Romeo and Juliet- Friar Lawrence Character Review

Friar Lawrence is wise and witty. When Romeo announced his love for Juliet, the Friar just about laughed in his face. He is amused because he says Romeo loves with his eyes. He laughs because Romeo's heart ached over Rosaline, but he now claims he has 'forgotten' her. When Romeo began talking about Juliet, the Friar reminded him that when he loved Rosaline, he did not actually love her, he just liked to obsess over her. This was amusing, witty, and wise, as it was a good thing for Romeo to remember while he asked his blessing for marriage of Juliet. 

When Romeo asked Friar Lawrence if he could marry Juliet, a Capulet, the Friar thought it was a good idea. He said that he hoped it would break the feud between families and turn it into love. This brings on the thought that the Friar is a man of peace. He does not like the feud between the families, unlike the Capulets, who seem to enjoy threatening to kill members of the Montague family. The Friar did also warn Romeo that this is compulsive and he should take it a bit slower to think about the choices he wants to make. This was wise, as Romeo does not know much about Juliet yet. They have not gotten to know each other as well as they think they have.

The friar is a good man, willing to help. I am starting to think that he may not be as wise as I thought since he gave Juliet a mixture that will make her look dead for 42 hours, but he is helping them a lot. I think it is because he really wants the feud that is going on between families to be over and he wants peace between them. When he handed Juliet the liquid that would make her look dead, I started to question his past. Where had he gotten this strange liquid? Why did he have it? What did he do to end up in prison, anyway?

Friar Lawrence began as another father figure for both Romeo and Juliet to turn to. He gave his thoughts on things they were thinking and how their lives were going at the time. In the end, he was a helpful man with a letter that never got sent by the person he trusted it with. After both Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, the Friar sat and cried. He wanted his plan to work and he thought that Romeo and Juliet would end up living happily together. Then his letter was never given to Romeo and he tried once again to help as fast as he could. The friar was hoping he would find Romeo before it was too late and fill him in on the plan but he did not get there quite fast enough. He was full of sorrow for the lost lives of Romeo and Juliet.

Romeo and Juliet- Act 1

Romeo is a caring and compassionate person. He grieves over the loss of love. The woman he loved was only mentioned once. I assume that Romeo is grieving over Rosaline and his love for her. He does not want to be over her and Benvolio is sad with him. Benvolio is an empathetic person. While Romeo is weeping over his loss, Benvolio wants to weep with him because he does not like to see Romeo so sad. I do not know a lot about Juliet yet, as she has not been in the play as much as Romeo. She seems to be a caring and curious person, as she talked politely with Romeo and was curious about who he was. I think they loved each other at first dance.
The Capulets seem like grudging people. As soon as they figured out that Romeo was at the dance, they were very upset and wanted to get him. The feud between the families seems very strong. This was inferred from the way the servant spoke to Romeo. He said Romeo should come to the party and would be warmly welcomed, as long as he was not a Montague. The servant did not know Romeo, so this was like inviting random strangers to the home as long as they were not one specific family. This does not seem right.

Shakespeare wrote this play using many analogies. Many of the characters talked using analogies. Romeo used many describing the woman he loved and her beauty. The nurse used them when answering questions. Some of the lines rhymed, but there was no specific rhyme scheme. Small pieces of the conversations rhymed, but this would happen randomly. Small pieces of the act rhymed, but not all of it.

This play is about a love that will never be real. The Capulets and the Montagues are feuding. They have something against each other. I think it is something that happened in the past; I have not found out what. The Capulets threw a party. It was a masquerade ball, and many people were invited. Of course, the Montagues were not since they do not like each other. Romeo snuck in to see the woman he loved, there he met Juliet. They danced together and Juliet began to love him. After he had to leave, she asked who he was and was told he was a Montague and a family enemy. Juliet was slightly distraught, as she had just found out that the man she loved was an enemy.

A Perfect Day For Bananafish

The characters in A Perfect Day For Banana fish did not have as much in common to those in The Catcher In The Rye than I thought they would.

Holden's mother and Muriel's mother did have a lot in common. They were worriers, and always needed to know if their children were all right. In A Perfect Day For Banana fish, Muriel's mother would not stop asking if she was OK no matter how many times Muriel assured her that she was fine. Holden's mother had good reason to worry more since the incident involving one of her children.

Both stories ended in unexpected ways. In CITR, Holden was depressed and unsure of himself during the whole book. He decided he was never going home. By the end of the story, he saw his sister and decided that he would go home. He was happy, watching his sister.
In A Perfect Day For Banana fish, Seymour seemed like a happy man. Maybe a little self conscious, but happy. He played with the little girl on the beach, and acted as if he already knew her. He held her gently in the water, and made sure she did not fall in. In the end, he took a bullet to his head. I did not see that coming at all. I had liked the story until the end. It was a very surprising ending.

Catcher In The Rye- Discussion

My impressions and predictions have been different than in the book regarding some of the chapters. Some of the things that Holden did surprised me. I thought he made a lot of bad decisions, such as drinking, getting kicked out of school, and staying alone in a hotel without talking to anyone about it first. Personally, I think Holden is too young to go into bars and stay in hotels. I noticed that he made a lot of bad decisions, but some of them surprised me. I did not think he would do some of the things he did, such as asking grown women to go out for a drink with him.

Holden's definition of phony is hypocritical. He is annoyed with the crying woman sitting next to him in the movie because she is crying as if she is sympathizing with the characters, when really Holden say she is not kind at all. She yells at her child throughout the movie because the poor kid is bored and has to use the bathroom. Sometimes, someone will tell me that they just read a book and it was terrible. Then they tell me to read it. This fits Holden's definition of phony because the person has just said it is terrible, then they say go read it. It is hypocritical.

Holden sees to be insecure and depressed. He swears frequently; using bad language can be a sign of self insecurity. He is an underage drinker and he smokes. These actions suggest he is depressed. Holden also says he is depressed a lot. He thinks about his sister and girls and mopes around. I also think that Holden does not believe in himself. I do not think he has a lot of hope. He has been kicked out of school, so he gets a room in a hotel in the city and goes to bars every night. He has been kicked out of other schools before that one; I think he has lost faith in himself to do the right thing and make it through school.

The situation in chapter thirteen symbolizes sympathy. When Holden hung up Sunny's dress, he felt a pang of sadness. He felt bad for her because she told him that she worked all night long every night and slept all day or watched movies. He felt bad because she did not have much of a life. Holden empathized over her situation. He noticed that her manners were not the best, and knew that she did not know any better.

The Catcher In The Rye- Response 1-12

I think to be unique is to be different from everyone else. It is being one's own individual self. If something is unique, it is not like anything else. People can also have unique opinions about different things. Being unique is being different than everyone else, like snowflakes. Every single snowflake is unique, because not one is like any other. This is also how people are. Each person has their own personality. Some people have similar qualities of each other, but they are still unique in countless other ways.

Individuality is kept in an adult world by choosing to do things differently. By the time a person is an adult, they have the freedom and privileges to make their own decisions. Adults keep their individuality and unique qualities by making different decisions and thinking differently about things. Parents might choose differently about how they raise their children. Grown ups might choose differently what occupation they want to interview for.

Allie's character is similar to the character of a person I care about because he was kind. He never got mad at people. Holden also said Allie was hard to get mad at. I think that it is very hard to get mad at some of my best friends, because they are nice, forgiving, and fun, just like Allie. I like my best friends because they have qualities like Allie. He was a unique person with a great personality, and that is why I like my best friends. If Allie was a real person and alive, I think he would be a friend of mine.

If I had been kicked out of school, I would call my parents and tell them right away. I would tell them that I got kicked out of school, and that I was sorry. Then, I would go home. I would close myself in my room and read my favorite books until I felt better, because it always helps. I would do this because if I would ever get kicked out of school, I would feel miserable.
I would go home because all of the people I love are there. They would make me feel better, and I would be more comfortable. I think that home is the coziest place to be.

Jane is a good person. She is kind and intelligent, and she is a good friend. Jane is good at playing checkers, and she plays the game with Holden. Jane is probably the best friend that Holden has. She is caring and polite, and she thinks about others. She and Holden spend time together, and she means a lot to Holden. He thought about her a lot while he was going away from the school. Holden missed her, and she seemed almost like a sister to him.

I do not think it is true that people are always ruining things. This might be true for Holden, but he seems like a pessimistic person. Being an optimistic person most of the time, I do not think that people always ruin things all of the time. One time that someone did ruin something for me was when I was relaxing at home. I was reading a book, and it was bliss. My mom came into the room, and reminded me that I still had things left to do on my priority list. My blissful moment was ruined.

A Good Man is Hard to Find- Discussion

   I think I saw the roles of chance and fate when the family was eating dinner and the grandmother was talking to Red Sam. The stories he told were what made me notice that. I think the way The Misfit was is chance. He did not have to be like that, he could of grown up to be a kind, forgiving man. There was the chance that he would not become a good man, and that slight chance happened. I think it was fate when the family's car tipped over and the grandmother got to talk to The Misfit. It was fate when she talked to him, and told him what a good man he was. I do not think it changed him, though. If it did, I certainly could not tell. Maybe it changed him on the inside, and it would make him change someday.

   I think the grandmother's definition of a good man is someone who can change. It could also be someone who came from a good family and was good to begin with, even if they are not anymore. She also thinks a good man is someone who prays, and gets forgiven by God. In the story, the grandmother tells The Misfit over and over that he is a good man. I guess that I never thought of someone like that to be a good man, but the grandmother does. She also tells The Misfit that he needs to pray. She says that if he prays, he will get help; he does not want to. She still calls him a good man.
   By reading this story, I have realized that in life I try to view everyone as good people. I try to see the good in them. I have realized that I do not do this as much as I thought I tried to. I do not think that I could ever call a person who has broken out of jail and is running with two men and two guns a good man. I would not be able to see the good in them.
   I do agree when the grandmother says that there is good in everyone, and that she is trying very hard to see the good in The Misfit. I also agree when she says that if he prays, he could do better. I think that even if he does not believe in prayer, repenting and being sorry for the bad things he has done would be good for him.

   I wonder if the grandmother knew that The Misfit was going to shoot them all. When I came to that part, I noticed that it seemed like the grandmother knew he would, and was trying to convince him that he was a good man, and had no place going around and shooting people.
   I also wonder why the grandmother said he was one of her own children. I wonder if she meant that he was as good as one of her own children, or that he literally was.


   In the blogpost we read about Flannery O'Connor, I noticed something that I had never thought about before. The author of this blogpost got an opinion from another person about A Good Man is Hard to Find. The person said that grace was a part of the story, and that many of O'Connor's stories have grace in them. I stopped and thought about it, and realized that it is very much true. When the grandmother in the story just stopped and talked to the Misfit, telling him he was a good man and that things could get better and he could be forgiven, that was all grace. Having grace is what helped her to, in a way, forgive the Misfit.

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail- Act 2

It is very ironic that Henry says he feels more free inside the jail cell than outside, even though people are locked inside a jail cell to be stripped of their freedom. I think that Henry feels more free inside, because he is not being told to pay his taxes, and he is not in the middle of the war.
I also think that is was somewhat ironic that Henry was encouraging people not to pay taxes, and then his own family member was the one who payed Henry's taxes to get him out.

I think that the most important characters in this play are Henry, John, and Bailey. The reason that Henry is the most important character is self explanatory. His name is in the title of the book, and the book was written about him. John is important because he is Henry's brother and very good friend, and they teach their class (where the teaching is based on Transcendentalism) together. Bailey is also an important character, because Henry talks to him and teaches him in the jail cell.
I would cast Johnny Depp as Henry Thoreau, because while I was reading The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, I thought that some of the things Henry said and the way I imagined him saying them reminded me of the character Depp took on in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I think he could play the part well.
I would cast Sam Claflin (from Catching Fire) as John, because I think Claflin would play the part nicely. I think that he would be good at portraying John, who is similar to his brother Henry.
I think I would want Woody Harrelson to play Bailey, because I think that he could play the sad, jailed man nicely. Bailey reminded me of the way Haymitch was portrayed in The Hunger Games.

I think that at first, Henry's protest was not successful. His aunt payed his taxes and made it so that he could leave the jail. He was very upset about this, because his whole point of the protest was to let people know that his taxes were not going to be payed.
But at the very end, things changed, and Henry walked out. Not because he was informed he was free, but because he chose to leave.