Bridging Text And Context: "All My Sons"

Bridging Text And Context: p.117- A

The play "All My Sons" was written by Arthur Miller, an American playwright, whose family lost everything in the Wall Street Crash. Miller usually wrote about personal responsibility and the danger of moral corruption by materialism and greed.

In the play, the main character is Joe Keller, an American businessman, who feared losing his factory during the war. Therefore, he surrendered to his greed for money and sold cracked cylinder heads to the Army, which led to the death of 21 pilots. Keller didn't take responsibility for his actions, he excused his actions by saying that he did it for his family. He was morally corrupt, caused by his greed and the fact he started from nothing.

Keller believes that he is only answerable to his family and his war crimes should be justified because he did it to save his family from ruin. Chris on the other hand, believes in social responsibility, that we must care about society and that we are responsible for the all people of society.

Only at the end of the play Keller understands that he was responsible for the death of his son and of the pilots.

The background information helps us understand the play better and the playwright's connection to the play. In his life, Miller lost everything he has(gr.-had) and in the play Keller feared to lose everything, we realized what this fear can make a person do. In addition, I understand the difference in(ww.-between) Chris's and Joe's attitude towards social responsibility. 

Excellent
(100)
Daphna

Complaint Letter

Complaint Letter

(wo.) 5 Balfour Street  

Tel aviv

51245

April 9, 2013

The Manager

Zara Company

POB 69143

Tel aviv

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm a permanent(ww.) customer at your shops in Israel, and I noticed that recently the prices of your products have raised by more than 30%. I am truly disappointed by that unreasonable increase in the prices and I want to express my dissatisfaction with your prices.

Buying (high quality) fashionable clothes in high quality(מיותר) and(מיותר) in affordable prices is not an easy task. I love your store very much and I always buys(gr.) clothes from your store because the prices were reasonable. However, after raising the prices by 30% I can't afford to buy anything in your store. I think that even(מיותר) other clients won't be able to buy in your store after this sharp(ww.) increase of prices.

Zara has always been a store with quality clothes that everyone allows(ww.) to buy and the Quality of the products has not changed, so I don't justify the price increase(phr.). In addition, there are many clothing(ww.) returned from previous seasons(phr.) at much higher prices than it was and it's no makes sense to me(phr.).

To sum up, I hope you will do something to improve the prices of items in your store, because I'm sure you'll lose a lot of permanent(ww.) costumers like me, who can't afford 

shopping at your store anymore.

. I look forward to hearing for you

Sincerely,

Bar Doron

(77)

Daphna

Being involved in our community!

Being involved in our community!

There are many problems in our modern society such as, old people that are poor and neglected, handicapped and retarded children and other problems. In my opinion, schools and their pupils should be active and involved in helping their communities in order to solve these problems.

Schools today encourage their pupils to become more active in their community(ies) through different projects, that are usually called "Personal Commitment". These kinds of projects encourage the pupils to volunteer in different areas and they get assessed in their certificates according to their participation and contribution.

 Many pupils, for example, can help old people who have no families. They can help them with their shopping. They can clean and paint their houses .In addition, the students can collect donations in order to help them financially. But the most important thing is to keep them company. It is especially important if those old people are Holocaust survivors.

Many students can also volunteer in schools and other institutions of handicapped, retarded and autistic children. They can organize activities with 

these children in order to make them happy.

 I think that it is very important that students will be involved in their 

communities not just to help others but also in order to improve themselves and become better people by help(ing)  other people. 

Excellent!
(100)
Daphna

post reading

 Post Reading

Two weeks ago, something unpleasant happened to me. I was caught smoking a cigarette by my mother. It was very embarrassing.

A friend of mine, whom I haven't met for a few months because she had moved to a new school in a new neighborhood, came to visit me. We went to my room and started talking. Suddenly, she took out a packet of cigarettes and started to smoke one. I was really surprised and asked her about that. She told me that she had started smoking because of her friends in her new school. She told me that it was fun and persuaded me to try too. At first I refused, but after she continued persuaded, I became curious and decided to try one cigarette. I thought that one cigarette  wouldn’t hurt me. I started smoking and I didn’t like it at all, but I continued because I felt pressure to continue.

 I thought that I had locked the door, but suddenly the door opened .It was my mother .She caught me red- handed. Surprisingly, she didn’t shout at me. Her face just became upset. She said nothing and just left the room and closed the door .I understood that she was disappointed by me and I felt really bad about the whole incident. I felt bad especially because I knew that my mother was really against smoking. I also felt bad because I didn’t really want to smoke and I did it just because of the peer pressure that I felt.

The lesson that I have learnt was that I shouldn’t do things that can harm my health and the relationship with my mother .I also understood that I  shouldn’t do things just because they are popular and I should always act according to my common 
sense.

Excellent work!
(95)
Daphna

Parents Perspective- Growing up

He does'nt clean his room

He makes a mess at home

He does'nt answer his cellphone

He listens to loud music

He does'nt read books

He plays on the computer all day

He does'nt eat healthy food

He returns home late at night 

He is lazy

He is different

He is my son

Very good!

Letter to the editor

 5 Balfour Street

Tel aviv

51245

April 9, 2013

The Editor

'Haaretz' newspaper'

POB 69143

Tel aviv

Dear editor,

I am a reader of your newspaper and I decided to write this letter in response to the article called "Israel suspends standardized tests", that was published in your paper 'Haaretz' on August 13, 2013.

First, I think that suspending the Meitzav tests is a great choice. The Meitzav tests aren’t effective because they put too much pressure on students and their teachers. The students learn only to succeed in the test, instead of understanding and enjoying the material.

In addition, the Meitzav tests cause damage to the education in our country.

In the Meitzav tests the Education Ministry(wo.) comparing(gr.) between the grades of the completely different school. The comparing(ww.) isn't(gr.) truly reflected(gr.) the reality and the real standard of the schools(phr. - what do you mean by that?).

I believe that Shay Piron, the minister of the education, made the right thing(ww.). I hope that now notices a change in schools(phr.+gr.) and students will produce the most benefit from the learning.(phr.- this is a translation from Hebrew, that doesn't work in English).

Sincerely yours,

Bar Doron

Good work, but it still needs some work.

(82)

Daphna

  

Bridging Text And Context- "As I Grew Older"

Bridging Text And Context- p.54:

The poem "As I Grew Older" is about a black man who tries to break the wall in order to change his life and make his dream come true.

The poet Langston Hughes is an African American poet who grew up in America.  At the time he wrote the poem he and his people suffered from racism

He refuses to accept this reality and wishes the African-Americans will be equal in the white society and integrate in it.

He wants to achieve his wishes through art, literature and music, a way which expresses the African-American's emotions and voices.

In his poem we see that he wants to emphaise the fact that he is a black man by his saying "I am black". The wall is actually a metaphor for the inability to achieve childhood dreams because of prejudice and racial discrimination.

In the end, he breaks and smashes the wall in order to show that the black people are equal to them and have the same rights as the white people.

The background information helps us to understand the poem better and the poet's feeling and motive to change the conservative white society.

 

 

Good work.

(85)
Daphna

Post-Reading Activity

Post-Reading Activity:

Today poetry is taught in a boring and non creative way. his causes students not to be interested. I am against it, I think it should be taught differently.

I believe that poetry should be relevant to the students' lives. Teachers should choose interesting poems that make them feel connected and facinated. Unfortunately, some of the poems are very old and detached from students' reality.

In addition, teachers should change their attitude and use creative ways to teach poetry. For example, teachers can take their students to a forest and read them a poem and let them absorb the atmosphere. There is a feeling that poetry is just a material to be taught. However, it is important that students enjoy it and related to the poems. This way will help them understand the meaning of the poems better.

In my opinion, poetry deserves better and we should respect it; we mustn't let it fade. In conclusion, poetry shouldn't be taught in a conservative way but in both a challenging and an inspiring way.

Very good.

(97)

Daphna

A letter To Mr. Cattanzara

A letter To Mr. Cattanzara

Dear Mr. Cattanzara,

Hi, how are you? You wouldn't believe what happen to me all those years.

Thanks to you I read the books and even enjoyed them. Now I am a successful businessman and I own a technology company. I have a beautiful wife and two children, we live happily in Los Angles.  Fortunately, I have a big house with a pool and a new Porsche.

My father and I got closer and we even work together. Sophie became a lawyer and she is about to get married with a well known doctor.

I think about you every day and I will never forget you. I achieved a lot in my life and it is because of you, the man how always believed in me when I didn't.

I would like to invite you to Sophie's wedding next week at the Hilton Hotel, in New York. After the wedding you should come and stay in my house for the weekend.

Yours,

George.

Very good work.

(94)

Daphna 

Bridging Text And Context

Bridging Text And Context

The story "A Summer's Reading" takes place in a poor neighborhood. The population includs simple people who are not educated. Some of them are immigrants who have hopes and dreams alongside people who are not ambitious.

The writer introduces two characters- Mr. cattanzara and George, who are awkward and isolated. Mr. cattanzara is different, because he is curious and intelligent. He reads The New York Time and books, whereas others sit without doing anything.  In addition, George is strange and doesn't fit in society, because he doesn't work and has no education. He prefers to be alone, isolated from the environment.

Unfortunately, Mr. cattanzara, who is older. has no hopes and dreams. He is sorry for the mistakes he has made. However, George who is young, can still attain the American middle-class dream to acquire education. In the end of the story, George takes responsibility for his life and decides to make a change to acquire eduacation.

The background information helps us to understand the story better and connect to the characters. We, the readers, can relate to the characters' motives and be sympathetic.

Excellent work

(100)

Daphna