Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Journal 6

"I am too old to walk along the cliffs by the river (Page 29)"

This particular quote seems to demonstrate how age plays a role in this society.

"My son is a good man. He has never known a women (Page 31)"

This quote displays the cultural impact as well as the religious impact of purity. However, interestingly enough purity isn't only expected of the women in this play but also the men.

"One man, some children (Page 33)"

Again, we can see the expectations that these people and inturn society has on marriage. The man and the wife are expected to live a humble life and have children, interestingly enough two men being together aren't mentioned. Combined with Lorca being gay it seems only reasonable to assume that this is a critique of the social expectations they have imposed on themselves as opposed to him reinforcing them.

"If they tear us apart, it will be because (Page 90"

This quote shows the passion that they share for each other. No where between the Bride and the Bridegroom was such emotion displayed.

"Do you love him? I love him (Page 41)"

I found the ambiguity of this quote really crucial in building up the plot of the entire book. The Bride clearly knows who she loves, but despite this she still has to wrestle with herself and think about the decision for days.

"The bride will wear a large crown, wont she (Page 45)"

This again touches on the idea of expectations vs reality which is seen throughout the book.

"You must follow the course of your blood (Page 79)"

It seems this quote is literally saying "you have to follow your true feelings" which seems to reinforce Lorca as well as the Bride's beliefs. They have to follow the inner fire and emotions within themselves no matter what society tells them.

"It must have been another horse (Page 85)"

The ambiguity here seems really interesting as the horse essentially represents the inner fire and desire that is held. It could be that someone else, not yet known, has similar feelings or aspirations as the Bride.

"A man on his horse knows a lot (47)"

This quote seems to be a critique in the sense that when someone has power, they act like they know everything. This could be a connection to the Catholic church, because they hold immense power they're essentially "right" but only because no one can oppose them.

Journal 5

1.  The symbolism of the woodcutter, beggar woman  and moon

It seems the symbolism of the woodcutter is the equivalant of the greek theatre. They let us know about information by talking to themselves that we wouldn't otherwise be able to know.

The beggar woman, is literally death. However I found it interesting that her name is "the beggar women" which implies a extreme lack of power to influence anything contrasted with the fact that her literal name on the character list is "death" and is therefore extremely powerful.

The moon seems to literally represent time, however it seems the fact to include the moon as a character creates a surrealistic effect. This particular section of the novel is then noticed more as we almost reread whats being stated due to the unbelievable quality to it.

2.  What happens when the runaway couple are caught?

Once the runaway couple are caught, we learn that Leonardo and the Bridegroom kill themselves at the same exact time. I found it interesting how getting even for taking his bride caused him to lose his life.

3.  What happens to the Mother after the death of her son?

After the death of the Mother's son, it seems like she's in misery but also peace in a sick sense. She seems distraught by page 100 and states that she's ready to die.

4.  At least three significant lines of imagery

"The breeze is tossing flowers
along the sands (Page 56)"

"At the wide feet of the wind (Page 83)"

"The first wild birds of the morning (page 91)"

5.  What elements of a tragedy does Lorca incorporate in Blood Wedding?

It seems Lorca incorporates many elements of tradegy. One such example would be the fact that the Bridegroom and seems to have quite a fall. Before he had a large vineyard and seemingly, quite a nice life.

Journal 4

1.   Which characters appear to be miserable in the play and why?  When and how do the characters express their misery?  What do the characters desire and what stops them from going after what each desires?

One character I noticed that seems to be miserable immediately was the Bride. She immediately states that she almost doesn't want to get married, and that made me question whether the wedding would even happen at all. She states to the maid that the wedding sounds like "such misery (Page 41)". However, if she does get married it implies that Lorca does follow the archetype in the sense that she would be a good wife by getting married. Contradictorily, if she ends up not getting married it implies that he doesn't support the archetypes. However, the fact that we can't see why she may be unhappy seems to foreshadow the fact that she will be a archetypical wife as we can't relate to her.

The characters seem to most express their misery or discomfort when they are alone and no one is around. This is interesting because it almost implies they have to put on this fascade when everyone else is around and no one can really see their true selves.. This seems naturally supported by the fact that we don't know anyones true name.

This then seems to be the reason for them not going after their dreams and aspirations, the fact that they act as archetypes.

Journal 3

The water in the play seems to be a very prevalant motif throughout the play. In our cultural understanding it would have a very important impact on the characters themselves undoubtably. Without it, they couldn't farm or counteract the intense climate that they live in.

The purity of the bridegroom seems to be very important. This is demonstrated by it constantly being referenced in key moments. Furthermore, it is brought up by minor characters to the Wife even before she really asks for it which directly implies that its on everyones mind, even if its not said.

The horse could represent a way out, possibly an escape? As this is years before modern transportation was ever invented the best means of getting around would be a horse. Also the reasoning for it to constantly come up would be the fact that its a major plot point.

Xiao
I agree that Lorca seems to reject the archetype of the bride. I wonder what will eventually happen at the wedding, assuming she truly isn't happy and ends up not being an archetype for a good wife?

Sofia
I agree, but I think its important to note that Lorca generally hasn't given us the true names of anyone yet. The fact that he does this seems to imply his support for the archetypes. Also, good observation about the knife - I noticed that as well.

Journal 2

vineyard
god
saint
knife
stream
water
horse
land
dream
flowers
bury
dirt
soil
mud
silence
death
children

It seems that Lorca acts to reject the social archetypes in one sense. I find it interesting how part of the future rests with whether or not the bride is "pure". However, almost before the Wife even asks the question she's reassured that "she is a good girl". Also the emotions of the Bridegroom seem to be lacking, which I suppose in a part supports the archetype of a man. This is in the sense that a man should merely care about raising the family etc.

Journal 1

Anouilh:

Funny, how it all came to pass. It wasn´t because of his wit or integellience, but only shear luck.
Not chance, a prediction, or hope. I said luck. For else how can you come to randomly find a needle in a haystack.


Ibsen:

Justin: Hello Sir! how may i help you
FBI agent: Are your parents Home kid?
Justin: yea they are hold on one sec, Dad? Daad, mom? Daaaaaaaaad? My parents seem to be doing something. You want to come in?
FBI agent: You know, youre not supposed to invite strangers into your home.
Justin: I know, hmm stay outside then. Ill go find my Dad. Oh btw what do i tell them?
FBI agent: hm tell them they need to talk to me immediately.
Justin: oh alright, ill tell him.

Reflection:
Reading the two plays from Ibsen and Anouilh was especially interesting due to the fact that I believe there are many differences in their writings. For one, Anouilh´s style seems to be much shortly. Perhaps thats because of the tradegic nature of the play which lends itself to the short words and sentences. Also the fact that we already know whats going to happen and therefore it doesn´t need to be sophisticated. Just like the end, the word choice is simple and doesn´t try to overcomplicate it, just like the plot itself. However, with Ibsen the reading was less of an ease to read I believe. However, it seems that the biggest component of his writing was the characters themselves.