Speech on Relationships

Present a Speech
Prompt: Based on these texts and your own experience, make a generalization about how relationships with others help define who you are. Share your ideas in a speech. Interests (“What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” and Of Mice and Men) Religion (“My So-Called Enemy”)

Character Traits
Plan
Choose three texts from this collection, make notes about each relationship, think about how the relationships define who the people or characters are, and pay attention to specific examples and quotations from the texts that provide insights into the relationships.

“What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?”

a. This short story starts off as European documentarist, Yonatan, thinks of a perfect idea for a new documentary: to go door to door, asking people, “If you found a talking goldfish that granted you three wishes, what would you wish for?” Yonatan’s main purpose in making documentaries is to study how humans interact with each other and with life, as is the purpose in writing this speech.

What makes this world go ‘round? Relationships. Without one another, us, as a human race, would not be nowhere near where we are today. “My So-Called Enemy”

a. In this short film, the relationship between six girls from opposing countries (Israel and Palestine) are trying to find peace in their “home of warfare”. After watching this trailer, viewers may figure out that people who are taught to be enemies with one another can still look past the bad and become friends. For example, one of the Palestinian girls, Inas quotes, “When I see the Jewish girls as individuals, I love them and all of them are my friends…we talk everyday, and we eat together, we dance together, and we see them always together.

But when I remember that they are Jews, I have my feelings at the same time…because their people killed my father.” Another significant piece from the video is when the six girls are all jumping together in a circle, shouting, “Sisters! Sisters!”. Showing the girls in the act of jumping of joy together goes to show how they truly did find their peace and happiness, despite their political and religious differences. b. Key quotes

i. “But when I remember that they are Jews, I have my feelings at the same time…because their people killed my father.” ii. “Six girls taught to be enemies are given 10 days to fight for something better.” Of Mice and Men

a. After reading the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, readers can acquire a visualization of a true (but harsh) friendship, the friendship of George and Lennie. Just like in “My So-Called Enemy”, a relationship is found in a state of disrepair. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is the main point of neglect, as he possesses a childlike mentality. Many would agree that Lennie has a childlike mentality, as he is very easily distracted (like a child) and has an odd fascination for petting things, which includes mice, women, puppies, and his favorite, rabbits. The relationship between George and Lennie is directly displayed through the following except from the novel: “…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”, said Lennie.

As stated earlier, there is also a harsh side to their friendship, as George ended up shooting and killing Lennie in the end. George (obviously) did not kill Lennie out of hate, but love. George must save his friend by a mercy killing. He kills him out of love. Since Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife, George knows that there is no way to save him now. Curley’s ultimate plan was to kill Lennie as revenge and George kills Lennie instead. George does this to show his true affinity for Lennie and not hate.

II. Produce

“First off, I would like to say that getting in touch with other people, both physically and emotionally is important because it defines who we are.” once said by Venezuelan lyricist Luis Gallego. The world is shaped by relationships, both positive and negative ones. A relationship is the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. Relationships come in many manifestations, such as family memberships, friendships, intimate relationships, on a larger scale, worldly affairs, like the United Nations, and many more. In addition, interests are a huge component to relationships; a commonly known interest and/or controversial topic are religion. Religion has brought people together (and destroyed people, emotionally and physically) since the beginning of time. One scenario, which includes a tie between religion and relations, is the short film, “My So-Called Enemy”, which touches base with the relationship between the Jews and Muslims in Israel and Palestine.

Other excerpts that discuss relationships in society include award winning novel, Of Mice and Men and short story, “What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” Relationships can help define who we are, as humans, due to the fact that they portray our appeals, religious views, and characteristics. The short story, “What of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” represents our common interests as humans in many ways. This short story starts off as European journalist, Yonatan, thinks of a perfect idea for a new documentary: to go door to door, asking people, “If you found a talking goldfish that granted you three wishes, what would you wish for?” Yonatan’s main purpose in making documentaries is to study how humans interact with each other and with life, as is the purpose in writing this speech. What makes this world go ‘round? Relationships. Without one another, us, as a human race, would not be nowhere near where we are today. Another depiction of relationships in everyday life is the trailer to “My So-Called Enemy”.

In this short film, the relationship between six girls from opposing countries (Israel and Palestine) is trying to find peace in their “home of warfare”. After watching this trailer, viewers may figure out that people who are taught to be enemies with one another can still look past the bad and become friends. For example, one of the Palestinian girls, Inas quotes, “When I see the Jewish girls as individuals, I love them and all of them are my friends…we talk everyday, and we eat together, we dance together, and we see them always together. But when I remember that they are Jews, I have my feelings at the same time…because their people killed my father.” Another significant piece from the video is when the six girls are all jumping together in a circle, shouting, “Sisters! Sisters!” Showing the girls in the act of jumping of joy together goes to show how they truly did find their peace and happiness, despite their political and religious differences. Portraying a rendition of opposing characteristics, Of Mice and Men is the perfect novel to help define relationships.

After reading the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, readers can acquire a visualization of a true (but harsh) friendship, the friendship of George and Lennie. Just like in “My So-Called Enemy”, a relationship is found in a state of disrepair. In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is the main point of neglect, as he possesses a childlike mentality. Many would agree that Lennie has a childlike mentality, as he is very easily distracted (like a child) and has an odd fascination for petting things, which includes mice, women, puppies, and his favorite, rabbits. The relationship between George and Lennie is directly displayed through the following except from the novel: “…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” said Lennie. As stated earlier, there is also a harsh side to their friendship, as George ended up shooting and killing Lennie in the end. George (obviously) did not kill Lennie out of hate, but love. George must save his friend by a mercy killing.

He kills him out of love. Since Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife, George knows that there is no way to save him now. Curley’s ultimate plan was to kill Lennie as revenge and George kills Lennie instead. George does this to show his true affinity for Lennie and not hate. “Truth is, I’ll never know all there is to know about you just as you will never know all there is to know about me. Humans are by nature too complicated to be understood fully. So, we can choose either to approach our fellow human beings with suspicion or to approach them with an open mind, a dash of optimism and a great deal of candor.” declared Tom Hanks. Relationships are all around us; they are how the world was formed.

Relationships are the core of humanity; they are how we make agreements; they are how they first establishment was formed; relationships are how we grow as a society. A relationship is the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. Relationships can help define who we are, as humans, due to the fact that they portray our appeals, religious views, and characteristics.