Lit circle blogpost 3#

" Gabriel's breathing was even and deep. Jonas liked having him there, though he felt guilty about the secret. Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing bare-footed on a damp lawn.

"Gabe?"

The new child stirred slightly in his sleep, Jonas looked over at him.

"There could be love" Jonas whispered.

The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to the pill away"

In two (or more) well structured paragraphs explain how the above quote and the rest how chapters 16 ~ 18 relate to the themes of freedom and choice.

I'll start my blog post of by talking about the quote from the book "the Giver" above. This part of  the book was very descriptive and interesting. It made me feel so many emotions that revolved around the word peaceful. It flowed so well with all the thoughts the author was trying to express. I think that this section of the story relates to free rights because Jonas was able to experience things that no one else was. He was able to feel things unknown to anyone else in their community and he had the power to send it through to others. Normally people in Joneses community wouldn't no of such things but if they did it would give them a sense of freedom because it would be something that they would have never felt before. It would be like man on the moon or man flying. A completely new experience that would change life in itself.  Overall this passage relates to freedom because Jonas was able to break the laws of the community in any one else's minds by experiencing something unknown to Joneses community. He was also able to transfer this but this wasn't seen so big as freedom apart from the fact that Jonas was once again doing something thought to be impossible by a normal citizen.


Throughout chapter 16, 17 and 18 I have picked up a lot of different things that orbit around the word freedom. In the following paragraph I will talk about, simplify and explain my ideas on how chapters 16,17 and 18 relate to freedom. Throughout these chapters I have noticed once again a variety of memories that Jonas has experienced. Read the paragraph above for a description on how the memories Jonas has received relate to freedom. These chapters also relate to freedom because Jonas was also able to understand things at a high level more then any one else in the community.  Examples of this are when Jonas is at the scene of his friends play fighting and when the Giver gives Jonas the memories. When Jonas intruded on the fake war that was taking place he began crying. This was because he understood the true meaning of the game from one of the memories he interpreted. As for the fact that Jonas could clearly understand most of the memories given to him, this related to his understanding of things because he was able to identify things that he had never seen or heard of, like when he was receiving the memory of snow earlier on in the story, he could match up names with things in memory. His understanding of things related to freedom because he was unique. Over others he could do things that were strange. This was a not necessarily a good thing. There were somethings that would have been best not to tell Jonas. 


Overall freedom is seen in two ways throughout chapters 16,17 and 18. The first being that Jonas was able to experience things that no one else knew of and he had a good understanding of everything going on. It was as though he had powers. As for the part of the story this related to freedom because Jonas was once again able to experience things that one one else could as well as transfer them to others. 

My Peers for lit circle blogposts

I am commenting on Melina and Shin Youngs Blogposts.

Anis Diary

“We’re bringing you a special report, Sebastian Rolith the famous archaeologist has just discovered the diary of an ancient Egyptian Citizen. Now we’ll send you to Chad Blunt who is currently interviewing the star of the day Sebastian Rolith!” “ Thank you John, this is Chad blunt reporting from Cairo, Egypt. Now as you have heard Sebastian Rolith has just uncovered a diary of an ancient Egyptian which will benefit us with lots of evidence on ancient Egypt. Now over to the star, Sebastian Rolith! “Hello, Chad Blunt and John Sajith have supplied with all the information you need to know about my discovery so I wont add anything else but I must tell you about the diary. From reading just three entries I have found that the Author of this diary lived in the new kingdom and lived around this area thousands of years ago. He was ruled by a very fair ruler called Meryl-Neith one of the only female Pharaohs ever in Egyptian history. And most important of all he was a jeweler. Now I shall read 3 of the selected entries from this diary that may give you a better understanding on life in Egypt thousands of years ago ,or may leave you confused. This diary will answer and provide questions but as well as that this diary will give us an idea of what Egypt was like 3000 years ago.


                 

1st day of Akhet,

I awake to the sound of praying from a nearby temple and arise from my bed. It is barely dusk but this is when my work shift starts. I walk into my bath room and put some water in a bowl. I dunk my face in to wake myself up. I grab a cloth and wipe my face of. I grab my comb made from the finest wood that I’ve ever seen or touched, I bought it from a merchant who was traveling to Egypt from a far away place known as Africa. I brush back my hair until it is nice and straight then start getting dressed. I begin to slip into my work clothing and prepare for the long day ahead of me. First I put on my cloth shirt given to me by the Pharaoh himself, next I put on my linen shorts and finally I put on my favourite robe that the priests of the temple chose for me.  I am one of the lucky few of my kind. By saying this I mean that most Jewelers and artisans alike do not have the same lifestyle as me. I am the Pharaohs appointed jeweler therefore my lifestyle is much easier  and happier.  

I walk into my dining room and prepare my morning breakfast. I grab some of the fermented wheat that I prepared last night, luckily it has worked very well. Another successful attempt at my morning glass of beer.  I put it on my dining table then grab some figs from my fruit basket then walk towards my dining table and place them down, then walk over to a parcel of papyrus paper. I unwrap it to reveal a lovely catfish I bought from my daily fisherman Neshi, He is very reliable and he even delivers his daily catch. I gutted this fish then took out the inner flesh and put it in a bowl. I cook over a warm fire then return to the table and sit down. I swig down my beer in a few gulps then eat some figs, a few minutes later I finished eating and walked over to my fish. It was ready for eating so I sat down again and began eating. Because I worked for the Pharaoh I needed to be well fed. I eat my fish then minutes later I prepare to leave. I put on some of my favorite leather shoes and leave. Just as I am about to leave my home I walk back into the kitchen and grab a few figs for my journey to the Pharaohs palace then leave out the door.

As I left the comfort of my home I thought about the day ahead of me. What would the Pharaoh request this time I thought. Maybe some golden earrings like last time, she’s been requesting a lot of gold recently, lucky for me I am very experienced when it comes to gold. I strolled down the banks of the Nile eating my figs as I walked. The flooding season has begun so this may be the last time I do this in a while. I see fisherman at work very eager to get a big catch. The Nile holds many treasures which benefits me in my job. They are taken out and brought to me from peasants sent by the Pharaoh. On my way to work one day I met one of them that went by the name Nebnefer, he was very kind so I let him keep one of the jewels he had found. I think he intended to keep it anyway. When the floods start the fishermen are out of business for a while. Suddenly a giant catfish gets pulled out of the Nile as just as I walk past. “Lucky guy” I mutter. I continue my journey through the hot, humid plains of Egypt then  finally approach the city.

I walk in and everything hits me at once. The smell of rotting fish hits me then an explosion of nose blows into my ears. “Come buy fresh fish!” “The best fruit in all of Egypt!” “Newly made baskets, firm and strong!” Of course I knew that this was lies. The best stuff wasn’t found in the market. The best of the best were always hard to find. I entered the palace doors just as I finished the rest of my figs. A priestess approached and led me into the palace to my work room. Her name was Tia, and I saw her almost everyday. I walked into my work room and gathered my tools and prepared for my orders and requests. My room was very spacious but very full. There were 2 cupboards on the left wall full of my best creations. There was a work desk placed in the middle of the room where I crafted my jewels. Then the rest of the room was occupied with chests, papers, broken crafts and dust. It was the old treasury. Tia walked back in and gave me a small scroll with my orders from the Pharaoh. It read

1.A pair of gold earrings, round and thin
2. A golden Amulet decorated with emeralds
3. A silver thread necklace with a diamond hanging off

Gold earrings, just as I suspected. These were very simple pieces of jewelery. Most other days I would be making crested crowns decorated with all the stones of Egypt. I began work just as the sun rose. Then worked till sun down. I had completed all the requests. I picked them up and walked outside. The palace was made in a very advanced way. The Architect had a wild mind. There were hallways in all directions and a variety of stairways leading up and down. I got very use to all of this a few weeks after I started work so I knew my way around. I followed one of the hallways then turned left and walked into a room. I placed my work on a table then exited. I turned my head to see Tia. She nodded and I left. I returned home and got back at about midnight. I got changed into my sleep ware then lay down in bed. Just thinking about the following day made me tired. A few minutes later I dozed of into deep sleep. My day was over.

2nd day of Akhet,
I wake up like I would any other day but today is special. Today is my  prayer day. I get up and put on some nice soft silk pants, a light leather shirt and finally a big robe. It has patterns of gods on it including my very own artisan god Ptah I walk outside of my dry, breezy bedroom into my dining room. I take a selection of fruits including my favorite of all Sycamore figs. They are seasonal fruits that grow almost throughout the year. I ate them with pleasure then moved on to the rest of my meal. Nice juicy fruits lie on the table in front of me. I bit into them with ease tasting the delicious flavours within them. A few minutes later I clear up and  embark on my short journey to the nearby temple.

I begin my morning stroll to the temple and observe everything around me although this time on my walk I keep my distance from the Nile. I can already see that the water has risen. There are few fishermen here today because of the coming floods, so no more fish for a while. I can already hear the chanting coming from a my local temple. It is named after Ptah because this is an artisan temple intended for people who worship Ptah. Ptah is the Artisan god I worship. He is known over other gods for craft. All of us artisans live in a village together away from other classes in the social pyramid. You could say we were excluded from the rest but I’ve also heard of other classes living off in there own territory. Many Artisans have already assembled as I enter so it look like later in the day it will be full up.

I sit down in my selected area and make sure I am comfortable. As I begin praying scribes started fumbling around intruding my space. I was very angry  but I had to let it go. Many rituals were coming up later that night and they had to be prepared. They were blowing out candles, writing things down on papyrus and talking with each other. A priest came out from one doorways and slammed his foot down. The scribes scattered and disappeared from the center of the temple out of sight. I begin praying and go through a list of hymns and phrases. They are to the god himself Ptah. They benefit me and give me good luck in my work throughout a long period of time.  I finish praying then go up to a shrine and make a donation. I put a gem then realize there are already a selection of jewels placed on it. I put down an emerald then leave satisfied.

As I leave the temple I am immediately hit by the rays of the sun. My next stop is the doctors house. This requires allot more walking. I am going here because my good friend mathyethy (the doctor) has passed away so we are going to have his funeral. He has already been mummified but because he was not of a very rich breed he has not been mummified very well. His organs have been removed but the mumifiers did not do a great job of preserving his body. I arrive at around 10 just as his body was about to get buried. I see his canopic jars being put in the pit. They are  nicely made with patterns of the gods on them. They contain Mathyethy’s organs including his liver, kidneys and brain.  Everyone he knew was gathered around. I saw neshi there as well. I took a spot on the border of the pit, then Mathyethy was lowered in to the pit and buried. Everyone had a moment of silence as there friend passed away then they went back to there daily lives with sorrow. He had died from food poisoning and unfortunately his medicines weren’t enough to cure him. There was something bad going round in the food. It was some sort of virus. He wasn’t the first to die of this.

Finally my work shift had begun. I walked to the Pharaohs palace once again but this time the sun was cooking me alive. It was boiling. At least an hour later I entered the palace dripping with sweat. I wiped my brow with my robe then realized the robe was one of the reasons I was so hot. I took it off then stood against the wall waiting for Tia's arrival. A matter of minutes later Tia came and led me to my room. We arrived then she handed me a scroll. I unwrapped it and only one thing was on the page.

Amulet of Ra

To do this I thought to myself I would need to engrave hieroglyphics to do with the sun god Ra on to an amulet. It would be hard but I could do it. I made a golden base of an amulet which I decorated with gems, Ruby's and a variety of other special stones. Next I engraved some patterns into it then began to write in the hieroglyphics. I proved to be very difficult. I had to take my time and gradually engrave the symbols. Finally  I had Ra’s name down along with a small picture of Ra on the amulet. The daily was barely over so maybe I would make it to the upcoming festivals coming up tonight. I was very happy and proud that I would be able to enjoy myself tonight. It is rare that I make it to these occasional celebrations so I am very happy. I rush out the door to the Pharaohs room. I carefully placed the amulet on a table then I darted out. I was so excited. I got home about an hour later drowning in sweat. I wanted to have a great time which meant I had to be well prepared.

I made sure I was perfect for tonight then finally I set off. I had a great time. It was very sacred and many hymns were presented. There were also a lot of fun and games. I enjoyed this night very much and it will stay in my memory for a long time.

Ani

3rd day of Akhet,

I open my eyes, I hear shouting nearby. It must be the flooding I say to myself. I take my silk bed shirt off and throw my covers to the floor. I arise like I would any other day and grab a hood and a rough leather shirt. I get changed quickly and leave on my silk pants. Then cover my body in my hood and walk out. I step into moist, soggy air and already see the floods. I walk a bit closer to see chaos. Fisherman shoving each other around. Soldiers holding everyone back. There are even fist fights taking place. A young fisherman  has got dragged into a fight with another fisherman and I run to break it up. A fisherman is pushed into me and I get knocked to the floor. The young fisherman takes a blow and falls to the ground. I get back up to see a soldier slamming  The small fisher mans opponent to the ground. I run to the soldier and ask whats going on. “The flooding season has struck with terrible outcome. The fisherman have lost business and our now stealing from each other. It’s nothing much, we’ll take care of it.” I see Neshi knock a man into the water. He has finished with him though. He jumps in onto the fisherman who gets dunked into the muddy floor.

I walk back to my comforting home and get dressed properly. I get prepared to leave to the Pharaohs palace by washing myself, getting dressed properly, eating a light breakfast then finally grabbing my amulet. I made it especially for me to give me good luck in times of need. It has a large string attached so it is worn like a necklace. I put it round my neck and the weight of it is immediately made obvious. Like any other day my journey is to the Pharaohs palace. The thought of jewelery makes me sick today. If only I could take a day off work. My progress down the Nile is very slow. The sun has risen and is beating down on me. The former night has tired me out. I progress as slow as a snail down the Nile. The thought hits me again, a day of work? I distinguish it and accept that work is the only option. I continue my journey and finally the palace comes to my view. I run the final stretch to the palace then collapse on the floor. Blackness fills my vision and I go into a deep sleep.......

I awake in a murky, cold room. Someone walks in carrying a small bucket followed by 6 men in uniform. Cold water splashes my face. I regain full consciousness and realize I am in my work room. Tia is standing in front of me and behind her are 6 guards. One of them looked familiar. I remembered him from this morning when the fishermen were having a brawl. “What’s going on.” I asked. They told me that I had passed out and they thought that sickness had spread through me. “The guards came in case you went crazy.” Tia told me. I told them that it was only a small thing. That I had been so tired and all about that. Eventually they walked out and Tia gave me my work scroll. “That was strange.” I thought to my self.
The scroll read

2 pairs of hooped gold earrings
2 silver crowns decorated with jewelery

I smiled then thought about how easy this would be. I have crowns lying all over the place. And Earrings are easy to make. I wondered why the Pharaoh wanted 2 of each, then I remembered her newly born Nieces. Lately the Pharaoh has been giving me pretty easy orders. I think I’ve given her too much. Her room already teems with jewelery. I find 2 golden crowns and begin work on them. With a small sharp metal tool I carve in spots for me to put in the jewels. Minutes later the job is done. I grab some jewels and place them in the spots then dust them off and put them down. I find some golden earrings that have been lying around for a while then set off for the Pharaohs room. Once again I finish early leaving the rest of the day for me. Tia greets me and takes the crowns and earrings from me then I dart outside to the Nile.

Happiness lights up inside me. I’ve never finished work so fast. Although it may not have been one of my finest days of craft the thought of hours of fun reminds me to enjoy myself. I ran down to the river where all my friends were then got into my bathing suit. Pretty much all I wore was my under garments. Luckily we were swimming in a part of the Nile where the floods had not yet taken place. All my good friends were there including Khay and Nebnefer. Neshi was also there. He had brought a raft which good be used for a few games. Another fisherman was there who had also brought a raft. This only meant one thing. “Raft fight!” I called out.]

Raft fights were very simple but they sure were painful. They consisted of 2 rafts and a couple of long wooden polls. Nebnefer dashed off and within minutes he returned with them. We all got split into teams of 4 because there were only 8 people in our group. My team was made up of Nebnefer, Khay and Neshi. On the other team there was Debi and Iteti and two other people whose names I forgot. We started the game aggressively. Iteti lashed out and almost send khay off the raft. Neshi was very experienced in this sport since he was a fisherman. Unfortunately the other team also had fisherman. You could say it’s a fisher mans game. I took a blow in the ribs by Debi but I kept my balance. Me and Nebnefer worked together to knock of Debi by forcing him off the side. Khay knocked of one of the other teams players so at the time we had the upper edge. Out of nowhere a rival player swung his stick through everyone on our raft including me. I managed to keep my balance but others weren’t so lucky. Khay and Nebnefer were knocked of. I grappled with Iteti while Neshi was facing the other fisherman. I hit Iteti in the leg sending him to the floor of the raft. From there I used man power to force him off. He went off. I heard a splash then realized that had just been pushed off. Now it was just me and the enemy fisherman. I swung at my legs so I jumped and slammed him straight in the chest. He tripped back and fell into the water. I started cheering then suddenly my raft got flipped and I was send flying. I realized that my team had just capsized my boat. Everyone was laughing so I played along.

For the rest of the day we hung out by the river playing around with a variety of games. Eventually it started getting dark so we bidded each other farewell and returned home. I had a great time. It will be a landmark in my memory.

Ani

This will be my last entry, I think that I have given you enough about my life. I have made my Diary for one purpose. To share my life with the finder of this Diary. I have concluded that this will probably provide information for the finders of this Diary about life in Ancient Egypt.

Thank you,
By Ani

Literature circle blogpost 2#

2. Why does Jonas find the instruction about lying so disturbing?


Now firstly I would like to express and share my ideas on lying. I think that it's not a very principled thing to do but in some cases it can be necessary. Lying is pretty much always bad, you can start with one lie and build up into many more so in most situations it' s best to tell the truth.  Sometimes lying can make others feel good though. For example, person 1#, "is my dress nice?" person 2# "yea." This lying isn't as important as real lying so I wont go any deeper into it. Overall I think lying is not the correct thing to do. If told to lie that is no exception although for Jonas it is different. He is used to following instructions therefore he has to do what he is told. He may be unsure and disturbed about his orders but if he is told to do something he does it.  You don't refuse the law without being punished.  


I think that when told to lie, Jonas is very disturbed because in his community he is very used to following the rules and telling the truth. He has always been a good student with courage, knowledge and integrity. This is known because in the book is was stated that he had all of these factors when he was selected for the new receiver of memory. This has an affect on Jonas when he is ordered to lie because he is you could say "a goody two shoes." In this sense I mean he is very innocent and well behaved. Because he is so used to telling the truth it must be like breaking one of the rules. For example it would be like Lily riding a bike before she was of the required age. She would be breaking the rules and she would have felt very guilty.


Jonas must have been in a very uncomfortable situation when he was asked to lie. Its either obey or don't obey.  In both situations Jonas would have felt uncomfortable.  If he obeyed and lied he would have felt guilty because it's not what he's used to. If he didn't lie he would have probably been punished for disobeying. If I were him I would probably obey and try to avoid guilt. 


Overall I think that Jonas would feel disturbed about lying because he is not used to it . My other reason is the following, Being a star student as said when he was selected for the receiver of memory he would have not wanted to disobey the rules.

Lit Circle blogpost.

1. Would you want your future to be decided by others ? Why or Why not?


If I had to make a decision I would have to say no although I find there are a few advantages in taking the other option. Firstly I will explain why I think that I would like to control my own future. 


I think that Controlling your own future would be better because you could get more fun out of life and do things you've always wanted to do.  You would also be able to work for something that you enjoyed doing. In a society where you have no power over your future you could end up doing a job you hate.  I remember reading that there was a boy in the story that was certain he was going to get the job of a mechanic but unfortunately for him he didn't.  He was very sad so he left there society and no one ever saw him again.  If your whole future was controlled then you would have absolutely no power over anything. Not even your emotions. But if you were used to these rules then it would be normal. That means when you are occasionally given treats like parties or ceremonies like in the book they would come as spectacles. Not being able to control your future would mean no holidays or personal fun time. Being able to control your future you could do just about anything.  You would have a lot more authority and you would be able to change the world. It would also be a lot more enjoyable in times of glory. For the other side all there is to it is you listen to orders and follow.  


Now onto the advantages about having a controlled future. With a controlled future you would not have the pressure you might have with a free future. You would also not have to make decisions because you wouldn't even have the chance to in the first place. Making decisions are one of the bad things about being able to control your future. It would be rather simple if you were good at following rules, it would be similar to the life of an animal. For example pretend you were a bird. You would do pretty much the same things every year. It's like a cycle. Eat, sleep, migrate and breed. Of course this only applies for birds. The general idea is that your life would just be a ongoing cycle. Apart from a few things like new jobs life would stay untouched. Having a controlled life would also probably make sure you are well fed and good in health. You would not know a variety of bad things even existed. War and plague would be unknown to you.  It would be similar to the life of a celebrity. In this sense I mean everything would be given to you. You would not have to make much of an effort in life. These are the advantages that come with having a controlled future.


Overall I would rather be able control my future for the many reasons displayed. Although the both have lots of advantages overall being free makes the cut. This is my blog post on how I would choose to have my future.