For me “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” is a harsh story to read. It is hard for me to describe how I felt after reading this story. I know generally about the Holocaust, but with the horrible realism described by Borowski, and how the characters perceive their life at Auschwitz is totally different than I have imagined.

“…I am furious, simply furious with these people — furious because I must be here because of them. I feel no pity. I am not sorry they’re going to the gas chamber. Damn them all! I could throw myself at them, beat them with my fists.”

The prisoners were forced to transport corpses to the crematorium. They saw innumerable of other shocking and shameful acts. He hates what he’s doing, but he does not have a choice. He has to listen to the S.S officers and is tasked with making women take dead babies that aren’t even theirs. Instead of feeling pity for the hopeless Jews, he is furious with them. He thinks he is forced to be at the ramp at Auschwitz and experience this horror because of these people. In this moment, he questions: Is he is still the same person he was before the concentration camps. He thinks that the horrible things he’s doing are unforgivable and have changed him into a criminal person. He is looking for hope that he is still a good person by asking his friend, Henry if they are good people.

1- The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is a poem about a man who feels very unconfident and uncertain about himself. He seems to have “the complex of inferiority”, which make him to be incapable to have relationships with women. This complex makes him to be worried and nervous with women, but he is also unsociable and detached from the society in general.  As a result he lives in solitude and pessimism. Throughout the poem we can see how he feels distant from the society, because of his low self-esteem for himself.

“I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (73-74).

He thinks that he is fool and ridiculous, but he does not want to believe this.

“Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous –

Almost, at times, the Fool” (117-119)

2- At the end of the poem, Prufrock looks like he identifies his self more with mermaids than with real people. We can see this in the use of the pronoun “we” when speak of the mermaids.

“We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown” (129-130).

These lines makes us think that Prufrock wishes to escape humanity and the isolation of modern life and live surrounded by the mythical or supernatural.

In the final line of the poem, his fantasy world is devastated by humanity and comes crashing down:

“Till human voices wake us, and we drown” (line 131).

He has impossible, exasperated, desire for women who reject him. He cannot have any of those girls and any sign of the social world “human voices” drowns him down, like Dante, in his “inferno”.

3- Every reader reads and interprets poetry differently. The ideas and interpretations of other people help us to understand better the poetry. For this reason, I am including the following questions:

a- Why does Prufrock have so much difficulty making decisions?

b- What is the narrator thinks: “It is impossible to say just what I mean!”

c- Do you think Prufrock suffers from a psychological disorders, like paranoia or depression?

Reading “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore I noticed that there were many similarities with “Incidents in the life of a slave girl” by Harriet Jacobs. Both authors select subjects with women who have cravings for freedom, both literal and spiritual, from their conventional roles. Tagore describes women in rural India who face tyranny from the religion and the society, and their search for freedom. In “Incidents in the life of a slave girl” woman slaves are exposed physically and spiritually to assaults, suffering and pain. As Jacobs says “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women. Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own.” Jacobs describes suffering and tragedies of slave women and their search for freedom.

Both main characters are “slaves”. Religion and social rules limit the Indian woman in “dharma”. Chandara’s mouth is covered when she see her sister-in-law murdered. She has no rights, and is treated like a slave from her husband. She is an innocent woman facing a trial, justice system, and society that are against her.  Both Linda and Chandara are victims of physical violence. They suffer seriously from being deprived of human rights and protection. They both are not allowed to marry the person they love. Chandra is married with a man she detests, and Linda is forced to sleep with the master she hates. Chandara is “imprisoned” inside her house. Linda is seven year “imprisoned” in the attic of her aunt for seven years, and she is also locked up in an isolated cottage by Dr. Flint, so he can abuse freely with her.

However Chandara fights and frees herself from being limited in her household obligations as an obedient wife and with a false love. “She turned her heart and soul away from him” (896). She makes her own choice to free herself through death, rather than die living like submissive and humiliated woman. After too much suffering Linda is relieved to be free, and everything she went through in her life establish her as a woman of powerful intellect and profound sensitivity.

“Hedda Gabler” is one of the most interesting play written by Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright. The play has been adapted for the screen many times. One of them, which is the most popular, is a television production of the play in 1963, with Ingrid Bergman. In the first act, in the film and in the lay, are introduced the main characters of the play and their problems. From the beginning of the first act we learn that Hedda is married to George Tessman, but she is still called Hedda Gabler, not Tessman. She is brought up in high social rank as the daughter of General Gabler. Hedda give us the impression to detest all about George Tesman and his lifestyle. In her first appearance, she maliciously offends Aunt Julie, by complaining that it is the servant’s hat lying in the armchair, while she had bought the hat for Hedda’s sake.

After Miss Tessman leaves, George tells Hedda to be kinder to Aunt Julie. He also asks Hedda to call Miss Tessman “Aunt Julie”, but she refuses saying that she will call her Aunt once in a while and that’s enough. All this because she do not feel part of the family. We does not see this dialog in the film. Maybe the filmmaker wants to show to the audience that even Tesman knows his wife’s discourtesy, he do not want to accept the real problems. Being the daughter of well-known General Gabler, Hedda is used to people always show respect and obey to her. In fact she treats her husband in the same disrespectful way as she does with other people. Tesman tries to please his wife and fulfill all her desires so that she can feel content and happy. He is concerned in pleasing Hedda and is not capable to understand that she does not love him. He also refuses to accept any problem in his marriage. I think the play gives us a clearer description of characters than film.

I. “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, “The Loophole of Retreat” by Harriet Jacobs and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglass are two of the most important works in a slave narrative genre. Both authors write about their own life and the reader can observe more similarities than differences. However, Douglas focuses in differences between the dark slave and a light slave. He describes his difficulties and suffering being a mulatto. Jacobs is writing from the female perspective. She was emotionally and sexually abused, while Douglas was physically abused. Jacobs describes how was the life as a female slave. She was brutally molested by her white master. The violence against her was double because she was black and female. Jacobs highlights the importance of family values. She is concerned not only in her freedom, she wants all the family to be free with her. On contrary, Douglas mentions his mother only in the first chapter of his narrative, showing very little emotions.
II. Slavery even today exists in one or different forms, almost in all countries. The following are examples of modern slavery:
1. Thousands of people are trafficked and forced to work on fishing boats, where they can be kept for years without ever seeing the shore. Those who are caught trying to escape can be killed and thrown overboard.
2. Many children are forced to beg on the streets by criminals. They are sent out on the streets and have a daily quota of money to bring back to their masters. If they return shorthanded, the penalties are swift and harsh, from being chained in total isolation to violent beatings.
3. Taking advantage of the high demand for organ transplants, organized gangs have taken to trafficking children to sell their organs on the black market.

“She died when I was about seven years old, on one of my master’s farms, near Lee’s Mill. I was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial. She was gone long before I knew anything about it. Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger”.

In this passage Douglass explains the absence of his mother in his life. He knows his mom but, he is taken away from her because they are slaves. After his birth, his master separates him from his mother. This separation makes Douglass feel nothing for his mother. He does not spend any time with his mom, they never met each other during the day. Douglas describes how she comes to him four or five times, only at night, and before he wakes, she is gone. He says he feels nothing when his mother dies, because she is like a stranger for him. How is possible the child feels nothing when his mother dies? Douglas describes his solitude and isolation so clear that the reader can understand how slavery not only separates families, but it does not allow people to have a family.

Douglass demonstrates how a life of a slave begins at his birth. At that time, for some white people the slavery was natural that black people were kept as slaves. Douglas describes how slave owners destroy families prohibiting slaves to have connections and affections for their family members. This way, for slave owners is easier to turn black people into slaves. Since the birth children are removed from their parents and families. If his mother has been present in Douglas life, his childhood could have been totally different. He explains that he is one of the slaves who don’t know their parents, even his day of birth. Separating child and mother, not allowing them to have a family and feelings for each other, was the way that slave owners can have the control of their slaves. Douglas shows how slavery do not allow slaves to have families, feelings, and lives.

In the photo two boys seems they are talking to each other and their faces look very sad. Both are so badly dressed and malnourished and their life is extremely hard. The chimney is so small in diameter that boy don’t want to go down and doing his job. This job tortured their fragile bodies. They are treated as nonhuman beings. This is the sight of horror that two chimney sweepers are faced every day.
The child tells how his father sold him when he was very young. He was sold to a master sweep and he started to work for him even he could not pronounce the words “sweep, sweep”. In fact, in the poem Blake uses the words “weep, weep”. Imagine how their feelings being unwanted by their parents and sold to someone who didn’t care about them.
The first child, the narrator has no name, but to the other boy’s is given a name, Tom Dacre that makes the poem more realistic. The image of Tom Dacre bald, crying in the dark covered in black soot makes us feel so sorry for these little boys. Tom Dacre’s dream is contrasting their horrible life with what they are supposed to do at this age: “leaping” and “laughing” in the sunshine. The next morning the narrator and Tom Dacre get up from the dream and go back to their dangerous job. These two little boys cannot help themselves. Instead adults are responsible and obliged to do something for them.

We had a packed house Wednesday afternoon, September 28, at the Engleman Recital Hall. The performance of Oedipus the King, the classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles, was dramatic and compelling. Our Wednesday performance was a staged reading: script-in-hand, no costumes, just two columns, two masks (one golden, one silver), two curtains and some spray painted words like “Apollo”, “Zeus” in the stage setting. For me was the first time attending a staged reading. Still, the play was captivating.
In the opening scene of “Oedipus the King”, the announcer invited the audience to imagine the place and the time where the play took place: Thebes, Ancient Greece. As in all other plays that are meant to be performed rather than read, this play took on much more meaning and emotion when performed by these actors. The most interesting character was presented by Dana Watkins as Oedipus. He clearly interpreted self – confidence of the young king, the confusion and anxiety as he began to suspect what has happened and, finally, the total desolation of Oedipus. All the actors gave fine performances that were easily understood. The Greek chorus, interpreted by Paul DeBoy, was very effective as it comments on the course of events.
The Oracle of Delphi told King Laius of Thebes that he will have a child who was destined to kill him and sleep with Laius’s wife, Jocasta, who was also the child’s mother. When a baby was born, the king pierced his ankles and leaved him on a mountain to die. A shepherd found the baby, and took him to King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, who named him Oedipus and raised him as their own child.
One day, Oedipus went to the Oracle of Delphi to find out who his real parents were. The Oracle told him that he is destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus tried to run from this fate, but ended up running right into it. He killed Laius at a crossroads, not knowing he was his real dad. Later, he won the throne of Thebes and without knowing marries his mother, Jocasta. Several years later Oedipus and Jocasta figured out the truth of everything with the help of the seer Tiresias. Desperate, Jocasta hung herself, and Oedipus stabs out his eyes.

The story “Bewitched” by Udea Akinari, reminds me of Kakia (Cacia), goddess of vice and moral evilness in Greek mythology in the photo below “The Choice of Heracles” (Cacia and Arete). Having the status as deity, Kakia has the right to live on Mount Olympus, but the Olympian gods hates her. She is the personification of evil incarnated in human beings, and exists and is immortal because of wickedness of people. Kakia appears before Heracles, alongside Arete, who represents moral virtue, at a crossroads. She attempts to tempt him but he chooses Arete over her.
Temptation is a frequent theme in all of literature. It is a weakness of many people and characters. While men are known for their power, women are related with trickery. They are known as sneaky, manipulative temptresses who makes difficulties in the men’s live. In the story “Bewetched” Manago generates trouble in the lives of Toyo-o and his family.
It is so easy for people to submit to temptation when they feel strong emotions such as love and joy. Toyo-o is attracted by Manago’s words: “I cannot forget your kindness, and I love you. Please come in” (page 634). Manago is only using him to achieve her goals but she never loved him.
I think the reason why Toyo-o was bewitched is because he has never had control of his own life “He had no desire …… to devote his time and efforts to the family occupation (page 632). All his life Toyo-o has been under his father and his older brother control. Having no experience, he falls in love too fast with Manago and trusts her again and again, which is disastrous for him and his family.

The main problem of the comedy “Tartuffe” is the hypocrisy. Molière wrote this comedy with the sole intention to denounce and to unmask the bastion of hypocrite people. His target were religious people, who manipulate other people, political figures, which were aware of the position and power they had. The author describes the life of a bourgeois family, in part represented by Orgon, who after making a pile, he wants to have a religious credibility too.

Tartuffe is a hypocrite, dishonest and a charlatan. This is obvious to all other characters in the comedy, except for Orgon and his mother, Madam Pernell. (We can see it from the Act I). He is able to disguise his self, and as a devout religious, he persuade Orgon and his mother that he is an honest and a virtuous man. Tartuffe tries to take advantage of the Orgons’ weaknesses, and uses all means to reach his goal.

On the other hand, Orgon is a noble and an honest man. He lacks of judgement to distinguish truth from false. He is not able to see that Tartuffe is a hypocrite, and do not accept any rational opinion about Tartufes’ actions. We can see how obsessed Orgon is to Tartuffe in Act 1.4. Dorine tells Orgon that his wife, Elmire was very sick, but he is worried only about Tartuffe. Orgon keeps repeating: “And Tartuffe? Poor man!” which makes him ridiculous.

Tartuffe is the personification of hypocrisy. In everyday life, when we are dealing with liars and hypocrites, people we say; “He is a Tartuffe”. Even the comedy was written about five hundred years ago, it says some truths of our reality, and our present. Is the “hypocrisy” one of the problems of our society? Are there such people around us? The answer is “yes”! The environment is “infected” and no one is immune. It is better to be moderate and open-minded. We need to look deep within ourselves because there we will found all the answers.