Holocaust Aow Impression Blog

          When seeing all the different articles based off the Holocaust, many emotions hit me. Sadness, horror were many. One thing that seeing all these articles made me realize, was that even if the Holocaust was in the past, it still manages to appear in peoples lives in some way or another. For example, my specific article was on how many concentration camps there was in total. Which researchers had only discovered the full number in 2013. It was only three years ago, but many years ago to the actual happenings of the Holocaust.

          An article that caught my attention was Devin's article on a man who had been a former SS guard, and was being put to trial for 300,000 assisted murder charges. The article had been posted on July 15, 2015, which again shows how the Holocaust in general is still around today. The article had said how the man was morally sorry for what he had done, but legally, it wasn't decided yet. The article also had talked about his experience as an Auschwitz guard, and how he was assigned to guard the area from the cattle carts, to the gas chambers. This caught my attention because normally those guards wanted to cause harm to the Jews, that they had purposely requested that position. However, this man said he had no clue of what the job was going to be like, and once he got there, he couldn't back out.

         Another article that caught my attention was Evie's article on a man who was a Holocaust survivor, and teaches kids based off of his experiences. The article had been recently updated as of January 2016, which also shows how the Holocaust is still around. The article talked about how he has been educating kids for over 25 years, and how he has been receiving letters from the kids he speaks to every week. I thought this was special, because I feel like if he were to speak with me, I would probably send him a letter as well. It made me wonder just what did these kids write about in their letters to him, and what he had even told them as he has been educating various kids for again, 25 years. Had this man told the same story he always talked about?

Oskar Gröningz, former SS guard put to trial for committing 300,000 assisted murders.

Butterfly Project

I commented on: Jared's Blog, Omar's Blog, Mia's Blog and Michael's Blog

Berlin Memorial Activity

          I learned that there were many laws that were passed in order to make Jewish people's lives miserable during the Holocaust. For example how in 1942 Jewish families with pets could no longer have them. Or how in 1940 Jewish people could only buy groceries from 4pm to 5pm, which left many hungry since they where usually still working at that hour. Hearing everyone read out the laws they were given was making me feel more sympathetic as the laws were read one by one. There's many of these laws that hit me very hard, and I couldn't imagine the lives of these poor people, that had to live with these laws. Many for a good portion of their entire lives. It's just so sad.

          I think this memorial was built as a reminder of what had happened during the Holocaust, and to commemorate those who died. Even if the memorial is small in comparison to the many Jews that had lost their lives, it does its purpose and helps us remember the tragic events of that time. It's also a huge reminder of how such a massive genocide should never repeat itself in the years to come. I think that this monument was also built as a way to put those who died, at rest. I'm sure many are still angry for their deaths, and the families that were seperated afterwards were probably angry as well. This helps those people be at ease, as they know they won't be forgotten. 

          I noticed how many of the laws where created during certain events. For example how twelve laws were put into play in 1933, more specifically the year Hitler and come into power. Which could be a reason as to why so many laws where placed. Another example would be in 1942 when another sixteen laws were added. Which was also in the middle of WWII, so that's probably one of the reasons why more laws were added. 

          One of the laws I think would of affected me the most would have been the one where Jews couldn't have pets. I say this because I have a kitten that I've barely had for about eight months and I know I would never give her up. She's my world, and I love her very much. Even if it meant going to jail or dying, I wouldn't give her up because she's apart of my family now, and everyone loves her. It would be so hard imagining a life without her, as she's the one that usually makes my whole family all laugh when we're at home. 

Second Quarter Reflection Blog

          The most challenging part of second quarter would be time management. I've always had a struggle with that and until this quarter decided to change that. It's been a struggle for me at least, since I'm usually that person who stays up late into the night doing their homework. I've mostly been doing my homework for Mrs. Larson's class, and also all my other classes as soon as I get home from school. I think over all I'm doing better at managing my time, at least than I used to. One example would be my aows (articles of the week) as I start most of them on Tuesday or Wednesday and then finish and submit on Thursday evening. 

          Something I've accomplished since the new year that I'm proud of would be my vocabulary tests. I've mainly been receiving all 100's which I'm very proud of. Achieving these scores of course isn't easy, how ever with the help of Quizlet studying its ten times easier, for me at least. My vocabulary tests have also helped increase my actual vocabulary. For example one of the words that I had just learned Coalesce which means to unite, or to form as a whole.

          I think the biggest improvement I've made in English Language Arts would be my writing. Especially with the narrative essay we wrote and our latest essay which was To Kill A Mockingbird Thematic Literary Analysis. Both pieces of writing have made me think a lot about for example, "What to write about in this specific category," or, "How to put what I'm thinking into sentences." The revisions and editing took a long time and required a lot of focus, but I believe its improved my writing than anything else. After all, the more you practice, the better.

TKAM Comparative Analysis

- What do you think is the most important difference(s) between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

- How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more effective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion.

          One of the most important differences in my opinion between the written and filmed versions of To Kill A Mockingbird was the fact that in the movie, Tom Robinson had his left hand. While inside of the book Tom's hand had been chopped off by a machine if I recall. This is a very important difference especially to how the trial continues, as many could of just said he was lying when he said he couldn't move his hand. For example when Atticus tossed the cup at Tom, as he caught the cup with his right, he could of been lying about not being able to catch the cup with his left. Its obvious he isn't that type of person based off of his reactions later in the trial, but the jury that was all white folks could of thought differently.

          The second most important difference in my opinion would be when Miss Maudie's house burned down in the book, but never in the movie. I think this because without this happening, we wouldn't have seen one of the moments where Boo or Arthur Radley interacts with the Scout and Jem. This was vital in the book as Scout and Jem where always looking for ways to meet Boo and that moment had helped Scout connect with Boo more. As when Boo put the blanket around Scout's shoulders when she was outside watching the fire, very cold.

          I think that the book version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more effective in delivering its message more than the movie. I think this because in the book there is a variety of other characters that helped give more meaning to the book than in the movie. For example Aunt Alexandra, who helped give that mother figure to both Jem and Scout while still helping Atticus while he was busy away at night with the trial. She also taught Scout many things over how to be more feminine. Like when she held that tea party at their house and Scout saw how the ladies acted and tried to be like them.

         

TKAM ~ Blog for 12/18/15

- How has this book changed you? What are your thoughts on it?

- If you could change something in the book, what would it be and why?

          This book has changed me by making me see new perspectives on life I had never seen before. This entire book is filled with such amazing quotes about life, for example “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." To me this is so inspirational, because so many people think that courage is a man behind a gun, when in reality it can be so many other things. This book has also changed my perspective on how to look at people,  mainly because of the really good quote Atticus had said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” I think I've misjudged many people in my life by not thinking of what they could be going through, which is something I wont be doing from now on.

        To Kill A Mockingbird has to be one of my favorite books now, because of all that I've learned about it. There's so many different things to take out of that book, for example the main theme throughout the book "empathy".  I don't even think I can explain how much this book means to me now, it has so many life lessons inside of it that I don't want to let it go. I remember thinking, "this is going to be boring" however once we started reading more of it, I fell in love with all of the characters, in my opinion, Scout and Boo being the best.

~SPOILERS~

          Something really small that I would change inside the book would be to make Boo stay out with Scout a bit longer at the ending. Yes I know he was exhausted from saving Jem and Scout, but I really wanted to see him interact with them some more and actually talk to Jem. I mean Harper Lee had built up so much suspense for Boo's character, as he never came out, however only coming out for an hour at most made me a bit sad. Especially how nice he was to Scout, asking her to take him home.

TKAM - Character Relationships

- Aunt Alexandra & Atticus

          Aunt Alexandra and Atticus are similar in many ways. This includes them being from the same family (as they are brother and sister). They also both think that Scout should be around more women, to get that "feminine influence". As in page 127 for the hard covered books, it says "We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence." This meant that because Scout was always with Atticus or Jem, Atticus and Aunt Alexandra both worried that Scout wouldn't have that feminine side to her like most girls at the time.

          However, Aunt Alexandra and Atticus are also very different at the same time. Where as Atticus is more relaxed with his kids (for example he doesn't really care what they wear etc.), Aunt Alexandra thinks the kids should be more tightly watched as to what they do, eat, dress etc. for example when she tells Scout that its not proper for her to be wearing overalls. They are also different in the fact that while Atticus is friendly towards the African Americans, Aunt Alexandra does not like them in any way, she's very racist towards them.

          Aunt Alexandra and Atticus both have similar relationships towards Scout. Atticus is her father, while Aunt Alexandra, the sister of Atticus is her aunt, therefore having similar relationships. Obviously, one who has read, or currently is reading TKAM can easily note the differences between both relationships. For example Scout loves her father, and loves the time they spend together, mainly reading. She's always trying to spend time with him, even with his busy schedule as a lawyer. Aunt Alexandra however, mainly disproves everything Scout does, so its not that hard to tell that Scout's relationship with Aunt Alexandra isn't very strong, as there's also the fact that they almost never see each other. While Atticus is with her every day.

          Both Aunt Alexandra and Atticus have a huge impact, or effect on Scout. Atticus has been there for Scout since she was born, and has taught her all she knows now. For example, her "non" love to read, as she states, "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing," (Pg. 18 Hard Cover). As Scout isn't really fond of Aunt Alexandra, the effect that she has on Scout obviously isn't as strong as the one that Atticus has on her. However, Aunt Alexandra does have some times where you can see her effect on Scout. For example, even though Scout doesn't like being told to act more lady like, dress more like one or talk more like one, these helpful suggestions that her aunt is telling her could be a valuable thing for her in her future. A perfect example would be marriage, In the book Dill and Scout are already "engaged" but when she grows older and tries to find love, I'm guessing no man would marry a girl that wears overalls instead of dresses. At least in the time period that this book takes place.