The Alchemist/Julius Caesar; essay reflection

"The Alchemist" and "Julius Caesar" are my first two essays that I have written in my life. I haven't written an essay before in English so it was hard for me to complete both essays, but comparing the two essays, you can tell that how my writing skills have improved.

In my first essay "The Alchemist", I didn't do a good job because most of my sentences don't make sense. and I don't have good ideas and contents. I didn't get the message that the author wanted to to tell the readers, so my essay was written about things that don't make sense. Comparing to my firs essay, my second essay, "Julius Caesar" makes much more sense. My ideas are explained on the essay and I think I have some good ideas and content. It was harder for me to write the Alchemist essay because it had been only 2 months since I started to learn English again, but the Julius Caesar essay was easier for me because it had been almost a year since I am going to ISKL. I could improve my skills more by reading the book many times and to know a lot more vocabularies and writing skills so that I can write more interesting contents.

I think that I could have done my organization much more better. Even though I improved my writing skills comparing the Alchemist and Julius Caesar, some of my quotes and explanation still doesn't make sense and make a connection. I started both of my essays with a quote to make the readers want to explore my essay. All of the quotes have a connection to what I wanted to say, and I think they all have an important message to say to the readers. I think my topic sentence is OK, but my concluding sentence is not good. I wrote the same thing that I wrote in my body paragraph so my essay end the way it should. I can't summarize my ideas the way I want to. I write them in different pieces so the readers cannot understand. I can improve my skills by writing a lot of essays in my life, and be able to say my thoughts more often in my humanities class.

I was able to write more quickly in the Julius Caesar essay than the Alchemist essay, and I was able to write sentences that makes sense. In my Alchemist essay, I got a lot of help and a lot of correcting with my vocabularies and sentences, but in the Julius Caesar essay my ESL teacher said that i have improved my writing skills and have much more good vocabularies to use, and I think so too.

The SLR that I think fits the most is communicate effectively. I went to ask a lot of questions to my ESL teacher and got a lot of help. For me, communicate effectively was really important in the essay section. I would like to read a lot of English books and try to get the message the author wants to tell the readers, and I would like to make my essays better and better each time I write one.

Julius Caesar Final Essay

“Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this; Brutus had rather be a villager than to repute himself a son of Rome under these hard conditions as this time is like to lay upon us.”(Act 1.2 lines 169-173) Brutus is an honorable man, and loves Rome. This drove him to kill Caesar because he was afraid that Caesar would take over Rome democracy. His motivations, being a patriotism man and being an honorable man didn’t come out well because at the beginning, he said after we kill Caesar we shall be proud, but at the end he killed himself.

By the way Brutus thinks of Rome and does good things for Rome, the people see Brutus as a patriotism person. Brutus sees Caesar as a threat to Rome’s power and democracy. He is afraid that after Cesar becomes king, he will rule Rome in his own way and use the people as slaves. Brutus joins the conspirators to kill Caesar in order to save Rome. “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.” (Act 2.1 lines 10-13) He doesn’t want Caesar to rule Rome, but he is a friend of Caesar at the same time, so he still is wondering a little bit at this point. But, Brutus partakes in the assassination of Caesar making a reason that he will kill Caesar for Rome, and after they kill him Brutus says we should be proud of themselves for killing him. “And let our hearts, as subtle masters do, stir up; their servants to an act of rage; and after seen to chide’em. This shall make our purpose necessary, and not envious; which so appearing to the common eyes, we shall be called purgers, not murderers.” (Act 2.1

You can tell that Brutus is an honorable man by the way he acts out to the people and to Caesar. Although he kills Caesar, he doesn’t want Caesar to be killed like an animal; he wants him to be proud that he is killed for Rome. Brutus doesn’t want to be seen as murderers after he kills Caesar. “Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. We shall stand up against the spirit of Caesar, and in the spirit of men there is no blood. O, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit, and not dismember Caesar! But alas, Caesar must bleed for it. And gentle friends, let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully; let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods, not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.” (Act 2.1 lines 166-174) Brutus also doesn’t want Antony to be killed after they have killed Caesar. Some of the conspirators say that they must kill Antony because he might revenge to the conspirators but Brutus says to leave him alone and to not kill him. He reminds the conspirators the reason why they have killed Caesar is to save Rome from going under Caesar’s power. “Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. To cut the head off and then hack the limbs, like wrath in death and envy afterwards; for Antony is a limb of Caesar.” (Act 2.1 lines 162-165) Brutus doesn’t want to see many bloods of people. All he wants is Caesar’s blood to show the people that they have saved Rome for them.

Brutus decided to kill Caesar from his patriotism character because he was afraid that Caesar would take over Rome and use the people as slaves. Although he kills Caesar, he doesn’t kill other people such as Antony, because his goal was to save Rome from Caesar. Brutus didn’t achieve his goal worthy, because at the end Antony revenges to the conspirators and all of them die, and Brutus kills himself too, when he said in the begging they must be proud after they have killed Caesar. But I believe that Brutus’s goal was worthy because he got to kill Caesar boldly and at the end Antony says that he would like to invite Brutus as their friend. That means that Antony has considered what Brutus has done.

Collage Reflection

Think Creatively!


The reason I choose brutality for the collage is because I thought the lost boys haven’t seen heaven before. One of the lost boy said that heaven doesn’t existed. This word made me feel that they really haven’t had a good life, and they won’t have a good life unless they get good education. “The only thing I know.” is showing that the boys aren’t able to go where they want to. They can’t go anywhere because they don’t have money.


Reason Critically!


I made all the pictures black white and tanki color to make the pictures pop out. All of the pictures are children and aren’t smiling. I selected these pictures because it shows that they haven’t had a good life. It is easy to fin a smiling face of children, but it is hard to find children that aren’t smiling in the picture. The children are thin. It made me want to do something to them. All the pictures that I saw made me want to do something to them. The text that I choose are all the things that I thought it would describe the lost boys feelings the most. Even though they know that their life won’t change, I still think that they are having hope.


Communicate Effectively!


The word brutality shows how tough their life is. If they keep on living like they are right now, they won’t be able to survive. The children only have skin over their bones, and they all look pale. The things that we can do, is to donate money, and give food. We can always give things to the lost boys.


Live Ethically!


I think my pictures showed empathy the most. When I was looking for pictures, and when I found the pictures that I have right now, it made me want to cry. I think if people look at the pictures, they think the same way that I did. I think that using the six word memoir was a very good way to explain the lost boys. It gives a lot of impact, and it is easy to understand by making the sentence short. This collage will make a lot of people want to help the lost boys in Sudan.

Lost Boys of Sudan

When I heard about going to America, I was really excite because the people said that America is like heaven. I thought that I could finally get out of the refugee camp and start a new life. But when I got there, I realized that heaven doesn’t exist in the world. The weeks that I have been spending in America I was in culture shock All the things that I saw were new, and amazing. The food that I ate was really good, and when it was my first day of work; I was amazed by how fast the people work in the factories. But at the same time, I felt that I was left over. Wherever I go, all the people look at me and say that I will beat them up just because I am a black person.

Another thing that was hard for me to do was to deal about money. I thought it was easy for me to send money to my family, but it was hard and I was too busy. Also, I thought I could have a better life in America, but I have to pay the money for school, for my house, and have to buy food for myself. Since I m going to school, I don’t have enough time to go to work, so it is hard for me to send money to my family. There were a lot of stereotypes that made me feel like that I don’t fit in America. At school, a lot of people are having boyfriends and girlfriends, but I can’t even make a friend at the first place. All the teachers look at me and talk to me like I am a kindergartener, which made me feel that I’m not good educated enough to be in high school. When I tried out for basketball, all the things that I learned new were the things that most of the other people already know. It is hard for me to fit in. when a friend of mine asked me about my home country, and asked me how I ran away from the bombs, how I knew that my father died, and when she said “I can understand your feelings” I was depressed. I know it’s not her fault that she really doesn’t understand my feelings, it still made me sad. I didn’t want her to say that word. In her whole life, I know that she will never understand a 4-year-old boy running away from bombs and losing your family at once. I realized that we live in a totally different world. I felt that I want to go back to Dinka and see my family.

Now, I have graduated school and made my way to tackle; university. I am going to start a new life in university, but always remember the things that I have gone through in America, and of course in Sudan; Dinka.

Julius Caesar: Solo

Act 3.1 pages 118-120 line 183-210

Antony; I doubt not of your wisdom.
Let each man render me his bloody hand.
First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you;
Next Caius Cassius, do i take your hand;
Now, Decius Brutus, yors; now yours, Metellus;
Yours, Cinna; and, my valiant Casca, yours;
Though last, not least in love, yours, good Trebonius.
Gentalmen all- alas, what shall I say?
My credit now stands on such slippery ground,
That one of two bad ways you must conceit me,
Either a coward, or a flatterer.
That I did love thee, caesar, O,`tis true!
If then thy spirit look upon us now,
Shall it not grieve thee dearer than thy death,
To see thy Antony making his peace,
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes,
Most noble, in the presence of thy corse?
Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds,
weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood,
It would become me better than to close
In terms of friendship with thine enemies.
Pardon me, Julius! Here was thou bay'd, brave heart;
Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand,
Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe.
O world, thou wast the forest to this heart;
And this indeed, O world, the heart of thee.
How like a deer, strucken by many princes,
Dost thou here lie!


The passage that I choose is significant because it is the part where Caesar is already killed and Antony says he will be on the conspirators side, when really he thinks that there are no one better than Caesar. It shows that Antony really loved Caesar, and although he shook hands with the conspirators, I can tell that he won't be with the conspirators. It is using a dramatic irony, where we can tell that Antony is up to something, but the conspirators don't.

I will work it by myself.