Writing reflection

My writing usually demonstrates appropriate ideas and content. In some of my writings, I stayed on the topic. They are appropriate for the writings that i write about. But sometimes, i write something that is totally unrelated to the topic. I try to go deep into the topic. But while I'm doing that, i forget about the main topic and would write something else.

I can improve my writing to better express my ideas and enhance contents by staying on the topic and being specific about my ideas. Because sometimes i would just say something and don't include any explanations.

My writing demonstrates appropriate organization, because they all have basic structures of writing. The essays are divided by paragraphs and they have introduction,body and conclusion. There are topic sentences in each paragraphs, explanations explaining the topic sentences and ideas.

I can improve my writing to demonstrate superior organization by linking the paragraphs together and transitioning from ideas to ideas well. Because some parts of my paragraph change from one idea to another without any explanations. That might cause some people to get confused

I don't really see any improvement between my Alchemist essay and my Julius Caesar essay. Because I didn't put any other extra effort while writing my Julius Caesar essay than I was writing Alchemist essay. Also, I got a better grade on my Alchemist essay than Julius Caesar essay. So I don't think I really improved. But considering the fact that I had a lot more time to prepare on my Alchemist essay, there could have been an improvement on my time management.

When I was crafting an essay, I had to think creatively to be able to explain my ideas and contents to other people who didn't know anything about the topic. So the SLR that I've used will be 'Think Creatively'

Does the end justify the means

Does the end justify the means?

‘Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more…. As Caesar loved me, I weep for him…as he was valiant, I honor him.’ ~Brutus Act three Scene2 p128. This is one of Brutus’s speeches that partially show both of the motivations of Brutus in the play. This shows Brutus’s love toward his country, Rome and his love toward Caesar. Choosing between Caesar and the Roman Republic is probably the main conflict that Brutus has to deal with due to his motivations. Obviously, he is being driven by patriotism. It also shows his honor. This quotation shows that Brutus would do anything for the country even if it means Caesar’s death. But he will make it an honorable act. He won’t make his death look dirty. All his actions in the play were caused by patriotism and honor. Brutus had no personal reasons against Caesar, but only those two. He killed him for the good of Rome and tried to make his death honorable, which might justify his actions.

Brutus is concerned about his country Rome and the citizens day and night. He was the only one who killed Caesar for the general good of Rome. The reason of Brutus being motivated this way is because he always thinks about the Roman republic and the roman citizens. While he was with the conspirators, his main concern was freeing his country from tyranny and making Rome become a better place. His patriotism is the key factor that makes Brutus decides to join the conspirators and kill Caesar. ‘It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general.’ –Act two Scene1 p62. When he first heard the plan to kill Caesar from Cassisus, he showed a bit of disapproval. But when he saw letters that Casca wrote, pretending to be Roman citizens suffering from Caesar’s tyranny, he decides to conclude that it must be Caesar’s death to let Rome stay as a country free from tyranny and power. Later on, Brutus kills Caesar. When he’s giving his speech to the angry crowd, he says that it was because of Caesar’s ambitions and growing power that he had killed him. But in his speech, his patriotism can be seen too. ‘If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more’. –Act three Scene2 p128. This quote means that Brutus was in turmoil trying to decide between Rome and Caesar. But his patriotism is stronger than anything else. Even if it has to be solved with death of his closest friend, he would choose to do it if it means the welfare of Rome. His patriotism was the only reason for Brutus killing Caesar. He was a true sacrificer full of patriotism. Ready to give his life away for the good of his own country.

Brutus is also a man of honor. Even tough he knows that the conspiracy is going to be bloody and violent, he wanted to make it look honorable and meaningful. Brutus is being motivated this way because he loves Caesar and he doesn’t have any personal reasons against him. So he wants to prove keep his love toward Caesar and kill him honorably. This motivator makes Brutus to think of some ways to make the conspirator’s actions look justifiable and honorable as possible. He knows that if they decide to kill somebody who’s being served as a king, they need to get an approval from the people. Also in the play, he says that he wants to make this a dish fit for god, not just another carcass fit for hounds. ‘When every drop of blood that every roman bears, and nobly bears, is guilty of a several bastardy, If he do break the smallest particle of any promise that hath pass’d from him’ –Act two scene1 p72 This quote comes from a part where Cassius suggests to swear an oath. This quote means that he does not want the whole plan being done for the bad purposes and most importantly, he is honorable. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t have cared why the ‘noble’ blood is being spilt just like the other conspirators do. He is really concerned about making people view the whole plot as an honorable act. ‘Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius we all stand up against the spirit of Caesar, And in the spirit of men there is no blood… And, gentle friends, Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully. Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods.’ Act two Scene1 p74. This quote means that Brutus will make Caesar’s death a dish fit for the gods. Dish for the gods has to be something grand and godly. You can’t just put some horrible things on dish fit for the gods. It shows Brutus’s honor too. If his motivation weren’t honor, he wouldn’t have cared about how Caesar dies. He would have chosen some horrible ways to ensure that Caesar dies. In the end of the play, Antony calls him the noblest man of all. I do agree with him. He cared about how someone dies for the general good, how to make it look meaningful and honorable. Perhaps he was an unlucky fellow who was being used by other because he didn’t have enough information about the whole plot.

Brutus was honorable and patriotic. This put him in the huge conflict between love for his friend and the good of his country. He was motivated by honor and patriotism. This caused him to basically join the conspirators and try to make Caesar’s death honorable If he wasn’t the whole thing wouldn’t have had happened because he wouldn’t have cared what the letters said. If he weren’t honorable he wouldn’t have let Antony give a speech to the crowd, making them turn their back against Brutus. Even tough he lost his life and friends, he partially achieved his goal. He did succeed to get rid of Caesar, who was holding all the power. Maybe after Brutus’s death, tyranny would disappear in Rome and there might be democracy. His goal was really noble. Tough the other conspirators’ weren’t. In his mind, he was always thinking about some other people’s good than his own. Even his soliloquies show that. Even tough he was alone; he didn’t have any means to become a king or something. I say that Brutus was a truly noble person who sacrificed himself for the others.

Fleeing from home

I movie Script

We Live in Despair, Still Waiting…..

This is probably what the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ are thinking deep in their mind.

Recently, we have been studying about ‘The lost boys of Sudan’ in our humanities class. The Lost Boys of Sudan are people who fled from their country Sudan because of war and other crisis. After studying about what they have went through, we made a collage about them.

I put pictures related to the Lost Boys on my collage. I separated my collage into 5 parts. The 5 parts are the crisis going on in Lost Boys’ home country Sudan, the Kakuma refugee camp where some of them are staying, the Dinka tribe, problems they faced in America, and ways for you to help them get rid of the pain.

On the top right corner, there are pictures of conflicts happening in Sudan. I pasted some of the pictures showing the people in Sudan and cut out the map of Sudan into pieces to show people that there are conflicts in the country. There are pictures of dead people and a rebel fighter standing with bullets all around his body. They show people why the ‘Lost boys of Sudan’ had to run away from their home.

On the down left corner, there are pictures of Kakuma refugee camp and Dinka tribe. The pictures show a brief daily life in the Kakuma refugee camp. Then on the upper left corner, there are pictures and texts describing what the Lost Boys of Sudan had experienced during living in America. The text saying ‘heaven?’ describes what the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan thinks of America before them actually and live there. Because most of them think that America is a heavenly place with a lot of money and happiness. But when they go to America and live there, they experience all kinds of things. Cultural chock, prejudice, hard work and even racism sometimes. The symbol near the pictures is a symbol of KKK, representing some of the racist comment and actions that they have experienced in America.

Then in the middle, there are ways for you to help the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ find relief and comfort. There are sites that you can check out to get more information about the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ to help them.



Think Creatively!
There are some creativivity aspects on my collage. I cut a map of Sudan to show that there are conflicts going on in Sudan. I have changed the font sizes for my six word memoir to get smaller and smaller. Also, the letters look shaky and weak.
This show that the 'lost boys' are living in despair and that they are getting weaker every seconds.

Reason Critically!
I used the images and texts to show my understanding of the Lost Boy's situation.
I put pictures of soldiers, burning lands,and undernourished children to show the conflicts in Sudan. Along with those picture, i put a picture of a dead body, showing that there are people dying every day in Sudasn due to war and hunger.Then i put a picture of a rebel fighter. The rebels have caused civil war and other small crisis in Sudan. Then, i put some texts describing the Lost Boys' life in Kakuma refugee camp. Lack of food and theives at night. I also put the Lost Boys smling together to show that they are dependent to each other and confider each other as friends.

Communicate Effectively!
Explain how your collage creates awareness for the Lost Boys’ plight.
My collage shows that there are people suffering in Sudan. Then I put texts with some pictures of Sudanese in America to show the problems that they are encountering in America. Racism, prejudice, low paying job and problems with education. Some of the Lost Boys went to America and ended up with lives worse than their lives at the refugee camp.

Live Ethically!

I think my collage demonstrated empathy and might evoke an emotional response from my viewrs. Because I put pictures hard daily life in the Sudan and people suffering. I put a text saying '200000 estimated death' , which might touch somebody's heart and evoke an emotional resonse. Also, there's an extremly skinny child with sad face. All these elements on the collage would demonstrate empathy. Also, I put some donation sites and a picture of smiling Sudanese kids to enable the viewers to take a look at the sites and help Sudan.

Lost Boy living in America

The 'Lost boys of Sudan' are a huge group of boys and some girls who fled from Sudan due to the civil war and other crisis that happened in Sudan. The war happened because of the difference between the South Sudan and North Sudan. The war forced the 'Lost boys of Sudan' to travled throuhg hot deserts in Africa to find new shelter. Many of the Lost Boys died during their journey. They encountered extreme heat, lack of food and lion attacks. Peter was one of the people who survied the whole disaster. When he was a little boy, his village was attacked by bunch of militias/rebles. He fled from his village and traveled to Ethiopia. But soon, they were forced to leave. After that, he went to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and spent 11 years at the camp with other Lost boys. After spending his life in the refugee camp, he was chosen to migrate to Ameria along with his friend Santino. Not knowing the harsh future, he was hoping to find 'heaven' in America. But soon, he realized that there no such thing like heaven on earth.

As Peter tried to assimilate into the American culture, he faced some problems related to racism and cultural difference. After staying in America for few days, he moved to Kansas to receive a better education. As he applied for his highschool, he had to answer few questions fro his ESL teacher. She asked 'what would you do if you had a million dollars?' She didn't really think about the difference between Peter's and her culture. Peter is a refugee. He doesn't really know how big a million dollar is. Also, Peter finds a job at Wal-Mart. He has to work outside under the hot sun. His boss gives him a real racistic comment. He says that since Peter's skin is already black and he's from Africa where there's hot sun, he should be able to tolerate the hot weather. Nobody wants to work under the sun. But the boss thinks that Africans are suitable for those kinds of stuff. Later, Peter talks to the school counselor about joining the 4-year college. But the counselor tells him that he doesn't have to. He says that he can take the 2 year community college. He doesn't expect much from him because of his prjudice that black people aren't smart. But when he hears that Peter's in the National Honor Society, he's surprised. Showing that he didn't expect much once more.

In America, he tries to cope with the cultural shock that he's facing. He tried to make foreign friend at his school. Sometimes he would meet his friend to play basketball with him. Peter also joins the church gruop and associates himself with other Americans. Althought he feels kind of left out because of the cultural difference, he tries hard to become one of them. Peter experienced a lot of difficulties after arriving at America. Althought it seems like he doesn't think of his tribe, his caring for the refugee camp and his friends are visible on his phone calls and conversations. He said that he wants to be a help for his brother back in Kenya.

Duet Acting

ACT 2 SCENE 2 LINE 65 ~ 107

1. The part where Decius talks to Caesar about Carpulnia's dream, interpreting it in his own way. Then he persuades Caesar to go to the Capitol.

2. The reasons why this scene is important is because it shows how ambitiousand gulible Caesar is. It also foreshadows Caesar's death

3. Act 2 Scene 2 Line 65 ~ 107
4. CAESAR: Shall Caesar send a lie?
Have I in conquest stretch'd mind arm so far,
To be afeard to tell greybeards the truth?
Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come.

DECIUS: Most mighty Caesar, let me know some cause,
Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so.

CAESAR: The cause is at my will: I will not come;
That is enough to satisfy the Senate.
But for your private satisfation,
Because I love you, I will let you know:
Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home.
She dreamt tonight she saw my statue,
Which like a fountain with an hundred spouts
Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it.
And these does she apply for warnings and portents
And evils imminent; and on her knee
Hath begg'd that I will stay at home today.

DECIUS: This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision fair and fortunate:
Your statue sputing blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bath'd,
Signifies that from your great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press
For tintures, stains, relics, and cognizance.
This by Calpurnia's dream is signified.

CAESAR: And this way have you well expounded it.

DECIUS: I have, when you have heard what I can say:
And know it now. The Senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar.
If you shall send them word you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock
Apt to be render'd, for some one to say,
'Break up the Senate till another time,
When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams.'
If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper,
'Lo, Caesar is afraid'?
Pardon em, Caesar; for my dear dear love
To your proceeding bids me tell you this,
And reason to my love is liable.

CAESAR: How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia!
I am ashamed I did yield to them.
Give me my robe, for I will go.

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