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Kate Hoover
Ms. Gardner
Honors English 10, Period 2
16 May 2014
Final Reflection Monologues
Macbeth: Macbeth
I once was a general of Duncan,
I once defeated invading armies,
I once was a noble knight of Scotland--
A hero: valued and beloved by most.
After battle with enemy forces
Joined by my general comrade Banquo
On my voyage homeward across I came
Across three witches and a prophecy:
I was made to be the thane of Cawdor,
And eventually King of Scotland.
I then was told the previous thane of
Scotland betrayed, and was condemned to death.
Could the remainder of the prophecy
That I will be crowned king ultimately
Come true like the witches had prophesied?
Skeptical at first, then overwhelmed by
An underlying sense of greed and pride
A need to rise to the top of the rank:
I murdered Duncan under persuasion.


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Man enough to rise to the top I had
Became, unsure of my actions at first,
Consequences that came I knew would come.
Beware Macduff the witches informed me.
I ordered to have Macduff murdered, but
Already Macduff had fled to England.
So I then murdered Macduffs family:
Lady Macduff and Macduffs son were killed.
I ordered to have Fleance and Banquo,
By hands that were other than mine,
Killed because my time as king be it short.
These murderers cut Banquos throat and stabbed
Him until he has reached the point of death.
Tainted with these four deaths, add Young Siward,
I was rightfully to be crowned the King:
No longer was anyone in my way.
The witches prophecy: a truth been told
Whether my actions interfered or not.
The consequences came--I no longer
Held the place of the thane--the king I was.
The king I was not for a moments time;
In a final brawl Macduff took my head
And all myself was left was stained blood red.




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All Quiet on the Western Front: Paul Bumer
As you can only imagine, the damage that war has left on me is far more than the damage
it has done to anything else. Gunfire rings in my ears. Bombs explode in my head. The smell of
poisonous gas lingers in my nose. The destroyed landscape and the destroyed men that I saw
permanently scars my vision. The loneliness that I felt on the battlefield cant compare to the
hunger or the thirst that left my body so empty. No, loneliness is a different kind of empty.
Young soldiers spent their days unsuccessfully fighting for an unknown cause; at least, thats
what they thought. I fought to fill the void that left me so internally empty. I fought against the
enemy, the hunger, and the thirst to fill a psychological hole inside me. It took me the majority of
my time spent in the war to finally fill the emptiness with a companion that fought the same
battles as I: the enemy and the loneliness. I wouldve done anything for Kat. I wouldve put my
own life in danger if it meant Kats was saved. And I did. He was injured, so I carried him all the
way back to camp in the hopes of getting him healed--and safe. I talked with him over my
shoulder, and if we werent talking we were absorbing each other's presence and appreciating the
love that we shared with each other: the love that filled the loneliness. We made it all the way
back to camp, and an orderly informed me that I could have spared myself the effort. Kat was hit
by a stray splinter. He had spent the majority of the labor stone dead.









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Great Expectations: Philip Pirrip
Im not sure what I did to please the convict so much to the point where he felt the need
to anonymously benefit me, but whatever he mustve seen was of some resemblance to a boy
who deserved to become a gentleman; I thought I was just so afraid of him that I would do
whatever he asked of me, even if it meant freeing a convicted man. As I grew into the blacksmith
that I was raised and trained to be, I wished for so much more that what I had. I wanted to be
smart. I wanted to be educated. I wanted to be successful. I wanted desperately to get away from
the chains that held me to my projected future (that I had no choice in making, may I add). I left
my projected future in the dust once I learned I was anonymously benefited to travel across the
world and become a gentleman. I spent an incredible amount of my years perfecting the art that
existed in a man of gentlemanlike status. I cleansed my hands of my past, and developed
intelligent, education, and success. I became fixated on the material items that I thought a
gentleman was required to possess; in the process of this spree, I spent all of my money (which
wasnt even mine to begin with). Remember that convict that I told you about? He turned out to
be the anonymous benefactor. Surprising, right? Well, upon visiting me to tell me that news, a
friend-turned-foe attempted to murder him; the result of the attempted murder of the convict was
a murder of the foe instead. The convict, his name was Magwitch, now with many years of life
weighing down his shoulders, was given the death sentence. I promised him I would look after
him, no matter what: this convict meant the world to me. He passed away before his death
sentence was followed through, and with his death came the death of myself as well. Or, at least,
the gentleman I wanted so desperately to be.




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