Comprehension, Analysis, Creative Writing - short story

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E BOE/SU 04.02.2d Locker 160 (by Lee Busselmann) Karen's perspective It was my idea, I guess, in the first place. "Let's put a hate note in someone's locker," I said to Julie, half as a joke. We were waiting for biology class to begin. She smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Another one of your great ideas, Karen? Whose locker do you suggest we put it in?" I glanced around the room. "Oh-Miriam." It wasn't that we really - I mean really hated Miriam That is, we both said "Good morning" to her and "See you tomorrow." But she was just - well, different. In spite of the fact that she was pretty, with long, black hair and a graceful figure, she wasn't popular. Miriam always kept to herself. Besides that, she wrote poetry - that weird, free verse kind that nobody can understand. That was how it began. 1. KLAUSUR The next morning, Julie and I arrived at school early. We planned to write a note and put it in Miriam's locker, number 160. "What should we say?" I asked. I held my pencil over a piece of notebook paper. "Something simple. How about 'You stink' I printed the message in large, untidy letters. "There said, handing the paper to Julie. "I don't want it. You take it." She pushed the note back. "I'm scared." Karen wrote the note, had the idea... I didn't want to, but I took the paper. My hands trembled as I walked down the hallway. I heard the wants loud clack of my footsteps on the linoleum. As I came near locker 160, I looked around to make sure Julie to nobody was watching. There was only Julie, peeking around the corner of the hall. I opened Miriam's do it locker. The books were neatly piled on the metal shelf. A notebook with "Miriam Laker" written on it doesn't was beside them. I placed our note on her notebook, where she would be sure to see it. I closed the locker door and I want to de it walked away, with a pleasant feeling of relief. We stayed in the hall almost 15 minutes, waiting for 4 Karen does y they are bored "Simpulsive no reason for their Miriam to arrive. Then Julie nudged me and whispered, "Here she comes." Miriam went directly to her locker. "Look," Julie whispered. "Look at her face." We burst out laughing. It was clear that Miriam had seen the note. Her face looked as if she had been hit with a wet dish rag. Julie and I fled, giggling, to the rest room. 26 27 28 29 After that it was easy. The next day, we arranged an open plastic bag of marbles in Miriam's locker. When the hundreds of a froid marbles went bouncing and clattering down the hallway, I wonder how she explained it to the they were firsh ther He was After that, Julie got the idea of my when it happened of Miriam. I must say we did an excellent job. ne regrets not empathic heither but does it anyway We used a large carrot for the body, and a small onion with black yarn for the head. After we drew the face on in ink, we stuck a huge hat pin through the onion. Then we hung a tiny sign on the doll that said "Miriam". I thought it looked rather cute on the shelf of Miriam's locker. We reached a new height the next day. Julie had a petition to change the school dress code. It had been signed by almost our whole class, but it hadn't been given to the principal yet. We traced all the names onto another sheet of paper, which said: "We, the undersigned, do hereby declare that Miriam Laker is weird, and do hereby announce that we hate her." Julie put that little gem in Miriam's locker, just before biology class. We waited in the biology room for Miriam to come in. We wanted to see how she had taken our last surprise. The tardy bell rang, but Miriam still hadn't come. "Maybe she isn't here today," Julie whispered to me. "She's never been late for a class before." The period was almost over when we heard the rescue squad arrive at school. Our teacher left the room to find out what had happened. I could hear him talking to another teacher in the hall. "What's all this about?" our teacher asked. "Oh, some girl - last name's Laker, I think - locked herself in the Home Ec room. She turned on the gas from all four stoves. They got her out just in time." "Did you hear that?" I asked Julie. She nodded in amazement. "Well," I whispered, "I always knew that anyone who wrote poetry would come to a bad end." ↓ feels successful because it was their work they don't feel bad about their deeds EF G1 E BOE/SU Schüler/in: Tasks: 1. Aids: Sterbehilfe Mara Behnsch Source: Comprehension: ng eines bloß bewuss- istische Behaup- na schlim- 1. KLAUSUR Briefly summarize the short story. Pay special attention to the development of the conflict. 2. Analysis: Characterize Karen and Julie. Pay special attention to their behavior towards Miriam. 3. Choose only one of the following tasks: a) Evaluation: Comment whether bullying should be addressed in school. Remember to mention pro and contra arguments. b) Creative Writing: How would you feel if you were Miriam and were constantly bullied at school? Write a blog entry from Miriam's perspective in which you describe how you are feeling about the attacks happening at school. dictionary: English - English Copyright by Scholastic Inc, 730 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 1003, USA. (URL: http://englischlehrer.de/texts/locker160.php) Mara Behnsch they are generally hind 04.02.21 Sterbehilfe ng eines bloß bewuss- etische Behaup a Besides that is "pretty, with long, black hair graceful figure "((. 8). are not confident it to they to her face because they are kind A to her in general lef. 1.7); In conclusion, Karen and Julie are just bored and have no actual reason to treat Minam like that because she has donc. nothing wrong, she is just, differed (1.8). 3b) Hey everyone, Actually, I'm not sure if any- one is going to read this. And if they do, they will probably make fun of me again. Maybe I don't even want one to any read this anyway. But the only thing which helps me to overcome my thoughts, to forget the things that people are doing to me, is to write about those things. Writing has always been my chance to escape the reality. Even if it won't help me to find friends or if it won't stop the bullying, it stops my thoughts of hurting myself for a few minutes. I feel like I'm 5 she is a coward 12.21 goes for it either way (cf. (. 17). She is afraid because her "hands tremble [..." but she has stamina. that Karen feels because she does not go back. You can also forced by herself to do it because say it was her idea and she does not want Julie to think that she is A cowardly. When Karen has done The what she wanted to, she has a "pleasant feeling of relief" (1.23). girls are cunous because they. are waiting for Min am to arrive " (11.23-24). They both like. 6o others suffer because see they "burst out laughing " 11.30) when Minam seems hurt because. of the note. It also shows how A mean they are. This is also proven when they describe her face as "hit with a wet dish rag" (1.27). They do not stand behind their deed as you can see when they flee (cf. 67). Even if they have been. afraid at the beginning of the story, "after that it [is].. easy" (1.29) for them to go on. They try to let Miriam seem guilty for their cleeds toward her and they 04.02.21 afraid to cry. I don't want them to have even more reasons to hate me. I have no idea what to do. here. In At the beginning, I thought it was unferir that they are allowed to Live a wonderful life while being such a bad person and I have to be alone and desperate even if I always was hind to everyone. 근 Now, I think that I have to be a bad person, too. Other ways they wouldn't treatme this way Maybe the world would be a better place without me. But to all of you, please treat people with hindness It's too late for me but for you it is not. Utilitaristische Position zur Sterbehilfe Mara Behnsch 1) The short story. "Locker 2,2 160" written by Lee Busselmann is about two girls who are bullying another girl of their school. The action which is described takes place at a school (and it is already over because the story is written in past tense) The friends Karen and Julie decide to put a mean note in the locher of one of their classmates. After that is → fictional texts tend to be written in 7 past rense done, they stop feeling bad and continue bullying the girl called Miriam. It gets worse from time to time. At the end of the short story, Miriam tries: to kill herself. 2 2) Now, I am going to characterize Karen and Julie and their behavior towards Miriam. The girls start to bully Minam because they are bored (cf. 113.5). They are impulsive because they do not think about what could happen in the following. Besicher z that, they just decide to bully Miniam because she is the first person they see when they are looking around the room (1.61, "Oh. Miriam " (1.6). The idea to do it comes random ✓ ly without any reason as you can see when Waren says "Let's put a hate note in someone's locker "((3)." They explain their behavior towards Miriam with the fact that she "wr[ike [3] poetry" (1.9) and that she popular" z P. [is] pretty " 11.81 but not, 11 P (1.9.). Plaven and Julie have nothing to Psay to Miriam, they have the di Pintention to hurt her: What z e) should we say?" (1.13). that she PO Karen is convincing because, was [her] idea" ((. 1). Julie helps her but she does not do everything Waren tells her to do as you can see when she says. does not "want it'll 16) and that Julie should ale it" (1.16). She is "scared" (1.16 and she is confident enough to not withhold it from her friend. Karen doeshot want it too but W/ 6 either t caught in a nightmare. One day, was fine, the next everything day I found the note in my locker and suddenly everything changed. Everyone started to me or even w about orse; make z prep of me. And when it got wore and worse, I started to overthink my actions, my ignore fun q -behavior, my appearance. And from day to day, I hated myself even more. What do I have left now? I'm wondering what I did to them and what is wrong with me every single day. I've many to come but to be honpportunities. A I don't see any good reason in all of it. Why do they have to make me feel like that? Now I'm only a numb person and I'm falling into a black hole which seems so endless. Sometimes, z I think the only way to escape is the death. Maybe it's peaceful A on the other side. I'm afraid to go to school, I'm afraid of talking or raising my hand in class, I'm afraid to eat, I'm afraid to laugh, I'm 3.6 EF G1 E BOE/SU Annotations: • . . • • . . 1. KLAUSUR 2.21 locker - small cupboard for keeping things in (at school) weird - strange, unnatural to nudge-to touch or push gently principal - head of a Am. School voodoo-Zauber, Hexerei cute - AE. pretty to trace - here: to copy tardy bell - (AE) signal that class is about to begin Home Ec- abbreviation for Home Economics, a course for girls in homemaking skills hair 8). -onfident to ind lie ·m "C I creat