DEAD POETS SOCIETY
"Carpe Diem" and "O Captain! My Captain" are but a few of the phrases emphasized on in the movie Dead Poets Society which is directed by Peter Weir. This films follows the lives of a couple of private school teenagers that had their lives changed forever because of the unorthodox teaching methods of their English teacher, Mr Keating. Through his teachings, his students learn things such as individuality and seizing the day etc. There are a vast number of themes covered in this movie, yet none are as dominant as the following:

The first theme is that of , "Carpe Diem." Mr Keating excels at preaching this belief to his students. He wants them to be extraordinary and live life to the fullest. One of his students named Neil has a passion for theater, and sure enough after much encouragement from Mr Keating he ends up with the lead role in a play. Another student of his named Todd is very shy and is not someone who tends to voice his thoughts and speak often in class, but will the help of Mr Keating he seizes the day by finally building up the courage to speak up more often than usual.

The second theme is that of non-conformity. The private school that they attend is one of very high accolades. Because of these accolades and successes over the years, they would rather people do not stray from their beliefs and their teaching methods. Mr Keating wants to make distinct individuals of each of his students. He begins by making them tear up a section of the poetry textbook they are using because he believes one cannot rate poetry on a scale. He also challenges his students to think for themselves.

The third and last theme is one of peer pressure. Since they are teenagers peer pressure will inevitably exist. It is not as serious as the cases today where people are pressured into drinking alcohol etc. It is just mild peer pressure in moments like when Todd didn't want to join the Dead Poets Society but then they persuaded him to. As well as another instance where Todd didn't want to read any poetry for their meetings but, once again, they persuaded him to.

Dead Poets Society is a very interesting piece of cinematography that teaches one to think for themselves and to seize the day. When the day is done and Mr Keating disembarks, no matter what transpired before this, you will still hear the never-ending cry of " O Captain! My Captain" from his pupils.

Poetry Analysis

Friend-zone by Dylan Garity

We, as guys, have all been in this place at some stage. A relationship limbo that exists when a girl is so close to you that she tells you everything and considers you as one of the girls or her brother. This is all fine unless you want something more to transpire between the two of you. That is where the idea of the “Friend-zone” comes into play. Dylan Garity is the poet who wrote the Friend Zone and finally brought this figurative plain-of-existence in our subconscious to reality. We have all been, “intimate with the friend zone,” with one girl or another. This poem talks about how it is to be in this, “magical home away from home,” but it also raises the points about how the only times people want to act like, “a decent fucking human is if [they] get something in exchange.” It also mentions how monsters do exist but before you can see the monsters, you have to, “recognize its shape in your own skin.” The mood of the poem starts of as a jocular piece but becomes very serious as it discusses the real issues of rape. The theme would be how people seem to only be nice to others if they want something in exchange. This poem was a very good one and I liked how he worked in the friend-zone idea because I have also been there before.

Cuz He’s Black by Javon Johnson

Racial stereotypes and oppression are getting into the mindset of our children. So much so that black children already assume that when they see, “ 5-0, [they] gotta hide.” This is the problem that Javal Johnson confronts in his poem Cuz He’s Black. This poem deals with the issues that are faced when racism comes into play. It also deals with how racial profiling can end up being the cause of many deaths and unjust prosecutions. To the extent where for black people, " routine traffic stops are more like mine fields." and cops driving down the street feel a lot like "low-flying planes in New York City." The mood of the poem, yet again, starts of in a somewhat jocular manner but takes a serious turn. The theme would be how black children are forced to grow up too quickly because of racial profiling and stereotypes. The poem was a very well written masterpiece and I fully enjoyed it because of its very serious message and the passion that the poet was reciting it with.


 Touchscreen by Marshall Davis Jones
"IPhone IMac IPhone IChat. I can do all of these things without making eye contact." We are becoming a society that is too immersed in technology. To the extent that we don't even have lives outside of the social media that we are a part of. Touchscreen ,by Marshall "Soulful" Jones is a poem that mentions the different instances in which we decide to "face Facebook" instead of looking for physical social interactions or actually facing books. We have reached a stage where, "[Our] world is so digital" that we can't even "hear mother nature over all of this tweeting" that we do. "But we are so powerless" against the allure of the digital world when we have "3,000 friends online" yet only a few that you "can count in real life." The mood of this poem is a semi-serious one that also has elements of satire and humor to explain what we have become. The theme is that we shouldn't live lives that are only online, but rather lives that are out o the digital world. I enjoyed this poem because of the way it summed up how most people do tend to spend their time nowadays. 

The B.A Team

B.A Balackus
25 Free Man Street
Dry Beaver Creek
VA75&75

June 16, 2014
Inspector Jaque Clouseau
Chief Of Police
145 Rue Justice
Paris, France
1A2 R3T


Dear Inspector Clouseau

I am deeply saddened to inform you that the Mona Lisa, is no more. On the bright side, a very vibrant 92 year old woman is safe. This was my doing. Before you get mad at me I believe you should hear my argument and the morale dillema I felt in the situation. On one hand, there was the most prized painting in the world. Yet on the other hand, I had a life that hung in the balance.

I saved Ada because she is a human being. At the end of the day human life is more scintillationg than that of paintings. One cannot put a price on human life, which is why I saved her. The second point I'd like to raise is the fact that we all know everything there is to know about the Mona Lisa, so it would be fairly easy to create a duplicate. The dimension are 30 by 21 and everyone knows the ambiguous smile. Therefore it would be easy to create a rather intricate and almost perfect replica.

The last reason, and probably the most important reason, as to why I saved Ada Artlover is because my mother would be nowhere without her.  Through conversation with her it came to m realization that she was a proffessor that my mother greatly admired in her younger years. She was my mother's mentor in many ways and it was because of her that my mother got into the line of work that she did. That is why this woman, to me, is more important than the Mona Lisa. I haven't gotten a chance to thank her for all she did for my mother, and this was my way of doing it.

Please understand and empathize with my decision on this one, as it is too late to do anything about it now.
Yours sincerely
Lutsha Bata

Nooooooooo!!!! Not The Hospital...

The smell of antiseptic, chloroform, disinfectant and a variety of different odors attack my nostrils. The pungent odor overwhelms my nostrils, causing my eyes to water. No matter how much I’d like to leave right now, I know that is not an option. I just have to sit there in that cold, hard steel chair and wait. Wait until the news of my mother’s condition is disclosed to me and my family waiting there. Huge concern for my mother filled my thoughts. Yet an element of irritation was creeping into my being as well from the constant reassurance from my grandmother that “everything’s going to be ok.” Although I commend her for her efforts, it didn’t do much to quell my anxiety. I hate hospitals. Being in an out of them in my younger years has slightly scarred me but also forced me to subconsciously boycott all forms of hospitals and clinics. The only reason I am here, right now, is for my mother. Pens clicking, footsteps of people with purpose and medical monitors’ are beeping periodically. These are some of the noises that fill the hospital. Discomfort creeps in. The Nike shoes that I’m wearing are a size too small. But worst of all, nobody has given me any news on the condition of my mother! We have been sitting here for hours, so the least they could do is keep us updated. Pangs of pain are going through my head right now. A headache ensues. The last thing I need right now, has happened. I dearly hope that this whole ordeal comes to an end very soon. But most of all, I hope my mother is alright.

Deceitful

He is a liar! He is narcissistic! He is Liam. Gael Helgason’s short story Bluffing follows the events of Gabrielle and Liam, a couple who go hiking up to a lake where they have a deadly encounter with a grizzly bear. This encounter leaves Liam in the hospital and Gabrielle unsure about his true intentions when he states that “[He] wasn’t trying to run away up there” but instead to save her. Is he a hero or a coward?  Is he trustworthy when the going gets tough or completely unreliable? Simply put to solve all of these questions, he is a liar and fabrication is his strong suit. The fact that he said he wanted to save her shows that he cares for her, but this ‘caring’ only seemed to manufacture itself after the bear attack. Before the bear attack he shows no signs of caring for anyone but himself, so saving Gabrielle seems like something he wouldn’t do in that predicament. He wants to leave and go to “…Yosemite, maybe New Mexico.” without even asking for her opinion on the matter. This in itself proves that if he indeed cares for her, it is only in a miniscule manner. He is also controlling, going as far as to insist that a certain “home-made cleaning solution…” should be used in their home and nothing else. Most of all, if he indeed did care for her then he wouldn’t have left her to face that behemoth of a bear by herself. Liam would’ve stood his ground with Gabrielle instead of “…running away as fast as he could.” Although Liam thought he might have fooled the world into believing he is a hero, certainly Gabrielle knows otherwise.

Nothing to live for
Her name is Patty. Patty was your average women at some stage in her life . She was smart, attractive, witty with a decent job working in a law firm. She had no other family, except a sister who lived with her and supported her throughout all of her struggles. Then one day this all changed...

Patty was busy working one night when her sister called her phone. She refused to answer it because she was busy working on a big case for her law firm and she didn't want to be disturbed. The hours went by with her sister still calling her phone constantly,yet Patty still shrugged of the calls and eventually turned off her phone. Once she had finished reviewing her case file, she lazily dragged herself to bed. Dragging the top half of her body, which would be followed the bottom half, much like a worm. She finally got to her bedroom and she was instantly asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
In the morning she awoke to the sound of her cellphone ringing again. This time she picked it up,assuming it would be her sister,but she was wrong. The caller ID was her sister's, but the voice coming out of the phone was male. The male turned out to be a doctor. This doctor told Patty that last night her sister was in a car accident and they needed a relative to supply the blood type she needed to survive. Patty dropped the phone, shocked at what she had just heard. She didn't need the doctor totell her the rest, because Patty knew what he would've said. Her sister was gone. Never to return to this world.

Patty blamed herself for what had happened to her sister. The only person in her life that she had cared about was dead and she considered it to be her fault. She went to the bench on the side of the road where they had made a memorial for her and she spent her days there. Even getting into smoking because she felt it was the only way to deal with the stress. She sat there for weeks on end, repenting to her sister for the fact that she wasn't there to save her. She wouldn't answer her phone and her law firm eventually fired her. The days turned to weeks, the weeks turned to months and the months turned to years.

Now she sits there,in an eternal state of grief. Patty is wearing a hat to shield her from the rays of the sun that day. In her attire are also a pair of earrings, a necklace and three rings. All of which belonged to her sister. She has been doing this for over 30 years now, just sitting in that one spot. Blowing through packs and packs of cigarretes every day. Her voice is a lawnmower now. She clears her throat countless times before she can even utter a single word. The over-excessive smoking is causing her already frail body to deteriorate even faster. Her hair has withered with time and become like an unwatered plant. The sea of sadness she has endured has long since turned her once still ocean like skin into skin that has been completely overrun with ripples. Her eyes have long since been drained of their vibrant hazel color. Now all that one sees in her eyes is nothing but despair. No hapiness, no joy, no love. Only anguish.

Now she just sits there. Awaiting the day when her existence can end and she can finally become reunited with her sister. Patty does indeed have nothing to live for.

Another day in the life of the Greatest performer ever

The crowd is chanting his name. The stadium is filled to the brim with fans eager to see his performance and how he will do.  Lutsha walks out onto the stage, with a mic in hand. His hand appears to be shaking, anxiety is radiating from him like a light-switch. He has never been in a situation like this before, but he knows he that he will get through it. His First time performing his raps and lyrical artworks to the masses of a different country altogether. He stares out into the crowd, hoping to see familiar faces but to no avail. He swallows his fear and proceeds to begin his performance, with Canada as his stage. . .

His vocal projection is bad in the first song, due to the fact he is nervous and sick. He still carried on though, because the show must go on. Near the end of the song, he feels dissatisfied with what he just performed. The crowd however, had not given up hope in what his performance might turn out to be. Lutsha knew that the only way he could go from here was up. He proceeded to perform his next couple of songs. Each one portraying a different trait of his personality. The first displaying his many hobbies such as reading, poetry, writing music and just plain socialization with friends. The second song dealt with the aspects of his life in Africa and how he dearly missed his friends and family. This, however was the last sad song he would perform tonight. The third song dealt with how he views himself as a smart,somewhat good-looking,intriguing,witty,humorous yet slightly mean person. This song would also speak of the many sports he had particapated in while he was in South Africa. These included rugby,karate,cricket and field hockey to name a few. With each passing song the crowd would become more attached and interested in the type of person that Lutsha is. By the time the concert had reached an intermission, the crowd had already gauged the type of person that stood before them with these lyrical masterpieces.

The crowd is chanting his name, ever so eagerly. Awaiting the second half of the concert to start. Sure enough Lutsha comes out and he gets things underway. The second half kicked off with a song that would describe different values he holds so dear to him. He values friendship,loyalty,respect and most of all trust. The next song would be a different one as he mentioned those he looks up too. He looks up to his mother, for her caring personality and her hard-working attitude. He also looks up to those such as Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela who fought against their separate oppression-related issues with words,rather than violence.

His next song delve into the types of movies and tv shows he watches. After jokingly mentioning the Notebook and Grey's Anatomy as his favourites, he eventually stated that his favourite shows include Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Arrow and a wide array of anime. His favorite movie so far is The Great Gatsby. He also mentioned his obsession with James Patterson novels as he is indeed a great writer.

His show concludes with him freestyling as he did not prepare his whole act for the whole show. The crowd enjoyed his presence like it was Christmas day. They unwrapped every layer and peeked,just for a moment, into the things that make him tick. They seemed to like every little thing about him. From his laugh, to his hair. Every little imperfection was not judged by this crowd as they knew they were not perfect themselves.

Lutsha carries on with his never-ending performance. With Canada as the stage and all the new people he meets as his audience.