Journal #12

The conflicting idea of ugly vs pretty is seen through Antigone and Ismene. In the beginning, the chorus describes Ismene as more beautiful than Antigone. Not only are their looks in contrast of ugly vs pretty, but their situations could also be seen as ugly or pretty. Antigone is in an ugly situation, faced with the possibility of death due to her adamant belief that her brother must be buried. She also has some doubts about Haemon loving her, knowing that Ismene is the girl that most people thought Haemon would marry. Ismene is not exactly in a pretty situation, but it is better than Antigone's situation. Ismene is simply in her place trying to avoid any type of conflict. When talking to Creon, Antigone goes on to talk about becoming beautiful. She claims her father was ugly as well but became beautiful at the end when all of his questions had been answered. When there was no doubt and everything was certain, her father became beautiful. It seems Antigone thinks death will make her beautiful, when there is no hope left. I think Anouilh creates this tension to show how unafraid Antigone is of death. She will do whatever it takes to fulfill her desires, even if it means dying. It seems Antigone does not fear death, but almost looks at it as a way of becoming beautiful.

Journal #11

In the beginning of the play, the chorus took the role of giving background information to the characters. Information about what has happened in the past was given. This information is important to know what is currently happening and why it is happening. Now, the chorus doesn't really talk about the characters or the plot itself, but rather about the concept and the characteristics of tragedy. The elements of a tragedy are explained, describing it as "clean, it is restful, it is flawless" with no hope. In commenting on the tragic elements of the play, the chorus relates it to other things and uses many examples. At first, a coiled spring is used as a metaphor to describe tragedy. Then, a machine and the example of "an executioner's ax goes up at the end of the act" are used. These objects and examples are used to help the readers understand tragedy the way the chorus wants them to. The author seems to use an authoritative or absolute tone. The chorus describes tragedy in a way that makes it seem that there is no other kind of tragedy and this is it. It seems the chorus is saying what I am telling you is tragedy. I saw this when the chorus says stuff like "that, you cannot do" or "that is vulgar; it's practical" (24).

Journal #10

Events in the past 48 hours include a conflict between the two brothers Eteocles and Polynices. After Oedipus died, the two brothers were to switch off as king, but Eteocles refused to give up the throne after his first year. As a result, conflict arises with Polynices bringing in foreign forces to take his year as king. The two brothers fight and both die. Creon, their uncle and Oedipus' brother, becomes king and orders Polynices to not receive a proper burial, since he appeared to be a traitor. It is ordered that his body is to rot and be eaten by vultures and dogs. Creon's order causes Antigone to feel threatened in her wish to give her brother a proper burial. Nonetheless, Antigone successfully and secretly buries her brother, bringing her the fear of death since she defied the king's order. That same night, the nurse catches Antigone sneaking back into the house.

The previous events are explained by the chorus giving background information to some of the characters. The structure of this play is different than the other plays we have read. The action in the play actually starts with Antigone sneaking into her house, but events in the past are crucial to understand what is going on. The chorus explains the history of some of the characters, giving the reader information that eliminates the need to make inferences to what has happened. We are given a specific outlook to the characters. The chorus also hints at some of the possible future events, such as Antigone dying. By the chorus doing this, it gives the reader to expect something. With the reader expecting a certain outcome, it creates the possibility of surprise. When certain expectations do happen the way we expect them to, surprise is placed instead. With my experience with tragedies so far, surprises seem to be a popular technique. I think this structure Anouilh uses effectively helps set up for the events that are to happen later in the play.

Topic Sentence

In Federico Garcia Lorca's "Blood Wedding", Mother strongly believes that people should follow their proper societal role, but displays her hypocritical nature when she breaks out of her quiet, submissive role of a woman and speaks her mind of the murder of her husband and son.

Journal #9

Deceit / the altering of truth
I think the biggest deceit in the play would be the bride and her actions. She promises the bridegroom to be a loyal wife, yet she ends up running away with Leonardo, deceiving everyone. She made herself appear like any typical bride, but truly ends up becoming controversial through her actions. Another instance of deceit may be when Leonardo lies to his family about him traveling to the bride's home on the horse. He claims it was not him who was traveling out in the wasteland, when in truth it was him making secret visits to the Bride.

Following proper roles
Because of mother's tragic past, she shows many instances where she wishes people would simply follow their societal role. This can be seen with her wish for a daughter or granddaughter, a child that would just stay at home, not exposed to the dangers of the outside world. She also teaches her son how to be a proper husband. She tells him to "be affectionate" or to "caress her in a way that will hurt her a bit" (74). It seems like her thinking is that if everyone just followed what they were supposed to do, everything would be fine. There are other characters who also show this, such as the neighbor. In the first act first scene, the neighbor talks to the mother about how their sons are best sleeping and not in danger. Their are certain proper roles that many characters see as important to follow.

Items show wealth, but wealth doesn't show happiness
Before the wedding, the bride is given some gifts that display the wealth of the Bridegroom family. The laces and stockings were described as very high quality items that are worth quite a bit. Also, seeing that the mother tells the bridegroom to buy three tuxedos, their family appears to be quite wealthy. However, the mother, even with all this wealth, is never fully happy in the play. With the great gifts that the bride receives, she isn't very happy either. She doesn't want to show the maid the gifts she received and when she gets her orange blossoms, she throws them on the ground. While the wealth through gifts is shown, the bride never really shows happiness with them.

Journal #8

The set and atmosphere seem to follow a bell-shaped curve with the wedding at the very point. The set starts off fairly bright with not too much chaos yet. The very first set has the room simply painted yellow, showing the slight lightness of the atmosphere. There are hints of the dangers ahead with talk about the knife and the Felix family, but the overall atmosphere is bright because of the overlying wedding that is ahead. Because weddings are extravagant ceremonies filled with great emotions, the atmosphere is cheerful and light, until the bride goes missing and the curve starts its drop. Whenever the set changes to preparation for the wedding or talk of the wedding, it is usually happy with gifts and beautifying preparations. However, again there is a hint of something bad happening later with the bride being unhappy and gloomy about the wedding. The very last sets are very gloomy and dark, especially when it takes place in the forest. It is night time and the addition of the beggar woman makes the atmosphere even more dark. The additions of these gloomy characteristics makes the current conflict seem even darker and cruel. The very last scene has a set of "the monumental feeling of a church" with "shining white" floors, making it seem like things could get happier. However, there is a contrast created through the including of both young girls and the beggar woman in the same scene. I think this ties up all that has happened, the happy moments and the sad ones, ultimately creating an atmosphere that is slightly confusing and conflicting.

Journal #7

I think the youth in the play is included to show the innocence within them. Many of the them, such as the girls, are talking about how the "bride is awakening" and everything (the bride, setting, situation, etc.) looks so beautiful with flowers everywhere. Seeing them singing or talking in a poetic manner, along with being in a happy mood, we can see that these young people are expecting the ideal outcome that society has created. The bride stays in love with the bridegroom and they live happily ever after. However, knowing what eventually happens, we see that everything did not happen as expected. The youth creates the high expectancy of an ideal outcome, making the reader want to believe it as well. Later, during the ceremony, the young girls talk to the bride and while the girls are excited about the pin and marriage, the bride, referring to marriage, says "This step is one that costs you dearly" (69). Also, because they are young, they may not have experienced many of the tragic experiences many of the other characters have experienced. Some of the characters, such as the bride, seem to have a dark, gloomy outlook on life, but these young people are shown as very happy and lively, putting them in stark contrast.