The Glass Menagerie Scenes 1 and 2

Questions I Have So Far:

Why is Tom choosing to tell this story?
Why does Laura not have any gentleman callers/suitors?
How did Laura become crippled?
Why does Amanda want Laura to have a gentleman caller so badly?
Why does Amanda continue to reflect on the past?
How long ago did their father leave?
Does Amanda work, and if so, what does she do?
What is the D.A.R. society?
How does Tom tell the story of Amanda and Laura's encounter if he was not part of it originally?

Thoughts on the Play So Far:

I think that the stage directions in this play are actually really useful besides just staging since they provide insight into the story. This is different from the only other plays I have read by Shakespeare, which have minimal stage directions and rely more on the dialogue to tell the story. Tom seems to have the most poetic dialogue so far, with Amanda and Laura being a little more straightforward, which is most likely due to this being a memory play. I really enjoy Williams writing style so far, especially when Tom speaks and even in the stage directions as well. I am interested to see where the story goes, and I am interested to see what kind of impact the gentleman caller has on the family. 

The Nightmare of Romantic Idealism

"The Nightmare of Romantic Idealism" by Paul Cantor

In this article, the author argues that by ambiguously using myths and their characters the shape her own owns characters of Victor and the Creature, Mary Shelley has made Victor and his Creature "mirror images" of each other, and she creates a myth in which the ideals valued by Romanticism (pursuing greatness and knowledge) the downfall of her characters. The author begins by explaining how both Victor and the monster break the roles that they are supposed to play, since they both display some Satanic characteristics from Paradise Lost, and they both display some characteristics of Prometheus from his myth, which makes Victor and his monster doubles for each other. The author then discusses how Shelley's novel serves as a myth about Romanticism, and that the central conflict is centered around the flaws of humans in Romantic literature. Ambiguity is extremely important here because ambiguity in Shelley's characters also leads to moral ambiguity and a deeper, more complex conflict between the characters. Victor and the monster are not clear-cut or straight-forward characters by any means, which allows for the readers to decide for themselves who the true "hero" or "villain" in this novel are. This aids Shelley's commentary on Romanticism because instead of having her characters be a hero or villain, it is instead the broader spectrum of their pursuit of knowledge and their actions, which reflect Romanticism, that she was commenting on in Frankenstein.  

Frankenstein Final Chapters

1) What were your thoughts and reflections on this chapter and the death of Elizabeth?

Watching Victor sink into complete depression and despair in the final chapters was kind of upsetting, but watching him fret over his own death when it was obvious that his would not come was more than slightly frustrating. The reader has the advantage f hindsight since Victor is telling his story in the past tense to Robert Walton, so the reader knows that Victor will not die, but even then it is still quite obvious that Elizabeth will be the one to die since that would be similar to the crimes the Creature had committed previously. Although it may be slightly insensitive, I was not overly affected by Elizabeth's death since she was a fairly under-developed character who Victor worshiped for being beautiful, gentle, and pure, which was not enough for me to attach to her. The final chapters were 

2) In what ways might the Creature & Victor be considered “doubles” for each other?

The Creature and Victor were both obsessive, and once they set their minds toward certain goals, whether that be to create life or seek revenge, then they refuse to do anything except pursue these goals. At a certain point, this obsession that they both develop consumes their lives and is unhealthy, a negative aspect to both the Creature and Victor. Victor and the Creature also both refuse to take responsibility for their actions, pushing all of the blame onto others. For the Creature, he was isolated by people and I do see the effects of that, but I also believe that the Creature still made the choice to commit these evil acts, but he still blames the wrongs he committed on others. Victor also refuses to take take responsibility for his actions, like bringing his Creature to life, instead blaming things like fate or his father, for example. They both also long for female companionship and view it as the good in the world. The Creature views Agatha and then the potential female creature as possibly the answers to all of his problems, if they were to accept and love him. Victor also wants to protect Elizabeth, and views her as lovely and pure, something to be protected overall.

3) In the final chapters, Victor and the creature are involved in a mad contest of revenge. Record at least four statements made by each character that reveal his motives, feelings, or state of mind. Note the chapter number after each statement.

Victor:
"'Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness; but they confirm me in a determination of not creating you a companion in vice. Shall I, in cool blood, set loose upon the earth a demon whose delight is in death and wretchedness?'" (ch. 20, p.157)
"A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval." (ch. 21, p. 167) 
"They were my brethren, my fellow beings, and I felt attracted even to the most repulsive among them, as to creatures of an angelic nature and celestial mechanism. But I felt that I had no right to share their intercourse. I had unchained an enemy among them whose joy it was to shed their blood and to revel in their groans." (ch. 22, p. 175)
"As the memory of past misfortunes pressed upon me, I began to reflect on their cause - the monster whom I had created, the miserable demon whom I had sent abroad into the world for my destruction. I was possessed by a maddening rage when I thought of him" (ch. 23, p.189)

Creature:
"Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power, you believe youself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master; obey!" (ch. 20, p. 157) 
"'Shall each man,' cried he, 'find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I have feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn.'" (ch. 20, p. 158)
"A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife." (ch. 23, p. 187)
"Sometimes the peasants, scared by this horrid apparition, informed me of his path; sometimes he himself, who feared that if I lost all trace of him I should despair and die, left some mark to guide me." (ch. 24, p. 194)