Final Blogging Assessment

Short Quote

In the Book Thief a quote from my previous blog, "Most Important Quote of the Chapter", was: "There were the erased pages of Mein Kampf, gagging, suffocating under the paint as they turned." (Zusak 499 of 1178)

Hitler burned books of Jewish content and replaced them with books such as Mein Kampf, whose purpose is to instill hate for Jews in the German people. Then Max Vandenburg, the Jewish refugee in a little German girl's house paints them over with words used to tell a story to her, everything opposite of Hitler's intentions. Zusak conveys this idea by personifying the pages of the book using such powerful words as "gagging" and "suffocating". It seizes the reader's attention; there is no way the reader can skim over Zusak's message. 

My Voice as a Writer

From my post, "Most Important Quote of the Chapter," I wrote,

"And because Max is Jewish and Liesel was German, Max believed that instead of giving the book to the book worm, Liesel, he would instead influence her with Max's Jewish life, which is something Hitler would be 'gagging' over. " 

Here, I put "gagging" in quotes to show an allusion to the highlighted quote in my blog post. I tie  together my argument with the quote to show how Hitler would have reacted if he knew what Max had done to his "masterpiece". 

"This is a powerful video on how words change people's view of the world. 

There are entire corporations in the world based on words and their impact. "

In the same post, my diction is casual which creates a conversational tone, inviting my reader to share my opinion. And although I utilized casual diction, I was still able to present a powerful message without detracting from it. 

Videos Can Show the Power of Words

In my post, "Most Important Quote of the Chapter," I embedded a viral video (with over 19 million hits) which was short, keeping the reader’s attention, and closely tied to my topic on the power of words. Besides my link, which lead to another website on the value of words, the use of technology, such as videos and pictures, help the reader comprehend ideas in different ways that give people a break from the long paragraphs, and is similar to visual evidence that help support a position or view. In this case, my video was about how changing words on a sign could help people donate more and that, in turn, benefited those who needed it. I wanted to tie that with how Hitler used words to instill hate while Liesel and Max Vandenburg used them in the opposite way, showing how it could be a double-edged sword.

What My Characters Are.

Liesel Meminger would be a Honey Bee

Liesel is a shy child in the public eye, but she is truly a nice and hard working bee when it comes down to books. She works as hard as a bee because she would spend nights learning words and how to speak, write, and read with her foster dad, Hans Hubermann. From midnight to 4 am where they would fight to keep their eyelids up. And even in rationing and tough times, she looks at a Jewish refugee in a good light in Germany during WW2. She even has daily conversations with the Jew, talking about their dead relatives and nightmares. Although she can be sweet,  she also stings; she has been known to be violent in her school, in the beginning of the book, the story tells how Liesel took on a boy who laughed at her for not being able to read and beat him until a teacher had to pull her off of him.

Hans Hubermann: A Worn Stool

Hans Hubermann, the story describes his past with his cranky wife, Rosa Hubermann, and his life as a soldier for Germany during World War 1 who thanks his Jewish comrade for his survival which sets him on a trip to attempt to forgive himself for this fault he believed killed his Jewish comrade. And after that, he has to suffer the criticism of from his own son, a devote Nazi, who wasn't happy that Hans hasn't joined the Nazi Party. And from his tough life history, he continues to stay as a foster parent who helps little girls like Liesel live in the way they do now. 

"You wanted to be the hero, now you got to pay the price."

-Electro

Rudy Steiner: Spiderman

A small hero, smart talks his way into and out of a situation, including his attempts to get a kiss from Liesel Meminger. On the street when he plays soccer with the other kids, it includes the fact that he is the "best" player on the street, like Spiderman is the "best" in the streets of New York. And half way into the book, Death reveals that Rudy will die, most likely because of his character of taking risks like Peter Parker, both who "wanted to be the hero" and "had to pay the price". Rudy paid the price of his own life, and Peter paid it by the death of his friends. Rudy continues to chase a girl, Liesel Meminger, and is small, yet feisty, as Death, the narrator, describes him. He is like a small little child, hoping to be a hero, in the great big world, like a spider is in the great big world it is in. 

Most Important Quote of the Chapter

"There were the erased pages of Mein Kampf, gagging, suffocating under the paint as they turned." (Zusak 499 of 1178)

With personification and possible foreshadowing, this quote is contradicting and draws astounding levels of interest. 

RECAP: Before this quote, a Jewish fist fighter, Max, is kept hidden in Liesel's foster panrent's home. Liesel's birthday passes and Max attempts to give her a present by painting a story onto 13 pages of Mein Kampf. 

THE STORY WRITTEN....

on the pages of a painted-over-Mein Kampf contradicts the purpose of the pages it is written on, while Hitler's book is to spark hatred and is propaganda usage, the Jewish fist fighter paints it over and gives it to a German girl as a present. The story written was called "The Standover Man" which is a simple picture book depicting Max's life and Liesel's impact on it, showing Liesel how powerful she was to him. Using personification also helps the reader imagine the purpose of Mein Kampf  being over turned and allows the reader to envision Hitler's words on the paper wreathing under the paint and words of a Jewish man, using words to inspire a German girl, something Mein Kampf was never intended to do. And because Max is Jewish and Liesel was German, Max believed that instead of giving the book to the book worm, Liesel, he would instead influence her with Max's Jewish life, which is something Hitler would be "gagging" over. 

Foreshadow: If anyone has taken a modern history class, they know that the Nazis don't win, and this quote possibly foreshadows the upcoming defeat of the Fuhrer, ruler, of Germany as people like Max, a Jew, uses words against Hitler's purpose for war. 

This is a powerful video on how words change people's view of the world, use them wisely. 

There are entire corporations in the world based on words and their impact. 

And a link to an article on how the usage of words can change your life and how to take advantage of it.

http://liveboldandbloom.com/03/self-improvement/powerful-words-can-change-your-life

THE WORST THING about "Book Thief"

Distractions are everywhere.....

When I flipped through the virtual pages of the book on my iPad, I was shocked by all the bolded sections separated from the book. It took a long time to get used to, but I have to admit, they were 

EXTREMELY DISTRACTING, IT BECOMES HARDER TO CONTINUE READING WITHOUT ALL THESE BREAKS.

HOWEVER, these breaks must be important right? They mostly offer background information to a character, setting, or event. 

If curious why Markus Zusak makes all these bolded sections, this page explains it very well, by the way, death is the narrator. http://novelinks.org/uploads/Novels/TheBookThief/Concept%20Analysis%20Strategy.pdf

The Best Thing about this Book however,

The best thing about this book is that Death narrates the book which gives the reader an interesting perspective to look from especially since Death is considered an angel, it teaches people to think about their actions and what it may look like from a different point of view such as Death's. For example, Death will often say things that show how people think and the action they take because of it showing true human nature, 

"Erik Vandenburg and Hans Hubermann glanced at each other. If someone stepped forward now the platoon would his life a living hell for the rest of their time together. ...On the other hand, if someone was to be nominated..." (Zusak 381 0f 1178

"It sat at his feet, waiting for a good kicking. It said, 'Hubermann, sir.' The voice belonged to Erik Vandenburg" (Zusak 381 of 1178)

"'You know,' Hans explained to her, 'he saved my life." (Zusak 385 of 1178)

"'He-if there's anything you ever need.' He slid a piece of paper with his name and address on it across the table" (Zusak 385 0f 1178)

This is a series of quotes showing Erik Vandenburg's,  a Jewish soldier in WWI fighting for Germany, relationship with Hans Hubermann first showing how Hubermann believed that Erik saved his life and returns after the war to tell Erik's wife and show appreciation for "saving his life", this guilt creates an interesting life for Hans Hubermann and makes him do things he otherwise wouldn't do under the guilt of sacrificing Erik's life for his. 

Text to Text, Self, World Connection

As of Right Now...

I've just read about a fourth of the book and read about Liesel's worries of stealing books in Germany, during WW2. Apparently, Liesel has been stealing too many books and is afraid that the mayor's wife would notice, especially when she delivers clean clothes to the mayor's wife. However, she attempts to steer clear from this issue by telling her foster mother that the mayor's wife wasn't home, which the foster mother told Liesel to go try again. This time, however, Liesel arrives to the mayor's wife, holding a tower of books and invites Liesel to her library. This is similar to many situations I encountered in my life, all of which, happened at school. It's not uncommon to hear a telephone call from the teacher's desk, but if you are a 10 year old child who has just stole an eraser, when the teacher asks you to go to the principal's office, you will be scared. After my 10 year old self had walked out of a classroom shouting "OOooooooo", I arrive to the principal's office to find a welcoming congratulations for being student of the month. It's easy to tell from both stories that the surface of an issue is not the basis of it. 

Text to Text Connection

"Book Thief" doesn't spark a distinct book, but rather a combination of them. Of course, the "City of Thieves" is a very strong one; starting with "City of Thieves" is because both books take place in the same time period and the struggle is not the same for either books. While the two teenage boys in "City of Thieves" struggle for survival in war, Liesel in "Book Thief" is starving for a good read, she desires books and is struggling to find her identity and direction in life from books. While the struggle is different, the setting is the same, it is cold, people are starving, and life, in general, is tough. 

Text to World Connection

As technologically advanced we are now, much of society is controlled by words, and that's what Markus Zusak wanted to demonstrate in his book, "Book Thief". He wanted to show how Hitler could use words to control others while demonstrating that words could be used in a better way. In his book, Liesel arrives to her foster home illiterate, she is laughed at in school and doesn't understand much of her classes. Until she starts learning at midnight classes with her foster dad, Hans Hubermann, she begins to unravel a new world, Markus uses books to show how Liesel's life made a turning point from dark to light because of books and the powerful sanctuary it provided people. And as Kurt Vonnegut believed, books are very real, no matter how fictional the story, the message is more concrete than stone. 

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/03/i-am-very-real.html

Above is a link to Kurt Vonnegut's letter to a school district demonstrating how "real" he is. 

Reading About Krista Ramsey

"Locking into the magic of Legos"

1. Krista Ramsey writes about how Legos, although they are simply toy blocks, and how they affect kid's thinking. She continues to write about the lessons that Legos teach that schools don't tell them, and how they allow children to expand their creativity.

2. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

3. "Legos let them claim the two things adults don't even realize they need: space and silence." (Ramsey) 

This quote stuck out to me because it shows that Legos benefit and teach to more than just children, but also to adults who may also need it. Syntax wise, Ramsey uses the colon at the end to emphasize the 

lesson taught  by creating a "drumroll" like pause. This sentence uses logos to effectively allow the reader to understand that if Legos can teach so much to adults, then, it must be able to teach children a lot more. 

4. Krista Ramsey has a writing style that has a very conversational and relaxed tone and is very informal, persuasive, yet casually written. She doesn't include fancy inverted sentences and seems to speaking to the general public and the community about fears, issues, and fixes that don't seem to be a problem but are. For example, "The sight of sport jerseys and sweat pants at a carefully planned memorial service could be hurtful" (Ramsey) She writes about our outfits and how we dress to events such as memorial services, although it may seem minor, this is a social mannerism issue in society that we must deal with before it becomes something that affects our lifestyle and change us to become more than just lazy. Another example of this assertion against doubts and fear, "Cynics say what parents are actually buying is quiet time for themselves" (Ramsey) Here, Krista Ramsey points out a possible obstruction that gets forces parents to claw Legos away from children using, again, casual diction and writing style using "buying" figuratively since no one can actually "buy time". 

5. First-How long does it take for you to compose one article?

    Second-Do you argue with your editor on what should be deleted?

    Third-Do you believe you have a really "bad" article, not as well crafted in other words?

Info on Markus Zusak, research on the author of "Book Thief"

Inspirations for Writing

Markus Zusak, the author of Book Thief, lived in a household whose parents lived throughout World War two in Austria and Germany. He says that Book Thief is mainly inspired from the many stories about Germany during World War two, and he believed that in order to make his story unique, he had to make it personal and include the fact that the main character loved to steal books to demonstrate the importance of words and knowledge. Why Zusak chose to emphasize on the importance of words was because he believed that it wasn't guns and violence that made war, but how Hitler used words to murder and ostracize and then juxtaposed that to the main character's use of words in the story. 

Zusak's Childhood Pushed Him to Be the Writer he is Today

 Markus's dad was a house painter, which heavily influenced young Markus to also become a house painter, even though he was horrible at the job. Markus then realized, at the age of 16, that he wanted to become a writer after reading two inspirational books The Old Man and the Sea and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. At 18, he finished the manuscript to his first book and tried getting it published, after numerous rejections, it pushed Zusak to write even better he believed that this indicated that he needed to work harder.

Markus Zusak's Lifestyle as a Professional Author

Living in Sydney, Australia, Markus Zusak works at leisurely pace. He starts his day with writing from 7 AM to 11 AM and then take a long afternoon break with a few hours of writing added at the end. However, when Zusak nears the end of a book, he changes his schedule, starting his day off with some early morning surfing and then starting off his writing at 10 AM. 

SMALL FACT: Zusak doesn't attempt writing crime and fantasy novels

Although Markus Zusak may live a leisurely lifestyle down south in Australia, his past with his immigrant parents define his life in every step he takes and the way he crafts his writing.