Macbeth Essay

Luke Desmarais

1.  “Bear welcome your eye, your hand, your tongue, look likt’ innocent flower, but be the serpent undert’.”- Lady Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 5)

b. This quote shows how conniving Lady Macbeth really is. This quote is her telling Macbeth to act normal and innocent but to do whatever it takes to be king. This  shows how Lady Macbeth is trying to control Macbeth and tell him what to do. Lady Macbeth is the mastermind in the killing to make Macbeth king. She was very strong willed and almost wanted Macbeth to be king more than he actually wanted to be king. In this scene she basically brain washes Macbeth into killing Duncan and the guards.

c. In the movie this is a very dark scene, both in the lighting and in the content. This scene is about doing something evil so the visual grammar of the film portrays that. The lighting is dark which before anything else gives you the feeling that thy are going to do something that is horrible. The sounds are something else that brings out that dark mood. The music is very  ominous and kind of scary. The camera was straight on Lady Macbeth and you could just see the evil in her eyes. Just the thought of power was already corrupting her. The camera shot had a shadow right on her face really showing how bad the content of her conversation really was.

d. Many feelings arise after seeing this scene and reading this quote.The first thing i thought was that Lady Macbeth is insane. She completely had her own views of taking the thrown that Macbeth didn’t even want but she convinced him to do. I kind of felt bad for Macbeth because he was pretty much forced into doing this when he didn't want to.

2. “Be bloody bold resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man for none of women born will harm Macbeth.”-Second Apparition (Act 4 Scene 2)

b. This quote is a prophecy form the witches for Macbeth. This is an important quote because after hearing this Macbeth honestly believes that he can not be killed. Macbeth believes there is no man not born a women. This really shows how the witches were almost messing with Macbeth's head. They had him believing that he was safe.

c. In this scene there are three witches, three dead bodies, and Macbeth. As the witches give their prophecy’s the lighting is bright, almost god-like. As they give these prophecy’s the camera shows the faces of the witch  and the face of the dead body as they recite the prophecy. This along with the lighting create a very scary mood. Another method the director used was having the dead bodies start talking all of the sudden. This foreshadowed the impact those prophecy’s would have in the future. This quote shows how things aren't always as they seem. One thing that wasn’t as it seemed was the dead bodies sitting up and reciting the prophecy with the witches. Another thing was Macbeth thinking that he would not be killed and then it turns out that Macduff had a cesarean birth.

d. When i watched this quote ion the movie it was startling. I really wasn’t expecting that to happen and along with the loud noises it was a pop out. When i read it in the book I pictured it much differently. I couldn't visualize how scary these witches were. I was wondering if those were the types of prophecies that Macbeth was expecting because they had a couple interpretations that would make them true.

“ Good sir why are you so startled seeming to fear things that sound so pleasant.”- Banquo (Act 1 Scene 3 Line 53)

b. This quote is right in the beginning of the story before Macbeth really is craving the power. This shows that at one time Macbeth did not want to hear the witches prophecies because he was scared that he didn’t know how he would become king when there already was a king. Macbeth just had a bad feeling about this prophecy which is why he wasn’t really happy when he heard it.

c.In this scene the lights were dim and overall it was pretty dark. This created an ire feeling which went along with Macbeth not being happy about the witches news. The room also kind of echoed which kind of made it seem like it was the beginning of the end. The camera was eye level and going back and forth between Banquo and Macbeth. This allowed the viewer to see the expression on Macbeth’s face getting an idea of what he was thinking and how uneasy he was. After this point things just get worse for Macbeth.

d. Watching this scene you could just tell that it was not a good prophecy. Macbeth is not happy. It shows that superstition does effect human behavior. Before Macbeth heard the witch he was a happy guy and didn’t have too many worries, but after the prophecy he was worried and not very happy. This happened because Macbeth is superstitious and believed what the witches were saying.

“Tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped.”- Macduff (Act 5 Scene 8 Line 19)

b. This quote is important because it shows that the witches prophecy was correct. Since Macduff’s mother had a cesarean birth, this means that he was not born of a women and therefore could kill Macbeth. This scene really shows how much Macbeth believed those witches. He really thought he couldn’t die but after he hears this he relizes he can.

c. When Macduff says this, he had just been shot by Macbeth and is laying on the table. Once Macbeth hear this he stops and thinks that he is going to die. The camera shows both of them and then it shows just Macbeth so you can see the expression on his face. There is also the giant flag with Macbeth's face on it in the back which i thought symbolised Macbeth and his reign that is now about to come to an end. this really shows ho things arnt always as they seem.

d. I felt like if Macbeth wasn't so superstitious  he could have killed Macduff when he had him shot, laying down in front of him. Macbeth really thought that Macduff could not kill him but when it came down to it he was going to die regardless because his whole fortress was taken over already.

Oedipus & Antigone test/essay

Luke Desmarais

Mr. BG Accel 12

Oedipus Questions

12/8/11

1     To people that believe in fate, fate is inevitable. It can not be changed and can not be altered. Any attempt made to try and change fate is always in vein.  No matter what you do, the planed outcome always goes full circle and comes true. Decisions involving free will are just steps toward a higher planed destiny.

    To people who believe in free will, decisions shape your whole existence. Everything you do has different repercussions. Your life takes new direction everyday. With free will there is no specific ending, you are free to choose what happens in your life.  

    Fate definitely has a part in all of our lives. Some events like if you were born a boy or a girl and who your parents are, are some things you had no control of. This means that no one was in complete control of their life. Some would say it can be predicted by genetics and it doest give any justice to the idea of fate but in my opinion if you cant control something then what do you call it. I believe that there are some aspects of life that are just fate.

2    You grow up learning that it is bad to lie and to always tell the truth. But when you do grow up you realize that lying is necessary in some situations. If one of your friends asked you if you thought they were overweight would you say yes or say no and make them feel good about themselves. That is a time i would rather not tell the truth.

    On the other hand some people would much rather hear the truth. One time all of my friends went to the movies without me even though they know i wanted to go. When they got back i asked them how it was. To make me feel good they lied and said it was horrible. I believed them and never went to see the movie. Eventually i saw it on HBO and i was really mad because it was a really good movie. I was wish i would have seen it in theaters. I would have preferred if my friends told me the truth so i could have gone seen it in theaters.

    Overall i believe that it all depends on how you would want to be treated. There are some times where it is better to lie but if you are kind of person that would always like to know the truth then you are not going to lie no matter what. Personally there are sometimes when i would not like to know the the truth and there are times where i don't tell the truth.

3    Sigmund Freud was a psychoanalyst from the late eighteen hundreds to the early nineteen hundreds. He came up with this idea of the Oedipus Complex. It is the idea of all young children having the desire to kill their fathers and have sex with their mothers. According to the Oedipus Complex this is a stage that everyone goes through and most people grow out of it. The people that don't grow out of it are the people that do demented things like murder or rape.

    This idea derives its origins from the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles. In this play a boy is born and his destiny is to kill his father and sleep with his mother. His parents, to prevent this, left him to die.A man finds Oedipus. After he grows up, the prophecy eventually comes true and when Oedipus finds out what he had done he stabs out his own eyes. I think that the Oedipus complex is insane.

    One way that the Oedipus Complex could be argued is when you are that young you are not capable of a thinking level that high. You don't even know what killing or sex is.This is one reason why i don’t believe in this idea. One augment for it is it can explain how some people can have such a sick mind. The reason people kill their families or rape young children is because they never grew out of this stage. This is the only part that has some reasoning to it.

4    In the play, Antigone is a very unique character. She doesn't conform and do what everybody else is doing. She acts on what she believes is right. She doesn't care who she makes mad or what laws she breaks. In the play, Creon, the king, issues a death warrant on anyone who ties to bury the dead Polyneicies. Polyneicies  is Antigone’s brother so she tries to do it anyway regardless of what happens. I believe she get her courage from her sense of family.

In her eyes her family is more important than the law and even more important than the consequences of her actions. The reason why anyone follows or breaks a law is if the reward of breaking that law is worth the chance of getting caught. No one would break laws if there was nothing to gain, whether it be money or pleasure. Also on one would follow the law if you couldn't get caught.

    There are everyday laws that i choose to bend break or follow based on risk and reward. One thing I do that is against the law is j walk. I do this because i know I'm not going to get in trouble for it and it saves me time. One law I choose to bend is the speed limit. More or less i follow it but sometimes i go five or ten miles over the speed limit. I do this to get places faster and i know i probably wont get in trouble. One thing i do to follow the law is I don't steal. Getting caught stealing is not worth it because i will most likely get caught and if i do there is a big punishment.

   

college essay

Luke Desmarais

            Crack! It’s the sound of helmets and shoulder pads smashing together. The blazing hot summer days running up the hill feeling like there is no way you could sweat anymore. The frigid November nights that you need two long sleeve shirts just to keep your arms from going numb. The glory you feel making a big hit or scoring a long touchdown. This is football season.

            Ever since fourth grade I would go to the games on Friday nights and watch the tigers and dream of the day that jersey would be mine. This dream would echo in my brain every time I would watch a game.

            Finally I became a freshman. Football practices were hard and there wasn’t a chance of me seeing the field on Friday nights. Sophomore year I got my chance on special teams and I took advantage of it but it still didn’t satisfy me because they weren’t impact roles. Junior year I was back deep returning kickoffs. Opening kickoff, under the lights, in front of my friends and family. It was everything I ever dreamed it would be.

 That year we had a very good team and I was very appreciative to be a part of it. Then it was all gone in a flash. I remember when it first happened; I’m not sure what hurt more the pain of breaking my arm or the thought of not being able to play the rest of the season. I didn’t seem fair, the fact that something I wanted for so long had just been stripped away from me so quickly. Then to top it off our team went to the super bowl and won, while I sat there on the sidelines thinking what I could have contributed if I hadn’t broke my arm.

I never wanted to feel the helplessness of not being able to play ever again. As soon as that cast came off, there was a sense of urgency. I needed to get a lot better in a year’s time to achieve my goal of starting again. I lifted every day with some of my friends determined that nothing was going to stop me my senior year.

When the season came I was excited to try and earn a starting position. Something that I never expected happened; our head coach made me one of the captains. This added even more pressure to find a starting spot on the team. I achieved my goal that I set in fourth grade; in our first game I was the starting strong side linebacker. This was such an ebullient moment for me.  Something that I had worked toward almost my entire life had finally been achieved. From being that little kid watching a game, to being that player that a little kid looks up to.

summer reading

Luke Desmarais

Summer reading

September 9, 2011

Fresh Starts

(Friday Night Lights and The Kite Runner)

It was a blistering hot day in Odessa, Texas.  The kids were on the field and suited up for their first day of youth football practice. The head coach, Booby Miles, put the whole team on the fifty yard line and spoke to them. He said, “ Welcome to the football team. My name is Booby Miles and I am your head coach. I was a very successful High School running back until I blew out my knee my senior year.  When I was in school, nothing mattered to me except for football. I was a horrible student, and after I got hurt, I was left with nothing. It is important to get good grades. After school you get to come to practice and have fun, playing football with your friends. I have one rule, listen to the coach. Now let’s have a good first day of practice.”

            The coaches split the players up into groups based on their position and each group started doing their own drills. Practice flew by for coach Miles, teaching the running backs how to juke and spin. It made him remember when he used to play. By the end of practice he noticed that one kid hadn’t said a word the whole time. Coach Miles walked over to the kid and said,” What’s your name.” the kid replied very quietly,” Sohrab.”“Well why aren’t you talking to any of your friends,” Said Boobie. Sohrab spoke again in his faint voice,” I am new, I don’t have any friends.” Coach Miles said,” Speak up son I can’t hear you.” Sohrab said,” I just moved here from California.” Boobie replied,” That’s alright because in this town, football is a great way to make friends. When I used to play everyone wanted to talk to me because I was the starting running back.” Shortly after this conversation, practice came to an end and everybody went home.

            As the year went on Sohrab still wasn’t talking to anyone and coach miles took notice. He talked to some of Sohrab’s teachers and it was the same thing in all of his classes. When Coach Miles asked Sohrab, “Have you made any friends yet.” Sohrab simply shook his head back and forth. Coach Miles then asked, “Why won’t you talk to anyone.” Sohrab shrugged his shoulders any walked away. Coach Miles could tell from the look in his eyes that he had been through a lot in his life so far. Sohrab never returned back to football or school after that day. Some people say that he moved far away, and others say he went to an insane asylum, but they are probably both rumors. Coach Miles couldn’t stop thinking of what possibly could have happened in this boy’s life to make him act the way he did. In actuality, Bobbie’s wildest imagination couldn’t come close to what actually happened to Sohrab as a child.