Antigone

The question of "is Antigone a good person" is far to general. I think Sophocles shows us through Antigone that even good people do bad things. Are we determined to be good or bad based on one action or our many actions? Did everything Antigone do up until harming others and her pride fade away the good she did to her brother by burying him? I think she was a good person, not a perfect person, but a good person. Her intentions initially were of good nature. Sometimes when pride gets in the way we can make foolish decisions, but that decision can't forever define us. As it was talked about in the discussion forum being good is not simply "A" and "B" and now you're good. It's a much tougher tale to sell and each situation is completely different. 

What makes a good person?

What makes a person good will definitely differ from person to person, and yet we will have a lot of the same traits in our lists. When I get to know someone I usually let me gut take the reigns on deciding if someone is good. My list of what makes someone "good" consist of:

-Caring
-Thoughtful
-Open-minded
-Keen
-Understanding
-Honest
-Willing to help others if able
-Willing to give if able
-Listener

In the three stories that I've read I would say Haemon would be the most closely related to what I would define as "good". He stood by his father, Creon, and told him that he would never intentionally disagree with him, but then told the truth about what he thought of his decision. He told him that even though he is the "ruler" of Thebes, he should listen to what others think and be willing to accept outside advice.

David Foster Wallace's "Good People"

This was a tough read. David Foster Wallace left a lot open to interpretation. Lane has a hard time, but is convinced that it's the best idea, to go through with the abortion. He said he could always draw a "bring neon line" between good and evil. I think he wants to think he is good, but is trying to convince himself of it. He knows his religion says it is wrong to have an abortion. Sheri is sought out as not good either way. If she has the child out of wedlock she embarrasses her family with a "bastard" child and if she has the abortion, well that's sinfully wrong as well. It changes in the end when Lane has a "moment of grace" and envisions Sheri telling him that he can have an out, but she can't go through with the abortion. Then he decides that she will let him try to love her. Is his new outlook on himself, Sherri, a higher power, or just the sincere desire to be good? I think he wanted to do "right" all along, but maybe was scared of the responsibility and not getting to finish college. Like I said, for me this was a tough reading, and Wallace leaves a lot open for interpretation. Who was the man standing by the lake? Was he symbolizing God watching over them carrying a baby? Was the tree that he kept going back to a symbol of their faith being uprooted by the giant decision of their faith vs. what Lane wanted? It was a really good story and makes me want to read another one of Wallace's work.

Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Throughout the story you hear the word "good" being used in multiple of contexts. It is used primarily by the grandmother, but is also used by other characters. She first uses it with Red Sammy when talking about why he let two complete strangers charge gasoline. She says he let them charge it because he is a "good man". So because he foolishly let someone take advantage of him makes him inherently "good". Then she uses it again when she is talking to the misfit. Saying that he wouldn't shoot a lady because he is "good". In this case and the other are both cases in which she values good and not what it really means to be good. If you have the same beliefs and views as the grandmother then you are naturally "good". When in both cases neither are true definitions of what it is to be good. They aren't based on a moral belief, but instead on having her same views of what people should be like.

Movie Vs. Text

A Midsummer Night's Dream. By William Shakespeare. Dir. Adrian Noble. A Royal Shakespeare Company Production. 1996. Netflix

It was the first time for me that I had either read or watched a movie about William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Reading it was a lot different for me than watching it because I didn't puck up on a lot of the humor that was involved. I knew parts were supposed to be funny and some parts weren't, but I couldn't always separate them. It was tough for me to understand the words at times, and even when I thought I read it correctly and had a correct definition of what a certain word was saying I would have to read the notes on the bottom of the page just to feed my urge of having to read what the annotations were. I would then get lost about what I was reading. It took all my attention to keep up with what was going on when reading it. The movie I could follow, and didn't realize how much of a funny man Puck was. The Netflix version pretty much followed the play word for word, and it did a good job of using foil characters and showing how the townsmen were in contrast to what the others stood for. The movie reassured me that I read it correctly, but it also gave me more of an insight into what Shakespeare was trying to show us through all the characters and how they assisted one another in developing.

Character - "Midsummer Night's Dream"

I believe the protagonist of "Midsummer Night's Dream" would have to be Robin (Puck). From what I could gather, especially after watching it on Netflix, Puck is the only character that is interacting in every plot line. His role as the central character is proven through him being directly involved in the rising action, conflict, falling action and resolution of the play.  He is involved in the action of the four lovers when he is poisoning their eyes with the love potions. He transforms Bottom into the head of an ass and lets bottom think, with his love poison on Titania, that he could be with the fairy queen. He is also involved in the argument for the Indian boy. It was hard to point out a central protagonist in this reading. None of the characters are completely developed, but Puck seems to be the closest by being forced to choose one.

Theme - Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

The poem by Robert Hayden and the drama by Arthur Miller are very similar. They both speak about the love in a family. Not the kind of love that is seen in love stories of movies or chick flicks, but more along the lines of rugged bond/love. Both works speak about fathers that are willing to work day and night 365 days a year. No matter what kind of animosity is between the father and child, the father still knows he has a responsibility to take care of the child. There were times growing up where my father/mother and I were angry at each other, but that didn't stop one or both of them from still going to work and continuing to put food on the table. There have been times where I have been mad at my significant other, but it doesn't take the love out of you. Love comes in many different shapes and sizes. Doesn't always look pretty, sound like love, smell like love, or even look like love, but if it is love it will remain. On the reservation where I come from there is a lot of alcoholism. You could even say most of the time there seems to be no love between tribal families. A lot of anger and not so kind words are said. From the outside looking in it would seem like love is a distant, unfamiliar cousin. We all know that when it comes down to it, we will have each other. One family loses and elder, we all lose an elder. It also reminds me of the movie "Click" with Adam Sandler. He is always trying to do what he has to do to get ahead in the business. He thinks by making more money his family will be happier. He realizes by fast forwarding and seeing all his "success" that he really doesn't have anything. That he should be working to live and not living to work.