What Makes a Great Character?

If I were to create a character, I would create my character to be a young girl at about 17 or18 years old. Her name would be Castella Cornwall. My story will be set in 17^th century England, a century when many musicians and writers are gradually becoming prominent. My female character would be someone who has a child to raise but faces some discrimination in society because her husband left her. She would be a short and thin character with long brunette hair that gives people an impression of a frail woman. People do not respect Castella because they all thought her husband left her because she did not take full responsibility of being a wife. Despite other people’s misunderstandings of why her husband left her, Castella chooses to overlook all the gossips and continue her track of becoming a famous writer and giving her child a nice and stable environment to live in. She faced further more hardships when trying to gain her reputation or even just trying to publish her works because women at that time were not considered able to do what men could do. However, Castella kept her ideal and remained determined to achieve her goal. She would be someone who believes in herself and will follow her heart to whatever she thinks is the right action to take. In conclusion, she would be someone who has a totally different character than that of what her looks may give people an impression of.

How Do Dreams Inspire You?

        Dreams can often bring you often bring you revelation or an enlightenment that can make you suddenly realize something and learn a lesson. The most memorable dream I had is about how I lost my family in a car accident. I remember waking up in tears and sweat. I still remember that feeling of agony when I found out my family are all gone. This helped me realize how much I care about my family; how by only thinking (or dreaming) about losing my family can make me that depressed. The next day after I had that dream, I told my mother about it. My mother laughed about it and told me how she also had that dream before. She learned that she should cherish every moment she spends with her family. I, too, realized the importance of treasuring my time with my family. During that time, me and brother did not talk for a week because of a fight. After the dream, I thought nothing was more important than our relationship as a family. So I made up with him and our bond is even tighter than before the dream. I changed my attitude toward my family now. I tend to be more concerned with what happens with my family, so I always try to talk with my family every day. And by doing this, I think our family’s relationship really became more intimate.

When are People Most Alone?

        If I were to make a five-minute silent film about isolation, I think I would pick myself as the main character. I am person who is quitter fearful of loneliness. To me, loneliness can occur in many forms and can exist in everyday life at any second. I would make my film to include many different short scenes of situations that I or many people in today’s life may experience. My first setting would be me in a foreign country, in a country that I can’t communicate very well with the people, at a school where my familiar friends are all gone and I am forced to adapt to the new environment. My scene will convey the main character (me) trying to find the classrooms on an unfamiliar crowded campus with no one in particular to help her. My scene will then turn to depicting everyday situations. For example, when I feel depressed and need someone to talk to but found no one reliable enough. Another scene would be set during fall or winter when people often feel melancholic. Walking down a street crowded with people can also be lonely. For me, sometimes being in a crowded place make you feel even lonelier seeing all the people happily interacting with each other. In conclusion, to me people are most lonely when they do not have a companion to accompany or console them through times of depression or unhappiness.

Evilness and Heroism

              In Beowulf, heroism is an important theme that runs throughout the entire poem. I think heroism is manifested in various aspects here. First, heroism is manifested through a person’s honorable behavior or loyalty. For example, Wiglaf the warrior jumped out to help Beowulf when other comrades all escaped from the threat of death. Only he remembered the oath he made to Beowulf to be present when Beowulf is facing hardships. This characteristic is considered heroic in the era. I think heroism is also conveyed through Beowulf’s selfless spirit and courageous behavior. For instance, in the battle with the monster that guarded the treasures, Beowulf was facing a situation in which he knew he was most likely to lose. Despite that, he still forces himself to fight and devotes his life to killing this monster that terrorizes his people. At the end of his life, he mentioned that he is pleased that he traded his life well for valuable treasures that can bring wealth to his people. This demonstrates how Beowulf values his people’s life more than his own. I think the fact that he calmly accepts the fact that fate decides whether he lives is also a hint of heroism.

                Evilness in Beowulf is a characteristic that contradicts with heroism. Evilness is generally demonstrated in the poem by all the actions done by the monsters, such as killing people and eating them on the spot.  Evilness is first manifested in the poem through jealousy. Grendel attacked Herot because he saw how people were joyful in the mead hall. He became impatient and jealousy motivated him to do evil actions. Another aspect of evilness is portrayed through the thought of retaliation. After Grendel is dead, he mother decided to revenge for his son. These acts are considered evil because in the end, monsters that have done these deeds are all defeated. From the monsters’ failures we can see that these acts are evil deeds that won’t result in a good ending.

 

Evil: My definition

To me, evil is all forms of actions or behaviors that deviates from the normal norm of moral uprightness or any kind of righteousness. In other words, it usually diverges from what a well-intentioned person would do. Thus, evil can dwell in every aspect of our lives. A kind of evil can exist in a friendship. Affairs such as betrayal between friends are staged in people’s everyday life. A friend can talk something bad and false behind your back. A friend can even sometimes decide to not bother to talk to you. In my opinion, people are not born evil. Of course people are born with greed or jealousy, but I don’t consider that to be evilness. A baby child could not have thought of a thing as killing or murdering. It is the external influence or environment that can impact a child’s thoughts. For example, if a child lives in a family that often exercises violence on he or she, the child can turn evil and in turn hold the same behavior toward others. I think evilness is intentional.  No one is forced to do evil; only you can decide what you want to do. Thus, I think evil is rooted from the heart.