Question 7 GOW re-write

Rose of Sharon’s final nursing and mysterious smile at the end of the book show the full development of her character throughout the book in a fulsome, life-altering way. As Rose of Sharon is first introduced, she is a selfish, newly married and pregnant adolescent, who is self-centered in the worst way. Seeing her start the journey, she is almost a detestable character because of her naivety and small-mindedness. This is clearly shown when the dog gets run over, and Rose of Sharon is afraid because the impact of the accident “Gave [her] a start.” She doesn’t care about the dog, or anyone else’s feelings. She is only concerned for the baby. This is warranted, but starts to seem simple-minded after her concerns are repeated time and again. Ma is always spurring Rose of Sharon on, reminding her to look after the needs of others, and Rose of Sharon starts to grow both in size and character as the Joads move further along the road.

Throughout their journey, Rose of Sharon is robbed, little by little, of what inkling of dignity she had had at the beginning. She sees the hardships of migration, but her concern is still mainly her own, only branching out to help when commanded to by her headstrong Ma. She faces tough times, but her naivety is clearly apparent when she asks, repeatedly, if the baby is going to be ok. She focuses on Connie’s future, and is obsessed with the life they plan to live away from the rest of the family. She suffers when her husband leaves her once the family reaches California, but is it just another step in the process of her maturing and learning about how the world really is. She is scared and mourning the loss of her husband, but is pressed by Ma to continue, to keep working. She learns that life cannot stop for loss or sadness when surviving day by day. In the government camp, Rose of Sharon learns to take more responsibility, and she helps out more and more with the family. She does a lot of her growing during this time, though tacit, as she reckons with the finality of Connie’s abandonment and the plight of the family in California. She is further challenged when a cruel religious lady pressures her with guilt about doing certain things. She is made to believe that it will harm the baby if she participates in the dance. Rose of Sharon has to rely on her Ma’s resilience, and grows through this increased pressure on her character, learning to cope with the threat of imposed guilt on her baby’s head.

Rose of Sharon has changed quite remarkably by the time the Joads leave the government camp. Her dynamic change is not complete, however. Once the family leaves the sanitary camp, Rose of Sharon has to deal with her huge belly, and the prospect of having her precious child out among the horrendous conditions of California migrant life. She is stretched more as she spends time with the injured Tom in the small cabin at the peach orchard. She goes ecstatic about his endangering her baby with his actions, although they were noble in reality. She calms down from her fit, and helps Tom even when she is still clearly distressed. She further learns to help even when she is almost nine months pregnant, insisting on helping the family pick cotton, and learning that being concerned about the baby though inaction at this point is worthless. She grows to know that this birth is bigger than her. Once she births the stillborn baby, she is wrenched back into the cold, flooded world as one complete person. She is a childless mother, and she has come full circle from her naïve character back in Oklahoma. She has lost a baby, and is completely destitute and without money in a winter flood. At the pinnacle of destitution, she learns the glorious give-and-take of life that is possible through the physiognomy of the human body. She nourishes another human, and her transformation through her whole migration experience explains her willingness to forgo shame to simply help others survive. This stretch of Rose of Sharon’s character, though a discreet process, warrants her eventual act of kindness at the end of the book.

Whose fault is it that Mercutio dies?

The only reasonable answer to the question lies within. Whose fault was it? The fact of the matter is, that it is YOUR fault. You, as the reader, are the one who makes fiction come to life. Clearly, in 1303, no Romeo and Juliet existed. Thus, as a work of fiction, it does not become reality until you, the reader, make it so. If Romeo and Juliet had lied abandoned on the shelf, no one would have died. When you read that Mercutio was stabbed under Romeo's arm, essentially you gave license to Tybalt in your very act of reading. Thus, Mercutio's blood, spilt right in front of your eyes, would not have been poured forth if you had not unleashed it through your erudition. Would not Mercutio have stayed alive if you had stopped reading in Act II scene vi? Thus, it is completely your fault that he dies, as you so selfishly continued reading. You unlocked the reality of the story as you kept perusing this blood-soaked play, and I can only warn you: if you dare to keep reading, more people will surely die.

Obituaries

Mercutio, 17 of Verona, Italy, died Monday afternoon, June 4th, 1303, after being stabbed. Funeral service will be held at 6:00pm of the same day at Verona Funeral Home Chapel.

For most of his short life, Mercutio was the friend and comrade of Romeo and Benvolio Montague. Mercutio was known for his imaginative spirit and easygoing jests, and could be often seen in the streets of Verona having a wonderful time with his friends. He was related to the Prince of Verona and the well-known Paris. This young man was thrust out of this world through the parry of a certain Tybalt Capulet, who was also deceased as of the same day. Mercutio will long be remembered for his loving and free-spirited approach to life, and his many dreams that he unfortunately had not chance to live out. May he rest in peace.

Death prorogued, wanting of thy love.

ROMEO: With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls,
For stony limits cannot hold love out,
And what love can do, that dares love attempt.
Therefore they kinsmen are no stop to me.
JULIET: If they do see thee, they will murder thee.

Shakespeare’s language in act 2 scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet conveys a poignant, secretive euphoria between the two title characters. This scene, a mix of lover’s elated expressions and daunted fore-warnings of death, is made clear to the reader through Shakespeare’s use of blank verse, and his diction and metaphor. The mood is established and built upon, in the still of the night in a dark garden, between two longing lovers, from rival families.
Shakespeare’s use of blank verse majorly adds poetic passion to this scene. With the lovers uttering everything in iambic pentameter, the height of their passion as higher-class forbidden loves is made lucid, and we can see into their fervor for each other through this method of conveying passion. Romeo’s words flow off his tongue in gasps of five stressed syllables, and this blank verse shows the infatuation and passion of the scene. The syntax this limits Shakespeare to is not limiting to his ability to convey this passion. The fire and lust of the scene are almost accentuated even more in blank verse, because of the poetic and rhythmical nature inherent to the verse. This is a very important part of Shakespeare’s setting of the mood, and revealing the passion of the two lovers.
The Bard also uses diction to convey this secretive, fervent mood. He uses strong, universal words to portray the gravity of Romeo’s presence in the garden. He uses words like “death”, “love”, “peril”, “swords”, “hate”, and “adventure” to show the universality of the plight of the lovers. They are so infatuated with each other, and these strong words invoke feeling of life or death, love or hate, both of which are worldwide opposites. These contrasting terms, uttered between the hidden lovers, show how serious even their initial acts of love are considering who their names are. Juliet seems to be the sensible one, asking questions of Romeo, such as, “How cam’st thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?” She wants to know the practical side of things, and her words portray a young girl who is hopelessly in love, but thinking logistically. Romeo, on the other hand, seems quite nonsensical, using metaphors of the seas and sailors, and how love has wings to fly over walls which would keep others out. This juxtaposition of trepidation and thoughtless abandon to love show the two sides of Shakespeare’s mood in this scene: hidden fear and euphoric love. These elated lovers, “cloak[ed]” in “night”, are shown to be so through these narrative devices, and readers through the centuries have caught on to that mood so intimately through these methods of revealing and developing it.

Needed...

• 5,000 workers to fill 200 spots

• Extremely desperate hard workers with large hungry families willing to work for stale food.

• Preferably an idealist looking for a new start, because you will never get any opportunity to fulfill it elsewhere

• Give preferance to those who are wiling to work for less than they are worth

• Unwilling to listen to sob stories – we don't care about your stinkin' kids

If interested, contact Despair Land & Cattle Co.

Sarabeth Flowers and Charlotte Pratt