"A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great work requires reflection, to appreciate it"

JC/Alchemist Essay Reflection

Ideas and Content

I feel that my writing in both my Alchemist and Julius Caesar essays expresses appropriate ideas and content, yet I see the latter to have a better quality of content and ideas. In the Alchemist essay, I feel that I did not so well on the ways that I developed my ideas. In the comments section of the essay my teacher wrote that “The content is not developed” and I totally agree with that looking back on it. The reason that my content was not developed was because I stated the problem or event and explained why I chose it. I then left it alone, when really I should have explained to the reader how it relates back to the topic/event/problem. Yet on the Julius Caesar essay, I feel that I demonstrated more appropriate content because the rubric for the JC essay says that “Content is well developed, quality support outweighs generalities”. This shows that after finding out how do develop my ideas and content, I can improve, if anything, slightly.

Organization

My writing in both of the essays shows adequate organization for the topics. In the Alchemist essay, I relied on a formula too much to make the essay. Most if not all of my transitions followed a pattern of ‘first, second, third’. I also had errors in the sentence structure that I couldn’t pick up. I have not improved on both of these aspects for the JC essay, where I had more of a repeat of anything else. Therefore I feel that I need to work on how I review how I did on written essays. The first time I failed to spot my weaknesses and that hurt me the second time around.

Personal Growth

The main (if only) improvement between my two essays was the content and ideas. I improved how I tied in my statements back into the idea, yet there is still more to go. That gave me a small increase in my grade which I am happy with. Both of the essays showed no improvement in the organization, so I will try to do more about that for the future.

SLR Reflection

In the Alchemist essay I used the SLR of learning enthusiastically to go back in with the teachers to gather feedback and apply it to the essay even outside of the allotted time they had for us. For the Alchemist essay, we had over a month to make it. The teachers were available for feedback at lunchtimes and I took that opportunity to make my essay better.

Image taken from:

http://scipp.ucsc.edu/~haber/archives/physics5B08/hand_with_sphere_large.jpg

Brutus and the Conspirarcy: Was it Worth It?

Brutus: Was it Worth It?

“Brutus had rather be a villager than to repute himself a son of Rome under these hard conditions as this time is like to lay upon us” This quote directly from Brutus himself in Act 1, Scene 2, tells the audience that he is motivated by two things. Brutus is motivated by his patriotism for Rome and his awareness of his public image. Cassius was able to manipulate Brutus by toying with his awareness for his reputation so that he would join the conspiracy whose purpose was to keep the Roman republic.

Brutus was born and raised in Italy, more specifically Rome and because of this he was extremely patriotic for his country and his city. The patriotism that Brutus displays causes him to behave and appear with very prideful actions, such as always placing his country and others before himself. In Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus decides in a soliloquy that he must kill Caesar for the good of Rome. His real words are “It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general”. This shows the audience that he has finally decided to kill Caesar for the good of Rome, but he has no reason to do it otherwise. This shows Brutus’s patriotism because he says that he will only kill Caesar because it is for the good of Rome and that he is uncertain of what Caesar will become if he is not taken care of. However, it is not only this that shows that Brutus is patriotic; in Act 5, Scene 5, after Brutus committed suicide with the help of Strato, Strato says “Free from the bondage you are in, Messala. The conquerors can but make a fire of him; For Brutus overcame himself, and no man else hath honour by his death”. This quote tells the audience that for the sake of Rome over himself, committed suicide. This shows the audience that Brutus was motivated by his patriotism for his country because he did not want them to remember him as someone who was valiant because he did not want them to see him as he was so he ended his life right there and then with the help of Strato. Brutus was very patriotic because he did many actions that were only for his country and not himself. Because of his patriotism, Brutus was also very conscious of his reputation.

Brutus was very conscious of his public image or reputation, which was a side effect of him being very patriotic and being in the senate. The Roman people liked Brutus very much and that made him self-conscious of his reputation. Because of Brutus’s awareness for his reputation, he is very stoic, kind and reserved as not to show the Roman people that he can be easily worried over things. In Act 1, Scene 2, Cassius is manipulating Brutus to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar by mentioning that Rome complains about the tyranny and with that they mention Brutus’s name. Cassius says “I have heard, where many of the best respect in Rome, … speaking of Brutus, and groaning underneath this age’s yoke, have wish’d that noble Brutus had his eyes”. This quotation means that Brutus is a favorite among the Romans to rid the land of tyranny. This shows that Brutus is very careful when it comes to his reputation because the common people of Rome are very liking of him. However, when Cassius is dropping forged hints (letters) for Brutus to join the conspiracy, Brutus says in Act 2, Scene 1, “ ‘Brutus, thou sleep’st; awake, and see thyself. Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress!’ … “O Rome, I make thee promise, if the redress will follow, thou receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus.” . This quotation means that Brutus is ready to strike out at tyranny because Rome wants him to. This shows that he is very conscious of his reputation because he has been persuaded by the Romans to strike out at the tyranny, otherwise; his reputation might be spoiled. Because of his concern for his reputation, Brutus ends up joining the conspiracy and killing Caesar.

The key motivators for Brutus in the play Julius Caesar were his patriotism and his concern for his reputation. These motivators caused him to behave as a kind, gentle and prideful actions, always putting his country before himself. Brutus achieved his goal fully, for it was to rid Rome and Italy of tyranny (Caesar). He does this by killing him, so the source for the tyranny is gone. However, I do not believe the goal was worthy for him because he caused all of Italy to go into civil war, killing countless people. If one man can restrain himself, he can prevent the loss of other human lives.

Image taken from:
barrieingham.com

Helping the Lost Boys of Sudan

Think Creatively!

My collage has several creative elements that I like. One of them is the picture of the refugee camp which is torn down the middle. I did this to show that the Lost Boys were still in distress even after they were relocated in the refugee camp. This reflects how some of the Lost Boys have post traumatic stress disorder. Another creative part of my collage is the pictures that hang off the side. I did this to show that some of the Lost Boys are having trouble “hanging on” to life in America, where they found out that it is not always heaven on earth.

Reason Critically!

I used my memoir (text) to show that I understand the lost boy’s situation because the memoir has concise, focused text. In the memoir I said that the lost boys have suffered for a long time then the suffering stopped, and some were finding new hope in America.

Communicate Effectively!

My collage creates awareness for the plight of the lost boys by showing the viewer how much these boys have been through through the images. For example there is a picture by one of the Lost Boys of the in which the soldiers had come to the village and were killing everyone. If this does not create awareness for the Lost Boys then I don’t know what will.

Live Ethically!

I think that my collage will create an emotional response from my viewers and provoke action from them so that they can help the lost boys of Sudan for themselves. I did this through the use of some startling and some not so startling images. Some of the images are of people dying, and there is one where an oil fire is raging. The other type of images in my collage that may incite action are the ones with suggestions on what can be done. One of these images is a picture of a salvation army bucket to show that the lost boys need donations to help them. Overall I did a nice job portraying the situation of the lost boys. Now it is your turn. Will you help them?

Image taken from:
richgerman.com

Lost Boys: Struggling and Succeeding

Peter “Nyarol” Dut is one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”. He was part of a Forced migration caused by the conflicts and fighting in Sudan. He went to America after ten years in a refugee camp and had some trouble adjusting to American life.

Upon arrival, Peter was part of a group that moved to Houston, TX. He encountered many difficulties upon arrival, most revolved around racism and stereotypes, but there were also problems with his education. For the first four months that they were in Houston, the organization that moved them there paid the rent for all of them. In this time Peter was supposed to find a job to start getting income and to start his American education in high school. When Peter went to find a job, without his education, he could only get low paying jobs. One of his part time jobs was to collect shopping carts from the parking lot of a Walmart. He was not able to land a job inside the store, but one out in the hot sun all day. This was because the manager that hired him said that “Africa is hot so you can work outside”. Just because the Lost Boys are from Africa does not mean that they have been in the sun all the time. Another reason was “You’re already burnt”. That is just plain racism.

Another problem Peter faced assimilating into American culture was education. He did not know his exact age, and this made it hard for the public high schools there to place him in the correct level of education. Because of this, Peter moved to Olathe, Kansas to find a better job and to get an easier education. He got into school and had to deal with people who were unaware of his situation. When Peter went to the counseling department and told them that he wanted to apply for the National Honor Society and go to a four year college. The counsel who he was talking to did not expect him to go to a four year college but a two year community college. When the counselor said that the applicants need to provide a biography, Peter shocked him once again by telling him that he had already done it. When the counselor started to read it, he put it down soon after, saying that it was too sad and that he could not bear to read it. This again is discrimination, for the counselor had an opinion that Peter would not be smart and would need a lot of help. Peter was the opposite, being smart and independent.

Once Peter reached Houston TX, before he moved to Olathe, Kansas, he had to start dealing with the culture shock of changing cultures. In Sudan, there is a lot of tribal dancing and almost family like relationships between men who are friends. Coming to America, Peter had to observe the different culture and attempt to fit in. The other main thing was that all of the Lost Boys had to learn a completely different and new language, English. They needed English for their jobs, school, and to get new friends because there was only a very slim chance of meeting someone else who knew their own language. Peter and the others took it only one step at a time and observed how other people went about doing things.

Images taken from:

lostboysfilm.com

allmoviephoto.com

Cassius Describing Caesar

Cassius is trying to convince Brutus that he needs to join the conspiracy for the sake of Rome and in this passage is pointing out how the god-like Caesar is just a mortal man. At this point, Brutus is still unsure about the idea of the conspiracy, having been only notified of it a little earlier. The passage is one of importance for within it, Cassius makes Caesar look vulnerable. If Cassius succeeds in getting Brutus to join the conspiracy, then the roman people might look at their cause as noble and just.

The passage I chose is in Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 89-129
Here is the passage.

CASSIUS I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Caesar; so were you:
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he:
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,
The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,
Caesar said to me 'Darest thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?' Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in
And bade him follow; so indeed he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside
And stemming it with hearts of controversy;
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!'
I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor,
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature and must bend his body,
If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake;
His coward lips did from their colour fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan:
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans
Mark him and write his speeches in their books,
Alas, it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius,'
As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.

I will work by myself.

Voids: In Literature

Story Reflection

1. What would you call this story? Why?

I would title this story The Lottery, because the whole story is always referencing to a lottery, and all of the villagers are afraid of it. This gives the title more significance because the reader doesn’t know what the lottery is.

2. What did you think was going to happen? What clues in the text led you to think this?

I thought that the lottery was one where the winner had to give away all of their money to the other villagers or make the money go to the profit of the town and then force the winners to live like insignificant, unimportant people. What led me to these conclusions was the fact that everyone was so solemn and on edge throughout the whole story.

3. How did you feel when the end of the story was not given to you?

I felt really disturbed when I was not given the end of the story because I still had many important, uncertain questions in my mind. I wanted to know what happened because I didn’t know what the lottery was and also why everyone was so nervous about it.

4. How did you feel when you were handed the mystery paper? What did you think was in it? Did you follow the instructions? Why or why not?

I felt nervous when I was handed the paper, mainly because I did not know what was in it. However, I did know that there was a wordle in it, for you could see it plainly through the paper. I was able to follow the instructions on the paper that told me not to open it till 5pm, and it was hard, but I made it easier on me because I put it in a spot in my locker where I ignore what is up there till the end of the day.

5. How did you feel about the black box and the black spot/blank paper? Explain.

The fact that the teachers used a black box was really unsettling because it was just like the one in the story. I got a paper with no black dot, so I felt somewhat calmed because mine was not marked apart from the others. However, I still did feel uncertainty because it could have been the other way around with the blank papers being something bad.

6. How did you feel when you read the end of the story? Explain.

I felt shocked; however I also felt some uncertainty still. There was still one last question left unanswered in my head, and the transfer to the end of the story was choppy and not flowing. This made me ask, “Is this really how it ended?”

7. Were your predictions correct? How did you feel about that?

My predictions that the reasons that all of the villagers were really nervous because they had to give all their money away, etc… were incorrect. This made me wonder how the author did it and this uncertainty made me feel really shocked.

8. What would have helped you to make a better prediction?

The thing that would have enabled me to make better predictions would have been more text clues from the audience at the lottery, such as gossiping. This would have given me more content to study and deconstruct.

9. Why did the author leave these voids in the story?

The author left the voids in the story to keep the reader’s attention. Without the voids, the story would have been uninteresting to me and I would have walked away.

10. Explain the power of the void in this experience:

A. No title/author information – Made me wonder what the whole story was going to be about.

B. No ending – Made me really question and think about what the ending was going to be, because I knew I would get the ending eventually.

C. Text clues and foreshadowing throughout – Made me uncertain because the villagers were connotating the lottery with bad ideas, and I did not know what sort of lottery is bad.

D. Mystery paper – Made me annoyed because I did not know when I could open it, yet I somehow knew that the ending of the story was in it. It made me ask “Why are the teachers doing this?”

E. Delayed ending – Made less tension in me, because when I put it in my locker, I forgot about it, not really thinking about it until the end of the day. It still made me ask “Why? What happens?”

F. Anything else that created tension and conflict for you… The fact that I had some idea of what was going on really unsettled me because I did not know what to make of it and what was going to happen to me or in the story.

Voids: Tension and Release

The International School of Kuala Lumpur provides an exceptional education that challenges each student to develop (Silence) the attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding to become a highly successful, spirited, socially responsible global citizen.

I feel that adding the word Silence after develop provides a void with maximum tension for the listener because it is just before the part where the mission statement is going to describe what the “develop” is. A void creates tension for the audience by making them uncertain and asking questions. One way to create tension is to add silence, which is possibly the best void, in which the listener wonders where, when and why the main idea is and what happened to it. Pausing right after “develop” makes the audience ask questions, in this case, “What?” “How?” I believe that this place for silence will provide the maximum tension for the audience.

One of the way composers can create tension for the audience is to remove or add an element of music. The composer may call for the melody, harmony or pulse to be added or removed. In the absence of one of these, the audience feels tension and asks questions because they are uncertain of what will happen next etc. When the composer decides to provide the release to the tension (the answer to the audience’s questions), he or she just adds or removes the element which they changed in the beginning.