Shunned - Without a Map

It is interesting how the stigma of a teen pregnancy has changed.  Meredith tries her best to hide her pregnancy from her friends, family, and community as a whole, in fear of being judged and shunned (which is what happened).  For instance, she gets expelled from school, coming home with a green note saying so.  At school before getting expelled, she does not shower after gym for a month, in fear that her friends would notice that she was pregnant.  Their reaction when she finally told them, was simply them being silent anad walking away from her.  Her parents came to the decision that the baby would immediately be given up for adoption.  People around town would become silent and would whisper when they would see Meredith walk by.  One person even had the audacity to ask if Meredith got "knocked up".  Although people today still have a certain degree of judgement when it comes to teen pregnancy, it is much more accepted and respected.  People are more apt to help and be more supportive of the stressful situation.  For instance, it is encouraged that teen mothers finish high school instead of dropping out.  Friends and family nowadays are more apt to listen to what the mother wants for herself, instead of making decisions for her.  Also, they are usually more understanding, wanting to help instead of shying away.

Henry the Caterpillar/ Molokai Response

In my book, Henry the Caterpillar, what essentially happens is that Henry is living life happily doing what he likes to do, which is eat plants and play.  One day, he goes to see what his brother and his brother’s friends are up to.  But when Henry gets to them, they are hanging upside down on a leaf, which seems weird to Henry.  Henry then asks if they want to come down to play with him, to which his brother responds, “Henry, we can’t come down right now.  You wouldn’t understand.  You aren’t ready yet”.  Henry then becomes sad for feeling excluded from a group that he had always been around.  He then leaves, feeling lonely and little confused, but soon stumbles upon a new group of caterpillar friends to be around.  They, like him, like to eat and play.  But then one day, as they have all put on some weight after eating so much, they all get very tired and decide that hanging upside down on a leaf would be very relaxing and would be a nice way to rest.  They all fall into a deep sleep, soon turning into butterflies.  They hatch from their cocoons, dry off their wings, and start flying together.  They soon find Henry’s brother and his brother’s friends, who have also transformed into butterflies!  They all fly together, and Henry knows he has grown up and no longer feels excluded. 

Like Rachel in Molokai, Henry is excluded from a society, but soon finds a new community where he is accepted due to having others being similar to him in this new group of friends.  Rachel in Molokai gets shunned from her hometown after people find out that she has leprosy.  Being a young girl, she does not fully understand the whole situation or why people are so unaccepting of her due to simply having this disease.  This is similar to Henry being confused when his brother and his brother’s friends were excluding him when they said they did not want to come down to play with him. 

Rachel soon goes to Molokai, an accepting environment where there are sick people like her, and where people receive no judgement for having leprosy.  This is just like how Henry found a new group of caterpillar friends to be around who were similar to him.  Unlike the last group of caterpillars, this new group likes to eat and play just like him, creating an overall more comfortable and positive environment for Henry to be a part of. 

Growing up in Molokai, Rachel realizes the struggles of having her illness and knows that it will take time until she gets accepted into the community she used to be a part of, before coming to Molokai.  Although Henry the Caterpillar has a happy ending, Henry finally becoming a butterfly is similar to Rachel realizing answers to her past that she was confused about before.

Moloka'i: Haleola

"I believe in the island.  I believe in the land."

For my character, Haleola, I decided to draw a scene versus an object.  In this scene that I believe is a symbol for Haleola, on one side of the drawing, there is a storm with lightning, choppy water, and a shark.  Obviously, that side is the "bad" side.  On the "good" side however, there is an illuminating sun radiating heat, calm water with fish, and a safe shore.  The "bad" side represents people coming from a tough situation, such as Rachel.  Rachel was put to shame by people in her community due to her leprosy, soon having to go to the island of lepurs.  Rachel was nervous about coming to the island, being isolated from those who weren't sick with this shameful disease.  However, when she sees the island of lepurs, she feels more welcomed than anything, as many of those on the island were at the shore to welcome the ship with the new arrivals.  The first person to welcome her is Haleola, setting the tone for Rachel's treatment there and being Rachel's adopted aunt.  The "good" side of the picture represents the comfort and welcoming that Haleola provides others with, making her like the sun and the shore, providing safety and love to those who feel insecure and lonely, especially going to a place of isolation.  She has a love for the lepur colony and for Hawaii's past.  She is also a believer in the old Hawaiian religion.  The quote best represents Haleola, as she is proud to be Hawaiian and to be affiliated with what it is, but is also content with being at the island for the lepurs.  She has a positive attitude about her life and the circumstances in it, despite how difficult it can be at times.  She is like the radiating sun, giving people what they need, while also acting as the shore, being there for support and being that first welcoming person of many in the community.