Diplomatic Posting 3 Reflection

This posting had been challenging for me for the most part. The most challenging part would probably have to be understanding Shakespeare and the Keynes and Hayek assignment. What was hard about the Keynes and Hayek assignment was that you had to find the information on the internet and I found it really difficult to find accurate information that I could understand, most of the information was so much about the economy and theories that it was as though it was a different language. I could have done better if I had asked for some help and clarification or looked in my text book to see if there was any information. As we continued to read Romeo and Juliet it got easier to understand, it's still not the easiest thing to get but it's getting clearer. When we discussed what happens in the scene before we read it I found that it really helped me to understand what was happening and that without that I would have been so lost. One of the things that I was happy with was my logo. I wasn't very happy with my first one, it didn't really show who I am and it didn't relate that well to globalization but I think my new one does a good job of showing who I am and has a good job of showing globalization. I was especially happy with my logo because I’m not the greatest person with creating things and doing visual representations and I was proud to have been able to create that logo, even if I didn't really draw it still took creativity. As for finishing this posting I just hope that my critical analysis essay goes better this time than it did in the last posting. Overall I am pretty happy with how the posting went but there are some things I wish I had done better.

Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet: A Review

The main question of the review was "How does this adaptation capture the mood and atmosphere of the original script?" This adaptation of the play was kept fairly close to the original script, it was set in the same time period as the book but the mood and atmosphere seemed to be different. The book had a certain mood to it; it was humorous at some points yet serious and dramatic in others. The movie seemed to have the same mood throughout the whole movie: Dull. The actors that were chosen seemed to be flat and had very little emotion. Juliet, Olivia Hussey, seemed as though she never really had been in love and had one of the worst death scenes ever. Throughout the whole scene where she was in the tomb she seemed to be lacking any real feeling and was more just there and dying than anything. This was different compared to some of her other scenes such as the one after Tybalts death, it was as though it had been overacted, in the book Juliet was sad about Tybalts death but not devastated. The actor that played Romeo, Leonard Whiting, fit the part well but at times it was as if he was really 10 instead of his actual age because of the way he portrayed his joy. When compared to Baz Luhrman's adaptation it made a lot more sense even though i only saw the beginning of his version it had a more comedic mood and was portrayed as more unserious than Zeffirelli's version. I don't really think either movie did a great job of conveying the mood and atmosphere of the original play but if I had to choose one to watch it would definitely be Zeffirelli's version because it did a much better job of telling the story.

Individual Assignment 7

                The friar’s plan for Juliet is not likely to succeed because of the many flaws and the reliance on others that is in the plan. In the plan the friar presents to Juliet he tells her to take a potion that will her appear to be dead while she is actually just in a deep sleep. The friar tells Juliet that the potion will last for 42 hours and that when she wakes Romeo will be there to take her to Mantua. This is one of the main flaws of the friar’s plan, he’s relying on someone else to give the news to Romeo instead of doing it himself, which would ensure that Romeo knows of the plan. Friar Lawrence entrusts the job of sharing the plan with Romeo to Friar John whose is unable to complete the task because he is quarantined in the house of someone who is suspected to have the plague. Another unforeseen event is that the intended wedding for Juliet and Paris had been moved up a day. This means that Romeo will have even less time to come to Verona and be informed of the plan. Balthasar brings the news of Juliet’s death to Romeo and Romeo unaware of the plan and the fact that Juliet is not actually dead decides to “lie” with her. All of these were unforeseen consequences of the friar’s plan but from the beginning it was unlikely that the plan would succeed because there were so many variables.

                I wouldn’t consider doing what Juliet decides to do because even though true love is rare and hard to come by there is still more to live for. I couldn’t imagine killing myself for love, I know that it’s hard to move on but I think Juliet took it a little too far. Why couldn’t she just move on? Even though she’s 13 and has hormones raging and unaccepting parents there were other things that could have been done, it wasn’t like Romeo was dead. Maybe it’s just that I don’t see myself that way or that I’ve never been in love but I don’t think I’m the type of person that would be able to give my life for someone I’d known for less than a month or anyone. My thoughts and opinions and may change when my first love comes along but I don’t think I could ever make the decision Juliet made, even of my first love does come with heart break.

Romeo and Juliet Charactor Webs

Individual Assignment 5

Dear Journal:  

          Being a teenager can be very difficult sometimes. There’s so much to worry about, getting good grades, pleasing your parents and your future. Back in the days of Romeo and Juliet all you had to worry about was getting married to someone rich to take care of you and you’re future, at least if you were a girl. Juliet had it simple, because her parents were likely to choose someone for her to marry and it would all be taken care of, simple and easy but not so much anymore. Now I find myself worrying about how well I’m doing in school because I need to get good grade s to be able to actually go somewhere in my life. And school is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Juliet wouldn’t have even had to go to school but me I got to school five days a week for ten months of the year. Sometimes it’s so hard to get out of bed and go to school because your bed is the comfiest place in the world and it’s so nice outside and you just really don’t want to go sit in a classroom for 7 hours where it’s cold and dry.  Then there’s love, what to even say about love? It can be the most difficult part of your day or it can be the highlight. It all depends on what happens and how you’re able to react to the situation. It’s like in Romeo and Juliet all the feelings are new and you’re not really sure what to think or what others will think. Should you expect support or to be on your own? From my experience your own people don’t know how to support you or just don’t like the other person. Like how the Montague’s and Capulet’s have this feud going and they don’t even know what it’s for. With my some friends it seems to be that they’ll just hate the guy I like without ever even talking to him or even being introduced to him. It’s like she’s a Montague and he’s a Capulet. That’s some of the reasons why I find being a teenager so difficult, this is supposed to be the best times but really they’re just difficult and full of hard decisions.

Chelsea Dawson               

Dear Journal:

I’ve been thinking lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve never made any really bad decisions in my life. Don’t get me wrong I have made some bad decisions that I regret for example saying I wasn’t mad when my best friend Andie broke off one of my favourite Barbie’s heads and I said I wasn’t mad. Then when she apologized and offered me one her Barbies and I said, “No,” I really wished I had said yes because I could have had that one more Barbie to play with and it was my favourites. But even though I’ve done little things like my example I’ve done anything really crazy like Romeo and Juliet. I’ve never decided to kill myself or fake my death for someone and I’ve never really gone against my parent s by being with someone they can’t stand. But if  did have to choose one terrible decision that I’ve made I would have to say it was deciding to go sledding on a cafeteria tray when there was almost an equal amount of snow as there was dirt. I was at the top of the hill grabbing on to Taylor who was on her own tray and sitting in front of me. Off we went down the extremely steep and dirt covered CUC hill. I’m not really sure how it all happened but I ended up falling off my tray, unsurprisingly, and get my face caught between Taylors back and the ground. We had gone a couple ten metres or so and through at least one large dirt patch before I finally got loose and went roweling down a little father. My face was burning and covered in dirt. We got back to the top of the hill and I asked Taylor, ‘Is my face bleeding?’”  She said no. My face was still burning and I remember this lady driving by and asking “Are you alright?”  We replied yes of course but inside I was starting to freak out inside, I had kept touching my face and was pretty certain that it was bleeding. Taylor’s dad finally got there and took me home he was pretty concerned, more concerned than Taylor who was supposed to be one of my good friends. When I got home my mom had a little heart attack and washed my face a million times and yet the cuts were still filled with dirt and the pain was horrid. When I looked at my face in the mirror I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor. It was beaten up pretty badly, there ended up being a large cut along my nose, a few scratches across my left cheek and my forehead was covered in scratches and my left eye was so swollen I could barely see out of it a few days later. As a result of this decision I know have a scar on my nose, and even though my mom insists it’s not there I can see it quite plainly, and I have a little fear of sledding. Whenever we went crazy carpeting in grade eight, the year my accident occurred, I refused to go sledding because I didn’t want anything to happen again. Even now when I get brave enough to go down the hill I still get a little scared and hope that nothing like that ever happens again.

Chelsea Dawson