Memoir Blog- A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

"Through sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night" Oscar Wilde



This quote by Oscar Wilde is mirrored in characters of Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. The personification of poverty, sin, misery, and shame in Wilde’s quote relates to the way in which Ishmael (the main character) and all the other boys in the novel feel these emotions. These boys not only feel these emotions, but they become them. They are wrought by misery, sin, shame, and poverty, and essentially become the human shell for which all these emotions are stored.

Ishmael is surrounded by poverty. He has no food, water, shelter or family. He is poverty. After his village was attacked and his family gone, he lived in the woods, surviving off of anything he could find. Ishmael also becomes misery. He misses his family, and mourns their deaths. Everyone that he knew was dying around him and because of this he was depressed and spiritually broken (as anyone would be). He was afraid to think because of the memories and thoughts that came to him. Instead of letting out all his misery in the form of tears, Ishmael would harbor the misery inside him. On top of all the misery and poverty, Ishmael portrays shame. He feels shame for stealing and, most importantly, for leaving his family and friends behind. He also feels shame for not running back and protecting his family, for not sticking together with his friends, and for letting fear take control of him. Ishmael’s shame plagues him day and night, and leads him to have nightmares and, inevitably, sleepless nights, "I became restless and was afraid to sleep for fear that my supressed thoughts would appear in my dreams" (52). Sin is also a large factor in Ishmael’s life. He stole food from children and villages, he stole clothes, and he killed. The feeling of sin came from all his actions that were not normal to him. Ishmael slowly became sin as these violent happenings became everyday events in his life.

Wilde’s quote also represents this memoir in the sequence of events. In the memoir, Ishmael’s sin followed his poverty, and he woke up miserable, in pain, sad, hungry, and scared, and went to bed in shame from the choices he made that day and in the days before. Most of the time, Ishmael could not sleep because sleep would let his mind drift off to all the horrible things he had seen and done. So instead of sleep, Ishmael would sit up at night, looking at the stars. This also follows Wilde’s quote, for shame sat with him at night. Wilde’s quote reflects the feelings and emotions that Ishmael and others went through everyday during their fight for survival in a world that was always threatening.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The significance of the name Schell.

Oskar’s last name, Schell, is extremely significant in understanding both his character and the characters around him. In the English language, shell means a hard covering used for protecting and enclosing. This definition fits well with Oskar’s personality. After the death of his father, Oskar cuts himself off emotionally from people and the world around him. He retreats into himself, leaving only a shadow of his former being for all others to see.

Since Oskar is of German descent, it made sense to look up the German definition of schell. In German, schelle (the closest spelling of Oskar’s last name) means clamp and handcuff. This definition also relates to Oskar’s character. Oskar closed and cut himself off to other people and even to himself. There are examples of this all throughout the novel. Whenever Oskar is asked a question he first answers silently (in his mind) the way that he wishes he could, and then answers out loud with what people want to hear which is ultimately what he wants and wishes he could also believe. Oskar ‘clamped’ his mouth shut, locking in his emotions. His actions held him back from moving on with his life, much like how handcuffs keep you from moving your arms, or worse getting away from the situation. (Usually by the time you have handcuffs on it is too late to move on anyway, but since Oskar’s handcuffs were put on by himself, he was able to remove them if he wished).

Throughout Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Oskar repeats many phrases. The most important in considering the significance of the name Schell are the phrases “I’m Ok”, and “heavy boots”. Oskar has knotted and hidden himself so deep within that it is impossible for anyone to get through to him. In order to reassure his family that he is doing alright, he repeatedly says the phrase “I’m Ok”, even when he is not. This self defense mechanism diverts the peoples eyes away from the real problem and allows Oskar to continue to hide within himself. As for the repetition of “heavy boots” this goes to show how by hiding his inner most thoughts, feelings, and expressions, Oskar is indeed hurting himself. But instead of this hurt making him come out and open up to people, he delves deeper inside himself, afraid of the word around him.
Oskar’s last name, Schell, is an excellent symbol of his personality and character. It supports his actions and rather secluded personality. The use of specific names by the author can, as in this case, enhance the depth and understanding of a writing and make characters more personable

Macbeth

MACBETH
If we should fail?

LADY MACBETH
We fail!
But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep--
Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey
Soundly invite him--his two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassail so convince
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep
Their drenched natures lie as in a death,
What cannot you and I perform upon
The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon
His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell?

MACBETH
Bring forth men-children only;
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males. Will it not be received,
When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two
Of his own chamber and used their very daggers,
That they have done't?

LADY MACBETH
Who dares receive it other,
As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar
Upon his death?

MACBETH
I am settled, and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Away, and mock the time with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

This scene is an example of the role reversal that is present in this Shakespearean play. Here, Lady Macbeth takes the role as the dominant sex, while it was much more common in this time period for the male to be the dominant sex and the female to be submissive. In this case, Mady Macbeth is the one who is initially corrupted with power, she sees the chance to rise to a level very few excel to, and she takes it, bringing other people down with her in the end. She corrupts her husband, Macbeth, who goes on with her legacy after she is gone. In this scene particularly, you see the manipulative ways of Lady Macbeth, convincing Macbeth that they will not fail if he has the courage. She claims that they can just blame the drunk servants for the crime because they won't remember anything. Macbeth praises her for her evil, saying that if she is to have children that they will all be boys because her fearless spirit is so masculine. Even Macbeth realizes that she is not meek and mannered like most women. Lady Macbeth finishes her bloody plan by saying that when they come to investigate, they will not be suspect because they will put on such a good show of grievance, and with this Macbeth is won over. He decides to go ahead with her plan. This is extremely unheard of in this time, not only because he is being told what to do by a woman, but because he is supposed to be this amazing hero of the battlefield, capable of killing and making choices on his own. Here, Macbeth backs down and agrees with his wife, this is stereotypically a woman's trait, not a males. Macbeth backs down because he sees the wild ruthlessness inside of his wife. This can be seen when Macbeth says, "False face must hide what the false heart doth know" meaning, that a face of horror, but not of conviction, must hide the evils that are present in the heart. Macbeth has surrendered his superiority to his wife and now she wields the ability to control him.

Shakespeare's Macbeth is categorized as a tragedy, not only because of all the death, but because of one man's (or woman's) extreme lust for greatness. Macbeth had everything going for him, he was a war time hero, was well respected, and was on the ladder to success, but he was drawn into the desire for power, which corrupted him and lead to his demise and the deaths of numerous innocent people. This story goes to show that if we give into the temptation of wealth and power, we will be leading ourselves to our own death. Macbeth shows the weakness of mankind and how easily we can be tempted to do the unthinkable in order to achieve more power. As the reader, we are forced to watch Macbeth approach the cliff, and slowly step off, falling faster and faster as he ruthlessly kills all those that appear to be in his way, until that faithful second when he reaches the end of the line and crashes, and it is all over. His plummet has finally hit the bottom, and he is at the point of no return and he is consumed by greed and power. This is the bases for a tragedy, which is clearly modeled within Shakespeare's Macbeth.

This was my favorite play by Shakespeare that we have read. I found the plot to be captivating, as it fits all people, we can all be corrupted by power, and everyone has experienced it once and a while, maybe with out even realizing it. I found the switch in the gender roles to be quite interesting, and unexpected quite frankly. Out of all the books that we have read this year, I believe this one had the best message, power is corruption. This applies to everyone. I also think tragedies are the easiest to relate to. I am not sure why, but I think it is because of the fear that people have of failing that lets us feel the pain of the characters more than most other feels would. But that is just me. I think that this is going to be one of the few Shakespeare plays that I will consider reading again.

Richard III

BRAKENBURY
I am, in this, commanded to deliverThe noble Duke of Clarence to your hands:I will not reason what is meant hereby,Because I will be guiltless of the meaning.Here are the keys, there sits the duke asleep:I'll to the king; and signify to himThat thus I have resign'd my charge to you.

First Murderer
Do so, it is a point of wisdom: fare you well.

Exit BRAKENBURY

Second Murderer
What, shall we stab him as he sleeps?

First Murderer
No; then he will say 'twas done cowardly, when he wakes.

Second Murderer
When he wakes! why, fool, he shall never wake tillthe judgment-day.

First Murderer
Why, then he will say we stabbed him sleeping.

Second Murderer
The urging of that word 'judgment' hath bred a kindof remorse in me.

First Murderer
What, art thou afraid?

Second Murderer
Not to kill him, having a warrant for it; but to bedamned for killing him, from which no warrant can defend us.

First Murderer
I thought thou hadst been resolute.

Second Murderer
So I am, to let him live.

First Murderer
Back to the Duke of Gloucester, tell him so.

Second Murderer
I pray thee, stay a while: I hope my holy humourwill change; 'twas wont to hold me but while onewould tell twenty.

First Murderer
How dost thou feel thyself now?

Second Murderer
'Faith, some certain dregs of conscience are yetwithin me.

First Murderer
Remember our reward, when the deed is done.

Second Murderer
'Zounds, he dies: I had forgot the reward.

First Murderer
Where is thy conscience now?

Second Murderer
In the Duke of Gloucester's purse.

First Murderer
So when he opens his purse to give us our reward,thy conscience flies out.

Second Murderer
Let it go; there's few or none will entertain it.

First Murderer
How if it come to thee again?

Second Murderer
I'll not meddle with it: it is a dangerous thing: itmakes a man a coward: a man cannot steal, but it accuseth him; he cannot swear, but it cheques him;he cannot lie with his neighbour's wife, but itdetects him: 'tis a blushing shamefast spirit that mutinies in a man's bosom; it fills one full of obstacles: it made me once restore a purse of gold that I found; it beggars any man that keeps it: it is turned out of all towns and cities for a dangerous thing; and every man that means to live well endeavours to trust to himself and to live without it.

I found this passage from Shakespeare's Richard III to be a sort of imitation of Richards two sidedness. In this scene, Two murderers are bribed with money to kill Clarence. One of the murders feels no remorse in doing this deed, drawn to the prize that he gets after he finishes his job, the second murderer on the other hand, is having doubts about going through with this deed. I believe that this is dual attitude is made to represent Richard. Richard is a complex character with 2 very distinct personalities. In the face of people he puts on a mask and acts like the nicest person in the world, one that cares about people other than himself and would do anything for them, but he is lying through his teeth, for as soon as he is alone, the mask comes off and you see the true Richard, the one who will do anything to get what he wants. In the face of people he has a conscious, much like the second murderer, yet when he is alone, he is like the first one, with out a conscious where the only things that matter are those pertaining to himself and getting what he wants. Richard is not driven by what is morally right, or by what society has deemed as right, he does as he wishes, taking out anyone who stands in his way. He hired these murderers, and in this way they represent him and his dominant, if not insane, ways. The second murderer also represents what Richard does not have, the ability to sense right from wrong and to feel remorse for ones actions. He is almost like Richard's missing half. All people are self centered at times, focusing on themselves and their need to achieve and succeed, but they also have a conscious that tells them when something is morally wrong, Richard does not have this. He is solely concerned about himself and his rise to greatness, taking down anyone without a second thought, and if he does think about it, he only sees the good that it did him, not the pain that it did to others. In the last lines said by the Second Murderer, he basically explains Richards theory, that a conscious only hinders, if you want to be great you must do without one, for it will make you mad, thinking about all the wrong you did to get where you are today.

Histories are by far my favorite genre to read. Most people find histories to be dry and boring, but i believe that there is much to learn from them and that they can be quite interesting if you find the right one. I believe that Richard III was the right one. Richard had the right mix of history and woven in fiction, and they complimented each other perfectly. Through this genre, Shakespeare was able to convey the tragedy of Richard III, the power struggle, the historical events, and the inevitable outcome. Shakespeare was able to bring in historical facts, like Richard's deformity, which helped bring a personal touch into the work that made you feel as though you were there in those times. You were able to see the character and witness how he used his deformity as a weapon to make himself seem weak while really being a power stricken individual. The way in which Shakespeare wrote this play gets rid of the boring and mellow aspect of some historical novels, and replaces it with interesting if not mind boggling facts and actions which bring you not only into the play but into the time period itself. (and you thought histories were boring :p )

While I did say that I enjoyed reading historical novels, I found this one to be my least favorite one that I have read. I really do not enjoy reading Shakespeare as I have previously stated and I was constantly confused and lost with what was going on in the play. For me, I would have rather seen this one acted out, it would have been easier for me to relate to and understand. It is not that I did not like the play, it is just that I have difficulties reading Shakespeare's writing, I find it hard to understand. Other than that, the play and the characters themselves were incredible. Shakespeare was able to create such intricate characters and generate such strong reactions from the readers in a relatively short amount of time. I give his much applause on his capabilities as a writer to create characters that generate such a compelling reaction from the reader. I felt hatred, remorse, sadness, suspense, and intensity in all the correct places to to all the right people. I was able to feel the same pain the characters felt, and I was able to feel the insanity that coursed through Richard's veins. In this way I really enjoyed the play, I just wish Shakespeare could have written in a way that I was more capable of understanding in the first read through, not the second or third. Other than that, this was a good example of the history genre written by Shakespeare.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream, written by William Shakespeare, is a comedy. Through his arrogant characters, misunderstanding, misuse of words, and general self-righteousness, Shakespeare is able to weave a play in which the reader is drawn into fits of laughter and disbelief. Personally, i really enjoy this genre. It is able to convey an important message through laughter and light heartedness which I find to be the best way to prove a point without over stressing it. Comedy is an easy-easy-to-read type of genre which makes it fun to read and entertaining at the same time. It does not contain the dryness of some of the other genres. This play especially was filled with more than one source of comedy. Between the arrogance of Bottom, and the misunderstanding between the fairies, and the confusing love story between the two sets of lovers, this book is practically bursting with comedy. And as with many of the Shakespearean comedies, the ending is a happy one, with the young lovers marrying the person that they wanted, and basically living 'happily ever after'. Comedies are also a great place to insert morals, mostly because of the lightheartedness that is associated with them, the moral will not weigh them down. In this particular play, there seem to be two morals, one is demonstrated by Bottom, which is not to be full of yourself and come off as being, well excuse me, an ass (symbolized by the head of a donkey he ended up acquiring). The second moral seems to be to mind ones own business, because when you try to become involved in something that does not concern you, things can be taken out of context (represented by the mix up between the lovers and the drama that went with it).

An example of the comedy in the play can be seen in this passage:

SNUG
Have you the lion's part written? Pray you, if it be, give it me, for I am slow of study.

QUINCE
You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

BOTTOM
Let me play the lion too. I will roar, that I will do any man's heart good to hear me. I will roar, that I will make the duke say, “Let him roar again. Let him roar again.”

QUINCE
An you should do it too terribly, you would fright the duchess and the ladies, that they would shriek. And that were enough to hang us all.

ALL
That would hang us, every mother's son.

BOTTOM
I grant you, friends, if you should fright the ladies out of their wits, they would have no more discretion but to hang us. But I will aggravate my voice so that I will roar you as gently as any sucking dove. I will roar you an 'twere any nightingale.

QUINCE
You can play no part but Pyramus. For Pyramus is a sweet-faced man, a proper man as one shall see in a summer's day, a most lovely, gentlemanlike man. Therefore you must needs play Pyramus.

BOTTOM
Well, I will undertake it. What beard were I best to play it in?

I found this scene to be one of the most comical in the play, while there is more to it than this one section, you are able to get the gist of Bottom's 'I am better than you' attitude. I found it extremely comical how he believed himself to be the best for so many parts, and how he could imagine himself being cheered on as he gave his preformance. Not only is he self-righteous and conceded in this excerpt, but he believes that the women will be scared of the loin's costume and roar. He sees women as these fragile beings who cannot determine on their own that the situation and costumes are fake, which is also comical because they are going to a play, so they would know very well that what they are witnessing is fake. My favorite line from this excerpt is said by Bottom, "Let me play the lion too. I will roar, that I will do any man's heart good to hear me. I will roar, that I will make the duke say, “Let him roar again. Let him roar again.” this just brings a smile to my face because it shows just how self-centered Bottom is. He must take the spotlight away from everyone else, and be the one that everyone is focused on at all times, which can be seen here as he steals the focus from Snug and places it on himself. He is also a drama queen, if I do say so myself, he believes that he is the best at everything, and he believes that he would be the best at every role, even being asked to act it out again because of his stellar performance. This section is so comical because everyone knows at least one person in their lives that acts as Bottom does and it is so easy to picture and imagine the frustration that the people around him feel because of his constant arrogance. Bottom also compares two things that are in no way similar to each other, like roaring as a dove or nightingale. These comparisons are just ridiculous and show how Bottom is willing to say anything, no matter how much intelligence it is lacking, in order to make himself sound better and persuade other people to idolize him.

This was one of my favorite Shakespeare plays that we read, mostly because I am a fan of comedy. This play was easy to read and understand (I have a tendency to get lost in some of his plays). This play leaves one with a happy lighthearted feeling, since everything worked out in the end. It also leaves one with a sense and a conscious thought/ determination to not act as Bottom, not to be a conceded person too involved with themselves to care about anyone else. I found myself laughing out loud and smiling to myself through out this whole play mainly because of the characters and all of the dilemmas and challenges that they faced along the way. This is one of the few plays by Shakespeare that you do not need acted out to get the full meaning and understanding of it. This is another reason why i liked it, it was easy to follow even though it contained so many characters. I am not a fan of Shakespeare, so I was surprised when i read this book and actually liked it, believe me, it was quite a shock. I would recommend this book to be read again, it is a easy read, yet it is fun, it has lots of things to analyze, and it is still Shakespeare (which i see as to be a good combination).

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

QUOTE:

"26 April: Mother is putting my new secondhand clothes in order. She prays now, she says, that I may learn in my own life and away from home and friends what the heart is and what it feels. Amen. So be it. Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." (275-276)

This was one of my favorite quotes in the novel. It really shows Stephen's aim in life, which is to be an artist and experience life through his own eyes and soul. He will function by what he thinks is good and right and will no longer care about the twisted views of others. The new secondhand clothes can be seen as a symbol of his rebirth. To him his life is new. It is there for him to structure and form into what he wants it to be, yet it is really secondhand, since he has already used part of his life and when he devoted himself to function under the rulings of others. He is now going to strive to be an artist who functions under his own individual voice to help the unconscious people in his race create their own voices. Stephen has finally found the importance of being an individual and finding one's inner voice. He has chosen to follow his heart and create for those around him the true meaning of life. The last sentence in this quote just seems so powerful when you read it especially because of the word forge. Forge makes it seem as though it will be hard to do what he is about to take part in. The connotation of the word forge brings to mind the image of a hot room, with a furnace and bright red light, where a person is bent over, hard at work making some type of artwork. So for Stephen, turning his experience into a conscience 'work of art' for everyone to really look at, admire, and except is going to be a difficult task. But Stephen has finally learned how to spread his wings, to be true to himself, and he is about to take flight for the first time, experiencing the freedom and knowledge that comes along with it.

SYMBOL:

Flight is a very important symbol in Joyce's Portrait. It is embedded within the story, even into the character himself, as his last name, Dedalus, is a parallel to a character in Greek mythology who tries to escape imprisonment by making wings for himself and his son and attempting to fly to safety. Throughout the book, Stephen is set on leaving Ireland, yet he must wait so that he does not overestimate his own abilities (his abilities being both living on his own and his intellectual ability). While Stephen grows and becomes intellectually stable, he spends his time at the university where he develops his theories both on aesthetics and on flight. He realizes his passion in writing and buys his time at the university, sharpening his speaking and writing skills as he prepares to flee Ireland. In the last section, chapter 5, birds appear yet again to Stephen, but this time they stay for a longer amount of time in his stream of consciousness and he is able to see them clearly. For Stephen, this is his signal to leave Ireland. He is now fully formed as an artist and writer and cannot express his full potential if he is to stay in Ireland, and so, like the birds, he takes flight. With flight comes the freedom of choice, of speech, and of action, everything that Stephen wanted. Flying is the picture of freedom, and so is one of the most important symbols in the novel.

OPINION:

This was one of my least favorite books that we have read all year. I found it very difficult to read on my own, as I was continually unable to decipher the events and happenings on my own. This is not one of the books that I would pick out to read on my own, for I believe that there was too much background knowledge needed in order to understand what was going on. Without the discussions in class, I would have been lost. The stream of consciousness that the book was written in also made it difficult for me to grasp what was going on, especially towards the end. I found that I had missed so much in my reading of the passages that I was dumbfounded when we went over them in class and discussed what actually happened in that nights reading. This is defiantly not a book that I would bring to read on the beach.

#238- Riddle, William Heyen

William Heyen's poem, Riddle, is a very hard hitting poem that focuses on the Holocaust and the various people who took part in it. Through this poem it becomes obvious that the Holocaust is not the fault of one person, but of many. I thought that there was a great realization in this poem; many people blame one person for the Holocaust, yet many people took part in it and carried out his wishes without a second thought. This can be seen in stanza five, "and some herded them in,/ and some dropped the pellets,/ and some spread the ashes,/ and some hosed the walls" (17-20). The Holocaust was not the result of one person's bidding, but of many people's blind following. In a way, the speaker is pointing his finger at everyone of us for the Holocaust because we just sat around and did nothing while these horrors continued to happen. While reading this poem, I realized that it really isn't a riddle who killed the Jews, we all did. We all contributed to the devastating events that occurred and this poem just shows that everyone is at fault. "And some planted the wheat,/ and some poured the steel,/ and some cleared the rails,/ and some raised the cattle." (21-24) even the people who grew the food and worked the rails were at fault because they supplied the Nazis with food and supplies.

The speaker of this poem is the poet himself. He is reflecting on the events of the Holocaust and how people blindly blame one individual for the death of many, even though many people were responsible. William Heyen lived during the Holocaust, which would point to his strong feelings and opinions towards this genocide and his knowledge of the people who took part in it. He speaks of the people he knew that were affected by it saying, "My friend Fritz Nova lost his father-/ a petty official had to choose./ My friend Lou Abrahms lost his brother. Who killed the Jews?" (9-12) This just goes to show that everyone was affected by the Holocaust and that even people who were close to you could be lost to it, no one was safe. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABCB where only the second and fourth lines rhyme. This almost gives the poem a list-like form, this and this happened, and because of these things, that happened so who is responsible? The rhyme schemes show how action was connected to the preceding event, "David Nova swallowed gas,/ Hyman Abrahms was beaten and starved./ Some men signed their papers,/ and some stood guard."(13-16) this quote really shows how because of many events, this horrible thing was able to happen. There is no steady meter in this poem. The absence of meter shows how not one thing lead to the next, but how many happenings brought about the result. There is no one person to blame, and so there is not one meter to rely on.

One of the most obvious devices in this poem in repetition. Here the repetition emphasizes the fact that it was not one person's fault, it was not one person who killed the Jews. Repetition of "not I" (lines 5-8) shows that no one wanted to take the blame for the events that occurred, while the "and some" (17-24) shows how there were groups of people involved in every step of the genocide. Another device used in this poem is understatement. Many of the events are understated in the way that he described them. Heyen took out the grim and gorey details and left just the brief outline of what really happened. "dropped the pellets" (18), "spread the ashes" (19), and "smelled the smoke"(25) are all understatements of the horrors that one would have experienced in one of those camps. Understatement leaves the reader to imagine for themselves the details that occurred, it leaves room for the imagination.