One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the prison camp eliminates everyone's individual identity and only leaves the inmates with one identity: zeks. Whether the inmates are unable to practice their religion, wear their own civilian clothes, or even think for themselves, they continue to live their life without an identity. There is one character in the novel named Aloyshka who is also a Baptist and he isn't even able to practice his religion which is a huge part of who he is. He even quotes the Bible to examine his living conditions. He says "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrondoer, or a mischief maker; yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under the name let him glorify God." With this, Aloyshka is saying that may have committed crimes, which is the reason he is in the prison, but he will be okay as long as he prays to God. Food may be the metod of survival for the prisoners, but religion is his method. He relies on religion to get him through the day. He is used to not being accepted as he is especially with the beliefs he has; he always hides his Bible in the crack of the wall. Another way the prisoners have no individual identity is through the uniforms they are required to wear. "Those numbers were the plague of a zek's life. A warder could spot him a long way off." Sukhov mentions this because it is one of the realities they must live with. Their uniforms do not benefit them in any way. They are like the plague because everyone has it and no one benefits from it especially during the winter time. Shukhov is right when he says, "A convicts thoughts are no freer than he is" because the prisoners are kept from freedom of thought, beliefs, rights, and actions. They live through the same thing day after day even though they lose their sense of self during their time at the prisoner of war camp.

Creon's Moment of Recognition in Antigone

Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon's love for power and authority prevents him from listening to anyone's opinion besides his own. Even when someone's life was at stake, he wanted his law to rule over his judgment. He thinks justice only occurs when punishment is involved and therefore, he sentences Antigone to death. Antigone pleaded for her life and so did his son Haemon, but Creon did not listen because his pride would not let him make correct judgments. He recognizes his wrongdoings when the Leader tells him that Creon needs to take his advice in order to be a good king. The Seer tries to convince Creon that "pride is a crime" and the people of Thebes including him would suffer because of it. The Leader is the one who convinces Creon that the Seer has never been wrong and it is important that Creon frees Antigone. Creon is able to realize that it is not his "heart desires" of power, which matters. The “established laws” that have always governed people are the laws that now need to govern the people and the king of Thebes. I know that Creon acknowledges that he made a wrong decision, but I felt like he did it out of fear so that he would not anger the Gods and suffer for it. He did not even have mercy his own son when he said he would kill himself if Creon killed his wife. Creon refuses to listen to the advice Haemon gives him because he does not need to son to teach him how to rule Thebes. I found some parts confusing because I didn’t know who or what role the leader played. He had so much influence on Creon’s decision; he must have been someone important. Throughout the play, no emotions were stirred for Creon; he did not like the notion of love or men sharing equal rights with women. All he cared about was having authority over everyone and everything in his life. The decisions he made caused him to lose everything that he ultimately cared about and for the rest of his life, he would have to live with that guilt. The seer tried to tell Creon the ability to make judgments is more important than Creon’s personal beliefs. The seer even warns Creon that if Antigone dies, Creon will lose one of his own. All this talk was pointless to Creon till everyone leaves him. He “learned through blood and tears” that the decisions he makes affects everyone’s lives. To conclude, I think Creon does have a moment of recognition towards the end of the novel, but he was too late and because of that, Creon has to live alone for the rest of his life.

Haemon in Antigone

In the city of Thebes, it is expected that everyone respects the King and the decisions he makes. Creon's son, Haemon has never gone against his father, but when Creon justifies his actions by saying he has the power to do so, Haemon goes against everything Creon believes in. The important conversation begins with Creon asking Haemon if he accepts the punishment his wife, Antigone is going to receive. Throughout the entire conversation, Haemon is pretty diplomatic because he tries to make some clear points to his father, but still shows his father that he respects him and worships him when he says, "What medal of honor brighter to his children than a father's growing glory?". Creon lectures Haemon that it is a son's job to defeat his father's enemies and to never let woman influence the decisions he makes. Creon then reveals the role he thinks women play in a man's life. After hearing all these things about what women are and aren't, Haemon tells his father that Thebes is on Antigone's side because she did the right thing by giving her brother a proper burial. At that moment, Haemon tells us what personality traits are important for a person to have and what traits aren't. He actually has the courage to tell his father "now, don't please, be quite so single minded, self-involved, or assume the world is wrong and you're right." Haemon is not trying to insult his father, but in a way is trying to help him become a better king. Creon says "the city is the king's- that's the law!" We learn that Creon is not punishing Antigone for the well being of Thebes, but for himself. He is trying to justify his actions with his personal beliefs. Creon does not see Haemon is telling him all this because he cares for him and he doesn't want his father to continue living his life with his "mindless judgments." Creon can't handle the truth and decides to threaten Haemon by telling him that he will kill Antigone. Haemon challenges his father's word and tells him if Antigone dies, he will too. Haemon does end up dying and Creons ends up wishing he had listened to what others said to him because then he would still have his loved ones with him.

Antigone

The story of Antigone is one of Sophocles traditional tragedies and it first strikes Antigone's family when her father, Oedipus, marries his mother. This leads her to kill herself and him to gauge out his eyes. Meanwhile her brothers Eteocles and Polynices kill each other while to trying to fight for the throne of Thebes. Eteocles receives a proper burial while Polynices does not because he was one of the Argives. Antigone's uncle Creon, now King of Thebes makes a law that states that anyone who even tries to bury Polynices will suffer severe consequences. Antigone does commit this crime because after all Polynices was her brother and to her, family is more important than any law. Creon sentences her to death even though Antigone is his son's wife. As a result, Haemon, Creon's son, kills himself while holding on to Antigone's legs who is hung by the neck. At the end of the story, Creon is left with nothing but regret for not listening to his son because he was so full of pride. His need to prove his manhood and authority cost him his family. Though everything that happens in the play affects Creon's life, the play is called Antigone because the writer wanted to emphasize the importance of the women in the story. Creon may have thought differently, but Antigone’s fate in the play affected everyone’s life. Antigone told Creon that she was a person who only loved and that is why she buried her brother whom she really cared about. Creon responds to this by saying, “Go down below and love, if love you must-love the dead! While I’m alive, no woman is going to lord it over me.” Creon does not want love to control the law, him, or anyone else, but in the end that is what happens. Antigone’s love for her brother took her right to live, Haemon’s love for Antigone cost him his life, Eurydice’s love for her son ended her life, and Creon’s love of power and authority cost him his family. Creon may have ruled the land of Thebes but Antigone was the one who determined everyone’s future. While reading this play, I felt that Creon kept on defining what a man is in order to prove his manhood. He did not realize the horrible things he said about the relationship between husband and wife. “Oh Haemon, never lose your sense of judgment over a woman. I warn you… a worthless woman in your house, a misery in your bed. Spit her out, like a mortal enemy- let the girl go.” With this comment, Creon shows that he constantly objectifies women by saying they are something that can just be thrown away when men are fed up with them. He was trying to teach his son to never be inferior to women, but Haemon never thought of marriage as a way of achieving power, but as a way of achieving a soul mate that he would live and die for. For him, this person was Antigone. Antigone is also the one who taught Creon the necessity of cherishing the relationships you have with people because you cannot control everything and everyone in your life, and for that reason Antigone is the name of the play.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a very moving novel by Mark Haddon because it stirred many emotions for me. Whether I was laughing or in tears, I looked forward to reading the next chapter. This novel is story of a boy named Christopher who has a form of autism which makes him to see the world in ways different from most people. He loves math, schedules, and his rat Toby. He is afraid of unfamiliar places, strangers, and loneliness. He is a very intelligent boy, but his disorder disconnects him from others as well as the rest of the world. One day, his neighbor, Mrs.Shears, finds her dog murdered in the front lawn and Christopher thinks that he needs to solve this murder mystery even though his father discourages him. At times, he feels distant from his father, but that is the only family he has. He has no maternal figure in his life because his father told him that his mother died when he was younger. Christopher’s investigation leads him to a pile of letters written from his mom, who he finds out is actually still alive. His father confronts him and admits to lying to his son about his mom's death and the murder of the dog. His father said that Christopher’s mom ran away with Mr.Shears and that is why he killed the dog. Christopher's fear of being killed by his father leads him to his mother’s house in London. He overcomes his fear of traveling, but later decides that the best thing for him was to return to his father’s house because his rat was there and he needed to pass the A Math level, which he eventually did. It took Chrisopher’s father a while to regain his trust back, but he always had Christopher’s best interest at heart. This book ends with Christopher looking at the future with no worries, regrets, or fears. I feel like by the end of the novel, I really connected with Christopher. Yes, I felt sorry for him because there was so much going in his mind that he could not explain to anyone; therefore, no one understood him or the situation he was in. At the same time, we had a similar habit. I didn’t think anyone made schedules of what they were going to be doing every hour of everyday except me. During school days, I too plan out what I’m going to do so that I don’t waste any time. It seemed like a weird thing to do, but now I realize that is what makes me, well me. The best part about the book was when Christopher was doing a math problem, drawing a picture, or seeing something for the first time, there was an actual illustration for it in the book. It took back me back to my preschool days when every page of every book I read had a picture. This was a very sweet, light book, and there is definitely something special and unforgettable about it. I think it made me realize that everyone has fears just like Christopher but if we ever want to achieve something, we have to overcome them. Like Christopher said, “I can do anything” and that is something we should all say to ourselves.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a powerful novel written by Khaled Hosseini. It is a novel that shows the female perspective of life in Kabul, Afghanistan. The novel discusses the events that have occurred in Afganistan ranging from everyday life in Kabul to the Soviet Invasion to the Taliban takeover of Kabul. It is a story of two women, Mariam and Laila, who are born in different generations but experience the same pain, separation, and loss when trying to live a simple life. The novel switches between Mariam's and Laila's life story, and just like in their life, their stories become one in the middle of the novel. Mariam is a girl who never received the love of her mom and yearned for her father's attention while he was juggling another family he started with three other women. Her mom could not stand the lonlieness and she kills herself. Mariam was hoping to live with her father forever as well as being accepted by his other wives. Instead of welcoming Mariam, the three wives accept a marriage proposal for her to a bald, old man named Rasheed. Mariam accepts the proposal without knowing what she's getting herself into. He gives her all these rules to follow such as wearing a veil when they went out in public. I learned that women during this time were told to cover their faces when they went out in public by wearing a burqa, a veil because her faces were onnly for their husband to see. 20 years pass by and Mariam receives no love or happiness from her husband. Instead she receives harsh beatings because she could not give him a child, more importantly a son. On the other hand there is Laila, an educated girl (education was not something every girl of Kabul could receive) who lives the perfect life and even has someone special in it, a boy named Tariq. There fairytale story came to an end when the Soviet invasion was occurring. Tariq moved to Pakistan while Laila stayed with her family in Kabul. Her mother refused to go anywhere after losing her two sons to the war. She thought the invasion would end and her sons' mission would be complete. When Laila's father finally persuaded his wife to move, a shell hit their house and everything changed forever. Laila lost her parents and found unconcious by a man named Rasheed. He could not keep an unmarried girl in his house so he made her emotionally weak by telling her that Tariq had died. Laila ended up marrying Rasheed which did not make Mariam too happy. Laila had a daughter named Aziza, Tariq's daughter not Rasheeds, something he is not aware of. She then has a son named Zalmai with Rasheed. Years pass by and nothing has changed except Mariam and Laila's relationship. They have become friends because Laila sticks up for Mariam when Rasheed tries to beat her, a bold move that no one has taken before. The Taliban takeover has hurt the family economically and has forced them to put Aziza in a orphanage in order to save money. Laila's only happiness is taken away from her, but nothing stops her from visiting her daughter, not even the rules the Taliban has set for the women in Kabul. She does not care if she gets beaten up when she is caught without a man by her side on the streets. She does not want her family to fall apart during this hard time. I could not help to think, WHY ARE WOMEN BEING TREATED LIKE THIS? I thought about the fact that this novel was depicting everything in Kabul during that time, so does that mean women were actually beaten up for not following the Taliban's rules? Later on someone pays Laila an unexpected visit, Tariq. It turns out that Rasheed lied because Tariq never died. He lost his family as well and was put in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Rasheed is upset by his visit and forbids Laila from seeing him. One day Mariam got so fed up of Rasheed's rules and beatings that left them in pain for weeks that she killed Rasheed and to the Taliban, an unforgettable crime. The prize was Laila's freedom, but the price to achieve that was Mariam's life. My favorite thing about this book would have to be the way the author included Farsi in his novel. While describing a situation or someone Hosseini would always include a word that was written in Farsi. For example, whenever Rasheed felt like addressing his wives in a loving way, he would call them hamshira. Sometimes I was able to figure what the words meant and sometimes I wasn't able to but I think this writing style adds a different kind of flavor to the novel. I really enjoyed reading this book because it taught me so much about the history of Kabul, Afghanistan. Not only did I learn about the political scene but I also got to learn what the people went through, especially the women. The Soviet Invasion took away their families and the Taliban took their right to live freely. It was a very powerful book and I'm glad I read it because it exposed me to things I had never heard of.