Marc Antony, A Man Of Loyalty and Deception

Marc Antony:

“I shall remember: When Caesar says, ‘do this’, it is perform’d.” (Pg: 26 Act 1 Scene 1 Lines 9-10) Marc Antony was a man known for his fierce loyalty to Caesar, as shown in this quote, he was determined and unwavering, and if he thought Caesar saw an action was just, he would agree. Just as oil fuels fire, Marc Antony was fueled by revenge and loyalty to avenge the murder of Julius Caesar, even if driving Rome to civil war seemed the best action. Throughout the play, Marc Antony will be constantly driven to avenge Caesar without mercy due to his revengeful spirit and unswayable loyalty, yet one question always remains: ‘Was Marc Antony’s goal worthy or noble of its cause?’

Antony begins as a fun loving man with a playful nature, yet when he witnesses the man he loves, Julius Caesar, assassinated by the men he called friends, he swore to revenge Caesar, as brutally as possible. This next quote is a gruesome revealer of Antony’s true character and a foresight into the future he wishes to create for revenge: “Caesars spirit, ranging for revenge, with Ate by his side… Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.” (Pg: 124 Act 3 Scene 1 Lines 270-271-273) Antony just declared civil strife on all of Italy, showing his fury at Caesars death and trigger happy belief he can properly revenge Caesar by killing all those who rose against him. Being a well known soldier, all those who were loyal to Caesar knew that Antony’s love for Caesar would lead to a just action that Caesar would have approved of, there-fore when Antony reveals his plan to wreak havoc, the people of Caesar followed like sheep. The next quote leads to Antony using his tactile side to fortify his thirst for revenge and convince all those who loved Caesar to join him:

“But I were Brutus… would ruffle your spirits…and put a tongue in every wound of Caesar that should move the stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.” (Pg: 142 Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 225-227) Antony is now ready to set fire to all of Italy as long as the people are prepared to rise up with him and let havoc and death be the answer. Antony posses a strong point towards the fact that his goal is a worthy end to Caesars death, but the nobility of killing many Romans for one mans revenge is lost in his merciless actions, especially within his tactile maneuvers to manipulate those around him. His loyalty however, is by far the strongest part of Antony’s motivation, and without it his cause would be lost.

Loyalty firm by his side, Antony’s actions of destruction and cold heartedness are all a result of his determination to avenge the one true man he loved, Julius Caesar at the cost of peace. At this point Antony and Octavius have gathered a huge army to cry havoc on the conspirators and all who stand steady beside them. In this quote, Antony continues to show his light on the conspirators dead without mercy, leaving the conspirators with no choice but to battle to the death; all due to one mans undying loyalty. “Villains! You gave no warning, when your vile daggers hack’d one another in the sides of Caesar… O you flatterers!” (Pg: 190 Act 5 Scene 1 Lines 39-40-44) Without hesitation, Antony stays fast to his belief that his actions are the right ones towards his urge take vengeance on those who wronged Caesar, still without nobility at this point, but with a strong sense of worthiness for all his effort to his dead friend. The final quote is when Brutus (the main conspirator) sacrifices himself for the good of Rome, dying the most honorable death he could. Antony surprisingly exposes his belief that Brutus out of all the conspirators was the only man who killed Caesar for honor, and although Antony swore to get even with all those who conspired against Caesar, he still held towards a soldier’s sense of mind and honored Brutus’ final action. “This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he... Common good to all. ‘This was a man!” (Pg: 218 Act 5 Scene 5 Lines 68-71) As the play progressed, we began with Marc Antony, a man of loyalty and games, turn to a man of fierce determination and destructive force who without mercy killed anyone who loved Rome more than Caesar, yet as he witnesses Brutus at rest, he twists his cause and beliefs to honor this man, even though he stabbed Caesar, as the most noble man of all his time.

With Caesar dead, along with all those who took part in his assassination, Antony lays his revengeful spirit to rest, fulfilling his goal of avenging his best friend and most loved man in his heart successfully. Antony concludes himself as a man driven by revenge and loyalty, resulting in him to being tactile, trigger happy, merciless and the most determined soldier of Julius Caesar ever to live. His revenge and loyalty left him cold hearted, but noble nonetheless, and buries Brutus with the honor he’s always desired, just as he wished Caesar were buried too. A hint of irony lying in how Caesar and Brutus were both buried by Marc Antony, concluding the gruesome play of events from Caesars assassination to Brutus’ burial, all in front of his eyes. Antony achieved his goal in the sense that he finished off the conspirators and avenged Caesars death with all his heart, leaving his cause to be worthy, as well as noble due to his final action towards Brutus, treating him with as much respect as he would Caesar. Over all, Marc Antony completed his goal as a man of determination, loyalty and revenge, all for his love of Caesar and the strength in his heart, with worthy cause and a final act of nobility.

Raise Awareness, Raise Hope.

Imovie Of My Collage:

Think Creatively!

My collage is an example of thinking creatively within the design of the pictures, the kind of pictures and the layout of my collage's journey. The pictures I chose were in certain colours depending on what mood I wanted to create for each picture, for example, my picture of one of the Lost boys crying is in grey to give a startling and unsettling break in their conflict. The kind of pictures I chose are black and white for an older effect, and others are in colour to create a recent effect, so that the viewer knows that the conflict the Lost Boys faced wasn't only in the past but happening right now too. My collage is designed to show the journey the Lost Boys took, from their Dinka villages to their homes in America.

Reason Critically!

My collage is an example of reasoning critically within the images and text I used to clearly represent my understanding of the Lost Boy's situation and story they had. My images were mostly made with black and white colours to strengthen the emotions imbedded in the lost boys journey as well was the emotions they experienced. The text I used is placed in a clear and off-beat way to stand out and strike the viewer well.

Communicate Effectively!

My collage represents the Lost Boy's horrific journey towards freedom and a new life filled with hope and a better chance at life. The collage is a story placed in a ladder lay-out that you follow beginning at their Dinka village to their life in America. This is a journey filled with horrific sights, permanent loneliness and a rare chance at hope. This is to communicate my message of how the Lost Boys suffered to the viewer in a strong yet inspiring way.

Live Ethically!

Explain how you think your collage demonstrated empathy and might evoke an emotional response from your viewers and/or incite them to act.

My collage is strong in striking an emotional response within the viewer/reader by using my special selection of pictures and a small amount of striking words to inspire those who will learn about the story of the Lost Boy's and their struggle for survival, to help strike an inspiring fire within my viewer to donate or find other ways of helping the Lost Boy's.

Emerge The Lost Boys

As I walked in the dark star flooded night, I dreamed of resting my tired limbs in the Dinka village I called home. Suddenly a sound like an elephant stomping it's massive feet to the ground shook me out of my revere, forcing me to look up and witness startling red flashes streaking the night sky. I was immediately filled with a deep fear driving my whole body towards finding my mother and father in this nightmare, yet as I drew closer to my village, the place I called home was consumed in flames and screams of my dying tribe shrieking piercing my memory. I ran to a nearby bush, remembering my fathers words telling me that when the rebels came to destroy our tribe I was to run as far as possible until the gunshots were a distant memory. Picking myself off the ground, my feet took me across the desert in the dark of night, with no direction, only my desperation to live to guide me.

My journey across the desert of Sudan joined me with other 'Lost Boys'. They called us Lost Boys because we had no parents, but survival was all we had in mind. We walked starved, naked and un-sheltered to the merciless sun, many of my brothers simply falling to the ground never to wake again. I soon learned that safety could be found in a nearby place called Ethiopia, where the genocide against my people wouldn't reach us.

After reaching Ethiopia, I felt a sense of slight safety but it was short lived to my devastation. The rebels were after the Lost Boys seeping their trigger happy ways into Ethiopia, forcing me to fight for my life to reach safety again. The Ethiopians drove us out to cross the river Gilo, where on the other side waiting were the rebels keen on finishing the job of killing us all. Crossing the river resulted in scaring memories of drowning kids, screams lost in gunfire and crocodiles taking their share of the bloody fight for survival. I will never forget the smell of blood and sweat given to the river that day.

Barely escaping the river Gilo left me exhausted and scared. I honestly believed that god had given up on us, but my hope was revived when we Lost Boys discovered a refugee camp in Kenya, where I would be spending the next 11 years of my life in a makeshift 'village' on rationed food, Christian donations, little education and a chance to be let into America for a new life. America was all I ever wished for, my entire village believed it was the land of gold and hope, a land where we victims of Sudan could teach the Americans of our brutal life, inspiring the desire to stop and fix our never-ending conflict.

The news came with an English speaking lady who placed a single slip of paper on our notice board, leaning in to search for my name in desperate hope, I felt my whole heart lift in a burst of hope for my people: I was going to America!

The day arrived of my departure, leaving many of my village members in tears for another vain chance that we could bring an end to this devastating war. My village elder walked me towards the plane, yet stopped me to speak the words that would taunt me every day I lived in America: "Peter, you have been given a chance to live a new life, yet never forget where you came from, be proud to be of the Dinka tribe." If only I had known just how 'golden' America was going to be, I might have just turned around and refused to even board that plane.

My first few months in America proved to be the most alienated, culture shocking time of my life. Many pushing factors broke down my hope for a great life in America. I was treated with no respect, lived in a neighborhood where I was stolen from, always looked upon as a thief or gangster leaving me with little chance to even get a job with enough pay to feed myself. I had never used electricity until now, this place was completely upside-down... How was I supposed to cope? For this time, I lived in Houston, Texas, yet some part of me knew I could do better, I needed an education, but Houston wasn't going to provide it for me, I had to began anew again, all alone, in a new city.

Kansas gave me the fresh start I was searching for. I applied for a high school and even tried to make the basketball team. My fellow brother Santino was still struggling in Houston, which I did feel sorry for, but no-matter where I was, I always felt lonely. No family and little friends to relate to, America seemed like I was a poor child surrounded by rich aliens who knew more about this place than I would ever grasp. I could drive, which let me explore Kansas more, slowly becoming what the Americans called 'assimilated' into their country. I could rarely find the time to donate money back to Sudan, how could I explain to them that I had no time, or money? All they knew was that America was a place of dreams, not this alien world, I had the burning desire to tell them the truth, but my heart was in my head.

Life continued on in Kansas, improving as I became more accustomed to the culture here. I made a few friends within my school, strove for getting into college and even tried to impress the girl I liked. My differences would always stand out, apparently catching birds isn't a good way to impress a girl... but I know it's better than the war stricken country I had the chance to escape from, even if I was lonely. During the celebration of the Lost Boys migration to America, I celebrated with my Christian friends, it was fun, yet I still felt that sense of longing for the family I had left behind.

After a year in America, I was joined by hundreds of other assimilated Lost Boys to join in on a 'camping' trip in Washington to relax and enjoy our lives in America without the stress of our new lives for the first time in a very long while. Being surrounded by those who knew just what it meant and felt like to be a Lost Boy I felt a sense of bonding and understanding for all my fellow brothers around me.

When I returned to America, I continued to improve upon my life everyday, some days harder than others, but as I grow up in my new life, I know deep down inside, this is where I can do my best, for the sake of my people in Sudan and for my own benefit too.