What's the importance of forgiveness in "Smoke Signals"? How does Victor learn to forgive his father?
Adam Cole
Lauren Servais
English 100
15 April 2010
Forgiveness
I find myself having to answer this question. What is the importance of forgiveness? As we see in smoke signals, it is the ability to let the past go and be able to move on with our life in a constructive manner. It is the ability to open new doors in relationships that we once could not due to pain we had no way of releasing. It is the chance to relieve ourselves of the pain that has kept us from progressing. It is a new beginning. I personally am having a problem with forgiveness at this time. I am having this problem because it seems my life is ridiculed with others continually trying to make my life miserable. In my opinion, they do this because I have reached happiness and they are still struggling. I have opened my heart to these people many times and every time I do, they take advantage of my openness and try to bring me to their level. This has happened now for three years and I am getting tired of forgiving them. Because every time I do, their dagger gets thrust in my body deeper. But this essay is not about me. It is about victor and about his father. I will focus on that.
To forgive someone that has done something to you as a child becomes so much harder than what someone has done to you as an adult. As a child, you are so much more fragile and have not had the experiences of life as you would if you were an adult. You base your feelings primarily on emotion. It becomes hard to break these feelings or to change them. Victor has had a hard childhood because of what his father has done. His father has left the family because of these things he has done. But as victor understands it, it is he that has run his father off. He starts to build resentment up for his father’s leaving. He becomes harassed by the town that his father has left. It only builds more animosity towards the situation. How is a child that gets no guidance supposed to move on?
Years and years of this feeling is what makes him as a person. He has issues with dealing with his mother, friends, people in general due to the constant unknown of his father and where he had gone. He was a child without a person that even though he was not proud of, was very important to him. When he found out that his father had died, something that was history came back to the present and now he has a chance to put closure to it. Although he is not aware of this yet, he will soon find out just how wonderful and powerful forgiveness can be.
With the help of an aquantanince/friend victor embarks on a journey into feelings that are powerful enough to stir up all of the past experiences he had with his father and embraces them in a way he never felt. His friend brings things to victor’s attention along the way and then with the help of his father’s friend, he finds things out about his father he never knew. These experiences lead victor to a place where he can grieve his father’s actions and finally forgive him for the past. This simple thing “forgiveness” turns a hardened child into a man that is much different than he has ever been. Victor is finally comfortable in his own skin. All due to a simple thing called forgiveness.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
"This is what it means to say Pheonix Arizona."
Adam Cole
Lauren Servais
English 100 Online
8 April 2010
This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona.
What a wonderful story. There is great meaning in both the reading and the movie. With few exceptions, there really is no differenced in them. Both were fun, humorous and an enjoyable story to read/watch.
One of the differences I noticed was in the movie, they changed victor and Thomas means of getting to Arizona from a plane ride, (this ride being in the book) to a bus ride. I feel they did this to further the stereotype of Indians living at a poverty level. There is also something more to this but I just cannot put my finger on it.
This movie is very precious. If this movie comes for sale in the future, I really want to rent it again and compare it to the book more. There is reason the writer added things in his writing and then there is a reason why the movie has changed them. I would like to compare them to answer questions I have. Again I don’t know why, there is just something telling me in my mind that I really need to do this. It may have something to do with my family situation but until I actually do it, I will never know. I want to know what it means to say, Phoenix, Arizona.
Lauren Servais
English 100 Online
8 April 2010
This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona.
What a wonderful story. There is great meaning in both the reading and the movie. With few exceptions, there really is no differenced in them. Both were fun, humorous and an enjoyable story to read/watch.
One of the differences I noticed was in the movie, they changed victor and Thomas means of getting to Arizona from a plane ride, (this ride being in the book) to a bus ride. I feel they did this to further the stereotype of Indians living at a poverty level. There is also something more to this but I just cannot put my finger on it.
This movie is very precious. If this movie comes for sale in the future, I really want to rent it again and compare it to the book more. There is reason the writer added things in his writing and then there is a reason why the movie has changed them. I would like to compare them to answer questions I have. Again I don’t know why, there is just something telling me in my mind that I really need to do this. It may have something to do with my family situation but until I actually do it, I will never know. I want to know what it means to say, Phoenix, Arizona.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
week 11 chapter 56 mla formatting
Adam Cole
Lauren Servais
English 100 on Line
4 April 2010
Chapter 56 summary
I chose chapter 56 for a couple of reasons. First off, it is what most of our teachers want us to write in. the second is I never really heard of it until I started going back to college, and yes I decided to start at the age of forty five. Actually everything is pretty much fascanating for me right now. My tag line that I have borrowed from the incredible Tom Matano is “always inspired” and I do believe that I truly am always inspired. But enough about that. Back to M.L.A.
M.L.A. stands for Modern Language Association. Its most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. M.L.A. is an excellent set of guidelines to follow when writing a paper. It provides a very clear way to write a paper that in turn allows the reader to get through your information provided with a clear and consistent path.
You should always start with a good quality 8 ½” x 11” sheet of white paper. And although M.L.A. does not require a title page, your instructor might so make sure you know what your teacher requires. On the upper left of your first paper you will need to put your mane, followed by your teachers’ name, the class and then the date, all on their own separate lines. If there are more than one page, you will need to place your name in the upper right corner of each page along with the page no. margins of one inch on all sides with left align text. Then double space your lines. The layout is as simple as that.
One of M.L.A.’s greatest values is that of giving credit where credit is due. When properly used, writers can build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Along with this, it also helps writers defeat accusations of plagiarism for those who go on to write research papers. Chapter 56b has an excellent example of a well written paper to follow, written by Anna Orlov. Be sure to read the side notes as they give key points of much interest.
I enjoy using M.L.A. writing because it is an easy set of rules to follow. I will continue to use this style as my teachers call for it and hope they continue to do so.
Lauren Servais
English 100 on Line
4 April 2010
Chapter 56 summary
I chose chapter 56 for a couple of reasons. First off, it is what most of our teachers want us to write in. the second is I never really heard of it until I started going back to college, and yes I decided to start at the age of forty five. Actually everything is pretty much fascanating for me right now. My tag line that I have borrowed from the incredible Tom Matano is “always inspired” and I do believe that I truly am always inspired. But enough about that. Back to M.L.A.
M.L.A. stands for Modern Language Association. Its most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. M.L.A. is an excellent set of guidelines to follow when writing a paper. It provides a very clear way to write a paper that in turn allows the reader to get through your information provided with a clear and consistent path.
You should always start with a good quality 8 ½” x 11” sheet of white paper. And although M.L.A. does not require a title page, your instructor might so make sure you know what your teacher requires. On the upper left of your first paper you will need to put your mane, followed by your teachers’ name, the class and then the date, all on their own separate lines. If there are more than one page, you will need to place your name in the upper right corner of each page along with the page no. margins of one inch on all sides with left align text. Then double space your lines. The layout is as simple as that.
One of M.L.A.’s greatest values is that of giving credit where credit is due. When properly used, writers can build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Along with this, it also helps writers defeat accusations of plagiarism for those who go on to write research papers. Chapter 56b has an excellent example of a well written paper to follow, written by Anna Orlov. Be sure to read the side notes as they give key points of much interest.
I enjoy using M.L.A. writing because it is an easy set of rules to follow. I will continue to use this style as my teachers call for it and hope they continue to do so.
please take a moment to read this
so i do not know any of you all except through this cyber city that we live in (i still am having a hard time with it) but i will share with you all that i am indian mix. i watched this movie on saturday due to family issues that have come up this week. i have never seen this movie. i did remember little bits of when it was being advertised on tv though. this movie hit me hard. you see, it almost replicated my family issues i have been dealing with this week.
i have a nephew that is living with my mother right now and has been for about a year now. he is fifteen now. he is living with my mom because his father is very abusive. especially when he drinks. my nephews name is nevada so i will call him by that. nevada made a hard decision to leave the house that his three sisters and one brother live in. nevada is the oldest. it was a hard decision for him to do this because now there is no one to protect his siblings. if he stayed there he is sure he would have died.by the hands of his father. his father has been in state pens for domestic violence along with other things. he is not a good person. nevada decided to do this in hopes that his mother "my sister" would wake up and leave his father. the begining of this week he was given word that his parents and siblings would be moving back to the reservation in new mexico. he was told by his father over the phone that he would never see his brother and sisters again. wendsday nevada tried to kill himself.
please give a prayer for this boy and his siblings. this is more than a child should have to deal with. so i ask all of you to please just give a few moments of your day in good thoughts toward this boy and his siblings ecause i do believe that we all have the energy to pass to others just by good thought. his name is nevada, his sisters are feather and kameaha, his little brother is bimisi.
i thank you all in advance for doing this. lauren please disregard my grammar on this. i still need to do some more work so i am writing this fast.
peace to everyone, adam.
i have a nephew that is living with my mother right now and has been for about a year now. he is fifteen now. he is living with my mom because his father is very abusive. especially when he drinks. my nephews name is nevada so i will call him by that. nevada made a hard decision to leave the house that his three sisters and one brother live in. nevada is the oldest. it was a hard decision for him to do this because now there is no one to protect his siblings. if he stayed there he is sure he would have died.by the hands of his father. his father has been in state pens for domestic violence along with other things. he is not a good person. nevada decided to do this in hopes that his mother "my sister" would wake up and leave his father. the begining of this week he was given word that his parents and siblings would be moving back to the reservation in new mexico. he was told by his father over the phone that he would never see his brother and sisters again. wendsday nevada tried to kill himself.
please give a prayer for this boy and his siblings. this is more than a child should have to deal with. so i ask all of you to please just give a few moments of your day in good thoughts toward this boy and his siblings ecause i do believe that we all have the energy to pass to others just by good thought. his name is nevada, his sisters are feather and kameaha, his little brother is bimisi.
i thank you all in advance for doing this. lauren please disregard my grammar on this. i still need to do some more work so i am writing this fast.
peace to everyone, adam.
due thursday, sorry i am late on this one all.
I would like to speak about the relationship that Victor and Thomas have. Two kids growing up together. One that has a father and wishes he did not most of the time. The other that has no father and wishes he had, no matter what the cost. Growing up together in the same town and having a unique connection they both realize yet don’t quite understand. Neither one of them realize just how important they are to each other until they spend some intense time together.
Victor is a child torn with the guilt of his father’s actions. He carries his father’s burdens to the point that it consumes him and does not allow victor to become an individual of his own. His burden tears his relationships up with the people closest to him. He is riddled with guilt of what his father has done to him, to his mother and to their friends. He also feels the guilt of creating the reason for his father’s departure. He is a child growing into a man carrying a heavy burden.
Thomas is almost the complete opposite. He is the free spirit. A young boy without a family other than his grandmother. He misses the family he never knew. His closest chance of a father figure comes in clothes that his friend’s father wears. The few moments that are given to him from Victor’s father he grasps and cherishes with the strongest feelings. He overlooks the ugly in this man and forgets the past so that he may remember the good in this man.
When these two boys spend precious time together, something wonderful happens. Something that only these two men at this very moment could have done. Healing has begun and two boys become men.
Victor is a child torn with the guilt of his father’s actions. He carries his father’s burdens to the point that it consumes him and does not allow victor to become an individual of his own. His burden tears his relationships up with the people closest to him. He is riddled with guilt of what his father has done to him, to his mother and to their friends. He also feels the guilt of creating the reason for his father’s departure. He is a child growing into a man carrying a heavy burden.
Thomas is almost the complete opposite. He is the free spirit. A young boy without a family other than his grandmother. He misses the family he never knew. His closest chance of a father figure comes in clothes that his friend’s father wears. The few moments that are given to him from Victor’s father he grasps and cherishes with the strongest feelings. He overlooks the ugly in this man and forgets the past so that he may remember the good in this man.
When these two boys spend precious time together, something wonderful happens. Something that only these two men at this very moment could have done. Healing has begun and two boys become men.
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