Wuthering Heights Journal #1

In the past week, we ventured through the classic novel of Wuthering Heights to reveal more than just the classical love story, but the history of the character of Heathcliff. As a group, Heathcliff revealed to us the why to his actions and the how to his ways. Ontop of that, the discussion led to how a person was regarded in a society and how others treat them directly influences the character of that person.
Wuthering Heights begins with a very hard beginning and leaves the reader confused. Mr. Lockwood visits the Earnshaw home at Wuthering Heights and experiences more than the typical visit. The hostile hosts react aggressively to his new presence. Not only does Mr. Lockwood experience a failure of an escape, but he is captured by the dream of the mistress of the house, Catherine, which he stayed in for the night. This dream and the reaction of Heathcliff raises questions within Mr. Lockwood. Soon, he turns to the Nelly, the trusted maid of the household to recount the details of her time at the residence.
Although not even half into the book, a lot of the characteristics of Heathcliff is revealed. He started off as an abandoned boy which was taken in the by Earnshaw family. Although many members did not warm up to them at first, he was eventually accepted by the immediate family of Wuthering Heights, almost all the members. Hindley, his adopted older brother had other thoughts while Catherine cuddled up to Heathcliff.
One of the things we discussed about the book was how a child can easily be influenced. Because Hindley referred to Heathcliff as the "gipsy child" and as the "imp of Satan", Heathcliff saw how others viewed him and that gave him almost an approval in his subconscious to his actions being less than pleasant to others. After Hindley got married, Catherine, Heathcliff's best friend and adopted sister, went to live at their aunt and uncle's residence for five weeks, which changed her from a girl to more of a lady. When she returned, Heathcliff saw an instant change as she grew up and matured while he did not have such opportunities or learnings as he was despised by other relatives and Hindley. Because Catherine had 'forsaken' him, he subconsciously gave up on even trying to present himself favourable to others, thus giving up on daily necessities such as baths and grooming habits. His "personal appearance sympathised with mental deterioration" thus he developed an overall gloomy appearance.
Due to his reliance on Catherine for companionship, he gave himself to the complete submission of her judgement. Once that was taken away from him, he abandoned all hope for himself ever to be an important part of society, or a member at all as he slipped into gloom. The unknown love from Catherine to Heathcliff hints to play an important role as the book progresses, but all we know at the moment that Heathcliff did not have a healthy childhood which led directly to his present character.

Rwandan Genocide Summative

Dear Writers,

             As you might expect, my daughter has recently informed me that you are in need of personal information concerning the Rwandan Genocide. Although the memories are hard to relive, they are forever engraved in my memory. Many have suggested two already made films, Hotel Rwanda and Shake Hands with the Devil, trying to recapture the events and now I can testify it is no worse than it was portrayed in the media. As well, to my surprise, my family and I found ourselves in a similar situation as those of the refugees forced to seek aid at the hotel.

            As you know, I am a surviving Tutsi living comfortably in North America. At the time of the genocide, I was but a mere teenager. Everything had happened abruptly and before I knew what was happening, my parents rushed us to a hotel to seek protection. They never told me and my siblings why, but only that we needed to. Many years later, I had found out that our beloved neighbours were partaking in the activities of Hutu Power. Like the portrayal of the event in Hotel Rwanda, there were constant radio broadcasts to encourage the Hutu Power. It was not broadcasted in the hotel, but we have all heard pieces here and there. Every day was a struggle to survive and a constant, but finite countdown was on our subconscious, waiting for the day they would realize that this hotel had become a refugee camp.

          Fear struck everywhere, whether it was the rumours of the number of Tutsis being killed or the advances of the Hutu military-wise. As both the features portrayed, the UN was not helping and constantly withdrawing men. Pardon me, the West was constantly withdrawing men. The village became a nightmare and the roads graveyards for the deceased. Saying many died would be an understatement.

         Something I couldn't help noticing in the films was how different they are. Shake Hands with the Devil was completely from the view of General Romeo Dallaire and the UN. It emphasized on Dallaire single-handedly trying to save the Tutsis even if he had to going against the orders of those more powerful than him. Dallaire showed how he gave away everything in hope to save those that were utterly helpless. The creator of the movie used every way possible to describe the mood of the situation, even from the view of the UN. It made me realize, as a survivor of the situation, that the UN did try to help, or General Dallaire, who did everything he could to get aid from the rest of the world, even when no help is being presented. It showed me a new perspective of what the UN tried to do for us, but it also presented a bias that emphasized how everyone decided to abandon Dallaire in Rwanda for their gain. No one was willing to lose more than they would gain which was the reason why they retreated all the troops there to help the UN. Something that I could see as a contradiction in the movie included how although the world was in search of peace, many people of power were demanding of lowering costs and retrieving troops from Rwanda. As well as how the government was shown was surprising, because we all know that the government is known to protect its people, was standing back and watching the killing, if not secretly contributing to the Hutu forces. Another factor that was noticed was how the guards chosen to guard the building the UN resided in could barely hold guns. This showed how the UN was truly for peace and not in search of war, but then their safety was put in the hands of these 'guards.' An ironic factor that really affected me personally was how little social differenced there was between the Hutus and the Tutsis, even as a survivor of this ordeal. Another factor that affected the situation is how the West decided to retrieve troops as the situation proceeded and the death count grew. The logic and quality of the evidence is there and comprehendible and it also helps with understanding the situation so overall, this film really opened my eyes.

        Hotel Rwanda is another case, as I can personally relate to it much more than Shake Hands with the Devil. As I was in a similar situation, this movie really touched something within me that I did not realized before. As well, having watched the two movies, it opened my eyes to new light of exactly what was happening within the beautiful country of Rwanda. The movie starts and remains in a light warm setting that is filled with sun and beautiful vegetation like that of my home, even when all these horrible things were happening. How the evidence was chosen to be represented contradicted with the evidence itself as it was on two on of the same spectre. The fact was that innocent people, including children were being killed just for the fact of who they were and yet the sun is still shining and the trees are still green. The mood of the movie did not reflect what was happening. Yes, I do remember the sun always shining and the flowers blooming with beauty, but the mood of the people around me was nowhere to the one shown in the movie. The perspective of this one personally affected me strongly as I was put in a similar situation, the situation that of a citizen inside the rebellion itself even though this movie emphasizes strongly on a Hutu trying to protect his family and his wife, who is a Tutsi. A contradiction that showed itself was how Paul, the manager of the hotel, had to bribe the government in order have someone to protect them, which also connects to the role of the government in Shake Hands with the Devil. Another contradiction presented how General Dallaire, even though he was fighting for the cause of keeping the Tutsis safe, told Paul that he was dirt. Even though he was the one that people looked to for hope, he was the one revealing the reality of what others thought about the whole situation. Exaggerations and likely distortions presented may include how rashly the Hutus acted and how ruthless they were in their decisions.  The social factors present include the ever going broadcasting of encouragement of Hutu power that truly empowered the Hutus and gave them indirect orders as well, but apart from that, both movies share similar factors. I couldn’t help but notice how in this movie, even when the perspective is different, they still showed how Rwanda seemed abandoned by the outside world as it does in the other movie. Romeo Dallaire is present in both and plays a crucial role in both, but his position did not change at all and the position of the West did not change at all. It felt like the media was trying to tell everyone that the world did not bother to send men to initiate peace but rather, they looked at it as “another African mess.”

                So I ask myself, why I felt that these two movies were ever so important to tell you my own story.  The answer concerns more than just an individual. It is for culture that I will tell you my story. It is for my children and their children that I share this information. Why? Because it is a hardship that we, as a people, overcame. It is a hardship that is forever engraved in history, if not our hearts. And it will not be forgotten or ever overlooked because it is an event that showed our weakness, the weakness of human beings. Experts look back at it and humanitarians and mothers and fathers as well. It will be looked back a dark time in our history as a species, but it is nonetheless part of history. So I tell this story for the legacy, for the experience, not to relive the pain, sorrow and suffering of others.

Angelique Mugisha