Wounds of the Past Battles were fought, lives were taken and wounds were made, some of which remain as an indication of victory or stay as a mark of failure. Whichever one it may be, there were different strategies that were used to try to heal injuries that occurred on the battlefield, more specifically during the Civil War. The problem was, there were more men dying of diseases than men that were falling on the battlefield. Doctors were required to have only two years of medical training, therefore medicine was not as profound back then compared to present day advancements. Three of many brave men that experienced injuries during the Civil War in the book Killer Angels by Michael Shaara were Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, John Buford, and
Farah Ahmedi lived in Afghanistan while a war was going on. She nor her mother or anyone else in Afghanistan were safe. In the story The Other Side of the Sky Ahmedi describes how she got across the border of Afghanistan to Pakistan. During Ahmedi’s Journey, she learns lots of positive things that taught her many important things today. For instance, one of the things she learned was that people were kind and forgiving when you really need it.
The conflict of English learners being in mainstream or private classes has been raging for decades. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a work of historical fiction. First Ha, her three brothers, and her mother were forced to leave their home country of Vietnam due to the war. They have to face this hardship without the support of their father, who was captured by the Communists and disappeared many years before. Then they travel on a boat in terrible conditions to a refugee camp in Guam.
On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was fatally shot by Blane Salamoni, a Baton Rouge police officer, in a convenience store parking lot. Salamoni was responding to a call about a man brandishing a gun and thought that Sterling fit the description of the suspect. However, when Salamoni arrived at the scene, he immediately became violent in his use of force on Sterling. Body camera footage shows Salamoni “slamming him into a car; twice ordering the second officer, Howie Lake II, to use his Taser; and threatening to shoot Mr. Sterling with a gun pointed at his head” (Fausset, 2018). Also shown in the video is Sterling doing his best to follow Salamoni’s orders although he was being pushed around by officers for the duration of the encounter.
I believe the difficult journey for immigrants and all they had to do to start over in a new country was worth the hardships they faced. This is because after all their hard work, things slowly but surely, started to get better. The hardest part was getting started. Although many immigrants were leaving for a better life or trying to escape political injustice, these men, women, and children were leaving their old life forever. In “Shutting Out the Sky”, Leonard Covello remembered before leaving Italy, “The gold you find in America will not be in the streets…
This remark makes it clear that it interferes with one’s own identity and battle to define oneself if they are unaware of their own traditions and customs. This demonstrated that people must be committed to their families in order to discover their own ancestry and culture, define their identity to
Good Muslim Boy is a novel that tells the story of a young Muslim boy named Osamah Sami. Sami grew up in a small town in west Melbourne. Sami was born on 10 March 1983 in Qom, Iran. Over the course of the novel, Osamah Sami is portrayed as a young man who struggles to balance his cultural heritage with the expectations of his father and keep up with the demands of his cultural heritage. Sami gradually learns to accept himself over the course of the novel, and even opens up to his father about the way he feels and what he wants from life.
I was unaware we could learn something positive from another culture. I was assuming that we should adhere to our own culture and be true to our beliefs. Partially of this is true whereas believers of Christ stay committed to faith, but also look at the other values and determine what we (North Americans) are lacking. What I knew about the nature of the world was that humans live in broken and sinful world. On the other hand, I thought of human identity as how a person defines him or herself and how is that person differs from others.
Here in California, and all over the world, millions and millions of people follow god even though there are many religions. Just like Farah, and people in Afghanistan, have had life changing experiences by praying. When Farah saw the star fall she knew that was sign that God was by her side and things started turning around. She then held on to hope. When Farah forgot God, she forgot faith.
In "Salt to the Sea," author Ruta Sepetys portrays memory as both a source of suffering and of comfort for the characters. While memories provide some characters with a sense of belonging and identity, they also expose past traumas and injustices that lead to emotional pain and suffering. First off, Sepetys demonstrates how comforting memories can be for people like Joana and Emilia by reuniting them with their families and cultural roots. Moreover, several people in the book experience pain because of their memories. Ultimately, some characters are tormented by the shame and remorse brought on by their past transgressions.
In the memoir Through My Eyes by Ruby Ridges, the author writes about her personal perspective of attending William Frantz, an all-white public school, by herself. At the age of six, Ruby overcame many obstacles every day, all for her education. She shares her experiences starting as early as taking a test to be chosen for the public school, and throughout, tells the story of how she became the girl who changed segregation in schools forever. Ruby Bridges uses her first-person account to deepen the readers’ understanding of this moment in U.S. history and allows readers to fully grasp what her life was like when transitioning to an all-white school. Ruby expounded her account of being tested by herself in order to integrate schools.
In order to find myself, I read a book. A book by a Haitian American struggling to find the middle ground of being raised in Haitian customs but surrounded by American influence. Consumed by the thought of reading stories with others who struggle to find their identity like I did, I read every book I could find. In that time I began to learn more about my hidden culture and more about myself. I learned about many customs and characteristics that come from being an American born citizen from Haitian immigrant parents, and the differences and slight similarities that shaped who I am.
In the movie Déjà Vu, director Tony Scott produced an unforgettable movie. It is the city of New Orleans, Louisiana a wonderful day when all of a sudden BOOM a massive ferry explodes. The whole city is in shock. Bomber Carroll Oerstadt (Jim Caviezel) decides to put explosives in a car on the ferry. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is on a mission to find this bad guy.
The book that I chose to read was Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. I enjoyed Through My Eyes because it entails the struggles Ruby overcame at such a young age. Being able to listen to Ruby’s story through her perspective was very powerful. Surrounded by racial turmoil, Ruby is the first girl to integrate her elementary school and is the only girl in her classroom with her teacher, Mrs. Henry. This book goes over the events during this important time in history as it unfolds around Ruby herself.
At first I wrestled with where my identity lay. The strong values and traditions of the Indian culture sometimes made it difficult to fit in with the crowd. As I grew older, I began to understand that I was not part of an individual culture, but a fusion of two rich and colorful histories. I recognized that there is remarkably more to an individual than where she comes from, and more to her than where she currently lives. Importantly, being from two cultures allows me to incorporate the best qualities of both.
