Empathy

<--- that's the empathy symbol.

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'"NO!"

I collapsed by his body, still clinging to his hand, that had been so warm just moment before. Now it was just clammy and stiff. Tears ran down my cheeks, sliding off my chin and landing on his dirty clothes. His beautiful, chocolate-coloured eyes stared blankly up at the gray sky, and just one glance at him told me he was dead, dead and never coming back.

I looked up at the soldier that had shot him, my grief and shock replaced by anger. Too bad that was the last emotion that I felt as I stared up his gun.'

Ah, the joys of empathy. The emotion that gets your heart pumping, and that makes you relieved when you think; "it's only a book, it's not happening right now, not to me." Writers make you feel this emotion with powerful words, strong descriptions, and characters that you can relate to. For example, if the main character in a story was perfect in every way, then I would actually be glad that someone dies, and when someone is like that, it's extremely hard to relate to them, so everything that happens is painfully boring. Those are some of the ways writers make you feel empathy, but there are many more.

So next time you are writing a story, think to yourself; "do I feel empathy for my character for my character?" If you do, then I'll know that you read my post!

If Suddenly YOU Had to Make the Money...

If all of a sudden your parents lost their jobs, and you were responsible to make all the money to support your big family, what would you do?

That's a tough question for many if us, because many of us can't even imagine a scenario like this. Everyone at SJK comes from realativley wealthy families, and we are all comfortable and not in danger of our parents loosing their jobs. But I suppose if we try hard enough, especially after having read The Breadwinner, it's possible. So, here's my opinion

If I heard that I was the only one capable of supporting my family, I would probably go into shock for a couple of hours. I think I could be capable, though; as long as there was a job I could do easily that would actually earn me enough money. I would definitley be a bit overwhelmed at first, but as I continued to do it, I would feel perfectly fine. I've handled LOT'S of stress before, even if this might be slightly bigger than past issues.

It would be quite a different life. I would probabley have to drop out of school, for one, and that alone would affect my way of living almost too much to even imagine! I would probably be too busy to have friends, and I'd feel pretty lonely. I guess it would be okay if it was something I really enjoyed doing, but I really doubt that would be the case. My life would be pretty much flipped upside down!

But this is really the case in some countries. Sad, isn't it? Imagine all that labour, just to be able to barely support a big family. The Breadwinner has helped me feel empathy for these people, and, perhaps when I get a bit older, I will be able to help.