Monday, April 27, 2009

Most interesting and detailed of the twenty five,

Dyeing, as it seems, is an inevitable ending of life. No one wants to die (Though there are illegal exceptions to that general rule) but it proves mandatory, and logical, however unfortunate.  I myself wish not only never to die, but to never grow old. Not in the way of never picking up the mindset of someone five times my own age, but I do not want to be associated with any age related element at all. To losing my hair, or my figure, or the many other physical characteristics one would recall when giving adjectives to the elderly. Though the worse of all elements when approaching death is becoming senile, a feature in itself worse than death, as it forces you to become a burden on society, and more importantly to those that cared about you in earlier years.  Loosing ones mental capacities is a cruel act of age, and life, as who are you without your thoughts and restraints? Nothing more but a living shell of who you were. So, even as I do not want to die, I do not want to live into an age where my mind and body cease to function, as I could not imagine anyone would.

                I have very much liked parrots, and all birds in general, since I was little, a fancy that has been supported by chance since I found a dyeing songbird in my front yard when I was five, and called franticly to my mother to fix it. Then again, when I found a little baby starling fallen from its nest, and the animal rescue stopped accepting, so we had to hand feed it all summer, until it eventually died. Though those experiences really were far from the best, it still may be much the avid fan of birds. In consequence, now I have an African Grey parrot named Sanctus( Whom I call Cinq for short, which means five in French),  who spends most of his time on his play stand in the living room, crawling around one of our many coaches, or perching on one of our shoulders and eating out of our cereal bowls. The only time he spends in a cage is at night, when no one is present to watch him (and he requires his at least ten hours of sleep nightly), as it should be.  Though many people do not understand the care of birds in the slightest, and many the bird does end up cared for quiet badly, weather on purpose or not. Thus I would like to rescue or rehome as many abused parrots and birds as I can in my life.

                 People referring to Americans as stupid and uncultured has bothered me for awhile, as I personally think myself far from stupid and uncultured, and refuse to be looked at by other countries as so.  I am a very proud American, and I like this country very much, for whatever faults it might have, and I would honestly not want to permanently relocate to anywhere else.  Though visiting would be nice, and learning the language to save myself from feeling the foolish tourists would prove even better.  As I see it, America is as equal to any other prominent country in this world, and we should not have to prove it. Though I, personally, would like too.

                I would like to get married fairly quickly once I get out of college, to someone I love, and preferably, has a very established job, which makes  both of us enough money to do as we like and live comfortably all our lives. I hate any sort of menial task, like cleaning, and I do not cook often, as I live primarily off bowls of cereal unless the rare time my mother cooks. As such, I would very much like if my husband would hire us a good cook, or more importantly, a good maid.

                Three children would be the best number of children to have, in my opinion, all of them close in age.  I want my first child to be a boy, if only because I already have a name picked out.  I would want to teach my kids different languages when they are little, like mandarin. I think it would be pretty wonderful to have my little child running around and speaking in some Asian language. 

List of My Life,

 Top Twenty-fiveThings to do before I Die

1. Rescue birds, 
2. Write a book,
3. Own every different type of clarinet,
4. Help the environment,
5. Build an eco-friendly house,
6. Meet Tyra Banks,
7. Do something for the good of the world (Preferbly memorable),
8. Find my Ipod,
9. Get an Iphone (When they stop being so heavy and glitchy),
10. Marry someone, preferably with money, that would hire me a maid and a cook, and not expect me to work or do anything at all involved with menial tasks or manual labor.
11. Have two or three children, (and name my first Kyle Francis Jacob Michael Simon Ricky Moore) ,
12. Have some kind of skill in some kind of sport,
13. Write some songs,
14. Memorize more than just my home phone number…
15. Learn multiple languages, travel, and keep up on world events so no one can call me a stupid, uncultured American.
16. Learn to play the piano well,
17. Teach my African Grey Sanctus how to count,
18. Own an Australian shepherd and Australian cattle dog, (Preferably by adoption) .
19. Learn and retain any number of things in every different category of scholastics studies and the arts    (Save the completely pointless areas of mathematics,)
20. Live in a populated area full of things to do,
21. Watch every episode of my favorite television shows,
22. Acquire at least some talent in drawing from my artistic friends,
23. Work somewhere that takes a college degree to be hired…
24. Go through college,
25. Take in a stray mutt,

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew

I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua

 

 

“Romeo and Juliet” is a story about two young lovers of opposing great houses, both destined to die from the moment of their first meeting.  A tragedy of Romeo and Juliet who, though each loves the other deeply, know their parents will not ever stand for them to be married, and thus forces them to hide their marriage from their families. Yet when Romeo is banished for the killing of Tybalt, and Juliet is forced to agree to marry Paris, it takes a desperate plan from Friar Lawrence to give hope for the two ever uniting again. This plan, though it does its part in uniting them, leads them both only to death. On the other hand entirely is “The Taming of the Shrew”, a Shakespearian comedy about the wish of so many young men to marry the wonderful Bianca, but before doing so, must first get her sister Katharine the Shrew a husband. When Katharine is married to the odd Petruchio, he goes about “taming” her by obscure means. The story ends anti-climatically, with a speech by Katharine about the proper behavior of a wife, showing Petruchio she truly is tamed. These two plays are very unlike one another, in so many ways one would not think to even compare the two. The common grounds of marriage still stand between the two plays, though with Romeo and Juliet, and Katharine and Petuchio being fairly opposite to one another. The main couples of each play are drastically different, where Romeo and Juliet are blindly devoted to one another, Petruchio and Katharine are not even very fond of each other at all and marry only for money, and where Romeo and Juliet die tragically at the end to be with one another again, Katharine lives with Petruchio as his obedient pride only to be spared the psychological games he played with her, and perhaps most striking is the pure opposition personality wise Romeo and Juliet have with Petruchio and Katharine.

 

Juiliet and Romeo can be said to be overly devoted to one another, almost to the point of being stupid, and sickeningly sweet. “Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." Romeo and Juliet could not find a logical way to be together under their parents’ eye, so they interact in secret with one another, concocting plans to be together, and giving their confidence only to Friar Lawrence in the end. Even when Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet’s own cousin, after he murdered Mercutio, Juliet will not bring herself to spite him, and speaks in opposites as is done often through the play, showing her dueling feeling towards Romeo as Tybalt’s murder. “ Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical! Dove-feathered raven! wolvish-ravening lamb! Despised substance of divinest show!” Though she quickly dismisses her split thoughts, and gives grievance for speaking ill of her love.   Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband? Ah, poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name, When I, thy three-hours wife, have mangled it?” Though it could be said Juliet is rash for dismissing Romeo’s murder, it speaks highly for how devoted she is to him. She even defied her own father by refusing to marry Parris, rather dyeing in the streets then being unfaithful to her husband. Petruchio, though, seeks a wife only for the money in her dowry, as he says himself.  I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily, then happily in Padua” He cares not who he marries as long as he gets money in the process, and thus not devoted to any one in particular. He states often how the prospect of marrying a shrew is no problem for him, if her dowry is likable, and he explains in length how he plans to humble her, by starving her and keeping her without sleep, all on the pretense of love, until she gives into his will. “And be it moon, or sun, or what you please. And if you please to call it a rush candle, Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me

            Throughout the play it is made clear what a hopeless, dramatic, immature romantic Romeo tends to be. He goes into depressing bouts at numerous points in the story, first when Rosalind fails to return his love, then when he receives banishment for killing Tybalt, at which point he threatens to kill himself after an emotional complaint of banishment. “Ha, banishment! Be merciful, say 'death;'” The most mature we ever see Romeo, really, is at Juliet’s death bed. Though for all Romeo’s faults, he can be said to be a likeable character. Petruchio though, is not nearly as likeable, if only because he has not Romeo’s innocent faults. Petruchio is sly and conniving, but witty beyond all else. His treatment of Katharine is inhumane and ugly, whilst Romeo’s love of Juliet is endearing. They have no real relatable qualities between them, making them almost foils of each other.

            Juliet is seen as the rasher of the two lovers, and the smarter as well, though she can be just as immature as Romeo, specifically when she learns of his banishment. Unlike Romeo, though, she actually finds ways to overcome her troubles, even if the plan is not entirely wise, as she shows when committing to take the potion to feign her own death. Even her refusal to marry Parris shows how beyond her years she is, and her ability to know when to lie and hold her tongue. It also portrays how defiant she is, an individual who will not always comply. Katherine is seen as a ‘shrew’ a bitter, intolerable women who is hard to deal with. She often disregards others, and refuses to be placid as women are expected to be. She speaks her mind openly, to others dislike, and is quiet rash and violent. She shows this by tying her sister’s hands behind her head, and smacking her, as well as beating her own tutor with a lute. She also is smart, though she does fall to Petruchio’s will in the end, it is only to save herself from the distress he put her through, wise enough to know when to give up.  

            The most contrasting, perhaps, is how the two plays end, one with the two lovers committing suicide after finding each other dead, unable to live without the other with them (This is followed by the two opposing families making up, but that is less important) and the other with a wife abandoning her values to say what a wife owes to a husband, if only to live in peace with him. Both endings revolve around sacrifice, Juliet’s and Romeo’s sacrifice for each other, and Katharine’s sacrifice for her greater good. The only one who does not suffer at all is Petruchio, who actually gets exactly what he wants all through the play.

            There are so many differences between these two plays that go beyond the fact that one is a comedy and one a tragedy. Where Romeo and Juliet are blindly devoted to one another, Petruchio and Katharine are distastefully married, where Romeo and Juliet commit suicide because of the other’s death, Katharine gives in to Petruchio just to deal with him, in their personalities Romeo and Juliet are so completely different then Petruchio and Katharine,  the two couples actually complement one another quiet well. The differences of the plays are obvious, even in their recurring themes. In “Romeo and Juliet”, opposites and duality is a common trend, whilst in “The Taming of the Shrew” pun and wordplay heavily influences the text. Though each has the common feel of Shakespeare in the smooth and memorable way it’s written. 

Monday, March 9, 2009

School-English-Autobiography

  Rachael Fastige                                                           2/28/09
  English CP Autobiography
Autobiography









    My birthday is on Valentine's Day, which used to annoy me when I was younger, because I just got tired of hearing "On Valentine's day?" when ever I said my birthday was on the Fourteenth. Other then that though, it was always fun, because we always got cards and cupcakes and lollipops in school, and then presents when I got home, so I really didn't do anything even when we had school on my birthday.

 That is until middle school started, and they didn't let us waste the whole day on candy, which, though understandable, really was a shame. I mean, no one does not like receiving candy. This year year, of course, my birthday was on a Saturday, which would have been fine, except we had practice for six hours. Though I like practice to death, and it was fun to hang out during break, I am really not driven to do things on my birthday. 



I loved elementary school. It was so simple all the time. If you could master reading, and understand the principle of math, you were set. Of course, it didn't seem all that simple then, and looking back I took it way too serious, or my mother did anyway. Every day, right after coming home from school I'd do my homework, and she'd check it to make sure it was right. Then I'd practice spelling words every night, for such a long time, because I was fairly incapable of spelling when I was younger. The point being, I should work that way now in high school, when it really counts, instead of then. Of course, I hated being forced to do anything when I was younger, and the same thing would doubly apply now...

   What I figure though, if I pay attention and do all my work in school, I shouldn't be bothered to study out of school. If I have time in class to do all my work, it should not matter if I do nothing school wise at home. Still, I feel as if I should, and If I did put more effort in I'd be in better school standing then I am now. Since I entered high school, I have realised how concerned I am with being accepted into a respectable college. I don't have the whole math thing going for me, ever since middle school, which put me a step behind a portion of the kids my age. Even leaving that out though, math is not really my thing. Which is why I feel I need to take it upon myself to take all the honors classes I can, and even that failed Freshmen year, since band is such a chore to schedule properly, and I do not think any one can really choose a class over having band day to day.

     The thing is, you really have to like band to put up with it, otherwise you would think it was not worth all the time spent on it. When Monday is the only day you have without practice during the week, and weekends become none existent because of competitions, you really can question your choice. Though, of course, when the season is over, or nearly beginning, no one can wait to start again next year. For some reason, the moment it is over, we band children some how forget all the things we missed out on for practice, or how much we complained to each other, or how many times we prayed for practice to be cancelled when it rained ( And it never was). But when it's over all we can think about is all the fun we had hanging out with each other, and how sad it will be when the dear seniors are gone, and how much we'll miss it. This is because we are not really sane, and are trying to decide how to fill the hours and hours of free time we've acquired.


     Plus, music is wonderful. Though going off about crescendos, wood wind features, that cool run at measure 102, and that concert F ( G on b-flats) you had to play all alone( Band children positively cringe when you ask them to play any sort of solo) for your band director, to your non musician friends might be fun ( If only to see their clueless expressions), it is also appreciated sometimes for people to actually understand what you are talking about to them. Other times, it really is just wonderful to go off and read a sheet of music to some one, going on about how wonderful it is, and speaking in terms they could care less about. 

                 My family is sort of big, which I could not care less about, except our house is kind of small, and I don't get my own room. I have never had my own room though, so I am not missing out on much really, but it would nice to occasionally go somewhere, and see only my own things laying around. I have an older sister whose a sophomore, two little sisters in sixth, and a little brother in third. I can honestly not recall the last time I was in my own house, when every one else was out of it. Never alone. Which, usually, is great, since there is always some one to hang out with when there is nothing else to do, and I do enjoy the company when every one is civil.

           I have wanted to join track since sixth grade, and never took it. I have also regretted doing a lot of things when I was younger, like giving up on ballet, and dance class, since now it is too late to really get into it. Of course I could do it, but since I would be so very far behind the children who have been doing something since kindergarten, I really would not choose to. I even used to play the cello in fourth grade, with an invalid music teacher who hadn't a clue what she was doing ( Though I did not really realize it then), but stopped right after our concert. Strings are for egotistical people anyway, but I still wish I would have continued with it.

                When I was younger  I was very unfocused when it came to extra curricular activities. All I ever wanted to do was finish my homework, so I could go out side and play running bases, or basketball, or hardcore tag with my friends, or the many cousins from Arizona that staid with us for a certain amount of time. We used to have so much fun just running around, playing man hunt until we got tired, and all climbing on this old car that used to sit in front of my house, talking to one another until we were all called home. I did have a wonderful child hood, for my neighborhood was packed full with children, and there was always enough people to have fun with.

    All my friends were little tom boys back in elementary school. I can't imagine running around barefoot now ( And getting yelled at by my mother for doing so), or playing the Knock-every-person-to-the-ground game in my front yard. I remember two of my best friends used to only wear those guy, surfer like shorts. Ever single day. No matter what. It bothered me to no end, though I would never say a word to them about it. I mean, I always wore girly clothes, and bright colors, and wore my long blond down all the time. I also stood out like a sore thumb when I ran around with them, which made me insanely self conscience half the time.

                
I do love my friends though, whatever they may plan to do with their lives. I, personally, have little to no idea on what I want to do with mine, besides the fact that I want to go to collage. The rest is fairly up in the air. I just do not want to waist my life doing nothing of importance.

Of course, I know of some people who live their lives doing nothing of importance, but I just could not very well live like that, my self. Their is nothing wrong with people who do useless, meaningless jobs, but I can not imagine it was their life goal to do it. No, they were just unfortunate to be low on the dollar, and needed work simply for the money it put out.

 That said, I would never want to be one of those people. Also, tough, I would be perfectly content to be a house wife like my Mother is, with a husband to work for our money, and I with as many hours a day that I want. The only problem there is I'm not one for menial tasks like housework. So, as I wish for the future, my dear husband would have to make enough to hire a maid as well, to take care of all that.

      If I take care of the children, I should not have to clean and work. That was the goal of not getting a job. I always want to ability to get any job I want, and that is what college is for, but working 40 plus hours a week has never appealed to me. Though I suppose I would put up with it for a job that is fulfilling, and that has real purpose.