Blog Reflection

After having blogged for thepast 2 years at MS 51, I have a lot to reflect on. Blogging has had both a negative and positive affect on me.
   I think it was a good thing to reflect over my book at the end of each week, however doing it online has created some complications. For example, having my posts online give everyone with a working computer access to my thoughts. Sometimes, I might not be comfortable sharing all of my ideas, however at the same time it might be a good thing to do this. When its online, I can explore my classmates ideas, and compare them to mine. Others can also do the same for me. When my classmates elaborate off my ideas, I feel liberated and glad that we are able to put out ideas online. However, at the same time this might be limiting.
  Knowing that my ideas are open to others, I might not write the same way I would if they werent. What books i choose to read and my opinions on them are now on display. This could have a positive affect, or the negative affect on the craft and subject matter of my writing. This is why writing in your notebook and writing it on your own personal blog can be different. Writing in your own book gives yourself privacy, youre able to write whatever ever you want whenever you want, however this might not always be good. Knowing that only your eyes will see it may not challenge yourself enough.This is when blogs can be a good thing.
  However, teenagers may end up abusing the privilege to project theyre thoughts and ideas online. For example, when all youre doing is updating your status on facebook instead of actually communicating your ideas to your friends face to face, blogging may become a bad idea. Personally,Ithink talking to a friend in person is more enjoyable then talking to them online. Forcing students to make blog posts, I think personally is a bad idea. When their class work is online, it just gives them more of a reason to be on the internet more. Being able to share your ideas is a positive thing, but having in dept, heated discussions with a classmate might be a better idea, in my opinion then blogging just to make sure youll get a good grade on your next report card.
  For the most part, I honestly cannot see myself continuing with this blog. Blogging for the past two years was a good experience, however I think its best to keep your online time limited.

angelas ashes

This week I read Angela's Ashes. Even though I have only read about 60 pages I can still tell that it will be a sad book that includes many difficulties of living in poverty. The book started out with Frankie and his family of four living in Brooklyn, NY in the 1930's. He is about 4 years old and has a brother who's 2. His father was born in the northern part of Ireland and is an alcoholic that gets drunk almost every night and doesnt have a job. His mother, Angela is a beautiful young woman also from Ireland who came here and got pregnant with Frankie and was forced to marry his father, Malachy. From the start, Malachy had an "odd manner" (according to Angela's cousins) and was a mean young man, that couldn't have turned into anything good. And Angela's cousins were right, because by the time his second son was born he had turned into a complete drunk. Not long after Malachy was born (their second son) Angela gave birth to 2 twin boys, Eugene and Oliver. The father now had to support 5 other people. Realizing he needs to shape up, Frankies father gets a job, and for about a month, every week on Friday he comes home with wages and Angela is able to finally pay the Italian grocer, and feed her kids. But on the 4th week, he doesnt come home at all. He is out drinking and once again he is back to his old habits.
        For the nest couple weeks Malachy continues to get drunk almost every night and sings Kevin Barry all night. Soon, Angela gives birth to a beautiful baby girl, Margaret and Malachy cannot let go of her. He gets a job again and for about 7 weeks he is sober and instead of singing Kevin Barry every night he sings the Leprechaun Song to Margaret. For those 7 weeks the family is happy again but at the end of the month Margaret passes. Both parents are shocked, their baby girl was the best thing that ever happened to them, and a couple weeks later Angela's cousins come visit again. They see the trouble they are in, and suggest that Angela and her family go back to Ireland. So Angela, Malachy and the 4 boys get on a boat to Ireland and go visit Malachy's parents. However, the poverty in Ireland is just as bad as America and they are forced to go find a place of their own, only to realize that they have no money and are stranded in Ireland.
     Angelas Ashes has been very good so far, and I am excited to see what happens next in the memoir.

lookign for alaska

Today, I continued to read Looking for Alaska by John Green. This week, I got up to the part in the book where it says "after". John Green organizes his book in two sections, after Alaska dies and befire. Every new day, it either says blank days before, or blank days after instead of dates. Green organzied this so the reader can have suspense leading up to a certain point, instead of just having random dates and a big event happening suddenly. In the book, Alaskas death is very sudden, and if the reader didnt already know that something massive was going to happen, it wouldnt be a good idea.

John Green, is known for kiling off his amin characters, which is what he did in Looking For Alaska. The night before it happened, or the night of, a major thing happens for the main character. Miles, or Pudge finally gets together with Alaska. Throughtout most of the book, the reader is waitinf for Pudge and Alaska to get together. Eventually, Pudge goes out with a charming, nice girl named Lara. However, right after they start dating, Alaska and aPudge get together. The whole book, the reader has been waiting for this, however that is when "after" starts.

The next morning, Chip and Pudge awake to the eagle knocking on their door telling them to come to the gym. Instead of being yelled at like they were expecting, they find Mr Barnes with tears in his eyes telling the whoke school that Alaska Young has died in a car crash the night before. So far, Pudge and The Colonel are having a hard time accepting that Alaska, the smart, funny, beautiful girl is dead. I am eager to see how they deal with it, and if they are ever going to accept the truth.

critical analysis- "When Enforcing School Dress Code Turns into Slut Shaming"

   "When Enforcing School Dress Code Turns in Slut Shaming" gives reports on several different middle and high schools, where the girls have had enough from the dress code. The author explains through different quotes and stories of girls being slut shamed by their school dress code to create the argument that the way most schools are executing their rules is wrong. In fact, the person writing this article has gone through this herself. For example, the article begins with an example from the authors own life. "I had my leggings on under a dress, which admittedly probably didn’t pass the fingertip rule. My female teacher admonished me in front of the class before sending me home to change."  Using the word admonished gets a cross to the reader that the teacher was very serious with her, almost critical.
        She again gave more quotes from students who experienced the same thing. "Lucy Shapiro, a 12-year-old at Haven, added that when both she and a friend wore the same type of athletic shorts, a teacher disciplined her but not her friend because, she was told, “I had a different body type than my friend…With all the social expectations of being a girl, it’s already hard enough to pick an outfit without adding in the dress code factor.”, she includes about a middle schooler. She also gives examples of girls protesting their right to wear what they want without having to worry about whether or not their bodies will "distract" male students. "Five hundred students signed their petition, and a group of girls wearing leggings and yoga pants (also banned) protested outside the school last week with signs saying, “Are my pants lowering your test scores?” she reports on a group of girls in Illinois. She supplies well, thought out evidence showing that her opinion is obviously the better one. She also gave a good counter argument. She mentioned how many schools would suggest uniforms, but refuted the argument by talking about how most high schoolers (including herslef) would oppose that idea. "Many teens (including myself when I was in high school) would argue that a uniform would prevent them from expressing their identity through their clothing when forging their individuality in middle school and high school is hard enough." However she didn't include much information from the opposing side, even if she had I think her evidence still would've given a better argument.
    Not only does she give strong evidence, but she also compared the situation to much bigger things in the world. "The argument being made by school administrators is not that distant from the arguments made by those who accuse rape victims of asking to be assaulted by dressing a certain way." Again, she countered the argument by comparing it to something that most people are appalled by. Also, by including her own experience in high school to start of the article makes the reader want to hear what she has to say. Overall, I think the author executed the article very well and convinced readers that didn't already share her opinion, to seriously think about it.

A link to the article: http://time.com/36997/when-enforcing-school-dress-codes-turns-into-slut-shaming/

Romeo and Juliet -Literary Essay

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet follows two young teenagers who fall and love, only to both end up dead. William Shakespeare includes various themes in the play, like rivalry, fate, love and marriage. However I think religion is a theme that is particularly under looked and has much more to do with the okay then many may think. Religion completely changed the plot, and even caused the couples deaths. Friar Lawrence’s character represents religion in the story; therefore he is the one to blame for the couples’ death. Not only does he make poor decisions, but he also fails to fix his mistakes.

            Friar Lawrence represents religion in the story. Religion is something people go to for guidance; they ask the leaders of their place of worship and god for advice. Romeo and Juliet ask the same from Friar Lawrence. In act 2 scene 3, Romeo immediately goes to Friar Lawrence after meeting Juliet. After some discussion of Romeos newfound love, he asks him to marry them. “We met, we wooed and made exchange of vow, Ill tell thee as we pass, but this I pray: That thou consent marry us today.” Romeo begs. Friar Lawrence is instantly concerned and asks about Rosaline, Romeos previous beloved. However Romeo protests, “Thou chid’st me off for loving Rosaline.” This means that Friar Lawrence often gave his pupil advice about Rosaline. Already, we are introduced to the close relationship the two shares. Another example of Friar Lawrence giving advice is when Romeo and Juliet are wed. He warns Romeo in act 2 sc. 6 to be careful with his love. “Therefore love moderately” he advises. This is again more guidance given to the teenagers. The biggest advice the Friar gives them of course is when he gives Juliet the potion. When the soon to be wife of Paris has nothing left she can do to prevent the wedding, she asks Friar Lawrence for help. In Act 4 sc. 1 she pleads “Therefore out of thy long experienced time, give me some present counsel…” His advice is to obviously take the vial. This changes the story completely, and contributes to the reason of why he’s responsible for their deaths. After all the guidance Friar Lawrence gives them throughout the play, he obviously represents religion.

Religion and Friar Lawrence play such a big role in the story, they are responsible for the couples’ deaths. First off, Friar Lawrence gives Juliet the liquid that makes her appear dead, putting her in a situation that results in her and her husbands suicides. “Take thou this vial, being then in bed and this distilled liquor drink thou off,” Friar tells Juliet. By trusting a 13-year-old girl with such a big responsibility was an ignorant decision; and this ignorant decision cost Romeo and Juliet their lives. Another terrible decision Friar Lawrence made was not giving Romeo his letter on time. Friar Lawrence trusted Friar John with a huge piece of information. He failed to even tell Friar John how critical it was for Romeo to receive the letter with information about Juliet taking the potion. In act 4 sc. 2 Friar John returns with the same letter. “I could not send it-here it is again-(gives Friar Lawrence a letter) Nor get a message to bring it to thee, so fearful were they of infection.” Friar John explains. Lawrence then makes an effort to go to the tomb where Juliet resides and save her, but obviously fails. After Romeo kills Paris in act 5 sc. 3, and says his final words “And so I die with a kiss”, Juliet awakes to find Lawrence. However as soon as he hears something outside, he leaves Juliet with her dead husband, fearful that the watch will discover him. “Stay not to question, for the watch is coming. Come, go, good Juliet, I dare not longer stay”, He tells Juliet right before running away. The widow then left alone, takes a dagger to her heart and kills herself. By leaving Juliet alone and not giving Romeo the correct information, Friar Lawrence completely changes the direction of the play. And because of his poor guidance, he causes the couple to die. 

Friar Lawrence could've easily avoided Romeo and Juliet's deaths. Friar Lawrence should not have so immediately married the to young teenagers, especially knowing that it was in secrecy. In act 2 sc. 6, Friar Lawrence warns Romeo about the marriage. "These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness and in the taste confounds the appetite", he says. This obviously shows that Friar Lawrence has a bad feeling about the marriage. Not only does he not stop the marriage, but he actually marries them himself. And again, in Act 3 sc. 3, he admits to Romeo that marrying Juliet was a disaster. He says, "Romeo, come forth, Come forth, thou fearful man. Affliction is enamoured of thy parts, and thou art wedded to calamity." This also reveals that Friar Lawrence was hypocritical. He marries the two but then admits to it being a bad idea. This also shows that Friar Lawrence is unaccountable and sort of has bad character. He stood by watching the teenagers die, even though he could've prevented it.

 Friar Lawrence is a symbol for religion in the story, and because he fails Romeo and Juliet, so does religion. He makes cowardly, ignorant decisions that were easily avoided. Overall, Friar Lawrence completely changes the fate of the teenagers and the plot of the play.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

    This week, I began to read Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto.The book follows Mikage, a young woman trying to juggle adulthood, her love for cooking, and the endless amounts of deaths that seem to haunt her.
 The story takes place in Tokyo during the 1980s. Mikage, after losing her last blood relative, her grandmother, moves in with Yuichi and his mother, Eriko (who was once his father), a kind family that also seems to be haunted by death. Over the summer, Mikage pursues her love of cooking, finds a part time job where she can exercise her devotion to kitchens, and moves out in the fall. A few months pass when suddenly on a night in january, she gets a call from Yuichi telling her Eriko died, 3 months ago. Mikage and Yuichi seem to come to the conclusion that everywhere they go, they're followed by death. They even make jokes about becoming hit men. Although Yuchi and Mikage still make jokes and laugh with each other, the inevitable fact is that, they have nobody but themselves.
    I think that the author is trying to have death represent something. I think the overall message of the story is that death can't be avoided, which is okay. Death is something that happens to everyone and is apart of nature. And that even people like Mikage or Yuichi, who are always surrounded by death, can still be okay.

Sula by Toni Morrison

   This week, i continued to read "Sula" by Nobel prize winner, Toni Morrison. Sula is similar to "The Bluest Eye", the other novel i've read by her recently. It focuses on the struggles of black people in America duting the 20th century. It follows Sula and her friend Nel Wright living in a town known to most people as "The Bottom", an area right past the rich white part of town. Sula is much more about the characters themselves then the message, contradictive to the bluest eye. Sula is sort of an odd little girl growing up with her grandma, Eva, a strong, sort of manipulative black woman with one leg, and her mother, hannah. Hannah and Eva are sort of opposites however they love eachother. Hannah is similar to her mother in the way that she can get most men to do what she wants, however i wouldnt say as brutal as eva. Even though Hannah has admitted to not liking her kids, Eva on the other hand set hers on fire. Fire actually plays a big role in the book.
    Not one, but two of Evas children are burned to death. One day, Eva witnesses a series of "strange things". It starts out with Hannah asking her mother, "Mamma, did you ever love us?" Eva answers a truthful no, but angrily explains how she clothed her and fed her and kept her alive. Next, Hannah asks about Plum, evas sons death. Eva's explanation is sort of odd however. She explains how difficult Plums birth was, and when he came back, Eva felt as if she wanted to crawl back up her womb. She couldnt allow that, so she set him on fire. The nect event is a dream Hannah had about a red wedding dress, which we later realize means death and fire. However the dream is forgotten because of Sula acting up. Next, the day Hannah dies, Eva cant find her comb. Which is unusual because "Nobody moved stuff in Eva's room except to clean and then they put everything right back". Shortly after, she sees Hannah running around on fire from her window. In an effort to out the fire out, she tries to fall 12 feet onto Hannah. This attempt at saving her doesnt work. Finally by the time the fire is out, its too late and she dies on the way to the hospital, however Eva survives. The last "strange thing" eva remembers is sula. She recalls when Hannah was running around trying to put her fire out, and she was lying there, bleeding she saw sula. Staring there watching her mother burn and her grandmother suffer.
   After that, we fast forward to Sula and Nel grown up. Sula suddenly disappears for to where we find out was college, to just return 10 years later and sleep with Nels husband. So far, I'm stilling trying to figure out what Sula's oddness really means and what the whole book symbolizes.

Literary Essay: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

             The bluest eye is an experimental novel by Toni Morrison, a noble prizewinner and a very respected American author. It tells the tale of Pecola Breedlove and her family. The story’s narrators jump around from chapter to chapter, from Claudia, a friend of Pecola’s, to the third person. Its centered on the struggles of a being black woman in America at that time, Pecola’s desire to be beautiful, and racism, specifically within their own race faced by African Americans in Ohio. 

          A very present theme in “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison is the desire to be considered beautiful, specifically Pecola’s. Pecola Breedlove comes from a poor family that nobody really likes, and is infamously ugly. The author also made it very clear that everyone, including the Breedloves knew it. “No one could have convinced them that they were not relentlessly and aggressively ugly.” Morrison says as she introduces the family. She almost describes their hideousness like an object, explaining how each member of the family handles their faces. “Mrs. Breedlove handled her as an actor would a prop.” “Sammy used his a weapon to caused others pain.” “And Pecola. She hid behind hers.” She made their ugliness so obvious to show how important it is for the time period. Specifically the word ugly, it was always being said in the story. Being so terrible looking is a big disadvantage in Pecola’s life. She was practically immobilized by her crooked nose, high cheekbones, forward turned ears, and shapely lips that drew attention to her whole disaster of a face. “As long as she looked the way she did, as long as she was ugly, she would have to stay with these people.” The narrator explains. Her teachers would refuse to call on her, or even look her way; her ugliness was too much of a discomfort. Not only does Pecola want to be pretty, but also she specifically has a need for blue eyes. In fact, her goal throughout the whole book is to have bright blue eyes like Mary Jane, the girl on the wrapper of her favorite candy. She has this illusion that if she had eyes like her, all her problems will disappear. Her parents would say, “Why look at pretty eyed Pecola. We mustn’t do bad things in front of those pretty eyes.” However the reality of it is quite the contrary. At the end of the story, after having endured a pregnancy from her father and going crazy, she believes she has blue eyes. Her self torment has gotten to the point where she cant take it anymore, she makes talks herself into believing she has reached her goal. She has a whole dialogue with herself asking if she has the bluest, prettiest eyes in Medallion. “Bluer then Joanna’s?” she asks “Much bluer than Joanna’s”, the voice inside her head answers. However at the end of the day, She still has brown eyes, and is still considered ugly, therefore practically useless.

           Another theme very obviously present in the book is racism. Not only white people discriminating black people and vice versa, but also racism within a race. Light skinned black people were even considered better then someone with a darker completion. Someone who symbolized this is Maureen Peal. Or “Maginot Pie” the nickname our narrator Claudia and her sister Frieda call her to make fun of her light skin. Not because they thought it was bad, but because they secretly envied her. Everyone did, she was the “high yellow dream child with long brown hair,” who “enchanted the entire school.” One day, a bunch of boys were making fun Pecola’s brown skin (even though they were also black) when Maureen steps up. The boys immediately disperse. “Maureen appeared at my elbow, and they boys seemed reluctant to continue under her springtime eyes…” Claudia says. Not only do the boys treat Maureen better, but also so does everyone, which was made very clear by the author. It was very obvious that her family was richer and more respected then Claudia or Pecola’s. She knew all the latest movies, something you can infer Pecola and Claudia don't get to see much. Overall “Maginot Pie” just knew more things in general then Pecola and Claudia. Pecola also faces discrimination from a white candy storeowner. However, she as well as every black person in Medallion faces discrimination from more then Maureen Peals and candy stores owners, but everybody. Being judged by the color of her skin was just the way of life that she dealt with without even thinking twice. Every time Pecola wants to go get candy, she has to deal with by Mr. Yacobowski. Mr. Yacobowski sees Pecola as this piece of disgusting garbage, or doesn't really see her at all. “How can a 52 year old white immigrant store keeper with the taste of potatoes and beer in his mouth his mind on the doe-eyed Virgin Mary, his sensibilities blunted by permanent awareness of cost, see a little black girl?” The author says. In fact, when Pecola reached to give him the money, he hesitated, not wanting to touch her hand, almost as if he’d get sick if he touched a black girls dirty hand. However things like this occur throughout the whole novel, because it was that normal for the citizens of Medallion.

         Another big part of “The Bluest Eye” is how women are treated. Specifically black women. Throughout the whole story, Morrison mentions how husband all beat their wives, as if it can be assumed. A marriage she specifically zooms in on is Pauline and Cholly Breedloves. Cholly has this hatred for his wife and women and the author tells the story of how it began. Even though Cholly is definitely not the first of men to hate women, and his views are not unique, his story is. The day of his caretaker’s funeral, Cholly meets Darlene, and they go for a walk in the woods. Eventually Cholly and Darlene end up having sex behind one of the trees when they get interrupted. Two white men appeared, snickering, and yes “there was no mistake about them being white, he could smell it.” They embarrassed Cholly to the point where he felt extremely deep hatred, except not towards the white men. "For now he hated the one who created the situation, the one who bore witness to his failure, his impotence. The one whom he had not been able to protect, to spare, to cover from the round moon glow of the flashlight." He hated Darlene, but not just Darlene, but all women. This story perfectly represents the way a lot a men probably felt at the time about women and why.

       The bluest eye has tons of great examples on how messed up America once was and sometimes still is. Its represents sexism, racism and the desire to beautiful, that was faced by Pecola and thousands of other women in Medallion, and still is being faced by everybody today. Overall, I think Toni Morrison delivered a good story but also a powerful novel that poses questions about society.  

blog post that inspired this essay: http://margojohnston805.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-bluest-eye-by-toni-morrison.html

Time for a Raise?

"Time for a Raise?" by Patricia Smith discusses the issues concerning minimum wage salaries in America. It informs us that lately President Obama has been trying t convince the federal government to raise the minimum wage. Currently, minimum wage is 7.25 dollars an hour. The aticle says thats 290 a week, not enough to live well on. "No one who works full time in America should have to live in poverty" says President Obama. A lot of the articles focus is the age of the people minimum wage is affecting. It turns out that a whopping 49 percent of minimum wage workers are 25 years old or older. Lots of which have families to support im sure. They include quotes from fast food workers like Roberto Tejada. "These jobs arent just for teenagers anymore," he says. They also include the pros and cons of raising minimum wage. In fact, raising it may not change anything. If an owner has to raise everybodys wages, he/she could increase prices, scaring off customers. hire fewer workers, or reduce the amount of hours his employees work. There are already tons of jobless young people and even people with families, so economists wonder what the best thing to do would be.

I think Patricia wants us to support minimum wage being raised. Most of the article talks about how unfair it is for minimum wage workers, and how it is affecting a wide age group of people. She includes a quote from Obama, supporting the raise, and also a quote from a minimum wage worker. Along with that, she has a picture of people protesting for 15 dollars an hour and a political cartoon making fun of how ridiculous things are for fast food workers. She also has a pie chart reflecting the different age groups of minimum wage workers. 20-24 years old,, 27 percent, 16-19 years old, 24 percent, 25 years and up, 49 percent. Smith conducts a very persuading argument, with very factual evidence. She convinced me and Im sure a lot of others that minimum wage should be increased.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

This week I continued to read "The Bluest Eye", by Toni Morrison, however the main conflict of the story has changed a lot.

Instead if the main issue being about racism like it was when i wrote my synthesis page, it has shifted to more sexism. Race still plays an extremely important role in the book. However I think now it is specifically talking about the struggles of black women. Currently, were hearing about the story of Cholly, Pecolas father. And even though it is about a boy, there's are really good example of misogyny for the time period. For example, we just heard a story about Cholly on his Aunt Jimmy's funeral day. Cholly and a girl named Darlene went and had sex in the woods, when they got caught by two white men. Cholly was so humiliated and furious. Except not at the men that caught them, that caused him the embarrassment, but at Darlene. "For now he hated the one who created the situation, the one who bore witness to his failure, his impotence. The one whom he had not been able to protect, to spare, to cover from the round moon glow of the flashlight". This all means Darlene. Morrison not onky included this story to explain why Cholly treated his wife so terribly, but also to send a bigger message. She not only wanted to explain why Cholly acted this way, but why any black man who beat his wife at the time this way. And even though the specific story may be unique, the feelings Cholly had were shred amongst many people similar to him. A lot of men in general just had this hatred of women. They were quicker to blame the women then the person who actually upset them.

I think this story is a really good reflection of the book. A lot of the story is what life was like being a black women in New York during the time period

"Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger

This week I started reading "The Catcher in The Rye". This book is a sweet story following teenage Holden Caulfield, from New York. The stroy begins with him explaining aboyt how he got kicked out of his boarding school, Pencey. Holden is very cynical and sort of a sad character, however at the same time he is very charming. For example, he'll drag on about how much he hates his old friend Sally, but he still goes on a date with her. Or how he hates plays yet he still brongs her to one because she's a big theatre person. He even talks about his friend Ackley who never brushes his teeth yet he still hangs out with him a lot.

Most of the book he talks about how he's depressed or how much he hates something but actaully he seems like a sweet guy. He's always talking about how much he loves his little 12 year sister Phoebe. He even wanders around trying to find her favorite record and buy it for her to then bring to her in the park. And even though he doesnt want to walk around trying to find this record, he still wants to go bring it to his little sister.

I'm not done with the book yet, however i like it a lot. Considering it only follows one person in one city for a short time, it's very interesting. I think Holden Caulfield is really actually a very amusing character that can keep the book enjoyable.

"The Bravest Girl in the World" by Malala Yousafzai

This week, I read an article called the "Bravest Girl in the World". This article is about a young women, named Malala Yousafzai, who lived in Pakistan when she was attacked by the Taliban. By the time of 11 years old, she was already known in her Pakistani town for speaking out for education rights of girls.
    The author of the article is actually, Malala herself. Most of the article is actually about her attack and why she got attacked, however Malala wasnt trying to get you to feel bad for her. She wanted you to think about how it;s notonly her who was a victim, but also other girls. Yes, not everybody got shot in the head, but hundreds of girls are being stripped of their education. The only reason she got shot was because she spoke out against them. In the article, she also talks about how she loved doing normal teenager things. For example, gossiping with he friends, listening to Justin Bieber songs, exchanging beauty tips, and riding the bus. In fact, she was on a school bus when she and two other of her friends got shot. She talks about the gory detail of it, how "by the time they [we] got to the hospital, my long hair and Moniba's lap were full of blood. And also how the shooters arm was apparently shaking when he fired. She does this all to make us see how terrible things are for Pakistani girls specifically.

    Malala later speaks about how even after her attack, at 15 years old, she is still expressing her opinion and fighting for equal rights. She wants us to know that this message is so important for her to get across, shes risking her and her families lives. She also wants us to realize that the goal can be met. Already, at 16 shes been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize spoken at UN, and inspired hundreds of other young women around the world. This article really educates you on how terrible women still have it in countries specifically affected by the Taliban.

Persopolis- inquiry question 2

    The perspective that is mostly being shown in persopolis is maryjane, a young girl that narrates the graphic novel. Maryjane is actually the author of the graphic novel. the whole story is about experiences she has grwoing up in iran. The story not only includes the difficulties of living in a war torn county, but also just growing up in general.
    it is un maryjanes perspective because i think people can relate to her best that way, not only people who have had to grow up in such difficult situations, but also just young girls. the story is just as much focused on her growing up as it is focused on the war happening in her country. she didnt want the story to be about some random person living in iran, she wanted it to be about a kid, if it wasnt about one, the story would be so foreign to readers, but now, kids can relate to it, which makes it more appealing to them, in fact adults could relate to , considering they were all kids at some point. and part of the reason it was in her point of view is obviously because its a memoir. maryjane satrapi was just explaining her life in an interesting graphic novel.
   The perspective missing is the enemies, or in this story, the government. it is not being shown, because it would send across the completely wrong message. it would make them seem like the good guys, which would not only send a controversy across readers because they were not the "good guys", but also thats not what maryjane wanted to do. she was a victim of what the government was doing at that time, she would never want them to seem good.
    overall, i think maryjane made the right choice in putting it in her point of view. she wanted to share her experiences with the world, not somebody elses. and by doing it, it made an interesting book and character.

YA fiction essay

Lately in the literary world, YA fiction has been a raging topic. Outraged parents, librarians, and teachers have been trying to convince people that the current literature has become to dark for their audiences. And authors and kids have been disagreeing. And according to my sources, their attempts have not been too convincing. Teens should be able to read any books they choose because many of them go through the same things as the characters, and it would just be pointless to take it away.

Young adults appreciate YA fiction greatly. In “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood”, an article written by Sherman Alexie, author of the award winning novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian” explains just how much teen readers love his novel. He says he gets letter daily thanking him for his frequently challenged book. He even includes that he has still not gotten a single complaint concerning his book coming from a teen. He says that when he was a child, he read a lot of YA fiction himself, the types of books that might be considered “dark” now. And he explains he read these books “because they taught me how to battle the real monsters in life.” Right there, just shows how much kids appreciate these stories. So, when I saw Meaghan Cox Gurdon, in the article “Darkness Too Visible” trying to convince you that books like these just spread problems, I knew it was ridiculous. She says that the “logic” is that when a reader reads things like this, they can relate to the books and it will help them manage. Which is exactly what it does. Telling from all the letters Alexie gets, it seems like it does anyways.

Taking away teen beloved young adult fiction would sere as beneficial to no one and just be pointless. According to Sherman Alexies article, many children go through grim experiences similar to those faced by the characters in these stories. He states that he’s spoken to numerous schools where the kids are victims of sexual and physical abuse, racism, poverty, depression etc. These are all “dark” topics that play a big role in a lot of teen fiction today. Many of which are reasons behind banning a lot of popular teen fiction. Seeing that kids are going through these things themselves, what would be the point of banning these books? Sherman Alexie includes a powerful quote about his own childhood. “They wanted to protect me fro sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil when a future serial killer had already abused me. They wanted me to profess my love for god without considering that I was the child and grandchild of men and women who had been sexually and physically abused by generations of clergy.” This is coming from someone who has experienced darker things than any one could imagine, and has watched as people try to take away the novels that helped him and hundreds of other teens bear these experiences, for what he knows is absolutely no reason. Alexie in Gurdon’s article says that kids can find just as bad stuff online. Yet another reason for why taking away teen fiction wouldn't help anyone. Since kids spend almost all their time on the Internet now, I’m sure kids have found worse things surfing the web. Again, this proves another one of Gurdon’s silly arguments to be invalid. She talks about “Scars” by Cheryl Rainfield, and how the cover might make a victim of self-mutation relapse. I’m sure this picture of a “horribly scarred forearm” is nothing compared to what kids discover on various social networking sites like twitter, tumblr, and instagram.

Even teenagers themselves agree that YA fiction helps them. In  Mary Elizabeth Williams article “Has Young Adult Fiction Become Too Dark?” she speaks about a reoccurring trend on twitter, #YAsaves. According to the article, the hashtag has endless links to teen and adult blog posts. She recalls one child’s heart-wrenching post on a reaction to Meaghan Cox Gurdon’s article. She says,” Good literature opens up all the good parts of us, the parts people like you have deemed too dark, inappropriate, grotesque or abnormal for kids to be feeling- and try stitch is all back together before we even realize they’re talking about us. This explains exactly how teenagers are reacting to all these attempts at taking away their books, which is exactly what Gurdon failed to do in “Darkness Too Visible”. She even tried to convince you that children don't read YA fiction at all. This honestly just made me laugh, because if she’s trying to tell me that, why did she just write a 4 page article trying to get kids to stop reading these books. She explains that a local bookstore owner visited a private school (which are typically very small already), that only 18 kids actually admitted to reading teen fiction. However, just one poll done by a random woman from a bookstore isn’t exactly a good source. And again, if kids aren’t reading these books, why are you trying to take them away?

Telling from several the articles I read both and against YA fiction, and being a young adult myself, teen fiction should not be banned or challenged. If YA fiction does anything at all, its most definitely help us. There’s been various stories of kids benefiting from teen fiction, but I haven’t heard a specific story of a child being harmed by it. And again I have read several articles against and for YA fiction. And Sherman Alexie, an award winning author, Mary Elizabeth Williams, mom of teenagers, and thousands of other parents’ kids feel the exact same way. Trying to limit what we read wouldn't help anyone and just upset readers that depend on these stories just to get him or her through their difficult adolescence.

The Fault in Our Stars

       Recently, I finished "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. This along with other novels bu John Green has gotten great reviews from the YA audience. I think, that Green yet again, really expresses what its like to grow up. The book tells a story of Hazel, an 16 year old with incurable thyroid cancer who at a cancer support group meets an Augustus Waters, a seventeen year old cancer survivor with a prosthetic leg. Throughout the story you get to know and like the characters so much you sort of wish you knew them yourself. He gets into the little details about what a 16 year old girl would be feeling, from being upset about missing episodes of her favorite TV show, America's Next Top Model, to falling in love for the first time.
        And yes, the main two characters have cancer, but that's certainly not what the book is centered around. In fact, the main character, even explains how much she despises cancer books. "but its not a cancer book, because cancer books suck", she says about "An Imperial Affliction", one of her and Augustus' favorite books. This book plays a big role in the novel. Without it, there would probably be not story. The book is what I think really brought Gus and Hazel, and is a big part of the plot. Through out the book Hazel and Gus are trying to reach their goal, which is to meet Peter Van Houten, the author of AIA who lives in Holland and have him answer the endless questions Hazel has. However, when the couple finally gets to meet him he turns out being quite a disappointment, and a "drunk doucheface" as Hazel says.
       However I don't think actually having answer the questions was the reason why going there was so fun. It was fun because Hazel and Gus were going on adventures and "drinking stars" (champagne) and making memories as much as they could before they had to face facts. Like in many of John Greens novels, (spoiler alert) he kills off one of the main characters, Augustus. Who was exactly who you didn't think was going to die. The whole time Hazel is worried about dying and hurting Gus, but alas the exact opposite happens. Its revealed that he has cancer all throughout his body. "I went in for a PET scan. I lit up like a Christmas Tree, Hazel Grace.", says Gus. And so, Hazel has to watch what we were sure to be her soulmate die. For the rest of the book the once blue eyed crooked smiled Augustus Waters turn into a "pitiful", dying cancer patient in a wheel chair. However Gus never lost his sense of humor, the last time you get to see the real Augustus Waters was in Holland. Again this is why Green included this part, to have Gus and Hazel go on a final adventure.
       On one hand, your sort of mad at John Green for doing this to you, having you to get to know these kids so well, and right when your convinced they're meant to be and are going to grow old together, he kills Gus. On the other hand, the story would've ended too well if that did happen. But in the end, I think Green did a great job at creating great characters, and also an interesting plot. This book made me laugh for a good ten minutes and at the same time, made me bawl for a good ten minutes. Which is what I think really makes this such a great book.

Non Fiction- "Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie

          This week, I read and annotated "Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood", by Sherman Alexie. The article is a response to Meaghan Cox Gurdon's, "Darkness Too Visible". The whole entire article pretty much is focused on contradicting Gurdon. He also wants to make the readers see how ridiculous Gurdon was being and feel and really know just how hard some young adults lives are.How does he do this? He proves his points by using stories of children hes met throughout his years of being an author, and even using his own personal information. Hes trying to prove that there's no point in trying to stop Young Adults from reading "dark" fiction, when many of them have gone through the things in the stories themselves. And that fiction does not expose teens to profanity but actually helps YA's. In a paragraph talking about Gurdon, he says "Does she [Gurdon] believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will frighten a kid who already lives in hell?" This sentence pretty much sums up the point he is trying to prove. Then in order to show the audience just how "dark" his and hundreds of other kids lives are he discusses his childhood. "They wanted to protect me from sex when i had already been raped. They wanted to protect me form evil though a future serial killer had already abused me. They wanted me to profess my love for god without considering that i was the child and grandchild of men and women who'd been sexually and physically abused by generations of clergy." That detail really spoke to me because it shows me that he went through a whole lot when he was kid, things similar to what children are going through now, and he really knows what he's talking about. However Gurdon does not. She doesnt include a single quote from a YA at all, and definitely not one that is a victim of abuse. He even says that he wishes he could've read Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak" when he was a young adult. This shows that after being through hell, he thinks YA fiction would actually help him get through. Alexie even puts us in his shoes, and says that if they tried taking YA fiction away when he was a kid hed just say "Wow, you are way, way too late." When he puts us in his perspective like that its pretty much the same as quoting a YA. He did this so we could see how stupid and unbeneficial taking away YA ficiton would be. In the beginning of the article he says hed spoken to students that had "survived depression, attempted suicide, gang warfare, sexual and physical abuse, absentee parents poverty, racism and learning disabilities," He tells us about all these different things that kids have been through to again, point out how horrible things are for some kids. He also includes a story about a 17 old id he met that wanted to be a writer, but his father was forcing to be a soldier. He discussed how "Yes, he was old enough to die and kill for his country. And experience the infinite horros of war. But according to Ms. Gurdon, he was too young to read a YA novel that vividly portrays those very same horrors." This is yet again just another story that proves his point. He completely contradicts Gurdon by using this story. And once again, he puts you into the kids shoes. "I don't want to be like my father, I want to be like myself. Like in your book." That practically just says that YA books help readers. Not only victimized ones (the 17 year old had never been abused) but also ones facing problems like this. After this quote Alexie also talks about other teens. He says, "There are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged. They read because they live in an often terrible world. They read because they belive, despite the callow protestations of certain adults, that books- especially the dark and dangerous- will save them." He included that part of the article because it pretty much sums up the whole entire point of the article. Showing us all these upsetting and "dark" details about some YA's lives, and then leaving us, with his point. Which is that YA saves kids, and taking that away would be completely pointless.

Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tschiya

       "Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tschiya zooms in on just one of the horrible anecdotes of Word War 2. The picture book is about a zoo in Japan, caught in between a time in Japan where they get bombed almost every night. We learn that the army is forcing the zoo to kill all dangerous animals, including the elephants must be killed because of the war. The book begins on a spring day in the Ueno Zoo, where a zoo keeper looking at the elephants begins to tell us a story about the Elephants from years ago. The story then becomes in the point of view of someone during the war. As the story goes on, the first elephant dies and afterwards the 2 others do as well. Even though it is just a childrens picture book, the author is trying to send a ver obvious and important message and i think the story indicates it very well.
   I think that even though "Faithful Elephants" is very specific to one story, it is showing a much bigger picture. I think that Tschiya is trying to convince readers at a young age that war is horrible and incredibly destructive. The author teaches young readers this by using Elephants, a friendly animal that most people have sympathy for and showing the terrible experience they had to endure starving to death instead of talking about the holocaust and all the people that lost their lives in world war two. Yukio includes very depressing and heartbreaking details, even putting you in the elephants shoes. At one point tin the story, when the elephants try to get noticed by the keepers by doing their banzai trick, the author writes"surely their friend would reward them with food and water like he used to do.", putting you in perspective of the elephants. The author also included how the people at the zoo specifically one zoo keeper there were also suffering, watching as their elephants that he "loved as if they were his own children" slowly starved to death, the elephants becoming weaker and weaker by the day. When the elephants finaly died, the zoo keeper yelled "the elephants are dead! theyre dead!" as he ran into the office stomping his fists on the table in frustration. I think Yukio put such upsetting details in like this to really show readers how difficult the war was on both the elephants and the zoo keepers. Yukio has a very obvious opinion on wars. After the elephants die, the zoo keepers put their fists up in the air and yell "stop the war! stop the war! stop all wars!" Tschyia could not have a more evident stance on the war, and decided to put it towards the end of the story to conclude the lesson of the book. Overall, I think the narrative expresses how bad war is, and that it is a Person Vs. Society , showing that the enemy is obviously the army and just wars in general.

The Great Gatsby

This summer one of the books I read was the Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. Not only is the Great Gatsby a great book itself but it shows an interesting metaphor. The book begins with Nick Caraway, an educated man from Minnesota. Nick goes to his friend, Daisy, and her husband Tom's house, and becomes good friends with Jordan Baker, a young famous golfer at the time.

The group of friends soon meet Gatsby, Nick's mysterious neighbor who throws huge parties weekly. Later, we discover that during the war Gatsby and Daisy had gone out a few times and ever since then Gatsby has been searching for Daisy. Eventually Daisy and Gatsby reconnect, and once again fall in love. Tom, however, is also having an affair with a woman named Myrtle Wilson.

One day Tom, Daisy, Nick Jordan and Gatsby all decide to go into the city. After getting there Tom, who'd been suspicious of Daisy and Gatsby for a bit, gets into an argument. After Daisy admits that she loved Gatsby, Tom Nick and Jordan get into Toms car and Daisy and Gatsby gets into his. Daisy drives back and accidentally hits Myrtle Wilson after she had just gotten into a fight with her husband George Wilson, and Daisy kills her without even stopping. They return home and Tom and Daisy aren't heard from. The next day Nick hears shot coming from Gatsbys pool and finds Wilson dead, having shot himself and Gatsby.

 After Gatsby's funeral (which no one attends) Nick sees Tom in the street and we find out that Tom had set Gatsby up to die. Apparently Wilson had came to Tom wanting revenge for his wife's death, and not wanting him to kill Daisy Tom lies and tells him it was Gatsby who was driving, not Daisy.

I think that "The Great Gatsby" doesn't only have a good plot to it, but it also expresses how selfish and careless Americans were at the time and sometimes still are. Tom and Daisy for example didn't care that Gatsby was the one to die as long at it wasn't themselves. They are "careless people, they smashed up things naif creatures and then retreated them bad into their money on their carelessness or whatever kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made", says Nick in the last chapter.

The novel is an example of what the American mind was like by showing how Tom and Daisy only cared about their own well being. However, it also expressed that Americans were hopeful and optimistic, by showing that Gatsby "believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes us. It eluded us then, but thats no matter--- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms father… and one fine morning--- so we beat on, boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past."

The reason why i enjoyed and appreciate "The Great Gatsby" is not only because of the plot, but because of the fascinating message it sends to its readers.

girl interrupted- re read

today i re read girl, interrupted. I also recently saw the movie and can now compare them. Girl interrupted is about a young, 20 year old woman in the 1970s in the middle of the Vietnam war. Susannah Kaysen is an independent woman that goes about her bussiness everyday and has a passion for writing. One day, after taking 50 advil she sits in a therapists office as she is told that she is being shipped off the the nearest mental hospital.

There, susannah meets lisa and other friends. Susannah is played by Winona Ryder, an experienced actress who portrays Susannah, who was also to author of the book. Lisa, the most crazy person in the mental instituion, being a sociopath is played by Angelina Jolie. Although most of the characters are played by good actors, is plot is changed.

The movie is mostly circled around Susannah actually getting out of the Institution. However the book is focused more on susannah and her character. About half the book, susannah is out of the instituon but in the movie, she gets out at the very end. Personally, I think the book expresses susannah well, just like the author wanted.

persopholis

This week I read, "Persopholis" Its a graphic novel based on a true story about a young girl living in Iraq in the 80's when there is a war going on. Its about how difficult it is living in a city with war and chaos and at the same time, growing up as a normal young girl. Throughout the book you see how she changes, and the phases she goes through, the different friends she has, and the different experiences she has as well. It shows even the littlest scenes that happen in her life, that might seem unimportant but are also very honest and realistic.
      Even though it is a graphic novel, it really teaches you something about what life was like in Iraq and is not what most graphic novels are. It is almost scary at some points, but also very realistic. I've already read it twice but I feel like a got a lot more out if it this time and learned a lot more than the other times. I enjoyed it and am planning on reading the sequel.

I think that the author wrote the book not only to tell her story of her childhood, but to also teach young women. She wanted to send a message to women like her not only in Iraq but everywhere. A message saying that young and old women can survive like she did. Even though she did have to do things she did not want to do, like moving to Austria alone, it was for the best. Even though I do not live in the same conditions and am not in the same situation as her, the book inspires me alot.