Monday, April 25, 2011

Hairspray Questions

1.  Define:  setting.  Describe the setting--in detail--keeping in mind the complete definition of setting.
setting-the natural, manufactured, and cultural environment in which characters live and move, including all their possessions, homes, ways of life, and assumptions.

The movie begins in 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland. Tracy wakes to a song "Good Morning Baltimore" as she gives a tour of her home she shares with her parents. Modern home with the family business down below. Conservative with dress but hair the higher the better. Simple living. The movie revolves around a dance show called The Corny Collins Show and how Tracy desires to one day be on the show and show her talent.

2.  Why and how is the setting important in the story?
With the 60's came the BIG hair and the swing dancing

3.  What is the major conflict in the story?  Who or what is the major conflict between?
Racial segregation, between the Negros and the whites

4.  In what ways do the conflict advance or influence the plot of the story?  Name at least two.
1. Amber and her mother who manages the dance show and Corny Collins himself-they don't even want to allow and "Negro Day" and he wants more of it.
2. Tracy thinks of the blacks like they are just like her and even starts a march to protest segregation.

5. The title of the play is Hairspray.  What or how is hairspray significant/important to the story?
The Corny Collins Show is sponsored by a brand of Hairspray and because the big hair was in and everyone used tons of Hairspray.

6.  Define:  theme.  List and explain at least three themes in the story.
Theme-the major or central idea of a work

1.Tracy proved to everyone that she was talented and could dance and didn't matter her height or size
2.Tracy accepted the blacks for who they were and welcomed their talent. She never judged them because of the color of their skin and never acted as if she was superior.
3.For the lead in "Miss Teenage Hairspray" Little Inez is given the role. She was the first negro to play the part but she was voted in by the people. This just proved that everybody didn't think they were more superior to the other race as did Velma and Amber.

7.  Listen carefully to the final song of the movie.  What does it mean--not just for the story itself, but for you, too?  I'm including 2 separate links, but they're for the same song.  One link includes the lyrics on the screen for you to look at....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx9guWBRgB0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw8ybll5SSc
This song to me means that no one can get in your way when you have your heart and mind set on something. If you make a goal and intend to meet it nobody will be able to cause a detour.

8.  Tracy sings to her mom "Welcome to the Sixties."  In what ways have things changed over the years--from the sixties to now--based on what Tracy sings about as well as the themes of the story?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4XSU-kqSCI&feature=fvst
TVs were black and white......today color
Hair has changed drastically!!!......today there is no telling what you will see from crazy colors to shaved in mohawks
Clothing was more conservative-today you will see it all!!! All clothing types and skin types hanging out, off, on backwards, and worn different places.
Make-up was more conservative-today its wild and dramatic
racial segregation.....today non-existent

9.  Why do you think the director chose to use a man (John Travolta) to play the part of Tracy's mom?  Once you answer this question for yourself, do a little research and see if you can find out the real reason why the director chose to use a man.  Compare your answer/opinion to the real reason.
Mainly for humor of it. The role was to be of someone who was over weight and ashamed of themselves and to leave the emotion out of it and to not offend someone then why not cast a man to play to role.

The real reason is because since 1988 the play has always had the role of Edna played by a man in drag.

10.  What have I missed?  What do you want to say about Hairspray that I haven't asked about? (You must have SOMETHING answered here.)
I had no idea that this movie was about segregation, I never would of guessed it. What do you think the original director/writer was thinking when comparing Hairspray to segregation??? I don't see the connection!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

My questions about Oedipus

Although I enjoyed this play and really enjoyed the twist and turns of the fate of Oedipus, I have to ask, What in the world was on the mind of Sophocles when he wrote this play??? Would this ever happen today or has it happened??? When his uncle/brother in law Creon took over as King of Thebes, what happened then? What did people think of what happened to Oedipus? What could Oedipus have done to prevent this? Why didn't he have an option? What happened to his children with Jocasta and did they have problems physically or mentally? When did Jocasta know that Oedipus was in fact her son? Is that why she killed herself or did she know all alone and did it out of guilt? What happened to Oedipus after he was exiled?

Oedipus Questions

1. Who wrote the play?
Sophocles

2. Briefly define the Oedipal Complex.
A term used by Freud in his theory of psycho sexual stages of development to describe a boy's desire for his mother and his anger towards his father.

3. What is the setting of the story, specifically, the where?
During the day in front of the royal palace of Thebes

4. As the play opens, what horrible thing is going on?
Thebes is being plagued by The Spinx until they find out who murdered their King Laius

5. Whose death must be avenged in order for the horrible thing from number 4 to end?
King Laius

6. Who is Oedipus’ wife?
Jocasta, Creon's sister

7. Who is Oedipus’ mother?
Jocasta, although unknown until the end

8. Who is Oedipus’ father?
The former King Laius, unknown until the end of the play

9. Who killed the King of Thebes (the answer for #5)?
Oedipus, only he didn't know at the time who he was

10. What is Oedipus’ tragic flaw?
His pride

11. As you read through Oedipus, you'll note that sight/vision/seeing (including "second sight") is very important to the overall story--in the literal as well as the metaphorical/symbolical aspect.  You don't have to do this in complete sentences if you don't want---
12. Describe/discuss/explain/list how sight/vision/seeing/"second sight" is/are used in the play to advance the plot--to advance the story as a whole.  Include an explanation of why it's important as well as how it helps you (the real audience) understand (get) what others on the stage and in the play don't understand.
Answer to both 11 &12: Oedipus was so "blinded" by what his fate truly was to be. Although he could see physically, when he learned of his fate he wanted to be blind so he would not harm anyone else and be reminded of what he had caused. As the audience, I started to see what was to be but then the play kept me on the edge of my seat just waiting for the axe to drop.

13. As a play, there's a lot that can and can not be done on the stage.  Explain why you think some things within this play in particular are done on stage while others are done off stage.
Personally, if I had been watching the play live, I would not want to see Jocasta kill herself or when Oedipus killed his father and crew and then ended with taking pens and poking out his own eyes. Some things are just made for private and plus so of the things that happened within the play would be hard to reenact.

14. Do you believe in fate?  Explain fully your answer.
Actually I do believe in fate, kinda! I believe that what is meant to happen will happen. I have been a witness to something being said and it coming to pass. Now when we are talking fate with love I just don't know that you can honestly say that there is only ONE person out there that is your true soul mate and the one you are suppose to spend your life with. If that is the case I think a lot of us would be single, especially if we didn't travel, lol!

15. Explain how fate plays a role in Oedipus.
Poor, poor Oedipus! My heart went out to him. He had no idea when he was born that his life would take a crazy twist of fate. How doomed are you from the start to know that you would one day kill your father and marry your mother and have children from the same womb that you came from. I definitely think if he had known his true mother and father he would of stayed away as he "thought" he had and never let it happen. Or at least tried to prevent it. If its fate than can we really change the path???

16. Have you ever thought how ironic this play is? It's weird how the events come together and make everything happen the way it does. If things were to happen just a little bit different the story would be completely changed.
I believe this play is very ironic. I compare it to today when you are 300 miles away from home and you run into somebody you know or you find out that your best friend is actually related by generations on down the line. We live in a world of strange coincidences. Everybody knows everybody and are related some how!!! The story may have changed had Oedipus know who his true parents were.

Extra: Name either one of the other two plays in the Oedipus Trilogy—punctuation count.
Oedipus at Colonus

Saturday, April 2, 2011

"Where I Come From" by Elizabeth Brewster pg. 696

This poem sent my mind soaring! It wasn't my favorite but I felt it, if that makes sense. When the author begins to describe the people and what they bring with them I could actually picture certain people and the way they dress and the familiar smells I've smelled. Some more obvious than others but I could just picture in my mind the people I see in town or on my job and without even knowing them I can tell or should I say assume what they do and where they are from. It is amazing to me that we can be that observant and yet be stereotypical. Some will surprise you but we tend to take in and take shape of where we come from. I've borrowed clothes, bags, etc. from friends before and just the smell makes me say, "this smells like her house." Some people just have a familiar smell and when they are not around and I get a hint it makes me think of them. My grandmother passed away in October of 2006 and every now and then I will get a smell of menthol cigarette and I think of her! That just made my heart smile:)

"Love Should Grown Up Like a Wild Iris in the Fields" by Susan Griffin pg. 737

I really loved, loved, loved this one!!! Very true with everything said! This is how life is today. We are always so busy and on the go and we rarely take time for what is important, our family! My favorite part:

Love more often is the be found in kitchens at the dinner hour,
tired out and hungry, lingers over tables in houses where
the walls record movements; while the cook is probably angry,
and the ingredients of the meal are budgeted, while
a child cries feed me now and her mother not quite
hysterical says over and over, wait just a bit, just a bit.

I've seen this scene play over and over at my house and I'm sure you can relate. I really hate that this is how it is because the only time I do get to see my family is when its time to eat because I have to force myself to quit my homework and feed my family. We really need to be able to "stop and smell the roses." Life is too short to let the rush of life get in the way.

"I Wanted to Share My Father's World" by Jimmy Carter pg. 810

This poem is kind of bittersweet! I really enjoyed the authors insight on how the boy looked up to his father. He didn't always understand the way his father raised him. He hated to be disciplined and the way his father tried to shape him into the man he wanted him to be. In his fathers final hours it finally came to him what a great man his father was and that his father lived on in him. I've had the privilege to have a father in my life. I know so many who have not and it is heart breaking. Although growing up I despised most of the things that my father did discipline wise I appreciate it now because he has in fact shaped me into the woman I am today. I'll always be daddy's little girl and there is no love like the love from a father.

"The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks pg. 634

Not that I really cared for the poem as a favorite but I got the message behind it. The speaker of the poem is a mother who is talking about the abortions that she has had. She is talking to all the children and how she did love them though she never let them breath air or suck her breast and their thumbs. It really touched me because abortions are final and there are a lot of things that you take away from that child. This is a very touchy subject in the world today. I'm Pro-Life so it really bothers me but the speaker of this poem really went into detail of all the things she was able to make decision about and terminate. She kept saying she loved them, loved them all but she ended their lives in the blink of an eye.

"My Childhood's Home" by Abraham Lincoln pg. 820

I really enjoyed this poem. There is so many times that I ride by my old homestead and she the visions of what used to be. Of my sister and I playing in a particular tree or playing tag there and hide and seek. It really takes to back to where Abraham Lincoln was raised and he gets to visit where his loved ones lay. So many memories he had to leave behind but they are not lost memories just suppressed until a visit like this and it brings it all back. It is nice to just sit somethings and reminisce on the old times and how things used to be. Not to regret or wish you could change anything but just remind yourself of the things that meant the most. Life seems to always find a way of getting in the way so anytime you can take yourself back to remember a memory whether a good one or bad is always a good thing!