Julius Caesar Part 1

Recently in English class we started the play "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare. Before we started the play, we read short explanations on topics such as the Roman republic, Aristotle’s view on tragedy, ancient superstition, the life of Caesar, William Shakespeare, the Elizabethan stage, background on the play, and how to read the play.

To better understand the political sphere during the time of Julius Caesar, we read about the Roman Republic. Starting in the early 6th century, the Roman republic was intended to provide more voice to the common people. However, as only the rich were allowed to hold office, the elite tended to control all legislation and make decisions that only benefitted themselves. This led to greater authority for the aristocrats, which is how Caesar attainted his control of Rome.

The play is about the assassination of Julius Caesar, the story taken from a text called “The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans”. During the time period in which the play was set, Rome was in constant war. Generals such as Caesar had enormous power, and they fought other generals for more control. Caesar rose above the other generals and became dictator of Rome for 10 years. The jingoistic senators planned to expunge Caesar by assassinating him because his power was too great and went against the Roman Republican belief (where a single man holding more power than the rest was an anathema), and that is where the play begins.

The life of Caesar ended dramatically and unexpectedly. Despite many warnings and prophecies stating when Caesar would be killed, Caesar didn’t acknowledge them and continued on to his demise, exhibiting his temerity. His death is ironic because his friend Brutus was an accomplice to Caesar’s death, and although Caesar suspected him of treachery he still continued to listen to Brutus. Caesar also conducted improper sacrifice, which is a very bad omen; all these negligent actions led to his premature death.

Since the play was written by William Shakespeare, we also read about his life. The life of William Shakespeare started just as any man’s would during his time period. When he grew up he became an actor and performed in many plays. He also went to college and wrote many of his own plays which were compiled by his colleagues; the first full play to be compiled was “Julius Caesar”.

Shakespeare wrote all his plays in the same form--blank verse poetry. It duplicates natural speech and utilized iambic pentameter, which makes the writing “sing-songy”. In Shakespeare’s plays, the main characters were given more poetic lines than the less important ones. Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed on an Elizabethan stage.

          The Elizabethan stage utilized simple props, settings, and sound effects, and required the audience to use their imagination. The first stage, called “The Great Dome”, was moved across the river and called “The Globe”. It was circular, 30 feet high, 40 by 30 feet, had a trap door, and had a small inner stage called “the heavens”. Only males could act until 1660, so even women parts were played by men. All types of plays were performed at The Globe, including tragedies.

Aristotle believed that tragedy was meant to arouse pity and fear in the audience as a way for spectators to purge their negative emotions. The hero of a tragedy must be better than the average person so that the audience is fearful since even though the hero is better than them, he still received punishment. However, the hero must create the problem themselves so that they deserve the punishment; this problem usually exemplifies the hero’s tragic flaw, or fundamental character weakness. The play “Julius Caesar” is a tragedy, and follows these guidelines.

Superstition was in no way extraneous to the plot of "Julius Caesar"--in fact, it was highly valued during the time of the play. There were many symbols of bad omens, and dreams were believed to be messages from the gods. Animals were also used frequently for good or bad luck, as they were believed to be the souls of ancestors. Roman politicians used these superstitions to control the common people.

This article regarding the effects of superstitions relates to “Julius Caesar” because the play essentially revolves around superstition; most of the characters’ actions are because of superstitious beliefs.

http://io9.com/5854584/do-superstitions-actually-do-any-good

Lord of the Flies-Part 3

These past couple of weeks in English we read up to chapter nine in Lord of the Flies. We looked explicitly at how Golding further characterizes Jack, Ralph, and Simon and how the characterization of these boys adds to the development of the plot.  We started with Ralph, and looked at how Golding describes him dreaming of feeding the wild ponies twice, making it a significant insight to Ralph’s character. The wild ponies remind Ralph of his past, when he was in a civilized atmosphere. It also shows that he misses home and longs for the peacefulness of his old life. Dreaming of his past keeps him sane to a degree. It also displays how the bastion between wild and civilized has been lost, as Ralph has now become the uncivilized creature.

In chapter eight, Ralph forgets for a moment about the purpose of the fire. Towards the middle of the book, Ralph expressed his worries about forgetting why the fire was necessary, like the other boys did. That was foreshadowing this moment, and perhaps future moments where Ralph will also regress in his morals and stable mindset to become like the other boys, only interested in hunting and having a good time. Golding shows that even those who seem above man’s ‘essential illness’ can fall into a more primal state.

We explored the significance of the choir boys putting on their black caps again and how Jack’s reaction reveals more about his character. They put them back on after Jack officially breaks from the group and forms his own, comprised of mainly the original choir boys. The caps show that they are thoroughly loyal to Jack. Before, with Ralph as leader, they may have taken off the caps out of a fear of being viewed as different or unloyal to Ralph, but now they can look and act as a group again. Jack, when seeing the black caps, is extremely happy that he has followers once again. Jack obviously needs to be follows in order to feel important; this portrays his insecure nature.

                Finally, we discussed the reason for Simon’s death. Simon is the only boy in the island who understood the situation and life in a deeper, more philosophical sense. Contrarily, he was also the most misunderstood boy on the island, one who the other boys would not miss. Golding chooses Simon to die because if he lived, there would be a chance of the boys preserving some sanity, but since he dies, no one would miss him. The way he is killed is significant because it displays how primal and savage the boys have become; they did not even stop to think that the ‘beast’ they were killing was one of them. 

This relates to the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in that the main character, Randle McMurphy, is the ‘voice of reason’.  He, like Simon, is the only one who truly understands what is happening to his peers: the institution is only worried about the control they have over the patients, and none of them are getting better. Just as the patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are crazy, so are the boys on the island. The island is metaphorically like the institution, because they are all trapped. And just as Randle is lobotomized in the movie and expunged from the plot, Simon is killed. Jack and Nurse Ratched are also quite similar: both are hungry for power, so much so that they are oblivious to the suffering they are putting the others through.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo's_Nest_(film)

As we reach the climax and end of the novel, we can truly see the toll the island has taken on the boys.

Lord of the Flies-Part 2

This week in English we read chapters 4 through 6 of Lord of the Flies. Much happens in these chapters that increase the intensity of the boy’s dire situation. They become more chaotic and unruly, and lose focus of their main goal: getting off the island. Jack’s hunting group abandoned the fire (it was meant to give off smoke as a recue signal) completely, and although they managed to catch a pig, they let their chance of being found slip away.

Ralph calls an assembly and points out all the rules that the boys neglected. He reestablishes what needs to be done. Also during this meeting, the concept of a ‘beastie’ was brought to light. All the boys have a fear of a ‘beastie’, but there has been no proof that it exists. In class we compared both Ralph and Jack’s speeches to the boys about the beast. When Ralph is making his speech, he does his best to dispel the fear, rationally explaining why they have no reason to be scared. He speaks with the calm authority of an adult telling a child why there’s no monster under the bed, and also identifies with them by saying that he’s sometimes scared too. Jack is more aggressive in his speech. He speaks like a bully to the children, intensifying their fear more than anything else. This proves how Jack is trying to rule by fear. He wants to show the littluns that he’s not afraid, and that he’s a better leader than Ralph.

We also discussed how Jack’s character has changed over the course of the novel so far. In chapter four, we see Jack’s character develop into a more savage state. He looks more primitive with long hair, dirty skin, and a painted face. We get another glimpse at Jack’s insecurities as he rejoices over the sight of his face looking like a stranger. This new face gives him courage to act on his motivations: he wants to prove to the others and himself that he is strong. This motivation is what encourages him to abandon the thought of rescue, which was once a shared goal among all the boys. In this chapter we also see a development in the conflict between Jack and Ralph, as Jack still holds a grudge against Ralph for winning the position of leader over Jack. Jack’s mannerisms in this chapter become more violent, as we see that he is no longer afraid to physically hurt Piggy. He makes motions with his knife as is he wants to use it against not just pigs, but some of the boys as well. Jack’s avarice has become stronger, and his wicked selfishness and irascible nature has become more apparent.

The boys overall have regressed into a more primitive state as they are isolated on the island with no adults to guide them. The absence of a higher authority has led Jack to try to rule by fear. In relation to the boys’ situation, a book called Lucifer Effect was written about an experiment that was conducted at Stanford University.

http://www.lucifereffect.com/

Students were chosen to play the role of either an inmate or a prison guard, and after merely six days, the experiment was shut down because the guards became too violent and the inmates were severely depressed. The book explains the experiment’s results and what it says about human nature.

Lord of the Flies-Part 1

This week in English we started reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It was written 5 years after World War II, and some of the events of the war are mirrored in the novel. We can infer that the story takes place during a time of world conflict, as Piggy mentions an atom bomb. We can also infer that the boys are from a boarding school somewhere in the west. The novel is about a group of boys who are stranded on an island after their plane crashed. These school boys are the only survivors, and they must learn to survive on their own, free from any adult influence.

In class we discussed what our essay prompt for this novel is. The most important part of the prompt is always the verb, and so we focused on the verb from this prompt: characterize. We looked at what the tools of characterization are: appearance, mannerisms, speech, socio-economic status, and motivation.

This week we read chapter one, and discussed how Golding characterizes the main four boys in the story so far. He uses actions and dialogue to display the characters' personalities, not just mere descriptions. Through his diction we immediately see the diverse nature of each boy. The first character to appear is Ralph, and he is portrayed as a handsome, well-built white boy with a nonchalant yet leader-like attitude. He is fairly mature, gregarious, and comes from a well-to-do family and confident that his dad, a naval commander, will save them. Then we meet Piggy, a pale, chubby boy with glasses and asthma-the kind of child who is easily picked on. Because of this he has a low self-esteem and a hesitant attitude, although smart in his leadership ideas. He comes from a relatively wealthy family, as he was spoiled a lot at home. He wants to be accepted by Ralph and included as one of the "important" boys. Further along in the chapter, Jack and his choir come marching in. We immediately see the contrast between Ralph and Jack. Jack appears to be a jaundiced boy with a bony structure and sharp appearance, and acts and talks with authority and confidence in himself. He also comes from an upper middle class family, and wants to be leader of the boys, not quite able to completely surrender to Ralph.

We also talked about what potential conflicts we could see as a result of the characters. I predicted that there could be conflict between Ralph and Piggy, since although Ralph has the appearance and authority of a leader, Piggy is ‘the man behind the curtain’ as far as how Ralph became the leader. Piggy must feel that he has been manipulated, because Ralph used Piggy’s ideas to become leader. We see the beginning of conflict between them when, after Piggy divulges his old nickname to Ralph, asking him not to tell anyone else, Ralph proceeds to tell the rest of the boys, an ignominious moment for Piggy.

Another prominent aspect of the novel so far is the conch, which Ralph and Piggy found together at the beginning of the novel. Piggy was the one who suggested Ralph use it to call the others, but since Ralph was the one who utilized it, the boys looked to him as the leader.

 This search for a leader correlates with Libya’s current dilemma in finding an adequate leader after they overthrew their previous one. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/world/africa/31tripoli.html?pagewanted=all This relates to the novel because the boys, in the absence of adults, are in search for someone who can guide them.

Childhood Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird

This week was a blur as I learned many new skills and procedures for my new classes this year. In English particularly, this week I was exposed to a more in-depth explanation of how to write an introductory paragraph. For example, I learned I need to summarize my evidence within the context of the novel in my introduction. This encouraged me to view the novel through different aspects. I feel that this class differs from last year's in that it stresses more the real world connections, rather than universal ideas. This past week, we have been working on an essay for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We were given three themes to choose from-Race Relations, Childhood Innocence, and Rural Poverty. I chose Childhood Innocence because I felt I had the best evidence for that category, and I feel strongly about the insight I can provide. The purpose of my essay is to disprove the common misconception that children are oblivious and incapable of comprehending 'adult' matters.  I will use evidence from the novel to show how Harper Lee develops this theme and brings awareness to how perceptive children really are. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem question many of the norms set by the townsfolk. They realize that most of the community is dogmatic—they are blinded by generations of hate and ignorance. Through the eyes of Jem and Scout, Harper Lee portrays that children, not yet affected by prejudice ideas, see people as who they really are and not by their presumed character. That being said, children are also influenced by the leading elders in their lives. Fortunately, Scout and Jem had Atticus to teach them and look up to. Atticus laid the foundation for their beliefs and reasoning. Others who had parents and role models with racist views are generally brought up to believe the same. In fact, some parents abet their kids in this discrimination. This is portrayed in a documentary called “Promises”. This documentary shows the Palestinian and Israeli conflict through the eyes of the children. Children from both sides are brought together and become friends, proving that the hatred is not innate, but developed over time by constant exposure to their parents’ and other elders’ prejudice.

Similarly, in the novel, Tom Robinson’s case brings to light the prejudice and discrimination the people of Maycomb county harbor. Children are caught up in the crossfire and left to make sense of it all. Though some try to shield their children from the horror of these events, kids can perceive vastly greater than adults think.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122220949327768879.html

This article from The Wall Street Journal shows how children can understand stressful times. Scout discovers throughout the novel how cruel people can be, and in the end she is no longer oblivious to discrimination and hate. In my essay I will strive to show how Scout matures mentally in response to the events of the novel, but also stays true to her innocent and truthful views of society.