“Nothing is more painful to the human mind, than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows, and deprives the soul both of hope and fear. Justine died, she rested; and I was alive. The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart, which nothing could remove.” page 75

This passage shows that is fearful of what he has created and regrets working so diligently to create the monster. At this point in the book he believes that the monster that he spent so much time to create killed his younger brother. Even worse than that, since the monster is not known by the world he cannot blame it, and the innocent house maid and family friend Justine is convicted and killed for the crime. He has seen the devastation that the twin deaths have caused and most of the family except for his cousin Elizabeth has accepted that Justine is the killer, which adds more guilt and despair to Victor. At this point he is wondering what his family would do if he, Victor the man the family “centers all their hopes in”, was the true murderer of William and Justine. He doesn’t even blame the monster anymore, he secretly takes full responsibilites for the act. Adding to this despair is the fact that up to this point he believed that he was rid of the monster, after coming back and not seeing it in his chambers. It seems as if his mind is faultering, and he is starting to go a bit crazy after all of the events and he is beginning to believe that he himself is the monster. He says things like “I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer” which show that although seperated physically he believes that he and the monster are the same.

“Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”

I believe we have all done things for a crush that we would not normally do. Unfortuantly unlike the narrator we don’t realize that we could be doing something better with our lives. Instead of telling his friend’s sister that he is in love with her he decides to buy her something instead. The fact that the lady at the stand where he went to look for a gift was not encouraging was proof that him buying something for her was not going to help his situation at all. He realizes this and turns to leave, angry at himself for almost going through with his plan. Most of the story was pretty straightforward, most was just him talking about his crush and how he has never talked to her. One thing that did stand out that I’ve read over and over trying to find out what it means is the conversation between the two men and the saleswoman at the market.

“O, I never said such a thing!”

“O, but you did!”

“O, but I didn’t!”

“Didn’t she say that?”

“Yes. I heard her.”

“O, there’s a… fib!”

I don’t understand what importance that is to the story, it just seems so out of place and I have a feeling that there probably is some subtle meaning in the conversation but I just can’t see it. I believe that the boy was not only angry at himself, but also at his uncle for forgetting his plans and arriving home late, so that by the time he could get to the market most of the place was already closed. He also didn’t seem to have enough money to buy something that he thought his crush might like. It seems that the odds were against him and that fate did not want him to be able to buy something nice. He doesn’t get enough money, he arrives late, the only stand open does not have anything that he thinks she would like and his aunt thinks he should put off his trip because it is the night of Our Lord. Luckily he realizes that she is not worth his time or money and he can move on with his life afterward, or at least until he finds another girl.

“Mother, Father Connolly’s here.”

“I went to Holy Communion only last week. Tell him I’m not so sinful as all that.”

“Father just wants to speak to you.”

This is only one part of the story that I find incredibly depressing. It becomes increasingly obvious to everyone else except her that she is dying. She doesn’t even realize she is until two paragraphs from the end of the story. Her mind is racing, and she is thinking about her husband and Hapsy. She thinks that the priest is there for reconciliation, when he’s really there to give her her last rites. She has lost track of time, she believes the doctor was just there even though its been half a day since his last visit. And once she realizes that she i about to die her mind starts rambling, thinking of what each of the children need and things that she hasn’t taken care of, like the six bottles of wine for Sister Borgia.She spends sometime looking back on her life, and it seems that her husband died at a young age, she says that if he saw her now he wouldn’t recognize her and that he would look younger than her children. She also says that the work that she had to do after his death changes a woman, and refers to fencing property by herself.

The one thing I don’t understand is who exactly Hapsy is and if there was another man. She mentioned something about getting everything that was taken away from her but one thing, and it seemed like she was talking to a man. She also said she had to get rid of the letters from two men, because she didn’t want her children to see how “silly she had once been” I didn’t understand if Hapsy was one of her children or something else. She was at one point holding a child but then says that she was Hapsy herself and that the baby was Hapsy and himself and herself all at once.

I can’t bring myself to like this story at all. I hate the man and the girl, and the conversation angers me for some reason. I hope that I am never in a situation like this because I would not know how to react if I did not truly love the girl. If I did not love her I probably would keep telling her that I wouldn’t want her to do anything she doesn’t want to do while passively trying to get her to go through with the operation. I think this is why I’m angered by this story. She’s also talking about it like she really doesn’t care, she is drinking a lot, she comments on the beads and the hills, she constantly tries to change the subject and stop the man from talking about it.

She is right by saying that the world cannot be there’s anymore, they are in an impossible situation and she knows it. “And we could have all this. . .And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.” If they keep the baby then there is a third wheel, they can’t do most of the things they could have done alone. They wouldn’t be able to travel or act spontaneously. If they have the abortion then that thought is in the back of their minds constantly, and it would change their lives. In both situations there is the possibility of the man leaving, while further complicates things. This situation could also happen to anyone, which makes it all the more real.

The man seems fake in most of the things he says. Him telling her that he cares about her, that they could have everything and the world is there’s or that he doesn’t want her to do anything she doesn’t want to all seem forced. He clearly wants her to have the abortion and is manipulating her devotion to him and he need for attention. He doesn’t listen to her when she repeatedly asks him to stop talking about the abortion and change the subject. I also think that the relationship is so shallow that there is nothing else to talk about, which is why they drink and look at things.

“I myself have experienced neither capital punishment nor life-imprisonment, but if one may judge a priori, then in my opinion capital punishment is more moral and more humane than imprisonment. Execution kills instantly, life-imprisonment kills by degrees. Who is the more humane executioner, one who kills you in a few seconds or one who draws the life out of you incessantly, for years?” The Bet

Since this question is the basis of the entire short story and the theme that kicks the whole thing off I decided to write about this for my journal. This debate took place at the old banker’s party, and he himself said it was filled with many intellectual people. This debate is great to have between intellectual people because it’s not going to be one sided and the arguments for both will be very intense. The young lawyer was so passionate about this topic that he agreed to be imprisoned for 15 years to prove a point. Personally I believe capital punishment is the more moral and overall better choice for the world. I say this because the methods they use now are not barbaric, its just a little shot and the prisoner feels almost no pain at all. When the electric chair was used then the humane supporters might have had an argument because that was one of the most barbaric things you could do next to skinning someone. I say it is a better overall choice for the world because it is more economic and a lot safer. Taxpayers do not need to pay to feed and house the prisoners and most of the “rehabilitated” people who are let out return to jail very frequently so its obviously that imprisonment isn’t working.

“And a young prince must be prudent like that,
giving freely while his father lives
so that afterwards in age when fighting starts
steadfast companions will stand by him
and hold the line. Behaviour that’s admired
is the path to power among people everywhere.” Beowulf

The king is always throwing money and other riches to his people, this is so they don’t go off to another king who prmises greater riches, this allows the king to actually have a kingdom and rule over something. Beowulf gave the Danes one of the greatest riches he could, he defeated Grendel, who was troubling them for many years. They no longer have to fear the great beast and in turn provide him with riches and loyalty. Beowulf is a great warrior, a hero, and the Danes see that and admire him. He defeats all of the monsters who threaten them, he comes to the rescue when Grendel arrives and goes after Grendel’s mother when she comes to terrorize the kingdom as well. In return Hrothgar then gives the kingdom to Beowulf who leads a very vast kingdom, he defeats many other kingdoms. Both the Danes and the Geats are loyal to him, he rules the Geats for years after their king Hygelac is killed in battle. There was only one time when almost all of Beowulf’s men abandon him in battle, and that’s when the dragon threatens to kill everyone. This show’s the ferocity of the dragon, and also that Beowulf really is a hero when he defeats the dragon by himself.

“Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry.” The Great Gatsby

This has been true forever, even for the people coming to America. When people came to America in the beginning they believed it would be the land of opportunity, they believed that the roads are paved in gold and America was their saving grace. This is still the thought of some foreigners. The truth is that once those immigrants arrived in America they lived in horrible conditions in cities and never really made too much money. They worked in factories and helped fight our wars but never became wealthy. To this day we refuse to call ourselves peasants, instead we use the term “Middle class”. Most of us will never in our lives break out of the middle class, which is reminiscent of peasantry. Serfs and peasants were usually never able to become wealthy, they were born poor and died poor. We are all serfs, we work for the incredibly rich and continue to make them richer while we make as little as they have to pay us and continue to struggle. We, the middle class, are still obstinate about being peasantry because we still try to hold our heads up and say “Well, at least we arent in the lower class. At least we can still live somewhat comfortably, we aren’t on welfare and we can pay most of our bills on time.”

“There is nothing alive more agonized than man
of all that breathe and crawl across the earth.” – The Iliad

Man has something that animals do not, or at least appear to not have. This is the ability to rise above primal instincts and to think, analyze, feel emotions and use our minds at a more advanced level than other living creatures. This is great because we are at the top of the food chain, we preside over all other animals because we can out think them. This is also horrible because we for the most part are tormented by our minds, we create drama and problems that shouldn’t even exist. Other animals do not care about “human” things like the death of a family member, or how one looks, all they care about is surviving, eating and reproducing. Our minds are sometimes a burden, this is why we have different mental illnesses like bipolar and DID. Althoguh when Homer said this I believe he was talking more our interaction with God, or Gods. We agonize ourselves by trying to please the higher beings, to try to perfect ourselves in this life so we will be granted an amazing afterlife. Because of this Gods, or the idea of Gods have complete command over our lives. We use our consciousness, the same thing that gives us power over all living things, to make decisions based on someone’s judgement. This someone may not be real, but that doesnt matter. As long as there is the smallest belief that there may be something real we will continue to be more agonized than all other creatures on this planet.

“He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.” The Great Gatsby

I think this smile that Gatsby has seemed to perfect is part of his mask, which towards the end of the story proves to be true. The smile makes you think of yourself, it draws the attention away from him and onto you, it makes you feel understood and believed in, which is exactly what Gatsby wants. He doesn’t seem to be the kind of man who wants all of the attention drawn to him, sure he throws lavish parties and his name is synonymous with corruption and the parties he throws, but you dont see him mingling with the crowd or making a fool of himself. He keeps an aura of mystery around him, and this is perpetuated by the rumours of how he obtained his wealth that are being spread by the people who attend his parties. This is the perfect smile for somebody who doesnt want the attention of people. This mask is to keep people from knowing the real him, the one that wants to win back Daisy. This side of Gatsby is completely different from the only who he protrays himself to be to the public.

“One minute was enough, Tyler said, a person had to work hard for it, but a minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.” ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 3

I love this quote because nothing is ever perfect. Most things can look perfect from farther away, like a landscape or a beautiful woman, but like Tyler said, that perfection can only last a moment. After a moment of taking in something you begin to notice the flaws that everyone and everything is bound to have. Maybe its the dead and decaying animal in the landscape or the blatant attempt to photoshop or use make up to cover the flaws in the woman but there is always something to remind you of the flaw. Whenever I notice something like this I feel a little heartbroken and sickened because my illusion of what I believed to be perfect has been taken by the legs and smashed against something hard until it lays in shattered pieces all over the floor. (Figurativily may I add, I’ve never seen anything with legs picked up and beaten.) That one moment of perfection can be one of the happiest times of our lives thoguh, the feeling that everything is perfect is what we all try to strive for. It’s a feeling I love, and I normally only feel it when I realize that I have nothing that I have to do, no dealines left, no work or school later in the day, and I can just relax. The anticipation that build during the wait for times like these or the act of doing something that you know will turn out perfect only work to elevate the feeling.