Wednesday, May 20, 2009
My Sonnet and Explanation
Eli Cusick
Mrs. Shigemitsu
Thursday April 17, 2009
English
My Sonnet
My Sonnet is about running a race, it goes through the hardships of pushing yourself to the max, it also relates to the hardships of life. Like when you start off good, then things start to get better, but you hit that wall, the wall that is trying to hold you back from all you could be. And if you can push past that wall and win the race, your rewards will be great. It also relates to my book Refugee Boy because the boy Alem goes through many hardships and gets through them. I chose the book Refugee boy because in England there is a big problem with the number of illegal immigrants and refugee’s coming into Britain from 3rd world countries like Ethiopia, Pakistan and Iraq. Also when I lived in England I knew many people that were persecuted because of their race or religion, so the book really stood out to me. It gave me more information on the subject and what the wars around the world are really like; there are no heroes or saviors. In war there is only killing and pain.
The main character, Alem, symbolizes innocence and good in the book. He has done nothing wrong but is persecuted and hunted like an animal. He’s the best student in the school, can speak five languages and has the best attitude towards everything and everyone. He has lots of friends and everybody likes him. He is one of the many refugees’ in England but is a special case as nobody is really sure if the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia is actually harming any civilians. His lawyers are trying to convince the London council to let him stay as he has already been bullied and shunned because of race; there is also the other factor of his mother and father. Hi father just ditched him in London, he had good intentions of keeping him safe while he went back to Ethiopia to find his missing wife, but the English officials are not happy about his tactics to keep Alem safe and it doesn’t work in their favor.
The Italian spaghetti symbolizes his country because it is the only thing in common that he likes about England and Ethiopia. It reminds him of home and his father, as it was his favorite food in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The new family Alem gets symbolizes a new start; he can live his life over again and make it better, after the loss of his mother he needs someone to comfort him, his father is away and his foster family make the difference. They are there for him and help him through the hardships he is facing.
The new school that Alem goes to may also represent that he has a new chance to get his life together. In Ethiopia, Alem attended a great school and had lots of friends. The new school he goes to symbolize friendship and love, he is very popular with everyone and is kind hearted so he makes friends easily. In this book the mean people are the ones that want him to go back to Ethiopia, the racist and cruel that want him deported. When he starts a friendly protest in the streets of London they are attacked by fascists that want nobody in their country, they symbolize the danger that could send Alem back to Ethiopia or Eritrea and practically sign his death sentence.
Alem’s father dies at the end of the book it shows that even the most horrible things can happen to the most kind hearted people, Alem is the most good natured person I know seeing what he has been through, he is very strong willed and has a great attitude to everything. He goes into a short mental depression after the loss of his father; he is alone in the world with nobody to help him. His mother was violated and tortured to death, and just as he thought he got his father back, he loses him again to angry fascists that think they are losing their jobs.
In the end Alem doesn’t get deported back to Ethiopia, the British authorities accept him after the end of the rally in London and the murder of his father. He realizes that he is not alone in the world that people no matter who they are or how they are related to you, will always help you out. It really inspired me to stop complaining about what I don’t have and why my life sucks compared to the rich spoilt billionaires sons and daughters. People like Alem and his fellow refugee’s are amazing, they can go through so much and still have a smile on their face at the end of the day.
Mrs. Shigemitsu
Thursday April 17, 2009
English
My Sonnet
My Sonnet is about running a race, it goes through the hardships of pushing yourself to the max, it also relates to the hardships of life. Like when you start off good, then things start to get better, but you hit that wall, the wall that is trying to hold you back from all you could be. And if you can push past that wall and win the race, your rewards will be great. It also relates to my book Refugee Boy because the boy Alem goes through many hardships and gets through them. I chose the book Refugee boy because in England there is a big problem with the number of illegal immigrants and refugee’s coming into Britain from 3rd world countries like Ethiopia, Pakistan and Iraq. Also when I lived in England I knew many people that were persecuted because of their race or religion, so the book really stood out to me. It gave me more information on the subject and what the wars around the world are really like; there are no heroes or saviors. In war there is only killing and pain.
The main character, Alem, symbolizes innocence and good in the book. He has done nothing wrong but is persecuted and hunted like an animal. He’s the best student in the school, can speak five languages and has the best attitude towards everything and everyone. He has lots of friends and everybody likes him. He is one of the many refugees’ in England but is a special case as nobody is really sure if the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia is actually harming any civilians. His lawyers are trying to convince the London council to let him stay as he has already been bullied and shunned because of race; there is also the other factor of his mother and father. Hi father just ditched him in London, he had good intentions of keeping him safe while he went back to Ethiopia to find his missing wife, but the English officials are not happy about his tactics to keep Alem safe and it doesn’t work in their favor.
The Italian spaghetti symbolizes his country because it is the only thing in common that he likes about England and Ethiopia. It reminds him of home and his father, as it was his favorite food in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The new family Alem gets symbolizes a new start; he can live his life over again and make it better, after the loss of his mother he needs someone to comfort him, his father is away and his foster family make the difference. They are there for him and help him through the hardships he is facing.
The new school that Alem goes to may also represent that he has a new chance to get his life together. In Ethiopia, Alem attended a great school and had lots of friends. The new school he goes to symbolize friendship and love, he is very popular with everyone and is kind hearted so he makes friends easily. In this book the mean people are the ones that want him to go back to Ethiopia, the racist and cruel that want him deported. When he starts a friendly protest in the streets of London they are attacked by fascists that want nobody in their country, they symbolize the danger that could send Alem back to Ethiopia or Eritrea and practically sign his death sentence.
Alem’s father dies at the end of the book it shows that even the most horrible things can happen to the most kind hearted people, Alem is the most good natured person I know seeing what he has been through, he is very strong willed and has a great attitude to everything. He goes into a short mental depression after the loss of his father; he is alone in the world with nobody to help him. His mother was violated and tortured to death, and just as he thought he got his father back, he loses him again to angry fascists that think they are losing their jobs.
In the end Alem doesn’t get deported back to Ethiopia, the British authorities accept him after the end of the rally in London and the murder of his father. He realizes that he is not alone in the world that people no matter who they are or how they are related to you, will always help you out. It really inspired me to stop complaining about what I don’t have and why my life sucks compared to the rich spoilt billionaires sons and daughters. People like Alem and his fellow refugee’s are amazing, they can go through so much and still have a smile on their face at the end of the day.
4 Lined Poem
Eli Cusick
4 Lined poem
His vulgar humor amuses me
His fat beer belly hanging from his t-shirt
His unshaven face in a fowl expression.
The hobo lies on the floor, fast asleep.
My poem is about a hobo and why we see him as a stupid ugly and smelly thing that does not contribute to society in any way. It shows that we may see him horrible and candid, but underneath all the dirt grime and stink, he is still a human being that has many problems, he still likes to sleep and drift off into the land of dreams.
4 Lined poem
His vulgar humor amuses me
His fat beer belly hanging from his t-shirt
His unshaven face in a fowl expression.
The hobo lies on the floor, fast asleep.
My poem is about a hobo and why we see him as a stupid ugly and smelly thing that does not contribute to society in any way. It shows that we may see him horrible and candid, but underneath all the dirt grime and stink, he is still a human being that has many problems, he still likes to sleep and drift off into the land of dreams.
I believe paper
Eli Cusick
I Believe Paper
I believe anything is possible, if you say you can fly, you can fly. If you say you cant die, then you can’t die. If you say your going to become president, you will become president. If you say you will lead a good life then you will. I also believe that we need something to push us, we need some higher purpose, this life is great but it really can’t be all there is. There is something bigger, whether it is God or Allah or Enlightenment or whatever, there is something else. Something else that gives us a higher purpose, a reason to make this life as good and as great as it can be. Because there is always something, or someone watching.
Like the boy from my book, Alem, he went through so much in life, so many hardships and was tormented so much that he thought it would be best not to carry on. His mother was raped and murdered, members of a fascist party shot his father, and he was picked on and left in a country he knew nothing about. But it was the caring foster parents that saved him; he was lost and alone until they came into his life. They pushed him to go to school and to get educated, he found he had a passion for learning. He said to himself “I'm not going to fail, I'm going to lead a happy life” and he did. It just proves the power of thought.
When Obama ran for office he didn’t go around telling people “oh yeah, I'm not actually going to win by the way” he was confident and smart, he told himself that there was no option of him losing. He convinced himself that he was already the president of the United States, and he won, he became the president due to hard work and passion. People would have put him down at every twist and turn saying “your not going to be president” or “why would we elect a black man into power” but he shrugged off those remarks, he used his skills and intellect into convincing them that he was the better candidate (which he was), if he hadn’t told himself every day that he was going to win, he would have no hope, no passion to win. Fortunately he did, and he won, it just goes to show how powerful the mind is and what we can accomplish.
There must have been something watching over Obama, something that directed him onto the right path, maybe god or Allah or any kind of higher power. It saw the gift him the talent, to make the world a better place with all the disasters happening in it now. Like the crash of the economy and the wars all over the world, maybe if the higher power is a God of some kind it wants the wars over him/her to stop, it cant like all the death happening because people cant decide what to believe in.
There could also have been a higher power looking over Alem from my book, it saw the position he was in and took pity on him, guided his way and gave him strength to keep going, saved him from being shot and gave him the path to take. However I don’t think that we are controlled, we are influenced, definitely. But we are allowed to make our own decisions, nothing can physically push us to do what we don’t want to, there is always a choice, the choices might not always be good or acceptable, but they are always there. People that say they had no choice in a time of desperation or anger are wrong; the choice is there, they just need to look for it.
In conclusion to my beliefs I think that we need to live life to the greatest, shoot for the stars, and if we miss land on the moon. Be like Obama, we have the opportunity to, he was once in the same position as us and still went to be the most powerful man in the world. We need to help other people instead of persecuting and killing them, whatever type of God or power of being is out there, it doesn’t like death, I know that for certain. We just have to believe, just convince ourselves that anything is possible and it will be.
I Believe Paper
I believe anything is possible, if you say you can fly, you can fly. If you say you cant die, then you can’t die. If you say your going to become president, you will become president. If you say you will lead a good life then you will. I also believe that we need something to push us, we need some higher purpose, this life is great but it really can’t be all there is. There is something bigger, whether it is God or Allah or Enlightenment or whatever, there is something else. Something else that gives us a higher purpose, a reason to make this life as good and as great as it can be. Because there is always something, or someone watching.
Like the boy from my book, Alem, he went through so much in life, so many hardships and was tormented so much that he thought it would be best not to carry on. His mother was raped and murdered, members of a fascist party shot his father, and he was picked on and left in a country he knew nothing about. But it was the caring foster parents that saved him; he was lost and alone until they came into his life. They pushed him to go to school and to get educated, he found he had a passion for learning. He said to himself “I'm not going to fail, I'm going to lead a happy life” and he did. It just proves the power of thought.
When Obama ran for office he didn’t go around telling people “oh yeah, I'm not actually going to win by the way” he was confident and smart, he told himself that there was no option of him losing. He convinced himself that he was already the president of the United States, and he won, he became the president due to hard work and passion. People would have put him down at every twist and turn saying “your not going to be president” or “why would we elect a black man into power” but he shrugged off those remarks, he used his skills and intellect into convincing them that he was the better candidate (which he was), if he hadn’t told himself every day that he was going to win, he would have no hope, no passion to win. Fortunately he did, and he won, it just goes to show how powerful the mind is and what we can accomplish.
There must have been something watching over Obama, something that directed him onto the right path, maybe god or Allah or any kind of higher power. It saw the gift him the talent, to make the world a better place with all the disasters happening in it now. Like the crash of the economy and the wars all over the world, maybe if the higher power is a God of some kind it wants the wars over him/her to stop, it cant like all the death happening because people cant decide what to believe in.
There could also have been a higher power looking over Alem from my book, it saw the position he was in and took pity on him, guided his way and gave him strength to keep going, saved him from being shot and gave him the path to take. However I don’t think that we are controlled, we are influenced, definitely. But we are allowed to make our own decisions, nothing can physically push us to do what we don’t want to, there is always a choice, the choices might not always be good or acceptable, but they are always there. People that say they had no choice in a time of desperation or anger are wrong; the choice is there, they just need to look for it.
In conclusion to my beliefs I think that we need to live life to the greatest, shoot for the stars, and if we miss land on the moon. Be like Obama, we have the opportunity to, he was once in the same position as us and still went to be the most powerful man in the world. We need to help other people instead of persecuting and killing them, whatever type of God or power of being is out there, it doesn’t like death, I know that for certain. We just have to believe, just convince ourselves that anything is possible and it will be.
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