Jack

Jack

The creature stepped from mirage on to clear sand

The darkness was not all shadow but mostly clothing

Marching in step

Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony

His face was crumpled and freckled,

Ugly without silliness

Out of this face stared two light blue eyes,

Eyes that in this frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad

His sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them

The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid,

Liberated from shame and self-consciousness.

A thin wail out of the darkness rose, remote and unearthly

A thing, a dark thing, a beast, some sort of animal

His laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling

An inarticulate gibbering

If there’s a beast we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-!

Bleeding and mad the hunters followed, wedded to her in lust,

Excited by the long chase and the dropped blood

The crowd surged after it, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.

There were no words, no movement, but the tearing of teeth and claws.

Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!

We are going to have fun on this island.

Understand? We are going to have fun on this island!

What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?


Lines taken from William Golding's Lord of The Flies, pp 19-20,48, 64, 83, 91, 94, 135, 144, 153, 186

Brick In The Wall

Our inquiry question was wrapped up within the week. The plan for the video was realized mid-week and we uploaded the completed film on the midnight of Friday. It was a quick rush from the planning, to the recording, and to the editing. I was surprised myself at how efficient we were. Maybe the saying is true, constraints are what gives birth to creativity. We each picked a powerful scene from the narration and illustrated it to the best of our abilities. All of it had to be done in one take to ensure fluidity. Our first take flubbed; however, second time's the charm. It is quite an advantage to have people in your group that have strong skills in specific niches. Each person shone at their area of aptitude and it reflects on our final product. I found it whimsical that this entire video was made in three days. I suppose that was our own Three Day Road.

The Art of War

The quiet before a storm is very much more pronounced in a war. The moment the sun rose and blanketed the battlefield with its light. The was an unnatural quiet in the air. Elijah and Xavier hid on the far edges of the war-torn ground. Their only cover was a shelled out home, in plain view of the enemies. Everyone waited with bated breath, each side tense. Elijah's scope found an unlucky soldier. He pulled the trigger, and the following crack harked the start of the havoc. It was a terrifying transformation. The once quiet land was suddenly thrown into chaos. Artillery shook the earth and soldiers took protection in its trajectory. War is art. It shows the culmination of human progress, our strive to be efficient at killing each other. Body parts scattered everywhere, last breaths were taken by many, the souls of soldiers were ripped from their bodies in a furious hail of carnage. It was beautiful. Beautifully morbid.

#1

Elijah is determined to be number one. The best there is at long range sniping. It is his ambition, his goal in life. He revels in the glory of being one step above everyone else, a noble among the common folk. He is the Knight of the battlefield with Pawns at his beckons. This is why when he heard of "Peggy," another Indian sniper just like him, he became obsessed. Obsessed to defeat the score of the "legendary sniper." For Elijah, being second place is not sufficient. He wants the sole recognition for long range killing in the war. He wants his name to go down in history and be revered by others. He wants the thrill of victory, of being the best, of being the paragon of what a sniper should be.

Sniper

Being a sniper is a terrifying prospect: miles away from the action and yet still being able to kill men miles away. Elijah found his calling on this heartless task. He wore the skin of a natural born killer, who revels on the hunt on the battlefield. Xavier was his reluctant sidekick - not yet comfortable with the notion of murder. However, he was obliged to support Elijah, his longtime friend who was changing slowly on the inside - becoming a different person, thing, animal. To be an efficient sniper Elijah had to change. He learnt how to control his emotions while scoped in. To pull the trigger with a cold heart, not a wavering breath.

Trench Warfare

One of the most prominent feature of WWI were the numerous trenches that scarred miles of Europe. They are holes in the ground that soldiers go into for protection against enemy fire. However, life in the trenches was absolutely miserable. Every soldier feared for their life each day. The threat of snipers and incoming artillery barrages haunted their dreams. Whistles of artillery rounds screamed through the air endlessly. Not simply that, life in the trenches were simply abhorrent. It was muddy, crawling with rats and pests, and everything was perpetually covered with a layer of dirt. Neither side was able to gain an inch due to the certain assault of machine gun fire for those brave or foolish enough to stand in no man's land. Xavier and Elijah experienced this lifestyle firsthand. Their ventures through no man's land woke them to the cruel realities of war.

Assimilation of First Nations

The moment British colonists set foot in the young Americas, the process of assimilation began. To assimilate something means that you are making it a part of yourself. Therefore the church built residential schools to annihilate First Nation traditions, to make them "civilized." The government also helped by taking the land of the Aboriginals away and making them live in government-controlled reserves. The children in these reserves are bound to go to residential schools. Their parents sent them away due to the promise of sustenance and care provided by the church, but sometimes they were dragged from their homes. The three main characters in the story: Niska, Elijah, and Xavier all went through the process of residential schooling. Even though they managed to escape, they have experienced what many First Nations deemed unjust. How did the efforts of assimilation affected the First Nations at that time? How did it impact their traditions and beliefs? How did it contribute to the character developments of Niska, Elijah, and Xavier?

Communication

The language barrier is one that is hard to overcome. Especially in a stressful situation like a war. Xavier, in the story, barely knows English and this prevented him from communicating his thoughts with the rest of his crew. His men knew him as the quiet and lonesome kid, even though his head swirls with myriads of thoughts and philosophies. Elijah, on the other hand, thrived with his eloquent words and charming voice. He became the star of the group with his masterfully crafted and embellished tales. It was a great contrast of two Indian boys. Nevertheless, some things can be communicated without words. The brotherhood that forms in life-threatening situations is quick to develop and lasts well after the war. When people experience the same things and go through it together, they will bond with each other - whether they like it or not.

German Infantry 1914. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013.

We met the two main characters, Elijah and Xavier. They were two close friends who were determined to go through the war together. During World War I and II, aboriginals had the highest military volunteers in context with their population. Many aboriginals went to war fighting to show their tribal pride. Elijah and Xavier was but a speck in the war, however the war affected them very thoroughly. Xavier returned with a lost leg and a developing addiction to morphine. Elijah was nowhere to be found. 

What occurred on the other side of the pond has greatly affected Xavier and Elijah. They had first hand experience in trench warfare, where there was no standards of living. They had to experience the mud, the cold, and the suffocating rat infestation as every other soldiers. War was not glamorous, many deaths were caused by diseases and accidents, soldiers rarely die a heroic and worthy death.  

As the plot progresses, the story will be revealed, and we will take a first person view at what transpired on the horrific nights of World War I. 

Three Day Road

The book we have chosen to read was Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. It was chosen because it talks about World War I and takes the reader for a first-person experience through it through the eyes of a native aboriginal. In Socials 11 we learnt about the war and its implications, however they were merely facts that we were obliged to memorize. This book brings all that together and puts it into something that I can relate. I hope to learn more about how the war impacted the aboriginals. They fought for a country that took over their land in a show of pride for their tribe. I wonder how the skills taught to aboriginals for survival applies to a war situation. Another point of interest is how the military functions and acts during that time period. This book will give an insight of the effects of war to those involved.