In class research

Biographical info about the author
- Danticat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- her parents moved to America when she was two.
- She and her brother were raised up by their uncle and aunt.
- She started to write at nine and then move to New York City when she was 12
-when she was in college, there was racism around her but she doesn't fell that much because she was protected by her community.
- Most of her books are about her immigrant experience and her new life in America.

Timeline for Haiti's history from Independence to present
-Haiti used to be a place where Indians live. Then its name changed to Hispaniola in 1492.
- In 1502, it became Spanish colony.
- Spanish soldiers forced Indians who lives on this Island to be slaves.
- In 1640, it became France colony.
- In1700s, Indian and black slaves were tortured by white people.
- In1789, Ogé's revolt starts. 

Haiti's fight for and gain of Independence

-in1789, Ogé's revolt starts. 

- in 1793, Slaves were freed. Whites run away from Haiti because they afraid slaves  would revenge. 

- In the revolution, Spain, Britain, France, and slaves all joined to the war.

- In 1802, Haiti was announced to be a independent country. 

Toussaint L'Ouverture
- the leader of Haitian Revolution.
- He leads the success of Black insurrection.

Boukman

- Dutty Boukman, an African man who was a slave in Haiti.

- one of the most famous leader in Haiti an Revolution.

- During the revolution, he had a religious ceremony, which becomes a indicator of revolution.

1937, Dominican Massacre

-Dominican president give order to kill Haitians who lives in border. In 5 days, more then 20,000 citizens died.

Rafael Trujillo

- He was Dominican President twice times.

- During his term of office, he gives the order of Dominican Massacre.

- A famous dictator.

Voodoo religion

-       A religion comes from Western Africa.

-       The base of Haitian Revolution

-       A combination of all kinds of religion

Duvalier (Papa Doc)

-       Haiti president, also dictator.

-       After he becomes president, he fired many important political leaders. Instead, he hired many of his own family members to help him stay in power.

-       He suppresses all Communists.

Tonton Macoutes

-       An organization of policeman (special operation) gathered by President Duvalier in 1959.

-       Tonton Macoutes is used to suppress the villain, anyone who tries to against them will be killed.

-       More then 60000 Haitians were killed by them.

-       Some of the Tonton Macoutes leaders have Voodoo religion.

-       They controlled the president election in 1961 and 1964. They indirectly made Duvalier President for life.

Jean Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc)

-       Haiti’s dictator.

-       Currently the president who stays in his job for the longest time in Haiti’s history.

-       Ruled Haiti for 15 years.

-       His father was also president.

-       The youngest Haiti president

-       He declare his self as President for life. Haitians had revolution to against it. So Jean Claude Duvalier had to escape to America.

-       He was adrift for 25 years.

Reading notes

l   The author’s friend/ boyfriend/husband has gone to the war

n   The author was angry and was easy to be angry

n   The author’s father used to doesn’t like the boy. But he changed after he gone.

l   The family moves away from the country (previous president caught up the war)

n   No more butterfly sketching, it brings news. The author is afraid of the news of the boys’ death may come.

l   They move to another place. (MIAMI?)

l   The author accept death (radio show- expect to government and country)

l   Student got killed. (radio six)

n   Families want the bodies back, some were given back by the army

n   Neighbor’s son got killed with only a head left (a car run over him and took his head off)

n   Macoutes laughed at her lost

n   The author hopes the boy really left the dangerous place but not being killed

n   The part with boldfaced letters are what author writes to the boy.

i will keep writing. you keep writing too, okay? and when we see each other again, it will seem like we lost no time.

Danticat, Edwidge (2004-01-01). Krik? Krak! (p. 7). Soho Press. Kindle Edition.

l   People are getting frail and sick because they have been on the boat for too long time.

l   They sing and tell stories to avoid vomiting (the author sings Beloved Haiti but she cried. She doesn’t other people to see so she pretend she was attack by nausea)

l   The author is jealous about other’s well-guarded house and nice parents. (make a comparison to her own life)

n   She also doesn’t want to join politicking

l   The pregnant girl found out there is a hole at the bottom of the boat( and it is getting bigger)

n   The captain uses tar to clog up the hole but it is just a temporary remedy.

The country that the author is living in is having a political problem with America. Everything related to America are being against. (Neighbor’s son and author’s friend might be killed by this reason)

l   The author is still keeping some tapes from the boy who is related to America. ( These tapes may bring danger to author’s family)

l   The author wish her father could be killed because she thinks her father sent the boy away.

l   Dream: The author really miss the boy, which she dreamed she went to the heaven and saw him.

n   The heaven is at the bottom of the sea. They boy was with his family, but his father kept blocking his view to see her. She wanted to talk with him, but only bubbles came out of the mouth)

l   A family sleeps together where the children sleep with their mother and never had to sleep with father. (mom thinks dad is protecting his family so he burnt all American stuffs.)

l   The boy died when they raided the radios tation

l   The author wants a love but her father want a boy who can really make the author’s life better.

l   Now people have been on the boat for many days. They tell stories mostly about them self.

UNTILE NOW I FINALLY REALIZE THE BOOK IS WRITEN BY TWO PEOPLE. ONE IS THE BOY. THE OTHER IS THE GIRL. I USED TO THINK ONE IS THE GIRL’S DIARY. THE OTHER IS HER LETTERS TO THE BOY.

The girl is from Haitian. she and her family is going to Bahamas. They treat Haitians like dogs in the Bahamas, a woman says. To them, we are not human. Even though their music sounds like ours. Their people look like ours. Even though we had the same African fathers who probably crossed these same seas together.

Danticat, Edwidge (2004-01-01). Krik? Krak! (p. 13). Soho Press. Kindle Edition. The girl also says they were like slaves many years ago

His neighbor’s son belongs to the youth federation/traitor. Mom want father to save their neighbor by giving them some money. But father has no money left. All the money he has spend one getting his family out from this place. it has happened before all over this country and tonight it will happen again and there is nothing we can do.

Danticat, Edwidge (2004-01-01). Krik? Krak! (p. 15). Soho Press. Kindle Edition.

The pregnant girl give birth. No one has anymore food left. Some worries the new baby may take away their food.

People in the boy’s country is too hopeful with their old president. They sell gasoline.

Romeo and Juliet 2nd draft

Yuexuan Gao

IB Literature and Performance

Mrs. Guarino

December 6, 2016

Rough Draft 2

In a short five days, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers”(Prologue; Line 6) experienced love, separation, reunion, and death. They are a historical couple: Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare. The character Romeo has bravery and sensibility beyond his years. I transformed part of Act III Scene V, where Romeo leaves for Mantua to reluctantly part with Juliet. In my interpretation of this scene, I specifically focused on Romeo’s movements to show his manhood, and his ambivalent thoughts. Playing the role of Romeo enabled me to have a new understanding about his relationship. In addition, I understand more about Romeo’s character and his willingness to break from his family. His courage causes him to fall in love with the daughter of his family’s enemy.

This scene establishes Romeo and Juliet’s changing from enjoying residual happiness to feeling heartbroken because of the painful separation. It begins with Juliet calling Romeo back to her side, and trying to trick Romeo to make him stay longer: “Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.” (3.5.1) Romeo changes from fearing his unclear future to being determined to see Juliet again. Juliet at the same time changes from deceptive to honest, and sends Romeo away to Mantua. Romeo’s fear is shown when he says: “I must be gone and live, or stay and die.”(3.5.11)) And bitterness when: “I have more care to stay than will to go. Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so.” (3.5.23-24) The expression: “More light and light, more dark and dark our woes” (3.5. 36) reflects Romeo’s hopelessness for his future. The light outside is a metaphor of Romeo’s future, the more light there is, the clearer he sees his lonely future. An unknown nation waits for him with no friends and no love. Romeo knows that this future is not what he wants. And the more light there is, the less time he has to stay with his wife.  

To represent Romeo’s character perfectly, I studied his personality and asked myself: if I were Romeo, what would I do in this scene where I leave my family, lover, and home? Romeo was born in a feudal extended family, but he didn’t inherit feudal traditions and ideas, nor the feud with the Capulets. Instead, he adapts with time, betrays his family, and becomes a firm humanist; he is sincere, courageous, has a heart of universal love and pursues a free, independent, romantic love life. Even if it is wrong to love his enemy’s daughter, he doesn’t hold back. He also has no sectarianism; when he falls in love with Juliet, he treats all Capulets as his own family members. Even when Tybalt comes to kill him, he has no anger or fear, and only says: “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee Doth much excuse the appertaining rage To such a greeting.” (3.5.58-60) Romeo, a young boy, looks to resolving countless years of feuding. Even though Romeo is a young man who is taking action to change the two families, it was hard to express his personality in my acting. In my scene, he is just like every other young boy who feel confusion towards their future.

In terms of performance, I made a point of performing Romeo’s masculinity. In the beginning of my partner’s and my first tryout, we were like robots, reading lines with no emotions or tone at all. Our movements were stiff and incongrous as well. At the beginning of our first rehearsal, we needed some time to think about our posture after we said our lines. However, through my observations of the way men move, I made some change to my own movement. The biggest and also the most obvious change is my  posture. Men walk differently than women,  with their feet open, toes opening to sides. By putting my arms at my sides and drawing myself up, this helped me portray Romeo.

To represent my character’s inner feelings, I used different body parts to show different emotions. As the scene started, I woke up on the side of Juliet and then walked slowly towards the balcony, with my back facing her. When she yawned and called for me, I looked back, but only turned my head and kept my whole body facing the audience to show that even though Romeo doesn’t want to leave Juliet, his movement and words still suggest that he has been ready to leave and accept his fortune: “Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” (3.5. 9-11) In this way, I performed Romeo’s character by using my body to show Romeo’s rationality and sensibility. In addition, while I was saying: “I doubt it not, and all these woes shall serve/For sweet discourses in our times to come,” (3.5.52-53) I walked further away from Juliet, however, my hand was still reaching out to her.

Blocking is also an important part. In my scene, when Romeo and Juliet separate on her balcony, they walk together to the railing. The balcony in this scene is not only a place but more of a metaphor for a way to Mantua. Juliet held Romeo’s hand and led him to the balcony, which is symbolic of both of them bowing to fate. Also, every time Juliet called for Romeo, he ran back to her even if he had already chose to leave. By running between the center and the edge of the stage, Romeo’s inner thoughts were clearly represented: He is struggling. Romeo clearly knows Mantua is where he should go, but his love for Juliet causes him to hover between her warm embrace and the desolate and strange land. By looking at blocking, the audience can see that Romeo is deeply controlled by both his perceptual and rational desire.

The play ends in William Shakespeare’s poetic language with Romeo and Juliet embrace love and go to heaven together. The two big families faces the death of their child, they have to confess for their sin. Their Love is pure. However, when love faces feud, love would always disappear, and become the prisoner of anger. The death of Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, but it is exactly their death makes Romeo and Juliet becomes an eternal play. Shakespeare knows only to part forever can make people remember their story forever. Although Romeo and Juliet dead, their story is still alive. Love plays many roles. It can be the planner of tragedy, the director of comedy, even poison or candy. No one knows what exactly it is. Once we jump in to the trap of love, we are like a takeoff arrow that never comes back. We can only flies to our target stubbornly, ignoring the distance, strait through the air…  Romeo and Juliet’s love arrow is broken into pieces. We should not firmly think that love could last forever. Once it was detrimental to the interests of the third parties, then this relationship has the danger of being forced to break. No matter how innocent Romeo and Juliet are, no matter how they against, the play’s background has made groundwork for their end. Is their ending a tragedy? Maybe it is, because they die young, and they cannot grow old as lovers. But they find the other half of their life, and can stay together in the afterlife forever.