Quote 2 particular lines or passages from within Chap 2-4: one that feels imp’t to the text and one that feels imp’t to you, and explain why they feel imp’t. End your post w/ a question. (Note page #s, and skip a line between paragraphs.)
Also, reply to at least one student's post.
A quote that I thought was really important was something that Danny Saunders said. He said: "It's really funny. I have to be a rabbi and don't want to be one. You don't have to be a rabbi and do want to be one. It's a crazy world" (82). I thought that this was important because it shows how different Danny's circumstances are from Rueven's. They may come from the same religion, but they have very different backgrounds. Their parents expect very different things from them, too: Rueben has a choice in terms of his future, while Danny does not.
ReplyDeleteAt one point in chapter three, Rueven's father says: "Rueben, if you can, make Danny Saunders your friend" (74). This quote was spoken right after Danny and Rueven had their first productive and successful conversation. I find the circumstances that brought them together rather interesting and unusual. It's almost amusing that Danny was the one to land Rueven in the hospital in the first place, yet mere days later they are quickly becoming friends.
Why do you think Rueven's father told him to make Danny his friend? Do you think that their friendship will grow to play an important role in the book?
I like how your post brought up the importance of someone's background which, as you said in your post, is very important in the book. To answer the question, I think Reuven's dad told him to become friends because he knows that Danny isn’t that bad of a person, and he doesn’t want his son to not give him a chance. As for the importance of their friendship, I feel certain it is going to be very important, and will lead to learning more about Danny’s background.
DeleteI like how you mentioned the strangeness of Reuven and Danny's friendship, and how differently they and their backgrounds really are. I actually have the same question as you do, and to answer your question, I think it might be because Rueven's father wants to bring together the two religious groups in this time of war. I think that your two passages capture specific messages, and your responses to the passages are great.
DeleteA section that I found very important to the text was said when they were in the hospital. "I'll be happy to be out of this hospital," I said. "i walked around a little today and saw the people on the street outside." Then it continues on a little bit later when he speaks again. "I envy them being able to walk around like that. They don't know how lucky they are" (73). Reuven is talking to his father here about the pain he is having not being able to be outside and having the feeling of being "free" again. I have chosen this section out of the chapters because throughout this part of the book it shows a significance of Reuven's feelings. In chapter four it's all about him being able to get out of the hospital soon, so this section shows how anxious and excited he get to be back out in the world even though he may not always enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMy quote that I felt was most important me was in chapter three after Reuven got hit in the eye with a baseball. "I've been thinking about that ball game. I haven't stopped thinking about it since you got hit" (66). To me this shows care and sympathy. I think that I chose this quote rather than any others was because of how he was kind of blaming himself. This quote was influential to me and to these chapters.
Do you think that Reuven's attitude will change towards the game of baseball after he gets out of the hospital?
I agree with how you described the care and sympathy that Danny might have felt, and how he had been blaming himself. I think it takes a lot of maturity to formally apologize, respectfully, and acknowledge that what he did was wrong, and that he felt sorry for it. Also, your question is interesting. Might Reuven's attitude waver towards the game of baseball once he is released from the hospital? Especially after all that has happened? It makes me wonder if his attitude towards Danny, and people with different beliefs than Reuven- that this discriminating way of thinking might change, too. I think for the better.
DeleteProbably not. His father relizes that it was a once in a lifetime injury and that it probably won't happen again. Also his father leaned down and said, "My baseball player" to malter while he was in the hospital. I don't see why he'd say that if he didn't aprove of Malter playing baseball anymore.
DeleteOn page (53) Reuven is describing his analogy on blindness. "When you're blind it makes no difference whether you open your eyes or not. I couldn't imagine what it was like to know that no matter whether my eyes were opened or closed it made no difference, everything was still dark..." This seems important to the text, almost like a metaphor. The fantastic metaphor being: just because your eyes are open, doesn't mean you truly see what is behind an action. Almost representing... great ignorance. Differences on religion, political views, you name it. This is a subtle suggestion that Reuven might be working his way towards an even deeper understanding of perspective, and putting himself in someone else's shoes.
ReplyDeleteAfter Danny visits Reuven in the hospital, with the full intentions of making a sincere apology, Danny is rejected and Reuven is cold, perhaps more willing to give him guilt than forgiveness. After all, it was Reuven's vision and potential blindness at stake. One quote that I felt was important to me, was page (64) when Danny leaves and Reuven's father returns. "What I tried to tell you, Reuven, is that when a person comes to talk to you, you should be patient and listen. Especially if he has hurt you in any way..." I feel like this is an important life lesson. People will do us wrong, and we will do wrong to others at one point or another. But perhaps how we handle the situation is a true reflection of who we are. Humanity should be filled with compassion, forgiveness, empathy, and love. Not hate.
At the end of chapter four, the doctor tells Reuven that the scar tissue on his eye has a good chance of healing correctly, and he gets to go home soon. I'm curious how Reuven would have responded had this been the opposite. In the instance that Reuven had actually gone blind in his eye, how might that change him as a person?
I found what you said about the metaphor on blindness and the importance of forgiveness really amazing and powerful. It's true that making mistakes and hurting others, as well as getting hurt yourself, is inevitable, but learning to forgive people in those situations is extremely important. I think that if Rueven had been told that he would lose his sight in one eye, he would be disappointed and upset, as one would be expected to react. At first, I thought that such news might make him regret his blooming friendship with Danny Saunders, causing him to blame Danny for his partial blindness. However, I changed my mind when I thought about how much Rueven has appeared to grow over the past few chapters, one of the examples being his analogy on blindness that you mentioned. I think that perhaps Rueven would change, but I still think that he would find a way to forgive Danny and move forward in his life without becoming bitter.
DeleteA quote that I felt was important to the text came up towards the end of chapter three, when Danny was talking to Malter. "I'm sorry about that. It's the only way we could have a team. I sort of convinced my father you were the best team around and that we had a duty to beat you apikorsim at what you were best at. Something like that." I think this quote is important in several main ways. It shows that Danny doesn't believe his fathers message and did not mean most of the stuff that he said to Malter at the game. It is also important because it shows just how much his father hates Malter and others like him, and this will propbably become a much bigger deal as the book goes on.
ReplyDeleteA quote that feels important to me is in the same conversation between Danny and Malter. "You didn't want to duck any ball that I hit. You had to try and stop it." This quote is important to me because I can relate to it. When I'm playing in a tight game and your up against a good player who has been beating everyone all game you can't let him/her continue his/her winning streak. If you give that person anymore satisfaction he or she will just continue to roll over you. You have to stop that person right then and demoralize him/her.
Do you think that the between the different religiouse groups will grow as the book progresses?
On page eighty seven, Reuven is talking about how he can’t believe that Danny is Reb Saunders son, and his father replies by saying, “Danny cannot get over it, either.” This seems important to the text because this seems to elude to something about Danny and his father’s relationship. It also shows that Reuven’s dad knows about the relationship between them as well, which could be important as well.
ReplyDeleteThe passage I found important was on page fifty seven, when Reuven is talking to Mr. Savo about how he wants to be a rabbi, and Mr. Savo says to him, “I could’ve been a priest. Had a chance once. Made a wrong choice. Wound up clopping people instead. Lousy choice.” I found this important, because it shows the importance of some choices, and the regret of making a bad one. I have learned about that from personal experience, so that quote really stood out to me.
So for the question, I want to ask the deceivingly simple question of what you think is up between Danny and his dad?
I definitely agree with you when you mention the book alluding to a possible crack in the relationship between Danny and his father. I think that going forward this will become a major plot line through the book. Whether it being Danny resisting the wants of his father or Danny’s dislike of what he is being essentially forced to do. I do want to be careful however on the level we accuse Danny of not being interested in his religion, because he clearly is. I think that he just isn’t so into it as his father is.
DeleteA passage that was important to me was from Mr. Savo in response to Reuven saying that he may want to be a priest"Cockeyed world needs people like that. I could've been a priest. Had a chance once. Made a wrong choice. Wound up clopping people instead. Lousy choice (57)." I think that this quote is important on two points. The first is that it shows how one choice can drastically chance your future, for better or worse. The second is that the importance of peace in the world is expressed by someone who does not lead a peaceful life, which to me, makes this quote meaningful.
ReplyDeleteA quote that I thought was important to the text was Reuvin talking to his father about people he saw through the window walking the streets: "I envy them being able to walk around like that. They don't know who lucky they are (73)." Followed by "No one knows he is fortunate until he becomes unfortunate." From Reuven's father. This passage sticks out for me because it is showing the change in Reuven's word view. A week previous to this moment, He could have been reading a book, totally oblivious to the miracle his eyes were performing with every word he read. He feels trapped, not only by the hospital walls, but but by not knowing if he will be able to see out of his left eye ever again.
Do you think that Reuven and Danny's friendship will be important in the progression of the relationship between the two religious groups?
“Hello”...“Before you tell me how much you hate me, let me tell you that I’m sorry about what happened” (61). In my opinion, this is a really important passage to the text. The fact that Danny went out on a limb and apologized to Reuven, I think, is going to make a huge difference for the plot of the book. After Reuven got upset with Danny’s first visit, Danny didn’t give up and continued to visit him. This is key because it means that he truly cares, and wants to make amends with Reuven. Later on in the following chapters, they start to connect and I think that they are slowly working towards a great friendship. It is pretty awesome that the two of them could both be so forgiving. For Danny, he finally realized that he made a mistake and should fix it. But for Reuven, he went from absolutely despising Danny to forgiving him and even attempting to build a friendship. Sometimes, it seems like when people have to work hard to make a relationship work, that relationship ends up being stronger and more valuable to those involved. It seems that this is happening between Danny and Reuven.
ReplyDelete“No one knows he is fortunate until he becomes unfortunate” (73). This is an amazing quote, because it shows the purity of happiness and how people take things for granted. The simplicity of being fortunate is overlooked by society and this is a message that we need to remember. This is a really important message for me, because it makes me realize how lucky I am and it is truly humbling. Often, we don’t stop to think about how lucky we are and instead, don’t realize how good things were until they are bad. This is increasingly something that people all over the world need to remember in times of happiness, but also during times of despair and desolation.
Do you think that the connection between Danny and Reuven will last and build into a friendship, or will it fall through?
I really liked the quotes that you chose for this section of the book! I agree with everything that you said about them too. Especially your second quote, it is very inspiring and powerful. I chose to reply to your question because I had also thought about this throughout the chapters. What I was thinking was that right now they have a stronger connection in some ways, yet also it isn't the strongest and they have some bigger differences. So, to answer it, yes I believe that the friendship will last, but could get weaker throughout the process in order to build back up.
Delete“Sure I believe it,” he said quietly. His shoulders were bowed. “Sometimes I’m not sure I know what God wants, though.” (80). I feel that this quote will be very important in the book, because it shows a blemish in the religious stoutness. The reason that I feel it is important is because his father is very strict about his actions and behaviors as his father is a very important local religious leader. His father takes the subject very seriously and the fact that Danny could be wavering could prove to be a problem. Another thing that could add fuel to this fire is the fact that Danny is expected to become a rabbi when he grows up, inheriting the family tradition. If he were to go against this I think there would be some major conflict within the family.
ReplyDelete“How about your hitting? Do you always hit like that, straight at the pitcher?” (70). The reason that I chose this quote was because I have been on either side of a similar situation. Last year in South Royalton, I was hitting against a very good, fast pitcher. He threw one right down the plate and I smoked it right back at him and it hit him in the neck. He ended up being fine but he had to leave the game. On the other side I was hit in that same game pitching however only in the ribcage and I escaped with nothing but a bruise.
Will Danny push back against his dad and his family's expectations? Will there become any conflict between his father and him regarding his religious engagement?
I really like how for the one that was meaningful to you, you relate it with a personal event that you experienced. I like how it is different from what everyone else has done and in a way relates to the quote you chose. I also agree with you that the fathers strictness and religious stoutness has impacted Danny from being able to explore fondly the things he is interested in. I also think that this is having a large impact on Danny because he feels repressed from being able to choose the life he wants to live because he is frightened that if he does not become rabbi that it will disappoint his father. I also think that this internal repression Danny is dealing with causes him to have moments of severe frustration like the one we saw in the baseball game. I think that as Danny continues to spend more time with Reuven, he will reach a point where he will not be able to handle the push back his dad is causing him, so he will end up breaking the family's expectation. In other words I do believe that Danny will push back against his family's expectations and that with that it will spark conflict between him and his dad.
DeleteOne section that I found meaningful to the text is the last time Danny and Reuven meet in the hospital in chapter 4. By this point, Danny is so much more comfortable around Reuven so he begins to express a lot of the thoughts and emotions he has kept to himself for a long time. In this section Danny not only questions God’s existence but he shows he is in a moment of trying to figure out what he really wants to do in life. This moment also helps us figure out that Danny feels repressed by his father and has no other option but to follow the dynasty and become the next rabbi. “How can you spend your life doing what you don’t like?” “I have no choice,” he said again. It’s like a dynasty. If the son doesn’t take the father's place, the dynasty falls apart” (81). The reason I find this section meaningful to the text is because it helps us understand Danny more as a character in a way that we begin to see the internal repression he is going through. Danny is someone who is curious about life and wants to know about all the information that is out there, but his father is preventing him from doing so. I wonder if this perhaps shows why he was so angry at Reuven during the baseball game that he wanted to kill him. Was it because he was jealous of Reuven?
ReplyDeleteA section that was meaningful to me was a message Mr. Malter expresses to his son in page (74) saying, “People are not always what they seem to be,” he says softly. “That is the way the world is, Reuven.” This is a very powerful message to me because it is true. We cannot make assumptions of people unless you know them back to front. Especially because you never know what they could be going through that is causing them to act in that certain manner. This is sort of similar to the quote in to kill a mockingbird that states that you cannot make assumptions of someone until you have stepped into their shoes and walked around them.
In page (76), Mr. Savo tells Reuven to be careful with people like Danny because they could end up being fanatics. Do you think Danny will become a threat to Reuven or do you think that he really is trying to start a friendship with him?