Blog #3 The Book Thief

The character I chose to trace was Hans Hubberman.  Hans is a laid back, caring man who loves to smoke cigarrettes.  Hans and his wife Rosa took in Liesel after the death of her brother and her mother abandoning her even though they are not a strong, loving couple.  Throughout the book Hans displays trust, help, and love especially towards Liesel during her difficult times.  Hans would sit up late at night and comfort Liesel during her dreadful nightmares.  Hans begins to educate Liesel and teaches her how to read and learn the German language.  He also would help her out when his wife Rosa would get on her case and screaming profanity.  The two would always bond and spend time with each other by rolling cigarettes, reading and playing music.  Even tho Hans is a German he does not agree with the Nazi party or their tactics.  He is looked down upon for standing behind the Jews by not only the public but also his son.  With all of the stress in Hans' life he still finds a way to be someone's hero.  If you could look into his eyes you would see a good man in spirit.

Blog #2 Themes in Maus

Prisoner on the Hell Planet


The biggest theme that i noticed most when I was reading Maus was the comic Prisoner on the Hell Planet written by Artie.  As i flipped to page 100 in the book it immediately caught my eye and struck me as different than the regular storyline.  Instead of continuing to write in the same format, Spiegelman chose to illustrate differently to show the  emotional pain he felt caused by the suicide of his mother.  Spiegelman illustrates the characters as humans not as animals because is seems more graphic and real.  The illustrations are much darker with shading and all of the character's faces are detailed and close up.  The jail cells represent his guilt for blaming himself about his mother's suicide.  His actions and lack of care for his mother in his early years were displayed  so we can confirm this from within the scenes.  Spiegelman did a great job displaying the inner theme from his change in style in Prisoner on the Hell Planet.

Introducing Myself

Hi! My name is Simon Rice and I am a sophmore here at Shippensburg University. I am from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and graduated at Central Dauphin High School in 2009. I come from a large family and am very close with all of my siblings, and my pet goat Chester. I am a Geography-Land Use major because I am interested in the landscapes that surround our everyday lives. I received an athletic scholarship from the school to wrestle competitively in Division 2. I recorded the most falls on the team last season. I like to spend my free time out near the water fishing with my friends from home. I took this course because it was a general education course and I have yet to take an English course while attending Shippensburg University. The last book that I read was Hearing From God Each Morning which includes 365 daily devotions to read each day of the year. It gives me something to think about and relate to for the day and keeps me close in spirit with God. I like how our world today is made up of so many differents people who all have different personalities and customs. All kinds of races, ethnicities, and languages make up where we live and who we are today. I wished that every American citizen spoke English though. I expect to learn about how everyones customs and beliefs made up our world as we know it today over a long period of time.