My Writing Portfolio

A Game of Cards Essay

In the short text “A game of cards” by Witi Ihimaera, the narrator speaks about his Nani Miro’s life and her final moments with her family. A memorable idea in this story was that you should live life being happy and enjoy your time while you are here. This was memorable to me because it shows that death doesn’t have to be sad, rivalry and friendships are not so different, and that life is going to be full of ups and downs.

One reason why the idea that you should live life being happy and enjoying your time was memorable to me was that it shows that death doesn’t have to be sad was memorable to me was because death is usually thought of as something to be sorrowful about and not something to be happy about. We see this in the text when all of Nani Miro’s family and friends go to her house as she lives her final moments and as she passes everyone is having a good time playing card games and even when Nani Miro passed she was happy, “She began to laugh. Her eyes streamed with tears. While she was laughing, she died.” This shows us that even though losing a loved one is indeed a sad event there are ways to make it less depressing and more about love and family. The message I take away from this is that we should always try to look on the bright side of life.

Another reason the idea that you should live life being happy and enjoying your time was memorable to me was because it shows rivalry and friendships are not so different as it is shown all throughout the text that Nani Miko and Mrs. Heta are always bickering and fighting yet seem to be best friends. We see this in the text when Nani Miro and Mrs. Heta are playing cards, “Eee! You cheat, Miro! I got two aces in my hand already!” but then moments later “Mrs. Heta took the cards from Nani’s hands and kissed her.”  This shows us that even though Nani Miro and Mrs. Heta are great rivals that they still have love for each other. The main message I take from this is that rivalry should always come hand in hand with friendship. 

The final reason that you should live life being happy and enjoying your time while you’re here was memorable to me was because it shows us that life is going to be full of ups and downs. We see this in the text when Nani Miro and the Narrator are speaking to each other, “A long hoarse sigh grew on her lips. Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked at me with blank eyes, and then tears began to roll down her cheeks.” but then moments later they began laughing with each other “She started to laugh and laugh and I was almost persuaded she was her own self.” This shows us that your view on life can change at a moment’s notice and that life’s ups and downs are what make life worth living. This reminds me of our world because everyday life is filled with ups and downs and that’s just something you have to deal with. 

 In Witi Ihimaera’s short story “A game of cards” he writes about Nani Miro’s life and her final moments with her family. The most memorable idea in this story is that you should live life being happy and enjoying your time while you’re here. This was memorable to me because it shows that death doesn’t have to be sad, rivalry and friendships are not so different, and that life is going to be full of ups and downs. This book is a great example of living life happy and to its fullest.

The Power of One Going For a Run Scene Essay

This essay is about the movie The Power Of One directed by John G. Advildsen. This movie is about the life of PK, a South African boy born in a small village, and his journey to make a difference. In this assessment I have written about, mise en scene, symbolism, and facial expressions.

In the scene where PK and Gideon are running through Alexandrea, we see the aspect of mise en scene majorly used. As PK and Gideon run through the township we get to see the horrible living conditions of the South Africans as people line up to use the only toilet in the area, we then see a man getting thrown off of a truck and just chaos in general. The director did this to give the viewer a better idea of how hard it was to live at this point in time, with the terrible working conditions and the prejudice against non-whites. It also shows us that the main characters are the only ones who are suffering and the feeling that there is a bigger picture. This helps the audience get a better understanding of how chaotic life was for people living in the Bantu locations and how unfair the world was. This aspect can be contrasted to the scene earlier where PK and Morrie are able to freely roam the streets with no worry in contrast to the streets in this scene where cops are being violent towards the native South Africans.

In the next part of the scene where PK and Gideon are going to drink water from the drinking fountains, we see some major symbolism. For Instance, when PK and Gideon are at the taps PK tries to drink out of the whites-only tap but it doesn’t work.  So PK goes down to the blacks-only tap which looks a lot less looked after and clean. This was done to show that PK is equal with Gideon and shows that they are both still human beings no matter their skin color. This can make the audience think about what they can do to make a change and stop injustice. This reminds me of the scene that happens immediately after this, as it is a giant waterfall with thousands of water dropping and all of that started from one drop of water. 

In the final part of the scene, PK and Gideon are running through the town and we see a lot of facial expressions in the background. For example, when PK and Gideon walk over to use the drinking fountains you can see multiple people looking disgusted when they see Gideon. The Director did this to show how people of color were treated and how the world has changed for the better. This helps us understand how people of color used to be treated and that the world used to be a dark place. This is contrasted to when PK was walking around the prison and all the prisoners gave a wave to PK and greeted him with smiles.

In conclusion, this scene has a lot of hidden meaning behind it such as, the water fountains and what they represent, the facial expressions and reactions of the people, and all of the little details put in this scene. This shows a lot about how life used to be and a better insight into the life of this fictional character PK.

The Trip 

Walking through the old cities was a struggle, you never knew when a drooling beast could jump out at you. They are mindless beings who only destroy, they are the reason the world is so desolate. Joel and his adoptive daughter Ellie made their way through the dense concrete structures, spiraling staircases that only lead to death. “Joel, shouldn’t we be a little more cautious seeing that there might be infected nearby?” Ellie suggested as she wobbled around the old tree roots. “Nah don't worry this place has been cleared the only infected we would run into are already on their dying breath,” he responded in confidence. The infected only live to spread their virus but Ellie is special, Ellie is immune to the virus. No one appears to know how or why so they have assumed that it was a natural phenomenon. 

Making their way around the old roads, suddenly Joel tripped over a rotting tree root.“JOEL!” Ellie screeched as he tumbled down a musty drainage pipe. “It's alright, it's alright,” he muttered as he wiped the gruesome sewage off of himself. “Ellie you need to go find somewhere safe to stay while I find my way out of this hell hole,” Joel said in worry. “If you say so boss…” she replied sarcastically. Ellie found an old office to stay in, she began rummaging through old books about the world, Ellie was born only a few years after the infection had begun so all she's ever known is conflict. She began thinking to herself about where she would want to go if the world ever goes back to normal.

Meanwhile, Joel pulled his shotgun and headlight out of his bag and decided to go find a way out, as he finally saw the light he could hear someone moving towards him, something even… He hid behind an old barrel and tried to stay as silent as possible. The thing began making horrid noises which only meant one thing, it was an infected. The only other sound in the air was heavy breathing as the infected shrugged over to Joel... He leaned out as fast as he could and pulled the trigger shooting 4 rounds into the infected, the shots could be heard from a mile away. This infected may be dead now, but this only means there are more around. 

All of a sudden gunshots flew past Joel’s head at the speed of light, someone else was here… Joel jumped back behind an ancient relic of the past, also known as a car. “What do you want?” shouted the suspicious figure. “I just need to find my way out of here, I mean no harm,” Joel replied abruptly. It seemed as the figure was closing in that Joel was running out of options but all of a sudden the figure came out of the shadows and was a seemingly innocent child, he looked about Ellie’s age. Joel was filled with confusion as to why a child was roaming the streets alone. “Relax, I’m just a kid…” the child said to comfort Joel. “the names Michael, I was just scavenging for some scraps”. Joel was standing still with a confused yet relieved look on his face, “Oh alright... “ Joel replied cautiously. “If you want I can take you back to my village and get you some meds” the child suggested. Joel hadn’t even noticed he had a gushing cut on his leg and agreed to head to his village. “Let me go grab someone first, alright?” Joel asserted.  Joel and Micheal then walked over to Ellie and explained the situation.

Joel, Ellie, and Micheal began to head over to the village. Joel did feel assured that there was a group of other people out there but still had a suspicious feeling deep down. The snow crunched between their boots as they entered the village, “the snow hasn’t stopped for weeks, it feels like it's never-ending.” Micheal complained. Ellie saw people everywhere, like ants working for their queen, she had never seen so many people in one place, it was almost perfect, it was too perfect... Ellie and Joel then were taken to the town hall and given some food, it was too good to resist, it seemed to be pork and potatoes. They were shown a room where they could stay for a while. In an instant, they both went to bed and slept like babies. Soon after Ellie woke up, she assumed it was around midnight. However, when she looked over her shoulder to see how Joel was doing he was unaccounted for. Not so long later Ellie had decided to go have a look around for Joel. There was a room a few feet away from theirs, the door seemed dark and gloomy… Tiny footsteps could be heard as Ellie drew closer and closer to the door but as she opened it turned out this seemed to be some sort of slaughterhouse, all of a sudden she noticed some muffled screaming from the backroom... She pulled out her miniature axe and was on guard, she quietly leaned around the corner of the door and stood there. Her pupils dilated and she began to shake, what she saw was gruesome. It was bodies of humans being stacked like a pile of legos, some with limbs removed and some still holding on to their last breath, “could it be, that these people are cannibals?” Ellie thought to herself in disbelief.

She sprinted away but then a looming shadow was awaiting her, “you shouldn’t be snooping around there little girl…” with a flaming torch in hand the man slowly shuffled over. Ellie then tried to run but he had blocked all of the exits, but her keen eye saw a vent that had been broken and needed maintenance so she sprinted over to it and crawled as fast as she could, her body filled with adrenaline. She tried to make her way out of this hell hole. All she could think about was where Joel was and if he knew what was really going on.  With every room she passed she got filled with more and more hopelessness, then there was a room emitting red light and the person under the light was Joel, there were two men with knives preparing to kill him. Without a single thought Ellie jumped out of the ventilation system and threw an axe into one of the men and quickly freed Joel from the ropes, Joel grabbed the knife from the ground and got into a defensive stance in front of Ellie. A brawl commenced between Joel and the cannibal, hits were being traded and wounds inflicted, a surgical instrument got impaled right into the side of Joel's face and blood started pouring like a tap out of the wound. Ellie’s hands were trembling, sweat dripping down her scalp, she didn’t know what to do, she then noticed that Joel's gear was packed next to her and went with her gut, she pulled out his shotgun and shot the bullets into this fiend, like a dart flying into a dartboard. Joel looked at her with a proud look on his face, “next time hold the gun a bit more straight alright?” he said sarcastically, they both started laughing hysterically. 

Not so long later they patched up their wounds; they noticed that there was a shed with an astounding amount of horses; there was one with a saddle attached, so they hopped on.“Let's get the hell out of this psycho town,” Ellie said in relief. Joel noticed that there was smoke rising from the town, “oopsie that might have been me…” Ellie mumbled with a smart look on her face. As the snow began to dwindle, the sun beamed through the puzzled clouds onto their luscious locks and they wandered away to commence another journey...