In English class, we are recreating different scenes that occured in AMND (A Midsummmer Night's Dream). My group, Caitlin, Michelle T., and I, have decided that we want to include the characters, the four lovers: Demetrius, Lysander, Helena, and Hermia, and Puck. The closest thing that we found in the book, is the part where Puck is seeking an man wearing Athenian garments, as given orders by the Faerie King Oberon.
This is part of Act 2, Scene 2 where Puck has been wandering for awhile and finally finds an Athenian man - BUT it actually isn't the same man that his King had been talking about. Puck hadn't known that there were two Athenian men in the same forest at the same time and Puck misinterpreted the sight that he saw. By anointing the eyes of this 'Athenian man' he creates a jumble of chaos where Lysander (who truly loved Hermia) falls in love with Helena. This is what happens throughout the rest of the scene until the Act ends.
We chose this scene because I wanted to be the character of Puck, for he seemed like a challenge for me to play. He is a very interesting character following around his King and following all his orders. He's kind of a trouble-maker at the same time, but in this case he actually had no intention of messing up, but unfortunately he did. By observing this I felt as if Puck just has trouble to follow him everywhere he goes, and that led to the misunderstanding between him and King Oberon. I also feel like a lot of things I do makes me lead into some trouble some times, and I felt that because we shared a little of that in common I wanted to play Puck.
I wouldn't mind doing any scene, but personally I wouldn't like to be any of the lovers because I don't really fancy any of their characters or their personalities.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Experiencing Wikispaces
1. What did you like best about the project and why?
The thing that I enjoyed most about this project is that I got to work with peers outside of Hawaii, so it wasn't just my classmates and my teacher reading the story I had written. Not only was the experience exciting, but also the writing process where I got to ask my dad questions about my great-great-great grandfather and I got to learn more about my roots and the people of my blood that lived before me. It was interesting to learn about the lifestyle that my grandfather had and the difficulties he had gone through and that he was forced to cope with. My grandfather had made the best out of everything and I really respect him for what he had done for everyone, even under difficult circumstances.
2. What did you like least and why?
I didn't like that the editors didn't actually get to edit the papers like you do when you correct papers, editing spelling, grammatical errors and inserting different ideas within the paper. It was difficult to edit parts of the paper because it was difficult to open up and fix ideas that I wanted to change. I also had technological issues because I couldn't put the garageband recording that I had made properly like other people had done.
3. What was something surprising that you learned about the other students (from other schools)?
The Korean students were very studious and worked hard on their own stories while spending time to edit other people's as well. Unfortunately for the Colorado students, they had been taking other exams at the time so they didn't spend too much time on working on their stories and weren't as productive as the Korean students had been. Most of the students that edited my story gave really good feedback and I changed many parts with their help.
4. How do you think the project affected your writing?
I think that I paid a lot of attention to tenses and tried to express my story and 'paint a picture' instead of just saying outright who my grandfather was. I learned to be a little more creative and also that the problem that I have when writing is my word choice. A lot of times I can't get the right words to fit in with my sentences and therefore my stories aren't as interesting as they could be. This I learned from feedback from the students from Korea and Colorado. Now I try to keep an open mind about vocabularies that I can use and how I can make my story pop out and be more colorful instead of staying in the dark with black and white.
5. Describe the most challenging aspect of the project.
The most challenging aspect of this project was basically just the technological issues that I had. I didn't know how to use certain things on the wikispaces and it was actually quite difficult to manage. It was also challenging editing on the wikispaces because I'm so used to working with word. The buttons and functions were all so confusing it took awhile to get used to.
6. Offer some advice to future participants.
My advice to future participants would be to ask any questions you have about the wikispaces and don't just try to do everything on your own. I hadn't really asked any of my peers or my teacher how certain things worked so I was left to figure out everything by myself.
7. Other comments.
This was a different and fun experience for me, I've never done anything like this before, so I'm glad that I got to try it.
The thing that I enjoyed most about this project is that I got to work with peers outside of Hawaii, so it wasn't just my classmates and my teacher reading the story I had written. Not only was the experience exciting, but also the writing process where I got to ask my dad questions about my great-great-great grandfather and I got to learn more about my roots and the people of my blood that lived before me. It was interesting to learn about the lifestyle that my grandfather had and the difficulties he had gone through and that he was forced to cope with. My grandfather had made the best out of everything and I really respect him for what he had done for everyone, even under difficult circumstances.
2. What did you like least and why?
I didn't like that the editors didn't actually get to edit the papers like you do when you correct papers, editing spelling, grammatical errors and inserting different ideas within the paper. It was difficult to edit parts of the paper because it was difficult to open up and fix ideas that I wanted to change. I also had technological issues because I couldn't put the garageband recording that I had made properly like other people had done.
3. What was something surprising that you learned about the other students (from other schools)?
The Korean students were very studious and worked hard on their own stories while spending time to edit other people's as well. Unfortunately for the Colorado students, they had been taking other exams at the time so they didn't spend too much time on working on their stories and weren't as productive as the Korean students had been. Most of the students that edited my story gave really good feedback and I changed many parts with their help.
4. How do you think the project affected your writing?
I think that I paid a lot of attention to tenses and tried to express my story and 'paint a picture' instead of just saying outright who my grandfather was. I learned to be a little more creative and also that the problem that I have when writing is my word choice. A lot of times I can't get the right words to fit in with my sentences and therefore my stories aren't as interesting as they could be. This I learned from feedback from the students from Korea and Colorado. Now I try to keep an open mind about vocabularies that I can use and how I can make my story pop out and be more colorful instead of staying in the dark with black and white.
5. Describe the most challenging aspect of the project.
The most challenging aspect of this project was basically just the technological issues that I had. I didn't know how to use certain things on the wikispaces and it was actually quite difficult to manage. It was also challenging editing on the wikispaces because I'm so used to working with word. The buttons and functions were all so confusing it took awhile to get used to.
6. Offer some advice to future participants.
My advice to future participants would be to ask any questions you have about the wikispaces and don't just try to do everything on your own. I hadn't really asked any of my peers or my teacher how certain things worked so I was left to figure out everything by myself.
7. Other comments.
This was a different and fun experience for me, I've never done anything like this before, so I'm glad that I got to try it.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Act 2 - Hermia (ACTION!)
In Act 1, I learned a lot about how disobedient and stubborn Hermia is and her reasons for why she doesn't listen to her father. Act 2 however expresses more about the type of person that Hermia is.
To recap on what's happened in the end of Act 1 that lead into Act 2, Hermia and Lysander have run off to the forest to be wed at Lysander's aunt's house. Since Hermia's father will not let her marry her beloved Lysander her only choice was to run away. Before she had left Helena had come to visit her and Hermia explained that she was running away with Lysander. Being the jealous one and thinking that she will get affection from Demetrius, Helena tells Demetrius what had happened and so Demetrius and Helena follow Lysander and Hermia into the woods.
Night had fallen when Lysander and Hermia decide to rest. Lysander suggests that they sleep together, but Hermia says that it's better for them to sleep away from each other during that time -- she takes responsibility into her own hands and makes her own decisions. Just from that short and simple discussion that Lysander and Hermia had, I realized that Hermia would probably the superior one in their relationship. She would be the type to make sure that Lysander knows where his priorities are with her. Although Hermia had only seemed to be defiant to her father, she would be the same person with Lysander if he disrespected her or hurt her in some way. Hermia appeals to me as a person that stands for her own rights and wouldn't let a man (even if she loves him) take over who she is or let them change her in any bad way.
When they fall asleep Puck, a servant of the King Oberon, had been given orders to put a special type of flower juice on an Athenians eyes. King Oberon had witnessed the way that Demetrius treated Helena and he wanted him to put the juice on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena. Unfortunately, King Oberon hadn't described the Athenian very well, because Lysander was also an Athenian. Not knowing what trouble he was about to cause, Puck annointed the eyes of Lysander with the flower's nectar. Lysander is awakened by Helena and immediately he falls in love with her under the spell of the flower. He leaves Hermia, who is still sleeping, and chases Helena telling her how beautiful she is and how he wants her as her own
Act 2 ends with Hermia waking and realizing that Lysander has left her all alone. Her strong-minded and confident personality comes out again as she declares that she will find him wherever he is even if she is risking her life out in the woods.
"Either death or you I'll find immediately" (65). -Hermia
To recap on what's happened in the end of Act 1 that lead into Act 2, Hermia and Lysander have run off to the forest to be wed at Lysander's aunt's house. Since Hermia's father will not let her marry her beloved Lysander her only choice was to run away. Before she had left Helena had come to visit her and Hermia explained that she was running away with Lysander. Being the jealous one and thinking that she will get affection from Demetrius, Helena tells Demetrius what had happened and so Demetrius and Helena follow Lysander and Hermia into the woods.
Night had fallen when Lysander and Hermia decide to rest. Lysander suggests that they sleep together, but Hermia says that it's better for them to sleep away from each other during that time -- she takes responsibility into her own hands and makes her own decisions. Just from that short and simple discussion that Lysander and Hermia had, I realized that Hermia would probably the superior one in their relationship. She would be the type to make sure that Lysander knows where his priorities are with her. Although Hermia had only seemed to be defiant to her father, she would be the same person with Lysander if he disrespected her or hurt her in some way. Hermia appeals to me as a person that stands for her own rights and wouldn't let a man (even if she loves him) take over who she is or let them change her in any bad way.
When they fall asleep Puck, a servant of the King Oberon, had been given orders to put a special type of flower juice on an Athenians eyes. King Oberon had witnessed the way that Demetrius treated Helena and he wanted him to put the juice on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena. Unfortunately, King Oberon hadn't described the Athenian very well, because Lysander was also an Athenian. Not knowing what trouble he was about to cause, Puck annointed the eyes of Lysander with the flower's nectar. Lysander is awakened by Helena and immediately he falls in love with her under the spell of the flower. He leaves Hermia, who is still sleeping, and chases Helena telling her how beautiful she is and how he wants her as her own
Act 2 ends with Hermia waking and realizing that Lysander has left her all alone. Her strong-minded and confident personality comes out again as she declares that she will find him wherever he is even if she is risking her life out in the woods.
"Either death or you I'll find immediately" (65). -Hermia
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Hermia: The Wanted Bride
In English class we just began reading a Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare. It is a very well known play and has a unique plot. There are many different characters in this play with different personalities, but the one that had stood out to me from the very beginning was Hermia.
Hermia is one of the main characters in the play. Both bachelors, Demetrius and Lysander want Hermia as their lover, but her heart belongs to Lysander. Her father, Egeus, on the other hand doesn't want his daughter to marry Lysander, but he wants her to marry Demetrius. Since Demetrius has Hermia's father on his side he is pretty sure that he'll be able to marry the beautiful Hermia. Unfortunately (for Egeus), Hermia is head over heels for Lysander and will not go through with marrying Demetrius. Since there was no sign that a compromise was going to be taken, Egues goes to ask Theseus for guidance to persuade Hermia that she must marry Demetrius. Theseus tells her that either she must grant her father's wishes and marry Demetrius. If she chooses not to then the law states that she must either live as a nun, or face death. Hermia being the strong and confident woman she is, is still not persuaded that it is right for her to marry Demetrius, because he is not the man she loves.
With all that went on in Act 1 with Hermia I found her to be a very confident woman who believes strongly in love. Many girls in that time could not make a decision of their own and they knew that, so they kept their mouths shut and did what they were told to do. Hermia does not do any of this and tells her father and even Theseus, the duke of Athens (without be hesistant or scared) that she will not marry Demetrius because she loves Lysander.
Although I haven't learned much about Hermia yet because there has been only so little revealed about her, I have a sense that she had always been the type of girl that constantly argued with her father. She seems to be that child that always wanted to get her way and no one else's opinion could change that. If she sets her mind to something, she is willing to do anything to make that dream come true.
In order for a person to make a decision without thinking about the consequences or what might happen in the future they have to be stubborn and hard-headed. It also means that the person sometimes can be oblivious to the things around them because they're too focused on what they want they don't realize how it can be taken away from them. This is what happens to Hermia when she tells Helena that she and Lysander had made plans to run away to Lysander's aunt's home and to be wed there. Telling Helena had been a very bad move that Hermia made because even if Helena may have been Hermia's best friend from childhood, Helena is in love with Demetrius and Demetrius is in love with Hermia therefore making Helena jealous because of Demetrius' love for her. Jealousy is a big factor when it comes to anything and everything because the effects that jealousy have on people can lead them to do ridiculous things. In Helena's case, she decides to tell Demetrius about Hermia's plans because she wants to have his attention for once and possibly even thank her with kindness and gentleness. All she wants is Demetrius' attention and the only way to get it (as she is aware) is to mention Hermia and tell him of her plans.
Hermia had been too blind to see that Helena was jealous of her - there had been so many signs because Helena had admired her telling her how beautiful she was and how Demetrius loves her because of her great beauty. Helena then put herself down saying that she isn't as beautiful as Hermia is. These had all been signs that Helena was very jealous of Hermia, but Hermia was so happy with the fact that she was going to get married to Lysander far far away that she didn't pay attention to the details all around her and the clues that Helena could be up to no good.
There are both negative and positive sides of Hermia's character, I admire the confident side of her but I wish that she could've been smarter, wiser, and more observant. She stands up for herself which would've been difficult for many in her time, and it is a precious quality that should be cherished and cared for.
Hermia is one of the main characters in the play. Both bachelors, Demetrius and Lysander want Hermia as their lover, but her heart belongs to Lysander. Her father, Egeus, on the other hand doesn't want his daughter to marry Lysander, but he wants her to marry Demetrius. Since Demetrius has Hermia's father on his side he is pretty sure that he'll be able to marry the beautiful Hermia. Unfortunately (for Egeus), Hermia is head over heels for Lysander and will not go through with marrying Demetrius. Since there was no sign that a compromise was going to be taken, Egues goes to ask Theseus for guidance to persuade Hermia that she must marry Demetrius. Theseus tells her that either she must grant her father's wishes and marry Demetrius. If she chooses not to then the law states that she must either live as a nun, or face death. Hermia being the strong and confident woman she is, is still not persuaded that it is right for her to marry Demetrius, because he is not the man she loves.
With all that went on in Act 1 with Hermia I found her to be a very confident woman who believes strongly in love. Many girls in that time could not make a decision of their own and they knew that, so they kept their mouths shut and did what they were told to do. Hermia does not do any of this and tells her father and even Theseus, the duke of Athens (without be hesistant or scared) that she will not marry Demetrius because she loves Lysander.
Although I haven't learned much about Hermia yet because there has been only so little revealed about her, I have a sense that she had always been the type of girl that constantly argued with her father. She seems to be that child that always wanted to get her way and no one else's opinion could change that. If she sets her mind to something, she is willing to do anything to make that dream come true.
In order for a person to make a decision without thinking about the consequences or what might happen in the future they have to be stubborn and hard-headed. It also means that the person sometimes can be oblivious to the things around them because they're too focused on what they want they don't realize how it can be taken away from them. This is what happens to Hermia when she tells Helena that she and Lysander had made plans to run away to Lysander's aunt's home and to be wed there. Telling Helena had been a very bad move that Hermia made because even if Helena may have been Hermia's best friend from childhood, Helena is in love with Demetrius and Demetrius is in love with Hermia therefore making Helena jealous because of Demetrius' love for her. Jealousy is a big factor when it comes to anything and everything because the effects that jealousy have on people can lead them to do ridiculous things. In Helena's case, she decides to tell Demetrius about Hermia's plans because she wants to have his attention for once and possibly even thank her with kindness and gentleness. All she wants is Demetrius' attention and the only way to get it (as she is aware) is to mention Hermia and tell him of her plans.
Hermia had been too blind to see that Helena was jealous of her - there had been so many signs because Helena had admired her telling her how beautiful she was and how Demetrius loves her because of her great beauty. Helena then put herself down saying that she isn't as beautiful as Hermia is. These had all been signs that Helena was very jealous of Hermia, but Hermia was so happy with the fact that she was going to get married to Lysander far far away that she didn't pay attention to the details all around her and the clues that Helena could be up to no good.
There are both negative and positive sides of Hermia's character, I admire the confident side of her but I wish that she could've been smarter, wiser, and more observant. She stands up for herself which would've been difficult for many in her time, and it is a precious quality that should be cherished and cared for.
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