The play Othello, by Shakespeare dives directly into the main plot beginning with a confrontation between Iago and Roderigo. Although they are squabbling what both men share in common is there hatred for Othello. They decide to work together on bringing him down by ending his marriage and killing his lieutenant, Cassio. Like many of Shakespeare’s plays the plot revolves around a relationship that seems to be headed somewhere tragic. Most of Act I discusses Othello’s wife, Desdemona, however she doesn’t actually appear until towards the end of the Act. The many male characters discuss women as being honorable and subjects to their father and then eventually the man that becomes their husband. This says a lot about how women were looked at during this time. Brabanzio, Desdemona’s father, says, “O heaven! How got she out? O treason of the blood!” (Act I, Scene I, line 191) He is referring to his daughter getting outside of his protection and now becoming subject to another man, Othello. Later, Othello speaks about Desdemona, defending his relationship. The way he speaks about his wife saying, “I won his daughter.” (Act I, Scene 3, Line 111) mirrors the way Brabanzio talks about his daughter. It is as if they are in control of who she is with and what she does. I believe this first act sets the stage very well and shows a lot about the role of women and relationships during that time period.

“Amazement seized their minds,
no soul had ever seen
a knight of such a kind–
entirely emerald green.” (Lines 147-150)

Throughout the story, the color green is used as a motif. The knight is green, he wants to meet at the Green Chapel, the belt is green, and the knights wear a green sash to remember what happened to Gawain and his whole ordeal/adventure with the Green Knight and Berlitak. Why would the author choose the color green specifically instead of a different color? In what ways does this enhance the reader’s experience with the text? How could this relate to nature?

According to psychology, the color green is representative of rebirth and renewal. With spring comes green plants and flowers, renewed after the long winter months. In what way does Gawain experience a rebirth or renewal? Perhaps after his experience with the Green Knight, he is “reborn” into a wiser being who now can recognize and admit to his mistakes. He learned through the experience that he must be honest with himself and others, in order to get a positive result. This clever motif used by the author allows readers to connect the color green in nature to the plot and experiences of the characters.

The Sun Rises and Sets by Li Bo is an entrancing poem.  When I first read the title of the poem I got a deep sense of tranquility . Still,  as the poem progresses the feeling of the poem changes.  I interpreted this poem as a description of Li Bo view towards the cycle of life.  A characterisation of how every thing that starts eventually ends.  Li Bo gives this idea when he says, “The rise and the ending of all things/ is just the way things are.”  ( Bo, 1023)  At this point in the poem I got a sense of depression from the author.  He refers to the end of things more than once during the poem and gives an example of the trees not caring if they lost their leaves because that is how it was suppose to be.  I wonder if that is how Li Bo felt during his life?  I believe, he felt he had no control over his life and that whatever happen to him was because it was the way life had to be.  By the end of the poem Li Bo sounds like a soul that has given up and is going with the flow of the river of life.

This reading was definitely a page-turner. Just like  Shahrayar, I wanted to know what was going to happen next in the story.  The second part of the reading began with Shahrazad retelling the story of “The Merchant and the Demon”. This continues for many nights, and with each night, Shahrazad would continue telling the story, but making sure not to finish the story. Since King Shahrayar was curious of what was going to happen next in the story, the next morning he spares her lives. He did not ask his vizier to “put her to death” like he did with all the other women he slept with. Every morning, the king goes to sleep wanting to know what will happen next in the story so he says, “I will spare her until I hear the rest of the story; then I will have her put to death the next day”.

The vizier says to his daughter, “Foolish one, don’t you know that King Shahrayar has sworn to spend but one night with a girl and have her put to death the next morning?” (pg 562) Even after knowing this fact, Shahrazad was still willing to go on with her plan. Was it foolish of Shahrazad to risk her life in order to prevent other families from mourning? Although her plan of keeping the king curious was working, how was she certain that the king would not be suspicious of what was happening? What she did may be foolish, but the purpose of her character is to portray a heroine.

Throughout the text, women were seen to be vicious, cunning creatures, but Shahrazad was portrayed differently. She was seen as the hero because she was the only one that wasn’t craving sex. Although Shahrazad was trying to manipulate the king, her intentions were sincere which made her distinct from the other women in the text.

The Thousand and One Nights are 42 tales from Middle Eastern and Indian stories. The main overall storyline is King Shahrazad had uncovered that throughout his nonappearances, his wife was very disloyal to him and he ends up assassinating her and whoever she associated herself with. The king becomes into a huge monster and seems like he kills anyone in his path. He would marry and then execute a spouse every day.  It sounds something similar to Sakuntala and Madea with their significant others and how the male runs everything.

In the story “The Merchant and the Jinni, The king had a repetitive line which was “Rise, that I may kill thee, and thou hast killed my son. To me, it shows how hostile he is toward people. In the “Second Sheykh and the Two Black Hounds”, the King says, “I became most cordially attached to my wife, so that, on her account, I neglected the society of my brothers, who, in consequence, became jealous of me, and likewise envied me my wealth, and the abundance of my merchandise; casting the eyes of covetousness upon the whole of the property.” So it seems as though whoever is in his way will face the consequence of death or face some sort of a consequence. He doesn’t have remorse for anyone.

In the last three acts of the play a lot  of emotions and different experiences occur. In the first act the king Dusyanta has completely forgotten Sakuntala but has sort of an idea that she is telling the truth. She feels abandoned and disowned by both her husband and her family. She is devastated and disappears with a nymph. When the ring is found the king remembers and is completely heart broken just as Sakuntala is. Pg. 926- “Oh ring! Have pity on a man whose heart is tormented because he abandoned his love without cause!”

In the second act,  I don’t really understand what is happening when the king is with the charioteer Matali. The play jumps from one section to the next without an explanation.Pg. 932- The king enters with Matali by the skyway, mounted on a chariot.  Is he having a dream that he’s in the heavens or is he really fighting off demons for Indra?

In the third act, he appears at the hermitage  where his son and Sakuntala are living. He immediately feels a connection with the little boy.Pg. 935- “Why is my heart drawn to this child, as if he were my own flesh?” This part is my favorite since they get to finally reunite and be together as a family.

In the text, it is mentioned that the royal hero and the courtiers speak Sanskrit, but the women and people in a lower caste speak in Prakrits which were regional and often thought to be unrefined which makes me think about all the gender roles that were in the area of India. It is surprising to me that even if a woman is in a high caste, they do not speak in Sanskrit so they are basically categorized as someone who is in a lower caste. It is mentioned on lines 328- 331 that having a daughter is to marry her off and repay the loan that he was given, which also shows us how women were treated in society. It is also interesting to see how people lived in India in the fifth century because the word “hermitage” is mentioned in the text a lot and it tells us that extended families are appreciated in Indian culture, as well as the appreciation of Hinduism. On lines 305- 308, it says “your husband will entrust him with the burdens of the kingdom and will return with you to the calm of this hermitage” Where it’s custom for Hindu kings and people in a higher caste to go into the forest to concentrate on a more spiritual life. So even if one is at a high caste system, being spiritual is something that all must do in order to follow their religion.

I think the characteristic of Medea interrupted that people are selfish when their anger is way more than love. Medea reflects to the type of people who are selfish and brave to do anything to repay a person. In the story, Medea had murdered both the princess and the king of Corinth as well as her two sons because of her anger and enmity on Jason. There was only anger but nothing in Medea’s mind, she had lost her humanity as an evil to kill people in the way she likes. It indicated that people are selfish to themselves when they get hurt or betrayed, they will do anything to make themselves feeling better but not care about the consequences.

In the beginning of the story, Medea is portrayed as a weak woman who get betrayed by husband, Jason. He leaves her and her children behind. Medea grows into a strong character who is plotting revenge for what Jason did to her. I agree that Medea deserves revenge for what has occurred, but the fact that it involves the death of her kids seems like it crossed the line. Although Medea feels guilty for plotting to kill her kids when she says, “Once that’s done, the next thing I must do/ chokes me with sorrow. I will kill the children-/my children” (lines 811-813). This shows that Medea feels guilty for plotting to kill her kids, but her hatred toward Jason overpowers the guilt.

I believe most of you feel horrible about Medea’s evil reactions, however I think she is a very brave woman who has independent thoughts. In the past, men are assumed to have a greater power than women. They are pretended to be the one with capability to take care of women and his family, so women must rely on men even they did not willing to. Women are responsible to obey to their husband, and they never have the right to make decisions. In “Medea”, the unfairness on men and women did not applied on Medea and Jason. Medea had her own thoughts, she decided her life by herself. Doing crazy things, like murdering people, is the way for Medea to express her anger, it is also the way for her to tell Jason that she could live without him. The characteristic of Medea also interrupted that women could be so brave and independent.

During the first half of the text, I felt sympathy for Medea as for her husband left her alone for another woman.  Even with his explanation, I still felt as though Medea was the victim.  However, as Medea developed the plan to kill not only Jason’s new wife and her father, the idea that she was willing to kill her own children as well, shows signs of immortality.

“For one short day / forget our children.  Afterward, you’ll grieve. / For even if you kill them, they were yours; / you loved them,” (lines 1273-1275).  Why was Medea prepared to murder her own children just to get revenge on Jason?  One main point she made previously in the text was that child birth is the most painful experience anyone can encounter.  Is it possible she tried to recreate the pain of childbirth by taking his children away from him forever?

By killing her children, was the overall outcome of birthing her children more painful for Medea, herself or Jason?  She went through the birthing process and now has to grieve over their death.  However, the children’s death was unexpected for Jason.  Is this a sign of immortality or is Medea just cold hearted and emotionless?

Maybe some of you might think Medea is justice, maybe none.  Anyway, I think both her action and thought are evil.  Even though Jason betrayed Medea first, but Medea’s action is crueler.  She even wants her innocence children die as well, and the reason is just because the children are son of Jason.  Medea was carried away by evil mind, and she couldn’t think properly of what’s right and what’s wrong.

Then what should be consider as justice?  I don’t feel like there’s justice, it is just the idea of people who rationalizes his or her behavior.  I think Medea done it on the same way.  She thought her action is bring justice to Jason’s betrayal.  But, at the moment she killed the people, she is just a murderer.

Another thought about the Medea.  I think the author wanted to emphasize the unfair treatment between men and women.   Usually, women were ruled under men; they listened to whatever men said, they couldn’t do nothing but took care of house.  However, Medea told us that women were not burden, Medea helped Jason on his quest ad princess granted Jason the royal power.  The text reflects that women are important in society, they can do whatever men can do.  Women should be at the same position as men.

I think the most important purposes of the text are informing unfair between men and women, and consider what is justice mean to you.