These are the questions my group and I answered in our digital essay:
8. Explain Hamlet's conflicted feelings about suicide.
12. Explain the treatment of women in Hamlet and it's effect on the play.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Blog #13
My group and I were thinking of answering the three questions by either using parts of the Hamlet movie where he says the quotes we are using as evidence and having a narrator in the back explaining our answers to the questions or using pictures instead of parts of the movie. So far what I've done is find the quotes for each of the questions and kind of explained what they mean and how they answer the questions. Also, my group and I already have a few pictures that maybe we can use in our digital essay.
This is what I've done so far and some of the images we have:
6. What significance is Ophelia to Hamlet... and to Hamlet?
“Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.
O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have not art to reckon my groans, but that I love thee best, oh, most best, believe it. Adieu.
Thine evermore, most dear lady,
Hamlet.” Letter Hamlet writes to Ophelia Act 2 Scene 2whilst this machine is to him,
"OPHELIA
But could beauty be related to anything better than goodness?
HAMLET
Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once.
OPHELIA
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
HAMLET
You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not."
After Ophelia dies..
"I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her.....?
'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do.
Woo’t weep? Woo’t fight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up eisel, eat a crocodile?
I’ll do ’t. Dost thou come here to whine,
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her?—and so will I.
And if thou prate of mountains let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I’ll rant as well as thou." Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1
It seems as if Hamlet loves Ophelia but treats her like nothing when he is pretending to be mad. Ophelia is somewhat important to Hamlet but not really because he never really mentions her or talks about her to her friends or anyone. She doesn't have a big impact in Hamlet's life, while Ophelia is definitely in love with Hamlet and it seems as though that's all she talks about in the play.
He uses her to cover up his craziness, he's mad with love supposedly. She ends up committing suicide after having to deal with all of Hamlet's nonsense and her father's death. She is also one of the only female characters, without her it would only be Gertrude who isn't a very strong character. She doesn't say much throughout the play, and is rather dense. Without Ophelia, Polonius probably wouldn't have been as interested in Hamlet's affairs, and his death wouldn't have been as big of a deal, besides the fact that Hamlet is a weirdo and has gone crazy. It seems like everyone is really losing their mind in this play. Ophelia ends up dead because of Hamlet, and her life is kind of sad.
8. Explain Hamlet's conflicted feelings about suicide.
"Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on ’t, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this.
But two months dead—nay, not so much, not two.
So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr. So loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly.—Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on, and yet, within a month—
Let me not think on ’t. Frailty, thy name is woman!—
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body,
Like Niobe, all tears. Why she, even she—
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer!—married with my uncle,
My father’s brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her gallèd eyes,
She married. O most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good,
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue." Act 1 scene 2
"Hamlet speaks these lines after enduring the unpleasant scene at Claudius and Gertrude’s court, then being asked by his mother and stepfather not to return to his studies at Wittenberg but to remain in Denmark, presumably against his wishes. Here, Hamlet thinks for the first time about suicide (desiring his flesh to “melt,” and wishing that God had not made “self-slaughter” a sin), saying that the world is “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.” In other words, suicide seems like a desirable alternative to life in a painful world, but Hamlet feels that the option of suicide is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion."
"To be, or not to be? That is the question—
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action" Hamlet Act 3 scene 1
12. Explain the treatment of women in Hamlet and it's effect on the play.
"POLONIUS
Marry, I’ll teach you. Think yourself a baby
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly,
Or—not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
Running it thus—you’ll tender me a fool. " Act 1 scene 3
Women in Hamlet are expected to do whatever men tell them like if they were servants. Polonius lets Laertes go off to another country by himself to do as he pleases, but Ophelia has to do exactly what they both say.
GERTRUDE
"Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not forever with thy vailèd lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou know’st ’tis common. All that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity." Act 1 Scene 2
Gertrude is usually seen as stupid. She doesn't really think for herself she basically just does what Claudius tells her to do and is always following him everywhere, and a month after her husband's death she marries his brother.
"Let me not think on ’t. Frailty, thy name is woman!—
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body,
Like Niobe, all tears. Why she, even she—
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer!—married with my uncle,
My father’s brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her gallèd eyes,
She married. O most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good,
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue." Hamlet
HAMLET
"Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me......If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell." Act 3 scene 1
I think the work I've done so far can probably help my group and I answer the questions and then from there make a good digital essay that answers the questions correctly and uses evidence from the book.
I think some challenges we might face in the next few days are probably with technology because with the idea about using parts of the Hamlet movie, none of us knew how to do that so we might have to figure that out and try to do it the best that we can. Also for the narration we will need the "nice" microphone but some groups are going to use it too so we will have to figure out a way to share it so that everyone gets a chance to use it. Also, maybe having enough time to finish it without rushing through it.
I think some back up plans we could have in case we don't get a chance of using the "nice" mic would be to maybe go into a very quiet place or office and record it with a computer or just stay after school or during lunch one day to use the "nice" mic. Also maybe try to each one in our group work on the digital essay during the 3 day weekend so that on Monday we are done and just have to edit a few things and be done and not rushing through it last minute.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Honors Writing #1 (English & History)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (English Essay)
In the story, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel and Clementine decide to erase each other from their memories because of all the problems they face as a couple. As they go through all the memories they spent together, at the end they find that they love each other and that no matter all the problems, they want to be together. The major theme that I was able to see throughout the movie, and screenplay was that love is not just living happily ever after, it involves problems and fights but no matter how difficult and hard it is if two imperfect people really love each other, they will always be together and face those problems together. This theme was shown throughout the story with many different literary devices like characterization, conflict, and foreshadowing.
In the story, we can see characterization as we learn the differences between Clementine and Joel. Clementine and Joel are very opposite from each other, almost entirely opposites. Joel is quiet and shy and doesn't really have an interesting life, he goes to work and then home. For example, he told Clementine at the beginning of the movie and screenplay, "Sorry. My life isn't that interesting. I go to work. I go home. I don't know what to say." On the other hand, Clementine is wild and likes to be unique, as we can see with the many different hair colors she had and she is loud and outgoing. In the scene where Clementine invited Joel to her apartment she said, "God bless alcohol, is what I say. Where would I be without it." She describes herself as "a vindictive little bitch." Joel describes Clementine in his journal saying,"I met someone tonight. Oh, Christ. I don't know what to do. Her name is Clementine and she's amazing. So alive and spontaneous and passionate and sensitive." As you may see they are very different from each other and they are both not perfect, they are far way from perfect, and what this story tells you is that love is not perfect. Love is not about finding the perfect person and then you'll become perfect too, love is about being able to collaborate with another imperfect person in a relationship and being able to face each other's differences and go through problems together.
We can see a lot of conflict between Clementine and Joel's relationship as a result of their different personalities and characters. They have good and bad times but we can mostly see fights between them in the story. For example, when she came home at three in the morning and he was in the couch waiting for her. Then she tells him that she made a dent in his car so Joel tells her, "I can't believe you wrecked my car. Your car...You're driving drunk, it's pathetic...Well it is pathetic. And fucking irresponsible. You could've killed somebody." Right here we can see one of their fights because Clementine is usually irresponsible while Joel tries to do everything right. Clementine is also usually wild and drunk while Joel is always keeping control, trying to tell her to behave. The major conflict in this story was for Clementine and Joel to decide whether or not they wanted to keep up with this relationship even with all the different problems and fights they had. They had to decide whether they're relationship was worth trying for and fighting for. Both had to be able to understand each other and go through their flaws and see what they could do to improve on whatever they did wrong in the past. For example, on that memory when Clementine and Joel go into the house at the beach at night, and Joel decides to leave and she tells him," If only you had stayed." They talk about what they could've done to make this a good and unforgettable memory. This connects to the overall theme because if there would have been no conflict at all between them then we would get the theme that love is living happily ever after but right here we see that love is not perfect, it has problems and fights and its between two imperfect people.
In this story we can also see foreshadowing. The story basically starts with what happens at the end of the story. They were meeting again after they had erased their memories from each other. That is why the car had a dent and that's why when they go to her apartment she tells him about Patrick, who is a character that comes up after Clementine's memories of Joel have been erased. This is kind of foreshadowing but backwards, it is letting you have an idea of what will happen and also tells you what happens at the end. For example, in the beginning of the story when she tells him about getting married to him, that would be foreshadowing to what will happen after the movie ends and also what happens through out the movie and their relationship. This lets you know that they will be together and that they will decide to face their problems together because they are both imperfect and they are both in love. Also, when they are in her apartment and she talks about Patrick that is foreshadowing to later when we are introduced to him. The dent in the car also helps you understand that this happened at the end. All this connects to the theme because this shows that they were really meant for each other and they were really in love because even now that they forgot about each other they meet again and know that they will end together no matter what.
Musicals in Theater (History Essay)
A musical is defined as "A play or movie in which singing and dancing play an essential part." Musicals have been an essential part in theater for quite a long time now. They are so important that we can see them all around us, like in movies, plays and theater in general. An example of a very known musical that is a movie is Hairspray. In this movie we can see how the characters tell their stories by dancing and singing. The art of telling stories through music dates back to time immemorial. The ancient Greeks used music and dance in their stage comedies and tragedies as early as the 5th Century B.C. After that there were others that expanded on the idea and used it in their own theater.
Not everyone likes musicals and many people are totally against them but there are also people who love them. Some people might not like musicals because they think that they are just so loud and noisy and could get annoying but the reason why a playwright might want to turn his or her play into a musical would be to add a different perspective to their story. There might be audiences who would want to see the actual play but there might be many more that would enjoy watching the musical. There are different things people like and that is what the playwright has to keep in mind when writing a play or musical.
In musicals, the actors don't just say their lines with dialogue but also with song. This is why musicals are better than traditional plays sometimes because often words can't express everything the actor is trying to show like all the emotions. "Musicals combine the full spectrum of all the arts: words, singing, dancing, stage spectacle, providing audiences with something for just about every taste. The addition of music to a standard play heightens emotion, reinforces dramatic action, evokes atmosphere and mood in ways that words alone cannot. Musical theater encompasses a wide range, from revues to Broadway musicals to grand opera, depending on how music functions dramatically in the work.," said Dr. Larry A. Brown. Like what the writer and novelist Victor Hugo said, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Also like Hans Christian Andersen said, "Where words fail, music speaks." In these quotes we can see that music can express more than just words which makes musicals very important and famous in modern theater. They go a step further in plays. They go beyond the usual acting. "If music possesses an element that raises thought or emotion above words, then it logically follows that musicals are certainly not all flash and smoke. Musicals transform society through their show tunes and spectacular effects and as a result have become an extremely popular form of theatre," said Leigh Mackintosh.
There are a variety of different types of musicals. Such as classical, tragedy, comedy and many others. A famous musical that we have probably all heard of is Chicago, the musical. “A true New York City institution, CHICAGO has everything that makes Broadway great: a universal tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz; one show-stopping-song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you've ever seen. No wonder CHICAGO has been honored with 6 Tony Awards®, 2 Olivier Awards®, a Grammy® and thousands of standing ovations. It's also no surprise that CHICAGO has wowed audiences all around the world, from Mexico City to Moscow, from Sao Paulo to South Africa.” said the Chicago’s official website. As we can see, this is a worldwide known musical that is very famous, popular and great.
Musicals are not just another form of theater but a very important one and without them theater would probably not be what it is today. Musicals have added so many things to theater in general and not just the dancing and the singing but also the music and life and that new perspective of telling a story. They are widely famous because now in our generation dancing and singing is very popular and also music. Music is very important in our world and now there are so many more different genres of music, which make musicals even more diverse and now more people can enjoy them because they love music. Also in musicals you can see a lot of special effects and costumes and props and all this draws the audience to want to see it because of the many different things you can see. All this new technology that we have in our generation makes the especial effects even better and improves the overall musical grabbing more people's attention to musicals. Everyday new things and ideas are added to musicals and every day more and more people start to get interested in musicals. Musicals keep getting more famous and important in theater.
Blog #12
As we progress in the Theater Project, the playwrights think that doing the play about the musical with Tyler in it might be the best choice. I do like this idea but it might take more work to get it done. I also think that even though it is a musical, we shouldn't put a lot dancing and singing in it. What I mean by this is that we should avoid having people dancing and singing through out the entire play. It is okay to have people dancing and singing and music but also have other things going on. I think we should also watch examples of plays that are musicals like Chicago or The Producers.
The Below Link is a website that has a variety of links of websites of how to write musicals:
The Below Links are websites on how to write a musical:
The Below Link is about a group of kids that were part of a musical and it talks about their hard work in making the musical possible:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-to-make-a-musical/2011/07/13/gIQAXHn0TI_story.html
The Below Link is a website that talks about musicals, their history and what they are and examples of them:
The Below Link is an article of easy steps for making a musical:
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Blog #11
This week the project manager, the production manager and I have been working on the master calendar for at least the first month as we start this project. For now we have the basic plan of what we will be doing for October.
PowerPoint
Calendar
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Blog #10
What stands out to you most in your eleventh grade experience at our school?
It stands out to me how many things an eleventh grader has to do. Its like there is never really a time when you are like I have absolutely nothing to do or work on. We have many things to worry about in junior year like SAT's and writing resumes and cover letters for internship and already thinking about what college you want to go. Sometimes being in 11th grade can be a little stressful but its important to just do your work and do everything on time. What stands out to me the most in my eleventh grade experience at our school is how we actually get to have an internship in something we are interested in. Also how we get to write resumes and cover letters and learning how to write them, this can really help me later in the future when I apply to a job.
What stands out to you most about your Humanities class?
What stands out to me about my Humanities class is how we are more independent now and we are treated more like adults now. For example, for the American Icons project Randy never asked to read our paper and we never had to turn it in to him so he could read it, we turned it in until we were sure it was perfect. We on our own had to go to him and ask him if he could please read our paper if we wanted feedback from him. Also, in the quizzes we need to take this week, we are the ones that decide when to take each one of them. Also with the Theater Project we all have important jobs in the play that we have to accomplish and we all have to work with each other because we, as a class, are the ones that are going to make the whole play, Randy will help us but we have be the ones that do mostly all the work.
What have you read that made you think this year (in or out of school)?
In math class, we read the article "Rice Paddies and Math Tests" from the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. This article was about how Chinese students are usually better at math because their numbers are shorter and that way they learn them faster also the way they say their fractions is very easy and that way easier to understand. It also talked about hard work and how the farmers that work in rice paddies are successful because of all the hard work they do and how they spend so much time everything is perfect in their rice paddies like the water levels and the amount of rice. Like he said in the article "working really hard is what successful people do." This made me think about school and how I have to work really to make sure I turn in my work on time and so that it is the best work I can do. I need to make sure to put all of my effort in everything I do and make sure I always work hard on everything I do.
What have you noticed about your growth as a writer?
I think I have grown as a writer this year because of all the writing tips I've learned so far. Now everything I write I try to balance out my ideas with my words so that I don't have so many words with a little bit of ideas or too much ideas but with so little writing. I also remember on the first days of school when Randy put us with a partner and one of the partners had to look at a picture and do their best to describe it so that the other partner would be able to draw the same exact thing. This was kind of difficult because you had to find the exact word so that your partner could understand what you were saying, you had to be able to put that picture in their mind so that they would be able to draw it. This helped me see that when I write I have to make sure to use the write words and descriptions so that the reader can have an image in their mind of what I'm talking about.
What goals do you have for your next month? What is your plan to reach towards these goals?
My goals for the next month in humanities class are to try and add more writing tips in my writing and also try to read more books. I plan on achieving these goals by reading through my writing and then seeing places where I can add writing tips also maybe asking for some help from my classmates. I plan on going to the library more often to read more books and maybe ask humanities teachers for recommendations on books. Also I really want to do my theater job right and be able to work well with everyone else in the class to make sure that the play turns out great. I plan on reaching this goal by making sure I work a lot with the project manager and with Naxiely to make sure everyone is doing their work and to make sure everything is okay. Also reading books about plays or looking at the resources Naxiely and I found to get ideas or just to make sure we are doing our job right.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Blog #9
What aspects of the play stand out to you?
What stands out to me about Hamlet is how there are so many things going on and its barely the beginning of the play. For example, we know that the king of Denmark (Hamlet's dad) died and his brother took over the throne and married Hamlet's mom. Then there is the dead king's ghost that appears at night. Then there is Hamlet's madness that we are starting to see and also Polonius comes into the story with his son Laertes, that is leaving to France, and his daughter Ophelia, who Hamlet is in love with. Then there is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the players. There are many characters in the play and they are all very different from each other with different roles in the play but they all somehow connect with each other to form the story that takes place in this play. It also stands out to me how we can see many different things in the play like love, murder, family, friendship, betrayal, and many other things.
Post images that represent three key moments in Hamlet, and write a short description of each, including the Act & Scene.
This is an image of what Hamlet's dead dad's ghost might have looked like. The ghost appears in three scenes so far. In Act I Scene I, IV, and V. I think the most important so far is the when the ghost talks to Hamlet in Act I Scene V because that's when we find out why the ghost is in the story and also when Hamlet starts thinking about revenge and since that point his "madness" starts.
This picture is of Act I Scene III, this is when Laertes is about to
leave and gives Ophelia advice about Hamlet and then we also see Polonius, who gives advice to both his son and his daughter. I feel like this moment is important because at this point we are basically introduced to three characters; Polonius, Laertes and Ophelia. We also get to know Polonius a little better and we start to see him a little more often after this scene. We also get to know more about Laertes's character, who will later on in the story be very important. Also, Ophelia is important because, as Polonius later tells the King and Queen, Hamlet is in love with her and they think that might be one of the causes for his madness.
This is an image of Gertrude and Claudius and they are in a couple of scenes so far but I would want to focus on Act I Scene II because that is when Claudius and Gertrude are first introduced and that's when we start to see how Claudius doesn't really care that his brother died and just keeps thinking of taking over everything. Also, how Hamlet doesn't like how his uncle married his mom and is basically the only one that is sad because his dad died while everyone else seems to have forgotten.
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