Book Thief Blog Assignment



Summary

         The article "Allied bombing of Germany during the Second World War" by John Kenneth Galbraith briefly states that the several bombings of German cities during the last days of the second world war were not as effective as planned by the British and American armed forces. While they were intensely being attacked, Germany continued to increase their production, proving to be an impenetrable force.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/10/allied-bombing-germany-dresden


          The fact that the tools being utilized by the Germans were not easily destructible and therefore, re-designed in minimal time and effectively managed help ensure that the Germans would not suffer great damage from the bombings. The Germans also moved their production to locations such as schools and churches. A clear example of this included the attack on the airplane plants which was toothless. The Americans and the British forces had very little effect other than destructing German land.

Interesting Facts

-The British forces often bombed during the night and targeted central cities

-Working-class areas suffered the most damage during bombings 

-The Americans used daylight raids but had difficulty placing their targets

-Many prominent attacks occupied the United States` 8th Air Force for several months

-During 1939-45, 3.4 million tons of bombs were dropped by the Allies, averaging around 27,000 tons per month



http://pubsub.com/Fire-and-Fury-in-The-Allied-Bombing-of-Germany-Reading-By-Randall-Hansen_Vancouver-Books-and-Lit-ilgfcnft2Di,aCIj6cA7GIHE



Quotes from the Book

"Did they deserve any better, these people? How many had actively persecuted others, high on the scent of Hitler's gaze, repeating his sentences, his paragraphs, his opus? Was Rosa Hubermann responsible? The hider of a Jew? Or Hans? Did they all deserve to die? The children?" (Zusak,375-76)

"Even from the cellar, they could vaguely hear the tune of bombs. air pressure shoved itself down like a ceiling, as if to mash the earth. A bite was taken of Molching's empty streets."(Zusak, 380)



"In the morning, the damage was inspected. No one died, but two apartment blocks were reduced to pyramids of rubble, and Rudy's favourite Hitler Youth field had an enormous bowl spooned out of it. Half the town stood around its circumference. People estimated its depth, to compare it with their shelters." (Zusak,385)

References

Zusak , Markus. The Book Thief. 1st ed. United States: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.

Galbraith, John Kenneth. "Allied Bombing of Germany during the Second World War." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 09 Sept. 2009. Web. 01 May 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/10/allied-bombing-germany-dresden.

"99 Fascinating Facts About . . ." 99 Fascinating Facts about World War II. 2007. Web. 01 May 2012. http://facts.randomhistory.com/world-war-ii-facts.html.

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Thematic Comparison: Harrison Bergeron Vs. The Chrysalids

A artist's portrayal of Harrison Bergeron

A thematic connection can clearly be seen in both the short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham as both show the extremes society will go to in an attempt to enforce equality.

It can clearly be seen in both texts how society often limits the special abnormalities of individuals. In Harrison Bergeron, anyone with a particular gift or ability is discouraged using a disability. This is done in an effort to hide an individual’s strengths and also prevent one person from being more skilled than another. Many people are given disabilities such as “George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear… Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” Likewise in The Chrysalids, anything or anyone in the Waknuk village with an extra toe, arm or any other mutation, is considered a Deviation and is either killed or singled out and evicted to the Fringes. This is where other ‘deviations’ reside. David Strorm explains the typical ritual carried out by his father, a prevailing leader of the village and supporter of its religious values whenever a Deviation was found in his household. He describes that " we would sing a hymn while my father ceremoniously slaughtered the two-headed calf, four-legged chicken, or whatever other kind of Offence it happened to be. Sometimes it would be a much queerer thing than those..."  In both stories, the unique attributes of a person are restricted to keep  society at a common level. Both of these stories depict how society often prefers to censor anything that is abnormal or promotes individualism. Exceptionalities are suppressed, all to maintain equality among society.

The book cover of  'The Chrysalids'

Both texts also show how society fears those who may be particularly gifted or irregular. In Harrison Bergeron, a television news report informs citizens to fear the outstanding strength, intelligence and overall exceptional skills of Harrison Bergeron. Even after being given several handicaps to cover up his strengths, he is still described as ’under-handicapped’. The newsreader warns viewers about "Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen…has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous." Similarly in The Chrysalids, the highly religious villagers of Waknuk shun any kind of Deviation as they fear the consequences from God for accepting anyone with a mutation. Those with mutations are considered to symbolize The Devil and therefore, are feared. David Strorm, having grown up in a highly religious household, questions the faith he has been raised under after encountering a girl with six toes.  He thinks of the Definition of Man and recites to himself, "And each leg shall be jointed twice and shall have one foot and each foot 5 toes. And any creature that shall seem to be human, but is not formed thus, is not human. It is a blasphemy against the true image of God, and hateful in the sight of God." Both of these narratives illustrate how people are often taught to fear anything that is out of the ordinary instead of embracing it. To civilians, Harrison Bergeron is considered a dangerous criminal who occupies many remarkable qualities while those with mutations in The Chrysalids are feared and thought of as a form of the Devil in human form. This shows how irregularities are often feared by society.

In conclusion, both The Chrysalids and Harrison Bergeron prove the extremes society will go to in an effort to enforce equality. This includes putting limits on the unique qualities of individuals and fearing those with exceptionalities.

"Twilex" !

I chose a video from one of my favourite television shows, So You Think You Can Dance. The dance is performed by Twitch and Alex Wong. The reason I find this dance so interesting to watch every time is because one of the dancers, Alex is actually a classically trained ballet dancer. This dance became highly acclaimed as Alex learned it in under a week, not only learning the routine but a whole new dance genre. If you were to watch this dance without knowing Alex's background, you would think he was a professional hip-hop dancer. Watching this video shows me what  true determination and perserverance is. Alex's talent and skills inspire me to always strive to improve my abilities and reach new heights in success.

Greetings ! :)

Hi, my name is Anisha Sivathas and I am a student in tenth grade. This blog, Aspiring Times With Anisha will be used for my Thematic Connection assignment which is part of my short stories unit in my Grade 10 English Course. I will be comparing two texts, a short story I read in class, and another form of a media text. Stay tuned for more upcoming posts!