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Who should we sympathize with, Macon Dead or Ruth?

In Song of Solomon  Ruth and Macon seem to dislike each other. They tell Milkman conflicting stories about the past, and there seems to be a continuous tension between them. Throughout the book, I find myself with a moral dilemma on who to sympathize with. That is why I decided to break down why I sympathize with both Ruth and Macon Dead in a blog post! Although in our class discussions there is definitely a negative light shined on Macon, I believe that you have to give him some slack. When Macon grew up he was the son of someone who was looked up to as an inspirational figure. Ever since his father died, Macon had the pressure of being just as good as his father, and that is why I think he is so conscious about making money and different people's impression of him.  He also has to live with the fact that his wife has some sort of unorthodox relationship with her father, who we know denied Macon money. Overall Macon has a great life and is seen as quite cold, but there is defin

Should we sympathize with Rochester or Antionette?

Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea , the reader is exposed to two very different characters (Antionette and Rochester). What is most interesting is that the narrator shift in Wide Sargasso Sea gives the reader insight into the thoughts and feelings of both these characters. In my English class, people tend to sympathize with Antionette more than Rochester, but I think that both characters have valid reasons to be sympathized with. The beginning of the book starts off with Antionettes childhood. Part 1 is crucial because it shows the reader that Antionettes situation is less than ideal. Her father (Mr. Cosway) was hated around the area because he was a slaveholder and had many illegitimate children. Added on to that, Antionette's mother was from Martinique which made her even more of an outsider. Mr. Mason did not help the situation because he thought that he knew everything about the world and thought lowly of slaves. This lead to Mr. Mason being the primary reason for the slave revolt

Should Meursault be sentenced to death?

From the start of the book, we realize that Meursault is not a typical protagonist. He seems to be a nice guy but without a lot of emotion. As the book goes on we follow Meursault on his journey from living an ordinary life to being sentenced to death. Meursault obviously killed an Arab which is a terrible thing, but did he deserve to be killed? The case for Meursault Meursault is more complicated than what he may portray at first glance. Although he did not act to sad about his mother's death we can see that he processes events and emotions differently. Meursault focuses on the facts. He never shares how something makes him feel, or any of his emotions toward anyone or anything. Meursault also lives in the present. If he wants to go for a swim, he does so. If he feels like spending an entire day sitting on his balcony, he does so. Because of this, to me, his reaction to his mother's death is expected. The bad things start happening to Meursault when he talks to Raymond. Th

Is communication important?

What it means to be human is a very controversial topic, and one of the most human traits is communication. In comparison with other animals, humans seem to have the most sophisticated way of communication. We can express almost anything through the use of words. In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Gregor has a lot of human thoughts inside a bug body. Is it crucial for Gregor to be able to communicate for him to be human? Yes and no. I believe that as long as the person has human thoughts and traits, and try to communicate they are still human. I have a brother with Angelman Syndrome which is an extremely rare neurological disorder. Because he has Angelman Syndrome he is non-verbal and has severe developmental delays, but I still see him as human. He definitely has feelings and emotions. He has foods that he likes or dislikes, he knows what TV shows he wants to watch etc. but he has a hard time communicating those feelings because he can't talk. Therefore I do not think that v

Who should Brett marry?

In The Sun Also Rises Brett seems to have a relationship with every man that she lays her eyes upon. Most of these relationships consist of some flirting and maybe sex. Out of all the characters in the book, the reader sees Brett interact with Jake, Cohn, and Mike the most. Here is the case for those three characters on why Brett should marry them. Mike Mike may seem like the obvious choice in this situation because Brett is already engaged to him. Mike also seem totally cool with Brett going around and talking to other men. This works out really well for Brett because she is someone who gets bored really easily if limited to one man. The one major problem with Mike is his money or lack of it. Mike is broke, and by the end of the book, Mike literally does not have any money. Brett is someone who likes to live extravagantly and not having money is a big issue. Mike is also terribly annoying when he is drunk, and as you very well know Brett drinks A LOT. Other than that Mike's l

Should we sympathize with Jake?

The narrator of The Sun Also Rises, Jake, is a very hot topic during our class discussions. Throughout the book, we see Jake's perspective on other people, but there is a lot to learn about Jake himself. It seems that the class is confused on whether or not we should sympathize with Jake so here is my case for both: The case against Jake As soon as we open the front page of The Sun Also Rises the book is narrated by a man named Jake. The first few pages are Jake’s narration of his so-called “friend” Robert Cohn. His narration starts off pretty negative saying that Cohn being the middleweight champion of Princeton is not impressive. He also makes an Anti-Semitic joke by saying that Cohn’s nose looks better after it got flattened. A few pages later we see Jake go to a club with a prostitute named Georgette and lies to everyone that she is his fiancĂ©, which indicates that Jake is a liar. Later on in the book, we get introduced to Brett. When Brett enters with a group of men Jake

Peter, Sally or Richard?

In Mrs. Dalloway  the main character Clarissa Dalloway is married to the politician Richard Dalloway, but throughout the book, we see that Clarissa has had other relationships and emotions for other people. Clarissa came very close to marrying Peter Walsh and on page 32 we get introduced to Sally Seton which changed my view on Clarissa as a character. Should Clarissa have married Richard or should she have chosen another path? Let the battle begin! The Case for Richard Richard, of course, is the man that Clarrissa ended up marrying and seems like a very nice guy. We know that Richard is part of the conservative party and Clarissa has to keep up the role of "Mrs. Richard Dalloway". Throughout the book, there are hints that Clarissa does not like taking up that role. When Clarissa was young she was very upset when Peter told her she would become the wife of a prime minister. Peter also believes that Clarissa embraced her role of being the "perfect hostess" after