Ode to Paco

Ode to Paco

White fur

like cotton fluff

or sweet vanilla sprinkles.

The eyes of a teddy bear,

two black beads

burning with a passion

that only I can see.

A reflection into my own existence,

because I shared so much of it

with you,

an entire life we spent together.

Nights that lasted an eternity,

open-eyed,

accompanied by you.

The face of a smiling teddy bear,

clutched in my arms,

illuminated by the moonlight

that seeped through curtained windows

of my bedroom.

You were

fending away my nightmares.

Worn and weary

from the countless hugs

of a once toddler

who needed your companionship.

The presence of a teddy bear,

a friend

forever.

love you Paco!

Baba's Redemption

This image demonstrates how Baba tries to redeem himself through good actions. After he betrays Ali, Baba feels guilt and dishonor, and helps others in an attempt to make up for this. First, the stones on the ground represent Baba's good acts, such as donating to the poor or building an orphanage. He uses these as an attempt to rebuild himself in addition to helping others. He tries to reclaim his honor through helping others, and with each action, big or small, he places another stone. Over time, he is able to almost cover the area, meaning he is close to redemption. However, he is never able to entirely fill in all the gaps between the stones. This represents how there are still chinks in the new armor Baba has built for himself and how his guilt will always be with him no matter how many stones he places. The benches represent how much Baba truly relies on his honor and reputation in this way. He rests upon his good acts, the only thing that stops him from seeing himself as a bad person. However, the cracks prevent him from ever feeling truly stable. As a result, he constantly tries to do more good, attempting to further stabilize the ground and his bench. Baba brought himself great dishonor with his previous actions, something he is constantly trying to make up for. This continuous struggle to make up for his bad by doing good allows him to redeem himself enough to at least have stable ground.

The Inequalities Within the AIDS Epidemic

The Inequalities Within the AIDS Epidemic

1980. Nearly 16,000 people have died of AIDS in America, before President Reagan had even said the word AIDS to the public, or even acknowledged its existence. For many years in America and other developed countries, AIDS was a source of discrimination and an invisible, ignored source of suffering. While much progress has been made, even today, however, in Southern Africa, more than 2.7 million young people are still living with AIDS. The World Health Organization estimates that AIDS remains the largest source of deaths in Africa.

Within this larger issue of AIDS in Africa, more troubling factors come into play, skewing the effect that AIDS has on people of various genders, ages, and wealth. This results in an asymmetrical, disproportionate impact, with certain groups of people more likely to be affected by AIDS than others. Younger women, around adolescence, for example, face substantially higher rates of HIV infection. UNICEF found that the HIV prevalence in young women, aged 15 to 24, is two times higher than among men of the same age. PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, estimates that 7,000 young women are infected with AIDS each week (DeCapua). While research is still being done as to why this occurs, factors may include the inability to access forms of STD-prevention, such as condoms, and a lack of gender-specific education on AIDS prevention (UNICEF). Beyond gender and age, external factors such as poverty also affect the rate of HIV transmission.

In areas of poverty, where many people face already worse living conditions and neglect, HIV/AIDS infection runs rampant. Multiple studies, mathematically analyzed by the University of Hull, show that the urban poor do see a disadvantage when facing HIV. Detriments that already manifest themselves within people of poverty: unemployment, discrimination, violence, and crime, seem to further contribute to this disproportionate spread of AIDS. However, this trend seemed only to apply to those in urban areas, not rural. The Institute for Futures Studies believes that this is due to a lack of social cohesion in urban settings. This social cohesion, missing in these urban African communities, is important for establishing norms and building relationships with trust, which would prevent an excessive transmission of HIV (Magadi).

While 69% of all AIDS infections are located in sub-Saharan Africa alone, this disease is not just an epidemic to be measured merely by a death toll or some other gigantic aggregating statistic, it is also a disease of inequality (Gordimer). Overall, there are multiple layers to consider when facing the AIDS epidemic. The issue of HIV/AIDS infection goes deeper, closely relating itself to the pre-existing social conditions within Africa. Issues of poverty, gender, and even a lack of education, result in a disproportionate rate of infection.

Works Cited:

DeCapua, Joe. "PEPFAR: Young Women Bear HIV Burden." Voice of America. 30 Apr. 
2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

Gordimer, Nadine. "Africa's Plague, and Everyone's. (69% of World's AIDS and H.I.V. 
Victims Are in Sub-Saharan Africa)." Global Issues in Context. New York Times, 
11 Apr. 2000. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.  

Grillot, Suzette, and Brian Hardzinski. "Anthropologist Adia Benton Explains Evolving

Response, Attitude Toward HIV/AIDS In Africa." KGOU. 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 04 
Mar. 2016.

Magadi, Monico A. "The Disproportionate High Risk of HIV Infection And the Urban 
Poor in Sub-Saharan Africa." AIDS and Behavior 17.5 (2013): 1-11. SpringerLink. 
The Author(s), 4 June 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.

"Preventing HIV Infection among Adolescents and Young People." UNICEF Eastern and

Southern Africa. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

Hidden Treasure

Sijie uses the symbol of the suitcase to express Luo’s and the narrator’s desire, yet previous inability to educate themselves. They constantly try to persuade Four Eyes to share the contents of his secret suitcase, but he always refuses, until Luo and the narrator decide to steal it themselves. This interaction with the suitcase represents Coming of Age because they yearn to take control of their education and future, but their plans are hindered by the Cultural Revolution. The narrator indulges in the book written by Balzac and falls in love with the idea of literature and storytelling. The suitcase full of books represents hidden treasure that brings them longing and desire, before turning into joy and fulfillment like treasure but was formerly unattainable.

“‘Are you weeping tears of joy?’ I said.

‘No, all I feel is loathing.’

‘Me too, loathing for everyone who kept these books from us’’” (99).

“We were beside ourselves. My head reeled, as if I’d had too much to drink. I took the novels out of the suitcase one by one, opened them, studied the portraits of the authors, and passed them on to Luo. Brushing them with the tips of my fingers made me feel as if my pale hands were in touch with human lives” (99).

Eternal Tao

The Tao is infinite, beyond comprehension.

The Tao is eternal while language is limited.

To express the Tao is to limit what cannot be limited.

To express the Tao is to contain the roaring waterfall.

It is impossible

because the Tao is constantly changing, constantly expanding.

The Tao comes before all things.

Only with the Tao can all things come.

The Tao defines the universe and all life.

The tree can never revert to a seed,

because the seed came before.

Words and names can never capture the Tao,

because the Tao came before.

Life is within the Tao.

There is the yin and there is yang.

There is happiness, and there is sadness.

There is life and there is death.

Life is the conflict and the harmony between all things,

a flickering representation of the Tao.

The Tao represents balance, an equilibrium of all things.

The Tao represents what is before, above, beyond life.

The Tao is the infinite that can never be captured by the finite of life.

Life is the reflection of the Tao.

The Tao simply is.

Human Backgrounds Affecting Perspective