Real Courage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Real Courage - Essay Example I am normally a very outgoing person and within a few days, I had made many friends, among who was Tim, who would eventually become my closest friend. Tim was shorter than me and with a smaller build and I had heard rumors that he was often a victim of bullying. I had not witnessed the bullying firsthand and Tim always refused to talk about it whenever I asked. I therefore thought that it was nothing serious until one day after school, I saw Tim being beaten up by an older kid. He was much bigger than I was and despite my desire to stop him, I was suddenly afraid and instead of going to Tim’s aid, I pretended that I had not seen him and went home. For several days afterwards, I did not have peace because I realized that I had been in a position to do the right thing and help my friend yet I had not had the courage to do so. I felt very ashamed for failing Tim and I did my best to avoid him as much as I could because I could not look him in the eye. However, not long afterwards, as I was heading home from school, I saw Tim being beaten up by the same bully and for the first time, instead of being overwhelmed by fear, I felt an anger that I had never felt before rising inside me. All the frustration and shame that I had felt for many days came rushing forward and I suddenly went for the bully. My sudden onslaught and its ferocity must have taken the bully by surprise because he did not defend himself and against all my expectations, he turned and ran. I was so furious that I chased him for an entire block before I became too tired to follow. I went back to see whether Tim was alright and he was so dumbstruck by my actions that he at first did not answer me. However, after his initial shock, he told me that he was fine and then he told me the story about why he was always the bully’s victim. The bully, named Tony, always demanded Tim’s lunch money and whenever he did not have it, Tony would ambush him after school. I later came to realize that

Impacts Of Poverty On Student’s Achievement Essay Example for Free

Impacts Of Poverty On Student’s Achievement Essay Poverty is an issue faced by more children in our nation. Children face problems related to poverty during their schooling. The price that children pay out of poverty is incredibly high than anyone can imagine. Each year, schools admit large numbers of children with needs brought about by poverty which is an issue that the school is usually not prepared to deal with. Poverty is a risk factor in the process of student’s education. This paper examines the impacts of poverty on teaching and learning which determines the student’s academic achievement. The concept of being at risk This term refers to students who are faced by life’s social circumstances such as poverty that puts them at risk of underachieving in school. There are many risk factors which increases the chances of a student to failure. However poverty is regarded a major risk factor due to its compound effect. Some of the factors that are related to poverty and put a student at greater risk of failing include, very young parents, unemployment, low educational level parents, substance abuse, exposure to inadequate or improper educational experiences, dangerous neighborhood, mobility, abuse and neglect as well as homelessness. (Gromard, 2003) These factors affect the physical status of the children as in dressing, the type of food they eat, their personal effects are usually of low quality or cheap. The physical disparities in among the students cause a wide gap between the poor students and their peers from middle or upper class families. Sometimes the isolation of this group of students is automatic in that they themselves assume that others do not want to associate with them. Teachers may also contribute in perceiving students in accordance to their social classes. This is however a rare case because teachers are professionals. Nevertheless, there are some instances that the teacher may talk about an issue in the process of teaching and unintentionally touch the students from poverty stricken families. For example in studying population, the teacher may teach about demographics of poverty which is inevitable. This students may change their attitude towards the teacher and hence the subject. (Knapps, Shields, Clementina, 2001) High mobility is a symptom associated with poverty in connection to other surrounding factors. Students who come from poor families may live in daily or monthly rent houses. This is makes them to move day in day out as their parents look for jobs or runs away from problems like abusive spouses, financial responsibilities or criminal records. This kind of situation may also put the poor family homeless. The conditions they live in affect their education achievement. This result from the emotional impact that moving impacts on children. The children also are forced to join new schools occasionally where they may find it very difficult to adapt. When this factor combines with other issues related to poverty, overwhelming effects on the students’ social, emotional and cognitive development are experienced. Students from poor families attend school irregularly. Transfers to new schools are a routine which brings about difficulty in socialization with new friends in the new school. This may make the student to become either withdrawn or hostile due to their experiences in their past attempts to make friends. The student may therefore develop an attitude of ‘why bother’ with regard to both social and academic aspect schooling as they will after all be moving soon. Due to the various reasons of moving, which are often abrupt, the student come to the new school without records from their previous school which makes it difficult for the school to track the records. As a result, teachers lack the slightest idea of what the student have or haven’t leant. It is a big challenge for the school to place the new students in a class and provide them with the additional services they may require. Even when the school succeeds in placing the new students in class and providing these services, these students will likely move within the school year. It is also difficult for teachers to teach these kinds of students something valuable as they rarely concentrate. Children from poor families become aware of the social economic classes that exist in the society at a very tender age. They grow being aware of their own class and that of their peers which make them to develop a class related attitude as early as in their elementary schooling years. This attitude id carried on throughout their lives in school. Inferiority complex or aggressiveness may be the end result of this effect of poverty in the student’s life. However teachers can help children build up caring and sensitivity towards various cultures including social classes. Lessons and activities in the school should be designed on how children perceive the world and themselves during the different stages of development. For example at the age of eleven, children can comfortably reflect on the causes and solutions to poverty. Achievement gap Achievement gap is the difference in academic achievement between children from various groups or classes in relation to ethnic, income or race. The achievement of students is generally lower than that of middle and upper classes. However at lower levels, children of poverty achieve more than their peers from well to do families. Children from low income families have more in their minds than quizzes, homework or extracurricular activities. As pointed out earlier in this work some may have spent their nights in the streets due to homelessness, at camps or compounds of their friends or relatives. Therefore they are often engaged in thinking about where they will spend that night as well as caring about their parents who go through hardships trying to look for a living for the family. This affects their concentration in class and other school activities hence affect their performance academically as well as socially. (Brown, 2000) The reason for variation in achievement of students is determined by the social environment the students come from and the education that they receive in school. Poverty influences the quality of student’s learning behaviors, their past experiences with education, home environment and sometimes the teacher’s attitude which greatly affect the individual student performance. Students from poor or low income families are generally worried too much about themselves. They usually feel out of place when interacting with children in other social classes. They may feel that the society is unfair by placing them in poverty. The students may decline from participating in class activities and this affects their learning in school. As proposed by Salvin 2001, schools impact on students’ academic achievements are powerful and the success of all the students regardless of their social economic class depend on the teachers’ perception of these students as at promise rather than at risk and at the same time preparing them to get to their full potentials in life. A good education that is focused is usually the only means of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty for the poor children. These children require an education founded in high standards with high expectation for all. The curriculum should be aligned to ensure that a meticulous and assessment go hand in hand with the standards. The curriculum should avoid a decrease in opportunities for the students from the poor background. What usually takes place in the classroom has influence on the achievement of the students and hence teachers should be careful when passing information to students. (Plumber, 2004) The teacher should avoid at all costs any activity that may discriminate students from poor backgrounds. The content of education should be of value and cultural relevant. Teachers should be aware that the instructional and classroom management methods do not necessarily work well for poor students. The teachers can help in closing the achievement gap.

Sociological Imagination In Relation To My Life Sociology Essay

Sociological Imagination In Relation To My Life Sociology Essay Sociological imagination is germane to experiences of the individual with other relationships in society. There are three primary characteristics of the sociological imagination history, biography and social structure. In correlation with Mills hypothesis of the sociological imagination, we will be able to position ourselves in reality and have enhanced understanding of ourselves and others through a grasp of the links between personal experiences versus structural and historical forces (Mitra Sarabia, 2005). In this paper, I will undertake a critical contemplation on the factors that seem to have influenced my life choices and chances. I will use my own personal encounters as a case study and will use the sociological imagination as the tool for examination while realizing that this concept must be applied critically since I am attempting to link personal experience to public issues (Schudson, 2008). Because of my life circumstances, the feminist point of view is the most useful ap proach although symbolic interactionism explains many of the issues I have encountered. The key sociological factors I have seen reoccurring in my research are class, gender and socialization. These pivotal factors of socialization have allowed me to unpack and carefully examine what the sociological imagination is, how it works based on my life experiences, and the ways in which it connects to the structural conditions in my life. The distinctive attribute of history correlates to the ways in which a society was produced and how it has been transformed over the course of time. The term Biography is an idiom for the human circumstances, or the nature of man in correlation to the type of individuals in a particular society. Social structure defines the order of a society focusing on the people who are dominating, and how they cling together and how over time they change. The sociological imagination defines visionaries who can see beyond what is in front of them in relation to history, biography and social structure. (Mills, 1959, pg. 7) The theory of the sociological imagination facilitates an individual to associate their own life experience with the whole of history along with social, economic, and political forces. The entire concept of the sociological imagination was summarized by Mills belief that the life of any one individual and the history of the whole society cannot be understood unless both are understood (Mitra Sarabia, 2005). This is because individual occurrences as well as all human action is socially and historically contextualized. The central question concerns how we can proceed or make the leap from individual experience to the entire society and to history. Schwalbe exemplifies how the social world must involve individuals practicing a conscious effort of relating and unpacking their live experiences with society as a whole when stating how In the end, sociological mindfulness must be about more than studying how the social world works. It must also do more than inspire curiosity, care and hope , it must help us change ourselves and our way of doing things. (Schwalbe pg. 43) The sociological imagination is best considered as a vehicle which permits use of one of the major sociological perspectives (Mitra Sarabia). In this case, it will be feminism but symbolic interactionism is relevant for this analysis. My parents primarily instilled certain values and beliefs especially concerning fairness and justice. The sociological imagination promotes critical thinking skills. The sociological imagination has refined my ability to think in relation to ground breaking new and innovative connections between myself and the society. A good metaphor by Allan G. Johnsons literary work The Forest The Trees and The One Thing exemplifies the sociological imagination as the forest is society and the trees are individual people. How the trees are related to the forest personifies how individuals relate to society and societies history as a whole. Its crucial to understand the relationships a mong trees that make a forest what it is. Paying attention to that something more whether it is a family, corporation or a whole society, and how people are interrelated to it is at the heart of the sociological process (Johnson, Allen, pg. 5) Social research is concerned with the definition and assessment of social phenomena. Social researchers enable us to get inside these diverse social worlds and discover what social forces are at work in creating social life. (Duneier pg.53) Duneiers standpoint on the sociological imagination corresponds to the discovery of my own personal sociological saga. As a college student I think to be successful you need to have sociological imagination. How often do we sit in classes and wonder what the purpose of all this is? When many of us graduate from high school we see as far as the first day of college, we have no vision of our future, we are looking to escape from our parents home and to find freedom and self expression. Then there are others who graduate from high school and start their college careers. The first day of college is just another day for them, they are thinking about the life they will lead 10-15 years in the future. They see their career going a certain way, when they plan on getting married and having children and some even see their retirement by the age of fifty. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I have always known I my dream job was to become a writer from the time I picked up a pencil as a child I was in love with the feel of the pencil lead on paper. I took all the courses I could in writing and participated in workshops and wrote for my local high schools paper read avidly. Upon graduation from high school I was focused more on making money, therefore I went to work and gave up writing. However, it did not take long before I went to college I quickly realized that if I wanted to not work so hard for a minimal amount of money I would need to get a college degree in something that was practical yet gave me time to write. In college as I tried to choose a major I was still focused on making money rather than being happy with what I was doing. I was determined to follow one of my passions and I picked Broadcast Journalism as my major because I could use my writing skills and do something I loved doing which was storytelling through interacting with people and reporting. I began seeing my life in years rather than days. I began taking classes in subjects I liked. I am studying business as at the Whitman School and minoring in Entrepreneurship because I know this will be an imperative skill to have later in life. I continued pursuing my passion for writing however in my many required arts and science elective classes, and have a plan for the years to come as how I want to make my living. I want to become either a sports broadcaster or a sports writer. I identified education as the key to change. The sociological imagination creates links between the personal the wider society in a reciprocal way. The person who has the sociological imagination is able to understand the large historical process in terms of its meaning for the inner experience and outer life of the individual. Schudson argues that the sociological imagination allows us to critically investigate reality instead of passively observing it. Andreev expands on that by explaining that individ uals who are positioned at different social and economic points in society hold different views of the world. Rushing argues that education is not always the solution but rather a source of new social and economic inequalities since we can never escape from the factors of class, gender and race. As a result, the concept of the sociological imagination needs to be applied to a system of education as well to understand what impact that education will produce on different groups of people. I have found through my analysis that in order to use the sociological imagination and see a need for structural change, the person has to be oppressed or deprived in some way. With the internet there is no discrimination; sociological imagination has little historical or biographical influence even social structure is irrelevant. The world of C. Wright Mills is disappearing on the internet people have no sociological imagination. People on the internet are fast becoming a society with no past or future there is just the present what is being done right at this moment. I want this type of life so does that mean I have sociological imagination in regard to the internet and how I will use it in my life. I know how the internet began and what it was originally used for, but does it influence my vision of how I am going to use it? No, when I am sitting at my laptop I dont think of the history of the internet or the people who use it. (Solis-Gadea, 2005, pgs. 113-122) When Im writing on my laptop I dont think of the people I am writing for or working for they have no face, no personality, no relevance to me except for giving me work. Social structure is nonexistent on the internet as well. No one has a face unless you want to and even then you cant be positive it is really their face. The way sociological imagination works in my life is by me seeing into the future and having a vision of myself working as a sports broadcaster or a sports writer. If sociological imagination is about making a connection to historical events and my instincts for the life I want then I would have to say I want a life unlike my parents., I do not desire to restrict myself and my lifes goals a job for 30-40 years because I have a mortgage and car payment, kids and a wife and the Joness living to the side of me. I want mobility and freedom and most importantly I want to utilize the technology that is out there to assist me in having the life I envision. (Schneider Silverman, 2006, pg. 43) The sociological imagination is valuable for allowing understanding of ourselves by means of the links between personal experiences versus structural and historical forces. Through reflecting on my life choices and chances with the use of the sociological imagination, I have been able to arrive at particular realizations. Power and class are at work in the wider society just as they are operating in my own life. Socialization was a key factor in my life because it guided me to connect with the underlying and structural conditions in my life. The sociological imagination promotes critical thinking skills, this idea to me means being able to think in terms of new and innovative connections between myself and the society. Worked Cited Mills, C. Wright.   (1959). The Sociological Imagination.   New York:   Oxford University Press. Johnson, Allan. The Forest, The Trees, and The One Thing Schwalbe, Micheal. Finding Out How The Social World Works Duneier, Mitchell. Sidewalk An ethnographic study of street vendors in New York City Schneider, L. Silverman, A. (2006). Global Sociology: Introducing Five Contemporary Societies 4 ed. New York: McGraw Hill. Solis-Gadea, H.R. (2005). The New Sociological Imagination: Facing the Challenges of a New Millennium. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. 18(3-4), 113-122. Andreev, A. (2008). Russians mentality and problems of social inequality. Sociological Research, 47(5), 52-62. Retrieved, from Academic Search Premier database. Dowell, W. (2006). Throwing the sociological imagination into the garbage. Teaching Sociology, 34, 150-155. Retrieved, from Sociological Abstracts database. Mehan, H. (2008). Engaging the sociological imagination. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 39(1), 77-91. Retrieved, from Sociological Abstracts database. Mitra, A. Sarabia, D. (2005). Embracing the sociological imagination: A study of university students perceptions of sociology. College Student Journal, 39(4), 637-646. Retrieved, from Academic Search Premier database. Rushing, W. (2001). Inequality and education reform. Race Ethnicity and Education, 4(1), 29-41. Retrieved, from Academic Search Premier database. Schudson, M. (2008). The sociological imagination as clichà ©: Perils of sociology and practices of journalism. International Journal of Political and Cultural Sociology, 20, 41-49. Retrieved from Sociological Abstracts database.

Relationships Between Vietnam Soldiers and Their Families :: Vietnam War Essays

The relationship between the soldiers of the Vietnam War was different from the relationships with people from home. The soldiers felt as if they could not tell the whole truth about the war through their eyes to their loved ones at home. The soldiers that they were with all the time understood the pain and confusion each other felt, yet no one talked about it. War changed how people had relationships with others. War could bring people closer or tear them apart. The relationships between the soldiers and their families grew or forced them to become distant. The soldier did not want to worry his parents at home and knew that they would not understand what he was going through. In the Documentary Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, directed by Bill Couturie, showed these relationships change. One soldier writes to his mother and tells her that for a second, he felt as if he was on vacation because it was so beautiful in Vietnam. One had to think that this man wrote this to his mother only for her to worry less. He did not want to tell her the whole truth on what was really going on inside of him. Would anyone from the outside world understand? "P.S. tell mom not to worry, there is nothing I can't handle." The soldiers could handle the physical horrors that were happening to them, but the mental status of many the soldiers were becoming breakable. How could you tell someone not to worry about you, when you do not even care what was going t o happen to yourself. The soldiers were all prepared to die, but waiting was what was driving them crazy. They did not want to tell their 17-year-old girlfriend at home this because she would never understand. How do you tell someone that you love that you are loosing your mind and do even know who the enemy is anymore? Downplaying the whole war situation to your loved one was the only way to keep yourself sane and not make them worry too much about you. All of the men were scared, yet did not know how to show it. They could not show it to their families in letters because that could do nothing but make your mother worry that you were not going to make it. "We all scared, one can see this emotion in each individual, some hide it with their mouth and others hide it with their actions.

One girl one dream Essay

      This knew that this wasn’t the end of the man, he would be back, but next time I will hopefully be a bit more prepared. â€Å"Eleza is that you? † Cried a soft voice â€Å"Mum? Mum is that you? † I didn’t think it was possible â€Å"Eleza I knew you would come back† she replied â€Å"I have to go mum sorry, I can’t get close to you because it will rip you apart when I leave again, sorry† I shouted while running away down the street â€Å"No Eleza no! I can’t cope without you† screeched mum That was the last time I ever saw my mum. Gun shots were fired shortly after I had left, and I just assumed that the police heard her and found out where she was hiding. I knew that the police would be after me soon so I searched refuge on the out skirts of the village, fortunately a couple were also on the run from the police so I went into a home with them, it wasn’t an amazing home but at least it provided a roof over my head and food for my empty stomach. â€Å"Why are you running from the police? † I questioned the couple, â€Å"because of our religion, people here do not support our beliefs and say that we don’t belong in this community† they stopped, they were going to say more but they could see that I was too tired to listen and so they rested my head in the cloth and rug bed they had made up for me, I thanked them. I started to shiver as it got later into the night so I moved my bed closer to the raging fire to keep warm. I woke up the next morning still feeling incredibly tired because I didn’t sleep very well. The couple were very kind to me, for breakfast they gave me a cup of milk and also a piece of bread. Once I had finished eating my food I told the couple what my situation was and what my plans are, they took it as quite a surprise but understood completely and even offered to help out. Knowing that they were old enough to earn a living I stayed along side them for many days. Later on that evening we gathered around the beaming fire and chatted for hours and hours, that was until there was a knock at the door, â€Å"shh, Eleza hide quickly† said the couple silently. I tip toed towards the wooden toy chest and climbed in. â€Å"open up! † demanded a strong deep voice, The woman opened the door to the strange dark clothed man. â€Å"on the floor, now! † he shouted again The did as he said, I couldn’t see everything but I could see through a little hole in the side of the chest. Even before the couple could have a chance to speak, the man shot them both in the head. As that bullet pierced into their skull I cringed and couldn’t bare the sight, I wanted to cry but any noise could give me the same shot to the head. The strange dark man left, dragging the 2 bodies behind him. I broke out of the toy chest and went to the bathroom; I splashed water onto my face to revive my self, I knew it wasn’t worth getting worked up about as I already had a mission to complete. But this incident just made me more determined to get back at the mayor. What’s next? – Chapter 11 Screaming with silent rage I crept through the village of murderers. My mind was spinning and I had headaches slicing in and out my skull. I noticed the mayor walking down the street, I followed not too far behind, by the looks of it he was walking towards the forest, I wanted to go see if Oscar was ok but didn’t want to chance getting caught. I gave up on following the mayor because he walked into a building and then just disappeared out of sight. I then focused on getting into the forest to see the construction so far. It had been raining the night before so the way up the hill was wet and slippery, I fell many times, but easily managed to get back up again. When I finally reached the top of the hill I saw that the construction hadn’t progressed much at all. I went around back to see more, â€Å"Eleza.. PST.. Eleza over here† came a whisper from behind. â€Å"hey, how are you here, I saw you had a arrow in your back, you cant be alive! † I stepped back in shock, â€Å"that was a tranquiliser, the guard saw me and assumed I was trying to steal the blueprint, so shot me simple mistake, I’m sorry I scared you like that. † â€Å"are you still willing to help me then? † I wanted to get this over with so I wasn’t going to laze about. â€Å"don’t worry about the building Eleza, since you’ve been gone I have spoken to the mayor and many arguments were fought, but I have managed to convince them to make the building eco friendly. It will cost a lot more money to make but you are the reason why many animals in this forest will be preserved and protected well done! † â€Å"thank-you for doing this for me, how can I repay you for this? † I felt incredibly happy that someone was inspired by me. â€Å"come down to the mayors office with me tonight, I think he wants to talk to you† replied the boy. â€Å"are you mad! I will be killed! † I shouted â€Å"no seriously I can honestly say that you are safe with me, please trust me as I trusted you before† pleaded the boy I felt that if I didn’t go then it would be mean because he had helped me out a great deal and I should help him in return. â€Å"ok then, but if anything should go wrong then may your thoughts be guilty for ever† I accepted to see what the mayor wanted. I went off into the forest to get ready for tonight, I found Oscar beneath a big branch where we once stayed. He followed me down to the lake, I took a swim to clean off so not to get bad impressions with the mayor. The time passed and by the time I had dried off and got back to the construction site it was already time to go. â€Å"come on then we best get a move on† I said while already walking. We reached the mayors present house on time, we knocked on the door and waited for a response. Helping out- chapter 12 â€Å"Enter please† spoke a well mannered butler â€Å"Just stay calm and when the mayor wants to talk then let him† demanded the boy â€Å"Hello Eleza, I have heard many stories of you, I understand that you like to stand up for what you believe in, am I right? † said the mayor in a strong voice â€Å"Yes, you are correct† I answer in the simplest way possible â€Å"I want you to do a favour for me, I will pay for your food and sleeping place, you wonder why, but I really do think that you have the courage we need, do you think you can manage to stand up for what you believe in even if the opposition is bigger?. † I thought for a while before proclaiming my reply, â€Å"I would love to take hold of the responsibility of helping out, but do not understand why you would choose me to do this, I was being chased by your men the other day, how can I know that I can trust you? † I still wasn’t convinced but if what he was saying was true then I would be overwhelmed and hopefully do a good job. â€Å"Ok, I guess I should tell you now, I haven’t been completely straight with you, I will look after the forest here for you, but you must leave to southern Africa to do a job for me, flight is paid for, and you will be helping the green team to help decrease the amount of de forestation, and also in your free time you will be helping the smaller children in the schools but if you do not accept this then your precious forest will be burned to the ground for my house to be bigger! So the choice is yours. † It wasn’t much of a choice so I just did what I had to and agreed to go. â€Å"I will go but Oscar must be able to fly over with me! † â€Å"I’m sorry but it is illegal for wild animals like Oscar to fly over on the plane with you† I knew he was right so I just gave in, but made sure that he is promised to be looked after by the mayor. I looked back and went to talk to my friend, â€Å"I’ve never been to Africa, is this a nice place to be? † â€Å"I haven’t ever been either, but I do know that it is a third world country, with children that need your help† replied my friend. The mayor went out the room and talked to another man about the trip, I was shacking but not because I was scared, just because I was filled with many emotions, I was actually quite excited. Journey and arrival – chapter 13 I set off early the following morning and endured 12 long tiring hours on the flight to northern Africa, then another 9 hours on a train to my destination. When I got off the train my legs were numb and floppy. When I arrived I was directed into a small long building and was told what I should do. The mayor explained that he is only here today then will be flying home tomorrow, and then he introduced me to my mentor. â€Å"Eleza, I hope that your stay here will be pleasurable, my name is Mandisa please come meet our youngest residents in our village. † I was taken into a classroom where little children stared at the teacher, they gave her all their attention, there was no shouting, it was just calm nice place to learn. I didn’t want to disturb them so instead I went into the village centre and saw just how hard it was for them to survive. â€Å"Could I have a cup of water please? † I asked a local The man said nothing, he walked over to a well and scooped out a bucket of water, I went over to him, he handed me the bucket. â€Å"Is this what you drink everyday? † I wondered I looked into the bucket; the water was cloudy with dirt floating on the surface. This wasn’t what I was expecting, I was hoping that the people hadn’t been drinking this for too long, this water isn’t drinkable and could kill if the wrong bits are drank. â€Å"It is the end of the school day now, come with me to see the children† said Mandisa I followed her to the classroom again and met up with the kids, meeting them made me feel important, I felt like I was a vital part of their lives, and that I could make a difference to their lives. â€Å"Hello, my name is Keon, what’s your name? † questioned a young boy â€Å"Eleza, I am here to help you and your class friends out. â€Å"Yay, no-ones ever come to our village before, other than Aitan, your mayor† â€Å"Is your mum going to pick you up from school? † I just wanted to talk to him, I wanted to make friends. â€Å"My mum is gone† Keon fell silent and faced the ground â€Å"she is gone, but my dad is in the fields. I have to go; my older sister has a disease and needs all the support she can get. † Before I could get a chance to comfort him he was gone. I walked down the road and met up with Mandisa. â€Å"Come; come quick, its Keon’s sister! She is in desperate need of help. † I didn’t rely, I just ran with her to his home. There was a huge gathering of people out side of the house; me and Mandisa stepped into the sweltering house mounted of sad people, the mood was unbearable and cries came from the room that Keon’s sister lay. I ran into the room and looked into the eyes of the girl, I could see that she was in a cycle of eternal pain; I knew this was an incurable disease and couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl, at such a young age, (2 years younger than me and 3 years older than Keon.) I left the house and went to the little mud cottage where I was staying, I sat on the bed and relaxed, I can’t stand emotional moments, it just brings back bad memories that I’d rather not think about. There was a knock at the door, â€Å"Hello, Eleza are you in there? † sobbed a voice from behind the door, I went over to the door to find Keon looking at me then grasped my waist and burst into tears I hugged him for over 10 minutes before he let go and sat next to me on the bed and told me the tragic news about his sister. His father kindly invited me to the funeral then took Keon back home to get some sleep. I was shattered and was shocked by how much happened to me in one day, and was glad when the day came to a close. But I was eager to see what tomorrow had in store for me. African life – chapter 14 â€Å"Eleza, Eleza time to get up† whispered a soft voice in my ear I couldn’t talk because my lips were so dry and crisp they remained sealed, I leapt out of bed. They gave me a towel and a bucket of water to wash my face with. The first job of the day was to cover a simple lesson of spelling; I walked to the classroom with the children and was introduced to them all. I then started off the lesson by asking each individual child what they think their abilities are, this helped me to know what their level of learning is currently. The teachers didn’t have books to teach from, just a teacher that goes by memory. I didn’t get an education so I wasn’t doing anything too complicated; I just went over what I already knew. The school day wasn’t very long because the children got too hot in the classroom, after the class Mandisa met me outside. She told me that I was here to make a difference to the people’s lives and that I should try to make some tasks up for myself to complete. I thought for just a few moments then decided what I was going to do next. Keon showed me around the village and pointed over to the forest, or what remained of it anyway. I told him that I will protest against the men but I couldn’t use force. â€Å"I think I have a plan, what is the cutest creature in your forest? † I questioned â€Å"The baby monkeys are cute, they live high in the trees† Keon replied â€Å"Let’s go then† I shouted to him while running through the forest. Keon knew that there was only a slim chance that my plan would work and so he didn’t get his hopes up. It took a while to spot any wildlife in the forest because the noise of the chainsaws had frightened them half to death, I crept up quietly to one of the babies, the mother was higher in the trees so she didn’t see me coming, Keon gently lifted down the monkey and handed it to me, then we walked for miles and miles to find the campsite of the tree murderers and once there Keon gave a good firm knock on the door and waited for a response. â€Å"Who’s there† came a voice behind them I turned around quickly and addressed them, â€Å"We are begging you please stop cutting down the trees, so many animals die because you have taken away their home and family, here is a monkey that is calling out for your help† I had to make up a sad story about the monkey or it wouldn’t take effect. â€Å"I am just against it as you but we must do this otherwise we are out of jobs and wont be able to afford to survive. † I could see that the man wasn’t the kind to give up easily and so I diverted to the second plan,†you know, we will always have a place for you in the village and even though you have had you arguments with them, I’m sure if you stop cutting the trees down they will be happy to take you in. † if this didn’t work then we were screwed. This is something I will consider, it wont be immediate but you idea will not be discarded, don’t come back, we will move I’m due course. † The turned and walked away into their house, we went back to the village and carefully put the baby monkey back exactly where we found it. I went back to my where I slept the night before and rested there. As I lay I thought about all the changes I could make to this village if I put my mind to it, I wasn’t an adult, but the village treated me as one and made me feel wanted. This was when I knew, my dream has become a reality, I wanted to make a difference to the world and help those in more need than me. For once in my life I feel that I have done my parents proud and just wish that they could be here beside me. Everyday for over a month I got up and helped around the village, and every evening I would visit Keon’s mother and comfort her because the loss of her daughter was still on her mind. I had gone through so many adventures in my life and only in 1 year I had gone half way across the world and have witnessed life and death pass me by, and yet am still at a young age of 14, but my birthday is next week and the village kindly offered to have a little bonfire to celebrate, Keon even offered to sing a traditional African song called Kpanlogo this song had a strong meaning behind it but he wanted to sing it because it had a great tune to it. Free life takes a change – chapter 15 Keon was now a big part of my life and was like a brother to me, his mum was a thoughtful woman and she welcomed me into her family. I took the job of permanently teaching his class and in the process I even taught myself new things and the children told me about the animals and wildlife that surrounds them. That night Mandisa walked up to me with tears building up in her eyes, she told me that the mayor said that I couldn’t stay any longer, he needed help back home. So unfortunately my time in Africa came to an end. I was heartbroken to leave my new family, I felt like someone when I was there and didn’t want to go.

Theatre of the absurd essays

Theatre of the absurd essays There are a wide variety of different types of theatres in accordance to the different types of genres that exist. One particular theatre that is known as the Theatre of the Absurd exhibits the idea of something that does not follow or answer to a logical explanation. Its philosophy is to take on the existential view of the world, and apply it to a play. There is no underlying message to absurd plays, and are virtually pointless. It takes on the idea of nothing and turning it into something interesting. When writing a play in this style there are various factors that you must consider. First off, you must realize that these plays are written from an existential point of view and therefore have no apparent reason, true order or meaning. However, it can still be informative and should cause the audience to think about what is happening in a scene, the purpose is to provoke thought with laughter. There are always very intense moments, but it can never look like conventional theatre because it has no start, middle or ending. Moreover, a writer must be aware that the script cannot follow any specified form and that language is reduced to a game of bantering that usually leads to chaos to confuse the audience . A sense of the place is minimal and characters are forced to move in an incomprehensible void-like realm. It is however, usually motionless with the idea that there is no catharsis or document. In the end, an absurd scriptwriter must realize that it should be about nothing, and end where it has started. Furthermore, the audience can relate to this type of play by abstractly thinking about the scene and determining what is happening. The audience is forced to really think about the issues presented to them in the play and are faced with a realistic scenario of life, as they watch the characters attempt to work it out. Most scenarios presented in Absurd plays take on realistic situations and were even demanded by the au...