home

media type="custom" key="208035"

__Photo Essay Reflection 9/28__ I picked these photos because I feel that they visually represent the book’s themes. Mark Mathabane wrote his book, Kaffir Boy, with such detail of his dreadful experience, both physically and psychologically, it is almost impossible for it not to invoke any images while reading it. These were the images I imagined while reading. My favorite picture is the sixth one, a simple photo of Mark Mathabane himself. It represents man who survived the awful world of apartheid and avoided joining a gang or becoming a criminal and instead turned to books and learning, and tennis, which led him to America, where he can freely express what is truly wrong with apartheid. I think Ms. Van Wky assigned this book because it demonstrates the power of education and books. I also think she assigned it because it’s a book that opens our eyes to a world that does not get the attention it deserves, a world where people are suffering under horrid, inhumane conditions. And it also ties in with the Civil Rights Movement, which is what we are discussing in class now. I personally enjoyed the book, although it was a dificult book to read, some of the scenes were so disturbing, I had to put the book down for a moment to reflect. But its obvioulsy not suppose to be censored, its suppose to reflect the harsh realities Mark Mathabane endured.

__An Interview of Jerry Renault from "The Chocolate War" 9/28__

Do you consider yourself an “underdog”? I think throughout my experience that, yes I have been “casted” as the underdog.

Why exactly did you not sell the chocolates, even though everyone else was, and both the Vigils and Brother Leon wanted you? At first the Vigils assignment required me not to accept them, but when they told me to go ahead and start selling them, I continued to say no. I honestly don’t know “exactly” why, I guess I wanted to make a difference and maybe to “disturb the universe.”

What were the students’ reactions when they noticed you weren’t selling the chocolates? They kept telling me I had guts and some of them even joined me in my ‘boycott’ although that quickly faded away.

How did your popularity fade away? I am not sure how, but I do know it was certainly because of the Vigils, they surely had something to do with it, and I wouldn’t call it “popularity.”

So what would you call it? I think I would call it more of an underground fad. It wasn’t like I was really popular or anything, it was only a few students who were congratulating me.

Are “The Vigils” the only thing wrong with your high school? They are undoubtedly the main problem, but not the only one.

Who else is there? Our head administrator, Brother Leon of course; he is just as corrupt as the Vigils. I also think our student body is a major problem.

How so? Well they reluctantly do what the Vigils and Brother Leon tell them to do. They are intimidated, and are afraid to express there opinions.

One of the students in your class, Harold Darcy, asked you why you weren’t selling the chocolates and asked you if you thought you were better than everyone else, how did you feel about that question? A little angry, because I felt he was being very ignorant, I don’t understand why he had the right to know, and I replied as best as a could and Brother Leon told me that my response wasn’t good enough, I think that’s a perfect example of what is wrong with this school. . What was going through your mind when the “The Vigils” started harassing you? Well, obviously I felt awful and I could not stop thinking about how this would all go away if I just accepted the chocolates.

Why didn’t you then? Again, I’m not sure, but I think it was because I could not have just backed down now, I wasn’t about “The Vigils” or Brother Leon anymore, it was about me.

Why didn’t you tell your dad about what was going on at school? My dad and I haven’t really talked much since my mother died and I did not want to get him involved.

Why not the police, then? You have been going through severe physical and emotional pain. I am just relatively quiet and besides, that would involve talking to my dad about it.

At the end you told your friend Goober that it was best to not disturb the universe it wasn’t worth it, why did you not come to that conclusion earlier? The fight, I guess, had changed everything. I had been worn down and tired of the constant beatings and the destruction of my homework and the isolation I had to endure for so long, it seems pointless, and kind of stupid to take advice from a poster.

__“I Have a Commentary” 9/24__

Martin Luther King Jr. makes a real connection with his large and broad audience in his speech, “I Have a Dream” by effectively using literary terms. His allusions, to the founding fathers for example, offer an ethical appeal. His repetition and metaphors presents his audience with a clear, concise understanding of his beliefs and his dream. And his usage of counter argument and refutation further supports his claim.

Early on in his speech, King says “Five score years ago, a great American…” which alludes to Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. This sets up his first antithesis and refutation. Through his speech, King alludes to the Declaration of Independence, the governor of Alabama, the Black Panthers, and the Bible. This provides the audience with an ethical appeal. Finally, he concludes his speech with the words of an old Negro spiritual “Free at Last, Free at Last…” This, once again, provides the audience with something to relate to.

Because of his diverse audience, King needs to get his point across clearly. This is why he repeats words such as “I Have a Dream,” “Let Freedom Ring,” and “With this Faith”. The audience is left with a lasting effect; the audience recognizes that these words must be significant if King is repeating them. His extended metaphors are essential for the audience because of its straightforward explanation. The “check” metaphor allows his large audience to visualize this.

Martin Luther King utilizes counter argument and immediate refutation to support his claim. He compares the state of Negros in America in the past, present, and future. When the opposition asks “When will you be satisfied?” He swiftly replies that “we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” This presents the audience with King’s perspective on the Civil Right movement and where he dreams it will be headed.

King’s speech makes such a lasting impact on the audience by effectively using these terms. It is his opening, where he alludes and applies extended metaphors to lets his audience visualize what he is alluding to. It is his shift, where repetition becomes more apparent and memorable. King’s speech is considered the best speech of the 20th century ultimately because he establishes trust with his audience.

__Midterm Essay 12/11__

61 Ms. Van Wyk Period 6 11 December 2007

Animals

The society depicted in __Anthem__ is compliant with its leaders because of their sheepish obedience, which paves the way to an inevitable life of drudgery and fear. The members of the society have no free will and are forced to do as they are told. This leads to absolute control by the leaders and allow them to treat their fellow men as dogs. They are immediately cast in a generic assortment of other men at a young age. All men begin in the same fashion, spending the first five years of their lives in the House of Infants, where they are first introduced the idea of obedience and punishment. Afterwards, they are sent to the Home of the Students, where they are to recite, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen.” This reinforces the idea of obedience, along with self deprecation, in the form of reminder, that they are nothing. Discouraging the idea of learning while encouraging the thought of “We,” also leaves the men no longer questioning themselves, but how they may better their brothers. The members of the society would recognize its life long obligation of drudgery when they are told “Dare not choose in your minds the work you would like to do when you leave the House of Students. You shall do that which the Council of Vocations shall prescribe for you. For the Council of Vocations knows in its great wisdom where you are needed by your brother men, better than you can know it in your unworthy little minds. And if you are not needed by your brother men, there is no reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies,” by the Teachers. The men use their knowledge of obedience to realize that “they must” for they are told. The Council of Vocations will then come and decide the destiny of each young man on the first day of spring, without the objection of anyone. Even when Equality, who had fought and been punished at the House of Infants and shunned for his intellect at the House of Students, gladly and willingly accepted his fate as a Street Sweeper. This demonstrates the ability the leaders have in breaking down a man to comply with their demands. From an early age, the average man is exposed the consequences of disobeying. It is apparent in the Saint at the Pyre, who was publicly burned for uttering the forbidden word. Before he was burned, his tongue was cut off, but an expression of contentment remained on his face. To the general crowd of faceless men, it was a sign of the dangers of being different. But to Equality, who was more concerned with the Pyre’s sense of satisfaction, instead of fear, which caught his attention. Fear is what ultimately keeps the men from defying the social structures that its leaders have placed. After such a jaded experience the society has dealt with, and yet not having completed their Life Mandate as appointed to them, they are too affixed with the current system to change. Their fear of change, which may be accounted to their ideas of obedience and drudgery, has overwhelmed them and left society imperfect. Upon the start of their working careers, the average man must have accepted that the individual, that being different, and that change are all sins, while unity, obedience, and brotherhood is all that essentially matters. The constant brainwashing that the leaders of the society feed into the minds of its members for the first 15 years of life leaves this impression on the average man. The few exceptions, such as Equality and the Saint at the Pyre, reveal the human nature it is to be different and an individual.