Liesel Meminger was almost 10 when she first felt abandoned by her mother. Her mother took her to live with a foster family for the sake of a better life in the midst of WWII. Her brother, who was six at the time, died on the way to their new foster home. He was buried in an unknown town, next to the graves of unknown people. The only people there to say goodbye were Liesel, her mother and two gravediggers. After the burial, Liesel and her mother continued their journey onward. She said a tearful goodbye to her mother on the platform of the train station and after a lot of dragging and crying, Liesel found herself in her new home in Molching, Germany. (Zusak 23-24)
In a way, I envy Liesel at this point in the book. She got to start over with a new home, new family, and new hope. I relate to Liesel's feeling of abandonment because 5 months ago, my step-father, the man who I considered my real father just took off. Ever since then, he has called my Mother and the rest of my family, myself included, horrible things. He says things that no father figure should ever say to the children he raised. That's when I first understood abandonment. It didn't happen when my biological father left me when I was 2 weeks old, and it wasn't when I moved away from my family either. It was then. :-( I'm sad to have a person who was a big part of my childhood out of my life. I'm now too old to start my childhood over. The only hope I have is for my future and what I make of it.
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ReplyDelete6/10:
ReplyDeleteNice job discussing the theme of abandonment in the novel, Marla. Be sure to include page numbers in parenthesis when you are quoting or paraphrasing from the book or another source. This makes it easier for you to track down that passage if you need to revise and it makes it easier for your readers to find the passage you are writing about.
I really enjoyed reading what you wrote about starting over. I agree that we all need a fresh start in life sometimes. I truly believe that Gateway to College is that fresh start for you and from your participation in the classroom, I am so happy to see that you are making the most of it!
Comments for Revision:
unnecessary pronoun & comma splice: "Liesel Meminger, she was almost 10 when she first felt abandoned by her mother"
proper usage of "mist/midst"
Watch out for run-on sentences.
Also, watch out for sentence fragments--ex: "saying horrible things."
You do not need to capitalize "Mother" in most situations. The only time you capitalize it is when you are using it in the place of someone's first name. Ex: "Hi, Mother!" would be correct just like saying, "Hi, Katie!" would be correct. But, if you said, "The boy said hi to his mother," then that would not be using the word as a replacement for her first name just as you would not say, "The boy said hi to his Katie." I hope this makes sense--we can talk about it more in class to clarify:)
10/10: Great job revising!
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