Et Tu Brute?

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“If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus lines 19-21) This quotation from the play, Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, shows that Brutus was lead to murder Caesar by his honor and patriotism. Brutus’ goal, which he did attain, was driven by his patriotism and honor. The murder of Caesar was an ambitious goal, but Brutus achieved it because of two factors that motivated him, honor and patriotism.

Patriotism is an important motivating factor of Brutus. Brutus loved his country, and would do anything to protect it. Everything that he did was for the “good of Rome” and Brutus never brought his personal beliefs and feelings into a situation. After being convinced that the Romans want Caesar killed, Brutus decided to follow through with this act “for the good of Rome.” Again, Brutus didn’t bring his personal feelings into the act. “’Speak, strike, redress!’ Am I entreated to speak, and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise, if the redress will follow, thou receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus.” (Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus lines 55-58) Brutus has just read the letters that Cassius has placed in Brutus’ home. Brutus assumed that these letters were written by Romans, but this was all part of Cassius’ plan. Thinking that the Romans had requested that Brutus do this act, he agreed to do it “for the good of Rome.” This quote shows that Brutus would do anything for Rome and his people. He set out to do this act, just because he had seen a few letters from “Romans.” This shows Brutus’ patriotism because he would do anything for his country, even if it meant that he must kill the soon-to-be leader. “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus lines 19-21) Brutus is speaking at the funeral of Caesar in this quote and is explaining to the crowd why he has done this deed. Brutus had even said that he loved Rome more than Caesar, so this shows that he is patriotic. The quote says that Brutus killed Caesar because he loved Rome more than Caesar. Patriotism was a motivating factor of Brutus, and has lead him to do a terrible deed.

A second motivating factor that has also lead Brutus to do an act that has made the Romans angry, is honor. Honor is a motivating factor of Brutus because he always does the “honorable thing.” Brutus has not brought his personal feelings towards Caesar into this act. This was why Brutus killed Caesar. He had nothing against Caesar, but gave in to the conspirators trap because it was what he thought the Romans wanted, and what he thought was honorable. “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears, for his love; joy, for his fortune; honour, for his valour; and death, for his ambition.” (Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus lines 23-27) This quote was a part of Brutus’ funeral speech at the burial of Caesar. It shows Brutus trying to explain to the Romans, and himself, that his act was an honorable act. This shows that Brutus was motivated to kill Caesar by honor because he killed Caesar for his ambition, and not for valid reasons. “Though now we must appear bloody and cruel, as by our hands and this our present act you see we do, yet see you but our hands and this the bleeding business they have done. Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful; and pity to the general wrong of Rome…” (Act 3, Scene 1, Brutus lines 165-170) This encounter occurs when Antony walks in and discovers Caesar’s body. Brutus tries to convince him that this was an honorable deed. This shows that honor is a big part of Brutus because he says that he and the conspirators killed Caesar because they had to, not because they wanted to. Honor is an important motivating factor of Brutus, and has caused him to do deeds that he may have regretted.

Brutus’ honor and patriotism have been mentioned throughout the play. These motivating factors of Brutus have caused him to join the conspiracy behind Caesar and stab Caesar to death. Brutus achieved his goal of murdering Caesar, but the outcomes were not as he had hoped. After Antony’s emotional speech, the Romans all turned against Brutus and a great battle began. Brutus achieved his goal because of falling into the trap set out by the conspirators. Their plan was to get Brutus on their side to “fix” the republic that would fall apart in the hands of Caesar. Brutus’ goal proved to be more noble than worthy. It was a noble act in the eyes of Brutus, but a tragedy in the eyes of the people.

Ideas and Content
In my essays my writing usually makes sense. I usually have a clear and focused topic also. I appear to know the topics somewhat, but should spend more time preparing for the final product. The details/evidence that I use are relevant, but not very interesting. This is something I can improve on. I usually explain how my quotes relate to the main idea, but I could find more interesting details to use in my essays.

Organization
In my writing my hook is present, but does not really grab the reader's attention. For example, in my Alchemist essay I start my introduction paragraph with a quote, but continue on with a sentence that is not very interesting. This is another aspect of writing that I should improve on. My thesis statement could be improved also. It does not really give the big idea of what my essay will be about. My body paragraphs have very short and uninteresting topic sentences. The topic sentence of my first body paragraph in my Julius Caesar essay demonstrates this. I need to establish the context of a quote before giving it in the future. I always explain the quote after giving the quote. My closing sentences serve as transitions, but could again be made more interesting to keep the reader interested. A conclusion is present in my writing, but is not very strong. This is another organizational piece that should be improved in my writing.

Personal Growth
I can see some improvement between my Alchemist essay and Julius Caesar essay. I see this improvement in my evidence given. My quotes are more significant in my Julius Caesar esssay than in the Alchemist essay which was written at the beginning of the year. However, my word choice has not really improved over the course of the year. This is a piece of writing that I hope I will improve on.

SLR Reflection
I thought creatively throughout the process of writing my essays. I had to think creatively when finding evidence that was both interesting and relevant to the topic. It was difficult for me to find the best quotes to use, especially with the Julius Caesar essay. I did not prepare enough for the final product, so my evidence was not the best. Thinking creatively is an important part of writing any essay.

The Lost Boys of Sudan Collage Reflection

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Think Creatively!

Some of the creative elements in my collage were the crumpled American flag, the image at the top of my collage with the Dinka people staring, and the image of the African man screaming. The crumpled American flag represents how the Lost Boys were feeling during their forced migration. Since the American culture wasn't working out for them, they didn't care for it very much. The image at the top of my collage creates emotion. It shows Dinka people staring at you. It looks almost as if they are asking you to help them. The image of the African man screaming also creates emotion. It is a startling image, and one of the first that you see when looking at the collage. It shows the pain that the Lost Boys were feeling. These were some of the creative elements presented in my collage.

Reason Critically!

The images and text that I used in my collage show my understanding of the situation of the Lost Boys. I used meaningful words to demonstrate this. The words hurt, dead, and change are examples of words that show the situation of the Lost Boys of Sudan. They experienced deaths and injuries during their long walk from Sudan to Ethiopia and when they were shot at by the Ethiopian army. Change represents how different the United States was compared to Africa. It was hard for the boys to adapt to this brand new culture. The words that I used on my collage showed what the Lost Boys had experienced.

Communicate Effectively!

My collage creates awareness about the Lost Boys of Sudan through the images and pop-outs. The images create awareness because they show how the Lost Boys are and were feeling. The picture displayed at the top of the collage shows some Dinka people staring at you. This creates awareness because the people in the picture are practically asking you for help. This will help people understand the situation in Sudan currently. The pop-outs that I used to display my six-word memoir on my collage also show awareness. With the words popping out at you, it was also like asking "What next?" and saying that there was a lot of change. This helped create awareness for viewers by getting them more involved. These are ways that my collage created awareness for others.

Live Ethically!

My collage created empathy for the Lost Boys because of the staring image (at the top of the collage), screaming images (left hand side of the collage), and the words hurt and dead. The staring image at the top of my collage where the people appear to be asking a question to the viewer, creates empathy for them because of all the Sudanese have been through. The screaming picture also created empathy because this is how most of the Sudanese reacted during the destruction of their home. The words hurt and dead also demonstrate how the Sudanese were feeling, creating empathy for them. So many of their relatives were hurt and dead during the destruction of their home. These pieces of my collage created empathy for the Lost Boys of Sudan and everything they have been through.

The Lost Boys of Sudan

Peter, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, has encountered many problems during his migration to the United States. Thinking that this transition would not be too difficult, Peter has realized that adapting to a completely different culture is really quite complicated. Keeping to his culture and racism have been just two of these many conflicts that Peter has come across. Starting off his new life in Houston, Texas, Peter was not doing so well. Adapting was challenging, and sending money back to his family in the refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya was also difficult due to his low salary. Peter later leaves Houston for Kansas City for a better life. He enrolls in high school in Kansas City for a better education and hopefully to find a better job.

Because of having to balance homework, preparing food for himself, working, and school into his schedule, Peter has not had the opportunity to help those he left in Kenya. After talking on the phone with a friend of his at the refugee camp, Peter seemed more pressured. Since he had to buy things for himself and continue with a job, sending money back to Kenya was difficult.

Racism has been another problem with Peter and the other Lost Boys. An example of racism in daily life with Peter has been at his new job at Wal-Mart. Because Peter is African and very dark-skinned, the Americans managing the store and their employees have decided to put Peter and the other dark-toned people outside working in the heat all day. Since Peter lived in Africa, the managers assumed that he would be used to the heat and be able to accept it. Migrating to the United States has been a difficult process for the thousands of Lost Boys from Sudan, and those who have migrated have encountered several conflicts along the way.

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