The Kenderian family was sweet and wholesome before the Turks took everything away from them. Vahan is worried when his father hasn’t returned (13). This is a strong indicator that he loves his father, even all the unwanted discipline couldn’t make him bitter towards his daddy. Vahan is not concerned with money, school, or health, as the Kenderian’s are one of the richest Armenian families in their part of Turkey (4). The irony of Vahan surviving out of his entire family is that he goes a full circle. In the beginning of the book (4), he scoffs at beggars as if they are trash, and near the middle of the novel (103), Vahan is the beggar. This shows how different reality is from what Vahan thought his life would be. His father told him to never be a beggar, and then he dies and Vahan is the beggar. Before the genocide starts, Vahan is considered the “black sheep” for standing out in a not-so-great way. Vahan is a rebel; he speaks out of turn, falls asleep at school, and gets in trouble often (5-6). His rebellious side keeps him alive through the massacre. All the other Kenderians conform easily, but Vahan doesn’t die as easy. While people are dying all around him, Vahan stays strong. If he gave up his hope, he truly wouldn’t have anything left.
4) Vahan is a brave boy, and with few friends still alive, he has to step it up in order to survive. A few people stand out in my mind as contributors to his courage, and “freedom.” Mrs. Altooian plays the role of the mother when she takes Vahan in, giving him food and rest. This gives him some energy, which helps him push through death and move on (Ch. 11). The governor gives Vahan strength to survive and not lose hope. He does this by making Vahan spiteful at him. Unintentionally, the Gov...
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... is a polar opposite to the start of the novel (Ch. 1); Vahan was a fortunate boy with a financially sound family, and siblings that loves him. Then look to the end of the novel, and has changed drastically. Where he once scoffed at beggars, he now is the beggar. This tells me that he would live simply, with modest accommodations and material goods. He has always been a ladies man, but every instance ended with tragedy. I see him living in the country-side, with someone he loves, homeschooling his children with his father’s beliefs, and his real-life experience. Vahan’s main teaching model would be the “golden rule.” After the Armenian Genocide and the holocaust, Vahan would want to make sure something of this scale couldn’t happen again. The principle of treating others how you wish to be treated sounds like it would apply to Vahan’s life on a very personal level.
It shows Dragan’s path to get bread from his bakery, the journey Kenan takes to get water for him, his family and a neighbour and Arrow, who kills enemies to save thousands of innocent citizens. Despite challenging and difficult circumstances when people maintain their morals it leads to a happier and more fulfilling life. Dragan keeps his morals and refuses to let the world see something he knows not to be true and because he does this he feels better about himself. When he
The Higginson family goes all the way back to Shifnall, Shropshire, England in 1767 to John Smythe. The Higginson name has changed four times over the many years, from Smythe, Smyth, Smith, to Higginson. It went from Smith to Higginson March 29, 1807 when Charles Wood Higginson was born to Mary Higginson and Robert Smith. Robert Smith was a minister in the Shifnal parish church. According to William Thomas Higginson, Charlels’ son, "his father’s last name should have been Smith, that his mother, Mary Higginson was merely working in the Smith’s household so she gave her son, Charles her maiden name. Charles Wood Higginson married Mary Ann Bouncer February 28, 1827, they had twelve children together. The eldest
Throughout the book, Lovenheim exhibits some characteristics of a servant-leader as described by Robert Greenleaf. Before that tragic night in 2000, Lovenheim had just been just another person consumed with his own life and issues. Yet after his realization of just how disconnected the residents in his neighborhood were, he started to actively serve others in a way that helps them grow, become wiser, and assists them in serving others. He realized that people, all to often, become passive to the current system, and he starts to see this lack of community as an
Among the many reasons for the Black people to migrate to the North were: the subordinate status of the Black people to the whims of the white communities; a belief of more opportunities for jobs, education, and the freedom to live the lives guaranteed them in the 13th,14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution of the United States of America, and to be free of the extreme punishments for noncompliance of the Jim Crow Laws inundated throughout the southern states after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The Ida Mae Brandon Gladney family was an example of these migratory people.
After going through rehabilitation for being traumatized by war, he had gone to a United Nations’ conference to share his thoughts about children in war. Ishmael comments, “I began by saying, “I am from Sierra Leone, and the problem that is affecting us children is the war that forces us to run away from our homes, lose our families, and aimlessly roam the forests” (Beah 199). By the way Ishmael is able to logically explain his thoughts to others shows how he had matured, otherwise an immature person would have not had the opportunity to do such a thing. As the time got closer to the day that Ishmael would be released from the rehabilitation center to live with his uncle and his family, he did a lot of thinking about how he would be able to live with an actual family again and control his now usual distancing personality (Beah 179). Ishmael had gotten used to taking care of himself, and the way he is concerned about being with his family shows how he had grown as a person and matured through his experiences in a way. Other boys would take longer to be able to be released from the rehabilitation center, or if they did get released then they would not think as far as how to deal with a family again. Ishmael had matured towards the end of his story through his experiences and the process of being in the rehabilitation
The character I find intriguing is the oldest son of the Bundren family. Cash seems to be a person who is very thoughtful of others, almost in a way of self-sacrifice. In the novel Cash seems not to be aware of the fact that his mother is dying. His fully preoccupied with making is mothers coffin which could come across as heartless or not being touched by this tragedy. However is seem to believe that each family member had a different way of showing his affection to his mother. By making the neatest coffin and thinking about every plank and screw it shows his love for Addie. Especially if you consider the coffin as her final resting place. It Cash is being a caring son by making his mother a coffin which she approves. A counter argument about
Seeing Zeitoun; the man who volunteered to help others to survive during post Katrina was sentenced to jail, my life has changed. It changes because seeing such a faithful man who was serving the country that gives him opportunities, but also violate his rights show how brave Zeitoun were. One of the other most important lessons I learned in this book is, never point a finger to someone. The moment you point that finger to that particular person, you are giving that person your power to control you. Zeitoun was brave enough to not point a finger to anyone. He just believes he has to serve therefore; he must react to save others’ lives. If every single person took action at the same time as Zeitoun, more people could have been saved and most importantly no accusation toward the government would have occurred. If we claim to call ourselves “WE THE PEOPLE”, then we should look out for each other and make sure social justice exist. In doing so, we as society will benefit from social
Throughout the story “Forgotten Fire” there are many examples in which Vahan interacts with characters in the story. Depen...
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, six million European Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Within the six million was a famous family that had only one survivor. This family was the Frank family. The Frank family faced many difficulties due to the rise of Hitler. Experiencing hardships in their early life led to the decision that the Frank family made about going into hiding. At first, Otto Frank was very successful in life before the rise of Hitler. However, the Frank family faced many issues in Germany until they felt that they needed to move. Lastly, the Franks' living conditions in Amsterdam were stable before the invasion of the Nazis.
In conclusion, Jane has been through oppression and depression but she stands up for what she believes in. Jane gains her femininity, socialization, individuality and freedom. Her husband, who has been oppressing her for so many years, is no longer her prison guard. Jane defies her husband, creeps right over him and claims her life” so, that I had to creep over him every time” (Gilman 1609). Jane is now her own personal freedom through perseverance.
There is a tremendous gap in the information that is put out on stepfamilies and the way they live. There are countless studies done every year on how the stepparents handle situations and how the stepparents deals with discipline or even how to discipline. Every where you look there is help for the struggling stepparent. Now, that is a good thing, the abundance of help available. But the bad thing about all that help is it did not cover the children’s point of view. Nearly all the studies done do not include children in the research. That is the major flaw in all the help books and programs for stepparents. With the rise of stepfamilies, there needs to be more help offered that takes the child perspective into account. That perspective will be the focus of this study. The intent will be to get a better understanding of how children living in stepfamilies households define their family and how they perceive their relationships with other household members.
Junior sometimes had to go to bed hungry, but that wasn’t the worst thing about being in poverty. He made a diary entry stating, “Poverty= empty refrigerator+empty stomach. And sure sometimes my family misses a meal…and hey, in a weird way, being hungry makes food taste better (8).” This really puts the diary reader in his shoes about how many times he had to go without food and starve while trying to go to sleep, simply because his family couldn’t afford it. But to Junior, being hungry wasn’t necessarily that bad. What he felt was the worst thing about his poverty was that there was no money to save his beloved animal Oscar. Oscar became really ill and Junior wanted to take the animal to the doctor, but the family couldn’t afford it. When it came down to it, his father had to put the dog out of misery, and decided to shoot him. Visualizing someone having to shoot your best animal friend is heart wrenching. Most people have been in Juniors shoes where they have a sick animal, however they never imagine having to shoot it. This comparison of being hungry and losing an animal, shows Junior’s great strength at a young age about going through poverty, and sometimes even hope...
Jean Vanier was a very kind person. He was someone who didn’t reject handicapped people. He discovered it not the actual disability that hurts handicapped people, it the rejection of those around them. By being compassionate towards those who are hurt and handicapped, Vanier is living up to the virtue of kindness. By helping to take care of Eric (who was both blind and deaf). Vanier really lived up to the virtue of kindness because he was there for Eric. He was patient (another virtue!), he really reached out to Eric and realized that his heart is just like Vanier’s and that Eric needs love just as he does. By being there to love Eric, he formed a covenant with
Confucius’ social philosophy is greatly directed towards the concept of ren. Ren symbolizes the characteristics of goodness and altruism, and is defined as being “compassionate”. However, displaying concern for others involves disparaging onself. Confucius declared that ‘a clever tongue and fine appearance are rarely signs of Goodness” (1.3) and believed one should avoid clever speech and a flattering manner, characteristics which would ultimately produce a false impression and lead to self-praising. On the contrary, those who have practiced ren are “slow to speak, but quick to act” (4.24) which differentiates ones who acquire genuine virtue from ones who acquire misleading virtue. To Confucius, such virtue is practiced through the Golden Rule: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” Confucius believed that human nature is essentially good, and that negative experiences may suppress the good nature of people, but goodwill will ultimately bring about its attainment. Ren initiates from the family through filial piety. Confucius considers loyalty to parents and older siblings as a form of promoting the interests of others before one’s own and stresses that only those who have learned self-discipline can achieve such selflessness. If we can be compassionate to our family, we can do the same to the people around us in our society. We can depict the meaning of ren to portray the importance of the principle in the ‘...
Different cultures have different means of expressing family trees and kinship. Bilateral, matrilineal, and patrilineal kinship are three examples of this, though not all cultures are exclusive and take aspects from each. The manner of expressing one’s kinship has great effect on family members’ roles, relations, and interactions within the family as well as in society.