Blood Wedding Journal 3

In Oedipus the King and Blood Wedding, both authors explore the idea of deceit. In Blood Wedding it is the story of a hidden love, and in Oedipus is the story of an untrue childhood. In Blood Wedding, the bride keeps her secrets of love and passion for Leonardo hidden from the bridegroom. When she runs off with him, it is a shock to all, "They ran away! They ran away! She and Leonardo! On the horse!" (Lorca 76). The bride lures everyone into a false sense of understanding and made them think she was happy with him husband to be. Through this deceit, Lorca create another element of interest and excitement, through the running off with a man who is not your betrothed. Another element that keeps the readers interest is that none of the characters saw it coming. This adds to the deceit and makes the blow even worse.

In Oedipus, his forged childhood and his skewed knowledge of his past. Oedipus has no clue that he had ben lied to about his life, "Polybus was nothing to you, thats why, not in blood" (Sophocles 218). Sophocles uses his character Oedipus to highlight the deceit that he feels in present in everyones life. The idea of not knowing the truth is clear in the life of Oedipus, but it goes on to highlight the way the deciet is only a big deal when you learn of it, not knowing is almost as blissful as it not being true.

Blood Wedding Journal 2

In Blood Wedding, Lorca uses very interesting images in his writing to highlight the importance of understanding the good things in life. In the beginning of Blood Wedding there is very little information to set the opening scene, "The room is painted yellow" (5), which the author does on purpose. He simply sets the scene so keep the readers focused on what is happening in the scene, and not on the scene itself. Th simplistic setting highlights the good things in life, it does this by not masking the scene. The reader can see what is going on in the scene clearly and because of this clarity it is possible to see the simple things that sometimes become hidden with extra stuff.

The imagery the author uses in his play allows the reader to see the good things in the characters lives because he leaves the scenes simple and unhampered by extra things that get in the way of what is really there. Another place in the play where we see simple imagery is on page 29, "The bride's father enters-an elderly man with shinning hair" this stage direction is simple and bare, yet the reader gets a lot out of this. Shinning hair, this image creates a sense of happiness and peace through the association we have of shinning angels. This simplistic way of setting up the scene and putting images into the readers head allows them to see what is really there, not a bunch of extra fluff. Without all the extra stuff one can see the true and good things that are now obvious. Because of this, one can see the simple amazing things that sometime get overlooked because of the scene.

Blood Wedding Journal 1

Dear Diary,

I don't know about this wedding. This is a big step, a very big step. He is a good man, I love him very much, i really do. Don't get me wrong but I am having mixed thoughts about our wedding. I try not to think about it too much, I want to spend my last days as an unmarried woman without any cares. The wedding has been set for thursday next, that is very soon. I am nervous about this. Did I mention that i have doubts?

Also, I sometimes catch myself thinking of Leonardo, staring out the window, dreaming of the past and my old life. The way he could tame and ride the wild horses, controlling them with his legs and hands. He had the more tense and set face of anyone i knew. He was always serious. Oh, I feel so guilty for what happened between us, not a day goes by where I do not think of our last day together. But he is in my past and he is not to be remembered any longer. I now have a loving bridegroom, my soon to be husband. Next thursday, oh this is so soon. And on my birthday too, my 22nd birthday. How will this work out, what does my future hold, for I can scarcely predict. Next thursday our two families will be bound and I will become a wife.

Wild Duck Journal 5

A good author does not tie up all loose ends at the end of their novel. Instead, they purposely leave the reader wondering what is going to happen, they want to keep us interested and thinking. In both Oedipus the King and Wild Duck the authors leave many questions unanswered. In Oedipus, the reader is left wondering what becomes of the newly blind man Oedipus the former king, what is the fate for his sisters/children? "Drive me out of Thebes in exile" (250). Even thought the reader has an idea of what is to happen, the author cleverly leaves out enough information to keep us guessing. A good author creates more questions in the readers mind than answers. Like in Oedipus the King, This is also the case in Wild Duck. The reader is left wondering what will become of Gina and Hjalmar after Hedvig's death. "In less than a year little Hedvig will be nothing more to him than a pretty theme for recitations"(216). Loose ends and unanswered questions are how authors usually end their books, as we can see this is the case here. Both Sophocles and Ibsen stay to the similar style that they write their plays with. The ambiguous and question filled books end just like they had written them, full of question and not very many answers.

WIld Duck Journal 4

I wanted to look at this play focusing on Hedvig, I chose to do this because I am intrigued by her and who she is as a person as well as a character. Hedvig is a fourteen year old girl, yet if the reader was not told this piece of information, I think this has something to do with the setting of Norway. " and then Daddy will be happy and things will be pleasant again. (193) When interacting with her father she seems to work very hard to make sure he is happy. The fourteen year old girl does all she does to make her dad happy, everything she ever does is only for another's happiness. The setting on Norway lends itself to the reason for this. In this day and age, the children especially the girls had to be submissive and reverent to their parents. They grew up in a society where respecting the elders is top priority, thus giving us the answer to why Hedvig acts this way. "I'll bring you dinner in, then" (180) This quote highlights the servitude Hedvig must give to her father, which the reader finds a little strange because of the way kids act today. Through the culture and societal norms in Norway at this time, The reader has a hard time relating and understanding the submissive fourteen year old girl Hedvig.

Wild Duck Journal 3

For this journal I am comparing the life of Ibsen and the similarities that he had with the character Gregers in the play, Wild Duck. Both Ibsen and his characters are from Norway. But the character most similar to Ibsen and his life story is Gregers Werle. One major thing the have in common is their family lives. Ibsen left home in 1843, and after this he did not speak to father for a long time. But he kept in touch with his mom and sister, writing them letters but never letters to his father. In Wild Duck, Gregers has just returned from 16 years of absence. "He hasn't been in town all the years I've served in this house". (119) The parallel structure between the two and their relationships also is the same for their relationships with their mothers. Ibsen continued his correspondence with his mother, through letters. In Wild Duck, we see that Gregers has a deeper connection with his mother. "She and you-you always stuck together" (132). These passages show the similarities between the author and the character, which hint that the author has incorporated some of him into the play, Wild Duck.

Wild Duck Journal 2

we all have 5,

5 senses

but when one has gone

the other 4 are not good enough.

Why is four not equal four

when you started out with 5.

How can blindness

take away your smell,

your touch, your hearing

and your

tasting?

Why is it that 4 is not 4,

when it used to be 5.

How come things lose value

when you can not see

How can seeing make you happy

if you never realized that

seeing is 1 of the 5

not the end all

be all

Wild Duck Journal 1

There is a gap between what we know as an audience in the play Oedipus and what we know in Wild Duck. In Oedipus the reader is more clued into what is going on then the characters on stage are through the dramatic irony. But in Wild Duck the reader feels distant and confused by the gap and ambiguity that the author creates in the lives of the characters past. In Oedipus the use of dramatic irony creates a want for the reader to read on, to see if the characters can discover what they already know. This technique draws the reader into the story. This is an interesting way to create interest, the reader does not finish the play to finally find out the ending, the answer, but rather to see the main characters figure out the answer. in contrast to the play Oedipus, Wild Duck is ambiguous and certain things are unclear to the reader. The author does not keep the reader as well informed, which keeps us at a distance. The gap between us and the characters creates a informal reading in which we can not get to know and understand them as well.

Oedipus Journal 4

The plot of Oedipus the King has a very purposeful plot, it is a suspenseful and drawn out method that keeps the readers attention while giving away the end result or the answer. The plot is not broken into parts, which is a understandable because the story takes place over few days and there is no real point where any action stops. The long one scene play adds to the suspense and the feeling of searching and waiting. The plot is somewhat confusing and unorganized, but this reflects the turmoil in the story of Oedipus's frantic search for the truth in combination with the prophecy. At the end of the play all has been revealed in the life of Oedipus but not so much for the other characters and others connected to him. This open ended end allows room for the readers interpretation, or even another play, which is written about Oedipus' daughter Antigone. The play only spans a day or so but it seems much longer than this, as the reader thinks it should. things in Thebes seem to move very fast, messengers and prophets coming at moments notice. The time frame is important, it reveals the power that the king has to manipulate and command the people of his kingdom showing the influence and importance that Kings had in the time of ancient Greece.

Oedipus Journal 3

The lifestyle of Ancient Greeks in very different to the lifestyle of people of today. The is especially noticeable when comparing the privacy factor of the two different worlds. In the greek culture the people were much more open, they shared their personal lives and did not distinguish so much between the private and public aspects of life. In Oedipus, the king is very open with his predicament and he shares his feelings, his findings and his life with the people of Thebes. "I'd never have come to this, my fathers murderer-never been branded: mother's husband, all men see me now" In this passage we can see the openness Oedipus has when he addresses the city he rules. His telling them breaks down the separation that people today have in their lives. Today there are clear lines between public and private affairs. This separates the two different lifestyles, giving the ancient Greek lifestyle a different kind of feel, a feel of open and a feel of a connected community that the people of today do not feel as strongly.