Christmas Role Model

Sure maybe I have issues but this year's Christmas role model is Hermes the elf from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. He is the recipient of this prestigious title because he is just the coolest elf ever. He doesn't care about conventional rules or about fitting in. He just wants to do what he's interested in. No one took into consideration that he wanted to do something useful, it's not as though he was into drugs or pyromania, he was just concerned with oral hygiene, which is something I'm very much for. I appreciate that when he was unhappy somewhere he just took off and left. He didn't stick around in misery.

Hermes also easily makes friends everywhere he goes. Whereas Rudolph is kind of shy and timid, Hermes is outgoing and friendly. I would have wanted to befriend the misfit toys with him, especially the train with square wheels or the charlie in the box.

Another reason Hermes is cool is because he has such a fun name to say. If I remember accurately, Hermes is the name of the messenger of the gods. In this world, Hermes the elf is the messenger of individuality.

Favorite Hermes Quote: They can't fire me, I quit.

Watch him in action below. This is some of his best stuff:

No Bake Christmas Cookies

Today I spent some time making two of my favorite Christmas cookies. I love them because they don't take long to make so they are great for lazy people like myself. If only there were people who would clean up the mess as well. 


The first type is called Stained Glass Cookies. I remember having these as a kid at my Grandmother's cousin's house and for about 15 years I tried to figure out how to make them. Luckily, a coworker named Julie found this recipe online and shared it with me. I recently encountered my Grandmother's cousin and told her about these cookies she made and how much I loved them and tried to find the recipe for so long. She had no idea what I was talking about.

Stained Glass Cookies

Ingredients:


1. 1 Package (10.5 ounces) Mini Marshmallows (Colored is preferred)
2. I Package (12 ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
3. 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4. 1 Stick of Butter or 1/2 Cup of Butter (or Margarine)


Directions


1. Place Butter and Chocolate Chips in a large bowl and microwave on high for 45 seconds. 
2. Stir and return to microwave for 20 more seconds. Stir again. Repeat this step until chocolate and butter are melted.
3. Add in Vanilla Extract and stir until well blended.
4. Let sit for ten minutes so the chocolate is cool and will not melt the marshmallows.
5. Add in marshmallows and stir until the entire package is well coated.
6. Roll out at least 2ft of Aluminum foil and pour mixture onto the foil. Stretch dough out into a 1 1/2 ft-2ft log.
7. You may coat the mixture with coconut or chopped nuts if you desire.
8. Wrap up tightly. Twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate for at least two hours and then cut into 1/3 inch slices.


The next recipe I got from the Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook. I love peanut butter so this easy to make No-Bake Peanut Butter Squares seemed perfect. I'm too lazy to type in the recipe from this cookbook but I found a really great one that someone else typed in. This is from the indecisivebaker.blogspot.com. I really love that name because I am indecisive. Also her name is Rebecca too. Coolest lady ever.

No Bake Peanut Butter Treats 

(adapted from busy-at-home.com)

Ingredients:
* 1 cups butter, melted
* 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 1 lb. powdered sugar
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
*2 Tablespoons dark chocolate chips
Directions:
Crush graham crackers into crumbs- get out some pent up frustration.(or buy crumbs if you’re feeling ‘zen’)

Melt butter in microwave safe bowl.

Add peanut butter, powdered sugar and graham cracker crumbs to butter and mix well. It will form a soft, moist dough. I used my Kitchen Aid for this - and it was a dream. If you feel like a work out - use a bowl and spoon.

Press the dough into a lightly greased 9x13 parchment lined pan (I LOVE parchment)

In another microwave safe container, melt the semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until they are completely melted and spreadable.

Spread on top of the peanut butter mixture till smooth. Melt dark chunks in the similar fashion and drizzle on top of the semi sweet. IF you want pretty little bars- score the chocolate now, for easy, no breakage cutting later.

OR (what I would have done if I were thinking clearly about it) use candy molds or mini silicone cupcake molds. They would be utterly adorable and no cutting to worry about.

However you do it, after done spreading chocolate refrigerate until chocolate is set!

Middle School Language Evaluations

Here is something I typed up for an administrator regarding Middle School Language Evaluations.  It provides an adequate explanation of a few assessment tools I use and what they measure.

Middle School Language Evaluations

Tests Administered:

Below are the tests that I most use to assess students. On occasion other tests may be selected based on the specific information we are trying to derive.

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4^th Edition (PPVT-4)

Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL)

Pragmatics Profile from the CELF-4

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4^th Edition

The PPVT-4 is administered to assess a student’s single word receptive vocabulary. It requires the student to identify the correct word by touching the corresponding picture from a field of four. Scores between 85-115 fall within the average range.

Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL)

Subtests from the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) are administered to assess the student’s receptive and expressive oral language skills.  These skills include comprehension, expression, and retrieval in four language structure categories, lexical/semantic, (i.e. understanding word meaning) syntactic, supralinguistic, and pragmatic (appropriate language use).

Five subtests are administered to assess the student’s spoken language.  The subtests from the CASL have a standard score of 100 with a standard deviation of +/- 15; therefore scores between 85 – 115 are within the average range. The following table presents a brief description of each subtest, and the student’s standard scores in relation to the individual subtests. 

If they are 13 years or older the core language test includes Synonyms, Grammaticality Judgment, Nonliteral Language, Meaning from Context, and Pragmatic Judgment.

If they are younger than 13 years the core language test includes Antonyms, Grammatical Morphemes, Sentence Comprehension, Nonliteral Language, and Pragmatic Judgment.

The following table presents a brief description of each subtest, and the student’s standard scores in relation to the individual subtests. 

Subtest	Test Format	Standard Score	Interpretation
Antonyms: measures child’s knowledge of words.	Child must provide a word that means the opposite of the presented word.
Grammatical Morphemes: measures child’s knowledge and use of the form and meaning of grammatical morphemes.	Child is given instruction to complete an analogy to compare the grammatical relationship between the meanings of two words with a grammatical relationship between the meanings of a second pair of words. (Example: “GEOGRAPHY is to GEOGRAPHER as MUSIC is to ___”
Sentence Comprehension: measures child’s word knowledge, retrieval, and oral expression in a linguistic context.	The clinician reads the child two sentences and asks whether the sentences have the same meaning or a different one.
Grammaticality Judgment: measures child’s ability to make immediate judgments of grammatically of sentences and to correct those sentences that contain grammatical errors.	Child is given a sentence and must determine whether it is grammatically correct. If not, the child must correct the error so that the sentence is grammatically correct.  (Example: “He couldn’t see none of his family at the game.”)
Meaning from Context: measures child’s inference ability to arrive at meaning of spoken text. (Therefore, their world knowledge is not required.)	The clinician reads the child a sentence that contains a word with which they are not familiar. The child must use clues within the sentence to derive the meaning of the word.  (An example would be “The tour members tried to obtain the services of a cicerone at each of the museums they visited. Explain what cicerone means.”)
Nonliteral Language: measures child’s comprehension of complex language whose meaning is not directly available from lexical or grammatical information.	The clinician reads the child a short sentence that contains a nonliteral expression.  The clinician then asks the child what this expression means.
Pragmatic Judgment: measures awareness of appropriate language in a situational context and the ability to modify this language as necessary.	The clinician reads the child a scenario. The clinician asks the child what the appropriate language in this situation would be.

The student then receives an overall score. If it is lower than 85 they are in the below average range.

Supplementary Subtests

Based on testing scores I may add in additional subtests as needed. (They may be any of the ones mentioned above that were not part of the student’s core language). For example I may give a student older than 13 the Antonyms subtest in order to derive more information about the student’s vocabulary.

Below are additional subtests that are useful for understanding a student’s inferencing skills and are particularly useful for children with ASD to get a better grasp on their specific language difficulties.

Subtest	Test Format	Standard Score	Interpretation
Idiomatic Language: measures child’s receptive knowledge of idioms.	Child must complete an idiomatic phrase. (Example: “Money always burns a hole in my…”)
Inference: measures child’s ability to problem-solve.	Child is read a short scenario. He must use the clues in the story to infer why a character performed a specific action or why they felt a certain way.   (Example: “The builder had to change the size of the doorways in the basketball player’s house. Why?”)
Ambiguous Sentences: measures understanding of words that have more than one meaning and can be interpreted in more than one way.	The clinician reads the child a sentence to be interpreted by the student in two ways. (Example: “It’s too bad the glasses are broken.”)

From supplemental subtests I sometimes can derive Category Index scores. I am most likely to derive a Category Index for Supralinguistics which has to do with a student’s ability to comprehend complex language in which meaning is not directly available from lexical or grammatical information. This refers to a student’s inferencing abilities or ability to understand nonliteral language. 

Pragmatics Profile from the CELF-4

The pragmatics profile is used to obtain information regarding a student’s development of verbal and nonverbal social communication skills and aspects of language use (Secord et. al, 197). The pragmatics profile is a 52-item checklist of speech intentions typically expected for social and school interactions. They are judged on a 4-point scale questionnaire that targets three areas:

1.)                            Rituals and Conversational Skills

2.)                            Asking For, Giving, and Responding to Information

3.)                            Nonverbal Communication Skills

This scale is completed by a staff member who is most familiar with the student's pragmatic abilities.

Last Minute Gifts

For those of you who really need some last minute gift guidance, I highly suggest you head over to Glamour's website for their gift guide. They have some really great ideas for guys and girls.

Check it out: Gift Guide

Christmas Trivia

To festively cheer up your Monday I have some fun Christmas trivia for all of you. The answers (in case you don't know them) are in the comments section.

1.) What is the most common gem stone to be purchased at Christmas time?

2.) In what country was the first Christmas card created? 

3.) What is the biggest selling Christmas single of all time?

4.) What song does a caroler sing outside Scrooge's office?

5.) What is the most popular tree topper?

6.) How many gifts would you receive if you counted all the gifts in the song 12 days of Christmas?
      a. 364 b. 211 c. 12 d. 194

7.) Which U.S. President banned Christmas trees in his home, even when he lived in the White House?


8.) What holiday film annually appears on television more than 300 times??


9.) Which state is the leading producer of Christmas trees?


10.) Name the 2 states in the U.S.A. with a town called "North Pole." 

Tim Tebow

Last night's Saturday Night Live was one of the funniest episodes I've seen in years. These days, I only tune in when Justin Timberlake is the host as he can pretty much do no wrong, but that is a post for another day.

Back to last night's SNL.....Jimmy Fallon was hilarious as host and it was awesome to see so many former cast members make appearances. One of the funniest skits was the one about Tim Tebow and the Denver Bronco's recent success. Look. I love a good story as much as the next sports fan and I can definitely see the appeal of Tim Tebow. He is a pretty exciting player, especially when he is escaping the rush and running the football. Also, seeing an option offense is not something I thought I would ever see in the NFL. However, the hyperbole surrounding Tebow in recent weeks has been a bit much and SNL captured that pefectly.





Hilarious!

I know that even though he lost today (Go Pats!) his story will continue on ESPN and talk radio. Only now it will be "Can Tebow come back from loss?".."Can he rebound?"

I hope he can. There was a conversation today as I watched the game at a friend's house that he is a hard player NOT to like. He showed great sportsmanship when Andre Carter was injured. However, if he faces the Patriots again, I hope Brady puts up 40 plus points again.

This Week in Speech Class

I missed all of last week due to unfortunate circumstances, but my students were ready and waiting when I returned on Monday. They appeared to have missed me (probably because they were forced to attend all of their classes). I know how much you would all love to be members of my speech class and so I am now providing you with what we are doing in our Language Class.

This week our Word of the Week is:

PERSISTENT- Refusing to give up or stop.

My students and I then discussed this word and different situations where it would be applicable. They were then forced to write a grammatically appropriate and meaningful sentence using this word. (One student  persisted that she would not pick up a dog's pee or poop others were persistent that they would not attend their classes).

Next we read over a quick parts of speech review explaining adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, etc. so that we could play a game of Holiday Mad Libs. This is a good activity to reteach parts of speech (which can always use a good review) and get them excited to come up with new and interesting words in a fun format. The website below has some good internet mad libs which would be a fun change from the printable version:


http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

What Was Becky Thinking?

Apparently I'm the newest contributor here. I'll try to be interesting, but don't count on it. In all likelihood, I'll use this platform to trash anything Becky posts and write long winded movie reviews, enjoy!

Also, follow me on Twitter, sometimes I'm funny there (@nickpiccolino)

- Nick P.

Colonial Gingerbread Love

I was a young girl when I had my first taste of Colonial Williamsburg's gingerbread deliciousness. At the time the blessed Colonial women baked them fresh in their old fashioned ovens and then lightly dusted them with some confectionary sugar. Later on I would be devastated to learn from Lauren Burr that now they are prepackaged. This is a travesty to the Colonial times. 


I have done some crazy things to acquire Colonial gingerbread. I have threatened Lauren's boyfriend to bring me some and I have walked through Colonial Williamsburg's back alleys just to sneak into the bake shop without paying admission. This might seem outrageous and ridiculous but the gingerbread at its peak was worth all this trouble.

One day I was wise enough to look up the recipe on the internet so that I could make these cookies whenever I wanted them so I no longer need to stoop to such low levels. For a few years in a row I made this gingerbread recipe around Christmas time. (I think I was in Grad school at the time so it was definitely something better to do than study for finals). I thought it would be easy, but I really have to hand it to the Colonial bakers. Molasses is no joke to bake with. It is SO sticky that it would take me forever to turn this dough into something workable. There were times I wanted to throw the dough out and quit because it was just sticking to my hands, but I persevered and I'm glad I did. That's just who I am, a hard worker who never quits. Haha. Let me know if you can make these better than I can. I'm sure most people are much more capable at it.

Here is the recipe that Colonial Williamsburg posted from the History.org website. 

Gingerbread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup melted margarine
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup unsulfered molasses
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
• 4 cups stone-ground or unbleached flour, unsifted

Instructions: Combine the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the melted margarine, evaporated milk and molasses. Add the extracts. Mix well. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly. The dough should be stiff enough to handle without sticking to fingers. Knead the dough for a smoother texture. Add up to ½ cup additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. When the dough is smooth, roll it out ¼ inch thick on a floured surface and cut it into cookies. Bake on floured or greased cookie sheets in a preheated 375° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The gingerbread cookies are done when they spring back when touched.

Of course I believe it is necessary to sprinkle some confectionary sugar on after they come out of the oven. It makes a world of difference and ushers in that lovely Colonial feel. I would have been an awesome 18th Century woman. Well I would have needed a television to fall asleep, but other than that I think the 18th Century rocked.

Fashion Board

This is a board I made with some classically beautiful fashion finds. 

First Board by rgallu06 featuring genuine leather handbags

Monsoon cowl neck dress
£49 - monsoon.co.uk

Milly genuine leather handbag
$330 - nordstrom.com

Belle Noel by Kim Kardashian magnetic necklace
$125 - revolveclothing.com

Gilly Forge faux fur hat
$185 - barneys.com

FLORERA
$1.99 - ikea.com

Bling Votive Lamps - 9" & 11" | Z Gallerie
$23 - zgallerie.com

7.0-8.0 mm Cultured Akoya Freeform Baroque Loose Pearls from Pearl...
$2,500 - pearlparadise.com

Movies and Television for Social Language Learning

 At the ASHA convention there was a class entitled "Movie Time Social Learning: Watching Movies to Build Social Understanding" by Anna Vagin, Ph.D.


This confirmed what I had thought before when I used popular programs such as Full House, Saved by the Bell, and Boy Meets World to help teach my students about how to use social language appropriately. I selected these shows because they are family friendly, deal with real teen scenarios, and have characters that are relatable to middle school children.

Vagin writes that movie time social learning helps children to improve their ability to identify feelings, thoughts, and motives of characters. They can practice their perspective taking skills, discern feeling states and expand their ability to reflect empathic understanding.

She also classified children into three categories: Junior Mindreaders, Moving Up Mindreaders, and Varsity Mindreaders. Students fit into these categories based on their Language, Perspective Taking Skills, and Understanding of Emotions. 

She also presents different tasks that can be used while watching social language clips. The students may use their eyes to identify nonverbal skills characters are portraying (sadness, happiness, anger) or they may use their minds to interpret why they feel that particular way. The speech pathologist may ask them questions such as "Have you ever felt the same way as this character?" or "What would you say in this situation?" Visual aids such as social relationship maps may be helpful for the student to organize complex information and aid discussion. I'm definitely going to think about incorporating more visual modeling clips into my lessons because it is highly motivating. However, I will be sure to include more visual aids to organize the information better.

A Month of Giving-Donation for Week 3

Drive to End Hunger

At drivetoendhunger.org you can help pick up the grocery tab for a senior citizen. On their website I learned that every day in the U.S., millions of older Americans struggle to put food on the table. Faced with a struggling economy and rising health care costs, they face a grim choice: whether to skip meals, or choose cheaper, less nutritious foods.

AARP Foundation works to give seniors a better choice. They provide long-term solutions to the problem of senior hunger - from AARP’s Drive To End Hunger initiative which access local food banks and food drives, to their direct one-on-one assistance programs, to their work in enrolling more seniors in critical government programs. 

So help fight senior hunger and reach more older Americans struggling to survive by supporting AARP Foundation and the Drive To End Hunger with a contribution today. The website notes that for a gift of $24 or more, you'll receive  a specially designed AARP Foundation Drive To End Hunger cap. However, even a gift of $8 will feed a senior citizen healthy meals for one day.

A Month of Giving-Donation for Week 2

I've really fallen behind on charitable acts this month so I am going to post two at once for today. 

If you go to faceaids.org and donate five dollars, an HIV positive pregnant woman in Rwanda will receive vital drugs to help prevent transmission of the virus to her baby. 

On their website they also note that in addition to monetary donations there are several in-kind donations that would be of great help to FACE AIDS. 

"If you are able to contribute one of the items on the wish list below, please contact Julie Veroff at julie@faceaids.org. Our wish list includes:

Airline Miles: While we are conservative in our travel expenditures, air travel is necessary to our work in several respects. Namely, we offer travel stipends to FACE AIDS student leaders to attend our annual conference when they are otherwise financially unable to attend. Our executive staff also travels between the U.S. and Rwanda approximately twice per year for program development and review.

Food and Drinks: FACE AIDS holds annual events involving several hundred student leaders from across the United States that would benefit from the sponsorship of restaurants, groceries, and other food and drink providers.

Office Supplies: Printer paper, printer cartridges, notebooks, pens and pencils, envelopes, and stamps are always in need and very helpful. We also occasionally need desks, chairs, and other pieces of office furniture."

Holiday Soundtrack

I love Christmas music and have a huge holiday playlist on my iTunes. However, every year I also burn a Christmas soundtrack CD with my favorite songs of the moment. Below are the ones I would compile for this year. Some lucky classics always make the list. Don't judge me for the last one.


1.) O Holy Night by Celine Dion

2.) Winter was Warm from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

3.) Song for a Winter's Night by Sarah McLachlan

4.) Don't Need a Reindeer by The Moody Blues

5.) Little Christmas Tree by Michael Jackson

6.) Fairytale of New York by the Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl

7.) Don't Shoot Me Santa by the Killers

8.) Mary, Did you Know by Clay Aiken

9.) The Most Wonderful Day of the Year by The Glee Cast

10.) Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid

11.) All I Want for Christmas is You by Lady Antebellum

12.) Christmas Eve by Celine Dion

13.) Thankful by Josh Groban

14.) What Child is This by the Judds

15.) All Wrapped Up in You by Clay Walker

16.) Where are you Christmas by Faith Hill

17.) My Only Wish by Britney Spears

18.) Mistletoe by Justin Bieber

Never Grow Up

The Value of Life

Whenever someone passes in your family (or even on TV) it makes you stop and reassess the importance of life and the things that are meaningful. This reminded me of a paper I wrote while attending Providence College. At that school they make you take two years of Western Civ, whether you like it or not. Although most people deny it at the time, most students do end up loving civ because it gives you a good overview of EVERYTHING from pretty much the beginning of time. Of course I've forgotten a great deal of what I've learned, but every so often a tidbit will come to mind, which is really helpful during Jeopardy. Below I would like to share a paper I wrote on the Value of Life where I compared two works: The Death of Ivan Ilych by Tolstoy and Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. These were two of my favorite books back in the day. This is definitely not my best writing, I even cringed at some moments reading it now, so please forgive past Rebecca.

The Value of Life

          Assimilating key ideas and concepts from differing works of literature allows for one to gain a greater perspective regarding their own life. The great works Testament of Youth and The Death of Ivan Ilych leave one to ponder society’s varying views on the value of life, a subject which has always received great contemplation from the philosophizing of Socrates to modern scholarly debates. Testament explores this subject through the auto-biographical eyes of a young woman who experienced the First World War whereas Ivan Ilych is one of Tolstoy’s commentaries on the apparent emptiness and status quo-oriented outlook on the society of his time. Interestingly enough, both invariably result in the same conclusion regarding the topic at hand. This can be witnessed through the exploration of the genuineness of agape love. This would be the standard by which one could measure the value of life as it is presented in these stories. To do so one must take into account the distinct forms of pleasure the characters derived from their lives, and make note of the colossal difference between leading a fake life as opposed to an authentic life.

            A life of pleasure means something different for all parties involved. The Utilitarians believed that the value of one’s life is calculated by the capability of devoting one’s time to pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. In doing so they created a scale whereby some pleasures were greater than others. In the story of The Death of Ivan Ilych one realizes that he has accumulated all the material pleasures society has to offer, including the beautiful house, the successful job; in essence, all the trimmings. His life was like a cake in which he had all the ingredients for creating pleasure and yet the taste was not quite right. One gets this impression by the way in which he never feels satisfied or happy, as his final thoughts reveal, “This is wrong, it is not as it should be. All you have lived for and still live for is falsehood and deception, hiding life and death from you (61).” The material satisfaction was gone and all Ivan was left with was emptiness. The end of the book ushers in his great epiphany where he comes to the realization of the true measure of the value of life. It resides in the only truly pleasurable prospect, love. This is the only human capability which is an end in itself, thereby shaping a life that is worth living. It provides the incentive necessary to wake up every morning to a day that is not mundane and treacherous, but rather full of feeling and satisfaction. Ivan has this vision as death encroaches upon him whereby he witnesses the light which revealed to him that “though his life had not been what it should have been, this could still be rectified. He asked himself, ‘What is the right thing?’ and grew still, listening. Then he felt that someone was kissing his hand. He opened his eyes, looked at his son, and felt sorry for him (62).” Ivan luckily would get a chance at rebirth, to begin life anew heeding those most important lessons he learned concerning where the real source of pleasure begins. Vera Brittain in Testament would come to the same realization, for her only escape from the long exhaustive day of continuous nursing would be to think of her dear Roland out in the trenches fighting. The love between them kept her going. “What a poor, empty thing life would be now if he weren’t right in it…filling the whole horizon, giving purpose and justification to the abandonment of loveliness and learning, the substitution of forlorn hours of pain-tormented monotony (226).” She maintained continuous hope that a letter would arrive, or perhaps news would come of a possibility that they could be joined together soon. Unlike Ivan she had not enraptured herself with material possessions, but actually shunned them. Rather than residing within the comfort of Oxford University’s halls, she chose to be in the workforce, in the less than perfect conditions of the nursing quarters. Through this dreary lifestyle she received a feeling of contentedness with the knowledge that she was contributing something that was used to benefit other people. She may have only been a VAD, but rank was of no concern because the welfare and protection of those she loved was all that mattered. Ivan’s job, on the other hand, was mostly self-serving. The title he had acquired was there only to serve as status. While Ivan’s life was vacuous, for he had become detached from nature and spirituality, Vera held on to these things in the early part of her life, as did the other characters, such as Edward, Victor and Roland. They all did not desire to fight in the war, but it was satisfying to them that they were doing it for a cause - the love of their country.

            By understanding where the true pleasure comes from, it is important to make note of the fact that there exist two distinct forms of love, eros and agape. Here they are defined by the great philosopher Karl Barth in his Church Dogmatics. “Eros is love which is wholly claim, wholly the desire to control…it is the love in which the one who loves and the object of love are one and the same, so that from first to last it is self-love (187).” On the other hand, he states that “Agape means self-giving; not the losing of oneself in the other…but identification with his interests in utter independence of the question of his attractiveness, of what he has to offer, of the reciprocity of the relationship, or repayment in the form of a similar self-giving (188).” Therefore, with agape the love is true and directed to others, whereas with eros it is purely love for self-fulfillment. This is where one understands the representation of two different ways of life, the fake one ruled by eros and the authentic one guided by agape love.

            The significance of Tolstoy’s work was in making this distinction between the artificial and genuine life. The artificial characters are best represented not only by Ivan, Peter, and his wife Praskovya, but by the whole society in general. These were people invested in shallow relationships, as one can witness that the death of Ivan does not really affect them greatly. He was a coworker, husband, father, and yet he was no real loss, “Each one thought or felt, ‘Well he’s dead but I’m alive!’ But the more intimate of Ivan Ilych’s acquaintances, his so-called friends, could not help thinking also that they would now have to fulfill the very tiresome demands of propriety by attending the funeral service and paying a visit of condolence to the widow (16).” The self-interest of these people even goes as far as the scenes with the widow Praskovya seeking more money from her late husband’s pension, as well as the characters of Peter Ivanovich and Fedor Vasilievich desiring to play bridge immediately following the funeral. They are incapable of feeling any pity or compassion, and the only love they can attain is that of eros. They love money, quick pleasures and material possessions, but not one another. This kind of life can only make one feel alone and not of great value. At the time of death Ivan feels this and realizes how unfulfilled and isolated he had been all along. This is very different from the World War I society of Vera Brittain. Each new slaughter was horrifying to her and her fellow companions. At one point she was even treating German soldiers, and in doing so she realized that the war was nobody’s fault. The Germans were just like them and also deserved her care. Although this society was portrayed as proving they were capable of loving one another, there was the essence of a fake life for the men in the trenches. The constant slaughtering and barbarism they witnessed daily disillusioned their minds, and changed them from loving creatures to being hardened emotionally. Roland oftentimes would write letters to Vera of sentiments he really did not mean.

            I was later to realize through my own mental surrender-that only a process of complete adaptation, blotting out tastes and talents and even memories, made life sufferable for someone face to face with war at its worst. I was not to discover for another year how completely the War possessed one’s personality the moment that one crossed the sea, making England and all the uninitiated marooned within its narrow shores seem remote and insignificant (217).

The war killed the natural spirit of so many people that it became hard to love when there was so much death all around, for to get attached emotionally to anything seemed dangerous after that point. Mothers lost their sons, wives lost their husbands, and basically a whole generation of young men was wiped out. It is apparent that the consequences of the age in which these stories were written greatly affected them. The materialism created the superficial characters in Ivan and the horrid effects of war infiltrating the minds of those in Testament. Due to these factors, the people were not building deep bonds with one another, which is the mark of an authentic life of love.

            As witnessed throughout time, the ability to give of yourself completely to another without looking for any reciprocity, as well as having pity and compassion for your fellow beings marks the qualities necessary for the right way of life. In Ivan Ilych there is one character that best represents this way of life, Gerasim the young servant attendant. He was empathetic towards Ivan’s plight the whole story through, he showed this care by holding his legs up for him so as to ease his discomfort and he would also converse with him while seeking nothing in return. He cared for him simply because he knew that one day he too would be in the same position. Gerasim stated “‘We shall all of us die, so why should I grudge a little trouble?’-expressing the fact that he did not think his work burdensome, because he was doing it for a dying man and hoped someone would do the same for him when his time came (49).” This bond between them broke down the isolation that had been prevalent in the story up until that time and made room for an interesting attachment between the two men. He could lessen Ivan’s physical discomfort by simply sharing it with him. Gerasim, unlike Ivan’s colleagues, did not desire to receive something such as a position or money. Instead he was selflessly interested in him for his personality, to understand who he was as an actual human being. This includes caring about his thoughts, feelings, and his whole being, which is a sincere manifestation of agape love. It followed Kant’s philosophy on treating people not as means to an end but as ends in themselves. In Testament one would witness many of these bonds, a touching scene is the one in which Victor returns after being injured and Vera Brittain decided she would care for him out of her own free will because he had been there for her all those times she had been in despair. “No one could realize better than I our responsibility towards him-not only because of our love for him, but because of his love for us, and the love felt for him by the one we loved and lost (347).” In this story they take responsibility for one another in sickness and in health, they do not complain, as Ivan’s widow had after his death, fretting over how she had suffered for three days due to Ivan’s shrieking in pain. She clearly had no empathy for his ordeals, she did not even stand by him through the slow process but went out to a play one evening instead. On the other hand, in Testament, Vera’s brother Edward, although far away from his family during the war, continued to write and express his love for them, “And you know that I love you, that I would do anything in the world in my power if you should ask it, and that I am your servant as well as your brother (361).” Vera maintained her close bond with him despite the distance, but the bond that affected her most was between her and Roland which sustained her for so long. Through examining their connection, one realizes how this love also inspired her to achieve things she may never have dreamed she was even capable of. “my one desire being to emulate Roland’s endurance, I seized with avidity upon all unpleasant tasks of which they were only too glad to be relieved (166).” Her hard work and dedication in aspiring to be like the one she loved gave her the power to put up with the life of a V.A.D. and the tragedies of war. She loved him so much in fact that she forgave him when he would write hurtful things to her as she realized that war can change one’s mindset but nothing could overcome the selfless love she provided.

            The people that forged the bonds of love would go on to be successful, Vera Brittain a well-known feminist who would write that powerful, emotional novel. Ivan on the other hand would die due to a very trivial and unnecessary cause, falling while attempting to hang drapes in his home. This accident would not have occurred if he had not been so concerned with impressing people in a ridiculously materialistic society. At the time he lacked the overwhelming knowledge that the most important action is to leave lasting impressions of love on people’s souls. It is interesting how two radically different pieces reached the same conclusion that agape love is the only measure of life. Without it, we exist in a trivial and unfulfilling capacity but with it genuineness abounds and we are filled with compassion and care creating satisfaction that seems impossible to articulate. Perhaps it is best stated in the bible, “And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).” This is a lesson we now do not have to wait until our dying day to uncover.