Holocaust Thingy [World Studies]

Holocaust: Greek Origin: Sacrifice by Fire.

Nazi Germans murdered six-million Jewish people. Along with them, they slaughtered the disabled, Roma, and Slavics.
The Nazis came into power in Germany early on in 1933. Their leader, Adolf Hitler, was a believer in the Aryan race. He believed the extermination of all those not apart of it was essential to the future of the Aryans. They killed them as part of the "Final Solution" to the "problem" facing the Aryan race. With them out of the world, the only remaing people would be those that they viewed as pure.


To follow through with the "Final Solution", the National Socialist Government established concentration camps where the Jewish and other minorities where sent and endured forced labor. These camps were headed by the SS and police officials. The purpose of the camps was to monitor the population of the minorities. Later established were ghettos. The purpose of the ghettos was to contain the minorities in the process of being taken to the concentration camps.


Between 1941-1944, German authorities deported Jews out of Germany to occupy killing centers. They were also referred to as extermination camps. They were most often killed in large gas-chambers but were also killed by being shot. These camps were made for the intentional killing of more than 2,700,000 Jews. Most of the arrivals at these camps were immediately sent to the gas-chambers. The only exception were the small grooups chosen for a work force, which often met the same fate, eventually.


In the final months of World War II, "Death Marches" took place. These were forced marches to avoid the Allies from liberating the prisoners. So the prisoners were pretty much just running from the people who were trying to help them. Ironic. These marches continued to the end of the war. The very day that the Germans surrendered. Prisoners were liberated, and the lives of the remaining Jews instantly became hopeful.


THE END OF THE HOLOCAUST :]

Tell-Tale Heart

So, Edgar Allen Poe wrote this "great" piece of literature called the Tell-Tale Heart, but honestly I do not see the greatness of it. A psychotic man is very uneasy with his co-workers blue eye. He says it is like that of a vulture. And in the end he results to killing him, only because the eye was open. If it had not been for the eye, and the man's insanity, then it is probable that the blue-eyed man would have lived.

As an activity to analyzing The Tell-Tale Heart we tracked the plot....in detail. What I have noticed about the main character, is that his actions are very uncertain. By that, I mean that the man does things, and acts in such ways, but in the end he is very edgy because of his uncertainty.

For example, when the man decides he commits to killing the blue-eyed-vulture man, he never actually does it until something pushes him to do it, or makes up his mind for him. In this case, the thing that pushed him was the man's eye being open.

The events following this also displayed him being unsure of his actions and doings. When he is chatting with the police officers, he has knowingly stashed the vulture-man's body underneath the hardwood floors on which they are standing. He has already killed him, so there is no turning back, but the man displays guilt for what he has done. In this case, guilt is a form of uncertainty. His uncertainty gets the best of him.

A Taste of Summer

Sparkling in the summer sun, the ripples on the water's surface undulated, reflecting the light and giving off a glare. In an instance the surface was shattered with the bodies of children who willingly flung themselves into the awaiting water. Jumping and flailing their arms about, the neighborhood children were just taking a break from another one of their pick-up games.
"Bottom of the fourth inning; 6-4." Jack clarified.
"I don't want to play anymore." said Quinn.
"I'm hungry, let's go to Nicky's." announced Tina.
Then they set off on the three block journey toward the fast-food restaurant. They crossed streets carelessly and hardly bothered to stay on sidewalks, instead they preferred the street. These were not the most well behaved friends a girl like Lucy could have. Sure she loved them and all, but sometimes they got too crazy.
While Lucy didn't really participate in their foolish actions, part of her enjoyed the danger of it all. Here in their neighborhood, the kids called the shots.
And with them calling the shots, endless summer days were spent with one another. From riding ATVs, to going to the park, to hanging around and passing the time with baseball. The children of the streets were inseperable. That's how it was. Nobody had a curfew, and parents knew each other well.
Back to the block within ten minutes, they pondered about the endless possibilities for the afternoon.
Hopefully they don't get in too much trouble...
to be continued.

Pride in the Name of Love

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One come here to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach.
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

(nobody like you...)

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love...
--------------------------

Yes, this is U2's Pride in the Name of Love.
The song as a whole is about people who have lost themselves due to love.
The first verse:
The first verse symbolizes people that have different intentions in the name of love. People generally act differently and do different things when they act in the name of love. For example:
One man come here to justify
One man to overthrow.
---
One man has come with peaceful reasoning. Only to prove his point.
One man has come with intentions that are not very peaceful and may even cause some violence.

The second verse:
The first line symbolizes the soldiers who died in love for their countries. The 'barbed wire fence' is referring to those used in trench warfare during World War One.
As I came to learn, the third line symbolizes Roger Casement. He was captured, arrested, and finally executed because he took a significant part in the Easter Uprising.
The fourth and final line symbolizes how Jesus had been betrayed with a kiss. Jesus had been betrayed with a kiss, by Judas.

The Last Verse:
The Last verse is all about Martin Luther King Junior. April 4th 1968 is the specific April 4th discussed in the song. The shots that rang out in Memphis sky were the gunshots that 'took your life and he was free at last'. But they 'could not take your pride'.

As I said before, overall the song is about the many people who have lost themselves due to love.

On the Reservation

Recently, we have been reading Montana 1948 in class. In my opinion its a pretty decent book, it doesn't have a standstill plot and the book isn't that long ;)

Uncle Frank rapes and molests the Indian women, so as a woman living on the reservation, they should fear him. I know I would run from him in terror and clock him in the head with a shovel if he ever got near me.

On the reservation, he is one of the only things we have to fear. He stands out among our people because he is an outsider. But Ollie Young Bear is someone I am just a tad less disgusted with than Frank. Young Bear has adapted a new life from our own, and would just as soon turn himself American as he would bat an eyelash. It disgusts me because he is not proud. He is not proud of what he is. He wishes he was white rather than one of us, we wonder what his parents must think. They could not possibly be proud for what he has become, it is only assumed that they are ashamed. He is like a dog to the white people, he pleases them and becomes more like them. The white people, they like him, they say we should all become like Ollie Young Bear because then we will prosper in life, as they believe that he shall. He is well liked among the white population, but to us, he is nobody special. If anything, he is less than normal.

Propaganda 2011

So propaganda......that is deceptive or distorted information that is systematically spread. Okay so basically it's when you know something is bad or misleading, but you market it in such a positive way that people fail to see the harm in the product.

I think a great example of this in 2011 would be cigarettes. The funny thing about cigarettes is, not only do the marketers know that they are bad for your health, but everyone in society knows. Yet, even though the health hazards are known, smokers continue to buy them.
Before the risks were well-known, many people bought cigarettes. By the time the knowledge of the hazards spread around, many people could not quit. They were addicted and once they got sucked into the world of cigarettes, the propaganda for other cigarette brands was everywhere.

Commercials are propaganda. The average person watches television so many hours a day, seeing hundreds of commercials a week. The strategy of a company is to show the positive perks of a product and either exclude the negative altogether, or put it in size two font on the bottom of the screen where nobody can read it. They emphasize the products good qualities and effects, why you should buy it, and how much better it is than other leading brands, not to mention the cheap price.


We live in a world of propaganda and I believe that we can deal with it. We can just slow down, and not be so quick to assume we're being told the entire story. We should not rely on commercials for our information. And before we actually buy something, we should know *what* we're buying.

Black Boy

Unlike The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby, I actually enjoy reading Black Boy. Maybe it is just hearing it like it is straight from a little kid, or even just that the plot moves faster than the other books we have read, but I do not dread having to read every night. Well, not THAT much.

Richard grows up a lot throughout the book. I mean that both literally and mentality wise. As a six year old kid, though, you probably do not want to experience some of the things that Richard has. Growing up around the time that he did also influenced a lot of what he had witnessed and how his mentality had developed.

He witnessed a lot of events that could be described as having to do with racial tensions, or even straight out racism. At a younger age he was still blind to how society was, but as he grew up he learned.

I also dislike most of his family members. They treat him like crap and insist that they know better than he does. His Grandmother practicaly tells him that he is dead to her because he does not want to take up her religion. His Uncle wakes him up one night and then goes crazy on him and wants to beat him. Aunt Addie beats him at school AND at home. Aunt Jody gets on his case and is just nosy.

No wonder Richard doesn't grow up correctly, his family is screwed up. This is one of the major reasons that Rich has a different life than most kids.