All My Sons - Relfection p. 118

1. The difference between reading a play and a short story is that the play structure and its length allow the playwright to build deeper characters and emphasis the message he is trying to deliver in a better way. Moreover, it allows the readers to get to know the characters better and understand their motives and characteristics. I enjoyed reading "All My Sons" because I loved the plot twists and tension the playwright built until the dramatic ending. 

2. I found Joe Keller's character the most interesting because in my opinion, he is the one the plot is surrounding, and his actions led to the reality described in the play. Throughout the play, Joe has to face with the ugly truth. He has a strong opinion of what are the major values in life, with family loyalty as the most significant one. When he finally reveals he is guilty he keeps excuse his action claiming he did that for the family, but at the end he realizes his actions caused his family's destruction, as well as other families whose sons died because of Joe's irresponsible behavior. When he finally realizes that, he chooses to die instead of dealing with the consequences. Therefore, I find Joe as a weak person who is unable to face with the truth, which stands against his image of the strong man who build himself from nothing. 

3. The skill of Comparing and Contrasting helped me analyze the conflicts between the characters, such as the conflict between Chris and Kate about whether Larry is alive and Ann should wait for him or he is dead and Ann can marry Chris. The skill of Uncovering Motives, however, made me understand better the reasons of a character's behavior, like why Joe offered Steve a job when he gets out of jail. In addition, the skill of Inferring helped me learn about the characters' view of wider topics based on specific things they say. For example, when Joe says "A little man makes a mistake and they hang him by the thumbs... the big ones become ambassadors", we can infer what his opinion about the judicial system at the time. 

All My Sons – Post Reading - p. 116

Chris' diary entry for the day after the end of the play 

Dear diary, 

The previous day was the hardest day of my life. I used to think there is(gr.) nothing worse than coming back home from the war as the only survivor from my company, finding out Larry is(gr.) missing and dealing with the whole case against Dad. But I was wrong. I was so determined to marry Annie and prove Mom once and for all that Larry wasn't coming back that I was blind. I was self-centered. I ignored all the signs but deep of(מיותר) in my heart I knew Dad was guilty. And now I have no father at all. If I wasn't such a coward I would have taken him to turn himself in before he saw Larry's letter. I was so mad at him for lying to me and hiding that awful secret I even showed him that letter myself. I wanted him so badly to take responsibility over his actions and admit what he did was immoral and wrong. But I couldn't bring myself to turn him in. He is my father after all. I guess my love for him was what killed him.

 Mom says I couldn't guess what he'd do after reading that letter, That I should put the past behind me (and) That she doesn't hold me responsible. But I know I am. If it weren't(gr.- hadn't been) for me, he would have never seen that letter, he would have never known his own actions killed his own son. For a split second I thought maybe that realization could bring him to admit his crime. He even said he's(gr.- was) willing to go to the station. But instead he killed himself and took my father forever. Now I'm broken. I can't even look at Mom. She is the one who lost everything. I can begin a new life, far away from here, but she can't. And in a way, I can't either. I mean, how can I leave her alone now? I'm the only person she has in the world. Can I really turn my back on my mother, even if that's what's good for me? No, I can't. Dad would have wanted me to stick around for her. After all, the family was everything for him. But is it possible to destroy other families for the sake of your own?  

I'm so confused. How could Dad leave us to pick up the pieces all alone? It sure was easy for him and for Larry to kill themselves instead of dealing with their problems. But who am I to claim I am better than them? I certainly wasn't when it came to facing Dad's guilt.

Annie constantly tries to reassure me. I told her I'm a mess right now. I honestly don't know if I can be with her, knowing my father tore her family to pieces. And how can she? Does she really believe in me so much she can forget everything that happened between our families? Everything is a blur. Of people, of words, of colors. People come and talk to me all day long. Worrying about me. Asking if I need anything. I feel like I want to scream at them that I need my father back. Mistaken, cruel, guilty - but still my father.

I need to go for a walk now. Try and think clear about the future. I hope I'll start a new period in my life from now on.

Until then, yours, 

Chris

Beautiful!
(97)
Daphna

All My Sons - Bridging Text and Context - p.117

The information given is a biography of Arthur Miller, the playwright of "All My Sons". It says that Miller lived a wealthy and comfortable life, until his family lost the garment factory they owned and his life had changed .Furthermore, Miller wanted to criticize the moral corruption and lack of social responsibility he claimed are caused by materialism and greed. This criticism, as well as other burning issues, is expressed in his first successful play, "All My Sons". 

In the play, Joe Keller is a successful businessman who built himself out of nothing. He is living the American dream, a situation he is willing to do anything to preserve - even in (at the) price of (loosing) his integrity. This situation is probably not strange to Miller. Since his family lost their wealth and financial stability, we can assume his own experience inspired him to write Joe's character. In addition, Miller uses Joe's character and actions to criticize the judicial system of that time, in which the strong people can get away from punishment and the simple people are often forced to take the blame instead.  

Moreover, Miller's social and political criticism is reflected in the constant conflict between Joe and his idealist son, Chris. Joe believes that family loyalty is the most important value and according to that, expects his family to excuse his war crimes, because he committed them to save them from destruction and poverty. Chris, on the other hand, believes in social responsibility: that we must care about the society and the country we live in, and not only about ourselves and our close environment. Miller keeps asking the reader the million dollar question throughout the play: What is more important - family loyalty or social responsibility? 

In conclusion, the information given about Miller's life and social criticism gave me a wider picture of the message he wanted to deliver in "All My Sons": take care of yourself and your family as long as you also care about others and take responsibility for your actions. Besides, it helped me understand that Joe's fear of losing his metrialism comfort (ww) overshadowed his inner compass and led to what he was afraid of in the first place - the ruin of his own family.  

Excellent!
(100)
Daphna

Writing Task No.4 - A Letter of Complaint

26 Gefen St.
Tel Aviv
58431
November 2, 2013

The Manager
Fashion Forward Ltd.
34 Menachem Begin St.
Tel Aviv
50324

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm a regular costumer at your store in the local mall of Tel Aviv, and I noticed the prices of multiple items were highly increased(phr.) during the last few weeks. As much as I love the products you are selling, I am truly disappointed by that unreasonable increase in the prices. 

As many of us know, buying fashionable clothes in high quality(phr.) and in affordable prices is not an easy task. It takes endless hours spent in the mall looking for the right pair of jeans or the suitable dress for a party. I like this kind of searches, because it makes me happy when I find what I was looking for. However, I'm even happier when I buy the item I wanted for a normal amount of money.

I love your store very much and I always find something I like in it, but recently I feel like I'm being cheated. A simple black dress that last week was sold at(ww.) 199.99 shekels is now sold at(ww.) 259.99 shekels. A pair of skinny jeans I bought from you last month at(ww.) 299.99 shekels is now sold at(ww.) 369.99 shekels, and the list of products continues. 

To sum up, I really hope you'll consider my complaint and do something to improve(ww.) the prices of items in your store, because if nothing can be done I'm sure you'll lose some major regular costumers like me, who can't afford shopping at your store anymore. Moreover, I recommend that you'll(מיותר) do a survey in which you'll ask your costumers what kind of prices they consider affordable, to prevent this kind of situation from happening again.

Yours sincerely, 

Clara Gray

Very good letter!But the grade remains the same.
(96)
Daphna 

Writing Assignment – p. 12 - Opinion Essay

Being involved in the community

No person in the world could survive alone, without being supported by any kind of society. In my opinion, donating(ww.-contributing) to the community should be a major subject in schools, so children would learn from (an) early age how significant that is. Therefore, it is of importance that schools  include a commutative activity every once in a while in their curriculum.

 In my high school, there is a mandatory program for all ninth and tenth grade students. They must volunteer in the local community for 60 hours a year in order to get their diploma at the end of each semester. They can choose where they would like to volunteer and when, from a specific list of places. For instance, students can choose to help younger students with difficulties in their homework, send packages of donated food to poor families during the holidays or volunteer at the animal shelter.

(If) Your school doesn't have this program but you still want to be more involved in your community, You can always volunteer in public organizations such as,  Magen David Adom, the local vigilante or the local firefighter's station. Another option is to take a(מיותר) part in a youth movement like the Scouts – where you can get involved in the community and even make new friends.

In conclusion, teenagers ought to be more involved in their community and care for the people around them. In order for that to happen schools should offer their students an option to help the community and encourage them to do so even in their free time. Just remember: if you are a significant part in the community, the community will be a part of you, too!
Very good work! Well done.
(100)
Daphna

All The Years Of Her Life – Post Reading

In the story "All the Years of Her Life" by Morley Callaghan, Alfred Higgins was caught red handed when he was stealing from his own workplace. When I was twelve, something like that had happened to me. Since then I have learned valuable lessons that are still very significant in my life.  

At the age of twelve I had a best friend called Danna, who was a friend of mine since kindergarten.  Danna and I did everything together: we were sitting(gr.) side by side at school, doing(gr.) homework together and even hanging(gr.) out after school hours. 

At the middle of the first semester, we were studying together to(ww.) a major Math exam – which I was good at but Danna wasn't. As her best friend, of course I was willing to help her get ready for the exam. But the problem was that I didn’t know at the time that Danna planned(gr.) that I would do(phr) the exam for her. 

We were sitting in her bedroom, going over some Math problems, when Danna offered the idea that she would copy my answers during the test, without our teacher noticing. 

At first, I hated the idea, but then she started to cry that her parents would be mad at her for not succeeding at the test and forbid our friendship, blaming it to be the cause(phr.) of her failure. So I agreed, and the result was that our teacher caught us red handed and took us in the middle of the test to the principal office. We explained to the principal what had happened and she punished the both of us that we would get an F on that test and do a lecture in class, telling them what we learned from the situation. 

When I got home my parents already knew about it, and they weren't as mad as I thought they would be. They just told me that they understood why I wanted to help Danna, but I shouldn't choose an immoral way to do so. They also talked with Danna's parents and agreed that Danna and I should talk about the issue so that such a thing wouldn't happen again. Luckily, it hasn't happened again, because I learned that cheating, even if done innocently, is a wrong and immoral thing.

Very good!But your grade remains the same
(95)
Daphna 

Being a Parent...

Being a parent isn't a child's game.
You need to be responsible
and don't expect any fame.
You have to be strict,
but also light,
You have to put boundaries,
but also be nice.
Being a parent isn't a child's game,
but the hardest part is
to let go of them. 

This is wonderful! You are quite a talent!
Daphna