3rd Quarter Reflections

Of the books you have read this quarter, which is your favorite? Why?

My favorite book from this quarter was definitely Shadow and Bone. It has some of my favorite aspects of literature in it. It is a fantasy, with some action and adventure in the mix. Best of all the characters and relationships between them are realistic and not forced. The conflicts make sense (in that universe) and there are more motivations than '"she's the good guy" and "he's the bad guy". All that added in with the supernatural abilities of certain characters makes the book amazing.

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in ELA?

I think that so far in the quarter I have done a lot better in the vocabulary tests. I will be the first admit that my spelling is bad on the best of days, and event on the good tests I would just barely get a 3, that plus the fact that my handwriting is horrible, and its no surprise that vocab isn't my best subject. However, I am doing a lot better now. I put in a little more time to studying, so I expect my grades to continue going up. Hopefully this trend continues, as now I am getting 3s and 4s.

What is something you have accomplished this quarter that you are proud of?

Something that I did this quarter that I am proud of is, going up to present to the class and not making a fool of myself. I tend to get very nervous when I do any kind of public speaking, so finding out that we had to present our butterfly project to the class was like a nightmare come true. I wanted to avoid this at all costs. Even so I had the few points that I would bring up prepared just in case. When I did get called up I was terrified that I would slip up and forget what I was going to say. Thankfully nothing like that happened, so I'm pretty glad. Even more so because I got a good grade for it.

What has been the most challenging part of  3rd Quarter for you, and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The most challenging part of Quarter 3 was keeping up with all of the blogs. There were a lot of them recently, especially this last week. That added on to the fact that we haven't been able to take our IPads home all week made finishing all the work very difficult. The easiest way to fix the problem would probably be to use a home computer, there might be certain things we have downloaded on the iPads that my home laptop couldn't get access to. Thankfully we aren't expected to do homework over the break, or a lot of us would be in trouble.
 

Life is Beautiful

Considering the fact that both these pieces were focused on the holocaust, there are a lot of similarities. For example Guido, the main character of Life is Beautiful, has similarities with both Eliezer and his father. In the aspect that everything he does is for his son and wife, to the point that he dies to keep them safe. Similarly, Elie does everything to help his father in any way and his father ends up dying and in doing so he removes a burden from his son. Another similarity is in time and space. From things like the tatto on Guido's arm we can guess that they are in Auschwitz. Yet, even before that things like a hatred towards Jews and the racial supremacy were being brought up. These things show how the things in Italy and Romania were connected with the Nazis.

On the other hand there were definite differences. For one thing the characters in Life is Beautiful  are far less religious than Elie and his father. The audience never sees Guido, Joshua, or Dora mention praying or any Jewish holidays. Elie, however, is extremely religious and his faith is a major theme in the book. There was also the fact that in Life is Beautiful Guido does his best to maintain his cheerfulness and humor for his son. He makes the entirety of life in a concentration camp into a game in order to keep his son happy sand safe. On the other hand,  in Night, the reality of the death and pain has no filter. Elie and his father do not try to make light of the situation, they merely try to survive it.

Considering the fact that Life is Beautiful and Night are on the same topic, it is surprising how different their tones are. In the beginning Life is Beautiful is cheerful and humorous, full of jokes and laughter. Guido goes out of his way to make things extravagant and hilarious. Before things start going downhill, he seems very happy with Dora and Joshua, having finally gotten the books store that he wanted. Night, however, starts out with things like foreshadowing the deaths of his family. That added with how fast the problem shows ups make s it far more somber than the movie. On the other hand they both share in the fact that towards the middle and end of the story it takes a very dark turn. In Night there is the death march and the death of Elie's father. Subsequently, in Life is Beautiful there is the capture of the family and the death of Guido. Both cases are prime examples of the dark and somber mood that the stories left on.

One example of life being beautiful was in the beginning of the movie when Guido and Dora keep running into each other. It is shown as an example of fate, and that sometimes people need to choose their own happiness over things like riches and expectations. Another example of this, is when at the concentration camp, Guido plays the record out the windo so that Dora can hear it. This is true, because it shows that despite their separation they still love each other and hope to be reunited.

Argumentative AOW

Now take a moment to reflect upon your impressions of what you have learned from the array of articles in at least two well written paragraphs, using evidence from your graphic organizer.
 In this gallery walk there were a lot of great articles with topics ranging from the pros and cons of nuclear power to  GMOs in food. For example one pretty interesting article was the one that Sofia used which discussed the impacts of the CIA giving the torture report out as information.  Kezia's article was about US recycling programs and whether or not they were too expensive.  Connecting on that was Jackson's article about how nuclear power could fix climate change and be less expensive.

  There was also Max's article about regulating e-cigarette's, which in a way connected to Lorin's article about abortion. It may seem odd, but they both connect to the health of a  certain group of people. Mainly people who are younger such as young moms or minors who buy e-cigarettes.  It seemed rather amazing that two things that are kind of on opposite ends of the spectrum  could be connected in such away. But then again when you think about the wide variety of topics that was had this week it's not all that surprising.

What seems to be the most pressing argument from what you learned today? Does this topic/argument affect you personally?
All of the topics that were brought up have the potential to be huge in the future. However. The one that seemed the most pressing to me was Lorin's article about abortion. It is currently a hot topic in the media since its legalization in 1973. People are usually on one side or the other. Those for abortion are called "pro-choice" and those who are against it are called "pro-life". Often times it boils down to a human rights debate, with the main question being: Who's rights should be more important, the mother's or the fetus'? It is especially important now, as our current president is pro-life. This could mean bad things for people who are pro-choice.

This does really affect me, because as a girl these decisions have the potential to really affect my future. I've seen instances of situations like this in my family, and it made me pretty confused. About six years ago two of my  cousins got pregnant and they decided the babies. This time they decided to keep the babies even though they weren't ready for it. There so many cases like this where the mother doesn't want to keep the child and is having an abortion was illegal they might have to go through less savory  means to get it done.

Night

When the book starts Elie is a very religious boy. He values his studies and wants to find a person to help him go farther/ he says things like, “Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?”(4). This shows just how much he values his god and he prayer that he is learning. Then, in the camps, he is changed. He no longer believes as strongly, and even then it is only anger he feels toward god. He abandons religion as he feels it has abandoned him, especially when he says, “For the first time I felt anger rising within me. 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?”(33) This proves how livid he is about what is happening, and even more furious that god has done nothing to help them.

This change is also reflected in his relationship to his father. In the beginning they are very close to and protective of each other. As stated in the book, "Only yesterday, I would have dug my nails into this criminal's flesh."(39). This shows that, at least in the beginning, Elie loved his father enough to defend him from injury and other prisoners attacking him. Alas, it wouldn't last. He (Eliezer) would eventually come to resent his father and his weaknesses. For example, "What's more, if I felt anger at that moment, it was not directed at the Kapo but at my father. Why couldn't he have avoided Idek's wrath?"(54). This shows how the brutality of the camp affected Elie and made him more harsh and cruel, even to the person he cares for the most.

These new developments in his character are not at all welcomed by Elie. He feels remorse for the things that he is doing, but doesn't know how to fix it. For example it says, "...against my will, I found myself whispering the words: 'May His name be exalted and sanctified'"(34) This shows that although Elie wishes to turn from god he still carries the instinct to pray in the face of death. There are also moment that he feels guilt for the things that he thinks of. As shown here, "I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep... And deep inside me...I might have found something like: Free at last!"(112) This shows that after the death of his father he is grateful, but doesn't want to be and that he feels guilty for that.

Wiesel, Elie. Night, Elie Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Print.

Butterfly Project "Night In The Ghetto"

   

"Night In The Ghetto"
Another day has gone for keeps
Into the bottomless pit of time.
Again it has wounded a man, held captive
By his brethren.
After dusk, he longs for bandages,
for soft hands to shield the eyes
From all the horrors that stare by day.
But in the ghetto, darkness, too, is kind
To weary eyes that all day long
Have to watch.

Dawn crawls again alon the ghetto streets
Embracing all who walk this way.
Only a car like a greeting from a long-gone world
Gobbles up the dark with fiery eyes-
That sweet darkness that falls upon the soul
And heals those wounds illuminated by the day...
Along the streets come light and ranks of people
Like a long black ribbon loomed with gold

I commented on:
Robert's
David's
Sophie's
Kezia's
Jackson's