Reading this book was really interesting and very intriguing with the civil right movement. Eden Rise is a book that shook Tom Mckee family, town, to the core of the racial issue that was going on in there city. Granite this book is a fiction novel but, In 1965 Alabama was at really fighting with a lot of racial issue in Selma, Montgomery,and Birmingham. But in the summer of 1965 Tom Mckee a son of prominent white family from the small black belt town of the Eden Rise in west-central Alabama, who in May of 1965 returned home from his freshmen year at Duke University. Tom Mckee gave a ride to two black Duke students going to Alabama to work at a summer Freedom School, they stop at a gas station to fill the car up and use the bathroom. Tom went inside to get a snack and seen this heavyset old white guy say “what y’all doing here? Are y’all freedom writers?” Tom reply back no sir we just passing through. Tom looked over his shoulder and seen a double-barrel shotgun leading against the wall. Tom walked back to the car and told them we need to leave this is not a good place to stop. Jackie tried to tell Alma what Tom told her in a low voice but Alma push Jackie out the way and said the “The Hell With that,” out loud. Alma went inside of the store and, Tom was trying to pump the gas fast as he can. While he was pumping the gas he heard Alma shouting inside the store. Alma was yelling “You can’t run a damn Jim Crow store no longer!” Jackie looked at Tom and said I better go get her, well…
The main point of this book review will be to summarize the main points and parts of My Fathers Paradise, while giving insight in to specific Jewish customs visited throughout the novel. In addition, the themes of Jewish unity and Jewish diversity will be visited. Finally, this book review will highlight my own connection to this novel, and will analyze how my own experience with Judaism was heightened and altered after reading this book.…
‘Gaita brilliantly captures the distressing immigrant experience of struggle and displacement in the rugged Australian landscape.’ Discuss the ways Raimond Gaita explores these experiences in Romulus, My Father and how they’re explored in ONE other related text of your own choosing.…
Many authors use their literary works as an outlet for their personal feeling and opinions on issues present within their cultures, history and personal lives. Zohra Saed’s poems, Nomad’s Market: Flushing Queens and What the Scar Revealed, published in 2003, both address issues that she finds significant in her Afghani refugee context. Tim Winton uses his short stories, Big World and Reunion, published in 2005, to express his feelings on changes within the Australian culture and our values. These authors have used their texts to question the changes that have occurred within their own lives and cultures and whether these changes have had negative or positive consequences. These ideas revolve around personal and cultural identity as well as the value of personal freedom.…
The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Sandra L. Richter, InterVarsity Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8308-2577-6…
The pedigrees of culture forge the basis of an individual’s experience of belonging. impact on the way in which individuals relate to a particular geographic environment. Collectively, culture and environment can be an enriching force of connection; despite this, cultural dislocation can also limit ones sense of belonging. Gaita feels limited by a chasm of cultural dissimilarity. His use of tactile imagery creates a strong connection between Romulus and his homeland as he yearns for “soft and European foliage”. This idea is reinforced as he attempts to manufacture an artificial European aesthetic in Frogmore by surrounding himself with “the pepper tree” and other Baltic immigrants. Romulus’ rejection of Australian Flora and Fauna is furthered through parallelism with his wife’s adverse attitude to the topography. Gaita’s hyperbolic and dysphemistic description: “the vast landscape with only crude wire fences” effectively illustrates Christine’s state of cultural dissimilarity. The displacement experienced by Romulus and his wife is reiterated as their distaste for the Australian bush is paralleled with their aversion to a culture that is too unfamiliar to embrace; inevitably limiting their experience of belonging.…
Raimond Gaita’s memoir, Romulus My Father demonstrates how an individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging to an environment. Gaita uses first person throughout the book, not only to express his experiences but to articulate both his mother and fathers experiences of belonging to their surroundings also. Romulus is a migrant to Australia who ‘always considered himself Romanian.’ Gaita often expresses Romulus as being at odds with the environment, never reconciling to the Australian landscape, whose foliage and vegetation “seemed symbols of deprivation and bareness.” This statement is symbolic of how he feels towards Australia and demonstrates how Romulus chose to only see the negative aspects of his surrounds and focused more on his desire to be back in Europe amongst “soft and gentle foliage”. These two simple descriptions of different landscapes are instantly juxtaposed and express Romulus’s feelings of loneliness in Australia…
The novel Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank is a satirical piece about the eminence of war and the resilience of humanity. The story told in this novel, in the words of Thomas Payne, “produces panics [that], in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before.” This concept is demonstrated time and time again throughout the entirety of the book. The first example of this is when the brothers meet to discuss the possibility of war. Due to Mark Bragg’s , brother to the main character Randy Bragg, panic he is able to allow the family time to prepare for what is about to come. It causes Randy to worry a great deal as well, but that is insignificant when compared to the several lives that were saved because of it. Another panic that proves to be of more use, than harm is when Randy panics over how to try and save his family, he goes above the call of duty and saves his community by having them all pool their resources and efforts to make the best of their situation. As such the community at River Road becomes the best suited to survive in perhaps the whole surrounding area. If it were not for Randy panicking and enlisting the help of others as well as warning them, none of them would have survived half as well, or perhaps even survived.…
However this strong connection to this heritage acts as a barrier for Romulus and ultimately ostracises him, leading to his alienation within the Australian context. “Even after more than forty years my father could not become reconciled to it. He longed for the generous and soft European foliage, but the eucalyptus of Baringhup, scraggy except for the noble red gums on the river bank, seemed symbols of deprivation and barrenness.” This quote explores the contrasting environments, showing Romulus clinging to old ties with his native country and then experiencing isolation within the Australian context. The description of the European landscape as “generous” and “soft” highlights Romulus’s obvious preference for his home country, this experience juxtaposes with the contrast of the “scraggy” harshness of the Australian landscape, ultimately showing Romulus’s separation from the notion of belonging within the Australian context. It is evident through the comparison of these quotes that Romulus’s strong sense of belonging within his heritage results in barriers for him in belonging within Australian society.…
“to a European or English eye it seems desolate, and even after 40 years my father could not become reconciled to it”. Romulus’ reluctance even after 40 years to appreciate, the Australian Landscape symbolizes Romulus displacement and dislocation from the dominant Australian culture. Raimonds pessimistic emotive language reveals the sons frustration with the father.…
National Memory is a broad term that has previously been discussed by multiple scholars (Andrews, Park, Sturken). There has not yet been a consensus on the definition of national memory by scholars, however I define national memory as a dynamic form of collective remembering defined by shared historical experiences and cultural artefacts. National memory, to me, contributes to national identity and helps establish the legitimacy of the dominant narrative. It is a form of memory that is mutual to members of a nation, but fails to voice the experience of the individual.…
Directions: Via a combination of information from the Upfront article and internet research, complete the following research guide to develop an understanding of what is happening in Syria.…
There is a great significance in belonging to yourself, your name, honour and reputation. In Gaita’s “Romulus, My Father” Raimond and Romulus are mentally and physically imprisoned in this foreign land, and the Australian vastness challenges their European sensibility. Gaita enforces this by incorporating motifs. The description and discussion of landscape become a recurring motif for belonging. Romulus creates a series of relationships in which he feels he belongs, but is never fully reconciled to Australia.…
There is a lot of buzz about the new SAT test. It has been created to test common core curriculum, and align with it’s standards. It will be released in March of 2016. Some administrators say that it will be fantastic, and will help test states’ accountability. Others do not believe that this test will be beneficial at all. Valerie Strauss, a writer for The Washington Post, wrote about one dad’s position on the new SAT. Strauss said:…
Around the world, each country has their own way of running things and their own government system. In this essay I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of 3 government systems; unitary, confederate, and federal. Although some government systems might have similarities with the others, they are all very different and have different problems.…