Feeling Punchy

I recently started taking a boxing class at a gym near my home. I used to go to kick-boxing and self-defense classes regularly for several years with my sister partly to stay in shape and partly to learn to defend myself should I ever need to. After the hurricane I had a difficult time attending any classes because I was commuting back and forth from Hattiesburg for school. Fortunately, the same instructor that taught kick-boxing/self-defense has started a boxing academy and I joined up. I have never had so much fun working my butt off as I do in the boxing classes. There are two classes every week each lasting for two hours. There are both girls and guys in the class and we always have a great time. The first class I went to I thought I was going to die (and I wasn't really out of shape going into the class) but it is worth it to go ever week and learn to fight. Knowing how to fight and defend yourself is one of the most empowering feelings there is. Especially for a female it is a great feeling to know that you have some power over your situation should someone try to take advantage of you. By learning self-defense you know you now have greater conrol over your own life. I know it may sound "unladylike" or masculine to take boxing but I am a very firm believer that every female should have some training in how to defend themselves. It is a great confidence builder to know that you are strong and capable and that you have the knowledge to fight back and not become a victim. Not only is great for protecting yourself but I have yet to find a sport that gives you a better workout than boxing done properly. Another benefit of boxing is that you learn how to take a punch. My instructor told me that one of the things that severely lowers an attacked person chances in an assault is the surprise they feel when they get hit if they have never been punched before. I will admit that I hate getting hit in the face, my brains after all are my livelihood not my boxing skills. My instructor also understands this and takes every precaution that I don't damage brain cells or break my nose. So I recommend to everyone out there (especially females) to learn some sort of self defense, not so you become a bully but so that you don't become a victim. Learning how to box has been unbelievably fun and has the added benefits of keeping me in great shape and making me a stronger, more confident person.

Summer Classes

Okay, when I signed on for summer classes I had no idea I woud have such a difficult time motivating myself to get my work done. I have always been a procrastinator but I have taken to a whole new level this summer. I am taking two classes now and while I am enjoying them I keep struggling to get my work done. Tommorrow is my first test and to say the least I'm unprepared. So the last two days I have been cramming for my test and hopefully I'll manage to get everything done tonight. Also this blogging assignment, while fun, is hard to remember to do regularly. I have got to shape up or else(ahhhhhh)! I quess I sound like I'm whining now so I'm going to quit complaining. I will say, however, that summer classes have defintely been an eye opener!

Paper

Emily

ENG 102

Ryan Davidson

June 13, 2007

Shakespeare and “The Count of Monte Cristo”

Love and jealousy make the world go round. Okay, maybe not exactly but these two feelings play significant roles in the interaction between human beings. Love, perhaps, is the root feeling while jealousy often stems from love or a semblance of it. William Shakespeare’s poem “When, in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes” and the movie, based on a book by Alexandre Dumas, “The Count of Monte Cristo” both offer insight into love, jealousy and their relationship with human interactions. Shakespeare’s poem portrays a person who down on his luck both materially and in the eyes of others. The person bemoans his fate and wishes for what others possess, whether it is their hope, their friends or their talents and skills. This person is not happy or content with what he has until he thinks of his love and then he would not trade places with a king. In “The Count of Monte Cristo” jealousy, or envy, is the basis for many of the characters actions towards each other. Yet at the end of the movie the main character, Edmund Dantes, cares only for the woman he loves and his son, whom he did not know he had until the end of the movie. The similarities in the movie and the poem speak volumes about the nature of human interactions because they portray the effects of jealousy and love on the actions of people towards their family, friends and acquaintances.

In the beginning of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, Edmund, the main character, is portrayed as a kind, good person. He has just received a promotion and can now marry the woman he loves. His achievements and material possessions may seem small in comparison to the wealth of his best friend, but he is happy and in love. His best friend, however, sees Edmund’s happiness and despite his wealth feels envious of what Edmund has. This leads the best friend to betray Edmund and have him arrested even though Edmund did nothing wrong. This betrayal resulted from jealousy. In both the movie and the poem one character feels jealous of what another person possesses be it material or otherwise. In the poem the character’s jealousy leads to unhappiness. This stanza from “When, in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes” by William Shakespeare illustrates this,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least,
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising.
In the movie, however, jealousy leads to much more negative actions like betrayal and murder. These examples show that jealousy has a way of corrupting any interactions between humans. Jealousy wears down the inhibitions that often keep people from crossing some unseen boundary into betrayal and worse. Without jealousy prodding Edmund’s friend, he had no reason to harm Edmund.

In the poem and the movie jealousy stems or is enhanced by a lack of something. One important case of this is a lack of love. The movie and the poem illustrate how a lack of love between two humans causes them to fill that space with something else such as jealously or general unhappiness. The tone of the poem conveys how, the character “when, in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes,” experiences loneliness and emptiness in the character’s life. Right after this the character goes on to covet what others have to fill the void but it is not until he remembers his love that he would not trade positions with a king.