You Either Die a Hero, Or You Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain

Brutus

• Has an undeniable sense of honor for his country.
• Believes the no one man should rise to enough power to control an entire nation.
• Epitomizes Roman values.
• Is able to completely separate his public life from his private life. 
• Only plans to kill Caesar for the greater good of Rome.

Caesar

• A great Roman dictator and general.
• Declines the crown of Rome several times. 
• Is not power-hungry (at first).
• Is willing to do anything for what he thinks is the greater good of his country.
• Has extreme perseverance. 

25 Random Facts About Dan

1. I'm part of a family of four.
2. I've made about 100 short films in the past four years and counting.
3. I've always wanted to learn how play the guitar and/or the electric cello.
4. I have a primal fear of horses.
5. My 8th grade class and I were once on the news for singing "Manic Monday".
6. I used to play the piano in 4th grade.
7. I played the Jaws theme on the piano during a 4th grade talent show, which was basically just me playing the same two notes over and over again for three and a half minutes.
8. I've always wanted to live in California.
9. I've collected all of the Iron Man 2 Slurpee cups from 7-Eleven.
10. I think 3-D movies are the downfall of modern cinema and will give you an extensively long rant about them if you make the mistake of asking me for my opinion.
11. I basically like every type of music there is, except rap and country.
12. I am a proud NolanFan #InNolanWeTrust
13. I have a countdown clock on my desktop that shows the amount of days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the midnight premiere of the third Batman movie in 2012.
14. I have another primal fear of roller coasters.
15. I've always wanted to learn how to surf.
16. I used to be obsessed with fish and the ocean in general.
17. When I grow up, my dream is to become a Hollywood film director-writer.
18. My favorite car is the Audi R8.
19. I would be lost without my friends and family.
20. I think the second Iron Man movie was terrible.
21. If a magic genie appeared and gave me three wishes, my third one would be for an interchangeable British accent.
22. At heart, I am the biggest nerd you will ever meet in your entire life.
23. I also think Michael Bay is the epitome of the downfall of modern film directing.
24. My other primal fears are roller coasters, public speaking, and ordering things over the phone.
25. This list is over.

The Washington D.C. Escapades of the Honors English Class

The excursion we took to Washington D.C. for the Folger Shakespeare Theater presentation, coordinated by Mrs. Zurkowski and embarked on by both sections of the Honors English classes, was a fantastic Shakespearian experience.

Most of the techniques the acting troupe at the presentation used to help us understand and relate to Shakespeare's writing were greatly understandable for people in our age group. Since they were conveyed in the context of a medley of plays, the experience was also reinforced with examples.

There were also a lot of interactive fun activities conveyed on stage. The death scenes were dementedly hilarious in their disturbing and violent, yet very enjoyable to watch, nature, and the interactive sentence diagraming with exagerrated hand motions was a great way to bring sentences that we had once interpreted as black and white text on a page, to life.

The overall trip to our nation's capital was a separate escapade in itself. What with standing in front of the capital building, eating lunch at the union station, taking ice cream samples from complete strangers, and watching people sunbathe on public sidewalks, Washington D.C. had a lot to offer us in our learning experience.

Overall, I think this trip was a great way of reinforcing how to help interpret Shakespeare through a perspective of our individual daily lives, and I think it should be offered to all classes in the future, as I will use the techniques I learned for the rest of my Shakespearian learning career.

Their Eyes Were Watching Dan's Book Review (And His Hilariously Clever Titles)

Consensus: The interestingly hybrid style of writing and delightfully controversial symbolism provided by “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston makes it a worthy reading experience for any reader looking to fully immerse themselves in the controversy of the Harlem Renaissance.  

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” is an ethnic and influential love story written by Zora Neale Hurston as a response to the events of the Harlem Renaissance. While the book deftly blends beautifully written narrative with somewhat “unconventionally” written pieces of dialogue, it also adds a pinch of backlash towards the oppression against women (black women in particular) into its literary makeup.    

            The book is told from the perspective of several highly-opinionated black characters, thus it is fitting for Hurston to have combined such jarringly contradictory forms of writing together in the book. The pieces of dialogue, which are written according to their literal pronunciation (for instance, “Ah got several chillin.”), were a gutsy move on Hurston’s part to include in a novel. However, due to the context of the book itself, it works extremely well to paint an accurate picture of both the literal context of the setting and the unfiltered thoughts of the characters’ minds.

            The book is also thought of by some in its entirety as a metaphor for the oppression brought on to African American women by racism and sexism. Whether Hurston more or less actually intended this mindset for the reader, or all the controversy sparked by its popularity, is mostly up to the reader. That being said, I lean more towards the side of readers that believe Hurston intended the novel to be read as a somewhat symbolic love story, not a fiery political attack.

            The phenomenon conveyed by Hurston’s novel is that the general public for some reason seems to look for the “deeper, politically opinionated” meaning to something that is intended to be simple. If you were to write a love story with a lot of symbolism, that’s one thing; but if you make all of the characters in the story black, all of the sudden you open a torrent of political controversy.

            In conclusion, Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a book that is best read with an organic mind. Meaning, the reader should approach the book with a fresh, unbiased mindset in order to enjoy the reading experience in the way Hurston intended. To me, this book is a solid 4 out-of-5 star effort. It is a truly beautiful love story that picks at the reader’s mind in an interesting and unprecedented way.

Their Eyes Were Watching Dan's Symbolism

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" contains an extensive amount of symbolism integrated into the story by author Zora Neal Hurston. Most of the symbolism revolves around the central point of oppression brought upon the black women in a venomous hybrid of sexism and racism. Whether or not Hurston intended all of this symbolism to be interpreted from the story, or whether she was just trying to convey a simple love story, is up to the reader.

These are a few examples of symbolism noticed in the book:

 • Trees/Roots- African people without any roots

 • Pear tree- Janie's budding womanhood, coming of age

 • Mule- the black woman's experience. She does the worst jobs for white people and black man. She gets  "walked on." Logan buys Janie a mule to represent how he is tired of treating Janie like a princess or white  woman, and now he wants her to do the heavy labor jobs around the farm.

 • Gate/Road- Related to the metaphor at the beginning. The Gate is the shore and the Road represents the  waves as Janie looks down the road to find a new dream. Opportunity.

 • The New Horizon- Janie is constantly looking over the gatepost, down the road, to a new horizon; a dream or new start

 • Eatonville General Store- represents the center of this first all-black town

 • Illumination of the lamp post represents the start of a new all-black town. It also shows that Joe Starks is omnipotent and likes other to bow down to him, including Janie.

 • Joe and Janie's two-story house- Seems to represent his similarity to a plantation owner, while the hard-working townspeople live in smaller shack-style homes like servants' quarters.

 • Tobacco spittoon- represents how wealthy Joe is

 • Guitar- playful side of people

 • Overalls- Working side of people

 • Janie's hair hanging down represents her freedom

 • Janie's hair rag represents her bond and acquiescence to Joe Starks

 • The color blue represents a compromise between Janie and Tea Cake

 • Checkers- Janie's equality with Tea Cake; didn't have that with Joe

 • Packet of seeds- rebirth, new life, remembrance, rejuvenation

 • Fish- sharing of relationship

 • Muck- the dirt represents working class, becoming rich, growth

 • Hurricane- God's almighty power

Their Eyes Weren't Watching Zora Neal Hurston Until A Little Later

• Zora Neal Hurston was a highly influential writer who was closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
• She was born on Jan. 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama.
• Her mother died in 1904 when Hurston was only 13 years old.
• Hurston was famous for her interpretations of African American folktales and her literary works focusing on African American life in the southern United States.
• She wrote the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God", which was published in 1937.
• She was a major influence on African American writers during the Harlem Renaissance.
• Hurston died due to health problems and passed relatively unrecognized by the literary community.
• Passed away in January 1960 after having a stroke.
• Regained popularity after an essay about her life and work was published in 1975.
• Is sometimes called "one of the greatest writers of our time."

Photos and facts from http://www.zoranealehurston.com/biography.html

The Who, What, and How of the Harlem Renaissance

• The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York.
• The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s and early 1930s.
• The Renaissance goes by several alternate names, including "the New Negro movement", "the New Negro Renaissance", and "the Negro Renaissance"
• This renaissance marked the first time in history that African American literary works were taken seriously and brought to the Nation's attention.
• This renaissance focused on the uprise of the credibility of African American media.
• The movement began at the end of World War I.
• One of the reasons the renaissance emerged was due to the formation of an African American middle class after the Civil War.
• The renaissance was primarily a literary movement.
• The movement occured during a period of upheaval in African American rights.
• Many African Americans moved to northern cities to take advantage of employment oppritunities.

• Claude McKay was born in Jamaica and later moved to and lived in America.
• McKay was an author who wrote poetry and novels depicting life as an African American.
• He was one of the first African American writers to attract a widespread white audience.
• His first book was called "Home to Harlem", which depicted the life of an African American soldier returning home from war.
• He converted to Catholicism in 1942.



• Zora Neale Hurston was an African American writer and folklorist.
• Hurston was famous for her interpretations of African American folktales and her literary works focusing on African American life in the southern United States.
• She wrote the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God", which was published in 1937.
• She was a major influence on African American writers during the Harlem Renaissance.
• Hurston died due to health problems and passed relatively unrecognized by the literary community.

• Jean Toomer was an influential American writer during the Harlem Renaissance.
• Toomer's novel "Cane" was an innovative and influential literary landmark that signified a new energy in African American arts.
• His novel "Cane" was a largely experimental combination of poetry and prose.
• The book documented the life of African Americans in the rural South and urban North.
• Was elected into the Georgia Hall of Fame in 2002.

**All photos and facts were taken from Microsoft Student/Encarta. No copyright infringement intended.

Into the Wild: Creative Project

Download my creative project here: http://www.mediafire.com/?1f91b24aiw6351t

This presentation gives a factual account of the places visited by Christopher McCandless during his journey Into the Wild (see what I did there?) The presentation follows the plot structure of the book.

“Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity – and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received.”

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about Christopher McCandless based on this quote. In my opinion, I think I can definitely see and kind of identify with Chris and what he was attempting to forge by going into the wild, however I do not think that it was so brash that it deserved the tons and tons of admiration that he recieved. I also think that Chris was being a little too cynical, and this blinded him in a way from the rest of the world that was attempting to embrace him.

Into the Wild (Cont'd)

22.              Chris attempted to abandon his old life and seek a new one as a wanderer through the wild. This statement applies to Chris because he attempted to abandon his old reality and forge a new one, and Chris went into the desert to find this reality that he had tried to create.

23.              Jan is a 40 year old leather tramp who figured into Chris’ travels by traveling with him as he went into the wild.

24.              Chris traveled down the Colorado River to the Gulf of California, admiring the beauty of the surroundings that he passed along his 400 mile journey.

25.             His entries are in 3^rd person.

26.           Chris reaches the conclusion that real meaning cannot be found through materialism or in some cases tangible happiness, rather the joy of living life to the fullest.

27.              Chris lived a very conventional life in Bullhead City in which he separated himself from a life of nomadism and settled down in the city.

28.              The people in Slabs are very diverse and somewhat amusing, and this is similar to the surrounding conditions.

29.              Jan recounted that Chris was very social at times and had a way with animals and music.

30.              Jan Burres concluded that Chris would be fine in Alaska, because he had gotten thus far without much trouble.

Chapter 6 & 7

31.              Franz asked Jon Krakauer for a copy of the magazine featuring the story of McCandless’s death in Alaska. He drove Alex to Colorado and left him to hitchhike after that. Krakauer thought that McCandless had the biggest lasting impact of Franz out of anyone Chris met during his travels.

32.              Anza-Borrego is a desert state park that Chris camped in.

33.              On New Year’s Eve 1957, Franz’s wife and child were killed by a drunk driver. This caused him to spiral into an alcohol-based depression until he finally decided to reform his life and adopt Okinawan children.

34.              Franz thought Chris was a well-off young man and that he wanted to help him make something of his life. He asked Chris to be his grandson.

35.              Franz was a master in leathermaking and taught Chris the tricks of the trade, and this helped them to bond.

36.              The author says the Chris didn’t want to be burdened by friendship.

37.             Chris told Franz to live a nomadic lifestyle and to “make every day a new horizon”, and Franz did just that.

38.              Franz learned that Chris had died from a hitchhiker that he picked up in 1992. It changed Franz’s life because it caused him to become an atheist and resume his drinking condition.

39.              Westerberg was annoyed because he was deprived of sleep and Chris hadn’t shown up for work.

40.              Chris said that he got along well with Carine but not with his father.

Chapter 8 &9

41.              The purpose of including the story of Gene Rossellini was to show how similar he was to McCandless. The author probably included Rossellini’s story to help the reader better understand McCandless’s own position.

42.              Waterman was a commendable mountaineer, and Krakauer respected that.

43.             The purpose of including Chris McCunn’s story is to give a parallel viewpoint on Chris McCandless’s story.

44.              Everetty Ruess was captivated by the American West after he journey there and found a kind of appreciation for it in himself.

45.              Sleight concludes the both Ruess and McCandless are of the same caliber, cut from the same cloth, have identical worlds and have a lot of the same dreams.

 

We're Halfway Into the Wild, Which Means We've Begun Our Journey Back Out

Chapter 1
1. Chris McCandless is a teenager from a socially prestigious family from the East Coast who abandoned his old life and went to roam the wild country before dying in an old bus in Alaska.
2. Jon Krakauer introduces themes that walk hand-in-hand with the overall feeling of tenacity that is applied to Chris’s overall story. Themes like perseverance, determination, and resilience are all introduced in the authors note.
3. The purpose of the quoted material at the beginning of Chapter 1 is to apply some background information before the story actually begins, to kind of “set the stage” for the events that take place in the book.
4. Alex is a fake identity that Chris made up for himself when writing letters to his sources.
5. Jim is a union electrician who picked up McCandless when he was hitchhiking.
6. Gallien said that McCandless was unprepared, determined, and around 5 foot 7. 
7. Gallien tried to advise McCandless not to go unprepared into the wild and offered to give him everything he needed to survive.
8. McCandless politely declined his offer and was given Gallien’s boots.
9. Gallien assumed that McCandless would be okay because of his instincts.
10. That statement is ironic because McCandless did end up going hungry and not walking out to the highway.

Chapter 2

11. Krakauer most likely did this in order to convey the necessary thoughts about the Northland with an author-type spin on it without seeming arrogant or pompous by writing it all himself.
12. The detailed descriptions of these places are probably intended to provide an accurate description of the surrounding land in order to try and instill the same kind of sensation that Chris is feeling into the reader.
13. The cause of Chris’s death was considered to be malnutrition.

Chapter 3

14. Westerberg is the owner of a grain elevator. He and Chris get along very well, and there is a sense of mutual respect between the two of them.
15. A rubber tramp is a homeless man that owns a car and a leather tramp is a homeless man that does not own a car. Both of these terms describe the least-privileged members of the community.
16. The author said this because he wanted to convey that McCandless had found solace in the people in Westerberg’s company.
17. He left Carthage because the cops started looking for him and he needed to resort back to living as a nomad.
18. The reader knows this because McCandless gave Westerberg his edition of War and Peace before he left town.
19. McCandless was born and raised in Annandale, Virginia to his parents Walt and Billie. He had a sister named Carine and graduated from Emory University in 1990.
20. McCandless kept politely declining material gifts that were offered to him, hinting that he was not as materialistic and other members of modern society.
21. He established a new persona for himself, Alexander Supertramp, and this symbolized how he had taken on a new life.

Chapter 4 & 5