Group Reader LC #2

1. Critical Stance
     a. Dehumanization is when a person isn't treated as though he or she isn't a human or depriving them of their qualities, personality, or spirit.

     b. Before the prisoners went to these camps, most were very spiritual and joyful. They all looked on the bright side of things and said it was all part of God's plan. As they spent time in these camps, they lost all sense of that to a point where some didn't worship God anymore. For example, Abika Drumer. He was once very spiritual but once we was one of the selected ones, he lost all his morale that he had. Once they went through the change of not believing, they became gloomy and lost all faith in everything.

     c. Eliezer goes through a lot while in these camps. He starts to have this sort of numbness to these horrible situations. For example at the hangings, he just looks and keeps going. He feels bad for them but he has to focus on himself to survive. As he spends more time and experience more things, he starts to lose faith in God. He believes that he shouldn't have to pray to God because he is responsible for the hangings, the crematories, and all these camps.

2. Dialectical Journal

Page 52: "I had watched the whole scene without moving. I kept quiet. In fact I was thinking how to get farther away so that I would not be hit myself. What is more, any angerI felt at that moment was directed, not against that Kapo, but against my father. I was angry at him, for not knowing how to avoid Idek's outbreak. That is what concentration camp life had made me."

Page 57: " We were not afraid. And yet, if a bomb had fallen on the blocks, it alone would have claimed hundreds of victims on the spot. But we were no longer afraid of death; at any rate not of that death. Every bomb that exploded filled us with joy and gave us new confidence in life."

Page 62: "Behind me, I heard the same man asking: "Where is God now?""

Page 64: "Why, but why should I bless Him? In every fiber I rebelled. Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits? Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Sundays and feast days? Because in His great might He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna and so many factories of death? How could I say to Him: "Bless art Thou, Eternal, Master of the Universe, Who chose us from among the races to be tortures day and night, to see our fathers, mothers, our brothers, end in the crematory? Praised by Thy Holy Nmae, Thou Who hast chose us to be butchered on Thine altar?""

Page 65: "I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone-teribly alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy to be stronger than the Almighty, to whom my life had been tied for so long. I stood amid that praying congreation, observing it like a stranger."

Page 72-73: He was not the only one to lose faith during those selection days. I knew a rabbi from a little town in Poland, a bent old man, whose lips were always trembling. He used to pray all the time, in the block, in the yard, in the ranks. He would recite whole pages of the Talmund from memory, argue with himself, ask himself questions and answer himself. And one day he said to me: "It's the end. God is no longer with us.""

Group Reader Response LC#1: Dialectical Journal Practice

1. Critical Stance

         After all the decrees from the German soldiers, the Jews were always looking on the bright side of things. They had to abide by the commands of the German soldiers or risk their lives. As all of these hectic events were happening, they always had faith in God that this was how its supposed to be. As each decree started, the Jews saw the good side, but only up to the part before deportation.

2. Dialectical Journal Entries

- Page 18: "'We must keep going, we must keep going.' she kept on repeating."
I think this quote really captures how the Jews were when they were being invaded. They didn't lose sight of the good things in life. They always thought that this was all a part in God's plan so they kept on pushing through.

- Page 30: "'Humanity? humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed. Anything is possible, even these crematories...'"
This quote shows how bad it must have been for the Jews at the time. They were once so full of hope that things would get better, but as it got worse, thats all they expected. They truly lost all hope in humanity.

- Page 32: "Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever."
Eliezer, in the beginning was full of life, but when he gets to the camps, he is afraid of what comes next. He doesn't believe in the good of things anymore which is why this quote represents that.

- Page 34: "I glanced at my father. How he had changed! His eyes had grown dim. I would have liked to speak to him, but I did not know what to say."
In the beginning of the book, Eliezer talks about how his father was the opposite of the quote. You can see how its draining the Jews of who they were. All the beatings and labor has taken away the life of the person.

- Page 35: "Surely it was a dream."
This quote shows how unreal it must of seemed. From being at home to concentration camps in a matter of weeks or days, it must have felt like it was a dream. They went from living their lives how they wanted to being scared to say one word. It's a horrid process.

Inhumanity - Introductory to "Night"

Madison & Erin K.

Example 1:

 http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/People/2014/08/08/Pakistan-women-face-acid-attacks/

         The first link to an act of inhumanity is of acid attacks in Pakistan. Women in Pakistan get acid thrown on their faces as a punishment or for just being a woman. If a woman was trying to get an education or join the political world, they would be attacked with acid. These attacks are keeping women in their houses because they are afraid to be attacked by strangers. If you didn’t pay your debt to a family member, they would be the person attacking you. Some cases get so severe that their faces are unrecognizable and they aren’t able to see, hear, or use their mouths. Acid attacks are now becoming very common in Pakistan but most people around the world have no idea what’s going on.

Example 2:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30394260

         This link is talking about an inhumane act in Tanzania, Africa, where albino people are being killed for their body parts and are being used in witchcraft. Albino people have a big target on their back and could be killed at anytime of day. They live in remote places in Tanzania so they can be hidden from the killers, but they are still not safe anywhere they go. Some people in the community built a statue promoting the right of albino people. This statue reminds people that albino people are the same as everyone else. The statue still didn’t stop people from killing albino people.

Allusion Poem Graphic FINAL

Allusion Poem: Odysseus FINAL

It's a long journey,

And it's still not over,

It feels endless,

The sleepless nights and constant problems,

I have to push through, 

To just keep on going, 

I encounter many beasts,

From one-eyed giants to sirens,
All they want to do is to find a way to bring me down
Not caring how much it could hurt, 

Trying to fight them off I don't always win,
But somehow, from those losses, I have the strength to go on.

Along the way, 

I met new people, discovered new things,

It was comforting to have them by my side, 

They guided and helped me on my journey,

And I helped them with theirs, 

But somewhere along the way, 

They became different, almost transformed
To a person who I didn't know,
It was hard to face the unknown without the support I had before,

It felt like a different life, a different path.

But I found others to pick me up
And get me back on my feet.

I get stuck at forks in the road,

I don't know what path to take,  

People tell me I'm intelligent and smart,
But sometimes I don't know all the right answers. 

So I take a risk and chose the opposite path that others aren't choosing 

And I know I won't regret it

Life is a long journey,

I don't know exactly where you're going,
I'm just trying to get there in the most exciting way possible,

The journey is what I make of it, 

And somewhere along the way, 

I started to live.

Allusion Graphic Card Draft