Category Archives: English 10

Synthesis essay corrections

How One Can Face Their Past

 

What effect did the residential schools have on Saul and Betty? Is there a reason bad things happen to good people? Humans can be cruel but, why would one want to make others change their beliefs?   In the novel Indian Horse written by Richard Wagamese, a young boy named Saul is taken away from his family and is forced to live in a residential school. The setting takes place in Ontario during the 1960’s. In the residential school Saul was taught to be ashamed of his culture. The residential school wanted to “remove the Indian from our children”(47, Wagamese). This quote explains how they were treated; as if they meant nothing.   Sugar Falls is a graphic novel written by David Alexander Robertson and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson. The setting takes place in Canada. Betty was a five year old girl, who was abandoned by her biological Mother. Thankfully a loving family took her in as one of their own. After finding happiness the despicable priest came and took her away “like he owned her” (14, David Alexander Robertson). In the residential school Betty was treated with no respect and was taught to forget her culture. Both Indian Horse and Sugar Falls show examples of abuse within residential schools. In Indian Horse Saul was sexually and emotionally abused, Saul was forced to keep quiet if he wanted to continue playing hockey. Betty was also sexually and emotionally abused. Although Saul was not open to share his past he was so used to keeping everything to himself he had to face his demons before he could be at peace with his own history. Whereas Betty was happy to share her past and even let high school students continue to tell her story. Regardless of their differences, one can learn how to recover from times of hardship by being able to share their past.

 

Saul faced abuse while he was enrolled in the residential school. Saul’s passion was to play hockey, he felt a sense of peace and happiness as he would glide along the ice. There was nothing Saul wanted more than to play hockey. Unfortunately, Father Leboutillier understood how much the game meant to Saul and he took advantage of the fact he could be the one who decides if he plays or not. Father Leboutillier made a horrific deal with Saul: “He’d given me the job of cleaning the ice to buy my silence, to guard his secret. “ (199, Wagamese). Father Leboutillier sexually abused Saul. Saul wouldn’t say anything because he wanted to play hockey, and he enjoyed the idea of having someone that loved him. Overtime Saul became really good at playing hockey, he was put onto a super high level of hockey, because of his First Nations background he was treated differently and was treated with no respect. Even the fans who would show up to the games would not support Saul. Eventually he was forced to quit and this led him down a dark path to alcohol and depression.

 

Betty had a rough start to her life, her biological mother was cruel and abandoned her at the age of five years old. A loving family took Betty in and loved her. They provided her with a childhood that she deserved. Eventually the unwanted priest came and took her away to a residential school. Betty was able to make friends in the school and this helped her to forget about all of the awful things that were happening to her. Sadly, Betty was badly abused in the school. One time she was talking to her friend in Cree, the Sister caught her and kicked Betty in the head which caused her to be deaf in her ear. The nun commands her: get up, child. I’m only showing you what’s right” (Robinson, 29).  The nun thought she was teaching the children a lesson but all she had accomplished was abuse. Betty was also sexually abused. Unfortunately Betty was not the only one who had to face this problem. Many of her other friends also had to suffer through this.

 

Because of Saul’s horrific past as the residential school it has caused him to turn into an alcoholic. Saul needed a way to escape from his past. Saul tells us that “In alcohol I found an antidote” (Wagamese, 180). Alcohol had a bad effect on Saul and it caused him to become dependent on the drinks. After becoming sober, Saul decided to visit the residential school. He felt as if he needed to re visit so he could “learn to share the truth he had discovered locked deep inside of him” (Wagamese, 207). Saul was raised to keep things to himself so for him to learn how to talk about his past was a huge step in the right direction for him. When it comes to Saul one will need patience. Thankfully his adopted parents had a lot. It had been many years since Saul had visited but when he did they still welcomed him in open arms. Saul came back to cope with his family. He had realized this is not the way he wanted to spend his life and had learned how to cope with his past. Finally, Saul had gone back to visit Virgil. This was a turning point for Saul because Saul has found a safe way to forget his past. He has learned to cope through family and playing the game that he loves; hockey.

 

As for Betty, she was happy to share her past. Betty’s granddaughter April had brought one of her high school friends over to do a project about Betty and the residential school.  When April and her friend Daniel were welcomed into Bettys home, they were greeted with Betty holding an eagle feather and she had asked them to remove their shoes before entering “I am holding the eagle feather to honour the past and move forward with courage honesty and truth” (Robinson,5).  Betty explains to her guests how she needed a lot of courage to move forward, she did not want to forget her past she wanted to honor it. By keeping her story alive, Betty hopes it will raise awareness of the past and make sure nothing like this could ever happened again. Betty copes by participating in her culture, although she was raised to be ashamed of it. When Betty is telling her story, she wears the bright coloured clothing because while she was in the residential school they only wore boring colours. Betty had also “taught Cree to others. Later she became a language consultant” (Robinson,38).  By remembering her past and her culture Betty is able to be at peace with her horrific childhood.

 

In conclusion, residential schools had showed Saul and Betty how to recover in their own way. For Saul, the right path wasn’t always easy. He had so face his demons and bring himself to a realization of what he was doing was not right. As for Betty, the residential school has shaped her into who she is today; a proud First Nations Women. Although the residential school had similar effects on each character, they each grew up differently.

 

Things I did well: 

1.) Combining and organizing my thoughts

2.) Punctuation

Things I need to improve: 

1.) Adding more detail

2.) knowing when not to add too much detail

“What literature has taught me about the effects of racism”

Racism is seen everywhere, whether its from movies, books, or real life almost everyone has seen it. In the graphic novel sugar falls a young girl was taken from her home and put into a residential school. The purpose of the residential school was to make them feel ashamed about their culture. They were taught not to speak in their language and to praise God. They had to cut their hair and wear plain clothes. Residential schools would make a child feel ashamed to be who they really are. In the novel Indian Horse al Saul wants is to play hockey. When Saul plays hockey he finds happiness and peace. But because he is First Nations he is not allowed to participate on the ideal team. Racism prevents one from completing their dreams. After failing his hockey carrier and leaving the residential school, Saul becomes an alcoholic and this makes him go down a darker road. Racism ruined Saul’s future. He could’ve been an amazing hockey player and he could’ve had a happy life. Because some don’t see others as equals; because of their culture they are forced to have a tougher life. Saul’s mother grew up in a residential school this caused her to be shattered. His mother’s past affected his childhood and caused him to fear residential schools before even being put into one. In the poem, what do you remember of the evacuation by Joy Kogowa, it explains how Japanese citizens were forced to leave all of their belongings behind and go work in camps. Even if they were born in Canada they were treated differently because of the way they looked and the colour of their skin. The young child who is going to the camp wants to be white so bad: She says, “and I prayed to God who loves all of the children in his sight that I might be white” (Joy Kogowa). A child wants to change who she is because society is telling her that she is not right. In conclusion racism is seen way too often, it puts down a person and cause their lives to have unnecessary struggles.

Narrative Essay

 

The Path Isn’t Always Clear

 

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

“I can’t go, Mom!”

“Just tell her I broke my leg or something. Please!”

“Come on, we are going to be late, if you don’t hurry up”,sighed my mom.

As I am tying up my soccer cleats, my nail breaks. This is already a bad sign. I race to the car; my heart is pounding I can’t hear myself think.

We arrived. I put one foot in front of the other and sprint to the field. The coach hands me a deep blue piny with a giant number five on it. I put it on; it hasn’t been washed in a while. The stench of strangers sweat and a hint of mold fills my nose. I start walking towards my friends but the coach blows her obnoxious whistle and all the players come pouring into the middle of the field. She explains how her assessment is going to be, but most of all she wants us to have fun. As if anyone can have fun while being critiqued on their every move. The fun begins. Its blue vs red.

I step onto the pitch. All of the sudden the world starts spinning, my hands are sweating and I’m not sure if I remember how to walk. The herd of parents start chanting.

“Go Alana!”

“Shoot the ball!”

“Who was that pass to?”

The ball comes to me; I know what to do. I see an open number. “Ya Melissa!” I kick the ball with such power its perfect. I got this in the bag, I’m making this team no problem.

Its a rainy Saturday evening.  I need this phone call now! “I can’t wait anymore! The suspense is killing me!” My Mom comes down the stairs with the phone is her hands. It’s for me.

I answer. “Hello?”

A sympathetic voice replies, “Hi, is this Hailey?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, hi Hailey. Unfortunately you didn’t make the team. Better luck next year. Bye.”

Tears erupt from my eyes. How did I not make this team? All of my friends made this team. I’m the only one. My Mom explains to me, “There is another team in Port Moody you can try out for.”

“But I don’t want to leave my friends behind!”

I try out just as a practice for next year. I wasn’t even nervous; I didn’t care if I made this team or not.

The coach arrives, she gives us the same boring speech and then we start playing.  It’s about ten minutes into the tryout when the best player here goes for a shot and blasts the ball right at my stomach. I fall over but I quickly get back up and keep playing.

Before I knew it the tryout is over. That was actually fun! The girl who kicked the ball at me just so happened to be the coach’s daughter, they both came up to me and apologized for her shot. “Don’t worry about it, It’s fine, I barely even noticed”

“Good job tonight ,Hailey”

“Thank you”

The next day my Mom gets an email.

“HAILEY, you made the team!”

“Awesome…. But what about my friends?”

“You’ll make new friends.”

“Ok, I guess I’ll do it.”

I show up for practice the next week. The whole team is so nice! It’s so easy to make new friends with all of these girls. It feels like a weight has been lifted off of me and I can have fun playing soccer. After a while the coach from the other team calls me, and is desperate to have me on her team. Now it’s my turn to say no. Revenge is sweet! 

From this experience, I learnt to never give up.  If you are determined and work hard you can always reach your goals and taking risks can mean new friends.  Just sometimes the path to the goal has some detours.

 

I did well on organizing my thoughts and having a strong personal voice.

I need to improve on combining sentences and having less awkward sentences. 

 

“Tell Tale Heart”- alternate ending in new point of view

 

The point if view I used is Limited  Omniscient.

It’s probably just another crazy paranoid lady. At least Doug gets paid for this. Doug told his men to go to the house where the neighbours concern was. As soon as his foot stepped onto the property an awful feeling filled inside of him. He knew something was wrong but he didn’t show it, he wanted to be brave for his coworkers. Ding Dong! The gentle man came to the door. Nothing suspicious about that. He told the kind man what was happening and he kindly invited us in. In the back of Doug’s mind he knew this man wasn’t normal. Why was he still awake at such a late hour? Why would he want us to hang out in his masters bedroom? Something wasn’t right but, he had to follow Prodo call and not ask these questions. Out of nowhere the kind man isn’t so kind anymore, he starts sweating profusely, the vein in his forehead starts throbbing, and craziness fills his eyes. Doug looks at his men and nod so they know to be ready. The crazy man flips up the floorboards and reveals the dead body. Doug leaps towards him and arrests him. His men stay behind and call for backup. Doug takes the crazy man and pushes him into his cop car and off they go to the police station. Doug’s job here is done.

How does one find strength in times of hardship?

How does one find strength in times of hardship?

In the movie “The Book Thief” directed by Brian Percival, the director creates images in our minds that relates to WW II. Families are broken apart due to their beliefs, young children are dying and many are unable to feel comfortable in their own country.  The courageous young girl named Liesel has had so much sadness in her life and to her the world has gone mad. She has been assigned to live with strangers, and she has to try her best to be happy even though she has lost everything: “Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day” (Percival, The Book Thief). Liesel is trying her best to stay positive but it can be hard, it’s as if the smile on her face can be fake. Liesel’s first day of school is terrible: she is being bullied because of the fact she can’t read or write. Liesel gets caught by her Dad trying to read a book. Liesel’s Dad encourages her to read and this helps her to get her focus off the terrible things that are surrounding her. After a while, Liesel becomes great at reading and writing. Death says, “As always, one of her books was next to her” (Percival, The Book Thief). Reading helps to distract her from the tragedy that is happening around her. Liesel creates friendships through books, when she reads stories to her sick friend Max. Reading books has had such a big impact on her life she will do anything to read Including breaking in and stealing books from a rich family, with an amazing library. In the movie “The Book Thief” Brian Percival shows us that one can find strength in hard times by reading books and staying positive.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/book-thief-film-review-653866

 

Something I did awesome on was finding good quotes.

Something I need to improve on is adding more detail and making my writing more organized.

Food and You

Cora’s will not Disappoint, Taste Buds Are Delighted!

 

Before planting your foot on the floorboards at Cora’s, a welcoming host rushes to greet us. It’s simple to follow their peaceful vibration to our table. After strolling through the maze of tables and chairs, the waiter kindly commands us to take our seats. Their menu is packed with options. The fragrance of ancient coffee confronts us but the succulent smell of fruit and rich maple syrup helps to balance the punch.  The walls have a personality of their own, they obtain a different piece of art that whispers. The vibrant yellow walls instantly place us in a joyful mood. The background noise is like being a spy listing to others conversations underwater. The loud roar of the flames from the omelettes, demands attention and leads us in a trance. When picking up the frosty glass of delectable orange juice, it stings the tips of my fingers, but it successfully quenches my thirst.  Their creamy Nutella Waffles are picture perfect. The sticky Nutella hugs the toasted waffle. On the side of the masterpiece is a party of creatively sliced and diced fruit. Your mouth drools at first glance. Once the first bite is taken my taste buds explode like fireworks on Canada day. Coras wont leave my mind because of the wonderful memories I have with my family there. This meal has been so satisfying it is worth every cent of the fifteen-dollar cost. Delightful!

http://www.onlyhereforthefood.ca/2009/11/08/breakfast-artistry-coras/

First They Came For…

Adapted from the poem by Martin Niemoller ” First they cam fro the jews” in response to the poem danger of silence.

First They Came For…..

First they came for the Football Players

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Football Player

Then they came for the Immigrants

and I did not speak out

because I was not an Immigrants

Then they came for the African Americans

and I did not speak out

because I was not an African American

Now when will they come for me

because I was too distracted or too unaware

to defend my friends and my family?