Proposal for Transformation Scenes due on Blog (500 words) -- what do you envision and why do you think this would be a good idea? Due by midnight Friday

I will adapt the scene from the night woman and make it five years into the future. This specific story will make the perfect play. The mother is so optimistic that it would allow them to be happy and have fun. Likewise, when I am staging the play I will have the mother and son do bonding activities, that a mother might do with an adolescent kid. These activities might include throwing a football or playing catch. It will show a loving relationship between the mother and son. The intention of the play will be to show the warm relationship and strong bond between the kid and mom. Her situation in the play sets her up perfect for this scenario.

She is a prostitute who only works at night. Most characters in the book have to work in the day. However, she is lucky to be able to be free in the day. This gives her the opportunity to sleep when her son is at school and relax with her son when he comes home.

   In the play, she is quite optimistic. If you can be an optimistic person while being a prostitute, you would undoubtedly be optimistic when with your child. This would lead me to believe that she would be a kind and loving parent. Additionally, in the play, she protects her son from what she’s doing for work. This shows her love for him, however, she could not hide what she does for a living for very long. Her son would be bound to find out in years to come. Therefore, in this play the son will know that his mother is a prostitute. When the son would find this out at first I would expect it to cause some conflicts, but eventually, the son would realize that the mother needs to do what she does in order to support him. This would inevitably lead to a stronger relationship. The play will take place after this strong relationship has already been formed.

   The next character to consider would be the son. We know virtually nothing about the son from the play. This gives up lots of room to work with. We can shape him and mold him as pleased. Except, personally I think children often take on the influences of their parents. Since he only has one parent he would be even more like his mom. Therefore, I would give him some characteristics of the mom. The first one would be generousness. Due to the boy’s generosity, he would want to help his mom out financially. The mom is getting older and not making as much money as she used to so the boy would get a job. He would also be somewhat promiscuous like his mom. In the play the mother and son will have a relationship where they can joke about things like that.

   This will leave room for humor. The situation that they are in and the close bond between the two gives them the perfect opportunity to make jokes about it. They can talk about their jobs and lives in the play. The son will talk about the rebellious things he has done and the mother will laugh along. This will be important foreshadowing in the play. The play can’t be all happy because the book krik krak is full of depressing events.

   At the end of the play, after the mother and son have shown their intimate connection, which will tear the audience apart. The son will have gone too far having fun and will have broke a law. The consequence will be death and the mother will be devastated. The mother will find this out when she visits him in prison. After the mother visits the jail, she will realize that she has nothing left to live for and kills herself.

   This would make the perfect play, designed to draw the audience in and rip out their heart, ending in complete devastation.

Endgame Review

First off, I have never been a fan of plays. I prefer movies, but I will admit that this play was much better than the last one. This play was more modern. It is post-apocalyptic except in a more boring way than one would expect. This play was set for disaster because it takes place in a bunker. There is very little going on in the play and is not much to watch. When I watch movies I often rely on visuals to help me understand which were scarce in this play. I think that the actors did a phenomenal job, except I wouldn't have liked this play even if it was made into a movie. Simply, the plot is boring. They have been sitting in a bunker for a hundred years. Half of them are terminally disabled, and all they have to do is talk. With this said I was still able to find entertainment in some of the little things. I liked the suspense in the beginning when the guy didn't move and when the guy was under the covers. That kept me on my feet because I wanted to know why the guy wasn't moving and the other one was under the covers. I also liked the tension between the actors. When the man who couldn't walk asked the man who couldn't sit why he hadn't killed him yet, he replies he doesn't know the combination for the larger. Additionally, I liked the man in the chair's personality. He kept asking for the answer to things he already knew but he had hope that it changed. Yet, the answer was always the same because the time never changed and remained 0. Additionally, I thought the people in the box were cool. I wondered how they could sit in the box for so long, but then I realized they must have a way to escape the box. I thought that was a nifty little trick. Although I disliked the play overall, given the scenario, I think they made it as interesting as you can when you have nothing to work with but the gray box your in. The actors did a phenomenal job, except sometimes I had a hard time following what they were saying. Except, I think that was more because of the plot than the actors. Their projection was good and nonverbal cues made it interesting. I especially like how the man walked. That added a spark to the play. If it wasn't for the man walking this play wouldn't have nearly been as entertaining, so that man is my favorite character. Overall I think the actors deserve a five out of five, and the plot deserves a two out of five. Therefore, overall I give the play a seven out of five. 

Was the play worth it? Personally, I do not think it was worth it. At times I found it boring and unengaging. If the play were to involve a more enjoyable topic I think it would be more beneficial to the students. It's easier to watch and follow something you're interested in than to watch something you dislike. If the plot were to be something the student could connect to more, I think they would be more engaged and it would certainly be beneficial to the class. Overall, the performance was done phenomenally, but the plot could have been better.

endgame

Background info on Endgame due on blog (notes on author, plot, theme, theater style) -- be sure to check out the Endgame Topic and the materials located there.

Endgame is a term used in chess that is also known as the end. This theater is done by samuel Beckett and is the theater and the absurd. It expresses the meaning of life and causes you to ask questions such as why are we alive? What is the purpose. This play was influenced by death, fasism and world war two, in nazi Germany. It includes nursing two family members with illnesses at the end of there lives. This setting is in a concrete bunker or shelter. It is one room. It is after a world disaster and post-apocalyptic. The character is Hamm who is blind and cannot walk. He is confined to a chain and must be waited on to survive. The power is all about him. He frequently thinks about himself. Another character is clove who is an adopted son and servant under Hamm’s control, which adds to the power dynamics. She cannot sit and is in pain so she always has to keep moving. The last character is harms parents who are very old in trash bins. They have bad parent to sibling relationships.

Test Krik Krak Dialogue

Our dialogue took the themes from the book and used them to create a new story. One of the themes expressed in our dialogue is woman's oppression. In the dialogue we created, both of the women are single because their husbands left them. Additionally, the mother from night woman talks about how her husband physically threw her around, in order to get by.
In addition to woman's oppression, there is a theme of corruption. In the play, the night woman had to sell her body in order to bribe her way into the united states. Leaving Haiti was dangerous from them and her son barely made it out alive. Her son had to bribe the guard in order to get to college and leave Haiti. Even though she is a prostitute she still keeps a positive attitude in order about things. On the other hand, the Day woman is slightly pessimistic.
Another theme is self-sacrifice. Everyone in this story had to give up something or someone in order to be where they are. The day woman had to give up her social life in order to work her job. She is not able to have a social life because she is too preoccupied working. Additionally, most likely she sacrificed her daughter's life in order to keep her job. Although the dialogue does not directly say she died, she went to Haiti a few years ago and never let her mother know if she was ok. This leaves a sense of hope, but there is a slim chance that the daughter is ok.
This makes you question what really happened. The author does this a lot in Krik Krak. Our dialogue makes you think is the mother to blame for losing her daughter even though she told her daughter not to go? If she hadn't worked so much could she have saved her child's life or would she be living on the street? This leaves a sense of unknown similar to the story of the sinking boat and how we don't know if they made it to shore. In the dialogue, there are other unknowns that were meant to make the reader think. The night woman is a prostitute, which is displayed subtly in the script. Questions the reader may be asking is, is Ben genuinely a friend the night woman met on the plane? Or is the night woman selling herself to the man on the plane, and the man was nice enough to invite her to a party? It was subtly implied at the end that she left to go sell herself to this man.
Additionally, there is a theme of family. In the text, people risk their lives for their family. The night woman risked her life to visit America for thanksgiving. Even though her son is not there she still cares about him, and that is shown in the story.
Within the family, we kept the tone of the two sisters. One sister is very optimistic. Even though she's a prostitute, she has a good view on things. She is protective of her son and was able to get her son throught college from prostitution. She was able to take care of her son because of the job she had. On the other hand, the wealthier day woman is more pessimistic and less happy. She never went to her son's parent-teacher conferences. Consequently, she never connected with her daughter, ruining their line of communication.
Our play is more than just a friendly dialogue. It is an add-on to a potential outcome if the two girls were sisters. Our script maintains the characters personalities and includes themes such as family, poverty, oppression, self-sacrifice, hope, danger, and corruption.

NYC - home at

Jack - Night Woman (Mom) - Julia

Veronika - Day Woman (Mom) Annie

In this subscript, we have merged the story night woman and day woman from the book Krik! Krak!. In this remake, Jack as the mom from the story in Night Woman, who is called Julia. Veronika will be playing the mom from the story day woman and will be called Anna. We have added that Annie and Julia are sisters. This script takes place approximately six years in the future where Julia’s child is off at college, and Annie does not know where her child is. In this script Julia and Annie meet up for the first time in years. They both have lived very different lives and have different backgrounds. The setting is in the airport in New York city. Julia had just flown in to visit her sister, over the Thanksgiving:

Julia arrives to the airport and as they make eye contact she sprint to go bear hug her sister.

Julia

“Oh my god, how have you been? Ew that new haircut looks awful. I missed you so much, it has been forever. I’m sure you’ve been living the dream back in America.”

Annie

“Hey, haha yeah, and you still look so young but really tired.”

Julia

“Yah I guess you're right. Working the grind to get my son through college has really put a number on me. He barely made it out of the country alive. Soldiers caught him trying to escape and he had to bribe them to escape.”

Annie

“That must have been rough. I’m lucky I got out when I did.

Where is your husband?”

Julia

“Oh, he left me ages ago. He wasn’t good for me anyways. He was always throwing me around. I’ve met some better people now.”  

Annie

“Oh wow. I knew it. I told you that, like what? Twenty years ago? You didn’t believe me as usual.”

Julia

“Yah, you’re one to talk where’s your husband? And it’s fine because I met many of other neat people. The single life is better anyways. Thanks for all the help witht the child by the way.”

Annie

“Sorry, I’ve just been so busy in America lately. ”

Julia

“Yah. That figures, I guess. I love my little boy so much. I’m extremely proud of everything he’s accomplished he’s such a brave little boy. How’s you kid been?”

Annie

“Umm… hopefully good… She went back to Haiti to give clothes to some relatives and never came back. I haven't hear from her in years. Hope she’s ok. I told her not to but I can’t control her anymore, I guess.”

Julia

“Yeah, you were never much of the kids person were you? Then again who am I to talk? I guess taking care of children is rough, right? But totally worth it.”

Anne

“I guess you are right.”

Julia

“As usual, I’m so siked for this party tonight. The guy I met on the plane over invited me. Do you want to come?”

Anne

“Eh, you know I have to cook the turkey for tomorrow and do lots of preparation. I wish I could.”

Julia

“Ugh, come on! Who cares? Do you know how hard it was for me to get here? I had to mess around with a lot of men, some even married, in order to get here for thanksgiving. Let's have fun! Live a little.”

Anne

“I do! But can’t we do this another time? Maybe next week.”

Julia

“There’s always a next week but what about now? My boy’s off at college having the time of his life, let’s do the same.”

Anne

“Julia stop, you have to understand. We have to be responsible sometimes. I have things I need to get done”

Julia

“Ok, I’ll just go with Ben then.”

Anne

“Who’s ben?”

Julia

“Oh just some guy I met on the flight over here. He’s actually quite attractive.” She says as she winks.

Anne

“Haha wow, okay then.”

Julia

“I’m sure you get around quite a bit too. Have you met any cute hunks lately?”

Anne

“Well not really. I’ve been so preoccupied with work. I haven’t had time to do anything fun. Socialising isn’t exactly one of the luxuries you get with my job.”

Julia

“That’s sucks! If you ever need help with that just know I’m the best wingman ever! Speaking of which I got to go meet up with Ben real quick I’ll see you later.”

Anne

“Now? Okay then, see ya.”

Blog post #8 due by midnight Saturday: Discuss the role of storytelling in Krik? Krak! and to Danticat. Why is it important? Consider the title as well as the epilogue and at least one story in your post. 500 wds.

Storytelling is highly important in the story krit? krak! In Haiti Krit? Is a request to tell a story, and when the other person whats to hear a story they say krak! In her society, story telling was very important. The woman of Haiti were oppressed and did not have the freedom to write as they wished. Those politicians that did have the freedom to write often wound up dead or imprisoned. Story telling was a way for you to spread stories in Haiti. It is a way to show what you have went through and the troubles you have endured. It is more than a fun activity. It is a way to express your freedoms. Woman were not supposed to have freedoms and were certainly not allowed to write. Writing transcends beyond story telling. It is part of a rebellious revolution.
In the epilogue it talks about how writing is an act of rebellion because they were not allowed to make a living as a woman. In there society,  the woman should be learning how to cook. In the epilogue Danticat says, ""when you write, it's like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them unity. Like the diverse women in your family. Those whose fables and metaphors, whose similes, and soliloquies, whose diction and je ne sais quoi daily slip into your survival soup, by way of their fingers." In this quote Danticat compares bringing the strands of hair together with unifying woman's stories. Story telling allows the stories from both the past and the future to be heard. It is a way to build a truly unique cluster of experiences that sever a purpose. Writing to Danticat is more than writing, it is part of a symbolic revolution.
In most the stories it talks about woman and how they have been oppressed. In one of then a woman was sent to jail for practicing a religion. This woman was inevitable killed, showing a theme of hopelessness. She was killed for an invalid reason. Additionally, one of the stories talks about how a woman had to resort to become a prostitute. Yet, this one was truly unique because it was one of the most optimistic stories in the book. Perhaps this story was meant to give hope to those woman in Haiti who were struggling. It shows the story of how she fought the oppression and against all odds she wouldn't let it get her down. Then there is a story of a new york day woman. She worked as a babysitter. It showed how America was better than Haiti. Yet, it also showed a cold and heartless mom. This mom never went to the parent and teacher conferences. Additionally, she had family back in Haiti who she could have donated old cloths to. They would have greatly appreciated it. Except she didn't. Perhaps this story has a deeper message. It is that life isn't all about money. Even though she escaped Haiti, she wasn't living right. She forgot about her family. Maybe this shows how sometimes life is about more than money, and if you don't pay attention family values can slip away. In Haiti I families tended to be closer, because they went through the same struggles. Maybe this story is a warning to what can happen when you leave Haiti. You can loose those deep-seated morals that make you who you are. I think all of her stories have an underlying message and lesson to be learned. This is what story telling is about. It is about opposing that message through the experience of others. Story telling allows us to learn from the past so we can take action and not repeat the same mistakes. Story telling is an rebellious art used to express yourself in times of expression.

Blog post #7: Discuss the connections between women's lives in the Haitian-based stories vs the American-based stories. How are their experiences similar and different? Be specific. Also, be sure to read and include Caroline's Wedding in this post.

The woman who live in Haiti have a much different life than those who live in the United States. They often suffer from oppression and are forced to do things such as prostitution. Whereas in the united states they can get jobs and live a much different life. However, people in the United States live different things and have different customs. This is shown in the story Caroline's wedding. The younger children who were born in new York were custom to American traditions and culture. This also affected their opinion on marriage and caused them to have opposing views. In Haiti, they needed to ask for permission to marry but in the United States, that is not the case causing conflicts in the family. The ones who were originally in Hadi don't necessarily have these generation gaps but the younger ones do.

Reading notes

Night woman
- Prostitute
- Son is 13ish? (Touching himself)
- Other women work in the day but don't get to spend time with their children
- Optimistic for prostitution
- Guys seem nice
- Talk of angels
- Bear gifts (flowers)
- Father gone
- Stars through holes in the roof
- Poor house

 New york day women
- She babysits kids for a living
- They escaped their homeland
- Possibly going back?
- Saving clothes for people back at home who have less
- They don't have a lot but are grateful for it
- In Haiti, if you get hit, the driver will come out and kill you for getting blood on his car
- detached relationship because the mom works in the day
- Mom never goes to parent teacher conferences

Between the pool and the gardenias
- Woman finds a baby
- Keeps it
- Nice woman
- Work as a waiter
- Hides the baby
- Baby get sick and dies
- She tries to bury it
- She gets caught burying it
- Gets accused of murder
...RIP

Night woman

The story night woman takes a more optimistic approach than the other stories, which is weird because it's about prostitution. Nothing devastating happens in the story. In my opinion, it is a somewhat loving story. Not in the sense of sex, but in the sense of family. The mother has to do what she does to get by and seems like she does it for her son. While she does this she doesn't necessarily describe it as the worst thing in the world. She takes the time to appreciate the little thing in life. Even the holes in the roof have a positive condensation behind them. Her lovers like the stars that peek through the holes in the roof.

Other stories are about death and dismal and all have a sad ending, but I think this one is positive. It shows a woman who could he in a potentially awful situation, but turned to around to take care of her son. She does what she can to make sure her son doesn't catch or hear what she does. This is why I think this story has a loving tone behind it. Everything the woman does is for her and her son. At the same time, the men seem to be friendly sometimes bearing gifts and bringing flowers giving a warm feeling. Although sometimes the men are married, they don't completely disregard her feelings as a human. The men seem to be compassionate and overgenerous given the circumstances. I am surprised that there is such an optimistic view of prostitution. From the other stories, I would expect something darker. I would expect the men to beat her or her to die at the end. Overall, I think that this story has greater meaning to it. It's not about the money you make or conditions you live in, it's about how you live it. This woman put in one of the worst possible situations turned it into something that isn't half bad.

Theme

Danticat shows many themes throughout the story. One theme that especially occurs a lot is false hope. No matter what happens or what people believe in the story nothing will ever work in their favor. Their dreams will always be shut down and will end in misery. Yet, hope prevails.

In the first story you can expect a happy ending in the beginning, but as the story goes on the inevitable fate begins to unravel. When a woman is raped she thinks she will have the baby and everything will be all right. Except she has the baby and it dies. Even after it dies she still holds onto it tightly not letting it go. It is almost is she expects some miracle to bring the baby back to life. Except no miracle was going to happen and the mother herself had a slim chance of surviving. 

The boat was sinking. Their time was limited. All around them, boats are sinking. They need to throw their stuff off the boat to stop it from sinking. They believe they'll survive it, and although they might have the author implies they didn't. There hope that the could have survived was in vain. All the help they received from loved ones to escape was hopeless.

Even the people at home think they have a chance. They paid off the guards so they could survive. Except that didn't set them free. They are likely to be captured and killed trying to escape. Essentially, everyone trying to escape ended up dead. The people in this story are negligent to reality, and the reality is there is not hope because everyone trying to escape will die.

This theme of false hope is carried on the next story. The people in the prison are as well as dead. Yet, they value things such as sunlight and people still visit them. When the woman goes to see her mother she finds out that her mother was killed. She was sent to jail for believing a prohibited religion. However, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. The daughter vowed at the end to follow her mother's footsteps. Surely fate will catch up to her and she will end up in the ground with her mother. 

Additionally, in the next story, there is a boy who wants to recite his lines to the play. You may be asking yourself, What could possibly go wrong now?  It's just a boy in a play." I' afraid the boy is not the only character. There is also a dad, who wants to sign his son up for work to secure him a job, even though the son could make more money with an education. Yet, the mother disagreed, ruining the father's hopes. Consequently, the father steals a hot air balloon. He is finally able to fly and drift off in the clouds. There is a moment of hope as if the man had done a great thing by stealing this balloon. Except the man did not think too far ahead. As he was lifted into the air he probably realized that his plan was horribly flawed. When he landed they would kill him. So he took a lower and possibly less painful route. He jumped falling to the ground, ending his life. All hope was lost.

Quotes

"It is the calm and silent water that drowns you."
This quote is short but has a lot of meaning. This means that what kills you is often unexpected. You can't predict what will cause your death. It is often the things we expect less that will cause your death. For example, if you're in a lake then you wouldn't expect to drown, but could easily slip under. Except,  if you're in a rapid river there are more likely to be many lifeguards to save you. In the text, a woman is who always followed the law is accused of sorcery. This was unexpected because you would expect her to die of old age. No one would expect her to die from being accused of a witch, it is more likely for you to think she would die from a shark or old age. Death often sneaks up on us and is unpredictable. Everyone dies for a completely different reason and it is often the unexpected that kills us.

"Love is like the rain. It comes in a drizzle sometimes. Then it starts pouring and if you're not careful it will drown you."
This shows how we can get caught up in love for not just a person but a love for anything. In one of the stories, there is a man who loves the sky. He wants to be able to fly and becomes obsessed with it. Although men were not meant to fly he still wants to fly. In order to fly he steals a hot air balloon. He takes it and jumps off it in order to fly. His obsession with flying ended his life.

Notes due for "1937" and "A Wall of Fire Rising" -- post on your blog

1937

- Haitians 

- Born when chief of state ordered a massacre

- Mom in prison visiting her

- In prison for illegitimate reason

- Brought her mom food

- food in prison must be really bad

- chews food for a long time but doesn't eat it (gross)

- In prison for life for witchcraft

- She is a skin changer

- Wrinkles from age mean another thing

- It means she changes her skin into another body at night and instead of her being old

- Gives her a madonna doll

- Mother was beaten down in the prison yard because the prison could not cure her

- ^her skin was loose

- In death, mother flew to the sun

A wall of fire rising

- Boy made it in the play

- Boy practices play and recites

- Parents are proud

- Boy is a revolution leader

- Studies his lines everywhere

- Talk of getting a job

- There is a list for it

- The boy forget his lines

- Like to fly, but god didn't make humans with wings so they weren't meant to fly (Foreshadowing)

- Father goes up in a hot air balloon

- Most likely stole it

- Jumped off and fell to the ground, maybe trying to fly

- Even when the father dies the boy still recites lines

- The husband liked the sky so they left his eyes open at the sky