Blog Response #8
Upon completion of reading your novel, what have you learned about a different culture? What shocked you? What seemed strange to you? What couldn't you believe? Take time to give specific examples from your novel that share what you learned about history and a different culture. Share your feelings about what you read.
What I learned about different culture is that everyone has lived there lives differently, wither that is good or bad. The thing that shocked me the most was how fast everything went. In just a few days the authors life would change. From getting kicked out of his house to then being separated from his family. Something that was strange to me and that I also could not believe was the amount of people Hitler was able to convince. These German soldiers were so brain washed that they had the ability to kill millions of Jewish men, women, and even children. Some so ruthless that they were using babies as shooting targets. I knew what I was going to read was not going to be nice but this book had so many disgusting and heartbreaking parts, but I enjoyed learning about the history of the holocaust from a survivors perspective.
ReplyDeleteSara
DeleteI think the main characters in all of the books have been kicked out of their homes and separated from their family. Hitler in comparable to the rebels in my book. The rebels have no sense of reason or purpose but they still do it. Also, the rebels kill babies because they cry too much. This is not a good culture to be a part of and is a sad part of history to talk about.
Hi Sara!
DeleteI would agree with you because I enjoyed reading about history and learning about the different cultures and how they live. I also learned that we are so different and we live different lives. It is harder for them because they were less fortunate. I also realized how much things have changed over time.
Kaylee Schueller
Hi Sara, it looks like your book moved along quickly. I think a lot of people even in the United States aren't sure what is going to happen to them on a day to day basis. So I am sure other countries have it worse, especially in this time period.
Deletehi sara. our books seem similar in the aspects of the places theyre living in are horrible compared to what we live in. we need to learn how to be much more grateful because we could have it like the jews had it or the Afghani's over in the middle east.
DeleteHi Sara, I also liked reading this novel from a holocaust survivors view. I feel like we never really hear stories from people in the holocaust just people who witnessed from the outside, or a German.
DeleteHi Sara,
DeleteI agree with you that nobody knows what is going to happen to them on a daily basis. Other countries have it much worse than the USA and i cant imagine that. I hope you liked your book!
Hi Sara, I would have to agree with you about knowing what you're about to read and its not going to be pretty but the way that Elie described was so heart wrenching and was just down right awful.
DeleteHi Sara. I agree that this book happened so fast and I can only imagine that Elie and his family had little to no time to react or think about what to do. I also found it hard to believe that Hitler was able to brainwash so many Germans into killing so many innocent people. You would think that most of them would know that it is just plain wrong to kill people like that but somehow Hitler was smart enough to brainwash every single one of them.
DeleteI read A Long Way Gone. I learned about their culture and how they look to their ancestors for a lot of things. Tradition dictates how they live. They ate a lot of Cassava. There were several ways to prepare it. Also, they call sneakers and flip flops crapes. After they get recruited to the army, there is a lot of drugs involved. This ends up being part of the culture of a civil war. I think growing marijuana is part of their farming culture. Storytelling is probably the biggest part of their culture. They talk about the bra spider, the naming ceremonies, Julias Caeser, Mcbeth, hunting stories, and various other tales. A large part of the story was in a different timeline because he is telling a story. Some stories are boring, but some are entertaining and meant to teach you a lesson. The story of the bra spider does this. It teaches you not to be too gready and to settle for one thing you want instead of everything.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick!
DeleteGlad to see that you learned a lot from your book! I learned tons of interesting stuff too from my book! It surprised me to hear how big of a role story telling played in your book. I liked to hear that the book teaches people to not be greedy. I think everyone nowadays is always a little to greedy.
Cade Messer
Hi Nick!
DeleteI also learned a lot about different culture reading my book. What I learned is that we have to be thankful we have what we have. In different country's they are sometimes less fortunate and learning about that really opened my eyes. I think it is a good thing we had to read these books even though they may have been out of our comfort zones.
Kaylee Schueller
Hello Nick,
DeleteIn my book Night there were many Jewish references and how there culture affects there everyday lives. The way the story was told from the authors real life perspective makes it even more realistic and helps me understand the culture and how they lived their lives.
Hi Nick, it looks like you liked your book. I think it is interesting that a great part in that culture involves story telling. Yet it doesn't surprise me as we are only familiar with our own culture.
Deletei agree 100% with everything that you have said and i agree with some of the storys being boring which was hard to stay along but got through it. i also agree with the end result about not being greedy and settle for 1 thing and not eveything.
DeleteHi Nick,
DeleteIt looks like you enjoyed your book a lot and you were able to see many parts of the story. I am reading the book night and some parts of the culture is similar to what is seen in my book.
Hi Nick,
DeleteI agree with you I learned a lot about different cultures in this book too and it was actually interesting to hear all their traditions.
Hi Nick
Deletei agree. Ishmeal teaches and tells a lot in his book, and he also makes it difficult to read sometimes as it does have boring spots. traditions are also a large part of their culture, and i can relate to that.
Hi Nick
DeleteI agree Ishmael really gives us a lot of information on what happens to other people that are a different race or a different culture and for me its sad because they go through alot of devastating times
In my book, "I am Malala", I have learned a lot about the Pakistan culture. I think the thing that stuck out most to me is how the females have to cover up more, and if they want to go out, they have to have a male relative go with them. I honestly did not realize that this stuff was still around to this day. I do not realize a lot of things that do not happen here because I am not aware of them. Another thing I learned was about the Taliban. I did not have any idea about this group until I read this book. It really shocked me when the Taliban started to become violent just because they wanted to be in control. They started to bomb schools and kill people in public just because they were not following there rules. I think that is not okay and I totally did not expect that, I was in total shock. Overall, I really liked the book and I am glad I got to read it. I do not usually go for a book like this one, but I did learn a lot about different cultures and how they go about life.
ReplyDeleteKaylee Schueller
Kaylee
DeleteThe pakistan culture is a different culture than our own. They believe in a very different religion and it is not just a social culture. it is more religion based. The Taliban is their church and the Quran is their bible. It is very different than our country because they do not have separation of church and state. Religion is not a big part of my book, but story telling and folk lore is.
Hi Kaylee,
DeleteThe Taliban in your book sounds very similar to the Nazis in my book "Night". They were told by Hitler that Jews were evil and did not deserve to live. They then violently killed millions of them just because of their culture or religion.
I read the book A Thousand Splendid Suns, and in my book there was the taliban too but they came after the bombs dropped and practically held people at gun point if they werent inside or if a woman was outside without a male.
DeleteHi Kaylee, I could not imagine living in that kind of world, my book Night seems similar to yours in a way, the females are like the Jews in my book. Being treated awful and not deserving anything they are getting punished for.
DeleteI finished the same book and I agree with you that we do not know what is going around us unless we read about it or see it on tv. I think that this is something important to know because what is going on in Pakistan is not right.
DeleteI feel the same way the Taliban was a huge culture shock and that religion that the follow some people exploit it and I think that is wrong
DeleteI can relate with the book a thousand splendid suns inorder for the women to go out they had to cover there whole body up even in the 90 degree heat along with them having to have a male with them or they could be held at gunpoint.
DeleteAs I finished Kite Runner it is obvious that we have no issues in our country compared to others. All of our problems of polution and global warming are peanuts compared to what middle east countries go through. I think it is crazy how those cultures have servants that act as slaves. I couldn't believe how death was just so regular. I also found it interesting that there are many level of social classes. For example, Assef was to scared to mess with Amir at first because he was Babas son. Yet Assef had no problem picking on Hassan just because he was "below" him.
ReplyDeleteI read were eye opening, and it is sad to think that things like this actually happen in the world.
Overall, it was eye opening and sad to see that things like this actually happen in the real world. It makes me glad that I live in small town Iowa.
I agree. we need to stop acting like we have it so bad over here when in reality we don't. other countries have it so much worse than us and were complaining about mcdonalds being closed.
DeleteIt also was eye opening for me seeing what people in Afghanistan go through everyday of their lives
DeleteI didn't know that the culture was this messed up or not up to par as some would say. But the middle eastern countries are literally fighting for their lives almost every day, whether that be form starving, or form the taliban/ army coming through and keeping everyone in line.
DeleteI agree we have it so good in America compared to everyone else, it was really sad when they could kill innocent people for no reason. Hope you liked the book.
DeleteHi Dylan,
DeleteIn America we do not have that many things to worry about like other countries. So I completely agree with you. In my book A Thousand Splendid Suns, the same horrible things would happen to the main characters.
I would also agree the culture in these books are so much worse than ours in most parts it hard to even comprehend what is going on
DeleteHi Sawyer
DeleteIt seems like you really learned a lot from your book i also learned a lot from mine and i agree i do think we have it better in America.
Hey Sawyer,
DeleteI never really thought about how many different social classes there were in the story but you are right. Even if someone was only slightly higher that another person they would be brutal discriminated against which we do not see in most of society.
Upon reading The Kite Runner, I learned many things about the culture in Afghanistan. What really surprised me was how close Amir's family was to their servants. It was really surprising how they were treated like family, but later in the book I learned that they were family. Where Amir lived, they went into war and one day the Taliban came into town and everyone thought they were saved. The Taliban could do what ever they wanted when ever they wanted. If a member of the Taliban felt a civilian did something wrong or made them mad, they would take them to the street and kill them. This was incredibly shocking to me and I felt that it was not right and that should never happen anywhere no matter what. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was a very good read that kept me interested the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you, it also surprised me how close amirs family was to his servants but i dont think amir seen them as their servants
Deletethe books sounds good and the family had it bad and no one understand what other people and family's go through.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Cade,
DeleteThis book does have that common theme of family. Everyone was always there for each other even after everything happened. It is crazy to think that they would just kill people for no reason. It is sad.
Hey Cade,
DeleteI agree that it was little confusing seeing how close Baba and Amir were to there servants. I would not expect to see that in this culture, but it makes since now that I know they are family.
I read the book kite runner, it was about a kid from Afghanistan and what his life is like before the war. It then fast forwards to when he is an adult during the war and he flees to America and later on comes back to afghan to find out some horrible news. He then later adopts his best friends son Sohrab and tries to get him across to America. I think the book was full of lots of ups and downs. When the book would get boring there would be a spot where it made it interesting again. The part that most surprised me was when Sohrab attempted suicide because he thought he was going to an orphanage. For me it was horrible to see what people in Afghanistan go through everyday of their lives.
ReplyDeletesounds like a good book and i hoped you liked it.
DeleteHey Colin,
DeleteI agree with you that this book had a lot of ups and downs. It would be boring and then the next part would be interesting. I think this book was kind of crazy but still decent. Hope you liked the book.
I agree Colin the book started out very slow but got very interesting towards the end. This book was really crazy because you got a insight about the Afghanistan culture. Hope you liked the book.
DeleteWhen I finished Night it had a back and forth ending but I have learned a lot in the book to always be thankful for what we have and family. The thing that surprised me the most was that the Nazis did not care what happened to the Jew even though they were people too and had family's and friends and had a life to live for just like the Nazis but they didn't care. I would recommend this book if you can stand the nasty and descriptive text, I thought it was a good book. the book is harsh and shows multiple lessons and i think its a good book about history and what they had to go through.
ReplyDeleteI agree it was a good book and it was surprising that Hitler was able to convince all these people to kill other people just like them just because they have different beliefs. Like you said though it is a great book and definitely gives a great idea of what it would have been like to be in Elie's shoes.
Deletewith the nasty descriptive text a long way gone had times where there was alot of nasty text like guts and blood and i totally agree. that book seems like a interesting book and might read it outside of class.
DeleteI agree with you this book was real harsh and did teach many lessons that will help everyone.
DeleteA tale of pushing it 'till the end. I like it.
DeleteI read the book A Thousand Splendid Suns, i learned that the culture in afghanistan is much different then the culture here. It is different because they have arranged marriages and they cant pick and choose who they want to marry their parents do for them. Also i couldn't believe that all the women there get beat practically if they don't comply and do there housework or if they lose a baby.
ReplyDeleteHey Cole, I agree with you that it is hard to imagine that the women get beat on a daily basis for things out of their control. I think that some of the arranged marriages like Mariams are just used to get their kid out of the house almost.
DeleteHi Cole,
DeleteI completely agree with you when you mention the cultural differences between what we know here in America versus what goes on in Afghanistan. They truly do not have much choice in their lives.
After finishing Night, I am still in complete shock. the culture throughout this book is also all over the place, because at first everyone was trying to stay strong for one another, but by the end of the book all the Jews have sort of turned on each other which was very sad. this book just kept shocking me from the dad dying to finally getting rescued but having no where to go. The main thing i learned from the Jewish culture would be that at first they were a family and tried so hard to stay together and protect one anther. but sadly by the end they had to fight for food and would kill people they new just for something.
ReplyDeleteI found learning about the Jewish culture very interesting while I was reading this book. It was cool seeing the similarities and differences between Jewish culture and more common practices here like Christianity.
DeleteHi Ella
DeleteYes it is very sad hear that they all were in same situation and had to deal with such a hard time but they should have helped each other until the end but they totally did opposite of it. So this show how strange this Jewish culture is by going against your own family. But then I also understand that by the end it is all about who ever wins the fights that they going survive.
Hi Ella,
DeleteI also read the book night and can agree with everything you said. I also agree with one of the biggest things i have learned in the book was to stay together.
Hi Ella. I agree that the Jews changed altogether through out the book. In the beginning, when everyone was getting kicked out of their homes, the Jews helped each other by warning each other or even bringing them water when they got thirsty. However, towards the end, they were willing to kill each other for a scrap of food or for more space on the train. At one point, a son killed his own father for a single crust of bread. This is extremely heartbreaking.
DeleteIt 100% sucks that they had to go through all that and how you said that they had turned on each other and it was just so fast how they went from living their normal life to just getting treated so badly they had to turn on each other.
DeleteI was baffled that his dad made it that far! I doubt any regular man today could make it that far. It's saddening to know he fell so close to freedom.
DeleteAfter reading the book The Kite Runner I learned that their culture is way different then ours here in America. In their culture they have a lot more traditions they do as a whole than us. But it seems like they do not have as much things to do there. In the time zone that this book is written in they did not have much technology there where as in America we had more so that is why it seems like we have more to offer here. Then after the war happened, the town becomes destroyed and they never try to fix it. It use to be a nice and peaceful place but now it is filled with poverty and nothing to offer. It is sad to see such a nice place go to hell and never tried to get what back to what they were. I am glad it is not that way in America.
ReplyDeleteHi Dylan, I thought that after the towns were destroyed and they did not even try to repair it was really sad. Maybe the town has been rebuilt today but for all of those people that lived there and became are homeless is depressing.
DeleteI just finished the book Night by Elie Wiesel, and after reading it I learned a lot more about what happened to the Jews in the holocaust. I never realized how bad it was being at a concentration camp. One thing that really surprised me was the fact that family would turn on family so fast. It happens a few time like when one of the rabbis son runs of and another mans son killed him over a little bread. Its crazy to me that Hitler was able to pursued so many people into killing innocent people. One other thing that was crazy to me is how some Jews belief in god was so strong that they still where able to have faith through all of it.
ReplyDeleteHello Cayden,
DeleteI read "Night" as well, I agree with you as well that I have also learned a lot about the holocaust by reading this book. From the Crematoria to the hanging of torture bodies has really brought a big idea of how the holocaust was for the Jewish people.
Hey Cayden i read Night too and i was also very suprised that people were killing just for some bread crust.
DeleteHey Caden,
DeleteThat was something that surprised me in my book as well. villages that would have been friendly to others had turned on strangers, especially children.
I agree with you on how Hitler was able to convince so many people to hate on the Jewish and how he made them think they were getting into something good but really it just ended up being bad.
DeleteAfter reading the book The Kite Runner I learned that their culture is not like ours here in America. The thing that shocked me was that they have servants over there but that act like slaves but they treat them like family. They also celebrate a lot more traditions and have a greater respect for the rich and their elders. The things they deal with like war in Afghanistan is horrible and when the Taliban came in they could kill whoever they wanted just for looking at them wrong which is not right. It makes me realize that we have it really good in America and should not complain over the stupid little things that go wrong in our life. Overall this book was great and I got to learn a lot about the Afghanistan culture.
ReplyDeleteHi Tyler, I also thought that having slaves was very shocking but glad they did not treat them bad. The Taliban also seems that a very scary group of people. When they killed Hassan that kind of showed that they do what ever they want.
DeleteHi Tyler,
DeleteI read the book "Night".
And your book to my book are polar opposites, due to the fact that the salve owners treated there slaves Nicely and the Germans treated the Jews very badly.
I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and the Afghanistan culture was interesting to learn about. There is always war and terrorist everywhere. Woman also did not have very many rights. I was shocked by this because at this time period in America, woman had many rights. A strange part of the book for me was when Mariam killed Rasheed in self defense but she was given the death penalty. Rasheed was not a good fit for Mariam or Leila. this is a good example of how arranged marriages don't work. My thoughts on the book were okay. I was not the biggest fan at the start but as it got going it was okay. It only took about 200 pages for it to get going. Overall, this book was a 5 out of 10 for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Jayden,
DeleteI agree with you a lot when you talk about the short to none amount of rights that women in this culture have, compared to what we have in America. I also agree with you as you mention arranged marriages do not work.
What shocked me was how they just dicovered rap music i dont really know why the first time i read they said when they first hear it they loved it and made there own music or atleast tried to and i was suprised how fast they grew to it. One part of the book i couldnt believe is how Ishmeal didnt die through out the book or be in critical health because hes been through so many shootings and outbreaks of gun fire with stray bullets going everywhere and didnt hit him once i dont want him to get hit im just making a note that it seemed unbelievable. the things that i loved is how he grew such strong connections with people he met and how much times where he cried or had fun or got angry and still came out of it alive and stronger than last time.
ReplyDeleteI read the book I Am Malala. Our book sound some what familiar. Our characters both live in unsafe areas, my book had shootings and bombing. My character actually did get shot and survived after a 5 day coma. She got shot in the head so she is lucky to be alive.
DeleteThat's really cool! I personally enjoy rap music so it would be cool to see what people would think of it when it first came out and the impact it would have on their life.
DeleteI finished the book I Am Malala, I learned a lot about her culture. Women do not have equal rights as men. We thought America was bad, once you hear about Malala's life you will think we have it good. I was really shocked about hearing that women could not leave the house without a male relative, even if it were her 5 year old brother. To me that is not safe, a 5 year old boy should not be helping out his mother or and older sister, not at that age. Another thing that shocked me was when a baby boy is born, they celebrate. If a girl is born they feel the need to hide her away in the kitchen. Malala did not stand for that, she did the opposite. Like girls were not really supposed to go to school but she found a way to get an education. Lastly Pakistan does not seem the safest place to live. Taliban is bombing schools that allow girls to get education and they are always walking around with guns. I was sorta upset because to me the book is misleading. I thought I would be reading about her shooting but I read more background and about her religion then I did about her shooting. the first 6.5 pages was about her shooting, then all of it was background. The last 2 chapter was about her shooting after.
ReplyDeleteHi Kate,
DeleteI was also very shocked that women were not allowed to leave their house without a male relative, and even if they were 5 years old! I think reading this book really opened my eyes to different cultures and it seems it did the same for you.
I'm reading the book "Night", and due to completion with my book the facts that I have learned about the Jewish culture is pretty rough. Through all the bad complications that Elie is going through is rough for him and the Jewish people given that they are being discriminated by Hitler and all the Germans because of there looks, and the way they are specifically called the Jews. What shocked me in the book is the Jews not retaliating at all for what the Germans are doing to them, its just all down right cruel. The things that seem strange to me in this book is how at the beginning Elizer is hoping for the best in every situation when the reader knows what's going to happen to him and to his fellow Jews is just down right a cringe I would say. I couldn't believe that the Germans could go through everything they are being told to do to the Jewish people, just outrageously disgusting. Things I learned about the Jewish religion that are from this novel is they have a specific day for fasting and it is called Yom Kippur, other things i learned about this culture is they would pray for the dead and say a specific prayer they have memorized throughout there childhood, and it goes like this, "Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.". The things this book has brought to my heart is hard to bear because, every time I here something about this specific year in our history brings tears to my eyes of how we are a country today.
ReplyDeleteI would agree, Thomas. In the beginning of the book Elie was always hoping for the best because at first they had no idea what was going on. As us readers, as we were reading along, we knew what was actually going to happen to them. Like you have stated it is just wrong and disgusting how the Germans could do what they did to the Jews. Overall, it was straight up wrong and should never happen in the future again.
DeleteI read the book The Kite Runner. Reading this book really shows how good we have it. our problems are maybe being a little cold or the air conditioning in our cars not working. Another thing that surprised me is that they have servants. One of the biggest thing that surprised me was the murders that happened. Just because the Taliban did not believe that Hassan was cleaning a house they took him and his wife out onto the street and killed them both. They did not have a conversation or anything they just killed them. This book shows how unaware we really are to what people in Afghanistan go through on a daily basis. I am glad that I was able to read this book and enjoyed learning about what people across the world go through
ReplyDeleteHi Max,
DeleteI did not read The Kite Runner but it does sound like there are some similarities to my book, I am Malala. Although in my book there were no servants, but the Taliban played a big role in my book. They would kill people on the streets if they did not believe they were following their guidelines, and it sounds similar to the Taliban killing Hassan and his wife on the street.
I read the book I am Malala, from this book I have learned a lot about the Pakistan culture. This book is about a younger girl that fights for an education, I never knew that this was a problem in other countries. Since Malala was young she had a desire to get an education, but the Taliban disagrees and thinks girls should not be able to get an education. Her and her father traveled around to share the situation that was going on and how it was unfair. I do think this is unfair and it shocked me that Malala would stand up for this. Also, any woman that wanted to leave her house had to be accompanied by a male relative. I found this strange because in America we do not have to do this. Women are free to walk around on their own without consequences. I did not love this book but I did think it was interesting to learn about another culture.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Night, one of the most interesting cultural things I learned was what it was like to be Jewish. As someone who is not religious (at all), I always find it interesting to hear about what people worship and the practices they do. Growing up in Iowa, I have learned a lot about Christianity and the Catholic religion, even though I don't necessarily believe in any of it. Learning about small things that the Jewish religion do to worship and how passionate they are about their God was very intriguing while it lasted. About half way through the book, you see Elie lose his faith and he stops praying which takes a big toll on his mental health. After he stops having faith it seems like he finds everything he has worthless.
ReplyDeletehey Laney,
Deletefrom what it sounds their are a lot of similarities between our book. both of the main characters go through loss whether its losing their faith or someone that's close to them.
I agree with you, Laney. In the book it talked about the men loosing hope, and Elie said when they men started to loose hope they were going to die or wanted to die. Towards the end of the book, Elie's father died due to losing faith and being weak. Over halfway through the book, readers could notice Elie loosing faith too, but in the end of the book he ended up being free.
DeleteFrom reading the book "A Long Way Gone" I learned just how different Sierra Leone s from the US. while they do have large cities They have villages and there less dependent on Electronics or social media. I couldn't believe that the Army was okay with recruiting children and exposing them to all the horrors of war. it also really surprising to me how well Ishmael handled losing his entire family not once but twice. he lost them when the war first started and then again he found out they were at a specific village. but just as he was about to get there rebels burned down the village killing anyone in it.
ReplyDeleteHi Mackenzy, my book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" also experienced a lot of heartbreak. And the treatment of children in my book is also horrible. War also plays a very large in my book as well as the whole country is struggling with the war.- Maci Steffen
DeleteI am also reading "A Long Way Gone" and I am also surprised by how well Ishmael handled losing his family.
DeleteHi Mackenzy
Deletei agree. Ishmeals country is torn by a civil war that, seems to just be pure chaos. rebels killing Rebels, Military personnel killing Military personnel
I am reading the book "Night" by Elie Wiesel. When reading this book, along the way I have found that the Jewish tradition and culture is fairly different from ours. In the beginning of the book Elie studies the Talmud, the Jewish oral law. He also studies the Jewish mystical texts of the Cabbala, which his father didn't really want him to. As a Catholic myself, I thought it was strange in the text when they would talk about God and they put "Him" with a capital H. “I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions.” I feel as if they were more intimate with him as a real person when they would pray to him. I also feel like they prayed to him more often then most Catholics do. When Elie was walking into the camps it shocked me at how many men that were surrounding him were praying to God. "Some of the men spoke of God: His mysterious ways, the sins of the Jewish people, and the redemption to come. God is testing us. He wants to see whether we are capable of overcoming our base instincts, of killing the Satan within ourselves." I feel like if they were ever looking for a answer or in loss of hope they would go to God and say that he is doing this for a reason to try to not give their hopes up. They were also celebrating Rosh Hashanah, praying together and praising God’s name. I also thought that was strange because first they were celebrating in the camps but also because they were praising God's name as they were in the camps suffering because of God- as to what they believe. Overall, I thought it was strange when it talked about their religion and culture when I was reading along, but they probably think the same thing about our culture and that is what they were taught to know and learn when they were growing up.
ReplyDeleteHey Olivia, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and my book also revolved religion and how they must follow all the rules around it. It was very enforced but I think that this gave them hope in the end.
DeleteIn the book A Thousand Splendid Suns there is a lot of culture adversity like arranged marriages, no women's rights, and things like hijabs. This book was full of war and an unstable government. It was a culture shock when you hear about these things and how then men abused their wives. Things like this rarely happen in the US so it is weird to hear about it happening all the time to a lot of the women. It is also weird to see a 15 year old getting married to an old man that they have never meet before and just get told to make it work. Personally I don't believe in any of these things because it just isnt right to me. It is weird to think about these things happening today on the other side of the world.
ReplyDeleteI also read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and everything about women's rights over there is ridiculous. Women are treated nothing like we are in the United States. And reading this book really brought me back to reality and made me very grateful for what I have.- Maci Steffen
DeleteI read the same book and I could not imagine living in a world where you are basically a sitting duck waiting for you and your family to be hit with a bomb. Or sitting at the breakfast table and hearing a house 2 streets over being blown to pieces. I don't think I would be able to live through that.
DeleteI agree that a 15 year old getting married to an older man is not okay. Even if they knew each other or were "in love", 15 year old's are not mature enough for marriage. I can't understand how in different cultures people think it's alright to let this happen.
Deletei read the same book and i couldn't imagine having someone pick who i would have to marry especially at such a young age. after finishing the book it really make me think about how poorly the women were treated compared to us in the US.
Delete2In this book I hade a bit of a culture shock there not celebrating woman life and them being completely against woman's rights. also just people not having to go to school and them having a very high percentage of illiteracy. It just goes to show how ungrateful that the children are of today they skip school complain about going and just hate every second of it mean while in 3rd world countries people are begging to go to school and want to learn and get better. America sets everyone up to succeed and it seems like some people take that for granted here. This was one of the biggest shock to me in this book with the education the other shock was threw military presence in the towns this is illegal in the united states and if the country of Pakistan were also just letting the Taliban Rome free and let them murder and kill kids and get away with it. This would never happen in America
ReplyDeleteI read the book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. And the culture is so much different and somewhat frustrating. It really blows my mind how much different and how lucky I am to have to what I have. First of all arranged marriages are really crazy to me. Because I believe personally that you should always have the choice to decide who you spend the rest of your life with. And in my book Jalil who is Mariam's father really did not care about her and just wanted to get rid of her so the first man that shown an interest in her he gave her away. And he ended up being a very sick man who just wanted sex and a child, but only if the child was a boy. It is also crazy how much women have to cover up in that culture because even if they have their feet showing women are looked at differently. Women usually get married at 15, not having a choice. But men usually get married around the age of 35 that way they can live out their lives, but when they want to settle down the settle down young.- Maci Steffen
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, it is like everything they do is backwards from us. I cant imagine wearing as much clothes as they do to cover up on a 90 degree day. But of course the men dont have to and they men get to leave the house alone and the men get to live out their young years. it saddens me that they do not have equality there.
DeleteI read the book Night and i think one of the differences in cultures was how much effort they put in to making sure the people that died would be sent away with prayers and other things like that. I was shocked with how all of the jews in the book would just go to the concentration camps with no resisting. Something that seemed strange to me was how people would give Elie advice through out the book like telling him to say he is 18 and to not go out at the end of the book. I couldnt believe how little they ate and drank and still would be doing work or running. I felt real bad for the people going through everything it made me want to stop reading when they were getting beat or hung.
ReplyDeleteI read the book a thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini. To be blatantly honest their culture blows my mind. Relationships there... at least half of them aren't even real love. It is like everything there is about your image. Mariams father has not 1 but THREE wives and still had time to fool around with his servant resulting in Mariam and him hiding her for the 15 years he could. Arranged Marriages.... a joke in my mind. They say "get married then learn how to love them" so not realistic, how do you love someone who beats you and makes you chew rocks? The woman cannot ride a bus without a male let alone leave the house! They cannot show any part of their bodies including their face and feet. This is still their culture today. I am so grateful we have the freedom that we do because I am way to independent to have to have a guy 30 something years older then me walk me to the mailbox to get the mail each day.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing about marriage when I was reading The Kite Runner. It's crazy how in different cultures people get engaged when they barely know each other and aren't sure if they even like each other.
Deleteafter reading this book i was given a whole new perspective on the culture they live in and to be quite honest i would hate to live a life like that hopefully that never happens here.
DeleteI read the book A Long Way Gone, the culture in this book deals a ton with listening to their ancestors and following tradition. i think the strangest part of the story was seeing the different cultures every single village had. it was a shock to learn that every village had their own aspects of anything. as well as seeing the culture of the military, the two aspects of family culture and blood thirsty military life are so drastically different and its vehemently clear.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree that it is a shock more so because we never really had to do anything like walking to a village like four miles away.
DeleteI am reading the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The most surprising thing I read about was that it was common for people in Afghanistan to have hazara servants. If you were hazara you were automatically treated poorly and disliked. I was also shocked to read that there were events you could attend at a stadium where the taliban would stone and kill people in front of you. It was sad to read about the way people were treated and that it really wasn't that long ago. Sohrab was even abused so terribly at an orphanage he tried to kill himself instead of going back. Aside from the war, it was interesting to read about the way people from Afghanistan got engaged and eventually married. Amir's father Baba had to ask permission from Soraya's father for their children to get engaged. They hardly ever interacted before getting married, unlike in the U.S. where many people date a while before they get engaged. I thought the book was pretty interesting and it was cool to read about a different culture.
ReplyDeleteHi Abbie
DeleteI totally agree with you because I know how Muslim culture works they have very strict rules against woman. it is a whole different place then us because here we are worried about not having rights for doing such thing but over there these ladies does not have right to even speech in front of man sometimes not even in front of there fathers. Yes in their culture you do not get to choose your life partner your parents choose it for you and you cannot go against their decision or least they eventually have to kill you for that.
What I learn about different culture is that they have their own way of living life style, but in some cases some culture have strict rules or very risky business of survival because many they don't know where is their next piece of bread or any meal is coming from or what price they have pay for that meal. I just could not believe how he made through all of that and his past because if such thing have happen with me I would lost faith in life and took some wrong step. Some thing that seems strange to me is that they have work for it or have t0o pat big price for it. Last but not least my feelings for the book and the culture it shows are bit difficult to express because it is good book but things that Ishmael and his friends been through makes me think about how lucky I am and very fortunate of what I have vs what he has to earn all of that on his own at the age of 16.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading A Long Way Gone I Kind of knew a little bit about what was happening in these countries that were in a civil war, but once after reading this book I realized that what is shown on the news is just a little bit of what's happening, and that the news doesn't tell the whole story. And hearing Ishmael’s story really puts in perspective that things like this really happens and that know one really knows the truth, and when actually hearing what is really happening makes me feel like when I say I'm having a bad day that these kids are trying to survive all alone not knowing what’s going to happen to them and how they have to fight to survive.
ReplyDeleteI read the book night and there are many ways that culture is shown as well as different things i have learned. The first thing i learned was many things that went on during the holocaust. I only knew bits and peices but this book opened my eyes on many things that went on during that time period. I also learned that family is everything and to never let your family go because you knew know when it will be the last time you see them.
ReplyDeleteI read the book A long way gone. There was so many different cultures and a lot of them were just kids listening to their elders but each village had their very own tradition. it was just crazy to see many speaked different tribal languages. I never knew what really went on over there i just thought they all would speak and do the same things but i realized i was wrong and it was really cool how Ishmael explained everything.
ReplyDeleteI have just finished reading The Kite Runner and I have learned a lot about Afghanistan culture. The one thing I never realized is that prior to the Taliban invasion, It was actually a really nice place to live with a ton of successful businesses across the country. The author used visual details to help me see how nice the neighborhood was that Amir and Baba lived in. The other thing I learned about the culture was how emotionless everyone seems to be when someone tragically dies. That was odd to see because in most books I read, if there is any death involved the character go into a state of sadness which I did not see in The Kite Runner.
ReplyDeleteHi Eric!
DeleteHappy to see that you learned a ton from the book that you read! The Taliban invasion sounds very interesting as they took over a super nice place to live and work. The way that people react to a tragic death reminds me of the book "Night" that I read. When someone died people showed no emotion. I hope you enjoyed your book as much as I did.
Cade Messer
I am reading I Am Malala, and like your book the Taliban had also invaded the country mine was set in. Pakistan was very peaceful and nice as well before the terrorist group moved in. unlike kite runner death seemed like kind of a sacred topic for Malala, but I think that is because she was more religious.
DeleteI am reading the book "A Long Way Gone" and I really enjoyed the book. It made me thankful that I live where I live and not in some third world country having to fight in a war. I would not be able to handle killing people all the time and constantly being scared you could die. Ishmael is strong for fighting in a war and having people getting killed all around you and still being able to write a book about everything.
ReplyDeleteYeah this book would make me feel grateful for what I have and that I'm not in fear of getting shot every minute.
DeleteI 100% agree with you luke after reading a long way gone it makes me feel like a king compared to what they have to go through.
DeleteI read the book "Night" and the culture is described in many ways throughout the book. One thing i noticed was that family was so important for many throughout the book as they did not want to be separated. One thing I found surprising in this book was how long Elie's dad held on when he was on the verge of death. He was so thin, fragile, and sick, yet he kept going and he kept running when he was told to. If that was me in his position, I would've given up as I would have been exhausted and would've has no energy to keep going. Whenever it came to night and they had to fall asleep, I was sure that his father would be dead by morning, however, he woke up many times. I think his father held on because he did not want to leave his son which also shows culture and just how loyal they are to family.
ReplyDeleteI read A Long Way Gone and their culture is more ancestor based because they look up to them. They even told stories to each other like the spider story and other stories. It surprised me that they call their shoes crapes. Also, I didn't think about this until now but maybe he is telling us this story to tell us his story like the spider story because story telling is a big part of their culture.
ReplyDeletein my book I Am Malala, the people of Pakistan also respect the dead, and those who came before them. it was mentioned that it is even considered bad luck to look up to those who are still living by Malala's dad.
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ReplyDeleteWhile reading my book “Night” I have learned many different things about culture. One of the things that stuck out to me was that the Jews lived in Ghetto’s. I picture a ghetto as a big apartment complex. I think they are like our neighborhoods. Another thing that I could not believe was the culture that Hitler was able to build with all the Germans. I cannot believe how great of a leader and powerful Hitler was to be able to others to treat Jews the way they did. He had to brainwash thousands of people to be his workers. Hitler completely changed not only the way Germans lived a thought during the 1940’s but everyone else in the entire world. I thought the book “Night” was very interesting as I got to learn so many new and unique things about the holocaust. I am truly happy with the book I chose.
ReplyDeleteCade Messer
I can tell you really enjoyed your book.
DeleteI read 'A Long Way Gone' by Ishmeal. Ishmeals country has tons of tradition and culture, but is torn to shreds by a massive wide spread civil war. The civil war brings his country to living hell and has his country's people just gunning eachother down, even bringing younger kids, ages 10 through 18 into the war. Traditions play a huge role in Ishmeals country, and it creates an environment of what used to be complete trust and happiness, and after the civil war turns into massive distrust and chaos.
ReplyDeleteI read the book I Am Malala. there was a lot shared about the people of Pakistan, particularly the Muslim religion most of the citizens follow. Islamic people have to follow many rules like the food they eat and how they wash themselves, and it was made clear that they pray a lot. One of the things that was surprising to me was how people with lighter colored skin are considered more attractive. it was even mentioned that Malala's dad was bullied for his darker skin when he was younger, and Pakistani people also have things that can help lighten the pigment in their skin.
ReplyDeleteI thought the whole lightening of the skin pigmentation thing was very interesting
DeleteWhile reading I am Malala, I have learned how different their culture is compared to the others in this world. women dont have the rights like in the United States It really shocked me when they said that women can leave the house or go anywhere without being accompanied by their husband or a male sort of figure. What really seemed strange to me was that the Taliban would use the dead bodies that were rotting and try to scare people. I honestly did not enjoy reading my book, it was very boring.
ReplyDeleteIn my Book Night what I've learned about a different Culture is that when it came to dying or living they would pray hoping god will get them out of the situation and I was shocked how the Jews was treated so badly throughout the book, how they used babies as target practice, how they were burning children alive, making them wear thin clothes, shaving their heads bald, and how they labeled with numbers and having them wear yellow stars. I think its kind of crazy that somehow Hitler was able to make millions of Nazis hate on a race that is trying to live their lives and how they were able to separate people from their families and the Jewish thought it was going to be temporarily and they thought were going to be okay, its sad they had to go through all that. I really enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend this book to anyone that wants learn about history.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book A Thousand Splendid Suns, my eyes were opened more to a culture I thought that I knew quite a bit about already. I was obviously wrong and also shocked at how much goes on that I assume many more people do not know about. As I've mentioned many times before, I assume this is so shocking to me because of where I reside here in America, and where they are at in the Middle East where women do not have many rights at all. It is something that I assume not many people here know about and something that is unfortunately kept in the dark. I really enjoy how informative it is and how much I have learned that I didn't think I was going to find out. I would recommend this book to anyone really, because there is no harm in letting people know what is going on in the world.
ReplyDeleteHi Eve, i think you did a great job of explaining your thoughts on the book and im glad you seemed to make connections easy to make it an easier read! it was for sure an interesting book to read
DeleteAfter i read the book a thousand splendid suns i was given a whole new perspective on the different culture we read about. before reading the only thing I was familiar with was the arranged marriages and i had zero idea about how it was like to live in that culture. its one hundred percent a different style than it is over here in America. I enjoyed how detailed the writer was it made it a fun and interesting read. I would recommend the book to anyone because it never hurts gaining more knowledge on a different part of the world.
ReplyDeleteafter reading a long way gone i was still in shock that those young kids had to go through so much. No kid should have to go through that. i though it was kind of funny how Ishmael and his friends liked to sing and dance to rap music. at the end of the book i am glad that the kids became civil again and didn't stay hooked on the drugs
ReplyDeleteI finished "Night" by Elie Wiesel. I learned on how fast a man can loose faith in a matter of seconds, and how much someone can gain by holding on to a thread of hope. I hadn't found much shocking, as I've read these types of books before, kind of expecting what happens next. I never found much strange, as again, I've read stuff like this before. I expect people to fight tooth and nail when in dire situations.
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