"The Twelve"

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Theme is Key

Paton found a great way to incorporate theme into the novel. Three of the biggest themes that have been stressed in the novel was trust in family, fear of the unknown, and power of religion. The story really pulls many different messages for the readers. The book goes beyond just entertainment. It pushes to help people see what has happened so that maybe it can avoided in the future. 

Having a strong family support system is key. When everything fails it is always good to have family to turn to. For a son sometimes his father is the best person to turn to when in need. Kamola does not leave his son alone when Absolom is at his weakest: "Still kneeling, the father took his son's hands, and they were not lifeless any more, but clung to his, seeking some comfort, some assurance. And the old man held them more strongly, and said again, be of good courage, my son(241)." When you fall emotionally or physically family should always be the main people you trust to help you up again. 

Fear of something different really affected the novel. Natives and white from the story didn't know how to feel about things they didn't know. 

Change in segregation scared them because they were so use to degrading each other that it was all they knew. "But most white men do not know this truth about power, and they are afraid lest we get it (70)." Even though change is what was greatly needed people still feared it too much to let it happen. 

Religion can be life changing. When you choose to live for God then you live better as Paton shows when the first sign or trust Kumalo received was from a Christian: "This is Mr. Mafolo, one of our big business men, and a good son of the Church (50)." Without God many people find themselves struggling as they try to depend solely on themselves. The more successful people in the novel are Christians. They seem happier and also don't have to deal with as much crime and fear. 

The themes shown in this novel are a big part of the storyline. Paton gets many points across without taking away from the entertainment by using theme. He shows that with family behind you then anything is possible. He also shows by believing in God and not fearing change a better society is possible in South Africa.

Dessert Delight

2 Cans of crescent rolls 2 8oz packages of cream cheese 1 cup of sugar 1/2 stick of mangerine -Spray 9x13 pan -Unroll and press out crescent rolls for bottom layer -Mix cream chesse and sugar until smooth and spread over bottom layer -Unroll and press out other can of crescent rolls for top layer -Melt stick of mangerine and pour on top layer -Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar to taste -Bake at 350 degree for 25 minutes Start by spraying the pan and preheating the oven. Unroll the crescent rolls for the bottom layer and press it down. We always enjoyed pressing the crescent rolls into the pan and feeling it get squashy between our fingers. My sister and I would sing along to whatever played on the radio. The dessert was usually made around Christmas, so we sang Christmas songs. My mother would always come in the kitchen with us and say, "you two sound like a cat dying." My sister would t hen reply with, "like you can do any better" causing my mother to have to start singing in attempt to out do us. The dessert was passed down to us from one of our old neighbors who moved away to go on a missionary trip with her church. Mrs. Amy Benson had two kids yet she still had time to treat me and my sister like we were hers also. She use to invite us over every Wednesday while my mother and her husband went to night college. She would always make sure we were well feed and had a great dessert with it! She would always say, "dinner isn't the same without an unhealthy dessert." Mix cream cheese and sugar and appply on top of bottom layer. Unroll and spread out crescent roll for top layer. After completing the top layer, to finish it off you should sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Don't forget to melt and pour mangerine on the top layer. Bake for 25 minutes. I'm always in charge of applying the cinnamon and sugar. The food always is sweet but sometimes a little too sweet. It's always diffucult to serve it to big groups. My grandmother and aunt say "It's way too sweet." My mother and sister say "Taste amazing. Great job!" My cousins then make it more confusing by saying "Can we add more sugar?" After it is all finished cooking and we enjoy it as a family after a nice dinner, I am usually found in my room enjoying a great Sprint Cup race of NASCAR or some other sport. While watching NASCAR I always think of Audi who despises the sport and I talk to her about Alyssa who is three years old and Addison who is not even a month yet. This dessert never fails to remind me of them three. They are just as apart of it as the actual food. Food brings my family together and makes us all happy. My grandmother use to always say, "Nothing like a good homemade meal to bring a smile to an old lady's heart." As great as the food always taste the cleaning up is terrible!

A Man of Great Interest

How would you react to pulling out a dead body from the water? The village from the story seemed to be used to it. What would surprise and most likely bother us was just an every day thing to them. I was left upset, confused, and happy all within the span of time it took me to read the short story. It took many different twist which left me with many questions. The women are what mainly upset me. They fantasized and connected with the corpse. It goes to show that looks can go a long way. If the man was ugly would they still wonder so much about him? Also why would they even compare him to their husbands. They should be grateful their husbands are alive and working hard to find this man's village. They mentioned many times the name Esteban. I didn't understand why that name was so important. Who was this great Esteban? I assumed he was an older man who was very known because the older lady remembered him. This part completely threw me off for the whole story. Even through the anger and confusion I was quite delighted to read how lovely the funeral was. They worked very hard to prepare the man to get thrown off the cliff. Different villages brought many flowers for the great man. The ladies helped very much as the men did the heavy parts. The men even noticed how special the big man was. This short story gave off several different feelings. I found myself being very upset with how the ladies acted when the men weren't around. I was also confused by the significance of the name Esteban. The happiness of the story came from the celebration they had for the man departure. Altogether this was a lovely story.

Some Things Don't Change

Many laws have been made against being prejudice, but has this stopped people from judging others for things they can't help? Many groups have been put through the harsh times of being unrightfully judged. African Americans and Jews are the most known races to experience prejudice actions. I read the novel Night and it opened my eyes to things going on in the world right now. In the novel Night Jewish people are killed due to things they can't control. It is extremely unfair and cruel. I made the connection to the Trayvon Martin homicide. He was also unfairly killed due to him being African American. The same prejudice actions that were going on years ago is still present today. Also in the novel Night Jews got wrongly treated by the Nazis. I made the connect with our world by how gays are treated wrongly too. Homosexual people are looked down upon by their choice of love just as Jews were looked down because of their choice of religion. Society continues to find ways to tell us what's wrong and right. What happened to freedom of choice? Night is an amazing novel that brings up problems we still have today. If we can not get past prejudice slurs and actions then we can not grow as a whole. Whether we have several laws against it or not if we don't stand up and stop it then it will continue to happen. The same things that happened to the people years ago is happening now. What can we do to change it?