Chapters 3 & 4 Of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In chapter 4 Bruno and Gretel look out the window of there new house to find a large group of people working, "small boys and big boys, fathers and grandfathers. Perhaps a few uncles too" But they didn't know who the were or why they were there. "'Who are the?' asked Gretel, as opened mouthed as her brother often was these days. 'what sort of place is this?'". "he wanted had seen it first and could see it whenever he wanted because they were outside his bedroom window and not hers and therefore they belonged to him and he was the kind of everything and they surveyed and she was his lowly subject." This can explain hoe Bruno wants everything to go his way.

In chapter 5 Bruno get to go into his father's office even though nobody is ever allowed in there at all times and no expectations. Bruno tells his father that he wants to go back home and he doesn't like his new house because none of his friends life there. And that he wants to move back to Berlin. But his father explain to Bruno that the new house is their new home and they can't move back.

About the Author

 

The Author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is John Boyne. He was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1971 and studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, where he was awarded the Curtis Brown prize.

John's early writing consisted mostly of short stories and he published a number of them. His first story, The Entertainments Jar, was shortlisted for the Hennessy Literary Award in Ireland. He has published about 70 short stories.
John's 2006 novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, was made into an award-winning Miramax film. The novel itself won 2 Irish Book Awards, the Bisto Book of the Year, and was shortlisted or won a host of international awards. Amongst other books, it spent more than 80 weeks at no.1 in Ireland, topped the New York Times Bestseller List, and was the bestselling book in Spain in both 2007 and 2008. Worldwide, it has sold more than 5 million copies.

His novels are published in 46 languages.

John's most recent novel for adults is This House is Haunted, and for young readers, Stay Where You Are then Leave, which will be published in the US in March 2014.

Here is a interview With John Boyne and the director of the movie, Mark Herman.

Chapter 2: The New House and my Relation

In this chapter Bruno and his family have moved into their new home. The new house was not as big as his old house, but still very large. "Everything seemed to be the exact opposite of their old home and he couldn't believe that they were really going to live there." His new house was still in Germany but they moved towns. Their family used to live in Berlin, Germany but they now live in another town in Germany. When they first got to the new house Bruno didn't like it because the house sat alone with no other houses around it, which means that he would have no friends to play with."'I Think this was a bad idea,' said Bruno a few hours after they arrived" In the new house Bruno's father had a office, just like his old one, that nobody was ever allowed in. Bruno never knew why he couldn't go into his father's office."There were even whole rooms - such as Father's office, which was Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions - that he had barely been inside."

I can relate to this because over the summer I moved houses, but we still stayed in the same town as our old house. We only moved because my parents felt as if our old house was beginning to be to small for our family and we should buy a larger one.

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: What i have read so far..

 

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas so far, from what I have read, is about a boy named Bruno. He has just moved away from his home town and all his friends. He used to live in a huge 5 story house and then he moves away from the house to a smaller, but still large, 3 story house. This novel takes place in Germany in the 19th century.

So far from what I have read I can predict that his is going to be about the Holocaust because I have heard that from book reviews I have seen. I can also predict that because this takes place around the time in history when the Holocaust was happening in Germany and other parts of Europe. Another prediction of why this took place during the Holocaust is because his father has a job that Bruno doesn't know what it is or what he does because he isn't allowed to know. His father also has his own office in the new house which Bruno is never allowed to go into for any reason. I think Bruno isn't allowed in because it could have stop secret information inside. A quote from the text is, "But when they asked Bruno what his father did eh opened his mouth to tell them, then reailzed that he didn't know himself."

Blog Reflections - 1st tri

Something I have struggled with in blogging was finding textual evidence from the text. I overcame this by always making sure I could find one quote from the text that relates to what I am stating from the text.  A strength I had with blogging is analyzing the evidence when I have found a quote. Also, getting my point across easily. Also, by allways staying on task and getting my blogs done on time each day.

Analysis Blog-
http://nicolersreadblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/analysis-from-what-i-have-read-so-far-i.html

The Analysis blog is my strongest blog because it has strong textual evidence that shows how Cassia will end up with Xander by the end. In this blog I have supported the Inference I have made with textual evidence; that she will be with Xander and evidence that she will not be with Ky.

Next trimester I plan to read more often then I am not and read more then just one book. Also to find a book that I really enjoy so I can read it at a faster passe. I also want to create longer and stronger blogs have have more meaning to them. Improvements I am going to try to make for next trimester are to use better grammar in writing.

Theme - Matched

Matched by Ally Condie

Theme
The theme for the characters in the story is "falling in love with a person's story is the same as falling in love with person himself"(196). This could be a theme for the characters because the story line is that you don't get to choose who you love the government officials choose for you. But Cassia isn't in love with her Match, she is falling in love with another person; Ky, who is the person on Xander's micro card. Cassia ends up meeting Ky and starts to like him more then her Match who she thought at first she was extremely happy that Xander was her Match.

Recommendations - Matched

Matched by: Ally Condie

Recommendations:
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian novels like The Hunger Games series or teen romance books. Also if you read and enjoyed matched, you could read the other books in the trilogy; Crossed and Reached.

 I have also read The Giver by: lois Lowry. The Giver is similar to Matched in ways which it takes place in the future and the government plans out everyones life. Very similar to Matched.

 

 

Reviews:

"The hottest YA that's title to hit the bookstores since The Hunger Games." -Entertainment Weekly

"Impressive writing that's bound to captivate young minds." - Los Angeles Times

"If you like a ton of romance with your totalitarian government, this novel is for you!" - Family Circle


Matched Book Review Link

Reading Skills - Matched

Matched by: Ally Condie

Reading Skills:
When I started reading Matched I predicted that Cassia will end up with Xander because they were original matches. I didn't think she would end up with Ky, but in the book Cassia starts to think she might be falling in love with Ky "I Read things I shouldn't read and learn things I'm not meant to know and I might be falling in love with someone else."(p. 195) this means that fiat could want her and Ky to be together; as she believes. Cassia is breaking rules because she is talking to someone who is not her match and is falling for someone who isn't her Match.

Characters - Matched

Matched by: Ally Condie

Characters: Cassia is the main character in Matched and the story is told in her point of view. At the beginning of the novel Cassia seems to have a shy and quiet personality. Also she seem lost and is trying to find her true self. Throughout the story Cassia begins to gain more confidence and starts to become more outgoing. Cassia is a dynamic character.

Xander is another important character. He is a boy who has known Cassia since as long as he can remember. Xander and Cassia end up being matches for each other at the match banquet. At the beginning of the story he seems confident and strong within himself. You can see that throughout the text. I have not read far enough to determine how the character changes throughout the text.

Ky is another character who is introduced further in the story. Ky is the boy who Cassia saw on Xander's micro card. Both of his parents passed away in his childhood. Ky was chosen to be a single, which is when you will have no match and you will live alone, never get married and never have kids. Later in the story Cassia starts to fall in love with Ky instead of Xander.

Summary - Matched

Matched by: Ally Condie

Summary:
In the Novel Matched When you turn 17 you have a match banquet to see who your match will be and see who you will marry and spend the rest of your life with. Cassia was matched with her friend Xander, which rarely happens; when you know the person who you are matched with, you normally don't know your match at all. When she was matched with him she receives a micro card of Xanders life information and childhood pictures, but when Cassia goes to look at the micro card it doesn't show Xander, it shows a boy named Ky. Ky was chosen to be a single; someone who will not have a Match and will live his life on his own because both his parents passed away when he was younger. This causes some difficulties, if Xander is really suppose to be her match or if Ky is going to be her new Match. Besides Cassia doesn't need to look at Xander's micro card because she already knows all their is to know about Xander since they have been friend for a long time. What you learn from this is that we should be happy we live in a place where you get to choose your own life, who you marry, what your job will be, when you will have kids. and not have the government or higher class people choose your life for you, like how life is in Matched.

Analysis - Matched

Matched by: Ally Condie

Analysis:
In the Novel Matched, when you turn 17 you get matched. Cassia originaly gets matched with Xander who is her friend. But then she starts getting feelings for another boy named Ky. From what I have read so far I can predict that Cassia will end up with Xander by the end because they were first matched together at the Match banquet. A quote from the story is, "I might know my Match. He might be someone who goes to the same Second School that I do, someone I see everyday, someone- "Xander Thomas Carrow." This quote is from when she first finds out that she is matched with Xander and it explains how she should be matched with Xander because he was her original Match to begin with. In this community the person that is your Match you are to spend the rest of your life with even if you dont like them.

At first, she is happy with her match but then she starts to fall in love with Ky who is the person that she sees on Xander's microcard when she goes to look at it.

I can also predict that she will not be matched with Ky because when they first announced that Cassia and Xander are Matched something sparked between them and she knew that they were meant to be matched the minute the announcer said Xander's name. Then with Ky nothing happened or sparked until later in the story.

Matched by: Ally Condie

Matched is about a girl named Cassia who lives in a society in the future where the government plans out your whole life; who you will marry, what your job will be, when you will have kids, and when you will die.

Theme And Summary:
When you turn 17 you have a match banquet to see who your match will be and see who you will marry and spend the rest of your life with. Cassia was matched with her friend Xander, which rarely happens; when you know the person who you are matched with, you normally don't know your match at all. When she was matched with him she receives a micro card of Xanders life information and childhood pictures, but when Cassia goes to look at the micro card it doesn't show Xander, it shows a boy named Ky. Ky was chosen to be a single; someone who will not have a Match and will live his life on his own because both his parents  passed away when he was younger. This causes some difficulties, if Xander is really suppose to be her match or if Ky is going to be her new Match. Besides Cassia doesn't need to look at Xander's micro card because she already knows all their is to know about Xander since they have been friend for a long time. What you learn from this is that we should be happy we live in a place where you get to choose your own life, who you marry, what your job will be, when you will have kids. and not have the government or higher class people choose your life for you, like how life is in Matched.

The theme for the characters in the story is "falling in love with a person's story is the same as falling in love with person himself"(196). This could be a theme for the characters because the story line is that you don't get to choose who you love the government officials choose for you. But Cassia isn't in love with her Match, she is falling in love with another person; Ky, who is the person on Xander's micro card. Cassia ends up meeting Ky and starts to like him more then her Match who she thought at first she was extremely happy that Xander was her Match.

Characters: Cassia is the main character and the story is told in her point of view. At the beginning of the novel Cassia seems to have a shy and quiet personality. Also she seem lost and is trying to find her true self. Throughout the story Cassia begins to gain more confidence and starts to become more outgoing. Cassia is a dynamic character.

Xander is another important character. He is a boy who has known Cassia since as long as he can remember. Xander and Cassia end up being matches for each other at the match banquet. At the beginning of the story he seems confident and strong within himself. You can see that throughout the text. I have not read far enough to determine how the character changes throughout the text.

Ky is another character who is introduced further in the story. Ky is the boy who Cassia saw on Xander's micro card. Both of his parents passed away in his childhood. Ky was chosen to be a single, which is when you will have no match and you will live alone, never get married and never have kids. Later in the story Cassia starts to fall in love with Ky instead of Xander.

Analysis:
From what I have read so far I can predict that Cassia will be matched with Xander because they were first matched together at the Match banquet. "I might know my Match. He might be someone who goes to the same Second School that I do, someone I see everyday, someone- "Xander Thomas Carrow." This quote explains how she should be matched with Xander because Xander was her original Match to begin with, and there was probably the micro card just got mixed up. I can also predict that she will not be matched with Ky because when they first announced that Cassia and Xander are Matched something sparked between them and with Ky nothing happened.

Reading Skills:
When I started reading Matched I predicted that Cassia will end up with Xander because they were original matches. I didn't think she would end up with Ky, but in the book Cassia starts to think she might be falling in love with Ky "I Read things I shouldn't read and learn things I'm not meant to know and I might be falling in love with someone else."(p. 195) this means that fiat could want her and Ky to be together; as she believes. Cassia is breaking rules because she is talking to someone who is not her match and is falling for someone who isn't her Match.

Recommendations:
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian novels like The Hunger Games series or teen romance books. Also if you read and enjoyed matched, you could read the other books in the trilogy; Crossed and Reached. I have also read The Giver by: lois Lowry. The Giver is similar to Matched in ways which it takes place in the future and the government plans out everyones life.

"The hottest YA that's title to hit the bookstores since The Hunger Games." -Entertainment Weekly

"Impressive writing that's bound to captivate young minds." - Los Angeles Times

"If you like a ton of romance with your totalitarian government, this novel is for you!" - Family Circle


Matched Book Review Link

The Help by: Kathryn Stockett



Over the summer I read The Help. The Help is about a college graduate, Skeeter, who wants to be a writer but her mother wants her to be a wife. Skeeter decides to write a book about the maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. She interviews the maids, Minny, Aiblieen and many others.



The main message or theme in The Help is about how one person can change a whole town. This is the theme because once the whole town of Jackson finds out about the book it changes everything. Another message is that everyone can come together no matter what your diffrences are, because the maids and the house wife's have a lot of diffrences but they realized that they can come together.



The characters in the help are Skeeter, Minny, Aiblieen, And Celia. Skeeter is a college grad who is striving to be a writer but her mother doesn't want her to be one. In the beginning of the story she is scared to become a writer because all of her friends are going to be housewife's but by the end she is proud of her work. Minny is a black maid, at the beginning she got fired from her job. She got a job working for Celia Foote, who at first didn't tell her husband that she got a maid but he finds out. Aiblieen is a older maid, who raises Mrs. Leefolts's daughter, Mae Mobley. Celia is the wife of Johnny Foote. Who hires Minny as her maid without her husband approval. Celia begins to change throughout the story with the help of Minny.

 

 

 

 

 

This article is about how the author got rejected 60 times before The Help was published.

The Help article

 

 

Movie trailer for The Help:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbuKgzgeUIU