Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Marcus Garvey’s Thoughts and Ideas

Pan-Africanism
A philosophy that is based on the belief that African people share common bonds and objectives and that advocates unity to achieve these objectives. In the views of different proponents throughout its history, Pan-Africanism has been conceived in varying ways. It has been applied to all black African people and people of black African descent; to all people on the African continent, including nonblack people; or to all states on the African continent.
Garvey explains the goal of the UNIA. The text of the quote is: “We of the Universal Negro Improvement Association are raising the cry of ‘Africa for the Africans’—those at home and those abroad. There are 400 million Africans in the world who have Negro blood coursing through their veins. And we believe that the time has come to unite these 400 million people for the one common purpose of bettering their condition.”
Modern resistance to colonialism, however, began with the development of a formal Pan-African movement at the dawn of the 20th century. In 1900 Henry Sylvester Williams, a lawyer from the Caribbean island of Trinidad, organized a Pan-African conference in London to give black people the opportunity to discuss issues facing blacks around the world. The conference attracted a small but significant representation of Africans and people of African descent from the Caribbean and the United States, as well as whites from Britain.
Independence
While racial pride and unity played important roles in Garvey's black nationalism, he touted capitalism as the tool that would establish African Americans as an independent group. His message has been called the evangel of black success, for he believed economic success was the quickest and most effective way to independence. Interestingly enough, it was white America that served as a prime example of what blacks could accomplish. "Until you produce what the white man has produced," he claimed, "you will not be his equal."
Nationalism
Marcus Garvey urged Africans "at home and abroad" to be proud of their race, practice a doctrine of "race first" and preached the importance of "African Redemption". To this end he founded the Negro World newspaper to disseminate the UNIA's program, the Black Star Line in 1919 to provide steamship transportation, and the Negro Factories Corporation to encourage black economic independence. Garvey attracted millions of supporters and claimed eleven million members for the UNIA. Garvey set the precedent for subsequent Black nationalist thought including that of Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X.
Garveyism and the UNIA combined the various elements of black nationalism--religious, cultural, economic, and territorial--into a distinctive blend of philosophy and agenda. Fundamental to this viewpoint was the emotive power of blackness. Garvey was a zealot who advocated self-economic determination and African redemption. Garveyism proclaimed and promoted the coming revitalization of people of color around the world and exalted the power of the black race.
Colonialism
He combined the economic nationalist ideas of Booker T. Washington and Pan-Africanists with the political possibilities and urban style of men and women living outside of plantation and colonial societies. Garvey's ideas gestated amid the social upheavals, anticolonial movements, and revolutions of World War I, which demonstrated the power of popular mobilization to change entrenched structures of power.
In 1914 he started the Universal Negro Improvement Association and began speaking out publicly in favor of worldwide black unity and an end to colonialism.
Colonialism systematically degraded Africans, both slaves and residents of Europe’s African colonies. Slaves labored under cruel and dehumanizing conditions for no pay or extremely low wages. Furthermore, these slaves were scattered in far-flung European colonies, separated from their African homes and relatives.

Independence
While racial pride and unity played important roles in Garvey's black nationalism, he touted capitalism as the tool that would establish African Americans as an independent group. His message has been called the evangel of black success, for he believed economic success was the quickest and most effective way to independence. Interestingly enough, it was white America that served as a prime example of what blacks could accomplish. "Until you produce what the white man has produced," he claimed, "you will not be his equal."
Colonialism
He combined the economic nationalist ideas of Booker T. Washington and Pan-Africanists with the political possibilities and urban style of men and women living outside of plantation and colonial societies. Garvey's ideas gestated amid the social upheavals, anticolonial movements, and revolutions of World War I, which demonstrated the power of popular mobilization to change entrenched structures of power. In 1914 he started the Universal Negro Improvement Association and began speaking out publicly in favor of worldwide black unity and an end to colonialism.
“Now that the statesmen of the various nations are preparing to meet at the Peace Conference, to discuss the future government of the peoples of the world, we take it as our bounden duty to warn them to be very just to all those people who may happen to come under their legislative control. If they, representing the classes, as they once did, were alive to the real feeling of their respective masses four and one-half years ago, today Germany would have been intact, Austria-Hungary would have been intact, Russia would have been intact, the spirit of revolution never would have swept Europe, and mankind at large would have been satisfied. But through graft, greed and selfishness, the classes they represented then, as some of them represent now, were determined to rob and exploit the masses, thinking that the masses would have remained careless of their own condition for everlasting.
It is a truism that you "fool half of the people for half of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people for all of the time;" and now that the masses of the whole world have risen as one man to demand true equity and justice from the 'powers that be', then let the delegates at the Peace Conference realize, just now, that the Negro, who forms an integral part of the masses of the world, is determined to get no less than what other men are to get. The oppressed races of Europe are to get their freedom, which freedom will be guaranteed them. The Asiatic races are to get their rights and a larger modicum of self-government.
We trust that the delegates to the Peace Conference will not continue to believe that Negroes have no ambition, no aspiration. There are no more timid, cringing Negroes; let us say that those Negroes have now been relegated to the limbo of the past, to the region of forgetfulness, and that the new Negro is on the stage, and he is going to play his part good and well. He, like the other heretofore oppressed peoples of the world, is determined to get restored to him his ancestral rights.
When we look at the map of Africa today we see Great Britain with fully five million square miles of our territory, we see France with fully three million five hundred thousand square miles, we see that Belgium has under her control the Congo, Portugal has her sway over Southeast Africa, Italy has under her control Tripoli, Italian Somaliland on the Gulf of Aden and Erythria on the Red Sea. Germany had clamored for a place in the sun simply because she has only one million square miles, with which she was not satisfied, in that England had five millions and France three millions five hundred thousand. It can be easily seen that the war of 1914 was the outcome of African aggrandizement, that Africa, to which the while man has absolutely no claim, has been raped, has been left bleeding for hundreds of years, but within the last thirty years the European powers have concentrated more than ever on the cleaning up of the great continent so as to make it a white man's country. Among those whom they have killed are millions of our people, but the age of killing for naught is passed and the age of killing for something has come. If black men have to die in Africa or anywhere else, then they might as well die for the best of things, and that is liberty, true freedom and true democracy. If the delegates to the Peace Conference would like to see no more wars we would advise them to satisfy the yellow man's claims, the black man's claims and the white man's claims, and let all three be satisfied so that there can be indeed a brotherhood of men. But if one section of the human race is to arrogate to itself all that God gave for the benefit of mankind at large, then let us say human nature has in no way changed, and even at the Peace Conference where from the highest principles of humanity are supposed to emanate there will come no message of peace.
There will be no peace in the world until the white man confines himself politically to Europe, the yellow man to Asia and the black man to Africa. The original division of the earth among mankind must stand, and any one who dares to interfere with this division creates only trouble for himself. This division was made by the Almighty Power that rules, and therefore there can be no interference with the plans Divine.
Cowardice has disappeared from the world. Men have died in this world war so quickly and so easily that those who desire liberty today do not stop to think of death, for it is regarded as the price which people in all ages will have to pay to be free; that is the price the weaker people of Europe have paid; that is the price the Negro must pay some day.
Let the Peace Conference, we suggest, be just in its deliberations and in its findings, so that there can be a true brotherhood in the future with not more wars.”
.



“Now that the statesmen of the various nations are preparing to meet at the Peace Conference, to discuss the future government of the peoples of the world, we take it as our bounden duty to warn them to be very just to all those people who may happen to come under their legislative control. If they, representing the classes, as they once did, were alive to the real feeling of their respective masses four and one-half years ago, today Germany would have been intact, Austria-Hungary would have been intact, Russia would have been intact, the spirit of revolution never would have swept Europe, and mankind at large would have been satisfied. But through graft, greed and selfishness, the classes they represented then, as some of them represent now, were determined to rob and exploit the masses, thinking that the masses would have remained careless of their own condition for everlasting.
It is a truism that you "fool half of the people for half of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people for all of the time;" and now that the masses of the whole world have risen as one man to demand true equity and justice from the 'powers that be', then let the delegates at the Peace Conference realize, just now, that the Negro, who forms an integral part of the masses of the world, is determined to get no less than what other men are to get. The oppressed races of Europe are to get their freedom, which freedom will be guaranteed them. The Asiatic races are to get their rights and a larger modicum of self-government.
We trust that the delegates to the Peace Conference will not continue to believe that Negroes have no ambition, no aspiration. There are no more timid, cringing Negroes; let us say that those Negroes have now been relegated to the limbo of the past, to the region of forgetfulness, and that the new Negro is on the stage, and he is going to play his part good and well. He, like the other heretofore oppressed peoples of the world, is determined to get restored to him his ancestral rights.
When we look at the map of Africa today we see Great Britain with fully five million square miles of our territory, we see France with fully three million five hundred thousand square miles, we see that Belgium has under her control the Congo, Portugal has her sway over Southeast Africa, Italy has under her control Tripoli, Italian Somaliland on the Gulf of Aden and Erythria on the Red Sea. Germany had clamored for a place in the sun simply because she has only one million square miles, with which she was not satisfied, in that England had five millions and France three millions five hundred thousand. It can be easily seen that the war of 1914 was the outcome of African aggrandizement, that Africa, to which the while man has absolutely no claim, has been raped, has been left bleeding for hundreds of years, but within the last thirty years the European powers have concentrated more than ever on the cleaning up of the great continent so as to make it a white man's country. Among those whom they have killed are millions of our people, but the age of killing for naught is passed and the age of killing for something has come. If black men have to die in Africa or anywhere else, then they might as well die for the best of things, and that is liberty, true freedom and true democracy. If the delegates to the Peace Conference would like to see no more wars we would advise them to satisfy the yellow man's claims, the black man's claims and the white man's claims, and let all three be satisfied so that there can be indeed a brotherhood of men. But if one section of the human race is to arrogate to itself all that God gave for the benefit of mankind at large, then let us say human nature has in no way changed, and even at the Peace Conference where from the highest principles of humanity are supposed to emanate there will come no message of peace.
There will be no peace in the world until the white man confines himself politically to Europe, the yellow man to Asia and the black man to Africa. The original division of the earth among mankind must stand, and any one who dares to interfere with this division creates only trouble for himself. This division was made by the Almighty Power that rules, and therefore there can be no interference with the plans Divine.
Cowardice has disappeared from the world. Men have died in this world war so quickly and so easily that those who desire liberty today do not stop to think of death, for it is regarded as the price which people in all ages will have to pay to be free; that is the price the weaker people of Europe have paid; that is the price the Negro must pay some day.
Let the Peace Conference, we suggest, be just in its deliberations and in its findings, so that there can be a true brotherhood in the future with not more wars.”

Marcus Garvey

Homework

Garvey (a) theif (b) hero (c)visionary (d) madman. Garvey has been accused of all of the above. Using factual information, show why some people would have these ideas about Marcus Garvey. Make a conclusion on which one you think Garvey is.

Marcus Garvey was a National Hero of Jamaica, a Black Nationalist, orator and founder of many black organizations. He can be said to have attempted to reverse the slave trade, attempting to put things how they were in the beginning. He believed that all Blacks should go back to Africa and all Europeans should come out of it. The movement is officially called the Back-To-Africa Movement. Garvey also believed that uniting Blacks was the only method that could be used to better their condition internationally. He dedicated his life to bettering the black race.

The idea of Garvey being a thief came from the suspicions of his involvement in a suspected mail fraud.
He was convicted because many believed that he had sent letters to many people and requested funds for the UNIA which he then later used for himself. It was not fully proved, and Garvey’s modest lifestyle certainly did not portray any extravagant spending or large sums of money, but Garvey nonetheless was sent to prison. He served five years in the Atlanta Federal Prison in 1925.

Garvey was also accused of being a madman, in particular, he was charged with the allegation of being a paranoiac. This accusation was mainly held by a member of the NAACP Robert W. Bagnall. He wrote a whole essay entitled “The Madness of Marcus Garvey” in 1923. Among his other detractors were archrival W.E.B. Du Bois who deemed him “inordinately vain and very suspicious”. Delusional is another term used to describe him as he seemed to see himself as a “king” and others below him. He did seem to treat himself very royally with his armed guards and ample protection about him, he had, as Bagnall put it “delusional grandeur”. He was also delusional in the sense that he saw as little a number of people as three people and thought of it as a crowd. He was also mad in the sense that some of his ideas were clearly impractical and had no chance of working. An example of this was his dream that all Blacks would relocate back to Africa. He didn’t take time to analyze people and their behaviour, all he saw was his plans, not the reactions of the people involved and this was one of his downfalls. To sum it all up, an excerpt from Bagnalls’ essay clearly illustrates the thoughts of those who were against him : “If he is not insane, he is a demagogic charlatan, but the probability is that the man is insane. Certainly the movement is insane, whether Garvey is or not.”

Garvey however was not always put down by critics such as the ones mentioned. In fact, his praise outweighs the critiques almost tenfold. Garvey is seen as a visionary. He had an optimistic view on the current situation of Blacks. He looked past their current oppression and saw a free race, a powerful race and a proud race emerging in the future. Several things that Garvey envisioned came through or at least a door was opened for them to do so. An example of this is Garvey’s vision for black economic success and then the Negro Factories Corporation’s creation. Many people chastise Garvey for his open-minded thinking but ultimately it was men like him who brought a message of hope to doubtful people.

Garvey is seen as a hero lastly. He was a powerful figure and shaped the doubting minds of Blacks all around the world. Garvey was courageous in that he was the 1st black man to stand up and publicly denounce racism against Blacks. He was for the Negroes one hundred percent. Garvey defended his beliefs of Anti-colonialism, Black nationalism, racial pride and self reliance to death. Garvey did not stick to the status quo but decided to help the Black man and suffer rather than see the black man suffer. He put himself at risk of the same discrimination, but because he was a hero, stepped up to the plate. Garvey was committed to the cause of bettering the condition of Negros around the world and instilling a flame of pride in them. He made channels for them to become independent such as shipping routes, newspapers, institutions right down to laundry mats.

While some of Garvey’s ideas appeared ridiculous to certain people, the intention and underlying principles of them were always to better the condition of the Black race. I consider Garvey to be a hero especially to Africa and the West Indies, for by proposing the idea of Blacks coming together and realizing that “There is no future for a race that denies their race and past”. Garvey put in every black man, woman, and child, a bit of hope. His speeches and theories replenished the dignity lost by the black man in the slave trade. Helping us to realize the potential of our massive and powerful race was one of his main works. His quotes, such as “One God! One Aim! One Destiny!”, captivate his desire to unite Blacks and increase their underestimated worth. He dedicated his life to this cause of his dream and provided a plethora of unforgettable quotes as well. Garvey is a hero also in the sense that he emancipated the minds of Negroes, henceforth giving them respect. However, it is satisfying to know that Garvey, despite all trials in his life received the recognition he deserved and is recognized today as a National Hero.

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay Questions

Essay Questions
1. Why does Atticus choose not to reveal to his children that Judge Taylor appointed him to Tom’s case? How does his decision affect Scout’s perception of her father?
2. Do you think that the adult Jean Louise telling the story through Scout’s eyes may have added any embellishments to the story? Think of an event from your own life that occurred at least five years ago. Do you see the event differently now? How does memory and education affect your perception of the event?
3. Read Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. How are the stories alike? How are they different? Compare Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson with Nels Gudmundsson and Kabuo Miyamoto. Compare Scout’s and Hatsue’s understanding of their place in their communities.
4. If Scout and Jem’s mother were still alive, how might the following people be different: Atticus, Scout, Jem, Calpurnia, and Aunt Alexandra?
5. Would Heck Tate have filed charges against Tom Robinson so quickly if Tom were white? Why or why not? Would Sheriff Tate have been so unwilling to file charges against Boo Radley if Boo was black? Why or why not?
6. Read the play To Kill a Mockingbird, by Christopher Sergel. What elements in the story are different? What limitations does the book have that the stage doesn’t? What limitations does the stage have that the book doesn’t? Does Sergel tell the same story that Harper Lee does? What events does Sergel highlight as important? Why do you think he made those choices? Do you agree with his choices?
7. Compare and contrast the relationship between Jem and Scout with the relationship between Atticus and Aunt Alexandra. [Both jem and Aunt imposing values on younger sib]
8. Based on what you know about Scout, describe the adult Jean Louise Finch.
9. Suppose that Mayella had admitted that she was lying when she testified against Tom. What would have happened to her? What would’ve happened to Tom? How would Scout, Jem, and Dill perceive the situation differently? Would the town have been willing to accept Tom’s innocence? Why or why not?
10. What significance do the items that Boo leaves for the children have? What do they tell you about Boo? Why does his brother object so strongly to his leaving items for the children? [ they are peace offerings that show that he is kind; his brother doesn’t want him to be exposed to the harsh, prejudiced world.]
12. Harper Lee uses language and grammar that mirrors how the characters actually speak. Is this technique helpful in understanding the characters? Is it distracting? Could Lee have told the same story with the same impact if she’d used proper grammar throughout? [ the technique is helpful in understanding characters., not distractring, If lee has used proper grammar throughout it would have lacked a child’s touch and would captivate the reader like it does now.
14. Compare the way Miss Caroline treats Scout on her first day of school with the way the town treats Mayella Ewell. [ Mis caroline genuinely thinks that Scout is disobedient and is a trouble maker whereas the town…
15. What, if any, prejudices do African Americans face in today’s world? Have the issues that Lee discusses in To Kill a Mockingbird been resolved or are they ongoing? What forms of prejudice can you identify in your own community? Have you ever been the victim of prejudice? Did the situation end justly? Explain.
16.Why does Boo Radley stay inside all the time?[He chooses not to face the evils of the world and get involved in all the drama.

To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird
Handout Homework Pt. 2 (#’s 7-8)

7. Points of evidence that Tom Robinson was not guilty, taken into consideration by the judge

1) No one called a doctor to the scene. If Mayella was really raped by Tom Robinson who she accused she’d have needed a doctor. Also, if Tom Robinson was the man who beat her up, she wouldn’t have hesitated to call a doctor, however, the family does not and this gives the impression that they are hiding something.
2) The left side of Mayella’s face was beaten up most severly and Mr. Bob Ewell was left handed. Tom Robinson was missing his left hand, and therefore he couldn’t have hurt her so severely in that position. This raises Bob Ewell as a suspect of battery.
3) Mr. Ewell is suspected of lying and has drinking habits which would cause him to abuse his children.
4) There is no medical evidence that shows Tom could have committed the crime, only the testimonies of two witnesses.

8. The two meanings of “this case is as simple as black and white”

1) The case is in reality very simple. The answer is obvious as too who did the crime and what happened. The evidence presented by Atticus is sufficient.
2) The quote could also mean that the case is as simple as racial prejudice. Most people would take a white man’s word over a Negro’s no matter how much proof there is that the Negro was not at fault. Many people make their decisions solely based on skin colour.

Ben Carson Character Description

Ben Carson is a major character in Gifted Hands. He narrates the true story of his life which includes hardships, trials and tribulations, but overall triumph. In the first chapter of the book, Ben is eight years old, and is undergoing his childhood with his mother Sonya and his brother Curtis. We see that in the first chapter he loses his father as it was found out that his father was not faithful to his mother, and thus Sonya separates and divorces from him. As is expected, Ben, who was still young and immature, does not see why his father had to leave. Protected from his mother as to the reason his parents have separated, he desperately wants his father back. Soon, however, he learns that although they are poorer, life is subsequently better without their father, and Ben eventually stops thinking about it.

Ben, without a father, has to go through a rough time both at school and at home. He started out at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak, in his class. He was seen as the dunce, but never cried or gave up, he just saw himself as mediocre. In chapter four, his grades began to improve after he was given glasses. On seeing his grades go from failing to Ds, his mother was still not pleased. But suddenly Ben had a new emotion, determination and hope. He realized he could do it. His mother pushed and motivated him to do well and through more studying, he soon became one of the smartest students. Ben soon became open-minded and motivated.

We also learn throughout the first five chapters in the book that Ben was easily influenced, although this was not always a good thing. When he was being “capped” on, we see that he, although trying to be defensive, really he felt left out and rejected. He desperately wanted to be accepted, as any child would want to be. We see that he gave into peer pressure, and began capping on other people. Soon, he was the best of the lot of them, and began pressuring his mother for material items, to be one of the cool children. However, when Ben begins to be one of the cool kids, and his grades begin to drop, he was not very happy. He had strayed from the important values in his life, Christ and fulfilling his dreams.

Through a mixture of downfalls and uprisings, Ben turns into the man we know today. We learn from Ben that we can do anything if we fact our minds to it and give it our best.

Crime in Jamaica

Crime in Jamaica

Jamaica – Land of wood, water and now crime. Jamaica was once and is still known as one of the islands of paradise of the world. If one did not know Jamaica and visited a tourist resort for a couple of days, or weeks even, you would see nothing but sunshine and beaches. An ordinary newspaper or even five minutes of the evening news would change your views drastically.

There have been over three hundred acts of crime and violence in the first quarter of the year of 2006. Of course, this is a superb breakthrough in comparison to the past years. Kidnappings, rape, incest and above all murder dominate our green isle. Al of these things has also been filling the media and is now beginning to become a part of our everyday lives.

With all of these acts of violence going on, there is only one question in our minds – “Why?”
No one knows the motives of these criminals who we have running about, but it is easy to guess some of these. Some people were not raised in communities that encourage healthy lifestyles and so they see nothing wrong with crime, others find it as a way of “getting back at the world” for the hardships they’ve had in their lives. Drugs and plain, cold cruelty drives a good-sized portion of the criminals as well. Many of the reasons however will never be known.

A few weeks ago, I played witness to a horrific act of crime. I was walking down the road to a function around mid-day when I saw two men in the street. I thought nothing of this scene until I saw one of the men sprint off into the near by bushes and the other clutching his chest. I made sense of it all when I saw a trickle of red on his white shirt below his hand. Taking advice from a nearby vendor, the victim went to the nearby policeman, whom, to my surprise, eluded him. When the man finally caught up with him, the policeman listened to his complaint and then cast his eyes upwards and deliberately walked away. The man who, by now had gotten weak went and sat down on the sidewalk. A woman saw him and tended to his wound with her rag. By now, a small group of people had formed around him but still the policeman was nowhere to be found. From what I could see of him, he wounded man had gone into immense pain and was shaking violently. A nearby car was stopped and the half – lifeless body hauled into a passing car and then to the nearest hospital…. twenty minutes away.
After his experience, and the shock of it all, I wondered whose fault was it? Wan it the man’s for getting involved with that bad man? Was it the policeman’s fault for walking away and not nabbing the criminal? Or was it the country’s fault for so much corruption? Whoever’s fault it was – a life was taken away and one chance to change the future is gone.

As solutions to this crime and violence in our country, I suggest we reintroduce and reinforce forms of punishment that we already have, we could also work with communities to identify individual skills and help to maximize potential. An idea that has been going on for quite some time now is to get more children off the streets and into institutions which have positive influences on them. Can this plague set on our country be stopped? The answer is “Yes” but only by us – the people of this country, the caretaker’s of God’s earth.

Descriptive Writing Excercise

The Wedding

It is a cool, breezy day in March. A wedding is taking place in a Hotel in Kingston. The whole city seems to be in on it as traffic is backed up until three blocks away. Locals are seen across the street “fasting” in the wedding, trying desperately to get a glimpse of the event. Birds chirp, and the sun shines down on the wedding as all of nature seems to be in favour of it. Guests have started to arrive. Fancy cars, waxed until they glistened, roll into the parking lot in their numbers. Relatives and friends the bride and groom never knew they had pop out of the cars like flowers blooming in spring, in their variety of colours. A group of relatives of the bride stand apart from the rest and chatter loudly about their excitement.

The bride stares out the window and her panic level hits the roof. Trying desperately not to loose her composure she takes a deep breath and stares at herself in the mirror. I’ve waited my whole life for this. This moment. This is my time. And John… she remembers her true love, the one who made all her worries melt away and suddenly he was right there with her, comforting her. She had the strength now. Glancing at the clock she snaps back to reality, less than half an hour to go, her mind snaps into gear. She looks back at the crowd of bridesmaids squeezing into scarlet dresses half their size she smiles and goes to do the finishing touches on her makeup.

The procession begins. Bridesmaids and groomsmen stride down the aisle looking as perfectly matched as if they were the bride and groom themselves. A seven-year-old niece of the groom beams proudly and paints a masterpiece on the white runner with her purple and white flower petals. An equally aged younger brother of the bride has a solemn face as he carries two golden symbols of trust. The grooms smile slowly fades and he breaks into a small sweat as a minute of cruel silence passes. The organist glances around for his cue to pipe up with “Here Comes the Bride”. The groom starts to panic – Has she runaway? Is there a delay? I thought we felt we felt the same way about each other – she is the one…His thoughts were cut short by the low rumble of more than a hundred adults turning around in their seats followed by the abrupt sound of the organs cutting through the air. The bride had come. She gave him a wink of reassurance as she slowly made her way up the aisle. The couple gazed into each other’s eyes and it was all they could do to beam at each other, no matter how corny it looked. Finally, the vows came and each replied with the same honest “I do”. Rings were exchanged and finally, it was the moment every one in the hotel had been waiting for “You may now kiss the bride.” Without a moments hesitance the couple shared a passionate kiss and the congregation burst into applause and shouts. This was the moment of their dreams.

Summary of: Taming of the Shrew

The "Shrew" is Katherina Minola, the eldest daughter of Baptista Minola, a merchant in Padua. Her temper is extremely volatile and no man can control her. She ties her sister to a chair in one scene, and in another attacks a music tutor with his own instrument. Her younger sister, Bianca Minola, is docile, beautiful, and much sought after by the noble men of the town. Baptista has sworn not to allow his younger daughter to marry before Katherina is wed.

The plot becomes considerably more complex when two strangers, Petruchio and Lucentio, arrive in town. Lucentio, the son of the wealthy merchant Vincentio of Pisa, falls in love with Bianca, while Petruchio seems interested only in money.
.
Meanwhile, Petruchio is told by the suitors about the large dowry that would come with marrying Katherina. He attempts to woo the violent Katherina, calling her "Kate", quickly settles on the dowry, marries her and takes her home against her will. Once there, he begins his "taming" of his new wife - he keeps her from sleeping, invents reasons why she cannot eat, and buys her beautiful clothes only to rip them up. When Kate, profoundly shaken by her experiences, is told that they are to return to Padua for Bianca's wedding, she is only too happy to comply. By the time they arrive, Kate's taming is complete and she no longer resists Petruchio. She demonstrates her complete subordination to his will by agreeing that she will regard the moon as the sun, or the sun as the moon, if he demands her to do so.

Bianca is to be married to Lucentio (following a complex subplot involving Lucentio's servant masquerading as his master during his stint as a tutor). Hortensio has married a rich widow. During the banquet, Petruchio brags that his wife, formerly untameable, is now completely obedient. Baptista, Hortensio, and Lucentio are incredulous and the latter two believe that their wives are more obedient. Petruchio proposes a wager in which each will send a servant to call for their wives, and whichever wife comes most obediently will have won the wager for her husband. Baptista, not believing that his shrewish Katharina has been tamed, offers an enormous second dowry in addition to the wager.

Kate is the only one who responds, winning for Petruchio a second dowry. At the end of the play, after the other two wives have been summoned also, Kate gives them a speech to the point that wives should always obey their husbands.

Summary of '65 by Vic Reid

Summary of Sixty- Five

Sixty-Five is a book based on the true story of the Morant Bay Rebellion; a rebellion made by the freed slaves of Jamaica, (particularly in the county of Surrey) fighting against injustices such as poor wages and not being able to purchase land. It is written in such a way to give the reader a sense of him being in the book because, it is narrated by a twelve-year-old boy named Japheth Murray who is almost always right there in the action.

The Murray Family is a key element in the story. First of all, Japheth is the narrator of the story, he is right there by Grandpa and in the midst of the action and the wars. His father, Charlie Murray is in the war, fighting with Paul Bogle and his men. Charlie Murray’s “handsome” wife Amelia stays home with Japeth’s 13-year-old sister, Queenie. Grandpa is a old soldier described as a man full of many colourful stories. He has a very strong character probably the result of many years of military training. All of them play their role in the story which makes it much better.

The story begins with Japeth telling about the drought that has been “clutching the land for 3 years” and how it has affected their lives. It then shifts to him eavesdropping on Charlie, Amelia and Grandpa Joe talking about Paul Bogle’s plans to march to the courthouse and demanding justice for the ex-slaves. This is the first display of Grandpa’s strong character. While Charlie and Amelia support Deacon Bogle’s plan, Grandpa strongly opposes saying that if Paul Bogle makes an army he must be prepared to fight a war. Grandpa believes that the best thing to do, is keep on sending his petitions to Governor Eyre.

A few days after, Bogle starts putting his plan into action. With his congregation of hundreds of followers ready to “fight against injustice” he marches to the Courthouse in Morant Bay. In the Courthouse, there a trial is going on with a Stony Gut man so Bogle was going to try and talk to Governor Eyre about this injustice but it doesn’t turn out as he had hoped. Paul Bogle then goes and sends to recruit “Mountain Men” (Maroons) to help him with his next plan of a rebellion. When Paul Bogle and his congregation some time after Grandpa stops him nad the people and confronts the Deacon saying that he should not prepare an army unless he has a war for them to fight and that if he tried to fight then the English soldiers will come and defeat them. Paul Bogle ignores his advice and proceeds.

The story then picks up with the Deacon hosting “the best service yet”in the town church. He tells them about the many injustices that they are fighting agaisnt to give them confidence that they are doing the right thing and tells them that they are not fighting against the queen but the Custos and his wicked magistrates. We also learn George William Gordon’s role in the whole thing – that he is a rich land owner who is a great fighter for the poor. He arranged that many copies of “The Queen’s Letter” be posted everywhere. This letter said that the people of Jamaica could only better themselves if they worked to earn wages. However, they cannot, due to the injustice in their country. So, Paul Bogle and George William Gordon were fighting for the same thing except they had different approaches. George William wanted to “fight with memorials to the Queen while Bogle wanted to fight with muskets”.

When in the service Grandpa yet again confronts Bogle with another piece of useful advice. He asks who they will fight, if not the whole of England in the end. He also asked what they would fight with, the reply was muskets, pimento sticks and the Mountain Men (Maroons) whoo had agreed to help them. Grandpa then argues saying that te Maroons will not help them because they are swron to the Queen by treaty. After some more quarrelling, Bogle proves to have more support than Grandpa and turns almost everyone in the chapel against him.


A few days later, Paul Bogle and his entourage head back for the courthouse, this time, to seek out Custos von Ketelhodt. They wanted to free Charlie Murray and ask that a reply to the Queen’s letter be taken to Governor Eyre. When they get there, they are not allowed in without an appointment so Deacon Bogle decides to wait. On the way to his monthly luncheon , the Custos sees the vast crowd and orders the liutenant to clear the crowd. After Bogle tells him what he wants and that he won’t leave until they talk the Custos becomes irritated and reads the Riot Act. Bogle’s people advance and the milita fire away with their muskets. When Japeth and Grandpa go back to look in the square they saw numbers of men who had fallen. There were seven civilians and seven militamen.

Later that night Bogle’s men “put fire to the school house”. The schoolhouse burnt quickly and many sparks jumped from the schoolhouse to the courthouse causing the courthouse to start burning as well. When Custos and his party ran out of the courthouse, Bogle’s men finished them off.

Grandpa and Japeth returned to Stony Gut that night and told Amelia about the events that took place that day. He predicts that the Maroons will turn against Bogle’s army and join the stronger side. Grandpa decides to help them - only because his family is danger. So, Grandpa and Charlie decide to go talk to Bogle in private about their new plan.

Grandpa and Bogle’s next meeting did not go well. Even after all the previous events Bogle still stuck to his plan and only offered Grandpa a “Company” to help drill. Little does Bogle know that he made a sad mistake.

Grandpa played a major role in the story, as we can see. Numerous times, he had given Deacon Bogle good advice on how to go about his protest. He was the wise, voice of reason in the story. While everyone thought that he was a foolish, old man he could predict what was going to happen because in his old age he had learned and seen things like these happen.

A few days later, a runner came to the villiage, bearing bad news. As Grandpa had assumed, a gun boat arrived on the shores with hundreds of soldiers and they were marching up to Morant Bay and down from the west. Grandpa and Japeth immediately set out to Morant Bay to scout.

Grandpa and Japheth finally reach Morant Bay in the evening. They find out that the Martial Law had been declared, entitling the soldiers to shoot whoever they pleased and many rutheless hangings and gaolings. When Grandpa and Japeth reach the main streets, they disquise themselves as a hunchbacked old-man and his little grandson so that the soldires would not suspect that they were from Stony Gut.

Grandpa and Japeth return to Stony Gut only to find that it is deserted. Shortly after this they set off with pimento sticks and sacks of food to last them their journey. They were going west to help Bogle avoid major conflict anyway they could.

After some time of cutting through the woods, they finally got to the village of Coley. Grandpa and Japeth then stopped at the house of a Blacksmith who Grandpa knew very well – Mr.Norris. They got refreshments from him and information about the whereabouts of some of Bogle’s troops, then leave in pursuit of them.

They soon reached the Monklands, and rest in the chapel which Paul Bogle is expected to return to that evening. When he comes, yet again, Grandpa confronts him, this time telling him that this place where he has led his men is practically walking into a trap.
The Deacon impatiently waves him off, telling him that he has to go recruit more “Mountain Men”. Grandpa doesn’t give up that easily.

The next morning, they went and woke up Bogle from his sleep to go talk to him again. Grandpa told him to send a couple scouts up the banks of the river to see where they were. Sure enough, later that day, a couple worried scouts came back panic stricken that a troop of soldiers were coming up by the banks of the river less than a mile away. Bogle, finally seeing that Grandpa was right asked him for advice, which Grandpa gave him.

The plan was carried out. Grandpa and Japheth climbed to the top of a tall boulder where they could see everything that was happening. The plan was for Bogle’s men to hide behind a collection of large rocks and his scouts to take out any of the enemy’s scouts but it didn’t go that way. All of Bogle’s men were in place and the Redcoats were crossing on the opposite side of the river. They were safe, until one man fired. War broke out and Bogle’s army jumped out from behind their “very secure rocks” and charged the Redcoats. Soon, they found out that the Redcoats were better armed and they scatted for cover.

Grandpa and Japheth headed for the villiage of the Hayfield Maroons next. Since Grandpa knew many people there they rested in one of the houses there- that of the captian and his wife. They talked to her and gathered some very valuable information from her. They learned that the Hayfield Maroons had gone to go protect Bath instead of helping Bogle and the Moore Town Maroons were given new guns to hunt Stony Gut people. However, the piece of information that got to Grandpa most was that George William Gordon was arrested and was to be hanged.

Grandpa and Japheth then head for Torrington. When they reach, they find the village burnt to the ground. They rest there in a cave for the night and the next day, find the band of Moses Bogle. It had dwindled down to only about 30 men. Nevertheless, they find Charlie and are reunited with him and Theresa.

The next day, Bogle and the rmainder of his men go in for the final battle. Grandpa and Japeth mount another boulder overlooking the warfield. Bogle’s men were on one side and the Redcoats on the other side of the river. Soon, the Redcoats broke the tension with the “first volley”. Then the crossfire began. Grandpa was making statements with Beelzebub but soon fled for he knew that it was not safe there.

Bogle ran for the East while being chased by a dozen Maroons. He did not reach very far before they reached him.

Even though at the moment, Bogle and his men seemed defeated a couple years later, their efforts were rewarded. In 1962, we became an independent country and hae our own government with justice for all.

Shane

Shane

Research Flethcher’s act’s of intimidation on the homesteaders

A) Reason
B) Incidents
C) Results

Luke Fletcher was the antagonist of the book. He is a pure villian and problem to the homesteaders from the start. Fletcher starts out as a man to wrapped up in himself to care about anyone else (homesteaders) but they soon realize that this leads to their downfall as becomes more and more threatining as the book progresses.


A) The reason that Fletcher was so intimidating to the homesteaders was because he wanted them to move off of his land. Fletcher wanted all of his land for himself and so that he could expand his cattle ranch on it because he had received an Indian contract. Fletcher realized that he could not simply ask the homesteaders to leave because they had already situated their homes and families there. Another reason that Fletcher realized that he would have to use crafty means of intimidation was because the homesteaders did not like him already and therefore woud not want to do anything to please him and his rude cowboys. Fletcher did not use force but means of intimidation because he knew that he could easily get into the minds of the already outnumbered homesteaders and it would be easier than getting into violent acts. Fletcher knew that he could not use bare criminal acts because he had an image and reputation to uphold and if he was found out to be responsible for murders he would no doubt get into more trouble than anyone else. We can tell that he does not want to get in trouble because he takes care to stay on the right side of the law (eg. When he made sure to make Stark Wilson lure Ernie into the shoot out and set him up so that Stark was in “self-defense”.)

B) The incidents that are characterized as Fletcher’s acts of intimidation are :


· When Fletcher and his men trampled Joe Starrett’s land.
· When Fletcher sent Chris to insult the homesteaders
· When Fletcher sent Chris / Morgan and his men to try and hurt Shane (this would have worried the homesteaders as he was their hope for winning the battle).
· When Fletcher brought in Stark Wilson.
· When Fletcher had Stark Wilson kill Ernie Wright.

C) The results of Fletcher’s acts of intimidation were a mixed reaction. IN some parts of the book Fletcher had his desired outcome such as when one of the homesteaders moved out. In other parts of the book Luke Fletcher just made things worse for himself. Contrary to the final outcome of the book, for the most part, Fletcher’s acts of intimidation worked. Fletcher had acoomplished everything that he had wanted. The rancher made some homesteaders move off of his land, and he scared all the other homesteaders. In fact, if is wasn’t for Shane, if Fletcher had gone on with his plan all of the residents of his land would have eventually left. The overall outcome of Fletcher’s actions led to his failure and the death of many others. This just goes to show that you cannot triumph evil over good.

Marassa and Midnight - Review2 - Pt.1

Information Page

Title :
Marassa and Midnight

Author :
Morna Stuart – The date of her birth is not known. Marassa and Midnight seems to be the only book she has written.

Illustrator :
Janina Ede

Date Published :
1966

Publisher :
Heinemann New Windmills

Settings :
San Domingo, Haiti, 1791 and Paris, France 1791

Major Characters :

Marassa – Midnight’s eleven-year old twin brother who is the shyer, quieter and more behaved of the two. Marassa was constantly sick in the book with a nasty cough, a fever and he got hurt many times. Marassa was the twin who was sold to a French Marquis as a Paige boy. He was never as athletic as Midnight.

Midnight – Marassa’s twin brother who is the braver, stronger and more clever of the two. Midnight is a leader. His personality however, does not reflect his age. He is the younger of the twins. Midnight was the twin who was left on the plantation to do hard labour.

Tir Nan Og – A kind Scottish gentleman, who helps Marassa. His name comes from his estate. He is a middle-aged man with fiery red hair and a teacher of fencing. Tir Nan Og, is Marassa’s friend and guide on his quest to find Midnight.

Papa Doctor – A relative of the twins who helps to bring them together constantly giving locations of each twin. Papa Doctor is also a man who is very good at healing and treating wounds. He is also the leader of a band of Negroes known as the Feraille. Papa Doctor, like Tir Nan Og is Midnight’s friend and guide.

Other Characters :
Christophe
Milord
The Great One
Mama

Marassa and Midnight - Review2 - Pt.2

Major Themes :

Injustice – Injustice was shown towards Marassa when his Marquis completely ignored him and did not care for him. Also, when he left Marassa out in the street. The entire practice of using slaves was injustice towards the Negros and also, in Paris, the lower class French people. Injustice was shown when the Beke` treated the slaves badly but more so what the Negros did on the Night of the Flames.

Bravery – Bravery was shown by Midnight when he ran away twice, especially the second time, after he had been caught and branded the first time. Bravery was also shown by all the people who went into the mountains even though they were thought to be haunted. Another instance of bravery was when Marassa and Midnight both took of the Great One and his followers.

Determination – Determination was shown by both of the twins obviously. They were very determined to find their brother and even though it had been almost over a year that they had been separated, they still fought with a fire in their hearts to find the other. The bad Negroes were determined to get revenge on all the Beke` , planning the night of Flames for nearly a year in advance.

Resourcefulness – Resourcefulness was shown by Papa Doctor, because he knew much about treatments and cures for wounds. Resourcefulness was also shown by Midnight when he was in the mountains. Midnight, found food and tools that he used to survive.

Heritage – All of the Negroes paid much respect to the god of fire – Ogoun. Heritage was also shown by the way the Negro slaves religiously had bamboche. Another point that showed heritage was Papa Doctor and his constant reference to the past (Wydah Roads and the Feraille).

Hospitality – Hospitality was shown by Tir Nan Og towards Marassa, when he tended to his wounds after his fight with the gang of street boys and his fever. Hospitality was also shown to both twins by Papa Doctor. He treated both of their wounds and offered his home to Marassa and Tir Nan Og.

Love/Loyalty – Love and loyalty was shown by both twins, Marassa and Midnight. It was their love for each other that kept them strong and determined. Tir Nan Og and Papa Doctor especially showed this, guiding both twins on their quest to find each other. This was a very special case because both men hadn’t known either twin for long but went out of their way and showed extra-ordinary kindness to the boys.


Plot : The story is a tale of two Haitian twin boys, Marassa and Midnight who have worked as slaves on a plantation in San Domingo for as long as they can remember. Soon after the boys turn eleven years old they are separated. Marassa, always known for having the better manners is chosen to become a Paige boy to a man in Paris while Midnight is stuck at the plantation, doing harder labour. Months go by and the boys can’t stop thinking about if they will ever see their brother again. A tale of fate and determination, Marassa and Midnight both do what many thought was impossible and through a odd chain of events are finally reunited.



Special Point of Concern :
My special point of concern was the ending. Throughout the whole book, Midnight and Marassa struggled to be reunited, and kept just missing each other giving it the feeling of suspense. AT the end of the book, Marassa and Midnight slowly find the paths that lead to each other but when they are finally reunited the book abruptly ends. I feel that Morna Stuart could have given the book a more definite ending by telling what happened to all the other parts of the book. She could have answered questions such as “What happened to the warriors of the Feraille?” and “What happened after they got down off of the mountain?” in an epilogue. This would have made the story a lot better.

Marassa and Midnight - Review2 - Pt.3

Critique (my opinion) :

Marassa and Midnight was an excellent book in my opinion. I think that many people can easily relate to some of the feelings relayed in the story such as doubting themselves at one point in their life and a sense of feeling alone. To me this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster, at some points in the book I found myself cheering for the twins and then feeling afraid of the Great One as if I was a Maroon myself. This just goes to show how well written it was.

One of the things I liked most about this book was the exciting point of view of the revolutions of that time. I felt like I was in the era feeling the injustices and hardships the slaves faced. I usually do not like historical books but Morna Stuart mixed it into the story so you were learning as well as reading an adventure.

My favorite character in the book, suprisingly, was Tir Nan Og. I found myself liking him in particular because of what he stood for. Unlike the other whites of that time, he did not despise Negroes and had a heart. When he first came across Marassa, he was like the good Samaritan and put him in his own bed and tended to him as if he was his own child. Tir Nan Og, loathed how the Beke` treated the slaves and refused to fight alongside any of them. Tir Nan Og was a gentle, kind-hearted man who was also very robust, surviving the harsh life of a Maroon quite well. He also adapted quite well to the Negro culture. In addition to this I liked that he was very skilled in fencing.

In my opinion I think that it was a great book. It was suspense mixed with adventure. The book was well written so as to give us a sense of the setting. It also had very detailed descriptions, which gave me the sense that I was right there beside both of the twins in their adventure. I would recommend this book to anyone because it has a little of everything in there but especially to those who like history, suspense and adventure. Morna Stuart did a wonderful job with this story ,however, there were some parts of the story that she just gave a briefly explained and for that reason, I would give it a 9 out of 10.

Marassa and Midnight -Review2 - Pt.4

Summary :

Marassa and Midnight

The story starts off by telling Marassa’s side of the story and where he his. Marassa is in a house in Paris in January 1791. It tells of how he is mistreated and ignored and how in Paris no one even cared about his age or name.The story then explains about how his name plainly means “twins” in Creole and how he had been separated from his brother for thirteen full moons. Since their separation, Marassa had only felt half-alive, he missed his brother and couldn’t help but think that if Midnight was here, he could have helped him out of all of his problems. Marassa explains that “Oguon” is the god of fire of his people and he is called upon in times of suffering. Right then, Marassa was calling upon him.

Little after this, Marassa is ordered outside into the icy courtyard to open the gate. Two carriages go out and Marassa realizes that his Marquis has left him. Marassa ran after it crying “Master, Master”, but his cries were in vain. Marassa was alone. As if this wasn’t bad enough, as soon as he turns around, Marassa is greeted with a crowd of savage street boys piling on top of him. He is engaged in a fierce battle and is knocked out cold. While the boys are stripping his clothing off, they suddenly scatter and a man came charging towards the unconscious Marassa. The young man put him upon his shoulder and easily carried him ¼ of a mile to his captain’s house. It was here the captain laid Marassa on his own bed and began to treat his wounds.

The story quickly shifts over to Midnight’s side of the story. Midnight still in Haiti too was thinking about his brother and how long they had been separated. Midnight missed all the games that they used to play and the dances they used to do. Because of him, none of the slaves were let outside of the boundaries now. Three days after Marassa left he tried to runaway and was caught and severely punished. It was a bamboche night. The Saturday night dance. Midnight explains why he didn’t take part in it and he sat talking to his friend Bloodhounds – Dove and Diamond. It is here that Midnight has his first encounter with Papa Doctor, they talk and Papa Doctor treats his wounds and then leaves.

Back in Paris, Marassa is burning with fever. Marassa half-delirious thinks the song that the captain is singing is something about “Ti Nan Ogoun”. He then wakes up and sees the captain’s bright red hair and the fire and thinks for sure that he is the son of the fire lord as the Creole names suggests. The next morning the doctor arrives and predicts that Marassa will die by night or by the next morning. While in bed, Marassa overhears the Captain and the Apothecary talking about where they should leave France and go. The apothecary suggests San Domingo where the captains long lost love was supposed to be and they remember that Marassa is from San Domingo so the captain ponders the trip. While the Captain is deliberating, he brings up the theory that Marassa is only half witted. Instantly Marassa chirps up and calls “Master!” and pleads with the astonished captain to take him with him to Haiti. Marassa tells him that he would work on the ship and give him the money as well if he would buy his brother there Midnight. Captain considers this proposal and tells Marassa to go to sleep.

Meanwhile in Haiti, Midnight thinks about the days when the women and children were still there and how gay a time it would be. Now both the Bekes (white men) and the Negroes seemed to be becoming harsher. Since the women had gone, Midnight had done most of the cooking, he used this time to listen to the men’s conversations while playing a dumb idiotic boy. Although he was lonely and desired to interact with the slaves, he knew he had work to do for the Papa Doctor and just talked to Diamond and Dove the twin hounds every night. Each night that went by, each messenger that came brought no news of Marassa or Papa Doctor.

A messenger had just told Marassa that the Marquis and all his servants left Paris six full moons ago and that they went to England. Later that night he dreams that he found Marassa. One bamboche night before the twentieth moon Midnight had started to formulate a plan when he realizes that it was the Night of the Drums. He then goes to sit and think by the Mango tree and make a big discovery. He figured out that the Great One was not Ogoun, the God of Fire but a great Maroon leader. When the messenger comes that night he quickly tells him his theory and runs off to the mountains to go figure out how the Great One does his tricks. When he reached the forest, he realized that the hounds had followed him. The Great One and his mini-procession pass Midnight as drunk as they come. After they had passed, Midnight travels about three miles and comes to the place of the echo. Clouded with rage, Midnight destroys the drums and cries out into the night. Midnight and the hounds quickly slip into a shallow nearby cave and spend the night.

The story then shifts back to Marassa. Dawn comes, the ship docks and Tir Nan Og gets off and starts on his way to the hotel while Marassa stays on board. While walking with Chirstophe, Tir Nan Og finds out that the beautiful young lady who he had come to see, had gone to America and married a rich young gentleman. He also finds out that Midnight had runaway just a few hours ago. Tir Nan Og gets on his horse and leaves to visit a woman he knows. Christophe alerts Papa Doctor that Marassa is in town and Midnight is missing. Two hours later, while Marassa is on his way to the hotel, a young Beke` comes out of a carriage and captures him, mistaking him for Midnight. Christophe sees this and tried to stop him but he received a whip across his face. The situation is explained to Papa Doctor and fifteen minutes later Papa Doctor is hot on “Milord’s” trail. Meanwhile, Marassa, in pain cries out for Tir Nan Og. Tir Nan Og hears him and the whips and sets off immediately. When he gets nearer, he sees Marassa’s condition and quickly frees him engaging in a 3-to-1-sword battle in the process. When this is done, he confronts “Milord” about what he was doing and tells him that he is Marassa, Midnight’s twin. When they are trying to figure out compensation, Marassa unexpectedly strikes Milord in the face. Since that was a crime just as the flogging was, all is called off, but Tir Nan Og gets the right to buy Midnight.

Papa Doctor, his overseer, Marassa and Tir Nan Og ride to Papa Doctor’s house. When they get there, Papa Doctor’s wife tends to Marassa’s wounds and he sits down under the Mango tree outside. Papa Doctor introduces his sons to Marassa and then goes inside and tells Mama what had happened and asks her to watch him. Later that night, a storm hits. A fire starts where lightning hit the Beke` stables. Marassa enjoys the storm seeing as how it fits his mood. Papa goes to the house and sees Marassa sitting down inside and tells him stories of his encounters with Midnight. Papa Doctor calmly tells Marassa to show him the brand that he had made with the flat iron and dresses it. Marassa becomes the polite boy he was once known as and asks to become a warrior of the Feraille as Midnight was. Concurrently, Midnight had a frightening experience when the storm hit. He clutched Dove and Diamond and said a reassuring word to them. A fork of lightning sprang at him. The side of the mountain was falling in. The platform that they had used to get down there had disappeared, and so they were trapped. Midnight finds a secret staircase that was built into the rock. Seeing no other option he flees down. Midnight climbs and climbs until he reaches the summit of King’s Mountain. He had found a way to the top of the Kings Mountain.

Sunrise had come at Papa Doctor’s house and Marassa is sleeping soundly. Midnight makes plans to travel to England to find Marassa not knowing that was on the island. Soon after this Midnight looks for some food to eat. That night, Marassa, Tir Nan Og and Papa Doctor’s Beke` reach King’s mountain. When they see Midnight’s footprint at the edge of the cliff and see the side of the mountain broken off, they assume the worst. Marassa calls for Midnight but hears no reply. It is sheer coincidence that Midnight is underground and does not hear Marassa’s cry. For the next few days, Midnight shares the leg of salted pork among the three of them. Midnight goes back into the underground passage in search of food. Midnight comes out at a different place on the mountain that to his surprise overlooks the very plantation from which he had run away. He sees Marassa and two Beke and thinks that they are from the plantation trying to find him and quickly go underground.

That night, Midnight hears drums although it is not the night of the Drums or bamboche and sees tiny points of fire strewn out over the landscape. In addition to this he sees an entire plantation on fire, which quickly catches onto another and then a third separate one. Then it hits him – it was the night of Flames. Midnight heard drums and shouting unlike any he had heard before and when he came out of the tunnel, he saw the sight of his old plantation on fire. The next day, he traveled down there himself and witnessed the horror. Beke`s slaughtered and a few Negroes had the same fate. Before, he had wanted a few supplies but he would feel ashamed taking anything from that place and so he left. When he reached the tunnel where he told his friends to wait for him, he finds that the place is flooded out and almost drowns, but is saved by Dove and Diamond.

Midnight awakes and stares at a nearby Maroon settlement for the third time. He is amazed at the tranquility and how much different their lives are from his. Midnight goes and gets his hounds and goes back to his lookout. A few hours later he finally decides to approach them. He cries out all that he could think of – “I speak for the Feraille! We are faint with hunger!” The people of the village are frightened, right down to the men, thinking that he is Ogoun and begs him to eat their food. He trys desperately to tell them that he is just a boy of their race. Finally he gives up and feeds his children and leaves. When he went back the next day at noon it was no different but because they had insisted, he took a red belt. That night Midnight went back into the underground staircase and found some gifts that he could give to the over friendly Maroons.

Tir Nan Og was using this experience of going into the hills, to grow closer to nature and try and see how Maroons live. Tir Nan Og had undergone a massive transformation. He would sleep on the ground just like a Negro, he mad gotten such a deep tan that he could pass for a Negro and he could speak Creole with a strong Negro accent. Marassa was worried that his eyes and hair would give his identity along with his long sword that Tir Nan Og refused to part with. Food was scarce, al the food that they did find were tropical fruits such as guavas, star apple, honey and nuts. Marassa had grown almost a foot taller than when Tir Nan Og had first seen him and his voice had changed into that of a man’s. Marassa was very sad and Tir Nan Og could sense it. They set off again a few hours later and Marassa questions Tir Nan Og’s motives but Tir Nan Og tells him that he will know in good time.

One mountain away Midnight was going for his daily meal with the Maroons and had brought them some mangoes when, suddenly, he heard them crying out for him (Ogoun Feraille) to help and save them. When he looked at the mountaintop he saw the Great One and a large procession of his followers coming in great strength. Midnight, know what he must do, runs towards where they are posted and shouts out “I speak for the Feraille! Go back” over and over. It was not until Dove and Diamond started baying that the Great One and his followers became afraid. They had mistaken him for Ogoun. Without a second thought every last man fled. The bad Negroes run down the road that leads to the place where Marassa is camping. The Great One threw a stone that knocked Tir Nan Og out and went rushing down the hill. Marassa, suddenly was filled with rage and charged at them repeating the same words Midnight had said. It was too much for the Great One. He didn’t notice the difference between the two figures he had seen, but was so frightened thinking that it was the same Ogoun who had flown to the other mountain, and ran. Tir Nan Og saw the Bad Negroes slaughtered by the Beke armies. Papa doctor and his soldiers had quietly carried many of the wounded men back to their headquarters and Papa Doctor finds out that Midnight (Ogoun Feraille) is still alive and on King’s mountain.

While Marassa is walking, he reaches a gully and looks across and sees two twin hounds, who he thinks are ghosts and tells them to show him the way to his brother. Meanwhile, Papa Doctor, heads into the mountains thinking of what will happen next, about his plot for the next real slave revolt in Haiti with the soldiers of the Feraille. When he reaches the place of the echo and sees Midnight’s footprint where the rock had broken off into the gully he assumes that Marassa had tried to jump across and instead jumped to his death. He mourned for Marassa. Meanwhile, Midnight began to question his thinking. He started to think that no one he had ever loved had existed. A couple of yards away, the hounds were urging Marassa on to jump to them. Suddenly, Midnight is alarmed by what he thought was a footstep. He got up to see the hounds running towards him excitedly and the mirror image of himself approaching him. After identifying if each other were with the Feraille they cried out to each other and embraced. They were reunited.

The Otterbury Incident Misc. Assignments

Homework

Part I: Imagine that you are Rose, write a letter to Rickie telling him about your encounter with Johnny Sharp. Give an accurate description of Johnny Sharp.

* * *
96 Abbey Lane
Otterbury, Essex
England

February 23rd, 1948

Dear Richard,

How are you? I trust that you have had a safe journey to Liverpool and you are doing fine. However, I am not doing so well. Well, my health is fine but I have recently had a strange encounter with a man they call “Johnny Sharp”. Let me tell you about it.

Earlier today, I was working in the bookshop as usual. When I was in the middle of ordering a new shipment of books a strange man walked through the door. First I thought it was one of my regular customers – Mr.Banks. But when I took a second look I realized it wasn’t him, or for that matter, anyone who I had ever seen before. His appearance struck me first; he had a queer look.

I will start describing from the top and work my way down. On the top of his head a grey homburg hat sat comfortably, turned down in the front. His hat stopped right over his eyes, two narrow, beady eyes that were fixed on me. His eyes followed suit from his face – a foxy face with a long thin nose and mouth. His mouth was fixed in what he must have thought was a charming smile. It gave a clear view of his ghastly teeth. He wore a loud check suit with petruding shoulder pads and a tie that had no relation to the rest of the suit. On his right hand, he wore two large rings and had a tendency to flop it this way and that way when he was talking. His shoes were pointed at the toes and had obviously just been shined by the boys near the store. Overall, his appearance seemed a bit odd, but deciding not to be judgmental I greeted him politely.

As soon as he opened his mouth, it was instantly clear that he was very cocksure. After I told him good morning, he said “Hey Baby cakes” and swooped in to me for a kiss. Now, this behaviour was way out of line, and whether I wanted to or not, his breath would have knocked me out cold before I had a chance to decide, so I slapped him right across his face with no regret. Instead of humbling himself he arrogantly asked why I had sent for him and what I wanted. Rickie, I had done no such thing to send for that man and I told him that the only thing I wanted was for him to leave my shop.
Once again “Mr. Sharp” did not debase himself but told me “not to get all Roedean with him” and said he could help me. Shocked, I was slightly interested in finding out in which way this spiv could help me. Leaning in closer he told me he knew all about how Ted was in some sort of trouble. He asked me what would happen if my parents found out, and how the whole thing would lead to disgrace on my family’s name. Then came the worst part of it all, the part that makes this no ordinary news. He seemed to know about our relationship and asked me, “And what is Mister Richards doing about it?” This was the last straw. “Get out, you overdressed, crawling louse!” I said trying not to shout. This was the only thing that I said that he seemed to actually understand, and he seemed kind of hurt by it but I couldn’t have cared less. Quickly, he recomposed and started bragging about his suit, as I expected. Something about it being twenty smackers…I wasn’t listening. The part that got my attention was when he started trying to bribe me. He said he could help me with Ted’s situation if I was nice to him, that is gave him a kiss. My goodness he would not come off it. I swear if it weren’t for George bursting through the door at that moment I would have personally booted him out of my shop.

So there you have it, the strange event of my day. If you know anything about him, please tell me, I don’t like the idea of Ted and his friends having anything to do with him. Anyways, respond as soon as possible and have a wonderful trip. I hope too see you soon honey.

Love always,
Rose Marshall


Part 2: Describe the river pursuit between the Prune and the boys.

In one of the climaxes of the book, the Otterbury Incident the boys (Ted and Toppy’s parties) end up pursuing the Prune for information, here is how it went:

After the boys find “the clue of the bitten half-crown” they presume that Johnny Sharp was involved in the making of the box in someway and soon discover that he made it and gave it to the Prune to give as a contribution to them. However, there was one thing they needed – proof. It is Toppy’s idea to “put the Prune to question”. Without a moment’s hesitance, the gang all makes a beeline for the Prune’s house. On arrival, the Prune’s parents tell them that he is not in but has gone out to the river to fish. This was all the better for the boys as now they could interrogate him without arousing suspicion. The boys make haste and quickly get down to the Biddle River.

When the gang gets to the river, they regroup. After a quick scan of the fairly sized river, they spotted him. A yellow R.A.F. dinghy sat in the middle of the lake with a motionless figure holding a rod in it – it was the Prune. Nick shouted out “There he is!” and sprinted off towards the bridge leading to the river. Toppy went off after him and caught up with him. Toppy soon explained his reason for doing this – if every one charged him he might suspect something and run away from them and so it was decided that only Toppy and Peter would go. The rest of the party had to take a detour through town. Five minutes later the gang was positioning themselves behind a shack about thirty yards away for the river and Toppy had started to call out to the Prune. They saw the Prune slowly take in his line, put down the rod and put on his paddle gloves and start the dinghy towards the shore. Ted was rigid and Nick was giddy with impatience. Finally, after what seemed to be an hour, the Prune reached the bank and alighted from the dinghy.

Toppy was casually sitting on the bank, kicking his heels (all a part of his plan) and nonchalantly told the Prune he had a message for him from “a friend of his [the Prune]”. When the Prune asked which friend and Toppy answered “Johnny Sharp” the Prune became tense. He gave a half-look behind him as if he was considering hopping back in the dinghy but Peter Butts had beat him to it and had pushed the dinghy away from the bank already. Realizing he had no other options but to try and weasel his way out of it the Prune got to work. He claimed not to know any Johnny Sharp, the boys all knew that this was a downright lie. Knowing he was playing dumb, Toppy moved right along with his questioning. Toppy told Prune that Johnny Sharp wanted him [the Prune] to tell them about the moneybox that he gave him to give to Ted to keep the money in. The rest of the gang came out of hiding as Toppy had given the signal (he said “Ted” in his sentence). Prune looked around frantically but the boys had enclosed him in on all sides.

Soon, the Prune admitted to having accepted a box from Johnny Sharp. Toppy, finally having found a weak spot in the Prune used it to his advantage and told Prune that if he told them what happened they’d leave him alone. Still the Prune did not comply and Toppy threatened to put his head in the river and hold him down until he talked. Trying to buy himself some more time the Prune continues to talk but Toppy cuts him off and gives him five seconds to start talking. When Toppy had reached “one” the Prune still had not given them any information and so the boys pounced on him like alley cats on a fish bone. IN a matter of seconds Toppy was sitting atop the Prune’s chest and was giving the boys orders to gag and tie him. To make the whole thing even more convincing, Toppy looked at his watch and continued, he said the first time, they’d hold him down for twenty seconds, then thirty and so on. This cracked the Prunes nerve and he quickly told them the whole story.

The Pearl Misc.

“The Pearl”

The Picture –

In my picture entitled “The Pearl”, I tried to portray the scene in the book where Kino ventures out pearl fishing. Kino, however is not doing this for leisure or for his job but to save his first born son – Coyotitio. Kino and Juana alike wish for a pearl they can sell and use the money to pay the greedy doctor.

Analysis

The picture is of Kino’s underwater quest for a pearl. Kino however does not expect what he finds – The pearl of the world. In the picture, Kino is swimming underwater towards a collection of oysters on a rock. His basket full of pearls is secure on his arm, but his needs drive him deeper and he continues searching for more. Kino is heading towards the Great Pearl. What has caught his eye is the ghostly ray of light that seems to be beckoning him to the pearl. As Kino heads to the oyster covered rock, it is this pearl that he picks up first.

Kino is wearing a simple garment that is the equivalent of what we would know to day as a bathing suit. It is a somewhat large piece of loincloth.

In the picture you can only see the bottom of the canoe. Juana is nursing Coyotito with a bed of poultice above the surface of the water, in the canoe. While Kino is searching for a better chance at life, Juana is tending to Coyotito and praying to the Gods not for Coyotito’s direct recovery but for a pearl that they might use to pay the doctor. Juana’s prayers were obviously heard by the gods right at that moment, Kino was about to pick up the pearl that would change their life drastically.

Themes Portrayed

The themes I tried to show in my picture were Hope/Faith and Determination.

Juana showed Hope and faith towards the gods. She had faith that they would give them the pearl that they needed, to answer all of their problems at that moment. Kino as well, also had hope that he could find a good pearl.

Determination was shown by both members of the family; Kino and Juana did not give up on their child after they were turned away by the doctor. They almost immediately sprang into action, both knowing what they needed to do. Kino set to work getting the money for the doctor (the pearl) and Juana tried her hand at a remedy for the scorpion venom (the poultice). Even though Juana’s method lacked the doctor’s authority, she tried it and hoped for the best.

Descriptive Writing Excercise

1. Describe to someone who doesn't know him/her, a friend, relative, or a person in your neighbourhood.

I watched as he approached; his steps crooked and unsure. The toenails on his feet were like fossils, an ugly blackish, yellow, while the feet were a much different story. They grew in a peculiar way much like a "V" shape, so that the toes wher much larger than normal. It was no wonder most of the time he wasn't in shoes. His attire was old and worn out, full of stains. A matching blue-gray two piece that looked like it had been passed down for many generations.

He had a pot-belly resembling an over-ripe breadfruit, round and large. It glistened with perspiration, evidence of long and hard work in the sun. On his chest was a medium sized patch of mostly grey hair. On either side of it were his pectorals, they were dog's ears, droopy which seemed to match his posture perfectly. His posture was more of a slump than a stance, as he walked, if I can even call it so, he made sudden jerks, giving him an awkward stride

All of his physical features led right up to his face. He wore a tired expression most of the time unless he laughed or smiled which revealed his almost toothless grin.Old age consumed the majority of his face; you could see the wrinkles, vivid as the sun. His cheeks sagged like fat on a baby's bottom however his skin was nothing like it. His skin was like an elephant's hide, rough and raw. You couldn't tell anything from his eyes they were empty, so to speak. Like little black marbles, they were emotionless. His wispy, whitish-grey hair was like a cirrus cloud, not much, but enough to cover his balding head.

His personality is difficult to illustrate. Majority of the time he is content, sitting down listening to "Perkins Online" or "Lang and Company" in the afternoon. While other times he would appear to be sad or lonely emitting a feeling of melancholy. On a whole he is a cheerful man, willing to do whatever work assigned to him with a smile. He is respectful and kind to us with many good attributes and habits. However, the habit that I dislike the most about him is the many times he will come early and be "drunk as a skunk" as my mother would say. This was the state he was in now. I perceived this from his jagged steps, as I mentioned before. His breath could be smelt from miles away; clearly he had been drinking some white rum. When he asked me for some water, he repeated the same clause about three times - consecutively. It was wonder, how he completed the slurred sentence. We have tried to convince him to stop, but all our attempts were foiled. Even with his faults we still accept him for his overruling good qualities.

Animal Farm Study Help

Animal Farm

1. Themes : Freedom, Herosim
- Who/ What is freedom and a hero?
Freedom is ...

- Defintions of freedom/ ehroism?
- Who is the hero of the text?
Boxer is the hero of the text.

- Why is there a fight for freedom?
- There is a fight for freedom because tha nimals feel that they are being mistreated and are infrerior.

- Who instills the idea of freedom in the animals?

- Old major the boar. He is the philospher and

- After the rebellion are the anmals really free?

- How have the animals been denied their freedom after the rebellion?

- What er

2. Leadership : Napoleon/Snowball
- What types of leaders are these pigs?
- Napoloeon is a bershire boar and represents _____________. He enforeces the dictatorship type of government and his specialty was brtue force. From the beginning of the book he was a mysterious character and is said to not have been much of an orator from the start. He rallied support in between times.
- Snowball represents the democratic type of government.
Who do they lead?
- Which is the better lead?
- It is hard to say which is a better lead. Snowball was the ideal leader, in all of his plans, he kept the goals and the well-being of the animals in mind. INSnowballs mind, it was democratic governmanet, and there wasn’t really leadrs the farm was just run by the animals on a whole. Snowbal however did not really work the details of his plans and didn’t explore the personalitys of the animlas that would get in his way. Snowball overall had goo intentions but did not know how to get about them. Napoloen is the antagonist of the book, mainly because he inflicts much pain on the animals. However as for leadership, Naploleon certainly had the authority and was desvicive one of the qualitys that Snowball wasn’t so stong on.
- What is tyranny?
- When someone uses their own style of punishment, and elects themselves as the main figure.
- Give detalied examples to support the leadership styles of Snowball/ Napoloeon
Snowball;s leadership style is not as displayed in the book as Napoleon’s is, due to his early departure. But from what we can see of it, it is more favourable to the animals. At one point in the book

3. The last sentence of the novel.
- What does hat statement mean?
- It means that the pigs had changed so much that they were almost men in themselves. They had become so much what they abhorred in the first place that they now had become almost exact replicas of their enemies and what they did not want to become.
- How true is this statement?
- Very true.
- How do the pigs now look like man?
They have adapted many ways and customs of man. Examples being, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, playing cards, waking on two legs, wearing clothes.

Themes in "Gifted Hands"

THEMES

The value of education

At the beginning of the book, education does not hold much value in Ben’s eyes. The reson for this is that Ben wasn’t doing very well in school. Curtis on the other hand wasn’t doing much better as he was nearly enrolled in vocational courses. Sonya Carson is probably to be credited with showing the Carson brothers the value of education. She pushed them into taking their education seriously by cutting down their tv time and making them read more. One day in church ben heard a story of missionarys in Africa and decided that he wanted to become a doctor. With his newfound value of education, he believed that is was possible and his mother shared in the belief.

Ben however found a setback when he transferred back to Higgins Elementary School. He was challenged in the almost “all-white school” and felt dumb compared to the other fifth-graders. He vividly remembers many zeros and low grades on math papers. His mother kept encouraging him to do better even when he had improved. When ben started to read more he expanded his horizons and started to overtake the cass one by one. First he became good in science then he challenged himself to beat bobby farmer in speling. Eventually Ben made it to the top of his class in six grade but then questioned himslef the most important question he coud probably have said in a ifetime – “Why stop there?”. Ben, through hard work and determination kept his title as top of the class to the point where the principal was ashamed that a black boy was at the top of the class.

When Ben moved back to Detroit, he was enrolled in a different school and apparently academics weren’t as high a priority there. Because ben wasnted to be accepted his grades dropped considerably. Bens valye of education dropped drastically as he seemd to no longer have an intrest in his schoolwork. Sonya was there however ot keep him on track.


Love and loyalty

Love and loytalty are strong themes throughout the bok of Gifted Hands. They however are expecially strong in the first few chapters when Ben mostly talks about his family. Ben loved his father very much and so did his mother but she had to let him go bacause he had been leading a double life. Ben did not know the cause of their breakup at the time but still loved his father dearly, this is shown when he prayed every night for them to get back together. Love was also shown by Sonya when she desperately tried to avoid her children knowing how dire the situation was of her husband and her psychiatric help needs.Sonya also loved Robert dearly as she never blamed him for anything during the months that followed.

Love and loyalty is ehibited by sonya carson once again in the second chapter. She cared deeply about her sons and their educaation. When Curtis was going to be put in vocational courses Sonya went down to the school and argued with the counselor until she got what was best for her child. She knew that her son was cpable of much more than that and those courses would be a waste of his time and intelligence. Later on she started pushing her sons to do and be their best. This ofcourse paid off.

Love and loyalty was exhibited by sonya when it is discovered that she rarely has anytime to sepnd with her family because of her multiple jobs but the few hours she did have “she showered them”. She also knew hoe much their Detriot house meant to the family and vowed to get it back. Sonya also enoucarged Ben a lot when he was at the bottom of his cass – out of love.

Later on in life, sonya wanted ben to be happy so she tried to buy him some of the clothes that he wanted. Sonya also cared deeply about ben and triedto keep him on track at school.

Sonya needed love too and a woman name Mary Htomas showed this to her and helper her with her psychiatric problems. She pointed her to God and some of Sonya’s reliatves helped along the way as well. Sonya got help at the right time as she was contemplating suicide at the time.

Shakespeare's Work -(The Enchanted Island)

Themes

Deception
Deception was shown many time in “The Enchanted Island”. From Women dressing up as men to gruesome murder plots, the betrayal never ends.

The first display of deception was in The Taming of the Shrew. Petruchio, an easy-going man comes into town looking for Katharine, the rich merchant Baptista’s daughter. He knows about Katharine’s wild behaviour and does not marry her because he loves he, but because he wants her money. Over the period of time Kate spend at Petruchio’s country home, he used reverse psychology to get her to change her ways. He orders expensive clothes, only to rip them up, starves her and deprives her of sleep all to make her change her tyrannic ways. In the end of the story, Katharine changes for the better.

The third display of deception in the book was in the story The Merchant of Venice. IN this story, a rich money-lender named Shylock cons Antony, a man who he dispises into agreeing to et Shylock basically kill him if he doesn’t pay the money back by a specific date. Suprizingly, the plot works out in Shylocks favour and Anotny is facing death when the next point of decepiton comes in. Antonio’s friend Bassanio’s wife Portia dresses up like a male lawyer and defends Antonio, giving a touching mercy speech and then using her brains to save him, pointing out that a pound of flesh does not give him one drop of blood.

In the story of The Love Letter deception is also shown. Maria, Sir Toby and Feste devise a plan to “put Malvolio in his place”. They planted a fake love letter “from Countes Olivia” in his view that declared “her” love for him and gave him obsurd instructions such as wearing bright yellow cross garters

Julius Caesar
- Brutus and conspirators with the whole murder plot
- Decius lied to him

Shakespeare Assignment

In any story how two people died

1. Macbeth – King Duncan

King Duncan was the wise and noble king of Scotland,who even Macbeth admired. However, this could not stop Macbeth from murdering him in is crazed pursuit of power. Macbeth told his wife, Lady Macbeth about his encounter with the witches and she was even more ecstatic about the possible power that could come to them and was much more determined to get them the crowns. When Lady Macbeth found out that Kind Duncan was to spend a night at their palace soon, she made immediate plans for the murder.

The night King Duncan spent at the Macbeth residence went like this. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were up late at night when everyone else in the castle was asleep. The plot was this – they would drug King Duncan’s bodyguards, stab King Duncan in his sleep and then frame the guards and flee, pretending the next morning that they knew nothing of the murder. So, Macbeth and his wife made there way up to the place where Kind Duncan was sleepling and prepared to do the deed. Macbeth was a bit hesitant about the stabbing so lady Macbeth decided to do it. When she went into the room to kill King Duncan, she saw that he reminded her of her father and could not do it. So, the evil deed rested in the hands of Macbeth. Macbeth went into the room and reluctantly stabbed King Duncan. As he did this, the guards suddenly woke up and shouted “Murder” and “Lord have mercy on us all” then drifted back off to sleep, muttering a prayer. Shocked by what he had just done, Macbeth forgot to frame the drunk guards and came out of the room staring at his bloody hands awestrucken. Lady Macbeth went back inside the room and finished the gruesome deed and then took a dilusioned Macbeth to wash his hands then back to bed.

2. Macbeth – Banquo

Banquo, like Macbeth was a Scottish general and was with him the night the witches apperared to them and predicted their futures. Macbeth knew that Banquo was going to be the head of a long line of kings, though he would never be one himself (according to the witches) and so he decided to kill him. Macbeth was having a function with many important generals and kings at his house and invited Banquo. Knowing that he wouldn’t actually ever make it to the palace.

Banquo and his son Fleance were riding to Macbeth’s palace by horse and were about 1 mile from the palace when to assassins that Macbeth had hired ambushed them. The assassins saw that it was Banquo by the glare of the latern that his son Fleance was carring and attacked. They cut Banquo’s throat, gave him twenty gashes in the head and flung his body in a nearby ditch. However, in the scuffle, the lantern was dropped and Banquo’s son Fleace escaped.

Julius Caesar Play

THE ENCHANTED ISLAND

Relationships between :

a) Cassius and Brutus

Cassius and Brutus, in the beginning if the story are a very odd pair. They had nothing to do with each other until Cassius brought up their common ground, that Caesar is getting too powerful for his own good.As the story progresses Cassius and Brutus become very good friends. A few of their similarities are mistakes (example : Cassius wanted to kill Caesar for personal reasons but Brutus thought he was doing it for Rome) but they end up being close companions. At one point in the story we find them discussing their fears and personal feelings . Cassius first uses Brutus to get to Caesar and to help him with the hideous murder plot but when the plot backfires and they are forced to flee Rome in order to save their lives everything changes. They end up fighting together against basically all of Rome and slowly the curtains begin to close on their live because of the evil deed they had done.

b)Caesar and Cassius

Caesar and Cassius were anything but friends, they’re relationship was the exact opposite of that of Caesar and Mark-Antony. Cassius was an evil and wicked man who had always admired Caesar’s competitior Pompei. He had never liked Caesar and had made it his life’s ambition to kill him.Cassius was the mastermind behind the entire murder (along with some help from Brutus) but little did he know that this gruesome plot would turn right around and kill him as well.

Caesar was not foolish, he was aware of Cassius’ state. Many times he would note the man’s vile personality – “ Jealous, ambitious and revengeful”. He saw Cassius whispering to Brutus and became very suspicious of them. (This he told Mark-Antony) Caesar did not like Cassius from the beginning.

c) Caesar and Mark-Antony

Caesar and Mark-Antony were the best of friends. They both confided in each other and told each other their issues with no problem. Caesar told Mark-Antony his slightest suspicion about Cassius and many other things. They were the perfect example of loyalty.After Caesar’s death, Mark-Antony lusted for them to kill him as well; he did not want to go on living without his companion. When he was spared, he made up his mind to use his life that he had left and avenge the conspirators. After totally deceiveing them (shaking their hands), he continues with his plot and at the funeral ceremony turned Rome against them. He did this with a touching speech. When he was sure that Rome was on his side, he set out with his armies to take down the conspirators and make sure that they rested in early graves.

d) Caesar and Brutus

Caesar and Brutus were fair friends. They were not as close as Caesar and Mark-Antony, but friends nonetheless. Caesar had trust in Brutus and Brutus turned around and betrayed him. Brutus thought that Caesar had too much power for his own good and set out to kill him “to protect Rome” but ended up reaking havoc. When Caesar was dying he reached out his hands and was asking Brutus to help him when Brutus took out a dagger and stabbed him right in the heart. It was then Caesar said the famous words “Et tu Brutus” which means “and you Brutus”. Later on in the story Caesar’s ghost appears to Brutus and tells him that he will meet him on the battlefield. A few days later Brutus ends up committing suicide. The case of Brutus and Caesar was a perfect display if deception and betrayal.

How Caesar could have avoided his death

Caesar’s death, though fatal and seemingly supirzing could have easily been avoided if he had just opened his eyes to the many warnings he received. The first and most explicit warning was the fortune teller who told him to “Beware the ides of march” two times. Caesar, too consumed with his rich lifestyle as a popular person payed no attention to the “dreamer” and went on about his business.

The second warning was the night of the 14th of March. It was a violent stormy night and bad omens were on the street. Odd sights which anyone would have seen as signs , anyone except Caesar. That same night, Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia had three bad dreams. In all three dreams, she dreamed that Caesar was murdered and Romans were washing their hands in his blood. Caesar, concerned about his wife, agrees to stay home, a sensible act, Caesar was avoiding his death until, Decius a conspirator came and lied to Caesar about the dream’s meaning. Decius said that the dream meant that he would bring “new blood, new life to Rome”. Caesar, gullibly believes him and quickly sets off for the Capitol, against his wife’s wishes, falling right into the trap.

The next day, on his way to the Capitol, Caesar meets up with the fortune teller who once again warns him about the Ides of March. Caesar, once again pays him no mind. Soon after this he is met by a philosopher named Artemidorous who has a very important letter for Caesar (with the names of all the conspirators in it). Caesar, now irritated with everyone’s odd behaviour snaps at him telling him that he is a mad man and walks on.

The final warning Caesar got was a senator wishing Cassius good luck with his enterprise. Caesar does not even think of this as one bit suspicious and walks into the Capitol, soon to meet his ill fate.