Physical Journey free essay sample

Focus – Physical Journeys How do the texts that you have studied explore the assumptions underlying the concept of the physical journey? There are many assumptions about what a physical journey is. On one level, it is simply the movement from and origin to a new area known as the destination. The underlying concept however is much more detailed on a personal level. Physical journeys essentially begin with a catalyst, trigger, course that gives a person or people a reason to venture. These are filled with many challenges and obstacles that require the inner power of the person or group to overcome these problems, such as the power of courage and determination. These challenges are a catalyst in itself; they allow you to fight and withstand similar trials on a regular basis, they cause the person to grow. With all these concepts surround the essence of a physical journey, they become a trigger for and inner journey that allows us to celebrate who we are and what we have become due to the many hardships we’ve endured on the journey. We will write a custom essay sample on Physical Journey or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These assumptions are what make up physical journeys; text such as Rabbit Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce, and Journeys over Land and Seas From the book of Stimulus, as well as my related materials The Road from Vietnam by Shelley Saywell and Family Footsteps: Kwaku’s Story Broadcasted by ABC TV, November 2, 2006, all are powerful testimonies to these concepts. All demanding and significant physical journeys require a catalyst behind the reason to begin the journey. The several texts I mentioned, all have evidence to clearly back this concept of a physical journey. The feature article The Road from Vietnam by Shelley Saywell, both visual and written texts powerfully illustrates the significants of one event, one moment of time that can starts someone’s journey. The visual section of the text of the this one girl running down a road, clothes burnt straight off the back of her body, screaming; with napalm burning in the background shows the her journey will be hard and this one event will changed her life. The written section of the text continues to tell the story of Kim Phuc’s life and how he become a doctor after they saved her life and in due time become the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. This one event changed her life; â€Å"Kim said to herself she would become a doctor like the man who saved he;† and â€Å"ten years after the famous photograph, Kims life changed again. † These illustrate the importance of a catalyst, without the horrifying image of her running down the road, her journey would never of happe n this way, she now has the power to do something about this so that other won’t live though her terrifying past. The photo has her looking directly at the camera, which gives it a gaze of demand, it says someone save me; someone protect me. What is so interesting about this photo is it draws an image of her entire life. The background shows her catalyst of the napalm, her running in pain shows the obstacles she faced while recovering and the pressure placed onto her by the media; â€Å"Every time she tried to evade the officials, another foreign journalist would track her down and expose her. It was a nightmare she says. † Once she reaches the end there is salvation for her, â€Å"The AP photographer who captured those horrific moments was Nick Ut. He drove her to a hospital;† this show something good come out of the journey, she become the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. This is evidence though sections of Rabbit – Proof Fence, the girls, Molly Daisy and Gracie have the heartbreaking catalyst of being tear from their family at their home at Jigalong. This was shown through the mechanical music which left you unsteady during the entire scene. Catalyst lead to obstacles which need to be overcome before reaching the destination; as Kim Phuc had with the media. All physical journeys that have meaning for a person have obstacles and challenges to overcome before reaching their destination. Any journey has obstacles to overcome, not matter how small, but depending on the significants of the journey depends on the difficulties of that challenge. Rabbit – Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce has many demanding obstacles that the girls, Molly, Daisy and Gracie had to endure. This shows the significance of the journey. The girl’s journey began in Jigalong, 1931 during the time of the stolen generation. They where taken from their home by a white Australian known as A. O. Neville, Chief protector of aboriginals; to Moore River Native Settlement. Upon arriving in this strange place, they were force to train to become domestic servants so that they could ‘blend in’ with the white culture. This terrified the girls the way they were treated and wanted to go home, so they escape, this was the beginning of their long and hard journey. The girls had a tracker after them which become a tough challenge to overcome. This tracker was another aboriginal that was being paid to track the girls down, in hope that can save his own daughter from the horrible encampment. This caused them to grow, which I will explain further in the next section. A black man that girls encountered on their journey pretending to be their friend cause confusion amongst the girls. This was illustrated through the silence of the music when the girls walk together, it gave and uncomfortable feeling towards one another. This was the hardest of them all, this pulled their family apart, which lead to the capture of young Gracie after she gave up because she felt distant from Molly. This was caused by Molly knowing something was amiss when encountering this man, but Gracie disagreed with her judgement. This indicates people given in to these challenges and has trouble standing to them; only the ones that have the will to overcome these trials with courage and determination will survive the journey. Journeys have obstacles; these trials are demanding of a person and require much courage and determination from the person to over come these challenges. The girl’s from Rabbit – Proof Fence are clear examples of this. When the Aboriginal track goes after them, the girls rise to this trial to continue on with their journey. Molly a fourteen year old girl stands her ground and out wits the tracker. She is able to make him loss sight of the girls. She does this by placing ripping off a piece of her clothing and placing it on the river to look like they where washed away, then continued walking on the river so he would loss their tracks. This was shown though the scene transition from the tracker picking up the clothing, to the girls being in a completely different location. Her determination to loss the tracker shows, that she required this to make it home, to complete her physical journey. The land was trial in itself to overcome and conquer. The harsh land of the Australian outback is shown though, the camera status, the girls are small in this wide desert, then Daisy giving up and molly having to carry her. This helps us know that the land is harsh and unknown to them, and they are unfamiliar with their surroundings. This is a hard battle, so they pushed on and only with their courage and determination can they make it home. They were able to beat the land, overcome the harsh, dry and hot environment; the longer they where out in the desert, the easier this obstacle become to them. Without courage and determination traveller would not survive the journey, so with this courage it cause us to grow as a person. The purpose of physical journey is not reaching the destination, it is the journey itself, it is about how you grow along the way. Only significant journeys, allow the person to grow, even if you turn back to where you originated you’ve grow and learnt your limitations. Journey over Land and Sea from Voyages, A Smithsonian Libraries Exhibition, in the book of stimulus, gives clear and direct examples of the concept of a physical journey will cause you to grow. This text explains while on the voyage you discover many great and exotic organisms, and you gather information about new locations and learns about the world around you. It uses the metaphor that a journey is much like a voyage; you learn new and valuable facts along the way. â€Å"Voyagers returned with specimens from the natural world, which scholars catalogued and organized,† clear depicts that voyages return with specimens of the natural world, not only for their own benefits but for the benefits for all humanity. It’s a journey to improve the individual gratification but also improve the knowledge base of all humanity. Star charts and bestiaries, and herbals, often copied from manuscripts or gathered from travellers’ stories,† they only get these star charts and bestiaries while on the journey. This powerfully gives the concept that growth only occurs while on the journey, not at the destination. â€Å"Pioneers push beyond their own boundaries,† this shows that the captains of the ship or the travellers pushed themselves to travel to exotic lands. The concept behind this is that when you push yourself and don’t stand to the challenge, you still grow; you learn your limitations and turn back. Rabbit – Proof Fence clearly defines this notion of physical journeys. Due these hard ships Molly matures and is able to realise the difficulties of the journey and knows what is expected of her. This is clear shown through contrasting Molly experience with Deborah the aboriginal women they encountered one their journey. This assumption of physical journeys help you identify that with significant journeys you grow as a person, and in turn cause others to grow with you and you are able to celebrate who you are. With journeys you grow, with this growth you learn in a spiritual sense how to celebrate yourself. This enables us to reflex on what we have become as a person over the time of the journey. Family Footsteps – Kwaku’s Story originally broadcasted by ABC on 2nd of November, 2006, illustrates how a teenager name Kwaku, returns to his family root in Ghana. He goes there for two week to learn his mother’s culture and society that she grew up in as a child before coming to Australia, so that he would treasure what he has in Australia. This powerfully shows how Kwaku’s journey or anyone’s journey allows the traveller to grow and celebrate who we are. Once he arrived, he never like the place, it was ‘different’ to what he is normally around. This is shown through blending the Western music with the rhythms of Africa. He learns the hardships of a journey and the determination and courage required for a simple task such as dancing or preparing food. It was not until he took enthusiasms into learning the culture, that he actually learnt something. Once he had grown he was able to celebrate his self and his family heritage, and decided to learn to dance. This was shown though the music, it had completely changed from Western to African rhythms. After only a week of practice he was forced to dance in front of the chief and elders of the village. They all enjoyed their time no matter how good he danced because it didn’t matter about the dance, they where more interested that he began to celebrate his family background. Molly and Daisy were able to celebrate who they had become at the end of the movie. They confirmed this by the camera status of the girls in the end, they were no longer looked down on, but rather looked up upon. This changed him and he treasures this journey, he treasured the journey because at the end he was able to celebrate who he was and what he had become. Assuming the concept of physical journeys is guessing the concept behind the journey, but these are proven assumptions of physical journeys. For significant journey to take place they require a type of catalyst or event the send a person in the direction to go one a physical journeys as explained in Kim Phuc’s story. They also require challenges and obstacles hat require courage and determination which Molly, Daisy and Gracie do to over come and beat Mr Neville. Due to these trials they cause a person to grow much like Journeys over Land and Sea powerfully emphasises. Once at the end you are able to celebrate who we are and what we have become much like Kwaku did with his families. This Prove they are not assumptions they are fact and are present and any physical journey. Physical journeys are not just movement from and origin to a new area known as the destination, they are much more on a personal level. By Brendan Walton