Recently in Kristie Oughtred Category

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I thought that in act 4 scene 1 the witches were a little bit crazier than they were in the earlier scenes that they have been in.  This is because of the ingredients that they are putting into cauldron.  I thought it was disgusting and it sort of makes you think "who are these people and why are they making this brew with all these unusual ingredients?"  I didn't like that we never really find out to Hecate is especially because the witches seem to worship and follow Hecate's orders, sometimes I thought to myself why is this character even here but then you realize that the witches could have been completely different without Hecate.   I thought the whole scene was sort of creepy and dark with the chanting, singing and bizarre apparitions.  The apparitions really scared me especially the bloody child, because two of them were children it made me think that maybe they aren't trust worthy and that they could be playing a trick of some sort.  However their predictions seemed like they couldn't be a trick because they were all very unlikely things.  I also thought it was bizarre how Macbeth swears to kill Macduff because Macduff never did anything to hurt Macbeth just because the apparitions said beware Macduff doesn't mean Macbeth has to kill him.  Macbeth could have tried reasoning with Macduff before he decided to kill him and have "more blood on his hands". 

I felt badly for Macduff one because his wife didn't have faith in him, she thought that he'd left her to England because he didn't love her anymore when really he left her and their family in Scotland to try and keep them safe.  Secondly because his family was slaughtered my Macbeths murderers even though they were innocent people.  I thought that the messenger who told lady Macduff to escape could have been one f the murderers who didn't really want to go through with the murder.  Maybe the messenger/murderer had a family of his own and his own family was being threatened by Macbeth.

 I think it was good of Malcolm to question and test Macduff before trusting him especially when Scotland's king is on a killing rampage, you never know who your dealing with.  I thought it was nice how Macduff in a way dedicated hid revenge on Macbeth to his family.   It proved that Macduff was indeed loyal to his family and wishes he could have protected them.  However instead on dwelling on what has happened he is trying to do something to stop Macbeth. 

In Character:

*When Ross tells Macduff of his family's slaughter

How could someone just kill my family with no thought or hesitation?  I thought they would be safe.  I thought taking them to England would be more dangerous than them staying at home, I guess I was wrong.  Who could have done this?  Why would they do it my family was so innocent why couldn't they have killed me instead?  That's enough dwelling.  I will get my revenge on whoever did this.  Malcolm and I can create an army and raid Scotland we will get our revenge on Macbeth once and for all.  I doubt I will ever be able to do anything to him that will fully allow me to get my revenge on him.  He has done so much harm to this country, killing him would be a reward.  Regardless we will invade Scotland and remove him from the his position as king.  

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In act 3 scene 1 I thought that Macbeths thoughts do not make sense if he is plotting to kill Banquo how does that change the witched prosthesis.  Killing Banquo would not make a difference because Banquo already has a son if Macbeth were smart he would either try to have a child or kill Banquo's son Fleance instead of raising the suspicion of Macbeth going around killing people.  Macbeth is acting very suspicious he is not able to handle the stress that comes with killing Duncan, the guards and the upcoming murder of his best friend who he fears, Banquo.  I know this because he tells lady Macbeth that he has scorpions in his brain.  I think that it would have been more effective to get into Macbeths brain if Macbeth had gone to murder Banquo instead of sending the murderers.  I think this would be better because Macbeth and Banquo could have a confrontation scene where Macbeth explains all of his motives to Banquo.  I think during the Banquet scene it would be most effective to have Banquo on the scene and only have Macbeth see him.  This is because it allows us to see it from Macbeth's point of view.  It would also help to have some shots where you do not see Banquo's ghost so that you could also see things from the point of view of the people attending the banquet.   I don't think that the scene with the witches and Hacket makes very much sense, I don't think it is relevant.  Shakespeare could have gotten away without that scene all together. 

Relationships

At the beginning of the scene Macbeth is still friends with Banquo.  He invites Banquo to his banquet and acts as if nothing is wrong it is not until Macbeth leaves Banquo that he realizes that he needs to kill Banquo.  When lady Macbeth sends a messenger for Macbeth and Macbeth returns to their home Macbeth decides that he need to put aside his friendship with Banquo and murder him to try and avoid the witches prosthesis.  Lady Macbeth still seems to be the dominant spouse in the relationship.   At the banquet Macbeth really seems to regret killing Banquo especially when he sees Banquo's ghost.  It seems like he immediately realizes the damage he's done to the society and for a brief moment regrets it until he gets a handle on himself and returns to his evil thoughts.  In England everyone idolizes king Edward, everyone who knows of Macbeths evil deeds in comparing Edward to Macbeth and realizes how horrible of a king Macbeth is.  They realize that Macbeth is leading with force instead of passion for the country.  Also at the banquet lady Macbeth seems to be ashamed of Macbeth because she has to make excuses for Macbeth's odd behaviour.  Once again lady Macbeth doubts Macbeths abilities suggesting that is not a healthy relationship.  This could possibly be suggesting that eventually Macbeth will fail along with lady Macbeth because they cant seem to hold anything together.  They are raising far too much suspicion through their actions and are not taking the time to think things through thoroughly.  

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In scene 4 Macbeth begins to have his first "evil" thoughts when he finds out that Malcolm (the kings eldest son) is the only one standing in his way of becoming king, this is when he had his initial thoughts of murder.  In the previous three scenes we have only seen Macbeth in a good mans role, we have just seen him fight for Scotland in a battle and won.  Also he must have a good record seeing as he has such a high position of honor to the king.  Therefore it is sort of s shock to see Macbeth partake in such horrid thoughts.  In scene five Lady Macbeth also begins to have the same thoughts of murder however she is worried that Macbeth wont have the "guts" to do the deed himself.  By this point in the story we see that Lady Macbeth is really the one behind all this evilness and that Macbeth is sort of innocent and is just the victim.  T the beginning of scene six we realize that Duncan has no idea of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's plans to kill him when he comments on how much he likes Macbeths castle.  I thought this was a little bizarre because later in the scene when Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth of her plan to kill Duncan he has a hard time trying to keep it together and not panic that is why when Duncan does arrive Macbeth is not there.  In the last part of the scene we realize that Macbeth is really struggling with his thoughts of murder, he doesn't know if that is what he really wants to do to get to the throne. 

Relationships:

At this point Macbeth and Banquo are still friends and they seem to have a pretty good friendship with Duncan and Malcolm when they are all at Duncan's castle.  They are all congratulating each other for their new positions (Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor and Malcolm becoming the official Prince) while all Macbeth can think of is how he could become king by murdering Duncan which shows that Macbeth clearly doesn't value their friendship as much as Duncan does.  When we get to see Lady Macbeth and Macbeth interact we see that Lady Macbeth is clearly in control, she is telling Macbeth that he must murder Duncan tonight or he is not a man. She is manipulating him into doing something that he does not necessarily want to do (we learn this during his inner debate in scene 6) by undermining his confidence.  By the looks of it Lady Macbeth is using Macbeth to gain power.  During Macbeth's inner debate he questions himself and his relationship with Duncan trying to decide if he really wants to kill Duncan because he does value their friendship also, Macbeth does think that Duncan is a good king and deserves to live.  However Macbeth is putting himself first and decides to go through with the plan and kill Duncan in his sleep.   

In Character

As Lady Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2

I hope Macbeth can pull this off.  If he does not build up the courage to go through with this murder I don't know how I would be able to do it myself.  The king looks like my father while he sleeps, I could never kill my father. 

*Macbeth Screams...

I hope the guards haven't wakened or else we will never get away with this.  How could my plan fail?  I laid out everything perfectly, the daggers and Macbeth understood the plan how could this possibly go wrong?

*Macbeth enters with Daggers

Lady Macbeth inner thought: I knew he would mess up, I knew he couldn't be trusted.  Now I will have to take matters into my own hands. 

In this scene Lady Macbeth is feeling panicked and her thoughts are somewhat scattered.  She is worried that Macbeth will slip up but then she will not have the courage to make up for his mistakes because she feels guilty for killing Duncan because he resembles her father.  Lady Macbeth then ends up having to pick up the slack when Macbeth forgets to leave the daggers with the guards, Macbeth refuses to go back into the room so Lady Macbeth then has to go in and frame the guards herself despite her thoughts on Duncan.  When both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hear knocking at the door they panic (Macbeth still in a state of shock), Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to return to the bedroom and wash off the blood she says, "A little water clears us of this deed," she tells him. "How easy it is then!" (2.2.65-66).

Relationships

At the beginning of act 2 when Macbeth sees Banquo and his son, Macbeth still is acting friendly to Banquo and is not thinking that Banquo is not a threat to the throne yet.  They are still acting like friends and Macbeth wants to meet with him to discuss what the witches told them but not having thoughts of killing Banquo yet.    Lady Macbeth is still doubtful of Macbeth, she feels she cannot trust him to go through with the murder.  Lady Macbeth is also doubting herself thinking that if Macbeth all of a sudden cant finish the deed that she might not be able to do it either because of the guilt she feels after realizing that Duncan reminds her of her father.  Everyone seems to be rude to the Porter even before people realize that he was the "murderer" of Duncan.  Macbeth is worried that the Chamberlains who have "killed" Duncan might have seen Macbeth kill Duncan so Macbeth decides to kill the Chamberlains to avoid any consequences that could have happened in the future.  Macduff is suspicious of the situation and does not necessarily believe Macbeths story about killing the Chamberlains, the only suspects/ witnesses.  Macduff scolds Macbeth for doing this.   Duncan's sons are not very loyal to the land as they both flee for more selfish reasons because they fear of being killed as well, they could potentially suspect Macbeth of killing their father.   

"The Children of the Sun" and "The Creation" are both myths from Bolivia, however they are in different time periods and have very different stories.  "The Creation" takes place well before "The Children of the Sun" and from this you can tell which society was better developed after taking advise from the leader or creator.  "The Children of the Sun" has a much more advanced society while the society in "The Creation" is much more strict and Virachocha takes much less responsibility for his people than he should. This essay will be focused on the standard patterns in creation myth, how the creator treated people and what the myths say about the culture. 

             "The Creation" follows the standard creation pattern with a few twists.  The standard creation myth pattern consists of a "god-like" figure that created humans and an environment then teaches them wrong from right and continues to look after them.  "The Creation" does follow most of this pattern.  However Virachocha (the "god-like figure") created a world, destroyed it by flooding the earth, he then created a new one.  "When Virachocha was satisfied that the flood had destroyed all forms of life, he caused the floodwaters to subside until the face of the earth was revealed again." Page 571.  After Virachocha was satisfied with what he created he began to show the people what plants to associate themselves with and which ones to stay away from.  "The Children of the Sun" is more how a society was created instead of how the people were created.  This is because the people had already been created in "The Creation". In the beginning of "The Children of the Sun", the Sun decides to send his two children "down to the earth at Lake Titicaca to teach them how to improve their lives." Page 576. When the children of the sun arrived at Lake Titicaca they befriended the people and began to show them how to be a society.   The Sun's children showed the people what plants were good and bad, how to build shelters, cook, and catch food, what was nutritious and how to get a balanced meal.  They also taught them how to communicate, how to make medicine and how to trade.  These things are more specific than what Virachocha taught the people in "The Creation", only the basics.  Not only did the children of the Sun teach the people the basics but also how to live a healthy life and more luxurious life. 

In "The Creation" the creation of humans and an earth were taken for granted because Virachocha made something he did not like it so he destroyed it.  After he had made the earth and people and he was satisfied with what he had made, he taught them the basics then left and never returned.   In "The Children of the Sun" the Sun sent his children to be the rulers of the people and to guide them into being a society instead of just creating them and then leaving.  Even after the children of the Sun had finished teaching the humans how to be a society they stayed and became the rulers of the land.  The children of the Sun then lived in the temple they built with the people.  Also the Sun cared for the people.  "Father Sun looked down from the heavens and pitied these humans who lived like wild creatures." Page 576.  The Sun cared about the people.  He said "I devote myself to the well being of this universe." Page 576.  The children of the Sun respected the people and wanted to help where in "Then Creation" you get the impression that Virachocha just wanted to create something new. 

Both considered Cuzco to be a sacred centre. Cuzco is the location of the statue of Virachocha in "The Creation" and where the temple was built in "The Children of the Sun".  Both are the same people but in different time periods ("The Creation" was first and "The Children of the Sun" followed several years later).  In "The Creation" it seems as if the people are afraid of Virachocha.  This is probably because the destroyed the first race of humans by drowning them. "When Virachocha was satisfied that the flood had destroyed all forms of life, he caused the floodwaters to subside until the face of the earth was revealed again." Page 571.   Virachocha also punished some people when they threw rocks at him because they were angry about his leadership skills.  "Virachocha punished them by causing fire to fall from the heavens.  The people immediately threw their stones to the ground and fell to Virachocha's feet in surrender." Page 572.  The offerings of silver and gold given to the statue of Virachocha could be an offering to show their respect to Virachocha so he would not punish them like he had when people threw stones at him.  The leaders in "The Children of The Sun" are much more forgiving and friendly.  There are no conflicts in "The children of the Sun" and you get the impression that everyone got along well.  In "The Children of the Sun there was a better sense of community and togetherness.  There were leaders who cared about the people in the area and taught them everything they needed to know.  "Let us teach you how to lead a better life."  The children of the sun announced,  "Let us teach you how to build houses, make clothes, and raise cattle crops.  Right now you live like wild animals.  Let us teach you how to live like human beings." Page 577. 

From all of the proof above we can see that the people in The Children of the Sun were a part of a much more advanced society because of their skills.   Not only were their communication skills superior to those in "The Creation" but also with construction, knowledge and consciousness of proper nutrition.  Their leader also treated the people of "The Children of the Sun" better than the people from "The Creation".  This shows that the cultures in the different time periods are very different. 

Work Cited

Rosenberg, Donna, ed.  World Mythology: An Anthropology of the Great Myths and Epics.  3^rd Ed.  Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing Group, 1999 

Fire, The Key to Survival

Golding uses symbols throughout the novel Lord of the Flies.  One of the main theme symbols is fire.  In the novel Lord of the Flies fire remains a very important part in survival, civilization and mutual cooperation.  However throughout the novel the use of fire changes from an innocent survival fire to a savage killing fire.  Throughout this essay I will be explaining how the use of fire is changed.

            At the beginning of the novel fire is mostly used for survival.  It is used to keep warm throughout the night and was the beginning of the signal fire.  This makes the fire seem more innocent than it becomes later.  At the beginning when the boys first decide to make the fires.  The boys all chant, "A fire!  Make a fire!" They then make a fire, "The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer" page 40.  All is going well with the fire and the boys are able to keep it going.  Without the signal fire or the survival fire the boys would not be able to survive, they would freeze at night, they would not be properly nourished and they could potentially never be rescued.   

Kristie Oughtred

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The three witches are definitely very suspenseful, there is not much information given about them.  However even from the very few lines given to the witches you can tell that they will play an important role in the story.  It is also interesting how when Macbeth is told about him becoming thane of Cawdor in the near future he immediately gives himself a role of entitlement and begins to think about what or who is standing in his way of becoming king.  For lack of a better way of saying it, Macbeth is letting power got o his head before he even gets it.  Another thing I found interesting was how Macbeth and Banquo did not ask the witches any questions.  The pair just immediately believed the witches just because they knew who they were.  For all Macbeth and Banquo knew at that point the witches could have just been making those things up.  I certainly wouldn't have believed three strange looking women who suddenly appeared and knew my name.  It seems a little bit suspicious that Duncan is sitting in his throne while this battle is taking place.  Usually in this time period the king would be the one leading the army instead of sitting back and relaxing waiting for someone to tell him if their side had won.  So far the story has left a few cliffhangers, we still don't know very much about any of the characters making it easier to keep reading. 

Relationships:

From what we've read so far we can see that Macbeth and Banquo are clearly friends and spend some extra time together.  However after The witches tell the pair about their future and the future of others Macbeth seems to be having trouble trusting Banquo because he is worried that Banquo may try to steal his soon to be power.  Another reason I think Macbeth might have trusting issues is because he trusted three complete strangers who told him that he would come into power, but he didn't trust his friend (Banquo).  This leads me to believe that this component may come back to haunt him later in the story, trusting the right or wrong people can either make or break you.  The witches telling Macbeth and Banquo their futures seems sort of suspicious like there will be a catch in the deal.  Clearly if the witches told them something of that significance they would want something in return otherwise they wouldn't have said anything.  The witches are still a mystery and we still have no clear explanation of why they are doing what they are doing.  The relationship between Duncan and everyone else seems very distant almost like he doesn't really do much, it seems as if he has people doing everything for him.  This makes the relationships seem very distant from on and other.  Even the relationship between Duncan and his son (Malcolm) seems very distant, Duncan treats Malcolm more like an employee rather than a son.  

Kristie Oughtred

Mr. Newman

ENG2D (10B)

September 17, 2011

A Day in the Life of Me

It's 8:30am I wake up to the sound of waves crashing onto the beach.  I open my eyes and look out the window to another beautiful Tuesday on the west coast of Canada.  I take a shower, eat my breakfast, a simple blend of "froot loops" and "life" cereal, get dressed, feed my dog and head out for my day.  First I go to the art supply store and pick up some supplies for my class, paints (strictly pastel colours, only the best), brushes, sharpies, canvases, a sketchbook and a new photo album.  After checking out I head to my studio where I will be teaching the class a combination of photography, sketching and painting.  The class runs from 10:00-12:00 in the morning Tuesdays and Thursdays, giving me lots of free time to finish dentistry school and spend time with my friends. 

By 9:30 I arrive at the studio.  I smell fresh canvas and acrylic paints.  The walls are painted a familiar sky blue reminding me of my childhood bedroom.  However these walls are covered from ceiling to floor with pieces of art I have created over the years along with hundreds of photos taken all over the world during my traveling years.  I clean up the studio and prepare for my class.  By 10:00 all 13 of my students arrive and we begin.  Over the next two hours we go out on the street and take some photos.  It's a great day for taking outdoor photos.  The sun is shining and there's not a cloud in the sky.  These are the best days. Partially through the class we return to the studio to look at out photos, considering the great weather the photos turn out perfectly.  The class finishes and I stay behind to clean up.  Pencils, brushes, erasers and more art supplies that got left behind by students that I now get to add to my collection, it's surprising at how many things are left behind.  However, it benefits me because it just means that I don't have to buy as many supplies.

After I locked up the studio I head to my favorite restaurant to meet up with some friends for lunch.  I arrive at the restaurant and make my way to the booth where my friends are sitting.  I smell delicious food and it makes me even hungrier than I was before.  After a long day it's nice to sit down with friends and enjoy yourself.  We enjoy a delicious meal and talk for almost two hours.  We pay the bill and make plans to do the same thing the next week.  Following lunch I start to head back home. 

On the way home I snap some pictures of streetlights and birds on power lines.  I must have hundreds of the same photos, but taking pictures constantly has become somewhat of an obsession.  It almost seems necessary to have my camera with me at all times.  It takes me about 20 minutes to walk home, I don't mind it at all.  I like the time to think and also get in some exercise.  I stop in a couple of shops on the way and buy a new outfit, dark wash jeans and a pink floral t-shirt, something simple. 

When I got back home my dog Cadi, greets me with a wagging tail and stinky dog breath, it used to be a smell I hated, but as I got older growing up with dogs, their breath became a comforting smell, however I would prefer to smell flowers.  I grab Cadi's leash, collar and my camera, and we head down to the beach for a walk.  I like to take pictures of her playing in the water and chasing after birds, she's getting old but keeps me company and keeps me occupied, I don't know what I'll do when she's gone but I prefer not to think about it and enjoy the time I have remaining with her. Cadi and I return to our house and relax for a while and watch some TV. 

By 5:00 I start to make dinner spaghetti and meatballs.  I eat and watch my favorite movie "27 Dresses."  By the time the movie is over my friend Maddie calls and ask if she can come over.  Of course I say yes because we have known each other since we were about 12 years old.  While I wait for Maddie, I go upstairs and shower then put my pajamas on, I don't particularly care what state she sees me in because I've known her so long.  Then I go outside to watch the sunset, it's a flawless night and the colours in the sky are breathtaking, of course I take a picture. 

Maddie arrives and we catch up on what we have done in the past couple of weeks, I tell her about my class and show her some of my photos.  We talk about work, friends, and old memories from our cottages on Lake of Bays that we both still visit during the summer.  We make some popcorn and get some snacks, consisting of jellybeans, gummy worms, tostito chips and anything else that could possibly be unhealthy and full of sugar.  Then we watch some scary movies from when we were teenagers at Lake of Bays.  Cadi crawls up on the couch with us and tries to eat our food because she is fat (literally), finally I decide to give her a bowl of food for herself.   Around 11:00 Maddie decides to go home we say goodbye and make plans to see each other again soon. 

After Maddie leaves I feed Cadi her dinner and I brush my teeth and get ready for bed.  I read a couple of chapters of a book and review my photos from the day.  Cadi curls up at the foot of my bed, and after that it's lights out and off to sleep.  That is a day in the life of me.