Hamlet Gets Down in the Country!

What if Shakespeare's "Hamlet" took place in the countryside...

Hamlet is a young cowboy that works in the fields, feeding the cows and planting seeds. Gertrude is a stay at home mom that used to cook savory country food for her and her beloved husband Hamlet. Old Hamlet, owner of the most pristine cattle ranch in all of the country, was a loving father and husband until he was murdered by his brother. Claudius, brother and murder or Old Hamlet, lives on a farm down the ways growing and doing who knows what. He has supposedly murdered his brother by pouring toxic field fertilizer in Old Hamlets mouth while he was dozed off on a rocking chair on his porch. Then there is Polonius and his children Laertes and Ophelia. Polonius was Old Hamlets right hand man. He did whatever, whenever for Old Hamlet. Ophelia is a beautiful southern bell that Hamlets been crushing on ever since they were little kids. Polonius and his kids live in a house on the property of Old Hamlets magnificent ranch. Some of Hamlets good friends that he likes to mess around with are ol' Marcellus and Horatio. 

If "Hamlet" would have been set in the southern country side, a whole lot of southern sass and attitude would have been flying. Claudius would be some hunky cowboy that swept Gertrude off his feet and fooled everyone with his southern class and witty remarks. Hamlet would young but strong. He would escape from having to be with his mother and Claudius by riding horses and spending time in the fields with his best friends Horatio and Marcellus. He would also love to meet up with his crush Ophelia at the local saloon. This saloon is where Hamlet would reenact the murder of his father. All hell would be let loose between Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet when the details about Old Hamlets death are revealed. 

(Act 1 Scene 2) 

Everyone in the small town or Elsinore, Georgia has come to hear the new cattle king speak. A small podium is set in front of about 3 dozen chairs. All these chairs are filled and there are some people that are standing in the back. Gertrude is standing next to the podium wearing a large hat and somewhat revealing dress. She doesn't look like the wife of a man who just got murdered. Claudius walks up to the podium with a cowboy hat that covers his eyes and casts a shadow over his face. He rambles about how he is going to raise these cattle and provide the best quality meat for everyone in town, even better than Old Hamlet. After his long speech, Claudius comes across Hamlet who looks everything but excited about the situation. Claudius makes some caustic remarks that fires up Hamlet and puts him at his edge. Hamlet runs off with his horse and wishes that he could just run away forever and disappear. 

"To Be or Not To Be..."

     Hamlets "To be or not to be.." soliloquy is one of the most famous and iconic parts of Shakespeare's play. In this soliloquy, Hamlet revisits the idea of suicide and its consequences. He weighs its pros and cons and discusses whether it is better to live through the suffering or die, leaving all suffering in the mortal world behind.

     Both of these videos capture Hamlet's thoughts in different ways. In the first video, it seems that all of these ideas are just casually floating through Hamlets head. He is walking around in a video store yet in the back of his mind, he is thinking about suffering and the consequences of suicide. In this interpretation, I think that Hamlets soliloquy is not as dark as Shakespeare intended it to be. Some aspects that I think make this true is the fact that Hamlet is just casually walking around in a video store. Another aspect would be that Hamlet is not speaking aloud. I think this detail makes a very large impact in the second video.

     In the second video, Hamlet's soliloquy is dark and twisted. He closes his eyes imagining what it would be like had he committed suicide. The whole scene is a lot more serious and cold. The tone in his voice represents struggle and hardship. Also, the way the scene is set up makes for a lot more serious feeling. Hamlet looks to be in a dark basement of some sorts all alone. I feel like this video is a better interpretation of how Shakespeare intended this scene to be. I do not think Hamlets thoughts were meant to be "background thoughts" but were intended to be his main focus and all he could think about.

Fix 'em up!

Original Introduction Paragraph: 

 In the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, Piercy uses symbols such as miniature ovens, crying babies, red lipstick, and the image of a big nose and fat legs to demonstrate how the belittling of an average girl can lead to serious unfortunate events. The fact that the girlchild grows up playing with miniature GE stoves and whining babies symbolizes how from the beginning, the girlchild is categorized into a strict, motherly class. The red lipstick plays with the idea of how the girl is trying to fit into the cookie cutter "Barbie Doll" image that she is expected to portray. The image of a big nose and fat legs is also important in helping Piercy demonstrate the environment that the girlchild grows up in, always striving to be something other than herself. In the end, all of the bullying causes the girlchild to take matters into her own hands. She ends up cutting off her legs and nose, obviously resulting in her death. It is evident that symbols are used in the poem "Barbie Doll" to help illustrate the image that young girls feel they need to fulfill in order to be socially accepted.    

Revised Introduction: 

  In the poem "Barbie Doll", Piercy uses symbols such as miniature ovens, crying babies, red lipstick, and the image of a big nose and fat legs to demonstrate how the belittling of an average girl can lead to serious unfortunate events. The fact that the girlchild grows up playing with miniature GE stoves and baby dolls symbolizes how from the beginning, the girlchild is forced to follow expectations of what a woman should be. The red lipstick plays with the idea of how the girl is trying to fit into the cookie cutter "Barbie Doll" image that she is expected to portray. The image of a big nose and fat legs is also important in helping Piercy demonstrate the environment where the girlchild grows up striving to be something other than herself. In the end, all of the criticism that the girlchild endures causes her to take matters into her own hands and cut off her nose and legs. Symbols are used in "Barbie Doll" to help illustrate the image that young girls feel they need to fulfill in order to be socially accepted. 

Kenneth Branagh Act 1 Scene 5: The book is ALWAYS better than the movie

(2)

The portrayal of Act 1 Scene 5 is not at all what I expected of the scene. I envisioned Hamlet as being startled and scared but at the same time overwhelmed with feelings. I mean imagine if you had lost your father with out any warning like say a chronic disease would have had. Now all of the sudden the ghost of your father just shows up and starts talking to you. I mean would you really just stand there staring at him with your eyes glazed over? No! You would probably start crying or asking a bunch of questions.  I know I would. For Hamlet, not only is it a chance to say goodbye, but King Hamlet is giving him insight into his fathers murder! He is telling him how to proceed. All Hamlet does in this scene is stand there with absolutely know emotion. Did he not just find out that his uncle just killed his father and is now in bed with his mother!? I don't know about you, but if I was Hamlet, I would pay close attention to what my father was telling me to do and obey his wishes word by word.

As for the interpretation of the scene by Kenneth Branagh, I completely agree with all of his views. Hamlet in this scene looks almost fake. He makes a good point that as an actor it is hard to portray a character going through this type of revelation without having gone through it yourself. That being said, Hamlet still does not look convincible what so ever. Kenneth also mentions how he feels Hamlet should have acted in response to seeing the ghost of his father. He says that he wishes the ghost would have frightened Hamlet more. I mean it is a ghost right? At least for me they are pretty scary. Lastly, I agree with what Kenneth has to say about the way Hamlet reacts to the news that his uncle murdered his father. Branagh describes how he knows Hamlet is moved and upset by the news but does not show it emotionally. I feel Kenneth Branagh makes a lot of strong points that would have further improved the movie in depicting Shakespeare's original feelings about Hamlet.

Oh Gertrude...

Oh Gertrude...

Gertrude is the beautiful Queen of Denmark and has recently recieved the title of widow, being that her husband has just passed away. Her husband, the King of Denmark was a powerful, all knowing man that possessed a strong hold amongst his kingdom. Hamlet, their son, raves about how much they loved each other and what a good marriage they had. Well then why has Gertrude moved on so fast!?

As a queen, Gertrude is coming off as weak with no back bone. It has been a mere two months since her husbands death and she has let King Claudius take over Denmark in his place. He announces for her "Have we.../...With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage/In equal scale weighing delight and dole/ Taken to wife" (1.2. 10-14) Here the King announce the marriage for the both of them. For all we know, the queen could be off in the corner regretting her decision to ever agree in marriage to her brother in law. She appears to have no say in what is going on and just following the footsteps of her new husband to be, King Claudius. If I were a citizen in Denmark, I would have felt awful for the queen being that her husband had just passed but still would have wanted to see the queen regain her confidence and authority and take control of her kingdom.

So now Gertrude is a widow. What an awful title to have! Being married to someone so amazing and powerful and then suddenly having that all taken away. In my opinion, she is acting kind of selfless. The only sign that appears to be the queen caring about her son is when she says "Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet./I pray thee, stay with us. Go not to Wittenberg" (1.2 122-123) Instead of taking the time to mourn and then rise back to power again, representing her husband, she falls to an ultimate low and lets her brother in law take control.

I know this is kind of harsh, but I think Gertrude isn't being a very good mom. Does she not realize that the father of her son has just died? That is extremely hard for a boy, being that their father is who they look up to, a strong male figure. Hamlet says "And yet, within a month/ (Let me not think on't; frailty, thy name is woman!)/ A little month, or ere those shoes were old/ With which she followed my poor father's body" (1.2 149-152) From the text, you can see that Gertrude is being very inconsiderate. She is not being a good, loving mother by comforting her son in this hard time and telling him that everything is going to be okay. Instead, she goes off and marries her brother in law! I mean thats pretty messed up. It makes me think that they might have had an affair before her husband had died... Thats something to think about. I guess we will find out soon!

Madison Levine

Mrs. Hawkins

English II

3 October 2013

  Marge Piercy’s Barbie Doll: The Perfect Woman

              In the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, Piercy uses symbols such as miniature ovens, crying babies, red lipstick, and the image of a big nose and fat legs to demonstrate how the belittling of an average girl can lead to serious unfortunate events. The fact that the girlchild grows up playing with miniature GE stoves and whining babies symbolizes how from the beginning, the girlchild is categorized into a strict, motherly class. The red lipstick also plays with the idea of how the girl is trying to fit into the cookie cutter "Barbie Doll" image that she is expected to portray. The image of a big nose and fat legs is also important in helping Piercy demonstrate the environment that the girlchild grows [1] up in, always striving to be something other than herself. In the end, all of the bullying causes the girlchild to take matters into her own hands. She ends up cutting off her legs and nose, obviously resulting in her death. [2] It is evident that symbols are used in the poem "Barbie Doll" to help illustrate the image that young girls feel they need to fulfill in order to be socially accepted.  [3] 

            In the beginning of the poem "Barbie Doll", Marge Piercy uses toys like miniature stoves and crying babies as symbols of the roles girls are expected to take on as they grow up. Piercy opens up her poem mentioning that "[The] girlchild was born as usual...[and given] miniature GE stoves and irons" (Piercy 1-3). As a young girl, the girlchild [4] is presented with play kitchens, introducing her to the early roles of womanhood and household responsibilities. Even the perfect "Barbie Doll" is depicted as having household duties, sometimes being shown with a pink kitchen set and even an iron for ironing Ken's shirts. Other Barbie dolls are seen as having professions such as a lawyer, doctor, or executive. As we grow up, we are repeatedly introduced to the roles and attitudes that young women are supposed to attain. Piercy [5] also mentions in her poem that the “Girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee"(Piercy 1-2). Here, Piercy is referring to the early years of motherhood where a woman is expected to stay at home and care for her baby with little help. Women are constantly referred to as quiet, submissive and passive, expected to stay in the house and supply for the rest of their family. This[6]  has hurt the outlook that most people have on women and their position in the community. The symbols that Marge Piercy uses in "Barbie Doll" all relate to the idea of how girls from a young age are brought up with the sense that they will someday take on the average roles of a submissive women, allowing no room for individuality.[7] 

The red cherry lipstick is a symbol of the sophisticated and sensual attitude that the girlchild is trying to obtain. Piercy introduces the girlchild as being "Born as usual...[and given] wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy"(Piercy 1-4). The lipstick symbolizes the girlchild trying to achieve an unattainable standard of what a woman's features should look like. This image is representative of the basic principle that girls are lead to believe are the only way for them to become accepted, desirable, and successful. [8] The American culture [9] has put unrealistic expectations on girls today, leading them to make poor decisions in order to perfect their appearance. Our fast moving community has also aided in the rapid development as well as the poor decision making of many girls today. In "Barbie Doll", the girlchild is influenced by the people around her and is set[10]  up to believe there is only one way she should look, which ultimately leads to her demise.

            The visual imagery of a big nose and fat legs symbolizes the ideal body and corrupt image that the Barbie doll has created for young girls. Piercy writes how “In the magic of puberty, a classmate said: [to the girlchild]/ You have a great big nose and fat legs”(Piercy 5-6). It is evident that Piercy uses the Barbie doll figure as a model of what girls now a days aspire to be. The thin thighed, long legged, busty Barbie reflects what our culture has set up as the unreal feminine body type. This has had negative impacts for those that do not live up to these standards. Piercy also mentions how the girlchild “went to and fro apologizing”(Piercy 10) but “everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs”(Piercy 11). Whether it is in school or in the outside world, those who do not have the "Barbie doll" figure will be reminded of it each and everyday. Piercy uses imagery to describe the girlchild as having a big nose and fat legs. For all we know, this description could be in relation to the unrealistic Barbie doll. In that case, the girlchild could quite possibly be absolutely normal and could just be getting judged on America's ideal women, the Barbie doll. [11] Many girls, as does the girlchild in the poem, use the Barbie doll as a model of what they think they[12]  should look like. Along with the criticism from the people around her, the girlchild eventually takes her life knowing that she did not live up to her community’s standards by having a big nose and fat legs.

Through all of the symbols used in this poem, it is made clear how the girlchild finally gets to a point of helplessness and weakness, resulting in her actions to cut off her nose and legs. [13] Eventually, Piercy tells us that “her good nature wore out like a fanbelt. /So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up”(Piercy 15-18). The girlchild is pushed to the limit, stripped of her self-esteem and confidence. She deals with this situation by taking her life away.[14]  It is at this moment where she is told she is pretty. This symbolizes the corrupt environment we live in where you are not considered pretty until you look like everyone else, even if this means you are dead.

            In the end, we can infer that Marge Piercy uses symbols in her poem to convey an important message about young girls. We learn from this poem that from an early age, girls are set up to perform the standard jobs of a stay at home mom. Symbols that suggest this concept are the play ovens and whining babies, where the red lipstick symbolizes the mature model that young girls try to portray at an early age. Piercy reinforces what we already know about the iconic doll and explains to us how this unrealistic model has created an image engraved into young girls minds displaying what they should look like in order to be accepted and respected. From all of this, we can take away that it is important to embrace your individuality and be proud of yourself, regardless of what other people think.[15] 

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Outline and revised intro

In the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, Piercy uses symbols such as miniature ovens,
crying babies, red lipstick, and the image of a big nose and fat legs to demonstrate how the belittling of an average girl can lead to serious unfortunate events. The fact that the girl grows up playing with miniature GE stoves and whining babies symbolizes how from the beginning, the girl is categorized into a strict, motherly class. The red lipstick also plays with the idea of how the girl is trying to fit into the cookie cutter "Barbie Doll" image that she is expected to portray. The image of a big nose and fat legs is also important in helping Piercy demonstrate the environment that the girl grew up in, always striving to be something other than herself. It is evident that symbols are used in the poem "Barbie Doll" to help illustrate the image that young girls feel they need to fulfill in order to be socially accepted.

I. In the beginning of the poem "Barbie Doll", Marge Piercy uses toys like mini stoves and crying babies as symbols of the roles girls are expected to take on as they grow up.
    a. "This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee"
    b. "...and miniature GE stoves and irons"

II. The red cherry lipstick is a symbol of the sophisticated personality and sensual attitude that the girl  is trying to obtain.
     a. "The girlchild was born as usual and presented... wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy"

III. The visual imagery of a big nose and fat legs symbolizes the ideal body and corrupt image that the Barbie doll has created for young girls.
     a. "Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs"
     b. "She went to and fro apologizing. Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs"

IV. Through all of the symbols used in this poem, it is made clear how the girl finally gets to a point of helplessness and weakness, resulting in her actions to cut off her legs and nose.
      a. "Her good nature wore out like a fan belt. So she cut off her nose and legs"
      b. "In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on, a turned-up       putty nose"

Intro Paragraph

    Writers use irony in their works to emphasize key ideas in their writing. Irony most often makes the reader stop and think about what they have just read. In the poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy, Piercy uses irony to show how difficult it is to live as a unique individual in such a critical environment like our world today. Marge Piercy uses irony in her poem Barbie Doll to show how judgmental and stereotypical people can cause unfortunate events in other peoples lives.  

Miniver Cheevy. That's a pretty odd name isn't it? It sounds sounds very historical, like a renaissance painter of some sort. Hmm... well thats something to think about.

Anyway, Miniver Cheevy reminds me of a lot of people today! Many people today, mostly teenage girls, have classified themselves as being born in the wrong century aswell. You ever see those girls wearing the super high wasted, ripped jean shorts? Or the overalls? Well aren't those from like the 80's or something? Many of the girls who wear those today claim that the style back then was so much better and that they themselves were "born in the wrong century." Unlike Miniver Cheevy, these girls have taken matter into their own hands. They have changed the way the have dressed, their outlook on life, and so much more in order to live the life they feel they were meant to live. I can almost gurantee that if Miniver Cheevy would have just tweaked some of the details in his life, he would have been A LOT happier.

Why is Robinson showing us a character that "wept that he was ever born"? For me, it is real simple. The first time I read this sentence I was like, "Oh that sucks. Who would ever wish not to be born? You must have to be pretty unhappy to have those kinds of feelings." And then it clicked. Robinson is telling us that if you settle for being unhappy, then odds are you are not to stoked to get up every morning. None of the less, Robinson is telling us to get up off our butts and do something if we are unhappy! Don't just sit there and let life pass you by! You are the author of your own story, and if you don't start filling in the pages, then YOUR life is going to be blank and empty forever!

Isn't it ironic...

Marge Piercy uses a great deal of irony in her poem "Barbie Doll" to convey her message. What do you think when you hear Barbie doll? Blonde? Skinny? Pretty, popular? Well to be honest, so do I! For most young girls, a certain image is engraved into their brains from the time they pick up their first doll. They think in order to be cool and popular like Barbie, they need to be perfect with beautiful features and exact proportions. In the poem "Barbie Doll", Marge Piercy plays with image as well as irony to show how this corrupt image has resulted in unfortunate events amongst the young women in our society.

"Then in the magic of puberty". When was the last time you heard somebody refer to puberty as magic? This is one example where Piercy uses verbal irony. Yes magic usually has a positive connotation, but here magic is far from what actually happens. In fact, in this situation, irony takes over and the girls "big nose and fat legs" are revealed to the reader, later taking a negative toll on her  actions. 

"Doesn't she look pretty?" Are you kidding me! Here, the girl is no where near pretty! She is dead! This is a key example of verbal irony that Piercy uses in her poem. According to the community, the girl is now "pretty" because she transformed herself into the ideal, cookie-cutter shape of a Barbie doll, cutting of both her legs and her nose. 

"To every woman a happy ending." Is this really a happy ending? All your left with now is a dead girl and an even more distorted community. This is pretty ironic, being that absolutely nothing good came out of this ending.

The use of irony by Marge Piercy was extremely useful in conveying her main idea. All of these examples of verbal irony show how the image of a plastic doll has impacted the lives of young girls, causing them to make life threatening decisions in order to be "perfect"...

Hi! My name is Maddy and this is my blog! Here, you can see all my thoughts and feelings about reading, literature, and more so feel free to let me know what you think!

By far, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas was my favorite story from the summer reading. I feel like this story had quality elements that were easy to relate to in our everyday lives. Are you satisfied knowing that your joy is the product of another ones suffering. Well are you? Think about it. You are in 5th grade and you are hanging out with your friends on the playground. Your cool, your awesome, your popular. Then, one of your friends walks over to another girl on the playground and pushes her to the ground. Now what? All your friends start to snicker but you just feel bothered, upset.


 "The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas." 

So what do you? Do you step out of your comfort zone and help the girl up? Oh, but what if your friends think you are weird for helping the freaky nerd up? Just like the people who walk away from Omelas, you too are heading towards an unknown destiny that may be better or worse from where you came from. Although they are walking away from the unjust actions of the city, is that enough? Even though you didn't physically push the girl down, isn't it just as bad to be the one that just watches?  Just like the people in Omelas, you too are uneasy with the idea of prospering off another persons misery. So, who are you going to be? Are you the one that pushes the girl down, or the one that helps her up.