The Beginning of the End

The banquet scene is the beginning of the end for Macbeth. It was the end for him because this is where he first starts to go mad with the guilt, and it is when the lords start to notice that Macbeth is not himself, and may be piecing the evidence together. (III. 4. 92-94) “Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee. Thy bones are marrowless, they blood is cold. Thou hast no speculation in those eyes which thou dost glare with”. This is a great example to show Macbeth’s madness, because he is yelling at the ghost, telling him he is no longer living and should be back in his grave. This proves his madness by showing that he is driven so mad with guilt and worry from the murder of Banquo, that his mind is playing tricks on himself, and he thinks he is seeing Banquo’s ghost. Part of his madness is comes from the sleep deprivation he has ben having becuase he isso ridden with guild, he cannot rest. When Macbeth is yelling at the ghost is when the lords start to notice that Macbeth is going mad, and may draw conclusions about how innocent he really is. (III.4. 115) “What sights my lord?” Ross is questioning what Macbeth is talking about when he says that his cheeks are blanched with fear when he beholds such a sight. This is the moment when the lords are getting very confused about Macbeth’s strange actions during the dinner. Talking to the ghost, and the lords noticing his madness and drawing conclusions is "the beginning of the end" for Macbeth becuase he has finally made it to the top as King, but these 2 things will possible destroy him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klf9sSRcEvc

In 1523, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote the book, “The Prince” as a gift to Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici. The thesis of his book is “the ends justify the means”, meaning, it doesn’t matter how you get to the end, as long as you get there. In Machiavelli’s book, “the end” really means staying in power, so his book to Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici explains the steps he should take in order to maintain his power.

In his book, one of Machiavelli's main points in “politics have no relation to morals”. An example of this is his quote, “It is not essential for a Prince to have all good qualities, but it is most essential that he should seem to have them.” In translation: you can trick your people into thinking that you are a good leader, if you can fake that you are a good leader.

This quote is a good example that shows the characteristics of a leader, and of their people. A leader is sneaky, a liar, and sometimes heartless. It explains that leaders are heartless in the quote “men ought to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.” In other words, it is easiest to control your people if you treat them right, but if need be you need to completely destroy them, whether that is mentally or physically, because that is the only way you will keep control of them.

An example that a leader is a liar is the quote, “A prince never lacks a legitimate reason to break his promise.” What this means is that a leader will always have a reason to go back on his word, so there for he can lie to his people, because he will have a reason to do so no matter what. This quote also explains the characteristics of people. People are unaware, gullible, and sometimes stupid. This is shown when their leader lies to them. Under an intelligent leader's reign, people will always believe what he has to say, even if he lies to them multiple times and goes back on his word.

This specific quote makes me appreciate leaders more. It explains that as long as you can come up with a reason, you can always lie and always get away with it. It seems like a simple thing, but only a true genius can pull of constantly going back on his word, and keeping all his lies from destroying him, at the same time controlling thousands of people.

I agree with Machiavelli's points, but at the same time I disagree with them. I disagree with them because it is against my personal morals to go against what is politically correct, just to maintain power. However, I agree with him because, like with the cannibal story from Harvard, sometime you have to do whatever it takes to maintain power, or stay alive.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age, is a movie about the Queen of England, Elizabeth. Elizabeth has to lead England to victory, when Phillip of Spain sends the Spanish Armada to destroy them, because Elizabeth sent for the execution Mary Stuart, who Phillip wanted to marry when she took throne, so he could control Spain, England, and Scottland. At the same time, she had to deal with the drama of the man she is falling in love with, Sr. Walter Raleigh.

I enjoyed this movie because I had heard of Queen Elizabeth, but I had never heard of the story before, so it was very interesting to learn about her life. I also enjoyed it because I like learning about things set in the 1500s.

The first aspect form the previous cycle I saw was religion being a motivator. In the movie, the justice system executed Bess's cousin and father, simply because they were Papists, who are against Catholicism. An example from the previous cycle is with gold, gold, and glory. One of Spain's motives for exploration was to spread the religion of Catholicism.
The second example I saw was the idea of expanding empires. In the movie, Phillip of Spain main reason for marrying Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland when she took thrown of England, was so he could not only have control over Spain, but Scotland and England as well. An example from the previous cycle was how Spain and Portugal went exploring to the New World, hoping to gain land and access.
The third aspect from the previous cycle I saw was gun powder. In the movie, the Spanish Armada's and England's ships both used gun powder for firing cannons. They were able to use gun powder because the Mongols were the first ones with gun powder, and when they invaded part of Europe, but left right away, Europe reaped the benefits of gun powder and other items, so they were able to use gun powder in battles, like the one against England.

Her top three leadership qualities were her confidence, her bravery, and her determination. She was very confident when she was on her horse, giving her army a speech before they went to battle. This part also showed her bravery because even though she is the queen of England, and a woman, she herself was fighting in that battle, risking her own life for England.
She is very determined, and is able to stay on track. Her country is being attacked by the Spanish Armada, which will not give in, and the man she is in love with, loves another woman. She is very determined because she does not let these factors get to her head, which is one of the reasons England was victorious.
Her greatest downfall was her love for Sr. Walter Raleigh. Because Mr. Raleigh loved another woman, Bess, Elizabeth became so jealous, that she resulted in hitting Bess, who has been like a sister to her.
Overall, she was a very effective leader for England. She was the smartest leader they could have had. England needed someone to take control and decide what is best for England. Elizabeth was perfect for this, because she knew that her country needed her to be strong, and to prove that the Virgin Queen can lead them to victory, which she did.

Sir. Walter Raleigh demonstrated great leadership qualities. He has the amazing skill and knowledge to make decisions for a group. When they were in the ship, firing back and forth with the Spanish Armada, he was the one who decided that they would have to break up their formation in order to stop them from proceeding. This decision helped to defeat the Spanish Armada, and save England.

1. Between the years 500 and 1500, Europe was considered one of the worst places to be because of the corrupt justice system, violence, and disease, but after year 1500 it became one of the best places to live because of the advancements in technology and innovations.


2. During the Dark Ages, Europe was a very dangerous place to be because the violence within witch hunts, trials, and entertainment.


3. During the Dark Ages, the feudal system was very corrupt, because 90% of people were peasants and worked for the Nobles, and in return the peasants received protection.





4. The legal system was very unfair, because the Nobles would be the only ones to decide if someone was guilty or not, and they would decide with very unethical tests, like drowning someone and if they survive, they are guilty.


5. Many innovations helped Europe transition out of the dark ages, the most successful of them being the gun because it was so powerful and intimidating compared to the common sword that they had been using for many years.

The Pencil.

Everyone uses a pencil in their life. Students just like myself constantly use them in class, and we can all thank the residents from a small village in Cumbia, England for this invention. The villagers discovered graphite when they wondered upon a graphite deposit in the mid 1560’s.
They did not patent the pencil right away; instead they used the graphite to mark sheep and cattle. After that, they started to wrap the graphite in a wood casing, which was more convenient for them to carry around. It wasn’t until the 1700’s for the pencil to be perfected and equipped with an eraser.

Before pencils, people would use miscellaneous items for writing, but the most common was a quill and ink, which was invented in 700 A.D. Life was much more difficult using ink and quill, because people could not carry around them easily, like they can with pencils now. Quill and ink was also more inconvenient because there was no eraser, so they had to be careful not to make mistakes the first time writing, which is difficult because it is human nature to make mistakes. The eraser is what completed the pencil and made it better than a quill and ink. Other than the fact that it was more portable, it had the advantage that if you made a mistake, you could erase it and start over. Pencils are also the cheaper option. 1 pencil today cost around $0.14, while a quill and ink averages out to be around $11.50. Today, we are facing companies going bankrupt, stock market crashes, and a recession. Pencils have help changed our money obsessed world because on average it saves someone $11.35 just to write an essay.
The pencil was the first step to be taken before pens, lined paper, ect. could be invented. Then original pen was invented shortly after the pencil had been perfected, and the ballpoint pen was invented in 1880. These types of inventions stemmed the idea, so in later years, like 1964, the Sharpie could be created.



Recourses:
•Bellis, Mary. "Who Invented the Pen?" Who Invented It. 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 08 Oct. 2011. .
•"Who Invented the Pen?" Who Invented It. 18 Oct. 2008. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. .
•"Sharpie® | About Us." Global Landing. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. .

Accidental Conquerors

The Spanish are referred to “accidental conquerors” because of their geography and history. First, their geography put them ahead of the game because of their proximity to the Fertile Crescent. They were raised growing up close to where civilization because, so there for they became more civilized before many other countries did. Because they were more civilized, they were more educated and better equipped to conquer under civilized countries. Their geography also helped them because their land runs east to west. The climate does not change from east to west, so if information, people, or ideas could spread throughout the territory without going through different day length, climate zone, and vegetation. Their history also helped them be conquerors because they had experience. They had already been in war for over 700 years. Because of that, they already had fighting skills and the powerful tools to use. Take the sword for example. They had been using swords throughout all the wars they had been in, so as time goes by, they would want to evolve their weapons to make them bigger and better. Over the years they started to make their swords lighter and more playable, but it was still as deadly as it was before. The main reason that the Europeans are referred to as “accidental conquerors” is because they were in the right place at the right time. They were at the right place because they were close to the Fertile Crescent and their territory ran along the lines of latitude, so ideas could spread easily. They were born at the right time because they grew up while the weapons used for war were constantly being evolved.