Blog #2 - Annexed

So far in the book, Peter is getting a realization of what life is going to be like stuck in the Annex. In the beginning of the story, Peter couldn’t stand Anne at all, but slowly he’s coming to realize that Anne, isn’t all that bad. They even dressed up and did a skit for their families to liven up their moods. Peter no longer thinks of Anne, as a clumsy know it all, 13 year old girl like he did when they first met, but more or less a friend. Even though I know how this is going to end, I think mostly anyone can infer that Peter and Anne will become even closer than they are now. Also, you can infer that them and their families are eventually going to get caught and sent to a concentration camp. Although no one mentions or talks about how they will be caught, they never talk about having a bright future and how excited they will be when they get out of the Annex. Even though they don’t talk about it much, you can infer that they are always thinking about it in the back of their minds. I think they are trying to pretend that it isn’t going to happen until the moment comes. Even though I think they know they are going to get caught, do they really? Do they ever think of their future beyond the walls of the Annex? Happy or dreadful?

Night by Elie Wiesel

Today in class, we read a passage from the book Night, by Elie Wiesel. It was about a person traveling in a freight train that was eventually going to Auschwitz, Poland. The freight car was dark and cramped, making it almost unbearable for the many people that were stuffed in the freight car to survive. Everyone who was in the car didn’t have the right qualities to work in labor camps, so they were being sent to concentration camps to die. Mostly everyone in the freight car were silent because of the lack of water, making the thirst become ‘intolerable.’ We do not know who the narrator of the book is, but they and everyone else in the car were clearly very irritated with one woman named, Mrs. Schächter.

Throughout the passage, Mrs. Schächter often yelled of ‘fire’ and ‘flames’. At first, people are worried about her and wonder if she is okay, but eventually they get very annoyed. At one point, some of the men gagged and strike Mrs. Schächter to make her stop screaming. Even before the narrator says that they think why Mrs. Schächter is yelling, you can infer why even before. In the very beginning of the passage, the person described how much everyone longed for a glass of water and how ‘intolerable’ their longing was. Similar to needing water, the feeling of having the flames of fire lick onto your skin, burning you, making you scream out in agony can make you have an ‘intolerable’ type of feeling. Even though you can infer things, it doesn’t mean they’re necessarily correct. Was Mrs. Schächter really that that thirsty, or was it that she could see into the future and knew that people would be burned to death lter? Or was just an old lady who lost her mind? Although, there are some topics that you truly don’t know if the inference is correct or not, you can make a very clear inference of what the rest of the story is going to be about.

Blog #1 - Annexed

In the beginning of Annexed, the main character, Peter, is making the most of the last few hours he has left outside in the fresh air. Later that day, Peter knows that he will have to go to the Annex to hide from Nazis’ who are trying to capture him and his family. While walking to his girlfriend, Liese’s house, he can only watch when he sees her and her family escaping from officers. Eventually sometime after watching Liese’s escape, Peter makes his way to the Annex where he will spend the next two years in mostly silence, never being able to feel the warmth of the sunlight or a shiver from a cool breeze.

The protagonist and narrator in Annexed is a Jewish 15 year old, Peter van Pels. He recently moved into the Annex with his family and another Jewish family, the Franks, to hide from the Nazis’. For the first few days, all Peter does is sleep, sulk, and think about Liese. Peter isn’t happy that he has to stay in the Annex with the Franks, and especially can’t stand their daughter Anne. Anne is the type of person who isn’t afraid to speak her mind no matter what she’s thinking of. Living with an overly confident Anne, drives Peter insane; she never has something kind to say to him. Whenever she speaks to him, it's either her being rude or indignant.

A problem in the story is that Peter, his family, and the Frank family have to hide in the Annex to try and keep hidden from the Nazis. Peter wishes that his life could be like before, not having to worry every second of the day if someone will capture and take him to a Death Camp. Also, Anne doesn’t help living in the Annex any better for Peter. It seems that everything Anne does, irritates Peter some how. Since living in the Annex allowed Peter to have more free time to think, the only thing he thinks about is Liese. He thinks about her all the time and knows that he probably would ever be able to see her again.