Character Description

Kim Possible has long amber hair scraped into a tight ponytail, with piercing teal eyes that never lose contact. Although small figured, she’s stronger than a bear. She’s tough when she has to be, everyone thinks she’s amazing, but don’t see the insecurities she hides. Her smiles brighter than the sun, and has a frown that looks forced. Working in the police force was never her dream, fame and makeup was her fantasy; never being able to pursue it, because of her mistake. 13 years with the force, police chief in 5 years.

She was a teen mum. An accident? Maybe, but Kim would never say that to anyone, not even her husband. Lies upon lies came with this. ‘We had been planning this! Don’t you remember?’ ‘I thought I told you, we wanted these amazing kids…’, all lies. Lying about wanting her kids took a toll on Kim, feeling like an outlaw was normal by now. Although the lies in she tells run in her veins, her family is the only thing she cares about; her beautiful children glow before her eyes.

Cooking for them 24/7, amazing dishes brew in her kitchen; loving the fact she can make beautiful, delicious meals for her family. The leftovers, go down to the homeless, and the orphans. Children bullying for more food, no one gets any; bullies hurt Kim’s heart, the way people can treat each other is horrid. Crimes spreading through everywhere, each alleyway has crooks, each bank get robbed; crime is spreading like wildfire.

Kim’s worst fear of all… Her husband. Mean, strict, treats everyone with disrespect. Fearing your husband is one thing nobody wishes for; Kim, she wants him in jail, but what proof does she have except her words against his? None, no proof of anything. He stomps around like everyone is dirt underneath his feet. No physical abuse, just verbal. The way everything was playing out, Kim felt prisoner in her own home. Her husband’s appearance looks innocent on first glance, he will never be innocent. Many layers lie on this man, moods in between each.

Wanderer

The rock dug into my back, making my hidden eyes wince. The staff I acquired was heavy, gripping firmly, I was about to give in. My hands were bloody, I wanted to quit; breaking every rule I know was getting to my head. My brain was sharply throbbing with thoughts. Do I quit? Do I stay? Do I sit here in the mist? The mist was gathering up, all I saw was grey. Seeping into my cloak, I breathed in the smog. Forcefully I ripped my cloak off; the staff falling from my grip. I scream like I've seen my family lying dead. I threw my body up and captured it. Sitting back down on the rock, I said no words, my breathing was silent; just as you see me now, in a picture frame on the wall.

Bad Pets or Bad Owners? (Speech)

Bad Pets or Bad Owners?

If you were in a park, and saw an animal (specifically somebody's pet) attacking someone, what would you do? Blame the pet? Would you change your answer if you knew the animal wasn’t trained, and the owner wasn’t paying attention? People jump to conclusions without knowing the complete story, it happens a lot with animals attacking people. Some think that it’s the pets fault, for not cooperating with the owners attempt to train them. Some think it’s the owners fault, for not paying attention to the animal after many attempts to train them. Sometimes people get pets without knowing the responsibilities and how to train them; some get them without knowing how to cope with it.

I believe it’s the owners fault, and I have some reasons share:

In some circumstances, it’s the owners fault for getting an animal as a pet. People with something called “hoarding disorder” tend to not be able to care for the animal well; with all the items the “hoarder” collected, the pet gets lost and forgotten. People with this disorder, shouldn’t get pets until they’re properly treated. If they get many pets while still under the diagnosis, there is a small possibility that they can become pet hoarders, which I’ll get into soon. Animals who are living in these environments, are neglected; causing the animal to perish.

So let me give you some details about “pet hoarders” and how they mistreat animals. Pet hoarders hoard many pets, because they think they have the skills necessary to care for the animal, when they don’t. Some think they’ll be the perfect pet owner, because they love animals with all their heart; thinking the animal will live, with love, food and water. Pet hoarders keep animals in large quantities, thinking the animal will keep them company and give them love. Almost 250,000 animals are victims of pet hoarding each year, the main victim: Cats. “Cat hoarders” are usually women, in fact, 72% of pet hoarders are woman. Usually the owner has too many animals to give them proper care; with dogs, they won’t get proper exercise.

Hoarders aren’t the only people who are abusive owners. If the owner is abusive, it’s clearly their fault. Some children even abusive animals physically; just to copy their parents. Animal abusers may have a reason, but most the time don’t. Do you ever think there’s a good reason to abuse animals? I think the only good situations to “abuse” animals is in training, or as discipline. Some abusers take to so far, by killing the animal; sometimes, they have to be put down, because the owner did to much to them. By hurting the animal, they're hurting their reputation. Abusive owners don’t just have to hit their pets, they can ignore them, starve them, etc… Some countries have laws about how animals are treated; in America, 46 states charge animal abuse with, misdemeanor offence.

I think most of the time, it’s the owners fault, and people look right through it; when do you think it’s ever the pets fault? You might say it's the pets fault if you saw them jumping on someone; what if that person was teasing the animal? Would you still blame the pet? People blame the pet, saying they needed to cooperate with the owner; sometimes they don’t know what happens to the pet. In the US, 1.5 million animals are euthanized each year; some diseases, some not. Shelters find abused and abandoned animals, some efforts for the animal to get a new life work, some not. Owners can abuse animals, they shouldn’t. Some people try their best to stop them, why can’t we help?

Venn Diagram - Comparing books.

Comparing books.

Once + Then = Comparing!

Way this will work: I will describe what happens in both books, (That is important), then I’ll do the comparing!

Once - Felix leaves the orphanage to find his parents. He instead finds a burning house, dead chickens, 2 dead bodies, and a little girl. Zelda. They hide in a haystack from Nazis; It didn’t do much, they were caught. Walking for a day without food, water, or rest. Making their way into the city, they Nazis and locals are being horrible. Felix thinks its unfair, doing this to Jewish booksellers! They’ve had enough pain, those poor Jewish booksellers! Felix looks for his Mum and Dad, sees people getting shot, kids going onto buses. Everything is horrible. Zelda gets gun pointed at her head, man saves her, Barney. Felix gets knocked out, and Barney takes Zelda and him to a cellar. Felix wakes up, Zelda and 7 other kids are playing in the dark. Barney helps Felix, everything is fine. Felix helps Barney get, all lies, Barney is a dentist. Felix tells stories to stop the pain. Nazi officer likes the story so much, Felix writes it down so the officer can tell his kids. The cellar is found, train ride! A piece of wood on the side of the train is loose, so some of the older men kick it down. The train has a gap in the side of it, so some men jumped off the train. There are snipers on the roof of the train. The men escape into the woods. Felix wants to go with them, nobody else does; Until he convinces them to go with him, of course! They jump out. The guns fire, Chaya is hit. (Don’t know about the others…) Zelda and Felix sit under a tree.

F = Felix  Z= Zelda  C = Cyryl  G = Genia  Gab = Gabriek  

Then - F and Z are climbing up the hill, stopping and ducking after the Nazi trains pass. Chaya is buried. F tells stories of a chef, with amazing breakfast! YUM! They come across a mini cave, kids inside. They’re dead. F tries to stop Z from seeing. Too late. The blood comes down their faces. In a pile of death, laughter is heard; Down the hill. Nazis are still around, they hear Z screaming. The sight is too much for her. F and Z hide under long grass, old leaves, and mud. The Nazis pass. They met a guy in a cart. Turnips, first food in a day. They trust the man, until… A boy, in the cart, bleeding. Hidden under the turnips. They jump from the cart. Old man cart driver swears at them. Coming across an angry farmer, they fear. Thrown in her barn, they hide in the straw. Food and water is brought in. A pig eats with them. The Nazis come in, the farmer stops them for finding F and Z. The Nazis leave, the farmer lets F and Z live with her. Her name is Genia (Or G… Blah blah) They live happily. Bath time, bleach blonde hair, fake names, Violetta, Wilhelm. F can not pull his pants down in front of people because of his skin. His foreskin was taken off.  F and Z were taken into town. They aren’t allowed to act Jewish. Felix makes f.r.i.e.n.d.s with a Nazi Youth boy. Z and G go and get F a present on his new birthday! G’s husband Gab comes back, but she never sees him. Z and G get hung while getting the present, F hides from Nazis in a hole for 11 months, while Gab is his caretaker.

Comparisons

The ends - The end in both books is kind of the same, they sit/stand in a place as the book finishes. The first book, sitting under a tree, second book, standing in a dirt hole. So similar.

Characters - The characters are kind of similar in ways. The introduction for Zelda and Genia is decently similar; Mad, annoying, rude. Then, they’re both loveable, and dead… (Not the best example…)

Settings - The settings in the books are similar… Kind of… In ‘Once’ Felix finds a river in the forest to follow to his home town. In ‘Then’ Felix finds a river thanks to Nazis while rabbit hunting in the woods.

Places - ‘Once’ is the book where we have the FIRST orphanage, there’s an orphanage in ‘Then’ too. The first orphanage is where Felix stayed. The next is where Dov stayed.

Differences

Side Characters - In ‘Once’ the side characters are all Jewish people, dying slowly. Sad. In ‘Then’ MOST of the side characters are happy living their lives as Polish people!

Storylines - The storylines have a huge difference, DUH. ‘Once’ starts in an orphanage, Felix trying to find his parents. Ending up on his way to a camp. ‘Then’ starts with dodging machine gun Nazis on a train roof, then ending with Felix in a dirt hole, sad that Zelda’s gone. The storylines will always be different.

Settings - Sure the settings are similar in places in the 2 books, but it is different. By the time Felix and Zelda are happy in a farm, last book they were probably still walking, maybe just at the city, or just getting to the cellar. The settings are very different.

Feelings - In ‘Once’ feelings were usually, sad like “Life is unfair”.  ‘Then’ is happy, like “Life is worth it!” Until… Things happen…

Ideas - Felix’s ideas are pretty dumb in ‘Once’. “If my parents aren’t here… They’ll be in the city! I need to go there! To save JEWISH BOOKSELLERS…” I mean sure, that was for the parents. But… Jewish booksellers are the only ones being killed?! And make up your mind, are you 10 or 12! (Going off track) Anyway, Felix’s ideas are a lot better in ‘Then’. (In Once everyone though he was 12, but in Then he’s 10?! And had his 11th birthday?!)

Families - The difference in Felix and Zelda’s family is a lot different between books. ‘Once’, Felix and Zelda walked around, Barney was with them; The other kids. Then, their all gone. ‘Then’, Felix and Zelda meet a farmer, she’s all alone; Her husband with the Nazis. When he comes back, she never sees him. Zelda never sees Felix again. The family falls apart...

More Comparisons

Feelings - In ‘Once’ the feelings are mostly sadness, then happiness when Barney comes around; Then sadness when they jump off the train, watching Chaya get shot. In ‘Then’ feelings are the same. Sadness, while walking around, happiness with their time with Genia, sadness when Genia and Zelda die. The feelings are the same, in the same order.

Orphanages - The orphanages are pretty similar. In the first book, Felix escapes to find his family; In the second book, Felix tries to blow up the old orphanage the Nazis took over, angry because they killed Zelda and Genia. Leaving the orphanage last minute so he won’t die. Both escapes have to do with family, loss and fear.

Poppy Poem.

Poppy Poem

Soldiers Marching, guns firing,

People screaming, sadness arrives,

Dead are remembered, lives are lost,

Poppies bloom; Red as blood.

Guns stop firing,

Soldiers retreat,

Bloodbath over; For now at least.

By Renée

Visual Mihimihi

This is my visual mihimihi.

The flags represent my culture and where my family comes from.

Which is Denmark, where both my parents originate from.

The place that’s important to me is Kapiti Island.

It’s special to my family because, when we moved here, we have always wanted to go there. So one day we hope to.

The koru represents my family. The two big ones are my parents, and my brothers and sister are there too.

-Renee