The Glass Menagerie Movie Review

I felt like the movie that we watched of the Glass Menagerie was very accurate to the book. All of the lines were the same and the same actions were happening that I visualized while reading the book. One of the major differences that was from the movie to the book is the beggining of the movie, Tom had no monologue at the begining. Instead it was just him walking up the alley towards the house. In the begining of the book there was an opening monologue explaining things like the setting of the stage and how Tom would be playing the narrator and himself in the play. One of the things that I noticed the director added was when he would have Amanda's voice echoing into the scene again to show that the story was resuming. This would happen every time after we saw Tom sitting on the steps smoking and thinking about his memories. I found that every interesting and it added an extra effect of showing that it was a memory. While watching the movie, Amanda was even more annoying than I had imagined. She just kept on talking and talking until Tom would yell at her and then she would get mad at him for yelling at her. That is called provoking. Also when I was reading the book, I did not understand that Laura and Amanda both cried when Laura admitted to not going to her type writing class. That was something I missed while I was reading the book. When Amanda finds out that they will have a gentleman caller, she gets very excited. She had everything planned to be ready for Jim. When Jim got to their house, Amanda was very excited and kept on talking to Jim and did not allow him to make a full sentence for a while until Tom stopped her. When Jim talks to Laira he really changes her. She falls in love with Jim again after they dance. Instead of giving the horn to Jim in the book, Laura gives Jim the whole horse. Laura calls it a souvenir. This is important because souvenir in French means memory so it is not only something that Jim will keep as an item, but it will also remind him of the time that he danced with Laura when he was invited over to dinner.  Amanda becomes very upset when she finds out that Jim has a girlfriend named Betty. Amanda and Tom have their last blowout and Tom leaves. In the end they show Laura blowing out the candles that were lit while Tom says goodbye.

Tom's Journal Entries

Choose 1 character & write a week of journal entries in the voice & style of that character. Begin with what you know, but also add some of what you don't know but could be true (ex: what Laura does and thinks when she goes on her walks)

Character: Tom 

Monday

Dear Journal, 

Today is Monday, the beggining of another week of work for this stupid apartment. Mother just told me to "Rise and Shine" again. Man am I sick of that. Maybe I should do that to her when she is asleep. I swear if it wasn't for Laura I would have left this apartment straight out of high school. The only thing that keeps me level is smoking and going to the movies. I am getting sick and tired of putting my dream on hold. I want to be a great writer and instead I have to make shoes in a factory to keep the electricity on. I have to go now, Mother is telling me that I am late again. 

- Tom

Tuesday

Dear Journal,

Mother and I had a major blowout again last night. She kept on telling me how to eat and other non important stuff. I had to leave because she continues to badger me about stupid things. I swear I am going to start drinking so that I can get thrown out of this house. My father was a genius. I wish that I could leave the way that he did. Mother is a nightmare to deal with. All she can talk about is her 17 gentleman callers. Well you know what, I think that she should try to find a gentleman caller for herself so that I can leave this place. I am so angry right now.

-Tom

Wednesday

Dear Journal,
I am on my break at the factory. This morning Mother asked me to see if there were any men here that would be interested in meeting Laura. At first I refused but now that I am thinking about it, maybe this is my opportunity to get out of here. There are two ways that I can leave. One way could be that it actually works out with Laura. Or I can invite somebody who isn't interested and pretend that they are a gentleman caller. Once mother finds out that it wasn't a real gentleman caller, then she will be so mad at me that she will kick me out and then I will be free. Oh this is so great.

- Tom

Thursday

Dear Journal
I just told mother the news that we had a "gentleman caller" that was interested in Laura. Oh the look on her face was priceless. I can't wait for when she finds out that Jim is engaged. This is surely going to work. Her hopes are so high right now. I am sorry for Laura but, I just can't continue to live like this. I want to be great. All mother does is keep me down. I am going to discuss with Jim today about the time that he wants to come over for dinner. I will write tomorrow with that information.

- Tom

Friday
Dear Journal
Jim and I agreed to have dinner on Saturday evening. Oh this is fantastic. If this works the way that I think, then I may be able to catch the last train out of this stupid city and travel the world. I really want to go to Chicago first and then New York. I am going to make so much money from my writing and I will never have to make another shoe. Mother is cleaning like crazy right now. She keeps asking me to help her but I am going to ignore her because it won't matter in a day from now. My future seems bright ahead of me.

- Tom

Saturday
Dear Journal
Today is the day that I move on with my life. No more hearing "Rise and Shine" from mother. No more worrying about the electric bill, or the heating bill. Oh I can't wait for this to happen. I should start packing my bags soon because I am going to be ready to leave when this goes down. I am so excited. I am going to start packing now.

-Tom

Sunday
Dear Journal
FREEDOM, that is what I have right now. I am on the train to Chicago right now, oh how beautiful it is to see land passing by away from that apartment. My plan was a success. Mother was so angry that Jim was engaged. It was a good idea to have my bags packed. I am ready to turn the page and lead on a new life. I am sorry Laura, but I had to leave you there. Hopefully one day you will figure out what to do with your life. Maybe you will get a job or even find a gentleman caller. This is my last journal entry in this book. I am going to throw if out of this moving train as far as I can. This part of my life is now over.

-Tom

Discussion Questions

Act 1
1.) Why does Laura lie to her mother about not going to typing school?
2.) What does the Glass Menagerie symbolize for Laura?
3.) Why doesn't Amanda back off of Tom when she knows that he is wanting to leave?


Act 2
1.) Why did Tom lie to his family about Jim being a gentleman caller?
2.) Why does Jim give Laura the illusion that he likes her when he is already engaged?
3.) Why does Amanda feel the need to talk so much when Jim came to their house?

Character Relationships
1.) Why does Amanda get upset with Tom all the time, but when Laura dropped out of typing school, she wasn't mad?
2.) Does Amanda even care about Tom?

Staging
1.) Why are ther music cues throughout the book?
2.) How would lighting help to set the scene for characters like Tom and Amanda?

The Glass Menagerie Charcter Journey

Tom- I feel like he knew that Jim was engaged and was trying embarrass Amanda. This was his last rebellious act before leaving them for good and following his fathers footsteps. He finally was able to get his adventure.

Amanda- she was very nervous when Jim came to their house. She was definately acting over the top when Jim was around. She was dressed up and talk a lot. She seemed hyper when Jim was around.

Laura- I feel like Laura changed the most after Jim came to their house. Jim made Laura feel confident in herself. He told her that she was beautiful and should be proud to be herself.

Character Life Journey Drawing

Glass Menagerie Character Quote

For each character, choose one significant quote from what you have read so far. Explain the quote and connect it to your understanding of that character's personality, backstory, desires and frustrations, etc. 350-450 words.

Tom- "House, house! Who pays the rent on the house, who makes a slave of himself to."
This quote really shows Toms personality. He is always bitter about his life. He does not like that he has to work at the shoe factory. He is always upset because he is the one who pays for the rent and all of the bills that need to be payed. He always argues with Amanda because Tom feel like she doesn't respect him enough. He is also the only person in the house who has a real job. His personality is very bitter. He is frustrated that he has to continue to put his life on hold so that Laura can get a gentleman caller. His desire is to be a writer. He sees himself as an intellect but he has to work every day at the shoe factory. He loves adventure so he always goes out at night.

Amanda- "Down at the warehouse, aren't there some nice young men?"
Amanda is the mother of both Tom and Laura. Amanda is very worried about Laura not getting a gentleman caller. This shows her personality because she is nervous when she says this to Tom. Her job is help Laura get a gentleman caller so that Tom can move on with his life. Amanda is somebody who loves to live in the past. In the book she tells the story about how she got many gentleman callers when she was younger. Her main desire is for Laura to get a gentleman caller so that she can get married because they are living on the edge. Amanda knows that Tom is very unstable and on the edge of leaving because he is forced to work so she is really trying to find a way to get Laura a gentleman caller to take care of them. Her frustration is that it is hard to find Laura a gentleman caller because she is very quiet and has something off about her.

Laura- "I'm just not popular like you were in Blue Mountain."
Laura is a very shy girl that has a limp and lives in her own little world. She is not very interested in trying to get a gentleman caller. Her personality is off compared to the rest of the world. It is like she lives in her own little world and is not concerned about her future. This is evident when she left the typing school. She lied to her mother and instead of going to the school she would walk around in the park. She is two years older than Tom but she acts way younger than her age. She does not have many desires and she is frustrated that Tom is always upset. 

The Glass Menagerie Character Chart

Character:                        Role:
1.) Amanda Wingfield               The Mother
2.) Laura Wingfield                    Her Daughter
3.) Tom Wingfield                      Her Son
4.) Jim O'Connor                        The Gentleman Caller


            

Romeo and Juliet Adaptation Reflection

Joey Wright

I believe that we have had a successful experience in creating out Adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. It was a lot of fun and our group worked really well together. I felt that I did really well personally. I was a big part in adding ideas to our adaptation. There were a lot of scenes that we perform that I had a big impact on. I felt like I was the main leader in the group. I was contributing so many ideas and helping everyone in the group to master their part in the adaptation as well as mine. Another thing that I did well with was I was able to critique everyone that was acting. After I would finish my acting, I would stand right behind the people who were acting so that I could make sure that everyone was hitting their lines, being loud enough and showing emotion when they are acting. I struggled with choosing a role in the adaptation at first because I didn't know what characters I wanted to be. I also struggled with the script for a while. We basically made up our script as we went along throughout the week. We had absolutely no script at the beggining of the week. However, because we had no script it allowed for more creativity to happen. I really tried to help everyone create and memorize their lines. We had to cut the scene and start over numerous times because somebody messed up. It was hard work but we were successful. I worked well in my group. We had a lot of fun together and we all got along well. Some of the successes were that we created our script fairly quickly and I believe that we were also able to appropriately mix comedy with tragedy in our adaptation. Some of the struggles were focus. Throughout the process, when somebody messed up, almost everyone lost focus on the task and started historically laughing. It was funny but also fustrating at the same time because we had a time schedule. We definately wasted time throughout this process because of laughing every time somebody messed up. I believe that this adaptation is what I visioned it to be. We tried to make it funny but also tragic at the same time so that we could connect with the audience on different levels and emotions. This was very important because the actual play of Romeo and Juliet is hard to understand sometimes. So we tried to make it funny and tragic in a modern day situation.i think that our adaptation is very good. It really helps me to understand Romeo and Juliet better because it helps me to understand the play in a modern way as well as the original play. 

School Play Review

In preparing to see the Fall play this weekend, here are a few things to think about and look for while you are watching. The playwright Bertolt Brecht did NOT believe that theater should always be realistic or that the audience should be able to relate or feel satisfied by the performance. So this performance will be very different from what you are used to. Read the director's note in the program for more specifics. Also, Brecht is very interested in politics, in examining who has power and status and how people use/abuse power and status. Pay attention to who is a "good person" and who is corrupt or selfish or cruel. What is Brecht saying about about society? Is the ending fair? Is Grusha the real mother and why? Before the show, if you want to read a synopsis on Wikipedia to understand the basic story line and characters, you can do that. Remember to have fun, and be a good audience!

I believe that Brecht was trying to point out the fact that society is very corrupt. In the play, Grusha basically saved the baby from dying because there was violence in the city. She was trying to give the baby to someone but nobody would take the baby so, she decided to raise it herself. She is a "good person" because she was giving up her whole being to raise the child. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep the babay safe, fed and warm. The mother who gave birth is not a good person. She was selfish and was more worried about herself that he was about the baby. In the play, the real mother was trying to pick out what dresses she wanted to keep before she was escaping. Throughout the play, I developed a strong hate for the character because of how selfish she was. Especially in the court trial. I almost thought that the real mother was going to get the baby. 

I feel like Brecht was trying to also show how power is so corrupt. Azdak was a random carver in some town. Somehow, he was given the position of the judge for the city. He was power hungry and wanted to make all sorts of money. He was a corrupt judge but somehow  he made the right descisions in giving the child to Grusha. Azdak was all about making money. In the trials, he was favoring the side that gave him money. Everyone knew that if they had enough money, that they could get whatever they wanted out of Azdak. Somehow Grusha won the case. I understand why Azdak vanished from the city because a lot of people would be mad at him because of how he conducted himself. 

I believe that the ending was fair. However, this ending is not realistic. It was obvious that the child was not Grusha's. In the real world, DNA tests would have been done and the child would have been matched with the mother. 

Group and Character role in Adaptation

I am in a group with David, Nan and Nia. In my groups adaptation, I am Mercutio and Lord Capulet. When I am Mercutio, I am supposed to portray a wild spirit. He is supposed to always be excited and ready to have fun. While reading the book and watching the film, in my mind I have always viewed Mercutio as somebody who is looking for trouble all the time. The scene that I am Mercutio in is when he is going to the party with Romeo and also after the party. In this scene Mercutio is telling Romeo that he will be able to find a new girl at this huge party. This is because Romeo has just broken up with his last girlfriend and is still hung up over her. After the party. Mercutio is very drunk. This is the scene where he dies. Mercutio is not thinking about anything and does not feel anything in this scene because of how drunk he is. This is one of the most important scenes to my character because this is where he dies. In our adaptation, we are trying to show the audience that Romeo and Mercutio have been friends with each other for a very long time in a total of 3-5 minutes.

The other role that I play in our adaptation was Lord Capulet. When I am Lord Capulet, I am supposed to be portrayed as a mean and over protective parent. We have not come up with the exact scenes for Lord Capulet yet, but he is supposed to be partially to blame for the death of Romeo in our adaptation. This is because Romeo is banished because he killed Tibalt. Juliet wants to leave the school so that she can go with Romeo. Lord Capulet will not allow for this so Juliet is going to fire gun shots at nothing in her dorm room to get banished from the school. Romeo will hear this and think that Juliet is dead so he will kill himself. Lord Capulet is supposed to feel angry when Juliet asks him to leave school. This scene is important because it is part of the reason why this tragety happens.

Adaptation Proposal

The scenes that I would want to propose is the fight scene between Romeo, Tibalt and Mercutio and the death scene with Romeo and Juliet. The location of the fight scene would be outside on either Slaughter or Savigny  field because there should be plenty of space. This is important because the accord would be able to explore the space very well. I would want it to be almost like the scene in the film that we watched because it was out in the open in front of everyone. The props would be swords because I believe that it is harder to have a long fight scene with guns because the actors would have to die quicker. The costumes would be in casual clothes because they are not in a formal place. I would want it to be cloudy outside because it would help to ad to the setting of death. The music would be intense fighting music to add extra meaning to the scene. The actors should all be yelling. Tibalt should be very upset. Mercutio should be taughting and Romeo should be trying to stop the fight. I think that the theme of this scene would be how revenge backfires. This is because Tibalt dies trying to get revenge and also kills Mercutio. I think that it would show audience how bad the tensions are between the two families.

The other scene that I would want to propose is the death scene. This is such an important scene in the story because both of our two main characters die. This scene is supposed to show that they really loyal to each other because they are willing to die for each other. The scene would be in the black box because it needs to be very dark because they are in a semetary. The light should be very dim. The props would be a gun, poison, and something to lie on for Juliet because she is asleep. Romeo should be both calm yet upset. The music should be sad because the characters see only one way to be with each other. Juliet should be in all white and Romeo should be in regular clothes. The them of this would be loyalty because both characters love each other so much that they are willing to die for it literally. The audience would understand this because of the setting as well as the actions. I think that Paris should not be included in this scene because this is supposed to be only about Romeo and Juliet. I would have the language be modernized so that everyone can understand what is being said. I feel like there is a barrier between the story and the audience when the language is in the original form. It is better for everyone to be able to understand the language so that they can connect to the story well. I also feel like Juliet should be crying when she sees that Romeo is dead. This is what I would want to do with this scene.

Romeo and Juliet Film Review

Joey Wright

The movie version of  Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Lurhmann was very interesting. I was very interested in some of the descisions that he made to direct the film. I found it very interesting that he made the play in a modern setting but kept the language all the same. I felt like if the movie is going to be in Shakespearian language, that it should also be in a setting that fits the time period. The weapons were guns instead of swords, and the clothes were very modern. Plus, there were very modern cars and the chorus in the play, was represented by the news station that was reporting the tragedy. Baz Lurhmann really changed the play a lot and tried to mix modern day with old-fashioned day. I felt like it was effective in some areas and ineffective in other areas. For instance, I felt like the fight scenes were helpful to be in a modern setting but I really did not like that the news channel was representing the chorus. Also, I wish that he would have translated the actual Romeo and Juliet script to modern language because it would have been very easy to understand. It seemed that the old-fashioned language was out of place for the setting. Almost everything else was modernized so it didn't really make sense for the actors to speak in an old-fashioned language in a modern setting. I also was confused about Mercutio's character. It seemed like the portrayed Mercutio to be a wild and crazy person whereas in the book, I felt like Mercutio was a little bit more controlled. One example of this is when Mercutio was dressed up as a woman and was acting extremely crazy. I did not understand what Baz Lurhmann was getting at here. I also felt like Benvolio did not have as much of an influence of Romeo in the film as what he has in the play. It seemed like Benvolio was distant to Romeo for most of the movie. In the book Benvolio is always with Romeo and trying to influence him. Another decision that I did not fully agree with is when Romeo and Juliet both died. In the book, it clearly states that Juliet was still asleep when Romeo drank the poison and was already dead. I did not like what Baz Lurhmann did with this part. He showed Juliet waking up even before Romeo drank the poison. But, because Romeo was being too self centered in his feelings, that he did not notice  that Juliet was awake. I was very upset about this because they should have made especially in this scene. They were both awake at the same time. I was very upset that this happened. This strayed way far away from the book. When I was watching this scene, I was expecting for the same ending as the book but instead they are shown both awake at the same time. It honestly made me hate Romeo because of how dumb he was. At least in the book, he does not know that Juliet will wake up and that it is evident that she is still asleep. They should have stuck to this ending. I still do not understand why Baz Lurhmann did this. I guess he was trying to make it more dramatic, but it only made Romeo look bad. I really did not like this scene. All in all, the film was okay and it was fairly entertaining for the most part.

Party

Theme: Sports
Where: indoor and outside
When: Saturday 1-10 pm
Who Invited: The whole street and close friends
Decorations: Sports posters
Food: Pizza or wings
Special: Because it is a sports party
Entertainment: watch sports
Activities: swimming pool
Clothing: Regular clothes or bathing suit

Elinor Funchs's Essay

• Elinor  Funchs's essay has acquired a devoted following
• If you focus too hard on language then you are not going to be able to read plays very well.
• Every dramatic world is very detailed with time, sound and space.
• Rules, Aristocratic, Popular, Mixed
• Notice what changes in the world
• Notice what doesn't
• Look at what changes in you while observing this world.
• Examine the characters inside the world.
• Do they fit the pattern
• Make sure not to include events, objects or figures that do not fit.

Characters I picked

The characters that I picked were, Romeo, Juliet, Nurse, Friar Laurence, Lord Capulet, Paris, Mercutio, Tibalt, Prince and the Apothacary. Romeo's prop would be a red heart because he has had love before with Roseline and because he loves Juliet. Juliet would have a white heart because she has pure love to Romeo. The Nurse would have a lantern because she guides Juliet in the right direction. Friar Laurence would have a cross because he is a holy man. Lord Capulet would have a big stack of cash because he is very rich. Paris would have a gold brick because he is a noble man. Mercutio would have an alcohol bottle because he acts crazy and isn't always thinking straight. Tibalt would have a sword because he is very violent and likes to fight. The Prince would have a gavel because he is in charge of the city. The Apothacary would have drugs or poison because Romeo wanted them to kill himself. I left our Lady Capulet because I don't feel like she is as important as the other characters because she basically is the messenger for Lord Capulet. I also left out the slaves because they are not that important either. I left our Roseline because she is not very apparent in the play.  All of the characters would use their props to highlight their personality. So let's say Lord Capulet in talking to Romeo. He should have his money in his hand waving it around almost like a show off.  This might have an awkward effect on the play because the audience might be wondering why they only have 1 object and wonder why they always have it with them. If I had to use my classmates I would cast them like this.
Romeo: Josh
Juliet: Jasmine
Nurse: Leslie
Friar Laurence: David
Lord Capulet: Nan
Paris: Ivan
Mercutio: Jamaal
Tibalt: Nia
Prince: Helen
Apothacary: Purdy

First half of act 5 notes

• Act 5 starts out with Romeo hiding out because he was banished from Verona.
• Friar Lawrence had sent him a letter telling Romeo that Juliet was not dead and that she would wake up.
• The letter never made it to Romeo.
• The only news he heard about was that Juliet was dead.
• Romeo decides to go and buy poison to drink because he thinks that the best thing to do is kill himself also to be with Juliet.
• He goes to this poor man and gives him all of his money and goes off to the tomb of Juliet.
• As Romeo is walking to the graveyard, Paris was already there. He still believes that Juliet loved him.
• Romeo enters the graveyard and starts to open the tomb of Juliet's grave.
• Paris tries to stop him but Romeo kills him.

Notes

• This is the scene where Juliet finds out that Tibalt is dead and that Romeo killed him and has been exiled.
• Juliet is asking the nurse if Romeo was dead because the nurse is very upset and sad.
• It seems that Juliet is more concerned about Romeo being vanished rather than Tibalt being dead. It shows that she cares more about Romeo than her own family.
• When Juliet finds out that Romeo killed Tibalt, Juliet starts ranting about how he is an evil villain with a heroes face and things like that. "O serpent heart with a flowering face!"
• Romeo feels like he should be dead but he is only banished.
• Romeo is upset and more afraid of being banished than being killed.
• The Nurse goes to Friar Lawrence's cell to get Romeo so that he can go to Juliet.
• Capulet, Lady Capulet and Paris all meet together.
• They plan to have Juliet marry Paris three days from Thursday.
• Romeo and Juliet meet on the balcony as this is being decided.
• Romeo tells Juliet that he has to go.

Meaty Paragraph

Joey Wright
I believe that the person who is at fault for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is definitely the Nurse that takes care of Juliet. I believe this because the Nurse understands that Juliet's parents want her to marry Paris, but that Juliet wants to marry Romeo. What this means is that the Nurse, who knew this whole situation, allowed for Romeo and Juliet to marry each other. In Act 1, Lady Capulet said tot he Nurse and Juliet before the party,"The valiant Paris seeks you for his love." This is where the Nurse is at fault because she was there when Lady Capulet said this to Juliet. After Romeo and Juliet meet and kiss, the nurse talks to Juliet. When Juliet asked the Nurse who that was, she said," His name is Romeo, no a Montague, the only son of your great enemy." The Nurse knows that Romeo is a Montague and that Lady Capulet wanted Juliet to marry Paris. Because the Nurse was apart of both situations, she had to pick a side when Juliet wanted to marry Romeo. If the Nurse would have picked Lady Capulets side, I am guessing that Juliet would have not married Romeo. But the problem is that the Nurse took Juliet's side. The Nurse knew how risky and bad it would be if Romeo and Juliet were caught together, but instead of not allowing for this to happen, the Nurse decided to actually help. She was the messenger for Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse told Juliet what time and where they would be married. The Nurse is the most at fault for the marriage between the two which caused the tragedy in this story. Because of all of these reasons, the Nurse is the most at fault for the tragedy.

Les Miserables Review

Joey Wright

IB Lit and Performance SL

Ms Guarino

10/13/17
                                                 
                                                         Les Miserables Movie Review


          Les Miserables was a very interesting movie to watch. I thought that there was some life changing points throughout the movie. I really liked the themes that were presented throughout the movie. Throughout the movie, the main character Valjean went through a transformation. It showed the importance of kindness and love for somebody else. This film also showed how important it is to have mercy on your enemies.

          In the movie, Valjean went through a transformation. In the beginning of the movie, he was shown in a prison camp and was viewed as a horrible person in prison. He was in a prison camp pulling in ships that had wrecked out at sea. It was a very hard punishment for somebody who stole bread to feed his sisters children in a time of depression. Once he was let out of the prison camp after 19 years, he starts to go back to his old ways of stealing. He was trying to find a place to sleep for the night and was being denied by almost everybody because they all of the people knew that he was a criminal. He finally was let in by a priest who fed him and gave him a place to sleep. Instead of being great full for what he was given, Valjean decided to steal silver from the priest and left in the middle of the night. He was caught with the silver that he stole by two soldiers and was taken back to the priests house. I believe that this is the turning point in the story. The priest protects Valjean from going back to the prison camp. Afterwards, Valjean realizes his wrong ways and changes his identity and commits himself to god and tries to live a good life.The only problem with this is that he did not go to parole everyday which was also a crime. The prison camp leader named Javert hunted him for 8 years at this point who was committed to finding him. By this time, Valjean is the mayor of the town and is a good and fair leader. Javert find out that Valjean is the pisoner and starts to hunt him. Before he was hunted by Javert, Valjean makes a promise to this woman that he would take care of her daughter after she dies. After she dies, Valjean goes and finds the young girl and takes her under his wing. The girls name was Cosette. They live on the road for most of Cosette's life because Javert is still hunting Valjean. This is where Valjean learns what love is.

          Valjean learns what love really is when he raises Cosette like she is his own daughter. This is where Valjean really changes because he developed such a good relationship with Cosette. He felt the need to take care of her as best as he could. This is a big part of his transformation throughout the movie. Valjean comes a long way from only worrying about himself and stealing to now caring a loving a girl that he raised on his own. He really shows his love and how much he cares for Casette, when she meets Marius Pontmercy. Valjean has an internal war with himself because he cares so much about her and doesn't want her to fall in love with him and her leave him, but he also says many times to himself that she wasn't his to give away and that she should love whoever she wants to. This shows how much Valjean loves her because he wants her to be happy and wants what is best for her at the same time. He really learns what it means to love somebody else and to sacrifice himself  for another person. Another point is that he really relies on god to be in control of his life, Cosette's life, and Marius' life.

          Valjean displays selflessness and kindness also in this movie. He displays kindness when Javert is captured by the rebellion.Valjean was given the responsibility to kill Javert after he proved his loyalty to the rebellion after he killed soldiers who were trying to attack. Valjean goes to where Javert is and takes him to an alleyway. He pulls out a knife in front of Javert. This  is where Valjean shows how kind he really was. Here he was, looking his enemy strait in the eye, who tortured him for 19 years, and had him in a spot where he could kill him, and instead he let Javert go. The old Valjean would have probably killed Javert in two seconds, but Valjean knew that the right thing to do was to let him go even though Javert said to him as he was letting him go, that he would still hunt him down. This really taught me a good lesson for life. And that is that no matter how badly somebody treats you, that you still need to show them kindness like everyone else. This scene made me realize a lot about how to treat my enemy's. Valjean also displayed massive amounts of selflessness shortly after this scene. He prays to god that Marius is able to survive the war. In the fight, Marius is injured and Valjean saves him. He takes Marius down the sewer where he walks through the city manure to save Marius. As they get out of the sewer, Javert is waiting for them on the other side. Valjean tells Javert that he has to take Marius to the hospital but Javert does not care. Valjean starts to walk by him and Javert tells him that if he takes another step that he will shoot him. Instead of being scared of getting shot, Valjean continues to walk. Javert does not shoot and realizes that Valjean has changed and that he has been wrong the whole time. Javert feels so bad for what he has done that he kills himself. After all of this happens, Valjean leaves Cosette and Marius to get married and live on their own. Valjean tells the truth about himself to Marius because he wants him to know his life story. Valjean instructs for Marius to tell Cosette that he is leaving on an adventure. Cosette was very upset and ends up finding Valjean at the same church that he went to the night that he was let out of the prison camp. When Cosette finds Valjean they have their last moments together. At this time, Valjean has completely changed his life around and Marius calls him a saint. In this scene Cosette finds out that Valjean saved Marius' life. As Valjean is about to die, he gives her a letter that tells her everything about his life. How he was a prisoner and how he changed over time to his present self. Valjean was now able to die at peace because he knew that his life was complete.

          One aspect of the movie that helped to show how kind, honest and loving Valjean was, is when they showed that couple that would steal everything from everyone that came into their bar. This was a good opposite to the way Valjean lived his life. Valjean was honest, kind, fair and courageous. He displayed his courage when he saved Marious and when he went in front of the court and admitted that he was the missing prisoner when he could have stayed hidden. The couple that was running the bar were liars who stole and were generally disgusting people. All they cared about was money and being rich, whereas Valjean was all about righting his wrongs that occurred earlier in his life. This was one of the things that I noticed that helped to highlight Valjeans character. I also noticed that Javert was so convinced for nearly the whole movie that it was the right thing to continue to hunt Valjean even though he had changed tremendously. This is why Javert jumped off the edge of the bridge because he felt that he deserved to be killed by Valjean because of how bad he treated him in the prison camp and afterwards when he was hunting him. Before he jumped, Javert said that Valjean was killing him when he jumped. I think that Javert said this because he felt like Valjean was justified in killing him. Even when he was captured, Javert told Valjean that he would be fine with him getting his revenge by killing him because he knew that he deserved it.

          I found this movie very powerful because it contained many themes that are important in life. Valjean showed that anyone can change at anytime, they just have to make the decision to change. Another theme was that character is very important. Another theme is that kindness and love are very powerful and always win. Valjean won in his life. He won because he was shown the path to love and kindness when he was let out of prison. The last theme was that no matter how badly your enemies treat you, you should never do the same back to them. The only thing that I disliked in this movie was that almost every line was in song. If there would have been a mix of both singing and talking, then I would have liked the movie more. All in all, this movie was very educational. It had a lot of important themes that can be followed in everyday life.

Who is Responsible for Mercutio's Death

I believe that it is Tibalt's fault for Mercutio's death. At the beggining of the scene, Mercutio and Benvolio are talking with each other. Tibalt comes up to them and tries to talk with one of them. This is already Tibalt's fault because he should have not even gone near them. He should have stayed away, but because of his ego and confidence, he went to go talk to Mercutio. Once he saw that Mercutio was going to pick a fight, Tibalt should have left but instead he let Mercutio talk and started to fight when Romeo showed up. Not only did Tibalt initiate a conversation, but he also was the one who killed Mercutio. He actually stabbed him which puts all of the blame on Tibalt.
Romeo asked Tibalt to leave Mercutio alone, but Tibalt did not listen. Romeo was trying to separate the fight but it did not work. I also feel like it is somewhat Romeo's fault. Tibalt is there to try to find Romeo. He was looking for Romeo because he crashed the party that he wasn't invited to where he met Juliet. If Romeo had not gone to that party, then Mercutio might not have died then. I believe that  Tibalt is more at fault for his death rather than Romeo.

Act 3 First half notes

1.) In the begging of the act, Tibalt is looking for Romeo of fight him and take him away.
2.) Tibalt walks up to Mercutio and Benvolio to talk about Romeo because Tibalt is still upset about Romeo crashing the party where he met Juliet.
3.) Mercutio starts to taunt Tibalt.
4.) Once Romeo shows up, Tibalt starts to fight him and Mercutio gets involved with the fighting.
5.) Tibalt ends up cutting Mercutio.
6.) Mercutio wishes for a plague to be put on both families houses, and dies very quickly.
7.) Tibalt comes back and fights Romeo where Romeo kills Tibalt.
8.) Romeo is forced to leave Verona now because if he gets caught by the prince, then he will get killed too.
9.) Benvolio was asked to tell the truth and he explained what happened.
10 Romeo's punishment was to be exiled form Verona.
 

Friar Laurence Peacemaker

Agree with the following statement and use specific details and quotes from the text to support your argument:
Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

Disagree with the following statement and use specific details and quotes from the text to support your argument: 
Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

I agree that Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker for a few reasons. One reason that he is a peace maker is because he helped Romeo and Juliet get married. He is a peacemaker for this because he has created a sense of peace and happiness between both Romeo and Juliet. They are so happy to be married to each other. At first, when Friar Lawrence heard about how Romeo wanted to marry Juliet, he was confused and in a little bit of disagreement. He reminded Romeo of Rosaline and asked why Romeo didn't love her. He asked,"Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes." Once Romeo explained himself about how much he loves Juliet, he agreed and said that he would help them become married. But when he agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, he seemed alittle bit reluctant about do that because he knew that there would be term oil in the end. He said to Romeo," For this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households’ rancour to pure love." He told Romeo that he should send for Juliet to come to his cell and marry them.  

On the other hand, Friar Lawrence is not a peacemaker. He is the exact opposite in everyone else's eyes accept for Romeo and Juliet. This is a major conflict between the Montegues and the Capulets. In their minds, this is not even a possibility. This is shown when Romeo snuck into the Capulets house to see Juliet. The first thing that Juliet said to Romeo is that he could get killed if anyone were to see him. Nobody on either side of the families want them to even talk to each other let alone marry. Both Romeo and Juliet are well aware that they would have to both run away when they get married because of how bad the situation will be. Friar Lawrence was apart of this by helping them get married. The reason why he was so skeptical about this was because he knew that there would be big problems. He knew that people will kill each other because of the descision that Romeo and Juliet are making. He could have stopped them from getting married. He had the choice to not help them. But he knew how badly Romeo and Juliet wanted this. So he went against what he knew would happen, and married them. He is not a peacemaker for this. 

Blog 5

I would show many things that pull make them look wealthy but different. One thing I would do is I would show them in expensive clothing. They would have very fine clothes and shoes. I would also show them ordering servants around to carry out the tasks for them. I would also show them writing or reading. Back in these days, servants and lower class people were illiterate. The only people that could read or write were the people who were high in the social classes. They would always stand tall and proud and talk very clearly and smoothly. 

I would show many other things as well if I was showing their rivalry. The first thing K would show is that they would be wearing very different color clothing. So if the Montegues wore blue, I would have the Capulets wear red. I would also them fighting a lot. This is the most obvious for, of the hate between the two groups. They would also talk about the other group with a lot of hatred. I would also show the people in charge, them trying to figure out how to eliminate the other group. 

This is what I would do to show the similarities and differences between the groups. 

Fences Devised Theatre

youtube link  http://youtu.be/TWJnMpEd-Wo

Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare Introduction of Characters

Joey Wright

The first time that Shakespeare introduces Romeo he is talking to Benvolio about love. Romeo is going on and on about how perfect Juliet is. Romeo cannot think about anything else than Juliet. He says how much he loves her in so many drawn out ways. He tells Benvolio how much grief this is giving him. Romeo says that he has lost himself and that he is not Romeo anymore because he is somewhere else. Shakespeare makes Romeo feel so overwhelmed and almost crazy that he could love one woman so much. We learn a lot about his character. We learn that when he has his mind set on something like Juliet, it consumes him and he is not the same anymore ever again. My first impression is that he is well liked by everyone in the Montague side of the story. All of his friends tell him that he needs to forget about Juliet and look for other women in Verona. But Romeo responds by saying that all the other women in Verona only make Juliet more beautiful. He seems to be the best looking as well. I don't like him but I do not hate him either. He comes off as a dramatic type of person. 

The first time Juliet is introduced, she is being called by her mother to talk about marriage. Before Juliet meets Romeo, she is content on not getting married. We learn that her character is defiant. She does not want to follow her parents direction and get married. Juliet says that marriage is an honor that she does not dream of. At the end of the conversation, Juliet does agree to try to find someone that she would like to marry at the party that will occur.  My first impression is that she is still a little bit immature to get married. When she talks to her mother and the nurse, the way I read it is that she is very childish and is still in the rebellious stage of growing up. She is way less dramatic than Romeo. She is straight forward and doesn't explain everything in many different ways the way that Romeo does. I would say that I like her more than Romeo because before she meets him, she is way less dramatic. 

I like Juliet better than Romeo. This is because when Shakespeare introduces them, it seems that Juliet is way less dramatic than Romeo. Romeo is so set on one thing and he explains his desire about Juliet in ten different ways. 

In Class Writing

The activity yesterday was very effective for being able to understand the important parts of the play. In the actual book, there is a lot of extra dialogue and words that I do not understand, so when we all decided what the important parts of the play were, really helped me to understand the story better. In my group we had the longest amount of time, so we were able to add more events to our play, but it was still very hard to perform the big ideas of Romeo and Juliet in two minutes.

Romeo and Juliet Notes

Joey Wright

• Romeo is not going to let anyone tell him that Juliet is not the one that he is going to be with.
• When Bonvolio and Mercutio tried to tell him that there were other women in Verona to marry, he was very defensive and did not stray from Juliet.
• At the party, Romeo snuck into the party and kissed Juliet and they fell into deep love.
• Before the party, Juliet's mother was talking to her about getting married.
• Juliet had said that she didn't love anyone at that point.
• This shows how quick their love developed.
• When Juliet found out that Romeo was a Montegue, she still loved him even though he is on the side of the enemy.  

Devised Theatre Reflection

Joey Wright

I was a big part in the idea creating process. I came up with two of the main ideas. I have a lot of dialogue in the performances. I like to be funny on stage because I am always happy and am okay when I get laughed at. I have learned over the years how to laugh at myself sometimes. Our group as a whole is very good. I think that we perform well together. Well all are pretty much dynamic and can come up with ideas on the fly pretty well. It was hard to pick an idea. We had three strong ideas so it was hard for us to pick one. We need to work on remembering to face the crowd when we are talking. We also need to work on being louder and less nervous. I need to work on not over talking when performing. Sometimes I forget the other people around me. I have learned a lot from this process. One thing is that I feel more comfortable when performing in a group or even in a duo than I do by myself. I also have learned how to fully consider everyones ideas and try to pick the best one regardless of whether it is my idea or not. I also learned a lot about devised theatre and that there is a little bit of preparation, but you have to really move on the fly and understand the setting and really try to take on your character. I learned a lot from watching the other groups. I learned that voice volume is very important. Eye contact is as well. Whenever a group went and they did not look out to the audience, I almost felt left out in a way because I couldn't see their facial expressions or hear them as well. I got a lot of good feedback from the people who sent emails. It really helped us decide what we wanted to do for our idea, and it helped us add little things like a narrator spot, and to make sure that we faced the audience. I think that we have a pretty good idea for our performance. The goal is to be funny and try to make the audience laugh. So there is going to be a lot of over acting and lots of facial expressions. Hopefully the class laughs and enjoys or performance.

Monologue Youtube Link

http://youtu.be/PnX78ijdOvo

Notes: Devised Theatre

• form that originates from work by a group of performances that collaborate an idea.
• the method that is uses based on people in a group.
• some methods include games, using space and character building.
• the whole creative team has to develop the whole show. Every single person is involved.
• it has become a very popular method to creating performances.
• it is also looked down upon by other forms of theater because it goes against a traditional play.

Complicite:

• they have a lot of action and grasping movements.
• lighting is very important.
• facial expressions are crucial.

Monologue Performance Reflection

Joey Wright

Creating and performing these monologues were a little bit of a challenge for me. One was that I had a harder time of trying to learn a character rather than  acting something out on the fly. I had to practice and memorize lines. When I am presenting or performing something, I have an idea that pops up into my head, and then I pick what words to say on the fly. This was proven when we did the story telling activity where we sat down and told one big story in the class. I like to make stories fun and interesting. I tried to change the emotions of Cory to a calm and sad person. When I was performing the monologue, I was sitting down because I wanted to emphasize that he is not getting too upset, but that he is reflecting on his life, and he knows that he cannot change it. I make a few hand motions to add some movement, but I wanted to mostly stay still in a relaxed position. Cory knows that his father is gone and that there is nothing he can do to change it. So he feels the need to resist his father one time in his life. I think that I improved my fear of performing and failing in front of people. Looking back on all of the takes that I took helped me to realize that it is not that big of a deal to mess up once or twice. I learned that it is okay to fail in front of people and that all that you have to do is laugh it off and move on. For next time, I can change my voice more when I am performing. I should have been quieter at some points in the performance and louder in other parts. It helped me to watch other students perform their monologues because it made me less nervous, and it helped to lighten the mood when I messed up because when everyone laughs at each other it makes the situation more comfortable. Some people struggled with rocking back and forth on their feet. Others were monotone and quiet. I believe that I was a little monotone as well. Hand motions and volume really helped to make a good monologue. All in all, this was a good experience and I will be better prepared for the next performance.

Link: http://youtu.be/PnX78ijdOvo

Fences Performance Monologue

I can't drag Papa with me everywhere I go. I've got to say no to him. One time in my life I've got to say no. The whole time I was growing up...living in his house...Papa was like a shadow that followed you everywhere. It weighed on you and sunk into your flesh. It would wrap around you and lay there until you couldn't tell which one was you anymore. That shadow digging through your flesh. Trying to crawl in. Trying to live through you. Everywhere I looked, Troy Maxson was staring at me... Hiding under the bed...in the closet. I'm just saying, I've got to find a way to get rid of that shadow, mama.

Cory is Troy's son. He always feels like Troy does not want him to be better than he was. The reason Cory wants to defy his dad is because his dad would not allow for him to play college football. Cory is jealous of Troy because he was allowed to play baseball.

The number one emotion that is expressed is frustration. Cory feels like he can't escape his fathers shadow, and there is nothing he can do about it because he does not have another opportunity to play football. Cory is also very angry at Troy because of the way that Troy treated him when he was growing up.

Romeo and Juliet Play Review

Joey Wright

Ms Guarino

IB Lit and Performance SL

9/3/17


I had some mixed feelings about what I thought when I watched the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare on September 1st 2017 in a New Haven park. I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole play. I thought at some points it was interesting and on some points the play got a little dull.

The reason for this was because some of the dying scenes were drawn out for a long time where Romeo was talking about killing himself for ten minutes. at other times, the action scenes of the play were fairly good. The sword fighting was interesting as well. One thing that I did not like was the modern music being played in between the scenes, and then the old English that was being spoken. I did like the costumes. They were very nice and detailed and they looked like they fit the time period.

The stage setting was very interesting especially the lighting. One reason was because every time something bad was going to happen with Romeo, the lights would turn blue and become very dark. They did a good job of setting the atmosphere for the drama of the play. They also played a lot of music. I did not agree with this however, because it did not go along with the time period. The most important characters were obviously Romeo and Juliet because the story is about their love story. But another important character was the priest because he helped to try to orchestrate them fake killing themselves.

In my opinion, the player of Juliet was the best actress on the stage. She was very good at being dramatic yet humorous and happy. She really took on the role of Juliet very well. One of her best moments was when she couldn't let Romeo go because she kept on saying goodbye but not letting him leave at the same time. I thought this was very numerous because she didn't want to make a big commitment to Romeo, but she wouldn't let him go until he did ask her to marry him. I enjoyed watching her act because she had a very professional approach. She really made herself become Juliet. The actor for Romeo and her really were a great match for each other in the acting world.

Overall, I did not like the play. One thing that I struggled with was the way they were talking. I did not understand about half of the dialogue. They were also speaking very fast and it was very hard to keep up with. I didn't like that they were doing modern day dances either. This is a very old play, the whip and naenae should not be in the play. If that were the case, then they should have talked in regular English as well. I also didn't like that it was so predictable that something bad was going to happen when seriou music would qew in about 30 seconds before stuff happened.

I believe that one of the themes to this play is to go for what you want. Shoot for the stars. You only live once so why not be as great as you can be. I want to pursue my dreams the way that Romeo and Juliet pursued each other. I had respect for how determined Romeo was to make Juliet his wife. I think that Romeo is very courageous in this play. Another theme would be that not everything that you feel is right. You can't just marry somebody on a whim the way that Romeo and Juliet did. I believe that you should listen to what your heart and desires tell you to, but not everything is meant to be. An example of that is that they both ended up dead. Another theme would be that you can't let your emotions get the best of you. This is what happened when Romeo let his emotions block his judgement and killed Tibet. He didn't understand that what he was doing was wrong until he was dead. This is what I thought about the play Romeo and Juliet.

Monologue Draft

When I was five years old, I used to always wake up at five a.m. and wake up everybody in my house. One day, my dad decided that he was going to take me to the local YMCA. As a little youngster then, I thought that it was a great idea. Little did I know that I would hate going there soon enough. So we show up at the YMCA and go onto the basketball courts. My dad says for me to jog one lap around the gym to warm up. So I did. When I came back, he told me to go stand on the baseline. I did what I was told. He then explained that I should run to the free throw line, back to the baseline, all the way to the half court line, back to the baseline, all the way to the other free throw line, back to the baseline and finally, go from baseline to baseline. I thought, wow this is going to be fun. He told me to start so I did. I ran back and forth as fast as I could go. After that, my dad kept telling me to keep running. I must have did a solid twenty sprints. I was so tired at the end that I collapsed on the ground. My dad came up to me and asked," why do you look so tired, just alittle while ago you were bouncing off the walls at home?!" I ended up having to go to the YMCA a few more times after that because I hadn't learned my lesson yet to be quiet when I woke up, but after three weeks of sprinting in the morning, I learned my lesson.

About Me Paper

Joey Wright

Hi my name is Joey Wright. I am a Junior and this is my fourth year at CA. I was originally born in Texas but now live in a small town called Wolcott, which is right next to Cheshire. I am a big baseball fan and I love all kinds of sports accept for lacrosse and soccer. I also have many hobbies that I enjoy and also have some important and interesting things about me.

My first interesting thing is that I love to play baseball. It is my passion and I have been playing the game for almost my whole life. At first, my parents were against playing any sports because they wanted us to stay focused only on academics at that age, but when I showed an extreme love to play the game, I was able to convince them of letting me play baseball. Since then, I have played in baseball tournaments is Georgia twice, Florida twice, Puerto Rico, and Long Island. These tournaments are considered championships and I have won two. Some were also nationally ranked. At one point my old team was ranked no. 8 in the country. Now, I play for Ca's baseball team. Last year we won our state championship as well.

My second interesting thing is that I can juggle. I started juggling when I was eight. The person who taught me was my dad. I have mastered four balls and am working on five. It something that I enjoy doing because when you work hard at it and when you are successful, it becomes really fun. I also enjoy juggling because people are so amazed when they see it. I have only juggled a few times in front of people though. One time was when I was in fourth grade, I decided to enter into the talent show. I think I dropped the ball once, so I did okay. I have juggled for a few of my friends after that but that is it.

My third interesting thing is that I like almost all kinds of music. When I was younger, I didn't really like a specific kind of music because in my house, we don't really play any music. Well, we started to a few years ago, and I have started to enjoy all types of music such as rap, country, classical and classic rock. The classic rock is party because that is all my dad ever wants to listen to. But after a while it grows on you the way it did for me and now I like classical rock. The same goes for the rest of the genres that I listed. When I first listen to a song, my almost immediate reaction is something to the effect of "this is horrible." But when it is played every one in a while, I start to gradually like the song until it is one of my favorites. This doesn't go for all songs. I do dislike some songs.

The reason why I want to take this class is because this class seems to offer a greater understanding than a regular English class. What I hope to get out of it is to become less nervous about speaking or presenting in front of people and have a greater understanding of the books we read.