Of Emilie Carles' book is The Transformation of a Countrywoman Essay

Of Emilie Carles' book is The Transformation of a Countrywoman - Essay Example This paper makes an attempt to show the challenges that Emilie Carles was confronted with as a teacher and a woman. Her contributions are also discussed. Emilie Carles Emilie Carles was born at a time when women were considered lesser human beings. Her life was full of challenges. When she was six, she fell off a two storey building, but fortunately survived (Carles and Robert 5). The village where she lived led a harsh life. When she was just four years, her mother passed on while working in a farm after being struck by lightning (Carles and Robert 7). Her siblings also passed on. It was fortunate that death spared her. Furthermore, when she started attending school, fate seemingly sided with her temporarily and she was sponsored to continue her studies to high school. She wanted to become a teacher and later she became one. Emilie Carles was an extraordinary teacher and woman. Despite going through a troubled childhood, she was able to pick the lessons that needed to be passed on t o the next generation. Her wish to be a teacher was more because of her strong desire to teach kids to question what they were told. She believed that children were very vulnerable and needed to be told the truth because what they were told was what would shape their lives. ... She believed that the real change in the society could be realized if teachers helped the youngsters to shatter the barriers they were locked in. The people were made to believe that participation in wars was a show of patriotism when in the real sense it was only the political leaders and career soldiers who benefited while the common people heavily suffered. After being married, she lost her child to a military truck. Her pain was intense, nevertheless she even became more formidable to stand up for what was right. During World War II, her husband was on top of the list for potential hostages for German soldiers. Despite all these, she was committed to telling the truth to the youngsters in schools. Her spirit to fight against the abuses of the government on its people continued even after her retirement from teaching. She went on to fight for her community and encouraged her people to fight for their rights. At one time, she led fellow citizens to stop a freeway being constructed through the valley (her village). This freeway was not going to benefit the local community in any manner but rather destroy it (Carles and Robert 250). The contributions that Emilie Carles made to her community are immeasurable. She was a watchdog for her community all her life. She knew her people were ignorant and that the politicians took advantage of this societal ignorance. She was disgusted by the fact that politicians could repeat the same words since 1789 and the people never seemed to note the monotony (Carles and Robert 252). Definitely, she is an example of a strong willed person who went against all odds to stand up for what was right. Her strong determination saw her overcome pain and the many challenges she faced. It is worth noting that the challenges were strong given