Essential Question 9

How do Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein compare and contrast as men, scholars, and scientists?

Both Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein are restless with an intense passion for discovery and knowledge. Walton pursues a life on the seas in an attempt to find new lands, cultures, and waterways. Frankenstein focuses on natural philosophy and is curious to know the purpose and secret behind life and death. The reasons for their pursuits differ greatly. Walton is in it for the fame, but Frankenstein "was encouraged to hope [his] present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success" (32). Both did suffer greatly in their pursuit of discovery. Walton felt lonely and had no close relationships with his crew. Frankenstein was so engrossed by his project of bringing the creature to life that he lost contact with his family and friends. He even grows ill whenever he sees something that reminds him of his work. Lastly, Frankenstein and Walton have a teacher-student relationship. Frankenstein has experienced what Walton is feeling now and does not want Walton to go down the same road as himself. He is protecting Walton from what I believe is pride, which seems to be the main reason for Frankenstein's demise.

Essential Question 8

Are Katherine and Petruchio in love?

Katherine and Petruchio's relationship is not rooted in love whatsoever. From the beginning, Petruchio was used to marry Katherine so that Gremio and Hortensio could have a chance to court Bianca. He did not care for love, but for the dowry and monetary benefits he would receive. His only problem was to tame Katherine, and did so by meeting fire with fire. By his actions, Katherine was forced into marriage with Petruchio by her father. This shows the disrespect given towards women. We still do not even know the reason for Katherine's prior aggression because none of the characters allowed Katherine to vent and explain what was on her mind. Now that she was married to Petruchio, she was held in his vise, treating her as if she was crazy or mentally deranged. Katherine was forced to submit to Petruchio's will, a similarity with Grendel's mother from Beowulf, who despised her fate. The greatest example of their relationship having no love can be seen in the final scene. Though Katherine may have been the only obedient wife, she acts this way because she has been forced to sumbit herself to Petruchio's words. As for Petruchio, one has to remember that the husbands all placed bets. As Bianca says, "The more fool you are for laying on my duty" (5.2.143). Betting on love is a complete disrespect to love itself. Petruchio shows he was only it for the money.

Essential Question 7

Do you think that Hamlet has created his own insanity, or has he lost his sense of reality completely?

Honestly, I believe Hamlet is not insane. He is only having a human reaction to the tragedy that has occurred in his family. If one's uncle were to kill one's father and marry one's mother within a month of the father's death, there is bound to be some sort of explosive response. This is what is occurring with Hamlet. His emotions have taken ahold of him, but has he not been requested to take revenge from the Ghost of his father? Hamlet grows frustrated at his progress of fulfilling King Hamlet's request. The ghost even reappears to remind Hamlet of his duty. With that in mind, the death of Polonius cannot be pinned upon Hamlet. He was acting out of anger, out of emotions, a blind rage. If anyone were to be blamed, it should be Claudius for his immoral deeds. He has fueled Hamlet's response, and created Hamlet's insanity.

Side note: Hamlet is growing similar to Edmond Dantes from Count of Monte Cristo. Dantes almost seemed mentally deranged with his persecution of those who mistreated his father and ruined his life, yet in the end, it can be understood how Dantes must have felt. Hamlet should be treated the same.

Essential Question 6

What parallels can be drawn between The Pardoner's Tale and his Prologue. How is this tale different from the other two we have studied?

Both the Pardoner's Tale and his Prologue discuss morality and vices. Both define what is wrong or sinful. However, one is described through dictation, while the other is described in a story. The Pardoner seems to be a representation of Jesus, who told crowds the word of God, but did it through parables. Another difference is that the Prologue focuses more on all types of sin, whereas the actual tale teaches not to have avarice or greed.
The Pardoner is very much a hypocrite because he tells a story with a moral that teaches others not to be greedy when he himself is hoarding money from sinners by selling forgiveness. The Pardoner's Tale is different from The Miller's Tale and The Knight's Tale because both storytellers of the other tales actually represented their stories. The Knight taught through his tale of the importance of logic and correct forms of prayer, something expected of a Knight. The Miller, a drunk, tells a tale of lust, immorality, and lechery; even the host was aware that something vulgar or wrong would come out of his mouth. However, the Pardoner, who teaches what is wrong with having greed, actually commits sin himself.

Love, War, and Chastity

Though throughout the Knight’s Tale Arcite may not have seemed an evildoer, his desire for Emily is rather vicious. He is the one that started the conflict when he falls for Emily even though Palamon saw her first. As we see through the Temple of Mars, there is also much injustice depicted on the walls of the temple, for example, Caesar’s assassination. This injustice then broods more violence as Arcite and Palamon battle for Emily’s love. Arcite also prays to win in battle for Mars is the God of War. Desiring victory had its limitations; it did not entail love. In the end, Arcite got what he asked for. He wins the battle, but the gods decide that Palamon should have Emily. If Arcite wanted to win Emily’s hand, worshipping a God whose temple depicted death and sorrow was definitely the wrong idea.

I totally believe that love and war coexist. Love is essential for war, and war is essential for love. As seen through the Knight’s Tale, the love for Emily that Palamon and Arcite express causes a disagreement that leads to violence. Without the love they had for Emily, this war would never have occurred. In the end of the story, Palamon wins the hand of Emily only after battling Arcite and the gods pushing Arcite of his horse. This violence was necessary for Palamon to win his love. One has to remember that love and war are abstract, and therefore their meanings or purposes can be complementary.

Essential Question 5

For my perfect society, I tried to balance the necessities of a community that would function only with five people. The people I have chosen range from a primetime comedian to a Trinity Catholic student. With these five people, Dave Chappelle, Peter Petrelli, Dumbledore, the Virgin Mary, and Dave Jackson Maximillian Oreste, I believe society can not only maintain stability, but also prosper to new heights.

My first choice was Dave Chappelle. Every society needs a jest or a comedian, and Dave Chappelle fits that role perfectly. The thing that is special about his lude performances is that he does not single out a group of people to make fun off. Chappelle teases the whole spectrum of society, even himself. Chappelle allows his jokes to critique society in what it is doing incorrectly. Chappelle offers entertainment, but also direction for society to take. He can also play the role of a procreator.

My second choice was Peter Petrelli. Peter is hero with the special ability to absorb the powers of others. Though Peter may not have anyone to absorb powers from in this five-person society, Peter has already contracted many powers including, healing, generating electricity, super human speed and strength, flight, telepathy, invisibility, pyrokinesis, and space-time travel. With these abilities, Peter can be an enforcer, protector, energy and fuel producer, or a healer. Peter could also play the role of a procreator. With his tenacity to fight for whatever is right, society will definitely find success.

My third choice was Albus Dumbledore. The old headmaster of Hogwarts has all the qualifications to be a leader as one can see through the Harry Potter series, but it is often forgotten that he is a teacher. We have seen him nurture one of the best magicians of all time, Harry Potter. With Dumbledore’s leadership and teaching capabilities, society can be well educated and secure. With his magical powers, Dumbledore can also fit a plethora of other roles.

My fourth choice was the Virgin Mary. Not only does Mary provide for a religious symbol, but also a motherly figure. We can see numerous accounts in the Bible of how she cared for Jesus and worried about him just like any parent today. Mary was also clean from sin and would be a great role model for people to follow. Lastly Mary may have been a virgin, but she was young. Therefore, she would also fit the role of a procreator.

My last choice was Dave Oreste. Many may underestimate the value of Dave, but he actually does provide a crucial role in society. Dave plays a scapegoat. As society prospers, it will need someone to take the blame so that those playing more authoritative roles have time to fix their wrongs and keep their image clean. It sounds wrong, yet there are numerous amounts of scapegoats today. They help maintain stability in times of crisis. Society would never be stable without Dave.

All in all, my society fulfills the many roles necessary for a working community. There are good leaders, procreators, educators, guardians, and fuel producers. These are all necessities of a working society. Though my society has these roles fulfilled, it lacks a villain. Many may think a not having a villain would root out violence and evil, but villains play a role crucial to the fate of the people. Without a villain, leaders or whoever controls the public cannot have a hold on the people they rule. With a villain, members of society are forced to stay loyal to their own rulers. Besides this minor blemish, I believe my society would function successfully.

Essential Question 4

Where do we see seduction and lust start to destroy Gawain, our young hero? What is the author trying to tell us?

The episode with the Green Knight is the first example of Gawain's destruction. As we may assume, Gawain has broken the five knightly virtues, especially chastity. His lustful actions have led the Green Knight, who we can assume as being God or an angel of God, to come and make Gawain aware of his wrongs. The Green Knight challenges Gawain to the game, which he accepts. Having one who represents God come to change his ways shows that Gawain has done something to destroy the love God promotes. We also see when he arrives at Bertilak's castle how Gawain and the king's wife grew quite fond of each other than usual. The nonchalant attitude of Gawain makes some type of destruction or punishment imminent. The author is trying to tell us that we are to hold the virtues highly and respect God's values because he is watching, as we see through the Green Knight's arrival, or we shall face punishment.