In the beginning chapters of the novel, Refugee, Alan Gratz introduces his characters, Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud, as well as their current situations in their homelands at specific time periods. Gratz specifically writes about Mahmoud blending in as a cloak of invisibility to help him survive his situation. He writes about Josef and those who wear the yellow Star of David armbands as being invisible and how the Cubans were unseen, forgotten and starving. How could it be positive and how could it be negative to be invisible in these situations?
Throughout the novel, Gratz writes about interactions between the Hitler Youth and Josef, Mr. Nasser and the Bishara family, and the Fernandez family, the Castillo family, and the tourists at the Bahamas. Why did Gratz include these interactions?
ReplyDeleteDear Mrs. Bruner,Thank you for reading our blog. Collin, Addison, Ellie, and I appreciate you for blogging with us, and we are excited to receive your response!
Blog #1
Sometimes, in certain situations, being invisible can be positive. However, in some instances, it can be negative. In the novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz, Addison, Ellie, Collin, and I are studying the situations three children, Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud, are in. Some have positive situations of being invisible where some dealt with negative situations.
To begin, it could be positive to be invisible in Josef’s situation. He and his family may not have been discovered if his father would have stopped practicing the law. On page three, Gratz explicitly states, “‘Aaron Landau’ one of the Brownshirts said to Josef’s father, ‘you have continued to practice law, despite the fact that Jews are forbidden to do so under the Civil Service Restoration Act of 1933. For this crime against the German people, you will be taken into protective custody.’” This textual evidence backs up our claim by proving that if Josef’s father did not practice the law after Jews were forbidden from doing so, they may still be invisible and also all together as a family. One can infer that being split up from one’s family during this time could be devastating. A family is a unit...one. When one member is gone, it changes the dynamics of the family; therefore, staying together, if at all possible, needed to be the goal.
On the other hand, being invisible can be negative. It can be negative because if people do not speak up and fight for their rights, when will change happen? For Isabel, she chose to be visible because if she did not, she and her family could starve. For instance, the food shortage in Cuba left most people starving. Isabel did not accept this. On page ten, Gratz explicitly stated, “Isabel loved tagging along on trips to Havana to stand on a street corner and play her trumpet for pesos.” This evidence backs up our claim by proving that Isabel tried to make life better for her family; she did not accept invisibility. Collin, Addison, Ellie, and I can guess that Isabel has strength in her, and that strength supports her family. Because of that, her strength will most likely be the reason her family leaves Cuba and begins a new life.
Even further, in the case of Mahmoud, there are some cases for him where being invisible can be positive, where sometimes, for him, being invisible is not all what it is cracked up to be. In the novel, Gratz explicitly stated on page sixteen, “That's when Mahmoud and Khalid had learned how valuable it was to be invisible”. On page seventeen, Gratz further states, “If the bullies didn’t notice you, they didn’t hit you.” This evidence proves beyond a doubt that by being invisible, Mahmoud and his friend, Khalid, learned early on, that if their trespassers did not notice them, they did not pick on them. However, in some situations, being invisible can be negative. On page twelve, Gratz explicitly stated, “Random death from a fighter jet missile or soldier rocket launcher might come at any moment, when you least expect it.” This evidence backs up our claim by proving that some people are considered unimportant in their own county, and their government is willing to sacrifice their own. This is horrific that Syrian children have to worry about being taken out at any moment, even if they act invisible like Mahmoud and Waleed.
Overall, invisibility could be positive, and it could be negative; it just depends on the situation. Unfortunately, it is a somber world where children have to be invisible, to even their own friends and family just to survive.
Thank you for blogging with us. Addison, Ellie, Collin, and I hope you enjoyed our first blog. We are enthusiastically waiting and excited to hear back from you!
Kenny, Collin, Addison, and Ellie,
ReplyDeleteHello! I am very excited to be "conversing" with you on the Refugee project, and look forward to spending the next few weeks with you here. I want to thank you for your patience with me in my delayed response to your Blog #1 post.
I agree with you that invisibility can be both positive and negative in anyone's life, as can visibility. Your reference to Josef's father continuing to practice law as a Jew, when that was against the current German law, is an excellent example of visibility being negative for him and his family. Aaron Landau was no doubt a prominent lawyer prior to Hitler's Germany and the laws against the Jews in that country. He did not choose invisibility because I'm sure he wanted to be known to other Jews as available to them for legal help during this time. However, you are correct in your statement that if he had not continued his legal practice, and become invisible, Josef and his family may not have been ripped apart by the Brownshirts. Unfortunately, during the reign of Hitler in Germany, they very well could have been discovered by the Nazis, even if they were working to become invisible. What do you think?
I agree with your assessment that for Isabel and her family, as well as other citizens of Havana, invisibility can be a negative. Isabel uses her musical talent to become visible to help support her family. For the Cuban citizens who have been invisible to their government long enough that their need for life's necessities, that are not made readily available to them, visibility comes in the form of rioting, vandalism and pillaging. Because her dad was so visible to law enforcement during the rioting, Isabel and her family will need to become invisible in order to escape from Cuba. Invisibility will become a positive thing for them. Do you agree?
Group, you are spot on that Mahmoud absolutely needed that cloak of invisibility, just to keep away from the bullies every day. Unfortunately, the deadly war in Syria caused him, his family, and hundreds of Syrians to be so invisible to the government that bombing and the destruction of homes and buildings in residential areas meant nothing to those in charge. Those in charge weren't looking at the possibility of innocent lives being destroyed, they were just fighting without consequence. Do you think, though, that Mahmoud and his family will need to continue being invisible, or that they will ever want to be visible?
Just as you said in your conclusion, it is a somber world where children have to be invisible, for many different reasons. I believe that, at some point in everyone's lives, a person has a need to become invisible, even if it's just for a few minutes or even seconds. I'm not talking about life and death situations, as in Refugee. Yes, there is still a need for invisibility in many areas of the world; using that cloak of invisibility can save lives in so many situations. Yet there are small instances in every day life where invisibility is a goal. Can you think of any reasons you have wanted to become invisible, even for a few seconds? What about wanting to be more visible? Can any of you give me some examples?
I look forward to your responses and to your future blog posts!
Dear Mrs. Bruner,
ReplyDeleteBlog 2
Thank you for blogging with us again. Collin, Addison, Ellie, and I enjoyed the last blog and are anticipating your next response.
In the novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz, the three children, Josef, Isabel, Mahmound, all had some kind of interaction with characters who tried to help in some way. For Josef, it was the Hitler Youth, for Isabel, it was the tourists, and for Mahmound, it was the with Mr. Nasseer. Let us dive into this topic and elaborate on this subject.
Gratz included these interactions because he wanted to inform us that there are people who may be willing to help during dark times. In the novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz, he explicitly states on page thirty-four “”What were you thinking?” the boy whispered. Josef couldn't speak. The boy thrust the armband at Josef’s chest “Put that on. And don't ever do that again,” The Hitler Youth told Josef “Do you understand?”’ This textual evidence backs up our claim by proving that even though the boy who served in the Hitler Youth, he did not believe in Hitler’s rule of law. He most likely was invisible in order to survive, but he quietly helped Josef because he knew what Hitler was doing was wrong.
Not only that, Mahmoud also had an interaction with someone who had a kind heart. Mr. Nasseer offered the Bishara family to stay in the office of his car dealership until the boat was ready for them. On page 126, Gratz explicitly stated, “‘My house is too small for all of you,’ the man said, ‘but I have a little car dealership and you can stay in the office.’” This shows that when someone goes through the same turmoil that the person he/she is helping, he/she tends to want to help more because he/she can relate to the situation the family is going through. These people truly do have kind hearts.
To further our point, Isabel, had an interaction with tourists. On page 177, Gratz stated, “Before they could get the engine restarted, one of the tourist tossed down a water bottle to Senora Castillo. Soon the rest of the tourist were hurrying back and forth to the cafe, buying bottles of water and bags of chips and tossing them into everyone's hands on the boat. ‘Aspirin? Does anyone have asprin? For my mother’ Isabel begged. Up on the dock, an old white woman understood. She quickly dug around in her big purse and tossed a plastic bottle full of pills to Isabel.” We see here that the woman’s understanding saved Isabel’s mother by giving them the pills. By showing that she cared, we can infer that the woman cared about them getting to the United States. She did this to show that she really cared about the welfare of the family and just to show kindness to the family. There really are people who care and disagree with others opinions.
As you can see, there are random acts of kindness in a world of a lot of hate and terrible things. So, there is some light in the kind people we can see in this novel. If there were more people like this in the world, it would be a better place.
Salutations Mrs. Bruner,
ReplyDeleteCollin, Addison, Ellie, and I have received your response, and we see you have posted a few questions to us. The first question you stated was, “Unfortunately, during the reign of Hitler in Germany, they very well could have been discovered by the Nazis, even if they were working to become invisible. What do you think?”
Addison’s reply: “Josef’s family could have been discovered if they did become invisible because the Nazi storm troopers and Gestapo could do what they wanted and still could have arrested or killed them for no reason what so ever.”
Collin’s reply: “Josef’s family would have been discovered anyway because I did some research on this topic, and the Nazi Storm troopers and Gestapo were able to arrest people without any cause or reason.”
Ellie’s reply: “If Josef’s family tried hard enough to become invisible, they probably wouldn’t have been caught.”
The next question you posed to us is as follows: “Isabel and her family will need to become invisible in order to escape from Cuba. Invisibility will become a positive thing for them. Do you agree?”
Addison’s reply: “Yes, Isabel and her family will need to be invisible to escape from Cuba because if they weren’t invisible they could be forced to stay in Cuba and have to deal with the riots for longer.”
Collin’s reply: “ Isabel and her family will need to be invisible to escape Cuba, but I do not think it will be hard for them since Castro allowed anyone to go. There were a lot of boats launching when they escaped.”
Ellie’s reply: “Yes, becoming invisible is a positive thing because you will want to blend in with everyone else so you don’t get caught and have to go back.”
Myself, I agree with Addison, Collin and Ellie and back up their statements one hundred percent.
Now Mrs. Bruner, you posted another question in your response. The question is as follows: “Do you think, though, that Mahmoud and his family will need to continue being invisible, or that they will ever want to be visible?” Here are our answers:
Addison’s reply: “Yes, I do believe that Mahmoud and his family will need to be invisible later on in the novel because the Greek coast guard will want to take them back, but they want to get straight to Turkey.”
Collin stated: “Mahmoud and his family will need to be visible as later in the novel. They say a Greek coast guard boat will bring them to Lesbos but a Turkish one will bring them back.”
Ellie responded: “They will have to continue being invisible so they can continue their journey.”
The final question you posed to us is as follows: “Can you think of any reasons you have wanted to become invisible, even for a few seconds? What about wanting to be more visible? Can any of you give me some examples?”
Addison’s reply: “I have wanted to be invisible when my parents are yelling at me. I have wanted to be more visible when participating in class. I tend to just sit there and listen when I know the answers, but I’m scared of getting it wrong.”
Collin’s reply: “Parent teacher conferences. I can't think of any situation where I would want to be more visible”
Ellie’s reply: “Invisible: to get away from my little sister. Visible: is in softball when I’m out in the field and playing.”
Now Mrs. Bruner, we would like to pose a few questions to you. (1) Can you think of any reasons you have wanted to become invisible, even for a few seconds? (2) Would you like to be more visible? Can you give us some examples? (3) What do you think will happen in the next few sections? (4)Do you think Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud make it to their destinations and live a happy life? . We look forward to your response.
Hello again, Group 22!
ReplyDeleteYou have done well with making and backing up your points using quotes and context from the novel for Blog #2. In all three situations, you found evidence in the text that supported your viewpoint of kindness in the world. My personal opinion is that there is a whole lot more kindness around than we are made aware of. Media outlets - social, television, print, etc. - only want us to see what they feel is important, and most of the time don't show both sides of a story. Unbiased reporting is rare, and many times a media outlet will show what is in its best interest. Yes, there are terrible things happening in the world, but there are also wonderful things.
I believe kindness and compassion should be given from the heart without any expectation of recognition. There are far more acts of kindness and compassion being done in this world every day that no one will hear about, because those doing these wonderful things want absolutely no recognition for doing something kind. Think about this: would you only do a kind act if you knew you would get your picture on the front page of the paper, with a big headline declaring you are kind, great, thoughtful, giving, etc.? Or, would you want to do the kind act because you knew it was morally right, and would not want any recognition whatsoever? I think you would want to help someone out, with no regard for your personal gain.
Mrs. Bruner
BLOG #1 RESPONSE:
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see your answers to my questions. You've put a lot of thought into them, and I'm happy to respond in return.
#1) Yes, I can think of a time when I wanted to become invisible, and it dates back to when I was in junior high or high school. There were some girls who were a year ahead of me in school that were in my PE class. They were better at sports than I was, and they were, in my opinion, also kind of mean. They teased me, made fun of me, and called me names. I really wanted to be invisible during PE class just so I wouldn't be picked on by them. Eventually they quit when they realized I was used to them and didn't react anymore. One of them works in a store I go to and is very nice to me. Everytime I see her and talk to her, I wonder if she remembers our interactions in PE the same way I do, or if she even remembers it at all.
#2) Yes, there are times I'd like to be more visible, and it relates to my job. I would like to be more involved in training and leadership for our region. But because our office is the southernmost location in our region, I am not considered for such roles because I would have to travel several hours in order to be more involved in such things. I do like my job though, so not being seen as available to train or lead other offices isn't a dealbreaker for me.
#3) I think we will start seeing more similarities and tie-ins between the three main characters' storylines.
#4) I think Isabel, Josef and Mahmoud will eventually make it to their destinations of freedom, but each of their families have made personal sacrifices so great that I don't believe there will be jumping up and down celebrations when they get where they so desparately want to live.
I look forward to more reading and blogging with you all!
Mrs. Bruner
Blog 2 Response
ReplyDeleteThink about this. Would you only do a kind act if you knew you would get your picture on the front page of the paper, with a big headline declaring you are kind, great, thoughtful, giving, etc.? Or, would you want to do the kind act because you knew it was morally right, and would not want any recognition whatsoever?
Collin: I would do an act of kindness, and I would not want recognition, because it does not really matter if we get recognition or not. It is just the right thing to do.
Addison: I would want to do the act of kindness because it was the right thing to do. I would not need to be recognized because I would know that I just did something that made someone's day better.
Kenny: Personally, I would not care whether it was on the front page of a newspaper, or on CBS, or NBC, or ABC. I would just do what is right. Why do you need the whole wide world to know what you have or have not done? Does it matter? If somebody tells you to go jump in the lake, would you? Absolutely not unless you are just dumb enough to do so. If somebody tells me to do something to get my name in bright lights or on the front of the paper, but I know it is morally wrong, I WILL NOT DO IT. PERIOD.
Ellie: I would want to do an act of kindness, I would not care if I was recognized or not.
Blog 3
ReplyDeleteDear Mrs. Bruner,
Collin, Ellie, Addison, and I are glad to be blogging with you once more in this third blog. We are anticipating your response and are overjoyed that you have taken time out of your life to talk to us four about this. Enjoy.
Alan Gratz is trying to make a point to his readers. He is making the points through Mahmound’s thought on page 214. Mahmoud stated, “They only see us when we do something they don’t want us to do.” We all agree on this point...some people can not comprehend differences. People are invisible until someone is doing something another group does not want them to do. On page 213 Gratz stated, “Mahmoud was supposed to be focused only on his prayers. But he couldn't help notice the uneasy looks the tourists were giving him. The frowns of displeasure. Like Mahmoud and his brother and this man were doing something wrong.” We can infer that people did not like this because the tourists paid to go sightseeing, but instead they saw a sight they were not comfortable with. The tourists saw people who may practice their religion differently than they do so we can assume this difference makes some people uncomfortable. Gratz is trying to make his readers understand how some people feel discriminated against, and he also is probably trying to make his readers understand that we as a society need to learn to learn about individuals and their differences, not judge them before knowing them. What do you think?
Blog #3
ReplyDeleteHello again! I'm enjoying discussing this novel with you, and always look forward to reading your blogs and responses to posts.
I have interpreted this question in the same way you all have. Other things to consider, along with the fact that the Syrians were praying in such a way that the Greeks were staring and whispering amongst themselves, is that the refugees were more than likely very dirty and possibly still had clothing on that was wet and grimy from the ocean. As you said, the Greeks had paid to take this boat as a tourist journey on a ferry. However, they probably didn't stop to consider that the refugees had also paid money to get on that boat. If the Greeks had simply waited until Mahmoud, Waleed, and the other Syrian were finished praying, they may have been able to ask questions about their journey, and could possibly have helped them or, at the very least, learned a little about the differing culture. I would imagine that the only exposure any of the native Greeks had to the refugees was to see reports about them on television and newscasts probably didn't shed a very favorable light upon the tent cities where the refugees were living.
It is a good thing to learn about other customs and nationalities. Unfortunately, sometimes our first exposure to people who look, act, and believe differently than us isn't always at the best opportunity for us to stop and ask questions about our differences. I believe that not only should we as American citizens try to learn about differing cultures that live around us, I believe that people who come to live in the United States should also learn about our culture and beliefs.
Mrs. Bruner
Salutations, Mrs Bruner.
ReplyDeleteThank you for blogging with us on this third blog on the novel Refugee by Alan Gratz. Ellie, Addison, Collin and I firmly agree that it is a good thing to learn about other customs and nationalities. How can we learn about other nationalities? Well, for instance, we can read books about different cultures, read reliable web sources, and watch reliable media sources to learn more about different cultures. Talking with people that are of different nationalities or religious backgrounds is another way to become more knowledgeable. We, as a group, also agree that people who come to our great nation need to learn about our culture. If we all take a moment to understand one another, the world would be a better place.
Thank you for your time, and we will be glad to blog with you next time.
Blog 4
ReplyDeleteHello Mrs. Bruner,
Our group had different interpretations to what Lito was inferring.
Kenny and Addison: What was Lito inferring? He could have let the Jewish refugees off of the St. Louis in 1939. Lito always told the Jews, “mãnana” which never came. Lito wanted mãnana to come for his family because he still felt guilty for not letting the Jewish passengers disembark in 1939. Why is Gratz telling this to us, the readers? Only those who are visible can change society, to fix society's wrongs. By showing that Lito was willing to be visible to save his family, we can infer that he made the change. Lito saved his family. What would have happened if Lito did not make himself visible? He and his family could have been captured and sent back to Cuba...back to Castro. There is the possibility they still could have made it to the United States, but the chances were slim. Lito saved his family and gave them a chance at tomorrow.
Ellie: Lito is inferring that he does not want to make the same mistake twice. He does not want to do what he did with Josef with his family. Lito is fixing what he did wrong and turning it into a right. Lito is leaving his family so they do not get sent back to Cuba. He is risking his life for them no matter what happens to him. Lito, at least, wants to be happy because he is setting his family free. Lito might not see his family ever again, but at least he did something right before something horrible happens to him and his family. Lito is changing the world for him and his family. Lito might not see the birth of his grandson, but he knows that it will not matter, as long as his family is safe.
Collin: Lito is inferring that he did not let the Jewish refugees off of the St. Louis and as a result they had to find a different country to go to. Now his family is going through the same things. The Coast Guard is not letting them into the United States, so he jumped into the ocean to distract the Coast Guard so his family could get to shore. If Lito had not distracted the Coast Guard, his family’s lives and happiness would have been compromised.
We can all agree that Lito was a selfless person who put his family first. He wanted to not only give them tomorrow, but also for them to be visible!
What do you think Lito is inferring?