The Restoration

(from Encyclopedia Britannica)

1. Research The Glorious Revolution (sometimes called the Bloodless Revolution) online or in one of the textbooks. Write a paragraph summarizing what happened, and then another that explains why you think the event was so important.

After Charles II of England died in 1685, his brother James II succeeded him. James II was a Roman Catholic and many English people opposed Roman Catholics. One reason was because it was widely believed that Roman Catholics started a fire in London and caused other disasters. Another reason is because English people were worried that James II would hand over power to the pope. When James had a son (a catholic heir) the Royal family thought it wasn’t safe and fled to France. King James II was forced into exile. His Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange took the throne. This accomplished the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

The main reason why I think this event was important is because after this the monarchy in England would never again hold absolute power. In turn, the Kings powers were greatly restricted and Parliament became more powerful. The overthrow of James II finally established Protestantism in England.

2. Define "satire". Don't just copy and paste a definition from another source. Read the definition, and then explain it in your own words. Once you have done that, provide a few modern-day examples of satire (television shows, movies, magazines, etc.).

Satire is a type of writing or art in which irony or sarcasm may be used to expose something wrong or unexpected. The use of satire in TV shows, movies, and magazines is very common. One example of a TV show that uses satire is Family Guy. Another more popular show that uses satire is The Simpsons.

3. Read "A Modest Proposal", which may be difficult at first, but if you stick with it, the message will become more clear. Once you are finished reading, you should write a short response to what you read (4-5 sentences), and explain how this is a work of satire.

After reading this I have to say that Johnathan Swift is a sick man. He first talks about how the streets are filled with woman beggars and their children. He makes it seem like the children are burdens to their mothers and that they are the ones responsible for their situation. Then he goes on to say that beggars are also hurting the commonwealth. This is probably true. What he proposes next shocked me.

He explains how a baby can be kept well on his/her mother’s milk for the first year. Breast milk is free so there are no expenses to the mother. He then proposes that the after the first year the babies can be sold for food. This is one of the sickest ideas I have heard of. Swift actually goes on telling the readers why he believes this will be a good way to fix the problem. I thought most of his ideas were absolutely ridiculous or just flat out sick.

When I realized that Swift was using satire I felt relieved. It turns out he’s not really serious. "A Modest Proposal" is a work of satire because what is normally expected was turned upside down. Instead of proposing something like a place for the poor children to go Swift proposes that the children be sold for human consumption. This was not what I expected he would propose and this is what makes it a work of satire.

4. Read either "from the Diary of Samuel Pepys" or "from A Journal of the Plague Year" by Daniel Defoe, both of which can be found in the purple anthology. Once you have finished reading, write a 1-2 paragraph response to what you have read. Please be sure to include some direct evidence from the text to help show what you are responding to.

The piece of literature I chose to read is "A Journal of the Plague Year" by Daniel Defoe. In this work Defoe writes his accounts of the plague that struck London in the form of a journal. The only problem is that Defoe was only five years old when it happened. By using his childhood memories, city records, and accounts from other people he manages to create this journal. He uses the initials H.F. to serve as the narrator. After reading this I have to say that Defoe was successful in making the reader believe that this was written by an eyewitness when the plague occured.

My favorite exert from "A Journal of the Plague Year" was the one about the poor piper. The poor piper was "an ignorant, weak, poor man" that usually walked around 10 o’ clock at night and went piping from door to door. People usually took him in and gave him food and drinks. When the plague came he couldn’t do this anymore. He started to get skinny and this made it seem like he was dead. One day when the death carts came by they thought the poor piper was dead from the plague so they lifted him into the cart with the dead bodies. It turned out he was only sleeping. Luckily he woke up right before being thrown into the pit with the bodies. I thought this was hilarious. Even though this was a really sad time Defoe was still able to add some comedy into his exerts. I think he is able to do this because he wasn’t writing a first hand account and he didn’t really suffer from all the grief. He was too young to really know what was happening at the time.

5. What do you think was most important to people living in this time? Write a 1-2 paragraph response to this question in which you use direct evidence from the texts you read to support whatever arguments you make.

During the Restoration and the Eighteenth Century England was going through some hard times. Civil War, disease, and even poverty were draining the country. People would actually leave the country just to get away from all the problems. If I were living in England during this time I would want changes for the better more than anything else. This is why I believe that change was the most important thing to most of the people at the time. The only people I could think of that wouldn’t find changes for the better important would be the upper class because they were living well. But even the upper class would want changes for the better when plague or religious and political persecution came.

Response 5: Macbeth, Act IV & V

In the beginning of Act IV the three witches are shown in a dark cavern surrounding a bubbling cauldron. Macbeth wants to know more about the prophecies. The witches do some magic and three apparitions appear.The first apparation told Macbeth to beware Macduff but he alreadfy knew this. The second apparation is a bloody child that’s tells Macbeth that "none of woman born / shall harm Macbeth" (IV.i.96–97). This was important because it made Macbeth feel more confident in a way. The third apparitiion was also something he already knew since he didnt kill Fleance. After the apparations Lennox tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled. Macbeth then tells murderers to kill Macduffs family. After this we see Lady Macduff at her place. She wants to know why her husband left. Then her son comes in and starts asking about his father. He is worried about his dad. His mom tries explain that his father has done something bad. After this murderers come in and kill them. After seeing this I have to say that Macbeth is purely evil. Macduff finds out about this at the end of Act IV. The murder of Macduffs family showed the audience the truth about Macbeth and I think it also helped to make everyone realize that Macbeth has to be stopped.

Act V is the final act in Macbeth where everything comes to an end. The first scene starts out with a doctor and a gentlewoman. The doctor is there because Lady Macbeth has been acting ill. Lady Macbeth starts sleepwalking and starts talking about the murders the doctor hears it and says that he should be quiet. It seems to me that Lady Macbeth is now feeling guilty and going crazy because of this guilt. Meanwhile Macbeth hears about the army coming. He says he is ready for battle. The way he says it makes it seem like Macbeth thinks he is invincible. In the next scene Malcolm tells the army to get branches from the forest of Dirmham and tells them to use it as camaflouge. This scene represents the woods moving up to the castle. When Macbeth learns this he realizes he might be in trouble. He suits up and goes to battle. First Macbeth kills Lord Siwards son. Macbeth then encounters Macduff. They battle and Macbeth telss him that he cant be killed by him. Macduff then says that he was untimely ripped from his mother meaning he didn’t come out of the womb. When Macbeth finds out he say he wont battle and tries to quit. Macduff shows no mercy and kills Macbeth. That’s pretty much the end.

Response 4: Macbeth, Act III

Act 3 scene 1 starts out with banquo talking about his worries. He knows that its dangerous for him and his son since Macbeth heard what the witches told him too. Macbeth comes and invites him to dinner. Banquo say he has to ride somewhere. Macbeth asks where he is going to go and if his son Fleance is going to be with him. At this point, if I was in Banquos position I would be suspicious of Macbeth. Why does Macbeth want to know where Banquo is going to be and the time he will be there? Next we find out why. Macbeth is plotting to kill Banquo. He gets some murderers to do the job by questioning their manhood. They agree to do it.

In scene 2 Lady Macbeth has a servant call Macbeth. She is worried about her husband. Macbeth says that "We have scorched the snake, not killed it" (Act3.2.13). This means that they still have something to worry about. He tells Lady Macbeth that he is worried about Banquo being alive. Lady Macbeth tries to tell him not to worry but it doesnt help. Then Macbeth tells her about his plan to murder Banquo and his son. He also tells her not to show any sign of whats going to happen. Now it seems like Macbeth is the one giving the orders and coming up with the plans. This makes me believe that Macbeth has really become an evil person.

In scene 3 Banquo is murdered. The murderers waited for him on the trail and ambushed him. The lights were put out and Banquo was able to tell Fleance to flee. Fleance gets away. It turns out one of the murderers thought it would be better to put out the lights. It treally wasnt. With Fleance still alive Macbeth is still at risk.

In scene 4 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are having supper with their guests at the palace. The murderers enter and tell Macbeth aside that Banquo has been killed but Fleance got away. Macbeths says his fit has come again. The murderers leave. What happens next leads to the climax of the story. At the dinner table Macbeth sees Banquos ghost sitting on his seat. He freaks out and thinks someone is playing tricks on him. Since nobody else could see it they thought Macbeth was loosing it. Then Macbeth really starts freaking out and says "Though canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me". This line right here is important because Macbeth has just incriminated himself. Ross tells everyone to leave but Lady Macbeth tells them not to worry. Macbeth freeks out more and then the ghost leaves. He then notices that no one else saw it. He asks them to excuse his behavior. The ghost comes back and then he mentions Banquos absence. Lady Macbeth again tries to tell the guests not to worry. When the ghost leaves Ross asks him what sights hes talking about. Lady Macbeth then says that Macbeth is getting worse and that he shouldnt be questioned. The guests leave. After this scene, we see that people are now suspicious of Macbeth. He has self-incriminated himself by saying that he cant say he didnt commit murder. From this point in the story it seems like everything will be going downhill for Macbeth.

Response 3: Macbeth, Act II

At the end of Act I Macbeth agrees to go along with his wife’s plan to kill Duncan. Act II starts out at night with Banquo and his son Fleance up late at night. Banquo says hes been having "cursed thoughts" (II.i.8) and that he cant sleep. Macbeth enters and has a brief conversation with them. Banquo mentions the witches and Macbeth says he hasn’t been thinking about it. Macbeth then says "when we can entreat an hour to serve, we would spend it in some words upon that business" (II.i.22-23). I think that this makes it seem like Macbeth has something planned for the night. Once they leave Macbeth starts hallucinating. He sees a dagger floating in the air and pointing to Duncans room. Then it turns bloody. Macbeth wonders if it is real but decides its just his imagination. Then the signal goes off. This ends sene 1.

In scene 2 Lady Macbeth enters and says that she has done everything in the plan except murder the king. She couldnt do it because he resembled her father. All of sudden they skip what happens and Macbeth enters and says that hehas killed Duncan but he left the dagger. He also mentions that he couldnt say amen. His wife gets mad then goes to get the dagger. After that we get some comical relief in scene 3 with the porter and his part. Then the others find out that the king has been murdered. When Malcom and Donalbain find out that their father has been murdered they do what they think is best, and flee the scene. In scene 4 we see that overall the plan went well for the Macbeth's since the chamberlaigns were the ones blamed for the murder. Since the two sons fled the scene people also become suspicious of them. All of this helps Macbeth because less eyes are on him now but he still has to worry about Malcolm and Donalbain.

Response 2: Macbeth, Act I

In Act 1 a lot of stuff goes down. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and then king. After this encounter with the witches he learns that King Duncan has appointed him Thane of Cawdor making half of the witches prophecy true. Macbeth is worried now. If the first prediction came true then the second one will to, but Macbeth is scared of how it might happen. Once we see his wifes reaction to the prediction we all know how Macbeth will become King. Lady Mabeth decides that the King has to be killed so Macbeth can become king and she can become queen. Then she hears that the king will be visiting them. Once she knows this she decides to execute the plan. At first Macbeth tells her "We will proceed no further in this business" (Act 1 Scene 7 Line 3). This tells me that Macbeth didnt want to do it and it also shows me that he isnt a bad person. Lady Macbeth reacts to this by making it seem like it was his idea all along. Somehow she finally convinces Macbeth to go along with the plan. She also says that she will be the one to kill the king and Macbeth won't have to be involved. In my opinion, Lady Macbeth is the bad guy.

Response 1: The Renaissance in Europe

I think that the Renaissance in Europe was a very important period of time because during that period new ideas about life, philosophy, religion and art came out. Even though, many of these ideas were considered radical at the time, they still changed people’s perspective on life and in most cases I think that this change was a good one. Not only were new ideas introduced but old ideas were reintroduced. I think that this of explosion of new theories really contributed to people living better lives(except for the poor). At the same time some of these new ideas caused conflicts with the Church. King Henry the VIII actually seperated from the church.

Also during the Renaissance, there was a huge expansion of written knowledge (mainly because of the printing press). Because of this expansion, literacy levels in Europe increased and thanks to this increase, from way back then, we are where we are right now(in literacy terms). If the Renaissance didn’t happen then I think we might have been stuck in the Dark Ages for a while. Thats just my opinion.

Overall, The Rennaissance really was a rebirth for Europe.

Reading Response

The book I chose to read this time is called "The Last Don" by Mario Puzo. The reason I chose to read this is because I love Mario Puzo's work. Most of his books are about the mafia life and the The Last Don is one of my favorites. So far I have read 465 pages and Im loving it. I also read two other books by Mario Puzo in the past (The Godfather and The Sicilian) and this book is just as good as those two. One thing that I really loved about this book is the fact that they also incorporated the movie business in the story.

The story starts out as the end of a mafia family war. The Clericuzos have just finished off their rivals and they are now in a very powerful position. Don Domenico(the boss of the Clericuzos) knows that times are changing and he wants his grandchildren to not be part of the mafia life. At the christianing of his grandson Dante and his nephew Cross De Lena he makes the arrangements for a shift of power and he appoints positions. The reason he is doing this is so his grandchild and nephew wont be introduced to the Mafia life. This is something that just wouldnt happen for the Don. There are many subplots in this story about hollywood and vegas which makes it even more interesting.

So far I am at the point where everything is going down. I dont want to give it away but I will say that the Clericuzos big problem is now gone and Cross now has something alot bigger to worry about. I cant wait to find out how he is going to be dealt with by the........ Nope cant give it away.

If you liked the Godfather then you will more than likely like this book too.