keely b

Subject:  Silence

I’m left alone to have people mourn over me. I was left to forever listen to the hysterical screams, ringing of the machine guns, the roar of the flames. I’m left to stand here while people walk through me and witness all the pain and misery I brought to the millions of people that once had a voice but now are gone. All that is left of me now are the quiet footsteps you hear as people walk through me looking at me, and whispers people share as they try not to disturb the silence that I have made for myself.

 

Subject: Sonder Kommandos

Dear Momma, I can’t explain the pain I’ve been through and the pain I’ve given to others. I took this job to extend my life so that I would be able to survive to see you again. Out of all the bodies I’ve seen and all the people that have asked questions about loved ones, the hardest face to see put into the crematorium was my best friend. Having his mother come to me to ask if I had seen him was the hardest thing I have ever faced. It’s harder than being anyway from you. I’ll return soon enough, I just need time for now to try and escape all the pain I’ve been through.

 

 

Subject: SS

For some reason, this train carried few men and a great amount of women and children. As we got to the changing room where we striped the people of their clothes, I saw this little girl that was probably of the age of four. She seemed very excited to take a shower as she kept giggling while her mom tried to calm her down. The little girl had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen, the color of the sky and her hair was a dark brown, almost black that was perfectly curled. As they entered the gas chamber I watched as she held her mother’s hand with the brightest little smile. I could still see her as they dropped the gas into the chamber and her smile immediately dropped. She didn’t cry or whine but instead, accepted her fate and as I watched the sparkle fade from her eyes, I felt a part of me die as everyone else cheered about the Jews dying.

 

Subject: Death

Death. I come unexpected and never give anyone a warning. I take the weakest of the weak and wait for the strongest to fall. No one understands why I take who I take but it’s for a different reason each time. Everyday I take more and more people in and give them a blessing, an escape, a safe spot but I’ve never taken as many people from one place as I did while the camps were a thing. I ripped families apart and caused so much heartbreak that I have to deal with everyday. I give so many people an escape but I can’t get an escape myself so I’m forever stuck in this cycle of pain and heartbreak.

 

Subject: Suitcases

We’re leaving today and we have to pack a suitcase. The first that I put into my suitcase is my grandmother’s jewelry that I was given after she passed away. It has a bunch of her old earrings and necklaces in it and it means a lot. The next thing I pick is the old photo I have from when my parents got married. Next, I pack the blanket I’ve kept since I was little. I then pack the letter I got from a friend who lives a lot of towns over. I’ve never met her in person but she’s still one of my closest friends

 

Subject: Wiesel’s Father

My beloved son, I’m sorry for having left you so early and for having left you alone. I’ve watched you achieve all of your dreams from up here and I’m so proud of you. After everything you’ve been put through and all the tests you had to go through, I can’t believe you survived this far. I’ve seen the lives you’ve impacted and seen the trail you’ve left for the next generation and I’m so proud to have you share our story. I love you Elie.

Throughout the ages, there has been many tragic heroes, whether they’re in stories or real-life people we admire. The definition of a tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall. The term hero is derived from a Greek word that means a person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage in the face of danger. Jamie Lynn Spears is a tragic hero that was many little girls heroes when growing up, including me. She was the star of the nickelodeon hit-show “Zoey 101”. She played the main character, Zoey Brooks, for three years until she announced she was pregnant at just 16 in 2007. After that, her career went into a hiatus.

Both Othello and Oedipus had very big nemesis’ that played big roles in their downfall. Othello’s nemesis was Iago whether he wanted to admit it or not. Iago easily manipulated Othello into believing that his own wife was cheating on him with his own lieutenant that he trusted. Sadly, Othello listened and slowly lead himself to his own downfall. Oedipus on the other hand wanted so badly to be king that when he found out what his fate was, he ran away, thinking he was getting away and escaping it. But since he thought he could escape it, he actually lead himself to his own fate that he thought he was avoiding. If he had known that he was adopted then his downfall could’ve been avoided.

The anagnorisis for Oedipus was a lot worse then it was for Othello but both of their anagnorisis’ affects them almost the same. Oedipus’s anagnorisis was when he discovered that he killed his dad before he became king and then married his mom and had kids with her. After he discovered that he followed his fate, he stabbed himself in the eyes and made himself blind. Othello’s anagnorisis was when he discovered that Iago was manipulating him into thinking Desdemona was “cheating” on him with Cassio, even after he had already killed her. After Othello finds out the truth about Iago, Othello goes to attack Iago and misses while all of the other men try to stop Othello, Iago goes and stabs his wife, Emilia, for spilling the truth to Othello.

Oedipus’s hamartia was his over-the-top confidence and being very egotistical. Oedipus’s wanted nothing besides to be king and have everyone love him which eventually resulted with him going over the top and leading to his downfall. He also thought he was the best at everything and basically perfect until after he found out the truth about his family and his world came crumbling down. Othello’s hamartia was that he was too self-consisence, especially about his skin color. Othello was also very gulible which was a huge factor in his downfall. Othello always trusted what Iago said without talking to Desdemona or Cassio first, considering all of the rumors dealt with them having an affair behind Othello’s back. Othello also felt as if he was inferior sometimes because of the color of his skin even though everyone looked up to him.

Oedipus and Othello could’ve easily avoided their downfalls if they weren’t so worried about themselves. If Othello had paid just a little bit more attention to Desdemona and how she acted around him, he would’ve never listened to Iago and everything would’ve been fine. Oedipus could’ve avoided his downfall by not trying to avoid his fate. By trying to avoid his fate, he made it harder for himself to let himself down. He always had to be king and always had to be right which resulted into him being too confident.

 

The recent presidential election created a new form of media, “fake news”. Fake news is information that has been maniplulated by a writer to create a story that draws an audience. Fake news sounds true, and the place where it is published looks like a real news page. In the article, “Fake news author is fired; apologies to those ‘disappointed’ by his actions,” Can Harris, a recent Davidson College grade and Republican intern, states, “While the initial motivation behind launching a fake news site was financially based, the lesson I learned from the experience is far more important and it’s one that can’t be covered in a tweet or even a NYT article.”  Harris was the author of a fake news article, “BREAKING: ‘Tens of thousands’ of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse,” that may or may not have swayed voters. His argument evinced the mantra “the election is rigged” and :was eventually shared with 6 million people.” “Fake” news can be used for political propaganda or for financial gain, but it is ethically irresponsible. Harris and Davidson College apologized for this action; however, there is no way to retract the information people have read and shared. Many are able to deduce that the news found in these articles are not true.

In the article, the author uses numbers and statistics to induce the reader to look closely at the news for validity. The fact that “Harris is a 23-year-old” who created so much chaos at such a young age indicates the issues with fake news. The author may be saying that the younger generation does not realize how dangerous this type of news can be. The mention of “Tens of thousands of fraudulent Clinton votes” was an impetus for the article to be “eventually shared with 6 million people” Harris’ use of such large scale numbers caused people to believe and spread the news. In his statement, Harris’ use of the phrase “large-scale changes [are] occurring in America” makes the reader weary of “fake” news articles that are intractable once they get in the mainstream media.

Recently some of my friends and I called out one of our close friends for always over-exaggerating  and lying to the point that it’s obvious that he’s not telling the truth.

 

 

 

Charlotte Observer article: “Fake news author is fired; apologies to those “disappointed by his actions”

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article127391619.html

Politifacts: 2016 Lie of the Year: Fake News

http://http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/dec/13/2016-lie-year-fake-news/

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