Under Wildwood

My YA book was Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. It is told through 3 main perspectives, and some smaller one chapter perspectives as well. It is the second book in a trilogy about a small portion of Portland Oregon that is surrounded by a menacing and mysterious wilderness that holds creatures unknown to humankind. The book follows the sisters of one of the main characters who disappeared into the woods. This revolves around the main themes of courage, bravery, and most of all adventure

The main character Curtis is the main source of adventure in the story. In the first book, he stays in the mysterious wilderness, known as the impassable wilderness, and leaves his family behind so he can join a bandit training camp. All of this adventure in the story brings a sense of nostalgia whenever they are not jumping off of cliffs or flying on eagles (yes that actually happens). If adrenaline is not pumping through Curtis' blood, then he feels guilty for leaving his family and old life behind so that he could pursue his dreams in the impassable wilderness. When pure crosses curtis' storyline, she brings these surges of nostalgia that really make him rethink the choices that he has made the past year. I believe that Curtis' quest is to finish his bandit training, and put his family at ease.

The other main character Prue Mckeel after the first book, unlike Curtis, returns back to her home. But with out the adventure and fun that she had in Wildwood, her life is dry and boring. In class she stares out of the window and doesn’t pay attention, which poorly affects her grades. Her heart is in Wildwood but her body is stuck in Portland. Prue’s mind is stuck between reality, and the shadowed story that most people know. Wildwood is the reality that animals and plants can speak and communicate and that everything lives in harmony compared to the outside world. I believe Prue’s quest in this book is to get her head out of limbo and decide what life she is going to live; one with her family or one with wildwood.

The other main storyline is of Curtis’ sisters who get placed in and orphanage as their parents go across the world to try to find Curtis. The orphanage owner’s obsession with the Impassable Wilderness, and getting into it, is what leads them to being there as well.  As they explore these woods they find many new creatures and things that remained unknown to the rest of the world. Their quest is to restore their family once again.

Overall, these characters make the story of Under Wildwood.

“Why was the Berlin Wall not Effective?”

The Berlin Wall was one of the most famous and controversial structures in history. After the fall of Hitler and the end of World War Ⅱ, the Soviet Union put a barrier between the communist east and the democratic west of Berlin. Over the span of 28 years, families were separated, people were trapped, and a community was divided by this barrier. On November 9, 1989, East Berlin was set free of this border, now allowing them to travel to west berlin with no regulations Soon after, the wall came tumbling down. This structure was used as a visual reminder to east Berlin that they were no longer a part of the west. The Berlin Wall was meant to show the people of Berlin that the government still had control over them after World War Ⅱ, but it ultimately failed because you cannot separate a community with an artificial barrier.

To begin with, by putting up an artificial or physical barrier, the government may have literally separated the people of Berlin, but overall brought them closer together as a community. A quote from the article “The Fall of the Berlin Wall” by Bryan Brown from Upfront magazine, depicts the scene from when the wall was being knocked down. It says, “On the other side, West Berliners met them with flowers, chocolate, and wine.” This shows that even though the two sides had made little to no contact because they were literally separated, the West Berliners showed how they still cared about them and would welcome them back into their community. A different quote from this article that showed the seriousness of this artificial barrier was, “an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” An iron curtain represents a blockage from the outside world. It literally stops you from seeing what’s going on outside your window. But an iron curtain? That is an extreme version. There is absolutely no way of seeing past an iron curtain. Almost like how many people could not see any hope while they were stuck in East Berlin.

Furthermore, the Berlin wall was used as a symbol of power. It was meant to isolate the people of east berlin and make them feel trapped. for example, the day the Berlin wall started to be built, an elderly woman asked a police officer when the next train to west berlin would arrive. He replied, “ None of that anymore, Grandma. You’re all in a mousetrap now.” The government used this wall to establish control and dominance over these citizens. A later quote in the article referring to the stasi (secret police) says, “In every workplace, school, and home, the Stasi played and elaborate game of cat and mouse.” This related back to the concept of these people being mice in a mouse trap. A book called “Maus” is a story about jews in World War Ⅱ, but depicts the story through mice. Mice are a constant way of representing innocent people that are being ruled by an oppressive government.

Overall, the Berlin Wall was not used just to separate the communists and democrats of Berlin, but as a symbol of power, a visual reminder of separation to the people of East Berlin, and the separation of one community into two ideologies. This wall made a huge impact on so many peoples lives and caused so much suffering and pain. Our world today still has many problems similar to this. We are all mice stuck in a the grasp of the governments claws, just like the people of East Berlin were stuck behind the wall. The question is, how will we escape?

-Katie

Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War

"Faithful Elephants" tells the story of three elephants during a war in Japan. Yokio Tsuchiya uses metaphors and symbolism to represent the pain and tragic loss of war. When a war threatens to harm the animals at the Ueno zoo, the army issues an order to put the animals to death.

To begin with, a quote that uses symbolism is, "John loved potatoes, so the elephant keepers mixed poisoned potatoes with the good ones when it was time to feed him." The zookeepers used something that he loved to kill him. In this situation the potatoes represent the zookeepers; Although they love the elephants very much they had to kill them to help end the war. Another example of symbolism in this article is "They just lay on their sides, hardly able to see the white clouds floating in the sky over the zoo. However, their eyes appeared clearer and more beautiful than ever." I believe that the elephants weren't just looking up at the sky. They were looking up to something greater or a higher purpose.

Furthermore, metaphors are used very frequently in the story to get certain themes across. "But everyone was hoping and praying that if the elephants could survive only one more day, the war might be over and the elephants saved", is an example of a metaphor portrayed in the text. This false sense of hope held by these zoo keepers shows how with the elephants alive, the war will never really be over. If they don't kill the elephants, than they are avoiding the reality of the war that is going on around them. There death will make them face their situation. Two examples of connected metaphors used throughout the text are, “Bombs were being dropped on Tokyo like falling rain”, in the beginning of the passage and, “... the cherry blossoms fell on the grave like falling snowflakes” at the end of the passage. This metaphor plays a major role in the story. It shows how before the elephants had passed, although bombs were dropping, they were dropping like rain. After the elephants had passed, the cherry blossoms fell upon the grave of these dead elephants like snowflakes. Although it is a more peaceful environment, something had grown colder about the zoo. The absence of the elephants at the zoo made it less warm; A serene tragedy. This coldness and absence is portrayed through the rain turning into snow.

Using symbolism and metaphors helped the author represent the tragedy and loss of war. This story also shows how war does not just affect human beings. It affects nature, the environment, and even the animals who live through it. Loss finds us all whether its in a small or big way, meaningful or meaningless. The only way to live through the loss, to truly survive, is to accept your reality. Acceptance is our Banzai trick; It helps us prevail through times of true desperation.

-Katie