Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Reflections Of My Essays

Ideas & Content
In my Julius Caesar essay, my main idea was to prove that Brutus was a honorable and patriotic person towards Rome and was willing to die in the name of Rome. ' Brutus realizes that Caesar is no good to Rome due to Cassius’ persuasion and decides to act for the people of Rome for he is an honorable man and loves Rome with patriotism.' My writing usually made sense and it had a clear and focused topic. I tried my very best to include interesting and relevant ideas but failed to do so sometimes as there was a time constraint. I almost always explained how my quotations related to the main idea. I believe that I need more improvement in finding better ideas.

In my alchemist essay, I feel that i did a really good job and I had a clear main idea, 'Santiago’s journey allows him to find his one true love, meet new people who give him new perspective of life, and gain enlightenment by learning the Language of the Universe.' My writing always made sense and my topic was clear and focused. I knew my topic pretty well and included interesting and relevant details. I always explained how my quotations related to the main idea.

Organization
In my Julius Caesar essay, my organization was okay throughout the whole essay. I began with an interesting quote, “And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg, which hatch’d would, as his kind, grow mischievous, and kill him in the shell.” and I also had clear topic sentence, 'Brutus realizes that Caesar is no good to Rome due to Cassius’ persuasion and decides to act for the people of Rome for he is an honorable man and loves Rome with patriotism.' Most of my body paragraphs started with clear topic sentences and I mostly established the context before inserting a quotation. My conclusion could have been a lot better because I feel that I rushed through it.

In my alchemist essay, I did begin with an interesting quote that set the scene, “I have inside me the winds, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe.” and my thesis statement was pretty straight forward too, ' Santiago successfully achieves his destiny through his reliability, ambition, and open mindedness.' All most all of my paragraphs began with clear topic sentences and I always establish the context before introducing a quotation. I believe that I ended with a really good conclusion.

Personal Growth
I don't see much improvement in my essay, instead I see that my level of writing has decreased. This could be because we had a time limit and we weren't given much time in class to prepare for it. Those are the only reasons I can think of.

SLR
The SLR I chose for my essays was reason critically because I had given a reason for every point I made. I provided proof for my quotes and suggestions most of the time. The main aim of the essay was to show that I understood what I was reading and this could only have been possible by reasoning what my opinions.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Brutus, A True Roman



“And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg, which hatch’d would, as his kind, grow mischievous, and kill him in the shell.” (pg 64). This is a quote from Julius Caesar in which Brutus is plotting to kill Caesar as he finds out what dangers Caesar could do if he had gained the power of a king. So he should be killed while he his still weak and not when Caesar is at his highest point because by then it would have been too late. Brutus realizes that Caesar is no good to Rome due to Cassius’ persuasion and decides to act for the people of Rome for he is an honorable man and loves Rome with patriotism. Little does he know that there are still citizens out there who are ready to kill in the name of Caesar.

Throughout the whole play, Brutus has been shown as an honorable person and is ready to do anything for the people of Rome. Honor was in Brutus’ blood as his ancestors saved Rome from tyranny and took away the kingdom from Rome and turned it into an independent republic country. Brutus realizes that it is his duty to stop Caesar from becoming a king because if Caesar had been crowned king, he would receive ultimate power and that would have allowed Caesar to ruin the whole of Rome and bring it to pieces. Brutus knew that he couldn’t let that happen as he was too loyal to Rome. Brutus felt that he was doing the right thing for the people of Rome and his honor led him to the assassination of the mighty Caesar. Later on in the play, after Caesar is dead, Anthony, Caesar’s dearest friend put up a war for Caesar. Brutus found out that he was bound to loose and decided to die in the hand of his own friend rather than being dishonored and killed by Anthony, “It is more worthy to leap in ourselves than tarry till they push us.” (pg 214) This quote is a metaphor and it means that they should sacrifice their lives rather than wait and die in Anthony’s hands. Brutus’ had no intention of being killed by his own enemy because he had been betrayProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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by Anthony and decided that it would have been best to die by Strato and not disgrace his honor. Way before the war, on the day that Caesar died Anthony wanted to make a speech for Caesar’s funeral, “And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend, speak in the order of his funeral.” (pg 120) Brutus’ response to this was, “You shall, Mark Anthony.” (pg 122) Brutus’ lets Anthony come up and speak because he believed that it was for the good of Rome and that Caesar deserved to have a great funeral. Brutus was loyal and humble as he did all this for Rome because Rome did truly love Caesar. This shows that Brutus was an honor man because he still had respect for Caesar and Anthony and didn’t mean to harm any of them but instead his main goal was to save Rome. Brutus was a true honorable man and loved his country with all his heart.

Rome meant everything for Brutus and he died trying for the sake of Rome. Brutus’ patriotism led him into to doing great things, which he could never have done without his patriotism. He never wanted Rome to be a kingdom again for he loved Rome too much to watch it shatter in front of him due to Caesar possible changing nature leading to His corruption. Brutus was so devoted to Rome that he fell in Cassius’ trap and was willing to kill Caesar without a fixed reason. The moment he realized that Caesar was a possible treat to Rome, he acted like bolt and plotted a great assassination. “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.” (pg 62) Brutus was not afraid to give up such a great man and put himself into so much trouble only for the sake of the Rome and its people. This clearly shows his devotion and patriotism toward Rome because Brutus did loose a lot by doing this but he believed that this is was Rome needed. Brutus had nothing against Caesar at all accept the fact that he could have become a threat. “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (pg 128) Brutus said this during his speech at Caesar’s funeral. He was trying to convince the public that he had done all this for them and it was best that Caesar had been killed. This is a perfect example for Brutus’ patriotism for his own country.

Caesar blood had been sacrificed for honor and patriotism. These two motivators led Brutus into the assassination of Brutus since Caesar had turned ambitious and was a risk for Rome’s future. Brutus was not able to achieve his goal because all Brutus wanted was peace and freedom in Rome and by killing Caesar, another great man rose to take revenge. Brutus’ whole plan had been unsuccessful because his goal wasn’t to kill Caesar but instead, to have Rome united and happy. This was the definitely a noble and worthy cause since everything he did was intended towards the good of Rome and its people. Brutus died trying his best. Brutus was a true Roman.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Lost Boys reflection

Reflection

My collage clearly showed thinking creatively because of all the various pictures that I put into it and the fact that some of them show the war, culture, hope, and suffering. I put on some quotes from the ambassador and one of the lost boys himself to get the viewer to interact with the collage. With each word on my six word memoir, I linked it to a separate image that matches with the word.

I believe that I reasoned critically because every word and image that I put on my collage had its own meaning. Some of the words and images were linked too, making the viewer feel empathy for the lost boys of Sudan as they have suffered so much already.

I feel that my collage communicates effectively by creating the awareness of the lost boys plight because most of my pictures show their suffering and struggling for a better life. The best part of the collage which shows the plight is the quote from Dave Eggars, "Whatever I do, however I find a way to live, I will tell these stories." It shows how much they have been through and how much courage they still have to go on.

I was living ethically because I demonstrated empathy and evoked an emotional response with my pictures and six word memoir. Especially with the picture right in the middle where a baby is crying and it is associated with loss. Once again the quote by Dave Eggars helped too.


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Peter's Journey

Peter has struggled all his life as a Lost Boy of Sudan because he had been greatly affected by the Sudan Civil War. The lost boys were all part of refugee camp within Africa and once in awhile a few people were sent to America to start a new life. At first, Peter was sent to Huston and he didn't like it there because he wanted an education and none of the schools had actually accepted him. So he decided to go to Kansas where Peter managed to find a high school out of several and enrolled himself there. One of the main problem he faced was earning his own money. Peter went to school at eight o'clock everyday and came back at half past three in the after noon. He cooked himself a meal from 3.30pm to 5pm and then he had to go to work till 10.30pm. When he came home, Peter had to do his homework which usually lasted him till 1am. He had a very busy day as he had to work while he was in high school so that he could play for his education, food and schooling. Peter had to adjust to the new lunch hours because in Africa they only ate twice a day. After sometime, Peter realized that it is not okay to have physical contact with the same gender and it was a little bit hard for him to take this in. One major difficulty he faced was racism. Since Peter was darker than the rest of the people, some people stared at him and this got him uncomfortable. He quickly learned that there were lots of stereotypes against darker people and this got him slightly upset. Peter faced religious difficulties too because he was used to a different culture back in Africa.

One of the most important things Peter did to deal with these problems, was shifting to Kansas where he knew he would find a good high school and would be able to have a brighter future. This was a great step for him. He also started working after school so that he could earn enough for his living. Peter joined the local church to fit the people in America. He tried to make lots of friend within his school too. Peter also learned the slang that was being used over there and this didn't make him stand out. After awhile, Peter realized that there was no way to get rid of all the stereotypes that had been made and so he decided to live with it. Doing all these things, allowed Peter to start a new life. A life that was better than his old one even though it was harder but it was still worth it.