Surviving the Holocaust

    Night is one of those many books that summarizes what Jews had to go through during World War 2. A boy named Elie Wiesel is who takes us back in time to look back on those moments of trouble for many people. Elie meets a very special boy named Moshe the Beadle, who is constantly praying and seeking answers from God. 
     Personally, I agree with Moshe because God leads us to the path to find the answers we are looking for on our own. When we are in  times of  trial, we might draw away from God and doubt his strength to help us in our path. Even though it is understandable in times of trial, you should never doubt that God will be with you. When it comes to war, I can't understand it and want it to end as fast as possible. Perhaps Moshe was feeling confused and doubtful because the Jews hadn't done anything to the Germans to cause conflict. The Jews, even though they had the equipment and the people, they decided to leave to avoid hurting those who they didn't have a conflict with. I think they should have fought back, make their voices be heard and rebel. The Jews were innocent and there was no reason to harm them. Maybe God let the war happen to test whether the Jews were still faithful and would rely on Him. 
    Night is somehow connected with the Book of Job because when Job, who was faithful and loyal to God, lost everything, he still believed in God and believed He was next to Job. On the other hand, Moshe was confused and started doubting God's powers when the Germans were attacking the Jews. Both characters started off the same, but when Moshe sees the tragedy they are going through, he draws away from God and stops seeking for answers. For example, at first Moshe says " Man questions God and God answers But we don't understand His answers. You will find the true answers only within yourself." However, when the attack of the Germans became serious, the narrator says "Mose had changed. There was no longer any joy in his eyes. He no longer talked to me of God."

Waking Up is Harder than it Seems

You hear the alarm clock beeping in your ears, and you knock it down. All you can think is “5:30 already?” You brush your teeth, wash your face, put on your uniform as fast as you can, eat breakfast, run to catch the bus, and you go to school. The same routine goes on and on every day. Waking up early everyday is very exhausting for a lot of us. Unfortunately, if you are late, you get a punishment, such as a detention or a warning. Some of us are accustomed, and have no problem with getting up very at 5o’clock. However, most of us believe school starts too early. Because high schoolers go to bed late and wake up early, I believe school needs to open later than usual.

I believe this school starts very early, and students have a hard time waking up and being at time. Most of the students in Colombia wake up at 5:40 or 5:30 to go to school, whereas students in the US wake up at 7:30 or 7:40. If we wake up for school an hour later, students would feel energetic to go to school, and that gives our school a chance for students’ attitudes to improve. We would have more time to eat breakfast and time to complete our homework.

    I’m not disagreeing with the fact that waking up early, being diligent, and starting the day early is bad. However, I believe it is too early for students to wake up at 5 o’clock to go to school. A lot of kids don’t eat breakfast because they are worried they would get late. If we entered late we would have time to eat breakfast at our homes. Most kids get up and do not want to go to school because they feel as if they do not get enough sleep. They are half awake when they get to school and it is difficult to concentrate. For example, if you had to stay up late at night finishing your homework, it would be very hard to get up early the next morning.

      During the holidays, you don’t wake up as early as the days you went to school, so it is very hard to get back to your routine. For instance, if you always waked up at 9:30 during the holidays, it is very hard to wake up at 5:00am. It will be even harder to concentrate during the day. Delaying the starting time for teenagers would be a wise idea.

Mostly people say that waking up early will help you to be a successful and a diligent person, but they’re not always right. There are numerous benefits for waking up late instead of waking up early. 

Gilgamesh's Tragic Flaw is revealed

    After reading some epics, I've found out that all heroes have something in common: The hero participates in a quest, faces obstacles that try to defeat him in his journey, gathers allies along the way and returns home, but most significantly, they have a strength and a tragic flaw. Throughout tablets nine and ten, I noticed that Gilgamesh's flaw is fear. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh grieves deeply and is horrified by the prospect of his own death. "Enkidu has died. Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that?" "Gilgamesh felt the fear of it in his belly."(page 48) These lines show how fearful and grievous Gilgamesh is. His tragic flaw reminded me of Achilles, the valiant hero from the Iliad. Although Achilles possesses superhuman strength, his tragic flaw was his heel, which decided his fate and his death.
    One inference I've made is that Gilgamesh is no longer the same powerful, arrogant king of Urik who everybody worshipped. He is a coward, a man full of sorrow who fears that the same fate of Enkidu awaits him, and is desperate to avoid it if possible. "If you are Gilgamesh who killed the demon, and if it is you who wrestled the Bull and killed him why do you look like one who grieves, why is it that you roam the wilderness?" (page 55) These lines prove that when Enkidu was alive, Gilgamesh was undefeatable, but after Enkidu's death, he loses that "undefeatable" strength. In other words, Gilgamesh is only strong because of Enkidu's faithfulness, and he would have never succeeded his quest on destroying Huwawa or the Bull of Heaven without the help of Enkidu.
    If I were to be Gilgamesh, I wouldn't seek immortality and fear my own fate. Instead, I would continue the journey as if Enkidu was alive and accomplish things I know we could have done together. Personally, I disagree with Gilgamesh's decision of being immortal because I believe that we all die at some point, and we all have to face that part of life's cycle, even if he's half god.

The Adventurous quest of Gilgamesh and Enkidu

      "Then the two of them together seized the demon and by the tongue pulled all his insides out, and so he died." (page 28) Although I have never killed Huwawa, I have a similar experience regarding these lines. My badminton team was playing against an unbeatable team. They were very fast and accurate, and it seemed impossible to beat them. To our surprise, we beat them and became champions. Both teams were astonished at the results.
       When Gilgamesh and Enkidu begin their journey to kill Huwawa, each night Gilgamesh was sent dreams from the gods and Enkidu would interpret them, and tell him these are fortunate and special dreams. As they entered the Cedar Forest, they defeated the demon with the help of the god, Shamash.
    Based on the reading, I could infer that Gilgamesh believes in Enkidu who was his companion , and their relationship had become stronger and more stable from their adventure. When Huwawa convinced Gilgamesh that he could be his servant, Enkidu strongly disagreed and tells Gilgamesh that keeping the demon would be dangerous so Gilgamesh followed his advice.
     Another inference is that Gilgamesh is very special to the Gods because he always had fortunate dreams and could defeat Huwawa with Shamash's help. "There were other dreams that disturbed the sleep of the kind, night after night as they journeyed to the Forest, and Enkidu always said they were fortunate." (page 24) Although Gilgamesh has human blood in his body, he must be loved by the Gods.
    I found the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu  exemplory because they have equal forces so it would be easy to join in a battle, and they come from different backgrounds. Despite these reasons, Gilgamesh and Enkidu were able to accept their differences and become great friends. Enkidu seems like a great companion to Gilgamesh because he is very faithful towards Gilgamesh, and they are both able to rely on each other when there are obstacles.