The Book Thief- Blog 3

See Voltaire's blog.

The Book Thief Blog #2- In response to Oedipus

I completely agree. The amazing imagery and descriptions used throughout the book gave it a much stronger meaning. If it was not for these, the book would just be another normal book about World War Two, and I probably would not have enjoyed it nearly as much as I did. One part in the book that I thought used great imagery was when Liesel entered the mayor's library for the first time. Phrases like"the two words stood among acres and acres of vacant, wooden-floored land. The books were miles away" and "She ran the back of her hand along the first shelf, listening to the shuffle of her fingernails gliding across the spinal cord of each book. It sounded like an instrument, or the notes of running feet" give the reader an understanding of not just what this room looked and felt like, but what it represented to Liesel. To her, it was a room of beauty and magic in such a dark and depressing world, and a kind of escape from everything. With all of the amazing imagery used, the reader can start to understand Liesel's love for the books and the library, what attracts her to it, and what brings her back to it again and again.

The Book Thief blog

One of my favorite parts in the book, and also a significant one, is when Hans Huberman gives the Jew walking to Dachau the piece of bread. The passage is extremely helpful in the character development of Hans, and gives the reader a much deeper understanding of his personality. Throughout the book, the reader can see that Hans is a selfless, caring, and patient person through actions like taking in Liesel, teaching her to read, hiding Max, painting neighbors' blinds for free, and many other examples throughout the entire book. With all of these other examples, giving the Jew the bread is important because he does it even through he knows others are watching and will not approve. He also most likely knows in the back of his mind that the soldiers will harm him, and other citizens will call him a "Jew lover" but he does it anyway, which shows his selflessness. Although Hans is a particularly likeable character, this passage also shows the reader he does not always think through his actions before he does them. Giving the Jew the bread means Max has to leave since Hans believes the Nazis will come to search his house. At the end of the chapter, Han's regret about giving the Jew bread is obvious. This passage is also an example of the tremendously hard decisions people like Hans had to make during this time period. He could not just stand there and watch the Jew in the "parade" suffer, but giving him the bread meant Max had to leave. No matter what they chose, they could not win in a place as dark as Nazi Germany.

Modern Art Analysis

Nature Morte Vivante (Still Life-Fast Moving) by Salvador Dali (click on painting to see the whole thing... for some reason it only shows half on here)

1. Things I see in the painting
a. A geometric pattern on the right hand side of the table that draws attention.
b. Many different textures in the water, tablecloth, and back wall.
c. Lots of different foods, plates, and other things that would normally be seen on a table setting, except shown in a completely different way.
d. Movement shown or portrayed within the still painting
e. Bright color and light on one side of the painting and darker colors on the other side.
f. Realistically painted aspects, like the hand and tablecloth that look like it could be a photograph, combined in a way that makes the painting surreal and unrealistic.

2.
Lines: Almost all of the lines Dali uses in this painting are straight, except for in a few distinct elements of the painting, like the platters or the apple. This creates a very geometric looking design. Also, many of the lines are vertical or horizontal, so the elements of the painting that are drawn at a diagonal draw attention, like the knife and the motion of the apple.
Color: The colors used in this painting are primaries on the left with the blue and yellow dominating that side, and secondaries, like the orange, on the right.
I think the colors in the painting kind of clash. The dark, dull, colors on the right contrast against the bright blues and yellows of the left.
The orange color on the right hand side of the painting definitely draws the eye in. Also, the brightness of the blue contrasting against the darkness of the rest of the painting is another eye catching color.
Shapes: The painter uses many geometric shapes as the base of the painting. The large table in front is one, and it is also decorated with eye catching shapes. The long, yellow strip (rectangle) of yellow down the middle creates two separate areas.
Space: The artist makes it look like the setting is on some sort of balcony by putting in the railing, and it seems like the balcony would be very small and crammed with not much room for the viewer to enter. However, the water on the left hand side of the painting creates dimension.
Lighting: It seems like the light source of this painting is in the upper left hand corner based on the shadows of the objects, like the knife. This would make sense, since that area of the painting would be where the sunlight would be coming from. The shadows that the lighting create do contribute to the mood of the piece.
Composition: The artist makes the painting look right by painting many of the objects realistically, but placing them in a way that makes it interesting and surreal. The movement he displays creates intrest, and the blue water on the left provides a little break from the rest of the painting which is hectic and busy.

Mood: The mood I felt when looking at this painting was hectic, busy, and confusing. Many things seemed out of place, or not as they should be. They were levetating in the air and moving around, instead of sitting plainly on the table, like what would happen in real life which made it surreal. The movement created the hectic mood since there was so much of it. Wherever I looked, the movement directed my eye to another area of the painting. This reminds me of how the painting relates to the Age of Anxiety.. Things were hectic for people, and things were not as they used to be, or not as they should be, like the many items floating in the air instead of sitting normally like they "should be".

Artist: Botticelli
Name of Painting: Return of Judith to Bethulia
Created in: 1472

Marc Antony

Marc Antony was Julius Caesar's righthand man when he was alive. He was very devoted to Caesar and because of that some of the conspirators thought he should be assassinated at the same time at Caesar. However, Brutus convinced them not to, because he believed Antony was "no more than Caesar's arm when Caesar's head is off" (II.i.182). As it turns out, Antony's goal after Caesar is killed is to avenge his death and he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Antony has good morals throughout the play, but does some conniving to get what he wants. Antony convienced the conspirators to let him speak at Caesar's funeral and he used it to his absolute advantage. He took a crowd of citizens that completely believed in Brutus and made them want to kill Brutus. Before Antony speaks the citizens say things like,"Brutus! live, live!" and "Let [Brutus] be Caesar" (III.ii.46-51). After his speech, they say, "Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!" (III.iii.208-209). Antony now has the people of Rome on his side 100%. He then forms the Second Triumvirate with Octavius and Lepidus and they fight and defend against Brutus, Cessius and the other conspirators to win control over Rome. Antony changes from being just Caesar's righthand man at the beginning of the play that no one really believes in to one of the most powerful, brave, clever, and convincing men in Rome at the end.

Marc Antony was a very interesting character to me because of his dramatic change throughout the play. I thought it was amazing how powerful and convincing he became when nobody besides a few of the conspirators believed in him at the beginning and just thought he was a guy that liked to have a good time. He proved them all wrong, which I liked. He also was a very good friend to Caesar in deciding to risk as much as he did to avenge Caesar's death.

A modern day person that I think relates to Marc Antony is Barack Obama. The first similarity is Antony did not have very much experience coming in to the play or many people who strongly believed in him. At first, Obama did not either. Both of them, however, gained many supporters throughout their play (Antony) or campaign (Obama). Secondly, both men are great, persuasive speakers that can get a crowd on their side very easily. A source that shows both of these things is: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/personoftheyear

The Allegory of the Cave

1. The "shadows" Plato would tell us we cannot trust as truth are the illusions or things in our lives and worlds that are not completely true or not all there. In "The Allegory," the people in the cave believe that the shadows are reality, when we know that they are not. A shadow we encounter in our everday lives are people who pretend to be someone they are not. They may cast a "shadow" or put on a mask to impress people or fit in with a certain crowd. Another example is Hollywood, celebrities, and tabloids. They portray lifestyles and attitudes that are not real; they are just illusions. Some people strive to be like these celebrities, but they do not have a realistic lifestyle.

2. An online source that portrays "shadows" is http://www.realitytvworld.com/. Reality shows are huge illusions or shadows in our world. The truth is, nothing in these shows is actually real despite statements from the producers that say they are. It is all dramatized and played up to catch people's interest. An example of a show like this is "Jon and Kate Plus 8". The show is filled with unrealistic drama, and people may think they know what goes on in the family's real life by watching the show, but they do not. All they know are the "shadows" this show and others like it portray.

3. Shadows impact society in the way they trick people into believing things that are untrue. When we see these "shadows" in places like television, the news, or politics it can be hard to see the truth. Believing the lies could be dangerous, and we need to analyze the information we are given to see what we can believe, and what is just a shadow. An example of this is when young girls look at fake, airbrushed models in magazines and try to be like them. It is impossible, and they can harm their health and self-esteem tremendously.