Aden+Fernandez


 * __Aden Fernandez-English Wiki __**

It all started 40 years ago I was searching for drugs, controlling riots, counting inmates and locking cells at Changi Prison. My father was also a prison warden and I took after him as I felt obliged to do so. I as a child was never the sociable type. I was always quiet and rather listen than speak. After school, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday I would walk a fairly lengthy, sweaty and smelly walk on the streets of Singapore to meet my dad at the prison as it was his turn to take care of me. When I reach the prison the prison guard who knew me well will greet me with sweets and treats and call my dad to collect me. My dad was a very ethical man and had a strong sense of what was right and wrong a trait he imparted in me. I spent the rest of his shift with him, tagging along as he carried out his duties. I felt proud about my dad and wanted to do what he did which I succeeded in doing I started working at Changi Prison as a warden when I was 23 years old. I enjoyed it at first however like most other jobs it became a routine. 5 days a week I would carry out body searches for narcotics, handcuff inmates, lock cell doors and break up bickers and such. I got along well with my collogues especially the prison executioner we usually played poker and drank beer after our long shifts. He never really spoke much about neither his practices nor how he got into it. He never spoke for the rest of the day after he carried out an execution but was resilient. This never seemed peculiar to me as I knew he just took someone’s life. I was personally unsure how he coped with the emotional distress. He was at 30 years my senior and has been carrying out executions for 29 years. It is not that he enjoyed his work it is just that the government had problems finding someone to succeed him. He has a wife but no children. One day, he didn’t came to work, my colleagues and I were worried as he is always present unless he was really sick. To our shock and horror we found out 3 hours later that he died in a bus accident. 2 weeks after his death our superintendent came up to us and asks if anyone would want to replace him. I contemplated over it for a while and decided to do so. My main incentive was the extra pay as I was struggling to feed my wife and 2 children. And so I attended a two day course to learn all the hangman techniques and the processes that follow and precede. I initially did not feel nervous about the prospect of hanging someone I was just thinking about the extra pay however this feeling was soon diminished when I saw the 21 year old Vietnamese boy who got charged with possession of drugs and intention to sell who was on death row and was to be put to death in 6 days. I felt absolute remorse was I saw the boys family consoling him in his 3x3 meter cell as he awaits his inevitable premature death. I saw the look on his mother’s face the feeling of haplessness was undeniable in her as she wept in hysterical sorrow. As the days passed by pending my duties the feeling of remorse was obnoxious I endured sleepless nights. I could not refuse my duty as I was bond by a contract. Upon further research about the boys past, I found out that it was his uncle who introduced him to drugs was he was 14. He did not deserve to die he was just a mislead boy. He came from a very poor family, he started working in the paddy fields when he was 12 to earn a meager income to support his mother and dying father. As soon as he was introduced to drugs, he figured that he could increase his income by selling them. His family was unaware about his secret business. The day before his execution I measured his height and weight to determine the ideal length of rope that would snap his neck. I could see the fear and innocence in his eyes. I myself broke down. I had to escort him to a cell nearer to the execution site a place where he could hear me testing the gallows thought-out the day as he looked forward to his impending death as this was protocol. Finally, the day of his execution arrived; all executions were to be carried out on a Friday at 6am. One of my colleagues and I escorted him to the gallows. I shuddered as I placed the rope over his head. The covered his head with black cloth. Then I whispered to him “I will take you to a better place” Then I hesitated to pull the lever. I closed my eyes and just nudged it enough to open the trap doors. I suffered deeply after that. I kept on thinking that I murdered someone. I since then resigned and opened up a newspaper stand. That thought continues to haunt me till this day. It was not worth the extra 100 dollars I earned.
 * __ Aden Fernandez-Creative Writing, Capital Punishment __**


 * __Proposal__**

I chose Lady Macbeth because I find it fascinating how such a manipulative and sinister character could transition into being overwhelmed by guilt and hence begins to slide into madness. When we first see her, she is already plotting Duncan’s murder, and she is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. Her actions made her appear as thoroughly irreligiously cold and ambitious. Afterward, however, she begins her downfall which is portrayed in Act 5 Scene 1.

__ Invisible Chinese Artist __ Rejection, unappreciated almost invisible ad if he has disappeared into a wall with no significance. I was once a painter without a face; ignored and displaced I grew bitter and withered. When I was young, I tried my best to pursue my dream, to paint portraits for the king and his family and to become rich and famous.

20 years ago I graduated from the world renowned Chinese school of Art. At that time I was cultivated and mesmerized by provocative artwork and always driven to try and create them. I was never the best but I tried my best. I would say that the teachers were biased against me because of my unusual styles. The other’s just painted in a typical and mundane way copying famous artworks. I wanted to stand out and be different but that did not turn out the way I wanted. I was mocked and made fun of.

When I was seeking a job I applied for many but time and time again I got rejected. Finally, I met someone who liked my work and promised me a job. I could scarcely believe it. He offered me a job to paint for the king of China. The next, day I arrived at the king’s palace excited and ready. I was shivering with nervousness as I shook his royal hand. Before I knew it I picked up my brush and started painting a portrait of him. Finally, after 3 hours my painting was completed. I showed it to the king and he pondered over it for a while unfortunately he did not like it and he made it public. I was ruined no one would ever hire me now. I have no money, no shelter and no friends.

One day, I was walking by the street looking around the city feeling so alone and rejected. I look around and there were tall buildings towering all around me. I felt so insignificant and useless like I was. I felt like I just blended in them, overlooked and underestimated until an idea came to mind. With my old worn brushes and dried up paints I painted myself match the exterior of the great Chinese temple while hundreds flocked around me in awe. At last, I was finally recognized and appreciated. I got a priest to take a picture of me. I was published in several magazines and I became well known and started earning some money. I realized that this was what I was good at and did a few more. I became the talk of the century and became rich and famous.

Now, I am continuing doing what I am good at and what I enjoy, it’s my passion and my form of expression and living a decent life.

Softly and humbly to the Gulf of Arabs  The convoys of dead sailors come;  At night they sway and wander in the waters far under,  But morning rolls them in the foam. Between the sob and clubbing of gunfire  Someone, it seems, has time for this,  To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows  And tread the sand upon their nakedness; And each cross, the driven stake of tidewood,  Bears the last signature of men,  Written with such perplexity, with such bewildered pity,  The words choke as they begin - ‘Unknown seaman’ – the ghostly pencil  Wavers and fades, the purple drips,  The breath of wet season has washed their inscriptions <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> As blue as drowned men’s lips, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Dead seamen, gone in search of the same landfall, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Whether as enemies they fought, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Or fought with us, or neither; the sand joins them together, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Enlisted on the other front.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">World War II __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Beach Burial by Kenneth Slessor __**


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Commentary of the Beach Burial __**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Beach Burial is a poem composed by Kenneth Slessor an Australian poet and journalist. This poem was released in 1944 during World War II. Slessor wrote this poem in correspondence to the El Alamein battle therefore the genre of this poem is tragedy. The purpose of this poem is to describe, report and/or remind people about the unfortunate fate of the all the soldiers who died on that wretched day. Its intended audience is the general public as this poem served as a war correspondent.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As a war correspondent Slessor wrote solemnly and sympathetically about the soldiers who died on that day. This poem in my opinion does not subvert or marginalize anyone because it is not a typical war poem; there is no rallying call to arms, no celebration of heroics, no declamations of patriotic or national piety, instead we have a sober realistic tribute to soldiers of all nations whether axis or allies who have been united by the common enemy; death. No stereotyping has been used whatsoever this poem is intended to unite.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Slessor used the rhyme pattern ABCD in such a way to create a profound emotional reaction to his audience intentionally to evoke somberness. For example “Softly and humbly… the convoys of dead sailors come.” The line uses two adjectives: Softly and humbly, to give the reader a sense of the sway and motion of the dead sailors as they are slowly pushed towards the shore by the current, furthermore the line also sets the mood of the poem as a very somber one, with undertones of respect and mourning for the dead. He also used imagery such as nakedness which expressed the vulnerability of humans exposed to the elements; cross which is the symbol of Christ’s suffering and pain of war; stake referral to connotations of sharp dangerous implements of destruction and evil and driftwood describes bodies that have drifted in.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Other poetic techniques such as irony and paradox have been used to reinforce to mood of the poem for instance the title of the poem ‘Beach Burial’ is an irony because beaches usually are associated with life and pleasure. An example of a paradox is the implementations of the words other front the two last words of the poem. They are united at last with the suggestion that all life is a conflict even after death.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The texts definitely contributes to our understanding of the Australian identity in positive ways because it portrays the bravery of Australian soldiers. However, I would like to stress that this poem does not solely emphasize on the bravery of Australian but all the soldiers who fought on that day.


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Photo of Australian Soldiers During WWII __**

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__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Picture Commentary **__

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This photograph of Australian soldiers from the 2/18th infantry battalion as prisoners of war of the Japanese in Singapore's Changi prison was taken during World War II on the 19th of September 1945. Over 30,000 Australian servicemen were taken prisoner in the Second World War and 39,000 gave their lives. Two-thirds of those taken prisoner were captured by the Japanese during their advance through south-east Asia in the first weeks of 1942. While those who became prisoners of the Germans had a strong chance of returning home at the end of the war, 36 per cent of prisoners of the Japanese died in captivity.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This photograph shows the unimaginable dire living conditions the Australian prisoners of war had to face under the control of the Japanese soldiers as their only shelter was a poorly constructed, overcrowded, disease ladened bamboo barracks and the detrimental effects it had on their bodies physically as all of the men shown in this photograph look scrawny and malnourished.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The high contrast of this black and white photograph highlight’s the senility of the soldiers because the gauntness of their bodies is emphasized; details such as dirt and grit on their bodies which depicts filth and to enhance the details such as the frailed bamboo. The setting is a poorly constructed barrack as opposed to a tree in my opinion is intended to portray the dire living conditions of these soldiers and has been framed in such a way to show every part of the <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> barrack to enhance our perspective about their living conditions.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Furthermore, men were not the only ones who had to suffer this fate, almost 40 women nurses had been taken captive and some of them had been raped by the Japanese soldiers. However, captive women were not shown in this photograph, only male soldiers were shown this photography appears to stereotype maleness and the associated characteristics of strength and physical skill but then again most of the people held captive were male because a large majority of soldiers were male.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The cultural perspectives brought forward by this photograph are the merciless brutality of the Japanese soldiers; courage, endurance, survival, ingenuity and resourcefulness, mental survival from the captive men and women as nothing was given to them all they had was each other. However, companionship and humour in adversity is the main trait of these soldiers portrayed in this photography as all of the soldiers shown in this photograph appear to be smiling and chuckling.

__ ** Victory ** Announcement ** by Prime Minister Ben Chiefley (8 May 1945/15 August 1945) ** __

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Fellow citizens, the war is over. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Japanese Government has accepted the terms of surrender imposed by the Allied Nations and hostilities will now cease. The reply by the Japanese Government to the note sent by Britain, the United States, the USSR and China, has been received and accepted by the Allied Nations. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">At this moment let us offer thanks to God. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may look forward to a peace which they have won for us.

// Prime Minister Ben Chifley announcing the end of the war against Japan, 15 August 1945. //


 * __<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Commentary of Speech __**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">After the Germans surrendered of World War II Australian prisoners of war in European prison camps were liberated and Australian sailors and aircrew began returning home. Shortly after the Japanese surrendered and thousands of servicemen and women now began returning home and surviving prisoners of war were released and repatriated.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Almost one million Australians served in World War II: about 40,000 of them had died and many thousands more were wounded or injured in the course of their military service. With the war's end hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women had to adjust to life as civilians. The women who had played such a vital role during wartime were now expected to return to their homes to become wives and mothers again. For many Australians, the years ahead would be <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> challenging.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The last sentence which Prime Minister Ben Chiefly mentioned “Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may look forward to a peace which they have won for us.” <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">expresses the joy and relief of winning a war. He used the word glorious to describe the feeling of winning a war. He also gives tribute to all the men and women involved in defending their countries. However, he also reminds us that war is not pleasant and hopes for peace in the future.