Kevin's Blog

For the fourth and final blog post, I will be reading about the topic of connections in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas with other readings we have studied in this unit. Recently in English class, we have been studying a book called Night by Elie Wiesel. I believe that Night and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas connect very well. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas follows the 2 main characters, one being the son of a German officer, and the other being a young boy inside the camps. On the other hand, Night highlights one main character, Eliezer, who is a Jewish boy who got taken from his home and put into a camp with many others. The books have many similarities because they are both covering the same topic and it shows the harsh realities of it. One key difference is that the two books are coming from different perspectives. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is mainly giving us the perspective of the German side, even though Bruno doesn’t like what he sees the Germans doing. Night is giving us the pure perspective of life inside the camps, with Eliezer and his father. Another reading that is connected to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is the reading called What did the World Know? This reading is to see how much the rest of the world knew about what was going on, and what was happening to the Jewish population. In the beginning of this happening, other countries didn’t know what was happening. This is connected to Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas because in the beginning he didn’t know what was happening on the other side of the fence and why Schmuel was the way he was. After reading these it gave me insight into the harsh realities of this time period. Knowing about this sad moment in history makes me feel very sad knowing what people had to go through, and that all of this is real, and not in a fiction story.

For my third independent reading book blog post, I will be writing about theme topics in the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I think so far the main theme in the book is innocence and naivety in Bruno. In this portion of the book, Bruno explores and meets Shmuel on the other side of the fence. Bruno does realize that Shmuel is wearing the same uniform and outfit that he has seen the others on that side of the fence wearing, but Bruno thinks none of it. They exchange names, birthdays, etc. Bruno tells Shmuel how he doesn’t like the life he has on his side of the fence, not knowing that Shmuel’s is many many times worse.  When Shmuel tells his story to Bruno, Bruno relates what Shmuel’s saying to something that happened to him, but still not knowing that Shmuel’s experiences are far worse. An example of this is that Bruno asked Shmuel whether he had any friends, and Shmuel replies by saying there are many boys on his side of the fence. Bruno responds by saying that Shmuel is lucky and complains about how boring it is on his side of the fence because there is no one to play with. Another example that shows innocence in Bruno is when Shmuel tells him that he is from Poland. Bruno says that he doesn’t believe that Poland is as good a country as Germany is. He says that he thinks this because he hears his father saying that Germany is superior. That shows how innocent Bruno is because saying that to a person in Shmuel’s circumstance would really hurt him. A direct quote from the text that can support the theme of innocence and naivety is a quote from when Shmuel is describing how he got to “Out-With”. The quote is, “‘All of us’, said Shmuel, nodding his head. ‘Eleven in total’. Bruno opened his mouth to contradict him again – he didn’t really believe that 11 people could live in the same room together.” This quote shows that Bruno is very innocent and doesn’t realize that there were 11 of them together in the same room, not by choice, but because they were forced to. Those are some examples of the theme topic of innocence and naivety from Bruno.

For the second independent reading book blog post, I chose to write about different quotes in the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The first quote I found in the section that I read this week, is from Bruno’s father. Bruno is talking to his father about how he doesn’t like their new house and how he wants to go back to Berlin. After asking his father when they will go back to Berlin and their old home, his father says this, “A home is not a building or a street or a city or something so artificial as bricks and mortar. A home is where one’s family is, isn’t that right” Boyne(47). This quote is important because the father is trying to make Bruno comfortable with the new home because he knows that there’s no chance they’re going back to Berlin any time soon. This quote is an attempt to make Bruno accept the new home because his family is there.

Another quote that is important in the book is also from Bruno’s father. Bruno is asking him many questions about the new place they are in. One of the questions he asked is about the people who Bruno sees outside his window. Bruno has noticed that they are all dressed in the same outfits and Bruno asks his father about them. His father responds by saying, ‘Ah, those people’, said Father, nodding his head and smiling slightly. ‘Those people … well, they’re not people at all, Bruno’ Boyne(53). This quote is very important in the book because it shows Bruno’s father’s view on the people in the camps, who are Jews. His father displays his Nazi personality and shows no sympathy for the people in the camps who are going to be killed, saying that they are not even people.

For my first blog post, I decided to write about the topic of characterization. The character I will be talking about is Bruno. He is the protagonist and I know this because he is the main character and also the narrator. He is a nine year old boy and the book starts with him growing up in Berlin. His father works for the army but Bruno doesn’t know exactly what he does. His father’s office is off limits at all times to Bruno so it prevents him from knowing what his dad does for work. In a sense, Bruno is left in the dark about what is going on around him. This is highlighted in the text when it says, “Well, sometimes when someone is very important’, continued Mother, ‘The man who employs him asks him to go somewhere else because there’s a special job that needs doing there.’ ‘What kind of job?’ asked Bruno, because if he was honest with himself, which he always tried to be, he wasn’t entirely sure what job Father did.” The family is forced to move to a new home which, in Bruno’s eyes, is the exact opposite of their old home. Bruno wants to go back to Berlin to be with his friends and stay in his hometown, but his family won’t go back. Bruno also has a weird relationship with his only sister, Gretel. Bruno has an older sister who he doesn’t seem to like much. When moving he secretly wanted for the family to leave his sister in Berlin and take their grandparents instead because he thinks of Gretel as a “Hopeless Case”. After reading 1/4 of the book I see Bruno as being somewhat naive but towards the end of what I have read, he develops and he starts to become more and more observative of what’s happening.

We have finally started capstone. Capstone is a project where we can choose any topic then we research it and put our information on a tri-fold. We started capstone about 2 weeks ago. My topic is Al Capone. I chose him because I was reading the Al Capone does my Shirts series and I was very interested in it. Ever since I read the book I have wanted to know more about him. For example did you know that Al Capone and his gang made about $100 million a year. Or that Capone was so good at manipulating people that he got a guard to work for him while he was still in his jail cell. Even with manipulation he got a jail cell with a personal radio, carpet, expensive furniture, and his own bed. All those things Capone got just by being a gangster. We are also supposed to make an interview and site visit. For my site visit I am planning to go to the Museum of American Gangster in New York City. I will interview someone that works there. I am very excited for it. As of now we are still researching  but once this is done I look forward to seeing the finished product of my 5th grade capstone project. Anybody who is doing capstone good luck and I hope yours turns out well. Make sure to subscribe and comment then I am out.

This week in school 5-L finished PSAs. Our groups PSA was about no racial discrimination. It turned out amazing. We used this new website called wevideo. Our class liked it over iMovie. I suggest trying it one day. Click below to watch the PSA. Before you head out make sure to subscribe, hit the like button, and comment below whatever you want and I am out.

Racial Discrimination PSA

 

Everyone in Scarsdale has received a call from the district saying that tomorrow will be a snow day. I know everyone must be very excited for it. Well I plan to use my time wisely. By wisely I mean don’t go near the snow stay inside and watch TV, play games on devices, and eat tons. No homework will ever have to be thought about because I am doing that today. Ever think “Hey why is Kevin writing this?” Well if you did think that it’s because of homework. Be a fan. Join the club. If you decided to use your time I would see that inside you’re very smart. Like I said it’s using your time wisely. So make sure you subscribe and comment anything you would like and I’m out.

P.S. If you comment your name, class, and what you did during the snow day I will reply to all of you. Have a nice snow day guys.

In our class we will start PSAs. A PSA is a public service announcement. I am planning of doing mine on “You’re always innocent until proven guilty.” I want that because there are many people in jail that are innocent. They are in jail because people didn’t believe them when they told the truth and they sent them off anyway. I hope over time that the number of innocent people in jail will drop a lot. When you accuse someone you should always put yourself in their shoes. By doing that you know what it would be like to go to jail while being innocent and have the guilty person get away. So without evidence you should think of others as equal to you. Don’t accuse without evidence. I hope you liked this. Make sure you subscribe and I am out.

Do you know why everyone loves soccer. Well of course not because everyone has different reasons. Today I will tell you mine. First of all soccer is a team sport and I love team sports. 1, if you lose it’s not only your fault or someone else’s fault it’s the team’s fault. And 2, in team sports you can meet and interact with other people you have never met before. My second reason is that you are always very active when playing. You see when you play soccer it’s always back and forth and you are always moving. Kind of like basketball. Then you take an occasional break when you are so tired you can’t even move. Then after you finish your break you’re back on and running again. Those are my reasons for loving the great sport of soccer. Make sure you subscribe and I’m out.

Hi my name is Kevin. I love to play sports such as Basketball, Football, and Soccer. My favorite Basketball team is the Cavs. My favorite player in basketball is Lebron James. My favorite Football team is the Seahawks. I don’t know who my favorite football player is. And my favorite Soccer team is Barcelona. Obviously my favorite player is Lionel Messi. Anyone who likes those teams or players I respect you. I also like to spend time with my friends. I dislike things such as vegetables. Anyone who dislikes vegetables shout out to you. I also dislike homework. I think everyone can agree with me there. Subscribe to my blog and I’m out.