After reading Act 4: What new dimensions does Roxane reveal in her conversation with Christian? What does she fail to see? What new sides to Christian do we see in this act? Why does Cyrano not tell Roxane the truth about the letters? Why does he not tell Christian the truth about Roxane? Do you agree with Christian when he says that it is really Cyrano whom Roxane loves? Explain.
How do you think Roxane would have responded if Cyrano had been able to tell her the truth about the letters and his feelings?
Comment on the different kinds of irony you find in Cyrano. Give references to any of the following topics that are important to Cyrano: inner vs. outer beauty/Idealism/Individualism/The Value of Language and Poetry/Different attitudes toward love. -ms h
First, I think that the conversations between chris. and Roxanne and Cyrano are funny and witty. Cyrano is such a poet and he's such a good friend to be helping Chris. win Roxanne. Cyrano is basically the words in the relationship and Chris. is the looks. Neither of them have both. It's funny how that works out. I also am suprised that Roxanne hasn't found out that Cyrano is writing and saying almost all of this. she is so smart and witty, I am just suprised. The other topic of discussion is when the two go to war. Chris is at war and could possibly die. I am really excited to see where the plot goes from here. It would be an interesting twist if Chris. dies. I want to see the relationship between Cyrano and deGuiche and Roxanne after the whole war situation is done. ---NiCK faRLeY @ @
ReplyDelete0
I agree with Nick about the fact that Cyrano is being a good friend for helping Christian win Roxane's heart. However, I think that there is a point when he should start to think about his own love for Roxane and tell her the truth, because he loves her just as much as Christian does. Since Christian has died in the war, I hope that now Cyrano will decide to tell Roxane the truth. I think that he deserves to know how Roxane really feels about him when she finds out about the letters. Considering that Roxane told Christian that she loved him for his soul and the way he expressed his love, I think that she will end up falling in love with Cyrano.
ReplyDelete-Allie Wisnieski
Cyrano is being a good friend to Christian. If he was going to try and win over Roxanne, he should have told her way before Roxanne and Christian got married. Now that Christian died, Cyrano coming out and telling Roxanne that he wrote all those letters would be horrible. She would goo crazy if she found out that she really loved Cyrano, after she thought she loved Christian and he dies, that would be way too much stress. also it look like Cyrano had no heart, and didn't even care that Christian died. Cyrano should wait to tell Roxanne that he wrote the letters, maybe not tell here at all. if he does tell her, he needs to do it long after the war is over.
ReplyDelete-LUKAS [=(:)
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Lukas that Cyrano should have given up on Roxanne after Christian and Roxanne got married. I think that Cyrano and Christian both wanted Roxanne to love Christian. Cyrano was being a good friend. Cyrano wasn't too chicken to tell Roxanne that he wrote the letters, he just wanted her to love Christian. If she started loving Cyrano, things would get awkward, being married twice. I think that Roxanne will still love Christian, and won't love Cyrano because letters is only part of her love for men, just like looks is only part of her love for Christian. I thought someone was going to die: either Cyrano or Christian, but not both. If one didn't die, things would get very weird. After reading Act IV, I learned that Christian died. The odds were against the Cadets, though, and I don't know if Cyrano will survive either.
ReplyDeleteNicholas Seymour
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ReplyDeleteIn this act, we see that Christian really does get whats going on, Roxane is in love with the words he speaks more than him. On the other hand, I don't think that if Christian or Cyrano told her about the letters it would change her mind. Now that Christian has died, it brings a whole new dimension to the story. Cyrano doesn't want to tell Roxane about the letters, but since Christian isn't around anymore, you wonder if he will. Roxane was so in-love with Christian, that I don't think anything, even hearing that the letters weren't from him, would change her mind about him. Cyrano was being a good friend through the whole thing, and I don't think that he is going to ruin the deal he made with Christian. If he didn't have the guts to tell Roxane while Christian was alive, their is no way he will when he is dead.
ReplyDeleteChristian finally realizes that Cyrano loves Roxane, too. I don't think that Roxane would change her mind if she knew about the letters. When Christian died, Roxane was heart broken but I don't understand why Cyrano didn't tell Roxane that he wrote the letters. I still don't think that Roxane would change her mind. Cyrano was being a good friend by not telling Roxane about the letters, but he should have thought more about what could happen in the future. I think that if he did, Cyrano would've told Roxane.
ReplyDeleteThat last comment was from me!
ReplyDelete-Megan Diliberti
When reading Act 4, we find out a lot about many different characters. We are shown new sides of them. We are told that Roxane now loves Chrisian not just because he is handsome, but because she is truly in love with his personality. His personailty is shown through the letters. We know that these letters are really written by Cyrano, but Roxane does not. Roxane tells Christian that now, she would love him even if he was ugly. That should be a HUGE hint for Cyrano because if she loves Christian just for his letters, then we know that it is Cyrano who she is REALLY in love with because he is writing the letters. I believe that Cyrano and Roxane could be very happy if they were together. However, I think it may be hard for Roxane to accept the fact that the person who she "loved" (Christian) was not really who she thought he was.
ReplyDelete-Jenna Lee
I think that if Cyrano had told her the truth about the letters, Roxanne would have freaked out. She would have married one man but loved another. She might have committed suicide by running straigt into the battle. I think that Cyrano is the perfect character for irony. He is the king of sarcasm (aka verbal irony) and is involved with many dramatic irony plots. Verbal irony ex: "Congratulations on your success."
ReplyDeleteDramatic irony ex: when he writes Christian's love letters.
Cyrano has situatioinal irony, because he has so many enemies that make him unpredictable.
Nicholas Seymour
In Act IV, we find that Roxane has moved on from good looks to good personality. In most cases this would be a good thing except here. In this case Roxane loves the words Cyrano writes rather than Christians looks so she is actually in love with Cyrano than Christian. Roxane does not realize this but Christian does. Because Cyrano was such a good friend to him I think that is why he let Cyrano have his chance to love and be with Roxane than himself.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Act IV I am in agreement with Allie's statement that there comes a point within a relationship that you have to be truthful and take it upon yourself that your love for Roxane is just as equal as Christian's. In followup to that statement, being truthful results in a more successful relationship. Going back to Nick's statement about being a good friend is also true. I think this statement can work in almost all instances except when you have to lie to get your friend what he wants. Then again, this is just a story and this agreement between Christian and Cyrano basically sets the plot of the whole story. It is funny that Roxane apologizes about loving Christian for his looks at first. She would love Christian even if he was ugly because she is in love with the words and the heart rather than the outside appearance. She has admitted to us that she is basically in love with Cyrano. This is a great example of dramatic irony. During the conversation between Cyrano and Christian, I feel that Christian finally fulfills his end of the whole "pact" because he tells Cyrano to tell Roxane the truth. In the end, liars never get ahead but it is the one who holds the truth that will live.
ReplyDeleteAct 4 has definitely been my favorite scene so far in the play. I say this because so much happens. Cyrano and Christian go to war, Cyrano writes letters to Roxane at least once a day, and Christian is shot by the enemy and dies. It amazes me that Cyrano goes to so much trouble to complete his promise to Roxane to make sure Christian writes to her every day. Also, when Christian realizes that Cyrano is really the person that Roxane loves, Cyrano ends up not telling her that he was the one who wrote all of the letters. It drives me crazy that Cyrano loves her that much and doesn't tell her that he was the one who wrote all of the letters! But I guess that is how he felt he must deal with Christian getting killed and Roxane loosing her husband. I can't wait to read what happens in act 5!
ReplyDeleteIn the end of Act four "Christians letters" helps Roxane realizes that she loves Christian for his writing and soul. Roxane confessed that she would love Christian no matter if he was even ugly. By that point Christian came to realize that she loved Cyrano, not him. Who wants to be loved when they love the features that are not who you actually are? Christian after finally discovering this wants Cyrano to tell the truth to Roxane and have her pick the one she wants to be with. Cyrano is such a brave man that you would think he would have no problem telling Roxane, but he does have a problem and he ends up not telling her. He lied to both Roxane and Christian. I think we are all hoping that in the end everything will work out for Roxane and Cyrano :)-Katie Rinehart
ReplyDeleteI think Cyrano was very loyal for not telling Roxane about the letters. If he had told her, she would not have known what to think about the death of her husband. Roxane may have even felt betrayed by both Cyrano and Christian and her friendship with Cyrano would be destroyed. Even though I think Cyrano didn't say anything because he was a good friend, I think it ended up helping him in the end.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Christian that Roxane only loves him for Cyrano's letters. Roxane even says she loves Christian for his soul. I actually feel quite bad for Christian because he dies thinking his wife doesn't love him for him, and I also feel bad for Roxane because it will be 15 years before she knows the truth.
I almost totally agree with Sammy. She is so true when she says that Cyrano is loyal for not telling Roxanne about the letters right after Chris dies. I also agree when Sammy said that ROxanne only loved Chris for the letters. IF it weren't for Cyrano, Roxanne would not like Chris. as much. I think the idea of what Chris. was was better than the actual person. Cyrano is extremely loyal to Chris. and when he dies, it is not only bad for Roxanne, but Cyrano has lost a great friend. I would've liked to see the relationship between Cyrano and Chris. grow. I think Chris. died too soon. I am pretty attached to this play
ReplyDelete--Nick FARLEY %)
I think that Roxanne would go insane for a while if Cyrano toldl her that he wrote the letters. But I also agree that Roxanne loves Cyrano not Christian. She thinks she loves Christain, for his soul, which is actually Cyrano. Makes thing a little complicated for her. I also agree that Cyrano is very loyal and I am glad that he didn't tell Roxanne. I thought I was really funny when he gave De Guiche his white scarf back. I think Christian died to early, and just before Cyrano told Roxanne that he wrote the letters. That kinda ruined everything, poor Cyrano.
ReplyDelete- LUKAS [=(:)
As people have said, Roxane probably would have gone insane for a while if Cyrano had told her that he wrote the letters. If you think about it, anybody would of. Cyrano was very loyal to Christian by not telling Roxane about the letters. It's very refreshing to see that someone would do that for a friend. Most people would have just over looked that their friend had died and just try and get the girl. Cyrano respected that Christian and Roxane were married, and even though he was part of their relationship, he still didn't want to ruin what Christian and Roxane had.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Cyrano had told Roxane about the letters she would be confused. Then when she finally understood why Cyrano and Christian made the agreement, she would've freaked out. I agree with Nick. It is refreshing to see such a loyal friend. Most people would have watched their friend die, wait a day or two, then go after the girl. Not many friends are as loyal as Cyrano. It was sweet seeing how Cyrano sacrificed his happiness and put his feelings aside for his Roxane so he didn't ruin his friendship with Christian and what Christian and Roxane had.
ReplyDelete- Megan Diliberti
I agree with Megan. I love how it went to fifteen years later and he still hadn't told Roxane how he really felt. It shows how much he cares for her. Because after all these years she still was in love with Christian. He didn't want to hurt her even more by telling her that Christian wasn't who he said he was.
ReplyDelete-Lauren McAuliff
I agree with Christian about how Roxane really loves Cyrano. Because Cyrano was the one behind all of the things that Christian said to Roxane. Cyrano wrote the letters he was the one telling Christian what to say when she talked to Roxane. He was the one that really spoke from his heart. And once Roxane said that she would love Christian even if he was ugly, he knew right then that Roxane really loved Cyrano.
ReplyDelete-Katie Renteria
I agree with Lauren and Megan when they said that it is very nice of Cyrano not to tell Roxane the truth, even when 15 years have passed since Christian's death. Most of us would jump on the chance to tell a person the truth as soon as we can. However, Cyrano does not do this because he realized that Roxane is still grieving over Christian, and he doesn't want to make it even worse for her. ANother thing that he is doing to show that he is a good friend is visiting Roxane everyday. Most of us would not have the patience to visit someone every day for 15 years, and not tell them what you really wanted to. Cyrano is a great friend who really thinks about others.
ReplyDelete-Jenna Lee
In agreement with Jenna,to visit someone once a week for 15 consecutive years shows how true of a friend Cyrano has been for Roxane. If you think about it, Cyrano was a good source of healing for Roxane's grievance over her loss of her husband, Christian. I would like to comment on the way that Roxane figured out who was actually writing the letters. It was a gradual and accidental deal involving Cyrano physically reading one of Christians letters aloud. Roxane comments on how familiar the voice is (dramatic irony)as well as questioning him about reading the letters in the dark. The way she found out it was Cyrano was probably more comforting to her then Cyrano just telling her after his friend's death. Also in agreement with Sammy, the way this happened paid off for Cyrano in the end. I am just a little confused at the end of Act V though. Could someone kind of explain it? I am surprised at how much I honestly enjoyed this play.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Jenna when she said that Cyrano has is a really good friend. Having the patience to visit someone for 15 years is something that not many of us would be able to do. Also, I think that it was good that Cyrano was finally able to tell Roxane the truth. Even though it was 15 years later, i still think it was important that Roxane knew what really happened. Lastly, I agree with Shayla, because I was surprised at how much I liked this play, too. -Allie Wisnieski
ReplyDeleteFrom my own perspective, I would say that Roxane would be unable to respond properly to Cyrano's confessions. The supposed love of her life has just been killed. She is still in shock, and doesn't know what to do. It was a valiant decision on Cyrano's part not to blur the facts for poor Roxane. If he had told her the truth about Christian, and the letters, and his feelings, he would have accomplished nothing but destroying her heart, and confusing her all the more. How tragical! She probably would have been disappointed beyond belief, angry at the bitter sweet deception, and unsure about how she really feels. It would have changed the whole story if Cyrano would have ruined it and told her of the plan and who was really whom! (who? whom? idk:)
ReplyDelete--Hannah Zimmerman
I belive Chistian when he says that Roxane really loves Cyrano. Roxane said it herself when she said that she would love himeven if he were ugly because she loves the letters and poetry more than the looks. So all in all I truly think that in the end she will fall in love with Cyrano.
ReplyDeleteAfter first reading the scene, I didn't understand why Cyrano wouldn't tell Roxane the truth. But after thinking about it more, I realize Cyrano was right by not telling Roxane for a couple reasons. One being that his decision to not say anything prevented Roxane from being in any more shock then she already was. The other reason was that he allowed Christian to die as a hero, which, in a sense he was. There is not much of a bigger sacrifice than sacrificing one's happiness for someone else. This was a very noble thing for Cyrano to do and I respect him a lot more than I did at the beginning of the story.
ReplyDelete-- Jon Wisnieski
I am elated that Cyrano was finally able to tell Roxane of his feelings for her in the final part of the play! I don't think that Cyrano would have been able to tell Roxane the truth about who wrote the love letters to her only because Christian was the man that she "thought" she loved and had been loving after his death. When a person loves someone like Cyrano loves Roxane, they do things for that person before they do things for themselves. The care that Cyrano had for Roxane was so powerful that it made him put her as his first priority and him second. He thought about how if he told her that he was the one that really wrote all of the love letters and they did not come from Christian, how she would react.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel like Cyrano may have never felt loved by anyone else in his life because of his huge nose and the way he acted. Therefore, he had a very hard time ever loving other people. Going along with the idea of him being afraid of how she would react if she knew the truth, I think that he was afraid of her not loving him in return. Which would then lead to him losing his love for her. Even though Cyrano knew that Roxane did indeed love him and not Christian, he couldn't risk losing the feeling of being loved.
I think that Cyrano was smart to not tell Roxanne about the letters. If he would have told her right after Christian died, then she probably would have freaked out and done something stupid. That would have been very bad timing after losing the person she thought she loved, even though she actually loved Cyrano. She said that she loved Christian for his soul and not his looks. Christian's "soul" was actually Cyrano, so that means she loved Cyrano.
ReplyDelete- Luke Fitzgibbon
I agree with Sammy very much so. Cyrano all along has been trying to please others. Putting others before him in everything. He was looking out for his true love, he did not want her to feel abandoned by both Christian and Cyrano for the misjudgment they gave her. Could you image what Roxane must have felt finally finding out the truth fifteen years after the "love of her life" dies?! She then has to forget the lies she has been living in this whole time; start anew. Roxane realizes this whole time that she is in love with Cyrano. The tragic part of the story is that Cyrano is dying. The readers do not know for sure what happens to Cyrano, nut more than likely he would be dying soon. That is what really bothered me, I would have liked to have known what really happened to Cyrano. Otherwise I thought the whole story was great.-Katie Rinehart
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christian in that Roxane loved Cyrano. Christian never got a chance to say hardly anything to her and the main reason she loved him was because of "his" words. If Cyrano had not won her back for him, she probably would have left him. It was tough for Cyrano to change her mind and it would have been impossible for Christian too. Although she doesn't realize it until the end,Roxane really loves Cyrano.
ReplyDeleteRoxane cares more about Christian's personality than his looks, even though she doesn't really know his personality, because Cyrano wrote all the letters. She fails to see how Christian is the one who is writing her letters just for her to be happy. In this act we see Christian being a lot more caring by letting Roxane choose between him and Cyrano. Cyrano doesn't tell Roxane about the letters because Christian gets shot in battle. I do not understand the question: "Why does he not Christian about Roxane" because he does tell him he likes her. I do agree with Christian, because we know Cyrano loves Roxane.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Albaugh
Roxane probably would have been surprised. I bet she wouldn't have believed it at first, but after awhile put the pieces together about the letters. If Cyrano told her how he felt she would have probably felt awkward and very confused. She would have found out that she could have either a sweet and less attractive man, or a inexpressive handsome man.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Albaugh
I would have to agree with Christian, while contradicting him slightly. Cyrano was the total personality behind the love, Christian was only the face to deliver the words. Because we were told that Roxane, after a while, really only cared about the words rather that the face, (proved to us when Christian tried to ad lib it and failed miserably)we know that Cyrano was the most important aspect of the relationship. As time went on, Christian seemed to become less and less important, because the letters were what Roxane relied on. When Christian was killed, both the face to deliver the words and the words themselves were killed. Cyrano couldn't communicate the words himself for fear of ruining Roxane's apparent relationship with "Christian."
ReplyDeleteSo, in essence Roxane did love Cyrano, and basically not Christian.
Hmmmmm...Not cool for Christian...
:D
--Hannah Zimmerman
Cyrano does not tell the truth about the letters because it would be too much to handle. She would think he was lying to trash his name. Alternatively she would think he was just trying to steal the glory once Christian couldn't defend himself. I think it would've ruined their friendship. Roxane would have lost all her trust in Cyrano.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Cyrano told Roxane that he was the one that wrote the letters I think that she would be shocked. I think that she would be mad at Christian for not telling her the truth. I also think that Cyrano would feel bad, because Roxane would be sad and hurt. I think in the end that she would like one of them. I think that she would like one of them because in the story she tells us that looks do not matter.
ReplyDeleteI think this act really shows the importance of inner vs. outer beauty and the value of language and poetry. It shows the importance of inner beauty because Roxane realizes that she no longer loves Christian for his looks, but for his soul. Also she tells him that she would love him even if he was ugly.
ReplyDeleteThis shows the value of language of poetry and language for the same reason. The poetry of 'Christian' has won over the heart of Roxane. Also it makes Cyrano very close to Roxane even if Roxane doesn't know it.
Some of the people in this act have different attitudes toward love. Cyrano loves Roxanne and he shows it through the way he talks and the letters he sent her. Christian also loves Roxanne, but it is harder for him to show it. He doesn't know how to talk and write poetry like Cyrano can. Roxanne also has a different attitude toward love. She realizes in this act that she loves someone for their soul and doesn't care about their looks.
ReplyDelete- Luke Fitzgibbon
I agree with what Sammy said. Toward the end of Act IV, we learned about new views of love that both Cyrano and Roxane show. Cyrano shows "agape" love by displaying a strong friendship bond with Christian. So strong, that even in Christian's death, Cyrano would not reveal the truth about the letters. Roxane shows that her love towards "Christian" was not anymore because of his looks, as it once was, but now because of his inner beauty. She admired his ability to express his love in words and was drawn to that very much. Cyrano realizes this and realizes his opportunity, but he is such a good friend that he does not chase this opportunity.
ReplyDelete-- Jon Wisnieski
In Act IV we learn that Christian really wants to be loved for who he really is. Cyrano does not tell Roxane about the letters he wrote for Christian because he is still somewhat afraid even though Roxane said she would love Christian even if he were ugly. He wants to keep Roxane and Christian's love together even though Christian died. That way they would both feel better. It think if Cyrano told Roxane about the letters she would be surprised at first and maybe angry for being tricked, but then she would fall in love with Cyrano.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Roxane would have been in denial if Cyrano told her that he had wrote the letters and how he really feels. Also she most likely would have been less upset about Christian dying. Roxane would also be angry for be mislead by the letters and everything would be put together. She would have figured out why after awhile in the balcony scene the voice changed. I also think that Cyrano and Roxane would get married live a happy life together.
ReplyDelete