celtois
2011-03-09, 10:52 PM
After a bit of consideration and a wee bit of forethought I've decided to start a thread over here in Arts and Crafts to show case and ask for help on my writing, or drawings of whatever I do.
Acting, Singing, Dancing, Drawing, Writing.
I might, maybe throw a bit of any/all of that here.
Anyways to start it off, a couple pieces done for English. The first was written on Dead Poets Society, The second one was based on the poem Ulysses. Both were written to address a question.
DPS: Essay; Icarus
Happiness, as depicted in Dead Poets Society, is achieved through the pursuit of dreams. This suggests that when the ability of a character to pursue their dreams is compromised, so is their happiness. In the film, the viewer witnesses how the pursuit of happiness, causes the protagonists to compromise their happiness. Essentially the harder the protagonists struggle to achieve happiness the less their chances of achieving it. This idea is demonstrated to the viewer through the lives of Neil Perry and his dreams of acting; Charlie Dalton’s and his pursuit of freedom and independence; and Mr. Keating and his advocacy of free thinking.
Neil has always dreamed of being an actor, a dream he knows runs counter to his dad’s big plans for him; it would make him happier than anything. Despite their conflicting ideals he chooses to pursue his dream, until the pursuit of it compromises his chances of ever fulfilling his dream and being happy. This is demonstrated to the viewer through the different confrontations with Neil’s father, Mr. Perry, and Neil’s suicide.
In the first confrontation Neil is told to quit the play after his father finds out second-hand that he is in a play with a family friend’s niece. His choice to try to purse his dream of acting and be happy that way, only results in his father slamming the door of opportunity in his face and preventing his dreams from coming true.
The second confrontation occurs after Neil convinces his father to allow him to finish the play. After the closing night, his father practically drags Neil out of the theatre and demands that Neil give up acting and comply with his wishes, in his exact words: “What is it? If it is more of this acting rubbish you can just forget that.” This again demonstrates how Neil's perseverance, trying to pursue his dream, results only in his father removing that possibility forever, preventing him from pursuing happiness through acting.
Finally, after Neil concludes that he will never have the chance to act under his father’s watchful eye, he chooses to end his life rather than live in misery. This pursuit of happiness, or more particularly, avoidance of unhappiness and the compromised dreams it represents, results in disaster for Neil. He can never accomplish the things he dreams of and the chance of just waiting until he is old enough to avoid his father’s authority before accomplishing his dreams is, now closed to him, being that he is dead. Through his three attempts at trying to pursue his dreams, he closes the door further and further until he can never accomplish his dreams and can never, ever find happiness.
Similarly Charile Dalton also compromised his happiness while pursing it. Charlie's, (Nuwanda’s) belief is that, freedom is happiness, acting out and living life to the fullest, a belief that he can no longer maintain after his actions result in him destroying his future. He manages to accomplish this through a number of stunts that eventually result in his expulsion from Welton Academy, which prevents him from being able establish a good career, and have fun in college. These stunts were, the phone call from god where he suggests that there should be girls at Welton, and hitting Cameron. The first nearly results in his expulsion when Principle Nolan finds out and the second gets him expelled. Both were done in the cause of trying to live each moment to its fullest to “suck the marrow out of life”, and both resulted in him “choking on the bone”. The net result is a harder life in the future; he will have to crack down to get by with the black mark of expulsion on his record. He will not be able to just enjoy life, pull pranks, and act out, his happiness is compromised. Ironically it is both these actions and those of Neil that result in Mr. Keating's dreams being destroyed.
McAllister suggests: “Free thinkers at seventeen, impossible;”. This idea is exactly what Mr. Keating stands against, he believes is that it is not impossible for seventeen year-olds to be freethinkers. His dream, and the linchpin of his happiness, is to inspire a generation of young men through teaching to grow up and change the world, and live every moment to its fullest. He compromises this dream by encouraging rebellion amongst his pupils (our protagonists) against the system in which they live, a deed that eventually results in him losing his job due to the death of Neil and his link to the Dead Poets Society.
The Dead Poets Society ends up taking the blame for Neil’s death, and Mr. Keating is seen as having encouraged the boys to take that cause up, which directly results in termination. All of the events leading to Neil’s death can be directly related to the teaching and guidance of Mr. Keating and the formation of the Dead Poet’s Society (which Mr. Keating used to be a part of). The suggestion that Neil and the rest of the boys live life to its fullest (carpe diem) is what inspires Neil to do the play in the first place. He has always wanted to act his entire life so he takes this chance. This is followed by Keating suggesting that Neil tell his father how he feels about acting. When this ends poorly, and Mr. Perry decides that Neil will never act, Neil realizes that since he can’t live life to its fullest like Keating suggested to him, he might not want to live it at all. In each of these examples, Mr. Keating encourages Neil to think independently and strive for a fulfilling life; however his teachings result in conflict between Neil, and, his father and eventually, Neil gives up on life. Neil's suicide results in Mr. Keating's dismissal, leaving him unable to teach again. By inspiring Neil to think independently and live life to its fullest, (like Mr. Keating always dreamed of being able to do), he causes Neil's struggles with his father and eventual suicide, something Keating ends up getting fired for. Since he was dismissed, he will never be able to inspire any more students. His success at pursing happiness by inspiring Neil only resulted in downfall; he reached high and found only the sun which burned his wings so he should fall.
In the film, Dead Poets Society, McAllister says: “Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I’ll show you a happy man”. This line sums up the final result for the protagonists of the movie, where, in striving to achieve their dreams and find happiness, Keating, Charlie, and Neil all compromise their happiness. Neil and Charlie lose their futures and Keating loses his job. None of them shall reach to the heights they strive for in the movie again. They prove McAllister's quote to be the truth hidden within the film: the sad truth that carpe diem leads to failure and, that those who pursue happiness will always compromise it.
Ulysses: Creative Piece; My Friend, Death
My Friend, Death:
It was a stormy night; chaos and confusion rained as hail pelted down, lightning blasted apart the monolithic structures of government and the banks of the river swelled and broke, the people came spilling out like an angry tide. It was the last night of my life, I was the catalyst, the heart of the storm,
cliché I know, so let us rewind a little, and I'll tell you what brought me here today.
My name is Jamie Macintire, and I'm an activist and a daredevil. Not that any of that really matters; as a kid I always liked to do all the things other kids wouldn't dare. I'd jump off the high diving board; and scale the schools walls. I was the other kids hero. Of course one day things went wrong. I was climbing up the side of the school, and all my friends were egging me on. I'd gotten up a good twenty feet or so when I started to feel as if there was like a spirit or something hanging around me. I thought I saw an insubstantial black mass out of the corner of my eye, and a pair of soul chilling eyes!
The next thing I knew I was falling, it was surreal, a dream. I thought I was going to wake up before I hit the ground, and it would all just be one of those falling dreams you hear so much about. I couldn't have been more wrong. My body hit the ground with a sickening crack... Right before I blacked out I thought I saw those eyes again piercing into my soul, and heard a playful laugh. That was the first time I saw death. Now obviously I'm alive to write this all down, so I survived, rushed to the emergency room, in a state that could barely be called alive, but I got better. I always got better.
The incident didn't really slow me down any; I mean, I look before I leap now, as the saying goes, but I still leap, whatever I might see awaiting me. The next nine years of school passed without further run ins with death, and yet I could feel his spectre haunting me, a vague threat that my life was
temporary and I should make the most of it. See all that I can see you know. My teacher made us study a poem in english where the guy was like, “all experience is an arch werethro'/ Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades/ For ever and for ever when I move.” Back then I was like,
whatever, but now I realize that is some pretty deep stuff; you've just got to keep moving from experience to experience to stop from wasting your life away.
This I guess brings me to the second encounter with death. It was in pursing a fulfilling life that I met him again, in Africa, he found me at home, in Tunisia. Here he lurked all around a man I was to love; Andreas. Death lingers on his flesh like sickly perfume. For the man who I had met, and who captured my heart, was afflicted by the virus; HIV/AIDS. But love him I did, and so once again death found its way to me, a virus which would take hold. I had but a few short years to live; yet a few short years is long enough. While, my vagrant nature has been tamed by the virus; and I am not possessed of
the strength which in old days I thought could move earth and heaven, I still strive to live life to its fullest and pull from it every drop of enjoyment.
Yesterday he died. My Andreas... the virus claimed him, and my time, will come when it comes however I feel it coming nearer each day. Already I see the spectre of death all around me, in the faces of the people who walk past, filled with anger, and hate; the speeding car and its unspoken threat.. I
feel death lingering too in my flesh. Waiting for a time to take over, and consume, yet I will not go gentle into that good night. Life is precious and I intend fully to die upon my feet, living it. I will die a hero, a man who conquered the virus and sparked a revolution (at home, in Tunisia), tis not to late to seek a newer world, and strive for change. But death, death closes all; but afore the end, some work of noble note, may yet be done.
December, 17th, 2010. I change the world. I torch myself in protest to the injustice in my home, Tunisia must be free. As my flesh is consumed by the flames, I am eternally burned into the collective memory of the world, a martyr. I am the spark that set off the revolution. My eyes drift shut as I fall
into that good night, and I see the eyes of death one last time, no longer fearsome or terrifying but the eyes of an old friend. I had accepted my fate. There was no fear. I had changed the world.
I hope you folks enjoy, I tried to put a unique spin on the film interpretation, and the creative piece is an exploration into the psyche of the individual who lit themselves on fire and caused the riots in Tunis.
Anyways I always welcome feedback, and anyone is welcome to post work here as well and I'll try and give a bit of feedback.
Acting, Singing, Dancing, Drawing, Writing.
I might, maybe throw a bit of any/all of that here.
Anyways to start it off, a couple pieces done for English. The first was written on Dead Poets Society, The second one was based on the poem Ulysses. Both were written to address a question.
DPS: Essay; Icarus
Happiness, as depicted in Dead Poets Society, is achieved through the pursuit of dreams. This suggests that when the ability of a character to pursue their dreams is compromised, so is their happiness. In the film, the viewer witnesses how the pursuit of happiness, causes the protagonists to compromise their happiness. Essentially the harder the protagonists struggle to achieve happiness the less their chances of achieving it. This idea is demonstrated to the viewer through the lives of Neil Perry and his dreams of acting; Charlie Dalton’s and his pursuit of freedom and independence; and Mr. Keating and his advocacy of free thinking.
Neil has always dreamed of being an actor, a dream he knows runs counter to his dad’s big plans for him; it would make him happier than anything. Despite their conflicting ideals he chooses to pursue his dream, until the pursuit of it compromises his chances of ever fulfilling his dream and being happy. This is demonstrated to the viewer through the different confrontations with Neil’s father, Mr. Perry, and Neil’s suicide.
In the first confrontation Neil is told to quit the play after his father finds out second-hand that he is in a play with a family friend’s niece. His choice to try to purse his dream of acting and be happy that way, only results in his father slamming the door of opportunity in his face and preventing his dreams from coming true.
The second confrontation occurs after Neil convinces his father to allow him to finish the play. After the closing night, his father practically drags Neil out of the theatre and demands that Neil give up acting and comply with his wishes, in his exact words: “What is it? If it is more of this acting rubbish you can just forget that.” This again demonstrates how Neil's perseverance, trying to pursue his dream, results only in his father removing that possibility forever, preventing him from pursuing happiness through acting.
Finally, after Neil concludes that he will never have the chance to act under his father’s watchful eye, he chooses to end his life rather than live in misery. This pursuit of happiness, or more particularly, avoidance of unhappiness and the compromised dreams it represents, results in disaster for Neil. He can never accomplish the things he dreams of and the chance of just waiting until he is old enough to avoid his father’s authority before accomplishing his dreams is, now closed to him, being that he is dead. Through his three attempts at trying to pursue his dreams, he closes the door further and further until he can never accomplish his dreams and can never, ever find happiness.
Similarly Charile Dalton also compromised his happiness while pursing it. Charlie's, (Nuwanda’s) belief is that, freedom is happiness, acting out and living life to the fullest, a belief that he can no longer maintain after his actions result in him destroying his future. He manages to accomplish this through a number of stunts that eventually result in his expulsion from Welton Academy, which prevents him from being able establish a good career, and have fun in college. These stunts were, the phone call from god where he suggests that there should be girls at Welton, and hitting Cameron. The first nearly results in his expulsion when Principle Nolan finds out and the second gets him expelled. Both were done in the cause of trying to live each moment to its fullest to “suck the marrow out of life”, and both resulted in him “choking on the bone”. The net result is a harder life in the future; he will have to crack down to get by with the black mark of expulsion on his record. He will not be able to just enjoy life, pull pranks, and act out, his happiness is compromised. Ironically it is both these actions and those of Neil that result in Mr. Keating's dreams being destroyed.
McAllister suggests: “Free thinkers at seventeen, impossible;”. This idea is exactly what Mr. Keating stands against, he believes is that it is not impossible for seventeen year-olds to be freethinkers. His dream, and the linchpin of his happiness, is to inspire a generation of young men through teaching to grow up and change the world, and live every moment to its fullest. He compromises this dream by encouraging rebellion amongst his pupils (our protagonists) against the system in which they live, a deed that eventually results in him losing his job due to the death of Neil and his link to the Dead Poets Society.
The Dead Poets Society ends up taking the blame for Neil’s death, and Mr. Keating is seen as having encouraged the boys to take that cause up, which directly results in termination. All of the events leading to Neil’s death can be directly related to the teaching and guidance of Mr. Keating and the formation of the Dead Poet’s Society (which Mr. Keating used to be a part of). The suggestion that Neil and the rest of the boys live life to its fullest (carpe diem) is what inspires Neil to do the play in the first place. He has always wanted to act his entire life so he takes this chance. This is followed by Keating suggesting that Neil tell his father how he feels about acting. When this ends poorly, and Mr. Perry decides that Neil will never act, Neil realizes that since he can’t live life to its fullest like Keating suggested to him, he might not want to live it at all. In each of these examples, Mr. Keating encourages Neil to think independently and strive for a fulfilling life; however his teachings result in conflict between Neil, and, his father and eventually, Neil gives up on life. Neil's suicide results in Mr. Keating's dismissal, leaving him unable to teach again. By inspiring Neil to think independently and live life to its fullest, (like Mr. Keating always dreamed of being able to do), he causes Neil's struggles with his father and eventual suicide, something Keating ends up getting fired for. Since he was dismissed, he will never be able to inspire any more students. His success at pursing happiness by inspiring Neil only resulted in downfall; he reached high and found only the sun which burned his wings so he should fall.
In the film, Dead Poets Society, McAllister says: “Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I’ll show you a happy man”. This line sums up the final result for the protagonists of the movie, where, in striving to achieve their dreams and find happiness, Keating, Charlie, and Neil all compromise their happiness. Neil and Charlie lose their futures and Keating loses his job. None of them shall reach to the heights they strive for in the movie again. They prove McAllister's quote to be the truth hidden within the film: the sad truth that carpe diem leads to failure and, that those who pursue happiness will always compromise it.
Ulysses: Creative Piece; My Friend, Death
My Friend, Death:
It was a stormy night; chaos and confusion rained as hail pelted down, lightning blasted apart the monolithic structures of government and the banks of the river swelled and broke, the people came spilling out like an angry tide. It was the last night of my life, I was the catalyst, the heart of the storm,
cliché I know, so let us rewind a little, and I'll tell you what brought me here today.
My name is Jamie Macintire, and I'm an activist and a daredevil. Not that any of that really matters; as a kid I always liked to do all the things other kids wouldn't dare. I'd jump off the high diving board; and scale the schools walls. I was the other kids hero. Of course one day things went wrong. I was climbing up the side of the school, and all my friends were egging me on. I'd gotten up a good twenty feet or so when I started to feel as if there was like a spirit or something hanging around me. I thought I saw an insubstantial black mass out of the corner of my eye, and a pair of soul chilling eyes!
The next thing I knew I was falling, it was surreal, a dream. I thought I was going to wake up before I hit the ground, and it would all just be one of those falling dreams you hear so much about. I couldn't have been more wrong. My body hit the ground with a sickening crack... Right before I blacked out I thought I saw those eyes again piercing into my soul, and heard a playful laugh. That was the first time I saw death. Now obviously I'm alive to write this all down, so I survived, rushed to the emergency room, in a state that could barely be called alive, but I got better. I always got better.
The incident didn't really slow me down any; I mean, I look before I leap now, as the saying goes, but I still leap, whatever I might see awaiting me. The next nine years of school passed without further run ins with death, and yet I could feel his spectre haunting me, a vague threat that my life was
temporary and I should make the most of it. See all that I can see you know. My teacher made us study a poem in english where the guy was like, “all experience is an arch werethro'/ Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades/ For ever and for ever when I move.” Back then I was like,
whatever, but now I realize that is some pretty deep stuff; you've just got to keep moving from experience to experience to stop from wasting your life away.
This I guess brings me to the second encounter with death. It was in pursing a fulfilling life that I met him again, in Africa, he found me at home, in Tunisia. Here he lurked all around a man I was to love; Andreas. Death lingers on his flesh like sickly perfume. For the man who I had met, and who captured my heart, was afflicted by the virus; HIV/AIDS. But love him I did, and so once again death found its way to me, a virus which would take hold. I had but a few short years to live; yet a few short years is long enough. While, my vagrant nature has been tamed by the virus; and I am not possessed of
the strength which in old days I thought could move earth and heaven, I still strive to live life to its fullest and pull from it every drop of enjoyment.
Yesterday he died. My Andreas... the virus claimed him, and my time, will come when it comes however I feel it coming nearer each day. Already I see the spectre of death all around me, in the faces of the people who walk past, filled with anger, and hate; the speeding car and its unspoken threat.. I
feel death lingering too in my flesh. Waiting for a time to take over, and consume, yet I will not go gentle into that good night. Life is precious and I intend fully to die upon my feet, living it. I will die a hero, a man who conquered the virus and sparked a revolution (at home, in Tunisia), tis not to late to seek a newer world, and strive for change. But death, death closes all; but afore the end, some work of noble note, may yet be done.
December, 17th, 2010. I change the world. I torch myself in protest to the injustice in my home, Tunisia must be free. As my flesh is consumed by the flames, I am eternally burned into the collective memory of the world, a martyr. I am the spark that set off the revolution. My eyes drift shut as I fall
into that good night, and I see the eyes of death one last time, no longer fearsome or terrifying but the eyes of an old friend. I had accepted my fate. There was no fear. I had changed the world.
I hope you folks enjoy, I tried to put a unique spin on the film interpretation, and the creative piece is an exploration into the psyche of the individual who lit themselves on fire and caused the riots in Tunis.
Anyways I always welcome feedback, and anyone is welcome to post work here as well and I'll try and give a bit of feedback.