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Message de tortue posté le 30-10-2005 à 17:08:53 (S | E | F | I)
Bonjour !
Je dois faire le commentaire de "When Hitler stole pink rabbit" de Judith Kerr. Ce serait vraiment gentil que quelqu'un me corrige cette partie.
Merci d'avance !
Anna’s childhood is indisputably a difficult one. While she is only nine, she has to leave her friends, her school, her points of reference, her town and her country. In other words, she has to leave all her life. The little girl doesn’t understand what she has to avoid and against what her father wants to protect himself. Because Anna thinks of coming back home quite soon, her lovely pink rabbit stays in Germany. But quickly, she’ll understand that the homecoming is impossible and that she has lost forever her rabbit. It’s a choke for the child : Not only is she driven apart from her friends but, also, her pink rabbit is taken. But from now on, Anna has to forget all that and rebuild her life in Switzerland, where she is exiled with her parents and her brother. Little by little, she gets used to her new life and finds new relationships. When, finally, she succeeds to feel at home in Switzerland, she is announced once more another departure. She arrives in France, a country she doesn’t know where it speaks a language she doesn’t speak, without her friends and her points of reference. It’s another start from scratch. Deceptions and difficulties are the same for Anna in France as in Switzerland and will be probably also the same in England.
Message de tortue posté le 30-10-2005 à 17:08:53 (S | E | F | I)
Bonjour !
Je dois faire le commentaire de "When Hitler stole pink rabbit" de Judith Kerr. Ce serait vraiment gentil que quelqu'un me corrige cette partie.
Merci d'avance ! Anna’s childhood is indisputably a difficult one. While she is only nine, she has to leave her friends, her school, her points of reference, her town and her country. In other words, she has to leave all her life. The little girl doesn’t understand what she has to avoid and against what her father wants to protect himself. Because Anna thinks of coming back home quite soon, her lovely pink rabbit stays in Germany. But quickly, she’ll understand that the homecoming is impossible and that she has lost forever her rabbit. It’s a choke for the child : Not only is she driven apart from her friends but, also, her pink rabbit is taken. But from now on, Anna has to forget all that and rebuild her life in Switzerland, where she is exiled with her parents and her brother. Little by little, she gets used to her new life and finds new relationships. When, finally, she succeeds to feel at home in Switzerland, she is announced once more another departure. She arrives in France, a country she doesn’t know where it speaks a language she doesn’t speak, without her friends and her points of reference. It’s another start from scratch. Deceptions and difficulties are the same for Anna in France as in Switzerland and will be probably also the same in England.
Réponse: Commentaire de lucile83, postée le 30-10-2005 à 17:33:45 (S | E)
Hello,
C'est presque parfait !!!! j'ai corrigé 2 ou 3 choses :
Anna’s childhood is………… probably…….. a difficult one. While she is only nine, she has to leave her friends, her school, her points of reference, her town and her country. In other words, she has to leave her…….whole…. life. The little girl doesn’t understand what she has to avoid and against what her father wants to protect himself. Because Anna thinks of coming back home quite soon, her lovely pink rabbit stays in Germany. But quickly, she’ll understand that the homecoming is impossible and that she has lost….. her rabbit forever. It’s a ………..shock…… for the child : Not only is she driven apart from her friends but, also, her pink rabbit is taken. But from now on, Anna has to forget all that and rebuild her life in Switzerland, where she is exiled with her parents and her brother. Little by little, she gets used to her new life and finds new relationships. When, finally, she succeeds to feel at home in Switzerland, she is announced once more another departure. She arrives in France, a country she doesn’t know where…… they speak…….. a language she doesn’t speak, without her friends and her points of reference. It’s another start from scratch. Deceptions and difficulties are the same for Anna in France as in Switzerland and will be probably also the same in England.
See you soon
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Edité par traviskidd le 30-10-2005 18:31
What's wrong with "indisputably"?
Réponse: Commentaire de magmatic_rock, postée le 30-10-2005 à 17:37:59 (S | E)
Juste par curioisté, étant donné que le texte commence par "Anna’s childhood", ne doit-on pas mettre le texte au passé?
Réponse: Commentaire de jean31, postée le 30-10-2005 à 17:38:47 (S | E)
Bonjour tortue,
... she has to leave her WHOLE life. (me paraît préférable)
... she has lost her rabbit for ever. (en règle générale, ne pas séparer le COD de son verbe)
It's a SHOCK for the child. (inattention ?)
... she succeeds IN feelING at home ...
... where PEOPLE speaK a language she ...
"Deceptions"
N'est-ce pas plutôt DISAPPOINTMENTS ? Attention aux faux amis !Bien à toi,
Jean
Réponse: Commentaire de magmatic_rock, postée le 30-10-2005 à 17:46:04 (S | E)
Pour dire réussir, ne dit-on pas "to succeed IN" à la place de "to succeed TO"?
Juste pour moi, comme ça, que signifie "But from now on"?
Réponse: Commentaire de jean31, postée le 30-10-2005 à 17:51:03 (S | E)
Salut magma,
Dictionnaire à ton service !
But from now on ... = Mais à partir de maintenant ...
Bye bye.
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 30-10-2005 à 17:57:51 (S | E)
beaucoup à tous pour vos corrections !"But from now on" veut dire "Mais désormais, ..."
Je vous envoie la suite (si ça ne fait pas trop) étant donné que cyberpapy est indisponible (n'est-ce pas Jean
) merci d'avanceHowever, to have travelling a lot when I was younger, I can say that Anna’s childhood is a happy one. At 12, she knows four countries (Germany, Switzerland, France and England) and speaks three languages (German, French and English). Moreover, she has learnt danger and risks, confidence and responsibilities, sadness and pleasure, dreams and fears, love and friendship, distance and attachment, hope and happiness… At 12 years old, she knows life. To me, the best way to grow up totally fulfilled, happy and at ease with oneself, is to know how people live just as well next to your home as on the other side of the world. Knowing other cultures, other ways of life, other languages, other countries, is a phenomenal luck. We miss a lot by not travelling. Anna has done, in 12 years, more than most of people will never do in all a life. Distance is a hard but a really good teacher. It teaches us more than any book does and among others that love and friendship can outlive everything. Anna will probably never see again people she has mixed with in Germany, Switzerland and France but she’ll never forget them either because they gave her a meaning to life.
PS : magmatic_rock, j'ai choisi de mettre tout mon texte au présent mais j'aurai aussi bien pu l'écrire au passé.
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 30-10-2005 à 18:16:30 (S | E)
J'ai une autre question à vous poser. Est-ce que les différentes parties de mon commentaire doivent obligatoirement être égales ?
Voici mon plan :
WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT, by Judith Kerr (1971)
Introduction
I) About Judith Kerr
- Who is she ?
- Why did she write this book ?
II) The book
1. Summary
2. Analysis
- History and story
- Innocence and experience
- Love and distance
Conclusion
J'ai déjà rédigé la première partie. Pour ce qui est de la deuxième et quant à l'analyse, "History and Story" est à peut près deux fois moins long que "Love and distance" (ce que vous me corrigez). Est-ce que je dois rééquilibrer mes parties ?
Merci d'avance !
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Edité par tortue le 30-10-2005 18:16
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Edité par traviskidd le 30-10-2005 20:00
Cela me semble une question de style est pas d'anglais. Selon moi, c'est à vous de décider sur le longeur de votre œuvre.
Réponse: Commentaire de magmatic_rock, postée le 30-10-2005 à 18:19:42 (S | E)
Jean, en fait je m'en doutais mais c'est le "on" à la fin que je ne savais pas qu'il fallait le mettre!Je sais que pour dire "à partir de ce moment là" on dit "from that moment on" et donc si je veux dire "à partir de demain", dois-je dire "from tomorrow ON"?
Merci et désolé de dériver par rapport aux questions de tortue.
Et au fait, ne devrait-elle pas mettre son texte au passé alors vu qu'elle parle de l'enfance de Anna? Ca ce n'est pas hors-sujet, c'est pour elle!
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Edité par traviskidd le 30-10-2005 19:10
On fait souvent commentaire en temps présent.
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Edité par bridg le 30-10-2005 19:43
Réponse: Commentaire de traviskidd, postée le 30-10-2005 à 18:49:53 (S | E)
Presque parfait ; mes suggestions suivent.
Les erreurs plus graves (dont il y a très peu) sont en rouge.Anna’s childhood is indisputably a difficult one. [While]/[When] she is only nine, she has to leave her friends, her school, [her points of reference]/[the things she knows], her town and her country. In other words, she has to leave
However,
Réponse: Commentaire de jean31, postée le 30-10-2005 à 19:42:21 (S | E)
- Bonsoir magmatic rock,
Je réponds à ta question ("subsidiaire" ?) sur la traduction de
"à partir de demain" par "from tomorrow on".
Cela me paraît tout à fait correct. Le "on" marque le prolongement vers l'avenir.
Mon dictionnaire donne cet exemple :From that time on => à partir de ce moment-là.
- Bonsoir tortue,
J'ai bien vu ton message mais traviskidd était déjà passé, alors ...
Oui, j'ai également vu que cbpp était ENCORE indisponible !
Bonne soirée à vous deux.
Jean
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 30-10-2005 à 22:07:46 (S | E)
beaucoup pour ces corrections !!Il y a cependant quelques modifications que j'ai du mal à comprendre :
"and
Que veut dire cela ?
Pour ma part je voulais dire "La petite fille ne comprend pas contre quoi son père veut se protéger"
Pour mon dictionnaire, "protect from" veut dire "protéger de" donc j'ai un peu de mal à comprendre le sens de la phrase corrigée.
"Because Anna
Pourquoi mettre ce passage au passé ?
"However,
C'est une erreur grave apparemment. Quelle est la règle ?
Comment traduire : "Being able to experience other cultures" ?
"will
Pourquoi mettre "ever" et non "never" puisqu'il n'y a pas de double négation ?
"the people she
Par "has mixed" j'entendais "a cotoyé"
"hang around" veut dire "traîner". Pourquoi utiliser ce mot ?
"neither will she ever forget them"
Neither et ever, j'ai du mal à comprendre.
Merci encore pour tout !!
Réponse: Commentaire de kayna775, postée le 31-10-2005 à 01:47:53 (S | E)
que veut dire outlive?
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 31-10-2005 à 09:04:14 (S | E)
Bonjour Kayna,
"Outlive" veut dire "survivre".
love and friendship can outlive everything : L'amour et l'amitié peuvent survivre à tout.
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 31-10-2005 à 13:21:40 (S | E)
Bonjour !
Voici le résumé de mon livre. Il n'est pas très long mais il y a sûrement des erreurs.
1. Summary
Anna is a nine-year old German girl like many others. She lives in Berlin with her parents and her younger brother, Max. But she lives in the Germany of 1933, a little time before Hitler come to power. Her father is a well-known Jewish writer and he is warned that his passport might soon be taken away. Therefore, one night, he leaves Germany for Switzerland. To begin with, Anna is terrified. She imagines the worst all the more reason that her father is ill, he has a temperature. Then, the little girl is said that her father is gone waiting for the election day and that she has to keep silence about that. Some time after, Anna and Max are announced that they’ll bring back together in Switzerland waiting for the election results. But the Nazis will win these ones. Therefore, for Anna, it’s the start of a three years huge adventure through Switzerland and France and finally England, sometimes frightening, often difficult, but always exiting, funny and cheerful…
PS : J'ai un problème plutôt technique. Ma prof d'anglais nous a dit de ne pas dévoiler la fin de l'histoire pour donner envie aux autres élèves de lire notre livre. Le problème c'est que mon livre est une auto-biographie (l'intérêt est de savoir comment et pourquoi ce qui s'est passé s'est passé et non pas simplement ce qui s'est passé {Me comprenez-vous
} donc je ne sais pas comment faire la biographie de l'auteur, le résumé et l'explication sans dire la fin. Cela me parait impossible à faire. Qu'en pensez-vous ? -------------------
Edité par tortue le 31-10-2005 13:23
Réponse: Commentaire de traviskidd, postée le 31-10-2005 à 14:19:46 (S | E)
beaucoup pour ces corrections !!De rien
"and
Que veut dire cela ?
Pour ma part je voulais dire "La petite fille ne comprend pas contre quoi son père veut se protéger"
Pour mon dictionnaire, "protect from" veut dire "protéger de" donc j'ai un peu de mal à comprendre le sens de la phrase corrigée.
Ici ce n'était pas vraiment une erreur, je préfère "protect from" à "protect against" (ce qui a plutôt le sens de "prevent") et je préfère mettre la préposition à la fin.
"Because Anna
Pourquoi mettre ce passage au passé ?
Si vous aviez écrit votre texte au passé, vous auriez mis ce passage au plus-que-parfait. (Aussi je raie le mot "stays" ce que j'ai oublié de faire avant.)
"However,
C'est une erreur grave apparemment. Quelle est la règle ?
Le mot-à-mot marche ici, n'est-ce pas? En français ne diriez-vous "ayant voyagé"?
Comment traduire : "Being able to experience other cultures" ?
"Pouvoir faire l'expérience d'autres cultures"
"will
Pourquoi mettre "ever" et non "never" puisqu'il n'y a pas de double négation ?
Vous ne voulez pas même une simple négation.
"the people she
Par "has mixed" j'entendais "a cotoyé"
"hang around" veut dire "traîner". Pourquoi utiliser ce mot ?
"Mix" veut dire mélanger, fusionner, amalgamer. Peut-être "the people she was close to in Germany" ou plus simplement "the peope she knew in Germany" serait mieux.
"neither will she ever forget them"
Neither et ever, j'ai du mal à comprendre.
C'est juste une question de style. "Neither will she ever" me semble plus solennel que "She'll never ... either".
Merci encore pour tout !!
Encore de rien
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 31-10-2005 à 16:47:51 (S | E)
Merci beaucoup pour les explications ! J'ai tout compris !
Et pourriez-vous me corriger mon résumé, s'il vous plait ?
Merci d'avance !
Réponse: Commentaire de traviskidd, postée le 01-11-2005 à 01:55:22 (S | E)
Mais bien sûr
1. Summary
Anna is a nine-year-old German girl like many others. She lives in Berlin with her parents and her younger brother, Max. But she lives in the Germany of 1933,
----
Quelques phrases ne sont pas trop logique. Il faudrait le texte français pour savoir exactement ce que vous voulez dire. J'ai dû deviner parfois.
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 01-11-2005 à 09:38:28 (S | E)
Merci beaucoup !
Oui effectivement, je m'étais rendu compte qu'il y avait des erreurs dans cette phrase. J'ai copié trop vite.
At first, Anna is terrified. (She imagines the worst all the more reason that her father is ill, he has a temperature.)
Je voulais dire : At first, Anna is terrified. She imagines the worst for her father all the more since he was ill.
Au début, Anna est terrifiée. Elle imagine le pire pour son père d'autant plus que celui-ci était malade. (En gros je voulais dire qu'elle est très inquiète pour son père. Elle imagine peut être qu'il est à l'hôpital puisqu'il était malade depuis quelques temps.)
Est-ce que vous voulez que je traduise autre chose ?
Quelle est la défférence entre After et Afterward(s) ? Est-ce que ces deux mots ont le même sens ?
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Edité par tortue le 01-11-2005 09:39
Réponse: Commentaire de Tortue, postée le 01-11-2005 à 10:20:58 (S | E)
Mon commentaire touche bientôt à sa fin. Voici la dernière partie que j'ai rédigée. Je suis en train d'écrire l'introduction et la conclusion.
- Innocence and experience
Anna is just a child. She sees the world and the people trough her little girl’s eyes. Ask a child to understand danger is difficult but ask a child to understand something incomprehensible namely the human cruelty and madness, is totally impossible. Nevertheless, Anna tries to understand why she has had to leave her country, why her father is looked for, why it’s bad to be Jewish in Germany… She asks many questions. They are often answered but a lot of things escape her attention. In spite of that, Anna resigns herself to live normally and learns more and more each day.
Furthermore, Anna’s parents have never hidden her the truth. For instance, they have told her that they have left Germany because her father was wanted by the Nazis. Anna has known that sometimes, her parents had money problems and her father had difficulties to find a job. Thanks to her parents, who have never lain her but always protected her, Anna has learnt the worth of the life and the things as she keeps a child’s innocence and fragility. She knows that money can’t buy happiness and that to live happy, all you have is to be rallied around and loved.
Finally, Anna and her family have always remained together, bound whatever happens, trying at all cost, to live like everybody. They have always endeavoured to remain happy despite danger, despite war, despite unfairness, despite human stupidity and cruelty. They have always tried to live happy despite everything because at 12, Anna has her whole life ahead of her. The experience she has lived will be always of service to her. Her adventure has earned and taught her many things she’ll never forget.
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 04-11-2005 à 17:06:12 (S | E)
Quelqu'un peut-il me faire quelques remarques sur cette dernière partie ?
Merci beaucoup !
Réponse: Commentaire de aimen7, postée le 04-11-2005 à 18:39:04 (S | E)
Hello tortue,
- Innocence and experience
Anna is just a child. She sees the world and the people trough
Furthermore,
Finally, Anna and her family have always remained together, bound whatever may happen, trying at all cost, to live like everybody else. They have always endeavoured to remain happy despite danger, despite war, despite unfairness, despite human stupidity and cruelty (repetition of despite). They have always tried to live/be happy despite everything because at 12, Anna has her whole life ahead of her. The experience she has lived will always be
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Edité par aimen7 le 04-11-2005 18:58 Désolée pour tout ce vert
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Edité par traviskidd le 04-11-2005 20:22
It's fixed
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 05-11-2005 à 15:30:30 (S | E)
Bonjour !!
Merci pour ces corrections !
What the french for "beyond undrestading" ?
Anna has learnt the worth / value of
Je voulais dire : Anna a appris la valeur des choses et de la vie, tout en gardant l'innocence et la fragilité d'un enfant. Est-ce cela que vous aviez compris ? Si oui, je ne comprends pas les modifications faites.
La répétition de "despite" est volontaire.
Her adventure has earned ??and taught her many things she’ll never forget.
Je voulais dire : Cette aventure lui a fait gagné et lui a enseigné beaucoup de choses qu'elle n'oubliera pas.
Merci !!
Réponse: Commentaire de ruofei, postée le 05-11-2005 à 15:57:24 (S | E)
Bonjour,
Je me permets de prendre le relai...
What the french for "beyond
Il y a eu une erreur de frappe ici "beyong understanding" (au-delà/ compréhension) = incompréhensible
On parle des 2 caractéristiques humaines, en général, donc pas de "the".
Pour les questions sur les corrections, je laisse Aimen7
te répondre.Réponse: Commentaire de aimen7, postée le 05-11-2005 à 18:47:46 (S | E)
Hello tortue and ruofei(merci de prendre le relais
Voici mes proposition pour le reste des points:
-j'avoue que je préfère dire "the value of life" plutôt que "the worth of life". J'utiliserais cepandant "worth" comme adjectif pour exprimer combien la vie est précieuse, "Anna has learnt how much life is worth living"...
-"Anna a appris la valeur des choses et de la vie, tout en gardant l'innocence et la fragilité d'un enfant."
Anna has learnt the value of things and life, while keeping the innocence/purity and the fragility/sensitiveness/delicacy of a child.
-"Cette aventure..."
This adventure proved fruitful/useful/beneficial and she could/it enabled her to learn/experience a lot of things that she would never forget.
Cette aventure lui a fait gagné et lui a appris beaucoup de choses qu'elle n'oubliera jamais." Je comprend que cette aventure lui a permis de gagner/lui a été bénéfique et elle a pu ainsi apprendre des choses qu'elle n'oubliera jamais."
Voilà tortue, j'espère avoir été utile.
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 05-11-2005 à 19:41:59 (S | E)
Merci pour ces précisions.
Je voudrais remercier de tout cœur ceux qui m'ont aidé pour ce travail. J'ai appris beaucoup de choses, vos conseils m'ont été vraiment très utiles donc MERCI BEAUCOUP !
Je vous envoie mon commentaire (presque) fini. Il est assez long et sûrement pas parfait mais j'y ais passé beaucoup de temps et je suis globalement contente de ce que j'ai pu faire. En tout cas, je me suis bien amusée et j'ai adoré mon livre !
Cette fois-ci, je ne vous demande pas de me corriger
. Je vous l'envoie parce que je pense que certains d'entre vous seraient ravis de voir le "produit fini". Pour ceux qui le lise, je vous pose une dernière question : Est-ce que mon travail vous donne envie de lire le livre ? Si oui, tant mieux et sinon, tant pis, je ferai mieux la prochaine fois ! Merci encore à tous !! WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT, by Judith Kerr (1971)
PLAN
Introduction
I) About Judith Kerr
- Who is she ?
- Why did she write this book ?
II) The book
1. Summary
2. Point of view in the story
3. Analysis
- History and story : the cover; the beginning of the story; the plot
- Innocence and experience : understanding for learning; parent’s protection and love; learning how to live
- Love and distance : a difficult childhood ; a happy childhood
Conclusion
Introduction
When Hitler stole pink rabbit is a Judith Kerr’s autobiography. It was published for the first time in 1971 in London. To begin with, I’ll tell you about Judith Kerr and her book. In the second place, I’ll present this book and analyze it. In the end, I’ll give you my point of view.
I) About Judith Kerr
Judith Kerr was born in June 1923 in Berlin of German Jewish parents. At nine years old, she left Germany to escape from Hitler because Judith’s father, a drama critic and famous writer, was searched for by the Nazis. For 3 years, Judith’s family lived first in Switzerland, then in France before arriving in England where the teenager finally settled.
Judith Kerr is well-known as the author and illustrator of children’s books and for her three autobiographical novels (“When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit”, The other way round” and “A small person far away”). Today, she lives in London with her husband, Ton Kneal. They have a daughter who is a film designer and a son who is a novelist.
At the end of the book, in the postscript, Judith Kerr tells us the reasons why she wrote this book.
First and foremost, for her, it was the best way to explain to her children the childhood she had had : she was poor, lived in countries she didn’t know, went to strange schools where they spoke foreign languages… Also she wanted to tell them that, despite all we know about Nazism, her childhood wasn’t an awful one as her children thought.
Moreover, she wrote this book to pay tribute to her parents and tell her children how wonderful their grand parents had been. All the time Judith’s parents protected her against everyday horrors. They always hid their fears, their anxiety and their panic behind a smile of hope and happiness.
Finally, Judith Kerr wrote this book in order to give a testimony of this dark period in German History and to never forget how lucky she had been not to be “one of the million other Jewish children who died in Nazi concentration camps”.
II) The book
1. Summary
Anna is a nine-year-old German girl like many others. She lives in Berlin with her parents and her young brother, Max. But she lives in the Germany of 1933, shortly before Hitler comes to power. Her father is a well-known Jewish writer and he is warned that his passport might soon be taken away. Therefore, one night, he leaves Germany for Switzerland. At first, Anna is terrified. She imagines the worst all the more since her father was ill. Then, the little girl is told that her father is gone until the Election Day and that she has to keep silent about that. Some time afterward, Anna and Max are announced that they’ll be getting back together in Switzerland to wait for the election results. But the Nazis will win them. Therefore, for Anna, it’s the start of huge three-year adventure through Switzerland, France and finally England, sometimes frightening, often difficult, but always exciting, funny and cheerful…
2. Point of view in the story
This book is written in the third person. The story is told according to Anna’s view. In a nutshell, reading this book, we know Anna’s feelings and thoughts. It’s the main force of this story : Nobody can’t help identifying with Anna. We live to the full Anna’s life. Therefore, we are really enthralled by this story, not like others.
3. Analysis
- History and story
The title of the book and the illustration on the cover give us some information about the story. The title mentions Hitler, the Nazi party’s dreadful figure. By stealing Pink Rabbit, Hitler may have stolen the life of the little girl who is on the picture. She must be a German child during the Second World War, maybe Jewish. Knowing about this awful period of History, we can imagine the worst as for the main character’s destiny.
The beginning of the story confirms these suppositions. It takes place in Berlin, Germany, in 1933, a shortly before Hitler comes to power. The little girl, called Anna is nine years old and lives over there with her family. Her father is a well-known Jewish writer.
Finally, History forms a backdrop to the plot. Anna’s story is similar to many others. Through her own experience, Judith Kerr relates to us the painful story of many Jewish families during the Second World War.
- Innocence and experience
Anna is just a child. She sees the world and the people trough the eyes of a little girl. Asking a child to understand danger is difficult but asking a child to understand something beyond understanding namely human cruelty and madness, is totally impossible. Nevertheless, Anna tries to understand why she has had to leave her country, why her father is wanted, why it’s bad to be Jewish in Germany… She asks many questions. They are often answered but a lot of things remain obscure. In spite of that, Anna resigns herself to live normally and learns more and more each day.
Furthermore, her parents have never hidden her the truth. For instance, they have told her that they have left Germany because her father was wanted by the Nazis. Anna has known that sometimes, her parents had financial problems and her father difficulties to find a job. Thanks to her parents, who have never lied her but always protected her, Anna has learnt the value of things and life, while keeping the innocence and the fragility of a child. She knows that money can’t buy happiness and that to be happy, all you have to do is to be rallied around and loved.
Finally, Anna and her family have always remained together, bound whatever may happen, trying at all cost, to live like everybody else. They have always endeavoured to remain happy despite danger, despite war, despite unfairness, despite human stupidity and cruelty. They have always tried to live happy despite everything because at 12, Anna has her whole life ahead of her. The experience she has lived will always be useful to her. This adventure proved fruitful and she could experience a lot of things that she would never forget.
- Love and distance
Anna’s childhood is indisputably a difficult one. While she is only nine, she has to leave her friends, her school, her points of reference, her town and her country. In other words, she has to leave her whole life. The little girl doesn’t understand what there is to avoid and what her father wants to protect himself from. Because Anna thought she would be coming back home quite soon, she left her lovely pink rabbit in Germany. But quickly, she’ll come to understand that her voyage is permanent and that she has lost her rabbit forever. It’s a shock for the child : Not only is she driven apart from her friends but, also, her pink rabbit is gone. But now, Anna has to forget all that and rebuild her life in Switzerland, where she is exiled with her parents and her brother. Little by little, she gets used to her new life and forms new relationships. When, finally, she gets to feel at home in Switzerland, she is announced once more another departure. She arrives in France, a country she doesn’t know where they speak a language she doesn’t speak, without her friends and the things she knows. It’s another start from scratch. Disappointments and difficulties are the same for Anna in France as in Switzerland and will probably also be the same in England.
However, having travelled a lot when I was younger, I can say that Anna’s childhood is a happy one. At 12, she knows four countries (Germany, Switzerland, France and England) and speaks three languages (German, French and English). Moreover, she has learnt danger and risks, confidence and responsibilities, sadness and pleasure, dreams and fears, love and friendship, distance and attachment, hope and happiness… At 12 years old, she knows life. To me, the best way to grow up totally fulfilled, happy and at ease with oneself, is to know just as well how people live on the other side of the world as how they do in your own neighbourhood. Being able to experience other cultures, other ways of life, other languages, other countries, is a phenomenal stroke of luck. We miss a lot by not travelling. Anna has done, in 12 years, more than most people will ever do in an entire lifetime. Distance is a hard but really good teacher. It teaches us more than any book does and especially that love and friendship can outlive everything. Anna will probably never again see the people she knew in Germany, Switzerland and France but neither will she ever forget them because they gave meaning to her life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I can say that I really loved this book. Judith Kerr has succeedED in finding the right words to move readers and make them think. Nobody can forget Anna’ story. It’s a great lesson of courage and love. Throughout the story, I shared Anna’s feelings and life. I wish everybody read this book. It’s fantastic!
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Edité par tortue le 06-11-2005 08:37 Juste quelques corrections...
Réponse: Commentaire de aimen7, postée le 05-11-2005 à 20:10:15 (S | E)
Hello,
The few mistakes that remain are the mark of effort. Don't be shy tortue, your work is more than perfect, it has been done with perseverance and courage which is for me the most important. (On sent que tu y as mis tout ton coeur, tu donnes le bon exemple, bravo.)
Merci de nous envoyer "le produit fini" ou presque, ça donne en effet envie de lire cette nouvelle de Judith Kerr que je découvre grâce à toi tortue.
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Edité par aimen7 le 05-11-2005 20:10
Réponse: Commentaire de tortue, postée le 05-11-2005 à 20:27:13 (S | E)
Merci beaucoup d'avoir lu mon commentaire. Votre message m'a fait très plaisir. Je présente mon livre à mes camarades dans un peu plus d'une semaine. Il me reste à le peaufiner et à préparer ma présentation orale. !
INDISPENSABLES : 