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Forgiving the person that hurt you is what will set you free. -Father Trevor. This quote means to forgive people instead of holding a grudge against them or hating the person.

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This all my hard work!!!😍😓

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Desmond and the very mean word is a book about many things such as racism, angry, and forgiveness. In the beginning of the story the main character Desmond faces racism from a group of boys, they say a very mean word to Desmond and he cant stop thinking of it. He later speaks to Father Trevor in hopes to get advice but it doesn't work. Desmond then tries to get back at the group of boys thinking that revenge is going to make the feeling goes away but it doesn't and after some time Desmond feels sympathetic to the boy as he sees the boy getting his head dunking in water and the next time Desmond sees the boys he apologizes to the group of boys, they don't say sorry back but Desmond thinks back on what Father Trevor said about forgiveness and in the end Desmond decides to forgive them and the lump feeling in his throat goes away and he feels happy. Desmond and the very mean word is a short book but it has a lot of meaning the big meaning being forgiveness. Forgiveness is a very hard thing to do especially when someone does something to upset you. I do understand why Desmond was feeling like that in the beginning as he is a young child and the mean word and racism can hurt. But its good that in the end he decides to forgive them because it's always best to forgive rather than keep a cycle in trying to get back at each other. Moral of the story is forgiveness is always the best thing to do even if it's not your fault.

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How do Desmond and the red-haired boy show each other respect and forgiveness?

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How do Desmond and the red-haired boy show each other respect and forgiveness?

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At the beginning of the story, the red-haired boy and his friends bully Desmond by trying to stop his bike, Desmond tries to go through them assuming they would steal it. The boys don't like this and say a very mean word to Desmond, this makes Desmond sad, he goes to speak with Father Trevor who tells him to forgive the boy, but Desmond wants to get the boy back, Father Trevor tells him that it will go into a never-ending cycle of revenge if he does so. Desmond ignores Father Trevor's advice and the next day he shouts a different mean word at the boy, at first he is happy but he quickly has a feeling of guilt, and he goes home as sad as he was yesterday. Father Trevor talks to him again and Desmond considers forgiving. After Desmond sees the red-haired boy being bullied by his brothers, he feels sympathy towards him, and a few days later at the market the two meet each other, Desmond apologizes, showing forgiveness, and the red-haired boy also attempts to apologize. They realize that if they kept shouting mean words it would go on the way Father Trevor had said, they then respected each other and didn't shout mean words. The next time Desmond saw the boy, he was given a piece of chocolate showing that they had become friends.

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this book is very aware of racism and has other stuff such as bullying, a big example of this is when the bullies call Desmond a very mean word or when the older kids dunk the red-haired boy in the water. Overall it's a good book because displays diverse. 

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The story is about how hurtful words can be and how forgiveness is important. Words can affect us in a way that we may not realize sometimes. Words can affect our self-confidence, and mental health, and emotionally scar someone. People's reactions to words can be angry, upset, scared, alone, embarrassed, anxious, and helpless. And when mean words were said to Desmond, he was very angry and wanted to get back at them. But that's why Forgiveness is important. Forgiveness is important because it can help free you from control over the person who harmed you. Sometimes, forgiveness might even lead to feelings of understanding and empathy for the one who hurt you. If you don't forgive someone, you might hold a grudge and try to hurt them just to get them back. And that's what I like about the story. The group of boys said hurtful words to Desmond which was very rude and something they were wrong about. And Desmond had the right to feel offended. He did say rude words back, but that would make things worse between them. But like Father Trevor said, "When you forgive someone, you free yourself from what they've said or done. It's like magic”. Desmond did the right thing and apologized for his actions and forgave them for saying words. And because of that, they had a sort of respect for each other. This book shows that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry or not. And forgiving is hard, but forgiving can make you feel better. It lets go of your grudge and makes other people a better person.

Karshaki

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I think the book “Desmond And The Very Mean Word” shows people how forgiveness is very important and it's not good to hold something against someone and you should be kind towards everyone. Its nice to be a good person. But it also shows how people can discriminate against people on the colour of their skin. In this book Desmond got a new bike and was excited to ride it but this group of boys shouted a very rude word at him and that caused him to shout something rude back at them. But later he realized it was not fun to argue back and that two wrongs do not make a right.

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I learned from this book that you should never be mean to people because they can react in ways that that can hurt you or make you feel bad. People should never bully because some people go through stuff that can make them lash out on the other person such as yelling violence and more. When people get bullied they can also go into depression due to them not thinking they are good enough and wont want to go outside. People react in many different ways and those ways can even cause suicide because of the people that bully them.

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Father trevor was right when telling desmond to always forgive to not get revenge because life will get revenge for you at the end of the day. even if your heart is fixated on revenge don't be fooled by your anger or you will never be free.revenge is like a circle it goes on and on and never stops it will just make your problems worse. And as I said life will get revenge for you same as it did for desmond when he saw the red haired boy getting bullied.Romans 12:19. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ... https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HM1UejFna2sGAl98uQmGktbqyCSjhNqf0pae3lpMs-k/edit

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This story is about forgiveness and how it heals your heart...

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Question #5: Do you agree with Father Trevor when he says that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts ?

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Question #5: Do you agree with Father Trevor when he says that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts ?

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Answer: I agree with Father Trevor. If you don't forgive someone, you can't move on and you will only think about it and getting back at them. Forgiving someone is not an easy thing to do. If you tell someone you trust, they will start making you feel welcomed. In the story, after Desmond was called the very mean word by the gang of boys, he wanted to get back at them, but Father Trevor said if he did that, the world will be full of nothing, but 'getting back'. Instead of that, forgiving is a better option. As the story goes by, Desmond feels more ready to forgive. He got them back the next day but he felt bad after saying a mean word. One day he saw the red-haired boy (one of the boys from the gang) being bullied by his brothers and he started feeling sorry for him. They said sorry to each other and Desmond's heart was healed and got free from the very mean word. What I learned from this story is to forgive instead of getting revenge.

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My opinion, essay, overall story: This story shows some things I didn't know or realize. I didn't realize forgiveness is a way to heal many people's hearts including yours. Like Father Trevor said, "Forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts". In this world, humans find it hard to forgive or apologize to someone because it would mean that they were wrong and that would affect their self-image. They also tend to remember memories that made them feel extremely sad. When you do this, it may cause stress, unhappiness, and mental illness too. For example, you get into a fight with someone, you will have that in mind and keep thinking about it. However, if you forgive, you will feel at ease and talk more to the person and begin to be friendly too instead of having to avoid them whenever you see them and keep doing the bad things they're doing as revenge. This story shows an example of this forgiveness. Desmond gets upset after the red-haired boy and his brothers say something bad to him. Next time, he says the mean word back. After hearing Father Trevor's words, he forgives the red-haired boy and becomes friends when the time was right. The moral of the story is that forgiveness is very important even if it wasn't your fault - Mathi

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Do you agree with Father Trevor that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts?

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Do you agree with Father Trevor that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts?

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Do you agree with Father Trevor that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts?:

I agree that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts. I reference biblical scriptures a lot for this. One of the verses that stands out references the book. It is Ephesians 4:31-32: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” This verse is a lot like what Father Trevor said. He said that we should forgive each other or else the world will be a cycle of “getting each other back”. That is very true because me and my sister are like that all the time. She hits me, so then I “get her back” and it becomes a “cycle” or a fight.

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Desmond tells Father Trevor that instead of forgiving the boys, he will “get them back.” Explain what Father Trevor means when he tells Desmond: “soon our whole world will be filled with nothing but ‘getting back’ 

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Desmond tells Father Trevor that instead of forgiving the boys, he will “get them back.” Explain what Father Trevor means when he tells Desmond: “soon our whole world will be filled with nothing but ‘getting back’ 

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What father Trevor means when he says that is that basically if we don't forgive the world will just continue to be filled with petty and revenge taking people. I think that forgiveness is important for this question because father trevor is telling Desmond that 'getting back' (getting revenge) is soon going to be what the entire world will be doing and forgiveness will no longer be there. father trevor could also be using it as some poetic thing that hes using to tell desmond he should forgive but also the quote also has a relation with the real world. the world now has more people both higher and lower power that is taking revenge and is essentially "getting back" on those who either did something wrong to the revenge takers or who's small action had the revenge takers having a small grudge that slowly grows over time.

-Elena Idk if this even makes sense sorry

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I think that the book "Desmond and the Very Mean Word" shows us how people of a black background were being judged and feeling discouraged and about their culture and background.Desmond was angry when the boy with red hair was calling him names which made him start disliking his race ,so i am inferring that the mean word had something to do with Desmond's race. That is probably the reason that it affected him so badly. Proving and showing us that this was an act of racism, and also showing us that it is best when people forgive others even though what they do or say can be hurtful and have a bad impact on you.

-Anastasia

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 Do you agree with Father Trevor when he says that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts?

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 Do you agree with Father Trevor when he says that forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts?

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Yes I do agree with Father Trevor when he says that " Forgiveness is a way to heal our hearts''. Some of the reasons I agree with Father Trevor is because when we get hurt by someone putting us down or making rude comments about us will always have a affect on our hearts. That feeling can be a range from mad, sad, gloomy,and maybe even vacant. " Not forgiving someone can cause you to become bitter and develop hatred for them and other people over small mistakes and accidents" that line by Father Trevor is saying when not forgiving someone can cause all the types of feeling I said by keeping it in your heart. I also believe that by not forgiving someone even if they dont deserve it that one feeling can open up many problem in your life and your future. Your Heart can only hold so much feelings good and bad. At the end of book when Desmond saw the boy that put him down getting bullied by his brother I think Desmond thought of what Father Trevor said and decided to forgive him even though he still knew he didn't deserve. When Desmond Forgave the redhead boy the boy knew he was bullying cause he got bullied and ended up doing the heartful thing and forgiving him back. The moral of the story is to forgive. -Zach

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"Desmond and the Very Mean Word" is a captivating book that tells the story of a young boy named Desmond who encounters a hurtful word. The book explores the theme of bullying and the power of words. Desmond, who is excited to ride his new bike, runs into a couple of boys who use a mean word towards him. This leaves Desmond feeling upset and revengeful. Throughout the story, Desmond learns about the impact of his words and the importance of kindness. Desmond saw the boy who said the mean word getting his head dunked into a bucket of water practically drowning. This made Desmond feel sympathetic towards the boy. The next time he saw the boy he apologized to him and they shared a piece of chocolate. The book beautifully highlights the significance of empathy and understanding, teaching readers valuable lessons about the consequences of using hurtful language.

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Why does Desmond want to be alone when father Trevor comes to visit

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Why does Desmond want to be alone when father Trevor comes to visit

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I believe Desmond wants to be alone when father Trevor visits for 3 main reasons.The first main reason is that he didn't t know how to react about the situation.I say this because of how Desmond got very mad when father Trevor asked Desmond to forgive the boys.I can also tell by that he didn't know how to cope with the mean word on his mind,so in return I believe he wanted to be alone with his thoughts.The second main reason is that in the story he couldn't stop thinking about the mean word.For example in the story he said when he was reading his comic book all he would see is the mean word in the book.Due to this I believe he just couldn't get it out of his mind and he wanted to be alone in his thoughts.The third and final reason I can think of is that he didn't understand why father Trevor would say to forgive the boys.Some more reasoning would be that father trevor has dealt with this type of situation.So I think Desmond would wonder why he wants him to ask for forgiveness.That's why I think Desmond wanted to be alone when father Trevor came to his house.

- Ariyan also sorry this is kind of rushed

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Describe how Desmond feels when he sees the gang of boys. What does Desmond feel after

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Describe how Desmond feels when he sees the gang of boys. What does Desmond feel after

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I think that Desmond felt scared when he saw the group of boys because, I think that because In that time racism was very normal, White people thought they were superior because of their skin. When the gang of boys blocked his path he probably thought that they were going to make him stop, Take his bike and beat him up because they thought that they were superior. Desmin probably also felt mad because of all the racism he has been through, also because If a gang of guys tried to block my way I would get mad and yell at them while riding away. After he got away from the gang he probably felt sad because the word they used were very rude and was very inappropriate. He was mad, how I know that is because he wanted revenge and he clenched his hands when Trevor talked about forgiving. Overall I think that all this happened because one race thought they were better than another race. That is bad because no one is better than someone else no matter the Race, religion, gender or status, Everyone is the same.

Elroi

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What I really like about this story is that it all ended in forgiveness, not getting back at someone or proving a point. Desmond doesn't feel good and wants revenge when he gets called a mean word and Desmond called him a bad word too, but later in the story he finds out that the person who said it doesn't have a very good life at home. He starts to feel empathy for him and says sorry for saying that. He didn't need an apology. It doesn't make me feel very good if someone says an offensive word to me either, but I don't turn it into anger. Sometimes, someone beats me in a game and starts being mean to me about it but, I forgive them because they're probably just very happy or it's a way of getting rid of their inner anger. Forgiveness is very important in life because it can help you in life and make you feel happier! A lot of people have a lot of trust issues because of this reason. People think that getting back at someone will all end in happiness, but they're not so correct. Their character starts getting worse and meaner. Forgiving isn't the easiest thing to do, but it can definitely help you and other people become better people! -Ibrahim

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What I Learned: What I learned from the video is the importance of forgiveness. Forgiveness is important because if you don't, you may start to hold a grudge against them and start to dislike them. When you forgive, it makes the other person feel better and more aware of their mistake/action, so they try not to repeat the mistake/action again. Getting someone back is also not a good idea because then they will take revenge then you will, and it's going to keep going on (for infinity ∞)

Question: Does Desmond forgive the boy with the red hair in order to make himself feel better or because he feels sorry for the boy?

Answer: I think he felt sorry for the boy after seeing him getting bullied. I also think that he forgave the red-haired boy because he now had a greater understanding of forgiveness. (By Nabiha)

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Within the plot of this small book, there is a couple of large meanings and teachings from this book. The first one is the teaching of racism. Racism is a very negative concept which applies to negative actions against another race. in this book, Desmond (the main character) is being treated with racism by a group of young white boys. For this reason, Desmond feels very offended by the blatant racism and cannot let this go. Although he isn't wrong for feeling a sense of hatred, anger, and anxiety. It isn't right to go back the next day and yell a mean word back. Giving forgiveness is the best kind of get-back possible. So to me, I would have suggested to Desmond that he could bring a trusted adult with him to forgive the young boys. It may go wrong due to the boys thinking it is a threat, but I think it's worth a try! -Kenny

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Desmond and the Very Mean Word is a picture book with themes of alienation, marginalization, social justice, bullying, and forgiveness. If you want to read it click on this link.

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Based on a true story from Archbishop Desmond Tutu's childhood in South Africa, Desmond and the Very Mean Word reveals the power of words and the secret of forgiveness.

Features an audio read-along read by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. When Desmond takes his new bicycle out for a ride through his neighborhood, his pride and joy turn to hurt and anger when a group of boys shout a very mean word at him. He first responds by shouting an insult, but soon discovers that fighting back with mean words doesn't make him feel any better. With the help of kindly Father Trevor, Desmond comes to understand his conflicted feelings and see that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry. Brought to vivid life in A. G. Ford's energetic illustrations, this heartfelt, relatable story conveys timeless wisdom about how to handle bullying and angry feelings, while seeing the good in everyone.

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Based on a true story from Archbishop Desmond Tutu's childhood in South Africa, Desmond and the Very Mean Word reveals the power of words and the secret of forgiveness.Features an audio read-along read by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

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This book is obviously about racism but there could be another meaning, forgiveness. People don't realize that forgiveness is an important thing in everyday life. Forgiving someone helps you to grow and set yourself from their actions, like the story said. Not forgiving someone can cause you to become bitter and develop hatred for them and other people over small mistakes and accidents. It can also develop trust issues over something that could've been resolved a long time ago. I know it's hard to forgive but take your time and move on!! -Daena :)