"Night" Maintaining Humanity 2-18

Based off where we are as a class in the book "Night", I've decided to focus this blog on Elie's struggle and efforts to maintain his humanity and identity as a person, during his life at the concentration camps.  While Jews stayed at these concentration camps, they were stripped and torn from any piece of their identity.  Clothes, names, hair, and any other personal possessions (watches, pictures, jewelry, etc.) were forcefully taken from them.

Elie realizes that he must be strong and keep life in him for not only himself but for his father as well.  We can understand how any feeling and emotion can be drained from someone when you're literally taking away what makes them who they are, and this begins to have an effect on Elie too.  We see part of this vacancy after the first hangings when Elie thinks the soup tastes really good, and doesn't hardly seem to be giving the hangings a second thought.  This goes to show how the mass destruction, and devastation was thrown into the Jews' lives and they became used to it and insensitive or immune to the thousands of deaths around them.

However, after the second hangings, Elie experiences a different reaction.  He thinks that the soup tastes like corpses and this tells readers that these deaths do have some sort of effect on Elie.  In the first hanging, readers are shown the hope and emotion in Elie's body depleting and draining, but we do see that there is hope left and the fight to remain sane and human will continue.  I can predict that this struggle will become much more harder in the future as his father becomes weaker and weaker, and probably closer and closer to death. 

 

Holocaust AOW Impressions Blog

On Friday when our class participated in an Article of the Week gallery walk, I learned a lot of really cool things relating to the Holocaust, and I also provided my peers with information on that topic as well.  One of the coolest realizations that I came to was the fact that information, discoveries, and events pertaining to the Holocaust are still being encountered to this day!  For example, one of my classmates was displaying an article about how Holocaust survivors could possibly have a greater chance of developing Schizophrenia which is a brain disorder), than average people.  My article also is connected to our modern day world, and it is about President Barack Obama's recent acknowledgments to some of the heroic actions that occured during World War Two, and he recognizes one of the great men in particular who did something amazing to save up to 200 lives.  (You can find this article by clicking on the link below)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/obama-honor-americans-effort-to-save-jews-the-holocaust.html?_r=0

There were also several other interesting stories about current events relating to the Holocaust.  One of which was an article on 14 Holocaust survivors who are suing Hungary in the US court.  The country of Hungary is being sued for three different reasons.  Their collaboration with the Nazis, their compliance and agreeing to deporting over 500,000 Jews, and their indifferent attitude towards the huge amounts of unfair confiscated belongings.  This is also the first time Hungary has been taken to court for their affiliation with the Nazis during the Holocaust.

After completing the gallery walk, I am now really grateful for the opportunity to learn not only about one article, but a whole class full.  I look forward to becoming involved in more events such as the gallery walk or events similar to it in the future.  

Berlin Memorial Activity

Throughout this activity in class and the events and laws that we explored, I learned all kinds of new information and facts.  Restrictions were placed on Jews and other groups such as gypsies, or homosexuals.  I was also able to make the realization that many of the laws established within this time period didn't hardly affect anyone of Non-Jewish heritage anyway, and it was simply unnecessary, not to mention unjust and unfair, to make them.  For example in 1942, a law was created that stated Jews were not allowed to have pets.  Every single law passed during those times were unfair, however some like these would have absolutely no effect rather than taking away entertainment and happiness from some people.  In no way could it benefit (fairly or not) anyone else.  I learned that all freedoms and rights as humans were being stripped from people of Jewish religion, and they were no longer able to make big decisions for themselves or control themselves.  At one point in 1941, they weren't allowed to emigrate.  Therefore, they were trapped and controlled.

I think that the lampposts with the laws displayed on the back were created as a reminder to Jews of what their limited and unfair place was at the time.  I believe that these signs and posters were a way for the Arayan race to remind not only the discriminated groups of that time period who was in power, but to also boast to themselves and have the regulation of their desired and forced superiority be publicly known to Germany.  

I noticed that there were certain years where over a dozen laws were published, and then there were years where close to if not zero were created.  For example, in 1942, 16 laws were established that limited Jewish citizens of Germany and their rights, but in 1944 there were none.  I thought maybe Hitler had released a bunch of his new ideas and plans to Germany in certain years, and then attempted to carry them out by constructing these new laws, and they could've come more frequently in these specific years.  I also considered the possibility that these laws would come in numbers that related to the condition that Germany was in during a specific point of the war.  So for example, maybe Germany was being really challenged in battle and they didn't have time, power, or whatever they needed to execute their plans for these laws in some years.

Personally, I think I would have the most trouble dealing with the rule that stated, "Jew's last will and testaments are no longer valid."  I feel this way because this law is literally taking away one's ability to decide where and who their belongings will go to after they die.  This law is explicitly saying that any Jew's personal belongings will go to the German government after death.  This is not to say that every other rule that was created and that we studied in class isn't completely unfair, evil, and cruel.  I'm positive extreme struggle and difficulty was experienced because of the other laws as well, but this is one that astounded me the most.

2nd Quarter Reflection

            We're already half way through 8th grade, second quarter is over!  It's hard to believe that the year is going by so fast.  I definitely believe that it's been a productive and successful quarter.  I've come pretty far from where I was at the beginning of the quarter.  However, I also believe that there's a long way to go and a lot of work to be done in a lot of categories.

            I made progress in a lot of areas within ELA, but I think I've improved my vocabulary the most over the other categories.  I was able to grow and do this through in school activities such as Vocab quizzes, or exercises outside of school in order to prepare for high school entrance exams.  I now know words that I'd never heard of at the beginning of the year, and if I come across a word I don't know, I can often dissect it and recognize roots or prefixes that we've studied.  I've begun to realize that the key to not only seeming intelligent, but actually acquiring intelligence and learning new things, is a strong vocabulary.

            I recently took the high school entrance exam at Nazareth Academy, and I'm proud of myself because I think I did well after all the work it took to prepare.  The very first time that I glanced at all the pre-tests and practice questions, I was so overwhelmed and nervously.  However, after several weeks of work and studying, I introduced myself to all kinds of new skills, concepts, and methods.  There were many different topics or areas that I obviously needed improvement on in order to prepare for the exam, whether it be the actual work, focusing for the length of the test, or managing time and using strategies that ensured my completion of the test.

            A significantly big obstacle that I've been faced with and am currently facing, is making sure I put forth 100% effort and making sure that my work is at its best quality and that I'm working at my full potential, as well as pushing forward to extend my limits and capabilities.  I've had a tendency to do the bear minimum, and completing only what was asked of me, in order to just get past with the least amount of work as possible.  Going into the third quarter, and then past that, I plan on overcoming this barrier, and getting to the point where my work is reflecting and showing everything that I can do.  I believe that the first step in solving this problem is managing my time better and becoming more organized.  If I have everything I need set out in front of me, and I have enough time to think about what I need to do, and what I can do to go further, I will be able to exceed standards and shine.

To Kill a Mockingbird Film Book Comparison

            I think that the biggest and most important difference between the film and the book was the knothole in the tree in front of the Radley house. The difference between the amount of times that the tree and its gifts were mentioned was pretty large.  The book really went into depth on the tree, what it held, how Scout and Jem reacted to it, and its symbolism.  Whereas the movie did show it, however not to the extent that the book did.  I feel that the tree and its presents symbolized and introduced the fact that Boo Radley was actually a good person.  It sort of flowed with the whole idea of Boo being misunderstood, and fit into and backed up the plot.  The tree also connected with Jem's growing maturity, and you can see this when the book describes Jem's devastated reaction when Mr. Radley filled up the hole, and this wasn't shown in the film.

            There are differences and similarities between the movie and book, and although I feel differently about certain differences and things that are the same, I think that it's important that two versions of the story are created.  Every person's imagination is different, and the way they might process, interpret, relate, or connect to a story could be very different than someone else's. 

     I believe that it's necessary to create both a book and film on a story in order to ensure that every reader receives the points and messages in the story.  For example, some people might be able to visualize events or setting in their head in the way they like it and can get the most out of books, but then some people might need to see and hear everything that's happening for them to understand. 

To Kill a Mockingbird (Why or how did the book affect/speak to you) 1-6-16

There are so many readers who loved this book, and some who didn't.  Several readers have almost identical, or at least very similar basic reactions or thoughts about the story.  However, all readers experience these reactions for unique and different reasons, depending on how they connected with characters, setting, conflicts, or anything else.  Therefore, I'm not going to be talking about the fact that I really enjoyed the book, but why I feel this way.

There really isn't one singular aspect that makes me react the way I do to this book, instead, there's a few different contributing factors that influence my thoughts and opinions on the story and its content.  For example, there were times where did really be able to connect with Scout, Jem, and Dill, and relate to their thoughts or actions.  A good example of character connection that I experienced while reading, was while the Finch's gathered together for Christmas.  It was really cool how I could match up practically every member of their family with one of my own family members. 

Secondly, I personally thought the author did a really good job with influencing and stirring up readers' opinions on specific topics, such as segregation and racism.  Readers could have different levels of passion when it comes to certain topics.  I was able to form my own opinions on all subjects of the book, and share them with other readers and peers, all because of the author's power to reach out to different people in different ways through his words.

Character Relationships (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Miss Maudie and a Calpurnia, are both very similar, and yet different, in several ways.  First of of all, both of these characters are women who openly express their opinions, mainly to Scout.  I feel that both these characters would voice their ideas more to the public, if they had the power freedom, and frankly if they thought that they would actually be listened to.  Whether they're speaking about matters of the Radleys, flowers, manners, or whatever topic, they always have advice or a little something to put in.  Another similarity between Miss Maudie and Cal, is their role in the book when it comes to religion.  Calpurnia took Scout and Jem to an African American church and provided them with a similar, yet different religious experience than what they were used to.  Miss Maudie hosted an extremely symbolic and powerful conversation about religion to different extremities (foot washers).

However, Miss Maudie and Calpurnia have their differences as well.  For example, Calpurnia has more of an affect on Scout as a mother figure when it comes to discipline and manners, such as when Walter Cunningham came over for dinner, whereas Miss Maudie's advice was generally pertaining to life situations or concepts.  In addition to that, Calpurnia's relationship with Scout is more direct and explicit, but Miss Maudie's affect was more passive.

These characters both play an important role in Scout's childhood and process of maturing, as they serve as mother figures.  Both of these important women influence Scout in ways that will alter and guide the sculpting of her character.  Although these two characters aren't the only ones who play as a mother figure to a scout in this book, or attempt to at least, they are probably the most important ones and the ones that influenced her the most.  The changes they made on Scout, or the behaviors they instructed and modeled for her to follow, varied in categories of manners, clothing, respect, and points of views on all kinds of subjects.