Sarah's Key (Blog #3)

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay reveals connections that occurred between Julia Jarmond, a journalist from Boston, and Sarah Starzynski, a young girl who was torn away from her brother during the Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup.

Julia has lived in France for many years. She is married to Bertrand, and has a daughter named Zoë. She works for a man named Joshua as a journalist for a magazine written for Americans in France. Aside from her bothersome coworker, Alessandra, she enjoys her job and working for Joshua. Her latest assignment is to write an article informing readers about the events of the Vel d’Hiv roundup. She is both excited and nervous to be writing about a subject that she has barely heard of. Life at home is very different than her career. Bertrand, her husband, is very charming and loving, but lately she has been noticing a different side of him that she has never seen before. He is arrogant, and treats her with disrespect. He cares more about his new architecture project than he does about his own wife. Julia is both upset and confused with her husband’s recent actions.

Sarah, a 10-year-old girl who has lived in Paris her entire life, is beginning to notice the dangers of being a Jew in the 1940’s. Early one morning, when the sun wasn’t up yet, two men pounded on her door. “Open up!” they yelled. She made her way to her mother’s bedroom, and as Sarah explained what was happening, her appearance instantly transformed from groggy to alert, her face pale with fear. “Open up! It’s the police!” they screamed, once again. The two men were both French police, who escorted them to a bus. They were then taken to the Vélodrome d'Hiver, close to the Eiffel Tower. The conditions were terrible: extreme heat, no bathrooms, and very little very water and food. Sarah is very naïve, and she had no idea what to expect.

I am curious to see how these two characters will connect throughout the story, and to see what characteristics they have in common.

Night by Elie Wiesel

In class today, we read an excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel. This bleak story about the suffering that the Jews went through on the long train ride to Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Poland. We do not know who the narrator is, but he or she was very annoyed with a woman named Mrs. Schächter. The other people on the train were aggravated as well, and everyone thought that she was hallucinating. Some of the passengers even hit her, and "gagged" her. She claimed to be seeing huge flames somewhere in the distance. Why is it that she was the only one who could see the fire?

After many, many days of very little food and intolerable heat in a cramped setting, the Jews were finally let off of the train. They had arrived Auschwitz II - Birkenau, the extermination camp. Mrs. Schächter was right, there were massive flames coming out from the top of a tall chimney. The bright glow of the orange flames were in high contrast with the darkness of the night sky. "In front of us, those flames. In the air, the smell of burning flesh." We can infer from the text that the Jews were going to be burned in the fire. And although everyone thought that Mrs. Schächter was mentally ill (and she was), at least she gave them a bit of a "heads up". Was Mrs. Schächter able to see the future? How could she tell that they were going to be killed in the fire? And why didn't anyone else believe her? There are so many questions left unanswered from this excerpt.

Annexed #1

For our first book club of eighth grade, I am reading Annexed by Sharon Dogar. This compelling story about the boy who loved Anne Frank definitely grabbed my attention.

So far, the author has only introduced us to one main character, Peter Van Pels, who is also the narrator of the story. As Anne says, he is a "lovesick puppy". He is heartbroken when Liese, his girlfriend, is taken away by the Nazi's. Peter is forced to stay in hiding with the Franks, whom he believes are loud and obnoxious. He sees Anne as egotistical, along with the rest of her family. Being in a cramped annex for weeks, months, or maybe years is the last thing he would want to do. We can infer from the story that he is very unhappy, but soon the relationship between the Van Pels's and the Franks will get better.

Currently in the story, Anne is not yet a significant character. She is the overly confident thirteen-year-old girl who Peter sees as annoying and dislikable. Anne is whiny and very clumsy. She is nothing compared to Peter's love, Liese. She is younger, thinner, louder, and not nearly as kind. Will he ever be able to get over her?

As I have already read The Diary of Anne Frank , I know a lot more about their secret annex than the book has told us so far. The air is stale, and there is not much space. Peter's "room" is connected to the kitchen, and basically a hallway to the attic. The windows are covered in dark fabric, and the door is disguised as a bookcase. Miep, Bep, Mr. Kugler, and Mr. Kleiman are their only source to the outside world. They buy food, newspapers, books, and anything else they need.

Peter and Anne have yet to stop arguing. How much longer will it be until they can agree on something?!