CHARACTERS
Antigone - The play's protagonist and tragic heroine. Antigone defies King Creon and the law by burying her brother, Polyneices. She is introduced in an argument with her weak sister, Ismene, who refuses to help Antigone bury Polyneices. Unlike Ismene, Antigone does not let her womanhood get in the way of her goal.
Ismene - Antigone's foil character. Ismene is the weaker sister who, ruled by her fear of the law, refuses to help Antigone bury Polyneices. She is considered a reasonable woman in her society, bowing to the king's rule.
Eventually, Ismene agrees with Antigone but is rebuffed by her.
Creon - King of Thebes, and uncle of Antigone and Ismene. Creon is only interested in political order, and does not let his fondness of Antigone get in the way of his decision to execute her upon learning of her crime. Eventually,
Creon's harshness causes his wife and son to kill themselves, leaving him alone.
Chorus - The group of people who voice the opinion of the people of Thebes. The chorus acts as a type of narrator/commentator throughout the play, appearing at critical parts to give their comments on the tragedy or actions of the characters.
Haemon - Son of Creon and fiancée to Antigone. Haemon begs his father to spare Antigone's life and warns him that the people of Thebes are for Antigone, but Creon refuses to break his word. Haemon ends up killing himself for Antigone's sake.
Eurydice - Creon's wife, who killed herself upon hearing of her son's death. Before she died, Eurydice cursed Creon for making Haemon kill himself.
Teiresias - The blind prophet who warns Creon that the gods will be against him if he executes Antigone, but Creon still does not listen.
Sentinel - Guard who informs Creon that some one has buried the body of Polyneices. He later returns with Antigone and turns her into Creon.
Messengers - the boys who inform Creon of the death of his wife and son.

Study Guide by Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Associate Professor of Classics, Temple University
Summary Questions: The drama begins at dawn, after a night in which there has been a war in Thebes between armies led by the two sons of Oedipus. Keep in mind that the Greek theater was in the open air, and that the first performances of the day would begin at daybreak. Thus, imagine that the time of day of the setting would be identical to the performance time.
-As you read the first scene, consider the gravity of the city's condition and how aware Antigone seems of it?
-Book Title – Book entitled Antigone – not Creon…why?
-Throughout the play, Antigone and Creon will talk much about friends and enemies. Think about what each means by these terms. In general, Antigone and Creon tend to use the same words but mean different things by them. For example, consider Antigone's reference to being a "traitor." This is a political term; does Antigone mean a traitor to the city, or to something else? Compare with Creon at later.
-Why does Antigone assume that Creon's order is directed against her and Ismene? When Creon appears later, consider whether his conduct and language in fact supports her assumption.
-Do you sympathize at all with Ismene's caution? Does Antigone treat her fairly?
-Why is Antigone so concerned with glory? Should she be?
-How old do you think Antigone is?
-Creon is described ironically as “living Zeus”……does Creon really have god-like qualities?
-After the initial dialogue the Chorus emerges for their first choral ode (stasimon), which concerns the previous night's battle. Contrast the picture of Polynices drawn there with Antigone's earlier discussion of her brother; does your opinion of him, and of Antigone's position, change at all?
-The chorus evokes Dionysus, the first of several times this god is mentioned. Why should the chorus call upon Dionysus?
-Creon enters. It is very important that you do not project Creon's later conduct back into his first speech. Read this speech carefully, consider his values and beliefs, and ask yourself whether there is anything wrong with his principles, whether in Greek terms or your own. Later, compare Creon's subsequent actions with the principles he articulates here.
-Throughout this scene, pay close attention to the assumptions Creon makes about gender.
-When Creon talks about the gods and the law, is he talking about the same types of gods as Antigone does?
-The second stasimon is perhaps the most famous choral ode in Greek tragedy. What image of man does this ode present? In this vision, what is human greatness? What are the limits of human ability and action? When can a daring man get into trouble?
-Choral odes often generalize a given problem specific to the play's action into a statement about human life as a whole. Is that the case here? If so, then is the chorus alluding to Antigone, or to Creon, or to both?
-Why is Creon so surprised when the Sentry brings in Antigone?
-Antigone is compared to a mother bird, not the last time she is referred to as maternal in this play. Is there anything strange or ironic about Antigone being represented as a mother?
-Antigone's defense to Creon is very important, so read it carefully.
-Ismene defends Antigone and asks Creon how he could kill his own son's bride. Has there been any reference to this relationship before?
-Contrast this stasimon with the previous one. Is this ode's thought and tone similar or different? What, if anything, has changed?
-Compare the Creon in this scene with the one who first entered the play. Has he changed at all in language or conduct?
-To what does Haemon appeal in his attempt to save Antigone?
-Does Haemon threaten his father, as Creon thinks?
-Why does Creon chose the particular method of execution that he does? What does it say about him?
-The ancient Greeks had two words for "love"; philia, meaning something like "friendship", and eros, which has more to do with passion. When the chorus talks about "love" in the ode, which of the two do they mean? And why is the chorus generalizing about love here?
-Note the chorus' reference to Antigone's "bridal vault." What do they mean by referring to a wedding chamber? This will be an important image in the last part of the play. Antigone becomes a "Bride of Death" (or "Bride of Hades"). To understand the importance of this metaphor, you might benefit from reading the Hymn to Demeter, which tells the story of Demeter and Persephone. Strangely, the maternal imagery continues with Antigone as well, as she tries to compare herself with Niobe. After reading about Niobe, consider what Antigone does and does not share with that mythical figure..
-How would you characterize the chorus' exchange with Antigone here?
-What does the failure of Tiresias' sacrifice have to do with Polynices and Antigone?
-What, specifically, in Tiresias' warnings leads Creon to change his mind?
-Why does the chorus call on Dionysus in this ode?
-Why does Antigone chose to commit suicide? Does it suggest her mother's death, or is there an important difference?
-Creon's wife is only on stage momentarily, yet she plays a key role in Creon's disaster. What does her suicide mean to him?
-Is Creon a tragic figure? Do you feel sympathy for him at the end as someone who initially tried to do good yet was overwhelmed by circumstance, or do you believe that he is a bullying, misogynistic control-freak who gets what he deserves? Try to come up with arguments for both sides. Could the play have been called Creon, instead?
Conversely, what, specifically, makes Antigone a tragic figure? Think about what, exactly, you mean by such words as "tragedy" and "tragic."

KEY DIDLS:
CREON – “Many an honest heart hath false lure / of gold seduced to walk in ways of shame.” (The power of his position as king is forcing him to do what he feels he should not.)
ANTIGONE – “Fear not for me:  guide thine own fate aright." Reference to the power of women:  connotation – Antigone:  “the Earth-mother, first of gods / the ageless, the indomitable.” (common theme:  men vs. women)
CREON:  “No woman while I live shall master me.”
CREON:  “I surely am the woman, she the man / If she defies my power I submit.”
CREON: “The many lives unhurt / Are to obedience due.  We must defend / the government and order of the state.”
-“And in his breast a better mind than now.” (heart vs. mind:  Antigone did what she felt inside, not what she thought was the “right” thing to do)
-About Haemon, Chorus:  “slain by himself, or by his father’s hand” (Creon forced him to kill himself) Creon dies because he feels he has no other choice: “Come what will / That I no more see another day" Yet, Antigone, does willingly for her cause:  “But for my fate not a tear fall…this road awaits me, The sacred light – giving eye in heaven.”  (symbolism sacred light = truth)
ISMENE: "Obey the king's commandment: for with things / Beyond our reach twere foolish to meddle." (p. 104)
ISMENE: "Sister, disdain me not, but let me pour / My blood with thine, an offering to the dead." (p. 118)

TPQs
What is the highest power known to man? Royalty? God? Yourself? Morality? Love?
Is love really worth dying for? What is worth dying for?
Would or Should you do anything for love?
Government vs. Inner "laws" (Morals)
Should there be any exceptions to the law?

GENERAL INFO:  The book is broken into 4 sections and an appendix.  Each section is told by a different narrator, in the order of Benjy, Quentin, Jason and a Persona. Most of the narration takes the form of stream of consciousness, Thoughts ranging from the simple observations of an idiot to the analytical anxieties of a suicidal. Each section has a unique point of view, although many of the same events are discussed.  Caddy, the sister of the first three narrators is the most prominent figure in the book, driving many of the thoughts and actions of her brothers, but we never get her point of view.  Faulkner leaves us to piece together her story through what each of her brothers says about her.

CHARACTER INFO:
Narrators:
Benjy:  Benjy narrates the first section of the book.  The sense of time is skewed throughout the chapter, but in the  beginning of  his narration Benjy is 33. ( the same age as Jesus when he died) He is mentally retarded and has very limited mental capacities. His observations are short and impossibly innocent. He cannot talk but can communicate with Caddy on an entirely emotional level. His sense of time is twitchy, it jumps between when he was younger and older, but Caddy is always the focal point. The best way to know what time period it is, is to check the servants that are taking care of him, TP and Versh when he is younger, Luster when he is older.  He was originally named Maury after his uncle, but his name was changes so as not to “shame” the not-so-virtuous Uncle Maury (irony). Benjy gets castrated after running after a school girl he mistakes for Caddy making him an even more truthful narrator, as he has no sexual or societal needs to blind him. We can always rely on Benjy to be telling us exactly what is going on, as he sees it. Later in his life when Caddy no longer lives with the family, Benjy still waits by the fence for her to come home everyday and does not understand why she does not come.  The sentences in Benjy’s sections are very short to communicate the simplicity of his thought processes.  Faulkner uses Benjy’s howls to signify the irrepressible fury that we all have against society and separation of family but that we keep bottled up.
Quentin:  His is the second narration and his life takes place before the ‘present’ in Benjy's narration.  Quentin is the only Compson child to go to college.  His father sold a pasture beloved to Benjy in order to pay his tuition at Harvard.  He is the most intelligent of the children and has the most potential. His life view and analytical personality makes it impossible for him to cope or escape his past and he commits suicide.  He uses more complex vocabulary which shows his level of education.  He is obsessed with the concept of time, and desperately tries to escape it (shown by him breaking the watch). His section opens with him talking about a watch given to him by his cynical father:  "...when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire…”  Quentin’s life is dominated by the expectations of others, especially his family.  He repeatedly starts sentences with the phrase, “Father said,” which shows the dominance of his Father’s negative influence on his life. He feels that he is helpless ever since the purity and virginity of his sister was taken. He believes that “Purity is a negative state” and loathes his own virginity. He continually tries to convince himself and his Father that he committed incest and that Caddy did not have any other lovers. While a passage in italics has many of the structures and verbiage of a sexual encounter it is doubtful that Quentin had committed incest. He was rather trying to make it seem that his sister was still pure, that no other man had touched her besides himself. Through his eyes the reader gets a better view of how Caddy suffered because of the loss of her purity, and how some people choose to deal with that suffering.
Jason:  Jason’s section is structured differently from the others.  He does not have any italics or flashbacks which shows how he is the least concerned with the past of his siblings.  He is Mrs. Compson’s favorite child but hates her, as he is constantly reminded the only reason she is still around is because of him.   He is jealous of  his brother Quentin for getting the opportunity to go to Harvard.  He blames his family for the situation they are now in, and takes no responsibility for it. He was suppose to get a job from Caddy’s Fiancé but when she had her illegitimate child his job left with the husband. He blames Caddy for his life and takes his anger out on her daughter Quentin, who is placed in his charge. He and Quentin hate each other and he is portrayed as a monster because of his dealings with her. He steals the money that Caddy is giving Quentin, and keeps it more in spite of caddy then from any financial need.  In contrast to Benjy, we get a negative impression of Caddy from Jason: “Once a bitch, always a bitch,” he says in reference to Quentin. He is power-hungry, hypocritical, hateful and prejudiced.  He has a one-track mind and refuses to see things from anyone else’s point of view.  He seems to be desensitized, and epitomizes evil while at the same time he is the most practical of the brothers, living life as best he can, surviving because of his hateful thoughts, but still providing for Benjy, his mother and Quentin.
The Persona: The final narrator that is an omnipresent being that gives a visual aspect to the Compsons and their servants. The narrator focuses mostly on Dilsey and her journey one Easter Sunday to see a preacher in a black church. She takes Benjy with her for she feels somewhere that he understands what religion is all about. The preacher becomes more than just a man, but a symbol of Faith and an explanation of how she survives living with the evils and dysfunctions of the Compsons. The ending of the book recounts how Benjy reacts when taken the wrong way around a marking “Then he bellowed. Bellow on bellow, his voice mounted with scarce interval for breath. There was more than astonishment in it, it was horror; shock; agony eyeless, tongue less; just sound” and that he is not happy again until the right direction is taken. “The broken Flower drooped in Ben’s fist and his eyes were empty and blue and serene again as cornice and façade flowed smoothly once more from left to right, post and tree, window and doorway, and signboard each in its ordered place.”
Other Characters:
Dilsey:  Dilsey is an extremely important character.  She is the only totally selfless person in the book.  Dilsey accepts her role as a servant and does what she has to do to keep the household running and the family together even though no one appreciates her. She endures the awful environment of this dying family by her faith. Slave born she knows what it is to simply survive and finds her strength in her religion.  The dependence of the family upon her shows the dependence of the Old South on their servants and slaves.  Dilsey has the only real ability to distinguish that both past and present exist, and knows the boundaries between the two.
Caddy:  Mentioned by each of her brothers, we get 3 different impressions of her.  She is obviously very important—what is left out is just as important as what is put in!  The only girl of the family and the novel revolves around her. Her innocence and purity is of great importance and she symbolizes the shattering of the Old South and the corruption of the new age.
Miss Quentin: The illegitimate  daughter of Caddy, she is an unruly teenager who is in constant dispute with her hated uncle Jason. She seems to be a combination of her surroundings and her history. Growing up with a relative that despises her and blames her for deeds done before she was born, she is understandable rebellious. She also seems to be following Caddy’s road to corruption but the reader always gets the sense that she could have turned out fine if Jason had been kinder to her.
Mrs. Compson:  She is self-centered and lazy.  She relies on Dilsey completely.  She believes she has sacrificed for the family, but we know this is phony.  She is depressed and a hypochondriac. She like everyone else in her family is obsessed with the past  and believes her family (Baskomb) far exceeds the Compson family in honor and societal status. Her Uncle Maury’s behavior proves this fact false  Mrs. Compson sits around all day repeating, “Don’t worry, I’ll be gone soon, and then all will be well.”
Jason (father):  Doesn’t take Mrs. Compson’s insults to heart.  He drinks his days away, and his cynical outlook on life poisons his children. He is mentioned frequently in Quentin's narration but not in the other children. Pay attention to what is not there.

KEY DIDLS:
· Caddy and Dilsey are the keys to the work’s meaning, yet neither one of them narrates a section.  The reader never finds out what is going on in their heads like the other characters.  Also, it is interesting that they are both women and the other narrators are male.
· Benjy can be seen as the “perfect” narrator because he is totally objective, and leaves the reader to interpret what is going on.
· There is evidence that Benjy represents Christ—his birthday is the day after Easter and he is the same age as Christ when he was crucified.
· The essence of the book lies in the scene with the description of Caddy’s muddy drawers.  The purity of the white drawers may be symbolic of southern culture and how it has been dirtied.
· The recurring themes of incest and virginity represent the plight of the South since the Civil War.  The incestuous feelings between Caddy and Quentin are symbolic of what happened to the South and the southern culture in the aftermath of the war.  Caddy losing her virginity also represents the feeling that the south was “raped” of its identity following the war.
“You’ve never had a sister.”-Quentin.  This characterizes the mixed feelings between protecting Caddy as a sister and having sexual feelings for her as a woman.
· The recurring image of the smell of honeysuckle represents something of a sexual nature.
· “Caddy smells like trees.”—Repeated throughout Benjy’s section—the way she smells represents her transition from innocence to her loss of virginity.  This can be seen as symbolic for what happened to the South.
· The church scene with Benjy and Dilsey:  Shows Dilsey’s hope, faith and belief.  This scene shows that Dilsey can understand something that the Compson’s don’t.
· “...when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire;  it's rather excruciating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience... Because no battle is ever won.  They are not even fought.  The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools."
· Time:  The book is not arranged in chronological order; Quentin’s obsession with escaping time as symbolized by the breaking of the watch and the clocks that read the wrong time in the shop; also the clock that chimes the wrong number of times in the Compson house.
· Caddy’s daughter is named Quentin- ironic because it is the same name as her brother.  Mrs. Compson sees this as a sign that she will be doomed to end up like the original Quentin.
* The physical description of Benjy is not included until the very last section of the book- prevents the reader from becoming biased.
· Flower:  wilts in Benjy’s hand at the end.
· “They endured.” –Basically sums up the theme of the whole book.  Explains why Faulkner chose to show us the ugliness of the family first.
* “Jason cried.  His hands were in his pockets.” – Jason’s act of hiding his hands symbolizes his vulnerability at a young age, which perhaps contributes to his demeanor as an adult.
 * “He went up and pushed Caddy up into the tree to the first limb.  We watched the bottom of her muddy drawers.” – The act of pushing Caddy up into the tree puts her on a higher level than her family, as she matures quicker than those around her. Her “muddy drawers” forebode future tainted innocence, when her promiscuity begins.
* Benjy noting Caroline’s “sickness on a cloth on her head” – ironic that with being disabled, it made Benjy realize that Caroline’s sickness was as simple as it actually was – all pretend, or “on the cloth.”
* Quentin destroys watch – he can’t deal with time or keep up with it (“Only when the clock stops does time come to life.”)
* Little girl Quentin meets is wearing crimson ribbon – calls her “Sister” because she reminds him of Caddy, with crimson symbolizing desire for her.

 TPQ’S:
Can we ever escape time?  Is it possible to get away from your past?  If so, should we even try to?  How important is family heritage/family name?  Would the Compsons still be messed up if the South wasn’t ruined?  Does intellectuality lead to depression? Are we better off like Benjy or Quentin?  Can any of us ever become like Dilsey?  Can a person get like Dilsey without having suffered?  Is life only made up of the attempt to reach some unknown, non-existent destination?

Important People:
Raskolnikov- The main character of this novel, bent on helping the lower class, however, his motives are questionable, at times.  Murders the pawnbroker, Ayonla Ivanova, and her sister.  Has many similarities with Stephen Dedalus, in terms of the complexity of his thinking.  Very complex character, who sways from one end of the emotional spectrum, to the other.
Sonia-  Serving type person, thoughtlessly gives of herself, sacrificing her morals, and beliefs in order to sustain her feeble family.  She touches on many religious topics such as conflicts between belief, and family, and shows that not all conflicts are as simplistic as many people think.  She reminds us that no conclusion regarding moralistic matters can be made, without proper evaluation of the entire situation. Sonia has a passion, her faith, and this is what keeps her going.
Svidrigalov-  Contrasts Raskolnikov, because of his ability to commit immoral crimes without any remorse.
 *both of these characters have the ability to commit crimes without excessive debate, and without any regard for themselves.
Porfiry-   The police officer who interrogates Raskolnikov…he is quite intrigued by the complexities, and inner workings behind Raskolnikov’s mind.  He knows that Raskolnikov committed the crime from the very beginning of the novel.  Has an infatuation with suffering, and is the cause of much of Raskolnikov’s mental anguish, because of his intense mind games played with the criminal.
Razumikin-   Raskolnikov’s “trustworthy” friend, presumed to be unaware of Rask’s guilt throughout the beginning of the novel, and acts as a true friend should (nursing him back to health)  Does not want to see the evil within Rask, for fear that he will lose his prize, Dounia.  “I don’t want to know your secrets.” - Raz
Dounia-Rask’s sister. She has incredible strength, willing to sacrifice herself for the good of her family. To save her life, she would not sell herself, but for someone else, she is doing it. Her character is also important in showing the power women hold in this book.

Key DIDLS
1.) Description of Rask-  Shows that Rask is NOT the superman, right from the beginning.  “he was so badly dressed, that even a man accustomed to shabbiness would have been ashamed to be seen in such street rags.”  -shows that he is NOT socially acceptable.
2.) Letters From Rask’s Mother-  Rask assumes that his sister is making the sacrifice for HIM, this shows that he has a self-centered type personality, and creates problems with his motives for committing the murder, because, if he is totally focused on himself, then how is he capable of helping all of society? It is interesting that the characters of Dounia and his mother are first introduced to the reader through this letter.
3.) Horse dream- The dark horse could very well represent his conscience, and the death of it triggers a death of his own conscience, and morality…this parallels the internal struggle that he is experiencing.  He feels terrible after the death of the horse, (as a child) which foreshadows the way that he will feel after committing the murders.  “father, father, he cried, what are they doing?” –Rask, as a child witnessing the killing. Could Rask. represent a number of characters in his dream? (i.e.: the horse, the child, the person beating the horse).
4.) The Murder-  “a convulsive shudder passed over him…he kept making mistakes…fear gained more and more mastery over him…” – this description of his demeanor at the scene of the crime, is reassured by Zametov later in the book, when he says that “the crime was committed by a rookie.” The description of the murder scene is different b/c we don’t see Rask’s thoughts. He seems to just be going through the motions (“a sort of blankness, even dreaminess, had begun to take possession of him”). Rask., who thought he could commit the perfect murder, makes many careless mistakes. Is it possible to commit the “perfect crime”?
5.) Raskolnikov, with Zametov-  He nearly blows his cover, because he is afraid that someone else will receive the credit for his awful deed.  (When Zametov downplays the crime, Rask “seemed offended. Rask wants to be glorified.
6.) Marmaledov’s death- His death is the catalyst, beginning the relationship between Rask, and the prostitute, Sonia. It is also important to remember that Rask, thoughtlessly pays for all the funeral expenses, involving his “friend’s” death.  After Marmaledov’s death, we are left with a good feeling of Raskolnikov, seeing Rask. in a positive light again.
7.) Raskolnikov’s mental battles with Porfiry-    Porfiry knows Rask did it.  Rask knows he knows.  (“I know everything…Yes, I understand your state of mind!”  Porfiry encourages Rask that “Suffering will be good for him.”  These battles with Porfiry seem to cause Rask. the most torture (he was “worked into a frenzy...he might have given himself away…”).
8.) Raskolnikov’s relationship with Sonia- Sonia, quite unexpectedly proclaims that she will “go to the ends of the earth.” to be with Rask.  The love that she feels for him, does not seem to be reciprocated back from Rask.  Rask. knows Sonia has a passion (“he understood that these feelings really were her secret treasure." Does he turn to her because he wants to have the kind of passion she does?
9.) “I wanted to murder without casuistry, to murder for my own sake…it wasn’t to help my mother…to become a benefactor of mankind…I wanted to find out whether I was a louse like everybody else or a man…whether I have the right…”Rask’s confession to Sonia is the first time we are allowed to see his motives. Did he kill just to see if he was an extraordinary man? Does he still believe in his Superman Theory?
10.) “Crime? What crime? That I killed a vile noxious insect, an old pawnbroker woman of use to no one…she was sucking the life out of the poor people…” Rask. appears to only be sorry that he failed (“if I had succeeded I would have been crowned with glory..”) and that he caused pain to his family. It makes us question, is he truly sorry he committed the crime when he finally confesses?

Key ideas, and scenes:
-Raskolnikov’s instinctive giving of money towards Marmaledov’s family on two occasions-shows us he does have a good heart; did he therefore truly believe he could help mankind by committing the murders?
-Razumikin as a foil, and true friend for Raskolnikov.
-Svidrigalov’s Suicide as a failure of the superman theory in Raskolnikov’s mind.
-comparison between Marmaledov, and Raskolnikov
-comparison between Sonia (prostitute) and Dounia (pure) …Both have similarities, in the fact that they are willing to suffer for their families.
 -Superman Theory

Thought Provoking Questions:
Because the crime was committed very early in this book, most of the novel explores various kinds of punishment. Which kind of punishment was the worst for Raskolnikov? Who suffers the most in this book? Is there any such thing as an extraordinary man? Why is there an epilogue? Is Rask. evil?

Characters:
Nora - Nora is the protagonist of the play and Helmer's wife. She originally appears child-like, but later we learn that she once secretly saved Torvald's life by raising the money to fund a trip to Italy when he was sick. Ever since, she has been working secretly to pay off her debt. Nora often rebels against her husband, for example, she secretly eats the macaroons Torvald forbids. Her turning point in the play is when Torvald acts in a selfish manner after reading Krogstad's blackmail letter, which details Nora's past behavior. Nora then sees her marriage with more clarity and leaves Torvald and her children in quest of independence and a new life.
Torvald Helmer - Nora's husband, Torvald, loves his position of authority as a husband. He treats Nora like a child and as a plaything or doll to be teased and admired. He has just taken a new position as manager at a bank when the play begins and seems most concerned with his status in society. Torvald becomes angry and doesn't appreciate the sacrifice Nora made for him because he fears that he and his family will lose the respect they managed to gain in their society.
Krogstad - Krogstad is a lawyer who went to school to Torvald. He once committed, and was convicted of, the crime of forgery. However, Krogstad blackmailed Nora to get a job at Torvald's bank because he knew that Nora borrowed the money to take the trip to Italy and she doesn't want Torvald to know. Mrs. Linde earlier rejected Krogstad for a richer man and that seems to have been another major cause of Krogstad's suffering.
Mrs. Linde - Kristine Linde appears to be a foil to Nora- she is practical, down-to-earth and sensible. Mrs. Linde took responsibility for her sick parent, whereas Nora abandoned her father when he was ill. However, at the end of the play, it becomes clear that the two women do hold something in common-they have both sacrificed their own happiness to devote themselves to their husbands. At the end, Mrs. Linde decides to get back together with Krogstad, to take care of him and his kids, and is excited about starting her new life.  Mrs. Linde acts as a mother figure to Nora.
Dr. Rank -He is Torvald and Nora's best friend. Dr. Rank is suffering from Tuberculosis yet willingly accepts his fate. He speaks openly about his death to Nora, but not to Torvald. Dr. Rank eventually professes his love to Nora, which leads her to reevaluate the nature of her "love" for her father and Torvald.

DIDLS - (in no particular order)
1) The Christmas Tree - Serves as a symbol for Nora's role in the home simply as a decorative object, a charming plaything. Just as Nora's mindset starts to deteriorate, so does the tree. "Hide the Christmas tree properly, Helena. The children mustn't see it till this evening, when it's been properly decorated."
2) "Silly girl", "Little squirrel", "Songbird" "my little skylark" "my little featherbrain" - Pet names that Torvald uses in addressing his wife. These titles demean her greatly, but she plays up to them in order to keep the facade of a happy home.
3) In Nora's life, she has always been subordinate to the whims of prominent men. She is constantly made to fulfill the roles that her father, Torvald, and society carve out for her. "Torvald has to live properly, and I couldn't have the children looking shabby." Also “Nice to do what your husband says you little scatterbrain?” She’s expected to follow Torvald’s orders to the letter.
4) "I have been performing tricks for you Torvald" - In her dramatic breakout scene at the end of the play, Nora finally expresses discontent for her "doll house" life. Looks at Torvald as a stranger: "No, I tell you, I couldn't take anything from a stranger."
5) Torvald's delusional hero complex - He says to Nora that he often wishes she was facing "some terrible danger" so he could risk his own life to save her. “You’ll see that I’m man enough to take it all on myself.” In an existence devoid of true love, this is his only tangible expression of such feelings. He also tries to provide for and teach Nora every chance he gets. Ironically, when his chance comes to "save" her in the end, he is too concerned with his reputation. "And I'm brought so pitifully low all because of a shiftless woman!"
6) The fake John Hancock - Both Nora and Krogstad committed the same crime, forgery of a signature. Krogstad's incident came as Mrs. Linde left him for the first time, as Nora's came as Torvald abandoned her in the matter of true love. "Mrs. Helmer, you obviously don't realize what you've been guilty of; but let me tell you that the thing that I once did that ruined my reputation was nothing more-and nothing worse-than that."
7) Dr. Rank's mark of death - The black cross insignia that he leaves for Nora on his calling card signals the end of his life. This communication is an effort to involve his love, Nora, and to shield Torvald from the ugly truth. "There's a black cross over the name. What a gruesome idea-it's just as if he were announcing his own death."
8) Escape to recovery - Nora was convinced that a trip to Italy would be the only cure for her ailing husband, causing her to take out such a loan. Similarly, by novel's end, Nora is convinced that she must leave so that she can recover from her years of suppression. "I told you about our trip to Italy. Torvald would never have got better if we hadn't gone there."
9) Invisible Man - Dr. Rank claims that he will be attending the party as "invisible". This invisibility allows the cerebral man to consider life as it would be when he dies, when he is not there any more. This is part of his process of coming to terms with imminent death. "At the next fancy-dress party, I shall be invisible."
10) The miracle that never came and the illusion of love - "You never loved me, you just thought it was enjoyable to be in love with me." Nora exposes Torvald's transparent nature. She explains that she waited for a miracle that would show he really did care about her, she was quite sure he’d take the blame all on himself, and that it never came.
11)"It'd spoil everything between us, and our lovely happy home would never be the same again." It is ironic that Nora does not know at this point that her home truly isn't "happy." Its happy from the outside perspective, while on the inside there are many conflicts.
12)FREE-In the beginning Nora expresses to be free from her debt, only in the end does she define the true sense of "free". She states that she and Torvald are now both "perfectly free". Nora is now free to find her inner self and has escaped Torvald.
13)In the end Torvald remains the same. He questions "The greatest miracle of all?" The fact that Torvald does not know the "miracle" Nora wished for displays Torvald's insensitivity and lack of true love for Nora throughout the whole play.
14)Mrs. Linde stroking Nora’s hair and asking, “Haven’t you learned any sense yet?” is acting as the mother Nora never had
15) “No, Just unspeakably empty” – Mrs. Linde when if she feels relieved that she’s a widow.
16) “Still it really was tremendous fun sitting there working and earning money.  Almost like being a man.” – Even before Nora realizes that she is merely Torvald’s “doll” she likes the idea of being independent.
17) “I always want to prolong the agony as long as possible” – Dr. Rank’s comments on life and the joys of living.  Pretty gloomy.
18) “I take it that you are a widow, Mrs. Linde?” – Torvald’s first question he asks Mrs. Linde about work, even before he asks her about her qualifications.  This sets his character up to be disappointed at Nora’s sneakiness.
19) “No…it isn’t possible…I did it for love!” – Nora’s disbelief that the laws would punish her for forging her father’s signature to save her husband’s life.
20) “All young men who go bad have lying mothers” – Torvald’s comments on how lying corrupts the home.  This eventually drives Nora away for fear of hurting her children. “No, no don’t let them come near me.”
21)Because Nanny’s daughter never forgot her, it gives Nora some hope that if she leaves the children she will be forgiven and can be part of their lives again someday.  This means that her influence may still linger, however.
22) “In fact he’s seems to think he has a right to be familiar with me” – Torvald on his reasons for dismissing Krogstad. It’s such a petty reason, just because Krogstad does not treat him with the utmost respect.
23)Does Nora know about Dr. Rank’s love for her?  She does not respond with surprise when he tells her, but only “sadly”.
24) “But Nora darling, you’re dancing as though you life depended on it” – Torvald  “And so it does!” – Nora tries desperately to keep her husband from finding out what has happened for the longest amount of time possible.  She dances to distract him.
25) “There’s no joy in working for oneself Nils.” – Does Mrs. Linde really want to marry Krogstad for love?  Is it to fill her need to care for someone?  Is it just to care for Nora? No because, “this whole secret must be brought out into the open.”
26) “It would be much better if you’d do embroidery” – Not only does Torvald control Nora but he tries to control Mrs. Linde too.  Embroidery is “much more graceful”, Torvald is concerned with appearance not function.
27) “Now don’t let’s have any silly excuses!” – When Nora tries to explain that she did it for love Torvald calls it a “silly excuse. “You’ve completely wreaked my happiness and ruined my whole future.”  He’s only concerned with how this has affected him.  He could care less about Nora! “Nora I am saved!”  “And I?”
28) “You never loved me, you only found it pleasant to be in love with me.” – Nora realizing what her marriage has been.

Thought Provoking Questions:
-How does society play a role in the play? How does society's "norms" affect the actions of Nora and Torvald? Are society's "rules" the same today as they are in the play?
-Does Mrs. Linde really love Krogstad? Or is she lonely and filling a void in her life?
- Which man truly loves Nora: Torvald or Dr. Rank?
- How does Mrs. Linde's arrival in town affect Nora's wakening and transformation?
- How do the characters in A Doll's House use the words "free" and "freedom"? Do different speakers use it differently? Does it take on different connotations during the course of the drama?
- Can real love exist for Nora?
-Is it wrong to leave your children in search of yourself? ]
-Did Nora really love her children if she left them in the end?
- Did Nora's upbringing have anything to do with the way she treats her children and acts around Torvald?
-Did Nora truly love Torvald?
-Do you feel it was right Nora left in the end, or do you feel she should have fulfilled her duty as a husband and wife before her self?

Main Characters:
Willy Loman – The name Loman implies a low man, one who is not very high in the ladder of life. He is seen as delusional throughout the play and idealizes his brother Ben, often referring to him for advice when he is not even there. His affair with a woman on a sales trip sets off the conflict between himself and Biff who caught him. He treats his wife with control, mainly because he feels inferior to everyone else. Willy lives vicariously through Biff- he feel that his success is his success.
Linda Loman – She is very submissive and seems to do all of Willy’s bidding. She knew he was attempting suicide and let him continue, showing she could possibly subconsciously agree that the only way out is for him to kill himself. Powerful, but males suppress this power.
Biff Loman – He was ironically a very popular young man yet failed miserably in school. It is a foil to Willy by showing that he had all the qualities Willy thought were important yet he never even graduated high school because he failed math. His “enlightenment” comes when he catches his father cheating on Linda and is forever changed. Despite his failures and anger towards his father, Biff has a great concern for what his father thinks of him.
Happy Loman – The name is contradictory to his personality. He was never really happy even as a young boy. His father always seemed to favor Biff and he would try anything to get his fathers attention. He has low morals and constantly sleeps around with women. He seems to be the opposite of Biff and hasn’t grown up much in his life. He has never risked failure or tried anything to become successful.
Uncle Ben – He is Willy’s dead brother, Willy talks to him as though he is there throughout the play and was extremely successful. He is the basis for the majority of Willy’s beliefs and shows that you should go after what you love, and live in the moment.
Charlie – Owns own company and is the example of what Willy wishes he could become and shows that you don’t have to be popular and buff to be successful. Even though Willy constantly shuns him, he remains loyal and sympathetic.
Bernard – Charlie’s son; seems like a geek to Willy in high school because he’s not as popular as Biff. However, his hard work pays off when he ends up becoming very successful—and doesn’t brag about it because he doesn’t have to.

Gimme a D! Gimme an I! D! L! S! What’s that spell?
- The opening scene of the house with apartment building around it: Shows how society is closing in on Willy and suffocating him.
- Color symbolism: Blue/orange lights in the opening scene conjure up an image of a flame, showing conflict.
- Various musical stage directions: “Willy’s” melody, played on a flute, is the first and the last stage direction. The music dictates many of the key events, including his suicide: “As the car speeds off, the music crashes down in a frenzy of sound”…if you’re trying to show the attitude of a particular passage, using the musical stage directions as DIDLS will reinforce your point.
- The house walls and ceiling – The fact that Willy can walk through the walls into the past and has to walk through the door to get back into the present shows how in his mind the two worlds are blending together and its easier for him to slip into the past than the future. Also the ceiling represents the limitations he has ultimately put on himself, since he built the ceiling.
- The house steps are brittle and falling apart: The fact that Willy built the house and steps shows how everything that he does is a failure
- The element of time: Time is constantly shifting providing a basis for evidence of Willy’s psychosis and how in his head he just switched between the two worlds, also allows the reader to see that the transition is instantaneous, its just happens in his mind. It puts the reader in Willy’s head                                                                                              - "My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women, and still, I'm lonely." (Happy)- This shows that happiness is not all possessions. Success isn’t everything. Success doesn’t make you a better person. He is not doing anything to help himself and make himself happy.
- “Not finding yourself at the age of 34 is a disgrace!”- Ironic and hypocritical because he is old and he hasn’t found himself.
- Stockings- symbolize the love and affection he gives the woman. He spends more money on others than he does his own family.
- Diamonds in the woods- The diamonds are success and the woods are the struggle that it takes to obtain success. The quote, "When I was seventeen, I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich." (Uncle Ben) makes it seem so easy. He makes it sound like he walked into the struggle of life and came out of it without a scratch. He makes it sound like he had no problem becoming successful and rich.
- The money for the rent – All that they needed was $200 dollars and one week to make it to live, the fact he couldn’t raise that much money showed how his whole life was pointless and emphasizes his inability to succeed.
- “Pop! I’m a dime a dozen and so are you” Biff says this and shows that people are really insignificant in life and you should do nothing except to make yourself happy.
- Planting the seeds – The fact that Willy is seen trying to plant seeds right before he commits suicide shows that he is trying to start over again, to try and do something right for his family and sow the seeds of success for them.
- The fact that every flashback goes back to a failure shows how every moment of Willy’s life was a complete failure, he never succeeded at anything except fooling himself
- “I’m just what I am, that’s all” (pg 133) – Biff says this and shows he has understood what Miller is trying to say; you just are (very Godot). This contrasts with Willy and Willy represents society and the fact that he can’t accept it shows how society as a whole needs to believe they are here for a reason.
- “We’re free, We’re free” (pg 139) – Linda says this and can be interpreted many ways, one of which is that with his death they are free to be themselves, as he often dictated what they should do.
- “Forgive me, dear. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t cry. I don’t understand it…” (p. 139)  Linda’s world is falling down around her, but maybe she has already spent all her tears on her tragic-hero husband. This last scene could be used to prove many SP’s, including any dealing with Linda’s role (she knew she tried to stop his death but in the end let fate take over).
- “And for a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life…Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.” (Charley)- I think is this interesting because throughout the play Willy makes reference to how he is going to be better than Charley. In the end it is Charley who stands up for him. Charley's sympathy shows that he understands that Willy didn't necessarily want to sell, but instead that Willy didn’t even see that he had any choice in life.

Characters:
Stephen Dedalus - Joyce’s quasi-recreation of himself and protagonist of the novel.  Filtered through his consciousness, the book follows Stephen as he evolves from a shy, awkward boy (hypersensitive, lack of physical skills/strength) into a brave and brilliant young man (complex art theory, deeper analytical thought).  Ultimately, Stephen doubts his Irish Catholic heritage, and decides to pursue life as an artist.  In order to do so, he figures he must separate himself from religion, country (heritage), family, love (emotion), friends, and causes (the “Nets”).
Simon Dedalus - Stephen’s father.  Throughout the novel, Simon loses more and more of the family’s money, leaving them poorer and poorer.  During a visit to Cork, it is revealed that Simon was a flirt in school, and that he doesn’t view young Stephen as he viewed himself in his youth.
Dante - Stephen’s aunt.  She is the embodiment of the ideal, strict Irish Roman Catholic.  She forbids Stephen to play with Eileen, his Protestant neighbor.
Uncle Charles - Stephen’s Uncle.  Uncle Charles is an older man whose health deteriorates throughout the novel.  He represents the Irish Nationalist point of view early in the novel.
Father Dolan - Prefect of studies at Clongowes.  He strikes Stephen on the hands with the pandybat for not doing work in class even though his glasses are broken, and he was excused from the work.
Father Conmee - Rector of Clongowes.  Stephen tells Conmee of his beating at the hands of Father Dolan, and the rector consoles him, then apparently mocks him behind his back.
Father Arnall - Jesuit priest whose fire and brimstone sermon is the bulk of Chapter 3.  His passionate and frightening sermon compels Stephen to confess his sins of impurity (prostitutes).
Eileen, Emma, etc. - girls with whom Stephen is infatuated at different times in the novel

DIDLS:
Imagery as a child - Structurally, the rapid development of language in the first few pages shows Stephen’s rapid development, eventually into a thinker who ponders things other children don’t (“Cancer and Canker” “What was after the Universe?” Appreciation of beauty)
Relationship with parents - Stephen is made fun of at Clongowes when he admits that he kisses his mother when he goes to bed at night, prompting him to wonder why he was made fun of for this.  Later, at Cork, Stephen realizes he has little connection with his father, who was once a great flirt who sees his son as a “level-headed thinking boy.”
Christmas at the adult table - Stephen witness a political argument, confusing his notion of religion and politics.  “It pained him that he did not know well what politics meant. . . .”
Pandybat scene - Stephen is unfairly punished with a pandybat on his hands.  This experience makes Stephen see Catholicism as unreasonable, and shows his sensitivity.
View of women - Stephen at first idolizes women (and romance) as perfect realizations of Mercedes from The Count of Monte Cristo.  After repressing his hormonal feelings due to his religion, his first sexual encounter (age 16) is with a prostitute, prompting much guilt.
The sermon - During the retreat, Stephen listens to a fiery sermon on the conditions of hell he feels is aimed directly at him, intensifying his guilt for the sins of impurity so greatly that he is compelled to go to confession.  This marks the start of a very religious period in his life.
The Epiphany - Stephen is mesmerized by a girl wading unabashedly in the water with little on.  It inspires him to write his poem and follow his true calling--to be an artist.  (Joyce, known for epiphanies in his work, defines Epiphany as: seeing beauty in the mundane; the moment of life-altering inspiration).
The Poem - A villanelle.  This very confining structure seems hypocritical of the now “freed” Stephen, and the poem is only mediocre at best.  However, Stephen is still a young man, and his attempt itself has some value.
Stephen’s Art Theory - Based on the philosophies of Aristotle and Aquinas, Stephen wants to go beyond “kinetic art” which you can see/touch, and create “static art” which has the potential to be universal.  He sees art as being lyric, epic, or dramatic.  There are three elements that he sees art as having: integritas (according to Joyce, “An aesthetic image is presented to us either in space or in time. What is audible is presented in time, what is visible is presented in space. But, temporal or spatial, the aesthetic image is first luminously apprehended as selfbounded and selfcontained upon the immeasurable background of space or time which is not it. You apprehend it as one thing. You see is as one whole. You apprehend its wholeness.”) consonantia, (Joyce’s description was, “Having first felt that its is one thing you feel now that it is a thing. You apprehend it as a complex, multiple, divisible, separable, made up of its parts, the result of its parts and their sum, harmonious.”) and quidditas.
Stephen’s Name - “Stephen” was the first Christian martyr who was persecuted for reasons of his faith.  Daedalus was the great inventor in Greek mythology who created the labyrinth, was imprisoned, and fashioned wax wings to free himself and his son.  His son, Icarus, succumbed to the sin of pride, flew too close to the sun, melted his wings, fell into the sea, and died.  Daedalus later became jealous of his inventive nephew, killed him, and was punished by the Gods.
Symbols - (include) myth, words, eyes, birds, roses, water/sea, and colors.
“Nets” – religion, country, family, love, friends, and causes.  Stephen believes that a person cannot be an artist if he has or cares about any of these things.

Thought Provoking Questions:
Was Stephen destined to be a great artist?
Is the title appropriate?  (the Artist v. an Artist)
Was Stephen’s poem reflective of his epiphany?
How does the Daedalus myth relate to the story?
Did Stephen really have an epiphany?  Was it self-induced?
Can humanity create static art?
How did Stephen’s conception of women influence his development?

Main Characters:
Othello-Protagonist, war hero, married to Desdemona, A Christian moor and general of the armies of Venice. He is an eloquent and physically powerful figure. In spite of his elevated status, Othello has many insecurities involving his age, life as a soldier, and his race. Iago uses Othello’s insecurities and twists his love for his wife Desdemona, into a powerful and fatal jealousy. Othello becomes easily influenced by others, which serve to highlight his impulsive qualities.
Desdemona- Daughter of Venetian senator Brabazio and recently Othello’s wife who wrongfully murders her. Is portrayed as not very bright but symbolizes true love and stereotypical purity. She leaves everything she loves and goes against everything she knows to be with Othello.
Iago- Othello's ensign, villain. Desires Othello’s destruction because the promotion to lieutenant was passed to Cassio instead of himself. Therefore he convinced Othello that Desdemona was committing adultery with Cassio. His motivations seem to be expressed in an obsessive sort of way. Iago seems to get aesthetic pleasure from his manipulation and the numerous deaths he caused. In the end is sent away to be tortured to death.
Cassio- Othello's young and inexperienced lieutenant, Desdemona’s supposed lover. His high passion is resented by Iago. Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl in Cyprus and losing his position as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to heighten Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona's fidelity.
Emilia-Iago's wife and Desdemona's attendant, seems naive but symbolizes that ignorance is bliss because once she finds out the truth about her husband she is killed.
Roderigo- A rich, young, foolish man. He is in love with Desdemona but perfect example of the guy who will never be good enough. Convinced if he gives all his money to Iago he will make Desdemona fall in love with him. He is used by Iago to stab Cassio. Which eventually backfires.

Short Summary:
Othello, the Moor of Venice, chooses his friend Cassio, a young and inexperienced man to be his Lieutenant. Iago, expecting to get the position, is deeply hurt and extremely jealous, and swears revenge. Meanwhile, Othello has secretly married Desdemona behind her father's back. Iago promises Roderigo, who secretly loves Desdemona, that he can be with her if he helps with Iago's plans of revenge. Iago's plan is to convince Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, so Iago plants evidence and convinces Othello that innocent chatter between the two is much more than it seems. Cassio, coerced by Iago to drink on his watch, is found fighting and removed from his position as lieutenant. Desdemona pleads for him to be reinstated, which makes Othello even more suspicious. Emilia, on her husband's orders, finds Desdemona's handkerchief, which Iago gives to Cassio, sure that this piece of evidence will convince Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him. Othello, when seeing Cassio with the handkerchief, smothers Desdemona. Othello then learns from Emilia that Desdemona had done no wrong. Iago kills Emilia, Othello kills himself, and Iago is arrested.

Key DIDLS
1)(pg. 11) "I am not what I am." Shows that though Iago's actions are pure evil, he himself is not, disproving the theory that someone can be pure evil at heart.
4) (pg. 51) "I have never found a man that knew how to love himself." This is ironic because all the men in the book seem out to benefit only themselves.
3) (p. 87) "Tis pride that pulls a country down." Every male character exhibits this quality of being prideful and it becomes their ruin.
4) (Iago, Act I, Scene I, 160) "It seems not meet, nor wholesome my place,/To be produced (as, if I stay, I shall)/ Against the Moor." After Iago's first incident involving Othello (informing Desdemona's father that there was something going on between the two) he is quick to leave, his evil mind playing out in advance. Shows his intelligence.
5.) (Brabantio, Act I, Scene III 317) "Look to her, Moor. Use Desdemona well. She has deceived her father, and may thee." The first seed of suspicion is cast to Othello, not by Iago, but by Desdemona's father. Foreshadows Othello's future suspicions of his wife's fidelity.
6.) (Iago, Act II, Scene I) Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me/For making him egregiously an ass./ And practicing upon his peace and quiet/Even to madness. After speaking to Roderigo, Iago openly talks about double-crossing Othello.
7.) (Iago, Act II, Scene II) "Touch me not so near, I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth/Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio." After manipulating Cassio into a situation where he is drunk, Iago is able to convince all that he is looking after Cassio's best interests.
8.) (Desdemona, Act III Scene III) "I prithee name the time, but let it not/Exceed three days. I' Faith, he's penitent." Desdemona is pleading Cassio's case to Othello, forcing Othello to think of Iago's words about Desdemona's fidelity.
9.) (Othello, Act III, Scene III) "If more dost perceive, let me know more./Set on thy wife to observe. Leave me, Iago." Iago's words have finally gotten to Othello, and he starts to suspect his wife of cheating on him. Iago's plan is starting to work.
10.) (Iago, Act III, Scene III) "I know not that; but such a handkerchief (I am sure it was your wife's) did I today See Cassio wipe his beard with." The final piece of the puzzle has fallen into place, as Iago tells Othello that Cassio has Desdemona's handkerchief, which he planted in Cassio's hand.
11.) (Othello, Act IV, Scene I) "Naked in bed, Iago, and not mean any harm? It is hypocrisy against the devil." Another demonstration of how crafty Iago is, he is coming up with situations to defend Desdemona, which only enrage Othello further.
12.) (Desdemona, Act IV, Scene III) Desdemona sings the Willow Song "The poor soul sat sighing by a Willow tree" Desdemona, as thick headed as she is, knows that she is going to die by Othello's hand that night, sings a song of death, mourning.
13.) (Othello, Act V, Scene II) "I kissed there ere I killed thee. No way but this-Killing myself, to die upon a kiss." After realizing what he has none, Othello is so upset that he takes his own life, dying with the woman he loved.

TPQ's
-What does Othello's background as a soldier have to do with the way he handled Desdemona and love?
-What is Iago's motivation to do this all to Othello-does it go beyond revenge?
-Is Iago a truly evil person?
-Do Othello and Desdemona really love each other or is it purely physical?
-What is Othello's perception on love if he was so quick to condemn his wife?
-Does Rodrigo truly love Desdemona?
-Is there any significance to the fact that Othello is black?
-Does Emilia truly love Iago?
-If Desdemona is truly innocent then what attracted her to Othello, and why did she run off and get married in secret?
-What is the significance of the handkerchief?
-Would we have a better understanding of Iago if we knew about his past?
-What is the symbolism behind Othello and Desdemona’s bed?
-Did Brabazio’s statement “She has deceived her father, and may thee,” have anything to do with Othello’s quick judgment of Desdemona?

Characters:
MEDEA- Central character in the novel.  Pagan.  Killed her brother so she could go off and live with Jason.  Difficulty adapting her violent ways to normal Greek society.  When Jason leaves her for the King's daughter, she
kills the King, his daughter, and her own children to spite Jason.  Banished from Corinth for life.
JASON- Discovered the Golden Fleece, and brings Medea back home to Corinth as his wife.  Nice guy.  Leaves Medea for Creon's daughter.  Grief stricken and in awe when Medea goes on her murderous rampage.
NURSE- Medea's nurse.  Thinks Jason is wrong for leaving Medea.  Doesn't support Medea's murders.  Medea's confidante.
CHORUS- Representative of society.  Sympathize with Medea's plight.  Abandon her cause when she starts killing people.
CREON- King of Corinth.  Pushover.  Gives Medea time to stay in Corinth, and she ends up killing him and his daughter.
AEGEUS- Friend of Medea.  Listens to her story and grants her asylum.  She promises him sons.  Aegeus is also the King of Athens.

DIDLS!!!
1. "I will never make hard my heart towards you."  Jason
2. "We women are the unhappiest creatures born." Medea
3. "I…dread her wrath.  For terrible is she."  Nurse
4. "All men love themselves more than their neighbor…, seeing that a father for a new bride's sake loves his sons no more?"  Attendant
5. "But in the hour when she is wronged in wedlock there is no spirit more murderous than hers."  Medea
6. "I fear you.  I fear you lest you wreak on my child some cureless mischief."  Creon
7. "What happier fortune could I have lighted on than to wed a king's daughter?"  Jason
8. "Go, wed, but haply, if God so will, your bridal shall be such that you soon would fain renounce it."  Medea
9. "bring me Jason hither.  Your prudence shall service I may trust…You are a woman too."  Medea to Nurse
10. "O Monster!  O you woman most abhorred by the Gods, and by me, and all mankind!  You who could find the heart to stab the sons you had borne, and leave me a childless, broken man!"  Jason

T-P-Q'S
1. Is Medea insane?
2. Was Jason wrong to leave his wife?
3. Was Creon a fair ruler?
4. Does Medea have any qualms about killing her children?
5. Is there ever any love between Jason and Medea?
6. How does Medea acclimate herself to society?
7. How does society effect Jason?

CHARACTERS:
Invisible Man: The nameless protagonist of the novel. The narrator is the “invisible man” of the title. A black man in 1930s America, the narrator considers himself invisible because people never see his true self beneath the roles that stereotype and racial prejudice compel him to play. Though the narrator is intelligent, deeply introspective, and highly gifted with language, the experiences that he relates demonstrate that he was naive in his youth. As the novel progresses, the narrator’s illusions are gradually destroyed through his experiences as a student at college, as a worker at the Liberty Paints plant, and as a member of a political organization known as the Brotherhood. Shedding his blindness, he struggles to arrive at a conception of his identity that honors his complexity as an individual without sacrificing social responsibility.
Jim Trueblood: A poor, black farmer who lives near the University.  He is infamous for sleeping with his daughter, who is now pregnant with his child, as is his wife.  He is hardly remorseful about it.  This harsh reality shows Mr. Norton that not all problems can be solved or subdued with his money.
Mr. Norton: a white northern trustee of the University, he is lost in the belief that his and the black man’s “destinies are linked”.  He seems to like I.M. even though he does not recognize him at the end of the novel.  Norton’s wistful remarks about his daughter add an eerie quality of longing to his fascination with the story of Jim Trueblood’s incest.
Dr. Bledsoe: The president at the narrator’s college. Dr. Bledsoe proves selfish, ambitious, and treacherous. He is a black man who puts on a mask of servility to the white community. Driven by his desire to maintain his status and power, he declares that he would see every black man in the country lynched before he would give up his position of authority.
Homer Barbee: A preacher from Chicago who visits the narrator’s college. Reverend Barbee’s fervent praise of the Founder’s “vision” strikes an inadvertently ironic note, because he himself is blind. With Barbee’s first name, Ellison makes reference to the Greek poet Homer, another blind orator who praised great heroes in his epic poems. Ellison uses Barbee to satirize the college’s desire to transform the Founder into a similarly mythic hero.
Burnside: A man who gives I.M. advice before he gets to NYC.  It is similar to that which I.M.'s grandfather gives I.M., but he doesn't take the covert and passive, "yes"ing them-route that Ol' gramps did.  He tells him to beware
of the whole game and that racism is different in the North and the Big Apple.
Emerson's Son: Talks to I.M. about what is really in the letters.  Thinks he understands the black man's struggle because he has friends who are jazz musicians.  He seems like an ally of sorts, but is all part of the game.  He shows I.M. that it is harder and harder to trust people with each new truth
he uncovers.
Mary Rambo: Gives I.M. a low-rent place to live, lets him pay his rent when he can, feeds him (cabbage, etc.) even though she has very little money of her own.  She is extremely caring and motherly.  She reminds him of his own
childhood, so he starts to avoid her.
Brother Jack: Sees I.M.'s Eviction Speech and recruits him for the Brotherhood to be their Orator.  They're only using him for his speaking skills.  He gives I.M. his Brotherhood name and later writes a mean note to him, both of which I.M. later burns.
The Brotherhood: (the B'hood) a communist, union organization that recruits I.M., contributes to his identity struggle and urban education of reality.
Brockway: An elderly black man who works at Liberty Paints, making Optic White paint.  He more or less runs the actual paint-making process (one Black man keeping this whole white-producing machine running... always has to keep a watchful eye on it).  He is extremely anti-union, because they would take away his job if he joined a union.
Rinehart: A surreal figure that never appears in the book except by reputation. Rinehart possesses a seemingly infinite number of identities, among them pimp, bookie, and preacher who speaks on the subject of “invisibility.” When the narrator wears dark glasses in Harlem one day, many people mistake him for Rinehart. The narrator realizes that Rinehart’s shape-shifting capacity represents a life of extreme freedom, complexity, and possibility. He also recognizes that this capacity fosters a cynical and manipulative idea of authenticity. Rinehart thus figures crucially in the book’s larger examination of the problem of identity and self-conception.
Raz the Destroyer: A stout, flamboyant, charismatic, angry man with a flair for public agitation. Ras represents the Black Nationalist movement, which advocates the violent overthrow of white supremacy. Ellison seems to use him to comment on the Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who believed that blacks would never achieve freedom in white society. A maverick, Ras frequently opposes the Brotherhood and the narrator, often violently, and incites riots in Harlem.
Tod Clifton: The "prettyboy" of the B'hood (very clean, well-dressed, and well-spoken).  He is also extremely legendary and influential in the activist community for his B'hood work.  Disappears rather unexpectedly and is later found selling Sambo dolls on the streets.  He dies at the hands of the police.  The B'hood attempts to make him look like a martyr.

DIDLS
1) I.M. never gives his true name, showing both his struggle for his true identity and decision to remain without a label; for the good of all people.  Different characters try to give him an identity with each group he joins; yet they are all unknown, because none of them are he and none of them are important.
2) Liberty Paints (word "Liberty" is important), Optic White (the PUREST white there is)… it all needs a little bit of black to be what it is.  The black needs to be stirred into the paint to make it go from a brownish-gray to that gleaming white.  The entire paint company couldn't function without Brockway.
3) The names of many of the characters have important meanings (Bledsoe- "bleed," struggle, toil, etc., Trueblood- well, that one's right there for ya, Emerson- "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary- the Virgin Mary,
that pure, motherly figure, etc., Rhinehart- I thought of it as Rhinestones being fake jewels… rhinestone heart= fake heart) See what other ones you can come up with.
4) Grandpa's words of wisdom vs. those of say, Burnside or Rhinehart.  It seems as though almost every key character has some variation of "…overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction."
5) THE DREAM!  When I.M. dreams he is castrated, then he laughs when he realizes it is really the brotherhood who has been castrated.  "…there's your universe, and that drip drop upon the water you hear is all the history
you've made. All you're going to make.  Now laugh, you scientists." This is his catharsis.  He is reaching that point of invisibility.  He realizes what's important.
6) Burning the items in his briefcase… his high school diploma, memories of the brotherhood (literature, the slip with his b'hood name, etc.), some letters, the Sambo doll, like the chain link won't seem to burn, yet the other supposedly more important items burn up like nothing, which is exactly what they are to him.  His roots are all he can't escape, like the words of his grandfather.
7) When he eats the yam from the street vendor, and feels homesick and at first worried that people will see him.  What will they think of him?!  Then he decides he doesn't care what they think, and even goes back for a second
yam.  It is yet another deep connection to his Southern past that he can't let go and luckily refuses to let go of.
8) The statue of the Founder at the University and the veil… he is either taking it off of the eyes of the black youth or pulling it tighter.  This is an image which I.M. struggles with throughout the book.  It is important to his growth and essential in his questioning what is handed to him.
9) Trueblood and his situation… this whole section is important on a few levels.  The description pushes the readers buttons, so you can only imagine what it did to open Mr. Norton's eyes to a side of black culture his donations reach and the reason why.  This whole thing also leads to the Golden Day, which is a very important scene, in it's chaotic presentation and how it juxtaposes itself with the previous scene at the University just down the road.
10) The Eviction Speech is a crucial scene, as it shows I.M.'s incredible natural speaking abilities, how hw was moved to action based on what was inside him, not what the brotherhood forced him to speak about.  People
listened to what he had to say with genuine interest and it was all purely for the cause- for these people.  Important scenes to talk about in conjunction with this one are the Clifton funeral, the B'hood speech he makes to that gigantic crowd, and the speech he gives in the beginning after the Battle Royale.
11) Blindness symbols:  the boys who fight in the “battle royal” wear blindfolds, symbolizing their powerlessness to recognize their exploitation at the hands of the white men. The Founder’s statue at the college has empty eyes, signifying his ideology’s stubborn neglect of racist realities. Blindness also afflicts Reverend Homer A. Barbee, who romanticizes the Founder, and Brother Jack, who is revealed to lack an eye—a lack that he has dissimulated by wearing a glass eye. The narrator himself experiences moments of blindness, such as in Chapter Sixteen when he addresses the black community under enormous, blinding lights. In each case, failure of sight corresponds to a lack of insight.

TPQs
1) What outside character, if any, was the most influential to I.M.'s growth
(education, coming-of-age, etc.) throughout the book and why?
2) Is there significance in his "hole" being so bright?
3) Why do I care about IM?
4) Are there any true villains or antagonists in this book?
5) Will IM be able to succeed with his final epiphany ?

Characters:
James Tyrone: The father, once a revered actor, now a washed up has-been. Heavy Drinker. His frugal ways spark resentment from the rest of his family; doesn't allow money to pay for a good doctor for his ill wife, nor does he pay for his youngest son to go to a good sanatorium. Real estate ventures concern him more than family wellness at some points. (High moment in life- when a famous actor complimented him.)
Mary Tyrone: The mother, addicted to morphine. Wants a "home" atmosphere, and is constantly in denial of her own problem and the condition of her entire family. Conflict between desire to escape bitter family and her fear of being alone. Fidgety hand, also seems nervous- this symptom more apparent when she takes more morphine. Self conscious, always fixing hair, etc. (High moment in life- marrying James Tyrone the matinee idol).  She reminisces about her days as a young Catholic girl who wanted to be either a nun or play piano and blames her husband for her situation constantly.
Jamie Tyrone: The eldest son, actor turned drunk who couldn't live to expectations, especially those of his father. Constantly fighting with his father. He was a good student until he began to drink in Prep School. A mediocre at best actor. Pays rent to parents via housework. He is blamed for a lot of things, loves his brother deeply. Spends most of his time and money at the Brothel (a bar). (High moment in life- none, and that's the point)
Edmund Tyrone: The youngest son, has consumption- the same disease which claimed the life of Mary's father. Fights with father, but not as passionately as his older brother Jamie. Parents think Jamie is a bad influence upon him and has corrupted him. Recites morbid poetry. (High moment in life- living as a sailor)
Edmund seems to be the only one left with hope for his mother’s recovery of her morphine addiction.

Top Ten Reasons why DIDLS are illegal in all 50 States (or just DIDLS from the book)
10.) Tyrone is taught to be tight-fisted with money at a young age, when he is becomes "man of the house" at age 10 and has to work in a shop to support his mother and siblings.
9.) Mary grew up with a father who spoiled her greatly. Thus, she grew accustomed to a particular lifestyle- one that James could not give her.   “I fell in love with James Tyrone and was so happy for a time.”
8.) James still believes in his Irish-Catholic farmer roots, extolling the virtues of prayer and faith to cure Mary. He blames her lack of such as a reason for her demise.
7.)Mary, who almost became a nun, lost her hope and faith, when trying to pray her way through Tyrone's drinking binges and mistress.
6.) As a child, Jamie killed his infant brother, Eugene, when he caught the measles from Jamie.
5.) Edmund was Mary's "second chance" after Eugene's death, unfortunately, the quack doctor James hired got Mary hooked on morphine. *Mary says about her addiction:  “I’ve never understood anything about it, except that one day long ago I found I could no longer call my soul my own.”
4.) Jamie became disillusioned with the world after finding out about his mom's addiction- which he blamed his father for.   To Edmund:  “I know you think I’m a cynical bastard but remember I’ve seen a lot more of this game than you have.”  He also blames his father for his brother’s condition.  “It might never have happened if you’d sent him to a real doctor when he first got sick.”
3.) It takes a drunken atmosphere for Jamie and James to talk about anything meaningful.   The light imagery goes along with the fact that the characters are always avoiding the truth.  There is never any real lighting in the house, and no one wants to “turn on the lights” to reveal themselves for who they really are.               2.) The images of the fog and the foghorn are important, especially for Mary, because they are also symbolic of hiding from the truth and escaping reality.
1.) Each character has their time of false happiness, showing how their downfalls originated in a false idea of what would create happiness in life, except for Jamie whose downfall is that he never even had a false happiness, never mind the real thing.

TPQ's
1.) Is the Tyrones' apparent openness in conversation due to alcohol intentional- Do they drink so they can truly talk with one another?
2.) Confrontations can be a good way for families to communicate when in dire situations, why then does this technique not work for the Tyrone’s?
3.) Financial problems plague the Tyrone’s, but would financial health make them, or at least help them, become happy as a whole?
4.) "Ignorance is bliss"- are any of the Tyrone's believers in this philosophy and if so, are they trying to reach ignorance in search of bliss?
5.) Is happiness based on accepting truth, on trying to fix the truth, or on denial of the truth?
6.) Are James and Mary's faiths in religion true, or shallowly based upon a false reality?
7.) The outside world is oblivious to the Tyrone family's pathetic situation- have they sacrificed self for self image?
8.) What is it that prevents the house in which they live to be a "home”, from Mary's standpoint?
9.) This play is, or is widely considered to be, based on the playwright's life experience. This being true, what does an author have to gain by creating such a personal and emotional work for the general public to view?
10.) Could Mary have really been happy as a nun or is it just that the grass is always greener on the side?
11.) Without alcohol, which is their only stimulant to meaningful conversation, would the Tyrone’s be better off?
12.) What makes a family successful?  Is a “functional” mother a necessity to hold together the rest of the family?

The Crew:
Jake Barnes- A hero who is a nearly perfect observer to the happenings around him. Relatively soft-spoken, but very insightful, he is tragic because his emasculation in WWI is the very thing that makes him an ideal partner for a woman.  He is a great listener because thinking about sex is useless to him.  He loves Brett Ashley and is like a guardian to her. He is the only character within the novel who forms real, solid relationships with others.  His relationship with Brett is a perfect example of this.
Brett Ashley- A very carefree woman.  She is a charmer who attracts many men with her wit and beauty.  At times she is very self-absorbed and she usually pays emotionally for this.  Is engaged to Mike Campbell while she has a fling with Robert Cohn and Pedro Romero.
Robert Cohn- Jake's friend at the beginning of the novel.  He is obsessed with Brett Ashley and because of this is subject to emotional torment.  He lives vicariously through books and yearns for the excitement tied into superficial praise and sex from writing a popular book.  He doesn't fit in.  Constantly copes with feelings of inferiority and shyness.
Pedro Romero- One of the most talented bullfighters in the biz.  He and Brett fall into what could be considered true love.  He is beaten up by Cohn for stealing Brett.  He is young to life and love.
Mike Campbell- Engaged to Brett.  He is rich and lets his money talk.  He turns a deaf ear to Brett's flings.  He is still pretty likeable all the same.
Bill Gordon- Jake's fishing buddy.  Kind of stands back, like Jake, and takes the whole thing in with no real hand in the events of the novel.

DIDLS DIDLS everywhere…
-Last line of the book (Brett and Jake): "Oh Jake, we could have been so good together." "Yes, isn't it pretty to think so?"
-Jake: "Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters."
-Pedro's bullfight.  Jake's description shows how much he cares about certain things in his life, highlighting the tragedy of his apathy.
-Jake and Bill's fishing expedition.  Jake reveals some spark of motivation, of purpose, while casting his line in the water.
-Jake's respect for Pedro Romero.  He respects not only a sensational bullfighter, but also a man who possesses the one thing he has lost: ambition.
-Brett fails to show up to places in many cases throughout the book yet Jake waits for her at time.  Symbolic to their relationship.
-Mike: "Joke people and you'll make enemies."
-Jake and Brett's taxi ride.
-Jake wants to know why Brett continues to seek him out if they can't be together, to which she replies, " Because I have to."
-Cohn's obsession with visiting South America after reading The Purple Land.
-At the end of the novel, Mike "Moneybags" Campbell has no money.  What is he left with then?
-Jake (on Brett): "She was looking into my eyes with that way she had of looking that made you wonder whether she really saw out of her own eyes…She looked as though there were nothing on Earth she would not look at like that, and really she was afraid of so many things."
-Jake (on his relationship w/Brett): "Women made such swell friends. Awfully swell.  In the first place, you had to be in love with a woman to have a basis of a friendship…I had been getting something for nothing.  That only delayed the presentation of the bill.  The bill always came.  That was one of the swell things you could count on."
-Jake (on his relationship with Brett due to his situation) “It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing.”

TPQ's that never lose:
1) Some great novels are driven by characters.  Explain how The Sun Also Rises is such a book and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.
2) In some novels, stuff actually happens.  Explain how just sitting around and drinking, fishing, watching a bullfight, drinking, fighting, crying, and then drinking some more actually contributes to a novel and gives it meaning.
3) Explain how Hemingway's revolutionary style of simply structured sentences provokes ooh's and ahh's rather than "show-don't-tell"s in vulgar red ink all over his paper. (What do we gain from simplicity in the narrative?)
4.) Is Brett and Jake’s relationship an example of true love?
5.) Does Brett love Jake as much as Jake loves her?

Top Eleven Didls
1. Characters outside the family allow the reader an ever more intricate perspective by giving the reader a chance to look at the Bundrens from outside their heads. We see the humor and patheticness of their situation among other things. One large detail that outside narrators give us, which the Bundrens never do, is the fact the coffin smells awful from Addie’s drenched dead body rotting in the sun for more than a week.
2. Darl is extremely observant and intelligent. Not only does he often know many details about other characters without ever being told, he tells the main parts of the story without actually being there. It is like he mentally understands every detail and does not have to be present. An example would be the actual death of his mother, he was not present but out selling wood, yet he describes the situation and other characters feelings and reactions as if he was there.
3. Faulkner writes using stream of consciousness. By allowing you to enter every characters head the author seemingly disappears. No one is telling you about the characters, no biased are presented. It’s just the reader and the character’s mind. This allows the reader to become fully engrossed in the story.
4. Addie is dead but still narrates a passage in the middle of the book. This allows us to see into the inner workings of the family because the reader sees the mother’s views on life and can begin to understand how she shaped the family and the family problems. Her passage is very deep, disturbing, and detailed. Because the entire book is centered on her death, this passage becomes even more important in making her become a real person who was once alive.
5. Words are a common theme in the book. Addie doesn’t believe in them, she had an affair with a priest that was supposed to follow the words of God, Cora only believes in the words of God, etc.
6. Every character has ulterior motives for wanting to go to town. Vardaman for a train, Dewey Dell for an abortion, Anse for teeth and a new wife. Darl is the only one who truly cares for his mother.
7. Fire and water are a reoccurring theme in the book. The storm is looming in the beginning of the book, Cash finishes the coffin in a downpour, The bridge is washed out, The coffin is tipped into the river, Darl tries to burn down the barn and give his mother a more proper burial, and Jewel “saves” the casket and mules from the flames.
8. The book is written like actual human thought. Sentences start and never finish, or are finished later. Daydreams run throughout, and many sentences have no punctuation, capitalization, or real understandable subjects.
9. The book ends with Anse introducing his new wife:
“ ‘It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell,’ pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn’t look at us. ‘Meet Mrs Bundren,’ he says.”
10. Cash tells the final narrative of the book, Darl is sent to a mental institution, and he is ironically probably better off there than with his family.
11. “My mother is a fish”

Thought provoking questions:
1. Is Darl insane?
2. Are words important in this book, or are words meaningless?
3. Should your family come before everything, even if it means you need to compromise your own life?
4. Put yourself in Darl’s place, would you have burned down the barn?
5. Is it okay to seemingly do unselfish acts even if you will get something you really want out of it?
6. Are all human motives selfish, or can a human actually do something that is totally unselfish?
7. Could this book have been written any other way?
8. What would be lost if it had been written like The Sun Also Rises or The Sound and the Fury?

DIDI VLADIMIR: The knowledgeable character of the main pair. Cares significantly about the arrival of Godot. Being “aware,” he is the only one who notices (or cares) about the supernatural repetition the events of the play exhibit. He most likely represents those seeking an ultimate purpose for existence.
GOGO ESTRAGON: Vladimir’s friend (and nearly polar opposite.) Because of his constant forgetfulness, Estragon’s viewpoints are simplified (and perhaps ignorant), almost like a child. He doesn’t like waiting for Godot and would rather leave the scene to do who-knows-what, but he never does on the account of Vladimir insisting that they wait. It may also be because Vladimir is Estragon’s sole protector. Estragon probably represents those who simply live but are burdened to keep up with human responsibilities.
LUCKY: The slave of Pozzo. Lucky’s slavery is to an extreme: every possible action he does is ordered by Pozzo, and he won’t do anything else. At all. He even has to be commanded to think! However, Lucky makes no protest (as far as can be seen.) Yet, this slave also appears to be a source of suffering for Pozzo (who, in the first act, is traveling to a trade show to sell Lucky away because of this.)
Lucky’s thinking (his only speaking part in the play) reveals a mind of unique intelligence. But if he possesses so much intellect, why does he stay a slave? This is probably where Lucky’s name ironically factors in: he might represent a man who, having thrown away all of humanity’s “burdens” entirely, has achieved a warped “Nirvana” of the existentialist, and thus is content to sticking with it.
POZZO: The slave master of Lucky. Pozzo possesses a pompus nature of sorts, expecting to be well-known throughout the countries for his wealth and achievements. Two versions of Pozzo exist in the play: in the first act, he is well-endowed, living the good life, traveling to sell Lucky because the slave’s thinking makes him suffer. In act II, however, Pozzo is blind and helpless, relying on Lucky (now dumb) like Gogo relies on Didi, and travels aimlessly with this slave, possessing an existential attitude that overshadows the previous “Pozzo.”
It is uncertain how this comes about, but the change is significant. In act I, he most likely represents those who try to fulfill themselves with monetary and reputational gain; if that is the case, his change in Act II probably represents the results of a disillusion.
BOY: The boy is the “messenger” of Godot who briefly appears near the end of each Act. Through the boy we gain hints on how Godot is like, all of which lean towards biblical allusions. The boy can be likened to an innocent cherub, but in one instance he is easily referable to the biblical story of Abel and Cain.

DETAILS WORTHY OF NOTE:
· Lucky’s speech – Although it seems as if Lucky’s speech is full of allusions, it is not.  They are not allusions but distractions in muddled sentences to force the reader to dig deeper into the text to find the meaning which is we, as humans, over analyze everything.  The speech can be related to life in a way that life is cluttered with distractions.
· Lucky’s hat - A symbol of Vladimir and Estragon’s pointless existence.  Their “hat switching” illustrates the endless repetition in the characters’ lives and their quest to better themselves and gain insights that others have. Their attempts provide to be hopeless as they finish in their original hats.
· Estragon’s boots - More evidenced of the characters’ forgetfulness and the fact that they don’t get anywhere with their lives. The pain in the second act serves as a realization of existence. You can not feel pain if you are not there to experience it.
· Constant arguing -  Estragon and Vladimir constantly debate over whether or not they are right for each other and often decide to leave each other, but never do.
· Pozzo and Lucky (Act 1) - Lucky is Pozzo’s slave, but is there to entertain the men when he recites his poem. Pozzo treats Lucky like a dog, ordering him around, showing no respect, but tells Vladimir and Estragon, that Lucky chooses to be his slave and that there are others who would like to.
· Pozzo’s blindness- Symbolizes that power is not permanent.  You do not realize what you have until it is gone.  Pozzo gains insight by having his sight removed.  Pozzo and Lucky’s roles have been reversed.
· Vladimir and Lucky’s relationship - The two are connected, but the reader is not sure how.  They are counter opposites, different as night and day, they are dependent upon each other. “If it were not for me you would be dead” Didi to Gogo
· “In spite of tennis” found in Lucky’s speech, a representation of life, an ever going process, a back and fourth game.
· Gogo’s dreams are nightmares.
· “I’d say eleven” Pozzo asks how old Didi is and Gogo responds the age 11, which is an age where you begin to question things around you.
.Bible Story of The Crucified Thieves – Vladimir points out in casual conversation with Estragon that three of the gospels either don’t mention the two thieves crucified with Jesus, or casts them in negative light, while the fourth offers a poignant story in which one of the thieves ask for forgiveness. Vladimir ponders over why three relatively common accounts are ignored for the third. The point of this scene may be to demonstrate that society often prefers comfort over the truth.
.Repetition – reading the story, one would realize that many things happen over and over again, in both realistic and supernatural senses. The order of events in the two acts are nearly identical (conversation, encounter with Pozzo + Lucky, coming of night, message from the boy that Godot won’t be coming, but will come tomorrow, repeat.) The Boy, Pozzo, and Lucky act as though they’ve never seen Vladimir and Estragon before TWICE in a row. And the following words: “I’m going.” “We can’t.” Why not?” We’re waiting for Godot.” “Ah!” -  is repeated and spun differently several times in the second act. Vladimir is the only one in the play who takes notice of this repetition: the rest simply seem to live. This “Groundhog Day” effect may be suggesting that, for most of us, life is a repetition without us realizing it…or wanting to realize it.
.The Identity of Godot – based on what is said, we can identify him as some sort of Shepard. He beats up the boy’s brother, but not the boy, and is said by the boy to do “nothing.” Vladimir states that if they don’t wait for Godot, he would “punish” Gogo and Didi. Godot is one of the greatest influences of the play that only exists psychologically. Writers everywhere are driven crazy by the obvious notion that Godot is “God” with an added “ot”, yet the significance of the “ot” is only truly known by Samuel Beckett himself.
The fact that Godot never comes in the course of the play suggests that searching for a purpose through God may be meaningless.
.The Tree – The tree is the sole environmental prop of the play. In act one, it is bare, but in act two (the next day), it grows some leaves. What is the significance? It just is. :)

Thought Provoking Questions:
Is there significance that it is a boy, not an adolescent or an adult, which comes bearing Godot’s news? What are they waiting for? Who is Godot?
What aspects of the meaning of life does the book reveal?
Can we all relate to one of the characters?
Do we all have a “tree” which our life somehow revolves around?

DIDLS:
· The ship name, Indomitable, means strong; unconquerable.
· If you want to compare him to God, Billy is nearly perfect. His only flaw is a speech impediment.
· When Claggart accuses Billy of mutiny, Billy kills him with a blow to the head.
· “The will to it and the sinister dexterity were all alike in wanting. To deal in double meanings and insinuations of any sort was quite foreign to his nature.” The narrator on Billy’s innocent nature.
· As Billy dies he says, “God Bless Captain Vere.”
· As Billy is hanged and as he dies, he does not convulse or move in any way.  It is suggested he is superhuman.
· “Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!” Cpt. Vere shows his quandary about sentencing Billy to death.
· Captain Vere’s last words before he dies are “Billy Budd, Billy Budd.”
· Billy’s hanging body ascended toward the heavens as he was lifted on the gallows.
· “Going up close to the young sailor, and laying a soothing hand on his shoulder, he (Vere) said, ‘There is no hurry, my boy. Take your time…’ Contrary to the effect intended, these words to fatherly in tone, doubtless touching Billy’s heart to the quick, prompted yet more violent efforts at utterance…” Billy is upset by his inability to speak for himself.
· The Chaplain was baffled, awed and curious at Billy’s tranquility and acceptance before death.
· Billy took measures so as not to be punished himself after being horrified while witnessing another sailor getting whipped.
· Claggart’s nickname “Jemmy” has an obscure definition meaning smart.
· Billy makes “no demur” while being transferred onto the Indomitable from the Rights of Man. He always seems to follow orders without question.
· Notice the difference and trivialization of the English newspaper account of the events of the Indomitable and the ill fated Billy Budd.
· Take note of the complex structure of this novel which could symbolize how we as a society overcomplicate everything whereas someone like Billy Budd sees only what really matters and is frank and to the point.

TPQ’s:
-What is Melville trying to say in Billy Budd about Christianity if anything?
-Do you think the jury makes the right decision in sentencing Billy Budd to death?
-Who is ultimately the most responsible for Billy's death: Billy himself, Claggart or Vere?
- Is Billy really an innocent as he seems? (Keep in mind he did once strike Red Whiskers as well as killing Claggart)
-Billy Budd: A celebration of morality and religion or a satire in defiance of morality and religion?
-The Dansker symbolizes knowledge gained through experience.  Captain Vere symbolizes knowledge gained intellectually—by studying books.  Which man would be better qualified to decide Billy’s sentence?
-The Dansker has a natural understanding of the events on the ship.  He warns Billy about impending danger with Claggart, but why does he stop there?  Why doesn’t he try to intervene with Claggart’s plan?
-Why does Billy ultimately resort to such violence?
-Billy is characterized a ‘Handsome Sailor’ with the exceptions of his stutter and inability to read.  If Billy was flawless, would he be any more pure at heart or would he be a perfect sailor in the eyes of the men around him?  Is the ability to perform well in front of others one that purifies the soul?
-Is there any significance in the fact that Billy and Claggart’s origins are a mystery when the story is an allegory?
- Could someone like Billy Budd survive in our society or does society doom people like Billy Budd?

Who's Who among Native Americans:
Tayo: main character in the book. Tayo is part white, part Laguna Indian. This book follows him in his return home from World War II, when he finds himself met with psychological problems that white man's medicine could not cure. To heal himself, he must take what he can from both parts of his heritage—combining old and new ceremonies.  His well-being is representative of the whole tribe.
Rocky: Tayo's cousin. Rocky was killed before Tayo's eyes in battle. He was the hope of the family, pushing aside the old traditions.  Rocky called Tayo “brother”, even though Tayo was a disgrace to the family.
Josiah: Tayo's uncle. Josiah is a sort of father figure to Tayo. He causes scandal by having an affair with Night Swan, a Mexican woman. Part of Tayo's guilt stems from abandoning the cattle that they raised together. Getting them back is one of the ceremonies Tayo must perform.
Auntie: Rocky's mother. Auntie took Tayo in when his mother died and nursed him back to health after the war. Rocky was her favored son; Tayo was a disgrace thrust upon her.
Robert: Rocky's father. More of a friend to Tayo than an authority figure.
Ku'oosh: Medicine man representative of the old traditions. His ceremonies fail to heal Tayo.
Betonie: Strange solitary medicine man representative of a marriage of the old ceremonies with the new. He initiates Tayo's healing process.  He tells Tayo he must find stars, cattle, mountains, and a woman to get on with his life.
Ts'eh: Tayo's lover. She helps Tayo to complete his ceremony, also blending elements of the old with the new.  Her last name, Montaño, means mountains.  She is related to Night Swan and all the other women in the book.
Leroy: Veteran of war along with Tayo. He becomes caught up in the sex, alcohol, and lifestyle of the white world.
Harley: Also Tayo's fellow veteran. He is a better friend to Tayo than Leroy and is tortured and murdered by Emo.
Emo: Most psychologically disturbed of the veterans; caught up in the power of the white man's world. He carries the teeth of a Japanese officer he killed.
Pinkie: relative of Tayo, similar to Leroy. He feels no responsibility to anyone but himself.

IN SUMMARY:
The beginning of the novel finds Tayo returning from WWII where cousin Rocky, who Tayo looked up to, died. During his absence, Uncle Josiah has also died. Tayo has been deeply emotionally troubled by the war and spends a long time in a veteran's hospital engrossed in his own world. Returning home, he feels lost and without purpose, constantly feeling sick partly for the responsibility he feels for his cousin's and uncle's death and partly for the drought afflicting the reservation. He drinks with his army and Indian cronies and ends up stabbing Emo with a broken bottle. His family sends him alone to the ranch to tend to the sheep. His family later calls Ku'oosh, the old medicine man, to heal him, but he can't. He goes to Betonie, the more progressive medicine man, who shows him how to cure himself and resist the witchery of the world with new ceremonies. He must find the cattle, stars, the mountain, and the woman.  This healing begins by retrieving Josiah's cattle. In doing this he meets Ts'eh and encounters the mountain lion. He then moves out to the ranch again to the cattle. Robert comes to tell him that Emo will get him committed to the hospital. Ts'eh comes and helps him plan how he will defeat Emo and the evil he represents. Observes witchery taking place at the old Uranium mine. Defeats it by not taking part in it. He goes and tells the elders, and the need for new modern ceremonies to combat it.

TOP TEN (OR ELEVEN) DIDLS:
1. 1st four poems in the book. The first poem explains the pueblo conception of creation: the thought-woman thinks the world into existence. The second emphasizes the importance of ceremonies. It also emphasizes the importance of growth and change.  The fourth poem corresponds to the last poem in the book, showing the constancy of nature: "sunrise accept this offering, sunrise." (The story begins and ends with the rising of the sun)
2. On the Battan death march, Tayo prays for the rain to stop, since it was causing floods and rot and torturing the injured (including Rocky). Now that the reservation is feeling the effects of drought, he feels responsible.
3. “But you know, grandson, this world is fragile.”  The word he chose to express “fragile” was filled with the intricacies of a continuing process, and with the strength inherent in spider webs woven across paths through sand hills where early in the morning the sun becomes entangled in each filament of web.
4. In a poem, a Ck’o’yo magician comes to the people and shows them new magic, which is just a series of optical illusions. The people are enthralled with this and neglect the mother goddess, who thus takes away the rain.  The journey to get the rain back is interspersed in small poems throughout the book, ending with Buzzard (who is a scavenger- getting rid of the dead things) purifying the town, which allows the rain to return.  The Indians have become fascinated by white things: booze, women, and power- all Ck’o’yo magic.  Only by Tayo’s clearing the dead things away can the rain come back.
5. Witch Poem: A council of witches bested each other concerning how many evil deeds they had done. The most evil deed is the creation of the white race. "They fear the world. They destroy what they fear. They fear themselves."
6. “But there was something else now, as Betonie said: it was everything thy had seen- the cities, the tall buildings, the noise and the lights, the power of their weapons and machines.  They were never the same after that: they had seen what the white people had made from the stolen land… Every day they had to look at the land, from horizon to horizon, and every day the loss was with them; it was the dead unburied, and the mourning of the lost going on forever.  So they tried to sink the loss in booze, and silence their grief with war stories about their courage, defending the land they had already lost.”
7. Tayo brings a message to and sleeps with Josiah's mistress, a "half-breed" like himself. She teaches him the most important lesson he learns about the world in which he lives. " They are afraid, Tayo.  They feel something happening, they can see something happening around them, and it scares them… They think that if their children have the same color of skin, the same color of eyes, that nothing is changing… They blame us, the ones who look different. That way they don't have to think about what has happened inside themselves.”
8. “The people had been taught to despise themselves because they were left with barren land and dry rivers.  But they were wrong.  It was the white people who had nothing; it was the white people who were suffering as thieves do, never able to forget that their pride was wrapped in something stolen, something that had never been, and could never be, theirs.  The destroyers had tricked the white people as completely as they had fooled the Indians, and now only a few people understood how the filthy deception worked; only a few people knew that the lie was destroying the white people faster than it was destroying the Indian people… And what little still remained to white people was shriveled like a seed hoarded too long, shrunken past its time, and split open now, to expose a fragile, pale leaf stem, perfectly formed and dead.”
9. The Gambler steals the rain clouds. He dresses in all white and uses human blood to gain power over a person and causes them to gamble all their possessions (since they figure they have nothing to lose) until they gamble their life away. He uses their blood to trick more people.  The Spider Woman (nature) instructs her grandson The Sun how to get the rain clouds back. The grandson takes her advice and defeats the Gambler, cutting his eyes out.  This parallels how the Indians felt they had nothing to lose, and gave their land to the white people, with each loss trapping a larger and larger group, until they lost their lives.  The white people eventually stop, but become blinded to all they’ve done.
10. “ ‘Death isn’t much,’ she said… ‘There are much worse things, you know.  The destroyers: they work to see how much can be lost, how much can be forgotten.  They destroy the feeling people have for each other… Their highest ambition is to gut human beings while they are still breathing, to hold the heart still beating so the victim will never feel anything again.,  When they finish, you watch yourself from a distance and you can’t even cry- not even for yourself.’  Tayo recognized it then: the thick white skin that had enclosed him, silencing the sensations of the living, the love as well as the grief; and he had been left with only the hum of the tissues that enclosed him…
‘Old Betonie said there was some way to stop-’
‘It all depends,’ she said.  ‘How far are you willing to go?’ ”
11. "He cried the relief he felt at finally seeing the pattern, the way all the stories fit together-the old stories, the war stories, their stories—to become the story that was still being told. He was not crazy; he had never been crazy. He had only seen and heard the world as it always was: no boundaries, only transitions through all distances and time.

TPQ’s
1. Are there magicians/destroyers?  Who are they?
2. Would Tayo’s ceremony work again?  Does a new one have to be created?
3. Is it the ceremony, or the change in perspective, that heal Tayo?  Are they the same?

CHARACTERS:
Blanche Dubois: A fading Southern belle from an aristocratic background. She has just lost her ancestral home, Belle Reve, and her teaching position as a result of promiscuity. Tennessee Williams described Blanche as delicate and moth-like. (Note: moths are known for seemingly “beating” themselves against any source of light.) She is a refined, sensitive, cultured, intelligent woman who is never willing to hurt someone. After being severed from Belle Reve, Blanche is at the mercy of the brutal, realistic world. Her sister is Stella Kowalski. Blanche means “white” in French.
Stella Kowalski: Blanche’s younger, married sister who lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans. She has turned her back to her aristocratic upbringing to enjoy common marriage. Stella is caught in between the two opposing worlds of Blanche and her husband, Stanley. She is also a pawn in the struggle between Blanche and Stanley. Stella is a passive, gentle woman. Stella means, “star” in Italian.
Stanley Kowalski: Stanley is a common, working man who is simple, straightforward and honest. He tolerates nothing but the bare, unembellished truth and lives in a world without refinements. He is often described as “acting like an animal.” Stanley views women in a limited capacity and sees himself as a “King” of his household. He could be seen as common, crude and vulgar. He is the opposing force to Blanche’s struggles and her world of illusion.
Mitch: (Short for Harold Mitchell). Mitch is Stanley’s best friend and colleague who went through the war with him. He is an unmarried man who lives with his ailing mother for whom he feels a great devotion. His softhearted and sensitive nature allows him to relate to Blanche and her world but often places him in conflict with Stanley and prey to Blanche’s illusions.
Steve and Eunice Hubbel: Stanley and Stella’s landlords who live upstairs and are very much a part of the Kowalski household. Steve is Stanley’s friend and poker buddy, and Eunice acts as Stella’s confidante. This couple and the location of their apartment add another layer of atmosphere to the New Orleans setting.
Other Characters: Mexican Woman, Negro Woman, Pablo, A Young Collector, Nurse and Doctor - These characters make small appearances throughout the play, but contribute to the diverse New Orleans atmosphere. They punctuate the scenes with their thematic dialogue and opposing viewpoints. In short, they often serve as extensions of the lead characters.

KEY DIDLS:
Elysian Fields: Elysian Fields is the name of the flat where Stella and Stanley live. In Greek myths, Elysian Fields was the part of the underworld that can be most closely associated with Heaven. The Elysian Fields are also where heroes were sent. To Stella it may seem as such, but ironically, to Blanche it is a relevant hell. Is Stanley a war hero?
Belle Reve: Belle Reve is the name of the home Blanche left behind. In French it means, “Beautiful Dream,” and represents Blanche’s former life, which is also the one she is trying desperately to hold on to through her lies. At the loss of Belle Reve, Blanche also loses her dreams – her husband commits suicide, her relatives are all deceased and she is released from her job at the school. At this point Blanche is low on funds and must see the help of her sister all while still trying to make herself believe she is as she was.
Light vs. Dark imagery (also The Chinese Lanterns): Blanche sees the darkness as way to hide her real age or, metaphorically speaking, her lies. Blanch embraces the darkness as she embraces her lies. The Chinese lanterns are also a way to hide the light. By changing the way the light appears, Blanche can change the way she appears. “ I like it dark. The dark is comforting to me.” The Chinese lantern is also an example of her tendency to fantasize things. Blanche fears the light as much as she fears her lies being uncovered. Look for more light imagery with Mitch’s lighter, the “naked bulb”, the lights of the cars as they go by the house, the search light/kitchen candle images, Stella’s description of how Stanley broke all the lights in the house on their honeymoon, and Blanche’s threat to “scream fire” while Mitch is there.
The Streetcar Named Desire: Blanche’s description of her journey to Stella’s is also an accurate description of her predicament. Desire is also plays a central role in the play; all the characters have their own desires that bring them to the conflict in the play.
BLANCHE: What you are talking about is brutal desire–just–Desire!–the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another...
STELLA: Haven't you ever ridden on that streetcar?
BLANCHE: It brought me here–where I'm not wanted and where I'm ashamed to be...
“Stella!” Stanley’s infamous and barbaric yell shows him as a primal animal, asking the question: are all humans animals? This question also brings about the animalistic qualities in the other characters. Most importantly, however, is the scene in which Stanley overtakes Blanche; not for the sake of pleasure but as role as “King” he must keep his subjects in line. “Every man’s a king and I’m the king around here.” Stanley’s social views are very brutish and lend to animal imagery (such as the lion, or King of the Jungle). How does Blanche react to Stanley’s attitude?
Blanche’s Name: The name “Blanche” is French for white. White is often associated with a sense of purity thus suggesting some of Blanche’s former lifestyle, and perhaps the person underneath her lies and deception. Blanche also seems caught up in two different personalities where the color white highlights her innocent and naïve appearance and a personality she portrays to others, but is not who she truly is.
Red Imagery: To contrast with Blanche’s name, the color red is often used to display her other personality. Red has always been a metaphorical color for passion and in Blanche’s case shows the side of her that is not the sweet and girlish southern belle, instead it is the passionate and desiring promiscuous woman she has become.
The Browning poem; “And if God choose, I shall love thee better- after- death!”: This classic love poem appears on Mitch’s cigarette lighter case. What is the symbolism of it appearing on this source of light? This also begins to show the loss in Mitch’s life and how that has affected him, raising the question of whether humans must go through something really difficult before we can really “get it”- have a fulfilling life.
Music: There are music cues at the beginning and end of various chapters. The music helps to set the environment and lifestyle of New Orleans. “The Blue Piano expresses the spirit of life that goes on here.”

TPQs:
1. Are human’s just animals?
2. Is Blanche’s outcome her fault?
3. Why do you think Stella was able to leave Belle Reve, but Blanche felt more responsibility to it?
4. Why does Mitch’s connection to his cigarette case seem to make a connection with Blanche?
5. Is Blanche really insane?
6. Why doesn’t Stella see Stanley for the way he is pictured to us?
7. Why is Blanche so afraid of loud noises (she always talks about her “nerves”)?
8. How important is Desire in a relationship and can a relationship function without sex? Is this the only reason Stella goes back to Stanley? (“But there are things that happen between a man and woman in the dark- that sort of make everything else seem- unimportant”)
9. Why does Blanche bathe so often?
10. Does Blanche know what she wants?
11. What does Stella learn from Blanche?
12. What role does alcohol play in the characters lives?

What kinds of words does the author use? Compare his/her word choice to what another person might use.
The literal definition to the word "diction" is – A choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. Different words have different connotations and denotations. So it is important for an author to have his own style reflected by his words. Diction can be useful in a very simple or in a complex way
For example:
Ex 1: The man went to the shop.
Ex 2: The man hobbled leisurely into the shop.
Diction brings out what kind of feelings we have when we read.
If an author uses harsh words like
Ex 1: The girl scraped the branches and the slashed her arm.
Or if the author uses light sounding words easy to the ear
Ex 2:  The girl bounced of the tree branch and was wounded.
the diction is different. Different Diction creates different feelings and emotions, and tones. Watch when reading poetry, or prose as diction could be part of the key point the author is trying to put across to you.
Powerful Quotes:
“I don’t want realism, I want magic.  I don’t tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth.
And if that is a sin, then let me be damned for it.”
 Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche)
“That’s what I wanted-to be alone with myself in another world
where truth is untrue and life can hide from itself."
-Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Mary)
 “Her face was like a cup of milk dashed with coffee in the sweet warm emptiness.”
  -The Sound and the Fury (Quentin)
  “Nothing to be done.”
 - Waiting for Godot
"Compliments to women about their looks! I never met a woman that didn’t know if she was good-looking or not without being told, and some of them give themselves credit for more than they’ve got.  I once went out with a doll who said to me, 'I am the glamorous type, I am the glamorous type!' I said, 'So what?'”
 -Streetcar Named Desire (Stanley)
 “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”
 -Sun Also Rises
“She had been a big woman once but now her skeleton rose, draped loosely in unpadded skin that tightened again upon a paunch almost dropsical, as though muscle and tissue had been courage or fortitude which the days or the years had consumed until only the indomitable skeleton was left rising like a ruin or a landmark above the somnolent and impervious guts…”
 -Sound and the Fury
“We’re free! We’re free!”
–Death of a Salesman (Linda)
 “Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners.”
  -Othello (Iago)
"‘It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell,’ pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn’t look at us. ‘Meet Mrs Bundren,’ he says.”
-As I Lay Dying
"O dread mysterious power of fate, that neither wealth nor war can quell, nor walls shut out, nor ships escape, dark fleeing o’er the foam.”
-Antigone (Chorus)
“I have been performing tricks for you Torvald.”
– A Doll's House (Nora)
"We women are the unhappiest creatures born."
-Medea
“My mother is a fish.”
-As I Lay Dying
 “I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it.”
 -Sound and the Fury
“Pop!  I’m a dime a dozen and so are you!”
Death of a Salesman (Biff)
“In Vino Veritas”
 -Long Day's Journey Into Night (Jamie)
"All men love themselves more than their neighbor…, seeing that a father for a new bride's sake loves his sons no more?"
-Medea (Attendant)
 “I threw Quentin in the room, and when I saw Dilsey hobbling over, I slammed the door in her face.”
 -Sound and the Fury (Jason)
“So with my loved one shall I abide, my crime a deed most holy: for the dead no longer have I to please than these on earth.  There I shall dwell forever:  Be it thine to have scorned what gods have hallowed, if thou wilt.”  -Antigone

The Sun Also Rises
        The bulls and the bullfight are one of the most significant images in the book. Like Jake, the bulls are emasculated. Jake has a tremendous respect for the bullfighters and the bulls, because he recognizes their passion. However, they are also an image of something that Jake will never achieve… he can only be an onlooker in the audience.
        “Romero’s bull-fighting gave real emotion, because he kept the absolute purity of line in his movements and always quietly and calmly let the horns pass him close each time.”
        The description of Brett’s eyes throughout the book represents her trust and her fear. Only with Jake are her eyes truly open, because he is willing to understand her. When she shuts the world out her eyes are flat. (“She had been looking into my eyes all the time. Her eyes had different depths, sometimes they seemed perfectly flat. Now you could see all the way into them.”)
        Pedro Romero is an image of youth, success, and everything that Jake wanted to be but could not. Jake respects Romero tremendously because he has the ambition Jake lost in the war. The green pants that he wears, and that attract Brett are a symbol of this wealth, fame, power and energy.
Streetcar Named Desire
        The images used in Streetcar create the aggressive atmosphere of the New Orleans
life that Stanley and Stella live in every day. The biggest image that is used to represent this is the poker scene. The poker scene remains a constant throughout the play, and represents the poor society that they live in. The poker scene represents how in their society, life just goes on. In their rough and tumble world, they have to ignore any distractions that will keep them from plowing through life on top. This is why Stanley hates it when during the poker game people make distracting comments, and how Blanche turns on the radio. This also explains why as soon as Blanche is out the door to the mental institute, they resume their game. This cycle will continue for the remainder of their lives. The series of constant power struggles that occur during the poker game show that life for them is truly survival of the fittest.
        It is only during the poker game that Stanley demonstrates extreme aggression towards Stella, almost illustrating the fact that he needs to establish himself on a higher platform than his poker friends do.
         Another image is the specific card game 7 card stud, and this ends the play, “The game is seven card stud.” each player is given seven cards and that is all they have to play the game with: Life is a game… we are dealt our cards, and that is all we have: the winner of the poker game is representative of someone who played his cards well…he won at life. Ironically, the character who wins the first poker game is Mitch; the loser of the game is the person who played their cards poorly, in essence this person failed at life.
        Blanch also bathes frequently, this image shows how she is trying to wash away her sins. Blanch is afraid of the light, which would reveal her true self, and on top of this she covers up with clothes that look fancy but are tattered and only appear to be glamorous.
The Sound and the Fury
        Quentin’s father gives him a watch and says that it is the “Mausoleum of all hope and desire,” but when it is given to Quentin he cannot escape from his past. He tries to destroy the watch so that he can forget his obsession with time but cannot succeed in doing this. “Only when the clock stops does time come to life.” The gift forces Quentin into a self-destructive path of his obsession of escaping time.
         The town square, with the confederate soldier in the center, at the end of the story is also an important image. Much more significant than directions in a town, going to the right and left of the statue represent two completely opposite directions in life. When Jason says, “Don’t you know better than to take him to the left!” it shows how Jason is afraid of change, and a less structured way of life.
         Church is also an important image- it is a foundation of Dilsey’s life, and a place where she and Benjy are accepted even though society views both of them as different and outcasts.
        Caddie’s muddy drawers foreshadow her promiscuity, and also represent the loss of innocence of the south.
 The physical description of Benjy is saved until the end of the book so that it does not interfere with the opinion of the reader of what he is saying.  By leaving out the description the reader’s preconceived societal based biases cannot effect whether or not the reader fully considers Benjy as a reliable narrator in his chapter.
A Doll’s House
         The most significant image is that pertaining to the title. To Norah, her life at home with Torvald is nothing more than living in a doll house, where she is the doll and he is the individual playing with her.  It is only when she is able to look in on this “doll house” that she realizes that she must “find out which it right, the world or” herself.  Her entire life was based on falsehoods and protection from true society.  She felt that Torvald really did love her, but the harsh contrast between when Torvald thought he would lose his job and when he knew he wouldn’t, shows that all he wanted was his “doll” Nora for show.  His calling her “his little squirrel” along with other helpless creatures shows his need for superiority over her.
Invisible Man
        There is a tremendous amount of color imagery in I.M. which helps create the social and cultural boundary between black and white. The Optic White paint at Liberty Paint is the purest white color. However, the black solution must be added to making the white paint, symbolizing that the white man needed the work of the black man in order to maintain his high position in society. Also, Lucius Brockway is in the basement of the factory, and this image shows how he is literally the foundation of Liberty Paints.  He holds up the entire company, again showing that the black man held the white man up high in society.  At the beginning of I.M. he is living in a room where the ceiling is covered in light bulbs. People are more visible in light and this image represents how he is trying to make himself more visible. Also, light can represent truth. The castration dream also holds crucial imagery. The vivid imagery shows how I.M. realizes many things about the brotherhood, and how with that dream the brotherhood is castrated and he is free from them.
         The music plays an important role at the beginning of the book. The song “What did I do to be so black and blue?” is a question the I.M. asks himself throughout the novel.
Death of a Salesman
        The imagery in the opening scene of the book of the apartment buildings all closing in around Willy’s house shows how he is being suffocated by society. The colors of the sun setting around the house also recreate the idea of a flame, burning around him. Quite opposite from this image is the garden. Willy always wants the garden and wants to plant the seeds, but they cannot grow where he lives. When he finally plants the seeds at the end of the book it represents a new beginning of life for the family he has left behind. Also, the way Willy is described carrying the suitcases into the house after work is used to create an image of his being weighted down: they are more like his chains than anything. The house is also an important image in the play. The house has two levels, and the sons sleep on the upper level, showing how Willy and Linda put them on a higher level. This pedestal imagery is also used with Biff, and the football trophy that is in the center of their mantle.
Long Day’s Journey into Night
         Since the characters communicate rarely throughout the play, hints as to their emotions must come from imagery used by the author. The most significant and a recurring image throughout the play is the fog. The fog represents this silence between the characters. Just like you cannot see through the fog, the characters cannot see through their own fog to understand one another.  Hiding behind the fog is their attempt to hide from the truth, and live in a false reality. Just like the weather outside the window, the fog in their lives comes and goes but is never really gone.
         The role of alcohol is also an important image. It is the center point of their lives, and the one activity that brings the whole family together. It shows the epitome of addiction. However, it is ironic that the more the characters drink, the more that they open up and communicate with one another.
        Mary’s wedding dress is important, because it represents the past that she is longing for where she was happy and everything made sense to her.
Waiting for Godot
         The physical scene in Waiting for Godot is sparse, so the few props that are used have increased significance. First, there is the tree. The tree is the only scenery, and it is a center point of the play. The tree just lives, which is something humans are not capable of. Also, the tree gets leaves in the second act to show the passage of time.  The tree is just able to exist without the influence of anything.
        Boots show how we are afraid of change, because Estragon wants his boots to fit. The fact that he cannot even master something as simple as taking off his boots highlights the meaningless of his life, and the pain he experiences from the boots shows us how we cannot understand life without pain and suffering.
        Vladimir constantly takes off his hat and looks inside it, symbolically looking for answers that he knows are not going to be in there, because the hat is clearly empty. This shows how throughout their lives they are constantly waiting for an answer to come to them.

Questions to ask:
What details does the author include and exclude in the story? The kinds of details the author puts in or takes out reflect his/her style?
ex. An author describing a battlefield might include details about the stench of rotting bodies or he might not.

Crime and Punishment:  Many details were given.  This allows us to see the constant turmoil inside Raskolnikov’s head.  Details given in specific chapters vary between focusing on actions and focusing on characteristics, thus manipulating the reader’s perception for the characters persuading us to like some characters and shun others.
· Character descriptions, for example:  Rask-- “was so badly dressed, that even a man accustomed to shabbiness would have been ashamed to be seen in such street rags.”  This shabbiness mirrored his chaotic mental state of mind throughout the entire novel.
· Almost all of the characters are foils of Rask, showing the reader what he could have been in both extremes…such as through Marmeladov, and contrastingly through Razumihin.
· The description of the scene of the murders alone.
· The dreary setting in which the story takes place and Rask lives in.
· The significance behind Polenka’s kiss
The Sound and the Fury:  As Quentin’s sanity slips through his fingers, the structure of the writing also diminishes.  There are very few details about Caddy spread throughout the book.  This creates an air of mystery about her.  She is very important to all of the characters, and we are always wondering why.
· The last chapter is focused on Dilsey
· Benjy’s name change
· The “dirty” symbols of impurity related to Caddie and sexual innuendoes
· The use of flashbacks in both Benjy and Quentin’s section
Ceremony:  Is full of details, yet many seem to be about the interactions between the white man and the Indian. This shows the fact that the lives of the white man and the Native American are intertwined more than any character knows.  Details are also revealed about the traditional Indian ceremonies which shows the connection to the past.
Sun Also Rises: Lots of details about the bullfight as it is symbolic of the state of society. Very few details about people, but lots of details about setting force the reader to understand the characters by their reactions and relationships to the setting.
· Pedro is the only man in the novel not directly physically or emotionally affected by the war
· The different symbols that the bullfights can represent: man vs woman, sex, etc.  These are truly significant, for the entire novel is build around the bullfighting
· The characters’ constant consumption of alcohol provides a way of escaping reality
· The detailed description of the setting.  Not much happens in the novel as a whole, but the beauty of the countries in which the novel takes place is stressed
· The most action takes place either at the bullfight(s), or when at a pub
Billy Budd: Tons of details about the laws, society, history, etc. paint a clear background upon which to interpret the happenings in the story. Character descriptions are loaded with allusions and details so that the characters appear exactly as Melville wants them to appear.
· The many descriptions that make connections between Billy and Christ
· The other Biblical allusions and occurrences that mirror the Bible, such as the waves at the end of the novel
· The use of historical mutinies, etc.
· The significance of the names used in the novel:  Indomitable, Rights of Man, Vere, “Jemmy Legs” Cloggart, etc.
· How both Vere and Billy die…with their last words mentioning the other
Long Day’s Journey into Night: Meticulous, almost overdone stage directions, pinpoint exactly what O’Neill wants the reader to make of each character. Tone words abound so that even subtle angles are covered.
· The fact the book is built around the meals and conversations…we must identify the characters through the way they talk
· The family never accomplishes anything through their “conversations,” and once they start to, he topic is dismissed
· Mary Tyrone’s many quirks, as specifically witnessed through the stage directions
· The stage direction in general—they reveal more facts about the characters and what’s going on than the actual story does
· Alcohol is used as a key object to reveal the character’s true feelings
Invisible Man: Some events are described with surrealistic details that force the reader to see the power of the events taking place on the characters. Lots of details about southern food and things that are degrading to Blacks illustrate the fact that the Blacks cannot disassociate themselves from their heritage.
· The history presented about the North and South, the treatment of blacks, etc.
· The Invisible Man’s name is never revealed!
· Many of the other names that were revealed have a significance:  Bledsoe, Trueblood, Emerson, etc.
· The papers
· The sambo doll
· The yams
· The meaningful speeches…especially the ones at the eviction and Clifton’s funeral
Doll’s House: Lots of descriptions of things in the house that portray it as a “doll house” superficial world for Nora. Lots of demeaning phrases and objects that subtly remind the reader of Nora’s confining situation.
· Nora’s many pet names
· The setting….the fact that all of the scenes in the play are rooms, usually connected by closed doors
· Nora’s outwardly dizziness, when she really is involved with a complicated financial scam
· Krogstad and Miss Linde’s history, and their “need” for one another

Questions to ask:
What is the overall impression of the language the author uses? Does it reflect education? A particular profession? Intelligence? Is it plain? Ornate? Simple? Clear? Figurative? Poetic?
        Language is what the “L” stands for in DIDLS.  When picking out specific DIDLS, see if they have anything to do with the overall use of language such as being formal, colloquial (jargon/slang), clinical (scientific), or archaic (old-fashioned language).  The language controls the tone.  Language is different from Diction because it is the entire body of words used in text not just selections.  You cannot find it by just looking at one sentence.  In most cases, it stays the same throughout the novel.  The subject matter influences how the language is going to be employed.  For example, an invitation to an anniversary may sound formal; a novel about a modern American family may contain colloquialism or slang.  The Bible has archaic (old-fashion) language to it.  Below are examples of the types of language you will find in what we have read:

The first three sections of The Sound and The Fury are narrated in a technique known as stream of consciousness, in which the writer takes down the character's thoughts as they occur to him, paying little attention to chronology of events or continuity of story line. To add another layer in the language complexities of this piece, Faulkner creates a different form of communication to the reader with each of his narrators.
 The technique is the most marked in the first section, where Benjy's mind skips back and forth in time as he relives events from the past (simultaneously conducting himself in the present). During his chapter, it is clear that his mind functions as a direct product of his senses rather than deep thought, seemingly because of a mental retardation. Quentin's thoughts are marked by intertwining realistic rationalization with that of the abstract. Jason's section is presented with much more structured logic than the other two, displaying clear thoughts about events that take place.

Crime and Punishment reflects its author's anguish at the immensity of human suffering in language that steers clear of the trappings of sophistication or sentimentalism. (At the same time, Dostoevsky is able to delve deeply and into the most complex workings of the human psyche as a result of this technique).

The right term for the language in Death of a Salesman is probably describing it as “Modern American”. The speech is in the relaxed talking language of modern America. i.e.:  “Gee, I’d love to go with you sometime, dad.”

Through Invisible Man, Ellison projected his words through several 'funhouse mirrors' as you might call it, particularly by carefully layering the valences and meanings of specific images -- any aesthetic experience, specially the written word, is inherently a distortion of reality.

Throughout A Doll's House, Ibsen appears to have deliberately chosen a colloquial language style to emphasize the consistent realism throughout.

Long Day's Journey Into Night deals with a politicized speech that highly values meaning. Non-the-less, the characters assert the right to their own choice of names. Put simply, Mary is always sure never to let the others to refer to Edmund's illness as anything other than a bad cold. Similarly, Tyrone views himself as prudent while others consider him stingy. Jamie does not want his lifestyle called reckless; he prefers to call himself an independent young man.

Ceremony puts into effect a level of language quite different because of the fact that it uniquely combines poetry with prose using symbolic reasoning and imagery throughout.  Silko is effective in providing both Native American and Western culture pieces in every one of the characters, bringing out the intertwining of the two.

Streetcar Named Desire uses both blunt and luminous language to portray its characters through each of the other involved characters, in addition to a depiction from the narrator. The play tended to involve rather didactic, working-class level connections which help to keep the characters on a low, unromanticized level.

Questions to ask:
What are the sentences like? Are they simple with one or two clauses? Do they have multiple phrases? Are they choppy? Flowing? Sinuous like a snake? What emotional impression do they leave?

Crime and Punishment- The author sets up the structure to tie in with the intensity of the novel. The sentences can vary from very lengthy to extremely short. It is the correct placement of those sentences which builds upon Raskolnikov’s guilt, as you can see it growing when the sentences become longer and more elaborate. By allowing us to see into the mind of a criminal, Dostoevsky structurally enhances the novel as well as increases the impact of Raskolinikov’s story.
Ceremony- With the unique combination of poetry and prose, the author enhances the novel’s look into the past and the present. The use of poetry to represent the stories of the past shows the reader how different things are today. The poetry is in a simple free verse structure, a story simply missing words, yet contains a powerful message because it uses less words to convey compelling stories. It is the fact that poetry is shortened which gives way to the prose. The prose are the stories of the present, used throughout the novel as a way for Tayo to untangle the web of stories, his own and the ones of the past (his people). With that arrangement of poetry and prose the structure allows the novel to segway into a deeper meaning. The stories of the past are shortened into poetry because time has "Americanized" the people. The more "white" behavior the Natives engage in, the more the stories lose their meaning because the people are forgetting those stories and their culture. The prose is used as a mirror to the poetry, it shows that the stories of today reflect those of the past. In fact, the only thing that changes between the two are the names.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man- The structure is used as a tool to convey Stephen’s age. The further Stephen advances in his words and his mindset, the more structured the book becomes. Through the more elaborate advancement of the structure, Stephen’s artistic ability is conveyed. An interesting point about that structure is that Joyce didn’t want any structural confines to the novel, so he tried to eliminate culture, religion, and language that would keep the message from being universal. At the same time those ties that Joyce removed were the same things that Stephen tried to overcome.  Stephen final triumph over these ties is seen in the structure change in the last chapter of the novel.  He starts writing in a journal format, showing that he is no longer tied down by the “nets”.
Billy Budd- Although this is a shorter story, every detail in every sentence of Billy Budd is important. Remove any sentence from it, and a piece of the total meaning of the book is altered. Throughout the story, Melville uses techniques in his structure to convey that importance of the total meaning. By addressing the actual reader, the narrator purposely emphasizes the importance of certain things and the unimportance of others. Using that narrator as a key to the structure helps the reader highlight a lot of the important information. Although the sentences are quite lengthy, their total importance in inevitable.
Long Day’s Journey into Night- This play is broken up into acts to build a certain amount of suspense upon the reader. That structure is actually building upon each act until the final one, in which the reader fully comes to understand the Tyrone family. As the characters slowly become intoxicated, their sentences change, but those are more important because the more they are under the influence, the more the truth spills out. The structure is also symbolic to the fact that it is one day progressing slowly into night as though to illustrate that this occur every day. The use of stage directions is another crucial part of this play.  The stage directions give us more information on the characters.  This information is a direct message from the writer, it is not hidden in the speech or actions of the characters.
As I Lay Dying- With the use of a changing of view, the structure is very important to this novel. We are allowed into the mind of each character and in their speech patterns we see more about the novel as a whole. The characters are completely conveyed through this structure of a novel, we are into the minds of each one and we see how each character feels about the other. The most important point of that structure is that we are getting an almost unbiased look into a story, seeing each angle, and all of the little things that the other person left out.  The many different points of view also raise the question of truth.  Is there such a thing as the true account of what happened?  All of the narrators in this book are describing the same thing, yet all describe it in extremely different ways; who is telling the ‘real’ version? Is there a ‘real’ version?
The Sun Also Rises- Jake’s narration of the novel is in line with the structure. Jake basically sits back and lets things take place. His type of story telling is very casual and conversational, at times going off on tangents to another point. This very loose structure is important to the novel’s underlying theme and the ways of the characters’ every day lives.
Invisible Man- The culture in this story plays an important role to the structure. With elements of blues and dialect, the novel is shaped and therefore confined to certain cultural aspects.  It also shifts from surrealism to extremism, mirroring the depth of the race issue in the novel.
A Streetcar Named Desire- Stanley’s sentences aren’t spoken in great English and usually surround raw emotions to convey his animalistic nature. The structure of Blanche’s lines change through each scene as though to highlight her ever-changing personality. Stella has very few lines, though she plays a pivotal role in the play. Through the structure of her lines you can see her control and impact over Stanley and Blanche, thus emphasizing her powerful character.
Waiting for Godot- Sentences are set up in a strange format as though to tie into the comical approach of the novel. The repetition in both scenes highlights the importance of Lucky’s speech, which had no definite structure, yet is immensely important to the play as a whole.
The Sound and the Fury- Each character has a unique structure of his/her own. Benjy, who is mentally retarded, has no concept of time. All of the stories seen are structurally placed out of order as though to convey his problem, as well as to highlight that what he does tell is important to the novel. Quentin, educated at Harvard, has a very abstract structure to his portion, which emphasizes his mental derangement and potential to over-analyze. Jason’s structure is more simplistic, showing his lack of education. His language emphasizes the strain on his life and the intensity of his sentences conveys the frustrations he feels. Dilsey’s quarter of the novel is actually in a third person point of view, the fact that we don’t see into her head is a key to the structure which influences the major points in the novel.  Another important aspect of the structure of this novel is actually not present. The lack of a section dedicated to Caddy is extremely significant.

Death of a Salesman-1949. “Before us is the Salesman’s house.  We are aware of the following towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides…”  “An air of the dream clings to the place, a dream rising out of
reality.”  The dream stated is the “American Dream” in all its superficiality and emptiness.
Anitgone-Set in the mythological Greek past, set in Thebes.  Some of the scene’s take place in Creon’s, the King of Thebes, palace.

A Streetcar Named Desire-“…on a street in New Orleans which is named Elysian Fields.”  An allusion to the paradise afterlife of Greek mythology.  “The section is poor…has a raffish charm.  There is an overlying atmosphere of heat and decay.

Long Day’s Journey into Night- August, 1912.  The Home of James Tyrone and his family, which is completely isolated from the outside world.  The isolated setting allows for more intense interaction between the family members.  The house is often surrounded by a dense fog.

Medea-The setting is before the house of Medea and Jason, in Corinth.
Waiting for Godot-“A country road.  A tree.  Evening”  The is the simple setting which places emphasis on the on focal point, the tree.  The tree also shows that the characters remain in the same place.  This highlights the repetitive nature of life.

The Sun Also Rises-  Europe after World War one.  The characters are expatriates from American and Great Britain.  In search of adventure, and something to fill their empty lives they go to Paris, as well as Spain.

As I Lay Dying- As I Lay Dying is set in the fictional Mississippi county of Yoknapatawpha. The action takes place between the Bundren’s rural home and the city of Jefferson, which is about a day and a half’s ride away.

Othello-Othello is not confined to a single place. Act I of the play takes place in Venice, while, Act II moves on to Cyprus, where the rest of the action takes place. There is also a violation of the unity of atmosphere because Venice symbolizes civilized behavior, while Cyprus symbolizes the reverse.

The Sound and the Fury- Yoknapatawpha County.  The South.  The setting is secondary to the deeper themes of the Compson families psychology, but the fall of the South is an issue.  The characters seemed to be haunted by the South.

Crime and Punishment- St. Petersburg, Russia.  “The heat in the street was terrible; and the airlessness, the bustle and the plaster, scaffolding, bricks, and dust all about him, and that special St. Petersburg stench.  Rask felt suffocated by his humble home.

A Doll’s House-A Doll's House takes place in a large Norwegian town. The entire drama unfolds on one set, a "comfortable room" in the Helmers' house that serves both as a drawing room in which to receive guests and as a family room where the children play and where the family sets up its Christmas tree.  One of the most significant thing about the setting of this play is that it concerns middle-class characters and values and it takes place in an unnamed city.

Billy Budd-The year is 1797, and the action of the novel takes place during one of Britain's many wars with France. The story primarily concerns two ships, The Rights of Man and the Indomitable, both of which carry hundreds
of men in close quarters. Most of the action takes place on the Indomitable, which is a large, sailing warship.

Invisible Man- The hole.  IM’s apartment filled with hundreds of light bulbs, illuminating his invincibility.  South vs. North.  The north seems like freedom while the south brings back memories of the past.
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man- Dublin.  The drab, stagnant city is the center of paralyzed Ireland, which stifles the young man.  The streets Stephen wanders seems like the labyrinth constructed by Dedalus.

Tone is the variable, complex emotions that accompany the reading of a work.

Antigone – tragic, agonizing. All the characters suffer internal pains trying to do what they feel is right. Antigone contemplates the rights she has to bury her brother, which leads to her death, and Creon is torn between letting Antigone go, and setting his standards for society. The speaker feels the pain each character endures. The deaths in the end are sorrowful and the speaker feels this was a tragic event.
A Doll’s House – emotional, intense, solemn. The writer rode the emotions of this play, as Nora was on a seesaw the whole play hiding a secret and acting as Torvald’s doll. The writer portrayed an extreme intensity when Nora confronted her husband with her secret and the seriousness when Nora left Torvald and the children showed that the writer had a very solemn attitude.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – insightful, serious. In this novel, the speaker always maintains a serious attitude about the life of Stephen Dedalus, his stages of growing up and the learning he experiences throughout his life. The tone is also insightful, especially when Stephen has an epiphany and gains a new outlook o his life. The speaker gains an insight also, which makes him express a grave attitude.
As I Lay Dying – depressing, anger. In this novel, the main characters go through the death of Adie. The attitude is sad because of their loss. There is also anger because some of her children were mad she wasn’t there for them more. The tone is simple, but really effects the reader.
A Streetcar Named Desire – loneliness, pity. Blanche is lonely in the book, as is Mitch. This tone is brought out in descriptions of the two and their thoughts. The pity tone is brought out when people say things about Blanche. They all feel bad for her.
Billy Budd – conflicting, admiring, hopeful. The tone was conflicting because it was unsure if Billy should be put to death or not and his miraculous death could not be explained by science. Billy Budd was an unbelievable character and the speaker spoke admiringly of him. The tone was also hopeful because the speaker gained a sense of faith from Billy Budd and he felt optimistic towards life in the end despite the death of Billy.
Ceremony – depressing, yearning, hopeful. The speaker goes through a variety of attitudes with the main character Tayo. The speaker expresses a sense of depressions when Tayo struggles to find himself after the war and loses all sense of who he truly is. The speaker also yearns to find a way of life that will make the world better for all people. A Sense of hope fills the speaker, particularly at the end, when a realization is made, that the world changes and you change too, but if you remember your roots and continue to live then the world is still beautiful. She hopes that the people in the world will reach this understanding some day.
Crime and Punishment – tragic, hopeful, emotional, painful. There was a wide range of tones in this book. The main tone was tragic – tragic for every character. The speaker felt pain and pity many of the character due to their situation, lifestyle, or grief – stricken life. Riding waves of emotion by looking at each character the speaker expressed an emotional tone as he suffered and hoped with each person. The tone was hopeful, especially in the end, when Rodya turned and picked up the Bible and finally expressed a feeling of wanting forgiveness. Sonya brought out a hopeful tone as well, by being such a pure person.
Death of a Salesman – sincere, caring, sorrowful. The tone of this play was sorrowful at the end when Willy died and also when he flashed back to the past and was haunted. Biff also made the writer experience a sorrowful tone by his actions and attitude towards his father. The tone was sincere and caring for most of the play because Linda was always honest and loving towards her husband and despite the family’s problems, each family member knew how the other one felt and deep down they loved each other.
Invisible Man – confusing, joyful. The tone is confusing because Invisible Man doesn’t know who he is or what’s going on. He never finds himself until the very end of the book, the joyful tone. He finds himself and isn’t as depressed or confused as before, but joyful.
Long Day’s Journey into Night – sad, morose, depressing, angry. Anger is apparent when n the Tyrone’s fight. They are mad at each other and this is displayed through their use of words and actions. It’s a depressing tone because Mary uses drugs, Edmund has consumption, and the James have drinking problems.
Othello – anger. Anger is a tone all over in this book; the book is driven by anger. Iago starts everything because he is angry at Othello for sleeping with his wife. This need fro revenge, driven by the anger, caused Othello to kill his wife out of anger at her.
The Sound and the Fury – agitated, sad, joyous. The Major tone of the book is sadness. Everywhere you turn, something bad happens, death, growing up, castration, etc. There is also a joyful tone. Benjy being with Caddy brings in the joy.
The Sun Also Rises- detached, depressing. The speaker in this story was Jake and he was detached from the people around him and life in the word. He was made an outsider from what happened to him in the war, which gave him an outside look nobody else could understand. The tone was also depressing because nobody understood the deeper meanings of life and love like he did and instead of looking past his physical problems, his love, Brett, only saw that as a reason that they couldn’t be together. The writer created a very depressing mood with all of his characters by secluding them emotionally from everyone else.
Waiting for Godot – humorous, joyful. The tone is humorous. Everything done has humor to it, a piece of comedy; Gogo and Didi finishing each others lines, and Lucky dancing. It’s hopeful when the boy shows up. He makes Gogo and Didi think Godot is coming.

Importance:
Deciding the point of view in any piece of literature is one of the most important decisions a writer can make. By changing the point of view the entire meaning in the literature could be altered.
 Prime Example: Crime and Punishment, written in third person narrative, allows the reader to have a more reliable basis to understand each character since the view is not told by the psycho himself.

Types:
First Person(participant point of view)
 • narrator as a character in the work
The reader must decide if the narrator is trustworthy.  This character will be biased.  The narrator cannot see into other character’s minds, however, the narration can be more personal and intimate.  First person perspective can contribute to dramatic irony.
 • narrator as a major character
The story focuses around the narrator.  i.e. Jake Barnes (The Sun Also Rises)
 • narrator-minor character
The story focuses around another character other than the narrator.  This enables the reader to get a slightly removed perspective while keeping the participant point of view.  i.e. The Great Gatsby
 • innocent eye
The narrator is either a child or a mentally disabled person.  The narrator is naïve, which produces an ironic effect.  i.e. Benjy (The Sound and Fury)
 • interior monologue
The narrator tells the story through a stream of consciousness.  This shows exactly what the character is thinking.  i.e. Quentin (The Sound and Fury)
Second Person
• Hardly ever used, the second person point of view uses second person pronouns (you, yours, etc.).  It directly involves the reader in the story.
Third Person (non-participant point of view)
 • omniscient
The narrator knows all and has the ability to enter all the characters’ minds.  The narrator can comment on character’s thoughts as well as actions.  i.e. Crime and Punishment
 • selective
The narrator is limited to knowing all about a select number of character or one character.  This perspective creates a more unified story and can be easier to follow.  i.e. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
 • objective
The narrator only tells of what is seen and heard and does not enter any character’s mind.  Allows the reader to make conclusions about characters without the author commenting about a character’s thoughts.  The reader is influenced by the author’s choice of language.

Reliability:
 Don't rely solely on the narrator for information in a novel.  The reader should be able to determine whether you can believe the narrator or form personal opinions. Learn to separate opinion from facts. Prime Example is Edgar Allen Poe whose narrators were extremely unreliable. Also take into consideration the author is expressing or not expressing bias for a reason. Look deeper into the mind of what each characters thoughts and actions could mean and try to determine the whole with the bias and without.

As I Lay Dying- Told in nineteen different first person point of views.  Now first person point of views normally make the reader bias to the character who is telling you the story; however, in As I Lay Dying, Faulkner allows the reader to become more intimate with numerous characters by taking them through the mind of each individual character. Faulkner also leaves out information from certain characters. This tactic allows the reader to feel almost as if they're in discussion with a friend and not reading.
Billy Budd- Told in a third person narrative.  This makes the book objective. Billy Budd is suppose to be allegorical and by telling the story in third person it's easier for the readers to relate the book to anything in life since they're not intimate with any of the characters.
Long Day's Journey Into Night- Although this is a play, O'Neill manages to use the stage directions almost as a third person narrative.  This allows the reader to feel as if they are taking part in the action, but also they understand the emotions of each of the characters and thoughts at the same time.
Invisible Man- This novel is told in first person narrative. The reader is given the life of a black man in detail. However, since the character is not identified personally with a name the effect on the reader is almost impersonal. This allows the reader to associate the character with any black individual at the time.  So although Ellison wrote it in first person the intimacy between the actual character himself and the reader is less personal then the average novel written in first person.
The Sun Also Rises- This book is told by the main character Jake Barnes. What Hemingway manages to do that is interesting is keep the reader objective. The readers do not become highly opinionated about any of the characters due to Jakes Barnes physical handicap and how it plays a role in his personal relations with the Lady Brett Ashley. By taking away the sexuality of his main character, Hemingway makes the character unbiased which affects the readers.
Antigone- This is a play and relatively average in format.  The reader does not become extremely biased toward any character unless based on own personal opinion.  The plays itself allow the reader to almost be an innocent bystander to the action. It's like watching a fight without really being in the fight.
Medea- The same effect on the reader as in Antigone occurs here. It's a play. Both have relations which represent society and both have personal issues with characters. The stories are kind of insane which makes it more difficult to relate to personal issues today unless discussing the insanity behind terrorism and such in the world today.
A Streetcar Named Desire- Also a play, which doesn't really have a strong point of view basis.  The drama in this plot line is what entertains and fascinates the audience not really having much to do with personal opinions and thoughts behind the characters and what is written.  It's a children's book in recognizing the emotions in Stanley, Stella, and Blanche's actions.
Death of a Salesman- Also a play, perhaps chosen in that format because the main character is semi- crazy. This format allows the book and descriptions to be reliable since individual thoughts and story lines from characters probably wouldn't be.
A Doll's House- This being a play is probably due to the fact that a lot of conversations are one on one, so if told in first person narrative you would miss out a lot on others relations.  It is quite possible that it could be just as effective in third person however.
Waiting for Godot- This play makes it impossible for you to grow intimate with the characters.  It give a completely open view point which mean you must find your own way to relate to the book. This is why the book is so universal.
Othello- This play follows the same basic guidelines from Medea and Antigone. Shakespeare liked to write in plays and probably couldn't write well in prose format which is why everything is so poetically difficult.
The Sound and the Fury- This novel is excellent in viewing differences in points of view.  There are three first person point of views. Two of the views are highly biased while the one told by Benjy the idiot could almost be counted as a third person narrative. The last viewpoint actually is third person narrative.  The contrast in each section makes the reader extremely confused in the beginning, but the audience becomes attached and intimate with certain characters and emotions evoked throughout the book by each of the contrasts.
Crime and Punishment- This novel is interesting due to the fact that it is told in third person, but the reader is let into the mind of the criminal quite often which means it almost transfers into first person.  Since it is in third person narrative it allows the story to be reliable, but the transferring into the thoughts of the character also allows the readers to grow passionate and opinionated on the stories emotions.
A Portrait of the Artist- Told in first person narrative the story is somewhat unreliable at times.  The character is childlike and observes at times, but then on occasions becomes focused on only his personal thoughts.  The reader must like past at times what the reader is saying or observing and make his/her own conclusions. This book could not be written in any other view point though because then the reader would not be give a portrait of the artist.