Laurents’ English Blog

Symbolism

We want our audience to leave this memorial with the idea that, as Ann is positioned, that she represents the humanity in all of us, and the horror and marvels humans are capable of. The contrast, from the deafening tracks to hell and the infernal moaning of pain, to Ann. Simply Ann. She represents the light, and hope struggling to shine within this dark and terrifying time. My group’s intentions are that Ann’s diary will spread the voice of so many others that suffered. A light from the dome will spotlight Ann’ desk, (diary). This represents the hope and nature as we will have birds chirping from that opening. The chimneys will also play a big role in the symbolism. On the Concentration camp side, a chimney will be located near the center, a black fearful and miserable one. On the opposite side, the chimney will be centered, (like the other), and be bursting with light and made of red warm bricks, (and bring out the family atmosphere.)  A railroad track will circle the desk, to guide the audience around. This track will symbolize the painful journey the Jews were forced to take, only to lead them to their deaths. One side of the wall will be packed with the most meaningful quotes my team and I could find, while the other side will be loaded with the ugly and true facts about the Holocaust. Simultaneously, a PowerPoint will be centered on Ann’s personal life and siblings. This will probably the only piece of technology used, but it will repeat over and over, smoothly. In the alley, one wall will be illustrated with handprints, desperate to leave, and the other, (separated by the showers), will demonstrate a happy warm family. The most powerful symbol within this memorial is most likely to be the diary. Although it is small and innocent, it is at the same time the simplicity of the diary that spreads the power. I truly hope this is the way Ann would have liked her memorial to be, as she grew from her self-centered, princes-like character, to the most supporting and meaningful figure that stood out, shined amongst all others to bring peace to the way she conceived the world. Unfortunately, terror again reins our world, but maybe, another light will shine.

Pictures of our project:

Annes desk that is in the memorial.

This is the railway tracks that people walk on in the memorial.

One of the walls in the memorial. This wall has facts about the war on it.

Another wall in the memorial. This wall has quotes from Annes diary.

This is the entrance of the memorial. It is ment to be like the gas chambers with the shower heads.

this is a top view of the memorial.

Eslrs that we achieved while doing the project on Anne Frank.

Effective communicator

Collaborate with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goal.Example:We all worked together to get all work done in school, in class, and out side of school. We did this for English but we made the model to improve our model building skills.Evaluation:Excellent

Demonstrate the skills of effective collaborationExample:We communicated after school to get more work done and reach our goal. We talked about our ideas, and got what we had to get done, done!Evaluation: Good

Self directed learner.

Demonstrate competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills.Example:We planned out a Blue print, and we organized a time to meet after school so we could get things done. We made sure t that we had a majority of the project done by Monday. We also organized who would do what when, so we new what every one had to do.Evaluation:Good

Academic achiever

Demonstrate the ability to work both independently and collaborativelyExample:We all took on our own responsibilities with the writing work, but we all worked together on the visual, and putting it together. Evaluation:Excellent

Critical thinker

Solve problems using a variety of strategiesExample:The Silver paint pen sank into the styrofoam, so then we decided to say that it was engraved like the Vietnam war memorial in
Washington D.C. Then for the other wall we changed pens. We had to do what we could!Evaluation:Good

We all worked together very well from the very beginning. We all pitched in ideas for our memorial, and we all helped assemble it in and out of school hours. Mitchell and Taylor brought all the things to make the model, and Laurent and brought the lap top and assembled the model with Taylor and Mitchell. We all put our heads together to get the model figured out. We had many ideas and great ones at that, so it was hard to know what to do. In the end we finally got some ideas down and all agreed on them. It was the little things that we all came up with, like
Taylor suggested we put down train tracks as you walk through the memorial. Laurent gave us all the idea to put in the gas chambers (showers) in as you walked in. Mitchell came up with the brilliant thing of putting in the desk, and actually making it stay up. Every one wrote something for the written part as well. We all had about 2 things to write about, so it was fair and no one person did all the work, because sometimes that does happen.We all worked really well and we all feel that as a team we were exceptionally strong.

When we first got the choice of the two different projects, our group thought almost straight away that we should do a memorial. In this spectacular memorial we have put many things all with different meanings that all just happen to have something to do with Anne Frank. To be able to create such an extravagant display we have used many things including tooth picks, Styrofoam, paint, paper, and even a laptop. After we had all the materials, it was time to get building. First we got the (already painted) floor and glued the (already painted) walls on it, next we made train tracks with toothpicks, then we made a desk, and finally we put shower heads up to represent the gas chambers.After all the craftsmanship was finished we decided to designate who would write what and who would do certain things over the weekend, for a paradigm we told Taylor to do the ESLR’s, Laurent to do the symbols, and Mitchell to do the summary/grade write up.Since we all (Taylor, Laurent and Mitchell) put such hard work in to this we would definitely give ourselves a good grade. We believe this because we did all the ESLR’s (at least one bullet from each) and put our hearts and souls into completing it. Overall on this project, because of the above reasons, we as a group definitely deserve an A- if not an A.

What it says on the walls:

Black wall:

Who would ever think that so much can go on in the soul of a young girl? I don’t think my opinions are stupid and others do; so it is better to keep them to myself.

I wonder whether you can tell me why it is important that people always try so hard to hide their real feelings?

White wall:

Approximately Six Million Jews were killed.About 220,000 Roma were murdered

Holocaust victims at 9 to 11 million, are just a rough approximate of the number killed

It is estimated that is
Berlin alone, 1600 Jews killed themselves rather then face the feared camps.

1.5 million Children were exterminated in the holocaust.

I really like the fact that you wrote to her that she should be heard and her opinions are very meaningful. It’s very encouraging. It’s not very clear when you say, “rush over to them and scream in their faces.” Who are them? You stayed fixed to the main theme by saying that she will become depressed, (or even instantaneously combust) if she doesn’t keep up human interaction, meaning she must share opinions and ideas. It was clear and very relevant that you were trying to force her to share her ideas and opinions by almost scaring her with circumstances such as spontaneous combustion.  The organization was very created because you made two paragraphs, one like an explanation and the other, like a persuading paragraph. Well done. Your voice was exceptional like always, but perhaps you could try, somehow to include her family a little more, because remember, she is stuck with them for 3 years. Some words like mature and opinion. Try middle aged and view instead. This sentence was beautiful, “Opinions are an important thing in this world, and should be regarded in calm silence, not raw anger or jubilant happiness, and I intend to be heard.”

I strongly agree with your idea Mitch. Ann must understand that her parents are frightened and only have time for important questions and ideas in a time like this. I think you need supporting detail in this sentence, because why exactly do older more experienced people like grownups tend to have difficulties concentrating. Apart from that you seemed to have stayed glued to the main theme. (Maybe you could give an example and clarify the second paragraph, because feelings aren’t entirely about what you want so people can get along and not fight. Great job, I really see what you mean when you say; “Anne if you don’t share your thoughts, than what is the whole point in having thoughts?” You never went off topic. The intro could be a little more encouraging maybe, “Everyone feels like you at one stage, it’s just a natural process,” then give an example of yourself, to make her feel less lonely, so she can relate to you. The conclusion was mysterious, (it is the fear hidden within you), I feel it lets Ann realize that, yes; you should be scared, there’s a war going on! I felt your voice had a humorous side to it, and at the same time a very understanding side. Perhaps you could try to change this sentence, because it sounds s little bit like your putting her down. “it doesn’t sound like you get that idea 100%” It’s a lot nicer than saying, “You don’t get anything” but you should let her know, through your voice, that she is not the only one that thinks that parents never listen…For word choice, you could change the word thought, to opinion, view or maybe belief. Also, instead of saying, “One other thing is that a reason…” you should change the word “a reason” to an explanation or motivation. Other than that, your word choice is very precise and efficient.

Feelings are extremely important. They let us be real and know ourselves. They allow us to connect profoundly with different people. People may feel overwhelmed with the fear of exposing your ideas and opinions with other people, or like a wall is keeping you away from communication, or connection. I think people usually have an idea of what other people expect from them, so (almost unconsciously), people try to conform to that. This is because naturally, (in my opinion), people want to please one another. This also stands for, as Ann Frank says, “Why do we trust on another so little?” I believe this is insecurity. Because people want to be appreciated by others and therefore change their behavior, they truly feel insecure. Obviously, people don’t want to confront with each other, but more importantly, is how they want to be considered. Since people want to be pleased by others, they will hide their true feelings, just to fit-in because no one wants to be the different one. This leads to something much more complicated because I believe that inside, we are very similar, so, for example, if one man lies to another about his opinions and ideas to sound cool, the other man will then think, in his head that he is not at all like him. So there is no point trying so hard to be someone else you are not because you are in the company of someone else. Fortunately, I also believe that as you get older, and your self-esteem grows, it is easier to show your personality to others. Still, even adults have the same issues of feelings.

I do disagree on what Ann says on pg139, “it’s horrible that you find you can never really confide in people, even in those who are nearest to you.” Of course, I might not trust my life with a friend, but definitely with my family, especially my parents.

I don’t know why she writes that, but of course, no one really knows what went on in that small refuge. Maybe her relationships with her family were not to strong, but I think that since she lived in that small house for 3 years, she must have been almost forced to spend time with her family. Also, I think that only having her family available, she should trust them much more than when having the luxury of friends, neighbors and everyone else. I hope my post has persuaded you open up and share your ideas and feeling with the world.

If I were in Anne Franks’ situation, I would definitely bring the most valuable and important tool I have, my computer. With this marvel of technology, I can listen to all the music I want, write anything I want, and even research anything in the world. Also, I can even view all my pictures, (saved on my computer), of my family and trips. Nevertheless, a computer is not everything I would need in a situation like Anne Frank’s. For musical entertainment I would bring beloved violin, and fiddle with it all day when I would feel like it. Also, hoping this doesn’t hurt my violin’s feelings, I would bring along my cat, Sheiba. I think having a living animal in company is really nice, even though you know you cannot communicate profoundly with each other. Even though I wish I could bring a book, literature can be done on the computer as well, so I decided to bring my box, which I keep all the precious souvenirs of my childhood and of my parents and grandparents. This box includes my parents concert tickets, old photos, and even toys, which I highly valued when I was younger. Even though I can’t imagine how hard it would be to really actually choose these items, I feel comfortable listing these if I were in Anne Franks’ desperate setting.

When reading these couple of pages, I felt a strong resemblance in Anne’s family and mine. Always feeling miserable because you think your parents have favoritism in your sibling even though they probably don’t. Anne Frank is one of the only books that is so true, in a way that reminds me of so many times when I argued with my sister because it felt that nothing in my family, or life was fair. For example, when she says, “We are exact opposites in everything; so naturally we are bound to run up against each other” it seems to me that Anne is creating an excuse to hate her sister, just like when a sibling is angry at another, and denies the fact that they are secretly jealous. Although I have never imagined that god was testing me to prove my goodness through my own efforts, I do feel that “I am my own skipper, and later on, I shall see where I come to land”, as she states in the book, probably signifying she is feels like she stands alone, and her parents offer no support in what she does.

As Ann Frank is only still a teen, it’s funny to read about her opinion on prostitutes and how “I would die of shame if anything like that happened to me”. Personally, I find it rather sad reading about her excitement about becoming a woman, because knowing that she was expecting a life; she has died in an abominable way. Finally, it’s quite interesting how she describes her diary like a sanctuary from everything else, a place of privacy, where she can say what she wants and just for herself. Also, I admire the way she interprets her diary, how in the end, she will always come back to her diary, the place where she will start and finish.