Uri's Point of View

            I can’t believe the things Mischa does sometimes. Today he started marching with a bunch of Jews on the way to the ghetto! Then he started to give them all bites of his sausage. That’s another thing about this kid; he never keeps his food to himself. He steals twice the food, and then goes to give half of it to some Janina girl. Mischa goes out of his way to feed other people despite the risks! Also he just runs around doing risky things because he thinks it’s fun. For example he used to be absolutely obsessed with riding a merry go round. So he would sneak out night and go and stare at it for a few hours, with all of those Jackboot people walking around. One time in broad daylight he just skipped everyone in line so that he could ride it. Sometimes it feels like this kid just wants to die!  

Point of View

     I believe that Mischa may be a little bit unreliable. First of all Mischa is a young kid, he doesn’t exactly see and remember everything that goes on around him. Also even if he remembered and absorbed everything that was happening, he probably wouldn’t understand much of it. He doesn’t understand much of what’s happening NOW, for example when he’s walking with other Jewish people to the ghetto; he begins to talk to everyone. Also he thinks that the ghetto will be an absolutely wonderful place, because there are just so many people going to it, including the “Jackboots”. Mischa also wants to be a “Jackboot.” He doesn’t at the moment understand what the “Jackboots” really do. He doesn’t understand who they work for anything. So what else doesn’t he understand?

Giver Essay

            Literature has a lot of exceptional role models, especially Jonas from The Giver. Jonas shows extreme character growth and bravery. He’s also responsible and intriguing. I enjoyed reading, and feeling the story right along with Jonas. Lois Lowry made it feel like Jonas was my friend. All of these qualities make Jonas a joy to read about, and a great role model

            In the beginning of the book, Jonas is just another robot member of The Community. But throughout the course of the story he is molded into a thinking feeling human being. Basically what The Community is saying,”Don’t get attached”. As soon as you grow up and move out to start your own family unit, your parents go to the house of the childless adults. And as soon as your kids grow up and do the same, you no longer see them. Also, family units never really TALK to one another; they just sit and share “feelings”. But despite all of this, Jonas is actually able to grow and learn about what love really is. Jonas develops love for the newchild named Gabe that his father is taking care of at night. He is actually able to form a connection with the new child, maybe because Gabe is so young, that he doesn’t understand the rules of The Community yet, and therefore doesn’t resist love. Other than the Giver Jonas is the only member of the community that is able to love. Throughout the book, Jonas is also able to form his own opinions about The Community and life itself, instead of just thinking what The Community wants him to think. For example, all the other kids are still immersed in their schooling, while Jonas believes that his training is more important. Also Jonas is able to form his opinion on the game that the other kids play called “War”. He’s actually seen what war is, and thought it was horrific. The other children chastise him for not enjoying the game, but he continues to believe in his opinion. Also unlike the other Community members, Jonas is actually able to feel real emotion as the book goes on. He feels deep sadness and grief when exposed to the war memory, but extreme happiness and joy when he experienced the memory of the sled. These emotions and emotions stay with him for the rest of the story, and help his character grow and change. By the end of the novel, Jonas is an opinionated, loving, wise person.

     The bravest person in the entire story is easily Jonas. In the end of the book, Jonas must get Gabe away from The Community before he is released. He does this with no preparation, or supplies. He simply must leave The Community without knowing what’s beyond.  Of course there are many obstacles; but Jonas keeps at it, while always putting Gabe BEFORE himself. He has very few many memories of the sun to keep them warm, and he gives them all to Gabe, even though that means he could freeze to death in the chilly nights. Also when The Community sends planes to look after them, he makes sure to hide Gabe before himself, and always hides Gabe in a more secluded area.

Short story hook

12:18 PM

     Nico the cat, was hanging by one paw from the edge of the Sears Tower. He looked down upon the pack of rabid wolves beneath him, and shuddered. All he had wanted was that silly piece of cheesecake, and the wolf pack had chased him all the way to the top of the tower for it. One paw held the piece of delicate cheesecake, and the other held on for dear life. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, he could just drop the piece of cheesecake and the wolves would leave him alone. They would retreat and hopefully he could heave himself up onto the roof. But as he gently unclenched his paw, the other slipped too and before he knew what had happened Nico was plunging toward the ground. 

The importance of Color

     What would the world be like without color? Honestly I think I could live with a world that was all black and white; the shows on METV don’t bother me too much with their colorless and bland worlds. But just because I could stand it, doesn’t mean I would like it. So sometimes I wonder what the world would be like without color.

            There is a large difference between wants and needs. If you really think about it, color falls in the category of wants. Is it really necessary to watch the leaves on the trees change every fall? No, but it’s nice to watch all the beautiful vibrant leaves gently fall to the ground every fall. Do we need to paint and color white pieces of paper? Again no, but it just makes things much more interesting. In most cases color isn’t necessary to get the point across; it just adds spice to things. Looking up at a cloudless blue sky is not a need but merely a want.

            A colorless world would be very dampening, but I could live without it. I suppose Jonas really knows no difference, because that’s what he grew up on, but I would be very upset without color. I can think of reasons why we should have color sure, but nothing vital. Color is simply a privilege, something we can all count on to brighten our day if the leaves are taking on a particularly beautiful shade, or the rich mahogany of the kitchen table can always make us smile a little. Without things like that we might be a little sad, but somehow the world would go on.

  Sometime's it's strange to think about how many people a night wish on a star. All kinds of people do, little kids, people that could really use a wish….people that just want to do it for fun. The stars, or whoever grants all those wishes must be pretty busy.

    That's why if you wish on a star, and your wish doesn't come true,  cut the stars some slack! You don't know what they were busy with or what just happened to them! Maybe they couldn't find time to grant your wish because one of their supernova friends was exploding and they wanted to say goodbye or something! You never know what's going on with the person next to you, so you shouldn't judge.  It's the same way with stars; they have a lot on their plates, and you never know who else does too.