1. If your paper is starred, please check your papers for comma errors. Then put it in your writing folder.
2. You will be reading an essay written by a young adult who arrived in Portland, Maine due to civil unrest. Please read Hyena, then choose something in the essay that stood out to you and why. Respond to it on my blog.
3. Check out the writing contest from the Telling Room if you wish.
4. Overdue classwork from 2nd quarter:
Wiki-space 2-6
Wiki-space 7-8
Wiki-space 9-10
Questions from chapter 11-12
Culture display
5. Overdue classwork from 3rd quarter
Wiki-space 14-16
Wiki-space 11-12
6. Classwork today: Discuss chapters 14-end of book.
7. Introduce assessment for the Children of the River.
Something that stood out to me was that he could stay so strong, and still try to be happy after every thing he went through. As he was talking about how at the refugee camp he made new friends and had how he really liked it. It just surprised me because I don't think I could stay that strong and try to move on after a loss of a parent and a sibling, so I just think it should how strong he really was.
ReplyDeleteA part that stood out to me was that a five year old could kill a hyena and think nothing of it. I don't think I could ever kill a hyena now, and I'm 14. When I was 5 the biggest thing I had to do was go to kindergarten where I played with blocks and colored all day. It's so different there in Somalia then it is here.
ReplyDeleteOne Thing that really stood out to me was the fact that she was so brave. She is only 14 years old and her father sent her out to kill a hyena to retrieve the goat. Hyenas are a very dangerous animal whether her mom says so or not.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that stood out was that she had to take care of her three siblings in the refugee camp, which must have been hard the fact that she is so young and she might not even be ready to take that responsibility.
She is free from it now but it still all comes back to her, ( The hyena killing, the refugee camp ) and it must be sad. She lost her parents which is the hardest thing. The whole story is sad.
Steven Bower
One thing that really stood out to me was the the commander shot his three year old little brother with out saying anything, and without thinking. I couldn't ever imagine doing something like that. It shows how horrible some people are.
ReplyDeleteI think this was very sad because he suffered so much through out his life and saw so many of his family members die that he probably had nothing happy left in his life to motivate him to keep going. One thing thats very special is though that he acquired the skill to kill a hyena from his grandmother, thats something he will always be able to carry with him for the rest of his life. His grandmother taught him well and he exemplified the right ways to do things and it worked out for him.
ReplyDeleteSomething that stood out to me was when the Ali killed the Hyena. His father was scared of it and he didn't even want to touch it. I thought that was interesting because usually,in American culture, the father figure is supposed to be a strong, fearless man that will do anything for his children.
ReplyDeleteI wish Ali had explained more why he vowed to never kill a Hyena again. I don't understand why he would kill the hyena because to me it seemed like the hyena symbolized his family when the other men killed his dad. Ali was confused why the men would kill his father when his family did nothing to them, so why would Ali kill the hyena when the hyena did nothing to him.
ReplyDeleteBraden Virgin
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was that the father was afraid of the hyena, so he told his 5-year-old son to do it. I think that he should've taken charge and killed it himself, instead of handing the knife to the 5-year-old.
The thing that stood out to me the most is that the soldiers just killed his father and little brother without thinking! They did not stop and think about how their actions would effect other people. Worst of all, they had no reason to shoot them! His little brother GAVE them the information that they wanted and they killed him for it!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am appalled that his father was afraid of the hyena and his order his 5 year old (maybe younger) son to kill it for him. What kind of father does that! As a father you are suppose to protect your children not let them do your dirty work for them. What would the father think is he got hurt? How the father reacted was unbelievable and cowardly. -Kim Dodd
This story symbolizes bravery. The boy, at such a young age had very big responsibilities, and has gone through a lot. His grandmother taught him so much, for example, how to kill a hyena. He seemed to feel very superior when he killed the hyena. This story is very inspirational. He has come a long way since he was five. Ali is only seventeen now, but will seem to go a long way.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was the whole hyena scenario. Ali proved his bravery by killing a hyena at a young age, and showed it later on by living through hard times succeeding his father's death at the hands of whatever group committed such. It was somewhat foreshadowing, since it displayed how much he could deal with his own fear.
ReplyDeleteAnother moment that stood out to me was how later on he would only kill a single hyena to prove himself, and no more. After his father's death obviously had an affect on him, most likely mentally. Life is precious, and no one should kill out of 'fear', which many people and animals are. Hyenas are the minorities in Africa compared to the human population, and minorities are always left as 'mysterious'. This is due to there being so few of them that it is impossible to know everything about who they 'are'. Mysterious beings, whether it be animals or humans, leave the majorities outside fearful of what they are capable of and whether they adhere to their standards. So, in response, killing is the solution that the majorities take. Like Ali's mother said, his people were the minorities in Somalia. Thus, the group that killed his father must have been part of the majority of the country. Killing his father, and little brother, was there way of keeping more of their people from causing a possible form of trouble. Though, that is only an assumption based on fear.
what mostly stood out to me was that most of his family were afraid of the Hyena. Then he was stuck to be the one to kill it and he was just so young.
ReplyDelete-travis
I can't believe that he saw his younger brother, and his father killed, then his mom getting shot. If that sort of thing happened to me, I don't know what I'd do...
ReplyDelete-Tati
At the beginning of this story I was surprised to hear that hyenas will kill you if you run away but if u dont run away they wont kill you. You can also hit a hyena in the head multiple times and it wont hurt the hyena one bit. I am shocked also about the dad and how he handed the knife to his son for him to kill the hyena.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this is a really sad, shocking, and upsetting story, it speaks of hope, too. The writer has lived through a lot of traumatizing experiences and survived virtually unscathed, except nightmares. He wants to move on in his life, and remember and learn things from his old life. An experience such as that could have really detrimental effects emotionally, and many people wouldn't be able to live through that. So the fact that he wants to go back to Kenya and visit his family and his girlfriend shows that he can face his fears and become a better person.
ReplyDeleteThis story must be fictional because she said her father was more than 10 feet tall. And then her father told her to get up from bed and catch the hyena that snatched their goat. Come on now! Seriously? The hyena already grabbed the goat and was half way back to China by the time she got outside. And then it said that she got in front of the goat. I highly doubt that she can run faster than a hyena and cut it off and hide behind a tree without the hyena ever realizing she was there.
ReplyDeleteI used to live on Merrill Street in Portland like a long time ago. So i guess that's a good connection that I made. I think the story is pretty screwed up if you ask me. People think it's sad but I think it's pretty funny just because she can kill hyenas within seconds and she can run faster than them. She is friggin invincible. God damn!
Something that really stood out to me was his fearlessness, that's something I admire. Also that must be the two hardest things to go through as a kid, seeing your family die and having to move across the world. I never be the same but it seems as though he's a strong person and he could get through potentially anything.
ReplyDeleteI thought this story was very sad and something that no kid at any age should have to go through. It was hard to relate to but the way everything was explained made it seem as if I was there. It was very unique that the story was based around hyenas and how to kill them. Ali was told by his grandmother how to do that which ended up having a big part of his life. Seeing how he grew up and how his life has changed since then is very eye opening and inspiring that you can turn it all around.
ReplyDeleteI think that is was really sad that the little boys dad dies when he is very young. I don't know what I would do with out my dad in my life. Also he was a very brave child and his grandmother taught him good things to know. If she never taught him how to kill a hyena then he would have done it wrong and he could have tried over and over again but maybe the little boy could have gotten killed by it if he didn't kill the hyena right off. I think it is amazing that he lives in Maine now and he is safe and he lived through all the tough times he had.
ReplyDelete-Akadia
I was surprised that the dad was scared to kill the Hyena because from the beginning the dad was confident by yelling at the very young girl to go catch the hyena when hes too scared too. I feel bad for the little girl who had witnessed her dad die and that will always affect her in a way no one will understand.
ReplyDelete-Tyler Gagne
This article left a vivid image in my head. I can't imagine what it was like being told to come out of my house, get on the ground and then be asked questions. Being this guy, at his age and seeing my family being shot like that, I don't think I could have handled it. If I was his age I would have been so scared of hyenas, especially killing one. I had no interest even learning how to hunt until I was 10ish. It seems like so many of the people we have learned/read about have grown up so much faster than the average American child has.
ReplyDeleteMike
ReplyDeleteone thing that stood out to me was that they just killed his family.
What stood out to me was that the little boy who was under 5 years old,wasn't afraid of a Hyena when his dad was.He killed it like he was told,not asking questions and without even thinking of it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really stood out to me was her amount of bravery, because she was so young. I was also surprised that a grown man would be more afraid of an animal than his young daughter. I also feel bad because she had to witness her father's death.
ReplyDeleteSomething that stands out to me would be his father's fear. His father was scared of the hyena, so he gave his young son, Ali, the responsibility of killing it instead. His father knew Ali wasn't afraid of the hyena because Ali's grandmother explained why he shouldn't be. So it is a little more understandable why he told his son to kill the hyena, but, at least in American culture, the father figure is usually someone who is strong and fearless, and that's not how Ali's father acted. Ali proved his bravery by killing a hyena at the young age of five, and, in a way, this scenario foreshadows his bravery later on by living through hard times and witnessing his father's and younger brother's death.
ReplyDeleteI didnt know the dad was scared to kill the hyena, even if some one told me not to be scared of it I still would be. I would not want to see my family shot-Emily
ReplyDeleteI think it was cool that the boy listened to his grandmother and was not scared of hyenas. I think it was a little surprising that his dad was afraid of hyenas and his son was not.
ReplyDeleteIt stood out to me that everyone was scared of the Hyenas. And this one kid stood up and killed a hyena for his goat. Also when the kids made him go and club the hyenas by the slaughterhouse. It didn't seem like that much of a big deal but I guess that this kind of stuff happens everyday.
ReplyDeleteIt really stood out to me that the main character's father had been afraid of hyenas. Not only that but the father made the main character kill the hyena, and the main character (child) was no more than 5 years old. I don't know how true this story is, but I find it odd that the father, the one that is suppost to be the leader and protector of the house, made the child kill the hyena, because he, was afraid.
ReplyDelete