Monkey's Paw

If I had three wishes, I would wish:

- to meet the young, living, breathing, Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp.

- to be given a living, breathing, healthy doberman puppy.

- to have one of the main roles in a movie with Robert Downey, Jr., Johnny Depp, or Cillian Murphy

Деятельность 10 (Activity Ten)

Cillian Dempsey tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and straightened the collar of his light blue dress shirt. Nodding to the cameraman, he hooked the headset and microphone over his ear. "Alright, people!" The cameraman shouted. "We're live in thirty seconds. Clear the area." Twenty seconds later, the area was cleared but for Cillian, the cameraman, and the director. "Ready," Cillian murmured into the microphone. "All right," the director shouted. "In five. Four. Three. Two." Then he gestured to Cillian.

Cillian smiled into the camera. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am Cillian Dempsey and this is Public Plebeian Broadcasting, or PPB news." He took a few steps to the right as he gestured to the surrounding area. "The war between Mark Antony and Marcus Brutus is almost over. And why, you might ask? Marcus Brutus has been slain. Or rather, committed suicide. The complete story will come up in the next few minutes, but one of the main questions we've been asked since his death is 'Was Marcus Brutus actually honorable?'." Cillian grinned, his blue eyes giving off a ray of excitement. "The answer to that is simple. Yes, Marcus Brutus was an honorable man. When he killed Caesar, he did it not in a jealous rage. Rather, he did it because he thought it was best for his country. However, this is not a liable argument for killing someone, as he later found out." He nodded, and a man joined him in front of the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen," Cillian Dempsey said, putting an arm around the man's shoulders, "let me introduce to you the only witness of Marcus Brutus' death, Strato!"

Strato reached over and took Cillian's hand, giving it a hardy shake. "It's great to see you again, Cillian," Strato gushed, offering his charming smile to the crowd. "It's wonderful to see you too, Strato," Cillian replied, withdrawing his hand. "It's been a while. We would like to know what your opinion was of Marcus Brutus. Was he a traitor or an honorable man?"

"A bit of both," Strato began, scratching at gash along his hairline. "But he was as honorable as a man can be in the face of death. He knew that the battle was lost, and that he would soon be taken captive and paraded through the streets of Rome like an animal. So, as he and Cassius had discussed, he decided that suicide was the best response to this." "Really?" Cillian gaped, his blue eyes wide with interest. "Tell us more." "Well," Strato continued, "I'm sure you know that when Caius Cassius committed suicide, he had one of his own men kill him. And---" "And he covered his face like a bloody coward," Cillian Dempsey interrupted angrily. "Yes," Strato affirmed with a nod of his head. "But Brutus gave me his sword to hold toward him. Then he ran, literally, into the face of death." "So he ran onto his own sword?" Cillian asked, shocked. "Yes." He nodded again, his curly black hair swaying. "It was his way of escaping humiliation but still remaining honorable and brave in the face of death."

Cillian Dempsey turned back to the camera. "Well, there you have it, everyone. Marcus Brutus was indeed an honorable man." Looking into the camera with his deep blue eyes, he gave his signature closed-mouth smile before murmuring, "This is PPB News and I'm Cillian Dempsey, wishing you all a happy and healthy good night."

Attività Numero Nove (Activity Number Nine)

"Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself/Are much condemned to have an itching palm,/To sell and mart your offices for gold/To undeservers." (IV.iii.9-11)

1. Brutus is talking.

2. Brutus is talking to Cassius.

3. Brutus claims that Cassius is taking bribes from the enemy.

4. Cassius denies this. Brutus, however, is still angry at Cassius.

Activité Numéro Huit (Activity Number Eight)

"Et tu, Bruté?" (III.i.85)

1. Caesar says this.

2. Caesar says this to Brutus.

3. Brutus has just stabbed Caesar along with the other conspirators.

4. Caesar is shocked that Brutus would betray their friendship and join the conspirators to kill him.

"...that, as I slew my best lover for the/good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself/when it shall please my country to need my death. (III.ii.47-49)

1. Brutus says this.

2. Brutus says this to the crowd of Plebeians.

3. Caesar has just been slain, and Brutus is explaining why they did it. In this specific quote, he states that he will kill himself if his countrymen did not think it fit for him to kill Caesar.

4. The Plebeians were unsure of the murder of Caesar at first, but they would follow Brutus to anywhere, to the ends of the earth even, and believe anything he said, because he was the friend and lover of Caesar.

"Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal:/To every Roman citizen he gives,/To every several man, seventy-five drachmas... Moreover, he hath left you all his walks,/His private arbors, and new-planted orchards,/On this side of the Tiber. He hath left them you,/And to your heirs forever--- common pleasures/To walk abroad and recreate yourselves./Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?" (III.ii.254-256 and 261-266)

1. Mark Antony is speaking.

2. Mark Antony is speaking to the Plebeians.

3. Antony explains that Caesar left an abundance of money and land to every person in Rome. He questions if there is any nobler than he.

4. The Plebeians believe Mark Antony and realize that Caesar was a kind and noble ruler, and a generous one at that. They decide to kill the traitors and burn their houses down.

"It is no matter. His name's Cinna./Pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him/going." (III.iii.34-36)

1. The Fourth Plebeian is speaking.

2. The Fourth Plebeian is speaking to the First, Second, and Third Plebeians.

3. A poet named Cinna and just told the Plebeians his name, and they want to kill him because he has the same name as one of the conspirators, even though he isn't actually one of them.

4. Anger at Caesar's murder has made the citizens of Rome wild with rage. They don't care who they kill. They just want to avenge Caesar's death, even if it means killing those who look like or have the same name as one of the conspirators.

"Even at the base of Pompey's statue/(Which all the while ran blood) great Caesar fell./O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!/Then I and you and all of us fell down,/Whilst bloody treason flourished over us./O, now you weep, and I perceive you feel/The dint of pity. These are gracious drops./Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold/Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here,/Here is himself, marred as you see with traitors." (III.ii.200-209)

1. Mark Antony is speaking.

2. Mark Antony is speaking to the Plebeians.

3. He is saying how that it was treason to kill their ruler, Caesar, and that he should be avenged. He shows them the stab wounds, how he is "marred as you see with traitors".

4. The Plebeians are enraged by this. They resolve to kill the conspirators for their act of treason.