Blog Response #8
Upon completion of reading your novel, what have you learned about a different culture? What shocked you? What seemed strange to you? What couldn't you believe? Take time to give specific examples from your novel that share what you learned about history and a different culture. Share your feelings about what you read.
I learned about the harsh realities of life in Nazi concentration camps, such as when Elie and his father were forced to run in freezing weather and separate under cruel conditions, which seemed unbelievable to me. I was also shocked by how the world allowed such suffering, and it made me feel sadness and anger while realizing the importance of remembering this history.
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Deleteafter reading a long way gone seeing the comparisons from these blogs on how much had happened to both Ishmael and night I just still comprehend how 1 person would do this to another human being
Deletethat is what way i was leaning because if we where angry just reading it if they where to all fight back they would probably have a good chance at beating them early in the book
Deleteif the people would have fought back i think most of the people would have survived and the would have not died by just going with the guard and the police. if they would have fought back they probably could have win and got out way earlier in the the book.
DeleteThe cold really did play a role in casualties in each camp. Not only did the Germans personally kill Jews but also the weather and malnutrition accounted for many other deaths. I could not imagine physically going through what the Jews did during the Holocaust.
DeleteI am reading Kite Runner and what i have learned about Afghani culture is that there is social hierarchy Amir is seen as rich and high on the social hierarchy but his best friend is seen as a someone much lower a hazara is what they call them and people don't even want Amir to even talk to him much less then be friends with him, in Afghanistan kite flying is also a really big thing and they do it as a competitive sport and that honestly shocked and surprised because never would have i thought to fly a kite competitively and have it be part of my culture and another thing that really surprised me is the standers they hold there kids to in Afghanistan and how fathers would rather have a son instead of a daughter so they can carry on the family name and how they really only want them to be like a doctor or something big and i get how you want your kid to do good in life but it all just really shocked me on how different their culture is from ours.
ReplyDeletei agree with you cole the different levels of society are nothing compared to what we have here
DeleteI agree with the social Hierarchy. Amir seems to be in the upper class and has more privileges while his best friend who is a Hazara is a servant and isn't even allowed to go to school
DeleteI am reading I Am Malala and there are many cultural differences from life in Pakistan, Malala talks about the values people in Pakistan live by like family is everything which isn't to different from most cultures. They live very traditionally like gender roles and how they dress. It is shocking how the Taliban can just take control over everything and bomb schools and kill people with no consequences. Also what kind of shocked me was the ages of the "women" these men were getting married to and how their beliefs on that work. Like to these men it's so wrong to have children with unmarried women, which makes the child trash and the unmarried women trash as well but not the man, but these men will marry 13 year old children to have babies with like it's just shocking to me which that's not so much the culture but more the corrupt people there. My thoughts about what I read still haven't changed, I still don't understand why it's such a big deal if girls go to school and learn how to read and do math, like they are an underdeveloped country wouldn't they want everyone to get better over all I guess it's the Taliban from enforcing this but it just still doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteThe book night is similar in the fact that the taliban can just take over peoples lives where the Nazis took control of all the jewish peoples lives. i also had no idea on the marrige rules
DeleteI was also shocked by the age's girls were getting married at, even though it is how their culture is, those girls are still developing mentally and physically. I agree with you, I don't understand why women can't get an education and still do what men want them to, like if men want stuff done around the house they could help too.
DeleteI was also shocked about how they could bomb all these schools and places and kill people on the streets and nobody was doing anything about it for a while. I also thought it didn't make to not let them go to school when they're an under developed country. This showed when Malala was shot and couldn't get medical attention in Pakistan because they didn't have a good hospital or highly educated doctors because they are lacking so much education.
DeleteI am reading the book Night I have learned about the harsh reality of how the German ss had treated jews and other races something that had shocked me was how they had treated them as assets for so long and not killed more than what they did because they had all of an opportunity something that I could not believe is what some people were willing to do for such small rations of food even crumbs of bread there were men that would kill people for any type of food I enjoyed reading my book it was good and I learned more about the haul cost and the terrible conditions
ReplyDeleteyes that is what i couldn't believe is that people are willing to fight to the death for very little food and if they where to gather that anger towards the end of the book they could use it and find a way to live a little longer
Deletei would agree, I could not believe how the people were willing to not even fight back and just let the guards kill the jews. another thing would be the low amount of food, I would he fought to get more food.
Deletewell the really cant fight them back because the guards would probably just shoot them right then and there
DeleteI agree aswell, people are really willing to fight and battle even if they means killing a fellow friend. I would have fought for any resource I could put my hands on.
Deletethe book i am Malala is sort of similar to the book you were reading, night. while the Nazis had "taken control" over the jews, in the book "i am Malala" the Taliban "takes control" over the Pakistan community
DeleteI read A Thousand Splendid Suns I learned that women in Afghanistan had very few rights. I was surprised that women couldn’t go to school, work, or get medical care. Arranged marriages and strict rules for women. The book helped me understand a different culture and time period.
ReplyDeleteMy book a long way gone really gave me a good idea of what times were like in Sierra Leonne what culture they had like telling stories and eating cassava leaves every day.
DeleteIn the book Night Elie experinced the holocaust and it's the same thing. The Jews virtually had no rights during the holocaust. They had no education they could get besides the fake things the Nazi's put in their head
DeleteI had such a similar thing in kite runner while it doesn't really focus on what woman can and cant do it has the same social hierarchy for woman and on what woman are expected to do for the man and what the man is expected to do and how people don't really have daughters because they wants sons to carry on the name
DeleteMy book is A Thousand Splendid suns and what I learned from the book was the lives of women in Afghanistan. The book helped me learn about how politics and war effects people's everyday lives. The characters Mariam and Laila helped me learn about their expectations through their marriage and the limited rights that they had. The book also helped me learn the sacrifices that Marium would take for Laila and others by saving her life from Rasheed and helping her escape.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the main things you learn/notice in this book is the way women live and how many things men in this time period got away with. This book also did a good job at educating the reader on the war and getting us updated all while still keeping the plot of the book. I agree Mariam sacrificed a lot during her life.
Deletei agree with you that this book showed a good example on how women were being treated in Afghanistan and how they have to live up to the expectations of there husband with the very little rights that they have
Deletei felt as the men had their ways they did because they knew it as normal because raseed didn't care enough not to hit her so why hide it from outsiders or even their own kids because mirmaims dad knew he wasn't a good guy to her or women and the women of Afghanistan didn't stick up for them self's and kept doing what they wanted also didn't help stop making it normalized
DeleteI agree how the book showed how bad women were being treated and how they had very few rights
DeleteI read A Thousand Splendid Suns and what I learned about this culture was women did not have many rights, they lived with strict rules. In Kabul women had to be completely covered, they couldn't talk or look at other men besides their husband, they needed to be married and most of them married really young, they were arranged marriages, it was very rare for a women to marry a man she actually liked/loved. It was also normal for a guy to have multiple wives. If they wanted to leave the house it had to be with a male relative, they couldn't wear makeup or jewelry, they couldn't work, go to school, or be allowed at doctors. If they left alone or did any of these things there were consequences. The only thing these women were good for was to cook, clean, and reproduce. In this book Mariam couldn't have kids, she kept miscarrying and her husband resented her for it. His other wife, Laila, had a kid but it was a girl so he resented Laila for that, he only wanted a son. The men didn't want to have a girl for a child. If their husband beat them, there was nothing they could do about it, the authorities said what goes on in ones home is no ones business but yours. But that's what was normal for this culture, women were just accessories. All of this shocked me and I couldn't believe it. I learned about cultures like this before but I never read a story from the women's point of view of it all. It was very eye opening and educational to see things how these women did during this time period. Things are a lot different for women now and I could never imagine living my life how these 2 characters did.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading the same book and i like how you explained it I thought it was crazy they couldn't leave without a man with them and how the men have multiple wives and the women only marry one and not even willingly and as a minor while their husband is way older than the wife at the time of their marriage. i couldnt imagine wanting to marry someone like raseed and having no freedom or just being able to go outside.
DeleteI was shocked by how women were treated. There were so many laws that prevented them from just doing normal things and I felt terrible for them.
DeleteWhen I chose to read Night, I went in with the same basic knowledge most others have about the Holocaust, but this was entirely different. It truly was such an eyeopener on the cruel mistreatment that really went down. Reading the word-for-word descriptions of what Elie experienced, put into perspective the life the inmates had and the lives they should've had. A lot of the book was difficult to imagine happening, especially to a 15-16 year old, but the one thing that was nearly impossible to imagine was the killings and burnings of children. Regardless of the wars that are fought, anyone who had the composure to kill babies and children was unreal. Not much about the culture was revealed, it was more about the horrors the culture had to experience, but regardless, it was disgusting to read about the hate humans are capable of simply due to cultural differences.
ReplyDeleteI agree my book a long way gone I had no clue what had happened over in Sierra Leonne back then. But when I read about all the madness and killing that was happening, I couldn't believe it was real.
DeleteI would agree that it is different and a lot more emotional to read about the holocaust from a perspective of someone who has lived through it rather than just hearing facts and statistics from a textbook.
DeleteI read the book a long way gone and what surprised me about his culture was they don't eat much for meat its mostly grains and leaves. What shocked me was even in the city they didn't have hardly any cars or electricity which I thought was weird because that's when that was starting to get big in the late 90s. What I couldn't believe was how the rebels could do those terrible things to those civilians and just go on with killing more, it was very sickening. Like how they would burn villages, steal all their food and jewelry and kill any unarmed civilians that got in there way, it was a very bad time in Seirra Leonne.
ReplyDeleteI had read the same book and what truly had surprised me about the culture is not necessarily how little of western influence but how much there was like with how he had rap cassettes from America and where they had been trying to explain the cassettes to the village leaders and what kind of "witch craft" it was
DeleteI read the same book and the rebels definitely shocked me with how they were treating others but they were probably on drugs which made them not even think about what they were doing and it made it very sad for me to think about what is happening in his country.
Deletea long way gone is similar to night in the way the Nazis would take the Jews jewelry and gold teeth they would kill random people or if someone was unable to keep up they would be shot
Deleteyes i agree with you how the whole book and their culture is so different from anything from around here
DeleteI had read a long way gone by ishmael beah and I was surprised by the culture in A Long Way Gone, especially that people mostly ate grains and leaves instead of meat I was also shocked that even in the city there were very few cars and little electricity, which seemed strange for the late 1990s What disturbed me the most was how the rebels treated civilians by burning villages, stealing food and jewelry, and the murder innocent people It was a very terrible time in Sierra Leone
ReplyDeleteIt was odd that they ate grains and leaves, but that could be because their religious beliefs, morals, the way they grew up, lack of resources, or not a healthy environment to trust the diseases that animals may have picked up. At one point they did eat fish, but I honestly think they didn't eat meat is because there was a lack of animals.
Deletei was also surprised that they didn't eat meat and they stuck to mostly grains. and i agree that i though it was weird that there was barely any electricity throughout the villages
DeleteI am Malala is placed in Pakistan where the crime also runs wild there an dis just so unbelievable compared to what we have here.
Deletei was reading night. i learned what challenges they had to face and what they had to do to survive. i also learned about there culture and what they do when a high ranking Jewish rabi or someone very high influence dies about the prayers they say. some things i found strange is why when they where moving camps and had to stay out over night why they didn't try to run away and spread the word of what is happened.
ReplyDeleteYeah I felt the same way about A Long Way Gone and was wondering why everyone that wasnt the rebels to get out of the country and run away so not as many people get killed for no reason.
Deletei was wondering the same thing why they didn't try to run it seemed like they had some good opportunities to escape but there could be reasons they didn't try the de humanization they were very submissive to them almost like a tamed animal
Deletethey probably went in the shape or good condition to run or get very far for one of the guards to catch them
DeleteI read the book A Long Way Gone and the culture was very interesting and different there because not everyone was civil and got along like around here or what were used to. Nobody was willing to share food or any resources that they had and others were in need because nobody trusted anyone. What shocked me is he got to go out and adventure New York City when a little earlier in the book he was hooked on lots of drugs and was killing fun grown men and kids his age. At first, I couldn't believe that Ishmael had never heard of snow before so that was a huge surprise to him but then i thought back and it did explain that it was always warm there. The most unbelievable thing to me was how rebels were treating normal civilians and what they had done to them. This book was a pretty sad one but definitely taught me a lot about how lucky we are as kids and what is happening overseas in other countries.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was pretty shocking when he didn't know what snow was or what an elevator was. I agree this book was very sad.
DeleteI also though their culture was interesting and thought it was interesting that he fought in the war at such a young age. I also thought it was sad that he got hooked on drugs when he got out and when he went to the us he saw snow for the first time. i also thought it was interesting but sad to read about what goes on in other countries.
DeleteI read night and some things I learned about a culture is how they traveled on the in the train cars with 100 people in a car, the way they all just did not fight back they just went with the guards. The thing that shocked me was went the 3 people were hanged on the ropes and the little kid was to small for the rope to break the kids neck so the kid just hung there. The thing that seemed strange was the way they just made them suffer thorough the camps. I thought that they wanted to get rid of the jews, I couldn't believe that they just make them suffer in the camps and keep them alive. I liked the part when they Germans started to burn all the documents so no one could come back and find them. Over all it was a great book but it was just a lot of bad things that happened to the people.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised that no one fought back towards the SS officers even though they out numbered them significantly. I also found it strange that the Germans made the Jews suffer before they would eliminate them, thought they held them as prisoners too long, completely opposite of their motive.
DeleteI agree, the ss officers made the Jews suffer like it was some type of game to them. Im also surprised that not 1 person tried attacking or make a move towards an officer or to escape.
Deletei am reading a thousand splendid suns and what i learned that they have to be completely covered and don't have many rights they have to go out with a male relative and they can't drive and have arraigned marriages to men way older than them as a minor it's also frowned apron to be a single mom and divorce isnt a option for them while men get to have many wives and a ton of kids
ReplyDeleteI said the same thing. Women in this book were hidden at all times and covered, if they didn't have a husband they were basically useless. They have to stay and be committed to one man, while the men can do whatever they want with no consequences.
Deletei agree with you that the women throughout the book are treated very strict and poorly by there husbands that they were forced into marriage with and have to create there lives around there husbands expectations.
DeleteThe book I'm reading is A Long Way Gone, what I've learned is that there is a lot more to what you do and don't see on the news. What shocked me was the brutal experience that Ishmael went through at such a young age. What was strange to me was the constant reoccurrences and the drugs were given to the boys while in the military. I couldn't believe the amount of deaths he watched, and I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. This has showed me, that we never know what anyone is going through and their struggles.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Night i felt like some of the events were not as big of a suprise because the holocast is such a covered event that happened but how they were taken is way less covered
DeleteI read the book Night and something that I learned about culture was some of the Jewish traditions. They had to study Talmud, go to the synagogue, respect the Passover, and say the Kaddish over the dead. Something that shocked me was how willing everyone was to follow the Germans into the camps, there was no arguing or pushback from them. I feel like Elie wrote this book for us to see how a person can go through even when there is nothing left to live for.
ReplyDeleteI would agree this book definitely motivates me to be more perseverant, and I don't think i would have argued with the soldiers who have guns in their hands telling me what to do either.
DeleteI totally agree with you, I wouldn't have argued with them, they have hundreds of people at their hands, and they can all kill them very quickly.
Deletei read the book a thousand splendid suns throughout the book I've learned the the women in Afghanistan have very little rights, women have to dress a certain way so they were completely covered and they couldn't leave the house without a guy. it was strange to me that the men they married were arranged marriages and they were with much older men at very young ages. the book helped me learn and realize that in different cultures things are much different for women.
ReplyDeleteI also thought how women were treated was strange but more upsetting like how could that be.
DeleteI read the book a long way gone and I was surprised that Ishmael was able to survive in the book because he was just 13 fending for himself. I was also surprised that their culture doesn't eat barely any meat. but when you're in a war it's easier to get grain and fruit than go hunting for food. I couldn't believe that at just 13 years old Ishmael was given a rifle and told to go fight against the rebels. and set up a ambush to take down the rebels. I was also shocked that Ishmael got into drug abuse and he was mixing cocaine and gunpowder together.
ReplyDeleteIt was also crazy to me how he was expected to fight in the war at such a young age just to get food and still have resources provided for him.
Deleteyea when they said that they mix cocaine and gun powered it surprised me so much I couldn't imagine what that would do to a 13-year-old boy.
Deletethat really reminds me of kite runner with Amir and Hassan doing some crazy stuff and some really bad stuff happening to Hassan so just with what you said reminded me of it all
DeleteI read the book night, and i learned more about just how evil the Nazi soldiers were because of what they did to all of those jews with no remorse. It shocked me how they could treat other humans and babies as if they didn't matter and were nothing but a number. It seemed strange that they believe someone who doesn't even have the ability to walk yet is evil because of their race. In my opinion the way the Jewish race was treated by the Nazis shows low intelligence and delusion.
ReplyDeleteThis is also seen in my book because throughout the war they didn't care who got killed or how it would impact other people.
DeleteI read Night and something i learned very quick was how little it seemed they valued life. the Germans would not only kill them in the harshest ways imaginable but beat them mercilessly for no reason at times. But even the jews did not value life that much many would see each other die and show no emotion or even take their own lives. Something that shocked me was how the Germans could kill all of those children without showing remorse and even use babies as a clay pigeons i simpily can not understand it. something i couldn't believe was how anyone survived these tragics and how they could survive days without any food or water in the freezing tempratures. the things that those humans were put through for no reason was horrific
ReplyDeletei totally agree it was hard to read when they are starving and fight like animals over even crumbs.
DeleteI agree. The cruelty is unbelievable, and it’s amazing that anyone survived under those conditions.
Deletei agree, it shows how horrible it was and I'm surprised some people made it out alive
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ReplyDeleteI really agree with you, what stood out to me too was how unfair Mariam and Laila’s lives were, especially being forced into marriage or treated badly by Rasheed. I also loved what you said about their bond—it was such a powerful part of the story, and it showed how strong people can be even in really hard situations. Mariam’s decision to sacrifice herself for Laila and the children was so emotional and made me really respect her strength. Your post really shows how much the book teaches about family, loyalty, and survival.
DeleteThe book A Long Way Gone helped me learn about the Sierra Leonean culture and the impact of war on everyday life. It was obvious that community, storytelling, and family were really important to people before the war which I think made the violence even more painful. I was shocked that children were forced to become soldiers and were given drugs and weapons at such a young age in order for them to survive. It was hard to believe how quickly violence became normal for them and how survival replaced their morals and the impact it left on them. The book made me feel disturbed at certain parts but I also know more now about how war can change and affect children’s lives and destroy everything.
ReplyDeletein my book kite runner there was also a large impact from war on afghanastan that really changed the community and the whole culture from many years of talibanian rule
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ReplyDeleteReading A Thousand Splendid Suns taught me a lot about life in Afghanistan through Mariam and Laila’s experiences. I was shocked by how much Mariam suffered, being forced into marriage with Rasheed and treated cruelly after her miscarriage. Laila’s life showed how dangerous Kabul became during the war, especially when her parents were killed and her home was destroyed. The book also showed how women had almost no freedom—they had to obey their husbands, wear a burqa, and live in constant fear. Reading about everything Mariam and Laila went through made me feel sad and angry, but it also showed how strong they had to be to survive.
ReplyDeletei totally agree i was completely shocked about there culture of how marriage was viewed and everything they were forced to do and no one cared and let it all happen.
DeleteI agree with you the whole culture thing shocked me once i started to understand what was happening. I just find it sickening that they have to act like marrying a man twice their age is okay. Its insane that they are forced into the marriage and are not allowed to say no and marry whomever they want.
DeleteIn a thousand splendid suns what shocked me most was how limited women’s rights. Women were not allowed to work, attend school, or even leave the house without a male . This was especially hard when Laila, who had grown up believing in education and having her own thoughts . It showed how war and political control destroy families. Some things felt strange to me at first, such as arranged marriages and large age gaps, like Mariam being forced to marry Rasheed when she was still a teenager. What made this even more disturbing was how normal it was treated by society, even when the marriage was clearly abusive. I also couldn’t believe how domestic violence was openly accepted and ignored by the law enforcement , especially when Rasheed beat Mariam and Laila and faced no consequences. The bond between Mariam and Laila was one of the most powerful parts of the story. Despite growing up in different circumstances, they form a mother daughter type relationship. Mariam’s decision to give her life so Laila and the children could escape deeply affected me. Emotionally, this book made me feel angry, sad, and hopeful all at once. Angry at the injustice women faced, sad for the lives destroyed by war, but hopeful because of the ending. Laila’s return to Kabul to help rebuild the country and educate children showed that healing and change are possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, i feel if the women actually had the rights we had then their wouldn't be this many problems. If they were actually allowed to do what they pleased and wear what they want they would actually be happy with their lives. Their are some women whose husbands don't care what they wear but that is only because they are rich and have the money.
DeleteI couldn't believe that the abuse Marium and Laila faced was just accepted and ignored by others as well. I felt like men in Afghanistan were just able to do whatever they wanted while women were forced to follow all these rules/laws.
DeleteAfter reading Night by Elie Wiesel I learned a lot about Jewish culture and the history of the Holocaust. I was shocked by how quickly normal lives were destroyed and how families and children suffered in the camps. I could not believe the cruelty and inhumanity people faced just because of their religion. It also seemed strange and heartbreaking how survival forced people to act in ways they never would have imagined. The book showed me how important faith, family, and hope were even in the darkest times. Reading it made me feel sad, angry, and sometimes helpless, but it also helped me understand the suffering they endured and why it is so important to remember this history and the people who lived through it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Night really shows how quickly lives were torn apart and how cruel the Holocaust was. I also felt shocked and sad reading about what people had to go through, and it made me realize how important family, hope, and faith were for survival. It’s definitely a powerful reminder of history that shouldn’t be forgotten.
DeleteI learned a lot about what life was like in Sierra Leone and how the civil war completely flipped everything upside down. Before the war, Ishmael talks about normal stuff like family, music, and hanging out in his village. Then the war hits, and it’s crazy how fast kids are forced to grow up and survive on their own. What shocked me the most was how young boys were turned into soldiers and treated like adults, even though they were still kids. It was hard to believe that killing and violence became normal for them. Some cultural things felt strange at first, like how important storytelling and village life were, but that just made it sadder when all of it was destroyed. Reading this book honestly made me feel uncomfortable and sad, but it also made me appreciate my own life and understand how strong someone has to be just to survive something like that.
ReplyDeletei agree war could can be a hard thing and reading about it is hard.
Deletei totally agree with you war books are really hard to read about and especially this one due to how depressing and gory the author made it to be.
Deletethe culture in night was so different because of all hard ships that the people come arcoss with the camps and then abuse from the Germans. one thing that really shocked me was the 20 kilometer run towards the end and theyd get shot if they slowed down that seemed the craziest to me. one thing i learned from this and the history side of things is i didnt know they got moved from camp to camp and that they had different jobs to do. through out this book i felt overwhelmed and didnt know how to process some of the stuff in the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this; everything about this point in history was insane to me, and the fact that people held the inhumanity to simply take other humans lives. But especially the point when they had to run 20 kilometers in the freezing cold and snow, with no choice, the other option being shot. I also felt overwhelmed and had a sense of anger throughout the entire book.
DeleteI read the book Night, and one thing I learned about the culture was some of the Jewish traditions. They studied the Talmud, went to the synagogue, celebrated Passover, and said the Kaddish for people who died. One thing that really shocked me was how willing everyone was to follow the Germans into the camps. There wasn’t much arguing or fighting back. And how violent the ss officers were towards the people, I don't understand how they would have the mentality to do such things to another human being.I think Elie wrote this book so we could see how a person can keep going even when it feels like there is nothing left to live for.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading I Am Malala, I learned a lot about the role of women in Pakistani society, especially in the Swat Valley. Women and girls were often expected to stay quiet, stay inside the home, and accept decisions made for them. Education for girls was seen as unimportant or even dangerous by the Taliban, which shocked me. I couldn’t believe that girls were banned from going to school and that schools were destroyed just to stop girls from learning. What seemed strange to me was how much control the Taliban tried to have over women’s lives, including how they dressed and whether they could go out in public. Malala’s story made me realize how different life can be for girls in other cultures. I was especially inspired by Malala’s courage in speaking out for girls education, even after being threatened and attacked. The book made me feel grateful for my own education and showed me how important it is to stand up for women’s rights.
ReplyDeleteThe Taliban stuck out to me too, for them not being just a group of people and having more power than the government was shocking to me. Malala's courage showed how strong women in every culture is.
DeleteI can kind of relate this to the book Night. Women were definitely seen as less than. After all, as soon as they arrived to the camps, women and their young children were sentenced to death without maybe realizing it at first.
DeleteI'm reading Night and i don't think i learned much cultural differences between ours and there's because were both culturally similar. But what shocked me a lot is how willing the Jews were to leave and get put into camps. But at the same time how the Germans allowed there government to do this to people who are just like them. Something that i couldn't believe is that on that last section of the book some of the sons were willing to kill there father for food without even thinking about it, no talking, no discussion just straight to there primal instincts. I would say that I'm already pretty knowledgeable on the Holocaust and WW2 but reading this book i would say i got a more 1st hand point of view on not just the horrible atrocities they were put threw but also how the camps worked what they were fed, where they slept and even what kind of work they did.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, I am Malala, it is known that this book is about a girl who fought for her education but as I kept reading, Malala explains the culture in Pakistan and how women are raised to want to stay home to cook, clean, and do what they do. what shocked me the most was how harsh the Taliban got towards girls having an education. In America, everyone is forced to go to school whether you like it or not, but Pakistani women have to fight to go to school. The girls at Malala's school would sneak in through a back door and hide their books under their cloths near their chest. I was shocked by how women are treated.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked about how harsh the Taliban got towards girls having an education because in our culture that's the normal, and its even weirder that it was a random group of people that took over their government not the government causing the problems which is what you normally hear.
Deletei agree the way the taliban gave no sympathy towards girls just for wanting an education
DeleteIn the book A Thousand Splendid Suns i learned that in Afghanistan that the women never had a choice in what they were allowed to do. That it all relied on their husbands that they were forced to marry or their parents and who they forced them to marry. This whole idea disgusted me and i am grateful that it isn't like that in the United States and i am allowed to have a free will. I just find it insane that this had been a norm for them since forever, because that means women in their country have never gotten a say at what they are allowed to do. Laila never got the choice due to her family dying when their home got bombed. The man she married Rasheed was already married to Miriam. The way Miriam was forced to marry him was by her mom dying and being forced to live with her dad who already have over 5 wives. His wives decided that she were to be married because she was a disgrace due to how she was brought into the world. They already didn't want her in their home, so this was the easiest way they could get rid of her.
ReplyDeleteI am reading the book night, and I went into the book with knowledge about the holocaust and knowing things about it pretty well, but this book went so in depth explaining the things that were happing so well like when the had to go a that snow walk and the people that fell behind or fell to the ground the guards would just kill them and for the women how they would just kill them almost right as they got there they were just throwing them away if the weren't worth keeping like they were just nothing and how some guards were sneaking around with some of the prisoners and getting caught by others I don't understand how you could do them things to other human beings
ReplyDeleteYes! How did the guards have enough courage to go and be sneaking around with the prisoners. They knew what was happening to the prisoners if they got caught doing anything just barely bad so I wonder how they still had the courage too.
DeleteI am reading I am Malala and I also thought previously that I had good knowledge about her and the shooting but reading this book taught me that there was so much more to the story.
DeleteAfter reading the book Night by Elie Wiesel, I gathered a ton of knowledge about the Holocaust, and everything the Jewish culture lived through during that time period. Something that shocked me most while reading this book was the amount of lives taken during this time and how quickly it all occured. I found it so strange that not much information got around between the jewish communities, and that the jews believed what they were being told; "helped". From the beginning, Elie and his family faced so much cruelty because of the things they did and what they believed in like their religion. After reading this book, i felt disgusted, yet proud. Proud of a stranger i never knew.
ReplyDeleteIt also shocked me how many lives were taken and how fast it all happened. People were being killed all around them 90% of the time.
DeleteAfter reading the book Night, I learned a lot more about the Holocaust and the Jewish faith. One thing that shocked me was how cruel the Germans were to the Jews and how they could have the heart to kill so many people just because they were women or just because they couldn't keep going anymore because of how starved they were. Another thing that shocked me was how they used babies as targets?! I don't understand how someone could have the heart to shoot an infant. After finishing the book, I feel disgusted, and in disbelief, about how they were treated and all the pain and suffering they went through. I also felt a little proud of Elie because he made it all the way to the end of the journey even after watching his dad die after Elie took care of him for so long and gave up some of his meals for his dad.
ReplyDeletemy book also made me feel unwell for the people that were being affected during such a bad time
DeleteAfter reading Night, I learned a lot about Jewish culture and life during the Holocaust. I was shocked by how cruel the Nazis were and how families were separated right away at camps like Auschwitz. It was hard to believe people were forced to work in terrible conditions or sent to the crematorium. For example, when Elie and his father first arrive, they see the flames and smoke from the crematorium, showing how real the danger was. Reading this made me feel sad but also showed me how strong people had to be to survive and how important it is to remember this history.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The Kite Runner I learned about Afghan culture and how important family and honor are I was shocked by how violent life became under the Taliban I thought it was strange how Hassan was treated badly just because of his ethnicity I could not believe the public punishments The book made me feel sad but also hopeful because it shows people can change and try to do better
ReplyDeleteI agree with how important family is to Afghan culture and with how the Taliban were extremely violent.
Deletei agree, their ways are very different from ours. Especially with the Hazaras and how to marry and approach women.
DeleteAfter Reading Kite Runner I learned how important family and traditions are to Afghan culture. Amir always seems to show respect towards his father. also Soraya's dad didn't like Amir talking to her until Baba came and asked if Amir could wed her according to Afghan tradition
ReplyDeleteAfter reading A Long Way Gone, I've learned the terrible things that happened in Sierra Leone. I've also learned about the great welcoming culture they have. Throughout the story Ishmael is going town to town before being captured and besides a few times being questioned, he is always welcomed in and taken care of by the people of the village. The way they live life too is very unique in the fact most people stay in their own village like their entire life, and they have all they need to live there. Each village seemed to have some sort of garden or field and some of the men went out to hunt, and women took care of the children and helped teach the kids. It is a very interesting a unique culture and although with the war going on i think everyone is very warm and welcoming.
ReplyDeletei feel like throughout the story the culture of them being open to everyone really shrunk due to the war Andi think that really explains how big of an impact war has on us.
DeleteAfter reading The Kite Runner, I learned a lot about Afghan culture and history. I was shocked by how unfair people treated Hazaras, like Hassan, just because of his background. I was also surprised by how strict life was under the Taliban and how dangerous it could be. It seemed strange how much Amir wanted his father’s approval, even when it hurt his friendship with Hassan. I couldn’t believe how one mistake affected Amir for his whole life. The book made me feel sad but also helped me understand a culture very different from mine.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I never really knew about the severely strict laws towards women in Afghanistan. I was shocked by how young you can get married and how women were treated so terribly. It was strange that men could really just do whatever they wanted while women were forced to stay home and had to be accompanied by a man whenever they left the house. Rasheed had put Marium and Laila through so much and was just able to get away with it without any consequences. Women were forced to follow whatever they were told by the men and weren't able to freely do what they wanted.
ReplyDeleteI am reading I Am Malala and when reading this book, it taught me a lot about the life in Swat Valley and how and how culture, and religion can change someone's life for the better or for the worse. I learned how important family, and her education was to Malala, but how the "rules" where much different for girls then they were boys. The shocking part was the they were banned from education and treated poorly simply because they were female. And that the Taliban group got so much power over time because they forced people out.
ReplyDeletei was reading the book along way gone and one thing that suprised me was how the kids dont finish high school and how they are so young and still fighting in the war
ReplyDeleteUpon finishing the book, a long way gone i really realized how much different their culture is than ours, one example being that when Ishmael first got to New York, he was wearing very thin clothes which was not ideal because the conditions of Sierra Leone did not cross over to the US and he was left super cold. the reason this correlates with culture is because they don't have to wear different clothes because it is warm all year round so they can wear their clothes where we have to accommodate for the weather, another thing with culture is that we have a wide arrange of food whereas he's used to eating mostly fish and rice an example would be when he first got t o new York all he really wanted some fish oil and rice soup. something i really couldn't believe was the fact that they had some name brand stuff like one of the RUF rebels had a pair of adidas which just surprised me because they all basically have makeshift shoes and are pretty primitive.
ReplyDeleteafter reading the book i am Malala, i was shook by how different their culture is compared to ours. the one thing that had probably stricken me the most was the idea of them having no education. the Taliban was completely against it, especially for the girls. here, education is one of the most important things, let alone a law. we have to attend school otherwise if we miss way to often, law enforcement could get involved.
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