Julius Caesar Performance

I will be working with (Kailee Norcross), Kailee will be Brutus and Carolyn will be Cassius. We will perform:
Act one, Scene 2, Lines 82 to 170.
In this quotation, it is the feast of Luprical and Caesar has returned to Rome from his triumphs over Pompey. Caesar goes forth with Antony and Calpurnia, his wife, meanwhile Cassius and Brutus stay and talk on the subject of Caesar's growing power and his threat to the republic they had worked so hard to achieve.

In the passage, Cassius and Brutus engage in a conversation about Caesar, his growing power and his faults. Cassius uses persuasion to try and convince Brutus to join the conspiracy, a group of honorable Romans plotting to assassinate Caesar due to his rising power.They want Brutus on the conspiracy due to the fact that it is known all across that Brutus is a very patriotic and noble man, and they know that if they have him on their side, the citizens may be more supporting of the idea if Brutus is involved. The significance of this passage is that this decision of Brutus’s will influence the entire plot. The passage also characterizes Brutus as an honorable, patriotic man who would do anything for Rome and Cassius as a manipulative bitter man who is jealous of his friend’s rising power. The entire story evolves on whether or not Brutus will choose to join the conspiracy or not, because without his leadership skills, Caesar may or may not actually be killed. Once Brutus is officially in the group, he soon takes over the position of leader. In the end, it creates more trouble for him since the people reacted badly, so most of the blame goes on Brutus.

Passage:

Flourish, and shout

BRUTUS

What means this shouting? I do fear, the people
Choose Caesar for their king.

CASSIUS

Ay, do you fear it?
Then must I think you would not have it so.

BRUTUS

I would not, Cassius; yet I love him well.
But wherefore do you hold me here so long?
What is it that you would impart to me?
If it be aught toward the general good,
Set honour in one eye and death i' the other,
And I will look on both indifferently,
For let the gods so speed me as I love
The name of honour more than I fear death.

CASSIUS

I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Caesar; so were you:
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he:
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,
The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,
Caesar said to me 'Darest thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?' Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in
And bade him follow; so indeed he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside
And stemming it with hearts of controversy;
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!'
I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor,
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature and must bend his body,
If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake;
His coward lips did from their colour fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan:
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans
Mark him and write his speeches in their books,
Alas, it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius,'
As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.

Shout. Flourish

BRUTUS

Another general shout!
I do believe that these applauses are
For some new honours that are heap'd on Caesar.

CASSIUS

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man.
O, you and I have heard our fathers say,
There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king.

BRUTUS

That you do love me, I am nothing jealous;
What you would work me to, I have some aim:
How I have thought of this and of these times,
I shall recount hereafter; for this present,
I would not, so with love I might entreat you,
Be any further moved. What you have said
I will consider; what you have to say
I will with patience hear,

Learning Profile J

Recently, Mr. Whiting came into our humanities class and helped us to determine our learning profile. We took a variety of tests to find out which ear, eye, hand and foot were dominant and after completing these tests, I learnt that I had my right eye, hand and foot were stronger than my left but that my left ear was stronger than my right ear. Mr. Whiting described a logical learner as a learner who follows a set of directions, carefully and with precision and that a gestalt learner was quite the opposite. He said a gestalt learner looked at the bigger picture, instead of following directions; they would look at the final result and figure it out from there. Mr. Whiting asked us to close our eyes and think about what we would do if we woke up to find a new Lego box sitting on our table. He then asked us to explain our reactions to the box. My instant reaction was to look on the front and back and then open the box up and look at the colors of the Lego pieces. He then explained to us that if we were to open up the box and look for the instructions, that meant we were left brain dominant (logical) and if we just looked at the pictures and did as I did, they were right brain dominant (gestalt). Then he showed us a chart which we used to discover our specific learning profile. Because I have a dominant right eye, hand and foot and a dominant left ear, I have the learning profile J. This learning profile helped me to understand when I learn best and what I could do to improve my learning.

Being gestalt, I learn best through a wide variety of techniques such as visualization, movement and other kinesthetic styles. I would be more able to understand a concept using a hands-on exercise than a reading exercise. For example, I enjoy and am able grasp key concepts easier when reading out loud Julius Caesar and actively participating in discussions rather than if I were solely read each scene. The Socratic seminars are very effective for me as verbal communication is critical for me. I am an auditory learner, which means I also learn well while listening to discussions and people talking. I usually learn best when not under any pressure and can think about what I am learning.

Although very creative and intuitive, I have trouble with my organization. I know this to be true because often I lose track of time, for example when I go shopping with my friends, I set a meeting point and place. However, often I forget where and when we are meeting and I lose track of time. I should start to learn time management, make lists and prioritize because it would help me greatly. It would improve my lack of organization and the sequencing of steps will help communicate my ideas easier. Some strategies include forcing myself to finish what I start, practicing observing details and other techniques.

I would like my teachers to know I have always learnt best through visuals such as posters and acting concepts out, it helps me to understand the main ideas and emotions involved with the concepts, as well as the conflicts.