Literature Circle - First They Killed My Father

      What obstacles did Loung overcome during and after the genocide? Loung, the main character and author of the book First They Killed My Father, has overcome many, many obstacles during and after the genocide. For example, nearly half of her family being killed by the Khmer Rouge group that took over her country and shattered her innocence. Her life that once consisted of a nine person family, a "middle class" house with servants and Mazdas, turned into a 5 person family, faded black Khmer Rouge clothes, going to bed hungry, labor camps, and watching her family get torn apart on by one. She had to overcome labor camps, being forced to become a child soldier. And she had overcome leaving all of her family but her brother behind, in order to go to America. 

The overall topic of the book First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung is the 1975 Cambodian Genocide. The article that I chose that relates to the book is called "Cambodian Families Separated By Khmer Rouge Reunite — on TV" The article is about a Cambodian TV show called "It's Not A Dream" reunites families that were separated by the Khmer Rouge group during the genocide in front of a studio audience. One of the people that was reunited, that the article talks about, is from Phnom Penh, the same city that Loung was from. "In 1975, Moy Da, then 5 years old, and his parents, who died three years later, lost track of 15-year-old Pheap when the Khmer Rouge emptied Phnom Penh and marched residents to the countryside." They give more information about the TV show, Moy Da and Cambodia, and then comes the moment where he finally reunites with his family. "After a series of video montages described his circumstances, the moment finally came when his mother and father joined him on stage. Overwhelmed, he removed his sandals, a sign of respect, and fell into their arms, his back to the audience. His mother, Phorn Sopheap, sobbed softly and said, "I never thought I would see you again." She vowed to shave her head to give thanks to the gods that reunited them. Many in the audience wept silently." 

      The book and the article are different because the book has a lot more emotion than the article,  and the article has a lot more information. Loung tells her experiences with hunger and loss, dealing with the death of her parents. The article talks about things like how many people call the show each day, what the show is like, what TV is like in Cambodia. In the book, it says, "All I know is the constant pain of hunger in my stomach." And in the article it says, "Nearly 60 people call the show's hotline every day, and there are a half-dozen successful reunions waiting to be filmed". Another difference between the book and the article is perspective. In the book, Loung is the character that is experiencing what is happening. We are reading what she is seeing and feeling. But, in the article, there really isn't a narrator, I guess, because there isn't a main character. The article is focused on information. 

Poetry Reflection Blog

Poetry can be a vital, real part of everyone's life. What place or importance does poetry have in my own life? Does poetry belong to everyone? How do I know?

      After the poetry unit, I have a greater respect for poetry. I never really liked poetry, mostly because I didn't understand it. But, I think now, I can understand metaphors and figurative language better. Poetry can be a way to express things without saying them, using metaphors and figurative language. I really like poetry now, especially writing it. Now I am realizing that there is poetry in everything, especially music.
      I think that poetry does belong to everyone. Anyone can read it, anyone can write it, anyone can love it. 

How does the life and experiences of a poet affect the poem he/she creates?

I think that the poet's life experiences definitely affect the poems that they create. For example, earlier in the poetry unit, we read a poem called "Names". The author experienced and was affected by 9/11, so that affected his poetry, since he wrote a poem about it, obviously. Another example is with poetry from Jean Toomer, who I did my Harlem Renaissance Research on. He didn't want to be seen as an African American poet and writer because he wanted to escape the restrictions of racial identity. He wanted to be seen as just American instead of black or white, and he wrote a poem called Blue Meridian which was about how how he wanted everyone to come together as American instead of putting each other into boxes of black and white. His life experiences affected his poetry and novels. And I think that that happened a lot in the Harlem Renaissance. Most of the people struggled with racism and segregation and I think that affected their poems. 

Choose two poems (one that you have read and one that you have written yourself) and analyze how a poem's form and structure contribute to its meaning. Also, analyze the impact that words/phrases, rhyme, alliteration, repetition, and figurative language have on the poem.

      Form and structure of poems can really affect the meaning. I think that this can show with shape poems.  One example of this is called "Raindrop".  It is about rain and raindrops and the poem is shaped like a raindrop. One example that I wrote is the Letter Poem. The poem is about me, and it is the shape of the first letter of my name. Really, every poem's meaning can be effected by the form and structure. Choosing to make one line only one word can make the word more powerful. I can add a pause/ more emotion. 
      Adding rhyme and repetition can make a poem more humorous sometimes. Using figurative language can make a poem more confusing for some people, but it can make the poem more meaningful by using symbols and metaphors. For example, Sam wrote a quatrain poem using rhyme, and the rhyme made it more humorous:

"Oh no, oh no, I've done it again.

I'm in such a pickle.

My mom's gonna be so mad at me

'Cause I sold the dog for a nickel."

Here are the poems that we have written in this unit:

Nonfiction Poem (AOW Poem)

Bio Poem of a Literary Character

Where I'm From Poem

Spine Poem

Found Poem

Nonsense Poem

Blog For Week 3/8/16 - Is It Night Or Day by Fern Schumer Chapman

      The book that I just finished was Is It Night or Day by Fern Schumer Chapman. It is the story of Edith Westerfeld, a 12 year old girl from Germany who is forced to travel across the ocean to Chicago, without her parents, and move in with her aunt and uncle. 

List at least three problems the characters faced? Explain

      One of the problems that Edith faced was having to abandon her family while she was moving to a country that seemed as far away as the moon to her. Her family could not come with her when she was moving to Chicago. They stayed in Germany because of a few reasons. One was that Edith's grandmother refused to leave. Her family had lived in that house for almost 200 years, and she was not about to give it up. Another reason was that her parents could not get all of the papers in order to leave. 

      Another problem that she faced was that she didn't know any English. She didn't know any English, so it was really hard to communicate with people and let them know who she was, what she wanted, where she was coming from, etc. This was especially hard in school. People bullied her because since she didn't know any English, she had to be put into first grade. She learned fast and skipped grades a lot, they still made fun of her because of her accent and how she looked.

      And another problem that she faced was living with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle was nice, but her aunt treated her like a servant. Every week, she had to meet her aunt at the grocery store so that she could carry the groceries home. All of them. Her aunt didn't carry a thing. She had to wash the floors, clean her and her cousin's rooms, clean the kitchen, etc, etc, etc. She was yelled at for speaking German, even when she first got there and didn't know any English, accused of stealing food, and kicked out during her cousin's birthday party, which she was also forced to clean the apartment for.

Who is your least favorite character? Why?

My least favorite character in this book is Edith's aunt. She just seems like she would be really unpleasant to be around, from the way that she treats Edith. She is always yelling or scolding at Edith and treating her like a servant. She yells at her for speaking German, even when she barely knows any English, and even banned her from going over to friend's houses or having friends over. She just seems like she wouldn't be a very nice person to be around/live with.

List the events, in order, that have happened so far in what you’ve been reading.

• Edith starts her trip to America
• The ship lands in New York City where she then takes the train down to Chicago
• Moves in with her aunt and uncle (and cousin)
• Starts school and is soon moved up to 7th grade where she belongs
• She sees her first baseball game, with a Jewish player 
• Edith finds out where her family is and that they might not be able to make it to America

"The Princess and the Witch" Nonsense Poem

"Why Your Dreams Are Gone" AOW Nonfiction Poem

"Why Your Dreams Are Gone"

I’m sorry.

I am the reason you can’t live your dream

I am the reason you can’t be a Marine.

“Let your smile change the world.

But never let the world change you,”

I like to say.

But that won’t help.

Now, it forces your dreams to decay

I’m sorry.

You know it’s not my fault.

I know that’s what you say

But now your dreams are starting to run away.

Chellie tried to complain,

but they just did nothing.

Even just responding,

would’ve meant something.

I’m sorry

I am with you from night until dawn.

But because of that uniform

Bam! Your dreams are gone.

You put on a smile

You put on a show

But, I’m the only one

Who knows.

You are not happy,

I know what you say,

but putting on a smile

will not drive anger and disappointment away.

Engraved on your skin,

I am with you forever.

Wherever you go,

But I did not  want this to happen

I just want you to know.

Poem Inspired by: "This Woman Might Not Get Into the Marines Because of a Discriminatory Tattoo Policy" by The Huffington Post

Bio Poem - Is is Night or Day? (Edith Westerfeld)

Edith Westerfeld. 
Kind, smart, caring, and brave. 
A character in Fern Chapman's story. 
Lover of baseball, Arno, who is her stuffed bear from home, her star of David necklacke, the only thing left of her mother, and Stockstadt, the town that her family lived for over 200 years. 
Who notices that not everyone is accepting in America. 
Who feels unloved by her Aunt and Uncle, unwanted by her mother and father, and scared about the future. 
Who learns that the world can be a terrible place sometimes. 
Who used to think that life was going to be perfect, but now knows that nothing is. 
Major character in Is it Night or Day? 
A book that proves that life is not perfect, and bad things will happen, but everything is going to be okay.