Blog Response #8
Upon completion of reading your novel, what have you learned about a different culture? What shocked you? What seemed strange to you? What couldn't you believe? Take time to give specific examples from your novel that share what you learned about history and a different culture. Share your feelings about what you read.
After reading Night i was truly shocked at how horribly the Jews were actually treated. It seemed strange to me that they had so many different jobs in the ghettos, i didn't know that before. I cant believe how many people died on the trains throughout the story, it sickened me that hundreds of bodies just thrown out of the train.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible that they were treated that way. All of our books relate some how because in mine Malala was shot and treated terrible just because she wanted to stand up for her education.
DeleteI also cant believe that all them people died in the train and they would just throw the bodies out. I hope I can read this book.
DeleteThe amount of people that died in the trains also took me by surprise. I had no idea that the train rides were that harsh
DeleteYeah they were treated very very poorly. Its very heartbreaking to read about how they lives just all of a sudden get taken away.
DeleteAfter finishing "A Long Way Gone" i really got a sense of the culture of Sierra Leone. I learned that the people that live there enjoy story telling, Cavassa leaves, soccer, and dancing. The strangest thing they talked about in the book about Sierra Leone's culture is their stories. the strangest in my opinion is about how a hunter disguise himself as a wild hog and then the hogs realize it is a man and try to kill the hunter. That was there reason for why wild hogs charged men because they did not trust them. Over all I found Sierra Leone's culture to be a interesting one and found it enjoyable to learn a little bit about it..
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds very interesting and the culture sounds very different but fun in a way. The hunter disguising himself as a wild hog is extremely weird and different but I would be interested in reading about it.
DeleteA Long Way Gone sounds like a great book with a lot to learn, i want to read it.
DeleteI agree that you learn a lot about the culture in Sierra Leone, and that story telling is a big part of their culture.
DeleteYour book sounds interesting especially the part about the hunter dressing up like a hog, and that's why they now charge at men. It seems like it would be a fun book to read, and very informative with culture.
DeleteMy book A thousand Splendid Suns really shocked me and opened my eyes up about other things that go on in the world. The way of life in other places is really bad, and many struggle through life. Many live in shacks or not very good houses, do not have many clothes, and do not have much food or water. The women in the story do not have any say on their lives or what goes on. They have to stay home to clean and take care of the children. Many cannot go out in public without their husband and when they do they have to wear a scarf over their heads because it is disrespectful to the husbands if other men see the women's face. Also they live right by a town where a war is taking place and they are so close that they get hit by some bombs and gun fire. When they go outside they have to worry about if they are going to get blown up or shot. The government along with that is not very good, they are controlling and mean to the people. Here i do not have to worry about any of that or deal with any of that. The book really opened my eyes on a life somewhere else and how rough some people really do have it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, their culture is extremely different than ours. It shocked me how much is expected of women, and how favored men are in their culture. The government also is extremely different here than it is in Afghanistan.
DeleteThat seems like really extream and hard to live in. Compared to us we would probably never be able to handle living in that type of condition.
DeleteI totally agree with everything you said. I know for sure I would not be able to live like this and reading this made me realize how great we have it now. A lot of things with the government and the culture changed throughout the years.
DeleteI agree, I would not be able to live in that type of situation where women are being so controlled that they can't leave the house or even work. We have it good, like we pretty much don't have to do anything, and have the freedom to go outside, work, and go anywhere we want without being beaten for leaving. Laila was beaten multiple times for leaving, going outside, talking back, and not doing what Rasheed wants her to do.
Deletei agree i could not imagine living in these type of conditions. they way Mariam got treated was just horrible.
DeleteI read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and it really opened my eyes up to what awful things are going on in other countries less fortunate than the United States. One thing that really shocked me was Mariam would be walking on main street and would see bloody bodies laying on the side of the rode because of the terrorist group the Taliban, and how close Mariam and Rasheed were worshiping a terrorist group and participating with them. Another thing that surprised me was when Jalil just sent his daughter Mariam off with some random older man to marry and get rid of her. The other thing that shocked me was how the culture was so different from America. Having many wives in Afghanistan was encouraged. The final thing is the expectations of women. Mariam could not wear any makeup, she couldn't go out without her burqa on and so many things were expected of Mariam and Laila.
ReplyDeleteYeah i feel really bad about what happens to some of the people over there, they get a bd reputation and go through a lot.
DeleteI agree with your point of view on this book and how awful their lives must be. It is so different from what we have over here, and I do not know if many of us could handle being in those conditions. I know I would not want to be living in them by choice but many of them do not have the choice, especially the women
Deletesounds like a good book. i will have to give it a read some day!
DeleteI really did enjoy reading this book! I dont know if i will find another one to beat it!
DeleteIn the book I am Malala she has to deal with the Taliban also. i dont think i would be able to face the Taliban.
Deletei agree with you it was very shocking the way women got treated.
DeleteThis sounds a lot like my book "I am Malala" I was also shocked when Malala Talked about how when she was 13 a girl in her grade got married off and no longer went to school. I could not imagine being married at 13.
DeleteIn my book "I am Malala" the culture seemed a bit different than ours. The way the women were treated wasn't fair. Here, we are all able to go to school and worry about someone saying "girls shouldn't be able to get education" because the men expect them to stay home and do all the cares needed in the home. I couldn't believe this and I don't think this is fair at all. Everyone deserves the right to feel welcomed and to get the education they want. Another different thing in their culture was the food they ate. Their main meals would be rice, meat and eggs for breakfast. They liked to drink a lot of milk and tea. People here still eat and drink a lot of this stuff, but this was their everyday meals most of the time. This seemed kind of strange because I know if this was me, eating and drinking the same stuff everyday would get very sickening. This is what they were used to and expected.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you just said about their culture. It is different because they have a lot of the same stuff vs us we have such a variety of whatever we want pretty much. It would be hard living a life like this and adjusting to it.
DeleteMy book was the same way, the culture was very different from ours, especially for the women. It sounds like in both of our books the women were treated very unfairly, they did not get to do anything or make any decisions for themselves. The culture and lifestyle is very different from what we have over here and I do not know if I would want to be over there living that lifestyle.
DeleteI understand that women, as you said, are unfairly women are treated over there. It, sort of, saddens me to think that countries over there don't share the same ideals as we do when it comes to equal rights for all people.
DeleteI do really agree with you that their culture is very different from ours. I really could not believe the way women were treated, and I did not think it was fair at all. I am very glad we live in a country where women are treated a lot better!
DeleteReading the book "I Am Malala" i think that they have such a different culture then we do here. Some things are similar but a lot of things are different. Women's roles play a huge factor in their culture. They don;t get treated the same as what we would back here. A lot of the time in the book Malala is trying to fight for herself and she is strong about it, while other women are scared to stand up because they don't wanna die if they simply just state their opinion towards something. They had a strong passion for their religion also. We also do back here but everything they did they prayed and prayed about it. Malala truly believed in God throughout her entire journey through the book and through her recovery after the shooting. I just couldn't believe that women got treated like this even though they did just about everything for everyone and anyone. If someone they didn't know, came to their front door they would get them food or warmth, anything they can do to help them.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. They really did have a strong passion for their religion. Everyone was so religious and I think that really helped get Malala through it.
DeleteThis book and the way the culture sounds is almost like the book A Thousand Splendid Suns. In that book the women are also treated very poorly. It is definitely different and changed a lot to get where we are today, and reading these kind of books makes me feel very fortunate and grateful for the change.
DeleteI totally agree with you Angela. The book made me realize how lucky we are to life in a country in peace and with equal rights for man and women. I also think that it was incredibly brave for Malala to fight for education in a country where religion is more important. Overall I thought reading this book was a great inspiration,especially for women.
DeleteThat culture sounds the same as in our book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, because they both take place in Pakistan. Im glad that I live in the United States so i wouldnt have to live in a culture like that!
DeleteI am proud of Malala for standing up for herself while others didn't. I know I wouldn't have been able to with all the killings going on.
DeleteI really do think they're culture is very different from ours. I also think that they believe heavily in their religion and that helped Malala be as strong as she is.
DeleteIn my book Along Way Gone in there culture they told stories to remember times when they weren't in war. It seemed weird how this war was going on and the military wasn't doing anything about it so they took it into there own hands. It shocked me how Ishmael joined the war and didn't just keep running and hiding in the woods while this was going on.
ReplyDeleteI also didnt think that Ishmael would join the war with all the older people but military needed help and he was tired of running
Deletebeing in the war at 15 years old would be scary af!
DeleteI agree this culture really shocked me compared to what we think we have to go through. This book really shocked me.
DeleteI would agree to that this culture shocked me on what happen.
DeleteIshmeal fought because he was tired of running.
DeleteThe culture did shock me, thinking that you would go into war that young. It is different from what we go through here.
DeleteIn the book A Long Way Gone you learn a lot about how different countries are run and how violence occurs. Like in Ishmaels village or should i say many villages, they seemed to have a lot of violence. like when his village got raided by the rebels and people were being captured and being shot. it just shocks me that they are able to live in fear like that all the time and always have to be ready to run.
ReplyDeleteI agree that I was shocked by what it was like for them to try to stay alive during a war
DeleteYour book sounds similar to the book 'night'. By people living in fear, being shot at, and war.
Deleteits crazy how something like this happens in country's like this
DeleteThere are all sorts of different things that we learn and see throughout the book, as we read.
DeleteIn my book "I am Malala" when she is threatened by the Taliban I was also very shocked how she could live knowing that at any moment she could be killed by the Taliban.
DeleteIt is unbelievable knowing someone so young has gone through this. It just makes me appreciate where I stand today.
DeleteI learned that what happened from the eyes of a Jew that went through a Nazi concentration camp instead of just it being from an outside source, also how curl the SS could really be. I was shocked mostly on what actually happened like how close they would be to freedom then they would get send farther away from the front line and go deeper into Germany. It was also shocking what they all had to do and that any of them really survived. What seemed strange to me in the book is that the author would quickly go over some things. What shocked me was mostly the treatment of the Jew and others that where imprisoned in the camps. I felt over all Night was a very good read and I would recommend it to others as a book you should read if you need a book to read.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHow the Jews were treated also shocked me, and made me glad that we haven't had to go through anything like that
DeleteI agree the treatment that the Jews had to go through was terrible. i really hope that nothing like this happens again.
DeleteI agree about what has shocked you. Even though I've heard other biopics about the same subject, it still shocked me something awful.
DeleteBeing that young in the war would be scary and being in that culture.
DeleteIn the book A Thousand Splendid Suns it made me realize how good we have it here. It made me more aware of what goes on in other places in the world. Many people struggle with life and have to do things I would never imagine doing myself. For example in my book the women do not have a say in what they do with their lives. People decide for them who they marry and they have to stay home all day everyday to watch the children, clean, and cook for the family. The women can not even walk outside without their husbands with them at all times. Also if they do something their husband does not approve of he does not just tell her not to do it again he will beat her and definitely make her regret ever doing it. Many families live in little shacks and struggle financially. Also a lot of them live right in the middle of where war is going on and have to worry about getting blown up when they walk outside. Reading this book definitely taught me how fortunate we are today not having to go through all of this, and how lucky we do have it.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Night, it totally changed my perspective of the concentration camps and how bad the Jews were actually treated. It totally surprised me how anyone survived going through the camps, especially on the little rations of bread and soup they were given for the amount of work they had to do. How poorly they were treated by the SS also took me by surprise. I knew that the SS weren't the nicest, but I didn't know they were that cruel either. Throughout the book, it made me realize multiple times how lucky we have it where we are today, and that we haven't had to go through something like that.
ReplyDeleteI was also very shocked on how the Jews were treated and how a few managed to even managed to survive. I agree that sometimes we forget how lucky we are to never have to go through that.
DeleteAfter reading the book 'Night' I was really shocked and sickened how poorly the Jews were being treated. I was surprised at how many different jobs the Jews had while being in the camps. I couldn't believe how many people died on the trains throughout the story being transported camp to camp. Another thing that sicked me was all the babies that would be killed immediately and when the soldiers would through them up and use them for target practice.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very interesting book and very descriptive hope u had a good time reading it
DeleteI also agree how the Jews were treated and also how they had to deal with the issues.
DeleteTo say the least, I've learned many things. Things varying from the Jewish life to concentrated life. During the time before the Holocaust began, the main focus of the the community that Elie Wiesel lived in was religion. What I've learned about the Jewish faith was that it contains very specific formalities in regarding to believe in God. For instance, Elie learning about the Five Books of the Torah, which is basicly learning about the Old Testament. The other important subject that I've learned was how, ungodly, Elie and the Jews had to live in concentration camps. What shocked me was how most of the Nazi soldiers showed no hesitation or remorse in exterminating the Jews. By extermination, I meant by trowing living Jews into the fire pit of the crematorium. I still found it very odd on how Elie, after all the conflicts and circumstances, was able to avoid or survive all the horrors of the Nazi's treatment. I've said it at the beginning and I'll say it again, the story of this book completely horrified me with what Elie has been through. The end of the story left me a little depressed, but it did get its point across so well, which left me intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I found this book an interesting book
DeleteIn the book, A Long Way gone, you learn a lot about their culture in Sierra Leone. They talk about how they play soccer, have many dances, and tell stories. Many of the stories have a meaning like one they told about why wild hogs chase people. I was shocked by hearing what it was like for people living in areas of fighting because the soldiers steal their food, burn down their village, and kill innocent people. The soldiers also try to force civilians to join them and fight in the war. I never realized it was so hard for civilians to continue their life during a war.
ReplyDeleteWow this this book sounds really intents. Our books sound kind of similar. Both of our main characters go through have to deal with some really tough times.
DeleteI feel the same, reading this book really made me want to visit Sierra Leon. I would like to be a part of their dances and get to try some of their food. The tales were one of my most favorite parts of this book.
Deletei would hate live in a area where the solders would harass the civilians.
Deleteafter reading a long way gone, i felt a lot safer about living in iowa. their life stile revolves around the war. i couldnt imagine being in a war zone at this age.
ReplyDeleteSame Austin, its just crazy what other countries do over something stupid. Then they have a war its like talk about it not kill each other but oh well they decide to do it a brutal way.
Deletei agree with you Mr.Hoefler i feel a whole lot safer in iowa knowing im not going to get bshot or burned out of my house
DeleteAfter reading a thousand splendid suns, the women in that culture are pretty much invisible. They have absolutely no power . Very belittled. The man have this mindset of a “ god “ almost . It’s take a strong hearted women to follow those guidelines in that culture I definitely can say.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog I realized the role of women in society is pretty much the same as in my book. As reading through "I am Malala" I noticed there are so many rights taken away from women. I mean women can't do everyday things like going to school or leaving the house without wearing a burqa.
Deletethis sounds alot like my book "I am Malala" the rights for the women are very limited while the men have more freedom.
Deleteyes in i am malala the men were also very rude to there wives in some parts and they did not treat the young girls the best either.
DeleteFor my second novel I was reading “I am Malala”. Reading the book I learned a lot about the Pakistani and Muslim culture. One thing I learned about the Pakistani culture is the importance of religion in the everyday life. To pray and thank Allah is a ritual for Pakistanis and a big part of their life. There are definitely a few things that shocked me reading this novel. The first thing that I noticed was completely different from our Western culture is how women are treated in a Muslim country. Malala mentioned several examples. The fact that women have to wear a burqa every time they leave the house is a very extreme example in my opinion. It is part of their religion but it also at the same time takes away the right for women to decide on their own. Another example from the book would be that women/girls should not attend school in Pakistan. So the fact that Malala attended school for several years was really a brave act of hers. Overall I just couldn’t believe how many rights were taken from women in Pakistan. The book made me realize how lucky I am to live in a Western country.
ReplyDeleteI felt over all Night was a very good book to read and I would recommend it to others as a book you should to under more about the Holocaust. I was shocked what actually happened to the Jews like how close they would be to freedom then they would get send farther away from the front line and go deeper into Germany. I was really saddening to know that this was from a first hand encounter, just to know that what your reading actually happen to someone and it was just a fiction book you where reading. It was also shocking to read what they all had to do and that not many of them really survived. What shocked me was mostly the treatment of the Jew and others that where imprisoned in the camps.
ReplyDeleteI learned about certain foods they all enjoy in Sierra Leon, such as cassava leaves and rice. Also understand that they grow up in a culture that demands good behavior from everyone, especially from the young. Young people were required to respect their elders. Ishmael talks about the art of farming in Kamator and realizing how difficult it was. Before the war, when Ishmael visited his grandmother during harvest season, Ishmael pored wine on the soil, as part of the ceremony to thank the ancestors and the gods for providing fertile soil. I think that's a very nice gesture from their part, I realize the connection they have with nature. The tails Ishmael shares from his grandmother are impressive, such as the tale about a notorious hunter of wild pigs who used magic to transform himself into a wild boar.
ReplyDeleteMalala is a Muslim girl in Pakistan so I got to learn a lot about the Muslim culture. They do a lot of stuff differently. Marriage for example is usually arranged by the parents and the special occasion lasts a week. Malala’s parents however were not in an arranged marriage and I thought that it was weird how people thought that was strange. Malala also talked about how normal it was for husbands to hit their wives and that she was surprised by how well her father treated her mom. Here women are treated a lot better than women in Pakistan and I kind of knew that to begin with but I did not realize how bad it actually was until Malala started talking about it. I thought the treatment of women was pretty bad even before the taliban came to Swat and I felt awful that it got even worse for them. I am so happy that I got to read this book it was very eye opening for me and it was nice to learn more about Malala.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this book was very eye opening. Before I read it, I didn't know much about the culture over there and now I see how bad it is. I'm glad you also enjoyed it.
DeleteI am malala is a very good book I really liked reading it and learning about the different culture one thing i didn't like was that the Taliban treated the girl very rudely and the guys don't really respect there wife's i also learned that the husbands and wives don't get to choose each-other it is usually chosen for them.
DeleteAfter reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, it was honestly one of my favorites. Learning about the different cultures made me realize how easy we have it. They have to have people bring them food once a month. That would honestly suck because we go to the store and find everything we need and want and we get a surplus of the everything so we dont have to make a trip back there. Another thing having kids over there you lay on the ground and cut your own kids umbilical cord. That just shocks me!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading A long Way Gone it really changed my mind on other cultures. Everything seemed a little strange or shocking to me throughout this whole book. With the boy fighting and trying to keep himself safe at the age of 15 was really shocking. You usually don't see those kind of actions around here. Other cultures may require you to just go and fight even if you don't want to just to keep yourself safe.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jacob it was strange through out the book. The way how they had young kids in the war.
DeleteI agree it really does shock you and make you think about other cultures. I never would imagine going into war at the age of 13 and fighting others, it is a scary thought. I was very surprised while reading the book.
Deletei agree with you jacob it is much more rough for them than it is over here
DeleteOnce i got done reading Long Way Gone I was surprised about what Ishmael went through in his country and what he had seen and did. Then I was shocked about how Ishmael came part of the army and started brutally killing rebels even worse than what the rebels did to them. Also he was such a good kid then he got hooked on drugs and needed to drugs every second because he was suffering from PTSD. The way it ended to was boring because i wanted to know what happens to him.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Night by Elie Wiesel I could believe how poorly the Jews in the concentration camps were treated. As a teenager who had to go trough all of this as well as watching what was happening to other Jews especially young children. Any Jew who was not capable of working were killed. As a character who went through all the tragedies I could not believe about being in his shoes back then.
ReplyDeleteNight sounds like it was an amazing book but also hard to get through and read all of the crazy things that people in concentrations camps had to go through.
DeleteAfter reading I am Malala, I learned a lot about the Pakistani culture. It all shocked me with how different they are from us. I am most surprised with the way they treat women. They believe that they shouldn't be able to go to school or even leave the house. If they wanted to go somewhere they had to have a male family member accompany them. Malala's father owned one of the few female schools and it was greatly frowned upon. Their schools had boys and girls separated unlike our typical schools. Another strange thing about their culture is that they have arranged marriages where their parents choose who they marry. Malala's parents went against this though and ran off to be married. I learned a lot about the Taliban as well. Before reading this book, I didn't know much about the group. They come in and almost destroyed Malala's town called Swat. Swat is a poor and rundown place, although Malala calls is beautiful, so it was easy for them to take over. The ways that Malala describes everything that goes on makes me thankful to live in America. I would not be able to live the way she did and with how they treated women.
ReplyDeletein my book A Thousand Splendid Suns what shocked me the most was the way that the women were treated.They had to just stay home cook, clean, and take care of children while the men would go out and make money. Also i was shocked when they said that the women cant travel without a man with them.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot while reading I am Malala I learned about the Pakistan and the different ways of the culture and how the boys are basically treated like royalty compared to the girls, they get there own little party when they are born they get treated very well, they get a ton of different thing basically like gifts. i was really surprised how the women were treated so much differently then the man and how if man and a women both do something wrong only the girl gets in trouble.
ReplyDeleteI am reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I have learned a lot about different cultures and history. The Taliban have very strict laws for women, they can't go to the same hospital as men, if they are in the street without their husbands they will be beaten, women are not allowed to work, everyone has to pray at a certain time of day, no television or radio's, and there are many more laws to follow these few. When the Communists had power, women had very few laws. They could work, go to the same hospital as men, walk in the streets alone, wear make up and shoes, and dress however they wanted. Men disliked that the women were able to do anything, and it made them look weak because they could not keep control over their wives and children. I was shocked that Mariam killed Rasheed with a shovel to save Laila. If Mariam wouldn't have hit Rasheed with the shovel twice, he would have killed Laila, Mariam and then Laila's child, Aziza.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was strange that Rasheed would only buy his son Zalami new things, even though they no longer had the money. He would not buy Aziza anything, everything she received was used and very worn out. I could not believe that Rasheed paid Abdul Sharif to lie to Laila about Tariq dying so that she would stay and marry him. The only reason why Laila stayed was because at the time she was pregnant with Tariq's baby, and if she would have left she would have died because the war was going on the next town over.
After reading the book I am Malala, I learned alot about the Pakistani culture. It really shocks me how they actually live. I can't believe how bad their living conditions are. When she tells how women are treated so poorly compared to men, that really shocks me. I always thought that treating women like that was over, but after reading this story I realized that I was totally wrong. I can't believe women have to be covered at all times when men do not have to be. I also think it is crazy that women aren't allowed outside unless they are accompanied by a male relative of any age. Overall the book was very good and I learned a lot of things that I did not know. I am glad I read I am Malala.
ReplyDeleteElie Wiesel's Night was a difficult book to read considering the horror that took place and the fact that it was a real story. Elie told the story through his eyes which was very brutal. Something I reeducated myself with in this book was that theirs always someone who has had it worse, because the Jews were whipped, punished, burned, and staved to death. I believe that this should be a required book for high schools because of its emotional side and for what young people could learn from it.
ReplyDeleteWhat shocked me the most while reading A Long Way Gone was all of the different events that happened throughout the book, it made me think how different other cultures can be. I couldn't believe he got involved with war at such a young age and realized that he was capable of doing the things he's done to others. This book was really interesting to read. A lot of young people could learn about this culture.
ReplyDeleteupon the completion of A Long Way Gone it made me feel shocked about what happends in 3rd world country is very agrresive and i feel safe living in little ole iowa because its safe and secured and alot less corrupt.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very aggressive and scary to think that that is what parts of the country are like and thats how they have to live.
DeleteAfter reading A Long Way Gone it changed how i see the world. That not every country has the order that we have. I was amazed by how crazy and out of control some of the people were. There was so many people running around and killing with no reason and ending with no consequences. It opened my eyes a lot to how well off we are here in the US and how much help other countries could use.
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