- Literature Circle Notes packets are due March 24th. Please complete all 6 pages before submitting this.
- Typed and edited writing assignment #1 due March 25th.
- A number of writing assignments due April 11th, minimum 5, maximum 10. Extra points for early submissions.
- The Underdogs and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich are to be finished March 28th. The Kitchen God's Wife is to be finished April 11th. Open book tests will be taken Friday, March 28th.
All Juniors, please register for the college fair at http://www.techboston.org/batec
8 comments:
This is an example of Written Dialogue
Dear Jesse,
What I read in The Kitchen God's Wife is about Winnie's marriage and how it changed after they are married for a month. It is confusing because Wen Fu is the one who wanted to marry Winnie but he changes after they are married. Wen Fu is different because he is more aggressive to Winnie. Wen Fu is sexually abusive to Winnie by making her stand naked in the hallway until she did what he asked. Wen Fu also told her she was a terrible wife and that she was not like the other women he had been with. Wen Fu also posed as his brother who is dead in order to join the air force. Wen Fu did this because he was not smart enough and they would accept his brother. I think the author made Wen Fu act like this to show how Chinese women were treated. To show that these women had to be loyal to their husbands and do whatever their husbands asked them to do. The rest of the chapter was boring because it only talked about how Winnie and Helen were good friends. The reading was interesting and boring at the same time.
Sincerely,
Luis Olmedo
Danielle Moore 3/18/2008
Reader Response Logs
A Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich
Pages 68-78
In this portion of the book I read about the prisoner’s work ethics throughout the camp. The prison guards used the prisoner’s, or zeks, rations as payment. If the prisoners didn’t work hard and complete the task set before them, they received less food. On the other and if they worked hard and completed their task, they would receive more ounces of bread. Since the zeks, were receiving little and unsatisfying meals already, more bread rations would help them fight off their constant hunger pangs.
Working at the camp was not always easy. The prison was scarce of materials to build with and not all of the tools functioned properly. Shukov’s barrack group, the 104th, had the task of building another barracks for more prisoners to live in. They would have to lay the mortar and cement blocks down in order to create the walls. Before they could even start building the new barracks, the handbarrow that they used to wheel the heavy cement blocks, malfunctioned. This caused the prisoners to have to carry the heavy blocks all the way up the ramp in order to start laying them on the mortar.
I became heavyhearted at how the prisoners had no adequate winter clothing while they were building the building. They were in freezing Russia with no heavy winter jackets and no warm gloves but, their determination and encouraging of each other delighted me. Although it may not have been the most efficient way of encouraging each other, it got the job done. Unwilling to starve because someone else was not working hard enough, the zeks would say “move it, you slob. You think I’m willing to starve because your laziness?” (page 56) paul revere's poem that accompanies the picture of the boston massacre
Dear Ryan
I hope you are doing well and that you’re enjoying the book you’re reading “The Kitchen God’s Wife” I happen to be reading the same book and I’m enjoying it so far. It’s a long book and it will take me sometime to finish it but I try to read as much as I can. I’m on chapter 5 and I find it different from everything ells in the book.
This Chapter starts by telling the readers that Pearl’s mother is having medical problems with her heart, something very new to me and that she always had this pain. I’m sure that Pearl is very worried about her mother and so was I. I hope that she gets better. I’m surprised that they didn’t go to the hospital to check if things were ok.
Pearl was near her mother spending time with her and hoping that she will feels better. Pearl's mother was telling her a story about her life with her mother and how much she loved her. She remembered the last day they spened together and where they went. You can tell her feelings about her mother from the tone she uses and how she describes her mother to be. I felt bad for Pear and her mother because I believe that their relationships was strong and that their love will still go on even though they haven't see each other in a very long time. I think growing up with one parent is very hard for both Pear and her mother, I couldn't imagine how life for them would be and how they would spend their day or what their feelings were.
I'm very exited to find out what’s on the next chapter and how things work out on Pearls world, every chapter is exciting I hope you feel the same way and let me know about how you feel about this book.
Sincerely
Joanis B.
Tia Clayton March 22, 2008
The Kitchen God’s Wife
By: Amy Tan
The Kitchen God’s Wife is a historic novel, by Amy Tan. When I was first introduced to this book, I predicted that it wouldn’t be that interesting. But after I got about halfway through the first chapter, I realized my prediction was wrong. Surprisingly, I think this book is actually quite interesting. This book takes place in China between 1937 and the 1990’s. Even though there’s a big time difference and a difference between cultures, I feel like I can relate to the book in some ways. The character I feel like I can kind of relate to is Pearl. I think I have some similar personality traits to her. The beginning of the book talks about how Pearl is keeping the secret of her having multiple sclerosis from her mother, because she doesn’t want her mother to worry. I can relate to that a lot. If there were something serious like that going on, it would take me a while to tell my family because I wouldn’t want them to worry and get depressed. Pearl’s mother, Winnie, complains to Pearl about a lot of things in the world. Pearl sometimes wants to tell her mother to do something about it and stop complaining. I can also strongly relate to that. I have a few family members who complain about a lot of things and don’t take actions upon it. And sometimes I want to tell them, but I decide not to because I don’t want to come off as rude and insensitive. So I really do think I will find a lot more similarities through out the rest of the book. And I think other people will find themselves relating to this book as well!
Interactive Reading
Possible Topics
- Conditions in the work camps
- Why soldiers were sent to the work camps
- Everyday challenges in the work camps
- How the soldiers kept themselves motivated to get through the day
- Secret techniques soldiers used to get through the day easier
Topic
- Everyday challenges in the work camps
Questions
- Where the soldiers mistreated? If yes how were they mistreated?
- How was the food in the work camps?
- Why where soldiers sentenced to work camps?
- What was the weather like in the work camps?
- How did the guards keep the inmates under control?
- Did the inmates obey the guards?
- Did the inmates get a chance to talk to their loved ones or friends? If so how many times a day, week, month, year?
- Did the inmates use some sort of technique to make their stay at the work camp easier?
Every soldier in the work camp faced a different challenge. All the soldiers worked in the cold doing hard labor and were listening to their squad leader’s orders. The guards had a unique way of keeping the inmates in order. Every inmate in the work camp was part of a group which had a squad leader. It was the squad leader’s job to make sure that all the inmates did their assigned task and did it right. The squad leader will then write a report, this report will determine how much food the squad leader’s group will receive. If no work is done the squad will not receive any food. This was a smart technique because since all of the soldiers were hungry they will work extremely hard and get the job done so that they can receive food.
The inmates were allowed to talk to their loved ones and friends twice a year. The guards didn’t want the inmates to know what was going on outside of the camp walls. The weather in the camp was unbelievably cold. The inmates will have to work outside in the freezing cold with not much clothes on to receive food. Different Inmates had different techniques of survival in the camp. One inmate would only walk in front of mean guards in a group so that they can be well hidden and not noticeable. Another inmate would hide a spoon in his boot so that he can have something to eat his food with.
The soldiers that were sent to the work camps were sent for various crimes. One soldier was sent to the work camp simply for stealing some food for himself and his family. Another soldier was sent to the work camp for treason.
In conclusion, I believe that the soldiers were mistreated, but the conditions could have been worst. The inmates discuss other work camps were the soldiers would be tortured and treated a lot worst then the work camp they were currently in.
Dimitri Margetis
In the novel, The Kitchen God's wife i developed different perspectives of the characters and the plot of the book. To be honest, I thought this book was going to be so boring but it's the antithesis. I found myself reading the book every night. I really can't wait until the end of the book to find out what happens. Is Helen really going to die? Did Wen Fu really die? How is pearl going to feel when her mother tells her that Wen Fu is her biological father? All these questions motivate you to keep reading and not stop. Many emotions were running through my head. One of my emotions is feeling bad for Winnie when she was humiliated because of her ex husband and the way he use to treat her. I also felt angry with Wen Fu for his character. He is my least favorite character because of his attitude and because he was cold hearted. I found it bizarre how he made Winnie do all kinds of inappropriate things. Is very disturbing.One of them was when Wen Fu took off Winnie's nightgown and put her in the hall way naked and he had locked the door to their room so she wont be able to go back in unless she said the words he was commanding her to say.Winnie was scared that somebody would pass by and see her naked. Even though Winnie talks a lot about her past sometimes it upsets me because she doesn't go straight to the point. She makes sure she tells Pearl everything that happened. I feel anxious to hurry up and get through that part and skip to the more interesting settings. I know she is trying to make Pearl understand by telling her everything from start to end but it gets annoying because I want to get past that.
Sincerely,
Ana Fortin*
THE BOOK I AM READING IS THE KITHEN GOD'S WIFE. THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY AMY TAN. BEFORE I STARTED READING THE BOOK THE FIRST THING THAT WENT THROUGH MY MIND WAS THAT I IMAGENED THAT THE BOOK WOULD BE BORING AND THAT THE BOOK WOULD NOT BE SOMETHING I WOULD WANT TO READ BUT AS I READ ON AND ON THE BOOK JUST KEPT GETTING MORE INTERESTING AND NOW LET ME EXPAIN A LITTLE ABOUT WHATS GOING ON IN THE BOOK. THE BOOK IS ABOUT A GIRL NAMED PEARL AND HER MOM WINNIE AND PEARL HAS MS AND SHE IS NOT TELLING HER MOM BECAUSE SHE DOESNT WANT HER MOM FREAKING OUT ABOUT IT AND HER MOM I GUESS FROM WHAT I HAVE READ WAS THAT HER MOM KNOWS AND IS TRYING TO GET HER TO ADMIT IT BUT PEARL IS NOT COMING OUT WITH IT. SO WINNIE DECIDES TO TELL PEARL STORIES ABOUT HER AND HER MOM WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL HER WINNIE EXPLIANED HOW HER MOTHER WAS IN A REALLY BAD RELATIONSHIP AND WHAT WINNIE AND WINNIE MOM HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT THEY WERE BOTH IN A BAD RELATIONSHIP. THE THING ABOUT PEARL AND WINNIE IS THAT THEY DONT ALWAYS GET ALONG. THIS BOOK IS GETTING REALLY INTERTESTING AND I CANT WAIT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE END.
I chose Demetrio from the book The Underdogs. I chose Demetrio because he was the main character and he was the most interesting Demetrio was aggressive towards soldiers in all situations because he was not fond of them. Pancho Villa’s army is trying to start a revolution in Mexico and that would hurt The Underdogs. This is why Demetrio fights and kills all of the soldiers he encounters. Demetrio believes in saving a leading The Underdogs from the revolution before it happens so that something horrible doesn’t happen. Demetrio is motivated by the hate he has towards the soldiers and leading The Underdogs to victory. I think that the first most important thing to Demetrio would be Camilla. Demetrio doesn’t really change towards the end he was honorable and brave throughout the whole book. Demetrio has a great relationship with the Underdogs because they look out for each other. He also builds a relationship with Luis Cervantes after he helps Demetrio heal.
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