Salt to the Sea is a great novel with ideas that can be related to today and events that occurred in World War Two. The book is told from four perspectives. Each person is also hunted and haunted by a different thing. Emilia is hunted by shame. Joana is hunted by guilt. Florian is hunted by fate. Alfred is hunted by fear. As said by a solider "'....I'd rather be at the front, killing Russians, but I destroyed my knee, so I'm here'-he looked at me-'with guy like you.'" (Sepetys 145). This shows how Alfred must be very fearful not to join the war effort but to assist with a ship instead and work with the injured. During the story the three of the characters meet up and head off with their group to safety from the war. Florian and Emilia would be in trouble if they're true identity is discovered by the Nazis and Joana as well for helping the two. All of them would be in trouble if found by the Soviets. Therefor, they move and try not to be caught, which with often encounters makes everyone nervous. They finally make it to a port in Gotenhafen and the four finally meet. They load and there's another near encounter with a Nazi almost on to Florian. They all board the Wilhelm Gustloff. On board, the Polish girl gives birth to a girl. Throughout the novel she claimed it's father is August, a guy she liked at the cottage. She admits that it was really a Russian whose August's mother surrendered her to them. She doesn't look at her baby for a while. Shameful for it. Joana still feels guilty for leaving her family. Alfred is just a sailor who isn't fit enough to serve the German army and is too fearful to join. Florian is still has fate on his tail, as a solider contacts his former boss who he left, and is now forced to hide. Then, Florian's fate triggers it all. The Gustloff is hit by 3 torpedoes by a Soviet submarine and it begins to sink. Emilia starts to lose her shame and looks at her baby and rushes to help it. The characters run to the lifeboats. Emilia gives Florian her baby who she names Halinka on one of the lifeboats. After a few more passengers rush to the lifeboat, Emilia pushes the wandering boy onto the lifeboat and it left. She has lost her shame and believes in her child more than herself, sacrificing herself. She and Alfred scramble trying to find another lifeboat or a raft as Joana, Florian, the wandering boy, Halinka and others on the lifeboat drift off. Alfred and Emilia find a raft that they ride off just before the ship sinks, which ends up killing more than 9,000 people with it. As Alfred rambles on about the girl he's obsessed with, Emilia realizes there's almost no way they were going to make it, and she starts to lose it. She says something in Polish and Alfred recognizes it. He was fearful but now conquered it and tried to kill Emilia. He jumps up and stomps hard on the ground in which he slips and lands hard on metal. He becomes very hurt and Emilia tries to stable him, in which he jumps back to his death in the cold Baltic Sea. Meanwhile, Florian's horrible fate started to work in his favor. A ship came by and picked up his lifeboat. As they climb the rope to the ship, Joana slips and accidentally kicks Florian into the sea. She quickly catches on and gets in the boat. When Florian was in the sea, he heard a voice say "'Kick! Kick your feet!' She was yelling to me." (Sepetys 366). He came up to the boat thanking Joana for the advice but she wasn't the one yelling. Florian's horrible fate had gone in his favor, conquered. Joana in the boat seeing that she had saved a lot of people nursing and got out of a horrible situation was no longer haunted by guilt. Emilia appeared to have hallucinated and seen her mom a home with her daughter. The novel ends with a letter from Clara Christensen. She sends it to Florian talking about how an American girl named Halinka wanted to compete in the summer games but her nationality was unknown because she was born on a ship. They knew nothing about her mother except that she was Polish and her name was Emilia. The letter also mentions that Emilia's body had washed up on Christensen's backyard and Florian's pack and Emilia were buried. It ends on knowing that in Florian's notebook he described Emilia is a savior and Christensen felt the same despite never knowing her. The most valuable idea from the book is no matter how bad your situation is, you can still conquer things that haunt you. The book matters because it lets people see and inspires them, especially those who are feeling really bad about their life and are considering very bad things, that even though you might be going through a hard time being haunted by a problem, you can get over it. This might help people who think very poorly about themselves for having issues to reconsider it. The takeaway message is that you should persist and continue going on and you can and will conquer your biggest problems. This book is valuable today as it shows that people dealt with their problems as they were dying in a war and if they can do that so can anyone in today's world. Overall, Salt to the Sea is a very good book that could even potentially save someone's life by putting things in perspective.
1 Comment
In Salt to the Sea four teenagers are caught up in war. The novel mostly focuses on the harsh aggression of the Nazi Soviet front. Three of the four have been trying flee walking near paths to avoid needed attention from troops and getting to a place where the fighting isn't happening so they can wait the war out. They finally come across a large ship that is heading to safer ground. The fourth teen is a Nazi desperate to move up the ranks and be a hero; especially to be noticed by Hannelore in which he sends mental love letters to throughout the story. The four all finally meet up at the ship and hope nothing goes wrong as the ship already seems cursed. (The ship shares a name with a Nazi in a different country who was murdered). Historically near where the novel takes place, this is the front of the Soviets and the Nazis. Due to an already present mistrust between the Soviets and Allies, Stalin isn't a huge fan of America. This mistrust began as the Allies were against the Reds in the Russian Civil War. On top of that the Allies abandoned Czechoslovakia before World War Two. Stalin then signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact with Germany. After being invaded again, the Soviets were forced to join the Allies. After the war was over, the Soviets controlled a lot of Asia and Europe. The U.S. offered supplies to those in need in Soviet zones but Stalin rejected them for those offered. Finally America and the USSR couldn't take it anymore and the cold war started as disagreements in different areas led to the battles of the cold war. With disagreements the countries went out to prove themselves as better than the other. A lot more money was put into education to advance further with smarter people and this affect lasts until today as Americans realized the importance of putting money into education. Another affect is both countries built up a lot of nuclear weapons that are still here today. This made both the U.S. and Russia look stronger with so many nuclear weapons and less likely to be attacked present day. My novel has to deal with the Nazis and Soviets at war. This had a huge impact on society even today. If Hitler never broke the pact then Soviets and Nazis may be ruling the world right now. If the Allies still somehow pulled it off then there probably would never have been a Cold War. Therefor, the events of the Nazis and Soviets battling as included in Salt to the Sea has affects still present in today's society.
Sources: http://dailyhistory.org/How_did_World_War_II_Lead_to_the_Cold_War%3F http://abbywcoldwar.blogspot.com/2010/04/effects-of-cold-war-on-america-today.html Salt to the Sea is a novel told from four perspectives. Each of them is haunted and hunted by something. This book takes place during World War Two. Due to a Soviet advance on the German border the four teenagers are desperately fleeing from the land. Historically during this time period, Germany had broken the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact and in 1941 invaded Russia. Stalin was took off guard and German offenses nearly reached Moscow. Enraged Stalin fought back hard. Russia and Germany fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. Near these battles are where the novel takes place. The events in the book barely compare to the historical events as it they talk about minor battles that took areas and most of the action so far is with lost troops. They mostly compare as Russia attacks Germany and there are a lot of battles. Most of the people in the border wanted the fighting to stop. It was destroying their property, resources, and well being. People from Russia were angry of a surprise attack and wanted revenge. People from Germany felt the Russians were bloody and evil destroying everything and taking anything they could over. There are four characters in the novel. Three of the four appear to want the fighting to stop and are against both Soviets and Germans. The other one is strictly German wanting to help Germany and believes that Germany has the better cause. He often daydreams to Hannelore on how brave he is despite being obviously coward. The book goes into how cold and harsh the conditions are similar to how bad weather and disagreements between officers and Hitler slowed down their forces. In the book even from the very beginning the author goes into how horribly cruel the weather is by saying "She was dead, frozen solid..." (Sepetys 2). The History Channel puts that in to context by saying "...and the impact of the surprise invasion helped Germans get within 200 miles of Moscow by mid-July. Arguments between Hitler and his commanders delayed the next German advance until October when it was stalled by Soviet counteroffensive and the onset of the harsh winter weather." (History Channel 2017). Overall, Salt to the Sea compares to the real events occurring at the time.
This is the History Channel article I used http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history Introduction to Homeless Animals Wake County animal shelters are extremely overcrowded which leads to the countless deaths of these animals everyday.These animals are being sent to these shelters so often that other animals have to be euthanized to allow space for new animals. There are many organizations that are trying to start their own shelters that are “no kill” shelters but these organizations need a lot of funding. The largest “no kill” organization in Wake County is the SPCA (http://spcawc.convio.net/site/PageServer). This issue interests everyone in our group because we all have pets and we know how much one of these animals could mean to a family. A lot of people don't realize how severe this issue is and how many animals are getting euthanized. If this information gets out I believe people will reconsider adopting a pet because they will be saving it's life. “Across the US 1 out of every 10 pets find a permanent home” (Mosby Foundation 2015), everyone in our community needs to help out and raise the percentage of animals that have permanent homes. The Issue In 2010, the Wake County ASPCA had more than 4,000 incoming animals. They also had more than more than than 4,000 outgoing animals, however, more than 800 animals were euthanized, more than 100 were transferred, and 100 more died. (Guidestar.org 2010) This means that around ¼ of the animals in that shelter didn't find homes. When you add that to the fact that of the 70 million stray animals in the US, only 6.5 million are adopted by shelters, you realize how little we are helping stray animals. (ASPCA.org 2014) In October 2009, the Wake County Animal Center had over 1,000 dogs in one weekend. While some were adopted, the shelter was filled so much to capacity that almost all pets dropped off were euthanized. The next year, they euthanized about 59% of their animals. In 2012 they euthanized over 700 more.(Indyweek.com 2015) While this issue may seem minor to you, it is life and death to those animals. This has always been an issue in Wake County, and we need to solve it. This is a problem in our community, because it puts life at risk. Even though it may not seem important, because it doesn't really impact you, it is. Each animal killed because there is no room for it has feelings, hopes and they just want to be loved. If we let this problem continue, we could let thousands of pets die for no reason. Also, if we let overcrowding continue, many pet owners might just release a pet they can't take care of into the wild, which is even more dangerous. Current Solutions Despite the major problem, there have been many attempts to fix it. People in the community are making sure that they only adopt animals that they are sure they are fit to take care of. Others serve by fostering the homeless animals in their crowded shelters. Some organizations serve the animals by helping in their own ways. C.A.R.E. For Animals works with responsible, caring foster homes for homeless animals.They also provide pet owner assistance for those needing help taking care of their animals who might lose them because of complications preventing animals in homes from losing their homes. (http://www.careforanimals-nc.org/). The SPCA is a no kill animal shelter. Despite being no kill, they generally aren’t overcrowded. This is because of a low cost in their spay/neuter clinic, people see the no-kill and want to help, a good local government that cares about rehoming the animals, and a good community of people determined to help. The Saving Grace also helps the cause especially people who want to help but only want the “perfect dog.” They are a non-profit organization that hand picks their dogs to be compatible with other dogs and children. They also train the dogs a little as well. This organization is perfect for someone who wants to help but only wants a really good dog or has a family situation only a dog from here could suit. Although these organizations have helped, there is still a need. No-kill shelters have limited space. Other ones, such as the Wake County Animal Care, Control and Adoption Center, have more room because they put animals down. Places like this are the ones mostly in need of help. “Through May 31, according to county records, the shelter had taken in 10,406 animals in 2015, and had euthanized 3,143 of them, just over 30 percent.” (Montgomery 2015). The sad part of this is that is improvement from the weekend in October in 2009 and the years following. This many animals being euthanized with all of the help already being given is why there is still a need in the community. Only you can help. Our Solution As kids there is only so much we can do to help with this problem. We can't build a shelter, or adopt animals. But, we can help organizations that are already protecting these animals. C.A.R.E. for Animals is a non profit volunteer organization. Their mission is “To improve the quality of life of our animal friends by strengthening the bond between humans and animals; ending suffering due to abandonment, abuse, and neglect; and eliminating the need for euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals in our shelters.” So, as our community project, we will be donating supplies to them. (C.A.R.E.for Animals-nc.org 2017) Starting on May 15th, we will be collecting toys, beds, bowls, blankets, comforters, collars, leashes, dog crates, cat litter, cat carriers and towels for the C.A.R.E. for Animals organization. We will be collecting the supplies in bins outside the cafeteria. The drive will end at the end of the week on May 19th. We will then use a truck that a parent will volunteer to drive, to transport the supplies to C.A.R.E. for Animals. This is a good idea to help with overcrowding in shelters because everyone can help. If we volunteer one day, some students may be busy, not have transportation or forget about it. If we do a drive, it will happen at Martin during school hours, so everyone can participate. Also, everyone will know about it, since we will advertise it with posters and a video on the news. Our goal for this project is to collect one bin full of supplies from each home room. We will know we have achieved it when every bin from the drive is full. While we cannot wave a magic wand and fix this problem, we hope this will help to solve it. (The action plan chart can be accessed at the bottom of the blog) Works Cited "Welcome." C.A.R.E. For Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. "SPCA of Wake County." The SPCA of Wake County. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. N.p., n.d. Web. 2017. "No Room at the Wake County Animal Center." Indy Week. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017. "SPCA of Wake County FAQ about No-Kill - SPCA of Wake County." SPCA of Wake County FAQ about No-Kill - SPCA of Wake County. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017. Wral. "NC Shelter Kills 99 Percent of Animals, Records Show." WRAL.com. N.p., 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. N.p., 3 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2017. Images Cute Kitten. N.d. Amazingly Cute Kittens. Web. <https://www.tes.com/lessons/-ZIzCY-Wm24Ttw/amazingly-cute-kittens>. Puppy. N.d. Playbuzz. Web. <http://www.playbuzz.com/laureni11/what-cute-baby-animal-are-you>. Redcoon Hound. N.d. Pinterest. Web. <https://www.pinterest.com/source/dog-trainer.pw/>. Sad Puppy. N.d. Daily Dot. Web. <https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/hugo-award-nominees-sad-puppies/>. Locally we are struggling to save our parks. Budget cuts on them are not helping. These cuts are causing possible shut down. In 2012, as an example, it was considered to shut down the parks for the winter. All of this is an issue as people who work at the parks would lose their jobs and a huge source of entertainment of going down to the park would be lost. Since the parks would be shut down if they didn’t get enough money in them(assuming it would ever get this bad), someone need to buy them. There is very little chance that the company buying the park would be environmentally friendly, so more than likely they would use it for their purpose. This would have North Carolina lose trees that we desperately need with a society always setting up environmentally destructive industries. This also would have many animals lose their homes, possibly wiping out entire populations. Our community would have more pollution, more dead animals on the streets desperately looking for homes, local people would lose their jobs, and many people who just enjoy going in nature to take a hike would be furious. I am personally interested in this issue as I really enjoy going to my local state park and taking a hike with my dog. We both really enjoy the parks more than the streets. This makes me feel personally motivated to help the cause because I want to keep our parks. Others should care as well because so many people enjoy hiking and other recreational activities in these parks. Although our state gets more than 14 million visits a year in these state parks, the number of grants to our parks went from 47 in 2012 to just 14 in 2013. This 14 million visits show the public has the support of the parks we just need you, the everyday people to help. By spreading the word about the problems we could gain support and save the parks. By having everyone donate to the parks that will help keep them running. As well as that if we could get businesses to support and sponsor the parks there wouldn’t be a problem. However, that might not work. Another approach is to vote in leaders supporting the parks to help the effort. If we do our best to save the parks they will be enjoyed for generations to come.
http://www.wral.com/-wife-said-no-wake-shelter-records-show-why-animals-are-returned/14097269/
The issue of dogs and cats being left at shelters is a horrible issue with not enough attention put into it. Some of these unfortunate animals have to go to the shelter get adopted, go through all of this stress only to be put back into the shelter. I am personally interested and horrified by it because I have a dog that I couldn’t imagine giving him up despite how bad he is. I found the article wondering why so many people are giving up their animals to shelters and why sheltered dogs and cats keep ending back up in these shelters. I personally am connected to the issue as I feel it ruins a living animal’s life to be adopted and then returned to a shelter. I believe that adopting a pet means that you personally promise it to take care of it and make sure it never goes to the pound. This mostly affects me by mentally traumatizing me and I am sure others feel similar. By being so scarred by the horrid events it slows my work and others, thus slowing down our nation in a little way. It also ruins the life of these pets which affects the lives of pets in my community. Everyone should care about the issue as the lives of these living animals are having their lives ruined and it should be thought about and stopped. In order to stop animals being given away when you adopt an animal make sure you have the money, time, space, and other things you need to have when getting an animal. Do some research and it is recommended that you visit the animal multiple times making sure it would be good for you before getting it. If everyone were to keep their dogs and cats there would be no issue and when you think of adopting an animal make sure you can take care of it. |
Archives
May 2017
Categories |