King Lear Letter

                                                      His Highness, King Lear of England

The Year of our Lord 1001

Regan, of Gloucester
Gloucester

My dearest Reagan,

            Your sister is an outrageous stain upon the name of this family. She not only was an ungrateful host, but she kicked me out of her castle! For a supposed offence of having a hundred knights by me! She and her servants are ungrateful, vile beings, not fit to serve for Satan, as it were.  I am in so much shock from the transpired events; it has truly been a strike deep into my bosom. I pray YOU will be more understanding when I arrive within a few days.

            I arrived at your sister’s keep no less than a half-moon ago, and let me say that she is an excellent actor. She had my host and myself very well deceived as to her true intentions, until, of course, she chose to show her cards in the most brazen way possible. In a feat not unlike her childishness of old, she had herself and her servants refuse to converse with us. An outrage, I tell you! She is absolutely brazen in her disrespect.

            I moved to confront her after this was revealed to my by one of my fine, loyal, talkative men. Yet, once I confronted her, she quickly shifted the blame to those men of whom I travel with! My knights, my gentlemen, my loyal soldiers, held in contempt by my ungrateful daughter! Truly, this is an already outrageous disgrace on top of the disrespect she has already shown me! Your sister is an evil being, and she has her servants following her example to the letter! Oh the shame of knowing I raised one such as her!

            Oh, but the thing that truly ties my binds is the mannerism of her servants! They are ungrateful, sloth-like being who wouldn’t move with haste if their tailcoats were aflame with the righteous fires of Mt. Olympus! Even worse, one of their numbers had the gall to refer to me as my wretched daughter’s father, and only that! A gentleman of my court had the right mind to reprimand and beat the wretch, but mine honor was scarred. Such a disgrace must never go unpunished!

            So, my dear, I hope you art prepared for me. Your sister, damn her eyes, has broken my heart with her treachery! She is clearly unaware about how my word is law, turning on my men like that! And her servants, those blasted, evil wretches, why, I hope the gods smite the lot of them to the Pits! But I know dear that YOU will be more cooperative with my party. I had always loved you most, as I’m sure you know. Here’s to your health, and mine, and my hundred men at arms!

Love your dearest father,

Lear

Comments on A Moveable Feast

Comments on A Moveable Feast

a) Write a paragraph in which you comment on the character development of ONE of the following people you've met:

Scott Fitzgerald is a close friend of Hemingway throughout A Moveable Feast, and the two seem to share a very close relationship. Hemming has nothing but praise for Fitzgerald, especially in his writing. He compliments him in Hawks Do Not Share on it, stating “You’ve written a fine novel now.” (182). However, Fitzgerald is clearly kept from his true potential by Zelda, his jealous wife. Hemingway sees this, especially the joy she gets when Scott cannot write, and tries to dissuade Fitzgerald from her. However, Scott is too much in love with her, so his character remains rather steadfast throughout the novel.

b) Select three of Hemingway’s writing tips and explain why each is useful/helpful advice.

            ‘Write the best story that you can, and write it as straight as you can.” (183)

This is an excellent line, and it rings true for everyone who writes. The scourge of all literature, writers block, can be removed if you focus hard enough on writing the best of your abilities.

“It was necessary to write longer stories now as you would train for a longer race” (75)

I feel a connection to this line; as I can vouch for the trouble that you go through if you need to write longer pieces of literature. Taking it step by step really helps the process speed up.

            “What did I know best that I had not written about and lost?” (76)

This is a deep sentence. Hemingway tries to convey that the each time you write about something, you’re pouring in a bit of your own issues in there.

c) Based on Hemingway's description, what place would you like to visit in Paris? Explain why. Quote the book directly to support your opinion. Attach a relevant image.

Out of all the places Hemingway mentions, I would certainly like to visit Shakespeare and Company the most. Hemmingway describes it as “a warm, cheerful place” (35), and this is an enticing image. I am a literature boy, and I love a good bookshop. The rental system there also entices me, acting as a library as well as a store. Who knew those existed? I mean, nowadays, we can get everything we want online with the click of a mouse and a few typed keys. Books are no exception to this rule. So what’s the harm in wanting to go back tot old days, where we could sit back by a roaring fire with a good book, safe from the troubles of the world? I suppose Gill had something going on that whole nostalgia thing… (Come to think of it, can we bring back the 90’s?)

('tis a lot of books. O.o)

Summer Reading Assignment ~

Ian Rankin's Knots and Crosses, published by Orion Books UK©

1) Provide 3 short excerpts that you believe are examples of effective writing. Explain why you think so for each independently.

“The station was old, its floor dark and marbled. It had about it the fading grandeur of a dead aristocracy. It had character.” (17)

I feel that this really captures the feeling one would have if they were really attached to an old building, like a home or office. The line “It had character” is such a good indication of excellent writing, in three words (or five syllables), Mr. Rankin has conveyed a simple idea of anthropomorphism on a decidedly normal building.

“Nothing in the world tasted as good for breakfast as stolen rolls with some butter and jam and a mug of milky coffee. Nothing tasted better than a venial sin.” (35)

I admit I grinned at this line. I feel for Rebus in these words, as they are true. We all need to give in to temptation at some point.

“The media, sensing that the ‘Edinburgh Strangler’ was not about to vanish into the night, took the story by its horns and created a monster.” (77)

I feel this accurately portrays the uncanny ability of the media to simultaneously blow stories well out of proportion and create massive headaches for law enforcement agencies and the government. Maybe communism has the right idea with full state control…

2) Write a personality sketch for one of the main characters. Provide quotations that support your opinion. (The quotations could simply be a descriptive phrase, something the character says or does, something another character says about him/her.)

John Rebus, the main character of Knots & Crosses, generally fits the standard detective in a crime novel. He’s middle-aged, a smoker, and like any good Scotsman, downs plenty of ale whenever he gets a chance. However, he also has a darker side, as he is constantly tormented by his past, from his divorced marriage to his recurring nightmares in the first book about his mentally challenging days as an SAS trooper. Though throughout the series he has brought down multiple criminals and busted open plenty of gangs, he is almost permanently under suspicion from his higher-ups and even his colleagues, as the army smoothed the initiation process for him as a favor for nearly destroying his mind. Rebus, though he may be stereotypical as a character, is still interesting, and you can’t help but take his side throughout the entire novel, as short as they may be.

3) Write a postcard sized note to the author (no more than 150 words) explaining what you enjoyed about the book.  Use proper letter format including salutation, date, and closing.

Dear Ian Rankin,                                                                                        14/9/12

I must say, I enjoyed Knots & Crosses immensely. The character you created with John Rebus is intriguing, and although one can tell he’s hardly a poster boy for mental health, I cannot help but root for him as he crisscrosses his way across Edinburgh to solve the case. I was even more intrigued by his connection to the SAS. The amount of depth and detail that you go into with the flashback scene makes me wonder if you have some sort of connection to the one of the finest Special Forces units in the world. That combined with the truly dark and intelligent look into the psyche of said “supersoldiers” is, in my opinion, what make this simple plot so intriguing. I honestly hope you will continue this series for a little while longer, as I have never found a series that holds my attention so closely.

Sincerely,

Connor Mulders