Between Kalidasa and Chikamatsu, I enjoyed Kalidasa much more. For this reason, I have chosen to focus on it for my third project. Although there are many themes present in the play, I wanted to target the role of nature in the play, and touch on the idea of fate. For this project, I also… Read more Entanglement in Kalidasa
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Chikamatsu Act 3: Family and Hope
Respect for Osan and Family? Throughout the entire third and final act of the play, both Jihei and Koharu have shown a great sadness for what they are about to do. What is interesting about this is how the reason for their sadness differs. Besides the impending death they are both about to commit to,… Read more Chikamatsu Act 3: Family and Hope
Chikamatsu Acts 1-2 Reflection: Love and Marriage
Because this play is meant to be about a love so strong, you would commit suicide for it, the assumption would be that those involved would treat each other well. However, in the play we see that marriage does not equal love, and love does not equal respect. Jihei and Osan have an extremely unbalanced… Read more Chikamatsu Acts 1-2 Reflection: Love and Marriage
Blessings and Curses
How do blessings and curses play a role in the events that take place? After finishing reading the play, I have realized that it is not so much about love as it is the fated birth of Sakuntala and the King’s child. Although it seems they are in love by their own free will and… Read more Blessings and Curses
Time, Morality, Redemption
Although each short story in The Dew Breaker, by Edwidge Danticat, seemingly follows different characters, the main themes and ideas of each remain the same. I have chosen to specifically follow three of these characters. Two of those characters being the woman from The Funeral Singer and Beatrice from The Bridal Seamstress. Due to an… Read more Time, Morality, Redemption
Nature and Fate, Kalidasa
What is the King’s relationship with nature? The play opens with an action scene of the king hunting a deer. He grows frustrated as the deer moves out of eyesight and he loses his chances of getting it. Then, an ascetic approaches, puts himself between the king and the animal, and asks him not to… Read more Nature and Fate, Kalidasa
Morality and Trauma
How did the dictatorship affect the characters in The Funeral Singer? This story takes place in New York and follows three women who were forced to leave their country. Despite the simplicity and youthfulness of the three of them taking the class, their reasons for being there are terribly violent and traumatic. They talk about… Read more Morality and Trauma
Relation to Time Reflection
The stories in The Dew Breaker all have a similar idea of generational relationships. Throughout the text, there are several examples of differences between the generations and how they act and / or think. Specifically in The Bridal Seamstress, we see the difference between Beatrice and Aline. The first major difference is the concept of… Read more Relation to Time Reflection
Symbolism and Connections
Is there a correlation between the stories, and if so, what is it? Whenever I read books that have a collection of seemingly different stories, it always interests me to find the similarities and connections. I found the most between The Book of the Dead and The Book of Miracles. Both stories follow a mother,… Read more Symbolism and Connections
The Relationship Between Cultures
Differences between cultures continuously lead to prejudice and conflict. The two pieces of work the class focused on, Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka and The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano, are full of comments on cultural differences and relationships. The different beliefs and behaviors can cause prejudice and can… Read more The Relationship Between Cultures