English Short Story

“Ahhhh!”  she screamed, trying to escape from the oppressive walls.  Help me!” Nobody came. Holly tried to run but her legs were paralysed, rooted to the ground. She was shaking, her face turning green as she began to feel sick. The monster knew this. He thrived off her fear, feeding from the raw emotions emanating from her. Shuffling slowly from the corner that it had been secreted in, it crept up on Holly watching her like a lion surveying its prey. Holly was shaking, her heart thumping against her chest, like a caged beast trying to break free. The black hairy body lurched towards her leaning against the stark white walls of the kitchen. Black pincers clicked at her, moistening with droplets of venom, ready to attack. Thousands of miniscule beady eyes glistened at her, viewing her from every angle like a dozen magnifying glasses. Holly could see every bristle on its legs. Sweat beads trickled down her forehead mixing with her brow. She really wanted to wipe it away, but she knew that breaking her concentration for just a second could prove critical. Tears streamed down her face. Holly could taste the moist salty dew against her lips as the tears ran off her nose.

“Someone, help, PLEASE!”, she squealed again. Her voice was beginning to get hoarse from her feeble yells and her sobbing sounded incessant and whiny, even to her own ears. Her top was beginning to get soggy from all of the tears that were trickling down her chin. The monster approached her steadily, taunting her, laughing at her pitiful excuse for self defense. She could hear the click click sound it made against the tile flooring, echoing against the walls like a typewriter from bygone days. She jumped up onto the counter, the marble cooling her thighs. Holly grabbed a  wooden spoon  from the stand beside her. It was rough against her hand and her grip on it was so tight that she could feel it splintering into her hand. She waved the spoon in front of her face in an attempt to defend herself. Nothing could save her, though, the beast was honing in it’s target. It stopped just inches away from her, leaning back on it’s haunches waiting for her to flee. The creature was taunting her into believing that she had a reprieve. It was as if he was tricking her into believing she had the chance to flee although she knew that was hopeless- he always found her.

Holly was beginning to feel faint- her palms getting clammy and her head was starting to feel heavy. She slammed her hands down against the counter, catapulting a knife through the air. It flew across the kitchen and clattered against the floor. The spider, spooked by the sound scuttled back into the corner of the room, seeking refuge under the desk that stood there. Holly breathed a huge sigh of relief, slumping against the counter as all her muscles relaxed. She knew that her beast was only gone for now and would live to fight another day, but she knew that next time, she would be prepared with a glass in hand to entrap the creature of her nightmares.

 

 

 

Essay comparing Kabul to present day Ireland

Compare the world (cultural context) of Ireland today to Kabul in the opening chapters of “The Kite Runner”

In 1970s Kabul, the society is racist and bigoted contrasting greatly with culturally and racially inclusive modern Ireland.

        The society of Kabul has a very patriarchal hierarchy with males seen as the leaders and people in charge of women’s fates. When Assef talks about is mother, he refers to her as if she is the one that follows his orders, despite the fact that he is still only a young child, “He sounds like my mother, and she’s German; she should know better”. From his tone and the language he uses, it is evident that he feels superior to his mother and that her opinion has no value.

        Kabul is a very prejudiced and segregated community, with a deep divide in it between the main cultures, Pashtun and Hazara, and the two religions, Sunni and Shi’a. Children seem to be brought up believing that the two cultures will never be equal and that Hazaras shall always be slaves to the Pashtuns. This is evident when Amir discusses the friendship he has with his servant, Hassan, ” History isn’t an easy thing to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was a Sunni and he was a Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that.” Amir also talks of how Hassan’s illiteracy had been decided from birth. He speaks of it as though nothing else should be expected from a Hazara servant, ” That Hassan would grow up illiterate like Ali and most Hazaras had been decided the minute he had been born, perhaps even the moment he had been conceived.” Today, all people are encouraged to learn ow to read and write in every and culture and the ability is an important facet of life.

          One similarity between Ireland and Kabul is the uneven distribution of wealth and the perception of people based solely upon their wealth. Although Baba and Ali lived on the same estate, their living quarters were completely different with Baba owning a mansion and Ali only able to afford little more than a shack, ” A broad entryway flanked by rosebushes led to the sprawling house of marble floors and wide windows… I went past the rosebushes to Baba’s mansion, Hassan to the mud shack where he had been born.” This uneven distribution of money and wealth is still visible today, particularly in cities such as Dublin. Here, homeless people reside in the shadows of rich and decadent family homes.

            As well as being a prejudiced society, it is religiously divided. People of the Shi’a religion are insulted and maltreated. This can be seen when Assef addresses Hassan, ” Hey, you flat-nosed Babalu, who did you eat today? Tell us you slant-eyed donkey” Ireland of today is inclusive of other religions and does not single out or mock other religions. It aims to be religiously inclusive and multicultural.

            The Ireland of today is altogether a more inclusive society to the Kabul painted in the opening chapters of “The Kite Runner”. However, both societies struggle with the division of wealth and how people are perceived due to their wealth and status.

 

The Kite Runner

For English, we are reading the book “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Housseini. The book follows the life of a young Afghan boy called Amir and how he learns about the social divides in life between Sunni and Shi’a as well as between Pashtun and Hazara. He is friends with his servant Hassan, yet when Hassan is assaulted and Amir does nothing to help, they quickly become divided from each other. When the Russians invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father, Baba, flee to America. There, they live a content life selling things every weekend at the local flea market. Amir meets his future wife there, Soraya, the daughter of a former Afghanistan general. Amir gains his career in America as a writer. One day, he gets a call from Rahim Khan, his father’s former business partner to come back to Afghanistan to help Hassan’s son, Sohrab. He eventually finds him and learns some horrible truths and facts along the way. He meets people that he never thought he’d see again and learn what happened to Kabul, his home place, as well as the people there after he left and the Taliban arrived. I really enjoyed this book as I thought it held suspense as well as telling the story of life in Afghanistan before the Taliban arrived. The book is great for people who enjoy reading about history and conflict. I would recommend this book to anyone older than around thirteen as there is some more violent and upsetting imagery. We also watched the film which was great as it really depicted what the book described and all the characters were as I imagined them.

The Ireland of the present is not a disappointment to the past

On the week at the end of September and beginning of October TY4 had to split into groups and do one of two debates; “Ireland of the present is a disappointment to the past” and “The First World is responsible for Third World problems”. My team was me, Joe Stitt, Robbie Ryan and Robbie Kelly. We had to argue that the Ireland of the present is not a disappointment to the past. My speech was this (without rebuttals):

Chairperson, adjudicators, members of the proposition, classmates, I will prove to you that the Ireland of the present is not a disappointment to the past. Had you been around 70 years ago would you not be proud of the educational and corporate advances that have occurred in this country? In 1971 the number of full time students was 136,900 compared to a 1996 study which found that 339.600 students were in full time education. In the past very few people went to secondary school and university and of them only a small percentage were females. Now there is a high percentage of people going to school with 27% of the population in full time education. As you are an intelligent audience I’m sure you agree with me when I say that with good education comes a better workforce, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Our education system is ranked 11th in the world just below countries such as the UK and America. Schools are also more culturally inclusive with the church’s influence over schools diminishing. Other religions are learned about and schools are more culturally diverse. You may argue that this means that the Irish tradition and heritage diminishes however I feel this only highlights the importance of faith as well as creating a more culturally diverse country. The literary and graduation rates in Ireland are also 5th in the world. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” and Ireland’s educational system highlights this.

Ireland also has one of the lowest corporate tax rates at 12.5% second only to Switzerland at 8.5%. This attracts many foreign multinational companies who set up bases in Ireland such as Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. If you have studied business studies you will know this creates economic growth and lowers inflation as well as creating jobs. More than 13,000 jobs were created by multinational companies in Ireland in 2011. Would our ancestors not be proud of these advances and achievements? I hope I have proved to you that the Ireland of the present is not a disappointment to the past. Thankyou.