I am College Board

Read carefully the following poem written by William Cullen Bryant. Then in a well-written eassay, analyze the literary devices the author uses in the poem, and determine how they contribute to the poem's greater meaning.

The Yellow Violet

BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT

When beechen buds begin to swell,

  And woods the blue-bird’s warble know,

The yellow violet’s modest bell

  Peeps from the last year’s leaves below.

Ere russet fields their green resume,

  Sweet flower, I love, in forest bare,

To meet thee, when thy faint perfume

  Alone is in the virgin air.

Of all her train, the hands of Spring

  First plant thee in the watery mould,

And I have seen thee blossoming

  Beside the snow-bank’s edges cold.

Thy parent sun, who bade thee view

  Pale skies, and chilling moisture sip,

Has bathed thee in his own bright hue,

  And streaked with jet thy glowing lip.

Yet slight thy form, and low thy seat,

  And earthward bent thy gentle eye,

Unapt the passing view to meet

  When loftier flowers are flaunting nigh.

Oft, in the sunless April day,

  Thy early smile has stayed my walk;

But midst the gorgeous blooms of May,

  I passed thee on thy humble stalk.

So they, who climb to wealth, forget

  The friends in darker fortunes tried.

I copied them—but I regret

  That I should ape the ways of pride.

And when again the genial hour

  Awakes the painted tribes of light,

I’ll not o’erlook the modest flower

  That made the woods of April bright.

MY thoughts about the Senior Project

Overall I really didn't like the Senior project. I honestly thought that It was a waste of my time because, There was alot to do and the whole process was tedious. I didn't have a problem completing the tasks it's just that I felt that some of the forms to complete were unnecessary and did not aid in educating me. To be honest I really don't think that there could have been anything to do to make the process easier or to more helpful. With that being said, I'm not saying that the process is helpless I'm just saying that you did a very good job to make the process easy for us in relation to Mrs kuyler's class. The only suggestion I have is to lower the number of bib cards that are needed to get a good grade maybe like 35 because they were helpful but annoying.

Dear Estella

   Hello Estella my name is Abdullay Sanoe and I would consider myself a realist from the United States. I personally wanted to know why you are so fake. When I say fake it is a colloquial term meaning deceitful or shifty. I say this because you are very haughty and constantly lead men on with intentions of breaking their hearts later on, especially Pip. I understand that it was not fully your fault but I am also sure that you were old enough to realize what you were doing and know that you were wrong in doing so and the consequences of such. You trained as a lady and built am image of one of a higher social class but I know the real you, or at least I know of the information about your past. I know that currently your mother is a house maid who works for Jagger named Molly and I also know that your father was a convict named Magwitch. With that being said you are no better than anyone, especially Pip as you both have similar past situations. Sure you are beautiful, but your beauty is not a justification for your actions. The way you behave towards men and even people in general is synonymous to that of the way people treat pawns in the game of chess. You use men for your own selfish gains and you treat them as if they are insignificant creatures whose sole purpose of existence is to fawn over and acknowledge your presence. I honestly despise fake people and people like you. I feel that the way you behaved is not how a human being is supposed to behave to another human being. I also feel that you got your just deserts in losing your social esteem and being unhappily married to your late husband. I really feel that you should have taken Pips offer in his marriage to you. Pip unlike Drummle is a kind guy and would have been a perfect match for you while he was younger. I like your change in character but I am disappointed to realize that it took you 11 years and an unpleasant marriage to realize your mistakes in life. Ultimately though, I am happy that you did eventually change for the better. I just wanted to get my thoughts out and really have nothing more to say.

                                                                                              Sincerely Abdullay  

Beloved VS. Beloved

I am not a movie critic but if I was then I would say that the Movie version of “Beloved” was ok. When I say ok it’s more between great and decent.  To be honest I don’t really like to watch movies from 2006 and below just because my eyes have become accustomed to a type of definition. Now with that being said I won’t knock the movie because of the effects because I realize that technology wasn’t as advanced as it is now. I will say though that the movie worked within their limits as far as trying to capture on film a novel such as Beloved. The only problem (besides the definition), is some actors and the fact that the directors or whoever failed to allow the viewers to view some background knowledge about the people at sweet home which in a sense takes away a huge part of the novel.  I also felt that the directors focused too much on the eerie nature of the novel, as it wasn’t the whole point or theme of the novel.

For me personally, the movie adaptation of the novel failed, with the casting of the actors for the roles of the characters from the book. The first example of this being Danny Glover. When I envisioned Paul D., I thought of a young handsome and muscular type of man (no offense to Danny Glover). In the movie Danny Glover seemed a little stiff and not fluid to me. In the novel Paul D. was smooth and he talked in a way that made people want to listen to him. Paul D. was basically good with the ladies, but from reading the body language of Danny Glover I did not see that. An example of this would be the scene in which, Paul D. met Seethe. If I was Seethe and Danny was talking to me the way he did I would seem uninterested and really bored. The other actor That I found a problem with was the actor playing Denver. I felt that her acting was weak and did not particularly fit the role of Denver. Denver was a character that has been through much emotional and Physiological despair being a child in a haunted house and basically being isolated from the outside world. The actor playing Denver’s acting was lackluster and showed no emotion for someone playing the character Denver. The scenes that I really had a problem with from this actor were the one when Paul D. came into the home and she started crying and the scene when Beloved was introduced. I thought in these scenes her acting was really poor.

The Directors did not find some way to inform the viewers on the past of the characters at sweet home such as Paul D. and Seethe. This simple neglect really hurt the movie adaptation because so much of the novel was about the past and embracing it so that one may be able to move on to the future. The task of simply having characters have a flashback of their past would have suffice. If the directors would have filled those gaps the, it would have been easier for the audience to feel pathos for Seethe and Paul D.

 The eriee nature of the novel I feel was emphasized more than it should have. There were things that added, to that horror movie type of feel from the spooky music, to the scenes of poltergeists, the insanity of Seethe and the acting of Beloved. I felt that this side of the novel should have been toned down a bit and should only be there so show the pain that the characters are going thorough and their mental deterioration.

Aside from the Problems named above the movie was great. I give the directors credit because the novel Beloved was in fact hard to showcase on the big screen. The movie adaptation worked within its limits and really is all that it could do. There are just some things in a novel that a movie cannot do and try as they might the directors could not change that such as being inside the heads of different characters and the stream of consciousness of the three characters within the novel. Like I said the directors tried and in their efforts they did okay which is all you can ask for, and which is what the movie adaptation showed.

The second debate

  I thought that this debate was better than the first one mainly due to the fact that you did not participate in the debating. I also thought that my team won, because we had the better argument. The other team continually brought up the argument about the kkk, however we continued to thrash it down. The other team was a bit clearer in getting out their arguments but we as a team had better arguments and were better in defending our side. I really enjoyed this debate in a sense it felt easier than the last, probably because we had a little practice from the debate that we had before and we knew what to expect. I really didn't see any flaws that were in this debate I thought that everything ran smoothly despite the time issue at the end. As stated before this debate was good and I hope that we may have another.

Slavery and Beloved

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/28/lincolns-legacy-fights-modern-slavery/

The article above focuses mainly on the Idea of slavery even after it was abolished 150 years ago. The article talks about modern slavery, its characteristics and those who are affected by it. The article begins with a victim Shelia white who was forced into prostitution on the streets of New York City in which she describes the feeling of self-deprivation that can occur. The article talks about the surprising number of people that are modern slaves, or those who are forced to do work against their will. The article goes on to state the amount of money that is received annually through this illegal business. The Polaris project is an anti-trafficking organization that helps former modern slaves and tries to raise awareness and ultimately stop the trafficking of humans. This article relates to the novel Beloved in the sense that the modern slaves of today are a lot like the slaves depicted in the novel. Like Sethe white was forced to do work and beaten if she disobeyed. The gross realization that this sort of thing is still happening today especially in the United States you wonder whether our society is as good as we think it is.

To Be Loved or Not to Be loved

 From my experiences with life, family and reading various novels the question of whether the past ever dies is a hard one. For some people it is easy to live by the saying "Forgive and Forget" but to what extent is that saying true and to what extent do the people really live by that saying. I would say that the past does not die and stays with us but it takes the person to be able to not dwell in the past and move on with the present and subsequently the future.

The past cannot ever die metephorically speaking because it is a composition of memories that we as humans might find important. No matter how much we fool ourselves and say that the past never happened all we are doing is further sinking ourselves in a hole of misery. In the case of Berniece from the piano lesson, her inability to let go of the past (not forget) affected her, and the people that she loved in a negative way. The person that was being hurt the most was her child. All the talk of the ghost and and the constant fighting between Berniece and Boy Willie added up and affected the mental stability of the child so much so that she feared sleeping up stairs for fear of the ghost. One reason that the past cannot die is because we are constantly reminded of the past by things that area associated with the past in out everyday lives. Using the piano lesson, as an example again, the piano for Berniece was a constant reminder of the past, of her parents of which she felt that she could not give away, destroy or throw out. It is because of this constant reminder that some people often get consumed by the past and cannot lead normal lives. This example is also present in  the novel Beloved, where Paul D. Garner and Seathe's daughter Denver are a reminder to Seathe, of Sweet Home and the atrocities that she survived through. The Painfull memories of being raped and Wipped like a dog. Theses reason are why the past cannot "die", but like I said before it takes a strong someone to acknowledge the past with all that it bears and move on.

BenchMark Stuff

1. Number 4 asked why Vivian thought that the quote was vilely phrased. The question was not that difficult at all I think the reason why most people got  this wrong is because they read the passage and Vivian's response and thought that the answer had to deal with nature or art(Otherwise letter E) when it was actually really simple. Also they probably didn't know what pretentious meant so that was a handicapping.

2.Number 7 asked for the primary rhetorical function of the sentence in quotes. This was a fairly hard question because it required much thought on what the author was trying to do with the quote and the student had to read the passage to understand what the sentence was about. I personally chose the answer choice B which was wrong. I had no idea that the author was introducing a digression from the central topic.

3. Number 9 asked the reader to figure out what argument the second speech repeats from the first. This question was not hard at all I think that the reason I missed this was because I misinterpreted the question that was being asked. Instead of looking at the main focus of the 2 speech and getting its ideals I thought about the ideal that mainly recurred in the first speech but not really much in the second speech. After going back and reading the second speech there is clear evidence to support the correct answer choice.

4. Number 13 Asked the reader to identify where the comedy of the passage derived from. I think that this question is only hard if the reader could not see the paradoxes in the passage and if the reader got lazy and just picked the answer choice that seemed the easiest and falsely obvious. I was considering C to be the correct answer but I was not sure of myself and I was being lazy so I picked the answer choice D.

5. Number 21asked the reader to determine, grammatically the function of the word Plumes. This was an easy grammar question. I got this question right and knew that it was clear that Plumes was the direct object of Lift.

6. Number 24 asked the reader to determine the least idiosyncratic aspect of Dickinson's poem. This question is hard if the reader does not know the meaning of the word idiosyncratic. Other than not knowing the meaning of that word the question was easy. The meter other than other aspects of the poem was conventional and consistent, while the other aspects listed were weird. 

7. Number 54 asked the reader to determine what the character Louisa believed that Joe Dagget functioned to her. I don't know if this question is hard or not because I did not get to it. I guess the answer for this and got it wrong. Nevertheless this question could be difficult because it is a characterization question and asked the reader to judge based on the events that occurred what the character Louisa thought about Joe.

I don't particularly like the score that I got on this benchmark. I had generally been doing well on the benchmarks but I think that i dropped the ball on this one. The primary reason for my low score I think is over analysis at times and spending too much time trying to figure out the right answer to some questions and not others. I think that the best thing for me to do is learn to skim through the passages based on the questions and try to answer the questions that way unless it asks me for themes or big ideas. From now on I am going to implement the strategy that I stated before. I also feel for the benchmarks that I try to based more of my answers on examples from the text and not mere speculation. My goals for the Benchmark will probably be grades within the 80-100 range.

I liked the progress that I have gotten with my past essays. I have done well as my essays have usually been top tier in the 6-8 range. The reason for this is that I am thinking a lot better and I have tried to focus my analysis on mostly tone imagery and themes and have set up a little formula for how I am going to write my essay based on the type of essay that I am supposed to write. Because of the formula that I adapted from you I feel a lot less under pressured and capable of writing my analysis of poems or prose. As for goals for my essays I still have not gotten that coveted 9 on any essay which I have been searching for. I don't particularly know what I need to do to get a 9 but that is my goal for the moment. I hope to talk to you about this. As for what I need to work on in my writing I need to focus more on the little thing which serve as evidence for my big ideas or my thesis and I still feel that the level of insight in my essays can be a bit insightful.

The Debate

   I honestly enjoyed the debate that we had in class. As of the topic of who won It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Anyone who actually paid attention the the debate could know that you (Mr. Beddingfield) beat us easily. Although I feel that you clearly won as it relates to the trial itself I, I don't feel like we had a legitimate chance of winning. The reason for this is that, you (Mr. Beddingfield) switched your stance from banning the book (Huckleberry Finn) to not having the book taught or canonizing the book. By doing this you allowed us the students no chance for winning at all, because like you did you could easily have talked about the literary merits of the novel as a counterargument then still feel that the book shouldn't be taught. I feel that in this sense we got robbed. Although I feel bad because of that aspect of the trial I ultimately feel good, because I learned a lot during the trial and I got a sort of first hand view of how a real debate would sort of look like. All in all I think that the debate was great and that we should definitely do it again.

Me Against the World

     Of all the articles that I read, I disagreed the most with the critique of Jane Smiley. Though her criticism was clear and coherent, and she made valid points against the novel, I felt that Jane  was mostly angry at Twain's novel  for not being Uncle Tom's Cabin and that she was wrong in her crititicm against Mark Twain.

Throughout  the whole article  Jane Smiley, on numerous occasions expressed anger at  Mark Twain's novel for what  I see as jealousy. It seemed to me that Smiley is angry at the praise or The novel's  "Canonization". She constantly criticized the novel for not exhibiting the same characteristics of another novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, of which she feels should be worthy of praise. Smiley says in quote that "The power of Uncle Tom's Cabin is the power of brilliant analysis married to great wisdom of feeling"(Smiley, 359). This quote exhibits just one of the few points in which Smiley expressed the feelings about Stowe's novel. Smiley also explains why Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin did not spawn American literature. Smiley states that the reason lied in Twain's novel and it's distracting properties. Personally agree with her that the Stowe's novel is brilliant and deserved praise however, I would have to say that Smiley needs to realize that the Twain's novel is not Stowe's novel and vice-versa.

I absolutely do not agree with smiley's criticsm of Twain. She criticizes Mark Twain by saying that "He knew how to give Huck a voice but didn't know how to give him a novel" (Smiley, 356). This statement is a blatant attack at his writing ability. I thoroughly disagree with the quote. To me Twain's novel is a masterpiece for one of two reasons. The first of the two is Twain's ability to capture the innocence of a child and through the child express his criticism of the society as a whole. Twain painted a picture of Huck's world and allowed Huck to grow and mature. Instead of accepting the social and religious conventions of his world, he went against them in his decision to help free Jim from captivity and Risk going to hell for it. It's easy for a mature adult to have the capacity to understand society and it's flaws but when a child begins to understand those concepts that are out of their realm of understanding it is absolutely brilliant. The latter of the two reasons why I see Mark Twain as an excellent writer lies in his ability to mix dialect and form to contribute to the function or theme of the novel. Twain's novel exhibited the idea of the archetypal hero's journey. The journey down the river with Jim resembled that of Conrad's novel. Twain used the river to symbolize freedom from the constraints of social conventions, and the journey to symbolize the inner growth of Huck. Both of these parts of the novel contribute to the themes of the novel. What's more is that these idea's are all expressed with humor, most of which was from the dialect. Because of these reasons again I feel that Smiley was wrong in her assessments of Twain and the brilliance of his novel

Humor

http://www.theonion.com/articles/on-mike-tyson-being-inducted-into-wwe-hall-of-fame,27267/

From this link the fans give their opinions about Mike Tyson being inducted into the hall of fame. The guy on the left displays irony with his statement "He should be ineligible. He never took steroids." This phrase is ironic becuase Steroids are usually frowned upon in sports because of their performance enhancing qualities, however so many athletes take them in order to be successful. The point this guy is trying to make is that unlike a lot of athlete who made it to the hall of fame Mike Tyson actually worked hard and did have to cheat to gain success, he earned it. It is better that the fan used irony because it expresses his feelings more when he says something contrary to what he believes. Its better that he said something fun because humor usually garners more attention than being straightforward and serious, becuase its easily understood and less in your face.

Dear Mark Twain

Now I's noes that yo name is a Mr. Samuel Clemons. I's jus' likes to say dat I outa applaude you for yo novel "D adventures of Huckleberry Finn". I's noes dat dis here novel was not easy to write. I's enjoyes the novel plenty much. When I'sa first began to read the novel I'sa thinkin dat dis some silly O novel abouta boy goin on some silly adventure, but now I's know dat this novel is som'in serious. Dis novel is real mighty funny but at the same time there'sa alota criticism about society and the people who reside. First of all about the society I'sa feel dat yo critiscism was mighty right. theres plenty examples about the evils of the society but Im gonna start with the issue of racism. I'sa feel dat you take dis relavant part of the novel and expand on it. In the novel you show how the people in the soci'ty can be rash and impusive with thier mob mentality and how the soci'ty because of their ignorance allow the evil to get away with their deeds. fo instance the scene wheres The real wilks brothers are quiclky condemned to death along with the frauds even though evidence clearly showed dat the wilks brothers were genuine. In dat scene the people because of thier ignorance allowed the dasterdly duo to escape back to the raft. Another scene in which the two show how evil they r is when they don gon and lick Huck in the dorse wen theyd gon and sold Jim for greed and possibly revenge. These two scenes holdnrelevant importance cause there the ones in which Huck shows growth and made decisions. In the first scene discussed he discontinnued to be neutral party and realized that he had to do some'in. He was the one who put the gold in the dead wilks coffin and told Mary Jane it was there. In the other scene he had a realization in which hed rather dance with the devil's unda belly than not try and save Huck. cause of the way u try to show the people of the soci'ty the flaws that and present and instill some change, I deem this yo novel extr N' ary and worth the read.

Sincerly
Abdullay

What is a Huckleberry?

So far as I have been reading the novel Huckleberry Finn It has occurred to me that the novel was not what I expected it to be. The more I read the story the more I realized many of the underlying themes that Mark Twain set to discuss or criticize. I believe that many of these themes include the importance of trust between humans and flaws of society

In the novel Mark Twain set up the idea of trust first with the relationship between the boys of the “Tom Sawyer gang” in the cave. This scene between the boys in the cave emphasized the importance of trust when Tom said that the boys had to take a blood oath and promise not to tell anyone of the group’s secrets or else their family members would be killed. Though young, ignorant, and naive these boys are capable of understand a concept that is beyond their comprehension. With that idea present it is easier for the reader to understand the growing relationship between Huck and Jim. Jim is constantly hurt or fooled by Huck in the novel. One instance of this abuse is when Huck played a trick on Jim in which he put the dead snake near Jim and the snake’s mate came and bit Jim in the leg which resulted in Jim being poisoned and his leg swollen. This scene shows that the two are far from a trustworthy relationship because Huck has not committed to it. Later on however in the novel the trust between the two changes because Huck begins to realize that Jim is genuine in his care for Huck and that Huck should stop playing tricks on him. One scene that illustrates this is when Huck does not turn Jim in to the men that approached the boat.

The flaw of the society is key theme in the novel. Mark often criticizes the society that he lives in through satire. One instance in which he does this is when Huck meets Buck and the Grangerfords who are a family that are in a long lasting feud with the Shepherdson yet neither of the clans knows why each is fighting the other. This Criticisms shows that humans can be stupid and ignorant and use that ignorance to cuase harm. Another scene in which Twain criticizes the society is with the two men the Dauphin and the Duke. Twain characterizes the two as unscrupulous people who in the past have conducted shady business. Thier schemes are shown even more when one man decides to go to another town and trick the people in order to raise money for what he called a conversion of his mates while the other sold fliers and advertisements for money. through humor Mark shows how money and greed can effect humans causing them to take advantage of others. This says that the society in which Twain lived is not all perfect.

Othello questions

The circumstantial evidence that is added to Othello's case against Desdemona is the handkerchief that Othello gave to her, but was found to be with Cassio

I find it very unplausable that he Othello looked on right when Cassio wS tossed the handkerchief, I believe it was put in for dramatic effect. The handkerchief is very important in the play because it symbolized Othello's love for Desdemona, and now it serves as evidence for Othello to suspect Desdemona of infidelity. The hints are found in the reaction Othello gets from seeing the handkerchief with Cassio.

The perceived evidence of the handkerchief and Cassio's supposed confession of the two prevent Othello from being moved by Desdemona's appeal

The conversation between Emilia and Desdemona reveal that Emilia does not like how women get treated and feels that women are like men in almost all characteristic whereas it reveals about Desdemona that she is honorable and is willing to stay and stand on what she believes is truth even though she knows she is going to die.

The scene with Casio, Othello, and Iago contains dramatic irony because the audience knows the reasoning fir Iagos questioning but Cassio does not.

Act 5 questions

The events that lead to Iago's unmasking start with Emilia's confessions about how Iago axles her for the handkerchief and how Iago lied and conjured up the whole schemes with his lies.

Iago stabs and kills Roderigo so that his plan is not ruined. He knows that if Cassio and the others find Roderigo to be a friend of Iago they would put the information together and discover Iago for what he is.

I believe that A mixture of Jealousy and a wish to be a public avenger are why compells Othello to kill Desdemona.

The plot thickens

In act two of the Play The tragedy of Othello things have gotten a bit more interesting. In thus act it seems that the schemes of Iago are coming into play. At the beginning of the Act we are introduced to montano and three other Gentlemen. From there talking the reader can come to the conclusion that they are awaiting the arrival of the general Othello and the Luitenant Cassio, who have deafeated the Turks at sea and drowned thief ships. The men including Montano praise and herald Othello as a wise kind and magnificent General, and pray for him and Cassio's return both of whom have lost each other at sea. Later Cassio arrives and chats with the men, then soon Iago. Desdemona, Rodrigo and Emilia arrive. Iago and Desdemona seem to have a sort of battle of wits or argument, which is started by Iago's critism of his wife Emilia. Desdemona takes offense to his criticisms of her and asks him to criticize her in the same way. Their battle of wits ends with Iago's poem and Desdemona dismissing his ideas as lame and impotent and telling emila to not learn from her husband. Afterwards Iago watches how intimately Cassio and Desdemona talk to one another and how Cassio grabs Desdemona by the palms and figures that Cassio loves her. Iago plans on using this information to bring about the downfall of Cassio and ultimately spur jealousy In Othello. Othello finally arrives and he and Desdemona converse about their love for each other. At the same very moment Iago pulls Rodrigo to the side and informs him of another scheme that is aimed at Cassio. Iago explains to Rodrigo the plan and why Cassio should be used to sprout jealousy in Othello. Iago tell Rodrigo about how much of a loose women Desdemona is and that she's want to court such a handsome man as Cassio. The plan from Iago to rodrigo is for Rodrigo to come and enrage Cassio by any means necessary why he stands watch at his post during the night which would because Cassio's is known to have a hot temper.

The Article

As a person that is interested in psychology and other things that contribute to how the minds of humans work, I thought that the Sigmund Frued article was most compelling. The article covers the topic of Destiny more specifically the destiny of Oedipus the King. Frued states that the reason the story is so compelling to modern-day audiences as it was the Greek audiences lies in the fact that Most people are able to relate to Oedipus. the psychologist Frued presents the idea known as the Oedipus Rex complex, which he explains in the article. Freud believes that like Oedipus when men are borh there is a natural sexual impulse towards their mothers, and hate or a murderous impulse towards their father. Freud states that our dreams are the ones that convince us of these ideas. Whats interesting is that Frued believes that when "the poet Sophocles brings Oedipus' guilt to light he is compelling us to recognize our own inner minds, in which the same impulses lie". After reading this and learning of the complex I thought, back and could throughly understand why mothers often have a natural affinity with their sons. This aritical further enlightened me on Frueds ideals and at the say time was a joy to read

Oedipus questions

Here are the answers to the questions of the play Oedipus the King

The prophet Tiresias reveals the guilt of Oedipus very explicitly because he gives specific details about the prophecy and how talks on how Oedipus feels about the prophecy. I think that it is a stupidity on Oedipus's part because the clues and hints of the prophecy and his fathers murdered could easily have been figured out. Oedipus deep down probably knew think but didn’t want to admit it.

Yes I agree with the interpretation, though some of Oedipus's faults plaid into the whole outcome of his downfall I feel that he was helpless in the least and that his ignorance was at fault.

In the Play the character Jocasta is a round character in that she has a distinct personality. Unlike normal queens who do not speak out about their king she has her own opinion about how Oedipus was acting like in the lines 998-1011.

Dramatic irony is when the readers know something about the character that the character does not know. With dramatic irony characters usually say something that is ironic but they are not aware of it whereas we the readers are. A good example of dramatic irony is the fact that Oedipus's pride as the kind blinds him from seeing the truth where as the prophet Tiresias who is blind is able to see  the truth. Dramatic irony contributes to the effectiveness of the play because they are often results of the main character's harmartia.

The advantage of acts of violence or bloodshed being said instead of acted include the fact that actors would not have to die for no reason also the audience would not have to view graphic acts of gore. The disadvantage to not having the violence shown on stage is that the audience is not able to see the emotion of the scene and thus cannot fury pity or understand the pain of the characters. With the lessening of injury description or impact is also lessened. 

Oedipus blinds himself because he cannot come to grips with the atrocities that he committed to his parents and He could probably also feel that his eyes and his sight caused him to be blind to the truth. 

Towards the end of the play I pity him a lot and I feel that he did not truly deserve what happened to him. Though I know he was arrogant and prideful but I know he did it for his people and in a way in the name of honor.

At the end of the play I feel ill-will towards the gods. I feel that the gods seemed tyrannical and unjust which is the opposite of what they are supposed to be. The gods to me played with the life and fate of Oedipus before he was even old enough to realize it which is wrong. Along with the previous they accentuated the situations in order to get the results that they decreed. With all this I know though that the play expressed reverence to the gods because with all the situations that happened the people often talked about looking to the gods with pray for help, Even Creon stated to Oedipus he did not kill or exile him because he was not sure that it was the way the gods wanted.

To me I think that the play does not end in total gloom. I say this because even though Creon is left as the king and his greed is clear which could mean trouble later, and Oedipus is exile and leaves his daughters in the care of Creon Oedipus learns from his mistakes and realizes his mistakes and tryst to make amends for them.

As for the theme of this play I think that it is Ignorance is a terrible thing that leaves individuals bereft of truth or knowledge. An example of a scene that relate to the theme are when Oedipus is doomed because he does not know of his parentage and prophecy and proclaims to bring justice by punishing King Laius's killer who was actually him. Also the fact that  

Oedipus The King

 We have read many texts to this point in our AP Literature career, most of these texts were novels and poems and drama and plays were a rarity. The story of Edipus the king in particular is very similar in story as it relates to hamartia, catharsis, and pathos. The story is Things Fall Apart by chenua Achebe.

In the play Oedipus the king we find that the king Oedipus's hamartia is his arrogance, he feels that he is better than the citizens and feels that everything that is happening in his kingdom is felt more by him. Oedipus's arrogance and his insecurities in going after the person who murdered the Last king is something ended up being his down fall. He was unaware of the fact that he in truth was the murderer and that the prophecy had come true and his death was enevitable. This same situation happens in the novel Things Fall Apart. The warrior Okonknwo is heralded in the town of Umofia and it was felt that we would continue on with success however Okonkwo's stern demener proved to be the cause of his death and inability to accept the changes that were occuring in the village of Umofia.
    With Catharsis in  the play  the realese of emotions come after we know all that has happened to the hero Oedipus. We the reader witness his arrogance prove to be his downfall, his bearing a child with his mother and her suicide, and his ultimate death after knowlege of the prophecy. After all of this we the reader feel pity for Oedipus and but we as well as Oedipus realize that it was because of himself that the situations occured and thus we accept it. The issue of Catharsis also is relevant in the novel Things Fall Apart. Much like the play we feel that Okonkwo's suicide was the result of his own doings and fallicies thus we feel for his death but accept it.
Pathos in the play is mostly the relinquishment of reason and basing decisions on emotion.