KHS Honors English 10

2010-07-08T11:17:00.001-04:00

Hey---Good Morning Hon Eng 10 Bright Shiny new class! I'm posting real quick from my favorite spot in N Wildwood---2nd Ave Beach. Just watching the surfers and this ginormous pod of dolphins started jumping and playing in the waves just off the tip of the island.

Myth post coming this pm. I can't send a photo. Drat.

2009-11-11T10:09:00.002-05:00

Darkness, stillness, loneliness,

All alone, I wrestle with myself,

I struggle in vain for unattainable respite from my sorrow.

A beam, a glimmer, a hope,

A smile from a stranger, a word from a friend,

At the end of a tunnel, so far away it seems only a dream.

Dreams, Goals, Images,

If dream can be destination, then I'm in pursuit,

So long it has been since I've had a purpose.

A break, a comfort, a solace,

It's funny how a touch, an embrace,

Can communicate so much more than words.

Love, happiness, sunlight,

Finally the warm sunlight dances across my face,

Finally I have found love.

We're just an English class. . .

2009-07-25T18:03:00.000-04:00

. . . or we were. We don't want to spam anybody. We just like to write about what we read. Ms. Rutkowski intends to archive this blog to mark our achievements as soon as she learns how to do it.

Stictly Rut

2009-05-28T10:06:00.002-04:00

Bye Rut :(

Strictly Ballroom!

2009-05-27T21:59:00.003-04:00

I loved this movie! Garrett has to be a silly billy for hating it!!!!!! Dancing really isn't my thing at all but I liked the story. The major conflict was Scott's mother didn't want Scott dancing his own steps... and she didn't want him dancing with Fran when he could be dancing with a much more experienced dancer, Tina Sparkle. As we all know Scott ends up dancing his own steps with Fran. When we finished the movie I couldn't help but think would I leave a dance partner or team that matter that I knew would be the best and have a huge shot at winning for an ok partner or team but really worked well together? I really admire Scott for his descision to dance with Fran. He must've had an incredible amount in confidence in the both of them and he didn't care if he won.. he just cared that he got to do what he wanted and he showed everyone that danceing your own steps was ok. In the end they did their dance great and everyone loved it..... but how do you think Fran felt after being "ditched" by Scott in the first place then haveing him run back at the last second? I can honestly say I have NO idea what I would've done in Fran's situation.

Henry V

2009-05-27T21:50:00.002-04:00

ok I know I suck at life but here is my Henry the V post.

I hated this movie, I hated it because I had no idea what was going on. I hd no idea what was going on cause I hated it. :)

I felt a lot of respect toward Henry. He was very young and leading his country in a war. I think that the movie showed Henry V grow mentally strong. In his determination to win the war with France he betrays his friend (with death) to show things wen't acceptable. I do not think I would be able to hang one of my friends so people would respect me and then hopefully win a war that looked like I was going to lose. Luckily he won, but I can' help but wonder if he has any regrets towards the hanging of Falstaff?

Life, Love, and Honors English 10

2009-05-27T20:50:00.002-04:00

Since our time with Rut in 7th grade, I've been so eager for this class to the point of insanity. Now I can hardly believe we're done. We've done so much but it all seemed to tie together.

My favorite project would have to be the essential questions even though we never got to finish and present what we've learned to the rest of the class. We got to make up our own conclusions and the discussions in my group were always intense and lively as I'm sure Pickle and Garrett would agree. It was the first time we created our own answers through research and discussions. We weren't just repeating the information we found.

I missed out a little bit in the poetry unit. I would've loved to see all the creative writing in our class and more Happy Happy Circle Times but you got to take what they give you. I've realized that the people surrounding you affects your whole mindset. I connected a lot better with the kids in Honors English 10. Everyday was something new and exciting.

I'm really going to miss the times we had this year. Hopefully next year we'll have the same class but schedules are always screwy. The setting will be different, though. This was the first class I felt completely comfortable with expressing my ideas and opinions even though I got shot down every single time. I've grown a lot through this class, gained a lot more respect for my peers and I'll always remember that...

Rut is completely insane!

Oh How I'll Miss Our Honors English 10

2009-05-27T19:11:00.002-04:00

This year in English, was probably my favorite year. I really did look forward to English class everyday. There are so many things I liked about the class, and can talk about. It starts with the poetry unit at the beginning of the year, having Happy Happy Circle Time, reading the Metamorphosis, 1984, Essential Questions, our blogs, and experienceing Shakespeare through our movie samplet.

I think our discussions as a class has really helped all of us, and I know it has me. I learned a lot about everyone in the class, and things that I never thought I would have. We've all been together for years, and when we actually sat down and discussed things, we got to know each other on a different level, and appreciate what everyone had to say. The blog fits right into that too. I know I love to listen to people discuss things, and sometimes I get caught up in that. On the blog, I can't get caught up in listening, and I feel I can listen and respond as well. We get to hear a new side to things on here. I think that's good, but at the same time I feel bad because we can't have the same type of discussion in class all the time as we do on the blogs.

Honestly, I really did enjoy doing the essential questions. I felt like I learned a lot about many different aspects of our question and how to get there. The information and process of getting to our answer surprised me because I didn't think there'd be that many sources of information to help us conclude to our answer. I got to interview a journalist from Ottawa, and view different perspectives from all over. I didn't mind the research aspect, and the process interested me in a way I guess. Also, I learned that I could enjoy things that I heard I wouldn't and went into thinking that. I loved reading 1984, and thought it was a great book, but it was scary when you really sat down to think about what was going on. It's all about attitude and perspective, and that's for just about anything I guess. I think the blogs made 1984 a lot easier too, but that's something we found out, and I think the blogs worked out great and made things interesting.

I'm going to miss our class. There were a lot of fun times and we've all had a good year I would say. I'm looking forward to next year, but it's not going to be the same. I think one thing we all learned and remembered would be, how we learned to care about the class. =)
Oh my, I really will miss this class.

KHS Honors English 10 [:

2009-05-27T18:57:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the year is done already! This year we've done so much, from poetry to essential questions and even creating new words :]. I have to admit even though I complained a lot I liked this class a lot and loved everyone in it. I think everyone brought something different which sometimes made for an interesting "happy happy circle time." Honors English 10 will most definitely keep a special place in my heart, we had some good times! This is were I first heard of "More Cowbell" and were I realized I needed to stop saying LIKE when speak in public. This class made me feel like I could express my opinions... even though I made an idiot out of myself at times ( a.k.a. "hand jobs" lol). My favorite part of this year would had to of been reading 1984. I don't really know why I liked this book, but I feel that it made me more aware of what exactly is going on around me. The book opened the whole class up for discussions we did on this blog. The blog was a good idea, I think. It helped me more then taking tests, I feel I gained a lot from it and learned things from my classmates that I would've over looked in the book. The lesson I absolutely HATED was the essential questions... thanks for nothing Kristan Nesta!! I don't think we grasped the concept... maybe it was just me. I tried to earn my 8% with that project but that just didn't work very well. Other then the E.Q. I can't complain about this year. I'll miss it :(... where else am I going to watch awful movies on youtube or make funny pictures of my teacher.

Thanks for the great year everyone. Only 2 more years to go.
BYE RUT! I LOVE YOU :D

I'm Definitely Taking This With Me.

2009-05-27T18:54:00.005-04:00

This year in english has been incredible. I've learned so much about myself in this class this year, and that's incredibly refreshing to me. It's also very encouraging! What's more is that I've learned so much from/about all of you. I'm not trying to suck up. I'm being totally honest. It has been such a great experience getting to know some of you even a little bit better, being able to discuss various topics with you, sharing thoughts, ideas, and projects with all of you, etc. Everything has been incredible, and I look forward to being in class with most of you in the next couple of years. (The only reason I say "most" is because I know some schedules are already screwed up...)

Some of the work we did that sticks out in my mind:

The poetry unit was great, but I like poetry to begin with, so that was right up my alley. Even so, all of the poems made for some great thought, discussion, creativity, and insight. I very much enjoyed them, especially when it came to "Happy Happy Circle Time". There's just nothing that even comes close to HHCT.

I loved doing the essential questions. Even though we were sick of them by the end, I love asking challenging questions like that. When we were really getting into the research and detail of it all, I think all of us learned a lot. It really required us to use our heads, and even our hearts when it comes right down to it.

1984 was so eye opening for me, and was a very interesting. Literature such as that is very important to read, and I'm glad that we read it. As a class, I think that we did a great job really sinking our teeth into 1984 and looking at some of the greater ideas and details of the book.

The project that I am most proud of is the one that I put together for The Metamorphosis. I learned quite a bit from doing that photo essay, and in it has become very important to me. Besides that, I absolutely love photography and would adore to pursue that as my profession... God willing. Time will certainly tell.

And on that note, I'll share with you one of the most important things I'll take with me from this class. The funny thing is, it really has nothing at all to do with english. In reality, it's what I've learned from surrounding myself with so much creativity, insight, ideas, challenges, so many brilliant people, and experiencing incredible new things.

Here it is:

Go after your passions.

Yeah, it could be a risk.
Yes, they might tell you you're an idiot.
Sure, it could be extremely hard, and in so many more ways than one.
Yep, there's always a chance you could fail.

So what?

When you find that thing that feeds your soul... pursue it with everything you've got! You won't be truly happy doing anything else. You know why? Because that's what's going to get you up in the morning, that's what's going to make you content, that is what's going to bring your life joy and purpose...

I've learned that you have to go after the things that feed your heart, soul, passion, imagination, and mind.

Don't settle for any less than that. Any of you. You're all brilliant people. I know this without a doubt. I've seen it nearly everyday this year, and I know that all of you are going to do great things with your lives. No matter what that might be...

Thank you all for such a great year.

Procrastinators Unite!----tomorrow.

2009-05-27T16:09:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to this. Honors English 10. Whats to be said about English this year? Quite a bit I suppose. This year I noticed that a lot of the people in our class developed a stronger sense of who they are as a person, most likely as a result of all the writing we did, in particular the poetry. I think the writing we did was pretty important. That research paper we did was cool because we got to learn about things that you almost never do in high school. We got to consider questions that will always be relevant to our daily lives. That project really opened my eyes to how much information is out there, and how much opinions can vary. I find it interesting that opinions that are up and down 100% completely opposite can still both be valid. Then you have the whole 1984 unit. George Orwell is a phenomenal writer. When you start comparing that book to the era of dubya, it gets really eerie. Hopefully good ol' Barrack will rectify things. Anyhow, 1984 was a great unit because of all the discussion opportunities it presented. I guess I'd have to say the thing I liked the most about Honors English 10 is that it was a class that introduced us to the real world.

I do care about the class.

2009-05-27T06:44:00.001-04:00

This year Honors English has probably been my most entertaining class, and the one I looked forward to going to the most. I love Rut and everyone else in the class, and it's going to be sad not seeing everyone all summer. But anyway, my favorite thing this year was probably something to do with the essential question. That's what sticks out in my mind the most from Honors English. Although the poetry unit at the beginnning does, too. I liked the essential questions because we were able to do the researching process and find a solution to our own questions. I'll be able to remember things I found out about myself and others for the rest of my life. The poetry unit made me go outside my comfort zone (into my yellow zone as they say from 2nd Mile) and share my thoughts, opinions, and work with the entire class. I've always been one to just sit and listen to others, rather than speaking up, but now I think I feel more comfortable saying what I want to the class and not worrying about people thinking I'm stupid. That's something I'l be able to use throughout the rest of my schooling career and life. So thanks guys :) Class discussions. Even though it consisted mostly of the one side of the room, I really enjoyed them. Sometimes we would get off topic, but when we actually talked about something relevent to the class, they were really interesting. Oh, and how I love blogging. Actually it wasn't too bad at all. I liked seeing everyones thoughts and I think that people are more willing to share their ideas on this instead of doing it in a class discussion. Some people are still a little shy. Well, I'm done now. I love Honors English 10 and I do care about the class.

Of all the undaunted hope...

2009-05-26T20:41:00.002-04:00

This year has been quite the year, if I do say so myself. We've dealt with everything from poetry to critical thinking within essential questions to Shakespeare's plays.
My favorite part of this year was probably hearing everyone's poems. I didn't necessarily have confidence in my own but hearing everyone else's was awesome. I learned a lot about my classmates this year through poetry and classroom discussions. Happy Happy Circle Time was purely genuine classtime. It's safe to say I appreciate that the most. I got to hear everyone's opinions and thoughts. I was able to relate to people and feel complete acceptance within the class. I disliked the Essential Questions project but I really did learn a lot from it. I took it as preparation for the future because it felt like college work. Overall, this class has been very interesting from my perspective and I'll always remember our good times and what I've learned from my dearest Rut.
Rut, I'm not going to humiliate you in front of the entire world (aka the internet) because there's nothing I can honestly complain about! You are a great teacher and thanks for everything. Future students will be absolutely privileged to have you as a teacher.

-Haley E.

O Vaught....

2009-05-26T17:32:00.002-04:00

This year has been just crazy in good ol Honors English 10. Between the vaughtness (it's telling me it's not a word but they have no idea...) of our poems to the Strictly Ballroom here at the end of the year, we've gone over it all. I think it was the only class we really needed to think in. Other classes you can just memorize everything and pass just fine but in English you had to take time to think about everything and really get involved in the class to appreciate it. The Essential questions proved to be one of the most involving and time intensive yet rewarding projects we've ever done... despite having not actually finished them off. I think everyone that took the time to apply themselves to the class also gained a great deal from it, and won't easily forget all the great times we've had!

But seriously. . .

2009-05-26T13:53:00.003-04:00

End of the year reflection posts are due and payable by Thursday, May 27---no excuses---no diatribes on academic irrelevance without appropriate credentials.

Wherefore the harangue????

2009-05-26T13:06:00.005-04:00

I don't understand. . ."scolded and ridiculed," "um, I fell asleep for a lot of the movie," "Strictly Ballroom? Strictly boring," and my all time favorite "memorable, maybe not for academic reasons." I'll tell you this---some relationships apparently have neither "blossomed" nor "strengthened."

Has it all been in vain, then? Has it all been "not for academic reasons?"

[Here's a helpful hint] NO, it is not for naught, but I fear that it may be, indeed, for vaught.

Harumph and alas the day.

"This is like Cinderella!" "No, Jamess, you're wrong."

2009-05-25T22:50:00.004-04:00

I really find it obvious that this movie has similarities with Cinderella. Or at least the one scene where the other dancing ladies were telling Fran she was no good, doesn't deserve Scott, and should just go home. No, there doesn't have to be fairy godmothers and pumpkin chariots.

In a way, I am like Cinderella minus the dresses and the lovely singing voice. Rut can be my evil step mom in this example. I got scolded and ridiculed for trying to connect Strictly Ballroom to a fairy tale we all know. Instead someone else got praised for some random remark that I don't care to remember.

Within this rant I'll try to salvage a point. We can all relate to Cinderella or another fairy tale. That doesn't mean meeting 7 dwarfs or having 80 feet of hair, as some would think. But the love relationships and hurt feelings, feeling lost and breaking the rules a bit to follow your dreams and passions are what we can and will experience.

Earning our 8% in Rut's class

2009-05-25T22:15:00.002-04:00

There's only 3 days of school left now and I have to admit, this was probably the most fun class. The fruit pelting never happened, but that's just a minor disappointment. My favorite things that we did were the poetry unit and the film study. We've all had our ups and downs with the blog, but on the whole, I think it's been successful and sometimes even fun. Also, I'd like to point out that Kristan Nesta is a filthy liar, because essential questions were not fun at all! haha *see you in panther peers Rut.

Thank You All

2009-05-23T12:53:00.005-04:00

Throughout the school year we have done many things that I will take with me as I go throughout life. Everything that we have studied this year was memorable, maybe not for academic reasons, but memorable nonetheless. Like in Shakespeare's plays, many relationships have blossomed and strengthened inside our classroom and out. I've learned much about my fellow classmates through what we've done in school, and I'm excited about the chance to continue learning alongside all of you. I know that we'll never have the chance to have this group by itself in the way that we did ever again, so I just want to soak it all up.

I want to thank all you for making this year the best year of my life, and I love you all.

Oh. And one more thing. (For you, Rut.) I don't think there will ever be a time in my life that I will forget to "care about the class", one that I love and will miss so much.

Feeling the Need to be Accepted (People really should read this. It's not boring.)

2009-05-23T12:52:00.004-04:00

You know...I don't even know what to blog about anymore. It's not because I don't care about the class. It's just that I'm sick of being called an overachiever. Here's what I've decided: I don't care anymore. People can call me what they want to call me because if there's one thing that I've really learned in 10th grade this year, it's not to care about what others think of you. I've spent so many years trying to be accepted by people for my personality, not my intelligence. A lot of people only talk to me when they need help with homework because they think I'm going to do it for them. Well, I'm going to be very blunt. They're wrong! Some people won't even talk to me because of my birthmark. I know this because people have actually had the audacity to come up to me and personally tell me. Let me tell you something. There are days that I get up, look in the mirror, and ask, "God, why did you make me look like this? Why? Why do I have to be so different?" But I have realized that God made me the way I am for a reason. He made everyone different, and different is unique. Yes, I may be an "overachiever," a very organized person, and someone who tries my hardest at everything I do, but what's wrong with that? That doesn't make me wierd or ugly. On top of my intelligence that everyone seems to think I have, people need to realize that they're good at certain things, too. Some people can build things out of wood. Some can write extremely well. Some can play music. Some can sing well. Some are fantastic artists. I could go on, but I think you get the point. For those of you who think I'm "so good at everything," well I'm not. I was horrible at geometry last year. I got an F on my final. Yes, an F. I can't draw to save my life. I can't sculpt at all. I can't build things out of wood. I am definitely not an athlete. I can't cook. I do not ace every test like some people think. For those of you who think I enjoy every single class in school, well I don't. I hate science. It's never interested me and never will. I do not like every single book I read at school. But people are right, I really do like school. I like school because I...(gasp)...actually like learning, but I also like seeing my friends on a regular basis. I like the extra-curricular, the electives, and the clubs. I practically like everything except for the school lunches and the drama. My favorite part of the school day is the music. I love band and choir. I admit that I'm am one of the biggest band geeks you'll ever meet, but I'm proud of it. I play the clarinet and have been since the 4rth grade. I can also play the trombone. I am pretty psyched to play the trombone in marching band. I can play a llittle of the piano. I love playing music and sight reading. I love marching band. I love singing even though I'm not one of the best singers. I love it all. You know why? Because music is my passion. I love that feeling I get after a concert or the half-time show. Standing/sitting on the stage or standing on the football field, I feel accomplished, but I also feel something else. It's very difficult to explain. For those of you like me, you may understand what I mean. I just feel a sense of pride and joy and other emotions that I can't explain. There are people in my life who have taught me all this that I just blogged about. I realized that I do have people who care about me and actually like me for who I am. Sara, Tuesdae, Vic, Shelby, Hannah, Ally, Jess, Patrick (yea, I know what you people are thinking, but I dated this guy for 6 months and you don't know his very sensitive side, even though he is immature.), Daphne, Jill, Kylie, Dane, Miranda, Johanna, Myranda, Lauren, Maddie, Jenna are just some of those people who have helped me to realize these things. So I have learned that not everybody needs to be my friend, that being smart is a cool thing, and that I accept myself for who I am.

This all ties in with Strictly Ballroom because of Fran. She just want to feel included and accepted. People wouldn't dance with her not only because she couldn't dance, but also because of the way she looked. Nobody gave her a chance except for Scott. Only then did she begin to accept herself for who she was. In some ways, I feel like Fran. But I know I'm not the only one. Just about every person in one way, shape, or form wants to feel accepted. It's not uncommon. The point of this: Beauty comes from the soul. God made you the way you are, and lastly, you can achieve whatever dreams and aspirations you want to. Don't let the need to feel accepted bring you down.

2009-05-22T11:42:00.002-04:00

I think I should post a shorter entry because no one really comments my really long posts because they don't want to read the whole thing, and to be blunt- that ANNOYS me very much. I take the time to read people's long posts even if they are boring and still comment them. This doesn't make me an overachiever, just hard working. That's just the way I feel today. Ok, there now I'm done with my feelings.

So Strictly Ballroom has been a fantastic movie! It's so cute how Fran an Scott have feelings for each other. I noticed a complete change in Fran once she started dancing with Scot. She let her hair down and brushed it. She stopped wearing those glasses. She became more confident and cheerful. She went from having nothing to really live for and be happy about to having lots to live for. She needed that attention and self-esteem boost. Scott changed, too. He was cocky and arrogant. He always needed to win. He seemed constricted having to dance the way he was told to. Then Fran became his dance partner, though he was very reluctant at first, and he was happy again. He didn't have as much arrogance.

Think about it- Has anyone or anything ever made you change your attitude? (Has anyone/anything boosted your confidence or self-esteem?) I could name lots of people.

Dance Your Own Steps

2009-05-22T09:24:00.003-04:00

I have really enjoyed watching Strictly Ballroom for the short time that we have. While I was watching it though, there was something that stuck out to me. That was how Scott's dad was acting. He would sneak around and watch recordings of dances outside the regulations. Right before we left, he was actually dancing, and to his own steps. I like the thought of what Scott and his dad are doing, dancing to their own steps. They don't want to conform, and it's what they like and are doing. Scott doesn't realize that his dad is thinking the same as him yet. I'm sure he'll find out soon, but I don't know. It's a freedom, and they're able to express themselves through their dance steps. They're being held back by the regulations, and it's really affecting Scott. This is similar to today though. We all care what other people think, and in a way it seems like we have to. If you realize you don't have to though, it can bring out something in you that makes you feel completely different, and see what individuality can bring out in you. It's hard to stand out sometimes, but if you can dance your own steps, maybe we should try it and just see what happens.

i Baz Luhrman !

2009-05-21T22:45:00.002-04:00

I'm a little upset that i missed the first forty minutes of this movie at watershed summit. Baz is the maker of the Red Curtain Trilogy including; Romeo and Juliet, Strictly Ballroom, and Moulin Rouge. We watched R&J last year in Mrs. Mac's class, and now we are watching the another one. Unfortunately, my favorite is the one we aren't watching, but they are all good. I love how the characters in his movies aren't flawlessly attractive actors and actresses. Instead they are human. And the camera angles and makeup aren't always flattering. That's part of his sense of humor. Alot of the things that go on in this movie are drastically exaggerated, but doesn't that happen in real life? How many of us have or have had an extremely over criticle judge, teacher, boss, principal, parent? Probably all of us at some time or another.
The conflict in this story is much like contemporary praise songs vs hymns in church. Don't young people complain about singing hymns, and don't some older people blow the contemporary stuff completely out of proportion like the judges in this movie?

*"If you don't like this movie, I will fight you. And that's no lie."

Strictly Ballroom is Amazing!!!

2009-05-21T20:55:00.000-04:00

Let me start by saying that even through I predicted the whole movie in like the first 10 minutes (don’t believe ask Jill.) I actually enjoyed the movie because it was a little different then the other movies we watched. This move inspired me to want to dance …. Not. Even through there was no major problem in the story I still think its good movie. In Much ado it was kind of good but it wasn’t all that and the same goes to twelfth Night as well. In Strictly Ballroom I think if I young girl who thought that she was ugly watch this movie it would give her a little hope to not give up because somewhere she will find her dance partner and falling in love with him so this movie is very inspiring!

What do you think about strictly ballroom??

Last post. . .

2009-05-21T19:59:00.000-04:00

First off, I would like to apologize to Rut for putting off my blogs and comments for so long! At least I am going to be finished after this one. Is it just me, or does it seem like every year goes faster and faster? Where does this time go?! It seems just like yesterday was 7th or 8th grade. I have been doing alot of thinking lately about life, and can you believe we only have to more years and we are going to be done?? In some ways it is very joyous, but in other ways it is actually kind of sad. We have been with each other in almost every class for a very long time. This is the only life we have known and I think it is going to be strange leaving. Yes, I admit that I don't always want to be at school, but imagine being out of school with none of your friends. I am definitely going to miss it, but it is just something that has to be done. You have to move on, but at the same time hold on to your past. This is a really dumb post, I know! But it was just things on my mind right now. Sorry if I bored you!

Strictly Ballroom? Strictly boring!

2009-05-21T15:04:00.012-04:00

I am going to start out with what is on my mind, I never wanted to watch this movie! So far within the first 40 minutes of it, I, and John, are bored out of our minds. I do not like this play at all. I think it is because of the problem in the story. This is one of those movie, at least it seems, that something bad happens but then something miraculous happens to turn the whole thing around. Things go back and forth in the middle, then it has a happy ending that everyone likes. I, personally like the kind of movies that has problems all through it and you keep second guessing yourself. As in Henry V, I wasn't sure if Henry would win, and Twelfth Night I didn't know how the false identity would work. Those were really good movies. Maybe I am completely wrong, though, and am over looking this movie. Maybe it wont end like I think it will. I guess it is a nicer way to end out the school year watching movies instead of doing actual work. But at least make it an interesting one! Feel free to argue with me on this because I am in an arguing mood!!

"Shakespearean Sampler"

2009-05-20T21:16:00.002-04:00

Well, since I have no idea what Rut has planned for tomorrow, I just want to make a blog post that is somewhat related to what we are currently doing. Sadly, I didn't get to read all of the awesome plays that Shakespeare wrote, but I did watch most of the movies. Although I have watched most of the movies with you guys, I am still having some trouble with all of the language that is associated with the movies. I think that this would be understandable, considering that I kind of jumped on ship at the last minute. I feel that if I was given the same amount of time that all of my fellow classmates were to assimilate knowledge of the plays, that I could probably do some really good analyzes with them on this very blog. I also wanted to say thanks for welcoming me into the class so readily. I thought that it would take quite a bit longer amount of time to actually join into the conversations with my peers. Thanks Rut for this interesting Shakespeare movie experience. Hope to see all of you guys in Honors English 11 next year.

Shakespeare's obsession

2009-05-20T20:11:00.002-04:00

After all we've read and watched that Shakespeare has created, he's taught many lessons. Obviously a major them and possible obsession of his was love. He's incorporated love into everything I've so far read or seen of his work. In a movie about war (Henry V), he even threw in some love at the end.
First we watched Much Ado About Nothing, which its main focus was on love, lust, & drama. It also carried out a comedic performance. His character's witty lines proved him not a sap. Next we watched the Twelfth Night. That focused on love within a family, friendship and romantic relationship. Shakespeare proved his sense of humor yet again with his gender role mix-up. The latest Shakespeare movie we watched was Henry V. This movie focused more on a serious matter: war. His humor came out with the whole tennis ball ordeal and also when Henry was asking mustache woman if she could ever love him.
Overall, I liked our Shakespeare movie-watching unit. It was real entertainment in the late 1500's through the 1600's. It's safe to say that it still definitely is now too!

Henry V finished

2009-05-20T19:54:00.002-04:00

So, Henry V turned out to be a pretty good movie. Set aside Henry's lengthy speeches and overacting. The battle scene was really good, probably my favorite part of the movie too. There were some disturbing parts though. I really disliked the fact that the French killed all the young boys accompanying them. I can't even fathom how someone could have such little heart to do so. Maybe the French knew they lost while they were retreating. But if you were caught up in such a war and had to make the decision to kill a young kid, could you? I probably couldn't even if he slaughtered my entire army. It's just so wrong. When you think back in history, I'm sure this has happened on more than one occasion. Right now in Iraq, our American soldiers sometimes have to kill children. Also think back to Vietnam. Children civilians would run up to American soldiers and offer them poisoned drinks or bombs would be strapped to them. What are your thoughts?

"Every subjects duty is the king's; but every subject's soul is his own"

2009-05-19T22:31:00.004-04:00

Henry V disguises himself one night and goes into the camp of his own soldiers. He doesn't let anyone know it is him, the king, and simply talks to some of his men. He asks them what they think about the King and argues with them a bit to get their true opinions to come out.

Henry wants to find out the soldiers true thoughts about him without them knowing he is there to hear it. He almost provokes them into a rage while trying to learn what they think of him.

Many of us have done this ourselves in one way or another, but why do we do it? Why do you think Henry does it and what does he actually learn?

Is that possible?

2009-05-18T20:55:00.003-04:00

Okay, so the one thing that we watched in the play today really caught my attention and made me think. Henry V watched someone who used to be his friend before he was king being hanged. I just found that completely repulsive. I don't understand how you could do that. I know things were a lot different back then compared to how they are today but still, really? He got kinda chocked up about it, though. Also, he probably couldn't really say anything to stop it being as he was the King and all, and he was just following the laws. What do you think would be going through his mind? Memories? Regrets? What about the guy who was being hanged? His life might have "flashed before his eyes" as poeple say. Or he could have just drew a blank. He had to be feeling everything possible. He would have had to have been so mad or even disappointed in Henry. They used to be friends before he became powerful and now its like that never even happened. Could you imagine what you would be thinking at that point in time? Knowing your life would be over in seconds? And it could be stopped by someone you were once friends with. Could you even imagine? What do you think?

Post, Post, Post. . .

2009-05-18T12:21:00.003-04:00

Well I still have to do like 3 posts I think, so I am going to do them now and get them out of the way. I am glad that John picked Henry the 5th for us to watch. I really wanted to watch it even before we started a lot of this Shakespeare stuff, but I never spoke up because I thought Coach Z or Jamess would shoot down the idea of it. They are always like that and it bugs me! I know I am going to get some comments about that but anyways!! Henry, being a new king and sending his men into a 100 year war does not seem to worried. He is kind of calm and laid back, even when he receives a box of tennis balls as kind of a way of making fun of him. Henry excepts this, punishes his traitors, and moves on. He acts as if it is just another ordinary day. I guess back in these times though, fighting is an every day occurrence so it doesn't seem that out of the ordinary. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to all of this pressure and see if he can full fill his duties the way they are supposed to be filled.

Things Happen in Threes

2009-05-17T22:00:00.002-04:00

I read a book a few years ago kinda sorta based on this theory. Good and bad things happen in threes and there's really no way of preventing. I don't really believe in this order of happenings but it's interesting to think of. Sometimes you get bombarded by misfortune and you can't find a bright side. Other times everything is going your way and it's easy to overlook a few bad moments. The Irish used to believe this superstition. If there was a drowning in the river they would say how it was the third in the series or another was due or so on with whatever instance.

In Much Ado About Nothing it seemed like the events kind of followed this pattern. Hero was presumably dead, Don John betrayed his brother and friends, and Benedick swore to end Claudio's life by dual. In the end there was a wedding, Benedick and what's-her-face were actually in love, and Don John was brought to justice. Maybe Shakespeare knew of this theory, too, or I'm just trying to fill in another blog.

There are some instances when I do believe that good and bad happen in threes. My old priest recently passed away. He was the third person I've known well through my church that has passed away this past year. This made me rethink the theory a bit. I believe that things happen quite evenly between good and bad. There are some coincidences but sometimes we think too much about those.

thoughts, questions, comments, concerns?

info from "The Book of Threes"

I picked Henry V

2009-05-15T20:16:00.002-04:00

So you can thank me for the extensive discussion we will be having about it. I picked Henry mainly because of my interest in war, which you are all familiar with from the poem days.

Anyhow, I always think it is interesting how a commander's personality is seen in battle. Usually, at least in my opinion, a young, fiery commander like Henry would tend to be rash and overzealous. These traits would cause him to make mistakes, and ultimately loose the battle. however, we know that he wins. I'm interested to see the specifics of this battle, how Henry conducts his army, and what he does in general. I know its Hollywood, but there are at least shades of truth I'm sure. I know the rest of you are not as enthused, but if you have any thoughts, add them!

What's wrong with tennis balls. . .?

2009-05-15T10:18:00.003-04:00

Today we watched the beginning of Henry V. Can you explain what was so insulting about the French Dauphin's gift of tennis balls? I challenge you to be the most thorough in your response. Impress the others with your whipsaw knowledge of Shakespeare and the 100 Years War!!!!

Picture Credit: http://inkhornterm.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

Swine Flu... back from the grave

2009-05-15T07:55:00.003-04:00

The swine flu is still in effect as more people are diagnosed with the new epidemic. To spite Rut, and everyone else that criticized my other H1N1 post, I will relate this to Shakespeare's work. How am I going to do it? We'll see.

Many of us, including myself, look at the swine flu as something that will never happen to little ol' Keystone and the surrounding villages. It's too far away, almost to the point of non-existence. It's hard to take this kind of thing seriously when it hasn't hit home. The predictions, however, show the potential of this sickness. It can spread over continental USA pretty easily.

Now the way we look at Shakespeare's plays, at least for myself, is a disbelief. I'm thinking, "people don't fall in love like that", and, "how can they be so oblivious to everything as the plot thickens?" This happens in real life, though, a lot. Shakespeare, also known as Billy Shakes, based his characters and their actions and relationships off of real people in real life situations. It provides a more humorful atmosphere for the audience because some have been in the character's shoes before. The love stories in Shakespeare are satirical because we can watch and relate.

So in a way the swine flu and Shakespeare's plays are similar. We know them to be true but yet they seem too far away from our lives.

ps: I totally stole Billy Shakes from Coach Z

Better a witty fool than a foolish wit

2009-05-14T22:08:00.004-04:00

We talked in class a bit about how Feste played out in the story and what he did to help progress it. He is the "fool" as said but often takes a more important role of relaying information and keeping everyone informed with bits of the truth while keeping the entire truth to himself. Many times he sits back and just simply listens to what everyone has to say. He even partakes in the little drinking party that Sir Toby had the one night, which allowed him to get even closer to the characters. This again allowed him to learn more about what was going on within the plot of it all.

What do you guys think about Feste as a character and his role throughout the story?

Words to live by . . .

2009-05-14T14:00:00.000-04:00

Created at http://www.bighugelabs.com/flickr/motivator.php.

Crazyness

2009-05-14T13:54:00.002-04:00

Moving to a whole different kind of place is crazy. Most of the time when moving some where else, you have to try and make new friends all over again. The experience from moving to Kentucky to Knox has been insane. While I think that I have tried to integrate, I still am not ready to fully meet everybody. Hopefully, as time goes on, I will begin to make more and more friends. Most of the people in this school know me as the "Rubik's Cube Dude", because they don't know my full name yet. Moving from a school which didn't do blogging at all and that was huge, this new, wonderful blogging is quite interesting from my point of view. Like many things, as time goes on, I am certain that I will get used to the whole issue of blogging to my teacher and other things. I am thankful that this class has kind of taken me in with open arms, and I actually want to thank Rut for introducing me to this wonderful blog that is maintained by the students.

What It Takes

2009-05-14T11:47:00.008-04:00

This movie is one that I enjoyed very much. It's filled with humor, jealousy conspiracy, friendship, compassion, and love. All of these things add to its wondrous allure. Now that gets me thinking: what makes a good story so good?

Well, you've got to have an intriguing plot, along with twists and surprises that the audience might not expect. There should be various types of relationships: past ones that continue to bloom or begin to decay, and new ones that spring up. And as we all know, "Everyone loves a villain." But when you break this down... at the very end of it all, a story is only as good as the group characters and the people that it's about.

In Twelfth Night, there are so many people, each with something different to bring to the table. They each have their own set of qualities that make them unique. That fact alone makes me love this play even more than I already do.

Much Ado About Nothing Love

2009-05-14T10:30:00.003-04:00

Yes, I know this is like a month late but at least I am doing it. There was alot of shown love and even some hidden love in Much Ado About Nothing. Beatrice always fights with Benedick, but it is more of a "love fight". Neither wants to admit it but they secretly have a thing for one another. This is one of the example of the hidden love in the story. The love between Hero and "Wilson" is one of the loves that is shown. They are not afraid to show their affections between one another. Don John is just the jerk that acts like him and Hero are in love just to cause a fight. He enjoys seeing other people in pain, well mental pain, and grief.

It is strange how they fall in love so quickly. You would think it would take more time to actually love someone. Although these are different times, I still find it hard to believe they are actually in love. They can be attracted to one another, but it will take some time for them all to get to know one another. The roles of women are also different than we are used to because once a man does something that is worth enough, he gets to choose his own woman. He can pick anyone he wants and they can't refuse.

Women's Rights

2009-05-14T10:25:00.004-04:00

It's really hard to comprehend that just last century, women weren't allowed to vote. They were stereotyped as "pregnant, barefoot, and in the kitchen," as Mr. Vaughn mentioned during our 1950's and 60's unit. Women were just expected to stay at home, cook, clean, shop for the necessities, and take care of the family. When the man came home, dinner was to be ready to eat and the table set. Men were expected to do all the hard labor and back breaking work and go to war. There was this separation between "a man's job" and "a woman's job." It was like "Oh no, you can't do that. That's a man's job. What were you thinking?" and vice versa.

In today's century, there is finally a variety of male and female jobs/expectations. The girls don't have to stay home unless they choose to, and the men don't have to do the hard labor unless they choose to. It's not as expected. However, with this turning of the century, men and women are becoming more and more lazy....sitting on the couch and eating potato chips...not really. It's more to do with all this advanced technology that's occurring everyday.

http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm
This all relates to Twelfth Night because women were not considered important. In fact, they weren't even allowed to be on the island they were on because the Count didn't like them to be. Viola had to dress as a man in order to stay there and obtain a job. The reality and truth of the matter: Women did not matter. They were thought of as not being able to do anything.
Twelfth Night also reminds me of the movie Mulan. Mulan dressed as a man to take her father's so he wouldn't have to go back to war. Women were looked down upon as being in the army and if caught in the army, it meant death or isolation.
It makes me really mad that some men today still think women can't do "a man's job." Women can do anything they set their mind to. They can do what a man does like go to war. It makes no difference. Women are unique individuals and are considered people just as men are.

Deception and Common Themes

2009-05-14T10:24:00.003-04:00

As we've been watching Twelfth Night, I noticed there were so many similarities between it and Much Ado About Nothing. One of the most obvious similarities that I picked up on, was deception. For example, during Much Ado About Nothing, the characters deceived Benedick into thinking Beatrice loved him, and vice versa. Once those two had heard the other loved them, they started to express their love for each other. In Twelfth Night, Viola deceived many into believing she was a man named Cesario. Also, one that compares very well with Much Ado About Nothing, is Malvolio's situation I think. He found a letter that Maria wrote, but was deceived into thinking it was from Olivia. It's true that his own hopes to believe this was true, and didn't help the matter into him "falling in love" with Olivia. The difference in this case was that Olivia had no idea about this letter, and in all reality had no feelings toward Malvolio. The play worked out everything and ended happily for all the characters except Malvolio. He was deceived, and never picked up on it, and maybe that was his own fault.

The common themes in both of these plays are deception, love, the difference between reality and truth, and tragedy. They all come together to make a great comedy, and are all necessary for the play. There's a tragedy at the beginning when the brother and sister are separated from each other, and they think the other has died. Also, you can find tragedy in Malvolio's case at the end. There's already been many posts about the love aspect of both plays, but it is such a huge part. Reality and truth are sometimes mistaken for each other by deception and disguise. Sometimes we might never know the truth, but believe what we see as reality as truth. It all intertwines, to make the stories and plays that we've been watching and continue to watch, to put it simply, interesting.

What You Will

2009-05-14T09:37:00.003-04:00

What You Will is the subtitle for Twelfth Night, the only subtitle Shakespeare had. This play's theme, like Much Ado About Nothing, had a lot to do with love. There were all kinds of relationships going on, ones the characters knew about and ones they didn't know about. Everything turned out to be a happily ending story, but there were rough patches along the way.

When I first saw the title Twelfth Night followed by What You Will, I couldn't figure out why Shakespeare had that as a subtitle. I started to think about it, and then decided to look it up. It turned out what I thought might be true was. Shakespeare put this up there for the audience, because depending on what point you were at in your life, you could take it...as you will. It all would depend on what you've gone through, how love has affected you up until the point you are at, and what you want to take from it, would affect your interpretation. I like the title, What You Will, because in many cases, not just this play, that's how things are. That's how misunderstandings happen, people take things a different way, and it causes conflict. Our lives are all interpreted how we will, and we're able to learn from mistakes that may come from this, grow in the experiences we go through, or maybe also, why we're able to have joy from the simple things.

Awkward Much?

2009-05-14T09:16:00.002-04:00

Okay, so this play is full of completely awkward moments and I think that that is what makes it hilarious. How does a man almost kiss another man and not really think anything of it? And then still love her/him whenever he finds out he's actually a woman? Its not only about almost kissing the same sex thing, but feeling up a statue, too? What is the real purpose for the awkwardness? To add comic relief? I'm not really sure. What do you guys think?

Also, another thing I would like to point out is how fast these relationships appear. These people are seriously only knowing eachother for a few minutes and they are saying they are in love and getting married? Is it really possible to love someone that quickly? I don't think so. I think you can be strongly attracted to someone when you first meet them, but I wouldn't go as far as saying you love them. It takes more then 5 minutes to know you trust someone, and want to marry them and spend the rest of your life with them. That's pretty much saying you are going to spend the rest of your life with a stranger. I know that you will eventually get to know them and hopefully trust them in time, but that's just really weird to me. What's your opinion?

where's the Tragedy?

2009-05-14T07:51:00.002-04:00

It might've been my Debbie Downer side, but I was waiting for some sort of tragedy to happen in Twelfth Night. Whether it be the brother killed in a duel or one of the ladies losing her honor, it seemed like something was bound to happen. It never came, though, at least to me. There was potential for tragedy throughout the play. If they figured out Viola's true identity before her brother arrived, who knows what would happen?

The fact that there was no distinct tragedy gives me a better appreciation of Shakespeare. I figured Twelfth Night would be another love story with a terrible happening coming at an inopportune time. It was completely different than what I've seen before of Shakespeare and I praise him for that.

Was there a tragedy I've overlooked?

I should probably post these questions now... :p

2009-05-13T19:32:00.002-04:00

Much Ado About Nothing

[questions one&two]

question one.

Much Ado About Nothing says quite alot about attraction and relationships between man and woman. Watching the play progress, it showed me that alot of relationships can be ridiculously hilarious. Benedick and Beatrice's relationship was so funny to me. Watching them worry about the other one and if they know really reminded my of little kids, like Candice and Sarah already said. One of the little boys that I babysit said once that he liked this girl, and he was pretty sure that she liked him back, but they weren't going to tell each other. Seeing Beatrice and Benedick immeadiately reminded me of him. Also, this play made me realize that relationships are alot less complicated then we make them out be.

The play shows that the role of marriage has a very high place in society. Not just in Much Ado About Nothing, but also in Twelfth Night. All of the characters, and even today, are looking for someone to fall in love with and longing for someone to just love them.

Finally, this play shows alot about gender roles. After Don John "tattles" on Hero, thinking it was her doing naughty things with someone that wasn't Cladio, everyone in the town automatically believed Don John, not Hero. Clearly Hero would know what happened. But they believed the man.

question three.

William Shakespeare wrote some absolutely hysterical things in his plays, but Much Ado About Nothing also has the "potential for tragedy." All of the relationships involved in this play were really funny, but after the word got out about Hero and her affair, things got a bit more serious. When Hero was going to pretend to die, there were so many things that could've gone wrong, a tragedy in itself. Then Cladio was going to marry the cousin that was exactly like Hero, which would've been epic if something would've went wrong. Like Pickle said in his blog MAAN, "Well i think that tragedies are acutally essential to a great comedy. " I totally agree with him. For example, look at the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman. That movie is just downright hilarious because of Madea. End of Story. But it wouldn't be the same without the beating and divorce of a woman. That sounds terrible, but if the movie was all Madea, it just wouldn't work out. The potential for tragedy in Much Ado brings out the understanding of hope. After Hero's "secret" was revealed, she didn't just give up. She had hope that there was some way that her and Cladio could still be together.

So remember way back when...

2009-05-12T21:37:00.001-04:00

Back in the days where questions were essential...

I had to ponder the question “What is reality, and when does it cross over to fantasy and illusion?” for many hours. It’s rather complex and hard to wrap my mind around. And after all that information I had found, and after discovering the phrase, “Reality is only what you make it”, I think I can describe what the play had to say about it all...

Basically it said, that no matter what deceptions and gut feelings and set ups lead you to a point, it doesn’t really matter if that’s what was true or not, it’s what has happened now, so now its reality.
You think that Beatrice and Benedick would have ever fallen in love if it had not been for the “love gods” tampering with them? Although it wasn’t really the truth, it was talked of as if it was, and that’s what made it formulate into reality. People can change their entire reactions and lives by reacting to things that they believe to be true, and their own personal realities start to form. So from lies, spawned truth, and from that truth, reality. It’s Shakespeare. Deal.

So what's the nature of all this? (M.A.A.N.)

2009-05-12T21:28:00.000-04:00

Unlike today’s meaning behind marriage, marriage back in MAAN’s time frame was for advancing or maintaining your class status in society, and was a binding pact between the families. Hero’s father was so outraged at her when she was framed of a scandalous act that he hit her and threatened to kill her. Why? Because he was betting his future on that marriage, and needed it to remain wealthy and well known. It wouldn’t have mattered if Hero was attracted to Claudio at all, they would have still been expected to wed if it was desired by others. Why is it though, that marriage today, although it is based off of attraction and love, has a higher rate of divorce? That binding pact between the couples is only voluntary, and therefore can be undone whenever they please. So I ponder, which one is more meaningful? The ability to stay together?... or the ability to love?

Humans have separated man and women for as long as they have had them to been them to separate. The man was known as the work force, the decision maker, and the head. He brought money and support to the family. The woman was the one who maintained the household and made everything run smoothly, with a desire for a perfect outcome. However, as easily as a man could do his role, women could take his place, and vise versa... So why separate these genders into roles in the first place? My guess is that humans have a tendency to separate things that could just as easily be categorized together instead.

Man and women have the most complex and most simple relationship. There are so many different ways the attraction can become. This play focuses on the love at first sight take and the deceptive love. Some of the characters see the other... and that’s really all it takes to make them want to die for them, want to be with them... and just generally want them. And to be frank, I think that’s a bunch of silliness. You can’t possibly know someone so well as to have that unyielding desire to protect and support them simply by looking at the face, at the body. There can, in fact be like at first sight, where you know your going to like that kid that you see... but in any other situation like this, its most likely lust and desires that drives that simulation of love. Deceptive love is the kind where your love is based on a lie, that started the feelings of attraction. This to me does not really mean that the love is a lie, but rather needed something to make the couple realize what they needed to in order to fall in love. See? Simple and complex, all wrapped up in one.

The Lion King based off Shakespeare?!

2009-05-12T16:40:00.003-04:00

How many times have you said, or have heard someone say "Shakespeare is dumb," and blah blah blah. I know I've said it before, but now I'm starting too see how genius Shakespeare really was. I was looking up Shakespeare and how we've modernized a lot of his plays into movies... a lot of them I had no idea were inspired by Shakespeare. While looking through a list of movies one especially caught my eye, Walt Disney's The Lion King. After I read it I googled it cause I thought it must have been mistake... but surprising it's true.
The Lion King, was actually based off of Shakespeare's play named Hamlet. Each animal in the movie embodies a person from Hamlet. Can you believe that one of the best child movies ever made was inspired by Shakespeare!? I can't stop wondering what other movies I've watched that have been inspired by Shakespeare. I think that this just shows how big of an impact Shakespeare has on our society today. Almost everyone has seen this movie or another movie from Shakespeare but haven't know it. I'm surprised that I was so ignorant about William Shakespeare before, after all I guess I've grown up on things based off of his writings ... and so has A LOT of you! Was I the only one really shocked by this? haha

Round and Round...

2009-05-12T16:33:00.002-04:00

I don't think I would be able to give a summary of it so far, so I'll let someone else use that as a post. : )

"Round and round and round it goes. Where it stops, nobody knows."

All the twists and schemes in this play remind me of that saying. If you so much as blink, you could miss something very crucial to the comprehension of the plot. There are so many interpersonal relationships within this play, and each individual has their own characteristics that add to the tragedy, the comedy, and the whole experience. If I had to pick one character as my favorite so far, it would have to be either Viola or Feste.

Viola is a tough woman. Circumstances brought her to Illyria. Because of the era that she lived in, as a woman, she would be unable to acquire a job or anything that could provide for her. So, as a result, she picked up the persona of her brother. It must have taken quite a lot of courage and willingness to act as a man. No one knew her real identity there, so she was all alone in this endeavor, with no confidante. I doubt I would ever be able to do something like that.

Feste, on the other hand, is quite a surprising character. At first he appears like a fool, and only a fool. But as the story goes on, we begin to see more of who he actually is underneath. He watches everything and everyone. He makes conclusions that are very close to the actual truth, while everyone else is making assumptions that aren't the whole truth. He's a very good at acting stupid, and I think that just adds to his character. ; )

Triangle Love

2009-05-12T15:52:00.005-04:00

I've really enjoyed watching the Shakespeare plays in English. I find, Twelfth Night, the one we are watching now very humerus. Us, the audience, find it so humerus because we know that Viola is playing the part of a man, while the other characters do not know that information. With Viola being both herself and Cesario a lot of conflicts arise. As you know Cesario works for Orsino. Orsino sent Cesario to talk to Olivia and declare his love for her.... but Olivia is not interested in Orsino, she is interested in Cesario. Cesario shows no interested in Olivia because Cesario is actually Viloa trying to be her twin brother Sebastian, and is in love with Orsino. To make a long story short and simpler Orsino loves Olivia, who loves Cesario, who is really Viola pretending to be her brother, Sebastian. Viola loves Orsino, but he thinks she is a guy named Cesario... and in the middle of it all is Feste (the fool) who knows it all.

I think a lot of us can relate to this in some way. I think at one point or another we've all liked someone who has liked someone else and so on. I like watching Shakespear's plays because he takes things that happen all the time, like this and make it more dramatic and puts humer in it. We all find this funny but I think Shakespear is trying to tell us something through it. To find that meaning I think we have to pretend we are one of the characters not knowing Viola's secret. Each character goes through pain trying to find love but they don't recieve it back. They are all left in a messed up love triangle. Futunately we are not yet done with the movie... maybe this could just turn out to be one big happy ending?

Rut is the Man :)

2009-05-12T14:31:00.002-04:00

This is Rut if she had to be like Viola & change to be her brother

Predictions anyone?

2009-05-11T20:15:00.003-04:00

Like I said in class before, I think that the characters will go to great lengths to hide the identity of our cross dressing heroine, from the mistress who is in love with her. Furthermore I think that she will pull a switcheroo with her brother when they reunite, and she will hook up with her "master." After that, or quite possibly before, her brother will hook up with the woman bearing a striking resemblance to Mrs. Lovett who, being aptly referanced to one named for love, fell in love with her by mistake. Over the course of this story, situations will get exponentially creepier and more awkward every minute, starting with the sponge bath, and statue groping.

Any thoughts?

****Do not Limit Predictions to the stuff I mentioned. Feel free to include any and all other characters. **

Those Beautiful Moments You Don't Expect...

2009-05-11T17:08:00.010-04:00

Like Vic has said, and as I'm sure you all know, last Wednesday myself, Vic, Rut, and Mrs. Geary all attended CFF Day at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg.

Now, what I'm going to talk about really isn't about the technology. But I will say this: if you think the macs are impressive, you haven't seen anything!

Anyhow, on to what I want to really talk about.

After a long day of "enlightening" car rides ( If you don't know, you won't know! :P ), sitting around, exploring the building and the balcony, going through security a couple of times, not having enough money for lunch, and talking to passersby, all of us were tired and ready to head for home.

The day was just about over when we had the pleasure of receiving a visitor who made quite an impression on me.

She started walking down our hall and caught my attention because she seemed to have a certain joy to her that I hadn't seen in the building all day. Plus, she had vibrant blue eyes that seemed to be full of life and love. Eyes like that would most likely catch anyone's attention. (From here on out, I will call her Blue Eyes)

And so, as Blue Eyes walked by our table, I looked up at her, said "hello" and smiled. I didn't expect her to stop. I just wanted to say hello. Sure enough, as she looked at our projects, she stopped after a few steps and came back.

Blue Eyes adressed me first. "And what have you done?" she asked. I explained to her what my photo essay was all about and she seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. She asked a few more questions, which I answered, and then crouched down to get a better view of my photo essay. I could tell she was enjoying it, and was really taking in what the pictures, the words, and the music were conveying. When it was over, Blue Eyes told me how impressed she was and how incredible she thought the project was.

"It's something I could ponder over myself... Thank you for this!"

Blue Eyes then went and talked to Vic about her project and what she had created. After she was done talking to Vic, she said thank you again to both of us, and went on her way. At least, that's what I thought.

After a few moments, Blue Eyes came back and started talking to me again. She explained to me that she worked for an organization in Philly that took old computers and refurbished them so that less fortunate families could still have quality technology to use.

Blue Eyes told me that she had been at the Capitol for a completely different reason that day, and the CFF Day just happened to be going on. She told me that it was very inspiring seeing what I had done and how it reflected who I was. Blue Eyes also told me that she could see my joy, and that she was so thankful for it.

All I could say was thank you over and over. I was incredibly humbled by what Blue Eyes was telling me.

She went to leave and must have said thank you three or four more times before she actually left. I think she may even have been getting a little bit emotional. But, with a final "Thank you so much for this!", she smiled and walked off.

I was totally moved by Blue Eyes.

I can't tell you her real name, or hardly anything about her at all.

However, I can tell you that I'm incredibly thankful for getting to share a couple minutes of my story (in my mind, my life = my story) with her, as well as getting to share in some of her story. Which, is really the point of this whole post.

You never know what a few moments with a stranger can do for you, where your next inspiration will come from, whose story you will be a part of, or who you will cross paths with in the future. All I really have to say is open your eyes and look at the people around you; no matter where you're at.

Oh, and don't be afraid to smile at the people passing by. You will inevitably gain something from it because you are smiling. However... you might just receive more than the joy of smiling.

Sorry Sarah. :p

2009-05-10T21:13:00.003-04:00

I know Sarah already posted about Sibling Relationships, but if any of you know me well enough, you know that my brother and I are really close. So, this is a something that is really important to me and I'm going to post a blog about it too.
Watching the beginning of Twelfth Night when the brother and sister got split up, all I could think about was Tyler and I. Even him going to college was rough for me at first. Tyler is one of my best friends and if I never got to see him again, I don't think I'd be able to make it.
Picture it. Lets say you're riding in the car with the person you're closest to. You wreck. The other person doesn't make it. You're never going to see them again. Just think about how hard it would be to live without that person in your life. It really scares me.

She's the Man and Twelfth Night?

2009-05-10T21:00:00.003-04:00

Funny Story. [or maybe just stupid.]
For the blog I just posted I needed to find the exact quote, so I was on this one website trying to find it. I found the scene and I was reading down through it, but I was getting so confused. The characters and places were exactly the same as the movie She's the Man. Duke Orsino of Illyria said the quote I was looking for. I recognized it from somewhere and thought about it, and that is one of the main characters of that movie. Did anyone else realize that She's the Man was based off of Twelfth Night? Because I didn't. Am I just stupid? ha.

Before we started watching Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night, I always thought that Shakespeare was totally boring and so confusing. And that I wasn't ever going to read it. But, after we started watching these plays, I realized that Shakespeare was a really funny guy, and his plays are hilarious! So, I really like our "Shakespearean Sampler." :]

♫♪♫♪

2009-05-10T20:43:00.003-04:00

"If music be the food of love, play on."

I really really like this quote. Music means alot to me, and it's pretty much what my life revolves around. So when I heard this said in the movie, it jumped out at me in a way. Every time I hear a new song, I try to pay attention to the lyrics and really listen to what the band is trying to say through the song. For every emotion that I feel, there is a song that I know that is saying the same thing.

Just a side note:
In some "mushy Lifetime Movie Network type movies" [as my Grandma would say] there is a boy who wants to win a girl's heart, so he serenades her under her window, or like in 10 Things I Hate About You, Heath Ledger runs across bleachers in front of a whole bunch of people belting this love song to a girl. There are alot of different reactions by the people watching. Some people say "awe,that's so cute" or "I want someone to do that for me." But then there are some people that are actually embarassed for the characters in the movie. I've always wondered if people really do that. Just throwing that out there. Haha.

Capitol Day

2009-05-10T20:20:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday, as probably all of you know, Weaver, Rut, Mrs. Geary and I went to Harrisburg to the Capitol Building for "Capitol Day." Me and Weaver had to present our projects that we did for The Metamorphosis to people as they stopped at our table. There were about 30 other schools there from all over Pennsylvania.
When we first walked in and we were going to where our table was, we walked by all of these schools that had these big projectors and a whole lot of stuff that was so overwhelming and intimidating. It was crazy. I thought that our school was ahead of everyone else because we had macs! Yeah, not.
At first it was hard to talk to people because, in Weaver's words, we had to "attack" them. It was kind of awkward, but it got easier as the day went on.
One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was definitely the balcony [is that the right word?] that we went out to. It was so pretty. Also, the ride there and back was...something I'll never forget. :]

Today VS Back in the Day

2009-05-08T20:42:00.002-04:00

Question One & Two) Shakespeare's situations were handled in outrageous ways and they'd obviously be handled a lot differently if they were presented the same situation nowadays.
Such as love at first sight. I have to agree with Candice's post for the most part. Being completely honest, looks have to do with relationships. To start talking to someone, something about them has to attract you. For most people, that'd be looks. For elementary crushes then of course. High school gets a little more serious but think about all the guys and girls that "scope out the general area" for good looking people? As for adults, think about random hook-ups, cheating, blind dates, internet dating sites. Wouldn't you think that most of that is based off of looks? But that's today...Back in the day like the era "Much Ado About Nothing" was taken place in was love at first sight, with background information. We all know most of their marriages were preplanned. Men wanted to marry into royalty or a higher class. To sum it up; today love at first sight isn't really love, love is deeper than that and back then love at first sight was forced marriage to carry a title and produce offspring.

Question Three) Shakespeare carried out a lot of ridiculous scenarios and drama in his plays to make them highly entertaining. But like I said before, that's how people handled things back in the good ol' days. Today it'd be less dramatic and much, much more simple. For example, Claudio assumed Hero of "destroying her purity" because of what he saw. Claudio became instantly outraged. Today, sure we'd get extremely mad but if I saw something, I would have to clarify that it actually happened. If I were Claudio I would ask Hero. But you also have to consider that Claudio didn't expect Don John to outright lie to him and plan something so manipulative.
Another potential for tragedy that I'm considering are "almost" accidents. For example, you hear something about someone you know that's pretty serious and completely believable...and instead of telling other people or asking someone else, you go directly to the person you heard the rumor about. That person then denies other people's accusations or assumptions. And you're thinking, "whew, that could've been bad." Think about it: what if you didn't go to the accused person? What if you asked someone and they didn't know so they asked someone, etc. The chain kept going and the rumor kept elaborating as it was being spread. Eventually someone just says it's true and all heck breaks loose. That's basically what happened in Much Ado About Nothing. Much Ado About Nothing was much more dramatic and presented a different scenario though. Understand the comparison?

Attraction Between the Genders

2009-05-08T19:17:00.002-04:00

So in this Shakespearean film, which I have come to believe is called “Twelfth Night”, a lady falls in love with whom she believes is a man, but is in fact, a women posing as one.

There are cases in the past where women pose as men to escape the cage of femininity... back in times where you could not partake in the simplest tasks simply because you were a women. This was done for personal gain, for choice opportunities, or to save a loved one. One tale on this subject that most of us know quite well is Mulan. She posed as her father’s son so she could save his frail, aged being from the cruel physical trauma oh so common in a war. She knew he wouldn’t survive it, and the only way to protect him was to take his place. Women couldn’t join the army, so she took the persona of a man.

It just so happens that the female in this story is taking the image of a man, her presumed dead twin brother, so she can protect herself and work for the rather depressive looking gentleman, for he doesn’t allow females to work and get close to him. AND when this female goes to woo a women for her master, that lady falls in love with her instead. What a scandal!!

Is this idea so far fetched though, as to think that someone cannot be deceived enough to fall in love with someone posing as the opposite sex? It is possible, mind you, as people fall in love in that situation all the time.

Back to Mulan... The head soldier trainer takes a liking to Mulan’s male identity, and forms a respective friendship with “him”. However, when he discovers that she is what she is, then he eventually realizes that he loves her...

So applying that logic to this situation, I have come to see that people like or dislike personalities. (duh) However, when that person likes it to such a level, it can bloom into an everlasting friendship, or a relationship romantic love attraction, depending on which sex the person is attracted.
Well if you believe that one person is the sex you are attracted to, and you fall in love with their personality, it really doesn’t matter anymore what they really are, you like them. And that’s that.

Alas, I can’t wait to see what happens when the lady finds out that the guy she was falling in love with isn’t a guy at all. Will it become a friendship... or will she tear the girl twin’s throat out?

Ahh... the dramatics of Shakespeare. :]

Sibling Relationships

2009-05-08T11:04:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry but I don't really know what the names of the brother and sister in the play are, but I'm blogging about that relationship and sibling relationships in general. Obviously, the brother and sister are very close, because they are all they ever had. They know everything about each other, how to help each other, and how to be there for each other. She was completely distraught after realizing that her brother was dead. This reminds me of me and my sister's relationship. We fight sometimes and get on each other's nerves, but I couldn't ever picture my life with out her. She's one of my best friends. How could someone go through the rest of their life after without someone that they were that close to? I don't know exactly how I would handle it and I'm guessing no one knows until they experience it for themselves. I'm hoping that I never have to experience it ever. But anyways, what kind of effect would that have on someone? How would you know where to pick back up at and move on? Could you move on? There's probably a different answer for every one. What do you think?

I was thinking... that I think a lot

2009-05-08T10:24:00.003-04:00

Watching these Shakespearean plays has made me think a lot about technology today and no technology then. I'm sitting here in English class working on my blog post because I don't have the internet at home. It's a pain because I have to use practically every study hall to research projects for all my classes...if I have time and don't have to do something else or I have to go to the public library. Sometimes it really stresses me out, and it's stress I definitely do not need. This is where I'm getting at: How can our generation not live without technology, but generations past and even centuries ago, technology wasn't even invented or existed but just wasn't that big of a deal? I sit here thinking that I couldn't live without my cell phone to communicate with my friends when I'm at home, the internet to complete research with or just use when I'm bored out of mind, my c.d. player to listen to music, and other things. There are GPS's to help us find our destination, cars that dial numbers for you and have lights that automatically go off, and so many other things. But during the Shakespearean time, they had NONE of this. What do you think they did when they were bored? They probably went outside and played. Imagine that. When our generation is bored, we watch t.v., play video games, text, and listen to our ipods. We're lazy. They were not lazy. They didn't have all this technology to use when bored or if in need. They used their brains. I'm not saying we don't use our brains today. Things are just easier for us than it was in that time.

Here's something to think about:

1) What 3 technological things could you NOT live without?

2) What would you do if a time machine existed and you went back to the Shakespearean time era knowing full well that technology existed in YOUR generation, but you didn't have these things to take with you back in time? Would you go insane? Or would it be make you really happy?

Finally...I'm answering the questions on the play... : )

2009-05-07T15:20:00.005-04:00

1) What does this play have to say about the nature of attraction between man and woman, the role of marriage in society, and the concept of gender roles?
The nature of attraction between man and woman is 'love at first sight.' The first time Claudio laid eyes on Hero, he was head over heels in love with her and just knew he had to marry her. to me, it seems like their smiles directed to each other was the first obvious attraction between them. They loved each other for their looks and married in no time at all before getting to know each other very deeply. It must be like the feeling teens have today in their dating relationships. The first couple of months, the girl and boy are "lovebirds" and believe they've found 'the one.' ( I'm not saying that all girls are like this, and I think it's usually the girl who thinks they've found 'the one.') I know I had that feeling when I dated someone, and now that we've broke up, it seems awfully pathetic that I felt that way about him. So...love at first sight is still happening today from Kindergarten all the way through adulthood. I think it's just a natural reaction because think about it: What attracts you to another person before you even know about them? It might be their smile, their eyes, their hair, how cute they are... :) ...etc...
The role of marriage in their society had to do lower class marrying upper class people, or at least someone with more class. It seems to be that the lady in a lower class marries the man in the upper class, like Hero and Claudio and Hero's cousin and Benedick. Marriages are also set up by others of the family in a very "sneaky and clever" way. Hero's cousin and Claudio had their marriage set up by people in the, uh, village. (At least I think so.) They didn't even realize it. Also, they were firm believers on being virgins until their wedding night and if they don't they are shunned. In America today, people can choose who they marry and where they marry them. We don't look at each other for the first time and think, "Oh, I am so going to marry him." We can actually take the time and find out if he/she is "the one." People also choose if or if not they want to wait for their wedding night without getting shunned. It seems like not being a virgin seems to not matter anymore in a lot of places.
The gender roles in this play are quite obvious. The woman cook, clean, and do the housework. The men do the outside-get-yourself-dirty work and go off to war. Those people were definitely not lazy. Today, woman still clean and do the housework, but they go off to war, too. Some men still don't do the housework, though. Hahaha. But we are all getting lazier and lazier because there is so much technology.

2) What does the play have to say about the nature of truth and reality?
Well, first off, people who marry not too long after they meet sometimes end up divorcing. Back then, marriages had to be accepted by people, and they couldn't really do anything about it. Today if a couple just can't seem to be happy with their marriage they divorce. We have that right, but it costs a lot of money.
Another idea is that a lot of people don't think it's a cool thing to stay a virgin until their married. Some think they're missing out if they don't or they're being pressured to be like "all the other people." Staying a virgin until marriage is based a lot on your religion. I'm a Christian and I believe in waiting until marriage. It's just one of my morals and if I broke that, I'd be devastated. I'm serious. Also, it's considered a sin if you don't wait until marriage. I'm just going to stop here because this is a very controversial issue, and I don't want a million hatred comments on my post.

Respect has come a long way in the past couple of centuries. It must be that every generation has their own idea of respect. In the play, respect was shown but just in a very different way. Respect today is very prominent, and when something or someone is not respected like they should be or if they should be, people are looked down upon or disciplined for not doing what they were supposed to do. When our generation today watches this play, we may feel appalled at the way they respected each other, but in reality everyone has different ways of doing things. For example, one family may discipline their children in completely different but legal ways while another family does something different. It doesn't mean one way is right and another wrong. It's just a way of life.

Shakespeare & Reality.. Is there that big of a difference?

2009-05-07T10:24:00.007-04:00

Reality is the "actual existence; the characteristic of being true to life or to fact". I prefer the definition of realistic: "having or showing an inclination to face facts and to deal with them sensibly". In this play, there doesn't seem to be much sense. For example, when Count Claudio saw Margaret with Borachio in Hero's room at the window, he immediately assumed it was Hero, as was the intended affect. But, instead of talking to her about it, he publicly humiliated her in front of practically everyone she knew. He made ignorant accusations of her because he was too hurt to think rationally.

This could very well happen in our "real world" outside of fictional literature. Everything in the play is embellished and exaggerated, but so are things of our world. So it makes one ask the question, "Is Shakespeare's world of fantasy all that different from our own reality?"

Much Ado About Everything

2009-05-06T17:07:00.003-04:00

The potential for tragedy is always present when love is also present. As I found in the research project we did a while back, love deactivates a large portion of the brain dedicated to logic. When logic is deactivated, we obviously become illogical. When someone is illogical, they will make decisions that are completely against their inhibitions. If you are madly in love, you will most likely do whatever it takes to give that love the best chance of being realized. With disregard for everything but love, crazy things will happen. When in love, people will hurt, damage, and forget others. The common theme in this blog seems to be junior high relationships, so I'll relate it to one. In junior high, a kid will fall in love, and often times they forget their own identity and dedicate all of their energy, effort, and time to their significant other, and in the process lose themselves. If you ask me, that is tragic. Sure, there should be sacrifice in a relationship, but not that much. When someone loses their own identity in any task, it is very bad, especially when it is for the sake of someone else.

Truth is much simpler than reality, yet they seem to go hand in hand. I think often times, our own mind will warp the reality we see to be what we want it to be. We usually know the truth, or at least have a strong hunch as to what it might be, but we will ignore it because the truth hurts, so our reality is altered. Truth determines reality, and reality determines truth.

Tragedy, Truth, and Reality

2009-05-05T22:29:00.002-04:00

All movies, books, plays, or anything similar has to have conflict, tragedy, climax, and resolution. I guess that they don't have to have any of those, but without them, they aren't very interesting at all. That's why tragedy within this comedy is essential. It helps to build the tension, and afterwards, that's where part of the humor comes from. Sometimes the funniest things to think back and laugh about, is what at one time we thought was one of the worst things that could be happening. It's easier to understand things whenever you're able to relate to them. I think people find it easiest to relate to tragedies, and that's most likely why Shakespeare wrote the comedy this way.

Truth and reality are closely related in many ways, I think. Then again, in some ways they aren't. People in the play thought they knew the truth, and for the rest of their lives what they knew would be the truth to them. In reality, it wasn't the truth at all. Don John deceived his brother Don Pedro and his friend Claudio, about Hero. After Hero's father had found out the truth, and this was not true, he decided they must have her funeral to save her reputation. Claudio ended up marrying Hero, but thought it was her cousin. He felt this was the truth, but Hero knew the real truth. Reality was Hero's truth, but could the truth that Claudio and his friends believed, be reality to them? I think it is because they know nothing else. There's several truths, depending on the perspective or viewpoint, but one true reality. That's how I think the two intertwine, and can be the same, but have many ways that they vary as well.

Truth vs Reality

2009-05-05T22:06:00.002-04:00

What makes the truth real? How can lies seem so real to us in times of doubt? 1984 played heavily on the power of propaganda and the the relativity of what's real to what people believe.
Now our young Doctor Wilson (who tends to over act quite a bit) is very easily convinced that his beloved Hero is a slut. All it took was a false accusation followed by some evidence made to support that lie. Had I been in his shoes, I suppose I would have found myself with the same conclusions.
The truth to me is a steadfast thing that does not change regardless of who believes in it. Not believing in gravity does not make us float, nor does our collective agreement keep our feet on the ground. The truth just simply is what it is. I believe that God exists and that he created us and listens to our prayers. If it happens that I am wrong about that, then my belief doesn't change the truth.
Reality is on the other hand what we say it is to some extent. What the human mind believes is real is your reality. To a blind person, objects are defined by the way they feel or sound or smell and that is real to them.

:(

2009-05-05T21:48:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry but I don't understand what we are suppose to be posting about. Can someone help me please?

PRETTY PLEASEEEEEE! :( :(:(

Tragedy in Comedy- conclusion to much ado

2009-05-05T21:26:00.002-04:00

Billy Shake did indeed leave potential for tragedy and misfortune in his play although it was a comedy. To me it seems pretty obvious why that's a neccessary element in a comedy. In any story, there must be a conflict, which builds to a climax and then resolves. Therefore, even if the general theme of the story is humerous dialog and funny characters, every story requires some sort of problem. In this particular story it just so happened that the conflict was a terrible misunderstanding perpetuated deliberately by Don John the Bastard.

The story is all about love relationships, so the sabotage of a would-be-bride's reputation is an appropriate problem. In this time period, that sort of slander is alot more serious than now a days. Reputation was all people had.

Also I think it is double plus funny that such serious events transpire as a result of such trivial little things. The fact that everything is so blown up out of proportion and everyone gets so worked up stands as it's own sort of joke.

MAAN

2009-05-05T20:58:00.004-04:00

In Shakespeare's Much Adu About Nothing, (or MAAN), truth is a flexible term and is used and manipulated throughout the play in order to deceive someone. Don John wants to disrupt the peace somehow so he purposely tricks Claudio into believing Hero slept with another man. This causes a huge amount of problems for everyone. He used what Claudio saw as the "truth" to turn him against Hero which caused Beatrice to hate him as well. The one little lie that Don John started created an avalanche of distrust and contempt. Another example is when the Prince and Claudio, as well as others, plan to trick Benedick and Beatrice into thinking the other loves them. This sparks the relationship betweent the two, and eventually leads to their marriage. This goes to show how Shakespeare makes a lie actually contribute to a good outcome.

MAAN is supposed to be a comedy, but then why would they have the abrupt tragedies that occur throughout it you might ask. Well i think that tragedies are acutally essential to a great comedy. They create the contrast between the humor and serious plot of a story. Without any setbacks or failures, there would be nothing to drive the story into humorous situations. It almost keeps the story going so that there can be humor.
Another reason to incorporate tragedy into a comedy is because having funny parts of a story make the tragedies seem more exaggerated than just them alone. Humorous parts of a story put you in a good mood and when a serious event occurs that hurts the protaganists progress, it is a shock to go from the giddy mood of the humor to the suspenseful attitude during a tragedy.

Gasp! Jealousy

2009-05-05T20:00:00.004-04:00

One not so funny aspect in MAAN was jealousy. Don John was very envious of his step or half or not fully brother Don Pedro. He masterminded horrible plans just to stir the pot a bit. I thought at first he was in love with Hero and was trying to break up the marriage which is understandable. Don John just wanted to wreak havoc and destroy their lives. What's really tragic is his hatred toward his brother and everything good and happy. Their relationship is tragic. Tragic, tragic, tragic. Don Pedro helped his brother and trusted him but Don John's hatred, driven by jealousy, was boiling up. Don Pedro must've felt sick to his stomach to learn his brother was back to his nasty, decietful ways. Shakespeare adds this tragedy to keep the story going, to give it a direction. Who wants to watch two people fall in love, get married and live happily ever after without a single conflict? It would be like watching regular people's lives with no punchlines or ironic twists. Shakespeare adds this drama to keep the audience guessing what will happen next.

I'm connecting the 2 questions... forgive me!

Envy is one of the 7 deadly sins and it's everywhere. I have been jealous, I am jealous, and I will most likely be jealous again some point in my life. I doubt I could be so envious as to ruin the lives of everyone around me but you never know. In MAAN you can really see how deranged one can get from obsessive jealousy. Maybe Shakespeare over did it with Don John's actions because they weren't really directed at Don Pedro. It's possible Don John's envious nature sent him into a blind rage of animosity toward everyone who was joyful. Jealousy can strike anyone and usually there's some reason behind evil plans that can trace back to envy. There have been diabolical plots, driven by jealousy, in real life. It's true and it's reality...dun dun dun.

By the way, copyright Pickle on "MAAN"

Women in the Elizabethan Era

2009-05-05T15:49:00.002-04:00

In this play, there was little to no courtship between a young girl and her suitor. For instance, Count Claudio saw young Hero and fell in love with her on sight. He immediately wanted to be married to her, and takes little time in making that come about. He didn't take any time to get to know the person with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life; there was no courtship.
During Shakespeare's time, it was expected of a young girl to spend her time preparing herself to be a wife and mother when the time came. Her goal was to make a match suitable for both families involved. It was good for the marriage to ensure her future, and to elevate her family name's social status. It was of no consequence if her husband loved her or not; any attraction beween the couple was an added bonus.
She was to support her husband and have several children. If her husband had titles or an elevated social status, then she was expected to provide a son who would inherit everything, and continue the family name. These woman were responsible for providing an education for the children, along with running the household. Since childhood, women were taught that men were superior to them and more knowledgable. Women were to obey male family members and their husbands without question. There were laws that actually said that women belonged to their husbands.

I'm sooo thankful that the passing of time has allowed women more freedoms. :]

Information, courtesy of http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/index.htm

WHATS LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?????

2009-05-05T11:39:00.003-04:00

While watching Much ado about nothing we can see how the relationships are kind of middle school if you think about it. Like for example Beatrice and Benedick---it took their friends talking about them to get them together. Really, really though when I first started watching the movie, I knew they were in love just by the way they where insulting each other. I think Beatrice and Benedick had feelings for each
other or they might have even loved each other from the first time they laid eyes on each other. So why is it so hard for them to tell one another that love them For example Benedict’s and Beatrice love is sooooooooo middle maybe even elementary school. Now I’m all for love but can someone please please please tell me how can a person have love at first sight?? To me it’s not possible like with Hero and Claudio how can you just look at someone and say “I love you to him/her.” That’s like me looking at Bruno and saying, “I love you”. Like that would be werid because I just meet him. I do not see how people can fall in love at first sight people might like person at first sight but not love though. To me I think Hero’s and Claudio love isn’t love it’s like a attraction thing I guess but not love that’s just me. (For those who don not know who Bruno is he is this hot Brazilian waiter! :p)

What is love?

2009-05-04T21:18:00.004-04:00

1. Much Ado About Nothing is very comedic when it deals with relationships between people. First off with Benedick and Beatrice. Shakespeare convinces us (or at least tries) that Benedick and Beatrice absolutely hate on another. If I remember correctly, each say to one another that they would rather die than to marry or love the other. This seems a little strange if you ask me, but it is also for some comic relief. It is also a little bit strange how a couple can get married so fast and how the process works. These "soldiers" get back from fighting and are heroes. They get to pick a woman at their choice and marry them. All they have to do is find one they think is beautiful, and pick them. They spend absolutely no time beforehand getting to actually know the person. At our time now, this is completely absurd!! Maybe this is how it really worked back in the good ol' days, or maybe Shakespeare just made part of it up for some comic relief; whatever the case it is still a little bit strange. The role of marriage signifies power and social class ranking. If you were not married, you were usually in the lower classes, but however if you were married, it was usually to the daughter of a rich man. You now had access to all that he owned. As for the concept of gender roles this is when Hero is accused of cheating. Beatrice, since she is a woman, can't challenge a guy for what he has done or do anything to him. She wants to get revenge on Claudio, so she has to ask Benedick for help. This shows that the women, although important, did not have anywhere near as much power as the men did.

2. When you read this play, you can't always believe what you hear. The best example is whenever Hero is accused of cheating. Her father freaks out on her and wants her to be punished. Hero is said to have felt so bad and have been so heartbroken that it actually caused her death. The town held a funeral for her and everything. They were trying to get rid of the old Hero and what she did; or didn't do. Supposably the brother had a twin daughter that looked just like Hero. I find this quite strange, don't you? Shakespeare really has a lot of humor that he presents in many different ways. It just isn't straight forward like some stories are. It makes you keep second guessing yourself and what he really means by it, and it is quite funny! Also, at the very end of the play when Hero finally gets married. Benedick and Beatrice openly declare that they hate on another and will never love each other. However, their friends seem to think otherwise. Each wrote a poem for one another, but the other doesn't know. When their friends give them up and they read each others poems, they actually understand how much they love each other. Because of this, they get married and seem relatively happy together. Such a lovely ending, isn't it?

Stupid is as Stupid does ma'am.

2009-05-04T21:13:00.002-04:00

There's much to be said about overlooking the value of other people whom we consider unintelligent. The more smart people are, the less patient they tend to be with people who learn slower or differently.

Though the simpletons in the story who arrested Don John's henchmen didn't seem to have much sense about them, they unearthed a plot that everyone else had overlooked. Sometimes it takes a different kind of person with a different perspective to see what others cannot. It takes all kinds in this world of ours.

Further more, beyond the concept of discovering such unexpected things, often people with mental disabilities show more courage, love and compassion than we do. Isn't it our responsibility as mature people to be rolemodels to younger people and live with love and patience? A valuable lesson in life is humility, which can be found with plenty of people that you might right off as stupid. Just something to think about

Nature of Truth and Reality

2009-05-04T19:43:00.002-04:00

In this play, there isn't really any way of knowing whats true and real. They believe what they are told by people that are higher than them, and don't have any reason to think any differently. A group of people can usually trust their leader to tell them the truth, or atleast they think they can. When everyone is told Hero is dead no one thinks otherwise, even though in reality, she's alive. She's dead and thats that. They don't really have anything to back it up with, they just take it for what it is. Now, it's hard to just tell someone something and have them believe it. You have to have evidence and everything else before they believe it. Often times, people have to see it for themselves before they'll even listen to what you have to say.

Besides the physical aspect of it, how do you know what real true love is? Do the couples in the play actually get to experience it and if so will they ever realize they are? How is any one ever able to decipher whats real love and whats just lust? I think there's always a point when you realize it, but what is that one thing that sets it apart from everything else? I would have to say that you don't really know until you get there.

Those are my ideas :)

Gender Roles, Marriage, Attraction

2009-05-04T12:30:00.005-04:00

This is my opinion on these topics :)

Gender Roles- Women were not thought of as working people in society to bring home an income to support the family. Their job was to stay home, clean, cook, have kids, and take care of the family. In my opinion, they were what kept families together. Men had the job of going out everyday to a job to bring home money. Other than that, I don't think that the men had much to do. Eat, sleep, and go to work pretty much sums it up for them.

The Role of Marriage-People didn't get married because they necessarily loved eachother. They might have come to love eachother with time, but they didn't get married because of that fact. People had arranged marriages to stay a step higher than other families, so they had a higher social status in their area. The 2 most powerful families would have their children marry to maintain that power, or else they would marry who they wanted and the whole system would fall. Their job then once they were married was to have children and it would all repeat. It's a lot different now, and I'm thankful for that. I want to marry someone I'm completely in love with, not who my parents think I should marry.

Attraction Between Men and Women-I think attraction for men and women are more present and meaningful now compared back during the time period of the play we watched. I don't think it would even be possible to show attraction to someone you were married to if it was an arranged marriage. You wouldn't love eachother and wouldn't feel the need to show them any affection at all. Also, at that time, it seems to me that there was a wall set up between the men and women. They wouldn't communicate the way we do now with eachother. Another thing is sex. In 1984, sex was often thought of as a job that needed to be done. There wasn't any passion or love expressed at all, and Winston's wife and him actually dreaded it. Thats what this kind of reminds me of. Sex was to produce offspring in most cases, and thats it. I'm not saying that all the relationships were like that, because some of the relationships in this play are the exact opposite. There's definitely some attraction because at the beginning of the play when the Prince and everyone came all the women went crazy trying to get ready for them. For this time period though, thats what I think of. I'm not really sure if I'm making any sense because I'm thinking one thing and then changing my mind. So overall, I think that there is attraction between men and women-there always has been- but its not as much as there is today with us.

Okay I think I'm done now :)

I love you, I love you not?

2009-05-04T07:51:00.004-04:00

First of all I would like to say I was in the same situation as Sara.

I enjoyed watching the play Much Ado About Nothing. I thought it was funny how the relationships in the happened so rapidly, it seemed all it toke to have a realtionship with another person was to say how beatiful and the next day you would be getting married.

The relationship I found most humerous was the one of Beatrice and Benedick. In the begining of the play they didn't want to have anything to do with the other one. Later as the play progresses they start to fall in, "love" when Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio talk in the garden when they know Benedict is in the garden. They say how much Beatrice is in love with Benedick but refuses to confess to it. Benedick, who at the begining hates Beatrice, is taken aback and starts thinking about being with Beatrice. Eventually the same thing happenes to Beatrice.

Both Beatrice and Benedick think they are in love with each other.... but why? How can you hate a person so much but then turn around and think you love them? Just because they think they know the feelings of each other, that opened them up. Neither of them have confessed to the other one why or how they fell in love with the other one. If they did would they find out that their relationship was based on a lie and let it continue? I think that both Beatrice and Benedick just want to be with someone. It seems that everyone in the play is in a relationship or involed with someone else. I think they both find in convenient at the moment, but as time goes on maybe they will find things out or see things differently. I guess we'll just have to keep on watching to find out :)!

Oh, How I Love You!

2009-05-02T11:17:00.003-04:00

First of all, let me apologize for not getting this up sooner. I was going to post in the the a.m. before having to leave for the Spanish trip, but my computer was frozen for whatever reason. Then, when I got home, blogger wouldn't let me post. Technology is wonderful isn't it?

Anyway, enough of that. Let's get on with Much Ado About Nothing.

I really enjoyed this movie, and I think that the makers did a great job of staying true to the original.

I can definitely see why Shakespeare wrote plays. His work comes to life in plays. And, they're very good!

For my post I would like to touch on some of the patterns I have recognized in the relationships that Shakespeare creates. More specifically, I'd like to relate the relationship of Benedict and Beatrice to that of Romeo and Juliet. These two relationships show some definite similarities.

First of all, when Romeo first sees Juliet, he is instantly in love.

Now, before I compare the two relationships, I would like to touch on this point. The "instantly in love" statement. Personally, I don't think that you can see someone and instantly be in love with them, and if you can, the chance of that happening is basically nonexistent. Can we have moments of connection with people through a glance or look alone? Well, sure we can! But real, pure, strong love? I don't think so.

So, let's get back to the comparison.

When we first see Benedick and Beatrice together, there is obviously tension there. They have a comedic relationship because they're always bickering at each other and say how they would never ever even dream of being with the other; that they would rather die. And what happens? Well, naturally, they end up together.

What really gets me is how they end up together, though. They learn about each others "affection" through, what they believe to be, eavesdropping. In reality, it was a set-up. And yet, they are so stirred that they each have instantaneous love for the other. It makes me laugh because it sounds like the beginnings of some jr. high relationship.

The comparison I that I see between Romeo and Juliet's relationship and Benedick and Beatrice's relationship is the love that forms so quickly.

Can that really happen? Or are these two relationships based on infatuation? Or, could it even be that they were simply in the heat of the moment and unexpected emotions arise?

Since it is Shakespeare who wrote these plays, I believe that, in these cases, both relationships are based on true love.

However, in today's world, I would say that if I heard about a relationship like either of these, I'd call it infatuation.

These relationships are great fantasies and create great drama, but that's it. In the real world, they just don't happen... Right?

Sorry Sorry Sorry

2009-05-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

Okay I'm adding on to my post. I think that human nature revolves around our relationships. We feel that we have to have the comfort of people caring about us, taking care of us, and simply interacting with us. Atleast I do. We long for relationships that bring us joy and happiness. Otherwise, what would be the point in being here? So does that mean all we do is think about different ways to make ourselves happy? I'm just rambling on here/ thinking out loud. Well not really out loud but you get it. Alright I'm done now. K bye :)

So listen...

2009-05-01T15:24:00.002-04:00

Everyone has been posting about relationships, but I want to narrow down and focus on one in particular; Benedick and Beatrice. I find their relationship hilarious. How can you despise someone one day and then be completely in love with them the next? The way they tease and make fun of eachother is really interesting to me, because now a days, what they say to hurt eachother doesn't really seem to be that bad. How they changed their feelings so quickly reminds me of 2 Jr. High girls who are fighting. They hate eachother one day and then the next they are best friends and planning to hang out that weekend. Which gets me to thinking, how much have relationships changed since then? Have they changed at all? What do you think?

It's All About Me...

2009-04-30T21:27:00.002-04:00

I have had alot of fun watching this shakespearean play here and there where i get the chance. I think it's cool to have to pay close attention to understand what they mean. One of the underlying themes that jumped out to me, is how irrational people are in cases where they are in "love."

According to my understanding of love, it's supposed to be patient, helpful, caring, sympathetic, forgiving, and generous. It's easy when everything goes the way you want it to, to do all of those things but when things appear to go south we jump very quickly to jealousy, lies, and treachery. How is it that one can say first that they love you and the next day denounce you or hit you on your wedding day?

The simple truth is that when people are focussed on themselves, and it's hard not to be because we don't live in third person, we are impatient and insensitive to what happens in other people's lives. You jump to conclusions and say that your fiance is both a liar and an adulturer without thinking of giving her the bennefit of the doubt because you are already looking for some sort of vengeance. Don John resents everyone and wants everyone else to feel as worthless as he does rather than striving to accomplish positive goals and earn higher standing through loyalty. Benedict swears to his love that he shall challenge his friend Claudio in a fight to the death because he wants her appreciation and her affection. There was only one character in the play who sincerely seemed to be looking out for others rather than himself and that was the prince.

If one or two of the characters had been looking out honestly for those they loved instead of making themselves priority number one, this would have been a happier story and a slightly more boring one.

How fitting XP

2009-04-30T20:06:00.005-04:00

So the title of this play we are watching is, Much Ado About Nothing. I find it rather funny that most of the boy-girl relationships in the story are based on nothing as well.

Maybe that was the point of naming it so... but let me explain, using the examples of Hero and Claudio, and Beatrice and Benedick.

Hero and Claudio fall in love... based on nothing. They barely know each other, and yet still manage to "fall in love". Sorry, but no one falls in love that fast. I can fathom like or knowing that you can fall in love when you see someone, but actually feeling that unyeilding protection for someone that instantly is far fetched. Maybe thats why it's so entertaining to watch. Their entire relationship is based on nothing, and that's why Claudio loses faith in her so fast, and yet could regain it just as fast.

Beatrice and Benedick are two opposites who were well suited to hate each other. However, as passionate as their hate and nitpicking towards eachother were, misguiding friends looking to play love gods made them easily change that passion's direction towards undying love. It's rather hilarious to see them contort themselves over things that aren't true. Once again, all their desires are based on absolutely nothing.

The people in this play get all worked up over nothing at all. They all jump up and dance at any sign of drama or the unexpected. [ and for those who don't know it, ado means excited activity or bother] So, however you look at it, they are all much ado about nothing. X]

Relationships and Respect

2009-04-30T14:55:00.003-04:00

I'm going to try to talk about the movie we're watching in English, but I fell asleep the first day we watched it because I got no sleep the night before, and now I missed watching more of the movie today, as others did, also.
The main theme in this movie as I've noticed so far, seems to be all about....[drum roll, please :)]...LOVE! I bet no one guessed that...hahaha I'm kidding. It also reminds me of a soap opera, and I don't even watch soap operas. Actually, I despise them, but I don't think this movie is too bad. It's actually interesting, and it caught my attention, except for the day I fell asleep. Okay, I'm getting off topic again....so anyways, Hero and Claudio obviously really love each other. But I'm still confused about the one part when this one guy and girl were being "scandolous" as Shelby said. Claudio thought it was Hero and he placed that accusation on her IN public DURING their wedding! Aren't weddings supposed to be what all..most girls dream about? Being perfect. Because of the public humiliation, Hero apparently "died" even though she really didn't. So it wasn't Hero being 'scandolous' with another man, right? It looked like it from behind, but I thought I heard on the movie that it was Margaret? Is that her name? Can somebody answer that for me please? Oh, and I don't understand why two people wanting some 'privacy' would leave the shutters open. That makes absolutely no sense, and I hope writing these things aren't considered inappropriate. I'm just writing what I've been thinking.

I think relationships are based on respect. Any kind of relationship a person is involved in demands and deserves respect. Without the respect, a person can get pushed around and possibly even used for all the wrong reasons. For example, I believe that, if in a dating relationship, both the girl and the guy should set boundaries for themselves. That's showing respect. With your parents you show respect by obeying them and doing what is asked of you. You respect your friends, your neighbors, other family members, strangers, and even pets. With any kind of relationship, you can show respect by not doing something to them such as harassing or name calling.
Relationships are meant to be healthy, but they take time, energy, and care. People should respect each other for who they are. Not only should you respect and listen to others, but you should respect yourself, also. You can't respect others without respecting yourself first.
Go to this website to read more about respect and healthy relationships. http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/healthy_relat.html

In the movie, relationships are based more on, "Oh, lets get married so we can move up the social ladder," not respect. Showing respect is not leaving the shutters open while two people are wanting to be alone and have others minding their own business look up and see a gruesome image, either. Those two weren't showing respect for themselves or the people. Obviously, Claudio didn't really respect Hero when he blew up during their wedding. I think he would've showed more respect for Hero if he would've had a discussion with her quietly. He also hit her. That is definitely not respect. I think Claudio has some anger problems. Did respect even exist during the Shakespearean era?

Swine Flu!

2009-04-29T22:29:00.002-04:00

I'm sure everyones heard of it now. It claimed the lives of many people so far and I've only known about it for a week. So this is a short post but what do you guys think about it? Is it a plague or will it go away after a bit? We've learned about mutations in bio so it could become real dangerous-kk. I really don't believe it'll get too far out of hand but I heard they shut down Mexico City. I'm not too sure.

Drama, Drama, Drama

2009-04-29T22:07:00.002-04:00

There are so many relationships between the characters of Much Ado About Nothing, and since there are so many twists and plots conceived by them it sort of reminds me of meaningless junior high and grade school drama. Someone rotten with negative intentions (Don John) says something or does something that is misconstrued and usually gets blown out of proportion. When that happens, people's feelings get hurt (Leonato, Count Claudio, Hero, Beatrice, etc.). Hero, for instance, was thought to lose her virginity on the eve of her wedding to Count Claudio. He saw someone that looked like her doing the deed at the window of her room. This in turn made Claudio angry and hurt to think that his pure beloved would actually do something like that to him. At the ceremony the next day, he refused to marry her, and called her all sorts of names in front of everyone. Hero's father, Leonato, then proceeded to try and kill her because something like that could ruin him and their family. But because of the Beatrice's adamant faith in Hero's innocence and the Friar's quick thinking, a plan was made to try and rectify the situation.

As I said before, this reminds me of grade school drama: little kids running around the playground at recess, making all sorts of clubs with their friends. All of a sudden Sally doesn't like Jane anymore, so Jane isn't allowed to be in Sally's club. But since Suzy was really good friends with Jane, Suzy and Jane make their own club. And so on, and so forth. When I was in grade school, I could never keep up with who was friends with whom, and who wasn't talking to who. I guess that's why I never did the whole club-deal. Did you? ;]

Much Ado About Nothing

2009-04-29T19:10:00.002-04:00

There are so many relationships in this play, and different types of relationships. There is the good friendships of Claudio, Don Pedro, and Benedick. The half brothers, Don John and Don Pedro, who have jealousy issues going on. The love of Claudio and Hero, which seemed in their eyes perfect, until the deceivement that Don John brought. Also, there's the relationship that's building between Beatrice and Benedick, Hero and her father Leonato's relationship, and even more than that. I find it interesting to see so many different kinds of relationships in this play, because that's just how our lives are. Each relationship we have with others is different, whether it's in a greater way than the next, all just depends. At the same time, all these relationships are important to everyone and how they fit into their lives. While watching Much Ado About Nothing, I laugh at certain situations, but then realized, relationships today aren't much different. It showed to me that relationships are something don't change very often, and stay consistent, and is that part of our human nature? Relationships are huge parts of our lives, and always have been. They can make us angry, happy, confused, and simply relieved to know that they're there even. We do many of the things we do based on some sort of relationship we have in our life, so I guess relationships are very much linked with human nature in a sense.

Hmmm

2009-04-29T19:01:00.002-04:00

Well in watching Much Ado About Nothing so far, I have come to think the play could not be much more accurate in depicting the nature of human relationships. Everyone has a problem with someone else, and those problems merely create more. Don Jon has jealousy issues with his step brother, so he does the whole thing with making it look like Hero was no longer a virgin, which in turn caused a slew of problems for everyone else. It is interesting to me how quickly things get incredibly complex when it comes to human relationships.

I also think it is interesting how effective lies can be when it comes to relationships, as bad as that may sound. Benedick and Beatrice "fall in love" because of fabricated stories. This sort of thing actually isn't that uncommon; I think the point is perfectly illustrated in the film Lord of War. The main character woos the woman of his dreams by telling a complete and total lie, and the marriage actually works relatively well until the climax of the plot. So my question is, if there is a gigantic lie at the heart of a relationship, does that make it invalid?

Shakespeare!!!!

2009-04-28T10:56:00.004-04:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . Insert brief musical interlude---and---focus. OK--that's done. Did I mention I LOVE Shakespeare?

I am posting today to remind you that you MUST post once per week and comment on at least five other posts. Also, I am reminding you to be mindful of our goal: Function at the upper end of the new Bloom's Taxonomy. This means you.

Have a wonderful rest of the day and remember----

"Frame your mind to mirth and merriment, / Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life!"

---W. Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Induction, Scene 2

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/taming_shrew/taming_shrew.0.2.html

Image: http://westandclear.com/2009/03/25/the-bard-is-back-in-town/

For Katie . . .

2009-04-24T09:51:00.002-04:00

Video courtesy of YouTube.

George Orwell is Winston?

2009-04-23T19:27:00.002-04:00

George Orwell, also known as Eric Arthur Blair was obviously an incredibly brilliant man. You have to wonder what was running through his head while writing 1984. History tells us that he was suffering with Tuberculosis while writing the novel.
Was that how he came up with Winston's severe torture and the general idea of Room 101? Maybe he was thinking, 'this could be way worse.' Or maybe he was making a connection.
Orwell was a disbeliever in totalitarianism. The Party was completely totalitarian and communist, basically. Winston was 'secretly' against the Party and everything they stood for. Hmm...What's that saying?
If Orwell was put in 1984's scenario, he would be Winston. That's how it seems to me, maybe that's obvious enough. What do you think? Are there any other similarities between the two that we know of?
Orwell's picture could even portray Winston.

Coma.

2009-04-23T19:11:00.002-04:00

So a couple of weeks ago I was watching this show on a guy named Terry Wallis. He got in a car accident in July of 1984, and was in a serious coma. People were completely shocked when he woke up in July of 2003. He had no idea who our president was or what was going on in the world. He thought his 19 year old daughter was his wife. He talked constantly and wanted to walk again. The documentary was pretty cool and highly entertaining to watch.
Any relevance toward 1984? Well, it's ironic that he went into a coma in 1984. I also thought it would be interesting to think something along the lines of, "what if..." Could you even imagine what it would be like to be basically sleeping for nineteen years? Would it be possible for someone to go into a coma in 1949 (when Orwell wrote the book) and wake up in 1984? (Probably not.) But if so, would they wake up and think Big Brother took over part of the world and was brain washing people? Who knows...What do you think?
Let's just discuss and make this interesting.

2+2=5

2009-04-23T15:54:00.002-04:00

This phrase was originally a communist slogan. It was started when a 5 year plan to better production was getting ready to go into effect. Soon some of the people in charge realized that if everyone came together and worked hard that the plan could be done in 4 years instead of 5.

Orwell Quotes:
"Nazi theory indeed specifically denies that such a thing as "the truth" exists. […] The implied objective of this line of thought is a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but the past. If the Leader says of such and such an event, "It never happened"—well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five—well, two and two are five. This prospect frightens me much more than bombs […] "

"In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable—what then?"

I had no idea that the phrase 2+2=5 was from Orwell's time. When I first read it in the book I just thought it was another crazy thing that Big Brother made the citizens of Oceania learn... I was wrong. By changing a small fact it completely toke the freedom of the people. They people had to have been confused, but they didn't question it. To some people I'm sure they thought the fact was true. How could they disprove it? By saying 2+2=5 they government was hiding the truth. Why did they feel like they had to hide that from the people? I think that having everyone say a simple fact wrong gave the party a feeling of victory of being in complete control. It's kind of like having a younger kid asking an older brother/sister a question and then having them give the wrong answer to a simple question. Did they find it humerous like some people do today? After reading Orwell's quotes I've quesioned a lot of things. How do we know 2+2 really is 4? Is it true because we believe it, and if so then does 2+2 really equal 5 for the citizens of Oceania if they believe it is true? What are you thoughts on this?

Memories...can they really be taken away from you?

2009-04-23T15:08:00.004-04:00

Out of all the things a person can have taken away from them- their home, family, friends, pets, church, opinions, and even other material possessions- a person's memory can never be taken away from them. Their life might be in broken in complete pieces, they might feel like there is no hope left for them, they might have lost a loved one, their best friend might have just decided one day not to be friends anymore, they might be punished very unfairly for something they did not do, they might feel like no one understand or cares for them, or their family might be broken, but no matter what, that person's memory will always be with them. Holding those memories close to your heart can help in many ways. I know this from personal experience, as I'm sure others do to. If I'm feeling...a certain way...thinking about good things that have happened in the past are sure to put a smile on my face. Bad memories are a different story. How many of you, if the memory is horrible enough, have forced that memory way deep into your mind so you won't have to think about it? Some of my family members have told me before that if a memory is that bad, they won't remember it ever again, but I don't think that's true. Actually, I know it's not true because I still remember all those horrible memories even though I'd rather not. I think it's just that nobody thinks about it because they don't want to, and they try to push it away as if it never happened. I do this all the time. There are certain events in my life that I try to act like never happened, but as soon as something reminds of it, then I remember, and it stinks. Lets just hope people have more good memories than bad.
Winston did not forget about Julia while he was in the Ministry of Love. He still remembered her touch and how he felt about her. He did forget some things, but who wouldn't after being tortured for many days and hours? I found this poem, and I connected it with Julia and Winston.

"...The mem'ry of all that,
No, no! They can't take that away from me.

The way your smile just beams,
The way you sing off key,
The way you haunt my dreams,
No, no! They can't take that away from me!

We may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love,
Still I'll always, always keep
The mem'ry of...

The way you hold your knife,
They way we danced 'til three,
The way you've changed my life,
No, no! They can't take that away from me!"
(from the book Love and Hate, by David Mann)

People can be "brainwashed" to the point where they don't know what's true anymore. Winston went through that. O'Brien kept on telling him, "2+2=5." He told him he was holding up five fingers even if he only saw four, and that Winston was wrong. He told him that God did not create the world and that the Earth is as old as the people living on it. Winston was tortured so much that he just believed it, and in the end, he did'nt know what was right from wrong and true from false. Then he started drinking. This happens in real life today. Children are told they're worthless, fat, stupid, and many other inappropriate things. They eventually believe it. Some are physically and sexually abused, and they begin to believe that things are their fault and that they deserve it. Even some adults may go through the same thing in a relationship or at work.

In the book, Winston and others are manipulated with their memories. There's no end to it. They are trying to tell people there is only one right way-and that is the way of the Party. Nobody can have opinions, beliefs, or really even a mind. It's like they're being controlled like robots. 'You will go to bed at this time and wake up at this time. You will work here. You will eat then...etc...' The most important thing for the Party to get rid of is the memories of people, and that is horrible because a person's memory can go along with their personality, some of it at least.

Is there a God?

2009-04-22T12:07:00.005-04:00

I've been thinking about this a lot lately while reading 1984. Do the people in the book, like Winston, believe that there is a God? Do they believe that there just might be a Heaven and Hell? Do they believe in any kind of religion? Or do people only believe in one religion, and they just don't know anything else? I really don't know. It's very controversial.
I did some research and I came up with "God is Power." It said God is "merely the totalitarian projection of the economics of exchange and survival. "He" is nothing more than the false illusion of life." I do not agree with that. Here, I'm going to go on with the rest of this, and I'll try to explain more.
People say God is dead and powerless. The death of God created the chaos out of which both the person and the need for Big Brother came. Okay, I can't type any more of this, so go to http://www.notbored.org/goldstein.html to read more about it, and tell me what you think. Look under God is Power. It's making me extremely angry, and I think it's just because I'm having a crappy day.
So here's my opinion on the matter. [I sound really intellectual. I normally don't write like this. :)]
I believe that in 1984, there is a God. It's just that nobody knows because they're so brainwashed by the Party. They are being made to follow the governments rules completely or be tortured and die for not. Think about it- if somebody tells you something over and over again, for example, "Your face is ugly," you're bound to believe it eventually, unless you have a very high tolerance to that type of harrassment. But admit it, we're all sensitive in one shape or form of another, just some are more and some are less. My point is that the people living in that society, for who knows how long, have been told over and over to follow the rules of the government, don't think or do anything you're not supposed to do...etc...or you will disappear in the middle of the night without warning. Wouldn't you be scared to NOT follow the rules if you knew you'd disappear? I'm thinking that some might believe there is a God, but they try to push that thought into the back of their mind so the thought police don't charge them for a thought crime.
The book does talk a lot about God, but to me, and again this is just my OPINION, but God seems to be put down more than He's supposed to. It's like God is there, but He's not important. For example, O'Brien asked Winston in part three if he believed in God. Winston said no. It was almost like O'Brien was daring Winston to say yes so he could torture him some more. Then again I was trying to read in between the lines so that's probably wrong, and no one seems to really care about my opinions anyways. I really don't know why I'm writing this extremely long blog.

True Torture

2009-04-22T08:12:00.001-04:00

: )

This is for you, Shelby

2009-04-20T11:32:00.005-04:00

"I might one day go as high as five . . ."

Video courtesy of youtube.com

Torture Machines

2009-04-19T22:58:00.002-04:00

The idea of machines of ultimate torture is not an uncommon one. People in our society have designed some... ones that slice you open, one stroke at a time. Ones that pull your limbs off one by one. They are all pretty gruesome and disturbing... and very real.

The machine O'Brien uses in 1984 is torture in two ways. The machine itself distributes pain to the body, with amounts designated from a dial. However the pain is only distributed when you don't conform to an idea that most people couldn't possibly believe. Also, the other form of torture handed out at the ministry of love is personalized. Each person has his or her own personal fear, and in room 101, it is brought to attention. It seems as if Big Brother had put some thought into how to effectively torture people.

In another book, The Princess Bride, one of the charactors also takes a personal interest in finding the ultimate key to torture. He designs what he thinks is the ultimate machine of torture and desides to test it on one of the main charactors. This machine aslo doesn't allow movement, and is opperated by a intensity dial, rated from zero to a hundred. When is first used on him, he doesn't even realize the pain too much, he just pictures his dear Buttercup and the pain is casted aside. The torture obbessed guy is baffled, then gets angry, turning the machine up too 100% pain. The guy can't take it and only then does he become in agony, and actually dies.

Big Brother didn't give the victims a way to distract or releive themselves from the pain. They have no personal relationships or love to refer to before hand, and if they did it is throughly destroyed in the early questioning. He destroyes their hope during the torture, only letting them feel fear and confusion with a resulting blow of physical pain. Those victim never even had a chance... for even if they can take the phsyical pain , the personalized mental greatest fear will surely get them...

Families Now

2009-04-19T22:40:00.002-04:00

Although this doesn't neccessarily relate to the systematic destruction of bonds in 1984, I still think it's worth discussing. There have been loads of cases where Mom's or Dad's have had a disagreement with a spoiled child and in response, the child has claimed that their parent is abusive or has sexually violated them. To me, it's so incredibly crazy that anyone could do something like that to a stranger or a hated enemy, least of all a parent. Whether that parent is biological, or adoptive... Is that so much different from the way the party trains kids to turn in parents?

If there are so many people out there who care only for themselves, how much easier does that make it to control people? If you're only looking out for number one, you can easily be bribed or extorted.