Procrastination Article Response

Procrastination. A phase we all go through. I, for one, can relate to this article. In fact, I do it all the time. However, on the contrary to what the article said, I think procrastination should not necessarily be viewed as a negative thing. I believe that procrastination is sometimes inevitable. For example, there are things called priorities. If you have an uncountable things to do in one day, then it's necessary to choose what you're going to do and leave the rest later for when you have time. As a student, I know this is inevitable especially when a semester ends and teachers tend to cram all their assignments in the final week. I only have two regular classes and the rest are mostly AP classes. The amount of homework given in each class is ridiculous. During that final week, I have to choose which assignments I can do because I can't do all of them. In such cases, I have to make priorities. I have to leave my small assignments for later and concentrate on the important ones. One of the arguments the article made was that when you do everything in the last minute, the product of your work would nowhere be as good as if you did it with time. Although this is true, if you do it beforehand along with the other assignments you have to finish, the result would probably be the same. Thus, in response to this article, I would say that procrastination is inevitable. In a society where we live in, there is simply the excuse that there's just not enough time.

Podcast Response

Hamlet by William Shakespeare has been performed many times since the moment he wrote the play. Now, it has been performed on stage all over the world showing the different interpretations each actor and director took from the play. In fact, I remember a famous Japanese actor named Otojiro Kawakami perform Hamlet on stage a long time ago in the early 1900s. A prominent play that holds such literary significance has surely been staged in every way possible. Or has it? Have you ever come across a staged production done in a high-security prison? I’m sure it’s not an every-day thing that a group of hardened criminals act out such a sophisticated Shakespeare play. Yet, these murderers, who are currently living out the consequences that the play is all about, are able to understand the characters on a level that most of us might not.

The thing that struck me the most about this podcast was how these prisoners can relate to Hamlet and the other characters more than anyone else on this planet. Why? Because these criminals have experienced the actions that Hamlet wants to take, all the events that occurred in the play, and the feelings of intensity. They are the living consequences of all what happened in the play. As Agnes Wilcox, the director of this production, had said, “Each person used its psychological ways to understand the characters.” This was evident when one inmate named Daniel Waller had played the role of the Ghost. When trying to connect with the said role, the man related it to the friend he himself have killed a while before. Understanding the hatred and betrayal the Ghost felt toward his murderer, his thirst for revenge, as well as his helplessness (now that he’s dead) was crucial in order to play the character out properly. Another inmate named Edgar Evans played the role of Claudius. During the scene when Claudius was confessing his crimes, Evans himself felt like he was asking for forgiveness to God. Only during these moments, do these prisoners finally realize the crimes that they have committed.

I remember a quote that I once read by C.S Lewis. It goes along the lines of “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” From what I know, CS Lewis is trying to convey that literature adds to reality by changing our perspectives. A good book (on in this case play) will challenge the way that you think, which in turn will alter your perception of reality. As you can see, the prisoners who had to act out in this play not only connected to the characters but also allowed them to finally react to the crimes they have committed and changed their reality completely. In other words, Hamlet did not just tell a story. It enriched our lives, and especially the lives of these inmates. 

The conclusion I can make through this podcast: literature is more alive than ever.