Character Analysis on Demetrius of a Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare

In the novel A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, Demetrius is an Athenian aristocrat who wants to marry Hermia. Initially, Demetrius could be defined as the antagonist because he tries to marry Hermia even if she does not want and he drives away Helena, his previous girlfriend, even though she loves him desperately. Hermia's father Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius whereas she loves Lysander. Demetrius could be defined cruel because he tells Helena that he will leave her to the mercy of the wild beasts if she will continue to pursue him. When Lysander leaves Hermia, she asks Demetrius to help her find him but he replies that he would rather give Lysander's carcass to his hound. However Demetrius really loved Hermia and even pursued her through the dangerous woods. Eventually, because of magical influence he will fall in love in Helena and after a fight with Lysander, who has been magically influenced too, Lysander will marry Hermia and Demetrius will marry Helena. When Hermia's father Egeus will ask the governor of Athens that Hermia shall be executed for disobedience, Demetrius will protect her, changing from the antagonist of the story to a hero.

Further information on the play

Blitzkrieg

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Allied nations believed it would resemble the First World War, dominated by trench warfare, however they were wrong. Fast and mobile German armies attacked Poland from the German border and from German-controlled Czechoslovakia. Attacks were often preceded by precise and effective bombings carried out by Stuka dive-bombers and Junker and Heinkel altitude-bombers. Then the fast panzer divisions would cut through the enemy lines. Panzer is the abbreviation of Panzerkampfwagen that were the German tanks. There were many different models that gave German armored divisions an excellent tactical flexibility. They were powerful and outdated many Allied tanks and were projected to cut through enemy infantry while dealing with their heavy weapons. Finally the infantry would kill or capture the survivors. This tactic proved extremely efficient and by October 6, 1930 Poland had been conquered. On April 8, 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. Denmark capitulated on April 10 while Norway resisted until June 10. On May 10, Germany invaded and occupied Luxembourg and attacked Holland, Belgium and France. Holland was defeated on May 17 while Belgium capitulated on May 27. France surrendered on June 22 after a series of humiliating defeats.

Further information on the Blitzkrieg

Novel 8: Empire of the Sun by James Graham Ballard

The protagonist of the Empire of the Sun by James Graham Ballard is a boy named Jim. Secondary characters include Jim's parents; Basie, an American cabin-steward and Dr. Ransome. The antagonists are the Japanese. The story takes place during World War II in the Pacific theatre, specifically in Shangai, an open-air cinema, Lunghua camp and the area around Shangai. Jim is an English boy in Shangai and when the Japanese conquer the city, he is separated from his parents. He wanders through the city, is captured by the Japanese and is enclosed in an open-air cinema. Then, with Basie and Dr. Ransome, he is transferred to Lunghua camp. There his life continues and when Japan looses the war and the prisoners are freed, he does not know what to do without the Japanese and tries to find his parents. Eventually, he finds them and goes to England. This is a powerful story on the harsh conditions of Japanese prisoner camps.

Link about the author

History of Trieste

Trieste is a city found in northeastern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea and at the border with Slovenia. This city had a long history of foreign occupations and invasions. Trieste was founded in the third millennium b. C by the Carni tribe. Various tribes fought for the control of the settlement until it was conquered in 177 b. C. by Julius Caesar who named it Tergeste. When the barbarians annihilated the Western Roman Empire, Tergeste remained under Byzantine control and became an important military center and port. In 788 a. C, it became part of the Frank kingdom, became a free city and after a brief occupation by the Republic of Venice, Trieste joined the Austrian Empire. It became an important port but was occupied by Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon's first defeat in 1813, Trieste returned to the Austrian Empire. During the beginning of the twentieth century, Trieste was home to many artists and thinkers such as Joyce, Svevo and Saba. After World War I came to an end, Trieste was transferred from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the Italian Kingdom. Many different cultures coexisted in Trieste but this peace came to an end during World War II. Trieste is remembered for three terrible events: The “Risiera” concentration camp, the “Foibe” massacres and the Exodus of the Istrians. During the Worls War II, after the Italian armistice, Trieste became part of the German-controlled Adriatic Littoral Operation Zone. There was a struggle for the city's control between the Allies and Yugoslavians, who shot on a pro-Italian manifestation killing five civilians. However, the Yugoslavians, under Allied pressure, left Trieste. In 1947, Trieste became an independent state known as the "Free Territory of Trieste" and was under Anglo-american influence. Trieste returned to the Republic of Italy on October 26, 1954.

Further information on the city
Further information on the "Foibe" massacre
Further information on the "Risiera"
Further information on the Istrian exodus

Evidence that I completed my work and what grade I expect

Our L.A teacher told us to write a post on which I myself say that I have completed my work. This is an ensurance he took because if some of my classmates has not finished his or her work but writes the very same blog I am writing, it is a lie and therefore, punishable. Here is my post.

"Dear Mr. P,

Good evening, I dearly hope you enjoyed a pleasant journey. I wrote all my six blog entries and the six rough copies are all held in my Language Arts notebook.

As a grade, I believe I should get a grade ranging from an A- to an A+. To support this, I have 7 reasons:

I: I performed all the work we were supposed to do without exceptions.

II: I completed all the work you assigned before the due date and were all published when you asked to see them.

III: The grammar I used was rather good, for my age and nationality, and I took care in using the right tenses and word orders.

IV: I proofread my blog using different tools. I used the blog spell-check, the Open Office spell-check, the Microsoft Word spell-check and I personally read it three times to check it.

V: I did the best I possibly could to comment on the other blogs, however, there were some of my comrades who had not completed writing their entries and I am currently waiting for them to publish all their entries.

VI: I used the time in class very wisely and I passed all the time of all the lessons writing the entries, checking them and posting comments.

VII: I followed all the rules you gave us and I have specified in the title, what they are about and to what subject they are related. All of my entries respect the word limits (140-160 words for novel summaries and 150-200 words for entries on other subjects).

I hope you will enjoy the time you will spend in Boston.

Best regards

Matteo Z"