‘The Book Thief’, written by Markus Zusak is a novel set in Nazi Germany that demonstrates the hardships, danger and threatening experiences faced by the German families and Jews during that time in comparison to the rewards obtained due to such experiences and how they compare in relation to each other. Liesel Meminger, the main character experiences death and loss for the first time when her father is ‘taken away’ as an alleged communist. These experiences become more common as Liesel, with ‘One eye open, one still in a dream’ witnesses her brother Werner’s death on a train to Molching. Liesel’s mother cannot financially support and provide for her and therefor makes the difficult decision to place Liesel into the care of Rosa and Hans Huberman. Liesel’s initial reluctance to accept her new home is stimulated by the reoccurring nightmares which she endures. ‘She would wake up swimming in her…
The citizens of Leningrad during German’s siege of the city suffered through horrors that left them and their country forever scarred. Somewhere between the opulent officials of the Red Army and the cannibals roaming the streets of Piter were citizens like Lev and Kolya, one a Jewish looter and the other an Aryan deserter. After meeting in a prison cell they are tasked to collect a dozen eggs in exchange for their lives. David Benioff’s City of Thieves is a case study of their unlikely relationship which uses the inhumanities of a besieged Leningrad as a backdrop. The humor employed by the two protagonists as well as their ever-improving relationship is used by Benioff to contrast with the bleak setting in which the book takes place.…
The story opens with a monotone, disinterested description of the conditions of the execution. Technical language and military jargon are used to present simple facts. While giving readers a steady, unbiased view of the day, this section fails to present the emotional drama of the scene. The narrator presents an average perception of time, where conditions fail to provide reason for…
There is a simile on line 11: “who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter”…
The camp to be evacuated mainly because Russians are almost there to rescue them and they can heard that the cannon and gun’s sounds from the combat. For the fate of those-who stayed behind in the hospital, they were liberated by Russians in two…
Packed into cattle trains, the Jews are tortured in unbearable conditions. There is barley any air for them to breath, extreme heat, very little food or water, and they are all packed. It is almost as if they are in a survival mode. In their desperation, they lose their hope in the government and their hope in people. They stop denying what is in front of them and they begin to accept and understand what might actually happen. After days of the brutal conditions, the train arrives at the Czechoslovakian Border. They then realize that they are not being relocated. Soon a German officer opens the train and says if they don't hand over their valuables then they will be shot and if there are not 80 of them, then all will be killed. This was another realization of how this situation is really bad.…
Everyone has experienced the highs and lows of not knowing what’s going to happen next. Ray Bradbury, the author of The Veldt, focused deeply on suspense to make a more unified story. Suspense occurs in numerous occasions, like a slap in the face. Some people say that suspense is not necessary to create a creative story. Though it’s not necessary, suspense is a key to a more advanced description. No description is equivalent to no story. Description acts as the glue to meld everything together cohesively. These crafts are the base to writing The Veldt.…
This technique is used to make the audience question the natural brutality of the soldiers. The inconsistency of the disorganised group of captives provides a sharp contrast between the two opposing forces, creating a clear image in the audience’s mind of victim and attacker. Time is an important aspect of “The Third of May” similarly to “Run Lola Run”. The progress of time is evident in the procession of the damned, the central figure about to he shot and the corpse of the man in a pool of red blood.…
In the novel “generals die in bed” the boys who go to fight face many challenges and hard times, they learn who to be wary of and who their real enemies are. Whist living in the trenches the soldiers go through a lot pain and suffering which isn’t inflicted by the Germans or there allies but instead, mother nature and its many forces joined with their own imagination, their own thinking and, in some circumstances, their fellow soldiers.…
The opening paragraph gives a vivid description of situation as would physically been seen, and gives a brief description of the setting, Also the setting contribute by being the critical component for assisting the story. The place the “sniper” takes place is in a city called Dublin, the sniper post himself on a rooftop near to the four courts building and O’Connell bridge. The time is nightfall in June. “The long June twilight faded into night. Dublin lay…
With increasing frequency the guerillas (the independent military who fights the government military) and soldiers engage in battle at night, regardless of the people who live all around. The homes are damaged by gunfire and mortar and many of the town’s people are killed.…
Abelard rushed in with a wooden bat, with the most frightened look on his face. He told us to get in the corner behind a small closet door, but by the time my little sister had made it, it was too late.The dreaded German soldiers had already barged into the room. They grabbed Abelard, and he had a look of defeat on his face. They shot both my mother and father. I fell, my heart feeling like an elephant was on top of it. One of the soldiers came and hit me with his gun. I remember seeing Abelard jump out of the soldiers grip trying to block them from shooting my little sister, so they shot him.…
The rumbling of empty stomachs filled the silent air, invading the little space we had. Trying to take my mind off my thoughts, I focused on seeing my family again, wondering whether they managed to escape. I had heard stories of what had happened to captured Jews in Germany, but that's all I thought they were. Stories. A vision of a nightmare, fuelled by fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, judging from the events of today, they seemed all too true. Suddenly, a whistle blasted, and the train lurched forward. Terror shot through my veins as we left Szczebrzeszyn, heading towards our inevitable future. My bottom lip quivered as I stood gazing into the darkness, unable to prevent the tears that dripped down my face. I stayed to myself throughout the journey, as did everyone else. The amount of oxygen in the air made me feel light-headed, as we continued to stand, crowded together like cattle. Days passed before we finally arrived. The journey was mostly a blur. I hadn't eaten or drunken since stepping into the boxcar, and I knew I would die if I went a few more days without water. The only thing that had kept me going was the thought of seeing my family…
Given that young people today are constantly bombarded with images and reports from the media of the horrific things going on in the world, it is oftentimes helpful to them to be able to put things into a context with which they can identify. By reading an account of a child like themselves and seeing through her eyes how these unimaginable horrors affect her so directly and so terribly, it makes the realities of war more real to them than any far-away news broadcast ever could. On the flip side of the coin, however, this book is not for every 9 to 13-year-old reader, and adults should take care to know the children to whom they recommend this book. Sensitive youngsters would undoubtedly find the graphic depictions of both the bandits…
2. The first dream in the book tells a story of a brand new officer given a chance to have an independent command. His only guidance was to protect Duffers drift. This officer, Swinton, had no battle experience and only knew defensive measures from reading historical documents on the Battle of Bulls Run, Waterloo and Sedan. The first day, Swinton, his NCO’s, and soldiers did nothing to shield themselves from the enemy. They pitched tents, had bonfires, and even allowed farmers to walk around, talk, and sell goods on their camp. Needless to say, the operating base was never concealed and the troops advertised their positions freely. Their main source of communications from their sentries was for them to yell every thirty minutes back to camp to say they were good. This gave away all guard posts. All the soldiers not on duty fell asleep. They were awakened by gun fire and then enemy surrounding their camp with the farmer being a part of the crew ambushing them. The surviving soldiers to include Swinton were hauled off by the Boer enemy and stripped of…