...distinctive features of the text that allow it to be valued by a contemporary audience. You will need to refer to other sections of your text to validate your discussion. Good morning teachers and classmates, the dramatic reading I will be doing today is of Gwen Harwood’s Poem, “Mother Who Gave Me Life” <Read “Mother Who Gave Me Life” (MWGML)> Throughout this poem I think Gwen Harwood explores a universal theme of loss as a distinctive feature throughout her poems, in particular loss of loved ones, which can be valued by contemporary audiences today due to it being an issue that is faced by everybody in their life at some point. When a loved one is no longer part of an individual’s life, one may experience grief and as a result realise the role and importance of that loved one. From my perspective, Harwood presents the concept of loss of loved ones through MWGML with the euphemism “You left the world so”, which highlights that her mother was not only a loss to her life but also a loss to the world, suggesting that she had great value and respect for her mother. There is a similar significance placed on her mother’s life that is stressed with the use of alliteration in “lived nearly thirty thousand days”. This presents the idea that she lived daily as a mother contributing to the lives of her children. Harwood also introduces a cloth motif in her poem, through the line “when she died she was folding a little towel” to highlight the importance of her day to day life. Harwood then...
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...innate ability to reason. Because of this I agree with recent philosophers when they say that knowledge is “justified true belief.” (Solomon & Higgins, 2010) The Love We Share We all share our love with family members or our spouses. Some people even share their love with their pets. Is it returned? I feel it is. As a child I felt that love came from my mother. It was a love that was always there no matter what I did. I just knew she cared whether I understood why she did or not. But as I grew I began to feel what the depth of her love meant to me. She was always there when I needed her to be. She helped me through the hard times as well as the good ones. All I had to do was to ask and she would do what she could. For this I feel her love was unconditional. It was not until she became sick with cancer that I realized what her love really was to me. Because even being sick it did not change. She was still willing to give to me what she could. For all my life I have loved this woman and she me. With the thought of her sickness possibly taking her from me, I began to weigh what I might lose. The Reasons We Share The thought of my mother leaving me made me wonder if our love would continue. The more I thought about it the more I knew our love for one another would always be there. My love for her I realized would never end and it was then I realized also that she would always love me too. The first empirical truth I feel...
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...Mom woke me up by reading to my younger sister that morning. A pang of jealousy hit me not for the first time in my short life. Why didn’t she ever bother to read to me? Why didn’t she wake me up to say goodbye like she did every morning for Olivia? I loved her just as much as Olivia did. Why did she always get everything? I turned over and opened my eyes to the sound of my mother’s voice. I scrunched my face up. The bright morning sun was far too bright for me. I watched my mother read and smile at my younger sister. I didn’t say anything. She never even noticed I was awake. Not even a glance my direction. She left for work before I had worked up the courage to tell her I loved her. I went back to sleep praying that I would wake up early enough that Dad wouldn’t come get me and late...
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...The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her. ~Author Unknown A mother holds perhaps, the most important place in a child's life. The loss of a mother, then is perhaps the biggest loss anyone has to deal with. Unfortunately, the death of a parent is something most children have to see and experience. While some people naturally hold the capacity to endure such a heavy loss, for some it is indeed a tough period to get through. No matter what kind of person the sufferer is, a few words of sympathy from close ones are always comforting. With the knowledge that there is someone who shares the grief, and is there for support in such trying times, indeed gives the sufferer the strength and courage to pull through. For most of you, deciding what to say when a person loses her/his mother is difficult, because it is an extremely sensitive time and you don't want to say anything that will deepen the grief of the sufferer. As such, you may take a look at these words of sympathy that may help ease the pain arising from the loss of such an important figure in one's life, and utilize them to make your close one, who is grieving the loss of her/his mother, feel comforted. Words of Condolence For the Loss of a Mother No words of condolence you put together can heal a person grieving the loss of her/his mother. But it can definitely provide a small amount of comfort, in knowing that someone is there to share the grief and to be there when needed. This gives them courage...
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...play a role in shaping who we become, so it’s safe to say growing up in a different time or era, would shape our lives and personalities. This is something I see when I look at my grandparents, my grandmothers Mary and Margret. Both of these wonderful women have a lot in common in how they think, believe and see the world. All though they both grew up with a different demographic background, the same social and economic circumstances they endured, play a major part in who they became as women. Both of my grandmothers were born in the 1930’s in the middle of the great depression and times were hard, this was also a time when there were a lot of pre-conceived opinions about women and their place in society. This is no doubt why my grandmothers are such strong women. because of the time and circumstances they both grew up in, my grandmothers have a lot in common and they share a lot of the same characteristic traits, but they are their own persons with their own unique personalities and their own personal life journeys, which gave them unique differences. Starting from birth, my two grandmother’s differences in environment, family and social status was apparent. My maternal grandmother, Mary Wright, was born to her educated parents in Burbank California, her father was a college professor with a genius level I.Q, and her mother was a surgical nurse, even...
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...and another minute they could have no clue what is happening. However, there is some good in all of the bad. An event that changed my life was the time when I had surgery on my ankle for the second time. It was exactly a year and a half ago since I had my first surgery on New Year's Eve. In one week I would have surgery again on my ankle. I finish packing up my bags and put them by the door. Once all of my bags were ready to go by the door, I went to help my mom carry her bags and put them by the door. My mother and I were saying our goodbyes, then my two sisters and brother pulled out homemade cards they each had made. After we say our final goodbyes before heading to Tennessee for the surgery, my mother and I opened up the front door and started to walk out. Before we left, my sister came running out with my crutches that she had decorated. In that moment I felt very loved by my family....
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...little girl's dream is to have both her mother and father in their life. To cherish every single moment with her parents, create memories, and to reminisce about all the times they had. It was always my wish to have both Mommy and Daddy in my life, but my story is different. At the age of seventeen my mother gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and named her Niah Dominique Cummings. Growing up, I knew for a fact that I had my mother in my life, but I hardly ever saw my father. I came to my senses that there was no father. My mother finally filled me in and told me that my father had moved to Atlanta, Georgia two days after I was born. Which basically meant he was not there the day I was born. It was heartbreaking to hear, but I had to face it. I didn't know what it felt like to have that father figure in my life. To have Daddy tuck me in at night, telling me every day how beautiful I was, to give me kisses on the cheek or forehead, to drop me off at school every morning, or to even tell me that I was his little princess. All I had was my mother, who had struggled since she was sixteen years old. The year before I was born my mother gave birth to a handsome, talented, intelligent, and smart young man. She named him Kazre Lamont Cummings. He is my older brother and is now seventeen years old. The year after I was born, she had another boy who was given the name Darnell Taylor Robert Jr., following after his father. At a young age my mother had to take on the full responsibility...
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...When I was in high school I weighed an average of 144 pounds and wore a size 7 or 9 jean. I had some “skin rolls” or that extra stomach fat most adults talk about as being “unacceptable”. At the time I didn’t think much of it until one day I heard the words that would change my innocent image of myself into one that I saw as horrid and imperfect. The words that came out of my own mothers mouth, “Mira esto que tienes aqui, necesitas perder de peso Kendra no te miras bien.” Whats those words meant, for those who don’t know Spanish, is, “Look at this you have here, you need to lose weight Kendra, you don’t look good.” My own mother was judging me. I was never the heaviest in my family. My brother, who was 15 at the time, weighed over 250 pounds; my father, 46, weighed about 210; my older sister, 20, weighed about 190. So you see, I wasn’t really overweight, just had body fat. Yet to my mother it was just, fat. As you know, or should know, many teens wake up and the first thing they think of is, “Oh my God, I can’t leave this room looking like this!” Self image is important to us, or so that’s what society wants us to think. We must always look our best. Well in my case I also thought this way, waking up extra early to pick out my outfit (somehow making different varieties of a blue and khaki pant with white shirt; our school dress code). Then of course my hair, it had to be extra perfect. I’d flat iron it for about twenty minutes max until I thought it was perfect, then all the...
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...Every time I remember my mother, I feel sad because she was a wonderful person. She was born on May 02, 1928 she had five daughters and seven sons. I was the youngest daughter and the lucky one because I had the opportunity to spend time with her. My mother and I were always a dynamic duo. For instance, we always worked together, feeding pigs on our little farm. Each afternoon when we fixed our farm, she sang songs and I repeated the songs with her. That was very funny for me. She was a very good looking beautiful woman. She had white skin and big green eyes. Another thing about her was that she had long curly black hair. She was from Guadalajara, Jalisco where women acquire different physical characteristics of many cultures, especially from Europe. Jalisco is remarkable because different people have unique characteristics that make each person’s character one of a kind. Another example is that she had a very soft personality. She always loved working in her garden. It was her favorite place to be because she was able to plant floral plants. In addition, she was a very hard working person that never gave up. I share the things I learned from her and relate her life lessons. Her favorite hobby was cooking delicious homemade food. For instance, in our country the most...
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...Theta, Inc Jasmine Lofton THE STRONGEST WOMAN I HAVE EVER KNEW, AND THROUGH IT ALL I HAVE LEARNED “You can never give up, always believe in yourself and you can become anything you want to be.” This is something my mother always says to my sister and I as inspiration. The most important person in my life who has impacted it completely is my mother. She is my inspiration, she is even my hero. My mother was diagnosed with Discoid Lupus in the middle of March in 2007. Discoid Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that is limited to the skin, caused by the autoimmune system. Along with Discoid Lupus, she was also diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis also known as RA; this is also an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the joints. After finding out the diagnoses, the doctor tells her she won’t be able to work anymore. This was devastating for my mother to hear. Working was another life for her. She loved her job. She was a Pediatric Medical Assistant. She had been a MA since I was born in 1992. She loved working with pediatricians and fulfilling the needs of infants and children in the mist of having a cold or maybe even a tummy ache. Being given this news was terrible. All I could do was fell my heart pounding in my chest and my head spinning in the mist of confusion. I knew my mother was very independent and strong. She loved doing for herself, and other people. Through it all she shows my sister and I that she is a woman who can overcome anything and change...
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...The most influential person in my life is my mother. She taught me how to keep loving through the good and the bad. My mothers love is unconditional, it is a trait i wish to equip throughout my life. I was about 13 when I found out that my mother loved me unconditionally. The moment I lost my mothers necklace (that my grandmother gave to her) I thought she was going to kill me. I had never seen my mother so mad at me. I began to cry as she was yelling at me;I ran into my room, closed the door, and wept all night. The next day my mom walked into my room and told me she was sorry with the most regretful look on her face. I knew my mother was truly sorry. As we hugged in closure, she started to cry on my shoulder. I told my mom I will do anything to find it, but my mothers response was "That necklace will never amount to how much I love you". I will forever be amazed about my mothers love and care for me. She is also incredible at getting things done. It does not matter of the situation, my mother always comes through with whatever was needed. She puts others needs before hers and I love that about her. Whenever someone asks for something, she is always the first one to deliver. When I play softball we usually have 2 games a day, during these games somebody always runs out of water. My mother being the caring person she is, offers to go buy them water from a store near by. During are breaks between games she rushes to go get water. When she returns she comes back with water, snacks...
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...Can Change So Many Lives The loss of a loved one in someone’s family is the most tragic thing to happen in life. So many lives are changed when someone close dies from a natural death or some other cause such as murder, car accident, or even Mother Nature (I.E. hurricanes, tornadoes, fire, storm, or lightning strike). I know that this is true because my family and I have suffered through the loss of a loved one. Over a year ago, we lost someone very close to us, Andy Markowitz, my father. It is in times like these that the saying, “One Mistake Changes So Many Lives,” is definitely true. On May 16, 2010, we received the worst news we have ever gotten. At approximately 10 PM, my brother’s phone started ringing and Kim, my step-mother’s name was showing up on the phone. When Danny, my brother answered the phone, Kim told him to give the phone to my mom. A few minutes later, we heard my mother scream into the phone, “What do you mean he’s gone?” We never got the chance to ask her what happened because she ran out the door and drove away. While I was staring out the window, my brother turned to me and said, “I think Daddy went to heaven.” Those are words that I will never forget. I didn’t have an answer for him, but I knew that he was probably right. My mother came back home around midnight that night and called us into the living room. I could tell instantly that she had been crying and I knew that it was going to be serious because I have never seen her cry as much as she had...
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...The loss of my mother was devastating and tragic. In 1998, my mother suffered from a brain aneurism that burst. I was 17 yrs old, and lost my best friend. Mom was strong willed and humorous. She finished college on the deans list, and raised four children by her self. She was the matriarch of my family, She was a great woman who cared for humanity. Sadly she also suffered the disease of addiction. Unfortunately that series of events left my poor mother in a nursing home not able to care for her self. Physically she is here, mentally she is not. The loss of my mom brought broken hearts, lost souls and God willing the dawn of a new day. My experience with addiction is that is can be life threatening. In my family alone, I have lost two aunt’s and a mother due to addiction. Before it took their lives, it changed their whole perspective on life. For example, my mother was always loving and compassionate. As an addict she was mean and hateful. The disease of addiction can and will take everything from you and your family. I lost the person who taught me how to be strong and proud no matter what the situation. My mother was an honorable woman and I suffered a dear loss. Addiction is fatal. There are many effects to the person who is an addict. Relationships with family and friends will be damaged. Families become disappointed and distressed due to a family member who is an addict. From my experience, it is very stressful to worry all the time if my loved one is alright. I used to sit...
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...Abortion is a highly controversial topic that is usually only looked at from the point of view of murder; many do not take into consideration of how emotionally damaging the decision is to the mother. With women’s rights and the evolution of people’s thinking abortions are becoming more tolerable; still controversial but more tolerable than before. Some people see that ultimately it is the mothers’ decision for it is her sacrifice to have a child and not theirs. Abortion should not be as controversial as it because not every person that becomes pregnant can properly care for the child due to lack of funds. It is not cold-blooded murder; a mother does not take the decision lightly to abort her unborn child and society needs to be more understanding of how the mother feels before passing their judgment. The poem “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks expresses some of the feelings that a would-be mother endures when facing the difficulty of aborting her unborn child and analyzing my research on the emotional burden women face when having an abortion sheds light on the subject and helps me better understand what Gwendolyn Brooks is expressing in her poem. Abortion is never a decision that is made lightly. A would- be mother weighs out all her options before taking such a life changing decision. A mother realizes what her decision means; she realizes that she will never forget making the decision and never know what her baby would grow up to be. Gwendolyn Brooks writes “Abortions will not...
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...Cheryl and I both share similarities, although there are many differences between us. As we both experienced our journey of grief, it was a long road for the both of us. In a person’s life that is grieving it is very difficult for them to see the bright side of things, or in another words to be optimistic. Although Cheryl and I both experienced a very difficult time in our lives, we both handled our situations very differently. “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” In saying this, grieve can be one of those moments that take your breath away. It is by choice the way you cope with the cards that have been dealt for you! In the book Wild, the main character Cheryl experiences the death of her mother. Cheryl and her mother were very close all throughout her life, considering that her father was out of the picture at a young age. When Cheryl’s mother past away, Cheryl’s life shortly spiraled out of control. Cheryl and her family grew apart, and soon after that Cheryl’s marriage was destroyed. Cheryl and I share a few similarities in our journey of grieve. I lost my grandmother who I very close to and held dearly to my heart. I did not only consider her my grandmother, but she was also a mother figure to myself. Cheryl and I both lost someone that was very dear to us. When my grandmother past away, it was very devastating as it was for Cheryl’s loss. Once, my grandmother past away, I had hit rock bottom. Cheryl and I both can...
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