Abstract

In this project, I would like to provide students of SLA with several aspects of theater. I would like to gather the students and supply them with workshops throughout the year, weekly- every Wednesday. The workshops would count as an ILP for sophomores and Juniors. It would first start as classes on the history of plays. Eventually we will dissect the different play formats. By this point, we have reached the end of quarter two and will begin to study the stories for plays. The students in the workshop would have different activities where they find the conflict and relationship of characters in different play excerpts. As we progress, the students will then have drills where they construct 2 minute plays with random bits in and pieces of required info they have to put in. By this point we are halfway through quarter 3. The students will then begin to write their own plays and each workshop we will read over two students plays constructively and give feedback. The capstone will reach its end a month before keystones due to the students consisting of sophomores. However, the learning doesn't end here for the students who which to continue their plays, they can choose to have public readings for the plays.

Play Excerpt written by Nicholas Ryan

The Vase

Characters:

-Timmy(younger brother)

-Tommy(older brother)

-Mom

(Scene starts with Timmy and Tommy horseplaying, then Timmy knocks over a very expensive vase that has lived in their family for generations.)

Timmy, Oh shit Tommy what we’re gonna do?!?!?!?!?!

Tommy, I dunno, but I wasn’t the one who broke it, hahaha.

Timmy, Dude! You helped break it though. Ohh this is bad…

Tommy, Uh oh, look outside.

(A car pulls up and Mom gets out and walks in the house.)

Mom, Hi ki- Oh, JESUS CHRISTMAS! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!?!

Timmy, Mom! It was an-

Tommy, I broke it, it was an accident

Mom, I expected this from Timmy, but you? I’m disappointed...

Tommy, I really am sorry.

(Mom pulls out a cigarette, lights it and smokes it for a bit.)

Mom, You, (points at Tommy) come here.

(Mom takes her cigarette and puts it on Tommy’s forehead. Tommy screams in pain.)

Timmy, (In his head) Oh god, why did you do that Tommy? You didn’t have to take the bullet for me. What should I do?

Tommy, It’s okay,(wipes away tears) let’s just go to bed.

(Scene Ends)

Scene 2:

(The boys wake up and go downstairs. The mother is sitting in her seat in the kitchen, silently.)

Timmy

Scene 3:

Timmy, I’m sick of her. I’m sick of her always hurting us. We’re like her punching bags, objects for her to take her anger out on.

Tommy, Just forget about it, she’s our mother.

Timmy, Mothers don’t put their cigarettes out on their kids! Mothers don’t constantly abuse their children! She isn’t a mother!

Tommy, Then what do you suggest we do?

Timmy, Run away.

Tommy, Huh? Run away? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve heard. Where would we go?

Timmy, I don’t know but anywhere is better than here. We could scrape up some money and get bus tickets. Then, from there we could figure out what to do.

Tommy, That’s actually not that bad of an idea.

Mom, Tommy! Come here!

Tommy, Oh shit.

Timmy, What does she want now?

(Tommy goes to Mom. Timmy follows behind, hiding.)

Tommy, Yes, mother?

Mom, You didn’t do the dishes.

Tommy, Huh?

Mom, I said, you didn’t do the dishes!

Tommy, I’m sorry! I was-(stutters)

Mom, I don’t care what you were doing! (Stands up and slaps Tommy. Tommy falls down, crying.)

Tommy, (sobs) Oww…

(Timmy rushes in, pushes the mother down. He takes her pocketbook, and pulls Tommy up.)

Timmy, Come on, Tommy! We’re getting out of here!

Mom, GET BACK HERE! AGHHH!

Capstone Bibliography

Fortier, Mark. Theory/Theatre: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 1997. Print.

This book gives an in depth introduction to the connections of literary theory to theatre and performance. The author roots from examples such as Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, Chekhov Artaud, Cixous, and Churchill. The author unites theatre to the cultural principles that lay in literature. This book benefits my project by directing me to what makes literature and theatre so unique separate and when put together, what makes them one of the best ways intellectual methods of learning. My capstone was made to use these elements to unite the SLA community through theater by allowing students to express themselves on a stage.

Rohd, Michael. Theatre for Community, Conflict & Dialogue: The Hope Is Vital Training Manual. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998. Print.

Theatre for Community gives a reading that explains one of the most important things a teacher must master; communication. Theatre is used as a way of expression and only by allowing the children to open themselves creatively and emotionally will they ever fully experience the art of theater. The book gives a proper guide to demonstrate the proper way to allow the students to feel comfortable expressing themselves in a deep level with their teacher. I can use this source as a practice to ensure i can gain a trust with the students involved in my capstone and to allow the students to feel that they don't need to hold back when writing about emotional topics.

Kachur, Donald S., Judith A. Stout, and Claudia L. Edwards. Engaging Teachers in Classroom Walkthroughs. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2013. Print.

​Engaging Teachers in Classroom Walkthroughs provides learning and teaching experiences from actual teachers. The book focuses on the observations made when implementing different activities in lessons. Reading this guide with supply me the means of knowledge of what exactly works best in a classroom and what gets the best outcome when used in a classroom of student who are both completely uninterested and completely interested. I can also gain ideas for lesson plans and activities I myself could use in my classroom when teaching my workshops. The use of walkthroughs will allow me to answer my what if scenarios for when I do something correctly by eliminating the chance of flaw by follow the detailed steps.

DiYanni, Robert, and Pat C. Hoy. Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle, 2008. Print.

Occasions for Writing sets me on the write path of understanding how to encourage my students how to grow accustomed to impulses of writing. The book gives exercises to expand the idea of writing in different and new places. I want to get my students in my workshop to spontaneously write for the class. The book speaks on how the different things around us can act as muses for us to write for any style. I want to use this source to teach my students that they could write about the simplest things such as sitting in a cafe writing down dialogue they hear.

Neumann, Bonnie H., and Helen M. McDonnell. Teaching the Short Story: A Guide to Using Stories from around the World. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1996. Print.

The practice of examining short stories will be strengthened from reading this source. After writing our own stories, what follows should be a thorough examination of is in order. This source explains the proper way to discuss stories after reading. It speaks on the topics that should be brought up to fully understand the main themes and what could make the stories better when corrected. In my workshop we began the year with examining works of art, this source could have allowed a longer discussion that could have helped the students full grasp the concept of what makes a great play.

Landay, Eileen, and Kurt Wootton. "The ArtsLiteracy Project - The Handbook." The ArtsLiteracy Project - The Handbook. Education Department at Brown University, 2014. Web. 01 Feb. 2017. <http://www.artslit.org/handbook.php>.

The handbook provides a collection of ideas and activities that were developed and learned by teachers and teaching artists. The activities were made to work on the different educational contexts that are used for theater and writing. The handbook evolves around a circle called The Performance Cycle. Each activity is part of the simple process represented by the Performance Cycle. The website also provides links to other books by the team. The book A Reason to Read: Linking Literacy and the Arts that could be found on another section of the website, offers new activities and the the purposes behind them. Both of these texts mentioned and others that I could find on the site could provide for me a new perception of the activities I’ll use in my workshop.

​Moses, Alexandra R. "Writing Aloud: Staging Plays for Active Learning." Edutopia. Edutopia, 06 Aug. 2008. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://www.edutopia.org/student-playwrights-project-playwriting>.

This is an article on a recent project where middle school students took part in a year long project that resulted in a performance at the end of the year. This article allows me to see people’s reaction to a project such as the one written due to the similarities of my project. I can use this source as a sneak peek to what my audience will think at the end of the year when my students do their performance. It lets me into their process of getting to the success end of their project. I also get to look at what people tend to react to when watching student led performances.

MindShift. "How Theater Can Offer Students New Perspectives On History." MindShift. MindShift, 23 June 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/06/23/how-theater-can-offer-students-new-perspectives-on-history/>.

The article speaks on how teachers are trying to add a creative aspect to teaching. They try to incorporate things you wouldn't think of when you're studying something in for example a history class. The article can give me advice when it comes to ensuring that the students in my workshop on task and interested. I can look at different subjects that could be written for a play in a new perspective and teach it to the students.

Gresock, Mary, and Lisette Steinwald. "Rainstorms and Symphonies: Performing Arts Bring Abstract Concepts to Life." Edutopia. Edutopia, 05 Oct. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://www.edutopia.org/blog/performing-arts-abstract-concepts-lisette-steinwald-mary-gresock>.

Rainstorms and Symphonies speaks on the effect of learning when early elementary teachers integrate music and theater, student learning improves in reading, math, and science as they become better critical thinkers and problem solvers. I can use this for my capstone by helping my students prepare for the worse when it comes to the performance where we could work around any complications. On performance night, a lot of unexpected things could occur and after reading this article I can learn how to prepare my students to problem solve.

Korbey, Holly. "How Performing in Theater Can Help Build Empathy in Students." MindShift. MindShift, 22 Aug. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/08/22/how-performing-in-theater-can-build-empathy-in-students/>.

From the great minds of Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel, the movie Hush receiving an average rating of 60% creates a new method when it comes to pulling the viewers into the eyes of the victim in thriller/horror. The film was first premiered at the SXSW Film Festival a month before its release on netflix where it grew in popularity by those who wanted a new style in the art of thriller and hopped to receive it through only independent cinema. The 82 minute film felt longer as they successfully kept myself and others to the edge of their seat wanting the movie to never end as we watched this seemingly helpless woman fight for her life. The movie stayed interesting as the use of loud music cues to shock the audiences stayed to a minimum and the use of jump scare tactics seemed nonexist

The movie sticked to an old fashioned feelings with modernizing technology such as iphones and mac pro laptops to bring the playing field to an even level for our victim who was both mute and deaf while our murder stayed true to an old timed weapon, a bow and arrow with a small modernization of it being in the form of a cross bow. I use the word “was” to describe the main character, Maddie played by the co-writer Kate Siegel due to what I believed to be an open ended interpretation of the ending of the movie, where they leave the viewers to decide how exactly the cops arrived to her home when all she had was a cell phone with the telephone feature opened the very last time we see her with the phone in her hand.

The main character/victim Maddie (Kate Siegel) is a deaf-mute writer, living in small home secluded in the words with one couple as neighbors who live right down the road but too far for hear shot. Some may say the setting is too convenient and is a set-up following the arts of Stephen King, I how ever feel the movie’s location makes the most sense due to Maddie’s intentions of finishing her book that she spent a good 20 minutes trying to overcome procrastination to do while the murder who hasn’t been named, sets up and and checks out the area.

The films work of using the senses to immerse us into the story through Maddie's POV surely kept me locked in my seat and amplified my enjoyment of the ride. We mainly focus on touch and hearing as the movie starts with the gained volume sounds of eggs cracking, onions being sliced, asparagus sizzling on the stove as Maddie cooks diner. When the camera draws to her face, the sounds then balance bringing us back to the way we would hear things. The movie continues these acts where the killer stands outside her window in his introduction where he knocks and scratches her glass door with his knife and we don't get to hear anything but a high pitch noises as we release we are back in Maddie’s POV as the killer stands confused trying to get her attention by banging on the glass.

As we learn more about Maddie, we find out that when she writes, she explores multiple endings with her mother’s voice coaching her in her mind as she makes a decision. So as she tries to survive her attacker, by thinking about each action and choice wisely by examining the outcome where almost everything she chooses her mother tells her will lead to death. At some point, I believe she began to make decisions blindly or that from the point in the movie where she she stops examining possible future is where she was living a future at which I mean, the ending wasn't really the ending but just a vision due to one of her decisions which would explain the absurdity I explained in the beginning of this review where she somehow called the police even though she is mute [and must I add, one minute prior to the “call”, she was being dramatically strangled by the murder].

On a standards or morals and political lenses. I can say the movie Hush passes The famous Bechdel test and my own test, The Mayhem Background Check. In the beginning of the movie Maddie has two different conversations. She has one with her neighbor sitting on the step and one with her sister via facetime. The conversation she has with her neighbor consisted of book talk, Maddie’s cat, and sign language. The conversation starts with the neighbor raising Maddie over her book and praising her. She then ask for the location of Maddie’s cat causing Maddie to sign the cat’s name, “Bitch”. The rest of the conversation consist of Maddie teaching her how to say “Bitch” in sign language. This exchange passes the Bechdel Test. As for The Mayhem Background Check I created, the test is to eliminate the constant twist of the male or female victim on stalking/murder to be an ex from the past. The Mayhem Background check ensures that the constant stereotype of a male killer who is unmasked is an ex boyfriend. However if the killer stays masked throughout the whole movie it's an automatic pass. In the movie Hush, the kill does unmask himself. The killer’s name remained a mystery as it is revealed to us that there is no real motive of the killer because there is no present or past relations between the two when these events unfold. So the movie is considered a pass when the test of The Mayhem Background Check is applied.

For my final art pieces i wanted to keep it random but I ended but keeping a theme of superheroes when lost for ideas.

The first piece which wasn’t my choice of subject was of a replica of The Thinker in The Rodin Museum Garden. I wanted to make the piece my own so I purposely left out the face, feet and hands. I also tried to limit texture just to add a new look. I changed the hair but adding more to it and making it thicker.

My first 4 hour piece I did a character analysis of a villain from a story I write on the side; The Ghost. I drew a detailed sketch of his helmet, gauntlets, boots and clothing. I also took the time to point out each aspect of the pictures.

Second 4 hour art piece, I drew a ;lesser detailed picture of a hero that would appear later on in the story that my fictional villain is from; The Electron. I took the time to try to draw out his muscle features and I spent a long time playing with different costume detail designs and hairstyles. After I finished, I noticed I forgot the legs so i drew a quick sketch with my last ten minutes as well as a hand showing off his powers.

The last 4 hour art piece, I did a deadpool sketch out of memory. I did many layers. I first did an outline. Then I took another paper and drew his armor and pads. My third piece of paper I drew his under armor. Finally I added everything together on a last piece of paper and sketched a bear on the other side of the piece. I also added my own spin by putting a chimichanga in his hand instead of a gun.

Throughout my works of art, I use multiple different shades to represent color and texture. When it came to my drawings, I did everything in steps and layers by shapes and flows. At the end of this quarter I was looking into basic shapes and shapes hidden in animals. I then used those shapes to draw those animals. For my self portrait I did everything in layers; from shapes to form, then to shades. Another method of layers I used was for my advanced coloring art piece. One of the famous paintings I recolored required a lot of uncommon colors. So I had to layer multiple shades of one color to form another.

For my art pieces I wanted to keep everything an action/superhero theme.

For my Art Collage, I gathered as many pictures I could fit of the Avengers in different poses and looks. I then went back and drew the Avengers logo. I didn’t really have a certain way I organized the pictures, I started with just placing them in the corners, then from there I just randomize it.

The next art piece is a Fabric. I wanted to stick to my theme of superheros, so I drew a cape and shaded shadows and the curves. Then I drew a mesh shirt under it.

For my following piece, I edited a picture I took near 30th and market. To further my theme of action, I tried to edit the picture to look like a zombie movie.

My final piece is of the logo for one of my favorite shows, Video Game High School (VGHS), this show is full of action and I thought for my free draw it would be a good conclusion to quarter’s art pieces.

In this essay, I discuss what I think it means to belong and what I think it means to explore ones identity. I focus on what makes us different and the same when forming our identities. I use my past experience in a new environment with not much diversity to discuss the common themes that build bonds and friendships, as well as what is used to build a sense of belonging.

If we look through the evolution of movies that take place in the high school setting we always see a common thing, cliques. The students mentally divide ourselves into these groups from how we identify ourselves. However in the movie, there is always those few students who still feel they are alone even though they are surrounded by people “like” them. Many would argue that the problem with cliques is we separate based off of one or two common interest that can be instantly be seen and shown. What then becomes an issue later is that they feel like they aren’t like them, and most likely they are right. Instead of finding similarities such as viewpoints and personality. That is not the proper way to make friends and create groups of people to interact with.

“Embracing otherness… Well, embracing otherness is embracing myself. And the journey to that place of understanding and acceptance has been an interesting one for me, and it's given me an insight into the whole notion of self.” These are words of Thandie Newton’s when she did a TED Talk called “Embracing Other, Embracing Myself”. I believe this quote relates a lot to during my summer of 2015. I went to Virginia for a writing program and lived on Sweet Briar campus for 2 weeks. I was eager to be in a new place to help me form my identity, I hoped to do so by exploring different environments with different people in diverse groups.

The first 5 days out of the 15, I just observed everyone in silence. I noticed patterns, personalities, just different and new people in general. From my observations, I noticed a connection. They were all divided in non diverse groups. No one was really trying to separate. At first everyone stayed with their Houses when we had free time or during lunch. In those Houses, there were at least 1 person in each class but the diversity of that was by chance. By the 8th day I started seeing groups of white people sitting next to each other, Asians sitting next to each other, and the other 4 African Americans in the program scattered against that. These cliques were a cliché to me. Somehow by day 7, I made friends with a girl named McKenna. I like the diversity of the friendship because she was in Poetry and I was in Screen & Playwriting, her being white and me being African American, and just how different our personalities are. She would hang out with the people in her House. In her house, there were all Songwriters and Poetry students. They were mainly white and there was one Asian. I instantly judged them, thinking that they were only friends because of their common class the Songwriters, their House, and their race but after a few more days I began to see that they were connected by similarities that were not instantly seen. The main people I talked to in that group besides McKenna was Savanah, Songwriter and white, and Miranda, Poetry student and Asian. They all played sports and all of their personalities were similar but had outlier differences keeping them different people. I remember during the last day of the program when I was saying my last goodbyes to my new friends, I began to think about all the different things about them and how we were really good friends making the 2 weeks feel like years.

There are times where I could be surrounded by many people but feel as if I’m alone. Isolation is the main feeling I am have when I step out my house. Everyone has this sense where they do not belong because we identify ourselves as someone different from others.

I wake up to the sound of my phone, I grab my iPad and take it into the bathroom and play my music as I get ready for the morning. As I get dressed, I review my schedule on my iStudiez Pro app and look if there are any assignments I missed the night before.

Technology plays a major part in my life when it comes to personal advantages. However, technological literacy plays an even bigger role in my education. My school has a technology and project based learning curriculum. Everyday we are working on computers. People outside of the school is unaware of the effect technological literacy has on us.

People today can say that the way education was for them is different from how it was for them when they were my age. Technology wasn’t an easy go to thing in class for them. What's interesting about schools today is that we have different definitions of literacy, which you never expect to change. My English teacher’s definition of literacy is “To read the word and read the world.; literacy affects an individual and society”. However, my definition is the ability to comprehend and explain forms of writing. Literature is a conversation written down and it is an exchange from one person to another. When my teacher was in high school he didn’t have technology to give him advantages like I and my classmates have today. Now in this day in age we have a new branch of literacy, technological literacy. Due to this change, for the most part he learns as we do in the educational world; on some occasions he becomes the students and we become the teachers to show him the definition of technological literacy. Technological literacy from a dictionary, is the ability of an individual, working independently and with others, to responsibly, appropriately and effectively use technology tools to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create and communicate information.

What many people get wrong about technological literacy is well described Albert Einstein who said that, “I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.”, technology is making each generation worse to the point that we have children that simpletons. Others would disagree claiming that technology is helping us reach the peak of society. There are upsides and downsides to technology making it a grey area of good and bad. I think technological literacy do not make us dependent, they help us prosper as learners. Technological literacy in schools do not effect anything in school except how the student learn, and in doing so it doesn't make the students learning habits better or worse. Technological literacy only allows another option to a method of learning.  It does not resolve in students being more intelligent people or resolve in students being idiots. That's not even how school works at all. From how the school system works, you can't determine either case. Technology in school just makes things more convenient and easier. In an article I read, a reporter at a technology based school quoted “When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress.”

My goal with this paper was to juts honestly get it done and stick tone topic. I think I did well with shrinking my words and connecting everything to one theme. I would like to improve going into a depth with such limited words.

“I just feel so numb.”

I lay in my bed, body clenched from mixtures of emotions. Anger, Sadness, Frustration. Why is this happening. I was happy! I was finally happy for once. Truly happy. I swallow my anger and tried to calm down.

I text back.

Me: Ok

A bubble pops up. She begins to type.

Her: How do you feel?

I pause. How do I feel? She is someone I was always able to fully express myself with. An “idk” isn't an answer with her. I start typing. For once, I’m not going to hold back my feelings.

Me: Life is all about the seconds, not the minutes, not the hours, not the days, not the years. It's about just 1 second. One second is all it takes for your life to change. It takes 5 seconds to read a winning lottery ticket and match it to the winning numbers. It takes 3 seconds for a break up to begin. It took one second for me to snap into a reality with you. Then it took another for me to snap out of that reality into one that's realistic.

The bubble pops back up. She responds.

Her: Oh

When I’m overloaded with more than two emotions, in the end I speak everything that's on my mind. I continued to speak more fully in that conversation. I just kept texting paragraph after paragraph of just every word that entered my mind. Eventually she stopped answering and waited until I was done. For once I felt at peace with myself. She was surprised to finally know how I completely felt.

Not everyone knows how I feel all the time. Usually people get a half story of my emotions during a certain time. One of my biggest weakness that makes me cower into a corner and become completely quiet of how I feel is my father. No matter what the conversation, I’m always hesitate and stumble on every word I say. With him, I have to battle my mind who just wants to let everything out but could cost me a lot of trouble, whether its clever comebacks or outburst from anger. So 99%, I keep everything to myself in fear that one of those two scenarios happen.

“I don't know."

All the the terrible events that could take place in the future fill my mind. I can feel all the stress and anxiety, the blood boiling. Why is he asking me this? What is he trying to accomplish?

His stern voice begins to rumble in my ears with his reply.

"What do you mean you don't know?! How bout next time you ask me for something instead of thinking about I'm just gonna say 'I don't know.' How you like them apples?"

His frustration was like a slap in face when his question threw me in the corner and ambushed me.

I wanted to respond with "I like apples." It's enough that if he doesn't see it as getting smart with him, he can see it as me being "stupid and simple minded" like he always seen me as. I just stand there in silence with my confused face. I sink my head into my coat. The lights just seem too bright, they feel like a thousand infernos against my face. I think about this situation with my clouded head of his random question.

Every once in awhile, everyone has a battle with themselves. Whether it's pushing yourself to go the extra mile in a work out, that extra step to achieve a higher grade on a project, or fighting your subconscious on what to say in a current situation. These battles may be common for some people and for others it may just occur few times in their life. For me however, I usually have a battle like this everyday. There are times where I don't speak a word and just listen and other times, everything in my mind is spoken. The variable that helps me decide this, is usually based on the person, place, and subject. With certain people, when I speak out my mind of certain subject they begin to see me as a different person. Others see something wrong if I’m quiet. I have to constantly fight myself by knowing when to speak and when not to. I can win most of the fights but I’ll never win the battle against my subconscious mind.

In most murder shows, the episode starts out with either the murder happening or the police/detectives investigating the murder. Only a few times do we have an episode where it starts off with the killing and as far back of what provoked the killer. Killing is still argued as bad but we would at least see the motive and the killer’s view point. In the book before Havoc, which was called Malice, children were being taken away to a comic world brought to life by a character named Tall Jake who becomes the main protagonist. The book focused on the children being killed in the world of Malice and how in the real world the disappearances have became a huge conundrum. The main characters continually blamed Tall Jake for all of it and this influenced the point of view for the reader when beginning to read the second book, Malice. Their point of view was that everything that is happening in both worlds was Tall Jake’s fault and he needs to be stopped. As you continue farther into the second book they slowly ease the thought to the reader that Tall Jake isn’t much of a villain and is doing what he is told. Soon enough the book just eventually flat out have Tall Jake say himself that he is just doing what the children want. They called on him and did the ritual. He is just responding to the call and what they want. Which makes the new point to the reader that the problems you have in life are caused by you, not life itself.

In the book Havoc, the main characters Seth, Justin, and Kady have just finished battling Tall Jake in the world of Malice and returned to the real world . They have just rescued Alicia who is a friend of Seth in the lair of Tall Jake’s henchmen and have reached the room of Grendel who is the creator of the comic. They were about to develop a plan to finish off Tall Jake when he enters the room with his henchmen, Tall Jake catches them by surprise by appearing behind him. Seth then has a conversation with Tall Jake and blamed him for the death of his friend Luke who was taken into Malice. Tall Jake then responds with the following quote. “No. I did not take anyone who did not ask. It was made very clear to all of you: If you perform the ritual. I will take you away. And yet so many of you asked me anyway. You just had to risk it, didn’t you? .... I am not asking for your pardon. But I did not kill them. I tested them, as they asked. Some failed. Some like yourselves did not.” (Page 373). Tall Jake replies to Seth saying that Luke was taken because he asked. Luke knew the risk of surviving in Malice and knew the challenging tests ahead, but he still called on Tall Jake. Also Tall Jake brought up the point that people asked him to take them. From what he is saying, he wouldn’t just randomly target people. He wouldn’t have came if no one hasn’t done the ritual. He made it clear to everyone what will happen. Everyone who did the ritual knew of the consequences. They wanted to take the risks and because of that they made their own problem.

In the book Havoc, the narrator is recapping what happened in between the books Malice and Havoc. The narrator is telling the reader what Justin and Kady did after Seth left. The narrator talks about how they traveled to the city and stopped by a village where they were taken in by the villagers. The villagers were strangers to them but still gave them food and advice about traveling through Malice. The narrator then tells the reader Kady’s thoughts and what she reflected from that experience by saying the following. “The kindness of the villagers encouraged Kady. Maybe Malice wasn’t all horror and misery, after all” (Page 36). In the book of Malice, Kady saw nothing but only death and chaos both when reading the comic and when she was taken into the world, so she came to a point of view that Malice is all horror and misery. The narrator is slowly changing the viewpoint of Malice by simply slipping in that Kady’s thought that Malice may not be about just only chaos and might be a nice place. Kady and Justin moved away from all the chaos into a village where there is peace. They could have easily done this earlier but instead stayed where all the chaos was giving us the first impression of Malice as evil.

In the book Havoc Alicia decided to assist Seth with his mission to get back to Malice after saving him from a monster. They are on their way to Birmingham to an abandon factory and Alicia is talking to Seth worried about lying to her parents. “It’s all crazy. This whole thing is crazy.’ she went on. She shook her head sorrowfully. ‘I lied to my parents. I never lie to my parents. If they knew I was skipping study and going to Birmingham with some boy I barely know, they’d kill me.” (Page 74). Alicia is worried and feels bad about lying to her parents and traveling with Seth. Yet no one told her to lie or help him, she made the choice herself. She could had just left Seth where he was after saving him and could do what she had to do. Instead however, she lied causing her to be in the situation she is in and later get kidnapped.

A French existentialist philosopher named Jean-Paul Sartre known for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth quoted “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” Connecting this quote to Havoc, Seth blamed Tall Jake for his friend Luke’s death and Tall Jake said he was only testing him and his downfall was his own. Tall Jake almost says the quote by Sartre in his own words. It wasn’t tall Jake’s fault, it was only Luke’s. We are all responsible for our own lives and the choices we make. Luke made his choices, he made the choice to do the ritual, he made the choices in Malice on how to survive. What end up happening was he made the a choice that caused him to meet his end.

This structure is important because it adds a spin to the whole story. The new point of view makes you think of everything you read into a whole other way. It makes Tall Jake not such as a bad person. He did what people want, not his own thing. Also it makes you think that the “heroes” weren’t in the situation by fate.They were in the situation because they were looking for trouble not because they were thrown into it. Another point thrown at the reader is that we are responsible for our choices and lives not others. We are the reason for our dilemmas in our existence and it is our choice to make them dyer, severe, or just drop them.

Chris Wooding & Dan Chernett. Havoc. New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. Print

Satre, Jean Paul. "Existentialism Is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sarte 1946." Existentialism Is a Humanism. World Publishing Company, Feb. 2005. Web. 14 Jan. 2015.

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm

(Sits at a table) I sit here again, like every night, pondering at this cold plate of food I could never eat. I wonder why I can never eat once I get home. I’m excited as its being made then when  its in front of me, its complete poison. I always thought it was her cooking, so I begin to make my own meals, and again, I just sit here, pondering at it as it gets cold, watching it as a crystal ball as I review my day. (Slides plate away)

I greet each person I see at school in the morning and always get a smile or  greeted back. I bring fellow students laughs and they are always excited to have me with them. In class I always understand the criteria and help other classmates that need assistance. At lunch I always have my favorite, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I can eat it everyday and so I do. At the end of the day if I had a club I would go. Greeting everyone as I walk in. I contribute to whatever activities we are doing that day and always receive an applause for a job well done. When its time for me to go, I would receive goodbyes as I leave waving good bye to everyone.

When I get home, I would turn up my music and do my homework, soon my mom is home. She would ask me about my day. I always say fine. Then we have dinner. She would become impatient and head upstairs leaving me to my untouched plate. Then we are where we are now. (picks up a fork full of food, looks at it, drop it back on the plate)

So why am I so depressed? Why does my day always end like this? A complete change of mood. Why do I feel so lonely? (Lays head on desk, after 30 secs and lifts head up)

I sit here again like every night pondering at this cold plate of food I could never eat. I wonder why I can never eat once I get home. I just sit there pondering at it as it gets cold, watching it as a crystal ball as I review my day.

I greet each person I see at school without ever getting a response back or even notice of my existence. I make jokes in class but are never heard because I speak it softly and the person next to me then repeats the jokes louder and receives full credit for the laughs it brings. In class I can never understand the criteria and when I ask for help from other classmates, they act as though I do not exist. At lunch I always eat the same damn thing, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. At the end of the day if I had a club I would go. Greeting everyone as I walk in and have no looks down my way. I contribute to whatever activities we are doing that day with no applause. When its time for me to go, I leave waving good bye to everyone with no one paying attention that there is now an empty seat or if it was or was not empty in the first place.

When I get home, I would turn up my music and just sit on my bed, by then my mom is home. We would talk about our days, I would tell her the same line and nothing else, “It was fine.”. Then we would have dinner. She then would become impatient and head upstairs leaving me to my untouched plate. Then we are where we are now. (Watch beeps) 7:30… (Pulls out a baggie with 3 pills) Take with food….. (Pops one pill)

My life isn't as perfect as I thought it was. Its not all daisies and sunshine. Just here, as a normal unseen kid. I’m alone. I’m on my own. Except- I’m not.

I sit here again like every night pondering at this cold plate of food I could never eat. I wonder why I can never eat once I get home. I just sit there pondering at it as it gets cold, watching it as a crystal ball as I review my day.

I greet each person I see at school without ever getting a response back or even notice of my existence. Except my two friends, they greet me and hug me. We talk about our previous night and the day to come. (Picks up a fork full of food and begins to eat) I make jokes in class but are never heard because I speak it softly and the person next to me then repeats the jokes louder and receives full credit for the laughs it brings. Yet I still manage to pass along inside joke to my two friends. (Eats more food) We laugh and keep the day going. In class I can never understand the criteria and when I ask for help from other classmates, they act as though I do not exist. So I move my stuff next to my friends and ask them and they can always find a way to explain the subject giving me an easier way to figure it out. (Keeps eating) At lunch I always eat the same damn thing, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, its the only way to get my special brown candies in, crushed in my peanut butter because they are too big to swallow. I keep a stash of candy in my bag, my mom puts it in my bag every morning and sets my watch for me before I leave. She mixes the special white ones she wants me to take with colorful ones that are ok to share. I hate them, the tastes like the doctor’s office but she says it's important to swallow them everyday at specific times. I share the unprescribed ones with my friends. At the end of the day if I had a club I would go. Greeting everyone as I walk in and have no looks down my way. I contribute to whatever activities we are doing that day with no applause. When its time for me to go, I leave waving good bye to everyone with no one paying attention that there is now an empty seat or if it was or was not empty in the first place, because of that I usually skip the clubs, and instead hangout with my friends. (Eats faster) The city becomes ours as we roam the streets, making jokes and laugh anxiously. Buying candy and sharing with each other. We share secrets and help each other with problems. When its time to go home, we move the party to the bus. We take control of the back of the bus and play games and make jokes always trying to keep smiles on our faces, though we in stuck in in this miserable life. We try to stay positive and keep ourselves in the light so we can't see the shadowy engulfing dark side. (Pops second pill)

(Stands up) My friends have been there for me through thick and thin! They were my umbrella when I walk into the rain! They have been there for my roughest hours and have been my rock! I should not be sad to have such a blessing! I should be thankful to have them in my life!

(Looks at the plate) So why am I so depressed? (Pops third pill) Why does my day always end like this? A complete change of mood. Why do I feel so lonely? (Lays head on desk)

“E-nun-ci-ate your words and stop muttering!” My father says slowly to me as if I’m too slow and that is the only way to insure I understand english.

“I am enunciating. I’m trying my best.”

“Well obviously you're not, in the event that I’m still repeating myself. You need to speak more clearly and pronounce your words right.”

He does this every time I speak. He mocks how I mutter words or pronounce them the way he wants to hear them. On any occasion when I talk around him, it turns into an english lesson and he begins to turn into a strict teacher gradually getting angry with me when I don’t do exactly what he says. It’s not my fault that my tongue doesn’t make the same shape that his does. I only mutter for the reason that I no longer feel my words are important in light of the fact that what I say is never heard, only how I say it. He limits my power making me no longer want to communicate through speech, leaving me with the other ways to communicate that might not seem fit.

***

“Say ‘chips’.” My mother says as she watches the road, giggling to herself.

“Ships.” I say, knowing what comes next.

“No it’s ‘chips’, I swear you do it on purpose.” She is now laughing so much I see a tear running down her cheek.

I used to get my “sh” sound and my “ch” sound confused. I could never tell the difference;  I thought it was the same sound, spelled two different ways. I never understood why she laughed at the way I said certain words. Eventually I broke out of saying the sounds the way I did. I cannot tell the difference to this day. I only know I changed because my mom stopped laughing at me. Either way, I still feel that her laughter took power away from me just because the fact that I misunderstood the english language.

When I am at home, language used to be an area of conflict for me. My father tends to use the way I speak against me and took it as a way to make his way of speaking the superior intelligence. My mother used to do the same but unconsciously, she would use it to get a quick laugh and make her own way of speech seem superior.

***

“I don't know.’ That's my response to what feels like millions of questions he throws in my head. I can feel all the stress, the anxiety, the blood boiling. His stern voice begins to rumble in my ears-”

“What? In your fears? Speak louder. We need you to be clear, so we know you will  be clear when you go on stage.” Imani mocks the words out my mouth as I practice my poem for PYPM Slam League.

I know Imani is right and just trying to help. Also she is only making fun of the how I say things just in order to show me how people hear it and to lighten up the situation, because preparing for PYPM Slam is stressful without having to worry about your speech.

My friends at school tends to make fun of the way I say things but they use it to help me with my communications. They ask what it is I’m saying and tell me what they hear, then give suggestions along the lines of slowing down my sentences.

Michdars CO.

Michael & Darius Real Estate

Cliente: Pearl Jonas

Foto:

Descripción De la Persona: Nuestra cliente, Pearl Jonas, es muy atlético y simpático. Le gusta colore verde. Vive en filadelfia. Le Gustaría correr y leer.

Descripción de la Casa:

• Uno pisa.

• La sala de ejercicios es grande.  

• Mediana garaje.

• Tres baños.

• Maestro dormitorio y cuatro regular dormitorio.

• Jardin es magnifico.

• Cerca de un parque y supermercado y transporte público.

Peticiones: Mediana, Antigua, Dos pisos, Divertida/Vibrante, Con jardín, Un cuarto para ejercicio, verdes.

House Blue Print

Picture 1

Picture 2

Designed by Darius and Michael from Michdars Co. Real Estate

Darius Purnell

Band B

Green Stream

5/02/14

Me Encanta Mi Escuela

Me nombre es Darius Jared Purnell y mi apodo DJ. Tango 15 años. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. La escuela apodo es SLA. Está en Filadelfia. Está cereal de "7-11" y "ArchGourmett". Es colorido, grande, y algo bien construido. Hay 5 pisos, sobre 400 estudiantes, y sobre 30 profesores. SLA tenemos muchos deportes y clubes. Para ejemplo tenemos robótica, comunidad participación, final frisbee, poesía, y pista. Soy aparte de comunidad participación, poesía, y pista.

Tengo arte, bioquímica, africano-americano historia, inglés, español 1, consejería, álgebra, y almuerzo. Inglés siempre mantiene me en mi dedos, es por eso que lo es mi clase favorita. Es interesante y divertido, pero difícil en veces. No me gusta mucho historia, porque es súper aburrida y terrible. Para mi clases necesito unas pacieses, libros, computadora, y papel. En mi clases tomamos notas y escribimos. También jugamos juegos. Para tener éxito prestamos atención, tomamos apuntes, participamos y trabajamos duro.

El Señor Kay enseña literatura o conocido con lo apodo inglés. Usted es cómico pero puedo ser serio. Kay es muy informativo y súper interesante, y como si fuera poco Kay clase algo difícil. La Señorita Thompson enseña álgebra. Usted es muy seria. Yo siempre necesita prestar mucha atención porque usted marcas clase complicada. Usted es un aburrida y arrastrada fuera voz. En clase soy sólo me gusta dormir pero no puedo porque usted es siempre viendo.