by Alma Francois-Pijuan 4 years ago
215
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"I took a few steps, then stopped and looked but saw nothing. Then the faces of boys and girls came into view. I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me. I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way. But glances of curiosity were directed toward me, and one boy approached and asked, "Who brought you?" "My father," I whispered. "My father's dead," he said quite simply. I did not know what to say. The gate was closed, letting out a pitiable screech. Some of the children burst into tears. The bell rang. A lady came along, followed by a group of men. The men began sorting us into ranks. We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard surrounded on three sides by high buildings of several floors; from each floor we were overlooked by a long balcony roofed in wood. "This is your new home," said the woman. "Here too there are mothers and fathers. Here there is everything that is enjoyable and beneficial to knowledge and religion. Dry your tears and face life joyfully." We submitted to the facts, and this submission brought a sort of contentment"
This is talking about how these children were forced to grow up and mature once the harsh reality set in. They had to move on and adapt.
"In addition, the time for changing one's mind was over and gone and there was no question of ever returning to the paradise of home. Nothing lay ahead of us but exertion, struggle, and perseverance. Those who were able took advantage of the opportunities for success and happiness that presented that presented themselves amid the worries."
This is talking about how some of the folks matured and moved on. They went to exceed in what they do and have success.
These children have grown when faced with challenges and hard times, they also are exposed to things that some children are sheltered from, causing them to mature and adapt.
In the Half a Day Story, the characters are forced to undergo challenging experiences which causes them to mature. Because it impacts them so harshly, they are forced to remember. In the article, it discuses about how people are faced with certain challenges it causes them to adapt and to slowly change because of their circumstances.
The adults are able to dream and see magic. They are able to see and create things that are no longer there. They are free in that sense.
"As they sewed, sitting in a circle and gazing at the corpse between stitches, it seemed to them that the wind had never been so steady nor the sea so restless as on that night and they supposed that the change had something to do with the dead man. They thought that if that magnificent man had lived in the village, his house would have had the widest doors, the highest ceiling, and the strongest floor, his bedstead would have been made from a midship frame held together by iron bolts, and his wife would have been the happiest woman. They thought that he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out of the sea simply by calling their names and that he would have put so much work into his land that springs would have burst forth from among the rocks so that he would have been able to plant flowers on the cliffs. "
The Children are going from basic ideas and dreams like war to things like whales and all other magical and mystical things to them.
"THE FIRST CHILDREN who saw the dark and slinky bulge approaching through the sea let themselves think it was an enemy ship. Then they saw it had no flags or masts and they thought it was a whale."
They are all able to branch out and dream of something more.
The adults are allowed to dream of happier and larger life where they actually have purpose for huge amounts of joy and grief.
They are allowed to dream of things this Man could have been and what life with him could have been like.
They are able to build huge homes and paint the village. They atre able to be creative and have excess happiness. They are allowed to dream of things this Man could have been and what life with him could have been like.
"But they also knew that everything would be different from then on, that their houses would have wider doors, higher ceilings, and stronger floors so that Esteban's memory could go everywhere... the handsome fool has finally died, because they were going to paint their house fronts gay colors to make Esteban's memory eternal and they were going to break their backs digging for springs among the stones and planting flowers on the cliffs so that in future years at dawn the passengers on great liners would awaken, suffocated by the smell of gardens on the high seas... that's Esteban's village."
At one part, it discusses how the children are dreaming of war and great huge animals like whales. This body allows them to see beyond the small village they live in.
Then they saw it had no flags or masts and they thought it was a whale.
"THE FIRST CHILDREN who saw the dark and slinky bulge approaching through the sea let themselves think it was an enemy ship" (Page 1)
At this point children are dreaming of war and enemy solider's. It's for there mind to play with because it's seems so black and white. And now the children are imagining giant beasts like whales. They are imagining the wonders of the sea and what this man could possibly be.
They both are now able to dream
That her realizing she could be what she wanted to be if she put in the effort, that she wasn't stuck as one person with a limited sets of talents and skills.
"And for the first time, or so it seemed, I noticed the piece on the right-hand side. It was called "Perfectly Contented." I tried to play this one as well. It had a lighter melody but with the same flowing rhythm and turned out to be quite easy. "Pleading Child" was shorter but slower; "Perfectly Contented" was longer but faster. And after I had played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song." (page 8)
"Unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me." (page 8)
This here discusses how they manage to realize that if she could have stopped fighting, and grew and matured for herself, she would have been rewarded. If was good for herself, then she would have great benefits, but because her mother wanted her to be her best, she stopped herself. It seems tragic, but at least it ends on a hopeful note.
Whether it was when she realized that neither her mother nor her won. That her playing poorly had her lose and her mother lose as well.
"But my mother's expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything. I felt the same way, and everybody seemed now to be coming up, like gawkers at the scene of an accident to see what parts were actually missing."
"And now I realized how many people were in the audience - the whole world, it seemed. I was aware of eyes burning into my back. I felt the shame of my mother and father as they sat stiffly through the rest of the show."
This here shows how they both lost. After that moment passed and now looking back, she realizes how they both fought so hard and it led to nothing. And in the moment she begins to realize what the reality is actually like. If she still enjoyed the process and did well, she may have come out with something. But she was too young to realize at the time and neither would she have wanted to.
"But my mother's expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything. I felt the same way, and everybody seemed now to be coming up, like gawkers at the scene of an accident to see what parts were actually missing... I kept thinking she wanted to wait until we got home before shouting at me. But when my father unlocked the door to our apartment, my mother walked in and went straight to the back, into the bedroom. No accusations, No blame. And in a way, I felt disappointed. I had been waiting for her to start shouting, so that I could shout back and cry and blame her for all my misery."
When she looks back she sees that she knew that that was her fault for not practicing out of being stubborn. At the end she did want to perform but instead she doesn't keep practicing because she is stubborn and arrogant, I mean she is a child. And was going to blame it all on the mother. And that takes maturity to realize what you were doing wrong.
