Cherished Item

If my house was caught on fire, and I only have the time to run in and save one item of mine, I would go in and save wallet. You might immediately thought about the money that I would want to save, but actually, its not about the money. In my wallet, I don't just keep my cash in there, I also keep cards of stores, coupons, or gift certificates. And the most important one, some photos of my family. I keep small photos of my family in my wallet for...some reason that I'm not even sure of. By keeping a photo of my family in my wallet just let me feel secure at all times perhaps..? Since everything is going to get burnt down, why not save something that means more than the others? Of course, your never going to spend all your time with your parents. It might be because of school, or even situations where you don't want to be. With photos like this, this can be one way to prevent you from missing them. Why I kept the photos in my wallet? Since my wallet is one of my things that I would be carrying whenever I go. I would always have it with me, and it had also became a habit. This way, I would always have the photos with me.

Which Ghost Affected Scrooge the Most?

In the novel, A Christmas Carol, there were a total of three ghost from the Christmas past that had visited Scrooge after the ghost of Marley has warned him. To me, the third and the final ghost has the most impact on Scrooge. Since when the third ghost showed Scrooge what would happen to him if he continues to act the way he was. When the ghost took Scrooge, it first took Scrooge to a London Stock Exchange, where a group of men were talking about the death of a rich man. Scrooge was then very desperate to know the identity of the dead man. The ghost then took him to a grave yard, in front of a grave stone. On the stone, it says EBENEZER SCROOGE. Scrooge was horrified by what he had saw with his own eyes. He then begs the ghost to redo what he had done, and promised that he would act the way he should be. To honor Christmas the way he should. Everyone would be afraid when they see their own death, and if they were given a second chance, of course they would take it. It's a second chance for your life! This was why I believed that the third ghost has affected Scrooge the most.

The Victorian Workhouse

In the 1800s, people who were poor could barely afford their own food and clothing. Workhouses contained people who were poor and had no jobs. There are also orphans, elders, and people who were physically and mentally sick or disabled. Usually workhouses were often large and feared by the poor and the old. Since non of them would want to be in them. The main purpose of a workhouse is to provide a place to live, work, and earn money for the poor. With free medical care, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a free education for children, also trainings for a job. What I found was surprising to me was that, in workhouses, almost everything that will be needed was onsite. Things like chapels, bakeries, laundries, and even small farms can be found onsite. Even though these things that were provided might make you believe that workhouses were not so bad at all, but the quality of these things are not as good as what you may think. In workhouses, families were spilt up and would be punished if they even try to speak to each other. Educations in workhouses were not the best at all, children who were in them were not educated on how to read and to write, which were two important skills for a person to have. Also, children may be sold to other factories or mines unexpectedly.
In the novel, A Christmas Carol, Scrooge might have not understood how people felt in workhouses. Scrooge has not yet experienced the state of being poor. Since he has all the money that he needed, he did not even bother to care about them.

Theme of Exile and Liberty

The theme of the story Liberty is that some sacrifices are needed in order to get better things. In the story, the narrator got a dog named Liberty, she loves the dog very much. In the same time, her family was trying to get visas so they could move to the States and have a better life. On the night when they were about to leave for the States, the narrator wanted to bring Liberty with her, but sadly, her parents refused and said we have to keep her here. One of her family members told him that, "you will get her back when you get there". Since her dog's name is Liberty, her family member was trying to say that you will get liberty, or freedom when you get there. She got freedom by giving up Liberty, which supported the theme of this story. Sacrifices are needed in order to get better things.
The them of the story Exile is somewhat similar to the theme of Liberty, both stories are talking about a family immigrating to another country, which is the United States. Both of these stories can have the same theme, where sacrifices are needed in order for better things to come true. The family in Exile, had to leave their homeland and move to a place where is meant to be better, but confusing to them at first. Since everything is different.