrifice was something she simply must do to coincide with the natural progression of their lives.

Never Let Me Go Section 2: Foreshadowing

In both sections 1 and 2 of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro incorporates a great deal of foreshadowing into the novel so as to advance the plot and elevate the feeling of suspense experienced by the reader. While very few specific details are given, the reader is made to understand that all the students at Hailsham such as Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are not like other members of society. Instead, they have been intentionally “modeled” after another human being for the specific purpose of being raised to one day donate vital organs. After leaving Hailsham, the reader knows that the students will become “carers” and donors, but little other information has been provided at this time as to the details of these jobs, the ultimate purpose of their education at Hailsham, the destinies and fates which they are bound to with such a unique life, etc. Therefore, because Ishiguro has intentionally chosen to exclude some important explanatory text which would clarify many details about Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy’s lives, the foreshadowing which is created by Kathy’s narration of the novel creates a great deal of suspense. For example, the fact that Kathy’s narration reveals the fact that she is currently serving as a carer, whereas Ruth and Tommy have already acted as donors. With this in mind, the reader is left to speculate the ultimate fates of Ruth and Tommy as well as what will happen to Kathy once her term as a carer is completed in the near future. The reader is also left to wonder how exactly the nature of their work has led Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy to become separated from one another. For example, when discussing how Miss Lucy was different from all the other guardians because she seemed to express more concern over the children’s future, Kathy reflects, “It’s even possible I began to realize, right back then, the nature of her worries and frustrations. But that’s probably going too far; chances are, at the time, I noticed all these things without knowing what on earth to make of them” (Ishiguro, 78-79). This clearly leaves the reader in suspense wondering what made Miss Lucy so unique and what insights and connections to her own fate Kathy was able to derive from observing Miss Lucy. Additionally, the sense of foreshadowing which is created by the fact that the story is narrated by Kathy and presented as her personal reflection on the past events of her life creates the suspense in the sense that it encourages the reader to speculate about the conclusion of the novel. I often find myself personally wondering as I progress through the book if the novel will end simply with the revelation of who exactly these special Hailsham students are, why exactly they were brought into the world, and what specifically other “normal” humans intend for their purpose in life to be. On the other hand, I also wonder if these revelations will be disclosed earlier on in the novel and will escalate into one much larger problem which Kathy must solve before the novel’s conclusion. For example, if Kathy has yet to become a donor herself, will she find a way to escape the fate of her friends and pave a new way of life for people like the students at Hailsham? Without the foreshadowing that is produced by Kathy’s narration, these questions may not be nearly as likely to linger in the mind of the reader as the novel progressed. Therefore, this foreshadowing is an essential literary technique used by Ishiguro in Never Let Me Go and greatly contributes to the overall advancement of the plot.

"I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed" Pg. 797 Question 4

As explained in Question 4, the last stanza of Emily Dickinson’s “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” does in fact paint the image of a stereotypical street scene in which neighbors or townspeople flock to windows to observe the comical behavior of a drunkard. Stereotypical drunkards in this situation would be likely to lean against a sturdy structure such as a lamppost or even the side of a building. However, because Dickinson’s poem presents an extended metaphor and is not literally depicting an individual who is drunk due to excessive consumption of alcohol, the drunkard in this poem does not lean on any stereotypical structure on the streets. Rather, the speaker in the poem is “drunk” as a result of feverishly drinking in the beauty of nature. Consequently, the speaker is described as leaning against the sun rather than a lamppost or building. However, the component of this final stanza of the poem which is bound to capture the attention of the reader the most is the description of the seraphs and saints. Dickinson describes these entities in the following manner: “Till seraphs swing their snowy Hats—and Saints—to the windows run—to see the little Tippler leaning against the—Sun—“ (Dickinson, 797). While one may expect neighbors and onlookers in a stereotypical situation in which a drunkard is on the streets to fly to the windows of their homes to take entertainment and delight in the drunk individual’s actions, one would not expect such holy beings as angels and saints to desire to rush to observe such shameful events. However, because the speaker in the poem is “drunk” on the beauty of nature rather than the excessive consumption of alcohol, the seraphs and saints would in fact take pleasure in observing such actions. After all, loving and admiring the magnificence of God’s creation is a pleasing act in stark contrast to the shame or immorality of drinking too much alcohol. Therefore, Dickinson’s use of imagery in including this image of holy beings such as seraphs and saints taking delight in the speaker’s “drunkenness” serves to emphasize the goodness of the speaker’s actions and enhance the contrast between the speaker’s form of intoxication with the stereotypical drunkenness of all others on normal liquor. This also ultimately reinforces the meaning of the title “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” in indicating that the speaker is unique in her sheer delight and inebriation caused purely by the natural elegance of the earth.

"Sorting Laundry" Symbolism

                The sorting of laundry which is performed by the speaker in Elisavietta Ritchie’s poem “Sorting Laundry” is to be interpreted both literally and figuratively. While the speaker is in fact literally sorting laundry, the articles of clothing which the speaker is handling are each representative of a component of the couple’s relationship; therefore, the poem can be characterized by the many examples of symbolism which occur throughout the entirety of the speaker’s words. In each piece of laundry that the speaker sorts, a different component of the couple’s relationship can be observed. For example, the speaker describes the pillowcases in the following manner: “Pillowcases, despite so many washings, seams still holding our dreams” (Ritchie, 841). Even within this very short statement, many insights can be made into the couple’s relationship. Because the speaker notes the fact that the pillowcases have been washed numerous times, the reader can reasonably assume that the man and woman in the poem have been in relationship for an extended period of time. Furthermore, seams are the components of a pillowcase which hold the two pieces of fabric used to make the pillowcase together. Therefore, as the speaker describes the seams of the pillow as still holding their dreams, she is not just referring to the fact that the couple’s dreams have been encouraged and preserved after all their time together. Rather, she is also referring to the fact that, just as seams keep two pieces of fabric bound to one another, the couple’s dreams do in fact keep the two individuals in the relationship bound to one another, as well. As the poem progresses, the speaker refers to other pieces of laundry to describe their life together, as well. For example, the horribly ugly patterns depicted on their towels suggest that the couple has a vibrant and lively relationship which does not demand perfection or a pristine outward appearance. Additionally, just as the speaker mentions that the couple never bleached the gaudy patterns out of the towels, she suggests that the couple would never desire to wash the colorfulness or uniqueness out of their own relationship. Moreover, even without considering specific pieces of laundry, the load of clothes as a whole is representative of the couple’s lives together. For instance, although they each have their own individual pieces of laundry, all articles of clothing are thrown into the wash together and combine into one massive pile of existence. In a similar way, just as two people in a relationship will always remain unique and distinct individuals, their lives combine in such a manner that they are, in many senses, a single unit, just as a pile of laundry composed of individual pieces of clothes can still be regarded as one unit, or load.

                Understanding the many examples of symbolism utilized by Ritchie in this poem is essential to understanding the mood shift at the end of the poem. As the poem concludes, the speaker expresses her fear at the thought of her lover one day leaving her. If the reader does not understand the symbolism presented in the other pieces of laundry, the reader will have a less clear understanding of the depth of the couple’s relationship and therefore will have less insight into the fear the speaker feels at the potential loss of this love. Therefore, the symbolism is an essential component of the poem “Sorting Laundry.”

"Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God" Paradox

The speaker in John Donne’s sonnet “Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God” essentially expresses a desire to grow closer in his relationship with God by turning away from sin and embodying goodness. While this desire may be the central theme of many religious poems, however, the speaker’s approach in asking God for guidance on his endeavors for goodness is fairly unusual. Consequently, the sonnet establishes a paradox which is developed throughout the course of the sonnet and is revealed in its entirety in the last two lines of the poem. Instead of simply asking God to purify his heart in order to make him more holy in mind and deed, the speaker requests that God batter his heart; in other words, he asks God to strike him repeatedly. Furthermore, the speaker insists, “That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new” (Donne, 840). Ultimately, the speaker is essentially asking God to beat him into submission. While the speaker may be seeking the same spiritual strength and relationship with God as many others do, the speaker separates himself from others by realizing that the only way for him to personally avoid sin is to be so broken and beaten down that God could reshape his heart and make him anew. The irony in the speaker’s request of God can further be seen in his statement that “…Dearly I love you and would be loved fain, but am betrothed unto your enemy” (Donne, 840). With the assertion, the speaker suggests that, while he truly loves God and desires to have a close relationship with him, he bitterly has to admit that he cannot escape the grasp of sin, which is in direct opposition to God. With this in mind, the paradox that is present in this poem is brought to completion with the last two lines of the poem, in which the speaker expresses that, in order to be free of evil, he wishes for God to imprison him, and in order to be made chaste, he wishes for God to “ravish” him. While it may seem like a contradiction to seek freedom through imprisonment and chastity through enthrallment, a certain amount of truth does exist in the speaker’s request. The speaker is fully aware of his own weakness and therefore understands his own limits; he knows that he will be incapable of ever being free of sin and imperfection unless the God of Goodness himself would make his heart pure by force. Therefore, Donne’s sonnet ultimately presents a paradox in the idea that, in order to be rid of evil and full of purity, the speaker desires to be broken, beaten, and imprisoned in order to be made new.

"The Convergence of the Twain" Juxtaposition and Situational Irony

                Thomas Hardy’s “The Convergence of the Twain” is divided into eleven stanzas, or subsections, which are centered around two central ideas that Hardy intends to convey through his employment of juxtaposition and situational irony. In the first five stanzas of the poem, Hardy paints a stark contrast between the lavish manner in which the Titanic was designed to exist and the displeasing reality of its true existence on the floor of the ocean. To accomplish this, Hardy juxtaposes a number of features of the boat as they were intended to exist in comparison to their tarnished state in the depths of the ocean. For example, Hardy writes, “Jewels in joy designed to ravish the sensuous mind lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind” (Hardy, 778). In this statement, Hardy creates a juxtaposition that presents the opulence of extravagant jewels meant to dazzle even the richest of passengers in opposition to their dullness and dimness crushed under the great depths of the sea. Hardy also juxtaposes the elegant mirrors meant to reflect the beauty of the ship’s finer passengers against the status of the mirror as it rests on the ocean floor with dumb and indifferent sea-worms tarnishing its beauty. In establishing such stark contrasts, Hardy also highlights the situational irony in the fact that all the features of the Titanic which were manufactured at such great length to exemplify the extravagance of mankind met an immediate fate in the darkness of the deep sea. While one would expect such beautiful structures to please the human eye for years to come, Hardy instead illustrates the situational irony of the ship’s destruction by pointing to the fact that the ship now rested as far away from human contact as possible and could be seen only by dim “moon-eyed” fishes scavenging the ocean floor.

                The second half of the poem from stanzas six to eleven use the same techniques of juxtaposition and situational irony to illustrate another idea related to the sinking of the Titanic: the converged fates of the ship itself with the iceberg which brought about its destruction. In this piece of the poem, Hardy compares the construction of the ship to the simultaneous creation of the iceberg and then proceeds to illustrate how their existences were eventually destined to clash in an imminent yet tragic collision. Hardy best articulates this idea with this statement, “No mortal eye could see the intimate welding of their later history, or sign that they were bent by paths coincident on being anon twin halves of one august event” (Hardy, 779). Hardy therefore utilizes juxtaposition by continually throughout the six stanzas of this portion of the poem comparing the life of the Titanic to the life of the iceberg. This juxtaposition in turn points to the situational irony in the fact that, while most people entertained the misconception that the Titanic was unsinkable, fate led the mighty ship to be struck down on its maiden voyage by an iceberg which had swollen to its own grandeur at the same time that the Titanic itself was constructed. Thus, the full meaning of Hardy’s poem is revealed through juxtaposition and situational irony.

"Barbie Doll"

                In many ways I find the central essence of Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” to be rooted in the idea of a stock character. The young girl in the poem is depicted as a strong, intelligent, independent woman with many unique gifts and talents to offer the world through her vibrancy and individuality. However, the girl was consistently pressured to improve herself because her “great big nose and fat legs” (Piercy, 835) prevented anyone from being able to see her genuine beauty, and the pressure and torment she experienced in the name of achieving physical perfection ultimately compelled her to take her own life. Thus, I believe that Piercy is asserting through her poem the notion that today’s culture both encourages and forces all young girls to essentially become stock characters, or Barbie dolls. Although the young woman presented in the poem possessed many beneficial and valuable qualities, all such gifts were overshadowed by the stereotype which all teenage girls are supposedly forced to comply with today. By mentioning the fact that the young girl was given dolls, fake stoves, and plastic lipstick to play with as a child, Piercy alludes to the idea that all girls today are molded to become stock characters, or stereotypical young women of today’s society, rather than embracing and developing their own individuality. Thus, in this manner, Piercy’s poem embodies a sarcastic and condemning tone as she conveys the idea that society’s obsession with creating all young girls into stereotypical Barbie dolls promotes a universal stock character which all girls must conform to.

                Furthermore, the idea of a stock character contributes greatly to the essence of this poem in the sense that the reaction of the young girl in the poem to the pressure she was receiving was also very stereotypical. Many stories have arisen in the past of young girls who were so distraught over their hopeless pursuits of physical perfection and so oppressed by the feeling of being unable to express their own individuality that they took their own lives. In trying to create an identity which the world would approve of, the teenage girl in the poem instead lost the only real identity she could ever truly possess: her very own unique and individual self. Piercy writes, “Her good nature wore out like a fan belt” (Piercy, 836). However, unfortunate as it may be, many young girls respond to today’s peer pressure in the same manner: instead of fighting for their own individuality and image, they fight endlessly to achieve perfection in the eyes of society, forsake their own identities, lose their sense of purpose and happiness, and take their own lives. Therefore, ironically, the poem “Barbie Dolls” reveals the fact that the young girl in the poem not only did everything in her power to become a “stock character,” but her reaction to her physical imperfections did, in and of itself, embody that of a stock character. In other words, the young girl in the poem acted as a stock character by placing too much emphasis in her life in trying to become a stock character. Though the sarcastic tone of the poem and the disheartening conclusion provide for the poem’s serious nature, Piercy does convey the central theme of embracing one’s own imperfection and individuality effectively via the utilization of the concept of a stock character.

"To His Coy Mistress"

               Figurative language is present in abundance throughout the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and plays a significant role in illustrating the central themes of experiencing and enjoying love in the fleeting instance that life on earth lasts. For example, Marvell articulates the idea that life on earth is not indefinite by using a metaphor in the following passage: “But at my back I always hear time’s winged chariot hurrying near” (Marvell, 804). By comparing time to a winged chariot in this manner, the author conveys the idea that time passes rapidly and that the remainder of their lives on earth shrinks with each passing day. Furthermore, by describing time as a winged chariot approaching him from behind, he alludes to the fact that death is constantly in pursuit of man, consistently drawing closer and closer to him, yet behind his back, where he cannot see for sure when it will catch he. Therefore, in using this metaphor of a winged chariot to express the fleeting nature of time, Marvell reinforces the speaker’s sense of urgency to convince his coy mistress to cast aside her shy nature and embrace their love before they become prisoners to the effects of time and lose their lives.

                Marvell also employs figurative language in the poem by incorporating similes into his descriptions of the mistress and his love for her. For example, he describes the youthful hue of his young mistress as resting on her cheeks in the manner that morning dew rests gently upon the earth. In comparing the skin of his lady to something so gentle and beautiful in nature, he highlights the fact that his mistress is delicate and likely to be shy rather than the type of woman who would embrace every aspect of life, such as love. Furthermore, the speaker describes his own soul as firing at every pore, and this figurative comparison advances the meaning of his work by articulating his own desire for his mistress. The fact that he describes every pore of his being as being afire serves as a strong indication that the speaker has no intentions of wasting any more time than he absolutely has to; rather, he would prefer to embrace life while he still possesses his youth rather than waiting for their encasement in marble graves to love one another.

                Finally, Marvell concludes the poem with the statement, “Thus, though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run” (Marvell, 804). I believe the sun to be symbolic of the couple’s time together and their lives at large. The speaker is intending to express the idea that they cannot prevent the time of their youth from fading away just as they cannot prevent the sun from rising and falling each day; however, they certainly can embrace every instant of their time together. All of these examples of figurative language therefore emphasize the speaker’s key purpose of convincing his mistress to forsake her coyness to as to enter into a loving relationship with him before the winged chariot of time takes either of them prisoner.

"A Jury of Her Peers" Pg. 426 Question 1

                Much irony can be found in the title of “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell. While the structure of the plot of the story is centered on determining who and what caused the death of Mr. Wright, the ultimate essence and theme expressed in the story were rooted in sexism. This work of Glaspell was first published in 1917, at a time in American history when women were not given the right to vote nor the right to be judged by a jury of peers, and women were often seen as having little purpose in daily life other than to fret over trifling things such as the cleanliness of dish towels in the kitchen. This view of women is conveyed by the three principle men in the story, Mr. Hale, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Henderson, the young attorney. Although the two women are brought along to the scene of the crime so that Mrs. Peters can gather a few essential items for Mrs. Wright, who is being detained under order of the law, and so that Mrs. Hale can give Mrs. Peters company, the two women are in no way expected to contribute in any way to the solving of the murder mystery. In fact, the men find a way of criticizing the women for their apparent simple-mindedness and lack of functionality in life throughout the duration of their visit to the Wright home. For example, the men act condescendingly towards the women when they discover them worrying over the state of Mrs. Wright’s canned fruit and quilt patterns. However, as the egotistical men search boldly for evidence of a murder, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters alone are able to discern that Mrs. Wright was in fact Mr. Wright’s murderer, as well as what her motives were in killing her own husband.

                The considerations mentioned above are what make the title “A Jury of Her Peers” very ironic in nature. While women in that time period were not allowed to ever serve on a jury, nor would women such as Mrs. Wright be given a jury of her peers in court, it was the only two women at the scene of the crime, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, who were able to determine Mrs. Wright’s motives in killing her husband quite simply because they themselves were women, too. After discovering Mrs. Wright’s precious bird dead from a wrung neck and entombed in a very elaborate box, the women determine that Mr. Wright must have killed her bird out of maliciousness and irreverence towards his wife’s happiness. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters begin to understand that Mrs. Wright may have killed her husband simply because she was driven to insanity by the solitude, loneliness, and lack of love and companionship that suffocated her in her empty abode and was perpetuated by the stoic attitude of Mr. Wright. Upon discovering the dead bird, Mrs. Hale remarks, “I wonder how it would seem… never to have any children around? …No, Wright wouldn’t like that bird… a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too” (Glaspell, 423). This excerpt proves that the women understood the oppression which Mrs. Wright must have felt by her husband because their metaphorical “song” had been crushed by their own husbands and men at large, as well. There, the title “A Jury of Her Peers” is ironic because, despite the fact that women were not believed capable of great intelligence or the ability to solve a murder mystery, the women alone were the only ones able to solve the mystery because they could sympathize with the motives of a woman whose hopes, dreams, and happiness had been crushed by her inferiority and loneliness. The women’s defiance at the conclusion of the story also reinforces the notion that all women were resistance to the sexism they all endured.

"Hunters in the Snow" (Based off pg. 202 question 4)

                The element of “Hunters in the Snow” which Tobias Wolff utilizes most prominently in order to maintain the suspense of the plot is the surprising changes of character that occur in Tub, Frank, and Kenny. To begin with, Tub undergoes a dynamic transformation over the course of the story as he shifts from a sympathetic, good-natured, and victimized man to a somewhat cold-hearted individual. At the beginning of the novel, Tub is depicted as an overweight but kind man who is constantly ridiculed by his friends for his incredibly large size. For example, Frank and Kenny criticize his lack of physical agility and merely sit and watch stoically as he struggles to climb through fences rather than lend him a hand. Moreover, when he eats nothing but an egg and a stalk of celery for lunch, they rebuke his lack of success on such a pathetic diet. Consequently, the reader initially identifies Tub as a sympathetic character who is subject to the bullying of his best friends on a regular basis; however, when Tub ultimately shoots Kenny in a desperate attempt to protect himself against what he believed to be a threat to his life, the reader can begin to see that Tub is not as weak and victimized an individual as one might initially suspect. While Tub may have been acting in self defense when he shot Kenny, this act serves as the first indication that Tub may lack important rationalizing skills and have issues with self-control. These flaws in Tub’s character are further emphasized when he is convinced by Frank to eat four full plates of pancakes at the diner. Wolff highlights Tub’s lack of self-control in remarking, “Tub ate several mouthfuls, then started to wipe his lips… the syrup covered his chin; it dripped to a point like a goatee… Tub took the fork in his left hand and lowered his head and started really chowing down…Tub lifted each of the four plates and licked it clean” (Wolff, 200). However, the full extent of Tub’s dynamic transformation is best manifested in the fact that he, along with Frank, fail to make any effort to retrieve the lost directions to the hospital or generally make any effort whatsoever to ease Kenny’s pain or rush him to the hospital. Although Tub may initially be seen as a bullied yet sympathetic character at the beginning of the story, his selfish and irrational actions throughout the course of the plot prove that he is instead a selfish man lacks compassion for others and ultimately becomes a bit of a bully himself.

                Frank’s character also shows a bit of a dynamic transformation in the sense that he begins the story being best friends with Kenny and ridiculing Tub, whereas, by the conclusion, he has forsaken his loyalty to Kenny in exchange for a close bond with Tub. However, I personally do not view this as much of a dynamic change since many aspects of Frank’s personality seem to indicate that he is unfailingly fickle. The fact that Frank never seems to take any initiative of his own while hunting with Kenny and Tub but merely follows the decisions and actions of others proves that he only intends to follow others. Furthermore, his confession to Tub that he is in love with a fifteen-year-old rather than his own wife proves that he is very capricious in relationships. Therefore, while Frank does change friends during the progression of “Hunters in the Snow” I do not believe that his character in and of itself changed in any significant way; rather, I believe Frank’s tendency to be fickle was a consistent trait of his which was displayed throughout the story.

Othello Act V Theme of Trust

                In my own personal opinion, I found the issue of in whom one should place their trust to be a major theme of Shakespeare’s Othello. Othello and Roderigo prove themselves to be the two characters whose actions speak to this theme most profoundly in Act V. To begin with, Othello has been placing his trust in the wrong characters throughout the entire play, but the culmination of this blind trust does not fully reveal itself until this fifth act. Despite the fact that Iago is a treacherous and dishonest man, Othello overlooks the indications that he is an evil man and chooses to take heed to every piece of false information with he gives Othello. Rather than questioning the man who is his ensign, he instead places all his trust in the conniving Iago and instead questions his very own wife, who is loyal and honest to the moment of her death. However, in addition to the fact that Othello foolishly trusted the wrong individuals, he additionally contributed to the theme of the dangers of trust or a lack thereof by refusing to trust the words of his honest wife, Desdemona. Despite her genuine and sincere protestations that she is absolutely and entirely guiltless and has performed no act of infidelity to deserve Othello’s scorn, he stubbornly insists that she is guilty, asserting that she must, “Therefore confess thee freely of thy sin, For to deny each article with oath cannot remove nor choke the strong conception that I do groan withal. Thou are to die” (Shakespeare, V, ii, 53-56). Othello has become so hardened in heart by his belief of his wife’s affair that he has become adamant in his resolve to murder her, and no words in Act V can dissuade him of the need for Desdemona’s death. However, the entire issue could clearly have been resolved if Othello had only placed his trust in the much more honorable character of Desdemona rather than the wicked Iago.

                Roderigo’s blind trust of Iago also reinforced the necessity of placing trust in the right character. Roderigo foolishly trusted Iago for quite a length of time, handing over most of his riches to the man without demanding any immediate and concrete evidence that his personal sacrifices were even being used for the advancement of his own good. Though Roderigo does eventually see the futility of his trust in Iago and even confronts Iago about his falsehood, he makes this essential revelation a little too late and ultimately still faces a very unfortunate death at the hands of Iago. Had Roderigo placed his trust in someone more honorable than Iago, then he could not have been used as an instrument in Iago’s wicked schemes, and the entire plot of the novel may have been altered. Therefore, the events which unfold in Act V of Othello prove the  culmination of the theme of the relevance of trusting the appropriate individuals in the final act of the play.

Othello Act V Dynamic Characters

                A number of characters prove themselves to be dynamic characters in the fifth and final act of Shakespeare’s Othello, including Othello and Emilia. Othello is the first character in the act to reveal his dynamic nature by acting according to very evil impulses and murdering his wife, Desdemona. At the beginning of the novel, he is characterized as a very valiant, honorable, and respectable man who was able to remain calm and composed in stressful or treacherous situations, specifically in battle. As the play progresses, Othello exhibits these personality traits on many different occasions, including when charged by Brabantio of drugging his daughter and when handling the chaos of Cassio’s drunken rage in Act II. However, when the state of his emotions and heart were threatened by the news of Desdemona’s infidelity, he rapidly transformed into a man who did not resemble Othello in the slightest. He had angry fits of rage, threatened to murder Iago, had a couple of seizures, and resolved unabashedly to kill both Cassio and Desdemona. While Othello’s heartbreak at the thought of the infidelity of his wife is certainly understandable, the fact that he actually murders his wife with his bare hands in Act V despite her desperate and honest pleas of innocence is altogether inexcusable. At the beginning of the play, imagining the calm and collected Othello murdering the woman he was madly in love with would have been inconceivable; however, by strangling her despite her gentle protestations in Act V, Othello finally reveals that he has changed in a number of important ways as a result of the action of the play, therefore making him a dynamic character. Although his eventual shame ultimately causes him to kill himself, the fact remains that the novel’s action changed Othello in a number of significant ways.

                Despite Othello’s dramatic change of character of the course of the play, Emilia’s transformation as a dynamic character is the most potent in Act V. At the beginning of the play, Emilia was characterized as being incredibly shy and timid, and she was always accepting of her inferior role as Iago’s wife. Her unrelenting subservience to Iago was proven by the fact that she gave Iago Desdemona’s handkerchief in response to his request. However, Emilia’s entire personality changes entirely in Act V when she finally finds her voice and confronts her husband for all this evil actions. With immense bravery and boldness that would be unimaginable in the character of Emilia, she defies her husband’s orders to be quiet and states firmly that, “I will not charm my tongue, I am bound to speak” (Shakespeare, V, ii, 183) and also that “Good gentlemen, let me leave to speak. ‘Tis proper I obey him, but not now” (Shakespeare, Act V, ii, 194-195). Therefore, in this scene, Emilia proves that she is a dynamic character by changing in the sense that she found her independence and courage over the course of the play.

Othello Act IV Foreshadowing

              In Act IV, scene iii of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare utilizes foreshadowing by indicating the imminent death of Desdemona through the song she sings about a willow. Desdemona explains that she learned the song from her mother’s maid. She remarks, “My mother had a maid called Barbary. She was in love, and he she loved proved mad and did forsake her. She a song of “willow”—and old thing ‘twas, but it expressed her fortune, and she died singing it. That song tonight will not go from my mind” (Shakespeare, Act IV, iii, 25-30). Desdemona then proceeds to sing the song, which tells of lady sitting at the foot of a willow tree, crying in misery about the fact that the man she once loved no longer returns that love to her. The reader can tell that this is clearly foreshadowing by the fact that the situation of the lady in the song very much resembles the situation which Desdemona is currently dealing with. While she knows that she is completely innocent of every crime her husband suspects her of, she also can clearly see that he has lost all love and respect for her. Since the woman in the “willow” song is miserable and lonely, the reader might also presume that this represents the lack of happiness which Desdemona will always be burdened with forevermore. Furthermore, the aspect of this song which makes it an even stronger source of foreshadowing is the fact that Desdemona’s mother’s maid was reminded of the song after experiencing a similar situation and then died singing it. Moreover, Desdemona admits to not being able to get the song out of her head that night. Therefore, when considering the fact that the “willow” song was sung by a woman Desdemona knew going through the same situation as herself at the moment she died, and that, on top of this, Desdemona cannot help but think of the song that very night, the fact that Desdemona is likely to meet her own death that very night becomes evident. Consequently, Shakespeare employed foreshadowing through the “willow” song in order to build suspense. This also contributes somewhat to dramatic irony, considering that the audience is aware of Othello’s intentions to murder Desdemona, whereas Desdemona suspects no such action of her husband whatsoever.

Othello Act IV Symbolism and Minor Characters

In Act IV of Shakespeare’s Othello, the significance of minor characters and symbolism is revealed in the discussion that is conducted between Bianca and Cassio regarding the handkerchief. The conversation begins as Bianca confronts Cassio for asking her to copy the pattern on the handkerchief he found in his room. Although Cassio promises that he has no idea who the handkerchief belongs to, but that he simply happened to find it in his room, Bianca convinces herself that it is a handkerchief given to him by another woman. Believing that her relationship with Cassio is much more serious than Cassio views it, she is greatly offended that he would ask her to copy the pattern of a handkerchief belonging to another mistress of his. However, it is during this conversation that Othello is spying on Cassio and Iago, and, when he sees Bianca wielding the handkerchief which he gave to Desdemona, he receives the “ocular proof” of Desdemona’s infidelity that he worried about for quite some time. Othello blindly accepts the lies which Iago has been feeding him when Iago declares, “Did you see the handkerchief… Yours, by his hand. And to see how he prizes the foolish woman your wife? She gave it him, and he hath given it his whore” (Shakespeare, Act IV, i, 162-165). This scene therefore reveals the importance of the symbolism of the handkerchief. Because the handkerchief was the first gift which Othello gave to Desdemona, it is representative of their binding and loyal love to one another; consequently, when Othello believes that Desdemona has betrayed him and given this precious token of love to the man with whom she had an affair, he is heartbroken. Furthermore, believing that Cassio had in turn given this gift to his mistress, Othello became all the more outraged. Had the handkerchief not symbolized his love for Desdemona, then her gift of a mere handkerchief to another man may not have been so offensive to Othello and certainly could not be considered “ocular proof” of an affair between her and another man. However, the symbolism of the handkerchief makes this misconception devastating to Othello purely because of its implications of the love shared between Othello and Desdemona. Because the handkerchief carries such significant meaning, its possession by another man also carries much more significant meaning as well.

Act IV, scene i also reveals the significance of minor characters to the advancement of the plot in Othello. Without the minor character of Bianca, Cassio may never have bothered to ask anyone to copy the pattern of the handkerchief and paid it no attention. However, by giving the handkerchief to Bianca and offending her in the process, Othello observes the passing of his handkerchief from the man he believes to be sleeping with his wife to that man’s mistress, which convinces him to murder Desdemona. Consequently, without the role of Bianca, Othello may never have received his ocular proof of her affair and may never have found the need to murder her.

Othello Acts I-III Dramatic Irony

In looking at the first three acts of William Shakespeare’s Othello in their entirety, the literary device employed by Shakespeare which catches my attention the most is dramatic irony. I would be so bold as to make the argument that dramatic irony is the very foundation of the plot of the novel, since the very cunning and ingenious nature of all of Iago’s actions are centered around the fact that he is able to “wipe his hands” of every evil action he commits. Iago is able to single-handedly remove Cassio of his position, convince Othello of his wife’s infidelity, and a number of other vicious deeds while simultaneously convincing every single character that he is not only innocent, but loyal and honest with them. Examples of this dramatic irony pervade the entire first three acts of the play but perhaps can be seen most prominently when Iago blames Cassio for the fight that breaks out during the war victory and wedding celebration. Iago intentionally gets Cassio drunk beyond his point of emotional stability and then purposely has Roderigo pick a fight with Cassio in order to rile him up. However, when Othello asks Iago to explain the situation, he acts as though he is pained to say anything poor of his dear companion Cassio. He even goes as far to declare that he will only testify against Cassio in confidence that his words will bring no harm to Cassio. He insists, “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mot than it should do offense to Michael Cassio. Yet I persuade myself to speak the truth shall nothing wrong him” (Shakespeare, II,iii,200-202). This is the height of dramatic irony since the audience knows full well that Iago had every intention of brining harm to Cassio. As the play progresses, this dramatic irony will be essential  to Iago’s success at bringing about the doom of every single character while maintaining the characters’ trust in himself, his words, and his actions.

Othello Act III

Before even beginning to read the play, we were told in class that the object of a handkerchief would be very essential in William Shakespeare’s Othello; considering that this handkerchief first appears in the duration of Act III, I could not help but immediately take notice to its role in the story and its many layers of symbolism. The handkerchief first appears when Desdemona attempts to wipe Othello’s fact in comfort when he expresses anguish. Taken aback by his unusual display of anger and rage, Desdemona distractedly drops the handkerchief, and Emilia sneakily retrieves it after Desdemona has exited. She explains in a brief soliloquy that Iago has wanted her to retrieve this handkerchief for quite some time. She declares that “I am glad I have found this napkin. This was her first remembrance from the Moor” (Shakespeare, Act III,iii, 292-293). With this massive revelation, the audience finally begins to understand the significance of the hankerchief and Iago’s desire to attain possession of it. The handkerchief is an essential symbol of the love and loyalty between Desdemona and Othello considering that it was the initial and heartfelt gift given to her. As a result, Iago wishes to obtain the handkerchief so as to place it in the possession of Cassio. This will serve as circumstantial evidence to prove to Othello that Cassio has had affair with Desdemona. The true genius behind the plan is that, while this evidence will be undeniably in favor or Desdemona’s infidelity, nobody else will understand the horrible evil which Iago has performed in framing Cassio with the handkerchief. Therefore, the handkerchief becomes not only a symbol of the love and loyalty between Othello and Desdemona, but also the trust in their relationship. As the handkerchief begins to change ownership and location, so does Othello’s trust in those characters surrounding him. As the play progresses, understanding the condition and location of the handkerchief will be critical to understanding the state of Othello and Desdemona’s love and relationship.

Othello Act II

                One of the most unique and interesting portions of Act II of William Shakespeare’s Othello was the conversation conducted between Desdemona, Iago, and Emilia about four different types of women. While I admit that I am not entirely sure what the significance of this conversation may be to the remaining action in the play, I do believe that this conversation provides important insights into Iago’s character and perception of women. To briefly summarize, Iago ultimately circumvents genuinely complimenting any type of woman by providing only left-handed compliments of woman at best. He describes beautiful and smart women as having the brains to utilize their beauty to gain a man; beautiful and dumb women as being without worry since their foolishness will make them more attractive in the eyes of men; smart and ugly women having the wit to marry an uglier man so as to make herself look even prettier; and dumb and ugly women as using the exact same tricks as beautiful and smart women. Ultimately, the message which Iago is attempting to convey is that he sees little value or significance in woman. After a long passage describing the perfectly obedient, inferior, and servile woman in Act II, i, 147-156, he finally concludes that “She was a wight, if ever such wight were… to suckle fools and chronicle small beer” (Shakespeare, Act II, i, 157-159).

                While I may be unsure as to whether or not this conversation will have any greater significance in the rest of the play, I do believe that this conversation is noteworthy simply in the fact that it shows Iago’s detestation for women. Since the reader can now plainly see that he views all women as having ulterior motives in order to find a husband and satisfy their desires, understanding his intention to bring about Othello and Cassio’s destruction by spreading lies about affairs seems much more plausible and logical. Furthermore, this conversation is important to understanding the relationship which Iago has with his wife and the way he intends to manipulate it in the future. When addressing Cassio after he kisses Emilia in greeting upon her arrival in Cyprus, Iago remarks that, “Sir, would she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue shoe oft bestows on me, you’d have enough” (Shakespeare, Act II, i, 100-102). Therefore, while Iago clearly has no respect or love for his wife, he intends to keep her as his wife for as long as she can be useful to him. As the rest of the play progresses, the reader may find that understanding the opinions and perceptions of Iago revealed in this conversation are necessary to understanding his actions and motives.

Othello Act I

                William Shakespeare employs a great deal of direct and indirect characterization of the central characters in Act I of Othello so as to immediately provide the reader with an understanding of the personalities and underlying motives of the characters. For example, Othello is immediately characterized as a confident, calm, and righteous man who conducts himself with integrity. His integrity and pure intention can be seen in the fact that he married Desdemona because he was in love with her mind rather than her body. His marriage is that of genuine love, and he has no ulterior motives in marrying Desdemona other than to love her with his whole heart and soul. Furthermore, Othello’s capability to maintain composure can be seen in the cool and collected manner in which he defended himself against Brabantio and those who accused him of drugging Desdemona in order to trick her into marrying him. Although Othello’s physical differences from the rest of his companions due to his Moroccan nationality often lead to racist comments, most all characters aside from Iago greatly respect Othello for his work and personality. For example, the Duke highly admires Othello and even defends him to Brabantio, who was appalled by Othello’s sudden marriage to his daughter. In advising Brabantio to accept his daughter’s marriage to Othello, he remarks, “If virtue no delighted beauty lack, your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (Shakespeare, Act I,iii, 286-287). Being aware of Othello’s good-natured demeanor will be critical to understanding his responses and actions later in the play, so Shakespeare’s characterization of him in Act I was ultimately essential.

                Shakespeare’s characterization of Iago in the first act of Othello is perhaps even more critical for the reader’s understanding of the plot. Because the play has such a strong foundation in dramatic irony, the reader must understand that, while Iago is a truly vile and evil character, all the other characters in the novel are completely ignorant of his wickedness and believe him to be honest and loyal. This trust of the other characters in Iago, particularly Othello, can be seen in the fact that Iago is often addressed or described as “honest Iago.” However, Shakespeare intentionally utilizes frequent soliloquies of Iago to explain to the audience his true personality and true intentions, which are nothing short of loathsome. For example, characters such as Roderigo believe Iago to be genuinely concerned with their welfare and emotionally invested in their friendship, yet when Iago delivers a soliloquy, his actual motives are revealed: “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse, for I mine own gained knowledge should profane. If I would time expend with such a snipe for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor….” (Shakespeare, Act I,iii,363-366). Without such revealing soliloquies being presented within the first act, the reader may be just as ignorant as the characters in the play of Iago’s evil nature. In reality, the fact that the story is told from the perspective of the villain is what distinguishes this play from the rest of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Therefore, Shakespeare’s use of soliloquy and other forms of indirect characterization are essential to laying a foundation of the character’s personalities and motives which will be essential as the play progresses.

"Getting Out" Question 2 Pg. 897

Cleopatra Mathis’s “Getting Out” distinguishes itself from all the other poems in this unit of literature because it describes a much deeper and more genuine love than any of the other poems in the unit. While every other short story and poem in this unit focuses on individuals who are bitterly devoid of a relationship or left with nothing but spite or hate for the person they once loved, “Getting Out” tells the story of a couple who had every intention of loving each other their entire lives. Unfortunately, through “the silent work of tightening the heart” (Mathis, 896), the couple gradually fell out of a romantic love together and determined that they could no longer function as a married couple. While the speaker never identifies a specific reason for their eventual decision to divorce, her description of the photo of the two of them with their matching eyes and hair offers some insight into the reasons for their divorce. The fact that their features matched each other so perfectly seems to indicate that they were two very similar people who lacked little independence from one another. Perhaps because they were so similar in nature, they felt as though they started to lose a piece of their own identity and felt too confined within the marriage. A specific reason for why the couple made the decision to divorce is not essential to understand the essence of the poem, however, for the reader can understand without details that these two individuals, despite their love for another, simply had lives which did not coincide well with one another when bound by marriage. This fact certainly points to a certain emotional maturity which is lacking in all the other works in this unit. While every other work in the Love Me Not Unit conveys a sense of hostility towards love and is filled with hatred, spite, and rage, “Getting Out” simply describes a heartbreaking but mutual falling out of love between two people. In every other work, the speaker is blatantly hostile towards their past lover or every person of the opposite gender in general. However, the emotional maturity of the man and woman described in “Getting Out” is evident in the fact that neither one of them hates the other. Unlike the other works in the unit, no blame is placed and no spitefulness is expressed anywhere in the poem; rather, the speaker merely talks of the pain of losing a relationship that they both desired to last forever. While the speaker is accepting of the fact their physical distance from one another prevents her from ever seeing him and seems comforted to receive a yearly letter from her ex-husband saying that he has found happiness , she also expresses a deep love for him that will never truly die. The mature love between this man and woman is best embodied by the last two sentences of the poem “Taking hands we walked apart, until out arms stretched between us. We held on tight, and let go” (Mathis, 896). In this statement, the immense level of emotional maturity and inexpressible love between the two is fully manifested. While the couple could not survive in a married relationship, they did not resent each other for the failure of their marriage; rather, they loved each other enough to separate despite their deep care for another because they understood that they would be happier leading separate lives. Therefore, the element of emotional maturity that is embodied by the photograph of the couple’s matching eyes and hair is critical to distinguishing this poem from every other in the unit and expressing a kind of love for another that is difficult to articulate.

"Popular Mechanics" Question 2

                Raymond Carver’s “Popular Mechanics” consists mostly of action and dialogue but focuses very little on aspects such as setting or detail. Despite this lack of extravagant detail, the few descriptions of detail and setting that are mentioned have a great impact on the short story by the way in which they reflect the tone of the novel and the mood within the home of the maniac couple. At the beginning of the poem, Carver states, “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting into dirty water” (Carver, 334). This statement of setting, while very brief, carries very significant meaning to the entire essence of the poem by symbolizing the nature of the couple’s relationship. While snow often represents beauty and purity because of its pure white nature, dirty water carries with it the unpleasant connotation of being tainted and ugly. While Carver never indulges the reader on the state of the couple’s relationship prior to the hateful explosion that is depicted in this short story, the reader can assume that they once loved each other very much since, in the poem, the reader can see that they lived together, were likely to be married, and had a child together. However, the reader can clearly determine that, regardless of the past nature of their love, all that remains between the couple now is absolute rage and hatred. Therefore, the description of pure and beautiful snow melting into disgusting and tainted slush at the beginning of the poem symbolizes the couple’s relationship as it melted into a horrific catastrophe. The other brief description of setting offered in the poem lies in Carver’s statement that “Cars slushed by on the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too” (Carver, 334). This detail also carries important meaning in that it, too, reflects the nature of the couple’s relationship. While the fact that the day was literally growing darker outside could mean that it was literally getting darker inside the house, as well, Carver’s statement that the inside of the house was growing darker also carries a metaphorical meaning. Considering that love is often associated with light and hatred and evil are often associated with darkness, the fact that Carver describes the inside of the house as growing dark clearly symbolizes the way in which the couple’s relationship had grown utterly dark in the shadow of hate. This illusion of the house growing darker can also foreshadow the horrific fate of the baby at the story’s conclusion. Therefore, the few details that Carver included within his story carried a great deal of purpose and significance to “Popular Mechanics.”

"The Story of an Hour"

Kate Chopin’s use of imagery in her short story “The Story of an Hour” greatly enhances the theme of marriage being an ultimate sacrifice of freedom and absolute happiness. Authors often include descriptions of nature which reflect the tone or mood of the characters in their stories in their works; for example, this technique was employed by Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein. Kate Chopin uses a similar technique in “The Story of an Hour,” but with a few modifications. At the beginning of the story, I made the premature assumption that Mrs. Mallard would be devastated to hear the news of her husband’s tragic death in a railroad accident; in accordance with this assumption, I also expected Chopin to describe the weather as rainy, story, overcast, etc. to reflect the mood of Mrs. Mallard after such a horrific loss. Therefore, when Chopin writes in detail about the beautiful spring day Mrs. Mallard observes out her window, I was reasonably surprised and found the beauty and liveliness of the spring day to be in stark contrast to the tone of story. However, after Mrs. Mallard recovers from a brief period of numbness and shock, she immediately becomes exhilarated by the idea of the freedom which she will gain through the loss of her husband. She confesses to having never loved him extensively and to hoping for a quick end to her dreary life as it was before Mr. Mallard’s death. Her true emotions toward the loss of her husband were not that of pain or grief as the reader might expect, but rather of delight and excitement for the freedom which she had so unexpectedly attained. Consequently, I discovered that the imagery of the beautiful and lively spring day did not serve as a direct contrast to the stark misery of her heart in order to emphasize her pain, but rather it served the purpose of reflecting her inner joy. Chopin’s imagery was symbolic of the birth of new life that Mrs. Mallard believed she had acquired. The imagery was not a reflection of love, as I might have expected; instead, the imagery was a reflection of her freedom. This imagery therefore reflects the theme of the novel, as well, which was also of freedom rather than love, which can be seen in Mrs. Mallard’s statement: “What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being” (Chopin, 327). Ultimately, Chopin’s use of imagery in this short story greatly enhanced the overall meaning of her work altogether.

"You're Ugly, Too" Question 4 Pg. 371

                Lorrie Moore’s prevalent use of irony and sarcasm throughout her short story “You’re Ugly, Too” greatly influences the tone of her story. In paragraph 6, Zoe distinguishes between irony and sarcasm by implying that irony is an entity far more layered and sophisticated than dry humor or sarcasm. Regardless, Zoe utilizes sarcasm like a weapon throughout the story, and her life is overflowing with irony. For example, Zoe alludes to the irony in her relationship with her sister Evan by mentioning that, while Zoe is the older sister and often extended a great deal of sisterly advice to Evan when they were young girls, Evan now plays the role of counselor to Zoe as Zoe complains about the dreariness of her life. Furthermore, Moore employs irony when Zoe encourages Evan to finally marry Charlie and warns Evan that “…You guys probably think living together like this is the best of both worlds, but… I’ve always found that as soon as you think you’ve got the best of both worlds… it can suddenly twist and become the worst of both worlds” (Moore, 361). The statement alone is not only an example of situational irony in the world today, but it also relates to a great deal of irony in Zoe’s own life. Zoe is offering Evan relationship advice and sharing her wisdom on how to find happiness in “both worlds” when Zoe is, in fact, the character who has been unable to find true happiness and is experiencing the worst of “both worlds.”  Zoe is therefore speaking ironically in the sense that she is offering advice to her perfectly content sister which she herself is unable to follow in order to find happiness.

                Examples of Zoe’s sarcasm occur on every page of the short story since she utilizes in conversation so frequently. One such example occurs when Zoe is speaking to Evan on the phone and encourages Evan not to marry Charlie yet. When even inquires is Zoe is just insisting on this because she is jealous that her little sister might get married first, Zoe responds by saying, “Oh, my God… I forgot to get married” (Moore, 355). Zoe is obviously very sarcastically in this instance since she clearly did not forget to get married, but rather has never fallen in love with someone and been ready for the commitment of marriage. However, the intriguing aspect of Moore’s constant use of both irony and sarcasm is that Zoe’s sarcasm in and of itself is ironic. On one hand, Zoe’s constant use of sarcasm in conversation is one of the most likable aspects of her character, for it points to her wittiness and makes her a more personable individual. Zoe also often uses sarcasm as a way to make light of the fact that she is still single. However, although this sarcasm can sometimes make her a more likable person, she simultaneously utilizes her sarcasm as a guard to hide her loneliness and insecurities. Therefore, her sarcasm is ironic in the sense that it is likely to be one of the largest factors in keeping her from finding the person she lives. Clearly, sarcasm and irony play a significant role in “You’re Ugly, Too.”

"Delight in Disorder" Question 2 pg. 980

                Examples of oxymoron are prevalent throughout Robert Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” and greatly contribute to the work’s overall meaning of discovering beauty in disorder and delight in imperfection. The first oxymoron seen in the poem appears in line 1, where the reader describes a “sweet disorder” in a dress (Herrick, 979). Normally, the word “disorder” carries a somewhat negative connotation, indicating that sloppiness has led to a displeasing unkemptness. However, by adding the word “sweet” in front of “disorder,” Herrick implies that the chaotic nature of disorder is actually desirable or pleasing. Another example of oxymoron can be seen in line 4, in which the author refers to a scarf messily thrown around the shoulders as a “fine distraction” (Herrick, 979). Similar to disorder, distraction in and of itself often carries an unsatisfactory connotation; after all, distractions are often seen as annoying deterrents or nuisances. However, when the word “fine” precedes the word “distraction,” the speaker conveys the idea that this distraction is actually pleasing to the eye. Perhaps the speaker even intends to suggest that such a distraction is a pleasant relief from the monotony of life that lacks any distraction whatsoever. Lastly, Herrick employs another oxymoron in line 12, in which he remarks that a carelessly tied shoestring represents to him a “wild civility” (Herrick, 979). Civility typically conveys the sense of calm, reserved, and refined demeanor; however, the word “wild” stands in stark contrast to civility by implying a sense of rebelliousness or free spirit. While these examples of oxymoron are interesting to analyze, they actually serve a functional purpose in the poem by conveying the author’s central theme. The entire essence of Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” is to discuss the ways in which beauty can be even more apparent and evident in disorder and imperfection that in things that lack uniqueness or strive to be flawless. The speaker admires a woman with an untied shoelace or tangled ribbons on her dress more than a woman who is always in pristine condition because he believes that this disorganization radiates a sense of life and humanity that perfection tries to mask. He sees much more beauty in something which does not attempt to hide its imperfections. The examples of oxymoron in this poem which bring a pleasant nature to words which typically convey negative connotations reinforces this idea that delight can actually be found in disorder.