WLIRP+Tae+Yoon

World Literature Independent Reading Project Quarter 1 2009-2010 Note: In order for your book to qualify it must be by an author from a country other than the United States or the United Kingdom OR the primary setting must be outside of the United States or the United Kingdom.


 * Title: Schindler's List
 * Author: Thomas Keneally
 * Author’s Nationality: German
 * Setting (only list the primary settings): Germany
 * Total Pages: 388
 * Original Publication Date: 1982
 * If your book is translated, who is the translator? If not translated write “NA”: NA
 * Do you currently have a physical copy of the book?: Yes
 * If you do not have a physical copy, how soon can you get one? (Write “NA” if you have a copy.): NA

1. If you don’t already, obtain a physical copy of the book and bring it to class when instructed. 2. Become an expert on your book by the end of the first quarter. The quarter ends on October 15th, so you have about seven weeks to complete the book. Keep in mind that you will be reading this book in addition to assigned readings for class, so when the homework load is light read your book. This is also the book you should use for KIS Reads. 3. Read actively by taking notes in the book (use Post-its if it’s on loan), and make sure you understand the main conflicts, how the characters develop, and any major themes. 4. At the end of each weak, write a 100-200 word reflection about your reading. Use your notes or post-its for ideas. 5. Your book will be the basis of a writing project at the conclusion of the first quarter, so keep track of the book.
 * Directions:**

How many pages do you need to read per week to be completed by 15 October, 2009? Week 1: 31 August - 4 September: 50 Week 2: 7-11 September: 50 Week 3: 14-18 September: 50 Week 4: 21-25 September: 60 Week 5: 28 September - 2 October: 60 Week 6: 5-9 October: 50 Week 7: 12-15 October: 68 You must be completed with your book by Thursday, 15 October, 2009.
 * Once your selection has been approved, fill out the following:**

Reflection Week 3

How is your World Lit. reading going? -I'm keeping up with the schedule I set up before I started reading this book. The book is never boring and when it does become slightly monotonous, another event happens and I'm forced to continue reading.

Are you keeping up with your reading plan? -Yes, I am keeping up with my reading plan. By today, I'm supposed to be finished with 150 pages of the book. I'm currently on page 135.

What do you think about your book so far? -I think it is an interesting book. It does a great job of telling the life of a wealthy german during the rule of Adolph Hitler and the horrible scenes they saw everyday of Jews being slaughtered and massacred.

What are the main conflicts? -Schindler and himself. Germans vs Jews. Schindler and german officials.

Are there any particularly interesting characters? Why? -The main character, Schindler is particularly an interesting character in the novel because he is a dedicated german who has a fairly well paid job and he tries to help Jews rather than assist in the massacring of them.

Have you noticed any major themes developing? -Conflict with oneself, and the increasingly frequent conflict between Germans and Jews.

Do you see any connections between your World Lit book and anything else you have read recently? -Unfortunately, no. This novel doesn't deal with the topic of love, more with money, corruption, under-the-table dealing, and violence (death of Jews).

Reflection Week 7 I am finally done with reading this fantastic book, //Schindler's List.// Until now, I have barely kept up with my reading plan through many difficulties such as falling asleep and getting distracted by something else. I think //Schindler's List// is a great book. It contains a lot of information relating to the Holocaust, when Jews were being massacred by the Germans. The book is even more interesting because it is based on one person's life throughout the Holocaust, which shows FEELING, therefore we can FEEL as if we were people alive during the Holocaust. The main conflicts now have changed. In the beginning, it was Oskar Schindler and himself, whether or not to help the Jews survive, but now he is determined to help as many Jews as he can to survive. Now, the real major conflict is between Oskar Schindler and the SS officials. Obviously, since the story is revolving around the life of Oskar Schindler, to me, he is the most interesting character because we know how he feels, his motivations are yet unclear, why he wants to save the Jews. He felt sympathy for the Jews and decided to help as best as he can, I would've done so too. Now, we hear from time to time throughout the novel, of the Russians and Americans steadily moving into Germany. The connections I see between my World Literature Book and my summer reading book, //The Plague,// is below in the World Literature Book Podcast.

__Podcast Outline__
What is the relationship between a list and a plague? Just by looking at the titles, //The Plague// and //Schindler's List// seem to have absolutely nothing in common. But, as they say, "don't judge a book by its cover.". Although it may seem so, these two books are actually very similar in many different ways, such as: character, events, and plot. The novel, //Schindler's List//, is based on the life of Oskar Schindler, the main character, who is a war profiteer as well as a Nazi party member, and how he becomes the unexpected savior of a large amount of Jews during the fearful Holocaust.
 * //__Introduction:__//**

__//**Body:**//__

__Similarities:__ - based on the life of one, main character and describes how the environment in which they live in shape them - wealth matters, healthy people unfavorably quarantined along with the rest of Oran as well as Oskar Schindler pay people, BRIBES, to get their way around certain obstacles and to accomplish certain things
 * most dominant* - involves the massacring of huge amounts of innocent people

__Differences:__ - //The Plague:// protagonist's, Dr. Rieux's, life starts to deteriorate, life becomes more miserable, boring, monotonous, learns an important lesson in the end (enlightened) - //Schindler's List:// protagonist's, Oskar Schindler's, life begins to improve, he starts to lead a more productive and therefore more efficient life, learns a purpose in life - to save the Jews - //Schindler's List// is a much more nonfictional story, as it is reinforced with relevant evidence that still survives today that are often mentioned throughout the novel whereas //The Plague// does not (not saying that it is completely fictional either) - //The Plague// leaves the reader with an uncomfortable feeling of a great loss and a state of melancholia while in //Schindler's List//, the reader receives a feeling of accomplishment, proud -massacring of people in //The Plague// is caused by a natural phenomenon, while in //Schindler's List//, it is caused by humans.

Thus, we can conclude that //The Plague// and //Schindler's List// actually do have a lot of major similarities such as the involvement of massacring innocent lives, the novel "revolving around" the life of one person, the main character, and the association of bribery. Yet, we are unable to say that they are almost identical due to the somewhat equal amount of differences between the two novels. //Schindler's List// is indeed an excellent book to read. The content of the book and the way the author wrote it is very intriguing, for we are able to explore the life of an important figure in history (maybe not famous) that strove to help survive as many Jews as possible during the Holocaust. The reader is never bored because the author is very good at writing detailed descriptions, imagery is very clear. This all adds up to support the claim on the front cover of this book (well, my book) "The Acclaimed #1 Bestseller." //The Plague// and //Schindler's List// may have absolutely un-related titles, but then again, "don't judge a book by its cover."
 * //__Conclusion:__//**

=World Literature Podcast:= media type="custom" key="4677725"