Final Blogger Assessment

(Blog Post)

I just finished Devil at my heels. I thought that this book was incredible. I haven't heard of a survival story with greater odds of survival. The fact that Louis and his friend survived the deadly Pacific was incredible; it was too much for any ordinary person. They survived through 47 days of shark infested, stormy, enemy waters. Overall this book is very exciting and I really recommend reading this book. The story is almost like an inspiration to everyone. A message is clearly given from the book, "Never Give Up."

1.         Words and phrases like “incredible” “That fact that Louis and his friend survived the deadly Pacific was incredible; it was way too much for any ordinary person.” “They survived through 47 days of shark infested, stormy, enemy waters.” Describe my writer’s personality. I observed that I seem to be very attentive and passionate about what I read and write.

2.         Throughout my blogging experience I did use a bit of diction and syntax in my blogs. An example of causal diction I used is words like “incredible” “ordinary” and “inspiration”. These words are often used in the English language. An example of good syntax structure is this quote, “They survived through 47 days of shark infested, stormy, enemy waters.” This is a fine example of repetition. I used this technique in order to describe the waters as dramatic and very hostile.

The Boy In Striped Pajamas

"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be an oppressor. But most of all, thou shalt not be a bystander." -Yehuda Bauer

This quote is very significant to our lives today. Hate, Oppression, and Discrimination is unfortunately everywhere. It will remain in our nature forever. Sadly, many go through this. Often times most people do not respond and care for the victim. I believe that the victims must not be ignored.

I started a new book. This book is a powerful story of a young boy who moves to Poland after his father was ordered to move for "secret" reasons. Unaware of the fact that his father works in the Nazi SS as the commander of a concentration camp, he sees the camp and meets another young boy who is being imprisoned in the camp. This story is very tragic. Many Germans under the Fuhrer were unaware of what was happening to many of the hated groups of men, women, and children. The monstrosities that Hitler committed were covered during his terrible reign to maintain the unblind "loyalty" of the German People.

Book Review

I just finished Devil at my heels. I thought that this book was incredible. I haven't heard of a survival story with greater odds of survival. What Louis and his friend survived through is too much for any ordinary person. They survived through 47 days of shark infested, stormy, enemy waters. Overall this book is very exciting and I really recommend reading this book. The story is almost like an inspiration to everyone. A message is clearly given from the book, "Never Give Up."

Betrayal

I am shocked beyond belief, Zamperini arrived at a POW camp named Ofuna in Japan. There he was taken into an interrogation room and he met an old friend. I cannot say who he met but it is unbelievable! Louis was betrayed by one of his classmates from school. He left the United States to go to Japan and work with the Japanese military as an inspector of the camps all around Japan and it's occupied territories. The fact of why he committed "treason" still makes me wonder why would he have done that. Here is a question to all of the readers, would you leave your country and work against it even if it meant honoring your family or gaining power or even becoming rich?

The most important line of the chapter

"I knew in my heart that the war-this war- was right. If I took my hatred to support it, to win it, and most important, to get me through it alive, so be it." - Zamperini, 149

This is a very important line of the chapter because at this point of the book, he had been captured at a Japanese occupied island and sent into a P.O.W. camp where he sees where he will be living at for the next few years. The quote means that he believes the war has a soul purpose, it has a cause. He believes it is his duty to fight for it even if it means using hatred and cruel acts, but he is doing it so he can fulfill his duty and survive the harsh reality of war.

Between a rock and a hard place (Predictions)

I was shocked when I read about the plane that was flying near the raft of survivors. Louis and his friends thought that the aircraft would signal in or report the raft in the water. They fired flares and used a mirror to signal the plane. The plane flew at the raft and started to shoot it's machine guns, Louis realized that the aircraft was a Japanese bomber flying on a routine flight. The 3 survivors quickly dived into the water before the plane turned around, suddenly sharks surrounded them and they fought for their lives to beat off the sharks and survive the attacking bomber above. I predict that one of the survivors will die if they are wounded.

Interesting fact

I find how Louis became an Olympian quite interesting. As a boy he was a huge trouble maker, he often times got into fights with many of his classmates. One day he was brought home by a police officer and he recommended he would run for a punishment instead of juvenile detention. He ran almost everyday until he became interested in it. He then started to participate in track and from there be became an athlete.