Macbeth Blogging

1. Do you feel sorry for Lady Macbeth? Why or why not?

I don't feel sorry for Lady Macbeth because she got what she really deserves. Although Macbeth was the one consumed by greed in the end, it was Lady Macbeth who spurred up that feeling in Macbeth when he was still unsure of the prophecy made by the three witches. Calling Macbeth a coward, she felt as if she was the braver one and she was blinded by her own grief as well. When Macbeth actually does gain power after killing Duncan and more people and Lady Macbeth was going crazy, I actually felt like she got what she deserved. Her own stupidity and foolishness led her to her own doom and sadness. If we actually get down to the bottom of this whole tragedy, Lady Macbeth had the power to stop all these murders from happening by stopping her husband and making wise decisions for her spouse. But she made the wrong decision, which led to the doom of, not just her own self, but also of many others including her own husband.


2. What do you think about the character Macbeth? Was he a good guy before he met the witches, or do his actions imply that he was always capable of dark deeds? Is he to blame for his actions or are the witches to blame?

I believe that he could have remained a good guy outside if he did not meet the witches. Even if he had the dark side inside of him, he could have kept it inside as long as there weren't any motivation or instigation like the witches' prophecies. I think everyone, at least to some extent, has some kind of greed and ambition in themselves, but it's just about how well we control that emotion and what kind of choices we make. His actions do imply that he was always capable of dark deeds because when he heard the prophecy, it was evident that Macbeth was "willing" to believe it and act upon it, although there was Lady Macbeth's insistance as well that affected his decisions. I do not think Macbeth is solely to be blamed, but other factors come into play as well. The witches definitely deserve the blame, because if they had not told Macbeth the prophecy, Macbeth would not even have the slightest idea of him becoming the King. He would probably have accepted the fact that he became the Thane of Cawdor without further ambition of murdering the king and becoming one himself. Lady Macbeth is also the one to blame because she insists that Macbeth kills Duncan and she decides to become an accomplice in the act. Thus, Macbeth should be blamed for his actions, because he had a choice, but there are other factors as well that come into play.


3. Is there a personal incident in your life you wish could erase? Envision Lady Macbeth wringing her hands, unable to get the imaginary blood off of them. She is haunted by her participation in the grisly deed. Do you think her response is plausible? Do you think you would be consumed with guilt yourself if you found yourself wrapped up in such a heinous crime?

I don't really have a personal incident in my life that I wish I could erase because I may have wanted to go back in time and undo what I have done at that moment, but when time passes by, I accept the things the way they are because things happen for a reason and I just have to live with what I have. As I have said before, I feel that Lady Macbeth got what she deserved, consumed with guilt later on in the play. That doesn't undo what she has done. She should be haunted by the memory and the guilt. Of course, I would feel the same if I found myself wrapped up in a such a heinous crime, but because I think I'm personally pretty indifferent about a lot of things, I'll go on, living as if nothing happened after time passes by. Although I would be consumed with guilt, I would recover from feeling that way pretty quickly. But... ultimately, I don't think that I'll ever find myself in this kind of situation, or at least I hope I don't.


4. Have you ever experienced a predicted dream? Has anyone ever suggested something about your future that has actually come true? Did their comments influence your actions and the results that followed?

I usually don't have dreams when I'm sleeping, and even if I do, I rarely remember them. But my mother dreams a lot and she sometimes makes predictions, sometimes just for fun and sometimes with some seriousness. For example, my mother had a dream with her dead mother in it, and whenever she came out in her dreams, something bad happened. So, whenever she has dreams with her dead mother in it, she becomes more cautious at what she's doing and she warns the whole family as well. But we're a Christian family, so although we might have some premonitions with these dreams, we try not to depend on them and base our actions on these. Sometimes these bad premonitions come true ( I think most of the times it came true) but we try to pray about it and my mother tries hard not to have these kind of dreams because in Korea, having these dreams belong to Sharmanism. Although my mother's comments bothered me, I tried not to let those comments influence my actions because I believe in making my own fate and believing in the path that God has prepared for me.

Poetry Blog

1. Research Atwood, Plath and Dickinson and find the poet you are most like (your similarities could be based on personality traits or on issues you are both interested in, or on themes emerging from the poet’s work and how those speak to you. Write about what you feel is common between you and the poet you have chosen.

I think I am most similar with Atwood, although I don’t think my personality is particularly similar to any of these three poets. Atwood seemed to be a very quiet and thoughtful but still extremely determined and strong-willed about her opinions and thoughts on society. While watching the youtube video of Atwood’s interview, I realized that she sounded a bit bitter and defensive from time to time whenever her ideas presented in her book seemed “challenged” or “questioned.” I found that particular personality trait very similar to mine because I often times find myself being very defensive about my own ideas and if anyone tries to question it or challenge it, I get into my “defensive mode” and talk a bit bitterly. Also, when I present my ideas, I try to say it in a bit of an abstract way because I can view an idea from different perspectives and I don’t want to linger on one particular idea that seems too narrow for me. I try to put myself in a neutral position where it is hard to argue my point or I would just accept the argument and Atwood seemed as if she was trying to put herself in a safe zone of not accusing anyone of anything but only implying it in a very subtle way. I think this was evident when she was talking about many people who accused her of criticizing Christians in her novel. She seemed very determined about her message and theme in the novel and I felt that she did not want others to misinterpret her ideas but still let them perceive some interpretations in the novel on their own (leaving room for different analysis of the text). I think our strong-willed and determined nature is similar and we’re very defensive about our ideas (stubborn, in a way?).

2. TPCASTT one poem and discover what it really says to you. Write about the poem and its theme, especially about how the poem’s message sheds light on the universal human condition/experience.

I think the poem “I meant to have but modest needs” by Emily Dickinson contains a message about the frustration pertaining to faith when faced with life’s hardships. In this poem, the speaker had some sense of beauty of heaven and felt that God has responded to his or her prayer but later grows suspicious of God because of the disappointment he or she feels. I think it is this central message that life is full of adversity, which can lead to loss of faith and perhaps a feeling of bitterness and betrayal that makes this poem significant. This poem reveals the human’s tendency to blame God for all the hardships and disappointment in life, and how fragile our faith can be. We find it easy to be thankful and full of joy when there is happiness in life and we feel as if our prayers have been answered, but when things do not happen the way we want them to, we easily turn away from God, saying that he has disappointed us. We often times fail to understand that God works in mysterious ways and that he has his own plans for our lives, but if God “answers” our prayers in a way that we did not expect or want, we tend to think that God has rejected our prayer and he is not a loving God. We fail to understand the greater meaning in the things that happen in our lives because God’s plans for us are too big for us to fully fathom. (Of course, this is all from a very…Christian perspective). So, I think this poem reveals how as humans grow up, we experience more disappointment and failure in life than when we were younger and were less “shrewd”. This leads to our rejection of God and for our “faith”, however you would define it, to be challenged.

3. Think about hamartia: find one poem that displays a tragic flaw in human nature (either human nature in general or in one human, as expressed in the poem). Write about whether or not the poem’s message is enhanced for you, as a reader, as you contemplate hamartia as it relates to the text.

I think the poem “In the Secular Night” written by Atwood reveals a tragic flaw in human nature. Human’s tendency to feel lonely, whether you are in a large crowd or alone at home, is portrayed in the poem and I feel that this is a universal truth, or experience, that everyone goes through. Humans are all traveling on a journey of their own that no one else can comprehend or truly understand, and this particular path of life that one must take seems sad and lonely to everyone at some point. One may feel this way all the time, which is why they appear depressed or gloomy, and one may feel this only when they are left alone, apart from the people. The reason for being lonely may differ for everyone, as everyone experiences different things, and the reasons may pertain to religion, relationships, a particular experience, personality, and the environment. As “night” is thought of as a dark and lonely period of time, I think this poem suggests to the reader of the fact that everyone is in fact, alone all the time inside, feeling dark and lost without guidance. Also, especially as this poem refers to religion through words like “secular” and “God”, I think this shows the human tendency to look for a source of dependence like religion. I believe that some people use religion as a source of strength and I do not think this is wrong, but religion can sometimes be used as a tool for an excuse for some of the bad times in life. Although I believe that this is better than being depressed and feeling like there is nowhere to depend on, this poem clearly reveals the human nature to want to depend on something. Atwood may even be saying that humans are looking for something to blame on for the bad times in life, and most of the times we find it easy to blame it all on God.

3 responses for in the skin of a lion

1. What passage did you find the most beautiful in this novel and why? Dig into setting here, and give us detail about why you have chosen your passage.

I personally found the passage about the Garden of the Blind, on Page Island most beautiful (p 167). The passage evokes a feeling of pleasure because of the imagery created, using senses of sight, sound, and smell. The setting requires the use of our five senses because it is the Garden of the “Blind” (167). After Patrick blows up the dock at the Muskoka Hotel, he hides in this garden, “unseen among the blind” (167) and to me, this expression seems really beautiful. The imagery of sounds, such as “bird-calls like drops of water” (167) is quite delicate but because later in the passage, it says that Patrick witnesses “not sound but smell” (168), we find that smell has more significance than sound in this particular scene. I believe that in this passage, Patrick learns something about letting go of the past to go on with his life and there is an analogy between the senses used in the Garden of the Blind and Patrick’s life. Elizabeth, the blind lady, tells Patrick that “to focus your nasal powers you must forget about sounds” and I think she is in a way, telling Patrick to let go of his past, the sorrow and grief he is feeling due to Alice’s death, and focus on the present instead of the past. Because the sense of sight is absent in this novel, the descriptions of the things around are more vivid, evoking a greater range of imagination with the senses of smell and sound. Elizabeth, who is blind, seems more relaxed and content with the world she is living in because Patrick “watches how her relaxed body drifts in this world,” (169) and she is enjoying her walk in the garden as she touches and smells. Often times, people say that the eye is the mirror to the soul and because the sense of sight is absent in this passage, I think it indicates how Patrick has lost his true soul because he is too overwhelmed by grief and anger, causing him to lose his true self.

Patrick is also “alien” to the Garden, and this leaves me with more feeling of isolation and depression, which I think adds more beauty to the passage. It evokes the feeling of pathos from the reader.


2. What character do you most identify with in this novel and why? Is pathos an element of your response to this character? Again, be specific here. Look for textual evidence and help us understand your thoughts.

I think I identify with Alice Gull the most because we are both very conservative when it comes to expressing our feelings and revealing our true identities. Alice, throughout the novel, had this melancholy atmosphere to her because of her hazy past and sadness under her mask of a strong individual. On the outside, she seems strong and as a source of strength for Patrick, but I believe that she has sorrows and grief of her own to deal with, which evokes the feeling of pathos from me. First of all, it is probable that Alice is the nun that fell of the bridge and was caught by Nicholas, and after that, she changes her identity and lives as a different person. I feel sadness in the scene where Nicholas saves Alice and they are talking at the bar. Although we do not know where Alice got her scar on the nose from, when Nicholas asks where she got it from, “she pulled back” (36). I get intimidated by others very easily too, especially strangers, but I do not necessarily show my emotions and am usually extremely calm. Between Nicholas and Alice, there is an unspoken feeling that hovers around these two characters throughout the novel because they still stay as “friends” and this somehow leaves me feeling heartbroken with the realization that certain things will not happen even if the two individuals know each other’s feeling perfectly well. Although she is later with Hana and Patrick, I still feel as if she is feeling alone more than ever. Because nobody knows who she truly is and what she is truly feeling inside, she has deliberately separated herself from the world and the people who are willing to understand her. This deliberate act makes life more miserable full of grief for her, and I often times do this to myself too, which leaves me distressed. I especially like the part when she says that “I [Alice] play the way I think. And heartbreaking romance is all I want in music” (147). Although she is a source of security and strength for Patrick, where does she get her strength and sense of security from? To me, she seems like a mere human being who is only trying to appear strong and live “in the skin of a lion” when she is actually feeling hollow and left with grief and sorrow inside.


3. Is tragic flaw an issue in this novel? Choose one character and explore how their tragic flaw resulted in disaster.

Yes, I believe that tragic flaw is an issue in this novel. This tragic flaw is actually what creates the feeling of pathos throughout the novel. Patrick, the protagonist of the novel, has the greatest tragic flaw in this novel, in my opinion, because he is constantly experiencing fall and disasters. He continuously loses his loved ones, including his father, Clara to Ambrose, and Alice. He has to cope with anger and sorrow, and because he fails to deal with this wisely and calmly, he blows up the dock at the Muskoka Hotel and kills the lives of others because of Alice’s death. Also, when Clara leaves him, he has difficulties dealing with his emotions and sorrow, and later confronts Ambrose, which leaves him severely injured and hurt, both physically and emotionally, because ultimately we find out that Clara will never choose Patrick over Ambrose, or materialism. Patrick’s tragic flaw not only brings disaster to the others, but especially to himself. Because of these falls that he experiences, he has hardships searching for his true identity and hope. Clara never really opens herself up to him because “he keeps finding and losing parts of her, as if opening a drawer to discover another mask” (79). He cannot find out who Alice truly is either Patrick constantly wonders and thinks “if Alice Gull had been a nun?”(146). Because he constantly fails to find true love from Clara and Alice and is left brokenhearted, this leads to even more confusion for Patrick. Although Patrick ultimately reaches a point of redemption and restoration of hope in the very end, until then his fall and tragic flaw leads to even more disasters and confusion in the novel.