So, 75% of the work I did on here was worth absolutely nothing on my final English 30 mark?
...
Fuck.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Cyrano Posting #3- TOP 5 SCENES WALLA WALLA WALLA HEY
1. I am astonished of the way Edmond Rostand made Cyrano out to be a "one man against the world" character for such a small reason, battling against large quantities of people, dueling with Valvert, and disrupting an entire play, all within the first act. He's larger than life, and in one particular scene near the beginning he lashes out against himself for his physical flaw by ridiculing his over-sized nose in dozens of different ways, each one more amusing than the last. What's funnier is how he can have such a sense of humor about his nose, and at the same time feel so condemned by it, suffocating his potential to become truly satisfied with himself.
2. Roxane asks Cyrano to befriend Christian and protect him because she is in love with him and does not want anything unfortunate to happen to him. Cyrano agrees, but Christian is brash and judgmental of Cyrano's nose just like the rest of the cadets, and we can only predict disaster and that Cyrano will cause an upheaval against Christian's insults. However, Cyrano's dedication shines through and he negotiates with him. This may possibly be the best indication of Cyrano's misplaced love for Roxane, because not only will he give credit to someone else, but it is for someone who is entirely undeserving of it.
3. Christian and Roxane are to be wed, but De Guiche is on his way to see her and Cyrano must delay De Guiche so that he does not intervene with their plans. Cyrano appears suddenly, flamboyant and eccentric, speaking of fantastic journeys and bizarre experiences along the vein of astral projection, when in truth he is talking about "The Other World: Society and Government of the Moon" a novel that the real-life Cyrano De Bergerac wrote- hence, a hidden reference cleverly implemented in a hilarious fashion. Alas, this minor victory is merely bittersweet, for Christian is to be sent off to battle shortly.
4. The scene takes place during the siege of Arras, and the French are fighting against the Spanish. Roxane shows her own side of insolence and barges into the Gascon Cadet's military base to feed the starving soldiers. She tells Christian that she now loves him more so for his soul, not his appearance, and Christian tells Cyrano this. It is the perfect situation for him to be in, the perfect time to confess his aching heart to Roxane. But not even after Christian passes away does he admit to it for the sake of preserving Christian's image. In this scene, we find a sense of profound honor in Cyrano for his friend who did so little for him.
5. The play is coming near an end, and Cyrano has been ambushed for the final time while on the road to visit Roxane. He is only holding onto his life by a thread, but still he persists to deliver his gazette to her. When he fears that he will die soon, he requests to read Christian's last letter- but it grows dark, and he is reading it by memory rather than by what is in front of him. At this moment, Roxane realizes who truly wrote the letters in the first place as he dies. There are two instances of irony here- first, because the darkness of a shadow had originally been the thing that concealed his identity, and now it revealed him. Second, because Roxanne had already suffered through the death of the one she thought she was in love with, and now, upon discovery of Cyrano's true identity, she had to endure the same death again.
2. Roxane asks Cyrano to befriend Christian and protect him because she is in love with him and does not want anything unfortunate to happen to him. Cyrano agrees, but Christian is brash and judgmental of Cyrano's nose just like the rest of the cadets, and we can only predict disaster and that Cyrano will cause an upheaval against Christian's insults. However, Cyrano's dedication shines through and he negotiates with him. This may possibly be the best indication of Cyrano's misplaced love for Roxane, because not only will he give credit to someone else, but it is for someone who is entirely undeserving of it.
3. Christian and Roxane are to be wed, but De Guiche is on his way to see her and Cyrano must delay De Guiche so that he does not intervene with their plans. Cyrano appears suddenly, flamboyant and eccentric, speaking of fantastic journeys and bizarre experiences along the vein of astral projection, when in truth he is talking about "The Other World: Society and Government of the Moon" a novel that the real-life Cyrano De Bergerac wrote- hence, a hidden reference cleverly implemented in a hilarious fashion. Alas, this minor victory is merely bittersweet, for Christian is to be sent off to battle shortly.
4. The scene takes place during the siege of Arras, and the French are fighting against the Spanish. Roxane shows her own side of insolence and barges into the Gascon Cadet's military base to feed the starving soldiers. She tells Christian that she now loves him more so for his soul, not his appearance, and Christian tells Cyrano this. It is the perfect situation for him to be in, the perfect time to confess his aching heart to Roxane. But not even after Christian passes away does he admit to it for the sake of preserving Christian's image. In this scene, we find a sense of profound honor in Cyrano for his friend who did so little for him.
5. The play is coming near an end, and Cyrano has been ambushed for the final time while on the road to visit Roxane. He is only holding onto his life by a thread, but still he persists to deliver his gazette to her. When he fears that he will die soon, he requests to read Christian's last letter- but it grows dark, and he is reading it by memory rather than by what is in front of him. At this moment, Roxane realizes who truly wrote the letters in the first place as he dies. There are two instances of irony here- first, because the darkness of a shadow had originally been the thing that concealed his identity, and now it revealed him. Second, because Roxanne had already suffered through the death of the one she thought she was in love with, and now, upon discovery of Cyrano's true identity, she had to endure the same death again.
Cyrano Posting #2- TOP 5 THEMES CHK CHK CHK
1. Shadows- Most explicitly cited in the balcony scene, but implicit throughout, shadows play a major role in the play's progression. Cyrano himself is repeatedly hiding in the shadow of Christian's, willingly, although he never suspects that his nose is too large to be contained by the darkness. The idea is that his image is never truly faked- Cyrano has two blazing sides to his personality, those of which are reckless courage (his panache) and his hopeless romanticism- and he chooses to express the latter vicariously through means of Christian. I believe that he denies his love until the very end for Roxanne because he was merely satisfied with expressing that side of him, even if it were in the shadows.
2. Hopeless Romanticism (to be given a paragraph of its own...)- Cyrano is gem among men because he does not indulge nor even imply or ensure that he be given pleasures of the flesh. He has the capabilities of a bona-fide hero but chooses not to reap the benefits for the sake of carrying out his words of love unfettered and untainted. He is more in love with the idea of Roxanne and her unsurpassed beauty than anything else. It would not be an exaggeration to think that his fear of her rejecting his love may have also been his fear that his love may not be so strong once in the position of a relationship with Roxanne.
3. Insecurity- The entire Cyrano/Christian dynamic is built upon working against each other's weaknesses and overcoming the insecurities that both men face. They become one because they feel it is the only way to rise to a sufficient level; the level of perfection; the level that they perceive Roxanne is sturdily resting upon. They believe this can be achieved by combining the impeccable physical appearance of Christian (opposing his awkward verbal speech and his one-dimensional plane of thought) with the suave poetic heart of Cyrano (opposing his, for a lack of a better description, honking large nose).
4. Bravery- Most likely the simplest of these due to its largely physical nature, Cyrano De Bergerac makes an effort to showcase his vastly superior bravery at any junction in time for the sake of inflating his hampered ego as well as winning the approval of his beloved Roxanne. He goes about this in myriad ways- fighting through the ambush set up for him after exiting the theater, forging through the battle lines and forgoing the impending danger to send love letters, and even stalling De Guiche from witnessing the wed of Christian and Roxanne (which may have led to much worse consequences). Although not all bravery is physical- it certainly must have taken an emotional strain on our ill-fated hero to refuse his involvement in the written affection for Roxanne.
5. Injustice- The tragedy in "Cyrano De Bergerac" lies in the fact that none of the main characters are given what they truly deserve, or what they really want. Cyrano forever forbids himself from accepting the potential love that Roxanne has in store for him despite his large nose, Christian is shot and dies with only a brief taste of the connection he so sought after, and Roxanne must suffer and survive the two deaths of the man she loved. But it is important to notice that most of these injustices were brought on themselves; if they had been more honest and straightforward with their emotions, the tragic outcome may have been dodged.
2. Hopeless Romanticism (to be given a paragraph of its own...)- Cyrano is gem among men because he does not indulge nor even imply or ensure that he be given pleasures of the flesh. He has the capabilities of a bona-fide hero but chooses not to reap the benefits for the sake of carrying out his words of love unfettered and untainted. He is more in love with the idea of Roxanne and her unsurpassed beauty than anything else. It would not be an exaggeration to think that his fear of her rejecting his love may have also been his fear that his love may not be so strong once in the position of a relationship with Roxanne.
3. Insecurity- The entire Cyrano/Christian dynamic is built upon working against each other's weaknesses and overcoming the insecurities that both men face. They become one because they feel it is the only way to rise to a sufficient level; the level of perfection; the level that they perceive Roxanne is sturdily resting upon. They believe this can be achieved by combining the impeccable physical appearance of Christian (opposing his awkward verbal speech and his one-dimensional plane of thought) with the suave poetic heart of Cyrano (opposing his, for a lack of a better description, honking large nose).
4. Bravery- Most likely the simplest of these due to its largely physical nature, Cyrano De Bergerac makes an effort to showcase his vastly superior bravery at any junction in time for the sake of inflating his hampered ego as well as winning the approval of his beloved Roxanne. He goes about this in myriad ways- fighting through the ambush set up for him after exiting the theater, forging through the battle lines and forgoing the impending danger to send love letters, and even stalling De Guiche from witnessing the wed of Christian and Roxanne (which may have led to much worse consequences). Although not all bravery is physical- it certainly must have taken an emotional strain on our ill-fated hero to refuse his involvement in the written affection for Roxanne.
5. Injustice- The tragedy in "Cyrano De Bergerac" lies in the fact that none of the main characters are given what they truly deserve, or what they really want. Cyrano forever forbids himself from accepting the potential love that Roxanne has in store for him despite his large nose, Christian is shot and dies with only a brief taste of the connection he so sought after, and Roxanne must suffer and survive the two deaths of the man she loved. But it is important to notice that most of these injustices were brought on themselves; if they had been more honest and straightforward with their emotions, the tragic outcome may have been dodged.
Cyrano Posting #1: ROMANTIC LOVE POETRY BOO-YAH
In this life like a lucid dream
You are the eye of my storm
A rest stop to roads worn
A ticket to places warm
In this life like a lucid dream
Your mind is only surrounded by paper walls
I stare deep into your thoughts not expecting a fall
Only an autumn that springs eternal
And that is all
In this life like a lucid dream
I can evaporate
I can disappear
Into a perfect blue sky
And never set foot on Earth again
As long as your love holds me up above the clouds.
You are the eye of my storm
A rest stop to roads worn
A ticket to places warm
In this life like a lucid dream
Your mind is only surrounded by paper walls
I stare deep into your thoughts not expecting a fall
Only an autumn that springs eternal
And that is all
In this life like a lucid dream
I can evaporate
I can disappear
Into a perfect blue sky
And never set foot on Earth again
As long as your love holds me up above the clouds.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Leaves
The End of an Era, The End of a Dilemma
By Brent Thiessen
"The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats is a post-apocalyptic vision, influenced by the Biblical text of Revelation but brought to the forefront to contrast with the modern political climate of the past world wars and the terrors of facing the potential end-times lurking around the turn of the century. Yeats borrows classic collective imagery and ideas, such as a "rough beast" to simplify the physical form of the Devil, or the thought of "mere anarchy" to effectively describe the world's corroding status along the vein of Armageddon. "The Second Coming" is the epitome of a dilemma, the primary example of a seemingly irrevocable situation where humanity has dug itself into a hole so deep that it has reached the other side of the Earth and split it apart into polar extremes. In this poem, Yeats conveys that hope that only be found in the present rather than relying on future generations to mend our shoddy framework for us. It is also then necessary to cleanse ourselves of corruption and be as painfully honest as possible across every demographic to find common ground. Once this is achieved and our good will is harnessed, we can avoid the horrors that come full-force with the idea of the apocalypse... and the end of humanity as we know it. For when a dilemma on a world-wide scale is present, a collective conscious of good will is the only thing capable of reversing it.
Religion often appeals to children to the greatest degree. First of all, because the idea of an ever-loving God is that much more believable, and second, because a promise of heaven seems perfectly natural- to a child, the world is black and white, good and evil, God and Satan, and if a good reputation is juggled and kept in check, then salvation is merely a good deed away. As a child grows up, his or her perception shifts accordingly to an ambiguous world of tough choices and heart-breaking decisions. The uncertainty of faith falls into place. "The Second Coming" foretells the end of religion with the line "The ceremony of innocence is drowned..." The innocence of a child in relevance to religion, and their belief in a loving God to take care of every bad thing there is. Yeats warns us of no future generations to speak of, drowned in the wake of the corrosion of faith. Children are important because they remind us of simplicity, and the bravery to have hope in something that is bigger than us all, even if it may not be there. A collective conscious through the eyes of children. It is then that we realize that it is our responsibility to ensure that the chain of creation is carried through from one link to the next, which requires immediate change for the better. That change starts with us.
In this world like a tree, we are all leaves sprouting from the same source, different as our colours may be. Conflict is so abundant because of the power struggle inflicted by our egos; we choose to hoard each other's supply of sugar rather than savor it. Corruption is when we choose to ignore the needs of the suffering for the sake of our own progression. Anarchy proceeds corruption; it is no more secure of a state, as chaos is still rampant- it is rather a statement on the desire for change through extreme expression. Yeats describes this as "Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." What anarchy does is allow our expression to reign supreme; however, what it does not do is allow room to comprehend these thoughts and convert it into positive energy. It is necessary for every demographic- people of every age, race, and ethnicity- to find a suitable solution to address the suffering of the world-wide dilemma if we are to escape the point of no return. If we all realized that we stem from the same life source and share the same pain, it would be that much more easier to communicate. Before the Devil arrives to cut down our tree.
The entirety of "The Second Coming" is a commentary on what the result of an unchanged world will be, and how it would be the downfall and end to any future possibilities. He emphasizes the escalation of humanity's suffering with "The blood-dimmed tide is loosed", and foreshadows the climactic events that will eschew equal pain for the sake of closure in the lines "A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun... The darkness drops again." Yeats had been inspired to write this poem after the events of World War 1 had receded, but his memory of the cancerous plights had been deeply embedded in his imagination concerning the future and the consequences. Revelation and Yeats' own interpretation serve as a warning to the impending doom which will be presented to us if the Spiritus Mundi, or, "The Spirit of the World" does not unite to manifest the potential good in all of its citizens. That good will may be essential to avoid the world from falling apart at the seams and exposing the deep, dark interior that devours everything in its vicinity.
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, which is why our intentions must be resolved within ourselves first. To go about this, we must acquire some perception of a world where good and evil are present no matter how much those things seem to bleed into each other and believe that the path of "good" has the greater relevance to a world with minimal pain. Second, a common ground should be found to allow for empathy to take root and spark growth for generations to come. And third, we must consider the consequences of leaving the Earth vulnerable to its destruction if we ignore the steps required for progression to prevent everything from falling apart. Because darkness may very well drop again, but if our tree reaches far enough around the world so that light is always reflecting off our leaves, then the darkness will never be able to fully grasp humanity's heart.
By Brent Thiessen
"The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats is a post-apocalyptic vision, influenced by the Biblical text of Revelation but brought to the forefront to contrast with the modern political climate of the past world wars and the terrors of facing the potential end-times lurking around the turn of the century. Yeats borrows classic collective imagery and ideas, such as a "rough beast" to simplify the physical form of the Devil, or the thought of "mere anarchy" to effectively describe the world's corroding status along the vein of Armageddon. "The Second Coming" is the epitome of a dilemma, the primary example of a seemingly irrevocable situation where humanity has dug itself into a hole so deep that it has reached the other side of the Earth and split it apart into polar extremes. In this poem, Yeats conveys that hope that only be found in the present rather than relying on future generations to mend our shoddy framework for us. It is also then necessary to cleanse ourselves of corruption and be as painfully honest as possible across every demographic to find common ground. Once this is achieved and our good will is harnessed, we can avoid the horrors that come full-force with the idea of the apocalypse... and the end of humanity as we know it. For when a dilemma on a world-wide scale is present, a collective conscious of good will is the only thing capable of reversing it.
Religion often appeals to children to the greatest degree. First of all, because the idea of an ever-loving God is that much more believable, and second, because a promise of heaven seems perfectly natural- to a child, the world is black and white, good and evil, God and Satan, and if a good reputation is juggled and kept in check, then salvation is merely a good deed away. As a child grows up, his or her perception shifts accordingly to an ambiguous world of tough choices and heart-breaking decisions. The uncertainty of faith falls into place. "The Second Coming" foretells the end of religion with the line "The ceremony of innocence is drowned..." The innocence of a child in relevance to religion, and their belief in a loving God to take care of every bad thing there is. Yeats warns us of no future generations to speak of, drowned in the wake of the corrosion of faith. Children are important because they remind us of simplicity, and the bravery to have hope in something that is bigger than us all, even if it may not be there. A collective conscious through the eyes of children. It is then that we realize that it is our responsibility to ensure that the chain of creation is carried through from one link to the next, which requires immediate change for the better. That change starts with us.
In this world like a tree, we are all leaves sprouting from the same source, different as our colours may be. Conflict is so abundant because of the power struggle inflicted by our egos; we choose to hoard each other's supply of sugar rather than savor it. Corruption is when we choose to ignore the needs of the suffering for the sake of our own progression. Anarchy proceeds corruption; it is no more secure of a state, as chaos is still rampant- it is rather a statement on the desire for change through extreme expression. Yeats describes this as "Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." What anarchy does is allow our expression to reign supreme; however, what it does not do is allow room to comprehend these thoughts and convert it into positive energy. It is necessary for every demographic- people of every age, race, and ethnicity- to find a suitable solution to address the suffering of the world-wide dilemma if we are to escape the point of no return. If we all realized that we stem from the same life source and share the same pain, it would be that much more easier to communicate. Before the Devil arrives to cut down our tree.
The entirety of "The Second Coming" is a commentary on what the result of an unchanged world will be, and how it would be the downfall and end to any future possibilities. He emphasizes the escalation of humanity's suffering with "The blood-dimmed tide is loosed", and foreshadows the climactic events that will eschew equal pain for the sake of closure in the lines "A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun... The darkness drops again." Yeats had been inspired to write this poem after the events of World War 1 had receded, but his memory of the cancerous plights had been deeply embedded in his imagination concerning the future and the consequences. Revelation and Yeats' own interpretation serve as a warning to the impending doom which will be presented to us if the Spiritus Mundi, or, "The Spirit of the World" does not unite to manifest the potential good in all of its citizens. That good will may be essential to avoid the world from falling apart at the seams and exposing the deep, dark interior that devours everything in its vicinity.
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, which is why our intentions must be resolved within ourselves first. To go about this, we must acquire some perception of a world where good and evil are present no matter how much those things seem to bleed into each other and believe that the path of "good" has the greater relevance to a world with minimal pain. Second, a common ground should be found to allow for empathy to take root and spark growth for generations to come. And third, we must consider the consequences of leaving the Earth vulnerable to its destruction if we ignore the steps required for progression to prevent everything from falling apart. Because darkness may very well drop again, but if our tree reaches far enough around the world so that light is always reflecting off our leaves, then the darkness will never be able to fully grasp humanity's heart.
Proof that I read "Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer
"Into The Wild" is a biography detailing the Utopian journey a young man named Chris McCandless embarks on. The intrigue behind this journey may possibly be that it is of an extensively personal nature; one man against a static world that would pay no heed to his intentions of isolation and simplistic purity by ridding himself from the tainted properties of the world. McCandless attempts to break free from the materialism and soporific droning of common living by setting out for Alaska, becoming one with the wild, becoming one with nature, and surviving by his own instinct. It is ironic, then, that by separating himself from everything that he thought was hurting him, it ultimately led to his demise. The loneliness devoured his strength; the frustrations of no one to call to for help when in dire need devoured his spirit. But there is an immense beauty in the idealistic vision that McCandless possessed, and if he had come back alive, it is not an exaggeration to think that his lessons may have taught much more than self-destruction.
Chris' martyrdom for his personal fulfillment gives us great insight into why society functions as it does. The key concept here is that happiness is absolutely nothing unless it is shared with others. You could have everything you ever wanted and fly away from all the annoyances and flaws of the external world. But it is only then that our own flaws become frighteningly apparent and bludgeoned against our own egos. Society is built upon communication because our individual skills are needed to lend a helping hand to those who do not possess the same skills. In this, survival is a team effort and is designed for balance, although the history of mankind has been one long case of tipping the scale into extremes, back and forth. I believe Chris McCandless found himself to be a missing link to his designated world. His ego was large, and his intelligence even greater. He was as close to being self-realized as Abraham Maslow had envisioned. Yet, the blueprints of the wretched materialistic world stood. And those who stray far from the path are bound to get lost.
Or so it seems.
But not all who wander are lost, and McCandless' vision still stood; his integrity soared, and he never succumbed to wordly temptations. He was a humanist, a philantropist (donating a large quantity of his savings to charity) and an idealist. And although his physical isolation led to his death, as well as several described personas in the biography by Krakauer, he was not lost.
Chris' martyrdom for his personal fulfillment gives us great insight into why society functions as it does. The key concept here is that happiness is absolutely nothing unless it is shared with others. You could have everything you ever wanted and fly away from all the annoyances and flaws of the external world. But it is only then that our own flaws become frighteningly apparent and bludgeoned against our own egos. Society is built upon communication because our individual skills are needed to lend a helping hand to those who do not possess the same skills. In this, survival is a team effort and is designed for balance, although the history of mankind has been one long case of tipping the scale into extremes, back and forth. I believe Chris McCandless found himself to be a missing link to his designated world. His ego was large, and his intelligence even greater. He was as close to being self-realized as Abraham Maslow had envisioned. Yet, the blueprints of the wretched materialistic world stood. And those who stray far from the path are bound to get lost.
Or so it seems.
But not all who wander are lost, and McCandless' vision still stood; his integrity soared, and he never succumbed to wordly temptations. He was a humanist, a philantropist (donating a large quantity of his savings to charity) and an idealist. And although his physical isolation led to his death, as well as several described personas in the biography by Krakauer, he was not lost.
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