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.
in night it was hard to believe how little people cared for people when it came to thing and people would do anything to survive. like one kid in my book a kid killed his father just for a crumb of bread and after that he was killed for the same bread. i have learned that even what we think about what we would do in certain situations. we will never know until we are put in said position.
ReplyDeleteThis book at many points where it was shocking especially the kid who killed his father just for a crumb of bread to later be killed just upsetting how cruel Germans were back then.
DeleteAgreed, throughout the book I wondered how a human can treat one another like that
DeleteThat is insane that he killed his own father for a bread crumb, this book sounds filled with action and sounds very gruesome.
DeleteIt is hard to believe that there were times in the world where people would turn on there own parents, or anyone else killing them just over a slice of bread when we have access to millions of grocery stores where we can go and get bread and any other food or drink we want. In A Long Way Gone the main characters are starving and steal food from others and feel badly about it but was never that bad that they were killing each other for food.
DeleteI really want to know if the German soldiers had any empathy towards the Jews they were torturing. I wonder if these soldiers were really monsters or this is just how they were raised and taught. If I was one of the German soldiers, I would work to help the Jews escape if possible.
DeleteI don't think anyone can actually image what they would do in some of those situations because it is so gruesome that you would have to just go with whatever happens because things could change at any moment.
Deleteafter reading the kite runner i learned a lot about afghan culture and history. one thing that shocked me was the portrayal of the Taliban regime and its brutal treatment of people. it was hard to believe the extent of their oppression and the violence they inflicted on innocent individuals. for example, the scene where Hassan and his wife are executed by the Taliban is heartbreaking and shows the devastating impact of their rule. Another aspect that seemed strange to me was the rigid social hierarchy and the concept of honor and shame in Afghan society. the way Baba, Amir's father, valued honor above all else and the pressure placed on individuals to upload their family's reputation was something i hadn't encountered before. it was fascinating to see how these culture norms influenced the characters' actions and decisions. Overall, reading the kite runner gave me a deeper understanding of the complexities of Afghan culture and history. it made me reflect on the power of redemption, the consequences pf choice, and the resilience of the human spirit.
ReplyDeleteIn Afghan culture people would be killed even if they were innocent? Is it a power or rule they have there?
DeleteI agree with you! My book also talked about the Taliban and took place in Afghanistan. I thought it was crazy that so many innocent people were killed. People would just be on the streets walking home from school and be shot with a rocket. I found it astonishing that the Taliban also had schools where young men learned how to be a suicide bomber with the jackets and vests.
Deleteya I didn't know if they were going to fight at first, I thought this was going to be a book about them fighting in war but I was wrong. But throughout the novel lot of historical events happened the Afghan-Soviet war started on December 24th, 1979
DeleteAfter reading the Night, it stunned me how some people can be this cruel on someone else. I could not believe how they would kill them just if they did on thing wrong and it was strange how some were nice and maybe felt horrible doing this, but some were mad in thinking it was okay to do this. It was insane how they would shoot babies in the sky as practice with rifles and machine guns and make them starve to death. In the book a son killed his father for bread to eat and later after was beaten and killed by others in the wagon. Even when they hung a little boy who was so light he struggled there for an hour while everyone had to watch it. I knew something like the gas chambers and the different types of camps, but everything else is traumatizing to the max.
ReplyDeleteMy book in a way relates to this too. Some of the people who were in charge of working for the Taliban felt bad for what was happening to people. The person who put Miriam in prison said that he did not want to because he knew that she was telling the truth about stopping him from killing someone else, but he had to follow the Koran. Another character who showed this conflicting personality was Zaman because he was running the orphanage but also educating his kids.
Deleteyour book seems a lot similar to my book i feel like if both authors came together they would make a great book.
Deleteto anwser your questions in the book the kite runner, would they kill inocent people? yes, people are portrayed as a result of the political and social turmoil in Afghanistan during that time.
DeleteI could not relate to The Kite Runner but you can see how traumatic at the time and still to this day that this is and how the culture has changed to prevent that and to keep other religions open unless it causes harm and you can see here that this was horrible.
DeleteYeah I agree and another thing makes this book stand out is how Elie describes everything that's going on, you can picture every sentence in your mind. There were many times when I put the book down and questioned what did I just read.
DeleteI also read Night, and I truly think that this book is one everyone should read. It was definitely an eye opener for me. These people did everything they could to survive, and it made me realize how fortunate I am for the life I was given.
DeleteAfter reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I was astonished at the difference of the treatment of women. Withing the novel it depended on who was running the country to determine what the role of a women was. When the Taliban were in control women were not allowed to travel alone, go outside without their husband, leave their home or be able to be seen by the public without wearing a burqa. The part of the book that I was the most astonished by was the number of things that men could get away with purely because of their gender. The response to when Laila tried to tell the officers about the beatings that she and Miriam were getting routinely by their husband was met with the words of "what a man does in his home is his own business. " Another example of this was when Rasheed had placed Aziza in the orphanage and refused to claim her as a child. Laila would try to leave the house unaccompanied to go see her daughter because Rasheed was too lazy to walk the 2 blocks to the orphanage. Laila would be met by the Taliban who would beat her until she was unrecognizable and then force her to somehow walk home without seeing her child. However, when another group of people took over Afghanistan, then it was okay for women to work and that they would have a say and be expected to travel and care for things on their own. It was just crazy for me to read about the jump that this country had and that so many people thought that it was okay to treat a person that way specifically based on their gender.
ReplyDeletemine and your book have lots of similarities and i feel like both books make everyone blown away by the dramatic scenes that take place and the level of betrayal, they are both really good books.
DeleteIn the book The Kite Runner we also had the Taliban come and make some dramatic scenes with them shooting in Amir's home and what happened there and I can see that the Afghanistan country had hard times with the Taliban in there country
DeleteI also thought the way they treated woman was crazy, and not okay. I really like the quote you used to describe this.
DeleteI also thought it was crazy how the men could get away with anything just because they were a guy and the women couldn't even go outside alone.
DeleteIt's just really crazy that women are still treated like this even today, it's terrible that the women in Afghanistan can't be helped by people because of the consequences
DeleteAfter reading about Afghanistan in the book The Kite Runner i learned that there are a lot of caring people but you don't get all the greats and goods in the country, people are living in huts and giving strangers that are hungry Afghanistan's give them all they have in food and anything they need knowing they do not know where they are going to get there next meal. The way that they talked about Amir's and Hassan's childhood there are kids that have a really high class and a low of low and we do not get to see the middle and I do not think there would be. and then the way Baba when he was alive had to get a job when going to America but in Afghanistan he is rich and has maids which explains the money currency and then the language and the religion is going to be hard to find in the united states.
ReplyDeleteUpon completing my book, Night, I was shocked by the people that does the treating and the people that get treated. For example, the Kommados without a second beats on a inmates for no reason and the inmates takes it. Reading about that situation shocks me because one, how can one treat a person like that and two if you knew you were bound to die why not die fighting or defending yourself. Another thing that surprised me is their belief. They been tormented the whole time and yet still look towards God for an answer. In the book, a character is trying to get an answer from God and questioning why are they still there. There is a lot of difference between both history and present.
ReplyDeleteSomething that stood out to me the most about the Jewish culture is how involved they are in their religion. They pray constantly and have lots more "holidays" than us and celebrate more things. I have also learned how ruthless Germans are and how brainwashed they were. Hitler knew how to control and it showed. The Jewish people are so strong and full of hope. What seemed strange to me was just the fasting. Christians don't fast like Jews do and it seemed interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how the Jewish culture of your book differs from the African culture in A Long Way Gone. The main character recalls past moments of his life of "Name-Branding Ceremony" where each child born in Sierra Leone have a ceremony for there family and friends to pray for a name to be called upon them to name there child. Beah recalls story of there grandparents telling him how his name was called and how they new it was a perfect fit as it resembled the sky, and Beah thinks often of his little brother's and other friends he attended.
DeleteI think that the Jews religion is what held them together and kept them alive throughout the holocaust. Even though they lost most of the hope, there religion was so strong the i feel the they couldn't get rid of all of it. That is the only way Eliezer got through was to keep pushing with a hope for the end.
DeleteI agree with you. It's so interesting to read about other cultures and religions especially when you are not very educated. I think that their beliefs and hope is the reason some of them did survive. I probably would have given up.
DeleteI also found it interesting how the Jewish culture relied a lot upon their religion. It was very sacred to them and It was very sad reading about how they slowly lost hope in their god. I couldn't imagine what that must have been like.
DeleteOnce I finished the book A Thousand Splendid Suns, I realized the difference in how they treat woman. The Taliban controlling woman, saying they can't go outside alone or travel is crazy, and how Rasheed punished both Lalia and Mariam by beating them and locking them in a shed. Another thing I noticed that shocked me was just how insane the world got for them, like with the amount of bombs and houses being blown up was scary, it was like a game every day and you would not know if you'd go outside and end up dead. Alongside the treatment of woman, something that really bothered me was that a man could have multiple wives. The difference in both the setting of their lives and how they get treated is so much different than the lives we have here.
ReplyDeleteThe way that they were beat was honestly horrible and I wasn't really expecting it at all.
DeleteIt also shocked me how dangerous their everyday lives were even when they weren't directly putting themselves in harms way they still had that large possibility of dying everyday. SCARY!
DeleteI read A Thousand Splendid Suns which takes place in Afghanistan. I learned that in the culture it is normal for women to get married young and that some men have multiple wives. Those are the things that shocked me and surprised me the most. It also surprised me that the women had no say in them getting married and they weren't supposed to go outside alone. They made an announcement that women were not allowed to go outside alone. Also Jalil had 3 wives and Rasheed had 2 wives. It all made me really uncomfortable and if i was there Id probably get murdered.
ReplyDeleteCould not imagine living in such a horrific culture. Did the girl with the husband that had multiple wives have any self worth. I feel that if I was in that position i would end up feeling like i am worth nothing because of just being one of the wives. That is crazy.
DeleteThis culture sounds surreal. The thought of marriage in your teens is unlike anything I've heard about before. It does not sound like a very favorable culture to be in as a younger woman.
DeleteBeing forced to marry in your teens is crazy. Also the fact that some people had multiple wives is so out of this world to think of.
DeleteI also read this book, I was too shocked about the age gaps in marriages and the several wives. It also made me uncomfortable that men had several wives!
DeleteThat pretty wild. Sound pretty normalized hopefully their culture doesn't remain the same in the future.
DeleteAfter reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah not only from reading this book did you get to learn about the african heritage and style of living but also about the war in Sierra Leone where multiple people were getting killed or forced to work for the rebels or become a child solider to fight the rebels. It is crazy to think about after reading as this war took place during the 1980's-1990's that our parents were alive during this time and is not that far away from the years we were born. I can't believe everything Beah had to go through growing up, and did not get a childhood at all from the ages of 12-16 but even during those times there were times he was running from the war or attacks of the rebels and losing his friends. It is terrible that Beah had to grow up losing his entire family to the war of the rebels and was separated from them during the first attack and was never able to talk to them again. Also how Beah became a child solider at the age of 12 having to fight for a war in his country, it is hard to believe everything he went through and am happy he is living peacefully in New York where he is completely safe and out of Sierra Leone.
ReplyDeleteHearing that there were solders at the age of 12-16 is crazy. In The Kite Runner there were mention of Taliban solders who were young but none were ever that young.
DeleteI agree with Grant 12-16 year solder is crazy. In Night there are young kids forced to work close to death but not to kill others.
DeleteI cannot Imagine being 12 years old soldier and having to follow orders you couldn't deny. In my book night my main character Elie was around the age of 15 which is close to Beah. In Night Elie had to lie about his age so he wouldn't be killed on the spot because of his age. To me all of these stories feel fake, It is just insane that these people actually went through all of these time periods. All of these characters in every book seem so strong.
DeleteIt is crazy to think that a war like this happened so recently and that there was no media coverage over this war besides this book.
DeleteThe book Night was defiantly hard to read as sooo many people died in the time frame that is book is written in. The author Elie make s the events that happen in the book so really that you step into the characters shoes. I learned how important faith is to Jews. I think there faith is what got some people through the holocaust alive. Even thought it felt like they lost all of there faith, i believe that some still were able to hang on to a bit of there faith. I still cannot believe that Eliezer survived all of those horrible thing and made it out alive. The Jews tight knit community before the camps helped them when being torn apart by the germans.
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DeleteI can agree with this 100%, as I felt like I was there when Ellie was describing his surroundings and all the death around him. It really makes me wonder how he kept his hope up all that time given his circumstances.
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DeleteWhile reading Night, by Elie Wiesel. I learned many things from the book including how one person with power (Hitler) can cause such a human disaster. I realized that all the German soldiers don't really understand what they are fighting for, they are just following there orders. One thing that really surprised me is people can treat other people really badly and just get away with it, or keeping it secret. The whole world didn't know about the holocaust until the very end of it. The Germans were real good at keeping their mouths shut, but they were also good at keeping records of everything, that's the evidence we have that the holocaust was real. Another thing that I learned was how innocent the Jews were, they didn't do nothing wrong. The Germans abused them just for their religion and culture. The Jews were actually very nice and friendly. In addition, I learned that you have to be aware of what's going on. The way nobody believed that they were getting invaded by the Germans until they actually showed up and sent them to concentration camps. Moishe The Beedle was warning everybody about the camps and what the Nazis do to the Jews and nobody believed him. If people believed in Moishe The Beedle, they could've ran out the country before it would happen. This taught me to be aware of things around me because your whole life could change in just a second.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was weird how the soldiers never knew why they were keeping them in the camps, but they just followed order. also, I didn't understand how they kept it a secret from the whole world.
Deletewhile reading Night by Elie Wiesel. I was stunned at how horrific people can be. for example, while reading the book the guards would take babies and throw them into the sky as target practice, when they were running between camps they shot anyone that fell behind, and they barely got any food during the entire time they were in camps getting only bread and sometimes soup. This book shows how strong previous generations were compared to us and how lucky we are that this kind of stuff doesn't happen to us. I thought it was kind of strange how the Germans made the Jews believe everything would be fine. throughout the whole book I wondered why they would want to live at that point. I think this book really showed how bad everything was during that time.
ReplyDeleteCrazy to think how similar the Taliban is to the Nazis. The Taliban in Kite Runner would just shoot innocent people in the streets if they felt they were acting up or were out of line and would host public killings at sporting events to show their power.
Deleteits hard to think about things like this like why would someone want to live if the Germans took all the life from you like your family and friends are gone and for all you know the town u left is gone.
DeleteAfter reading the book "Night" I was given a different perspective on how both the Jewish community and the Nazis believed different things. Although the Jews were tortured and starved beyond survival, they showed hope and their trust in God to help free them. This showed that their community was full of Faith even during dark times, and that they were determined to survive. On the other hand, I was able to learn how the Nazi's were coldblooded killers that showed little to no remorse at all for the suffering Jews. This showed what the Nazis stood for as a community and it's sickening and I wish nothing but the worst for all who participated with them. The Jewish culture to this day is very strong within their beliefs even after facing almost a complete wipeout of their population.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Kite Runner, we learned a decent amount about the Muslim religion and what the Afghanistan culture is like. The most interesting thing I learned about their religion is that the father's have say and are responsible for getting marriages arranged for their son. It's also wild to think about the social classes in Afghanistan. For instance Hassan was a Hazara which is a servant and they are considered the lowest on the social class. With that said when the Taliban came through, they were the first ones to be taken out. Something else I learned about the culture as a whole, is that Afghans are willing to give the shirt off their back for just about anyone. An example of this is when Amir goes on the search for his nephew and Amir had to return to Kabul his home city, but along the way he had to spend a night at a random family's house and they provided anything he desired even though they were struggling to live themselves.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the family's house he stayed at was a good depiction of how the taliban treated the people and how all they wanted was food. I also learned from that part that these people are willing to give their last bits of food a stranger when there kids are starving.
DeleteIn the book Kite Runner I learned many things about culture in Afghanistan. The most interesting thing I learned was how they had servants that worked for them called Hazaras. And even after 20 years they were still look down on. The way that the taliban treated people in Afghanistan was very shocking and how they took away all there food. Through Amir's return to Afghanistan you can see how the taliban had destroyed the country and what once was his home. Also the way the Taliban treated people by stoning them at soccer games was very cruel. It was also interesting to read about how some people had multiple wives and lovers which led to them being brothers. Reading this book definitley makes you more grateful for the things you have because things are much worse in other parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteThe stoning part was also an eye opener for me. I knew that it had happened in the past but didn't realize it was something that still happened.
Deleteit truly does make you grateful for all the things you have in your life. also the stoning part is a truly cruel and eye opening event to read about.
DeleteAfter reading the book Night, my perpective of life will definitely change. I feel more grateful for the life I was given. The way these people were treated was horrendous and none of them deserved any of it. It is sad that the SS officers had no sympathy towards these people, and willingly beat the till they would bleed or pass out or until they could not take it anymore. I hated the way they treated these humans like literal animals. I mean would pile hundreds of them into train cars and after so long would stop and throw out the dead bodies. But before they would do that passengers would strip them of their clothes so that they could wear them to stay warm as this was happening during a snowstorm. This makes you sick, but they also had to do what they needed to do to survive. I cannot imagine going through this. The culture here is just so different as the germens just had no empathy towards this people and did not care whatsoever about them. I do believe that the Jews religion is what helped some of them survive. For those who were able to we're so strong and they had faith in themselves and God that they would survive this terrible time in their lives.
ReplyDeleteWow that is terrible that someone could treat another person so terrible like that! I am glad our culture is different here compared to your story!
DeleteJeez louise you really got into it. Sounds like your characters went through a lot of torture in the book
DeleteOnce I had finished the book Night, I gained a new perspective on different cultures. One of which being the Jewish culture. As I read through the novel I found out that they care a lot about their religion and their god. I knew this because they would recite kaddish every so often and praise of it. It is basically a prayer meant for the dead that praises universal peace. this was very unique
ReplyDeleteto me because they relied a lot in gods power though out the book and never gave up in the lord until later on. I also fully understood on why Elie gave up his religion. If I sought god to protect and take care of me while in the concentration camps, I would loose all hope as the camps are living hell and there is no protection from god.
I agree with you Tyler on the fact that the Jewish people care deeply about there religion, but at some parts in the book a lot of the Jews started questioning their Faith in God.
DeleteI find some similarities in some cultures that pray a lot such as Muslims and judaism witch i feel like might have gave them hope, praying three times a day might help them into believing that there god is goin gto help them because they pray so much
DeleteI agree with you Tyler. The Jewish people are religious and trust that their God protected them. When I finished the book I realized that God didn't protect them from persecution at all. I would like to know why he didn't do this.
Deletei agree with you Tyler. For a person to be so strongly connected to a believe says something about who they are and willing to die for him. If i was in there position i would be questioning god why too.
DeleteAfter reading The Kite Runner I have learned a lot about Afghanistan culture. One of the many shocks was how drastic the social hierarchy is. How the Hazara's are all servants living in little mud huts. At times they are even treated as subhuman. One example of that is when Hassan was sexually assaulted, Assef said that it wasn't a sin because he was a Hazara. Or when the Taliban took over they went house to house massacring the Hazara's. Another thing that surprised me was how the father of the guy would ask the father of the girl if his son could marry his daughter. that is very backwards to how it is done in the west and it was very weird to read.
ReplyDeleteI find it so hard to people how different people are treated in other countries and it is "normal" for them to do that
Deleteit truly is horrible how the Hazara's are treated as nothing more than objects essentially. and it would be a bit embarrassing if my father had to talk to the parents of the person i want to marry.
Deleteyeah like how in one culture the woman would drop something Infront of a guy she liked to get him to pick it up and talk to here. could u imagine a world where woman make the first move. but i can't imagine what would happen if the dad refused the marriage.
Deleteits horrible that Hazara's is treated poorly
DeleteThere was quite a lot that I learned about the Jewish culture from reading this book. For instance, their year or the Jewish year ends at a different time than ours does, theirs ends at the end of the summer. I also learned that their sabbath is on Saturday instead of on Sunday. Something that shocked me was how devoted to fasting and how much they are supposed to fast for the Jewish religion. Something that seemed strange to me is how all of them didn’t hear about what was happening to other Jews and how they did nothing. They weren’t worried it seemed; they just went on with their lives. I couldn’t believe how in the end when they were in the cattle cars again how they would almost kill each other for a little bread, for instance a son killed his father for so crumbs of bread. Overall, I really liked this book. I thought there was going to be more gore to it than there was, which I am happy about. I like getting a different look into the Holocaust and different camps and how not all of them were the same.
ReplyDeleteI was also extremely shock when reading the cattle car scene. It really shows how these concentration camps take the human out of these people. I also felt the same about how gory it was. Not to say there was none because there definitely was, but I was just expecting more from it. I am also happy I read this book to learn about a real life experience in the Holocaust and the emotions a real person felt.
DeleteI agree the treatment of the Jew was horrifying for all who endured it to the point it hurts to read and learn about it. I am really glad you enjoyed reading this novel though.
DeleteAfter reading my book 1,000 splendid suns I had a very big culture shock. One thing I learned was they all have very unusual names that you wouldn't probably hear much of around here. What really shocked me was the fact that there were 15-year-olds marrying 45-year-olds, that is something that is very illegal in our country and just something nobody would want to do. Something I thought was strange was that most men had multiple wives, which was very odd because that is very looked down upon around here as it should be, also how men have a lot of kids. Another thing is most Men wanted sons. Rasheed a character out of my novel said he could never love a girl as much as he could love a son because the son could carry on his last name and keep his family going a girl could not. As my novel was taking place there was a war going on in Afghanistan the war doesn't get brought up much but, in the end, it is said that the Taliban which is some of the people from the country where my story takes place. This is when 9/11 happens and president Busch declared their home country and enemy. This was a decent book very gory and hard to read at times but overall interesting.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading my book Night makes readers learn more about the Jewish culture. In a normal year the Jewish people would fast on The Day of Atonement. They men were not sure if they should obey their culture or eat at the attempt of survival. Elie personal gave in and eat the bread, but he and he said he did it as an act of rebellion. Most of these men lost the sight of God and couldn't see how he would let this happen to them. Another part of the Jewish culture I read about was when they said or talked about Kaddish. Kaddish is a prayer the Jews recite to honor the dead. This few out of many details were very interesting for me to learn about while reading the book. It shocked me that these men were in such an awful situation that made them disobey their religion. It really goes to show that these concentration camps really do dehumanize people. Nothing really specifically shocked me about the Jewish culture. It is similar to Christianity and has prayers and traditions. The Jewish people definitely seemed very close with their religion and family for the most part. This made me feel happy that during most the book they had both of these things to get them through the tough times. There was a point in the book that I felt sad though. When Elie dad was close to dying Elie kind of acting like he was annoyed with him and just wanted him to die. I did not like these part and that he kind of felt this way, but I am sure he only wanted to not feel held back from potential survival.
ReplyDeleteIt's horrible that these things happened to them, and it is truly amazing to me that throughout all they had endured they still kept faith in their religion as much as they could even when they lost their humanity.
DeleteIn the book Night, I did not realize how religious the Jews were. Almost through three quarters of the book it gets heavy on telling how everyone was praying and hoping for an end to the miss treatment they have been getting and just even before they were in the camp they had a really strong religious life. Having been put in these camps, I think that it has strengthens some beliefs and pulled some other apart.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of the Jewish people in the Holocaust lost their faith and felt completely hopeless.
DeleteI think that the Jewish people were religious but must have thought that God had forgotten about them. Why would he let the German SS officers torture and murder them. It doesn't make sense.
Deletei noticed this to but one thing that i thought with it was how many of the people of the religion ended up losing faith because none of the praying they did was changing the way the germans acted.
DeleteI noticed this to i believe that people stopped believing because they could not believe or understand why God would let those terrible things happen.
DeleteIn A thousand Splendid Suns you see many differences between our culture and afghan culture our lives are completely different in so many ways. Women cover themselves so that no one can see them except there husbands and these women are married off to a random man they have never met before at 14 years old, the woman completely forget about the families they had lived there lives with so far and they are now only part of there husbands family. The way the woman were treated by their husbands really shocked me because the men are terrible to these wives all they want them for is to have children. Something that I found strange is how all these people living in Afghanistan are and have been living through war there entire lives and thats all they know and then once there is no war to be fought they fight themselves because all they know is killing and fighting.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible that the war has been going on for so long that fighting is all they know.
DeleteDang man. And to think that I thought how the Taliban were treating women in my book was bad. but to hear that they are treated even worse in Afghanistan sucks to hear. And that they never even meet the husband until 14, makes me a little sick.
Deletethat is terrible that the girls get treated that way
DeleteIn the book A long way gone by Ishmael Beah, I was shocked by how easy it was for the rebels to overthrow the existing government. This surprised me because in modern America you would never see a rebellion of any sorts get to this level of control. Another thing that surprised me was the difference in culture. In America everyone is given the same opportunities while in Sierra Leone, Ishmael's home country, there are stricter guidelines such as women do the cooking and men go off and fight in the war.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you it was shocking how easily it was for the rebels to hop from town to town doing whatever they wanted and the government not stopping them at all and eventually the rebels took over completely.
Deletei agree i find it hard to believe that someone can just overthrow the government with such ease knowing our culture and yet others cann be overthrown overnight.
DeleteI agree what you are saying cause I also read the same book as you cooper
Deletein The Kite Runner I learned about the culture of Afghanistan via the way they are described as praying and the way they act during events like a wedding. we see that they pray on blankets whilst they bow down and that for a wedding the parents must speak to get their children married and that the bride's family pays for the wedding and the groom's family pays for the honeymoon. What shocked me was the fact that the afghans seemed to value their reputation and pride above anything else. it also seemed strange to me that the way people were treated depended on their ethnic group. then I couldn't believe that the Taliban would kill people just for looking at them.
ReplyDeleteThat is shocking that they value their own reputation and pride over anything else.
DeleteThey did seem to value reputation and pride over everything else, but this makes me wonder why they did not stand up to the Taliban more.
DeleteI agree, how can you have servants and be so empathetic at the same time
DeleteJeez, after reading this it sounds like the Taliban are even worse in Afghanistan than in Pakistan because at least in Pakistan they need an "actual reason" to shoot you. Also did you know the Taliban first started off as a band of kids that were given guns and trained by the Pakistani government, I think.
DeleteI agree they do value there on morality and pride vary highly of course being a very religious country you're gonna have strong opinions about themselves and how the world is and they're not gonna let anyone say no because it's their God that wills it even if they're not as religious like Bubba they still have great honor and pride for themselves and their name.
DeleteAfter completing the book "I am Malala" I learned quite a bit about the Pakistani culture such as how conservative they are about their women and how it is frowned upon for their women to even go outside without a family member which shocked me quite a bit since I am quite used to the women in America who are seemingly just as powerful and independent as men. so to hear that, in another country, that women can't even go outside by themselves it just so bizarre. And their whole obsession with revenge was rather strange considering their need to be hospitable for visitors. such as how when people came to Malala's home, her mother was complaining because there was too many people to take care of, or an example of how they are obsessed with revenge is like how in the book a women is given another family just to settle a family dispute. But all in all I found this book interesting and I struggled to put it down near the end, but before that, not so much. I feel like their could've been less talk about the country's past. But other than that I liked it.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book A Thousand Splendid Suns I learned how different other peoples cultures are from one anothers. For example women are expected to be obedient with their lives largely defined by their roles as wives and mothers. They are also required to wear burqas in public and cant get an education or a job. This really shocked me because nowadays women do all the same things as a man and don't let anyone push them around. Another thing that surprised me was the aspect of marriage in this book. Most marriages are arranged marriages or the man decides on everything. Another part of the book where i couldn't believe was that fact that Rasheed is so much older than Mariam and Laila. It's just very shocking because the girls are barely teenagers. Overall this book was kind of a sad read but it was very interesting to learn new things about different cultures and how they used to function.
ReplyDeleteIn the book A Long Way Gone their culture is way different than ours. Cooking and cleaning are meant for the women and the men go off to war. We can see this when the girls in the kitchen call Beah feminine for knowing how to cook as men can only cook if they don't have a wife. I was also shocked at how easily the rebels took over their country. They hopped from village to village destroying and killing everyone in sight.
ReplyDeleteYeah Sierra Leone was a weird place for. It easily got overthrown by the rebels and many of the ways of thinking were old school and lots of thoughts seemed to be the old way of thinking
DeleteThrough out the story A Long way Gone the culture is very different then what America is like. You see the different ways they do things like think and use medicine. You also see you easy it was for the rebels to take over. I think that in America it would take more than just people doing that to take over. Also I couldn't believe how people acted towards Ishmael when he was running away from the rebels people would not help him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that in America it would take more than that to take over.
DeleteIt would definitely be hard to do that in America, Would you have helped Ishmael in their situation though? i know i would probably not have helped.
DeleteThe Kite Runner is mainly based in Afghanistan and the culture there is very different from what it is here. I learned that there doesn't seem to be a middle class and if there is we did not see it in the book. I was shocked by the main characters admiration to his father even after he learned about him sleeping with one of their servants. I thought the Taliban's treatment towards innocent people and the fear that they imposed on the people was very shocking and very strange. I think if that were to happen here our military and citizens would give everything to not be ruled by such a group.
ReplyDeleteIt was very different from how it wasn't middle class and I think I respected him more not his view on my father did not change much.
DeleteI also thought it was weird that the author did not include more of what the main character was feeling when he learned that his servant was his half brother.
DeleteIn the book Night, multiple times he tells about the terrible things that have been done to him. When he was forced to watch the 13-year-old boy get hanged. That would have probably made my stomach ache and I might have freaked out. The book also tells us how the German SS officers cannot be caught sleeping with the Jewish girls. Eliezer walked in one one and had been whipped 25 times for it. Personally, I would rather be shot than whipped.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading A Long Way Gone I learned more about what it is like to have war going on in your country. As a child he was forced to mature very quickly. He was forced to kill and scare many people while in the rebels. If this were to happen around here I don't think I would be able to kill anyone like they were forced to.
ReplyDeletedifferent culture in the book Kite Runner was large the way they act and see the world an example is their business at the farmers market buying and haggling whenever the opportunity to make money they take it being a poorer country and their culture. What shocked me was the inconsistency of blood and religion. In some parts of the book, the Pakistanis and Afghanistan get along because they're Muslim. But then argue and kill Hazaras/other Muslims.
ReplyDeleteWhat seemed strange to me is how they don't take any help from others, Baba's medicine or food stamps they don't take handouts
didn't really think about it in an agriculture setting but interesting
DeleteI don't understand why they would kill others of their culture being Muslim shouldn't they be religious?
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ReplyDeletesomething that really shocked me about the book night and the culture of the people is how many of the people that didn't actually care about the life of the jews with the germans wanting to wipe out there race and the jews themselves being in captivity waiting to just give up because the way they were treated how they had to live making it hard for them something else that i found interesting was the way the one culture decided to treat the other in order to gain control.
ReplyDeleteafter reading thousand splendid suns, I am blown away on the difference between women in the cultures. we live a much different live and, in a way, different culture then what they have. it's scary the things they go through. they cover their face and marry guys they don't get to pick. they are 14 and married to guys that could their dad's age. they get beat up for not having a boy, when they have a girl. their culture is just crazy to think about when its weird to us, but its probably weird to them on are culture.
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ReplyDeleteIn the book The Kite Runner, it was hard for me to understand and believe that Amir's father was doing all the moving just for his son. The book was ok but I did expect a lot more from it. I strongly felt that Amir needed to grow up and throughout the book, he showed little to no growth until almost the end.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the book was hard to understand especially in the beginning
DeleteAfter reading the book a long way gone I realize how much we take what we have for granted. Young children have to experience war and not only war but war without rules. Where absolutely anything can happen and they are able to see every single detail of it. One thing from the book that is hard to understand is that children in these wars are so feared. Because not only is it just men but children now play a factor too. Crazy to think how cultures are so different.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you we take so many things for granted we are so lucky to have things the way that we do. I couldn't even imagine being in there shoes.
DeleteI learned that Afghanistan's culture compared to the US was genuinely insane from the fact that it was looked at as normal to lock up your WIVES and your kid just because they tried to escape from how bad of a person you are. Also the fact Laila got pissed on by a water gun. Everything seemed strange compared to how the US culture is now. Another example is when Mariam apparently undercooked the rice and Rasheed pried her mouth open and shoved pebbles in it and made her chew it. Overall it was hard to read just because of how gruelling it was half the time.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was crazy how it was so normal to do that to your family, I know the book was really intense for me to read, but overall it was a good book
DeleteWhen I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I was shocked at the treatment of women was entirely different of the men in Afghanistan . Within the novel the role of a women was determined based on who was running Afghanistan at the point of the book section we were on. When the Taliban were ruling and running Afghanistan, women were not allowed to do many things like traveling alone, go outside without their husband, leave their home or be able to be seen by the public without wearing a burqa. The number of things that men could get away with just because of their gender truly astonished me. When Laila would be met by the Taliban who would beat her until she was unrecognizable and then force her to somehow walk home without seeing her child was crazy to me, like i don't get how people in Afghanistan find it normal to beat on another human being.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of this, the blatant disrespect to women just because they weren't men was sickening to see. That's one of the main parts of why i didn't like this books as much as it was hard to read the treatment of individuals.
DeleteIn the book The Kite Runner the culture is very different to ours. I was expecting it to be harsh but not that harsh. In the book there is a separate group 0f people called the Hassaras and they are basically slaves, in the middle of the book the Hassaras where rounded up and murdered. The book describes some horrific details but mostly its pretty tame. I was not necessarily shocked because I already knew that the middle east was pretty hostile.
ReplyDeleteI also heard that the middle east was rough but I didn't know that things were that bad
DeleteIn the book Kite Runner I was surprised that Babas co-worker told Amir that he was related to Hassan the whole time it kind of switched my whole point of view of the book and made more since on why Amir was getting Hassans son. I was also surprised that Assef came back and tried to kill Amir. If I had to rate this book 1-10 I would give it a 7/10 if the first half of the book wasn't so slow I would have given it a higher rating
ReplyDeletewhile reading the book "The Kite Runner" I've learned that the afghani culture is based off a cast system that builds off of family name and reputation. In their culture they are very hush hush about certain problems and would rather take their mistakes and secrets to the grave than to be open and risk the chance of ruining the honor of their family name. With this comes a culture of strict traditions and regulations when being raised in this culture almost like cookie cutter lifestyles. For example baba's secret was that he had committed adultery and with that it produced a hazara child which where consider servants and poor, but with him being of high status and wealthy he decided to take it to the grave due to strict religious traditions he kept quite his whole life and even passed his son as the son of his servant due to fear it might ruin his wealthy and noble reputation. Another role their cultured portrayed in the book was when Amir was going to get married to a girl he had only met twice while in America. Amir was also instilled with theses cookie cutter traditions and went through the right stages of asking for his wife's hand in marriage, this is showed when he asked his father to go to Soraya house and ask her father for for the permission to let Amir have his daughters hand in marriage. They where also never given the chance to date it was only courting then if the both agreed then the engagement party came the marriage
ReplyDeleteI've learned there is a big difference between us and thread world countries. it is shocking to me to find out what people are going through at such a young age. such as fighting for their life a just 12 years old. when were 12 the only thing we have to worry about is what i was going to eat or what i was going to do at reses. one thing that was strange to me was that how they lived or what cloths they wore. I couldn't be leave there meds and how violent he got. he shot someone in the foot because the shot him in the foot and the shot him in the head because he was sick of listening to him cry.
ReplyDeleteYour book is a lot similar than mine with kids fighting for there lives everyday and with a war constantly going on throughout there country. Drew what is a thread world country do they take different actions in helping there people.
DeleteI've finished the book Night, by Elie Wisele, a Transylvanian, Romanian surviver of the Auschwitz Holocost. Though the book he had written was mainly about his experiences while in Auschwitz, there still is a small speck of his personal life, and cultural customs, mainly about his religous beliefs of the Jewish culture. But all-in-all, learning about a different religous beliefs (and expecily in the context of the horror of war and famine).
ReplyDeleteYes after reading the book Night this has really opened my eyes the things that they did are just crazy.
DeleteYes learning about the different religions in other countries, tells you more about what people go through, for example the religion that people are born with stick with them and are hated for what they believe in.
DeleteAfter reading the book Night, I have learned that lots of cultures are a lot different than ours. Some things that shocked me is how much some different cultures practice there religion. And how almost there whole life goes around it. Something that seemed strange to me is how one group of people can hate another group of people for doing nothing and just living there life. And how they can hate them so much they want to take they off the face of the earth. Like how in my book the Germans took the Jews by the millions to take them to be killed. I just don't understand how you can treat one culture like that just to gain control.
ReplyDeleteI am reading the book Night and I have learned that the Germans treated those of Jewish culture like animals. It shocked me that they put them in gas chambers and also burned/ threw children in ditches in the camp. Something that seemed strange to me was when everyone was in a state of such starvation and dehydration they would fight over crumbs of bread, eat snow, and steal others portions of soup. I also couldn't believe that Elie's father died right at the end, I thought he would've potentially died halfway through the book.
ReplyDeleteI know i cant beleave that they would do that to those such young and inocent people. I feel sorry for that girl that had to witness her dad dying RIP.
DeleteThe things that happened throughout the holocaust was absolute terrible for the Jews from 1939 to 1945. I could ever imagine being there at the time.
DeleteThe culture in Afghanistan culture is a lot different compared to the culture here in the United States the hardships they face are miserable woman have no rights and cant work. They are constantly at war with in the country with no stead economy. The thing that shocked me the most was how Amir went through so much death and hardships in his life as still managed to push through life. The book was an overall great read as I've never experienced the pain and struggle people in 3rd world countries face. I would recommend the book to anyone because it was thrill read with great characters and a good story line.
ReplyDeletethanks for the info
DeleteAfter reading A Long Way Gone, I learned how much Sierra Leone's culture can differ depending on where you live. There's large cities like Freetown which are similar to places like Madison and Dubuque and also a smattering of small villages spread out across the country. The economic status of these are incredibly disparate, with the villages having little to no electricity, and them having to manually collect water. It seemed odd how both separated from more modern society they were while simultaneously interacting with tourism and having access to modern technology like Walkmans. Something weird that I kind of understand is how being a storyteller is seen as an honor and a special skill. Beah is surprised when he discovers the woman in New York who is a storyteller. I do get why its seen as special, because some people are not great at telling stories verbally or modifying them on the fly. I enjoyed learning a bit more about the culture of Sierra Leone, even if most of it was through the lens of the society under intense stress and and slowly crumbling due to war.
ReplyDeletesome of the different culturally things that I've learned is the kite running tournament its the biggest event of the year in there country which is really weird because nobody files kites in American. something that shocked me is the servant. something that was strange to me is when this one kid said that Hitler was the greatest leader ever.
ReplyDelete"I am Malala" I learned quite a bit about the Pakistani culture such as how cruel they are about their women and how it is frowned upon for their women to even go outside without a family member which shocked me quite a bit since I am quite used to the women in America who are seemingly just as powerful and independent as men. so to hear that, in another country, that women can't even go outside by themselves is crazy to me.
ReplyDeleteSo I read the novel a long way gone by ishmael beah. What shocked me the most was how they had to fight in war at such a very young age. I was shocked that they grew up in their culture like that. It is very opposite on how I grew up. My feelings are sad because it was sad to read what that kid went through
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DeleteIn my book "I Am Malala," I found Pakistan's culture kind of crazy because for them the only purpose of a woman is to cook clean and birth babies. When a baby boy is born, he is celebrated but when a baby girl is born it is considered a bad day. I wonder if the woman is forced to stay home because the men would rather be out working and making the money or if it's because they feel the woman aren't capable of having a job and working.
ReplyDeleteyeah that sucks for the girls that live there, and i also feel bad for them. I hope the girls someday get more rights and can actully fight back against them.
DeleteIn my book the long way gone and what shocked me the most is the main character "ish Mabule" is a 12 year old young boy. He is from a forgein country. He is so you and he has to grow up very fast at a young age. The book starts off so strong and gory, to where it says " ive never seen so much blood in my own town, i walk over friends that i have played with just yesterday." Also he has to take drugs and learn how to kill people "The rebels". Ish shocked me for being so young, but also being so brave.
ReplyDeleteWhat i learned from the book night was terrifying. Thinking about the way the Jews were treated is indescribable. I have always known about the holocaust but here the Storys Elie Shares throughout the book. Something I learned about this book was that the Jews were very religious. Seeing the Jews lose faith in God while being in the concentration camps is sad. Very few kept praying to God. The Germans affected the Jews so much during the concentration camps that it was every man for themselves, and many would kill others for food.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty insane on what goes on during the time. I would of imagine seeing all the Jews being round up by the Germans.
DeleteIn the book Night, there were many cultures and people. What shocked me throughout the book was the thing were being done to the Jews like being tortured, burned, shot, worked, and starving them to death. It is really mess up for what happened. This book had a lot of surprises that you knew seen it coming or made a guess on what's going to happen.
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