The Dark Years

           After reading "The Dark Years" by Nelson Mandela, I realized that a political prisoner not only lost their freedom, they were also abused by the warders. They were forced to work in utter silence. Moreover, they were given short trousers to wear, signifying that they were “boys” and not men. Furthermore, they were given distasteful, nearly inedible food to eat once every day. They were treated like animals. These show that the white man was so cruel at that time.

           Quoted from Mandela's line “the racial divide on Robben Island was absolute: there were no black warders, and no white prisoners”. This was so unfair.  Racism does exist even though inside the prison. Thus, the black man are forced to fight for injustice in every aspect of his life.

          In my opinion,  this autobiography should be introduced to our students. Let them understand that we have no right to judge or discriminate people with their races, religions or skin colours.  Although they were political prisoners, they did not deserve to be treated the way they were, they were just strive for equal rights. We, human beings have equal rights to be respected. A peaceful society starts from respecting each other equally.

Respect and Equality

             In the essay "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, the narrator describes himself as “oppressed,” “a poor shot,” and “ill-educated.” This shows that he has a low self-esteem. This also tell me that he is beaten down and confused in his personal beliefs. Thus, he has killed the elephant. Instinctively, he does not want to shoot the elephant. But, he momentarily feels a sense of power and respect which is what he wanted from the villagers all along. As a result, he decides to shoot the elephant to avoid looking like a fool in front of them.

               I wonder what will I do if I was in his situation. Probably I will do the same thing.

 

            After reading this essay, I feel that respect to each other is the most important moral value which I will teach my students if I used this text in my lesson. I will ask my students to think what are the possible actions the narrator will do if he is being respected. I will also get students to understand the importance to respect each other. When people are not treated respectively, there will always be complaints and conflict between them. Confucius said, "He who respects others will be respected himself, and he who loves others will be loved by them." Equality among people can never be attained through the use of force. No matter what skin colour you are, you should be treated equally and respectively. When there is full, mutual respect among people, then we will be able to create a peaceful and harmony world.

The Girl Who Was Not Satisfied With Simple Things

          After I read "The Girl Who Was Not Satisfied With Simple Things" more than twice. I found that I have different views from my first reading. At first, I think people should satisfy with simple things and things they have. So that, we can have happy life. This remind me of the phrase "be content with what you have". But, if we always satisfy with simple things, I don't think we will have aeroplanes today. We live on land, we can walk or run. So why we need to fly since we don't have wings too. If we are satisfied with simple things, we would not be able to enjoy the good things that we have today like concrete house, handphone, computer and etc.

        We are human being. We definitely looking for better life. We want good house, nice car, beautiful spouse, good and cute children, better income...

       In my opinion, to be satisfied with simple things is just a way to prevent anxiety. We may feel depress or jealous when we don't have such and such thing that our friends or relatives have. So, if you can't afford those luxury items, then it is better to be satisfied with simple things. As a result, I don't think people who are not satisfied with simple things are against the good moral value. It all depends on how a person end up with his demands. Success or fail.