Invisible Man aka a book full of lies

Honestly, I do not like Invisible Man so far. I do not like it at all. You know how theres that idea that you might not be able to believe like anything a first person narrator says? Yeah, I feel like that totally applies to this book. Also, before we really get into that, there are some parts where its just seemingly pointless metaphors after metaphors and it feels like I could just skip four pages and still know what was happening in the story. Like with the blind guest preacher who was giving a sermon about the founder (weird). He was just talking and talking and none of what he was saying about the founder seemed important at all. Okay, back to the real reason that I dislike the book: all of the lies that I feel like this guy is telling. The biggest thing that I have felt was complete bs so far was the boxing match or whatever the heck it was before he was given a scholarship. Things like that do not happen in real life and I highly doubt they happened back then. not only was it so unbelievable, but there were also some inconsistencies with his descriptions of the other 'boxers.' At first they were giant thugs who were so angry that this little scrawny kid had made their friend lose his job. Then they were all very scared and worried right before the fight, as if they did not know what was going to happen. How could they not know what was going to happen if it was their job? Also, the way they all vaguely knew how to fight blindfolded and they all knew not to touch the electric rug too much also suggests that they had done it before. That electric rug though, like what the heck??? The way all of the white guys were attacking them and throwing them on the rug?? That just did not seem plausible to me at all, also why the heck would the school superintendent put him through all of that and then be like "oh yeah I totally respect this kid and I want him to have all of this money even though he almost got beaten up when he said something about equality." That entire part made me completely lose faith in the truthfulness of this narrator. The next dumb part that I totally think is unrealistic is the whole deal with Mr. Norton. Like firstly, why is there a mental hospital on the school campus/close to it? Why do they let all these men roam around freely to drink and have sex with whores? How am I supposed to think that this actually happened? Maybe I have unrealistically positive beliefs about the world, but I really just cannot believe the way that Mr. Norton was acting/being treated, the way all of the men were acting, the way the bar tender was acting, the fact that whiskey apparently cures illnesses, the fact that incest is super interesting to white men, etc. Just all of these things so far, I just can not believe any of them and its making me just really not want to read the book and thats a major issue, so come on mr nameless narrator, make your story more believable!

Hamlet as the normal guy

Hamlet as the moral judge or savior?

So I've decided to type up some of the post it notes from the class discussion giant sheet thing we had and then address them one at a time. So here we go:

'Hamlet believes himself to be the moral judge: trying to avenge his father, sees it as the right thing to do, trying to get his mother away from Claudius'
Well I do not agree that he thinks he is the moral judge, I think it is just in his nature to be the judge. He does not go around trying to pass judgement on his friends and family, it just comes out of his mouth with all of the other intelligent nonsense he says. Yes he is trying to avenge his father, but is that because its the right thing to do or because the ghost scared the heck out of him and told him he was a fat weed for not doing anything? I think its the second one because prior to the ghost's appearance, Hamlet was not taking any action except for being sassy. Then yes he is trying to keep him mother away from Claudius, but that does not seem too moral judgey to me. If my uncle killed my dad and then married my mom, I'd be pretty uncomfortable too and I'd try and get her to realize it was super gross.


'"When he is drunk, asleep, or in his rage, or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed... then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, and that his soul may be damned and black as hell" (end scene III) Hamlet as the moral judge likens himself to God in determining how Claudius will go to hell in death.'
Here it seems to me like he is being more of a god type figure rather than a moral judge. he isn't passing judgement on Claudius, he's damning him to hell and plotting his death. Also, with the beliefs of these people in mind, if I was Hamlet I would totally try to get Claudius to go to hell since he killed my dad. That's where he deserves to be.


'Hamlet watches Claudius's expressions while Claudius is watching the play to determine if he committed the crime. "For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, and after we will take our judgement ...."'
Okay so I know that he literally says that he's passing judgement here, but I think its more like he'll decide if he is guilty or not. This is just Hamlet being a good guy. he wants to make sure that he isn't attacking an innocent man and I think that is totally normal and rational.


'Hamlet's condemnation of Gertrude as a sinner and his condemnation of Ophelia for lying are examples of him being a moral judge.'
Okay well first the definition of condemnation is the expression of very strong disapproval or the action of condemning someone to a punishment. Now, the first one I can agree with, but I have a feeling that this person meant the second definition (unless they were Shakespeare then they meant all of them). I definitely disagree that Hamlet was condemning either of the women. In my opinion, he seriously loved both of them, and, seeing the end of the play, he did not wish either of them a bad end or any harm at all. So yeah I don't agree with this one at all.

We real cool? More like I real cool

We Real Cool

by Gwendolyn Brooks


We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We 

Strike straight. We 

Sing sin. We 

Thin gin. We 

Jazz June. We 

Die soon.

I found this poem on a "21 poems worthy of AP Lit" article and I think it is also in that little poetry packet that we sometimes read from, but I do not think that we have done it yet, so I am going to do it. Firstly, this poem makes me happy in a sad way. It creates a sing-songy rhythm that is given a dark tint at the end. There is obviously a ton of repetition in this poem and that is what really creates that rhythmic feeling. It feels like it is some sort of commentary on the rap culture or the general school drop out community. The simple sentence structure, which is as simple as it can get, like grammar at a first grade level, supports this theory. To me, it feels like a bunch of kids who are all jokingly rapping together, but the author of this poem made the lines feel much more serious than just some kids joking around. The seriousness of the lines does not take away from the youth vibe that this poem gives off, but it does skew the readers perception of the presumed kids that are saying all of this. Rather than being some lame kids who are joking around in a classroom, it feels more like a group of kids, almost like a gang, all hanging around somewhere shady where they are trying to earn their street cred or whatever it is you earn for yourself on the street. The format of this poem also creates an unusual pace that is easily changed depending on the way it is read. If you stop at each "we" and pause for a mount, the poem feels and sounds significantly different than if you choose to read through with only small pauses. It makes sense to pause at the "we"s, so assuming that that is the correct reading, the pacing of this poem and the way that the lines are set up makes it seem as though the actions that these kids take part in define who they are. The way that the actions are placed before each of the "we"s places the emphasis on the action, implying that it comes first before the kids do. This is the case in all of the lines except the first one (which is also the title). The line "We real cool." serves to establish what these kids are, what they are trying to prove/support with the following lines, and even how their attitudes are. This is the only line where "we" comes before the action, suggesting that these kids are actually cool and that that is not a statement that is being used as support, its more of a known fact, like the original reason for all of these actions. Just like this first line, the last line also hold some serious weight when considering the meaning of the poem. Looking at only the literal last line of the poem, "Die soon." creates such a dark, gloomy, impending doom type feeling, like it is sure to happen. It also seems to reestablish that the speakers here are kids, they are not meant to be out on the streets like this, they don't yet know how to defend themselves, they are just kids. 

In the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks, the pacing, line structure, and sentence stucture are used to tell the dark story of some kids with no forseeable future, by creating an intense mood and impactful tone.

Act III scene i AKA Drama

Act III scene i AKA Drama. After seeing the movie versions of this whole scene, it has become very apparent as to how very important stage directions, acting decisions, setting, costumes, and everything else is because the meaning and inflections of the play can be changed so very easily. Now, if I were directing this scene it would be more similar to the Gilderoy Lockhart version than the Doctor Who version. The Doctor Who version made me very uncomfortable. The way he stared into the camera and his very slow talking speed was extremely weird and I did not like it. Also, he was too mean to Ophelia. Now, for my version, firstly, for major theme decisions, I would decide that Claudius and Polonius definitely did hear the "to be or not to be speech". Hamlet would have known that they were listening the entire time and, similar to the Gilderoy Lockhart version, he would move/look/speak in their direction during his speech. Next, I would make the nunnery scene totally heartbreaking, because it really is heartbreaking. I would have set up that Hamlet and Ophelia really did love each other, however they had not had a sexual relationship, but they were very close, very in love, and very trustful of each other. This way, the nunnery scene would be construed to be Hamlet telling her to save herself, both from the evils of man and the world, as well as possibly for him for after all of this mess is over. Now, although this would be a sweet message, Hamlet would still know that Claudius and Polonius were watching, so he would have to make it sound mean and unloving, but I would make it clear that Ophelia was only acting hurt. She would understand that Hamlet wanted her to wait. Somewhere earlier in the play I might throw in a little scene where he tells her about what is going on that way she knows that he does not actually hate her and that he is not actually crazy. And because of this addition, it would be obvious that Ophelia was lying about where her father was not to deceive Hamlet, but to aid him and to continue to act like what was happening between them was real. I think it is super important to protect Ophelia for some reason. Back to the scene, I would have Ophelia being very over dramatic so that the audience knew that she was in on it, but Claudius and Polonius would be fooled by her act. Similar again to the Gilderoy Lockhart version, I would have Polonius realize how horrible he had been treating Ophelia, so he would hug her and comfort her while Claudius continued to plot. I just really feel this strong connection with Ophelia. She has been thrown around throughout the entire play with complete disregard to her feelings. If Hamlet really does love her, then he is not at all acting like it. Now, know that he is on a revenge mission because his father was murdered, but if they truly love each other, I feel like she should be included in Hamlet's plotting and decision making. She needs to be more important.