Author: Elmedin

Poetry fights against oppression in a unique way.

Elmedin 20-1 B, Response to Literature, Writing , , 1 Comment
Poetry fights against oppression in a unique way.

Poetry fights against oppression in a unique way; by using the simplistic style of poetry, and the powerful literary devices to back up the theme of the poem, poetry has become a way to express powerful statements that fight against oppressive reigns and realms. That’s why I was very proud and happy to analyze “We Shoot Children Too, Don’t We?” by Dan Almagor. It was a very interesting poem, with many stanzas to illustrate the short, but powerful critiques of hypocrisy in Israel. That is precisely what I would like to discuss today.

My response to my own presentation:

“We Shoot Children Too, Don’t We?” Is a poem written by Israeli poet Dan Almagor, who wrote this poem to highlight the hypocritical crimes of Israel. He was born in Palestine, and moved to Israel near Gaza when he was a young child. Mr. Almagor grew up very patriotic to Israel, but as conflicts between Israel and Palestine continued to grow, Mr. Almagor was given the opportunity to see the front lines of the conflict itself. Mr. Almagor was horrified by what Israel was doing to Palestine and her people, and how the media made it out to portray the Palestinian people as evil. Mr. Almagor began to write poems criticizing Israel, and he faced much pressure back in home country; to the point where somebody set his car on fire. Nevertheless, Mr. Almagor persisted in his writing, and released the majorly known poem “We Shoot Children Too, Don’t We? .” Nowadays, Mr. Almagor teaches literature at a Hebrew University.

The reason our group decided to present on Mr. Almagor’s poem was because the majority of our group is Islamic, and the others who were not Islamic were very interested in the topic, due to its current relevance. The reason we continued to show such deep interest in such a poem was because not only was this poem a critique of Israel, but also written by an Israeli. Mr. Almagor really enjoys using sensory devices in his poem, and he makes sure to show us such. He also made the flow of the poem represent conversation of the ignorant, and the hypocritical people he was criticizing in the poem. The poem in itself does not have much of a rhyming scheme, but Mr. Almagor makes up for it by making the poem seem more ‘alive’ by using dialogue in his poem. Personally, I would very rarely see that in poems so when I saw this, I was very intrigued. I enjoyed this poem wholeheartedly.

This is Dan Almagor, who wrote the anti-war poem “We Shoot Children Too, Don’t We?”

The message I extracted from this poem that continues to resonate with me today is “There is a fine line between loving your own country and simply hating other countries.” Mr. Almagor tries to tell us that being proud of your country is no reason to dehumanize and attack other countries, for the sole crime of “not being as good as your homeland.” On top of that, I can also see that Mr. Almagor represents the idea that one’s country is not always in the right. I consider myself a very patriotic person; I am both proud of Canada and Canadians. I’d even dare say that Canada is the finest country on the Earth. However, I also acknowledge the crimes Canada has committed in the past, most notably with the natives. I am also very certain that the majority of the Canadian people also understand and apologize for the wrongdoings of Canada, and I know that we are all trying to move forward for the better of all. While that may seem like common sense to us, this poem has highlighted to me that many people in this world defend their xenophobia with patriotism, which is not only tragic, but morally incorrect. I think that Mr. Almagor understands that this is happening in his own country, and as such, is trying to steer his people into good ethics. That is why I really enjoyed this poem; not only is it a meaningful critique, but an inspiration to people worldwide

There should always be a fine balance between what you want, and what your community wants.



How does adversity define us?

Elmedin 20-1 B, Response to Literature 0 Comment
How does adversity define us?

Everybody has faced some adversity in their life; life is great as is, but it isn’t perfect. You know what adversity means, and you understand that challenges are inevitable. But, have you ever stopped to think about how the adversities you overcome and face tend to shape your philosophy, and your personality. Honestly? I don’t think I ever have until recently. But, I was reading my independent study book, Obāsan, and I noticed that the major theme of the book was about overcoming diversity. Once again, I read that the June of 2011 prompt was similar: ‘The role adversity plays in shaping an individual’s identity.” It really made me ask myself just how influential my experiences with adversity were. 

What is the role adversity plays in shaping my identity? What is the role adversity plays in shaping others?

I know what adversities I’ve faced. But, I still don’t have a tight grip on how it has affected me. I don’t know what adversities other people have gone through, so understanding how it contributed to their spiritual shape becomes increasingly difficult. It becomes even more perplexing when I come to understand that everybody goes through different adversities. Luckily, I’ve been granted the liberty to speak about one figure, a fictional character by the name of Naomi in the novel Obāsan by Joy Kagawa. While Naomi might not be a physically existent person, she is the representation of facing civil adversity. The book Obāsan takes place in Canada of 1972, and our protagonist, Naomi, discovers her uncle has passed away. In short, this causes memories of her past to arise, and she is forced to confront them; namely, her adversities of discrimination, and being sexually molested as a child. Quite a bit to digest, but you can already see major flaws in her social fortitude. It were these adversities that caused Naomi as a character to be somewhat emotionally damaged. While she does indeed go through character change, instead of coming to speak out against injustices, she concludes that silence may be the best tool to make amends with yourself and others. It is a very interesting take, because I was wholeheartedly expecting her to become a more active character, finding the courage to speak out against wrong, and against the world. Instead, she finds peace in solitude, and makes amends with inner peace and tranquility. I do not believe that there could be a better way to end the novel. However, this has caused me to realize that there is more than one way to actually face adversity; it has also taught me that not every adversity can be overcome, at least conventionally. I think that the story serves to represent that adversity is to be delivered to all people, each in different ways. It’s up to you how you tackle adversity, but no matter how you tackle it, you will be more at peace with yourself.

The act of overcoming adversity comes in many different ways. Shown here is a common motif: “Smashing through adversity.”
This is the cover to the novel “Obāsan,” by Joy Kagawa.

I have had to overcome adversities of my own, too. Of course, some were minor day-to-day challenges, while some bothered me for days and beyond. Which ones have affected me, to this very day? I do not believe that every adversity I have ever faced has changed me; I have certainly learned something from each and every one, but it has not changed my overall philosophy. I think the most influential adversity I have ever had to go through is my Grandfather’s death. We returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina after his passing, to mourn with the rest of our family. It was a surreal experience. Even as I type this, many years later, I struggle to believe that somebody I knew is gone forever. The adversity I had to overcome was not accepting his death, or to stop mourning his death, but to understand his death. My grandfather had a case of Parkinson’s disease, and I believe he died earlier due to it. I had to come to terms that life is finite, and that the Earth is the eternal resting bed for all of us. I think the change in my philosophy from this adversity was my stance on life. This adversity snowballed from my thoughts on death, all the way to the prospect of life itself. The way I came to peace with this adversity was to learn from it, and take my late grandfather’s passing as a message to me. This message was delivered through the infamous shower thought of “What is the purpose in life? What is my purpose in life? .” After a lot of thinking, I have come to believe the overall purpose in life is to satisfy your ambitions. Life is both unfortunately and fortunately finite in time. Our legacies will be left behind with our gravestones, no matter how great, infamous, or heroic we once were. As less and less people come to know your name, it is important you feel whole. To fulfill your ambitions is the ultimate goal; no matter what ambition we may have, no matter how good or evil it is seen as, it must be done. That is the ultimate adversity of all. To overcome the peaks that separate you from your ultimate desire, and grasp it before you lie with everyone else. That is my purpose in life, too. I have to overcome everything that stands in my way, to be the best person I can be.

This is it. The answer to the role of adversity is that adversity is not your enemy, but a reminder that life gets tougher with every challenge. The peaks grow higher every time you top another. All we can do is continue moving forward, and to continue climbing higher!

Shown here is a quote on adversity; “Adversity is one of life’s greatest teachers.” It is very true! Adversity shapes our life to how we are today.
Our ambitions are endless! It’s up to us on how far we’ll get!

 

Bias is the start of an epiphany

Elmedin 20-1 B, Response to Literature, Writing , , , 4 Comments
Bias is the start of an epiphany

So nice to see you again! This time around, I’ll be moving on from enlightenment to bias, and epiphanies. Taken from both the short story The Cathedral, and from journal entries of mine, I ask, and seek to answer a question: What exactly is bias?

You’re probably reading this, going “Bias is the state of having an opinionated view with little evidence, ” or something of the like. While you might be right, that’s not what I am looking for. What good is bias? Where has it gotten us, and where can it take us? Bias is commonly seen as a bad connotation, due to biased opinions often being incorrect or stereotypical. While bias may not be useful in many aspects, I believe bias is a key that helps build epiphanies, which help build towards enlightenment. Diving straight into the journals, we had this one prompt which asked us the question of if we have ever prejudged anyone. Like most of us, I have assumed much about many people. I’ll admit to being a biased person in many cases. It’s hard to trust one you just met, and I tend to believe things I hear, see, or even read about people. Needless to say, I am very often corrected in my perception as I begin to interact with others- sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. A most notable story of prejudice on my part was roughly 3 years ago, when I met who is now a very close friend of mine. At first, I disliked this person to a fairly bitter end. Not that he ever wronged me, nor did I ever hear any ill words about him, but he simply associated with other people I disliked due to previous encounters with them. Prematurely, I had deemed this man “evil” from little knowledge about him. After a mutual friend naturally brought us face-to-face in certain scenarios, I got to learn more about him. Over the course of time, I came to understand he was not a bad person. As of now, we’re pretty good friends. Sometimes I think back on how I wrongly judged him without any basis. Nowadays, I wrongly judge him on a basis. Around this point, I begin to formulate my answer: Bias can be interpreted as a crude reference point to an idea or topic, and we can use it as expectations to beat.

I can make a fair amount of connections between my journal and The Cathedral by Raymond Carver. Initially, our main character, who is unnamed, begins to criticize the antagonist of the story- who is a kind, but visually impaired man. When the blind man’s wife dies, he comes to the estate of the protagonist and his wife. Our blind man introduces himself as Robert, and begins fraternizing with the protagonist’s wife. From this point onwards, we see the protagonist go from semi-concealed hatred, to a somewhat neutral stance on Robert. At this moment, Robert invites the protagonist to draw a cathedral with him. Our protagonist, upon finishing the drawing, comes to an epiphany. Without looking at the completed work, he sees the essence of the art through shut eyes, and comes to understand what being blind is. He realizes blindness isn’t an impurity, or a disability. Instead, he sees it as a way to see the world in a new light, as if being completely reborn. His bias, completely undone, has transformed into an epiphany, and he achieves enlightenment from it. The reason I can relate to this is not because I understood the condition of another, but rather, I have come to understand that I have conditions and imperfections, too. I may still be biased in some aspects, but I am not arrogant. I want to take this paragraph, and use it to edit my previous statement: Bias can be a crude reference point for others, but it is also a reference point for yourself, and how you should learn from both your confirmations, and errors.

Here we can see what a cathedral looks like. For our protagonist to be able to draw it, and see it through closed eyes tells us more about how an epiphany is constructed.
Credit – Duomo Di Milano.

Finally, I’d like to conclude with my refined thesis. From what I’ve concluded from my previous two paragraphs, my previous experiences, and The Cathedral, I think bias is the start of an epiphany. Bias is embedded within all of us. No matter how hard we attempt to suppress it, and no matter how much we succeed at suppressing it, we all have original interpretations. But, I don’t believe we should look at it as if they were bias, but rather, as if they were hypotheses. At the end of the day, opinions are just as valid as fact- they show us one’s experiences, and ideas. While some opinions might be sloppily crafted in contrast with others, all opinions are a sign of learning. We don’t see a correction in our opinions, and simply scrap the whole idea outright. Rather, we add these corrections to our opinions, and craft a brand new hypothesis. That in its own is an epiphany. Merely taking information you have collected, and fusing it with your current knowledge is still bias- nothing is ever truly correct, and there will always be more to discuss about anything in the future, even something as trivial as simple addition. While it may still be bias, it is also an epiphany at the same time. An epiphany is not finding an absolute truth of something, lest it’d be called an enlightenment. An epiphany is just another swing at the walls of the cave. Some epiphanies will hardly make a scratch on the hard stone, while others might make a clean strike through the wall. But, to reach an epiphany, you must be wrong. You have to go outside the boundaries of your bias to collect more information, and add it to your bias. Eventually, your bias will no longer be a bias, or a hypothesis, but rather, a breakthrough. A solution, at long last. Only then may you feel the warmth of the sun on your face, as you peek outside the cave. To answer my question, bias is the state of having an opinionated view with little evidence. At the same time, however, it is the first part of an epiphany, and it is the founder of enlightenment. So, don’t be afraid to have some bias every now and then. It’ll stop being biased real soon, and it will transform into an idea you can be proud of.

A quote by Albert Einstein on epiphany. In this statement, he claims he has never made a discovery through rational thinking, which we can connect back to the idea of bias, and how we can use it to make an epiphany.
Credit – Albert Einstein.
We can see two biased opinions on the number at hand. Depending on where they stand relative to the number, their perception of it changes, making it biased. But, neither of them are incorrect. Credit – Japser, on “BrainGymmer” .

 

The cave of ‘Reality’ .

Elmedin 20-1 B, Response to Literature , , , 4 Comments
The cave of ‘Reality’ .

Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” is a simple, yet insightful idea of how we perceive the world. Ever since the first publication of it, the short story has been analyzed, annotated, discussed, and studied throughout the generations- and will continue to be studied as time marches on.

As you would already and unsurprisingly know, we too have studied the ancient texts of Plato’s work. We’ve annotated them multiple times, and I would like to bring one of my annotations into light for you. My fifth journal entry, and my first annotation of Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” , in which the task was to write the allegory of ‘seeing the light’ in response to Plato’s short story.

This is a typical photo of 'seeing the light'- typically associated with a near death experience. (Trevor Hunt/Getty Photo)
This is a typical photo of ‘seeing the light’- typically associated with a near death experience. (Trevor Hunt/Getty Photo)

The entry begins by introducing Plato, and his short story “Allegory of the cave” . We open the paragraph with the sentence “Plato’s ‘Allegory of the cave’ is a philosophical tragedy, in which Socrates portrays a group of prisoners guessing at what objects lie behind them, whilst chained up in a cave.” . We then divulge into the key idea of the story, where we analyze the freed prisoner.

The second paragraph in the journal entry specifically touches up on his initial fears to the light, and how he gets accustomed to it, and gains the ability to see the world of light. This paragraph also regards and describes the sorrowful part of which he returns to the prisoners in an attempt to help them see the truth, but none believe him. This is also the product of the foreshadowing embodied in the line “a philosophical tragedy” . The main sentence I want to go over in this paragraph is the line: “At first, he is reluctant to go out of the cave, because he fears the ‘light’ . Over time, he gets accustomed to the ‘light’ and comes to the epiphany that the ‘light’ is true reality.” . This sentence is a keystone of my argument, because it closely relates to the idea of how restricting a cave can be- how dark it must be for light to bring harm to your eyes. Another sentence that describes how the cave affects peers is: “He returns to the cave to share his discovery with the prisoners, but none believe him.” , because this shows how the darkness affects those who have yet to see the light. The darkness not only shrouds their eyes, but their judgment.

I use these implications to create a theme statement that describes the meaning of this ‘light’ . That this ‘light’ is something one can only experience on their own, and that nobody can give you this light. I believe that this theme statement cannot get any simpler: you must seize your goals and ambitions using opportunities for you, and you alone.

Furthermore, the ‘cave’ and its darkness is very limiting, for one cannot see anything in these deep shadows. Plato not only tries to tell us we live in an illusion we perceive is true, and he implies not only that we refuse to believe the truth because we believe what we know is already true, but that we also refuse to believe out of fear that we are wrong. A perfect out-of-world example is later scenes in Pleasantville, in which the black and white folks fear the full coloured, and begin to distance themselves from all colour and change. A good personal example is this very blog post. Truth be told, I feel like I’m missing something crucial, or that I’ve veered far off the original prompt. Nevertheless, I am continuing to write, in the belief that my work is near perfection. Fortune favors the bold… right?

All jokes aside, I remember and know this specific cave of my life, that I continue to wander around in, and that cave is titled ‘reality’ . Somewhat cliché, but my perception of ‘reality’ isn’t existence itself, but the natural laws that exist within ‘reality’ . I’m certain you have heard the words; “Life isn’t fair”, or “The world is cruel” – and while it appears to be true, I disagree. Life cannot be so simple to be ‘unfair’, or ‘cruel’ . I think that is a mere excuse that people turn to when facing misery and misfortune. Every man and woman is born crying, and we all share crimson red blood. Nobody is born different, no matter their status, net worth, ideals, or their power. Those born in nobility have just as many opportunities as those born in poverty, I believe. The noblemen are responsible for assisting the world through business, for they will bring our collective intelligence as a species to the very extremity. The impoverished are responsible for staying alive and protecting people, for they will grow strong, and ensure that future generations never even have to imagine the poverty they go through. Disaster, success, and progress are all the same word. Every blessing is a curse, and every curse a blessing. The glass isn’t half-empty or half-full, it’s just there for you to enjoy. The task you were born for is something I don’t know, nor would I tell you if I did. We all have this cave of ‘reality’ – and while it may be restricting, once you surface, no cave will be too deep to crawl out of. Same goes for me- I’ll get out of this cave, and then I’ll level them all, forcing the prisoners to embrace the sky!

 

A quote from Plato describing his own thoughts about Reality. Grover, Kiran. 2017.

Credits: 4edges, (Trevor Hunt/Getty Photo), Grover, Kiran. (2017).