The PIcture of your Wordle

Lady Macbeth Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2856629/jk

Macbeth Oral Presentation Reflection

                Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth has many underlying connections to the true nature of human beings. Through the characters’ decisions and reactions one can see that there are indeed some basic characteristics that not a single one of them can avoid. Guilt, for instance, catches up even to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who seem almost super-human at one point, leading a life of murder and betrayal. They seem unaffected by the fact that they were the original causes of murdering Duncan, the guards, Banquo, and Macduff’s family. At the beginning, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth don’t show any signs of guilt, but then Lady Macbeth accidentally reveals her remorse in her sleep. While sleepwalking, she screams “Out damned spot! Out I say!” when referring to her hands being covered in Duncan’s blood and not being able to get them clean (V, i, 30). This hand-washing is symbolic of Lady Macbeth trying to rid herself of the crime she committed: but she can’t. This is the point in the play when Lady Macbeth, a woman thought too cruel to care, shows remorse.  

                Macbeth is also someone who exemplifies what it means to be human when he gets caught up in a greedy struggle for power. Like every other human being, when we get a taste of something sweet; we want more. Macbeth tastes the sweetness of being King, and couldn’t help but want more power. In order to maintain and gain more power, Macbeth did virtually anything that needed to be done. By noticing how Macbeth’s thirst for power caused him to make terrible decisions, like killing and betraying his friends, we can see how power corrupts him. As he got deeper into his wrongdoings, he felt worse and worse. Macbeth even went slightly mad because of it, hallucinating so badly that he yelled “Avaunt, and quit my sight!” to the ghost of his recent victim and best friend Banquo (III, iv, 111). Macbeth gets engulfed with greed and he does anything that he thinks will get him more power: even if he is no longer gaining that same good feeling once he attains it. When Macbeth committed his first crime to become King, his momentary glory overshadowed his guilt. After that; however, he never really felt as happy, yet he continued to commit more crimes to attain more power. The only possible reason for that is that greed comes with being human.

                From working in groups I learned how wide the range of ideas are when looking at each topic we discuss. It was very interesting having an idea so definite in my mind about, for example, why Macbeth kept murdering after he became King, and then one of my group members would come along with something totally different, yet still very correct. Working in a group added more depth and insight for everyone. It really got me thinking and questioning all my thoughts and opinions.

                Overall, something important that I have learned is that cooperating and being flexible is crucial. I learned this when my group members and I noticed how busy each of our schedules were, and how it was difficult for anything to match up! We solved it in a way that still made the workload the same for everyone, but we worked on different parts at different times. It did require a lot of communication, but we did it. I am happy at how things worked out and that we managed to deal with a tough situation.

                Something that I noticed that I need to work on for next time is how to create a video so that when you play it back to a class who has no context for it, they’ll follow along easily. I think my group could have talked more slowly and clearly, and done some other technological tricks to make our movie easy to follow such as captions, slower transitions, and easier-to-distinguish characters.

                Overall I am proud of the analysis my group shared with the class. I am proud of how we all joined our ideas well to create one analysis with many perspectives and hopefully depth. It let us explain why we did the video the way we had, and hopefully that came across to our audience.

                If I were to divide a pie with the % each group member worked, I would divide it equally in three. Like I mentioned earlier, although we may have worked on different parts at different times we made sure the work load was even.  

Act Four, Scene One

            My group chose Act Four, Scene One to be the scene for our project. My understanding of the scene so far is this. Three witches open the scene standing over a cauldron, a thunder-filled, stormy night is the setting. They are making a potion while describing the many ingredients. Hecate, the Queen of the Witches, enters, praises the other three witches for their work, and leaves again. Macbeth enters and demands they answer his questions about his future/destiny. The Weird Sisters then call upon their 'masters' and they each say something different to Macbeth. Macbeth didn't even need to answer the questions, for they knew what he was thinking. In all, three apparitions occur: an armed head that warns Macbeth to beware Macduff, a bloody child that says none of woman born shall harm macbeth, and a crowned child holding a tree saying that Macbeth will never be killed, not until Birnham Wood comes to Dunsinane. From these prophecies, Macbeth believes himself virtually immortal, and he plans for the killing of Macduff's family. 
            My group chose these two EQs: What does it mean to be human? and How does power corrupt? We chose these because we thought they really exemplified some of the main themes in the play. Guilt and regret are prominent emotions in the play, and we thought we would integrate those into the first EQ. Those emotions come with being human and we were going to further explore that idea. Macbeth's downfall is really the biggest part of the play, and it is largely caused by his corruption due to power. We were going to explore that aspect, and we are planning to tie both EQs together. We believe power corrupting is largely connected to being human.

comment to conflicting...

Ilike how you found examples in the first Act ot support M's dilema. You see where he is at and how he is torn. I like that with support from the play you were able to further develop your writing. You have good insight into the situation adn you saw the role his wife played. It is interesting how our emotions impact our lives.

Macbeth Act I EQ Response

EQ: How do we deal with conflicting elements within our personalities?

               Every day people face decisions where different elements of their personalities are fighting against one another. In Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, the main character Macbeth has conflicting ideas in his mind about the murder of King Duncan. He is very unsure of himself and can't seem to make a decision, with lots of thoughts in his head from both sides of the argument. Every person handles making these tough decisions differently, but a popular factor that often pushes the decision-maker to make their choice is someone else's persuasion. Lady Macbeth persuasivley speaks to Macbeth, convincing him to carry out the murder of The King. She shames him, asking him "Art thou afeard/ to be the same in thine own act and valour/ As though are in desire?", and Macbeth certainly starts believing her reasoning, for he does not want to be called a coward (I, i, 42-44). Like Macbeth, many people deal with conflicting elements in their personalities by listening to someone they trust; even though it is not necessarily always the right thing to do.    

Response

You have insight as shown through your use of the story the lesson what it means ot be an insider/outsider. I was glad to seee you bring in textual support to help futhter support your point. You do connect to the bigger golobal society as well. Why do you think that life is that way? Why do you think taht we will always look at others as outsiders or if things are out of our reach we will be outsiders?

Link to help me through Macbeth

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/macbeth

Poem that connects to me and my EQ

"Daffodils" (1804)
I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

My EQ: What personal qualities help of hinder a person's growth?

            This poem I believe connects to my EQ in multiple ways. Not only is it a lovely sounding poem, but there are many meaningful metaphors that allow the reader to go deeper and deeper into the poem to find many personal connections. First of all, the beginning line "I wander'd lonely as a cloud/that floats on high o'er vales and hills" shows Wordsworth's beginning state of loneliness and tranquil solitude. He then goes on to find happiness in a very small things: daffodils. This shows that his positive, open attitude helped him find happiness and let him grow as a person. I can imagine many others who wouldn't even take a second look at this daffodil field, but his personality lets him take great pleasure in small things. That is how his personal qualities help his growth as a person. Personally I can connect to this peom too. It connects to every moment in life I've ever had and will ever have. It shows how a positive attitude can make all the difference and help me grow as a person, despite my situation.

"The Charmer" Essential Question Response

EQ: How do our personal experiences shape our view of others? Ourselves?

               Our personal experiences shape our view of others. This statement is demonstrated in the short story "The Charmer" by Budge Wilson. The protagonist has grown up with a "charmer" of a brother and realizes how many horrible things happened because of it. Years later, as she has finally recovered from her brother's bewitchment, she realizes the similarity between him and one of her daughters. The similarity is not noticed in physical ways, but in the way they act, "like quicksilver, pretty and mischievous, quick-tempered and full of laughter"(p. 8). It is then that she decides  not to fall for her charm and she administers consequences at an early age. The protagonist would not have done this if she had not had that personal experience with her brother Zack in her childhood. If it were not for that experience, she would have continually blamed her daughter's outbursts on teenage hormones and made other excuses for her behaviour. This would have led to a much different life than the one she will have thanks to the fact that she acted upon the knowledge she gained from her personal experience with her brother Zack.

"The Lesson" Essential Question Response

EQ: What does it mean to be an insider or an outsider?

              Being an "insider" or an "outsider" is dependent on who you are, because different people have different definitions of those terms. Although there are many different opinions on that, people agree on the fact that "insiders" generally have something desirable that "outsiders" do not have.  In the case of the characters in the short story "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara, the children and Miss Moore seem to be outsiders. They seem this way because they are without nearly as much money as the insiders, who are depicted as being the elite of New York City. Being an outsider in this case means being  so much poorer than the insiders that it is difficult for them even to dream of purchasing things from the toy store in which the wealthy probably shop frequently. The gap between the insiders and the outsiders is shown by the powerful statement that Miss Moore told the kids: "Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven"(p. 4). Thus, although I believe it is in the eye of the beholder what it means to be an insider or an outsider, in the case of this story it means that you are part of one side of the divide in an unequal society.

Visual that connects to my short story

              In my opinion, this image of a toy store connects to the story "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara. Not only is it a picture of a toy store which relates directly to the story in that sense, but all the sparkle in the window really relates to how all the poor children gaze at its splendour in awe. This picture shows flashy, glitzy, and technically 'unnecessary' toys just like the toys described in the window of the toy store in the short story. I find the name of this toy store also connects. "Sweet Dreams" is an ironic name since the children all did dream of owning things like this, but it still made them mad, especially Silvia. This picture also relates to the location where Sugar has her epiphany and Miss Moore really feels like the day was worth it, so it is really a significant image that depicts the significant 'day trip into New York' . That's how this image relates to the short story "The lesson".

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alynawaters/3332000899/