Theatre of the Oppressed (Theatre as a political voice)

“Theatre of the Oppressed”, is a method developed by Augusto Boal (shown on the left-hand corner), who encouraged his actors to portray a situation when one person is dominated by the monologue of another and has no chance to reply. This is a tool to express themselves and discover a way out of their powerlessness. In Invisible Theatre, the separation between the performer and the observer is removed. Moreover, in this system, the observer may not be aware that what they experience is a theatrical event. The aim of the performers is to disguise the theatrical reality as actual reality in order to provoke responses from those who witness the performance and to bring attention to a social problem for the purpose of stimulating public dialogue. To send a message across explicitly to the targeted audience, my partner and I decided that invisible theatre was appropriate to the theme of a social issue we have chosen that is quite familiar to many of the students in TCIS.

Discrimination against foreigners and Third Culture Kids was a topic that my partner and I have chosen, because we had a strong attachment to it and were confident to perform in public. During APAC Theatre Festival in Seoul, our home stay daughter took my roommate and myself to downtown with her friends. On our way to the bus stop, we came across to a group of men who seemed to have finished their dinner in the restaurant. They looked a bit drunk, but we didn’t care because it was a common scenery to encounter at night. As we passed by conversing to each other in English, a man from the group shouted, “If you are in Korea then speak the language. Hey you, speak Korean!” Our group looked at the man and was perplexed by the gibberish they were hearing, except my roommate and I who perfectly understood his words. Suppressing the words down to my throat, I looked at my roommate who was making the same facial expression I was making also. We were oppressed by the man’s words worrying the consequences that could happen if we were to talk back at him. Especially because we were Third Culture Kids and young students, we could’ve jeopardized ourselves for disrespecting them in public. After we got on the bus, I got so mad at myself for not speaking up for the group I was with. So I wanted to take this opportunity of Theatre of the Oppressed and share my anger at that time with the people, hoping for them to back up the situation and care about the issue that we are surrounded by everyday. So these were the points my partner and I wanted to send across through the performance: how some Koreans are reluctant to understand, how some Koreans mock other Third Culture People calling them a disgrace or a contamination to the country, how discrimination could bring huge effects on an individual, how we need to change our mindsets and defend the stance of Third Culture People and foreigners in this country.

In order to carry out this performance effectively, my partner and I had to come up with a brief script in both English and Korean, because our targeted audience members were Korean students outside of TCIS. Also, an English script was written for my teacher to understand the performance too. Also, some of the points we had to touch upon were written, so the objectives of the performance were to be accomplished, even though everything was going to be improvised. So this was our plot: we needed two or more antagonists to take place as Koreans who are not thoroughly exposed to western cultures. Then my partner and I would create a similar situation that had happened before. We would start an argument in the middle of the street where many people pass by, addressing some of the social issues we have listed above. To be frank, I expected some interventions from the spect-actors because the situation was not unfamiliar at all especially to Koreans. Because Koreans are often exposed to these kinds problems associated with racism and discrimination, I believed that they would at least attempt to stop the argument or fight back against the antagonists, or support the antagonists to see the clear reaction to the situation. Because the purpose of Invisible Theatre was to create a tension to the point where it become undeniable for the onlookers, I believed that I have chosen the right spect-actors who would definitely willing to be part of it. However, my expectations digressed from the start with the antagonists. First my partner and I were planning on asking some of the Han Nam University students to participate as antagonists, so it would be more realistic than using student from our school. However, they later refused to be part of it because they were pressured by the topic we were going to present especially in front of their school. I thought they would definitely accept our proposal because they understand the social issues we are dealing with for this project. So, we reluctantly took another path and asked two male students from out grade who decently looked like Korean college students. Before the performance, our group went over the script and once again went through the plot so there would be no misunderstand among us during the performance.

As our argument took place, the antagonist and I began to raise our voices. The antagonist blamed my foreign friend making racist comments about her, and I defended her by talking back how he shouldn’t discriminate people in front of an international school. I began to see some of the attention we were receiving. I saw a group of people in front of me, staring back and forth between the antagonist and my foreign friend. Although I haven’t seen many reactions because I was too focused on the argument, I did notice that a lot of people were passing by turning their heads fixed to our conflict in the middle of the street. A lady who works in our school suddenly came into the scene and tried to stop the argument; however, we were so perplexed to encounter a case where a school staff tried to be involved. We tried to quietly tell her that this was a theatrical performance while we were yelling at each other, and was later settled as she understood what we said to her. As time went by, I began to give up on expecting spect-actors to be involved, which was personally a great disappointment. According to Mrs. Z, the barista in the café considered our argument insignificant and told her that it would be fine. Although our group was quite serious about the topic, he treated the conflict as a small verbal disagreement that is quite common in that area. Also, a pair of female students just walked through the argument, giving a stare at my foreign friend. Although Mrs. Z told us that many people were interested in seeing our argument behind my back, my expectation to be similar with the situation that had occurred in Boal’s experiences was too high. However, I believe that the performance was a success in a way that we have incorporated many factors that Boal have used in his invisible theatre: taking place at an everyday location where many people are present and attempting use the covert performance of stimulated realities as a strategic response to a problematic situation or condition.

Definitely there were some improvements that could have been made if we were to do this again. I would make sure that all actors are ready before the performance, because it was a chaos when the college students declined our proposal. Also, I would at least had one rehearsal before, because some of the contexts were a bit inclined to one area and weren’t able to touch on some of the objectives we had planned to touch on. Other than these factors, I’m very content with the result. Also I’m glad that the reactions of the people were different from my expectation, because it was more interesting to observe and really acknowledge the gravity of the issue we are facing today.

(My friend and I, Rebecca Cole-Walker and Christina Lee- The producers of this original piece of Theatre as a political voice.)

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TCIS Musical Production Urinetown: Reflection (Theatre as a political voice)

Urinetown: The Musical was definitely different from other previous musical performances at TCIS because it has touched upon some of the crucial political issues that are extremely controversial till these days. Townspeople creating an uprising to stand by their convictions immediately reminded me of the uprisings in this country. The famous candle demonstration in Korea that was first created by young female high school students to oppose the meat export between the United States and Korea during the mad-cow disease trend in 2008 was particularly compelled into my mind. The reason because it was an event where the government underestimated the power of candles that has later on called the world’s attention to this issue. In this context, the townspeople were under estimated by the water company, seen as small group of powerless people; however the company was clearly wrong that they had total control over them.

Democracy: a system of government in which all the people have the right to take part in making decisions. Learning the values of human rights and understanding the gravity of the importance of resources must have been difficult for the actors to act than actors from previous performances. When I was on stage, my essential goal was solely to understand and form a connection to my own character. However, this time was different; the characters must have been educated in order to be empathetic to the situations of injustice and hopelessness. Because not a lot of the student had a direct experience where they were oppressed by a political authoritarian such as the government or a herculean company just like in the context of the musical, they must have learned the backgrounds of these circumstances in order to convey their characters accurately. And it seems like the character were fully comprehended because their expressions were explicit and exact. They understood the seriousness and were able to help the audience to really focus on the issues with them.

The director’s message was very clear. Through the water shortage of a town, one has successfully conveyed one’s stance to value the things we usually take for granted and to acknowledge the issues that aren’t quite musical-like in the real world. It was a great educational performance for the audience to acquire knowledge on a specific area.
However in my opinion, I personally don’t think the method of Alienation, a theatrical concept that was created by Bertolt Brecht having an ideal space between the actors and the spect-actors, was effectively exhibited in the auditorium. Although some of the actors continuously attempted to break the connection between the audience members, the still considered these narrative acts as parts of the story. To be frank, even though I had previous knowledge on the musical that it is an epic theatre having a different way to reach the audience, as one of the audience members, I often forgot that I was watching a political performance but more drawn to a musical, a story of an angry people. Especially for the audience, are not familiar with the concept, it is a difficult form of theatre for them to acknowledge the meticulous intention that was inserted.

The production itself flourished with various theatrical devices that were presented on the stage. The costumes have definitely accomplished its job to differentiate two different groups accurately depicting a time period about in the 1950s. The simplicity of the Company people and the filthy hair and clothes of the townspeople elaborated the characters that they should’ve exhibited on stage with music that was appropriate with the flow of the play. All of the singers beautifully sang addressing many parts of the words to the audience. Lighting was especially effective when Mr. Cladwell was around because the bright light created a sense of heaviness and grandiose. This definitely facilitated the actions of the play and shined the performance.

Overall, the production was a great success in both aesthetically and educationally accomplishing both areas and presenting true existence of theatre that it’s not only about what it is seen, but what it means and how it is applied in this world. Lastly, simulating on how we should make the changes and take actions.

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Kim Jung Il, the "Great" leader of North Korea

Kim Jung Il: The Great General

Kim Jung Il: The Great Economist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQdKnS0x12k&feature=channel_page

Other videos available on Youtube:

Kim Jung Il: The Great Athlete
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBCGNGAypY&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=5

Kim Jung Il: The Great Traveller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLlrqdVVb5Y&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=6

Kim Jung Il: The Great Dietetician
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjTu_KsS_T8&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=7

Kim Jung Il: The Great Architect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzBfRKqz3a0&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=9

Kim Jung Il: The Great Media Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssJ_l2HbaTM&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=13

Kim Jung Il: The Gifted Leader
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLevuGDYJ3I&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=19

Kim Jung Il: The Great Warrior
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2STc6mvIzY&feature=PlayList&p=8C924C8CA3FF044F&index=21

Walk in the Light While There is Light by Leo Tolstoy

Walk in the Light While There is Light by Leo Tolstoy is a short story of a man who converted his belief from paganism to Christianity. This short narrative may seem a little common about a man who digresses from righteousness, encounters obstacles, and finally embraces the truth through Jesus Christ, and it is; however, the translation of this story specifically reflects parts of Tolstoy’s life through a character named Julius and spotlights Tolstoy’s fervent and thoughtful faith. Starting with the title, Walk in the Light While There is Light, shows the theme of the whole story. In particular, it means that one should take the opportunity to live under the presence of God, when one is capable of doing so. The term ‘walk’ can be translated as a journey of life, which every human being is currently placed, but what the message is suggesting is that we have to walk in the journey of life with the knowledge of Christ, which is the light. Light is interpreted as God, a chance, and hope. Then what is darkness? On the other hand, darkness exhibits the artificial world that human created. In page 9 Tolstoy says, “…he understood that there was nothing sacred in the Roman religion but it was all the work of human hands…he understood that it would not be advantageous to struggle against the existing order of things, and that for his own tranquility it was better to submit to it.” He shows the powerlessness of the human world and often compares with the world of Christianity in detail as the story goes on. The story is like a mirror of Tolstoy’s life and it’s easy to encounter some of the events in the text. For example, he explains how Juvenal took care of his only son, Julius, after the death of his three children. In Tolstoy’s real life, he actually lost some of his children and loved his children who were still alive with care and education. Again in pg.9, “His father gave his son to this philosopher, together with his comrade Pamphilius, the son of a former slave whom Juvenal had freed.” Tolstoy had an experience of freeing his slaves and they all came back in the end.

As the story goes on, the focus slowly turns to Juvenal’s son, Julius. Julius was a gullible, naïve and uneducated young man in life. These characteristics were shown during the conversation between his friend, Pamphilius, about the lives of Christians. Pamphilius stated in pg. 10, “We do not do anything strange. We live simply, trying to do nothing bad…We manage to live. If we work for our brethren they so the same for us.” Julius questioned how people can live for each other equally when there could be other lethargic people who are reluctant to work and not contribute as much as others. This question is brought up today in the society too, concerning the matter of communism verses Christianity. However, there is a clear difference despite the fact that all people should be equal: Communism is forced. Christianity is voluntary. Christians are willing to share and treat one another equally with love in God’s eyes.

Pamphilius also states how to live a Christian-like life in pg. 11, “In front of us all stands Christ with his life, and we all try to emulate him and see our welfare in that alone.” This is the light that God has given us, a method of how to live a life. Furthermore, he adds on how life is more than self-satisfaction. However, Julius doesn’t understand and continues to complain how it is impossible not to live for oneself. Again, Tolstoy gives another description about the world in pg. 12, “…we are all of us entangled by our relationships with the pagans.” Pamphilius tries his best for Julius to understand the love of Christ and faith in various ways. In pg. 13, “…our brethren are traveling another path and will not weaken but will grow ever stronger, just as a fire will never go out when more wood is laid on it. That is our faith.” In this sentence, Pamphilius used an imagery of a fire to exhibit how Christian’s faith is strong and will not easily disappear but grow even stronger as we work hard to be closer to God with prayers. The ‘wood’ represents the actions we do for the glory of God that makes our fire, faith, more solid and indestructible. This is also a great analogy that compares the endurance of faith as a flaming fire and woods that would help to make it bigger. Lastly, Pamphilius doesn’t forget to bring up how Jesus died for our sins because he loved us so much through a parable, just as Jesus used to deliver his message to his people. He insisted that man shouldn’t live for self satisfaction and have to live a life in conformity with the will of God.

Julius did listen and promised that he would visit the Christians, but never did. This showed that he was irresponsible, selfish, had no integrity, and had no respect towards his friend. Julius lived a life of luxury and squandered his time and money for wine, gambling and loose women. Once more, this emulated some of the pasts of Tolstoy’s life when he was into his own enjoyment. Julius never thought he was the problem and blamed his own father for not giving him more money. Juvenal tried to do the right thing to fix his spoiled son’s attitude, but Julius was getting worse and threatened him that he would kill himself. His mother begged Juvenal to do whatever to boy asked. After the incessant chaos and discrepancies between his father, he finally listened to his conscience and realized “All was darkness and confusion in his soul.”

The leitmotif of the story, again, appears as darkness that covered Julius’ view from the light. The darkness led Julius to see the beauty in the eyes of human; among women, he chooses the prettiest and wealthiest woman as his wife. However, this is only a transitory satisfaction Every time he attempted to approach the Christians, Satan in many disguises would pull him back down to the life of discretion and this was exactly like Tolstoy’s life. It is an obstacle that everyone has to be prudent because it is presented in a way that we are most comfortable and familiar. Both of Julius and Tolstoy fell and stood up continuously, but in the end finally they have reached God. It may seem a little too late to some people, but it’s never late to Him. They have failed, but stood up and found themselves another stop ahead from where they have fell. Finally, he found comfort in God. In page 65, “Come to Him, and be not a laborer but a son, and you will become a partner of the infinite God and of His world,” shows irony of how Julius now resting in the presence of God when he had worked and wondered all his life.

This whole story handled the topic of paradox: Truth and false; light and dark; Christians and the old man (physician); or young and old. And these paradoxes emphasize the difference faces of this world that most people are usually perplexed and troubled to comprehend. It is the reality that the world itself contains all the opposites and paradoxes just like in the story. Everyone pursuit happiness, but many people end up dying. But, none of these matters if one has put his feet on the realm of God, because we are all equal and loved. This story is not a fairy tale, but a true life story of a man. Correction. Life story of all of us, where all of us have the chance to walk in the light, but pulled away by darkness. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD. Lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge him. He’ll make your path straight.” Our understanding and knowledge is useless compared to God and he has the power to straighten the crooked path, so we could be with him. Again, our path that we are walking on is not easy, but it is God who is willing to save us from it.

Tolstoy, Leo. Walk in the Light While There Is Light and Twenty-Three Tales. 2003. New York: Orbis Book, 1923.
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connection between Flannery O'Connor's short stort Good Country People and Guy Delisle's graphic novel Pyongyang

I’ll be presenting an exposé on Good Country People written by Flannery O’Connor and Pyongyang by Guy Delisle. I’ve chosen these specific pieces because I was able to find myriad of connections on how these two authors exhibit their view points and attitudes towards a particular community or a group of people. First, I would like to start out by introducing the authors, explaining on how these authors share a similar view on their environments, where O’Connor delineates the characteristics of humans in general, whereas Delisle focuses the features of North Korean government and people.

Let me introduce the author of Pyongyang, Guy Delisle: Renown for its atrocious totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship, North Korea is recognized as one of the most ostracized and intriguing country in the world today. Continuous sequences of force and protection from the rest of the world have also caused the country to jeopardize itself to be one of the poorest also. When North Korea began to open up a little to foreign investment, cartoonist Guy Delisle was lucky enough to have a chance to visit Pyongyang on a work visa for a French film animation company, becoming one of the few foreigners to experience the current conditions in an artificial showcase city. With an unauthorized radio and a book of 1984 written by George Orwell, Delisle was able explore the country with his translator and a guide monitoring and limiting his activities. Although he started his journey seeing the buildings, people and propaganda of leaders Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il with an apathetic manner, Delisle was able to observe more than was intended of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered. He took advantage of the frustration and astonishment and used to record everything as the basis of this remarkable graphic novel. Pyongyang is an informative, personal and accessible look at an enigmatic country. Delisle's simple but expressive art worked well with his account, humanizing the few North Koreans he gets to know and facilitating digressions into North Korean history and various bizarre happenings.

Rather than conveying his thoughts into fancier visual devices, Delisle uses a straightforward approach that depicts the mundane absurdities he faced every day. The gray tones and unembellished drawings reflect the grim drabness of a totalitarian society. Although throughout the novel Delisle exhibits underestimation, frustration, and apathy towards everything throughout his trip, he maintained empathy. Viewing an eight-year-old accordion prodigy's robotic concert performance, he thought, "It's all so cold . . and sad. I could cry."

Moving on to O’Connor, the author of Good Country People: In 1951, O’Connor was diagnosed with lupus that had killed her father. She went on, she had written two novels and thirty-two short stories, winning awards and acclaim, speaking on tours whenever her health allowed her to; but she spent most of her time on the family farm, with her mother. She died of lupus on August 3rd, 1964 at the age of thirty-nine. The writing of Flannery O'Connor can seem cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent. She writes in a Southern Gothic style and relying heavily on regional settings and grotesque characters. Her short stories routinely end in horrendous, or, at the very least, a character's emotional devastation. In reality, her writing is filled with meaning and symbolism, hidden in plain sight beneath a narrative style. In this way, her writing is esoteric, and didactic at the same time containing knowledge that is hidden to all but those who have been instructed as to how and where to look for it. Flannery O'Connor is a Christian writer and she achieves what few Christian writers have ever achieved: a type of writing that affects both literary and the religious grounds, and succeeds in doing justice to both. These are some of the insights she exhibits in her stories: bitterness, a belief in grace as something devastating to the recipient, a concept of salvation, and violence as a force for good; stories that show the way by elucidating the worst of paths.

Now, I would like to share explaining on how these authors share a similar view on their environments in their texts. Delisle and O’Connor were afraid if people aren’t able to find their writing or message controversial. Flannery says, “I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I'm afraid it will not be controversial,” touching on topics related to race, poverty, hypocrisy, and more to exhibit the failures of the world in the twentieth century. Also, Delisle was as controversial as O’Connor where he took risks to bring unauthorized books, criticize many of the traits of the communist influence on the people, and to attempt to help out the people around him, for example, Guy suggested his translator to read George Orwell’s 1984 when he knows that it would put his translator would be in jeopardy if he were to be caught. Later, the translator returns the book, looking puzzled and scared, saying how he didn’t enjoy the book. In one of the interviews, Delisle clearly stated that he wouldn’t go back to North Korea because he has caused too much trouble already.

Now I’m going to share the authors’ views through the stories. Good Country People is a short story by Flannery O’Connor, illustrating the life of Hulga Hopewell and how her wooden leg is stolen. Throughout the story, Hulga feels sorry for herself because she has lost her leg, wears glasses, and has a heart condition; however, she seems to place herself above the rest of society because of her education. Hulga searches for ways to be misunderstood by her family and claims to believe in nothing. She even thinks she is too ugly to be called the happy name of Joy, so she legally changes it to Hulga. While the surface level of “Good Country People” conveys the story of how Hulga’s wooden leg was stolen by Manley, if we penetrate deeper, we discover that the wooden leg represents Hulga’s faith and pride. North Korea has great connections with Joy-Hulga. Although these authors and stories aren’t necessarily looking at the same point, it is quite interesting how these two looks quite connected when they are juxtaposed.

North Korea too, has many flaws like Joy-Hulga. They have a lunatic as their leader who is leading his own people to devastation, and titled as one of the most dangerous, poorest, and pitiful country in the world. Because of the system the people are living in, they are used to blaming on themselves when things happen out of their control. They think very low of themselves and put their leader in a high position. However, because of the continuous indoctrination, they have a pride where they believe that they are well educated and better off than other country, especially South Korea. They are constantly “educated” in a way that leads them to corruption. Just as Joy Hulga believes in nothing, but her own philosophy, North Koreans also depend on their own philosophy, Juche. Even if both Joy Hulga and North Korea are atheists, they decide to believe in at least certain things based on backgrounds, environments and situations. Because the people are so soaked into the ideology, it would bring a devastated effect on the people if they were to be separated from Juche. Just as Joy-Hulga was deceived by Many Pointer and lost her artificial leg, people in North Korea would be lost and devastated by the truth that would be exposed and inundated by the changes they have to accept.

Hulga also bases her pride in her artificial leg. She wraps her entire self into the leg and allows it to become a private obsession, never allowing anyone to touch it, taking care of it in private. The leg that used to cause Hulga shame ironically becomes a source of self-assurance. While Hulga seems superior and appears to place all self-importance solely on her intelligence, on closer examination, Hulga actually hides her pride in her leg. North Koreans lives in the ideology of Juche and breath through the pride and respect they have for their country. It is their obsession to keep the belief as sacred as possible and spread the “truth” to everyone.

Manly Pointer, who approaches the townspeople with a specific attention considering them as just ordinary “Good Country People, and meets Joy-Hulga as his target to accomplish his satisfaction. At first Manly Pointer demonstrated himself as an innocent Bible seller, who wanted to share the gospel with others and fell in love with a girl who he wanted to share everything with her. After he gained Joy-Hulga’s faith and words that she loves him by force, he was successful in revealing who he really was and stealing Hulga’s leg. With the leg he took, he ran a ways with great joy and leaved Hulga behind without looking back. Now turning our story to Pyongyang, we can easily make a solid connection between Manly Pointer and Kim Jung Ill. Kim Jung Ill first approaches the people with numerous amounts of propaganda and his feign, conditional “affection” towards the country. He attempts to use his people as much as possible in order to gain everything he wanted to fill up his satisfaction. Even if he had received people’s trust and forced affection, he didn’t care and was successful in carrying out his plans for several years. Time to times, he reveals his true self, as another “Manly Pointer” and takes away people’s souls and identity as human beings in this world. Innocent civilians are killed and persecuted mercilessly by an evil maniac who just won’t stop his scheme even till he’s on the edge of his life.

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North Korean Propaganda

The faces of the people are immediately noticeable in many of the propaganda posters because they are abnormally content, when the faces of other North Koreans seem to be stoic throughout the book. They look courageously determined with their mouths wide opened and their arms stretched out sky high. The contrast of colors between the poster and the background also interprets the irony of the poster because the poster looks too auspicious compared to the mood behind the poster. This exhibits the reality of the country forcefully attempting to brighten up the people by encouraging hollow hope that the government has the potential to grow as a great nation.

One can specifically acknowledge that the government desires for an extensive industrial power, by looking at the man holding up a hammer in his hand. This instantly reminded me of the hammer and sickle in the flag of the Soviet Union, which is a part of communist symbolism. It features a hammer superimposed on a sickle, or vice versa. These two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariet and the peasantry; placing them together symbolizes the unity between industrial and agricultural workers. This emblem was made during the Bolshevik Revolution. So this person demonstrates two solid ideas: the representation of the communist government and promotion for further industrial development. This is shown not only on the person, but also in the background of the poster. The missiles are drawn in the back to portray the power of the country with an ability to threaten others with their “advanced” technology. North Korea has been using their “undefeatable” missiles to forewarn others to send aids, but the weapon wasn’t successful at all during their numerous trials to attack Alaska and Japan. Recently, one of their representative missile, Dae-Po-Dong, didn’t quite make all the way through the South and plunged into the East Sea. This intimidated both South Korea and Japan incase of a serious warfare. Also, the tall buildings behind were very ironic because it was rare to see any skyscrapers in the book except building frequently used by foreigners such as UN and NGOs. All of these show the country’s ambition to grow more as a leading industrial nation that can be petrifying to others.

The missiles also represent the military power that the country is continuously patronizing; it is not hard to search pictures of pixels of North Korean soldiers on any sites available. As soon as one sees the pictures, one will easily recognize North Korea to be in the second place of Nazis, organizing brainwashed soldiers for a single individual.

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putting myself in the shoes of a North Korean

It was very cold that night. Actually, it was colder than any other winters I’ve gone through my whole entire life. Amidst of all the wailing behind my back, my eyes were focused on the face of my brother’s bloody face. He was down on the ground surrounded by men with rifles in their hands and with stoic looks upon their faces as if they were so used to this kind of act. I saw my brother’s eyes fixed on my parents who were struggling to liberate themselves from the hands of the soldiers roughly pulling them back from approaching my brother.

All of my family members were too fragile to rebel against any of the well-trained combatants and I just sat there on the ground without any thoughts in my head. I tried to lower my body to directly look into my brother’s eyes, wishing to at least remind him that everything would be okay and that the Sky will protect him no matter what happens. At that moment, my brother broke the havoc shouting hysterically, “We are not made to be your puppets. Why do you want us to believe in your truth when the real deal is outside of this country? Can’t you see the children shoving dirt into their mouths? Can’t you see the brain-washed teenagers who are supposed to be having dreams on their own? You idiots! Blind fools! You…!” Before he could even finish his last sentence, the bullet spilt through the air and stroked the center of his heart. It was the fastest way to shut his mouth. The revolution he wanted to bring faded immediately with the sound of his heart beat. As his body was dragged by two soldiers towards the truck, his unclosed eyes were harboring enmity towards the socialist government and were also asking me to continue to follow his footsteps for freedom.

The death of Kim Il Sung in 1994 made the situation even worse. Food production decreased as Russia and China stopped supporting aids and surpluses to our country. All the provisions we did receive landed in the pockets of the generals and government associates. Kim Jung Il, his son, told us that it was a punishment from the heavens for not respecting Kim Il Sung “our One”, well enough from the beginning of his reign. They encouraged us that all of the haardships would be eradicated after three years. But it never happened. The theory of socioeconomic structure and the establishment of a classless society were great, but they were never efficiently demonstrated in reality. Everyone became so egotistic to the point where they only cared about themselves.

Neither the government nor peace was their priority. People’s main goal was solely on food to alleviate the hunger of their children. Three million civilians starved to death in four years after Kim Il Sung’s death and everything rapidly deteriorated. Everyone scattered to look for money making jobs and I wasn’t able to see my parents for four years. It was a pain for me to suppress my nostalgia; wondering how my family would bear the torture of the cold weather and dearth of supplies. One day, I received a mail from a neighbor that my parents had passed away. As I got on the bus, I calmed myself to regain composure, but it was impossible when I saw my parents’ bodies loaded on the truck with other seventeen corpses who had died from extreme hunger. The officer told me to find my parents among the other bodies, but the pungent smell was too strong that it made me vomit continuously. However, it wasn’t the odor that hindered my approach, it was the wide-opened eyes and blue faces of the corpses that made it so hard to manage my emotion of guilt and fear. I reluctantly gave up on finding my parents and had no choice but to back down.

I had to leave this place; it wasn’t a home, it was hell. My head geared towards the South where the government constantly told us that it was even more difficult to live. If the south is far worse than this place, then I would rather die for the sake of myself living in such corrupted world where a human being is more insignificant than a cockroach. There was a rumor that if we broke into the South Korean embassy in Thailand, then a flight to South Korea was guaranteed. However, the trip itself seemed to be impossible because it would be an arduous mission where a group of people have to swim across the Du-Man River, which is packed with armed security. After that you would have to look for a ride to get across and into China. “God, help me get through, in your way. I have lost everything. I have nothing. I am nothing. Show me another way to serve you. I don’t blame you for my family’s death, because I know it has helped me to turn myself to you. Your touch has worked successfully; now, please clear all the hindrances. Let the water of Du-Man cleanse me all of my transgression and the soil of a new land to lead me into the light.” I prayed.

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Good Country People is one of the short stories of The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor exhibiting the philosophies of truth through three main characters’ beliefs towards life. Before diving into the story, there is one distinct device that Flannery uses in her stories: she illustrates every character’s personality in the beginning. She doesn’t describe them directly, but leads the readers to acknowledge the symbols especially in their names. The name of Mrs. Freeman has a connotation of being free and independent; however, Flannery ironically states, “Her forward expression was steady and driving like the advance of a heavy truck,” describing how she is unemotional and portraying her as a machine. Mrs. Freeman, including her family, is a model of ‘good country people’ in this story. Good country people are considered uncorrupted and trusted; for example, Pg. 273 states, “she realized that nothing is perfect and that in the Freemans she had good country people and that if, in this day and age, you get good country people, you had better hang on to them.” Secondly, the name of Mrs. Hopewell contains a feeling of optimism and hope. Although she does seem to be extremely optimistic, she constantly compares Mrs. Freeman’s daughters to her own daughter, Joy, praising how they are the finest girls she knew and her daughter is a person who cannot be understood. Mrs. Hopewell often uses banalities, clichés, in her speech; such as, “Nothing is perfect; that’s life; good people are salt to the Earth; and everyone is different,” and this demonstrates how she is not capable of having independent thoughts and being original.

Joy is Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter, a large blond girl with an artificial leg, who had an unstable relationship between her mother. Although she was intelligent and had a PH.D in philosophy, she had to be compared to two girls who were uneducated, with one of them being pregnant at the age of fifteen. Joy is frustrated that her mother wouldn’t accept the fact that she is disabled and expects her to be just like everyone else, being part of good country people. The text in pg 274 clearly states, “It was hard for Mrs. Hopewell to realize that her child was thirty-two now and that for more than twenty years she had had only one leg.” One of the other themes that Flannery often uses is the images of hypocrisy and this technique is effectively used in both personalities and the names of the characters. Later on, Joy decides to legally change her name into the ugliest name she could think of, Hulga, to embarrass her mother in front of everyone else. She only uses this name in front of her mother and goes back to Joy when she’s not around, because the only purpose of the using the name was to utilize against her mother. This is substantiated with a quote on pg 275, “One of her major triumphs was that her mother had not been able to turn her dust into Joy, but the greater one was that she had been able to turn it herself into Hulga.”

A man named Manly Pointer appears in the middle of the story. Although he introduces himself as an innocent Bible seller who wants to be a missionary, the connotation of his name implies a sexual image, which foreshadows his role later in the story. He approaches Mrs. Hopewell by flattering her how he heard that she was a great woman through small community gossips and exhibits himself as a good country person. However, it’s clearly shown that he is from the city, which is considered corrupted, and uses tactics and acting to fool Mrs. Hopewell with lies. In page 279, Pointer lies to gain sympathy saying, “I got this heart condition. I may not live long. When you know it’s something wrong with you and you may not live long, well then, lady…” After that, he constantly attempts to acquire Mrs. Hopewell and Joy-Hulga’s trust by having conversations and misquoting the Bible to convince that he is a man to be trusted. However, it’s clear to the readers to recognize his hypocrisy; he quoted the verse from Matthew 10:39, “He who seeks his life will find it, and who loses his life for my sake (Christ’s) will find it.” The Bible states that we have to lower ourselves for Christ sake in order to gain something bigger, but Pointer implies the verse in a way that one can do whatever one wants to do.

Later on, he draws himself to Joy-Hulga and attempts to approach as an appealing man by commenting on her name, praising her disability, and searching common things that would allure her. He says, “Hulga. Hulga. I never heard of anybody name Hulga before. You’re shy aren’t you, Hulga?; I like girls that wear glasses; I think a lot. I’m not like these people that a serious thought don’t ever enter their heads. It’s because I may die.” Manly Pointer then invites Joy-Hulga on a picnic, but she doesn’t understand why he would bring his Bible valise with him. When she questioned him about the valise, he answered, “You can never tell when you’ll need the word of God, Hulga.” Through the conversation between Manly Pointer and Joy-Hulga’s about God, the readers would acknowledge that Joy-Hulga is agnostic and exhibits her philosophy of logical positivism. As they continued to enjoy their time, Manly Pointer falsely confessed his feelings towards Joy-Hulga and gained her shallow affection by kissing her and forcing her to tell him that she loves him. After he received his wish, he took advantage of her and asked how to take off her artificial leg. Although Joy-Hulga was reluctant, she capitulated and gave up everything that he asked to give including her glasses.

When she asked him to give her leg back, he opened his mysterious valise and took out two Bibles that contained a pocket flask of whiskey, a pack of pornographic cards, and a small blue box with printings on it (condom). Joy-Hulga was shocked and realized that he was only using her for his own benefits, because she considered him as a good country people. In my opinion, the Bibles represent the image of Manly Pointer, because he was disguised as a saint but was filled with sins inside. On page 290 she hissed, “You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all-say one thing and do another. You’re a perfect Christian, you’re…” This statement proves that although she is a non-believer, she believed that Christians were supposed to be ethically righteous. This is an example of a logical positivist, a philosophy that defines a person who only looks on fact and truth. Although Joy-Hulga didn’t believe in God, she believed that all Christians had to be amiable. However, Manly Pointer takes away her leg and her glasses stating that he didn’t believe in anything from the beginning, which portrays a characteristic that exhibits nihilism. Nihilism is a concept where someone doesn’t believe in an existence without an objective meaning, purpose or intrinsic value. He was a person who believed that he doesn’t deserve any consequences of his actions.

Now Joy-Hulga lost everything that she has depended on and couldn’t stand up on her own. All of her knowledge of philosophy and intelligence were useless without her leg and her glasses and her base was broken by a single man who had deceived her. This whole story may have reflected one her Flannery’s experiences where she was abandoned by a man who she exchanged letters with for a long period of time. This shows that her disability was a hindrance from encountering true love and truth.

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God Sees the Truth, but Waits

God Sees the Truths, but Waits by Leo Tolstoy is a short story about a man named Ivan Dmitritch Aksyonof who was falsely accused as a murderer, living in a jail cell for twenty six years, and confronted his enemy who really committed the crime he was accused. The title of this story delivers a message that God sees justice and the truth of the situation, but decides to wait for us to learn and experience the plan that God has set for us, whether it is laborious and troublesome. Tolstoy wants us to do our best at what is given to us and learn to cope with unfamiliar situations to be part of God’s plan.

The story starts out by Aksyonof’s wife’s dream she told when Aksyonof was leaving to the Nizhny Fair. She says, “all I know is that I had a bad dream. I dreamt you returned from the town and when you took off your cap I saw that your hair was quite gray.” This foreshadows the future of Aksyonof’s dilemma, where he is arrested and lives in Siberia for twenty six years without seeing his family. The bad dream is the reality and the white beard represents wisdom and an image of a sage. At the moment he was interrogated, the fear in his face has shown guilty to the guards: “…your face and manner betray you! Tell me how you killed him, and how much money you stole.” After he was captured, we was known as “Grandfather,” and “The Saint” to the prison authorities and other convicts because of his meekness. Although he was old, slow, and stoic, he put his faith in God and continuous prayed.

It wasn’t the jail that Aksyonof was trapped, but it was the world itself that he was in filled with suffering and conundrum. Personally, I believe that this was God’s plan to send Aksyonof to the convicts and the prison authorities so he could be an exemplar for them to follow and look upon in God’ image. This is a secular image of what Jesus was to us when he came down on Earth.
New convicts were introduced and one of them was later found out that he was the one who committed the murder Aksyonof was accused of. The convict was a wicked man who was drenched into his own sin and didn’t acknowledge his own indulgence. He even threatened Aksyonof not to tell the authorities about his scheme to escape and it was what Aksyonof exactly did even if he was questioned. Later, the convict wailed for Aksyonof’s forgiveness of his past and his crime. He says, “For the love of God, forgive me!” Finally, Aksyonof absolved the convict’s repentance and dies with levity in heart for he had no desires for anything and waited for the last moment to come.

This story was based on a symbol of Jesus’ life on Earth: He entered the cell in the place of the real criminal and taught other convicts in the cell. Jesus entered Earth, where it was filled with filthy sins and desperation of the Jews for salvation, and spread his word all around the world and received a reputation of a teacher and a sage, which was the interpretation of the white beard. Also, the bloody knife symbolizes Jesus death on the cross and the blood he had shed in our placed and covered our sins even though he was innocent. Because of his death, we are forgiven but this can only happen if we are truly sorrowful of what we have done. The death of Aksyonof may delineate Jesus’ death, but it was an image of Tolstoy’s death of how he wanted to die. Ironically, it’s exactly how Tolstoy died in real life. How? He was free from the grudge he was holding against the world and felt inner peace in himself. There was nothing for him to fear or feel heavy inside because he found tranquility in God’s love and justice.

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Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

By the Apple

Christina Lee

The Word says love is the fruit of the Spirit
But I see myself as a tree with dollar bills as leaves.
I don’t need a metamorphosis to see
For I know I have been a bug long before the transformation.
My eyes are opened now.

It began when the apple rolled down,
a new identity that became a burden.
I’m allowing myself to rot
Like any other apples should be.

The Word says a tree symbolizes knowledge.
But as it grows over time,
I have reached the ultimate ugliness of metamorphosis.
Where did my innocence go?
What am I standing on?

My identity wasn’t created by me.
It wasn’t mine.
It wasn’t me all along.
I have tired to force them to see,
the apple that decays every time I bite
bit by bit.

It was by the apple I know what I know.
And it is by the apple I choose to go through
Another metamorphosis.

Bertolt Brecht response

Human trafficking is the displacement of people by force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. It is mostly known as a form of “modern slavery”, where people, especially women and children, are placed in wealthy countries in Western Europe, North America or Middle East. Victims are usually innocent people who were looking for jobs to support their families and were lured by adverts in their home countries who convinced that the work will be well-paid and the condition will be safe. The fate of the victims is unclear; they could be exchanged to other group of frauds as business, sent home after they fall ill, or become pregnant with an unwanted child.

This social issue is well appropriate to promote Bertolt Brecht theory of Epic theatre, because it touches several issues that are filled with controversies that the spectators are ought to think about. However, it would be extremely arduous to design this performance in a way that would discourage the audience to suppress their emotional attachment to the characters on stage, because the narrative would most likely evoke the spectator’s sentiments more than their critical thoughts on the concern. It is Brecht’s intention to eliminate the dramatical illusion, but to stimulate the performance to be more of a debate hall than a place of entertainment (Bertolt Brecht: Centenary Essays). While still providing entertainment, it should be strongly didactic and capable of provoking social change. Brecht wanted the spectators to identify the issue that is presented on stage with the characters on stage and become emotionally involved with them rather than being stirred to think about his own life.

The tool that Brecht used to encourage the audience to adopt a more critical attitude was a technique called the Verfremdungs-effekt ("alienation effect"), where it is used to remind the spectators that they are in a theatre watching a piece of reality (brandeis.edu). The alienation effect is preceded on stage with characters continuously explaining the situation, rather than letting the audience to see the emotion and the thoughts of the characters. It is the actors’ role to interrupt the spectator’s emotion to be aroused as they begin to attach their feelings with the character’s feeling, and awake them to stop and think critically.

The stage design of this performance should almost be empty, because any set changes can affect the view of the audience. Props are only used when they are necessary for telling the story, and if they are used, then the props themselves should be symbolic rather than real. There shouldn’t be a wall between the audience and the actors; therefore it should be considered opened to allow the audience to see the “piece of reality” in front of them. Lighting should be used in a way where it ensures the actors to be seen as if they are living in the same world as the audience. It should indicate the passage of time or change of scenes rather than create a mood or an atmosphere. So, the lighting director should abandon the idea of hiding the source of light to achieve a mysterious effect to draw attention and should inundate the state with ‘harsh white light’ to focus the full view of the audience reminding them that they are watching a play. The script should be written scenes that carry their own message and tell their own story. Dramatic irony should be well used with other well known stories like myths and legends to provoke the audience to enjoy hearing the stories they already know and teach the message at the same time (bbc.co.uk). It should be structured episodically with clear message plugged in, to emphasize the intention of the performance. The blockings should also be well considered where it shouldn’t be dome to amaze the views; it should be blocked to clarify the structure of the human relationship in the play and use everything on stage to make the audience to develop a more critical perspective on the issues that are presented (delamare-arts.com). The issue of human trafficking is perfect to exhibit Brecht’s theory, at the same time to spread awareness using his methods.
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A Talk among Leisured People

A talk among leisured people is a short excerpt exhibiting the conversation among people with different perspectives. After reading the title, one might acknowledge the sense of the story as a talk among people who are on vacation or merely having a relaxed time. However, Tolstoy is actually indicating the wealthy people who are not obliged to work, but who are living in a lifestyle that is envied and convenient. Consequently, the intention of this story was written to challenge the leisured people. Because he was part of this “world”, he had a better understanding of how leisure people view life and are ignorant towards truth. He also criticizes them by writing how they are ruined by their luxury, their effeminacy, their riches and their pride; in the end, they are filled with boredom and regrets.

Tolstoy has a distinct style of manifesting the message in his writing so it wouldn’t be too difficult for normal people, the bourgeois, to understand while they are reading. Because not all people had the opportunity to receive full education, Tolstoy considered the fact of the circumstance and attempted to write effectively by arranging the themes, morals, motifs and symbols clearly. At the end of the first paragraph, the theme of the story is presented so the people would have a better idea of what they are reading. It says, “All confessed that they were living worldly lives concerned only for themselves and their families, none of them thinking about their neighbors, still less of God.” The notion of the story is the dissatisfaction of the wealthy not living a godly life but living with egotistic minds and attitudes. The moral of the story is placed at the end, “So it seems that none of us may live rightly: we may only talk about it.” Both theme and moral summarize the writing that wealthy people actually do realize the true meaning of life and are directed toward the satisfaction of loving each other and living for God. However, even if people came up with different ideas and opinions on how they should or should not take actions, excuses relating to families and traditions hinder as soon as it becomes realistic. So all they do is to talk about it.

There are seven different people who have participated in this conversation. The group is composed of people with different ages and genders, which demonstrated varied perspectives. The first person who opened the conversation was a dogmatic young man, who strongly believed that there should be changes in their lifestyles. He questioned the living of a leisured people and censured the ungodliness filled with transient amusements and satisfaction. He stated, “I don’t want to live in that old way! I will abandon the studies I have begun…I will renounce my property and go to the country and live among the poor. I will work with them, will learn to labor with my hands…by living with them in a brotherly way.” It may seem a little impulsive to abandon everything and start a new life, but he surely does understand the notion of Christianity of how people should love and support each other in a brotherly way.

The second person who comes into the picture is the father of the young man. This time, the differences of thoughts in ages exhibits in a very opposite way. The father discourages the idea of his son by incessantly reminding his son that he doesn’t understand life because he is too young and inexperienced. Also he states, “It’s hard enough to walk well on a beaten track, but it is harder still to lay out a new one.” He meant that it is a bit of a rush to start a new life when the present life is already complicated itself. Unlike his son, the father is being pragmatic and traditional to suppress his son’s quixotic and radical passion. Also, he advises that his son should acquire more knowledge and experience through education, and be independent to make his own decisions.

The third person seemed to be more neutralized obtaining both ideas of limitations and righteousness. He is censuring the ungodly lives of people and how their sins are sinking even more. The phrase, “get more and more sink in sins” contains emphasis with consonance, alliteration, repetition and personification to highlight the significance that their sins are more and more deteriorating and repelling from the conscience and will of Christianity. He also stated that he has often thought of changing his whole life without being bothered about his wife and children but to think about his soul. Personally, it seemed a bit ironic because the previous discussion involved how people are so egotistic and self-centered.

After the man’s statement, his wife attacked him with an opposite opinion that the man shouldn’t even think about abandoning the family for the sake of the future of the children and it’s a cowardly act of a father. In this perspective, it’s quite different from the old and the young, because women are so used to being dependent on men. When the other man agreed with the woman’s husband, his family members opposed with clear sinister motives to receive money from him. Finally, one of the visitors close the conversation by saying, “but as soon as it comes to practice it turns out that the children must not be upset and must be brought up not in godly fashion but in the old way.” And all they do is to talk about it. This combination of different opinions reflects on the mind sets of the people in the world viewing one thing with diverse backgrounds, characteristics and motives.

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Entry 9

Do missionaries destroy cultures?

It was Don Richardson’s will to reach to the Sawis before the society inundate the environment with myriad of businesses, buildings, and foreigners. The Sawis would have definitely been perplexed by its rapid change than the change Don Richardson wanted to introduce. Because Sawis were already under the government’s eyes, who probably would have forced the Sawis to change their lifestyles with guns and other weapons in their hands, it was Richardson’s task to convince the Sawis in a peaceful manner before the government come upon the natives. However, this wasn’t the only goal Richardson strived for. His main purpose was to approach the Sawis to interact with the people to help them be familiar with God and eventually acknowledge God’s love. It is not abnormal to see missionaries in places where not a lot of people visit. Places are usually where people are not aware of the notion of Christianity or are strongly devoted to other beliefs. Many missionaries attempt to make connections (even if it’s shallow) with the people who are considered isolated from the modern society. Missionaries also help these people medically and educate them to alleviate the standard of living of the people. In the book, Richardson’s wife Carol helped cure many diseases that triggered many people’s lives for years providing different kinds of medications.
However what missionaries and organizations really do is to lead these corrupted and uneducated people from digression to the right way to live with an eternal salvation. Introducing the real Peace Child to the primitives, Richardson also guaranteed an eternal peace among the tribes and eradicated cannibalism from the culture.

Entry 8

How do I relate to faith? How did Don Richardson relate to Faith? How do the Sawi relate to faith?

Dear God,

I’ll be honest with you God. I was quite discouraged to compare my own faith to Don Richardson’s and the Sawis’ while I was reading this book. I have lived all my life living within your boundary, continuously encountering your words and meeting different people who are devoted to your love. But how come my faith is so fragile compared to the Sawis who had found you later in their lives? I am living in a world where options are limited as a student. This may sound like an excuse, but I didn’t have a major turning point in my life to solidify my faith. Don Richardson had an evident purpose when he first approached the tribes, and the Sawis gained opportunities to reflect on their lives and to correct their immoral culture. I, as a student, go to chapel every Tuesday morning and struggle among students to follow the procedures and obligations that the world has planned out for me. Even if I am opened to all the technologies and Media, why do I feel more insecure than Don Richardson and the Sawis who lived in an unprotected territory? But God, there is one thing I really want to tell you: there may have been times when I turned my back on you, but I have never doubted your presence. I knew that there was someone in this vast meaningless world, who was looking over me from the beginning to the end of my day, of my time. This is the faith I have on you.

Entry 7

How does Faith relate to the world in which we live?

Faith is obliviously included in our daily lives, especially among our families, friends, teachers and acquaintances. In most religious realm, however, people consider faith as hopes in their lives to depend on or to be comforted. Because it is an undeniable fact that human beings are vulnerable, it is easy to encounter people using religion to feel less difficult in life, seeking hope and being able to gain strength to continue moving on. Non-believers claim that Christians are weak because they depend on a nonexistent figure. It may be an enigmatic matter for those who don’t know the power of God, but it is a magnificent factor that anyone could claim to save themselves from various struggles and hardships. My faith as a Christian is definitely fragile, but just by knowing that someone is out there watching over me, it gives me a little comfort to blame on him or ask for help. In the case of the Sawis, faith was applied in a completely different way that most people perceive. They had faith in a belief that betrayal and treachery were significant in their lives, and this molded their society to be a violent culture of betraying their own friends, which made it even more uneasy for other people to approach them. It is important that the faith needs to be well formed because it becomes a permanent characteristic of a person.

Entry 6

Are primitive cultures, like the Sawi, necessary in our present world?

No one can deny that we are drenched in a fast-evolving society, where technology has replaced the hands of the workers and where the most fundamental appreciation towards nature has been diminished. Now, primitive cultures are often treated as children’s bed time stories or another lecture on the Prehistoric Era, because people have became so myopic to the world they are living, that they have closed themselves from having a real “secular view”. And sometimes, it is necessary to look back to the most basic phase that the world has gone through, where spears and rocks were mainly used and fire didn’t come from stoves or matches. It is quite helpful to cleanse our eyes, our perspectives from the havoc, and ponder the radical in a rational view (though it might be quite complex). Be simple and look at the world one more time. Because of these primitive cultures, the Sawis, we are able to have a chance to look at different sides of the box: religion, tradition, culture, moral, symbols, and relationships. So, let’s turn off our ipods, pikachu volleyball games, minesweepers, or whatever, and look at the creations we have covered with our own hands.