Night - 2/25/16

Night
Author: Elie Wiesel
Pages: 81-109 (End)
Prompt: How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

          Throughout the book Elie Wiesel change his viewpoint about God and religion. At the beginning of the book Elie wants to dive in deeper into his religion, he said "One day I asked my father to find me a master to guide me in my studies of the cabbala" (1). This shows that Elie wanted to be a very religious person and believed in a God. However, the concentration camps changed his religious viewpoint. He stated many times throughout his time at the camp that God was dead. He witnessed a hanging happen and said "Behind me, I heard the same man asking: 'Where is god now?" And I heard a voice within me answer him: 'Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows..." (62). This shows that he truly believed that God was dead and could lent help them.

          Elie's relationship with his father also changes throughout the book. Before the concentration camps Elie and his father had a normal relationship. When they were transported to the camp there bond became very strong, they almost never left each other's side. He also never let his father give up hope. He said "'Father! Father! Wake up. They're trying to throw you out of the carriage'... I set work to slap him as hard as I could. After a momemt my father's eyelids moved slightly over his glazed eyes" (94). Then as his father is about to die Elie thinks to himself "I thought in the most secret region of my heart, but I dared not to admit it. It's too late to save your old father, I said to myself. You ought to be having two rations of bread, two rations of soup" (105). This is a huge difference compared to how Elie thought of his father before.

          Elie as a person has changed since the beginning of the book. Elie is now an activist and is trying to help out people who need it. Throughout out the book he only looked out for his father, friends, and himself. Now he trying to help out anyone he can and is trying to bring peace. From this he has a Nobel Peace Prize from telling his story of living through the Holocaust.

Night - 2/18/16

Night

Author: Elie Wiesel

Pages: 0 - 80

Prompt: List at least three problems the character faced? Which was the most life changing? Explain.

          Throughout the book Elie faces several problems with himself to the Nazi soldiers watching over him. One of the problems he faces is malnourishment. Since, he is at a concentration camp the conditions are horrible. The medical care is poor, the shelters are falling apart, and the prisoner barely get any food. Food and water is essential for surviving, so receiving a small amount of could cause serious health problems. This also makes him have less energy and strength, so some task are harder and more tiring.

          Another problem Elie is facing is keeping his faith in a religion. He starts to questions Gods powers and of he is even real. Elie questions this because all of the things happening around him. He watches as innocent people die from sickness, hunger, or an injury. He thinks why isn't God helping them. He also watches as people get cremated and hung at the gallows. He questions why God isn't preventing this. That is why keeping his faith to religion is so hard for him.

          The most life changing problem he is facing is staying with his family. Elie only has his father left after he was separated from his mother and sister. This was hard for him and the rest of his family. Now he tries his hardest to stay with his father at all times because he doesn't want to lose him, too. This is the most life changing because he never saw his mother and sister again. They never said a proper goodbye to each other and Elie never knew that was going to be the last time he saw them. 

Butterfly Project

Holocaust AoW Impressions - 2/16/16

          During the gallery walk I learned that direct Holocaust survivors have a higher chance of getting schizophrenia than the average human. This is because of all the things they have seen and had to live through. People who were indirectly affected to the Holocaust have a 27% of developing schizophrenia. People who directly affected by the Holocaust had a 41% higher chance than those who were indirectly affected. Those who were born in the Holocaust had even higher chance.

          I also learned that some Holocaust survivors want to help the world. One survivor wants to make sure that future generations know that history is important and should be learned. They believed this because they didn't want history to repeat itself. Another survivor wanted to help Syrian refugees. This survivor wants to help because she basically went through what they are currently going through. She loved through the Holocaust and knows the feeling of this situation. They know what it's like seeing innocent people die and don't want these people to see it too.

Berlin Memorial Activity - 2/3/16

Prompts: 1) What did you learn? 2) Why do you think this monument was built? 3) What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years? 4) Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

          From the activity we did in class I learned about many of Huremburg Laws put into place. These laws were put into place from 1935-1945 during WWII and effected the Jewish people. We learned got to see about 60 of the laws and when they we passed. As the years went on these laws got more and more strict. It got to a point were Jews could only shop at a certain time and Jews couldn't have any milk. The life for Jews also got worse as the years went on. Jews weren't allowed to work a certain job, buy certain products, or have certain possessions.

         I think this monument was built to give a feeling of a proper burial for all of the victims of the Holocaust. The victims of the Holocaust were just dumped into ditches and buried in groups. They were never buried in a proper way, so this monument was to at least give off a feeling of this. I think it is also a rememberence of the whole Holocaust and all of the lives taken from it.

          I noticed that more laws were passed in some years than other years. I also noticed that the years there were a lot of laws passed were the years with big events. The first year with a lot of laws passed was 1933, in this year Adolf Hitler came into power. The next year where a lot of laws were passed was 1938, which was the year Kristallnacht (The Night of Shattered Glass) happened. The final year where there were many laws passed was 1942. 1942 was a huge turning point in the war because Germany was finally defeated after a long streak of winning battles and it went all downhill from there.

          The restriction I think I would have the most trouble dealing with is the law that restricted Jews from joining any sports clubs. I would have the most trouble with this because I love playing sports. I have been playing sports for basically my whole life, so it would be way source of entertainment gone. It would also be a source of fitness taken away to, so it would harder to stay healthy.

2nd Quarter Reflection Blog

1/24/16

Prompts: 1) In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts? 2) What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of? 3) What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

          The area that I think I made the biggest improvement in is essay writing. This quarter we had to write an essay about a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which greatly improved u writing skills. The essay refreshed my mind about the "TIQA" format for body paragraphs and introduced me to the "ANT" format for the introduction. Along with writing my the essay this assignment helped with my revision skills. I now know what to look for when revising my papers, along with someone else's paper.

          The thing that I am the most proud of this year is doing good on my vocabulary tests and tests in other subjects. At the time I'm writing this I've only gotten threes and fours on my test in every subject. I'm proud of this because it wasn't just one class I did this in or one type of test. I hope I can say this again by the end of the 3rd quarter, even if it means I have to retake every test I take this quarter.

          The most challenging part of the 2nd quarter for me was time management. I can never tell how long it will take me to finish my homework, so I sometimes give myself to little time to complete my homework. Time management has been a big problem for me throughout the whole school year. However, I'm going to try to establish a time I start homework every day, but I have to see the amount of assignments I will get regularly in the 3rd quarter.

To Kill a Mockingbird Juxtaposition

1/21/16

Prompts: 1) What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details. 2) How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more affective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion. 3) What is the purpose in having different versions of a story? Think about how different versions contribute to the overall understanding and interpretation of that piece of work. Use specific concepts to support your opinion.

          The movie adaptation of the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has several differences both major and minor. Out of all the differences I think the most important difference is Aunt Alexandra never is seen in the movie. In the book Aunt Alexandra affected Scout, Jem, and Atticus in different ways. For instance, Aunt Alexandra tried to make Scout more lady like by sending her to the other Finch's and having her join the missionary discussion. Aunt Alexandra was there for Atticus if he needed help with making decisions or just needed extra support.

          I think that the book version of To Kill a Mockingbird delivered its message better that the film adaptation. I think the book version is better because Harper Lee could explain settings, convey feelings, and character in a more clear way because she's using words and there's no limit. In the film to know how someone is feeling you have to analyze their facial expression, their actions, and their dialogue. Also, in the film not as many events happened compared to the book, so there wasn't as many times to convey a message.

          The purpose of having a two different versions of a story is to show different perspective of the story. The film had differences like not including some characters and having events happen in different orders. By doing this you can either understand a theme better or miss the theme in general. You can also see more of a characters behavior. For instance, in the film you can see how Bob Ewell acted when he was drunk. In the book you only heard of his actions while he was drunk.