Standing up to oppression takes great individual courage.

Standing up to oppression takes great individual courage.


I chose the above statement because I believe that it does take true courage to stand up to an oppressing force. Throughout the medieval unit I have found that many individuals have found the courage within them to rise up and resist against an oppressing force for some sort of cause. in 1066 William invaded England even though the power that he seeked was oppressing him. It is not the best example but he did build up some courage to fight against the power oppressing him (being king Harold). In 1381 the Peasants protested against the king because of the new laws or rules introduced by him. The rule stating that peasants may not ask for higher wages upset them and when the poll tax came into being it really set of the peasants and then one man by the name of Thomas Baker stood up to the tax collectors. This act required a lot of courage and through doing it he had taken a big step against the king. This courageous act set off a spark and soon enough a large portion of the English peasants were marching to Smithfield to meet with the king and demand that the poll tax should be abolished. Causing treason was an enormous crime at that time and would not be rewarded kindly by the king. It took a lot of courage. Now in the modern day many people protest of things that they don't like. Over time protests still happen. If people feel an unease they may protest and it takes courage to protest. It takes courage to stand up to an oppressing force.

The feudal system in 100 words

Father Francois, you are my honored guest. Please allow me to explain the Feudal system to you before you ask any questions of me. I am but a simple farmer. The feudal system allows people to own property in exchange for services to a higher lord. For example, king William has a large amount of people whom he trusts and if they need anything such as land they provide their services to the lord. The person who requires help is called the vassal and the person who assists him is the lord. This system can continue through all the nobles.

The events of 1066

In 1066 Edward the confessor died. Before he departed he stated that after his death Harold Godwinson the earl of Essex would rule after him. He was a powerful noble who controlled the English army and was a clear choice for king. King Edward was also married to Harolds sister making them brother in laws. A council was held and the nobles decided to elect Harold as king of England. As well as Harolds many claims to the throne Harold was an English man making him native to England. He would be a clear choice for the king of England if he was the only English individual going for the throne out of Hardrada, William and himself. Although he swore an oath to William stating that he would not be king Harold definitely had the more important claims as well as support of English citizens. Overall I feel that Harold Godwinson was the rightful heir to the throne and deserved to be the king of England.

Affects of Bullying

1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

During both the units we have been studying this year I have been able to spot many examples of bullying, exclusion and ostracism. Firstly when we were studying Greek mythology we were reading a book called Shadow of the Minotaur. Phoenix the protagonist of the book had a large role in the book and because of this his whole life was explained in high detail. He was a victim to the school bully Steve Adams and was severely bullied. We was a target of name calling, abuse and criticism by Steve Adams and his gang. A bit later in the year we studied World War 2 and the Holocaust a period of time filled with terrible events and actions. It was a clear example of how bad things like exclusion and bullying can eventually result in. The Jews were slowly removed from German society through ostracism and eventually bullied and abused to death. This just proves that small things like exclusion can expand into chaotic events. Finally there was the hunger games. In the book the capitol who held all the power thought of an idea to hold all the districts under their rule. They decided to leave the districts alone with little food and money and hold the annual hunger games an event where 2 tributes from each district are thrown into an arena to fight for survival. This was a realization that the Capitol bullied the districts. They also ostracized them by placing them far a way from their own homes.

Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?

Several months ago I experienced the abuse of one of my friends. My group of friends is fairly large and very humorous. They commonly make jokes or funny gestures which I am not to bothered by although sometimes they can insult others in very severe ways. It can irritate me to hear my friends continuously ranting about how stupid or dumb others are and one time someone went too far. We all were sitting on the bleachers at the blue top when one of my friends accidentally spilled milo on another of my friends t-shirts. He then got extremely angry and started throwing all kinds of insults at my other friend. In no time he had somehow managed to get the majority of the group on his side. With no one to stand up for him the victim of the insults was clearly being bullied. My action at the time was to just sit back and watch classifying me as a bistander. I didn't enjoy the conflict of the situation and if I had the opportunity I would have resolved the conflict and settled the situation.

1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

When Eve explained her situation within the class I had a sudden picture of what her position was. I could relate to it because like her I also try my best to fit it and apear "cool" to the kids in school.

1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?
The incident Eve describes is familiar to me because like her I try to fit in with others through any means necessary. In her situation I would have approached it similar to her and played it cool. Although I am aware about how bad the actions she did were I would try not to go to far with my negative actions. I have been in a similar situation before.

2.What surprised you?

I was surprised that Eve didn't make an effort to prevent herself from being bullied. She never told anyone about her situation and never stood up to her bullies. I thought she would have at least made an effort to prevent herself from playing the victim. 

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer
Eve's story relates to bullying because it was based it. She explained all about the different social groups and the how popularity difference affected the way you were treated. Based on Eve's retelling of her story it sounds like she was to a degree "bullied". I do not think Eve was a bully herself although she appeared as a bit of a bystander when some other kids were making fun of another girl. I think her actions were made so due to her feelings about her place within the social pyramid. Although she didn't want to act this way she wanted friends more than anything. I also see her as a victim from the bullying.

Shindler's List

What makes a person “heroic?” Does a hero possess certain qualities? Or is a hero defined by his or her actions? Was Schindler a hero?


Heroism is defined through heroic actions that to some degree put the doer of the actions in harms way. Heroic actions include helping others in a major way. Heroes posses several good qualities that make them carry out the daring tasks they perform. Without heroic characteristics one would not be a hero. Once Schindler was aware of the situation for the Jews during the holocaust he immediately took action. As stated in the story he no longer cared about making profit. He was far more involved on saving the lives of as many Jews as he could. Schindler's actions were very heroic and definitely made him stand out as a hero to the Jews. He risked his well fare for the lives of other and went through a lot to save the Jews. He is definitely an up stander against Nazi rule and completely disagreed with what the Nazi's were doing to the Jews and therefore took action. He possessed many heroic traits and through using them he was ale to save 1,100 Jews. Schindler proved to be great man and a hero. 

A poem by Sonia Weitz

The Sonia Weitz poem that appealed to me most was In Memory to My Mother. I was able to annotate a wide range of things including metaphors , similes, questions and a large amount of other interesting phrases or sentences based on her Sonia Weitz's experiences. Towards the beginning of  the poem there were several questions that I found very interesting. The questions were able to relate to provide thoughts for the reader as well give as give one an understanding of how things were for individuals that were negatively affected by the holocaust. This was an emotional part of the poem sharing true experiences filled with sadness and misery to me. Throughout the poem I found a lot of figurative language. This was a useful tool distributing feeling into the poem making it evermore emotional. The last section of the poem the most important to me. The author through out a chain of experiences speeding up the tempo of the poem and explaining everything very thoroughly. The rhyming helped the poem to progress and overwhelmed me with the pain she felt. This poem has done a very good job of combining poetry and personal experiences of the holocaust. A connection I have to the poem would be a bad experience I had as a kid when my dad went away on a business trip for a several months. Being just a little kid I was easily saddened and this was an event which I was very emotional about. I also had see someone leave. Although my experience was nowhere near as severe as Sonia Weitz's it was related. I was very saddened and felt very lonely since my dad was the only family member who somewhat cared about what toys I liked to play with. Of course this was a long time ago and if it was to happen again I would not be so emotional. Overall Sonia Weitz has wrote a very well presented poem filled with emotion, it was her experience of the holocaust and it was the truth behind the fences.

Hitler's struggle for power

 What conditions were present that allowed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party to take control of Germany in 1933? 

During the time after World War 1 Germany fell into extreme crisis with many different political parties all fighting for power. Hitler realized that this would be a very beneficial opportunity for him to sieze the moment and appear as a spokesman for the people. During his struggle for power he was faced with many roadblocks preventing him from grasping power. He was arrested, challenged and misinterpreted but many events were in his and the Nazis favour that led him to power.


In 1923 hyperinflation and economic crisis struck Germany. This was seen as an opportunity by many politicians and political parties to get involved and take power. Hitler being a spokesman in all the commotion was aware that what the people needed was some guidance and he realized that through helping the German citizens he could get the vote and rise to power. From there Hitler could accomplish what he truly wanted to do,  spread all his beliefs through propaganda and make a new Germany, a Germany knowing him as the leader. Overall the chaos enclosed within Germany was Hitler's chance to appear to many as some kind of deity to help them and sustain the nations lack of order. 


In 1933 the Reichstag fire occurred. It is not completely known who or what caused it but many believe Hitler and the Nazis did it. There are many theories about the Reichstag fire and they have mostly been stating that Hitler and the Nazis did it so they could blame it on other political parties to wipe them out. Hitler did this so there would be less competition for him to seize supreme power. This was a key event that allowed Hitler to bring down the communists, enemies of the Nazi party whom Hitler disliked very much. The Reichstag fire was a very contributing factor in Hitler's struggle for power allowing him to wipe out his enemies and let the people of Germany know that he would be there for any cataclysmic events threatening Germany.