Identity Poems - What's Worth Fighting For?

Why/how is one's personal identity worth fighting for?

One's personal identity is definitely worth fighting for. Each person has something that is them, something that is unique. That one quality is like an ID number or a barcode, differentiating it from the rest. This means that, whether big or small, poor or rich, everyone can make a difference of their own, in their own way. So isn't that worth fighting for?

Understandings

Consider the following statements:

• A good leader considers the will of the people. 
• To maintain control, you must have power.
• Standing up to oppression takes great individual courage.

In view of what we have learned in our unit on the Middle Ages, choose one of the above statements and justify it through examples from our unit and if possible with examples from modern day society. 

I chose....      'To maintain control, you must have power.'

I think this is pretty pretty straight forward. The definition of power is 'the ability to do something or act in a particular way'. To be able to control something means that you have the power to control it. Power doesn't necessarily mean political power, though it is something related.   The power that we usually refer to would be the power earned from a certain position, for example, king, president, school principle, etc. For example, King William taking control of England in 1066, or the power that the church had over the people at that time. A modern day example could be a position in our school here, like Mr. Chmelik being the school principle. But that's not the only type of power that exists. According to the definition from the dictionary,  it could also be power in the sense that you have the ability to conquer the hearts of a person or many people. Of course, to keep control over a group of people, you need to gain trust and respect from a reasonable amount of people. Controling something can also be as simple as having the power to control yourself. Ironically, it's probably one of the hardest to do!

The Feudal System

 Father Francois, you are my honoured guest. Please allow me to explain the Feudal System to you before you ask any questions of me. I am but a simple farmer. 

The King makes an agreement with a vassal (who makes an oath on the holy Scriptures/Bible) to give away land for his vassal to use in return for military service. The vassal can use the land for living and earning money by using peasants. Once he is rich, he can also become a lord by doing the same thing with other nobles. However the land still belongs to the King.

The Events of 1066

1066: Who had the best claim?

Harold Godwinson                          Duke William of Normandy                    Harald Hardrada of Norway

In my opinion, Harold Godwinson had the best claim among all three. It might seem like his only argument was that he had been chosen as successor, but that is the key point of why he is most fit to be King of England. Duke William of Normandy's argument was based on oaths and promises; that Edward had once mentioned William to be his successor, that Harold had once took an oath to help William be crowned King of England. Many believed the Duke. However Harold had been forced to make the oath, upon his capture at Normandy many years ago. As for William, he was king, and he had the right to choose. If William's claim was true, Edward must have changed his mind because of some important reason. Edward's decision was surely made according to England's future, and he must have been the one who could have best foreseen this. Harold Godwinson must have proved himself through the many years while Edward was king, therefore Edward came upon the conclusion that Harold was best suited for the thrown of England. Now f might have had the support of Harold Godwinson's brother, Tostig, but it was disfavor that Tostig felt for his brother, probably because of some personal issue between the two. Harald Hardrada's argument was that his ancestor, King Cnut, was once an English king. However that does not define his eligibility for the crown. This brings us to the conclusion that Harold Godwinson is most righteous to the throne of England.

Values and Choices

Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?

Not long ago, about a week ago, I was back in Thailand. I went out with my aunt to buy some fruits. The market was just round the corner of our street, so we walked there. On the way back, we saw two kids, probably siblings, a boy and a girl. The girl was about four years old, the boy was about 2 or 3 years older. They were fighting over a bag of sweets or something, so, as kids always do, they start getting louder and louder until they were nearly shouting at each other. What happens next is so cruel, I was completely shocked by it. A man, probably in his 50s, came out with a stick and beat the 4 year old girl, on the head, until the stick broke. 4 year old girl. On the head. Until the stick broke!!! Of course, the stick wasn't that thick and strong, and the girl didn't collapse or get hurt badly or anything, but still.  And you would think it at least didn't inflict any severe damage to the girl, but no, it did. Maybe not physically, but mentally. What do you think would happen to the girl, her mindset? Do you think she would be able to go around and still have the self confidence that she deserves? I'd say no. I think that any human being that could even think of doing that is just....I don't know....insane? Or what? Inhumane? Yes. Inhumane. Absolutely.  I bet there were many others that witnessed it, but the whole incident couldn't have took more than a minute. Other than just standing there with our mouths gaped open in shock, none of us really had the time to react properly, and throw in the fact that I was about 20 metres away on the other side of the street. I guess we could have shouted for the man to stop, that way we could've gotten some help from people close enough to actually do something, if only our brains could've just worked. Looking back, I don't know how I could stand there so impassive, so muted. How I could stand and watch that innocent little frail girl get abused so badly. How no one stepped in to the aid of such an impeccable 4 year old. I wish I did something, just anything, really, to protect the two kids. Even if I were closer, it wouldn't be wise for me to go right in and say 'back off' to a fifty year old man with a stick, flushed with anger. And if someone had the nerves to do it, go in and simply lead the kids out, even though it meant receiving a few smacks of the man's rage from the stick. Which I can promise that I'd never have the guts to do it. If I were close enough, though, there was one thing I could do for the boy. That is, cover his eyes and ears, so that if some damage was to be inflicted, better it be on only one than two. So that he wouldn't have to bear with the horrible world from his early childhood. Because by simply not doing that, it might result in another child discouraged and being unreasonably vulnerable and daunted to the world.

Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

Earlier on in this school year, upon studying Greek myths, we read a book called The Shadow of The Minotaur. This story demonstrates a lot of bullying between Steve Adams and Phoenix and his friend, Laura. In real life, Phoenix and Laura are often bullied by the big bully, Adams. In the game his dad created, The Legendeer, Phoenix and Laura again encounters with Adams, but here I'd say it's rather between the game itself and the real world, because of how The Legendeer is tricking people into their world through computer games.
The Hunger Games is another novel that we read, and this shows ostracism. In this book, District Twelve is the farthest from the Capitol, and therefore the poorest district in Panem. It is largely ignored by the Capitol and its government.
For exclusion, this is where the Holocaust comes in. The Jews are excluded from the Germans and shipped to concentration and death camps. Why? Simply because they or even their grandparents were Jewish.

                  EVE SHALEN: THE IN GROUP

Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

"Differences between did not cause hatred. Hatred caused the differences between us." This statement caught my attention pretty well. Normally, people are often classified as outcasts in the popular group because of their differences. But here, in Eve's class, there were no large differences, at least not enough to make certain people become the topic of gossips. Hence, there weren't really anything to gossip about, which, for teenage kids, is just somehow not right. I was a little surprised of the feeling felt among the kids, which was the need for something or someone to talk about. I thought, well, if it were me, that would be the perfect class, with everyone having something in common, things would be fun. There wouldn't be any cases of bullying or anything. Instead, Eve's class felt the need for these issues to occur and actually found a way to make it happen.

What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?

I think this happens in every school, in one way or the other. Here in my school there are plenty of issues to gossip about. Embarrassing rumors are spread. It happens everywhere, so it's not much of a new thing. We each want to be accepted by others, and because people are desperate, it has caused us to take the shortcut, or the wrong way to achieve our goals.

What surprised you?

Something that surprised me was how Eve reacted when she was invited over to 'something that she wouldn't want to miss'.  At first, as she was telling the story, I thought she would make some kind of argument and stnad up for the girl. When she said she found her voice blending in with the others, it took a long moment for me to relize what she means. I had never expected that to come. Not from her, who was once a victim herself. But yes, I can see why she did it now.

How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). Make sure you justify( back up your answer.

Eve's story is actually about bullying, although not directly. Gossiping would fall under verbal bullying, only it's done behind someone's back. Although she did not know why, Eve was once a subject of the girls' gossips. She was a victim, because she was the outcast, the one being mocked about by the popular ones. This, unfortunately, caused her to feel left out, wanting to find a way of her situation. She therefore felt the need to belong to this group of popular people, so she ended up mocking others herself. I guess she was bystander when she hear some other people telling jokes on someone's expense and didn't stand up for the person, but when she actually joined in the conversation, she turned herself into the perpetrator by actually telling those jokes.

Schindler's List

Reading 12             Schindler's List

What makes a person 'heroic?' Does a hero possess certain qualities? Or is a hero defined by his or her actions? Was Schindler a hero?

        This reading is about Oskar Schindler, a person who at first pretty much held the personality like that of a businessman. He was able to convince the Nazis to let him take over a failed cookware factory. By using low-paid Jewish workers from a ghetto the Nazis had built, his profits from selling mess kits to the German soldiers were exceptionally high. One day, he and his friend went horse riding up in the hills that overlooked the city of Cracow (Krakow). From here, the two friends could see everything that happened. Of course, what they saw was total chaos. Soldiers storming around, people running and wialing for help, citizens of all ages, from baby to the elders, trying to hide, some being shot, spilling blood all over the streets. Schindler could never have forgotten this awful picture, and that was all it took to change him. Instead of worrying about making money, he now used enormous amounts of his money to help his Jewish workers, so that they are safe. He turned his factory into an official subcamp of a new labor camp in Plazow. When the Nazis demanded that both camps were to be closed and relocate the Jews to Auschwitz, he refused. He used his money to ship about eleven hundred Jews that he claimed to be his workers. He bribed the Nazi officials a decent amount to bring back the women in his factory that had been transported to Auschwitz by mistake.
        In my opinion, there are two factors, or qualities, that a hero requires. Thought and action. First of all, a hero must have their own thoughts and opinion in whatever situation it is. Here, in Schindler's story, he disagrees with the Nazis on what they're doing to the Jews. Then, secondly, he or she must be brave enough to take action, despite the fact that it might result in him/herself being punished. So here it is - Schindler, a businessman who cooperated with the Nazis, had now turned his back to them and decided on helping the Jews. And indeed, this was a dangerous step. He could have been arrested and put to court. It doesn't matter if the hero succeeds or not, neither does it have to be in public. As long as they know what they're doing and they have that bravery that is needed, they are considered hero. So yes, I would say that Schlinder is a hero, because he has achieved all of what it takes to become one; Thought, consideration, bravery, and action.

Sonia Weitz - In Memory of My Mother

In Memory to My Mother by Sonia Weitz

 This poem was one of the two amoung three poems that appealed to me. The other poem that got my interest was Victory. Somehow, I ended up with this one, In Memory to My Mother. I annotated quite abit, although at first it took some time to get the meaning out of it. The first thing that approached my mind was sadness. Sadness and misery. Sorrowful and mournful. Hopelessness and despair. It was merely filled to the brim with grief. Sonia Weitz did a wonderful job expressing her feelings, especially when this is a true story, and she's been there herself. This poem is about the death of her mother and her feelings and scars that the horrible event left her with. It starts off with some very touching questions that introduces the whole picture and mood of the poem. The author uses many phrases that adds to the feeling of misery, such as "that rainy autumn day". Throughout the poem, the author used many similes and metaphors, as well as many phrases that emphasized on the mood. There were 2 parts that I felt were my favourites. The first is "You tell the world, my child." This was a sentence spoken by her mother before she died. This simple sentence here, six words, has a mixture of resentment, and indignation, but at the same time, love and desperation. "You tell the world" to me, is a bit similar to saying "avenge us". When "my child" is added to the phrase, it now carries the sense of desperation and love as well. Sonia's mother is putting all her hope and dreams onto her daughter, whom she loves so much. This feeling is repeated again in the second part of the poem where it says "I promised I would tell the world". Only that this time, it's shown through the daughter, Sonia Weitz herself, not her mother. The second part I favored was the phrase "It pierced my heart, and squeezed it dry." This is another example of how the author really expresses the feeling in the poem. "Squeezed it dry" is describing how the Holocaust had left a severe damage in her, and how it took everything away from her, even the ones whe loved most. I can't really make connections with this Sonia's experience since it was no where near anything I have ever experienced, or will ever experience at all. But my worst moments I remember were when my grandparents passed away. It's the feeling that you're losing someone so important, someone that you care, but have never really had the chance to spend much time with them. The death that affected me most was probably my grandfather (father's side) which was pretty recently, last year on the 5th of October. I guess it was because I was grown up enough to understand love, and what it meant. My grandmother (mother's side) passed away when I was about 5 -6 years old, and at that time it didn't affect me as much, until now I really start to miss her. Sonia Weitz's poem was emotional, and I believe only her and her fellow friends that went through it with her could explain it this well.