Remix

Original: http://www.pixton.com/comic/ul8aftui
Remix: http://Pixton.com/ic:vou878ez

Project

I'm doing most of my project based on my choice novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. However, I noticed that parts of this project ties in with several other works that we've read. I did my own mini-multigenre project, and one thing that I did was make a powerpoint and do research about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It has a part in my choice novel, and it also potentially is a part of Slaughterhouse Five. I also made a little book with a bunch of quotes from Charlie, the main character, that tell about his struggle through adolescence and his feeling of being an outsider. It's all about coming of age for him, and that's definitely a theme in Persepolis, too. Obviously, being an outsider is also a major theme of the class and is involved in everything that we've read in College Lit. The book is written through notes from Charlie to an anonymous recipient, so I also responded to a couple of Charlie's letters as I would expect this person to respond, helping him through the struggles of being a teenager.

Cartoon

http://www.pixton.com/comic/7vc01zmy

Banned/Challenged Books

I was amazed to see all of the books that have been banned/challenged at some time. I can understand some of these books being challenged, but I don't know if it's necessary to completely ban books.

Most of these books are not children's books; they're for adults, or young adults. I think that by the time you may think of reading one of these books, you can make a decision for yourself it it's appropriate. Schools can give the option for an alternate book if you or your parents do not approve, but I don't think it's necessary to take the opportunity away from the whole class.

A few books on the list were children's books, and they really surprised me. They included Winnie the Pooh, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Charlotte's Web. I would have never guessed that these books would ever be banned or challenged, and I think that sometimes people look a little too much into it.

Epitaph in Slaughterhouse-Five

I believe the epitaph shown in the book is about how people generally view war. Earlier on in Slaughterhouse-Five, there was discussion about how war can be glorified and made to seem much better and more glamorous. Before the picture of the epitaph is shown, Valencia was telling Billy that she thinks he's full of secrets; she goes on to say he has things he doesn't want to talk about. When she asked if war was awful, Billy got the idea of this epitaph. I think this is definitely about how war is viewed and how it is very flawed. Billy does not tell her many of many upsetting things about his experiences; he mostly hides it. "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt," is what he may think will be said about his war.

Schindler's List

In Film Theory we watched Schindler's List. Schindler's List is about a man, Oskar Schindler, who saved many Jewish people during the Holocaust. He employs them in a factory that will save their lives. He works out a deal with Amon to allow him to move the factory to Poland. Amon leads the concentration camps and isn't at first aware of Schindler's good intentions. Those who were taken to the factory in Poland were on "Schindler's List".

The whole movie is black and white, except the ending and one article of clothing. A little girl is seen early on in the movie with a red coat; it sticks out because her surroundings are all black and white. Later on, the red corpse sticks out from the numerous dead bodies around her. It's a very sad part of the film---she was just an innocent, young girl who had her life taken from her.

Overall, Schindler's List is a very sad movie. It shows how terrible the Holocaust really was and how many innocent lives were taken away. I think it does a good job of showing some realistic events of war and how upsetting it really is. However, it does show that some people, like Schindler, realize that and have good intentions of helping others. I think the goal of this film is to be realistic and accurately tell the truth of the story.

Slaughterhouse Five talks a lot about how war is glorified and is portrayed inaccurately in the media. That's similar to Schindler's List because they both point out all of the awful things that war includes. I think that they both have similar intentions; it's clear that Kurt Vonnegut wanted the message about the truth of war to be spoken through the book, and I think that Schindler's List did that well, too. The film itself was based on a true story, and it was undoubetdly an intention of the director to tell this story accurately. They both point out all of the innocent children who are a part of war---the soldiers in Slaughterhouse Five and the Jewish and German children in Schindler's List. In Schindler's List, many children were forced to follow the Nazi's orders and commit terrible acts.

Yes, Mary O'Hare would like Schindler's List. The Holocaust was not glorified in any way. Yes, the movie had some good moments, but it was all about a struggle. The scenes and images throughout this movie were upsetting and showed you how terrible the Holocaust was. You get a real idea of what the concentration camps were like and how helpless those people must have felt.

Heroes

We've been talking about heroes in class this week, and it got me thinking about the concept of heroes. We had a discussion on different heroes in books and movies, but I started to think of who my heroes are in real life. I remember in 5th grade, our writing assessment was "Everyday Heroes". We didn't right about athletes or celebrities that are our heroes; we wrote about the people that have an impact on us everyday.

While I was thinking about who my heroes are, many ideas came to mind. I thought of parents, who I think are heroes to most of us in one way or another, friends, my brothers, and other relatives. In fifth grade I wrote about one of my best friends at the time, and I also wrote about my younger cousin. One thing that I think really defines a hero is someone that can look at the positive in life and have an unselfish desire to help others. 

One person stuck out in my mind as someone who really is an everyday hero. My Aunt Lynn lost her husband to cancer about ten years ago. At the time, they had two children: one was 5 years old, and one was 2 years old. Obviously, this was an extremely tough time in her life. It was very difficult for Tanner, the five year old, because he was aware of what was going on. Lynn took him to Camp Hope here in Wisconsin, where some of her family lives. Camp Hope is a camp for children who have lost a close family member. It was beneficial to Tanner, and Lynn went on to start a Camp Hope in California. She organizes all of these non-profit camps for children and makes a difference in many lives. Lynn is just a great person and has a way of making everyone happy around her. She has raised two, now three, great kids.

I think of Lynn as a hero because she has gone through a lot of difficulties, but she has turned them into positive things. What do you think defines a hero? Who is a hero of yours?