Thursday, January 10, 2008

Interdisciplinary Freshmen


Listen to the nine minute NPR broadcast below entitled "Eggers Blends Fact, Fiction of Sudanese 'Lost Boys'". Click on the link below and under the aforementioned title, click "Listen Now".

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

The "Lost Boys"
- It is amazing Valentino is still alive at the age of 25 and is attending college; very brilliant.
- Valentino's statement is right you need hope and courage to stay alive.
- It cool how Eggers could make information up for the book, and then he could call Valentino to see if he remembered anything similar.
- Valentino had to see his friends die, his friend was so upset and missed their mom, stopped eating; he died that night.
- Valentino spent 11 years in refugee camps until this country in the year 2001.
- Parents did survive and are in their village, which is sad he has not seen them.

-Suzanne Keene

Anonymous said...

Charlie Duquette(cduke11@hotmail.com)
Block B
1/16/08
All Quiet on the Western Front . By Erich Maria Remarque.


Erich Maria Remarque wrote the book All Quiet on the Western Front. His book is about “conflict”. Throughout the novel Remarque focuses on the theme of “conflict” to help explain how soldiers can be torn apart or come together in war. Three type of conflicts in the novel are mental conflicts,physical conflicts,and emotional conflicts. All three of these conflicts exist in the novel.


In war there comes a time where people (soldiers) need to write to family. Some soldiers have family and some people don’t. Most people write to family for Morale Support. For example when young new recruits write to their family it helps them gain confidence because they have support back home. Older recruits may not have family due to the fact either they passed away or some other reason. I believe that Morale Support and writing, is a emotional conflict if you do not have family at home to write back to and gain love and support from. This can affect people also mentally but more so this is a emotional conflict.


Injuries,death,loss are the three words that are a plain fact in war. Those words are what fall into the category of physical conflict. For example when Kemmerich dies due to Gangrene everyone is sad and morally infected with sorrow. Like I said in previous paragraphs death and loss can bring everyone down and that’s how coming together as one in war. Also soldiers come together due to victories and happy times during war which doesn’t come often in war.
cduke11@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

xoxosoftballplayerxoxo@verizon.net

Kristin Murray
Class B

All Quiet on the Western Front: The Theme of Trust

Erich Marie Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front shows a lot of incidents where trust is needed. Throughout the novel Remarque focuses on the theme of trust to depict what true friends are really for. There are conflicts with soldier’s not trusting one another with their lives. Another conflict is that there are problems with people not liking one another. Finally, there are problems with people not liking one another, which lead to a lot of tension and distrust in the company. One more conflict would be that soldiers had difficulty trusting others not to hurt them while in combat.

The first conflict has to do with soldiers trusting each other with their own lives. It is very hard to trust another person who has no previous experience with fighting in a war. In war time many soldiers are needed all the time to replace the deceased soldiers. Since a lot of soldiers were dying there was not enough time to fully train every soldier well enough.

The second conflict had to do with the soldiers and how people of higher rank were taking control of the lower ranks. Many soldiers were traumatized by Himmelstoss because he was so mean to everyone. If not all the soldiers could get along and trust each other, then that put the whole company in great danger.

And the third conflict was that all the soldiers were responsible for looking out for each other while in combat. There were soldiers that had to be left behind when they were wounded because it would not be safe enough to stop and help the wounded. When an enemy soldier was stabbed by Paul, he stayed behind everyone else in his company to take care of the him.

Anonymous said...

Brendan Curtin
January 16, 2008
English B

Conflict: the Reasons of War

Erich Maria Remarque’s book All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel full of ironic scenes and situations. Remarque focuses on the theme of conflict to show the struggle and fighting through a hard situation like war. The conflicts of combat, the lack of provisions, and disagreements between the soldiers are strong examples of this theme in the story.
Remarque strongly exspresses on how a group of friends can even have their disagreements. One time he displays this situation when he says: “Kropp goes in with him. He doesn’t trust him and wants to see.”(Remarque, 17) Kropp didn’t trust Muller enough so he went in to talk to Kemmerich with him. Being in the army you meet people you like and you dislike, and there is one character in this novel that is a prime example of the dislike part. The characters name is Himmelstoss. There were many conflicts with this character and the soldiers, but also a little fun happens: “Finally Haie stood Himmelstoos on his feet and again, made ready and fetched him a second, well aimed beauty with the left.”(49) Haie Westus another character in this novel helped with a “jump” on Himmelstoss and he stood him up just to put him right down with a left. But on the flipside he and the soldiers had their issues: “Have you lost your senses? You wait till you’re spoken to. What will you do anyway?”(25) Himmelstoss is infuriated with a soldier when he wasn’t acted on when spoken. Not everyone will get along and not everyone will be friends; Remarque makes that clear.
Next, Remarque makes it clear that being in the army is hard when it comes to provisions. Being in the armry you would think you would have many advantages and easy accesses to many different things. But Remaque states: “We climb up on a munition-wagon. The ride costs us two cigarettes.”(91) A simple ride to where they had to go costs them two things they cherish. The life of an army man isn’t always so sweet. For instance: “’Well, we should exchange.”(16) Exchanging gear, is what Muller was talking about to Kemmerich because if Kemmerich is out why would he need his boots. So now our nation’s army doesn’t have good enough to be safe in. Their supplies are very important and can’t be messed with and Remarque makes a statement similar to this when he states: “We have to take things as lightly as we can, so we can take the most of every opportunity,…”(232)Their supplies must be used for important things and should be kept under control. There is no time to screw around with prize possessions.
Finally, Remarque’s big picture of this novel is the World War I setting.

dniedringhaus said...

Cool site Mr. Kefor, I showed to all the teachers in my department, they loved it. Love to the family!
Mr. Niedringhaus
Fairview High School
Boulder, Co

Anonymous said...

"The Lost Boys"
-I think that Valentino's points about not knowing what really happened was good. Sometimes it's better if you don't know bad things.
-Eggers and Valentino sound like they have a good relationship in this little excerpt.
-It is sad that Valentino had to see his friend stress himself out so much that he died the next night.
-Valentino witnessed lots of things while going through this chapter in his life. I think he should be proud and continue to eduate other students to become more aware of the world.
-I think that Valentino's parents being alive will give him more hope and maybe think that one day he will come into contact with them once again.


-Sydney Colbert

Anonymous said...

"Lost Boys"
>Its sad that many children died of starvation and illnesses
>It must have been devistating to lose your parents at six years old
>It amazing that after going through all that, Valintino is attending college
>I dont know what i wpuld do if I found people who have been eaten by animals; seeing all the blood and body parts
>It was very strange how the children were acting
>Its sad how Valintino had seen his friends die, and that he couldnt wake his friend
>spent 11 years in a refugee camp
>parents survived

Lindsay White
F block

Anonymous said...

the "lost boys "

-is a very interesting story I learned about from the book and from Dave Eggers and valentino

- its great how valentino at is still alive at 25 because with out him dave would have never thought of writing this book or having a good Description

- going back to Southern sundan for valentino is remarkable after everything that happen to him in his life

- his parents survived is a great thing for him but sad because he hasnt seen him in long time

- Many children died from starvation, disease and attacks. Those who survived made it to camps in Ethiopia.

Steve Tessier period B

Anonymous said...

The Lost Boys

- It must have been tough for a six year old to not know where his parents are.

-Its good news that Valentino's parents are still alive after he assumed that they were gone.

-Eric Sylvestre

Anonymous said...

-Valentino is amazing to survive this. His stories are both depressing and disturbing.

-Somethings that the other children did was a little strange but still resonable (dragging a stick and never sleeping)

-It is horrible that on of his best friends died right next to him and he could not be buried.

-I can't believe the struggle that Valentino had to go through just to get into college.

-It was refreshing to hear that Valentino's parents are still alive after hearing evrything he had to go through.

Anonymous said...

"lost boys"

-i thought it was amazing how much pain and suffering and keep on having hope and faith

-i though it was amazing how he found his way to America and is attending collage after everything he has gone through

-i though it was amazing how he survived the deserts, the animals, and the war at only 6 years old

David Littlefield

Anonymous said...

The "Lost Boys":
*I found it incredible how Valentino survived so much when he was only six or seven years old.

*I think Valentino's will to live kept him alive, especially when he said, "I don't want to die so I must do something to keep going."

*Valentino's friend stopped eating and was complaining about missing his family. Then the next day Valentino tried to wake him up but he was stiff and wouldnt wake up.

*They didn't have time to bury Denk so they put him in a push and put leaves on top of him, as a tradition. I can't imagine putting my deceased best friend behind a tree and leaving him/her there.

*Valentino spent 11 years in a refugee camps until he came to the USA in 2001. He didn't think life would be so hard here, but it was for him.

*Valentino eventually found out that his family had survived the war back in his village.

-Kristin Murray

Anonymous said...

The "Lost Boys"

- I think its really sad how one of the friends he became close with died one night from starvation, and he didnt even know until he tried to wake him up.

- I think its interesting how since Valention couldnt remember everything, Eggers could use his imagination and come up with things like the kid using a stick to find his way back home.

-His parents survived and are still there at a village.

-I think its really awesome how Valention is alive today telling his story at the age of 25.

Anonymous said...

The Lost Boys

-They had to walk hundreds of miles towards safety
-Many of the lost boys were found eaten by wild animals
-Valentino Achak Deng was only 6 years old when he was seperated from his parents and was constantly thinking about them
-He came to the United States in 2001 and is 25 years old

-Charlie Switzer B Block

Anonymous said...

I tried listening Egger speak but I have dial-up, so it did not work on my computer. I commented so at least you know I tried to do it.

-Austin Tocci

Anonymous said...

Mr. Barth's blog is very interesting. it is great that he is adopting a child from Ethiopia and and bringing it into a better lifestyle. i also found the photographs on his blog pretty cool.

Mr. Dewar's blog was also pretty cool. he gave college readiness advise that will definitely help in my future. The Ecuador facts were also amazing. The fact that most people from Quito are very short is fascinating.
-Charlie Switzer

Anonymous said...

“Lost Boys”

•It’s amazing that Valentino even survived his horrific childhood, never mind that he made it all the way to the United States and is now attending college
•Most of Valentino’s stories were really disturbing
•It’s remarkable that someone that saw so many traumatic things as a child can turn out to be such a great person
•Its great that Valentino’s parents are still alive, but its kind of awful at the same time because he never gets to see them

~Jill Wry~

Anonymous said...

“Lost Boys”

•It’s amazing that Valentino even survived his horrific childhood, never mind that he made it all the way to the United States and is now attending college
•Most of Valentino’s stories were really disturbing
•It’s remarkable that someone that saw so many traumatic things as a child can turn out to be such a great person
•Its great that Valentino’s parents are still alive, but its kind of awful at the same time because he never gets to see them

~Jill Wry~

Anonymous said...

The "Lost Boys"
I cant believe that he is still alive after all that had happend. and he must be very strong to have seen his friends die like that. I think it is great how eggers wanted to write about this stuff.
I also think it was sad how one of his very close friends just started complaining about his mother.

-Annie Ledbetter

Anonymous said...

The "Lost Boys"
To start off I'd like to say that Valentino is a very strong and hopeful person. He's seen the worst of the worst and strived through it all. It's amazing that Valentino had experienced all of this tragedy at the very young age of seven. He lost many of his own friends, but kept striving to survive thanks to the help of the women who reminded him to keep fighting to stay alive. Spending eleven years in refugee camps, Valentino never worried about his parents, but he found out that they were still alive and in their village, Marial Bai.

Courtney Williams
Block. F

Anonymous said...

-th lost boys walked hundreds of miles just so they could be safe
-the book was written with dave eggers and not all of it is fact
-when he was six his village was burned and he couldnt find his mom and dad
-people who survived went to refugee camps in ethiopia

~cassie eagerman~

Anonymous said...

The "Lost Boys"
-Valentino is now 25 and in college
-Found people that had been eaten by animals
-Kept hope
-Eggers had to fill in certain things because Valentino was so young when all this happened to him
-Many boys simply could not deal with these expieriences
-It became harder and harder for Valentino to remember how he was before or if he would ever be that way again
-Valentino spent 11 years in refugee camps
-Valentino believed that when he came to the U.S he believed things would be easy immediately; but he realized he had to work hard for the things he wanted
-Found out his parents were alive




-Sara Meadows

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6RSJ3LzHSM

Anonymous said...

The Lost Boys

The lost boys were made up of tens of thousands of boys

Valentinos village was burned at the age of six, and that is were he got seperated from his parents

Valentino attends college in
Pennsylvania

Valentino saw people eaten by wild animals and was told if he didnt have hope and faith he would get eaten like the people he saw

Valentino talked about how his friend Deng died

he said they placed leaves over his corpse

Talked about how him and most of the other lost boys didnt have as bright as a future in the USA as they thought they would

Found out is parents are still alive and he talked about going back to see them


-Brian Gannon
class B

Anonymous said...

"Lost Boys"
-Valentino survived many wars at only 6 years old
-Many children died of dieseases and starvation
-Valentino has seen many people get killed
-Valentino spent 11 years in a refugee camp
-His parents survived but hasn't seen them in a long time
-After everything he went through, Valentino attends college at age 25

Val Hall
Block F

Anonymous said...

Justin St. Jean
Block: B

The "Lost Boys"

I can't believe how much happened to Valentino,and i bet that he never imagened that one day he would not only be living in America, but also attending college.

I was amazed to find out that Valentino was only twenty five because in the book he thinks, and acts with wisdom of an older person.

Judging by this excerpt i think that Dave became a good friend to Valentino.

Anonymous said...

The book is very interesting and i think i will be able to learn alot about the situation in Sudan by Dave Eggers book and the character valentino.

Tim deMartin Block B