Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Symbolism plays a huge role in the novel Cry, the Beloved
Country. Paton uses things like imagery and foreshadowing to tie symbolism
into the story. The first 2 chapters of his novel make his overall message in
the story clear. By using imagery we started to see the symbolism in the text.
The broken down land symbolizes the breaking down of kumalo’s family. The
overall message is the importance of family.
In chapter one we get a visual representation of the wore down piece of land. “Too many cattle feed upon the grass and, too many fires have burned it. The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh.” Red symbolizes blood. The earth is bleeding from being so beat up and worn out. “The men are away, the young men and girls are away.” This piece of land is crying for its people back. We later on see that just like the land, kumalo is crying for his family back.
In chapter 6 kumalo finds his sister Gertrude. She had lost touch with him and had stopped writing. The reason being is because she had been selling liquor and prostituting. She also had a child. Kumalo is a very religious person because he’s a priest so hearing this news upset him but, even though he was mad he wanted his family together again and decided to take his sister and her son with them.
In the next chapter kumalo is reunited with his brother john. Even though family is a big thing to kumalo he realizes that he won’t be able to get his brother back. He also learns that his brother has turned his back on the church. “That is my experience, he said. That is why I no longer go to the church.” Again hearing news like this breaks kumalo’s heart and he wants his brother back but realizes that unlike his sister he doesn’t want help john thinks life in Johannesburg is perfect for him. Instead of getting discouraged and just turning around to leave with his sister and her son he has one more family member that he wants to reach out to, his son.
After learning in chapter 10 that his son was sent to the reformatory and is soon to be married to a woman in Pimville kumalo is filled with doubt, especially after he has to visit his son in jail for being charged with murder. Instead of getting upset and just quitting on his son he goes to find him a lawyer to help him get out of jail. He even agrees to let his soon to be wife come with them. “I shall come for you when everything is ready for the marriage. Have you clothes?” “I have some clothes, umfundisi. I shall prepare them.” “And you must not live here. Shall I find you a place near me?”
You can see that kumalo has a big heart and an even bigger love for his family. So the purpose of the imagery in chapter 1 was to show the readers how the falling apart of a family affects more than just them. It shows how important family is to Paton and the overall message of the importance of family
In chapter one we get a visual representation of the wore down piece of land. “Too many cattle feed upon the grass and, too many fires have burned it. The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh.” Red symbolizes blood. The earth is bleeding from being so beat up and worn out. “The men are away, the young men and girls are away.” This piece of land is crying for its people back. We later on see that just like the land, kumalo is crying for his family back.
In chapter 6 kumalo finds his sister Gertrude. She had lost touch with him and had stopped writing. The reason being is because she had been selling liquor and prostituting. She also had a child. Kumalo is a very religious person because he’s a priest so hearing this news upset him but, even though he was mad he wanted his family together again and decided to take his sister and her son with them.
In the next chapter kumalo is reunited with his brother john. Even though family is a big thing to kumalo he realizes that he won’t be able to get his brother back. He also learns that his brother has turned his back on the church. “That is my experience, he said. That is why I no longer go to the church.” Again hearing news like this breaks kumalo’s heart and he wants his brother back but realizes that unlike his sister he doesn’t want help john thinks life in Johannesburg is perfect for him. Instead of getting discouraged and just turning around to leave with his sister and her son he has one more family member that he wants to reach out to, his son.
After learning in chapter 10 that his son was sent to the reformatory and is soon to be married to a woman in Pimville kumalo is filled with doubt, especially after he has to visit his son in jail for being charged with murder. Instead of getting upset and just quitting on his son he goes to find him a lawyer to help him get out of jail. He even agrees to let his soon to be wife come with them. “I shall come for you when everything is ready for the marriage. Have you clothes?” “I have some clothes, umfundisi. I shall prepare them.” “And you must not live here. Shall I find you a place near me?”
You can see that kumalo has a big heart and an even bigger love for his family. So the purpose of the imagery in chapter 1 was to show the readers how the falling apart of a family affects more than just them. It shows how important family is to Paton and the overall message of the importance of family
Saturday, November 9, 2013
If you repect me, I'll respect you!
I believe that giving respect is how you earn respect. I always hear teachers say "If you want me to respect you, then you have to respect me. I agree completely! Respect is something you have to earn. When I was younger me and my sister gabby had to share a room. Even though she's only 11 months older than me, we can’t get along to save our lives. We would always do little things to each other to make the other mad. My mom wanted us to get along so bad and she was right because after all, we did have to live together. She always said to respect each other and try to get along but I never really listened until I got framed! Yes, my own sister framed me!
We were arguing one night yelling and telling each other to shut up. We both went to bed upset that night. While I was sleeping peacefully my sister got up and found some scissors and the next thing we know the next morning there was a braid of hair in the trash can. It wasn't my hair though, she was smarter than that, she had cut her own hair and said I got up in the middle of the night and did it! Of course the next thing we did was had a long talk about respect and I finally tool up my mom’s offer and tried to be nicer and more respectful to my sister, not cause I liked her but because I was afraid that if she kept this up she'd be bald by the end of the week!
In the process of me making this change me and my sister went to the store with my mom. There were 2 little girls a little older than us but still relatable. One of the sisters knocked down all the stuff the other one had in her hand! If that was me I would've knocked her down, but she took a different approach. She bent down and started picking her stuff up. Her sister looked down at her then started helping her and said sorry. She even offered to pay for her stuff. I was shocked! But seeing them made me realize two things; one, that I really should be nicer to my sister and show her some respect and two, I could be getting free food!
When we got home me and gabby helped but the groceries up. She was trying to but one of the chip bags up and tripped and fell and dropped the chips. I would usually call her clumsy and laugh but instead I helped her up and picked up the chips. I still kind of chucked a little but she did too. We started back putting the groceries up again and I accidentally put of the cans in the wrong spot. I was sure she was going to say something and she did. She told me that she did the same thing once but it's ok.
We went to the living room to watch TV and she let me watch what I wanted to. So from then on I respected her and she respected me.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Homeade Brownie's
Ingredients:
Preparation:
In a microwave dish melt the 1/4 cup of butter, then in a large bowl stir this with the 6 tablespoons of cocoa. Combine your mixture with your 1 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/3 cup of flower, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
My mom seemed like a pro at all this. Never slowing down or messing up once ! I watched her add all the ingredients and mix it up. I love watching her bake. My part was coming up next. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and cover your pan with flower so the brownies wont stick.
" Watch what you're doing or you're going to have flour all over the floor." My mom said
" I am, I'm not going to waste it !" I answered back " Can I pour the batter in ?"
" Not today, you need to go get dressed."
Pour the batter in the pan an let them cook for 35-40 minutes. That gave everyone enough time to get ready. We were getting ready to go to my god brothers house for a party. It was about 92 degrees outside so we all put on something according to the weather. Comfy yet cute.
" Should I wear pants or shorts ?" I asked my sister Gabriel
" Its 100 degrees outside, what do you think ?" she said
" Pants it is!" I answered back, somewhat sarcastic.
After everyone was dressed my mom checked the brownies. Get a toothpick and stick it in the brownies. If it comes out clean then they're done if not let them cook for a little while longer.
She put a plastic cover over them and told my brother to take them to the car. As we made the somewhat long trip from Crawfords ville to Marion my brother held them in his lap to make sure they didn't fall over and waste.
When we finally got there I could hear the loud talking and laughing outside the front door. It sounded like it could be 50 people in there when reality is it was only like 12. Everyone seemed so happy when we walked in an I'm not sure if it was because they were happy to see us or because we had brownies. What ever the reason they all had smiles on there faces when they greeted us.
" Hey everyone!" My mom said as she walked in the living room. In unison everyone said hey back. My god mother Ms. Tammy had already prepared all the food and had it sitting on the counter covered up. I was ready to eat the moment I walked in. There was bar-be-que everywhere!
" When can we eat ?!" I asked anxiously
" I wanna know the same thing !" Said my god brother just as hungry as I was.
" We're about to." answered his step dad.
They called everyone in the living room to say grace. Soon as we were done I rushed for a plate. Everyone sat in the living room watching TV and laughing at what was on. We decided to cut the TV off and play some music. All the grown ups got up and start dancing. I just sat back, finished my food, and watched the entertainment.
Eventually, it was time for dessert! I couldn't have been happier! I had been wanting one of those brownies since I found out my mom was going to make them. My god mom cut them in to squares and said we could get one. My god brother ate his with ice cream. We all stayed in the living room eating our brownies, laughing and making jokes. We even started dancing!
" I think I better sit down before I start tasting that brownie!" My sister said.
" Haha, yea I think you should too." I answered back.
The rest of us danced the night away!
- 6 tablespoons of cocoa
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 2 eggs
Preparation:
In a microwave dish melt the 1/4 cup of butter, then in a large bowl stir this with the 6 tablespoons of cocoa. Combine your mixture with your 1 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/3 cup of flower, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
My mom seemed like a pro at all this. Never slowing down or messing up once ! I watched her add all the ingredients and mix it up. I love watching her bake. My part was coming up next. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and cover your pan with flower so the brownies wont stick.
" Watch what you're doing or you're going to have flour all over the floor." My mom said
" I am, I'm not going to waste it !" I answered back " Can I pour the batter in ?"
" Not today, you need to go get dressed."
Pour the batter in the pan an let them cook for 35-40 minutes. That gave everyone enough time to get ready. We were getting ready to go to my god brothers house for a party. It was about 92 degrees outside so we all put on something according to the weather. Comfy yet cute.
" Should I wear pants or shorts ?" I asked my sister Gabriel
" Its 100 degrees outside, what do you think ?" she said
" Pants it is!" I answered back, somewhat sarcastic.
After everyone was dressed my mom checked the brownies. Get a toothpick and stick it in the brownies. If it comes out clean then they're done if not let them cook for a little while longer.
She put a plastic cover over them and told my brother to take them to the car. As we made the somewhat long trip from Crawfords ville to Marion my brother held them in his lap to make sure they didn't fall over and waste.
When we finally got there I could hear the loud talking and laughing outside the front door. It sounded like it could be 50 people in there when reality is it was only like 12. Everyone seemed so happy when we walked in an I'm not sure if it was because they were happy to see us or because we had brownies. What ever the reason they all had smiles on there faces when they greeted us.
" Hey everyone!" My mom said as she walked in the living room. In unison everyone said hey back. My god mother Ms. Tammy had already prepared all the food and had it sitting on the counter covered up. I was ready to eat the moment I walked in. There was bar-be-que everywhere!
" When can we eat ?!" I asked anxiously
" I wanna know the same thing !" Said my god brother just as hungry as I was.
" We're about to." answered his step dad.
They called everyone in the living room to say grace. Soon as we were done I rushed for a plate. Everyone sat in the living room watching TV and laughing at what was on. We decided to cut the TV off and play some music. All the grown ups got up and start dancing. I just sat back, finished my food, and watched the entertainment.
Eventually, it was time for dessert! I couldn't have been happier! I had been wanting one of those brownies since I found out my mom was going to make them. My god mom cut them in to squares and said we could get one. My god brother ate his with ice cream. We all stayed in the living room eating our brownies, laughing and making jokes. We even started dancing!
" I think I better sit down before I start tasting that brownie!" My sister said.
" Haha, yea I think you should too." I answered back.
The rest of us danced the night away!
Monday, September 30, 2013
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children"
It was an interesting story. To me the people were mean because they could have taken better care of him or tried to help him since he was an angel. Then they treated him like he was some animal and some people paid to see him which wasn't right at all. Plus Elisendsa said at the very end of the story that he wasn't an annoyance anymore which to me was just rude. If they didn't want him then they should have never picked him up in the first place. But overall it was a really good short-story and portrayed a lot of magical realism.
It was an interesting story. To me the people were mean because they could have taken better care of him or tried to help him since he was an angel. Then they treated him like he was some animal and some people paid to see him which wasn't right at all. Plus Elisendsa said at the very end of the story that he wasn't an annoyance anymore which to me was just rude. If they didn't want him then they should have never picked him up in the first place. But overall it was a really good short-story and portrayed a lot of magical realism.
"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World"
It was a sweet story to me. I can tell that the people were sincere. But, at the same time it was very sad because Estaban wasn't happy until he died and it took him dying for the towns people to change and open their hearts and finally come togather as a town and change things.
It was a sweet story to me. I can tell that the people were sincere. But, at the same time it was very sad because Estaban wasn't happy until he died and it took him dying for the towns people to change and open their hearts and finally come togather as a town and change things.
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