"Call unto me and I will answer thee" : A reflection

“Call unto me and I will answer thee”

               

“Call unto me and I will answer thee”

                There are certain things that we can take for granted if we are not careful. One of these is pray, apart from neglecting prayer we too often do just as much damage by taking prayer for granted.

When we think about it though the very concept of a prayer answering God is astounding. He is perfect, holy, sinless, and righteous. We are flawed, sinful, and all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags.

It is only by His love, grace, and mercy that He says what He does in Jeremiah 33v3 – “Call unto me and I will answer thee .” This is a passage of great comfort. we all have problems to face, we may lose hope whenever we are tired in all of these, but god has always been there to save us from all this sentiments of ours, the verse says an important message saying he is always there when we need him above all things.

God does not say here that if we call on Him He will do whatever we ask, but that He will do great and mighty things that we can’t know. Not only does He invite us to pray, but He lets us knows that what He does will be great and mighty and we will not always understand them.

3) Suppose you have already discussed the poem Miniver Cheevy in your class. Construct 4 questions that would process students understanding about the theme of the poem.

1.     1)   As the theme of the story says, would you also escape reality as what Miniver Cheevy did to his life?

2.       2) In line 31, how could he be blamed for saying, being born in the wrong place in the wrong time? Why? Or why not?

3.       3) If you were Miniver Cheevy would you also think that you wish that you were not born? Why? Why not?

4.       4) Think about your past experiences that made you say “I quit!” in life? And how did overcome that instance in your life? Thinking that there is hope, and there is GOD.

2) Compare and contrast Miniver with Richard Cory. Miniver Cheevy is the subject of another Robinson poem.

In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poems, “Richard Cory”, and “Miniver Cheevy”, two themes are apparent in each. Each of these poems shows the regression of a character. These two recurring themes are, one theme recurs endlessly, the tragedy of each human being and these hard little poems are specimens of human experience in a world in which agony is real and happiness but a wish.”

“One theme recurs endlessly, the tragedy of each human being…” describes people’s misfortunes. In “Richard Cory” the narrator gives you the impression that Richard Cory is the ideal man. The narrator leaves you believing that the whole town wants this man’s life. Then, this ideal man shoots himself, revealing the tragedy of a human being. In Robinson’s poem “Miniver Cheevy,” the speaker speaks of a man who seems depressed. This poem discusses the tragedy of how the character wishes he were never born, and then ends in telling the reader that the individual is an alcoholic. Both of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poems “Miniver Cheevy” and “Richard Cory” display many of the common characteristics associated with poetry in the genre of Realism. Each poem is about an individual person and their feelings and the actions that they take and how they affect their lives.

Both of these characters portrayed something important in helping us see our lives into deeper understanding, Richard Cory helped us see life in meaningful way, his story conveyed an idea that even though we already  have it all, life isn’t complete without the people we love around us. On the other hand, Miniver Cheevy shared to us ourselves in our darkest hours, hence it exhibits hope and perseverance to survive.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” –Maria Robinson

1) Everyone has met Richard Cory. Someone who suffers inner turmoil but appears outwardly calm.How did you deal with such personality?

Richard Cory

                “Don't say you know me, when I don't even know myself.”

Richard Cory, described by Edwin Robinson entails a flawless man who is surrounded by wealth and class beyond imaginable. People dreamed of living in his shoes and no one could have predicted that what everyone took for granted on a daily basis was what Richard desperately envied until the day he died. Everybody wants to be like him, but nobody knows who he is inside, just like when I met this girl almost 6years ago.

As I was going to school then, I met this girl sitting in the back part of the seats reading her book about “how to win people’s heart?”. She appears to be like others, friendly, happy, and easy to get with, but I was wrong knowing her. Their Family was also rich, they have their own family car when she goes to school, and has a personal maid whenever she goes home in the afternoon. She never talked in front of everybody, she was a loner, she always brings with her that book. One morning, I tried to come over to her and ask some questions like, “do you have friends? Why don’t you go with the others? But I failed, she went away from me. As days goes by, I approached her one at a time so that she gets easy on me every time I get close to her. Later on, I started talking to her and got to know her I little bit deeper that before I first saw her. She shared to me everything she feels when at school, but what I discovered was she is alone even at home. In the morning when she wake up, her parents are not around because they have both work, and in the evening, they are still not their because of overtime, eating her dinner all alone, she was really mad on her parents and the world. She was a beautiful girl, demure, yet shy, but still I was able to help her with the sadness she keeps inside her. Nothing is permanent in this fast changing world, as they say.

When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...
And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life.

Beauty and the Beast: A Reflection

The Beauty and the Beast: A Reflection

            Between “once upon a time” and “happily ever after” lies a timeless, ever-changing world, where everything is possible and dreams do come true. 
            For centuries, the story of Beauty and the Beast has been known for its unique yet romantic tale that captured the tastes of the people. For a long time, the story has gone through the ages and went a long mile through countries making it one of the favorites of all time. The story revolves around the main characters of the story namely, Belle as Beauty, the Beast lover of Belle, Maurice father of Belle, Gaston the suitor of Belle who wanted to marry her.

           Beauty and the Beast" is one of the most beloved of all the fairy tales just because it contrasts goodness with badness in a way that is appealing to the imagination. It is also a story that depicts with special force the mystery of virtue itself. Virtue is the "magic" of the moral life for it often appears in the most unexpected persons and places and with surprising results. Here, Belle is always dignified, happy, highly modest, humble and subservient. She is, in brief, the ideal girl who's been raised right, but whose virtuous fidelity and self-denial, if not overthrown by some intrusive force, threaten to bottle her up in an emotional dead end. She has always been the favorite of her fellow villagers for her joyous aura that made her liked by everyone. " Because she is virtuous, Beauty is able to "see" the virtues in Beast that lie hidden beneath his monstrous appearance. On the other hand, the Beast is a gentleman and kind-hearted even though a curse transformed his appearance making him a scary beast. Their love story made the tale interesting and intriguing for the people, how would a beautiful girl love a monster? This now applies to the challenge that love does not see what is visible by our naked eye.

            This story teaches how to see the true self of the people around us, especially to the on we love the most. It conveys an idea of loving someone despite of his/her physical appearance, thus, love doesn’t use its bare eyes but the eyes of the heart.
           "Beauty and the Beast" teaches the simple but important lesson that appearances can be deceptive, that what is seen is not always what it appears to be. The story portrays the paradoxical truth that unless virtue is in a person she will not be able to find, appreciate, or embrace virtue in another. "Beauty and the Beast" embraces one last important moral truth: a person's decisions in life will define what kind of person she becomes. In this sense also our destinies are not fated: we decide our own destinies.

Literature Assignment "It couldn't be done"

Classroom Discussion inLiterature

To start off the class, prepare the learning environment by prayer and then let them first arrange their seats and be settled down. Then, throw some refresher by asking them what were the previous lessons tackled. After, present the topic of the day which is about “The Trojan War” that talks about the rich literature and history of ancient Greece. Provide pictures and let them describe and formulate ideas based on the photos that they are seeing. Next, start the discussion about the story of the Trojan War. After the discussion, let the class ask questions, then, group the class into 5 and provide them a piece of Cartolina each group. Let the group draw an illustration of what the symbolism of the short story. After, from each of the group, all the group members will describe what they have drawn in the Cartolina as long as their group is called in front. Finally, after the presentation in each of the group, I will give an Oral exam which talks about the topic of the day. Then end up the class by giving them assignments that gives the other literary pieces of Europe.