Midsummer Night’s Dream Reflection

-        How well did you know your lines?  What challenges did you face in learning them?

Answer: 

I believe that I knew my lines pretty well, although when performing it, I had difficulty. I could have put more time into learning the lines with emotion. There was also the reason that our group did not practice a lot, and as we all know; practice makes perfect. The challenges I faced in learning them were that as they were not rhyming, they would be harder than the other lines that rhyme, but overall. I had no large issue in learning the lines. 

-        Did putting on this performance help you to better understand Shakespeare’s play?  Why or why not?

Answer: 

Yes, putting on this performance did help me better understand Shakespeare's play, in the way that I would know what emotions were needed to be used at what time. When learning the lines, getting tips from others, and then presenting, I got a better understanding of how emotion is a large part of the play. 

-        How well did your group work together in preparing for this performance?  What went well?  What didn’t go well?  What will you do differently next time?

Answer: 

I believe that our group did just okay in preparing for the performance, we did not put a huge amount of time into it, only the amount we thought was needed. Fazeel's and Ammad's scenes went exceptionally well, as they performed it with emotion, using their arms, and putting effort into what they said. The things that didn't go very well, were possibly the prologue, I liked it, but there was no emotion, and this is being nervous, scared, and frightened. There was little movement of the hands, but I think that it would require a little more, although good for a first time.  Over all I think that we did good, although we need to spend more time in practising. Next time, the motto will be E.A.P (Effort, Attitude, Participation). 

-        How creative was your group in presenting this scene?

Answer:
Our group was very creative in presenting the play and all of the scenes, we attempted to try a Pakistani twist, whilst still keeping the theme and plot of the play the same. 

Book Review

During the spring break I had the opportunity to read one of the five epic books; I am Number 4, by Pittacus Lore also known as James Frey. The majority of the story takes place in Ohio, although with the characters moving around so much and running, it does not have a definite setting. I am Number 4 features a difficult struggle for survival, John Smith and his guardian Henri have been fleeing from the Mogadorians, an inhuman race of beasts, that invaded John’s home planet when he was just a child. Nine garde (faster, stronger and more agile than normal humans) children escaped from the planet, three have been hunted down and killed, and John is next... Each time one of these nine are killed, the others get a scar on their leg, each child has his own power, and with it comes his own symbol, when the child dies, his symbol is burnt on the leg of the others. The Mogadorians can only kill the nine in an ascending order, first Number 1, then Number 2,  then Number 3, and so onwards. The garde will not die if they are not killed in this order; the Mogadorians are here, on earth, to finish the job that they had started. These nine garde children and their guardians are the last of their race; they are being hunted, one by one...

I am Number 4 concerns survival; John Smith (Number 4) comes to planet earth from Lorien, his home planet, with eight other individuals. In the story, John receives his special abilities also known as legacies, which have been passed down by his parents, in his teenage years. These legacies can be powers like resistance to fire, the ability to communicate with animals, and telekinesis, the ability to move objects and sometimes even people with your mind or hand gestures. John and his guardian Henri have to stay alive until John is strong enough and has the other five Garde with him, only then will they be able to have a chance against the Mogadorians.  In the novel, John meets a number of people who he grows attached to, this is ironic because on Lorien, the people are not like humans, if they get attached to someone, it’s forever. John already knows Henri; he’s as close as a father to John as anyone can be. The first person John meets is Sarah Hart, who loves to take photos and John falls in love with her. John also encounters Mark James, Sarah’s ex boyfriend, who is also on the school football team, he is an eccentric character, and always enjoys to pick on Sam. Sam Goode believes in the existence of aliens and so did his father, his father has been missing for many years now, and Sam believes that aliens have abducted him.  John also meets Number Six, who has also lost her guardian; she is fierce and saved Number 4 from his death.  

I am Number 4 is a fantastic book, I liked every aspect of the story and thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the intricacy behind the characters and the setting. I actually enjoy books that have action, thriller, adventure, science fiction and those that show super human abilities, and powers such as this one. This novel certainly portrayed everything I would want in a book, including survival of the fittest, both for the antagonist and the protagonist. I would rate this book 5/5.

I would highly recommend that people, who enjoy novels with adventure, super human abilities, and science fiction, read this book. It is a fantastic book, and is the first of a five part series. I am looking forward to reading the next part of the book, The Power of Six. 

Team Self-Evaluation Antigone in 5

Ibrahim Razi

Working collaboratively as part of a team is a vitally important 21st century skill.  Take a few moments to reflect on your recent experience working as a team to put together your Antigone adaptations.  Rate your team as “Excellent,” “Good,” “Fair,” or “Poor” in each of the following areas:

Team Involvement:  All members of the team were actively and substantively involved in team discussions.

Excellent  

Time Management:  The team was able to complete the project in a timely manner and to submit a final product everyone could be proud of by the assignment due date.

Good

Establishing and Following Guidelines:  The team established and followed goals, roles, and responsibilities.

Excellent

Professional Communication:  The members of the team interacted with one another in a respectful and professional tone. Communication was clear with no typographical or grammatical errors.

Excellent

Next, respond to each of the following questions:

Was this team experience a positive one for you?  Why or why not?

This team experience was a positive one for me; I enjoyed making the Antigone in 5 movie. I had the chance to make friendships stronger, experience new environments and I learnt both my strengths and weaknesses in acting.  The best thing overall was that I had fun while doing and I wish to do it again in the future.

What can you, personally, do to improve future team collaborations?

I did have to leave early on the last day of shooting which included our last scene, this became problematic and the team had to improvise. I would say that I should be more available in the future. In the future, we should as a team, shorten the length of time we spend of making scene. We should also pay close attention to every scene and definitely learn out lines.

A Woman Whom I Admire....

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu ­commonly known as Mother Teresa, born 26^th August 1910, is attributed as one of the world’s most inspirational, admired, and respected woman of all time.  From an early age Agnes was tremendously fascinated by the stories of the lives of missionaries, and by the age of 12 she persuaded herself to commit to religious life. Agnes learnt Bengali and taught at the St. Teresa’s School, a schoolhouse not particularly far from her convent in the Himalayan Mountains. It was in that school that Agnes took her vows and became a nun; there she opted for the name Teresa, the Spanish spelling of the patron saint of missionaries, Thérèse de Lisieux.  It was at that moment that Teresa was struck with distress and disturbance by the poverty around her in Calcutta. She believed that god had sent her a message to give herself to the deprived and underprivileged.  The strongest, most heartfelt woman I know is, Mother Teresa.  

Mother Teresa did what other people have only thought about; she gave herself into helping the poor and sick. She is one of the many women in history that have devoted themselves to care for the underprivileged, poor, sick, blind, deaf and disabled. The modern world we live in is a cruel and harsh place filled with a decreasing amount of people like Mother Teresa.  Her devotion has not only recognized my admiration, it has also documented her to winning many prizes, such as the Nobel Peace Prize, it is one of the greatest honours to achieve this prize, let alone many more.  Even after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, she exclaimed discretely that the awarded money go to the poor in Calcutta, here again she is putting others’ needs before hers. My respect, appreciation and admiration are truly dissolved unto Mother Teresa’s work and drive for change in her final last two decades, here she had fallen sick during, and began suffering critical health problems, but nothing would discourage her from fulfilling her mission of helping the poor and deprived. It is the drive to finish what she had started, to keep serving the underprivileged, which makes me respect her.

Saint Mother Teresa, as she was named after her death, was a woman who strived to achieve her goal. Her strength came from the poor, the weak and the deprived; she worked till her death to make the underprivileged’s lives better, she wanted to secure their future, she put their needs in-front of hers. Even when the Pope had offered Mother Teresa his limo, she did what other would only imagine; she sold the luxurious car and gave the money to her charities.  Mother Teresa’s entire life was based around the unfortunate and underprivileged, and as we might think of this as a burden, she thought of it as her duty.

Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek the Kingdom of God – the rest will be given. – Mother Teresa. 

Sources:
Picture
Quote
Mother Teresa Wikipedia Biography
Mother Teresa Nobel Prize (How she came to achieve it and why she refused it, ect)
Mother Teresa - A Message from God (Video) and Extended history on her life

Of Mice and Men Wordle

Of Mice and Men, Book vs. Movie

Within the last few days, we gazed upon a new movie, in marvel of its exciting comparison to the plot of the book, Of Mice and Men.  The movie, as well as the book, could be shown as a playwright, as the plot of the story can be pronounced in a series of ways, such as book, movie, and play. Nevertheless, it did not come to my surprise when some aspects of the movie had been altered and some scenes deleted. It would be wise for anyone who is aspiring to watch the movie, to read the book first, as the differences are quite noticeable.

Of Mice and Men, the movie, was very well directed and the setting of the movie was spectacular.  The film did not surprise me a lot, except the way that the characters were portrayed, as I would have expected Slim to be like the head and boss of the bunkhouse, but he was not shown like that. Also I was surprised that when Curley’s wife died, he did not cry or remorse petulantly, Curley just went for his gun and went after him. I would have expected that the movie would have paid some attention to death, as all the movies do, but unfortunately, it did not.

As the film had its accolades attributed by myself, I did also have a few negatives and confident needs for improvements in the film.  I was irritated with some aspects of the film, such as deletion of scenes, such as when Candy’s wife dawdles into Crook’s room and conjures a conversation and a threat to Crooks. Also, at the end of the book, Lennie has illusions about a giant rabbit and his aunt Clara, this scene was deleted and it could have provided us with vital information about how he thought about his actions and what he thought he could do to fix them.  This also may have attracted a larger scope of an audience; nevertheless, the scenes which were implemented in the story were very well projected.

The film did help me understand elements of the book more clearly, such as the bond between George and Lennie, the film portrayed true friendship and it made me realise that there is more to them, than meets the eye.  The film also helped me truly recognize the importance of friendship and what it means to be a friend.  The movie did to some extent help me comprehend the situation of symbolism in the book.

Of Mice and Men the film had a very interesting cast, some of the choices of actors made by the casting call I did not see eye to eye, but otherwise it was a fantastic film, complemented by an exceptional cast. In the book, we see that George Milton is portrayed as a small character, who acts as a father figure, and depends on Lennie frequently.  Although in the movie, George is similar to Lennie in the way that they are both nearly the same height and Lennie depends on George a lot.  Furthermore, I imagined Slim as a muscular, tall, broad shouldered, handy and clever man, whereas in the movie, we see Slim as a character much like George, medium height, somewhat build, not too handy but can get a job done and has a short temper. Except for these characters, nothing else came to surprise in the film about the casting.

The ending of Of Mice and Men, came as no surprise as we all knew that Lennie was going to die, as we had read the novella. The ending did make me understand more clearly that George killed Lennie, out of his love for him and also for Lennie’s benefit and possible his own. I would have sought for a longer ending, in which there would be an increasing build up to the climax in which Lennie would have died. In the book, we saw that George spoke to and comforted Lennie about the dream farm in which he took the surge of the breath of friendship and then shot him. Whereas, in the movie, we see that George begins to converse to Lennie about the farm and explains about its amenities, but then he hastily shoots him, this may have been because it was too difficult for George to bear any more time to wait. 

I believe that the movie and book are both great versions of the same spectacular story, but in my opinion, I preferred the book to the novel.  Nonetheless, the movie was brilliant, the cast were tremendous and I would love to watch it again and find more insights about the characters and their relationships to one another.