Clint Eastwood as Hamlet

Since I started reading Hamlet, just over a month ago, I have been unable to shake my awe of how many ways the text can be interpreted into other settings. After spending a while contemplating Michael Almereyda's Hamlet movie, I envisioned a backdrop of my own that would truly exemplify the contextual diversity of Shakespeare's work.

I placed Hamlet in a Western ghost town, similar to Clint Eastwood movies (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly or Fistful of Dollars). Taking the place of the kings (Claudius, and previously Hamlet), would be the mayors of such towns. Meanwhile, Prince Hamlet would take the place of the the future mayor and the son of the recently killed mayor. Likewise, Polonius would be the sheriff. This Western setting would give a whole new perspective to the text of Hamlet. The country of Norway would be a Mexican group of bandits. The movie would be set in the late 1800’s.

An example of a Hamlet scene in the wild west would be when King Claudius (Mayor Claudius) and Polonius (Sheriff Polonius) throw Hamlet into a room with the sheriff’s daughter, Ophelia, and spy on him. The mayor and sheriff would be “testing” to make sure that heir Hamlet would be worthy of being the next mayor of this town. At that point, Hamlet would give his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy.

Which Film Is "To Be" Better?

Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy is one of Shakespeare's most renowned. Through the numerous movies of Hamlet, we are able to directly see how each one interprets the scene so differently from the next. 

As I was roaming around on Google trying to find a version that I felt depicted the scene best, I ran into a clip of the soliloquy which I thought was extremely plane and almost boring to an extent. As I watched the clip above, I quickly realized that there was nothing that captivated my attention. The scene is set-up as if the actor is reading directly out of the play. Although he does show some emotion while reading, the actor doesn't help me visualize his thoughts in any way.

Luckily, I came across a version of the "To Be or Not to Be" that tremendously helped me envision the scene taking place. The actor playing Hamlet helps us understand his exact thoughts by showing several examples of what he is talking about take place right in front of him. I found this to be a lot more helpful than just watching the actor read the lines of the play. I am also able to follow the thoughts of Hamlet in the second clip a lot more easily than the first. Being able to see Hamlet's thoughts firsthand was a huge difference for me.

Although the lines were the same, the way the scene played out in the second clip was way more interesting to me!

Let's Fix It: Characterization in "Barbie Doll"

         As the poem, progresses, Piercy continues to add to the unattractive bodily features of the "girl child" while not explaining much about her personality. She "possessed strong arms and back” (Piercy 8), features that truthfully are not suitable for a pretty girl. Features that are certainly not appropriate for Barbie, as the title ironically suggests. "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy 11). Marge Piercy’s choice to characterize the “girl child” only by her physical characteristics sends the message about how people maliciously stereotype.

        As the poem progresses, Piercy begins to reveal the susceptibility that "girlchild" is facing as a result of the adverse comments from her peer. “Her good nature wore out
/ like a fan belt” (Piercy 15-16). We already know that she "possessed strong arms and back” (Piercy 8) and that the girl is in fact “healthy, tested intelligent” (Piercy 7). Although these features that are certainly not usually associated with Barbie, as the title ironically suggests, they are rather decent. Instead of focusing on the respectable qualities, the girlchild’s self esteem is drowning over the statement,"Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy 11). Marge Piercy’s choice to show that one nasty characterizing of the “girlchild” is eating her from within sends the message about how malicious stereotypes can shatter one’s mental stability.

Ophelia + Ophelia

As I watched the two clips of Hamlet, I was struck by how similarly the two actresses acted, yet they were so different. While reading this scene, I pictured Ophelia as a girl who received a ton of useless advise from everybody who was older than her. For some reason, I felt as if she was just playing along and not taking any of the advise seriously. The actress playing Ophelia in the Zeffirelli version of the film perfectly acts out exactly my thoughts on Ophelia. She continues to just laugh off all of the "wise" advise which she is receiving. She is not snobby and acting like a smart Alec but by her behavior, we can tell that the words of her brother and her father really don't mean much to her. Instead of stopping to listen, she attempts to avoid more advise by continuing with the task at hand. On the other hand, in the other Hamlet film, the actress playing Ophelia becomes more and more annoyed as her bother gives her advise. Her temper only worsens when her father speaks to her and attempts to rub more wisdom into her. She does not stay relaxed like the other character. Instead she became increasingly angry, as if what they were saying actually bothered her. This, in the end causes her to finally really snap at Laertes and call him a hypocrite. In both cases, I think we can really see that Ophelia isn't the stupid girl that everybody thinks she is. She is actually quite intelligent. She keeps her thoughts in her mind and superficially agrees to listen to avoid conflict and others' doubt in her.

First Impression of Hamlet

We first meet Hamlet in William Shakespeare's work, "Hamlet," at the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2. The prince presents himself in a black, mournful suit and is chastised for it by his mother and his uncle who is the new king of Denmark. Hamlet does not seem to care much for his uncle Claudius at all. He shows him no love and very little respect. In fact, Prince Hamlet later tells us himself that he does not like the man.

We can see that Hamlet is still in grief from his father's recent death. I think that this is only normal behavior. He clearly displays his belief that his father's death was not given enough attention because he still suffers from the sorrow. Everybody else, including his mother is over the fact that her former husband is dead. In fact, Hamlets mother has already remarried to his Uncle Claudius. She shows her lack of sensitivity to the topic of King Hamlet's death when she tells the prince, "All that lives must die." (I .II .72)

After everybody but Hamlet exits the room, he explains to us his true thoughts and emotion. He is upset because his father is dead. This, I think, is fully justified as it seems as if everybody else is more excited about the new king rather that showing grief about the one who has just passed. Futhermore, Prince Hamlet is bitter about the fact that his mother has so quickly remarried to his uncle Claudius. Hmmm...thats really pretty disgusting. If my mother was doing that, I'd be totally grossed out and super upset. That's just weird!!! What makes it even worse is that Queen Gertude does not even care. She's like, "Out with the old and in with the new. Thats life!"

In conclusion, I find Hamlet's behavior and thoughts to really relate well with the audience's thoughts and behavior. His actions actually make sense to me.

I find this picture to really well exemplify the scenario taking place in Act I Scene II

Piercy Discourages Shallow, Stereotypical Use of Characterization

A key element in any work of literature, characterization, proves to be an essential element which allows Marge Piercy to deliver her message in the poem, "Barbie Doll." Piercy uses characterization tremendously throughout the poem to emphasize and truly depict to us how "unattractive" the main character was based on how others described her. Piercy delves deep into every detail of her physical appearance while remaining shallow with her personality and true character. Using this technique, Piercy is able to highlight the cruelty that the girl is forced to face because she isn't exactly described as "beautiful." Finally, when the main character kills herself in an attempt to get rid of her fat legs and ugly nose, everybody characterizes her as pretty. Through the use of characterization in the poem, "Barbie Doll," Marge Piercy is able to convey her theme of the cruelty that people such as the girl child are forced to face just because of the stereotypes others make.

Piercy starts off the poem, "Barbie Doll," by using characterization to describe the main character's lack of physical beauty as she goes through puberty, a phase which usually has a positive effect on one's appearance. Unfortunately for the "girl child," others describe her with some unattractive features. The problem really starts when a classmate tells her, "You have a great big nose and fat legs" (Piercy 6). Piercy doesn’t directly tell the reader that the “girl child” is ugly; she only tells us what the peers think of her.

As the poem, progresses, Piercy continues to add to the unattractive bodily features of the "girl child" while not explaining much about her personality. She "possessed strong arms and back” (Piercy 8), features that truthfully are not suitable for a pretty girl. Features that are certainly not appropriate for Barbie, as the title ironically suggests. "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy 11). Marge Piercy’s choice to characterize the “girl child” only by her physical characteristics sends the message about how people maliciously stereotype.

By the end of the poem, when our character is dead, with her nose chopped off and legs half gone, Piercy sends out a rather disturbing message. "'Doesn't she look pretty,' everyone said" (Piercy 23). This statement truly proves to us that the girl child’s mission is actually accomplished. The fact that somebody thinks that she looks pretty is absolutely absurd because a dead body is most definitely not pretty.  This is especially true in the case of the girl child because it is a dead body with a chopped off nose and legs sliced up. Are people really that coldhearted?  "Consummation at last” (Piercy 24). The disturbing message that Piercy sends us here is that now people actually think the girl looks “pretty.” The girl child did what it took to be called pretty. "To every woman, a happy ending" (Piercy 25) declares that her goal was finally achieved.

Marge Piercy, the author of “Barbie Doll,” utilizes characterization within the poem to show how numerous individuals make stereotypes about the girl child. Piercy uses these instances to show that people around the world think and operate in a similar fashion to the people in “Barbie Doll.” In conclusion, she is telling us that making stereotypes is a common trait of human nature. She tries to persuade us not to do so by showing the grief that it causes the recipient. Because so many citizens in “Barbie Doll” made generalizations toward the main character, much grief was inflicted upon her, which eventually led her to make irrational decisions. Marge Piercy’s lesson to us as people is to lessen anguish in others by avoiding characterizing people based on shallow observations, as it will make the world a much happier place.

Revised Intro & Outline

Revised Intro:

 A key element in any work of literature, characterization, proves to be an essential element which allows Marge Piercy to deliver her message in the poem, "Barbie Doll." Piercy uses characterization tremendously throughout the poem to emphasize and truely depict to the reader how "unattractive" the main character was. Piercy delves deep into every detail of her physical appearance while remaining shallow with her personality and true character. Using this technique, Piercy is able to highlight the cruelly the girl is forced to face because the isn't exactly "beautiful." Finally, when the main charecter kills herself in an attempt to get rid of her fat legs and ugly nose, somebody characterizes her as pretty. Without the use of characterization in the poem, "Barbie Doll," it would be impossible for Piercy to convey her purpose and theme of the cruelty the main character was forced to face just because the was not considered attractive.

Outline:

I.    Piercy starts off the poem, "Barbie Doll," by using characterization to describe the main character's lack of physical beauty as she goes through puberty, a phase which usually has a positive effect on one's appearance.

          a. The problem really starts as she goes through puberty when a classmate tells her, "You have a great big nose and fat legs."

II. As the poem, progresses, Piercy continues to add to the unattractive features of the main character while not explaining anything about her personality.

           a. She "possessed strong arms and back," features that truly are not suitable for a pretty girl. Certainly not for Barbie.

          b. "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs."

II. By the end of the poem, when our character was dead, with her nose chopped off and legs half gone, Piercy sends out a rather disturbing message.

          a. "'Doesn't she look pretty,' everyone said."

Intro Paragraph

A key element in any work of literature, characterization, proves to be a necessary element to help the author convey his or her message. This common practice is used by Marge Piercy in her poem, "Barbie Doll." Characterization is used within a large portion of the poem to assist the reader to realize how the main character is  categorized by her physical features. Without the use of characterization in the poem, "Barbie Doll," it would be impossible for Piercy to deliver her message of the cruelty the main character was forced to face.

Born Too Late???

Miniver Cheevy

The first stanza of the poem puzzled me. I don't understand why somebody would wish that they were never born. I can understand why somebody would wish that they were born earlier. I have felt that way a couple times. Maybe the speaker felt like he could relate to the way of life of the previous generation better. On the other hand, when somebody speaks of not being born in the first place, I feel like he is mentally ill.

Possibly, the author is trying to convey a message about how terrible the new generation is. I think Robinson is attempting to depict that as time is passing, important traditions is being left behind along with good morals and ethics. Therefore, the speaker would be much more content if he was born in the past.

Isn't it Ironic???

Irony typically is the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think. This definition of irony is seen throughout "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy. The irony begins with the title which contradicts the features of the main character entirely. While a Barbie generally implies a physically perfect girl who has a beautiful body and a pretty face, our character has "a great big nose and fat legs." Definitely something that would not describe a Barbie by any means! Additionally, she is described as having strong arms and back. If you take a look at beautiful Barbie below, I'm sure she wouldn't be described as having those features. Instead, one might say she looks lean and slender. In the end, when the girl finally dies in an attempt to look like a Barbie somebody calls her pretty. I find that absolutely ridiculous because she is DEAD. Irony strikes again.

Welcome to my Blog!

Hey Y'all!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Dave and I am a sophomore in high school.  I am also a professional kiteboarder. I have been kiteboarding since I was 9 years old and it is by far the most exhilarating sport I have participated in. The sport has led me to experience the unbelievable and meet my greatest heroes.

In this blog, I will be writing about some of my exciting adventures of English 3! This thrilling road began over the summer of 2013. The first work of literature I read was "Eveline." As I finished reading the short story, I was struck with confusion. Nonetheless, I continued on to read the rest of the stories and poems. As I read, my mind kept reverting back to the end of "Eveline." I couldn't understand why Eveline was not able to get on the boat with Frank.

I became angry at Eveline for not leaving her rather terrible to live a new, possibly improved life with Frank. I was puzzled as to why she would make a choice like this. It seemed like an escape, an opportunity for freedom. After reading the story again, my frustration only increased. Then I realized that Eveline did not really make a choice.


"She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition."

This line frustrated me even more because it seemed to me like Eveline did not want to go with Frank. I thought that was her making a decision. Later, I decided that she was frozen with fear. The fact that she was leaving all she knew and  suddenly struck her. I think it was her instinct to resist. She was emotionally connected to her home. I still can't decide whether her not entering the ship was a decision or not.