Maus-Night Blogging Assignment.

I liked Night better because I felt it showed what a Holocaust survivor actually went through, whereas I found Mous to be confusing and focused on details that didn't pertain to the story. For instance, when Maus jumps between war time and present time I didn't like it. I would rather it be like Night, which was written in chronological order rather than jumping around in time. I felt like details such as Vlakik  burning the diaries of his wife, Anja,  and Art getting really angry with him and calling him a murderer, was annoying. I wanted to focus on the time period during the war and read more about what he went through as a Holocaust survivor.

I would not suggest reading both the books together because they don't compliment each other. I feel Night  is preferable because it is a serious book that explains clearly and in a readable way the horrible experiences the author went through. Maus, on the other hand, does explain well what happens but the author injects information I don't care about. I am not interested in the day- to-day stuff that goes on with Vladik and his wife Mala, or the relationship between the father and the son. I just want to know the details of how they survived the camps. 

I believe future classes should read only Night because it really shows what they experinenced. It's a better and more acurate perspective. Although I like comic books and usually enjoy them, I felt the fact the author made the characters into cats and mice took away from the  story. The author seemed to feel he needed to change what the Holocaust really was just to get people to read it, and it took away from the reality and horror of the situation and made it seem like a joke.

Restrepo vs Fallen Angels.

• In the documentary Restrepo, the Korengal Valley was just as dangerous as the jungles in Vietnam in Fallen Angels. In both cases you had to be very observant of hazards. In both places whoever was hidden the best had the upper hand. For example, in Restrepo, staying hidden but making it look like you were standing out in the open (with a wood figure) tricked the enemy into shooting, exposing their position. In the jungle, taking it slow and waiting for the enemy to move was the key element to winning.
• In both situations the soldiers had to be observant of the locals and understand who was the enemy and who wasn't. In Restrepo the man who owned the cow and wanted money made the sargeant suspicious in case he would give the money to the Taliban. In Fallen Angels,  the soldiers learned to be wary of locals after the woman handed a soldier a mined baby  which killed him. 
• In both Restrepo and Fallen Angels all the soldiers ate undesirable food. It kept them alive but it wasn't like home cooking. In Restrepo they ate rice and spices from the locals which they didn't seem to like much. In Fallen Angels they seemed to eat the same thing time and again.
• In Restrepo and Fallen Angels both squads were not sure what they were getting into. For instance in Restrepo when the soldiers were on the train having a good time and weren't expecting to be in a fire fight and being shot at almost every day. Also in Fallen Angels you see this at the beginning of the book when they are first in Vietnam they question where they are and start to get scared.
• Something thats noticed in both Restrepo and Fallen Angels is having the local villagers on your side  this is a key part of war. In Restrepo the soldiers try making peace with the locals after casualties on the civilians have occurred. In Fallen Angels U.S. soldiers do the same thing when they are on patrols through the villages.
• A thing that stuck out to me in both Restrepo and Fallen Angels was how the soldiers reacted to a kill. In Restrepo someone would get a kill the entire squad would celebrate it for one of there own fallen soldiers. This is very similar to what the soldiers in Fallen Angels would do to when they avenged a fellow soldier.
• In both Restrepo and Fallen Angels when the soldiers experienced a horrible situation, after when they would write to there family some soldiers would lie about the brutal realities of war.
• In Restrepo and Fallen Angels both squads have a very close relationship with one another. Seeing how each soldier relied on each other so heavily in Restrepo This really brought Fallen Angels to life.
• In both stories, the question"Why are we here and will our good intentions outweigh the costs?"In Restrepo were we being effective in the fight against terrorists?  In"Fallen Angels" the question was,"Were the people we were fighting for supporting the fight?"
• Will either squad justify the loss of there fellow Lt. Carroll or Restrepo for the minor part they played in the big picture.

Please list 10 ways you can improve your essay scores

1.Wright more.           6.Creative thoughts.
2.Use more quotes.     7.Better words.
3.Use more examples.8.Neat
4.Good punch.           9.More Orginized
5. Good summery.     10.clear thesis




Please write any 15 thoughts about the book Slaughterhouse-5.  For each thought, please refer to a specific part of the book that generated this thought (for instance, “It was funny” receives no credit; “It was funny when he described the Tralfamadorians” receives full credit).


1. I thought the sceen when Billy was licking the spoon and gave syrup to Edgar was thoughtful.

2. The British soldiers ridiculing them for being sloppy and skinny as chickens was sad.

3. The horrible descriptions of torture by Roland made this book disturbing.  

4. The daughter  scolding Billy- "what are we going to do with you?" showed the cruelty of this book

5. The fact he waited for Montana W to trust him before they were intimate... It shows respect.

6. The fact he realized no one in their right mind would have married valencia shows that you cant judge a book by its cover. 

7. The book was somewhat confusing like when it kept jumping from different parts in time. 

8. This book was funny when Billy had to wear the small coat.

9. I thought this book was weird when Billy got abducted.

10. I thought this book was written cleverly how it jumps between different stages of Billy s life.

11. This book was funny when Billy described Valencia.

12. I thought this book was scary during the torture scenes.

13. I thought this book was emotionless because Billy always felt the same way.

14. This book was surprising when it told you the end of it towards the beginning. 

15. This book was suspenseful when Billy was getting shot at in battle and his squad was telling him to take cover and he wouldn't.



State 5 possible themes for the book Slaughterhouse-5.
1. Life Cycle.

2. War is life.

3. What is time?

4. Does life end?

5. Where does time begin?



Write a conversation between yourself and Billy Pilgrim in which he tries to teach you a lesson based on his own experiences.  You must explain IN DEPTH at least 3 specific events and details from the book in order to receive full credit.  This conversation should go on as long as it takes to demonstrate YOUR UNDERSTANDING of Billy’s experiences.
EXAMPLE:
Billy: Hello, Mr. Cheng
Mr. Cheng: Hi Billy
Billy: Have you heard about Tralfamadore?
Mr. Cheng: No, what’s that?
Billy: It’s a planet where they... etc.


Billy: Hey Jack
Jack: Hey Billy hows it going?
Billy: Pretty good, I have to tell you about a trip I went on!
Jack: Ok Billy where did you go?
Billy: TRALFAMADOR.
Jack: Where the heck is that?
Billy: Its a distant planet in another galaxy.
Jack: Whoooa that sounds cool.
Billy: Yeah it was.
Jack: What did you do there?
Billy: Well I had sex with Montana Wildhack.
Jack: What?! Dude tell me how this happened!
Billy: Well I woke up in a cage and a voice from a Tralfamadorinan start talking to me and answered some of my questions, Then Montana Wildhack appeared naked.
Jack: What did you do?
Billy: I clothed her and asked the voice what we were doing here and he asked us to mate.
Jack: Hahaha so did you?
Billy: No! at least not right then. I let her get comfortable with me and the situation first.
Jack: How long did that take?
Billy: A couple weeks.
Jack: Thats not to bad.
Billy: Yeah but we had a kid.
Jack: What?! Where is it now.
Billy: Not here because remember I am traveling threw time.
Jack: Ahh yes thats right almost forgot.
Billy: Well I better get going, ill see you later maybe.
Jack: Alright Billy nice to see you, bye.

Patience is Key

Patience is a key part of life. It's important because waiting for something helps one know if it's really right for yourself. Waiting tests a person and character.  Siddhartha exemplifies this willingness to wait for something important in the following quote. He wants to leave home and join the Samanas and needs his father's permission to do so. His father asks,"Why are you waiting?" Siddhartha responds, "You know why." The conversation continues with his father responding, "Will you go on standing and waiting until it is day, noon, evening?" The conversation continues: "I will stand and wait." "You will grow tired, Siddhartha." "I will grow tired." "You will fall asleep." "I will not fall asleep." "You will die." "I will die." (page 11) Siddhartha shows  resolve and strength and feels that patience with his father is the only way he will be able to live his life the way he wants. You will go into the forest" he said, "and become a Samana.If you find bliss in the forest, come back and teach it to me. If you find disillusionment, come back, and we shall again offer sacrifices to the gods together."(12) Siddhartha's father shows amazing patience by letting his son depart for the Samana's knowing he may never come back. This situation reminds me of situations my father and I get into. My dad often asks for me to check in at certain times when I am away from home. Sometimes when I do not follow through he displays great patience by not calling me right away to see if I'll follow through with what I agreed to. Patience is clearly a big part of everyone's life. 

Macbeth "Be a man"

       Macbeth       "Prithee, peace: I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares do more more is none."
       Lady Macbeth       "What beast was't, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man. Nor time nor place did then adhere, and yet you would make both."
                Pg.43 Act1 Scene7 Lines 50-59    
        Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are discussing there plan on murdering the king but Macbeth does not want to carry threw with it anymore because the king had just honored him.
        This quote shows manliness because Macbeth has to make a hard decision that only a true man can make.

        Macbeth       "Let every man be master of his time"
                 Pg.83 Act3 Scene1 Line 44
        Macbeth is saying that they can go do what they want until 7 o'clock.
         This quote shows manliness because men are disciplined and do what they are told.

       Macbeth        "Ay, in the catalogue  you go for men, As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clept all by the name of dogs. The valued file distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, the housekeeper, the hunter, every on according to the gift which bounteous nature hath in him closed; whereby he does receive particular addition, from the bill that writes them all alike. and so of men."
                 Pg.87 Act3 Scene1 Lines 103-213
        Macbeth is relating dogs to humans and how there are different breeds of dogs and the same with humans and nobody is the same.
        This quote shows manliness because it tells the difference between men and some are good and some are bad but all in all we are all the same thing.

        Macbeth        "what man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or th' Hyrcan tiger; take any shape but that, and firm nerves shall never tremble. or be alive again and dare me to the desert with thy sword. If trembling I inhabit then, protest me the baby of a girl. Hence horrible shadow! Unreal mockery, Hence!"
                   Pg.107 Act3 Scene4 lines 120-129
         Macbeth is talking to the ghost and is saying that he is not afraid and could defeat it no matter what it was or where they fought.
         This quote shows manliness because macbeth is saying that he is unstoppable and that is super manly.

The Odyssey

Jack Felechner

Guys and Lit

Mr. Cheng

6 December 2010

Themes of The Odyssey

            The famous author Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.”  Heroes tend to have a fatal flaw that they can either exploit in battle or it will be their downfall.  In Homer’s The Odyssey, the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, is traveling home from Troy after a great battle.  Odysseus is a proud man who has accomplished great feats in battle and respected by both soldiers and kings alike.  Odysseus, because of his arrogance is both helped and hindered along his journey home to reunite with his wife Penelope. 

            One example of Odysseus’ struggle with his arrogance occurs as he battles the Cyclops, “Polyphemous”, in the land of the giants.  Arrogance hurts him in the situation, because it allows him to get trapped in the Cyclops’ lair, and in turn several of his men get killed.  However, it is his brilliant plan to hide with the sheep and his arrogance that they would be able to pull it off, helps his men to escape their fate.  Later, it again harms Odysseus and his men when he choose to brag to the Cyclops about stabbing his eye.  Homer writes, “Cyclops-if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed out so-say Odysseus” (227).  This is important because if he had not made Poseidon angry, he and his men would have been free to sail home.
       Another part in the book that Odysseus shows his arrogance is when he arrives back to his kingdom in Ithaca. When the games are taking place for the next king of Ithaca and Penelope's hand in marriage, Odysseus shows up disguised as a beggar and completes the challenge and revealing him self to all the suiters and telling them they have betrayed him and they will pay the price.

Quote:"look-your crucial test is finished, now, at last! But another target's left that no one's  hit before - we'll see if I can hit it-Apollo give me glory!"

This is important because his arrogance kept him from revealing him self right when he returned home, instead Odysseus spied on his wife and servants to see who was still loyal to him and who was not.

        Lastly when Odysseus and his crew were sent on there journey past the sirens Odysseus again shows his arrogance  when he asks his crew to tie him to the mass of the ship and not to put wax in his ears because he want to hear what the sirens have to say.

This is important because his arrogance made him think that he could resist the sirens call and he failed and was screaming at his crew to untie him so they could go to the sirens.

Randy Moss

Randy Moss was recently up for grabs so the Minnesota Vikings chose him as a new player on the team. Apparently his team didn’t talk about bringing him back and it was the perfect chance to get an excellent wide receiver, because Favre really needed one.  Randy Moss is an excellent choice to bring to the Vikings.

He is undisputedly a talented player. Randy Moss is really good because a lot of other teams admire him and have wanted him on the sidelines. He can make amazing catches. One of his past games he made two touchdowns by himself in one game, which is very rare.  He is also extremely fast. He gets to where the ball is going to be.

We desperately need a wide receiver that can score for the Vikings. Farve wanted Moss because he needs a good receiver that can get to the ball. This will help Farve to avoid throwing interceptions, which happens too many times.  Moss always wanted to play with Farve.  When Favre was playing for Green Bay Moss tried to go there, but instead went to a different team.

Moss needs people that want him, and then he’ll be able to find a home here. Moss was upset that his existing team did not talk about renewing his contract and that made him feel unwanted. We want him. Favre wants him.

The bottom line is Randy Moss is good for Minnesota. We need him. We want him. So does Farve.