PLAY BY SAMUEL BECKETT

I found the play entitled "Play" by Samuel Beckett rather interesting. My first impressions when the play began was that it wouldnt be interesting and looked creepy. The people completely submerged into these capsules and covered in what looked liked thick fish scales where almost scary. Then the scene was dark and gloomy with hundreds of these capsules in the back ground. In the beginning it was really hard for me to understand what was being said by the people so I had to replay certain scenes over and over again. As time went on i realized that the people in the capsules where actually dead people and were in urns. Like the urn you put ashes of a cremated body. After watching the entire play I began to wonder the message that Beckett was trying to get across to his audience. This work clearly has a lot of meaning. Each person in the urn is in what I think to be "Hell" or "Purgatory". They are constantly reliving their sins and other events that occured in their lives that they are no longer able to control or do anything about. Each person is in their own single urn which represents that they are telling their indiviual story that only they know. A lot of the "sins" you may commit through your life only you will be aware of. Those are the sins that you never speak of and will always have that guilt of not knowing what would have happened if they were exposed. Watching the play made me think about life in general. I thought of what really happens after your life has physically ended. where would my soul go? what would happen to my body? I believe these are things that Beckett wanted his audience to ask themselves. What is life after death for you? Even though this is not the typical version of "Hell" or "Purgatory" that most of us have heard or read about I still believe It makes one question anything about life after death.

PERSEPOLIS BLOG 3

Overall I enjoyed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. The novel itself kept my interest as a reader. The comic book set up made it easy to read. Especially because it had a picture to go along with the text. However at times it was kind of confusing because she switched from topic to topic when it seemed she was not finished in completeling her thoughts from the previous. Her literary use of irony and symbolism allowed me as the reader to understand some of the ideas she was trying to get across or make. The topics raised by Satrapi are interesting. Things like the veil, revolution, war, social class etc. Although im not of the Islamic faith I felt as though i could feel how they as a people would have felt when certain things went on or took place in the novel. Alot of these situations are present anywhere you go. Like women rights, women rights has been a issue dating back hundreds of years ago. One particular thing that sticks out is the veil. I believe the veil represents bondage or a lack of freedom. It was stated that the veil was supoose to be worn because the woman's hair tempted men. And such temptation was wrong or not of god. They believed the appearance of hair and temptation led to the rape of their women. I thought this was beyond crazy. It seems the government officials needed a reason any reason reason really to justify the enforcement of the veil. In this novel I believe they are things you could learn about life. Like a life lesson. The narrator was continously learning these lessons. When the narrator first learned of social class she felt bad. She realized she would be considered upper class because she had a maid, her father drove a nice car, etc. She soon realized such issues as rights and social class was the reason for the revolution. There were instances where she made fun of a little girl saying her father was not on a trip but that he was dead. Then seeing that he was not dead was to me a slap in the face she deserved, but the bigger slap came when her uncle anoosh was killed. Her experience of being on the other side allowed her to see that you dont make fun of death because you never know when you or your loved one will be faced with the same situation. She learned another leasson when her and a friend placed nails between their fingers and tried to attack the little boy because his father supposedly ordered the killing of thousands of people. She had to realize that you can not punish others for the mistakes of another regardless the relation. Although I could not complete the entire novel because the second part of the book was not available I did enjoy what I could read. As I said before at times I was confused but over all I enjoyed the work.

ZAABALAWI

In Naguib Mahfouz Zaabalawi we as a reader see a young man in search of Zaabalawi. He is known for his cure of illnesses. Mahfouz uses different literary techniques to tell this story. I believe the story contains alot of symbolism. The quest to find Zaabalawi is a journey into ones soul in search of the inner peace that is inside of us. In the beginning of the novel the narrator asks his father about this Zaabalawi. His father responds saying "May his blessing descend upon you, he is a true saint of God, a remover of worries and troubles. Were it not for him I would have died miserably. The father found his inner peace and his journey symbolizes the reults that are possible when anyone finds that inner peace they search for. On his journey the narrator encounters numerous places full of despair and lacking hope. When he saw the Birgawi residence he said time had eaten into the building and now it was nothing more than a rubbish dump. The narrator soon began to give in to the despair himself because he began to loose sight of what the object of his interest was. Which was finding his inner peace. He even states he didnt know if he could hold on much longer. Soon he encounters the calligrapher who tells him a story of Zaabalawi making him out to be more of a man of mystery. He states he would visit often and when you think he is near and dear he would disappear as though he never existed. Next the narrator encounters the musician who tells him that suffering is part of the cure. This would be considered a paradox because at first the statement seems to be incorrect but it does hold truth in the lives of many people. The musician tells the narrator that in the old days it was easy to know where Zaabalawi resided but now times have changed because now the world is cruel, full of despair, and people didnt seek inner peace like they once did, but he should hold out because he still has inner peace to find within himself. He gave the advice of not giving into defeat, this extraordinary man brings fatigue to all those who seek him and have patience in being sure you will reach him. This symbolizes that your journey for inner peace can be difficult and may not go the way you see planned or want it to. The narrator meets a man at the bar who appears drunk after having a few drinks he says he lost his memory and then the future vanished. The irony in the short story becomes evident because the narrator misses his only chance to meet Zaabalawi because he was sleep when the purpose of his quest presented itself. After realizing he missed Zaabalawi the narrator decides to continue his journey. The symbolism in this is a idea of renewed hope. The narrator's lack of awareness that the cure resided in him was the obstacle in his way. The fact he could find, keep, or remember his inner peace was because he has not gained the awareness that Zaabalawi is inside of him in the form of spirit and peace. He had a glimpse of the inner peace he longed for but when he awoke his lack of awareness and doubt took over and he was no longer able to see it. Throughout the story he searched for something that has always been there he just wont allow himself to have it because of his doubt and lack of awareness.

PERSEPOLIS BLOG 2

In the portion of reading I found alot things that took place interesting. Although I find alot of things about the text so far interesting its beginning to become difficult to follow because one minute the narrator is talking about this and then the next she is on a completely different topic that should be placed with other things she talks about. This is beginning to frustrate me as a reader. I think the only reason the author can get by with it in this novel is because of the way it is set up with a comic book format where u have short text and a corresponding picture. If it was a normal novel it would be impossible to follow. The first would be living in a society so focused on being on a accord that they would close all universities because they felt everything and anything needed to be done to ensure that children didnt stray away from the path of Islam. When the narrator found out about this she immediately saw her dream of being like Marie Curie crumble before her eyes. In her case it would be one thing to not accomplish something because of your own lack of will or laziness but to have it taken because of religious beliefs of your nation and theres nothing you can do but accept it would be really difficult for me. Scenes immediately following this the mother is confronted by gentlemen and told she should be pushed up against a wall and raped if she didnt wear the veil. Those are pretty harsh words but it doesnt surprise me completely from what has taken place thus far in the text. The veil becomes a obiligatory thing to wear because a woman's hair brings excitement to a man that may cause him to rape her. Im beginning to think that the government officials are trying to brainwash their people into believing whatever they say. I dont think there is any way possible that hair could excite a man enough to rape a woman. If a man is going to rape a woman its not going to be because of her hair. It was funny when the narrator's mother looked out the window and saw a woman who always wore tight and short clothing having adapted to the fundamentalist style of clothing. A man had to wear a long sleeve shirt because his bare arms wouls excite a woman. I could not imagine having to wear a long sleeve shirt everyday especially in that climate. The narrator sees her last demostration when a fight / riot breaks out and people began to get beat or stabbed. And then learning she and her family would no longer be able to take vacation. I think thats another extreme as well. When they realize they are at war from the grandmother it reitterates the belief by most not just concerning their nation but in any country the government will only let you see what they want to portray to you. especially at a time like war. Our nation saw this with the war in Iraq. When the teacher asked the students to preapare a letter concerning the war I felt bad for the little girl Paradise. Like nthe narrator everyone would say he died a noble death and was a hero. But she felt I rather see him in jail and alive than to know he was dead. It was nice of the narrator's family to take in Taji and her family. Although I didnt particularly care for her boys. They were worried about all the wrong things that was clearly not important. They were spoiled, selfish, and materialistic like their father. And the situation with the maid and her son and the gold key was very strange. The fact that boys who knew nothing about war where being sent to fight. I mean they where still kids how could they possible fight in a war and then told since you are poor when you die this gold key might help buy your way in to heaven. As the reading continues the narrator tells different stories of things that occured to friends and families she knew. With everything been said I just couldnt imaging having to put myself in her position and live her life.

PERSEPOLIS BLOG 1

I find myself quite interested in this novel thus far. I think Satrapi's use of pictures and short text writing like that of a comic book gives more of a visual of what the narrator is talking about. Most good writers use of words can allow the reader to see a visual of what has been written. This novel however is not the typical novel you would read because of the comic book set up. In the first chapter I found the veil explanation rather amusing. I honestly didn't know that woman and even some mean protested against the wearing of the veil. And the fact the narrator and her piers think of the veil as a joke or something to just play with shows that there might not be any point of little girls wearing them. They clearly didnt know what it was made for. The narrator even says she didnt know what it was for even though her family was very religous. The reasons the narrator gives for wanting to be a prophet are amusing but shows she is the typical child who dreams of being certain people or holding a particular position when they grow up because they believe this positions are respected, noble, etc. When the 400 victims were killed in the fire and the narrator is looking for god and he is no where to be found shows her faith. When things go bad we always turn to god for the answer. I found that interesting because she is rather young and most kids cant understand religous aspects. When the grandmother was telling ehr story about the shah and being so poor she had to fake cooking dinner by boiling water was kind of sad. I saw myself putting myself in the position of her children wandering what it felt like to know you was only smelling boiling water. As the novel continues there is a point where the father doesnt return until late that night and the mother thought he was killed. That was my first thought especially when they said taking photos of a demostration were forbidden. After the narrator read the reasons for the revolutions she quickly picked up on the fact she belonged to a different social class and felt ashamed. And the favors she did for the maid in writing to her lover was pretty nice of the narrator but i felt bad for the maid when the guy learns she is only a maid and cant read or write. When they demostrated on black friday and the man hit both of them shows him to be a coward. Hitting women and putting them in their place was accepted in their faith. I just wished I was in the story so I could slap him back for them. When the narrator and her friends grab nails and try to attack the little boy was ironic to me. She wanted him to be punished for something he could not control and had no part in. And when she tells to little girl that a trip meant your father is dead was pretty mean but just shows how some kids make joy out of the sorrow of others. I know she felt stupid when she realized he was not dead. She quickly tried to make up and play with the little girl then. The decriptions of the tortures they faced in prison along with the picture shows the cruel and crazy world we live in. I couldnt imagine being burned on my back with an iron and then cut into pieces. Every child has a hero when growing up. The narrator's was her uncle anoosh. The ironic thing about the situation concerning her uncle was he ended up going on a trip but he never returned because he was killed. Not that I was happy he died but I believe it did show the narrator its not good to make fun of or play with certain situations concerning the lives of a love one because you never know when the same thing may happen to you.

DUMBLEDORE CHPTS 11 - 14

Dumbledore does have a few appearances in these chapters. Even though he doesnt do much in particular his presence alone had enough on certain characters. In chapter 11 Snape deducts five points from Gryffindor because Harry along with Ron and Hermoine have a book outside the library reading. This only makes Harry dislike Snape even more although some of his dislike is rooted from fear. Me as a reader even more disgusted with Snape. I never saw a student punished for reading for further knowledge on a subject. Like Harry said I bet he made that up just then. I actually smile when I learned with Harry that Snape was bit by the dog protecting the forbidden corridor. It was like he got what he deserved. With the yHarry made in the teachers staffroom I began to wonder why Snape was in the forbidden corridor trying to get pass the dog as well. Harry automatically assumes it was Snape who let the mountain troll in to cause a distraction for him to sneak off to the corridor. At first thought I would think this too but then that would be too obvious. Snape being a professor at Hogwarts he could sneak off at any time to go to the forbidden corridor i would think it would be wiser to do it at night when everyone is suppose to be sleep. As the chapter continues Harry finally enters into his first Quidditch match and I like the descriptive details Rowling uses describing the match I could visualize everything taking place. And its like Snape wont give up he starts to use dark magic to effect Harry's broomstick and I though it was hillarious when Hermoine set the bottom of his robe on fire. When everyone realized that Harry had caught the snitch I was happy too. First thing I thought about was the look on Malfoy's face. In chapter 12 Christmas has arrived and the evil Malfoy can not stand that everyone is liking Harry and his friends so he has to switch up his approach in picking at them. Hagrid doesnt mean to let the name Nicholas Flamel slip but he does. This becomes a big piece to the puzzle of discovering what the three headed dog is guarding. I am now more in tune as a reader to make sure I catch every detail the the author might want me to. I thought it was nice of Mrs. Weasley to make Harry a sweater along with her boys. And with the discovery of the invisible cloak I began to think what I would do with one myself if it was given to me. But i thought like Harry this would be a good time to discover things he had been wanting answers to. I figured he would go to the restricted section of the library but I also thought he would try and sneak pass the dog guarding the corridor. Trying to escape Filch and Snape he discovers the mirror of erised. He saw his family and immediately brought Ron back the next night. On the third night he realizes that Dumbledore had been watching him the whole time as he and Ron were sneaking of to see the mirrior. With Dumbledore reacting and explaining the purpose of the mirror I believe this made Harry feel alot more comfortable knowing he wouldn't be punished because of his desire to see his family. And it obvious Dumbledore lied to Harry when he asked what does he see when he looks into the mirror. In chapter 13 Gryffindor finds out Snape would be the referee for the next Quidditch match. I automatically assume like they do that Snape would cheat. But if backs out then in a sense he would let Snape know he is afraid of him. After Neville aight the chocolate frog the realize that what they have been searching for all this time is on the back of the card. And with that and a little research they know what the dog is gaurding. At the Quidditch match we learn that Dumbledore was in attendance and with that we all know that Snape couldnt and wouldnt do anything out the way to harm Harry. But I do like how Ron and Hermoine bought there wands just in case like Snape we gon show you who run this. With Harry catching the snitch and Dumbledore congratulating him on his play its obvious that Harry is really beginning to like being at Hogwarts and prolly would never return to the muggle world. When Harry discovers Snape sneaking of to the forbidden forest and speaking to Quirrel I begin to think Snape is not just a mean and arrogant professor he is also crooked. For what reason does he need to get the stone out of the corridor. In chapter 14 Hagrid receives a dragon from a card game. Although the chapter had some interesting things take place i wasnt that interested in reading and learnign about this dragon of Hagrid's. However I thought Malfoy is continuing to get what he deserves when learned that Ron gave him a black eye and he gets caught by Professor Mcgonagall trying to set up Harry and his friends again. And at the end of the chapter Harry Ron and Hermoine get caught by Filch coming down from the tower and I automatically think how could they be so careless to forget the invisible cloak after they just saw Malfoy get caught dont you think someone else would be lurking around if one student was caught there!!!!

DUMBLEDORE CHPTS 8 - 10

Dumbledore does not have any appearance in these chapters however he is mentioned when Professor Mcgonagall states she would have to get his permission to allow Harry to participate in Quidditch since first years normally are not allowed to partake in the games. In chapter eight Rowling introduces the different classes Harry and his friends are taking. I like how Professor Mcgonagall is as a character she is a straight by the book type person who has a zero tolerance policy. She does not have to be mean to earn the respect of the students or get them to listen. On the other hand I dislike Professor Snape at this point in the book. It seems he has a personal issue with Harry and he hasn't been in Hogwarts long enough to get in any trouble or earn the title of a troublemaker. It's clearly obvious he picks on Harry most likely because of his reputation which he did nothing to build. In Harry's eyes his reputation preceeds him. He doesnt realize his importance as of yet and does lack confidence in himself. Snape knows Harry knows nothing about magic coming from a muggle family and for him to 'call ' Harry out like that in class to embarass him I thought was unprofessional on his behalf. I took his actions when he did this to Harry in a sense to humble someone who didnt need humbling. If Harry paraded around the school like "yea thats me Harry Potter" then that would be different but Harry at this point is looking for acceptance. As well i looked at it as a way for Snape to show the students he is just a mere man like yourselves no better no worse since all the students looked at Harry as a 'superior being' almost. In chapter nine Rowling begins to focus more on Harry's personal battle with himself. Although he has a peer (Malfoy) he is beginning to despise Harry's biggest challenge his confidence in himself. When the students are in the field preparing for their flying lessons Malfoy once again tries to out shine the students. After Neville hurts himself and him and Madam Hooch walk off Malfoy takes the remembrall and hops on his broom thinking Harry or anyone else would have the skill to keep up with him. However to even Harry's own surprise he is a natural and really good at flying. I like how Rowling final allows Harry to see or feel as though he belongs. She does this even more when Professor Mcgonagall sees Harry flying and immediately takes him with her to see Wood even though Harry thinks he is in trouble and about to be expelled. Being the only first year to participate in Quidditch is definitely a big accomplishment especially when you dont feel you belong. As well it definitely is a way to pick or get back at Malfoy without doing anything negative to harm him. I believe with that event occuring and then Professor getting Harry a Nimbus Two Thousand he definitely is gaining the confidence he needs to survive life at Hogwarts. It is obvious when Malfoy agains tries to find a way to get Harry expelled by setting up a midnight duel that he never intended to attend. He is clearly jealous and intimidated by Harry. Through his struggle of realizing Malfoy set him up Harry and his friends discover why Dumbledore didn't want them to go on the third floor in the forbidden corridor. They discovered the trapped door was being guarded by a dog. I as a reader became just as curious as Harry and Ron to know what might be under the door as well. I think Rowling does a good job setting up the scenes that take place before the discover which in the end makes you only wonder what Dumbledore and the staff are hiding under the door. In chapter ten Harry and Ron battle the Mountain troll which I believe only continues to mold and build Harry as a character to discover his destiny or purpose. At this point, I believe he is beginning to feel the acceptance he always wanted to feel.