Eva

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein

Stranger than Fiction

January 23, 2025 / / 0 Comments

It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime, an autobiography non-fiction book by Trevor Noah explores the themes and ideas of racism, individuality, belonging and being part of a community. The book follows Trevor and his experience growing up during apartheid, an political social  division that eventually shaped who he became, along with his efforts to fit in but being outcasted due to his skin color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The synthesis pages require you to connect topics mentioned in the book with current world events, identifying lesson topics we learnt in class to multiple characters or main ideas discussed in the book and the synthesis pages challenges your thoughts on the book and necessitates deeper thinking and analysis. I wrote about how Trevor’s resilience really influenced his decisions and future since he could bring on a positive attitude despite all the hardships he faced and wanted to make a change. I also realized that Trevor and his mother’s relationship is very important in the book and is one of the closest connections he has with someone. This aligns with our lesson 3 topic, “Perspective, POV, Voice”. As I dived deeper into the book and near the end, on the second page I explained how his mother’s impacted his view on the world and taught him several life lessons that stuck with him throughout his lifetime. Additionally, I noted some central ideas and themes mentioned in the book.

 

(Booklet page 16: Extension’s) challenge was to rewrite a passage from the book from a different point of view and I chose to take a scene from chapter 7, Fufi. I rephrased paragraph 45 from the other colored kid’s pov; the person who Trevor found Fufi with. This extension page has assisted me in understanding other character’s perspectives and experiences that happened to Trevor in their eyes, even if they just side characters.

 

(Booklet page 24-25: Extension) involved either creating a playlist (consisting of 6 songs minimum) or creating a collage that represented the book, and I chose to create a playlist, which I included 7 songs that I knew of and added a short explanation for each choice below. I feel like a lot of the songs can really connect to Trevor’s bravery and afflictions through the book. I came back to the activity multiple times to change and add songs and took my time with it, and I am satisfied with the result.

 

(Booklet page 20-21: Intros, hook, leads and opening lines) The task of these two pages were to collect and find unique introductions/hooks/opening lines you liked. I found a lot of great intros and hooks, and I think having a interesting start to any chapter or paragraph is important because it creates the first impression and determines how the rest of the text will go.

 

(Booklet page 22-23: Endings, mic drops and title theory) Similarly to booklet pages 20-21, for this page I gathered a lot of endings of chapters or paragraphs, and while I was searching for conclusions I noticed that Trevor Noah always ends an chapter powerfully and leaves you thinking “wow, that was an amazing chapter” and makes you want more. There were a lot of meaningful life lessons that he shared or gave to the readers at the end, which makes it a remarkable mic drop.

 

Trevor Noah: Born a Crime explores the central idea of identity and belonging through his experiences growing up as a biracial child in apartheid South Africa. Because of his mixed race, Noah often felt like he didn’t truly belong anywhere, as he was seen as “too black” for some and “too white” for others. In Chapter 1, he describes how apartheid forced people into strict racial categories, making it hard for him to find his place. However, he discovers a sense of belonging when he connects with the “cheese boys,” a group of friends who welcomed him despite their different backgrounds. This friendship allowed him to close “gaps” between communities and find acceptance, showing that belonging can be created through relationships rather than defined by race. Noah’s journey illustrates how identity can be complex and how we can find our own sense of belonging by embracing our unique experiences.

 

The book also highlighted systemic inequality through Trevor’s growing up during apartheid in South Africa. He often describes how the laws were designed to keep nonwhite people, like himself, in poverty and without power. For example, in Chapter 3, Noah talks about how his mother had to pretend to be a stranger when they went out together because their relationship was illegal under apartheid laws. This shows how the government enforced strict racial segregation and made it dangerous for families like his to exist publicly. Additionally, Noah mentions in Chapter 9 that many people in his community were forced into crime just to survive because they had no opportunities for education or jobs due to these unfair laws. Through his stories, Noah highlights how systemic inequality shaped not only his life but also the lives of many others in South Africa, creating cycles of poverty and limiting their chances for a better future.

 

 

 

 

 

Humanist or Not?

October 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

The Renaissance was a period in the 14th and 15th centuries when society experienced a major shift in thinking. This infographic highlights the main ideas of humanism, a belief that became popular during this time. Humanists valued individualism, secularism, inspiration from classical works, education, and new inventions or discoveries.

I personally agree with individualism, as I believe it’s important to value people for their accomplishments rather than their social class or background. I’ve done some research online and found out that some kids are bullied at school because of things their parents did, which can lead to serious issues like depression and anxiety. Everyone is born with the right to control their own lives and should be free to make their own choices (although, of course, choices come with consequences if they’re unfair to others). Supporting education and encouraging new inventions is also essential, as both are key to making progress and staying open-minded. As a secularist, I only agree a littlewith the religious beliefs held by humanists. I don’t feel that a god needs to approve my choices or influence them, and I don’t follow any specific religion. However, like humanists, I appreciate different philosophies about life, such as Confucian ideas. For example, when I visited the Lama Temple last year, I took time to pray to the Buddhas, even though I’m not deeply involved in Buddhism. I respect the values and ideas, even if I don’t fully practice the religion. Lastly, I mostly agree that using ideas from classical thinkers can help us improve our own understanding, but we also need to question them. For instance, the geocentric theory, which said the Earth was the center of the universe, was eventually proven wrong by Galileo’s work with the telescope, showing that the Sun is actually at the center. This example proves that it’s important to question old ideas. When studying the ideas of ancient scholars, we shouldn’t just accept them automatically. Instead, we should question everything and make sure it makes sense to us before believing it.

Humanism was an “old and new” way of thinking, blending ancient ideas with new perspectives, which can still be helpful today. These ideas encourage innovation, open-mindedness, and personal growth, which are valuable for individuals in any time period. But no matter how much we might agree with humanist ideas, we should also remember the mindset of these revolutionary thinkers. They didn’t focus on wealth or fame; instead, they cared about creating a better future for everyone. Their goal was to make positive changes in society, and they were driven by a desire to improve the world.

Q1 Reading Reflection

October 9, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Made with Padlet

My Current Reading Life:

  • I am currently finishing one philosophy fantasy book and a Japanese classic book. I try to find time to continue reading these novels in my free time or sometimes late at night. I am reading to improve my general comprehension skills and knowledge. I want to try non-fiction and possibly a few more Japanese tales because I find them intriguing and the way Japanese authors write books are makes them satisfying and calming to read. Before winter break I want to at least try a bit more different genres and to finish the two books that I have not finished for a while now.

Brothers, Tape, and Trouble

August 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Tape by istockphoto

It only took a “No”, a lack of understanding towards his older brother that flipped his whole day upside down.

I created my found poem, constructed employing the words of Adam Bagdasarian in his tale, “My Side of the Story.” I developed and designed the blackout poem utilizing Microsoft Word and Unsplash. 

In My Side of the Story, it all starts when the main character, in his free time, practicing signatures refused to play ball with fourteen-year old brother, Skip, who then rubbed scotch tape hard onto his brother’s head, who then, in search of justice, goes to complain to their mother, but in place finds his dad, who does not care about small matters like sibling mischief. The main character is then punished by his insensitive father while Skip avoids punishment, and in search of revenge, the main character does the wrong things and decides to wreck one of his brother’s trophies, hoping that Skip will tattletale and get beat up by their father, too.

I think that the main conflict of the story was both external and internal, since the protagonist wanted to make things fair, and nagging at their mom for justice because Skip had made a promise before to not torment his brother. He also wanted to get payback at Skip for getting him into trouble with his dad by breaking Skip’s awards, and is also a clear example of a human vs. human encounter.

Now I will give my reasoning for the particular designs on some printed pages of My Side of the Story. Foremost, I also black outed the text of the story using different highlighter/colors to represent the feeling that the main character felt. On the first page, it was orange (scanned version shows yellow) because it symbolizes harassment and negative emotions, then on the second page it was partly dark blue and black, representing justice when the main character went to tell his mom about Skip, and fear (black) shown when he meets his father and also for page 3 and 4. Lastly, I used pink/red highlighter to block out most words because pink or red can represent revenge.

Page 1, My Side of the Story

I illustrated a dragon on the first page of “My Side of the Story” is due to the Western belief that dragons usually symbolize chaos, destruction, and malevolence. In the passage on page 1, it is told that the reason for Skip’s daily torturing to his brother is because “he was fourteen and with a little brother he could bedevil.” I portrayed a lion on the following page, given that the main character went past his brother in search of his mom; in search of justice so she could punish Skip but ran into his father instead.

Page 2, My Side of the Story

Page 2, My Side of the Story

His father, powerful and outraged because of the main character barged into the room with small sibling shenanigans, punishes him instead. As a representative of justice, physical and spiritual power, it would be fitting, along with a spider, embodying fear, which the main character experiences upon meeting his father in his mom’s room. Spiders also stand for disgust, which his father thinks of sibling fights and unimportant matters.  

On the other hand, a pink tiger along with bits of tape is drawn on the other page. I chose a tiger to represent their fierce father penalizing the main character for coming into his mom’s room without permission. Pink can sometimes be a symbol of passivity and unwillingness to take things seriously.

Page 3, My Side of the Story

Lastly, on the 4th page of the novel, I roughed out a snake and bird illustration, iconically Skip and his brother. It was based off a creation motif found in the Mesopotamian myth of Etana, in where an eagle and a snake lived peacefully on rear ends of a tree and made a promise on staying peaceful and helping the other, which, coincidentally, is also the case for the two brothers, as stated in line 30-31. But then, the eagle breaks the promise and devours the snake’s young. The snake then complains to the Sun God, which brings us to the main idea; “an interplay of the Snake and Bird who occupy opposite ends of the tree entrails both peaceful coexistence and destructive conflict.”

Page 4, My Side of the Story

It is also relevant to the theme of My Side of the Story; that we should be a bit more understanding of others, show sympathy and to do the right things, even if they are not rewarding. 

In my found poem I have included parts of the theme stated above, starting from where Skip asked his brother to play ball with him but was replied to with a “NO.” Which was a bit selfish to his brother since he had time to do so, and if maybe he agreed, nothing would have gone downhill. His father then made him realize his wrongdoing by first disposing of the tape problem, because he did not have any understanding towards the main character, he then punished him. which gave me evidence that none of the characters shown in the story shows sympathy or understanding for others.  

Page 5, My Side of the Story

In the end, Skip got off the hook with no consequences while his brother had to endure harsh punishment from their dad. But the main character wanted revenge and destroyed one of Skip’s trophies, which also brings us back to the main theme of the story, to do the right things, because he hopes that Skip will tell dad about the situation and get beat up but that would escalate the whole situation even more. This proves my idea of the theme, and what lacking sympathy and understanding and not doing the right things can lead to. 

 

MLA Works Cited 

“Animal Symbolism.” Whitcraftlearningsolutions, whitcraftlearningsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Animal_Symbolism.pdf. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024. 

“The Snake-Bird Creation Myth.” Faculty Collin, faculty.collin.edu/chansen/text/snakebird04.html. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024. 

Welcome to Your New Blog!

August 29, 2022 / / 0 Comments

When you blog you create posts and posts are categorised according to your subject. Some categories have already been set up for you. If you need more categories you can add them as needed. It’s important that your posts have the following:

  • An engaging title – this should not include the name of the subject since this is referenced in the category.
  • Body – this is where you share your learning. This can include text, images, embedded videos from Dragons’ Tube or elsewhere. You should always consider how your post looks to your audience. Is it engaging? Do they want to keep reading?
  • Category – select one that has been set for you or add a new category. Posts can have more than one category e.g. Humanities and Myself as a Learner

Click on the images below to learn more about blogging:

 

 

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