Infanticide... yea or nay?

In class, we read a biting satire by Jonathan Swift. "A Modest Proposal" was published in 1729, as a pamphlet describing a solution to Ireland's poverty... the solution was to take the poor people's children and eat them, or skin them alive to make shoes and gloves. In his pamphlet, however, Swift did propose serious solutions such as incorporating women into the work force, only purchasing products manufactured in Ireland, and taxing absentees at five shillings a pound.

Reading Swift's pamphlet brought us to Peter Singer's philosophy's. Singer is said to be the Swift of today. Singer argues for Infanticide (the allowance of parents to kill their children before it reaches a year old). I feel that Singer has a valid point; if a child has some sort of disability, then it is a given the the child's life will be so much more difficult. We have no trouble putting sick animals down... so why do we make humans suffer for approximately 75 years? I, personally, would never be able to kill a child... but I do think Singer makes a good argument.

So happy to be back

I am soooooooo happy to have the Internet again.... I have been without for about a week, and it has been driving me insane!

I have a few topics that I am anxious to post about; but, unfortunately, I do not have time at the moment.

So here is a quick artistic post. No, Van Gogh was not french by birth... but he died in France so I believe that it's not breaking my rule to post some of his artwork. "Starry Night" is one that almost everyone has seen or heard of.... but so much can be taken from this piece.... and I have heard so many people discuss this painting and almost each one interprets it differently.

Personally, when I look at this painting, I think of the Aurora Borealis. I believe that the northern lights bring hope to the people in the poor, darkened city below.

Les Miserables is Amazing!

The Ogunquit Playhouse's production of Les Miserables, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, was simply spectacular. The cast did a phenomenal job. In the play, when the french citizens sang about their outrage with the parliament and the royal family, the audience could feel the passion emanating from the actors/actresses. For those who are unfamiliar with the plot of Les Mis.:

The play opens with a middle-aged man, Jean Valjean, who was released from jail, after nineteen years, for stealing a loaf of bread. His release, however, doesn't truly bring him freedom because he must always present his papers (explaining his criminal record) in every town he travels to. Additionally, these papers give managers the right to reduced Valjean's pay; thus, he never receives a fair amount of payment for the hard labor that he does.

When spending a night in a bishops home, Valjean sneaks out in the middle of the night stealing silver from the premises. He is caught and brought back to the bishop, and Valjean is shocked to find the bishop has stated to the police that he gave the silver to Valjean.

Jean Valjean then decides to change his life. Valjean changes his name, makes use of the money (from the Bishop's silver) to become the owner of a factory, and eventually becomes the mayor of a distant town. All the while, Inspector Javert-- a prison guard-- suspects that the mayor is really Jean Valjean.

Jean Valjean meets a woman, Fantine, on the street one night. After losing her job at Valjean's factory, Fantine was forced to become a prostitute to help support her daughter. Fantine becomes ill and dies, but Valjean promises that he will take care of Fantine's daughter, Cosette.

Valjean attains custody of Cosette and raises her as they hide in a monastery for nearly a decade. Once again, after all these years, Valjean opens himself up to discovery by Javert when Cosette desires to see the world. Cosette meets and falls in love with a young student, Marius, who a rebel in the French Revolution.

Javert continues after Jean Valjean, Cosette is seeing Marius, the revolution has begun and the lives of all these inter-related characters are being torn apart. Yet, love manages to blossom, even in these dangerous times... while death comes to others.

The play is a musical.... at times the music is heart-wrenching... and at others, these pieces are the most beautiful compositions one has ever heard. The play is very serious, but comedic relief is provided by the Thenardiers (a bar owner and his wife). This play brings forth almost every emotion one can imagine. One can be laughing hysterically at Mr. Thenardiers thwarted sexual advances upon all of the women in the bar, when just five minutes earlier one was in tears because of Fantine's tragic demise.

The Rivals

"The Rivals" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan was supposedly a comedy. However, much like Shakespeare's comedies, I did not find "The Rivals" to be hilarious or hysterical.

"The Rivals" takes place in Bath, England during the 18th century. In the play Captain Absolute, masquerading as Ensign Beverly, courted a beautiful young heiress, Lydia Languish. Absolute's father surprised his son with his arrival in Bath, and informed Captain Absolute that he had arranged a marriage for him. At first the captain objected, but then he discovered that the woman his father had in mind was Miss Languish. This raised a new problem: Lydia greatly desired to run off and elope with Beverly, although her Aunt forbid it, and she refused to meet or marry Captain Absolute.

Meanwhile a rival suitor, Bob Acres, was persuaded to challenge Beverly to a duel even though Acres was terrified of being killed. Yet, everything was resolved when Acres discovered that Beverly was really Absolute, an old friend. Absolute makes his true identity known to Lydia, and she decided that she would marry the captain, even though he was not a poor ensign.

I found that this play was quite enjoyable; the plot was quite intriguing. The language, however, was a bit difficult at times; but, compared to Shakespeare's plays it was a piece of cake.

The Villains of King Lear

In Shakespeare's "King Lear" there were five important villains: Edmund, Cornwall, Oswald, Regan, and Goneril. Although they were all evil characters, there were differences in their villainy.

Edmund was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Gloucester. When he was born, the stars were in an alignment that prophesied Edmund would become evil. I don't believe that Edmund ever truly wanted to be evil, but he became evil because he felt that he must. After Edmund had been stabbed in a duel with his brother, Edgar, he admitted to all of the villainous acts he had committed. Additionally, just before he died, Edmund confessed that he had ordered the captain of his army to murder Cordelia. Edmund attempted to stop the murder before he passed away, but was, unfortunately, too late.

The Duke of Cornwall was not a prominent character in King Lear. He did, however, commit the atrocious act of gouging out Gloucester's eyes. Cornwall seemed to be a very cold, harsh character. However, I believe that the evil he committed was for his wife, Regan.

Regan was King Lear's middle child. She, along with her husband, was responsible for allowing Gloucester to go blind by gouging out his eyes. Regan, however did not seem to be as harsh as her elder sister, Goneril; in fact, I believe she became evil because she was following her sister's lead. Regan seemed to be following her sister's wishes throughout the play. For example, after Goneril had banished Lear from her castle, Regan would not allow Lear to stay with her either; when Goneril wanted to have an affair with Edmund, Regan did also; and when Goneril decided to send her armies to attack Cordelia's, their youngest sister, armies Regan did too.


Oswald, Goneril's servant, also followed Goneril's wishes. Oswald did not commit any great, evil act. He did Goneril's bidding, however, and was thus sent out to do evil tasks. What can be looked upon as his redeeming quality, however, was that he served Goneril with unwavering loyalty.

Goneril was the most evil, vicious, power- hungry character in "King Lear"; every move she made was for personal gain. She banished her father from her castle, she sent her armies to attack her youngest sister, she cheated on her loving husband with Edmund, and she ended up murdering Regan and committing suicide at the finale of the play. Goneril was the root of most of the evil and disasters in "King Lear". Goneril never showed any remorse for all the hurt and suffering she caused, and she was without any redeeming qualities.

Are you comfortable presenting?

I am astounded by the people who can present their works to a room full of people. It simply amazes me when someone boldy saunters to the front of a class and confidently reads his or her paper aloud. I absolutely detest having others read/ hear my writing.... I'm very self- consious about what I write. To paraphrase Gilmore Girls: writing is like a love affair, you don't want to let other people in on it. Additionally, when I have to present a paper and I see the 20 pairs of eyes peering up at me I feel queasy, and I tend to stutter. Those who are comfortable presenting in front of their peers deserve a round of applause.... not everyone can do what they can.

Monet Monday: 10/6/08

Monet always lived close to the Seine River... he was fascinated by water; by its transparency and the way it cast reflections. Monet painted "La Seine à Vétheuil" in 1879.

"Ideology"... not ideal

Ideally, I'd like to be able to come home and relax... this, however, is not a perfect world and homework consumes our lives. As it turns out, one will always be doing homework. Even after one graduates from high school/ college.... work always comes home with you. Soooo not fair!

Anyhoo... I got home and began reading "Ideology" by James H. Kavanagh, and let me tell you- it was not a pleasure to read. Although, I did like how Kavangh related Marxism to Ideology... it is an interesting point of view. However, his writing was very complex, analytical, and difficult to understand. I generally enjoy reading; this piece, however, has given me an incredible headache... and I do not wish to read anything else for a very long time.