Thursday, December 4, 2008

Book Review of The diary of Anne Frank


The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

Review by Cristina Michel

The Diary of Anne Frank, the definitive edition, is a really good book about a girl named Anne Frank that wrote a diary, which she named “Kitty,” during World War II. She had to hide because the Germans were capturing all the Jews and sending them to concentration camps. She was hiding at a place she called “The Secret Annex” with her parents, sister, the van Daans, and Mr.Dussel at an office of a building in 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam. Anne Frank kept a diary from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944. After the war, Anne’s diary was found spread all over the floor in the secret annex by two of her helpers, Miep and Bep. Then it was edited by Anne’s dad, Otto Frank, and later published in hardcover in March 1995. The Diary of Anne Frank, the definitive edition, contains approximately 30 percent more material and is intended to give the reader more insight into the world of Anne Frank.
There were eight people hiding in the secret annex, which were Anne Frank, Margot Frank (Anne’s sister), Otto Frank (Anne’s dad), Edith Frank (Anne’s mom), Mr. Dussel, Peter van Daan, and Mr. and Ms. Van Daan. Anne was a teenage girl that was mature, cheerful, honest, and in love with life. Margarot was a nice, smart, mature, and shy teenage girl. Otto Frank was a patient, optimistic, and sensitive man. Mrs. Van Daan was an annoying, cheerful, selfish, and unintelligent woman. Peter van Daan was a kind, sweet, and sensitive teenage boy.
The eight people hiding in the secret annex had four helpers, who were Bep, Miep, Mr.Kugler, and Mr. Kleiman. They would help the eight people hiding in the secret annex by bringing them food and anything else needed. Anne writes in her diary about all the things that the Germans would do to the Jews, like send them to concentration camps, and how it was like to be hiding. The eight people in the secret annex were hiding in an office of a building in 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam.
In The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne tells her diary all her feelings and thoughts that she couldn’t reveal to the people around her, not even her mom. Anne writes in her diary how she likes her dad more than her mom. Even one time Anne wrote that she wouldn’t be sad if her mom died but she would feel really sad if her dad died. In The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne also writes about the rules inside the secret annex. One of them was that you couldn’t open any window (except for the one in the attic) because the neighbors might see them and call the police. Also you couldn’t run any water or go to the bathroom when someone was in the building, like the mailman. At the end, Anne starts writing about the different disagreements in the secret annex (for food) and how everyone would be bored and wanted the war to soon be over. At the middle of the book Anne predicts what is going to happen at the end because she writes, “But who can assure us that this war, which has caused nothing but pain and sorrow, will then be over? And that nothing would have happened to us and our helpers long before that time? No one!” Almost at the end of the book Anne writes an interesting quote about war, “The end of the war still seemed so far away, so unreal, like a fairy tale.”
In conclusion, I thought The Diary of Anne Frank was a really good book, I thought it was interesting, and informative. I would recommend this book to everyone. If you want to know more about Anne’s life and what happen to the eight people hiding in the secret annex read The Diary of Anne Frank.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Blog #9(Chapter 13 Lord of the Flies)

On my Humanities class, we read the classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding and after we finish reading it we had to do a writing project. The writing project was to write our own chapter 13 for Lord of the Flies. We could start our chapter 13 just after chapter 12 ended or write it as in the future. I decided to write my chapter 13 just after chapter 12 ended. Here is my chapter 13 for Lord of the Flies:


Chapter 13: Home

The naval officer took all the boys that were on the island to the ship. One by one they got on the ship and sat down quietly looking down. Most of them thought about the things that happen on the island like what happen to Piggy and Simon and the littlun with a mulberry-colored mark on his face. Others thought about what they were going to do when they got home with their families and how their families were going to react. Ralph thought about his friend, Piggy, and how he got killed. Jack thought about his mom and what would happen if she knew what he did on the island. Everyone’s faces seemed shocked by the news that they were rescued. Ralph seem like he wanted to say something, but he was too shocked to even say a word. The naval officer asked the littluns what their name was but some of them did not even remember their names not even Percival.

The naval officer asked all the boys where they were from and some of them said, “We…are from England.”

Then the naval officer asked the boys, “Do any of you know where you live or any information about your parents so that they could know you’re alive?”

All the boys just moved their heads from side to side saying, “No.”

Then the rest of the trip was silent none of the boys said anything to each other or even look at one another.

Once they got to England as soon as the boys got down from the ship all the boys looked at everything. They were surprised to see the houses, the people, and everything else.

They looked at one another and finally a littlun said, “Yes! We are in England back again….we are saved!”

Everyone looked at him and started smiling. Some littluns started crying of happiness.

Then Jack told everybody to gather around in a circle and then he said, “Let’s just not tell anyone what happen on the island not even the naval officer because if we do we are going to get in big trouble and if they ask us if anyone got killed say that three people died of…..of….of…..sickness. Is it clear?”

All the boys said yes and then they just kept on looking amazed at everything. Then suddenly people started coming. Jack looked at a far distance and saw his mom. He ran as fast as he could to hug her while she would just starred at him run. Then they hug one another and they both started crying. All the boys looked at Jack and then Piggy’s auntie came. She was looking for Piggy and then she asked all the boys if they had seen Piggy but nobody would answer her. Then Ralph stood in front of Piggy’s auntie.

Then Piggy’s auntie asked Ralph, “Have you seen my nephew?”

Then Ralph responded, “I am sorry but he…he…died.”

Piggy’s auntie replied, “No….no he can’t be dead,” but then she saw at the seriousness of Ralph’s face and started crying.

Piggy’s auntie said sadly, “Why? Why did he have to die? He was such a nice person. He would never bother anyone. He was such an incredible nephew. Why did he have to die? Why just him and nobody else? He was my nephew.”

Piggy auntie kept on crying until somebody took her home. Then one by one they picked up all the littluns. At last they picked up Ralph; in the way home he would think about Piggy and how his auntie would be happy if he was alive.

At Ralph’s home Ralph’s mom made him his favorite food, which was bread with rice and beans. She would ask him everything about the island but Ralph would not say mostly anything because he remembered what Jack said when they got down from the ship about not telling anybody about what happen on the island or else they would get in big trouble. Ralph was depressed about Piggy’s death. He would remember Piggy and his auntie yelling and crying for Piggy.

At Jack’s home his mom would ask him questions about his time on the island but Jack never answered her. He didn’t want his mom to know what happen on the island. At night Jack had nightmares about the island, the beast, Simon’s death, Piggy’s death, how he torture Sam and Eric and how he killed so much pigs and how he would get happy about killing the pigs. He would remember every little thing that he did since he got to the island in his dreams. He would remember every single word that he would tell Piggy, Ralph, and the others. He would remember his life before going to the island and his life right now. He knew that he had changed a lot so he decided to become a nice young boy.

At the end, Jack became a nice, polite, and a respectful young boy. He would go to school, he would do his homework, and he would obey his mom in everything.

Ralph became also a nice, polite, and a respectful young boy. He was sent to the same school as Jack and they both became nice friends.

The littluns become nice and respectful little boys. Some of them went to the same school and were nice friends.

Nothing was known about Roger some people would say that he moved to another Country but nothing else was heard about him.

Most of the boys’ lives became normal as before they went to the island and even better, but even if they had a good life they never forgot the people that didn’t got a chance to get rescued.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Blog# 8( Chapter 10 and 11 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 11 and 12: The hunters at the Castle Rock
Piggy’s Journal

I woke up in the morning; it was cold because the fire was not there. I had some difficulties seeing because Jack had my specs but he's going to have and give them to me when I go and yell at him because what is right is right. It’s nice that Ralph is guiding me and helping me so that I do not run into something.

Ralph blew the conch to make an assembly and all of us that were left, and that had not gone to Jack’s tribe, assemble on the beach. At the end of the assembly we decided that our only choice was to travel to the Castle Rock to make Jack and his followers give me back my specs.

I don’t know how Jack is becoming so mean and how he does everything truculently. I mean Simon died and that was his fault for making us say those words, “kill the beast, cut its throat, and spill his blood.” I hope I survive in this island but if I don’t I hope Ralph survives.

We started walking towards the Castle Rock. At Jack’s camp there were guards protecting and they told us that Jack went hunting. Suddenly, Jack and a group of hunters emerged from the forest, dragging a dead pig. Jack and Ralph immediately face off. Ralph tried to explain to Jack the importance of the signal fire so that we could get rescued but Jack would just keep on arguing with Ralph. Samneric, puzzled, looked at one another; while I, reassured by the cessation of violence, stood up carefully. I carefully stood next to a rock, with a sense of delirious abandonment, and leaned all my weight to the lever holding out the talisman, the fragile, shining beauty of the shell. I tried to scream and yell the importance of rules and of been rescued but they would not listen and would keep on their argument.

Suddenly, Roger shoved a massive rock down the mountainside. The boulders stroked me and shatter the conch shell I was holding, that knock me off the mountainside to my death on the rocks below. Now I am death. Ralph after he saw I was death he ran into the jungle and they began to torture Samneric, forcing them to submit to Jack’s authority and to join his tribe.

I saw Ralph trying to escape Jack and his hunters so that he would not get killed by Jack. Ralph escaped to the beach and there he saw a naval officer he was so overwhelmed by the knowledge that he had been rescued. Suddenly, other boys were appearing, with tiny tots, brown, and with distended bellies of small savages. I hope I could be rescued like them but I am dead.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Blog# 7(Chapter 9 and 10 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 9 and 10: The Feast
Ralph’s Journal

I woke up and I saw the edge of the lagoon become a streak of phosphorescence which advanced minutely, as the great wave of the tide flowed. Then I noticed that most of the boys were not there and I could hear at a far distance boys laughing and screaming like if there was a feast going on. I asked piggy what was going on and where was everyone and piggy told me that Jack was having a feast and that most of the boys were there. Then piggy asked me if we could go to the feast because he was hungry. I told him that we could go because I was hungry too and because I wanted the boys to remember that I was chief.

When we got there the boys stopped making noise and just looked at me, maybe they thought I was going to scream at them, although I wasn’t. Then Jack extended an invitation to my group to join their feast, some of my group joined the feast. Then they gave us food and water, which was weird because Jack is always mean to us. Then after a short fight that I had with Jack he order his tribe to do its wild hunting dance. Suddenly, part of my group and I were caught up in frenzy and we started doing the wild hunting dance too. We would say, “Kill the pig, cut its throat, spill his blood,” and each time we all kept on saying it louder. The night was cool and purged of immediate terror. Suddenly a corpulent figure came out of the forest. So we all started screaming, we all got scare then the figure just went to the middle of circle and it was saying something. We all thought it was the beastie although it actually had a human shaped body. The littluns and some biguns stabbed it and bit it and killed it but we never got to know what it really was. I actually thought it was a human.

On the morning I saw piggy on the beach and I asked piggy were was Simon and piggy said that the beastie was maybe Simon and that we probably killed him yesterday at the feast but that it was Simon’s fault because he shouldn’t have come out of the dark screaming. Then I asked piggy if he knew where Samneric where and piggy told me that they were getting wood for the fire. After they came I asked them about what happened yesterday at the feast but they seem like they didn’t want to talk about it so they said that they left early. Then I started talking to piggy about being rescued and piggy said that if we didn’t get home soon we would be barmy. At night we went to sleep depressed and kind of losing interest in the signal fire. On the middle of the night a theological speculation presented itself. Jack and his hunters came and stole piggy’s glasses, but the problem is that I don’t know why they want piggy’s glasses.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Blog #6 (Chapter 8 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 8: The Gift for the Beastie
Jack’s Journal

I was talking to the littluns about the beastie because there is definitely a beastie up in the mountain. After that I told everyone to gather up and I got the conch and started up by saying that Ralph was a coward because he ran away when he saw the beastie which I did too but not because I was scared but because Ralph ran first. Then I kept on by saying that Ralph wasn’t a hunter, that he hasn’t got us any meat and that he isn’t prefect and because of that Ralph should be removed from his leadership role. Then I told everybody that whoever that wanted Ralph to stop being chief to raise their hand but nobody did. I was full of shame that I never noticed that tears were coming out of my eyes. I told all of them, "Then I shall leave," and then I just ran into the jungle.
When I was walking through the jungle I thought about Ralph and how he just cared about the signal fire I don’t know how they want him as their chief. I’m a better chief than Ralph; I wish I could be the chief. Then I also started thinking about back in the days on England when each of my choir members would stand in two demure rows, everyone focused on me but now most of them are with Ralph. Suddenly I turn back and a group of the boys were following me so I told them if they wanted to join my group and they all said yes and then I told them that I was going to be the chief of them and they all agree. Then I told my group that we were going to go hunt. So we went and look for pigs and we found a pig feeding her little pigs. After we hunt her we went back to the beach and told the other group of boys that we had fun and that whoever that wanted to join our group they could talk to me and then me and my group just went back to the jungle.
I told my group that now the word “Ralph” was a taboo. Everyone just kept on walking. Then me and my group went back to hunt and I found a pig and paunched her. Everybody was happy because they knew that the pig was going to be our dinner. Suddenly a great idea came to my head and I told my group about it. The idea was to cut a pig’s head and then give it as a gift for the beastie so that the beastie won’t kill us. Everybody thought it was a really good idea so we went and kill another pig and cut its head and put it close to where I saw the beastie last time. At night me and my group painted our faces, we all looked like demoniac figures.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Blog#5 (Chapter 6 and 7 Lord of the flies)

Chapter 6 and 7: The Beastie
Simon’s Journal

I was sleeping when suddenly Sam and Eric came. They woke up Ralph and then Ralph woke us up. Sam and Eric started telling us that they supposely saw the beastie. Their description about the beastie seemed interminable.

Then Ralph called a meeting and the boys organized an expedition to search for the beastie, but before we went an explore we ate. Then we went on the expedition then we just went to a part of the island that I had never seen. Ralph and Jack seem to be getting a long again but when we were going back down the mountain, Jack seem like he was the leader, he always wants to be the leader. Most of the boys seem dun maybe they are tired of being in the island for more than a week. When I went to the beach I saw guano and suddenly I saw Ralph he started telling me that he thought that the ocean was like an impenetrable wall blocking any hope the boys had of escaping the island. I try to lift his spirit by telling him that he would make it home. After Ralph left with Jack and the hunters to go hunt I stayed on the beach with the littluns they were talking about that maybe there could be a leviathan on the ocean. I was windy at first but then I thought about something else like home.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Blog #4 (Chapter 5 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 5: The assembly
Piggy’s Journal

Ralph has just called an assembly but before he started the assembly he went somewhere, he seemed worried.

After he came back the assembly started. I decided to just stand there and don’t say anything because if I did then probably Jack would shut me up or punch me. Ralph started saying rules and things that we should follow. Like he said that we should keep the signal fire going so that we could be rescued and that if we wanted to cook something in the fire we were supposed to take our food to the fire and don’t bring part of the fire down because then the island could get on fire. Another rule was that we were supposed to just use the designated toilet area when we needed to go to the bathroom, the littluns smiled jeeringly. Its ludicrous how some of the boys don’t even respect the designated toilet area.

Then Ralph talked about how to solve the problems. At the end when Ralph was almost going to finish the assembly he started to talk about the beastie. Suddenly, a boy stood up at first he was an effigy of sorrow, but then the lamentation rose out of him. The kid started talking about his nightmares. After the kid stop talking Jack began fighting with Ralph. Jack always wants to be the center of attention. After a while the assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter. Well after all the boys left, Simon, Ralph, and I were the only ones left. Ralph told me and Simon that he wanted to stop been leader. I told him that he shouldn’t because if he did then Jack would become the leader and if Jack became the leader he would do anything to bother me because he hates me. When we were all going to go to sleep the sound of a littlun crying echoed along the beach.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Blog #3 (Chapters 3 and 4 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 3 and 4: Problems on the island
Ralph’s Journal

“Come on Simon help me put this in the top,” I told Simon. He had been helping me all the morning while the “littluns” had just been in the water playing the entire morning. Jack and part of his group of hunters were hunting and the other part of his group was taking care of the fire so it doesn’t go out. Simon and I have being trying to build huts on the beach but nobody helps us and we need help because the huts have felled 2 times already.

Suddenly, Jack came I asked him if he could help me and Simon build the huts. He said that he was tired by all the vicissitudes of a day of hunting. I think that Jack is just making excuses to just not help us. I asked him again but he told me, “I want meat.” Jack was obsessed with killing a pig. I told him, “Jack we need help, everyone is in the water playing; even your group of hunters and nobody wants to help.” “But I want meat!” Jack replied. I told Jack one last time, “We need shelter.” “BUT I WANT MEAT!” Jack said madly.

I decided to just calm for a second before yelling at Jack. Jack didn’t care about any balm that could rescue us. I looked over where everybody was. I could hear the susurration of all of them. They were talking about the beastie. I could see everyone’s scared face. I went back with Jack then I noticed that Simon had left. “Where did he go,” I thought. I went close to where all of the “littluns” were. They were still talking about the beastie with fear. Then I went back to the beach, Piggy came over. Suddenly, we saw a ship in the horizon. We also saw that there was no smoke coming from the fire. I ran as fast as I could toward the fire when I got there the fire had gone out and there was no one there taking care of the fire. So I just screamed at the ship but nobody heard us.

It was all Jack’s fault. I went madly toward Jack. He had his swarthiness skin painted. He was carrying proudly a dead pig that was dropping black gouts. I thought that was disgusting but he was excessively happy because he had killed a pig. I yelled, “Why did you let the fire out?” He answered, “I needed a lot of people to kill the pig you should’ve seen; we trap him and then I killed him.” I yelled again, “There was a ship, a ship Jack and you let him go just because you wanted to kill a pig, we would’ve been rescued by now.” Jack said sorry so I just went back to the beach. After all this I have decided to make a meeting.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Blog #2(Chapter 2 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 2: Ralph’s idea of the Fire
Jack’s Journal


After they chose Ralph as the leader I decided to be a great leader of the hunters so then they could make me the leader of all this annoying little kids.

Ralph decided to make an agreement which was that the conch shell will be used to determine which boy has the right to speak which probably is a good idea but if I was the leader I would’ve made better rules.

Suddenly, a boy with a martyred expression on his face came. He had a mulberry-colored mark on his face which distinguished him from the rest of the boys. Ralph started asking him questions and then he induced the conch shell to the little boy so he could talk. He said that he saw a snakelike “beastie” or monster the night before.

After the boy finish talking, Ralph came out with a not really smart idea. The idea was to build a fire on the mountain so that if a boat was passing through there they would see the smoke and rescue us. After all the capering boys heard the idea they started saying, “Ralph is the best leader ever!” Which I taught wasn’t correct because I am a better leader than Ralph.

We started walking and when we were in the top of the mountain we started building the fire. The ebullience of the children made them work faster. Piggy was errant because he would always complain about everything. At the end, the kid with the mulberry-colored mark on his face disappeared. Ralph was full of shame when Piggy told everyone but if I would’ve been the leader this would not have happened.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Blog #1 ( chapter 1 Lord of the Flies)

Chapter 1: Where are we?
Simon’s Journal

I woke up after falling down from the airplane. All I saw were trees, sand, and the beach. Then I asked myself where I was and suddenly a bunch of little kids came over to where I was. Two of the kids were twins. There was also a scary looking boy who seems to be the leader of the little kids.

I was first scared by this people but after a while I shyly ask them, “Excuse me…..ummm...do…do you know where we are?” “We just fell from an airplane and we landed on some kind of island or jungle,” they said. “Do you want to accompany us to go to explore the jungle?” they asked me. “I…proffer to go to find if anyone else is alive,” I told them. They all thought it was a great idea and we all started walking. “It is incredulous how we can be here lost in this jungle,” I thought.

As we were walking I stared at everyone again and I noticed that the twins had the hair like tow. I also looked at the boy with the scary face he still scared me because of his specious appearance.

I looked up and I saw the fronds of the palms they were so big I even thought they were bigger than I. Suddenly we stop the kid with the scary face said, “Didn’t you hear that?” “Yes is somewhat like a trumpet,” the twins said at the same time. “Let’s go maybe is some other people who are alive,” said the boy with the scary face.

While we were running at a far distance we could see two figures. We kept on running until we saw a short chubby boy with glasses and another boy who was with a shell making that trumpet noise. We sat down in the rocks and the chubby boy asked for every body’s name. I learned that the twins’ names were Sam and Eric and that the kid with the scary face name was Jack. Then the chubby boy asked for my name I told him that my name was Simon. Then I just sat there quietly. I was scared to talk and I was even more scared to be there.

The boy whose name was Ralph told us that we should vote for our leader. I voted for Ralph because I thought he had a pliant style of leadership. After Ralph became our leader he chose me and Jack to go with him and explore. I did not want to go because I was scared that something would happen to us in the jungle but if I did not go they were going to think that I was a chicken and that I was scared of everything, so I decided to go. After all, I think I am the nicest one of all of them.