Writing Reflection

Ideas and Content

I think that my writing in both essays usually includes appropriate ideas and content. On the Alchemist, I was a little off topic because I did not really understand the whole destiny theme as well as I should have. It was quite complicated and involved a lot of deep thinking. But I improved on this with the Julius Caesar essay, because I spent a lot of time thinking about the theme and it was very clear to me. On the Julius Caesar essay, I kept referring to the prompt and chose quotes that related to what I was writing and this also helped me stay on topic. I think I could be better at enhancing my ideas and content by sticking to the prompt and trying to not go into detail that is not important.

Organization

On the Alchemist essay, it was different to Julius Caesar because it didn't have a time limit and we did it outside of class. This gave me a chance to really think about organization and recheck my work many times to see if there was any way I could improve it. But the Julius Caesar essay was different. It was entirely in class, and unfortunately I ran out of time. So I had to rush the fourth paragraph and go onto the conclusion and since I had to rush it I missed out on lots of detail. Next time, I could plan my essay writing time better to make sure I don't have to rush the end.

Personal Growth

I improved a lot on the Julius Caesar essay in comparison to the Alchemist by staying much more focused on the topic and even though I didn't quite finish the end, I did well on the overall organization of the essay. Also, having the time given, I was still able to go into a lot of detail. This proved that I knew my subject well. Its clear that I took the time to understand Julius Caesar much more than I did in The Alchemist.

SLR Reflection

I would say that the SLR I used the most in both essays was reasoning critically because I went into detail with ideas and content on Julius Caesar and I worked hard to find any organizational flaws on The Alchemist Essay. When you reason critically it means that you take what you know and use it to come up with deeper ideas. I think I did this successfully, especially in the Julius Caesar essay.

JC essay Brutus

Brutus’ motivations

“If it be aught toward the general good, set honor in one eye, and death I’ the’ other, and I will look on both indifferently; For let the gods speed me as I love the name of honor more than I fear death.-Julius Caesar Act 1, sc 2, 84-88. This quote shows that Brutus is a man that is a patriot that would do anything for the good of Rome and its people. The quote also shows that Brutus is a very honorable man as to when he thinks death and honor are the same. This shows that Brutus’ desire for honor and love for Rome will drive him even to kill and die. Brutus’ honor and patriotism motivated him to his goal of keeping the republic and being respected as an honorable man but it sometimes clouds his judgment and makes him over confident. This sometimes leads him to be easily manipulated and make wrong decisions.

Brutus’ love for Rome and the republic would drive him to do anything to keep it the way it has always been run and create a better and honorable Rome for the countrymen and the rest of the world. This is because his ancestors started the Roman Republic and he would do anything to get the amount of honor as they did. This motivator makes Brutus difficult to work with because any other ideas people have that change the rules of the republic or that do not satisfy him he will quickly reject putting his idea up above every one else even thought his ideas are not well thought through and usually lead to a failure. Brutus shows this when he rejects Cassius’ idea totally which would eventually lead to his downfall and then death. In Act 2 sc1 Cassius has just brought up the idea of killing Caesars loyal friend Mark Antony but Brutus rejects his idea saying; “Our course will seem to bloody, Caius Cassius, to cut off the head and then hack the limbs,” he is basically saying that the conspiracy would seem to bloody if they killed Antony because he could do nothing without Caesar. Even thought killing Antony would be a tactical thing to do he rejected it totally because it did not fit with his plans. This shows Brutus’ patriotism because he would do anything for the good of rome and would disagree with anything any one else would say. As well as disagreeing with everybody he would do a lot of things for the good of Rome Like choosing to kill one of his close friends. This quote is at the funeral speech when he is explaining the death of Caesar. “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Act 3 Sc 2 19-21 this quote means that Burtus did not hate Caesar but he loved Rome so that is why he killed him. This Quote shows how brutus is willing to do anything to for the good of rome even to kill his good friend. Finally I thought Brutus’ patriotism made him arrogant and over confident which but also think about what is best for his country Rome. This also showed his desire to be honorable.

Honor was Brutus’ most desired wish as he would die and kill for it. He wanted to be honorable because his ancestors are portrayed a very honorable so he wanted to live up to them as well as wanting the peoples respect for him helping to save Rome. He will always think thought his ideas to consider whether it is honorable or noble as well as believing so much as what he thinks is honorable and noble that he does not think so much about the consequences of his actions. This first quote shows that he thinks so much about what is honorable and he immediately thinks that everyone will think exactly the same as him. “This shall make our purpose necessary, and not envious, which so appearing to the common eyes, we shall be call’d purgers, not murderers. This means that there is a purpose for killing Caesar and that all the people will think them as healers for Rome. This shows Brutus’ motivation of honor because he is thinking through what is honorable for himself.

The main conflict about Julius Caesar is that people wanting to reach there goals and doing anything to get them. Brutus’ key motivators to reach his goals were his Patriotism and his honor. These made him really focus to get his goals but also made him arrogant and difficult to work with. In the end Brutus’ arrogance and over confidence did get the end of him and he landed on the ground as his dear friend Caesar. He did not succeed his goals because after Caesars death the Antony kept Caesars rules and ruled the republic more like a dictatorship but he did die honorably as Antony almost wept and called him the most honorable of all the conspirators when he saw Brutus’ remains. Brutus’ goal was indeed noble, as he wanted to keep the way thing had been run and expand Romes reputation and lifestyle to create better living for all of Romes people.

Collage Reflection

Think Creatively

Some of the creative elements I used on my collage project were lots of overlapping pictures, colours, a unique background, and unusual text fonts. I did this to emphasise some parts of the collage, and also to keep the viewer's attention. For example, I wrote the word 'racism' in a red messy fashion to symbolize that racism is a bad thing. It also made the word stand out for the audience.

Reason Critically

I chose a six word memoir that symbolized each part of the Lost Boy's life: "burning village" for the civil war in Sudan and the loss of their normal lives, "stressful camps" which show the hard times the boys had at the refugee camp, and finally "unfair heaven" because they thought America would be heaven but it turned out to be a harsh place to live.

Communicate Effectively

The mixture of informative and sad pictures and carefully chosen words help the viewer recognize the Lost Boys hardships and trauma. I used pictures that are very clear in their meaning and relate exactly to the words on the poster.

Live ethically

Anyone looking at the pictures will realize the pain and suffering that the Lost Boys went through, and will have empathy towards them. The Lost Boys went through experiences that some people cant even imagine.

Sudan to the States

Santino arrived in America seeking "heaven" but in reality he found the opposite. His new life was full of hard work, struggle for money, crime and having to adapt to a strange culture.

Santino's life was very difficult. He quickly got his job and worked very hard to improve his performance, but Santino had no say in which job he was given in the first place. He found it difficult, because he had never encountered any of the things in the factory before - such as the machines. But when none of the other lost boys found jobs, he felt obliged to keep working so he could pay the rent for all of them. Santino's job was not high paying, and he could not get an education to improve his qualifications, so money was a constant problem for him. Not only did he have to support all of the lost boys in his apartment but he also got fined a lot of money in court for driving a car illegally. Also, because Santino lived in a high crime district, he was robbed, leaving him with even less money. He couldn't afford to live in a safer part of the city. Santino had a lot of pressures on him, and even though he was trying to do the right thing for himself and the other lost boys, he found life a constant struggle.

Santino also had trouble adapting to the completely different culture in the States. When he arrived, he found it quite hard to make new freinds. Even though Santino tried to mingle with Americans, for example, through playing basketball, he couldn't understand what the other players were doing. He found their style of playing basketball different from what he had played in Sudan. He also had to quickly abandon all signs of his culture, such as hugging or holding hands with a male freind, which was frowned on and misread in America, even though it was normal in Sudan. All of these changes put added pressure on Santino, which made his money problems even harder to deal with.

Santino had been through a terrible time in Sudan, and America was supposed to be wonderful for him. But in reality, the American dream proved almost impossible for Santino to reach.

Solo Acting

1. This passage is set in the Forum after the assassination of Caesar. It is his funeral and Brutus is talking to the crowd. Many citizens are gathered and they want answers about why Caesar was killed.

2. The passage is significant because this is where Brutus is explaining the conspirators reasons for assassinating Caesar. This is an important speech, because Brutus has to convince the crowd that their actions were good for all of Rome

3. Act 3, scene 2, lines 12 - 31

4. Brutus:
Be patient till the last.
Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear. believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe. Censure me in your wisdom, and wake your senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any in this assembly, and dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears, for his love; joy, for his fortune; honour, for his valour; and death, for his ambition. Who is here so base, that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude, that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile, that will not love his country: If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.
5. Solo acting

School of Athens

Raphael's painting The School of Athens is unusual because it isn't a mirror of Renaissance society but it is more of a mirror of Renaissance thought. Most of the people in the painting are from different time eras and two Ancient Greek philisophers are the focus. But these people were all those who were respected during the Renaissance - becuase the Renaissance was actually a rebirth of the knowledge and information that was lost during the Dark Ages. In the painting you can see famous philosophers, mathematicians, scientists and thinkers. The painting is also a mirror of Renaissance architecture because it was set in a Roman building. Roman architecture which was symmetrical, and filled with arches and columns was copied in many Renaissance buildings. Raphael was very clever by painting something that was a mirror of what people rediscovered and studied.

Averroes is the Spanish name of a famous philosopher and doctor called Abu I-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushid. You can see him sitting on the stairs listening attentively to Aristotle (his main study) and Plato. I chose this character because he is Arab, so we have something common. He was an amazing person because he contributed to many areas including law, philosophy, politics, music, medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, and physics. One of the reasons Raphael included Ibn Rushid in the School of Athens was because of his study of Aristotle and the way he annotated his works. Another key contribution was in medicine because Ibn Rushid was the first person to suggest that the retina of the eye had photoreceptors in it. I admire Ibn Rushid because he bought great knowledge to the world, and he was sort of a link between Arab and Western philosophies.

KEEP YOUR HAND ON THE PLOW! HOLD ON!

Excerpt from Freedom's Plough

A long time ago,

An enslaved people heading toward freedom

Made up a song:

Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!

The plow plowed a new furrow

Across the field of history.

Into that furrow the freedom seed was dropped.

From that seed a tree grew, is growing, will ever grow.

That tree is for everybody,

For all America, for all the world.

May its branches spread and shelter grow

Until all races and all peoples know its shade.

KEEP YOUR HAND ON THE PLOW! HOLD ON!

Langston Hughes

Everybody needs freedom and it it probably the most important theme in life. Unfortunately some people had to struggle and fight for their freedom. Freedom is a extremely important thing when it comes life because without freedom you have to be controlled to do what people tell you to do even when you don't want to. In the 17-1800's slavery was a popular thing becouse the owners of the slaves, who pretty much had all the freedom they wanted, controlled the slaves as if they were property. Even from a early age slaves were forced to do what their masters wanted many ended up dying of exhaustion and disease. A quote from Langston's poem says, " An enslaved people heading toward freedom." This shows that when people are given no freedom, they fight for it because a person that does not have his or her own freedom basically does not have a life. During World War II Jews were givin no freedom because they were basically stripped of being human. Since they were "not humans" they were not free and were all sent to work to death or were just killed immediately. Freedom is the most iportant thing in the world and sadly many people aren't given freedom. But those people need to remember what the slaves in America sang, KEEP YOUR HAND ON THE PLOW! HOLD ON!