The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Week of 1.30.14

Pages Read: 83- 122
Prompt:  Describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you.
        
         This week I read about how Pavel, the servant, helped Bruno out when he got hurt. So if you read my previous blog, you would see that I told you how Bruno made a homemade swing in his backyard and that he fell off and got hurt. Well, when Pavel was cooking he saw Bruno and helped Bruno clean up his scratches and bandage them. When Bruno's mom came home and saw him, she was horrified. Bruno said "It was a little accident but then Pavel came to help me!" Bruno's mom made sure that he was alright, then she sent him to his room. So Bruno started toward his room but stood far enough so he could still hear his mom. When he left he heard his mom say "thank you", to Pavel in a low quiet voice. Then she said "If anyone asks, I helped him." Then they both went about their own business.

         The next thing I read about was how Bruno's grandmother had left when he was younger. Bruno's grandmother always loved to write a play in family plays on family parties/ gatherings. She always loved to sing and dress up in the plays as well. Bruno talked about how he remembered one of the last plays he did with her and his sister, Gretel. He also talked about how his grandmother got into a fight with her son shortly after that play. It all started with Bruno's father talking about his new uniform from the navy. When he got into the depth of the story, Bruno's grandmother quickly interrupted. She said "It's all my fault. I turned you into who you are, a sick person. It started with the plays and the dressing up, didn't it?" No one but mom and dad knew what was going on. They started to yell and fight but when Bruno said something, his mom sent both of the kids upstairs. They closed the door but sat at the top of the stairs. When they heard the door open, both of the kids darted up to their rooms and heard their grandmother say "A patriot indeed! And that makes me sick!"

         Finally, later on of what I read, it talked about how Bruno wanted to go exploring. He hasn't been exploring since he moved to his new house. So Bruno started to go exploring. He kept on walking and walking for an hour straight. All he saw was the fence that separated them from the other people in the striped pajamas. So finally he started to see a speck that turned into a dot that tuned into a blob that turned into a figure that turned into a person. It turns out that it really was a person. That person was a boy in striped pajamas, that was 9 years old and his birthday was June 15. His name was Shmuel. (Bruno was 9 and his birthday was June 15 too.)

         Bruno and I are actually very similar. He is adventures, doesn't like changes, and cares about the people who take care of him. I am the same way. I like to help out people in need and I like to treat people the way I want to be treated. I also don't like changes. I like things to stay the same until I am ready for a change. Lastly, I like to explore and go on hikes to find new things. Doing this makes me happy and it clears my mind. 

The Boy in The Striped Pajamas: Week of 1/21/14

 Pages Read: 46-82

Prompt: What was going through your mind as you read?

          This week I read about Bruno's maid. Bruno's family is rich enough to have a butler and a maid. His maid's name is Maria. To Bruno's father Maria is known as the overpaid maid. Maria was unpacking Bruno's clothes because they just moved into the house. Bruno asked Maria a question about what she thought about the new house and she said "my opinion does not matter, I am just a maid." After she had said that, Bruno and Maria started to get into a long conversation with each other about his dad's work and the people in the distance from his house. They talked about how his dad's work was very important and that was why they moved to Out-With. Out-With is the nickname for the new house in there book.

          Another main idea that I read about was when Bruno told Maria about how he felt moving into the new house. He talked about how it wasn't fun and how he missed all of his friends. Then Bruno unexceptionally asked Maria the maid how she felt about moving into the new house. Maria shook her head and told Bruno that her input didn't really matter because she was just an over paid maid as Bruno's father would say. Bruno was starting to feel a little upset because he just started to realize that he has been treating Maria like she was lower than everyone. Now he felt a little guilty.

        The last main idea I found in the pages I read was when Bruno and Maria talked about why she was even a maid. This really touched my heart. When Bruno asked why Maria was working for his father she replied saying that she needed him and he was wiling to take her in. Maria talked about how she used to be "poor" and barley have any money for necessities like food and clothes. Maria told Bruno that she saw his father and asked for some help and he told her that she could be his maid. Ever since then she was being maid "a lot of money." Bruno's dad thought that she was and over paid maid. 

         After Maria and Bruno talked for a really long time Gretle, Bruno's sister, came barging in and demanded that Maria would set up her bath. When Bruno heard her he got really defensive and yelled at Gretle. She was starting to get a little suspicious and asked what was going on and everyone was just looking all around. Maria finally broke the silence and sad that she would draw Gretle's bath when she was done putting away Bruno's close into his new dresser in his new room at his new house. 

         While I was reading, I had a lot of things going through my mind. I kept on feeling bad for Maria because she was being treated like she was worthless but she was really sweet once you got to know her. Then I was getting mad at Gretle because she was acting stuck up just because she was three years older than Bruno. There were times where in my I was saying "Shut up Gretle!" But overall my thoughts were really scattered and they were different.

 EXTRA DETAILS:

     Later on what I read I read a part where Bruno was looking around for a tire and some string. When he found the materials he needed, Bruno made a tire swing for his backyard. Bruno was swinging and swinging, hire and hire until he slipped out of his swing and landed in the dirt on his face. Bruno had a huge cut on his knee and he had bunch of small scratches on his hands. Thank goodness the butler was there to help him out.

         When I was reading this I thinking of how rude people can be to less wealthy people. Just because they are working for you to get money to make  living and be able to buy things doesn't mean that they aren't like us and that they aren't human beings. Everyone has their own issues in life and everyone should be treated equally. When I read I was very angry and I felt bad for Maria. I was proud when Bruno was sticking up for her but I was worried that he was going to get in very big trouble.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Week of 1.16.14

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas:
Pages: 1- 45Prompt: Describe the main character.

           The book I'm reading is called the boy in the striped pajamas. This book talks about a nine-year old boy who is moving and how he doesn't want to move because he doesn't want to leave his nice house in Berlin and he doesn't want to leave his three best friends. The nine-year old boy is named Bruno. Bruno is upset she he has to move because when he get's to his knew house everything and everyone is ignoring him. He doesn't see any kids around his age and doesn't see any houses. All he sees is a forest outside of his house in the back.

          Bruno and his older sister both look outside the window in his room and see a bunch of men and boys in gray striped pajamas near the forest. A man is yelling at them and they are saluting. Bruno goes and knocks on his dad's door to his office to ask what is going on. The office is supposed to be off limits without exceptions. When he goes up to the door it says in the book "Bruno could hear the deep voice of his father yelling enter." When I read this part of the book I thought that Bruno's dad was mad because the book said that his dad yelled. Once I re-read the paragraph I thought of the imagery of the scene and realized that his dad yelled to let him know that he could come in.

          Bruno is sort of a trouble maker. He is always getting into some sort of trouble. It says in the book "When Bruno was in trouble, he usually got a serious talking to from his father." It also says that when Bruno was talking with his mom and dad, "he thought that he was going to get a serious talking to and get into big trouble." This ties into the third main idea of how Bruno get's into trouble a lot because in the last 45 pages that I have read, it is always talking about how him and his three best friends were always causing problems and getting into trouble a lot.

That is all I have from reading the 45 pages.

                 This picture shows Bruno and his sister looking out the window and seeing a big fence with boys in striped pajamas. The talk to each other about what they think is going on and then they are amazed. They are amazed to actually see people who are interacting with each other even though they don't know what's going on. They then start to fight and Bruno goes to talk to his dad.

The Lovely Bones: Susie Salmon

The Lovely Bones

Susie Salmon                                                                                                                                           

Point 1: My Life

My name is Susie. Every thing in my life is really great. I have a lot of good friends, a wonderful family, and happiness. Those are all the things I need to live life. My father and I always  make replicas of boats inside bottles. This is our hobby and I remember making the first one together. I remember being loved by my family, especially by my mom, dad,my brother, and my younger sister. I would say that  I am always nice and friendly to everyone. Did I ever break the rules? No, not really. Sometimes I do make a few mistakes and disobey my parents, but, I usually follow all the rules. 

My neighborhood is the safest neighborhood around, or so I thought. I have a lot of nice neighbors and not so nice neighbors. One of them is Mr. Harvey. I thought Mr. Harvey was nice when I met him because he gave my mom and dad some flowers from his bushes. He was really sweet and everything, until the incident. Mr. Harvey was also very sketchy, he used to stare at me and watch me sometimes. The incident was when I was murdered by my own neighbor, a neighbor that I would never have thought that he would kill someone. It was, Mr. Harvey.

                                                           What Susie Salmon looks
                                                           like in the movie.
 What I pictured Susie
Salmon to look like.

Point 2: The incident 

It was December 6, 1973. That was my last day on Earth. I was walking home from school, trying to catch up to a girl who seemed very angry. I wanted to ask her if she was okay and I wanted to see if she needed help. The girl dropped a paper and I went to go pick it up for her. But, I guess I was too slow. Out of no where Mr. Harvey, my neighbor, showed up like if he just came from thin air. He tried to grab the little folded up paper, but it flew away. “Awe man, looks like I was too slow”, he said. I just tried to ignore him and kept on walking, now to get home, fast. He told me to wait and that he wanted to show me something. I said no and tried to leave, but he kept bugging me to stay. 

Finally he talked me in to going in this “Club House” that he made underground. I stayed for a while until things got really creepy. He kept telling me that I was pretty and that he liked me. That was when I made the move to open the door. He grabbed me down and stuffed my hat into my mouth to make me be quiet.

The next day I was reported missing. One week after that I was reported dead. My other neighbors had found my elbow buried in the dirt, more than 100 feet away from where I was murdered. 

A Quote from the book when I was coming one from school and the incident was going to happen.

Point 3: On my way to Heaven 

On my way to heaven, I didn’t even know that I was dead. I was scared because I was always ending up in new places. First I found myself laying on the floor of a gazebo. Next I found a home that looked creepy, the door opened and I ran inside. Little did I know that the house I was in was Mr. Harvey’s house. I tried so hard to get out but there were no openings. Finally I just got out somehow. I started running down the street and passed the girl I saw early in the day. But, I didn’t stop, I just kept going. I ran and ran till I was lost. My dad was out looking for me and I saw him. But, then it seemed like out of no where we both faded away. Next thing I knew, I was standing back in the gazebo next to a girl there who was going to “show me around”.

Holly, her name was Holly. Holly showed me around and took me on a journey to go to the place where we could both finally be free. At first I was scared because I didn’t want to believe that I was dead. But, I had to go anyway. On our way there we had a lot of fun and I felt like I knew Holly for a really long time. It didn’t even feel like I was gone, not living anymore.

Point 4: Finally Free

We reached it, the place, the place where I could finally be free with everyone else. It was big and open. There were a big tree in the middle that stood out and was beautiful. I looked at Holly and she told me, “They are here and so are we.” I was confused about what she was talking about, then I saw several girls come out behind the large and graceful tree. I then learned that I was not the only victim of Mr. Harvey’s. There were little girls and older girls. One of his victim’s was Holly. But, her name wasn’t really Holly. 

Being the type of girl I was, loving and caring, I had to do one last thing before I could be free. I ran back to the gazebo. I looked out into the air where I could see all of my loved ones. Before I left the gazebo, I said goodbye in a way that they couldn’t see me, but they could feel me. Then I set off back to where I needed to be free and that was in the field with the big tree. When I got there again I joined hands with all the girls and we played together. Now I am free for once and for all.

These two quotes are two of my favorite quotes from the book.

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