Written Task 1: "A Vision of Budapest"

A Vision of Budapest
Józef Kossuth 
05/07/1944

Last month, our country was violently invaded by the Nazi Germany. The secret treatments between Hungary, the United States and Great Britain were discovered by Germany, which meant that the germans decided to end the relationship with Hungary and take control of it. We, the hungarian population, must be informed of the tough situation our country is going through. As our prime minister, Miklós Kállay said, things will never be the same in our country. The normal development of Hungary, specially Budapest, has been interrupted by the international problems that collided in the war, and we have to be aware of the changes it will create in our nation. To help people acknowledge how our country is changing, I'll state the main shifts that are taking place.

I. The first influence of the Nazi Regime in Hungary were the yellow stars that must be worn by every single jew in the country. This means that the jewish community is now separated from the rest of society (Let's consider this as an ideological division, not an actual physical one). In addition, the shortage of products caused by the war is now affecting jews the most, as the yellow star determines what someone can buy and can not buy. As for the last month, these restrictions have forced the organization of a huge black market in Budapest. Unfortunately, this way of getting products lacks of hygiene and it increases the diseases and health problems.

II. In the last month, we've also witnessed how little boys have been obliged to leave schools and start working at factories or industries to support war. Mainly jews, these boys are giving their education for the economical welfare of the Nazi Germany. In addition to the long hours of labour, this political measure is also separating Jewish families even more than before. The persecution against the Jewish community is now open and cruel.

III. The third change we've seen is the construction of Labor Camps in Hungary, following the model implemented in Germany some years ago. Not only jews, but gypsies and homosexuals have been taken to the Labor Camps to work. As for now, most of the workers are adult men. This means that many families all over the country have lost their leader and main economical support. The actual situation inside Labor Camps is rather unknown, because no one has come back from them yet, nor we the journalists have'd access to one of them. The general hope among the Jewish Community is that women are kept away from these camps.

In relation to the third point, last week I had the chance to see how immense groups of Jewish boys were taken from the factories they worked in to the grey Labor Camps. In this environment, I managed to run towards one of the groups to know more about the Nazis' objective. As one might have expected, all the boys wore a yellow star either in their jacket or in their arm. Also, some of them were holding ID cards in their hands. As I investigated a bit, I got to know that the ID cards allow the boys to go through the country to the factories they worked in, but they didn't operate any more. 

IV. Another result of the Nazi Invasion is the direct introduction of Hungary in what is starting to be called as the Second World War. This means that the air raids will increase in Budapest, as our capital city is now one of the targets of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and all their allies. For this reason, the Budapest population will have to be aware of the attacks and the bombs that will fall over the city. Expecting this problem to happen, the national authorities have recommended the hungarian population to hide in safe places, specially in the Subway. In addition, we also have to consider that several hungarian soldiers are now going to war and many of them will cruelly die. 

Regarding the Jewish community, they are scared and hoping for a better future. They are witnessing how their families are being separated and destroyed. In the same mood, we've to remember that gypsies, homosexuals and other minor groups are suffering just as the jews. We've to acknowledge the problems and changes stated above, because they might be just the beginning of a long and tough period of Nazi domination over Hungary. Soon, these problems will not only affect the jews, but they'll cause troubles to all the hungarians. However, it's sad to realize that there is nothing the inhabitants of our country can do to solve these problems; we can just wait and hope for the best. Finally, we have to be informed and know that this war could end up by the obliteration of our country, and perhaps, the world.


Rationale

For my written task, I thought a News Report would be the best option, because I wanted to show the setting of Fatelessness, and the Report's structure fulfilled my needs. Although the story itself offered me lots of options, I think that refering to the story setting was a wise choice. The report includes some historical facts to give it more credibility, as well as some details from Imre Kertész’s book, such as the ID cards, which create a strong relation between the report and the problems Georg Koves is going through.

Regarding the author, he is supposed to be a journalist who is witnessing what’s going on in Hungary, that's why the report was supposedly published in 1944. The narrator tells the facts in a non-jew Hungarian point of view, by using a negative tone. I decided to include words like “cruel”, “suffering”, “tough” and “obliteration” to show a pesimism and a cold view of Hungary’s reality. During the whole report, the reader receives a feeling of a problematic and hopelessness situation, which is the true intention of the report, due to the chaos and sadness that the war provocated in Europe in those times. Finally, it's important to highlight that when you reads the report it seems that the problems stated are just happening now, which I think is great.

Literature: Important Terms and Concepts!

When an author writes a piece, he will often use special devices that help him express himself. Before I go straightly into the Literary Terms, I want to make the difference between Mood and Tone.

• Mood: It's the general atmosphere created by the author's words. It can also be understood as the feelings the reader gets when he reads the piece. (Melancholy, sorrowful, sentimental and sad are just some examples)
• Tone: It's the attitude of the author towards the writing. The Tone can change from situation to situation, and there can be more than one tone at a time. However, one will predominate. (Optimistic, informal, serious and positive are some good examples) 

Literary Terms:

1. Allegory: story or poem in which the characters, setting, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities. Can be read for a literal meaning and on a second, symbolic meaning.

2. Alliteration: repetition of the same sound in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word.

3. Allusion: a brief reference to a person,place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature

Wondering if a woman was beautiful enough to “launch a thousand ships” would be an allusion to Helen of Troy in the Odyssey. Also, “Old Scratch” in American literature refers to the Devil.

4. Climax: The point in the plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. After this point, nothing can remain the same; greatest turning point in the story.

The climax in THE SCARLET LETTER is when Dimmesdale finally confesses his sins to the crowd

5. Connotation: Associations and implications that go beyond the written word

“Eagle” connotes liberty and freedom that have little to do with the word’s literal meaning of describing a bird. In PUDD’NHEAD WILSON, David Wilson is called a “pudd’nhead to connote his foolishness..

6. Denotation: dictionary definition of a word

“buying a ranch” denotes purchasing land on which to raise crops and livestock

7. Flashback: scene that interrupts the normal chronological flow of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time

When Hester remembers her early life with her family and her honeymoon with Chillingworth, it is a flashback.

8. Foreshadowing: use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in the story, often used to build suspense or tension in a story

Pudd’nhead’s repeated fingerprinting of Tom and Chambers foreshadows its later importance in the book.

9. Gothic: use of primitive, medieval, or mysterious elements in literature. Gothic writing often features dark and gloomy places and horrifying, supernatural events

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” is a gothic story featuring a large, dark, gothic mansion.

10. Hero: a character whose actions are inspiring or noble. Tragic heroes are noble and inspiring but have a fault or make a mistake which leads to their downfall.

Some critics claim that Dimmesdale in TSL is a tragic hero who falls is society due to poor decisions.

11. Hyperbole: boldy exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true.

12. Lyric poem: a melodic poem which describe an object or emotion.

“Heart, we will forget him” describes a woman trying to recover from heartbreak

13. Metaphor: a lterary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike

14. Narrative poem: a narrative poem tells a story in verse.

15. Onomatopoeia: use of words that imitate sounds.

16. Personification: a literary device in which human attributes are given to a non-human such as an animal, object, or concept

17. Plot: sequence of events in a story, usually involves characters and a conflict.

18. Point of view: the perspective or vantage point from which a story or poem is told. Three common points of view include: first-person, omniscient, and third person limited.

19. Setting: the time and place of the story or poem’s action, it helps to create the mood of the story

20. Simile: a literary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike using the words “like” or “as.”

21. Soliloquy: A long speech made by a character who is onstage alone and who reveals his/her private thoughts and feelings to the audience.

Romeo, as he is about to kill himself in ROMEO AND JULIET speaks to the audience.

22. Stanza: a group of lines in a poem that are considered to be a unit. They function like paragraphs do in prose writing.

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy

23. Symbol: something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well.

The Liberty Bell is not only a bell but a symbol of freedom in the United States. Hester’s scarlet letter symbolized her sin of adultery.

24. Theme: an insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

One of the themes if PUDD’NHEAD WILSON is that everyone suffers in some way in a society that condones slavery.

25. Thesis: the organizing thought of an entire essay or piece of writing and which contains a subject and an opinion

“Of the three scaffold scenes in TSL, the third one best encapsulates the theme that self-punishment is the harshest outcome of sin.”

26. Tone: the writer’s attitude toward the story, poem, characters, or audience. A writer’s tone may be formal or informal, friendly or anxious, personal, or arrogant, for example

“Hooray! I’m going to get married today!” (ecstatic tone)

27. Understatement/litote: literary device that says less than intended. Oppositive of hyperbole. Usually has an ironic effect, and sometimes may be used for comic purposes.

FLN's Chapter 3: Interesting Quotes!

In this post, I'll present some intriguing quotes I've found while reading the third chapter of Fatelessness. I'll also try to use and practice the PEE structure (Point, Evidence and Explanation), explained in one of my older posts.

• In this chapter, the policeman shows as a friendly man to the boys and it seems that he is just following his general's orders. "I could see straight away that he had nothing against us - nor indeed he could have, naturally" (P. 41). The quote clearly states the vision of Georg about the policeman. Koves thinks that the policeman is just doing his job and that he doesn't want to bother or hurt them.
• The third chapter leaves the reader with a special taste, because it seems that the boys don't really know what's going on and that they just try to enjoy their weird experience with the policeman. "We gathered around him exuberantly, giggling, as if he were a teacher on some school excursion, with him in the middle of the group, pensively stroking his chin"(P. 44). In the quote, we can appreciate that the boy try to have fun regardless the situation they're living, because they don't expect nor think that something bad could happen.
• Georg Koves was greatly impressed when he entered what seems to be a Concentration Camp. The reader can also deduce that it's a place Georg has never been in before. "They led us on into a maze of gray buildings, before we suddenly debouched onto a huge open space strewn with a white gravel" (P. 56). The quote clearly expresses that Georg is in a place that he isn't familiar with. It's somewhere in Budapest that he doesn't know. Also, this is the first time Georg is confronted directly and alone with the Nazi Regime.

The Seven Pillars of Judaism

Just as other religions, jews have many traditions celebrations in order to pray and praise their God. These are Mezuzah, Tefillin, Shofar, Hanukkah, Kosher, Tzedakah, and Sabbath. In this post, I'll do brief review about each of these celebrations to know more about the jews, and therefore, understand Georg Koves' life in a much better way.

Mezuzah: The Mezuzah is used to fulfill the Mitzvah (Biblical Commandment) by the Jews. It consists of a special piece of writting which contains the words of the Shema, that's put inside a special case, which hangs in the doorways of jewish houses.  

Tefillin: These are small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment from the Torah which are wore by observant Jews during weekdays morning prayers. 
It consist in a black leather strip which goes around the body of the person (specially arms and neck) and a little box which is placed in the forehead. 


Shofar: The shofar is a Jewish instrument most often made from a ram’s horn, though it can also be made from the horn of a sheep or goat. It makes a trumpet-like sound and is traditionally blown on Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year.

Hanukkah: Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar.In Hebrew, the word "hanukkah" means "dedication." The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.

Kosher: Kashrut is the body of Jewish law dealing with what foods jews can and cannot eat and how those foods must be prepared and eaten. "Kashrut" comes from the Hebrew root Kaf-Shin-Reish, meaning fit, proper or correct. It is the same root as the more commonly known word "kosher," which describes food that meets these standards. The word "kosher" can also be used, and often is used, to describe ritual objects that are made in accordance with Jewish law and are fit for ritual use.

Tzedakah: Tzedakah literally means righteousness, but it is often interpreted as charity, because Judaism views giving as the ultimate act of righteousness. Whether it is teaching a skill, donating goods, or giving money, tzedakah is an integral part of living a Jewish life and is in fact required of all Jews.

Sabbath: The Jewish Sabbath day of rest, called Shabbat in Hebrew, begins on Friday evening and ends on Saturday evening. It's the day when families get together and take some time to think muse god and their religion.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezuzah
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/whatisashofar.htm
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Tzedakah_Charity.shtml

IV Medio's Day + More!

Last wednesday we celebrated the IV Medio's day in The Mackay School. This traditional day gives the oldest students the chance to bother, joke and play with the rest of the school, including the teachers. The morning run smoothly, with some flying eggs, waters pumps and flour!

At 11, we all entered the school's gym to watch the IV's show. This year, I think the show was boring. Year after year, the funny ideas for this show have run out and in the last years the show had been boring. However, while I watched the videos and games presented, I was really nervous and exited: The IV vs Restos rugby game was coming closer, and I had to play in it. After the show ended, I had some lunch at 1 and then I went to the changing rooms. We started moving, running, making motivational talks, preparing the game, etc. At 3, the referee blew the whistle and the game started. It was very tense and aggressive, and after 70 minutes of playing and fighting for the ball, the final result was 30-18.

Overall, I think it was a fun day. I had time to enjoy and laugh in the morning and then to play some good rugby in the afternoon, which I think was an awesome experience.

FLN: Chapter 3!

I've already read chapter three of Fatelessness! Therefore, in this post I'll share my ideas about the Third chapter of the book.

The third chapter narrates how Georg goes from his normal life to a Concentration Camp. While he was in the bus going to work, the transport was stopped by a policeman and the jew boys were taken off. Many boys and some adults were put together and they started a long walk to a special place: "A maze of grey buildings". The main conflict of this chapter is shown when Georg was taken off from the bus, because that's when his "normal life" was disrupted.

I think the author's purpose in this piece is to entertain the reader by telling him how Georg's life suddenly changed, the point of view of this section is from the Narrator (First person), and the author's tone is intriguing.

Interhouse Competition: General Knowledge

Last monday, the school held an Interhouse activity that has developed and has grown in importance over the past few years: The General Knowledge. Organized by the English Department, it consist of a competition to prove which house has the wiser and educated students in the school.

Each house had one student from 5th básico to fourth medio. As there were no first medios, two students from second medio participated. Luckily, I had the chance to go there and answer the questions with my friend Mr. Gastó. As a couple, I think we did a great job. We managed to answer most of the questions correctly (10 out of 13, I think). After the question ended, Sutherland was at the second place in the score board. To finish the competition, the houses' teams had to bet their points and answer the final question, about the headmasters of the school. Unfortunately, we couldn't answer it correctly and we were moved to the third place. At the end, Mackay won by far, the second place went for Somerscales, and Robertson was at the bottom.

Although my house didn't win, I think we did a good work. Probably next year we will do better, because I know we can!

Thoughts regarding Chapter 2!

The second chapter of "Fatelessness" presents us some interesting changes in Georg's life. First, his father left to the labor camp, hence he has to be a support for his family. Also, Georg starts experiencing what's love when he got nearer to Annamarie. In addition, Imre Kertesz added an intriguing discussion between Georg and one of the sisters of Annamarie about races and humans.

As I presented in my older posts, the setting of this chapter and the whole book is Budapest, during the Second World War. This chapter, in particular, takes place in the Koves' neighborhood only. The purpose of the author with this piece is to entertain the reader, but also to tell how Georg's life changed once his father left the house. Therefore, the main idea of Chapter 2 is the transition of Georg from being a boy with no worries to a young working man who has to support his family in the Nazi Regimen and who experiences love. In this piece, it's important to highlight the simile used by Georg about the Prince and the Beggar to explain his view about the "differentness" between persons, because Georg thought that what makes people different is just the outside; for example, the yellow star that the jews must wear during the Nazi Regimen.

On the other hand, the second chapter also shows the relationship between Georg and Annamarie. Although they had already been near (Narrator uses a Flashback to tell their first encounter), their relation became stronger in this piece. In fact, the kissed several times. However, at the end of Chapter 2 we also have the chance to read about their first quarrel, which showed up after Georg's discussion with the older sister. Luckily enough, their problems where rapidly solved when Georg waited for Annamarie before visiting the sisters again. This was a clear sign for Annamarie about Georg's intentions and she decided to continue with the relationship as before.

155 years of The Mackay School!

An 8 of october of 1857, The Mackay School was founded. This week, we take time to celebrate and commemorate the 155th anniversary of our school!

Our school was founded with the name of The Valparaiso Artisans School. Years later, problems between Peter Mackay, George Sutherland and the British Society of Valparaiso, forced the first two to found a new school 1877, called The Mackay and Sutherland School. Years later, George Robertson joined the school as a young maths teacher. In 1905, Peter Mackay died. In his honour, Sutherland and Robertson decided to change the name of the institution to The Mackay School, which stands until now. Years after the dead of Sutherland, in 1928, Robertson decided to close the school to take a rest. 

Fortunately, in 1939 a group of Old Mackayans decided to reopen the school. Between 1963-1968, The Mackay School moved to Reñaca, and in 1990 the school bought some sports fields in Mantagua. Through all the years, headmasters, teachers and generations, the school has kept a spirit based on the British Culture, strong values, sports and fair play. 

This week, the school will held many event to celebrate a new birthday. Rugby Games, Interhouse competitions, the Sports day, the fouth medios' day are only some of the activities that will take place in the school in order to remember our past. I'll try to post actively what we do to keep you updated! 

FLN Setting: Second World War

The Second World War was one of the greatest and crudest violent conflict in world's History. Preceeded by the unfair treaties at the end of the First World War (like the Treaty of Versailles), it faced the Allies (British Empire and Italy, plus USA and the Soviet Union since 1941) with the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan and Hungary) between 1939 and 1945.

The main cause of the war was the Nazi expansion and invasion of Poland, France, Belgium, Luzembourg and the Netherlands, between others. The British were forced to enter the war because they had a treaty with Poland, which obliged them to help Poland if it was attacked. Years later, the United States entered the war because Japan attacked them at Pearl Harbour. In the same way, different countries take a position in the war and it became Global.

Meanwhile, in the Nazi Germany, Poland, Hungary and other countries, the Nazi ideology was repressing jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and any race different to the Aryan. This persecution was led by the fascist Adolf Hitler, who wrote all his thoughts and ideology in a book called "Mein Kampf", published in 1925.

After 6 years of violence and suffering, Germany sourrended and the Presidents of the main countries in conflict sign the Potsdam Treaty. (11 July, 1945). Japan didn't take part of this treatment and they wanted to continue fighting, so the President of the United States decided to finish the war by dropping atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August, 1945).

Reading: Fatelessness Chapter 1 Analysis.

Last week I read the first chapter of "Fatelessness", which gave me a lot of information about the setting and how the story will develop in the following chapters. In this post I'll answer some questions to round up my ideas about it.


1.  What characters are introduced in this chapter?
Georg Koves (Main character), Mr Sütó, Annamarie, Georg's Father, Mother and stepmother, Granparents, and other members of his family (Uncle Willie, Uncle Lajos, Uncle Steiner, Uncle Fleischmann, Uncle Dini). Also, we are presented the Baker and his wife.

2. Choose two characters and select a quote to describe them physically or psychologically.
Uncle Willie: "His head is pear shaped, broad, bulging, and bald on top, but narrowing at the cheeks and toward the chin". (P.17)

Mr Sütó: "Yellowish red light-spots were dancing like busting pustules all over his round, brownish-skinned features with the pencil mustache and the tiny gap between his two broad, white front teeth" (P.6). Also, it's important to note that he was a jew but he didn't wear a yellow star.

3. What is the narrative technique? Provide evidence

Point of View: Narrator in First Person. ("I didn't go to school today", P.3)
Narration: Indirect  ("We were already on the upper floor when it occurred to my stepmother that she had forgotten to redeem the bread coupon. I had to go back to the baker's." P.12. The narrator talks about others and about himself, but he is not intentionally talking to the reader.)
Speech: Reported ("We were already on the upper floor when it occurred to my stepmother that she had forgotten to redeem the bread coupon. I had to go back to the baker's." P.12. The narrator tells the main events that happened by summarizing them.)
Tense: Past tense. ("I didn't go to school today", P.3)

4. Describe the setting of this chapter
The first chapter takes place in Budapest, Hungary. The character's life is affected by the Second World War that's taking place, and the common Air Raids in the city. In fact, they have a special room to hide from Air Attacks. 

Fatelessness Review Analysis!

Before we read a book, it's a good idea to read some reviews about it. This way, we can know more about how good it is and how the author develops the topic. In class, we had the chance to read and comment a review about "Fatelessness", and in this post I'll answer some short questions about it. 

1. Which perspective (positive or negative) does the author of the review have towards FATELESSNESS? Provide evidence.
He takes a positive position, because he seems to like the book. The author approves the way the protagonist deals with suffering and pain through the story. We can know these because the author states that "In Fatelessness the writer elevates this form to another level". The quote show that the author has a high quality writing level and that Fatelessness is an outstanding book.

2. According to the review, in which ways does FATELESSNESS make readers empathize with the main character of the story?
The review states that the reader empathizes with the protagonist of the story because the reader will constantly ask what would have he done if he was in a concentration camp. "Would we have reacted this way?"and "how might I have coped" are just some examples of this.

3. In the second paragraph of this review, we are presented the plot of the story. Is this enough information to engage you as a reader? Does it provide an effective invitation to read "FATELESSNESS"? Justify
I think it is enough information for the reader to be engaged by the book. The holocaust has been and will always be a very interesting topic, therefore it's very important to use it as a bait to make people check out the book. I think the writer of the review took a wise move because he didn't go deep in the character's life but he centered his thought in the concentration camp to catch people's attention. 


Click here for the Review!

Narrative Techniques!

When a writer creates a novel, piece of new or an article, he must consider some Narrative Techniques. These techniques are very important because they have a great impact in how the reader understands the book and how his reading develops. The same story may be told in an interesting way or in a boring way, it all depends on the narrative technique, how impressive is that? Within the Narrative Techniques, we can find four components: Point of View, Narration, Speech and Tense.

Point of View: The point of view is related with the person who tells the story (Who is telling the story) It may be the Narrator of the story (First person), the reader of the story or someone else who is witnessing what happens (Third person)

Narration: The narration regards the objective audience of the narrator (Who is the narrator speaking to?). It may be Direct (Directly to the reader), Frame (Narrator talks about someone else) and Indirect (Not referring to the reader).

Speech: The speech involves how the characters and the narrator speak in the story. It may be Direct (Dialogue), Reported (Narrator summarizes what happened) or Free Indirect (Character's thoughts).

Tense: Tense is about when did the story happen. It may be Future, Present or Past tense. Also, when the narrator tells something that happened in the past in a present tense to make it more appealing to the reader, it's called Historical Present.

As you may know, Literature gives a lot of devices and ways to authors to make their stories more interesting and appealing to readers. The writer can also use Flashbacks and Foreshadowing to show the reader the past or to give him some clues of the future. Finally, the writer can also use Omniscient Narrator or Dual Narrator to express himself in a better way.

Reading: Fatelessness!

When you're learning a new language, and want to know more about its Literature, you must read. That's why in the next weeks I'll be reading Imre Kertesz's "Fatelessness". As for now, I haven't started the book yet, but I'm very excited about it. The only thing I know about Fatelessness is that it's a story of a jewish boy who was in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. My interests in the XX century history have grown stronger in the last year, so I think this is a great chance to learn more about the third Reich. As some background, about 5 years ago I read Anne Frank's Diary, and last year I watched Schindler's list (Awesome movie, better soundtrack). 

I hope to have a great time reading "Fatelessness", as I had with "To Kill a Mockingbird". I hope we'll make a deep analysis of the book and really feel what a Concentration Camp was. 

Debate: We almost did it!

Last friday I had the chance to participate once more with The Mackay School's Debate Team at the grange. We went to Santiago after school because we had two opponents waiting for us: Colegio Cumbres and Santiago College.

As we arrived there, the organization of the event informed us that the Colegio Cumbres' team had had a problem and that they couldn't attend the event. However, we had the chance to debate against the grande C team, just for the fun of it. Our position was against the motion "This house would eliminate standardized tests in chilean primary and secondary education". Our first speaker was Mr Rodriguez, I was the second, and Mr Pavon was the third.

As of my arguments, I stated that Standardized tests (not just PSU, but also Simce, Pisa, and others) are the only way to measure the student's knowledge, and they do their job well. The other team said that we could replace them with interviews, but obviously it's impossible to use interviews as they are subjective and the results would depend not only on the student, but on the examiner.

After this "fun" debate, my partners, Mr Barriga, Mr Park and Mr Pavon, debated against the Santiago College's team. They managed to do an awesome job, they actually impressed me. Unfortunately, we couldn't beat the opposite team. This means that our participation in the ESU debate competition finished.

Although we didn't have good results this year, I think we have improved a lot. I don't want to sound like a conformist, but I think we have learnt and developed our debating skills greatly, and next year, older and smarter, we will have better results. Finally, I must thank my debating mates and Miss Lydia!

Online Assignment: Literature Authors

When we analyzed Jane Austen's "Atonement", we got to know that she never wrote the internal life of a male, but she reduced her writing for women. In this mood, I can ask myself if authors may write the feelings and thoughts of someone of the opposite gender, and why would they do it!

After a quick research in the internet, I found some famous writers who managed to create highly developed characters from the opposite sex in their books.

In this list, I must name some men who wrote female characters' interior life, including Daniel Defoe with "The Fortunate Mistress", Samuel Richardson's novel "Pamela", John Cleland with "Memories of a Woman of Pleasure", the famous Charles Dickens' "Bleak House".

Now, if we search for women who wrote men characters, we can also find a good list. Charlotte Bronte presents her "The Professor", Edith Wharton adds "Ethan Frome" and "The Black Prince" was written by Iris Murdoch.

Although we can find a big lot of authors who write characters from the other sex, why do they do it? What benefits does this type of writing have? I think that they take this option because it gives the author a chance to go deeper and express what she or he knows about the opposite sex. Obviously, a writer will never base his book in stereotypes, so they'll have the chance to investigate about the other sex behavior. Also, I think that writers are always exploring different ways to express what they want, and using an opposite gender character may be a good option.

However, we still have a lot of authors, like Jane Austen, that'll stick to their sex in terms of writing. This may be because they want to keep the feelings and writing "true", as when you write something about the other's sex view you can never be sure that what you're writing is wise or correct.

Second World War Timeline!

During my free time, I thought it was useful to create a timeline containing the most important facts during the deveopment of the Second World War. I used an online tool called TimeToast.