Macbeth Journals-The Tragic Tale Of Lord Macbeth

November 17, 2011- Macbeth Journal 1-The Loyal Beginning

Fortune does look upon those who do good things. I start the day off with a battle against rebels fighting King Duncan of Scotland. Nothing interesting other than the fact that we won. I took a stroll with my friend Banquo after the battle and we ran into a trio of bizarre women. They told me that I’d become a thane and then a king! Banquo asked them a question and they told him that he would be the father of kings down the line! What a joke! Banquo and I are both soldiers, loyal to our king as ever. How will Banquo’s son or I take the throne? As we joked, a messenger from King Duncan came and told me that I was to be given the title of thane of Cawdor, just as the weird women have prophesised. How could that be possible? If this became true? Will I be the king of Scotland some day?

November 22, 2011- Macbeth Journal 2-The Fateful Prophecy

The idea of me becoming the king of Scotland must be getting to my head. I felt genuinely angry when Duncan pronounced that his son Malcolm would be his heir to the throne. I mean, that spot is for me right? Those three witches have told their prophecy and I must make every part of it happen! But wait! Why am I thinking like that? What a terrible soul I must be, plotting against my own good king. He has been so kind to me, congratulating my skill in combat and even granting me the title of thane of Cawdor. No! I am a man of honor and I will not let some witchcraft get the better of me. I will stay loyal to my king forever and nothing will change my mind.

November 24, 2011- Macbeth Journal 3-The Turning Of a Good Man

I have to kill the king and it is not just because the prophecy anymore. It’s my wife! I told her about my encounter with those witches and now she is even more obsessed about fulfilling my goal to be king than I am. She tells me that I am not a man if I choose not to kill Duncan. She says that I am inconsistent and a coward as well! Why, what a gutsy woman she is! She even swore that she has the courage to kill her own children. My lady has devised a plan for me to make my move now. She will make Duncan’s attendants drunk and I will kill the king with his servants’ daggers. No time and way I will be turning back. I have a wife to prove to and a prophecy to fulfill. Your time has come Duncan!

December 6, 2011-Macbeth Journal 4-The First Strike

The deed is done. I have killed the king with his servants’ swords and I am now carrying them back to my wife like an idiot! I have just taken a life and my wife wants me to kill the servants as well. I can’t do anything properly at all. My hands are shaking and I blubbering about how Duncan talks in his sleep. Maybe he didn’t die yet… Why did I do this in the first place? Now that I have committed a murder, the gruesome scene will haunt me forever. There is no way I can kill those servants as well. Too much blood has already been spilt. My wife volunteers to finish the job while I try to wash this blood from my hands. Oh, even the seas of Neptune cannot wash my hands clean. I now must work up a story to protect my wife and I when they see the dead bodies in the morning. I am sorry Duncan, but this is for my future.

December 10, 2011-Macbeth Journal 5-The Throne Of Corruption

The plan worked and I am now king! When the Duncan’s subjects came to escort him home from my banquet, I just played along with the rest of the crowd, sobbing away at the sight of our poor, dead lord. When questioned, all I had to do was to pretend that I was so upset that I killed the two servants who stabbed our glorious king. My wife is so intelligent by coming up with such a superb plan that fooled most of those nitwits. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain fled for their lives but it’s OK. I can always send men after them whenever I want. Captain Macduff doesn’t think that Duncan’s servant wouldn’t have killed their king but I find a way to make him shut up. All that matters is that I AM KING! With Duncan out of the way, I have nothing to fear and can reign over Scotland without competition.

December 10, 2011-Macbeth Journal 6-The Thorn In My Side

Something is not right. There is one thing that is still stopping me being at ease for the rest of my life, happy on the Scottish throne. There is a great flaw in my plans that I have forgotten about. BANQUO is still alive. Those three witches have prophesized that Banquo will father a long line of kings after my reign. That will not do at all. I want MY children; MY blood to be the heirs of this throne! There is no other option. In order to protect my future, Banquo has to go. I don’t care whether or not he is my friend. He was probably jealous of my good fortune and purposely made the witches include him in it as well. I know two kinsmen who can be easily persuaded to help me get rid of the final roadblock to an everlasting reign. With Banquo out of my life forever, I will finally be at peace!

December 10, 2011-Macbeth Journal 7-A Visit From An Old “Friend”

The most horrid thing happened at dinner tonight. As my generals and I were having a lovely dinner prepared by my wife, a terrible figure appeared on top of the table, right in front of me! It was Banquo! Dressed in torn rags and drenched in his own blood gushing from a slash in his throat, he walked towards me menacingly. I completely lost it, raving like a madman and trying to make him leave my head. Everyone else at the dinner table couldn’t see Banquo and thought that I have finally lost my head. Later, fearing for my future, I search for the witches again and begged them to tell me about my future. I am now relieved! Apparently, the only way for me to lose my crown is if woods of Birnam are moved to my castle at Dinsinane hill. Also, I cannot lose in a battle against anyone that is born from a woman. Both of those prophecies will ensure my victory. There is no way trees can move and there is no such thing as a person not born from a woman. Malcolm and Macduff may come to seek revenge after I murdered their family but there is nothing they can do to stop me. I will wait patiently and savor their defeat.

December 10, 2011-Macbeth Journal 8-Last Stand

Everything is lost. Everything that I’ve worked for, given up for, loved, is all gone. My wife couldn’t stand the pressure and decided to take her life. Of all the things I love, there is nothing more precious than she is. I don’t even know whether or not it is even worth being king without my queen at my side. On the other hand, THE WOODS ARE MOVING TOWARDS MY CASTLE!!!! The impossible is happening right in front of my eyes. Damn those witches and their prophecies that are always true. Would that mean that there will also be someone not born of woman who will beat me in combat? I do not know but I have nothing to lose now. It is time for the final battle to either pronounce me as victor or dead.

Reflection On Presentation Of Identity

A things that I like about my project is the simplicity of it all. Not many words were used but they still had a strong effect when coupled with some images. This made the project both easy to complete and left us freedom to do whatever we wanted.

Something that I learned is how the influence of other characters affects the main character in the stories. It is fascinating how authors can make it look as if he isn't the one molding the main character but it's actually the doings of other characters in the story.

The part that I am most proud of is how I managed to pair every quote with a good image. They took a while and I feel very happy to have completed this entertaining task 

Who I'd Like to Be Tn Macbeth

The character that I'd like to see the play throgh would be Macbeth because I am very curious to see what is going on through his head as he gains and loses power to the throne of Scotland. I hope to be able to understand the self-conflict in this man caused by his values and Lady Macbath. I see a very round and complex character in  Macbeth and I want to witness the play through the eyes of someone with so much greed, fear and determination.

How Do Authors Help Create Characters That You Are Able to Identify With?

Identity is the factors that shape an individual and makes him unique. A person’s identity also helps make others relate to him. A part of identity that is easy to relate to is the kinds of choices that a person makes. By describing characters that have to make decisions that will affect their identity, authors can create life-like characters that readers are able to identify with. Two short stories and one poem were read in class that included characters making choices or facing problems that would change them forever. The books are “Brother Dear” by Bernice Friensen and “Just Lather, That’s All” by Hernando Téllez; the poem is “Richard Cory” by E. A. Robinson. The authors used two ways to make their characters’ choices identified easier by the reader. The first is to create a common situation that many people have had to experience and the second is to invoke strong feelings in a character’s decision in order to stir up feelings within a reader’s heart.

There are often arguments going on between the generation gap of today. An author can use this as a way to connect his characters to his readers. Adults and teenagers have different views about progressing through life and their views cause disputes such as the one in “Brother Dear”. In this story, the middle son of the family, Greg, is forced into an educational career by a father who “did what his father wanted him to do”. (p. 7) Greg’s father wanted to go to law school when he was a kid but his own father made him run the family tractor business instead. Now that he is unable to pursue his dream career, Greg’s dad wants Greg to follow a path that he thinks will guarantee a successful future. On the other hand, Greg has other plans for his own future such as “going tree planting this summer” (p. 6). A fight like this one between father and son is something that parents and their children will face when the time comes for a child to move away and start his own life. Having to go through such an argument before, both parents and children reading “Brother Dear” will be able to understand the emotional frustration in Greg’s father and the defiance in Greg. This will lead to a connection to the characters, completing the author’s goal to make character easily identified with by the audience. If the difficulties faced by the characters are similar to ones of the reader, there is a path laid out for the reader to reach out and see the identity of the character.

Unfortunately, there is a vast amount of books that do not contain characters that will be making decisions that are similar to the readers of today. How can an author like Hernando Téllez or a poet like E. A. Robinson help readers identify with characters that are spies or suicidal, rich men? It is very unlikely the readers are in a situation similar to those characters so the authors must find another way to stimulate a reader’s feeling: by causing strong emotions that a reader can connect with. Most people know the feelings present during a moment of decision and an author can further generate such sentiments by creating characters that have to deal with serious problems that evoke many feelings. Téllez’s story, set during a revolution in Central America, features a man “who is secretly a rebel,” but is “also a conscientious barber, and proud of the preciseness of [his] profession” (p. 2). When his enemy, Captain Torres, enters the barbershop and asks for a shave, the man is forced to choose between being “the avenger of us all” (p. 4) by killing the captain with a razor or to just “perform [his] work honourably” (p. 5). Throughout the entire story, the barber works up a sweat as he debates on which choice to take. It is very unlikely for the reader of this story to be a rebel as well, but the reader would have had to make a hard choice some time in his life that would require as much thought as the barber. The feelings of frustration, fear and nervousness of the barber can then be felt by the audience even though the audience isn’t plotting a murder. The same goes to the readers who are trying to identify themselves with Robinson’s character Richard Cory, “a gentleman from sole to crown” (line 3) who “went home and put a bullet through his head” (line 12). Once again, it is highly unlikely that the people reading this poem would feel suicidal event though they were “rich-yes, richer than a king” (line 9). There is more to Richard Cory than meets the eye. Inside that man, there must have been very strong emotions of pain that were kept hidden until he could not take it any longer. Everyone has a secret and the burning desire to get off whatever is on one’s chest is definitely a strong sentiment that most readers can relate with. The situations of the character and the reader may not necessarily the same but same emotions being produced by both creates an understanding of the character for the reader.

Authors have to create characters that have some similarities to the readers or else the readers cannot find a way to identify themselves with them. Making choices is an everyday, identity-changing event that people go through so it is a good candidate for paving a road into a reader’s heart. Either the choices or the emotions created by the characters aid the audience in understanding the lives of those in literature.

Surprisingly, not many of the poems that were used for this activity had a deep meaning to me. I have never experienced or cared about the majority of the issues that the poets addressed. Everypoet had something to say about identity such as Maya Angelou saying “nobody can make it out alone” or Oretha Storey saying that even the smallest details in life such as “booby pins, doorags and wide tooth combs” tells about ourselves. Friends who support me are always there when I need them and I do not think that the small details in your life are as important as Storey thinks. Fortunately, there is one poem that makes me stop and think about understanding a person’s identity is Richard Cory by E. A. Robinson. Robinson illustrated a strong image of how a person who is perfect on the outside but has to deal with internal conflicts. This has a lot of meaning to me because people often see and judge me like how the poor people in the poem judged Richard Cory. On the outside, I may seem like a nerd who only cares about getting straight A’s on my report card and playing Call Of Duty. On the inside, however, I have feelings for others that I want to get out and problems to deal with that others can not see. My similarity to Richard Cory makes the poem surprisingly emotional for me.

Initially, I shared the same confusion the poor citizen’s had for Richard Cory. Why did he shoot himself? What could possibly make a successful and handsome man like him “put a bullet through his head”? My confusion slowly became sympathy when it all became clear that he had secrets just like I do. Nobody understood his problems just like how most people do not understand mine. For example, my parents and most of my friends think that high school relationships are not a big deal and that I should get over the fact that the relationship between my girlfriend and I have ended. As much as I agree that dating in high school probably means nothing forever, I shared a bond with someone who cared about me and I believe that it is something that I want to fight for and achieve again. My beliefs shape me as a person and if people cannot understand my identity, then it will continue to cause difficulties for me.

PINK - PERFECT LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/perfect-lyrics-pink.html#ixzz1ZglVgQfd
Copied from MetroLyrics.com

A song that I chose to connect to identity is Perfect by Pink. In her song, Pink describes the meaning of perfect: the way that you define it. The song shows the problems that happen when a person listens to what others say about her identity instead of her own opinion. Often, we take the words of other people to be true and we end up not dissatisfied with who we are and try to become a different person even though we do not agree with it. I think this is a serious identity issue that is striking the youth of today. Thanks to the media’s projection of the “perfect person”, the younger and are sacrificing their identities for something that is often not themselves. Pink want others to know that a person’s identity is something that one should believe in and control.

September 28, 2011 Edited journal

“To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, -- that is genius. Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everyone believes in something or another. Whether it is friendship, money or the good in humans, everybody holds something in his or her heart that they live by. We should trust in what makes us unique and builds our identity. Being a genius often means always being right. By trusting in your own identity and values, you will always be true to yourself. A person’s values are compared to an iron string that “every heart vibrates to”. If not, you will not believe in the tune and you will often regret listening to something that you don’t agree with.

I once had a friend and she was one of the best that I ever had. She would always think for others before herself and is one of the kindest and most caring people I know. So many good qualities are hard to find in one person and I should be very fortunate to have such a great friend. Yet, I decided not to listen to what I value in a friendship: trust. When my friend was the most vulnerable, I betrayed by lying to her and it tore her apart. By not listening to what my heart believes in, I have lost the trust of my friend who thought I would value the bond that we shared. Even after all of my apologizing, she still would not forgive me and we have become quite distant. By not believing and following what I hold true, I have caused pain in others and myself. Even worse is that there is no way knowing how long this pain will last and that all I can do is hope for the best.

"Let your heart guide you...but listen closely because it whispers", a quote in the movie Land Before Time, explains that your values and identity is always the right way for you to guide yourself. Neglecting your values can result in the harm to others who trusted you for the person that they thought you were based on your character.