Understanding Shakespeare & Family Names

It is proven that Shakespeare’s Language is difficult. He uses complex language that we may never have used in that context before. As we read in “Reading Shakespeare’s Language,” “reading Shakespeare’s language can be a problem-but it is a problem that can be solved.” In reading the excerpts on Shakespeare’s language, my fears in reading Shakespearean works was spelled out. However, unlike freshman year when I used to hate to read Romeo and Juliet, I feel that if I take the time to try and understand what Shakespeare is saying, I actually find it enjoyable to read. So far we have read Act 1. At first it was difficult to follow because of Shakespeare’s use of words, sentence structure and references to historical content. However, as I read more and more of Hamlet, I began to adjust to his style of writing and it has become more enjoyable to read.

In class we discussed the origins of our own name and what responsibilities one carries if they hold a family name because in Hamlet Hamlet carries his family's name. Personally, if I were a boy I would have been named Merrick, which is a family name. I would have felt honored to have that name because it is in honor of my grandpa and in memory of my uncle. However, I am a girl, obviously, so I was named Rebecca, which does not have any family significance. I personally would feel proud to have my family name, but carrying a family name also requires responsibility and there is a certain expectation to live up to it as well.

Leaders vs. Laws

This week as I was beginning to write my essay on Antigone and Oedipus the King, I was struggling to find a topic to write about. I kept going back and forth between writing about the law and then writing about leadership. It took me five separate introduction paragraphs, and lots of notes to realize I wanted to write about the relationship between the law and leaders. Combining these two topics opened up a lot of room for discussion. For my blog today I wanted to write about the difference between law and leadership.

The two paralell, yet contrasting topics of law and leadership can be used hand in hand to help guide citizens. Laws are straight foreword guidelines that set the standards and rules, while leaders are more in depth characters that lead by example. There is only one set of written laws, and there are thousands of different types of leaders. There are those who are elected, those who silently lead others, those who are elected through god and there are leaders who simply provide guidance to ordinary people in their life. Although there are different types of law, artificial-made by people and natural- made by god, laws are set in stone and straight forward. I think it is easier to break a law, than to stop following a leader because leaders are more than words. They are personal and human, so they are easier to relate to and fore connections with. As I conclude my thoughts, I want to leave my readers thinking, how do they decide who guides their life? Is it the laws or rules? Or is it the people, their values and morals that guide them?

The Morality of Leaders

This week in class we explored the qualifications of a good leader. We looked at an obvious example of a leader, Martin Luther King, and we looked at Goodwins "Secrets of Great Presidents", which outlined the top ten qualifications of a good president and leader. After gaining all this information on leaders, I thought, so now is there a sole definition of the word leader? The answer is no. I think peoples backgrounds, views of life and morals help them decide what constitutes a leader. For instance, one who is highly religious might view a person different than a person who gains most of their views from the mass media or school.

In our big discussion groups in class this week, we talked about this topic of morals constituting a leader and several different points came up. Some people thought that a leader should lead based on his own personal morals, yet some believed personal morals should not get in the way of leadership. This question regarding morality and leaders is difficult to address. I feel that the only way one can get an accurate answer is to use examples from history and literature. I believe Creon did not really incorporate his own personal morals in Antigone because he had a strong desire for power and strength and left behind his morals instilled by friendship and family to achieve that. However, I believe in some parts of Oedipus the King Oedipus used some of his morals to guide his leadership. For instance, at the end he thought about the fate of himself and impact on his family, and thought the best way to go about this was to gauge his eyes out, so he can bring about a better life for the future for his family.

Law

"The life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. ... The condition of man ... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone" - Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century philosopher, argued that humans are inevitably bad and they need government to control them. Hobbes' claims bring up a question, do humans need laws or government and what constitutes a fair law? In society there are people who view laws as a vital aspect, yet there are people who view laws as an infringement of rights. As professor Anthony Trollope said, "The law is a great thing, because men are poor and weak, and bad... [And] where it exists in its strength, no tyrant can be above it. But between you and me there should be no mention of law as a guide of Conduct.” I believe he is saying that there are laws that are good, yet at the same time laws should not guide your moral decisions. Both Hobbes and Trollope state that men are poor and need guidance. The statement these two men bring up connects to Antigone in Antigone. Antigone is faced with the dilemma of obeying the laws set by the King, or defying them and doing what is morally correct, which is burying her brother. In essence, this example does not show that humans are inevitably bad. However, it does bring up the question that although man may be essentially bad and need government to keep them in line, are there artificial laws that society should get rid of?

What Fate Has In Store For Us

When I was reading "The Great Encounter" by Paul Roche, the line "it is not what fate has in store for us that matters, but what we do with it when it comes" stuck out to me. This line itself can serve as a guiding point for characters such as Oedipus, because although he has the prophecy and future of his life placed on him, he has the power to alter it through the way he lives his life. This line, however, can also serve as a guiding point for high school students such as myself. Although, personally I did not have my future set out by a prophecy, I have had expectations and guidelines instilled in me. For instance, the question of not going to college was never an option. I am apart of a family who has been attending college for several generations, so it is inevitable that I would go.

I do not know what my exact fate has in store for me, but I know the general path in life I am going to take. In my personal life the line “what we do with it when it comes” is still unclear because currently being a senior in high school I am still trying to figure out what exactly I want and what my life exactly has in store. This sentence from the "The Great Encounter" has not only had an impact on characters like Oedipus, it has sparked many new thoughts about my own actions and pathway in life.

Over Time

For this weeks blog no immediate thoughts jumped into my mind about what to write about, so I decided to visit one of the websites from the 'Blog & Notebook' Handout Mr. Burke gave us. I decided to visit indexed.com. I came across this index card drawing (to the left) and it reminded me of the discussion we had in class regarding the poem of the week, "The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently" by Thomas Lux. The poem talked about the inner voice of a person and how each individual perceives a word in a different way. The author is saying that people learn through experiences and this gained knowledge varies from person to person. I think this index card is saying the more you pay attention, the more you learn as students. This concept is related to the fact that the more you know, the more you can relate to and enjoy a written work. Both Thomas Lux from the poem "The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently" and the index card drawing encourage people to gain knowledge through paying attention and experience, so they can form connections with words and be successful in life.

Jobs, College and "Shop Class as Soulcraft"

This week we read “Shop Class as Soulcraft”, which made me think about the relationship between having a job and having a college education. The character in this work of literature thinks of himself above other people because of his qualifications (master’s degree). The author, Matthew Crawford, explores the idea that people let education put them into an identity and say that their degree is the reason they took that job. In modern times the job world is very tough, my uncle lost his job for several months and despite the fact he is highly intelligent and graduated from Berkley, he still was jobless for quite some time. Situations like these make scared for the real job world, yet they also force me to think, “What do I really want to do when I get older?” I think this is a vital question that everyone should think about because if one is doing what they like to do, then there will be no situations of hate towards ones job discussed in “Shop Class as Soulcraft”, or characters like Bartleby in “Bartleby the Scrivener”.