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.

Characters Without Names

In Cry of the Beloved Country, not all of the characters have names. For instance, Absalom's wife, otherwise known as "the girl". I think that Alan Paton decided to leave some characters nameless as a ranking of importance. By simply calling her "the girl", no information is given out about her, and it makes her character seem not important. It also makes her seem younger, and shows how she needs Kumalo to help her.

The Use of Different Books

I think that splitting the book into separate 'books' helps to organize the novel. It helps separate the material, just like chapters do. If books never had chapters and just combined all of the writing, the book would most likely get confusing. These 'books' usually also come with changes, such as a change in setting. Separating these changes by putting them into different books helps the reader keep track of what happened and when.

Two Opression Links

http://www.chowk.com/articles/4951
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-112211443/white-privilege-oppression-and.html

Cry Journal 1

The first passage that I chose is the second paragraph on the first page. In this selection, literally every sentence except for one contains at least one comma. These commas help with making the speed of this selection slow; there are also a lot of short sentences.

The second passage that I tabbed was on the first page of chapter two. In this book, I noticed that there are no quotation marks used with dialogue. Instead, the author chooses to use dashes before someone speaks. Even though there are no quotation marks, the author still included the occasional characters tags after someone speaks, which can make it confusing because it isn't clear whether the character said that, or it's part of the narration.

The third passage that I tabbed was the very first paragraph of the first page. This entire chapter describes the setting of  their location in Africa. The author chose to make the description an entirely different chapter from introducing the characters. This way, the reader has more background information before jumping into characters and dialogue.

The final section that I tabbed was on the last page of chapter three. The author uses repetition when he says "deep down the fear for his son. Deep down the fear of a man who lives in a world not made for him..." (44) Repeating these words emphasizes Kumalo's fear.

Girls in LOTF

If girls were included in Lord of the Flies, the plot would probably change completely. The girls would probably want everything to be more organized, and they would most likely take better care of the fire and watch over the little kids. The majority of the girls would not want to hunt any pigs. The plot would especially change when Piggy's glasses are stolen. The girls would probably be against stealing his glasses. Also, they'd mourn the deaths of Simon and Piggy more than the boys did; the boys didn't say much about it at all.

Two Decisions

On the first page, Golding talks about a red and yellow bird "flashing upwards". The red and yellow colors could foreshadow the fire later in the book. The bird also flies away right before Piggy is first introduced. This could be foreshadowing that Piggy is related to the fire, since Piggy's glasses are what cause the fire. The bird's cry before Piggy enters could mean that something bad is going to happen to Piggy later in the book.

Golding also chooses to call Piggy's glasses "spectacles" instead. This makes Piggy seem very knowledgeable, which he is. He had good ideas and information throughout the entire book. It also lets the reader know that these boys are British; the mention of Ralph's school sweater could also help with this.