Response to Oprah episode with Elie Wiesel

Now that we have read some background information about WWII and viewed Elie Wiesel on Oprah, I'd like you to post a response. What are some thoughts regarding the episode? What is something you found surprising or shocking? Is there anything Elie said that sticks out in your mind? Were there any images or photos that you found particularly powerful or moving? Lastly, what questions do you have about Elie, his story, the war, or the Holocaust before we start reading the novel, Night?

thoughts on the movie

I think the movie was interesting. I liked how they group became a family. The thing I realized it was hard for those kids to make a living for them. The worst part of the book was when the guys shot a another guys in the other guy and he missed and hit someone else. I didn't think she would be able to change the student like how she did. I feel bad for the teacher because her husband left her for something dumb. I didn't like the principle she was mean and snotty to the teacher. I am glad that she got to teach the kids till they graduate. I don't think a teach should treat a honor student differently because she was a different skin color then him. I liked how the teacher worked three jobs for her student so they can go out and eat at a nice place. I can't believe that the kids didn't know what the holocaust was. I was shocked. I don't think a father should make fun of his daughter career. I don't know how some people can send a innocent person to jail just to keep their own safe.

Entry 1: Injustice

So I guess I really haven’t seen anything that is unjust. I think the things that really are unjust are things you see on tv. For example while I was sick, for some reason, I watched a bunch of crime shows (about actual crimes, not made up ones). One was about this women who was getting beat up by her husband, so she started to fight back and she ended up killing him. The women ended up getting like 16 years in jail. I really don’t think that’s fair because it was self-defense. If you had been getting beat up for several years, wouldn’t you eventually get sick and tired of it? I think she just got to her breaking point and she didn’t know what to do anymore. I mean I understand that you can’t just go around killing people, but if it’s self-defense I understand why she would have done it.

I think it is hard for people to speak out. Especially if you know you’ll face super bad consequences for speaking up. Like in the movie, if you speak out against your gang, they’re probably not going to be very happy with you. You’ll probably get yourself shot or beat up or something like that.

Entry #3 Myranda

The movie and the diary entries we read were very touching and they gave me goose bumps. I really enjoyed this I wish we would have read the whole book. I would have actually read this! This book, well the parts we read, was amazing!!! One of the themes that stuck out to me was when the one guy said to Meip that she was his hero and he had never had a hero before and she said no I’m not a hero you guys are and the reason why they are is all the things they have over come on there own and how there survivors. That almost made me cry I had huge goose bumps. I think Erin is an amazing teacher who really touched me. She helped all those kids over come the I guess you could say the segregation they were going threw. Before Erin came into theses kids life's they didn’t get along with different races or ethnic groups. They had clicks and enemies, but after Erin came into there life they all had a different more positive view on life. I felt a connection with the white boy. He seamed to be scared and alone. I feel alone a lot and sometimes scared. I feel like the odd one out like he dose.

Entry #2

Tolerance can be a hard thing for me it is. It is really hard for me to be around someone I don’t like or someone who makes me mad or upset. Some people who were well I guess you could say out casts tend to ether except or not except in the cases I have seen its harder to except. I always was kind of a loner I guess you could say I didn’t have a lot of friends, I mean I had some but still I felt alone a lot. Most people belonged to a group or a so called “click”, but I didn’t really. When I was younger I struggled with my grades and school work. I was always be hind compared to the other kids in my grade. I felt very much alone and I just kinda stayed alone. Even when I was at home I was by myself I guess I just got so use to it and then preferred to be alone. Im not really sure if you can teach human empathy I think that things that happen to you are what makes you understand empathy such as like if your animal dies and your friends animal did to then you might be able to understand them more or relate better.

Journal Prompt 3

I thought that it was a great movie, I liked it because she really changed the students a lot. Some of the things I liked the most is that the kids were bad kids at first who did drugs and were in gangs and lived on the streets. I liked that all the kids were involved in the class and were able to be the first in their family to graduate and even go to college. Yes these kids had a very tough start to be bad kids then go out and be the kids that change themselves, friends, and even family. I thought it was kind of sad that the one kids mom kicked him out of the house because he was in a gang. Even though you may not like what your kids choose to do you should always love them and let them be in your home. I liked that he went to his house and asked his mom if he could come back home and not live on the streets. Yes it may be tough for her to take him in but I think she mad the right choice to take him back.