audrey :)

Audrey Vincent March 6, 2009
English Honors III Period: G
A Streetcar Named Desire
In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Blanche comes off as the victim in the play; however I cannot completely sympathize with her on some aspects. Blanche lies constantly, especially to Mitch, Stanley and Stella. Among her lies, Blanche divulges things to people that should not be heard and she seems to feel no remorse. For this, Blanche has potential to capture readers in an extremely negative way, yet there is something about her that shifts opinions, viewing her as a victim.
One of the most detrimental events effecting Blanche’s psyche was the witnessing of her first husbands’ suicide. Blanche feels as though she caused this to happen, which is why she acts the way she does in front of the people around her. When Blanche was caught however, with her seventeen year old student before she lost her teaching job in Laurel, people were quick to judge and assume that she was inappropriately promiscuous. Could this be just a result of not feeling good enough for anyone else, especially after the suicide of her first husband?
The lies Blanche tells are clearly made up to hide the truth of her situation which she does not feel comfortable telling people because she may feel insecure about it. This leads people, like Stanley, to criticize her and constantly insult her. From the beginning Blanche and Stanley have something between them that is almost unexplainable. There is definitely tension between Stanley and Blanche, but things take a turn for the worst when Stanley takes advantage of her in the bedroom. Aspects about Blanche such as these make her seem like the victim.
The question is arguable whether or not Blanche deserves her fate, being sent to the institution. Based on her background and understanding why she acts the way she does determines one’s opinion on the subject. Sometimes it seems as though Blanche can control what she says or does, but her disturbed psyche controls her more than she wishes.

Audrey Vincent

Ms. Bazinet

English Honors III

29 October 2008

Whitman and Dead Poets Society

     Walt Whitman looms largely and is influential in the film Dead Poets Society.  Whitman’s mannerisms and values are prevalent throughout the film, and are shown through the major characters.  The unorthodox English teacher Mr. Keating closely relates to Whitman in that he goes against the grain, so to speak.  The way Mr. Keating teaches is class at The Welton Academy, an all boys school, is quite unconventional which is essentially what Whitman was.

     In class, Mr. Keating does various exercises with his students to demonstrate human nature and the ways poetry for example, is viewed.  At first the boys who were brought up on such a tight leash were skeptical.  They were never allowed to stand on a desk to see things at a different level, or rip the pages out of their books until they entered Mr. Keating’s class.  Mr. Keating got the boys to understand that what society thinks is not always true, and he taught them how to think for themselves and form their own opinions.  Much like Whitman’s poetry, people argued over Mr. Keating’s out-of-this-world teaching methods.  Both Walt Whitman and Mr. Keating however, thought for themselves and really understood themselves and where they fit in society.

     Eventually, the boys of Mr. Keating’s class were able to create their own ideas without being shot down by their parents, or even each other.  Together, they formed their own Dead Poets Society, where they spoke about common misconceptions, especially regarding poetry.  Once word got out about this secret club though, the boys were severely reprimanded.  The point of the group was to escape “reality” and create something on their own.  Instead, stiff and life-less professors got in the way and basically declared the meaning of Dead Poets Society to be wrong and unethical.  Mr. Keating was of course falsely blamed for this matter.  All that Mr. Keating and Walt Whitman were trying to accomplish by their ‘unconventional’ methods was to bring creativeness and personality out of the rigidness society was under.

     Through the screen play of Dead Poets Society, Whitman played a character of his own.  Whitman’s theories and poems were described by Mr. Keating, almost like he idolized him.  Mr. Keating kept Whitman’s picture on his wall, and even took a line from one of his poems, “Oh Captain, my Captain,” as a name by which he wanted to be called by his students.  Through this, Whitman’s values and messages were visible to the boys of the Welton Academy, and they soon began to experience life a little bit differently.

     Mr. Keating, just like Whitman, was criticized for his methods of teaching and influence on the boys, but his overall goal was accomplished.  This was to get a small portion of society, being his class, to consider the norm differently.  As much as the boys tried however, their parents would still not accept this change in their behavior, like Neil Perry’s parents, for example.  Neil Perry loved acting but his parents wanted him to solely worry about his school work.  Mr. Keating encouraged Neil to do what he loved, much like how Walt Whitman encouraged personal expression.  Finally, Neil went forth with his passion, contrary to what his parents wished for him.  When Mr. Perry found out about Neil being in the play, he quickly brought Neil home from school, where Neil then committed suicide.

     Through Neil’s suicide and even an expulsion of one of the boys (Charlie Dalton, or “Nuwanda”) the message that Whitman was essentially conveying (through the acting of Mr. Keating/the writer) was that personal expression and creative thought prevails through all.  When the boys returned to school to find the Mr. Keating lost his position as teacher, they still stood on their desks saying “Oh Captain, my Captain,” proving that they were forever changed by Mr. Keating.

Hey,

I’m passionate about a lot of things; sports, animals, school.

I’ve been an avid equestrian for eight years, it’s become my life.  I play tennis for school as well as ice hockey and I love to ski.  I love to relax and read or listen to music.  My friends and my family are my life.  Traveling is a huge part of my life.  I’ve spent my last two summers in Ecuador and I’m hoping to go back again.

I love meeting new people