TOW # 19: Day by Elie Wiesel (IRB Post)

The Holocaust is a topic everyone will come across at least once in his or her lifetime, but author Elie Wiesel actually lived through it. The third and final book of Wiesel’s Night Trilogy is titled Day.  Day is about life after living through one of the most devastating events in history. The book begins with the narrator being struck and drug by a taxi in Time Square and the plot only grows from there. Wiesel uses Day to display his search for the answer to his thought: will it ever be possible for a holocaust survivor to create a new life for himself or herself after experiencing an unforgettably haunting event?

The unique layout of the book constantly flips from him in the hospital after his accident to when he first met his girlfriend, Kathleen.  The organization of the book first came across as confusing, but the further engrossed I became in his work the more I understood his reasoning behind this creative style choice.  This layout allows Wiesel to express how life after the holocaust has been effecting in ever situation he encounters; whether that be in the hospital or on a silent walk with Kathleen.

Wiesel’s writing style makes the book impossible to put down. Day reads like a story; it has a captivating plot line, a daunting purpose, intriguing characters, and so much more. The way Wiesel writes is different from so many other writings out there today, which is one of the many reasons I find myself drawn to this trilogy. He takes the well-known topic of the holocaust and makes his readers realize how mystifying his life truly was before, during, and after the holocaust.

At this point, I am haft way done the book and the only answer I see to Wiesel’s question is that he is struggling to forget. He is also no longer scared of death or love. But how could anyone fuller recover from something as life changing as the holocaust?

TOW #18: The Lost Art of the Condolence Letter by Saul Austerlize (Article)

     Goodbye is one of the hardest words to say. The word goodbye can have many meanings that vary from a 'see you later' to 'until we meet again' to 'goodbye forever'. No one ever hopes that their goodbye is forever; but under some circumstances they are. After a death of a loved one or friend, goodbye is that last thing you wanted to say. In his article "The Lost Art of the Condolence Letter", Saul Austerlize writes about how condolence letters are becoming less and less common but should be required. At the beginning of his piece, Austerlize mentions a few losses he has been forced to deal with over the past few months.  He continues by addressing the condolence letter and explains his idea of what the true purpose of this letter is.  A condolence letter may be sent to love ones of the desisted but, as Austerlize states, a condolence letter is his way of “preserv[ing] something ephemeral, endangered. Emotions were pinned to the page like rare butterflies, no longer flapping around indiscriminately, glimpsed only as they fluttered off, but preserved for future study”.

         Austerlize intention of writing this article is to show his readers the true importance of a condolence letter; it is, in a way, a final goodbye. He uses his own personal experiences of writing condolence letters to show his readers his connections to the letters and why he finds them important.

         Rhetorical questions are another element used by Austerlize to support his purpose. During the process of writing a condolence letter after the loss of one of his close friends, he questions,  “How do you summarize a life? A friendship? What words can do justice to the entirety of a person?” These questions help Austerlize tweeze out the memories and transfer his final thoughts to paper.

         Austerlize states how “the letter is a lost art” that has been taken over by email and social media. But the words of a letter will last forever. The article made me understand the true importance of a condolence letter, not only for the dead but also for ones self. The letter is a way to say goodbye.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/the-lost-art-of-the-condolence-letter/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=opinion&_r=0

IRB Post 3: Day by Elie Wiesel

         After reading Night by Elie Wiesel last year in english class I have been planning to read the sequel, Day. In Night, Wiesel writes his recollections about life in the concentration camps in Germany during the reign of Nazism. The sequel to the book, Day, is about life after Wiesel's escape from the camps. I want to read Day to finally get the answer to my questions: What happened after Wiesel escaped? and What was life for Wiesel like after the Holocaust?  Night was my favorite out of the four core books we had to read last year and many have recommended the sequel to me. Also, I have always thought the Holocaust was an extremely interesting topic and Wiesel writes in a way that makes his books nearly impossible to but down. He makes his life seem like a story; and I can not wait to find out what will happen next in the never-ending saga that is Elie Wiesel's life.

TOW#17: NJ gives NFL Super Tax Break for Super Bowl, and Pays for Security By Ted Sherman (article)

For football fans everywhere the Super Bowl is the most important night of the football season. From finding out who won the fantasy football league to enjoying the game itself, the Super Bowl is a spectacular night for all. But preparing for this extravagant night of football takes time and money. This year the Super Bowl is being held in New Jersey. In the article “NJ gives NFL Super Tax Break for Super Bowl, and Pays for Security” by Ted Sherman, attention is moved from the two final teams to the eight million dollars being exempted from the NFL’s Super Bowl taxes. 

Sherman begins the article by stating that the NFL got an eight million dollar gift from New Jersey because of the major tax break given to the NFL from NJ. This hook grabs any avid sports enthuses and money interested reader attention. 

As the article continues, Sherman uses quotations from important people associated with the Super Bowl/ New Jersey tax exemption issue.  He quotes Christopher Santarelli, a spokesman from New Jersey’s Treasury Department: "One of the standard conditions that the NFL asks of all host communities for Super Bowls is to provide sales tax relief on the sale of tickets to the game and certain associated events as well as parking at those events," and how "New Jersey agreed to provide this tax relief to the NFL". Quotes like these and many others used in this piece helps Sherman achieve his purpose of informing his readers about the tax exemptions given to the NFL from the host state.

         In the end, Sherman again uses quotes to show how even though New Jersey has to pay eight million dollars towards taxes and security for this years’ Super Bowl. This eight million should be easily remade through hotels and other public, NJ owned facilities. "You give up $8 million, but look what you’re getting", said Mitchell Fillet, a professor at Fordham University. Sherman concludes his article with statics that show hoe many find it ridiculous that the NFL is exempted from paying certain taxes. It’s hard to believe that so much drama can erupt from one football game.

http://www.nj.com/super-bowl/index.ssf/2014/02/nj_gave_nfl_8_million_tax_break_and_pass_on_security_costs_to_land_the_2014_super_bowl.html