A day in the life of The Second World War

I sat at my outpost, my machine gun in front of me at the ready. I tensed myself, keeping a watchful eye on any signs that an enemy was approaching. The arctic chill numbed my entire body, as I drew my coat tighter over myself. The cold was not going to stop me from spotting enemies – even though enemies had not appeared here, in the Ardennes Mountains region of Wallonia in Belgium.

Then, a distant rumble was heard, increasing in volume steadily. I woke my companion up, speaking into the radio harshly for reinforcements – it sounded as though a large number of enemy troops were heading here. As we looked out at the vast forest, gunshots suddenly rang out in great bursts. Instinctively, we ducked, but my companion was unlucky – a bullet had caught his shoulder and life was slowly leaking from him. As the gunshots became more frequent and much louder, I continued shouting into my radio for reinforcements, ignoring that we would be more easier to locate that way – we were almost certainly dead anyway if reinforcements did not arrive soon. Then, the enemy’s bullets stopped flying past our outpost, but were instead aimed at a huge cloud of smoke and snow – our reinforcements had arrived.

Our soldiers crawled behind their jeeps, returning fire at every opportunity, many falling under the constant, heavy fire of the enemy. The cascade of enemy bullets fell like rain, thudding into barriers and soldiers alike, many of them crumbling under the downpour like earth melting into soil. My companion and I did the same, firing in the general direction of the enemy at every moment they were not firing at us. Perhaps, the first bullet slowed his movements down, or perhaps, the cold numbed his movements, but my companion was hit again – this time just above the heart. He slumped down in the outpost, clutching at his injuries, having sudden coughing bursts of blood.

Spotting a nearby medic, I called out to him, and he quickly crept over. Examining my companion, it was decided that there was no other way but to send him back to the hospital as quickly as possible. We instructed the other soldiers to cover for us, and they began firing more frequently and valiantly. A grenade flew to the outpost as the medic and I dragged my companion away and towards the cover of the jeeps. It exploded, its fragments jarring into my thigh, but gritting my teeth, I held on. The world was silent – figures blurred together for one hazy moment, with the overpowering stench of blood masking everything else. Then, the shell-shock was over and the medic assisted me in dragging my companion over to the nearest jeep – thankfully without much further incidents, and we sped away to the hospital, already crowded with many injured soldiers. The Battle of the Bulge had only just begun.

Descriptive Paragraph of a War Scene

Two men stood at where the window once was, looking furtively out at the ruins that was East Berlin, hoping, or rather, not hoping to see their enemies before they arrived. The stench of smoke and rotting bodies was everywhere, the heat of the flames bearing down on the two lonely sentries. The putrid taste of the aftermath of a battle was so overpowering and constant that the rumble of a distant thunder that had arrived to strike them down was not detected until it was almost too late. “Tanks!” one of them shouted, pointing to a nearby displacement of smoke. The Russians had arrived, thunder sounding from the crash of their boots and the tread of the tanks, light glinting off their many pieces of metal, crushing East Berlin beneath them.

Ten Comments

For simplicity's sake, here are the first five comments to my other classmates' posts, my identity in those in blogspot being "C.K.E.":

1) Put into Someone's shoe - To Kill a Mockingbird

http://leonard-languageartsblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/put-into-someones-shoe-to-kill.html

2) To Kill A Mockingbird - Chapters 12-21: Personal Response

http://ivanlablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-kill-mockingbird-chapters-12-21.html?showComment=1298809699368#c2497222646956160083

3) To Kill a Mockingbird - Favourite Character

http://leonard-languageartsblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-kill-mockingbird-favourite-character.html?showComment=1298810208988#c1281286732388957027

4) To Kill A Mockingbird - Chapters 12-21: Before You Read

http://ivanlablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/before-you-read-to-kil-mockingbird.html?showComment=1298810808580#c7389510408429440533

5) My Favourite Character in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

http://yapjianshern.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/my-favourite-character-in-to-kill-a-mockingbird/#comment-20

In case the comment has not been moderated, here it is:

"Dear Jian Shern,

Firstly, I feel that you could elaborate on how Arthur Radley "makes Scout understand how society interprets the actions of others". As you mentioned, Arthur is a rather passive character in To Kill A Mockingbird, thus, these understandings which he passes on to Scout are through his actions, I presume. Perhaps you would like to state some examples of what Arthur did in order to make Scout understand how society interprets the actions of others.

Next, I would like to disagree with you that Arthur has "phenominal (it's phenomenal by the way) patience" with Scout and Jem. Arthur shut himself up in the Radley House, how was he to know that he was being viewed as a monster by Scout and Jem? Instead, I think his compassion towards Scout and Jem is perhaps because he wants to be friends with them, but does not dare approach them directly, and also because he had had a bad childhood and wanted to experience how a better childhood was like, as well as to ensure that other children, like Scout and Jem, would not have to go through what he did.

Regards,

Chong Kai En (2i106)"

6) To kill a mocking bird: Personal Response - Did the ending of the novel surprise you? If you were the author, would you have ended the story differently? Explain.

http://nichtey.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-kill-mocking-bird-personal-response.html?showComment=1298812433901#c1255626783001797804

7) Blog Prompt - TKAM: Putting Yourself in Another Person's Shoes

http://kevenlablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-prompt-tkam-putting-yourself-in.html?showComment=1298812954148#c1143114914279966054

8) To Kill A Mockingbird Focus Activity - Describe an everyday situation in which one person might judge another incorrectly. What things can interfere with making a fair judgement?

http://lablogbypar.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-kill-mockingbird-focus-activity.html?showComment=1298813379919#c1825384723478607533

9) Ending of the Novel

http://literature-diary-of-an-ordinary-teen.blogspot.com/2011/02/ending-of-novel.html?showComment=1298813832858#c3175705677528610348

10) Personal Response (3)

http://twoeyeone-fifteen.blogspot.com/2011/02/personal-response-3.html?showComment=1298814176413#c8190981729314283799

Regards,

Chong Kai En (2i106)

TKAM--My favourite charcter

Harper Lee's novel is full of interesting and richly painted characters. Which character was your favourite and why?

My favourite character in To Kill A Mockingbird was Atticus Finch. There are four main characteristics to explain why I like Atticus Finch the most, which are, he is wise, patient, caring and he faces all troubles bravely. Another main reason why I like Atticus Finch the most is because I empathise with him, for example, he is unpopular because he helps a Negro. I have also been through a similar experience when I protected the victim of a bully, even if that made me slightly more unpopular with my schoolmates. I shall explain why Atticus' characteristics caused me to view him as my favourite character, in my following paragraphs.

Firstly, Atticus is wise and patient. He views situations objectively instead of letting his personal points of view shadow his view of situations, as such, he makes fair judgements. Other than being able to make fair judgements, Atticus is also able to remain calm in tense situations and consider things carefully, thus, he is able to make the right decisions most of the time, be it morally right or right in the sense that it benefits the most amount of people. For example, when Bob Ewell spit at Atticus, instead of turning violent and attacking Bob Ewell back as most people would have done, Atticus instead just ignores it and walks on. He did not harm Bob Ewell or hurt his pride, instead, he earned respect from people for considering his options and not retaliating to an attack, and instead of him being ridiculed as Bob Ewell had intended, it is instead Bob Ewell himself who got ridiculed. Such careful consideration, wisdom and patience is rarely found in anyone, and thus, I respect Atticus.

Next, Atticus is caring. He cares for his children well and yet, he does not spoil them because he knows that by doing that, he would not be helping his children. Other than being caring towards his children, Atticus is also rather caring towards other members of the public. For example, instead of letting Tom Robinson go into a court without a lawyer and thus, almost ensuring Tom Robinson being found guilty, Atticus takes up the case for Tom Robinson and becomes his lawyer, even though that makes him unpopular amongst the people of Maycomb, as he is helping a Negro. Atticus is also caring towards his children. Instead of telling his children about the negative side of people, he instead tries to show the children that everyone has a positive side. For example, instead of telling his children that Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was a racist and that the children should avoid her and not listen to whatever she says, Atticus instead tells them about the strength of her spirit, how she fought against her addiction to morphine in order to die a free person.

Finally, Atticus faces all his troubles bravely and without complain. When he is expected to shoot a dog, although it goes against what he believes in, he still shoots the dog because he knows it is for the greater good, and that sacrifices must be made. He knows that certain sacrifices have to be made for the greater good and is not afraid to make these sacrifices. When Bob Ewell gave him trouble, he did not complain, instead, he faced this trouble bravely and calmly. When he became unpopular for defending a Negro, he did not complain either, but instead, did his best to defend the Negro, unafraid to sacrifice his image to help save an innocent person's life.

As a result of all these factors, I respect and thus like Atticus Finch the most in To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus is in essence the perfect character in the sense that whatever he does is not wrong, even if the decisions he makes may make him unpopular, and even if what he does may not succeed.

Regards,

Chong Kai En, 2i106

Childhood memories

What memories of your own childhood come to mind as you read about Scout's experiences?

When Scout and Jem were children, they played many different games - rolling in tyres, acting out dramas and building tree-houses, and in the summer, with Dill. Also, other than just having fun playing, they were also taught basic etiquette and moral values by their father, Atticus Finch, and their housekeeper, Calpurnia. Calpurnia taught Scout how to read and write, with Atticus also encouraging her to read by letting her read the newspaper with him. Calpurnia also taught Scout basic respect and manners, while Atticus taught Scout some moral values such as not to be prejudicial and not to let anger overcome one's rational thought. Throughout Scout's childhood, there was also what Scout thought to be a monster living in the Radley place, that is, Arthur Radley, also known as Boo Radley. This is typical of a normal childhood - games, lessons and using one's imagination in order to create monster's in order to have excitement. Even the poorest of the poor usually have similar elements in their childhood, although the games they play might be simpler, or at least cost a lesser amount of money, the lessons they learn possibly more related to survival, and the monsters they create using their imaginations possibly residing more commonly in streets, instead of houses.

I had a similar childhood experience. I played many games as a child, creating my own games with my mind since I was not allowed to play the computer, playing card games, using Lego blocks and other Lego products to make my own creations, and solving puzzles. When I was even younger than that, I played with Beyblades, which are modifiable tops, as well as with action figures. When I was young, I was taught the multiplication table up to twelve, which probably explains why I am rather good at Mathematics. I was also sent to many enrichment classes to learn new skills. Moral values that I learnt from young was not to lie, not to steal and to excel in whatever I set out to do. When I was young, my friends and I also enjoyed sharing ghost stories and thinking that certain rooms in our school contained ghosts. Of course, we never truly believed that, unlike how Scout and Jem believed that Boo Radley was a monster, probably because of a different upbringing, where I was taught since young that ghosts and monsters do not exist.

Characters in a Courtroom

As you followed the action in the courtroom, which character did you empathise with most? Least? Explain.

As I folllowed the action in the courtroom, I empathized with Atticus Finch the most. He was fighting for a good cause that everyone else should have been supporting, yet, it was unlikely that the judge would support him and in the end, the judge still found Tom Robinson guilty. I have been through this experience many times - I would have a good idea and am trying to promote it but in the end, very few or no people would support it and instead, support another less effective initiative which in the end, does not prove as effective. In fact, most people have also gone through this experience before, a situation where they fight for something where they know they are unlikely to achieve, or where they would try to get people to support something that they believe will work very well, but which no one would listen to until perhaps later on, when the other plan which they listened to, has failed. This is a rather frustrating experience surely for all of us, but even more so for Atticus since a man's life depends on him, instead of trivial objects and matters.

The person I empathise with the least is Mayella Ewell. I think that instead of being scared of being beaten up by her father and thus, telling a lie to the court, she should have more honour and pride and not lie about such matters. A person's life depends on her, how could she have just ignore that fact and lie just to save her own skin? Even her life is not in danger, she is just in danger of being beaten up, so how could she sacrifice a human life just to spare herself discomfort? If she had not lied to the court and told the truth, they may have even detained her father and she would not be in danger at all! That is the part I do not empathise with her, that is, her cowardice. People may fear many things, and try to do whatever they can to avoid facing that fear, that is understandable, but how can one sacrifice someone else's life in order to avoid one's own fear? That is not moral, how could Mayella not feel guilty at all? And even if she did, why did she not repent and admit to the judges that she lied if she truly felt guilty and sorry for what she had done?

A Witness In Crime

Reflect on the phrase, 'Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing'. What have you done when you have seen people being discriminated against? What more can you do the next time you witness discrimination taking place?

Depending on the victim, I have either helped the victim who is being discriminated against, supported the discriminators, be neutral and watch, or pity the victim but not do anything.

Some people help the victim because the victim happens to be a friend, the discriminators happen to be an enemy, the discrimination is extremely unreasonable or a combination of these factors. These are natural reactions - if it was a friend, you may want to protect the friendship, or you understand your friend very well and feel that these discriminations are not valid. If the discriminator is an enemy, one would naturally be opposed to whatever that person does and if the discrimination is unreasonable, a person may protect the victim because he has been through a similar experience. Similarly, people remain neutral and watch because of the lack of these factors - they do not know either parties well and do not want to interrupt as they will miss a good show.

What I would like to emphasise on, however, are that some people support the discriminators or watch what is happening with pity. People do not want to be outcasts of a group, even if they want to stand out, it is merely to gain popularity and fame and thus, be more accepted into a certain group. Due to the fact that people do not want to be outcasts, when they see someone being discriminated, they would rather join the group of discriminators and be socially accepted instead of helping the discriminated, who is apparently the outcast of the socially popular group. Thus, even if a person pities the victim, he may not help because he does not want to be like victim and be rejected by the group. Everyone has a natural desire to want to have emotional security, to be accepted and to not be rejected, thus, people would naturally want to help the majority than the minority since the majority also holds more power. However, I regret the times when I did this. I should have just helped the victim, after all, the situation and context of discrimination is not as serious as in other countries, and especially not in relatively good school. You do not get rejected from a group of people in school just because you oppose one of the things they do. Thus, I feel that the next time I see discrimination taking place, I would not just stand aside and ignore the incident, instead I would step in and help the victim.