Comments: Julia | Sarai | Gustavo | Maria
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Night: Week of 3/23
Honestly, I've only read one other book about the Holocaust...years ago. That book was The Boy Who Dared, which, thinking back, was more about Nazis, Hitler, and WWII than the Holocaust. Quite honestly, I didn't really enjoy it. Maybe because I really had no background knowledge about the topic at the time or it simply wasn't my type of book, but it made me kind of worried that I wouldn't enjoy Night. **I don't even get why I didn't like it, I mean everyone likes The Boy Who Dared. Maybe I just have to read it again.
Naturally, I'm very glad my worry has been for nothing. Night has proven itself to be very interesting, giving a unique perspective when Elie sort of reflects on the events he writes about. In The Boy Who Dared, there were moments where the author would switch from the main character's past to his future. I'm noticing that there's an obvious difference between a second source doing something like that compared to a prime source, like Elie, doing the same thing. Elie is able to provide much more details and give more insight because, of course, he was actually there. This is one of the things making Night just a really interesting read.
When reading this book, it's strange for me to think about the fact that the things Elie is describing actually happened. The idea of babies being thrown and shot in the air or piled up in carts seems incredibly bizarre...surely such macabre couldn't have ever happened. But it did. It's very hard to deny the ghastliness of the Holocaust when you can find photos of bags filled with the corpses of the babies or the piles left out in the open. Elie's descriptions have left me with more knowledge on the Holocaust, making me wonder if ignorance is bliss in this situation. While now I know even more haunting information about the Holocaust, it's an interesting part of the world's history showing the things people can really do. I'm glad Elie has brought this to light.
Naturally, I'm very glad my worry has been for nothing. Night has proven itself to be very interesting, giving a unique perspective when Elie sort of reflects on the events he writes about. In The Boy Who Dared, there were moments where the author would switch from the main character's past to his future. I'm noticing that there's an obvious difference between a second source doing something like that compared to a prime source, like Elie, doing the same thing. Elie is able to provide much more details and give more insight because, of course, he was actually there. This is one of the things making Night just a really interesting read.
When reading this book, it's strange for me to think about the fact that the things Elie is describing actually happened. The idea of babies being thrown and shot in the air or piled up in carts seems incredibly bizarre...surely such macabre couldn't have ever happened. But it did. It's very hard to deny the ghastliness of the Holocaust when you can find photos of bags filled with the corpses of the babies or the piles left out in the open. Elie's descriptions have left me with more knowledge on the Holocaust, making me wonder if ignorance is bliss in this situation. While now I know even more haunting information about the Holocaust, it's an interesting part of the world's history showing the things people can really do. I'm glad Elie has brought this to light.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Holocaust Impressions
Through the hour, there was a lot to learn about the Holocaust. Despite everyone's shared topic of the Holocaust, there were still a lot of different article topics to hear. With that, you could hear a lot of different tones in the articles. Even though they were about the Holocaust, a terrible time, not all of the stories decided to match that mood. In fact, quite a few of them showed the power of determination or willpower more than they did negativity.
A rather negative article came from Bela. She told about a Nazi experimenter who specifically chose children as his topic of interest. The scientist believed that it would be far quicker to create the perfect Aryan race with the help of twins...so he tried his best to do just that. He would impregnate Jewish women, hoping they would have twins. If they didn't have twins then he would apparently tear the fetuses out of the mother's uterus. From there, there was a whole process of experiments and head-crushing. Julia, on the other hand, had another just as interesting article on a Holocaust survivor. Gena Turgel survived Auschwitz, two other concentration camps, and a death march before she was liberated. What's even more amazing is the fact that in Auschwitz she had been put into a gas chamber, only to survive. Gena now has a mission to let people know that discrimination against Jews, anti-semitism, still exists today.
A rather negative article came from Bela. She told about a Nazi experimenter who specifically chose children as his topic of interest. The scientist believed that it would be far quicker to create the perfect Aryan race with the help of twins...so he tried his best to do just that. He would impregnate Jewish women, hoping they would have twins. If they didn't have twins then he would apparently tear the fetuses out of the mother's uterus. From there, there was a whole process of experiments and head-crushing. Julia, on the other hand, had another just as interesting article on a Holocaust survivor. Gena Turgel survived Auschwitz, two other concentration camps, and a death march before she was liberated. What's even more amazing is the fact that in Auschwitz she had been put into a gas chamber, only to survive. Gena now has a mission to let people know that discrimination against Jews, anti-semitism, still exists today.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Berlin Memorial Reflection - 3/19
What did you learn?
Considering that I didn't know very much about these Jewish decrees going into this activity, I learned quite a bit. Of course, I learned the purpose of the laws (slowly dehumanize and demoralize them) and how each law effected the Jews in Germany. I had always had this vague idea that the laws that restricted the Jews had all been implemented all at once. However, I learned that the process of getting the Jews fully and completely restricted was actually quite a long and thought out operation. And though it is sad, the German government went about the business in a very strategic way.
Why do you think this monument was built?
I think the monument was built to give homage to the laws/things Jews had to suffer through during Germany's dark time. I imagine it was built all around the street to show that it is a part of Germany's history that cannot be ignored and should be respected. In addition to that, I believe part of it is a reminder that discrimination towards a certain group of people is serious and something like this should never be repeated.
What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?
The government would pass quite a few laws one year but then only one or two per year afterwards until they splurged yet again. You could notice this pattern repeating a few times until there were finally no more Jews to make laws against. Really, this was the strategic/smart part of their terrible plan. The fluctuation in the addition of discriminating laws kept Germany on a low radar. For the Jews, I imagine if they went a few years without having that many laws added they would begin to get the mindset that what was done was over and life would soon get a new routine they could live with. The number of laws raised little to no suspicion in other countries and Germany's Jews.
Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?
Personally, I would have the most trouble dealing with the laws that restricted the places you could go, when you could go, and what you could use as entertainment. I don't like to be cooped up inside very much (unless it's winter and I'll die if I step outside for like a minute) so I'd feel rather anxious and somehow helpless if there were laws determining how I would spend my days-- barely outside. Even if there was no curfew law, you'd still have to deal with the laws forbidding you from going to certain places or segregation in the places you could go. All in all, I'd be pretty frustrated.
Considering that I didn't know very much about these Jewish decrees going into this activity, I learned quite a bit. Of course, I learned the purpose of the laws (slowly dehumanize and demoralize them) and how each law effected the Jews in Germany. I had always had this vague idea that the laws that restricted the Jews had all been implemented all at once. However, I learned that the process of getting the Jews fully and completely restricted was actually quite a long and thought out operation. And though it is sad, the German government went about the business in a very strategic way.
Why do you think this monument was built?
I think the monument was built to give homage to the laws/things Jews had to suffer through during Germany's dark time. I imagine it was built all around the street to show that it is a part of Germany's history that cannot be ignored and should be respected. In addition to that, I believe part of it is a reminder that discrimination towards a certain group of people is serious and something like this should never be repeated.
What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?
The government would pass quite a few laws one year but then only one or two per year afterwards until they splurged yet again. You could notice this pattern repeating a few times until there were finally no more Jews to make laws against. Really, this was the strategic/smart part of their terrible plan. The fluctuation in the addition of discriminating laws kept Germany on a low radar. For the Jews, I imagine if they went a few years without having that many laws added they would begin to get the mindset that what was done was over and life would soon get a new routine they could live with. The number of laws raised little to no suspicion in other countries and Germany's Jews.
Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?
Personally, I would have the most trouble dealing with the laws that restricted the places you could go, when you could go, and what you could use as entertainment. I don't like to be cooped up inside very much (unless it's winter and I'll die if I step outside for like a minute) so I'd feel rather anxious and somehow helpless if there were laws determining how I would spend my days-- barely outside. Even if there was no curfew law, you'd still have to deal with the laws forbidding you from going to certain places or segregation in the places you could go. All in all, I'd be pretty frustrated.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
3rd Quarter Reflection
Third quarter has felt really strange, I guess is the best way to phrase it. It feels like second quarter ended like two days ago and third quarter had ended prematurely. What makes it even stranger is the fact that we're going to be on our last two months of school in the span of fourth quarter. I guess third quarter is a time to realize that middle school really doesn't last forever after eighth grade, whether that's good or bad.
Without a doubt, my biggest improvement was in the art of writing essays. Before, I don't think I was very efficient or good at doing it. However, now that we've spent a lot more time going over format, style, and the necessities of having a good essay, I feel a lot more confident writing them. With that, I also learned that revision is far more helpful and important than I previously thought. I'm not going to lie and say that I always revise. In fact, I rarely ever do. Third quarter showed me that revision shows you where you went wrong, and you end up teaching yourself how to prevent yourself from making those same mistakes again. I would like to give some kudos to revision. Kudos.
The hardest part of third quarter isn't something I can really pinpoint but it was quite possibly writing the argumentative essay on Blackfish and SeaWorld. Getting your thoughts out and into the paragraph wasn't difficult; and finding evidence to support you wasn't very hard at all either. Really, just getting the format correct was the most challenging part for me. I'd be missing whole parts of the format in some paragraphs (rebuttal, warrant, quote, etc,.) and would make my whole paragraph sound choppy when I would try to awkwardly add them in (which then took quite a lot of rewriting to sound OK again).
I've always found it hard to find books that I actually enjoy. So, I feel rather accomplished when I've been able to read quite a few books this quarter that I don't dislike at all. In other words, my accomplishment it finding more genres of books that I like. A perfect example of this is my favorite book this quarter: Requiem for a Dream. The book was rather descriptive, in-depth, and dark. However, I had always thought that I wouldn't enjoy third person books as much as I would like books in first person. Reading Requiem really proved myself wrong because it was just as amazing as it was third person omniscient. Overall, I'm just really interested in seeing what fourth quarter brings.
Without a doubt, my biggest improvement was in the art of writing essays. Before, I don't think I was very efficient or good at doing it. However, now that we've spent a lot more time going over format, style, and the necessities of having a good essay, I feel a lot more confident writing them. With that, I also learned that revision is far more helpful and important than I previously thought. I'm not going to lie and say that I always revise. In fact, I rarely ever do. Third quarter showed me that revision shows you where you went wrong, and you end up teaching yourself how to prevent yourself from making those same mistakes again. I would like to give some kudos to revision. Kudos.
The hardest part of third quarter isn't something I can really pinpoint but it was quite possibly writing the argumentative essay on Blackfish and SeaWorld. Getting your thoughts out and into the paragraph wasn't difficult; and finding evidence to support you wasn't very hard at all either. Really, just getting the format correct was the most challenging part for me. I'd be missing whole parts of the format in some paragraphs (rebuttal, warrant, quote, etc,.) and would make my whole paragraph sound choppy when I would try to awkwardly add them in (which then took quite a lot of rewriting to sound OK again).
I've always found it hard to find books that I actually enjoy. So, I feel rather accomplished when I've been able to read quite a few books this quarter that I don't dislike at all. In other words, my accomplishment it finding more genres of books that I like. A perfect example of this is my favorite book this quarter: Requiem for a Dream. The book was rather descriptive, in-depth, and dark. However, I had always thought that I wouldn't enjoy third person books as much as I would like books in first person. Reading Requiem really proved myself wrong because it was just as amazing as it was third person omniscient. Overall, I'm just really interested in seeing what fourth quarter brings.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Bio-poem: Choke - 3/9
Victor Mancini
Stuck, withdrawn, addicted, confused.
A character in Palahniuk's story.
Lover of love, attention, and making heroes.
Who notices the worst in everything, people's desires, and where it all went wrong.
Who feels there was a lot he could have changed, ignorance truly is bliss, and sometimes it's alright to take the blame.
Who learns that people are selfish, his mother was never really in her head, and addictions are hard to let go of.
Who says, "The lucky ones are just born dead."
Who used to think that love made sense and was unconditional, but now knows that love is strange and twisted, but never really goes away even if we want it to.
Major character in Choke,
A book that helps you see the world in a new perspective.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
AoW Impressions - 3/6
This week, the gallery walk was especially interesting because we didn't have that many articles that were about the exact same thing. In fact, the article topics were all rather diverse. There were some people who chose to talk about ISIS, job gaps, death with dignity, and the topic of Ebola was even brought back. Normally when we hear about ISIS during one of these gallery walks, we're hearing new countries that have been attacked or new threats made. However, this time was different. We learned about how ISIS has somewhat inspired people (specifically three girls) to leave their own homes and join the group. It's interesting to hear about people who can disregard ISIS's crimes and simply view the group as a different, "better" way of life.
Personally, I found Leanna's article to be the most interesting (with the ISIS articles very close behind). She talked about a fourteen year old girl in Chile who is suffering from cystic fibrosis. The girl made a video and posted it on the internet, requesting the president/government to let her die because she does not want to live with her disease anymore. In Chile, Death with Dignity is completely illegal due to morals, and the girl's request was denied. After watching "How to Die in Oregon", I've become very pro-Death with Dignity. The movie shows the fight to make the law legal in another state, so it makes me curious to as whether or not people in Chile could put in the same effort with protests, speeches, etc,. to make this law legal for a this girl. I guess being able to connect this current event with something else I had already heard about was what made it really interesting-- especially since that idea had already been debated here.
Personally, I found Leanna's article to be the most interesting (with the ISIS articles very close behind). She talked about a fourteen year old girl in Chile who is suffering from cystic fibrosis. The girl made a video and posted it on the internet, requesting the president/government to let her die because she does not want to live with her disease anymore. In Chile, Death with Dignity is completely illegal due to morals, and the girl's request was denied. After watching "How to Die in Oregon", I've become very pro-Death with Dignity. The movie shows the fight to make the law legal in another state, so it makes me curious to as whether or not people in Chile could put in the same effort with protests, speeches, etc,. to make this law legal for a this girl. I guess being able to connect this current event with something else I had already heard about was what made it really interesting-- especially since that idea had already been debated here.
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