“We’re Deeply Sorry” – Residential Schools Response Journal

This video is talking about how the Aboriginals went to residential schools and never got any type of compensation for what they went through and what they had to put up with. In the video, people who went to these residential schools were invited to watch a video apologizing for what had happened. One can tell that some people were not satisfied by the apology since some people walked out. I think that the maker of this news article is trying to spread knowledge about what happened to the Aboriginals in residential schools because not many people are aware of what happened. I also think that the writer is trying to say that these Aboriginals that were mistreated will not be satisfied until they receive some kind of compensation; not just an apology. I think that the author is trying to make you feel informed about the situation so that you will be inspired to help make a change. I believe that he did a good job of this because people that don’t know about this would definitely learn a bit from this video. Although there was not a lot of imagery, the video was very descriptive with a lot of people telling their stories. The people went back to visit where the residential school used to be and it brought back a lot of memories for the people that went there. I agree that the Aboriginal people were done a great injustice and that they should be compensated in some way.

Janet Waking – Response Journal

This poem is about a young girl named Janet who lives in a farm with her parents and has a hen who she thinks of as her pet. Once you read over the poem you understand that the ‘waking’ means that Janet was innocent and had never thought about the idea of death until now. This can be seen because later in the poem it says “And weeping fast as she had breath, Janet implored us, “Wake her from her sleep!”. And would not be instructed in how deep was the forgetful kingdom of death”. This implies that, at first, Janet did not understand that her pet hen had died and she simply thought she was sleeping.

This poem uses a lot of puns and hidden meanings. One example of this is when she says “Beautiful Janet slept, till it was deeply morning”; this line can mean two different things at once. First of all, saying that she was unaware of death until she “woke up” the next day from her innocence. It could also be viewed as a pun since the word morning is similar to the word mourning. This is foreshadowing what is about to happen in the morning. I believe the theme of this poem is about death and losing the innocence of not knowing about death.

I believe that the author is trying to explain the process of someone experiencing the death of a loved one for the first time. I think that the author does a good job of explaining it.

The author uses a lot of descriptive words to set a clear image in your mind. An example of this is “It was a transmogrifying bee, came droning down on Chucky’s old bald head. And sat down and put the poison. It scarcely bled, but how exceedingly and purply did the knot swell with the venom and communicate its rigour”.

I thought this poem was a very well written poem. This is because you have to think about what it is and find hidden meanings and puns throughout the poem. It really makes you think and it has a good theme. Overall, I think it is a very good poem.

Leaders of Non-Violent Resistance: Gandhi

“Do not accept injustice in any form. Make the injustice visible. Be prepared to die for it.” All throughout the history of the world, people have been standing up for what’s right and trying to make a change of the unjust. Why is it that people are willing to fight for change, even if it means that they might die in the process and not be there to see the change after it happens? Perhaps it is because they want the generations to come to live in a different world then they had to live in, and they wanted their kids to benefit from the change that was to come. These acts of love required great bravery, which is not found in everyone nowadays.

Gandhi was one of these brave people who was willing to die for what’s right. But there was something different about Gandhi that was not present in many other great leaders; although he was willing to die for change, he was not willing to kill for change. He believed in a peaceful revolution, as he once said that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” This means that if one takes revenge on a person, and does wrong to someone simply because it was done to them, then it would cause a never-ending chain reaction where no one would benefit. Also, Gandhi was very brave as he was willing to lead such a high population, possibly into defeat, in hopes that it would all work out in the end. This is what made Gandhi different from other great leaders who wanted to make a change against discrimination.

In conclusion, it takes a pure, unselfish heart, a strong desire for change and for what is right, and immense bravery to be a great leader who can make a change. Such attributes can rarely be found on this Earth in one person, but when it is, great change is achievable.

Compare and Contrast Essay

Have you ever wondered what could happen if the world were to run out of resources and food? Some experts believe that if the world and all its inhabitants don’t adjust their ways of living, this could very well become a reality. This is argued by the two pieces of writing (“Talking to My Granddaughter” and “My Heart Soars”) which will be compared in this essay. Aboriginals and First Nations people have been practising moderated, sustainable living for over 500 years, and they have been warning the world about environmental problems that are arising due to our current ways of life. People have become too thirsty for money, they have forgotten how to properly prioritize in what’s most important, and they have disregarded the consequences even if they know them to be true, just to keep on fueling the ever-expanding economy, without paying attention to how it could affect the environment.

 

            In today’s consumer based society, people have become more and more thirsty for money, and businesses are avoiding all logic and depleting our resources just to get as much money as possible for themselves. This is probably the main reason why Native Americans are not happy with the way things are right now. Before more and more people started to settle in North America, the First Nations people were living sustainably and happy. They used up only what they needed and were very caring for the environment. After more and more people started to settle from other continents, the setters started to take up more and more resources without having any concern for how much they were taking up or how fast they were depleting the environment. This can be seen in the following quote from “Talking to My Granddaughter”: “Economic growth is seen as necessary for the community to survive, even at the expense of the environment, family or and individual. ‘The one with the most toys wins!’ seems to be the ideal of the Western society.”

 

            Another problem that arises in today’s society is that people have forgotten what’s truly most important. In the pursuit of money people seem to have no time to simply enjoy life. The Native American people know the importance of time and they have noticed that a lot of Non-Native people are unaware of this importance. This can be observed in the poem “My Heart Soars” from the following quote: “I have sat many hours on the steps of my house, and while I whittled I tasted nature and felt her throb of life; yet the strangers walking by thought me lazy.” When one does not take time to enjoy life, one also forgets the importance of different relationships. This can be observed in the following quote from “Talking to My Granddaughter”: “Little importance is placed on human relationships because it doesn’t add to the gross national product. The very Earth becomes threatened in order to fuel the consumption of the society for growth”. It seems that nowadays the only thing that matters to most people is economic growth, even if they know that they are potentially running themselves into their own graves.

 

            “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” I believe that this quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. is very true. It seems that society nowadays is ignoring the fact that not taking care of the world and the way we treat it could cause massive consequences, either because they don’t want to believe it or because they think that it’s okay since it probably won’t happen in their lifetime. This can be seen in “My Heart Soars” in the quote: “There are many people who look, but only some who see.” This means that everybody knows that there are consequences to the way we are consuming, but only some take the time to understand what this means. This is not the case for most Native Americans because they know that it is their responsibility to take care of the Earth so that future generations can be successful on this Earth. This means that they look ahead to make “long-term [plans] with a time period of many generations”, whereas the “Western society” only focuses on “short-term activity, lasting less than ¼ generation”.

 

            In conclusion, there is a lot that can be learned from these two stories. Both authors agree that the Western society values economic growth and expansion above all else, often times disregarding the environment. It is as if there is a balancing scale with economy on one side and environment on the other, and we must find the right balance to cause minimal damage to both. These two stories disagree in the fact that the opinions in “Talking to My Granddaughter” believe that the Natives must work together with the Western society to fix the issue, while the opinion in “My Heart Soars” is that it is up to the next generation of Native Americans to fix the issue. Most importantly, one can learn to not become greedy for money, to properly prioritize on what’s most important in life and build good relationships, and to not become ignorant on the subjects that could cause immense consequences if not treated.

“The Age of Stupid” Response Journal

“The Age of Stupid” is a very interesting documentary about how the world could change for the worst due to humanity not controlling our lifestyles and how we use our resources. The setting takes place in a future where the climate change has been altered so severely by our actions that most of earth’s inhabitants have been wiped off the planet. The only survivor is one man, who has footage of the world in the early 21st century (our present-time), which shows how we were recklessly taking our resources for granted. The author is trying to say that if we don’t change our ways of living and the way we are taking up our resources, the world portrayed in the video could very well become a reality. I think the author is trying to make you feel aware of the issue of climate change to make you feel like it’s partly your responsibility to do your part. I also think that the author is trying to scare you in a way or make you sort of alarmed about the issue, but in a good way. I think the author does a good job of achieving this feeling. A memorable scene from the movie was the scene about the wars for resources. What made it memorable was that they changed it up and displayed it through the view of an animated book. I like how the movie mixes fiction with facts; it does this by showing stories of real people and real situations around the world, and the information is given by an unreal character who has all the information stored in a computer. I think it’s important to educate yourself about climate change and its effects it could have on the world because if we are uninformed then we don’t know how to stop it from happening. In conclusion, I think that “The Age of Stupid” is a very good documentary that is worth watching.