Disaster Strikes

What happened next....

Lizzy continued telling Karl and his mother her story. According to her story, days went by and Marlene became part of the family in no time. Karli became her friend a lot faster than Lizzy since she was afraid and it took her longer to get used to Marlene living with them. Karli also became more popular at school since everyone now wondered about Marlene, they called him the "elephant boy". I'm sorry if I forgot to tell you before, but Karli was born with one leg shorter than the other one, which is why he used to limp a lot. This is why he was often bullied and bothered at school by his classmates and sadly had no friends because of this too. Everyone in the neighborhood now talked about Marlene with fascination and amazement. But just as there were people who liked Marlene living in the neighborhood, there were others who didn't like it at all since they though it wasn't safe. But this didn't make Mutti regret her decision or feel bad, she was always headstrong and didn't care what others thought. Days went on calmly and as they usually went by. Their father was still at war and Mutti still worked at the zoo. But the winter days started becoming colder and colder and the war started becoming worse too. Lizzy's 16th birthday came one day and since it was war time, big presents and parties couldn't be done, so Mutti made Lizzy's favorite potato soup and they ate it together. They enjoyed the night by remembering memories of Lizzy's chldhood and took Marlene out for a walk. The air was really cold and snow was falling, Marlene was calm as usual until she saw a dog. The dog started growling at her and Marlene started feeling angry. She couldnt hold it anymore and ran away from Mutti's  side to chase the dog. But just as this happened, air raid sirens started ringing and Mutti decided they were looking for Marlene later, security was a priority. The bombs started falling in Dresden as they made their way out of the city. They ran and ran till they got to a hill which was supposed to take them to the countryside. There, along with many other people who made their way out, saw the destruction of their beloved city. Marlene was nowhere in sight, but when hope of seeing her was almost lost, Marlene appeared behind Mutti! Somehow she managed to find her family again. With Marlene by their side and the family being complete, they started making their journey to Aunt Lotti and Uncle Manfred's farmhouse. The last time they went was years ago since the family had a huge fight. But Mutti knew that at times like these, Aunt Lotti and Uncle Manfred would understand. The journey was long since they had to walk through the forest in order to get there faster than the rest who were making their way through the road. Food was scarce and the cold was unbearable. They walked for two days until they got to the farm. Memories came back to Lizzy's mind as he saw the house, and the lake, and the treehouse.


Just thinking and thinking....

" Marlene, we soon discovered, had made Karli and me famous overnight. I remember how important it made me feel to be surrounded by a crowd of admirers. It wasn't a feeling I had experienced that much before, and I liked it. And I could see, in playtime, that Karli was also enjoying the limelight as much as I was....No one called him "Pegleg" anymore, I noticed. He was " Elephant Boy" now and that was fine by him." ( Morpurgo, 59).

Even though Marlene brought Lizzy and Karli more friends, It made them start having the wrong ideas about friendship. Friendship isn't obtained through objects, or amazing stories. Friends are obtained through experience and by getting to know other people better. For example, Karli must be feeling much better since they don't call him "Pegleg" anymore, but it is just because of Marlene. We should treat everyone with respect no matter what and we should also acknowledge the positive side of everyone, since we all have one. Probably, if those bullies, had gotten to know Karli better, they would've  never judged him by his appearance or physical problem. But that is the problem, now, we have started think that materials and physical things, appearance, economic status and more,  are what make us who we are. But I have to say that's absolutely not true. The sad part is though, that only a few people think this way.

"We let our eyes do most of the talking, I remembered. We stood there, with the snow coming down around us, each of us knowing, I was sure of it, that we were making a friend for life. I did sense in her eyes the depth of the grief she was still suffering after the loss of her mother. And without my ever saying anything, I knew she understood all my own fears, about Papi, about the bombers that might come any day now, about the war."( Morpurgo,64).

In this quote we can see how even though Lizzy is afraid of Marlene and that a  distance exists between them, they have a very special connection. They both have fears and things to be sad about. Marlene in her way, which was the loss of her mother, and Lizzy in hers. Here is where we can also realize what Lizzy's biggest fear is, which is loosing her father at the war and the bombings. Another special trait, that they also share, is that they can sense each other's fears and thoughts. This is the part when we realize that Marlene and Lizzy will always be friends.


Ending...

These last chapters have been really important for us to start guessing what will happen next. Sadly, these chapters don't end in a way in which we would like since one of Lizzy's biggest fears comes true. They loose everything, including friends and people who they knew all their lives. But life goes on and we should adapt to it in the best way we can. My prediction for the next chapters is that in the farmhouse they will find Aunt Lotti and Uncle Manfred and everything will be alright between them. I also think that Lizzy and Marlene's bonds will start growing stronger and more connections will appear between them. In this chapter I learned that we should be strong and remain hopeful in the most darkest and hardest times, because just as I said before, life goes on and we have to move on too. So far I am enjoying this book a lot and I really look forward to keep on reading!

An Elephant in the Garden

Long time no see....

Its been a long time since the last time I wrote. This time I decided that I wanted to read a book based on historical fiction, which is another favorite genre of mine. The book I am starting to read is called An Elephant in the Garden written by Michael Morpurgo. The story is narrated by a woman who works as a nurse in a house for the old and it is also narrated by the old lady who is being taken care by her. The nurse is a single mother who lives with her son Karl in England, Karl goes with her often to the house of the old in which she works in. There is where he and her mother meet an old lady called Lizzy who is willing to tell them an unusual story of her past. It is about an elephant who used to live in her backyard when she was 16. At the beginning, Karl's mother didn't believe her but Karl always did. He and Lizzy had a special connection, since he reminded her of her little brother Karli. One snowy winter day Lizzy asked for the date, and the nurse told her it was February the 13th. She was suddenly surprised and it seemed to Karl and his mother that this was a special day for her. Lizzy decided that this was a good day to start telling them her story, and how this day changed her life forever. According to her story, when she was little, they used to live in a joyful environment with their mom, whom she and her brother called Mutti, and her dad who was called by them Papi. She was born in a city on Germany called Dresden in 1929. Her childhood was a lovely one, being spent around family and friends. But time started passing and the war started approaching. It started to influence their family since her parents got in a terrible fight about who was in which side of the war with their close relatives. Later, her dad had to go become part of the army and fight in battlefields in France. She said that every time his dad came home to visit, he looked more and more depressed and weak. She started realizing that nothing was the same as before and that things were starting to change. With her father at war, her mother had to help the family and got a job at a local zoo. There, she became really close to an elefant who she called Marlene. Her mother and the elefant became really atached and loved each other. But bad news came one day, the animals were going to be shot in case of a bombing happening in the future. Her mother couldn't stand the thought of her beloved elephant being shot, so she brought Marlene to her garden and promised to keep her safe and make her part of the family.

Thinking and thinking.....

" I think I've always had a strong sense of justice, of fair play, of what is right and what is wrong." ( Morpurgo, 23)

In this quote Lizzy is showing one of the biggest aspects of her personality which is her good moral values. This quote represents how she feels about the war too since she is ( in the book's time) actually living in a time of war. She does feel that there's much injustice and wrong stuff going on in the world, no one is happy and no one is satisfied. This is a very special and important trait since not many people have it, and some even if they do,  forget about the values they have been taught since they were little children just to please others or to not feel rejected. In my opinion, this is a very important aspect and value that is essential in everyone's lives, although each time there is less and less people who really appreciate and use their values in their everyday lives. I personally have to say that I can connect to Lizzy through this because I share these values as well, and I am sure that nothing or no one will ever make me change my values for something else.

" I cannot remember much about yesterday, nor even what I had for breakfast this morning. But I promise you I can remember just how it was when I was young  I remember the important things, the things that matter . It is as if I wrote them down in my mind, so that I should not forget " ( Morpurgo, 16)


What this quote is trying to tell us is that childhood is never forgotten. Lizzy is expressing this by explaining how she doesn't remember what she has done in the day compared to the way in which she remembers her youth. Childhood is never forgotten, since it is the time in which all of us were innocent and where we took our first steps that led us to the path in which we are walking right now. They are our golden years and time. Lizzy had a happy childhood which she enjoyed. But the war later brought many changes that were hard to accept and understand. These times of change were also easily remembered by her since they shaped the way in which she saw the world. Also, the nostalgia that those memories usually bring is inmense and always brings memories back automatically. I personally believe that the things that really matter and that made us who we are, are not forgotten easily.

To Conclude....

In conclusion, I am really enjoying this book by Michael Morpurgo. I like his style of writing which is really descriptive and full of details; which in my opinion is the best way to draw the reader's attention and transport him/her to the story. I have to say that I enjoy reading historical fiction since it is a way of learning about different events that happened in history, but with some imagination added to it. I really love to study and read anything about past events, people , etc. I consider history as an  essential tool for us to understand our actual and modern world. My prediction for the following chapters is that Lizzy will definitely continue to tell Karli and her mom her story; for the story specifically, my prediction is that Dresden will be bombed at some point and they will have to face a difficult decision about what to do with Marlene. I am excited to keep reading the book and discovering more about Lizzy's story, which if I didn't tell you before is based on a real story that happened during World War II.