Peacock Horror

The peacocks decide to try and intimidate the foxes by going up to them while they are resting and the peacocks declare war. They demand to speak with the head fox. The foxes observe that the peacocks had forgotten to bring their weapons. The head fox gives a sassy and sarcastic remark then orders her battalion to engage battle technique 23. The foxes slay the peacocks because they were smarter and had techniques as well as weapons. The peacocks died because of their stupidity and arrogance.

The End.

(Based on a true story.)

Cat and Maus Metaphor

We think that the metaphor is extremely relevant and that the decision on which animals he chose was precise and very well thought through. 

The metaphor of the cat and maus is extremely appropriate because of the portrayal that humans have of cats and mice. Cats are known to not only be superior of the mice but also they are known to be cunning and sleek. Mice are known to be timid and gross. Also, it is commonly known that humans are scared of mice unless they are in a cage. Once mice are in a cage, people feel content and safe. Cats are the more loved animals by humans and they are favoured most.

Spiegleman's point that humans are nothing more than animals is certainly true but not his only reason for choosing the animals, in our opinion. He chose the cat and mice metaphor because it's a commonly known fact that many animals hunt mice.

A similar metaphor of a cat-and-mouse is the germans being a corner of the desk and the jews being the hip.

Daniel's Thoughts

Heartbroken.

Heartbroken about what Geraldine has told me.

At first, I didn't believe it was true. What faithful husband would? Even in our wedding vowels, Fran promised me that she would never even look at another guy, because they would never compare to me. That sentence has clung to me ever since.

After reviewing what Geraldine said, I guess it made sense. Once a year or so, Fran conveniently had to go to an art exhibition that she was invited to. But, I was always suspicious. She never came back with any photos, never came back with any paintings or exciting stories. She always just said, "It was fine. The food was quite nice." Or something along those lines.

The moment Geraldine told me, I knew it was true. I didn't want to believe it, but I had to. Was the Fran that I knew visiting Paul Healey or was it a different side of Fran that she never let out? I was curious to know.

Then, I had to make the decision about whether or not I wanted to confront her with it. How was I supposed to bring it up? Take her to a nice dinner and say, "I know you're cheating on me. After twenty god-damned years, you still can't bear to stay faithful with me?"

No, I shan't be so rude. The best thing to do would be to keep it to myself. Although, who knows whom Geraldine is going to tell? She could never keep anything a secret, always so dramatic about everything.

I love Fran. I do. And if keeping this secret keeps us from breaking apart, then so be it. There would have to be reasoning behind it, surely.

Who knows? Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I haven't... satisfied her enough. Why else would she be doing it? For the thrill? For the thrill of not being caught? Hardly. Fran's days of rebelling are over. That's why she married me. She told me that it was time to let those days go.

Geradine's POV

The day before Sophie left:

Why can't Sophie just understand? All the time she's either screaming at me, stuffing her face with junk food or listening to that god-awful screaming sounds she calls 'music.' Why? God knows why! I never had these problems with Lauren. Lauren was a good girl just like Sophie was until she's gotten into this... phase. And Lauren never struggled with her weight either. Lauren was always petite, a perfect little dancer. I don't know what went wrong with Sophie. I've always brought her up with healthy food and encouraged her with exercise. Now, I mentioned to her once the other day about maybe going out for a run or doing some exercise and she starts screaming at me that I'm shallow! When I walked back into the kitchen an hour later, there was a McDonald's AND KFC bag thrown in the trash. Empty. God knows how this girl eats so much! Not that there is anything quite wrong with her, but she just needs to find herself again. My little Sophie was always more trouble than Lauren. Frankly, from the second she was born I knew that she was going to be trouble, with the dancing situation and everything. She was such a fat baby that I can't do my ballroom dancing anymore. Was it really worth it? Sacrificing my beautiful ballroom for the daughter-from-hell that doesn't appreciate one little thing I do for her? I sent her to a nice school, helped her stay in connection with her friends by allowing her to bring them over all the time and of course all the connections I've made for her. The connections! Oh, God, the connections! I've already lined up many people that were willing to help Sophie become a doctor. And what does she tell me now? Oh, she doesn't want to be a doctor! She doesn't want to be a dentist either! She was rambling on with some crap about dentists and suicide, as if that really matters! All I want is for Sophie to become bearable again.....

Three weeks later

It's been three weeks since Sophie has left to Fran's and I think I'm experiencing Empty Next Syndrome. I've been looking through her baby albums and the pretty dresses she used to fit in. I hope that once she's done with Fran, she'll be a whole new Sophie! One that looks thin again, who likes having a nice chat every now and again. Of course Fran will be bathing in the fact that I couldn't control my daughter that I had to ship her off to my sister. Why, she loves it! I'm sure of it. 'Oh, Gerry can't control her rebel teenager. Big surprise! She Sophie to me because I have the compassion and the ability to get along with people! If she can't handle her daughter, imagine her when she was a nurse!' Oh, God, I can just see her now. With her little art studio and the books she's illustrated. Framed, presumably. It's just like Fran to keep holding onto things like this, so she can mention it in the next Family Gathering. Well, it's worth it if Sophie can stop being such a hassle and come back to reality. I worry about her. What is she going to do if she isn't going to become a doctor? Become an artist like her perfect Aunt Fran? Ha! Hardly.

Chapter 1 and 2 Review Questions

1.  "Sophie".   Sophie describes her feelings towards her mother and her aunt. What does she tell the reader and how does she feel about each of them?

Sophie has so much resentment for her mother bottled up within her that it's ridiculous. She feels hatred towards her mother because she thinks that her mother isn't treating her equally to the other members of the family. I can see why Sophie has so much irritation because her mother is incredibly rude and would drive anyone to the point of insanity.

Fran, however, she is unsure about. She thinks, from the few times that they've met, she's a pretty cool Aunt who is casual and nice. I guess she just wanted anyone to escape from her mother. She likes to make her mother jealous by talking about Fran in a conversation. She loves to brag about Fran just to make her mother annoyed.

2. "Fran". What two feelings is Fran trapped between?

Fran is quite bi-polar in chapter 2. At first, she hates the idea of her troubled niece, Sophie, coming to stay with her for a while. After the recent passing of her husband, she had decided to move into the house that her parents left for her and to just have some nice, quiet time painting and relaxing. Beginning again. So, when she received the phone call, she could have said no. She was thinking nasty, terrible thoughts about how her sister was dumping her daughter onto her and she resented that but she still agreed to it. Through the chapter, she decided that maybe if she improved Sophie, she could rub in Geraldine's face because she brought her daughter up better than her actual mother. This sister-rivalhood was very apparent in the chapter.

The Good Wife's Guide

Identify the representation of women:

• Inferior
• Shallow/Fake

Identify how this is constructed:

Inferior - The Good Wife's Guide represents women as inferior because they undermine their capability and instead they tell the women about how they should help their 'superior' (aka their husband.) The last point in the guide says "A good wife always knows her place." This is demonstrating to us that a woman should always be in line and understand where she stands in the relationship. "Remember his topics of conversation are more important than yours," is another example of the way that women are represented as inferior.

Shallow/Fake - The fact that there is a guide on how to be a wife epitomises the fact that women are portrayed as shallow and fake in the text. "Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking." This makes the women seem shallow and that they need to change for their husband. "Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him."

The Representations of Buffy

1.   What do/ does she look like? Pay particular attention to the question of whether she is considered beautiful/ physically attractive? Is she young?

Buffy is quite young yet she looks empowered. Even though she’s skinny and blonde, she isn’t represented as the traditional ‘dumb blond.’ Also, Buffy doesn’t wear luxury clothes and doesn’t wear too much make up. This shows girls that you can be empowered without having to look good all the time.

2.   What qualities are valued in women in the text?

The women in this text are presented as ‘normal girls’ who are also strong and independent. This helps influence the audience because it’s not completely irrelevant to the teenage audience. The girls in the show like to shop yet they are still very skilled and strong. The women in the text are recognised and valued for their courageous skills, not just beauty.

3.   What aspects of the text challenge the traditional representation you identified in your fairy tale?

In Rapunzel, Rapunzel is represented as dependent because she waits for a Prince to come and rescue her. In a turn of events, Buffy is the one is trying to save a guy. She protects Angel by making him go out of town so that he isn’t in as much danger.

4.   How is the message presented to us? Consider the positioning techniques discussed at the beginning of the term.(Character(Buffy in particular), costume, camera angles, dialogue etc)

Frequently, the camera shot of Buffy will be from below, so that the audience is looking up at Buffy. This helps project the fact that Buffy is empowered, young yet still courageous. Buffy also is practical due to her wardrobe. She doesn’t wear dresses and heels, she wears clothes that she can slay vampires in.

5.   How are men presented in this text? (Consider power, hero, villain etc)

Men are presented almost as inferior to women. Angel obeys Buffy’s orders and leaves the town. Buffy is the main character who can slay the vampires whilst the men used to be Vampires and are now saved because they have a soul, thanks to Buffy.

6.   Who has power in this text? Why do they have power?

Buffy and Willow have the most power in this text. The vampires try to defeat them multiple times, but they can not because they are too powerful and independent for the vampires to defeat them.

7.   Consequences: Who is rewarded? How? Who is punished? How?

In the end, everyone is punished yet rewarded. The main characters are punished because they watch their friends die, yet they save the world and their courage is rewarded. Also, Spike is rewarded because he finally gains the honesty, trust and respect from Buffy yet he is ultimately punished because he dies saving the world.

8.   How are women represented in this episode?

Women are represented as strong, independent and courageous in the show Buffy. Not only Buffy, but also lots of ‘average’ girls are given a choice that they can become slayers if they wish. This gives us the idea that women can do anything if they choose to and put their mind to it. The women control the men because Buffy convinces Angel to leave the town. If anything, the guys are the back up to the girls. This gives us the strong ideas about how the women risk their lives to be independent, courageous and strong.