Siblings-Problematize

In “Peace Like a River”, the love and care for each other is represented through the way the siblings protect one another. Jeremiah shows his children the value of caring for each other by accomplishing whatever he can for his family. He also shows his children that sometimes you may face challenges but you must keep working towards the goals God had for you. This is a quote from Jeremiah describing the battle his family was facing, “We and the world, my children, will always be at war. Retreat is impossible. Arm yourselves.”  I believe throughout the story the scripture Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  It’s ironic that this scripture comes from the book of Jeremiah being that the father’s name is Jeremiah. Jeremiah is defined as “God will raise up; God will set free.” Jeremiah relies on God in every situation throughout the story by reading the word and praying for the hope in these situations. Jeremiah was raised up through the life that was presented in the novel and when he dies, he is finally set free from all the struggles he faced throughout his life to be with God.  Looking at their father and his heart for them, they learned how to treat each other. I am the youngest of my family, there are two of us girls, and we are two years apart. My sister has always been the more independent out of the two of us. I like to compare her Davy in the novel. I compare myself to Rueben. Growing up, I was the kid that needed extra assistance and my sister has always been protective over me like Davy. I was born with a heart murmur, until I was ten, I wasn’t able to be very active and I had many times where I would need my parent’s assistance. Siblings are the best friends you never asked for. They are always there for you no matter what. In the novel, you can see the care for the siblings throughout the plot in many ways. Davy shows his love for his family in general and especially his siblings. When Rueben meets him at the end of the story Davy shows his dedication to Rueben.

            This past week, I have spent time with my entire family sharing the memories we have experienced throughout our years together.  My sister and I only see each other maybe five times a year, so during our time together I started to think about how much I have taken for granted, growing up sharing everything with my sister. Sometimes we fought and sometimes we were each other’s best friends. I believe this generation takes for granted the value of family and especially our siblings. Most families today, go their separate ways after college or high school. The American thing to do is to get married, and have children, then visit your family every holiday possible. Growing up, we are taught to chase the American Dream and that the only way we will succeed in life is to go to college or trade school. If this is true what happened to the value of the family and the close bond we all share? Another question I have is; where did the value of family go? When did we start only visiting them on the holidays or giving them a call at least once a week?

            A short story comes to mind that we have read earlier in this Introduction to Literature, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. This story was about a mother and her two daughters that had a conflict over a valuable artifact related to their culture. Maggie’s and Dee’s relationship was the opposite of Davy’s and Rueben’s relationship. Dee had no pride for her family and moved away to make herself better in her eyes. She came to visit in the story and wanted the quilts her mother had from her ancestors. Maggie became very angry because she had so much pride in her families’ heritage and Dee just wanted to come and take the quilts to gain the pride or respect of her husband or boyfriend. Maggie and Dee never had a bonding relationship. Maggie seems to be very hurt from how Dee disowns her family until she wants something valuable. These quilts were not only valuable monetarily to Maggie but valuable to her love for her family. Today, you see families torn apart from similar circumstances as the one in “Everyday Use”. Take for example the Lohan’s; Lindsay Lohan was a famous children’s actress when I was growing up. When she became a teenager she was introduced to drugs and alcohol. At this time in her life, she is in and out of jails and rehabilitation centers. Her family has completely disowned her and her family is completely dysfunctional. I don’t know someone could go day-to-day without the support of their family or siblings. As I get older, I find myself calling my parents and sister more just to hear how their day has went. What happened to caring for those people and protecting them to the very end?

            The times that most people realize the significance of family is when family members are sick or dying. This is sad to say, but is so true. I recently had a friend die in a car accident and his sister was so disturbed by his death because earlier that day she was fighting with her brother. The importance of keeping peace with your siblings, friends, family, or enemies is so significant because you never know what may happen to them in the future. What will it take for us as Americans to set-up and see the importance of one another? How do we bring back this sense of caring for our love-ones and protecting them like previous generations? This generation lacks the respect.  Respect is defined in the Webster’s dictionary as “to feel deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.” Our family members have a lot of wisdom and knowledge. We should never take for granted the history and heritage that our ancestors have passed down from their generations to our generation.

            My great-grandfather had thirteen siblings and was one of the oldest of the family. He is one of last two living today, but every time I visit him he always tells stories of how much he loved them and would have done anything for them. I struggle with keeping up with my sister; I don’t know how I would ever think to keep up with thirteen siblings. I am just astonished by how my generation struggles with this and it seems to not even bother us that we don’t care. My other grandfather has nine siblings, he is the youngest and there is still seven living. His brothers and sisters are his best friends. They live all over the southern states but stay in contact on a regular basis if that means visiting them or just giving them a call to talk. Every year, I enjoy going to our family reunion not to eat but to just sit at the table with them and listen to their stories about their parents, childhood, marriages, and life. I hope to one day be able to sit around a table with my family and my sister’s family to tell stories about our lives.

            Another story that comes to mind when discussing siblings is Joseph and his brothers. His brothers sold him into slavery because they were jealous of him and their father Jacob’s relationship. Through this Joseph didn’t hate his brothers; rather he relied on God to give him strength. For this generation, I believe that is another problem, we don’t rely on God to fix our problems with family. Through this story we can see that God was able to show him a light to which path he should take and gave him wisdom on what he should say or do.

            When describing the meaning of caring for your siblings; you may also see the similarities in having honor in your family. Family is more than just your parents and siblings. If you look or study your family’s genealogy you will find the importance of your distant family such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Families are all about the memories, traditions and laughs we will always cherish. Going back to, “Peace Like a River” we can look at the family as a whole and see how much they support each other. Jeremiah, Swede, Davy, and Rueben stay together through it all. It may seem that Davy became distant when he escaped but he was really protecting his family. Also on the other side, Jeremiah, Swede and Rueben did everything they could to help the situation. They also became closer through their situation rather than fight and argue like most would today.

           

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+45:1&version=ESV

http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/everyday-use/characters.html

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/respect

            

Annotation/Reflective Post

“I just found twenty bucks, this is a miracle!” How many times have you heard a similar statement? A miracle deserves to comparison to luck. A miracle is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, a marvelous event not ascribable to human power or the operation of any natural force and therefore attributed to supernatural, or  an act (e.g. of healing) demonstrating control over nature and serving as evidence that the agent is either divine or divinely favored. As Christians, we have faith in God of this act. It says in Acts 4:16,” Saying, What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.” This verse clarifies that as believers we shall not deny the “marvelous works or things” of our God. Miracles are not seen ever day but when they take place they change the person or another person. As Rueben said, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed-though ignoring them will change you also. When comparing miracles to another word, we could easily compare it to healing. When I look at this story, I easily can reflect on my miracle or healing in my life.

            “I believe I was preserved, through those twelve airless minutes in order to be witness, and as a witness, let me say that a miracle is no cute thing but more like the swing of a sword”, says Rueben in “Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger. This quote shows great emotion to how you really feel when you’re seeking hope for a person or yourself. I was born with a heart murmur which means I had a hole in my heart when I was born. The first year of my life, I was in and out of the hospital receiving treatment and trying to find a cure. By the end of the year, I was released to live as normal but not able to be as active as most kids and come every six months for a check-up until I would turn ten. When I turned ten, my heart would no longer be able to function with the hole. Therefore I would have to get surgery to cure the problem. My parents and I had followed what the doctors had said. The morning of surgery, I went in scared to death about surgery and my doctor asked the nurse if he could get an updated EKG on my heart. The first step was to go and get an EKG done before surgery prep. I remembered the nurse telling, “Chelsea, I need to go get the doctor, we have a problem.” The doctor rushed into the room looking at all the scans of my heart. He was so shocked. He couldn’t believe what had happen. My Heart was completely closed and looked like a completely new heart. That day changed my life forever! My miracle didn’t take twelve minutes but took ten years. I believe miracles build your faith and challenge to grow closer to God, the miracle worker. I know in my life this miracle has challenged not only me but my family, friends, and others.  

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/119052?rskey=B6WeC2&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

Bible- NIV

Reflection Post- The Road and "Fix You" by Coldplay

In class, we have been reading “The Road” and when reading this novel I remember the song “Fix you” by Coldplay. I can help to reflect this story to this song. Both the story and song have brought understanding as I reflect and correlate one to the other. 

The first stanza:

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

To me this describes the lifestyle that Papa and the little boy are facing. “Stuck in Reverse” is comparative by how the Papa doesn’t feel as if they are getting closer in the coast. 

The second stanza:

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

This stanza describes the feelings of the boy. He feels that the end will be death and the papa feel like everything he has lost he can’t replace so he flashbacks to those times when life was easy. The boy wants to care for others but there to use anymore. Then he realizes it could be worse and gains little hope. 

The third stanza:

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

The “Lights will guide you home” has so much meaning to this story and how they are just searching for the coast and how the light each day is able to guide them. They hope for the strength to ignite their bones. Together they help each other keep going. 

The fourth stanza:

And high up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

As the road seems longer they have had their highs and lows but the love each other to stop now. They have to keep trying when they come across things because it could be worth so much for them. The questions are how much is this worth to them? What happens if they reach the coast? Maybe they don't know, but the hope is what keeps them going, "if they never try they'll never know.”

Chorus:

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

This Chorus reminds me how they each have a fire inside of them to run from civilization to accomplish the goal of getting to the coast to survive. The coast is their home. This fire is what ignites them to keep pressing towards that goal. 

Tears stream down on your face

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down on your face

And I...

In “The Road”, there is a times where the boy cries and the Papa tells him to be quiet. The next line makes me think of what the father is going to think when he looks back at how he has treated his boy. The boy is more compassionate and wants to treat everyone else fairly, but the papa just wants to protect his kid. 

As I reflect on this story, this song gives even more meaning now than when I remembered it while reading. I haven’t finished the novel yet but I hope that there will be light at the end of “The Road.”

Creative Post- Poem

My Best Friend...

When I look at him, I see someone I want to be

He protects me like a shepherd watches his sheep

I wonder what he sees in me.

When I fall fast asleep, I can’t wait for the moment that I hear that beep

That means another day I can spend with him

We hate to leave each other’s sight

We have days where we fight like knights

Then days we enjoy being the best of pals.

He loves to watch a good sports game.

I love when we talk about not seeking the fame.

He lives life day-by-day, with no stress

Sometimes, it hard for me to even remember my address

He plays the piano, as I sing along with to his tunes

Our melodies sound like a rage of typhoons

We love to share our sound to others in the car

Radio blasted so everyone can hear that is near or far

Our love is like the oil is to a lamp

We need each other to survive.

Since the day we met went have been attached like a bee is to its hive

He hates to see me leave for camp

His thoughts and opinions are so valuable in my life

His wisdom leaves us strife.

I come to him for help when I am in trouble

He always knows how to make me bubble.

Fishing is our favorite thing to do

We go every Saturday morning without feud

Our cooler is filled with ice and some mountain dew.

A great catch is the fish that don’t look chewed.

Everything we do we take pride in doing

You would never find us booing

We challenge each other to do what right

We want to be what God wants us to be, a light

There is nothing like loving your best friend

This will be something we will cherish to the end

Our bond is nothing you have seen before

It’s never something we look at as a chore.

 When your best friend is your Father

He is someone that will stick to you closer than a brother

Annotation- Quilt

Quilt is defined in the Oxford English dictionary as a warm bed covering made of padding enclosed between layers of fabric and kept in place by lines of stitching, typically applied in a decorative design. In the short story, “Everyday Use”, the argument between Dee and her family over the family’s quilt arises as the stories climax becomes more effective in the story. Quilting has decreased on the level of difficulty in the past years. When this story took place quilting was still being done by hand. When making a quilt you usually have a quilt pattern, to follow this quilt pattern correctly you must have a quarter inch seam. Having sewing machines today, we take it for granted on how easy it is to make a perfect quilt. Growing up in a southern home, I have seen quilts made and past down in the family. Being someone that sews and knows how much it takes to make a quilt. The story connects a great deal to my life, there is a quilt in my family that has been pasted down many generations and for my generation it has been pasted to me. This quilt has so much history, my great-great-grandmother made this quilt by hand. I can easily put myself in Maggie’s shoes being someone that really knows how much meaning something such as a quilt is really worth. The Johnson family’s quilt showed so much passion for their heritage and the worth of their family. These quilts most like made from scratch meaning that the maker made their own pattern and we know from the story that the fabric was from t-shirt material. Dee’s lack of knowledge or careless attitude makes her blind to the worth of each quilt. I remember a quote my sewing teacher once said, “A quilt is a treasure which follows its owner everywhere.” In the Johnson Family’s case, the quilts are a treasure that have followed their family and have made it through the hard times they have had to face. Quilting and quilts are a great source of our countries history and heritage. Something I find very interesting about the patterns of quilts is if you ever have been through the mountains of North Carolina, you will find that almost every barn has a quilting pattern on it to represent their family and its heritage. Quilting is such a greater artifact of history then most realize. As we discussed in class there is meaning to every type of pattern. Next time, you see a quilt, take a closer look at it and you will see the work or history of that quilt.  

http://www.aprairiehomequilts.com/quilting-resources/quilting-quotes.html

http://oxforddictionaries.com/search?searchType=dictionary&isWritersAndEditors=true&searchUri=All&q=Quilt&_searchBtn=Search&contentVersion=US

http://quilting.about.com/od/stepbystepquilting/a/make_a_quilt.htm

Proverbs 31 – Reflective Posts – The Woman

One of the readings assigned in class this week was Proverbs thirty-one from the Bible. When I read this chapter, I read the translation from “The Message” version, this translation breaks down scriptures in a normal conversation of the twenty-first century. This particular chapter was about how the woman is to be the wife, the mother, and how she should be treated by her husband. This chapter brings me back to how my grandmothers viewed the duties of a wife and how they are no longer similar to the twenty-first century’s typical wife. The verse that enlightens me the most is verse fifteen, it says, “She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day.”  The woman in the early twentieth century believed very highly in how the woman of the household is described in this verse. I remember growing up hearing stories of how my grandmothers’ occupations were to run their households and care for their children daily. The word woman is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “An adult female human being; the counterpart of man.” Today, the woman is presented as someone that cares for her family by supporting the household by working outside the home and running the household on busy schedule. Verse 18, “She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day”. Relates to the women of the twenty-first century by showing how much they feel that work is important. Growing up in a household with a mother that played the role as a mother, wife, and the woman of the twenty-first century; I feel as if the women of this time work harder than the women in the early twentieth century. I saw that stress she went through juggling three kid’s schedules, work and being a great wife to her husband. The woman is such a value to a family and a man. The last verses are such an inspiration for how a woman should be treated by her children and husband. "Many women have done wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all!" Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God. Give her everything she deserves! In Raisin in the Sun, I believe Walter really lived by these verses. He valued the opinion of his mother and wife in act three more than he ever did before. All he wanted to do is give his family the life they wanted. In verse ten through eleven, I believe describes Walter’s view of the women of his household. Verse 10 through 11 states, “A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+31&version=MSG

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/229884?rskey=N1B9ch&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

Creative Post- Comparison Between School Today and School in the 50s

The two photographs above are the comparison and contrast between what school was like in the fifties and school in two-thousand and twelve. The first photograph was taken during the "The Little Rock Nine" at Central High School; Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. As a class this week we have been discussing the issue of segregation in the fifties. This photograph was when the brown vs. board of education decision was taken place. “The Little Rock School Board proceeded with desegregation of local schools, starting with Central High School. Nine Black students attended Central High School that year. Little Rock schools were not fully integrated until 1972.” These facts were located on the National Geographic blog, “My Wonderful World”. This is just some of the facts on this situations the black children had to face during the decision of Brown vs. Board was being introduce the American Society of that time.  With my creative blog, I wanted to give a comparison to school is the fifties and school today. The main comparison was that boys and girls attend school together. The education system had the same about of grade levels as now. College was available for students to attend. All school is segregated. Some of the differences between schools today and in the fifties are that students agree with being all equal, the public school is chosen for you by what district you live in, all students are provided the same rights, and another difference would be that teachers are hired from all races. Looking at the comparisons and differences, we can see that our generation has a very peaceful environment in our schools. I believe we can sometimes take it for granted. History has made our country become unified as one. This not only includes our education system but all different aspects of life. We have study this time in the United States, growing up taking history classes and reading history books. But have we ever put ourselves in their shoes and realize how much students faced back in the days. Black students were hated for their color and White students had to act on what their parents believed. When comparing and contrasting these two pictures, I think about how much life would be different now if the de-segregation of schools never happen. Some of us would have our best friends, some of us would have not been offered the education we are getting, or some of us would have never been able to interact with others at all. 

Annotation - Saccharine

Saccharine is defined in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as,” a: of, relating to, or resembling that of sugar b: yielding or containing sugar c: overly or sickishly sweet d: ingratiatingly or affectedly agreeable or friendly e: overly sentimental.” This word is used by Linda and Willy in the Second Act of “Death of a Salesman”. Willy is leaving to go see Howard, his boss, to talk to him about getting a promotion. She hands him his handkerchief after he has forgotten and says, “And your saccharine?” and he replies, “Yeah my saccharine.”  The definitions provided from the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary were all very similar to Linda’s character. This word clearly defines the role Linda plays in this family. She is the sweet, caring, affectedly agreeable, and over sentimental for her family. Author Miller tries to show us readers that Linda cares too about her sons living the American Dream. She was a loving wife that let her husband and sons take advantage of her. This line was significant because it not only shows the love she had for Willy but also the way he didn’t realize how much she cared for him. This line gives us the imagery of her asking for some sugar or a kiss but is that the only thing she is asking for?  Previous to this line she was telling Willy about how Happy and Biff wanted to meet him for dinner that night. That makes me want to assume that Author Miller wanted more than just a kiss out of this statement. Did he want us readers to feel the emotion that Linda had for her sons to save their father?  At the time she says this in the play you do not assume that she will stand up to Biff as she does in the end of Act three.  This statement clearly gave some falling action to the resolution of the climax of the play. During the resolution of the play, Linda’s character through this word is shown to be no more as she repeats “I can’t cry, I can’t cry”  When you decipher Linda’s character to a greater level you will find that there was more to her than just a mother and wife. Who do you think Author Miller intentionally wanted to be the main character?

American Dream

The topic of our discussions in class this week has been the “American Dream”, which have challenged us as students to define what it really is to us and the people all around the world. With this challenge, we have started reading,”Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. What I have read of it so far is that Willy, the father, is disappointed in his older son Biff for not becoming successful yet in his life. The meaning of “American Dream” given to us in class for this play clarifies what Willy believes it to be. It was defined as, “the social and financial security that can be earned by hard work and self reliance.” Willy is disappointed in his son for not working hard towards the dream he once had. Willy flashbacks into the past when Biff wanted to have a successful business. In our lives as college students, we may not see the goals we want to accomplish in our lives and the “American Dream” but if you look at in another aspect we are trying to achieve the same as others seeking the “American Dream”. When looking for comparison in our lives with the “American Dream” presented in this play, it will seem difficult because Miller is a Modernists when writing. As we discussed in class, Modernists do not subscribe to absolute truth. All things are relative, but they still search for truth. Modernism challenges readers to gain more knowledge in what you believe in by creating an idea or dream similar to what most agree with. Our generation is very intrigued by this concept because we know for challenging and expanding an idea to something better. This generation is not scared to try something new or failing at something. “Death of a Salesman” is going to show us a different look at failure and not accomplishing the goals you are seek to finish in the future.