Hi Everyone:
As preparation for next week, write
down your thoughts about how your book frames concepts like "corruption"
and "evil" as they affect our culture. How are these concepts defined
in the book (if at all), and how does the book explore our response to
these concepts? How does the story compare or contrast with the story
of Macbeth in how it handles evil and corruption?
The book I read was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. First of all, I must say this book was outstanding. There were many situations in this novel that portrayed corruption and evil. The main character, Guy Montag, is stuck at an impasse between his opinion of what's right and wrong. He lives in a futuristic society that seems very corrupt in comparison to our modern day one. The fireman's responsibility is to burn houses containing books, not put out fires. The public knows little information and the government don’t allow them too! This is a great example of corruption. Books are thought to be evil and unnecessary, as we now have televisions and other forms to learn the information in a much faster way. The government is a perfect example of corruption from my perspective as we never learn why things really are the way they are. The evil portrayed in the book is that books are thought to be useless and are a form of danger! All they contain is knowledge, yet people who possess them are arrested or killed. This form of government reminds me of communism as the governments primary goal is equality and anyone who reads books in this story, is believed to think they are above the rest of society which is why they must be punished. The evil of this book relates to Macbeth in many ways. Both books are based in a society unlike our modern one. These are essential because we can notice the corruption in comparison. Corruption is the main concept I believe in both books as the leaders are not in the best interest of their people, nor do they really care for them. These are the effects evil and corruptions mainly have in the story Fahrenheit 451.
ReplyDeleteMy book is "The Scarlet Letter." In the book Esther is made to wear a big, red A sewn onto all of her clothes for committing adultery. Esther is considered corrupt for her sin, and has to wear her sin upon her bosom. Instead of wearing it with shame, she wears it with pride, because she knows that the man she committed the sin with is also in the wrong. He is evil for not admitting it, and leaving Esther to take care of their child on her own.
ReplyDeleteFahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury explores the idea of evil and corruption differently than it is often seen in literature. The society in which these people live in views ignorance as bliss. The evil and corruption found in this book is not directly seen until the major character begins to stray from the convention of his time. This book shows how evil can be found not only in actions, but through what people are taught to do. The evil and corruption seen around these people are only noticeable to a select few who dears to question the ideals they are taught to follow. Corruption is seen in this book when the main character begins to stray. Those around him are adamantly following what they know. Their incessant devotion to convention leads them to become corrupt and eventually evil. Fahrenheit 451 explores evil as an idea not as a particular thing. What is perceived as evil to only a select few are ideas that others have come to fully accept. Macbeth explores evil as something that grows gradually, while Fahrenheit 451 shows evil as something that is seen only if ideals are questioned or challenged. In both cases the evil seen are things that a few come to deeply hate. The way each book explores the idea of evil may differ. However, in each book this evil is feared and some may attempt to rid themselves of this evil that is either ingrained or develops eventually.
ReplyDeleteIn “The Scarlet Letter”, by Nathanial Hawthorne, corruption and evil was portrayed in a different kind of matter. The main character, Hester Prynne, was ultimately the symbol of corruption and evil, as she had committed adultery. Though her “evil” doing was not presented in a direct manner, it was, in fact, presented in an indirect way. In order for Hester to pay for her crime, she had to wear a large letter “A” on her chest each and every day, so that when she walks past anyone, they will immediately know about her wrong- doings. The letter “A” itself was the epitome of evil since it not only labeled Hester as a wrong-doer, but it also stirred more corruption and conflict whenever someone saw it on her chest. However, Hester did not fear anyone and did not walk down with shame in the public. She instead walked with grace and pride and the public praised her for it. This completely contradicts with what the society now would do it someone was labeled as an adulterer. As committing a sin and then repaying it with a punishment, Hester did it with not even showing a sign of tension or stress upon her face, while as in our society, guilt and pressure clearly reveal our misdeeds. This novel, in dealing with corruption and evil, is quite different than in Macbeth. For instance, in this novel Hester does not become anxious and worry-some as Macbeth does. Macbeth become scared and greedy and his overall personality changed when evil had overcome him. Hester, on the other hand, remained the same throughout the novel and she knew how to deal with the situations. Though both Hester and Macbeth portrayed evil and corruption within the novels, they both had different aspects of overcoming their problems and they each faced the results of their evil in a different way. “The Scarlet Letter” does a good job explaining evil and corruption and shows that if handled with ease and calmness, the results of one’s evil can be controlled.
ReplyDeleteIn my free read book, Slaughterhouse Five, mass destruction resulted in horrific pains of the past and throughout the characters' negatively altered lives. The novel takes place during the life of Billy Pilgrim, especially the time period of World War II. Pilgrim is a scrawny, bean-pole shaped man, who ends up being property of United States Army during World War II. With a weak body and pacifistic attitude, Pilgrim is never welcomed into war. Throughout his pitiful military career, he experiences tragic times and sees terrifying scenes. During these times, Pilgrim is too overwhelmed to allow his mind to reveal to him the atrocities he is living in. Unfortunately, after the war, Pilgrim is haunted by the mass destruction and death caused by human evilness that he lived through. At a time in Pilgrim's life, he is abducted by space creatures from the planet of Tralfamadoria. These creatures reveal to him that time and moments in life will be relived again and again without ever changing. This knowledge also allows one to be living in multiple times of one's same life. Once Pilgrim learns this information, he knows it, knew it, and will always know it. Now, Pilgrim lives his life and all the horrific details in randomly glimpse; skipping from age to age. Living in a strange understanding, Pilgrim realizes that all the deaths of war mean nothing because one will relive life indefinitely. This understanding of life is very different to Macbeth's, in which by rising to power as fast as possible, he gained more time as king. Also, Pilgrim is able to escape from the deaths and destruction by knowing that these would be and are restored in another time realm. But for Lady Macbeth, she cannot escape from her murderous acts, which ultimately guilt her to death.
ReplyDeleteThe Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is filled with concepts of corruption and evil. One example of evil that I noticed through out the book was a character's fear of happiness. At one point Antoinette expresses that happiness makes her uncomfortable and fearful. How evil and corrupt has the world become when happiness is an unusual and frightening thought? Antoinette's response to this fear, in combination with other things, leads her to loose her mind. Other characters in the book seem to be filled with prejudice and perhaps jealousy towards the Cosways. This jealousy and prejudice results in the burning down of the Cosway house which forces them to flee the island. These emotions caused people to respond in a violent way, which shows how evil jealousy and prejudice can be. Other examples of corruption in the book can be seen in the concepts of forcing yourself to love and stranger and being bewitched by beautiful people. The Wide Sargasso Sea also explores the idea of love and the dangerous side to it. I noticed that the story compares to Macbeth through using some of the same motifs such as loose fitting clothing and jewels. Both stories also result in a transformation of the main character because of the concepts of evil. As Macbeth is changed by greed and an obsession for power, Antoinette is changed by desire and hatred. The stories explore similar ideas of characters going insane and the things that lead them to their own tragic ending.
ReplyDeleteThe book I chose, “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald contains numerous examples of corruption and greed. The twenties was a time of huge corruption, greed, and organized crime began its influence on society during this time. This book illustrates the corruption of the American Dream. Since America came to be, the American Dream has been mostly to work hard for the opportunity to prosper. During the twenties, the American Dream was taken over by corruption and greed. One example from “The Great Gatsby”, of the corruption of the American Dream, is Mr. Gatsby’s, rise from nothing to complete wealth. While Gatsby worked hard to his position of high status and wealth, along the way he took part in the business of bootlegging-the illegal smuggling of alcohol and the distribution of it during the prohibition era. Mr. Gatsby achieved fortune and fame from his participation with bootlegging. Not only was the American Dream corrupted, the government also was. Many politicians were seen in popular speakeasies. This means that the same people writing the laws were breaking them. Jay Gatsby achieved material wealth but never got what he truly desired, which is Daisy’s love. Even though there are similarities to both Jay Gatsby’s rise to power and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s rise to power, the path to achieving the power or status was very different. Jay Gatsby made decisions based on his love for Daisy, unlike how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth made decisions based on greed and the desire for power.
ReplyDeleteIn my individual reading book “The Great Gatsby”, there are many ideas and examples of evil and corruption and the way that it effects the surroundings and cultures of the story. One main example of corruption would be the main character Jay Gatsby who is a self-made man who started out with no money and only a plan for achieving his dream. He becomes so blinded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. His small american dream becomes corrupted by the idea of having money and power which are two huge things in society even to this day. It is demonstrated in this book how a dream can
ReplyDeletebecome corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth, power, and expensive things. Some parts in the Great Gatsby compare and contrast to shakespeare's story of Macbeth. One part that would compare to the story of macbeth is the idea of wanting power and stepping over people to get it. Just as Macbeth goes through killing people to try to get power Jay Gatsby tries to acquire power through wealth. This story contrasts with Macbeth, because clearly they are from two very different times and the situations are very different. Also,the languages are very different.
I book that I chose to read was Inferno, by Dante. Within this book, the narrator finds himself traveling among the many layers of hell with his mentor, Virgil. Each layer has a different punishment for each soul, dependent upon which sin they committed during their life. Many of these sins we often overlook today, for they can be arguably minute.This can vary from being atheist and a scholar, to committing murder or theft. The protagonist, travelling through these rings or punishment, sees many people he recognizes in life. He may have known them personally, or just known of them for theirs studies or being infamous. The punishments are tailored to be a reflection of the sin they did. In a way this is ironic, for they are being punished eternally in accordance to what they did that was wrong. The narrator acts as a representative to mortals who who would most likely react in the same way as him. His journey brings him much enlightenment and controversy about what is necessary for a soul to be passed on into heaven, seeing as how the greatest and most renowned of people are eternally damned. He learns to when to sympathize with the dearly departed, and when not to if he would originally.The characters in Macbeth, in most often cases, deal with evil and corruption in a brash way. They often retaliate and lead to more evil, spreading more chaos like a domino effect. The characters in Inferno, are more premeditated in their actions, reflecting upon the evil of others and learning to evade the same fate, and how to live a good life. In conclusion, the way Macbeth deals with chaos and evil is rather impulsive and consequential, whereas Inferno is more reflective and informative.
ReplyDeleteThe book I chose for my independent reading was "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this book there are many examples of evil and corruption and how they affect our culture. A first example of evil is how Tom Buchanan is cheating on his wife Daisy with a woman from the city, also how mad he gets at Daisy when he starts to realize that she is still in love with Gatsby and always has been. He gets mad about her being in love with someone else but he was the one cheating on her all along. Another example of evil in this book is Daisy, throughout the book when she is cheating with Gatsby she tells him she loves him and and that she is going to leave Tom for him. But in the end when it she kills Tom’s secret spouse and gets into a mess she lets Gatsby take the blame and just runs away with Tom and runs away from her problems as if she never loved Gatsby. Gatsby is also another character of evil, he is a character brought up from nothing and decided he wanted to make something of himself. But in doing that he got into the business of bootlegging. He also let the money get the best of him, thinking that all his riches would bring Daisy back to him. The evil in this book is similar to the evil displayed in “Macbeth” because Macbeth has a very strong desire to become king and him and his wife will do anything to get this, just like Gatsby will do anything to get the love him and Daisy once had back.
ReplyDeleteIn Dante's “Inferno”, evil is portrayed as sin. As he travels through the depths of hell, it is shown how the people who have sinned, or are evil, are paying through eternal torture and suffering. The first ring of hell is actually where people who did nothing notable with their lives reside. They neither do good nor bad, and they are not being tortured, but they didn't do anything to get sent to heaven. Evil and corruption are shown as the people who sinned in their previous lives and are then forced to suffer for eternity. Dante's “Inferno” does not compare very similarly to the way that corruption and evil are handled in Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteRay Bradbury sets up Fahrenheit 451 so that the reader explores the concepts of corruption and evil the same time that Guy Montag does. The main character grows up in a society that burns down houses that contain books, that looks down upon people who question why, who thinks strangely of those who have an opinion other than everyone else. He thinks all of this as normal. But after being offered another perspective, he sees the shallowness and emptiness of the people. The most corrupt idea in the book is that their society thrives on the hedonistic experience rather than watering their minds to keep it from drying up. The people sit at home watching their walls and overdosing on sleeping pills while fireman extinguish books. The people of this time are so advanced in technology that they have abandoned books which we today see as bundles of knowledge and insightful tales. The meaning of corruption is different for each individual. But overall, corruption is going against what you believe in. Burning people because they read is what we see to be evil but to the people of that time, it is justice. Shakespeare's MacBeth approaches corruption in a similar way. In the beginning of both stories evil has not yet exposed itself. In MacBeth, evil conquers and takes over MacBeth. However, in Fahrenheit 451 evil is never completely revealed. Nobody sees it as evil. Shakespeare forms evil into a person, into a personality while Bradbury presents evil as a concept.
ReplyDeleteThe book that I chose for independent reading was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. This was a fairly good book about events that occur in an insane asylum. The narrator is a big indian man named Chief Bromden that pretends to be dumb and mute. The story is not about the Chief it is about the new patient named Randle McMurphy and how he corrupts this establishment. The leader of the asylum is Nurse Ratched or ,as the chief calls her, “Big Nurse”. This book portrays her as an evil or bad person. She subjects patients to harsh treatments such as electroshock therapy or lobotomies. Nurse Ratched also tries to make the patients dislike one another by giving them a reward when they find out a secret about each other. When McMurphy is brought into the ward he corrupts Nurse Ratched’s whole system and causes a rebellion among the patients. This rebellion leads to many characters downfalls including McMurphy and the transfer of other patients. This story is similar to Macbeth in the way that one man takes power that is not truly his. These two stories are also similar because it is the characters actions during the book that lead to their demise. These are some examples of evil in this book.
ReplyDeleteI read “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. This book displays both corruption and evil. The setting of this book is in an insane asylum. The narrator is Chief Bromden who calls the hospital “The Combine”. He pretends to be dumb and deaf. Also, he has been there the longest. Even though Chief Bromden is the narrator, he is not the main character. The story spends a lot of time talking about Randle McMurphy. He was sent to the insane asylum because he had a serious past. When McMurphy arrives, he spends most of him time trying to corrupt the mental hospital they all live in. He does not want Nurse Ratched to be the leader anymore. Nurse Ratched (also known as “Big Nurse”) is the leader of the establishment and she is responsible for giving the patients cruel and harsh punishments when they act out. This is why McMurphy doesn’t like her. Some of the punishments she gives are electroshocks and lobotomies. Chief Bromden and Randle McMurphy have both been through these treatments. An example of being evil is when McMurphy gets brought to the ward. This is when he fully corrupts Big Nurse and starts a rebellion among all the patients in the insane asylum. Cheswick, another patient, refuses to join McMurphy in his rebellion against the nurse. He ends up drowning in a pool as a possible suicide. This book ties in with Macbeth because they both have the theme of “evil” and “corruption”. An example of how these books are similar is how one man is trying to take power that is not his. Another similarity is how characters die throughout the book. Both books have an evil feel.
ReplyDeleteThe book that I read was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this book, the concepts of corruption and evil greatly impact the peoples society, including the main character, Guy Montag. In this book, firefighters are trained to not put out fires in peoples home and other buildings, but to actually start the fire. The objective is to rid any houses that contain books. This is a perfect example of evil because books contain nothing but knowledge and information that people can benefit from. In their society, they believe that books are a waste and that the people have better things to do with their lives. Since everything is so technologized like our modern day society, books are considered useless. The people in the book thought that if there was a quicker way to learn the facts then why not? Books hold the true meaning to everything and can interpret any concept. An example of corruption is when the government allows all of these "evil" actions to occur. The government encourages all houses with books to be burnt down and also all people who possess books and read them should be presented with a serious consequence ranging from being arrested to being put to death. Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays these concepts of corruption and evil in a similar way that Fahrenheit 451 does. This is mainly because in both books, there is a sense of dictatorship. In Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, controls everything and has power over most of the events that occur. In Fahrenheit 451, the government controls everything as well. And in both books, the person/thing that is controlling everything is most likely doing it the wrong way. Its all a matter of ones capability to tell right from wrong.
ReplyDeleteI read the book “The Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and this book frames concepts like “corruption” and “evil”. In “The Scarlet Letter” Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale all represents evil. Hester Prynne is the protagonist in the story and she is the wearer of the scarlet letter. The scarlet letter is a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A” that symbolizes an adulterer. In Hester’s early life she was married to an elderly scholar named Chillingworth. Chillingworth sent her to America to live first and then he will arrive in Boston later. As Chillingworth traveled to Boston by sea he got lost. When he arrived to Boston, he found out that Hester was having an affair with another man and had a child, her name was Pearl. Hester refused to tell the town the identity of the man that she bore a child with. The child’s father was actually Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and he was one of the character that represents evil because he didn’t acknowledge that Pearl was his daughter. He didn’t have the courage to tell everyone that Pearl was his daughter because he was afraid that the town people would judge him. As time goes on, Chillingworth found out that Dimmesdale was the man that Hester had an affair with and planned a revenge on Dimmesdale. At the end of the book, Dimmesdale died because he exposed the scarlet letter that was seared into the flesh of his chest and was killed. Chillingworth past away a year later because he was frustrated in his revenge. The difference between the evilness in “The Scarlet Letter” and “Macbeth” is that in “The Scarlet Letter” evilness rises from the close relationship between love and hate. On the other side “Macbeth” evilness rises from the thirst for power.
ReplyDeleteThe book that I chose to read was "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey. The book takes place in an insane asylum. The narrator is a man who has been in the asylum the longest out of everyone there and pretends to be deaf and dumb. His name is Chief Bromden and is an indian. When a man named McMurphy comes to the asylum, everything changes. McMurphy shows the other patients how to stand up for themselves. The book is about good against evil. The good being McMurphy and the bad being the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. McMurphy was the protagonist who would screw up Nurse Ratched's perfect system. The Book "Macbeth" contrasts with "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" because both books show that the decisions made by main female characters have strong effects on the book as a whole. In "Macbeth" the wife of Macbeth is the one who convinced and almost forced him to kill someone, which led to Macbeth killing many more. In "One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" Nurse Ratched's decisions always ended up hurting someone because of her need for control. Both books are evil and corrupt in their own way.
ReplyDeleteThe book I chose to read was The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Grey was a great book to read. Corruption and evil are concepts in this book. Dorian Grey is a wealthy, popular, and very handsome young man. He is obsessed with the idea of being forever young. Dorian puts a curse on a portrait of himself to be young forever while his portrait bears his old age. Through out the book Dorian becomes selfish, carless, and a murderer. He is frightened when he sees that his portrait is transforming into a worn down and hideous man. Horrified he locks his portrait away and puts no effort into changing his ways. Dorian becomes driven mad and attempts to destroy his portrait by stabbing in. Later the picture is found unharmed with a picture of a youthful and rich Dorian Grey, while the horrid old man is found laying beside it with a knife stabbed in his heart. I think this book portrays the concepts of corruption and evil very well. Nowadays looks and reputation have become of great importance and people will do almost whatever it takes to retain their youth to a point of hurting themselves or others. The characters Dorian Grey and Macbeth face similar situations. They commit horrible crimes to retain and gain youth and power. Eventually, they both are driven mad by the deeds they have done. The book The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde was an interesting and disturbing book to read, but I did very much enjoy it. It portrays the concepts of corruption and evil that we also face in society very well.
ReplyDeleteI read for my independent reading book Fahrenheit 451. In this book, written by Ray Bradbury, we see many examples of evil, corruption in tune with many events that take place. We experience these, for example in Guy Montag's life as we explore his character and views on the world. In this story we see how their modern world is much different than it is today. While we see books as an opportunity to learn in our world, they shun them and dislike them. Guy Montag in this novel is a "fireman". Though today they are courageous men who fight fires and save others, in this story they are portrayed as some sort of evil. In Fahrenheit 451, these men burn the houses of those who own books or any sort of English literature. This absolutely corrupts the environment and the people. They actually seem to cause chaos, rather than making things better. How are these people supposed to be properly educated without the knowledge of those who have informed us through books from the past? This government seems to be against the well being of the people and care not how they survive. punishment or threats is how this government keeps control of its people. We see similarities to this in Macbeth, as well. The rulers in this story, such as Macbeth himself, care only about themselves and this disrupts the people they rule over. if a leader is selfish, they will probably disrespect the people. We see this example in both books because both show us corruption and evil in government.
ReplyDelete"One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest",by Ken Kessey, contains many examples of corruption and evil. The story, set in an insane asylum, focuses on two main characters: Chief Bromden and Randle McMurphy. The Chief has been there the longest while McMurphy is a new patient. The story shows how McMurphy corrupts the ward. A big source of evil in the book is Nurse Ratched. She is the head nurse of the ward and often punishes the patients with cruel and unusual punishments. The "Big Nurse" enjoys pitting the patients against one another. Both McMurphy and the Chief have been subjected to her destructive behavior. McMurphy is very opposed to Nurse Ratched being the leader. He does everything in his power to corrupt his fellow inmates and overthrow the "Big Nurse". He eventually causes a rebellion among the patients. This rebellion leads to the downfall of many of the patients. "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest" and "Macbeth" have many similarities when it comes to the ideas of corruption and evil. Both contain characters who have an overwhelming need for control. In "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest" Nurse Ratched is obsessed with maintaining her power, while in "Macbeth", Macbeth is fixated on obtaining power. They are both trying to gain control over something that is not theirs. The books also share a similarity when it comes to characters causing their own end. Both books have characters whose actions lead to their own demise. Both "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest" and "Macbeth" embody the ideas of corruption and evil.
ReplyDeleteI read the book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which deals more with the demons and the evil that can live inside someone, rather than those constantly shown to the outside. Dorian Gray is a boy who at the beginning of the book is filled with so much hatred toward growing old that he puts beauty on a pedestal, a pedestal constructed of his own vanity. As he tries more and more to stay young and flawless, he slowly becomes more and more corrupted and tainted in his soul. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a great book to represent how much pressure we as individuals, and as a society, put on our appearance. I feel like this book is actually quite similar to Macbeth, in many ways. To start off they are both tragedies, and they both show how outer influences shape what we have on the inside. At the beginning of Macbeth and at the beginning of The Picture of Dorian Gray, neither of the main characters has any remote desire or idea of killing anyone, but with the influence of Lady Macbeth and Lord Henry, they both end up killing at least two people. Towards the end of these books, both protagonists end up being their own antagonist, which I think shows a lot about the influences that someone’s actions can have on themselves and others.
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