Freewrite
How does Leymah throw away or give away her power? How does she get it back? Is she stronger or weaker for the exchange? What is the cost? (be detailed and specific).
1. Share drafts & planning
2. Homework -- finish essay. We meet here on Monday, Feb. 27.
How does Leymah throw away or give away her power? How does she get it back? Is she stronger or weaker for the exchange? What is the cost? (be detailed and specific).
1. Share drafts & planning
2. Homework -- finish essay. We meet here on Monday, Feb. 27.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 9:09 AM
20 Comments:
Mark Jansz
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A Spring 2012
23 February 2012
Free Write
I believe that Leymah throw’s away her power when she and Daniel get together. The minute Leymah and Daniel get together; Leymah loses all of her power. Daniel beat’s Leymah and abuses her and she does not do anything to stop it. When Leymah got pregnant she was still being abused and hurt. Leymah never fought back towards Daniel and never took a stand. Even while Leymah was together with Daniel, Daniel would go out and have affairs with other women. Leymah regains her power when she leaves Daniel and gets and education. Leymah takes her kids with her and moves back with her parents. She goes out to work and also to study while her parents looked after the kids during the day. After regaining her power, she is stronger as a person both physically and mentally. She is stronger because she is independent and she does not have to rely on Daniel for support. She took matters into her own hands and she was the one who was the provider. She wasn’t the leech who would do nothing; she went out and became the person she is. She led the women's movement for peace in her country. The cost for the exchange was not a harmful cost, but a good cost. She became the person who she is today and cut away all the bad connections in her life which held her back from moving forward in life.
Ana Vasquez
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
February 23, 2012
Freewrite:
Leymah does not necessarily throw away her power. She was just not able to show it when she was with a man who would physically and mentally abuse her. It was hard for Leymah to actually show how strong she was until she met other women with similar problems like hers only ten times worse. She was able to benefit from these women and gain strength to become powerful and successful. She is now a woman of success and she is looked up too, because of her achievements. It is not easy to live in a time where war was an issue and women would get hurt because men would take advantage of them. The memoir was able to show both sides of Leymah her weak side and her strong side.
Mike Lieu
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Leymah throws away her power by not leaving Daniel sooner. He physically and emotionally abused her all the time and he cheated on her all the time. Her first start to getting her power back is when she took her children and went back home to her parents. That was the first step to regaining power. The next important thing she did was become a social worker and help all these women and ex rebel fighters by talking with them and listening to what they had to say. This made her stronger because she became an independent woman, and doesn’t have to rely on a man to take care of herself and her children.
John Sills
Prof. Sabir
English 1A
February 23, 2012
Leymah draws her power from those around her. She tends to be helpless when she surrounds herself with people who don’t have her best interests at heart. Specifically, she seems helpless when she is and around Daniel. Their is a scene in the book where Leymah discusses leaving Daniel for a better life back home. I bring this up because I feel like at this point in the book she seems the most powerless over the events that are going on in her life. When she was a child she was strong minded and had the drive to succeed in her education. And I didn't get enough time to finish my ideas...
Nezha Abdelrahman
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Freewrite: How does Leymah throw away or give away her power? How does she get it back? Is she stronger or weaker for the exchange? What is the cost?
I believe that Leymah had thrown away her power because she felt that since the war was happening she wasn’t able to do anything and because she didn’t have a college education, she felt like she had no where to go. At the same time, I feel like she had given away her power when she met Daniel. She had given it away by being in a abusive relationship with him and then remaining with him by using the excuse of having children by him. She finally gets it back by going back to school, working with other women who the war had torn their life apart, and by finding confidence and strength for herself. I believe that she became stronger than she ever was. She was able to write this book and help other women in Liberia. From the movie, “Pray the devil back to hell”, it looked like she was the one who mostly ended the war, her and the women of Liberia.
Stephen Yang
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Leymah didn't throw away her power, but was forced to give it away during the war. When she was with Daniel, she was forced to give her power to Daniel because she had to depend on him financially. She loses her self-esteem and pride when he abuses her physically and emotionally while she was with him the whole time. She was forced to have sex with him when he wanted to, and he bluntly cheated on her in front of her consequently. How Leymah gets her power back from Daniel was by running away from his oppression by himself and his family. After she escapes, she realizes the only way she could be stronger was to move on, even if she didn't forgive him. The cost of gaining power was the consequences she made while she was with him. Her children were one of her powers that she had to give away to the family and she got it back when she and the organization ended the war.
Keith Richard Salminen
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
In Class Free write:
Leymah some what throws away her freedom when she hooks up with Daniel. This is because of even though she ends up having three kids that she loves to death as a result of this relationship, it also takes a toll on her because of the constant beatings and trash talking he dishes out at her during the time they are together. It even gets to a point from with him calling her “stupid” and other names all the time, her daughter Amber emulates her father one night when they are having dinner together by saying, “Papa, don’t! Don’t give her any! She’s a stupid girl!” when Leymah asks for some food.
She is able to regain some of that power when she finally leaves Daniel and returns to Liberia with the children after dealing with horrific issues and problems while staying with Daniel’s family. After returning home, she gets a job and meets Tunde, who not only becomes her new love interest, but also one of many people who begin to help her turn her life around. She fully regains her power as she begins to become involved with the women’s movement for peace in Liberia.
While she lost a lot of power in the beginning as a result of bad choices she made, she is able to regain near to all of it when she begins making the right choices and becomes part of the movement for peace.
Espinoza, James
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
I believe that Leymah gave her power away when she decided to get into a relationship with a man named Daniel, knowing full well how bad of a man he was. Daniel was very controlling, adulterous, and abusive. He sexually and verbally abused her all the time, the only reason she stayed with him was because he would provide money for her to survive. The only good thing she got out of her relationship with him was her children she had with him. Who were not conceived out of love but more because of Daniel's lust. She got her power back when she finally decided to leave him and take care of her family on her own. At first she was resentful of her children but as she matured she said she wouldn't give them up for the world.
Ngoc Huynh
23 February 2012
Leymah gives her away her power when she decides to be with a man that she already knew wasn't faithful. She knew that Daniel was unfaithful, yet she still wanted to be wit him. She allowed him to treat her in a way that makes her inferior to him. She stayed with him. If she didnt want to give up her power, she should've left him when he beat her, raped her, and treated her so poorly. She gets her power back when she finally decides to leave him and forgive him. She began to go and help other people. Other women began looking to her for advice and help. This is where she regains her power.
Samantha Swain
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
I remember one time Leymah gave up her power, and that was towards the end of the book when she decided to stop working for the WANEP I think it was and started the WIPSEN. All were centered on aiding those in need, however WIPSEN was focused on women, what Leymah is most passionate about. Leymah was a leader at WANEP, and that’s where she gained all of her power and experience. She gave that up initially because she didn’t think it was getting anywhere anymore, and wasn’t making her feel like she was making a difference. However when the thought of starting WIPSEN, the passion returned. And from there she gained back her power with her many supporters and her perseverance.
Whitney Maxwell
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Free write
Leymah’s memoir starts off with her showing a side of herself that was determined and confident. A graduating high school student with ambitions to attend the University of Liberia to become a doctor. However, as the war breaks the people of Monrovia begin to lose control of their sense of community and sanity. Leymah loses her power to stay motivated. Leymah’s first lost of power happen when she enters into a seemingly perfect relationship with Daniel. Unfortunately this relationship turns sour as she finds that Daniel is not all he painted himself to be. He begins to be abusive and distant, nonetheless Leymah finds herself mother to 4 Children. In a way, Leymah children are another lose of power. Although she was grateful for each of her children, the situation in which they were born wasn’t ideal. She had born children to a man she did not love, who abused her and she was afraid to leave because of her dependence on him. Leymah eventually finds the courage to leave Daniel and this begins her journey to regain power of her life. She begins work at A Trauma Healing Program, where she realizes that her struggle is not as bad in comparison to other affected by the war. She is able to provide a listening ear and an open heart to those who otherwise were invisible. Seeing the need for this type of work Leymah is empowered and realizes the need to no longer just talk, but to take action. It in these actions that Leymah starts to encompass her true ability, to change a nation.
Flora Diamond
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Free Write
Leymah throws away her power the second she makes the decision to be with Daniel, even though she knows hes bad. She sacrificed her morals and made a poor decision to be in a dysfunctional relationship with him even though she knew beforehand that it would not work. Her belief that she needed a man to survive in her chaotic, apocalyptic living environment degraded her even more once he started to abuse her and she put up with it.
Leymah continued to be abused and became even more depressed as time went on. In the midst of her depression and the Liberia war, she gave birth to four children with Daniel. Throughout their entire relationship, her children we’re privy to her and Daniels disputes. Sadly, Leymah put up with Daniels crap for years and it wasn’t until she moved away, that she began to realize she could function without him, without a man. Thus she started to regain her power back that she had once lost.
Leymah later forgave Daniel, to clear herself of all guilt and hatred that welled up inside her all those years. In doing so, she cleared herself of anxiety and was able to be a stronger person to lead the women of Liberia in peaceful protest against the ongoing war. For three years the women protested, until finally, they forced a peace treaty to be written. In forcing this peace treaty, Leymah and the women in Liberia gained their power back and forced a nation, governed by men to end a war.
Unfortunately, the journey of losing and gaining her power came at a great price. Leymah put her children at heavy risk and demoralized herself by continuing to stay with an abusive man. In the end of her trials, Leymah came out on top, proving herself and that she could fall so low and rise again, giving hope to all women who feel powerless.
Analise Bostrom
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
How does Leymah throw away or give away her power? How does she get it back? Is stronger or weaker for the exchange? What is the cost?
At the beginning of her memoir Leymah is a successful young adult with a bright future. The war takes all that away. A lot of her power is taken away by the soldiers of the war, but she also gives up her own power when she meets a young man named Daniel. She relies on him for financial and emotional support, to escape from the war. But by staying with Daniel she loses her freedom to do what she wants and the power over her life. It only gets worse when she is bond to him even tighter when she bears 4 of his children. Now she loses almost all freedom and power she has. And then once she escapes from him (while she still has the kids) she goes to her parents’ house and mopes…. Inspired by her family, she pulls herself together just enough to get into a volunteer program. Once in the program she is inspired further to make a change in the war. Her progress escalates until she becomes the leader of a major peace movement for her country. Now she has fame, wealth, and most of all, power. I believe that by giving up her old life, the young woman’s dream of becoming a doctor and leading a successful but ordinary life, and building back up to what she is now, an accomplished peace movement leader, she has become stronger and more powerful than she could have ever dreamed. While she made extraordinary accomplishments, they came at a cost. She gave up a lot of time that she could have spent with her family and lovers; the important relationships with the ones she loves have weakened. And overall, she gave up a lot of time that she might have spent to simply relax and enjoy life.
Colleen Low
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Free Write Leymah’s throwing away power, gets it back, costs?
As a young woman, Leymah did not have the tools to make decisions to which she paid a price, when she encountered and pursued a relationship with Daniel. One could suppose, this event was the beginning of her downfall, however some people have to learn the hard way. She was very young, centered in an environment of war, had not much experience in life, to which she was not in love, but lust with this older man, who was unfortunately a predator. Leymah’s desire to make things work out of the want (need) for love because she was lying to herself that things would become better, even during the physical violence only accentuated the shame, which turned into helplessness. She was trapped.
Leymah finally understood that this abusive relationship was nothing close to true love but false love and takes her children ad returns home. Her first step to regaining strength is to acknowledge the problem. During this bad relationship, she did loose much of her self-esteem and it took some time for her to regain faith in herself. What prompted Leymah to jump into action was seeing how her children had been affected by all the turmoil in the relationship, which became the children’s environment. Thus Leymah is in survival mode and was fortunate enough to have people in her life to support her and give guidance.
Kenneth Magno
Professor Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
As an African women born and raised in Liberia, Laymah Gbowee faces many struggles that causes her to give away her power. The constant war and struggle for peace in Liberia she faces in the peak of her transition from adolescence to adult hood really challenge her mentally and physically. Leymah was born into a family with strong values, connections and power. She lost this power when she made the decision to take the verbal and physical abuse from her late husband, Daniel. She showed weakness and insecurity. For years she suffers a constant struggle for her identity in the fast changing war in Liberia. She obtains a sense of new power when she takes control of her own life, making decisions that are better for her and her children. How she left Daniel, worked hard for a respectable job, and created a women's movement for peace that spread like wild fire. Leymah Gbowee is a strong and powerful women that many look up to as an inspiration for hope and better change.
Savannah Conley
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
February 24, 2012
Leymah first loses her strength, in my opinion, when she has to leave school because of the war. And goes down from there, especially when she meets Daniel and gets pregnant. The strong woman we see at the end of the book is a completely different person, and she gets there through leaving Daniel, taking care of her children when she doesn't even feel motivated to take care of her self. But the biggest turn around for her in my opinion is when she realized her life was bigger than her self and she did something with her life. She got a job, and went back to school and used both to not just better her self but better her community and her family.
Hoan Vu
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
26 February 2012
Free writing
Leymah throw away her power when she got involve with Daniel. Daniel took advantage of circumstances, he did not respect Leymah he was using her. Leymah completely Lost her powwer to Daniel, he took control of every aspects of Leymah's life. Leymah was powerless to help her self and lost the sense of who she really was. But Leymah bounced back She used her pain and anger to fuel her ambitions and propelled her self beyond her expectations. Leymah rises and beyond ordinary and became a hero to her nation. Leymah went above and beyond her duty as peace activist, her dedications cost her valuable time with her family, she did not have time to spend with her children as they grew up. she miss all the funs that a normal family should have.
Freewrite- Leymah/Power
Susan Kelly
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
How does Leymah throw away of give away her power? How does she get it back? Is she stronger or weaker for the exchange? What is the cost?
Leymah gave away her power when she entered into a relationship with Daniel, he had a reputation for being a cheating man and despite his rep he was able to win her over and because she succumbed Leymah also lost self-respect. In the eyes of her community the union was not Christian like because they had sex before marriage.
Danishia Mahomes
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
February 26 2012
Freewrite:How does Lehma throw away or give away her power? How does she get it back? Is she stronger or weaker for the exchange? What is the cost?
Lehma throws her power away when the war started in Liberia.Drastic thigs occured around her, during the war. Emotionally disturb, she
lost her dreams of ever going to college. Not long after she meet up with a man named Daniel, who is was very jealous. Daniel became obsessive with power her wanted over Lehma. When Daniel would get upset he would hit Lehma. Lehma stayed with Daniel after each beating to keep her family together. It took Lehma a while to figure out that she wasn't going to stay with Daniel much longer. The week she spent on the hospital floor with her new born baby was the wake up call for her. Lehma moved back home with her parents. Unable to shake the past, lehma still has not gained her power back. The one day she got up and realized that she could fix the broken ends of her life.And she did take the power back over her life. Lehma, is a stronger person now than ever before. Lehma had to go threw so tragic epericence in life, but in the end she has her four children, supporting family, a degree, a career and her power.
Adriana Ultreras
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
23 February 2012
Freewrite
In my opinion, Leymah threw away her power when she became submissive and stayed in a relationship that she knew wasn’t going to last. When it comes to love she tend to do this quit often. She falls for guys that she knows in her heart are not for her. She gets into a relationship for all the wrong reasons: sex, financial help, security, etc. Maintaining a relationship with Daniel took a lot of Leymah’s power. In my opinion, she lost one of the most important things; hope.
When she first graduated high school she had inspiring dreams of being a doctor and being successful. With the start of war, her dreams were put on hold. It was her relationship with Daniel that took away her power to believe in herself. She wasn’t the fighting that she had always been. She became submissive and weak when it came to standing up for herself.
Leymah gets her strength back when she leaves Daniel and start to focus more on her children and her career. After she leaves Daniel she works for many organizations that give women power. She is much stronger after the split, since she is no longer in an abusive relationship that is bringing her down. The cost to this is the humiliation she faces. Leymah was at a low in her life with the way that Daniel treated her. I feel as if this also motivated her to better herself and be as successful as she now is; ironically thanks to Daniel.
Post a Comment
<< Home