THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS

1. Why does Bruno seem younger than nine?
Bruno seems younger than nine because he grew up very protected from harm and all the corruption in their country. He had no idea about what was going on and lived a very sheltered for the first nine years of his life.
6. Bruno asks his father about the people outside their house at Auschwitz. His father answers. “They’re not people at all Bruno.” (p. 53) Discuss the horror of this attitude. How does his father’s statement make Bruno more curious about Out-With?
The fact that Bruno’s father does not consider the Jews as people means he doesn’t care about how they get treated. It is really scary to think that he would have treated them like they didn’t have feelings. It made Bruno much more curious about them though, because he wanted to know how they couldn’t be human and why they were all living in such a strange place.
7. Explain what Bruno’s mother means when she says, “We don’t have the luxury of thinking.” (p. 13) Identify scenes from the novel that Bruno’s mother isn’t happy about their life at Out-With. Debate whether she is unhappy about being away from Berlin, or whether she is angry about her husband’s position. How does Bruno’s grandmother react to her son’s military role?’
Bruno’s mother didn’t have a say in where they lived because she didn’t have any authority and her opinion wasn’t heard. She didn’t like the fact she had no power over where they lived as she said, “‘some people make all the decisions for us.’” She was unhappy about being away from Berlin as she said: “’We should have never let the Fury come to dinner,’ she said, ‘some people and their determination to go ahead.’” She is very angry about her husband’s position, and wishes he had never gotten it. Bruno’s grandmother also didn’t like her son’s position because when she saw his new uniform, “Grandmother was the only one who seemed unimpressed.” She thought he was, “’Dressing up like up puppet on a string.’” Then she went on saying, “’standing there in your uniform,’ she continued, ‘as if it makes you something special. Not even caring what it means really. What it stands for.’”
10. A pun is most often seen as humorous. But, in this novel the narrator uses dark or solemn puns like Out-With and Fury to convey certain meanings. Bruno is simply mispronouncing the real words, but the author is clearly asking the reader to consider a double meaning of these words. Discuss the use of this wordplay as a literary device. What is the narrator trying to convey to the reader? How do these words further communicate the horror of the situation?
Because Bruno is only a small, sheltered boy he doesn’t know how to pronounce Adolf Hitler’s name, the Fuhrer or the name of the place he lives, Auschwitz. He thinks he lives at Out-With because of the Fury. It is interesting that the author chose these words, because they don’t only sound like the German words, but in English the word Fury means someone with anger and rage, as we would describe them as furious. Then as for Out-With, it is also interesting because at Auschwitz, the whole reason it was created was to be Out-With the Jews, so both words in English mean something to do with the German person or place.
11. When Bruno dresses in the filthy striped pyjamas, he remembers something his grandmother once said. “You wear the right outfit and you feel like the person you’re pretending to be.” (p. 205) How is this true for Bruno? What about his father? What does this statement contribute to the overall meaning of the story?
This is true for Bruno because when he puts on the striped pyjamas he feels exactly the same as the Jews, even though his father claims they are not human. Bruno’s father also feels like the person he’s pretending to be when he puts on his soldier’s uniform. When he was a father he was a fairly kind man, but with his uniform on he had authority and immediately treated people and got treated differently. This very much contributes to the story, because we know that all people are the same, but as soon as they put a certain outfit on they get classified as a certain type of person and for the Jews they were discriminated for what they wore, even though they had no choice. So what they wore meant not only did they treat people differently, but they got treated differently themselves.

APPEARANCES

One example of a uniform is a police uniform. When a police officer puts on their uniform they automatically have authority, so it would change their attitude towards their colleagues and the people the meet. The uniform means that they feel as though they have power and demand more respect from the people around them. In some cases, these authorities abuse their power and use it to benefit themselves.
Another example of a uniform is a workers uniform such a company t-shirt. When you go into a supermarket, if you can't find something you are looking for, you will immediately ask someone who looks like they work there. The only way you'd know this is if they were wearing a company t-shirt. So even if they didn't work there, if they’re wearing an ‘official’ looking t-shirt people would probably ask them questions because they look like they know what they're doing.

FENCES

Our Movie Maker presentation has many meaningful pictures symbolising fences.
Fences can symbolise both good and bad components.
Our first picture is of the Rabbit Proof Fence. This is a fence that 3 children followed when escaping a Mission Camp. It guided them back to their families and to safety. It shows that fences can help guide us to our way home.
The second picture is of a safety pin, symbolising that fences can keep up safe during times of suffering.
The third picture is of a danger sign, symbolising that fences can be very dangerous. Not only can they be barbed wire or electric, but the can trap us in places that we don’t want to be.
The fourth picture is of a safety ring, symbolising how when times get hard a fence could be our safety ring. It can be really helpful to hide away behind a fence while getting over trauma until we feel safe again.
The fifth picture is of a glass shattering. This symbolises how sometimes our life can crumble around us, but our fence which could be like our family will always stay strong.
The sixth picture is a notice explaining how no one under 18 is permitted. This symbolises how the laws made by our government build fences around us. In this picture there are fences around people who are under 18.
The seventh picture is of a disability sign, symbolising how disabled people have fences stopping them from doing things such as walking or communicating.
The eighth picture is of a couple fighting, symbolising how our families or relationships can become a fence when they stop us from doing what we want to do. For example: Getting a job, learning to drive or going to church.
The ninth picture is of the Berlin wall coming down. This symbolises how even when a fence may seem impossible to get through, if there’s a will, there’s a way.
The tenth picture is of a man, trapped behind a glass sheet. This symbolises how fences can stop us from going where we want to go, or being who we want to be, just like this man can’t get through the wall.
The eleventh picture is of a pad lock, symbolising how fences can lock us away from the world. If we choose to hide behind the fence, we feel like we cannot get through and can’t live our lives to the full. It feels like we are locked in.
The twelfth picture is of house, symbolising how we can feel trapped in our own home or family by fences. Sometimes the people around us form barriers around our lives, stopping us from doing what we want to do.
The thirteenth picture is of a girl stuck in a box at school, in her locker room. This symbolises how sometimes at school we can feel trapped by the rules or by our friends and teachers. Our self image can affect our confidence, so we feel trapped inside our own bodies.
The fourteenth picture is of a paddock, symbolising how fences can also be used well. We can use fences to block out the things that we don’t want in our life, so for a farmer it might be the cattle, but for us it might be bad distractions.
The fifteenth picture is of French Fries and Potential, explaining how not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up. This symbolises how we may have many hopes and dreams, but we all have limits. Everyone has fences formed around them. We all have limits.
The sixteenth picture is of an old fence falling down. This symbolises how fences may seem impossible to overcome, but they’re actually just old, rotten pieces of wood that we can easily walk over.
The seventeenth picture is of two polar bears in Antarctica, symbolising it can be good to keep inside our fences, if it is natural for us. The Polar Bear’s habitat is the snow, and it would just be strange to see them in a desert. Just like our habitat might be inside our fence, where we feel at home.
The eighteenth picture is of a man trapped in a cube, symbolising how it can be very frustrating being stuck in our lives, wishing we could break through the fence and reach impossible limits. But we just have to learn to be happy with what we’ve got.
The nineteenth picture is of a safety house sign, symbolising how inside our fence may be like a safety house to us. It can be like the place we run to whenever we’re in trouble.
The twentieth picture is of a car stuck inside a pit. This symbolises how we may think we have a really good life, just like a Jeep is a really good car, but if we have fences put around us, it may feel like we are in a really big hole, and even a Jeep couldn’t get out of it.
The twenty-first picture is of a cat stretching back and relaxing. This symbolises how inside our fence we can feel very calm and comfortable. Sometimes it is good to have a break inside our fence, just not for too long.
The twenty-second picture is of a suit of armour, symbolising how our fences may be like a protection for us, shielding us from whatever comes our way.
The twenty-third picture is of a group of people trapped inside a cube. This symbolises how there can be a large group of people trapped inside a fence. It may look like glass, but they still can’t get through.
The twenty-fourth picture is of a dog, comfortably sleeping in a deck chair. This symbolises how inside our fence we can feel very relaxed and calm. It is good to have a rest every now and then.
The twenty-fifth is of a beautiful view of the city through a fence. This symbolises how if we cannot see through the fence, we will never know how beautiful it is out there.
The twenty-sixth picture is of all the restrictions in our life. This symbolises how we will always have fences around us, but sometimes they are for our own good.
The twenty-seventh picture is of a jail guard opening a gate. This symbolises how there are fences around people in jail, so if we ignore our restrictions, there may be consequences which result in even less space inside our fences.
The twenty-eighth picture is of a hand trying to get through a barbed wire fence. This symbolises who sometimes we build our fences so high it’s difficult to break through them. So sometimes people give up, so this picture symbolises depression and suicide.
The next two pictures are of people being sent to jail and then being stuck in jail. This symbolises how we have fences are put around people in jail, and the bars are too strong to break through.
The thirtieth picture is of a danger sign, warning the reader of an electric fence. This symbolises how sometimes we fear what is on the outside of a fence, when it is really the fence that is what is dangerous.
The thirty-first picture is of a barbed wire fence. This symbolises that sometimes we are stuck inside a fence, and the unknown outside looks scary and daunting, when really it is the fence that is just dangerous.
The thirty-second picture is of a nice, white-picket fence, symbolising how even though a fence may look impossible to climb over, but there is a gate that leads out of the box.
The thirty-third picture is of an eye, with a person trying to get out of it. This symbolises how sometimes we feel trapped inside our own body, like there are fences stopping us from being who we want to be.

EUREKA TOWER POEMS

Even in the Dead of Night:
The lights they twinkle, like stars they shine
To show us our way, even in the dead of night
But in the shadows, these artists roam
Not allowed, but inspirational though
They dip in and out of lights, cars and lamps
That never leave them, even in the dead of night.

A Chance at Life:
In the day the city bustles, of workers, buskers and families
But as night falls they all head home
As the lights flicker on, the night owls come out
And don’t leave until the early hours of the morn’
Only few are in the city, through night and day
The homeless have no choice, no where to stay
They snuggle in the nooks and crannies, hiding form the cold
Nothing to eat, most of them old
They beg through the day, and hide through the night
Maybe tomorrow, they’ll get a chance at life.

Truely Magical:
The sun goes down, and the lights turn on
The families go home, and the night owls come out
From up high, the city looks mystic, magical
But as you wander through, you see it from a different point of view
The party animals roam, laughing and screeching
The devious sneak around, in and out of shadows
The artists in the alleys and the homeless in the corners
It is lonely and spooky, yet bright and exciting
This is what truely makes it magical

The Great Depression

The Great Depression was between 1929 - 1932. The ultimate cause of the Great Depression is still a subject of debate between economists. Although the collapse of the New York Exchange determined it's timing, there were several factors involved. There was a fall in the export prices and sales, as well as in residential construction. There was also a fall in overseas loans lending’s to a reduction in government capital spending. Even before the devastating stock market crash on Wall Street, unemployment in Australia was already a 10%. The Wall Street Crash in October, 1929 signalled the beginning of a severe depression for the whole industrial world. The Great Depression's impact on Australian was devastating. Without work and a steady income many people lost their homes and were forced to live in makeshift dwellings with poor heating and sanitation. For families there many social consequences of the Great Depression including working class children were consistently leaving school at 13 and 14 years old. Married women carried the greatest domestic burden: Home-making was still considered a woman's role, so even if a woman had worked all day scrubbing floors to bring in some money, her unemployed husband would still expect her to cook dinner and keep the house in order. Jobs were much easier to find for young people, but the work had very little future career prospects and many young workers were sacked by the time they were 16, 18 or 21 years of age. Migrants, particularly from Italy and Southern Europe, were resented because they worked for less wages despite having relatively little in the way of family and friends to call for help.

year 9 Picture Book Group Oral Assesment

I chose the picture on the second page because it has the most symbolism and meaning. You can see the fear in the boys face, he is scared, but also very suspicious. He is looking off the page, as if there's something we can't see. The mood is very scary, you feel sorry for the boy, he seems lonely and afraid. The camera angle is eye level so you feel like you're in the room with him. You can tell by the colours around him that his life is dark. Then there is quite a contrast in the tone, from the black around the boys face to the yellow and orange on the other side. On the lighter side, there are photos of how life used to be, before the wolves came. In one he is a baby, cuddling with his Mum, they look peaceful and content. In the other he is with his parents, laughing, they are happy like isn't a worry in the world. But he had graffitied all over the walls with pictures of wolves, their evil eyes watching him. he'd written in messy hand writing like his hand had been shaking, and the incorrect spelling showed he probably hadn't been to school. It says about how the wolves are everywhere, and they're coming to get everyone you love, just like they did to him.

Literature Cicle #2

This week we read chapter 6 until chapter 14. These chapters were much more eventful than the first 6, and just as descriptive. The character that the most focus is on is Josie. In these chapters she gets closer to her Nonna, when her Nonna started telling stories of her past. She also gets closer to Sister Louise and the bishop as she realises she has a lot of respect for them. But she does get further away from her mother, because she doesn't like her date, Paul Presilio and her Mama doesn't like Josie's date, Jacob Coote. He asked her out after he saved her from Greg Sim's gang who tried to attack her and Anna, after they finished their job at McDonald's. But then their date goes badly, they have a fight, and whilst walking home she bumps into her Dad and they get much closer, also when she called him at school because she got in a fight with a racist model, Carly and broke her nose. So she called her Dad to help defend her, then after her date with Jacob Coote, he takes her out for pizza and he agrees to give her a job at his work instead of McDonalds. Then later she sees John in a cafe and he’s quite depressed and thinking of ending his life and she finds she’s no longer attracted to him. They have a big chat and swap envelopes full of everything they’re feeling at the time, so later they’ll both open them and read it to each other to see how things have changed. 5 words I don’t know the meaning of are incredulously, prejudice, cloistered, aggregating and hostilities. The meaning of incredulous is showing unbelief or being sceptical. The meaning of prejudice is an unfavourable opinion, the meaning of cloistered is secluded from the world. The meaning of aggregating is throwing out. The meaning of hostilities is a hostile state.

Literature Circle

I found 'Looking for Alibrandi' quite an interseting book. It didn't have as much going on as I though it would, but the writing style was so descriptive it made it interesting. The characters are her Mum, Dad, Nonna, her friends; Sera, Lee and Anna, her crush; John, and her enemies; Ivy and Jacob. The setting was just out of Sydney, in a suburb called Glebe, she lives in the lower economic side of town, and her school is in the richer area. It is summer, the start of year 12 for Josie and she is trying hard to succeed at her Catholic school, where she got a scholarship, but she is too different. The plot is about a girl who meets her Dad for the first time, and she's trying to work hard at school while struggling with her social life. At first she hates her Dad, and they agree to avoid each other, but afterwards she admits to regretting that decision. She has a good relationship with her friends and Mum, but they often fight, and she can't stand her Nonna. The new words I found were facades, voluptuous, requisites, chauvinistic and epitome. Facades is the font of a building. Voluptuous is something luxurious that gives a person pleasure. Requisitaries is something in particular that someone needs. Chauvinistic is loyalty or patriotism to a group or country. Epitome is an extreme of something, either something really good or really bad.

The Peaceful Warier

I found The Peaceful Warrior a really interesting, deep and thought provoking movie. It really made me think about how it compared to my life, and how I could change my life to make my time more efficient, and to keep going, even when life seems too hard and the circumstances make my goals seem impossible.
I don't think there are any ordinary moments in life. Everyone has the seemingly pointless times, where it feels like what your doing has no purpose. It may not be clear to the person experiencing boring period, but everything we do we learn something new, something that can be used later in life. If we look at the bigger picture we can see every moment in life has a reason.
As for the quote, "A warrior acts; and only a fool reacts," many people, after suffering tough times, feels like there is no hope. They react with either anger, sadness and often give up. Fools get themselves down, and it takes lots of time and energy to bring hope back into their lives. Whereas a warier would learn from these tough times, so next time the opportunity comes along they would act differently.
With the notion, “If you can’t do what you were born to do, what is there to do?” It doesn’t mean, if as a toddler you wanted to be a fairy princess, and things don’t work out your life is meaningless. You may never know what you were born to do. Maybe not until you’re doing it, but that doesn’t mean until then your life is pointless, the journey is just as important as the destination. Some people think, that after they’ve done what they were born to do, they’re life has no point, but what they fail to realise is that everything we do we were born to do, good or bad. It all has a meaning, and a purpose, maybe not in our lives, sometimes in others, and sometimes we won’t even realise it.
As the movie made it very clear, every move is about the move. There are many things that if you make a mistake, it could be fatal. Take something like a heart surgeon. How would you feel if you were having a heart transplant, but the surgeon was off with the fairies? Even something like rock climbing, if you lose focus for a second, either you could fall, or let go of the person on top of you. Even in everyday life, say in a job interview or in an important presentation, every move is about the move. Not about the end product, or about what your friends will think about you, or about what you’re having for dinner tonight. It’s about the here and now.
I think the advice, “Don’t fall into the trap – If only I had this, I’d be – If only - , I’d get to be happy,” is very good advice. I think it makes such a difference in your life when look at things positively, when you say, ‘I’m so glad I have this. I’m such a lucky person. I’m so happy with myself.’ People think that happiness comes with possessions and materials, but it’s actually about your state of mind. Ever wondered why the children of Africa are so happy yet they have nothing, and spoilt rotten Australian children aren’t happy and they have everything. It is a gift being an optimistic, a skill, and being pessimistic is a burden. That’s why I think it’s the best advice anyone can give you.
I knew a girl once, who wasn’t much fun to be around. All she did was complain and whinge, because of this she had no friends. I tried hard to spend time with her, point out the good things of the day, but she would always find a bad thing in the positives. Even about herself, she was a beautiful girl, but hated how she looked. She spent all day looking in the mirror, wishing she looked different. But worst of all, she was judgemental; she’d point out all of the negatives about you. It would drive me crazy; it wasn’t until we reached high school I found out she’d been beaten by her father. Not physically, but verbally, that’s why she did it to everyone else, and herself. Her mother moved up to Queensland with her knew man, and Emma lived with her Dad, who sat around in front of the TV all day, heavily drinking. I didn’t realise it at the time, but all those times I’d tried to brighten her day had made a huge difference. This really relates to the saying, “The people, who are the hardest to love, often need it the most.”
To ‘Take out the trash,’ you need to focus on the here and now, live in the present. Instead of living a life of doubt be sure of yourself, who you are what you believe in. And forgive yourself; no one is still blaming you for past failures, only yourself. Then for future victories, well they’re not 100%, they should be a motivator, but not a reason. You should just enjoy the journey you are on, and if you are victorious, that is just a bonus. It is important not to boast and focus on past victories, but to strive ahead, still focusing, and loving the here and now.
The definition of ‘Knows that knowledge is not the same as wisdom’ is someone who realises that we can study all text books in the world, but you have to go deeper, you have to experience thing first hand to have a for real understanding.
The definition of ‘Is never better than anybody, the same way you’ll never be any less’ is someone who knows everybody’s equal. No matter how rich, smart, pretty, old, popular, or if they’re a different gender or race, we’re all still humans, and we’re all still equal.
The definition of ‘Experiences the moment,’ is someone who lives in the here and now, they love and cherish the moment, live life to the full, move by move.
The definition of ‘Has no limiting beliefs’ is someone who can dream as big as they like. They have huge imaginations, and can dream the seemingly impossible. They set all sorts of goals, and commit to them.
The definition of ‘Stays adaptable,’ is someone who is very flexible, they don’t stick they’re heels in. If the circumstances change, they can change with it. They are not stuck in they’re ways and can easily change if needed.
The definition of ‘Doesn’t let their emotions control them’ is someone who can put on a brave face, no matter what they’re feeling on the inside they don’t show it. They manage to control their lives the way they want to live it.
The definition of ‘Devotes life to higher purpose, service to others’ is someone who thinks about others first. They serve others before themselves, they’re not selfish and ego centric. They manage to put others first and devote their lives to helping them.
The definition of ‘Finds love in one they do’ is someone who is happy no matter what the circumstances. They are optimistic even in the hardest parts of life. No matter how difficult what they’re doing is, they can find love in it.
In conclusion, the movie had many important quotes that can assist in living a life of happiness and true peace. It was a deep movie that made people ponder on life, thinking of how they could change to make themselves better people. I know I’ve brought a lot of wisdom in that movie that I would like to use in my own life.

PHOTO ESSAY

I handed in my visual essay yesterday and am presuming I write my reflective statement here. For my picture essay I focused on how the victims of Black Saturday had to use mind over matter. I chose the graphics I did because I thought it was the right proportion of metaphorical and symbolic pictures to realistic and factual pictures. I tried to choose mostly red colours in the first few pictures, (the red clock, red panic button and the fire)then mostly black and white in the next few photos, (the girl, the sign and the dead trees) and mostly green pictures in the last few pictures, (the chick, sunrise, butterfly and epicormic shoots.) At first I was going to separate them onto 3 A4 pieces of paper (and glue them together): the red, the black and the green. But then found the large newspaper cover and decided to use that, although that meant I had to put it on wood, and it made it rather large. I also tried to make it 3D, although I think by the time it was finished all the leaves on my tree were dead, and it looked a bit silly. I hope my text was quite efficient, it may have been a bit too long, seeing I have a tendency to ramble on, and I may have repeated the same facts more than once, but overall I think it was a fairly efficient text.

About me

I'm Bethany and I'm 14 years old. My Mum's a speech pathologist and my Dad works with a funeral company. I would like to do teaching in Africa and my older brother, Jacob, who's in year 12 would like to do something with maths/science and music. I also have one dog named Tash whose a 6 year old golden retriever and 2 hilarious chickens. I like to read realistic adventure stories and my favourite set of books are the 'Tomorrow' series by John Marsdon. My favourite movies are 'Blues Brothers' and 'As it is in Heaven.' My favourite poem is 'The Highway Man' by Alfred Noyes and my favourite song is 'The Chariot' by The Cat Empire. I don't have a favourite actor or actress, but my favourite singer is Missy Higgins. My role model is Shane Claibourne and my small group leaders from church.