Summary Of Judith Fein's Life

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Personal growth is what makes us who we are, with our experiences and life events shaping our personality. People grow by visiting and experiencing new cultures and people. Author Judith Fein visited Nova Scotia, home of the Acadians. Many people haven't heard of this place or the relevance of it. Most of the information about the Acadians has been revised to make what happened to the Acadians seem less violent of what it truly was, a massacre. Narrator Judith Fein visited the capital city of the forgotten people and was inspired, as many have been, to call it one of the most inspirational places she has ever seen. Fein grew in the appreciation of her own life by learning the story of the Acadians and their ability to thrive after being …show more content…

She stood in a large field staring at a bronze sculpture of an Acadian family “wandering” (Fein 108) in search of a place to live. What confused her so much was the sculptors depiction of the man, woman, and child. The family shown was a proud and strong family that had overcome a lot, but was looking forward to the good times ahead. The most important thing the author took from her journey to Nova Scotia was how the Acadians refused to be held down, bouncing back from whatever life (and the British) threw their way. After the British ripped apart their families and killed about half of their kind, the Acadians focused on rebuilding their way. They did not let anyone make the final say for them, they decided their destiny. Acadians inspire the author and many more by showing an “affirmation of life” with their “spirit of joy, creativity, and vitality” (Fein 109). They would not let the British and anything they did stop them from living their “vibrant and proud” (Fein 107) lifestyle. The British tried to get them to fit into Atlantic provinces such as Canada and various places across the eastern United States, but they just didn’t feel right not being surrounded by the people of their culture. So they all migrated to southern Louisiana to be with each other. What makes the author’s trip to Nova Scotia so special is her visit to Grand Pré, which was the center of the Acadians lives. Grande Pré is nowadays a major tourist attraction in Annapolis Valley. It shows “a moving and informative film about the Acadians; glass cases contain artifacts found at the site; there are archeological digs and the foundations of an Acadian dwelling.” This is where the majority of the deportations occurred. The proud Acadians built a shrine where every September 5th the light shines exactly on the deportation order. This shows that no matter what happened, they were too proud

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