Blog Entry: 3.2 Macbeth Video

         
                      This scene opens with the three witches who look so hideous that they caughtmy attention right away. The witches are in the mountains where the weather is misty and gloomy, and this adds an atmosphere of doom to the whole scene. Two older witches witout eyes are bathing the younger one who looks normal and plays the role of a servant or maybe a younger sister. The witches don't pay much attention to Macbeth and his companion, but they greet him as thane and king. What attracted me to this scene is the disinterested way the witches do their part to bring ruin to Macbeth. It is almost as if they just plant the seed of greed and ambition in Macbeth's heart and later on, the soldier cannot think of anything else. The atmosphere of the whole scene symbolizes danger and evil.Also the fact that the witches don't have eyes indicates contrasts the idea that they can see the future. This makes them seem almost supernatural and not human beings.  From my readings I understood that Blindness and sight are two common symbol in this kind of plays and Shakespeare uses this technique to connect the natural with the suernatural. The witches are also shown as old women which means they are wise and can see the future, but what really ruins Macbeth is his own ambition. The witches only povoked him to think about becoming king which is something he always wanted in his heart.

blog Entry: 3.1 Macbeth

Laurence Olivier as Macbeth and Vivien Leigh as Lady Macbeth in a 1955 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production of the tragedy.

I liked this picture because it shows lady Mcbeth trying to convince man Macbeth to kill the king and take the throne since the withches had already told him that it was his fate to be king. In this picture Lady Macbeth symbolizes a strong female  character who influences the man to do something evil. She is the perfect example of a cold, conniving woman who does anything to get her way. Macbeth's faciaal expressions show his confusion because he doesn't know what to do. She is standing behind him as if whispering in his ear while putting a hand on his shoulder to reassure him that everything willwork out for him and he will fulfill his ambition to be king. Macbeth does not even look at his wife. instead he seems to be thinking about how to carry out his plan. He is shown as an ambitious man who is the victim of a woman who tempts him to do evil. This is probably why this play has been compared to the old testament where Eve is the cause of Adam's ruin. In the of the play Macbeth is beheaded and Lady Macbeth commits suicide although we don't know that for sure. It is interesting how Shakespeare created a strong woman like lady Macbeth even though in his time women were probably humble and lived to obey their husbands. In this play Lady Macbeth is the one who cleverly manipulates her husband by feeding his ambition and encouraging to do evil. On the other hand, the man is shown as a weak person who is a victim of his passion. In this picture it is clear who is the victim and who is in control of the situation. This is why I consider this picture very important to understand the play. The archtype of a woman being the cause of man's ruin is clearly shown in this picture.

Blog Entry 2.2: Alturist

Altruist refers to selflessness which concerns for the welfare of others. Altruist can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty and duty. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others. In simple words, one who has an unselfish regard for or is devoted to the welfare of others.

The above picture I choose because it fits into me and I fall into this category. In this picture we can see that a woman giving benefit to poor is often considered altruistic action which refers to the selflessness manner. Not all people in the world have the selflessness manner. We first think of our needs and don’t think of others even though we some have the ability to do something for others.  

In this blog entry, I will talk about my elder sister and my family. Because of her kindness and helping to us, here we are in the United States living our life. She considered our needs before her own. I am also trying to do exactly what she has done for our family. She has spent her entire life to help us to establish our lives. She had just a hope that her brother (I) will come to America someday and will take care of her. She worked hard to take care of us. She didn’t save any funds for her own. It seems like she was born to help us to take care of us. Besides taking care of us, she used to help others in our village with finance. Our villagers still respect her and they are appreciated about her loyalty to them. She has been living in the United States for more than 20 years where for a young person this is enough time to make a good living life. My sister could make her own life but she always thought about us and her duty as an elder daughter. Now as I am an elder son of my family, I am engaging to her duty because she is now not able to do anything and I am trying to take care of her and my family. She has inspired me that what she could do that I can do. Now I think of her and my family’s needs first before mine. I always try to help them and try to solve their problems. I always try to help our poor villagers too with their everyday problems. Even though I live abroad, I talk to them over the phone listen to their needs and try to put as much as afford I can. I helped many of my friends in my country with their financial needs for their study. Because of my concern of selflessness today in my village I am a very respectful person as my elder sister. I always dream that when I will have a lot of money, I will try to make as many as poor people happy and their living.

source >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism

Blog Entry 2.1:The Forbidden Fruits: Goblin Market

"Goblin Market"
by Christina Rossetti

Morning and evening
Maids heard the goblins cry:
'Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy:
Apples and quinces,
Lemons and oranges,
Plump unpecked cherries,
Melons and raspberries,
Bloom-down-cheeked peaches,
Swart-headed mulberries,
Wild free-born cranberries,
Crab-apples, dewberries,
Pine-apples, blackberries,
Apricots, strawberries;--
All ripe together
In summer weather,--
Morns that pass by,
Fair eves that fly;
Come buy, come buy:
Our grapes fresh from the vine,
Pomegranates full and fine,
Dates and sharp bullaces,
Rare pears and greengages,
Damsons and bilberries,
Taste them and try:
Currants and gooseberries,
Bright-fire-like barberries,
Figs to fill your mouth,
Citrons from the South,
Sweet to tongue and sound to eye;
Come buy, come buy.'

Evening by evening
Among the brookside rushes,
Laura bowed her head to hear,
Lizzie veiled her blushes:
Crouching close together
In the cooling weather,
With clasping arms and cautioning lips,
With tingling cheeks and finger tips.
'Lie close,' Laura said,
Pricking up her golden head:
'We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?'
'Come buy,' call the goblins
Hobbling down the glen.
'Oh,' cried Lizzie, 'Laura, Laura,
You should not peep at goblin men.'
Lizzie covered up her eyes,
Covered close lest they should look;
Laura reared her glossy head,
And whispered like the restless brook:
'Look, Lizzie, look, Lizzie,
Down the glen tramp little men.
One hauls a basket,
One bears a plate,
One lugs a golden dish
Of many pounds weight.
How fair the vine must grow
Whose grapes are so luscious;
How warm the wind must blow
Through those fruit bushes.'
'No,' said Lizzie, 'No, no, no;
Their offers should not charm us,
Their evil gifts would harm us.'
She thrust a dimpled finger
In each ear, shut eyes and ran:
Curious Laura chose to linger
Wondering at each merchant man.
One had a cat's face,
One whisked a tail,
One tramped at a rat's pace,
One crawled like a snail,
One like a wombat prowled obtuse and furry,
One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry.
Lizzie heard a voice like voice of doves
Cooing all together:
They sounded kind and full of loves
In the pleasant weather.

.............................................................

Archetypes are often used in poetry to represent the personality of a person and reflect his or her psychological state.  This is a very effective way to reveal the state of mind of a character and this is what Christina Rossetti does in her mysterious poem Goblin Market.  This poem tells the story of two sisters who are struggling with temptation which is considered a sin represented by the archetype of fruit. The sweetness of this food is opposed to the evil that it hides by being sold by gobblins who are creatures of doom and disaster.

The first verse of this poem focuses on the way the gobblins tempt young maids to come and buy the delicious fruits they are selling. They say “come buy our orchard fruits/ come buy, come buy:” These horrible creatures offer “ripe”, fresh, juicy  and sweet fruit such as cherries, pine apples, oranges, raspberries and melons among other kinds of tasty treats that are irresistible especially “In summer weather”. The fruit that the little monsters offer represents the forbidden desires of this world. In religious terms an apple was the temptation that caused Adam and Eve to fall from grace and be expelled from paradise. In that story, a serpent which was in fact the devil was the evil creature that tempted Eve who was a female just like the two main characters in this poem, Laura and Lizzie. The temptation that is represented by the fruit in the poem could be the desire for sex which was seen as an evil urge that must be resisted by any person, especially young women who are still  often considered impure if they desire sexual satisfaction.

In the poem is clear that Lizzie and Laura are struggling with their desire to taste the forbidden fruits but as Laura warns, “we must not look at goblin men/ we must not buy their fruits:” These words clearly indicate the repressed desires of the young women who are tempted by the dangerous “gifts” the goblin men bring in order to “charm” them. All the women can do is fantasize and wonder “How fair the vine must grow/ whose grapes are so luscious;/ How warm the wind must blow/ through those fruit bushes.”  The women are eager to know what it feels like to give in to temptation. They wonder about the pleasures of the flesh, but the power of society is so strong that Lizzie tells herself “No,no,no:” She realizes that buying the fruit would only bring ruin since the merchant men have the characteristics of animals. “One had a cat’s face,/ One whisked a tail,/ One tramped at a rat’s pace/One crawled like a snail”.  These animal characteristics are a symbolic representation of our most basic instincts that come from our animal nature. Conservative societies usually look down upon these natural impulses which are considered impure and uncivilized.

Although, Lizzie is successful in resisting the temptation of the fruits, Laura is weaker of character and she chooses to stay behind and observe the men who have captured her imagination. She wants to surrender to her lust even though she knows the creatures that sell the fruit are repulsive and wicked.  Her desire is stronger than her morality and fear, so she wants to forget society and its rules and enjoy the pleasure the men bring “In the pleasant weather” which represents her youth.

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin_Market
http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/goblin-market-christina-georgina-rossetti
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/goblin/pages/01_01_goblin.htm