Any Questions? (Rhetorical Question)

“And now, with the world before me, whither should I bend my steps?...How was I to direct myself?”
-p 133

One of the creature’s more interesting mannerisms in telling his story is his penchant for asking rhetorical questions. Mary Shelley writes the creature’s monologue in this style to increase reader sympathy. This occurs because the creature repeatedly asks Victor these questions to appeal to his own sense of sympathy. The monster is not only telling his story; he is pleading for Victor’s understanding. He is hoping that by asking these questions, Victor will understand the monster’s sense of a lack of direction and helplessness. He hopes that Victor will sympathize with the monster’s lack of guidance and mercifully provide the monster with a benevolent protector. In doing so, the creature also evokes sympathy from the reader, who also is asked these same rhetorical questions. The unique aspect of the frame story allows Shelley to apply these rhetorical questions not only in a pragmatic view which carries function within the plot, but also evokes sympathy from the reader.

Talk to Me (First Person Point of View)

“I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counselors and syndics, and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation. He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business…As the circumstances of his marriage illustrate his character, I cannot refrain from relating them.”

-p 31

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein employs a fairly unique version of the first person point of view. A great portion of this uniqueness rests in the interesting structure of the novel, which starts in the form of a series of letters and then continues as a frame story told by Victor Frankenstein. Though the letters and the frame story are told by different narrators, however, the style of point of view is actually the same in both structures. Robert Walton, the writer of the initial letters, writes to his sister with complete knowledge of who his audience is. Because of this, he often writes with an extremely relaxed, conversational tone. He even goes so far as to directly talk to the audience at times. In a similar way, the structure of the frame story allows Frankenstein to speak directly with Walton. He often poses rhetorical questions to Walton and even comments to him about the way in which he is telling his story. In writing in this way, Shelley creates a uniquely personal and intimate relationship with her readers. Few authors acknowledge their audience for fear that it will detract from the work, yet Shelley devises a way to use this style to her advantage.

Raisins Are My Favorite

I must admit that thus far, Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is definitely my favorite work of literature that we have read in class this year. This piece carries the most emotional charge of all the pieces we have read thus far. These raw emotions derive largely from a theme focusing on man's desire to pursue a better life, much like the theme of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Unlike Williams' play, however, Hansberry's play openly expresses the characters' search for a better life. When they discuss the insurance check, each member of the family divulges the dream for a better life which they hope to achieve with a portion of the insurance check. The Glass Menagerie never actually openly discussed its characters' dreams, which weakened its strength in comparison to A Raisin in the Sun.

Also present in A Raisin in the Sun are strong racial overtones which accurately reflect the troubles faced by the play's contemporary audience. Hansberry's play carried so much power primarily because of its groundbreaking nature; not only was the play the first written by a black woman, but it also was one of the first to openly discuss discrimination through the perspective of black people. Because of these reasons, there simply seems to be something about A Raisin in the Sun that sets it emotionally apart from the rest of the literature which we have read in class this year.

Nobody Knows... (p 1119 Question 4)

In her play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry builds dramatic suspense through slightly unconventional methods. Normally, suspense is developed due to an inconsistency between the audience's knowledge of a situation and a character's knowledge of that situation. Suspense occurs because a character is acting upon knowledge that the audience is not privy to, creating intrigue and curiosity from the members of the audience who seek to find out what that unknown knowledge is. However, in A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry causes the audience to feel suspense for the exact opposite reason.

The suspense in this play resolves around Walter's decision of whether or not to sell their newly purchased house. The audience is held in suspense as they wonder whether Walter will maintain his pride or accept a less fortunate fate. The key to this suspense, however, is that no one else, Walter included, knows which Walter will choose. Indeed, it is not until he mentions his own father and realizes his father's sacrifice that Walter realizes that he "come[s] from people who had a lot of pride" (p 148). Up until that moment, no one knows what Walter will choose, creating an increasingly suspenseful buildup to the plot's climax and denouement.

Common Vice (p. 1461, Question 5)

As the truth comes out concerning the events of the past couple of days, Othello becomes distraught and ashamed. He stabs and kills himself, but before doing so, Othello reestablishes a bit of his greatness through his final speech to Lodovico. In this speech, Othello honorably tells Lodovico to "speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate,/ Nor set down aught in malice" (V.ii.341-342). Instead of trying to cast blame for his deed upon Iago, as he very well could, he admits his guilt, yet points out that he was in truth a good and loving person who simply made foolish decisions and was stupidly influenced (V.ii.343-347). It is this extreme guilt and admission of his faults that brings some honor back to Othello. His acts of murder and revenge are inexcusable, yet he reminds the audience that he was as good a man as he could be, albeit a flawed one. This summary of his flawed humanity strikes a chord with the audience, who can relate to Othello's vices, as they too are viced. In revealing that Othello is no different from any of us, Shakespeare portrays Othello as an example of a great man who fell a long way down.

Today Feels Like a Black-Flag Day (p. 1119, Question 2)

Shakespeare's Othello is most definitely a tragedy. Othello's tragic flaw is his gullibility and excessive trust in Iago. This unfortunate misplacement of trust and confidence ultimately leads to his death. As with all Shakespearean tragedies, Othello dies as a result of his own doing.

This classification of Othello as a tragedy immediately tips off the audience concerning the play's darker tone, often more complex style of storytelling, and basic set of themes involving mankind's vices and their consequences. The audience knows from the beginning what to look for while viewing the action: the flaws of the main character, their gradual succumbing to those flaws, and the characters whom cause these flaws to grow within the hero. In Shakespeare's time at the Globe Theatre, a flag of a certain color was hung each day to indicate whether the play being performed that day would be a tragedy (black flag), a comedy (white), or a history (red). Because of this, the audience would always know what to look for. This allowed them to become more involved with the play's plot, as they are able to discern more easily the vital facets of the story.