The other day, we read
The Bear That Wasn't by Frank Tashlin. Please share with the class your thoughts about the story and/or the class discussion about it. Remember, you want to write at least a paragraph for full credit. You have 24 hours to complete the assignment. The time starts at the end of class. If you were absent on the day of the reading or film - your comment will be that you were absent. Mr. Gallagher
31 comments:
The short story "The Bear That Wasn't" was very intereting to me. It is very saddening to me that the nazi's in Germany treated the Jews poorly just like the bear was treated poorly. The leaders made the bear work because of the judgements that they made about him. It was also surprising to me that none of the other bears in the circus or in the zoo recognized him. Overall, this story caught my attention and i am very excited to learn about the Holocaust.
While reading the story “The Bear That Wasn’t” was a very interesting book. It seemed to be a small child’s book that we were reading. At first I didn’t understand why we were reading this book, but as we continued to the end I began to see how everyone was treating the bear as if he wasn’t a bear. I saw how the people who told him he wasn’t a bear affected him. The people telling him he wasn’t a bear including the bears in the circus pushed the bear to believe what they thought was right. Reading this has set the tone for this class and I am eager to see more.
This short story we read was pretty interesting, but I think it was a bit overkill for the point. I understand the message, but of course I am under the assumption that most young people in my generation would have grown up with this message. I found it interesting that Mr. G then related this exercise to Hitler’s youth. Aspiring to belong in one community is not the same as conforming to a terrible regime in which many innocents died. One could even relate this to immigration to America. A nation is just a very large community no matter how diverse it is. Is it considered the same theory if people want to belong to the American community instead of their own? Does that make them one and the same with Hitler’s youth? I know that seems extreme, but that is what the comparison is. These are just my thoughts on this story. But overall it is a good story for teaching this principle.
The short story we read in class had a very powerful underlying message that everyone should learn and follow. One should always stay true to oneself and to one’s values, even if that means a whole group is against you. Do not give into what people want you to, just to feel included because they might not be the correct ones in the situation. I for one already have learned this lesson and know the right thing to do in any situation is to be who you are and believe in yourself. I wouldn't change myself to fit in. Reading this helped me understand why kids would join the Hitler youth at the time and it was because that was the thing everyone was doing at the time and just like now everyone wanted to fit in. Its sad some people can lose theirself so quickly just to feel like they belong.
Jackson Venditti
The story "The Bear That Wasn't" was really interesting. The message in the story was really powerful, because it showed me how easy to conform to any group so we fit in.It was amazing to see the bear change his thought process about his identity. It showed me how powerful outside influences can be on people and their decision making. Overall this story really stuck in my head all day thinking about myself and my decisions
The story "The Bear That Wasn't" was very interesting to me. Its message really stuck with me all day and really made me think about what decisions i make through the course of the day and if they are right or not.The bear was told so many times by everyone that he wasn't a bear so he finally let it sink in that he wasn't bear so he could fit in. It made me ask a lot of questions about myself. This story may be a children's story but it has a very powerful message that it tells.
I found the story "The Bear that Wasn't" eye opening. Honestly until the end of the class discussion I wasn't really sure how the story related to history, bullies, or bystanders. When answering the discussion questions every group answered the same way. We all said that nobody wants to be on that outside. This really made me think about why some of the Nazi youths must have been going through. If they agreed to join they would be part of a genocide. But if they decline they wouldn't be part of the group
"The Bear That Wasn't" is a story of a bear who was convinced to lose his identity. In the end, the bear was unhappy. Similarly,99% of the Hitler Youth were converted from innocent school children to stereotypical murderers. Both stories follow the same theme: Belonging to a group is not always the best option. In fact, many of the most successful and powerful people followed their own intuition. Take Hitler for example. Although he was a terrible man, his power was a result of him being an individual, not a follower. It is safe to say that MOST people who change the world are the ones who think different. Those who follow the paths of others end up being ordinary people and those who recognize who they are/follow their OWN beliefs experience the most success.
I found the short story "The Bear That Wasn't" very interesting. At first it confused me as to why we were reading something that appeared to be a children's novel. Then it dawned on me- the reason that the bear began to believe that he was actually just a silly man is the same reason that people are willing to go against what they believe to be moral or right in order to fit in with the majority. It really made me think, especially when Mr. Gallagher brought up in class that the reasoning behind the bear's actions were the same as the reasoning behind kids joining Hitler Youth. It made a lot more sense to me after reading this book why people might have followed the nazi rule even when, in their hearts, they knew what Hitler was doing was morally corrupt.
When Mr. Gallagher passed out The Bear That Wasn't, I was wondering why a class full of high school Juniors and Seniors would be reading a children's book. Once we finished the book I then realized from the discussion questions that the reason we read this was because of the meaning of the book, that we as humans will do almost anything to fit in, even if it means going against what we believe in. In this case the bear believed what the factory officials, presidents etc. told him, that he was not a bear, but a man with a fur coat who needed to shave. I really was amazed when Mr. Gallagher said "From all of your answers to the discussion question, you all would have joined the Hitler Youth even though you know it is morally wrong." I never realized the human need to fit in as much as I did after this lesson.
The short story "the bear that wasn't" to be was all about acceptance. The bear was told numeorus times by different people that he was not a bear but a man who needed to shave and wore a fur coat. As the bear went to each person and was told the same thing over and over he soon started to believe I himself. This shows that a group of people have such power that they can influence one person to believe anything the group wants the individual to think. The bear wanted to be accepted but he couldn't unless he accepted what the group wanted him to. In human society people will do almost anything or acceptance.
The Bear that Wasn't immediately strikes the reader as a unique title. You can wonder what in this small children's book allows for such a confusing title. After reading the whole story you see that there is a much larger deeper meaning behind the story. Throughout history, as Mr. Gallagher pointed out, even in the holocaust, these morals were true and unfortunately used very often. I think that the book does a fantastic job of combining the simplicity and comedy of a children's book, and the deeper meaning of large morals to live by. The bear learns in the end to accept himself for who he knows he is even though he has been convinced otherwise by everybody he sees. This book overall is such a great beginning for this class because it seems to give a simple insight into the main ideas of this complex class.
While reading "The Bear that Wasn't" in class, at first I thought it was an average children's book. As we continued reading it, it soon became apparent that there was an underlying message in the book. In my opinion the book was trying to show how even when someone knows something to be true about themselves, a group of others can persuade them to think otherwise. Not only did the group of factory workers convince the bear he wasn't a bear, but also that he was a factory worker. In this book it just seems like a funny story about a bear not knowing where he belongs, but the deeper message is that some people can be convinced to do that they know is not right, simply because someone in power says so. This is not the way it should be, people should make their own opinions and decisions for themselves.
When first reading "The Bear that Wasn't" I wasn't sure what to expect, and why the class was reading the story. When we got to the end I understood the message that was trying to be told. I think that a lot of people can relate to this story. People are extremely caught up in what everyone is "supposed" to be doing and they don't think to themselves that maybe someone could do something different for once. This bear was out of place and therefore people thought he was a person and he should be working in the factory. He wasn't with the other bears, he was now being associated with people so the bears also thought he was a person. Mr Gallagher said that the factory also grew larger and larger gaining more power, just like the nazi's. When a group gains more power its hard to go against what they are doing.
Personally, I thought that the book wasn’t very interesting. I thought it was more suited for children to read it, however, the message still had a big meaning. Towards the end, when everyone kept shutting the bear down, I started to see the message better. I realized how easy it is for someone to start changing who they are just to fit in. It made me mad that Hitler targeted the youth knowing that they would believe in him and other kids would follow along which made me hate Hitler even more than I do know realizing how easy it is for people to change to fit in.
The story "The Bear That Wasn't" was a extremely sad story. I found it to be sad, because the story displays how people are willing to conform to what society desires them to be. The bear was fully aware that he was not a silly man that needed to shave, however, he let others influence his thought process, which resulted in the bear losing his identity. Eventually the bear came to realize that acting like something he wasn't would lead to his demise. It is horrible that people in our society are willing to do anything to fit in. Overall, I found this to be an influential story and I am eager to see how other people chose to either conform or stay true to who they are throughout the Holocaust.
The book “The Bear That Wasn’t” sends a message through children’s eyes about losing your identity. This issue of losing your identity was also apparent during the holocaust for Jews. For this reason I found it very interesting. In the story the bear is pushed by everyone around him to believe he is someone he’s not because they have a tunneled vision of who bears are. The reason Jews lost their identity is because people who also had tunnel vision took it away from them. The Nazis had tunnel vision towards what society must be like, but the Nazis and the other tunnel-visioned people in “The Bear That Wasn’t” are one in the same. I believe this is a good teaching tool for both adults and children.
After reading the bear that wasn't, I looked at life differently. I thought about the dangers that can come from the human desire to be accepted by others. Conformity can be harmful to others in certain circumstances such as the one that we discussed in class with nazi germany. It made me think about what I would've have done if I was a part of the nazi germany adolescence. Conformity can be a dangerous thing and should be thought twice about.
Reading the story "The Bear that Wasn't" was truly not how I expected. When the book was passed out I didn't expect the meaning to be as important as it was from looking at the cover. As we discussed the book in class I realized how much the moral of the story represented our society. No one really seems to be comfortable with staying true to themselves and what they believe in today. When others don't agree with our believes or thoughts we try to be the same because no one likes to be different. Although the book was set up to be a child's book it definitely had a deeper meaning and was very interesting.
Brian Pu Ruiz Said....
when I read " The Bear That Wasn't", I though to myself that the story is not so different from my own social environment. The "Bear" was in a setting that had one principle in mind that "we protect our own in our environment." Mr. Gallagher brought to me this idea of if your in our circle "we will protect you", but if you "are not in our circle or look like us, the you are on your own." The Book deals with the same philosophy as the bear is trying to justify that he's a bear not a human to the animals that look like him. The bears in the zoo and circus view the bear as a human because he has never interacted with them and there for is not a bear. So the supervisor convince the bear the he's one of there own. I connect this trail to my own environment. In Westborough I have seen how the kids who play sports are born to their environment of playing sports. I see as legacy after legacy passing through the halls of WHS and the family friends and family of the legacy form an alliance. The alliance of only socializing with their own bounded friendship of kids, social class, economic status, heritage, color, and neighbor. Theses elements are parallels i draw from the book to my own environment and country. The bear was there prior to the construction of the factory. So he was protected by the nature which he was born into. I give the example of an inner city African-American kid moving to a suburb town where the race ratio is 1:1000. So for every one black person there are 1000 white individuals. If this kid tries to penetrate one of the exclusive social groups; he would have an easier change on winning the lottery. If the black individual tries to marry in to the white social group; both parties will look shameful. The white society would try to prevent the marriage because they justify the actions reasonable. Because the girl or boy is white the way legacy has been established "you should marry white", and you should never break tradition. The Bear That Wasn't opened my eyes to see how different cliques and groups in my and our society function. The world is "The Bear Wasn't."
The book The Bear That Wasn't was an interesting concept in that it took, what appeared to be a children's book and made it applicable to people of any age. The meaning was very interesting in that it pointed out the mostly unseen part of the holocaust which was the stripping away of the Jews and non-Arian’s identities. Although not nearly as gruesome or horrendous as gassings and murder it was a psychological warfare which striped a people's will to fight which is truly horrific. It was also interesting how the book pointed out the flaws in human nature and our need to belong to a group and how much it will change in our personalities. Even with this I believe there is a difference between what the average person does to belong and what occurred in Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan as there is a huge difference between speaking differently or acting differently and killing human beings. I think that no matter how much you are told that it is okay and acceptable, even encouraged, I think that people have a moral compass which would tell them that something in the situation is wrong.
"The Bear That Wasn't" was a very interesting read. The message of the story became clearer as the book went on. The Bear started becoming what everyone else saw, not what he truly was. This shows how peers can easily morph who we really our. We will do whatever is necessary to belong, even if we don't mean to, like the bear. This story made me more aware of how we as people change to fit in.
The story "The Bear that Wasn't" was very interesting, the bear must have felt very upset when no one would recognize him as a bear. What I thought was interesting about the story is how it showed the bears identity changing more and more as different people kept telling him he was just a man who needed to shave. To the point where at the end of the story he actually believed he was a human and had lost his identity as a bear, just from people trying to tell him who to be. I think that the book had a very strong message of how identities can be changed so easily.
The book "The Bear That Wasn't" had a lot of meaning to it. I thought that the bear represented a persons identity and the presidents and the people who kept telling him that he was a human represented society. It is really important for yourself to keep true to your identity and not let other people change that. It is very hard for people to stay true to themselves because they want to fit in, but if you are able to be yourself then you are a strong person.
The short story “The Bear That Wasn’t”, expressed a deeper meaning of struggle with identity. Although the bear looked like the other bears, he was thought of as “a man with a fur coat that needed to shave”. The reason the circus and zoo bears didn’t accept the bear is because he didn’t act or do what the other bears did. The rejection of identity by the bears represents a greater truth that if you are not part of a group in society, you may be thought of as different by others.
Gavin Wilsker period 4 said....
The short story, "The Bear That Wasn't" talked about and discussed the struggle to hold a true identity. And as a group we all agreed that it is very difficult to stay true to yourself when everyone else around you is telling you something completely different. Especially, when it comes to joining some type of sorority or fraternity because everyone wants to feel like they are a part of something meaningful. And in some cases you have to substitute what you believe in for what the group believes in. And those who stay true to their beliefs and morals are strong people.
In the short story, The Bear That Wasn't, a bear is constantly told he isn't a bear. He knows this isn't true but eventually gives in and allows people to convince him other wise. This short story shows how hard it is to go against a group, especially when you don't fit in.
The short story "The Bear That Wasn't" I think is a very powerful story even as simplistic as it is. A lot people may think that it is designed to be a child's read but the morals it beholds are actually very prominent and should be observed by all members of society. Today, I believe people are more concerned about how others feel about them rather than themselves. Being happy with yourself is most important and this story goes to show how large of an impact majority opinion can have. I think it was a useful read and helpful in self-reflection.
The bear that wasn't is a childrens book that provides an important concept to daily life. Being part of the group and not being an outkast is what everybody wants, and the bear illustrates that. The bear wasn't in his right habitat and in the end did not need anyone from the circus, he was happy in his cave. Everybody should be themselves, and going by what the "group" does, might not always be the best thing for an individual. Just like Jews in Nazi Germany, Nazi's went with the group and did horrible things that some can't even imagine. People say now that they would never do awful things like in Nazi Germany, but look how many people contributed due to being part of the "group". The desire to be affiliated with a group blinds people and sometimes people need to just sit back and think about their thoughts. The bear that wasn't is a great book because it shows people, of any age, that sincerity and staying true to oneself is an important vitue.
i found "The Bear that wasnt" to be an interesting short story about how easy it is to lose the sense of who you are.It shows that when the number of people who try to convince you you're something you're not increases, it becomes easier to give up on trying to mantain who you are and eventually turn into what they told you you are. i mostly liked how they took this subject based on the Holocaust and truned into a childs story. Very interesting and a good book overall.
I was sick
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