Strawberry Field

It’s that time of the year.

The sun exhales sweet air into my lungs, as the ground gives with my every step.

I am the intricate swirl of the Alpha and the Omega

Connecting the two tips of the world

Amidst the leaves circling my ankles

I see them.

Ripe, plump, undeniably abundant.

Who better to retrieve the fruit of season’s labor than my manicured hands upon tailored clothes

Pick after succulent pick the red juice flows down my limbs.

My barrel is full yet these vines have so much more to relinquish to me.

How can I deprive them of their divine passage?

Their true purpose nothing more than my satisfaction

So relentlessly

I stuff my pockets,

My shirt,

Even my socks

Until strawberry juice bleeds down my limbs and soaks my garments.

And yet,

as I feel the sticky sweet run alongside my veins

I remain unsatisfied.

It’s fall now.

The field is bereft.

My pockets stay dry.

But soon we’ll be planning on planting in the patch that runs barren

And vines will tangle and intertwine with the berries that once were.

Amir and Baba's Relationship

This image shown represents Baba as the green net. Though Baba is portrayed as a strong character, inside he is conflicted and holds many secrets that he doesn't share with Amir, and protects these secrets by alienating Amir. This stronghold is represented by the metal fence that protects Baba and his secrets. However once Baba and Amir arrive in America, Baba starts to depend on Amir. This is shown by the hole and the fraying edges in the net because although Baba is not directly telling Amir his secrets, he starts to respect Amir and let him form the father/son relationship both of them had been deprived of for so long. Outside of the hole, is green grass showing a better life they are living and enjoying because Amir has a father to rely on and look up to, while Baba also has a someone to rely on and trust, and a son to be proud of.

 

The Sensation Ten Fold

Everyone knows that feeling of waking up when sick and having a mouth so dry that it feels as though no amount of water can quench it. This predominantly affects those in subject matters such as propensity for poverty, shortening of their life span, and predisposition for death rates among infants.

A child in Ethiopia experiences the sensation ten fold almost every day. Poverty emerges when food and water become luxuries rather than necessity, a circumstance in which your middle class American will rarely, if not, ever encounter.

Though Ethiopia shows key signs of improved economic and living conditions, it still stands with a vast 30% poverty rate. (The World Bank) This is slightly over American poverty rate, which currently remains at 14.3%. (UCDavis) "The level of poverty is so high, the state of the people's health is so poor, and there are so many contributing factors that to address any one of them alone is not going to make any difference," Don Peden. (International Development Research Centre) Conditions in Ethiopia are devastatingly high, illustrating how much of an issue this is. Until major impact takes charge, it is difficult to target one solution since there are multiple issues in current Ethiopian living systems.

“The poorest households have become poorer than they were in 2005; high food prices that improve incomes for many poor farmers make buying food more challenging for the poorest.” (The World Bank) Due to baseline needs becoming household luxuries such as buying food, the maximum life expectancy age has become a mere 63 years old. Though this age has risen by at least ten years over the past decade, it is comparably 15 years less than the life expectancy rate of the United States.

But while this data also proves that poverty in America is a major issue as well, we need to remember that the statistic for affected by death is 55.77 to 1,000, while this remains a 6.17 to 1,000 in America. That makes an infant in Ethiopia nine times more likely to die at the age of one or even younger. (If It Were My Home) The life of a child in Ethiopia is taken as quick as it happens. Ethiopian children suffer the risk of getting taken from this world they were birthed into before they can experience their life.

Though those affected in Ethiopia currently experience the shock of poverty at larger rates than others, this does not necessarily mean hope is lost. By focusing on narrowing solutions to substantial poverty, shortening life span, and expected death, the future of Ethiopia has potential to improve drastically. Research in Yubdo Legabato, Ethiopia proves that their farming families the chance to recover the problem that is lack of food and increase income up to ten times the current rate. One way this can be done is through a slow sand filtration system that uses 100-litre clay vessels crafted by their local clay potters, which goes for about $4 US per vessel. (International Research Centre)

Works Cited
"Ethiopia." Compare The United States To Ethiopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"Ethiopia in numbers." African Business, July 2016, p. 20+. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A459722134/GIC?u=los42754&xid=fa348945. Accessed 13 Mar. 2017.

"Poverty in Ethiopia: Causes and Solutions." The Borgen Project. N.p., 07 Dec. 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.

The World Bank Group. "Ethiopia Poverty Assessment." World Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"UC Davis Center for Poverty Research." What Is the Current Poverty Rate in the United States? N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Crawley, Mike. "CASE STUDY: Ethiopia - Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Ethiopia." IDRC - International Development Research Centre. N.p., 11 July 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Unlocking your Inner Knowledge

"I rubbed the nail against a rock until it became too hot to handle, after which I wiped it on my mud-encrusted trousers, and polished it vigorously until the metal shone like new. When I held it up for inspection it sparkled so brightly I thought I could see my eyes and the late summer sky reflected in it" (91).

"Luo took the rusty nail now transformed into a master-key and moistened it between his lips. The key slid noiselessly into place, turned to the left, then the right, left again and a fraction the other way... there was a dry metallic click, and the copper padlock yielded at last" (98).

KEY ANALYSIS: This quote represents the “key” to the boy’s intellectual liberty, because Luo and the Narrator are creating this key as path to getting their desired books. Their key, which unlocks the padlock, represents the nation’s close mindedness and restrictions of foreign literature, and so by unlocking Four Eye’s door (the symbol of forbidden literature), they are opening themselves up to gain unlimited access to all of these Western classics. In the boy's eyes, when the key “sparkled so brightly,” it corresponds to how they view these Western books; a beacon of light for freedom.

____________________________________________________________________________

"'What is it with you two, always going for stuff that's forbidden?'

'Don't exaggerate,' Luo said.

'You think I'm exaggerating? You want me to show this to the commune authorities? Your old miller would be accused of spreading erotic material. He might even go to prison. I'm serious'" (77).

“‘How could you waste all that precious time writing down this drivel? I can’t believe it. Do you seriously think an official journal would even consider publishing this shit? That they’d give me a job on the strength of this? You must be out of your minds’” (77).

FOLK SONG ANALYSIS: These two quotes summarize Four Eye’s lack of intellectual liberty, as he feels that the Old man’s folk song is essentially garbage, and forbidden. His fear of publishing this song reveals the little range of freedom he believes he has. This lack of intellectual freedom is a response to the Old man’s authentic, playful mountain song, which is a symbol of freedom of expression. The “forbidden” aspect that Four Eyes is talking about correlates to China at the time, and how they felt about songs in general. Songs symbolize expression and emotion, and aren’t always used for propaganda purposes, like Four Eyes hoped. This song in particular, expressed humor, innocence, and the open  essence of country life, and Four Eye’s backlash to the old man’s song shows the intolerance of intellectual freedom present in China at the time.

Poem

Poem
Just a simple tune
So easily stuck in your head
Whether you're staring at the moon
Or lying in your bed
Music is like a painting with words
The melody flies like birds
Oh what a sound you hear every day
I hear emotion in the music I play

Though not everyone hears it
And some people can't feel this
Your favorite song is now a hit
Music provides us with a feeling of bliss
Through melodies and sounds
You see the world around