Reflection of Traveling through the Dark

As I read through Traveling through the Dark it hit me, what would I have done if I was in that position? And I ask myself that question now. So I try to place myself in the position of the doe. If I was there dead and my child laid inside me should someone try to save it at least. And the response I come up with is yes. Give me a chance to live do not make the choice for me. If I am willing to fight, let me make that choice. So many times in life, we try and decide people’s destiny for them without giving them a chance. If only he would not have threw the fawn over, it could have lived on to embark on a life its mother did not get a chance to fully come to know and understand. As nature stood by watching, why couldn’t a sound me given. But what if the oncoming car was the sign to say save the fawn and what if the feeling for the warm belly was telling you that there was enough life there to give it a chance.

What could this man have done, how would he have saved his fawn. Did he even have the tools to even try and cut the mother without hurting the fawn?  Probably at the time there was something that could have been done, rather than throw the fawn into the raging waves to take any chances she had of even trying to make it in a unfair world. Yes it was hard, but I believe it would have been easier to see the fawn takes its last breathe rather than never take one at all.

Blog # 1 Late Submission  

Annotative-Peace Like a River

“I mean, injured where he was. I examined him, you know. No organs were damaged. Blood vessels yes. But he actually shouldn’t have died.”

Here in this annotation we focus on the concept and understanding that the father should not have died, so we will analyze why Dr. Nokes actually felt this way just by this comment alone.

Death, let’s get an understanding of the meaning.

Dictionary.com

Die –verb (used without object), died, dy·ing.

1.

to cease to live; undergo the complete and permanentcessation of all vital functions; become dead.

2.

(of something inanimate) to cease to exist: The laughter diedon his lips.

3.

to lose force, strength, or active qualities: Superstitions dieslowly.

Oxford Dictionary

verb (dies, dying /ˈdīiNG/, died)

[no object]

• 1 (of a person, animal, or plant) stop living:

In this specific line in the story the Father has died, but in the process of the initial trauma he was not injured enough for him to actually die. But actually his son was suppose to die because of the impact of his lungs and them being injured. Dr. Nokes makes this statement because he knew something out of the ordinary has occurred and of course it cannot be explained medically. He says this after the fact of the healing of the lungs, as he goes to check on the boy every day. He it had to be God, because the Father had no major organs affected just “blood vessels” as he stated in the book. 

Clearly he wanted to show the boy that his father took his place for him and spared his life. As Reuben wanted to be healed earlier and the tormenter’s face was cleared, now he is healed yet at the expense of losing his father. We would never know how Reuben would have reacted if he had to choose him or his father. This particular story in the entire plot brings the story together to show us that life is a matter of choice and sometimes some else has to choose the best path for us so that we will have peace like a river even when sorrow comes.

Die as retrieved from Dictionary.com

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/die

Die as retrieved from Oxford Dictionary

http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1240230?rskey=kiSfRA&result=1#m_en_us1240230

Blog # 11

Annotative- The Road

“They stood looking back at the road in the dusk.”

Dictionary.com (1.) N. a long, narrow stretch with a smoothed or paved surface,made for traveling by motor vehicle, carriage, etc., betweentwo or more points; street or highway. (2.) a way or course: the road to peace.

Oxford Dictionary noun 1. a wide way leading from one place to another, especially one with a specially prepared surface that vehicles can use. 2. a series of events or a course of action that will lead to a particular outcome:

It is clear that a road is a means of getting to a specific destination, and this is the method in which someone would use. This is a means of getting from one point to another or multiple places.

Clearly McCarthy has written a novel that displays the image of a Road from a few angles. I can see that this was a path or a way leading to a specific destination. But he showed that in the process there are some obstacles that can delay the journey. Throughout the reading there were many stops to find refuge, food, safety and enjoyment. Because of the current state of the world, being on this road could either lead to safety or danger. You either ran into someone that would help you or someone that would try and hurt you. It was up to you to distinguish between the two. There were several times that they stopped on the Road to find shelter from the weather, and from whatever may have been out there trying to get them. But honestly to me, this was a path or road to more than a physical place but an emotional and spiritual place; a road to a place of hope. At the end of the reading it was on the very road they travel that the boy was rescued and the road the father died. Many times in life the very road that will lead to hope has some hardship and we must be willing to travel it no matter how cloudy to how much ash is in the air. We must trust that there is someone that is looking into the deep darkness and seeing us and finds us on the Road to a path designed just for us.

Road. n.  Dictionary.com retrieved from

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/road

Road. n. Oxford Dictionary retrieved from

http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1285387#m_en_us1285387

 Blog # 10 

Creative- "Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too"

Dear Jewish Professor,

I just wanted to say that I was very excited to see that you challenged your composition class to “discuss the Christian imagery in Billy Budd”. Of course to assume that your students were familiar with Christian literary voices was pretty risky. Especially understanding that during the 1950s not many people were familiar with Christian imagery. However, I loved your optimism and your challenge to pull your students closer to the truly literary world that we live in.

I could imagine some of the student’s responses that were not directly or indirectly connected to anything Christian, what was some of their responses. How could you grade a person who was of another religion? This was just so interesting to see the many items of imagery that is pointed out. Not many of your students really look at literature from a religious perspective seeing that many authors have some sort of religious affiliation. So I can only imagine the response of those students. Then to think of the Christian students in your class, and how they had the opportunity to piece together their faith in a paper while showing you how they viewed society threw examining Billy Budd it was very creative.

I could only imagine how all of your composition techniques for examining literary pieces would come into action now. Not only did your students and others who are faced with this challenge have to see Christian threw realistic and human eyes. They had to full analyze and describe to you how this affects them, and this was going to be done strategically and tastefully through your challenge.

In conclusion, you definitely a man that took a huge step, but being a Christ following and teacher you know in teacher you must challenge your students to think above and beyond the norm to expand their literary horizon.

Shalom and Grace,

Kyshon Mitchell 

Blog #9

Problemative- Peace like a River

The Problem of "When Peace Like a River"

Blog #8

It’s somewhat said to see the lesson that Reuben had to learn when Mr. Holgren was healed. Because that was Reuben’s tormenter he was bitter. So the problem I see here is that Reuben knew the miracle working power of God but he wanted it for himself. But I believe God was testing Reuben to see if he would have the right attitude while waiting for his healing. Like many believers today who are waiting to be healed or delivered from whatever aliment. It is the attitude that we take in the process of waiting for our miracle that I believe determines its manifestation. While Reuben was still having problems with his breathing, Mr. Holgren was rejoicing because of his new face. Not even realizing that he had fired the man who healed him. So many times we as Christians miss little opportunities like these ones to show the love of God.

It is my hope that as we grow in God we can show others the love of Jesus Christ in everything we do. Even though Reuben laughed out loud and Mr. Holgren was coming for him and knocked over the milk, Mr. Holgren still didn’t show any mercy he still let the dad go. We aren’t ever grateful enough to show compassion on others even though we have been blessed. So my overall problem is that so many times we have chances to touch the lives of others we miss that opportunity because we are so bitter that someone help has gotten ahead of us in life and we don’t want them to achieve. That’s my problem!!!

Late Submission Blog # 8

Reflection of the Road "Hope"

Blog # 12

As I read the final chapter of the Road, the relationship of the Father and son truly was an amazing. Things that stood out to me were the closeness between the two of them. I was very surprised how the two of them truly showed loved to one another and in the moments when there would be no hope, they learned to strengthen each other and provide hope for one another. That was the main idea that I felt, that they wouldn’t loose HOPE, even when people tried to come and steal their hope they learned to fight for it. It was even times that they looked like the bad guys but the Father has to reassure the son they weren’t the bad guys. It was all about survival for HOPE. And in the end they were able to keep even to the point of death of the father.

To me this was such a drama and adventure at the same time. There was such an amazing love that was displayed, as well as the comfort and protection from the father. Then of course the child showed such a sense of innocence and uncertainty there were several times that he had prove his "Papa". So many times in our lives just like these two, we get to a place of death and desolation and we have to have HOPE that things would change. Looking down the road and not sure what will come, whether someone to save them or someone who will steal their cart. Thoughts about what they would do if someone tried to hurt them probably never came across their mind until they were actually in the situation. I love the fact that the survived and they found things that would help them. The father had such a keen instinct to search for the things they needed and put them all to use. 

What if he didn’t know what to do? How would they have survived, what if they didn’t have HOPE and they allowed there situation to steal their hope and just give up. They would not have gotten to the Road that led to a family. I believe in the end the father knew the Road led to something he just had to keep hope alive for his son, cause he knew he would get to the point where he would have to leave him, but he left him with HOPE.

The Vacation- Reflective

After reading "The Vacation" by Wendell Berry and having to present it in class, I had the opportunity to truly study the words within each line. And I found that the writer was to me not only desiring to preserve his vacation but to experience the world through a new perspective.

Many times we too desire to experience the world through different means, but it is difficult when we may not know how. One would think that going on a vacation you want to enjoy the scenery and everything that the trip has to offer, but being stuck behind a camera would in my opinion limit you. But this actually liberated the writer, liberated him to see the world in a totally different perspective, and actually recording it so he could watch it over and over. Now it makes sense because when we watches it over again, he could always picture himself walking around seeing those things.

I would imagine, him actually getting close ups and moving towards things that caught his attention, just as many of us would if we were walking around or even in a boat. But it is during his trip that he seeing the world in a different light. He knew that he would actually never be in the video, but he knew he had it so he could watch it over and over again.

Many times experiences in life that we go through we sometimes want to capture, not our response but the very thing that caused us to react, but we cant because we had no way to capture it. But on his vacation, he might not of reacted then, but when we goes to watch it, he will then be able to react the way he probably would have. In our lives today, we see in many perspectives because of the mindset, some because of economic status, ethnic background, social status and some just by personality. In seeing things through different perspectives we are able to open our minds to things that actually are there and are not there and in doing this we stretch ourselves to be open to the mosaic world that we live in.

This man took a different perspective in life, to capture and respond later, oppose to responding and trying to recall what happened. Capture life while we can and learn to respond later. Life is right in front of our eyes or should I say lens.

Blog # 7