The hard TImesMagazineApril 2010

Struggle & StrifeChildren’s Story

Contest Winner See Page 2

Poetry of aBohemian’s StruggleSee Page 3

Photo courtesy ofThe National Records & Archives Administration

Having aRough Time?

Recovery Recipe See Page 5

A Note from

The Editor Hardships, struggle and strife are consistently portrayed as the main theme of the novels we studied. Whether its being an “unlucky” fisherman, adapting to a new country, or trying to find work through the depression, all of the characters endure these hardships and handle them in many different ways. I’m going to present this through a magazine, “The Hard Times” as a parody of “The New York Times”. “The Hard Times” will include a poem, a children’s story, a magazine ad, an obituary, and a recipe. The basis for my genres will be the three books: The Old Man and The Sea, My Antonia, and The Grapes of Wrath.

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Insidethis Issue

Preface .......................1Children’s Story .......2Poetry ........................3Advertisement ..........4Recipe ........................5Obituaries .................6Endnotes....................6Works Cited ..............7

Have you ever had to work really hard at something? And you thought you’d never be able to do it? Maybe like when you were learning how to ride a bike, and you fell off a bunch of times? But your mom and your dad were right there next to you, telling you to get back on and try again. And with all the handwork and strug-gle it took, you could finally take your training wheels off. Well, that is just like Santiago and his

struggle of catching a fish in the story of The

Old Man a n d

the Sea. Once upon a time there was an old fisherman named Santiago and a

young boy named Manolin. They were best friends, who loved to fish together. But for the past 84 days they haven’t

caught any fish! And the other fisher-man made fun of Santiago and called him “Unlucky”. So one day, in hopes of finally catching a fish, Santiago sets out to sea. As he gets far-ther and farthe r away form shore he still feels very unlucky. Until sud-denly, a HUGE marlin fish grabbed onto Santiago’s fishing rope! Santi-ago holds onto the rope with the huge

fish on the end of it for almost 3 days! The rope cuts his hands

and makes them sore, but even though he

is struggling he doesn’t let get

go, and he

yelled up to the sky and asked God to help him through this hard time. After 3 days Santiago can tell the fish is finally getting tired. So then, with all his might, he pulled the fish out of the water and into his boat, and headed back to shore. But on his way back a huge mako shark attacked his boat and took a big bite out of his fish. But luckily Santiago killed the shark and he continues back towards the shore.

Then because of the blood from the other shark, more sharks came and attacked Santiago’s boat. Santiago tried

to fight them off, but by the time they were gone, the sharks had eaten all of Santiago’s fish. The next morning Manolin, the young boy, found Santiago with bloody, cut up hands and he began to cry. But now the other fisherman are nice to Santiago, and won’t call him Unlucky anymore, because they saw how big the fish’s skeleton was, which showed how much Santiago must have struggled throughout his journey at sea.

Struggle & StrifeChildren’s Story Contest Winner

“The Old Man and The Sea”

“...suddenly, a HUGE marlin fish grabbed

onto Santiago’sfishing rope!”

“...on his way back a huge mako shark attacked his boat...”

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fromthe

Poetry about

a Bohemian ImmigranthardshipsThe hardships we face in everyday life,

Torment and troubles, struggle and strife,Jim and Antonia feel homesick and lost,

Their lives and families will suffer the cost,New surroundings and a new language to learn,

A whole new life waiting to yearn,An old sod house is all they can provide,

In hope their strife will soon subside,The suicidal thoughts the hardships create,

Push Antonia’s father towards his fate, They say he died of a broken heart, This ultimately sets the family apart.

After the hardships of winter, spring has set,A better life in town they hope to get,

With work from the Harlings and the dances at night, Could this be the end of their plight?

Before they know it the tables have turned, Trying to trace to struggles they’ve earned.

A whole new life for Jim leading the way, As the college experience before him lay, Antonia must work and must stay back, A piece of her heart without Jim she’ll lack,

Although Jim and Antonia were split apart, Antonia will always have a piece of Jim’s heart. When Jim observes her new family life, He sees the end work of her struggle and strife. She may look old but there’s still a light, Tryingtoprotectherkidsfromlife’sfight, Antonia learned how hard life can be, The struggles she faced like an endless sea.

Although Jim and Antonia never marry, They both now have their own lives to carry. Torment and troubles, struggle and strife,

The hardships we face in everyday life.3Photo courtesy ofThe National Records & Archives Administration

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CottonPickin’

40 miles SouthJobs going fast!

35 centsa day

Replicated Great Depression (circa 1935) job advertisement from California

Imagine working for 35¢ a day today...

Rough Time

• 1 Fisherman• 1 Tbsp. Bad Luck• 1 Skiff• 2 Oars• 2 C Determination• A Pinch of Endurance• 2 Harpoons• 1 Large Marlin• 1 Mako Sharks• Several Los Galanos

“Hardtack”

1. Add bad luck to fisherman and set aside for 84 days.2. After the fisherman has been severely ridiculed add skiff and oars. Send out to sea. 3. Have fisherman catch a large marlin.4. Add determination and endurance. Allow to drift for 3 days.5. Add marlin to skiff and send back to shore.6. Add 1 mako shark. Wait for attack.7. Add harpoons and fight the shark.8. Add Los Galanos and repeat step 7 until the marlin is gone.9. Remove bad luck & Enjoy!

Ingredients Directions

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Antonia Cuzak[BLACK HAWK, NEBRASKA] Antonia Shimerda, 70, originally from Bohemia, passed away March 23rd at a local hospital. Her services will be held Friday March 26th at the Black Hawk Cath-olic Church at 2 p.m. Expressions of sympathies can be extended to the family at a prayer service March 25th at 6 p.m. Antonia was born to Tatinek and Mamenka Shimerda, in Bohemia, on September of 1870.

Historical obituariesIn loving memory of those who lived a life of hardships & struggle...

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At the age of 14 she was forced to move to Nebraska, along with her family due to difficulties with money. She had three siblings, Yulka, Ambro-sch, and Marek; she was the eldest of these children. In her teen years she helped the family work on the farm and later moved into the town of Black Hawk to work for money to support her mother and family. At the age of 22 she married Anton Cuzak, who was also a bohe-mian immigrant, and together had a large family of ten children. As a

family they lived on an orchard, which supplied jobs for every age. Tony, as she was affectionately known by her family and friends, was loved by many and was known to be a hardworker and always strove for the best for others before herself. She is survived by her ten children; Martha, Rudolph, Ambrosch, Jan, Nina, Anton, Yulka, Anna, Lucie, and Leo. She is also survived by 23 grand-children and 6 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in by her parents, two brothers, and her husband.

1. I chose to portray the struggles in the story of The Old Man and The Sea through a children’s story because my life is based around my nature with children. Children have struggles of their own and I believe this story can help them learn to persevere like the fisherman.

2. The poem I wrote is based on Antonia’s life and the struggles that many immigrants endure such as adapting to a new culture and country and learning a new language. I felt this medium would speak to many “readers” because we all have to adapt to new situations throughout our lives.

3. The inspiration for the advertisement I created came from my grandma, who grew up during the Great Depres-sion. I think this puts the current economy into perspective for the “readers” by comparing it to how things used to be.

4. I used a recipe for “hardtack” because it is a common food for sailors and relates to the difficult times they dealt with on the sea. Hardtack is a hard, stale, unflavored bread which draws a parallel to the hard times the fisherman in The Old Man and The Sea has.

5. When people today have hard times many become depressed and complain instead of enjoying the good things in life. Immigrants in the 1800s died because of their struggles. Despite the struggles Antonia went through she always lived life to the fullest and cared for people over herself.

Endnotes

Above photo courtesy of The National Records & Archives Administration

Works CitedCather, Willa. My Antonia. Boston: Houghton Miffin, 1954.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

My Antonia. Packet.

The Old Man and the Sea. Packet.

The Grapes of Wrath. Packet.

Mrs. Mary Jane TapperAdvanced English 1128 April 2010