Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Big Three: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt




       There were many brave leaders and tyrants in World War Two  and as many of us know about Adolf Hitler,we shall share some information about some of the other important people in this horrible war. We shall focus on Winston Churchill, FDR ( Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Joseph Stalin. 
   
The Big Three: Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill
                               
                                             






                                                     Winston Churchill   
                       
               
           Born on November 30th 1874,
Winston Churchill was a determined and inspiring leader all his years, and he led many great attacks, as well as several failed missions. One unsuccessful mission ,in particular, kicked Winston from his chair; out of the political game.
 Churchill was the First Lord Admiral and very respected, until he launched one of his great plans. The Gallipoli mission. That mission failed miserably, and thus the Admiral was demoted.
 During those days when he was deprived of his title, Winston served as an army lieutenant colonel until 1916.
 Because Churchill lived in England, he oversaw Neville Chamberlain, the current Prime Minister. Neville was clearly a weak leader to Churchill and, taking advantage of that, Winston became popular again.  Eventually, he was voted in as Prime Minister in Chamberlains place.
 In time, Winston Churchill befriended F.D.R. and their friendship lasted until Franklin's death, on April 12th, 1945.
 Before the 2nd world war ended, Winston Churchill was oddly voted out.
 Churchill died on January 24th, 1965. 
                             

                                                           Joseph Stalin   


The world had many dictators that were thirsty for complete domination of the world 
but thankfully no one has reached there yet.  One man in particular got the point of ruling a huge area of land. This piece of land was called the Soviet Union, but now we recognize it as Russia. 

   This usurper was evil at first; but then he helped the Allies win the war by helping them defeat Japan. This man is identified as Joseph Stalin.
            He was  born on December 18, 1878 and had a very difficult childhood. In his early years as an adult, he overtook the Tsar of Russia and that was the beginning of his dictatorship. He joined in World War Two with neighboring tyrants including Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito.
            One thing that Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler did together was invade Poland. Soon enough, Poland surrender and it was occupied by both Germany and Russia. The Axis Powers only then consisted of the Germans and Russians but soon more tyrants would follow. 
             After a couple of years, Adolf Hitler wanted even more power even if it meant getting it from his Axis partners. Hitler soon invaded Russia in order to receive what he wanted. But he did not get it because of the harsh Russian snows that kept him behind.

        Because of this sudden attack coming from Germany. Stalin joined the United States of America and Great Britain. They worked together to end the war by the Russians helping the Allies fight off Japan and the Allies helping Stalin defeat Germany. 

         Soon the war ended and Joseph Stalin died from cerebral hemorrhage on March 5,1953. 



Franklin Delano Roosevelt

   
            One of the unrivaled and most respected presidents of the United States of America was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He led us through two devastating events that caused hardships and much suffering,The Great Depression and World War Two.    
    
           He was born on January 30th, 1882 and became a remarkable leader. The 2nd Great War began for the U.S.A. when Japan unexpectedly bombed the naval base, Pearl Harbor. That was the last straw. The United States of America declared war on Japan. Soon enough, they also declared war on Germany and Italy. The whole world was basically at war and Franklin Roosevelt helped the Americans fight stronger than they ever fought before. As the Americans were getting stronger and winning the war, unfortunately FDR was getting weaker. 
       
         He passed away on April 12, 1945. The Americans were heartbroken because their brave and  great leader died just a couple of months before the war ended. But thankfully, Roosevelt knew that the United States of America would win the war. 


       Here is Franklin Delano Roosevelt talking at one
of his famous fireside chats. 
                                                  

  A pact was formed between Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt, and together, if Stalin would help the Allies fight the Japanese, then Americans would help destruct Adolf Hitler. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The Bard of all Eras; William Shakespeare

  


       William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright in history for a reason. He has penned some of the most famous plays in the world including Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet , and A Midsummer Night's Dream. 
                     
                                                   
  
       Although not much is recorded of his early life, we do have a few facts. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, the earliest records of the famed play write are of his christening. People believe he was born just a few days  before that ceremony.      

       William was raised in a wealthy household, and because of that, it is thought that he was able to attend school.  
This is Shakespeare's home: 
Because his father got in debt, the next years to be recorded are knows as the "Lost years" because nothing is written or known about Shakespeare in this time period.   We do know, however, that Mr. Shakespeare wed Anne Hathaway when he was eighteen. Anne on the other hand was 26 years old. They had three children : Hamnet , Judith , and Susanna.  

               


      In his whole life, William Shakespeare created 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Sonnets are poems that have 14 lines with each line being composed of 10 syllables. The last word in each line has to have a rhyming word, but it depends upon the rhyme scheme.  We learned that the Shakespearean Sonnet has a rhyme pattern of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.  Here is an example of one of Shakespeare's sonnets: 

Sonnet XII

    When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves 
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go, 
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
    And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
    Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. 


       Almost all of Shakespeare's plays are difficult to understand because of the language used back then including thee, thou and  ye . We read some easy-to-read books based on William Shakespeare's plays to fully understand them. One of the plays that was really amusing was A Midsummer Night's Dream . We then went to a performance of it at a theater which did an awesome job giving it a modern touch. The play is full of lovers and hysterical actors. 
             
   Besides writing plays and sonnets, Shakespeare wrote his will and possibly his gravestone's saying:  

"Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, to dig the dust enclosed here.                                        Blessed be the man that spares these stones.                                                                                   And cursed be he that moves my bones."            

     No one knows the reason he died but, he left the Earth on April 25, 1616, and was buried at the Church of Trinity, in Stratford-upon-Avon.