Scene with my quote!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5JoMYsYQr0

The above clip is a scene of Volpone, that actually includes the quote I chose for my wildcard!

My Version of Volpone

If I were to be the director of a Volpone, I would take the play in a more modern direction. Right from the beginning of the play a quote stuck said my Mosca stood out to me. “You are not like the thresher that doth stand/ With a huge flail, watching a head of corn/ And, hungry, dares not taste the smallest grain/ But feeds on mallows and such bitter herbs/ Nor like the merchant who hath filled his vaults/ With Romagnia and rich Canadian wins/ Yet drinks the lees of Lombard’s vinegar.” This quote is obviously describing Volpone’s work ethic. The occupations described work hard for their living, and do not want to squander any profits they might be able to make. This is the opposite for Volpone. Volpone doesn’t work hard, he is a con man. With the money he “makes” he doesn’t save, he squanders.

After the above quote particularly, I think that it would be interesting to make my version of the play take place in modern day New York City. I just recently watch the movie Wall Street, and I could see how a business setting relates. I would make Volpone a CEO of a large company. He gets his money by conning other businesses, and has multiple bank accounts in other countries.

On stage, the play would take place mostly in offices. Volpone would be sitting in his office at a large desk in the beginning with many expensive things surrounding him. Everything that surrounds Volpone would be elaborate and costly. The apartments that would be in the play would also be large and Volpone would have a pent house.

Volpone would always be in Armani suits , and Mosca would always be in something much less elaborate. The Corbaccio, Corvino, and Voltore would be in nice suits as well. Cecilia would wear something the represents her purity, while still being conservative, since Corvino is so jealous and overbearing.

I would have an all star cast for this play. I would definitely have George Clooney be Volpone. He would do a good job of pretending to be sick, while also addressing the con man personality that Volpone really is. Clooney would do a great job acting the part of playing with Corbaccio, Corvino, and Voltore’s heads. Cecilia would be played by Nicole Kidman. I think that she would do a good job of being a strong character that would be committed to her husband, God and her morals. I would like Matt Damon to play Mosca because he would be good at being deceiving. Corbaccio, Corvino, and Voltore could be played by Richard Gere, Jack Nocolson, Russel Crow. I think that my version of the play would be very interesting to watch and the characters would really bring the different dimensions to the play.

Book Trailers

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sir+Thomas+More+Utopia+book+trailers&aq=f

Check out some of these book trailers for Utopia. I think it's interesting the different spins people take on it.

Utopia versus The Republic

As I have mentioned before, I am particularly interested how Utopia and The Republic deal with the same aspect of a perfect society. We know the concept of Utopia’s idea of everyone essentially being the same. In Utopia, people are required to do a certain amount of time doing things that contribute to society. In The Republic, in a perfect society, all the people are urged to have the same morals, however everyone has a different place in the society by selection. The real question is, which type of society creates a better society for people to live?

For those of us that haven’t read the The Republic, let me tell you about it. In this “perfect society,” citizens concentrate on what make a person a good person. There are 3 types of good. The first is a good we want for what it actually is, for example enjoying something. The second is a good we want for its consequences, for example being healthy. The third is a good we want even though it is a burden, because of its consequences, for example medical treatment when sick. Citizens are expected to be good people, and choose justice over injustice. In the “perfect society” depending on how “good” people are, they are chosen for different jobs. The leaders and guardians have the highest social status in society.

Guardians are the protectors of the society that keep it peaceful and safe for citizens. Children are taught the characteristics that guardians should have at a young age. As they get older they are chosen for guardian status based on their success in certain criteria. You might think that this sounds similar to our society. Don’t you think this sounds similar to our society? If you do well in school, or internship, don’t you usually get a good job?Here’s the catch. Once you have your place in society, it is your permanent place. If you are a worker, you will always be until you are too old, if you are a guardian, you have to train new ones.

So now I ask you, what do you think of these two different societies? What are the pros and cons of each?

Want to know more about Thomas More?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d1wi4eQjNU

I wanted to know a little bit more, and videos always help me. This girl is, um, interesting, but she knows her stuff!

Letter

The Effectiveness of First Person

As we know, England during the 1600’s was not the place to be if you practiced a religion that was not tolerated. In the case of Dorothy Waugh, being a Quaker was not the route to take if you wanted to harmoniously live in the English society. During this time, women also did not have the rights that men did. They were still stick in the time when speaking against a husband was a punishable actions.

A Relation Concerning Dorothy Waugh’s Cruel Usage by the Mayor of Carlisle spoke to me. Through her writing about her experiences, I learned far more than I would ever learn by reading a text book. The fact that she was also a woman writer also made her writing more meaningful to me. The way she wrote so descriptively I could really feel for her. Like I said before, I learned a lot from this short personal account. I found it alarming the persecution that Dorothy faced even when she traveled to America. I thought that anyone who moved their life to the new world would be allowed to practice whatever religion they wanted. I thought it to be ironic that even after the Quakers followed the Puritans they were still persecuted.

Dorothy was tortured for her religious views, but also because of the fact that she was a woman. She was put in a torture device used on women who “scolded” their husbands in public. The mayor wanted to make a mockery of her, and her religious views so that no one would follow the same suit. The type of brutality did not promote a very promising life for Quakers, or women during this time period.

What I thought to be disturbing was how this would never have been reported in a newspaper in the 1600’s. Today, even the seemingly miniscule information it published. Dorothy was only published in The Lamb’s Defense Against Lies, which was made up of various accounts of Quakers being mistreated and persecuted.

First person writings are a very effective way of reporting the news and documenting events in history. If during my history classes in grade school, high school, and college we were given this type of information to read, I feel everyone in the class would have gotten more from the curriculum.