SEAN ALBER P.

VALEZA English-10

10-Liberality (STE) Quarter 3

ASSESSMENT (WORKSHEET 1, Informative Essay)

How Human Activities Cause Climate Change

Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns in local, regional,
or global climates (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2021). Scientists suggest
that the leading cause of climate change is global warming. Global warming is the slow increase
of the average temperature on earth due to the increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. In
nature, the amount of these gasses on earth was just right so that living things can survive.
However, due to the development of industries by humans during the last millennia, these gasses
increased exponentially (Warm Heart Worldwide, 2021). Therefore, human activities cause
global warming and thus also climate change.

Based on studies, the beginning of the current warming trend dated back to the end of the
18th century when coal first came into frequent use. This warming trend accelerated as humans
have increased the use of fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and natural gas. Scientists
attributed the burning of fossil fuels to climate change because of the stored carbon in the fuel.
That carbon converts into carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, due to burning (Warm Heart
Worldwide, 2021). Other studies suggest that emissions from farms are another major
contributor to increased greenhouse gasses. Farms have nitrogen-rich fertilizers that produce
nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas, and methane from livestock waste (Krajick, 2015). One
leading evidence of climate change is the long-term data relating atmospheric CO2 levels and
global temperature, sea level, the expanse of ice, the fossil record, and species distribution. The
data showed a strong correlation between CO2 levels and temperature (Warm Heart Worldwide,
2021).

Human activities are the leading cause of climate change. It is because activities like
fossil fuel burning increase the level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. If these activities
continue, sea levels will rise, ice glaciers will melt, typhoons and hurricanes will be stronger,
ecosystems will cease to exist, and many more will happen that can lessen the survivability of
living things on earth.

References:

Krajick, K. (2015). Farms act as major source of air pollution. Retrieved on March 31, 2021.
Retrieved from http://www.giss.nasa.gov/features/201605.farms/.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2021). Overview: weather, global warming,
and climate change. Retrieved on March 31, 2021. Retrieved from
http://www.climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.

Warm Heart Worldwide (2021). Climate change primer. Retrieved on March 31, 2021.
Retrieved from http://www.warmheartworldwide.org/climate-change/?
gclid=CjOKCQjwmluDBhDXARlsAFTIC_43b5wRojNzOx8fHxGw-
Owa8xJYPcj5mNS21ml345rXqkNr.

ASSESSMENT (WORKSHEET 2)

A Short Critique on O. Henry’s The Gift of Magi

The title of the story is "The Gift of the Magi." O. Henry is the author of the story, and he
published it in 1905. The story tells of a young couple named James, or known as Jim, and Della
Dillingham. They dealt with the challenge of buying gifts out of love for each other with very
little money. The story had an overall great purpose, structure, and relatability offered to an
audience.

Jim and Della were a married couple who had very little money and lived in a small
apartment. They both possessed a treasure, Jim's gold pocket watch, and Della's very long hair.
The story began on Christmas Eve, and Della wanted to buy her husband a gift. After paying
their bills, Della only has $1.87 left. She was desperate to buy a gift, so she went to find a chain
for Jim's pocket watch under the money she had left. Della found nothing, so she decided to sell
her hair. She received $20 for the hair, just enough to buy a platinum chain worth $21. When Jim
got home from work, he noticed that Della had little hair. Della explained that she sold her hair
to buy him a present. Jim also got her a gift. It was a pair of expensive decorative hair combs that
Della wanted but are now useless. Della shows her present to Jim. Jim flops down to the old
sofa, puts his hand behind his head, and tells his wife flatly that he sold his watch to buy her
combs. The story ends with the comparison of Jim and Della's gifts to the gifts of Magi. The
author clearly stated how the couple's presents were far wiser than the gifts of the Magi because
their gifts were out of love. Despite the couple's challenges in money, they sacrificed their
treasures to give each other presents. It showed the value of self-sacrifice for love.

The couple's love is very inspirational to modern couples today as materialism is

becoming a basis of love. In other audiences' point-of-view, the story is very believable or
realistic. It followed a smooth flow of events, and each paragraph showed great cohesion. The
delivery of the message was effective because of its comparison with the gifts of the Magi.
Although, some may find, including myself, some details about Della's reaction after Jim
revealed the situation. It was somehow a cliffhanger, but it's understandable since the selection
was already a summary.

The story "The Gifts of the Magi" was overall great. Upon reading it, the story was easy
to understand, interests many audiences, and depicts a strong moral. It easily reaches the hearts
of many with the passionate love of Jim and Della.

ASSESSMENT (WORKSHEET 4.1)

A Formalist Criticism on The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde's “The Selfish Giant” is a short story that talks about the value of love in
selflessness and how the price of selfishness is loneliness. It also talks about the purity and
innocence of children that affected the feelings of the giant. It is a story of a messenger of God
disguised as a young boy and a selfish giant. The giant wouldn't allow the children to play in his
garden. The giant made a wall with signs, saying "Trespassers will be Prosecuted." His actions
resulted in winter all year round in his garden. But after seeing the young boy with the children
bringing spring to his garden, he realized that he was acting selfishly. The story ended with the
giant sharing the garden for the children but dying afterward beneath a tree. Overall, the story is
interesting because of its hidden meanings and lessons, and the .

Although the story seems to be simple, it presents many biblical allegories and
symbolisms. It is the Christian charity that makes the story interesting. The garden of the giant is
analogous to the idyllic paradise of the Garden of Eden. Wilde uses this concept placing the
innocent children setting like Adam and Eve in which they are about to be expelled. The moment
the giant puts up the wall is his defining characteristic as selfish. The wall symbolizes the
emotional barrier he maintains between him and the children. The sign exemplifies how
unreasonable the giant's selfishness is. Because the giant prevented the children from playing in
his garden, they tried to find another place to play. However, there was no place for them. The
children's actions in finding a place to play, symbolize the harsh world outside, analogous to the
Garden of Eden. The children do not deserve this hardship, as it is the giant's sin that expelled
them from paradise. The winter in the garden of the giant represents the loneliness he made from
his selfish actions. The giant has been so long deprived of good weather that he now truly
appreciates its value. The sense represents the Christian idea that suffering has redemptive
power. When the children sneaked into the garden, spring returned. It shows that the purity of
children outright the giant's actions. Once again, the importance of children in humankind
exemplifies the biblical lesson from Matthew 19:14: "Let the little children come to me, and do
not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs." The giant realized
his sin. When he saw a little boy trying to climb a tree, the giant approaches him and gently picks
up and places him on the tree. The children saw the giant's actions, so they forgave him. Their
actions symbolize the discernment of children. The innocent can still sense what is good and
what is not. The giant now shared his garden and destroyed the wall for them. The little boy
whom the giant helped got fond of him. The giant's character changed as he shared his garden
with the children.

One morning in winter, the giant sees the tree at the corner now with gold branches,
white blossoms, and silver fruits. Beneath the tree is the little boy who once tried to climb it.
When the giant rushed to the tree, he saw the wounds from the child's hands and feet. The giant
knelt, got enraged, and willing to find the person who did it to the child. From the child's
wounds, one can immediately tell that the little boy is child Jesus and the wounds are from his
crucifixion. The tree represents the cross of Jesus. The little boy explains how his wounds were
the wounds of joy, just like the suffering of Jesus for humankind. The giant now questions the
child about his identity. The child didn't answer the question but says "You let me play once in
your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise." The Paradise the
child, or rather Jesus, is talking about heaven. The giant is granted to be in heaven as the result of
his good action. The story ends with the other children discovering the giant's body under the
tree, meaning that the giant is now in Paradise.

In reading the story, the giant had the most change in attitude. The selfish giant is a
character that changed his idealism because of the presence of children. He realized how
loneliness is the result of his selfish acts. The biblical allegories taught about how to love one
another and how to realize one's mistake. Although the story is fiction, it relates to humans the
importance of loving one another. The garden reflected on the beauty of nature. It's the children's
love for the garden that made its beauty, and it is the giant's selfishness that made the beauty of
the garden go into turmoil. The series of events like the winter and spring helped the characters
to progress and change. Although the story ended with the giant dying, later his actions granted
him to be in paradise.

The story is very inspirational. For young audiences, it interests them because of the
careful choice of words by Wilde. It follows an effective plot for the structure of the story,
enabling the unity of the ideas. It also interests older audiences because of the hidden
symbolisms. However, some may want clues from the start of the story about the identity of the
young boy in the story. But despite some lack in details, the story is overall great.

ASSESSMENT (WORKSHEET 4.2)

A Moralist Criticism on Matsuo Basho’s Story of the Aged Mother

The Japanese folktale "Story of the Aged Mother," written by Matsuo Basho, is a story
about a poor farmer living with his beloved mother that had to let her die because of the cruel
order of an unkind ruler. However, the farmer didn't let his mother die because of their love. The
story ended when the ruler realizes the importance of having the old to society and how they are
not burdens.

The story happened in a town called Shining. There once was a farmer who loved his
aged mother with tender reverence, and the mother did the same to him. This love may root from
their deep bond as mother and child. Although they are poor, they are contented with what they
have.
 Then comes the cruel ruler. The despotic leader despised anything of failing health and
strength, especially on the elderly. He proclaimed to have the elderly sent to Mount Obatsuyama.
The cruelty of the leader's proclamation is caused by a common fear by powerful people, being
weak or useless.

The poor farmer loved his mother with affection, and the proclamation made him
sorrowful. The farmer had no choice but to send the mother he loves to the mountain. In
preparation for the hike, every action he makes is full of sorrow. He lifted his mother to his back
and started the journey to the mountain. The trail to the summit was long and steep. Anxious, the
mother was concerned about his son climbing back down. Her action showed her unconditional
love for her son, even in the time of abandonment.

After they've reached the summit, the mother advised her son to follow the pile of twigs
she left on the ground. The mother said to her son, "Let not thine eyes be blinded, my son. The
mountain road is full of dangers. Look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles of
twigs. They will guide you to the familiar path farther down." The farmer could not bear to leave
her mother to die because of their affection for one another, so he decided to return home with
her mother and hide her beneath the kitchen floor intended to store food.

The ruler once again made a nonsensical order to brag his power. He ordered anyone to
make a rope of ashes. The proclamations he now makes are already an abuse of power. However,
the farmer successfully made the rope with the help of his mother. The mother proves the
wisdom the aged possess because of their experiences. The ruler questioned the farmer's wit, so
the farmer told him the truth about his mother. That is when the ruler came to his senses. He
cited the saying: "with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom!" The crown of snow means
having white hair, so the statement conveys the old is full of wisdom from experiences. Hence,
the proclamation is now long gone.

The story of the aged mother has three main themes: love, cruelty, and wisdom. Love
prevailed between the mother and the child. Nothing would hinder the love present in a mother
and a child, even in a death situation. The ruler at the beginning of the story presented cruelty.
Cruelty comes to a person with unreasonable decisions. He makes actions without consultation
and with personal beliefs. Lastly, wisdom is from the people who had many experiences in life.
Just like the old, they experienced way more challenges than the youth. It is not true that aged
people are burdens to society. They will guide young people about their decisions with their
wisdom in life.