Writing reflection.

I think that the content of each essay made sense, and was related to the essay prompt, but I also think I did better at this whilst writing the Alchemist essay. I understood what I was writing about more in the Alchemist essay, so the content was better related. For the Julius Caesar essay, I felt like there was a lot more pressure, and this made it harder for me to concentrate on what I was writing. I also found writing the characterization of Santiago easier than any of the Julius Caesar characters, because I just understood the Alchemist better than I understood Julius Caesar. I think I could improve this by thinking more about each character as I read, so that I understand them in advance. This way, I would find it easier to write exactly what I am supposed to write, instead of rambling on because I’m not sure if I am correct.

I think my organization is demonstrated well, because my essays are structured into good and relevant paragraphs. For example, in my Alchemist essay, I had clearly split it into an intro, a conclusion and in the middle there were three paragraphs, each one describing a separate characteristic of Santiago. I could improve this though, by adding more interesting words, and a hook to get my readers attention. I could also work a bit harder on my thesis statements and create a better conclusion that summarizes my thoughts well.

I think I have grown in word choice since the first essay, but I also think some other skills have decreased since the alchemist. I think part of this may be because I find it easier to have more time on an essay, as well as do it in small steps with lots of help. For the Julius Caesar essay, we had to complete it all in one go, and although we got plenty of help during the planning stage, it was hard to go straight from that into writing in one class period.

The SLR I chose to reflect on is communicating effectively. I choose this because when writing essays it is important that you get your point across efficiently and clearly. I think I did well at this during both essays because I had gotten everything in my head on my essay and most of it made sense. If you communicate effectively, you also think about who is going to read your writing, in this case it is mainly teachers, my parents and my peers, so I had to write using language that is suitable for that. Same with word choice.

Does the end Justify the means?

“ O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, that I am meek and gentle with these butchers” Act three, scene one, line 254. This line, said by Antony, shows his conflict with himself, and with the conspirators, because he feels he is too gentle with Caesar’s killers, and yet he does look at them as butchers and murderers. After Caesar’s death, Antony fights to avenge Caesar’s death, but he also wants Caesars forgiveness. Antony wants the killer’s of his dear friend to regret what they did, and he wants them dead. To get this he is motivated by his need of revenge, and also his need for forgiveness.

Antony’s main motivator is revenge. He needs to get revenge against the conspirators, because they killed Caesar, who was very important to Antony. This motivator makes Antony act violent and angry, which you can see when Antony is with Caesars body, after Brutus and the other conspirators left him there. He says “woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!” this shows that he is hoping the conspirators regret what they did, and he pities them, which is one of the reasons why he wants revenge. In that quote, you don’t really see how violent he gets, however, right after that he says “A curse will light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all parts of Italy; blood and destruction shall be so in use, and dreadful objects so familiar…” and he then goes on to talk more about how Italy will be a place filled with death and destruction, and people will be so used to this kind of life, because Caesar’s spirit will come and turn Italy into a battle field, where mother’s will smile when they see their children cut up, and the dead will be groaning for burial. Antony obviously is angry, and he has death and blood on his mind, which he is determined to get. Both these quotes come from Act three, scene one, page 124, lines 228 and 262- 266.

The second motivator for Antony is that he wants forgiveness from Caesar, which ties in with the revenge, because he wants to prove to Caesar that he is not standing back and watching his friend get killed without doing something after. Antony was always very loyal to Caesar, and all throughout the story, he followed him, and did exactly as he was asked. Once Caesar died, Antony felt as though he had betrayed him by being weak against the conspirators, but he really wasn’t like this, he wanted to prove to Caesar that he loved him. Also, he wanted Caesar to see that he still is loyal, and always will be. In Act three, scene two, Antony is speaking at Caesars funeral, where he must not blame the conspirators, yet he does find a way to get the people on his side. He tells the crowd that he thinks Caesar was not ambitious, but because Brutus said he was, it must be right because Brutus is an honorable man. By doing this, he got the crowd thinking about who was really correct. After saying all this though, he said “Bear with me, my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me”. This shows that Antony has the emotions that the conspirators don’t show. He is clearly upset about the death of Caesar, and everyone can see that, so the death becomes more real to the people. Another time that Antony shows his love for Caesar is again, during his soliloquy in Act three, scene 1. He says “thou art the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times.”

This is when Antony is asking for Caesars forgiveness, and he is telling him that he was the greatest man that ever lived, which shows that he really did love Caesar more than anyone else. It was this love for Caesar that motivated him to do something about the conspirators.

After Caesar’s death, Antony is determined to get revenge, because he knows hat what the conspirators did was wrong, but also he wants Caesars forgiveness, because he was such a good friend. He fights to get both these things during the play, but to get them he must be violent but also he shows his emotions to others. He did fulfill his goal partially, because the conspirators did die in the end, but they didn’t die regretting what they did, so Antony did not fully reach his goals. His other goal though, was to get forgiveness from Caesar, and you can’t be sure if he got that, because Caesar is dead, but I think that when he was done, Antony felt like he got that forgiveness. I believe that his goal was not worthy, because he brought so much chaos and destruction but Caesar is already dead, and there is nothing he can do about that. At the same time though, I do understand that Antony would be very angry, because what the conspirators did wasn’t noble or worthy at all either.

Reflecting

Thinking Creatively
In my Collage I thought creatively whilst making my 6 word memoir,
which I started by just writing down ideas of what I would like to write about, and then slowly blended that into a 6 word memoir. Also, coming up with ideas on how to present this memoir took some thought. Another part where I used creative thinking was when I was trying to add some symbolism into my collage, because I was trying to put something interesting on it. I decided on the torn map of Sudan in the end.

Reason Critically

I was choosing pictures that related to the conflicts the Lost Boy's faced and then I had to find the text to go along with this, which I found quite hard. I used many pictures

of how they were suffering, but I'm not sure I chose enough

America and the refugee camp.

Communicate Effectively
By using the right images to make others want to help, I was communictaing the point across.
I looked for pictures and text that gave me some emotion, because then I know that it makes others feel that way too. I also used the right images to inform others about the Lost Boys journey.

Live Ethically
Again, by trying to make people want to help, I was living ethically. I think I did this well.

Assimilating into the American culture- Peter

While adapting to the American culture the Lost Boys of Sudan had to face many difficulties to get comfortable in their new environment.

Peter and the others had to take in a lot of new information, and they had to get used to so many things that were different. An example of this was one of the first things they did, when they went to get food. They had gone from having to make and find their own food, and they never had much of it, but then they get to this huge store where there are shelves and shelves of food, all in packets. This was only one of the many changes made during the transition.

One of the large conflicts Peter faced at the begining of his journey was actually getting the start he wanted. When he was in Houston, he felt he wasn't getting what he went for. He solved this by leaving, and moving to Kansas, where he got into a school. He also managed to go to a basket ball camp, and he made new friends at a church group.

A major difficulty for him was also finding the education he came for. Many schools would not take him because of his age, he was too old for high school, yet he didn't know the basics he would need for anything higher. Finally, he managed to change his age, because it wasn't officially known. By doing this, he got into a high school where he could learn more, and also where he met new friends to help him adapt to his new life.

Julius Caesar Duet.

Cicero Good evening Casca: brought you Caesar home?
Why are you so breathless? and why stare you so?

Casca Are you not mov'd, when all the sway of earth
Shakes like a thing unfirm? O Cicero,
I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds
Have riv'd the knotty oaks; I have seen
Th' ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam,
To be exalted with the threat'ning clouds:
But never till tonight, never till now,
Did I go through a tempest dropping fire.
Either there is a civil strife in heaven,
Or else the world, too saucy with the gods,
Incenses them to send destruction.

Cicero Why, saw you anything more wonderful?

Casca A common slave, you know him well by sight,
Held up his hand which did flame and burn
Like twenty torches join'd; and yet his hand,
Not sensible of fire, remain'd unscorch'd.
Besides (I ha'not since put up my sword)
Against the Capitol I met a lion,
Who glazed upon me,and went surly by,
Without annoying me. And there were drawn
Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women,
Transformed with their fear, who swore they saw
Men, all in fire, walk up and down the streets.
And yesterday the bird of night did sit,
Even at noonday, upon the market place,
Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say,
'There are their reasons, they are natural'
For I believe, they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon.

Cicero Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time:
But men may construe things, after their fashion,
Clean from the purpose of the things themselves.
Comes Caesar to the Capitol tommorow?

Casca He doth; for he bid Antonius
Send word to you he would be there tommorow.

Cicero Good night then, Casca: this disturbed sky
Is not to walk in.

Casca Farewell, Cicero
[Exit Cicero]



This passage has been taken from Act one, Scene three, lines 1-40, where Cicero and Casca have met outside during the tempest. I am planning on acting this part out with Kayleigh.
Casca is very afraid of what he has seen, and he thinks that the gods are angry with them all, Cicero is not as worried, and they are discussing what all the bad omens mean. This passage is signifigant, because you see how the romans feel about what is going on around them. You can see that they are afraid of omens, because it means the gods are not happy, and they want to make the gods happy again.