Power Point on "The Twelve"

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Cry, The Beloved Country

              Throughout Book One of Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton uses literary devices such as similes and repetition to get his themes and overall messages across. Descriptions of native land and nature are shown repeatedly, especially in the first chapter. Paton describes the land in order to show the brokenness of South Africa. The land also symbolizes themes such as peace in the native country. Paton uses the land to tell the story of a country being torn apart by discrimination, inequality, and injustice.

            In Chapter 1 of Book One, Alan Paton describes the land in native South Africa compared to the land in the city, which is Johannesburg. He uses opposite words and phrases to contrast the country with the city. He describes native land as “rich” and “well-tended.” He describes the city as “desolate” and “dead” because of the lack of care from its people. Both descriptions show how it is for the people in that part of the country. In the native area, life is full and beautiful, while in the city it is broken and useless just like the land. Paton gives a visual image to the reader that is helpful in picturing how different the city is from where Stephen Kumalo is coming from.

            In Chapter 4 of Book One, Alan Paton describes Stephen Kumalo’s journey into the city of Johannesburg, where he is searching for his family. Kumalo sees land that has “soil [that] is sick” and “almost beyond healing.” These descriptions reflect the way the people become while moving from their native land into the broken city of Johannesburg. Just as the land, the people are sick and torn away from their customs, which eventually lead them into pain, suffering, and destruction. Paton uses an implied metaphor here that describes what it’s like to change from a healthy lifestyle to pure evil.

            In Chapters 11, 12, and 13, the city of Ezenzeleni is described when Msimangu returns to see his people. It is described as the “place of the blind.” It has “blue and distant mountains” that lift one’s spirits, according to Stephen Kumalo. Here, the land is being described by Alan Paton in order to show guidance and hope for those who have none. Also, it is showing where Msimangu comes from, and furthers the idea of him being honorable and righteous. In the middle of all the trouble, Ezenzeleni is a peaceful and beautiful place that gives hope. Paton uses this to transfer the mood of the story line.

            Finally, Alan Paton often centers the story on places that are beautiful or broken, depending on the current mood of the story. Johannesburg is a broken and disturbed place with many bad people and lost souls, therefore its land is also broken and disturbed. The native people are joyful and peaceful, therefore their land is well-tended and beautiful. The descriptions of land help the reader follow the story line easier with mental images such as red, desolate ground or lush, green hills. The imagery Paton uses is powerful and makes Cry, the Beloved Country the classic novel that it is. 

Forever and Always

            Joseph Long was and still is a very special person to me. I have shared a lot of first times and great memories with him. Kind of like this one time when Joseph, my cousin, and I won first place at a golf tournament.

            Joseph and I walk up to the County Club pro shop to sign up for the golf tournament. We stare down the ballet curiously wondering who we will be possibly be paired up with. There are a few tough competitors but there is not anyone that we shouldn’t be able to defeat.

“Now” says Joseph “we must practice.”

            Joseph and I have exactly two weeks to prepare for the game known as “Golf”.  I prefer not to call it golf, I call it “The Game Of Physical and Mental Mind Abuse” for two very important reasons. One, all the walking and swinging causes your shoulder and knees to hurt and two, if you make a bad shot, you get pissed and your head starts to hurt. The next two weeks fly by and today is the big day! I received an email earlier that I am paired up with Mark Goodfellow and Joseph is with Matt Goodfellow. They are twins and they are pretty good at golf but they are nothing that the two of us couldn’t handle. The two of us play the whole match battling back and fourth and here comes the last hole. It is tied and I get the news that Joseph made par so it is all up to me. I smash a monstrous drive right down the center of the fairway. I have a huge smile on my face as I approach my gorgeous shot. But  “You drive for show and put for doe” so I need to finish out the hole like I did my first shot. I pull out my eight iron just as any knight would pull out his sword. I hit the ball so high that I lost sight of it but then I hear that lovely sound that every golfer dreams of, the sound of the thud that the ball makes when it hits the green. Now I am putting for the championship, for everything. My mind is racing. What if I miss this put? What will Joseph think? I take one last breath as I tap the ball towards the hole. It bounces and flies right across the green and drops right into the hole. We won.

            I smell the sweet smell of pine tar. I feel the rough grip on my bat. As I remove my bat from its resting place preparing my self for a hard day at work. As I walk out my back door I see a baseball players dream office, the batting cage. My buddy Joseph and I hit in the cage almost every day and that is what makes us the best in the business. The stainless steel L-screen and the jet-black net go perfect together just like peanut butter and jelly. We are having fun when my dad walks up with an unfamiliar face trailing behind him.  Then it hits me! It is the baseball coach from Conway, here, at my house, talking to me. We sit and we watch the videos my dad put on YouTube of my hitting. He gives me his number, winks at me and tells me to keep in touch with him. I watch him drive away still sitting in the same spot, paralyzed from the utter shock that the Coach drove down just to talk to me.

            We run outside and hop in my dad’s truck and he drives to the main attraction at Meadowbrook Country Club. As I open the gate I immediately smell the 50spf sunscreen and the massive amount of chlorine in the water. Joseph and I go to the pool every Thursday ready for a great day of fun. We apply out layers of U-V ray protection and race toward the water, completely ignoring the no running rule. Then I see my dad, playing golf with his buddies just and Joseph and I would. Then I start to wonder. Will Joseph and I be friends forever? Will he ever leave me? I sure hope not because he is my other half. Without Joseph I wouldn’t be where I am today. It seemed that time froze during those thoughts and we were off to splashing back in the water with a huge smile on my face.

Accelerated... What???

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you the exact way I started reading. It probably had to go along the lines of my teacher making us read for a program called Accelerated Reader, which all the students called “AR”.  My family has never been the most active readers so reading was not enforced in my home. The thing I remember the most about reading when I was little is when my mom would sit down with me on the floor and read me Dr. Sues or “Clifford the Big Red Dog”. And I actually remember enjoying that and wanting to read more until the 4^th grade. That’s when everything changed.

In the 4^th grade is when my teachers started to enforce AR. When they told us that we had to read because it was a part of our grade I died inside. I remember it like it was yesterday, every day after lunch the teacher would sit down and make us read. It was like taking the legs off of an Olympic runner. It is just something that you shouldn’t do. As the days passed the reading got less and less dreadful and I eventually got to the point to where I wanted to read. But then again, I got older and I entered Junior High. At the junior high I went to we didn’t have to read AR, but my teachers gave you detention if you didn’t read so you had too.  Reading has always been forced onto me so I have never really enjoyed it. But just like the last time, there was that one book that turned things around for me. That book was “The Light In The Forrest”. I don’t remember who wrote it but it really got me more involved in my readings.

 I don’t want to sound like a recorder stuck on replay but again; there was that one book that was just absolutely horrible. Every time I hear that name I just tremble in its wretchedness. But then, it hit me! I couldn’t just read one type of books and expect me to enjoy every single one of them, I had to expand my resources. That was the year that I read “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. It was a great book and I Immediately fell in love with it. It was like right up my ally. Mystery with a bit of history is one of my favorite types of stories. Man I can’t explain to you all how much I love that book.

I don’t like the way I learned to read to be honest. I would much rather have my mom or dad come to my bed and night and read me a chapter or 2 of my book. It would be a lot more enjoyable and it would also create some bonding time.

I think that people shouldn’t make their kids/students read. Yes it expands your vocabulary and make you smarter but they will get nothing out of it if you force it upon them. This is coming from a person experience. Thanks for reading! Have a good day.

I am

I am motivated and enthusiastic
I wonder what my future holds
I hear the shouts of the people in the stands
I see a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth inning
I am motivated and enthusiastic

I pretend that I feel no presure
I feel overwelmed
I touch the tape on my bat
I worry that I will not be good enough
I cry tears of joy
I am motivated and enthusiastic

I understand that everyone fials
I say never give up
I dream that i will go all the way
I try to do my best
I hope I will be good enough
I am motivated and enthousiasic

Not Your Average Angel

             "Treat others the way you would want to be treated" is a line that most people often take for granted. Do you really treat people the way you want tot be treated? Do you respect others? In the story "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" no one respects him.

             It all starts when this couple is walking down the road and they notice and angle sitting on the ground, but this is not your average angel. People treat this angle like dirt. The story describes him with " huge buzzard wings, dirty and half plucked were forever entangled in the mud." that's not how any angel should be treated.

             Not only did the people of the town neglect him. They took it to the point to where they out him in a cage and then charged an admission to come see him. That is inhumane. You should not be able to trap another person in a cage like an animal. If someone did that to me I wold not be that happiest person in the world.

             One of my pet peeves is when people get mad when a person disrespects them while they have been disrespecting people their whole lives. In America, people are so used to being disrespectful that they don't even realize that that person is being disrespectful. The one thing that still amazes me today is at the end of the story when the angel fly away. It sent a powerful message.

             It shows that no matter how bad you are treated, to never stoop down to their level. That is a hard thing do to in today's society. This is a great story to read for people of all ages to teach people about respect. Respect is something that can carry you a long way in life. Just remember, "Treat others the way you would want to be treated".