Writing Through Time: From Then to Now

In my first major writing piece of the year, an essay of Paolo Coehlo’s book, The Alchemist, I had some difficulties with my ideas and content, my writing did not always flow well, and with that, came other problems. When I gave the topic, I had a bad habit of breaking focus on it and making it seem weak and it appeared I did not truly understand the topic. I also found many good ideas prior to the writing piece but I was unable to give a strong explanation about them, so the ideas became useless to me. As an example, when I found a quote that I thought worked well with the topic of the paragraph, I would not be able to say why I thought it was a good quote and I stumbled on finding the correct context. Though, as the year progressed, and we began to cover more creative writing techniques in class, I improved significantly. In my Julius Caesar essay, I was able to make sense of my writing by reviewing the main ideas and topics of the book over and over. To show I had a firm grip on the topic, I went through the book multiple times to find the ideal quotes that I knew I could explain and that I knew would do well to give good context. When I found the main contexts of the chosen quotes, the rest came easily. I could link in relevant and interesting ideas that would not originally be in the writing piece. Along with give me good context, the quotes and ideas had to be able to keep the reader interested.

In my Alchemist essay, I even found trouble in keeping my attention on the piece, and I still have problems with it. The hooks I brought to the piece were not strong enough and kept breaking under the lack of interesting elements. Along with my topic/starting paragraph, my body paragraphs were not started clearly, making it hard for the reader to understand the points I was trying to give. Over time, I was able to develop the skill to create good hooks for my reader. The quotes I had chosen for my Julius Caesar Essay were read over and over again, by me and my peers to see if they made enough of an impact in my writing to earn high marks. To achieve superior organization I think I may need much more preparation time to get the best I can out of my topic and quotes to create an interesting piece of work.

As far as improvement goes, I believe I have made some significant progress. My writing now, as compared to then, is much easier to understand and easier to flow through to get the main ideas. My original pieces of work did not do well in terms of flowing with each other and connecting to quotes and so on and so forth, whereas my work now is easier for me to go through when revising and when reading. I was also finding trouble in giving a clear, clear topic in my essays before so my writing piece would sound a little strange, as it would be hard to understand what it was about. All in all, throughout the course of the year, I picked up quite a few skills that made my work easier to read and in the long shot, write. I learned how to easily identify the main topics of the literature, to find appropriate ways to address them in writing and to get a clear visual across to my reader with some creative thinking involved.

The SLRs that worked best for me in writing my essays were Think Creatively and Collaborate Constructively. It takes effort to make a piece of writing sound nice and smooth but it also takes some imagination to add interesting elements to it as well. When writing my essay, I, as well as everyone else, despise reading bland, lengthy paragraphs that do not hook you in what so ever, so I make an effort to do so. I toss in some emotion into the mixture with strong words that grab attention such as ‘Tragedy’ or ‘True Joy’ and other words that will make someone want to read more. As well as keeping a slight grip on the audience, I also had to make sure I was giving my point across, which was the main point of the whole essay. My essay could be lengthy, bulky and stretched out, but it is worthless if I there is no point to the words I use. My statements have to be chosen carefully to make sure they give the reader a solid base on which they can build the rest of the information given from the writing piece.

Brutus: The Man of Internal War

‘I know no personal cause to spurn at him but for the general. He would be crown’d: how that might change his nature, there’s the question.’

In the play Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Brutus, a member of the Roman Republic is attempting to justify his actions for killing Caesar. Julius Caesar was an ambitious, powerful character that had been offered the crown and with what Brutus knows, he finds the situation could prove dangerous. He knows that he has no personal reasons for murdering Caesar but he contemplates on what Caesar may become if he is to take the crown. Brutus’ decision has his actions driven by what he finds is beneficial to the people. Brutus joins the conspiracy and murders Julius Caesar, but he does so with honorable intentions and love for Rome and it’s people.

Brutus does many of the things he does for the good of Rome and the murder of Caesar was no exception. Since Brutus has no individual explanation to strike Caesar, he will do it out of patriotism towards his people and country. ‘It may be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him but for the general.’ At this point in time, Brutus knows that if he kills Caesar, it will not be for his own benefit but for Rome. Brutus describes Caesar as a serpent, still in it’s egg, and harmless. If the people were to give a crown to Caesar, he sees as if they would be giving him a deadly weapon to cause grief and destruction. Brutus killed Caesar to protect the people from what Caesar could become. His intentions are not for revenge or envy but for the better of others. Brutus also finds that the killing of Caesar would be like the washing away of filth of Rome, to purify the city of the ambition of Caesar and he tells that to the other conspirators. ‘We shall be called purgers, not murderers.’ Brutus’ reasoning for killing Caesar shows he has true patriotism and his patriotism is where he finds his honor.

Honor is one of, if not the most valuable thing to Brutus. Brutus’ forefathers had taken down tyrannical rulers before him for the better of Rome and he knows that his reasoning should be the same. ‘Well honor is the subject of my story.’ Brutus is a highly respected figure of Rome and he takes his honor in all seriousness. Brutus’ love for the people drove him to do what is best for them and what will allow him to build if not, keep in his honor. Appearance is not the only thing Brutus attaches honor to but also his actions. While meeting with the other conspirators the night before the kill, Brutus lets the other conspirators know that killing Caesar should not be done out of wrath. They should sacrifice him not butcher him. ‘Let’s be sacrificers but not butchers… Caesar must bleed for it. And, gentle friends, let’s kill him boldly but not wrathfully.’ Brutus’ honorable intentions lead him to kill Caesar with high respects, as Brutus does respect Caesar as well as love him. He must also let the other conspirators know that in their act, they must do it out of confidence and courage to stand up for the people not with envy for themselves. Brutus’ intentions were indeed honorable and he was not the only one to see so.

Brutus’ reasoning for his actions allowed him to conclude that what he was doing was the right thing. Through his patriotism Brutus would protect the people of Rome and he would maintain his honor. These motivators made Brutus act for the people, leaving the benefits to them. Unfortunately, Brutus’ goal was not met, as a matter of fact; he met the polar opposite of what he wanted to happen. Antony, an extremely loyal follower of Caesar turned the clean sacrifice into a dirty, bloody murder enraging the people and riling up those who supported Caesar. But after all had been settled, even Antony admitted the Brutus was an honorable man. Even though it was not met, Brutus’ goal was a noble one. His actions were driven out of selflessness and high respect, not envy and anger. His mind was set on what was best for Rome and not himself proving it worthy.

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

It is almost strange to me that I take peoples suffering and use it for creative thinking but in this way, I can show others all of the trouble the Sudanese people live through every day. The Sudanese strife can be portrayed in many ways but I chose to show that for every bad encounter, a good one trails closely behind it. Many, many things happened to the Sudanese Lost Boys; loss of loved ones and homes and war trodden dreams but now that they have been given the opportunities to not only give themselves a new start but to help their families and friends back home. Keeping in mind that life in the United States is no easy task, many of the Lost Boys have pulled through with each other through thing such as sports and assimilation centers, after all, there is no Heaven on Earth.

I used the text on my poster to evoke action to the viewer. Some sections emphasize protection that should be given and some emphasize help that is on the way but the main supporters of the text are my chosen images. My images are, if not emotional, informative. There are news headlines, real images of Dinka people and culture and literal representations of what is happening to the people over in Sudan. Chains and bonds, fire and tears and separation all connect to the suffering people in literal and figurative terms. To bring back that idea of one good result for every bad, the images in the good side of the page show gentle hopes and peace and help for the people that arrive. Education for jobs, jobs to earn money, money to live, the whole idea of a new start forming into a domino effect. Another emphasis on my pictures works it’s way into the placement. I used the images of suffering on the lower half of the page, and the brighter side of the issue on the top.

Throughout the page, I show still parts of Dinka culture but I also work in the plight of the Lost Boys. In a burning country, I have a trail of feet showing where the boys went physically but where they went mentally and emotionally are other stories. Filling in the back of the page are words that can only explain the bare minimum of what the boys faced even though those words are powerful in themselves. A hidden eye reveals itself to say that even though all of this trouble, even though so many lives are being stolen, even though ear-piercing explosions seem to shatter the sky, no one seems to know, and even if they know, they pretend they do not see.

From the fire to the fading banner to the tears and the child soldier between the text and images are small cuts of despair from the people that ooze the need for empathy that I hope will be mended by people all over the world. The people of Sudan are suffering and the only things that people will truly ever do, is talk about doing something, no matter how much they say they will help. There is no solution to this issue if all anyone will do is say what they will do but not get off their bums and truly do something. As was written in Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar’, ‘Speak arms not words for me!’. In other words, enough talk and more action. As in said on the poster, ‘The World promised protection, let’s keep that promise.’ The World promised protection, not the US, not Canada, not Spain or the UK, the world promised to do something and my work speaks out on that issue. Ease the suffering, help put out the flames and let the people know that their cries are heard.

There Is No Heaven on Earth

From the hot climate of Africa, to the industries of Houston Texas, Peter assimilates to American culture. A Sundanese refugee, part of a group known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, Peter had much trouble starting out because not only was he adjusting to the US culture but the US people were adjusting to him. During the first few months, Peter and his friends were discriminated against by people and jobs were hard to find because of their color. Many people showed strong racism towards him and on a few occasions, crimes were committed against them such as thievery, when they were barely making ends meet as it was. Money was tight and out side friends were scarce and to top off the trouble, the people in Sudan still needed help. Many of the jobs with better pay required some kind of education and in Houston, Peter just couldn't find it, so he packed his few belongings and headed on up to Kansas City, KA.

Peter knew that what he was looking for (a better start, help for back home) just couldn't be found where he was. In Kansas, Peter was able to find good people, other Sudanese refugees who had found a place to receive a good education, he took the opportunity and did his best to get the most out of it. After moving to Kansas City, Peter made new friends and within the relationships he gained more and more respect from other people. Even though the beginning was hard, Peter made it through the culture shock and cultural divisions safely.

Shakespeare: Julius Caesar

The context of my passage is of Marullus and Flavius, two tribunes of the Roman Senate, talking about how Caesar has been carefully planning his every move so he can become an idol to the people of Rome. In their eyes, Caesar is gaining to much power and too easily influencing the people of Rome, like a wolf to a flock of sheep. For example Flavius said to Marullas "It is no matter; let no images Be hung with Caesar’s trophies. I’ll about And drive away the vulgar from the streets; So do you too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers pluck’d from Caesar’s wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in servile fearfulness." This shows that Caesar has too much power and he is compared to a dangerous vulture gliding over head the Roman People, making them prey to their fear.

The reason my partner and I picked this is because of it's significance to the story... This passage is foreshadowing what Caesar may do if he continues to grow in power and what greatness Rome will be without his authority or command. It also shows that there is internal conflict in the Republic with Caesar as it's cause.

Page 22-24, Scene 1, Lines 33-75

Marullus: Where fore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? what tributaries follow him to Rome, To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels? You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things! O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft Have you clim'b up to walls and battlements, To towers and windows, yea,to chimney-tops, Your infants in your arms, and there have sat The livelong day, with patient expectation, To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome: Have you not made an universal shout, That Tiber trembled underneath her banks To hear the replication of your sounds Made in her concave shores? And do you now put on your best attire? And do you now cull out a holiday? And do you now strew flowers in his way, That comes in triumph over Pompey’s blood? Be gone! Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, Pray to the gods to intermit the plague That needs must light on this ingratitude.

Flavius: Go, go, good countrymen, and for this fault Assemble all the poor men of your sort; Draw them to the Tiber banks, and weep your tears Into the channel, till the lowest stream Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.

(Exeunt all the Commoners)

See where their basest mettle be not mov’d; They vanish tongue-ties in their guiltiness. Go you down that way towards the Capitol; This way will I Disrobe the images, If you do find them deck’d with ceremonies.

Marullus: May we do so? You know it is the feast of Lupercal.

Flavius: It is no matter; let no images Be hung with Caesar’s trophies. I’ll about And drive away the vulgar from the streets; So do you too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers pluck’d from Caesar’s wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in fearfulness.

My partner in this duet is Ryan Scott