Final Project

Hey Heather and Alex!

So here is where we can post ideas!

We are awesome!

Love Katie

Translation

Original Italian

'O frati,' dissi, 'che percento milia
perigli siete giunti a l'occidente,
a questa tanto picciola vigilia

d'i nostri sensi ch'è del rimanente
non voliate negar l'esperïenze,
di retro al sol, del mondo sanza gente.

Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza.' (112-120)

Literal Translation

Ciardi caused an academic stir with his translation, which eliminated three lines, including considerate la vostra semanza:
'Shipmates,' I said, 'who through a hundred thousand
perils have reached the West, do not deny
to the brief remaining watch our senses stand
experience of the world beyond the sun.
Greeks! You were not born to live like brutes,
but to press on toward manhood and recognition!'

Canto XXVI (and a little bit of XXXIV)

“May I not find the gift cause for remorse” (217)

“To the joys of love, could drive me out of my mind the lust to experience the far-flung world and the failings and felicities of mankind” (219).

“I did not die, and yet I lost life’s breath: imagine for yourself what I became, deprived at once of both my life and death” (224)

Canto XXVI explains the ninth circle of hell: the evil counselors. Something interesting about this section to me was that Dante reveals what he believes is one of the worst sins. He believes that liars and traitors are among the most damned. For instance, in this circle of hell, we see Brutus, who betrayed Julius Caesar, and Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ. Something that occurred to me is that if they were in the world Sartre creates in No Exit, they would probably not be in hell.

Another point of interest is that Ulysses, seen in Greek and Roman mythology as a hero, is also in circle eight of hell. There is a kind of irony in the fact that Virgil, author of the Aenead, leads Dante into hell and sees Ulysses. I do not know if this is a slight toward Greek mythology and morals, but there is something paradoxical about this.

Another one of the morals Dante condones is a sort of “count your blessings” philosophy: “May I not find the gift cause for remorse” (217). I think this is interesting especially since the idea behind Dante's Inferno is that you are punished as an equivalent to the way you’ve sinned. I think he is almost scared into being grateful. There is more of a sense of fear than virtue in this quote for me.

He says, “To the joys of love, could drive me out of my mind the lust to experience the far-flung world and the failings and felicities of mankind” (219). Here, Dante reveals that he thinks mankind is naturally flawed and that worldly possessions and desires should be abandoned. I think this is the most significant of ideas and serves as the basis for what he considers sin and who he thinks should be punished.

In his story, Ulysses says, “Greeks! You were not born to live like brutes, but to press on toward manhood and recognition! With this brief exhortation I made my crew so eager for the voyage I could hardly have held them back from it when I was through” (219). This was the most interesting point Ulysses made. Dante is so clear on what he thinks is right and wrong that even though he told a lie that brought the good out in his shipmates, Ulysses was sent to hell. Dante is not as morally ambiguous or subjective as Sartre.

However, there was one passage from Canto 34 that really reminded me of No Exit: “I did not die, and yet I lost life’s breath: imagine for yourself what I became, deprived at once of both my life and death” (224). This loss of existence and purpose is the same kind of hell produced by Sartre. There are some universals that people believe is “hell” as we know it. One of the most common is this idea that man is lost without proof of existence or purpose.

Some people we might see in hell if we apply the Inferno to more modern examples are Celebrities, Salesmen, Charismatic leaders, marketing and advertising directors, liberals or left wing anarchists, and some prominent religious figures. What I think is interesting is that a lot of what we consider success and ambition is grounds for Dante to send a person to hell.

In circle nine, Cassius, Judas, and Brutus are suffering the most. They are inside satan's head and are being eaten and crushed repeatedly. The symbolism in this is that they are the worst sinners and are actually being punished by satan himself. In Dante's opinion, betraying someone is the worst possible sin.

Response to Existentialist Quotes

The play makes it evident that the worst sin is to allow yourself to be defined by others. In my mind, the greatest example of this sin is the scene in which Estelle asks Inez to act as her mirror. In this moment the reader or the audience percieves her as so shallow and so weak. She is at such a loss without a mirror that she has to rely on others to tell her how she is being percieved. Even just the fact that they have no mirrors and no glass displays the idea that it is a sin to allows others to define you.

This is essentially Estelle's hell. What tortures her is her inability to know if she is in existence. Inez uses this to torture her. When Estelle is seducing Garcin, she is doing it only to be sure she is still desirable.

I don't necessarily agree with this logic. I think that the need for others to define you is as much a part of your existence as your definition of self. Estelle's need to be defined by others is not merely shallow, but shows extreme insecurity since she is not able to define herself. I don't see allowing yourself to be defined by others as a sin. I think it is a significant part of who you are.


“Open the door!...Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough” (40).
This shows the pain that a person feels when they do not exist, essentially, outside of their own mind. It is agonizing and it consumes a person to be usnure of who they are. Estelle goes throught this dilemma: "I feel so queer. Don't you ever get taken that way? When I can't see myself I begin to wonder if I really and truly exist. I pat myself just to make sure, but it doesn't help much" (19).


“There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is-- other people!” (45)
When I re-examine this quote, I realize that there is Hell in the definition others give you. I feel as though these characters are in pain because their definition of who they are does not match the definition others give them. This disconnect is what tortures them and since they do not have the ability to, figuratively, see themselves in a mirror, they become completely unsure of their existence. Whoa.

Existentialism

10 Important Bullet Points:

- Definition(s) of Existentialism:

- a philosophical attitude opposed to rationalism and empiricism that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his or her choices.

- A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. (Both from Dictionary.com)

- The Existentialist movement occurred at the turn of the 20th century centering around philosophy, art, and literature.

- With this new discovery came feelings of anguish and dread

-Famous existentialist writers include: Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Sartre, Heidegger, Camus, and Nietzsche.

- "In existentialist views, personal articulation of being is the only way to rise above humanity's absurd condition of much suffering and inevitable death." (wiki)

- Existentialism explores beyond the observable world into the possibilities of the metaphysical

-Common existentialist themes include: dread, boredom, alienation, the absurd, freedom, commitment, and nothingness.

- The basis of existentialism is to combat "nothingness" in relation to the feeling that humans have no purpose and there is nothing at the core of existence.

- A common idea of existentialists is that humans define their own lives

- "Sartre, in Essays in Existentialism, further highlights this consciousness of being thrown into existence in the following fashion: "If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be" (wiki)

Very Interesting Article from The New York Times -

Please go to www.nytimes.com and search "Free Will: Now you have it, Now you don't"

Or go to http://www.csimpson80.com/new_page_856.htm

Complements of Mr. Simpson and Odyssey

No Exit... Finishing Thoughts

The most interesting aspect of the ending to me is the characters' reaction to the realization that they are in hell. They laugh! As an actor or actress, this would be a tremendous challenge to portray. To find motivation to go from panic and realization to crazed laughter is nearly impossible. This really emphasizes their wide range of emotion and mental instability. To me, the laughter is the most "hell-like" thing about the story. When I envision hell, I see the crazed people either screaming or laughing. The laughing is the pivotal moment when they begin to disconnect themselves from reality.

The climax of the story, in my opinion, is when Garcin says, "This bronze. Yes, now's the moment; I'm looking at this thing on the matelpeice, and I understand that I am in hell. I tell you, everything's been thought out beforehand. They know I'd stand at the fireplace stroking this thing of bronze, with all those eyes intent on me. Devouring me. What? Only the two of you? I thought there were more; many more. So this is hell. I'd never have beleived it. You remember all we were told about the torture chambers, the fire and brimstone, the "burning marl." Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is- other people!" (45)

Several things stand out to me in this passage. Part of Garcin's hell is his obsession with the bronze statue. It consumes him and this is a great source of conflict inside of him. The other thing that is significant is his mentioning of 'all those eyes'. He feels as though he is being watched by many people, but all he has is the two other women. This paranoia along with his obsession with the statue are also his "hell".

When examining this piece, I thought, "what makes this different from other versions of hell?"

Then I realized that we are more affected by it since there's no torture or fire or anything like that. The situations they are placed in are all things that are familiar to us. Everyone has met a person who drives them crazy, everyone has seen something that annoys them (in No Exit: the statue), and everyone has had to reflect on their own life with regret. Since these concepts are not foreign to the reader or the audience, we are more able to understand the hell they are in as characters.

From an acting perspective, this is a good thing since actors can draw upon their experiences in real life to place themselves into the minds of the characters. I think Sartre uses this to his advantage. The acting is more real and more raw if the actors feel what the characters feel.

Reactions up to page 17...

My initial reaction to this section is confusion. Everything they are introduced to is handed to them so "matter of factly" and they don't seem to question it at all. It seems as though they are not fully grasping the horror of their situation and this confuses me since I feel like my general attitude if I were placed in this situation would be more panicked. 

Inez is the most interesting character to me. She wants to figure things out and get a sense of what is actually happening.

On page 14, she says, "I tell you they've thought it all out. Down to the last detail. Nothing was left to chance. This room was all set for us."

At this stage of the plot, it seems like Inez's purpose is to clue in the reader or the audience to what is happening. I predict we will learn a lot as readers from Inez.

I think Sartre's version of hell is that it is a place where you are human but without a few major human qualities. The fact that they are still in their bodies is almost a teaser. Hell is a place where you don't exist. They put you in a room, give you a bell to, again, tease you, and lock you away forever. 

The true torture lies in the fact that they are the only ones who aknowledge their existence. My prediction is that this will ultimately be what puts them through hell. 

Hell!

When someone says "Hell", a couple of different images come to mind. The first thing that comes to mind is the scene from Pee Wee's big adventure when all the demons are melting his bicycle in a giant vat of lava. Then that makes me think of a song written on the whole tone scale called "Le Demons Si Amusement" which is probably not spelled correctly. And of course the image of the devily with horns in a flaming pit is kind of the symbol for hell.

But when I think about it, I personally don't know whether or not I beleive in hell- especially in the Pee Wee's big adventure sense.

Sometimes I think there's an afterlife, but more often than not, the idea I land on is that humans just die or are reincarnated. But honestly, I am undecided.

The Hell I described above is not actually 'my hell' persay, it's just the cartoony image that comes to mind as my initial reaction.

Getting to know you...

Hi!
I'm Katie, but I'm sure you know that by now : )
I'm actually way too excited about this blog because I'm technologically challenged and have no idea how this all works so it's like one big mysterious and thrilling adventure to me. I like playing with fonts.

My Favorite Things include (but are not limited to): Coffee, Musical Theatre, Dancing, Talking, Fashion, Singing, Acting, Writing, Drawing and Painting, Meeting People, Philosophy and Psychology, and most importantly English <3

Kasey Quinlan enjoys ragging on me because it's really easy.

Heather Brown's shirt was on inside-out today.

That's all for now!
I'll probably post something else really soon.

Love Katie