Friday, December 14, 2007 Scribe

Today was the Hamlet Finale Fishbowl. :))

In the beginning some slacked off and forgot to get the laptops... so Mrs. Smith had to get the slackers.

Then we started the Hamlet Finale Fishbowl, but before that we did our greeting to Mrs. Smith.

Bullet Points is what the inside circle said to the questions.

First Question: What role does religion play in the theme of death in, Hamlet?

• Hamlet was going to kill Claudius but he decided against it when he saw that Claudius was repenting for what he did.
• Hamlet debated suicide because of Christian beliefs and the whole after life thing.

Does Hamlet truly love Ophelia?

• In the beginning he was using her but then at the end he ended up loving her.
• Potraying you don't know what you have till it's gone.

Did Hamlet stup down to Claudius' level with revenge?

• He felt morally obligated to kill Claudius.
• It ended up being a very emotional subject for Hamlet (that his father was dead) so he made it a passion.
• How he murdered Claudius was noble.

Do you think the mistakes Hamlet made, stupped him down to Claudius' level? ( kind of the same question from above)

• Hamlet was only trying to create chaos to get people to believe him.

What do you think Hamlet's tragic flaw is?

• Inaction.
• Selfishness.
• Killed Polonious so then he had to pursue murder head on?
• To much faith on people so he gets disappointed.

What is the signifigance of family?

• Rule of family: Comfort and Trust.
• To give you a sense of how much better your family is.

Is family important to the people in Hamlet?

• Alot of mixed feelings on this one.

Do you think anyone in Hamlet truly love another person?

• Polonius-Hamlet.
• Hamlet-Old Hamlet.
• Respect was missing except for in Hamlet and Old Hamlet's relationship.

What is the signifigance of incest in Hamlet?

• Gertrude and Claudius.
• Symbolic of corruption in relationships and royal family.
• Mrs. Smith said it adds to all the sexual tension in Hamlet and the other plays.

Do you think Hamlet was upset about Gertrude being with Claudius? Or her just being with Gertrude?

• Being with somebody.
• Hamlet was also upset about her moving on so quickly after Old Hamlet's death.

Do you think there was a message to the play Hamlet?

• People think of their family lives compared to this book.
• Family first.
• Revenge isn't the best thing.
• Analyze your own life.
• Think about your own goverment leaders and there flaws and problems.

Satire? Motifs? Symbolism? Signifigance? ... Of Hamlet.

(( I am adding this in... The sword in the play make the murders more signifgant... Noble people use swords/daggers it makes you commited to murder and murder through poison is not noble and not 100% commited {{poison shows alot about Claudius' character}}))

FOILS?

• Polonious' Family and Claudius' Family.(Polonious- Control and Truth and Claudius- Can't Control and Selfish)
• Ophelia and Gertrude.
• Fortinbras and Laretes.

Was Hamlet really crazy?

• Yes and No

When Hamlet had his brush with Laretes, did that change his crazyness?

• Yes

What do you think will happen to Hamlet?

• He sought forgiveness at the end so he will go to Hamlet.

How does Hamlet fit the four stages?

• We didn't really finsih this question.

I hope you like this scribe... I don't know if it makes sense.

I hope it is semi-good.

HAVE A GRREAT WEEKEND. :))

Hamlet Finale Fishbowl Question!

Hey everyone...

What message(s) do you think Shakespeare was trying to reveal in Hamlet?
After reading the play, do you think the ends justifies the means?

Good luck on finals and have a super fun break

Hamlet Final Fishbowl

Sribe for Wednesday, December 12, 2007

As usual, doughnut Wednesday started off with a bang when Emily H. brought Albertson’s Doughnuts. It was a big day for the class; we have never had Albertson’s doughnuts. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the privilege of tasting one, but there was debate on whether or not we should have an in-depth, intellectual discussion on the comparison of Albertson’s doughnuts to the other; I guess will just have to wait and see, maybe there will be a blog post to follow.

After the delicious carbohydrates made their way to our fat cells, Fishbowl over Act V began. The leaders for the day were Milenda, Ashley, Courtney, Sam E.(a.k.a. Option C), and KC.

And the questions began:
1. The diggers were signified as clowns, what could that represent?
a. Possible comic relief
2. Why does Hamlet have a revalation about death, and then go back to his old ideas at the end of the act?
a. Realization, stages of a hero
b. Hamlet is Shakespeares way of enlightening the audience with possible philosophies
c. By saying everything goes full circle after death, his is still asking for respect of Ophelia even though she may have committed suicide.
3. Why?
a. Pride
b. Past the point of no return
c. Jorney of the tragic hero
d. Self fulfillment
e. Nothing left to live for
f. Selfish
g. Never considered himself to be wrong
i. BUT, he does want to make amends with Laertes for what he has done
4. Why all of the sudden does Hamlet have a change of heart?
a. Enlightenment again
b. Once he realized what he had done, he realized an apology would hurt anyone
c. Death brings out the true colors in people, he doesn’t want to end up like his father
5. With the exception of Polonius, every character died from poison, what is the symbolism?
a. They wer poisonous characters
b. Polonius was a selfish, rude character
i. He died a more brutal death because of that
c. Poison fits into the theme of conceit
6. Why didn’t Claudius stop Gertrude from drinking the cup before she did?
a. Showed his selfishness
7. Before Gertrude dies, she cries out for Hamlet; why Hamlet and not Claudius?
a. Hamlet was the only true character
b. She knew she could trust Hamlet for help
8. If Hamlet would have married Ophelia, do you think she would have been mad about Polonius’ death and still would have committed suicide?
a. No to suicide, yes to mad
b. Would Hamlet have gone that far?
c. She would have sided with Hamlet
d. There was still a Father-Daughter bond
i. Polonius was supposed to be looking out for her best interest
e. If she was with Hamlet, it may have been easier for her to see her father’s wrongs
i. Hamlet would help her recognize her father acts as wrong
f. Ophelia’s father’s death was the spark to her suicide
i. What really could have done her in was her and Hamlet’s break-up
9. Why is Laertes in denial about Ophelia? What message does this convey?
a. It was the consequence from everything wrong they had done
b. Horratio is rewarded for being a true character
c. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were also punished for what they did
d. Understand what life is about, don’t live it in revenge
10. In short…is death worth it?
a. It depends
i. Hamlet – yes
ii. Gertrude – no, she died with guilt
iii. For some it was worth it
b. Those who brought death upon themselves, along with enlightenment had some sort of cleansing of the soul
i. Most who died accomplished what they wanted
11. Did Hamlet plan do die?
a. Most likely
b. He was ready at any moment to encounter death
c. Hamlet never envisioned a bright future
i. Lived day by day, didn’t care what was to happen
d. Selfish
e. Easy way out for hamlet to avoid the consequences
f. Hamlet was so committed to killing Claudius, it was worth his death


And alas, the fishbowl was stopped early so that we could all watch one of the films versions of the death scenes.


Homework: ~Friday there is a fishbowl as well over the entire book, so come prepared.
~Devote the rest of your time and energy to working on the final project!

Act 5 FishBowl Question.

Hello, here is the question. :))

Why do you think Laretes is in denial about Ophelia (her suicide)? How does this denial prove he is like his father? Why or why not?

Scribe for 12/10/07

First of all I would like to remind everyone that we have two fishbowls this week. On Wednesday we have a fishbowl over act five and on Friday we have our final fishbowl over the entire book. If you don't know which group you are in be sure to check with Mrs. Smith.

For the first half of class we discussed innovative ways of teaching. Sam was not happy with a certain teachers teaching style. To be perfectly honest politics does not thrill me either.
Our conversation was similar to our talk on Friday. Apparently we spent our weekends contemplating the future of education.

We also finished reading Hamlet in class. If you were absent be sure to read it before the next class period. The ending wrapped things up very well. It was a very fitting conclusion for such a complex story.

Finally: Make your final projects spectacular. We don't want to let Mrs. Smith down after all the time and effort she has invested in our futures.

Hamlet Act 5 Fishbowl