How Can Violence Be Used to Gain Power?

This week in our lit circles our group talked about how power has a role in violence, as well as how darkness can be positive. We said that to have power sometimes you have to show violence. For example, Jack slit the pigs throat or how he is also kept putting down Piggy to gain power. He tells Piggy that he is "Always scared. Yah-Fatty." (p. 45) This made Piggy feel bad. He is always telling Piggy to shut up even though Piggy has the conch.”You shut up!” (p.46) Jack yells at Piggy as Piggy tries to speak. He also disobeys all of Ralph's rules. In doing this, he sets a bad example for all of the other group members who choose to do the same. By doing this, Ralph loses his control of the group and Jack gains power. One connection I can make to this is a text to world connection. I see that most bullies try to put people down in order to feel power that they do not receive anywhere else. I see this in Jack as he always puts Piggy down to show his dominance.

We also talked about how darkness could be a positive. We said that when Piggy called out the group and told them that they should have built shelters instead of focusing on the fire because it was night time. This was very dark and it made everyone realize that Piggy was right and that they should have listened to him.

I think that our group is doing well in the discussions however I would like to try and get everyone to talk more so that we get a wider range of ideas. Some people in our group do not contribute or take the group off topic. Most of the time everyone contributes however some the contributions are not on topic or are very under developed. However, some group members are doing a good job on building upon other ideas as well as contributing their own solid ideas. Overall, I think our group is on the right path.

            In this revision, I edited my journal. I fixed some spelling and punctual mistakes. I added some quotes to support my ideas. I added a connection about bullying. I added a couple of more examples. Finally, I updated on the status of our group discussions.

Response

YOu are on the right path A good observation about the violence to gain power. YOu have some good points in your writing and youo have mentioned some good examples . Toi furhter develop you might want to bring in quoptes to help develop your point. Also could you try and work in a connection in your wriitng. I like your honesty in your analysis of how the group is wroking you have some goals. Keep up the good work.

Journal Entry #2

This week in our lit circles out group talked about how power has a role in violence as well as how darkness can be positive. We said that to have power sometimes you have to show violence. For example Jack slit the pigs throat or how he is also kept putting down Piggy to gain power.He is always telling Piggy to shut up even though Piggy has the conch allowing, him to speak We also talked about how darkness could be a positive.We said that when Piggy called out the group and told the that they should have built shelters instead of focusing on the fire because it was night time. This was very dark and it made everyone realize that Piggy was right and that they should have listened to him.
I think that our group is doing good in the discussions however i would like to try and get everyone to talk more so that we get a wider range of ideas. Most of they time everyone contributes however some the the contributions are not on topic or are very under developed.

Summative Movie Analysis

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7YllAOqpF4

Plot Summary: http://www.ruinedendings.com/film2746plot

1) The setting conveys darkness as it is set in Mordor, a dark and barren land. Mordor is covered in smoke which gives and eerie effect and is where the Evil Lord Sauron lives. The setting is an obvious layer.

2)  The film maker conveys darkness and evil through the setting, characters, and plot.  The setting in Mordor conveys darkness and evil.  There is a volcano that makes the land covered in black smoke that gives it a dark effect.  Characters such as Golem and Sauron convey evil and darkness.  Golem kills his cousin to get the ring.  Sauron is the evil ruler of Mordor and has killed many people.  The plot conveys darkness as Frodo must travel to Mordor to destroy the ring, but as he holds the ring he becomes dark.  The ring corrupted Golem, and makes him do whatever it takes to get the ring. He also tricks Frodo into thinking that he is good, so that he can get close to him and try to steal the ring.  The expression of darkness that impacted me most was when Golem killed his cousin to get the ring.  This showed that Golem was evil and would do whatever it took to obtain and keep the ring.

3) A character can represent evil by his actions, whether it is acts of revenge, selfishness, or greed. Golem represents evil because he shows all of these actions. He bites off Frodo's finger in an act of revenge to get the ring back; he also kills his cousin in an act of greed and selfishness to obtain the ring.

4) The connection I thought of was text to text. I connected Lord of the Rings with Harry Potter. In both stories, there is an evil dark lord trying to gain power by doing evil deeds. There are also main characters that try to stop the evil lords but sometimes show their own evil. For example, when Frodo wears the ring he becomes dark and gloomy. He even has second thoughts about destroying the ring. Harry on the other hand sometimes uses his magic to get back on his cousin and when he uses magic to get revenge on Voldemort for killing his parents. In response to Josh and Rigel's post, the expression of darkness that impacted me most was when the Joker blew up the hospital. This showed that he was willing to kill many people just to get to Batman. Just like in Lord of the Rings where Golem kills his cousin just to keep the ring.

Does evil or fear lead to one infliction of violence or the observation of violence?

Yes, in the lord of the Rings, fear of the ring's power causes people to fight with one another to have the ring destroyed. Basically the good side want to destroy the ring because they fear how much power it has and how much damage it can do, whereas the evil side want to keep the ring so they can use its power to take over the world. Also Frodo observes violence as he tries to take the ring to Mordor. He watches as his team fights Sauron and his men. 

To improve my piece I added the connection and the character questions because I had not included them before. I also added another example in the second question.

Macbeth

Oral Presentation Reflections

In the play Macbeth, the main character Macbeth connects to the essential question "How far is one willing to go to get what they desire most?” He connects to this essential question because he shows a great ambition for power and is he is willing to do whatever to achieve it. His ambition starts when the he meets the witches and they say "All hail, Macbeth! Hail thee, thane of Cawdor! / All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king here after.(I.iii.51-52)." Sceptical at first, Macbeth finds it is hard to believe the witches but when their first prediction that he will become the next Thane of Cawdor comes true, he becomes very curious as to how he will become king. "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown men /Without my stir (I.iii.29)." he thinks to himself as he thinks as to how he will become king. He realizes that in order to become the new king he must kill King Duncan whom he is very loyal to.  Following Lady Macbeth's plan Macbeth goes through with killing Duncan and blaming it on the guards. He then becomes king and becomes very powerful.

After he becomes king, he gains a large amount of power, which connects to the essential question "How does power corrupt?” As Macbeth gained more power, he also became more corrupt. He realizes that since the witch’s prophecy came true that he would be king, the second half of the prophecy would also become true. This was that Banquo's sons were to become king.  He became worried that Banquo's sons would replace him so he convinces some of his men that Banquo is the enemy and to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. He shows his corruption by killing those who are close to him in an attempt to stay in power. He also orders his men to seize Macduff's castle and to kill his wife and children after he finds out that Macduff may become a threat to his power.

"The castle of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give the edge o' the sword His wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; (IV.i.1164-167)."

He becomes so corrupt that he is willing to kill anyone that may threaten him and he is willing to kill their family. This also connects back to the essential question "How far is one willing to go to get what they desire most?"  At the beginning of the play Macbeth is a loyal and brave solider but his lust for power changes him into a tyrant and a ruthless person, which in the end is his downfall. 

I learned a lot when working in groups. I learned that it is a great way to see many different points of view and understandings of the play. I also learned that it is best to start the project early because anything could go wrong. For example, with our presentation we had technical difficulties which prevented us from completing the project on time. We should have started and nearly completed the project early so that if technical difficulties occurred we would have enough time to fix it and polish the project as needed. Something that I learned for next time is to work on the project early, especially when you have the chance as you never know when something can go wrong and it also gives you more time to polish the project as needed. I also noticed that I may need to speak up more to my group so that we can have many different and thoughtful ideas.

Overall, I am proud of our final project as I think it was an original and funny way of showing the play of Macbeth. I think that there were some funny parts that people may connect with as well. If I were to divide a pie into the percentage of work each group member completed, I think that I would give Jack and Braden both 35% and myself 30%. I feel that we all did a fair share of work however; I feel that they contributed a little more than I did, and I feel that I could have contributed more.

Macbeth Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZDDPfMR4s