Trifles

• This play is about the murder case of Mr. Wright. Mr. Hale is the first one to tell his side of the story. He says he went to go see Mr. Wright the day of the murder, and Mrs. Wright was acting strange. He asks if he can go see Mr. Wright, but she just laughs and says he is dead. He asked what he died from, and she simply responds from a rope around his neck. He goes to look at him and begins to ask Mrs. Wright questions. He asks if she knew who killed him, and she had no idea. This made him wonder because she sleeps with him in that bed, so she should have woken up. Mr. Hale says Mrs. Wright didn't seem too upset by this incident. They head to the kitchen to see many preserves all over the floor. They begin to talk about Mrs. Wright's life on the farm. They also say Mrs. Wright was never really cheerful either. They also say she put a lot of hard work in the summer for her fruit. The men believe Mrs. Wright did it, but the women think she didn't because she was worried about her trifles before the incident. It doesn't seem like something you would be worrried about before killing your husband. They begin to investigate some more. They notice a quilt that Mrs. Wright had been making, and the men just simply laugh at this. The women notice that the quilt is neat and clean, but in one spot it is all over the place. This obviously shows that she was not herself while making that part. They now encounter a bird cage. They don't remember her having a bird or anything, but they do remember before she was married she used to sing like a bird. They look at the cage closely and notice it looks like someone had been in it. They wish they would've been over more often because they think Mrs. Wright was very lonely. They begin to head out to leave, but as they are leaving they see a bird that has a broken neck. The men enter and are mocking the women still. They think what drove Mrs. Wright to kill her husband was because of the death of her bird. She was sad and lonely.

• This play can be looked at from a gender criticism because the men think the women have no idea what they are talking about through out the whole play. They are mocking the women, but it is actually the women who figure out what went down. Also Mrs. Wright is a typical woman because her husband is always working, and she is always working around the house. This is what women were like back in this time when it was written. She was upset because she was lonely over her husband and her bird. It is kind of like she became mentally ill after the death of her bird because she was so upset. There was a lot of symbolism in this play too. They relate the quilt to the incident of Mr. Wright by using the knot as a symbol. They say she did knot it meaning she did kill her husband. 

Hamlet Act Five

Scene1- At the beginning of this scene, gravediggers are talking about Ophelia's death, and why they are having a christian burying. They are saying she shouldn't, and the only reason she is having one, is because she is rich. The gravediggers are singing while doing this, and Hamlet is very upset on how they are doing this. He thinks they are just throwing it around like Ophelia never meant anything. They begin to talk about how he became a gravedigger, and it is because of Hamlet. Then he says that Hamlet has gone crazy so now he is in England. Then Hamlet begins to remorse Ophelia's death. He is pretty upset by her death. The king and queen and Laertes enter. They are upset, and the priest won't perform because he believes she will go to hell. Hamlet introduces himself and Laertes attacks him. They fight, but then they finally break apart. Hamlet admits to loving Ophelia. He says he would do anything for Ophelia, and the queen believes he is just acting crazy. Hamlet exits, and Claudius reminds Laertes that he will have his chance, and he will take care of this problem.

Scene 2- The next day Hamlet goes and tells Horatio his plot to kill Claudius. He has posioned the letter, but instead Rosencrantz and Guildenstern open it and kill them. Hamlet doesn't feel bad about anything because those two were against him and working for Claudius. He does feel bad about what he has said to Laertes though, so he says he will be nice to him from now on. Osric comes in, who is all about agreeing with Hamlet. He comes to tell him that the king wants him to joust with Laertes, and the king actually put money on Hamlet winning.Then a lord enters and asks Hamlet if he is going to joust because the king and queen are waiting. Hamlet agrees to go and fight. Hamlet approaches Laertes and ask for forgiveness because he only killed his dad out of craziness. Laertes says he will not forgive, but he will accept his love. Before the joust, the king informs Hamlet no matter what he will get a cup of wine because they want to drink to either a victory or his health. The duel starts, and Hamlet wins against Laertes, but he will not take the drink because he wants to fight again. He again beats Laertes, and the queen takes a drink from the cup. The king tells her not to, but it is is too late. They fight again, and Laertes actually gets Hamlet this time. He is bleeding, but they managed to switch sword and Hamlet gets him with his own sword. The queen suddenly falls, and Laertes is poisoned by his own sword. Before Laertes dies, he tells Hamlet he is the one to blame for both of the queen and his death. Hamlet is very mad now and attacks Claudius with the poisoned sword and makes him drink the wine. Claudius then dies. Hamlet then begins to die and asks for more forgiveness from Laertes. Hamlet urges Horatio not to commit suicide, but he should tell the story and stay alive. He also says he wants Fortinbras to be the king of Denmark. Then Hamlet finally dies. Horatio agrees to Hamlet's words and goes off to tell the story while Hamlet is carried away like a noble.

Analysis- I knew that this play would end in a tragedy because it is Shakespeare. It is really ironic how the things that were supposed to kill Hamlet, actually killed two people that the king did not want dead. This can be looked at from a Marxism criticism because the whole thing that happened with the killings happened because Claudius wanted to stay in power and have a lot of money. 
This can also be looked at from a psychological criticism because Hamlet doesn't seem as crazy anymore. I think he mellowed down after Ophelia died, and I think that is because he really cared about her. I am sure that he would've gotten even more crazy if he would've lived long though, but then again I don't know because Ophelia didn't die by getting murdered. I also think Hamlet's ego was telling him while he was dying that he needed to make amends before he died. That is why he wanted to make sure he was forgiven by Laertes before he died.
This play is a typical play written by Shakespeare. He always writes about tragedies and how the love for something makes the tragedy happen. Hamlet loved his dad and that is why he is very upset to find out his uncle killed him. There is also always a murderer in Shakespeare's work, so this play did not surprise me.

Hamlet Act 4

Scene 1-The queen enters and is kind of scared. She goes to Claudius, and she tell him all about her talk with Hamlet. She tells him he is crazy and that he killed Polonius. The king immediately thinks Hamlet is going to try to kill him. Claudius doesn't want to make a big deal about this situation, so he tells the queen he is going to send Hamlet to England. He calls in the two friends and tells them about the murder. He sends them off to get Hamlet ready to go to England.

Scene 2- This scene starts off with Hamlet disposing the body. The two friends appear and ask what Hamlet has done. They want to know where they put the body. Hamlet does not like being questioned, so he accuses his friends as being a spy for Claudius. Finally, he says he will now go see Claudius with his friends.

Scene 3- The king is explaining about Polonius' murder and how he is going to ship Hamlet to England. Hamlet enters with his friends, and they again question him about the body of Polonius. He actually tells them this time, and the king sends men to go find it. The king says Hamlet has to go to England, and Hamlet actually agrees to go. He leaves and the king orders his friends to make sure he gets on the ship. The king plans to have Hamlet killed in England.

Scene 4- Fortinbras starts out this scene by marching his army through Demark to attack Poland. Fortinbras does not want to enter the land without the King of Denmark's permission though. He meets Hamlet, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz getting ready to go to England. Fortinbras informs them of what they are doing there. This strikes up his revenge on Claudius, and now Hamlet is mad. He will not let Claudius get away with it, so he seeks a bloody revenge.

Scene 5- The queen and Horatio are talking about Ophelia is the beginning of this scene. The queen doesn't ever want to see the girl, but Horatio thinks that they should show some simpathy towards her. Ophelia enters, and she seems a bit strange. She has gone crazy just like Hamlet. The king enters and says that it is probably because of her father's death. The king states the Laertes is going to come back too. Claudius hears a loud noise in the castle, and he is informed that Laertes is going to be attacking the castle. Laertes enters and is very upset about his father's death. He wants to take revenge. The whole time they are trying to make Claudius look good and say it wasn't his falt. Ophelia comes back and still crazy. Laertes is very mad about this too. The king convinces Laertes to come talk to him about what has happened.

Scene 6- Horatio recieves a letter from Hamlet that says his ship has been captured by pirates, and they are going to return him to Denmark. Horatio orders some saliors to tell the king and queen about this. Hamlet has some things to tell about his friends.

Scene 7- Claudius is explaining to Laertes about the death of Polonius. He is saying he acting crazy and such and they did not punish him because they both love Hamlet. A messagenger enters with a letter from Hamlet informing that he will be there tomorrow. Laertes is happy because he wants to take revenge for killing his father. Claudius doesn't mind that he wants to kill Hamlet, but he can't encourge it. Claudius begins to think of ways he can take revenge without making him look bad. They plan to have a duel with swords between Laertes and Hamlet, so it doesn't seem too bad. Laertes agrees to do it, but says he is going to put poison in his sword. Claudius comes up with a backup by serving poison to Hamlet if he wins as a victory wine. We then find out Ophelia has gone completely mad and drowned herself in a the river. Laertes is now even more upset and wants to kill Hamlet really bad.

Analysis- Psychological criticism can be used for this act too. From all that has happened Ophelia has gone mad too. Ophelia's ego is mourning the death of her father, and I think it could also be because of how Hamlet has been acting. All these terrible events happened because Hamlet's ego still mourned the death of his dad. Also Claudius' conscience has taken over because he thinks Hamlet knows about him killing his brother. He wants to get rid of Hamlet because of this, but in a good manner. Also Hamlet doesn't show much remorse for killing Polonius. He has no feeling about this, and that is because all of his ego and conscience is still about his dad's murder and the revenge of it.
This can also be looked at from a gender criticism because of what happened to Ophelia. It was common back in the days from women to become crazy in love. She loved Hamlet and he took it away. This made her crazy which is a typical woman back in shakespeare's time.
You can also look at this from a Marxism criticism because Claudius wants to keep his title as a great king, so he is trying to figure out how to take care of Hamlet without making it a big production. Claudius wants to remain rich and in power, so he wants Hamlet dead because he knows he knows about the murder.  He wants Laertes to take revenge in a civil manner because Claudius doesn't want to look bad. Claudius is very conceded and only thinks about himself. In the end, I believe this play is going to end in a tragedy because that is how Shakespeare writes. I think a couple people will die in the end, or maybe even a lot.

Act 3

Scene 1- The king and queen decide they are going to go to the play. Polonius and Claudius plan to spy on Hamlet now. They direct Ophelia towards the lobby and when they hear Hamlet come they hide. Hamlet walks in and is questioning weather or not he should commit suicide. Opehlia was ordered to say she doesn't love him anymore. Hamlet responds in an angery tone. He says he never loved her, and she should become a nun so she can't breed. Hamlet has gone crazy and starts saying that women are always turning men into monsters. He ends by saying he wishes he could end all marriages, and then he storms out. Claudius realizes that his strange behavior is not because he is in love. He wants to send Hamlet to England, so he can stop being crazy and clear his mind. Polonius hopes that it is because of love and wants to still prove it to the king. He says he must watch him again after the play.

Scene 2- It is the evening of the play, and Hamlet is making sure everyone gets their parts right in the play. Horatio enters and Hamlet is very glad to see him. Hamlet tells him to watch Claudius very closely during the play for a reaction since he knows all about the ghost. Hamlet also warns that he is going to act strange. He does when Polonius, Ophelia, and Claudius show up. The play goes on and throughout Hamlet is kind of teasing Ophelia. The play is similar to the murder from the murderer seducing the queen and then killing his brother. The king stands up and asks for light. The king leaves and so does everyone else. Horatio and Hamlet both agree that it is obvious that the king killed his father. Soon enough they call for Hamlet to go to the his mother's chambers. Hamlet is very upset, but he will not take it out on his mother.

Scene 3- The king is speaking to  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the beginning. He is very scared about the play and thinks Hamlet's craziness could be dangerous. The kings asks the friends if they could take Hamlet to England to clear his head. He wants him gone as soon as possible. They agree to do so and start to get ready. Polonius enters and tells him about his plan to spy on Hamlet and Gertrude. He promises to tell Claudius all about it. When he leaves, the king is very upset by what he has done. He wants to be forgiven for what he has done. Hamlet is ready to kill Claudius, but he approaches just as he is praying. He decides to wait because he is asking for forgiveness. Next time he does something sinful, Hamlet will kill him.

Scene 4- Polonius is in the chamber planning his spying. He says he will hide and the queen needs to be mean about his behavior, so they can get the reason of why he is being crazy out of him. The queen and Hamlet begin to talk and Hamlet becomes very violent with his mother. Polonius comes out from where he has hidden to call for help, but then Hamlet realizes this and stabs him with his sword. He realizes who he has killed and doesn't feel much remorse for killing Polonius. Hamlet is still upset with his mother and begin to go on and on about his uncle and how he is a bad man. Then the ghost of his father appears. Hamlet begins to talk to him, but the queen can't see him, so she believes he has gone mad. The ghost reminds him of what his job is to do, and that is to kill the king. He disappears, and Hamlet is trying to explain that he is not going mad. He says he will go to England to not make any suspisions, but he will be back.

Analysis- This can again be looked at from a psychological critism because Hamlet is now playing mind games with everyone including Ophelia. I think he always loved her, so I'm not sure why he told her he didn't. The death of his father has effected his ego so much that I believe he is actually turning somewhat crazy. He is actually thinking about committing suicide because of this whole ordeal. That is why I believe he is turning crazy and not just acting like it. He is also messing with Claudius' mind by making the play related to his killing of his brother. The king's conscience came out, and now he actually feels bad about killing his brother. This is only because he thinks people know.
This can also be looked at from a feminism critism because I feel like the women are just there are bait in this act. Polonius and Claudius both just use them for bait to find out the real reason of Hamlet's actions. I don't know if the mom will believe Hamlet in the end, but I think Cladius will have some imput that will make her not believe. Men controlled women back then, and this is what it is like in the play.

Hamlet Act 2

Scene 1- Polonius sends someone to France to look at Laertes. Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamley held her, but didn't say one word to her. Polonius says that Hamlet is upset because he is in love with Ophelia because she won't love him back because Polonius said she can't be near him. Polonius thinks that because he is so in love with Ophelia that is why he has been so moody. He goes to tell Claudius of his idea.

Scene 2- The king and queen welcome Hamlet's friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The king and queen are very concerned about Hamlet and how he is taking his father's death, so they invite his friends over. The king and queen want them to keep track of his behavior. Polonius enters and begins to talk to the king about war and such, but then turns to the subject about Hamlet being in love with Ophelia. He shows him the letters he has been sending to Ophelia. Polonius develops a plan to show the king and queen Hamlet's madness. He is planning to have the king and queen hide while Hamlet and Ophelia approach eachother. Hamlet runs into his friends, and questions them of why they are here. They say they only came to visit, but Hamlet knows it is because the king and queen sent them. They confess that is why they came. They also discuss his unhappiness. Polonius enters and says the actors will be arriving soon. They do arrive and Hamlet gives a speech about the fall of Troy and such. Then Hamlet thinks of a plan to make the play that closely resembles the murder of his father and Claudius will have to watch it. He can't wait to watch the king's conscience come out and watch his sin come out.

Analysis- I think Ophelia really does love Hamlet and wants to be with him, but know she doesn't know what to do because he has turned crazy. I wonder what the reaction will be when the king watches the play that closely resembles what he did to his brother. I wonder if that will make him question if anyone knows that he killed his brother. I believe the king will react to the play, and Hamlet will then know he is the one who killed his father.
This act can also be looked at from a psychological critism because of the way Hamlet is acting. His mind is still remorsing his dad and what he has learn about his dad is driving him crazy. They say in the play he is just acting this way, but I think he has gone a little crazy from all that is happening throughout the whole play. I also believe this can be look at from Marxism because the dad of Ophelia is hoping that his madness is because he is madly in love with his daughter. He knows that if she gets married to Hamlet, he will also be part of the royal family.

Hamlet: Act 1

Scene 1- Bernardo is guarding outside, and then Francisco comes to join them. Then Marcellus and Horatio take over for Francisco because he is very tired. As they are ready to leave, they see a ghost that look similar to their dead previous ruler. The ghost will not talk to them, but it just stares at them. As they are trying to get him to talk, the ghost leaves. They begin to talk again about what they saw, and then the ghost reappears again. Once again as they try to get him to talk, he disappears. They then finally leave and say they will talk about it in the morning.

Scene 2- It is the morning after the guards see the ghost. The new king, King Claudius, is giving a speech about his marriage to the ex king's wife. Prince Hamlet is very upset by this and still misses his father. He is still mourning the death of his father. Prince Hamlet wishes he was dead with him. He doesn't like what is happening. The guards catch up to Prince Hamlet and say they have seen the dead king.

Scene 3-The sister of Laertes, Ophelia, is not to fall in love with Hamlet. That is what her brother says Hamlet wants to be with Ophelia, but she can't be with him. Ophelia is confused and doesn't know what to do about Hamlet's love.

Scene 4- Hamlet, Marcellus, and Bernardo are on guard again. The ghost once again reappears, and Hamlet begs him to explain why he is here. The ghost motions to Hamlet that he wishes to speak to him alone.

Scene 5- The ghost and Hamlet speak to each other. The ghost explains how he is the spirit of his father. He wants to speak to Hamlet because he wants him to revenge the man who killed him. Hamlet is really mad that his father was murdered. He explains how Claudius is the one who killed him by putting poison in his ear. The ghost explains how Claudius also lusted his wife into liking him. He doesn't want him to hurt his wife though. In the morning, the ghost is gone, and Hamlet is some what shaken by this Marcellus and Bernardo ask him what has happened, but he does not say a word.

Analysis- This first act can be looked at from a psychological critism. Hamlet's ego is still mourning the death of his dad after all the years he has been dead. It is always going to be there in his mind which is his ego. The death of his dad is stuck in his memory.
Claudius is all about becoming ruler in his head. He needed to become ruler, so he had to figure out how he was going to do it. He had to skillfully plan out how to kill his brother without anyone knowing. He is all about the fame and fortune which can be look at from Marxism too.
I wonder if Hamlet would've ever figured out that Claudius killed his dad if the ghost never was part of the play. Now that Hamlet knows about his uncle, I wonder what will he do in order to get revenge for murdering his dad. Since this is a from Shakespeare, I believe it will end tragically. I am actually excited to read the rest of this story because I want to know how it will turn out.

Oedipus Rex

Abstract
This play is about Thebes and about a ruler. Oedipus rules, but his kingdom is falling apart. He doesn't believe in oricles, so he looks to someone who can read the future to tell why. They all think it is because there is a killer in their town, and that is why people are dying and are in misery. The person says it is him who has killed the ex ruler. He killed his dad and is having sex with his mother. He doesn't believe any of this and blames it on Kreon. He never knew his dad so this makes it very logical. He ends up meeting a messanger who says that his dad is actually the king. The wife finds out and hangs herself. Oedipus finds out too, and then he stabs his eyes out because he doesn't want to look at what he has done.

Analysis
I found this play to be easier than i thought it would be. I liked it quite a bit. It was a good play once I understood it. It can be look at from a psychological critism and feminism. The whole play is very ironic with the plot and some of the thing oedipus says.

My Duchess& My Papa's Waltz

My Duchess

• This story is about a duchess who has a wife who is very friendly to everyone. He thinks he deserves to be treated better by her, so instead of confronting her, he orders to kill her.

My Papa's Waltz

• This poem is about a little kid dancing with his father in his kitchen until it is time for bed. :)

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time & I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud & Annabel Lee

To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time

• What I got from the first four lines is that since time is will never stop, we have to live life as if we were going to die tomorrow. I think it is saying enjoy our youth because once we are older it won't be that great. We will still succeed in life, but not have as much fun as we do in our youth. I think it also implies that we should marry young because if we wait too long it may never happen.

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

• I think this understanding of the poem was pretty easy to understand if I understood it right. The author is walking around and feeling lonely until he comes across a meadow of daffodils. The flowers make him feel so happy, but he had no idea what these flowers were going to do for him. Whenever he feels sad or lonely now, he thinks about those flowers and doesn't feel so bad anymore.

Annabel Lee

• This poem was pretty easy to understand. I thought of this land by the sea to be kind of like a fairy tail. Poe had some strong feelings for some girl that I think this why he wrote it. In the poem, the narrator is madly in love with Annabel, and she is in love with the narrator. Annabel dies, and the narrator seems to think it is because the angels were jealous of the kind of love him and Annabel had. Even though she is died, the narrator still has really strong feelings for Annabel. It is like a forever and deep kind of love.

The Red Convertible

Abstract

The Things They Carried

Abstract

• This story is about stories that are from Vietnam soldiers. First story is about a guy named Jimmy Cross, and he fell in love with a girl name Martha. Throughout the story Jimmy explains about things he carries in the war, but seems to always start talking about Martha again. He carries other memories around with him, and will always have Martha in his heart.

Analysis

• This story can be looked at from a formalism criticism. The story tells about the things the vietnam soldiers are carrying through out the war. He always resorts back to talking about his love for Martha and other memories he has had. The story was slightly hard to understand because I didn't understand military terms as much as other people do. I also could see it from a psychological criticism because he can't seem to get Martha out of his head. She is haunting his brain, and no matter what he does her will always think of Martha.

Everyday Use

Abstact

• This story is about a mother who is reunited with her daughter, Dee. She has another daughter who is less attractive than Dee named Maggie. She has scars and burn marks from the fire of their first home. The mother imagines her reuniting to be something like from a t.v. show. She thinks it will be tearful, and her daughter will be so happy. She then looks at Maggie who is approaching her. The scars and burn marks remind her of the house fire, and the mother had to carry Maggie out of the house after being burnt really badly. The mother used to believe that Dee hated Maggie. Dee later went to a school in Augusta. The mother never went to school beyond 2nd grade because the school was closed down, and Maggie barely could read, so Dee read to them when she would return from school. Maggie is to wed John Thomas soon, and then mother will just sing church hymns. Dee eventually arrives, and she is wearing inappropraite clothes. Her mother doesn't approve of her boyfriend either. Dee imforms them she has changed her name to another name because she is african. Dee begins to look through her mothers stuff. She finds three quilts made by her mother, aunt, and grandmother. She asks if she could have them. Maggie hears from the other room, and she gets mad. The mother suggests she takes something else because she promised them to Maggie. Dee argues that she would take better care of them because Maggie isn't as smart as she is. Maggie enters and says she can keep them. Then mother is struck by something, and she takes a quilt away from Dee and gives it to Maggie. Dee desides to leave and informs her mother she doesn't know her own herritage.

Analysis

• This story can be look at from a historical critism. People would not understand that black people were not treated differently than white people if they didn't know anything about the civil war and other things in the past that are related to that. Dee is trying to break the barrier of black and white people by changing her name to an original African name, and she also goes to school. Alice Walker is an African American woman and when she wrote this story, black people were still trying to break the barrier. I also read that she was permitatly blind in one eye because of an incident. I think this could relate to the book because of the incident with Maggie. She is a proud of her herritage, and I think that is why she wrote this story about African Americans.