So far, in The Boy in Striped Pajamas Bruno has moved from Berlin to Auschwitz. Unaware that his father was working for the Nazis and was the leader of the concentration camp, Bruno created a dangerous friendship with a young Jewish boy. This book ends with the two boys meeting in the camp after Bruno put on the striped pajamas, being mistaken for a Jew and unpredictably getting put in the gas chamber with others. The two boys lives were ended together. The quote from page 213 in the book, "And then the room went very dark and somehow, despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let it go," Clearly shows that this was the end. This quote provides evidence of how strong the bond of Shmuel and Bruno's friendship was, and even though they died, they went through it together. I think that this book is extremely important to know about and read because it shows that the labels people are given shouldn't stop you from doing what you want, or think is right. If people didn't know about the Holocaust, there would be a possibility of it happening again, so this way, we can prevent it because we are aware of the consequences and have seen the views from both sides.
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The Boy In Striped Pajamas connects with a lot in our time period. Throughout this book, Bruno, a young German boy, oblivious to the fact that his father was the leader of a concentration camp, creates a "dangerous" friendship with a Jew. Although separated by a fence, the two boys find a way to create a bond and keep their friendship a secret. Today, there is still separation, though not as harsh. Just as Shmuel and other Jews were isolated and kept inside the concentration camp, people are being separated and treated unfairly through things like race, gender looks, etc. Some people now don't even want their children to interact or create friendships with others like this. In both, the book and our world today, many people still seem to think there should be more separation though we are all equal and still human.
The Boy in Striped Pajamas connects a lot with the Holocaust. This is because the story takes place during World War 2. The events in this book include two sides/views of the Holocaust; One from a young boy in a concentration camp, and the other as an average German boy. The quote from the book, “Bruno: We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that? ,” Clearly shows that something was separating them from being together, and that was because one was a Jew. Also, evidence from the quote, "With mass killing centers constructed in the concentration camps of occupied Poland," supports the fact that the Jews were isolated and not treated fairly. The Boy in Striped Pajamas connects a lot with this because the main character is a about a boy during the Holocaust in a concentration camp. In both the book and the article, the concentration camps were described as terrible places. Also, both were very clear about the fact that this period of time was not a great one to be in as a Jew.
Kids. Cancer. Two words that should never go together, but with almost 700 kids affected by cancer everyday, that is the harsh reality. Childhood cancer patients don't get a chance to act and play like normal kids. Everyday, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer, are sent to hospitals for treatment, and have stay in places where they can’t act like kids. They stay in boring, mostly white rooms and have nothing to occupy their minds during painful and stressful procedures. Making it so that these kids have the best life while they can is really important because 12% of children diagnosed with cancer will not survive. We want these kids to remember having fun and playing, not sitting in a boring room all day long. These children didn’t do anything to deserve being sick and they shouldn’t be punished by spending their lives in hospitals with little to do. Childhood cancer patients don't get the chance to be normal kids.
I am interested in helping with this issue because I have seen the effects of cancer in my own life, and I am a strong believer that kids shouldn't be forced to grow up too fast. These cancer patients have to handle tough situations from a young age, which is a lot of pressure to put on the backs of children. This is an issue that we should care about because there is no way to prevent childhood cancer. It could happen to anyone and may even affect people that you know. 16000 kids are diagnosed each year in the US alone. This means that several thousand children are just sitting around, spending up to years in hospitals. Childhood cancer patients in hospitals don't get the chance to have a normal childhood and that needs to be fixed. This issue mostly affects children diagnosed with cancer. According to American Childhood Cancer Organization, cancer is the most common cause of death by disease for children in America. Even though cancer is the most common cause of death by disease, 80% of children diagnosed with cancer will make it past the 5 year mark. Though this may look good, this means that once they pass five years old, their chances of survival is greatly decreased. ⅔ of all children who survive the disease, suffer from at least one chronic illness or long term effect such as heart damage, second cancers, lung damage, infertility, cognitive impairment, growth deficits, hearing loss, and much more. They also have to be closely monitored for the rest of their life. This issue of children with cancer not getting to live a very normal life has been a problem since childhood cancer has been around. This is a problem in our community because these children cannot do anything about having cancer. They have to stay in the hospital for long periods of time in order to get the treatment they need, such as Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a type a treatment that most childhood cancer patients take to try to get rid of the tumor, but it is very expensive for family members to pay for. In addition, we have very few childhood cancer centers in our community who don't receive much funding. The funding that they collect goes directly to tackling childhood cancer. Without this, children won't have the proper treatments and will have less items to entertain themselves. Others in our community have helped with this issue by creating websites/fundraisers and encouraging people to donate. Alexander’s Toy Trunk, inc. is a nonprofit that provides new toys, books, and games to hospitalized children. Starting from just a cardboard box, and one boy bringing a few simple toys every week, this organization has grown tremendously. Thanks to them, it's brought much excitement and profit to hospitals throughout the area. There are now more advancements in the environment for the children, as well as an increase in pleasure from the patients. Although Alexander's Toy Trunk has benefited the issue greatly, there is still a need for help in our community. We still need to contribute because toys and candy aren't the only things that children need. Children need to be loved and cared for. It is important that they have a chance to live their lives just as we do, making sure that cancer will not separate them from anyone. Alexander's Toy Trunk, is not the only organization that is trying to solve this problem, many others are creating new charities and fundraisers as well. Striving for More, inc. is even planning on creating medical dolls to provide comfort and help the children communicate where they are in pain. In order to make a change, we need to work together to raise awareness, and give these children a happy, healthy, and overall better life. For our project we are collecting items and monetary donations to give to duke hospital childhood cancer center. We are doing these collections in all grade levels and we hope to gather things to make the kids at duke happier and help raise awareness about childhood cancer This chart shows the steps that we will take in order to achieve this goal. Making fundraisers/websites aren't the only way we could help. We are collecting donations for the hospitals and the children getting treatment there. Donations give money to the hospitals so they can continue giving toys and necessary items to the patients. We are also gathering toys and books so they can enjoy their stay at that hospital. All children deserve to have a happy and non-stressful childhood no matter what they can going through. By donating, we as students are giving back and helping those in need. Our goal for hospital service is to bring in more profit/donations as well as raising awareness. We thought this was an important subject to provide service to and help because not many people understand what these children are going through. We plan on contributing specifically asked for supplies from hospitals such as medical kits, scrapbooks, movies, gift cards and games. We also want to let people recognize that cancer is something that has a huge impact on lives. Not only do we want to make a positive change in the patients lives, but we want others to feel moved by our accomplishments. In order to know we have met this goal, we will have reached our expected point of $1500 & needed donations, as well as given children with cancer a happier, and overall better life. Before people really know me, most probably see me as quiet or shy, but trust me, you just haven't gotten to know me quite enough! To my close friends, they see me as a weird, silly and extremely loud person. My mood changes my personality a lot though. Some days i'm very bubbly and excited, and some days i'm serious and quiet. My family will see me as a theater geek and over dramatic, but I prefer to see it as musical!! My sister occasionally sees the sweet part of me, but it's mostly the angry and annoying sides. But hey, that's what sisters are for!
Not all animal shelters are the same. Although some provide caring environments and love for the animals, many shelters in Wake County leave animals in uncomfortable, dirty and cold areas. This is an issue because the poor animals can't do anything about it. Everyday, dogs and cats come into the shelters scared and homeless. Many get into fights, get sick or are killed. Only wanting care, a home and a loving family, several of these animals are put down. This is wrong and unfair. If more people would help and gather together and help out, this issue could be changed immediately. I personally love animals and I think that they deserve a better life. All that these animals need are donations and volunteers at the local animal shelters! Just the smallest things can make a huge difference, like loving the animals and making them feel welcome and at home, as well as giving then a comfortable place to sleep with blankets and fun toys! This can decrease the anxiety and stress the animals have, and help them live a long happy life with a healthy environment!
Throughout The Boy in Striped Pajamas, a young German boy, being oblivious to the fact that his father was a leader of a concentration camp, has created a friendship with a Jew. Everyday they meet on the two sides, being separated by a fence, keeping their friendship a secret. I believe that this separation between the Germans and Jews has a lot to do with events from today. Although many are respected, several people are still being treated unfairly because of things like looks, races and genders. Today, some don't want their kids to have interactions/friendships with these people, just as Bruno's father didn't want Shmuel and his son to be friends. Although we are all equal and human, the Germans in the book and people today share the same kind of ideas with the separation.
Immigrants came to america originally for several reasons. Most came for the possibility of a free society, which would allow them to better their lives as well as practice their religion freely. At this time, The United States was seen as the land of economic opportunity. Fleeing crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes and scarcity of food, the immigrants traveled to America seeking greater success and a better life.
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