There is Hidden Hope

There is Hidden Hope

Disappointment is a record with one short scratch

Your favorite song will have breaks and skips

But as time goes on, the song goes on

Each rotation coming back to that same scratch

But the scratch is short, it will stop and

the turn-table will keep turning

the record player will keep playing

the song will keep going till the next song starts

and the next

and the next

and the next

until finally it stops.

The album is over, the challenges are over, the songs are over,

But the scratch is still there.

The record is not ruined, only tainted.

Like me. I am not ruined, only tainted.

Like you. You are not ruined, only tainted.

The beautiful melody still flows from the needle, only little bits are forgotten into the scratches of the past.

You realize the short scratches are meaningless againsts the beautiful saga of words and tunes coming from the vinyl.

Like the short setbacks of life are meaningless against the amazing opportunities in growing to a higher level or happiness.

Am I Drinking Water or Sewage?

Am I Drinking Water or Sewage?

Drinking water in South Africa is being transported through the same pipes as the waste water, and I ask you, how is this sanitary? As a result, children are dying, cholera is attacking, and people are dying from diarrhea.

There is a lack of clean water in South Africa causing a stirring of commotion among the people.

The economy in South Africa is weak and about one fourth of the population is in extreme poverty (Water). Now, these people cannot even rely on the government to provide them with safe, clean drinking water. Due to this, these people have to pay for bottled water because it is the only safe source (Kings). The problem with this is that people cannot afford it, therefore they can only afford one bottle per week at best (Kings). The average apartment in the United Kingdom uses about 150 l per day, not including water for gardening or laundry. In South Africa, the average home gets 25 l per day (McDonald). This is not enough water for the people to live off of especially because there are about eight people per home and one person must drink 2 l per day (McDonald). Due to this scarce supply of water, dehydration is a scary factor of life for South Africans.

Dehydration causes illness and death. With the lack of water people will try to force themselves to drink the brown water that flows from the tap. While drinking this water will ensure that the people don’t get dehydrated, there are new risks from the diseases that come with drinking the foul water. Cholera and diarrhea are causing death among children and adults across South Africa. Now crisis has struck the people because they fear that their children will be dying. Currently the population uses 98% of the water, which means there is only 2% left for coming generations unless a solution is found (Kings). With the water conditions only getting worse, and more people dying, the population is just getting scareder.

The poverty has only made is harder for any possible solutions to work. Water treatment facilities do not have the money or labors to function properly and simply take too many resources to run (Water). Now people are still searching for possibilities among the poverty stricken country to get an abundance of clean water for the people.

Works cited:

McDonald, David. "The Age of Commodity." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Kings, Sipho. "South Africa's Great Thirst Has Begun." The M&G Online. N.p., 23 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

"Water Supply & Sanitation." World Water Council. World Water Council, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

"Sanitation In West Africa." The British Medical Journal 2.2537 (1909): 409. JSTOR. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

"South Africa : North West Government Restores Consistent Supply of Clean Water in Itsoseng Township." Global Issues in Context. Los Altos High School, 31 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 15.

"Residents Need Safe, Clean Water [editorial]." No Records. Los Altos High School, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Steven Kumalo

Alan Paton uses the character Steven Kumalo to demonstrate how traditional values are very different than the new ways of life in the city.

• "Deep down the fear for his son. Deep down the fear of a man who lives in a world not made for him, whose own world is slipping away, dying, being destroyed, beyond any recall" (14).
• "I gave a pound to a young man, he said, and he told me he would get my ticket at the ticket office." Mr. Mafolo responds, "You have been cheated, umfundisi"(19).
• "And the love of must have been in his voice, for they were all silent and listened to him. He told them too of the sickness of the land, and how the grass had disappeared... how when they went away [to Johannesburg], many never came back, many never wrote any more" (21-22).

Young Blood

Young Blood

Little Seamstress’ Cloth and Leaves

Quote: “As he slowly unfolded the cloth, I saw that it was torn from a shirt that had undoubtedly belonged to the Little Seamstress… inside were some dry leaves… all of them were stained black with blood… ‘We made love there, against the trunk. Standing. She was a virgin, and her blood dripped onto the leaves scattered underneath’” (59-60).

This quote is dialogue from Luo after coming home at 3am in the morning and waking the narrator. He was with the Little Chinese Seamstress and showed the narrator a small piece of cloth from the Seamstress’ shirt that had a few dried leaves in it, stained with blood. The Little Seamstress and Luo had made love and Luo had taken her virginity that night. This demonstrates coming of age because they have made love and they, especially the Little Seamstress, have lost their innocence. Luo also kept the leaves stained in her blood and a part of her shirt, this moment being an important one to him that he will want to keep. Both of the kids grew up a little bit that night and lost a bit of their innocence. Afterwards, they laughed and giggled, demonstrating that perhaps they were not prepared for this new stepping stone into adulthood. This excerpt represents rushed coming of age and the loss of innocence that comes with making love for the first time. 


Buffalo Blood

Quote: “He caressed the edge with the tips of his fingers and then sliced the pudding of thick blood in two: half for Four Eyes, half for himself” (94). 

The buffalo being thrown over the mountain symbolizes the attempted murder of Four Eyes’ innocence and how he is trying to force himself to be the adult that he thinks will be as a result of his salvation from the reeducation. With the thought that only adulthood will make him the three in a thousand, he is blinded by the pursuit of being a man that he longer wants to acknowledge his inner child and innocence. The buffalo resembles the innocence which is being thrown down the mountain side of adulthood. The mountain side tries to beat the innocence out with its rough terrain and rocks which are created by the turmoil and tribulations of an adults life. The deep and rocky valley symbolizes the predominance of troubles and scarring events that are in a person’s life which can leave permanent wounds and in some cases, cause one to ‘grow up’. Just like the buffalo, Four Eyes’ innocence is being attacked by the rocks and boulders, but is still alive. This shows how his childhood is hanging on to life and it is not gone yet despite the desperate attempt to kill it off. Similar to the caged lion. Luo is slowly trying to kill off his innocence but it will not die off without being heard. It is roaring and trying to make its last stand. This is also shown through his inability to eat the whole blood and how he became sick.

The Path I Am Walking

I walk the path of a young warrior,

each new duty coming at me like an avalanche, ready to break any object that stands in its way.

I stand tall. I face my worries.

I will not let the avalanche oppress me.

Knowing that there is no other option, I take a deep breath.

I accept the challenge.

I cannot change what the avalanche prevails.

I accept it. Embrace it.

I become the avalanche. I become stronger than the avalanche. The task is completed and I have become a stronger, more disciplined warrior. Big or small the avalanche will not overcome me.

I stand tall. I face my worries.

I am a young warrior and I accept what I cannot change.

What Shapes Human Perspective?