Hamlet on Revenge

Is revenge good? In other words, does the act of revenge somehow help in healing personal trauma, or is it in fact more damaging to one's emotional well-being? Is there ever an instance where revenge might be justified or is forgiveness the better path?

         Personally I think it depends on the circumstances of what that person did to you when trying to get revenge. If revenge was something little towards the person, one would feel satisfied with what they did, but if revenge was something much bigger than that like killing someone, one would feel traumatized at the fact that they did that to someone and it would hurt their emotional well being. In Hamlets case, something so big that he must get revenge in his uncle by killing him, because he killed his father, would hurt Hamlet in the end. He would be emotionally scarred and because it would be his uncle that he would have to kill, that is still his family no matter what they did to you. In some ways, one might feel satisfied and healed right when they get their form of revenge, but once it sinks in that they committed something like that, it would hurt their well-being and would make them feel guilty. Generally, forgiveness is the better path to take rather than revenge. When taking revenge on someone, it may lead to other things happening and have a never ending cycle of revenge on each other, which could easily get out of hand.

Is there a difference between "avenging" and "revenge"?
         The difference between avenging and revenge on someone is that when avenging someone, they are looking for more justice being done rather than revenge where it is taken to a more harmful effect. Avenging someone would be a less harsh choice putting them into jail rather than physically harming someone to get revenge after what they did to you.

Advice to Grade8 Self

Dear Grade 8 self,

What in the world were you thinking wearing those black ripped jeans on the first day of school... you were at the back of the line anyways for lockers, so you could have take more time to look half decent. Seriously, why did you not go earlier to lockers. Getting a bottom locker every single year of high school really sucks. While grade 8 is probably one of the easier years of high school, don't take it for granted. Work as hard as you can and use your extra time to SLEEP! As you get older, sleep becomes more valuable as you get less of it every night. Study as hard as you can for tests and put your phone away. I'm pretty sure you can last at least an hour without going on your phone. School is more important than friends sometimes, but that doesn't mean you can forget about them. Don't worry about who your friends are right away, you'll get where you fit in eventually and find out who your really friends are. Oh, another thing, when you're going shopping, don't spend money on clothes that you're never going to wear. If you don't love it in the change room, don't buy it. Try and join as many sports teams as you can throughout high school. You make some amazing friends during those times that you stay with throughout the years. You might even end up winning a banner.... One last thing, never run on wet muddy grass or walk down a muddy hill. You'll end up falling right on your butt and get very muddy and wet, which is not enjoyable.

Sincerely,

Your Grade 12 self.

GATTACA Response

In what way might GATTACA be considered a representation of a utopian society?
          While watching the movie GATTACA and comparing it to a utopian society, this movie has certain characteristics that leads us to believe that it is a utopian society such as the parents getting to create their own kids by choosing the characteristics, life expectancy and to make sure their kids have no sicknesses while they grow up or later on in life. Only those people that have a certain DNA in their bodies which is the so called "perfect" DNA are allowed in a certain society where the jobs and work environment are much better than the outcasts where their DNA was not made up and left to fate. This being said, things still can go wrong in the movie's form of utopian society which will cause it not to be a perfect society. A quote from the movie that the main character said that relates to a utopian society is, "we have discrimination down to a science." This quote is significant in the way that it represents an element of everything being perfect and discriminating those who are not perfect, relating to the element of a utopian society.

http://youtu.be/ZppWok6SX88

In what way does GATTACA represent the elements of a dystopian society?        
           This movie also relates to a dystopian society by not having any rights for all the people in the movie and not just the "perfect" people. The invalids in this movie don't have any rights in deciding what they want to do with their life as they cannot work for the higher end jobs. However, there is no freedom either for the "perfect" people as they have their life plan given to them by there parents from birth and they have no say in what they want to do. The hopes that the society had in reaching a utopian society went terribly wrong and became a dystopian society where everyone now has no control in what the want to become or who they are. Many things that are now engineered and modified in the movie, should be left naturally and let the world run its path.

Inquiry Reflection

What did you learn that was unexpected during your inquiry?
During my inquiry research, I learned a lot about sports and sports teams that I didn't know before. I didn't know that social media was the biggest role in keeping fans loyal to your team. Keeping your fans engaged throughout social media makes them feel more apart of the team almost like a community. Certain types of sports have a different fan base throughout the on season and off season. Basketball and hockey have a steady amount of fans throughout the whole year following them where as football and basketball mainly have all their fans in the on season and no fans in the off season as you can see in the picture below. There are many different ways to keep your fans loyalty throughout the whole year and even when your team is doing bad.

 What challenges did you experience during the inquiry process?

While doing my inquiry, my main challenge was trying to figure out how to word my question. At first, I was going to make it specific and include on season and off season, but I figured while I was doing my research, the topic needed to be more broad in order to find enough research. Also, with no set guidelines or criteria on how to do an inquiry, I found it difficult to get started and know where to start, but once I got going, it kept flowing and got much easier. 

What might you do differently next time? 

If I were to do another inquiry in the future, I think I would try and find a more creative way to present it rather than just a power point. Also, I would do a different topic on something I may not know a lot about so I can find more information about something else. 

What connections can you make between your inquiry question and your own life experiences?

Within my own life, I am a huge sports fan. I try to watch as many games as I can of my favourite team when they are on season. I do follow my favourite teams on social media to stay in the loop and learn more about them. I find that the more they post about information or things going on behind the scenes, the more I like my team because they are willing to share that information with their fan base. Even in the off season, I like to stay connected with certain teams and look at what they are posting for us to see. I find the more that teams interact with their fan base, the more you end up liking that team and feeling like a community. I stay loyal to my favourite teams no matter if they are going through a rough patch in their season, or if they are winning every game they play. 

What would you like to continue to explore? Is there anything that you still find puzzling or confusing? What new questions have you developed? 

There is not a lot that more that I would like to continue to explore and all my questions about fan loyalty have been answered. While doing my inquiry, no new questions came up about anything so I would have to say that my inquiry was successful.  

Here is a video clip on how to be a loyal fan:

http://www.howcast.com/videos/356380-How-to-Be-a-Loyal-Fan  

Character Journal

Chapter 46   Pages: 365-368

Offred: I can not believe this is happening. I don't know what to think. Am I going to be rescued and get out of this horrid place? Or is this going to be the end of me. Everything at that moment flashed through my head of all the things that I have done while here. Could this really be mayday and all that I have been waiting here for? The black van is waiting for me as Nick pulls me out of my room with the two men. But Nick has now left and is not to be seen anywhere. Everyone has now gathered around to see what is going on. The Commander, Serena Joy, Cora and Rita are there. All with mixed emotions with the Commander and Serena Joy being in a fight before this. I don't care about their thoughts anymore, but I do feel sorry for them for whatever reason. Once I get in the black van I am done with this place either way. This is my last chance to get out of this place "so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light."

Serena Joy: What in the world is going on here! This black van is causing such a ruckus. Whoever that van is waiting for needs to hurry up and get out of here. There is no time for any of this as I have to get back to talking with the Commander about things that need to be settled. WHAT. Why on earth is Offred walking down the stairs with two men escorting her into the van. This was not our plan. If she has done something to put her at risk, this will not end well. The Commander asks to see a warrant as to why she is being brought to the van. Apparently they do not need one as it would be a violation of state secrets which I think is not true whatsoever. I do not know what to think of this, I am sick to my stomach. I think of something to say but all that comes out is "bitch, after all he did for you." Those were and will be my last ever words to her. She's gone now and that is that.