Sarah's English Blog

Suite Francaise

2009-05-11T13:31:00.002-05:00

German Occupation of France
The German occupation of France in World War II occurred during the period between May 1940 and December 1944. An armistice was signedJune 22, 1940. Under its terms the north and west of France were occupied by the German Army, the remaining one third of the country was ruled by a French government.
The life of the French during the German occupation was marked, from the beginning, by endemic shortages. The armistice forced France to pay for the German troops, which ended up costing twenty million Francs per day. This resulted in a lack of food and raw materials for the French.
Also, there was obligatory work during the occupation. During the German occupation, the Obligatory Work Service (STO) consisted of requisitions and transfer of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Germany against their will, for the German war effort in work camps.

French Resistance
Although the majority of the occupied French did not take part in active resistance, many resisted passively through acts such as listening to the banned BBC, or giving collateral or material aid to Resistance members. Beginning in 1942, many refused to be drafted into the factories and farms of Germany by the STO organization, going underground to avoid imprisonment. The armed underground groups, known as the Maquis, fought against the Germans. After D-Day in June 1944, the French armed resistance groups sabotaged the railway lines, destroying bridges and providing general intelligence that was communicated directly to London via radio within hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_occupation_of_France_during_World_War_II

Quarter Two: Blog 10

2009-01-13T17:17:00.000-06:00

This week, I finished Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. Throughout the book, the only thing Eliza wants is to be the person that other people want her to be. She strives for the acceptance of everyone around her when what she really needed was to accept herself. The day before the national spelling bee, Eliza couldn't wait to spell, but because she just wanted the hullabaloo of the bee and everything that came along with it to be over. Ever since she made the district bee, her brother Aaron grew further and further away from her. Her dad, who had always been distant, became closer to her and soon, her dad skipped afternoon guitar lessons with Aaron everyday so that he could work on preparing her for the bee. As much as she enjoyed the extra attention from her dad, she would have traded it if it meant that Aaron were her friend again. Eliza's mom saw Eliza spelling and tried to make Eliza become like herself as a little girl, but her attempts never proved fruitful and both were disappointed. Eliza has dealt with being the disappointment of her family ever since she didn't qualify for the accelerated class in third grade. So, after the national spelling bee, Eliza realized something about herself that she had never known before. Suddenly, she realized that she could count on herself and that she was happy with who she was and that she didn't need to be anyone else.

Quarter Two: Blog 9

2009-01-04T17:31:00.002-06:00

Since Aaron feels neglected by his family, he decides to rebel against them- his father in particular. Aaron realizes that when he walks into synagogue he no longer feels like "a prince beholding the kingdom he's about to inherit" (82). He realizes that he didn't "shop around for religions," he "bought Judaism without consulting the side of the box" (79). So, in order to keep himself from a devastating realization that Judaism is not the religion for him later in life, Aaron decides to test out other religions.

The religion Aaron picks first is Christianity. He pages through the yellow pages and finds that there are many, many different types of churches. Roman Catholicism stuck out to him the most, so he picked a church in a nearby town and left the following Sunday. Aaron was paranoid about going to church the second he got into his car. He had to park his car in the parking lot of the strip mall next to the church so that no one would see his car in the church lot. When he sat down in the pew, he was terrified that someone would figure out he was a Jew and that he would be kicked out of the church. Instead of being reprimanded when he incorrectly anticipates a kneel as he feared, the woman next to him turned and warmly smiled at him. Aaron begins to believe that maybe, Christianity isn't completely wrong for him.

Quarter Two: Blog 8

2009-01-04T17:31:00.001-06:00

Dear Miriam,
How could you have ignored your daughter for so long? I understand that when you were young, you excelled in school and that Eliza never has, but that doesn't mean that she is not your daughter. How is it possible to see your own daughter as "a gosling born into a family of ducks, loved and accepted, but always and forever a goose" (59)? After 10 years of being ignored, Eliza finally attracts your attention when she is spelling at the state bee. You realized that while she was spelling, so absorbed in the words that "not even a burning building could distract her," (59) she looked exactly like you did as a child. A sour feeling hit you when you remembered how you learned to concentrate so diligently; "such powers of concentration come from years of being alone, of needing to focus so strongly on one thing because there is nothing else" (59). By keeping your distance from Eliza, you made her exactly like you as a child: a lonely outsider. So Miriam, how are you going to make her feel included and loved? What kind of mother doesn't include and love her daughter in the first place? You may not be a conventional mother, but I know that you love Eliza. So my advice to you is to show her how much she means you you because she doesn't know it yet.

Quarter Two: Blog 7

2009-01-04T17:29:00.000-06:00

This Break, I read more of my book Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. In this section of the book, Eliza wins the state bee and begins studying for nationals. Her dad, Saul who suddenly wants to be with Eliza any second he can, offers to help her study. He takes her into his office, which Eliza has never stepped into because she wasn't allowed to, and shows her the corner he set up for them to study together. Eliza is ecstatic with all the attention her dad is giving her until she realizes that since Saul is so focused on Eliza, he stops paying attention to Aaron, her brother.

Usually, Saul and Aaron have a guitar session together after school in Saul's office. Although recently, because of Eliza's newfound spelling ability, Saul has been spending more time with Eliza and less with Aaron. Aaron, trying to be a good big brother, pretends that it doesn't bother him. In truth, Aaron feels rejected and he begins resenting his sisters success. When Saul announces to the congregation of their temple that Eliza won the district bee and is going to the state spelling bee, Aaron's quiet resentment builds and he stops talking to, looking at, and listening to his sister. The way he sees it, Saul loves Eliza more. Aaron had made the state science meet for a string of years, but his accomplishments were never acknowledged. So, although Eliza is going to the national spelling bee, her success is bittersweet because it means the loss of the already fading bond she shared with her brother.

Quarter Two: Blog 6

2008-12-16T17:13:00.000-06:00

This week, I read more of my book, Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. In this section of the book, Eliza realizes that she only has four weeks to study for the spelling bee finals. At first, when she gets home from school, Eliza just sits on the couch and watches TV until dinner. Then, after constant both verbal and visual reminders from her father, Eliza begins to study, although she prefers to use the word "practice" because she associates "study" with a chore and being extremely bored. So, after school, Eliza locks herself in her room and practices spelling words. Saul approves Eliza's constant practicing and even offers to help her, but she enjoys the solitude that comes with spelling, so she refuses his help.

Whenever Eliza spells in the book, she closes her eyes to see the words and what she sees is vividly described to the reader. I find her visual images of the words very interesting. Sometimes, she sees each word in a different place, locked in her body, but she can get it out. "She pictures words lining her stomach, expanding with each stretch of her lungs, nestling in the chambers of her heart" (44). Other times, each letter is in the ocean. "When Eliza closes her eyes to spell, the inside of her head becomes an ocean of consonants and vowels, swirling and crashing in huge waves of letters until the word she wants begins to rise to the surface" (45). I think that it is very interesting that whenever Eliza spells a word, it appears in her head and she is able to spell directly from it.

Quarter 2: Blog 5

2008-12-09T18:06:00.002-06:00

This week, I read more of Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. In this section, Eliza wins the district spelling bee and the reader learns more about Aaron's life, specifically his relationship with God. Eliza arrives at the district bee with Aaron (who sits in the back because he doesn't expect to stay long) and she suddenly realizes that she is under dressed and that she hasn't studied for the bee at all. She becomes nervous while she waits to walk on stage, but her fears vanish when she her first word appears in her head and she spells it correctly. Finally, Eliza wins the bee and receives her trophy, a enormous gold bee figurine. She returns home and greets her father and now that she is "a winner," she finally feels accepted by him.

One question I have about this section is: Why isn't Aaron proud of Eliza when she wins the district spelling bee? Aaron does very well in school and I would have thought that he would be happier that his little sister is finally being recognized for her intelligence. Also, Aaron is very close with Saul, their dad, and ever since Eliza had been skipped over for the TAG program at school, all Saul wanted was for Eliza to show everyone how smart she really is. This would lead me to believe that Aaron would be proud of Eliza too, but when Saul asked him about it, Aaron had to think about "what a good brother would say" to answer the question.

Ethics Research

2008-12-07T13:14:00.000-06:00

Research Question:
Is it wrong to use sites like spark notes?

Graham, David. "Catch Me If You Can." Toronto Star Mar 6 2008: n.p. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source . Edina High School. 6 Dec 2008. http://www.sks.sirs.com

David Graham is a journalist for the Toronto Star, a newspaper from Toronto, Canada. In this article, Graham explains that cheating has turned our generation into "a culture of cheaters and excuse-makers." Following examples from parents that "cheat on each other for sport" and professional athletes that say they "took one (steroids, for example) for the team," students are becoming lazier and cheating more often. This article will help my research because it clearly states that cheating is wrong and that students shouldn't "lift information from the Internet and call it their own." Also, the article explains that students who cheat in school end up cheating on things like their marriage, taxes, and resumes later in life.

Gulli, Cathy. "The Great University Cheating Scandal." Maclean's Feb 12 2007: 32-36. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 7 Dec 2008. http://www.sks.sirs.com

Cathy Gulli's article appears in Maclean's 120th volume. In this article, Gulli tells that cheating is on the rise in universities, which means that "the value of a degree is being debased." Universities aren't doing enough to stop this epidemic of cheating. This article will help me with my research because it has many statistics, including 40 percent of students admitted to plagiarizing from the Internet and at the University of Toronto, instances of plagiarizing has risen from "92 a decade ago to 298 in the 2003-2004 school year." Students no longer see cheating as cheating "it's just a way to survive the system." Cheating has redefined a 'good' student- they are no longer the smart ones who listen and take good notes and study hard, but the clever ones who can get by on someone else's work.

Quarter 2: Blog 4

2008-12-01T21:26:00.000-06:00

Eliza,
Why did you and your brother, Aaron, grow so far apart? I understand that there are six years between you and Aaron, but that does not mean that you two can not be close to each other. You used to play with him all the time; he would "drive" you to crazy places like Neptune or the bottom of the ocean all the while fighting off evil aliens and giant land squids with you and he taught you how to fight like a ninja against evil villains. When you had bad dreams, you would go to Aaron for comfort in the middle of the night, not your parents as most kids would have. He was your hero. Then, one day at recess when you were in kindergarten, you saw two bullies beating up your invincible brother. Instead of helping him in one of the ways you thought up, you refused to believe it was Aaron and you ran away from him because "there's no way she'd be able to help this boy who can't possibly be Aaron. Aaron, who knows all the secret moves of the ninja and Jedi. Aaron, who saves Eliza from bad dreams. Aaron, who would never allow himself to be reduced to this" (30). Your gilded image of him was destroyed by those boys, but that does not mean that you had to stop idolizing him. He is still your brother, he still loves you, and he still wants to be your role model. Why would you let that slip away?

Quarter 2: Blog 3

2008-12-01T16:26:00.000-06:00

This week, I read more of Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. In this section, Eliza concludes that her spelling bee win is too little, too late for her father. Too afraid to step into her father's study to show him the envelope from her principal that tells of her accomplishment in the school spelling bee and when and where the district bee is, Eliza slips the notice under his door. Unfortunately, her father's study is extremely messy and Eliza's letter gets lost under papers on the floor. Eliza waits all week to hear her father tell her how proud he is of her and see his face flash with pride rather than the usual disappointment, but the encounter never comes. Finally, on the day of the bee, Eliza asks her junior brother, Aaron, to drive her and she tells him about her win and he asks why their dad won't drive her. Eliza explains that he doesn't care and Aaron takes her to their father's study to ask him about it. After a short conversation in which they realize that the letter was simply misplaced, the envelope is found and opened and Eliza is filled with joy when, "The smile that appears momentarily erases years of report card trauma.'This,' Saul says in a reverent voice, 'is a beautiful thing'" (27). Finally, her father is proud of her and Eliza realizes that she is someone of value and that she does matter. With this revelation, a win at the district spelling bee seems inevitable.

Quarter Two: Blog 2

2008-11-18T17:13:00.002-06:00

This week, I began Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. Eliza Naumann is a fifth grader in the "not gifted" class at her elementary school. She envies the beautiful and popular kids in the TAG program at school, Talented and Gifted students. She tells about how in second grade, her teacher had the honor of choosing which of her students would be put on the accelerated course and which ones would not. Eliza was not one of the ones her teacher chose. Since then, mediocrity has been expected of Eliza by her teachers, nothing more. So when she wins her first ever class spelling bee and then goes on to win the school spelling bee, everyone, including Eliza is surprised and she is so proud of herself for proving wrong everyone that thought she wasn't smart.

I found it odd that the book was in first person- from a fifth graders point of view on life. Every once and a while, the narrator will step in and give some background on a character or event, but for the most part, Eliza is the speaker. More interesting than the point of view is the vocabulary. Even when Eliza is speaking, the author uses words that even I had to look up, like unvariegated (which means not diversified or unvaried (Webster)). The book just doesn't sound like it was written by an elementary school student.

Quarter 2: Blog 1

2008-11-11T17:30:00.000-06:00

This week, I read The Epic Of Sundjata, the fictionalized tale of the historic ruler of Mali of West Africa. This story takes place from about 1210-1235 AD, from the birth of Sundjata (also known as Sundiata) to the battle of Karina, in which Sundjata defeats the evil sorcerer king, Sumangaru. This tale shares much about the culture of West Africa at the time it was written. It shows that the region was Muslim because of the constant references to Allah and that they believed in "spirit doubles," animals that inhabited each person and also was the source of their strength. Also, they believed in talking to soothsayers, or fortune tellers. The soothsayers would toss stones or shells on the ground and study the shells/ stones to decide the future of the person that came to them. The person would then take the advice of the soothsayer to keep themselves out of harm or to obtain for themselves a great fortune. Another piece of culture that the story tells us is that although women were not the rulers of the kingdoms of West Africa, they still played major roles in the governing of the regions. We see this when the wife of the father of Sundjata ruled with her son when Sundjata's father died. I believe that although this story may not be completely true, it was important for the Jalis, who were advisors to the kings, to pass this story down from generation to generation of kings because not only does it show the kings how to rule a kingdom, but it also shows us how the West Africans lived in the 1200s AD.

Blog #7

2008-10-27T17:22:00.000-05:00

This week, I finished Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. Jacob finishes his story of his life at the circus including it's happy ending. Then, the book comes back to present day. Jacob waits for his son to come and visit him so that they can go to the circus that is in town, but his family never comes. Jacob decides to go to the circus by himself, even though he isn't allowed to leave the nursing home. At the circus, he meets Charlie, who is a manager, and Charlie invites Jacob into his trailer after the show. There, Charlie learns that Jacob isn't supposed to be with him, but Jacob explains that he wants to join the circus again; Charlie agrees.

"And then I laugh, because it's so ridiculous and so gorgeous and it's all I can do to melt into a fit of giggles. So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me, why shouldn't I run away to the circus?" (331).

This excerpt from Jacob's thoughts sums up the message of the story. Whether we're old or young, we can only ever be truly happy when we do what we love. Jacob loved being a part of the circus; when he wasn't with the circus, he was cranky and mean. So, becoming a part of it again made him realize how happy he can be when he does what he likes to do.

Blog #6

2008-10-21T17:01:00.000-05:00

This week, I read from the Koran in a text translated by Arthur J. Arberry. The Koran is the religious text for Islam and was written after the teaching of the prophet Muhammad. The section of the Koran that I read was written for men; it elucidated the religion's rules about mens interactions with women. The Koran explained to men how many wives they can have, how to treat women in the society, and who they are allowed to wed. The Koran stated, "marry such women as seem good to you, two three, four..." (176). According to this excerpt, men in Islamic societies are allowed to have as many wives as they please. The Koran also said, "Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over the other" (179). Men are seen as more powerful and more respected in society than women are. Men are told to order the women around because God prefers men over women. Finally, the Koran states, "Forbidden are you to your mothers and daughters, your sisters, your aunts, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters..." (179). The list of forbidden wives goes on and on. What it says is that men may not wed their family, however distantly related. So, according to the Koran, men in Islamic societies have much more power than women do because men may choose as many wives as they please, God favors the men, and men are allowed to wed anyone they wish as long as the woman isn't in their family.

Blog #5

2008-10-14T18:29:00.000-05:00

Dear Camel,
What made you decide to befriend Jacob? You are an experienced and normally well-liked employee that seems to be quiet and shy towards others. After making friends with Jacob, people no longer see you as the quiet, shy, responsible one. Maybe you just wanted to prove to everyone that you aren't just the quiet one, that you can be risky and clever as well, but what about him made you want to be nice to him in the first place? After knowing him for all of 2 hours, (and you were asleep for one and a half of those hours) you backed him up and helped him get a respectable starting job and then helped him advance further and get promoted to higher jobs; his job was better than yours! So why did you do it? Since you are a circus worker, I doubt you chose to because you are just a good person that wanted to help out someone in need, but I also do not believe that you chose to become friends with him because you wanted to help yourself. So, did your friends force you to be nice to him? Did you just have a good feeling about Jacob? Whatever your motive, your decision to befriend Jacob changed how everyone felt about you because they changed they way they thought of you. This decision turned you from the nice and quiet Camel to the smart and knowledgeable Camel. So, whatever made you decide to befriend him helped you greatly.

Blog # 4

2008-10-07T19:27:00.004-05:00

Sara Gruen, the author of Water For Elephants, stresses the importance of being obedient through her book. When the main character, Jacob Jankowski, is a young boy, he is very obedient. This is shown through his actions and words, which makes him likable by his superiors and furthers his career.

What Jacob does shows the reader how quickly he complies to others. An example of his compliance is when he is asked to shovel out a train-car full of horse manure. Rather than refusing to do this dirty task like most college students would, Jacob agrees. After he finished this job, Jacob was more respected by the circus people and was promoted to a better, cleaner, job.

Through his words, Jacob shows his obedience as well. One instance when Jacob's words show his obedience is when he is speaking to Cecil. Cecil is one of Jacob's superiors at the circus. Whenever Jacob speaks to Cecil, he is humble and as helpful as he can be. He doesn't ask Cecil for favors or expect things of him, but understands that Cecil is in charge of him. Because of the way Cecil is treated by Jacob, Cecil puts in a good word or two about Jacob to the men in charge of the circus which allows Jacob to move even further up the circus jobs to a better one.

By analyzing Jacob's words and actions, it is possible to see that his obedience is very helpful to him and his career. His easy compliance is so helpful because it shows respect for his superiors, who in turn respect Jacob, which advances his career in the circus.

Blog #3

2008-09-30T21:11:00.002-05:00

Dear Mr. Jacob Jankowski,
What was going through your head when you decided to run away to the circus? I know that your mom and dad just died in a car accident and that no one understands how you feel right now, but why would you get on that train? I suppose it must have been a spur of the moment thing- jumping on to a train speeding by just when you're thinking about getting away from your life and the real world. Does that mean that it is okay to leave behind everyone that loves you, like Catherine, your long time girlfriend, without telling them where you are going let alone saying goodbye? Not to mention circus life is hard and scary a lot of the time. If you say or do the wrong thing at the wrong time, you could get badly beaten up. Three people have already told this to you and you have not even been at the circus for a day. Despite all of this, you stay. Thoughts of home and Catherine and your life pre-circus never even cross your mind. I understand that you need to just be away from everything for a little while, but how long is a little while? How long are you going to keep Catherine worrying about where you are and what happened to you? I hope you can figure out how much damage you are causing soon because I know I would like to know where you are if I was Catherine. Good luck to you,
Sarah

Blog #2

2008-09-23T20:14:00.004-05:00

This week, I read the first two chapters of Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. This book is about a man named Jacob Jankowski. Jacob is old- so old in fact that he is not sure how old he is. He lives in a nursing home, but seems to wish he didn't have to and could support himself. One day when Joseph McGuinty sits across from Jacob at dinner, he claims that he carried water for the elephants in the circus when he was younger. Jacob doesn't believe him and they get into an argument. Then, the reader is taken back in time to when Jacob was twenty-three and a student at Cornell. When Jacob finds that both his parents have died in a car accident, he runs away and finds himself on a circus train.
"Age is a terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops you back. It makes you ache and muddies your head" (12). This quote comes when Jacob is sitting in his room, pondering how he is treated at the nursing home. It is obvious that Jacob despises being old and senile. He makes a very good note about how life works, though. All through your "young" years, you are struggling to find who you are and what you want to be. All the twists and turns of life startle you and it takes a while until you get back in your grove again after an accident. When you are older though, life's unexpected mishaps fail to surprise you and it is finally possible to live contently. That is when you become too old to do anything but sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. This insight may be what the whole book is about; life is unfair because once you can figure it out, you're too old to care.

Blog #1

2008-09-19T18:04:00.001-05:00

This week, I read an article about how the brain creates all of our emotions. This article called Sad Brain, Happy Brain was from Newsweek and was written by Michael Craig Miller. "Neuroscientists consider it settled that the mind arises from the cooperation of billions of interconnected cells that, individually, are no smarter than an amoebae" (53). It is amazing how emotions, simple like sadness and happiness, or complex like jealousy and love, are all created by a bunch of individual brain cells working together. What is even more amazing is that complex emotions, for example jealousy and love, only use certain parts of the brain, while simpler emotions, like being happy or sad, use over 70 different parts. One thing I found esecially interesting about this article was how the brain recognizes harmful situations and sends fear through your body. The brain analyses the environment and registers emotional significance and sends the body the proper response. The fear system works really fast; you don't even need to know whats going on to have fear. If a car swerves into your lane, you would be afraid of it before the visual brain has chance to see what is going on. I found that to be very interesting; even when you don't know what is happening consciously, your brain does. This must be an instinct we humans have had from the beginning of time to help us survive. I really enjoyed reading this article and learning about how our brains work because it is very interesting to me to learn more about myself and how our bodies work.

Welcome!

2008-09-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog!