Essay-mania!!

Ideas and Content
The ideas and content in my writing is good. My writing always makes sense and have a clear and focused topic. In both of my essays, I showed that I know the topic well. I can improve on including interesting and relevant details and explaining how my quotations relate to the main idea of the paragraph. I can also improve on developing content more thoroughly and include more examples to explain my quotes and writing.

Organization
The organization in both of were good but there's still a lot of room for improvement. In my Alchemist Essay, I had a good hook and thesis statement. Good summarizing and transitioning sentences were always present. Clear topic sentences and a strong conclusion were also present. I had more time to plan and revise them so they turned out better. In my Julius Caesar essay, however, organization was not as good. I had a good hook and topic sentences, but a clear thesis statement was missing. Topic sentences could have definitely be better and the same goes for transitioning and summarizing sentences. Context prior to a quote was an improvement to my Alchemist essay because I spent more time planning it.

Personal Growth
I have improved a lot in my writing skills. I achieved a similar grade in both of the essays. This is an improvement because we were given a lot more time to work with the Alchemist essay. We had the help of the teachers to revise drafts of the essay and ideas. The Julius Caesar essay, however, was done in a short period of time, and without the help of the teachers. We didn't have enough time to revise or check the essay when we finished. Achieving a similar grade in both of the essay shows that I have grown as a writer.

SLR Reflection

Reason critically was a very important part of crafting my essays. In both essays, including information and examples from different sources was very important. I reasoned critically by applying information from different sources and by developing my ideas ad content. I revised and wrote drafts for the Alchemist essay over and over again. I think that reasoning critically is extremely important in writing.

"Our reasons are so full of good regard, that were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, you should be satisfied."

“I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.” (11-12). Brutus is a rational man, he doesn’t want to kill Caesar, but he feels that it is an honorable act and the people of Rome need him to do it. He puts Rome and honor above everything else, and, if the only way to help Rome is for Caesar to bleed, he will assassinate Caesar. He has made his decision, it must be by Caesar’s death that Rome can become stronger, and he believes that Caesar’s death will be for an honorable cause. Brutus loves Rome and the name of honor more than anything else. Patriotism and honor, Brutus’s two motivators, cloud his ability of judgment and make his vulnerable to manipulation and deception.

Brutus’s excessive patriotism fuels him throughout the whole play. It is all he lives for, to assist Rome and the people. His intense love for Rome often meddles with his ability to make judgments. This frequently leaves him exposed to deception and manipulation. He is willing to give up everything and do absolutely anything in his capability to help Rome as a nation. He is willing to sacrifice another human life to aid Rome, even a close friend. He quoted this in his justification to the people after Caesar’s assassination. “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (17-19). His speech shows his remorse from killing Caesar, but if it will help Rome, he will not regret it for he cares for Rome more than he loves Caesar. The quotation proves that Brutus is prepared to eliminate even a close friend to aid Rome. Brutus’s love for Rome is far more than his love for any other person. He loves Rome even more than he loves himself. His patriotism is so extreme that he would give up his own life if it shall please the people. Another line from his speech can be used to prove this. “I have a dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death.” (42-43). This quote provides evidence that Brutus is willing to do anything to help Rome. He considers the people of his nation far more important than anything else, even his own life. He commits suicide when his goal was not achieved the way he wanted. This is confirmation of his passionate patriotism. Brutus’s patriotism compels him to act for Rome drastically and radically.

Honor is another motivator that drives Brutus. He respects honor and justice, and everything he does has to be honorable. He wants an honorable reputation before the people of Rome. Brutus respects honor, and he rationalizes that his act of killing Caesar was honorable, and that is what keeps him going and fighting. Brutus would rather die than give up his honorable cause. “I love the name of honor more than I fear death” Act 1 Scene2 87-88. Brutus would rather die than be dishonored. The quote is ironic because he commits suicide later in the play to prevent from being dishonored. He maintains throughout the whole play that slaying Caesar was an honorable act and Antony is the dishonorable one. This is what keeps him fighting Antony, because he believes the honorable cause will always triumph. Brutus loves honor so much that even when faced with desperation and hopelessness, he still feels the need to stay loyal to honor and prevent from making vile actions. Brutus says to Cassius that he cannot raise money for an army through vile means. “I had rather be a dog, than such a Roman.” Act4 Scene3 27-28. Brutus feels that a dog is worth more than a dishonorable Roman. This shows how much he respects and loves the name of honor. Even when his life is on the line, he would not dishonor himself to survive. Honor means more to Brutus than life. He is the only conspirator to not kill Caesar out of envy. Honor causes Brutus to assassinate Caesar and commit suicide. Honor is the reason for his actions and it is a very important motivator that inspires Brutus to do what he did.

Brutus has an inner conflict, he is afraid that killing Caesar might not be the honorable thing to do but Rome needs him to step up and do the job. Patriotism and honor conquer Brutus’ thoughts and actions and it sometimes affect his judgments. Everything that Brutus does is revolved around his love for Rome and his love for the name of honor. Brutus did not achieve his goal by eliminating Caesar. He wanted to assist Rome and unite them as a nation by killing Caesar. After Caesar’s death, it turns out to be the exact opposite of what Brutus hope to have happened. Rome became a chaotic place; the people were suffering and fighting in wars. I believe that his goal was a worthy one. He desired to aid Rome and make the people happy and Rome an advanced nation. It turned out differently but he had a noble cause for his actions. Brutus did not think of his own personal good when he acted unlike the other conspirators. Therefore, I think that Brutus’ goal was a noble one unlike the other conspirators. Severe patriotism and his love for the name of honor fuels Brutus throughout the play as crazily as oil fuels fire.

Destruction to Heaven. Miracle or lie?

Thinking Creatively

I included some creative elements in my collage to attract the attention of the viewer. An example of a creative element on my collage is the river in between. I drew a river in between to represent the differences in Sudan and America, that they are very far apart. Another creative element is my drawing of a scene of the Gilo River crossing. I outlined it in white to make it stand out among the chaos of the images. It represents all the danger and destruction they faced on their journey and I think that it is a important part of their journey and my collage. I also included quotes that cover over the images of America. I put this to show that even though there are good things in America, the racism and cultural shock they face overshadow that.

Reason Critically

I chose to put some striking images in my collage, like the ones of boys with war and the children dying. The images of the boys who were forced to participate in the war show that the war affects everybody in Sudan, even the children and babies. The children dying and suffering show how bad the situation is in Sudan.

Communicate Effectively
I made my collage informative so that it creates awareness of the situation in Sudan. I hope my collage can make the viewer feel empathy for the Lost Boys and act to help them. The many images of war can make the viewer aware of the amount of wars raging on in Sudan. The helicopter from United Nations represent the awareness of the world of this problem. I want the viewer to see the dreadful images and feel sorry for them.

Live Ethically
The purpose of my collage was to create empathy in the viewer. I want my images and quotes to make the viewers feel sad about all that the Lost Boys have been through. I included images of destruction and images of disappointment that they aren't receiving help. I hope this can make the viewer realize that the people going through this crisis need help to survive.

"A lot of people had been falling down."

Sudan has been in a civil war for the last 50 years. The Dinka Tribe has been affected the most, about 2 million people killed and 27,000 going through forced migration. The tribe fled after their home was attacked. The Lost Boys of Sudan walked across the capricious desert with no food or water. Many of them died of starvation and dehydration. Some of them were killed by animal attacks, and some of them were shot. They stayed for a while in Ethiopia, after crossing the Gilo River, where they lost a lot of people. Some of them drowned, some were attacked by crocodiles, some were shot. They were forced to cross the river again after the Ethiopian government kicked them out. They then fled to Kenya, where they survived in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. But by then, the number of boys had greatly reduced, a lot of them died on the horrendous journey. The boys had lost everything they had, and some of them never see their parents again.

Peter Nyarol Dut was one of the lost boys who survived. He lived the refugee camp until he was chosen to be migrated to America. He was told that this is like a journey to heaven, and that he is going to get an education in America and he will be able to return home to help his friends and family in the camp.

"Everything they tell you about America, all lies"

After Peter arrives in Houston, Texas, with a few of his friends, he realizes that life there was going to be hard for him. He realizes that he is not going to get an education like he was promised, and he would have to work hard for food. He did not get the things that he was looking for in Houston and he decides to move to Kansas and try his luck there. He faced many difficulties in America and was far off from the heaven he was promised.

One difficulty that he faced was the language and culture of America. He wasn't fluent in english and it was hard for him to understand what the Americans were saying. He also experienced a culture shock because the culture in America is a lot different than the culture in Sudan. He was told by his family and friends that he should never forget the culture of Sudan. But he would have to adapt to the American culture to survive. Peter adapted very quickly, he ate lunch with his co-workers to experience American culture and the language. He stopped his shows of affection to his friends of the same gender, and he started to speak english to his Sudanese friends. Peter made many new friends in his new school in Kansas, attends an American party, and even develops an interest for a girl to fit in the new, alien country he is put into.

Another difficulty that Peter faced racism. He was a different color than the white Americans, and darker than the African-Americans. The racist people assumed that he was a bad person just because he's black. They assumed that Peter would rob or steal from them, or beat them up. Peter found this very disrespectful, as he was not interested to do any of those bad things.

An example of this is at his new school in Kansas, his ESL teacher asked him a question that is extremely insensitive: "What would you do if you had a million dollars?". Peter has come from a refugee camp, he owns nothing at all and finds trouble affording food. The teacher did not think of his background when asking the outrageous question. Peter's counselor also assumed that he was stupid and lazy because he is black. The counselor suggest that he spends two more years in community college before going to college. The counselor assumes that Peter was dumb and didn't even bother checking his grades. Peter proves him wrong, he has good grades and is in the honor students group. He already wrote his biography and is already prepared for the test which will determine if he goes to college or not. The couselor was very shocked and shows his insensitivity when he refuses to read Peter's biography because it is too 'sad'. Peter was also showed racism at his part-time job at walmart. His manager makes him work in the sun because he came from Africa. His manager thinks that the African employees can stand the heat because it is hot and dry in Africa. This is extremely disrespectful to Peter. He thinks that he shouldn't be forced to work in the sun just because he can stand it. But Peter overcomes all of he racism that he faced. He works hard in school and at work. He can deal with the racism because he is determined to get an education. He willingly accepts that he is poor compared to his American friends, but he does not give up because of that.

The last barrier Peter faced was his lack of money and time. At Houston, he can only afford a cheap, low-cost living environment, and the security is very bad. A few robbers find out that they some blacks moved in and they probably don't have a bank account to store their money in, so all their money will be kept in the house. Every pay-day, the robbers would stick a gun in their face, robbing them of the little money that they had. In Kansas, Peter strives hard for an education and it takes a lot of time. His part-time job at Walmart is a time-consuming and minimun wage job but he can't get a better job because he doesn't have an education yet. He can barely earn enough money for himself yet he still wants to help his family back in Kakuma. His sister gets mad at him on the phone because he hasn't sent any money back to help them. He promises to send back money as soon as possible, because he has realized his mistake. He had forgotten that he was supposed to help his family when he got to America.

Peter Nyarol Dut is a very courageous boy. He steps into an alien land, facing cultural shock, racism and financial problems. But he is determined and works hard, everyday, giving the best he got. It all finally pays off, when he graduates from high school in June 2003, and got a full scholarship to Green Mountain College in Vermont.

Brief History of Sudan

'Lost Boys of Sudan' movie

Donate to the Lost Boys

Intersting Info:

Santino has left his factory night shift in Texas and moved to San Jose, California. He is enrolled into a full-time community college course with a scholarship from one of the movie's viewers. He successfully passed his drivers test and got a license to drive. Santino heard from his siblings that he lost track of when escaping. He is now paying for his brother and his family to move back into their home. He has travelled to New York, Los Angeles, Indianopolis, San Francisco and Dallas for media interviews, school screenings and panel discussions.

Peter is happliy playing basketball again and has participated in meetings with the Congessional Refugee and Human Rights Caucuses, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Migration and Refugees, the Kansas state board of education and CARE.