Month: January 2016

One of the most significant and emotionally charged books are ones that strike deep into your heart and get the most out of you. They almost certainly make you want to read on and never put the book down again. Well, gathering these points together, one book ticks all these boxes along with its world-renowned series. This book is the last one in the series and delved into my body the most: ” Percy Jackson and the last Olympian.” This book is what people may discriminate, yet it has this wow factor that will test anyone and soon ”become part of their life.”

Dear diary,

I am the happiest boy in the world perhaps. I have a family, can live life and have a flat that we call” home,” all anyone could have dreamt of. Papa and mama are a delight to be next to and everything I desired was right before my own eyes. I was living the dream until one day something so horrible and so cruel happened, that it had tipped the balance of  humanity and can still remember it to this day. Here is my story on how a boy like me, had turned into a horror of mankind.

Life has never been sweeter. Josef, of course, a hopeless case was a mistake in my family and if he was not in this family, then wherelse would he be. Papa was gifted and talented in every sort of way, as usual working his way on watches to become maybe one of the most successful companies in the world, the likes of Rolex and DKNY , everything he wished he was but more. A normal day was today, just like any other yet something was different like 200 caterpillars were making themselves comfortable in my now infested stomach. Anyway, there was no point of daydreaming when it was 8:06 and school was literally an 1 hour’s walk which if I thought about, I could decrease drastically if the bus came early and the weather was on my side.School was the normal excuse for not being at home, sighing at the countless amount of complaints given to me and chasing of teachers who had no other work but to chase children around, to get what to me seemed like a million pounds to them as their annual salary. The moment I stepped into my flat, the atmosphere had already changed. It was so strange that it felt like I was one in a million and made me put 2 fleeces on. It was quiet, a bit too quiet for my liking,eh?

Next thing I knew mother was there at the table making something. That something was important by the look of it, she was not even going to look up and say hi to me, better to just leave her as she might have been stressed from the day at work. I mean when I looked out at my bedroom window, all I could see was society changing every second, once a free city:; now people walking with suspicion with a white armband that was completely different. Why was I the one not to be allowed to hear this secret? But mostly, what are those armbands which are already giving me a headache?

The events that followed could be called” indescribable,” and I hope you shall not experience anything as brutal as this in your entire lifetime. It happened randomly. Mother always told me that you should expect the unexpected which in this case I had wished I had listened to it, but the past is the past I guess. You should always look onto the future not the past really. It had all started to be a somewhat joyful day despite the weather not dampening our spirits. Enough of the puns. We were happily living in our house until one day they came. It happened to everyone; Big Bob the bully, Jim and nearly everyone I knew except us. The moment they came, we just knew it was our turn so there was no regretting and soon we left ”home,” without a trace of anyone around. Something was happening that mum never told me about or a single peep that I have heard of it, since that day when she started sewing a star(the star of David) for hours on end and soon wearing this everywhere we went like we were strangers. I had to find out why we were moving and quick before it was too late…

I was crammed into a small train. When I mention small, I mean one with no doors or windows, no sign of ventilation but one thing was the other train beside us which was obviously better than ours. The moment I set eyes on that boy on the other train, I knew something was not right and needed some sort of explanation to me now! What I was stuffed into could not even be called a ”train,” It was more like an animal carriage which we were not as by the look of us we were ordinary humans just like them. When ”them” is mentioned, I do not know particularly who, but who in the right mind is so brutal to place humans in some sort of ” train?” The train’s appearance was at all not pleasing, the stench could be smell all the way across two galaxies and the dirt was getting bigger every time.

Not finished yet.

Character-Pavel

Describe the person’s clothes or any other aspects of their physical appearance.

• Mainly wears a white jacket when serving dinner to them.
• A frail being with little food being consumed and a very skinny person despite being a good doctor before.
• Looks as if he has some type of illness because he is limping whilst transferring to different areas of the house.
• Pale
• Maybe regarded as quite dirty and a filthy person.

Think of three(3) adjectives that describe their general behaviour, e.g. happy, proud, quiet.

• Timid
• Intimidated by the Germans that they are superior then the Jewish.
• Quiet

How do other people treat them?

• Regarded by Lieutenant Kotler as” filthy,” and is not accepted into Bruno’s family.
• Treat him as if he has no rights or respect whilst in their household.
• Torture.
• Human cruelty

What does the writer suggest about the person or people underneath the appearance? How does he do this?

The writer suggests about the people being underneath the appearance that there is more to Pavel, the character we are analysing, than meets the eye. A quote that conveys this thought is ,” Made him believe that he had worn a beard in the past.” This portrays how he was once a free man, knowing that he was a doctor before, he has a past behind him and has some thoughts, he is there for something and is just like Maria but with disappointing memories.

Character-Kotler

• Looked very smart, a uniform that appeared to have been ironed whilst he wore it, polished boots which were shiny, yellow, blonde hair was parted at the side and held perfectly in place with something that made all the cone marks stand out like a field, too much cologne.

Think of three(3) adjectives that describe their general behaviour, e.g. happy, proud, quiet.

• Thinks he’s superior to others younger than him, orderly in fashion, strangely scented in smell and authority.

How do other people treat them?

• With feared respect or harshly made orders.

What does the writer suggest about the person or people underneath the appearance? How does he do this?

•  The writer

Chapter summary:

Chapter 8- Why Grandmother stormed out:

• Bruno’s reminiscence of his memories especially on the people who he missed most, Grandfather and Grandmother, on what their history was and the leisure activities they perform daily.
• The parties that would take place in their place where Bruno’s grandmother always sang and they wore all types of costume.
• All the people in the Outwith household were to address Bruno’s father as ”commandant,” now on.
• Bruno’s grandmother storming out of the party because of being ashamed and embarrassed of her son, Ralph.
• Bruno was writing a letter to his grandmother-of his confusion and the things he found out whilst at his time at Outwith.

Chapter 9-Bruno remembers that he used to enjoy exploring:

• The father sending a tutor- the introduction of Herr Liszt and wanting to learn about books, especially on his(Bruno’s) family’s history-the family tree
• Contemplating on  how Bruno used to enjoy exploring back in Berlin and wished he could once again, relive those happy moments.
• Exploring the difference between the soldiers and the people in the striped pyjamas, thinking why did the soldiers have mass superiority over them
  • Staring at the plaque near the bench which made Bruno thinking that something is going on over at the other side.
  • Desiring to go there yet thinking about the consequences and what made that place so secret.

Answering a question:

How might Grandmother’s attitude towards her son show what kind of country Nazi Germany was?- Use evidence to back up your ideas

Grandmother’s attitude towards her son  is quite loving yet shameful and disappointing at some times because it is just like a rollercoaster but also their relationship is in conflict and on the line at this point. A quote that backs this up as evidence is”(…)The terrible, terrible things you do. It makes me ashamed.” This portrays the message that they have their ups and downs yet at this particular moment it shows