Litworks 2015 ^_^

Prompt: I don't know anymore

Last Saturday, I attended (and worked at!) at Litworks, a teen literature convention.  Prominent, but sometimes lesser known, teen authors, give speeches and talk about their lives and books.  Usually, there is a broad range of genres and formats, ranging from fantasy and romance, to the graphic novel.  Everything dorky teens love, wrapped up in one convention.  I myself was one of them, the opportunity of meeting my favorite living author was too rare and special to pass up.  Because I have connections, I was able to personally chat with many of the authors..

Litworks is broken up into smaller sections, which occur after the entire panel of authors introduce themselves and give a bit of a motivational speech.  Then, you can go off into smaller sections and have a meet and greet and Q and A.  In my personal experience, writers are the best conversationalists and some of the most perceptive people.  It's interesting to hear about their journey to being published.  Usually, it is quite treacherous. The authors I went to see speak were Paul Griffin, Susane Colasanti, and my favorite, Chris Crutcher.

From learning about one author's troubled past, to another's stories about living in Manhattan, and advice on making your writing readable, I definitely took a lot out of this year's event.  Voice in writing is something I'd taken for granted, but I learned it is the most essential part of telling your story.  A few of the author's had some really cool/nice things to say about me.  I was close to crying when Chris Crutcher came over and talked to me.

I took some more pics of the autographed ones,
but they turned out kind of hipster-y

Life Is Beautiful and Night

Based on the Holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between Life Is Beautiful and our reading?  What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different?  What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces?

The film, Life Is Beautiful, has so far had a unique tone compared to the multitudes of other creative media about the Holocaust I've seen.   Of course, many have tearjerking and edge-of-your-set scenes, but Life is Beautiful's delivery is vastly different.  A majority of these pieces have had an over-arching somber tone, while Guido's humor and quick-thinking merely alludes to the horrors taking place.  Another difference between this film and other pieces is that it focuses on Italian Jews, while many of the others have focused on the Eastern-European Jews.  As for similarities, there were just as many.
  The line "Maybe this is just a dream" has been recurring.  Also, interpersonal relationships have always been tested in pieces on the Holocaust. A major similarity between Night and Life is Beautiful is the prominent father and son relationship.

How is life shown as beautiful throughout the film? Pull out at least two examples from different parts of the film and explain your rationale.

Although the living conditions may not be beautiful towards the middle and end of the film, it is Guido's outlook and imagination that make life beautiful and... rich.   His boldness and resistance to silence, like we see in the loudspeaker scene, helps him stay true to his character and protect his son in times where life was less than magnificent.

Even when everything seemingly came crashing down at the camp, right before it was liberated, Guido still maintained his playful countenance and looked after his son, which was his final wish.  Giosue can live in peace with his mother, and life will remain beautiful for the two of them because they will remember Guido as he truly was.

12.4.15: Night: Changes in Elie

At the beginning of Night, there is a small separation between Elie and his faith.  Soon, the two become one, and Elie embraces and accepts faith as a part of his being and life.  It's important to note this because as the story progresses, we see a different separation of Elie and his faith taking place. Before the ghetto and the concentration camps, Elie hints at the happiness his Jewish faith gives him in statements like, "I told him how unhappy I was because I could not find a master in Sight to instruct me in the Zohar.." (Wiesel 4).  This shows his faith is not a burden, but a welcome and a comfort to him.

In consecutive sections, perhaps Two and Three, the author begins to question his beliefs.  Furthermore, when Elie thinks, "for the first time I felt anger rising within me.  The Almighty... Master of the Universe chose to be silent.  What was there to thank?" (Wiesel 33) it is clear a change in spirituality has taken place.  Here we see Wiesel growing separate from his previously all embracing-faith, which is the first change.  However, a second change is brought to light too.  No longer is Elie comforted by his faith, and this is shown through his anger at his God.

Later, he finds his faith to be a burden.  When the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur come around in the concentration camps, the reader can see Elie struggling to hold on to his faith.  No longer does it guide him, as it did throughout his first trials and inhumane situations, but it becomes a burden.  This is shown in his refusal to fast, stating, "But there is no longer any reason I should fast, I no longer accepted God's silence" (Wiesel 66).  He later says he felt a great void in his heart for doing so, but it also shows the change that has been made in his closeness and happiness with faith.