"That Obscure Object of Desire"

2. Terrorism is a huge factor in this movie for several reasons. A group, under the quite humorous name Revolutionary Army of the Baby Jesus, is continually causing death and explosions throughout the film. I believe Buñuel did this to demonstrate how obsession could cause blindness to the world. Though Matheiu
was well aware of the danger surrounding him, he was robbed and car jacked, he did not care. All he could focus on was the hurt he was feeling from Conchita or the unresolved sexual tension. The moral of the terrorists acts to portray how people turn a blind eye to everything except the one object the obssess or desire after.

3. I believe Buñuel uses two different actress for the character of Conchita to portray the power struggle between the couple. The first woman, Carole Bouquet, represents the more quiet and passive Conchita. This is the actress whom Mathieu can easily manipulate, showing one side of the power struggle. This Conchita is timid and appears to be easily swayed. Mathieu asserts his dominance when he is around this character. However, when Angela Molena plays Conchita Mathieu is powerless against her antics. When Angela is acting she uses her sexuality to conquer Mathieu. Conchita knows that Mathieu does not really love her, but instead lust for her. When Bouquet is scorned  Molena comes out and uses her one tool, her sexuality, as a vice to torture Mathieu as he does to her with his "love". The usage of two actresses allows for one character but two different personalities, and two different relationships. When they are merged it resulted in one convuluted relationship.

CELESTINA day five

ACT 18 :  Areusa's motives for plotting Calisto's death is revenge. She wants to avenge her "mother" for the acts that this man caused and as a form of consolation for Elicia. Throughout the whole novel, Calisto has only been concerned with his infatuation with Melibea. Even after the deaths of his loyal servants, Parmeno and Sempronio, Calisto only cared about Melibea. The duo, Areusa and Elicia, decided to take destiny into their own hands and punish Calisto for his selfishness and, in a way, his stupidity.

ACT 19 : I think it is better that Calisto died as an accident, then an intentional death. I say this because it is not revenge, though Elicia will still get the same satisfaction. Instead of dieing as revenge for the death of Celestina, he is dieing from a silly error. This misfortune also suits Calisto, because he left trying to show off for his love, which was foolish much like his character traits. I am quite surprised by Melibea's reaction. She pushed Calisto so far away in the begining of the novel. She made fun him for even considering going out with her, but now she is crying her eyes out because of his death. She is finally acknowledging how much he meant to her. This is the most vulnerable we see her character, however I do believe that he reaction is quite embellished. She is milking it a litte, but I believe the feelings are there.

CELESTINA day four

1.  I do not really know how to feel about the death of Celestina. I think Parmeno deffinitely betrayed her, given their past history. The servants deffinitely acted in greed, when they attacked Celestina. Their motive was to recieve their piece of the reward from Celestina, and I beleiev the greed got to them, plus the anger from their missing weapons.  I do not believe that Celestina deserved to die, because Parmeno and Sempronio knew what they were getting into when they entered into a ploy with her. They knew the way Celestina worked, especially Parmeno, whose mother was quite like old Celly. I kind of sympathize with Celestina because she was unjustly killed. She did not deserve the act, although in all honestly she probably knew where the chain was located. She did not directly harm either of the two servants in such a way that deserved such a retailiation.

2. Calisto  is very upset by his servant's death because of the way his reputation will be precieved. He is most upset in Act 13 because he is fearful of the whole town knowing all of his secrets, including the reasons he was consulting with Celestina. He was more focused on his on own downfalls than those of Sempronio and Parmeno, as well as his almost loss of communications with Melibea. I dont think he is even grieving for the loss of life, just for the loss of possible sex. This is very unfortunate for his two trusted servants, as well as his "miracle worker" Celestina.

CELESTINA day three

2. The statement, "Not everything is white that is not black and not everything that is yellow and shiny is gold," is alludes to the trickery shown throughout the novel. Celestina constantly feeds half truths throughout the novel, promoting this statement. just because Celestina does not tell the truth (black), does not mean the everything she is saying is a lie (white). For example, though she tells Meliba that Calisto is very sick and needs her love, it is true that Calisto needs her love. The statement "everything that is yellow and shiny is  gold," is also a reference to the same concept, except a bit harsher. the former allowed for a little wiggle room within the lines. The yellow and shiny define a more specific trickery where, in my opinion, there is no truth whats so ever. This also incurs frequently between the characters.

3. I believe this quote is related to trickery, because Sempronio and Parmeno are in a ploy with Celestina to make Calisto happy and steal his money, but they are also in a ploy together to get half of what Celestina is receiving as a reward. Naturally Celestina would keep most of the reward Calisto is going to give her for successfully bring himself and Melibea together, however the two servants have a much different idea. They would like half, thus the trickery comes into play. I don't think the two trust Celestina fully, but they her enough to know that she going to follow through with the trick to receive her payment. The quote, "Out of goodwill or under pressure from us, Celestina will at least give us a piece of whatever  she gets," is a perfect example of their distrust. They are hoping that they can receive their half of the reward willingly, but in the back of their minds they know that Celestina will not go down without a fight. There is no real form of trust throughout the novel, even the relationships that seem to be stable reflect a notion of apprehension.

CELESTINA day two

1.  I believe this quote shows the way men percieve a relationship should be. Men are very selfish creatures and thus they want what they idealize the moment they think of it. Women tend to take the time to think things out, even to the point of over analyzation, but men pefer to act and deal with the consequences. This reference, which fits Calisto's character, suggests that men follow their first thoughts. When they see a beautiful woman, they immediately want to pursue them. I believe this quote is true because men are strictly doers. For example. when women get into a fight they are petty and hold grudges, while men punch each other and are friends again within ten minutes. The same concept rings true with love, especially swince girls are very keen with reputation thus making them less spur the moment. Men just go with things, and that is what makes this quote true.

2.  I think this quote is saying that the upper class has a harder life.  This quote is quite funny, because Celestina is considered the lowest of low class. She works several jobs, one of which is running a brothel, and yet the quote suggests that life is easier for her than everyone else. I  Although it may seem strange, I would have to believe this. I say this because the people who love Celestina and consider her a friend, love her for her. They know evertything about Celestina, from her exile from town to her unruly job, and yet decide to friends with her. This shows how pure the friendship between the two individuals are. However, if an individual is rich, the motives behind the friendship become blurred. One can never tell is the person is being geuine or if they are trying to their money or connections. The class separation is also shown later on in Act 4, when Melibea's mother did not know who Celestina was. This shows how uncouncious the upper class is of the lower class.

CELESTINA day one

1. The opening scene takes place in garden with Calisto and Melibea. Immediately I thought of the Garden of Eden, and the symbolism it has for this part of the novel. The  opening scene is one where Calisto confesses his newly found, undying love for Melibea. Despite all the sweet things he claims, Melibea turns down his attentions and says she does not care for him in that way. I compared this to the Garden of Eden for several reasons. The famous biblical story begins with Eve taking a bite of the forbidden fruit. she then convinces Adam to take a bite of the fruit as well. The introduction parallels this, because Melibea is the ultimate demise of Calisto. She, in a literary way, tempted Calisto with the forbidden fruit, which in this case would be her body. Thus, at first glance Calisto fell in love, leading to his downfall, or at least the downfall that I anticipate will be coming up soon in the story.

3. My intial impression of Celestina is that she is a very confident. The whole passage was a man trying to degrade her for being a very "loose" woman. Despite the constant degrading, Celestina continually maintains her wonderful demour. She embraces her reputation and wears it with pride because she is not embarassed by the things she has done. She understands the consequences of her actions, and participates in the sexual acts willingly. She enjoys the pleasure, thus she is not murked when people point out the obvious. She does what makes her happy, and forgets what others would appreciate. Though I understand the importance of caring for others, I find it admirable the way Celestina goes about life. This is shown through the novel when she finds allies to help trick Calisto out of his money.

The Decameron DAY 5

2.      Story 7.5 –  The prologue to this story paints the husband in a bad light. He is given the persona of a over controlling, conniving husband. It sheds light the viewpoint in such a way that women were to be controlled and kept safe like a diamond from burglars. I believe society has progressed a little, but not much from this point. Several guys get into physical fights over a girl, just as Rimini is always on guard for the incoming advances from other men towards his wife. This prologue also conveniently leaves out the woman’s perspective. I think today’s society observes the woman’s point of view much more than the olden days, perhaps even much more than men. Today women are the victims, and men are the abusers. Regardless of what happens, it is always the poor girl over the man, who may be victim to the woman’s evil plans much like Rimini was at the end of this story. Overall, society has changed its view since the prologue of this story, but I can not decide whether it is a step in the right direction, or the wrong one.

1.      Story 7.3 – I found this story to be quite strange. Rinaldo wants to get with a woman, whoms son he is godfather of, and befriends her husband to try a make his pass. I find it extremely ironic that this event eventually happens, but Rinaldo has first turned into a friar. It is like Boccaccio is trying to show his view of the church. It took a deprivation of human society and a title of much honor for the two to finally consummate their wants. The woman was fairly easily persuaded, and the most disturbing fact was that the godson was present for this moment. I think this parallels to the church, and how the friar is meant to be a guiding light for young boys. However, reality is much different than one’s ideals as the book demonstrates. For instance, the young boy is present because it sets the stage for the friars influence and example. Overall this story demonstrates Boccaccio’s idea of the church and its clergy.