Passing Period

Drew Guggeis

Ms. Bennett

WLH p. 1

5/25/17

Passing Period

The bell blares

Frustrated, I stand to the command of a noise

Pick up my things, reluctant to add another unnecessary weight to myself

Exit the room, exit the forest

Open hallways filled with open hearts

Avoiding eye contact, avoiding avoiding eye contact

Pick up the pace, watch out!

Tensions swell, feet scatter

Rooms identical, almost an illusion

The noise may blare again soon

We all know what that means,

Absolutely nothing until someone else says so

Sorry, excuse me, my bad, you suck i don’t care that I ran into you

However i remain vegetarian in my desire for tension

I don’t want any beef

Despite all the walking, talking, and troubled stares

I can’t help wandering, pondering and absorbing the sun glares

Closer to my class

Closer to which class, the one that’s boring or the one that’s boring

Oh right the one with that one person

Oh that one person

With legs and all that

Voice of a normal person

Yet so abnormal

Sit, relax, take it in

You’ve made the journey

Between the forests, through a valley

With views of sparkling skies and winding rivers

But you never took a breath

Never smiled at him, never said hi to her

But you’re both wandering between the forests

The bell blares

Another time, then

Bonding Over Dirt

Amir and Sohrab bond over feeling dirty for their past sins and wanting to be cleansed and be good again. The trash cans represent the two characters and the garbage inside is the sins they feel they've committed. The common dirt beneath the trash cans represents how Amir and Sohrab are bound by a shared feeling of having committed sins and being dirty. The tree and majestic sky represent what Amir and Sohrab both hope to become--cleansed, good again, and heroically honorable and proud.

Getting Help from the Little Guy: Elephants in Need

Drew Guggeis

Ms. Bennett

WLH 1

Getting Help from the Little Guy: Elephants in Need

In Africa, the elephant is a symbol of power and beauty. But the elephant may soon become a tale of the past like the dinosaurs. As the population declines, severity rises. the elephants represent an important piece to the ecosystem and food chain, and if the world continues on the path it is going, that chain may suffer. While the poaching is an upsetting topic, many people from Africa and around the world are aiding to fight for the gentle giant. From ivory banning to local donations and protection services, great strides are being taken to protect the elephants.

Politicians from around the world are intervening to help the cause. It is well known that China holds the largest ivory market in the world, with value in the expensive ivory carvings and figures that can be made out of an elephant tusk. However, in a grand effort to aid the elephants and Africa, China announced that it will close the ivory market by the end of 2017 (Africa). This will surely pare down the amount of poachers and ivory traders threatening the population.  This gesture, especially coming from China, shows great promise for the future of elephants and the environment as a whole. Not only China, but also those of the EU are partaking in the effort to end the poaching. The EU recently had a convention and discussed whether to also shut down their domestic trade markets and began a petition to do so which gain over 100,000 signatures (Kairu). An astonishing amount in such a short time shows the impact that the elephants and their poaching holds in the people in Africa, and the world. While many outside of Africa are aiding in stopping the trade of elephant tusks, a tougher fight is taking place in the land of the issue.

Local groups are also taking on the task of protecting the elephants from poaching as well. In a major national park in Gabon there is a large population of elephants whose population has dwindled by 80% . This study took place at Duke University and was led by John Poulsen who said, “the loss of 25,000 elephants from this key sanctuary is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species,” (Bennett). In an effort to slow this reduction, the Gabonese government has elevated the status of the elephants to fully protected. This means that they will protect the elephants even more from the poachers which will hopefully save the population. This is a significant step to the protection and to the future of the African elephants and the African environment. Similarly, in Rwanda, the government is using revenue from tourism to fund national parks in the hopes that they will use it to protect their animal including elephants (Mullen). This is a very generous donation considering the other profitable possibilities for that income stream. With more and more contributions arising, the fate of the elephants are looking up.

Although elephants are enormous creatures, every once in awhile they may need assistance from someone smaller than their own leg. The elephant population has been declining for decades, but people are taking action to try to save the beautiful elephant. Even though many ivory are extremely intricate and extravagant, they may no longer be circulating the market. Some would even argue that ivory looks even more beautiful attached to elephants.

Dayu Zhang, Jethro Mullen. “Booming Illegal Ivory Trade Taking Severe Toll on Africa's Elephants, Groups Say.” "CNN", CNN, June 2012, www.cnn.com/2012/09/05/world/africa/africa-ivory-elephant-slaughter/index.html. Accessed Mar. 2017.

Bennett, Abbie. “Duke Study: Poaching Drives 80 Percent Decline in Elephants at Central African Preserve.” "Newsobserver", Newsobserver, 2017, www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article134572679.html. Accessed Mar. 2017.

Kairu, Pauline. “Africa: Pressure Shifts to EU Over Ivory Trade.” "AllAfrica.com", AllAfrica.com, July 2017, allafrica.com/stories/201702100212.html. Accessed Mar. 2017.

Anonymous. “Africa Lauds China's Move to Close Ivory Market.” "Xinhuanet.com", Xinhuanet.com, 2017, news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-01/14/c_135980968.htm. Accessed July 2017.

Balzac Symbolism Project

Arushi Lakhan-Pal

Priya Dixit

Drew Guggeis

Kelly Tan

Sophia Hwang

Balzac Symbolism Project

Loss: Ticks Away

Symbol: Rooster Alarm Clock

“We were surprised to see how the alarm clock seized the imagination of the peasants. It became an object of veneration, almost. Everyone came to consult the clock, as though our house on stilts was a temple”(14).

“In the end we had changed the position of the hands so many times that we had no idea what the time really was” (15).

The symbol of the alarm clock illustrates the theme of loss through its usage and perception throughout the novel. Luo and the narrator keep the the alarm clock and manipulate the time in order to keep any amount of power they can over their own lives despite the losses they have faced. The alarm clock is one of the few last links to their past, and is used as a coping mechanism for the difficulties they must face.

Symbol: Lice

“I had a vision of my body as a rallying ground for armies of lice, all thrilled at the change of diet, ravenous for the delights offered by my poor veins” (71).

“It was not hard to imagine the scene : the bug-infested bed upon which Four-Eyes lay, fighting to stay awake in case the old man happened to sign snatches of sincere, authentic folk songs in his sleep, while the lice swarmed out of their hiding places to attack in the dark, sucking his blood skating on the slippery lenses of his spectacles, which he hadn’t removed for the night” (65).

The recurring motif of the lice represents the gnawing and draining effect of loss on the main characters and their companions. After enduring the hardships of the mountain village, the parasitic lice represent the sapping effect of re-education and the attendant sense of loss. The omnipresent lice exacerbate their situation in life, injuring them and needling them. Just as the lice are reduced to draining the blood of Luo, Four Eyes, and the narrator, they are forced to make the most situation by any means necessary.

Drew Guggeis
Ms. Bennett
WLH p.1
9/19/16

Show Kindness

Show kindness to others,

And you will receive kindness.

Show hatred to others,

And you will receive kindness.

Unfair actions will result in unfair consequences.

Generous actions will have generous results.

Help a man and receive the gift of charity,

Ignore a man and receive ignorance.

To gain peace will yourself,

You must gain peace with others.

Unrest with your peers,

Will cause unrest with yourself.

Keep yourself calm,

Kind yourself kind,

Keeping openness to others,

will open your mind.