Defending a Position 1

Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird

Chelsea Dawson

“…and I hope and I pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand… I hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough…” (Pg. 88) The words of Atticus Finch speaking of how people over react when anything that shows them the complete social inequality present in Maycomb Alabama. As you read on you should learn about the different types of social inequality that are present in Maycomb during the 1930’s. You will be introduced to the Cunninghams, the Ewells and the black community. Discovering people`s thoughts on social inequality and how it does or doesn’t affect them. Whether or not we can tell it’s there social inequality is always present even if we don’t notice.

In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many forms of social inequality, more than just the whites and the blacks. In Maycomb there is prejudice against the Cunninghams because they are considered to be lower members of society. There is evidence to support the prejudice against the Cunninghams in what Aunt Alexandria has to say about them, “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. Besides, there’s a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people” (Pg. 224). This quotation from the book does a good job of explaining Aunt Alexandria’s feelings towards the Cunninghams. The quotation is saying that no matter what Walter Cunningham does he will always be a Cunningham and there for not good enough for a Finch. She is stereotyping the Cunninghams and assuming that they all have a drinking problem even though you know that Walter Cunningham doesn’t and is a good boy from the way he treats Scout with respect and how he wants to go to school and pass but can’t always because he has to stay home and help out in the spring. “Because he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to your father as it is.” (Pg. 225).  This is what Aunt Alexandria has to say when she finds out that Scout wants to play with Walter Cunningham. In Scouts eyes there isn’t a big difference between Walter Cunningham and her except the wealth of their families. Scout didn’t see the social inequality with the Cunninghams but when she did she had a problem with it but Aunt Alexandria didn’t and neither did majority of Maycomb, they just went along with their business happy to ignore the Cunninghams and the rest of those at the bottom of the social scale.

Even lower down the social scale is the Ewells. They are the bottom of white society, as low as a white can get. “The boy stood up. He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark grey, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a fist-sized clean space on his face.” (Pg. 27).  That was Scouts description of Burris Ewell followed by the explanation of how all the children comes to school for the first day and then never come back until the next, how they figure that’s good enough. Burris Ewell had been coming to the first day of grade one for three years. Partially through Scouts first day of school her teacher Miss Caroline is horrified because a bug crawled out of Burris Ewell’s hair. This was followed by Burris standing up and saying he had done his time for that year. The town never tried to do anything to help the Ewells instead they just let them go about their business and living in their old negro cabin and continue to live in filthy disease filled surroundings by the town dump. Out of sight out of mind. The Ewells got welfare from the state and Bob Ewell, the father, used it buy whiskey everyone in the town knew that that was what he used his welfare for instead of to support  his many children but didn’t do anything  change it because they were the Ewells and that’s just what they did. They were the Ewells but they were better than the blacks.

At the absolute bottom of the social scale in Maycomb, Alabama were the blacks. Atticus is appointed to represent Tom Robinson, a black, in a rape case. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. It was the Ewells word against Tom Robinsons and as always the white’s word was the one that was considered the truth. It was the belief of majority of Maycomb society that the blacks were liars and cheats.  The reaction of the community towards Atticus after he was appointed to defend Tom was not a way to treat a respected lawyer. “Yes indeed, what had the world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!” “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Pg. 102) Those words came from Mrs. Dubose an elderly lady that lived up the street from the Finchs. Along with another phrase common towards Scout in the school yard, “Negro lover.” Scout didn’t understand at first the mistreatment of the black community and why the kids were calling her what they did. During the trial Dill has to leave and goes outside and cries and had this to say about why he was so upset, “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that- it just makes me sick.” (Pg. 199)  Dill, Jem and Scout were beginning to realize how much the black community was mistreated and they knew it was wrong, why couldn’t everyone else see that? They were some that did. “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (Pg.220) This quotation from the back is meaningful because it shows you Atticus’ feelings and perspective on social inequality. Atticus is one of the few people in Maycomb that teach their kids that treating blacks and others is wrong and you should be ashamed if you can’t stand up and defend others.

            You have learned about the Cunninghams and how people look down upon them as being lower class citizens. You have learned about the Ewells who are the lowest in white society and how the wqhite community almost pretends like they aren`t there. And you have learned about the blacks, the lowest you can be in Maycomb during the 1930`s. You`ve learned about what Atticus thinks, how you need to respect everyone and Calpurnia who said, “Don`t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in the house`s yo` comp`ny, and you don`t let me catch you remarkin` on their ways like you was so high and might! ” (Pg. 24) And what Atticus said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Pg. 30) These are both lessons that Atticus and Calpurnia taught Jem and Scout and they`re lessons that we can still use today.  Whether or not we notice social inequality is still present, we can chose to acknowledge it or ignore it completely but it`s still there if we can just open our eyes and look.

Refelction

In this essay we had to defend our position on social inequality in To Kill a Mocking Bird. 

Showcase Artifact 1

Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird

Chelsea Dawson

“…and I hope and I pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand… I hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough…” (Pg. 88) The words of Atticus Finch speaking of how people over react when anything that shows them the complete social inequality present in Maycomb Alabama. As you read on you should learn about the different types of social inequality that are present in Maycomb during the 1930’s. You will be introduced to the Cunninghams, the Ewells and the black community. Discovering people`s thoughts on social inequality and how it does or doesn’t affect them. Whether or not we can tell it’s there social inequality is always present even if we don’t notice.

In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many forms of social inequality, more than just the whites and the blacks. In Maycomb there is prejudice against the Cunninghams because they are considered to be lower members of society. There is evidence to support the prejudice against the Cunninghams in what Aunt Alexandria has to say about them, “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. Besides, there’s a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people” (Pg. 224). This quotation from the book does a good job of explaining Aunt Alexandria’s feelings towards the Cunninghams. The quotation is saying that no matter what Walter Cunningham does he will always be a Cunningham and there for not good enough for a Finch. She is stereotyping the Cunninghams and assuming that they all have a drinking problem even though you know that Walter Cunningham doesn’t and is a good boy from the way he treats Scout with respect and how he wants to go to school and pass but can’t always because he has to stay home and help out in the spring. “Because he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to your father as it is.” (Pg. 225).  This is what Aunt Alexandria has to say when she finds out that Scout wants to play with Walter Cunningham. In Scouts eyes there isn’t a big difference between Walter Cunningham and her except the wealth of their families. Scout didn’t see the social inequality with the Cunninghams but when she did she had a problem with it but Aunt Alexandria didn’t and neither did majority of Maycomb, they just went along with their business happy to ignore the Cunninghams and the rest of those at the bottom of the social scale.

Even lower down the social scale is the Ewells. They are the bottom of white society, as low as a white can get. “The boy stood up. He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark grey, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a fist-sized clean space on his face.” (Pg. 27).  That was Scouts description of Burris Ewell followed by the explanation of how all the children comes to school for the first day and then never come back until the next, how they figure that’s good enough. Burris Ewell had been coming to the first day of grade one for three years. Partially through Scouts first day of school her teacher Miss Caroline is horrified because a bug crawled out of Burris Ewell’s hair. This was followed by Burris standing up and saying he had done his time for that year. The town never tried to do anything to help the Ewells instead they just let them go about their business and living in their old negro cabin and continue to live in filthy disease filled surroundings by the town dump. Out of sight out of mind. The Ewells got welfare from the state and Bob Ewell, the father, used it buy whiskey everyone in the town knew that that was what he used his welfare for instead of to support  his many children but didn’t do anything  change it because they were the Ewells and that’s just what they did. They were the Ewells but they were better than the blacks.

At the absolute bottom of the social scale in Maycomb, Alabama were the blacks. Atticus is appointed to represent Tom Robinson, a black, in a rape case. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. It was the Ewells word against Tom Robinsons and as always the white’s word was the one that was considered the truth. It was the belief of majority of Maycomb society that the blacks were liars and cheats.  The reaction of the community towards Atticus after he was appointed to defend Tom was not a way to treat a respected lawyer. “Yes indeed, what had the world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!” “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Pg. 102) Those words came from Mrs. Dubose an elderly lady that lived up the street from the Finchs. Along with another phrase common towards Scout in the school yard, “Negro lover.” Scout didn’t understand at first the mistreatment of the black community and why the kids were calling her what they did. During the trial Dill has to leave and goes outside and cries and had this to say about why he was so upset, “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that- it just makes me sick.” (Pg. 199)  Dill, Jem and Scout were beginning to realize how much the black community was mistreated and they knew it was wrong, why couldn’t everyone else see that? They were some that did. “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (Pg.220) This quotation from the back is meaningful because it shows you Atticus’ feelings and perspective on social inequality. Atticus is one of the few people in Maycomb that teach their kids that treating blacks and others is wrong and you should be ashamed if you can’t stand up and defend others.

            You have learned about the Cunninghams and how people look down upon them as being lower class citizens. You have learned about the Ewells who are the lowest in white society and how the wqhite community almost pretends like they aren`t there. And you have learned about the blacks, the lowest you can be in Maycomb during the 1930`s. You`ve learned about what Atticus thinks, how you need to respect everyone and Calpurnia who said, “Don`t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in the house`s yo` comp`ny, and you don`t let me catch you remarkin` on their ways like you was so high and might! ” (Pg. 24) And what Atticus said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Pg. 30) These are both lessons that Atticus and Calpurnia taught Jem and Scout and they`re lessons that we can still use today.  Whether or not we notice social inequality is still present, we can chose to acknowledge it or ignore it completely but it`s still there if we can just open our eyes and look.

Reflection
This pice of work may not have gotten the best mark or even a very good mark at all but it's something that I am proud of because of all the effort that I put into to it. It took me a long time to plan and write this essay because I wanted it to be the best I could make it. And even though it didn't end up being the best because it didn't answer the question it's still something that I can be proud of.

Showcase Artifact 2

I choose my logo for a showcase artifact becasue it is something that I created this year that I am really proud of. My logo relates to humanities because it's all about my identity and globalization, that main things we learned about this year.

Response to Film

Movie Review

Fiddler on the Roof

The Prospects

           This epic and exhilarating film has people around the world raving about Fiddler on the Roof. The Chandler Weekly rates it 4 stars out of 5, with its cheap and older genre does very well to show pre revolution Russia. The movie follows a Jewish man named Tevye whose little town of Anatevka where the changes of the world are affecting their way of life. The riveting performance done by Topol (Tevye) blows peoples mind one after another, the musical genius of this play helps the performance of the whole cast. The reason it was rated 4 out of 5 was it didn’t hook me in as well I would have liked and not all the songs were the best. I had I expectations for this movie and it delivered.
The Call Sturgeon Journal rates the film 3.5 stars out of 5. This performance was stunning and un-repeatable! The life that Tevye, Golde and their five daughter lead is riveting and shocking! The angle that this movie shows the non revolutionised country has been such an influenced so many different places to be a better country.
The Haley Wasdal review rates the film 4 out of 5. I found this play not only highly entertaining, but also very humorous at parts. (Which i think always makes a performance better.) the acting was also very outstanding. It also tells about history of the 1960’s. I deducted a point because I sometimes found the acting to be “too-much.”
As Beth Fodor might say, “I rate this a three out of five.” Why one may ask? I didn’t find the plot very intriguing and found myself drooling at parts. However! I did enjoy the humor in the film, therefore I got my three marks from laughing.
The Chelsea Dawson review rates it a 3 out of 5. “The life that Topol (Tevye) is able to createin pre-revolutionary Russia is very believable and breathtaking. The problems in the movie are easy to understand and somewhat easy to relate too making the movie enjoyable for all.
The end result of this movie got it nominated for 8 Oscars and won 3 of them one for Best Cinematography, Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score and, Best Sound.

Reflection

Overall this was a pretty good assignment, it includes five peoples perspective on the film Fiddler on the Roof . Fiddler on the Roof had its good moments and bad moments but I would agree with everything that my team had to say about the film.

Personal Response to Text 1

Dear Journal:  

          Being a teenager can be very difficult sometimes. There’s so much to worry about, getting good grades, pleasing your parents and your future. Back in the days of Romeo and Juliet all you had to worry about was getting married to someone rich to take care of you and you’re future, at least if you were a girl. Juliet had it simple, because her parents were likely to choose someone for her to marry and it would all be taken care of, simple and easy but not so much anymore. Now I find myself worrying about how well I’m doing in school because I need to get good grade s to be able to actually go somewhere in my life. And school is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Juliet wouldn’t have even had to go to school but me I got to school five days a week for ten months of the year. Sometimes it’s so hard to get out of bed and go to school because your bed is the comfiest place in the world and it’s so nice outside and you just really don’t want to go sit in a classroom for 7 hours where it’s cold and dry.  Then there’s love, what to even say about love? It can be the most difficult part of your day or it can be the highlight. It all depends on what happens and how you’re able to react to the situation. It’s like in Romeo and Juliet all the feelings are new and you’re not really sure what to think or what others will think. Should you expect support or to be on your own? From my experience your own people don’t know how to support you or just don’t like the other person. Like how the Montague’s and Capulet’s have this feud going and they don’t even know what it’s for. With my some friends it seems to be that they’ll just hate the guy I like without ever even talking to him or even being introduced to him. It’s like she’s a Montague and he’s a Capulet. That’s some of the reasons why I find being a teenager so difficult, this is supposed to be the best times but really they’re just difficult and full of hard decisions.

Chelsea Dawson               

Dear Journal:

I’ve been thinking lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve never made any really bad decisions in my life. Don’t get me wrong I have made some bad decisions that I regret for example saying I wasn’t mad when my best friend Andie broke off one of my favourite Barbie’s heads and I said I wasn’t mad. Then when she apologized and offered me one her Barbies and I said, “No,” I really wished I had said yes because I could have had that one more Barbie to play with and it was my favourites. But even though I’ve done little things like my example I’ve done anything really crazy like Romeo and Juliet. I’ve never decided to kill myself or fake my death for someone and I’ve never really gone against my parent s by being with someone they can’t stand. But if  did have to choose one terrible decision that I’ve made I would have to say it was deciding to go sledding on a cafeteria tray when there was almost an equal amount of snow as there was dirt. I was at the top of the hill grabbing on to Taylor who was on her own tray and sitting in front of me. Off we went down the extremely steep and dirt covered CUC hill. I’m not really sure how it all happened but I ended up falling off my tray, unsurprisingly, and get my face caught between Taylors back and the ground. We had gone a couple ten metres or so and through at least one large dirt patch before I finally got loose and went roweling down a little father. My face was burning and covered in dirt. We got back to the top of the hill and I asked Taylor, ‘Is my face bleeding?’”  She said no. My face was still burning and I remember this lady driving by and asking “Are you alright?”  We replied yes of course but inside I was starting to freak out inside, I had kept touching my face and was pretty certain that it was bleeding. Taylor’s dad finally got there and took me home he was pretty concerned, more concerned than Taylor who was supposed to be one of my good friends. When I got home my mom had a little heart attack and washed my face a million times and yet the cuts were still filled with dirt and the pain was horrid. When I looked at my face in the mirror I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor. It was beaten up pretty badly, there ended up being a large cut along my nose, a few scratches across my left cheek and my forehead was covered in scratches and my left eye was so swollen I could barely see out of it a few days later. As a result of this decision I know have a scar on my nose, and even though my mom insists it’s not there I can see it quite plainly, and I have a little fear of sledding. Whenever we went crazy carpeting in grade eight, the year my accident occurred, I refused to go sledding because I didn’t want anything to happen again. Even now when I get brave enough to go down the hill I still get a little scared and hope that nothing like that ever happens again.

Chelsea Dawson    

Reflection 

This was one of the first personal response assignments that we had really done in the year and when I started I wasn't sure how specific you needed to be so my first journal entry isn't very specific and contains nothing personal, it was very general but as I get to my second entry it was more specific and actually about me.

Multiple Perspectives

When we're younger we don't think about the reasons why people immigrate, they just do. One day there's a new kid in the class telling stories about where they came from and you never ask them why they came to Canada instead we just listen in awe to their stories. As we get older we begin to understand there are many different reasons why people immigrate, sometimes people just want a new expierience and sometime it's for work or family and sometimes it's more. Fiddler on the Roof teaches us about the different reasons that people immigrate. In Fiddler the main reason that the family immigrated to America and Poland was because of the pogrom that was forced onto them. Teyve and his family was forced to leave Russia because the government didn't want them. Now people immigrate to escape their home counrtry or because of natural disasters. Being forced to leave your country still isn't a thought on your mind because living in Canada it's  something you could never imagine your government doing to you. After reading "Fiddler on the Roof" it's really opened my mind to the reasons why people immirgate to different countries.
Reflection
This assignment helped to show us how historical globalization has effected globalization today. The reasons that people move have changed a lot in the past century or so but some of the reasons have stayed the same such as escaping a place that isn't safe for you to be in. Overall I quite enjoyed reading Fiddler on the Roof and most of the assignments that went with it.

Visual Text 1

This assignment, that was completed along with a analysis of a poem about Canada, is to visual the Canadian identity. Without an idenity the world would all be the same, like meat with no flavour, they would be no originality to the world. Understanding the Canadian and your own idenity is key to helping you understand globalization and your place in the world. I enjoyed this assignment because it gave me a chance to see what others and myself think of Canada.

Analytical Essay 1

Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird

Chelsea Dawson

“…and I hope and I pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand… I hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough…” (Pg. 88) The words of Atticus Finch speaking of how people over react when anything that shows them the complete social inequality present in Maycomb Alabama. As you read on you should learn about the different types of social inequality that are present in Maycomb during the 1930’s. You will be introduced to the Cunninghams, the Ewells and the black community. Discovering people`s thoughts on social inequality and how it does or doesn’t affect them. Whether or not we can tell it’s there social inequality is always present even if we don’t notice.

In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many forms of social inequality, more than just the whites and the blacks. In Maycomb there is prejudice against the Cunninghams because they are considered to be lower members of society. There is evidence to support the prejudice against the Cunninghams in what Aunt Alexandria has to say about them, “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. Besides, there’s a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people” (Pg. 224). This quotation from the book does a good job of explaining Aunt Alexandria’s feelings towards the Cunninghams. The quotation is saying that no matter what Walter Cunningham does he will always be a Cunningham and there for not good enough for a Finch. She is stereotyping the Cunninghams and assuming that they all have a drinking problem even though you know that Walter Cunningham doesn’t and is a good boy from the way he treats Scout with respect and how he wants to go to school and pass but can’t always because he has to stay home and help out in the spring. “Because he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to your father as it is.” (Pg. 225).  This is what Aunt Alexandria has to say when she finds out that Scout wants to play with Walter Cunningham. In Scouts eyes there isn’t a big difference between Walter Cunningham and her except the wealth of their families. Scout didn’t see the social inequality with the Cunninghams but when she did she had a problem with it but Aunt Alexandria didn’t and neither did majority of Maycomb, they just went along with their business happy to ignore the Cunninghams and the rest of those at the bottom of the social scale.

Even lower down the social scale is the Ewells. They are the bottom of white society, as low as a white can get. “The boy stood up. He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark grey, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a fist-sized clean space on his face.” (Pg. 27).  That was Scouts description of Burris Ewell followed by the explanation of how all the children comes to school for the first day and then never come back until the next, how they figure that’s good enough. Burris Ewell had been coming to the first day of grade one for three years. Partially through Scouts first day of school her teacher Miss Caroline is horrified because a bug crawled out of Burris Ewell’s hair. This was followed by Burris standing up and saying he had done his time for that year. The town never tried to do anything to help the Ewells instead they just let them go about their business and living in their old negro cabin and continue to live in filthy disease filled surroundings by the town dump. Out of sight out of mind. The Ewells got welfare from the state and Bob Ewell, the father, used it buy whiskey everyone in the town knew that that was what he used his welfare for instead of to support  his many children but didn’t do anything  change it because they were the Ewells and that’s just what they did. They were the Ewells but they were better than the blacks.

At the absolute bottom of the social scale in Maycomb, Alabama were the blacks. Atticus is appointed to represent Tom Robinson, a black, in a rape case. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. It was the Ewells word against Tom Robinsons and as always the white’s word was the one that was considered the truth. It was the belief of majority of Maycomb society that the blacks were liars and cheats.  The reaction of the community towards Atticus after he was appointed to defend Tom was not a way to treat a respected lawyer. “Yes indeed, what had the world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!” “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Pg. 102) Those words came from Mrs. Dubose an elderly lady that lived up the street from the Finchs. Along with another phrase common towards Scout in the school yard, “Negro lover.” Scout didn’t understand at first the mistreatment of the black community and why the kids were calling her what they did. During the trial Dill has to leave and goes outside and cries and had this to say about why he was so upset, “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that- it just makes me sick.” (Pg. 199)  Dill, Jem and Scout were beginning to realize how much the black community was mistreated and they knew it was wrong, why couldn’t everyone else see that? They were some that did. “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (Pg.220) This quotation from the back is meaningful because it shows you Atticus’ feelings and perspective on social inequality. Atticus is one of the few people in Maycomb that teach their kids that treating blacks and others is wrong and you should be ashamed if you can’t stand up and defend others.

            You have learned about the Cunninghams and how people look down upon them as being lower class citizens. You have learned about the Ewells who are the lowest in white society and how the wqhite community almost pretends like they aren`t there. And you have learned about the blacks, the lowest you can be in Maycomb during the 1930`s. You`ve learned about what Atticus thinks, how you need to respect everyone and Calpurnia who said, “Don`t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in the house`s yo` comp`ny, and you don`t let me catch you remarkin` on their ways like you was so high and might! ” (Pg. 24) And what Atticus said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Pg. 30) These are both lessons that Atticus and Calpurnia taught Jem and Scout and they`re lessons that we can still use today.  Whether or not we notice social inequality is still present, we can chose to acknowledge it or ignore it completely but it`s still there if we can just open our eyes and look.

Reflection

This was the first essay that we did for the year and I worked really hard on it and was happy with the final result but when I got my essay back and got to see my mark I was very unhappy because it was a lot lower than I was hoping for. Now that I look back I know what I did wrong, I didn't answer the question. I thought I did, I wrote about social inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird but I didn't write about what Harper Lee was trying to say about social inequality which is a big mistake made by diploma students. I think I fixed the problem with my second essay.

Current Events 1

Current Events

        The characters in this cartoon are an American business man, fur traders and First Nations. The event that this cartoon is targeting is that U.S. business bought Hudson’s Bay Company which is one of the oldest companies is Canada that helped to establish the country. The cartoons main message is that the company that bought the HBC doesn’t care about its history or what the company means to Canada because they just want to make money off of it. Humor is developed by having it look like its set in the 1800’s because of the fur traders and First Nations offering their goods but there is a business man that just wants a set of cares and isn’t even affected by the offerings. I agree with the cartoonist’s point of view because when you think of the Hudson’s Bay Company you think of Canada and how it came to be and the American company that now owns it really doesn’t care what it means to Canada they just want the money.

       

       In this cartoon there are people at Canada’s border and a giant wooden Trojan horse. The cartoon is about the new softwood deal between Canada and the United States and how because some of the details were changed we don’t know what will come of the deal in the end. Humor is developed by the people standing in the watch tower saying, “It looks safe enough,” when they have no idea what is inside of the Trojan horse because they used to be used to hide soldiers. I agree with the cartoonist’s opinion because you never know what might come out of deal, it could go well and be a very good deal or it might not go as planned and end up being a big mistake.

Reflection

I was happy with this assignment because I'm usually pretty good at understansding political cartoons and with a little research you can understand the current refrence and the historical one.

Defending a Position 2

Wikileaks on Prezi

Reflection
This assignment shows what our opinion is about a social related issue and what our teams opinion was about to deal with the issue. When we thought about the issue we tried to think about what has happened in the past with issues and what we can do differently to fix the problem.

Visual Text 2

Fiddler on the Roof is a great example of life before globalization and how it affected peoples quality of life and general well being. This poster shows Tyve trying to balance tradition and change and how one group of people can completely change the outcome of another group well being.

Independent Reading Project

Globalization and Human Rights

Chelsea Dawson

           

            “It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.” – Kofi Annan. There is great debate between if globalization is helping humanity or hurting it. There are many different opinions but ultimately the opinion that matters most id your opinion, because you have the power to be able to change the world where as elders have already had that option and chosen to continue with globalization. Harper Lee wrote a book, The Book of Negroes, stating his opinion about what globalization has done to the world and has it has affected its many peoples.

            The Book of Negroes begins in the village of Bayo, which is in Africa, where Aminata Diallo (Meena) is an eleven year old girl, while she is travelling home from another village with her mother the worst thing possible happens to Aminata, she is taken captive by the slave traders and tossed into the new and upcoming world of a globalized society. Meena is forced to travel for three moons on foot, yoked to the other captives, to Bance Island, one of the many “slave pens” along the coast of Africa. During the journey Meena has to deal with the loss of many of her loved ones including her mother and father who were killed while she was taken away from Bayo. The horror that Meena was going through only got worse as her journey to America continued. The slave ships were nowhere anyone sane would want to be, the floor of the slave compartments were filled with feces and the bodies of those who had died over night and were yet to be discovered so they could be tossed overboard with the rest of the deceased. The diet of the slaves while they were onboard consisted of “horse-beans, boiled to the consistency of pulp; of boiled yams and rice, and sometimes, a small quantity of beef or pork…” (pg. 408) Later in her life Meena said this about her life aboard the ship, “…I had eaten such foods to stay alive, on a ship that smelled like death itself. Captives had squatted around buckets of slop, desperate for the biscuits and peanuts I smuggled for the medicine man’s cabin.” (pg. 408) By the time Meena got off of the ship at Sullivan’s Island she was so weak she could barely stand and had lost the ability to control her bowels.

            Sullivan’s Island was where the slaves were taken into Charles Town to be sold. At the sale the healthy, fit slaves are the first to go and the weak and sick were grouped together so that buyers could come around and sang a slave for only a few pounds. The second, weaker, group was where Meena was sold to a man by the name of Appleby where she was forced to work on an indigo plantation working endless hours through the heat and cold at only the age of eleven. While Meena was in South Carolina she was taught to read, which was against the wishes of fellow slaves and extremely against the wishes of the whites.

            When most people think about the slave trade they know that it was wrong and they shouldn’t have done it, they know that they worked the blacks until they were dying, that they made them do everything that was “unfit” for a white person to do. While all of this is true it doesn’t capture the true essence of what the African s had to live through just on their journey to America or the Caribbean or Europe. And most of all most people wouldn’t think of the slave trade as globalization, but it was. It may not have been the first type of globalization but it wasn’t what we think of globalization today. The slave trade didn’t involve you always being connected to the people on the other side of the earth and it didn’t let you eat the grapefruit that was grown in the tropics in Canada, but it did bring people from somewhere else in the world to be used for a deed. As the world begins to expand man is able to find even more ways to take away the human rights of those living in other parts of the world. The slave trade and the removal of the Africans human rights began in the late 1400’s, when the Dutch landed in Africa and it lasted in America until the end of the civil war in 1865. Though the trade may have been stopped in places such as England and Spain the use of slaves was still being practiced. 

            Human rights is defined as the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law. During the slave trade all of these rights were taken from the Africans, the right to life was held in their owner’s hands would they beat them to death or let them live to continue their work? The right to liberty, how can you have liberty if you are under someone else control? The freedom to thought and expression, the Africans were beaten if they tried to pray or express their thoughts. The right to equality before the law, there was no question that Africans didn’t have that right. Ultimately globalization has hurt many of the peoples around the world and will continue to do so as long as we continue with it but with a growing and greedy society globalization will be in the foreseeable future for a very long time. 

“Globalization has changed us into a company that searches the world, not just to sell or to source, but to find intellectual capital - the world's best talents and greatest ideas.”

                        –Jack Welch

Reflection
I really enjoyed the freedom that there was in this project and the chance to be able to choose what book you wanted to read. The book I choose, The Book of Negroes, was really really good and it was easy for me to see the realation of the book to globalization. The book was easy to read and the assignments that went with it were fairly easy to complete and if given the chance to choose between doing all book studies as a class or a bit of class and individual book studies I would choose a bit of class and individual because it gives you a chance to explore the world of books.

Current Events 2

Reflection:

This semester the humanities 10 class was in charge of running the student vote. My group made the bulletin in the picture above, we made the bulletin to show the different parties platforms and information about the student vote. On election day, April 28, 2011, my group was incharge of running poll #4 I personally was in charge of crossing peoples name off the list when they recieved their ballot. I thought that our poll ran very smoothely and in a very short period of time we were able to successfully get our four classes through. By doing the student vote we learned what different students across Canada's opinion about the government and how it differed from the current voting population. I thought student vote was a very interesting thing to be involved with and would be happy to do it again.

Research Based Project

Korea Imperialism on Prezi

Reflection:
This was a team project that I thought was pretty well done, everyone had their task and was responisble for researching that topic. I was responsible for finding out the current information on Korea and shared this resonsibility with Naomi. Overall I liked the assignment but I didn't think it was very well organized and the information didn't flow nicely so if I was to do it again I would organize it in chronological order.
*Hint it's way easier to read if you make it full screen!*

Personal Responce to Text 2

                The friar’s plan for Juliet is not likely to succeed because of the many flaws and the reliance on others that is in the plan. In the plan the friar presents to Juliet he tells her to take a potion that will her appear to be dead while she is actually just in a deep sleep. The friar tells Juliet that the potion will last for 42 hours and that when she wakes Romeo will be there to take her to Mantua. This is one of the main flaws of the friar’s plan, he’s relying on someone else to give the news to Romeo instead of doing it himself, which would ensure that Romeo knows of the plan. Friar Lawrence entrusts the job of sharing the plan with Romeo to Friar John whose is unable to complete the task because he is quarantined in the house of someone who is suspected to have the plague. Another unforeseen event is that the intended wedding for Juliet and Paris had been moved up a day. This means that Romeo will have even less time to come to Verona and be informed of the plan. Balthasar brings the news of Juliet’s death to Romeo and Romeo unaware of the plan and the fact that Juliet is not actually dead decides to “lie” with her. All of these were unforeseen consequences of the friar’s plan but from the beginning it was unlikely that the plan would succeed because there were so many variables.

                I wouldn’t consider doing what Juliet decides to do because even though true love is rare and hard to come by there is still more to live for. I couldn’t imagine killing myself for love, I know that it’s hard to move on but I think Juliet took it a little too far. Why couldn’t she just move on? Even though she’s 13 and has hormones raging and unaccepting parents there were other things that could have been done, it wasn’t like Romeo was dead. Maybe it’s just that I don’t see myself that way or that I’ve never been in love but I don’t think I’m the type of person that would be able to give my life for someone I’d known for less than a month or anyone. My thoughts and opinions and may change when my first love comes along but I don’t think I could ever make the decision Juliet made, even of my first love does come with heart break. 

Reflection

This assignment seemed pretty easy to do because it was your opinion about what Juliet did and what you would do differently. It was an assignment where you could be honest and state your opinion and i liked that part of the assignment.

Functional Writing

Chelsea Dawson

32 Talbot Close

Lacombe, Alberta T4L 2M6

(403) 782-5159

Chelsea.456@hotmail.com

Education
Lacombe Composite High School– Lacombe, Alberta
September 2010- June 2013

Work Experience
Sunnyside Christian Retreat Centre, June 2010- August 2010
l  Dish washer, washed dishes and helped serve food, ensure the dishes came out clean and to keeping the plates, cups and silver ware well stocked.

Achievements
l  Received honors for 10 subjects in grade 9, 2010
l  Received honors for 10 subjects in grade 8, 2009
l  Got 2nd place in the Legion Literacy Contest for Remembrance Day, 2007
l  Honors in grade 6, 2007

Activities
l  Rowing, 2010
l  Soccer 2004-2010
l  Volleyball, 2007-2008
l  Basketball, 2008

Skills
l  Can work both Apple and PC computers
l  Fairly good with computers
l  Going to be learning French in January
l  A little Sign Language
l  English

Response to Text 2

Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet: A Review

The main question of the review was "How does this adaptation capture the mood and atmosphere of the original script?" This adaptation of the play was kept fairly close to the original script, it was set in the same time period as the book but the mood and atmosphere seemed to be different. The book had a certain mood to it; it was humorous at some points yet serious and dramatic in others. The movie seemed to have the same mood throughout the whole movie: Dull. The actors that were chosen seemed to be flat and had very little emotion. Juliet, Olivia Hussey, seemed as though she never really had been in love and had one of the worst death scenes ever. Throughout the whole scene where she was in the tomb she seemed to be lacking any real feeling and was more just there and dying than anything. This was different compared to some of her other scenes such as the one after Tybalts death, it was as though it had been overacted, in the book Juliet was sad about Tybalts death but not devastated. The actor that played Romeo, Leonard Whiting, fit the part well but at times it was as if he was really 10 instead of his actual age because of the way he portrayed his joy. When compared to Baz Luhrman's adaptation it made a lot more sense even though i only saw the beginning of his version it had a more comedic mood and was portrayed as more unserious than Zeffirelli's version. I don't really think either movie did a great job of conveying the mood and atmosphere of the original play but if I had to choose one to watch it would definitely be Zeffirelli's version because it did a much better job of telling the story.

Reflection:

I have never been very good at writing critiques because I tend to be very biased on whether or not I like something, a lot of the time I either like it or I don't. With Romeo and Juliet it was pretty easy to figure out which one I liked more but it was harder to figure out why I liked it. After some thought I did figure out why I liked it, simply because it followed the play more closely that Romeo + Juliet.

 

Analytical Essay 2

Romeo and Juliet Essay

“He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson.  One faces fear everyday throughout their lifetime but the real question is how does one deal with that fear? Shakespeare in the play, Romeo and Juliet, shows us how people react in fearful situations; given time people are able to make positive choices but if time is limited the wrong choice is often made.

                The decisions we make effect all of the people that surround us in our everyday life. In the play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare writes about the many different ways that the decisions Romeo and Juliet made when they were in fear of the outcome and made a quick decision that negatively affected people around them. The main example of this is the decision made by Friar Lawrence and Juliet for Juliet to fake her death and be able to run away with Romeo. When Friar Lawrence came up with the idea he thought of it in a matter of minutes and was pressured from a fearful Juliet. When Juliet made the final decision to go along with the Friars plan she had no idea how much her decision would affect the people in her life, sure she knew that they would all think she was dead but if she had wanted to she could have come back into contact with people such as her parents or the Nurse. The Friars plan didn`t work at as he had hoped and Romeo and Juliet both ended killing themselves in the name of love. The negative outcomes of this decision that Shakespeare describes is that Juliet`s parents didn`t really know their daughter like they thought they did, Paris couldn`t marry Juliet and was heartbroken, and Romeo`s and Juliet`s parents have to deal with the loss of a child. Shakespeare also shows us that there can be a positive outcome from decision made while in fear, after the discovery of the bodies the Montague`s and the Capulet’s decided to end their fighting. Shakespeare does a great job of showing us the outcomes that can come of making a decision without foresight.

                The decisions we make always affect ourselves in one way or another and can either lead to a better decision, acceptance, or a worse decision. Shakespeare, in the play Romeo and Juliet, shows us the way our decisions can affect us in a negative way because we made them in fear. In the play after Mercutio dies and Romeo feels it is necessary to avenge his death so he kills Tybalt and as a result of his action the Prince declares, “And for that offense immediately we do exile him hence… Let Romeo hence in haste, else, when he’s found, that hour is his last…” (III, 1, 185-186 & 193-194, pg. 153) When Romeo and Juliet make the hasty decision to be wed because they are afraid to be without each other there are a few consequences that Shakespeare wrote about were having to lie to their parents and everyone they knew and having Juliet’s hand given away to Paris even thought she was already married to Romeo. Almost everyone knows about the story of Romeo and Juliet and what happens, they all know about Shakespeare’s famous message about how making bad decisions can lead to terrible consequences, such as death. The only real happy thing that comes out of Romeo and Juliet’s decisions is that they are happy with each other while it lasts.  Shakespeare seems to be saying overall that if you make a decision because of fear then it will often lead to a worse decision later on or have bad consequences.

                Throughout Romeo and Juliet the messages that Shakespeare is saying about fear and foresight in making decisions is that it affects all of the people around us and that it often affects ourselves in negatives ways.  Overall Shakespeare in the play, Romeo and Juliet, shows us how people react in fearful situations; given time people are able to make positive choices but if time is limited the wrong choice is often made. Perhaps if there was more time for Romeo and Juliet to make their decisions there would have been different outcomes but as it stands they didn’t have enough knowledge or foresight and made the wrong decision.

Obstacles are like wild animals.  They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can.  If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.

  ~Orison Swett Marden

Reflection

 I was very proud of the way that this essay turned out because when I started it there was more staring at a blank page with a head void of ideas than there was actual essay writing. I wasn't sure if my essay would be "good" considering the fact that there was only two topic paragraphs because thats all i could think of. I tried to redeem myself by having a strong opening and closing and in the end I think that I ended up with a fairly strong essay.