Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Student Writing from Around the World: China

Favorite Things
--by Runzhao

In this year’s American Literature learning, there are many things I found interesting. There are mainly three things I’m interested in. They happened in different eras, have different historical meanings, but they all have a same point—they all acted as important roles in their eras. 

The first thing I like is how the people in America fought against the French and later the English. This thing attracted me the first time I saw it. In this war for freedom, both Indians and Americans fought hard to protect their motherland, as the story showed in The Last of the Mohicans. Uncas, an Indian young man, the hero in the story, fought against the British people with the help of an American person called Duncan Heyward. Though Uncas finally died in the battle, he’s remembered by every American who wants to gain freedom. He’s a role model for all the Americans. Even if I’m not an American, I still can understand the willing of freedom—that’s also why this is one of the favorite things in American Literature.

Another thing make me feel interesting are the poems of the New England Renaissance, especially Emily Dickinson’s. She is a great poet though her poems are mainly about death. I liked her poems very much because of both the style and the feeling. The feeling her poems gave me was very special—if you don’t look in it deeply, you’ll think these are just complaining about life. But in fact, what these poems show is deeper than only the death—it’s transcendent. If death is only transcendence, why should we still be afraid of it? We should just look it as a common thing—as Emily Dickinson did.

The third thing I like is the Gettysburg Address. This speech is first to remember the soldiers who died in the Gettysburg Battle, and second—which in fact is the most important point—is to encourage the people to keep fighting for freedom. This speech is one of the shortest speeches in American history, while also one of the most famous speeches, too. From this speech, I learned that we should never give up even if you are in the hardest time of your life. America was only built up for 300 years, but it has already become one of the most powerful countries in the world. Why? Because Americans always remember: we should never give up.

These are the three things I like best in the American Literature I’ve learned; the experiences they gave me will be a big amount of treasures in my future life.


Poem in the Style of Emily Dickinson
--by Runzhao

Something happens, something really terrible.
A persons dies, flies around him flying.
It is winter, cold his blood—
Put him into the mud.
The sky is dark,
Though the birds still lark.
A kind of feeling—full this season—
While nobody knows the reason.
We now all feel something
Is going to happen in the spring.


Pupa, Me
--by Runzhao

  A pupa is there, patiently waiting,
  Keeping itself common, on a branch of the tree.
  It’s waiting for the date of transformation,
  To become a beautiful butterfly,
  Colorful wings, slim stature,
  With an attractive dance,
  Flying freely in the sky.

  And I’m here waiting—though impatiently,
  Keeping myself common,
  Keeping my soul protected.
  I’m waiting for the date of transformation,
  To become a hero,
  Illustrious and eminent,
  Free and easy,
  Living happily in the world.

  Yes, I’m just like a pupa,
  Waiting for the date to become a butterfly,
  I have to wait—though impatiently,
  To make my soul more practiced,
  To lead a happy life in the future.

All copyrights retained by the student writer, printed with permission, 2010

1 comment:

  1. it's good to see this information in your post, i was looking the same but there was not any proper resource, thanx now i have the link which i was looking for my research.

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