Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who was born in 551 B.C. His teachings, sayings, and ideas are the basis of Confucianism. He is the most respected philosopher to Chinese history, and his ways have affected Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese life.
This is important to The Joy Luck Club because the book contains a lot of Chinese culture in it, which is greatly affected by Confucianism.

Gratiano is a minor character who hardly ever speaks. He doesn't really have anything of interest to say, since most of the time when he speaks, he's just agreeing with someone or stating something that has happened. He seems to have cared for Desdemona, though. During the final scene, he announces what a shame it is that she is dead and how it would break her father's heart if he saw.

One choice made in the book Othello is the use of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing adds suspense to the drama and keeps you wondering what's going to happen, which is why a lot of authors use it. Another thing that I noticed Shakespeare did is that the lines seem to be either a block of text, or merely a short sentence. Lots of commas and semicolons are also used, which keeps the text flowing along instead of it having a slow speed.

"Ay, let her rot and perish, and be damned tonight, for she shall not live. No, my heart is turned to stone; I strike it, and it hurts my hand. Oh, the word hath not a sweeter creature! She might lie by an emperor's side and command him tasks." ( 117)

In this passage, Othello is extremely angry at his wife. He's telling Iago that he doesn't care for her anymore, that his 'heart is turned to stone'. He also mentions that she is going to die, and after this they begin plotting how he will kill her. This passage is important because it shows the extreme contrasts between love and jealousy. Othello would rather have his wife dead than be jealous.

Comment: This is an important passage, I agree. It's insane that Othello would go to such an extreme case due to his jealousy.

During the 16th century, the world's first opera house was built in Venice. Venice was one of the most important centers of Europe. It also became the first and biggest trading power in the world. The manufacture of silk and woolen textiles developed rapidly, and venetian glass became famous.

Cyprus: That's interesting, I didn't know that Cyprus was an island.


Epilepsy: The demons thing reminds me of how people supposedly said bless you after people sneeze because they thought demons would enter your body afterwards.


Moors: It's interesting how the Moors controlled Spain for such a long period of time.


Turks: It's interesting on the map that you attached how the highlighted areas moved so much over time.

During the passage that we read today, one of the questions that I had was if they would ever actually get Berniece to sell the piano. We don't know why it's so important to her yet, but I suspect that we will find out soon. I don't think that Berniece will sell the piano in the end, because her character seems very stubborn. Boy Willie says that the piano is worth a lot of money, and he seems very determined to sell it, but I feel that Berniece's stubbornness outweighs his determination.

I commented,
"I think Boy Willie is probably the only one who says the n-word because it seems to emphasize his personality. He seems to be somewhat rude and disrespectful."

Two Tabs

The first thing that I tabbed was on page 275, when Stephen's wife suggests that they go to work. They had just been reading the sad letter from their son Absalom, so her suddenly asking if they should work is a change in tone. I feel that Stephen's wife says this because she wants to distract herself from thinking about how her son is gone.

The second thing that I tabbed was on page 277. On this page, the storm is being described. Words such as 'dark', 'threatening', and 'strike' are used to emphasize the greatness of the storm. There is also alliteration in the passage that describes that there were "no more shadows sailing over the fields, for all was shadow". This alliteration of the letter 's' makes a quick sound, explaining how the clouds were once moving quickly.