Puppy Mill Protest

For our act of public protest, Claire, Kristin and I decided to act out against puppy mills and promote Animal Shelters. We all love animals and especially dogs and we knew a bit about puppy mills and what they do, as well as overpopulation of dogs and shelters. We did some research online and found that 99% of dogs found in pet stores came from a puppy mill. We also found that the mills keep the dogs in horrible conditions - feeding them just enough for survival, keeping them in cages their entire lives, keeping them outside in excessive heat and freezing temperatures and overbreeding them. These acts have caused excessive overpopulation and horribly mistreated dogs. Many of the dogs rescued from these mills have been taken to shelters - kill and no kill - which can only hold and provide for a certain amout of dogs at a time and must either reject taking in more dogs for no kill shelters, or kill the dogs who are disabled, or have suffered the mistreatment of these mills and cannot be helped without expensive medical treatment. These shetlers do not want to end the unfortunate lives of these animals but sadly have no other way unless people adopt the animals. With this information we went out in Claire's neighborhood with her neighbor's adopted shelter dog Trent. We put a sign on Trent that said, "Adopt a Puppy" and walked around seeing if there were any people we could inform about these unfortunate events occuring. Because its beginning to get quite cold out now, there werent many people around but we were able to talk to a few who sadly werent looking to adopt at the moment but listened to what we had to say and were even shocked with some of the facts. I feel pretty good about our act because Puppy Mills must be stopped and every little bit helps. I was also happy to inform people about shelters and I hope that if some of the people we talked to think of getting a dog sometime in the future they will remember what we said and purchase one from a shelter.

Conclusion to Lysistrata

I was pretty excited before we began Lysistrata. Just talking about the play and what was in it really interested me. I was getting pretty annoyed with the drama in THBA and Hedda Gabler, with all the shooting and the oppression, so the idea of a comedy sounded great for a change. I also liked the idea that the play was quite open about topics that today's world is so closed and private about. Learning more about puns and experimenting with those also got me really excited about the read. Once we actually got into the play I was a bit surprised. I expected something a bit more complex, and though it was at points, it got to the main points quick and in a simple manner. I really loved this play and I'm happy we were able to move away from the dramatic texts to something much funnier and peaceful. I do wish the ending was different than the expected fairy-tale one, though the play as a whole was great and I really loved its content.

The end of the play

I really didnt like how this play ended. I mean it is a nice ending that the men finally gave into the women and "peace" was restored but it just seemed to fairy-tale to me. I liked that the play didn't end with a death or violence or with the war continuing... but it just ended with such an expected ending which takes away surprise and interest. I like being thrown off at the end of a book or play, and I guess this sort of threw me off in that I thought there would be a more eye opening and unexpected ending, and the expected happened. I'm not sure what Aristophanes could have done to make the ending less expected and more out of the ordinary, but I wish there was something more eyecatching than what actually happened.

After the play

I was thinking about how the play ended and contemplating what might have happened afterwards. In my own personal opinion, I dont believe the men really wanted to end the war or have peace, but the temptation of sex caused them to give into the women and what they wanted in the end. I think that after the men gave in, and the women started to have sex with their husbands again, the men decided to continue fighting. It just doesn't seem like the men would really stick by their agreement, and listen to the women. They just seem to have a strong idea that women are inferior and they are dominant, so it doesn't seem that they would suddenly change their thinking and let women overpower them.

Lysistrata and Rosa Parks

I think that Lysistrata and Rosa Parks are actually a lot alike. Lysistrata stepped out of what was expected of women, and decided to take a stand against what she felt was wrong and in that way she helped created change. At first the men and even women were totally opposed to the idea but they all eventually agreed with Lysistrata and her petition came out strong. Rosa Parks did something that was quite unexpected as well by sitting in the white section of the bus. She took a stand against something she felt was unfair and didnt give into what others wanted her to do/others anger. This small action, though it was small eventually caused change and caused others to agree with her and come to the conclusion that she was right.

Degrading Women

The book made me sort of angry because the men continually degraded the women in the way they talked about them, to them, or the actions the made towards them or with them. One example is the Commissioner and his foul nature in the ways he treated the women. It just seemed like the only reason the men cared for the women was for sex. I'm not sure but I'm thinking maybe the strongest reason why they finally gave into the women was because they just wanted sex, they didn't realize the good they were doing in ending the war and violence. I think its good that they eventually gave up and gave into the women's petition, but I dont think many of the ways they treated the women throughout the book, the names they called them, and what they thought about them were right.

Confusion

The play seemed to flow until the parts where the chorus came in or where the men and women were having their stripping fight. It seemed much simpler with just the dialogue between a few characters, though when all of the women and men were together in a group arguing against the claims each other made, it got sort of confusing. I thought it was pretty creative and looked quite difficult in making everything rhyme as well. I didnt like these parts so much because they sort of threw me off and were difficult to understand, but with reading them over and thinking on the next level I sort of pieced together what was going on.

Myrrhine

I think Myrrhine is one of the strongest/smartest women who are part of the protest. When I was first reading about Myrrhine when she was with Kinesias and she made it seem like she was going to give into him and break her vow to Lysistrata and the other women, I thought she was kind of stupid and I was upset with her character. When I realized that she was just prolonging her husband by tempting him more and more as she kept leaving and coming back I laughed. I really like her character and I think she plays a major part in how the book came to a close. Kinesias seemed to be a major character in how the men decided if they were going to give in or not to the women, and if Myrrhine had given in, I dont believe the book would have ended the same way.

Differences within the men and women

As I was researching the topic of my presentation I noticed some things about the men and women within the play. I realized that the men, promoting war and violence who wish to continue fighting walk slowly and seem quite tired and irratable a lot of the time. They also use language and words that deal with destruction and violence and death. The women though, who are wishing to restore peace and love seem to be much more lively, happy and joke a lot more than the men. The also seem to sometimes use language that could be considered violent, though its usually only used to help their petition in bringing peace. The majority of what they say seems to be peaceful and positive though.

Kleonike's Pledge and The Womens' Reaction

I found it sort of funny that Kleonike could not come to terms with the agreement she was making while taking the pledge as she repeated after Lysistrata. Like when she says her knees are getting shaky and Lysistrata needs to usher her on. I also found it interesting when Lysistrata introduced the idea to all the women at first how they agreed strongly that the war must be ended and didnt want violence anymore, though when Lysistrata brought abstinence from sex into the mix they completely changed their mindset. Many said they wouldn't until Lysistrata persuaded them to agree. It just seemed sort of funny and interesting how the women seemed to put sex before peace and unity of a country.

The Character Lysistrata

I really like Lysistrata. Her character is so defiant, strong and powerful. I think that she's a wonderful woman for standing up for herself and her beliefs and having enough courage and leadership to get other women to join her against the war. The women lived in a time where women didn't have much of a voice and weren't seen on the same level as men, though that didnt discourage Lysistrata or the women. It may have even been a strong reason for why they decided to make the petition that they did.