8th Grade Speech

"Little Things, Big Escapes" 

I believe that in life, everyone needs an escape from reality. I've loved my escape since I was a little kid. I love being able to forget about my problems and being able to concentrate on one thing. Most importantly, I love the happiness it brings to me. 

I remember the first time I needed an escape from life's hardships. It was within 3 years from the time when I had first gotten my hearing aids. The idea of constantly wearing something strange for the rest of your life was a lot to take in as a child. I still remember waking up everyday and dreading to put my hearing aids on. Around this time I was also beginning to explore the world of soccer. At my first soccer game I remember not thinking of anything except for the game in front of me. I had so much fun and my worries were gone. 

Ever since then, soccer has been my escape. It takes my mind elsewhere to a place where I can be worry-free. The amount of control that I have over the game calms me and makes me focus. Playing with my teammates, who I consider family, brings happiness to me. The attitude I get when I step onto the field makes me feel like I belong there.

We all have our own experiences, problems, and hardships that we face. Having something to take your mind off of all of those problems is important, even if it's just for a short amount of time. Escapes could be anything from watching a tv show, to daily talks your friends at lunch. Without an escape, without my escape, I certainly would not be the person I am today.

Final 8th Grade Reflection

     I can't believe there are only about 5 days left of our time here at Heritage. It seems like it was only yesterday when Sebastian ripped his pants and Sam and Jeremiah were having a “poetry” battle. There are definitely many things that I have leave this year. Non-educational or not, I have really grown from what I've learned. 

          Throughout the year I have learned many things in this class. One of the things I learned was how to use the TIQA format properly and how to put your own style into it. I mainly learned this while writing the argumentative essay. In that essay we only used the TIQA format. We would use it in unique ways and sometimes had to put two contradicting TIQAs in one paragraph. Doing this taught me that the TIQA format can be used in different ways and adjusted to create your own writing style. Another thing I learned was how to properly use commas. The latest lessons in grammar have really taught me to put thought into where I am putting a comma. Before the lessons I thought that you always put a comma before a FANBOY. I now know that you only use a comma when listing things, when naming dates and addresses, when combining two independent clauses, and when a dependant clause comes before an independent clause. This has helped me improve my writing skills. One other thing that I have learned in this class is how to write different pieces of writing. I have learned how to write a narrative essay, an argumentative essay, and now a speech. This has taught me the different structures of writing and how they can differ and compare to each other. 

          From this year, I think I will most remember the Socratic Seminars. Socratic Seminars was the time when we would talk about how the piece of literature we were reading influenced us personally. It was a time when we would ask questions and wonder the things that we possibly might've never wondered before. It was during this time that we could make connections from the lessons in the literature to the real world. I think I will remember this because, although it was educating, it was when we got to find emotional connections between the book and ourselves. These connections weren't just small ones such as having a common favorite color. These connections were about the way we live our lives, what we value, and questioning whether or not we take life for granted. 

          The nicest thing someone in the class has done for me was to help me with any kind of confusion that I had. This year doing the butterfly project, I struggled for quite some time when trying to figure out the meaning of my poem. My friends in this class helped me by encouraging me to do research on the blurbs of non-fiction within the poem. I ended up doing that and it resulted in me having a full understanding of my poem. I also had some confusion in the poetry portion of the class. My friends would also help me by explaining to me what can be taken out of the poem and put back in to give it meaning. I am very grateful for having people help me when I needed it. 

          During this year I think that I have taught some of my classmates something. The main thing I would say I have taught them is how to remember the spelling and definitions of the vocabulary. I use this strategy a lot because it makes learning the vocabulary a lot easier. The way I would do this is by looking for root words within the words that mean almost the same thing as the actual word. If I couldn't find any root words I would find another word that rhymes with the vocabulary word that can relate to the definition. This is definitely a strategy I will continue to use in high school. 

     I think I have definitely made an improvement in my writing. The TIQA format is the basic foundation upon this improvement. This helped me a large amount specifically in my argumentative essay. I am most proud of accomplishing the fact that I can now hear the words “write an essay” and not freak out. Writing is not an easy thing to do. There are constant revisions that need to be done and diction that needs to be fixed. However, with this class I now know what needs to be put into each paragraph, the structure of it, and what it needs to end up looking at. 

     The most challenging part of this year for me was, once again, time management. I got into a really bad habit of starting big projects and assignments last minute. By doing this I created more stress for myself. I would come home from soccer practices and stay up really late doing homework that I could've started before. This procrastination was tied into the time management problem. About 1/2 of the way into the school year was when I decided to get it together. I created a schedule that would plan out the assignments I needed to do and the extracurricular activities I had. That really helped a lot and shrinked the amount of stress I put on myself. 

     The piece of writing that I am most proud of is the argumentative essay. It was on a topic I felt strongly about. This, I think, is what made me want to do good on the essay. I wanted other people to see my argumentative and hopefully agree with me. I think I made a very good argument that was supported with a good amount of evidence. I took a lot of time in writing that easy. I also worked really hard on making sure it all tied in nicely together. Next year I will definitely refer back to this essay when having to write an argumentative essay. 

     My favorite book from this year was, without a doubt, Tuesdays With Morrie. It made me think about the things in life that I had never thought of before. Those things included the thought of the possibility of me dying days from now. Therefore wondering if I would've been satisfied with my life. This taught me to not take my life for granted. Another one of these thoughts was questioning if I have purpose and meaning in my life. It provoked me to think more about my future and about the person I want to be. This book was filled with life lessons that I will remember in the future. 

     There is a lot of advice to give to future students of this class. First, always listen to what Mrs. Larson says. The directions and expectations she has are for a reason, and there are consequences for not following them. Second, make a schedule and stick to it. I cannot emphasize enough to how important time management is, especially in this class. You do not want to be doing an AOW, a blog, and studying for a vocabulary quiz all on the same day. Trust me, you will get stressed doing that. Third of all, have fun in class. Especially for all of the upcoming eighth graders. This is the year that you want to make memories and have fun.

Final Project

Tuesdays With Morrie

"The big things - how we think, what we value- those you must choose yourself. You can't let anyone -- or society determine those for you." - Morrie S. 

          Morrie's aphorism is fairly simple, yet thought provoking. It starts off by stating that one of the big things in life is what we value. These values most likely include family, having friends, and possibly identity. It then goes into saying how these values must be chosen by you and you only. It's saying you can't let anyone decide what you personally value and care for. The aphorism then states that you cannot let society decide your values. People often think that they have to value what everyone else values. However, if it was all like that then would those values even be values? This is where having your own values sets you apart in a unique way. This aphorism therefore has the main message to decide things for yourself.

          I can relate this aphorism to a personal experience. I know someone who spent their whole life doing the things that other people wanted them to do. That person was, in reality, really sad. That person was sad because they didn't get to do that they wanted in life. The person pursuited a completely different career than they actually wanted to do. Eventually the person spoke up and changed things around. However, the person went a long time living unhappily with the decisions other people made for them. Although this person did not do as the aphorism says to do, it still relates to it because it shows what can happen if you don't do as it says.

          I really agree with this aphorism because there are other sayings that Morrie said that can help build support behind this one. This aphorism states that you alone have to decide the big things in life, such as what we value. Morrie had also mentioned how people sometimes put their values into the wrong things. One reason as to why they might put their values into the wrong things is because that is what society is telling them to do. It is because they are too busy listening to society and easily being controlled by it. 

Personal Aphorism

In order to be happy you need to let go of the things bringing you down, no matter how much it hurts.

Socratic Seminar Reflection

Tuesdays With Morrie 

          The past four Socratic seminars have influenced my thinking about Tuesdays With Morrie and life in general in a major way. It mostly brought awareness to me about the fact that you never know what is going to happen. Morrie was this healthy, young man that looked like nothing would ever happen to him. He ended up with ALS. It made me look at Morrie like he was an example of the fact that life can give you unexpected events. It made me see that this book had several different meanings as to why it was written. It also made me see that life has to be lived to the fullest. Not knowing what will happen in the future makes me feel like I should appreciate it, be happy, and love others in the present. 

          Trends that I notice about myself and personal goals for each seminar is that I want to get other people involved. I would always make it a goal to get anyone else involved. Throughout our last four discussions, I brought forth new ways of looking at things. I mentioned how some characters in this book are on the contrary of characters from To Kill A Mockingbird. I also showed, while discussing our ‘Morrie Test’, how much people can be oblivious to simple things. I explained that I've never seen the 7 flags in front of my neighbor’s house. 

          One trend that I noticed with the class was for most of the seminars, we would mainly focus on the book and the feelings that would come from it. We also talked a lot about aphorisms and how they can be applied to our lives. Something that I noticed that helped/hindered a specific seminar was the connections we made from the book to the world. I think that played a major part in making the Socratic seminar successful. We were able to see how the things in the book applied to not only our lives, but to the lives other people. 

The Sixth Tuesday

          Based on the 6 Tuesdays in Tuesdays with Morrie, the Tuesday that has inspired me is the Tuesday we talk about death. The aphorism “Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live”p.82 , really inspires me. It inspires me into living my life to the fullest. It inspires me into always being positive and happy, to always maintain a positive mind. It also inspires me into not stressing out about little things that will not matter in the long run. 

           The major aphorism in the chapter also inspires me into trying to understand what it is like to die. I want to understand how it feels like to know you can die at any given moment. It makes me wonder about any regrets I have and if I would go back and try to fix them. I wonder if I would try to be the most positive, happy person I could be, like Morrie, or if I would completely shut everybody out. This also makes me think about what other people would think of me if I were to have a terminal disease. 

          Knowing how to live after knowing how to die can be applied at any age. I would say that children know how to do this better than adults do. Children do not base their decisions off of consequences. They do whatever they want to do and have fun. As a child, you live your life to the fullest. Once you get old, that no longer happens. Adults restrain themselves from new, exciting risks in fear of any negative consequences. Adults however, can change that and possibly learn to live life to the fullest. 

Bucket List Blog

          Only 40 pages into Tuesdays with Morrie and I know this book will be one of the best. Morrie has so far been extremely inspirational. He already has had an impact on the way I look at the people in my life. This, along with the conversation in class, has showed me that it is better so say all the things you need to say before it’s too late. Once the opportunity to say something passes, it's gone and the feeling of regret often follows. 

          Morrie also has a vigorous character. Even though he is struggling physically with ALS, he is mentally and spiritually healthy. I think that the fact that he accepted the fact that he is going die is astonishing. This is not an easy thing to do. I also think that this is what helped him not be afraid of dying. Tuesdays with Morrie also has the developing theme of not taking life for granted. Perusing the things you want to do in life is important because the fact is, if you don't then you will most likely regret it. I wouldn't want to life a life full of regrets. I want to do a lot of things in life and enjoy them while I can. 

Bucket List: 

- Go to the Eiffel Tower

- Go to the Men's World Cup 

- Go to the Women's World Cup

- Go to a Bruno Mars concert and meet him

- Meet Alessia Cara and go to one of her concerts 

- Meet Alex Morgan

- Travel to Puerto Rico

- Live downtown 

- Hug a lion 

- Buy my mom a house 

- Meet Dylan O’Brien 

- Buy my dad his dream car

- Open a clinic for the hearing impaired

- Learn complete sign language 

- Play for the UIC Flames

3rd Quarter Reflection

          Quarter 3 has ended and we are now moving into the last quarter of the year. We are now moving into the last quarter of middle school. We are moving into the last quarter before high school. I can't believe how far we have came and how much I have progressed. 

          I think I have made my biggest improvement in my writing for English Language Arts. The TIQA format has been a big contribution to my improvement. We were not taught this format this year. We learned this type of formatting since seventh grade. However, I did not realize how much faster and more efficiently you can write a paper using this format until we did the argumentative essay this year. The essay was overall written in TIQA format, and even included 2 TIQA in one paragraph. The essay turned out to be good. It wasn't until I compared this years essay to last years that I realized how much my writing has grown and progressed with the formatting. We are also currently taking the Reading/Language Arts PARCC test. This test includes a writing portion where we have to analyze literature and write an essay. I found that from using the TIQA format so often, I naturally started writing the essay with the TIQA format. I was able to write a good essay in a good amount of time. 

          In this quarter, the thing that I have accomplished that I am most proud of is my Night vs. "Life Is Beautiful" blog. I took a lot of time in making that and put in a lot of hard work. I first started with making an outline and included the evidence I was going to use. From there I did a rough draft. After that rough draft, I went back and revised for diction, understanding, and added my analytical thinking. I must've revised it at least 3 times before finally submitting the final draft. I ended up getting a good grade on it. I was really proud of it and felt as if my hard work had paid off. 

          I think the most difficult part of 3rd quarter was analyzing the poem assigned to me for Butterfly Project. I consider poetry as one of my weaknesses. It was hard and took a while to figure out what the true meaning of the poem what. I had to make various annotations to come to a final conclusion. I also had to do research on some of the things the poem was referencing. I struggled and would say that it took me about 3 days to fully understand the true meaning of the poem. 

40 Book Challenge

Airborn 

By: Kenneth Oppel

Pages: 0-41

Prompt: 

- Describe the setting- when and where what you are reading takes place

- Describe the differences between the main character and you 

- After reading I wonder... 

          The setting of the book takes place out on the sea. The main character is on a boat. From what I have read so far, he works on a boat that offers people to come with the crew. I think it is a cruise ship. They sail the seas and return to the mainland every couple months to stock up. The main character usually spends most of his time perched in the crow's nest and looking out into the sea for any strange weather or objects. 

          There is a major difference between the main character and I. The main character is not affected by heights at all. When an unknown hot air ballon flies into view of the ship, the Aurora, the captain sends an order to get it under their control. He wanted to see if there was anyone on it that needed medical attention. When the captin asked for a volunteer to be lifted into the sky to get into the balloon, he asked the main character if he would do it. The main character gladly accepted. He wore a harness and was lifted into the air, and dropped into the balloon. The main character, Cruse, also has a job on the boat sitting atop in the crow's nest. I on the other hand, would never do that. I am terrified of heights. I cannot even look down when I am on a bridge because I get so tense. 

          After reading a good portion of the book I am left wondering a lot of things. In the book it mentions that the Cruse's dad died. I wonder how he died and if somebody killed him. Could the killer be a possible conflict later in the book? I also wonder why everyone respected his father. What contribution did he give to the ship? I also wonder what kind of man his father was. The book also mentions that the hot air ballon was different. It was engineered a certain way. I wonder how the person that built it built it. I also wonder how long it took to plan the building of the balloon. 

40 Book Challenge

SYLO

By: D.J. MacHale 

Pages: 135-END

Prompt: 

- Describe the main characters 

             The character most focused on throughout the book is Tucker. Tucker is a teenager who lives on an island called Pamberwick. He moved to this island when he was younger and has grown up there. He plays football on the school team and is a sub for the quarterback. He can be described as uncertain at times, but a positive person. He and his best friend, Quinn, like going on bike rides during the night to blow off steam. While riding one night, Tucker and Quinn encounter a flash of light. Tucker tries to make sense of it, not realizing that that night was the beggining of the end of their normal lives.

             Tori Sleeper is another character that is frenquently focused on. Tori Sleeper lives with her dad in a house by the beach. Her dad is a fisher and owns 2 lobster boats. Tori often helps her dad fish. Tori is the type of girl that hides her feelings, is mean, and is sarcastic. She would not be described as a girly-girl. If she is upset she doesn't tell anyone what happened unless she is specifically asked. She is also very resourceful and helpful. She was able to fight and take down a grown man, tying his hands together with wire. She tied a specific knot that would be able to hold for quite some time. She is very good at driving both a motorcycle/scooter and a boat. She is also brave and tough. After being shot in the shoulder, she was able to keep herself awake and manage the pain. 

          The third character that is considered to be one of the main ones is Quinn. Quinn is Tucker's best friend. Quinn also lives in Pamperwick and has parents that are doctors. He knows what he wants to do when he gets older and is really smart. He reads any book he can get his hands on and can really analyze things. He often gets Tucker thinking about what is going to happen in the future. Quinn can also be described as brave. When he, Tucker, and Tori were going to make 'The Pamberwick Run', he offered to take one of the boats all alone, and letting Tori take the boat with Tucker. Unfortunately, this act of bravery leads to him getting killed by an enemy airplane. 

Night vs Life Is Beautiful

In the Holocaust unit we have done, we have read literature, poems, and watched a movie. We read the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel. This piece of literature was an eye-opener as to what actually happened in the concentration camps. It was also an eye-opener as to the things in life that we might take for granted. We also read several poems from Holocaust survivors that had hopes, dreams, and fears. These poems each were each interpreted differently by everyone, and affected everyone differently as well. We also watched a movie called "Life Is Beautiful". It told the story of a man that encounters many aspects as to how life is beautiful, but is then put in a concentration camp with his wife and son. Although he was placed in the concentration camp, the film was able to show how life is beautiful throughout the entire movie. Between these are connections between the literature we read and the movie we watched. There are many differences and similarities portrayed, in the means of point of view, mood/tone, and personal bonds. 

The memoir Night and the movie "Life Is Beautiful" have different points of view that affect both pieces in a big way. The memoir showed us the point of view from an aware Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp. It showed all of the unbelievable events that occurred within the camps. It was a firsthand account and witness of hangings, death marches, and beatings. It also showed us how much someone can change emotionally, physically, and spiritually while being in that camp. The memoir went really into depth as to what Elie Wiesel was thinking and feeling. There was one point in the story where Elie states something that greatly shows his point of view at the time. He states, "Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes... children thrown into the flames" (32).  The reader could be greatly impacted when reading this, especially knowing that this came from the point of view of a teenager. In the movie "Life Is Beautiful" there really is no point at which you are looking at the scenario in. It does however, focus on Guido and the things he does. Guido is a fun guy who likes to entertain people and make them laugh. When the film focuses more on him it gives the movie a somewhat positive tone, and brings a warm feeling to the reader.

The memoir and the movie also differ in the case of mood/tone. In the memoir, Elie Wiesel goes through many unimaginable scenes that bring a depressing mood/tone to the book. He explains seeing innocent children being horrifically treated in the camps. He states, "But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing... And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes" (65). The very fact that Wiesel, as a teenager, had to see this happen is depressing and insanely sad. The depressing mood/tone seems to be everlasting as Wiesel continues throughout the camp. Toward the end of the book, Wiesel was to participate in a death march. During the death march Wiesel had a great amount of both physical and emotion pain. He states, "The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me" (86). This was the point when he becomes  accepting to the idea of depression and death. The film "Life Is Beautiful" on the contrary had a somewhat sweet, humorous mood/tone. The sweet mood/tone was brought by the fact that Guido would do anything to make his family happy. He surprised his wife, Dora, anytime he could because he knew that made her happy. He said silly jokes and humorous gestures to make his son laugh. For example, he would march in a silly way while in the concentration camps to make his son laugh, and therefore be happy. The humorous mood/tone was brought by the fact that Guido was a fun and funny guy. He was able to make anything a joke, and turn any serious, sad situation into something positive. For example, he pretended to be a high official of the school just to get a chance to ask a teacher, his future wife, that was there on a date. When the principal told him to talk to the students about their superior race, Guido stood on a desk and began to take his clothes off as a joke. 

While there were some major differences between the memoir and the movie, there was also a major similarity. That similarity was the father-son bond that was strongly portrayed throughout both pieces. Elie in the memoir, after seeing his mom and sister being immediately placed in another line without be able to say a proper goodbye, grew extremely close to his dad.  He states, "My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him" (30). His father was the only family he had left in his daily life. Wiesel tried to do everything in his power to keep his father alive, such as give him his food rations when he was sick. Wiesel also experienced s traumatic event where his father was almost mistaken for a dead corpse. He states, "And I started to hit him harder and harder. At last, my father half opened his eyes" (99). Wiesel needed his father alive. At one point that necessity was so strong, that it was the only reason why he was still trying to live. The father-son bond in the movie "Life is beautiful" was extremely strong as well. Guido did everything he could to keep his son, Joshua, alive. He made sure that Joshua stayed with him and was not sent to the crematorium with the elderly. Guido also made up a lie, telling his son that being put in that camp was a game. He protected his son from the truth, which at the time was a very hard thing to do. He was also able to hide Joshua and told him that he would gain points to win the game by doing so. Guido gave his food rations to Joshua as well. 

Throughout the movie, there were several examples showing as to just how life was beautiful. One of the main examples was shown in the beginning of the movie when Guido falls in love. The joy of falling in love itself is a big indication that life was beautiful. The inside jokes, laughter, and love that Guido and Dora showed did indeed show that life was beautiful. The humor that was incorporated with the love was a symbol of a beautiful life and it could not get any better. The love and inside jokes were also portrayed while Guido and his family were in the concentration camp. Guido was able to get access to the song that was played at an opera that both Guido and Dora attended. He played that song as loud as he could out of the window, sending a message to Dora saying how he was still alive, missed her, and loved her. Another example of how life was shown as beautiful was through Guido's attitude during the concentration camp. It was beautiful to see how life in the concentration camp was able to be interpreted with a positive outlook. Guido was able to pass that positive outlook on the camp to his son though the so called "game". When Guido was walking away from his son after hiding him in a box, he was caught by an officer. Guilty made sure that his son's  last memory with his father be positive. He wanted Joshua to remember the wink and the fearlessness he shown, even though deep down he was terrified. What Guido did to save his son was true beauty. 

Night Blog- Elie's Experiences

            The Holocaust is a very tragic and unbelievable part of history. Many people lost their lives while being treated without any humanity. Elie Wiesel, the author of Night goes through many changes during his experience of being a victim of the Holocaust. He has many changes emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

             Emotionally, Wiesel goes through a big change. At the beginning of the Holocaust, he went through very sudden, negative events. He reacted as any normal person would react.  When he was taken from his mother he stated, "There was no time to think." and "I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever" (29). He was shocked and didn't really have time to process what had just happened. He also was a witness of young children being put in the crematorium and states, "Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes... children being thrown into the flames" (32). These two events really change a person. Not being able to have a proper goodbye with a person that you love, and seeing little, innocent babies being thrown into fire pits is traumatizing. However, Elie didn't notice that he was getting used to all of the negativity in a way. Eventually he got so used to it that there was a point where he didn't feel anything at all.

             That point was when his father got slapped. He states, "My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked" (39). His father had gotten slapped because he had asked where the bathroom was. When it happened, Wiesel didn't blink. He was so used to the negativity in the camps that he didn't even react to when his father had gotten hit. Another example of when Elie eventually got used to the pain was during the death march. Wiesel had just had surgery on his foot, and it was not healed when he decided to leave the camp to go with his father to another camp. He states, "Our legs moved mechanically, in spite of us, without us" (87). He got so used to pain through the blows and whips of the Nazis, of the numbness and pain in his foot, that he just didn't feel it anymore. He just kept running. 

          Wiesel also went through a massive change in his beliefs. Before the Holocaust, he was very devout. He met someone named Moishe the Beatle in 1941, when he was 13 years old. Wiesel went to Moishe to learn religion from him. Wiesel states, "Together we would read, over and over again, the same page of the Zohar. Not to learn it by heart but to discover within the very essence of divinity" (15). He was very serious about his religion and would cry whenever he prayed. This al changed when he got to the camps. After seeing very tragic things Wiesel questions God, in a major way. He states, "Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?" (P. 33). The wonders why he should thank him for anything. He didn't feel like there was anything to be thankful for in the camp. He had completely changed when he states, “The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames.” (P. 37). When he says this he means that the student who was devoted to Talmud(religion/belief) had been completely wiped out by the camp. He no longer existed. 

          Physically, Wiesel went through a downhilled change. Before the Holocaust, Wiesel was like any other Jewish boy. He had a home, a family, and loved ones who called him by his name. He was unique in his own way and had many traits. That all changed. At the camps, all prisoners were stripped of their uniqueness. "Their clippers tore out our hair, shaved every hair on our bodies." (35), Wiesel explained. All prisoners were shaved. Elie also says that they got a tattoo with a number. They were called by that number ever since then. Not by names, but by numbers. By the end of the Holocaust Wiesel didn't even recognize himself. In fact, he states "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me" (115). He refers to himself as two different people. The person he was before the Holocaust, and the person he was after. 

'Night'

Night

By: Elie Wiesel

Pages: 0-84

Prompt: 

- Choose 3 images that represent what you have read so far. For each image, write a paragraph as to why you chose that image

          The first image I chose was a ghost. I choose this because that was essentially what would happen to a person that has been in a concentration camp too long. In the book, Wiesel and his father are put in the same camp. They are stripped of all uniqueness and are gives numbers that they are to be called by. After a while Wiesel mentions that the blows ok the soldiers stop hurting at a certain point. I think that was said to represent the fact that he eventually took so much of it that he went numb to the feeling. Other older prisoners in the concentration camp make me think of a ghost becuase they are so pale, worn down, and transparent in a way. 

            The second image I chose was a highway going two different ways. I chose this picture because those two paths represent how people can be separated easily. Wiesel got separated from his mom and sister faster than they could realize it. It also represents that once something is done, you can't undo it, you can't walk back and choose the other road. Wiesel's father decided that they weren't gonna leave their home, so they got taken into the camps. They can't go back. Wiesel decided to go with the rest of the men and march in the evacuation with a bad foot, later realizing that those who stayed were rescued. He can't go back.

            The third picture I chose was a electicuted fence. I chose this because it represents Wiesel's mental state and the inhumanity of the camps and soldiers. When Wiesel and his father arrived at the first concentration camp, they thought they were going to go straight into the fire and get burned. While walking there, Wisel told his father that he was willing to commit suicide and jump on the fence because he didn't want to slowly burn. The fact that Wiesel even had this thought is scary and shows just how much fear the prisoners in the camp had. It also represents the inhumanity of the soldiers and camps because they basically kept the Jews confined like they were dogs. The soldiers beat the prisoners for no reason and hung children that were innocent. It doesn't even sound like it would be possible to do, but it is and it shows the extent of the inhumanity.

AOW Impressions Blog

          This week's AOWs have made me realize a couple things. One of the major and most important things that I learned follows. The Holocaust is still affecting the world today. Mainly survivors and Nazi hunters are those who are having that effect on the world. The Holocaust might have been something that happened in the past, but it is something that will forever affect the present and future. 

          Nazi hunters are still active and out there. One Nazi hunter in particular thinks he might have the last active case. The Nazi that was found was most likely a guard at a concentration camp. He is currently 92 years old and is living in New York. This shows me that Nazi hunters want to get complete justice for all of the victims of the Holocaust. Even though it happened quite a while ago, people still remember it, honor the victims, and hope it doesn't happen again. 

          Holocaust survivors want to make sure that what happened to them, doesn't happen to other people. In one of the articles mentioned that Holocaust survivors are relating to the refugees from Syria. They are trying to remind the government that history is constantly repeating itself and that there is a chance that a present day- version of the Holocaust may uprise. The survivors are standing up for the refugees and helping their voices be heard. 

Butterfly Project

"Dusk"
By: Anonymous

The dusk flew in on the wings of evening

From whom do you bring me a greeting?

Will you kiss my lips for him?

How I long for the place where I was born!



Perhaps only you, tranquil dusk,

know of the tears shed in your lap

from eyes that long to see

the shade of palms and olive trees

in the land of Israel.

Perhaps only you will understand

this daughter of Zion,

who weeps

for her small city on the Elbe
but is afraid ever to return to it.



I commented on Evie's Blog, Michael's Blog, Diana's Blog, and Mia's Blog.

Berlin Memorial Activity

                        

             The most important thing I learned through this activity was the extent as to how much the Jews were discriminated. I knew before that the Jews were taken from their homes and forced to work in concentration camps that would starve the workers. What I didn't know was all the other little, vital things that Hitler took from them. It started off with the Jews not being able to be in a certain group/club and not being able to work certain jobs, but it got far worse then that. Jews were losing drivers licenses, banned from owning jewelry, and prohibited from owning a radio. There was a point where they basically did not have a right to milk and food.

             I think that the Berlin memorial monument was built to honor all of the Jews that during during the time of Hitler's exuberance in Germany. I also believe it is set to honor all of throes who died because of the laws that supported the idea of antisemitism. There are so many of the gray blocks that it represents the thousands of Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. 

             There were certain years that had more laws than passed than usual. I noticed that in the year 1938, there were a lot of antisemitism laws passed in Germany. During 1938, German expansionism increased a lot, and preparations for war at home grew a lot as well. This led to the passing of many laws that impacted the Jews greatly. The Jewish people lost the right to any entertainment and lost driving privileges. Another year I noticed that had numerous antisemitism laws passed was 1942. In 1942 the Nazis had full control of Europe. They also had an ongoing streak of winning battles. This empowered the Nazis and Hitler more, which is why there would be more antisemitism laws passed during that time. These new laws included the withdrawal of milk. 

             I think that the top two restrictions I would have the most trouble with are the banishment of owning a book and the withdrawal of a radio. I would have trouble with those two because a book and radio are escapes. When you are reading a really good book, you forget what is happening around you, what time it is, and where you are. You get engulfed in the book. The same goes for a radio. Listening to music can make you forget all of the negative stuff around you. Without those basic escapes, I would probably go crazy. This is sort of like how Anne Frank used her diary as an escape. 

2nd Quarter Reflection Blog

Prompt: 

- In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

- What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

- What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of? 

          I think that I made my biggest improvement for English Lanuage Arts in comprehending what I read.  When I would read books, I would have to read the same thing over a couple of times becuase I didn't really understand what was happening the first time I read it. Reading To Kill A Mockingbird really helped me with this. When I began reading To Kill A Mockingbird I still had to read things over a couple times, but that lessened as I got deeper into the book. Having the questions and quotes on each chapter played a major role in that becuase it would make me work harder in understanding what was happening. 

          The most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for me was time management. This quarter I had a lot of things to do both inside and outside of school. In the beggining it was chaotic because I would never find the time to do anything. I would waste time trying to do multiple things at the same time, instead of focusing on getting one thing done in a faster manner. I started realizing that if I did put my mind to something, focused on it, and tried my best, I could get it done with quality and within a good amount of time. Once I started doing this time management stopped being a major challenge. 

          Something that I have accomplished since the new year that I am proud of is the overall progress I have made in the To Kill A Mockingbird unit. I really enjoyed reading this book, mainly because I had been wanting to read it for long time. This unit helped me a lot with my comprehension, annotating, and analyzing skills. The quote questions really helped with my comprehension becuase it would help sum up what happened. The annotations I took developed a lot as we got farther in the book. The essay we wrote helped me understand what it means to analyze something and I really learned a lot through writing it. 

TKAM Juxtaposition

          I think that the most important difference between the written and filmed version of To Kill A Mockingbird, was the fact that Boo Radley wasn't developed throughout the movie as much as it was in the book. In the book, the children slowly start to find gifts in the knot-hole of the tree. It was Scout who found the gum first, and then later both kids found the rest of the gifts together. The finding of the gifts were spread out and were pleasant moments. The finding of the gifts in the movie however, were short and not as pleasant. In the movie it was only Jem that found the gifts and he kept them hidden from Scout. The movie also only showed one scene where the gift-finding took place. 

          The movie also left out other moments involving Boo Radley that were crucial to the plot. One of them was when Scout, Jem, and Dill tried to give a note to Boo Radley. This was an important moment of the plot because it showed the first attempt of an interaction with Boo Radley. It is also important because it wasn't an attempt too subtle or too forthright. Without it, the first interaction in the movie, to me, felt as if it came on too strong. Another moment that the movie left out was when Scout and Jem were outside one of the coldest nights in Maycomb. There was a fire at Miss Maudie's house in the middle of the night, and Jem and Scout were told to go wait in front of the Radley house for Atticus. Once the fire was out Scout and Jem returned home with a blanket. Scout was confused about where it had came from. Atticus stated, “‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you’” (72). This was important because it showed that Boo Radley actually did exist and was not a myth. It also showed that he wasn't the infamous Boo Radley they had thought he was. It showed that he cared for the children. 

          The purpose of having different versions of a story is so that one could see the importance of an event. The movie left out scenes that happened in the book. In the book it mentions that the children got guns for Christmas, and that was when the famous quote; “‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” P.90 came up. In the movie the children never got guns, but the famous quote still came up. The movie just left out a detail which was that the children got guns. This implies that those scenes weren't as important for the movie as it was in the book.