Macbeth Post #3 (for Friday, February 4)

Macbeth is intensely psychological. It allows students to explore one of the most universal and socially relevant themes in Western literature – the consequences of human ambition when it suppresses one’s sense of morality. Consider Macbeth’s downfall and explore what it is, exactly, that can cause a seemingly decent human being to commit immoral and evil acts.

Act III Question

Consider Macbeth's character after having read Act III of the play. I must point out that Macbeth is king and, in theory, should be able to do whatever he wants. In your answer, discuss whether Macbeth has any choice in his actions and explain why or why not. Make suggestions for ways that he could act differently or try to change the murderous course upon which he has set.

ACT II Question

A motif is a word, image, metaphor, or idea that is repeated or recurs throughout a text. Two important motifs in Macbeth are the image of blood and the idea of sleep. What examples can you find from Act II? What does the motif add as far as development of character and theme are involved?

Comparison Paragraph Post Here

Post your comparison and contrast paragraph.

Final Chapters Night Response

Consider the question below and either respond directly to the question or read through your peers' responses and react to someone's comment. Please remember rules of discussion (they apply to on-line discussions); be courteous to other's thoughts and feelings, respond using appropriate language, and to support your claims, use textual evidence.

Question:
In the concluding pages of Night, Eliezer’s father is dying a slow, painful death
in Buchenwald. But Eliezer is there to comfort him, or at least to try. Does Eliezer
see his father as a burden by this point, or does he feel only pity and sorrow for him?
Compare and contrast the father-son relationship you see at the end of this
memoir with the one you saw at the beginning.

Chapter 4-5 Response Night

Choose two of the following quotes and respond BY COMMENTING TO THIS BLOG and using insightful, thoughtful response. Make sure you note which quotes you have chosen. And be sure to put your first name, so I know who you are!

Quote 1
"And he began beating him with an iron bar. At first, my father simply doubled over under the blows, but then he seemed to break in two like an old tree struck by lightning. I had watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact, I thought of stealing away in order not to suffer the blows. What's more, if I felt anger at that moment, it was not directed at the Kapo but at my father. Why couldn't he have avoided Idek's wrath? That was what life in a concentration camp had made of me..." (54)

Quote 2
"And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes. And we were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when I passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished. Behind me, I heard the same man asking:
'For God's sake, where is God?'
And from within me, I heard a voice answer:
'Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows...'
That night, the soup tasted of corpses." (65)

Quote 3
But now, I no longer pleaded for anything. I was no longer able to lament. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy. I was nothing but ashes now, but I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty to whom my life had been bound for so long. In the midst of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger." (68)

Quote 4
It was cold. We got into our bunks. The last night in Buna. Once more, the last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the cattle car, and, now, the last night in Buna. How much longer would our lives be lived from one 'last night' to the next?" (83)