Literature Analysis #2

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

1) The Road is the story of a man and his son in search of a refuge in a post-apocalyptic world. Throughout their pursuit to a new beginning, they encounter numerous setbacks. The father's top priority is to keep his son alive and healthy. He will do absolutely anything for his son, and his son feels protected and cared for. At such an early age, it is important for his son to feel safe because it will keep him mentally sane and functional. Furthermore, scavengers would constantly pose a threat to the father and son. As the journey goes on, the father slowly starts to suffer from his poor health. Near the end of the story, the father dies from disease and the son is offered to join another colony. The son accepts, and the story ends with the son venturing away with his new found family.

2) The theme of the story is how the power of hope can affect the way we live. If the father had not hoped for a refuge on the coast, he would not have struggled to get his family there. The father would have eventually died from his disease wherever he was, and the son would have been alone. The son would have never been picked up by the colony in the end, and he may have died, as well. Hope is a feeling we get that drives us to work for what we want. Without it, nothing would happen, and no progress in society would be made.

3) The tone of the story is depressed. Nothing seems to work right for the father and son. They are constantly struggling to survive and only hoping that the rumors they heard of the coast were true. The author accomplishes a sympathetic mood for the audience with his depressed tone. For example:

• "I told the boy when your dream about bad things happening, it means you're still fighting and you're still alive. It's when you start to dream about good things that you should start to worry." 
• "How many people do you think are still alive?" "In the world? Not very many."
• "Do you ever wish you would die?" "No. It's foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these."

4) McCarthy's use of syntax, imagery, and setting aided him in expressing his theme of the power of hope.

• Syntax: 

          "You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget."

• Setting:

          The setting is in a desolate wasteland where there is no happiness to be found. Sorrow lurks in nearly everyone's lives.

•  Imagery:

          "Then they set out along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the others' world entire."

Tools That Change the Way We Think

The internet is one of my main sources of education and entertainment. This alone tells you that who I am today is heavily influenced by what I read and see on tbe internet. (Cracked and youtube) I wasn't always someone who would research numerous topics to gain knowledge purely for my self-being, but internet access made this possible. I now find myself analyzing things in everyday life more than necessary because I developed this state of mind. For example, simple things like how people present themselves or speak will spark countless thoughts. I believe the internet has benefitted not only my education, but who I am, as well.

In Search Of

After watching the video, I was surprised about what the internet is really capable of. I may have known about the algorithms behind the filter bubble, but I never knew how complex it was. The fact that there are 57 different factors that play into what I see when I simply search something on a search engine (i.e. Google) is remarkable, and frightening. Furthermore, now that I know that literally every link I click, every website I search, and every document I email is contributing to the development of my filter bubble, I will be more weary of the filter bubble. A question I frequently asked myself was, "Does this mean that people have been plagiarizing some of my work and ideas that I share with people (via Email or Facebook) over the internet?" If Google and Facebook have access to my information, then surely others do, as well. I believe I can begin improving the effectiveness of my searches by being more specific to the point where I will get valuable results regardless of my interests and habits. I believe that the filter bubble is only effective to a certain point. If people learn to bypass the system, it may become of less concern for those of us that are on the internet frequently.


When searching what Shakespeare's life was like, I opened Google, and typed in "Who was Shakespeare and how did he write his plays?" Earlier I simply typed, "Who was Shakespeare?" After refining my search, I was surprised to see no related websites even though I only added several more words onto the search. With the new search, I found a website <http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/biography/shakespeare_biography.htm> and I learned more about Shakespeare than I did before. For example, I learned that his education supposedly took place at the King's New Grammar School in Stratford which taught basic reading and writing. However, there is a lack of evidence of any college education, and this leaves a mystery behind how Shakespeare was able to write as fluently and effectively as he did. 

Notes on Hamlet

At first, I thought the play was going to be boring (Excuse my diction), difficult to interpret, and utterly pointless to analyze and discuss. I never enjoyed Shakespeare, nor did I understand his works. However, after reading thus far into Hamlet, my opinion has changed. I still struggle in interpreting Shakespeare's text, but it is definitely less strenuous than it once was. I believe by analyzing and discussing his work now, I am strengthening my reading comprehension skills and improving as an "English" student. Furthermore, the play is full of suspense and it always keeps the audience guessing what Hamlet will do next. Personally, I think Hamlet is preparing for his move on Claudius to finally kill him and avenge his father. I believe it will be a torturous death and the ending will be gruesome. Hamlet can't simply kill the king, he has to rigorously murder him.

Who was Shakespeare?

Shakespeare, or the "Master" of English Literature, was an actor and playwright. Shakespeare lived in London and wrote numerous plays. However, these plays were not always published, some were written down as tracts, instead. Many of his plays were performed in the Globe Theater in London. We don't know how Shakespeare attained his knowledge of royalty because he was simply a middle-class man. It's odd for Shakespeare to know the upper-class system in depth, and many people believe he cannot be the true author of his work because it seems impossible for one to accumulate this knowledge under his circumstances. Students, like myself, are intimidated by Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare is strenuous and difficult to expound. After practicing with his works, however, I find myself being familiar with his writing style, and it doesn't take me nearly as long to comprehend his work. I am better at reading the text and interpreting the words, but I still struggle with finding the deeper meaning within his text. It takes a literary genius in order to fully understand what he truly meant by his words.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

Facebook is a spectacular invention that enables people around the world to communicate efficiently. This invention also enables unfamiliar people to learn anything, and everything, about oneself without he/she knowing it. Facebook is simply just a tool, or scalpel (In reference to Dr. Preston's analogy discussed in class), that can benefit and harm society. Facebook shouldn't be praised or blamed when, in reality, the people using it are responsible for its actions.

(Don't) Be Hamlet

Alex McKinney

10-10-11

Period 6

Hamlet Soliloquy Essay

            Hamlet has felt emotions many people will never feel or understand. Certain situations and emotions in life cannot be comprehended unless they are experienced firsthand. Hamlet’s dilemma is a perfect example of one of these situations. Both decisions cannot be considered more correct than the other, but I do believe that death is the most logical pathway under Hamlet’s circumstances.

            Hamlet is an uncontrollable and emotional wreck. He slowly breaks down as he thinks about everything occurring around him. His father was killed by Claudius, the love of his life, Ophelia, is skeptical in her approach toward him and, worse of all, nobody accepts Hamlet’s mourning. For example, shortly after the death of his father, the queen states, “Good Hamlet, cast thy knighted color off, and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not for ever with thy vailèd lids seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know’st ‘tis common. All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity.” With absolutely no support, it is difficult, if not impossible, to overcome the feelings that Hamlet is experiencing.

            Hamlet doesn’t just feel depressed; he has conjured an incomprehensible animosity towards Claudius. Hamlet’s father died at the hands of Claudius, and Hamlet loses control of his rationality. In response to Guildenstern, Hamlet answers, “I have of late – but wherefore I know not – lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed, it goes heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame the earth seems to me a sterile promontory…”Hamlet is slowly going insane. It is as if Hamlet’s soul was destroyed when he lost his father, and he is being replaced by an entirely new soul with different ideals. In this perspective, Hamlet has already died, and it is impossible for him to be resurrected.

            After analyzing Hamlet’s dilemma, the logical decision is clear to me. Hamlet needs to kill himself in order to free himself of his troubles. Even if Hamlet were to take revenge on his uncle, Claudius, nothing would be resolved. Hamlet died with his father, but he is trapped as a soul inside a body in which he has lost control over. The confused, corrupt Hamlet has emerged from the depths of his depression and anger to take control. In Hamlet’s last plea before losing all rationality, he states, “To die, to sleep – no more – and by a sleep to say we end the heartache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.” The only way for Hamlet to escape his pain and suffering is through death.