Mark Antony's Revenge

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” (pg 132). Mark Antony is one of the protagonists in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. He is one of Caesar’s closest friends, as well as his right hand man. Antony’s loyalty to Caesar and willingness to seek revenge for Caesar’s death motivates him to murder the conspirators.

The first motivator that decides Antony’s actions during the play is loyalty. Antony believes that Caesar is the greatest man in Rome and is one of Caesar’s biggest supporters. Antony’s loyalty to Caesar determines his actions in the beginning of the play and after Caesar’s death. In the beginning of the play, Caesar is returning to Rome after killing Pompey, one of his rivals. Caesar returns on the feast of Lupercal and parades through the streets of Rome on his way to the Lupercal games. He asks Antony to touch Calpurnia so her infertility will be cured. Antony replies: “When Caesar says, ‘do this,’ it is perform’d.” pg 26. Antony is willing to do anything that Caesar says and thinks that his word is law. His obedience and loyalty to Caesar is absolute, which prompts him to kill the conspirators after Caesar’s death. His loyalty to Caesar motivates him to help Caesar politically as well. Antony believes that Caesar should be king of Rome and supports Caesar’s rise to power. When he is with Caesar in front of the crowd during the feast of Lupercal Antony offers Caesar a laurel wreath, symbolic of power. When Casca talks to Brutus and Cassius he recalls that: ”I saw Mark Antony offer him (Caesar) a crown;” (pg 42). Antony was handing Caesar a laurel wreath to Caesar to show the people that Caesar is powerful and that he should be king. Antony is giving Caesar an opportunity to show the people how humble he is by not taking the laurel wreath, proving his support and loyalty for Caesar. Antony’s loyalty to Caesar is one of the factors that drive his anger at Caesars death and at the conspirators later on in the play.

The main motivator for Antony is revenge, which drives his actions toward the end of the play. He is motivated by revenge because of the death of Caesar, his friend and leader. Antony’s need for revenge makes him start a civil war to kill the leaders of the conspiracy, Cassius and Brutus. Antony seems melancholy when he discovers the dead body of Caesar surrounded by the conspirators and their bloody daggers, but once they leave the room he lets his emotions loose and becomes full of hate: “Oh pardon me… That I am meek and gentle with these butchers… Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood... Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Italy;” (pg 124). Antony is angry with the conspirators for killing Caesar. He is cursing them and asking forgiveness of Caesar’s dead body for being gentle to the conspirators. He is also foreshadowing the destruction that will engulf Italy when he avenges the death of Caesar. Antony’s motivator of revenge is what prompted him to murder the conspirators instead of making peace, changing the fate of the conspirators.

Antony’s act of starting a civil war to get revenge is one of the biggest parts of the play. His motivators loyalty and revenge spurred him on to violence. Antony completely defeats Cassius and Brutus at Philippi and has both conspirators killed, fully achieving his goal of wiping out every conspirator. He achieved his goal by being clever and swaying the Roman people to his side and joining forces with Octavius to gather more military power. I think that Antony’s goals were worthy because his mentor and closest friend, Caesar, was killed. He justified the deaths of the conspirators by avenging a murder without reason, making Mark Antony’s act of killing the conspirators noble and worthy.

Reflection

I think that my ideas in the Julius Caesar essay are better than they were in the Alchemist essay. In my Julius Caesar essay I explained my quotations better because I added more information and detail. This made it easier to understand the point I was making with the quote. I also explained the context of the quotes before I added the quote, so the Julius Caesar essay flowed better than the Alchemist essay. The explanation and the quote also made more sense when I added the context before the quote. I think that I could improve my writing in this essay by making a stronger introduction. When I start with my quote I didn't explain how it is significant to my essay and I don't say who said the quote. If I did it would make more sense to the reader.

         The organisation in my Julius Caesar essay is better than in my Alchemist essay. In my Alchemist essay each trait had a different paragraph but the paragraphs weren't very organised. The paragraph in my Alchemist essay had topic sentences and conclusions, but had weak transition sentences within the paragraph. My Julius Caesar essay has two quotes per paragraph (except for the second one) with stronger transition sentences so the essay flows better. My ideas are supported better in my Julius Caesar essay because I used the amount of explanation sentences that were in the guide sheet. My Alchemist essay didn't have the amount of explanation sentences that were recommended so my support was weaker.
        
         My Julius Caesar essay is better than my Alchemist essay because I have better Ideas and Content. The main problem with my Alchemist essay was that I didn't explain my ideas well enough.

       The Julius Caesar essay showed my ability to reason critically. I followed the guide that I got and filled it out, so when I wrote the essay I was able to look at the guide. This helped me because the guide showed me how to organise my essay and what to put in each paragraph. Because I used the guide my organisation, introduction and conclusion were better than in my last essay.

The Lost Boys, Peter and Santino

Peter and Santino are two Sudanese refugees from a clan called the Dinkas. During Sudan's civil war many innocent people were killed, but the Dinkas were the hardest hit by the war. A group of young boys fled Sudan and went to Kenya through Ethiopia. These refugees are known as 'The Lost Boys'.


From a refugee camp in Kenya, Peter and Santino fly to Houston, Texas. It is their first plane ride. Although the Dinka elder at the refugee camp told them not to forget their culture, Peter and Santino have already begun their assimilation into American culture. After a short stay in Houston Peter gets a car and drives (without a licence) to Kansas City.



Peter soon meets up with some other refugees from Sudan and talks to them. This is one of the ways he is able to make his adjustment into American culture easier as well as keeping his ties to the Dinka culture. Peter goes to high school as well as working a job and doing homework. He doesn't have enough time to do anything and he is having trouble having free time to do what he wants. He is also short on money, so when his sister calls and pressures him to send money back Sudan, he isn't able to. Peter also is having trouble adjusting to the way American people go to church, and he isn't used to the songs they sing or the holidays that they have. So far Peter is having a hard time adjusting to American culture.

Shakespheare: Julius Caesar

In the passage I am performing Brutus is up late at night thinking about what Cassius told him in earlier that day. Cassius was trying to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar and Brutus is deciding whether to join or not. This passage is important because Brutus' decision will determine if the conspirators will have any chance of being supported by the plebeians after they kill Caesar. Brutus is respected by the people and considered the most honorable man in Rome, so if he joins the conspirators their cause will seem justified.

This passage takes place in Act 2 Scene 1, lines 10 to 35

BRUTUS
It must be by his death: and for my part,

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.

It is the bright day that brings forth the adder;

And that craves wary walking. Crown him? that;

And then, I grant, we put a sting in him,

That at his will he may do danger with.

The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins

Remorse from power: and, to speak truth of Caesar,

I have not known when his affections sway'd

More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof,

That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,

Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;

But when he once attains the upmost round.

He then unto the ladder turns his back,

Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees

By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.

Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel

Will bear no colour for the thing he is,

Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented,

Would run to these and these extremities:

And therefore think him as a serpent's egg

Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous,

And kill him in the shell.

The Void

The International School of Kuala Lumpur provides (silence) an exceptional education that challenges each student to develop the attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding to become a highly successful, spirited, socially responsible global citizen.

I think that adding silence after the word "provides" creates the most tension. If you add silence after "provides" the audience will not know what the International School of Kuala Lumpur provides. The audience will want to know the answer (or release) to the void and find out what ISKL provides. The void will create tension more effectively here because it is early in the statement and the audience will not know what to expect.

Composers create tension by using silence and taking out elements of music to create a void. Silence is a more obvious void and it leaves the viewer asked questions such as "When is the music going to come back?" or "Why did it go away?".Composers also take away elements of music tension in the audience. This way is more subtle and by taking away melody, harmony or rhthym the song feels imcomplete or unstable. The audience wants the void to end and the release to bring the song back with all of the elements.