Journal # - The Book of Negroes

While reading the novel, I made a strong connection with the quote, " The pain of my losses never really went away. The limbs had been severed, and they would forever after be missing. But I kept going. Somehow, I kept going " (pg. 351). This quote is true for many people, after everything has been lost it may feel like nothing is going in the right direction, but it is always important to keep hope.



In today's tough times with the changing economy many people have lost incomes, and jobs and their stability. Like Aminata they may feel worthless and be disappointed because the person who may have once been the breadwinner for the family, now has no income. Aminiata is forced to survive off of other people's donations and take jobs that are well below her potential. This is true for many people today as well. Previous corporate workers are working in the service industry after many years of being major CEO's etc. Even though they may not want to have to work in such circumstances, they are forced to do so because they have to keep going in order to put food on the table. As well, with lower incomes families are going into debt, and the only thing helping them make it through these tough times is hope.People have to believe that after hard times there will be better days and the struggles they have been through will help them be better person.

Scarification

In the novel," The Book of Negroes" distinct scars are engraved into the skin of the main character. It is believed that this process of scarring, called scarification, is a form of beauty and gives African people their status as a human being and an adult. Scarification began with African tribes purposly scarring their skin tissue in order to leave tribal carvings. It is also said to be a form of showing courage due to the pain involved when scarring is performed. Throughout a women's life she may be marked repeatidly when she goes through certain stages in life; such as puberty and pregnancy. It is believed by many African's that the more carvings you have the more appealing a women is to men, and also states that she can withstand extreme pain such as child bith. In Aminata's case her half moons are symbols of her religious background which is Muslim. These religious carvings can help distinguish one's ethinic background from another when language barriers are an issue. Scarification is still present in today's society in forms of tattooing and body peircings.



http://www.randafricanart.com/Scarification_and_Cicatrisation_among_African_cultures.html

The Perils of Indifference

1. The title, " The Perils of Indifference" can be rewritten as , "The Dangers of Being Apathetic".

2. The surprise ending in the short story, " The Lottery", is shocking for many readers. A women is stoned to death by the towns people in a community that appears perfectly normal. The women's family,neighbors and everyone else in town turned their backs agasint her when they found out that she was the one who won the death ticket of a "lottery". Although this may come as shocking twist to its readers, these scenario's are common in our society. For example, violence involved with gang members is the same way. Gang members are usualy every day people that at the end of the day also go home to their family's but when they commit horrable crimes like shooting another indivisual, our soceity is not as alarmed as they would be if somone innocent was shot. No matter who you are, you don't deserve to be shot because of what your actions may be. A key example of this is the Civil Rights Movement. Normal every day cauccasion people greatly discriminated against African American's and went to extreme lengths to make this known. As well, people joined the KKK and killed many African American's. What is ironic is that people don't react the same way when something as aweful as that is happening to those around them but when we read about it in a fictional story it appears alarming. Small acts like this are what lead to massive genocides.

3. Elsi Wiesel's speech touches upon many topics that are also present in the short story, "The Lottery". Many of the events that take place are also relevent in the short story; they may seem like small actions but in the end it is these same scenarios which lead to bigger problems. To begin with, one of the main character's, Mr. Summer's, relates very closely with Hitler who is mentioned in Wiesel's speech. They are both powerful leaders who advise their followers to commit horrible crimes. The astonishing fact is that both the characters in the story and the German's ignored their own judgement. Even though this may come as a surprise, it shouldn't. Although there are numerous problems occuring in the world right now and have in the past, does society do everything it can to prevent them? For example, in the speech it is mentioned that many of the victims of the Holocaust believed that no outsiders must know about the cruel acts being comitted because they surely would have saved them. It can be argued that not alot was known about the atrocities being practised, but the US President was aware that Jewish people were being slaughtered by the masses, so why would he turn them away when they came to him for help? This is due to human indifference; many of us simply do not care unless it us who is in trouble. For example, many people are aware of the genocide taking place in Rwanda but not very many of us are making a difference. Innocent people are being killed for simply looking the way they do. For example the women in the short story was picked out of a lottery and was stoned to death because SOMEONE set up a cruel game and she unfortunatly was the winner. Situations like the one in the short story are what ultimatly lead to unnecessary dreadful blood baths mentioned in Wiesel's speech.