"It is finished. The tale is told truthfully, and the truth is no heavier, no more beautiful than lies...I know. I am Magda. I am the witch."After reading this fairytale-like story, what are some of your thoughts about the book?
In addition, can you tell me in your opinion if this book was appropriate for the SLI course--in length, in context, and in interest.
31 comments:
I think that this book is marvellous. When I finished reading the book there were no thoughts like "Oh, it`s over.. at last". No, when I finished I think a lot... Breadcrumps, meeting the father, returning of Gretel`s mind and names..their real names. Did they matter for the characters? Yes, and not only for children.
The book is ideal for this courses - long enough, don`t allow you to become bored, but context... You must be old for this book, if not - it won`t be a good book for you and you`ll suffer more than enjoy it.
Nelka and Telek are the romantic center of the novel. Each is forced to undertake harrowing actions in order to protect their families and the villagers. Telek in particular is forced to inflict harm in order to prevent an event greater wrong. I think those sacrifices brought them courage and helped them to stay stong. They both went through a lot and of course it was hard for them to live the normal life. (Well, as normal as possible.) But they were strong as a family, I believe. Nelka knew that Telek would do everything fot the chlid. All the horrors they lived through stayed in their memory for the whole life... But they were alive. And together.
I think I have already mentioned my opinion about the book, I mean about how good it is for SLI. It was easy to understand everything and very interesting follow the story. I liked it!
Loss of names symbolizes loss of identity, everything what they used to have in the past. They are no longer who they were, or who their realitives are. It's safer. For everyone. In the woods, they have to hide their identities, so that none of their family would get in trouble, because of them. And kids- Hansel and Gretel- their real names were Jewish and they could get killed if they introduced themselves with their real names.
Why author kept their real names untold? I believe, that everyone waited her to do that eventualy- in the end. And that's exactly why she didn't do that- to keep us interested, to wait till the very end.
In the novel many characters are given new names and they forget their real names. This loss of names symbolizes a loss of an old life, life before war. Also, it symbolizes loss of yourself, loss of who you were before. Now you are a different person, so it is better for you don not remember you real name. Partisans are called by aliases, so they would not reveal their real identities, because it is safer for them if they got caught by enemies. It is a pity that Murphy does not reveal real names of children, Mechanik or Stepmother. But I think that she wanted to leave an intrigue.
In my opinion, the book was appropriate for the SLI course. Actually, I found this book intereting and I am happy that I had a chance to read it. I think, I would like to read this book again after a while.
Sometimes,when the book is easy, it become not interesting and you forget it after some time.This book isn't easy there a lot of things that are difficult to read and hard to know.It's the book about the war,so be prepared for scenes of violence and things you didn't know about.However you also need to know that this book is not only about fightings and distactions it's about love and suppot during the hard time.
One of the main charectors is stepmother,who was thinking not only about her self,she was thinking about the children,that werent her kids.She told them their new names and said to find the village.Here actions showes that she really care about them,she don't want them to die.Although she told to Mechanic to let his children in the forest,it was right thing to do.I think that she wasn't the stepmother that is in every fairy-tale,she was like their real mother.
I liked this book very much.After the reading you have a lot of things to think about.And this book educates use,show reality and different life situations.I think that everyone should read it.Read and you'll enjoy it!
2. In my opinion, one of the most interesting characters in this book was the forest. It makes this fairy tale more mysterious. It also saves many secrets which affects this story latter.I believe that in this story the forest is like a life-saver for many characters( for Hansel and Gretel, for Father, etc.). It is the place where they can feel safe enough. In the book there are like two worlds- one is outside of the forest and other is in the forest. The forest of Bialowieza is the only place which isn't destroyed by Germans or Russians. It is so old and I think that it symbolizes that everyone can survive war and overcome any dificulties.
From my point of view, the forest have a personality. It is very quiet but at the same time it is dangerous and unpredictable. It has its own charm and charisma. Everyone can explore it if he is brave enough and if he is a good explorer. The forest is beautiful in its own way. Moreover, it is generous as well because it shares with others it gives food, shelter and safety.
I really enyojed this book. It was very interesting and exciting. I concider that this book helped me to understand the situation in 1939/1940. It helped me to understand the Jews and Gypsies. This is a good book for SLI. :)
In most fairy tails stepmothers are the bad, ruthless, cruel women, who hate children and usually try to get rid of them. Hovewer, in "The true story of Hansel and Gretel" this stereotype isn't maintained. The Stepmother is a caring, clever woman, who loves her husband's children and tries to protect them from the Nazis. She is the one who ordered the children to run into the forest, find a farmer and live with him. She makes difficult choices, but these choices were crucial for the children to survive. She oculdn't have acted differently. If she chose the easy way (letting the children go with her and the Mechanic), they all would die. I don't think that it is a necessity of the fairy tale genre that she died in eventually. For me, it is rather the reality of a war. Especially the second world war. It wouldn't be realistic, if the whole family survived the war.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I find the plot, which depicts the ruthlessness od a war, gripping. This novel is one the best nonfantasy book I've ever read.
Murphy begins and ends her true fairy tale with the words of the wise witch Magda, who is the children's savior. She is an outsider from the village of Piaski, with Gypsy heritage, but she is also a relative to many characters: an aunt, a sister, and a surogate mother to the children. She is like traditional witch for some features - she is old, lives in a forest, in a hut, she wears poor clothes and look scary from the first sight. But as we know later she is more good witch than bad. She help for children and in the end she even sacrifise her self for them. Maybe she is a kind of narrator because she is old and old people ussualy know more because they have more life experience.
I loved reading that book. It was realy interesting and shocking. There was an action in it, so it wasn't boring to read.
I think this book is for adult people, much older than 16 years old. The plot is interesting and informative ,but the great deal of cruel and violent scenes and discriptions make reading emotionally difficult.Of couse,the new generation have to know as much as possible about the human history, but the book of such context can be a real shock for teenagers.
As for the lenght, yes , it`s long enough to be read for given period of time.I`d prefer to read more slowly and thoughtfully, not being under the pressure of time.
I think that this book splended . As I was finishing reading it I thounghts were that its finaly over , the hole story was terific as so the characters were .
The book is exelent for students of advanced level . The context is great and it is easy to read. So thats my opinion.
I want to talk about Nelka and Telek. The part when they escaped is interesting. First of all, instead of Telek, father Piotr killed the SS woman and let them hide in the forest. These sacrifices bring them a lot of troubles, but also are able to have their baby. But second, they think that Magda died because of them. One event brought a lot of confusions in the story.
The book was great. I don't know about others, but I really like history and topics about it. So, the story wasn't boring to me at all. I still have to read about ten pages, so the length is appropriate for reading.
At the start of novel, the children are given new names by stepmother, later father and stepmother herself are renamed. I suppose that this loss of names symbolizes the loss of earlier life. All characters' life completely changed with their names - children started living with Magda in the forest and their parents started fighting with the partisans. All of the partisans had their aliases because when they are not called by their real names it's more difficult to catch them, so aliases are used with the purpose of safety. The author, Louise Murphy, decides not to reveal true names of the characters in case that we won't link them with people who we might know and in case to keep the parallel between 'true' and 'false' story.
In my mind, this book is really great for SLI summer course. It's very interesting, vocabulary is not very difficult and the length is appropriate for three weeks. I suppose everybody (especially from advanced level) can read 100 pages in one week.
Thanks for the great reading assignment and I'm sure this book will be great for next year's students either.
The primeval forest of Bialowieza is itself a character in this novel. It`s a place that is harsh and wild but that offers protection to the children, to Magda, and to the Partisans as they work to oust the Germans. The Bialowieza Forest, the oldest in Europe, is a place of mysterious and untouched beauty, and its lessons for the children and humanity permeate the body. Hansel and Gretel are on a guest to reclaim their identities, and the witch and the forest - the world of fairy tale - show them the way.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for SLI because there are a lot of interesting things, history facts and events. Also students can improve their vocabulary and gain knowledge about Second World War and peoples` life during this time.
That was very hard time in Poland during the war and there were a lot of partisans and people who wanted to kill other people. So, stepmother decided to change names for children and I think it was right decision . Also, stepmother and father changed their names. Mother became White Wolf and father Mechanik. It was chance to survive for their family. I think Murphy chose not to reveal everyone's "real" name because those name are sound more fairy and the names related more with their past life. For me will be harder to understand that it was real people if they had real name in the book .
In my opinion this book is really very interesting for students in SLI. We read it in three weeks and I didn't heard that someone was not exiting after reading. I offer to read this book for everyone .
2. The magic of the forest lies in its suspense. No one knows what exactly happened in the woods. It may keep a lot of secrets between the trees and thick bush, especially because of its age. There's no certainty. If someone or something hides there seeking you, ready to chase after you or if it's just a gust of wind blowing the leaves.
If we observe the situation thoroughly, the forest seems to give people some kind of a choice: 'You can sleep and hide in here whenever you want to, but you'll still have to take care of yourself and watch out for enemies, because I don't promise anything'. Therefore, it's not completely safe. It appears to be a tricky and enigmatic place.
Well, I consider this book as rather appropriate for the SLI course. It's neither too thick nor too boring to read during these three weeks. The vocabulary isn't a big obstacle to understand the plot, either.
That was very hard time in Poland during the war and there were a lot of partisans and people who wanted to kill other people. So,the stepmother decided to change names for children and I think it was right decision . Also, the stepmother and father changed their names. Mother became the White Wolf and father the Mechanik. It was chance to survive for their family. I think Murphy chose not to reveal everyone's "real" name because those name are sound more fairy and the names related more with their past life. For me, it was harder to understand that it was real people if they had real name in the book .
In my opinion this book is really very interesting for students in SLI. We read it in three weeks and I didn't hear that someone was not exiting after reading. I offer to read this book for everyone .
The stepmother in Hansel and Gretel is not a typical fairy-tale stepmother. She loves Hansel and Gretel, she cares about them even though she leaves them in the forest. She love the kids, so she tells them to hide in the forest from Nazi while she leaves with their father. This sounds cruel and selfish, but it is not so, because the forest is the safest place for the kids to hide. The stepmother understands that, that's why she does it.
The stepmother could have acted differently. She could have tried to escape with the kids, but it would be too risky, because Nazi were searching the roads for jewish people while in the forest the kids were totally safe.
I think it is very good that the stepmother in this book was portrayed positively. At the begining I couldn't believe that the stepmother could be good. I thought that she was just pretending,that kept me reading forward, because I wanted to prove that she was really really bad. And she wasn't.
I think this book was pretty appropriate for SLI. It was more interesting that I could have expected. It was surprising for me to read totally different story of Hansel and Gretel that I had read when I was little. Anyway, I think that maybe this book was too long for three weeks of reading, because you need much more time to read a book in foreign language than in your own language. I felt a little bit forced to read the book.
I agree that it has got human features. It is like a mother who protects you from bad things. In the fairy tale It is presented inversely. Forest is a dangerous place there. Children were brought there to die. In the book it is different. If it is not for the forest of Bialowieza, Magda, Partisans and children would have been dead. It is weird that Nazis have bunkers and Partisans' sanctuary are trees. When I was reading it, I even forgot that it must be cold there. It was presented like a home.
I haven't finished the book yet, but I think it was a great choice to show us this novel. It is really interesting, I regret that I can't take it home from here, but for sure I will look for it in the Internet.
First tought was ''damn,it's over''.not only the book,but and SLI.I have a good time and felt good expierience reading that book.every time I was reading it,I was thinking what will happen next?
it's exciting story
For SLI this book I think is one of the best choose.because it's enuogh time to read it and there are a lot of thing to talk about this book
This book could be compared with some hard staff of the history of World War II. Some people would not accept it from the first decades of pages. But on the other hand this is a great approach to tell a true story using fairy-tails background. The book is easy to read and it tells a lot of great stories characterizing not only the people, but even the forest and animals. The little girl Gretel is one of the main characters of the book, who is presenting us brave and ability to survive in the forest. She has suffered a hungry, cold, rape and other horrible things. But she still was able to look after her brother, to smile and enjoy the forest's magic. She could be called as a symbol of bravery and strength.
In my opinion this book is a good choice to present a true story to pupils and students of what happened in WW-II and to improve English vocabulary.
Magda in one way is a traditional witch because she looks like a witch. Also, she can make some kind of vitamins from herbs and knows different ways how treat some at that time serious ills. She is saying so interesting and non-traditional things and her opinion are so different from others that we can call her a witch. The author made her like a narrator because she is mysterious and at the same time so kind and caring and generous. And she even had helped Nelka to bear her baby. So she is extraordinary and non-traditional thinking woman.
I liked reading this book because I love history about wars. Of course, there were some parts that I didn't like. But most of book I liked because this book is how people feel when they are involved in the war, in a very cruel war.
The characters are given new names, they are starting a new life, the past is forgoten, the war has started, nothing maters, just the present.
The book is amazing. By reading it we can relive the war, the pain, the hunger and the suffirings. It shows us how people were living in that time, what sacrifices they had to make to survive.
Stepmother is the best thing in whole story. The white wolf is though and I think that she is an ideal women in war.
I think that in this courses book fits excellent. It is interesting to read it and it also expands your's perception about world war II.
Memory is a key theme, especially for Gretel. At the start of novel, I couldn't understand why she is already complaining that time in the ghetto has marred her memories of life before the war. Maybe, it's because I have no experience of life in the ghetto or war. I suppose she was suffering a lot and that is why she couldn't remember all the goodness. But one nice thing that happened in the end of the book ( when she met her father) made all the memories come back.
I liked this book. It was interesting and involving. Have a nice time while reading it.
I liked the book. I think it was interesting, I hope I will be able to finish it before I have to return it to the library, because I really want to know how it will end for some characters.
This book is not for 16 years old teenagers as a lot of people said. There are too many cruel scenes, which I couldn't read at all. It was too depressive for me, but much more exciting than our school literature (for example, "War and Peace"). I was delighted that the end is so hopeful. I was afraid that it will be worse that the beginning…
And It was difficult to read the book about the war when there is the sun outside, the beach is waiting for you and you are looking forward for your performance at Talented night. That's why I' m going to read this book the second time, but in Russian, because I think that I didn't catch a lot of details.
P.S. I was disappointed in the end. I want names!!! Give me names!
I suppose that loss of names symbolize the loss of life they had before the war. The author wanted to show us, that during the war people rather forget their names and their life before. Hansel and Gretel was safe using these fake names. All people who wanted to survive the war had to use aliases. I assume that Murphy wanted to leave an interest till the end of the story, so she did not told their 'real' names.
In my opinion, this book is exactly what we needed. This book is full of action, rich dictionary, historical facts, and lots of other useful information about people who lived during the war. So in my mind, this book is great choice to read at SLI.
Losing names was like a symbol of losing identity. They had to learn how to live at the time of war and leave everything what was important for them. Also, I think that choosing not to reveal everyone's real name can be a symbol of losing something forever. The war has taken something from you and it will never come back.
I really like this book. Topic is great and for me it wasn't too hard for younger age. Thanks to that book we can imagine war, not only hear about it from school or different sources. We can imagine what people felt at that time. Length is quite ok. Sometimes there was many things to do and reading under pressure of time wasn't comfortable, but when we are doing it for ourselves the length is appropriate.
Is it finished? I don’t think so. There are still so many loose ends. That happens to the kids after they find their father. Magda promised that the little boy will live in a free country, but I don’t think Soviet Union wasn't exactly such a country. What happens to Telek and Nelka? Will they meet the kids once again? And what happened to the kidnapped children? On the other hand, it is war and we never know that to expect after a war.
As to the book itself I think its suitable and not too long and the vocabulary is easy. It is not a hard historical work you need to read for a history class. It’s a work of fiction with some elements of real life . With a help or this book we can understand the word and ourselves better. Just because its serious doesn't mean you don’t need to know it. The world certainly hasn’t changed that much and it won't go easy on you just because you don’t like it.
I appreciate the idea of book, because it is like a new retelling of a famous fairytale. But it is also full of real emotions and real facts, so it isn't nonsense. Historical books never add real people experience, so instead of reading it, you can choose a more interesting way to know more about Holocaust.
I should confess that it includes sexual references, cruel scenes and bad language, but despite this fact, I think teenagers should know these facts, because it really happens.
Actually I haven't read the whole book already. However I will definitely pick it from the library when I'll come home that I could finish it.
Even though I haven't read it, I already have made an opinion that I like tis book. I do think that the book is written great(style of writing).It's also good that we can learn something about the history.I cannot say that something in the book is boring or not interesting because the book is great. The book is very appropriate for the courses.
Gabriela
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