1A. Theme: When in desperate situations and options are running out, hope is something that cannot be easily lost or killed by current events.
1B. Character: Despite unexpected struggles that life throws at someone, they find strength and reason to carry on; Elie Wiesel being one of those whose faith and determination outlines the true definition of hope.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Group Reader Response LC #2: Dialectical Journal Practice
1A. Dehumanization: deprive of human qualities
1B. When the prisoners first arrive at the concentration camps, their hopes are usually still high about the outcome of everything, despite the circumstances. As time continues, people start to care more about themselves and their own survival rather than others. Their main goal is to get out of the camps and survive the duration of the war. Every man for himself.
1C. Eli notices that the sons and fathers that stayed together helped each other at first, but it was always the son that ditched the father. The main reason was the father being too weak to pass the next selection, and should or could not be helped in any way. The sons took their father's bread, even beating them up for it and leaving them for dead in order to insure their own survival. Eli doesn't think that this is the right thing to do, but there's nothing he can do in these types of situations except sit and watch.
2A. "Terror was stronger than hunger. Suddenly, we saw the door of Block 37 open imperceptibly. A man appeared, crawling like a worm in the direction of the cauldrons. Hundreds of eyes followed his movements. Hundreds of men crawled with him, scraping their knees with his on the gravel. Every heart trembled, but with envy above all. The man had dared."
"Not far away, I noticed an old man dragging himself along on all fours... A shadow had just loomed up near him. The shadow threw itself upon him. Felled to the ground, stunned with blows, the old man cried: 'Meir. meir, my boy! Don't you recognize me? I'm your father... you're hurting me... you're killing your father! I've got some bread... for you too... for you too...' The old man again whispered something, let out a rattle, and died amid the general indifference. his son searched him, took the bread, and began to devour it."
1B. When the prisoners first arrive at the concentration camps, their hopes are usually still high about the outcome of everything, despite the circumstances. As time continues, people start to care more about themselves and their own survival rather than others. Their main goal is to get out of the camps and survive the duration of the war. Every man for himself.
1C. Eli notices that the sons and fathers that stayed together helped each other at first, but it was always the son that ditched the father. The main reason was the father being too weak to pass the next selection, and should or could not be helped in any way. The sons took their father's bread, even beating them up for it and leaving them for dead in order to insure their own survival. Eli doesn't think that this is the right thing to do, but there's nothing he can do in these types of situations except sit and watch.
2A. "Terror was stronger than hunger. Suddenly, we saw the door of Block 37 open imperceptibly. A man appeared, crawling like a worm in the direction of the cauldrons. Hundreds of eyes followed his movements. Hundreds of men crawled with him, scraping their knees with his on the gravel. Every heart trembled, but with envy above all. The man had dared."
"Not far away, I noticed an old man dragging himself along on all fours... A shadow had just loomed up near him. The shadow threw itself upon him. Felled to the ground, stunned with blows, the old man cried: 'Meir. meir, my boy! Don't you recognize me? I'm your father... you're hurting me... you're killing your father! I've got some bread... for you too... for you too...' The old man again whispered something, let out a rattle, and died amid the general indifference. his son searched him, took the bread, and began to devour it."
Monday, February 10, 2014
Group Reader Response LC #1: Dialectical Journal Practice
1. With every new action and rule put into place by the German officers, the Jews slowly get more anxious and panicked. It starts with Germans entering Hungarian territory, although the people weren't worried because they doubted the ability of the German army. The second act was arresting the leaders of the Jewish community, which caused a slight disturbance throughout the community. People were slightly worried, but not that much and continued to live as normal. They thought they were being taken somewhere safe, where they can continue to work and live away from war zones. Shortly after, Jews were not allowed to leave their homes for three days on pain of death. This rocked the community, as everyone realized that Moshe the Beadle wasn't crazy and was truly trying to warn everyone of what was to come. Second, Jews no longer possessed the right of owning jewels, precious metals, or anything of value. The caused a glazed reaction to come from the people; the doubting stage where people try to pretend that everything is normal. Next, every Jew must wear a yellow star. People didn't really see this as a threat, seeing as how everything else was. When Wiesel's father got called to the newly revised council about the terms on deportation, everyone began packing for the worst immediately and hoped to survive.
2. "From that moment, everything had happened very quickly. The race toward death had begun."
This quote comes from the area in the story where the German soldiers begin to show their real purpose of living with the Jews, right after they arrest the leaders of the Jewish community. This begins the slow process of deportation, which causes a wave of fear to consume the public. From this line, the book pretty much goes down hill for all the Jews.
"In front of us flames. In the air that smell of burning flesh. It must have been about midnight. We had arrived-- at Birkenau, reception center of Auschwitz."
Here, all nightmares and negative assumptions that the Jews have had turn into a reality. They now see that Moshe was not crazy and that the worst is yet to come. To me, it seems as if the narrator of the story is somehow indirectly relating Birkenau to hell. He talks about flames and the smell of burning flesh, and the way he writes makes it seem as if he's in the depths of fiery hell.
"Are you in good health?"
I've seen this many times in the book already, and we're not done reading yet. This question can mean life or death to someone. Even if you're dying and you lie about your health, it feels like another test cheated, but you'll eventually die and either be left for dead or thrown into the furnace. Some Jews tried to keep everyone they cared about healthy while others only looked out for themselves and kept healthy and alive no matter the cost.
"A-7713!"
Jews are not called by name, but are given a number, a label. It symbolizes how low the Germans think of the Jews. Every Jew had a number that they were identified as and addressed by, their names dead and forgotten. It strips their sense of uniqueness and identity, dampening their spirits and lowers their worth among the Germans.
"'Me, too... Me, too! They told me to stay behind in the camp.' They had written down his number without his being aware of it."
Eliezer seems to truly fear for his father for the first time in the concentration camp. This time, his father could die and he can't do anything about it besides help to escape, which was not recommended (by the Germans). He hasn't seen his mother in weeks (or chapters), so his father is the one he has the closest bond with. He would be lonely and without family in the camp if his father doesn't pass the second selection, and seems to be hoping and praying as hard as possible that he'll have his father for another day.
2. "From that moment, everything had happened very quickly. The race toward death had begun."
This quote comes from the area in the story where the German soldiers begin to show their real purpose of living with the Jews, right after they arrest the leaders of the Jewish community. This begins the slow process of deportation, which causes a wave of fear to consume the public. From this line, the book pretty much goes down hill for all the Jews.
"In front of us flames. In the air that smell of burning flesh. It must have been about midnight. We had arrived-- at Birkenau, reception center of Auschwitz."
Here, all nightmares and negative assumptions that the Jews have had turn into a reality. They now see that Moshe was not crazy and that the worst is yet to come. To me, it seems as if the narrator of the story is somehow indirectly relating Birkenau to hell. He talks about flames and the smell of burning flesh, and the way he writes makes it seem as if he's in the depths of fiery hell.
"Are you in good health?"
I've seen this many times in the book already, and we're not done reading yet. This question can mean life or death to someone. Even if you're dying and you lie about your health, it feels like another test cheated, but you'll eventually die and either be left for dead or thrown into the furnace. Some Jews tried to keep everyone they cared about healthy while others only looked out for themselves and kept healthy and alive no matter the cost.
"A-7713!"
Jews are not called by name, but are given a number, a label. It symbolizes how low the Germans think of the Jews. Every Jew had a number that they were identified as and addressed by, their names dead and forgotten. It strips their sense of uniqueness and identity, dampening their spirits and lowers their worth among the Germans.
"'Me, too... Me, too! They told me to stay behind in the camp.' They had written down his number without his being aware of it."
Eliezer seems to truly fear for his father for the first time in the concentration camp. This time, his father could die and he can't do anything about it besides help to escape, which was not recommended (by the Germans). He hasn't seen his mother in weeks (or chapters), so his father is the one he has the closest bond with. He would be lonely and without family in the camp if his father doesn't pass the second selection, and seems to be hoping and praying as hard as possible that he'll have his father for another day.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Elie Wiesel feat. Chelsea
Elie Wiesel
World
War II is known for being one of the most devastating, costly events in
history. With an unstable Germany on the rise lead by Adolf Hitler, many lost
their lives to what most today see as one of the most catastrophic incidents to
ever happen. Elie Wiesel, current day writer and Nobel Prize winner, is most
known for his works on his survival of the Holocaust in World War II. Wiesel,
at a young age, was taken from his Jewish home in Transylvania (later to be
named Romania) and moved to concentration camps with his family. Being one of
the active survivors of the Holocaust, he has given speeches, written books,
and taught about his experiences and hardships. His most known work, La Nuit, was published in 1958 and was
the first to include his memories during the war. After having such success
with the first book, he continued on to write forty more books with the same
basic information and experiences included in the previous, educating people
around the world of the encounters commonly found during the Holocaust.
Wiesel’s purpose for sharing his
knowledge with the world is to inform and educate everyone of the struggles and
hardships that people experienced during the war, specifically in the
perspective of the Jews. Thanks to his survival and writing skills, Wiesel has
published over forty books, delivered speeches, and taught classes about the
Holocaust, as well as events that lead up and followed. He also does classes
and seminars on Jewish practices and studies for those who want to learn more. Thanks
to his activism in today’s society, people can learn more about the Holocaust
and World War II, as well as the impact it could have on an individual if
something like this were to reoccur.
Bibliography:
• “Elie
Wiesel – Biographical”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel
Media AB 2013. Web. 4 Feb 2014. http://ww.nobelprize.org/nobel_prized/peace/laureates/1986/wiesel-bio.html
• "Elie Wiesel Biography." Bio.com.
A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. http://www.biography.com/people/elie-wiesel-9530714?page=1
• "The Elie Wiesel
Foundation for Humanity." The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.
N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/eliewiesel.aspx
Monday, February 3, 2014
Allusion Poetry Final
I sit at the
top of the class,
yet
the bottom of the ladder.
No one wants to be
friends
with the studious,
awkward,
academically driven
know-it-all.
I wonder.
There was no one,
none for months.
Then there were two.
Courageous and bold,
witty and brave.
Determined and kind
with clever mind.
The second behind her
was quirky and true.
Qualities I could
see in me,
as well as
learn from.
I was dragged out into the open,
into adventure,
into life.
We conversed of wands,
professors and O.W.L.S,
Yule Ball dates and
quidditch
over pitchers of butterbeer.
As I spent time with them,
I gained and learned.
Witty and brave,
courageous and bold;
those qualities
became mine.
Still studious,
I'm perched at
the top of the world.
And for that,
I believe
10 points to Gryffindor.
top of the class,
yet
the bottom of the ladder.
No one wants to be
friends
with the studious,
awkward,
academically driven
know-it-all.
I wonder.
There was no one,
none for months.
Then there were two.
Courageous and bold,
witty and brave.
Determined and kind
with clever mind.
The second behind her
was quirky and true.
Qualities I could
see in me,
as well as
learn from.
I was dragged out into the open,
into adventure,
into life.
We conversed of wands,
professors and O.W.L.S,
Yule Ball dates and
quidditch
over pitchers of butterbeer.
As I spent time with them,
I gained and learned.
Witty and brave,
courageous and bold;
those qualities
became mine.
Still studious,
I'm perched at
the top of the world.
And for that,
I believe
10 points to Gryffindor.
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