A small mistake making a big difference

Jesus Colon is a negro. One night, he had finished work and was returning by train. In the subway, he saw this white lady, she was carrying a heavy suitcase, a baby and had two children following by her side. He was thinking if he should help, and he was thinking about how the lady would react. He decided not to help because since the lady was white and he was black, there might be racism, she might think Colon was trying to rob her or even worse. After that incident, Colon felt that he had failed and his identity had been banished. Since that incident, it had changed his identity. This also relates to the poem by John Donne, in the poem, it said we are all mankind and we are all connected and we should always help mankind. Colon failed to do that because he just ran away. This story also relates to the video by Jason Van Genderen. In the video, they showed the beggars, the white lady relates to the beggars because she was ignored by people and left alone, isolated on an island. To me, this would've been a really hard decision. I think that there is no good or bad when your in a situation like this. If you ask the lady, she might think you are willing to help or she might think that your going to kidnap. If you leave, it shows that your scared of the lady's reaction and it's alright to be scared. Like sometimes un school, people are scared to ask a question, because he/she is scared of the teacher's reaction, just like the lady in Jesus Colon's story.

In the poem by James Berry, it said "do we shut our eyes", that also relates to the video by Van Genderen when everyone were just ignoring the homeless people around them. The poem also said "What do we do with a difference? Do we stand and discuss its oddity or do we ignore it?". In Colon's story, he ignored the difference, in the video, everyone also just ignored the different people and they just think that only normal people live in this world, but their wrong. In school, different races and religions get on well, I haven't seen any quarrel about races. So in my school, it is the total opposite with this story. The painting by Picasso shows two doves different in color and still happy together. The picture was selected by me because the two doves are like Jesus Colon and the white lady, but their actions and their thoughts are the total opposite. They are both united but Jesus Colon didn't think that that was going to happen. Even difference can be united as one.

Painting from: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/show-list/do-search/?search=picasso&page=2&cr=10

The will to fight for freedom

Aung San Suu Kyi was an Oxford graduate and a Noble Peace Prize winner. In 1945 June 19, she was the pro democracy leader of Burma and Burma got rid of the Brithsh, eventhough her father supported the British during World War 2. Sadly, her father was assassinated when she was 2 years old. in 1964, she studied philosophy and politics at Oxford University. She then went to work for the UN in New York. She is married to Michael Arns who is a Tibet scholar and they have 2 children, both of them are boys. She wanted the killing in Burma to stop and Burma needed a leader. She overwhelmingly won the elections. Then, the military dictatorship placed her under house arrest. In 1995, she was briefly released of house arrest. In July 1995-2000, she was freed from house arrest but there was a dillema, she could see her husband but never allowed back into her country and she realized her husband was dying. She then had a quote saying "Drops of water that make up the ocean.", meaning that nothing is too small.

This also relates to Daedalus and Icarus. Daedalus wanted freedom from King Minos and he built wings so he could gain his freedom. Aung San Suu Kyi had to make really hard decisions. I always have to make decisions and I think in my mind "this is such a hard decision to make". Now, after this story, I know that all my decisions are way easier than Aung San Suu Kyi's. I think that what Aung San Suu Kyi did was right. The fact that she could give people freedom is already heroic. I wouldn't be able to do that.

The painting by Toni Littlejohn is a bird heading up into the air. I chose this painting because the bird is getting freedom. The bird is like Aung San Suu Kyi because she also wanted freedom, same with the bird, it wants freedom.

Painting from: http://tonilittlejohn.com/gallery/show?keyword=Paintings&subkey=+Forms

Mankind and alien

The feeling everyone has on an island is isolated because there is no civilization on an island and you are separated from the outside world.

The poem by John Donne is telling us that no man should be alone by themselves, everyone should be with civilization. The quote "any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind." tells us that even when one man dies, it affects him because he is part of mankind. "if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less". That shows that when a little part of Europe falls out, Europe gets smaller. Same with the one where someone dies, the civilization gets smaller.

The video by Jason Van Genderen also has the same message as the poem by John Donne. It shows that no one should feel left out even if your a different race, religion or from a different country. That is saying that he is an alien, but everyone is mankind. In the video, the beggars are on the street begging for money and everyone just ignores him and walks past him. I think they notice him but just ignoring him. Just because he is a beggar, different from everyone else, it doesn't mean the that you should just ignore them, how would you feel if you were a beggar and people ignoring you? The beggars feel isolated like how you would feel on an island, they are detached from the outside world. They showed the sign saying "This is freedom?", for everyone else but not the beggars. They are isolated away from civilization.

Van Genderen's video's theme relates to the story "The Island" by Armin Greder. This is because a stranger gets stuck on an island. Everyone there is different from him and he is treated unequally. No man should be treated as an outsider as he is too part of mankind. It relates to the video when the beggars were just waiting and everyone just walked past him. This also relates to Theseus and the Minotaur. The Minotaur is also part human but King Minos just wanted to put him in captivity because he looked like a monster. It makes the Minotaur feel isolated away. When I first came to this school, I was all alone on an island because I didn't know anyone there except one friend who was in the same kindergarten as me, Dzaim. When he wasn't there, I was isolated away from civilization and I was alone.

The painting by Edouard Manet shows that everyone is involved in civilization. No one is left out and everyone are united. I chose this painting because I am trying to tell you that this is how the world should be, eveyone together and no one should feel like an alien, on an island or isolated. We are all mankind and should all be treated like mankind.

Painting from: http://dev.laptop.org/~arael/preview/famous_paintings/famous_paintings.xol/painting/Edouard_Manet-800px-Edouard_Manet_036.jpg