presentation on "The Twelve"

click here to veiw presentation

The Symbolic Lands

In the story, Cry, the Beloved Country, the main character, Stephen Kumalo, goes into great detail to explain how the land is the most beautiful and life changing. In the story he tries to show how over time the land can become corrupted, as he says many times in the book.  The author, Alan Paton’s overall message was to show how people can go from being one of the greatest to one of the worst.  He show's how racism made everything harder for black Africans. For example: it was hard for them to find job’s and a place to stay which meant they had no money to spend except on the things they absolutely had to have to live.

            In the first chapter of the book it says “There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills.  These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it.  The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist; you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa.  About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld.”  This shows that Stephen Kumalo is very fond of his home and the place he is used to.  He really doesn’t want to have to picture a place different than a place he where he was born and raised.   So to Paton this is a place that he is very used to and doesn’t want to change.

            Another Part of Paton’s overall message to the reader is that the land is what makes people act the way they do.  For instance, the land is dead and gloomy, so by the land being the way it is the people who live on horrifying and decaying soil will act like they have no control of what they do.  Also, the population will have a major crime increase and get into trouble more often than if they were at a place that had an amazing and beautiful atmosphere.  In the story he compares the two cities, he describes Johannesburg as a land that is cold, empty and unusual.  Then there is Ixopo which is the most non-selfish, respectful and a place to be proud of. Paton also shows that Johannesburg is a place to go when people have no job or place to stay, he also says that “black people go to Alexandra or Sophiatown or Orlando.”  This shows that when people separate them self’s by ethnicity they treat each other different.

            So in the story Cry, the Beloved Country, the overall message is to be hopeful and to love.  You should also have courage and endurance. He also tries to show that you should treat people with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they come from. We are all children of God and nothing should change that, not the color of your skin or where you live or have lived.  The last thing is the Stephen Kumalo is very adamant of the fact the no black man should have to live under a white man’s law.

A devastating change

James Connelly

19 November 2012

Ms. Harmon

Pre AP English 10

A devastating change

I just got out of school and, I’m on my way home to see my mom when I notice the cops outside the door.  I don’t want to go see what was wrong, but I have to make sure my mom is ok. As I come upon the door fly’s open, like there was a tornado behind me and I did not notice it. So I walk in to find my mom and my sisters sitting down on the couch crying their eyes out.   I did not know why they were crying, but I know it was bad.

            One cop said “you have broken you probation and because of this we have to take you to jail we will give you a couple of minutes to find somewhere for your kids to go.”

The other cop said “if you cannot find them a place to go they will put in CPS (child protective service) care in tell you are able to get them or another family member can.

So my mother started down her phone book calling and asking all family members I they could get us but, everyone we called live to far away and could not get to us in time.  The cops keep rushing my mom, telling her to hurry up. So we just ran out of time to find somebody so the CPS agent took us and was try to put us in the car, but I was not going down without a fight.  My mom could not stop cry they made her watch us get taken and had to watch us drive away.  We have no clue where we were going I’m only twelve, my older sister is fourteen, and my two younger sisters are eight and one.  The trip was long to were ever we were going, we have been in the car for three hours and still driving,

I asked “how much longer do we have till we get there, because I have to use the bathroom.”

She answers with a hateful attitude “will be there when we get there.”

So my sister and I are so bored, why just drove another hour and we are now pulling up to the wired looking place.  The name of the place was Jonathon place for kids.  We get there and see a whole group of kids out side playing, so I think to myself this might not be a bad place.  As we walk to the front door the kids come and say “hi” to us, so my sister and I are nice and say hi back. So during this week my sisters had made new friends and so have I.  The next day was Saturday and it is my birthday, but when I woke up to find that the kitchen light was on and to smell cake and food was amazing.  Everybody was awake and on the couch waiting for me to get up. my sister runs to me a says

“happy birthday James I love you and hope you have a good day”

Right after that I got to see my baby sister Dixie whose birthday is next month. I’m now thirteen years old, I just started a new school, and Marion Jr. high school is the name. So the first day of school I had no friend, I did not know where to go.  So during the day a lot of people were staring at me and laughing, partly because, I was from Texas and I was a big kid.  So once I got to football I was so happy because I would get to meet new friends, and that’s when I meet Ishmael, Austin and Tyler baker.  Once I found out there name they started helping me get to my classes Intel, I got used to it and found out were everything was. Even thought I did not get my football stuff the first day I got there I was a good day after all.

            Since I got on the football team people have not been laughing as much as they did on the first day of school. I finally got my football pads and now starting to practice, I’m making more and more friends each day.  So during the season the practice starts to get easy and I’m not as tired as I was when I first started.   This was an awesome feeling because I was getting more and more in shape each day.  This means that I will lose all the weight I did not want to keep. So as of now I am not being made fun of and I have a lot of friends, and I’m on the high school football team! So no matter what always look forward and never back because better thing will happen in the future.

the day i almost died

Ever since I was a little kid I have always been harassed about reading and writing. So I had to start at a young age, my mom said I was reading cat in the hat by the age of three.  Ever since I started I can’t stop, it’s like a drug, and I’m addicted to it now.  The best part was that if I ever I felt sad, I could just pick up a book and get lost in the words.

The reason why I say it, the day I almost died, is because I had to go to school for the first time ever.  Yes, like every kid I was scared of what people would think of me.  So on the first day I was so scared, but I meet a teacher that was amazing.  The teachers name was Mr. Phillips, he was amazing because he came up and comforted me thought out the day.  So on the next day I went to school, not as scared as I was on the first day but still terrified.  The reason the teachers came to visit kids is to teach the kids one on one about reading.

So one day I was tired and Mr. Phillips I started calling him my reading buddy, because we would always go out to the hall and read a new book each day.  I started to like reading more and more each day, he always had to best books to read they were really good they would take you deeper and deeper. So I started to look forward to go to school.

So every day I would jump out of bed to get ready I would read the box of cereal to practice.  I just could not wait to go to the class so Mr. Phillips could come and get me so we can go to the hall and read. The day that I got tired of reading the same book over and over again so I was the only kid that got to move up to the 2^nd grade level.

After reading on a 2^nd grade for a week they said I could move up to the 3^rd grade level when they told me that I was so happy. 

i am poem

I am smart and brave.
I wonder if the world is really going to end.
I hear thing that are not real.
I see people talking about people behind there backs.
I am smart and brave.

I pretend to not be scared.
I feel others pain when they are sad.
I touch the souls of thoughs that are hurt.
I worry what the world would be like when im dead.
I cry when people need help.
I am smart and brave.

I understand that not every body tells the truth.
I say the golden rule ( do on to others as you would want done on to your self).
I dream for the world to be a place with no worrys.
I try to help people who need help.
I hope that every body would do the same one day.
I am smart and brave.

A Angles Perspective

               Tuesday 28, 2012
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez story: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings


                    People think that angles are fake.  Well I guess they can be right because every body is in title to there opinions.  My real questions is do you believe in angles like me?  I believe in god and angles, but in the story they make the angle look bad.  See the way I was always thought was that angles are the most beautiful thing ever, even  if there old not that being old is wrong.  I just want to know why they make the angle sound bad.

                     See if I ever saw a angle that needs my help I would not even have to think if I should.  Yeah... you may think that hes a stranger and you should not bring him/her in you house. Ok the story did say that they gave him a place to stay and gave him food, but who would want to live in a chicken coop thats dirty. 

                       I am just trying to relate to the would that people never think or that they are alwas mean. In cause you did not caught it in the story all the sudden the sick child got healed when the angle came,