Friday, February 26, 2010
The Photograph
Please read the essay "The Photograph" under the Telling Room link and respond. Pick out a sentence, phrase or incident that stands out to you and explain why. As you are reading, remember the author is your age, someone who now lives close to you. Does this make a difference in how you interpret what you read?
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Of course, everyone ran in a different direction to save his or her life. Some mothers and fathers even forgot their kids.
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad. And it really paints a picture in my head about how awful it was. I can almost hear the screaming just by reading those two sentences. And I cant even begin to imagine the sheer horror. This does make a difference because I have two younger brothers and if this happened to us, i see myself as his older brother, having so much responsibility and not even being able to think about your probably dead parents in fear that you might cry. And you don't want to cry because your brothers are depending on you. I can not even begin to imagine how this kid felt.
Cal Carr
R3
"Some mothers and fathers even forgot their kids. That’s how I was separated from my parents."
ReplyDeleteThis stands out to me because it must have been so bad during the attack that parents forgot their own children when they were running away.
Aaron D. Red 3
Every night, in those camps, we’d have to wait two or three hours on line for water because the big people just kept pushing past us. There was no one to protect us.
ReplyDeleteThis sentence stands out to me because is seems like after all these kids had been through, the bigger people would be nicer to them, but I guess not. It also shows has much these kids had to go through even after they were safe from the rebels.
-Nicolas Williamson
"Once after he accidentally dropped his rifle in the water, they put him in prison."
ReplyDeleteI think it's strange how strict their government is even though it is unorganized you can still go to jail for merely dropping your gun in the water.
-Austin
A incident that stood out to me was when the Arab militia attacked there town and burn it all down and killed most of the people. That village did nothing wrong they minded there own business and did not harm any one. Then the militia attacked and all there life changed for good and most of them never saw there whole families again.
ReplyDelete-Tanner Hyland
“I’d rather die ahead”
ReplyDelete-The Brother
This quote stood out to me because they didn't think about death at all because for them, it's an everyday thing. Here in America, I don't think about the chance of me getting killed because there almost isn't one. It does make a difference that the author is my age because he is a lot more tough than I am. If I was him, I would be scared to death in the situations he had to face.
-Ben Burkey
"I have no photographs of my past, none of my village or parents or me as a boy there." That must be hard not having any pictures from his past to remind him of his friends and family. I love looking at old photographs and seeing some times that I forgot and some that I remember was so fun. I couldn't imagine not having any photographs from my past.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Bergner R3
Wandering from village to village is what stood out to me the most. I can't even imagine what it would be like not having somewhere to go and feel safe, especially with no parents to protect them. It's weird to think about how young Kenyi is and how much more he has experienced than me. It also makes me think about how many people have probably experienced things like this in my own community.
ReplyDelete-Maddie
"I am seventeen years old and I have no photographs of my past, none of my village or parents or me as a boy there, none of the places where we fled or the camps in which we lived, nor of my friends."
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad that he didn't even have a photograph... of anything. I couldn't imagine life without photographs, especially because he was so young and it would be hard for him to remember things after a while. It makes a difference in how I interpreted the things that I read because it makes me realize how bad everything really is, that it will just get harder to remember things and he won't have anything, like pictures, to help him.
Lani Edwards, 3/2/10, Red 3
"In the morning there was nothing left. No houses, nothing." I think this is a very strong part of "The Photograph" because it shows how fast they had come and destroyed what everyone once had and how they had to witness something that bad.
ReplyDeleteRiley Erskine R-3
All of our happiness was there—and it’s still not possible to return.
ReplyDeletejust imagine your home, family and life was left back in your home land and being denied the ability to enter it.
Not long after coming to Portland we had a letter in the mail, and in that letter, was… a photograph! I don’t know how to say this, but it was of my mother and father.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think we take what we have for
granted. he is so happy just to have a picture of his parents. It makes me think that there are so many people out there even here in Maine who have not seen their parents for a long time.
Sarah St.Pierre
R3
“It’s no use. Our parents are probably dead, and we don’t want to die here, too,” so we got up from the field and started walking. “I’d rather die ahead,” he said.
ReplyDeleteYou know things were bad when people start saying things like this, especially young people. I can't imagine thinking you know that you are going to die. Not being able to say goodbye or know if my friends and family were alive, would kill me. It scares me that something like this can happen to such a happy place in such a short time. It makes me understand how lucky I am to have a life like the one I have, and that I need to enjoy everyday to it's fullest.
Knowing that this person is know my age, shows how young they were when this happened. It also shows that, in her short life, she has had it pretty bad.
LuLu
Red Block 3
All of our happiness was there — and it’s still not possible to return.
ReplyDeleteThis really shows the overview of the autobiography. He grew up there and he learned many lessons from his parents. He learned much of what he uses today there, and many of his fond memories remain of Sudan. The worst part is, he can not return with the problems right now. Although America may be an escape, his favorite memories and loved ones are there, and he's stuck here. Hopefully one day, he will be able to return to Sudan when it is not plagued by war and death.
Dylan Carlson R4
"Some mothers and fathers even forgot their kids." That is crazy to even comprehend for me that when the tribe was attacked that the parents could just care less for the kids and only save themselves. To me that is very selfish and just because you're being attacked doesn't change the fact that you are a parent of children that you need to take care of. Knowing that he is young makes me feel worse for the boy because that means at like the age of 6 he was traveling around his country just to survive and he couldn't even rest because there's always a chance of being attacked.
ReplyDeleteR4 Sam Seidl
My mother was standing and my father was sitting in a wheelchair because the soldiers shot his legs off.
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me because i could tell that the person was shocked when they found out that his father had lost his legs
Nick Fagone R4
All of our happiness was there—and it’s still not possible to return.
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me because it was the last thing I read, and it was depressing. The ending seemed so happy, but the final line dove back down into depression. The author will, most likely, never see his parents again. The fact that he lives near me makes a difference. It makes me realized that when this happens, refugees will go anywhere, even around where I live.
Brian Weden
"Everything was peaceful, and then I heard a noise like an earthquake. I saw the plane coming, and they started bombing our village, and then they came in trucks. The soldiers were yelling at us to leave our homes, and they started killing people and burning everything."
ReplyDeleteThis stuck out to me because it shows how something that is peaceful can go into chaos from one simple attack.
Yes this makes a difference on how I read this because it makes me realize how good i have it.
-Eric Howard -Red 4
The soldiers were yelling at us to leave our homes, and they started killing people and burning everything.
ReplyDeleteI felt as if this were the most devastating event. To watch your village being destroyed at such a young age, you just don't quite understand what's going on, but you're still in fear. It's hard reliving the past and talking about what happened because you don't want to think about it ever again.
Knowing this person is about my age, doesn't actually make a difference because everyone is different and unique.
Sean D.
Red 4
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete" I am seventeen years old and I have no photographs of my past, none of my village or parents or me as a boy there, none of the places where we fled or the camps in which we lived, nor of my friends." I found this upsetting because its sad not know what you looked like when you were a kid or not being able to remember what you did when you were younger. Also not know what your older brother looked like because he passed away in the army, that's really depressing.
ReplyDeleteRyan Tuttle
red block 4
Of course, everyone ran in a different direction to save his or her life. Some mothers and fathers even forgot their kids.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how someone could leave their children behind. Even if I had no idea where Hayden was, no matter how bad things were, I would find him or die trying. I could not even imagine leaving my child behind in such a mess, and look at what those children have gone though since then. It took a long time for things to get any easier. They spent a long time in really harsh conditions with no one to take care of them. I couldn't do that to my child, even if he was safe, I would want him to be happy too. There is no way that I could ever imagine doing that. I wonder what was going though these peoples minds.
The thing that I like the most was at the end when he got a picture of his parents and was able to talk to his father. It is good he knows they're alive and are okay, many people didn't have such luck. It's amazing that he could go through so much and be strong today and continue his life, after loosing so much. It is very inspiring and makes me thankful that I have such a nice life.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Hamlin
"For instance I’ve never seen a picture of my oldest brother, and I will never know what he looked like. He was a captain in the army, and he was killed the year I was born: 1989. So that’s why my parents gave me his name."
ReplyDelete"Kenyi."
This sticks out to me because he can't even remember what his own brother looks like, his family. I think that it's very sad not knowing what your own brother looked like. Also, having no pictures of your family must be really hard, and difficult for Kenyi. But, I think that it was nice to give Kenyi the name of his brother in memory.
Knowing that a person my age wrote this, it doesn't really change what I think about it because it's sad. It shouldn't matter what age you are, it's plain sad not having your family around, no one to talk to, no one to hug, and talk to.
Jaclyn Salevsky 3-2-10 R4
I pick the part where he was waiting in line for water every night for about 3 hours. He said that he kept getting pushed out of line by the big guys. I can relate to this because I'm little. That he lives close to me doesn't make a difference because there are people all over the world with stories like this and because he lives close to me doesn't make a difference to me, I definitely feel bad that that happened to him and I wish I could help but I have no connection towards this kid whatsoever so I don't know what I could do.
ReplyDeleteAt the very beginning of the article read, "I am seventeen years old and I have no photographs of my past". This has got to be tough. I mean, it's really got to be sad not having photographs of anything in your past; where you grew up, the people who loved you and cared for you, friends. You look at teenagers today and they have plenty of memories of places they've been, when they were younger, their parents, and even when their parents were younger. Not having anything to remember things by can do a lot after such a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this article ends with, "Not long after coming to Portland we had a letter in the mail, and in that letter, was… a photograph!" Even one photograph can make all the difference. I can only imagine the relief of Aruna when he found out his parents were not dead. He lived a long time thinking that they were dead; since the day after the attack he was forced to believe that they no longer lived. I can only imagine how upsetting that is and then the happiness you could feel knowing it was all a lie. It's very sad the things that happen to young people and no one should deserve to go through it.
Of course, everyone ran in a different direction to save his or her life. Some mothers and fathers even forgot their kids. That’s how I was separated from my parents.
ReplyDeleteThis story was horrifying. I couldn't imagine my home being destroyed, and have everyone die. It must of been horrible thinking your parents were dead, but you never really knew. It amazes me how this person is so close to us now, and how he survived.
Ally Bonville
"From that point on my life has been one of never getting to say goodbye."
ReplyDeleteSaying goodbye is like saying that you will meet up someday no many how long that time period. But without goodbyes you will never met up with the person or people you say that too. Goodbyes can be hard and sad but it gives you the last memory of the person or people. In the Photograph Aruna could not have said goodbye to his parents or the people in the village they stayed at after fleeing. This stood out to me because it can be hard to say goodbye but it's better than leaving and then regretting it later on.
Thuy Nguyen Red 4
"my village was happieness" this stands out to me because it shows how people are happy with what they have untill they lose it and they start to realize how good they had it.
ReplyDelete"I am seventeen years old and I have no photographs of my past, none of my village or parents or me as a boy there, none of the places where we fled or the camps in which we lived, nor of my friends."
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because I can't imagine living that life not being able to look back on it with picture. I mean they have their memories, but memories fade. If they had pictures they could always remember how happy and simple their life had been back then.
Andrea Zarate
Red Block 4
Of course, everyone ran in a different direction to save his or her life. Some mothers and fathers even forgot their kids. That’s how I was separated from my parents. My brother led us into a cane field and we hid there for the night. We could see the fires and hear the screaming. There were many mosquitoes and the grass was sharp and wet on my face.
ReplyDeleteThis paragraph stood out to me because it placed an image in my head. A image of people running and screaming and adults leaving their children all alone in a burning hut, while they ran away. Seeing a village being burned down right in front of you. If I saw this happening right in front of me, it would just kill me inside. Seeing the fear and tears of all the young children being burned alive. I would try to live my life to the fullest for those who could not.
Bao Loc R4
"All of our happiness was there—and it’s still not possible to return."
ReplyDeleteAll he seems to want is to return to his old life, where there is happiness and love. Since that isn't possible, he is left to only have hope. I can't imagine going through something like this, and hearing stories like this definitely makes me appreciate life more & more.
Red 4 - Lia B.
During this time I thought about my mother and father. I could remember them taking care of us. We would have a bath every night.
ReplyDeleteThinking of this makes me so sad. It's unbelievable to think about the things that some people have gone through in their lives is so sad and incredibly different from what I, and most of the other kids in my grade, have gone through. If I were him, I would probably be crying every time I thought about my mother and father. He's gone through a lot. Many things completely unnecessary. No one should have to go through anything like that.
~Aleina
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, for your honesty and for your seriousness.
ReplyDeleteMs. F
For instance I’ve never seen a picture of my oldest brother, and I will never know what he looked like.
ReplyDeleteThis was really sad for me to read because he doesn't even know who his older brother is. This would be really hard for me since I'm really close with my brother. So, I feel really bad for this kid.
I don't think my knowing of him being close to where I live and my age change the way I read this. I would think this would be really sad for anyone, it doesn't matter there age or where they live.
- Derek R3
"I just wanted my parents, that’s all I remember. From that point on my life has been one of never getting to say goodbye"
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really sad how they never got to see their parents again after the attack and they had to live with thinking that their parents where dead and they'll never see them again when they where actually alive
-Molly Miller
r3
"We grew up without parents, which was very hard."
ReplyDeleteThis really made me think. I would think It would almost impossible to grow up without parents. I don't know how they could do that. It really makes me appreciate the family that I have.
-Lyndsay L. Red 4