Westbrook High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Westbrook, ME)

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Westbrook High School COMPLIMENTS OF A. E. CARR at soN RETAIL SHOE DEALERS RELIABLE OBINSON SERVICE O. G. K. ROBINSON, Contractor and Builder EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR HOUSE FINISH, DOOR AND WINDOW FRAMES CLAPBOARD SIDING, PINE SI-IEATI-IING, CABINET WORK Telephone 391 Mill and Office, I4 Fitch Street Westbrook, Maine ll! +P' 344' COMPLIMENTS OF I in WESTBROOK GAS COMPANY KDivision of Portland Gas Light Companyl . . .Tl-lEtBETTER FUEL Hcgbrouglv Service CZQ9e grown B. 86 B. DRUG COMPANY 864 MAIN STREET 'Pre5cription., Specialists Your prescription will be given careful attention and filled with the best and purest of drugs Elway: on the fob

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16 thought, he might have satisfied his desires with a mere blow of the dagger. In my opinion the words of Goethe, A beau- tiful, pure and most moral nature, without the strength of nerve which makes the hero, sinks beneath a burden which it can neither bear nor throw off, explained the reason for Hamlet's failure to take immediate action against his Uncle Claudius. I do not think that Hamlet was insane, his madness was merely feigned in order to test the King. If Hamlet had realized that the members of the Court would presume that he was insane, he might have turned to other means whereby he could prove the King's guilt. There was a strong contrast between the pretended madness of Hamlet and the real madness of Ophelia. Shakespeare presented Hamlet as an amus- ing character during this performance while the pitiful condition of Ophelia was intended by the dramatist to Hll the reader's heart with tenderness. Many critics have called it cruelty on the part of Hamlet, when he showed his bitterness to Ophelia. I do not think that Hamlet in- tended to be cruel. For several months he had been under a severe nervous strain, deciding how he was to keep the pledge to his dead father. When he went to Ophelia to obtain spiritual aid, he immediately realized that she was too weak to help him, and when he dis- covered at their next meeting that she was deceiving him, he lost all self-control and uttered words which she interpreted as mad- ness. Later in the drama we learned that Hamlet truly loved Ophelia by his words, I loved Ophelia, forty thousand brothers Could not, with all tlleir quantity of love, Make up my sum. Hamlet's scholastic abilities were portrayed by the sound advice which he gave the stroll- ing players, concerning the presentation of the play. Not only did Hamlet understand the art of play writing, but he was also an excellent actor. His knowledge of law was shown in his words of respect which abound in technical law terms, spoken over the skull of the lawyer. The Blue Er White His skill and courage as a fencer was also evident, for Claudius did not dare to rely on the skill of Laertes to kill Hamlet, and, fear- ing his skill, the King turned to dishonorable means to carry out his plans. Laertes' actions caused grief to Hamlet, for he trusted him and loved him as a friend. Be- fore the duel the apology of Hamlet to Laertes revealed his amiable and sensitive nature. It showed that he was sincere and sorry for their misunderstandings. Hamlet cannot be classified as a coward. He represented all that was excellent and pure in human nature, possessed with that certain in- definiteness with which all men are endowed. Some critics have said that it was cowardly of Hamlet to change the King's orders whereby his friends. Rosencrantz and Guildenstein, met death, but in my estimation this was not so. Could they be classed as friends, after Hamlet discovered their treachery? No. They proved disloyal to their friendship and therefore they were deserving of death. I agree with a criticism of Hazlitt, in which the true character of Hamlet is revealed that, Hamlet is a name, his speeches and say- ings but the idle coinage of the poet's brain. VVhat then, are they not real? They are as real as our own thoughts. It is we who are Hamlet. Whoever has become thoughtful and melan- choly through his own mishaps or those of othersg whoever has borne about with him the clouded brow of reflection and thought him- self 'too much in th' sun'-this is the true Hamlet. B. VV., '32, JOHN PHILIP SOUSA On March 6, 1932, our nation lost one of its most loved and famous citizens. john Philip Sousa. He died suddenly in the early hours of the morning at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. Less than two hours before his death he attended a banquet given in his honor by the Ringgold Band of Reading, who were celebrating his 80th anniversary.

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18 John Philip Sousa was one of the most Widely known of contemporary American mu- sicians and his death ended a career of more than fifty years before the public. He was born at Washington, D. C., November 6, 1854. As a boy he studied music, and at the early age of thirteen he was a member of the Marine Corps Band. In 1880, when he was but twenty-four years of age, he had worked up to the position of music director of the United States Marine Corps. He held this position until 1892, at which time he formed a band that he named after himself. It was called Sousa's Band, and it soon became known as the world's most famous band. Under his direction the band played in every city of size in the United States and made several tours of Europe, one of which started late in 1910 and extended to a tour of the world which lasted until the early part of 1912. As a writer of music, Sousa's works include two operas, many songs, and more than one hundred marches. His marches are the best known of his works and are familiar to all, for they include such favorites as Washington Post March, Stars and Stripes Forever, and Hands Across the Sea. He was known as the March King and he certainly deserved this name. L. P., '32. WHO? Who rises from his bed With an aching heart and throbbing head? Who stand all exams in dread? The Freshman. NVho's reached the ladder's second round, And searched the Sciences profound, So feels he should be laurel crowned? The Sophomore. Who feels that he is bound to be The final great authority For students and for faculty? The Junior. Who stalks around with solemn air, Who thinks that none with him compare, And passes Freshmen with a stare? The Senior. T. H., '31 The Blue fr VVhite CHRISTMAS SHOPPING CAs seen from behind the counterj Christmas is the merriest season of the year with the hustle and bustle of shoppers creat- ing a festive atmosphere. The Salvation Army girl, standing on the corner, stamps her feet and rings her bell. 'People stop, fumble in their pockets or pocketbooks, drop some coins in the big iron pot and go on feeling very public- spirited indeed. The stores are filled with peo- ple, all kinds of people, and as I watch them from behind my counter in the local McClellan Ctwenty-five cents to a dollarl Store, I often wonder who they are, where they come from and where they are going. A girl that has worked very long in one of these stores classihes the people into different groups, especially the regular customers. For instance, I can tell a girl from Scarboro by the way she talks, acts, and dresses. Most of them have clear, healthy complexions from their life on the farm and the long walk to school. Peo- ple from Gorham and lfVindham have a dis- tinctive air about them, also. A good salesgirl knows her customers. For instance, I know that the man standing at the end of my counter comes into the store early in the evening and stays late, doing nothing but picking things up for inspection, then placing things back in the wrong places and generally making a wreck of my counter. A few minutes before closing time he makes a small purchase and leaves, greatly satished with his skillful buying power. Then there is Henry. I know his name is Henry because he is always wandering away from his wife, and she has to call to him half the distance of the store. She is a small, thin, sharp-faced woman and he is a great hulking brute. She dominates him completely. She is the type that always asks her husband's opin- ion and completely ignores his decision. The toy counter that I work on lures every- one from the four-year-old to Grandpa. The little boy I just waited on spent fifty cents on toys. He bought each article separately, with much deliberation and consultation with his