English
Essay of That Mad Game
That Mad Game contains an anthology of stories depicting the experience of children growing up in violent societies. It is an illumination of the role of the society and environment in the development and behavior of children in various societies. As such, these stories act as an educator to the society for the effective early childhood development of children. Based on the anthology, it is evident that such children find it difficult and challenging to adjust to other societies, grow up in their own societies, or find ways to annihilate the situation. Regardless of the experience, the common outcome is suffering and difficulties in life. Alterations to the normal operation or activities of the children are fundamental to explaining their experiences. The anthology of stories from different regions of the world suggests the generalizability of the anthology in terms of actualization or the instigation of the understanding of the children and their suffering or experiences in the war-prone areas. From the anthology of the stories, children growing in violent societies often undergo taunting experiences, including the possible exile from their homelands, family, culture, memories, and becoming victims of violence.
First, children growing in violent societies are alienated from their homelands. Some of the instances of war are hardly forgettable because of the traumatizing and the taunting experiences that children had to go through during war. For instance, the images of the war or the Vietnam baby lift are among the elements and the experiences that the children of violent societies had to undergo. The baby lift was an experience where the Amer-Asian children had to be flown out of the Vietnam society for adoption by the Americans. In this experience, these children suffered alienation. They were alienated from their childhood development, their families, their friends, and their society. As these children grew up in the new families, their experience and memories of what was once their home slowly fades away. They lose their identities and have to cope with the new environments for survival.
Children growing up in violent societies are exposed to real life dangers. That is, the environment is often not conducive for the development of the children. During the Iranian conflict, multiple Iranian children were often sent out on the suicide missions, especially to clear the landmines. As such, such children were endangered and their lives and their wellbeing in the society. This aspect is associated with the type of risks that children growing up in violent societies are likely to be exposed to. Death is the common one. The other essential element of these risks is the possibility of the children developing into violent individuals themselves. That is, according to the theories of development, such as the theory of cognitive development, the environments in which children grow into affect their character and the behavior of these individuals.
Children growing up in war-prone or violent societies go through traumatizing and challenging experiences as they try to adapt or find solutions for their situations. For instance, the stories and the analyses Sudanese ‘lost boys’ suggest that they travelled alone for thousands of miles throughout the desert, looking for safety and shelter. These children underwent various situations and experiences that likely changed their perception of life and existence. As such, the anthology constitutes an array of illuminations for the humans concerning the factors affecting the growth and the development of children in the war-prone regions. The kind of situation that these children are exposed to is of great significance in terms of the explanation of the experiences of the children growing in the violent societies.
The collection or the anthologies or the narratives and personal essays explore the particular and the universal experiences of the teenagers and children who underwent the experience of the age of war. Some of these stories encompass the streets terrorized by cartels in Juarez, the Taliban terrorism in Afghanistan, the Bosnian bombed-out cities, the Nazi’s occupation of Holland, and the Vietnam vet home of the middle-class American. They are stories aimed at providing insights into the experiences of the children growing in the violent societies and the influence of such societies to the development of the children.
In conclusion, children seem to live in a world of their own characterized by significant curiosity and an urge to learn or try things they have never done before or seen. For them, every occurrence is an opportunity for endless questioning with respect to the way things are, the way people live, and the reasons they do the things they do in a certain manner. A majority of parents, guardians, and other parties charged with the responsibility to take care of children agree that children have to leave in a peaceful environment that encourages a diplomatic approach to conflict. They should learn to accommodate the differences they have with other people and understand that such conflict will always exist between them and others. An environment filled with violence and aggression encourages children to use similar approaches when dealing with their peers. The behavior continues into their adult life and the collective presence of many individuals in a community contributes to the development of violent communities.
General Forum Discussion
It is important to note that violence and the trauma resulting from its occurrence do not have to be political or ethnic in context. These two play an important role in the overall peace and calm of the environment in which the child grows. However, there is a broader meaning to the term violence when it comes to a child and begins from the immediate environment in which he or she grows (Powers 21). Domestic violence has an effect on the child depending on the manner in which the parents approach conflicts in the home. In most cases, children have an intimate relationship with one of the parents and they would be affected in cases where the violence in the home hurts the one they closely relate with as they grow. For instance, a son who has a very close relationship to his mother may hate his father for behaving violently and hurting his mother.
Violence may not provide a conducive environment for them to grow up in the best possible manner. Given the persistent nature of the violence in some areas, children may be forced to become resilient and unresponsive to the bad environment in which they live. Moreover, violence compromises the development of other social institutions, which are necessary for the growth and development of the child such as education (Forman 10). Schools cannot be developed in countries and regions riddled with violence. Most of the resources available for development are allocated to war and recovering from its effects, leaving most of the children uneducated and traumatized.
General Peer and Myself Review on the Essay
A review of my essay shows that violence affects the development of the child negatively. Children will portray the same aggressive attributes in their adult life in the same manner they learned them when they are children. Children find it hard to express themselves through the normal mechanisms they are used to such as playing. The first essay reveals numerous lessons regarding childhood. The first lesson is that childhood is susceptible and able to adapt to the conditions to which it is subjected. If children grow up in the world where they are encouraged to uphold peace through the behavior they observe, they will grow up shunning violence and preferring to behave according to what they see. Violence causes trauma in the life of a child and forces them to grow up with feeling of vengeance against the people whom they feel are responsible for the harm caused to him or her and the family.
The second essay explores the effect of violence and a war on children in light of the role played by global institutions. It is the duty of any concerned party at the institutional and individual level. All parties have a duty of due care and concern for the wellbeing of the children in the world and ensuring that they grow up in the most suitable conditions. The environment should allow them the freedom of expression of in any form the, please. In this manner, children will not have to undergo traumatic conditions that may lead to learning disabilities and unnecessary anxiety that deter their development. Signs and symptoms should be observed quickly to ensure that the negative effects do not advance.
China’s Cultural Revolution and Japanese Internment Camps
China’s Cultural Revolution and Japanese internment camps are examples of the violent events in history that affected the children growing up in that society. The Chinese Cultural Revolution, launched by Mao Zedong, the communist leader encompassed the shutting of the schools and the massive calling for the youth mobilization in order to take the existent party leaders. The revolution saw the death of more than 1.5 million individuals in the country. On the other hand, the Japanese Internment Camps had equally devastating effects on the children growing up in that society because most of the individuals removed for national security included the infants, the young adults, and the school-age children. There was massive destruction of lives in the detention centers.
Works Cited
Forman, James D. That Mad Game: War and the Chances for Peace. New York: Scribner, 1980. Print.
Powers, J. L. That mad game: Growing up in a warzone : an anthology of essays from around the globe. New York: Cinco Puntos Press, 2012. Print.
