Hamlet - Essential #7

1. Do you think that Hamlet has created his own insanity, or has he lost his sense of reality completely?

• Although Hamlet may appear to be insane because of his seemingly irrational responses to others, the incisiveness of his responses shows that he is far more clear-headed than any character in this play could imagine. It is clear that he has control over his insanity because even himself has declared, "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk form a handsaw" (II.ii.402-403). This means that he is only mad at certain times - he can distinguish between things that do not resemble each other. Therefore, Hamlet's madness is just a disguise he puts on in order to distract people, especially his enemies, from his anguish and despair of losing his father and being betrayed by his friends, his lover, and his family.
• However, from another perspective, Hamlet's insanity is a display of his intense and conflicting state of mind to the utmost. The high tensity of his mind will, in the end, tip the prince over the edge of breakdown, thus leads him into real madness which could be irreversible.
  

The Pardoner's Tale - Essential #6

1. What parallels can be drawn between the Pardoner's Prologue and his tale? How is this tale different from the other two that we have studied?

• In his tale, he talked about how gluttony and drunkenness are "enemies of the cross of Christ" (246); however, in his own life, the pardoner lusts for excessive "money, wool and cheese and wheat" (244). It is also ironic that when he has finished his condemnation of swearing, he began swear himself.
  
• Different from the Knight's tale and the Miller's tale, which the storytellers' identities and beliefs can be found in their own tales, the Pardoner's tale is actually a contrast of the pardoner's identity and his way of life. All the sins the pardoner strongly opposed in his sermon - gluttony, drunkenness, gambling, and swearing - were faults that he had either proudly claimed to possess in the prologue or showed through his actions on the pilgrimage.
  
• Off the Topic: Although many people may see the pardoner as a bad person; in my opinion, the pardoner is actually an honest man, rather than a hypocrite. In the Middle Ages, the church became extremely corrupted. Therefore, it was very common for a clergy to preach one way and acts another. The pardoner was just one of the many hypocrites who use religion as a profane tool to earn money or to get other benefits: "Believe me, many a sermon or devotive exordium issues from an evil motive. Some to give pleasure by their flattery and gain promotion through hypocrisy, some out of vanity, some out of hate" (243). When everyone is doing the wrong thing, no one would judge you for doing the same thing. Therefore, the pardoner, in the eyes of the people living in the Middle Ages, did not go against the moral code for clergies - because there are no moral code for them to follow at that time. The pilgrims embraced this hypocritical pardoner because he, at least, admitted his flaws and was being very honest about himself when he was not preaching.
  

New Society - Essential #5

1. Members' Descriptions

• Johnny Depp - As one of the sexiest men alive on earth, he is unquestionably the perfect choice to be the father figure of my society. While he shows his gentleman side as romantic, caring, and intelligent in the movie Chocolate; he is much more famous for his half-villain characters such as Sweeney Todd and Captain Jack Sparrow. However, on the other hand, he can be funny as well: the goofy but warm-hearted Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
  

• Anne Hathaway - Her beauty and delightful smile will definitely give good-looking genes to the society's offspring. She is not only as smart and elegant as a princess who is adored by everyone (Mia in The Princess Diaries), but also a hard worker who has her own belief (Andrea in The Devil Wears Prada). On the other hand, her performance as Jane Austen in Becoming Jane shows that she is an intelligent and independent woman too. All in all, her optimism and courage can bring hope and energy to the society.
  

• Morgan Freeman - No one could be a better choice than he is to be God. In Bruce Almighty, he, as God, is not only intelligent but actually omniscient. On the other hand, he is also a enforcer of law because he is the righteous and fearless Detective Somerset in the movie Se7en. Last but not least, in The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan shows that he is able to take a role in society as a faithful friend and spiritual mentor.
  

• Wall·E - He is the worker, scapegoat, and faithful follower of my society. As a robot with human heart, he is not only capable for digging trash and fixing machines, but also for making the society stable and keeping the society function. Although he is simple-minded, his passion and hope for love and life made him the perfect peace-maker of my society.
  

• Tigger -The entertainer who will keep the society energetic. Tigger is not only a faithful friend (to Winnie the Pooh) but also a caring big brother (to Roo). Therefore, he would be the perfect babysitter to help taking care of Anne Hathaway and Johnny Depp's babies.
  

2. Structure of Society:

• It is a democratic society. Under the supervision and mercy of Morgan Freeman, the God and leader, the rest members of the society is equally treated and has their specialized jobs and social responsibilities to shoulder.
  

3. Cons:

• Tigger's role is kind of pointless in a sense.
  
• This society lacks an educator and operator.
• This society is not diverse enough: there are only black and white people.

Sir Gawain & the Green Knight - Essential #4

1. How does "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" follow the archetype of an Old English poem?

• Both works follow the pattern of Old English poems. They were written to serve a symbolic or religious purpose - often associated with human's dependence on God. A hero, no matter how valorous he might be, must always "pray with all his might that Mary may be his guide till a dwelling comes in sight" (736-739). These stories show us that even heroes need to follow and knee down to God; therefore, ordinary people like us should have no question about serving God. The rich religious undertones of these poems made them religious propagandas of the Church before the Middle Ages.
• On the other hand, we can still feel the sense of male superiority in the described society of these poems. Women were portrayed as beautiful and juicy creatures for men to chase and hunt down. Their identities are pertained to their husbands or sons: from "Grendel's mother" to "his fair lady" (933), women's names are not important at all, compared to their marital or maternal relationships with the male characters.
  

• Side note: Although, for the most part, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows the archetype of Old English poems, there is still one significant difference between these two. In Beowulf, the hero has a static characteristic, which means the character's personality remain the same from the beginning to the end; however, on the other hand, Sir Gawain's characteristic is dynamic - the character's personality develops at some point of the story. Beowulf is a hero, and remains as the hero, throughout the poem; while Gawain experienced a development of personality and enhance of conscientiousness during his adventure.
  

The Ten Commandments For Love - Essential #3

1. "Thou shalt have no other girls before me."

• We can make an exception for your mom.
  

2. "Thou shalt not make yourself an idol."

• Because I should be the one you adore.

3. "Thou shalt not make wrongful use of the name of your girlfriend."

• I am not a cool and pretty thing you use to show off to your friends.

4. "Remember our anniversary, and keep it holy."

• It's much more important than your birthday.
  

5. "Honor my father and mother."

• They brought me to this world, so who else should you appreciate more?
  

6. "Thou shalt not murder."

• If someday I break up with you, you are not allowed to kill me or have these kind of thoughts.
  

7. "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

• Enough said.
  

8. "Thou shalt not steal (again)."

• You stole my heart in my unawareness, so I want you to love me back in return.
  

9. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against our relationship."

• Be honest to me, to yourself, and to our relationship.
  

10. "Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to your friends."

• Especially their girlfriends.
  

Beowulf - Essential #2

1. Discuss the role of women in Beowulf. How do Wealtheow and Grendel's mother compare and contrast in their roles?

• Wealtheow and Grendel's mother live in an era of absolute male domination. Women like them, no matter how noble or, on the contrary, depraved, are born to be the sacrifices of male chauvinism. Wealtheow, queen of the Scyldings, the noblest among all women, entered the story with the following description: "adorned with gold, that proud woman greeted the men in the hall, offered the cup" (606-670). Rather than depicting her inner qualities, the author chose to just superficially describe how beautiful she looks with her jewelries and how well she serves her husband - this is a neglect of human characters. Another obvious evidence for women's low social status is the nameless Grendel's mother - she does not even have a name throughout the poem! Women, at that period of time, are gorgeous creatures to entertain men or docile wives to serve their husbands. If a woman is neither gorgeous nor docile, she will be despite and alienated like Grendel's mother.
• Grendel's mother is a devilish monster. As a mourner of her only offspring's death, her heart is filled with hatred and vengeance. However, Wealtheow, the beautiful and noble queen of Scyldings, in this case, is a contrary to Grendel's mother. Wealtheow is not only graceful, but thankful for everything that was given by God. She praises the heroes while Grendel's mother fights and kills them.
  

Beowulf - Essential #1

1. What are the social obligations of a hero?

• The social obligations of a hero are mainly associated with two things: the loyalty to their lineage and the honor to protect their people from fiends. This epic poem has extensive descriptions of the royal lineages of the Danes, the Swedes, and the Geats, which emphasizes the importance of royal birth - people of nobility are born to be noble. Therefore, as a kind of noblesse oblige, heroes like Beowulf have to be the kind of person they are expected to be - fearless warriors who are willing to fight for their people. In order to fulfill the heroic destiny, a hero is obliged to "expect neither comfort nor change. He will be damned forever. Joy shall be his who, when he dies, may stand before the Lord, seek peace in the embrace of our Father" (185-188).
  

2. Is Beowulf aware of his deification process?

• Although Beowulf is admired by almost everyone around him, he is not yet awared of his deification process. It is true that people adore him and respect him because "he was the strongest man alive, princely and powerful"; even "wise men admired his spirit of adventure" (197-122) - he is being deified. However, none of these praises come from the mouth of Beowulf, all he wants to do is to "overcome the fiend" (275) "with most honorable intentions" (265). However, we can see the hidden pride and overconfidence through his words; therefore, it is almost an certainty that Beowulf will be awared of his deification process sooner of later. The time when he begin to realize that he is gradually being deified, would also be the time when his pride grows and ambition increases.
  

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Lu Li
AP English – Mr. George
Apr. / 16/ 2009
Pride and Prejudice Essay

Pride and Prejudice

_It is a truth not universally acknowledged, that a well-written book, which has just been completed, must be in want of a suitable title. It is utterly true that “a good title is the title of a successful book” (Gallagher); however, people usually prefer to concentrate more on the dramatic plot of a novel, rather than its simplistic title. Little do they know that an effective title can give readers a general sense of what they are about to read; in other words, it is a significant crystallization of the entire story. The title of Jane Austen’s world-famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, is a great example of how a profound title could carry the main theme of a story throughout a book. Using only three words, Austen was able to distil the main components out from her complex novel and use it as a guide for readers to follow along while reading.

_It is a love story after all; thus, love is the protagonists’ final destination. The book title is a sign post Austen purposely placed in the start, pointing at indistinguishable directions – until the end, no one knows if the pride sign or the prejudice sign can lead Darcy and Elizabeth to the final destination of love, or the opposite direction, which will separate them forever.
Curious and somehow confused, the readers entered the book with two words hanging above the top of their heads – Pride and Prejudice. However, as the readers proceed through the book, the significance of the title becomes obvious: Darcy, the male protagonist of the novel, is extremely proud; while Elizabeth, the heroine of the novel, is excessively prejudice.

_Pride was defined early in the novel: “Human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary” (Austen 21). This shows that pride itself is harmless, but when it is mixed up with vanity, it becomes vicious. Darcy entered the novel as proud as he could be; but fortunately, there was no vanity in it. He was so indifferent about others that he looked down on every inhabitant in Netherfield and disdained to dance, or even talk, to them. His haughty manners at the ball gave people a very bad impression of his personality, especially Elizabeth, whom he considered as “tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me” (13). This unpleasant first encounter of Darcy and Elizabeth foreshadowed the subsequent conflict between the two protagonists.

_Darcy introduced the word “pride”, which is the first word of the book's title, into the novel; while Elizabeth, with her decision to trust Mr. Wickham's one-sided story, introduced the other word of the book’s title – “prejudice”. Her prejudice toward Darcy mostly came from her initial negative impression of him at the ball. Later when Wickham attacked Darcy’s character brutally, her prejudice toward Darcy increased, even though Wickham was not trustworthy at all: “I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either” (94). Lizzy’s initial prejudice gradually turned into a strong antipathy, which made her move further apart from Darcy.

_Both characters were unaware of their weakness. Darcy’s blindness toward his own pride and Lizzy’s ignorance of her prejudice made the love story even harder to continue. Darcy’s wealth and high social status misled him to think that he has the right to be proud. He was totally unaware of the negative opinions of himself, which were mostly caused by his haughtiness. As for Elizabeth, she asked Darcy if he “never allow[ed] yourself to be blinded by prejudice” (94) without realizing that she is actually the one who is blinded by prejudice. The mist of prejudice spoiled her judgment; therefore, she cannot see any good in Mr. Darcy, who gave her a negative impression when they first met. When Charlotte tried to show Elizabeth the agreeable side of Mr. Darcy, Lizzy cried out in an disdainful manner: “To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil” (91). Her mind could not be easily changed because of her strong prejudice.

_The word “and” was placed in the middle of the title Pride and Prejudice; thus, there must be a correlation between the two words, Pride and Prejudice.

_First of all, Pride and Prejudice are the overlapping of the two protagonists – both of them have pride and prejudice, although those characteristics are shown in slightly different ways. Mr. Darcy has his pride on the outside, while prejudice is the inner domination of his views to other people. He refused to interact with people other than his closest friends because he is supercilious - but that is just partly right - he is, indeed, so encumbered by his prejudice that he cannot see the goodness in others. On the other hand, Elizabeth is using her prejudice to cover up her pride: “Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never” (16). She is not surprised by others' compliments because she knows her good qualities already. She becomes extremely critical when meeting people from a higher social class, for example, Mr. Darcy, because her pride was violated by the air of aristocracy.

_As the story continued, Darcy’s pride and Lizzy’s prejudice exchanged their initial owners. Although Darcy’s haughtiness was humbled by love, his prejudice towards Lizzy’s family was substantially excessive because of his few superficial observations of the Bennets. Lizzy, on the other hand, turned to be excessively proud of her own judgment of her family. She continued to keep Darcy away because she thought he disdained her family, even though she has read the letter Darcy wrote to explain every possible misunderstanding. Till this point, the conflict of pride and prejudice has been raised into a higher level, which would be solved later in the text when the two protagonists realize their flaws and try to overcome them.

_Secondly, Pride and Prejudice are the common obstacles that the two protagonists have to overcome. Darcy and Elizabeth’s love relationship is beneficial to both of them:

It was a union that must have been to the advantage of both: by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgment, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance (302).

Both of them start as people who have some missing pieces of a perfect character – Darcy has pride and Elizabeth has prejudice. When the two protagonists encountered their imperfections, they seemed to pull the two away from each other because they could only see the flaws in the other person. However, as they gradually found out that pride and prejudice are actually intertwined with each other, they understood that love is the only way to untie the knot of pride and prejudice.

_The two protagonists introspection and love relationship were expressed perfectly by Darcy to Lizzy in the end:

You taught me a lesson hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased (357).

Like holding a mirror, which can reflect one's faults, Darcy and Lizzy are mirrors for each other. They forced themselves to throw away their deep-rooted pride and prejudice, although it may be painful sometimes. It was the power of love, which promoted the changes in Darcy and Elizabeth: “for herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him, - proud that in a cause of compassion and honor he had been able to get the better of himself” (316). During the course of their self-realization, they also realized that the perfect piece to make them whole is a piece of each other's heart.

_The two protagonists were tangling with pride and prejudice throughout the novel. They also struggled to put down their pride and get rid of their prejudice in front of the irresistible love that is slowly but surely growing between them. Luckily, “a person may be proud without being vain” (21); there is no vanity in their pride and there is no hatred in their prejudice. So the time when they realize how much they share in their personalities, and how much they have been through, is also the time when prejudice dissolves, pride humbles, and love completes.

_When the story ended and the book was closed, the readers’ mind would be needled with two words – Pride and Prejudice. These two words, probably the most important and significant words of the novel, are the characteristics of the protagonists, catalysts for their conflict, motivation for their self-realization, and what eventually leads them to the happiness we root for. The readers “never really know the title of a book until it’s finished” (Wesley). Not until the last moment is the title revealed as the original cause and the ultimate outcome of the entire plot. Just as Darcy and Elizabeth completed each other, the significant and suitable title, Pride and Prejudice, completed this extraordinary book and embroidered its cover, which let this novel shine timelessly.


Works Cited

Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.
BrainyMedia.com. 15 April 2009. Title Quotes. 21 December 2001

Character Description #2: Jane Bennet

Lu Li
AP English – Mr. George
Apr. / 13/ 2009
Character Description

Jane Bennet Analysis

_Jane Bennet, the eldest and most beautiful daughter of the Bennets, is an amiable, naïve, and extremely optimistic young lady whom sees no evil or illness in others.

_Besides her seraphic appearance, Jane is kind and thinks no harm of anyone in the world. In Elizabeth’s words, Jane is the kind of person who “like[s] people in general” (16). “You never see a fault in any body. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life” (16), cried Elizabeth, when her elder sister was praising Mr. Bingley’s amiable and good-humored personality, even though she has just met him once. However, Jane’s excessive optimism blinds her from seeing those obvious illnesses in people: “Jane united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and an uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent” (22). This overly positive attitude towards general human beings made Jane innocent, but at the same time, simplistic and naïve.

_Jane is like a beautiful sunflower with soft honey-yellow petals. She is comely and vivacious, just like a lively sunflower stretching tall and proud to the sun in an elegant manner. Sunflowers always grow facing the direction of the sun – Jane prefers to see the goodness of a person; in another word, she always tries to face the bright side of an incident, rather than the dark side.

_With rosy cheeks and pleasant smile on her face, Jane is like the Noonan sisters, who are always cheerful, friendly, and see the best in people, even when they got stuck in some really bad situations.

Character Description #1: Mr. Bennet

Lu Li
AP English – Mr. George
Apr. / 13/ 2009
Character Description

Mr. Bennet Analysis

_As the father of the five Bennet Sisters, Mr. Bennet is a witty old gentleman who always has a sarcastic, cynical, but somehow indifferent tone when he talks to people.

_Mr. Bennet is “so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice” (7). He hates and despises the classist structuring society, which he has to live through. However, his disdain of society did not make him a reformer who advocates changes of the rigid social structures, but an old unsociable man who is detached from the society – he prefers to lock himself into the library and spend a whole day reading books rather than going out to make acquaintances with others. Although he is loved by his family and is also well respected by his daughters, his careless and indifferent state of mind made him an irresponsible father: “contented with laughing at them, [he] would never exert himself to restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters” (209). He withdraws from those never-ending family affairs and issues by simply making jokes about it and walks away with a playful and indifferent heart.

_Mr. Bennet can be seen as a man sitting in a couch, watching TV, with his right hand holding a box of popcorn. He has always been a speculator throughout the novel, as if he is not a part of the big picture of society. He mocks, sneers, and laugh about the things going on behind the TV screen. When he feels uncomfortable with a situation he is in, he just simply pick up the remote control and switch the channel – just as he always escapes from those annoying family incidents by locking himself in the library.

_With the sarcastic, cynical sense of humor, Mr. Bennet is similar to Mark Twain, who is also a humorous critic of society.

Huckleberry Finn Essay

Lu Li
AP English – Mr. George
Mar. / 25/ 2009
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Enslaved by Slavery

_In the sunset decades of the nineteenth century, when discrimination against blacks was still common, Mark Twain wrote a novel entitled, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which early American lifestyles and the beliefs of the South in the mid-1800’s are depicted through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy living along the Mississippi River. As the readers follow Huck and Jim’s adventure to freedom, they also experience the journey of Huck’s moral development, which contrasts the immoral side of society. During this period of time, the southern society considered blacks as inferior and as possessions. Growing up in the South, Mark Twain witnessed the oppression and discrimination against black slaves. “Man is the only Slave,” sneered Clemens in his book Letters from the Earth, “and he is the only animal who enslaves” (Twain 237). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is more than a novel; it is, indeed, a critique of the slave-holding South. In Twain’s opinion, the society was actually enslaved by its own belief in slavery, which prohibited the development of personal morality and social justice.

_The superiority of whites was one of the causes of slavery. White men were born with privilege and superiority, whereas blacks were doomed to be slaves. Mark Twain revealed in the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that pride can lead to the unnecessary insecurity of one’s inherent privilege: “You're educated, too, they say; can read and write. You think you're better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t? I’ll take it out of you” (28-29). There was a sense of insecurity in Pap’s voice. He was intimidated by the fact that his son, being civilized, is going to become a better person than he is: “I’ll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father and let on to be better’n what he is” (29). Therefore, from a historical perspective, this insecurity has a symbolic meaning – the whites’ fear of losing their dominance over black people. In Pap’s mind, he “was Huck Finn's boss” (33) and his son was his “property” (36). It may be strange for us to hear, and hard for us to understand, that Pap would view a person as his own property; but back in those days, when slavery still existed, it was very common to own someone's freedom and make full use of it. On one hand, Huck's dad uses him as a cash cow to get money for alcohol, which implicates the Old South Tradition of whites forcing slaves to work on cotton fields in order to make a fortune. On the other hand, Pap saved his brittle pride by dominating his son, which symbolizes the evil privilege of whites dominating black slaves in the old days.

_The influence of society on people was substantial. Rules and doctrines were made by the society, and people were taught to obey them: “I wouldn’t stand by and see the rules broke” (260). It does not matter whether the rule is right or wrong, as long as it is a rule. Living in the Old South, it is hard for someone to stay away from the stain of slavery, even Huck, who should be considered as an outsider to society. Racism and slavery are a great challenge for Huck to overcome. So when Jim said he was going to get his two children back, Huck was frozen: “He would steal his children - children that belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man that hadn't ever done me no harm” (101). Although Huck has a great companionship with Jim, and learned that black people have their own dignity, he is still stuck between his conscience and the widely-accepted tolerance of brutal slavery.

_The belief in slavery put people’s thoughts at that time in a box of common sense. Within this opaque box, there is no way for the light of justice to shine in; therefore, people had no idea how malicious it was to enslave blacks, and treat them as if they were animals, even Mark Twain himself:

“In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware that there was anything wrong about it. The local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpit taught us that God approved it, that it was a holy thing, and that the doubter need only look in the Bible if he wished to settle his mind – and then the texts were read aloud to us to make the matter sure”(IMDb).

People were taught that way, so it was not their fault; thus, the morally-deformed society, not the people, should be responsible for the disgrace and discrimination of the blacks.

_Unconsciousness and indifference led to the public tolerance of slavery. They made people think that slavery was normal. People do not usually question the common assumptions which were already been practiced for hundreds of years. Men were being told that “it [in this case, slavery] is the regular way” (257). Huck said with certainty that “the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way” (137). The world is filled with a bunch of hypocrites; and the way to get along with those kind of people is to "let them have their own way" (137). This social laissez-faire policy is simply a denial of righteousness and justice. The same thing goes with the issue of slavery. When society is corrupted as a whole, the standard of morality is lowered; therefore, enslaving blacks is not be a fault, because everyone is doing it. The world became pathetic and dark when the candle of justice went out.

_All men are equal under the eyes of God: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Therefore, slavery is a sinful combination of inequality, discrimination, and hatred. It violates the sacred integrity of a human being and the God-given right for one to pursuit the happiness of life. Mark Twain criticized the society of the mid-1800’s south through Huck Finn’s adventures along the Mississippi River. The issue of slavery was not a phenomenon that accidentally happened; it was, indeed, caused by the whites’ privilege and superiority, the negative influences of society on people, and the ignorance and unconsciousness of men. Without the lighthouse of justice, people would get lost in the sea of prejudice, and fail to find their way to freedom.

_Fortunately, there is hope for us on the shore of freedom as Huck said in the end with a delightful spirit, “I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before” (307). Everyone has been there before – the entire human race was once lost in the dark region of slavery and discrimination. However, it is never too late to light the torch of hope, since God will always give us a second chance. Huck and Jim are already heading to the ultimate Territory where no prejudice and injustice exist. So when shall we be setting out for our journey to the kingdom of equality and freedom?



Works Cited

Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1985.
Mark Twain. Letters from the Earth. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2004.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. New York: Crossway Bibles, 2001.
IMDb. 24 March 2009. Memorable quotes for Mark Twain. 21 December 2001

Pride & Prejudice 10: Chapter 13-15 [#14]

I. Quotation
1. "It is well. You refuse, then, to oblige me. You refuse to obey the claims of duty, honor, and gratitude."(page 346)

• Lady Catherine is a representation of the rigid social structure of that period of time. Sitting on the top of the social hierarchy, Lady Catherine is supercilious, haughty, and lavish. She thinks herself the best of all and look down to everyone around her. Ironically, she is still popular among others because her high aristocratic social standing. She used to be surrounded by sycophants, like Mr. Collins; therefore, Elizabeth's refusal to her demands was like a slap on her face. Elizabeth refused to obey Lady Catherine's orders, as well as the social rules that were represented by her.
  
• People always want to use their money or ingratiation to gain a higher place in society. However, women have their special way - mercenary marriage. How can marriage be defined as a destination of love if the only way to break through the boundaries of one's social level is to marry someone of a higher hierarchy? Lady Catherine believes in mercenary marriage, the society believes in it too; but Elizabeth does not. "Neither duty, nor honor, nor gratitude," replied Elizabeth [to Lady Catherine], "has any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No principle of either would be violated by my marriage with Mr. Darcy" (347). The disobedience of Elizabeth to Lady Catherine is actually a protest against the rigid social structure - she refused to marry for money and she also refused to bow to authorities.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. The novel "Pride and Prejudice" is...

A. a critique of the classist structuring of society
B. a romantic love story
C. a exploration of humanity
D. a comparison of different views on marriage
E. all the answers above

Pride & Prejudice 9: Chapter 13-15 [#14]

I. Quotation
1. "His understanding and opinions all please me; he wants nothing but a little more liveliness, and that, if he marry prudently his wife may teach him."(page 315)

• Darcy and Elizabeth's love relationship is beneficial to both of them: "It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both: by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgment, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance" (302). Both of them start from a person who has some missing pieces of a perfect character - Darcy has pride and Elizabeth has prejudice. When the two protagonists encountered, their imperfectness, seemed to pull them away from each other because they could only see the flaws on the other person. However, as they gradually found out that pride and prejudice are actually intertwined with each other, they understood that love is the only way to untie the knot of the intertwined pride and prejudice.
  
• Like holding a mirror which can reflect one's fault, they are mirrors for each other. They forced themselves to pull out and throw away their deep-rooted pride and prejudice, although it may be painful sometimes. It was the power of love, which promoted the changes of Darcy and Elizabeth: "for herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him, - proud that in a cause of compassion and honor he had been able to get the better of himself"(316). During the course of their self-realization, they also realized that the perfect piece to complete their imperfectness of character is the piece of each other's longing heart.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Mr. Collins letter to Mr. Bennet shows...

A. his endless affection to Elizabeth
B. his hypocritical composure of Elizabeth's engagement
C. his jealousy towards Darcy and Elizabeth's upcoming marriage
D. his blindfold and idiotic loyalty to Lady Catherine
E. his amiable character as a priest

Pride & Prejudice 8: Chapter 19-2 [#10]

I. Quotation
1. "It was gratitude; - gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection."(page 258)

• If the letter showed Darcy's past, beliefs, and manners; then, Pemberley visualized his wealth, civility, and the love for Elizabeth. The attitude Lizzy has toward Darcy have changed over times: from indifferent to curious, prejudicial to hateful, fair to grateful, and eventually to love. Lizzy's visit to Pemberley is a watershed in the development of the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. She found out that "such a change in a man of so much pride excited not only astonishment but gratitude - for to love, ardent love ,it must be attributed" (258). After all these days, she finally realized the goodness in Darcy, and was surprised to find out that she was actually in love with him. Darcy is no longer proud - he has changed, because of love. Would Elizabeth put down her prejudice and change, because of the same reason? The answer is positive.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. "It is above eight months. We have not met since the 26th of November, when we were all dancing together at Netherfield" (255). What does this quote implicate?

A. Mr. Bingley tries to show Elizabeth that he is good at math
B. Mr. Bingley is still madly in love Jane and cannot help thinking of her
C. Mr. Bingley has a good memory
D. Mr. Bingley is fond of dancing
E. Mr. Bingley wants to go to Netherfield to admire the idyllic countryside again

Pride & Prejudice 7: Chapter 11-13 [#8]

I. Quotation
1. "Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away where either were concerned."(page 205)

• The letter served as a catalyst for both Darcy and Elizabeth's self-realization. Being rejected by Elizabeth, Darcy began to realize the negative impacts of his arrogance.Writing a letter to Elizabeth, whom just accused him for something he did not do, is extremely hard for Darcy. The revealment of his painful private life is, indeed, a humbling process, which was once, against his haughty nature.
  
• As for Elizabeth, the letter is an alarm clock, which woke her up from the dream of prejudice. After reading the letter, she was not only astonished by the truth, which Darcy has revealed to her, but also being ashamed by the fact that "of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd" (204). The letter showed to Elizabeth how she misjudged both Darcy and Wickham.She realized her prejudicial nature after reading the letter:"Till this moment, I never knew myself"(205); and somehow being ashamed of herself, she began to look for a change in her personality.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Which of the following is not true, according to Mr. Darcy's revealment of Wickham?

A. He tried to elope with Georgianna, who was only 15 at that time
B. He went to law school, instead of staying in the parish
C. He got 3 thousand pounds from Mr. Darcy for his education
D. He used to be Darcy's best friend back in the days
E. He killed Old Mr. Darcy to inherent the Pemberley estate

Pride & Prejudice 6: Chapter 6-10 [#7]

I. Quotation
1. "My fingers do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do [...] But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault - because I would not take the trouble of practicing. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman's of superior execution."(page 174)

• Darcy humbled himself in front of love and opened his long-closed heart to Elizabeth: "I certainly have not the talent which some people possess," said Darcy, "of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done" (174). Darcy finally put down his pride partially by admitting his lack of sociability. However, the sensible Elizabeth found the lack of willingness to change in Darcy's tone. Refusing to change is one of the outlets of pride because proud people are totally satisfied with their personalities, which they considered as perfect in some ways. In order to jeer Darcy's unconscious showing of pride, Elizabeth told Darcy that she blamed her unskillful fingering on her lack of practice, but not her fingers capability of instrumental performance - a contrast of Darcy's self-denial. Although Elizabeth intended to mock Darcy, she was actually helping him to realize the deep-rooted pride in his heart.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. How can you describe Lady Catherine with the following words, except?

A. egoistic
B. lavish
C. supercilious
D. haughty
E. malicious

Pride & Prejudice 5: Chapter 2-5 [#6]

I. Quotation
1. "Her heart had been but slightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing that she would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it."(page 150)

• It is curious that Elizabeth tolerates Mr. Wickham's fortune hunting but would not forgive Charlotte's mercenary marriage. She thinks that it is acceptable for men, especially the charming ones, to marry for money: "They are young in the ways of the world, and not yet open to the mortifying conviction that handsome young men must have something to live on, as well as the plain" (150). However, when it comes to Charlotte's decision of marriage, Elizabeth feels it is "unaccountable! in every view it is unaccountable!" (135). This paradox of mind shows Elizabeth's absurdity and the lack of logic in her thinking process. She is, indeed, a romancer from head to toe. She can be easily driven by her feelings, as well as her prejudice.
  
• On the other hand, this unveiled the injustice of society. When men and women did something which to be considered wrong, women are always the ones who got blamed for their so-called disgrace of decorum.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Why did Mr. Wickham transfer his affection to Miss. King?

A. He found her amiable and beautiful
B. He was trying to marry for her money
C. He did not have enough money to marry Elizabeth
D. Mrs. Bennet opposed his affection to Elizabeth, so he gave up
E. He wanted to make Elizabeth jealous

Pride & Prejudice 4: Chapter 21-1 [#5]

I. Quotation
1. "Here are officers enough at Meryton to disappoint all the young ladies in the country. Let Wickham be your man. He is a pleasant fellow, and would jilt your creditably." (page 137)

• Mr. Bennet is an intelligent and witty old gentleman. Although there is always a sense of careless and playfulness in his words, he is actually hinting something that nobody would realize till the end. For example, in this quote, he suggests Elizabeth to go out with Mr. Wickham. One one hand. Mr. Bennet said this to mock the social hierarchy of marriage, which does not allow a man to marry a woman of a higher social class. One the other hand, he pointed out the questionable character of Mr. Wickham. Wickham is undoubtedly a charming young man, but his irresponsibility would make him "jilt your creditably" (137). This prediction came true in the following chapters, when Elizabeth found out that Wickham transferred his affection to a lady whom just inherited a large fortune. This is also a foreshadowing of Lydia's elope with Wickham, which happened later in the novel. Mr. Bennet was right, Wickham not only jilted Elizabeth creditably, but also brought shame on the Bennets by eloping with Lydia.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Why did Charlotte say yes to Mr. Collins's proposal?

A. She was forced to get marry by her parents
B. She was jealous of her best friend, Elizabeth
C. She wanted to entail the Bennets' estate
D. She was in love with Mr. Collins
E. She needed to get settled before turning into an old maid

Pride & Prejudice 3: Chapter 17-20 [#4]

I. Quotation
1. "I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either." (page 94)

• Elizabeth began to show her naive side in this chapter. Although she is witty and observant in front of people, she seems to be blind to her own weakness. She asked Mr. Darcy if he "never allow yourself [himself] to be blinded by prejudice" (94) without realizing that she is actually the one who is blinded by prejudice. The mist of prejudice spoiled her judgment; therefore, she cannot see any good in Mr. Darcy, whom gave her a negative first impression when they first met. When Charlotte tied to show Elizabeth the agreeable side of Mr. Darcy, Lizzy cried out in an disdainful manner: "To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil" (91). Elizabeth chose to hate Mr. Darcy; whereas she also chose to like Mr. Wickham. It was such an irony that Elizabeth actually said that "it is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first" (94) by herself, because she had no idea that she was actually accusing her own flaw. Lizzy's ignorance of her prejudice reminds us Mr. Darcy's blindness of his pride.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Based on the marital beliefs of the following characters, who would probably accept Mr. Collins's offer?

A. Lydia
B. Elizabeth
C. Kitty
D. Charlotte Lucas
E. Mary

Pride & Prejudice 2: Chapter 11-16 [#3]

I. Quotation
1. "I had not thought Mr.Darcy so bad as this - though I have never liked him, I had not thought so very ill of him - I had supposed him to be despising his fellow-creatures in general, but did not suspect him of descending to such malicious revenge, such injustice, such inhumanity as this!" (page 81)

• Darcy introduced the word "pride", which is the first word of the book's title, into the novel; while Elizabeth, with her decision to trust Mr. Wickham's one-sided story, introduced the other word of the book's title - "prejudice".
• Everyone in the novel has flaws - Elizabeth is one of them, even though she is the pleasant and intelligent protagonist. Her prejudice mostly comes from her naive belief of "first impressions." She trusts Mr. Wickham, whom she barely knows, only because he is to be considered perfect from his appearance: "he had all the best parts of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address" (73). It is obvious that Elizabeth likes Mr. Wickham when she first met him because he appeared to be personable; while she dislikes Mr. Darcy because his actions appeared to be haughty in first sight. However, we all know that the superficial appeal is deceptive and believing in "first impressions" is just foolish and naive. One cannot judge a book by its cover; therefore, the true disposition of a person, whether it is wicked or not, may be hidden by his countenance.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. What reason does Wickham give Elizabeth for his dislike of Darcy?

A. Darcy wouldn't let Wickham marry his sister
B. Darcy forced him to join the army
C. Darcy is the nephew of Lady Catherine, whom he does not like
D. Darcy cheated him out of an inheritance
E. Darcy attempts to destroy the intimacy between Mr. Bingley and Jane

Pride & Prejudice 1: Chapter 1-6 [#1]

I. Quotation
1. "Human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary [...] A person may be proud without being vain." (page 21)

• Besides the satire of the regimented social hierarchy, the discussion on the nature of pride and prejudice is the other main theme of this novel. "Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's characteristics are different in many people's eyes; however, the major parts of their personalities are overlapped - both of them have pride and prejudice, although those characteristics are shown in slightly different ways. Mr. Darcy has his pride on the outside, while prejudice is the domination of his views to other people. He refused to interact with people other than his closest friends because he is supercilious - but that is just partly right - he is, indeed, so sticked to his prejudice that he cannot see the goodness in others. On the other hand, Elizabeth is using her prejudice to cover up her pride: "Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never" (16). She is not surprised by others' compliments because she knows her good qualities already. She becomes extremely critic when meeting people from a higher social class, for example, Mr. Darcy, because her pride is being violated by the air of aristocracy.
• The two protagonists' hearts are tangling with pride and prejudice. They also struggled to put down their pride and get rid of their prejudice in front of the irresistible love that is slowly but surly growing between them. Luckily, "a person may be proud without being vain" (21); there is no vanity in their pride and there is no hatred in their prejudice. So the time when they realize how much they share in their personalities would also be the time when prejudice dissolves, pride humbles, and love completes.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. What is the narrative mode of this novel?

A. Third-person, objective
B. Third-person, subjective
C. Third-person, omniscient
D. Third-person, limited
E. Multiple-person narrative mode

Huckleberry Finn 6: P184-208

I. Quotations
1. "I can't ever get it out of my memory, the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's neck and crying; and I reckon I couldn't a stood it all but would a had to bust out and tell on our gang if I hadn't knowed the sale warn't no account and the niggers would be back home in a week or two." (page 196)

• Although Huck feels horrible seeing slave family being pulled apart, he does not feel sorry for the slaves. Indeed, he feels bad only because Mary Jane, as well as her sisters, is upset about it: "I thought them poor girls and them niggers would break their hearts for grief; they cried around each other, and took on so it most made me down sick to see it" (196). Living in the Old South, it is hard for someone to stay away and not to be stained by the belief of slavery, even Huck, whom should be considered as an outsider of the society. Racism and slavery is a great challenge for Huck to overcome. So when Jim said he was going to get his two children back, Huck was frozen: "He would steal his children - children that belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man that hadn't ever done me no harm" (101). Although Huck has a great companionship with Jim and learned that black people have their own dignity and thoughts, he is still tangling between his conscience of humanity and the widely-accepted tolerance of brutal slavery.
  

2. "I reckon a body that ups and tells the truth when he is in a tight place, is taking considerable many resks, though I ain't had no experience, and can't say for certain; but it looks so to me, anyway; and yet here's a case where I'm blest if it don't look to me like the truth is better, and actuly safer, than a lie." (page 200)

• This should be seen as a milestone of Huck Finn's moral development. For the first time, Huck chose to solve a problem by telling the truth, instead of making a big lie to cover it up. Huck has been lying throughout his life - he thinks that lies are the only way to make things right and to let him survive. However, as the seed of conscience sprouts from his heart, he is now willing to, at least, try to be honest: "I'm agoing to chance it; I'll up and tell the truth this time, though it does seem most like setting down on a kag of powder and touching it off just to see where you'll go to" (200). We can see that Huck gradually realized the ugliness of greed and pretense in the duke and the king's hearts. Therefore, he is now trying to be different from those kind of hypocrites and liers - he is, fortunately, learning to be a man who values righteousness and truthfulness.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. Shroud - [n.] burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
Ex. "The lid was shoved along about a foot, showing the dead man’s face down there, with a wet cloth over it, and his shroud on." (192)

2. Melodeum - [n.]
1> a small reed organ
2> a kind of accordion
Ex. "They had borrowed a melodeum." (194)

Huck & Jim

I. Jim
It was after sun-up, when our raft passed a village. I was dangling my legs in the warm water with a pipe in my hand doing nothin' 'cause it was Jim's turn to cook breakfast. Life is just so good when you've got the full day to enjoy, and everything smelled delicious under the sun (everything did smell good 'cause Jim was actually cooking breakfast).

By-and-by, the time flew by, and all of a sudden, I heard a crash and then comes a h-wack! – bum! bum! bumble-bumble-umble-um-bum-bum-bum-bum - and then all I can hear is dead silence.

"What the heck is goin' on Jim?" I freaked out.
"Dey's numf'n wrong," said Jim in a shivering voice, "I reck'n me jist saw me wife, but ole Jim is not sure."

I turned around and looked ashore. Along the riverside, stood a nigger woman, carryin' a bucket filled with laundries and all that sort of things. She was facin' the other way so I can't reely see her face. Anyway, I stopped the raft, hauled it up onto the shore, and hurried Jim, who was still awfully in shock, to go and check.

'Bout a minute later, I heard Jim cryin', "Goodness gracious, is dat you, Betty?"
"Oh, good lan'! is dat you, honey?", a woman's voice.
"Lemme have a closer look at yer face!" said Jim with tears all over his black face, "Po' niggers can't have no luck. I awluz 'spected dat I gwyne to see yo agin!"
"I knows yo're gonna come ta find me, Jim, I awluz kno'!"
"Jim should've ranaway earlie' "
"Don't you blame yo'self 'bout it."

They walked back to the raft, together. Jim said to Betty, "Lemme introdoss yo to me bes' fren'."
"Dah white boy ove' there?"
" Yea. 'Tis de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman da ever kep' his promise to ole Jim."
"Hello mistah Huck", said Betty in a weird fearful manner.
"Wat? Plz don't call me mister, I'm just Huck, ole Jim's best friend."
"How did yo' two become fren'?" asked Betty.
"Le sit, le all sit down," said Jim, bringing our breakfast to the table (oh well, it's a big rock actually), "dat's a sooper long story ta tell!"

II. Huck
I sneaked out from the opening window, climbed over the fence, and was about to run away from Ms. Rockefeller's house, when I heard someone was talkin' in the backyard, "wat should we do with this girl?"
"Maybe we can just bury her alive here 'cause I don't reckon anyone would notice", said another one.
"Well then, fine. Let's get this done as fast as we can so we can leave before the sunrise."

This is not good, I reckon. Tom Sawyer said that there ain't any book that has a woman got killed in the end; women are s'posed to be rescued by a cowboy or sumf'n like that. Then I'm not s'posed to help that girl out 'cuz I ain't a cowboy - I'm s'posed to be the robber! But that gal will prob'ly get killed if I leave now, so I reckon I'm gwyne to save her anyway 'cuz I will do whichever come handiest at the time.

So I started to crow like a rooster. And of course, my fella robbers ran away immediately. By-and-by, I helped the girl out. Maybe I should stop calling that girl "the girl" 'cuz now I know her name, Sophie. She was gentle and sweet, like a dove, and she was a little younger than me and should be a lot younger than Jim, I s'posed.
"Who are you?" asked Sophie.
"Oh, I'm Huck Finn... no, I mean-" Duh, why did I forget not to tell her my real name? Damn.
"Thank you so much for saving my life! You are a really brave young man, Huck."
"It's not that big of deal. I'm a robber, just wanna let yo know." I said it with great pride.
"What? A robber? Is that a joke or something?"
"Yup. Anyway, yew wanna go to my raft en get sumf'n to eat? Yo look dog-tired." I offered.
"Since I have no where to go, I would say 'yes'", said Sophie with a delightful smile.
"Well then, follow me", I smiled back. And I was thinkin' 'bout kidnapping her for a ransom or not 'cuz a sly old robber would think dat way.

Huckleberry Finn 5: P129-156

I. Quotations
1. "If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way." (page 137)

• Living at the foot of the social ladder, pap knows very clear that he, and people like him, is feeble in front of those social practices that were established a long time ago. The world is filled with a bunch of hypocrites; and the way to get along with those kind of people is to "let them have their own way" (137). This social laissez-faire policy is simply a denial of righteousness and justice. How dreadful it is that the philosophy of life at that time is to lie: lies to cover up lies; lies to overcome lies - one has to lie in order to survive! Everyone lies in this novel, but it is not their fault. When the society is corrupted as a whole, the stander of morality would be lowered; therefore, lying would not be a guilt because everyone is doing it. It is a pathetic world after all.
  

2. "Dat's all right, den. I doan't mine one er two kings, but dat's enough. Dis one's powerful drunk, en de duke ain' much better." (page 146)

• Jim feels unhappy because he thinks his freedom was taken away by the white men again. How cruel and unfair it is to say that "handcuffs and chains would look still better on Jim [...] Ropes are the correct thing" (146)? Paradoxically, the king and the duke are claiming that they should treat Jim like that in order to "preserve the unities, as we say on the boards" (146). Little do they know that the union cannot be preserved when injustice (slavery) exist. This is a correlation to the Civil War, which the Union did not preserve when the South held onto their tradition of slaveholding. The duke and the king, as a representation of white adults, want to dominate the young and the black, although Huck and Jim are actually the owners of the raft. Therefore, the Quads on the Raft is not going to last forever.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. galoot - [n.] an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person
Ex. "Next you'd see a raft sliding by, away off yonder, and maybe a galoot on it chopping, because they're most always doing it on a raft." (130)

2. tartar - [n.]
1> a member of any of the various tribes, chiefly Mongolian and Turkish, who, originally under the leadership of Genghis Khan, overran Asia and much of eastern Europe in the Middle Ages
2> a savage, intractable person
3> an ill-tempered person
Ex. "I'd been selling an article to take the tartar off the teeth." (100)

Huckleberry Finn 4: P88-128

I. Quotations
1. "I know very well I had done wrong, and I see it warn't no use for me to try to learn to do right; a body that don't get started right when he's little, ain't got no show - when the pinch comes there ain't nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat." (page 103-104)

• "What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" (104). Living in a moral-deformed society, Huck thinks saving a slave is an bad thing to do. Ironically, by following his conscience, the boy is actually doing the right thing. Huck does not want to do things that go against his heart. He is an outcast of the society; thus, his heart is not stained by those ugly dictates of the white society, where most people have been raised. Slavery is going against nature, and Huck is the son of nature. This is why, in the end, Huck made up his mind to "always do which ever come handiest at the time" (104). To many people, this may be seen as an act of self-indulgence; however, from another perspective, this is actually a big step of Huck's moral development - he realized that his conscience may be a better guide than the so-called common sense, which was made by the white-dominated society to oppress black people.
  

2. "I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away form the swamp. We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft." (page 128)

• Jim got away from the swamp, and Huck got away from the feuds. Both of them were out of the mud - the mud of nature, and the mud of the deformed society. Life with the Grangerfords was comfortable at first - they are all well born, religious, and kind - they are, indeed, on the top of the social class. However, deep under the Grangerfords' glorious skin, is the ugliness of human nature - prejudice, hatred, and revenge. The Grangerford-Shepherdson feud is the black-white feud in another form. Both of them deny the value of existence of another group. Compared to the chaos and injustice of the society, the raft is truly the Garden of Eden for Huck and Jim - peaceful, delightful, and free.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. harem - [n.]
living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household
Ex. "If everybody don't go just so he whacks their heads off. But mostly they hang round the harem." (89)

2. fidget - [v.]
to move about restlessly, nervously, or impatiently
Ex. "I fidgeted up and down the raft, abusing myself to myself, and Jim was fidgeting up and down past me." (100)

Huckleberry Finn 3: P47-465

I. Quotations
1. "Yes -en I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns myself, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn't want no mo'." (page 57)

• When men are separated into different social levels, or even sold in different price, there is no humanity and justice left in the world. Growing up under this racist influence, Jim thinks he worth eight hundred dollars. However, he does not know that everyone is priceless. There is nothing to lose but ourselves. Ourselves are the greatest fortunes we have. Thus, freedom, the power to determine action without restrain, is the most valuable thing for a man. The slaves are poor because they have no freedom. Fortunately, Jim got his freedom by running away from Miss Watson. Therefore, he can now master his own body and mind. Freedom worth much more than just eight hundred dollars - freedom is, indeed, priceless.
  

2. "He's been shot in de back. I reck'n he's been dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face - it's too gashly." (page 60)

• The washed-out house Huck and Jim found was in a mess: "There was heaps of old greasy cards scattered around over the floor, and old whiskey bottles, and a couple of masks made out of black cloth" (60). The phrase "old whiskey bottles" stands out from the rest because it reminds me Huck's father, who is addicted to alcohol. So, does it mean that this dead man is Huck's pap? At least, we can view this as a symbolic hint of Pap's downfall - death.
  
• From here we can see that Jim is a caring and clever young man. Jim not only teaches Huck the skills to live in the woods, but also provides protection for him. Jim is more than just a fellow - he is a figurative father to Huck. The place they live in the woods is no longer a camp for them, but a home. This is why when they got back from a full-day adventure, Huck said, "we got home all safe" (61). Jim and Huck's companionship gradually changed into a family relationship.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. brash - [adj.]
1> impertinent; impudent; tactless
2> hasty; rash; impetuous
3> energetic or highly spirited, esp. in an irreverent way; zesty
4> (use esp. of wood) brittle
Ex. "When I got to camp I warn't feeling very brash, there warn't much sand in my craw; but I says, this ain't no time to be fooling around." (50)

2. gash - [n.]
1> a long, deep wound or cut; slash
2> slang: vulgar
Ex. "Come in, Huck, but doan't look at his face - it's too gashly." (21)

Huckleberry Finn 2: P28-46

I. Quotations
1. "You're educated, too, they say; can read and write. You think you're better'n your father, now, don't you, because he can't? I'll take it out of you." (page 28-29)

• There was a sense of insecurity in Pap's voice. He was intimidated by the fact that his son, being civilized, is going to become a better person than he is: "I'll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father and let on to be better'n what he is" (29). Therefore, from a historical perspective, this insecurity has a symbolic meaning - the whites' fear of losing their dominance over black people. In Pap's mind, he "was Huck Finn's boss" (33) and his son is his "property" (36). It may be strange for us to hear and hard for us to understand that why Pap would view a person as his own property; but back in the days, when slavery still exists, it is very common to own someone's freedom and make full use of it. On one hand, Huck's dad use him as a cash cow to get money for alcohol, which implicates the Old South Tradition of whites forcing slaves to work on cotton fields in order to make a fortune. On the other hand, Pap saved his brittle pride by dominating his son, which symbolizes the evil privilege of whites dominating black slaves in the old days. Therefore, Pap represents the ruthless white slaveholders and Huck represents the helpless black slaves.
  

2. "There was a free nigger there, from Ohio; a mulatter, most as a white as a white man [...] they said he was a p'fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything [...] And to see the road if I hadn't shoved him out o' the way. I say to the people, why ain't this nigger put up at auction and sold." (page 36-37)

• Huck's father is the embodiment of ignorance and stubbornness. He represents the worst of whites in the Old South - illiterate, violent, ignorant, and, above all, profoundly racist. It is such an irony that Pap, the ignorant old fogy, thinks he is way better than a mixed-race college professor. The society that tolerates the cruelty of slavery gave the whites, like Pap, priority over blacks. By contrasting the knowledgeable mulatto professor and the illiterate white Pap, Mark Twain mocked the ugliness of slavery in the South indirectly.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. jolt - [n.]
1> a sudden impact
2> an abrupt spasmodic movement
Ex. "That is, after the first jolt, as you may say, when my breath sort of hitched - he being so unexpected." (28)

2. nabob - [n.]
1> a a governor in India during the Mogul empire
2> a rich or important person
Ex. "He had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane - the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State." (21)

Huckleberry Finn 1: P9-27

I. Quotations
1. "The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the window was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it no longer, I lit out. I got into my old rags, and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." (page 9)

• The lack of discipline in Huckleberry's early education, made him an outsider of civilization. Although he was adopted as the widow's son, he was still, in nature, a free spirit: "All I [he] wanted was to go somewhere; all I [he] wanted was a change, I [he] warn't particular" (10). Unlike those well-educated children, Huckleberry wants adventures. However, little does he know, those adventures are not only exciting and playful experiences, but also developments of his personality, moral, and view of life.
  

2. "That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it." (page 10)

• From here we can see that Huckleberry is a skeptic of social doctrines. Although he is open to learning things he does not know, he never accept new ideas without thinking or testing them. People may view him as a ruleless rebel; however, he is, indeed, a liberal and thoughtful young boy who has the courage to question those infallible religious ideas, rituals, and manners. He is destined to make a difference.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. ornery - [adj.]
1> ugly and unpleasant in disposition or temper
2> stubborn
3> low or vile
4> inferior or common
Ex. "I was so ignorant and so kind of low-down and ornery." (20)

2. ambuscade
[n.] an ambush
[v.] to attack from a concealed position; ambush
Ex. "They didn't have only a guard of four hundred soldiers, and so we would lay in ambuscade, as he called it, and kill the lot and scoop the things." (21)

The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

Lu Li
AP English – Mr. George
Feb. / 23/ 2009
The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

Punish or Forgive

_People along the stream of history have always struggled to find the way to their salvation. Jesus suggested in The Bible that we could strengthen our weakness and alleviate our burdens of guilt through prayers: “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:41). So what should be the prayer of man to a most righteous God regarding sin? Some said that a man should always ask for forgiveness. Whereas others, such as the character Dorian Gray, claimed that “there was purification in punishment. Not ‘Forgive us our sins’ but ‘Smite us for our iniquities’ should be the prayer of man to a most just God” (Wilde 226). However, the prayer for redemption is a combination of both statements. Bearing the punishment with a faithful heart and receiving forgiveness are the two paddles of the boat which, not only lead one out of the whirlpool of temptation, but also to the harbor of ultimate salvation.

_First of all, punishment is a God-given gift to us because it gives us sinners a second chance to make things right. In the book The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, cried out when the governors wanted to take her baby Pearl away: “God gave me the child! […] Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin?” (Hawthorne 103). We can see the great strength of Hester's maternal instincts here. Hester, as a loving and compassionate mother, had said that Pearl is a part of her body, like the scarlet letter, which is a torture, but somehow a relief for her too. Pearl is "the scarlet letter endowed with life” (93); she is living evidence of Hester's fatal sin. On the other hand, Hester, as a sinner who committed adultery, has to bear seeing her sin growing up every single day. However, because Pearl is a living sin, she gave Hester a chance to be able to change her. She is not identical to the scarlet letter – all Hester can do is to embroider it in gold thread; she is, indeed, the hope of change and redemption for Hester. By teaching her child to be a good Christian, Hester can make her way to Heaven too. No wonder that Hester does not want to let her precious little one go. Pearl is a gift from God - a second chance for Hester to be back in God's arms. It is clear from here that punishments may change, or at least minimize the evil identity of sins.

_Bearing the burden of sins is the punishment a sinner deserves. Therefore, punishment should be the “ritual of the washing away of sins” (Miller 20). Arthur Dimmesdale realized at the end of his life that bearing one’s sin publicly is a part of the punishment God grants to sinners. God punishes those who have sinned “by bringing me [one] hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people” (Hawthorne 229). Hester was forced to wear the scarlet letter and was exiled by society; while Proctor was arrested and thrown into the dungeon; and Dimmesdale suffered from the burning sin on his heart. As counter examples, Abigail ran away from the town, leaving the chaos behind, which was caused by her sinful revenge and Dorian Gray escaped from punishment by letting his portrait bear the burden of his sins. Dorian and Abigail were never to be redeemed. We can see from here that people who escaped from their punishments, were at last, lost in the dark and somber woods where God’s lights of mercy could not shine. Therefore, it is crystal clear that of the five characters who have sinned, only the ones who have been tortured by their sin got their salvation from God.

_People who are looking for salvation should be aware of the two essential parts of punishment – the physical torture of the body and the spiritual burden of the heart. Proctor was being persecuted by the witch trails and ended up on death row. Hester was made to stand on the scaffold three hours a day to be humiliated by the public, even though she just had a baby. The stigma God marked on each sinner’s face is another kind of physical punishment:

Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed. People talk sometimes of secret vices. There are no such things. If a wretched man has a vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the molding of his hands even (Wilde 153-154).

Because Dorian Gray traded his soul with the painting, he did not have to bear the burning stigma of sin on his face. Although Dorian had gone through some extreme spiritual tortures, the lack of physical punishment is one of the reasons why God did not redeem him. Therefore, to some extent, it was wise for Dimmesdale to beat himself because the missing physical torture he deserved had been found through his somewhat irrational actions.

_Spiritual punishments always have more profound influences on people. Sinners always suffer from the burden of their hearts. Proctor was accused by the court of witchcraft in public, while bearing the shame of committing adultery deep in his heart. Hester was banished from the community and had to bear the burden of the scarlet letter on her chest everyday. Dimmesdale was mentally tortured by his duplicity – holy as a saint in front of the community, but ignominious as a sinner deep in his corrupted heart. The scalding stigma gradually becomes a motivation for the washing away of sins.

_Dorian Gray also suffered spiritually. He was so terrified that he thought “conscience could raise such fearful phantoms, and give them visible form, and make them move before one!” (205). Due to this miserable situation, Dorian Gray tried to free himself from the spiritual torture by spending time in opium dens, “where one could buy oblivion - dens of horror, where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new” (189). Although the painting is bearing the burden of Dorian's sins physically, the spiritual torture of the punishment is taking his breath away. Lord Henry told him “to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul” (189). Embracing this philosophy of life, Dorian was trying to alleviate his pain by anesthetizing it through drugs. All he ever wanted to do was “to escape, to go away, to forget” (210). He did escape from the punishments he deserved; however, this wrong attitude towards redemption drove Dorian even further away from God and His mercy.

_Although punishment is a necessity on the way to redemption, forgiveness is the key for sinners to reopen the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven. God said that “though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). God was trying to tell us that no matter how sinful we are, if we tried our best to wash away our previous sins, we are still going to be the sons and daughters of our Father. Keep in mind that the soul of a man is flexible: “It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect” (Wilde 221). A soul can be made perfect; therefore, the hope to wash away our sins is still there.

_In order to regain an unsullied heart, the sinner must be open to his or her sins publicly: “It was his [a sinner’s] duty to confess, to suffer public shame, and to make public atonement. There was a God who called upon men to tell their sins to earth as well as to heaven. Nothing that he [a man] could do would cleanse him till he had told his own sin” (228).

_Receiving forgiveness publicly is just the first step – redemption is mainly an issue between men and God; therefore, forgiving ourselves is the second step to salvation. Dorian Gray should be seen as a bad example of the washing away of sins. He tried to be forgiven by simply forgetting the sins he committed: "I always want to forget what I have been doing" (186). However, he does not understand that forgetting is not forgiving. Forgetting is a result of forgiveness, but the reverse of it is misleading and false – it is, indeed, a denial of sins. One cannot be forgiven unless he is open to punishment for sins. We have to do penance, and truly forgive ourselves first in order to be redeemed ultimately by God.

_However, God is the final judge – He is the one who can grant us our salvation. Would He forgive people who have sinned? Sinners in the world are, at least in some ways, similar to Dorian Gray:

He had tarnished himself, filled his mind with corruption, and given horror to his fancy; that he had been evil influence to others, and had experienced a terrible joy in being so; and that of the lives that had crossed his own it had been the fairest and the most full of promise that he had brought to shame (225).

“But was it all irretrievable? Was there no hope for him” (225) and for us? The answer is positive: “God knows; and He is merciful!” (Hawthorne 229). Bearing the punishments of our sins gratefully and having the desire to be truly forgiven by God can purify a stained soul. As long as our hearts are committed to God, He will give His unconditional love to us, even those who have sinned, “for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

_A pure soul is more valuable than anything else in the world: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36); therefore, a lost man should do anything he can to purify his corrupted heart. Punishment is fire – it tortures the sinners mentally and physically, while it purifies their souls. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a sinner must have the courage to burn his ugly soul into ashes, in order to rise again with a purified heart. Then, our loving Father will open His arms and embrace those sinners with delight, for He cares more about atonement than sins. The closing prayer of the Penitential Rite expresses this statement perfectly: “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life” (Wikipedia).



Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 1976.
Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam reissue, 2003.
Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2003.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Illinois: Wheaton, 1996.
Wikipedia. 15 January 2009. GNU Free Documentation License. 26 February 2009

Lu's Awesome Witticisims

I. Love
1. Love fades, Love vague, and Love leads to hate.
2. You date, you wait, but it is too late... 'cause he is away. After all these days, you will understand that Love is only a beautiful slay.
3. Love in deed, is just a need, regardless what it leads.

II. Laws & Morality
4. When the entire human race is corrupted as a whole, the standard of morality would be lowered. Therefore, ethic is not a measurement; it is just a buoy after all.
5. We are all sinners. We are just constantly looking for the ones who have sinned deeper than us, in order to find the last sense of peace in our corrupted hearts.
6. Law is not a speaker of justice and righteousness. It is just a seeker - a seeker whom helps us to find a scapegoat for our sins.

III. Miscellaneous
7. Drugs are pleasures; pleasures are drugs.
8. A life without a soul is worse than a soul without a life.
9. History is created by men, hidden by men, remolded by men, and, in the end, forgotten by men.
10. Wisdom is sly - it can bring you up high, but it can also destroy you like killing a fly.

The Picture of Dorian Gray : Chapter 15 & 16

I. Quotations
1. "There were opiumdens, where one could buy oblivion - dens of horror, where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new." (page 189)

• Although the painting is bearing the burden of Dorian's sins physically, the spiritual torture of the punishment of sins is taking his breathe away. Due to this miserable situation, Dorian Gray tried to free himself from the spiritual torture by spending time in opium dens. Lord Henry told him that "to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul" (189). Embracing this philosophy of life, Dorian is now trying to alleviate his pain of heart by anesthetize it using drugs. This revealed Dorian's negative attitude of life.
• Dorian is not a devil on earth - devils do not feel pain committing sins - the still-human Dorian does however. Therefore we can view him as an incorrigible pathetic creature whom is trying forget his sins by committing greater sins. This is a vicious circle which can lead one to temptation and villainy.
  

2. "Ugliness was the one reality. The coarse brawl, the very vileness of thief and outcast, were more vivid, in their intense actuality of impression, than all the gracious shapes of Art, the dreamy shadows of Song. There were what he needed for forgetfulness." (page 191)

• Dorian has a different understanding of morality. In his mind, moral is arts. As long as something is aesthetic enough , it could be considered as moral. Therefore, when Dorian said that "ugliness was the one reality" (191), he was basically saying that the world is immoral and sinful. By visiting London's filthiest places, Dorian can be relieved from the burden of his sins temporarily. Dorian would get a sense of feeling that his sins may not be that shameful compared to those sinners whom cannot even pretend they are moral.
• Dorian devoted himself into arts in search of his ideal morality. He tried to be forgiven by simply forgetting the sins he committed: "You always want to know what one has been doing. I always want to forget what I have been doing" (186). However, he does not understand that forgotten is not forgiven. One cannot be forgiven unless he is open to be punished by his sins. We have to truly forgive ourselves first in order to be redeemed ultimately by God.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. incorrigible - [adj.]
1> incapable of being corrected or reformed
2> firmly rooted; ineradicable
3> difficult or impossible to control or manage
Ex. "'Isn't he incorrigible?' cried Dorian, leaning forward in his chair." (169)

2. silhouette
[n.]
1> an outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow)
2> a drawing of the outline of an object filled in with some uniform color
[v.]
1> project on a background. such as a screen. like a silhouette
2> represent by a silhouette
Ex. "Most of the windows were dark, but now and then fantastic shadows were silhouetted against some lamp-lit blind." (190)