Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Writing Portfolio

Writing Portfolio

I will be reviewing four of my my formal writing opportunities that I've completed this term, in which I believe that I demonstrated my best writing. These writings are Blake Comparative Analysis, The Power of Relationships, Williams Blake "On Another's Sorrow", and Kafka Metamorphosis.

My major strengths as a writer are knowing when to put a period or a comma, adding my own ideas, and to come up with a well organized thesis statement. I've learned to develop my skills in grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics of effective writing. I also learned the proper procedures to developing a research essay using literary theories.

Blake Comparative Analysis and Kafka Metamorphosis are two writings in which I believe had a great paper highlighting the proper procedures in developing a research paper using the literary theory, being that these were my first papers to complete. I managed to show where I got my research from, and use that research to support my claim in using the literary theory presented in my thesis.

I've learned to develop organizational skills for correct and clear writing in The Power of Relationships. The idea of writing a comparative analysis was not easy the first time. This paper allowed me to understand the concept of a well organized paper. It was a challenge, but I managed to get through with it so my reader could have a better understanding while reading my paper. Everything that I've mentioned above could still use some improvement. Nothing is perfect!
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FInal Project- Parody


“Eat It” Vs. “Beat It”


 

A parody and a satire are two things that cause confusion to people very often. The difference between the two words is very simple. “It can sometimes be hard to make a distinction, as Satire and Parody are both related to humor” (Prabhat). Wikipedia defines parody as, “an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation” (wikipedia). A satire is more to be elusive, which regards mockery but without mimicry. Satire also makes a serious point through humor. Weird Al Yankovic is a parodist, satirist, writer, comedian, and etc. He is best known for his humorous songs “that make light to popular culture” (wikipedia). I will be focusing on a parody Yankovic did for Michael Jackson's song "Beat It", and renaming it "Eat It.” He playfully mocked Jackson’s song “Beat It”, using his own ideas, but also incorporates some of the things you see in the original which is Michael Jackson's version. I will be reviewing "EatIt" By Weird Al Yankovic as a remix of Michaels Jackson's song"Beat It" through the literary theory Cultural Studies, and answering the essential question: How are such events interpreted and presented that is similar and different in both videos?

Jackson played a big part in Yankovics’ career as a parodist. Yankovic explains how much influence Jackson was to his career having a big leap; “I don't know what kind of career I would have today if it hadn't been for Michael Jackson. In a very real sense, he jump-started my career. 'Eat It' basically changed me from an unknown into a guy that got recognized at Burger King” (NY Daily News).


A parody is made for mocking and it may or may not provoke the society in a negative way. It should just be pure entertainment and nothing else. In the Yankovic’s “Eat It”, it’s just a lot of comedy going on. Not only does he uses the same dance moves or the same theme as Jackson’s “Beat It”, but he also changes the lyrics of the song, making it all about eating food even if you like or not because people are starving in Japan. “How come you're always such a fussy young man / Don't want no Captain Crunch, don't want no Raisin Bran / Well, don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan So eat it, just eat it” (AZ lyrics) This song will always be looked at as a part of humor to the viewers whereas, Michael Jackson song “Beat It” is clearly talking about gang violence. “They're out to get you, Better Leave While You Can / Don't Wanna Be A Boy, You Wanna Be A Man /You Wanna Stay Alive, Better Do What You Can So Beat It, Just Beat It” Jackson’s objective was to spread the message that we, people, shouldn’t indulge in violence. Instead, people should just “Beat It”. He repeats the phrase “Beat It” a plethora times in the chorus of the song which expresses the meaning behind it. The listners can comprehend the message being brought up about the gang related situations.


The Yankovic’s parody is not only different from the original film, but also similar. He inteprets his song by using the same plot and setting as Jackson did in the “Beat It” video. Michael Jackson allowed Yankovic to parody his songs twice. “Beat It” and “Bad” became “Eat It” and “fat” respectively. Jackson allowed Yankovic to use the same set he used in his videos to do his parodies of his own songs. While looking at the two videos you would think you’re watching the same thing but with different people if it was played on mute. This is how similar the videos were to each other. Yankovic mangaed to keep the same theme and plot but change the lyrics to make it humorous.


On numerous occasions, Yankovic was denied apporval to do parodies for a lot of artist. Jackson requested that he not record a parody of “Black and White”, his titles “Snack All Night” because he felt that messgae for this song was too important to make mockery of. This still does not stop Yankovic from making different parodies of different songs. Different things in each video interpret and present as great things which could be taken serious and as a joke.



Work Cited



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Monday, June 25, 2012

Annotated Bib - Final Project

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

William Blake's "On Another's Sorrow"


William Blake's “On Another's Sorrow”


 There is a strong religious theme in Blake's poem, “On Another's Sorrow.” He uses the idea of sorrow to show how we deal with it in the perspective of God and humans. Whereas, he converses that human sympathy is a precious trait. I will be focusing on the essential question: what might a given interpretation of a literary work suggest about the psychological motives of the reader through a Psychoanalytic point of view. It could change the reader’s psychological motive to where they can think or feel something different than what Blake is saying. Two psychological motives used in this poem are exploration and curiosity. Exploration is used in a way to help humans find their own ways of coping with sorrow. Curiosity is used to examine how God's position in the sorrows of humans. He also illustrated this poem an image that I imagined to be a picture that represents life with all of the vines and large leaves that are growing all around the birds flying in the sky. The image that I will be using is Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy AA, 1826 (The Fitzwilliam Museum): electronic edition object 27 (Bentley 27, Erdman 27, Keynes 27). The sky looks like a sunset is forming. To contrast between the image and the poem the issues of exploring and having the curiosity of sorrow through humans and God will be taken into consideration.

While examining this complex poem, it seems to point out two different individual’s perception of sorrow; the innocent individual of a human, and God response to sorrow. Blake explains the psychological feelings through exploration and the curiosity of sorrow in the world. People always want to explore the world or just about anything. Its the same thing when you're finding ways to help you feel better when dealing with sorrow. “Allowing yourself to grieve and you will find that with the passing of time your [sorrow] will lessen” (Dealing with Sorrow). Having curiosity with how God deals with his sorrow when he sees others who feel the same sorrow is the ability of believing in God and his abilities of making everything better. However, Blake also believes that once you see another’s sorrow, then you should feel that same sorrow.

 The image displays a human playing a pipe to a dog and and a person climbing up a tree in the bottom left of the illustration. Trees symbolizes different outlooks and parts of life. Vines in the bible represents the tree of life, hence the vine symbolizes the growth of life. As I look at the human climbing up the tree, I come to a conclusion that it feels sorrow and is looking for a better outlook in life. Focusing on the human playing the pipe with the dog, I'm predicting is a way for the person to cope with their sorrow. The dog has its head raised, maybe listening to the figure play the pipe. Blake asks, “And he who smiles on all / Hear the wren with sorrows small, / Hear the small bird’s grief and care / Hear the woes that infants bear” (Blake). He talks about Gods ability and position in the sorrows of humans. It also refers to a “wren” which is a very small bird. The small bird could possibly represent very small humans. In addition, the sky of the image looks like its forming into either a sunrise or a sunset. This can represent the emotions and the feeling of God and the humans. Sunrise; their mood is positive with the sun shining. Sunset; the dark sky but a little of sunshine can mean their mood in not positive, but negative. The image can give off different interpretations, but this was my ideas of illustration.

Blake’s certainty of the existence of sorrow in human beings is reflective of his views that the world is full of innocence and joy. Blake says in the last stanza, “O he gives to us his joy / That our grief he may destroy / Till our grief is fled and gone / He doth sit by us and moan” (Blake). In other words, he believes that God sorrows with us and helps us to overcome our grief, and also provides its own views of God’s involvement in humans’ difficulties views on religion. In the last stanza he mentions “he”, I believe he is referring to God. “Therefore, in any human sorrow, God identifies with his children, drawing alongside them. Although he gives them joy which will overcome their grief, until that process is complete he shares in their suffering” (crossref-it.). This is not a poem that concentrates on a plot, but rather, it focuses on Blake’s inquiry about the existence of sorrow from both the mortal and divine point of view. Blake is clearly very religious and his work seems to take on a propaganda towards religion.

William Blake’s “On Another’s Sorrow” is a thoughtful and intense poem about the understanding between human beings and as well as Gods sympathy. The most obvious of the poem are that humans have the ability to inherent sorrow for others and God has the power to feel sorrow for the entire world. The poem and the image are much related in my own opinion, even though certain aspects of sorrow and God were not fully illustrated in the image. Blake’s writing give the interpretation of different ideas, but here is what I thought what the text had read to me.


Works Cited







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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Feminist Criticism: Play Vs. Film


Feminist Criticism: Play vs. Film



After reading Shakespeare’s play "The Midsummer Night's Dream" and viewing the film Shakespeare-Told by Ed Fraiman, I noticed the change in the different roles produced in the play and the film. The play was written in England during the Elizabethan Era, where most men had power over women throughout the society. The film was produced in the modern world today in the year 2005. Both versions of the play focused on the difference in love relationships and friendships between men and women. A feminist study of how male and female roles are defined in both the film and the play will determine how the modern world is still in the mindset of superiority and submissive , just as the 16th century was.

Hermia, the obstinate child of Egeus, was a very strong and independent individual when it came to love in both the film and the play. She represented the character with superiority of all the women in the film. She knew what she wanted and she fought hard to confine her love for Lysander.Hermia and Lysander relationship represents true love. “Hermia is expected to be dutiful to her father, by respecting and obeying him. His over-protective parental love demands Hermia a different man, but Hermia and Lysander's determination brings the two through, again supporting true love as strong”("bookrags.com").In the play, Hermia parents was upset with her for choosing Lysander to marry and running away. In the film, her father was the only person who was upset and eager to find his daughter. “Elizabethan society was patriarchal, meaning that men were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors. Women were regarded as "the weaker sex", not just in terms of physical strength, but emotionally too. It was believed that women always needed someone to look after them. If they were married, their husband was expected to look after them” .The mother, Hippolyta, wasn't upset over the situation , instead she was upset with Egeus for going out searching for Hermia. Hippolyta knew Hermia chose the right man to marry, but blames Egeus for Hermia's disappearance. For he has caused so much pressure on her to marry Demetrius instead of Lysander. This entire scenario represents how women today in the modern world are still submissive and withstand to men on all levels of respect.

The desperate and indigent Helena in the play switches characters with Demetrius in the film to a independent women who overcame her insecurities about love. Helena begs to be with Demetrius in the play: “I am your spaniel; and Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave, Unworthy as I am to follow you” (Shakespeare, 193). But no matter how much she explains her love for Demetrius, he still denies her heart. The love between Demetrius and Helena is forced love in the play. In the film, Helena doesn't care for Demetrius as much, but instead she focused on destroying the love Hermia and Lysander had. Also she denied Demetrius love this time instead of Demetrius denying her love for him. Helena waited for Demetrius to confess his love for her. As a women in the 16th century, Helena should not be chasing Demetrius down because they are suppose to be inferior to men. Today, in modern day the film shows that love will happen if its meant to be.

In conclusion, although it appears to be a difference, but a slight resemblance with the Elizabethan Era because of the roles of men and women. Women still have the ability to be inferior to men, and men being superiority to women. Shakespeare shows mutual love between both genders. The power of love being demonstrated can be seen as something men or women can conquer through being submissive to one another.




Works Cited

 

Shakespeare, William. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”Literature Fiction: Craft & Voice.Ed. Delbanco, Nicholas. New York, NY. 2010. (184-220). Print

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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Annotated Bib Shakespeare play vs. film

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Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Power of Relationships

The Power of Relationships



            A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play which focuses on the relationships dealing with love between men and women. Shakespeare gives females the attention of being superior, and these women are inferior to men and their own characteristic of superiority. During the Elizabethan Era, in which Shakespeare wrote this play, woman had arranged marriages where the marriage is arranged by the parents of the man and woman getting married, instead of the man and woman who chooses to marry each other. Egeus did not give his daughter, Hermia, permission to marry Lysander who she was in love with, but instead wanted her to marry Demetrius, who she was not in love with. Hermia’s friend Helena is in love with Demetrius, but he is in love with Hermia. This constructs a bad love triangle for them all. They fought to be with the one they love even though everyone in their society was against these individuals. They took a stand for true love and didn’t give up on what they really desired.

Hermia is very independent and strong individual who goes hard for what she wants when it comes to love. She not only demonstrates the hate she has towards Demetrius, but she also shows the true meaning of fighting for what she wants. Emily Squyer mentions in her essay, “Disregarding the standards imposed on women of his time, Shakespeare created many female characters that were strong-willed, intelligent, and daring. Hermia of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one such character (Squyer). She refused to let the decisions of her society to hold her back and stop her from marrying the one she loved, Lysander. She ends up ignoring her father and the Athenian laws of marriage, and running away from Demetrius and her father. In the play, Hermia speaks of how Athens will no longer be seen as paradise to her but as a place of hell, “that he hath turned a heaven unto a hell” (Shakespeare, 188). Egeus, her father has made her home feel like hell because of the pressure he has put on her to marry Demetrius. Hermia still remains strong and does not show any form of weakness throughout the whole process of her running away in the woods with Lysander.
            Helena the naïve and desperate character is also a strong woman with a dedicated attitude to get what she wants. No matter how much she explains her love for Demetrius to him, he still denies her heart. Helena begs to be with Demetrius, “I am your spaniel; and Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave, Unworthy as I am to follow you” (Shakespeare, 193). Here she shows how desperate she is and how much she wants Demetrius to love her instead of Hermia. In the words of Neeley Greene, “These words and the entire alliance between Demetrius and Helena have the subtext of a sexually sadistic and masochistic relationship” (Greene et al. 151). Demetrius responds back saying, “tell you I do not nor I cannot love you” (Shakespeare, 193). Shakespeare presented Helena as a woman seeking for her pride and that’s exactly what she intended to get. At the end of the play she and Demetrius fall in love.
            These women, both Helena and Hermia, are independent, strong, and full of determination. They know what they want and show plenty of actions that will allow them to have what they want. Both women entire creation, emotional and sexual life is restricted by the power of men; Demetrius and Lysander.  Their actions also embody their different characteristic by the actions they set forth to reach their destination which is love.

Works Cited

Greene, Lenz, Neely, eds. The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1980.
Squyer, Emily. "The Feminist Subtext of Shakespeare’s Leading Ladies." public.wsu.edu. N.p., 10 N. Web. 7 Jun 2012.
Shakespeare, William. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Literature Fiction: Craft & Voice. Ed. Delbanco, Nicholas. New York, NY. 2010. (184-220). Print
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