Niki's blog!

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve gotten Mrs. Duke as an english teacher for junior year.  Let me start off by first saying, IT’S NOT AS BAD AS EVERYONE THINKS.  As long as you do a few things throughout the year, you can be successful in the class.  I’m sure you’ve heard all the complaining about her class but that’s because people are lazy!  Mr. Enghom’s class is just as difficult, so don’t feel like you’re unlucky if you get Mrs. Duke.  We did all the same things, just in a different order.  In Duke’s class we went backwards through the different time periods.  This may seem strange but there’s a good reason to this.  You may not believe Mrs. Duke at the beginning when she says it is beneficial to do it this way.  It really is.  We did our research paper at the beginning of the year and Hamlet at the end.  Even though we were stressed out first semester, we are now sitting back and laughing at the other class freaking out about their paper at the end of junior year.  You may not think Mrs. Duke is telling the truth, but she is.

1. BLOG AND COMMENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK!–> Our 2 classes had a really big problem with this at the beginning.  Blogs are probably the easiest grade to get.  Just do them.  When Mrs. Duke tells you all that she wants them done througout the week, she has a good reason.  It makes you less stressed on Sunday night when you’re rushing to finish your blogs.  They’re an easy 50 points that can really help your grade. 

2. PARTICIPATION POINTS–>These can either hurt or help your grade.  In this class, participation doesn’t mean being quiet and just doing your work.  Maybe you aren’t disrupting the class but that doesn’t mean you are getting all your participation points.  You have to be active in discussions, without causing a disruption.  Being too quiet causes you to lose points.

3. READ EVERYTHING YOU’RE ASSIGNED–>I’m sure you were told this all the time in past years.  This is when it really counts though.  In this class, if you don’t read, you won’t do well.  All the activities are based off of the assumption that you read.

To be honest, I really did think Mrs. Duke was quite strange, and maybe even a little crazy at some points this year.  I’ve gotten frustrated to the point where I’ve even had to leave class because of the craziness of our class.  Even though, I thought she was a little crazy, I really did learn so much this year.  She may freak out at times but it’s usually for a good reason.  She loves to draw emotions out of people, so don’t freak out whenever you think she’s antagonizing you.  Some stuff you think she’s just doing out of the blue but usually it’s for a good reason. 

JUST GET YOUR WORK DONE!  IT REALLY ISN’T THAT BAD.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are on the way to England when they remember they have a letter from the king.   Since it was from Claudius, it is obviously important orders of some sort.  I think Rosencrantz were somewhat forshadowing that it was a letter that orders the execution of Hamlet.  We find out this is true when they get to the king.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem torn between friendship and the king’s orders.  They dont’t want Hamlet to get executed, but they know that they must obey the king.  Rosencrantz seems to think more about the situation and analyze it because he explains that things might turn out for the better if Hamlet is executed.  Hamlet is evil and setting up his so called “friends” when he changes the letters. 

The player is in a bad situation because he did what Hamlet wanted, but at the same time Claudius is extremely angry.  The players are forced to escape because Claudius is so mad.  This shows how strong against the play Claudius is and that Hamlet put the players in this situation.  Hamlet has put all of his friends in bad situations.  The end of the play really reveals just how corrupt Hamlet is.  He is so confused and only worried about himself.  He eventually puts all of his friends in bad situations that kill them, making him a murderer.

In our latest reading of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, there is more of a connection to Hamlet.  This reading connects the two more than the first two sections that we read previously.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are told to watch Hamlet and figure out what is wrong with him but still choose to covver for him.  They are unsure of what to say because they realize that they must choose their words carefully. 

The player’s roles became more clear to me.  They have a role and order to put on the play that Hamlet told them to put on.  The play is “The Murder of Gonzago”.  The players are under strict order. 

At some points I didn’t understand what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were talking about.  They seemed to ramble on about life and death.  They talk about what they think it feels like to be put in a box.

To be, or not to be.  That’s the question.

It’s better to suffer in mind

The scandals of having fortune,

To post up against controversies

And to end them. To die.

They are gone-when we die,

The heartache is gone.

It clears everything.

To die and to sleep is wished upon.

Dreaming while you are sleeping.  That’s the reason.

Dreams may come during death.  What kinds of dreams?

When we have gone away from this idea,

There must be respect.

That makes us put up with unhappiness for sucha  long time.

For who would take the affects of time,

The oppressor’s wrong, unrequited love, the law’s delay,

Those in office, and the patient faced with unworthy times.

When he settle his own account, a mere dagger?

Who burdensbear, to suffer from a weary life.

The dread of something after death,

The unexplored country, where no traveler returns, puzzles us.

The knowledge doesn’t make us cowards,

And the natural color of an answer,

Is caught up with the pale shade of thought,

And enterprises of great height and importance.

On this account the great enterprises are like rivers,

That turn and lose momentum.

Wait a minute-

The fair Ophelia. 

Remember all fo my sins.

1. Exigence-Hamlet is experiencing inner conflict and is unsure about what he should do.  He is wondering what is the right thing to do about Claudius and whether or not to kill him.

2. Audience-Hamlet’s audience is himself.  He is experiencing internal conflict and can’t decide what he wants to do about Claudius and his mother.  He is talking to himself and trying to figure out what he should do.

3. Purpose- Hamlet wants to find some sort of answer that is the best way to fix the problem with Claudius.  He can’t decide what to do and is putting out thoughts that he wishes to help him decide.

4. Appeals-

Ethos–”To be or not to be”-questioning himself/character

Pathos–Hamlet talks about the heartache and makes the audience realize how conflicted he is.  He makes the audience feel sorry for him and want to help him.  Hamlet reveals the amount of shock he’s in to the audience.

Logos–We can see how Hamlet is thinking in his speech.  His path of thinking is evident.  Hamlet’s craziness becomes apparent when he is basically thinking out loud.

5. Hamlet compares life and death throughout his speech.  He uses metaphors to compare life to various things.  Hamlet’s use of imagery allows the audience to picture Hamlet’s thoughts.  He makes his thoughts exaggerated at certain points.  They are made to be bigger than they really are. 

6. I’m leaning towards thinking that Hamlet is not crazy but conflicted.  He is just so confused about what to do.

The second part of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead was a lot more straight forward to me.  There were also multiple moments that give us more of an insight into Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s personalities.  They continue to argue, making the section humorous.  In this section, I noticed more of a connection with Hamlet.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are on a mission to draw Hamlet away from his thoughts of his dead father. 

I was a little confused when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern started asking each other short, choppy questions.  They went on and on, back and forth.  Rosencrantz is stressing consistency.  I think that he wants Guildenstern to be able to ask Hamlet the right questions and go around questions about the king’s death?  There seems to be more emotion and staging in this part.  Roesncrantz and Guildenstern are obviously close friends of Hamlet, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out when they try and see how Hamlet has changed.

I found it interesting that the first 35 pages starts with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tossing coins.  I was expecting a small intro to the play of some sort.  An introduction of the characters of some sort would’ve been typical.  The long discussion about probability made me wonder if there was a deeper meaning, or if I was just overlooking the deeper meaning.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem to know each other really well.  They seem to have a good relationship.  Even though there is some arguing, it seems like a normal occurance that is not a big deal. 

The elements of science and discussion of life made me stop and think for a second.  I had to read over certain lines a few times to understand what they were trying to say and the significance.  There seems to be a mystical influence and I’m unsure why this is put in the first section that we read.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are talking to each other and making it know they must go to see Hamlet and continue their journey to Denmark.

Whenever I think of drama, I think of girls gossiping.  I don’t usually think of drama in literature.  Today, drama is something that is in everyday life, especially in high school.  I think of drama as overexaggeration, Shakesphere, Hamlet, theater, acting, and conflicts between people. 

Drama is created from tension between characters.  There are many elements that play a role in drama such as a script, blocking, and how the actors are acting.  A drama is something that can be adapted to fit the time.  It is a specific genre that is different from the “girl drama” that surrounds us today.  I haven’t read much drama before, so I’m interested in reading more.  We’ll see how much I end up liking Hamlet.  I’m hoping drama is a genre that i’m going to like!

So, today was senior skip day.  We got a taste of what it was going to be like next year.  Today was unusually quiet in the student center.  There was way too much room.  The seniors are done a week from today, which is a crazy thought.  I remember when they were talking about how they were so excited to be seniors.  Now, it’s so strange to hear my fellow classmates talking about senior year.  I’m so excited but recently realized how much I’m going to miss the seniors.  I’ve grown close to a lot of them, so it is weird to finally be thinking about saying good bye.

The other day, we started talking about senior trip.  Who would’ve ever thought we would be talking about it this soon.  My parents don’t want me going to Mexico, along with a lot of the other parents.  I thought a while back I would love to go to Mexico because it would be really fun.  Now, I realize that it is a lot more dangerous than I thought.  It’s looking like the majority, at least everyone I’ve heard talk about the trip, is voting for the Bahamas.  I think the Bahamas would be amazing and so fun!  I can’t believe the end of junior year will be here in a few short weeks.  This year has probably gone by the most fast out of all my years in high school.  Before I think too much about senior year, I know I’ve got to get through the rest of junior year.  It’s getting so hard to focus!!

I’m hoping to focus a lot on making this paper different than anything I’ve written before.  When I was choosing a topic I knew in order to have a great paper I needed something that was interesting.  I have to have something I’m really interested in to make it a standout paper.  Usually, I write in the standard 5 paragraph essay form.  This is something I definitely need to get away from on this paper.  I think it would be good to mix things up, structure wise.  My thesis’ tend to be very broad.  I’m going to try and focus on making a specific point. 

 A lot of times, I don’t use enough support.  I skim the surface of the topic without putting forth enough details and evidence.  I’m going to try and fully explain what I am trying to say in depth.  Usually, depth is the biggest problem with my papers, so I definitely want to fix that.  Variety in sentence structure is another thing that I don’t do very often.  This makes the paper boring at times, so I want to use more variety.  I think with a more varied sentence structure, it allows the reader to connect more.  A more well-rounded, in depth paper is going to be my goal.

Regionals and state are coming up these next few weeks.  The team actually leaves for regionals tomorrow after school.  They’re being held in Opelousas, Louisiana, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes away.  Unfortuantely, I don’t get to play because of my recent knee surgery.  I was thinking about trying to play but after talking to my doctor, Dr. Hawking, and my dad chances seemed slim.  There was a really good chance I could re-injure my knee, since surgery was only three weeks ago.  The reason I get to go to Opelousas with the team is because I’m the alternate.  If anyone gets hurt I’m there to take their place.  This gives me a slim chance to play, so I most likely will be there for support. 

I’ve been having some problems with swelling in my knee this past week.  I’ll just be sitting in my bed and all the sudden part of my knee will swell up and turn numb.  I was really freaked out at first because of how strange it was.  I was just sitting there doing nothing.  My knee was still the same the next morning, and I could feel a pocket of fluid build up.  It was really gross feeling.  I called the doctor and talked to his nurse.  Apparently, this was very normal.  Who would’ve known?  To help with the swelling, my physical therapist put a thing called kineseotape on my knee.  It looked like a spiderweb, which was really cool.  Hopefully, everything keeps improving!