Newly Born

In the land of whales,
where the land and sea felt great emptiness,
came a little child with great happiness,
making people go off the rails.

Blessings, blessings everywhere!
but for who?
a boy new?
why not a girl to care?

The phone rings to conform the news
A girl to welcome in our house
as sweet as a mickey mouse.
nothing in mind for an excuse.

Grandpa picks up the phone,
"A girl" he says disgusted,
no one to be anymore trusted.
Doesn't want to accept the granddaughter of his own.

"I will have nothing to do with her"
going out to prefer.
"You and the boys got a beautiful niece"
Grandma says with peace.

But what a lucky girl she was,
got a name of the tribe founder that was.
But her luck sank slowly,
as her mother died, left her lonely.

Didn't get the love of mother nor of her grandfather,
but still were her uncles her watcher.
"Nani flowers taught me a lot,
keeping me with as her ought."

She brought warmth and love,
to be a part she had to shove.
It's the first family reunion, 
but for some was Kahu a spicy onion.

Yes, Kahu was her name,
shame for the family as it broke the boy trend,
only her grandpa thought she was a shame.
it wasn't that easy to end.

She would do anything to get his attention,
but he would ignore saying "that's kid's in hunger".
"She's hungry for you" Nani Flowers mentioned
 But he runs away with anger.

No matter what Karu does,
there's something bad that the grandpa could find!
What's all that buzz?
what's going on in her mind?

She wants to be a part of the meetings
in the village that happens
All her uncle (boys) welcomed with greetings,
but she to return making everyone sadden.

This is from the book called "The Whale Rider" by Witi Ihimaera. I have read one third of the book by now and it's already so interesting. So I decided to make a poem and show or summarize what I have read till now. I am really excited to read on in the book. It's really sounding like a great book.

Questions in our Mind!

Have you ever wondered how our culture and tradition changes?

Only these from the past have shaped us and our world today that we only get to know from the stories of the past! The tales that has been passed through many generations tell us how our world became like it is today and how the changes have occurred.

One of the tradition that still is followed in some places today is the transition of a boy from childhood into manhood. Like in the book "Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear" told by Joseph Bruchac.

But there are many questions that come to the mind as we read this book.

What happens to the girls in Native America? Is there any customs or traditions that the girls need to follow?

There were no females except for mothers and grandmothers. There were no girls or sisters.

Were there any sisters or girls in those days?

Is there still some signs of the Abenaki Indian Heritage?
Are there any girls in the Abenaki Indian Heritage if there are still any signs of it and if people still follow it?

All the stories are about our nature like the stars and animals like salmon and whales. They also show some different characteristics of people like how people can be the odd one out. Some tales also indicate how sometimes there are no differences between people no matter how they look or where they come from.

Is there still anywhere in the world that shows that things like stars, or animals speak to humans?

Many tales show how intelligent and smart people can be. Like how in the tales boys fight with their enemies.

In the tale of Salmon boy, the boy disrespected the food he got and then he became a salmon as his punishment.

Are there people who had the same thing happened to them?

There are many people in the world who disrespect other people and other things.
Do they always get punishments?

But on the other hand, the other story/tale teaches us how to respect animals that people hunt and how they hunt with respect to the animals.

Do people respect animals as they go hunting because many people in the world kill/hunt animals?

Are all of the tales or stories told in this book by Joseph Bruchac true?

Do many people like reading books like this about the stories or tales from the past that teach us how our world was made the way it is or looks like right now?

The identity of the boys were really explored in this book and what makes their identity but there was no reference to the girls.

Was it always like that in many old cultures that girls weren't as much preferred and respected as the boys were?

An Educational Dream

Dear Diary,

Last night I had a dream. My dream was just amazing. I can't tell you how much different it was from what I used to dream before. I don't know why but I just feel so different now and I also think that I am also changed a little after this dream. I think differently now. I want to tell you everything about my dream now because I really want to share it with someone. 

You know where I was in my dream? 

I will tell you! I was in the Native North America, seeing some great transitions from boyhood to manhood. This was  part in every single boy's life in the Native North American tradition where they were at an age to turn from a boy into a man. The young men must face great enemies, find the strength and endurance within themselves to succeed and become a more powerful and responsible person.

There were six parts of my dream where I saw 6 different people and young mens as they became strong adults. 

Firstly, I saw the underwater lodge, it was like a house under water where everyone was too scared to go in. It was believed that there lived many different creatures especially tie-snakesand other bright colored creatures. People thought that the river was very dangerous and the tie-snakes creature would wrap themselves about swimmers who went into the deepest water.

The son of the chief of Koweta called Blue Fox respected and loved his father a lot but the only thing that was missing was that he didn't learn the importance of responsibilities yet. So his father called him and said, "My son, you are young but you are a good runner. I wish you to take a message to the chief of the town of Talladega. Give him this bowl. This responsibility is great and I trust you to do this well." 

So the boy set off since it was still early in the day, however, when he was by the lake, he stopped and started playing with his friends where he dropped the bowl in the deep part of the river. Blue Fox was frightened that he couldn't accomplish his responsibility so he dived inside the deep water and was taken to the chief of the tie-snakes. The Tie-Snakes Chief guided Blue Fox to get power and learn what he was supposed to learn to become a man from a boy. Blue Fox also managed to do all the things that the Tie-Snake chef asked him to do, thinking about the responsibility given to him by his father. 

So then the boy finally reached home with the powers and later saved the town of Koweta from the enemies with the help of the tie-snakes and soon became the chief of the town.

The next thing I saw was how Little One didn't listen to his parents and was troubled by many questions in his mind. Little One rose early in the morning and walked away from the village toward the hills without any food or water to search for answers to his questions. 

He searched and searched but there was no sign of anyone. The next morning he woke up weak with hunger so he decided to return back to his village while he still had the strength to walk. But he stumbled as he was walking and fell down on the roots of a willow tree and couldn't walk any more. As the willow tree spoke, the words gave strength to the Little one's spirit. Then Little One saw himself as an old Ancient man who answered the questions of Little One. Now Little One's heart was filled with peace. So the Little One spent more time listening to the words his elders spoke and became the happiest.

Later, the next part was about the 2 monsters, Owl-Man Giant and the Monster Elk. White-Painted Woman and her brother lived on the Earth. She got married to the Sun and called their son Child of Water. The monsters were man eaters and even if someone killed an animal, that was only the monster's. So when the Owl-Man Giant came to the house of White-Painted Woman when he smelled a human baby. She rejected completely and as time passed, the boy grew up and was to kill the monster. When he killed the monster by the help of his uncle, his mother didn't believe it but as Child of Water showed the evidence, she rejoiced with happiness. However there were still another monster left troubling the world and the people living on Earth. Then he went on to kill the Monster Elk and made the Earth a safe place to live on for Human Beings. There were also other creatures that helped the Child of Water to destroy the monsters on Earth. 

Then there was 'How the Hero Twins Found Their Father'. The two twins went off to find their father in the other parts of the world. They left their house and found Spider Woman who helped them how to get to their father. But the twins had to suffer a lot to get to their father and then they had to prove themselves to their father that they were their sons. So they got the powers from their father and killed the monsters but there were still some which are present to this day like sadness and coldness. 

I couldn't actually believe it. I couldn't believe if a father could treat his son like this. Kuo-Haya wasn't treated very well by his father and his father also didn't enjoy to play with his son after the death of his wife. So Kuo-Haya wasn't reached anything and didn't know to follow a bear's trail. That was very mean by his father I think. 

But then everyone was looking for Kuo-Haya but didn't find him. Kuo-Haya met bear cubs with whom he played a lot and from whose mother he learned everything that he didn't from his father. 

Soon his father realized his mistake and decided to get his son back and found him playing with the bears. But his son refused and ran inside the cave. When the father came for the second time and apologized for all his mistakes then the son came back to his father and the village. Now everyone realized that the boy was no longer the timid boy but he was known as Kuo-Haya the bear boy. 

Lastly, I saw The Ghost Society, where to belong to the Ghost Society meant that a boy was no longer a little child. So now Walks Slow was at the stage of transition and was taken to the darkened dance house. Everything was dark inside the house and so Walks Slow and the other kids could just feel that they were surrounded by many other people most likely Ghosts. There were many rituals to prove that the kids are now strong enough. Then after fours days, they had caught him when he was thrown out of the house. "The unfamiliar light of the day made Walks Slow blink his eyes, but he laughed and his relatives laughed with him. He had been thrown out into manhood.

Then I was woken up by the beautiful sounds of the birds singing. I couldn't believe that a dream could even be like this. It was so educational for me. I wish I could experience it again. 

17/11/13 

Crimes, Crimes Everywhere!

Respected Sir/Madam,

I, Akanksha Sharma work in a traveling agency as an officer. I work in the Native North Americans agency where I need to travel a lot around the US. In 1993, I went in to see the culture and traditions of the native Americans and without regretting, I have been the witness for many different crimes. First I headed towards the Northeast part where "it was the custom for a boy who reached a certain age to go into the forest and wait for a dream. pg-3" He would have to build his own house and "go without food for many days" hoping he would be visited by some animals or spirit of the forest that would take pity on him and give guidance and power.

A boy named Opichi was at the age where his father eagerly insisted him to go on his dream regardless of the cold snowy weather. After seven days of his father visiting him each morning asking him about his experience the night before, his parents finally decided to bring him back home. But what they found was nothing. Their son had died just because of his father wanting him to have more greater experience than the night before.

I was really shocked to see the greediness of Opichi's father for his son to have the greatest power in the whole village. But as I went to the second village, I was surprised again. I saw something really different.

A hunter called Wolverine found a little baby and a dog securing the baby. The hunter brought the baby to his wife, Fisher saying "I give you a child" and they both decide to take care of the sick and weak baby and grow him up to be a strong man. They helped him later when he grew up to find his parents and advised him. Even though he didn't find his parents but he made a new friend and also defeated the bad people on the island. However the boy didn't find his parents and returned back to his grandparents.

I don't know from which perspective to look at because on one hand, the hunter and his wife adapted the little baby but on the other hand the boy killed the people. Is it right to kill someone for their own security?

I also passed through a war. I saw people trying to get peace and they succeeded so the war ended. But still because of the giant Bear, the peace wasn't there. As people tried to cross to go to the other village, the could not return back because they were eaten by the giant Bear. The boy whom everyone made fun of and called him Swift Runner ("even though no one had ever seen him run and it was thought that he was weak and lazy"). He was the only brave boy who went forward and took the wampum that symbolized him to go to the forest and be brave enough to come back as well. Without hesitating, Swift Runner went there, found the giant Bear, solved the whole problem and finally came back bringing peace and all the other villagers. He also proved that he was the bravest amongst all and later he used the tooth of the Bear that he had brought with him to cure the villagers.

I was thinking about this but as I travelled further on, I witnessed many other crimes.

I came to meet with a boy who was really careless, and had no respect towards anyone. He never listened to anyone neither his parents. He couldn't be left alone anywhere for even a minutes or everything would be destroyed. He pushed other people and didn't follow any customs/traditions available in his culture.

Then I decided to move to the Southeast but it wasn't very different there. It was of course better than the Northwest and there were a little less crimes. However, I learned a lot about why some things in our nature are the way they are.

Firstly I went to the foot of the Looking-Glass Mountain and there lived a hunter named Kanati with his two sons. Everyday Kanati would go out to hunt for a "game" (animal). Since his name meant "the lucky one", therefore he always was successful and brought something for his sons to eat. First boy and Inage Itasuhi were the names of his two sons. "Inage', whose name meant 'The Boy Who Grew Up Wild', was always getting himself and his brother into trouble."

"Each day, Inage would ask his father to talk them with him but his father would always say that you are not yet old enough to hunt." But one morning, Inage decided that he would take his brother and go for hunt. They would follow Kanati and figure out how to hunt. So the both brothers followed Kanati to the side of the Looking-glass Mountain where a big stone was hiding something behind it. Kanati rolled away the bog stone from the mouth of the cave and suddenly a big deer came running out. Raising the bow and shutting at the deer, Kanati killed the deer. Finally he rolled the stone in front of the cave and headed back home.

 Inage said "If we want to be men, then we must do as our father did." And they both came up to the side of the mountain collecting all the materials they needed. Together they rolled the stone and a deer came running. They weren't able to kill it but they shot at its tail, knocking it straight up. They made this into a game and left the cave open trying to aim at the different types of animals coming out of the cave. Soon the animals started running faster making the boys scared and afraid. Sooner many types of birds, rabbits, raccoons, all the animals ran free out of the cave.

When their father heard the noise of something, he ran back to the mountain and saw that his sons have freed all the animals. He punished the two boys by saying that "it will no longer be easy for a hunter to any from now. No longer can we be sure that we will bring a prey home."

Kanati's sons made everything so hard for every hunter in the world even now a days. Thinking of what punishment should the two sons have got, I moved forward.

There I came to meet with the reality of how the lightning and thunder came and how they used their power to kill and defeat all the bad powers in and around their village. Then the two boys, Lightning and Thunder, when their parents died, decided to go and live up in the sky. 

I saw many crimes but not all could be described as crimes. On one hand, some were done for the benefit of others but on the other hand, some were done just for fun. 

Crimes are crimes and the suspect should get punished for his deeds. Therefore, I request you to help me and others to end crimes in our world!

All the evidence and other crimes are reported in the book named "Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear" told by Joseph Bruchac.  

War & Relationships

Private Peaceful

"I am so proud of him for that. I have the bravest brother in the world". The book "Private Peaceful" explores the themes of bravery and cowardice. How? 

The two brothers, Tommo and Charlie, promise to stay together forever but are they able to? What happens when they grow up? Well these are questions to be asked and answered from reading the book!  

The two brothers throughout the stories show bravery and cowardice by their actions even though they actually are not cowardice all the time. However, for others they are! Tommo and Charlie both show bravery by participating in the First World War. As time passes, the relationship between all the characters changes which is explained very well by the author, Michael Morpurgo. New characters in the story are introduced as the reader reads on. The new characters build some

kind of relationship with the main characters (two brothers) alternatively it does have some effect on the old relationships of the characters. Talking about relationship, you might wonder how was his relationship with others and his family members?He was very honest and optimistic but he couldn't stay honest for very long. As his father dies of a tree falling on him, he has the guilt that he's killed him but doesn't have enough courage to tell this to his family member as it might hurt their feelings. 

The story is told to the reader from Tommo's perspective which makes the reader really emphasize with Tommo and his feeling and compare his/her feelings to how Tommo actually is feeling right now. At every moment in the story, the words that the author uses makes the reader more connected into Tommo's life. Some words give a lot of details of the situation and the characters and are very descriptive.

Tommo shows many different sides of him where he's a loving and caring person, a love sacrificer, a kind and respectful child and a very helpful person. He was a very loving and respectful child and was always there for his empowered/disabled and oldest brother, Big Joe even though he knew that it was very hard for him to understand Big Joe. He still didn't give hope. 

The story of the Peaceful family also explores the theme of unity and equality. The author shows that no matter what a person is like or is from, we are still equal. One of the most nicest events from this story was when Tommo and his mates help a german and on the other hand when no one is there for Tommo, a stranger german comes to help Tommo in the war fields. This shows how much a stranger can care for a person who doesn't relate to him/her at all. Have you ever noticed this before? Well if not then you can experience this in the book "Private Peaceful".

Not every stranger is an enemy and not every person is a friend.   

Private Peaceful is quite interesting and is recommended for students and adults to read. Reading makes people better in a language. But if you get a book that you are interested in then you are more likely to read it and improve your language. Another interesting feature about this book by Michael Morpurgo that makes the book unique is that it's all about Tommo describing his whole life up to the present (age 17) in just 24 hours. The scrumptious thing that makes this book more recommendable for kids is that it mostly written in past and goes to present. There are many moments in the book where the reader is left to think about the situation and the future. Some events/actions make you think what might happen next?

Michael uses very simple words in this text and a lot of literary devices. This book is recommended to kids by many teachers because the book consists of many literary features, is very imaginative and is easy to read. 

If you need something interesting, and cannot decide what to read, don't forget Private Peaceful! It's an amazing emotional, family, drama and action full book. 

(There's also a movie for this book)

By

Akanksha

आकांक्षा

What's your Identity? (Email)

Subject: What's your Identity

Dear Alice,

Everyone has their own identity! I have been studying about Identity in my class and want to share some information about identity with you! My book called "Private Peaceful" that I have read two thirds by now has a lot of characters; some minor and some major. And all of them have some kind of identity. It's really important for a character to have their own identity especially in books because that's is what makes the reader interested in a story and creates imagery. Identity is created in texts through the way the author describes the characteristics of a person.

In Private Peaceful, the characteristics are developing as the reader reads the book. In the beginning, the relationship of Tommo and Charlie is described as very deep. This shows that they both are really loving and caring. Sometimes the relationships with others can show the characteristics of a person. How a person behaves with others and what the person says/does is what creates his/her identity.

My understanding of identity has really developed after reading this book because this book taught me that relationship with others is actually a part of your identity and also describes you. I have never actually perceived or gave notice much to how an author creates the identity of the characters. But now I find it quite interesting. What do you think, have you noticed it before?    

The identity of the characters in this book changes as new characters are introduced. The relationship of the two brothers (Tommo and Charlie) also gets really weak as Molly comes into their lives. They both start liking her but Charlie gets married to her. This makes Tommo want to hate them but he can't because they were the two people he loved the most in the whole world. Tommo said, "In the next room slept the two people I most loved in all whole world who, in finding each other, has deserted me. Sometimes, in the dead of night, I thought of them lying in each other's arms and I wanted to hate them. But I couldn't. Pg-92"

The quote above, shows two feelings at the same time, love and hate. I think that one of the main themes of this book is actually love and hate. Having a big family is a symbol of love and war is a symbol of hate. The estate of Iddesleigh and the people living there are like a really big family where everyone helps each other out in tension and problems. Wars or fights usually start because you hate someone. The war in this book is between the Germans and the French. 

The writer is very descriptive in this story and that's what makes the reader read it. He uses simple vocabulary to create a character's identity. He actually doesn't say that Charlie is helpful and very kind but he rather describes it through an event/action. For ex. He says "Charlie is taking me by the hand, leading me because he knows I don't want to go." This indicates that Charlie is a very nice and kind person. Almost all of the characteristics of the characters in the book are described using this technique. For me this technique enhances this narrative text a lot. 

Don't you think that the setting contributes highly to identity? The setting describes a character. A place where a character lives relates to the character's interests, hobbies and favorites. His identity is also reflected by where he lives because a person would not like to live in a place that he/she doesn't like. For ex. Colonel lives in the Big House and this and the description of him by Tommo to me describes him as being a little bit of mean, overconfident and a little bit egoistic person which actually sounds right from Tommo and other family member's perspective. "I'm thinking of the rude things father used to say about Colonel-'silly old fat', 'mad old duffer' and much worse." This quote shows the opinion of Tommo's father about the Colonel.

The identity of the characters inside this book involves the identity of us. We are very similar to the characters in the book. We emphasize us the most with Tommo and feel almost the same as he does. Being jealous, determined towards a goal and helpful are some characteristics that shapes Tommo's identity but many of us have the same characteristics in us. By using these types of characteristics for a character in a book, I think that the author is trying to create a connection between the character and the reader. This way the writer makes the reader read more and compare them with the characters in the story.

Sometimes even identity of someone in real life or in stories can shape our identities. Don't you think? We all want to be the best and sometimes books can inspire us. If we read something we start compare ourselves with the characters and try to be that character just because he/she looks better. So sometimes even texts can inspire us to shape our own identity. 


Identity is basically shaped by anything that a person does or where the person stays or goes. Identity is one of the things that makes a person unique and different from others.

Have you read an amazing book like this and did you try comparing yourself with the characters in a story?

I really would like to hear back from you about this topic!


My sincere thanks for your time and consideration,
Akanksha

AS (आकांक्षा) 

Private Peaceful (Journal Entry)

नमस्ते

Reading is fantastic but not everyone is really good in it like me.
I was just reading a book called "Private Peaceful" by Michael Morpurgo. By now, I read one third of it and I find it quite interesting. It's from the times of the First World War and Michael describes the childhood of the protagonist and the battlefields of the war really well as time passes by.

The main characters in this book are Tommo/Thomas Peaceful, Big Joe Peaceful, Charlie Peaceful, Molly, Grandma Wolf and The Colonel. The protagonists are Tommo Peaceful, Charlie Peaceful, Molly and the antagonist are The Colonel, Grandma Wolf. All the characters are related to each other.

Tommo Peaceful is 15 year old and has two brothers called Charlie and Big Joe. He decides that at this moment of his life, he wants to remember as much of his memories of his childhood as possible. Tommo wants to live his childhood again and wants tonight to be as long as possible.

He thinks back: he and Charlie used to go to school and how scared he was on his first day. "Charlie is always there for me" he thinks. The shocking part of the orientation for me was when he explains how his father dies and the secret that he's hiding from everyone concerning his father's death. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Molly (a student in his class) on the first day of school, who helps him. Consequently, she gets really attached with the Peaceful family. On the other hand, there's the Colonel who warns Molly's family to not send their daughter to the Peaceful family since Charlie's a theft. Charlie had stolen a foxhound from the Colonel's land and fished in the Colonel's river. However Charlie and Molly secretly keep meeting each other, which makes their relationship turn into more than just friendship.

As I was reading, at some points I was prognosticating what might happen because the story was taking a really interesting turn. It was a little bit easy for me to guess that the relationship between Charlie and Molly will develop throughout the story and Tommo will get betrayed from the person who cared about him the most. Tommo says "That night I lay there beside Charlie not speaking. I was so filled with anger and resentment towards him that I never wanted to speak to him again, nor to Molly come to that." (pg.73) I think that from reading this statement, I really feel empathy for Tommo because the words that he uses shows the reader how sad he was and how heartbroken he was. He really loved his brother but his brother loved the same girl as he did.

This book is written in 1st person so I think that it's always better to read a book written in 1st person because then you can easily connect with the narrator and feel empathy for him/her. You also get to see their point of view and hear their opinion about each situation. But everything has its own advantages and disadvantages and a disadvantage about reading a book in 1st person is that you only get to see the narrator's POV and hear his/her opinions. We are not able to attach that much with all the other characters and we always think that what the narrator is saying is right. It's always better to hear different perspectives so sometimes I prefer to read books written in 3rd person. Despite that some books in 1st person are also quite interesting like this one.

The beginning of this story is quite powerful and story and characters are introduced very well to the reader. "They've gone now and I'm alone at last... ... Charlie is taking me by the hand, leading me because he knows I don't want to go." (pg.7) are the beginning sentences of the story. I think that they are really powerful because they create many questions in the reader's mind. I really thought what actually happened, what's going to happen next and what's actually going on. This is exact what made me read this book because the beginning was really powerful.

The plot structure in the story develops very slowly I think because the writer doesn't overwhelms the reader with a lot of information. The information is slowly told. I like the way how the author gives one piece of information and elaborates/explains that very well throughout the story and then gives another piece of information making everything clear for the reader. I don't think that this story's been confusing at any time for me. Tommo thinks, "Big Joe doesn't have to go to school..." (pg.8) and tells the reader where he stays and what he does rater than talking about himself or Charlie.

There are many different chapters in this book. The names of these chapters are really, really different than all the other books I have read before. The chapters are named according to the times of the clock for ex. FIVE PAST TEN OR NEARLY FIVE TO ONE. This relates the reader to the beginning of the story where the protagonist Tommo says "I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it." (pg.7). The time passes by doesn't matter what happens and the protagonist also keeps on telling the story. I find this one of the most interesting things to name the chapter of a book like this. Somehow this also reminds me of the book THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME where the chapters are named with all the prime numbers.

Michael Morpurgo has written many other books like THE BILLY KID and THE DANCING BEAR.  I really think that do all of these books have something like this?

Private Peaceful also has a movie and looks quite interesting. Therefore, if you are interested, do watch the movie or read the book. If the beginning of this book could be so interesting then how would it end?





I wonder what happens next in the story?

To Be Continued...
आकांक्षा