A Great Learning Experience

Taking English 102 made me realize that literature could be really fun and rewarding.  With the discussion in class and the explanation from the professor, boring readings turned out to be interesting in some way.  Our first reading assignment was “A Clean Well Lighted Place.”  It is a short story that has many hidden meaningful lessons that can be learned.   One lesson I learn from this story is that we all need to have a purpose of what we want in order to live a meaningful life without any regrets in the future.  Then our professor introduced us to “A Rose for Emily,” “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and A Doll’s House.  These stories are similar in that males have total power over females.  This is due to the fact the norm of the society created in which women were being treated as the second class citizen.  The social inequality in jobs and social inequality at home caused women to be confined in their houses as the housewives.  Although these stories happened in the nineteenth century, the social inequality in jobs and social inequality at home still exist today.  Women working the same jobs as men are still receiving less as comparing to men.  As we moved on to poetry, I find that it is very complicated to comprehend what the poets were trying to imply.  With the discussion in class and doing my own research, I find poetry understandable and meaningful.    Our last studied was on epic and fantasy play.  I really enjoyed reading “The Tempest” because it has a happy ending.  I don’t know why, but I always love a happy ending.  I did not like Prospero in the beginning because he appears to be evil.  He uses his power to control Ariel, the spirit.  However, it turns out in the end that he is a noble man who would careless about vengeance.  In conclusion, I am glad that I took this class and it has helped me understand literature more than ever before.  Thank You Professor Carrol-Adler.

The Tempest, A Lighthearted play

I would describe The Tempest as a lighthearted play because the play is more optimistic and hopeful than tragedy.  Prospero's intent was to redeem his throne as the king.  He had no intention of harming any of his enemies.  He even tried to create a scenario in which a father, Elonso, had to go through the thougtht of losing his son, Ferdinand, forever.  He wanted Elonso to understand how he felt when he was being banished with Miranda outside on a sea.  Although there was comedy as well as revenge in this play, it all ended with a happy ending and lesson learned.

A Doll's House, The Confinement of Male Dominance

The theme from A Doll's House is similar to "A Rose for Emily" and "The Yellow Wallpaper."  The women were being trapped in a house and had limited of rights.  Each of these women were married, but it did not seem that their husband loved them enough.  They each had to be confined by the authority of their husband.  Tovald was supposed to be her protector, but revealed himself as a selfish man who value reputation over Nora's reputation.  John was supposed to be the narrator's doctor and husband, but revealed himself as male domination over his wife.  Emily was being confined by her father's belief.  She could not get marry without her father's approval.  He controlled who she would be able to marry to.  The stories portrayed these woman who had limited of rights and to be confined to the male domination.  They each found their way to overcome it.