Flash fiction sim chahal

Sim Chahal

Ms.Tompkins

World literature P.2

4/21/15

The nature of Success

I was frustrated I worked so hard that my mind and body mentally and physically took the form of a football. It was June 10th 2013 the heat was intense trapping us and contained us everywhere we went. The Egan vikings were scheduled to compete against the best team in the nation for a spot to compete in state tournament. The game was scheduled at 5:00 p.m. at Foothill colleges football field. Tickets were sold out this the biggest game of my life. In no sport ever have I ever made it to county.

Its 5:29 pm the game is quite the scene.  We are losing by two touchdowns and there are only 15 minutes left in the game. Number 29 just scored, the crowd screams and shouts and swarm him like an intruder entering their nest. The Vikings are now only down only by 1 touchdown and coach dan calls a timeout. He huddles us in for a pep talk,

“We have to play harder. You number 39 need to make more catches, oh and good job number 29 good catch! We need this win, you Sim you will be subbing number 29 out.” Surprised I shakily stuttered

“O O..O.Ok” Then I nervously walked back to the bench. Coach dan gives me a look and then and nods his head. His eagle like eyes are then quickly focused back on my teammates.

He then shouts “We have 5 minutes till we play”. Astonished I frantically walk back to my teammates who are all lost in their own world. I eyed the clock it was frozen at 9:59. We then entered the field. The sheer strenght of the field stipped down of my dignity within seconds and drowned me in a sea filled with nervousness. Just like that I was nothing. repelled by this mixed emotion the quarterback suddenly calls us in and yells”huddle up!!

Everyone goes towards him not a smile to be seen. Everyone marching single field like they were young soldiers ready for battle. He huddles us up sweat dripping from his brow, He eyes at his wrist and says “Number 29, 46, 68 and 72” will be wide receivers we will be running a hail mary. Wait what did he say “72” there must have been a mistake I wasn’t ready. But no there was no mistake confused I unsteadily walk to the ball right next to my teammates. Who give me a death glare and disgustedly addresses me by

“You better catch it”. At this point I knew I was near by impending doom. I turn my head to coach dan one last time and he just nods his head. Thoughts of past games come rushing through my head of when I failed. The quarterback readies up and shouts loud enough for people in the East coast to hear it “Down”

I ready up, flashbacks penetrate my mind bringing back those All those memories penetrating  into by brain I can visualize the scenery. Those scorching days when I invested hours of my time just to improve myself and come home drenched in sweat and as stiff as a stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving. The quarterback then yells “Set” I bend my knees and set my hands up down I was ready to shoot into the endzone. Another memory flows into my mind  the last time I was on the field. We were up by one playing our rival team Blach.I remember I bolted into the end zone the ball had perfect aerodynamics and settled right into my hands but I dropped it. The quarterback then screams “hike” everyone on my team acts as if they were part of a clock and of the gears worked in unison. I bolted towards the end zone the other team trying hard to catch up to me the ball is thrown spinning through the air like a bullet about to hit the target.

I look back and wonder “did he actually throw it to me? Mystified I throw my hands up and the ball has hit its target. I caught It! An explosion of  emotions conquer my body I was clueless. I dumbondely think to myself

“this is my first catch of the season”. The relief of all those back breaking and several hours I spent finally paid off. The excitement reaches my mind as I run closer to the touchdown I can almost hear someone narrating the game and counting down

“10, 9, 8,7, 6, 5”. 5 years  left I slow down by pace I was a foot away from the touchdown when I felt a iron like grip on my right shoulder. I was thrown on the ground like a ragdoll. At the end I didn’t make a touchdown we lost the county game. We could have made record but I didn’t score. But at the end my teammates inform me that number 38 is getting disqualified from the team because he illegally pulled my flag. My teammates and coach dan gave me a reassuring look and he calmly says

“you might always receive the results you were looking for, but success will come in some way” and he walks off. I had made it, I proved every doubter on the team wrong, success did come in one way.

The death disease

The death disease.

Imagine you are scavenging the floor for food to eat and your dad is suffering from a killing Machine: Aids. This is a reality for many children in Africa. Thousands are killed daily by a disease called Aids, it ruthlessly massacred thousands monthly and millions yearly. This ruthless disease not only massacres many but leads to hunger. In Africa Hunger affects millions and is a direct repercussions of Aids. In  sub- Saharan Africa malnourishment affecting 1 in every 4 children(World hunger). However the reasons for hunger vary greatly. Most scenarios of hunger in Africa are a immediate result of AIDS. This murderous disease has lead to bigger more serious issues such as hunger, in 2014 alone affecting 23 million people”(Hunger facts)

The reason why Aids directly leads to hunger is because it lessens the amount of productions,  Juan Manuel Suarrez says that many Farmers fall ill with AIDS, wives leave the files to nurse them. Less hands mean less food, and coupled with drought, that many spell famine(Suarez). In this Article it states that one of the main reasons of hunger is due to the lack of hands working in the fields to produce food. Which results in “wives penniless wondering how to feed their children and pay for their education” When “1.3 million” people killed off by AIDS.(AIDS statistics) Due to the staggering amount of deaths Aids produces, that forces a lack of work force which therefore makes many kids suffer from malnourishment. Kids around Africa aren’t fed to the full potential in when growing leading to the them not being able to perform their full potential. Many children in Africa face this issue they are according to Bill gates “stunted”

Aids has tormented Africa for years has continually been causing more issues such as malnourishment. Or children being ”Stunted, are children who are are more likely to fall behind in school, missing key milestones in reading and math and go on to live in poverty.”(Gates notes)    This shows the malignant effects of malnutrition which in Africa is which is a direct result of Aids it forces many families to be financially unstable. This results in many children being greatly affected by hunger. With kids falling in this endless cycle of being “stunted” it prevents them from pushing their full potential and with AIDS still prowling around for its next victim kids are trapped in a tortuous trap where they are bound to be defeated.

Due to Aids and hunger Africa has suffered a miraculous amount for several years. Its a deadly cycle in which very few survive and none can escape. Thousands of Africans are dragged into this endless cycle daily and are trapped due to the lack of treatment.
Annotated bibliograph
"Africa Hunger and Poverty Facts." Africa Hunger and Poverty Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. This website was where I got my statistics from and this was a really informative and gave me numbers to help me think of the issue on a number scale, it really was on one topic

Suarez, Juan Manuel. "Southern Africa's Silent Disaster; A Society Falling Apart.(Opinion)." Gale Group. Juan Manuel Suarez, n.d. Web. This article informs me on the causes of Aids, and the real reasons why Africa suffers such hunger. It really does a well job of connecting the reasons of Aids and hunger together.
"Why Does Hunger Still Exist in Africa?" Why Does Hunger Still Exist in Africa? N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. This was a really good blog posted by Bill gates and this gave me some good quotes on his first hand experience on how AIDS has affected hunger in Africa. He recorded his findings.
"What Causes Hunger? | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide." What Causes Hunger? | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. This show was really accurate in information. It allowed me to connect the hunger trap and really focused on a few topic and showed how each of them connected to each other.

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).

Impeding Success

Impeding Success

by Sean, Uma, Jaclyn, and Simardeep

Thesis: Dai Sijie uses the symbols of Four Eyes’ glasses and the buffalo to illustrate how one’s success is impeded by external forces.

Four Eyes’s Glasses:

“For all his efforts to dodge the relentless lashes, one split second of inattention was enough for Four-Eyes to receive a blow to the face from the buffalo’s tail, which sent his spectacles hurtling through the air. He swore and dropped the reins from his right hand and the plough from his left. Clapping his hands over his eyes, he let out a stream of abuse, as if he had been blinded” (47).

“I was sure, however, that he wouldn’t allow this mishap to interfere with his work, in case his myopia was taken as a sign of physical deficiency by the revolutionary peasants and they thought he was a slacker” (52-53).

Analysis: In this community, buffalos are used for hard labor tasks and to help the proletariat people to farm and harvest their food. Buffalos are looked upon as generally peaceful and helpful creatures, and the fact that it is constantly whipping Four-Eyes in the face describes how Four-Eyes does not give it respect, so it will not give Four-Eyes respect either. Four-Eyes is not a very genuine person, and will simply do whatever he can to leave the Phoenix Mountain. This signifies the buffalos distrust in what Four-Eyes plans to do in the future, and is trying to impede Four-Eyes from continuing. When his glasses are knocked out, it is shown how helpless he is without it. His lack of sight and how the buffalo is trying to knock them out signifies how he will not garner success in the future, and that he will not get far without them. Even though he didn’t have have his glasses and was making a journey up the mountain he was determined to do anything to get out the phoenix mountain.  

Buffalo:

“The buffalo was of medium size, but boasted an exceptionally long tail, which it swung vigorously from side to side, as though determined to splatter its timid, inexperienced master with as much filth as possible” (47).

“On top of the neatly stacked books lay the buffalo tail black, with a tufted end, and stained with dark blood. It was exceptionally long, and no doubt once belonged to the unfortunate buffalo responsible for breaking Four-Eye’s glasses” (105).

Analysis: The significance of the buffalo is that it represents the agricultural life that is trying to be promoted by Chairman Mao and the Communist Party in China. The buffalo is trying to impede the progress of Four-Eyes while he is trying to complete tilling the soil, representing that the agricultural life and people who are in charge of it are doing everything that they can to stop the intellectual youths from escaping re-education and getting back to where they came from.

An Inaccurate Stroll Down Memory Lane