Welcome to the Island on Bird Street reading blog. Respond to the daily questions in a concise and thoughtful paragraph (includes a topic sentence, supporting details, and closing sentence.) - 3 points

To get 4 points, you must reply to your classmates respectfully and continue the discussion online.

ALWAYS sign your post with your first name, last initial.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Chapter 12

Chp. 12  Respond to one of the following:

p. 89—Why is Alex spending so much time making observations about the people on the Polish side?


p. 93 (towards the bottom of the page)—Why does Alex see things now that he wouldn’t have paid attention to before?  What kinds of things is he talking about?

90 comments:

  1. Alex is observing people because he doesn't have anything to do while he waiting for his father. Alex also watches people because his is interested in what is going on outside on the other side of the wall. Alex likes to see what is going on and what other peoples lives are like, like the girl who does her homework and the bully who throws rocks. Alex is very interested in other peoples lives as well has his.
    - Emma Mac

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    Replies
    1. I agree with you Emma because you're right, he doesn't have anything to do while staying in #78, and it can be interesting to see what other people's lives are like,

      ~Derek K.

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    2. I agree with Emma and Derek. Going off of what Derek said, when you are in a house waiting for someone, but do not want to get caught. Watching and observing others lives is a good way to pass the time. Alex also might be curious of the Polish life because it is most likely better than his.

      -Iman S

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    3. I agree with Emma for the same reason Derek dose -Other Emma

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  2. Alex has many reasons to observe the polish side.

    One reason is to pass time. Since Alex has nothing really to do, stuck up in that place he justs looks for enjoyment and he is pretty interested with it. For example he can tell what time each shop opens and the characteristics of the people who run it. Another is to see how to plan things when going through the polish side. Say he wants to explore more to find his dad he has to plan his route at the right time and moment. He needs to plan how to go through by observation.

    In conclusion Alex is very observant in other people's lives.

    ~ John M

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  3. Alex is spending a lot of time looking at the Polish side of the wall because he is very bored in his bunker and wants to see all the people outside his ghetto, like the girl who does homework, for example, or the bully. They are entertainment to him. Also, the Polish side of the wall brings memories from when he didn't live in the ghetto. He can think about his past and what his life was like before the Germans messed it up and put he and his family in the ghetto. He observes life outside of the torture that the Holocaust brings, and he observes the life that he wants to go back to one day.

    ~Derek K.

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    1. I agree Derek. They are his only source of entertainment and bring back memories, happy or sad. It wasn't only the Germans who messed it up. Also involved were Nazis and it was mainly Hitler abusing his power. Overall i really enjoyed reading your blog and i completely agree with everything you said.
      -Elon L.

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  4. Alex is spending a lot of time looking at the polish side because he has nothing to do while he is waiting for his father. He is also looking at the polish side because he is observing the people in the polish side such as, the girl who did homework, the bully that threw stones, and the crazy woman who did work around the room. Alex is very observant in peoples lives.

    -Tina H.








































































































































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    1. I agree with Tina, I also think He is observant. Emma MEM

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  5. Alex is spending a lot of time making observations of people on the polish side because Alex believes that in the future he will be living near them so he should know who’s who. I think this because Alex seems to really believe that his father is going to come back so Alex is probably thinking about the future and about how it will be.
    Eleasah W.

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  6. Alex is seeing things that he didn't see before he noticed a old man stealing from the vegetable store.(page 93)He also noticed a bully who pinched a girl then he acted innocent.(page 89)
    Alex also noticed a doctor who was friendly to everyone.(pages 89&90)
    These are some examples of some people and some things that would have never noticed before.
    ~Sonia N

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  7. Alex observes new interesting behavior on the Polish side. Alex notices odd and strange things now about the people on the Polish side. The first reason he notices those odd things on the Polish side is because he’s been there for so long that he’s accustomed to the normal things that he saw everyday, and he’s getting to notice new things than just those ordinary things going on the other side. Secondly maybe he’s finding more interesting things than just the other things that he’s been observing before. Also Alex is noticing that the bully isn’t pinching the girl and is pinching everyone else.
    -Daphnee-Anne G.

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  8. Alex observes the Polish side because he is bored. Imagine being stuck in a house all day with nothing to do. In that old, abandoned house there is a window to look out of. That is probably the most interesting part of Alex’s day. Another reason Alex could be looking out the window is that he is hoping that the Jewish community will return to a community again. Seeing the Polish community could be his inspiration to survive, and save the Jews.

    -Becca L.

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  9. I think survival has heightened Alex's senses. He needs to pay attention to everything around him, or he could get killed. Every nook and cranny must be noted as a hiding place, or even better, an escape route. If not, your goose is cooked. Every detail needs to be understood, like which are the best hidden routes? Which house is safe to live in? Who to trust? Who do I avoid and what not. This could be a very important key to survival.

    - Lily M.

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  10. Alex watches the Polish side because he has nothing to do. Alex is waiting inside the ghetto for his father. He has nothing to occupy him, so he watches the Polish people’s daily lives. Watching other lives can help you pass time. Since Alex used to live in that area, he now can compare his previous life, to the lives of the children now. Looking through the window is probably the most interesting part of his day, because he is limited, due to his situation. He observes “a crazy lady”, “a girl who does homework”, and “the bully”. Alex is very unoccupied, so he watches the people on the polish side.

    -Iman S

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    Replies
    1. I agree with what you said, for the same reason, though I do not think it is impossible that Alex is also a bit jealous of the people on the Polish side.

      Willie T.

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    2. I agree with you Iman S. Alex does not have much to occupy himself.
      ~Hayley C.

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  11. Alex is spending so much time observing other people on the Polish side because he wants to know his surroundings. He wants to know whats everyone's belongings and what there like so that he can figure in his head is this person good enough to trust of bad enough to definitely not trust at all.

    ~Cal M.

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    1. Cal, everything you said is absolutely true~ Adding on to that, he might need to know the people and his surroundings for reasons....the Germans! (And other situations like that.)

      ~Emily E.

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    2. I disagree with call, I don't think Alex cares about the surroundings on the other side of the wall. Emma MEM

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    3. This is to Emma - Why do you think that Alex doesn't care about his surroundings - p[lease clarify this claim.
      Ben W.

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  12. Alex has been spending a lot more time noticing things he would never notice before. Why?

    1. He has A LOT more time on his hands, because he finished the hideout, and he only goes out at night now so he won't be seen by anyone, especially the Germans.

    2. He is actually able to look at the Polish side, and maybe see things that didn't happen very often on his side.

    3. These things may matter to him more now.

    This is why I think that he is noticing more things on the Polish Side,

    ~Emily E.

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    Replies
    1. I agree with you Emily E. Alex does have a lot of time on his hands.
      ~Hayley C.

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  13. Alex watched people on the Polish side for two main reasons, one obvious, the other not so much. The obvious one is to pass time. He has to fill his day with something, and people watching apparently does the trick. The second is that he is probably, deep down a little envious of them. He is stuck in terrible conditions, with nobody to care for, whereas there biggest worry is the bully.

    Willie T.

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    1. I agree with Willie's two reasons. He is obviously bored and as nothing else to do, so he watches the Polish side all day. Also, we all see that Alex is barely surviving with little food , and the Polish are living their normal lives. We would think that Alex would be envious, because he can't have that lifestyle anymore.

      Casandra G.

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  14. I think that the reason why Alex is spending so much time on the polish side of Warsaw with those people is because Alex needs to keep his life secret. Because by staying on the Polish Side, no one will think of Alex being a Jew, since he's on the Polish Side, which gives him a secret cover, so nobody will suspect anything of him, allowing him to survive and not be caught.

    - Jason Alpert-Wisnia

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  15. Well maybe why alex pays attention to the polish side because since he's dad is gone he has nothing to do.Well he does but maybe he finish what he was doing early or something.Plus maybe he feels kinda lonely and he's wondering hat other people are doing, Maybe thats why he watches the polish side.

    - Shaniay C

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  16. Question One

    Alex spends a lot of time looking over at the polish sides for many reasons. First of all, since Alex is all on his own now and has nothing to do it keeps him busy. Alex is basically living his life through the people who live across from him everyday on the Polish side. Everyday he makes observations about them, he watches as their lives unfold and is ensnared by them. He will even fantasize about what it would be like it he lived on that street, for example about the bully “If ever I had to walk down that street, I knew I'd better watch out for him” Alex has even developed opinions about these people and chosen favourites. Talking about the children “There was a girl whom i liked very much” Since Alex no longer has any human interaction he is living through other peoples. But, it's also because alex is all alone, he’s in ruined building and could die any day, so watching these peoples lives is a comfort and a distraction from what is going on, on his side of the wall. Watching the people on the other side of the wall to Alex, is like watching TV for us, a comfort and a distraction.
    -Anna.J

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    1. I disagree with you, Anna. I think that Alex is ALWAYS busy looking out for Germans and helping injured Jews like Henryk. I also think that he wouldn't be watching other peoples lives because hes too busy helping Henryk and watching for ruthless Germans.

      -Ben B

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  17. Alex is spending so much time looking at the Polish side. He is because he has nothing else to do because he is stuck in the ghetto waiting for his father. He is also interested in the Polish because they live life so differently than he does and he remembers what it used to be like when he was not in the ghettos.

    p. 89
    Will K.

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  18. Alex looks over to the Polish side of the wall often. I believe he did this for two reasons.
    For one he probably did it for entertainment. Even though Alex had books and a mouse, he must have become bored from just sitting there. Looking over the wall gave him something to do.
    The second reason I think he did this is because of how bad he has it. He is stuck scavenging for food; others are enjoying life. Looking over the wall might have given him the chance to see something other than misery. After seeing so many terrible things I can imagine that he would want to see some joy.
    Looking over the wall for Alex has become regular. He knows the people, and what they do. None of them know about Alex. They are in different worlds, but just a wall apart.
    -Maddie A

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  19. Alex spends a lot of time making observations about the people on Polish side. One reason I think he does this is because he has nothing to do. If you were stuck reading and playing with a mouse would you get bored? I certainty would. If the people on the Polish side interested me, as they interested Alex, I would make observations as well. If it kept me entertained then that would be great. Alex can get bored so he looks at the people on the Polish side.

    ~Hayley C.

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    1. I agree with Hayley about the bored part.
      Sam Schwartz

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  20. Alex observes things that he wouldn’t have paid attention to before because of the Holocaust. Now that everything's changed, he is noticing the new world around him. Stealing, vandalism, and more are now more common because of the war and state of being that everyone is in. Also, Alex wants the past when everything was somewhat united. He wants his old life back, with his mother. But now, having to be independent and alone much of the time, he is noticing the desperateness of people and the changing people, the changing buildings, and the changing world.
    -Elon L.

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  21. I think Alex looks at the Polish side of the fence for many reasons.
    First, He must want to be on the other side with all of the Polish people, seeing as he is stuck in a getto.
    Next, He must be board, he can only get out of his hideout at certain times, so it is probably entertaining for him to watch other people.
    Also, I think it is intriguing for him to watch other people go along their daily life, and not notice some things that he normally wouldn't have noticed, but now that he is stuck in a getto, is much more obvious to him.
    Lastly, Because he is in such a bad situation, where he is starving, lonely and stuck in an old attic, it may be sort of like a pain killer for him to watch other people enjoy their lives, and imagine he is on the other side of the fence. That is why I think He looks over so much.

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  22. I think the reason Alex is making all these observations is to keep him lively and even sane. Imagine spending weeks, even months alone with no one to talk to but yourself. Eventually you will start to go crazy. I also think it serves as a distraction from his insanely hard life.
    Sam Schwartz

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    1. It makes sense that you will start to go crazy if you are alone for so long. I would get bored also.

      -Abigail D.

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  23. That was Emma M-E M

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    1. The one without a name fter Maddie

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  24. 89
    I think Alex is making observations of the people because it makes him feel like he is a part of their society. I think this because he knows who gets up first who opens shop first all these little things about the people.

    -John S.

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    1. I agree with yours, John S. I didn't think that it made him feel like part of their society, which now makes sense to me.

      -Abigail D.

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  25. Prompt One

    I think Alex is spending time making observations about the people on the Polish side because he is lonely. If Alex knows things about others than he feels like he knows them. He is al alone and I think he wants to knows someone that is safe and will not harm him.

    Jane A.
    Section 3

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    1. I agree, Jane. He has been alone for months, so he could want to have a friendship because of his loneliness.

      -Abigail D.

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  26. I agree with John S. I think he also wants to be part of a free and safe society. That is one way that Alex is dealing with the fact that he is not in a safe place.

    Jane A.
    Section 3

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  27. He was noticing how mean those people were now. He sees them make little children cry out of the store, they also get adults annoyed and sad too. Alex finally realize their dark side now. But not all of them are evil the fat vegetable man is nice he gives out food to poor homeless girl.

    Tammy Y.

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  28. I think that Alex is spending so much time making observations about the people on the Polish side because he is bored. Alex has a lot of time to do whatever he wants (as long as it’s safe), and he probably gets bored. He watches the Polish side because it’s new. He has already read books, and knows what it’s like, but being able to look over the wall and see the Polish people is new.

    -Maya W

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  29. Alex is spending time making observations about the polish side because he is bored waiting for his father. Alex has lots of time on his hand to do safe activities and he probably did all the things he could that are safe like reading the books or writing in the diary his name over and over again. He watches the Polish because
    1) it’s something he hasn't done yet and it is interesting. He saw the girl get hit by the bully, a doctor, a man steal food and more.
    2) He could think about the past before he lived in the Ghetto.
    3) The life in the polish side was different from the life in the Ghettos.
    Alex spends time observing the polish side for many reasons.
    ~vanessa y.

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    1. I agree with all of your 3 reasons. It makes sense that he wants to observe the Polish side because they are far different from the ghetto.

      -Abigail D.

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  30. I think that Alex is observing people because he has nothing else to do while he waits for his dad and he is interested in what is going on outside of his house.

    ~Edward A.

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    1. I agree, Edward. He probably does want to see what is going on outside of his house because he has been in it for so long!

      -Abigail D.

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  31. I think alex is watching people because he's bored like what else can he do he could improve his place some more but it's sort of like little kids having imaginary friends.It's also like that movie where the guy gets stranded on an island and makes a friend a friend thats a coconut with a smile face.

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  32. I think that Alex is observing people because he has nothing else to do hes bored just waiting there for something to happen.

    -jonathan 1

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    1. I agree and disagree. I agree that he may be bored, but is that the ONLY reason why? Doesn't he miss Father?

      -Abigail D.

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  33. Alex is observing more people on the Polish side because he has a lot more time because he can't come down from his treehouse. He has a great view of the street. In the back of his head he had a notion that the Polish someday would be taking down the wall and they would come back to live in the Polish side. He also has binoculars that he can see a very far distance. He also fancies somebody on the other side.

    John B.

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  34. I think Alex is observing the Polish side for two reasons. One reason is because he is bored and he has a lot of time on his hands because he is still waiting for his father. Also he is looking to see what life will be like when the war is over and Alex moves out of the Ghetto.

    ~Jack LeBlanc

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    1. I agree with this, Jack. It makes sense that he is waiting for Father and is bored.

      -Abigail D.

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  35. I think alex is watching people because he's bored like what else can he do he could improve his place some more but it's sort of like little kids having imaginary friends.It's also like that movie where the guy gets stranded on an island and makes a friend a friend thats a coconut with a smile face.

    Nick T

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  36. Alex spends a ton of time observing the Polish side. I believe that one reason is so it distracts him from the reality of how he is all alone and is living in the ghetto. Also, Alex has nothing else to do, well no too much to do. Another reason could be because he envies the people who live on the Polish side because they are not under as harsh control; and he wishes that he could be on that side and go to school,be with his family, and have all the luxuries the the Polish children have.

    -- ili K.

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    1. I definitely agree that it is distracting him from his currently sad, tough life.

      -Abigail D.

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  37. I believe that Alex sees and observes things now that he wouldn’t have paid attention to before because he is sometimes bored, he misses Father, and it could also even keep him sane and distracted from his current occupancy in life.
    First, if you spent months all by yourself, you would end up getting curious about all of your surroundings, which is exactly what happened to Alex. He observed things like: a girl older than Martha who did her homework each night, the “crazy” woman who cleans each morning, and the bully who threw stones. Alex seemed to admire the girl a bit because she went to school, which made me think that Alex was longing for a friendship--making him look at new things.
    In addition, it has been months since he has seen his Father, and he doesn’t know if he is dead or alive. I sure wouldn’t want to think about it a single bit, so observing things he used to not pay attention to is probably Alex’s way of coping with the stress. It could even bring a smile to his face to see some happy people enjoying their day.
    Lastly, looking at other people’s different lives may even distract Alex from hunger. Since he rarely gets to shower, doesn’t have much of a bathroom, and has only some food, paying attention to new things will take his mind off of it. Alex has even learned much about the lives of the people and surroundings, even without hearing what they say. The life outside the ghetto certainly seems to interest him, and he no longer thinks about food and such. For example, “the old man who stole from the vegetable store” made Alex a bit happy to know that the old man thought it was a secret, but Alex really had witnessed the crime.
    In conclusion, Alex definitely has spent lots of time observing things that he used to not even pay attention to. I believe he did this because he is bored, it distracts him from his tough life, he misses Father, and it takes his mind off of food. Alex has practically memorized the lives of these people, and it interests him to witness life outside of the ghetto.

    -Abigail D.

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  38. Alex is watching the Polish side because He wishes to be there. There are plenty of people that watch professional sports millions of people. Yet they know deep inside they will never be able to get into the NBA whether they admit it or not. Alex is acting the same way.

    Michael L

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  39. Alex spends so much time making observations about the people on the Polish side. This is because he probably is longing for the freedom and privileges that the Polish have. The Polish have grocery stores and barber shops, but the people in the ghetto have hardly any food let alone a grocery store. Alex sees the Polish getting to goto work and school, but the people in the ghettos can’t do/have either of those.

    Cammi M

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    1. I agree because Alex longs to be free and not hidden away in a dark bunker.

      Ben K

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  40. Alex is spending time making observations about the people on the Polish side because he's bored. He is interested in them now because he is higher up in his bunker. Alex can see a lot more people and a lot more things.

    ~Kelley

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  41. I think Alex watches/ observes the people more in Poland because its different from were he lived, and the actions/emotions/thoughts are so different!

    -Olivia C

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  42. Alex spends time watching the Polish side because he wants to know whats happening there and the Polish side has freedom hile hes cramped in a small bunker.

    Ben K

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  43. Alex spends time watching the Polish because he wants to pass time and he thinks the Polish has some freedom.

    -Richie

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  44. I think that Alex pays more attention to the people on the polish side of the wall because he wonders what life is like without the Nazis killing off and starving your village, and that it might make him fell like he is part of their community, because he knows them, almost as friends would know each other

    -Karl M-E-M

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  45. I think that the author of the book makes it very clear that alex pays close attention to "the other side" because he is fore shadowing that the info that Alex gather's will play a important part in a later chapter of the story!

    Ben W.

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    1. I agree with this because if it were just showing him looking at the Polish side the author wouldn't put nearly as much information on it.

      Matt G

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  46. I think Alex is making observations about people on the polish because he may be starting to notice other people more than him self such as they are starving to death.

    -Jon P

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  47. Alex is spending so much time examining the Polish side partly because he is bored and has lots of free time. I think he is doing it also because if he escapes he wants to know who some people are before hand.

    -Dylan J

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  48. Alex notices more obscure things because he has more time on his hands. When it is dangerous to leave small area it may seem interesting to watch people who can. Also, Alex is probably longing to be on the Polish side of the wall.
    -Henry S.

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  49. Alex sees things that he wouldn't have paid attention to earlier in his life because he has a lot more time to observe things. The things he is talking about include an old man who stole from the vegetable store, the boy who pees in front of the drug store, and the leaves changing color.

    Bennett E

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  50. Alex notices more because he has so much time. Imagine being stuck on one floor with only the same books and toys for months! He often would look over to occupy his time. If he didn't notice these things then looking at the Polish side wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. If Alex had less time, he wouldn't notice as much.

    Matt G

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  51. Alex notices more because he is suck on the floor where there is no book for him to read and no things for him to play with so he has more time to observe thing he never observed before which means he notices more stuff than before.


    Angela Liu

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  52. In the book “The Island on Bird Street”, by Uri Orlev when Alex is looking on the Polish side for observations he is doing it for good reasons. For starters, he is very interested what the Polish do because they have a different way of living. After being in the Ghetto for so long he probably forgot what normal life is like. His way of living is different than before. Secondly, he hasn’t seen people for a long time. He is very lonely. Yes he met the looter but not for that long. Also he knows that the girl will always be there. I guess that mentally helps him knowing someone will “always be there”. Next, seeing Polish daily life interests him. Polish living is probably similar but different at the same time as jewish living.To add on, Alex looked on the Polish side to compare Polish living to jewish living. In fact one of the things is that “jews didn’t get drunk”. As you can see, there is many good reasons why Alex looks on the Polish side.

    Sivan A.

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  53. Alex is observing people because he doesn't have anything to do while he waiting for his father. Alex also watches people because his is interested in what is going on outside the wall, he is interested in what the Polish do because they have a different way of living. Alex is also lonely, hasn’t seen people for a long time. Alex is probably longing for the freedom and privileges that the Polish have.

    Bella C.

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    1. I agree with you that Alex has nothing to do while he is waiting for his father.

      Delete
  54. There are a couple reasons why alex is making observations about the people on the polish side. One possibility is that he is just bored. By making these observations it keeps him occupied. Not only does it keep him occupied but he could also be doing it to get his mind off of the condition he is in and the condition he is living in.

    ~Morgan B-W

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  55. Alex is spending so much time observing other people on the Polish side because he wants to know where to go and if anything happens where to hide. He wants to know what everyone's doing. I also think that Alex is just bored and he has nothing to do so he just watches what everyones doing. He might feel like he was there. Does anyone else agree?

    -Tim Y

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  56. Alex is seeing things he would't have seen before mainly because he is bored and paying more attention. Also he could use the information he found to benefit him, like when the man got the code wrong and the doorman said to him " To the doctor governor". I think he also has to pay attention to the little things that people do so if he needed to cross over to the Polish side is could pretend to be Polish.

    -Paige W

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  57. Alex is simply bored. I would be to if I had to sit and wait all day long!
    Alex has nothing to do and to keep himself occupied, he would stare at the Polish side. For example, the girl who does homework. "That was the girl who I liked very much." That means that Alex enjoys watching her.
    I don't blame him, because what does he have better to do?

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  58. Alex spends time observing other people is because of many reasons. One reason is that he wants to see if anyone is a Jew like him. Another reason is that he wants to see if there is any suspicious action. Another reason is that he wants to see if he could trust anyone around him. These reasons show why Alex is observing other people.

    Derek C.

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  59. Alex is spending so much time observing the people on the polish side because he has nothing else to do. He is stuck in his hideout for a very long time and doesn't have much to do. Of course he can talk to snow but otherwise he will get bored.

    ~Audrey

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