Final Essay

Final Essay

The novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian “by Sherman Alexie is a very in depth novel and deals with allot of identity issues and race problems. Arnold Spirit is the main character in the novel. Arnold introduces himself as being a hydrocephalic, meaning that he was born with water on the brain. He is very artistic person and expresses himself through his drawing and his words.

Arnold introduces a tough-guy named Rowdy, which is his best friend. Arnold is regularly beaten up at school and on the reservation and also given such names as “retard”. Arnold lives in a very poor family like all the other reservation families. Rowdy tries to protect Arnold from some of the abuse that he gets at home and school. The first day that Arnold goes to school he is given a textbook that has his mother’s name written in it. Arnold gets angry that the school is too poor to afford new books after forty years.

A week has passed into the school year, when Arnold gets transfers to another school. This school is full of rich white kids and is called Reardan High School. Arnold loves Reardan High School, developing a crush for Penelope, a white girl. He makes friends with Gordy. Arnold develops a closer relationship and even start dancing with each other. Arnold tries out for the Reardan Basketball team and gets accepted into the team.

Arnold’s grandma is the head of all the powwows on the reservation. In the novel Arnold is faced with allot of tragedies for example his grandmother was run over by a drunk driver and killed. Arnold and his family go to the cemetery to clean the graves of his grandmother.  Arnold father’s friend Eugene was shot in the face by his friend after the last glass of alcohol.

Arnold realizes that he might be an Indian, but also a cartoonist, and a boy, and a son. Arnold writes how beautiful the reservation really is, with all the trees. Arnold will always miss his family and the reservation and rowdy.

Character Sketch

Character Sketch

Arnold Spirit (a.k.a Junior) is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation.  Arnold enjoy playing basketball and drawing in his free time. Arnold and his family are dealing with poverty, most of the time there is not enough food to eat or not enough money to buy gas, forcing him to hitchhike to school and back.

Arnold is a hydrocephalic, Arnold tells the reader in the very beginning that he has “water on the brain” (1.1). Arnold is at the risk of brain damage and is susceptible to seizures. Arnold impairment becomes a struggle in daily life on the reservation, he is picked on because he is different than everyone else. Arnold has a way of expresses himself and that is through his drawing and his works. Arnold enthusiasm for knowledge comes through his drawings, as he reaches out to everyone around him.

Arnold is a kid that is just trying to find himself whether it is a outcast from the reservation or Arnold from the white high-school at Reardan. Arnold learns to to see himself as Junior the Indian or Arnold the traitor.

Songs relating to "The Help"

Bluebird - Sara Bareilles

"Back to the sky on your own" Relates to the way Minny and Aibileen are really on their own. All the maids are working as hard as they can everyday just to support their family or themselves. This line in the song relates to them setting out into the world looking for jobs, and taking what they can get because it's the only way they can survive. Another line relating to this is "Pair of wings worn and rusted". They have each been through so much, difficult unfair jobs and people that mistreat them. The rusted wings represents how they must feel worn down from how difficult their life has been. "Gather your strength and rise up": Everyday these women put on a brave face to get through their day, whether they want to or not.

Start Over - Beyonce

This song seems to be about a relationship between two people, but it relates to the relationship the maids have with themselves and the life they live everyday. "I can see, we're not happy here". The way they're treated often isn't nice at all. They know they don't like it, but they go along with it because there's nothing much they can do. Much like Minny's relationship with her partner. He beats her, and drinks and complains but she can't bear to leave him. She can't find enough will power. Work and cooking and looking after her children wears her out and by the end of the day, there's no more energy to leave. "Maybe we reached the mountain peak, and there's no more left to climb". Aibileen once wondered if it was worth it to keep living, with her son gone and her life a wreck, she felt she had nothing left. But she found the power thanks to Minny and kept going.

Highway Unicorn (Road to Love) - Lady GaGa

To me this song represents the ties between the maids and Skeeter. Each one of them know it's quite a risk to help a white woman out especially with the particular project they're working on, but they do it anyways. Why? Perhaps because they know it will be okay in the end. That they will all benefit. "Follow that unicorn on the road to love".

"Run run with the fury of a saint in her eyes". The ladies all lie to keep it a secret and fight to make it work. They convince enough maids to allow Skeeter to interview them, revealing their private life and past. They all know on the inside that it's important that people read the truth about how these women are treated. "We can be strong, out on this lonely road". It's a dangerous road but they go through with it, and they make it.

descrimination in different ways

People often experience damaging discrimination when they are different

or misunderstood by society. In the novel “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett,

the black maids are discriminated against by white people in Mississippi

in the 1960s. In “Annie on My Mind” by Nancy Garden Annie and Liza are

discriminated against because their sexual orientation and love for each

other is misunderstood by New York society. Both the maids and the girls

are different from the majority of their societies and feel pressure and

judgement because of their skin colour or personal choices. While the

maids in “The Help” and the girls in “Annie on My Mind” experience different

forms of discrimination, each woman is treated poorly because she is seen

as different.

In “The Help” the author gives the story three narrators two of which are

black maids and one is a white lady. The point of view of the maids brings

to life exactly what they feel, what they think and how they are treated.

The pressure from society over their work and the ignorant judgement,

from white people making statements of black people carrying diseases or

how they are not smart shows what situations they going through. Just in the beginning of the novel Hilly, a white lady, says”But the guest bathroom’s where the help goes”. Her thought of superiority humiliates Aibileen, the black maid, showing how different black people are treated. Just for the fact of the maid being black, leads to a matter of difficult situations where, for example, they can’t use the same bathroom.

In “Annie on My Mind” the point of view of the story is from one of the girls, who is one of the main characters. This point of view gives the perspective from

the beginning of a secret that turns out, when exposed to be, a big judgment

of their lives. Annie and Liza are more than friends, first of all they can’t

even believe the situation they are. After they are exposed to their families,

teachers and friends their lives get messed up, with a lot of pressure and

judgement over the two souls in love. Mrs. Poindexter, the school principal,

reacts over her discrimination; she says “I do not understand the pull

of abnormal sex... I am going to have to suspend you”. The judgements

over Liza’s and Annie’s relationship lead to a miserable life for both

teenager. People misunderstand what their feelings are for each other,

crashing through the fact of their happiness and just think about the

image.

Discrimination can happen in many ways, but that is another essay. Both books, even talking about two different types of discrimination, show to the reader the contrast of the conflit with the victims. The judgements by society and the pressure they put over people leads to miserable lives. “Annie on My Mind” and “The Help” include the perspectives andthe reality of the character and the feeling of being the victim of this discrimination.

Character Analysis - The Help

The Help

Essay

Change can be scary. It's different from what you know. But change can also be a really good thing.

Skeeter used to turn away when her friends mistreated their help, or pranked their children. She never gave the black people a second look, they were just maids. The only black woman she idolized and loved was the maid who raised her, Constantine. Constantine was always there for Skeeter growing up. She was like a mom to her. I think that Skeeter started to realize how society was set up when she got home from school and Constantine was gone. Skeeter stared to notice things, small things, like how differently people acted around and towards Negros. She found a booklet of the laws that separate the black and white people and found it astonishing. That's when her idea of writing the book about maids and their stories began. She soon became good friends with Minny and Aibileen. Other maids trusted her enough to be apart of the book too. Her so-called friend, Miss Hilly, became suspicious of what Skeeter was up to when she found the book of laws in her bag. Before she knew it, nobody would even say hello to Skeeter. Then, it was just her, the help, and the book. Skeeter needed this book so bad, needed to make a difference around Jackson, Mississippi. Around the world. Skeeter evolved from this sheltered girl who didn't question much, to a woman who was risking her life for her negro friends, and for a change.

Minny was a hard strong woman hiding behind fear. Fear of herself being beaten by white people and her husband. Fear for her children, that she won't be able to feed them one day. Fear of being weak. Minny has such a sass mouth and strong attitude. Wouldn't take shit from any one. When her husband drinks too much and starts pushing her around, there was nothing she could do but let it happen.

Minny would never trust a white woman, they were no good to her. White women never treated her with respect, always being rude and lazy. So Minny wasn't so sure about the idea of talking to Skeeter about her stories. She had a family to take care of and the last thing she needed was someone burning her house down for talking to a white women. But there was a part of Minny that wanted to get it all out. She wanted a difference too, for her children and their future. She was hesitant at first but she soon trusted Skeeter. And not only did she trust Skeeter, a bond between her and her new boss, Miss Celia, was formed. Miss Celia didn't treat her like a maid. She treated her like a friend, with respect and loyalty. She slowly became softer with Miss Celia, more caring. She worried about her when she didn't eat, or didn't leave to house, or lingered upstairs too much. Both Mis Celia and Mister Johnny cared about Minny and were so grateful to have her. She learnt that not all men are bad.

When Minny's husband found out about the book that Minny was apart of, he went crazy. She thought this time he would actually kill her. But Minny found the strength to get her and the kids out of there. She left her husband and that was something she never had the courage to do before.

Aibileen used to be quiet and she kept to herself a lot. She did what she was told and that was that. When Skeeter asked her to be apart of the book, Aibileen got really scared at first. What if people found out and killed her? But there was something inside Aibileen that wanted to speak out and make a difference so much. She wanted a better future for everyone. So she started working with Skeeter, and soon they had a real good friendship going.

Aibileen loved the little girl she was taking care of, Mae Mobely. She wanted Mae Mobely to have a nice life, she wanted her to feel loved and happy with herself. She wanted her to know that there was no difference between black and whites, especially after she started writing the book. She didn't that Mae Mobely to end up like her mama. So everyday Aibileen would tell Mae Mobely nice things about herself. And everyday Aibileen would tell her a “secret story” which would be about how white and coloured people are the same, that colour doesn't matter. Aibileen knew that is Miss Leefolt found out what she's teaching her daughter, they would both be in trouble, but they both understood the meaning of “Secret”. Aibileen went from this women who didn't talk much and respected peoples wishes, to a women who needed to change the way some people viewed the coloured. She risked her life, job, and friends to make a difference, and that's bravery.

All these women matured in their own ways. Change can be a good thing. It can make a difference. It can determine who are you. It can teach the difference between wrong and right. It can unit people as one. 

Essay

A change can be a direct cause of someone's environment. In the novel, “The Help” three women go through different kinds of change: one woman learns how to trust, one woman strengthens her personality, and one woman starts off shy but grows self confidence by the end the novel. The changes these women experience are for the best because they learn to do what right for themselves and take chances they would not have taken at the beginning of the novel.

Minny learns to do what’s right for herself and take chances when she finally learns to trust in other people. Minny had the hardest life in the novel, she was accused of stealing and therefor no one wanted to hire as their maid. Minny had trust issues from the beginning and never trusted a white person, she also had a drunk and abusive husband who hit her every night. When Minny’s new employer, Mrs. Celia, is nice to her and talks to her she is convinced Mrs. Celia is playing a nasty joke and does not trust her. It is not until the end of the novel that Minny truly trusts Mrs. Celia and Mr. Johnny when Mr. Johnny says  “you will always have a job here”.  Minny takes a risk when she agrees to be in the novel, because her husband would kill if he found out, she also took a huge risk telling Skeeter about the pie and telling her to put it in the novel for security, because if Mrs. Hilly found out she would make sure no one would know where the book took place. Minny also took a risk by leaving her husband and going and living with her sister. Minny would have never trusted Mrs. Skeeter with her secret at the beginning of the novel, but by the end of the novel, and she never would have left her husband. Her change was for the better because Minny is now able to trust the people close to her and have enough trust in herself to know that she will be okay without her husband.

We first meet Aibileen when she is working for the Leefolt’s; she listens to her white family's friends talking poorly about their help, but says nothing. She is shy and stays out of the way of Mrs. Leefolt. Throughout the novel Aibileen changes from being shy to having a stronger personality. Mrs. Leefolt was convinced that Aibileen had black diseases, so she got a black bathroom put into her house. Which really was an outhouse in the garage. Aibileen takes a great chance talking to Mae Mobley about racism, she tells her stories about black and white children being best friends hoping that one day Mae Mobley wont turn out like her mother. Another chance she takes is talking to Mrs. Skeeter and agreeing to help with the novel Help, and trying to find others maids to help. After Aibileen gets fired she decides that Mae Mobley was her last white baby and that she will no longer be a maid, she takes on the job of doing the Miss Myrna columns and agrees that she will be okay. Aibileen's personality change for the better because she was able to come to peace that she would no longer have a stable job.

When Skeeter is first introduced into novel, her mother keeps trying to make her beautiful, her friends pay little attention to her and she has giving up on trying to find a man. She wants to become a writer in New York, but her mother does not support her dream, but she finds a job as a columnist at the paper. She seeks the help of her friend’s maid about the column and soon learns about the life of maids. Skeeter takes the biggest risk in the novel when she decides to write, “Help”, a novel about black maids living in Jackson, Mississippi and how they are treated. This was a big risk because her friends and other people from her town were in the novel, she also needed to sneak around so the police wouldn’t catch her. When Skeeter does find a man and he proposes to her, she decides to tell him about the novel, which was a risk to her relationship with him. Near the end of the novel “The Help” Skeeter had grown self confidence: she had confronted one of her best friends, she stood up for herself when her mother was trying to change her appearance, and she took a job in New York has a writer. Skeeter did the right thing by standing up for herself and the maids, she learnt she had more self-confidence then she thought she did, and finally persuade her dreams to becoming a writer in New York.

All these women took risks that changed them for the better. They all learnt how to be okay with themselves and all had better lives by the end of the novel.

Essay

Have you ever wished or wondered if you could transform into a completely different person or animal and experience the same world you live in with a different perspective. If you could, would you? In the novel Black Like Me a middle aged man darkened his skin to a deep brown with medication to experience the life of a black man during the time where skin colour people were being discriminated in the US. Through his transformation and journey he realized and discovered that love and people with good intensions can exist in a world of hatred, prejudice and segregation between 2 completely different races living in 1 world.

John is at first unsure and panics when he sees his reflection as a black man and doesn't recognize himself. With fear and anxiety, John steps foot in New Orleans as a black man. He quickly realizes that even if he is the same man he has always begin, he now has no right to any restroom he desires, he cannot order a drink from the soda fountain and the word "nigger" is yelled at him everywhere he goes. The only ease and sympathy he feels, is from the black people around him.

Later on John decides to move around the south of the US, further into Alabama and Mississippi. Where the two states have a reputation of treating black people the worst. Despite the awareness of him begin killed by a group of racists. He sets out on a journey where he encounters all kinds of discrimination. Over time he becomes depressed by the hostility white people treat him with. He get's a look he calls the "hate-stare" wherever he is not wanted. At this point, in the novel, John realizes what it actually is like to be a black person, how bad it actually is. He decides to lay off his medication for a while to lighten his skin colour. But feels that he is betraying a group of people who have treated him as if he was a family member by taking the easy way out. 

As he continues to travel across the south of the US. He comes across a community who refuse to accept racism, they refuse to follow it's rules and refuse to be provoked by white people who threaten to punish them. John sees how much strength and determination they have. That he regains his courage to continue. He finally goes back to his family as himself, a white man and begins writing his story. Regardless of all the ugly events unwinding after he published his article and has being interviewed in a few talk shows, he receives letters from all over the world supporting him and congratulating him for his bravery. 

In the end things got pretty bad for him from all the threats he got from his community that he had to move to Mexico. Even though it was a lot of nerve racking moments he encounter. He was grateful that he met Sterling Williams, a shoe shiner and Bill Williams, who guided him and gave him advice, as well as other characters along the way that showed compassion towards him. John came to the conclusion that the two races don't quite understand each other but love and small kind actions from strangers can reassure you in a world of hatred, prejudice and segregation. 

Flight Essay

Flight Essay

Sherman Alexei's flight shows us that living the life of someone else can help you find yourself. Zits, a time traveling boy, is sent back in time to live through problems and lessons that relate to his life through the bodies of others. In the beginning Zits struggles with more problems than the average 15 year old would. Bouncing around from house to house in foster care without finding a “home”, built a shell of anger and frustration, that Zits couldn't seem to brake out of.

Zits first time warp, brought him into the body of Hank, an FBI agent that had involvement in the Indian act. When his partner shoots a young Indian boy in the face after failed interrogation, he then insists on Hank shooting him too “I want us to be in this one together”. We see the same kind of manipulative behavior in reality when Justice, his acquaintance from jail, tricks Zits into going to the bank with the guns, which is where the time traveling started.

The second body Zits temporarily invades, is one of a small mute Indian boy. The father of the little boy is the closest thing Zits has ever had to a father and he is overcome with happiness. When the boys father gives Zits a chance to get revenge and slit a white soldiers throat, just as another had done to the boy, he hesitates. He starts to understand that this young man hadn't done anything to him; it wasn't his fault that a barbaric fellow soldier had taken away the boys voice, if he did this he would be just as villainous. The bank is a prime example of pointless revenge, in Zits life. Zits begins to accept the fact that all of his problems and pain wasn't the fault of the people in the bank he had the guns pointed at, and that shooting them wouldn't offer any satisfaction. An old white soldier named Gus, is Zits next new body. When leading the other soldiers to the Indian camp, Zits tries to divert from the path and lead them elsewhere, but is stopped by Gus who still has a small amount of control over his body “I cant completely control Gus. I can move his arms and legs. I can talk with his voice. And think my own thoughts. But Gus is stronger than I am.” Gus symbolizes the internal conflict Zits has with himself everyday, he wants to change but is constantly fighting the defensive habits he's developed. In his attempt to save the little Indian boy, there is a strong urge to turn back, but Zits is now strong enough to push through and overcome Gus.

Zits thinks back to his first foster home. He was happy and well behaved there, his family treated him with respect and cared for him. Until his foster father took him out to fly toy air planes and lashed out on Zits, crashing both of there air planes into trees. This flashback ties into the next time traveling experience Zits has as Jimmy the pilot. Abbad led Jimmy to believe he was trustworthy, a friend, but ended up turning on him just like Zits foster father had done to Zits. Jimmy is so hurt and confused from this betrayal that he ends up cheating on his wife and committing suicide. Zits sees through the eyes of Jimmy that if he doesn’t move on from the past, he could risk hurting not only himself but others as well. Another character that had trouble moving on from the past was Zits father. When Zits transformed into his drunken homeless father he flashes back to his unfortunate childhood. Growing up with a terrible father lead Zits father to believe he wasn’t good enough to raise Zits. He didn’t want to make the same mistakes his father had, so decided it would be best to leave both Zits and his mother. Before transforming into his father Zits had always thought of his father as a dead beat that left his mother as she was giving birth, but after seeing what he had gone through he understands why he had to leave.

Zits learns many important lessons as he lives his problems through the eyes of others. He realizes he’s not the only one that struggles in life, and sees how his actions can affect others. As Zits lives though each new body he learns more and more about himself. With a new understanding of his father, and himself his actions are no longer driven by anger and fear. Zits became proud of who he is and realized it's okay to be Michael.

The Secret Life of Bees- Final Essay

Every day we have things surrounding us that have a lot more in common than we think. It may be the way we act, move, look, or treat others. Two things that are completely opposite in appearance could have many similarities by how they go through each day. In many novels they will use these connections between objects to symbolize one another, adding effect to the story line. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the bees are used as a symbol to represent the lives of the woman.

The bee hives represent Lily and her life in the point of view of others, the way people see her from the outside. Lily is the hive, the bees are her feelings and the things that define her. The way the bees work to keep the hive running smoothly and produce honey is the same way Lily works and the honey is happiness. In a working hive, you can only see what’s going on from the outside, what happens on the inside depends on how much it wants you to see. Lily only tells people what she wants and the rest stays hidden and no one can tell what’s really going on. In the novel Lily goes through many obstacles to figure out the truth about her mother who died when she was only four years old. Lily is afraid of the results which causes her to tell lies and hide how she really feels to keep herself from getting hurt. August could tell there was much more to Lily than she was admitting to. She tells Lily about bee hives by saying, “Most people don't have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don't know anything about.” This was the same feeling she had towards Lily. Lily's problems began with her mother’s death but the strong role models around her pushed her through it, helping her to understand she can be just as loving, courageous and excepting even without her mother around.

The queen of the hive is a symbol of Lily's mother, Deborah. In every bee hive there is a queen bee who is the centre of everything and in the novel Deborah is the centre of Lily's life. Lily was lost without her mother with no sense of direction. In the novel Lily says, “My whole life had been nothing but a hole where my mother should have been, and this hole had made me different, left me always aching for something,” and she was unable to find her way in life. The things Lily did ever day were for her mother, even running away. She found the pink house trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. When Lily realizes that she has other motherly figures in her life who can help guide her along the way she becomes stronger and more independent wanting to make her life better. In a bee hive it is the same way, even when the queen bee is gone, another can come in and take its place. They may not be their blood mother but she can possibly be more. Lily will always miss her mother but by the end of the novel she does not have a hole where her mother is missing. She is overflowing with love from the people surrounding her. She says, “All these mothers. I have more mothers then any eight girls off the street. They are the moons shining over me.” These women help Lily to understand the true meaning of love. The women in the pink house work together to not only help Lily but also their community.

The way bees work together to keep their hive running is a symbol of the the women in the pink house and how they work as a family. In the pink house each of the women have their own jobs that they have to complete to keep a running house. In a bee hive, things are the same way. At a point in the novel August tells Lily how bee’s work in their hive, she explains, “Every bee has its role to play”. She was helping Lily understand that if someone doesn’t do their job, the whole system falls apart. In a bee hive, one of the roles is the Queen Bee, who controls the hive. August is like the queen bee in the pink house. She is the one who controls things and keeps things flowing. There is also field bees that gather nectar and pollen for the hive, sort of like Rosaleen and May how they stay in the house and cook the meals every day. Without the two of them the house would go hungry. Like the other ways bees were used to symbolize the women, the way they work as a family in the pink house and the bee hives show the loved connection they all had.

Symbolism was used many times in the story The Secret Life of Bees. There were several moments when Sue Monk Kidd used the bees not just to be apart of the story but to symbolize women’s lives. In the novel, the way two things are connected can be difficult to spot, sometimes it is hidden beneath the text, you need to go deeper into what your reading in order to get the true effect. This is why symbolism is such a powerful way of writing.

Secret life of bees, Final Essay

Secret Life of Bees, Final Essay

“There is nothing perfect,” August said, “There is only life.” To Lily's delicate ears this quote by August seems rather sharp, yet very relevant. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily deals with the difficult trauma caused by the death of her mother. In Lily's eyes her mother; Deborah is perfect. The one person in her life she felt that loved her and that she belonged to is now dead. Lily accidentally shot her mother when she was 4 years old. Throughout the novel, Lily relies on the signs of her mother to guide her through her trauma; every move she takes is motivated by her mother’s previous actions.

In the beginning of the novel Lily's feelings for her mother are very strong, she loves her mother dearly and misses her constantly, especially during the night when she is alone. Sitting in bed, all alone missing her mother Lily sighs, “The oddest things cause me to miss her, like training bras. Who was I going to ask about that? And who but my mother could have understood the magnitude of driving me to junior cheer-leading tryouts.” When Deborah passed away she left behind a few items that Lily soon inherited. One of Lily’s favourites is a picture of Black Mary. On the back it has was labelled Tiburon, South Carolina which was once written by her mother. Lily decides to move to Tiburon, South Carolina, for one reason: because her mother had written it on the back of the picture that had once belonged to her. When she arrived in Tiburon she was taken in by the generous Boatwright Sisters. Lily wants to be accepted into the Pink house so badly she isn’t completely honest with everyone about her life. She makes up an elaborate story about being an orphan so that the Boatwright sisters will let Lily stay at their house. Lily feels a little guilty for lying to August, but is thankful to hear the words, “Well, you can stay here for until you figure out what to do. We can't have you living on the side of the road.”

Lily's feelings for her mother soon change after she learns the truth from August. Her mother had left her; she had run away from home and left Lily with T-Ray all by herself. The night Deborah died she was coming back to get her clothes and Lily after a nasty fight with her husband; T-Ray when Lily accidentally picked up the shot gun and killed her mother. Lily is very disturbed by the idea that her mother left her behind. She is angry with her for not loving her, for not being there for her, and for leaving her with her careless father. Lily admits to August, through her frustration “How dare she? How dare she leave me? I was her child.” As their conversation between August and Lily ends, all Lily could feel is that ugly feeling inside, “Left you, left you, left you” Lily repeats to herself for the rest of the night.

One ordinary afternoon Lily heard knock on the door. When Lily opened it, her face froze like toes on a winter night. T-Ray stood there with his permanent miserable personality, and immediately begins to scold Lily for running away from him. T-Ray begins to yell at Lily as if she were Deborah, T-Ray demands Lily to leave the “Black Community” and return to Sylvan with him immediately. T-Ray started to drag Lily out the door when August and Rosaleen showed up just in time. T-Ray was madly in love with Deborah, and was devastated when she died. In the Pink house when Lily yelled “Daddy, It's me Lily”, T-Ray stops pushing her around and his personality immediately switched from miserable to soft and caring. Lily feels she understands him more than ever in that exact moment in time. T-Ray agrees to leave Lily with August, as he was leaving Lily found the strength to ask him who really shot Deborah, his answer was short yet calm, he said, “I could tell you I did it….that’s what you want to hear. I could tell you she did it to herself, but both ways I’d be lying. It was you who did it, Lily. You didn't mean it, but it was you.” His truck started to roll backwards on the old dusty road and Lily walked safely inside to her new home with August.

Lily was mad at her mother for leaving her; but eventually realizes that Deborah was a real person, a living, breathing person. Lily knows real people have flaws and disappointments but it took Lily a little longer to realize that about her mother. The process of forgiving her mother is very difficult for Lily because Lily feels guilty for her role in killing her mother. The relationship between Deborah and her daughter is quite strong and developing more each day as Lily learns to deal with the trauma caused by the death of her mother. This quote “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage” explains their relationship quite nicely, Lily is feeling deeply loved by her mother which gives her the strength to stand up to T-Ray, and continue living her life. While the second part to the quote symbolizes Lily’s strong feelings of love she gives to her mother, that feeling gives her courage to stand up for herself and plan her escape to Tiburon. In the beginning of the novel Lily followed her mother’s footsteps almost exact, yet as the novel progresses Lily lets the pain, anger, guilt, and frustration flow downhill and learns to live her own life.

Final Essay

Miranda Pedro

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Final Essay

The novel “Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd is a very well written novel that deals with a lot of racism and change in a young girl named Lily's life. Lily lived with her dad in a small town called Sylvan in South Carolina. Lily runs away with her house keeper and moves in with 3 black sisters where she can truly be happy.

Lily Owens is a very mature 14 year old girl who lives with her dad that she calls T-Ray and her house keeper Rosaleen. She is not happy with her life at all. Her mother died when she was only 4. Lily has to deal with the fact that she accidentally killed her mother with a gun that she picked up when Lily was hiding in her mothers closet. Lily has always wanted to know more about her mother but T-Ray refuses to talk about her. T-Ray isn't a good father to Lily. Lily is scared to talk to T-Ray about anything. She doesn't want to upset him and have to kneel on grits like she usually has to. They don't have a good relationship at all and Lily has had enough of T-Ray bullying her everyday.

Lily and Rosaleen are on the run from Sylvan to Tiburon where Lily thinks her mother knew someone there. Lily has to watch people getting beaten for the colour of their skin. She is always scared to stick up for herself and others because of what could possibly happen to her if she does. Lily and Rosaleen move in with August, June and May Boatwright, 3 black sisters, in their bright pink house in Tiburon. August teaches her things that T-Ray may have never even suggested. Lily was always taught to just be quiet and that her opinion didn't matter. Lily was taught to be brave and polite from all of the sisters. The 3 sisters all taught Lily different things. If it weren't for them, Lily would have been miserable for her whole life living with T-Ray.

The 3 sister, August especially, all teach Lily important things that will happen to her in her life. Lily is able to talk about anything without getting punished. Lily has so much more confidence in herself and others too. Lily loves working with the sisters on their bee farm. She loves her live much more now that she doesn't have to deal with T-Rays unbearable punishments everyday. Lily is much more cheerful and always has a big smile stretched across her face.

The 3 sisters have had a huge impact on Lily's life. She doesn't have to be scared to talk about things now. If Lily never ran away to Tiburon, she would have never met these 3 amazing women. She would still be unhappy living with T-Ray and getting pushed around everyday. They allowed Lily and Rosaleen to stay with them. They love her with all their hearts. They are definitely the best people that could have ever came into her life. Lily never really had a childhood but now that she is living with these women, she can live her life as a kid normally should.

Flight Essay

Flight Essay

Jackson C

      In the novel Flight by Sherman Alexie there is a great deal of themes that we can see very clearly.

       The first theme we see is adolescence. Zit's progresses through a change in adolescence in this story. He was a troubled youth constantly getting into trouble. However, after a course of events he begins to change. By the end he is finally ready to accept who he is. He is no longer Zits, misfit boy, he is Michael. And now he finally has a real family. "But I'm beginning to think I've been given a chance. I'm beginning to think I might get unlonely. I'm beginning to think I might have a real family...Michael. My real name is Michael. Please call me Michael." Pages 180-181. This then leads us into the next theme violence.

       Right in the starting of the book Zits tells us this quote "I get into arguments and fistfights with everybody. I get so angry that I go blind and deaf and mute." Page 8. Zit's starts off as a very angry and violent individual. He's violent because he's been bounced from one place to another and he takes out his anger on anyone around him. He also is a witness to violence once he begins his "flights." By experiencing the events, which he is unable to change anything, he realizes that the violence had serious consequences. And by realizing how violence affects those around him he realizes that the way he's living is wrong and he's got to change something. With violence leads to morality.

        Zits learns the importance of the choices made and the effect they have on self and others. His "flights" and brief experiences through various men in history, allow Zits to experience firsthand the effects of violence, hatred and anger. “I like to start fire. And I’m ashamed that I’m a fire starter. I’m ashamed of everything, and I’m ashamed of being ashamed” page 8. This shame reveals that in the centre of this young Indian boy, change from his lifestyle of destruction, mischief, and hatred is desired and possible. Through these experiences, he learns empathy as he gains the perspectives of others. After returning from his “flights” he stands in a bank with the choice to pull out his gun and begin firing or walk away from the consequences and guilt he would forever face. While processing his unexpected and bizarre adventures, he decisively ponders, “I used to hate the rain. But now I want it to pour. I want it to storm. I want to be clean” page 159. He begins to make changes in his life that dramatically change his morality for the good.

        I find this book to be a great book that is filled with themes. The amount of themes in this book to talk about are endless! Therefore, I found that the most important themes were adolescence because Zits started out as a bad ass Indian that didn't care about anything to becoming Michael who saw a different purpose to life. Violence because as we see from the book violence doesn't always seem to be the solution and in some ways it can potentially be the end of your life. Finally morality because Zits went from being ashamed of himself and wanting to kill himself to a man who realized he was born for a reason and that he had a purpose in life.

Finale Essay : the secret life of bees

In life you learn many lessons, some more important than others. People might teach them or show you them through their actions, and sometimes they have to be figured out on their own. In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bee's the protagonist, Lily Owens, is a white southern teenage girl who runs away with her black house keeper from her abusive father, who had never showed her any form of love. With the help of the people she meets along the way, Lily matures into a confident, loved and loving young woman, who sees beyond skin colour. 

Rosaleen Daise is a strong-hearted black women, who through her actions helps Lily understand love and courage. When Lily's mother died, Rosaleen took care of Lily, acting as a motherly figure. She provides thoughtful advice, cares deeply for Lily and promises to stay by Lily's side no matter what she encounters. She speaks her mind clearly, openly, and without self-censorship. Proud and determined, Rosaleen quickly stands up for herself and does not take abuse from anyone. She ends up getting arrested as a result. Lily breaks Rosaleen out of jail and the two of them travel together to Tiburon, where they meet the Boatwright sisters. Rosaleen encourages Lily to come clean with August, even if it means they will have to abandon their new life in Tiburon. Originally, Lily felt she was better than Rosaleen because of Lily's prejudices but she comes to see Rosaleen as an amazing and courageous Women.                                           

Another very influential female figure for Lily is August Boatwright. Like Roasaleen, August acts as a motherly figure for Lily and a trusted friend. She is unique women. Not only is she a black woman in the South who runs a successful business but she is a black woman who also owns a great deal of property and is educated. August welcomes Lily and Rosaleen into her home. August lives in a pink house in Tiburon, South Carolina, with her two sisters, May and June. August works as a beekeeper on a 28-acre farm. By selling honey, she supports herself, her sisters, as well as Lily and Rosaleen once they come to stay at her house. August decided not to marry because it would take away some of her independence. August is the type of person that is easy to talk to. When Lily was ready to talk about her mother, August was ready to listen.She is a warm, accepting person, she teaches Lily about spirituality, as well as beekeeping and love. She guides Lily on her way to maturity and accepting herself as a good human being.

Like Rosaleen and August, Zachary Taylor is a positive and strong model for Lily. Zach is a caring, loving and passionate young man who fights for what he believes in. Zach is a black teenager who works on the honey farm assisting August with her beekeeping. He's a smart and talented football player who has aspirations to become a lawyer, even though at that time there were not many black lawyers. Zach wants to do well because of his brains, not because of his athletic abilities. After he meets Lily, the two of them become fast friends and later fall in love. When Zach is arrested for a crime he did not commit, he becomes angry and concerned with civil rights. One day Zach says to Lily, “Nobody will believe how hard I'm gonna study this year. That jail cell is gonna make me earn grades higher than I ever got. And when this year is over, nothing can keep me from leaving here and going to College.” This shows how being arrested did not scare Zach away from his dream, but made him become even more driven, and more focused on changing the course of his life. Zach teaches Lily that if she can imagine something she can make it come true. Zach shows Lily that she is not unlovable. 

Lily’s journey allowed her to meet people who helped her understand that in spite of how society labels and perceives black people they are no different from white people. The people she met all had a major positive influence in Lily’s Life. Rosaleen, August, and Zach all helped Lily see that she is not unloved. Throughout the novel Lily grows as a person because of these people learning how to give love, be loved and become a confident young women.

essay

Flight Essay

        The theme of the novel “Flight” by Sherman Alexie is that learning from others experiences and mistakes in the past can change ones future. Michael but he calls himself Zits, has no parents and no home; he goes to many foster families but it doesn’t work out for him so he runs away. His father left him when he was a boy and his mother died from breast cancer when he was young.  Zits is a troubled teen who doesn't care what he does and so he goes to a bank with guns and plans to shoot everyone down to get revenge for his mother's death. Zits time travels back in time and “transforms” into other people in the past which he learns from their experiences. As he goes through series of events, he learns how to respect others, make the right choices and accept who he is.

         One of his transformation he becomes an Indian boy just before Clusters attack begins back in 1860s.The boy is loved very much by his father but for Zits this is his first time felt loved by a father or anyone else for a long time. When Cluster attacked them, all the men went out and fight to defend the children and the elders. After the battle was done, his father wanted his son to get revenge by cutting the head off of a soldier. Zits realized that he didn’t want to get revenged but wanted to be loved by another person especially a dad. He tried to resist but he couldn't control the boy's body.

     Zits transforms to an old man named Gus who was an Indian tracker and part of the army. He leads the cavalry to an Indian camp to get revenge of what they have done to his village. While the army was wiping out the Indians, Zits sees a soldier helping a little boy escape the massacre but instead killing both of them, he helped them escape. Zit realizes that getting revenge on innocents doesn’t gets him anywhere but causes unnecessary damage to the people who haven’t done anything and also doesn’t feel good for himself either. So he helps out the young soldier and the Indian boy escape and sacrifices himself to save them.

      Lastly, Zits transforms to a homeless person which ends up to be his father. He gets beaten up and is treated disrespectfully by other people on the street. He recollects Zits birth. Zits finds out how his father was scared that he would turn out a worse father than his own. He runs out of Zits life only minutes after his birth. Zit realizes even though he feels like no one loves him, there will always be someone out there care for him even if they aren't able to be there for him.

      With all the events Zits went through and what he learned from the experiences, Zits has changed his path to a brighter future. He learns that he doesn't want revenge but wants to be loved by someone he trusts. He also learns that helping out others rather than getting revenge makes him feel better about himself. Zit realizes that there will ways be someone out there to love and care for him even though they aren't physically there for him. He figured out who he is as a person and making the right choices to have a happier life.

Essay

       Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "I have a Dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judge by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character." He declared this in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Mr. King wanted the people to contemplate about the discrimination against African Americans. When racism was tested in the liberating story, The Secret Life Of Bee's, the outcome waved into uncharted waters. The protagonist, Lily Owens, in Sue Monk Kidd's novel, witnessed how pain and suffering was a common curtsey of racism in 1964.

      On Lily's journey she witnessed racism and how it injured someone close to her. In a act of racism a man criticized Rosaleen for being "A model citizen," (Page 31) on Rosaleens way to register to vote. Rosaleen attempted to stick up for herself but the men beat her up for trying. Lily felt distraught anyone could be so immature, naive, and racist to do so such a thing as physically abuse another. It pained Lily to see someone so close to her be verbally abused by ignorant men who are to blinded by skin colour to realize everyone deserves equal rights. Growing up with African American influence, Lily could recognize people for who they truly were and not for their skin colour. Lily soon acknowledged the injustice of racism even in the hand of law.

      Lily meet Mr. Gatson, one of South Carolina's police officers, and witnessed him being racist towards Rosaleen, which lead to catastrophe. The men who had beaten Rosaleen earlier came back for a little more action while she was in jail during Mr. Gatson's watch. Mr. Gatson is not a bad man but his silence towards the beating of Rosaleen conducted chaos. Lily was infuriated, noticing the lie in Mr. Gatson's eye when he explained that Rosaleen, “... took a fall and hit her head,” (Page 44). Lily hated living in a time when Men and Women just did not care about coloured people and how they were treated. Lily's character was mature in the sense she saw the finest in people no matter who they were. She may have been young and still had a lot of more learning to do but she was very accepting. Lily witnessed how even were laws were very strict and they were not to be bend, racism still occurred, resulting in abuse and misfortune.

      Zach was one of Lily's young African American friends, but just because of his youth did not mean racists would treat him lightly. At the movie theatre one of Zach's friends hollered, "You gotta be dumb as dirt to believe Jack Palance is coming to Tirbun,"(Page 178), to some mean men who were yelling at them. The Police arrived and took all they boys to jail after they threw a glass bottle. The men were not blamed or accused for disrupting the peace or starting the ruckus. Since the boys were African Americans everyone assumed it was their fault because in the 1960's they pinned the blame on African Americans. Lily witnessed a fair chance not be given to young boys because of the colour of their skin. Lily was devastated that Zach and his friends suffered in jail without a chance to explain themselves. Lily saw how racism lead to unfair assumptions and actions which caused the innocent to suffer.

    The Secret Life of Bees, showed that in the 1960's African Americans were treated differently just because of the colour of their skin. Lily witnessed how her African American friends were treated differently. Rosaleen, some one dear to Lilly, was treated badly and abused because of ignorant racist men. Even a police officer did not go to the aid of Rosaleen while she was being beaten. Zach another dear friend of Lily was thrown in jail because people were to blinded by his skin tone to see who truly was at fault. Lily hated witnessing racism towards African Americans, such as  her friends, which caused injustice and pain.

Quote

The Help shows many examples of the meaning of this quote throughout the whole story. Racism played a huge roll in everyone's lives in this time and affected people more than they realized.

The people who weren't racist and cruel were almost as bad as the ones who were, by not saying anything at all.

Martins Luther Kind Jr: "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people". Are the "good people" really good if they do not show any compassion towards any issues other than their own?

No one was standing up against racism. Either they didn't think it was wrong or thought they'd be better off watching it pass them by. Staying out of the issue does not always make it less of mess. They also might have been afraid of discriminated themselves by other people who thought it wasn't right to stand up against racism. No matter what you should stand up for what you believe in. Things don't change if nobody tries.

Character Sketch : John Howard Griffin

John Howard Griffin is an independent journalist who, in 1959, was very outspoken against the racial segregation of the southern United States, he decided to go undercover as and African-American to better understand and document the southern black man's experience in this controversial time.



Griffin was initially uncertain of the difficulties he would need to cope with as a black man. Most notably of his struggles was his sudden and overwhelmingly shocking identity shift, which went beyond his physical appearance. As a black man Griffin had to adapt his outward personality and actions in order to survive in the hostile south of the late fifty's. Griffin was even unable to think of his wife and children in the same light he had as a white man; Stuck in the role of the Southern Negro, he found it difficult to think of his family, as a black man he didn't feel part of such a life, he perceived that even thinking of being with a white woman was dangerous in this setting. The identity shift he went through would eat away at his psyche.



Griffin is a man of large stature, dark hair and light skin. When he made his transformation of blackening his skin, under the advice of Sterling Williams, John shaved the hair on his head, arms, hands and changed his fine clothes for more modest attire, so as not to attract any unwanted attention or thieves looking to prey on a well off black man. He regularly must apply prescribed pigmentation to his flesh in order to maintain the darkness of his skin.



Throughout his experience in the South, John is witness to the daily injustice and hate inflicted on the African-Americans by the southern whites, and is subject to it himself. The torturous “hate stare” would tear at him when encountering those openly hateful people of the south. Access to anything was strictly limited to the generosity of the nearest white to take authority, like when the weary John took a break from hitching and stopped at a vendor on the road to eat and ask the use the washroom, purchasing food was no problem but vendor flat out denied the privilege to urinate in privacy in the dirty outhouse behind his establishment.



The journey Griffin goes through helps him and the reader better understand of the weaknesses of humanity, that all people are flawed, by expressing the negative aspects of ourselves all of our flaws come to the surface which reflect badly on all of humanity but especially the groups you are associated with.

Response Paragraph

Why does evil happened in the world? in my opinion evil things take place in the world because good people do not speak up. Martin Luther king Jr.'s words, "the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people," are reflected in Art Spiegelman's novel "Maus, a survivor's tale". In Spiegelman's book, which is talking about the Germany's attack of Poland during WWII, Jews are treated similarly than the afro-American people during Martin Luther King Jr.'s time. In both situations good people remained silent as they watched bad people treat Jews and afro-Americans poorly. Spiegelman's graphic book describes that the Nazis were "grabbing Jews, if they had papers or no" (Spiegelman, p. 80) and as they sought help good people turned them away exclaiming "you'll bring trouble! Go away! Quickly!" (spiegelman p. 136). The silence of good people made it possible for the Nazis to continue their evil deeds. History often repeats itself. We need to pay attention and stop evil from happening again by speak up and get active. 

What is a Maid? A Part of The Family, or a Person Employed By Your Family?

What is a maid? An employee hired by your family, always staying an arms length away never allowed to get too close and always acting professionally. Or a part of the family; someone who makes you lemonade, and plays with your kids.

Skeeter Phelan, always thought of her maid Constantine as a friend. Like a mother to her, Constantine was her best friend, someone she could always turn too. She loved Constantine, she thought of her as part of the family; loving an caring like a mother, calm and collected like a father and always playful and fun like sibling. Unlike Skeeter, her friend, Hilly didn't see the relationship between a maid and the employer and the employers family the same way.

Hilly's ideas of a maid was an employee who was always professional, got the job done and then left. They were never allowed to close, so that they wouldn't become attached. Because hilly went through maids like she went through tooth paste. Skeeter really didn't understand why, she went through so many different maids. They all seemed to do their job well, never talked back and always took care of the children. Hilly had the idea that a maid a lesser person, not equal to her. She assumed that if you were cleaning homes for a living, you definitely did not have the same social status the person you were cleaning for. Worst of all, she thought that the only people low enough on the social ladder to be cleaning houses were the coloured people.

Hilly, thinking the coloured maids were less human than the rest of us, initiated the “ home help sanitation initiative,” A disease preventing measure. Low-cost bathroom installations in your garage or shed, for homes without such an important fixture, for the help. To prevent the coloured people from contaminating the white comes with their germs. Now skeeter didn't see the point in this, she had lived with Constantine almost all her life an never had a disease brought into her home form her. And what made Hilly think that because their skin was a different colour that they were the one's bringing in germs?

Skeeter has always had a passion for writing, she wants to become a journalist and over the last few weeks she has been home, she has finally found the topic for her novel that will be her ticket into the world of writing. The life of maids in Jackson Mississippi. Their stories, their experiences and their hardship all recorded in one book. To show the world what their lives are like. A way for the world to know the work these women do and have done and the treatment they receive from the families that they work for. Skeeter never saw the treatment of the maids in Jackson the way it, was because of the way she treated Constantine. With love and kindness, she now knows the truth about the life of a maid and what their work has been like.