I started my second book club book today called Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn. The story starts out with a heart-wrenching scene in which Karl, a nine year old boy, has his mother torn from his arms after his house is infiltrated by three men. Since Karl's mother was his only link to family, Karl had learned at a young age to fend for himself. He knew that it was a matter of time before the men who captured his mom came back and captured him as well, so Karl fled his home and ran to Emil's house. Emil and his mother had not wanted Karl to interact with their family anymore, for they were Jews and knew they would be hurt and taunted for being seen around superior races. The part that I read tonight stopped right as Karl knocked on Emil's door, but based on the information given about Emil's disconnection with Karl, I predict that Emil may not allow him to enter despite Karl's horrific day.
The protagonist in the story is Karl. Having no family other than his mother, Karl was raised as an independent and brave boy. All on his own, his character has to make the decision to leave his home at the age of nine. He did things that many adults would not have been able to do under the circumstances that he faced. Karl is also very smart and has his own unique beliefs. When his friend Emil was being harassed and made fun of for being a "filthy Jew," (17) Karl stuck up for him even when every other person was taunting him. I wonder how Karl's beliefs are so different from all other children at such a young age. I think some of it had to do with his mother who was an extremely open minded person. When Emil's family chose to separate themselves from Karl, she told him that he could hang out with whatever type of people he wanted to. You can tell that this was a type of person not very common to Austria during this time.
Overall the story takes place in Vienna, Austria during WWII. The story starts in Karl's apartment where he lived with his mother. The apartment seemed fairly small in size and was fully furnished with beds, chairs, tables, and decorations such as vases and the most important decoration; a picture of Karl's father that hangs proud in the bedroom. The building of Emil's apartment is described as a dark building that seems a little creepy. There's the school that the boys go to, but not much information is given about its appearance or location. Yankev Glatshteyn doesn't bother spending much time describing details of settings, but instead takes time capturing the emotions and traits of his characters.
So far the most extreme conflict in the story is that Karl's mother has been captured by men. Where these men come from has not yet been stated in the book, but I predict that they are either Nazis taking her away because she was communicating with Jews, or because she was possibly protecting Jews from Nazis. Another conflict is between Karl and Emil. As I stated before, Emil has attempted to separate himself from Karl completely in order to keep his family safe from harm. Karl was trying to mend his friendship with Emil, while Emil continued to disconnect from him. These conflicts ultimately evolve from the conflict of anti-Semitism. Although Karl is not a Jew, the story illustrates the war in the mind of a young Christian boy, a side that is not often portrayed when it comes to Holocaust stories.
I'm curious to know how the story will continue to play out. I did, after all, stop at what could be a pivotal point in the two boys' relationship.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Night; Blog #2
In class today, we read an excerpt from Night by Ellie Wiesel. The narrator was Mr. Wiesel himself, telling the story of his experiences during the Holocaust. The part of the story we read about discussed what it was like in the train cars that lead to different camps. This one in particular, was headed toward Birkenau. Eighty people were crammed into one very small train car. There is one woman, Mrs. Schӓcter, who began hallucinating of a blazing fire that she saw constantly out the train car opening. She screamed of it night and day, her mind losing touch with the world. When the train got to its destination, the passengers found that the woman was right. A fire was in fact burning outside, and bright flames rose from a chimney. The place that they had arrived was Birkenau, one of the best known concentration camps during the Holocaust. How was this woman able to hallucinate and predict these flames, before she had seen the actual camp?
I wonder if when the fire was actually seen, people still believed Auschwitz to have "good conditions." (27) In the story, on page 28, Ellie Wiesel recounts what he smelled that night. He says, "In the air, the smell of burning flesh." Based on the conditions of the Holocaust, and the smell of bodies burning, I can infer that many of the people in that train car will be burned in that very fire; that they will be stripped of their dignity just before death, and stand naked in front of everybody. I also am inferring that Mrs. Schӓcter was among those people; that or she was shot. I think this because there was no “room” in the Holocaust for ill or mental people. A thought that saddens me asks how Ellie Wiesel knew the smell of flesh previous to the Holocaust. Could the conditions in his hometown have made him exposed to such things at a young age?
As Mr. Wiesel had put it, "We had arrived," (28) but I'm afraid most of them were only arriving to the end.
I wonder if when the fire was actually seen, people still believed Auschwitz to have "good conditions." (27) In the story, on page 28, Ellie Wiesel recounts what he smelled that night. He says, "In the air, the smell of burning flesh." Based on the conditions of the Holocaust, and the smell of bodies burning, I can infer that many of the people in that train car will be burned in that very fire; that they will be stripped of their dignity just before death, and stand naked in front of everybody. I also am inferring that Mrs. Schӓcter was among those people; that or she was shot. I think this because there was no “room” in the Holocaust for ill or mental people. A thought that saddens me asks how Ellie Wiesel knew the smell of flesh previous to the Holocaust. Could the conditions in his hometown have made him exposed to such things at a young age?
As Mr. Wiesel had put it, "We had arrived," (28) but I'm afraid most of them were only arriving to the end.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Annexed Blog #1
My first book club book is an emotional novel by Sharon Dogar named Annexed. The protagonist of the story is Peter Van Pels, a sixteen year old Jewish boy, who is forced to live in a confined annex with Anne Frank and her family. The story begins with a saddening scene. It starts with Peter running from a siren coming from one of the Nazi vans. He is running to his girlfriend's house and gets over her fence just in time for the siren not to reach him. Before Peter is able to get into her house, the Nazis from that van abduct her whole family, leaving Peter angry and questioning life. The beginning of the story illustrates the two families moving into the annex. The author introduces the relationships between Peter and his housemates, including his hatred for Anne Frank. The story has an interesting conflict, thoughtful characters, and a saddening setting.
The story has two conflicts, person-against-society and person-against-person. Peter's main problem is the Holocaust. All of the conflicts in the story relate back to this specific conflict. The reason he has to live in the annex is because of the Holocaust, the reason his girlfriend was taken away by Nazis is because of the Holocaust, etc. The other conflict is Anne Frank. He hates her due to her presumptuous and ostentatious personality. It agitates Peter to the fullest extent. In the story, the protagonist is faced with many problems.
The main character as said before is Peter. He is an average teenage boy who feels and acts the same way a normal teenager would. He feels lust for Liese, his girlfriend that has just been captured with her family by Nazi soldiers. He feels angst against his parents: his father a strict, yet friendly man, and his mother very loving, but sometimes ignorant. Living in the annex along with his family are the Franks. There is Anne, who, as said before enjoys being the center of attention and is Peter's antagonist. There is Mr. Frank, a wise sounding man who doesn’t get tempered often. Also his wife, Mrs. Frank, who is much stricter and very short-tempered. Anne's sister, Margot, is a flat character; she seems to be a quiet girl. So far the characters of the story remain a little flat. I predict a lot of character change in the future since there are eight people living in one very small annex together.
The story takes place in Amsterdam toward the end of the summer in 1942. The story takes place during World War II at the start of the Holocaust. The families live in an annex with about four rooms, each very small. There is a kitchen, a bedroom or two, a bathroom, an attic type, and some hallways. Peter's "room," consists of a bed and a dresser which lie under the staircase that leads to the attic. There is no privacy, no quiet, and no comfort. Most rooms are multi-purpose rooms, so they can make use of every inch they have.
The story takes on a thoughtful approach to the mind of a teenage boy living through the Holocaust. So far I enjoy it thoroughly and I look forward to continuing and reaching the climax.
The story has two conflicts, person-against-society and person-against-person. Peter's main problem is the Holocaust. All of the conflicts in the story relate back to this specific conflict. The reason he has to live in the annex is because of the Holocaust, the reason his girlfriend was taken away by Nazis is because of the Holocaust, etc. The other conflict is Anne Frank. He hates her due to her presumptuous and ostentatious personality. It agitates Peter to the fullest extent. In the story, the protagonist is faced with many problems.
The main character as said before is Peter. He is an average teenage boy who feels and acts the same way a normal teenager would. He feels lust for Liese, his girlfriend that has just been captured with her family by Nazi soldiers. He feels angst against his parents: his father a strict, yet friendly man, and his mother very loving, but sometimes ignorant. Living in the annex along with his family are the Franks. There is Anne, who, as said before enjoys being the center of attention and is Peter's antagonist. There is Mr. Frank, a wise sounding man who doesn’t get tempered often. Also his wife, Mrs. Frank, who is much stricter and very short-tempered. Anne's sister, Margot, is a flat character; she seems to be a quiet girl. So far the characters of the story remain a little flat. I predict a lot of character change in the future since there are eight people living in one very small annex together.
The story takes place in Amsterdam toward the end of the summer in 1942. The story takes place during World War II at the start of the Holocaust. The families live in an annex with about four rooms, each very small. There is a kitchen, a bedroom or two, a bathroom, an attic type, and some hallways. Peter's "room," consists of a bed and a dresser which lie under the staircase that leads to the attic. There is no privacy, no quiet, and no comfort. Most rooms are multi-purpose rooms, so they can make use of every inch they have.
The story takes on a thoughtful approach to the mind of a teenage boy living through the Holocaust. So far I enjoy it thoroughly and I look forward to continuing and reaching the climax.
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