Tag: love

Life in Our Village

“Life in Our Village” by Matei Markwei is an easily understood, childlike , loosely rhyming poem, that expresses a universal truth about youthful love.

Discussion Questions:

Theme:
What is the universal truth in “Life in Our Village”?

  • Boys and girls will do what comes naturally; love cannot be forbidden or exiled.

Technique:
What techniques does the poet use to articulate this theme?(give examples)

  • repetition
  • understatement
  • parallel structure

Issues:
Can adults forbid love from blossoming in the young?

Is humanity weak?

Is it strong to resist love?

To what extent do you see similarities between the attitudes and behaviours expressed in this poem, and those with which you are personally familiar?

What do you like about this poem?

What do you dislike?

“Life in Our Village” by Matei Markwei
In our village
When elders are around,
Boys must not look at girls
And Girls must not look at boys
Because the elder say
That is not good.

Even when night comes
Boys must play separately,
Girls must play separately.
But humanity is weak
So boys and girls meet.

The boys play hide and seek
And the girls play hide and seek.
The boys know where the girls hide
And the girls know where the boys hide –
So in their hide and seek,
Boys seek girls
Girls seek boys,
And each to each sing
Songs of love.

Human Qualities and Ideals in Film

Davidge: “If one receives evil from another, let one not do evil in return. Rather, let him extend love to the enemy, that love might unite them.” I’ve heard all this before… in the human Taalmaan.
Jerry: Of course you have. Truth is truth.

From the film, Enemy Mine (1985)

Enemy Mine(1985)
Enemy Mine(1985)

Imagine a character from the film has arrived somehow in your world (in character, not the actor). Imagine the situation in which you sit down and have a 3-5 minute conversation with him/her. Write the dialogue of your conversation with the character.

Consider some of the following questions:

  1. What does this film make you think or wonder about?
  2. From this film, what did you learn about life, about different places, about history, about science, about religion, and so on?
  3. What is the film really about?
  4. Do you think the title is appropriate?
  5. What are some of the most important ideas?
  6. Were there parts of the film you didn’t understand?
  7. What does the film make you want to learn more about?
  8. What lessons does the film teach about life?
  9. Where else could the story take place?
  10. Could the setting be a real place that exists now?
  11. In any other time or place, how would the story change?
  12. Who is the most important character?
  13. Who is the most interesting character?
  14. Which character taught you the most?
  15. What seems to drive this person to action?
  16. What action tells us most about this person?
  17. What action affects your feelings about this person?
  18. What are some basic character traits of this person?
  19. What is the greatest weakness of this person?
  20. How does this person relate to other people?
  21. What is special or important about this person’s moral or religious life?
  22. How does this person change or mature?
  23. What personal insights enlighten this person?
  24. What in our world would shock the central character most?
  25. What would make anyone know this character didn’t fit in our world?
  26. What serious matters could you talk about with this person?
  27. What important values would you disagree on?
  28. What would your parents think about this character?
  29. What social causes would this person support?
  30. What television programs would be most appealing to this character?
  31. What would be the political affiliation, if any, of this person?
  32. What religious dogma would be most appealing or disgusting to this character?

Reference:

http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/e/enemy-mine-script-transcript-quaid.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089092/quotes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Mine_(film)

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?41444

“The story of a man, incomplete in himself, taught to be a human by his sworn enemy, an alien being who leaves with the human its most important possession: its future.” from iUniverse

The Human Condition

Equality

Pingo Lingo Discussion Questions on Enemy Mine