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Chapter 2 - MATTERS OF THE HEART

There are many kinds of love and each love depends on what we feel for another. Love can be either strong or weak. There could be love that you may have for your parents, children, pets, friends, relatives, or just about anyone , other than the love between two people. The love between two people of a couple may be different because we find more sacrifice, understanding  and honesty in it, the love among family members is driven by responsibility. 

As It Was in the Beginning

- E. Pauline Johnson

The story  As It Was in the Beginning written by E. Pauline Johnson who is a member of the Cree tribe a Canadian Aboriginals is about Esther, a young Aboriginal woman who left her family to become educated and converted to Christianity. She has learned the white man's ways but is very homesick. She misses the more natural surroundings of her people. The story is important because it deals with very universal issues like homesickness, prejudice (preconception), and love. 

The story runs on the theme of discrimination and hypocrisy prevalent in America. The story illustrates the many sufferings of the Indians, who saw their culture ravaged (raped/Having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence) in the name of GOD they had not heard or needed before. Father Paul takes Esther away from her people and tries his best to turn her into white "civilized" girl. However much Esther learnt during her life in the mission, she is not seen as an equal by him, who claims to love her, but just pity her for her red skin. We also get a brief glimpse of the horrible injustice inflicted upon the Native people in the name of religion. Religion is used as  a weapon to assimilate (absorb) Native children and wipe out their culture.

Esther was a native who spend all her  childhood in a catholic mission. She grew up with Father Paul and his nephew Laurence, in the mission. She always remembered her redskin family and was always hoping to go back home. One night she realized that Laurence and she was deeply in love with each other. This brings a new happiness to Esther, a new hope. Now she has a reason to stay, but very soon all this new happiness was going to be end because of Father Paul.

One day Lawrence confessed to Father Paul about his love to Esther and his decision to marry her. This really upsets Father Paul who doesn't agree with this marriage. He imposes prejudices on Laurence, convincing him not to marry Esther without a thought to how Esther might feel. Father Paul doesn't even regard her as a person, much less a woman with a thoughts and feelings and intelligence. How ironic that he teaches love and acceptance on one hand and yet does not practice what he preaches.

Esther was a pagan (ethnic/A person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew)), father Paul exclaimed, a person with mix blood. Her mother was a redskin and father French. She was a savage (barbaric), an uncivilized person who Lawrence could never trust. He wants that Lawrence get marry with the Hudson's bay factor's daughter, a white girl. Unfortunately, father convinces Lawrence and made him believe that marrying Esther was a bad decision.

Esther realized that she had wrongly trusted Lawrence, Father Paul and their religion. It also made her realize that all the love and care that Father Paul gave her through years was false. He does not love her; he was just worrying about doing his job. The same man whom Esther so much revered and respected and loved and took him as a saint became her own enemy in the end. And this definitely broke Esther's heart and made her wish to go back home more than never.

In the end, Esther wanted to kill Laurence who betrayed her so that it will break Father Paul's heart and he suffers. He has killed the best of her, her womanhood so she will kill his best of his pride, his hope- his sister's son. She took out a small poisonous arrow from her bag of her buckskin dress which her mother gave her. Then she quietly went to him and knelt down and scratched his head twice and Lawrence slept forever. She turned the lamp down and ran out of the house and finally went back to her family. 

Johnson uses irony and religious symbolism in this story to convey the hypocrisy of Father Paul's ideologies about the native people. Father Paul is a fraud and a hypocrite in that he presents one face to Esther and another to Laurence. He pities Esther rather than loving her as he says he does. She his his project. She is not seen as an equal by him, who claims to love her, but just pity her for her redskin


Paragraph

Paragraph is a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering. Most relatively long pieces of writing are divided into paragraphs to help guide the reader through the content and enable them to grasp the main points. A new paragraph signals the introduction of a new idea, theme, or argument and each new paragraph should be indicated by starting a new line: this applies to printed or electronic text and to handwriting. It's usual to leave a line between each paragraph to make the division clear.

Well-structured paragraphs have three sections:

    • the topic (or lead) sentence tells you what the paragraph is going to be about. It's usually the first sentence in a paragraph:

There are many reasons why people join a gym or health club.

    • the next part of the paragraph should support or develop the idea or ideas presented in the topic sentence:

There are many reasons why people join a gym or health club. They may want to lose weight, maintain their current level of fitness, improve their muscle tone, or just meet other people with similar interests. They may want to take advantage of other facilities offered by the gym, for example complementary therapies or beauty treatments.

    • the final sentences rounds off or restates the main idea of the paragraph and it should also act as a link to the next one:

There are many reasons why people join a gym or health club. They may want to lose weight, maintain their current level of fitness, improve their muscle tone, or just meet other people with similar interests. They may want to take advantage of other facilities offered by the gym, for example complementary therapies or beauty treatments. People view their gym membership as an important aspect of their lives, both in terms of health benefits and leisure activities.


Cause and Effect Paragraph/Essay

The essay/paragraph that distinguishes the connections between a certain event and what has caused it, defines what cause is and what effect is in some particular case. In another word a cause and effect essay is a research essay that takes a particular problem and identifies the reasons for its existence and suggestions as to change.

Run-On-Sentences

A run-on sentence consists of two or more main clauses that are run together without proper punctuation. Sometimes even sentences which are technically correct are easier to read if they are made into shorter sentences. We often speak in run-on sentences, but we make pauses and change our tone so people can understand us. But when we write, no one can hear us, so sometimes we must break our sentences into shorter units so that they do not sound run-on.

Incorrect: The boy showed us his tickets someone gave them to him.
Correct: The boy showed us his tickets. Someone gave them to him.

What are comma splices and fused sentences? They are problem sentences that contain two or more main clauses incorrectly joined together. Every main clause contains an independent subject and verb, so it can stand alone as a complete sentence.

A comma splice incorrectly joins two main clauses with a comma, like this:
MAIN CLAUSE  + , + MAIN CLAUSE = खतरा
Example: The Ethiopian wife we read about in The Lion's Hair showed patience and determination, in the other story, Esther's love was destroyed by her jealousy of Laurence.
A fused sentence has two main clauses joined with no punctuation at all, like this:
MAIN CLAUSE +  + MAIN CLAUSE = खतरा
Example: Communication, forgiveness, and honesty are essential to love jealousy and a lack of trust will destroy a loving relationship.

To fix a comma splice or fused sentence, use one of the four strategies below.

  • Strategy 1 — Make two complete sentences.
Because comma splices and fused sentences contain two main clauses, you can always add a period [a full stop] at the end of the first clause and then begin the second one with a capital letter. Take a look at the fused sentence below:
Grandma still rides her Harley motorcycle her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.

A break should occur between motorcycle and her. To fix the problem with Strategy 1, you would revise the sentence like this:
Grandma still rides her Harley motorcycle. Her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.

  • Strategy 2 — Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions. Some students remember the seven by learning the word FANBOYS. Each of the seven letters of FANBOYS stands for one of the coordinating conjunctions.
F = for; A = and; N = nor; B = but; O = or; Y = yet; S = so

Teamed up with a comma, these seven coordinating conjunctions can correctly join two main clauses. Take a look at our original example:
Grandma still rides her Harley motorcycle her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.

To fix the problem with Strategy 2, you should do this:
Grandma still rides her Harley motorcycle, and her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.

The important thing to remember with Strategy 2 is that you must use a coordinating conjunction that logically joins the two complete sentences. The coordinating conjunction but, for example, wouldn't work in the example above because the writer isn't showing contrast.

  •  Strategy 3 — Use a semicolon.

Unlike a comma, a semicolon is a strong enough mark of punctuation to join two main clauses. Use a semicolon like this:
Grandma still rides her Harley motorcycle; her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.

  • Strategy 4 — Use a subordinate conjunction.
When you are fixing a comma splice or fused sentence, subordinate conjunctions can be the most tricky to use. There are two reasons that subordinate conjunctions are tricky: 
1) there are many subordinate conjunctions to choose from, and 
2) you must use the right punctuation. Here are the things to keep in mind.
First, know your subordinate conjunctions. Here is a list:


AFTER, ALTHOUGH, AS, BECAUSE, BEFORE, EVEN IF, EVEN THOUGH, IF, IN ORDER THAT, ONCE, PROVIDED THAT,  RATHER THAN, SINCE, SO THAT, THAN, THOUGH, UNLESS, UNTIL, WHEN, WHENEVER, WHERE, WHEREAS, WHEREVER, WHILE, WHY

To fix the sentence with Strategy 4, you could do something like these two examples:

While Grandma rides her Harley motorcycle, her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.
OR
Grandma rides her Harley motorcycle as her toy poodle balances in a basket between the handlebars.

Exercise 4 Separating Run-On Sentences

Answer 1 > Communication does not happen only through words; it happens through actions and gestures, too.
Answer 2> A compliment usually communicates appreciation; criticism can be destructive.
Answer 3> Communicating with another includes admitting when you feel low or lonely. Not sharing these feelings creates distance.
Answer 4> It is important to accept what another says as significant and real. It may not seem important to you but probably is to the speaker.
Answer 5> Sometimes good communication means respecting another's silence. We must accept that people sometimes need quiet to solve problems.

Exercise 5 Using Transition Words

Answer 1> Some people feel that total honesty is essential in a loving relationship. However, others feel it is dangerous to be completely honest.
Answer 2> One writer feels that good lies lead to a good marriage. In other words, a person should lie in order not to hurt the spouse's feelings.
Answer 3> Another writer recommends always telling the truth; in this way, trust is created between the two spouses.
Answer 4> Sometimes a small lie can have a serious consequences. For example, a husband who tells his wife he likes a meal that he hates may end up eating that meal over and over again.
Answer 5> Eventually, the lying husband will probably explode in anger; then, he may say something very hurtful about his wife's cooking.
Answer 6> Perhaps the simple truth, told tactfully in the beginning, would have been better. Thus, the wife would not have made the problem meal again.
Answer 7> The problem of honesty in relationships applies to all of us almost every time we speak.; therefore, it is an issue that is worth thinking about.


Exercise 6 Using Coordinating Conjunctions

Answer 1> There are two qualities that are destructive to a loving relationship, and not surprisingly, they are the opposite aspects of the essential qualities we have already looked at.
Answer 2> Lack of communication is at the of the "destructive" list, so we can see how important communication is to a healthy loving relationship.
Answer 3> Selfishness can eventually destroy a loving relationship, but/yet  an unforgiving nature can make love disappear very quickly. 
Answer 4> A lack of trust is s problem, for distrust can weaken any relationship.
Answer 5> A perfectionist can make the other person feel incompetent, so the other person may feel it is pointless trying to please the perfectionist.

Exercise 7 Using Subordination Conjunctions

Answer 1> Even though acceptance and a sense of humor aren't the qualities most people think of first, they are very important qualities in a loving relationship.
Answer 2> If  we really love someone, it means we love the person as they are, not as we would like them to be.
Answer 3> Because not everything in life turns out the way we want, a sense of humor about life is a way of accepting what comes our way.
Answer 4> A sense of humor can make us feel rich and happy even though it is not the result of how many possessions we have.
Answer 5> Because some people take themselves and life too seriously, they can become easily disappointed when things turn out differently than they expect.
Answer 6> We can say that we see the humor in life if we are quick to laugh at ourselves and the difficulties life brings.
Answer 7> A relationship can become boring and predictable unless the people in the relationship have a sense of humor.

Exercise 8 Editing for run-on sentences

Answer> Some people are probably more successful in their relationships because they have the qualities essential to loving relationships. The lack of these qualities is probably the cause of many problems we have with other people. Therefore, many of us would benefit from developing those qualities we don't have. For example, many people get married and divorced over and over again. In addition, others don't get along with coworkers on the job. Perhaps their lives would be easier if they were better at communication and if they were more honest about their feelings.

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