The Final Blog For This Blog

Since it is the end of the year (almost), I have to reflect on stuff. I really have no other preface, so let's just hop right in.

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

1. Normal 8th grade ELA is equivalent to Accelerated 7th grade ELA, which means the accelerated classes are set one year ahead of grade level at minimum. This means that the 7th graders are two years ahead/extremely smart. Great job, guys.
2. Mrs. Larson has a grand plan each year, and it actually works really well. Just look at this year. TKAM leads to a discussion about injustice, which leads into Night, which leads into a discussion about the value of life, which leads into Tuesdays with Morrie. You end up learning way more things on the side of your actual task than you would if it was disconnected. As for what I learned from that: All stories flow together, whether real or false, and life has so many different values that no one interpretation *glares at organized religion* of how to live one's life is the "true" way. They're all correct.
3. Life is basically story glue: all stories involve a change in it.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

The Southern Sampler. It was the most clever creation Mrs. Larson ever thought of: A Christmas feast linked directly to the book we were reading, and on top of it all...she gets to eat the junk food we brought in...clever. (Mrs. Larson, you play the long game better than Emperor Palpatine, and for that, I applaud you. *clapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclap*)

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

Everyone who helped me with things...which was basically everyone. Thank you very much. I couldn't have done all the crazy stuff I did without you guys. 

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

I taught you all about minor details making a massive difference. I use this concept in my book theories, which I'm thinking of posting, but still unsure about. 

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?
Managing homework, because before this year I went home piled high every night. This year my homework load was much the same, but I went home with little to none, daily. Something I've accomplished is my aphorism project, which took two image editors, a few hours of time, and a [redacted]-ton of printer ink. It's my best freestyle piece of art.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

My recent speech, due to the time constraints, nerves, and my dislike of public speaking. However, I apparently did pretty good, which makes all of that craziness worth it.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

My "This I Believe" speech because it's written in my voice, rather than my writer's voice, which is far more formal and, frankly, easier to write in.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

Dead of Night and Fall of Night, because of zombies, a conspiracy involving the author's other works, a HUGE connection to the series that gave me my Jonathan Maberry fan-status (which is actually linked into the conspiracy) and, of course, excellent writing. 

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

The most important piece of advice I'd want to give is as follows: Stay on top of your assignments. Many a seventh grader has fell prey to the sixth grade strategy: procrastinate until you can't, then crank out the assignment. "Until you can't," by the way, tends to be the day before it's due. This never works. Another thing that doesn't work: counting on grace time for being sick, because Edmodo exists.   Other than those two things *insert warning about the massive workload increase here*, you're good.

[image won't render :(]

This I Believe Speech

"The Hardest Things"

      I believe that the hardest things pay off the most in the end. Why? Well, there was a time in my life that was easily the hardest I had faced. Up until that point, I had tended to believe that most matters relating to my health would, given enough time, resolve themselves without much effort. This all changed last August, towards the middle of the month. I was in rehab for my 3rd surgery, and an event occurred that pushed me to the breaking point. However, I had no choice but to soldier on, and eventually I recovered. This instilled a belief in me that has only grown stronger every week...because I have more therapy. But what happened to spark it? Well...

      I was on the twelfth floor of the sky-puncturing “hospital” known as RIC (or the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for those who aren’t so COOL with the ACRONYMS). The twelfth floor was an unusual one, as it looked like someone tried to build a house but were missing some of the pieces. There were parts of stairwells glued to a bathroom and a working kitchen, with a wheel-less Mercedes “parked” outside completing this quirky setup. The “lawn” and garage that they somehow got up there were complete.

      Today, I was trying to scale the stairs under some of my own power. This was my first attempt since 6th grade. I had heavily protested the idea because, and I quote “stairs are evil,” but higher-authority diplomacy had won out. At this point, it was me, Mom, and a physical therapist (being RIC and all). I had already scaled the stairs, which was a difficult feat due to the narrow metal realistic rail and my relative weakness. Now, I was standing at the top of Mount Stairimanjaro, looking down at Mom. The PT was behind me as support. I took one step, then another...and smashed my dominant right knee square into the railing. My vision blurred with tears and I let out a string of mild profanity, as I don’t really swear. The PT and I shuffled down the stairs, with her bearing most of the weight on account of my right leg being temporarily out of commission and my left leg unable to support much. Once I was off the stairs, I collapsed into my walker. After being consoled, as that really hurt, the pain in my knee faded.

      I realized that the only way out was to try again, even though all I wanted was to go collapse into my hospital bed. I tried again, and to my credit, I actually succeeded. After that, the session (fortunately) ended. I then returned to my room and rested.

      That day, I learned that getting through stuff takes a curse-ton of effort, and that shifted something inside me. Stuff started happening more easily and my recovery accelerated. Once I returned to normal PT, I made more gains more rapidly than I ever had before, and I continue to apply this “effort pays off” mentality to every PT session I attend.  Difficult labor pays off in the long run. I feel that this is a critical lesson to learn, because many are going through tough times. Whether it’s physical, financial, or mental, remember: your hard work now will make your life better long-term. Keep at your goals, and never give up.

[My image has decided not to render... :(]

Morrie Aphorism Project Blog

      The aphorism I selected was, "What if today were my last day on Earth?" What Morrie means by this is, "Would you be ready to go if it was, in fact, your last day on Earth?" The Buddhist bird is basically a personification of that, but what does it come down to at its core? What it's all really asking (the book, this unit, most of the year, even), is: Are you living your life to the fullest and not taking your youth and health for granted? This entire 8th grade year has been basically looking forward and looking backward at the same time: hope for the future mingled with past regrets and present triumphs. Fifth grade didn't really have this much weird retrospection and foresight mixture, but maybe that's because it flowed better together: one ended, another began. It's like we're at the end of a movie trilogy, with a distant-set sequel movie right around the corner, and Morrie's breaking the fourth wall for us, kind of like the little bird...and now we're back where we started. That's unusual.

      I'd probably relate this to the book We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach. In it, a comet (dubbed Ardor) has a 66% chance to make the Earth into the Powder. It's going to arrive in 2 months, and we see society degrade into very little by the time the comet shows. The book answers the question posed by the aphorism in the best way possible: "We'd have a giant party!" The book ends just before the comet hits, or doesn't. We don't know, and I think that's the beauty of it. More specifically, society's deconstruction ends up being the focus of a main character's blog, as people stop caring and life stalls and comes to a halt. It's scary to look at, honestly. All of that kind of mirrors Morrie's degradation as he uses his own mortality as a talking point, except spread to society as a whole.
      
      I agree with this aphorism because I seem to be living it. Just as soon as I start taking my health as something I'm always going to have: surgery, followed by a barrage of indignities and wasted, ruined, days. As a result, I've sort of started living in the moment: never focused too far on the future and distant events, instead slowing down and focusing on a day-by-day basis. Morrie did much the same. On page 46 of the PDF (which I have linked below), it mentions that, "Morrie said no; to tell the truth, he was less afraid. He said he was letting go of some of the outside world, not having the newspaper read to him as much, not paying as much attention to mail, instead listening more to music and watching the leaves change color through his window." I've been doing that too. I skim past most of the politics, because it's basically a pit of venom, and that's not really healthy for me. Instead, I'm using that time that I have to progress forward and, at the same time, make sure I have things done while I have the capacity to do them (i.e. me not being laid up from another surgery.) I've learned to let things go, but sometimes I take them back, also. Since our two most important family summer traditions (Dells Trip and Pool Party Wednesdays) have basically disappeared, I'm left grasping at other things. I kind of need tradition as an anchor, and with that gone, it's like I'm a balloon that's dwindling. Mitch and the food also act as anchors for Morrie. On page 42 of the PDF, Mitch says, "I still shopped every week and walked in with bags to show him, but it was more for the look on his face than anything else. When I opened the refrigerator, I would see an overflow of containers." It's hard, seeing this, just like it's hard when I'm trapped on the couch. As a result, we grab and clutch what we have left, even if there is no real point. It satisfies us, though, makes it possible to let go of things if it is, in fact, our last day on earth.

      My own aphorism would probably be, "Any situation that appears to be your cosmic punishment has a way out, no matter what." Just like RIC (The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) seemed tailor-made to be my ultimate punishment, to the point where I thought that I had died and been booted into the underworld: No privacy, little sleep, and grueling physical labor. Of course, I was released...the literal day before school started. But I was out, at least!

The PDF

Final Morrie Socratic Seminar Blog

      The past 4 seminars definitely influenced my thinking, bringing up viewpoints I would never even have thought of. It also brought up a lot of side tangents, such as ghosts, ways we'd want to die, other books, communism, consumerism, and quotable quotes. For example, Lorin: "If I couldn't die of old age, I'd go on death row." On a more serious note, my own mortality, something I had long shoved in a box inside of a mobile home that I sent tumbling down a cliff, crawled back up and brought itself into focus. I did realize that I had wasted a part my life, but at the same time, another part of me was grabbing my mortality realization and trying to kill it with fire. It was...odd, to say the least. It also made me realize; Morrie did something long thought impossible: merging with, accepting, and using his own mortality as a philosophical springboard. I do believe I made a remark to that effect as well.

      One major trend I noticed with myself was that the seminar went so far away from what I had written in my guide that I eventually stopped entertaining the notion of using it, and as such only filled out the required minimum. This wasn't really negative, as few used their guides overall. Also, my reflections were rather formulaic: "Overall, this was [good/average/great]. [Flaws]. [Successes]. [Number grade]. As for me, [Flaws]. [Successes]." Again, this isn't entirely a bad thing; formulas can be useful for stuff that you do a lot (like these), are much the same every time (like these), and cover similar ground every time (again, like these). Additionally, I'd bring up a flaw and it'd be fixed the next seminar. Rinse and repeat, until you get here.

      The class had some trends too: flaws that got fixed the next seminar and random, relevant offshoots being the most common ones. Others were quotable quotes and laughter fits after them. Despite this, the seminars really helped my understanding of the material. This class, also, is rather conducive to such things. A less advanced class would probably have some...troubles...with such things. However, unpreparedness is statistically unavoidable, but you should at least try to mitigate it. That way, it won't hit you as hard.

My Perfect Day

      My perfect day would be simple, but sometimes, that's all you need. First, I'd sleep in until 9. Then I'd get up, and have some eggs for breakfast. I don't know the way I'd want them prepared, though. After that, I'd watch old cartoons, like Looney Tunes and What's New, Scooby-Doo? It's been a while since they played those...anyway, where was I? Oh, right, perfect day. I'd get dressed, then I'd walk—actually walk—to Proksa Park, and basically be my usual crazy self for a few hours. Nerf guns would most definitely be involved.  After that, I'd head home, and kick Dad's rear end in a Halo match (a phrase which here means, "get repeatedly splattered by Dad in a flying, squashed eggplant.") By that time, it'd most likely be dinner. For dinner, I'd want my favorite food: quesadillas made with corn tortillas, chorizo, beans, and chipotle cheese. For dessert, I'd probably have a flan. After dinner, I would have an epic lightsaber duel with Dad/possibly Frances/maybe Mom using my old lightsaber style, with lots of acrobatic maneuvers and power blows, all carried out at lightning speed. After that, it'd probably segue into an epic Nerf battle (which they would lose, of course). By that point, it'd most likely be bedtime. I'd read some new dystopia novels while petting our cats, and eventually fall asleep.

      As for the attainability of this day, I'll probably have something close to it within a few weeks. Progress towards my walking unaided is steady, but not rapid, so that's more of an optimistic estimate than a certainty. And I am out of practice in my old lightsaber style, but it's not that hard to re-master. It's been about 4 years, and with every day that passes, I feel myself getting closer to it. Time is weird.

Tuesdays With Morrie Blog (about Tuesdays, which I'm writing on a Tuesday...)

The Tuesday that has inspired me the most would have to be the fourth one, in which death is discussed. The reason it's so impacting is because death keeps striking at important family members when you least expect it (my grandfather, then my cat...within the span of a few months...). Morrie says, "Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready?....'" It rang true. Death is something I've thought about frequently lately due to the subject matter. I've been looking at it from a biological perspective, a philosophical one...but never constantly. I'm never ready, and that's kind of the one admission I always withhold from myself.

      Let me explain. Before each of my three surgeries, I mostly felt sadness, and a deep philosophical questioning of the little bird: "Am I ready? Cuz if I'm not...*insert tears*" However, once I was in the car, I sort of went numb. There was nothing I could do, other than exist. It's kind of a weird feeling, looking back. There's no future or past, only present. That's kind of what Morrie is doing. He's living in the moment.

      Morrie mentions that "once you know how to die, you know how to live."  That basically sums up what he's doing: planning his death so he doesn't have to worry about his life. I also figured: "The weirdness of this situation is too much for worrying, and if I do die (which is very unlikely) I won't have to either, so why worry at all? Morrie's not worried about the end either. He's already clobbered it, domesticated it, and forced it to make him dinner. Morrie is using his end as a philosophical springboard to say what he never could at his middle. There's a lesson in the sentence I just wrote, but I can't quite put my finger on the words to express it. Philosophy is weird like that.

Bucket List Blog

      Recently, we started reading Tuesdays With Morrie. The titular character seems to really handle his impending death with grace, and he's really frank about the whole thing. He also—and this is the important part— doesn't take what remains of his life and the beginning of his death for granted. He attempts to use what he's got left to better others. And on a side note, most people with ALS do something like that, regardless of their fictional status. They use the time they have left to leave a mark on people, and then bow out with whatever grace they have left. Morrie certainly seems to be planning on that. He also, it seems, is trying to fulfill his bucket list, or at least one item on it. In honor of this goal, and because that's the assignment, I've composed a bucket list of my own. And yes, "bucket list" comes from the expression "to kick the bucket."

My Bucket List 

• Make a video game
• Attend a full scale Nerf war/beyblade tournament/other large congregation of my fellow hobbyists
• Create something that changes lives
• Graduate high school
• Graduate college
• Graduate anything else I need to graduate from
• Beat my disability (well, as much as I can)
• Continually update my list

      Death is kind of like a distant due date on an assignment. You ignore it until it's staring you in the face, and then you throw yourself at it until the due date. Some people, however, focus on the due date the entire time and manage to get done every part before the due date's even remotely close. I won't say which way is the best way to live (that's not my place), but I will leave you with this so you can ponder it...which is kind of like what Morrie would do, if you think about it. 

Blog for 4/10/17 Week- A List of Cages by Robin Roe

      I recently read A List of Cages, by Robin Roe. I decided to blog about that rather than the other books I read this week because it impacted me more. I have read the entire book, so I will be leaving out spoilers for those who have not. In the novel, Adam Blake, a senior in high school, lands a position as the aide to the school psychologist. While in that position, he is reunited with Julian, his old foster brother. Julian is now living with his abusive Uncle Russell. Adam and Julian become friends (again), and Adam and his fellow seniors attempt to help Julian escape from Russell. Spoilers ensue. Warning: There is some blood/abuse depictions, profanity, and evil teachers

Prompt One: • Draw 4 objects that represent your reading. Write a sentence for each, telling

what each item says about what you’ve been reading.   

      Since images I post have a habit of not rendering, I'm just going to write about them instead:

1. A willow switch, representing Julian's abusive home life.
2. A bowling ball with Shakespeare's head printed out and taped to it, representing the bond that rekindled between Julian and Adam over Shakespeare and group activities.
3. A copy of Elian Mariner with a toy bug on it, representing their initial meeting.
4. A bottle of herbal remedy, representing Adam's ADHD.

Prompt Two: List five major events in order from which happened first to last.

1. Mrs. Nethercutt's 5th grade reading buddies.
2. The demise of Julian's parents and fostering of Julian by the Blakes.
3. Julian is taken in by Uncle Russell and his abuse begins.
4. Adam and Julian reunite in high school.
5. Adam saves Julian from abuse.

If the image of the cover does not render, well...sorry.

Third Quarter Reflection Blog

     Something I've accomplished this quarter that I'm proud of is my butterfly. It took a fair few hours to make, and has a bit of a story behind it (not related to the material it's based off of). To prevent this blog post being absurdly long, I'll just give you the highlight reel:

• My sister accidentally decapitated one of the prisoners
• The platform they're standing on is rigged through the inside of the tower
• We repeatedly messed up with the paint
• The project is 95% supported by tacky glue

      Despite these internal issues, crafting catastrophes, and production problems, it turned out awesome. Due to my complete and utter lack of artistic talent, I was quite surprised by this. The project's Thinglink tags also worked well, despite the random coding error. Overall, it was perfect, and I wouldn't change a thing if I could.

      The most challenging part of 3rd quarter was staying on top of the Holocaust research tasks and other larger assignments with no set due date. The reason for this was that there were gaps between the assignment of new tasks, and getting ahead didn't make much sense either, as we were already dealing with Night more frequently than the tasks. I overcame this by simply asking when exactly they were due, and worked around that as I usually do. I did eventually manage to get those done, but it was kind of annoying. Regardless of that, I'm good now.
      The area I've made my biggest improvements in would have to be...hmm...I don't really know. I've gained more knowledge, but that's general. I've done more work, but that just gave me more experience. It appears that I've plateaued, which is fine. Sometimes you don't make noticeable improvements, you just stay where you are. If you're on top of things, that's fine, and it certainly appears I've remained atop things. That's really all I have to say on the subject.
Have a great spring break, everyone!

[I keep trying to put an image, but since it never works, I'm going to stop trying.]

Life is Beautiful Blog (WARNING MASSIVE SPOILERS)

WARNING: MASSIVE MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD

      There are many connections between Life is Beautiful and Night. Both feature a father who saves his son and vice versa. The father does get killed shortly before the liberation of the camp (which is why I put the spoiler warning at the top). Elie doesn't have to hide himself, as Joshua did, but he did have to hide his age. Both feature towns who basically ignore the encroaching jaws of fascism until they're consumed by it, and each pair has a similar coping setup that involves one member doing something unusual and the other relying on the first for support (Elie's loss of faith and his father relies upon him, whereas in the movie Guido's gamifying the camp and relying on Joshua for support). The methods of the fascists are never truly explained, merely being a shadowy force in the background to cause the story's progression.

       Despite the many similarities between the two works, there are differences between them as well.  For one, the protagonist being Jewish is not outright said in Life is Beautiful, unlike in Night where it is mentioned basically on the first page of the book. For another, Guido's demise comes out of left field, whereas Elie's father's demise is foreseen, as it kind of uses that dread to recreate an atmosphere of the doom to come. Another difference is that Life is Beautiful takes place in the heyday of Italian fascists as opposed to the Nazis invading. Night also has much less slapstick than Life is Beautiful, but that is to be expected, given that it's an autobiography and the circumstances of Romania's invasion. There's also a time gap between the two works. Life is Beautiful has a gap from 1939 to 1944, then picks up around that time. Night starts in 1944 and ends in 1945. If the math is correct, the time skip ended around the same time Night began, give or take 1 month.
   
      Most of the humor in Life is Beautiful comes from Guido being happy-go-lucky. This oftentimes clashes with the fascist regime and authority figures. For example, the scene in the school where Guido masquerades as a fascist inspector and starts dancing on the table. He knows he can break the system with crazy gambits and maneuvers, so he does. This, as always, clashes with the people in control of him, especially in the camp. This humorous attitude actually causes most of the suspense in the movie as well. If one of Guido's plots hits a wrinkle (Joshua saying "Thank you" for instance), he just improvises something to save himself (like teaching all the kids to say it so that the lady watching them has no clue who actually said it or gets distracted by Guido breaking the rules). This in turn amplifies the humor and happy-go-lucky attitude he has, until he gets to the point where his luck runs out.

      One of the ways life is shown as beautiful in the film is the fact that Guido's slapstick behavior basically manages to inadvertently subvert a fascist regime, just by being himself. More specifically, it's beautiful that he manages to have a happy life full of laughter and love under a fascist regime, and fascist regimes aren't known for being rainbow happy disco party places. Guido manages to have an awesome life, mostly, and be a walking humor dispenser, as a member of a group targeted by fascists. This may be partly due to the more benevolent-ish nature of fascist Italy, and also partly due to Guido's own humorous optimistic nature. Any way you slice it, Guido's extremely lucky to have gotten that far. Another way life is shown as beautiful is in Dora and Guido's romance. It's full of cringeworthy pickup lines, cheesy declarations of love, more slapstick moments, and all-around realism. This is very similar to how most romances, at least before they gets to the stage of marriage, play out. If it were taped, the viewers would certainly view it as cringy, but the authenticity would certainly be there. And that's beautiful.

[Just pretend there is an image here. (It won't render regardless of what I do).]

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Argumentative Articles AoW Blog

      The most pressing argument, at least from what I have seen, is how to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. Jackson's article debated whether nuclear power was the solution. I'm inclined to agree with the pro-nuclear side, as nuclear power has a pretty great track record of only 3 notable incidents, with only 2 of those being destructive, as opposed to coal, which had many notable incidents, and most of them were destructive. In addition, nuclear power doesn't produce carbon emissions. Carbon emissions are the main reason for climate change, and as a result, this would be more climate-friendly. It's also cheaper than coal power.  Dylan's article discussed whether or not eating less meat would help. I am not inclined to agree with the pro side here, as there are several studies that show otherwise. However, there is one thing I do agree on with them: Gaseous cow emissions* should be fixed due to the high amount of methane produced when a cow unleashes them. Methane is several hundred times more potent than carbon dioxide, which means it's more of a threat than power-related carbon output. Also, the emissions* make up 51% of our greenhouse gas production. 51% of our total  times several hundred equals a huge risk. To sum up: You don't look at the output of the creature's meat, you look at the output of its emissions.*

      This issue does affect me personally, as I live on this planet. If something's doing damage to the planet, it is everyone's job to stop and try to reverse the damage. My personal idea for a solution is to bottle cow emissions* and use them somehow, in a way that wouldn't further damage the Earth. On the argument side, I'd say that the side with the most logical evidence and/or plan wins one hundred percent of the time.
(Preemptive apologies if my image doesn't render...)

*flatulence

Night Blog: Elie's Transformation

      During the events of Night, Elie Wiesel undergoes several transformations in character. These transformations morph Elie into something far different than what he was at the beginning of the book. In a way, that seems to be the main effect of the Holocaust on all it touched: people shaken, broken, and crushed into hardly recognizable shadows of their former selves.
   
      One of the most critical transformations in Elie is the way he views his faith. At the beginning (in
Sighet), Elie's faith is such a cornerstone of his personality that it is barely thought of as a conscious thing. Elie says, "Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?" (4). He's so pious that it's both as essential and as subconscious as breathing. Whether that's nature or nurture, it's there and isn't going away...or is it? In Birkenau, when he sees children being incinerated, Elie loses his faith for what seems like all eternity. He remarks, "Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never" (34). If you see something and it makes you forsake a massive chunk of your identity, it would have driven anyone weaker completely over the edge into utter insanity. As Buna crumbles around him, his faith seems to return to his subconscious, even as he resists it. Once he figures out what Rabbi Eliahu's son did to his father, Elie remarks, "And in spite of myself, a prayer formed inside me, a prayer to this God in whom I no longer believed. 'Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu's son has done'" (91). His faith has returned, even if he's in denial of it. And if you look past the end, you'll find that he's pious again, based on his Nobel Prize acceptance speech (he says a prayer, and believes in it, for those who didn't feel like going and reading it yourselves). Elie's faith seems to have been an inverted bell curve: he was extremely pious at the start of the book, lost it towards the middle, and picked it back up again towards the end of the book, then stayed pious for the rest of his life. 

      Another critical shift in Elie is the way he views other human beings, especially his father. At the beginning, he views his father as any normal boy would: as a background character to be defended when disparaged upon. He simply is, and that's enough. However, something shifts in Elie between Sighet and Auschwitz. When Elie's father is struck, he writes, "I stood petrified. What had happened to me?  My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent. Only yesterday, I would have dug my nails into this criminal's flesh" (39). After Elie's father dies and Buchenwald is liberated, he disregards his father's memory in favor of food: "Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. That's all we thought about. No thought of revenge, or of parents. Only of bread" (115). He's thinking in 'survival mode,' as it were: only focusing on his survival and not his humanity, or at least not his grief. This is not a commonly necessary thing to do, as humanity is, by definition, what makes us human (like our emotions and cameraderie). When humans are forced to resort to this, serious metal changes occur. This leads to us behaving like animals, so we can survive in order to stop behaving like animals. Elie also goes through such changes; he focuses on himself, and leaves his father's memory in the dust, if only for a short period of time. The horrors of the Holocaust did that to him, as well as causing him to write the book. I will leave you with his core message: Don't let historic atrocities repeat themselves.

 [My image won't render]

Works Cited

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

Butterfly Project

In case of tag glitch please click here.
"The Storm"
The heavens sense our burden:
the threat of future downpours
I carry on my back.
We are drunk on wine vinegar.
The nearing storm rouses me,  
it makes me want to shake the world.
               
We are an assemble of misery.
If our hands are bloody,
it is from the blood of our own wounds.
The grotesque scars
we bear on our bodies
testify to battles fought
that went unrecognized.
                 
But the next storm will unfurl our flag
and uproot the rotted trees!
Then we, together with the gusting wind,
will scale Spilberk's* heights,
and stand in victory on the peaks of cliffs,
our hair blowing freely in the wind.


*Spilberk was a famous jail in the Middle Ages in the city of Brno

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Luis R.

Holocaust AoW Impressions

      What I have learned is that even though the Holocaust was 70 years ago, the effects of it have lingered, and will continue to linger, for a significant period of time, even as our firsthand accounts fade. As we search around the camps and ask survivors about their stories, we learn more and more about Nazi atrocities. However, the survivors who have stories to tell are dying out, and we lose a few even if we manage to preserve some. And that's just those who want to tell their stories. Some don't tell anyone until close to death, and sometimes they don't at all, leaving their children to pick up the pieces...if they even know the pieces are there to pick up.
   
      As we find criminals, we bring them to justice, even though it may be futile. These men, despite the atrocities they committed, managed to get away with it for most of their lives. I get it, crime must be punished, but the way it's being done is both the only way, and the least useful. They don't see the error of their ways, and they can fake their way out of punishment with ease, being old men. Overall, who are we bringing to justice, if anyone? Can justice even be applied? Who knows?  I guess the only way to know is to ask our dwindling pool of survivors if this is working... at least we're finding relics to make up for it.

Berlin Memorial Blog

      I learned that the Nazis basically attacked the Jews (and others) via an intense overapplication of beaurocracy. What that means is that the Nazis slowly chipped away at the human rights of their "undesirables" via progressively more hostile decrees until the Allies kicked them off a cliff. It ranges from the absurd (Jewish street names will be renamed) to the cruel (No eggs/deportations), and everything between.
      The monument was most likely built to remind everyone, "Hey, these laws existed too," as most people only know about the deportations. The reason for the reminder? Well, in order to kind of preemptively prevent this from happening again, they posted the depths of the Nazis all over. That way, the Nazis were set apart from the other groups doing mass deportations and the true level of their evil was broadcast to future Berliners.
      I noticed that Nazi decrees started off being passed rapidly, then would taper off a bit (for about 3 years), then pick up again with a similar level. After 1939, there were a lot less, then they'd pick up again from 1941-1943. After that, the Nazis were pretty much kaput. As for the reason: either exhausted policy makers or the Olympics/war/whatever was going on, or a mixture of both factors. Granted, this was merely a fraction of a fraction of their policies, but if we zoomed out, I'd imagine it'd hold up much the same.
      The restriction I'd have the most trouble with would probably be the no pets one. I love both of our cats and I couldn't bear to part with them. They're an integral part of my life, as well as the silliest critters on the block.

To conclude: The Holocaust was horrendously horrific.

Quarter Two Reflection

Well, since Quarter 2 is more or less over, it means I have to reflect upon it. With that said, let's begin.
      The most challenging part of Quarter Two was probably embedding all the quotes in papers and paragraphs, as I sometimes have trouble finding the most relevant piece. What I did then, and what I'll continue to do moving forward is this: Ask the person next to me whether or not this makes sense. It allows me to kind of filter the nonsense from whatever I'm working on, and thusly prevent said nonsense from lowering my grade.  The method easily catches the concealed 80% of the weird wording and stuff I unintentionally put in, I catch the surface 10%, and Mrs. Larson helps me fix the 10% left over that are the fundamental flaws of my piece. (Thank you, by the way.) The end result is polished and more or less up to snuff.
      Something I've accomplished since the new year that I'm proud of is the fact that I haven't forgotten a single assignment. This has mostly been due to the following factors: It's not as insane as last year (I can get most of it completed in class), less is assigned overall, and Schoology/Edmodo lay more or less all of it out for me. As a result, I have no homework most nights, which is a plus. Not doing stuff is always a plus!
   The area I've made the most improvements in is getting stuff done on time. Last quarter, I neglected  a few things with regards to an assignment, as well as regularly working from 7:30 'til 9. With the aforementioned decrease of assigned work and spillover (aka the things I couldn't get done in class), I've been working for 20 minutes, if at all.
      Generally, this quarter has been smooth sailing, and I hope quarter 3 will be much the same. Enjoy your weekend, everybody!
      
     
 

TKAM Comparative Analysis

      The To Kill A Mockingbird movie adaptation cut out several critical scenes that hammer home the message of racism being a blight upon humanity. Without said scenes, the message has less impact, and doesn't show the secondary meaning: It's possible to stop being racist. Yes, it may be difficult, and take 19-ish chapters (months) to do, but you can still do it. If that's gone, it won't hit close to home and lead to shed prejudices. To bluntly put it: It's like chopping up a quote into cherry-picked pieces to twist it whatever way you want.
     
       There is a character in the book, Aunt Alexandra, who doesn't make it into the film. Her absence may well be the most critical difference between the two works, as she shows that people can stop being bigoted. In the book, it says, "Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a n****r-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He’s ruinin‘ the family, that’s what he’s doin’.” (Just for reference, Francis Hancock said this). As evidenced by the use of racial profanity, she is somewhat more racist than the rest of our characters. She also attempts to maintain such attitudes throughout her stay with the Finches. However, these attitudes shift as the novel progresses. On page 239, it states, "'Tom’s dead.'

Aunt Alexandra put her hands to her mouth.
'They shot him,” said Atticus. 'He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them—'
'Didn’t they try to stop him? Didn’t they give him any warning?' Aunt Alexandra’s voice shook." This shows that she's started to view black people as people, as emphasized by the shaking voice and lack of racial profanity. The meaning of this is that people can change. This sub-meaning would have, if it was present, affected a lot more people in the form of a movie. Without that sub-meaning, a problem is presented, but a way to be part of the solution is not, even though a solution exists. If this was made part of the film, it would probably have targeted enough people to substantially increase the speed of the civil rights movement. But, then again, we'd never really know.
      
      Based on this evidence, I can say that the film version is definitely less effective then the novel. Need more proof? In the book, it says, "'Wh—oh yes, you mean why do I pretend? Well, it’s very simple,' he said. 'Some folks don’t—like the way I live. Now I could say the hell with ‘em, I don’t care if they don’t like it. I do say I don’t care if they don’t like it, right enough— but I don’t say the h**l with ’em, see?'

Dill and I said, 'No sir.'
'I try to give ‘em a reason, you see.' This is a very well hidden pro-integration message. Dolphus Raymond pretends he's drunk in order to have a "Get Out Of Being Racist Free" card. Harper Lee clearly wanted to spread that message: we should not be racist. However, that scene was left on the cutting room floor, ripping a lot of power from behind it like muscle from Tom's left arm.



And then the civil rights movement came along, so there's that.