Four Perfect Pebbles Chapters7-8

Vocab:  Maimed
               Abated
               Montessori
               Shroud
               repatriation
               convalescent
               Bar Mitzvah

Reading ideas and question:
-Have students research Jewish customs
-Compare Marion's weight to that of an average 10 1/2 year old.
- 1/4 of the prisoners on the death train died, so show 1/4 students.
-Why did Marion and the other Jewish survivors have to eat very slow?
-Why did papa feel powerless.
-What do you think Marion and her family were thinking when papa died?
-Why did Marion say her worries were not yet over even after liberation?
-Why was Marion so scared her eye operation?


Chapters seven and eight were much more light hearted then the previous chapters because of course it is about liberation and moving to the land of freedom.  Once again I love the words and phrases in these two chapters.  It is fluid and packed with symbolism.  One of my favorite passages is on page 101 when Marion is talking about Albert's knapsack.   "Albert lost his treasured knapsack , which he had with him since Westerbork.  But this was nothing compared with what we and so many others were leaving behind."  I think this is a great quote for students to help connect with the story.  Everyday we have little things bother us and sometimes people make such a big deal out of them.  A student misses the bus and is in a crummy mood all day.  They think it is the worst day ever.  However, in comparison to what other people are going through at the exact same moment, is missing the bus really that devastating. 

Although I knew that Marion and the other prisioners were starved and have seen plenty of pictures before, when Marions weight of 35 lbs and her mothers of 75 lbs was mentioned I was astonished.  With so little body fat and so little nutrients it is amazing that anyone survived all the work and disease.   

The death of papa really just adds to the Blumenthals unfortunate events.  Here they were after year and years of hell, three weeks after being liberated papa dies.  It seems that they are always so close to getting to the end but the path takes an unfortunate and disparing turn.  In a way I think that papa's death was timely.  In fought tooth and nail for the safety of his family.  I think as long as they were prisoners under the Nazi's he would live to see his family reach safety.  Once he knew that his family would be safe, he could pass on peacefully.

Marion's fear when she goes to get her eye operation is very troubling and reminds be a lot of the post dramatic stress disorder that a lot of our soliders are coming home with.  I could not imagine after 6 1/2 years of having your humanity stripped coming back and intergrating into society.  I am sure there are a lot of things in her teenage years that frightened Marion to death.  I am sure her dreams were outrageous.  It really is amazing that any survivor of the Holocaust could reintergrate into society without an counciling.    Marion mentioned that Bergan Belson taught her to hold her feeling in and I feel that at her young age holding the immense amount of feelings she must of had could be a cause of caution.  

When Marion and her family first see the statue of liberty for the first time I think I tear came to my eye right alonside Marion.  They way it was described made me feel connected to Marion.  I was happy to know that they made it.  The FINALLY made it.