All The Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot See has been my favorite book we have ever read in ELA. My favorite part of the book was the imagery. The way the author uses basically every sense (sight, taste, touch.., etc) was beautiful. I loved it so much I am writing an essay on imagery for my response project. Some examples of the imagery in the book are "Bees are silver; pigeons are ginger snd auburn and occasionally golden. The huge cypress trees she and her father pass on their morning walk and shimmering kaleidoscopes, each a needle a polygon of light." "Out of loudspeakers all around Zollverein, the staccato voice of the Reich grows like some imperturbable tree; its subjects lean toward its branches as if toward the lips of God. And when God stops whispering, they become desperate for someone who can put things right." "We are mice he thinks, and the sky swills with hawks." "The eggs taste like clouds. Like spun gold." "Seconds later, she is eating wedges of wet sunlight." I strongly recommend this book.

Marie-Laure and Werner, how has your opinion of Marie-Laure and Werner changed and why?

Marie-Laure: My opinion of Marie hasn't changed that much throughout the book. I think she is very smart, amazing, and I love how much she loves her family. I think its so impressive how she can solves the puzzles her father makes her and navigate her way around the neighbor based off counting and memorization. I think she is a very caring person. Always thinking of her father and helping her uncle in anyway she can.

Werner: My opinion of Werner has changed. At first I thought her was an extremely smart boy who was a great big brother. But, as time throughout the book as passed Werner has made decision that I do not agree with. For example how he never helped his friend by standing up for him, or when he threw the water on the man, and how he never writes to his sister. I understand that its not a black and white situation and that he is only a kid going through war. That never stopped his friend Frederick. I still like Werner though. I think he is very smart and talented.

"Just roll with it" Oral History

A granddaughter interviews her grandfather in a parking lot in her 1994 Buick. Why the parking lot? Her grandfather lives in a senior living home and didn't want to share his life with others. She begins the interview with questions about his life and her grandmother. Her grandmother passed away in 2012 and he loved his wife very much. Her grandfather has had lots of hard moments in his life. He lost his eldest son of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He now is dealing with Alzheimer disease. His family was poor growing up. He shares a story that one time he knew there would be no hot water at home so he broke into his school to take a warm shower. Throughout his interview though he has wonderful attitude, many laughs are shared. When his granddaughter asks if he has any advice for them as they get older? He responds with "Don’t fight it. Just roll with. I mean real life. Live it. It’s wonderful." I think that is a beautiful message and great advise. https://storycorps.org/listen/james-kennicott-and-kara-masteller-112015/#

My thoughts on Persepolis

I really enjoyed reading Persepolis. The story was capturing and beautiful. I strongly recommend the graphic novel. It was one of my favorite books we read for ELA. Marjane faced so much in her life and reading her life story as a graphic novel was amazing. The story also taught me a lot about the Islamic Revolution. One of my favorite parts about Persepolis was learning about how the revolution affected her and how she handled it. For example when she started to have to wear the veil and she first did it because she was told she would be killed, raped, murdered if not. When she had to leave her family because of the war you see her face many struggles from not having her family. She becomes depressed, sells and does drugs, goes through many changes in personality. A lot of the things she faced were experiences teenagers face like the changes in personality. I think that because she didn't have her family around she would be things she was disappointed in. Multiple times in the book she says that at those moments in her life she isn't the person her family would be proud of.