As I read this chapter, I looked with a budding interest towards which American ideals Ellie would pick up first, because obviously, if she did not pick anything up from America, a book there would not be. It was especially important to me to see the changes, because I too have recently embraced the theme of starting new, fresh, in a place that is unfamiliar to me. Though not such a drastic change (I mean, come on. We the Valley Viewians moved about 3 feet to the left...), it was still a hard adjustment, as most of my friends are younger than me. What was most prominent was the emerging theme of love in these three chapters. Ellie is slowly falling for her doctor who escaped a similar fate to that of Ellies as a child. His name is Alex, and he is 18 years older than she. But who really cares if it's love, right? Ellie actually snaps at her mother for saying that her daughter was getting into 'complications' with Alex... she refused to say 'falling in love.' I don't know if this is an impact of losing her own husband during the Holocaust, but she just does not like the idea of her daughter falling for anyone.
Ellie also gets a job in chapter seven... or rather tries to get one. Her boss and she are all alone in the factory, and Ellie does not work fast enough. Her boss tries to 'help' her, but the reader can see what is actually going on. 'He draped his arm around me, I could smell his garlic breath and his chest was pressed to my back...' (79) Hopefully, we all got the same conclusion there. But she got away and was assigned another job from the company who does the job suppliances.
Vocab:
guillotine- machine for beheading people (77)
oblong-elongated (76)
Appeals:
'She's afraid that I'm falling in love with Alex, an older man who is "not right" for me. Why isn't he right for me when I'm so happy in his company?' (86)
Here Ellie's using a mixture of logical and emotional appeal. She cannot understand why her mother would not want her to be in love if all she wants is for Ellie to be happy. The emotional bit is the hurt clearly heard within her tone. This shows the reader how much she's come to care for Alex.
'How will I ever gain admission to college without a highschool diploma? And if I can't go to college, how will I become a teacher?' (71)
More emotional appeal. She is quite scared that since her highschool years were taken from her, she will never become a teacher for her lack of ability to go to college. Her friends say that she shouldn't worry, but she is quite afraid. I can't blame her.
Quote:
'Despite my initial disappointment, I find myself anticipating the challenge of my new job with a growing sense of adventure.' (72)
I liked this one because it shows the reader her idea about looking at things another way. I agree with her on this: A problem becomes much more solveable when you are curious about it instead of afraid of it. This is how Ellie faces America, without fear.
Theme:
I'd have to say once again, that this was overall love. Basically, she built this theme up through all three chapters until it climaxed in chapter 10. Love keeps trying to find a way into her life, but everything is so complicated already that she cannot seem to let love in the way she wants to.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
chapters 4-6
Dear Ellie,
Three weeks you have been in America! How wonderful! What does it feel like to embark on a journey so grand, to learn a differnt language in only three weeks? I'm amazed... I've been taking French for almost five years and I still only know the basics. Do you think you are starting to fit in? It's really amazing here, the country of freedom. Some things that you need to know are:
1) You can always ask for help. Most people are kind here, and would not feel annoyed to give you some of their times.
2) Be polite and courtious, and it will come back to you.
3) copy and you will learn. Also, immitation is the best form of flattery, and people generally love to become someone's idol.
I hope you feel like a true American soon, Ellie!
Best of luck,
-Dani
Vocab
Incarcerated- imprison/confine (41)
Gulag- political USSR prisoner (59)
Appeals
1) 'Aunt Celia keeps up her banter all the way home from the doctor's office, teasing me mercilessly about having "bewitched a perfectly nice doctor"' (40) - This is a kind of comic appeal towards the audience. She is in the midst of all this rushing and she has caught the eye of her own doctor!
2) "'Where did you leave your shopping wagon?' the store manager asks, incredulous. 'Outside the store? On the street? What did you expect?'" Poor Ellie, this is another example of emotional appeal- they expected America, 'the land with it's arms wide open' to be free of such petty things as thieves. (53)
3) "I'm thrilled. To be in a classroom once again! To sit in a college class!" Yet another example of emotional appeal, she now has friends and a plausible future. So naturally, the audience feels happy and excited for her. (60)
Quote: "They're called coolie coats, the latest fashion rage." (55) Shows the way she is beginning to live an American life. It's clear that she is adjusting, and that not only just is she accepting America, but America is accepting her.
Theme: These three chapters focus on adjusting, setting our standards, and controlling our destiny. These are the themes that Ellie has to adjust her mindset to.
Three weeks you have been in America! How wonderful! What does it feel like to embark on a journey so grand, to learn a differnt language in only three weeks? I'm amazed... I've been taking French for almost five years and I still only know the basics. Do you think you are starting to fit in? It's really amazing here, the country of freedom. Some things that you need to know are:
1) You can always ask for help. Most people are kind here, and would not feel annoyed to give you some of their times.
2) Be polite and courtious, and it will come back to you.
3) copy and you will learn. Also, immitation is the best form of flattery, and people generally love to become someone's idol.
I hope you feel like a true American soon, Ellie!
Best of luck,
-Dani
Vocab
Incarcerated- imprison/confine (41)
Gulag- political USSR prisoner (59)
Appeals
1) 'Aunt Celia keeps up her banter all the way home from the doctor's office, teasing me mercilessly about having "bewitched a perfectly nice doctor"' (40) - This is a kind of comic appeal towards the audience. She is in the midst of all this rushing and she has caught the eye of her own doctor!
2) "'Where did you leave your shopping wagon?' the store manager asks, incredulous. 'Outside the store? On the street? What did you expect?'" Poor Ellie, this is another example of emotional appeal- they expected America, 'the land with it's arms wide open' to be free of such petty things as thieves. (53)
3) "I'm thrilled. To be in a classroom once again! To sit in a college class!" Yet another example of emotional appeal, she now has friends and a plausible future. So naturally, the audience feels happy and excited for her. (60)
Quote: "They're called coolie coats, the latest fashion rage." (55) Shows the way she is beginning to live an American life. It's clear that she is adjusting, and that not only just is she accepting America, but America is accepting her.
Theme: These three chapters focus on adjusting, setting our standards, and controlling our destiny. These are the themes that Ellie has to adjust her mindset to.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Chapter One-Three
Post One: Ch 1-3
My book is called 'Hello America' by Livia Bitton Jackson.
My first impression of this book is of a girl called Ellie who has been intimidated by her surroundings, seeing as she's just escaped the Holocaust and moved to America. This is a huge feat, and I can see her expressing her gratitude nearly every paragraph. Ellie is a bright, optimistic, down to Earth girl, and she has no problem saying what she feels. I enjoy this about her, and I definitely see some similarites between the two.
However, she is also strong. She shows strength in emotion that you could not imagine one who has just been scraped from underneath the fingernails of death and spared from a terrible dreath. Her father lies in a mass grave in Bergen-Belsen, and her home has been torn to shreds. There is nothing, absolutely nothing left for her, and she has the outlook of someone who has just won the lotery. She is hesitant, however, to believe in hope. She has witnessed too many things that've been snatched from under her nose like a hungry dog mourns the loss of a steak dinner to be completely filled with excitement for a new future right off the bat. I predict that this will get better as she goes along and grows and resets her mind to the American mindset. I noticed too just how much I myself take for granted. I cannot control how I have grown up, spoiled with love and chivalry and learned and given a mind of my own. But I know enough about her to know that she lost everything that I held dear, and that makes me realize just how fortunate I am. After I finish this book, I would like to wake every morning to a new sunrise, diverse in its colors and patterns and breathe in peace and freedom. I want to live the life of forture that I know I will bring upon myself and others and know in the end that what I have done is right.
Some Vocab
(6) Sabbath- Sunday: the day of Jewish religious worship
(23)Schnitzel- Fried, thin slice of meat.
And the Appeals
1. '"Throw it out?" I cry, taken aback. You throw out a pair of shoes just because the strap broke?... I have been happy with the one pair of shoes I own... forever remembering the shoes I was forced to wear in the death camps, the agony of walkin miles and miles in shoes two sizes too small...' This is emotional appeal, forcing the level of pathos of the particular character to sky rocket. (23)
2. 'I will not let the mass grave be the final arbiter of your dreams! Your dreams are not buried in Bergen-Belsen. I will make them live on here in New York. I will make all your dreams live on. I promise I will make all your dreams come true.' Emotional appeal again. Basically shows her overall strenght at losing everything, moving to a new country, being in unfamiliar territory with unfamilar customs and still holding her head high. (42)
3. 'What does kidding mean? I hope it means he was not serious about Brooklyn being a foriegn land.' Ok, so there's a lot of emotional appeal in this book so far. The reader is sorry for this young girl who does not know how to kid. (4)
Quote
'America, will you be my home? wIll you embrace me as a daughter yearning to belong, an equal among equals, or will I forever remain a stranger, as on the other side of the ocean?' (1) This quote invoked curiosity in me, I want to know what happens to her, and if she keeps this attitude throughout the book. It's important to the overall plot because it tells how most Jews were feeling when they first lay eyes on America.
Theme
As of now, this book seems to focus primarily on self discovery, and how one can either start new with a positive outlook, or a terrible one.
My book is called 'Hello America' by Livia Bitton Jackson.
My first impression of this book is of a girl called Ellie who has been intimidated by her surroundings, seeing as she's just escaped the Holocaust and moved to America. This is a huge feat, and I can see her expressing her gratitude nearly every paragraph. Ellie is a bright, optimistic, down to Earth girl, and she has no problem saying what she feels. I enjoy this about her, and I definitely see some similarites between the two.
However, she is also strong. She shows strength in emotion that you could not imagine one who has just been scraped from underneath the fingernails of death and spared from a terrible dreath. Her father lies in a mass grave in Bergen-Belsen, and her home has been torn to shreds. There is nothing, absolutely nothing left for her, and she has the outlook of someone who has just won the lotery. She is hesitant, however, to believe in hope. She has witnessed too many things that've been snatched from under her nose like a hungry dog mourns the loss of a steak dinner to be completely filled with excitement for a new future right off the bat. I predict that this will get better as she goes along and grows and resets her mind to the American mindset. I noticed too just how much I myself take for granted. I cannot control how I have grown up, spoiled with love and chivalry and learned and given a mind of my own. But I know enough about her to know that she lost everything that I held dear, and that makes me realize just how fortunate I am. After I finish this book, I would like to wake every morning to a new sunrise, diverse in its colors and patterns and breathe in peace and freedom. I want to live the life of forture that I know I will bring upon myself and others and know in the end that what I have done is right.
Some Vocab
(6) Sabbath- Sunday: the day of Jewish religious worship
(23)Schnitzel- Fried, thin slice of meat.
And the Appeals
1. '"Throw it out?" I cry, taken aback. You throw out a pair of shoes just because the strap broke?... I have been happy with the one pair of shoes I own... forever remembering the shoes I was forced to wear in the death camps, the agony of walkin miles and miles in shoes two sizes too small...' This is emotional appeal, forcing the level of pathos of the particular character to sky rocket. (23)
2. 'I will not let the mass grave be the final arbiter of your dreams! Your dreams are not buried in Bergen-Belsen. I will make them live on here in New York. I will make all your dreams live on. I promise I will make all your dreams come true.' Emotional appeal again. Basically shows her overall strenght at losing everything, moving to a new country, being in unfamiliar territory with unfamilar customs and still holding her head high. (42)
3. 'What does kidding mean? I hope it means he was not serious about Brooklyn being a foriegn land.' Ok, so there's a lot of emotional appeal in this book so far. The reader is sorry for this young girl who does not know how to kid. (4)
Quote
'America, will you be my home? wIll you embrace me as a daughter yearning to belong, an equal among equals, or will I forever remain a stranger, as on the other side of the ocean?' (1) This quote invoked curiosity in me, I want to know what happens to her, and if she keeps this attitude throughout the book. It's important to the overall plot because it tells how most Jews were feeling when they first lay eyes on America.
Theme
As of now, this book seems to focus primarily on self discovery, and how one can either start new with a positive outlook, or a terrible one.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)