BOOK REVIEW-“THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS” (by John Boyne) and “ONCE” (by Morris Gleitzmen)

Bruno’s life had suddenly changed after his family had left their home in Berlin, to live in their new house in Auschwitz. Bruno was in doubt of the idea of moving houses. He was leaving behind his three friends for life and everything else he owned… that’s were his journey of immense breakthrough began.
The book “The boy in the striped pyjamas” and the book “Once” are similar in many ways. They both explore similar themes, different values and characteristic. Reading “The boy in the striped pyjamas” helped me understand that there was more to the Holocaust than I realised. It is an eventful story and courage is shown in every little aspect of the book.
On the other hand, the book “Once” was even more eventful, because of the different paths and journeys Felix and his companion Zelda (the main characters) had to go through each night and day.
The following themes were clearly brought out through each book: friendship, loyalty, courage, family, kindness, hope, passion, love, faithful, disappointment, oppression, resistance, hiding, power, relationship, trust, separation, sacrifice, innocence, chance and moral choices.
The powerful theme of love and friendship heavily impacted each character. Starting with Bruno and shmuel’s friendship, after moving to Auschwitz Bruno meets a Jewish victim named shmuel and befriends him, this friendship develops through his time. Therefore Bruno and Shmuel became attached with each other.
Felix and Zelda’s friendship is the other way around; Felix is a Jewish victim, and saves Zelda from a burning house. Their friendship is rather strong in terms of consideration of one another. For instance Felix gave Zelda a piggy-back when her slippers were torn away on their way to the city. Or when a random German lady invited them to stay with her, even though she knew, she was putting herself in big danger. That’s a great example of how love and affection can bring each character together.
Another theme that had played a big role in each character’s lives was their families. Having a Family is the most important thing in your life.
In Bruno’s family is not an everyday family you know off. It’s a family were everything is settled and taken care off. His father is a Commandant in charge of the concentration camp, but Bruno understand very little of his father’s business. All he knows is that, his father has a very important job and his in charge of a number of solders.

The boy in the striped pyjamas questions

Q1,
Bruno seems younger than nine because of his height (too short) and his luck of knowledge, of what’s really going around him. He’s naïve and not aware of the Holocaust and what’s been done to the Jewish people in “Out -With” as he calls it. “Out- With” is Bruno’s mispronunciation of “Auschwitz”. And same has pronouncing the “Fuhry” instead of the Fury. He is just blanked on vocabulary and understanding of things.
Q4,
The thing about the house at out-with that makes Bruno “cold and unsafe” is because he’s not used to leaving there, and the condition of their new house, the location and the surroundings. He is very curious to know why they had to leave their big house in Berlin, stay in Auschwitz. He doesn’t find that place safe because of the quietness around it, and he has no friend anymore to play with compared to his house in Berlin. Bruno doesn’t understand why there’s too sided fence. He doesn’t get why the people in the other side of the fence are dressed in striped pyjamas all day long, and why his father also goes there to visit but they’ve never invited anyone back for dinner.
Q12,
I agree with the statement made, that we have no rights to ignore the past because its unpleasant or refuse to let reality intrude on our preference for fun and for laughter. It’s true that we shouldn’t let the past fade away just because it happened a long time ago and we have nothing to do with it. History is very important to not make the same mistakes again and repeat what was done in the past. Whatever happened in history can sometimes be repeated in the future, that’s why to avoid the repetition of a certain history it has to be told, whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant.

Symbolic clothing

Most people can be described or are described by their clothing. However as to the person inside, they may not be the same as the person on the outside which their clothes portray. Clothing can be symbolic in one way or another, it can signify whether the person is good in the inside or good on the outside. Different types of clothing can be worn by different groups. For example the uniforms worn by schools around the globe tell people what type of school it is. Not all schools have the same uniform, each one of them is different and yet the wearing of a uniform unites all the students as one. The word uniform basically means one form; it is identical which illustrates everyone wearing it as one. It can also save the stress of finding the right clothes to wear each morning, and saves you time.

In addition a Soldier’s uniform can signify many things. One of them is, on how their appearances looks compared to the person they are really. Soldiers are proud of themselves because they are representing their country. The soldiers’ uniform is also a significant safety factor. The uniform is designed to hide him/her depending on whether he is fighting in a jungle or desert.The Nazi soldiers in the Holocaust weren't a good sign to the Jewish people and others. They were given orders by Hitler, on how to treat the Jewish people. Compare them to soldiers fighting in Afghanistan today, there's quite a bit difference. Afghanistan Soldiers are there to make peace throughout the country and to make sure that it’s a safe place for people leaving in there.

Another aspect of this is, a clown’s uniform. It’s symbolic of making funny gestures and making children or adults laugh, especially at children's parties. The features of their faces can also relate to how funny they are. They can also be a bit scary sometimes, it depends. Whenever someone thinks of a clown, they think of funniness and happiness. That’s the first thing that pops in their minds. a clown is describes as a very happy pleasant person. He is also describes as, a comic entertainer, who acts clumsy, plays jokes or tricks in a buffoon-like manner. They are usually grotesquely costumed, wearing makeup and appear in circus shows or children's entertainment party. There’s many ways in which you can describe a clown.

The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding WW2. It carried across nations, but in most countries started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930’s or early 1940’s. The great depression was the longest, most widespread and deepest depression in the 20Th century.

Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however as it have been said, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's and 30's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the 1930's.

The Depression was a tragity to many enployees and families who couldn't find any jobs.All Bank deposits were uninsured and thus as banks failed people simply lost their savings. Food was the other propblem, many people had no money or food for their families.

However, the Great Depression did not affect everyone the same way. Many rich people felt no impact at all, and were oblivious to the suffering of others. Up to forty percent of the country never faced real hardship during those
years. But most were touched by it in some way. By the time of Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration in 1933, the unemployment rate hovered close to twenty-five percent. Fluctuating during the 1930s, it never fell below 14.3% until 1941.

the thing that most surprized people was how families were falling apart. Married couples were getting divorce, becauese it was too expensive to pay the legal fees and support two households); and birth rates dropped below the replacement level for the first time in American history. Families suffered a dramatic loss of income during Herbert Hoover's term in office, dropping 35% in those four years to $15M.

At that time men were very fruastrated, they even left their families because they couldn't get enough support for their families. Many complitely stopped looking for work paralyzed by their bleak chances and lack of self-respect. Fruastration was huge at that momment, A 1940 survey revealed that 1.5 million married women had been abandoned by their husbands.

Health and fitness

I've learnt a lot about health plus fitness, and how important it is. in fact, i also learnt why we really need to be healthy and fit before we did the triathlon.
young adolescents should have at least 15-30 minutes of exercise per day and adults should have 30-40 minutes of exercises per day. we should also control what we eat all the time, and what sort of sport drinks we are taking after or before exercising ourselves. if you have a problem with your fitness, you should always go get a personal trainer or visit a physiology. that's possibly the best way that your fitness could get back on track.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Gloria. i am 14 years old. i am from the democratic republic of Congo, but i lived most of my life in South Africa, in Johannesburg. i have three younger sisters, Patricia, Melissa and Grace.
i live in Perth(Free mantle) and I've just moved to Huntingtower last year in the second term. i love Huntingtower i think it's a great school and it as a conscientious atmosphere surrounding by. through last year i most enjoyed the school carnival, house athletics, choir and all the amazing excursions.
i started playing the cello at the end of last year, and i find it quiet a fantastic instrument to be playing. i love it because of the different sounds it makes and it shape. the orchestra is a great assemble of students who enjoy playing their instrument with other. it creates such wonderful sounds and melodies.
overall, i think this year will be a delightful year with the year 9 bike riding program and every other future activities. hope everyone enjoys it.

Josephine Alibrandy-Character

i chose Josephine Alibrandy as my favorite character, because she's a very absorbing, intriguing, young teenager.
she's the narrator of the story. She relates events as if they are happening now, and she speaks directly to the reader. She presenters herself as misunderstood and dissatisfied in the beginning of the novel. Her 'many problems' have accumulated in her head over the years and involves her hatred of being illegitimate, he hatred of Nonna, her frustrations with living in a Sicilian culture that has 'ridiculous rules and restrictions', and 'being stuck at a school dominated by rich people'. She believes that no-one understands her and that in her family she has 'had it worst'. Josie has become a self-centered and melodramatic adolescent who her friend Lee calls a 'snob'; who Nonna says is 'with out respect'; who Christina calls 'selfish and unreasonable'; and who Jacob describes as having ' the biggest mouth in Sydney'. This is our heroine. She is far from perfect, but she admits that herself, and the readers perceptions of Josie are influenced by the way she reveals herself to us.she goes on discovering who her father is, and why he didn't wanted her in the first place. Michael Andriette,(Josephine father) has come to really get to know what he left behind and start all over again.