Does the past ever really die?

The past never stays dead, no matter how badly you'd want it to. This is true in Sethe's case because it seems as if she is reliving the past all over again. And now Beloved is claiming to be Sethe's dead daughter? A bit too weird. As Sethe goes on, she has these memories that remind her of the past, like the one where her mother died and she tried to run to her dead body to identify the marking on it but she was pulled away by Nan. Sethe's past seems to haunt her still and it's evident that she will not run away from it any longer.

In The Piano Lesson, Berniece and Boy Willie's past don't seem to leave them either and it was the fact that they brought their past back up that ended up saving them from Sutter's ghost. I think this is probably I sign that no matter what, you shouldn't forget about the past because you wouldn't be the person you are today without out.

As for me, I have my own past to deal with. I was 7 years old when my father passed away. I watched him die right in front of me and I remember attempting to run to him but my mother held me back and wouldn't let me. I couldn't believe what had happened. I just wanted to run over there and make sure that my dad was okay, but I guess then I didn't know any better. He had been crushed by a tree and it still stays with me to this day even though it's been over 10 years. It changed my life and my families life completely and a day doesn't go by that I don't think about it. Some days are worse than others but to answer the question, no. The past never dies.

The Debate

I have to say, I feel like the debate got really heated towards the end there and I agree, I wish we had more time. I felt as if everyone had ideas to bring to the table and at times we were even debating over each other but all in all, I gotta say that we won. Mr. B, great ideas there and great speaking to get your point across but I feel as if you only managed to stick to 2 points and repeated yourself. On the other hand, we brought up new ideas every time for why the book should be taught. You definitely had good rebuttals for them but eventually you drew the same conclusion that was supported by little evidence and based solely off of your own opinion. But hey, that's just my opinion. I feel as if we should get more time though towards the future to actually allow everyone to speak and express their own ideas.

Ironic Hipster

Well, in this rage comic right hurr, the guy obviously tells his friend how he hates hipsters and we all know hipsters supposedly did things "before" they were "hip". His friend, being the dumbass that he is, says he did all that stuff before the hipsters. This one pretty much explains itself, you know?

Dear Mr. Twain...

Dear Mr. Twain, 

                  I gotta say, I really love your books. Especially your usage of dialect and just making your characters come to life. I'm reading Huckleberry Finn at the moment and boy, what a story. I'm around chapter 26 right now and I have to say, I'm glad we're discovering how good of a person Huck really is. At first, I felt as if he was just another bad kid, like Tom Sawyer, but he's so much more than that. The fact that he tells Mary Jane about the money and finally decides to escape from the dauphin and the Duke is a big step for him. It sort of was perfect timing for the Wilk's brothers to finally show up though and expose the frauds. I just feel like even with that, they still weren't able to expose them fully, which it should've been evident. In this I can definitely tell that Huck is selfless and instead of keeping the money like he could've, all he cares about is escaping with Jim. I can see that Huck and Jim's relationship is growing and there's a lot more trust between them now. Huck is developing into a very deep character and finally showing how good of a person he really is. I guess the only thing I don't like at this point is that the dauphin and the Duke manage to find their way back to Huck. They sort of annoy me so yeah. But so far, great story, dude. 

                                                                                                                               Sincerely,

                                                                                                                            Dajana Dubric

Huck Finn

So pretty much at this point, Huck and Jim are still found with the dauphin and the duke. They're rehearsing lines of Hamlet but obviously, they don't know too much about it, but Huck still seems to find all of this very interesting. We're then taken over to a scene where some man has killed another and a mob forms to lynch him. Huck witnesses this and it sort of still shows the whole idea that there is chaos and drama wherever he goes. After that, the duke and the dauphin post flyers that they will perform a play but they don't seem to do too well. They then post another one, but only intended for men. The performance is short though and the crowd feels as if they were ripped off, but tend to take it out on the other towns people, claiming that the play was actually good so that they get ripped off as well. They earn well over 400 dollars but make their escape on the third night. Huck also witnesses a circus, where one man is doing a dangerous task. While everyone else is cheering though, Huck can't bare to watch because he is afraid for the mans life and doesn't understand why anyone would want to do anything so dangerous. Jim is now complaining that he's always tied up while everyone else leaves and goes out. They enter into the next town and find out about some guy who has just died but left an inheritance for his two brothers. The duke and the dauphin take this opportunity and go to the Wilks', claiming to be the two brothers. The plot works and they both receive 6,000 dollars. Huck feels great disgust towards them and how low they can be in performing something so terrible. This shows that Huck is a truly good person and even though he has done many things to lie and run away, he still has a conscience and manages to keep a hold of his morals.

Othello Questions

1. Evidence that is added to the case now is that Iago claims that Cassio has told him he has slept with Desdemona.

2. I feel as if it was way too planned out and perfect timing for Iago. I mean, there are some instances where that could just be a major spot on timing thing but the actuality of something like that happening isn't too great. The handkerchief is very important because it is sort of like a symbol of Othello's love for Desdemona. Othello tells the story of how his father gave it to his mother and it was supposed to be some type of magical handkerchief which is supposed to keep Desdemona in love with Othello which to me just proves how insecure he really is.

3. He feels as if there is no forgiving a "whore" and Iago has pretty much convinced him that all of these accusations are true.

5. Emilia and Desdemona are both very loyal to their husbands and not willing to cheat on them for any reason.

6. The speech where Othello calls Desdemona a cunning whore of Venice who would only marry Othello but in all actuality, she has been extremely faithful to him.

       Part V
1. The events that led to Iago's demise would have to be when all of them are in Desdemona and Othello's room where Desdemona lays dead and they are having a conversation on the handkerchief and Emilia brings up that she was the one who gave Iago the handkerchief in the first place and that is pretty much when they all realize that Iago has been the one behind all of this.

4. I would say that a lot of factors play into Othello wanting to kill Desdemona. Mostly because he feels betrayed and extremely hurt and also seeks revenge but I also feel as if his pride gets in the way.

5. He is saying that he didn't necessarily love in the wisest fashion but he did love her deeply.

6. I feel as if it does because you get to see his noble side which is very calm and collected instead of frantic and in a trance like state and he seems to have recovered from his jealous passions that caused him to kill his wife.

I'm running out of titles here...

So I guess the article that I would have to find the most compelling would probably be by E. R. Dodds. I felt like that one caught most of my attention and made the most sense to me. I strongly believe that Oedipus uncovers the human illusion of happiness and the human thirst for wanting to solve every riddle, just like this dude mentions. I feel like all of the other articles make good points but I guess I sort of had some trouble seeing exactly where they were going but this one went straight to the point, which I liked. The most compelling point that he brings up is the one of how if every man could do what Oedipus did and uncover the truth, we all would be able to see human life as the gods and time sees it. I feel like that's pretty much right. That we are all just stuck in this illusion of life and most of us are too afraid to uncover it and see it for what it really is.