The Diary of Anne Frank

          To be honest, the beginning of the book was a bit boring. It started out pretty slow. I mean Anne did say, at the beginning of the book that it's just a 'normal' school girls diary, but when more conflict arises when moved up to the 'Secret Annex' it started to get more interesting. Like how her and Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan always bicker. Or how her and her father get along so well, and Anne and get mum don't get along very well. I think that as the story went along, Anne grew more mature. At the beginning of the book she mainly talked about the small conflict she had at first, but then she started to talk about politics and what she thinks about, everything that is happening.

         For this paragraph, I decided to do Contrast and Contradictions. I decided to talk about what happened between Mr. Dussel and Anne. Mr. Dussel was acting very strange, then he did when he first came. What had happened is, that Anne asked for the desk, in their room(that they share), longer than she usually has it. Now see, when Mr. Dussel first came to the 'Secret Annex' he was pretty sweet, and cared about others feelings. When Anne had asked for the desk longer, he had given her attitude and said that he has 'grown-up' work to do, and not write in a 'stupid' little diary. At this time, Anne got very frustrated and very enraged. When he said his, her exact thoughts were,"In a minute I'll give him such a smack in the face that he'll fly up to the ceiling together with his lies" Obviously she didn't do that, but with the signpost, Contrast and Contradictions, she wasn't 'thinking' nor acting like she usually does.  

Holocaust; Upstander, or Bystander

                I think that people watched the holocaust happen because they knew that Hitler had a lot of power. They knew that Hitler can harm them, their families, and (maybe even) their friends. This was a hard time for everybody. For the jews, for the upstanders, and even the bystanders. Do you think that the upstanders want to just sit around. They might of known that this wasn't good and maybe didn't want to put anyone they love in harm. I think that some people wants to help, but didn't choose to. I think that the courage upstanders had to stand up against the Nazis and Hitler, was impeccable. When people stood up against Hitler, and the Nazis, it also meant to take a risk. A risk that could risk their life, their families life, and your loved ones lives. It is hard to think that happened to the upstanders that were caught and sent to a concentration camp or just shot, dead, right their and then. I am pretty sure I would have been bystander. I do not have enough courage or bravery to stand up against such powerful forces. Its not like I would help the Nazis either. I would be neutral. I wouldn't go against the Nazis, but I wouldn't stand up for them, or support them. Some people might say they would have helped and be an upstander, but if they really were in that situation, they probably wouldn't have been an upstander. I recently started the book 'The Diary of Anne Frank' In a few of the pages she talked about politics and what she thought of it. I learned a lot from the past few weeks of learning about the holocaust. It taught me a lot too.

Article to Poem

      In the article I read, it said that there shouldn't be sweatshops at all. The writer, of the article, said that he thinks that if there is no sweatshops at all there wouldn't be so many fires, or buildings collapsing. What is the point of having a sweatshop, when people die from fires and buildings falling. I think the writer is right. There shouldn't be sweatshops. Not only because its dangerous, but because most people are forced into working there. That when a sweatshop, in Bangladesh, caught on fire, 3 managers held some people back to keep working. They were then arrested, as well as the owners. 

        In the poem I read, it explained that sweatshops are hard work and that it takes time. The most captivating part was the part that said

              "And the boss goes away for his lunch hour,

                      Dawn begins to break in my mind"

The reason it captivated me so much is because it uses the word dawn. Dawn is very early in the day which makes me believe that she has been working for a long time. This was different because it addressed the situation differently. The article is cold, hard, facts that are true. Poems are more like a possible situation. Its also written differently. I think that this form of writing showed me that there is different way to look at a situation. A poem says more, with the words they use and article says a lot with the facts it uses. 

Maze Runner update

  Oh my gosh. I love this book. I havent finished yet... But its really good. Last time I told you how they made Thomas an offical runner. Ok so, at the meeting they had, the one where Thomas became an official runner, Gally went crazy. Some people even spotted him going into the maze. No one knows if hes even alive anymore. But anyways, Thomas still broke a rule, so Newt put him in jail for a day. So once he got out, it was kind of normal. But then the next morning, Minho woke up Thomas for training.

   In this book, the conflict is man vs. society. Man is obviously Thomas, and all the rest of Glade, and society is the people who put them there. The people that put them there are the same people who made the maze and made the grievers as well. There is a reason they put them there, but no one knows yet. I think its man vs society because since the grievers are made by the people who put them there, and they try and fight off the grievers, it is man vs society

Cursive is So Last Year

     Cursive. A type of writing that most people write beautifully. Its easier too. You don't have to lift your pen from your paper and it builds muscle in your hand. Most people write in pages instead of writing on paper. On one hand, cursive is a talent that most people forget about. Then again, writing by hand, especially cursive, has better thinking skills. Most people think cursive is a way of growing up. Computers have the same font, everyones cursive is original. A lot of people think that technology will take away hand writing in general. 41 states in the US have taken cursive away from learning in school.

     I think that we should keep cursive. Cursive was a big part of my life because of how much I learned it. I learned it in 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 4th grade. We would draw on the dotted lines and then do it ourselves. Then we would practice writing sentences in cursive. Cursive really showed me that technology isn't everything. The funny part is that my mother went to a technology college so she barely ever wrote on paper. Only when I got in trouble and she had to sign a note that was sent home. I think that cursive is a big part of learning and we should keep it in the US.

Maze Runner Update :)

       Wow. This book is amazing. It shows so much detail. As I read on I realized that the book is in 3rd person point of view (limited). 3rd person POV (limited) is when the author uses he, she, her, he, but only tells the main characters thoughts. Most of the time, James Dashner uses italic to express Thomas' thoughts. But the thing is that, the thoughts come at the most random times. It could be a funny thought, or a serious one. It could be thought that he wants to keep to himself so he doesn't get himself in trouble.

       So far Thomas that has been at Glade, he hasn't had the best experiences. He made an enemy, he made a friend, he explored, he almost got killed, and most of all, he (half) lied to the leader, Alby. One day Alby decides to take Thomas on a tour. While on the tour the siren goes off. Alby is confused so he cant really give Thomas answers about what is going on. They go down to the box and find a girl. Then Alby and Minho go into the maze, and dont come back. Right before the maze closes, Thomas runs in. Thomas finds out that Alby is stung and puts hides him in some vines. Him and Minho survive the night and then they have a meeting and Thomas, officially, becomes a runner.

Maze Runner; So far

           I have to say, Maze Runner is really good so far. It goes into amazing details about things, like the look, and even the smell. James Dashner, is a very good writer. (Thats probably why they made a movie, out of the book). So far, Thomas has been in an elevator, or lift, or something, and ended up in this weird place, called Glade.  It has a farm,  and even has a pen with animals in it.

         I would have to describe Thomas, as courageous. He doesn't remember anything, but still keeps his head up. He ended in a place he knows nothing about, with people that he doesn't know. I think that Thomas has a lot of courage to do what he thinks he needs to do. Thomas thinks that not everyone excepts him just yet. When Thomas get to Glade, he thinks of himself as an outsiders.  As he goes on he makes a friend. So far, his only friend, Chuck.

         Thats all I read. :) I'll tell you when I read more!! :D