"The Twelve" and The Bolshevik Revolution

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by: Tess Hall and Natalie Nabors

The Symbolic Land of South Africa

            Paton seems to mention the land in South Africa quite often throughout Book One.  Is this a coincidence or is he making a reflection of society to nature?  In my opinion, he is actually making land serve a purpose for societal issues.  If we dig into the first chapter, we find he creates an atmosphere that includes the land being a major point of reflection.

            Paton is saying that the land is the source of all things; the land produces food and water, keeps them safe from invaders, and helps them to stay alive.  “For the ground is hold, being even as it came from the Creator.  Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, and cares for men.  Destroy it and man is destroyed.”  The importance of this particular quotation from chapter one shows that the African society is based on a mirror of the land.  If men keep their morals out of harm’s way, society will stay protected.

            The author’s purpose is to illustrate that the soil is only producing its maximum when the people live on it; the residents need to continue to farm and protect the land they own.  “The men are away, the young men and the girls are away.  The soil cannot keep them anymore.”  When the people go away from their homes, the soil cannot stay fertile; it cannot keep the sheltered anymore.  He also wants to prove that when morality is broken, the land is unwilling to produce.

            Paton also wants us to realize that a change in the book with the well-being of the land can also signify a change in society.  “So they all talked of the sickness of the land, of the broken tribe and the broken house, of young men and young girls that went away and forgot their customs, and lived loose and idle lives.”  This symbolizes the change in how ill the land is, the broken home, and the young people breaking away from their natural habitat.  He is trying to insinuate that while the land is sick, society is deteriorating; while the home is broken, the families are falling apart and leaving one another; while the children are living loose, destructive, and idle lives, the people of our culture are turning away from the one life they identify with.  This portion of the book foreshadows societal issues.

            Paton strives to prove his unbelievable point of view by foreshadowing community problems while comparing them to the land of South Africa.  While the land is weakening, the heart and souls of the people of the land are becoming calloused and faded.  He wants us to comprehend that not only is the land showing us how society is failing, but the people that make up society are also failing at some of the simplest tasks.  We are all trapped inhabitants of our own minds.  If we can somehow treat the land with uttermost respect, we will receive the protection and security needed to survive in life.

Bullying Can Be a Miracle

I believe that uplifting others and standing up for the ones being bullied is important.

Bullying has been an influential key point in my life. After I was labeled simple and petty names including: "four-eyes, bug-eyes, and nerd," the punishment of imperfection gradually increased to idiotic remarks like: "ugly, fat, attention seeker, and religious freak." Yes, I am a deep lover of Christ and enjoy studying, but not all of these immature put-downs were absolutely necessary. They all somehow taught me to love being Tess. I had to get over the fact that not all people are considerate. Some just are not caring toward others. I am me, and I trust God has a plan for all of the hardships that have and will continue to overwhelm my life.

When I was being taunted, I had a few friends who went out of their way just to help me. I did not realize that I had people in my life that actually listened to what I thought. I believed I was alone, but that was the most wrong conclusion I have ever made. All of these kind people and their actions taught me to stand up for others like we were always told to do as reverent youth.

 As my days of being indignantly bullied eased, I quickly learned to stand up for others. My friend, a boy of odd nature, began to feel the pains of bullying. He wanted to give up on life but as far as I was concerned, that was not going to happen. I did what I could do for him. I uplifted him with praise; I even invited him to participate in activities he would normally escape from. His sorrow briskly faded into joy, and I could not keep a smile off of the guy which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  I realized his drug was happiness, not a girlfriend or food or a cut on his wrist. He was better than all of that all because I said so.

I am better than the words spat at me in the deserted hallway, the brutal back-stabbing incidents throughout each of my classes, and the loneliness that I tried to fill with objects and people not worth my time.  I will no longer remain hidden, remorseful, as if I am inhuman.  I can look back on the past nostalgically because I know how it feels to be triumphant against the battle of overcoming depression and bullies.  I believe in helping to aware the community about the threatening feeling of these alien, vicious men and women.

 

Baby Cakes

Ingredients:

• Pillsbury Cake Mix:
• 1 1/3 Cups of Water
• 1/2 Cup of Oil
• 3 Eggs
• 4 Heath Bars
• 1 Tub of Cool Whip
• 1 Can of Eagle Brand Mix
• 1 Can of Caramel Ice Cream Topping
• 9x13 inch pan
• Rubber Spoon

 

Preparation:

Cook one chocolate Pillsbury Cake Mix blended with 1 1/3 cups of water, 1/2 cup of oil, and 3 eggs for 32 minutes in a 9x13 inch pan.

Emily, my brother's wife, muttered in a peculiar tone, "We need all of y'all at my mother's house immediately."  No one was sure of her initial intentions of this meeting, but we were willing to do any task she had ever asked us to do; today we were not changing that tradition.

As we waited on a chilly Saturday afternoon, my family and in-laws gathered around Mrs. Kathy's rickety, pale cream table that leaned on one leg. It was late January and only a few more days were left of my Christmas break from school; I was upset because my family would soon be separating because of different schools being attended and working situations. Trent, my brother, and Emily planned our family dinner ritual for their last day in town, surprisingly.  At the time, they lived in Hot Springs, Arknasas working as school teachers and went to school part of the time.  We knew something was either terribly wrong, or they had news for us because they would be the least likely candidates to ask for our family to come together on just a normal afternoon.  After Emily got seriously ill to her stomach and her body ached, we left for the night and would return the following day.

After the cake settles for 5 minutes, poke holes in it with the end of a rubber spatula or spoon. This is very important in how moist the cake will turn out. Quickly pour one can of Eagle Brand Milk and one container of caramel ice cream topping of any brand onto the cake and through the holes. Let it sit over night.

Emily had something behind her back but it was impossible to tell exactly what it was. I heard structured and strong paper or some other similar material crumple behind her.  Her brother, Jonathan, and I had been conversing, "My sister has been acting unusual, and it is starting to become aggravating. I'm bothered by her unwillingness to tell me what is wrong with her," he said determined to get his point across to me.

"Yes, I do suppose she has been acting strangely, but I am sure she is anxious to get back to working at the school," I quickly defended the most important woman figure in my life.

Jonathan and I were prompted to hand out placement cards to hang on our fireplaces as late Christmas gifts from the young, married couple. We both looked at the cards and burst into tears. No words would come from our mouths flaming with a secret we were not yet to tell. Only our eyes held the sacred words that everybody was trying to find. Both of our families clawed their way toward us, but they stopped dead in their tracks.  We did not want to tell our mutual secret; we wanted it to be ours.  The parents were always the first to know what is going on in the lover's lives.  "Jonathan and I  do not want y'all to know.  We want to have a secret for ourselves," we sobbed,  "let us quickly take all of this in."

 

Top the cake with one tub of Cool Whip and four crushed Heath Bars. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes or more, cut, and serve the mouth watering deliciousness.

Finally, we all received a piece of cake on the plastic wedding plates used three short years before. Each family member had a placement card at their seat and were gazing at the mid-section of the new mother. Buckets of water were collected from the kitchen floor from our joyous tears falling from our sparkling and overly excited eyes, chatting and betting was in our ears about whether or not the baby would be a girl or boy, and the smell of the remaining burning pan in the fiery oven furnace was fresh in our noses. The news was that there would be three new great grandmothers, one new great grandfather, one new mom, one new dad, two new grandfathers, two new grandmothers, two new great aunts, one new uncle, and me, a new aunt, in six short months. They had hid their most desirable secret and love for a new infant for three months, and now that the news was out in the open of Marion, Arkansas, it would spread like a wild fire, dancing along street corners and floating through schools. It would spread by the famous Heath Bar Cake delivered with love and the cherishing moment of a baby child.

 

We Are All Welcome

Tess Hall

We Are All Welcome

            How does “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” apply to the world? With the help of a generous group of people, Esteban is able to fit in even at his untimely death.  I also am like this dead man.  I do not fit in anywhere, but this tale has helped me to realize that I can be accepted. 

            Esteban was unlike any other person in the village.  We all are unique and different, but the entire nation is not going to love us.  He was not tolerated by many other towns until he was already dead.  However, some in this world understand us; we should trust these people because there are very few of them out there. The people from the village, that he was pronounced dead on, loved him for every imperfection on his physical body.

            Like me, Esteban was bullied for his outer appearance.  We both have suffered through the abhorrence, but we resulted in different ways.  I finally found a place I feel excepted at; Esteban’s journey ended in death.  I’ve learned that we are all exceptional in our own ways, and everybody should receive the opportunity to have a safe haven like I do.

            Gabriel Garcia Marquez wanted to depict to all people that we are different but perfect in our own special ways.  We need to learn to deal with the ones who are jealous of us by associating with the ones who are satisfied with us.     I have come to know the unusual character because we are extremely similar.

thINK About Daniel

                The Bible is one nonfiction book that contains outlandish and spontaneous stories.  One story that caught my attention was “Daniel and the Lion’s Den” from the book of Daniel, chapter 6.  I have many questions about this story that I can now answer because I have located a source that could give me an overview of the story while I actually read the book word for word.  I also found a few interesting key points to share about Daniel’s faith in God.  All in all, this story had characters whom were important in the downfall and uplifting of Daniel.  I decided to read and write about this Bible story because of its relevance to modern life.

            How old was Daniel when he was propelled into the hungry lion’s den? He was actually about 80 years old which makes him an easy and fragile target to the ferocious beasts.  Why did King Darius order a law aimed toward Daniel when they were loyal companions to one another? The other government officials manipulated the king into passing a commandment about praying to Daniel’s God because they were jealous of his power and trustworthiness.  These are two common questions that can now be answered with the help of The Bible and other sources.

            Daniel’s faith in God was absolutely astounding.  He worshipped our Father three times a day which meant he was already dedicated in someone who could save him.  The government official was faced with an abnormal task of not praying to God for thirty days; this was an unreasonable job.  When he did not abide with the law, Daniel was punished by being thrown into a lion’s den, but he was fully equipped with the helping hand of a father.  This shows that Daniel was a devout follower of Christ.

            Two figures in Daniel’s life made him break, but he also had a few people to aid his successes.  The jealous government officials wounded him by tricking the king into passing an unreasonable law against Daniel’s religion; this led to him being with close encounters with vicious animals.  God is the main person that protected him in this tough situation.  King Darius was a mutual candidate for both parties because he did sign off on the decree, but he also was extremely sorrow about the misunderstanding.  These characters made Daniel even stronger towards God.

            The Bible is the first nonfiction book that I have been able to comprehend and love at the same time.  “Daniel and the Lion’s Den” from the book of Daniel, chapter 6, has always been my favorite tale.  The questions I have repeatedly wondered are now being answered because I connected with the story and found another website to help support the situation.  Daniel’s faith in God is the main reason for choosing this story.  In conclusion, the tale had characters that contributed to his bond with God.  The Bible has always been my favorite book because it has many occurrences that can relate to society and are exciting to tell.

Word Count: 504

 

 

Links to the story and my helping tool:

 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+6&version=NIV

 

http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/a/Daniel-Den-Of-Lions.htm

Who is Tess Hall?

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