10) Why this made my laugh becuase it highlights the idea that we teach our kids by giving them grades and how ridiculous it is to grade kids that young, the cartoon successfully utilities exaggeration.
1) This made me laugh becuase the person as seen 20 to 30 years ago was known as a revolutionary who fought for many countries to result to change where as today he is just seen as a cool image. Irony is used when we see the shirt he wears shows the image of Bart Simpson as the new revolutionary figure only because how different he is as a character and what he represents.
7) This made me laugh as it is presenting a caricature of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard as they have a constant struggle for power. Exaggeration is used for Kevin being the moon with a big face and Julia with the big nose. Also the fact that when Kevin is regarded as the bad moon rising suggests that back in 2007 when Kevin was elected PM he wasn't a very good leader for Australia.
11) This made me laugh when I saw in the background it say's Australia Idle meaning who is the most useless. And when we see John Howard we get the picture that him just losing to a worm is a direct attack saying that he is useless. Sarcasm is used in this cartoon making it look like a big deal to win the competition when it's obviously not.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Anh Do - Winner of Australian Literary Prize 2011
Who did Anh’s father rescue from the concentration camp?
a) His eldest son who would later become Young Australian of the Year
b) His wife’s two brothers who had worked for the Australian military
c) Two of the armed guards at the camp who were really employees of the Australian military and were in disguise.
2. What was the length of the fishing boat in which they escaped and how many people were on it?
a) 40 metres long with 9 people
b) 9 metres long with 40 people
c) 20 metres long with 20 people
3. What honour was Anh’s brother given in 2005?
a) Australian Refugee of the Year
b) Australian of the Year
c) Young Australian of the Year
4. What was the main lesson which Anh’s parents insisted that he learn after coming to Australia? The main lesson was for the boys to get involved with as much as they could so they could give back to the country who gave their family a second chance.
5. Why was Anh able to attend a prestigious school like St Aloyisius?
a) He worked in a sweatshop to earn enough money to pay his fees
b) He won a half scholarship
c) St Aloyisius always takes in a certain number of refugees as part of their charity work
6. Explain how Anh tried to overcome the problem of having no text books for his lessons.
7. Describe what he wore instead of the official sports uniform.
8. True or false:
a) His mother earned less than $7 an hour as a cleaner in a hotel. T or F
b) At school, Anh was the class clown and this was when he knew he had a future as a comedian. T or F
c) He was often punished at school with a strap. T or F
d) No-one at school knew at the time that Anh and his family were poor. T or F
e) Anh’s father left the family when Anh was growing up. T or F
9. What did Anh study at University?
a) Fine Arts, majoring in Drama
b) Law
c) Pure Mathematics
10. What did Anh do for his mother when he was only 23 years old?
a) Gave her money for a holiday back in Vietnam
b) Arranged for her to come and see his first public performance as a comedian
c) Bought her a house
11. How old was Anh at the time of this interview?
a) 30
b) 33
c) 40
12. What was the motto which Anh’s father taught his children to live by?
They were told to do as much as they can to give back to Australia who gave them a second chance13. Was Anh the victim of racism as he grew up?
14. Write ONE extra question which you would like Adam to have asked Anh, and what do you think the answer would have been?
Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)
Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)
1. What word in the opening sentence means ‘short and flat’? Pug nose
2. What is so ‘Australian’ about Barry West? Barry is described to have the red stained face like Australian Summers.
3. What is the opening interaction between the two characters about? Barry and the author are fighting becuase Barry thinks she is dirty becuase of her Indian background.
4. What is the protagonist’s home country? Delhi India.
5. What word means “noble and splendid”? (p75) aristocratic
6. In what way is the protagonist’s home country “aristocratic”? Delhi described by the author with it's Places, towers and temples seems very aristocratic.
7. Where did the protagonist’s father move his family to? Why? The authors father moved the family because he felt that there was no opportunity in Delhi. In Australia being such empty nation had lots of opportunity for the family.
8. What is the protagonist’s attitude towards the citizenship ceremony? (pp75-6) The author didn't really think the ceremony meant that much as she 'Met Australia' in the playground.
9. How is Barry West the antagonist? Barry West is the antagonist because he is the character who is in conflict with the author who is the protagonist.
10.What is the irony of the comments made by Amy and Cris? (p76)The irony of the comments are that Amy and Cris are discriminating the author to be 'dirty' becuase of her Indian background despite both of them being of Eastern European decent telling from their last names.
11.What is “you have to face the world” a metaphor for? (p76) This means that no matter what happens you have to experience it whether its good or bad becuase that's just what happens in life.
12.What is the teacher’s hair compared to? Is this an example of a metaphor or simile? (p77) The teachers hair is compared to a halo, this is an example of a metaphor becuase she isn't saying its like a halo she is saying a halo.
13.How is the children’s cruel creativity put into action once Wei-Lei arrives? (p77) The childrens cruel creativity is an obvious cliche of children changing around people's name into something funny. Wei-Lei making his name sound like pee.
14. Explain the relevance of the ‘cat and toy’ metaphor. (p77) The relevance of this metaphor is a true indicator of the kids brutality. Their cat like actions are a strong description of their harsh treatment of Wei-Lei.
15.How does the children’s cruel creativity have a more sinister side? The childrens cruel creativity could well as be an indicator or a dark side to them which gives the reader an idea to feel fear for this person in the future.
16.What does the protagonist mean by “the afternoon passed like a death sentence”? (p78) The author meant that all day she was worried of what might happen becuase of what she had done to Barry. There was always that adrenaline feeling when you know something bad might happen in the future.
17.Why does the protagonist see everything Indian “lit by a spotlight”? (p78) When she goes home after being so heavily evolved with the tradition of Australia as soon as she comes home she realised how traditional her family is.
18.How does the story build to a climax? (p79) The story builds to a climax by giving us the cliche version of a immigrant working hard through tough times to success. We see through the harshness of the authors childhood and how it turns to a more positive and better life as the author grows up.
19.What is the irony of Barry’s fate? (p80) The irony of Barry's fate is how he made fun or and discriminated the authors Indian background and where he's going is going to be very similar people to the author.
20.Explain what the protagonist means by “as our faces changed, so did Canberra” (p81). The author means as they grew up and became more mature their lives changed in Canberra to the harshness of school to the wonders of university and what they wanted to do for a living and how they wanted to live their lives.
21.What do you think the protagonists’ definition of being Australian would be? (p81) I think the authors definition of being Australia is feeling a sense of belonging. I think once the author fitted into society and did the little things like go to the cafe everyday and go to the bar and talk with her friends after many years she had finally felt like she belonged, therefore her idea of being Australian.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
why does it matter?
Anzac Day by James Chong pg239
In this story the author presents a confronting experience of a boy in highschool who was born in Australia but has grown up in an Asian family trying to fit in society by taking part in Australia's tradition.
What is most important about this story is that it gives confronting experience about how a boy who was constantly taking part of Australia's traditions is totally shut out of Australia's heritage. "I was not allowed to be apart of the Anzac Tradition" This experience really defies the stereotypical view of Immigrants carrying on their own tradition in a different country. We are shown how the ABC denies a person of a Asian background the right to take part of this tradition.
The irony in this story is when ABC comment on the picture of the author in his kilt playing the bagpipes "true blue?" we can understand why immigrants wouldn't want to be like a country full people who stereotype people based on their looks. Essentially are the actions of the ABC against the author "True Blue?"
The importance of this story is it removes the cliche version of a immigrant who overcome exclusion by handwork over time and really focus's on the problem. The result to this story is the reader is left wondering how can a whole nation support the idea of excluding a certain people which make us understand the struggle of living in society.
In this story the author presents a confronting experience of a boy in highschool who was born in Australia but has grown up in an Asian family trying to fit in society by taking part in Australia's tradition.
What is most important about this story is that it gives confronting experience about how a boy who was constantly taking part of Australia's traditions is totally shut out of Australia's heritage. "I was not allowed to be apart of the Anzac Tradition" This experience really defies the stereotypical view of Immigrants carrying on their own tradition in a different country. We are shown how the ABC denies a person of a Asian background the right to take part of this tradition.
The irony in this story is when ABC comment on the picture of the author in his kilt playing the bagpipes "true blue?" we can understand why immigrants wouldn't want to be like a country full people who stereotype people based on their looks. Essentially are the actions of the ABC against the author "True Blue?"
The importance of this story is it removes the cliche version of a immigrant who overcome exclusion by handwork over time and really focus's on the problem. The result to this story is the reader is left wondering how can a whole nation support the idea of excluding a certain people which make us understand the struggle of living in society.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
why does it matter?
Read any story that we haven't read yet and write a review of the story and explain why it matters. Why should anyone care about the story/read it?
Papa Bear pg 183
In this story the author talks about his father how he grew up through primary school and what he did throughout highschool and in university before he moved to Australia. He talks about how his dad lived a very dangerous rebellious type life in Shanghai begining with starting to smoke and 14 and soon joining a gang in highschool. The author describes how has father was like and he he treated him throughout the authors school life and how his life was with his parents mainly focusing on his dad. Also the author really honestly describes his father and how even though he was involved in so much wrong and how ironic the authors father's personality was how the author still looks up to him.
I think people should take the time to read this story becuase the author makes a very interesting description about his father and this reiterates how important role models are for kids. "In primary school, my dad would coat his daily homework sheets in a thin layer of wax so he could scrape off the teacher's big tick and hand in the same sheet again another" The author cleverly depicts his father as someone who always cheats in life and what is important is that throughout the story when we learn about all the bad things the author's father has done throughout his life it is interesting to see how even in different cultures this story being an Asian culture the author still looks up to his father as a role model.
Also another reason why I think you should take the time to read this story is the author has used humor to describe his life and the adventures his parents had in university and how they met which give the story a bit of spark and make it very interesting to read. "Considering my dad looked like an anorexic Chinese mafia messenger, it's a wonder he pulled at all. Mum says she saw a kind of heart. She wears glasses" The author successfully uses humor to describe how his father's personality was. We get evidence that the author is really insulting his father but really we can infer he is just stating how he was and what kind of character he had.
Lastly the most important reason why you should take the time to read this story is based upon the very last page of the story. When the author uses repetition to describe the last few characteristics of his father. "This is the same man who used to mix a little whiskey with my milk to pacify me, the same man who recorded me snoring when I was six and played the audio everyday like it was a top 40 CD" what is very important becuase it is evident to see in the story is this Asian family is very different to a typical Australian family becuase of what the father experienced growing up is pretty rare but it is especially rare to see despite all this the author still wants to be exactly like his father. "He's the same, yet he continues to surprise me. He's my dad. And I want to grow up to be just like him"
Also another reason why I think you should take the time to read this story is the author has used humor to describe his life and the adventures his parents had in university and how they met which give the story a bit of spark and make it very interesting to read. "Considering my dad looked like an anorexic Chinese mafia messenger, it's a wonder he pulled at all. Mum says she saw a kind of heart. She wears glasses" The author successfully uses humor to describe how his father's personality was. We get evidence that the author is really insulting his father but really we can infer he is just stating how he was and what kind of character he had.
Lastly the most important reason why you should take the time to read this story is based upon the very last page of the story. When the author uses repetition to describe the last few characteristics of his father. "This is the same man who used to mix a little whiskey with my milk to pacify me, the same man who recorded me snoring when I was six and played the audio everyday like it was a top 40 CD" what is very important becuase it is evident to see in the story is this Asian family is very different to a typical Australian family becuase of what the father experienced growing up is pretty rare but it is especially rare to see despite all this the author still wants to be exactly like his father. "He's the same, yet he continues to surprise me. He's my dad. And I want to grow up to be just like him"
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Assessment notes
* Another cultural perspective
cultural naunces
immigrant struggles
greater insight
Historical perspective
Evokes sympathy
Common themes
Belonging- Racism
struggle
family
motivations
cultural naunces
immigrant struggles
greater insight
Historical perspective
Evokes sympathy
Common themes
Belonging- Racism
struggle
family
motivations
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
My First Kiss by Lian Low
1. How does the author describe Malaysia in regards to showing affection? The author describes Malaysia as a place were showing affection for another person is illegal. Which makes us conclude that people in society don't really show any affection towards each other at all due to strict censorship.
2. What happens to the author when she hits puberty? At the start of puberty the Author starts to become very shy and self conscious about herself. She retreats from the tom boy childhood that she lived and starts to literally escape to the atic in her house to be alone.
3. What is the author’s experience at school when she first arrives to Melbourne? The author experiences the new culture that she has been thrown into. At the start of school she experiences the xenophobia of the Australian school kids which is why she feels so alone. She is only approached by the students who were overseas born Asians as none of the white kids took an interest in her.
4. What is it that made the author feel that she wasn’t Australian even though she spoke English fluently? Since the author wasn't born in Australia she had grown up with the culture of Australia in her childhood. So when she came to Australia after living in Kuala Lumpur all her childhood this meant that she had to conform into a society that she wasn't used to in the peak of her childhood. The author also had an accent from growing up in Kuala Lumpur which also gave her a sense of not fitting in so we can understand her lack of confidence from living in a different country during puberty which resulted in the author having the mindset she was different to everyone else.
5. What else was it about the author that further alienated her from her peers? When the author tells another girl that she is in love with kd lang her friends suddenly put pressure on her to be straight rather than being the person she is. This peer pressure that she was placed under made her confused about her sexuality which started with her peers.
6. What does the use of description like ‘crash hot’ do to the audience’s perception of the author? As an audience people may think that using language which is typically 'try hard' modern language is strange for someone who has grown up in a different country. So from this we get the sense that the author is not begin herself due to her trying to fit in.
7. What opportunity does university give the author? What is it about university which would allow her to express herself more freely? Through the university the author was able to have the opportunity to write and perform. When the author is given a short film project this gives her a great opportunity to express herself through creativity in this work.
8. What role does creativity play for the author? Why do you think that creativity would be so important to her? Creativity for the author was the key to unlock her confidence about being a person and having a sense of belonging. Creativity for the author was so important becuase she was able to overcome her lack of confidence through writing and performance to explore her multiple identities and to gain acceptance from her family and her peers.
Teenage Dreamers by Phillip Tang
1. What are the first two sentences of the story and how do they create a tension in the story? When the author says that father has a sixth sense for death this creates tension because we feel that the story is going to be revolving around death. This sentence does that by giving the reader a feeling of suffering which also contributes to tension given off.
2. What has happened to the author’s father as a result of his wife’s death? The author's father has become obsessed with Leslie Cheung also father has become very emotional and feeling a bit of loneliness.
3. How does the description of the father removing his hands from his face as ‘unmasked’ related to the seriousness of his following statement? Since father has been so emotional when the authors mother left him when he unmasked his face to the author, this gives us a sense that he had gotten rid of all the extra emotion and spoken in all seriousness. Also the fact that his following statement was about the person he was most obsessed about gives us evidence that he is serious about what he cares about.
4. Consider how the father lives his life and conducts himself and the other people in the theatre for the film the author and his father are watching. How does this relate to the title of the story? Since Father is so lonely becuase his wife left him and in the cinema he was crying and acting like a mess. This behavior is a symbol for the stereotypical image of a teenage girl crying over a pop star or over a movie this relates to the image of teenage dreamers
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Conversations with my Parents by Oanh Thi Tran
1. What is ironic about the way the author and the father become close? What has to happen to the father? What was ironic about the way the author became close was the author didn't talk to father for a long time becuase what father thought about the Author's behavior. So when Father became sick the Author would spend long hours at the hospital be his side to prove what a dutiful person she was.
2. How would you characterise the conversation that the author has with her parents? I would characterize the conversation as lacking in emotion. I feel the author doesn't really have a strong connection with her family.
3. What is it that worries the author most about these conversations? What worries the author is because she is so far away from her family she feels that she should still keep a strong connection with them. But becuase the conversations are so short and lacking of emotion she feels worried about they relationship between herself and her family.
4. There is a gap between the author’s need to express feelings common in western countries and her family’s lack of desire to express their feelings verbally. How does the family still express their feelings for their child, just not verbally? It is obvious the family don't have the ability to communicate their feeling about their child being away from home but we still do get evidence of the feeling expressed by the family. When Mother talks about cooking the dishes crab and banh xeo the mother remembers that these two dishes were her favorites and she trying to communicate through previous happiness of the Authors life with the family.
Lessons from my School Years by Ray Wing-Lun
1. There is a stark contrast created in the opening of this story between what the narrator had been doing before entering school and what will be expected at school? What is this contrast and what does it immediately create in the story? At the opening of this story the contrast of life before going to school being very relaxed and for the narrator quite boring compared to the deeply disciplined life at school. This immediately creates excitement and it makes the reader anxious about what is going to happen.
2. The author continues this theme of contrast at the start of the story. How does he do this in his description of his experience of Sydney’s North Shore? The author further contrasts life between life in the North shore of Sydney and life we infer back in China. He does this by contrasting the leafy streets and solid brick houses of China to the stretch of shops along the highway.
3. What was the father’s background in business before he opened the fruit shop? What has helped him become successful? The author's father came to Australia when he was seventeen without knowing any English and no business experience. The key to his success was his ability to draw customers in by starting a conversation being always keen to ask people what they wanted.
4. The narrator’s description of his father is complex. What makes the father a complex character? What makes his father a complex character is his attention to detail. The narrator describes how his father would spent long nights recording all the sales down to the last penny and how he would spent long hours practicing his calligraphy in both English and in Chinese.
5. (91) How does the author describe his role in doing ‘things that counted’? The author describes that now that he is going to school he will be able to do something that mattered so he could contribute to the family rather than just sitting around and listening and watching.
6. What experience does the author have at school while keeping to himself? What does he learn from this experience? While he was sitting alone counting the cars going across the highway he got confronted by the biggest kid in his class and he punches him and the stomach and he gets told on. From this experience he then learns to socialize with the other kids and how he made new friends from this fight.
7. How would you characterise the narrator’s tone in regards to the events that are occurring around him? Throughout the narration I notice that they sentences are very short and sharp we can infer the this is trying to have the effect of a young child speaking very fast about what is happening. This could refer to young kids how alert they are at that young age seeing new things and experiencing new things.
8. How does the narrator characterise the ways that one could ‘get the strap’ and ways that one could avoid it? He says that they are many ways you could get the strap not many to avoid it though.
9. What event evokes a racist speech to the class by the teacher? When the narrator sends a letter in to his teacher asking to be excused from the swimming carnival becuase he cant swim the teacher reads the letter out to the whole class and insults him by saying how Chinese people don't contribute to anything and he should leave the school.
10. What effect did the author’s experience with ‘Strap Happy Jack’ have on him? This experience made him even quieter than he was before and becuase he was only one of 4 or 5 Chinese people in the whole school and even the whole chatswood area he was completely alone.
11. What was the one advantage school provided the author? The introduction of Shintaro the Samurai on Australian TV provided him with some value of his Asian background as it was very popular throughout his peers.
12. What did the author do at his school? What was his motivation for doing it? What did he feel was lacking at school? The author became part of the social side of school and his motivation for this is the school was so easy on the students who made the school look good which encouraged lack of motivation. He felt that he was lacking a sense of direction on what he wanted to do with his life and he was very confused in the final year of school coming to the point when you are thinking about what are you going to do for a job.
13. What did the parents want their son to do at school? What did the author fear would happen by obeying his parents? They always wanted a doctor for the family but he was afraid that he hadn't done to work to get the marks to become a doctor and he still wasn't sure what he wanted rather than listening to somebodies else's opinion.
14. At school, what did the author learn about his own type of thinking and how to use it? Throughout his schooling life he learnt how he has different ideas and he just had to wait for opportunities to use the kind of thinking he had.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Early Settlers by Ken Chau
techniques: pun, alliteration, vulgar slang, ambiguous pronouns
1. How does this title refer to two groups of ‘settlers’? Who are they? The title can refer to the earliest of settlement of Australia being the Europeans and the aboriginals
2. How is the first line of the poem successful at being ‘forceful’ regarding the Great-Grandfather’s presence in Australia? The poem's first line is so forceful in Great- grandfathers presence in Australia becuase it is so short and straight to the point.
3. What action are the ‘early settlers’ doing that gives them equally a strong presence? The action of entrenching which could mean preparing to defend their position of land give then equally as strong presence of the new settlers arriving. 'Arrive' being in conflict with 'entrench'
4. How is the intention of the Great-Grandfather juxtaposed to the beliefs of the ‘early settlers’? The intention of Great grandfather is to grow corn, cabbage and tobacco. Since the early settlers already entrenched we can infer there is no space for great grandfather to plant.
5. What action does the Great-Grandfather do that ties him both to the ‘early settlers’ and to his own culture? When great grandfather calls the early settlers a foreign devil this ties him and his culture also becuase he is also a foreigner.
6. How does this short poem highlight the irony of the hatred that immigrants experience when they come to a 'settled' land like Australia? This poem highlights the irony even today when immigrants come to Australia are getting judged by the people who one way or another are mostly immigrants anyway.
6. How does this short poem highlight the irony of the hatred that immigrants experience when they come to a 'settled' land like Australia? This poem highlights the irony even today when immigrants come to Australia are getting judged by the people who one way or another are mostly immigrants anyway.
The Relative Advantages of Learning my Language by Amy Choi
The author makes us consider what it really means about understanding someone's language? What basic human skill/ability is the author highlighting that cuts across all cultures? The author highlights how important it is if you are in a family that speaks a different language to learn and be able to carry on the culture of our family.
Describe a time when you were at fault for not communicating with someone because of your own selfishness or lack of compassion.
When a couple of years ago I was watching TV on a Sunday night and my mum came to ask me to help her with emails on her computer and I refused and becuase of this she wasn't able to contact a builder for renovations for our house.
Describe a time when you were at fault for not communicating with someone because of your own selfishness or lack of compassion.
When a couple of years ago I was watching TV on a Sunday night and my mum came to ask me to help her with emails on her computer and I refused and becuase of this she wasn't able to contact a builder for renovations for our house.
1. The author opens the story with an anecdote. What is the anecdote and what effect does it have on the reader? The anecdote at the start of the story gives us the effect of sympathy for the grandfather who is trying to communicate to the Author but she is not letting him.
2. What is the author’s view of the Chinese language in the 2nd paragraph? The author feels that there is no point bothering to learn Chinese becuase they live in Australia.
3. What is symbolic about the house that the Grandfather mistakes for his own? What does it say about the assimilation of his family into Australian culture? What does it say about his understanding of Australian culture? What is ironic about the inhabitants of this house? What is symbolic about the house is the description of the timber mailbox and the ford falcon out front makes it sound like it was a normal Australian home. This says the the family has become a normal Australian family despite Asian background. The grandfathers understanding of Australian culture in my opinion is very limited becuase he believes that Australians are Australians becuase of what their house looks like and what kind of things they own rather than the culture of the family. What is ironic about the people who live in the house is that they are not even Australian they are Pakistani.
4. What does the death of her grandfather inspire the author to do? The death or her grandfather inspires her to master the spoken language of Chinese.
5. Why is she motivated to know Chinese? What is it she wants to ensure she is able to, regretting that she couldn’t do it with her grandfather? She is motivated to learn Chinese becuase she now understands how she ignored her grandfather and how she feels bad about what she did. So time an elderly person or a Chinese only speaking person wants her to listen she is not only willing be able too.
Growing Up Asian in Australia: Intro + Pigs Questions
Introduction by Alice Pung
1. What were Asian-Australians referred to as when the author was growing up? Power points referring to power sockets being their faces.
2. How does she interpret this title? She interprets this title as positive because she thought it referred to the Asian people as being so smart and having electrifying brain power.
3. What did this title actually refer to? Did the author find this demeaning? Why/why not? The title actually referred to the way a power socket represented the facial features of an Asian person. The author didn't really find this offensive becuase she thought of the power socket as a sort of cute face similar to the ones she was reading in her books.
4. ‘All that untapped potential! All that electrifying brain power!’ What techniques are being employed by the author? How does they highlight he misunderstanding? The author has used personification to use the title that the kids at school have given to the Asian's and turned it into a complement on how smart Asian people are. This highlights misunderstanding becuase she has analyzed and personified a title given by kids further proving how smart she is rather than just realizing that it was an insult.
5. What did the teen author take away from teen fiction? What did she feel that she needed to do? Why? The teen fiction that she was reading gave her the idea that she needed extensive plastic surgery. Instead she stopped reading those books becuase she felt she needed a more extensive view about what it is like to experience 'firsts' in life. What does this say is essential to fitting in to a culture? It gives us the sense that an understanding a mixture of people's different experiences is essential to trying to fit into a culture
6. Who are the authors that she turns to? Why? She turned to authors John Marsden and Robert Cormier who wrote with honesty and feeling about coming of age. She decided a view that was written from personal experiences rather than an observer would be better to understanding how to fit into a culture.
7. In the third paragraph how does the author use repetition. How does it highlight the focus of this book? The author uses repetition in the word 'first' this highlights the focus of the book is the moment people have doing something for the first time.
8. What metaphor does the author use to highlight the writers and the writing style in the third paragraph? "distant observers, plucking the most garnish fruit from the lowest hanging branches of an exotic cultural tree"
9. Why does the author use a quote in the 4th paragraph? What does it say about her reaction to the stories in the book? "Change only the name and this story is also about you" This implies that all the stories from all the different people the author can relate to from her own experiences.
10. On page 2 the author talks about the themes that she loosely choose for the collection. What are they and why is it ironic that they show up in this book? The themes such as helping family life, striving for a career and growing up are some of the themes explored in the book. What is ironic about these themes that they are all traits that have been worthy of collective national pride so this shows us the Asian people beyond the stereotype.
11. At the bottom of pg 3 on to page 4 the author says that sociologists have described Asians as the ‘model minority’. What is meant by this? What difficulties arise out of this label for young Asian-Australians? The term 'model minority' mean a people that are dominant and who are the model for all people to strive for. This label puts immense pressure on the young Asian-Australians who are judged weather they are successful or not.
12. What are the editor’s hopes for the collection of stories? The editors hope of this book is to answer the key questions about identity and for people through the collection of stories to understand a sense of belonging
Pigs from Home by Hop Dac
1. How does the author start this story which is in direct contrast to the title of the story? What effect does this have on the reader and their expectations of the story? The author starts this story by giving us a sense that he or she isn't writing about a story about living in Australia but is more giving us an experience which is represented by the use of animals. This effect gives the reader the idea that the story has a deeper meaning.
2. What core Vietnamese value is instilled in the author? A self sustaining family
3. What is humorous about the mother’s ‘flair for natural medicine’ in regards to her personality? We get the idea that mother's interest in herbs is funny becuase she doesn't exactly use many of them herself it is more for her friends so it is humorous she is like the herb supplier for all her friends.
4. How does the description of the killing of pigeons continue the style utilised in the introduction of the story? The description of killing pigeons was very harsh this continues the style utilized at the introduction of the story when the author concludes that pigs aren't actually very pleasant animals when talking about its shit.
5. What is the author’s opinion of pigs? Give two quotes to support your conclusion. The author really doesn't like pigs. "No pig has ever been a friend of mine" "repugnant beast, the pig"
6. In the paragraph on pgs 53-54, give two examples of alliteration employed by the author. 'Feeding frenzy' 'blowing raspberries on the bellies of babies'
7. On pg 54 what simile is used to describe pigs? How does this simile work for the situation it is used? "A pig is the like the ocean, don't turn your back on it" This simile works for the situation becuase the simile exactly describes how a pig moods fluctuate and how quickly the duck was attack like a wave in the ocean.
8. What simile does the author use to describe her mother sunning herself? How does this relate to the core focus of the story? The author describes her mother as a chicken on a spit roast getting cooked. This relates to the core theme being animals and food.
9. What does the author describe as ‘the divide between the old world and the new’? What do you think is meant by this statement? What is meant by this statement how different the author is to mother how she runs outside kills an animal and makes it into a dish just like that was normal.
10. What is the author’s reaction to the slaughter of the pig at night? What statement does the author make about the neighbours which displays the way he feels about the whole experience? What is important about including this statement? The authors reaction to the slaughter was quite nerve racking, the author was quite shocked and frozen by the whole experience. When the author talks about the girls next door this is important as we understand the Author cares about how they perceive him.
11. Why don’t the parents have pigs anymore? How does this relate to the description of the burial of the last pig they owned? The parents don't have pigs anymore becuase of their friends who are pig farmers and they throw pork at them whenever they go over to visit.
12. How would you characterise the description of the mother’s treatment of the pig’s blood? Is it appetising? I would characterize the treatment of the pigs blood as very old fashion, we can infer that the recipe of pigs blood has some health benefit so it has been passed down through the family. It is sliced and put on other dishes.
13. What is ironic about the way the author has a popular Vietnamese dish? What is it about the way the author describes the experience of having pigs that makes it ironic? What is ironic how the author was acting so frozen around the slaughtering of the pig but eats the blood on the dishes normally. What is ironic is the author throughout the story tells us that he hates pigs but without a worry he eats it an a popular dish.
14. How does this story relate to the title Pigs from Home? The story relates how in Australia the family are still carrying on with their traditions with pork and blood in the dishes.
15. Why do you think this story is in the Battlers section of the book? I think the section battler can relate to the struggle the pig had for survival when it was being slaughtered by the men.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Writing Letters
Shmuel to his family back in Poland (if they were still alive) about his life in the camp and his best friend Bruno.
Dear family,
I am still very sad about all that has happened to us back home and I can never forget how I was taken away and the trip coming here to camp. For days and nights I was awake thinking about what will happen and whether I will ever come home to see your faces once again. I am now struggling to survive and I am always hungry and i am always picked on and beat by the other people and soldiers for doing nothing wrong. It's really sad to see the other people fight in the camp as of right now we are making hut's to live in and everyone is constantly fighting and this reminds me of home and how I always would start fights and how now I look back and see how I wish I could change everything and live everyone moment to the fullest knowing know how quickly everything can change.
Just one day as I was sitting behind the concrete rubble by myself I cam across a new Friend called Bruno. Bruno is very different to me and he lives on the other side of the fence, the first day I met him he came across quite rude but I knew that he was the only friend I will have so I had to make sure i was very nice to him. Every afternoon now Bruno comes to visit me and we sit and talk for hours about home and how our lives changed. This sometimes make me very sad but I can see that he is trying his best to listen because he understands how It felt in some regards to be taken away from home to a different place without any choice.
I hope one day I will be able to leave this place and become much better Friends with Bruno as he has asked me for dinner and for a play. But I don't think yet he understands why I am on the other side of the fence and I feel that it should be kept that way as our unlikely friendship is only able to work if Bruno is kept innocent about the whole situation. I hope despite everything that has happened Home is still the same and one day I will return to you when everything is back to normal.
Loving regards Shmuel
Bruno to his Grandmother right before going on his final adventure (imagine she was still alive)
Dear Grandmother,
I am very sad that you weren't able to visit us at our new house although I dont really think you would've enjoyed your stay I still miss you very much. Our new house Is completely different to our old house I thought that since our last house was so great that our new house would be even better but when we arrives here is 'out with' I came to see that the house was much worse so I began to think why would we move into a much worse house.
Time moved along and I realised that my opinion shouldn't be voiced as much as I normally do, I discovered this when during dinner the horrible Lt Kotler who was always around the house in Father's absence had Pavel a waiter here pour him another glass of wine when he accidentally dropped it on Kotler's lap and after that I only remember crying after Kotler beat Pavel severely for just an accident. From them I realised that living here was something much more than changing houses I felt like I was here for a job also and my job was only to keep quiet and do as I was told.
Despite all the negativity I found only one thing that I would mainly spend my time on which was making a new friend. When we first arrived at the house I noticed an odd type of camp with huge fences that went on for miles and different types of buildings which let out a huge amount of smoke daily which I thought was very strange and also very horrible I decided to start exploration since there was nothing else to do around the house. On my first day I say something very amazing a boy, out my window I could see people but I was told by my father that the people in pyjamas actually weren't people at all so when I say a boy in pyjamas I felt like saying to dad that I found a boy in pyjamas but I then I thought about not causing trouble so I decided to keep it to myself.
From that point on I spent every afternoon of every day talking to this new friend, I discovered his name was Shmuel and he was from a family in Poland which wad further evidence that he was a person. During our conversations we talked about home and friends and life before we both were taken away to a different place. I discovered that Shmuel was also taken away from his home which made my feel better that I wasn't the only person who had to go through that. Months went on but after all I learned still one question hadn't been answered why couldn't he leave the camp and why he was wearing pyjamas. Naturally I left it alone becuase I didn't want to upset my new friend but now I think to myself I should ask father for Gretal and myself to go back to Berlin for a day to visit you since you couldn't get here last visit and hopefully I will be able to see you soon.
From your loving Bruno
Dear family,
I am still very sad about all that has happened to us back home and I can never forget how I was taken away and the trip coming here to camp. For days and nights I was awake thinking about what will happen and whether I will ever come home to see your faces once again. I am now struggling to survive and I am always hungry and i am always picked on and beat by the other people and soldiers for doing nothing wrong. It's really sad to see the other people fight in the camp as of right now we are making hut's to live in and everyone is constantly fighting and this reminds me of home and how I always would start fights and how now I look back and see how I wish I could change everything and live everyone moment to the fullest knowing know how quickly everything can change.
Just one day as I was sitting behind the concrete rubble by myself I cam across a new Friend called Bruno. Bruno is very different to me and he lives on the other side of the fence, the first day I met him he came across quite rude but I knew that he was the only friend I will have so I had to make sure i was very nice to him. Every afternoon now Bruno comes to visit me and we sit and talk for hours about home and how our lives changed. This sometimes make me very sad but I can see that he is trying his best to listen because he understands how It felt in some regards to be taken away from home to a different place without any choice.
I hope one day I will be able to leave this place and become much better Friends with Bruno as he has asked me for dinner and for a play. But I don't think yet he understands why I am on the other side of the fence and I feel that it should be kept that way as our unlikely friendship is only able to work if Bruno is kept innocent about the whole situation. I hope despite everything that has happened Home is still the same and one day I will return to you when everything is back to normal.
Loving regards Shmuel
Bruno to his Grandmother right before going on his final adventure (imagine she was still alive)
Dear Grandmother,
I am very sad that you weren't able to visit us at our new house although I dont really think you would've enjoyed your stay I still miss you very much. Our new house Is completely different to our old house I thought that since our last house was so great that our new house would be even better but when we arrives here is 'out with' I came to see that the house was much worse so I began to think why would we move into a much worse house.
Time moved along and I realised that my opinion shouldn't be voiced as much as I normally do, I discovered this when during dinner the horrible Lt Kotler who was always around the house in Father's absence had Pavel a waiter here pour him another glass of wine when he accidentally dropped it on Kotler's lap and after that I only remember crying after Kotler beat Pavel severely for just an accident. From them I realised that living here was something much more than changing houses I felt like I was here for a job also and my job was only to keep quiet and do as I was told.
Despite all the negativity I found only one thing that I would mainly spend my time on which was making a new friend. When we first arrived at the house I noticed an odd type of camp with huge fences that went on for miles and different types of buildings which let out a huge amount of smoke daily which I thought was very strange and also very horrible I decided to start exploration since there was nothing else to do around the house. On my first day I say something very amazing a boy, out my window I could see people but I was told by my father that the people in pyjamas actually weren't people at all so when I say a boy in pyjamas I felt like saying to dad that I found a boy in pyjamas but I then I thought about not causing trouble so I decided to keep it to myself.
From that point on I spent every afternoon of every day talking to this new friend, I discovered his name was Shmuel and he was from a family in Poland which wad further evidence that he was a person. During our conversations we talked about home and friends and life before we both were taken away to a different place. I discovered that Shmuel was also taken away from his home which made my feel better that I wasn't the only person who had to go through that. Months went on but after all I learned still one question hadn't been answered why couldn't he leave the camp and why he was wearing pyjamas. Naturally I left it alone becuase I didn't want to upset my new friend but now I think to myself I should ask father for Gretal and myself to go back to Berlin for a day to visit you since you couldn't get here last visit and hopefully I will be able to see you soon.
From your loving Bruno
Friday, September 9, 2011
Chapter 15 Boy in Striped PJ's
(163) Why doesn't Bruno like Kotler? What does he observe and not understand about Kotler when his father is away?
He doesn't like Kotler becuase he is so aggressive and intimidating. Bruno doesn't understand why when his Father has to go for an overnight trip back o Berlin why Kotler Immediately thinks that he is in charge of the house when his father is gone.
(163) What is meant when Kotler uses the cliche 'Don't worry, this one knows which side his bread is buttered on.'?
We don't exactly know who he is talking about but he means that the person know what his or her interest in life and know what her or she doesn't like.
(165) How would you describe the interaction between Kotler and Bruno?
I would describe the interaction as a very bad relationship between the two characters. Kotler is very rude and mean to Bruno and we get evidence of Kotler trying to torment Bruno when he takes his book away from him. We can understand Kotler does this to Bruno purely becuase he can.
(166) What surprise does Bruno get?
Bruno realizes that Shmuel is at the house.
(167) How is juxtaposition used when Bruno compares his hand to Shmuel's?
The juxtaposition between the hand of Bruno and the hand of Shmuel represent the lives that they live. Bruno being very healthy and living a nice life with a house and family and food, where as Shmuel living of a life of hardship, starvation and being constantly hurt by soldiers has made him looked very deprived and sick.
(168-9) Does Bruno understand the pressure that Shmuel is under?
No becuase when Bruno gives Shmuel the three slices of chicken and he eats it incredibly quickly when Bruno says 'You didn't have to eat it that quickly'. We definitely understand that Bruno doesn't understand if he gets caught eating food in the house he will be punished severely by Kotler.
(171-2) What dramatic situation unfolds and what is Bruno's reaction?
Kotler comes in and finds the two boys talking and discovers that Shmuel has eaten some food. Kotler gets really mad and shouts at Bruno asking him if he knows and Shmuel becuase Shmuel says that they are friends. Unfortunately Bruno has to deny this so he is able to leave this tense situation.
(173-4) What does Bruno think of himself because of the way he reacts? How is the major theme 'fear' portrayed in this scene? What does it do to Bruno and Shmuel?
Bruno thinks of himself as a coward and a bad friend. Fear is portrayed in this scene by one character Kotler. I think Kotler in this book symbolizes fear and this makes Bruno answer and act differently than he normally does all becuase of fear.
(175) What does Bruno say that prompts Shmuel to offer his hand in friendship? How is this symbolic?
He doesn't like Kotler becuase he is so aggressive and intimidating. Bruno doesn't understand why when his Father has to go for an overnight trip back o Berlin why Kotler Immediately thinks that he is in charge of the house when his father is gone.
(163) What is meant when Kotler uses the cliche 'Don't worry, this one knows which side his bread is buttered on.'?
We don't exactly know who he is talking about but he means that the person know what his or her interest in life and know what her or she doesn't like.
(165) How would you describe the interaction between Kotler and Bruno?
I would describe the interaction as a very bad relationship between the two characters. Kotler is very rude and mean to Bruno and we get evidence of Kotler trying to torment Bruno when he takes his book away from him. We can understand Kotler does this to Bruno purely becuase he can.
(166) What surprise does Bruno get?
Bruno realizes that Shmuel is at the house.
(167) How is juxtaposition used when Bruno compares his hand to Shmuel's?
The juxtaposition between the hand of Bruno and the hand of Shmuel represent the lives that they live. Bruno being very healthy and living a nice life with a house and family and food, where as Shmuel living of a life of hardship, starvation and being constantly hurt by soldiers has made him looked very deprived and sick.
(168-9) Does Bruno understand the pressure that Shmuel is under?
No becuase when Bruno gives Shmuel the three slices of chicken and he eats it incredibly quickly when Bruno says 'You didn't have to eat it that quickly'. We definitely understand that Bruno doesn't understand if he gets caught eating food in the house he will be punished severely by Kotler.
(171-2) What dramatic situation unfolds and what is Bruno's reaction?
Kotler comes in and finds the two boys talking and discovers that Shmuel has eaten some food. Kotler gets really mad and shouts at Bruno asking him if he knows and Shmuel becuase Shmuel says that they are friends. Unfortunately Bruno has to deny this so he is able to leave this tense situation.
(173-4) What does Bruno think of himself because of the way he reacts? How is the major theme 'fear' portrayed in this scene? What does it do to Bruno and Shmuel?
Bruno thinks of himself as a coward and a bad friend. Fear is portrayed in this scene by one character Kotler. I think Kotler in this book symbolizes fear and this makes Bruno answer and act differently than he normally does all becuase of fear.
(175) What does Bruno say that prompts Shmuel to offer his hand in friendship? How is this symbolic?
Bruno says to Shmuel that he shouldn't of acted so cowardly and he shouldn't never denied that they were friends and he let Shmuel down and he will never do it again and he said sorry. When they shook hands this represents the strong friendship that they have and how these two juxtaposed characters could be friends disregarding everything that is happening around them.
Chapter 14 Boy in Striped PJ's
(150-1) What information do we get that makes the reader start to feel that he is becoming less innocent and more ignorant?
When Bruno again asks about the clothes that Shmuel wears we do get the sense Bruno is trying to convince himself to not believe what is going on.
(151-3) What is interesting about the weather and how does it relate to the overall emotion of this stage in the book?
The weather is interesting becuase rain represents sadness and dullness and normally rain ruins the day in some respect. We can use the weather as a symbol of the situation Bruno is in at this stage of the book.
(153) What does Bruno accidentally say to Gretel?
Bruno accidentally says to Gretal he should be with Shmuel
(154-5) Is Bruno able to consider Gretel's feelings? How do you know?
We know this becuase Bruno understands when he said he should be with Shmuel he understands that Gretal desperately misses her friends which is why she acted so angrily when Bruno decided not to answer her when she was asking 'who was Shmuel.
(155) What is it that motivates Bruno not to tell Gretel the truth? How does this portray Bruno as being selfish?
Bruno decides that Shmuel is his friend not Gretal's friend to he decides to tell a lie so Gretal wont be able to make any friends. This portrays Bruno as Selfish becuase he doesn't want Gretal to make friends therefore making her slightly miserable.
(158) What is it that Bruno realises when he starts recounting what Shmuel tells him? Why do you think that this is when he finally starts to realise what Shmuel is experiencing?
When he is telling the lie about his imaginary friend to Gretal and repeats what Shmuel has being saying to him he realizes 'why didn't I say anything to try to help Shmuel' he does this becuase after he repeats is to himself he realizes how horrible to situation is which Shmuel is in.
(159) What is ironic and hypocritical about what Gretel tells Bruno regarding imaginary friends?
When Bruno again asks about the clothes that Shmuel wears we do get the sense Bruno is trying to convince himself to not believe what is going on.
(151-3) What is interesting about the weather and how does it relate to the overall emotion of this stage in the book?
The weather is interesting becuase rain represents sadness and dullness and normally rain ruins the day in some respect. We can use the weather as a symbol of the situation Bruno is in at this stage of the book.
(153) What does Bruno accidentally say to Gretel?
Bruno accidentally says to Gretal he should be with Shmuel
(154-5) Is Bruno able to consider Gretel's feelings? How do you know?
We know this becuase Bruno understands when he said he should be with Shmuel he understands that Gretal desperately misses her friends which is why she acted so angrily when Bruno decided not to answer her when she was asking 'who was Shmuel.
(155) What is it that motivates Bruno not to tell Gretel the truth? How does this portray Bruno as being selfish?
Bruno decides that Shmuel is his friend not Gretal's friend to he decides to tell a lie so Gretal wont be able to make any friends. This portrays Bruno as Selfish becuase he doesn't want Gretal to make friends therefore making her slightly miserable.
(158) What is it that Bruno realises when he starts recounting what Shmuel tells him? Why do you think that this is when he finally starts to realise what Shmuel is experiencing?
When he is telling the lie about his imaginary friend to Gretal and repeats what Shmuel has being saying to him he realizes 'why didn't I say anything to try to help Shmuel' he does this becuase after he repeats is to himself he realizes how horrible to situation is which Shmuel is in.
(159) What is ironic and hypocritical about what Gretel tells Bruno regarding imaginary friends?
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Holocaust Poetry #3: 'Daniel' by Laura Cris
How is juxtaposition used in this poem to highlight an important them of Holocaust literature?
Juxtaposition is used in this poem how we see at the start of the poem we see how great life was with all the colorful description used then all of a sudden life was gone by the gas chamber.
Juxtaposition is used in this poem how we see at the start of the poem we see how great life was with all the colorful description used then all of a sudden life was gone by the gas chamber.
The proportion of happiness to darkness in the poem represents how life was so great and then how quickly how life was taken away. Cruelty by ambition (loss of humanity)
Fragility of life
How is descriptive language used to enhance the reader's reaction to the poem?
Descriptive language is used in this poem to enhance the reader's reaction by means of juxtaposition. "No one saw a sunrise more perfect, to her, She so vividly smells the fragrance of his hair, his ears,his breath in the morning" This description given about what we infer to be the interaction between a daughter and mother is so happy and colorful. "But this is merely the surface,As she watches her little God sheared,and stripped,For the gas chamber." Once again we are given a strong description which contains loss of humanity and cruelty. The author juxtaposes this to create a strong message about how great life was and how quickly all that changed resulting to the end of life.
Daniel
Laura Crist
And the child held her hand
A child tiny for almost eight,
Deep blue eyes that dominated his face,
When he explained new events to her,
that funny doggy,
that pretty rock,
And the freckles on his cheek,
No one saw a sunrise more perfect,
to her,
She so vividly smells the fragrance of
his hair,
his ears,
his breath in the morning
She vividly hears that little heartbeat,
that was hers
always hers,
and the laughter,
that raspy little laugh,
when he caught her in a conundrum.
All this,
But this is merely the surface,
As she watches her little God sheared,
and stripped,
For the gas chamber.What visual techniques are employed in this painting?
How do these visual techniques highlight major thematic elements of holocaust art and literature?
The use of color and representation black being evil and red being the hope of the Jews that the evil is overpowering the hope of the jews which represents the greater picture of the Holocaust how in the end the Jews were helpless against the Nazi power and Brutality
The use of lines and colour are used by the artist to symbolise the struggle
evil and hope between the Nazi's and the Jew's in the Holocaust. The dark evil black and white colour which is used to represent the Nazi people and the red usedto symbolise the Jew's hope is being infected by the black colour seeping throughto the red. These vectors makes us come to the conclusion that the Nazi's are strangling all hope from the Jews and the evil is overpowering the Jew's Hope.
Notes:Techniques quotes (How used) How relates to themeHolocaust themes (Loss of innocence, loss of humanity, Nazi Brutality, fragility
Chapter 13 Boy in Striped PJ's
(134) How does the initial paragraph frame Bruno's state of mind?
At the start of the chapter Bruno is feeling quite fine about the new changes in his life since he had spent all of his afternoons with Shmuel he is quite happy now with his new life.
(136) What does the question Bruno asks Maria show about his development?
The question he asks shows that Bruno is starting to grow up and he starts to want to know more about what is going on rather than just going along with all the changes in his life.
(137) What is important about Maria's reaction to Bruno's question?s
Maria's reaction tell us that she didn't expect Bruno to ask such a question and she doesn't know how to answer the question without telling Bruno too much about what is going on becuase she knows she could get in serious trouble.
(138) Why does Bruno want to tell Shmuel about Pavel? What does this highlight about Bruno's understanding of what is going on?
When Bruno tells Shmuel about Pavel it really assures us that Bruno still doesn't know whats going on becuase when he tries to tell the story he is aiming to try to relate to Shmuel by telling him one of his people is living in his house.
(140) What do the boys argue about? Who does Bruno defend? Who is right/wrong? Why?
The boys argue about if there are any good soldiers in reality Shmuel is right becuase he has first hand experience on what the soldiers are really doing but Bruno only defends his dad becuase he doesn't know what he is really doing and what kinds of things he is in charge of becuase of his new promotion.
(140) Shmuel says 'You don't know what it's like here.' and Bruno reacts by saying 'You don't have any sisters, do you?' He says this to avoid an answer to Shmuel. What does this show about Bruno's understanding of what is happening?
This further gives evidence that Bruno is still naive about the situation, we know this becuase Bruno believes that his situation is a lot worse becuase he has an older sister his is a hopeless case. But really Bruno has no idea what Shmuel is going through so he just guesses that he is going through worse
(141) What connection do the boys have regarding Lt. Kotler?
The only think they agree on is Lt Kotler is a intimidating angry person and they both dislike him.
(142) What has changed in the the way Bruno sees Pavel?
As Bruno understanding of people has progressed unfortunately his idea about the bigger picture is still the same he sees Pavel in a new light and he can see by the way he looks and walks that something is going on and Pavel doesn't look very well.
(143) What important words are used to describe the way the father eats and addresses Bruno? What makes them important? How do they relate to the scene and the father as a character?
Bruno describes Father in two very important examples 'attacking a leg of lamb' 'leaning forward and pointing his knife at the boy' these two examples really symbolism Bruno's father hidden personality in his line of work. Bruno obviously doesn't know what his father is really doing for his job and these two descriptions are an exact representation of what he has to do.
(145) We learn Lt. Kotler's first name - 'Kurt'. What is it about the sounds in his full name that are important? 'Kurt Kotler'
His name has a similar sound to 'hurt' which really is ironic relating to his personality and what he does to Pavel at the end of the dinner.
(146-7) What do we learn about Kotler's father? What is Bruno's father's reaction/suggestion regarding Kotler's father leaving Germany for Switzerland?
Bruno's father is suggesting that the reason why Kurt's dad left Germany because he was a Jew.
(148) What happens to break the tension at the dinner table? What does Kotler do and what are everyone's reactions? What does Bruno decide regarding disagreeing with anyone anymore after seeing what happens to Kotler? What does this relate to historically in regards to the Nazis?
The tension is cut by Pavel accidentally spilling wine of Lt Kotler's lap once this happens we don't get the full details but we know that Lt Kotler hits Pavel properly very severely becuase we know Bruno starts to cry. What is especially sad about this is nobody not even mother or father stopped Kurt from doing this. Bruno is starting to understand for his best interest all he has to do is get on with his life and not disagree with anyone just go along with everything that happens. This relates exactly to the historical situation of the Nazi's, we know at this time the Nazi's is history punished all people who had a different view about all the changes that Hitler made so we get to understand how this Dinner represents a larger historical theme.
At the start of the chapter Bruno is feeling quite fine about the new changes in his life since he had spent all of his afternoons with Shmuel he is quite happy now with his new life.
(136) What does the question Bruno asks Maria show about his development?
The question he asks shows that Bruno is starting to grow up and he starts to want to know more about what is going on rather than just going along with all the changes in his life.
(137) What is important about Maria's reaction to Bruno's question?s
Maria's reaction tell us that she didn't expect Bruno to ask such a question and she doesn't know how to answer the question without telling Bruno too much about what is going on becuase she knows she could get in serious trouble.
(138) Why does Bruno want to tell Shmuel about Pavel? What does this highlight about Bruno's understanding of what is going on?
When Bruno tells Shmuel about Pavel it really assures us that Bruno still doesn't know whats going on becuase when he tries to tell the story he is aiming to try to relate to Shmuel by telling him one of his people is living in his house.
(140) What do the boys argue about? Who does Bruno defend? Who is right/wrong? Why?
The boys argue about if there are any good soldiers in reality Shmuel is right becuase he has first hand experience on what the soldiers are really doing but Bruno only defends his dad becuase he doesn't know what he is really doing and what kinds of things he is in charge of becuase of his new promotion.
(140) Shmuel says 'You don't know what it's like here.' and Bruno reacts by saying 'You don't have any sisters, do you?' He says this to avoid an answer to Shmuel. What does this show about Bruno's understanding of what is happening?
This further gives evidence that Bruno is still naive about the situation, we know this becuase Bruno believes that his situation is a lot worse becuase he has an older sister his is a hopeless case. But really Bruno has no idea what Shmuel is going through so he just guesses that he is going through worse
(141) What connection do the boys have regarding Lt. Kotler?
The only think they agree on is Lt Kotler is a intimidating angry person and they both dislike him.
(142) What has changed in the the way Bruno sees Pavel?
As Bruno understanding of people has progressed unfortunately his idea about the bigger picture is still the same he sees Pavel in a new light and he can see by the way he looks and walks that something is going on and Pavel doesn't look very well.
(143) What important words are used to describe the way the father eats and addresses Bruno? What makes them important? How do they relate to the scene and the father as a character?
Bruno describes Father in two very important examples 'attacking a leg of lamb' 'leaning forward and pointing his knife at the boy' these two examples really symbolism Bruno's father hidden personality in his line of work. Bruno obviously doesn't know what his father is really doing for his job and these two descriptions are an exact representation of what he has to do.
(145) We learn Lt. Kotler's first name - 'Kurt'. What is it about the sounds in his full name that are important? 'Kurt Kotler'
His name has a similar sound to 'hurt' which really is ironic relating to his personality and what he does to Pavel at the end of the dinner.
(146-7) What do we learn about Kotler's father? What is Bruno's father's reaction/suggestion regarding Kotler's father leaving Germany for Switzerland?
Bruno's father is suggesting that the reason why Kurt's dad left Germany because he was a Jew.
(148) What happens to break the tension at the dinner table? What does Kotler do and what are everyone's reactions? What does Bruno decide regarding disagreeing with anyone anymore after seeing what happens to Kotler? What does this relate to historically in regards to the Nazis?
The tension is cut by Pavel accidentally spilling wine of Lt Kotler's lap once this happens we don't get the full details but we know that Lt Kotler hits Pavel properly very severely becuase we know Bruno starts to cry. What is especially sad about this is nobody not even mother or father stopped Kurt from doing this. Bruno is starting to understand for his best interest all he has to do is get on with his life and not disagree with anyone just go along with everything that happens. This relates exactly to the historical situation of the Nazi's, we know at this time the Nazi's is history punished all people who had a different view about all the changes that Hitler made so we get to understand how this Dinner represents a larger historical theme.
Chapter 12 Boy in Striped PJ's
(126) How would you compare Shmuel's voice to Bruno's?
We are given the feeling that Shmuel is a very shy polite boy who has learnt unfortunately from being so harshly treated from the soldiers to not speak his mind and just to be as quiet as possible.
(128-130) How would you describe the way that Bruno acts and reacts to Shmuel tell his story about coming to the camp?
Bruno is very quiet when Shmuel starts to talk about his life before he came to camp. Before Bruno though that Shmuel and himself were quite similar in how both of them were taken away from their nice homes but after he asks a few questions why he was taken away we get the sense that Bruno has a slight understanding that his situation is very different to the situation Shmuel is in.
(131) When Bruno and Shmuel talk about chocolate how is Bruno portrayed?
Bruno is portrayed as very rude and arrogant, he is shown to not feel any empathy towards Shmuel but we can understand this becuase of Bruno's innocence and lack of understanding.
(132) Do you think that Bruno understands the situation that Shmuel is in?
Even though we do get some hints during the chapter when Bruno reminds to himself not to be rude and no to ask certain questions. We still get the sense when Bruno asks Shmuel to come over to dinner and when he tried to lift the fence up, he still doesn't understand the situation Shmuel is in.
(133) What is ironic about Bruno thinking 'the last think he wanted to do was be unkind to Shmuel'?
What is ironic about that is from the book we conclude since Bruno's dad is a Nazi soldier who is very high up commander we understand that Bruno's family is Nazi influenced who obviously for the Nazi is first Priority is to kill and get rid of the Jew's for the good of the country. What is ironic about this is since we as the reader understand from a historical prospective what the Nazi's actions to the Jews are, when Bruno says ''the last think he wanted to do was be unkind to Shmuel' it is ironic how he wants to be kind to Shmuel when everyone around him is doing the complete opposite.
(133) What is ironic about the statement - 'Bruno was of the opinion that when it came to parents, and especially when it came to sisters, what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.'?
Whats is ironic about this statement Bruno really thinks that this small detail which in fact is a huge secret could be kept from them without any harm when in fact everyone around Bruno including his Parents are keeping huge secrets about that camp from him so in fact since Bruno is been kept in the dark from the secret about that camp he can't quite understand the significance of what he is doing.
We are given the feeling that Shmuel is a very shy polite boy who has learnt unfortunately from being so harshly treated from the soldiers to not speak his mind and just to be as quiet as possible.
(128-130) How would you describe the way that Bruno acts and reacts to Shmuel tell his story about coming to the camp?
Bruno is very quiet when Shmuel starts to talk about his life before he came to camp. Before Bruno though that Shmuel and himself were quite similar in how both of them were taken away from their nice homes but after he asks a few questions why he was taken away we get the sense that Bruno has a slight understanding that his situation is very different to the situation Shmuel is in.
(131) When Bruno and Shmuel talk about chocolate how is Bruno portrayed?
Bruno is portrayed as very rude and arrogant, he is shown to not feel any empathy towards Shmuel but we can understand this becuase of Bruno's innocence and lack of understanding.
(132) Do you think that Bruno understands the situation that Shmuel is in?
Even though we do get some hints during the chapter when Bruno reminds to himself not to be rude and no to ask certain questions. We still get the sense when Bruno asks Shmuel to come over to dinner and when he tried to lift the fence up, he still doesn't understand the situation Shmuel is in.
(133) What is ironic about Bruno thinking 'the last think he wanted to do was be unkind to Shmuel'?
What is ironic about that is from the book we conclude since Bruno's dad is a Nazi soldier who is very high up commander we understand that Bruno's family is Nazi influenced who obviously for the Nazi is first Priority is to kill and get rid of the Jew's for the good of the country. What is ironic about this is since we as the reader understand from a historical prospective what the Nazi's actions to the Jews are, when Bruno says ''the last think he wanted to do was be unkind to Shmuel' it is ironic how he wants to be kind to Shmuel when everyone around him is doing the complete opposite.
(133) What is ironic about the statement - 'Bruno was of the opinion that when it came to parents, and especially when it came to sisters, what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.'?
Whats is ironic about this statement Bruno really thinks that this small detail which in fact is a huge secret could be kept from them without any harm when in fact everyone around Bruno including his Parents are keeping huge secrets about that camp from him so in fact since Bruno is been kept in the dark from the secret about that camp he can't quite understand the significance of what he is doing.
Chapter 11 Boy in Striped PJ's
(118) What does the mother's obsession with her 'list' represent? What does the list distract her from? What do you think about meeting Adolf Hitler?
Mothers list represents ambition and how it has made her so focused with impressing the fury that she has become obsessed. I would be very scared and afraid about meeting Adolf Hitler because we know from historical evidence how cruel and brutal he was I would guess that his personality would be similar to the actions he partook in history.
(120) What is ironic when the father says 'The last thing we need is for either of you to start behaving like children.'?
What is Ironic about this is Father treats Bruno and Gretal as children all the time around the house but as soon as someone of importance is coming to the house suddenly they have to grow up and act impressive when really they are children anyway.
(121) How is juxtaposition used in the introduction of 'The Fury'?
Juxtaposition is used in the introduction of the Fury how a person of his actions you would expect a big, tall strong man but instead you get a small man who in fact was smaller than the lady he was with a far shorter than Bruno's Father.
(122) How is the 'Fury's' behavior juxtaposed with everyone else'?
When the fury enters the house he is portrayed as so rude compared to everyone else this is highlighted when the woman with the fury steps over and whispers to Gretal that she speaks french too and it's a beautiful language.
(123) Is this a stereotypical representation of Hitler? Why/why not?
The Hitler representation is very stereotypical becuase we as the reader who has access to historical evidence are even not able to know how his personality was we can only infer how he was due to the actions and impacts he made on history.
(124) We are given a very abbreviated discussion between the mother and father. What are they talking about? What are their views on the topic? What effect does showing the parents conversation in this manner rather than the whole conversation?
We can infer by the information that the parents are taking about what is taking place at Auschwitz and the concentration camp. Both the Mother and Father don't exactly like what is going on and we can infer that they both want to go back home and leave this whole situation but We know that Father is in a difficult situation and he must stay is his job for the protection of the family. The effect this gives to the reader is we can interpret however way we want using the abbreviated information given instead of using information.
Mothers list represents ambition and how it has made her so focused with impressing the fury that she has become obsessed. I would be very scared and afraid about meeting Adolf Hitler because we know from historical evidence how cruel and brutal he was I would guess that his personality would be similar to the actions he partook in history.
(120) What is ironic when the father says 'The last thing we need is for either of you to start behaving like children.'?
What is Ironic about this is Father treats Bruno and Gretal as children all the time around the house but as soon as someone of importance is coming to the house suddenly they have to grow up and act impressive when really they are children anyway.
(121) How is juxtaposition used in the introduction of 'The Fury'?
Juxtaposition is used in the introduction of the Fury how a person of his actions you would expect a big, tall strong man but instead you get a small man who in fact was smaller than the lady he was with a far shorter than Bruno's Father.
(122) How is the 'Fury's' behavior juxtaposed with everyone else'?
When the fury enters the house he is portrayed as so rude compared to everyone else this is highlighted when the woman with the fury steps over and whispers to Gretal that she speaks french too and it's a beautiful language.
(123) Is this a stereotypical representation of Hitler? Why/why not?
The Hitler representation is very stereotypical becuase we as the reader who has access to historical evidence are even not able to know how his personality was we can only infer how he was due to the actions and impacts he made on history.
(124) We are given a very abbreviated discussion between the mother and father. What are they talking about? What are their views on the topic? What effect does showing the parents conversation in this manner rather than the whole conversation?
We can infer by the information that the parents are taking about what is taking place at Auschwitz and the concentration camp. Both the Mother and Father don't exactly like what is going on and we can infer that they both want to go back home and leave this whole situation but We know that Father is in a difficult situation and he must stay is his job for the protection of the family. The effect this gives to the reader is we can interpret however way we want using the abbreviated information given instead of using information.
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