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.

"Homesick" Butterfly Project

"Homesick"

I've lived in the ghetto here more than a year,
In Terezín, in the black town now,
And when I remember my old home so dear,
I can love it more than I did, somehow.

Ah, home, home,
Why did they tear me away?
Here the weak die easy as a feather
And when they die, they die forever.

I'd like to go back home again,
It makes me think of sweet spring flowers.
Before, when I used to live at home,
It never seemed so dear and fair.
I remember now those golden days…
But maybe I'll be going there again soon.

People walk along the street,
You see at once on each you meet
That there's a ghetto here,
A place of evil and of fear.
There's little to eat and much to want,
Where bit by bit, it's horror to live.
But no one must give up!
The world turns and times change.

Yet we all hope the time will come
When we'll go home again.
Now I know how dear it is
And often I remember it.

9.3.1943. Anonymous

Week of 22.315: Night

Pages read: 43

To state the obvious, the Holocaust is a topic that deeply fascinates and affects millions upon millions of individuals.  I happen to be one of them.  This interest was first brought upon me by my mother, who could spend hours talking about nearly anything to do with it.  However, I was never deeply affected by the sheer lack of humanity and barbarism of the Holocaust until I read The Devil's Arithmetic. Perhaps it came from my relentless reading as a child, or the power words have over me, but I was never so deeply saddened and shocked about the horrors of the Holocaust as when I read that book.  Already, I can see these emotions manifesting themselves again as I read Night.

Wiesel's blunt but dreamlike retelling of his experience at Auschwitz-Birkenau is haunting, and I am left in constant suspense.  I suppose I have an emotional history with short stories, and with vivid descriptions of the living conditions at the camps, I am left questioning everything.  This, as well as many other things, may have been Wiesel's purpose in writing Night.  The dangers of blind faith. Of taking things for granted.  Of not staying together, and valuing power over humanity.

The setting is an aspect of Night that really interests me.  I think it's important to learn how widespread the terror was over Hitler's Reign.  I have a hard to conceptualizing his influence, and how other countries such as France and Italy were affected.  Another important part of this novella is its characters; although I do not want to proclaim a favorite, because I know how tragic these events were.

week of 3.23.15 "The Carnival at Bray"

Prompt:  What would you have done if you were in the protagonist's shoes?
Pages read: Finished (I'm finally on a streak!)

I hesitantly began reading The Carnival at Bray.  It wasn't that the author inserted Nirvana (the band of course) into her novel to give an 'edge' to her character, or that the book dealt with yet another teenage girl entranced with 'alternative' music who has a sort of screwed up home life; which has become such a common back cover description that I now tend to stay away from the teen lit aisle.  I was hesitant to read this novel because the protagonist (16 year old Maggie) goes on a life changing adventure.  I'm being vague because I hate adding spoilers, but it is a but cliché and rather unrealistic.  I knew I would be filled with a sense of self-loathing and ennui.  I don't like hearing about others' adventures because I want to be having my own, and I end up feeling trapped.  However, I don't read to be taken on an 'adventure', I read for inspiration.  To create more dreams to hopefully fulfill.  To fill the drab days of my current location with hopes of a spontaneous tomorrow.

That being said, The Carnival at Bray was definitely one of those novels where you feel swept away in the rising action, and lost after the resolution.  Maggie's traveling to Rome with her crush, and seeing Nirvana right before Cobain's suicide was entirely unrealistic.  Which makes it all the more exciting, because most readers know they wouldn't have the guts to leave their home without notice or a plan and take off to fulfill an uncle's dying wish.  Certainly, I doubt that given a similar situation I would be able to leave guilt and worry free.  Of course, I would have no trouble staying.  But leaving would be difficult, because I always worry.  Not for myself (because uncertainty is a major part of the fun), but for what I left behind.  If I were in Maggie's position, I probably would've left a vague note (which still makes an interesting story), in hopes of not being found by the police.  I would at least make up a lie (I'm quite good at that).  Also, Nirvana's pretty overrated, but it would be incredibly cool to see them.

When Maggie returns (she'd been found out) she is put on a trial with the nuns at her school.  There was much consideration about expelling her after her running away, but she agrees to strict rules in order to stay.  Realistically, I would have done that too.  I wouldn't really want to sacrifice an education for just one week in my life.  However, there is a part of me that would say no, and continue to travel and adventure.  It really is my dream, and once I start I doubt I'll ever find a home again.  Life isn't about how long you live, it's about how far go you, in the time you get (taken from my favorite short story, by Chris Crutcher).  So although I would like to remain in a comfortable lifestyle, if my life were a teen novel, I would continue expanding my horizons.

Berlin Memorial

What did you learn?

I learned about all the restrictions and laws placed on the Jewish people during the Nazi Party's regime.  Of course, I knew of a general few; but never dreamt of all the hardships the German Jews must have endured during this dark time.  The Jewish Decrees were new to me, though I wish I would've learned them earlier in life.  I also learned and was able to put the timeline of these decrees into more context.

Why do you think this monument was built?

I think the monument was built to remind people of the dark past that lies just a bit before their time. The Berlin Monument was likely to have been built to remember the millions of Jews who were taken from life during the Holocaust.  

What did you notice about the number of laws passed during certain years?

During specific years, the number of decrees that were passed fluctuated.  For example, the 1936 Olympics brought on a major reduction in the amount of decrees.  It's obvious to see why Germany did this maneuvering, because they wanted a protected image and they planned strategically.  This was key to their (obviously deeply unfortunate) success. In the later years of the War, the amount of decrees dwindled as well.

Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

At first, I would be furious and even more so, terrified that my basic necessities were being stripped away.  Then, things like not being allowed to attend concerts and visit beaches and other places of entertainment would really bother me.  I find a lot of comfort in being outside, and sometimes it seems to be my only respite.  Although I would live, I wouldn't be able to carry out my life in a healthy way. I couldn't imagine what those who had to suffer through these decrees endured.  It seems to tear away at humanity, and shows how inhuman the perpetrators were.