The Beggar's Opera

I really enjoyed The Beggar's Opera, however I noticed that all of the women in the story were looked down upon and referred to as derogatory names. Slut, vixen, hussy, and prostitute are only a few that were named. I feel as if the moral decline in our world today is growing and that the derogatory names are only the beginning. Women in this story did not seem to mind being called these things, however I do mind. I have been called such and by people who really matter to me and those who I barely knew, even hearing people call each other anything derogatory makes me cringe. I like to think that one day men will refrain from using terms that put women down, however I do not see it happening. In the mean time I will try to refrain from using such terms in reference to others and I will continue to try and respect others as I want to be respected. Another thing I found quite interesting was that Polly's parents wanted her to stay in the profession of prostitution and that when she said she wanted to get married they were enraged. Generally it is the other way around and I just found that quite funny.

The Taming of the Gilbert

            Gilbert is tall and lanky; he has long curly black hair that reaches midway down his back however he enjoys keeping it tied back. He is a street artist who enjoys wearing his favorite plaid pants and tweed jacket. Gilbert was one of the men who was chasing after a woman named Chastity. Chastity was the town flirt; every man that she passed would swoon and fall over her. Every man wanted Chastity, but no man could have her until her older sister, Claudia, also known as the local high school’s ice princess. No one would even approach Claudia because of her bad reputation especially with guys. Claudia was a ‘heartbreaker’ and was known for not letting guys get anywhere close to her. Chastity’s father had a rule that until Claudia found someone that she stayed with for more than a month then Chastity could not date. Gilbert had heard this rumor but did not believe it so he asked Chastity who replied to him by telling him what he had feared. Gilbert had a plan though, he would break Claudia’s cold heart and then free Chastity of her no dating rule so that he could date her. Gilbert, being the fine gentlemen that he was and seeing as every woman would fall for him as soon as he looked them in the eye, he thought it would be a piece of cake. Gilbert approached Claudia and started to speak to her, but she simply walked away. Gilbert was confused; he had never met a woman who could resist his wit and charm. “Perhaps she is simply deaf and Chastity forgot to tell me about her condition in fear that I would mention something.” Gilbert thought to himself, so he proceeded to stare into her eyes thinking that, that would cause her to fall for him without her being able to hear his sultry voice. “What the hell are you doing?” Claudia replied sharply to this strange act that some weird boy was doing in front of her. “So you can talk” Gilbert smartly added. “Great deduction Sherlock, now if you don’t mind, I don’t know what weird ritual you’re doing but I need to work on my homework.” Claudia said. As Claudia walked away Gilbert stood there puzzled and looked after her curiously, thinking to him, “She is going to be a challenge.”

Paradise lost

     One of our quizzes contained the question, "Do you need to know the Bible to understand Paradise lost?". I began thinking more in depth about this question and the answer I came up with was no. Bible stories are heard by most and simply hearing the short story of Adam and Eve would give one an idea of what Paradise lost is about but Milton has added plenty of his own story to that of Adam and Eve as well as borrowing from other stories as well. Understanding the Bible is not required to read and understand Paradise Lost but it may help somewhat just to know some of the background behind the epic poem. Personally I do not find this story very interesting because it embellishes too many idea's and adds too many details so I feel as if the poem loses some of its power as compared to if it did not.

Worldly goods vs. Spirituality

      After reading Everyman, some people in the class discussed their view on worldly goods versus spirituality. Personally I feel like spirituality is much more important than worldly goods because according to my belief our lives on this earth are only a blink of an eye compared to our lives after death.  In my religion we are told to give to those less fortunate than ourselves and to tithe, however some may interpret that into giving up all earthly possessions. I see this more my religion saying not to allow your worldly possessions or love of possessions let you fall into sin, and if you find God then you will have no strong desire or love for worldly possessions it will be directed to God. When I think of the argument between worldly possessions and spirituality I put a lot of thought into it, being a teenager I do enjoy belongings and material things. Ultimately material things break and wear out, while God will not leave me and will give me hope for the next life, not just this one. As I said before though I do enjoy goods and look forward to living well but, I do give to others what I can whether it be time or money.

The Canterbury Tales

As I was reading The Canterbury Tales I found that I could not get through it because of the spelling so I looked online and found extremely long rewritings of the stories. The rewritten story was interesting, I loved to read them but I found that I still needed spark notes to help me fully understand the story. I would recommend these to anyone because I feel like most people would enjoy these tales, if they can get through the language. The Canterbury Tales had many religious references and somewhat, in my opinion, mocked some of the people who were deeply involved in their religions almost saying that they were not what they said they were and they were hypocritical. During the time that Chaucer wrote the tales, the black death had left the Church questionable. Personally though I thought it was hard to get past the way it was written and the spelling of the time was atrocious in today's standards which had my spelling meter through the roof and was almost quite literally driving me up a wall. Overall I enjoyed the tales after I figured out what they were about.

Gilbert the Street Artist

Gilbert is a Disney loving street artist who plays the accordion for money. He is tall and lanky and has long curly black hair which he often keeps tied back. Gilbert has seen every Disney movie ever made and played every Disney song known to man on his accordion. He babysits on the side to raise more money to fulfill his dream of one day visiting Disney world. Gilbert loves to wear his plaid pants and tweed jacket and has seven of each, one for everyday of the week. After Gilbert's trip to Disney world he will be completely broke.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

     Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is interesting to say the least, as I read this story I did have a hard time understanding it completely because of the language. When I read the story I used the internet to help me understand the story and found it quite funny. This story is definitely fictitious firstly because King Arthur was not real and the character Gawain is the youngest knight from King Arthur's round table. The story is also fictitious because a person can not be beheaded and still live. It's just not possible. This story has somewhat of a religious take on it because there are Christian interpretations of Gawain and the Green knight comparing Gawain to Noah and the Green knight to God. Gawain reminds me of people I know who have been known for their religious backgrounds and were 'chivalrous' but they went astray and did things they weren't so proud of just as Gawain was chivalrous and yet he did not give Bertilak the girdle as he had promised. I would recommend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to anyone who enjoys stories of chivalry and anyone who enjoys reading about King Arthur and medieval times.