New Yorker Artwork

Artist: Norman Rockwell

Source: www.art.com

New Yorker Talk of the Town

MAN’S BEST FRIEND STRIKES AGAIN

Most children complain about having to take their dog for a walk, but to 8 year-old Owen Howkins, it’s a privilege. Owen lives in the UK, and suffers from a rare muscle condition called Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome. This condition causes Owen’s muscles to be tense almost all the time, which makes it hard for him to balance and walk. Owen’s story is documented in a short viral video by Jonna Mclver called “A Boy And His Dog”. According to his parents, when Owen started school he became extremely self-conscious of his appearance due to his condition because of the way the other children looked at him. This made Owen want to stay inside all the time so that others didn’t see him. This changed completely when he got his dog, Haatchi. Haatchi is an Anatolian shepherd dog who lost his tail and one of his back legs when he was tied to a railroad as a puppy and was hit by a train. He was later adopted by Owen’s parents and quickly became Owen’s best friend. In the viral video, Owen’s mother explains that the moment he met Haatchi, they had a special connection that they still have today.  The bond that he has with Owen is incredible. Haatchi not only encouraged Owen to go outside again after they met, he gave Owen the confidence to meet new people and talk about his dog to them. Haatchi has won many awards for the change he has made in Owen’s life, and he competes in dog shows that Owen also attends. The video “A Boy And His Dog” shows Owen and Haatchi winning the Crufts “Best Friends For Life” award, and also shows them in a photo shoot together. Haatchi has given Owen the confidence to tell his story by taking the attention off of Owen’s condition and putting it on to his. The story of these two best friends has become famous around the world and continues to amaze people as the meet the two brave boys and learn about their story. They are an inseparable pair that show just what can be accomplished when an incredible boy meets an extraordinary dog.

New Yorker Original Poem

Our Love

They never fight 

Always happy, 

Living in a happy world 

That's how it's supposed to be 

We're different 

Yelling and crying 

Figuring it all out 

Trying to put the broken pieces back together 

But they never show what they really feel

Ignoring all of the bad things 

Sacrificing it all for their perfect love 

How can they live like that? 

We're stronger 

Learning to forgive every day

For better or for worse means so much 

We're a team

Forget them! 

It doesn't have to make sense 

There is a reason that we're together 

I always come back to you 

 

Save the Sioux

April 30, 2014

President Barack Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, DC 20500

My name is Sofie Forde and I am a student at Scituate High School in Scituate, Massachusetts. I am writing on behalf of the hundreds of Native Americans who have been killed, wounded, and forced to live in terrible conditions on small reservations in the U.S. I want to spread awareness of what our country is doing to tribes like the Sioux and Lakotah indigenous people, and encourage the government to help them as well. We are supposed to be a loving and compassionate country that accepts all people, but instead we have chosen to push the Native Americans off of their land and into tiny reservations with extremely poor living conditions. I am asking that the government create regulations, laws and organizations to protect the Native Americans of the U.S. and finally be the loving and caring country we intend to be. We need to return the Sioux's land back to them and defeat the racism that divides them from the rest of the U.S. By showing them how loving our country can be towards them, we will be able to support them and gain their trust. By showing them love, we can establish connections with the people of the Lakotah tribes and help them rebuild their lives on the land they love. 

Since the early 1800's, and even before then, Native Americans like the Sioux tribe and the Lakotah indigenous people have been moved off of their very own land and onto reservations by the U.S. governement and people. They describe white men as "the ones who take the best part of the meat for themselves" because they are forced to live in terrible conditions while the white people of the U.S. are wealthy and well-off. In 1863, President Lincoln had 38 Sioux men killed after an uprising against the men trying to take their rightfully-owned land. In 1868, the Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed and guaranteed the ownership of the Black Hills to the Lakotah people. In 1874, the treaty was broken after gold was discovered in Lakotah territory. The chiefs of the tribes were defeated and thier reservations were split up and destroyed. In 1890, twenty U.S. soldiers were awarded medals of honor for killing chief Bigfoot and 300 prisoners of war in the Wounded Knee Massacre. Today, the people of the Lakotah tribes suffer from cancer, alcoholism, domestic violent, high drop-out rates, and the highest a infant mortality rate on the continent.

I hope that you share my concern for these innocent people and plan to take action in the Lakotah area. We need to make it a priority to love and support the Native American tribes in any way we can. If we do not make people aware of their situation and initiate change in the lives of these tribes, they could potentially disappear forever. These humans are suffering and should be shown the love they deserve from their country. We are taking away the only thing they love- their land- and we can make it up to the tribes by returning what we have taken, and showing them the love and respect all people want in life. Please help as soon as possible; before it is too late to end this hidden cultural genocide.

Sincerely,

Sofie Forde

All you need is love

For my final project I have decided to use the topic of love to explain what humans need in order to live a fulfilling life through my issue of The New Yorker. I want to use the topic of love because I think that it is the most important thing that all humans need to survive. Without love we would not be able to establish the important connections with others that we need to be happy. These connections make us feel like we belong with a person or certain group of people, such as family or friends, and give us a sense of identity. Loving others and being loved gives us confidence and is an important part of our mental health. Our loved ones create a support system for us and life would be really hard without that system to help us succeed. Love can be seen in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD as Jem looks after Scout and protects her, and as Atticus passes his knowledge and wisdom down to Jem and protects his children as best as he can. It can also be seen in THE HELP as Aibileen does all she can to give Mae Mobley confidence and empathy she needs to grow up and be a successful, kind person. She loves her and puts Mae Mobley's needs before her own. It is shown in ROMEO AND JULIET because the two teens are willing to die if they can't express their love for each other, and in OF MICE AND MEN as George looks after Lennie even though he doesn't have to. Furthermore, the way that the members of the Younger family support each other in A RAISIN IN THE SUN shows how important it is to have loved ones support us when we are going through hard times. Finally, the friendly love that Finny and Gene have for each other in A SEPARATE PEACE drives them to help and support each other and achieve their personal goals. All of these works show the importance of love and why it is necessary for us to live a happy and fulfilling life. 

OPTICS Painting

O: This painting is of two women walking in a garden, and a little boy who is sitting near a lunch table. 

P: -woman in white dress walking

    -woman in beige dress walking with

     her 

    -several flower bushes and trees

    -little boy in sun hat building something 

    -fruit, bread, and wine on a table

    -sun hat with ribbon hanging from tree

    -fence leaning up against bushes 

    -house with old windows in 

     background 

T: The name of the painting is Luncheon and it is by Claude Monet.

I: -the flowers and fruit/food show nature 

    -the little boy and the table with eaten food are abandoned/outsiders 

    -the two women and the sun hat are       elegant/show beauty 

C: The artist is trying to show that the simplest things in life can also be the most beautiful. 

S: What is the nature of love?

       -Love is simple and does not have to be complex or difficult. 

Act 4 Connection

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2254698/A-world-British-banker-donates-TWO-vital-organs--lung-kidney--save-life-childhood-sweetheart.html

This article is about a 39 year-old man named David Whaymand who donated part of his lung and a kidney to his 42 year-old wife,Carolyn,to save her life. Carolyn was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and was told that the only chance for her to live was to receive a successful lung transplant. David was willing to do anything for her survival and donated part of his lung to her. Carolyn lived without any serious health issues for 13 more years, and after doctors told her that she needed a kidney to survive David gave her that too. David says that he is prepared to donate to her again if he needs to (he does have limits- the only thing he has left to give her as a live donor is his liver). He says that he loves  her and is willing to do anything for her to live, and Carolyn is very gracious for what he has done for her.  

People will risk death in the name of love, as shown through David's donations to Carolyn.  For example, when the writer explains the risk that David took to give Carolyn part of his lung he writes, "The pioneering surgery, carried out by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, one of the world's leading  transplant surgeons, was hugely controversial because so many patients had died during previous procedures" (Macfarlane). This shows that people will risk death in the name of love because David knew that he or Carolyn could die if the procedure did not work, but he risked his life to save Carolyn with the hope that they would be able to live the rest of their lives with each other. He wanted Carolyn to be able to live a healthy and happy life because he loves her so much, and was willing to risk death because of this love. Also, when the author writes about the kidney transplant that David gave Carolyn he explains, "Doctors and transplant experts say there are no known cases in which a living donor has given up two organs. This is due to the serious risks of such surgery" (Macfarlane). This proves that people will risk death in the name of love because this time David had an even higher risk of death because it was his second time donating to his wife, but he did it anyway because he loves Carolyn so much that he would die for her to live through her disease. David and Carolyn's story shows that people are willing to die for love.