Here is my version on how evil comes into the world  🙂

From her first blink on, her mother and father were right beside her. Flowers bloomed and the birds tweeted away. Immediately welcomed into loving arms and happy tears, child is surrounded by happiness. She is clothed, fed, and watered. She is kissed, cherished, and held. She is not only cute, but smart, brave, and strong. She is a baby that has the world set in front of her with support along the way. Mother teaches her how to talk and Father teaches her how to eat. Both read to her and sing the chapters that are little longer. Everything is protected, sheltered, safe. The flowers die with the heat though, and Mother and Father start to be exhausted with the sheer force of child. Child is talkative, runs instead of walks, and has an independent streak. The heat makes them hold child even closer, they teach her how to protect herself from the elements and how to properly take care of herself. That in heat, child needs to water herself just like the flowers in the springtime. Father teaches her how to swim and Mother teaches her how to bike. Everything is perfect, just like the smell of sunshine and freshly cut grass. When fall hits and the leaves strike the ground, child is almost an adult. Growing up is an accomplishment of herself and her parents. Father teaches her about self-esteem and Mother teaches her taxes. The future is in limbo but she is not. Steady and sturdy, flanked by parents.

Evil is the childhood with the eternal winter. Child was not welcomed at birth. She was scarcely clothed, fed, or watered. She is never kissed, cherished, or held. Child has to entertain herself, often with a blank TV screen and a box of books she cannot read. Mother does teach her how to talk, but her language is not geared for children and Father does not do any of the cooking so she fails to learn. Sometimes dinner is coffee and a cigarette with no laughter. Mother teaches her how to wear false eyelashes and Father tells her to be Daddy’s Little Girl. Mother laughs at the school district that keeps insisting that her daughter not skip classes and Father tells her that the black market rakes in much more money. When she comments quietly on attending college to study, she is merely ignored. Father has friends who stare a little too long and Mother has sisters that primp her for a night out. She is in limbo but her future is not. Her future is clearly stated, a childhood absent of nurture and of protection. Evil was created in this very moment in which child was born and ignored, not cherished. Evil is a system that fails to protect the innocent–the children.

Evil will not learn. Evil attacks everyone, it does not discriminate. But humans can learn. Without humans, there is no evil and therefore people can adapt to eliminate evil. Evil harms those who do not have a choice whether to participate or not the most. Evil is the eternal winter of a dark-filled, grey childhood. A childhood that that forces children into adulthood at birth.

End.

So I feel like I need to explain part of inspiration of how I think evil is created. I work as a Bylaw Compliance Officer and everyday I hear of sickening crimes against children and how the children are exploited by those that are supposed to love them. I truly do think evil can start in the home if the home is not a loving place. I know of why too many stories of evil to deny this truth. I also tied it into the seasons as growing up in the Okanagan, every story that I know and have been told has some mention of the weather or the season. We all have a deep connection to Mother Earth and I think every story is linked to the Earth in some way.

Bibliography

“Emotional Child Abuse: The Invisible Plague”.  Susan Jacoby. February 1985. Web. Retrieved May. 28, 2015 from http://www.nospank.net/jacoby.htm

Stepp, Stephanie D., et al. “Reciprocal Effects of Parenting and Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms in Adolescent Girls.” Development and psychopathology 26.2 (2014): 361-78.

Words.

Words are not only cultural, they are personal. Even within one particular culture, a word can have many various personal interpretations of a word. Those personal understandings of words signifies that the “world of words” that we live in. Chamberlin discusses the “ability of language itself–to discriminate between what is true and what is false, what is fact and what is fiction, what is important and what is unimportant” (163). Since language can help show truth and lies, it is the responsibility of the speaker to use words that factually represent this.

The meaning behind the world of words that Chamberlin describes, is that our world is inundated with words that can two effects-to help or harm. Words shape narratives about cultures, about people, and about experiences. These narratives in Canadian literature often aid those who represent power in the country and harm those who were and are effectively denied power in Canada. These narratives can take the form in stories about the “wild” or “savage” Aboriginal peoples that Europeans “explorers” encountered. We know now that these words are descriptions created to shift power and not accurate or true. Words carry weight and in the country we live in, that weight is shifted unfairly to demonstrate power. That is the current world of words in Canada.

An example in story-telling of how language can represent what is fact and what is fiction mentioned by Chamberlin is demonstrated in the video by Brave New Voices with a slam poem “Rape Joke” (trigger warning). The girls in the video talk about how poetry often describes things in metaphors such as “violets” for the dark skin under eyes. They then go on to say that regardless of what metaphors someone attaches to something, the truth of what it is behind the description will remain the same. Chamberlin, regarding metaphors states “After a while, any metaphor begins to lose its strangeness and to become so familiar that it seems simply true,” (162). When a metaphor that may be false becomes familiar and appears to then be true, this is when those narratives shaped by the metaphors and words that are not fact become a problem.

We feel closer to the world we live in because of the words we use and others use can “bring back very personal  memories” (181). Chamberlin is talking about a poem reminding him of personal loss, but words can bring back any type of memory. From my own experiences, the word ‘cute’ stands out in my mind as bringing forward thoughts of personal loss. I struggled with feeling beautiful throughout school and often resorted to damaging eating patterns. I was always called cute (I am just over 5 feet tall and fairly young-looking) and when I was growing up, this word was not a word that I wanted to hear. Still when I hear it, it brings back whole sorts of memories regarding my battles with self-acceptance and the labels from others. This mantra is one that helped me shape what words I wanted to define myself through. That is just one example of how words are personal and have attachments to them.

The world we live in is full of riddles, metaphors, and charms. These shape the stories that in turn shape us.

(https://meetville.com/images/quotes/Quotation-Angela-Carter-culture-life-power-language-Meetville-Quotes-119649.jpg)

Thank you for reading! 🙂

Hello!

I am a third year Geography student who is excited to learn about the discourses and stories surrounding the land that we live on. I live in the beautiful Okanagan valley and have different stories from people that I grew up with around the life we grow up here with which made me want to engage even further with stories about the Canada we live in. The article “Pushing Comfort Zones: Promoting Social Justice Through the Teaching of Aboriginal Canadian Literature” is a great piece that gives case studies on the effectiveness and change that happens in classrooms when teaching beyond the provided Western literature. This article is one of the many that I found helpful in demonstrating the importance of the written word.

ENGL 470A Canadian Studies is a course created to discover Canadian literature and linking together both European and Indigenous discourses. The impact of stories and literature are examined in a way to delve into what it means to live in Canada. This will be explored through learning about the different themes behind the stories. These can include whose stories are not being told, whose voices are the most prominent, and where are the stories coming from. Us students in the class will gain skills in learning how to recognize overarching themes in the literature, such as classism or colonization. One particular objective that I am looking forward to attaining is learning how to recognize symbols and narratives that are not Western thought.

This photo reminded me of the power of words. We all possess the capacity to change stories and change misrepresentations with what we say and what we do. When we actively pursue telling and sharing stories and literature, we add the the collective voice of Canada. Spoken word poet Shane Koyczan discusses in his poem “This is my voice” the power of one’s story. By taking courses that challenge the who, the where, and the why of Canadian literature and combining both Indigenous and European writings, we are better equipped to help shape future Canadian societies and change ourselves.

My expectations for the course is that I will not only engage with literature and stories, but I will be engaging with my fellow students that all bring forward different perspectives and opinions. As one of the course objectives concern is to understand the position of Canadian literature currently and to offer ideas and solutions for problems for the future, I would like to have a concrete foundation in Canadian literature to give guidance and suggestions for future policy makers, writers, and teachers. Offering wisdom and advice for the future is one of the most important things scholars can do, the passing of information and knowledge only leads to a  better informed and knowledgeable society as a whole. Knowledge is power and those who possess a wider knowledge of Canadian literature will have impact far beyond the course but will extend into their individual conduct and studies.

Sources Used

amberrhowe. “Shane Koyczan-This is my Voice.” Online Video. Youtube. Youtube, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 May. 2015.

Elaine Chang. “The Power of Stories.” UBC Blogs. University of British Columbia. Internet Blog. 12 May. 2015.

Wiltse, Lynne, Ingrid Johnston, and Kylie Yang. “Pushing Comfort Zones: Promoting Social Justice through the Teaching of Aboriginal Canadian Literature.” Changing English 21.3 (2014): 264-77.