My Journey

Click here to edit subtitle


#1

Essay 1: The Globe Theatre

By: Anthony Hefferin 

English 9

           William Shakespeare road the wave of new works of English and can be regarded today as one of literature’s greatest writers of all time. For Shakespeare, it was the Globe Theatre where he got his start, and it shaped both him and his writings as a whole. The Globe provided a home for himself as a writer, an idea for his plays, and it gave him some ideas for his most famous play “Romeo and Juliet.” The Globe Theatre was a representation of himself, and it provided enjoyment for many other people as Shakespeare tried to share his works with the people.

The Globe Theatre was a second home for Shakespeare. With rivals of Shakespeare, “The Admiral's’ Men,” building their own theatre called “The Rose,” Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men began to construct The Globe Theatre (Shakespeare's Globe Theatre). Each member had to pay 25% and got to own 12.5% (A look at Shakespeare’s Globe). Shakespeare for seventeen years was one of the owners of the globe and for eight years he was a housekeeper. It was through this that Shakespeare formed a connection with the theatre. Shakespeare spent most of his time at the Globe and it showed in how good his plays were and how they were acted.

After the Globe Theatre was built, mostly Shakespeare’s plays were performed there. Many of his scenes were depicted in the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare continued to have a close connection with the theatre, and used it to plan many other plays.  “For one thing,” says Bentley,

“productions at the Globe were basically placeless, and Shakespeare composed all his plays with far less attention to the place of the action than modern readers assume.” Shakespeare wrote all of his plays so that they could be acted at the theatre, and did not assign certain places for them. People can even see this in the start of the first edition of “Trolius and Cressida,” where it says “As it was acted by the King’s Majesty’s Servants, at the Globe” (Bentley).  Sadly, the original globe was burned down during a performance of “Henry VIII”. Not all things that happened are bad events about Shakespeare and the Globe, and they were able to rebuild it (A Look at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre).

           The balconies within the theatre are represented in Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet by using them to do the famous scenes between the main characters. It was very easily pictured due to the abundant amount of “Balconies everywhere” in the theatre (A look at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre).  This allowed everyone to get the real effect of the popular love story. Some say that this play had put The Globe Theatre on the map during the late 1500’s.. Shakespeare’s most famous play, “Romeo and Juliet” is still played at The Globe Theatre hundreds of years after Shakespeare died.

           The Globe Theatre is directly connected to Shakespeare and his life works. It provided a home for himself, ideas for his plays, and inspired his most famous play, Romeo and Juliet. Without the Globe, the way that drama and theatre is done today would be completely different because it provided a base or starting point for every play and musical. Thanks to Shakespeare's contributions with the Globe Theatre, it is safe to say that the Globe is significant for many things besides just acting.

#2

Essay 2: What makes a Hero?

By: Anthony Hefferin

English 9

      Chelsey Sullenberger, called Sully, successfully landed a plane in Hudson River in 2009. Like Odysseus, Sully is very heroic as he risked his life for the lives of others, stayed humble in the limelight, and reacted in ways not many others would have acted. He stayed calm in the face of danger, and therefore successfully landed the plane on the river. Sullenberger was an experienced pilot and anyone should feel safe with him flying.

        As the plane hit the river, water began filling the cabin. Sully made sure he was the last one out of the plane risking his life for the lives of passengers.  When the fairy arrived, once again Sully was the last person off making sure all his passengers were safe.  Like Odysseus sailing towards Scylla trying to keep death away, Sullenberger quickly came up with flying into the Hudson instead of risking flying back to LaGuradia airport, which would have risked crashing in the rural neighborhoods and killing many.  Not only did Sullenberger risk his in life for others, he stayed humble as he became the interest of the media.  

          After the Miracle on the Hudson occurred, Sully received a huge amount of attention from the news. Sullenberger was in the rose bowl, Super Bowl, Obama's inaugural speech, and was given the key to his own town of Danville. Just like Odysseus was returned to the throne after proving to Penelope who he was, Sully was the talk of many and received a hero. Even though he received all these impressive appearances Sully did not let any go to his head. He still was part of Saint Jude's Hospital Charity and still donated money.  “Sure he is a hero, but he is a very humble man” (Stanley, Liana;Police sources).  Sullenberger acted in many ways not many other people would have in a time of danger, which is something special.

           During the time after the birds impacted the plane, Sullenberger was in contact with air traffic control.  “After the birds hit,” said the Harden of air traffic control, “3 minutes later all I heard was ‘we’re going to be in the Hudson’ in the calm way Sullenberger spoke” (Wing of Mercy Benefits Features: Miracle on the Hudson). Passengers on board praised Sully in the fact that he stayed calm in saying “brace for impact.”  Chelsey Sullenberger being so calm during flight may have contributed to the success of the landing. Odysseus and Sullenberger are a bit different in the sense of the way they act. Odysseus is more temperamental and impatient such as when he battled the suitors, while Sullenberger is calm and levelheaded. Sullenberger reacted in a heroic way and everyone should try to act like him.

              Chesley Sullenberger successfully landed a plane on the Hudson River, and to this day is considered a hero. Like in the Odyssey, in many ways Sully and Odysseus are alike. Sullenberger risked his life for the lives of others, yet stayed humble when fame was given to him and reacted in ways not many others would have reacted.



Essay 1:  This essay  taught me about the Globe Theatre  and Shakespeare. This project was really challenging for me, because when I was doing my research, I struggled finding any information on the Theatre.  I over came this challenge by asking the Librarian and my teacher for guidance to the databases. For this project I could of picked a different topic to research. If I picked a different topic i may have found more information making my essay better. This project taught me many things about The Globe Theatre and Shakespeare but I did not enjoy it very much.


Essay 2: This essay I really enjoyed to write. I was very interested in my topic and what he did.  My research is the best part of the project in my opinion. There were so many articles and websites about him and his actions which made finding research really quick and easy to find. Sullenberger taught me that everyone could be a hero no matter what they do.  This project was a very interesting project and I liked the message it was showing. It showed me how to be humble in anything you do. All in all this research project was fun, exciting, and very interesting therefore i enjoyed it very much!

Picture 1 is of The Globe Theatre
Picture 2 is of Chesley Sullenberger