Dwayne

=__//**D-wayne's take on Wikispace**//__= Dwayne's Homework, Sorry i left it on my printer this morning...  What separates //Hamlet // from other revenge plays (and maybe from every play written before it) is that the action we expect to see, particularly from Hamlet himself, is continually postponed while Hamlet tries to obtain more certain knowledge about what he is doing. This play poses many questions that other plays would simply take for granted. Can we have certain knowledge about ghosts? Is the ghost what it appears to be, or is it really a misleading fiend? Does the ghost have reliable knowledge about its own death, or is the ghost itself deluded? Moving to more earthly matters: How can we know for certain the facts about a crime that has no witnesses? Can Hamlet know the state of Claudius’s soul by watching his behavior? If so, can he know the facts of what Claudius did by observing the state of his soul? Can Claudius (or the audience) know the state of Hamlet’s mind by observing his behavior and listening to his speech? Can we know whether our actions will have the consequences we want them to have? 
 * THEMES OF HAMLET By Dwayne, to go with Brentons. **
 * The Impossibility of Certainty **

** The Complexity of Action **
 Directly related to the theme of certainty is the theme of action. How is it possible to take reasonable, effective, purposeful action? In //Hamlet, //the question of how to act is affected not only by rational considerations, such as the need for certainty, but also by emotional, ethical, and psychological factors. Hamlet himself appears to distrust the idea that it’s even possible to act in a controlled, purposeful way. When he does act, he prefers to do it blindly, recklessly, and violently. The other characters obviously think much less about “action” in the abstract than Hamlet does, and are therefore less troubled about the possibility of acting effectively. They simply act as they feel is appropriate.   In the aftermath of his father’s murder, Hamlet is obsessed with the idea of death, and over the course of the play he considers death from a great many perspectives. He ponders both the spiritual aftermath of death, embodied in the ghost, and the physical remainders of the dead, such as by Yorick’s skull and the decaying corpses in the cemetery. Throughout, the idea of death is closely tied to the themes of spirituality, truth, and uncertainty in that death may bring the answers to Hamlet’s deepest questions, ending once and for all the problem of trying to determine truth in an ambiguous world.  This theme is quite evident as it is the major cause of all death in the play. Everything that happens is cause and effect of this theme, be it Hamlets quest for revenge on his uncle and seeks justice of his father’s death. All the main characters in some way or form seek revenge for some kind of reason, often justice. <span style="font-size: 10.5pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In //<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Hamlet, //<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> physical objects are rarely used to represent thematic ideas. One important exception is Yorick’s skull, which Hamlet discovers in the graveyard in the first scene of Act V. As Hamlet speaks to the skull and about the skull of the king’s former jester, he fixates on death’s inevitability and the disintegration of the body. He urges the skull to “get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come”—no one can avoid death (V.i. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">178 <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">– <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">179 <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">). He traces the skull’s mouth and says, “Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft,” indicating his fascination with the physical consequences of death (V.i. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">174 <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">– <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">175 <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">). This latter idea is an important motif throughout the play, as Hamlet frequently makes comments referring to every human body’s eventual decay, noting that Polonius will be eaten by worms, that even kings are eaten by worms, and that dust from the decayed body of Alexander the Great might be used to stop a hole in a beer barrel. <span style="font-size: 10.5pt; color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Thankyou to our good friends at [|www.sparknotes.com] who provided us with these themes and symbols. For more, go to [] 1247811341
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #444444; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The Mystery of Death **
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #444444; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Revenge and Justice **
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #444444; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Yorick’s Skull **

BYPASS ESSAY: TOPIC NUMERO 2 In Bypass, Michael McGirr uses the metaphor of the road not only to suggest that life is a journey worth taking slow, but also that the road itself is the journey of life. The Hume in this case represents life, you can fly right through it at 110 kilometers an hour, yet if you think back, you may wonder of all the history you may have missed. All the stories that have been forgotten by those who choose to fly right passed. The metaphor of life as a journey has been used as long as people have told stories about their experiences. Every piece of insignificance to the caring eye is in fact representing life itself. For those who live life in the fast lane and don’t look back until it is too late can only be considered as foolish, for as we discover in the text, there are many stories to be told, all of which can be found along the great Hume Highway. McGirr uses his own journey to resemble “life worth taking slow” in several ways throughout the text, found within the bicycle, the discovering of self and the surprises that one can encounter along the way. The importance of the bicycle throughout this text is clear cut, as it signifies that the journey taking place is going to be long, tiring and utterly slow going. The fact that the chosen means of transportation is a cheap brittle piece of equipment helps support the theory of life is worth more going slow. Throughout the text, McGirr is often thankful for having chosen a bike to mark his trip of self for many reasons, including the fact that everything is seen along the way. This highlights the fact of going slow creates more stories and opportunities. Anything from rusty hubcaps to tires that would generally be missed to the passing nature of a car driver, is picked up by the caring eye of a cyclist. Another advantage of taking the journey slowly is having to pull in for rest stops and discovering history and heritage of these wonderful places alongside a road. The bicycle is a slow but steady instrument, and your knowledge always becomes more rich when riding. The bike reflects in McGirr’s theory because there is always more to learn and acknowledge once taking a journey slowly, even if that journey is life. A short journey may get you from A to B in a small amount of time, but there is no longer any memory of what has been past. This is like life in a sort of fashion, living life in the fast lane may get you where you are going, but what about everything that may’ve been missed? McGirr’s trip along the great road takes the readers on a journey, McGirr’s journey to be exact. It is within this slow, grueling bike ride, that McGirr just discovers who the new him is. This courageous feat takes McGirr on a wild ride in a discovery of self, out with the old, in with the new. It is along this road, that McGirr finally realizes all the stories that he could’ve had earlier if he hadn’t been a Jesuit priest, not only that, but all the stories that he may have had to share. McGirr feels as though his life has been wasted in a sense, but better late than never, sets off on this magnificent quest along the road to discover himself, and the life that awaits him, and he’s taking it one day at a time. Good things come to people who wait, and that’s all life is, a waiting game, a game that doesn’t reward you for speeding through the level, but deducts points for every opportunity that has been missed along the way. The sights that can be seen along a long stretch of pavement vary depending on the speed taken, the slower you travel, the more you can perceive. This is definitely McGirr’s view along the way, as he learns of so many stories that are so little yet all pull together to make up the grounds that has carried him and his partner so many kilometers. Story’s from truckie’s to hole’s in the roof, to bushrangers, the list goes on and all reflect in the image of the Hume Highway. McGirr is treated to these stories by asking, taking the time to simply ask and as a result, learn. A passenger in a motor vehicle would be lucky to hear only a small percentage of the stories of a slow mover can hear. Thus advantaging those who take it slow. Michael McGirr uses the metaphor of the road not only to suggest that life is a journey worth taking slow, but also that the road itself is the journey of life. It can behold so many stories and tales for those who wish to hear them, and there is no way to hear them all, however, once given the opportunity, McGirr says take it. He lost 21 years of his life which he can’t get back, but on the road, that stands for nothing. For on the road, that’s where the stories are made. The road relates to life in so many ways, wipe off 5, you may get to your destination slower, but the rewards are grand.

I know this is quite lame but I was seriously stumped by the two topics, generally I’m a decent essay writer… Oh well, back to the drawing board.

=BYPASS CLOSE ANALYSIS HOMEWORK:= 29/4/09

Bypass, the story of a road, has been told from the front seat of a flimsy bicycle, through the eyes of Michael McGirr as he sets out to become in touch with his inner-self. The extract in which McGirr reveals what life living in Melbourne was like is heavily induced with symbolism and meaning. Throughout this passage, there is a renowned and constant use of “I”, this is because the author is attempting to tell the story through what he saw from his perspective, this engages the audience as McGirr tells of his sorrows and journey of self. A sense of irony is raised when McGirr suggests that he “…lived on the road”, it would appear to one’s self that after seventeen years “…of various Jesuit communities” and living life along the road, you would want a change of scenery. This does apply to McGirr to an extent; he does end up packing his bags and leaving Melbourne and the road behind, simply to escape. Even if his means of escape was to “hide” in Gunning, indeed, a small town alongside another road. It becomes immediately apparent to the reader that through these turns of events, there is no escaping the road for McGirr, he is as one with it. Extract two continues to show the reader McGirr’s point of view through the use of “I”, however, there is an instant sadness within this passage as the text delves ever so deeper into the feelings of the narrator. “…I missed my title.” This is a very meaningful quote as it expresses the loneliness that the author was experiencing at the time. Having the title of “father” taken away from him leaves McGirr with a loss for identity, after being titled for so long, he now has no idea ‘who’ he is exactly. This supports his motive to ride a bike along The Hume as an adventure to rediscover who he is and what he’s lost. Both extracts one and two make references to the original idea of the journey perceived by the reader, that is the new start. Michael McGirr’s whole trip revolves around this “new start” or “new beginning”, the fact that he has ‘wasted’ twenty one years of his life and he is on the quest for knowledge of self. In extract one, the evidence of the new start is clear when it states “When I got to Gunning…” The idea of this is simple, McGirr has had enough of the moving and wants a fresh start at life without restrictions. The second extract supports this with “The road has no respect for persons or status.” This quote supports the new start as it signifies the reason why McGirr relocated right next to the road, in order to hide, the road doesn’t identify people as who they are, but who they can be. The final link between the two extracts is the overwhelming loneliness and depressive nature that is evident not only in these cut-outs, but also through certain sections of the text. “Only other people can give you your name.” this quote by Michael McGirr symbolizes the loneliness of being untitled, and alone. The reader connects with McGirr in this passage as it causes them to imagine what it is like to be at the lowest point of one’s life, this appeals to the reader solely on an emotional level. “I was beginning to think that I was important because of what I did.” This is another quote of lonesomeness delivered by McGirr, it is clear-cut that he has lost passion for his work, and is beginning to think he’s not important for any of the right reasons. He is lonely, and he extricates this to the reader to have them feel for him. The text is full with hidden symbolism and stories of loneliness, irony, identity loss and new starts, that’s what makes the reader so intrigued for a text that is about a middle age man and his bicycle and his journey of redemption.