Hey guys, this is going to be my last post here. I wanted to post something interesting for the last one, so I figured, why not something about anime? Not many people admit to watching anime anymore, but it can have as much merit as a movie at times, and sometimes more. There is always something to read into in anime. Just because it is animated, does not mean it is for kids. This is Japan we're talking about. Nothing is sacred to their writers. Anyway, this is an analysis of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood that I came up with.

The basis of the story line revolves around the science of alchemy. This is not your medieval alchemy of turning iron into gold. This is an exact science of deconstructing and reconstructing matter on an atomic level. All alchemy revolves around the laws of equivalent exchange. This law is similar to the law of conservation of matter, but it’s a bit more specific. The law of equivalent exchange is as follows: It is impossible to create something from nothing. If something is to be created, something of equal value must be given, and it is impossible to change organic matter into inorganic matter. In addition to the law of equivalent exchange, the  country the series is set in (named Amestris) has placed three rules surrounding alchemy. These are as follows: obey the military, do not create gold, and do not attempt human transmutation (Note: the act of performing alchemy is known as transmutation). The first law is in place to keep order. Amestris is run by the military, so obeying the military is the same as obeying the law. The second law is to keep the economy in balance. If too many people created gold, it would become devalued. The third law is said to be to prevent unethical and sinful behavior, but that is not the actual reason behind it. The third law is in place to prevent someone from creating their own personal army.

*SPOILER ALERT*

The government  of Amestris is about as corrupt as they come. The entire country was created for the sole purpose of sacrificing the entire population to further empower the secret leader of the country, Father. Father controls the country through his seven homunculi, embodiments of different aspects of his soul. These homunculi look like regular people for the most part, and one holds the position of Fuhrer, the military leader of the nation. The country has a militaristic history, always expanding in order to assume the shape needed for the transmutation that will destroy it. In addition to needing a certain shape, certain places in the country needed to be soaked with blood. Due to the large scale of the transmutation, one spot of blood means thousands of deaths. These are usually accomplished by war or revolution. The most recent of these conflicts is the Ishvalan Civil War. In this instance, an Ishvalan child was shot by one of the homunculi, disguised as a soldier. This sparked a violent revolution that was put down by pure military might, causing the slaughter of thousands of innocents. This conflict still haunts most of the people who served in it, and it plays a key role in the development of many characters. In retrospect, the Elric brothers are late arrivals in the story, even though it is centered around them. They broke the third and most unforgivable law of alchemy when they tried to bring their mother back to life. In the process, Edward Elric, the elder brother, lost his arm and leg, and Alphonse Elric, the younger brother, lost his entire body. His soul is bound to a suit of armor for most of the movie. They are caught by Colonel Roy Mustang, a state alchemist that served in Ishval. He agrees to overlook the brothers’ crime and offers Ed a shot at the title of state alchemist. Ed passes the test and they spend the remainder of the series on a quest to regain their original bodies, fighting the corrupt government of Amestris in the process. Fullmetal Alchemist displays a torn country with a dark past, as well as a villain who fails to distinguish between morality and the law of equivalent exchange.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction. The full essay goes into much greater detail and It would be way too long to post here (I'm barely getting away with the intro). I would highly suggest watching the series for yourself in the future. It is a good way to pass the time, and lord knows we have too much of that during the summer. Thanks for reading and have a great summer!

Thomas Gray (AP Poetry)

          Well, I must say, Thomas Gray is quite the guy. I have never seen a man so stuck up and pompous in his youth that grew to be so elegant with words. To give you a brief background on Gray, he attended Eton College, which he loved, and Cambridge University, which he hated. He frequently wrote to his friend from Eton about how proud his professors were and how idiotic his classmates were. After graduation, the next big event in Gray's life is the death of one of his Eton friends, Richard West. it was this death that inspired the writing of Gray's greatest work, but more on that later. Gray started his writing career shortly after the death of West. He was reclusive during this time, not traveling from his home in Cambridge until later in life. Three years before his death, he took a job as the chair of modern history at Cambridge University, the school he used to despise. Thomas Gray died in 1771. He published thirteen poems that amount to less than a thousand lines. Despite not being the most productive poet, he earned a place in history.
           Now for Gray's masterpiece: "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." This monster of a poem well exceeds a hundred lines and all of them hold significance to the message of the poem. The poem speaks of many corpses long buried that held the fire of the muse and true talent as poets and writers. However, unlike a traditional elegy, which stresses the immortality of a poet in his works, this elegy focuses on the permanence of death the impossibility of immortality. Personally, I find this absolutely hilarious. A poem about impermanence and death immortalized its creator and earned him a place in history. This is the most ironic situation I have ever seen surrounding a piece of poetry, and I am always one to appreciate an ironic situation. The poem was most likely written in response to the death of Gray's childhood friend from Eton, Richard West. This would explain the defeatist and dark tone of the poem. West was the one reader Gray could turn to and never expect biting criticism. I have to say, I love the fact that all of Thomas Gray's poems have regular meter. Free verse just does not hold the same charm as the steady flow of meter. Rhyme scheme also supports the flow of the poem. It keeps the reader's attention the way a piece of music would.
          Gray showed great variety in his works. One example that I find simple, yet effective is "Satire on the Heads of Houses." I mentioned before that Thomas Gray hated Cambridge University. To elaborate, he spoke of his superiors as excessively proud and his classmates as excessively stupid. In this poem, Gray focuses on his superiors. In thirty eight lines, he explains how a certain head of house displeases him. He then follows this voice of displeasure with many, many rhythmic, rhyming lines that describe each and every other head of house as being the same as the one he mentioned. Each line is different, but means the same thing. Not only is Gray roasting the administration of Cambridge, he is also flaunting his large vocabulary and talent as a writer in order to assert his superiority.
          In contrast to his disdain towards Cambridge, Thomas Gray adored Eton College, his secondary school. He expresses this love in "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" (for simplicity's sake, I will refer to this work as "Ode" from here on out). This one hundred line poem can be evenly divided into two parts with two different effects and subjects. The first half of the poem is nostalgic. Gray looks back on a time when life was more simple. He remembers when he could play, love, and get into trouble without a care in the world. In the second half, however, the poem turns to a darker subject. Gray begins to mourn the future students' loss of innocence. He speaks of the tragedy that comes with facing the trials of life. He concludes by pleading that the children be kept ignorant of the dark truth for as long as possible. He wishes for their happiness to last as long as possible.
          Well, Thomas Gray was quite the writer. His works are as varied as his emotions, so it should come as no surprise that they coincide so well. Researching this man was a pleasure. I still cannot get over the irony of "Elegy" being his most famous poem. Anyway, this guy has style. I recommend you at least read "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" and look up some of the back story behind it.You will see where I am coming from. If you are ever in the mood to read him, here is a link to a complete collection of what I see as every single scrap of work he ever had anything to do with. http://www.thomasgray.org/texts/poems.shtml It was hard for me to find a place to start with all of these works to sort through, but I'm glad I picked the ones I did. I highly recommend you read them, as well as Gray's biography for a thought-provoking experience.

'Tis folly to be wise. ~ Thomas Gray, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College"