The Sextant - Winter Edition 2021-2022 by Belmont Hill School

The Sextant Winter Edition 2021-2022

Table of Contents Editor’s Note pg. 2………………………………………………………………………Jake Kornmehl, IV Chickadee Cover……………………………………………………………………………….Mark Price, IV Art Ceramic ‘Marble’ Bust pg. 3………………………………………………………….Tommy Madden,VI Elmo at Milk and Cookies pg.3………………………………………………………Thomas Dolan, III 3 Blue Bowls pg. 3…………………………………………………………………………..Charlie Cave, VI Cabinet in View pg. 4……………………………………………………………………Kailen Richards, VI Underwater Mangrove pg. 5……………………………………………………………Nick Andersen, IV Looking at You pg. 5……………………………………………………………………..Kailen Richards, VI Lonely Tree pg. 6………..…………………………………………………………………….Luke Carroll, VI Mountain Scape pg. 6………………………………………………………………………..Luke Carroll, VI Writing The Handmaid’s Purpose pg. 8……………………………………………………..Barrett Cosgrove, IV Dialogue pg. 11……………………………………………………………………………….Wilton Lawton, VI A Noble E ort pg. 14 ……………………………………………………………………….Daniel Rashes, VI The Late Gatsby pg. 18…………………….………………………………………………Luke Trevisan, IV One, Single, Incredibly Long Sentence pg. 24…………………………………………..Will Smith, VI I’m Done pg. 28…………………………………………………………………………….…Jake Kornmehl, IV Photography Bird’s Eye View I and II pg. 7…………………………………………………………………Mark Price, IV Owl in a Tree pg. 16………………………………………………………………………………Mark Price, IV 1920s Garage pg. 17……………………………………………………………………………Jake Kornmehl IV Droplets pg. 27…………….…….…………………………………………………………..…Jake Kornmehl IV

Editor’s Note F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “That is part of the beauty of literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely or isolated from anyone. You belong.” In this issue of The Sextant, upper school students are challenged to grapple with di cult texts such as Shakespeare and Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. Others contributed beautifully written dialogue or Woodbury speeches. Despite the di cult year we have had so far, the tremendous faculty have continued to push students to exceed what they believe to be possible in terms of their own talents in and outside the classroom. We feature select student art with various photographs and colorful ceramic sculptures that encompass Belmont Hill’s vast Arts curriculum. I would like to thank our school’s English and Arts faculty who assisted in the creation of the 2021-2022 Winter Sextant including our advisor, Dr. Tift, and all the teachers who supported us: Mr. Doar, Dr. Fast, Ms. Kaplan, Mr. Kaplan, Mr. Leonardis, and Ms. McDonald. -Jake A. Kornmehl ’24

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‘Marble’ Bust Tommy Madden, VI Elmo at Milk and Cookies, Thomas Dolan, III 3 Blue Bowls Charlie Cave, VI

Cabinet in View, Kailen Richards, VI

Underwater Mangroves Nick Andersen, IV

Looking At You, Kailen Richards, VI

Lonely Tree Mountain Scape, Luke Carroll, VI

Mark Price, Form IV

The Handmaid's Purpose By Barret Cosgrove, Form IV In the republic of Gilead, Offred and other handmaids are expected to bear the next generation of children in a seemingly dying world. During the Ceremony, Offred is subjected to a form of ritualistic rape, from which she is expected to conceive a child by the Commander. Unlike most other sexual encounters, however, there is no sense of passion or intimacy from any party involved, rather the entire Ceremony comes across as professional and melancholic. The Ceremony is devoid of anything that could be remotely considered intimate: there is no touching or kissing, they must stay in uniform at all times, the lights must remain on, there is no eye contact allowed, and no sensual pleasure is meant to be achieved by either party. The Ceremony is perhaps one of the most important scenes Atwood includes in her narrative because the Ceremony represents the sole purpose which Handmaids are expected to fulfill in this dystopian society. In this world, women have no inherent value outside of their reproductive abilities due to the rapidly declining population of the world. Offred’s entire purpose is to conceive children in order to keep humanity alive, thus this scene is highly necessary in the context of the entire narrative. The Ceremony is also solely presented from the perspective of Offred since she is the sole protagonist of the novel and the lens from which the reader is meant to view this new 8

version of the world. The most notable aspect of Offred’s perspective, however, is her lack of emotion and the disassociation she feels between her body and consciousness. In order to survive her harsh new reality, Offred has forced herself to view sex as nothing more than a necessary process in her role as a handmaid and her body as nothing more than a tool from which her survival is dependant. Another important distinction that is made clear by the narrative is the role and status of Offred and the Commander. The Commander is not simply referred to as Fred because he is the leader of their household, and the rank of Commander is meant to denote status, power, and authority. Offred is the opposite, her real name is a secret and she instead dons the name Offred to show that she is property of Fred. Offred has no status, she is simply another tool of the Commander in one of the purposes he is expected to fulfill, nothing more, nothing less. Offred is most literally a vessel, a body meant to bear the children of the next generation of humanity. There is nothing meant to be erotic about her interactions with the Commander, they are simply fufilling their duty to society which connotes Atwoods use of the ‘f-bomb’. Atwood’s use of the word in this context is meant to denote the utter meaninglessness of sex in this scene outside of the purpose of conceiving children, which makes the use of the term “The Ceremony” all the more ironic. Under normal circumstances, a ceremony would be considered a happy and joyous occasion. In the novel, however, the Ceremony is just the opposite. The Ceremony is devoid of emotion, it is not a celebration rather a duty. 9

In conclusion, the Ceremony is one of the most important and significant chapters in the entire narrative due to its implication on the rest of the novel and the insight it gives us into Offred's mind. The Ceremony denotes the very purpose of the Handmaids in the republic of Gilead and shows how truly distorted Offred’s perception of herself and her own body have become.

Dialogu By: Wilton Lawton, Form I “Be careful what you say in here; they might be listening….” She told me. “Okay, I’ll be sure to keep my voice down,” “I see them walking back and forth outside my door; they’re listening,” she said again. I fruitlessly examined every corner of the ceiling, looking for the slightest indication of a microphone or camera. She looked too. Her eyes followed the lines where the walls met the ceiling. “I’m telling you, ever since they locked me up in here, they’ve been listening,” she insisted. “How’s the food in here?” “I’m not sure, I can’t remember, but I think it has been pretty good,” she said. Her food tray rested less than a foot from her right hand as those words departed from her mouth. “Well, I’m so glad you came to visit me after all this time. What are you now? A freshman in college?” “No, I’m still in high school, but how are you doing?” I asked. “I’ve been better. I mean, no one wants to live in prison. I’ll get out soon, though, and then we can talk with no one listening.”

“Okay, well, I’m excited to hear you’re getting out soon.” “I am too. This place is so dirty. Anyways, how has your summer been?” She questioned. “You know, I have had better summers, but I am having fun with my friends.” The windows of the one-room block were spotted with ice and snow from the previous night’s storm. The calendar was on the wall behind her head, flipped open to the last page. “Hey, tell me again, when you go back to school, what are you planning on studying?” She asked. “I enjoy studying the sciences, so I will probably stick with that.” “Wow, that’s neat! When I started college, at sixteen years old, I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but then I got into life science and decided to become an arborist,” this was one of the rare times she cited a fact that was at all tied to reality. She loved everything nature had to offer. Her backyard in Hamilton could’ve been in the running for one of the wonders of the world. Three acres of land completely teeming with life. On one side, giant trees filled the canopy, with bushes and archways leaving no unattended space. On the other, flowers hid the soil from the sky. Splitting the two worlds was a small pond filled with gorgeous spotted Koi fish. Unique pieces of slate formed one long winding pathway throughout the garden.

Her garden was now reduced to just three shrilled plants in the window of the apartment. A testament to what she once was. “Hey, mom, have you had a good time with Wilton?” My mom asked as she stepped through the door. “Leslie, when am I leaving this place?” She said cutting right to the chase. “I think you’ll be in here for a few more days, but then you’ll be allowed to go home!” I cut in. “Thank goodness. It is so dark and dirty in here.” It didn’t take long for my mom and I to: finish the conversation, pack up our things, make sure she ate the rest of her lunch, give her a hug, and face the door. “See you tomorrow!” I said on our way out. A deep sigh of relief left my mom when the door was closed. “Ready to do the same thing tomorrow?” She asked as we walked toward the exit. “Yeah, maybe she will have broken out of prison by then!” I laughed on our way down the stairs. “Haha, we can only hope,” My mom replied.

A Noble Effort By Daniel Rashes, Form VI Despite all deliberate intentions, Viola exits her conversation with Olivia in a far more precarious situation than when she entered. Disguised as Cesario, the young noblewoman poses as Orsino’s messenger sent with the task of wooing the honorable lady on his behalf. Viola, who herself loves the duke, attempts to sabotage the proposal by showing Olivia disrespect and outright hostility. Viola’s rouse starts at the door. Malvolio details her persistent pestering and insistence on gaining an audience with Olivia. The so-called Cesario “swears” he will speak with her, regardless of the lady’s bidding. Engrossed by Malvolio’s description of the youthful visitor, Olivia grants him entrance. For the sake of etiquette, she veils her face and calls in her Gentlewoman, Maria, the impetus of Viola’s first taunt. “The honourable lady of the house, which is she?” she asks upon entering. (1.5.161) Her question is not one of genuine curiosity, rather a jab at her host. She further inquires, in reference to Maria, “I pray you, tell me if this be the lady of the house, for I never saw her.” (1.5.164-165) Within moments, Viola crosses the line. Her insinuation that Maria, a lowly servant, might be Olivia is brutally offensive. She defies all social codes and dishonors Olivia’s status in a direct address. Though Viola is of comparable class, to Olivia, she appears nothing more than a messenger. To have her status degraded by such an insignificant party should offend her greatly, but it only piques her interest.

Viola insists that she must recite Orsino’s message: “I would be loath to cast away my speech, for besides that it is excellently well penned, I have taken great pains to con it.” (1.5.165-167) A facetious layer of snark permeates all delivery of Orsino’s prose. Viola’s strategy of relentless joke-cracking is effective, yet not in the way she intends. She plays a “comedian,” as Olivia suggests, but one that only aims to please herself with humor at the expense of Olivia. Unfortunately, Olivia finds the shtick funny too, becoming enthralled with the statusless emissary who has the gall to talk down to a noblewoman. Olivia’s inquiries are justified, even if prying: “What are you? What would you?” (1.5.203-204) She clamors to learn more about her guest, who has burst in unannounced and barraged her with insults. Cesario remains cagey when pressed, for reasons that are obvious to the audience but add layers of intrigue for Olivia. Olivia’s manners fall by the wayside as she concedes to Cesario’s improper entreatments. Viola requests that Olivia remove her veil so that she may peek at her competition. Olivia, who views Viola as a potential sexual counterpart rather than a competitor, obliges, teasing, “Have you any commission from your lord to negotiate with my face? You are now out of your text.” (1.4.221-222) She acknowledges Cesario’s lower status yet still “draws the curtain” for the stranger. Olivia sees the request as a sexual advance, not one made out of jealousy.

The irony must not be lost on the audience. While Viola further drives a wedge between Orsino and Olivia, she draws the latter closer to herself. She is successful in the sense that Olivia has no interest in Orsino but fails as the roadblock she places is herself. Should she shed the Cesario character, all progress would be for nothing. The scene is a comedy of both manners and errors. Viola chooses a path of deceit as a means to an end, which only complicates her situation. Olivia disregards decorum and inadvertently falls in love with another woman. Impropriety damns the two alike.

Jake Kornmehl, IV

The Late Gatsby By Luke Trevisan, Form I In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of a hopeful but obsessed man named Jay Gatsby who devotes his life to trying to salvage his relationship with Daisy Buchanan, his old girlfriend. Gatsby started his life as a poor farmer’s son out in the Midwest. He eventually joined the army and went to war. Before his deployment, he met and dated Daisy, with whom he became entranced. However, after his return he was unable to get her back and so he got rich hoping that would attract her. He eventually winds up next door to Nick Carraway and through a series of parties and meetings, becomes his friend. Nick is a cousin of Daisy’s and so Gatsby uses Nick to reintroduce himself to Daisy. The old lovers reconnect but it isn’t permanent. Gatsby tries through all means necessary to salvage his relationship, trying especially hard to show off his wealth. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s clothing and possessions as symbols that represent Gatsby’s emotions, giving him a way to impress and get the attention of Daisy, as well as a way to flaunt his wealth. Despite being a mysterious and secretive character, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s wardrobe as a way to convey his emotions, even when Gatsby does not explicitly express them. At first, Nick does not know his next door neighbor, Gatsby. Then, as he attends Gatsby’s parties and gets to know a part of him, Nick is forced by Gatsby into his life. Gatsby gradually tries to use Nick as a means to get to Daisy, as Nick is Daisy's cousin. The first attempt by Gatsby to get to know Nick is very abrupt:

Gatsby peels into Nick’s driveway in his elegant car and whisks him away to a business lunch, without giving Nick the time to make a choice. During the ride, Nick recalls, “Gatsby began leaving his elegant sentences unfinished and slapping himself indecisively on the knee of his caramel-colored suit” ( Fitzgerald 48). Gatsby, known for his elaborate wardrobe, chose a “caramel-colored suit” for lunch. His decision to wear that color represents his desire for this meeting to go well. Caramel is a smooth and warm dessert, just as Gatsby hopes to be a smooth-talker and a warm friend. However, the opposite occurs and Gatsby is clearly uncomfortable in the situation. Instead of smooth talking, Gatsby starts “leaving his elegant sentences unfinished” and interrupts Nick multiple times. Gatsby then rudely abandons Nick at the end of the chapter when they meet up with Tom, Daisy’s husband. Additionally, there are

flashbacks to Gatsby’s past in many parts of the novel . One such instance occurs after the car crash. Gatsby recalls to Nick his experience of meeting and then falling in love with Daisy. At first, Gatsby appears at her house only because he is there with other officers from the army. Always self-conscious, Gatsby begins to fear that “at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders” (112) and he is rejected for having no other reason to be there. This time, Gatsby is nervous at first but succeeds in his goal. He is worried that he will not (avoid contractions in formal writing) won’t be able to stay with Daisy and that he must hasten to get to her. His “invisible cloak” represents his veiled emotions of anxiety and self consciousness because he wants the date to go well, yet is aware of the fact that he can only afford to wear his suit, as he cannot can’t pay for any other nice clothes. Gatsby is contradictory when choosing his

outfits to represent himself, but when he tries to get the attention of Daisy, he is more successful. As part of his years-long quest for his dream girl Daisy, Gatsby uses all means necessary, including his daily outfits, in order to stand out to her. Ironically, Gatsby does not realize that his wealth and love alone is not what Daisy wants. He is unaware of the fact that Daisy is looking for status and security over everything else, even if she is in a loveless marriage. Nevertheless, Gatsby ignorantly tries to appeal to her as much as he can. In Gatsby’s recollections about his first month with Daisy, he repeats again and again that Daisy wore, lived in and drove white. When he meets her for tea ‘by accident’ at Nick’s house for the first time in five years, he purposely shows up in “a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” (63). Gatsby evidently remembered her favorite color and may be trying to remind her of his caringness or restore her memories of him. Regardless, this fails to work on Daisy. Gatsby is so clumsy and awkward through the event that he diverts all attention to his short bursts of words and tipping of clocks. Later on, Gatsby becomes less sentimentally focused and instead aims more outlandishly. After he and Daisy are in the car crash and return home, Daisy immediately enters her house and does not come back out. Gatsby chooses to wait outside, with in the fleeting hope that she will come back out to him. Sadly, his effort is in vain and Nick leaves him standing in the dark. Nick remembers the moment: “I could think of nothing except the luminosity of his pink suit under the moon” (108). Pink is certainly a jarring color, 20

because most of the world is absent of any quantity of bright pink, let alone a full suit. By wearing a color of such an effect, Gatsby hopes to get the attention of Daisy with his colors first, and then shift that focus to himself, seeing as his first try was unsuccessful. Despite his more determined attempt at catching the eye of Daisy, he is unsuccessful yet again and has to return home, defeated, late in the night. Gatsby ostensibly desires admiration and recognition from Daisy, but also likes to use his wardrobe for the sake of promoting his self image, which may even tie back to raising himself status-wise for Daisy. One of the richest and most extravagant men on the island, Gatsby uses his clothes and possessions to blatantly show off his wealth and status. This is a trait that is common among people associated with “new money”, money that is not inherited but instead earned by that generation. People with “old money”, which is inherited, tend to view people with new money as ignorant and flashy. Nevertheless, Gatsby does what he wants and he wants to be recognized. Like with gaining the attention of Daisy, he shows off his wealth through the color of his outfits. When Gatsby shows up to Nick’s house for tea with Daisy, he wears “a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” (63). Gold and silver are the hallmarks of wealth, and so it is only natural that he wear these colors. Gatsby is especially flamboyant and ties these colors into his suit so that he may flaunt his wealth wherever he goes, to whomever he comes across, friend or not. He also exhibits his wealth through the quantity and extensiveness of his wardrobe. After his first 21

awkward encounter with Daisy at their tea meeting, Gatsby gives Daisy a tour of his house. He takes her up to his room and opens up his wardrobe, and then starts to fling out “shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher” (69). Such a vast quantity of shirts is astonishing for anyone. Even Daisy, who had grown up well off and was living affluently, is so impressed that she begins to sob. Added to this is the wide array of expensive textures of the shirts, further increasing their value. Presumably, Gatsby knows this and tries to show off to Daisy how much he owns and therefore how wealthy he is. As with any man of status, he does not solely rely on clothes to get the job done; he also uses his car as a way to rapidly spread his name. After Gatsby puled up to his house to bring Nick out to lunch, Nick describes his car: “It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supperboxes and toolboxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns. Sitting down behind many layers of glass in a sort of green leather conservatory, we started to town.” (48). Gatsby’s car is clearly extravagant and is a haughty sight. A vehicle of this size is grandiose, with a myriad of boxes and a dozen mirrored suns. Besides his house, this possession is his biggest demonstration of wealth that he owns. If anything should catch the eye of Daisy, this would. However, he is unsuccessful yet again 22

in courting Daisy with wealth alone, as she wants status and stability as well. Still, Gatsby in unable to realize this and the goal of using his possessions to display his wealth fails, failing in that it does not yield Daisy, but impresses her nonetheless. In the book, Gatsby’s clothing and possessions are symbols that represent Gatsby’s feelings, let Gatsby try to court and gain the attention of Daisy, and give Gatsby a way to show off his money. Gatsby reveals his feelings through his clothes by wearing certain colors that correspond to certain emotions. He also gains the attention of Daisy by wearing bright colors such as pink that he hopes will catch her eye. Finally, Gatsby has always been extravagant and so he displays this by wearing clothes with rich colors and owning elaborate cars. Yet, Gatsby is ignorant of the fact that Daisy does not just want money. So in the end, despite his efforts, he is unable to reclaim his dream, while in the most stylish and expressive outfits he owns.

One Single, Incredibly Long Sentence About Belmont Hill School on a Snowless Winter Day, Inspired by the Journalist, Ken Fuson By Will Smith , Form VI Here's how Belmont Hill spends a strangely, impossibly snowless day in the depths of Winter: by hearing the ringing of your alarm clock force away the clouds of sleep; by looking out the window and being astonished that yes, there still isn’t a flake of snow on the ground even though it’s the middle of Winter; by feeling the rush of cold air as you step out of the door of a car, a bus, or for those lucky enough to live within walking distance, your front door; by walking along to your homeroom followed by droves of your fellow classmates; by noticing how the Timberlands, the North Face jackets, the Canada Goose parkas, and the LL Boots of early Winter are now almost nowhere to be seen on this unusually comfortable Winter day; by catching up with friends as we all walk speedily to the warmth of the Forms I, II, and III study halls, and the Form IV and V advisors’ rooms, and the Form VI Senior Commons; by feeling sympathy for classmates dreading the test they are having next period, while sharing the excitement that other classmates have for a cool science lab later in the day; by checking your email and learning that, tragically, someone has lost their iPhone charger, another his sunglasses, and another his TI calculator...again; by feeling the

energy of some spaces

raucous, and other spaces, still; by anticipating the bell, and there it goes, the short second long ring heralding the beginning of the academic day; by watching

students exit classrooms, first a few, then many, and soon droves of boys and young men are filling the halls and pathways of our beautiful campus; by hearing conversations echo through the halls before entering classroom doors as the short five-minute span of chaos subsides; by checking your email and learning that, miraculously, someone has found their iPhone charger, another his sunglasses, and another his TI calculator...again; by joining the stomp of footsteps forty-five minutes later pounding against the floors and entering the crisp air of outdoors once more; by convening on the driveway that leads past the central buildings, boxes filled with hundreds of cookies, jabbering with classmates with milk mustaches (once the only mustaches allowed by our dress code); by letting the ticking clock’s hands move you ever closer to X-Block, the anticipation building and building, and then the bell releases it all in a cacophony of noise, leaving you with that age-old daily question of whether to be productive...or maybe sneak a nap in…; by weaving and bobbing among your schoolmates rushing to the next class; by going through the rhythm of each period as each class transpires, filled with smart boards, pencils, Harkness tables, chalk, and laptops; by finally getting to lunch, the loud chorus of squeaks filling the room as chairs are dragged across the floor; by rushing to be first to the bread, then to the panini presses; by shouting, “Oh my God, is your panini on fire!” before laughing and helping your friend pull the burnt slice of bread out of the press; by finally making it to the end of the academic day, and trekking with anticipation to Jordan, to skiing, to basketball, to 25 25

hockey, to squash, to wrestling; by stepping back into the locker room after the end of a hard practice, feeling that warm wave of exhaustion enveloping you; and, as you get dressed and near the conclusion of this strangely snowless Winter day at Belmont Hill School, to paraphrase Ken Fuson, “…by wondering if in all of history there has ever been a day so glorious and concluding that there hasn't been, and being afraid to even stop and take a breath (or even begin a new sentence) for fear that the relentless snowstorms of Winter would return, leaving this snowless day in our memory as nothing more than a sweet and too-short dream.”

Jake Kornmehl, Form IV

I’m Done By JakeKornmehl, Form IV

My stomach, rough with loneliness I look through a porthole into the outside An aperture of social media furthering my disappointment in myself I watch others returning to norm I sit back in my own home Plaster encapsulates me unable to retreat into false hope as others have

The hustle of a mall my absence Strobe lights and red plastic cups FOMO Down the Esplanade passing a soul without moving aside Xiao long bao A rebellion of steam rises from a bamboo basket warming my face missed

Seesaw variants of a virus A mother Immunocompromised depleted lungs But a survivor An ache of vulnerability plunders 730 days As I lay wait Reluctant to invite illness A dispatch of my own breath into my home

Clinging to the thrill of teenage memory I row upriver winded with envy of my past self My grip of tolerance callused Now reaching for the oar Untold venture 28