Sidewalk

Bekah Arnold

Ms. Tompkins

World Literature Honors

4/23/15

Sidewalk

Time has broken the sidewalk, which is struggling to keep itself together, wrinkled and worn. Fragments of thin lines run down the sidewalk, from underneath my feet to beneath Abigail’s navy converse, still stained grey in places from the hot chocolate I spilled on her years ago. I wait on the wooden bench as she makes her way down the sidewalk. A smile appears on her face when she sees me. I jump up from my spot on the bench, smiling back at her, and excitedly walk up to meet her, my steps filled with energy. I let out a small, excited scream as we hug, our arms wrapped tightly around one another. After a few seconds I pull away, and we begin to walk down the street. After a few seconds of silence, I realize I have to think of something to say. My mind searches frantically for a conversation-starter, and my palms start to sweat.

“So how are you?” I ask, trying to seem casual.

As she replies, I tune her out, knowing the question will only give me a couple seconds of stalling time. I rack my brain for anything new in my life I can share with her, but she would need context seeing as we haven’t talked in over a year. Deciding this would take far too much time, I choose to stick to cliche questions.

I steal a glance at her. She’s not wearing glasses, and her braces are missing. Her eyes are still the same light pastel blue, though, just like the chalk we would use to draw stick figures and rainbows on the asphalt by the preschool playground. We spent every minute of every day together, but the elementary school boundary lines separated us. After that we only ever saw each other once a week, on Sunday mornings at church. A couple years ago her family decided to start attending a different campus, and as the months went by our schedules got busier, slowly and silently tearing apart what had once been an unbreakable bond.

She inspects her partially-pink nails, chipped from her habit of peeling off the polish. “What have you been up to lately?” I look back ahead and listen as she answers, trying to act at ease. I stop fidgeting with my sweatshirt and try to relax my shoulders.

“Not that much. I’ve had rehearsals all week for the play though. You should come see it! I can send you the dates,” she looks over at me hopefully, and I can see a mix of uncertainty and eagerness in her face. I don’t really like theatre, but I can see how much it means to her, so after hesitating for a minute I reply,

“Yeah I will if I can! I’m not sure if I’ll be free but I hope I am.” I know I’m free the weekends of her performances, but I don’t commit to coming because I know if I do she’ll count on me being there. I want to support her, but at the same time they’re always so long and there’s other things I’d rather do...

Right as the conversation ends, we arrive at the little ice cream store. I slow down, letting her reach the door first so she’ll open it. Sure enough, she wraps her fingers around the germ-covered door handle and holds it open for me. As we enter the shop, I’m overwhelmed with the bright colors and different flavor choices. The walls are lined with posters advertising new ice cream flavors and combinations. I look through the glass at the different flavors and then order a small cup of mint chip. Abigail samples three different flavors and then asks for a kid’s scoop of the vanilla.

“Vanilla? I thought you liked chocolate” I say, surprised at her choice.

She rolls her eyes laughs, and then responds “Yeah, when I was five.”

I pretend not to be bothered by this change and we sit at the table by the window. I gaze out the window, decorated with little fingerprints, and remember back to when we would come here with our parents after church and each get a single scoop of chocolate ice cream on a cone.

We eat in silence for three painfully long minutes. After spending a minute or two trying to think of something relevant to talk about, I give up and lose myself in my own thoughts. I stare out the window, watching as a breeze outside tears a red autumn leaf off a tree. The leaf falls slowly, drifting back and forth in the air until it lands gently on the ground. I glance over at Abigail, who is digging through her ice cream to make sure she’s eaten all the gummy bears before moving on to the actual ice cream, her usual routine. I smile and look back out the window. The sidewalk might be broken in some places, but others will always stay the same.

African Governments Address Women's Rights Issues

Bekah Arnold                                                                                            

Ms. Tompkins

World Literature Honors 1

12 March 2015

Opportunity

A long line gathers outside the only school for miles around. In it are barefooted men wearing worn, faded clothing. Beads of sweat collect on their foreheads as the hot African sun beats down on them, anxiously waiting to have their opinions heard. Desks are set up in single rows inside the small room, and at each desk is a ballot and pencil. Of the many people standing in line to cast their vote, an extremely small percentage are women. This is largely because of the lack of information women have in Africa. A study conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service Trust and Search For Common Ground found that while 80% of surveyed men knew the date of the upcoming vote, only 43% of women did. The simple right to information has an immense influence on the abilities and potential of women. Women’s rights are often overlooked in Africa, because of poverty, low education rates, and poor health. This causes concern to be placed on mere survival, decreasing the interest women have in receiving the justice they deserve by having their rights enforced. The government is aware of this, and it has acted in an effort to aid in women’s rights issues. Governments in Africa have attempted to protect women’s rights by passing legislation to defend them and providing them with more information.  

African governments have passed legislation in an attempt to protect women’s rights. However, many authoritative figures supposedly enforcing these laws partake in human rights violations against women, leaving no one to protect these women. Amnesty International reports that “Police officers and other law enforcement personnel… continued to commit human rights violations, including unlawful killings, torture or other ill-treatment, with impunity”. Not only are these law enforcement members committing the crimes they are supposed to be preventing, but this happens without any sort of punishment. However, this issue has been recognized by a few countries in Africa. Amnesty International lists some of these countries, stating that “Parliaments in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe continued to discuss draft legislation on domestic violence and sexual offenses”. While this is a step forward in the right direction, legislation is only influential if it is enforced.

Countries in Africa have also made efforts to provide women with increased access to information. Carlyn Hanbuba, from Femnet News, explains how crucial this access to information concerning voting rights is. She argues that “Lack of free access to information impairs the democratic process and slows economic and social development as citizens are unable to participate effectively in the process of government, make informed choices. Only with the right information can the citizenry… actively exercise their human rights.” When women are withheld information, they are also stripped of the ability to participate in government and make informed choices. This lack of information can be life-threatening for women. Amnesty International explains how this deprivation of information can put women’s health at risk, explaining how “In South Africa and Swaziland in particular, the pervasiveness of gender-based violence continued to place women and girls at risk of HIV/AIDS directly or through obstructing their access to information, prevention and treatment.” It is imperative women are provided with unlimited information concerning safe sex and their rights. African countries are beginning to provide women with more information to protect and inform them. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia stated in her annual address that 700,000 girls had enrolled in school in 2013, along with 800,000 boys. The President also promised financial aid to girls to help them stay in school and ensure them a brighter future (Africa News Service). These numbers are a significant improvement, and prove the government has been making an effort to provide women with increased access to information.

The air is thick with heat, and a long line protrudes from the village school. Both women and men wait in line, anxious and excited for their voices to be heard. Clean white sheets of paper are placed neatly on each desk, each accompanied by a perfectly sharpened wooden pencil. Women stand side by side with men, each person waiting for their turn.

Works Cited:

Hambuba, Carlyn. "Theme: Freedom of Information and Women's Rights in Africa/Theme: Liberte De L'Information Et Droits De La Femme En Afrique." Global Issues In Context. Gale, May 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

International, Amnesty. "Africa Suffers from Human Rights Abuses."Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Gale, 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Kanneh, Massa F. "Girls On Loose Ends - Pregnancy Stalling Education."Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Gale, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Kelly, Sanja. "Middle Eastern Women Still Face Slow Progress in Overcoming Oppression." Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Gale, 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

John Kumalo is a rather naive man and his predisposition to kindness can have its faults. Though Kumalo knows of the evils of Johannesburg, he still does not hesitate to give a large portion of his savings to a stranger. He believes the stranger has good intentions, but he ends up stealing the money. Similarly, Kumalo is quick to forgive his sister for her sins.

18- quickly, eagerly, as though he must show this young man that he appreciated his kindness, he put down his bag and took out his purse.

31- His eyes filled with tears, his deep gentleness returns to him. He goes to her and lifts her from the floor to the chair. Inarticulately, his strokes her face, his heart filled with pity.

37- “Our customs are different here”

This picture shows a city that is representative of johannesburg. The people are drinking and smoking and there are monsters and other odd characters. This is also naive art, which reflects how naive steven is when he takes his trip to the city.

Disconnect and Intellect

Disconnection due to the Cultural Revolution

Four Eyes’ glasses

• Four Eyes’ glasses portray the idea that he doesn’t fit in. He can’t re-educate as well as others, because without his fragile glasses he can’t see, and is set apart by his intelligence. His glasses are a symbol of comfort and courage as well, and shape how he sees the world. When he loses them, he has lost his ability to see and feels like he has lost his way of looking at the world. They also give him a feeling of superiority towards the villagers. Without his glasses, he’s no better than the rest of them; they symbolize his education and wealth. They set him apart from everyone else. Symbolizing that he is smart and from the city, they re-education started to break Four Eyes, just as the buffalo broke his glasses.

Quotes

• “That’s where my son is being reeducated. You may have met him. It seems he’s the only one up there who wears glasses” (84).
• “Without his spectacles his goggle eyes reminded me of the dull, dazed look of a Pekinese dog. He seemed quite lost and stricken, even before he had hoisted the hod of rice onto his back”(53).
• “He kept his bulging eye fixed on the ground before him but couldn’t see the raised stoned on which he might have put his feet. He advanced blindly, tottering and lurching like a drunkard . . . and he fell to his knees” (54).
• “He bent over and plunged his arms into the water, groping around in the mud. The blank expression in his bulging eyes was disconcerting”(47).
• “. . . Which sent his spectacles hurtling through the air . . . Clapping his hands over his eyes, he let out a stream of abuse, as if he had been blinded” (47).

Thesis

• Four Eyes’ glasses give him comfort and courage that depict his difference from the rest of the village, and his dependence on them shows his struggle to cling to the world outside of the mountain.

Books

Books let the narrator achieve things and give him courage to talk to Seamstress.

They allow him to realize that his ability to go and learn has been taken away from him by Mao and the Red Guards and makes him understand just how repressed his society is by the Cultural Revolution. Now that they books have shown him another way to live, he resents the people who keep him from doing so by banning literature.The books are helping him cling to the outside world and are one of the only things that reminds him of his life before it was destroyed by Mao. Literature is a large part of intellectual growth, and because the boys were not exposed to it, they feel like there was a gaping hole in their education. When introduced to books, they visibly grow as characters.

Quotes

• “‘This fellow Balzac is a wizard,’ he went on. ‘He touched the head of this mountain girl with an invisible finger, and she was transformed, carried away in a dream… She said having Balzac’s words next to her skin made her feel good, and also more intelligent.’” (62)
• “I took the novels out of the suitcase one by one, opened them, studied the portraits of the authors, and passed them on to Luo. Brushing them with the tips of my fingers made me feel as if my pale hands were in touch with human lives...‘So, are you weeping tears of joy?’ I said. ‘No. All I feel is loathing.’ ‘Me too. Loathing for everyone who kept these books from us.’

Thesis

• When the author Dai Sijie weaves the symbolism of books into the narrator’s journey, he portrays Balzac and the other forbidden forms literature to be life changing as they open a new opportunity for him to grow in an intellectual sense, that had been previously oppressed from the lack of opportunity.

Let It Be

Let it Be

(topics: Let Nature Take Its Own Course, Have No Connections To The Material World, Don’t Be Selfish)

Pale pastel peach petals

Surrounding a soft sunflower-yellow center

A silky green stem stretches to greet the ground

And pierces through the earth

Strong roots spread around underground

One with nature.

Calm and peaceful it faces up to the sky

Smiling at the sun

Content and unconcerned

Going with the flow.

It sways in the wind

Dancing to the song of the Tao

The deep but silent sound

Echoing through the meadow.

Fingers strain towards it

Selfish and foolish

In awe of its beauty

Trapped in the pleasures of the material world

The hand clasps the flower

And tears it from the earth.

Placed in a crystal vase

Its beauty begins to fade

As the pastel peach petals become gray

And the stem of silk starts to wrinkle and fray

Until the fragile flower fades

Into a mere memory.

What Blurs Your Lens?

What Blurs Your Lens?

drama masks citation

shocked faces citation

shocked woman citation

brain wave citation

collectivism/individualism citation

memory brain citation

scales citation

water glass citation