Power: Test Question

            "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely". A human would always invest what's in their best interest. When  in a position of power, it is hard for someone to think about who they are ruling and some times make drastically selfish decisions. After all selfishness is a human trait. This trait could backfire us. That is a lesson that the main protagonist, Macbeth,  in Shakespeare's Macbeth would learn.
            Macbeth gets absolutely corrupted due to his power. Before he became the king, he was just a humble thane, always loyal to king, Duncan. Soon after the witches told him that he was going to become king, he murdered his way to obtaining the crown. He then acquired the power of a king. But things got complicated for him. Fearing that he would lose his crown, his ambition to stay in power got the best of him. He made sure to get every possible chance of him losing his crown out of his way, putting more blood in his hands. Things got out of hand because of the power. 
           Macbeth would have probably let things flow itself if it wasn't for Lady Macbeth. Her thirst for power made her talk her husband into committing his first dirty deed. Macbeth was skeptical about the plan of killing Duncan to become king. But Lady Macbeth's ambition was bigger than his. She manipulated Macbeth by telling him that he was weak, that he was not manly. By Lady Macbeth approaching a chance of absolute power, she lost her sense of humanity and dignity. 
            In the world history this also happened with a man by the name of Luis XIV. While he did manage to make France rise as a global power, during the end of his career his thirst for blood and war caused his downfall. Through his countless wars trying to expand France and using funds to keep up his and his court's lavish lifestyle, he nearly ran France to bankruptcy. His expenses such as the Palace of Versailles hurt the credibility of future monarchs. During the reign of Luis XVI he was so corrupted that it sparked the french revolution, where he was executed by his people.
            As one can see, power could be the downfall of someone. Once you see you have all the power in your hands, you could lose your sanity. As Macbeth, his desire for power led him to become the darkest human being. Lady Macbeth also forgot the difference between wrong and right. Her ambition took over her sense of humanity, leading her to contribute with Macbeth's murders. Even though this is fiction, we could still see how power can corrupt someone in real life, like it happened to Luis XIV. It is not about how much power you have, it's about what you do with it. 




 

What do you think?

Describe the process you took to present your scene.  What went well? Not so well? What would you do differently next time you had to do a scene?

To present my scene, we had to start by editing the text. We decided what parts of the scene were essential. Then we cut down the lines that we decided to keep. We decided where the stresses and pauses were going to be. Lastly, we decided how we were going to be standing on the stage and where. I liked what we did in front of the class, how we were dressed, but I think we failed at playing along when we forgot our lines and we did it a little too fast. Next time I would practice more with my group. 

Weakness

Who is weaker? Macbeth or Lady Macbeth?  Why?

I believe Lady Macbeth is weaker than Macbeth. Macbeth fought until his very last breath. Even though she did not show it, Lady Macbeth was carrying a heave weight on her shoulders. When she was sleep walking, she showed her weakness. She felt so guilty about the murders, she was even talking about it in her sleep. I think she demanded the light next to her at night because she was afraid of spirits showing up while she slept, like when little kids are scared of the dark. 

Paranoia

Are Macbeth’s paranoia due to his own weakness or a consequence of what he did?


Macbeth's paranoia is a consequence of what he did. He obviously feels guilty for killing someone. His conscious won't leave him alone because of the weight that he carries. You can't always expect someone to do something bad and not feel guilty about it. Even though he did what he did, he still has a conscious.

Make and explain your prediction:

What will Macbeth do about Banquo? 


Banquo suspects that Macbeth cheated his way to the crown. This may become an obstacle for Macbeth so he might try to eliminate Banquo.

Directors

What are the factors that influence how a director presents a scene? Why do you think different directors see things so differently?

Some of the factors that may influence how a director presents a scene is the mood that the story may convey. A director won't present a happy scene with a sad plot. A character's personality also influences. I think directors see things differently because it's a matter of perspective, how they see the story. Everyone may not picture the same thing when they read a story.

Manliness

• Discuss the question, what does it mean to be a “man”?  Do you agree with Lady Macbeth’s view? Or do you think Macbeth’s consideration is more “manly”?

I think Macbeth's consideration is more "manly". He has a conscious. Despite he's ambition, he has a heart because he's not just thinking about just killing Duncan and getting the crown. Unlike Lady Macbeth, he is actually thinking about the pro's and cons of it. But he also seems like a fearful man. Macbeth is scared of what may happen when he meets with Duncan in the after life, like he's afraid of Duncan.

Questions

• How do the right questions help you access text better? What difficulties did you find asking questions?

The right questions helped me understand the whole text. Due to the difficulty of the text, it's hard for me to understand what they're talking about. But questions like "what do they want?" and "why do the want it?" are very useful because i get an idea of what they're talking about. Although, it was hard for me to ask questions because i did not understand what they were saying. Other people's questions help me find  my own questions.

The Bloody Play---Which Witches?

Male witches are probably the most fascinating ones. We are so used to seeing the same type of witches; some old grumpy ladies riding a broom around the moon. These witches are whatever you want them to be. It's like the best of both worlds, they can either be a man or a women, it's you choice. They appear out of nowhere and it can either be through, rain fire, or thunderstorm. The fact that I have never seen a witch with a beard is so interesting. When I hear "witch" I always think of the same old lady on her broom. I have never pictured a witch with a beard! I think it's hilarious and unusual.

Unseamed Him From Nave to Chops

The author had Macbeth win because it was probably a way to prove Macdonwald wrong. Even though "fortune" seemed to favor Macdonwald, it doesn't mean that things couldn't go wrong. The author probably was trying to prove a point. In this case it would be that it doesn't matter how good things might be going for you, something could go wrong in a matter of seconds.

A heartless, gory man fights like Macbeth. He could have just stabbed Macdonwald once but no. He made sure he was REALLY dead. For a man to cut a human being from the stomach, all the way to his chin, he must be very cold and angry. The man did not show an ounce of remorse for what he did.

Journal 1

• Do predictions come true because they were destined to come true, or because people make them happen because it was predicted (like a self-fulfilling prophesy)?

Predictions come true because they were destined to come true. But sometimes, we can't predict the outcome of things so we make it happen. With enough information, and if it's correct, we can predict things. I believe that the only way you can predict something and it comes true is because you have enough evidence to make a prediction or if you make it happen. Like for instance, in the elections we were able to predict the outcome.

My history teacher did enough research to predict who will be the winner of the 2012 elections. He looked for polls and wrote down the data. He predicted that Obama was going to win because of the numbers he acquired. In this case, the American citizens made this happen. The media predicted the reelection of Obama and people went to vote and made it happen.

Discuss the issue of trust.  Is it ever possible to truly trust someone?  Be sure to cite evidence on both sides of the issue.  

• I think you can trust someone if they show you that they're trust worthy. Like if you've known that person for a while and that person has never let you down. You have been telling that person some of your personal things for a while now and they have never put it out to other people, than maybe, just maybe, you can trust that person. Everyone always has that one person that they trust, even if it's a family memeber, you always have one person that you trust.
• Although, sometimes you really can't trust anyone. There are cases in which your "friend" tells other people the things you tell her/him. There is always that one chance of someone that knows something personal about you, passes it on to other people and you never really know who that person might be. Therefore, you can't go around giving your trust to just anyone.

I think you're just as guilty as the one that did the crime because if you had the chance to prevent it but you didn't, you're technically okay with it. I don't think there is a level of guilt in that kind of situations. If you witness a murder and you don't call the police, you're okay with it, you could've saved someone's life with just a call but you decided to just watch. Witnessing a crime and not trying to prevent it is like you're doing it as well.