4. Have you ever experienced a predicted dream? Has anyone ever suggested something about you future that has actually come true? Did their comments i

- People time to time say, I remember this scene from my dream or memory. People normally think that they dreamed such scene and be amazed by it. However, it is actually a mistake made by the brain that it makes us feel like we saw the scene before in our dream. SO I experienced numbers of de ja vus but never had a predicted dream. However, I can think of my mother’s experience. She told me that she had a dream of a beautiful snake in her dream and few months later, after that dream, she found out that she had a baby. That baby is my sister and incredibly, she was born on the year of snake (Chinese zodiac kind of thing, forgot the name). like this Koreans believe some dreams symbolize something and people suggest we buy a lottery when we dream about a pig, blood, and etc. the comments that people make greatly influence us because they have their explanations and experiences that proves that something real happened after they dreamed of a such thing. It is amazing sometimes because people do have incredible experiences about the dream however, I think they are superstitions.

3. Is there a personal incident in your life you wish could erase? Envision Lady Macbeth wringing her hands, unable to get the imaginary blood off of

- I cannot think of an incident in my life I would like to erase. Yes, I was scolded by my parents numerous times and it was not a fun incident. However, I do not want to erase those incidents since I learned from the mistakes. I think I do not have a horrible experience that I want to erase, yet. For Lady Macbeth, I think her response to the crime is plausible. She shows that she regrets her mistakes and wants to erase that incident from her mind. This makes us feel pity for her and can see the human side of Lady Macbeth. I think the flaws that character have makes us easier to relate to the characters. For me, if I found myself wrapped up in such a heinous crime, I would not know what to do. I think the incident destroyed Lady Macbeth in a different way than Macbeth because she didn’t actually commit the crime. The article that I read said that it is very hard to kill a person at the first time and has a detrimental effect on minds but once you kill the person and pass that point, killing become easier. This is what happened to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth got to see all this happening. That is why she became so guilty of her actions since she pulled that murderer from Macbeth.

2. What do you think about the character of Macbeth? Was he a good guy before he met the witches, or do his actions imply that he was always capable o

Macbeth was not a monster from the beginning. The witches and Lady Macbeth triggered Macbeth to become a horrible murderer and pulled out a monster inside him. However, the evil side of Macbeth was inside Macbeth. He always wanted to gain more power but never had a chance to show his intentions since killing the king seemed to be impossible and unsuccessful at the first time. Furthermore, Macbeth seems to be a strong character with hard mind. However, in reality, he is the most gullible and weak minded character in the play. As we can see in the play, he seeks for others’ opinion and help all the time. That is why he went to the witches and asked for help and that is why he became a murderer by being convinced by Lady Macbeth. Thus, we cannot say it is the witches that made him a monster but the evil character was always inside Macbeth. it is the witches and Lady Macbeth who pulled out the evil side of Macbeth but it is more of a Macbeth’s fault that he fell to the bottomless pit.

1. Do you feel sorry for Lady Macbeth? Why or why not?

- No. She deserves to be punished. She was the one who allured Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Macbeth was not a monster in the beginning but Lady Macbeth constantly pulled Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Series of bad events happened after the murder and all the horrible consequences might have avoided if Lady Macbeth did not make Macbeth kill the King. We can say Lady Macbeth was the one who created a monster by questioning his manliness. She made all the plans to kill the king and even returns the daggers after Macbeth kills the king, getting her hands dirty with the blood. This was the start of all the murders that happened after and Lady Macbeth holds great responsibility over this just like Macbeth. By looking at her actions and all the consequences that followed after the murder, I can hardly feel sorry for Lady Macbeth, however, I do feel sorry for her in some ways. Human beings are not perfect and we make mistakes every time because we are not God. God made us imperfect so that we can learn and develop, if He made us perfect we would be living in utopia like heaven. Thus, Lady Macbeth just made one terrible mistake and that mistake destroyed her life. She regrets her actions and this is evident in which she tries to wash off her hands when she is sleepwalking and says she cannot wash off the blood on her hands. This tells us that she is truly regretting her mistake and that she is responsible for all the deaths that followed after the murder of King Duncan. I feel sorry for Lady Macbeth because she regrets her mistakes but ends her life by herself because she wanted to end all things. The greed made her make stupid mistakes and led her to self destruction and this is why I feel sorry for her because she was just chasing after the common temptation that anyone has. Human beings try to have power and authority over others because it is embedded in our DNA. Sometimes if one is too greedy, the greed might destroy oneself like Lady Macbeth but she chose death to get rid of the pressures which is sad. Thus, I don’t feel sorry for Lady Macbeth because she is the one who made Macbeth to kill King Duncan but I feel sorry for her because she was just chasing after the common goal of human being to have power.

3

The poem “In the Secular Night” shows tragic flaw of humans. The theme of this poem is that rejecting the sacred and seeking fulfillment from the world, leads to dissatisfaction, loneliness and emptiness. This is a tragic flaw of human beings that people always chase after satisfaction and comfort. However, what do most of people get? Satisfaction? In my opinion, people who only pursuit happiness and chase after their own satisfaction often time end up destroying themselves. Also, this poem shows the human tendency to feel lonely. In Chinese character, human is 人. The shape of this letter represents two people leaning against each other. This shows that humans cannot live by themselves but live together with other people, helping each other and satisfying others which also satisfy themselves. This poem’s message is enhanced for me when I relate it to hamartia because I can clearly see the poet’s intention and message of the poem. Also, it is easier to relate to my own life if the poet’s message refers to a flaw of human beings because everyone has that flaw. In addition, I feel the connection with the characters in the poem because it is talking about the flaws that I have also.

2

Poems are of them times hard to understand and just like any other poems, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” was hard to understand. This poem is by Emily Dickinson who is one of the best poets in the world. This poem reveals Emily Dickinson’s calm acceptance of death where she describes death as a man who gently comes to accompany her. This is very interesting because normally people fear death. We can see that Emily Dickinson is saying death is not to be feared because it is a natural part of life. Also it is an endless cycle of nature; you will die someday for sure then why bother fearing death? This kind of also reflects the personality of Emily Dickinson. Because she was reclusive and introspective, maybe she didn’t care about living or dying. I think, because of her personality, she gave up easily on life and accepted death as a new journey to begin. Also, she might have gone through horrible times, such as her nephew’s death, that shaped her point of view in death. Personally, I agree with her point of view in death, seeing as a new journey. I always thought death was not the end of life but a new beginning. Also, death is a great adventure because no one knows what will happen when one dies. However, I do not want to die so soon because I am still young and did not lose many things like Dickinson did. Maybe I would accept death with calmness if I have nothing to lose, just like Dickinson did.

1

Margaret Atwood is similar to me. Her life is greatly affected by the profession of her father. Because her father studied entomology, Atwood spent most of her childhood in middle of nowhere in Quebec. I am similar to her because my father’s profession shaped my early childhood and my interest. Because my father is a professor who moved around a lot all over the world, I was exposed to many different cultures. Because of this, I learned new languages and had interest in international relations. However, I guess, new kinds of art that I was exposed affected more that I am now majoring in art. Also, she is kind of humorous which is similar to my personality. Furthermore, she is a feminist and I am a feminist since I believe that women should be respected in the society as same as men. Furthermore, poems that she wrote are very interesting and the most appealing poem is “In the secular Night”.

3. Is tragic flaw an issue in this novel? Choose one character and explore how their tragic flaw resulted in disaster.

Tragic flaw is a great issue in this novel. Patrick has a tragic fall that leads him to destruction and downfall. His flaw is that he has no lover that he can love forever. All the ladies that le loved and loving left him alone. His lover’s leaving him destroyed his mind that lead to downfall. When his lover left him, he was destroyed internally and grieved. He tries certain actions trying to get rid of the pain, but hardship continue and he never finds his true lover that he can devote his life. HE shows his destruction of mind in the novel where he becomes very violent. HE became so violent that he acts like a terrorist, where he bombs the tunnel when live men were near the bomb. This shows his tragic flaw made him violent and hopeless that he is showing his emotion through violent actions. This results in a disaster because other people can actually get hurt from his dangerous actions and also destroys himself internally and externally. Also the sense of loss is a tragic flaw of Patrick where he constantly loses someone important. First of all, he loses his father who didn’t really show love towards him and lovers who died and left him. Thus, theses tragic flaws result in all bad situations where Patrick is completely destroyed and detached from the society.

2. What character do you most identify with in this novel and why? Is pathos an element of your response to this character?

I do not match with any other characters but I think I most identify with the main character Patrick. Patrick is a fragile character where I am a fragile man sometimes. When I face hardships or disasters I tend to break internally and sometimes it shows on the external side of me. Patrick also portrays his brokenness by certain acts such as smoking or cleaning trying to heal the pain and forget the memories that he is feeling from the loss of his love Clara (the scene when Clara leaves). Furthermore, Patrick is lost, where he searches his identity throughout the novel and this is similar to me because I am not sure of my identity in the society. The society that I currently live in is a small society compared to adults. I am kind of afraid that I would be lost like Patrick when I face the reality, harsh society, because Patrick is hurt and lost in the society. In the novel Patrick shows that he is lost throughout the novel where his father dies and when his lovers leave him. I cannot identify fully with him since I am a different person who is not that old and do not have much of an experience of love. However, I can relate to myself with Patrick of the lost of identity and confusion that comes with it.

1. What passage did you find the most beautiful in this novel and why? Dig into setting here, and give us detail about why you have chosen your passag

The passage that I found the most beautiful in this novel is the sex scene. It is not because I have a lustful mind, but the sex scene where Alice and Clara have sexual intercourse is portrayed beautifully and effectively. The setting is on the dark where Patrick is sleeping and it is an unusual passage where two ladies have sexual intercourse. I thought it was the most beautiful passage because it is very new and thus gives a great impact on the reader. First, when I read this passage, I didn’t really know what two ladies were doing but by reading it again, I realized it was a sex scene. However, it didn’t portray sex as a lustful act but the most beautiful act that human beings can portray. The language that Ondaatje uses is very powerful and beautiful where he weaves his descriptive style. Ondaatje depicts the scene by using imageries and symbols such as moon and witches. However, moon is not present when two ladies have sexual intercourse and this symbolizes two ladies’ characteristics. The setting is important in this passage where two ladies make love in the darkness. This symbolizes that they don’t want to show their act to others. Also, they ask themselves if they are witches. This tells the reader that two ladies don’t want to be revealed because the society won’t accept their act. Also, this scene tells the reader that they are not satisfied with their lovers or men. Since women can understand women the best, they are trying to satisfy themselves from sharing love with the same gender. By using this sex scene, Ondaatje is trying to emphasize the theme which is identity and the impact of love and loss of life.

creation, fall, redemption

Ondaatje uses various symbols to symbolize the creation, fall, and redemption. First of all, for creation, he uses bridge, tunnel, and Caravaggio’s escape of prison. Theses represent creation because bridge connects one place and another and symbolically all people are connected by bridges. Tunnel symbolizes creation because there is a hope in the end of the tunnel where there is light and in the book, people makes connection while constructing the tunnel. The escape of prison symbolizes creation because Caravaggio makes a new life by escaping the prison.

For fall, Clara leaving, Alice dying, and terrorist scene (tunnel), and father dying symbolize fall. The death of his father, Alice, and Clara leaving break Patrick’s heart and he drowns in his self grief. Also, in the terrorist scene Patrick becomes very violent which symbolizes the fall.

For redemption, saving cow, Hannah, saving the nun, escaping scene, saving Alice while she is acting, and Alice’s death symbolizes the redemption.

Ondaatje effectively uses these symbols to enhance his message of the novel and it is very powerful!