THURSDAY'S LEADERS MAY USE THE BEGINNING OF CLASS TO START THEIR SYLLABUS.
1. Warming up with Oskar's inventions:
(a) Make a journal entry on YOUR PERSONAL BLOG to generate a list Oskar's inventions.
Pages I found with Oskar's inventions (I may have missed a few):
1, 3, 35, 38, 72, 73-4, 217-223 (the "Sixth Borough is really Oskar's dad's invention, but it works), 235, 250, 258-9
Oskar tells the renter, "I want to stop inventing. If I could know how he died, exactly how he died, I wouldn't have to invent him dying inside an elevator that was stuck between floors, which happened to some people, and I wouldn't have to imagine him trying to crawl down the outside of the building, which I saw a video of one person doing on a Polish site, or trying to use a tablecloth as a parachute, like some of the people who were in Windows on the World actually did. There were so many different ways to die, and I just need to know which was his"
(Foer 257).
(b) According to Oskar's statement above, why has Oskar been inventing? Why does he want to stop?
(c) Pick two or three of Oskar's inventions that interest you. How do they relate to your answer to question (b)?
2. Taking a musical stroll with your blogging buddies:
- Read what they wrote and say hello.
- Ask a Level 1, 2 or 3 question about something they wrote (something you'd genuinely like answered).
AND/OR
- Offer a meaningful reflection on something they wrote.
3. Enjoying ELIC Fishbowl #5: Pages 207-259
HW:
1. For WEDNESDAY: Read the first 15-ish pages of this week's reading assignment in ELIC. Since we don't have class tomorrow, you will not have that in-class reading time.
2. For THURSDAY: Read through page 306 and complete your next journal entry. Thursday's leaders should prepare and post their sylabus.
No vocabulary or grammar this week.
HW:
1. For WEDNESDAY: Read the first 15-ish pages of this week's reading assignment in ELIC. Since we don't have class tomorrow, you will not have that in-class reading time.
2. For THURSDAY: Read through page 306 and complete your next journal entry. Thursday's leaders should prepare and post their sylabus.
No vocabulary or grammar this week.
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ReplyDeleteHow long do you think Thomas has been staying with grandma?
ReplyDeleteI think that he has been staying with her for a long time but she does not want to tell anyone because she is afraid that he is going to leave her again so she doesn't want Oskar to get hurt by that.
DeleteI believe he came back after the sons funeral.
DeleteWhy does Oskars dad circle, in red, in the first part of the section?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the first part is circled because he doesn't believe he is his child or that he has a right to call him "my child"
DeleteIt looks like he's proofreading the letter because he corrects all of the errors.
DeleteI think that he circled it because he is his child and he wants to know who his dad is and who wrote this letter to him. And all of the red marks are clues to where he could maybe find his father or to the whole scavenger hunt that he sent his son on.
DeleteI feel that this letter is very hard for him to read and comprehend. He may be circling words that impact him but pretending to proof read it so it doesn't affect him as badly.
DeleteI think Thomas was extremely surprised reading a letter of so much meaning. A way to cope with that would to annotate and, in a way, get his mind off the bad from the letter.
Deletewas Thomas's letter written to Oscars dad or Annas unborn child?
ReplyDeleteI think that Thomas is talking to Thomas because at the beginning of the chapter it says,"To my child"(208). This shows that before he was writing to a child that he was never going to have but now he is writing to the child that he knows he is going to have which is Oscars dad.
DeleteI think that it was written to Anna's unborn child because that is the child that he really wanted and he may still think that Anna is out there and had her child and that the child will someday find their dad.
DeleteI think it was written to Anna's unborn child but also connects back to the Thomas from Oskar's grandma. In both situations he never met or got to know his kids.
DeleteI think that it was to Thomas jr because he mentions "your aunt" in his chapter and before that he was talking about Anna. Also he never found Anna so why would he write it to the son he's probably never going to see?
DeleteI think that Thomas(grandfather) is confused who the letter is addressed to. The letter itself is addressed to "my child despite later contradicting himself in the letter. "I was looked for my family and for Anna and for you"(214). At the time of the Dresden bombing Thomas(Oskar's Dad) didn't exist.
Delete"It was true, I didn't want to make it bad. I wanted to take the sad song and make it better. It's just that I didn't know how"(Foer 207).
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Oskar is finally realizing that his outlook on life is very negative?
Do you think he will change his ways because he "doesn't want to make it bad" anymore?
I feel like his outlook on his life is not bad but he doesn't know where its going now. he had a thought in mind but now he is changing his thought and now he is thinking differently about his perspective about life and how he should live it.
DeleteI just feel like Oskar is confused but not necessarily negative.
DeleteOn page 225, Oskar says "I wouldn't ruin the rug. That's who I am." What does he mean by "That's who I am"?
ReplyDeleteit is showing that he is a kind person and wouldn't damage things that aren't his
Delete"Because what was so inspiring about the leap was not how the jumer got from one borough to the other, but how he stayed between them for so long" (Foer 218). What does the area between the 2 boroughs represent?
ReplyDeleteThe area between the 2 boroughs could possibly be the 6th borough that they were talking about
DeleteI think that this could represent a lot in the book. When people jump there are seconds of silence of everyone watching. Just like when it was 9/11 it was silent in New York for days because of the shock that everyone experienced.
DeleteElla Slater- What do you think is the true meaning behind the title of Thomas's chapters, "Why I'm not where you are". Why do you think all his chapters are titled this?
ReplyDeleteI feel like all his chapters are written with this chapter because maybe it is showing us that he really doesn't want to be where we are but he still loves everyone and he is trying to explain his life story on why he isn't there.
DeleteOn page 215 is says ""life is scarier than death." I took the future home from my pocket and gave it to her, I kissed her, I kissed her stomach, that was the last time I ever saw her." I feel this is part of the reason why the chapter is called "why I'm not where you are", because he can't get Anna and his "real child" out of his head. I think Thomas would rather be dead then living with all that he has lost
DeleteI think Thomas hold a lot of guilt and regret for having kids but never actually caring for them or raising them. This in a way, helps him express what his feelings were about the situation he caused and never handled.
DeleteWhat does the grandmother have to lose if she tells Oskar the renter his is his grandfather?
ReplyDeleteI dont think she would have anything to lose necissarily.
DeleteOn page 246, what does this image represent? Could it represent the blurriness in Oskar's life about his missing and unknown family?
ReplyDeleteWhy does the grandpa only come back after there has been a tragedy?
ReplyDeleteHe might have come back afterwards because since his child had died he wouldn't have to experience the guilt of abondoning him when he was not even born.
DeleteMaybe the tragedy opened his mind a little or made him realize something he's maybe been putting off in his head.
DeleteHow do you think the grandpa feels about loosing both of his kids in two different tragedy?
ReplyDeleteIt is probably a horrible situation and he might be depressed because he grew up in a hard time and survived but his kids grew up in somewhat nicer times and they died. it has to be hard on him
DeleteI think that grandpa knew how it felt to be by yourself during a time like this so he may have decided to come back to comfort grandma.
DeleteIs the sixth borough a real thing or just has a deeper meaning.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that grandpa came back because the child that they were not suppose to have is now dead?
ReplyDeleteOn page 225, the grandma states “The ring Thomas told me he didn’t need.” What could this be referring to?
ReplyDeleteOn page 226, As Oskar’s mom is on the phone with Grandma on her way home, she tells her for the first time that she loves her. After Thomas’s death, did Grandma and the moms bond become stronger and if so how strong?
On page 226, Grandma searches through Oskar’s dads tuxedo pocket and felt Thomas Schells hand. She wondered if Oskar will have those hands. What makes this important to the story and will this play a bigger role?
On page 228, Oskar’s mom comes home and gave Oskar a big fierce hug, Grandma stated “That I wanted to protect you from her.” Why would Oskar’s grandma want to protect Oskar from his mom giving him a hug?
On page 229, After Oskar’s mom comes home she calls grandma “mom” for the first time. What causes Oskar’s mom to do that?
On page 233, The day of Grandmas son’s funeral she had gotten a letter from Thomas Schell after 40 years of nothing. It stated “Im sorry.” Out of everything Thomas is sorry for what is he sorry for? Is it Thomas’s death, leaving her, never writing?