Grief (ISU#3)

"You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
― Anne Lamott

    This quotes relates to the book, The Lovely Bones, because the family deals with heart break and trauma towards the death of their daughter, Susie. Susie's family begins to slowly cope with her death. But at first it was extremely difficult for Susie's parents because they did not believe they can feel and live the way they use to. They were depressed, emotionally and physically ill due to the traumatic incident of Susie's death. It became a battle for the family, and they needed to be strong in order to keep themselves healthy and strong. Facing reality of their daughters death was the best thing to do, even though it was challenging and difficult for them to do. They felt empty and felt like everything and everyone is worthless, but the family slowly starts to pick themselves up and deal with this incident. They learn that sadness and loneliness will not help get through the pain, being able to be strong and learn how to cope with it, will help them. Therefore, the family begins to accept the change so they are able to work together to keep each other strong. 

    To me death is a scary word, it is the end in a persons life forever. Losing a love one can break and change one's actions and thoughts, they start acting out and start to become someone else. Death can cause a person to undergo many horrific things, like in this story the family did undergo horrific things. But they learned how to cope with it, they had their head held high and faced the change together because they know no matter what Susie will always be with them. 

Child Soldiers

Child Soldiers


Connections: What connections can you draw between the text and your own life or your other learning? Read the article "Teaching Kids to Kill" and describe any similarities or differences in the concepts.        

     A connection that I can make between the text and my learning is that I have heard and read many articles about children and their where a bouts in society. Children are at the age of violence and innocence. Children are innocent but are exposed to violent activities, this exposes their innocence and some develop to view the world as a violent and dangerous place. They may see violence as a way to show power and control, it changes the view points and actions of many kids. Innocence takes away from a child's thoughts, it makes the child clueless and it creates them to be influenced in negative ways. In the video, Ishmael talks about how the children are clueless and are easily taught to do criminal and violent things. Which also shows that children are very powerless and do not have the ability to gain the strength and power to take control. 

    A connection I can make between the text and my own life is I find myself always wanting to , teach, play and become a role model for my little cousins.  As they grow up they become more independent and loose their innocence but they still carry their violent thoughts. Society brings and develops more violent and criminal games, it somehow gives pleasure and joy to my little cousins. I see it as a way of teaching them how to become more dangerous and feel like they have the ability to reenact the video game. My little cousins are both 10 years old, ever since they have started watching action movies and playing video games, fighting is the answer to many things.The video games and the aggressive and abusive movies influence them into becoming more ‘powerful’,  and they see it as a funny idea. My cousins always show that they are powerful by their violent actions, they do not see it as a bad thing. They show power by the actions such as shooting, stabbing and killing. As a role model it is hard to explain to 10 year old boys that violence is not the answer to anything because they see it as an accomplishment. 

   In the article “ Teaching Kids to Kill” is similar to how my cousins display violence because in the article the kids are influenced by the media and are given false information about violence. They are influenced and are told violence is the solution.In both of these situations killing and hurting another is the answer in order to be safe and do the right thing. The difference in these two situations are that in the article it shows how children react to violence and how they contribute to real life violence. It is different because some kids bring the horrific actions that are displayed in the videos games to real life. 

Challenges: What ideas, positions, or assumptions do you want to challenge or argue with in the text?

   An idea that I would like to argue with is when the article says, “Fighting Back: Education, Legislation, Litigation," in the article is explains how the three concepts should decrease violent activity performed by children. I believe these three ideas should have impacted how children behave a long time ago. Parents should have control of what their child watch and what games they play, if the child is warned about the negative things they will not preform any kind of violent activity. Shouldn't education, legislation and ligation already be taught to them? I believe changes should have been made when the incident of Paducah, Kentucky had occurred, the child was a 14 year old boy who knew exactly how to use a gun. It shows how children are easily being taught all the bad and violent things, but not the good things to do. I believe changes should be made before any other incident may occur involving children and violence. 

Concepts: What key concepts or ideas do you think are important and worth holding on to from the text?

   I believe the key concepts or ideas that are important and are worth holding on to from the text is how children are influenced by everything on the t.v, internet, neighbourhood, video games , etc. I believe the “Virus of Violence” is spreading around due to the messages and actions that are being shown to children. Children are innocent and are easily influenced by what they see, and as they distinguish all the aggressive activities they believe it is okay for them to repeat the same. 

Changes: What changes in attitudes, thinking or action are suggested by the text, either for you or others?

    Changes in actions can be done that are suggested by the text is that, “We must work against child abuse, racism, poverty and children’s access to guns, and in rebuilding our families, but we must also take on the producers of media violence. The solution strategy that I submit for consideration is, “Education, legislation, litigation.” This shows that there are ways people can take initiative to help deal with children and violence. It shows that children and violence can end, if everyone can contribute in helping.    

Social Issue (ISU#2)

The one major social issue that has occurred in my isu book, The Lovely Bones, is death. In this novel a 14 year old girl, Susie, was raped and stabbed several times as she was coming back from school. Susie was raped by her neighbour, Mr. Harvey. She was raped in an open field but underground, she was not able to be heard or seen. Susie was not able to get any help or be able to escape the horrid incident. In this new article, it explains the incident about an 18-year-old girl who was raped at a bus stop. The teenager was casually waiting for her bus to arrive when the man grabs her and attacks the 18-year-old teenager, she was left there for dead, and was lying in blood. She was helpless and could not get any help or try to fight back. Both Susie and the 18-year-old teenager were helpless and were suffering from the horrid incident. They have experienced a traumatic incident that has effected them physically and emotionally. In both of these cases, the teenagers families were also affected and had to suffer a long time affect, it is mostly grief because of the feeling they get hearing about this horrifying incident. These two are alike because both of them experienced and went through a horrible and terrifying experience and have been effected. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2984902/Teenage-girl-left-dead-pool-blood-bus-stop-rape-attack-treated-attempted-murder.html


  I believe The Lovely Bones is a very well written novel, it is very touchy but also humorous as well. It creates a horrifying yet an entertaining and loving feel, and as a reader I enjoy the combination of genres because it keeps the story going. In this novel I have come across many social issues such as grief, loss, coping with change, and family structure. As I come across more social issues as I am reading, I then begin to make connections and relate back to stories and news articles that I have read. It becomes easier for me as a reader because these connections help me understand the novel better. In conclusion I am enjoying this book and I am learning new social problems that people in society face and how they may over come these changes and effects. 

The Boy In The Stripped Pyjamas

The Boy In Stripped Pyjamas


Retell:
The movie “The Boy In The Stripped Pyjamas” is a movie set during World War II about a 8
year old boy name Young Bruno, he lives a wealthy life with his mother, sister and his Commandant father. The family has to move due to his fathers assigned job, which is to take control of the prison camp. This leaves Bruno without any friends, he begins to wander around and look for new adventurous things. As he finds himself behind the fence of the extermination camp for Jewish, he meets a boy name Shmuel. Bruno visited Shmuel everyday to talk and play with him, but Bruno’s father and mother believe he should move away. The day of his departure , Bruno sneaks under the electrified fence and into the extermination camp. Bruno has snuck into the camp without knowing any of the consequences that Jewish had to face in the extermination camps.


Relate:
The movie "The Boy In Stripped Pyjamas" reminds me of children around the world and how their innocence is lost. Children are not aware of the real world and have a different perspective on the world. In the movie, Bruno was not aware of what was happening to the Jewish people inside the concentration camps. He was not aware of how they were treated, he only saw happiness and can not see the real world. Just like children in society, they do not see the real world because of their innocence, they become blind to the real world.I believe Bruno portrays how children are impacted by society and are taught the wrong things, like in the movie, Bruno and his sister were taught to hate the Jewish and blame them for every mistake. Society brain washes children and are taught to believe in the bad things. Therefore I believe innocence of children are lost due to the media, adults and other things that convey a message about negative beliefs and ideas. 


Reflect:
I enjoyed watching this movie because it was interesting hearing from an 8 year old boys
perspective on war. It made the movie more enjoyable because not only was it a historical it was also a tragicomedy movie. I believe this movie portrayed the message of innocence being lost in children during war, it shows this because Bruno was not aware of how the Jewish were begin mistreated. He was not aware of any of the consequences and decided to go into the extermination camp to help his Jewish friend find his father. Bruno portrayed his innocence throughout the movie for example, when Bruno did not know the smell was the smell of Jewish being burned. He was not aware of what really was occurring. I believe this movie has done a job well done at portraying a view point of an 8 year old boy during war. I also enjoyed this movie because it was not what I expected, I expected Bruno to hate Jewish as well but it shows that Bruno still accepted them. It shows that children are more capable to accept others than adults during World War II. I believe this movie deserves a 10/10 because it has accomplished making this movie as a 8 year old boy saw the world during World War II, I enjoyed this movie.

Poem (ISU #1)

Coping with death and change

We love and we lose
No one can bring them back if we choose

Everyone feels sadness and sympathy towards the pain
But soon people begin to get the blues, as it become gloomy and begins to rain

My eyes are blood shot red
Because I cannot figure out how this was led

My heart has an empty hole, it will always be broken and never full
I do not know how to fight this feeling, all I know is my heart is dull

The feeling of being lonely and hurt is surreal
But I know I have to learn how to deal