Sophie Scholl: Building Necessary Background Knowledge With a picture of Sophie Scholl to the left, read a short biography on her life. She is the speaker of the quote we will be interpreting today, so it is important to know from where her quote's ideology is coming. After reading the paragraph about Scholl, think about why we would be looking at one of her quotes. Even though she was in Nazi Germany and the African-American Civil Rights Movement took place in the U.S., how do they relate? |
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace.
Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves - or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.”
~ Sophie Scholl, a German student active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany.
Chunked Quote Slips for "Sorting Hat" Grab Bag Pick Sophie Scholl's quote was split into nine sections, and groups of approximately 2-3 students analyzed each section. As a Critical Lens practice activity, this chunking makes the quote more palatable and less intimidating. We worked together to comprehend its holistic message. Via random selection, students chose their quote section by picking it out of the Harry Potter "Sorting Hat" grab bag. For your assigned quote section, you will be interpreting it, adapting it into an original drawing, and comparing/contrasting that illustration with a blogger's graphic adaptation of the same quote. You will briefly present your quote section, drawing, and comparison to the class. |
I.
"The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves." |
II.
"Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness." |
III.
"Those who don’t like to make waves - or enemies." |
IV.
"Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature." |
V.
"Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control." |
VI.
"If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you" |
VII.
"But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what?" |
VIII.
"Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues," |
XI.
"and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn." |
Critical Lens Practice: Summarizing with Drawings After reading Sophie Scholl's quote (provided above), select one of the nine quote sections to illustrate from the list above. Your picture does not have to be a masterpiece or overly detailed. Stick figures are welcome! Your pictorial summary should be creative and informative! You will comparing yours against a blogger's graphic adaptation of this quote, so be sure to adapt the quote into a coherent and relevant picture that captures the essence of the quote. |
Compare/Contrast Part 1:
Student Drawings & ZenPencils Comic Webcomic blog, Zen Pencils, adapted Sophie Scholl's quote into a cartoon, which is provided at the end of this webpage (or by clicking on the picture to the left). In class, each group compared their original illustration to the associated panels in Gavin Aung Than's rendition. On a T-chart, they noted similarities and differences, then briefly presented their artwork and the associated panels to the class. In the presentations, they provided an overview of their T-chart and a rationale for why they chose to draw their quote section as they did. Read the entire webcomic. Identify the panels associated with your quote section, and compile a "similarities" and "differences" T-chart. |
Compare/Contrast Part 2:
Scholl's Quote & Thomas's Poem With comprehension of Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" as yesterday's lesson objective, and comprehension of Sophie Scholl's quote the goal of today's drawing summarization activity - and its supplementation by the Zen Pencils adaptation - the culminating synthesis activity challenges you to draw parallels between the two texts. Refresh your memory of Thomas's poem through the video to the right. Then, in an explanatory paragraph, answer the following questions: |
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1. How does the quote - and its associated Zen Pencils storyline - expand the possible meaning of the poem from advice on how to approach death to advice on how to live life in general?
2. How is the quote (keep in mind its speaker) and poem's advice upheld by the African-American Civil Rights movement?
2. How is the quote (keep in mind its speaker) and poem's advice upheld by the African-American Civil Rights movement?
For an idea on how to start thinking about the quote and poem's relationship, see below:
Gavin Aung Than's Zen Pencils
108. SOPHIE SCHOLL: The Fire Within
108. SOPHIE SCHOLL: The Fire Within