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Unbecoming by Jenny Downham explores family relationships, highlighting challenges that come when faced with change. The protagonist in this novel is Katie, a seventeen-year-old struggling with the complexities of a family where her mother, Caroline, is very controlling over their lives. The unexpected arrival of Caroline’s strange, forgetful mother, Mary, begins a major shift in their family dynamic. The theme of handling change is prominent throughout the story.

Caroline’s struggle with placing Mary in a nursing home acts as a major cause of conflict and distress between the characters. The challenge of accepting this change is shown in frequent and heated arguments between Katie and Caroline. The addition of a new family member, accompanied by Katie’s personal identity problems causes her and other great stress.

When I moved houses, we moved to the opposite side of the city, all the friends I had made and the places I knew were now very far. At first, I had found it difficult to make new friends, often I did not have anyone to talk to. However, there was one constant in my life, my family. I realized, we were going through the same situations, we were there to support each other through this major change

Citations

Unbecoming: https://www.amazon.ca/Unbecoming-Jenny-Downham/dp/0545907179

Change: https://compsysplus.com/nothing-changes-if-nothing-changes/

Plato’s allegory of the cave tells of a group of people who know nothing but the insides of the cave they live in. They have always been in this cave, and are chained at their wrists and ankles so they cannot move. There is a big fire behind them, and the only thing they ever see are the shadows on the opposite wall of people who pass the fire, this is all they know. At one point, suddenly one man is released from his chains, and let out into the world. The man sees the sun world for the first time, he has “seen the light”. Plato, often regarded as one of history’s greatest philosophers, uses this allegory to show how people can use enlightenment to liberate themselves. Reaching this enlightenment, or “seeing the light” is portrayed in multiple forms of media. 

Pleasantville, A film directed by Gray Ross, shows this very well. In the film, two siblings, David and Jen, are transferred into the 1950s TV show Pleasantville when a mysterious TV repair man gives them a strange TV remote. As David and Jen begin to make changes in this world, which had been prominently black and white, objects are brought into color. In this film, after an individual in Pleasantville discovers what they have been missing or “sees the light” they are brought into color. People and black and white are stuck in their “cave” repeating the same routine each day and not living a fulfilling life. It is once these people discover what they have been missing from their own lives, and are fulfilled they “see the light” similar to the man in Plato’s Allegory of the cave.

I moved schools between the 2nd and 3rd grade. For the first few weeks at this new school, I was very shy and barely spoke to other students. Unlike my previous, I had no friends fromprevious grades, and would often spend my time alone. I was very lonely during this period, I didn’t have any friends until a few weeks into the school year. Once I realized I would be lonely unless I did something, I started to speak to other students and discovered how easy it was to make friends at that age. I had overcome my timidity and had “seen the light”.

Citations

Featured image: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-05-eyes-bright.html

First Image: https://www.highlandernews.org/75017/pleasantville-a-deep-philosophical-take-on-the-fantasy-genre/

Maxine Tynes’ poem, “The Profile of Africa”, highlights the significance of identity, not just at a personal level but as a collective realization. Africa, often referred to as the cradle of civilization, is home to a large number of traditions, languages, and ethnicities. Through this poem, Tynes shows to the reader that to understand the importance of embracing one’s roots, recognizing that they form the basis of individual and shared identities.

The poem does not only celebrates Africa’s diversity but also highlights the challenges faced by the continent’s people in preserving their identity within the growth of globalization and cultural assimilation. There’s a noticeable indication towards the fading of cultural traditions. However, instead of telling us about this bleak reality, the poem speaks about resilience and reconnection with one’s own roots.

This poem goes outside of Africa and taps into the universal theme of the importance of embracing identity and how it helps us understand the world and our place here. As the world becomes more globalized, cultures are becoming more and more homogenized, to the point that individual and collective identities can be lost. By shedding light on the significance of Africa’s profile, the poem each of our unique histories, and experiences, are what give the world a vast variety of cultures. Embracing one’s identity, as the poem indicates, is not only important to one’s self, but to our world as a whole.

In conclusion, “The Profile of Africa” goes beyond the borders of this continent and reaches around the world, as a message about the importance of individual and collective identity. Embracing identity is what makes us who we are, it tells of our background and what we believe. The importance of embracing identity goes outside of an individual and helps preserve something tat is lowly being lost to the ever growing concept of globalization.