Essential Question 9

In the four letters and first six chapters of the book, Frankenstein, the reader is introduced to two male characters. One of these men is Robert Walton, who writes the four letters at the beginning of the book. The other man is Victor Frankenstein, who is found by Walton's crew isolated and nearly frozen to death. Both men have very different upbringings. Walton is raised by a middle class English family. Frankenstein is raised by a wealthy Italian family. Both men have siblings. The four letters at the beginning of the book are written by Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville. Frankenstein also describes that he has a younger brother and an adopted sister named Elizabeth. Both men describe their education. Walton educated himself by reading various diaries written by famous adventurers. On the other hand, Frankenstein received a more formal education, as he actually attended classes at the university as Ingolstadt. Both men's education have different areas of focus. As already described, Walton studied the diaries of adventurers. Frankenstein's studies focused on anatomy and life itself. Both men express an interest in nature as well. That is how Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein compare and contrast as men, scholars, and scientists.

Essential Question 8

In "The Taming of the Shrew," there is a recurring theme of love. From the beginning, Katherine is described as being harsh and tough to deal with. That is also the reason why she is not married at the beginning. She is too bothersome for any man. It was believed that it would be impossible to find a man for Katherine, until Petruchio came along. In the beginning, all he wanted was the dowry. However, he also wanted a food wife. The other men thought Petruchio was crazy to pursue Katherine, considering the dowry of twenty thousand crowns. he did marry Katherine later on, and treated her badly. This was all a part of his plan, though. He planned to make Katherine a good wife by giving her a taste of her own medicine. By the end, it seems that the "medicine" has worked, since Katherine now obeys Petruchio's orders, and even has to lecture the other ladies on their etiquette. Petruchio loved Kate so much that he decided to put her though all kinds of trouble, since he knew that she would be a better person in the end. That is how Petruchio and Katherine are in love.

Essential Question 7

In my opinion, Hamlet has lost his sense of reality. He is a prince and is to act as a prince. However, after meeting the ghost of his father, Hamlet transforms into something unprincipled. His mind is always thinking murderous thoughts and he burns for revenge against his uncle. Hamlet has learned to trust no one and it is evident that he believes that everyone else is in the way of his plot to kill his uncle. Hamlet's unusual behavior gets the better of the other characters, especially Claudius, Gertrude, and Ophelia. When Claudius and Gertrude try to help Hamlet, Hamlet automatically refuses to accept such help since it came from the king, who he disapproves of. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern visit Hamlet, he assumes that they were sent by the king. When they admit to this, Hamlet is unable to accept them as he would like to. When Hamlet and Gertrude were talking about the play that he made Claudius watch, Hamlet is tempted to kill his mother, until the ghost of King Hamlet tells him to spare his mother. Hamlet then hears stirring behind some curtains, and stabs whoever was behind the curtain, hoping it was Claudius. Turns out it is Polonius, and Hamlet feels no remorse for his actions and dubs Polonius a busybody interfering with his plans. Hamlet becomes so obsessed with his plot to destroy the king that he completely loses himself.

Essential Question 6

Plenty of parallels can be drawn between the pardoner's prologue and his tale. One parallel between the prologue and tale would be how the Pardoner says that he sells fake relics for "pence, and specially for myself" (243), and in his tales, he warns those listening against such things as fraud which he is very guilty of. This tale is different from the others we have studied because of its theme. The knight's tale was one about honor and two lovesick knights. The miller's tale was about a strange love triangle, and the pardoner's tale was all about avoiding sin, especially greed. Another contrast to be made is that the knight's and miller's tales were told in third person and the pardoner's tale contained a mix of the first, second, and third person points of view. The knight's and miller's tales also do not contain any input from the teller, which the pardoner's tale is filled with input from the pardoner himself.

Essential Question 5

This is how my society functions. There are a few main roles. First of all, I have male and female members designated as procreators, to keep my society running for ages to come. Also, there is leadership in my society, not to mention a villain to test my society, an educator, fatherly and motherly figures, and all sorts of heroes and heroines. I made this happen using only five individuals.
Going in alphabetical order by first name, the first member of my society is Auron. He is a character from the hit Playstation 2 game Final Fantasy X. In Final Fantasy X, he serves as a guardian to the summoner Yuna, hails from dream Zanarkand, is quiet by nature, and knows everything before it happens. As a whole, he is a good guy too. In my society, Auron serves as a sapient individual, protector, guardian, hero, and scapegoat. He fulfills these roles in how he never lies about anything, protects what is his, never backs down on his word, never stops anything until finished, and is willing to take on the brunt of any task to ensure its completion.
Next on my list is Jeff Gordon. He is a NASCAR driver known for his successes on the race track and for charity work. He is also married and has a daughter. In my society, Jeff Gordon would be assigned the role of father figure, procreator, and healer of society. He has a daughter, which covers his role as a procreator, and he is a father figure who leads by example. His best example would be how he is a healer of society, devoting some of his own money to his very own Jeff Gordon Foundation, which helps children battling all sorts of diseases, such as cancer, leukemia, and the like.
After Jeff Gordon comes Marc Leger. We all know him as a senior at Trinity Catholic last year. According to his description of himself, he serves as both a laborer and villain. He does all the heavy lifting and building. He may also be a villain because he uses his wit to get what he needs, even at the expense of others. Knowing Marc, he is quite honest in his description in some ways.
Next up is Megan Fox. Most of us know her for her role in the Transformers movies. In both Transformers and Transformers 2, she is Sam’s girlfriend and serves as a heroine in her own right, working alongside Sam to ensure that they do their part to help the transformers in their battles. In my society, she serves as an entertainer, a heroine, lover, and procreator. Megan Fox and the other characters served as entertainment for the millions who saw the Transformers movies. She is also a lover, as she is Sam’s girlfriend in the Transformers movies. Megan Fox could also satisfy the procreation role from the female perspective.
Lastly, I have Oprah as a member of my society. We all know her for her sensational show called Oprah, where she assists real people with real problems. Because of this, she acts as a leader in my society, role model, nurturer, and educator. Oprah is definitely a leader by example. This is easiest seen if one watches her show. She is also a role model in her willingness to aid those who most need help. Oprah is also a nurturer and educator who breaths new life into people who thought themselves hopeless and educates our society about the problems it faces.
Those are the members of my society. The only real flaw could potentially be the villain, Marc Leger. Villains serve as tests for a society. If society can face a villain and come out successful, then that speaks for the success of that society. However, if no one can curb the villain, they may go on a rampage and wreak utter havoc. No offense, but I doubt that Marc could get very far in his mischief as long as Auron is around. That is my ideal society and the kinds of characters that would be in it.

Essential Question 4

Where do we see seduction and lust start to destroy Gawain, our young hero? What is the author trying to tell us?

It is after Gawain beheads the green knight that we see seduction get the better of him. Green is a color that represents seduction, so it is no surprise that Sir Gawain succumbed to seduction after killing him. The offer to behead him was tempting, since there would be no way he could live if beheaded. Also, Gawain felt the need to defend his king, as the green knight mocked the knights of the round table when he said "Whose fame is so fair in far realms and wide? [...] Overwhelmed with a word of one man's speech, For all cower and quake, and no cut felt!" (310-315). In that case, it was a part of Sir Gawain's duty to be seduced into beheading the green knight.
In part two, Gawain is seduced yet again. Gawain is traveling, in search of the green knight. He finds a mysterious castle, which he visits. Among the many things that catch Gawain's attention is the queen. He describes "The fair hues of her flesh, her face and her hair And her body and her bearing were beyond praise" (943-944). The first thing he notices about the queen is her good looks. The narrator goes on to mention "that our knight and the noble lady Were accorded so closely in company there, With the seemly solace of their secret words" (1010-1012). The two flirt, and Gawain is aware that the queen is married, but proceeds anyways. In part three, this is taken to a whole other level.

Rules of Courtship

1. When a man is considering courting a girl, or vice versa, the first thing one must be able to do is treat him/her well. Treat him/her as you’d like him/her to treat you. Another test for this is how well you can treat others when away from the beloved.

2. You must be a hero/heroine to the beloved. This doesn’t mean that you have to do everything for him/her, but be willing to help them out. Random acts of kindness are a good way to go about this.

3. It is important to mind one's words. Care must be taken to not say anything that could be somehow offend others, or even the beloved. You do not want them to get the wrong idea about you. Only do and say things that the beloved would approve of, whether he/she is present or not.

4. Talk to them. How else are you going to ask him/her out or let him/her know how you feel about him/her? Speaking of things you share in common, things that you or your beloved like, and other small talk is not a bad place to start.

5. If you’re having a bad day, do not take it out on the beloved. You can tell them that you had a rough day, but do not do it in such a way that they have a bad day too.

6. Take your time. Courtship is best if taken at a slow pace. Do not tell them how you feel right away, or encourage them to do things that he/she may be uncomfortable doing. Sure, there may be others after the beloved. Let them make this mistake and be foiled because of it, but don't let that happen to yourself.

7. Be approachable. Don’t look sloppy, but rather, show that you care about your appearance and have respect for yourself. Body language applies here too. Take those hands out of your pockets and be sure to smile.

8. Give them some space. Do not constantly hang around him/her, the beloved likes to spend some time alone too. If he/she asks for some time to be alone, give it.

9. Be sure to treat his/her friends well, as relationships are made and broken by friends' opinions.

10. Remember to be yourself. Do not be acting nicely only around the beloved and like a grouch around others. It is very easy to tell if someone is faking their manners. If you think you're good enough to be with this person, you have to show it to them as well as to others.