Writing

It is interesting to me to look at and think about all of the reasons people write. We all come to writing for our own personal reasons regardless of whether or not a teacher makes us. Many came together during the month of October to explain for the National day of writing and to answer the question, "Why I write." Attached is the link to a website entitled Figment. (click the word Figment it is the link.) Here students, adults and others submitted reasons as to why they write or in some cases why they do not write. I want you to go to this site and read through at least two essays. Do not just pick the first two. Go through and read the two that appeal to you. Describe the reason they write and comment about their writing on our blog. Do not just take the easy road and say, "It was good." That would unacceptable!!!!!

Seriously look at what they wrote, how they wrote and the reason they wrote. Comment on one of the three items. Once you have described two from the Figment site, I want you to answer the question, "Why I write." Do not just say, "Cause mean old Mrs. Perrin says I have to or I fail." If you write that, guess what--that would be uncool!!!!! Think about why you write. It can be in poetic form like mine or in paragraph form.

I write to better understand the world

and my place in it.

I write to give voice to ideas yet unborn

soon to be birthed into a world filled with confusion.

I write to breathe life into moments

painted by words and given shape by emotion.

I write to remember and forget; to learn and to unlearn

I write to play with words yet untouched and watch them

unpack themselves into disheveled beauty.

I write because sometimes survival is necessary

and a concrete manifestation of thoughts set me

free.

Darkness and truth

Our book Night is a memoir. Memoir is when the author tells of a significant event. It is not an autobiography that starts from birth until their current spot in life, but rather a focused lens on a significant moment. Often times when we read memoirs, we question. We search for truth. We think about how perspective comes into play.

In looking at our book Night, I want you to look at the darkness. What parts of our book speak to darkness? What happens in the darkness? How does the darkness influence the emotion, the senses, the perspective? Keep in mind our archetypes of light and dark. How do the light and dark differ in our text? Use quotes to support your answers.

Once you have thought about the darkness, think about what we know to be true. What did Wiesel shed light on for you as a reader? In other words, what do you know now as a result of Reading the book that you did not know before reading the book?

Please comment on one other person's blog after you have added your own thoughts. This is worth 25 points.

Quotes

Our book, Night, is filled with beautiful and painful prose. One quote in particular that speaks of despair to me is when Wiesel refers to Zalman while on a march:

I soon forgot him. I began to think of myself again. My foot was aching. I shivered with every step. Just a few more meters and it will be over. I'll fall. A small red flame...A shot...Death enveloped me, it suffocated me. It stuck to me like glue. I felt I could touch it. The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longerexist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing. To break rank, to let myself slide to the side the road...(104)

The despair in his thoughts is palpable. The short sentences create a slow staccato movement in the writing. The personification of Death wrapping itself around him to suck the life from him shows Wiesel as vulnerable and unable to get free. The most powerful writing, though, comes in the anaphora near the end. He repeats "To no longer" three times showing that his hope, a concept which escapes him comes in death. He sees life and what he is going through as tough and hard. I think what he is enduring is unspeakable and unfathomable. To him the desperation for hope and a freedom of life where he is no longer imprisoned by those who have committed these crimes against him is unbearable and only found in giving up. However, after this moment he sees his father and realizes that to give up would not only be a death sentence for himself, but also for his father. His father needed him.

I want you to choose a passage that you underlined in the book Night, type it out and then analyze it. Look at the structure, the wording, and using your literature terms explain what you see going on. You should also explain why you chose the passage you did. (Use mine as an example.)

Your grade this week will also include you going back and commenting on one other person's analysis and explanation. Maybe you see something in their quote they missed. Maybe, you agree. What ever you respond with, it must be kind, and appropriate. Do not just say, "Nice quote." That is not enough. This blog will be worth 25 points. Happy thinking!!!!!!!!

Music

My daughter is doing research on The Beatles and will give a book speech on them this week for her English class. It made me think about how often music creeps into our lives. So often when we read a book, we forget to think about how music sits perched in the background. Our story takes place during WWII. Listen to this song played by Glenn Miller, "In the Mood." (Click the song title. It is the link.)

This song was released in the late 30's and early 40's. People in the states danced and listened to this type of music finding solace from what was going on in the world. Music is often what we turn to in moments when times are tough, when we need inspiration, or when we need to understand.

After you listen to the music, think about what modern music would capture the mood or energy of this song? What music do we turn to in our most recent war that helps us to understand, try to understand, honor, or try to honor those who have and are fighting for us.

Write about one song and in what way it impacts those who turn to it in times of conflict. Many many songs have been written. You may go back to the Vietnam war to find even more songs. Incorporate the lyrics, song title, and artist in your explanation. Feel free to listen to many different songs before you find the one you wish to write about. Happy listening!

I watched the movie Soul Surfer with my youngest the other evening. For those of you who have not seen it, it is about inspiration, hope, and perseverance. We watched not knowing what to expect. But in watching, we saw how being indifferent impacts others. Elie Wiesel talked about this in his speech that we listened to last week. He discussed and explained how indifference is about inaction. Doing nothing. Watching. In the movie Soul Surfer, indifference would have cost Bethany her life. If her friends stood by doing nothing she would have bled to death. Had she herself been indifferent to the needs of those affected by the Tsunami, she would have lost hope and denied hope to those who knew and met her.

Indifference is the friend of the enemy as Wiesel explains. It permits the enemy to have power. Undeserved. I want you to look around you. Where do you see indifference? Describe a time you watched indifference occur.

When I was eleven, I was riding with my grandmother in her car. We were on our way to breakfast. This was my favorite part of spending time with my grandparents. Going out to dinner was not something my family did often. We did not have an abundance of money and for seven people to go out was costly. So this was something special my grandmother and I did. On our way to breakfast, we saw an elderly woman fall forward and face plant on the concrete. People did not stop. My grandmother, stopped her car in the middle of the road and told me to get out. I was to go to the woman's side and help her. I was eleven and clueless. I jumped from the car and ran to her side. I helped her turn over and her face was covered in blood. As I sat there helping her, a man came over and said he called the police. I held this woman's head on my lap while we waited. Once she was taken by ambulance to the hospital, my grandmother and I headed to breakfast.

My grandmother was a woman who took action. It would have been easy for her to keep driving. People were waiting for us. But, she was not like that. It was something she taught me. She refused to be indifferent to the fallen woman's pain.

This is what I want you to do. Describe a time where you chose to not be indifferent or a time when you witnessed indifference win. (Please protect the identities of those you describe. Do not include names in your answer.) What were you thinking in the moment?