Divergent is a novel from the american author Veronica Roth. It has been published in 2011 and it is part of the literary genre of dystopia. This book is the first of a successful trilogy. We are in a post-apocalyptic city, formerly Chicago. Here is the story of the book :

Beatrice Prior, called Tris, is the main character of this novel. She lived in a society divided into 5 factions, according to the predominant personality trait of the people. There is Abnegation made up of people who devote themselves entirely to others. These people dress in grey, have the bare minimum at home and don’t look at themselves in the mirror because it’s considered superfluous, you don’t have to worry about how you look. These people must always remain humble and modest ; so they make up the government society. Plus, there is Amity made up of people who  live together in harmony and who favour peace and joy ; these people are involved in agriculture. There is also Candor : people can’t lie and always say whatever they think. They are honest (sometimes too much) ; so they take care of the society’s justice system. Plus, there is Erudite with the smartest people. They are researchers, scientists who deal with the medical field. Finally, we have Dauntless, with courageous and fearless people. They take care of the security of the city.

Tris is 16 years old and it’s at this age that she must choose the faction in which she wants to belong until the end of her life. Children generally choose the faction they grew up in and very few change factions. These changes, called transfers, are accompanied by a change of neighborhood and a break with the family of origin. Before that, she and everyone her age took a test to find out which faction would suit them best. However, Tris test is different from the others ; the test is inconclusive, it corresponds to several factions. Tris is divergent and it’s a secret that she must absolutely hide. Except that in this totalitarian society, not to fit into a box is to sign one’s death warrant.

Tris makes the most unexpected choice at the Choosing Ceremony, contrary to all the teaching she has received from her family. However, this choice is that of her heart but that’s the worst when we are divergent. Indeed, being « factionless », that is to say being a recluse from society, is not what she should fear. She must fear execution.  Destiny will bring her up to the mysterious Four, the coach of her group of newcomers, a man broken by life with hard airs.

This book denounces totalitarian governments and the repercussions on the inhabitants. Indeed, we put people into factions that are based on just one trait of their personality when we are not defined by that alone. People who do not fit into a faction are simply eliminated as dangerous. It is simply revolting for the reader whe he sees how society accepts its fate and allows itself to be manipulated by the government, which is entirely corrupt. This book also shows us that being different is not a fault, on the contrary it is a very honorable quality that must always be respected. Because we are all different, 5 factions are not enough to rank us inside, everyone somehow has his own faction of which he is the only one to belong.

It is very difficult to talk about this book without spoilers because it would be a shame not to discover this book as you read it. I really loved this book and especially the sentences : “Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.” ; “I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest.”

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel from the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It has been published in 1985 and it is part of the literary genre of dystopia. A dystopia describes an imaginary society ruled by totalitarian power where people lose their freedom and self-awareness. This book is a futuristic novel and it has been adapted in TV series since 2017. Here is the story of this book :

Offred is a woman under the Republic of Gilead, a military dictatorship founded by religious fanatics. In this society where fertility has fallen dramatically, women are categorized. There are the Commanders’ Wives dressed in blue ; they’re married to « Commanders », political leaders with responsibilities. These women are concerned only with the supervision of housework and live comfortably. Then there are the Marthas in green ; there are servants and nannies when there is a child, they are sterile. Then, there are the Econowives who are married to poor men. Plus, the Aunts are the women who indoctrinate and brainwash the Handmaids. And finally, the Handmaids are the women still fertile. They are only used for reproduction and they belong to Commanders. They are recognizable by their red dress.

Offred is a Handmaid in this society. Before the new government came, she had a job, a husband and a little girl. Now, she spends her time in her room that contains the minimum and she has the right to walk once a day with a companion like her. Like all the maids, she suffers the contempt and jealousy of other women who are unable to give birth, and especially of the Commanders’ WIves, because it’s the maids who are able to give birth to their husbands. « It’s not the husbands you have to watch out for, it’s the Wives. You should always try to imagine what they must be feeling; of course, they will resent you. It is only natural, try to feel for them. » The Handmaids are therefore very badly treated but have to accept their fate.

Offred doesn’t have a name anymore and the only thing that keeps her going is her memories. She was separated from her daughter and her husband, who was injured the last time she saw him. The reader thus alternates between memories of the past and events of the present, which allows us to observe the evolution of the status of women. Indeed, the Handmaids no longer have freedoms and are conditioned to remain quiet. They live under the threat of being sent to the Colonies: a place where all those who are not executed are sent. The people there live in terrible conditions, which are shown to the maids to frighten them. Religion is also an important part of their « education » done by the Aunts. Maids are kept in the deepest ignorance : « Knowing was a temptation. What you don’t know won’t tempt you. » They do not have access to television (which only broadcasts propaganda material) or books but only to the Bible.

This novel allows us to discover a new society where women no longer have freedoms and are reduced to objects that are used and thrown away when they become useless. Indeed, this novel shows how fragile women’s freedoms are and are never acquired forever. Simone de Beauvoir said : « Never forget that all it takes is a political, economic or religious crisis for women’s rights to be called into question. These rights are never acquired. You will have to remain vigilant throughout your life. »

As a woman, this novel really sends shivers down my spine because I think I could very well be in Offred’s place. Indeed, the author was inspired only by elements that have already arrived in dictatorships and real authoritarian societies. This makes the novel lively and very touching for the reader, who can very well imagine the society described by Margaret Atwood. This novel also allows us to open our eyes to today’s events, where women’s rights are being challenged. I’m thinking of Afghanistan since the Taliban came : young women can’t go to school and can’t go out without being completely covered and accompanied by a man. I am also thinking of the United States, where a fundamental right is being called into question: the right to abortion. The law in the U.S. Constitution obliging the legalization of abortion could be abolished, which would allow some states to prohibit it. It is estimated that 26 out of 50 states would actually ban or reduce it if the law were abolished (including the great state of Texas). This would be a real massacre for women’s right to dispose of their bodies.

I really liked this sentence from the novel that made me think : « A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze. »

It Ends with Us is a novel from the american author Colleen Hoover. It has been published in 2016 and it is part of the literary genre of romance.It can also be described as a « psychological drama ». To write this book, the author drew inspiration from certain events in her life. It’s a really poignant book, you don’t get the same after you read it. Indeed, the book is about domestic violence. Here is the story of this novel :

For as long as she can remember, Lily Blossom Bloom has always lived in a world of physical and psychological violence. Between a violent father and a mother blinded by love she finds submissive, she swore to herself never to experience this. Her dream is to open a flower shop in Boston, the city « where everything goes well ». This is where she meets Ryle, a neurosurgeon who has everything to please and who seems really attracted to her. But Lily finds it hard to give her confidence to the male people after her traumatic childhood. Her story with Ryle will plunge her back into her family memories to Atlas, her childhood love that she never managed to completely forget.

The author portrays two different characters. Ryle is funny, charming, ambitious but we gradually discover a dark hidden side. Atlas, he went trough hell before realizing his dream : to open a restaurant in Boston. He is nevertheless a deeply good and kind person. Yet fate chose to separate him from Lily.                                                                                        We follow Lily’s internal journey. We first have the point of view of the child who does not understand why her mother allows herself to be beaten and tries to hide what she has suffered, instead of denouncing her husband. Then we move on to the teenage Lily who lives in misunderstanding and fear but who meets a homeless man who has conquered her heart, Atlas. Finally we have the point of view of the adult who loves his tormentor, Ryle, despite the beatings, the excuses and the pardons. We knew that love was complex but when hope enters the game, it distorts all our bearings.

The author shows us that we can’t imagine how we would react in a certain situation before being confronted with it. Lily who was sure of what she would do if her husband hit her loses all her bearings when the situation arises. Yet she forgives Ryle because deep down, she wishes with all her heart that this man was not like her father. However, Ryle’s actions are repeated and excuses rain down… His mother will tell her : « We all have a limit. What we’re willing to put up with before we break. When I married your father, I knew exactly what my limit was. But slowly . . . with every incident . . . my limit was pushed a little more. And a little more. The first time your father hit me, he was immediately sorry. He swore it would never happen again. The second time he hit me, he was even more sorry. The third time it happened, it was more than a hit. It was a beating. And every single time, I took him back. But the fourth time, it was only a slap. And when that happened, I felt relieved. I remember thinking, ‘At least he didn’t beat me this time. This wasn’t so bad.”

Lily is someone everyone can relate to. She is an extraordinary person who always sees the good in others. When she suffers, the reader suffers with her. We would like so much to be able to help her.The author manages to get us into the story. We fall in love with Ryle along with her, we take the first hit with her, etc… It makes us open our eyes to domestic violence. The story is all the more touching as the author experienced the same situation with her parents : her father beat her mother.

I won’t tell you the full story because I would like you to discover it yourself. To know what the heroine will do, it will be necessary to read the book. I clearly adored this novel but at the same time it upset me so much ; I have never felt so many things with a book. This novel is a real cry fo all people who experience domestic violence. It calls into question all our certainties and our assumptions about this violence.

The sentence that stuck out to me the most was : “All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel from the american author Ray Bradbury. It has been published in 1953 in the US ; it is part of the literary genre of dystopia (unlike utopia, dystopia offers a pessimistic vision of the future). The title refers to the auto-ignition point, in degrees Fahrenheit, of the paper (equivalent to 232.8°C). It is the temperature at which any substance or material ignites spontaneously in the absence of flames. This novel was written in the context of the Cold War between the United States and the USSR. It was a period of tension with the threat of nuclear war and the rise of communist ideas. Here is the story :

Just imagine. A futuristic world where the books have disappeared. In this society, reading would be considered an antisocial act because it is a source of questioning and reflection.The role of firefighters would no longer be to extinguish the fire but to light it. Indeed, they would be responsible for burning the books, the possession of which is prohibited for the collective good, as well as their owner’s house. “Classes are shortened, discipline neglected, philosophy, history, languages abandoned, English and its pronunciation gradually neglected, and finally almost ignored. We live in the immediate future. work, so many distractions to choose from. Why learn anything but push buttons, plug in switches, tighten screws and nuts? »

Guy Montag, the main chracter, is a firefighter. He was convinced he was doing good before he met his neighbor, a young woman named Clarisse who is very quick-witted. He begins to question himself following this meeting. He had never read books and was not in the habit of asking questions. This fireman however begins to dream of a different world, one that would not banish literature and the imagination in favor of an immediately consumable happiness. We follow this man’s awareness and the upheaval it will bring in his life throughout the novel.

Ray Bradbury describes a world riddled with overcomsumption, self-centeredness and lack of culture; a world where, despite everything, people live happily ever after, drinking from TV series and sporting events. He also stages people who go beyond this pattern, for more realism and authenticity. One might wonder why books should be banned. Indeed, when you think about it, reading allows you to forge your own opinions. This totalitarian society has found the solution : abolish books and thus, the freedom of thought. The worst part of all this is that to avoid asking too many questions, the population makes herself stupid with the television. Plus, the banishment of books has been smooth.

This book is well futuristic but it allows us to question our current society. Books are increasingly threatened by infantilizing and mind-numbing screens and games. People are becoming more and more superficial and are losing their taste for culture. This book is a novel of anticipation which reminds us the importance of freedom of expression and which denounces the brainwashing (thanks to the TV) and the authoritarian excesses of our society.

I really liked this book because, as an avid reader, i can’t imagine my life without books. I don’t even imagine that we can ban them because it would be a real attack on freedoms. So, to prevent the Ray Bradbury scenario from happening, let’s keep reading !

I would like to share with you a quote that really impressed me and made me think : “‘Stuff your eyes with wonder,’ he said, ‘live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic that any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that,’ he said, ‘shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass.’” 

Ce blog en langue anglaise, supervisé par Corinne Charlette, Professeur d’anglais au Lycée Alain Colas de Nevers est entièrement réalisé par des élèves de LLCER Anglais (Langues, Littératures et Civilisations Etrangères et Régionales).Les articles anciens ont été écrits par les élèves de LELE (Littérature en Langue Etrangère).Les fautes ne sont pas toutes corrigées pour encourager les bonnes volontés et pour reproduire des conditions réelles d’utilisation des outils numériques dans un contexte autre que scolaire.Nous vous remercions donc pour votre indulgence.

    Hunger games is a trilogy of science fiction written by suzanne Collins.  It consists of three volumes. The date of publication is in 2008 in the United States and 2009 in France. The first two novels are a bestseller.  Each book is a selection of nine chapters. Hunger games is also a cinematic tetralogy.  This is an American science fiction directed by Gary Gross and François lawrence.

    I’m going to talk about Volume 1. This is about the arrival of a 16-year-old woman named Katniss.  She comes from district 12. Katniss has to participate in hunger games, the losers will die.  On the ruins of the United States (in a dark future), a game show is created to control the people by terror.  Twelve boys and twelve girls drawn to participate in this sinister reality show, which everyone is forced to watch live.  One rule in the arena: survive, at any cost.  It was katniss’s sister who was supposed to go but she decides to go because she is aware of the danger and she has already been confronted with death.  Survive is like a second nature to her.

    I started by watching the movies.  It’s a mistake because it’s better to read the books first.  I also preferred books even if the movies are beautiful.  I really enjoyed the story and that kind of book.  This is a book series not to be missed.

Harry Potter is a book written by J.K Rowling and published in London in 1997. It belongs t the genre of low fantasy. The fictional sequel stopped in 2007. In 2016 it took place a play that is considered the « eighth story ». The book and scripts have been translated into French by J. F Menard. The books have gained tremendous popularity, they have been a commercial success and have been critically acclaimed. There were eight films. There have also been video games, attractions, exhibitions, etc. that have been adapted from the series. Harry Potter is a series of seven novels that talks about the adventures of a young wizard (Harry Potter) and his friends: Ron and Hermione. They are in a famous wizarding school: Hogwarts led by Dumbledore.
Harry is a young orphan who has been entrusted to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia who didn’t like him. They force him to sleep in a broom closet and to endure a lot of things. He is aggrieved by Dudley (son of the Dursley’s and his band whose favorite « game » is Harry’s hunt). The day of his eleventh birthday, Harry receives the visit of the giant Hagrid who comes to pick him up to take him to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft where a place awaits him since his birth. Harry learns that he is a wizard (very famous as his dead parents, James and Lily Potter). It is also revealed that his parents did not die in a car accident but murdered by a terrifying dark wizard whose name nobody dares to pronounce.
I started Harry Potter not so long ago (less than a year). I wanted to know what would happen to Harry. I do not like fantastic novels but I have a lot of hooks and this book is really worth reading and watching the movies. I regret not having started this book earlier.

Outlander

Outlander is a drama television series based upon Diana Gabaldon’s historical time travel book series of the same name. The serie is developed by Ronald D. Moore and producted by Sony Pictures Television. The show premiered an August 2014. 6 seasons are planned.

Diana Gabaldon (1 952-x) is an american author and a profesor. Her books merge multiple genre like historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science-fiction. Her notableworlks is Outlander, Lord John.

Ronald Dowl Moore (1 964-x) is an american screenwriter and television producer. He is best know for his work on Star Trek, on the re-imagined Battlestar Galatica Tv serie for which he won a peabody Award  for  Outlander.

Outlander means that a person who arriv accidently in a place or who arrive in new country. Caitrona Balfe as Claire Randall is marriedto Frank Randall. She is a nurse during the World War II. In 1946 she is going on a trip in Scotland with her husband. But she is carried back in time to the XVIII century. She falls in a group of rebel Scottish Highlanders from Clan McKenzie. She met the Captain Jonathan Black Jack Randall, Frank’s ancestor. She marries Jamie Fraser, out of necessity, but they quickly fall in love. She knows what is going to happen in the future. She knows that the Jacobit cause is doomed to fail, Claire tries to warn against pursuing a rebelion. With Jamie, she tryes to changes the future.

This story is fascinated because it’s makes by intrigue, witchcraft, a temporal travel and a incredible love triangle. It’s a mix between Downtown Abbey and Games Of Thrones. The heroin is stunning. She gave way in a very male society and knows make essential in Scotland thanks her medical knowledges. She is very courageous and feminist, she defend woman. The costumes and decors was very realistic and beautiful. I like this serie because she mix the history, the fiction and love. The idea of travels into the time it’s a great idea. I advise this series for those who likes the Scottish history and the loving plot.

War Horse

It’s a film by Steven Spielberg in 2 011, it’s adapted from the novel of the same name by Micheal Morpugo in 1 982. The scriptwas written by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis. It’s a drama and historical film.

Micheal Morpugo(1 943-x) is a writter for the children most of the time. His most important works is War Horse, Why the Whales Came, Private Peaceful. Many of this works were given him prizes and awards.

Steven Spielberg (1 946-x) is an American filmaker. He is considered one of the foundingpoineers of the New Hollywood era and one of the most popular director and producers in film history. His best-know films are Jaws, Indianna Jones, E.T the extra-terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.

Albert lives with his parent, they rent a farm. They need a new horse so Albert and his father are going to buy a new one but it isn’t capable at working in farm. They bought him to do competion. with the owner of the farm. Albert have a big complicity with the horse. He managed to make work of the horse ,Joey, in the farm. But the first world war start and the horse was sold to the cavalery and send in trenchees. Albert is too young to enlist right now, aftersome time he enlist in order to find Joey. By many adventures, the horse end up in deutsch army. But at the end of the warJoey and Joey meet again.

This film give a tribute to 8 Million of horses killed durring WWI. Il like this film because it is full of emotions, it is very sad ans funy. The film allows characters to meet each others in a moment of their lifes at some point of the history. Some scene of this film recall Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg, it’s natural because Steven Spielberg like to study the WWI. I thing that the characters and decors are beautiful like the soundtrack realized by John Williams.

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (British writer and doctor, who owes his fame to his novels and short stories featuring detective Sherlock Holmes considered as a major innovation of the detective novel) in the detective story A study in Scarlet in 1887. The novel tells an investigation led by the famous Sherlock Holmes. There were four adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The first one a study in Scarlet published in 1887, then The sign of four published in 1890, and The hound of the Baskerville published in 1902 finally The valley of fear published in 1915. There is a lot of film about Sherlock Holmes like the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the return of Sherlock holmes. In total, there are eight films with Sherlock Holmes. There are also five series (Elementary, Sherlock, etc.). Originally, Conan Doyle planned to call his detective Sherrinford Holmes. 

     Sherlock Holmes lives in 221B Baker Street in London. He is a consulting detective. His enemies are Professor Moriarty and Colonel Sebastian Moran. He was born in 1854. 

I find quite difficult to summarize Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Watson and he solves all kinds of puzzles. They will undergo a lot of events very intriguing. Sherlock Holmes is a strange person seen from others. He is in his own world and he is very intelligent. However, he has very little knowledge in areas of knowledge that he considers unnecessary to his work. Each book tells an adventure and the evolution of the characters. We attach or just detach characters. 

  At first I was rethinking about reading Sherlock Holmes. Phis as the pages, I liked and I always wanted to know more. The character I hated as the story unfolds is Dr. Watson’s wife. I find her haughty and not sincere. On the other hand, Mrs. Hudson is really adorable and good will. She always wants to please. There is a rebound that has marked me, this is the moment when Sherlock Holmes commits suicide. But we must read really carefully to find out what really happened about his suicide. 

  In the stories of Sherlock Holmes, there is a lot of suspense and « fear ». I also watched the Sherlock Holmes series on Netflix. I think the series is even more intriguing than the books. Sherlock Holmes is and will remain popular. 

Hello everyone ! Today I’m here to talk about a film which have touch me ! It’s The Bucket list, an american film product by Bod Reiner in 2007.

This film is about the story of two men who are very ill, the doctor says to each one that the disease will kill them in few months. Carter Chambers, who is played by Morgan Freeman, and Edward Cole, played by jack Nicholson, are together in  a same hospital room so they begin to talk, and one day Edward C. asks Carter C. about the paper he read everytime, it’s his bucket list where he written everything he wants to do before die and he is a bit sad because he thinks he will  never do all he wants… So Edward decides that’s immportant and he helps Carter to realize all dreams he had on his list . The family is ok with this project, they want that Carter realise all he wants before die even if they would prefer that he spends this time with them. They still really worry about the health of Carter ! Warning spoiler ! At the end it stays just one dream on the list but Carter can’t realize it because people say to him he is too old and too weak to do that : climb Everest ! So Carter die and had never realize his dream alive, Edward die few month later. In fact it’s the end which have really touch me : at the end we see a climber who climb the Everest and when he arrive on the top he put a funeral urn next to an other and we understand  that it’s the ash of the two men !

This end is very important because it’s like it says : « Never give up, all your dreams can be realize and if it’s not in this life it will be in an other ! » . it’s really an hopeful message and Carter  is a model for everyone for his tenacity. This film helps everybody to remember that life is, unfortunatly, unfair and can be stop sudently so every moment is the best moment to realize our dream !

It’s not unbiased but I think it’s really a film to see !

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This story was a romantic story. This book was published in 1813 and it was written by Jane Austen

Jane Austen was born in 16 December 1775 in Steventon in England. While Austen write a great deal about marriage but she never married or had children herself. She died on July 1817

Mr and Mrs Bennett have 5 daughter to marry. Because in 18 century all girl must be married to be more respected and have a better place in society. The five girls are: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary,Kitty and Lydia.                                                                                               A rich man:Mr Bingley comes live next door to the Bennett Family. Elizabeth fall in love to Mr Bingley during a ball.                                                                                              Bennett’s family meet the best friend of Mr Bingley who is Mr Darcy. Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy are totally contrary. Mr Bingley is handsome, dynamic and very sociable in contrary Mr Darcy is arrogant, cold, distant and unsociable. Jane and Mr Darcy are going to love each other but it’s going to take time because Jane would not be married and She is very different to Mr Darcy.                                                                                                              Lydia run away with Wickham who is a soldier. And gets married with him.                      The characters found their soulmate but it was complicated. Because the society imposes social rules for the marriage and other character complicated stories

Even if we studied it in class, I liked well this novel because it’s describes society of the 18 century with realism. The story is about love, marriage, money and class. In 18 century the marriage is necessary to have a good financial situation and a better place in society

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road was written by Cormac McCarthy in 2006. It’s science-fiction novel.

Cormac McCarthy was born in 1933 in Providence, Rhode Island (USA). He has written 10 novels and he was working occasionally for tv. In 2007, he has won the Pulitzer prize for fiction for his novels: The road is his biggest success, rapidly this novel was adapted in film.

The scene take place in world which is destroyed. Big fires destroyed cities and campaigns. The nature has disappeared. All humans live alone, they are scared about other. The humans choose to be violent and egoistische. Two characters (a boy and his father) walk along a road to go to the Sud. The characters walk in a hostile and post-apocalyptic world. They feel menaced by other. They don’t have a lot of food and they drink water. They eat when they find food.The son is a child, he believes in the villains and in kind persons. The father is sick, so in last part of the novel he died. His son is obliged to live alone but a man find him. In this meeting he can see the start of new humanity. When they arrive to the sea they are disappointed beaucause  the sea is grey and polluted.

This story speak about the love between a son and his father .They desire to immortalize the memory and the culture in a world of darkness. I have liking this novels because I like science-fiction novels. It’s interested to see the human’s comportement after a catastrophe.  It is a metaphoric novel, the story talk about  an impossible quest, of the lost paradise, the humanity that destroys itself. This story represent the Human, we don’t know  that we are going to make and to be in future.

Beauty and the Beast  is a tale published in 1740 by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve and published in « La jeune Amériaine et les cotes marins ». It’s like a wonderful tale and fiction. The first adaptation was in 1946 by Jean Cocteau then there were about nine different adaptations during the nineteenth and twentieth century. The last fim is March 22, 2017 and lasts 2 hours and 09mins.

At the end of the eighteenth century, in a small French village. Beautiful a dreamy girl and passionate about literature, lives with her father who is a wacky old inventor. He lost himself one night in the forest he took refuge in the castle of the Beast, which throws him in the dungeon. She could not bear to see her father imprisoned, Belle then agrees to take her place, unaware that under the mask of the monster hides a Prince Charming trembling with love for her, but victim of a terrible curse. We see in the heart of the tale, a magical story between beauty and the beast. A complicity, affection and of course the love that is born little by little.

Beauty and the beast is not necessarily my favorite tale but I liked to read it and discover the sublime story between the two. I saw the movie in 2012 I think and it was really wonderful. Beauty and the Beast are a magical couple and their story has not been simple from start to finish. I recommend reading the tale and watching the film after, because it’s the same story but not the same details.

Suits is an american TV serie created by Aaron Korsh and broadcast in 2011.

The story is the story of Harvey Specter, played by Gabriel Macht, a lawyer ambitious in a Manhattan firm who need someone to help him in his job. He choose Mike Ross, played by Patrik J. Adams, a young man very talented with a photographic memory but certificatless. Together they are a succesful team but they play a dangerous game : to keep his place Mike doesn’t be confound, nobody muss know he had no degree to be lawyer.

This serie is a typical american serie in the busness world who everyone wants the place of his/her neighbour but when Mike Ross arrived in this world, he brings with him a bit humanity. Pearson Hardman is a firm as an other, there are rivality, friendship, love and work and this do the story of this series.

We learn to know the characters, the first times you thinks Harvey Specter is heartless but he is the most loyal and genrerous man of this series ( after Mike Ross of course!), Mike Ross is maybe not the best citizen of New York ( before work to Harvey Specter he was drugaholic and he brooke the rules to give some money to support his granny who is pensionner, you can say it’s a good reason and I’m agree but in fact it’s not lawful, oups!) but Mike is the best man of this world, intelligent and friendly, lovely with his granny and… human!

I think this series is a good series because it show that anyone is not  what he/she seems to be. You don’t konw the story of everyone, in this serie but also in the real life : some peoples lie to seems to be strong and to be protected himself or the other and other lie to destroy the other people or to have what they want.

I think also it’s a good serie because the humour is different of the other series : it’s not a comedie but there are a lot of witticism and it’s somethings I love really !

It’s not unbiased but I think it’s really a serie to see !

The Lord of the fly was writting by William Golding in 1954. In french cours we have study a traduction of this book.

It’s the stroy of a band of few boy between six and fourteen years old. After the crash of their plane they discover that they are alone on a island, without adults and at the beginnig they are happy of this discovery but progressidly tey are sad and finaly they miss their daily life. A litle society is take in place and not everyone is agree on who muss be the chief : it’s Ralph who is nommed to be chief but Jack the « hunter » of this band thinks that the chief muss be him. So a « war » begin between the two boy :  Jack is violent and Ralph pacifist . For the children suvive is a game but  Ralph and his « friend »,Porcinet, understand that it’s not a game and try to convaince the other. But nobody trust him and they prefer folow Jack who « feed » everyone and who is more funny than Ralph and his band. So at the End of the story only the twins, Porcinet and the « litle» stay with Ralph. In their island they need to do fire and only the glases of Porcinet may to do this so when the boys are divised in two side only one side have the glases to do fire : the side of Ralph. So one night the Jack’s band stile the glases and it’s a problem for Ralph because without fire, no smock and if there is no smock, nobody can see the children on the island and they are condamn to died on the island . So Ralph and his band go see Jack to have the glases. Jack refuse and after a « fight »  Porcinet  fall and die. It’s the third dead of the book.

I think it’s horrible that boys, YOUNG boys, can kill an other child just by game, for me it’s impossible. Childhood it’s the symbol of the innocence and for me innocence can’t be accociated with dead. I think that the author want to creat a litle society to show how this is in reality and the horrorof the reality that we can’t ever see. We are obliged to understand that everyone is dangerous, the children too. Even if you think that children are innocenct and that they can’t be dangerous, you have wrong ! In this book we see how the fear and to be thristy for power is dangerous for the other and also for you! Because the children are frightened by a monster so They look for security or confort and Jack can give this contrary to Ralph who have no mean, no fire, no plays… Jack have everything and especially the power and he won’t to share with Ralph so he become dangerous for the people against him. Everyone can be dangerous if you are against him, everyone can be with you if you have all they want. I think it’s not the vision we want to have of the life.

Normally I appreciate not really the story without woman, like in this book, but here, even if I will prefer that a girl be in the story, I have really enjoy the book because it question me one the way I see people and how for me the cildren are compulsorily good!

Even if I am a bit dissapointed by the end the story is particulary interressant by its psychological approach. But it’s not a book for the optimist !

It’s not unbiased but I think it’s really a book to read!

La joie is a realistic book writting by Charles Pépin in 2014 so it’s a recent book

I want to talk about this novel which I am study in my french classes because I had loved it very much. It’s the story of Mr Solaro a man who is never sad, he arrives to find in his life, even if this is realy bad, subjets to be happy. In this story are hidding a lot of philosophic thinking and I find it’s really a big questionning for each reader who have read this book. This book refers the book writng by Albert Camus : L’étranger . We find a lot of reference to Camus’s book in the book of Pépin but their point of view on the life is totally different and I find it’s really interresting  to compare the two story.

L’étranger of Camus it’s a book i haven’t understand because the main character , who he is Mr Meursault, fells anything even if his mother dead : for me it’s unpossible ! If the two story are similary the mains characters are opposited in their personalities …

If I love la joie and not l’étranger it’s because Solaro love the life contrary to Meursault. The story of Mr Solar is realy a life’s celebration and the message that Charles Pépin want to share is very important, it’s as he says «  please reader, loved your life, it’s realy important ! »

It’s not unbiased but I think it’s really a book to read!

Good Morning.

Sharp Objects is a thriller book written by Gillian Flynn, an american author I appreciate a lot. So I wanted to share you an other novel of her.

Camille Preaker is a journalist living in Chicago. She had to go to Wind Gap, a little town where she is from. She was sent there because her boss wants her to write an article and investigate about the assassination of two little girls. First, Camille doesn’t agree to return to Wind Gap, because this town makes her recall of bad memories from her childhood, the death of her sister and her insane mother. But then she changes her mind, and chose to investigate because she thinks she will understand her past by investigate.

I’ve chosen this book, because the author, Gillian Flynn is one my favourite author. I did appreciate her novel Gone Girl, so I think as a fan I had to read other novels by her.
The characters from Sharp Objects are very special, they are dark and all have secrets that they keep. Camille Preaker’s family has really a creepy past, and I really enjoyed it.
I was kind of disappointed of the investigation, I think it should have been better but it was interesting though.

I hope you will read it.

  The Road is a post apocalyptic novel written by Cormac McCarthy published in 2006 in the United States by the publisher Alfred A.Knof. This novel was published in France in 2008 by éditions de l’olivier and translated (from English) by François Hirsch. This novel was awarded two prizes: the first in 2007 (the Pulitzer Prize for fiction) and the second in 2008 (the Ignotus Prize). The book is 252 (two hundred fifty two) pages. This novel was adapted to the cinema in 2009. It is a dramatic film of post-apocalyptic anticipation.
An unknown cataclysm has devastated the world. The world now looks like the beginnings of humanity. There is no more nature. The roads are present. The bridge are destroyed. There are fires. In this world, there are still a few people, including a man and his son. This man whose name we do not know, as well as his child. This man’s wife committed suicide. The little one to fear, he clings incessantly to his father. He often has nightmares and wants to die to join his mother. In this world, it is extremely cold. There is no food. You have to fight all the time to survive the cold, hunger and other people who have survived. They are going to make dangerous encounters … « How would we know that we are the last man on Earth?  »
It’s a sublime fair novel. We are immersed in this apocalyptic and devastated world. It is two men have an extraordinary relationship, they are accomplices and solidarity in all their trials. Moreover, the film is upsetting. I really advice him.

Lord of the Flies is a novel by William Golding (British author) published in 1954 and edited by Faber and Faber. It is published in France in 1956 by the edition Gallimard in the collection of the whole world and translated by Lola Tranec. This book is about 261 pages long. There were two adaptations to the cinema (1963 and 1990) and an adaptation to the theater in 1996. This novel is of the kind of the psychology for child and dystopia (narrative of fiction). This novel has inspired many writers, writers and artists (to varying degrees).
The plane of these children from the same school but who do not really know each other spits in the middle of a forest and there are no adults left. They will quickly elect a leader and then make tribes. Many adventures will happen to them including a surprising hallucination … They will change and become the opposite of what they are.
This book is poignant because we want to know more and more. Some children are endearing and others are unbearable especially Jack. This teaches us many values ??about education. I recommend this book because I think it makes us grow. I have not had the opportunity to watch the film but I think about it.

 Everything Everything is a novel published September 1, 2015 in the United States and April 6, 2016 in France by Nicola Yoon (American-Jamaican author). It’s genre romance and youth literature. This book is a New York Times bestseller. This novel has been adapted into film, directed by Stella Meghie and published in 2017. The film lasts 97min. It’s genre drama and romance. 

    The heroine is Maddy, an 18-year-old girl with a serious illness that prevents her from getting out of her home. With her everything is sterilized so as not to contaminate her. His mother is a doctor and Maddy is constantly under surveillance. Her house is made so that she sees the outside world as many times as possible. One day, she meets her new neighbor Olly who has her room right in front of hers. They get to know each other and fall in love with each other. But because of Maddy’s pathology they can not be in touch. An upheaval will happen and change the course of life of the girl and Olly. 

     This novel is poignant. We always want to know what’s next. The film is extremely upsetting. The love story is unique and adorable. We can not miss this novel.

Hello everyone !

Today I’m going to introduce you to Delirium.

Deliriumis a  trilogy novel for teenagers written by Lauren Oliver, an American author. She writes fantasy and science fiction novels.

Lena, the protagonist of the novel, lives in a world where love is thought as the worst disease. In this world, when teenagers turn 18, they are subject to the “Protocol” and surgeons perform brain surgery on them to prevent them to fall in love and not letting their feelings control them. Lena is ready for her surgery when an unexpected meeting changes her fate for good.

I enjoyed this book because the author perfectly describs the society and the environment where the characters are living in. And the love disease, here called the “Amor Deliria Nervosa” is really surprising and also well described. I suspect the author for having ever felt this disease before.

I recommend this book because we easily attach to the characters, the author makes us travel through an universe where love has no place. Moreover, this trilogy is very easy to read, we have no time to get tired of it because the author keeps us on our toes the whole story long.

Life or Death is a thriller novel written by Michael Robotham, an Australian author.

The story is about, Audie Palmer, who has spent ten years in a Texan prison for an armed payroll robbery in which four people were killed and seven million dollars went missing. In prison, Audie is beaten up and got abused because of the money that nobody could find.

Before he broke away from prison ( that he actually broke away one day prior release ) everyone were looking for him.
We learn that he did run from the prison to save someone else
But as if he was searching for the million dollar money I think to save somebody

I love the several different perspective, the flashbacks the book had. It was made for a fresh and interesting experience.
And most of the characters who are looking for Audie Palmer are really interesting to follow. They all have different reasons to search for him, sometimes personal, sometimes heavily motivated.

Finally I loved the ending of the book which left me speechless.

I would easily recommend this book because the book is well written, and has a really deep story. I really think everybody can appreciate this book for what it’s worth and find himself in one of the many characters, I was told about this book by one of my friend who doesn’t usually read these kind of book, or at all, but he did appreciate it and so did I.

I guess this book can attract casual and really passionate reader of any age.

December 7, 1941- 7:48 a.m
« A date in which we live in infamy« , says President Roosevelt.
The well-known military strike on Pearl Harbor was intended by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters as a preventive attack to keep the U.S away from interfering with military attacks Japan planned in South Asia, against overseas counties. 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. The attack left American people in a profound shock, since it happened on their territory, without any explicit warning nor any declaration of war. Contrary to expectations, it led to the superpower’s entry into World War II. From the end
If we know how much that particular event disrupted the course of history in an international standpoint, we know a lot less about the repercussion it had from within.

Feb. 19, 1942
The trap slowly closes in around 120,000 people from Japanese origins who live on the West Coast of the country. From the end of the 19th century, they were numerous to leave Japan in order to settle in to the United States. The law prohibits them to have the American citizenship, however their children, who were born there, are Americans. Suddenly, they all became suspects, potential betrayers, inside ennemies. President Roosevelt signes the executive order n°9066 to remove every person of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. They are placed in confinement camps as hysteria spreads across the country. American citizens fear another attack, as they are accused to be in cahoots with Japan to plan another strike or to poison water resources. Every descendant of Japanese immigrants have to bring back their radios and cameras to the authorities. Among 120,000 people gathered, two thirds of them are authentic American citizens

Form March to June, 1942
District after district, the army proceeds to the evacuation of these people, whose sight is now unwanted. One of them is Bill Manbo, an auto mechanic who dabbles in photography and model airplanes. He and his wife, Mary, as well as their baby son Billy, and his wife’s mother and younger siblings are transferred to one of 10 « relocation centers » in Heart Mountain, in the isolated Nothwestern Wyoming. Such as thousands of others, the family of seven -and soon eight again, since Mary’s father has been interned as « enemy alien » right after Pearl Harbor since he was teaching Japanese, before being determined not to be a threat- has to live its home, all of its belongings such as Bill’s garage and has to leave everything they know with a single suitcase. They are assigned to a small room in one of the shacks. The air is cold and dusty. All they an see is the desert that surrounds them. That’s where they are going to live, no one knows for how long.
Bill managed to bring his camera hidden in his suitcase with him and takes pictures of the camp sneakily at nightfall, as soldiers around the camp mustn’t know.

Fall, 1942
The West Coast is completely cleared of anyone Japanese. From now on, they are all living one of the 10 camps built in a hurry throughout the desert. More than 10,000 came by bus or by train to Heart Mountain, displaced without ever being judged. Two third of them are children and young adults with American citizenship. The head of the camp agrees with Bill taking pictures, but the instructions are clear: not any picture of the barbed wire nor of the soldiers around the camp. Bill wants to take pictures to keep memories of his son Billy as he grows older. But he had never envisioned that he would take pictures of him in a camp. There is no othe word to describe it; they are living in a camp. Everything is communal: laundry, food, toilets… Billy wears the American army’s costume his mother offered him before their arrival in the camp all the time. America is the country he was born in. In this place, nothing scares the children. They see it as a gigantic playground.

Winter, 1942
Nothing seems to be able to stop the American army in the Pacific Ocean. Hostility towards Japanese people increases always more. In the camps, life goes on. Everything is still to build and take care of: schools, meals… The inmates try to forget the barbeled wire all around them, as well as the soldiers who received the order to shoot anyone trying to escape. Bill repares cars who belong to the American army and earns a few dollars. Mary still doesn’t accept to be there. A few months ago, she was creating outfits for a successful theater company. Now, the temperatures are sub- zero temperatures and the cold wind infiltrates their room. It’s freezing cold. Sumo games are organized to encourage spring to come. Bill has never seen before, he grew up playing baseball.

1943
Japan isn’t invincible anymore. Still at the head of an Empire, they are defeated once by the American army and go through heavy casualties. It will soon be one year since Bill and his family came to this camp. All together, the prisonners celebrate the Independance Day on the 4th of July. But this year, surrounded by barbed wire, they are uneasy.

« Why is this country, our country that we are celebrating, emprisonning us? »

They are also allowed to celebrate the Buddhist calendar’s celebration of the middle of Summer. Women are dancing during a long time, colourful in their yukatas, light kimonos. Bill takes a picture of his son behind the barbed wire, so that he doesn’t forget where he spent the fist years of his life. Since Pearl Harbor, Japanese immigrants were perceived as potential ennemies. But it slowly changes. The state allows Japanese men to fight in the colours of the US in European fronts. Beforehand, they have to make sure of their loyalty and each of them have to write a loyalty test, which hatches the inmates’ anger. One of the questions asks them who they respect between the President of the US and the Emperor of Japan. The authorities want to know if they are willing to swear allegiance to The US. Bill answers yes, but only if they get their rights back, as citizens of America. Because of that, he and his wife have to submit to an interrogation, that ends well for them. However, some of their neighbors are judged « disloyal », merely as they asked the end of the camps and displaced again to a « high surveillance » camp, far away.

25,000 young Japanese American young men enlist in the American Army. A new regiment n°442 was created, only composed of American citizens from Japanese ancestry. Its devise is « Go For Broke » (Tente le tout pour le tout)

?(This picture wasn’t taken by Manbo.)

Fall, 1944
The 442nd regiment is sent to the Eastern French front in the Vosges, where German soldiers are resisting. The Japanese American soldiers set the town of Bruyères free on the 19th and 20th of October. But as they release a Texan regiment surrounded by Germans, many of them die. According to Bill, they fought for the world to be free. But he is still locked up in this camp. He doesn »t even enjoy taking photographs anymore, since he knows each nook of it. He can’t stand waiting for the war to end and leaves to camp to find work. For a few weeks some of them are allowed to do so. But it’s not that easy: where to go? What welcoming will they find?
The West Coast is still prohibited to them.

May, 1945
Germany surrenders but Japan refuses to give in. The US decide to take drastic steps and use two atomic bombs that destroy both Hiromisha and Nagasaki. Japan finally yields and the war officially ends. The 442th becolmes the most decorated regiment of the American army but also the one with the heaviest number of deads. They changed the vision the American citizens had of Japanese immigrants. Each internee is given 25$ and a train ticket to the destination they choose. Bill and his family found the lights of Los Angeles back, their house and Bill’s garage with his tools, still as he left them. But many others didn’t anything left when they returned. Bill puts his camera away, his pictures in boxes and moves on to something else…

1988
The congress apologies for the camps.

1992
All grown up, Billy works for Boeing and envisions planes’ engines.

He doesn’t have any memory of his life in Heart Mountain. When his parents die, he gives all of the pictures his father took as a gift to the Japanese American National Museum. Sixty-five of them where published in a book intitled ‘Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome photographs of Japanese-American incarceration camps in World War II’. You can see some of them here.

Vivre Vite, Philippe Besson

The Book

This novel is a choral novel (romanticized biography) written by Philippe Besson and released in 2015. It traces James Dean’s story through various testimonies of those who have known him.

What about James Dean ?
James Byron Dean – nicknamed Jimmy Dean – better knownby his stage name James Dean, born on the 8^th, February 1931 in Marion (Indiana) and dead on the 30^th September 1955 in Cholame (California) is an american actor.

He begins his career with a walk-on on Pepsi-Cola advertising in 1950.

He also appears in various TV series such as Studio One, General Electric Theatre, Danger etc…

Since he is a child, he dabbles in theatre. That leads him to act in a play of Andre Gide, called L’immoraliste. Thanks to it, he knows a big success in Broadway, New York, and he is rewarded with the price of the most promising young actor of the year which propels him in the cinema world.

He was not mentionned in the credits for his four first films. It is from East Of Eden directed by Elia Kazan (1955) that he knows his first true movie success :

And it will continue with Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray (1955)…

…and with his last film : Giant by George Stevens (1956)

His untimely demise reinforces the myth around him and his career. That’s why I decided to explain precisely his tragic death :

James Dean always been fascinated by motor racing : he wants to participate in a race in North California. He leaves on the morning, driving a Porsche 550 Spyder with his mechanic Rolf Wutherich. During the trip, a police control fines him for exceeding the speed limit.

James Dean is driving for four hours and suddenly, at a crossroad, near Cholame, a student called Donald Tumupseed pull out in front of him. The two cars collide violently. James Dean dies instantly, Rolf Wutherich is projected out of the vehicle whereas the student gets away only with bruises.

The « irony » of his death is that he has just finished the shooting of Giant, during which a term of his contract forbids him to participate in any motor racing and to drive dangerously. Just before his accident, he was requested for a short film about road safety, encouraging people to drive carefully.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXDYY8p5O-Y[/youtube]

James Dean is a figurehead of the 50’s and that is why I decided to read this book. I wanted to learn more about him and to understand the infatuation around him.

There are so much interesting things in this book :
First, there are many striking sentences. Metaphors, expressions, short sentences, coarse language or great turns of phrase. I like the way of writing of the author : he takes testimonies that he has sublimated with many sentences. These ones are interesting because it exposes different point of view about James Dean. There is also fictitious « testimonies » of James Dean : pure invention of the author, which refer to various periods of his life : some trace his child’s gaze on significant events such as his mother’s death. This passage was really moving… others were touching for their symbolism, by the words used. The testimonies make us feel so close to his life : we are a kind of stalker. Sometimes, we can identify us to certain moments of his life.

I got the impression to learn so much thing in one book, but I couldn’t remember all. Once the book finished, I should have liked it to continue. That’s the only negative point according to me : it is too short. Such as James Dean’s life.

« Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse » Willard Motley, Knock on Any Door

Hello! Today I would like to speak about the psychological thriller Shutter Island. It was directed by Martin Scorsese in 2010 and this movie was adapted by Dennis Lehane’s novel which has the same name. I chose this thriller because it is definitly my favourite film (and because I love so much psychological thriller, too) !

So, I am going you to explain this mysterious story…

We are in 1954. Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule leave Seattle to go to Shutter Island to investigate in a strange disappearance. Both investigators go then in a psychiatric hospital where are locked very dangerous criminals : Rachel Solando, one of the patients disappeared… But how this murderous woman was able to escape from her cell ? Teddy and Chuck have only one clue : a piece of paper found in the room with many figures and letters. But Teddy unterstands very fast that the etablishment and its staff hide something…

I find Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo so talented in their role ! They play perfectly and wonderfully, in my opinion of course ! This movie is a masterpiece : the plot is fascinating and full of suspense and surprises. The viewer is absorbed into the movie and follow the investigation until the end. To sum up, you musy absolutely watch this movie at least once (and why not twice to understand it very well) ! 😉

This song is about a photographer called Robert Capa, who died during the Indochine War, while he was walking on a mine, straying to take a picture of the French Troops.

Here are the lyrics :

Indochina, Capa jumps Jeep, two feet creep up the road
Toe for toe, to record meat lumps and war,
They advance as does his chance – very yellow white flash.
A violent wrench grips mass, rips light, tears limbs like
rags,

Burst so high finally Capa lands,
Mine is a watery pit. Painless with immense distance
From medic from colleague, friend, enemy,
foe, him five yards from his leg, From you Taro.

Do not spray into eyes – I have sprayed you into my eyes.
3: 10 pm, Capa pends death, quivers, last rattles, last
chokes
All colours and cares glaze to grey, shrivelled and stricken
to dots,
Left hand grasps what the body grasps not – le photographe
est mort.

3.1415, alive no longer my amour, faded for home May of ’54
Doors open like arms my love, Painless with a great
closeness
To Capa, to Capa Capa dark after nothing,
re-united with his leg and with you, Taro.

Do not spray into eyes – I have sprayed you into my eyes.
Hey Taro!

ROBERT CAPA

Endre Ernö Friedmann, more commonly known as Robert Capa, is a photographer and a Hungarian war correspondent, naturalized American. He was born on 22 octobre 1913 in Budapest, and died on 25 May 1954 during the Indochine war. He is also one the fonders of the photographic cooperative Magnum Photos.
He grew up in a Jewish-tailors family in Budapest. At the age of 17, he started studies in journalism, at the German Political College but, because of the arrival of the Nazis, he relocated to Paris, where he decided to change his name Endre Ernö Friedmann as Robert Capa.

 » The Failling Soldier « , Robert Capa, 5 September 1936, Cerro Muriano

One year later, he encountered Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour (and André Kertész), with whom he shared his passion for photography and with whom he founded Magnum Photos in 1947. He also met Gerda Taro, a German Jewish refugee, who later become his partner and a photographer. They travelled all around the world to take war pictures until Gerda was killed during the civil war in Spain, in 1937.

Capa, deeply chocked, pursued alone his job, and retraced the Sino-Japenese conflict, covered the North African front in 1942 and the landing in Sicily. Then, he immortalized the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944.

Then, he moved to Hollywood with Ingrid Bergman, his new lover, where he started fashion photographs and still photographs for Alfred Hitchcock.

In 1954, the magasine entitled « Life » required a photographer to assist to the Indochine War. Capa volunteered, unaware of the turn of events.

 » American Soldier Landing On Omaha Beach « , Robert Capa, 6 June 1944, Normandy

ALT-J

alt-J is an English indie rock band founded in 2007 in Leeds. Formed of four members, Joe Newman, guitarist and vocalist ; Gwill Sainsbury, also guitarist and bass player ; Gus-Unger Hamilton, keyboardist and vocalist, and the drummer Thom Green, their songs are a mixture of folk, hip-hop and vocal harmonies interludes. They have got two albums behind them : the first, called An Awesome Wave (2012) that features « Taro » and the second entitled This Is All Yours (2014).

I think that it’s really a beautiful tribute to Robert Capa, that I appreciate as much as the band. The song, the voices are shooting and carrying and this approach creates a contrast with the sorry story. The song tells the death of Capa poetically, mitigating the violence around it. Friedmann join spiritually the love of his life, Gerda Taro. The music video is also beautiful, the images are intense and poignant.
Robert Capa is one of my favourite photographer, because of his touching end but also thanks to his amazing career. He knew that war photographer was a job at risk, but he accepted every requests and he succeeded famously. His pictures were taken in the heat of the moment, during a very tense context. That’s how he lost his life : taking a photograph. Through his photographs of war, Capa was interested in the human’s relations with the death and the ephemeral life. Thereby, his death is like the consecration of his work.

«  IF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH, YOU’RE NOT CLOSE ENOUGH »

This time, I haven’t chosen to talk about a movie or a book…but about an actor who is also a singer, a producer and a model (that I really really really really like). And this guy is Jared Leto ! 

Jared Joseph Leto was born on December, 26, 1971 in Louisiana. Unfortunately, his parents divorced when he was just a newborn. But shortly after, his mother married Carl Leto who gave his name to Jared and his brother Shannon. But once again, his mother divorced. However, Jared and his brother retained Carl’s last name. Jared also has a half-brother, Robert Greenwood (he filmed one of his video clip and appeared in another one.) Then, a few years later, he went to the University of the Arts in Philadephia and developed an interest for comedy. Finally, he studied cinema in the New York City School of Visual Arts.

Let’s talk about his career:

Speaking of cinema, he became famous for his role in the tv show « My So-Called Life » (which has been canceled after one season). Thereby, he played in a few famous movies like The Thin Red Line directed by Terrence Malick in 1998, in David Fincher’s Fight Club in 1999, also in Requiem for a Dream by Darren Aronofsky and Mr Nobody by Jaco Van Dormael in 2009. Finally, we will also fin him playing the Joker in Suicide Squad, this summer.

To conclude about his cinematographic career, he won many rewards, and particularly an oscar in the Best Actor in a supporting role’s category in 2014.

Now, let’s talk about his group : Thirty Secondsto Mars. It is an alternative rock band formed in 1998.  It is composed of Jared Leto (vocals and guitar), his brother Shannon Leto (drums and percussion) and of Tomo Mili?evi? (guitar). They released four albums : a first one called Thirty Seconds To Mars in 2002, then A Beautiful Lie in 2005, This Is War was the third one in 2009, and finally there was Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams in 2013. They won many rewards such as 8 MTV Europe Music Awards, 1 Billboard Music Awards… for a final result of 85 rewards on 167 nominations.

And you, what do you think about this band, and this guy? Have you ever listened this band? Do not hesitate to react about this article!

See you.

Jack the Ripper

Hello everybody ! Today I am going to talk about scary, and terrifying things that are blood freezing : The mysterious Jack the Ripper ! Bouh !

Jack the Ripper is the nickname given to the biggest serial killer of London. He is an unidentified serial killer who have been active in the street of Whitechapel in London between August and November 1888.

According to the investigators, he could have killed five person : only prostitutes named : Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly who worked in the district of Whitechapel.

He didn’t really disemboweled his victims because they have all were found the clear-cut throat and the removal of internal organs from the least three victimes led to propose that Jack had some anatomical or surgical knoweldge.

In 1888, letters were recieved by medias and Scotland Yard from one of several writers wich told to be the murderer. But, a letter was received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Commitee entilted « From Hell » in whom the really Jack the Ripper claims his murder.

Investigators have never found the real killer but they have some names like Joseph Barnett the partner of one of the victims Mary Kelly or Jacob Levy.

One thing is certain, whe shall never wich was really Jack the Ripper.

This myth inspires many authors like Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell who wrote the excellent comic book « From Hell » apparead in 10 volumes of 1991 to 1996.

Connor FRANTA is a 22 years old American YouTube vlogger well known as an Internet personality. Franta wrote for over a year his first book, A Work in Progress, which talks about moments from his life since birth and personal stories so I thought, that’s what a modern memoire is ! In this book, Connor reflected about his life from his youth as a small town kid trying to figure out his place in the big wide world, to his Los Angeles life. He tell basic topics like his childhood, upbringing, family and go a little bit deeper and talk about more serious things like body image, social media’s depression like FOMO (Fear Of Missing OUT) which consist in a phobia of missing from social media content. An interesting aspect of this book is that, he explain his up and down journey to find himself and accepting his person as a gay teenage boy, his struggles with identity.

Exploring his past humorously, his present humanly, and his future with hope, the goal of this young writer is not to tell the story of his life but to help you, us, to find the real person we are inside us. His words will resonate with anyone born in the digital era, but it’s also a timeless message for people of all age : don’t be afraid to be yourself and to run after what you really want.

Keats’s portrait

http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n5/n27339.jpg

    I would like to talk about John Keats an English poet that I like. I don’t know if you know him. John Keats was an English Romantic poet. He was born near to London in 1795 and died in 1821 in Roma. He is considered as one of the main figure of the second generation of Romantic poets in England whose takes part also Lord Byron Percy Bysshe Shelley who became his friend. However, during his life, his works were not well perceived by critics, even despised. Indeed, his works were published only four years before his death. He is perceived as a cursed poet because he died too early, suffering of tuberculosis, knowing the glory really only after his death. Tom Keats, his brother also died of tuberculosis. It’s at that time that he started to have symptoms. At that time, he met Fanny Brawne, a 18 years-old girl with which he fall deeply in love. In 1819, they get engaged but they couldn’t get married: the poet died before. In order to have an idea of his talent, I can quote one of his poems :

The Human Seasons

Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;

     There are four seasons in the mind of man:

He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear

     Takes in all beauty with an easy span:

He has his Summer, when luxuriously

     Spring’s honied cud of youthful thought he loves

To ruminate, and by such dreaming high

     Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves

His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings

     He furleth close; contented so to look

On mists in idleness—to let fair things

    Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.

He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,

Or else he would forego his mortal nature.

                                                               John Keats, 13^th March 1918.

Jane Campion, film director, directed Bright Star in 2009 which pays tribute to Keats’s lives and his relationship with Fanny Brawne. Jane Campion is above all known for her film The Piano, released in 1993 which won the Golden Palm during the Cannes Film Festival. I really advice you to see Bright Star. I think it’s really good tribute to the poet. It’s really moving and gripping. It’s a really poetic film. What I really like, it’s that Jane Campion choose to quote some of Keats’s poems during the generic. The film title refers to a sonnet written by Keats when he was with Brawne:

Bright Star 

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art—

Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night

And watching, with eternal lids apart,

Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,

Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask

Of snow upon the mountains and the moors—

 No–yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,

Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,

Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

 Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

And so live ever–or else swoon to death

Keats

Well, I really advice you to read some of Keats’s poems and to see the film of Jane Campion. If you like Pride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright, you may like this film. 

Bright Stars’s trailer : 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0nx5Iu6KQo[/youtube]

Hello everyone!  Today, I’m going to speak about a famous British painter, Thomas Gainsborough. He’s propably one of the most famous portraitist in England of the 18th century., after Reynolds.

He began his life as a simple landscape painter, then as an unknown and low-paid portraitist of region’s merchants. But, he managed to become a close friend of noble people and even, the Royal Family. Indeed, the whole Family considered him the greatest painter of this time. Unfortunetly, they are forced to choose Reynolds as the court official painter.

Obviously, we realize that Gainsborough has been more famous as a portraitist whereas it represents a minor part of his work. In fact, he likes above all painting landscapes which is quite, because of the Academy, a rejected genre. Besides, his landscape works of art have been consider too natural : Gainsborough didn’t use the painting rules of his time.

This painting, nicknamed The Blue Boy, is representative of the Gainsborough’s retraining from landscape paintings to portraits. He needed to earn more money. Probably, we can say that Gainsborough inspired himself with Van Dyck’s masterpieces.

Sherlock Holmes  made his first appearance in the novel « A Study in Scarlet » written by the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and appeared in 1887.

The character of Sherlock Holmes still gives nowadays an iconic interest in the genre of English literature, thanks to his tactical sense and his logical reasoning that makes him unique in its kind. Plus, the Sherlock Holmes’s universe has also made famous John Watson, the assistant of Sherlock with a cult phrase pronounced, or rather « would have been » pronounced by Sherlock Holmes : « Elementary, my dear Watson« . It’s important to notice that this phrase, known by all, is not really true in itself. To say, one of the closest novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s « The Adventure of the Crooked Man », presents this sentence in the following dialog quoted directly from the book :

“Excellent!” I cried.

“Elementary,”

Then, we can say that the character of Sherlock Holmes was so successful that allowed it to be transcribed through time, in various books, films and cartoons. (for example, the « Detective Conan« )

You know Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain ? Here I’m going to talk about Le nouveau Tom Sawyer , a recent manga published in 2014 , by the editor KOMMIKU in France.

I’ve discovered this adaptation one month ago, and some references can be seen. But for me, it’s a bad adaptation. Why ?
Save for the character and the fact he is resourceful and adventurous , the similarity stops here. There aren’t enough mystery and adventures to be a good adaptation from the work of Mark Twain. There isn’t a real main theme.

My point of view about this work is that I can’t call this an adaptation. It’s better to say that the manga is inspired by the novel of Mark Twain.
Nevertheless, connoisseur of manga can be interested by this !

San-Antonio is is both a character invented by Fréderic Dard and one of the numerous pseudonyms of him. He wrote 175 novel under this name as if his charater, who speak at the first person narrativ, had written his own history.

San-Antonio is supposed to be a police commissioner who investigates strage cases, often with is coarse acolyte Bérurier. Written as if the commissioner have been telling oraly his adventures, those novels are full of humor, in the typical way of Frédéric Dard: rude, full of contrepetrie, anglisism, catachresis and neologism. The author even said that he made his entire career like a writter with only 300 words and he invented all the others.

I would like to give you my favorite extract and, as Dard is a french writter, everybody will understand: it’s in french :

« Pinaud est occupé à recoudre les boutons de son pantalon qu’un séisme a dispersés. Bas-vêtu d’un calcif à rayures style Chérie-Bibi, son chapeau de feutre enfoncé jusqu’aux coquilles, ses lunettes en équilibre sur la pointe de son naze, il tire l’aiguille avec autant de conscience que Jeanne of Arc en mettait à filer sa quenouille en bâton avant que ses voix off ordonnent à la pucelle d’ébranler les rosbifs et d’emmener Charlot number VII à Reims pour y sabler le champagne de la victoire. »

San-Antonio; Tout le plaisir est pour moi

With this particular sense of humor, the series of San-Antonio please to a large public by mitigate the usual darkness that reign in the atmophere of thrillers. All the plots are more fussy than the one before but it is really easy to read and so fun that it is always a pleasure!

Personaly, I think that the two best are Tout le plaisir est pour moi and Salut, mon pope! .

You should give it a look, I am pretty sure that you will like it, even if reading is absolutly not your cup of tea!

This book was written by Anne Frank, a thirteen years old Jewish girl.                             In 1942, Anne and her family ran their home in Holland to go to hide, during the Nazi occupation.                                                                                                                            For the next two years, they lived in an old building, more specifically in a « Secret Annexe », and Anne started a diary on 12 June 1942 and she stopped writing it on August 1st 1944. She died of typhoid at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945.                                                                                                                                            His father, Otto Frank, the only survivor, decided to publish the diary of his daughter.

This diary tells about their impressions, their experiences during this difficult period.     It’s a testament of human spirit.                                                                                          It is important to say that this book was translated in 70 languages, published all around the world because this testimony is the most moving about the everyday life of a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation.

Walt Disney is the famous american cartoonist well-known for his famous character Mickey Mouse. And do you know one of the first animated short films where appears Mickey Mouse ?

It’s a matter of Steamboat Willie. Thus, it’s on the first short animated by Disney. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios in 1928. It was the third of Mickey’s films to be produced. This cartoon is considered as the begining of Mickey Mouse and her girlfriend Minnie.

This animated short film was considered as the film marking the Mickey’s Mouse birth and also the first cartoon with synchronized sound. We must know that at this time it was still the first beginnings of cartoon.

Disney was also knew for his others animated short films like Alice Comedies, Osawald the Lucky Rabbit, Silly Symphonies and of course his animated full-length movies whose the first was Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Pinocchio, ect…

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4[/youtube]

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of poets, painters and critics founded in 1848. This artistic movement was created in United Kingdom and his members had a moral goal through their work. Thus they wanted to influence the morals of their society particularly in the XIXth century with the industrial revolution. The characteristics of the Pre-Raphaelite works is the realism with many details and for paintings the bright colours. The Pre-Raphaelites are inspired by the Italian work of the XVth century and their favourite subjects are the Middle Age, the biblical themes, the nature, literature and poetry.

Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901) was an English photographer. He used combination printing (a kind of photomontage) and his work is pictorialist. He debated about the legitimacy of art photography and was a member of the Royal Photographic Society. Robinson had a strong relation with the painting: many times he employed painted background in front of which he placed his models. « Fading Away » is one of his most popular picture, created in 1858 during his Pre-Raphaelite phase. This work was linked to an other work « She never told her love » which hint at Shakespeare; and because it’s represented the same young died woman, we can supposed that she dying of tuberculosis or of a broken heart. The technique used for « fading away » by Robinson  is the combination of five negatives. The image is built and represented the reality of death. The composition is simple but it permitted to mark better the spectator. This work is a family tragedy, we are into the intimate of this family and we are focused on the died body so it has a morbid aspect too. It’s why when Robinson published this photography, he scandalized the press.

Hello !

I was listening music and I discovered a good song ! It’s « Driven To Tears », the first protest song of The Police. Indeed, at the beginning this music was created by the group, and then Sting sang the song again. This song is about the famine in the Biafra*, in which many children died. The theme of the song is the gap between rich and poor.

The Biafra is here 🙂

Lyrics:

How can you say that you’re not responsible?
What does it have to do with me?
What is my reaction, what should it be?
Confronted by this latest atrocity

Driven to tears

Hide my face in my hands, shame wells in my throat
My comfortable existance is reduced to a shallow meaningless party
Seems that when some innocent die
All we can offer them is a page in a some magazine
Too many cameras and not enough food
‘Cos this is what we’ve seen

Driven to tears

Protest is futile, nothing seems to get through
What’s to become of our world, who knows what to do

Driven to tears

It’s a comic written by Fabien Vehlmann and draw by Bruno Gazzotti. It’s published since 2006 and today there are eight volumes we can buy.

The story is about five children who woke up a day and they are alone in their town : Fortville.

-The first character we discovered is Yvan who is 9 years old. He is intelligent, a little crazy (sometimes he thinks he is God) and he is a little coward and at the same time courageous.

-The second character is Leïla, she is 11 years old. She is a tomboy because she loves mechanic but she is very energical and optimist. She never panic and is always realistic.

-The third is Camille who is 8 years old. She is the perfect little girl who works hard for school, very wise, she understand directly the situation but sometimes she is naive.

-There is after, Terry who is the younger (5 years old) he is attachant but also naive and extrem in his reactions and feelings. He just lives to play with his toys, but he is also very courageous.

-The last one is the older (15 years old) Dodji. He is the « leader » at the beginning because of his age. He is ingenious and he is never afraid by anything, but he is also nervous.

So this is the band of five.

During these eight volumes, there happening a lot of adventures of these five kids, like fight again monkeys or meet other children. But during this time there are a lot of mysteries without answers like why them, what happens in this town and the adults.

It’s really difficult to admit these kids do all that like fight and struggle alone or drive a bus because they are just children. And we watch them grow up. But I really like this comic because mysteries are very interresting. And more there are volumes, more we understand with them what it is happening and what happens. The most difficult to admit is that they are very young but they do everything with a lot of realism, they think a lot and do choices sometimes hard. I forgot sometimes they’re children because they knew where they’re gone and give the impression to be tennagers, they’re really mature.

The fifth first volumes gone to be adapted on movie, I really want to know if it’s gone to be great as the comic.

It’s the only comic I read and I advise you to do the same if you like fantastic.

There is also a website and I found it funny :http://www.seuls-labd.com/

Hi everybody!

Yesterday I was looking for a new idea to make an article and… I was not very inspired. So, to change with books or movies, I would like to talk about the poetry, which is a similar field but not totally the same as literature.
I was surfing on the net when I fell on a site with only english poems. Of course, you can improve your english language thanks to videos on the net,poadcasts [..] which are less pain than the reading ahah!

If some of you are courageous, you could try to read these poems, which are very useful to bring us some new words (yes, words which are employed on the poetry field are quiet different!)

Well, if i should recommand you someone, it would be John Milton, who is the creator of many epic poems!

Today, after  the events of the French satirical newspaper, I have chosen to tell you about a British satirical magazine,  »Punch ».

It’s 150 years old and made the caricature of the poor, strangers, Jews in the last century.

There are 33 000 issues, but this number has been decreasing since the 1940s, yet he remains a symbol of The British press of that time. William Makepeace Thackeray, the author of  »Barry Lyndon  » was one of the journalists.

Willi Wilde, Oscar Wilde’s brother did theater reviews. In 2002, the newspaper was forced to cease  publication.

Today it’s important to read newspaper and help them to survive, like Charlie Hebdo in France.

Mark Twain, borned Samuel Langhorne Clemens in November 30, 1835 and died in april 21, 1910, he was an american author and also humorist.

In his first novels, he describes his travels in Europe and Polynesia where he makes fun of the prejudices of his friends and he also describes the time where he was a gold researcher. But thanks to The Adventure Of Tom Sawyer he became famous as an humorous author.

But he also wrote more serious works where he describes realistically and severly the american society and the excesses of civilization, he was often compared to Dickens for that. Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884 and this is with this work that he combined humor and criticism of the society. He also talked about Christian Science so he approach religious themes in his works.

Behind the author well-known for writing Tom Sawyer’s adventure there is also a lot of serious works that are not insignificant.

During Christmas’ holidays, I went to the costume’s museum (CNCS) in Moulins. This  museum is the only one in France but also in the world. This is the first place devoted to costumes and settings of theatre, opera or ballet.

There is a permanent collection about the famous dancer and choregrapher Rudolf Noureev. This is his own collection that is made up of paintings, sculptures, furniture, instruments…

Since this summer, there is an exhibition called « Shakespeare, the stuff of the new world ». So you can see famous costumes of Shakespeare’s plays like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The king Lear…

It was very interesting to see this exhibition. Moreover all the museum is really well laid-out.

Timothy Walter Burton is know under the name of Tim Burton, the famous director. He was born the 25 August, in 1958. He is know for his dark, gothic, macabre, and eccentric horror and fantasy films such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, etc …

These favorite actors are Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter of course, they have play together many times, in Dark Shadow, for exemple. He is really a film artist, thanks to his imagination, or his decadence and his way of getting to sordid to be something beautiful. Moreover he isn’t just a director, he is also a writer and animator. He had make many animated feature like Corpse Bride ( in 2005) it was the first full-length stop motion film for him as a director. Thanks to these drawings, he transports us to another world. If you are interested, there are different books on Burton’s biography like Tim Burton to Mark Salisbury.

For to finish, I found a story about Tim Burton :Not to  use special effects, in Charlie and the chocolate factory, he had made to train 40 squirrels to crack nuts.

As every literature, Anglo-Saxon literature beggin when the stories that was transmitted orally was wriiting for the first time. One of those stories is named Beowulf and is a part of the older texts that you can find about Anglo-Saxon history. It is an epic poem about the adventures of the warrior Beowulf that came to help the king Hrothgar to get rid of a monster who eat villager: Grendel. So he became a hero and went through many danger. He finaly succed to the king and lost his last fight against a dragon. The poem is named according to the name of the main character and take the same kind of place in the Anglo-saxon culture that Ulysse’s story take in general european culture. Thus this epopee inspire many tales and stories and give birth to many adaptation especially cinematographic.

Tolkien is the perfect exemple of writter that inspire himself from Beowulf, as he done with many ledgend to build this monument of literature that is the entire world he create through the adventures of Bilbo, Frodo and so many others. In fact, we owe him the recognition that is today awarded to 0thanks to his conference Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics. Indeed the poem interested for studyingthe language but Tolkien was the first to notice the beauty of the text. Thereby Tolkien used this tale to create his own one, giving to Gollum the same kind of appearance than Grendel, etc…

Even translate in a modern english, it is a difficult text, hard to read and understand but there is an extract  about Grendel, join with a pictures take from the film of Robert Zemekicksreleased in 2007 :

« That grim spirit was called Grendel,

Famous waste-wanderer that held the moors

Fen and fastness; the land of the race of  monsters

The unhappy creature occupied for a while

After the Creator had condemned them. »

[youtube]http://youtu.be/c7pqPpa3qiM[/youtube]

Here is a family living in the 80s. Not officially but simply by abandoning all technologies invented after 1986. They chose this date because i’s their birth’s year.
Blair McMillan decided to keep the old television of our grandmothers, but this means that there’s not a lot of programs. To watch something else than The Young and the Restless (=les feux de l’amour), they don’t have a DVD player, but a cassette player, like when we were little. They also have a fixed phone but no mobile phone (how they contact when they are not at home? Pigeons?). Everything is rustic, apparently even his hair cut because it still has the mullet cut.
They took a family road trip this summer, they did not use GPS but a map. A good old paper map, difficult to read, and they kept the kids focused with coloring books and stickers. They gave up their cell phones. They deleted their Facebook accounts. They created a box for visitors to give up their phones, tablets, and gadgets while hanging out in the McMillan home. Then, Blair said that the cost of living is reduced when you’re not paying for cable and Internet etc ..

This family proves that technologies are not necessary to our survival. Although I would not get in this kind of adventure .

The bear named Paddington is preferred English children, they learn how to read with to his literature. It’s very known in England and of the statutes of him exists everywhere in London.

A film is leave on the history this small bear, I leave you with the band of advertisement.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-d-V9jXYDE[/youtube]

As we mentioned him in class ,I’m going to talk about Norman Rockwell who was an American illustrator and painter born in 1894 in New York and died in 1978 in Massachusetts. More precisely, he was a figurative painter; he painted American life of the 20^th century. From 1916 to 1960, he has illustrated the covers of magazine Saturday Evening Post, thank to that he became so famous. Concerning his studies, he went to the National Academy of design and then to the Art Students League of New York. In 1935, he illustrated the novels of Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn ( as we saw in class ). In 1950s, he is considered as the most famous of American artists and moreover he realized some portraits of famous people. In fact, he belonged to hyperrealism movement. Also in 1960, he painted Triple Self-Portrait. This is one of my favourite paintings. I like so much what Norman Rockwell has done and his graphic style.

Triple Self-Portrait, 1960 :

http://histoiredarts.blogspot.fr/p/rockwell-triple-autoportrait.html

« -But! Is it a french Title ???! »

Yes, I know, but it is also a french website…I could probably translate it by « J*rck of the Beautiful Letters », but would it be proper ? I don’t think so…

On this website, you could fine a plenty of good references concerning classic literature. But I recommend you to not use it for your disseration or any other homework. Actually, some guys who probably had some troubles in their own literature class decided to reapropriate most of sums up of classic books in they own way.

French level is on of the baddest ever, writing as well as orthography… for, surprisingly, our biggest delight! The aim is of course to recognize elements that you find in the original book (because you read some of them, don’t you?) and the way that they are express.

I already share the wonderful sum up of Madame Bovary to my schoolmate but there is so much more! If you laught, even a lit a bit, I recommend you to read romeo and juliet, Dom Juan, etc…

P.S: Please, if you had some traumatic experiences or a kind of phobia concerning swearwords, don’t click on this link : http://bolossdesbelleslettres.tumblr.com/

A ventriloquist is an illusionist who is speaking his belly. He lends voice to another character, usually a puppet, emitting the words without moving their lips.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdTfhzZMCAw[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoJzLcWDs5Y[/youtube]

Achmed is a former suicide bomber. Died using his mobile near a gas pump. It is a skeleton (but he says that a « superficial wound ») with a beard and a turban. It is used by Dunham to perform comedy based on the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for his shouting « Silence! I kill you!« .  In the audience who dares to laugh, as well as « Holy crap! » and « You racist bastard« . It is not really aware of being dead, « feeling good. » Although he appeared to be Muslim, Achmed does not believe he is, because of « Made in China » tattooed on his buttocks.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt8aRMTKbBc[/youtube]

Jeff knows how to capture the attention of the public. With his puppet Jean-Marc, a coarse, a wanton and very politically incorrect monkey. His performance was praised by comedians known as Jean-Marie Bigard or Jamel Debbouze.

I like ventrilloquism, i find that funny.. Jeff Dunham and Jeff Panacloc do very funny sketch. I like how they criticize the actuality, and the problem that the world meet.

Stephen Shames is an american  photojournalist who he is not famous. During 45 years he used his photographic passion to expose the american society problem. He takes a fresh look at the child poverty, the difference and the racism.

He has worked very much in the Bronx which a quarter very violent and it is  very poverty. He follows a band of young man during thirty years. since their childhood at their adult age.

He had created a sucession of photography very touching. We can account the living conditions of this population. His creation is In the « Bronx Boys » , a book published in 2014.

Nowadays, the music environment evolves quite strangely : we can hear the best and the the worst in the space of few seconds ; thanks to the internet and the sharing system now we can discover music that we never heard before, and discover real artists who perfectly manage to link music and video ; some of them are real master pieces. I’m really touched that in the middle of modern musical environment, made of vulgarity and money, we can see some people who stands still to give us real work, musically and visually speaking. A well made video clip is a real pleasure : it’s another way to interpret the song and it’s another manner for the artist to express his point of view : the beauty of an image can go along with the lyrics on the background.

There’s especially one artist who is really famous for his works on video clips : Woodkid ; who is a french singer ! He is very well known in the music industry because he worked with worldwide famous singers as Katy Perry (Teenage Dream), Taylor Swift, Drake, Rihanna or Lana Del Rey on « Born to Die » video clip that is one of my favourite from Lana.

This picture is an extract from the Video Clip « Born to Die »

But let’s go back to Woodkid who has made beautiful personal works (actually I prefer his own works than the music videos he made for the others)   ; his real name is Yoann Lemoine (not as classy as Woodkid ahah) and he was born in Tassin-La-Demi-Lune in 1983 ; he studied illustration and animation ( he worked on films too : for exemple , he drew some samples for Sofia Coppola for « Marie-Antoinette »). In 2011 he goes back to music and launches his first EP : Iron. I’m sure that everyone know this song that will be used in some video games teasers and for fashion runways ; the music video created a huge admiration and his minimalist style will be copied in numerours video clips.

Here is another extract from « Iron », his first video clip.

In 2012, he won his 1st award as film director thanks to his work with Lana Del Rey. But he goes back to his own musical works and releases his 3 final works ; Run boy run in 2012, I love you in 2013 and the Golden Age in 2014 ; these music videos are linked by the main character. It’s a pure show, the aestheticism is close to perfection, the shots are very well builded, and there’s a real precision’s work.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmc21V-zBq0[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQu8FOjJXdI[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWMMdX6KYGM[/youtube]

Sadly, Woodkid told us in July that he will stop his musical carreer to get involved in cinema and video areas. I can’t wait to see his new projects because I really love his style visually speaking.

According to you, is a music video important ? Why, or why not ? Let’s share your favourite music videos !

Alexander O’Lachlan is one on my favorite actor. He is an australian actor and was born in Canberra in 1976.

His first film is The oyster Farmer. The next year he played in Feed and the same year in Man-Thing. He is the main character of the serie Moonlight and of Hawaii 5-0 (witch in on tv saturday night. He played too in Criminal minds.

His latest and most famous movies are Whitout and Le Plan B (with Jennifer Lopez). I hope you know this famous actor and enjoy this movies !

During the second week of vacation, I volunteered over a festival. I saw a show that upsets me and that I advise you very much.
This show is called Sacco and Vanzetti, it is played by two extraordinaires comedians that tell the true story of two Italian anarchists sentenced to death for acts they have not committed.
The scene takes place in 1927, at the Cherry Hill prison in the usa, Nicola Sacco has only a few hours to live before dying in the electric chair.
Suddenly appears Bartolomeo Vanzetti, his companion.
Then the two men told us their memories, fears of death, their lives, their families, and especially makes us understand thanks to their stories the politics of the roaring twenties to the united states led by corrupt representatives.
It is a shocking show that shows the horrible injustice of the politics of the time and the racism that is present throughout the show, played by very good comedians who closed the show with beautiful music « Bella chao » the singing of Italian partisans.

Today i’m gonna to speak about my favorite famous english character who is Winston Churchill (1874-1965) ! He was a politician, a writer, a painter… During the second world war he resisted to the nazis attacks and he helped the British not to lose morale. After the war he receives the literature nobel prize. I like this man because he never gave up, he was an action man and he had a lot of humour… And you what are your favorite famous english character ?

Hey ! Tonight it’s Halloween !

What are you going to do tonight ? Get out ? Personally, i don’t like very much celebrate this event, so i will stay with my family in front of a very good and known movie.. The Nightmare Before Christmas ! This very good movie is realised by the amazing Tim Burton ( Frankenweenie or Beetlejuice are very good for a Halloween evening too, but The Nightmare Before Christmas is the best EVER, i swear).

The story takes place in the town of Hallowen, Jack Skellington, the main character of this film, (he is a skeleton, what discovery !) Jack is bored by the same events each year, Halloween. He decided to be alone for thinking about his condition and he discovered, by accident, a new beautiful world : Christmas Town ! After that, a few events will arrive and Jack will change number of rules… Not always pleasant for everybody…

This movie is one of my favorite, this world is very interessant and amazing ! (as all the different world of Tim Burton, i’m ok) And i prefer the english version for the songs that i know by heart. Finally, i give you an internet link of my favorite… Happy Halloween everyone !
Enjoy ! -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHLgob-PpIk

« The Roaring Twenties » is the name given to the growing period in America, but then in Europa too : in great britain we called them « the Golden Twenties » and in France « les années folles » for example. This period extends from the end of the First World War until the economic crisis in 1929.

First, this was a period of economic growth. It was like a second industrial revolution for the USA, thanks to great technical advances. Frederic Taylor and Henri Ford were two main characters of this growth with their new ways of working. Thanks to them, the automoblie industry was representred as a booming sector.

Then, this was a period in wich born a new society : high urbanization and more and more skyscrapers. Woman are emancipated and called « the flappers » : they cut their hair and weared jeans.

There was also a cultural growth. People listened Jazz and blues, new stars and lifestyle. It was also the Golden Age for Hollywood and birth of realisme and naturalisme

New generation was in fond of these changes but older people guessed they were totaly crazy and « degenerate »

A Daily Vlog, well know as Vlog is a short video of someone who filmed his day and upload it every evening on YouTube. Many people in England and United States earn a living with this job. It’s absolutely not the hardest job in the world and allowed them to travel all around the world.

I have decided to speak about Ben BROWN, a 22 years old English ‘Youtuber’ who earn a living with daily vlogs. He was born in England and now live in Cape Town, South Africa. He have been Kayakist World Champion Twice. He also have a girlfriend named Nicole EDDY who write articles and convince me to deal (with her authorization) about one of her articles : Losing Our Identity which will be my adaptation film for the « Cinema Baccalaureat exam. »

Here is one of his Daily Vlogs :

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zGZraFKjq8&list=UUAkP51BEzkKimJh7KDflx_g[/youtube]

Born in 1956 in California, Tom Hanks became one of the most famous Hollywood’s actor in the 1980s with more than one hundred movies that change our perception of cinema. Passionate of theatre, the young Thomas Hanks had decided to move from the West of the United States to the East of New York City in 1978. He appears for the first time in the cinema’s business thanks to He Knows You’re Alone of Armand Mastroianni in 1980. It’s in 1988 with his nomination to the Oscars for Big from Penny Marshall whom Tom Hanks see his career taking off.

How does Tom Hanks succeed to embody a comic character in a drama movie as  Forrest Gump ?

Tom Hanks career is very rich, he played in several movies as Philadelphia of Jonathan Demme, Saving Private Ryan of Steven Spielberg, The Green Mile by Frank Darabont or Ron Howard’s movies as Apollo 13, Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.Besides, all those movies deal with a drama subject. Starring by Tom Hanks but also Denzel Washington or Antonio Banderas, Philadelphia is an American drama film and one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge AIDS. This film is definitely not a comic ones but it’s a consecration for Tom Hanks because thanks to this movie he won his first Oscar in 1993. The following Oscar that he received is for Forrest Gump, a Robert Zemeckis’ film.

First, we can say that this story is comic and dramatic in itself. Forrest Gump is a movie based on the eponymous novel written by Winston Groom, an American author. In this story we follow the adventures of Forrest through the history of the United States of America during the second part of the 20^th century shaken by the Vietnam War, The Segregation… Tom play a simple-minded character in this movie which is very emotional. In addition of his simple-mindedness, in his childhood, Forrest suffer from his back that prevent him from being a normal child.

At his entrance at school in Alabama, Forrest will count on his new friend Jenny, wich will be the only child of his age to understand him. Furthermore, Jenny ask him to run if he had to face a problem, hence the now famous scene : « Run Forrest ! Run ! ». This film is also one of the first movie to develop computer generated images. This story is definitely very emotional because Forrest see his family weakening, his mother dies from cancer and his wife, Jenny from a new disease, AIDS. Unfortunately as if he was bound to this story, Tom Hanks lost his wife from a cancer in 2002. Tom Hanks successfully embody this character which was at the base destined to John Travolta.

Some critics say that Tom Hanks has an actor’s play that make laugh involuntarily which may be his secret in this movie. . Tough it is not a matter of dramatisation or acting but rather of representing and exploring a role or attitude. He was anticipated to play Peter Banning’s role in Hook, role finally interpreted by Robin Williams,this shows that Tom Hanks is not limited to drama characters but also to comic ones. One of the qualities that we find in Tom Hanks is that he can appropriate a character and shoulder his story as if it was himself. His success will allow him to make a turning point in his career, being director.

Tom Hanks

Speakeasies, also called as bling pig/tiger were illegal establishments that sold alcohol beverage during the Prohibition time. They were very numerous and popular in spite of the outlawry, they soon became one of the biggest parts of the Prohibition in America. It was a time where people can’t buy or sell alcohol all around the United States. It was a place where black and white gathered. Speakeasies largely disappear after this Prohibition era.

Now, many Speakeasies open in big cities because of a growing mode. It’s a way of life and culture that’s lead to those new bars. You need to do a treasure hunt to find a speakeasy nowadays. For example, in Paris, you can find those fashion bars thanks to an application on your smartphone. They’re are also know as a result of word of mouth. Speakeasies are parts of establishments, they are hiding places. It’s often a secret room, reachable only when you know were it is, sometimes, the door is hidden behind curtains or another door.

I would like to speak about Steve McCurry, a famous american photographer.

He was born in 1950 in Pensylvania. Since 1986, he is a member of Magnum’s agency. He also works with Reporters Without Borders.

He travels through the world to capture the better instant to transform it into eternity.

Since his youth, Steve McCurry has been using his colour photography to look for the moment when « people forget your camera ».

Maybe you know his famous photo taken in 1985 in a refugee camp where you can see a young Afghan girl with straight and intense look and also beautiful green eyes.

The more interesting about this photo is that 20 years after, the photographer came in Afghanistan and he met again the woman of the photo…

This commited photographer wants to defend the right of all this people who live in poor and dangerous aeras, and it’s why he realizes many portraits to sensibilize the audience.

If you want to see his photos: http://stevemccurry.com/

Hi everybody!

I would like to talk about the documentary film about Bob Marley’s life; « Marley ». If you don’t know, it’s a film by Kevin Macdonald, which was released in 2012. It’s a good tribute for Bob Marley, who were a great singer. Also the documentary is rather well, it start from his birth until his death!

Which can be considered interesting? During all the documentary you can hear Bob Marley’s songs,for example Redemption Song or Jamming. If you love Bob Marley, watch this documentary!

I would like to show you a short animation that I did. I posted it on Youtube, you can watch that!

I like drawing and animation. So, I decided to begin my first short-animation. I began this project this summer. At the finally, I did 102 drawings concerning the violinist and 24 drawings for the woman who dances. Then, I realized a stop motion. In order that you understand how I did, I took in photo drawing by drawing. After, I made a montage with a simple software. In this clip, I used 852 pictures.
Concerning the music you are probably recognised that it’s the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack. It’s an American black comedy crime film realized by Quentin Tarantino and he also co-wrote the screenplay with Roger Avary in 1994, starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman. The story mixes violence and humor that refers to pop culture. This film was much successful, it was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Films Festival in 1994. It was considered as a prime example of postmodern film.
So, I chose to use the soundtrack of this film. It inspired me to play this music on my electric violin to finish my project. I wanted to mix music and animation.
If you have some comments to do, don’t hesitate!

Hi everybody!
Do you know the notion of « podcast »? Podcasts are some videos about many differents subjects: Generally it’s about video games, or just for laugh. I really like it, and last week I discovered « PewDiePie », who is a swedish podcaster. He is making short videos, and if you enjoy Fanta Bob (or Squeezie for example, who are french podcasters) I recommand you to try PewDiePie.
His subjects are from video games, and it’s a good initiative for improve your English language!

Jumanji is a fantasy children’s picture book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, an American author, and published in 1981. Everyone knows the story thanks to the famous film directed by Joe Johnston in 1995, with the most excellent Robin Williams.

‘Jumanji’ is a Zulu word meaning ‘many effects’. In the original story, Judy and Peter Shepherd are two children who go in a park, while their parents are out for the evening, because they find deeply boring. In this park, they find a game which seems to be abandoned and which called Jumanji. So, they take the game home. In this one, they discover a warning message: ‘Do not begin unless you intend to finish’ . The most unlikely events will occur…

Bonnie Hunt, Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst in Jumanji (J. Johnston, 1995)

The famous film is slightly different: at the beginning, the game ensnared Alan Parrish in the jungle of Jumanji many years while he and Sarah Whittle were playing in 1969. Twenty-six years later, Peter and Judy (Kirsten Dunst), who are orphans in this adaptation, settle, with their aunt, in the Parrish’s former house and find the game in the attic. They manage to take out Alan (Robin Williams) but they must find Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) to finish the game because Peter and Judy have continued the part of 1969.

This film is dazzling for its special effects. But it is excellent thanks to Robin Williams’ performance. It was a great actor, funny and touching at the same time. He was an eternal child, notably in this film, but also in life. He was and will always be my favourite American actor…

You can see the trailer here for more details on this film:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p18zqZmeiI[/youtube]

This Summer I went to a festival of street theatre. This event is a success for many years and is called « Chalon dans la Rue ». It’s a great experience for any person who’s in love with theatre, circus, dance or art in general.

The most sensational show I saw was the adaptation of the famous and damned  Sheakespearian play : Macbeth.

It was played by a company named « Le Théâtre de l’Unité », directed by Jacques Livchine (a commited actor and director, currently writing a blog to inform his public). First, the representation was really stunning for its direction. It happened in a forest, during the night and the audience had to follow an actress (her role consist of guiding the public in the forest, from a scene to another, « because it’s a wild and dangerous place for paltries people »). She often make funny comments, and quote Shakespare all along the play. The only light came from fires, kindled all around the place.

Then the play was full of humour. The guide’s remarks, the expressions of the actors, and even their gesture were some means to make laugh. In the book, during final scene of war, Shakespeare wrote something like « the forest moves with the soldiers » because they are desguised. So the actors arrived with makeshifts costumes in paper, roughly cut on the form of a tree. They comment : « we didn’t have money anymore ».  These moments in the play were fresh and welcome for everybody in the public. It was a delicate mix of tragedy and comedy.

Finally, the choice of the text was clever, and really interesting for a short play. If I could see another play directed by Jacques Livchine, I wouldn’t hesitate.

I want to speak about , an American photographer. He was born in 1945 in the U.S.A.

Lewis Baltz is interested in the industrial society. His work deals with the search of the beauty into the destruction. His photographies show many landscapes where we can observe the human’s intervention. So his work reflects the influence and the power of men. He is also interested in things that change his daily life.
Lewis Baltz wrote in 2012 a collection of essays called Texts that explains his work of art and his ideas. Through all his photographies and his writings, we can understand that he is politically committed.

Famous Works:

• The Prototype Works, that show many things seen every day.

• The New Industrial Parks, Nevada, San Quentin Point, Candlestick Point, 84 photos about a public place damaged by rubbish and men.

At « Le Bal » in Paris, there is an exhibition about this photographer, called Common Objects. This exhibition shows for the first time the influence of the cinema in the work of Lewis Baltz.

I hope that I could go to this exhibition that ends in august!

Last year, for the D’Jazz festival, a gifted singer came to Nevers. My parents went to her concert and, when they returned at home, they were really charmed by « her voice and her presence ».

They convinced me to listen to her music and I immediatly fall in love with her songs. This corean singer, who sing in French but also in English, has a complicated career and decided to devote herself to music only around her thirtieth birthday. Her parents were also musicians and she learned to play piano at five years old – an incredible thing for most of us!

I looked at some videos and she emits something really special, a softness, a calm, a concentration and a happiness she manages to transmit to her public. There isn’t a lot of artists who show that sort of emotions. Most of the time, they are happy by another way, they are excited and they move on the scene all the time. Youn Sun Nah is nearly motionless during her concert.

This is possible to discover her music with the link under the article. The video present her version of « My favorite Things », a song wrote by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for « The Sound of Music », a musical with Julie Andrews.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hRj4TzIfA[/youtube]

Apparently some experts are agree to affirm that Shakespeare didn’t exist.

The first hypothesis says that it is another person of Stratford-upon-Avon who wrote the famous texts. A desire to stay anonymous certainly. It is possible that a group of authors hides behind the name of Shakespeare.

The others hypothesis support the same idea. The argument n°1 is that we don’t have specific details about the life of the author for pretend who he is really. His confidential relationship with the Crown was not real for some people. People who don’t believe in the existence of Shakespeare are called the anti-stratfordians. Among these people found Charlie Chaplin, Henry James etcetera.

What do you think?

William turner was born in 1775 in London. He studied in the Royal Academy from year 1789 and began to have a painting up in 1796 so he was recognized  during his lifetime. During a travel in 1802 in France, he discovered Le Lorrain and looked up to him. After a travel in 1819 in Venice, he changed this paintwork for a paintwork where colors and light have a suggestive power. His representation and how he did an atmosphere in his work, make him like a precursor of impressionism. Moreover he was a member of romantic movement and wanted to follow tradition. He died in 1851.

I am sorry: I didn’t find how to put a picture here. So if you want to see the painting: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-snow-storm-steam-boat-off-a-harbours-mouth-n00530

First you can observe a boat in a storm and their fight but the painting seems to be anarchist. You have a feeling of chaos. You can remark a contrast between the dark colors and the light in the painting. Moreover you don’t have lines, just a movement of colors and this movement is omnipresent. You feel yourself into the core of the storm and it gives life to the painting. This painting is a symbol of the futile efforts to struggle the forces of nature.

You have with this painting an annecdot: William Turner may have been on a boat during a snow storm and asked to be attached to the mast of the ship. But this story must be not true.

I went to the gustave Doré exhibition at the Musée D’orsay on 10th of May in Paris. It was very interesting because I didn’t really know this artist. Gustave Doré was a painter, sculptor and an illustrator of 19th century . He illustrated many fables of La Fontaine, François Rabelais, Victor Hugo. He was famous all over the world because he was very talented. I was very impressed by this exhibition.

Ps Julien Doré is a member of his family.

I want to show you a British painter and watercolorist I like very much : William Turner. I’ll do a quick biography of this man, and after I’ll show you several of his works, those I prefer.

So,Turner was devoted at the Art all of his time’s life. If at the origin, Turner was part of the English Romantism with his lyric landscapes, he was however a pioneer of the Impressionism with the details dissolved of the painting’s colors. He travelled troughout Europe, often alone.

To finish, I invite you to focus on William Turner. I’ll show some works :

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/William_Turner_-_Flint_Castle.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/turner/i/slave-ship.jpg
http://uploads5.wikipaintings.org/images/william-turner/alnwick-castle-northumberland.jpg

I like all kinds of books. Particularly fantastic and romantic novels. On the other hand, I hate horror story wether through books or movies. I’m verry interested by books that deals with historical facts such as the book  » Reunion » by Fred Uhlman.

Moreover, according to me comics are very pleasant to read. For many peoples comics are not literature. But you can find all types of comics such as police comics, which are my favorites. However, graphics are really important because depending on it you may like the comic or not.

And you, what kind of book do you prefer ? why?

I would speak about a musician that I like very much, Hans Zimmer. He makes many theme music as Inception, Twelve Years has Slav, Transfomers…
Born German, Hans Zimmer is naturalized American and lives from now on in Los Angeles. It is known as one of the biggest composer of theme music to the world.

Fast go to discover these compositions !

Tristant and Iseult is one very old myth, of origin concretes. The numerous poems on this love story are of origin Norman. Numerous poems were passed on in the oral, and numerous papers were lost. But the first writer to have reconstituted a complete version is Joseph Bédier.
His story thus became that of the reference.

« Tristan and Isolde » tells the story of Tristan de Loonois, an orphan invisible knight, adopted by his Uncle, king Marc of Cournouailles. They live in England, where the country is divided and attacked by king of Ireland, who sows the terror and massacres whole villages. This king has a magnificent girl, Iseult, of whom Tristan goes fallen madly in love. But the lovers are going to know numerous obstacles to their idyll.

This story is one of my preferred, because we go into a completely different world, with beautiful principles, such as the chivalry, the loyalty, the courage, and unconditional love.

Personally I preferred the adaptation of a French writer, Jacques Cassabois. He also tells the story of the parents of Tristan, wars on the English territory and French Bretagne.

Are not afraid of reading this wonderful story which is absoluement not childish.

During this years, we have discovered numerous texts and films in several theme. There are « The Hobit », « The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde », « The malteses Falcon », « Frankenstein », « Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland », « The Dumb Waiter », « Pride and Prejudice », « As You Like It » and other texts ! In class, we have also study differents authors as « Shakespeare », « Mary Shelley », « Jane Austen »… We have study very vocabulary as the gothic literature, humour and nonsense, poems or the literature of the absurd !

Since the beginning of the year, we have learnt so many thing. In my opinion I prefered the literature of the absurd and the fantasy ! And you ? What theme do you like ?

It is a play written by shakespeare in 1605. It is about a woman; Lady Mac Beth who convinces her husband to kill Mac Duff, Banquo and Duncan because she wanted him to become king. However because of what she did she becomes crazy and imagines that she has blood on her hands. You should read this play because it is very interesting.

http://www.tyburnoperas.com/images/macbeth-logo.jpg