Author: teagan625

Unraveling A New Self

teagan625 20-1 B, Free Choice, teagan, Writing , , 3 Comments
Unraveling A New Self

In the novel, Unbecoming, by Jenny Downham, through reading this novel I have been exploring themes of self-discovery. This is shown through the character of Katie. Katie is trying to live her life as a teenager while also trying to become satisfied with her sexuality. Katie in the beginning of the novel expresses her sexuality by kissing Esme but later on is made fun of for her decisions and leads Esme and Katie to have a falling out. Through this blog I am going to talk about self-discovery through the character Katie and myself.

 

In Unbecoming, Katie is seen pushed by her mom to do her best and be the best, though this isn’t what Katie wants to become. Katie, like all the other kids her age, wants to be popular and just live her life. The only way she can really do so is when she takes care of her grandmother with dementia. Being confined by the walls of her mom she isn’t able to do a lot of things. In the novel, she wants to go to a party filled with boys and alcohol. There she is able to be a little bit more free, not being constricted to anyone or anything. She realizes more about herself; she realizes she just wants to prove to Esme that she isn’t weird. She can really express herself through proving Esme wrong as well as not being held back by her mother. For someone, they need to explore who they really are by being let go from the constricts of life. For some that may be their parents like Katie or a mental block they put on themselves so they aren’t able to realize their true self. Self-discovery for everyone doesn’t look the same but one thing is for sure they must have curiosity to fuel that flame. Katie and like many others are on a journey for self discovery and looking for their true self, and for them they don’t know the way to find it so they go on that endless journey, and the thing stopping them is just to trek a little longer.

 

During my 16 years of living I can’t say I have found the me I want to portray to the world. My journey through self discovery has just started and I can’t say I have found the way to work through those blocks ahead of me but the only way to do it is to start. A time in my life where I have been blocked was at a time where I had no idea what I wanted to become. So I turned to something I had known very well, the gym. It gave me a sense of community and a way to get rid of some things that are bothering me. It showed me that the more time and effort I put in the gym, it also showed me the amount of time and effort I should put in myself to become someone better. Through writing this I realized that I need to find my blocks ahead of me, so I can discover the bigger thing I could become. Though not a lot has happened in my life there are so many more adventures to come that will lead me to discover more things about myself that have not yet been revealed to me.

 

In life there are so many things that may hinder one from showing their true colours, one is a physical boundary and another is a mental boundary, those who are able to surpass those boundaries are one who can find more about themselves. In everyone’s life there is a journey for self discovery. Is there a journey you have gone through to find something new about yourself? What was the thing you found out about yourself?

 

Citations:

featured image – https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/5334348-self-discovery-finding-yourself-searching-for-self-value-success-dream-or-meaning-of-life-exploration-inner-or-inside-concept-happy-businessman-succeed-finding-valuable-diamond-inside-his-head

image one – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25582543-unbecoming

image two –  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/self-discovery-workplace-finding-your-true-path-success-renada-bey

Caves of Fiction

teagan625 20-1 B, Personal Response, teagan , , , 9 Comments
Caves of Fiction

In the allegory of the cave, the cave people were those who did not change and those who did not want to realize that there was change. They were the ones who saw new things but were scared because it was not their norm. They liked their monotonous life. Those who were taken from the cave were those who embraced the change. And in Pleasantville, those who were taken out of the cave were those who embraced the colour like most of the teenagers, making out and going to lovers lane,or the students who wanted to learn about the new books in the library. Those afraid of colour and the imminent change in Pleasantville were the same slaves in the cave who were cowering in fear when the ones who left came back to tell the stories of the outside world instead of paying attention. They were scared. In Pleasantville, this would be the patriarchy, the mayor and the elderly who were not liking the change. The coloured people were the people who were freed from the shackles and embraced a new way of life outside of the cave. The cave of colour was a prevalent cave for those in Pleasantville.

Pleasantville Analysis by ajmaxriedel on emaze

 

 

Another cave that they were freed from was their cave to have sex and their sexual freedom. None knew what it was but they learned and cherished what it was. Those who engaged became free, free from that specific cave. For example, when Mary Sue was explaining to Betty about sex and self-pleasure she practiced it on herself and became enlightened she became free. Afterwards, she became coloured which further solidifies the idea of being freed from a cave by an external source. In this statement, it would be Mary Sue who freed Betty. Another example I would like to mention is when the kids were all coloured and making out, outside the soda shop. This is another example of becoming free. With the help of Mary Sue, she showed all these kids about sex and new sexual intent that was otherwise unwanted. The idea of caves in life doesn’t just apply to the film Pleasantville but also applies to anyone’s life. To be free is to be freed from the cave that is preventing you from becoming something better.

 

For everyone who reads this blog, I have one question. What cave is preventing you from becoming better or becoming a butterfly? 

 

Referances:

Nothing hits you harder than the process of Self Realization and Self Actualization…

https://www.emaze.com/@aqwcczfz/Pleasantville-Analysis

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Illustration_of_The_Allegory_of_the_Cave,_from_Plato%E2%80%99s_Republic.jpg

Culture is an Identity’s Heart

teagan625 20-1 B, Personal Response, teagan, Writing , , , , , 5 Comments

The Hidden Fence

Rita Joe

Once upon a time I was in spaces free

I trod the lane of the rainbow road

My identity my own

And all the earth and sky my friend.

In barricaded fences of rescue

Submission becoming my prison

Now slowing to a trickle.

My stride becoming a shuffle

The feathers hanging limp as I signed the X

 

The spaces are still there for me to follow

In the wide open range

I teach you my culture

I want to teach you about me

 

Let me.

    The poem “The Hidden fence” by Rita Joe, is compelling with ties to culture and its significance to an individual and how it makes a person them. With this poem Joe has made a statement to not just aboriginal people but also to those who have lost their culture and can’t connect like they once were. This further connects to the importance of cultural identity to someone. In the context of the poem and Joe herself this would tie to her and those closest to her as they had once lost their culture and were assimilated into the western way of life. She describes the way the indigenous people lost their way of life and lost their connection due to the residential schools. With those who love and care about the culture they strive to teach others and preserve its significance to them and many others. Joe has a wonderful way of describing how culture is important to her and a way for those to reconcile with their culture identity.
Five Places to Learn about Indigenous Culture in Ontario - CAA South Central Ontario
      Joe has several important statements in the poem that are important to her but others of different cultures can deeply connect with. One that can speak volumes is, “submission becoming my prison” this specific part from her poem is significant because of the reality of it. The reality of it is that submission or pleasing is a part of how people interact with each other, in this specific context not only is it part of how she interacts with others it’s also how her culture is like, they appeal to the elders or those older. In this poem Joe is able to relate to many while staying within a specific manner regarding her identity and her culture. 
     This poem is something I can relate to, something that spoke to me while I read and analyzed it. Joe has made a message with this poem of preserving culture and its importance to an individual. To me this is not an old topic, this is something prevalent in my life, I see this everyday. I have lost a sense of cultural identity, the example being not being able to communicate with my family, specifically my grandmother. My grandmother is very important in my life, she is like a ray of sunshine, but the thing is I am not able to communicate with her. I have lost all sense of identity and I am not in touch with my cultural identity. Before I was able to speak and understand what my grandmother and mother said, now I am not able to understand a lot and I only respond in a broken way of speaking. Stated in the poem it says, “submission becoming my prison,” this line in the poem is something that I can see in myself. Growing up learning English and my parents wanting to help me learn they also spoke english to me, I feel as though my submission is that I did not care to speak in my mothers language. This is something I regret, something that I wish never happened. Like the speaker and her spaces that were once free, I want to go back to those spaces and regain a new understanding and become enlightened by those who can teach me. To sum up, Joe’s well written poem has spoken to me and I am easily able to connect with it, I wish the message she spoke was seen sooner by me. 
      Ultimately, Joe has written “The Hidden Fence” with the ideas of culture and the importance of it in combination with identity. She speaks of how culture can be taken, but if the culture is important, just losing it will not be the reason for it becoming extinct, they will want to regain what was lost. Joe talks about the perseverance of all and how it affects their culture and its importance to them. “The Hidden Fence” is a great example of the perseverance of individuals whose culture is so important to them that they will not let it stop at one terrible occasion.