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