Blog 6: The Scarlet Ibis

The Southern family [Doodle and "Brother" are a part of] believes in superstitions. Upon Doodle's birth, Aunt Nicey thinks the boy is holy because he was born in a caul, "Jesus's nightgown." Additionally, the mother of both boys does not think it will rain because she hadn't heard the call of a "rain frog." What other superstitions are shared in the story? How do you think they affect the developments in plot? Can you think of other superstitions you believe/ have heard others believe?

This is a superstition because shortly after the red bird died, Doodle and his brother go to Horse head Landing. On their way home, it starts pouring rain and the brother runs away from Doodle leaving him in the dust. Doodle then dies under a tree, just like the Scarlet Ibis.  This defiantly affects the plot development, because it shows a connection between the title, events and the main character

BLOG 16~ MAN WHO WAS ALMOST A MAN

Answer the following questions for Richard Wright's short story, "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" in complete sentences, with as much detail as possible [this might mean a short paragraph]:

1. After reading the first paragraph, identify the narrator, the point of view, and the dialect.

2.What is Dave's mother's response when he asks her if he can buy a gun? How does he ask her?

3. What is Dave's reaction when pressed to tell the truth? What is the crowd's reaction when he tells? 

4. Think of the train as a symbol. What do you think it represents?

5. Is society better off without individuals like Dave? Should they celebrate his departure?

1. The narrator is the author. The point of view is 3rd person and the dialect is ominent.

2. Her response was no at first. She didn't want him to have one. But then Dave said that they could use the gun for Pa. And she says fine they can get one.

3. He tells them a lie in how the mule did it to herself. He starts crying and then the crowd starts laughing and he tells them what really happened.

4. I think it represents a new place for Dave. It represents freedom and a new life.

5. I don't think so. I think a society needs someone like Dave. If there isn't then it will be off balance. You need someone who has different ideas. No i don't think they should celebrate his departure.

BLOG 4~ LAMB OF THE SLAUGHTER

What were your thoughts about the ending of this short story? Could Mary Maloney get away with the same crime in today's current society? Why/why not? 

Your response to this blog should be one-two paragraphs [at least 5-6 sentences].

Mary Maloney got away with this crime very easily in this short story.  However the technology was not too advanced before that.  I enojyed the ending of this story though.  I thought the ending was very sudden but very clever how she hid the evidence by making them eat it.  She would not be able to get away with a crime like this today.  There was no clues to the "murderer" so they would have to assume it was her.  THe ending though was very good.

BLOG 3: GAC AND CAGE READING

The GAC words for this week are: aggressive, authentic, contradict, extravagant, flounder, hone, perceive, quirk, saunter, and summon.

Use four (4) of these vocabulary words in a one-paragraph response to your reading over the weekend. What portions of the story did you find compelling [moving] in Chapters 34-40? Challenge: Include a quotation from the text.

These chapter of The Cage, was full of  extravagant events like how Riva has poisoning on her arm.  However she was very determined to live by walking through the streets even when she felt she was able to fall over and die.  She was being very aggressive and wanted to live.  She was able to go to about 5 authentic German hospitals to try to receive medical help until one helped her.  In these chapters i found that Riva's will to live was compelling.  She fought on after all that has happened to her because, "If the if life, there is hope".  She summoned the strength from within her to go to each of those hospitals and fight for her right of medical assistance.

BLOG 2: Holocaust Dictionary

Yesterday, we explored twenty-eight concepts that pertained to the Jewish Holocaust, and as a class, we constructed a dictionary of terms. 

Which of these twenty-eight entries were you most surprised that you had not heard of before? ...the least? [If you were not surprised, then write about the one you would like to find out more about.] Include the description of the concept [or definition] and your thoughts/feelings.

This entry may be one longer paragraph [at least 7-8 sentences].

The word that I was least surprised about was Auschwitz.  I knew so much about this camp already because we have studied the Holocaust all through middle school.  I think that everyone knew that Auschwitz the biggest and most known death camp.  The most surprising word however was Treblinka.  This word surprised me because I always thought that it was either a small country or a large city in East Europe.  I had no clue that this was a Nazi extermination camp in Poland.  Another word that surprised me was Adolf Eichmann.  He was like Hitler's right hand man.  He made a lot of decisions along with Hitler, but he was not well known.

Blog 1: Part I reflection

Part I of Ruth Minsky Sender's The Cage explores the experiences Riva and her siblings have while living in the ghetto. Part II of the personal memoir will unveil her horrors in the camps.

What portion of Part I stood out to you in your reading? Provide a page number and short analysis of the excerpt.

The part in Part I that stood out to me was when the Nazi's lied to the Jews saying that coming to camp will save them.  They promised the Jews that if they came to the camp they would be fed.  They were lying to them however, and they would be sent to death camp or Auschwitz.  This happened in chapter 23.  This affected me because the Jews did nothing to the Nazi's and the Nazi's tortured them.  Then when they seem like they are going to be friends with the Jews and help the, they betray them and send them to death camp to be killed.

BLOG 15 - THE CAGE

In your groups, take some time to collect information and provide each topic below with a thorough explanation. This may be a definition or a small summary of the event.

You are encouraged to include quotations and facts from other websites, provided that you cite them correctly. Try to be as detailed as possible, (i.e. include dates, famous people, etc.).

a. The Jewish Holocaust - (1933-1939) The genocide of nearly six million Jews during world war II.  This genocide was led by Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party.

b. The Nazi Party - This was a group of Nazi's led by Adolph Hitler.  They focused on racial purity and tried to wipe out some other races like Jews.  

c. Ruth Minsky Sender - The author of "The Cage".  She was a Holocaust survivor.  She survived the camp of Auschwitz.

d. Auschwitz, Mittelsteine, Grafenort - They were three major concentration camps of the Holocaust.  At these camps, Jews were forced in and were abused, tortured, and killed.  Germans were in charge of these camps.  The use of these camps ended when the Holocaust ended.

e. personal memoir - a personal memoir is an account of the personal experiences of an author.