My Favorite Assignment of Semester 1

-My favorite assignment of semester 1 was the Hamlet movie essay. I thought it was a smart way to make the standard 3 to 5 page essay fun and interesting. I really enjoyed analyzing the whole picture and the work of art, as opposed to just the text that can get boring at certain times. I found myself really enjoying what I was writing and wrote more than I usually do. This essay really wasn't a burden, as standard essays tend to be, because I really enjoyed what I was writing about. I really enjoyed this assignment and I definitely think it should stay in the curriculum every year. 

Performance Choices

-In our version of a portion of Act I, scene ii, Alexander, Alan, and I decided to base our performance choices off of Laurence Olivier's adaptation. I played the king, and really tried to show the seperation between Claudius and Hamlet + Gertrude. I was on one side of the stage, and Hamlet (Alan) + Gertrude (Alexander) were very close to each other on the opposite side of the stage. I also tried to spotlight the fact that Claudius gets a little jealous and annoyed that Hamlet and Gertrude are being so intamite. I even attempted to pull away Gertrude. Overall, I played Claudius as a very seperated character from what was going on between Hamlet and Gertrude.

The Love Song of J Alfred Prufock - T.S. Eliot

-"To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet" (27). There is an an extremely harsh truth in these words. Most people do in fact prepare an attitude, or face, when they meet people. This is a truth most people do not want to admit. Everyone adapts to fit a certain image that other people will like and relate to. This is not necessarily a bad trait because every single person acts a particular way around someone. For example, people with multiple groups of friends will act slightly different depending on the group of friends, and this is a completely normal trait that is not a wrong thing to do. However, where things get tricky is when people go to far, and put on too much of an act. You then find certain people acting completely different, someone they are totally not, just to try to fit in. That is the sad truth that most people do not want to admit. Life can sometimes be a very cruel place that judges you on every little thing you do. Some people feel the need to change themselves completely just to be noticed and recognized by people they meet and think they need to impress. The line gives hint at a reason why J. Alfred Prufrock is so sad a lonely. The hint that Prufrock is not himself, and it led to his unhappiness and potentially why this love song is to no one in particular, because he has no one to share it with. Although, T.S. Eliot's words speak much greater than just the poem. They are a life lesson for people to realize that unhappiness comes from not being yourself.