Reader's Journal Non-Fiction

#22                                                 Reader’s Journal                                      1/30/12

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            This week I read From A Name to A Number: A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography by Alter Wiener. The genre of this book is Autobiography. Autobiography is a subgenre, which falls under non-fiction; it is when a person writes a story about his or her life. In this case, Alter Wiener writes about his bitter experiences as a Holocaust survivor.

            A quote that really sparked me interest was located in the very beginning chapters of the book (kindle)

“In my view, it is very important to expose the causes of the Nazi crimes and ensure that such causes are readily recognizable. In that fashion, if the seeds of genocide ever begin to appear, they can be identified and eradicated before they ripen. Only then can we feel secure that genocide will never happen again. Hitler’s ideology and evil will have no future.”

I chose this quote because it is what really caught my attention. It gave me a true feeling, where the author spoke to my heart and showed me how important it really was to remember this tragedy of the past. Also, the significance of this quote is that it is the rising action of the book and that it informs readers the causes of forgetting the past.

            I used various strategies before, during and after reading this book. Before reading, I thought about all the information I already know from my background knowledge on the Holocaust and its causes. Also, because the vocabulary was a little challenging, I made sure this book was “Just Right” for me. While reading, I wrote and kept track of writing important information on my sticky notes, in order to do my readers journal. Also, I created mental images in my head during some parts of the book so that I had a great visualization to what I was reading. After reading, I compare and contrasted the books information with things I already knew about the topic. Also, I gathered information about all the literary elements in my mind to complete my reader’s journal and better understand the book.

            The topic of this book is on a Holocaust Survivor and the main idea is stated, for those who understand the meaning of the title: “From A Name to A Number: A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography”. By reading the title of the book, I can immediately configure that it focuses on a Holocaust survivor’s story. Three supporting details I found that support the main idea are: “A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography”,” The sole purpose of writing my autobiography is to share with the readers my bitter experiences which I hope that in so doing will help them to understand the scope of what had happened during the Holocaust”, “Every Holocaust survivor has a story. I have a deep sense of having a mission to share my life story.”

Even though it wouldn’t be necessary to change the title of the book, another title I would give it is: “A Tragedy That Must Never Be Forgotten.” I would give it this title because I think it really would get others attentions on wondering what the tragedy is. Also, even though it does not mention that it is on the holocaust or an autobiography, it summarizes what Alter and others believe in and want to accomplish.

            The essential message of the book is to combat racism and prejudice whenever it appears, and with whomever it threatens. The cause and effect of this book is that if you and others always remember the holocaust and what it has done, the effect would be on it never happening again. A compare and contrast relationship I was able to make is between Alter Wiener and myself. We both are Jewish, and believe in the ending of racism and prejudice. Also, we will both never forget about the holocaust and what it has caused. Alter Wiener and I are different because he has survived and been through the holocaust, and I have not.

            I was able to identify five different text features in the book, and their impact on the text. They were:

-The title and headings, which gave the reader a hint on what the topic is.

-The subtitles explained the main ideas.

-The quotations helped me view what other people said, from their perspectives.

-The table of contents helped me locate chapters in the book, while seeing their title and how long each chapter is.

- Italicized and bold words helped me track down important and useful lines in the text.

The author’s purpose is to share with readers his personal bitter experiences in the holocaust. The author’s perspective is subjective and biased because the author gives many of his personal opinions and beliefs in the text. The point of view is written in first person because the author uses words like: I, my, etc. unfortunately, I was not able to find the exact pattern of organization of this book, however, so far, it is cause and effect.

Sadly, this book did not have any figurative language because it just shared the author’s experiences in a very accurate way.

While reading, I was able to identify five new vocabulary words and their meanings, which are:

-Archival: a collection of historical documents.

The sentence is: “As the holocaust moves from a living memory into the archival past” .I identified this word by using context clue number five.

-Ideologists: many ideas.

The sentence is: “However, political and racial conflicts, religious fundamentals, and fanatical ideologists lead to a global crematorium.” I identified this word by using context clue number five.

-Perilous: danger/risk.

The sentence is: “We are living in a time when a perilous situation may turn catastrophic and engulf all of us.” I identified this word by using context clue number five.

-Endeavor: try hard to do something.

The sentence is: “I have seen that man’s genius is not limited to reaching new heights in every human endeavor.” I identified this word by using context clue number five.

-Intrinsic: belonging naturally, essential

The sentence is: “The Holocaust legacy has an intrinsic value as a warning for the future.” Just like all other words, I identified this word by using context clue number five.

        A source I used to check the validity and accuracy was: My background knowledge on the holocaust.

            While reading, I was able to make many connections. A text-to-self connection I made with the book was that both Alter Wiener and myself are Jewish and would try our very best to spread the word on what happened in the holocaust. Another connection I was able to make was a text-to-text connection. I can relate this book to any other Holocaust related novel because they are all set on the same topic and setting. The last connection I made was to the world. I can relate this book to the world because even though there are still many holocaust survivors, people all around the world still forget or never believed that this event happened in the past and for this reason, it is mandatory for everyone to spread the word about the existence of this event.

            All in all, even though I didn’t completely finish this book, it was amazing! So far, I rate it a ten out of ten because I had no negative thoughts while reading and was interested in being spoken to by the author throughout the entire time! I recommend it to everyone and anyone of all ages, especially to the people who don’t really believe on the Holocausts existence.

            Love,

Joelle Ben-Nissan