To Lie or Not to Lie. That is the Question.

I think that lying is technically never ethically justified. And it generally causes a mess, especially in works by Shakespeare. I think the difference in a truly horrid lie and a lie that seems ok is the intent. People may intend to hurt someone through a lie, making it ethically wrong...obviously. But someone who tells a lie with the intent to help someone, makes the ethically justified line much blurrier. I mean in real life, you think, was it really so bad that she said she like my outfit...even if she didn't? The answer is no, probably not. What can a little white lie hurt? I think it depends on the little white lie you tell. Even the simple idea of telling someone you like their outfit when you really don't, is alright at first, unless they find out what you really think; and it is very possible that they would have their feelings hurt. Well maybe not about the outfit(although maybe they would) but you get my point. But you never intended to hurt them, you just wanted to spare their feelings. But does that make it ok to lie to them? Just like in Much Ado About Nothing. The Prince, Leonato, and Claudio scheme to get Beatrice and Benedick together. They do this by lying to Benedick. They have him "overhear" a conversation where the three amigos are discussing how in love with Benedick Beatrice is. Claudio even says "Bait well the hook well-this fish will bite"(II.3.113), which means that they are trying to reel Benedick into loving Beatrice. Their only want is to see the two in love, and it is not have a hating nature that they commit this act. They are also not forcing the two together, merely giving them a push. But I'm still not sure that makes it ok. In short, the line is blurry, but if the intent is good, then hopefully nothing will go too wrong.

In the play Don John lies with the intent of hurting those around him, imparticularly Claudio the man resposible for his downfall. This is a much more obvious ethical violation. Lying to hurt someone is always wrong. Don John wants to take away the love of Claudio's life, Hero, because he doesn't really want Claudio to be happy. At the reveling ball he tells Claudio; "Signior, you are very near my brother in his love. He is enamored on Hero"(II.1.69-70). He wants Claudio to think that the Prince has stolen his beloved, creating tension. Don John's sole purpose in this endeavour was to hurt Claudio and perhaps the Prince, thereby making it wrong, very wrong.

A lovely death poem.

I Died for Beauty but was Scarce
By Emily Dickenson

1 I died for beauty but was scarce
2 Adjusted in the tomb,
3 When one who died for truth was lain
4 In an adjoining room.

5 He questioned softly why I failed?
6 "For beauty," I replied.
7 "And I for truth,--the two are one;
8 We brethren are," he said.

9 And so, as kinsmen met a night,
10 We talked between the rooms,
11 Until the moss had reached our lips,
12 And covered up our names.

This poem struck a chord with me because it many different meanings all wrapped up into one poem. The poem states that beauty and truth are like brothers, but that also means that the two are different (8). If truth and beauty were the same they would be twins in the same room. Another meaning you can derive from the poem is from the line with the word "failed"(5). The word failed is very important because it indicates that there were goals that they did not achieve in life, and so in essesence they failed. You could also interpret it to mean that dying for beauty means failing, for it is a pointless way to die. The last line where the poem describes the poem covering up their names says to me that the dead are often forgotten gradually and slowly, but nevertheless they are forgotten(11/12). The moss covers them up and you can see them no more(11/12).

The poem uses the metaphor "met at night" to refer to death (9). I also believe the people in the tomb are meant to represent beauty and truth, but are presented to us as people who died for such causes. It shows us that beauty and truth can get along and can be similar, but should not be considered the same thing. Dead people are personified in this poem in a way, because in real life obviously dead people can't converse. When she mentions that she was "adjusted in the tomb" it shows us that no matter what you died for, in the end we all end up in the same place(2). No matter what ideals you had in life, or what ideals you died for, in death it doesn't matter. The speaker also doesn't seem to be concerned by her own death, she speaks straighforwardly and even bluntly; giving the effect that is somewhat indifferent or even gloomy. This poem makes an interesting statement about death, even a grim one, because it speaks to a persons fear that no matter what you died for we all end up in the same place. We all want to believe that if we die for something just we will go to a good place and the less worthy to a less worthy place. But Emily Dickenson refutes that, but it isn't a totally dire outlook. Although we all go to the same place, the two in the tomb find comfort and kinship in eachother. That is what initally attracted me to this poem.

How Things Went.

Well, for me first quarter was a major reality check. Just sliding by with a so-so paper that I didn't really have to spend all that much time on was no longer an option. I'm not gonna lie that first 5-paragraph essay was probably the most stressful and draining and most picked apart essay I've ever written, but in the end I learned alot of skills from it that benefitted me. For example learning how to write an actual thesis statement, not a topic. That was huge. I've never had much experience with thesis statements and they were a whole heck of a lot more difficult and explicit than I'd ever thought before. I Learned how much an outline can help you organize all your thoughts. I learned how to start to come up with clear, concise, debateable main ideas. I had never been much of a prewriter before now, never really thought that it was all that useful, but now that I have some of the useful ones that we did in class, I can honestly say I will swear by them(especially in the thesis statement area). I need to learn and reinforce that although a good paper can be written overnight, the paper would probably be better if I had constantly worked and tweaked it to be the best that I can possibly make it. I have to learn not to procrastinate, which is my biggest downfall in all schoolwork. I need to make sure to stay focused in class because my mind tends to wander and then I sometimes miss important information. Overall, this was a good quarter, but there are always improvements to be made.

Outside Reading #5

A main topic that has presented itself throughout the novel, but becomes especially clear at the end is forgiveness. Andrew Hopkins may have done the unthinkable by kidnapping Delia, but his reasoning made you see that he only did it out of love and the fear of Delia's alcoholic mother. Delia is horrified about not knowing who she is and even more horrified that she may no longer be able to trust her father. But Delia begins to realize that nothing about her as a person has changed, she is still Sophie's mother, and she is still the same Delia she has always been. This revelation allows Delia to slowly be able to forgive her father for the life that he took away because Delia realizes that she loved the life she gained. When Delia's father is aquitted Delia couldn't be more overjoyed, and we are able to see that her forgiveness is complete. She even says, " What if it turns out that a life isn't defined by who you belong to or where you came from, by what you wished for or whom you've lose, but instead by the moments you spend getting from each of these places to the next?"(Piccoult 418). She realizes that whether she grew up with her father or not, that isn't what is important; it was her journey to where she is now and that the journey through life is all that matters. The two drive off into the sunset and as Delia puts it, "I drive east, toward Sophie, toward home"(418). After all the things her and her father have been through, she still considers the home she grew up in to be her true home. And her most poingant sign of forgiveness is when she says, "At any moment, a person can start over. And that's not half a life, but simply a real one"(230).

We are also confronted by the question; what is bad? I think Andrew Hopkins states it perfectly, "Bad is not an absolute, but a relative term. Ask the robber who used the cash he stole to feed his infant; the rapist who was sexually abused as a child; the kidnapper who truly believed he was saving a life"(194). Small children see right and wrong in black and white. As we grow older we see an ever growing "grey" area. What Andrew Hopkins did was undeniably against the law, but was it necessarily wrong? He refers to himself as the kidnapper mentioned in the quote above and how he thought he was truly saving his daughter's life, and this makes the reader sympathize with his cause. The line is blurred to the reader because you develop an afinity and affection for Andrew. But then the reader thinks of Elise. Her chance to have a relationship with her daughter was ripped away from her with no warning. Elise loved her daughter and Delia loved her mother, and they were both forced to live without each other. How can you justify that? There were avenues that he could have taken to take Delia out of Elise's custody for the ti me being, but he chose to take the route that was probably easiest, actually I should say, cleanest break away from that old life. By the end the viewer still isn't decided about whether what Andrew did was right or wrong, but all they know is that what he has done has been forgiven.

In the end Delia and Eric break it off because they are simply too different for each other. Eric could no longer put on the face of the person that Delia wanted him to be. Eric had to be Eric, and Delia couldn't live with that. It was probably for the best that they didn't get married because it was obvious to the reader that Eric was just not right for Delia. Eric will, however, still be a big part of his daughter Sophie's life. From the very beginning the reader can see that Fitz is the correct choice for Delia, Delia just hasn't realized it yet. She does by the end. She and Fitz get together, which one would think would accept Eric, but he is surprisingly accepting. He also realizes that Fitz was the right one all along and as much as it hurts Eric he knows that he has to let Delia go. He even says, "If I can't take care of her myself, there's no one else I'd want to take my place"(413). Eric forgives Fitz for taking Delia, probably not so much because he wants to, but because he knows that it is the right decision for everyone. Fitz goes on to say, "Eric will be with us-maybe not as often, maybe not even in the same neighborhood, maybe not for a while. But we are three; none of us would have it any other way"(413). Despite everything they have all been through they realize their friendships are more important than anything else and forgive each other for everything, no matter what it is.

Outside Reading #4

A major conflict that emerges as the story progresses is Fitz's love for Delia and Delia's unknown love for Fitz. Delia at the beginning only thinks of them as best friends, and Fitz knows that he loves her and he would do anything for her, which is obvious when he says, "She had always trusted me to fix what's wrong: a dead car battery, a flooded basement, a broken heart. This time, I am way out of my league, but I try to rescue her anyway"(61). He, like Eric, always wants to save Delia, even when he is afraid that he might not be able to. But Fitz has the disposition of not being Delia's fiance and that hurts Fitz as is seen when he says,"I hesitate a second before hauling her into my arms-touching Delia is something I am always careful about; it comes at such great cost to me"(61). Fitz can't have Delia, but Fitz is probably the one who knows her the best. The reader begins to think that Fitz is the one for Delia and not Eric. When Eric and Delia are fighting, Delia goes to Fitz's house and Fitz's description of the event is as follows, "She falls asleep this time holding my hand, Eric's diamond ring cutting into my palm like the wounds of Passion from the Crucifixtion. I would do that for her, I realize. Die. Be reborn"(393). This just once again illustrates the love and willingness of Fitz to do anything for his beloved Delia.

Eric constantly has to battle his alcholism and his rocky relationship with Delia that is even more on edge because of her father's crime. Delia fears Eric drinking again, while Eric fears losing Delia. These exact fears can be seen in an a conversation between Delia and Eric," 'You won't start drinking again, Eric.'
'I wasn't talking about alcoholism,' he says,'I was talking about losing you'"(285). The reader begins to get the sense that these two just cannot make this relationship work; that they are simply too different for each other. Eric tries to be someone that he is not for Delia and that leads to fighting and eventually leads back to Eric drinking again. He has a fight with Delia about how isn't allowed to tell her the details of her father's case because he is his lawyer and sharing details would be against the law. Delia is very uspet and Eric heads off to, "I head to the corner of whiskey's. The cashier puts the Maker's Mark into a brown bag for me and hands me back my change. When i leave the store I twist off the cap of the whiskey bottle. I lift the bottle to my lips and tilt back my head and savor that first, blessed, anesthetic mouthful"(261). Eric cannot be the person Delia wants him to be, and that takes a toll on their relationship and drives Eric back to his nasty habit of drinking.

Outside Reading #3

A major conflict in Vanishing Acts by Jodi Piccoult is obviously the fact that Delia's father Andrew kidnapped her and is now on trial for his acts. The conflicts that result because of this event are far more about what the book is getting at. For example, because Delia has never had a mother and her father told her she was dead, Delia's first curiousity is "Do I have a mother?", which as it turns out she does. For Delia it is hard to confront the mother she was supposed to have because for all these years Delia has been creating the perfect mother in her head, and no real person could stand up to that delusion. Seeing her mother would also be the proof that her beloved father had lied to her for her entire life. You can see Delia's nervousness about meeting her mother that she just found out she had when Delia says, "When your mother is made out of dreams, anything real is bound to dissapoint you"(Piccoult 140). And as it turns out when Delia finally does meet her mother, Elise, she is dissapointed. She goes on to say, "She wasn't who I wanted her to be"(143). Delia realizes that sometimes in life the things you yearn for the most can just never live up to your expectations. It wasn't that Elise was a bum or a drunk, or even cold and unwelcoming....she was just normal. She wasn't the superhuman perfect mom that Delia was looking for, the person that Delia's dad had always been to her.

Another major conflict that Delia wrestles with is her feelings towards her father. He has always been one of the most major people in Delia's life, and now all of a sudden he has been ripped away. She can't explain this to her daughter Sophie. She can't tell Sophie that her grandfather has been taken away on kidnapping charges, it is just too hard for Delia. At one point during the trial Sophie asks, "Did he break a window?"(144) and Delia responds in her thoughts," No,I think. Just my heart"(144). You can see that Delia is torn between her love for her father and the lies that he told her. She has to ask herself the question are all those years of him being the best father imaginable erased because of one wrong thing that he has done? She also has to find it in herself to forgive him, so that maybe one day they can put this event behind them.

Eric has the challenge of trying to change who he is to live up to Delia's expectations of him. This becomes obvious when he says, "It's funny. I started drinking heavily because I wanted to see that expression in Delia's eyes when she looked only at me, and it's the same reason I quit drinking. She isn't just the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, she's the reason I have one"(29). He wants to be the person that Delia can depend on, who his daughter can depend on. He wants Delia to look up at him as the man who can do anything, but on the inside he knows that he can't do anything. He battles his drinking daily and has a hard time controlling himself. He even agrees to be the attorney for Delia's father even though he is completely unsure of himself and not particularly trained in this sort of law, all because he knows it will mean the world to Delia. His thought process is, "I am completely unequipped to be Andrew's attorney; I don't have the experience or the wits or the confidence. But I think of Delia, begging; believing that I am someone who was once a failure might still be a candidate for a hero"(48). Eric wants to prove that he can be the man Delia wants and needs him to be, no matter what the cost.

Outside Reading #2

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Piccoult relates in many ways to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. First of all, Delia, just like Oskar loses her father. The two lose them in different ways, however. Oskar's father died in a terrorist attack, while Delia's father was discovered to be a wanted fugitive for kidnapping his own daughter and he was put in jail. Delia feels like she has lost her father and that she no longer knows him like she thought she did. You can see this when she says exactly that while talking to her best friend Fitz, "And I thought I knew my father...but it turns out that was the biggest lie of all"(Piccoult 60). Delia, just like Oskar, is now not sure who her father was. She just wants things to be back the way that they were. She even says to Fitz, " I wish I had never found out"(60). She loved her old life and she loved her dad and she doesn't want to question her love or move on with her life. Oskar is similar in that sense because he couldn't just simply move on from his father's death, he had to complete his own journey to heal, as Delia will have to as well.

Not only had Delia lost her father she feels like she has lost herself. Oskar feels similarly because he, just like Delia, had always defined himself in terms of his Dad. Now that they have lost their dads they are confused and lost about who they are. This becomes apparent when Delia says, "I have a mother, but I have no idea who I am"(60). Part of this is also because she was kidnapped and has no memory or knowledge of her old life, but I also believe that part of it is because she always relied so much on her father to help her through and see who she really is, just like Oskar's dad did for him. And both Oskar and Delia are still so painfully in love with their fathers, and they really don't want to question or forget that. Delia even says when talking about her mental idea of a mother says, "Someone who would give up her life if it meant I couldn't be apart of it. Someone my father had always been"(76). Her father had always been one of the most important things in her life, and now he has been ripped away and Delia has to learn to deal with that, just as Oskar had to learn to deal with the pain of his father's death.

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Outside Reading Post 1: Characters

The most prominent main character in the novel, Vanshing Acts by Jodi Picoult, would have to be Delia Hopkins. Delia is a very determined, passionate woman, who is extremely dedicated to anything she decides to do. She is a search and rescue person, so along with her dog Greta, she goes out to find the missing people of her city. Delia is motivated to find people because on the inside she herself is the one that feels lost. Finding people is a way for Delia to feel like she is finding her way through the mess of her life. She thinks that if she can find people, then there shouldn't be any reason that she cannot find herself. She is a dedicated mother to her beloved Sophie, who should would do anything for. Delia's greatest fear is losing Sophie. You can see this already in the novel when Delia says, "I can't imagine anything more terrifying than losing Sophie" (Picoult 7). She loves Sophie with all her heart and it is hard for Delia to ever let Sophie out of ther sight because Delia is surrounded by so much loss every day. Just as Delia has begun to settle into her life, she finds out that it was all a lie. Her father took her away when she was very young, and the life that Delia was supposed to lead, was wiped away. Now Delia is thrown back into a pit of self-doubt and curiousity, and her sense of loss begins to make more sense. She is torn between the love she has for her father, and the terrible thing that he did.

Another main character in the novel is Delia's father Andrew. Andrew appears to be the perfect father on the outside. He has always been there for Delia and has always been a positive force in the community. He is on the town council, and single-handedly created the town's senior center. He took Delia away from her life when she was very young, and the specifics are not yet quite clear. However, it is obvious that he is not sorry about taking Delia because when he says, " In my shoes how do you know that you wouldn't have done the same thing?" (53). He's not showing remorse for what he has done and apparently believes that the reason he took his daughter was legitamite. He fights for what he wants and he fought for the best life that he thought he could give to his daughter. He strived to be the perfect father and put the past behind him, but the past caught up with him, as it catches up with us all. He seems resigned to go to jail, which also suggest that his character knows that what he did was wrong, but that doesn't mean he's sorry. He knew he had been living a lie and was pleased to be rid of it in jail. We can see this when he says,"The moment I gave up my clothes for a baggy orange jumpsuit I also peeled off the skin of the person I've pretended to be," (52). However he has the repurcussions of what will happen to Delia and the emotions she must deal with if he goes to jail, which I believe will become a major player in whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.

Another main character in the novel is Eric, Delia's fiance. He has an addictive personality. He and Delia have had a long and tumultuous relationship, but they love each other through and through. However, Eric has a self-control problem. He can't stop drinking. He has tried to stop for Delia and their daughter Sophie, but somehow he always finds his way back to the bottle. In front of Delia he puts on a strong front, to her he is her knight in shining armor. But on the inside he is very unsure of himself, and questions most of his movements. He is also a hopeless romantic in a sense. He gave everything up for Delia. He could have been a high powered, high paid lawyer, but instead he chose his love for Delia. Eric changed himself for Delia, which can be seen when he says, "It took me some time, but eventually I realized why Delia said no to my proposal. I had asked her to spend the wrong life with me, but at any moment, a person might start over from scratch. Just like Delia is also very dedicated and motivated when he puts his mind to it.

Why Do We Write Memoirs?

I think people write memoirs because it is a way for them to put a little piece of themselves out into the world. They can share who they are, and how they felt, with everyone. There is alot of power in that. The author is able to make people feel like they know that author, and that they can relate to him/her. It can also be a release. An angry memoir probably meant that at the time, that person was housing alot of anger. But instead of taking it out in a "typical" way, they chose to write about how they felt about it, and how they experienced the event. They make us feel their anger, which as a reader, as a huge effect. Memoirs can also be about life experiences and lessons. Black Boy, for example, was all about the choices that Richard Wright made, and the lessons he learned from each of his choices. We as the reader can see his struggles with poverty, peers, and authority. He chooses to leave home, and as a result is free from a stifling life. That part of the memoir teaches the reader that breaking away can free our minds. We also get to see Richard looking back on the events of his life, showing how much he has grown up. When you write a memoir, it can be difficult, because you really are putting a little bit of your life out in the world for everyone to see. But in a way most people deep down want their lives to be remembered and their stories to be heard. A memoir is a way for your own story to be heard, loud and clear.

Richard's "Hunger"

Richard "hungers" for a better life. He may be physically hungry most of the time, because his family cannot afford that much food, but Richard is also mentally hungry. He wants to learn and to think for himself. He has dreams to become a writer, an unheard of dream in the black south. His family doesn't understand his hunger, especially not his grandmother. She wants him to be a sensible, religious, boy who gets a boring job that brings in decent money. But Richard hungers for more. He hungers for more than his life has offered him thus far, he pushes the limits of everyone around him. He works hard in school so that he can be the best he can be. He works strenous and time-consuming jobs, just so he can have enough money to eat himself. Richard talks about leaving quite often and I think that is because his family and the south are trying to hold him back from his big, bold dreams. The positive effects of "hunger" are that they cause Richard to dream big and work so very hard. He is not fine with settling with the life that has been set before him. However, on the negative side "hunger" brings enemies. People do not believe in Richard's dreams, isolating him. If any whites ever found out they might be inclined to kill him, or at least try to stop him. He will never be a true member of his peer group because while most of them are willing to settle, Richard voices his want for more beyond the south. This must make Richard and other black dreamers feel very, very alone.

Is Richard a "bad boy"?

I personally do not believe that Richard is a "bad boy". He is a good kid at heart, who often pushes his boundaries to the extreme. Like when he killed the kitten because his dad told him to. It wasn't because Richard was evil that he killed the cat, it was because of the anger he felt toward his dad, and the need for Richard to get back and spite his father. He makes poor decisions sometimes, but what little kid doesn't? Most of the time it seems that he is either trying to gain new knowledge, or break free of the situation that he is in. He goes to the saloon to drink so that he can learn dirty words and escape his life at home, at least for a while. It seems as if his home life is very oppressive. His father didn't even care enough about the family to stick around, and that had to hurt Richard. Perhaps Richard didn't know how to take out his pain and that is part of the reason that he acts out. Richard is often beaten for his mistakes, but in a very seemingly cruel and brutal way. No child should be beaten so hard that they become ill and almost die. Who wouldn't want to escape that life? Richard hungers for knowledge so that he can escape the cruel and oppressive world that he lives in. He often hungry and must fend for himself whenever he goes outside. He beat those boys on the way to the grocery store not out of want, but out of necessity. Most of Richard's "bad boy" antics can be blamed on the environment that he grew up in. But as he gets older I think that his environment will no longer be an excuse and he will have to take more personal responsibility for his actions. As we age we learn, and so it could be argued that the older you are the more your behavior should be blamed on you and you alone. But Richard is so young that I find it hard to believe that he even really knows the weight of his own actions on the world.

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Hi! I'm Ellen J. My blog is up and running just fine! Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy it!!