Two Shrews Make a Right in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Act Three, Scene Two.

"TRANIO

    Let us entreat you stay till after dinner.

PETRUCHIO

    It may not be.

GREMIO

    Let me entreat you.

PETRUCHIO

    It cannot be.

KATHARINA

    Let me entreat you.

PETRUCHIO

    I am content.

KATHARINA

    Are you content to stay?

PETRUCHIO

    I am content you shall entreat me stay;
    But yet not stay, entreat me how you can.

KATHARINA

    Now, if you love me, stay.

PETRUCHIO

    Grumio, my horse."

In William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, The Bard tells a comedic tale set in the sixteenth century in which an outspoken woman named Kate marries a shrewd man named Petruchio. Although both of similar demeanor, Shakespeare keeps the outcome of their abstract matrimony unclear, foreshadowing both successful and disastrous endings.  Shakespeare indirectly characterizes Petruchio as sophomoric and uncaring about his marriage through the couple’s banter over his decision to leave directly after his wedding ceremony without his wife. Kate, who had allegedly felt repulsed by the thought of marrying Petruchio, almost begs for him to stay home with her: “Let me entreat you” (3.2. 200). Her pleading tone implies that she secretly does admire Petruchio, despite her earlier objections. When he challenges her to convince him not to leave, she responds: “Now if you love me, stay,” (3.2. 205). Because Kate expects this to persuade him to linger, the reader can infer that if Petruchio had asked that of her, she would have obeyed him as a demonstration of her love. Her sincere wish for him to remain may foreshadow a successful marriage based on admiration of each other’s shrewd personality. However, Petruchio immediately reacts to her challenge with: “Grumio, my horse!” a comical yet off-putting reply to Kate’s objections (3.2. 206). His uncaring and immature attitude toward their marriage foreshadows a tragic ending in which Kate may likely have her heart broken “If she had not the spirit to resist” (3.2. 221). Luckily, the direct characterization of her persistent personality allows the reader to have faith in their marriage.

Kay Ryan’s “On the Nature of Understanding:” Understandably Unstable

"On the Nature of Understanding" by Kay Ryan

Say you hoped to
tame something
wild and stayed
calm and inched up
day by day. Or even
not tame it but
meet it halfway.
Things went along.
You made progress,
understanding
it would be a
lengthy process,
sensing changes
in your hair and
nails. So it's
strange when it
attacks: you thought
you had a deal.

Kay Ryan, the multiple award-winning United States Poet Laureate, published her poem “On the Nature of Understanding” in The New Yorker July 25, 2011. After years of fighting the War on Terror in the Middle East and battling the falling economy, Americans can strongly empathize with Ryan’s poem, in which she discusses one’s desperate attempt to tame something wild—only to have the process backfire. By demonstrating the inevitable unsuccessful results of trying to tame something wild, Ryan encourages people to accept that some things will—and should—always stay out of their control. From the very first line, Ryan makes clear that one can never domesticate something wild in stating: “Say you hoped to/ tame something” (1-2). Ryan’s diction of “hoped” implies that one rarely succeeds at taming wild things, asserting that one’s efforts would prove futile. Because of her assertion, the reader finds situational irony when the person who tries to tame the wild thinks that “it’s/ strange when it/ attacks” (15-17). Ryan therefore indirectly characterizes any tamer of the wild as naïve for trying to impress his or herself upon a stronger force. Instead, Ryan promotes a more accepting view of the world, in which one understands that life necessitates an unstable variable in order to stay diverse and change for the better. If one tries to control that unstable variable, he/she will actually inhibit his/her opportunity to learn and grow from it. In discouraging the taming of something unpredictable, Ryan urges those who feel threatened by the unknown to approach it with an open mind, hence allowing people to learn from each other’s differences.

Innocence is Bliss? Embracing Wisdom in Stephen Dunn’s “Elegy for My Innocence”

"Elegy for My Innocence" by Stephen Dunn

You always stumbled in,
came out smelling
not quite like a rose.

Your most repeated gesture:
the blush.
You didn't know how to hide.

I do not miss you, but experience
is the guest
who only knows how to stay.

You, at least, were built to go,
which is why you can be loved.
I remember everything you craved.

Interesting, how you were diminished
by whatever you got. Sex,
knowledge, you kept going up in flames.

Each year you became
a little more dangerous,
eyes wide, the same poor reflexes

for pain. I last saw you
in Texas, 1963. No need by then
for a goodbye. Yet I've heard

that at the end of a long passage,
a lifetime, something like you exists,
terrifying and desirable,

and that no one who hasn't sinned
ever arrives. Innocence,
we could be such friends

if that were so. I'd start out now
if I didn't know
the lies told in your name.

In Stephen Dunn’s poem “Elegy for My Innocence,” the speaker addresses his/her Innocence as a person, personifying and explaining their waning relationship. After the turbulent atmosphere of the 1960s in which the Civil Rights movement took violent turns and Lee Harvey Oswald publicly assassinated the young President Kennedy in Texas, the speaker realizes Inno-cence has completely vanished from his/her life. However, the speaker, although feeling nostal-gic over his/her lost innocence, also feels proud of the experience he/she has gained, and there-fore accepts Innocence’s absence. The speaker understands that Innocence never could have stayed in his/her life, admitting, “You…were built to go” (10). The confession evokes a defeatist tone, asserting that everyone’s innocence will disappear at some point, despite one’s efforts to preserve it. The speaker alludes to these useless efforts in lamenting, “we could be such friends/ …if I didn’t know/ the lies told in your name” (27, 29-30). Ironically, because so many indi-viduals have lied to themselves about their painful experiences in an attempt to maintain their blamelessness, the speaker feels that they have corrupted the entire concept of ‘innocence.’ Yet the speaker has wisely learned to embrace his/her sensitive memories, as indirectly characterized when he/she states, “I do not miss you… experience/ …only knows how to stay” (7, 9). He/she reflects upon his/her new insight with pride, knowing “that no one who hasn’t sinned” has had to sacrifice their virtue for wisdom (25). Through this confidence, Dunn urges those afraid of losing their innocence to instead welcome new experiences in order to gain more knowledge over time.

Water.org is Calling! (part I)

Hello, my name is Alienna and today I am your advocate for international change.

In July 2009, WaterPartners merged with H₂O Africa, resulting in the launch of Water.org. Water.org, co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, is a non-profit organization that has provided access to safe water and sanitation to hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America. Since its first project with Haiti Outreach in June 2010, Water.org has helped 8,500 people in Haiti alone gain availability to safe drinking water.

I found out about Water.org after Hank Green visited a Haitian community with the foundation in March 2011. He recorded his experience in two inspirational video blogs that he posted on the vlogbrothers channel. One, Helping Haiti, shows the process of a water committee, the other, Thoughts from The Well, shows the typical long walk Haitians take to retrieve their warm, muddy, unsanitary water. This is what Water.org wants to fix.

The program piqued my interest. The hydrology unit in my Environmental Science class had always been my favorite, and I knew that if I ever went into environmental science, I would want to work with water. The fact that billions of people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water stupefies me. It makes me want to make a difference. Since my discovery of Water.org, I have fantasized about double majoring in both Environmental Studies and Non-Profit Organization Management. Basically, working at Water.org would be my dream job.

In August, I received an e-mail inviting me to listen in on a conference call in which Water.org’s International Programs Manager, Laura Ralston, and Water.org’s Chief Community Officer, Michael McCamon, would talk more about the foundation and host a Question & Answer session toward the end.

Ralston started by talking about the work the organization carries out in Haiti. Focusing on high population and rural areas, Water.org teams work to mend sanitation by building wells and maintaining them through a Community-Management model. The community must first decide whether water sanitation is a problem, then establishes a Water Committee consisting of their own people.

To begin the process, the committee writes a letter of demand to Haiti Outreach, which sends a representative out with a community development worker to prepare the village. Water.org works with Haiti Outreach and the community to figure out the basic (though not always obvious) variables: the cost to maintain the well, how many people must the well provide for, how they would collect funds, who collects the water each day, what are the rules involving the well that the community must follow, who will guard the well, etc.

Water.org does not to simply tell the community how the well should work and leave them on their own, but develops hands-on education to make sure the well survives. Ralston calls it the empowerment model.

However, not every project goes smoothly. The problems do not usually arise because of the technology, but with the design the committee outlines and the continuing support. Some communities find it difficult to embrace this model, and fall apart because the committee cannot handle the system management. This usually happens due to uncoordinated groups with different opinions about how something should run. Community members suffer when political differences halt well maintenance, so outside members have to pressure the committee to compromise. Luckily, Water.org will continue to aid communities until they are on their feet.

For more details, you can listen to the recording of the conference call yourself on Water.org’s website. Next post, I will summarize the second half of the conference in which Michael McCamon discusses the webtool my.Water.org where you can create your own personal fundraiser and follow the progress of the community you help. I'll also go over the Q&A session, where I had a chance to ask a question myself!

Thank you for reading!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

At last, John Green, author of Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, and many others, is about to release his latest book: The Fault in Our Stars. Amazingly enough, this novel has been on Barnes & Noble's and Amazon's bestseller list for weeks-- and it doesn't even have a cover yet! Nor is it even complete. You can find the article published about it in the Wall Street Journal here: Tweeting from a La-Z-Boy, An Unfinished Book Hits No. 1.

Nerdfighters, (a term used for those who follow John and his brother Hank's vlogs on youtube), have been designing covers for "TFiOS" since Green announced the title via video. Although there's still a chance Green might hold a cover designing contest, currently all the creativity is just for fun. Here's a link to an abundance of amazing TFiOS covers. And after seeing all these, how could I resist?

I chose a photo from a series I took while walking around my lake a year ago. It's not perfect, and I've certainly seen a lot of better covers out there, but it was still fun to make! I hope you like it!

Interested in more John Green books? (With so many fans, you'd have to be, right?) Here are some links to the rest of his books!

Looking for Alaska (Michael L. Printz Award Winner)

An Abundance of Katherines (Michael L. Printz Honor Book)

Paper Towns (Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel, Corine Literature Prize, my favorite)

(co-authored)

Let it Snow also by Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

Will Greyson, Will Greyson also by David Levithan

Are you a nerd? Do you like learning and being entertained at the same time? Interested in puppy-sized elephants, giraffe love, putting things on your head, and pants? Wondering who the F is Hank? Glad you asked! Here's the vlogbrothers' channel. You won't be disappointed: http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers

Join Nerdfighteria here, in your pants.

4 Eco-Friendly, Money-Saving Tips

Hi, my name is Alienna and today I am your advocate for environmental change.

I’m going to give you four easy beginner’s steps to help you reduce any negative environmental impact you may be leaving. They may be small, but these eco-friendly tips could actually save your family hundreds of dollars over the course of just a year. And believe it or not, it will make a difference in the environment, especially if you encourage others to join you.

Okay, so we all know the three “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. However, not a lot of us pay attention to the order that they’re in. Before you recycle, as many people do first, try to aim to reduce first. Here’s a few ways how:

1.  Plastic bags. Did you know in some places in Europe you have to pay for your plastic bags? That’s right. And to me that makes a lot of sense. We overuse these things way too much. Many times if you stop and think about what you’re purchasing, you don’t need a bag at all, and you can in fact manage to carry it in your own hands.

But if there is more than you can handle, a great supplement for small, flimsy plastic bags are large, sturdy tote bags like this: 

And this:

And this:

They fit more products, they’re easier to carry, they’re less likely to break on you, they’re fashionable, and they help the environment at the same time. Just keep them in your car or near the door so you don’t forget them when you go out.

Make sure you tell the cashier that you would like to use your own bag or that you wouldn’t like to use any before they start checking your items. They can be pretty speedy and it’s a little obnoxious to ask them to take your items out of the bag they already packed.

Now many people will react differently to your request. I’ve encountered both ends of the spectrum. Some may seem very interested in what you’re doing. I have had full conversations about “euro bags” and environmental impact with some cashiers. Others may look at you like a weirdo from another planet. The main thing is to embrace the good and pay no mind to the bad.

Okay, 2. Water bottles. Plastic water bottles to be more specific. Now believe it or not, tap water can be a lot less contaminated than bottled water. A family friend of ours who lives in Savannah does water testing as a living, and has warned us against drinking bottled water for years. These companies have standards, yes, but the standards are not always the healthiest out there. Here is what Debi Carey Harbuck says are the "most important things:
1) Bottled water isn't regulated by the EPA. It is marginally overseen by the FDA because it's considered a 'packaged food product,' but there is no national standard.
2) The bottles are an environmental double-whammy-- they consume an awful lot of petroleum in their manufacture AND they create a tremendous amount of garbage.
A third issue is that most of the water being sold as 'bottled water' actually comes from tap water in other places. And that's just a goofy thing to spend your money on."

If you drink city water, you should know that your local waste water treatment plant does a very thorough job in making sure that your tap water has minimal contamination—especially compared to bottled water. But if you’re still unsure, or if you have well water, a purifier is the best route to take.

The great thing about purifiers is that they come in so many forms nowadays. You can buy a pitcher that you keep in your fridge, you can attach one straight to your faucet, or you can even buy one that purifies multiple water bottles at once or where the filter is right at the mouth of the bottle. So you can pour in tap water and it filters as you drink. (They’re called Karim Rashid Bobbles)

So besides health, plastic water bottles are also not the best for the environment. Manufacturers need a lot of energy to both make them and recycle them. And if you can’t recycle your bottles, landfills aren’t a great place for them, either. It takes up to 1000 years for a water bottle (and plastic bags) to decompose.

And the simplest solution is: buy a reusable water bottle! These are pretty cool. Like I said, you could buy one with a built in purifier, or you could try to find one that may fit your personality a bit better. You could go for a Nalgene, or a Klean Kanteen, or a CamelBak…

This is the water bottle that I use. I won it for being Top of the Crop during our Hydrology Unit in my AP Environmental Science class. It’s a Green Canteen that my teacher got at Kohl’s for ten bucks. And it’s BPA free! So I decorated it with various stickers, I always know that it’s mine, and I’m proud to carry it around. A fun quarky way to help the environment and individualize yourself, I guess.

3. Washing your clothes. Let’s say you wake up during your summer vacation, you get dressed, but you don’t really do much all day. When you get ready for bed you toss your clothes in your hamper. STOP. Think back: what exactly did you do today?

Ate cereal while watching tv, fed the fish, read your summer reading out on the porch, met up with your friend and got icecream… Does this stuff really need to be washed after all that? Answer: probably not.

By holding off on washing your clothes and wearing them more than once before you do, you reduce laundry loads, which in turn reduces water use, which reduces soap and dryer sheet use, which means you buy less each year, which means you reduce your trash and the amount of money you spend. Amazing!

Alright, number 4. Now, I hate to break this to you, but… You have vampires living in your house. Yup. It’s true. They’re probably waiting in your bedroom or your living room right now, ready to suck hundreds of dollars from your pocket each year.

Okay, so I forgot to mention one thing. I meant your phone, camera, ipod, and computer chargers. These helpful, innocent-looking wires are also known as “vampire appliances.” When they’re plugged into your wall, they’re still using electricity—even when they’re not actually charging anything.

Well, technically they are charging something: your credit card. Depending on your electric company’s rate, leaving a phone charger plugged-in for, say, 10 hours a day can add over $250.00 to your bill each year.

Also, fully charging any handheld device does not take overnight, so leaving it plugged in while you sleep is also wasting electricity. So unplug those chargers!

Okay, so hopefully these tips aren’t too hard to follow, and I look forward to maybe seeing other people refusing plastic bags next to me at the check-out counter one day. Oh! And if you can’t get other family members or friends into it, I find that persistence always works. Eventually they’ll run out of excuses. Thanks for reading! Work hard, be kind, and good luck!