Refugees: their Camps and their Lives

The lives of those living in refugee camps are devastating, depressing, and to the outsider and the insider often hopeless. Those who live as refugees leave their homes, mostly through military or governmental force, thinking that their situation is a temporary one. They are, for reasons of religious discrimination, economic status, or any other cultural identifier, made social and political outcasts. They are often forgotten, neglected, and harassed not only by their oppressors, but by their own (if there is one) governments and also by the world community (make sure to LISTEN!).

Buildings and schools are erected with the mind-set that they won't last long, because they won't need to. In several cases the simple and cheap buildings and infrastructure created for and by the refugees has to last longer than intended. Many of the structures are 30 years overdue. Just as the peace talks and governmental assistance for their refugees are long overdue also. External support often comes too late as well. In the Rwanda situation for example, external support was minimal and fooling to the desperate victims.
Refugees do a lot of waiting... waiting... waiting.

Interview with a Lebanese Refugee:

Q: Why did you have to leave Lebanon?
A: Because of the war. There was a civil war between several Lebanese political parties and Israel.

Q: How old were you when you left?
A: 21

Q: How did you get to Berlin?
A: I applied for a visa to West Germany. I was told to get to Cyprus and a man would give me my Visa there then. So I went there with a group of refugees. Some of them didn’t bring any money with them, thinking that the visa would be there waiting for them. But it was not. We had to go to a hotel and we put all of our money together. It wasn’t a lot. When the man came to give us the Visas, he asked us for more money than we had expected. It turned out he needed the money for another group. We hardly had any money left for food. I lost a lot of weight in that time. In Cyprus there was a cab driver who would help us by driving us to the embassy for a lower rate. After awhile were granted our visas and we traveled into Germany. This time was very difficult and tiring, especially because we had no way of returning home, we had no money, and we had waited endlessly for those visas.

Q: Why did you choose to go to Berlin?
A: Because I had a brother who already lived there. I knew I would be safe and that I could live there normally. Those are some of the reasons.

Q: How did you learn German?
A: In School, at work, and through the family. When I arrived I immediately began taking a German course, and later I took 2 more. I always carried a dictionary in my pocket.

Q: How long were you in Germany before you met your wife?
A: One year.

Interview of 2nd Lebanese Refugee:

Q: How old were you when you came to Germany?
A: Around 6 years of age

Q: How did you travel into Germany? Did you fly?
A: Yes, we flew. We fled from Lebanon into Libya and then from Libya to Germany.

Q: How was it when you came to Germany?
A: I learned German very quickly.

Q Now that you are an adult man, how does it feel for you today? Do you think it was a good decision to have come to Berlin? Or would you rather have stayed in Lebanon?
A: I am happy to be here. I actually canceled by last trip to Lebanon because I thought it would be lame to go back. I find more corruption in Lebanon than I can see here (in Berlin). I don’t feel very connected to Lebanon anymore.

Q: Could you tell me a little bit about your school experience in Berlin? How was it different from Lebanon?
A: I actually didn’t attend school in Lebanon. I was just 6 years old at that point. In the beginning it was very difficult for me, because I transferred schools 7 times in one year. It was that way because my family kept being moved into different homes for asylum seekers. I didn’t get much support from anyone. The last elementary school that I attended made me take a test and they told me that I was too stupid to attend a normal school. So I was sent to a special school. Once the administration realized that I was too good for this kind of school I was sent to the next highest school, the “Hauptschule” (similar to alternative schools here). The administration there realized the same thing. I then transferred into the next highest level, the “Realschule.” After I graduated from there I furthered by education at a “Fachhochschule. “ Today I am waiting to be accepted into the Police Academy. I’ve had many boulders set in my way. Sometimes I feel like I’m still planning my life, rather than being allowed to simply live it.

They mostly hope to return to their lives and land as it was before the conflict that forced them to leave, if they have not found a different way out of the country and the refugee life yet. Unfortunately however, only 1% of the world's refugees receive the chance for a different and possibly better life over-seas. The remaining 99% has to see for themselves how to work and feed themselves. Realizing this concept creates another dilemma: Fleeing refugees leaving their families, friends, and homes behind. And with some places, such as Palestine, it's a whole different situation. Many refugees are forced to flee from their homes, but instead of leaving the borders of their country they become internally displaced, meaning, they live in refugee camps, inside their own countries. How would that feel?

It is global issues, like wars, that effect all humans, in one way or another. For some it may result in skyrocketing gas prices, for others it may mean living as a refugee. To name only a few issues that make the life for a refugee difficult are the infrastructure, sanitation, hygiene, space, housing, water resources, and the security in a camp. These are simple issues that many people can take for granted, but they are essential for survival.
Simply realizing that these issues are being taking for granted and expected by many creates an understanding of the inequalities and corruption of the world. It is important to understand that the devastation of others can affect the entire world community. A far-away conflict may impact the world's financial market or it could influence a family member or friend in one way or another.
The life of a refugee is frightening, devastating, and often tiering. The causes of the need for refugee camps are corruption and ignorance. The outcome of these features are immense for refugees, the internal camps and it residence, as well as the external world.

Joe Sacco's Palestine: In-Class

Joe Sacco, a graphic novel artist, enters Israel/Palestine as an America who has heard Israel's side of the story of the Israel-Palestine conflict his whole life. Entering Israel to learn the Palestinians' side is a daring and exciting step to take. Sacco's journey begins in Egypt, before he travels to Palestine. As he enters Palestine he is immediately introduced into the Palestinian lifestyle. His appearance as an American journalist attracts so much positive attention that most Palestinians are willing to share their stories with him, for him to use in his text. Going from place to place, refugee camp to refugee camp, he can speak with one person and suddenly be acquainted with several other families. The Palestinians are so desperate for their story to get out into the world that they share it with Sacco.
The political conflict is not the only one portrayed in his graphic novel though.
After he has traveled from refugee camp to refugee camp and heard many of the same stories, (people getting shot in different places, late night raids from the settlers, land and houses being destroyed by the Israelis) he is ready to go back home. Before he leaves though he stays for a few days in Israel, where he meets two Israeli women, who want peace, but do not truly understand what the Palestinians' lives are really like. Here Sacco has an internal conflict. He is now attached to Palestine. He gets offended when outsiders don't understand or are ignorant in regards to this ancient and repeting conflict.

Project Change

I've changed my mind on my project. I've decided that I want to write and portray refugee camps. The graphic novel Palestine does a great job showing the reality of Palestinian refugee camps (the way they look and feel). I have some family that have been refugees and others that lived similarly to the way Sacco portrays the camp. So, as a tribute to them I would like to research refugee camps for my paper... Maybe I'll focus on how refugees are outcasts of a system (like Pecola or the black community in To Kill a Mockingbird...not sure if I'll use this though).
I feel this is a more focused subject and I have more ideas on what I can do for this project.
Refugee camps make me so angry, because the reason why people are in them is so darn unfair. They have a cold feeling to them.

Paper (Project) #4

I would like to use some of the literature we've used in class, because I have been familiarized with it. Yet, I don't see how any of the novels relate to my theme, which I'm not quite sure of what it really is. I'm considering discussing how the name of conflict changes, but the idea or principle behind it rarely does. War is about one nation conquering another. The goal is not only to conquer land however, but also the ways of it's people. It is an attempt to have one nation cooperate and surrender its resources so that the conquerer may use these resources as well.
Ah, a light bulb just wet on! Sacco's graphic novel Palestine in a sense discusses this; it's not discussed directly, but its theme is of a war conflict.
Now, another question: How much will I focus on? Just American attempted conquering? (turn of the century- "saving our little brown brothers," protecting ourselves from the "domino effect,"(1960's), etc...) Or should I focus on different cultures/countries each do the same thing... I think I'll go with the latter.
I th

Manga Romeo and Juliet: In-Class

The manga Panels don’t really clarify Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, nor does it make the story more interesting. The character’s lines don’t always make sense. For example, on the second page, Romeo’s father says, “We would as willingly give cure as know.” I’m not quite sure I understand what he’s trying to say there. His wife, who stands beside him on this panel looks as though her only role in this graphic text is to attract attention with her sex appeal. Underneath Romeo’s parents is a depiction of Juliet’s parents. Her father says here, “Death is my son-in-law.” In Shakespeare’s story however, neither parent’s know of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. Therefore the manga text does not clarify the story. An observation of these two panels is also the character placement. Both mothers stand behind their husbands. There is a clear status representation here. In this version Romeo seems to be a Rockstar, which he clearly is not in neither the 1996 Hollywood movie version, nor in Shakespeare’s original play.
The manga version takes on it’s own interpretations of the characters, as well as it added some features, while it still uses some of Shakespeare’s language, mixed in with some modern phrases.

Romeo and Juliet: In-Class Writing

Act V Scene I
Here Romeo is in Mantua, banished from Verona. This is his monologue:
If I may trust the flattering eye of sleep,
My dreams presage some joyful news at hand;
My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne;
And all this day an unaccustom'd spirit
Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts.
I dreamt my lady came and found me dead,—
Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to think!—
And breath'd such life with kisses in my lips,
That I reviv'd, and was an emperor.
Ah me! how sweet is love itself possess'd,
When but love's shadows are so rich in joy!

Here Romeo is joyful, because he dreamt of Juliet. This dream “lifts [him] above the ground with cheerful thoughts.” He is still madly in love. Although this is a joyful monologue it also describes the unhappy idea of death. This dream has opposites again, common in Romeo’s speech (life – death).
Dreams are used to foreshadow the dramatic upcoming events several times throughout the play. They are mostly warning signs of what is going to happen, but they are never fully understood or realized by the characters until it is too late. His monologue is used to foreshadow the events that are going to happen soon. The line, “I dreamt my lady came and found me dead,” is going to come true in just several scenes later.

Romeo + Juliet

I found the newer Romeo and Juliet movie version on-line to watch. However, it was from a pretty lame site, and so the movie would stutter often, which became quite frustrating after awhile. I kept watching the same scenes over and over again, because the the film was so defected. Anyway, I was quite annoyed by this version at first. The beginning scene at the gas-station is exaggeratedly obnoxious. The party scene is also a bit over the top. The film though portrays the rush of Romeo and Juliet's relationship well. It does a great job especially in showing Romeo's impulsive and rash character.
I did enjoy when the story became more serious, as soon as Romeo and Juliet meet.
This version most definitely portrays how pathetic the families' feud is.

Romeo and Juliet: In-Class

Act I Scene II

Capulet:

"And too soon marr'd are those so early made.

The earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she,—

She is the hopeful lady of my earth:

But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart,

My will to her consent is but a part;

An she agree, within her scope of choice

Lies my consent and fair according voice.

This night I hold an old accustom'd feast,

Whereto I have invited many a guest,

Such as I love; and you among the store,

One more, most welcome, makes my number more.

At my poor house look to behold this night

Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light:

Such comfort as do lusty young men feel

When well apparell'd April on the heel

Of limping winter treads, even such delight

Among fresh female buds shall you this night

Inherit at my house; hear all, all see,

And like her most whose merit most shall be:

Which, among view of many, mine, being one,

May stand in number, though in reckoning none.

Come, go with me.—Go, sirrah, trudge about

Through fair Verona; find those persons out

Whose names are written there,[gives a paper]and to them say, My house and welcome on their pleasure stay."

Capulet's monologue sets the scene.
In his monologue Capulet, Juliet's father is discussing his feelings and requests in regards to Juliet's planned marriage. Paris has asked for Juliet's hand in marriage, and while Capulet agrees to the arrangements, he wants Juliet to have a say in the decision as well. He wants Paris to win over Juliet's heart and love, rather than sending her off into a devastating marriage. He requests that the engagement will last for at least 2 years, considering that Juliet, at this point is only 14 years of age.
He then announces that Paris can begin to introduce himself to Juliet that night, because the Capulet's will be having a feast.
From this monologue the reader learns of several important facts for the plot, such as Juliet's age, her relationship to her father, and there will be an important party on that night. The reader also meets Paris here, who isn't a major character, but a major problem.
Towards the end of his monologue Capulet describes the spring feelings that will be seen and felt by most at the feast that night. He calls the men "lusty" and the women "fresh." With this he explains that the feast will be one where lovers meet, and by this he means Paris ans his daughter Juliet. Although it will be a feast for lovers, it will not be one for Paris and Juliet.

American Born Chinese

The three stories all discussed the feeling of being outcast. The monkey was not allowed to enter the heavens, not simply because he wasn't wearing shoes, but because he was a monkey. Jin Wang felt outcast in his new school, not only because he was different from the rest of the students, but also because none of the "normal" kids would play with him for a long time. And Dan, well, it turns out that Dan is Jin Wang. Both the Monkey King and Jin try to convert themselves to fit into the mainstream. Even Wei-chen does this in the end. However, each of them realize that they cannot simply give up their identity to feel accepted.
My favorite section is the one in which the Monkey King tries to avoid his creator by flying past the universe. He "runs into" 5 golden pillars. He writes onto one of them and urinates on it as well. When he returns to earth his creator shows him his hand, which was represented by the pillars. So we see the creator's ring finger with writing and urine on it. I like this section especially, because it was funny as well as symbolic. It showed that one cannot run away from one's heritage or personal identity easily. It will be a long trip to get away from oneself and in the end one never truly gets away from one's past anyway.

The Bluest Eye: In-class

Cholly grew up in the South and was raised by his great aunt Jessy.
Jessy rescued him from a trash heap when he was only several days old. He had been left there, purposely, by his teen-aged mother. After Jessy's beating of Cholly's biological mother she ran away. Cholly never met his mother, nor his father, when he was a child. No one was even quite sure about who Cholly's father was; he had only been in town a few nights. After Jessy's death Cholly is meant to live with her brother in another town. The night before he is supposed to move however, he has a very humiliating and emotionally painful sexual experience. He soon becomes afraid that the girl he had made love to might be pregnant. Yet, instead of leaving to live with the uncle, or staying in the town with the girl, he decides to leave everything to find his own father, who had run away from Cholly's mother 16 years before. He finally does meet his father, only to be disappointed.
Later in his life Cholly had his own son, Sammy. Sammy "was known, by the time he was 14, to have run away from home no less than twenty-seven times" (p. 43). So, it had become a tradition. Sammy wasn't running away from a feared pregnancy, but he ran away just like his father and his grandfather had done before him.
All three had gone against the cultural standard of facing their troubles and responsibilities. Each of them ran away independently. Something that most do not have courage to do. Just like Cholly, Cholly's father, and Sammy were free, "dangerously free." They were allowed to do as they pleased, by others and by themselves. This behavior was almost expected of "them."

Hooks and McIntosh

McIntosh brings up a point that is hard to face, but very true. She makes a statement that I have thought of myself several times, but not for a long time and not in great detail. When I was five years old, I remember, I was coloring with a "flesh-tone" colored pencil and noticed that this name was for a light toned pencil, which matched my own skin tone. This, I realized promptly, was not fair. I remember clearly wondering about this phenomenon and being quite upset. However, McIntosh brings up other, more convenient subjects, such as the standard band-aid color (lets all just buy dinosaur band-aids!).
One statement that she considered a privilege for her as a white female (like me), I considered somewhat untrue. She states, "I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial"(19). I feel that when I speak to any male group, powerful or not, I may not be putting my race on trial, but rather my gender. There have been occasions in which my beliefs have been judged based on my gender. Besides that there is always my "Germanness" that makes people uncomfortable with my opinions. Some people have seemed to simply think, "oh, she thinks like that 'cuz she's German." I have been asked, "is that because your German?" Sometimes I'll simply use my "Germanness" as an excuse for when people seem to think that I am saying or doing strange things.

I looked at Bell's cultural criticism of "Madonna," "Rap Music," and "Transformation."
Rap music has generally been offensive to me ever since I started to become independent of my sibling's influences (we used to watch MTV together and we used to listen to Rap all the time). Therefore I enjoyed listening to Hooks' criticism very much. I found that it's degrading, not only towards women, but also black men. I've made numerous attempts to convince others (even some teachers, as well as my own siblings) that the lyrics and music videos are damaging to the female image and the black male's image. Rap Music strengthens negative stereotypes that are already created elsewhere in the media, such as movies and advertisements. However, Rap is not the only music filled with derogatory words. Women are unpleasantly spoken of in many other music styles as well. Also, rap is not only derogatory. There are many positive rappers out there, such as Nas. However, these rappers are, unfortunately, not as popular.

House on Mango Street : In-Class: Home and Personal Identity

Esperanza briefly describes the previous apartments in which she and her family have lived. However, she never dwells on them. They are a small segment of her history, but they are not as significant as her House on Mango Street. The previous apartments only come to represent the age before Esperanza's "coming of age," which occurs on Mango Street.
Once she moves to Mango Street she is ashamed of her house. Simply pointing into the general direction of her neighborhood gives her a sense of embarrassment. Her home represents more than just a building though. Her house is part of a neighborhood, which belongs to a certain ethnic group, which in turn is part of a specific social class. She is therefore not only embarrassed of the building she and her family enter and exit daily, but of everything that surrounds it.The buildings in which she lives, or the places in which she is in, come to represent her stages in life.
In the end of the Bildungsroman, and the end of her coming of age, Esperanza realizes that her House on Mango Street has become a part of her. It has grown to belong to her personal identity. She learns that she will come back to Mango Street to get others out, and this is what she has done by writing this book. She has written of those who still live on Mango Street, or a place like Mango Street to get their story out into the world.

House on Mango Street

Beautiful & Cruel (p.88-89)

In this vignette Esperanza decides "not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain." I love this metaphor. She sees, at her young age, that women of her community and heritage are prisoners of their men. They are the most oppressed. Esperanza understands this and therefore doesn't want to follow her female neighbors' and relatives' path. She wants to get away from Mango Street, just like everyone else. But she knows not to take the route that most other girls or women would take. She doesn't want to be taken away by a man, like her friend Sally, and then "chained" to a house. Instead she wants to leave and have her own house, like almost any man can. That's why she "leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate." This is the way the men in her community do it. They simply leave - not just the table or the plate.


The Monkey Garden (p94-98)

This vignette bothered me a lot! It started out so beautifully - so innocent. But her silly. depressing, and complex friend Sally had to be too mature.
In this scene Esperanza first begins to loose her innocence. In this scene she feels that nauseous feeling. It's a feeling that's easy to relate to, but hard to describe. It feels panicky and hot and uncomfortable. It's like waking up after a nightmare. One feels it when there's something sickly wrong in the world, especially in regards to sexual issues.
This chapter is so frustrating, because she is doing the right thing but no one cares. Not even Sally, who Esperanza is trying to protect, cares.
I think that this is the scene when Esperanza really begins to see things differently. She begins to understand the strangeness of sexuality.
The last paragraph describes the way she feels after she cried. She "looked at [her]feet .... They seemed far away. They didn't seem to be [her] feet anymore. And the garden ... didn't seem [hers anymore] either." She grew out of her shoes, in a sense. Her body and her mind aren't quite on the same page yet. Things have changed all of a sudden. She's been forced to see the world from a different angle.
I remember looking down at my own legs when I was in sixth grade and feeling awkward. They seemed so far away and not even a part of me.
It's a strange feeling and the world's a strange place.

Jeanette, Craig, and Scout are all outcasts of their societies. They all stand out or disappear in the masses in some extra ordinary way. Jeanette is a lesbian, Craig is simply more sensitive thatn others to all of his surroundings, and Scout is not a lady.
In Oranges this situation is made clear through Winterson's Humpty Dumpty analogy.
In Blankets Thompson shows Craig's uniqueness from the rest of the world with the "Allegory of the Cave" parallelism.
To Kill a Mockingbird adds Scout's aunt to the novel to clearly express how Scout is not growing up as she is expected to by the community.
All three of these characters struggle to belong to some larger community, while not giving up their personal values.

On a personal note, I feel that I had a similar struggle when I moved to Manistee. Although I had lived in California the year before I felt that that year was more to experience something different. I didn't quite care to belong to anything in particular. However, when I moved to Michigan things changed a little. Knowing that Michigan was going to be my permanent residence I hoped to find a group that would easily and readily include me. I felt this was going to be easy, but it wasn't as easy as it was in 3rd grade. At times it was a struggle for me to keep my ideals and
transfer them into a new setting in order to get accepted. Some of my ideas about life or how to live life changed due to my change of environment. I guess I've had to adapt a little.

Blankets and Oranges

Craig, loves to draw and when he is a 5th grader his teacher tells him that, "our lives in heaven will be devoted to praising & worshiping God" he feels alone and hopeless (p 137). Although he knows that he can worship god with his drawings he cannot say anything in his defense; his teacher's emotions were uncompromisable, just like those of Jeanette's mother. Just as Craig's love for drawing has been challenged, so has Jeanette's love for Melanie. As soon as her congregation finds out about her lesbianism they accuse her of being possessed by demons, in the middle of the service. They aggressively force her to repent and deny her love for Melanie, only causing her to lie (p105-109). Both of these characters are strongly religious and both of their religious communities are the factor that question and challenge their harmless passions. Both communities tell them to choose - the church. Besides these similarities they both, in the end, choose themselves rather than their congregation.

While Blankets is clearly a Graphic Novel it more easily creates a visual image to the reader. Still, Thompson strengthens his images by their placement and space on the page, as well as the character and object placement within the picture. Jeanette Winterson, in the mean time, has to be descriptive and precise when creating a strong and symbolic visual image for her reader. She does this especially well in the opening scene in which she describes her mother's morning prayer ritual (p 4). She compares her mother to Napoleon Bonaparte. Her explanations clarify that it is not because of her knees that her mother does not kneel to pray, but instead because of the kind of relationship she has to god. This scene gives the reader a strong sense of her mother's influence and character.

Blankets (pgs.135-138)

Craig, as a teenager, is sitting at a table with the intention to draw. He blankly stares at the white paper, stiffly holding his pencil. Then he shifts in his seat and rests his head on his hand. Shifting again, into the new picture, he still does not know what to draw. Suddenly, his Sunday school teacher enters his mind and asks," does anyone have an idea of what we might be doing in Heaven?" As the page is turned, the reader enters into Craig's childhood flashback:
The four young students each give their personal answer to their teacher's question. The only girl in the group says one thing, which divides her from the two boys who simultaneously speak out, with a "gutter." Craig, who is seated on the other side of the two boys, is also divided from them by a gutter. Although the background that is seen behind each student is continued into the next picture, the students are separated by classifications: "the girl," "the cool boys," and "the loner". Their background should unite them into one picture, because they are all together in Sunday school and they are all of the same age group. However, they have divided themselves up to outcast the others. Each of their responses seems to represent what each of them love to do: "relaxing, like on vacation," going "snowmobiling," playing "football," or "drawing."
To a surprise not only the children segregate from each other, but even the teacher singles out Craig. She questions his response, while ignoring any sort of flaw of the other's. She criticizes his remarks and makes him uncomfortable in front of his peers. As the teacher attempts to change the subject, Craig clings on to his belief that he can worship God with this drawings. Even though his teacher has tried to crush this, he reaches out his hand to share his insight, which is again silenced by his teacher's cold remark.
The last picture of this section was the most intense and most dispiriting. Surrounded by his drawing of "trees and stuff" is the classroom. Little Craig, looking sad, is seated far away from his cluster of peers.
In Craig's flashback we can feel how Craig felt, simply by viewing where Craig Thompson placed each character. The teacher, who is expected to be supportive of all her students, especially as a Sunday school teacher, is always closer to the other three students than she is to Craig. If she is not standing by them, or on their side of the table, she is seen alone in the picture. The character-placement in Thompson's drawings has significant meaning. In this case it shows that Craig felt singled out by not only his peers, but also by those he should apparently trust and look up to.

Inter-racial and Same-Sex Marriage

The caricature of President Bush in the Lincoln memorial closely relates to the theme of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In Scout's society the idea of interracial marriage was unthinkable. If whites and blacks chose to marry, like Mr. Raymond, they were outcasts of the community and it would be that way for their children, and their children. Scout's community made it a sin for a white person to marry a black man or woman. And so it is similar for gay couples today. Even in a city like San Fransisco, where there is a large gay community, it is difficult for gays to stand to their feelings, or "come out of the closet." Many people loose their jobs once it is clear that they are gay or have a same-sex partner. Only a few states allow same-sex civil union, and even fewer conduct same-sex marriages. San Fransisco, surprisingly, does neither.

Beowulf and McCloud

Setting the Record Straight

Scott McCloud explained that comics, or "picture manuscripts," go as far back as ancient Egyptian times in chapter 1. I would have never guessed - but if one considers McCloud's definition of comics: "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer," then his claim that ancient calligraphy are comics would be true. Comics truly have a wide variety of genres. McCloud made it clear that comics are not only about super-heroes and silly romance in the first chapter of his graphic novel. This way McCloud eliminates the readers judgment and stereotyping of comics, in order to make them curious and continue to read, or at least look at the pictures.

As I rarely read comics, it was difficult for me to focus on McCloud's text and his message at times. I found myself scanning the pictures, rather than reading the text some times, just as I did with the two Beowulf graphic novels. I made a copy of the vocabulary page from one of the books, because I found that interesting. I also wanted copies of pages with text on them, because the text was old and a kind I would rarely find. However, I again found myself reading the story more through its pictures than its words. The intense and symbolic color in the Beowulf novel's was definately more enticing and understandable than its diction.

Beowulf and Grendel's Mother

Having read the three translations, I realized how one interpretation's plot can be quite different of another. I read, the required, Seamus Heaney (2000), Elsie Straffin Bronson (1910), and John Josias Conybeare (1826), in hope to compare the different time periods. Each translation has a different set-up. The first is written like a poem, whereas Bronson's is much more like a story told; it is written in paragraphs. The third by Conybeare however, is a pleasant mixture of both styles.
I focused on the battle between Grendel's mother and Beowulf .In Heaney's interpretation, Grendel's mother seems to be strong and angry, yet not strong enough to kill Beowulf to "avenge her only child" or even to exhaust him in the faught. In Bronson's version however, things seem more hectic, due to the long sentences. In this version it seems as though Grendel's mother managed to sit on Beowulf and attempt to stab him with her dagger. Here, Beowulf also seems more vulnerable through the description that he "stumbled so that he fell." Both warriors are worn out by each other's strength.
In the last translation, Beowulf and Grendel's mother are described as more equal than either translations before, through the length of the text, which draws out the battle. It shows both of their weaknesses and failures throughout the fight. In addition, this interpretation of the story is the only one of the three that mentions the history of Hrunting, the sword, and its failure to pierce Grendel's mother. Lastly, Beowulf his not "glad" or "elated" in the version of 1826. Instead, "the gallant sword dropp'd fast a gory dew." This version is much more detailed and precise than the others.

A Hero

Heros are created when there is a social or personal unrest. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, is a hero, because he stepped forward in a time of severe social injustice. He led many people who believed that change could happen, at least to a degree. On a personal level, he is a hero, because he handled his personal unrest and dissatisfaction well. The world, right now, needs hero's quickly; it needs a hero who cannot be pushed aside or silenced by a government, like so many true heros are. It needs a true hero who uses words, not weapons. This hero should convince others to test their own heroism into action, rather than putting all hope and responsibility into them.

Allegory of the Cave - by Plato

The Allegory of a Cave is a short story told by Socrates and written by Plato. It discusses the question of truth, as well as the pain involved when truth is found. A quote by Walter Bagehot sums this idea up, "One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea."
The nameless character in the parable is forced, rather than called to the adventure. He is literally set free from his chains and then "forced suddenly to stand up, turn his head and walk with eyes lifted to the light; all these movements would be painful."
Only later in his journey does he choose to continue the adventure, due to his curiosity.
His trial is the process of learning the truth. The narrator of the story uses intensifying light to show the intensifying truth of the world. It goes from reflections in water, to looking at the light of the moon and stars, and finally the sun. Soon, the character understands that what he knew before he was set free, means nothing to what he knows now. The newly changed character decides to return to his cave to inform his former comrades of his newly gained knowledge, in an attempt to share his happiness. However, once he enters the cave he is unable to see in the old darkness. The ignorant others in the cave would "laugh at him and say that he had gone ... only to come back with his sight ruined." They do not understand his change and he can no longer associate with them as he used to.
The tale makes one think: what is your priority? Happiness or knowledge? Considering the phrase "ignorance is bliss" - and is that even true? Maybe one can be happy and knowledgeable at the same time? Personally, I feel that knowledge makes things more complicated and therefore more difficult to be truly satisfied.

What is an American?!

There are things that Americans do that one could say are typically American, such as speaking to strangers in the grocery store. American students generally say nothing when the teacher asks a questions. Only American men wear khaki pants and sandals to restaurants, and only American women wear shorts no matter how heavy set they are. These are some things Americans do. Still, what IS an American? When the World Trade Centers were attacked Germany's chancellor proclaimed that, "We are all Americans!" But, what is an American? I am an American, because that is what my father is, and I have a United States passport. Does that make me an American? Is someone from South America an American? "Americans" have claimed themselves as Americans in a sense to conquer all of the western hemisphere.

American Cheese

http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/staff/doherty/slampoems.htm

Symbols, Allegories, and Socialist Novels - these are a few of my favorite things

The religious theory is my absolute favorite genre. I enjoy interpreting symbolism so much that I went out one day to buy myself Penguin’s Dictionary of Symbols. It is a dictionary that discusses how different cultures interpret all sorts of objects as symbols. Most of the interpretations of a symbol are surprisingly similar between two seemingly very different cultures. Due to my fascination with symbolism, I also enjoy allegories tremendously. Allegories are stories with a message. This message can only be understood if its symbolism is correctly analyzed. Most allegorical stories I have read so far have discussed the coming of age, often with the use of a light/dark dichotomy. However, my favorite allegory is by Heinrich Boehl, which discusses socialism versus capitalism.

This leads to my second favorite: the socialist novel. Novels such as 1984, or The Jungle inspire me, yet depress me terribly. Although they are depressing and frustrating, these novels have been one of the reasons why I have decided to become a teacher. I am hoping to discuss these social issues with my own students some day in hope to inspire some of them to action and social change. I myself have been convinced by social justice novels, and have a dim feeling that social justice can be done, at least in a class-room or a home.