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Post by Mr. Thomas on Oct 23, 2013 12:34:07 GMT -5
Post responses here.
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Post by johnmarano on Oct 25, 2013 7:26:05 GMT -5
John Marano Mr. Thomas English 11 25 October 2013 C. I know this whole situation is tragic and all, but I question some of the tasks performed by the little girls. They are already stripped of their freedom, yet the reject food when it is offered. What is the point of that? I know it’s a hard time but why make it worse with not accepting something that they need? On the kidnappers behalf, why would they separate the girls? Weren’t they cruel enough like come on. They have nothing at this point, not even each other. Why is she sold to other families? What? And what is her family doing? Are they even trying to get their daughters back?  B. Although this quote is said in the beginning, I really felt it had a significant impact for the rest of the reading. The story begins with a young girl explaining her childhood in great detail. After her brief summary of her past, she says, “…when an end was put to my happiness” (55). I believe that this quote is significantly important because it shows the contrast between simple and hard life, it shows the difference between good and evil, and it shows how happiness isn’t always forever. I like how she also explains her loss of happiness to be so common. She was in the fields like she always was. She gives detail about her desperate cries for help, but no one was there to help her. Her happiness was lost with her freedom. D. I didn’t really enjoy reading it after she was continuously being sold back and forth to different families. Her happiness as a free child really was lost. A quote that stood out to me was “…I dreamed of the greatest happiness, I found myself most miserable; and it seemed as if fortune wished to give me this taste of joy only to render the reverse more poignant” (57). This really made me feel bad. It shows how everything was taken from her and her childhood was ruined. She wasn’t this loving young girl anymore. She is now being forced to learn the “real” world, so to say. |
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Post by bourdonm15 on Oct 26, 2013 14:04:51 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10/25/13
A. This story is about a slave and can relate to the slavery and discrimination that went on for a long time against African-Americans. “However, in a small time afterward he recovered and I was again sold.” (Page 56) Just hearing these words is pretty hard to grasp to hear someone being described as property. Around the time of slavery, people would treat African-Americans like property and treat them as if they were not humans like everyone else. This is a depressing story because of this and it is hard to read at some points, especially when they kidnapped him and his sister.
E. The reading was very depressing. I had a hard time coping with the mistreatment of the writer of the story and how they used to treat African-Americans back then. It is honestly very appalling and leads me to thought as to why would they ever do something like this to people that are human beings as well. “I did not remain long after my sister. I was again sold and carried through a number of places till, after traveling a considerable time, I came to a town called Tinmah in the most beautiful country I has yet seen in Africa.” (Page 57) This is a hard to grasp when you hear that the only loved one he had still with him, was separated from him. It is a very sad story.
I. I agree with John’s comment about how the quote “… when an end was put to my happiness” on page 55 is significant. It does show how these people damaged this person's life and all of the lives of those they enslaved.
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Post by emmanuelluna on Oct 26, 2013 19:55:48 GMT -5
Emmanuel Luna
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10/26/13
B. A quote that really stood out to me in the reading was, “When we went to rest the following night they offered us some victuals, but we refused it, and the only comfort we had was in being in one another’s arms all that night and bathing each other with our tears” (56). This quote stood out to me because it shows how devastating this experience would be for anyone, especially children. It shows to what extent people would go to make money from the slave trade that they would harm little children and make them suffer through these experiences.
D. A quote that I really liked from the reading was, “to my great surprise, whom should I see brought to the house where I was but my dear sister! As soon as she saw me she gave a loud shriek and ran into my arms” (56). I enjoyed this quote because it shows that amongst all the despair there still exists the possibility for hope to exist and I feel that this quote embodies that feeling.
I. I agree with John’s comment from the quote on page 55 when Equiano says “when an end was put to my happiness” This quote really shows how devastating and damaging the slave trade was to people and it shows the emotional turmoil it caused those who were separated from their families.
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Post by matthewchan on Oct 27, 2013 10:32:00 GMT -5
Matthew Chan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
26 October 2013
I. I agree with Matt Bourdon about slavery and discrimination. The quote “However, in a small time afterward, he recovered and I was again sold.” This reminds me about the time around the Civil War where African Americans were treated as “property” and not people. They didn’t have freedom and were discriminated harshly.
D. I liked the quote that John and Matt brought up, “…when an end was put to my happiness” on page 55.I think this is the main idea and major point we should get out from this short story. She was living a miserable life going from one family to another. Not only that but she basically lost everything in her life. I also had the same idea as John about this quote. She tells us her loss of happiness is too common and she would always cry for help everyday yet no one will answer her. This made me realize how people were treated back then and how we today should live life to the fullest and enjoy it.
A. I can relate this narrative to today’s world because discrimination still does happen in today’s society. It has gotten a lot better from the period of the Civil War but, it still happens today. You can see these little things that can hurt people’s feelings. Even though it’s just the “little things”, it is impacting their lives. For those who discriminate people because of their color or race, I think they should read this narrative and think about their actions they are doing.
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Post by matthewko on Oct 27, 2013 13:48:05 GMT -5
Matthew Ko
Mr. Thomas
English 11
28 October 2013
A. This story relates to people living in the slums (favelas) in Rio de Janeiro. When Equiano writes, "and thus for a while we forgot our misfortunes in the joy of being together" (Page 57) he explains how your family overcomes the unfortunate path that may be ahead of you. Wtih Equiano being a slave and having little to eat, he looks to his sister for love and fun being that they couldn't wait to see each other. In the slums of Rio, many people have little or no money rely on their family to survive. Many people show love for one another in a very sincere way that many of us take for granted.
E. When Equiano writes, "This man had two wives and some children, and they all used me extremely eel and di all they could do to comfort me, particularly the first wife, who was something like a mother" (Page 56) this is a great example on the bright side of slavery. In some cases, many slaves were treated like many servants today who are now treated with care and as if they were family doing everyday chores. What I also liked was the sense of motherhood found in Equiano's life because we see how many people wanted someone to work nicely and also become very close with them like in this case.
C. I wonder why Equiano was always sold and moved. It seemed to me that every place he was shipped to, he was very comfortable and enjoying his stay. He developed great relationships and peers that made his job enjoyable and comforting. He even developed mother-like figures throughout his stays so I wonder why the families decided to sell him. Was there an outside factor involved in this or was this for more money disregarding the close relationship the families made with Equiano?
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Post by seandelossantos on Oct 27, 2013 13:54:52 GMT -5
Sean de los Santos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 October 2013
Kidnapped Discussion
A. This relates to the present in which it reminds me of the many P.O.W stories from both veterans and present day soldiers. This reading was about the kidnapping experience of the Author, Olaudah Equiano. He tells us of the many hardships working as a slave such as getting permanently taken away from his sister, and working in horrible conditions. This is very similar to present day in which P.O.W war veterans and prisoners of Nazi camps also endured very horrible experiences of hard labor and discrimination. Most of the war veterans can tell us how the enemy has treated them in which they made them do hard labor in the many different prisons.
C. One thing I really have to ask is how he was able to endure this kidnapping? Olaudah was taken from his home and he was taken away from his only comfort, his sister. How was he able to endure all of the work they gave him? How was he able to be taken away from his sister permanently? It’s crazy how one was able to go through life as a slave.
D. One part of this story I enjoyed was when he was rejoined with his sister. He tells us that, “ As soon as she saw me she gave a loud shriek and ran into my arms. (56)” It was a nice loving moment that the author of the story explains to us. It was a nice relief from all of the hard work he has done. He finally was able to meet his sister one last time before she was to be separated one more time.
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Post by eointunney on Oct 27, 2013 15:09:17 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
27 October 2013
D. The very beginning of the story is extremely heart breaking but there is one moment in the story that actually shows that Olaudah Equiano is very grateful. On page 57, Equiano says, “Indeed everything here, and all their treatment, made me forget that I was a slave.” This quote shows how grateful Equiano was of these people. He finally met a family that treated him like an actually human being.
E. So far, I have really enjoyed this story by Olaudah Equiano. The first few pages of his story are amazing. Its crazy to see how a guy can be so unfortunate by being separated by his family, but also so fortunate to be sold to family that took care of him so well. Also it is amazing to see how a person who was once a slave in Africa became a famous poet in the United States. Obviously Equiano was one of the few slaves who had this opportunity.
C. Throughout the story I was confused as to why Equiano was always sold to different people. Every time he was bought, he was sold right after he just started to become settled into his new environment. I was thinking that Oldaudah Equiano might have been sold so often because he wasn’t a hard working slave. Also he could have been sick a lot because he says how he was always carried
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Post by frankclarke on Oct 27, 2013 15:22:47 GMT -5
Frank Clarke
Mr. Thomas
English 11
26 October 2013
A This story can be compared to present day, simply because it’s the exact opposite of what our society is consisted of today. We can see this on the very first page of the story. It talks about how when the “grown” people in the village go out, he and his neighbors take watch for assailants and kidnappers. This is something that would never happen today, because we have a military and police forces! Yes, people are kidnapped in the US; however, not as widespread as the neighborhood of Olaudah.
I. John, they refused to eat because, ij my opinion, it was a pride situation. They probably did not want to be viewed as weak; therefor, they took it upon themselves to refuse the help that the kidnappers gave them. Yes, you could argue that this wouldn’t make them bold or even rational, but that could be their mentality. Also, they may be devastated that their daughters have been kidnapped, but you must realize that the resources they had to find their daughters is minuscule compared to what we have present day. They almost didn’t try because they knew there was no hope.
E. Even this story could be a bit shocking to realize that these types of things happen all the time, It’s eye opening. It could almost inspire an individual to try and stop these kidnappings, that still even happen today in our world at an alarming rate. Overall, you can take this story with open arms and understand the troubles of our world.
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Post by 1adams12 on Oct 27, 2013 15:57:46 GMT -5
Michael Adams
Mr. Thomas
10/27/13
D. The line that I really liked is "thus at the very moment I dreamed of the greatest happiness, I found myself most miserable; and it seemed as if fortune wished to give me this taste of joy only to render the reverse more poignant" (Page 57). I really liked this line because he was a slave, and he felt so happy at this point when he was sold to the last people who had a son who was being treated the same as the slave, which was really good. I also liked this line, because the slave is trying to be optimistic and happy that he finally is being treated right.
F. I personally did not like the fact that the boy and girl were separated twice. I personally have a brother, whom I love desperately, and I can't picture being separated by him twice. That would be really hard on me, and we fight constantly. In the pages that I read, it seemed that these siblings were inseparable and yet they were separated twice. I feel their pain of being separated. I can especially picture how painful it was through the lines of "In this manner I had been traveling for a considerable time, when one evening, to my great surprise, whom should I see brought to the house where I was but my dear sister!" (Page 56).
I. I am going to try to answer John Morano's questions. The point of rejecting the food is that they gave up living because the siblings were separated and that is how sad they are. I think the fact that they really don't care about living without their sibling is the really tough part. I feel if they were together and they felt like they should live, they would take in what they needed to survive. On the kidnappers behalf, I don't think they care about how others feel about getting separated. I think they only care about money and that is all. It is all because of money. The kidnappers needed money and so that is why they were sold separately. We have no idea what her family is doing, because we don't know how hard they have tried to get their children back. It is all about the money. If you don't have the money to get them back, then you can not get them back. If they were poor, they would not have a chance to get them back.
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Post by poulong15 on Oct 27, 2013 17:47:59 GMT -5
Gregory Poulon
English-11
Mr. Thomas
26 October 2013
After reading this story there were many thing that really stood out and caught my interest. The story itself was a very sad and tragic genre, but the way the author uses the techniques to find it appealing to the reader. A prime example of this is when the author states “A quote that really stood out to me in the reading was, “When we went to rest the following night they offered us some victuals.” The reason I quoted this line was because of the different techniques the author uses. The author takes such a light response to a question like this and turns it into something complex. I also like how the author uses this line to mean something different from is original meaning.
Both of my fellow piers Emmanuel and John sited a line from page 55 that also caught my attention. The line states “…when an end was put to my happiness”. The author says this because right before she says this she was giving us a brief synopsis of how her past was. This was a point in the story were it kind of got to me. It was a very tragic story, and it was very hard for me to like it. When the lines were said above. It made me realize, how tough things get sometimes.
After reading the story, I had trouble thinking of how this can relate to me. I just could not find a clear meaning to this story. As I looked back into my child hood, I remembered both my parents telling my sisters and I how lucky we were. There are many people out in the world that have to endure lot harder things then we do and sometimes, we take this simple fact to advantage. Sometimes things happen in life that you have to find a solution about. Sometimes, these are good solutions but most of the times the decision becomes very tough.
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djmat
New Member
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Post by djmat on Oct 27, 2013 17:56:56 GMT -5
Dj Mat
Mr. Thomas
English 11
27 October 2013
D. A line that i found very interesting was " Our meeting affected all who saw us and indeed i must acknowledge, in honor of those sable destroyers of human rights, that i never met with any ill-treatment or saw any offered to their slaves except tying them, when necessary, to keep them from running away." As a slave you would think that he resents everyone who has ever bought and or sold him but he is kind of defending the slave traders. It is pretty bizarre if you ask me. I would be pretty mad if i were taken from my home just to be sold all around Africa but this guy is sort of impartial to it.
E. It really just surprises me how an entire race of people could be all right with selling each other off into slavery. The beginning of this story talks about how him and his sister were taken away from their home and just sold around when necessary. It is really quite heartbreaking to say the least. Especially when you are separated from your one and only sibling not once but twice. And it just seemed like something regular to him as if it was a part of daily life.
I. I agree with Mike Adams with not liking that the boy was separated from his sister because like Mike i also have a younger brother and although we do not always see eye to eye still love my little brother. I honestly do not know what i would do if my little brother was taken out of my life. It is bad that the kids were put into slavery but worse was they were torn apart from each other because of it. If i were in a situation like that i would not know what to do with myself because at that point I would have lost everything.
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Post by matthewsegarra on Oct 27, 2013 18:07:17 GMT -5
Matthew Segarra
Mr. Thomas
English 11
28 October 2013
A. This is a story about a slave and the hardships of slaves and African-Americans. This quote shows how the slaves were treated as property and had no freedom “However, in a small time afterward he recovered and I was again sold” (56). For a very long time, African-Americans were also treated this way. This story was very sad because his whole family was kidnapped and brought into captivity.
E. This story was very hard to read, not because of the language, but because of the tone it was giving of. It was very depressing and I found it sad how badly African-Americans were treated. It made me question our nature as humans, and how we could single out an entire race and treat them like dirt for no apparent reason. This quote adds to the depressing tone of the story, “I did not remain long after my sister. I was again sold and carried through a number of places till, after traveling a considerable time, I came to a town called Tinmah in the most beautiful country I had yet seen in Africa” (57). This is very sad because he was taken away from one of his only family members left. I found it interesting how he could still notice beauty after all he has been through.
I. I agree with John Marano’s response to B. I agree that the quote “… when an end was put to my happiness” (55) is important. It shows the hardships that she had to go through.
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Post by georgebaroudos on Oct 27, 2013 18:14:38 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
25 October 2013
A – The reuniting of Olaudah and his sister is a powerful scene with this story. They are able to relive past experiences and now make them present. The love they have for each other is immense; the spectators of the beautiful scene are even touched by the beauty. This is a touching moment and they are put in each other’s arms. They are blessed to be reunited, it is unbelievable that they can see each other again. This shows us that true love never fades away. Siblings are able to love under any circumstance. Even if they haven’t seen each other they are able to pick up where they left off.
D – “I always found somebody that understood me till I came to the seacoast” (56), finding personal connections makes any experience better. Comfort allows for the best decision-making and the best feeling. It is difficult to develop a connection everywhere you go. But Olaudah is blessed to create a consistent connection. Not being able to create a connection most likely becomes a shock to Olaudah, it becomes much more difficult to cope with the situation he faces. Also considering his background on page 52, Oladauh seems to be able to adapt to any situation he faces because he is talented.
I – The literature we have analyzed in many senses has been very depressing. It has been filled with heartbreak and despair. When Olaudah is ripped from his sister it is devastating. It is not fair; the literature we have analyzed has been filled with unfairness. We have learned that life is unfair, all things do not go our way always.
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Post by danokeefe15 on Oct 27, 2013 19:31:41 GMT -5
Danny O’Keefe
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10/27/13
C. What confused me about the reading was that these kids were being kidnapped with no problem. It felt like it was a routine and that you were just waiting for them to come. They didn’t even try to prevent these people from kidnapping them, and where were these kids parents and did they do anything to get them back.
D. “But even this small comfort was soon to have an end, for scarcely had the fatal morning appeared when she was again torn from me forever! I was now more miserable, if possible, than before.” This quote stood out to me because it showed how much his sister meant to him. It also showed the cruelness of what was going on. It was almost like they were teasing him by letting him see her and then taking her away again, which destroyed him even more.
E. I wasn’t too much of a fan when it came to this reading. I found it extremely boring and some parts didn’t make much sense to me. It was also boring because most of it was about him being transferred back and forth to different places and how new and different everything was to him.
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