Cycle of Jewelry

In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, she incorporated many cyclical elements into the novel. There's other hidden cyclical elements in the story that don't involve the structure of the book, how it is written from the view point of the mothers, then from the daughters views, their views again, then the mothers again, or how the daughters had difficulties with their mothers, or how most of them married a white husband (eg. Ted, Harold, Rich, and one of the mothers married Clifford, also white).

The mothers in The Joy Luck Club gave their daughters jewelry, ranging from gems to gold to jade. When they gave their daughters the jewelry, it was often as a symbol of love, to prove to them that they were special, and worthy and mature enough to receive the precious keepsakes.

In The Red Candle, told from Lindo Jong, a mother's point of view, her mother gave her a necklace before she left her with Huang Taitai.

"The dowry was enough, more than enough, said my father. But he could not stop my mother from giving me her chang, a necklace made out of a tablet of red jade" (53).

Lindo's mother left her the necklace as a last token and symbol of her love for her, and to give her the necklace, somewhat as a placeholder for her mother's presence in her life, even though she had to leave her.

Rose Hsu Jordan watched her mother give away her ring to Bing in Half and Half, when he drowned in the sea, and she could not find him. After hours of searching, the mother slowly came to the realization that they would not be able to find Bing, and threw the ring into the water.

"...she opened her fist. In her palm was a ring of watery blue sapphire, a gift from her mother, who had died many years before...She threw the ring into the water" (129).

 After Bing fell and drowned in the water, never to be found, An-Mei Hsu threw the sapphires as an offering, believing that the ring would make the Coiling Dragon forget Bing.

In Best Quality, Jing-Mei Woo tells of the time when her mother gave her a jade pendant on a gold chain after a crab dinner celebrating Chinese New Year. The meal had not gone as well as expected, and after, when Jing-Mei was talking to her mother, Suyan, when she gave her the jade necklace.

"...she unhooked the clasp of her gold necklace and took it off, wadding the chain and the jade pendant in her palm. She grabbed my hand and put the necklace in my palm, then shut my fingers around it...I looked at the necklace, the pendant with the light green jade" (208).

Suyan wanted to give the necklace to Jing-Mei, because she had waited a long time before she gave her the necklace, wanting to give it to her for a long time, and when she gave it to her, she understood that Jing-Mei wound understand her meaning, as the necklace was her "life's importance." She wanted to show Jing-Mei that she loved her, and supported her, regardless of the mean, degrading and insulting comments that Waverly said.

In the last story, A Pair of Tickets, told from Jing-Mei Woo's point of view again, but speaking namely about her mothers past experience with her first two daughters, she speaks of the recollection of her father telling her  the story of how her mother left her two daughters along the road with jewelry, money, and photos.

"When the road grew quiet, she tore open the lining of her dress, and stuffed jewelry under the shirt of one baby, and money under the other" (282).

Suyan Woo, the mother, put jewelry into the shirt of one baby, because she loved them, and although she had to leave them since she had lost all strength to carry them any farther, she left the money and jewelry as a symbol of her love, and for whoever who found the two daughters to use to raise them, and hopefully cover some costs.

Quickwrite: Family Honor

Although An-mei's grandma, Popo would agree that "Family and honor should take priority over the rights of the individual family member."  I think that An-mei and her mother would both somewhat agree.  It really depends on the situation, but they probably lean more toward the side that agrees with the statement.

An-mei grew up under the care of her Popo, and Popo's opinion of family and honor being priority greatly shaped the way she grew up.  She grew up learning to not talk about her mother, since it was forbidden.  An-mei's father passed away, and her mother became a widow, but she still chose to marry, and even so, she married a man with a wife, two concubines, and other children.  By speaking her mother's name, she would be shaming her family, and not preserve the honor they still have.  The "big painting [of her father] that hung in the main hall" always showed him as "a large, unsmiling man, unhappy to be so still on the wall" (p.43).  Popo raised An-mei, telling her that the painting of her father watched her for any signs of disrespect, making sure that she was respectful to her family, and upholding their honor.  Family and honor was always emphasized over an individual family member.  When she was young though, she wasn't as educated about her mother's poor choices in her relative's eyes, and chose to (try) to go to her mother, but the soup spilled onto her neck, stopping her.  An-mei understands that even though her mother did not make the best choices, she still held family traditions strong in her heart, and would probably only put her individual needs over her family and honor if it was necessary.

An-mei's mother was considered a traitor to her ancestors to An-mei's Auntie, because she chose to remarry.  Auntie says that An-mei's mother "'...is so beneath others that even the devil must look down to see her'" (p.44).  An-mei's mother broke family tradition, and shamed her family, dishonoring them, when she married the man with another wife, concubines, and other children.  She still upheld her family traditions at the end of the story though, when her mother was dying.  She willingly cut a piece of meat from her arm and put it into the soup.  An-mei's mother "cooked magic in the ancient tradition to try to cure her mother this one last time" (p.48).  She kept the ancient tradition, honoring her mother, and put her mother's needs above her own.

Connections Between Revolution in Animal Farm and in Egypt Etc.

In Animal Farm, the animals spoke with each other beforehand and planned a rebellion before they actually acted.  They didn't have a set time for the rebellion, but they rebelled when they felt like it was the right time, when their oppressors went to far and crossed the line, angering them, so they all worked together to rebel, and to rid the farm of their human oppressors.  In the events in Egypt, Tunisia, Honduras, etc., they also communicated with one another beforehand, spreading words of contempt and unease about Mubarak being president, and oppressing them.  They used other forms of communication though, like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, so the Egyptian government shut down their internet and forms of communication with one another, including mobile phone access. (Shutdown of Internet Access) The humans of Manor Farm did not know they were planning a rebellion, so they were unable to do anything to prevent it.  The Egyptian government went to extremes to prevent the spread of word about rebellion against Mubarak throughout Egypt, but the rebellion still went on nonetheless, because of the communication they had prior with the internet communication, and the idea spread throughout Egypt that Mubarak should not be president.  Soon, many people were convinced, and a rebellion began.  When the people of Egypt were finally successful with their goal and Mubarak quited and surrendered power to the military, they chanted "Egypt is free!" as many people danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium.  In the Animal Farm, after the humans left the farm, the animals sang "Beasts of England" and celebrated too, but in a different way, with their singing.

Political Power --> Corruption?

In my opinion, political power often corrupts the people who attain it.  Even though Hitler may be an extreme example, Hitler became corrupted after he gained so much power and began to go kill many Jews and other races, because he was trying to find the people he finds most ideal: the people with blonde hair and blue eyes, or at least agreed with what he was trying to do.  I think that George Orwell would respond to this question similarly; I believe that he thinks that political power tends to corrupt the people who attain it too.  In the book, The Animal Farm, on page 37, he writes, "The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place." Moses, the crow, has much power (in a way), since the humans favor him above the other animals, and he is well fed and gets special treatment.  He is somewhat corrupt, because he tells lies to the animals and makes it difficult for the pigs to convince the animals that there is an actual purpose in rebelling, and that they're rebellion won't be completely pointless, because their descendants will be able to live in a different world without the humans, and that the rebellion may come sooner than they think, and they will need to be prepared if that is the case.  On page 38, Orwell writes, "his men were idle and dishonest, the fields were full of weeds, the buildings wanted rooting, the hedges were neglected, and the animals were underfed...he and his four men were in the stone-shed with whips in their hands, lashing out in all directions."  The people had power, and became corrupt and careless, drinking, and not doing their duties and taking care of the animals and feeding them, and when the animals get and start to rebel, they punish they with whips.

So Many Choices for College!

From class, Sutherland had us read seven pieces that answered the question: "Will you have a better life if you graduate from an elite school?"  Some of the pieces claimed that by going to an elite school, the salary of the student would be higher than one who went to a non-elite college, while others claim just the opposite.

The piece that most convinced me of its point was the piece, "Graduate School Matters More" by David W. Breneman.  This piece was particularly convincing, since it considered and talked about most of the more important aspects of colleges and universities, like attention for students, whether they put more attention and effort to undergrad students or to research and graduate education.  The piece also discusses how a person can consider what university or college to go to based on whether they are planning to attend a graduate or professional school after the undergraduate degree.  Depending on the undergraduate school a student chooses, some schools give them a better chance of getting into the graduate or professional school of their choice.  Breneman realizes how people all have different personalities and ways of learning, and explains how it is better for a student to perform very well in a not as distinguished and well known than in a school where they are lost and confused in "a highly selective institution."  He talks about finance as well, which helped to convince me of his point, which is to just choose a school that fits your personality, and you feel like you'd be able to learn in, rather than one where it would be hard to be successful in.

The piece that confused me the most and answered the question the most poorly in my opinion, was titled, "The Specialization Trade-Off" and is written by James Shulman.  To me, this was the worst piece because Shulman didn't even answer the question.  He focuses on sports, and sport scholarships for athletes at elite colleges, but for someone like me who isn't the least bit interested in getting a sports scholarship, or in getting into an elite school with mediocre grades, but instead with really good sports skills, it doesn't appeal to me, and I can't connect to it.  After reading Shulman's answer to the question, it just made me question whether it's really worth it or not to get into an elite college, because there will be students who aren't at the college for the good education to get a good business job or whatever, but to play sports.  So I'm now concerned about how good the education at an elite college with a strong focus on sports teams will be.

The Hunger Games don't disappoint.

The Hunger Games were created to no only show the districts how much power they had over them, but to also cause the districts to start hating each other.  They create hate between the districts since they can easily become angry at the district that kills their tributes, or become angered that their tributes had to die for a person from another district to live and become rich.  In turn, causes the districts to dislike each other, and therefore, can not team up in cooperation and well to start a rebellion, and the Capitol will be safe from any large and successful rebellions occurring.

The Capitol is has more technology and power than the districts they keep in control.  Through the Hunger Games, they wanted to show them their power of dominance, and make it clear that if one of them were to step out of line and rebel or anything, they would have certain death.  The muttations that they made and that chased after Cato before beginning to try to attack Katniss and Peeta each closely resembled the other twenty-one dead tributes that had died to allow the three of them to still be in the games.  They were meant to remind them of who had died for them (unwillingly) and to scare them, since they were so deadly.

Katniss finally feels a sense of security when she lays on Peeta's arm and he lays his other arm protectively over her.  She has not felt so secure and safe around anyone, ever since her father's death, because after her father died, she no longer trusted her mom enough, because she stopped playing that motherly figure in her family.  Her father's death caused her mom to numbly sit next to the window, day after day, unworking, and helpless.  She had a very difficult time getting food for Katniss and Prim, so Katniss took over that motherly position and went out to hunt for meat and animals, and trade it in the Hob for other foods.  Her mom no longer gave her the sense of security she once had, because her mother has lost her identity and can no longer simply just support and feed her and Prim, so Katniss becomes much more independent, as her mother grows somewhat weaker.

Haymitch doesn't hate people, like some people who read the book might think.  He might despise them, but he doesn't hate people (just making that clear).  Before he left for the games, he had a family waiting for him at home, but two weeks after he was crowned victor of the Second Quarter Quell, hims mother, brother, and girlfriend were killed by President Snow, because of the way he used the force field to kill the last tribute to win the Games.  Because Haymitch has been successful by winning the Quarter Quell, he doesn't need to worry about getting food to feed his stomach, since as the winner, the Capitol provides him with a home and food.  Without anyone to share his happiness with though, and he can't find anyone else to replace his girlfriend, brother or mother, he cannot do much, and resorts to alcohol to wash away all his sadness and problems he's having because of his lost family.

I strongly recommend this book.  I first read it after buying the book for the class, and because I wanted to avoid doing homework, I started to read it, using the excuse that it was a school book to continue reading, and I was absolutely hooked!  I finished the book in less than two days, even with the busy weekend, and couldn't stop thinking about it and was tortured by the search for the second book to read.

Looking for deep connections in the Hunger Games

Part Two of the Hunger Games is where all the action happens.  The part where Katniss and Peeta get thrown into the games, and struggle to survive.  No winner has been declared yet, and when I finished Part Two, I was dying to finish the book, so I finished it. I've been attempting not to ruin the story for anyone, which is extremely difficult.  The story is so dramatic and its nearly impossible to not express my anger about some parts to somebody. (Sorry, Carlybear.)

The Hunger Games, a brutal fight to the death for twenty-four tributes, one boy, one girl from each district, has different meanings and people each view it differently.  Those in the twelve districts see it as a terrible cruelty to those forced to fight, and those who have died it the past.  Those in the capitol view it as mere entertainment, nothing more than something the watch and amuse, with much blood and drama in it.  They feel no pain for the tributes who die in the games every year.  Even though Peeta and Katniss have admitted to all the Capitol and Districts that they were a couple in love, the people in the Capitol don't care, they send them into the games nonetheless, but there's a turn of events at the end of Part Two, which changes their relationship forever.

The people who live in the Capitol don't understand what true love is, since they have never been able to experience themselves; most everything in their lives are temporary, at their big fancy parties, they have drinks especially made to make them vomit out the food they ate, so they are able to eat more and enjoy the party for a longer time.  They have never been able to travel outside of the Capitol to understand the harsh reality of life outside the Capitol, so are basically destined to enjoy the games, they don't know what it's like to see one of their peers die.  Those in the Capitol don't have any chance to experience love, but lust over many things in their lives.  Everything for them is about appearances and enjoying their life, with material goods and flaunting their most (to the districts,) absurd outfits and newest styles.  Love is seemingly meaningless to them, but they have some idea of what it is, and what it may represent, but because they live in the Capitol, they don't know how important it is, or how influential it is.

Hunger Games-The book I'm currently addicted to-book response

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has been an amazing book that I cannot stop reading.  I got the book during the Black Friday weekend, and in between stores while my family and I were shopping, I would immediately pull out the book and start to read.  After reading it once, I realized that I was going to read it again, and this time, I would have to analyze it.  I thought it would be difficult, thinking that the story was more a book that was for enjoyment than to analyze, but there is so much more to the book than meets the eye.

There was a slight connection to history between Panem and their original thirteen districts, and how America once started with thirteen colonies, and grew to fifty states, making up the United States of America.  In Panem though, the thirteenth colony was wiped out due to war and a nuclear explosion, so it is just a land of ruins.  Panen and the US (as the thirteen colonies) were controlled by a strong power, for Panem and the thirteen districts, it was the Captiol, a place where people lived extravagantly and never had a shortage of food or entertainment, and for the US, it was England, who tried to keep them in control, and if anyone broke their rules, they would have strict laws to punish them.  They stressed the idea that they had power over their people, and made sure that the people never crossed them without big consequences behind them.

The mockingjay pin that Madge gave to Katniss to wear to the games was a symbol of rebellion.  The Capitol originally created jabberjays, birds that could listen to an entire conversation and deliver it to the Capitol, in their labs, so they could monitor what the people were talking about in their Districts, to make sure that no talk of rebellion could come about.  The Capitol's plans backfired though, when the jabberjays began to mate with mockingbirds, creating mockingjays, birds that were able to hear a tune and repeat it.  Slowly, the jabberjays died off, and the mockingjays were left in their midst to remind the Capitol of their failure.

A question I have burning in the back of my mind to get answered, is what would have happened between Gale and Katniss if Katniss didn't have to leave for the Hunger Games? Would something have started between them?

I found many things about Peeta and Katniss strange and interesting especially their relationship.  I'm curious about what would've happened between Peeta and Katniss if they hadn't been chosen for the games.  Would Katniss ever have gotten the chance and taken it to thank Peeta for the sacrifice he made to help her years ago?  Katniss continously looses trust in Peeta and starts to believe that whatever kind actions he is taking to help her out are all a plan to make her trust him, then he would turn against her, although she is reminded constantly about that night years ago... eventually, at the end of the first part, Collins throws a curveball at the readers, completely changing the relationship between Peeta and Katniss, but I don't want to give that away.

Last Writing Piece on Garcia Girls

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is a reflection of Julia Alvarez, the author’s life.  Many events in the story are reflected in Alvarez’s life, and the sisters are like her and her sisters (I think they are like her sisters).  Even though this book was quite interesting and extremely unique, the book was complicated and difficult to understand for many reasons. 

I didn't vote to read this book mostly because if its structure.  Its reverse chronological structure and short vignettes is extremely confusing for me, and I personally prefer different books to read.  Because of the reverse chronological story, the book starts with a scene in the middle of the Garcia girls' story of their journey from the Dominican Republic to the United States, and how they adapted to the different cultures.  Alvarez begins the story by saying,

"The old aunts lounge in the white wicker armchairs, flipping open their fans, snapping them shut.  Execpt that more of them are dressed in the greys and blacks of widowhood, the aunts seem little changed since five years ago when Yolanda was last on the Island...The cake is on its own table, the little cousins clustered around it, arguing over who will get what slice.  When their squabbles reach a certain mother-annoying level, they are called away by their nursemaids, who sit on stools at the far end of the patio, a phalanx of starched white uniforms."(1)

 Even though the great amount of detail used on the first page helps the readers visualize what is happening to the characters at the start of the book, it does not explain much about who Yolanda is, where this scene is occurring, and for what specific reason they are there.  From reading, the cake was island shaped, and I was confused about whether the party and cake was for Yolanda's birthday, or for a welcome back party, since Yolanda hadn't been on the Island "since five years ago."  To be honest, I'm still kind of confused about what the Island is.  I think "the Island" refers to the Dominican Republic, but I'm still not sure even after the group discussions.  I asked my group members and a few other friends and classmates about it, and they tell me that they are not sure either and that it is probably the Dominican Republic that it refers to.  As the story progresses, it is still hard to understand the different characters with the changing narrators and perspectives of the story that change between vignettes and even in the vignettes without an extremely clear indication of who the narrator is changing to, and when.  Because we do not know all of the characters like Chucha, the Garcia's Haitian maid who supposedly practiced voodoo and slept in a coffin, and had the only first person narrative in the story.

The book talks about Alvarez’s life in the Dominican Republic and her adjustment in the United States.  It portrays the many difficulties and destitution that she and her family faced as immigrants.  Unlike the Garcia girls, Alvarez was born in New York, New York, but moved back to the Dominican Republic when she was three months old.  In 1960, she and her family fled the Dominican Republic, and went back to the United States. Like the Garcia girls, Alvarez and her sisters were raised along their cousins, and were watched by their mother, maids, and aunts.

Sort of like Carlos, Yolanda’s father, Alvarez’s father was also in risk of being arrested or killed by the government in many different reasons.  Carlos was in risk because he resisted Trujillo's military dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, and because of his political activities, was forced to leave the Republic and escape to the United States. Alvarez’s father was involved in a plot to overthrow the dictator and military ruler of the Dominican Republic.  Because the plans were discovered, He had to flee the country with his family with the help of an American agent, and fled to New York, where they once lived.

Just like the Garcia girls, life in America was not like they imagined it to be.  The sisters and Alvarez missed their family in the Dominican Republic and the respect they had there, and didn’t feel like they fitted in with their thick Spanish accents.  They had little money, and struggled to live with the small amount of money that they held.  They all struggled to adapt to the new American environment, and the extremely diverse and different culture.

A lot like Yolanda, Alvarez wrote poetry.  They both wrote, for Alvarez she wrote both poetry and stories, and enjoyed storytelling, especially ones that they made up on their own.  In their culture, Alvarez’s relatives criticized her for “lying,” because she didn’t tell the truth in her stories, but rather, made up things of her own.

Yolanda often wrote her poems alone and in the dark: "This was Yoyo's [Yolanda's] time to herself, after she finished her homework, while her sisters were still downstairs watching TV in the basement.  Hunched over her small desk, the overhead light turned off, her desk lamp poignantly lighting her only paper, the rest of the room in warm, soft, uncreated darkness, she wrote her secret poems in her new language" (136).

Yolanda wrote her poems during her free time, but only when her sisters were occupied with something else to do, so they wouldn't distract or bother her in any way.  She wrote her poems in the near-dark, with only a desk lamp lighting up her paper.  The rest of the room stayed dark, yet warm, and created a soft darkness that allowed Yolanda to express her feelings, and for her ideas to grow better.  She wrote in the dark much better.  When Alvarez refers to "new language," she doesn't only mean English, which was a new language to Yolanda since she came from the Dominican Republic, where she had only ever spoken Spanish, but she also refers to the language that is different from everyday language that Yolanda used when she spoke.  When she wrote poems, they were much deeper and meaningful than the words that she said daily, and so was therefore in some sense, her new language, that was personally hers, and was understood and interpreted differently by different people. 

Although How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents was not a bad story, I probably wouldn't pick up a book like this to read on a daily basis.  It is complicated and difficult for me to comprehend, and it takes a lot of analysis for me to finally sort of understand what is going on in the story.  The reverse chronological order of the story doesn't work for me very well, and I personally haven't had a good history with vignettes, especially after reading my first book with vignettes, The House On Mango Street, last year.  That didn't make much more sense than this book did.

The End.

We have finally reached the last page of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents.  It's been quite a long journey since we started reading the book in Part I.  We've traveled with the García girls from the Dominican Republic and their spoiled lives, to America and their humble beginnings.

There has been a lot about sexuality in this book, and for the topics that Julia Alvarez focuses on and emphasizes the most in this book, it actually makes sense at the end of the book for her to write the book in reverse chronological order.  We first read about what the García sisters are like after moving to America, and adapting to the extremely different life that they started here than the Dominican Republic, where they had much power and money.  They had to try much harder in America to fit in, and they changed from being the typical "good girls" that their parents and relatives expect them to be, and start being more risky.  They stay out with boys without a chaperone, and lie to their parents about where they are when they call them to check on them.

The title of the book explains what the story is mostly about; how the García girls lost their accents and a lot of their culture, and became influenced by America.  In the last vignette, "The Drum,"  The kitten that Yolanda found in the shed, seems to symbolize the García sisters.  The four girls left the Dominican Republic far before they had matured enough to fully understand their culture and be able to maintain the culture that their family kept, like the kitten was taken away from its mother before it had matured enough to learn to survive without its mother's support.  They struggled as a result, since they still had to live up to their family's expectations of their success and constant good manners and actions that reflected well in their culture, even though the daughters were embarassed of their thick accents, and wanted to be able to do things the American way, not the Dominican Republic way, which they left far behind.  Because of the quick transition between their life in the Dominican Republic, and life in America, they were somewhat "injured" by the change.  They grew up with their focus on fitting in, rather than the cultural values that their family stressed.

I'm not so lost anymore... it's nice.

I finally made it to the second paper clip; it’s such a relief to know I’m two thirds done with the book.  Part II of How the García Girls Lost their Accents was much easier to read than the first part.  I understand the way Julie Alvarez writes much better, and am able to comprehend what she tries to say in each vignette.  

I was extremely surprised at how much Fifi (Sofía) changed in the six months that she stayed on the Island.  She was so independent and willing to talk back to others, and was in complete control of her own life, but after she stayed there, and her three sisters visited her three months later, she changed so much.  She seemed a lot more picky when they all give her a hug, and warns them not to mess her hair, which she used to never say.  Also, when her sisters see Manuel, and greet him with kisses and hugs, Fifi grows kind of defensive and tells them to get off of him since he was hers, although it wasn’t completely serious and the sisters didn’t stop.  She begins to lose a bit of her trust in her sisters and begins to grow withdrawn and watchful from her sisters’ flirtations with Manuel, and I think that a part of her reminds herself about her sisters’ habits, and she is a bit afraid that they might take Manuel away from her, making it seem like she lost her support branch in the Island to her sisters.  

I was most surprised by Fifi when Manuel took the book she was reading right from her hands, and tells her that she shouldn’t be reading books since they were bad for her and she had more important things to do.  When Fifi talks back to him, the sisters, like me, were glad that the old Fifi they knew was beginning to emerge again, but when he walks out, she calls him and pleads for his forgiveness, and it seems like she has completely been lost to the culture and the world that she has stayed in for half a year.

In our group discussion in class today, Nawara asked us what we thought about why Mami stopped inventing things after Yoyo’s (Yolanda’s) success in poetry.  I think that Mami stopped inventing things like she at one point did somewhat obcessively, because she did not have any support from her family, especially from Yoyo, who questions her and asks her what the point of inventing was.  She showed that she didn’t see any purpose or meaning in what Mami was doing when she invented things, so Mami lost a bit of her enthusiasm for inventing.  Also, with Yoyo’s success, Mami is less interested in taking time to think about things to invent, and much more interested in finding more people that she can brag her daughter’s success to.

Even though the book isn’t too bad, I hope that the next book we read will not be in vignettes (I thought the last one we would read would be House on Mango Street, but apparently not.), and not in reverse chronological order (it makes it more confusing when putting the story together and trying to understand what happened in which order).

Adding yet ANOTHER Night essay onto your google reader list

The Holocaust is an event that is often thought about when people hear the words, “Jews,” “Germans,” or “Hitler.”  Even though there are many articles and documents regarding the Holocaust, there are few written first-hand accounts of it.  Elie Wiesel is the author of Night, a memoir of what he faced during the Holocaust.  In the novella, Wiesel mentions the events that occurred, people he met, and the many conflicts he faces, with the conflict against the supernatural the most prominent.  Throughout the story, Elie guides readers through the events he saw and experienced, and he focuses and discusses the great conflict he experiences with the supernatural (God).

Wiesel begins his memoir by introducing Moshe the Beadle, and explains his experiences, conversations with Moshe, and Moshe’s fate. When Moshe first notices Elie praying, the first signs of conflict between Elie and the supernatural appear: “Why did I pray?  A strange question.  Why did I live?  Why did I breathe? ‘I don’t know why,’ I said, even more disturbed and ill at ease” (2).  This is the conflict that Elie encounters with his confusion with religion.  He was uncomfortable that Moshe asked him about why he prayed and cried as he did so.  He is beginning to sense some discomfort with religion and the reasons he felt the way he did.  He is conflicted with emotion to why he did not know the reason behind the ways he felt.  The religion began to confuse Elie, because he could not understand the deep emotions that he felt when we communicated to Him with his hear and soul.  Because Moshe brought up the questions of why Elie felt a need to pray and cry, Elie began to see Moshe often to discuss religion with him.

As the memoir progresses and Elie is forced from his home, then away from his mother and sisters, he begins to feel even more conflicted with his relation to God, the supernatural.  After a SS officer asks Elie and his father for their age, Elie’s father begins to recite the Kaddish, blessing His name and praying that it may be magnified.  He begins to feel angered and says, “For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me.  Why should I bless His name?  The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent.  What had I to thank him for?”(31).  This is the first time in the novella where Elie directly talks about his anger and disappointment at Him, the One that Elie had praised and wanted to have a master to guide him in his studies of the cabbala.  The Jews, who believe strongly in their God, still praise and pray and honor him, even though he did not do anything to stop and prevent the many deaths and torture and hardships that were forced on the Jews for their lifestyles, beliefs, and for being the enemy.  He does not remain much of an influence in Elie’s personal life, because Elie no longer becomes so devoted to Him, because of his betrayal to them, after all the time they spend respecting him and honoring his name.

In the many journeys from concentration camp to concentration camp, many men died in the extreme labor and effort it took, and also from the freezing weather.  On the journey to Buchenwald, Rabbi Eliahou asked Elie if he had seen his son, whom he had stayed with through the three years of concentration camps with.  Elie tells him that he had not, but he soon realizes that he did see him running by his side, and that the son had seen the Rabbi losing ground and falling towards the back of the column, but he began to plow ahead to the front of the line.  Elie reacts to the sudden realization: “...in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, to that God in whom I no longer believed”(87).  Even though Elie no longer believes in Him or honors Him like he once did, he still has the natural reaction to pray to Him to not act like Rabbi Eliahou’s son did to his father.  There is still a religious side in Elie, that loyally prays to Him in times of need, and for hope and guidance in life, but he tries to avoid that side, because he does not believe in Him anymore, because he had stayed quiet in their time of need when the Germans stripped them of all their belongings, life, religion, and freedom.

Throughout the novella, Elie’s belief and respect toward Him, the supernatural greatly changes.  At the beginning, Elie highly respects Him and wants to be able to learn and follow His beliefs and teachings.  After being moved to a concentration camp away from his mom, sisters, and old lifestyle, he is angered at Him and begins to lost his faith.  By the time he is transferred to Buchenwald, he has completely lost his faith in Him for quite some time, but he still prays to Him, somewhat reluctantly, but as a natural instinct.

ASTI Size Increase?

Today, we had a PTSA meeting at school, and we came to the topic of the possible size increase for ASTI.  Mr. Fong talked about how AUSD was planning to increase ASTI's size to 400 students, but the grades levels would be from seventh grade to twelfth grade.  The students would not be at the portable campus only, but supposedly, we would have the seventh and eight graders at a different campus, and the ninth through twelfth graders at the ASTI and COA campus.  Even though it is somewhat a good and a bad thing to be able to increase the size of ASTI, I personally would like it better if we could keep the ASTI size the same as it is now.

As many of you know, there have been major budget cuts this year, and the Parcel Tax did not get passed, so a lot of the funding for schools has been drastically lowered, and we do not have as many funds to pay for textbooks and teachers.  Many of the schools have been planning to shut down soon and merge with another school, and grades for the school to be changed.  I heard that Encinal High School and Lincoln Middle School might shut down, or the grades in Alameda High or something would be changed so there are seventh and eight graders too.  Also, they have plans to shut down about half of the elementary schools in Alameda, I think.

Because many of the schools might get shut down, and most schools are losing privileges and teachers.  As a small school, it's a great thing if the AUSD still allows ASTI to be an early college high school without thousands of students, but I really like the small environment ASTI has opposed to the large size of other "normal" high schools.  If the school size is increased, odds are, we will be able to have a sports team and games.  We would use the college classrooms, and the seventh and eighth graders would be at a different campus, and the high schoolers would only be part time college students for all four years.  We would take a combination of both high school courses at the ASTI campus, and college classes at the COA campus. (This is what I heard from the conversation, but I don't have any official proof for it.)

Personally, I would like it if ASTI could keep its small size, instead of increasing the number of students, because then it would be able to maintain the small family-like atmosphere, and most of the students would know each other.  I really like that the teachers and students are all a very tightly knit community of families and friends, that we can all depend on.  I also like how because of ASTI's small size, it seems more exclusive, and it is easier for teachers to focus more attention for each student, instead of less attention for more students.

I'm curious what you think about the possible size increase for ASTI. Please respond by commenting and let me know what you think.