Title: Romeo and Juliet

Playwright: Shakespeare
Reflection/Reaction: The scene that created the most emotion for me
was when Juliet was getting screamed at by lord capulet, because she did
not want to get married. This scene was sad, because Juliet is getting
rushed and forced by her parents to marry Paris. Juliet parents are not
really listening to ju;iet. One quote from lord Capulet in this scene was
“Hang thee, young baggage! Disobideit wretch! I tell thee what: get thee
to church O’ Thursday, or never after look me in the face: speak not,
reply not, do not answer me. In my opinion I think that the most tragic
character in Romeo and Juliet. Is Juliet. I tkink Juliet is the most tragic
character because she was willing to kill her self to be with Romeo. You
should never have to kill yourself. Juliet thought that she had to kill
herself because of chances with Romeo is hopeless.
Theme/Message: Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in
the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and
most important theme.
Summary: An aged-old vendetta between two powerfull families erupts
into bloodshed. A group of masked montagues risk further conflict by
gatecrashing into capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo montague falls
instantly inlove with Juliet capulet, who is due to marry her father’s
choice, the Country Paris. With the help of juliiet’s nurse, the woman
arrange for the couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to
halt the street fight leads to the death of Juliet own cousin, Tybalt, which
Romeo is banished. In a desperatevattempt to be reunited with Romeo,
Juliet follows the friars plot and fakes her own death. The message fails
to Romeo and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life in her tomb. Juliet
wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her and kills herself. The grieving
family agree to emd their fued.
Title: Friday
Playwright: Robert Heinlein
Reflection/Reaction: This book tells us about adventures of Friday, a
genetically engineered human being. Although she is physically and
mentally superior to ordinary people, she deals with low self-esteem
(due to the fact of her origin) and has a strong need “to belong”. After
her mysterious boss plants into her mind an idea that she is living in a
“sick and dying culture”, she resettles to another planet. There, she
finally finds all the things she was looking for.
This book explores themes that often reoccur in other works of Robert
A. Heinlein: freedom, self-reliance, and polyamory. Unfortunately, it is
not his best book. I would not recommend “Friday” as an introduction to
Heinlein’s philosophy, even though you might still appreciate little gems
of wisdom scattered across the text.
Personally, I don’t fully understand the root cause of all the heroine’s
struggles. Being highly intelligent, she would have to assume her
superiority to other humans. It would be the most logical thing for all
APs (artificial persons) to form a secret society in order to help each
other to get ahead in life by all possible means. In a short time,
genetically modified humans would become the world’s ruling elite. It
would be interesting to read about that.
Admittedly, all the persons in this book look alike. If their names or
occupations aren’t indicated, you will have a hard time to distinguish
them from each another. They unfailingly manifest the best character
traits. They are all sweetness and light. Both males and females are kind,
sincere, generous, and charming. Should I mention that they are good
cooks and housekeepers, too? Even more, most of them are attracted to
Friday, and ready to have sex with her. There is not a trace of ambiguity
about them. Do not expect any dark secrets to be revealed. Even when
those characters have to do something bad, like killing a person, they do
it either reluctantly, or in self-defense. Although I am not entirely
against good characters in novels, “Friday” strikes me as
psychologically unrealistic.
I still have to be convinced that polyamory is preferable to more
traditional sexual relationships. Intimate relationships between two
persons are difficult enough to handle, it’s a known fact. Can we
reasonably expect the things to be easier when more people are
included? I have serious doubts. The author never says how polyamory
became a cultural norm. I would be interested to read about such a
transition.
“What are the signs of a sick and dying culture?” Perhaps, it is a good
question to ask ourselves. Of course, if we don’t like the state of the
world affairs, we can’t just buy a ticket and move away from this planet.
However, the honest evaluation of our living conditions is the
prerequisite of rational behavior and meaningful life.
Theme/Message: This a story of a young woman who is an artificial
person existing under the wing of Mac. It also asks the question of
whom is real, whom is not, and whom has the right to live. Like the
Repicants of Phillip K Dick's Blade Runner, Miss Friday is an artificial
person. Unlike the above mentioned replicants, she is organic, with a
strange navel. As she smuggles her way through life, she yearns to be
real, much to the annoyance of Mac who arranged her reality check so
she could traipse in and out without notice. It seems humans can tolerate
artificial life forms only if they don't resemble any thing human, for
obvious reasons. If and artificial person were say afflicted with downs
syndrome, there would be no point in building one. And there lies the
problem. If you have intellegence a couple of standard deviations above
the norm, you're competeing with every naturally evolved human for
function. No one needs to create more competition. If you're artificial
and a universal soldier type, you would be viewed as dangerous. The
ending, however, seemed anticlimactic, with Miss Friday living out her
days in bucolic bliss with her daughter, Wendy, awaiting grandchildren.
Though, that seems pleasant enough, it really means that she was unable
to find acceptance, that acceptance contingeant upon her being in some
sort of witness protection program.
Summary: The book is written in chronological order through the eyes
of the main character, Marjorie Friday Baldwin. Friday is the woman's
professional name while Marjorie Baldwin is a name that Friday uses in
personal relationships.
"Friday" begins with Friday being tailed during an operation in Kenya.
Friday kills the man shadowing her. Friday has a few altercations where
she barely survives on her way back to her Boss' headquarters in the
Chicago Imperium. Friday learns that she has been part of a bigger and
more complicated ruse than she was led to believe. This is not unusual
however.

Friday insists on having time off after this last grueling assignment.
Friday returns to her S-Group family in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Friday's experiences with her family are recounted. The relationship
lasts for many years until it is learned that Friday is not human but rather
an Artificial Person. Friday is ousted from the family.

On her journey, Friday meets Captain Ian Tormey. Friday goes with
Tormey to his home in Stonewall, Canada. While in residence, the group
learns that civil disorder has occurred and Friday is now in jeopardy.

Friday is unable to reach any of her contacts, including the Boss, so she
must make the best use of her resources. Friday makes her way south
where it is supposedly safer for her, a fugitive from the law. Friday joins
a military envoy known as Rachel's Raiders which is scheduled to return
to the Chicago Imperium. Shortly before the ship blows up from enemy
attack, Friday lands in Arkansas and is taken in by a friendly family.

Friday reaches the Chicago Imperium only to learn that the Boss has
dismantled the headquarters and has moved to parts unknown. Friday,
desperate to see Janet, returns to Stonewall only to find that they, too,
have fled just before being arrested for harboring fugitives.

Friday ends up in California and is reunited with the Boss. Just as Friday
is undergoing training for a new profession, the Boss dies and the
agency is dismantled. Friday is on the run once again. This time
however she is trying to make her own way in a world where there are
few people that she can trust. Friday finally receives another job as
courier but finds that she has been a pawn in an international plot. Friday
has been unknowingly impregnated and is scheduled to give birth to the
child of the First Citizen and the Dauphiness, world leaders.

Aboard the Forward, a ship destined for space, Friday rekindles her
relationships with her old friends from Earth and also meets several new
people. Friday knows that she must escape or be killed after the baby is
born. Friday manages to escape from the ship and to live out her days
with a family of her choosing on a space colony.