Another Day

Today, we took a vocab quiz and then watched a movie.  MLIA.

Night End Discussion

It is ironic that he was able to get surgery on his infected foot: the Germans didn’t care at all for Jews.  They didn’t use any anesthetic, but he does eventually pass out from the pain.

The Death Run was about 42 miles.  It served two purposes – the first being to move the prisoners, and the second to kill them.  Nazis even had to be replaced because it was so arduous.  The Jews had been underfed and undernourished, so the fact that there were survivors is impressive in itself.  Most of us couldn’t accomplish such a feat healthy.  They weren’t marching, either – they ran, and if you slowed down, well, sucks to your ass-mar.  People were trampled.

After the whole ordeal, Wiesel/Eliezer’s faith in God is restored.  He never really lost his faith in this respect; he just remained bitter for an extended time.

Violin Boy makes a reappearance.  He plays Beethoven, which is illegal for Jews.

Night describes the Nazi guards very sparingly.  He breaks from this to describe their various affairs, and does so again near the end to describe their indifference.

The Jews can only think about feeding themselves upon becoming free.  The pursuit of sustenence pits father against son.

Wiesel has been quoted saying (I’m paraphrasing here) that indifference is the opposite of most good things in the world.

The ending of the book seemed rushed to some.  The pacing and tone changes when his father dies.  It is particularly chilling because he spends the last few pages referring to himself as someone else entirely.

Night Literary Devices Discussion

Wiesel uses parallel structure a TON as a plot device.  It affects the reader’s emotional response to the book.  Instead of inserting his own feelings, he uses parallel structure to emphasize a point.  It is perhaps the most ”blunt” of Wiesel’s devices. It can also be used as foreshadowing. Zöe looked it up and it even has a pleasing psychological effect on us.

Basel thought literary devices were only gravy.  Stuck then brought up the fact that textbooks do not contain any literary devices and have a much less profound effect on the reader.  We concluded that novels are more personal.

Wiesel is terribly unemotional, which is in itself a sort of device.  It allows the reader to insert their own feelings.  He ”injects” emotion on very few occasions to show that an event is particularly important or disturbing.

His smooth use of time is interesting.  He flashes to and fro along the timeline.

Argument of bias arose.

Honestly, about halfway through the discussion, I couldn’t figure out what it had to do with literary devices anymore.

Eliezer loses his faith in God for various reasons.  His departure from feeling is a large factor.  If he wants to survive, then he feels he must do it himself. He is in a stage of life where he isn’t sure of anything.

The discussion somehow moved to fasting, and I’m not sure how it got there.

Can you truly be faithful without questioning your faith?  In doing so, you find out what you’ve believed all along. Faith is being sure of what you cannot see, so it is in a way blind. If you can still retain faith after questioning it, you can be sure of the magnitude of your initial faith.
As many people have their faith ”forced” on them when they are young, it isn’t really a blind leap; it is a way of life.

Wiesel utilizes juxtaposition.

He does not describe the camp – we are half finished with the novel and we still don’t know what the camp looks like. Wiesel is very selective with his description, only describing the important things in the plot. This is very different from all the other novels we have read; in Great Expectations, whole pages are devoted to buttering bread. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding continuously describes pink rocks. If you get too specific (especially in a novel in which there are true events), it brings about criticism of facts instead of focusing on the situation.

There are a few allusions as well. Wiesel uses the phrase ”Morning star”, which is a reference to Satan. We’re pretty sure that’s no accident. He could’ve slipped that in as foreshadowing, or just showing that he does have a grasp on religious texts.

Foreshadowing shows itself more in characters as opposed to description, which is slightly unusual. Madame Schäcter and Moshe the Beadle are two examples.

Basically, when Wiesel uses a literary device, it functions on multiple levels. It is complex in its simplicity, even if it is accidental.

Symbolism is present. Wiesel uses night and flames to symbolize death. Eliezer’s father dies while Eliezer is asleep. Night could also be thought of as a symbol of rest.

Night, Chapter 4

Some of the Nazis in power like to molest little Jewish boys.

There is a medical check-up.  If anyone had gold in their teeth, it was removed.  Eliezer had a golden tooth, which his foreman noticed and had pried out with a rusty spoon.

The musicians play Nazi music endlessly to lodge it in the prisoners’ minds.  They hear it even when they don’t march.

A friend talks about the Bible to Eliezer.  He believes that the entire ordeal is a test, and they will be rewarded if they survive.  It’s like Job.  Remember that.

Idek is Eliezer’s Kapo at Buna.  He is half crazed and cruel.  He moves the entire group so he can hook up with a Polish girl.

There are several hangings.

Then, Erica walked in late.

Pipels are ”prettyboys”.

Night Continues

The prisoners walk past a ditch filled with bodies.  The soldiers would dump gasolene on the bodies and light them on fire.

Eliezer’s ”Never Shall I Forgive” speech is a departure from his character.

Elizezer, in spite of his style, spends a good deal of time describing the SS Officer.

He enters a different tone and style on 42.  For a time, there is just a bunch of ”we”s.  The style is robotic; this illustrates how Eliezer felt.

The relationship between Eliezer and his father changes dramatically with the stay at the concentratoin camp.  Before, they were almost strangers; now, they live for each other.

Stein gets some news and goes to the creamatorium.

Night, First 22 Pages

Eliezer is 12 and deeply observant.

Google the crap out of this book.  It’s vital if you don’t know what’s going on or what certain terms mean.

Eliezer is a young Jew who has deep philosophical chats with Moshe the Beadle about the Kabbalah.  Moshe is then taken on a train to Poland,  but manages to escape and go back to Sighet to warn the others.  The others don’t listen.

German soldiers are housed, some of whom are described as ”charming”.  Passover comes, but the Jews’ hearts aren’t in it.  Suddenly, restrictions start to be placed – Jews are no longer allowed to own valuables and must wear the yellow star.  They have curfews, restroom restrictions, and are kept from the synagogues.

Notice that the Germans refer to Jews as various animals throughout the book.

Everyone is moved from ghetto to ghetto.

Eliezer ends up on a vastly overcrowded train.  There are so many people that they must sit in shifts.  There are no restroom facilities.

Night Intro

Night is a novel by Elie Wiezel (why-zell) about a Jew in a WWII concentration camp.

The protagonist is Eliezer.  Know the difference between the character and the author. The book is reflective and very sarcastic without being blatant.   He takes his emotions out so you can put in your own.

Wiezel uses time very interestingly in Night.  He flashes forward and back, coming up for air on occasion and then plunging back into the story.  He is able to do so without the story feeling clunky.

Read 22 pages tonight.

You’ve probably noticed that the blog has been a tad scant lately. My apologies. It’s because we’ve been doing much of the same lately: we either take tests, grade tests, discuss Lord of the Flies, or go over MGRPs. It’s just the place we are at in the year.

Today was no exception. We presented Lord of the Flies powerpoints today.

MGRP

We talked on plagiarism today.
In short, don’t do it.
The easiest way to avoid plagiarizing is to cite all of your sources as you go. Don’t get through the entire paper and then cite, because odds are you’re going to miss something. Check out the library website here for databases and citation generators.
MGRPs are due NEXT FRIDAY, whether you are in school or not. IT MUST BE TURNED IN ON THE 18TH!!

Kung-Fu Cthulhu

Today was National Hug an Isaac Day. If you weren’t in the know, feel free to participate tomorrow.

We went over Panda-isms for the first twenty minutes of class.

Then, we talked about the dreaded MGRP.
This is straight from the horse’s mouth.
1. There needs to be a Table of Contents page listing the various pages and their contents. Be specific.
2. Binding needs at least .5 inches of space.
3. Parenthetical Citations need to be with EVERY genre example on the same page as the example.
4. Glue has its limitations. Don’t neglect 2 sided tape, contact cement, etc.
5. You MAY have more than one example per page.
6. The maximum page dimensions are 12×12. That means size. Shape, thickness, orientation, are up to you.
7. The connecting narratives are to be on the same page as the genre, or a facing page.

MGRP Elements

• Cover Page (Cannot have M, G, R, P)
• Consider the cover page pre attention-getter
• Images
• Table of Contents
• Statement of Purpose

(See next cluster for details)

• Five Genres (2 Internet-based sources only*) (Label the genres)
• Five connecting narratives
• Summary Conclusion
• Works Cited

*Internet source is for total of five initial genres and is excluded from all GRAVY
Find more examples and info here.

Statement of Purpose must include:

• Definition
• Assumptions or facts regarding topic
• Purpose, which establishes whether or not the MGRP will prove, inform, define, demonstrate, or argue
• Conclusion which will be drawn
• Thesis Statement

The Statement of Purpose must have these requirements:

• Not to exceed 100 words
• Clarity




DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. DON’T! NO!!

SERIOUSLY.

You’ll be fine if you work on it a little every day.

At least 1 genre must be an image.

Gravy = unnecessary stuff that adds flavor (applies here). Feel free to add gravy to your MGRP, but don’t depend on it.