Inquiry Questions Reading Response

           Have you ever just wanted to pick up your life completely and just leave? Go somewhere you always dreamed of going? Learning a new language, a new culture? This is exactly what Elizabeth Gilbert at age 34, did when she left her apartment in Manhattan to travel to Italy, India, and Indonesia, staying four months at each country. The book Eat, Pray, Love is a compilation of Elizabeth’s journals about her travels in each of these countries. After a terrible divorce and then sudden break up, Elizabeth, or Liz, is depressed, lonely, and broken down. After a terrifying episode where she attempted suicide, Liz drops everything to go on a sudden trip 12 month trip to Italy, India, and Bali, the only rule being that she had to document her travels for work. On Liz’s trip she attempts to find pleasure in Italy, prayer in India, and a balance of both in Indonesia, thus resulting in finding happiness, or justice. By the end of the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, justice has been served.

              
            Throughout the book, it becomes apparent that justice is being served in Liz’s own world. By just being in these different countries, away from her crazy life in New York, Liz is much happier, which helps bring justice into her life.  Liz living in Italy and just letting herself experience pleasure is bringing justice to her. She describes one of her first nights in Italy and the way she felt compared to the way she felt in New York. “I climbed the stairs to my apartment, lay down in my bed, and turned off the light. I waited to start crying or worrying, since that’s what usually happened to me with the lights off, but I actually felt OK. I felt fine. I felt the early symptoms of contentment.” Liz is finding that all she needed to be happy was traveling a bit and finding new things. Being happy is serving Liz justice in her life, and it continues to throughout her journey.

                

         In the next section of the book, when Liz describes her journey though India, justice is being served through prayer. Liz is learning contemplation and self-discovery in her stay and an Indian Ashram, or a place of religious retreat. Liz learns to meditate there, and finds justice within herself. “But it was pure, this love that I was feeling. It was godly. I looked around the darkened valley and I could see nothing that was not God. I felt so deeply, terribly happy. I thought to myself, ‘Whatever this feeling is-this is what I have been praying for. And this is also what I have been praying to.’” Liz has found herself and her happiness through the prayer and meditation she practiced at the Ashram. Liz is finding justice in herself through spiritual learning.

              

            Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert documents her journeys through Italy, India, and Bali, searching for happiness. While searching for happiness, Liz also encounters justice. She finds justice in her own life through the happiness she gains finding pleasure in Italy, prayer in India, and balance in Bali. Towards the end of the book, Liz is already very happy. She has found justice in herself. Eat, Pray, Love shows readers that sometimes “justice being served” can be as simple as letting happiness and light into your life.

                

Social Action/Independent Reading Book Reading Response

Set in Long Island during 1920’s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is told in the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young man who leaves his home in the West and moves to the wealthy town of West Egg on Long Island. As Nick settles into his new life as a businessman, he quickly notices his next door neighbor, Jay Gatsby, whose mansion is suitable for the giant parties he throws every week. Nick becomes curious about Gatsby, and is excited when he is invited to one of his glamorous parties. In the meantime, Nick continues to see his beautiful distant cousin Daisy who also lives on Long Island, with her husband Tom. When Gatsby hears about Daisy and the two previous lovers are reunited, trouble quickly ensues between Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, and Nick.  In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s perspective is excluded to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the story.

The author purposely tells the story from Nick’s point of view so readers get a better understanding of Gatsby himself. If the story was being told from Gatsby’s own perspective, you wouldn't get a very good understanding of the way he acted around others and his actions throughout the story. For example, in the beginning of the story, before Nick has been introduced to Gatsby, he sees him coming out of his house in the nighttime. The scene is described from Nick’s perspective, so readers already have thoughts and ideas about Gatsby. “I decided to call to him, but I didn't call to him for he gave a sudden imitation that he was content to be alone- he stretched his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. “ We already have notions about Gatsby’s personality and what he is doing, but we are not sure. If this scene was written from Gatsby’s point of view, we would know what he is doing and thinking. However, the author does not want us to know this, so he writes from Nick’s perspective.

By not including Gatsby’s perspective throughout the book, readers are provided with an unbiased view point of the story. The author wants to get across a heart wrenching story of love, loss, and what wealth can do to people’s minds. Fitzgerald is only able to do this by providing readers with the perspective of someone who isn't particularly involved with the story: Nick. An example of this in the story is when Daisy, Tom and Gatsby all get in an argument, told from the perspective of Nick. “I glanced at Daisy who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband. Then I turned back to Gatsby- and was startled at his expression. He looked as if he had just ‘killed a man.’”  Nick clearly states facts about the scene before him and describes it in an unbiased way. This lets us know what is happening in detail in the story, and gives people the chance to read more into it. By having scenes like these be shown from Nick’s point of view, readers have a better idea of what’s going on.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic story of the Eastern United States during the 1920’s. It gives insight into the dramatic lives of wealthy young people at that time period, and also shows that being rich definitely does not solve all your problems. Fitzgerald does all these things not by writing it from the main characters perspective, but instead by an onlooker and secondary characters perspective. Because The Great Gatsby is not written from Jay Gatsby, Daisy, or even Tom’s perspective, readers gain a lot more insight into the book’s meaning. Nick’s point of view is unbiased, and gives more depth to the other characters. If all people were able to view their lives through someone else’s perspective, the world night end up being a lot better place. 

Banning YA Books Argument Essay

Have you been to the teen section of your local bookstore lately? Seen anything questionable? Maybe even worrisome? Young adult literature is a genre that has been questioned ever since the 1900’s. As YA fiction has gotten increasingly darker in modern times, the controversies get more intricate. Many parents and teachers want YA books off the shelves completely, while authors and students fight to keep them in stock. There was a daunting a total of 307 challenged books reported in 2013, many of these being very popular and considered extremely touching. One bright idea suggested to stop all the silly controversies over YA books was to put age-ratings on them, like movies or video games. YA books with questionable content would   Access to YA fiction should only be limited to teens by means of age-ratings.

When small children get their hands on dark young adult fiction, they are liable to get exposed to terrifying ideas and gruesome actions that could permanently scar them or simply terrify them.  Age-rating would stop kids from reading heavy YA books that frighten or traumatize them. For example, in the novel “Rage” by Jackie Morse Kessler, self-harm is shown in graphic and gruesome detail. “She had sliced her arms to ribbons, but the badness still remained, staining her insides like cancer. She had gouged out her belly until it was a mess of meat and blood, but she still couldn’t breathe.” Would parents want their 8-year old child reading this kind of book? I don’t think so. Describing self-mutilation in such horrifying detail would scare most kids under the age of 10 who manage to read it. Kids should not be exposed to self-harm at a young age. Mother Amy Freeman from Maryland agrees. She recently went to her local Barnes and Nobles to find a book for her 13-year old daughter yet saw nothing suitable for her kid to read.  She found it was all “vampires and suicide and self mutilation, this dark, dark stuff” She did not buy any of the YA books for her daughter. Age ratings will keep books like “Rage” away from kids, and keep parents like Amy happy.

Profane actions or language in YA books can negatively influence kids who read about them.  If young children are reading about these dark and suggestive activates like they are normal, they may think it is ok to do these things. For example a study done at Brigham Young University showed that YA books have twice the rate of profanity as video games, and that characters who swear are typically portrayed as rich, cool, or popular. It may not be conscious but by reading these books, the idea enters the kid’s heads that cursing, or other inappropriate activities, are ok, if not cool. Kids who read these books may even start cursing at a younger age because of them. Another example of this is author Megan Coz Gurdon who stated that “books focusing on pathologies help normalize them and, in the case of self-harm, may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who may otherwise never have imagined such extreme measure.” YA books that have main characters who curse or self-harm may teach children that doing these things are acceptable, or may even help you or make you better. If age ratings are applied to YA books with profane content, they will become unavailable to kids who may be badly influenced by reading them.

Although young adult literature has gotten increasingly darker, many teens experience the topics discussed in these books in their everyday lives. Many even say that YA books that include heavy topics help teens deal with their issues when they read about them. Author Sherman Alexie stated in his article “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood” that many teens who read his book have been plagued by the same horrors depicted in his book story such as poverty, domestic violence, and bullying. This may be true, however, Alexie fails to acknowledge that the opposite may happen and a teen who has gone through these issues and reads Alexie’s book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” may just be reminded of these terrors and become more traumatized. Another example of this is author Patrick Ness who commented on the topic saying “If it’s got 18 certificates for adults, then younger children will look it out when their parents are not around…Children are great self-censors. They know what they can read and they know what they want to read and if you don’t give it to them they’ll find it somehow.”Ness is suggesting that kids always know what best for them to read and will always is able to find it and read it. This is untrue because parents and teachers will usually know a lot better than a child whether a YA book is appropriate for them to read. Age-rating will further improve this, and will let parents and kids know what is and isn’t age appropriate.

Modern YA fiction exposes kids to many heavy and controversial topics. There has been a lot of talk about banning versus keeping YA books on shelves, but there is one simple solution: age ratings. Age ratings on YA books would keep graphic, violent, or dark books away from kids who could be badly influenced by reading them. Age ratings also let parents and teachers know to keep these books away from kids who could potentially become frightened or traumatized by reading theses YA books. If kids are not exposed to the topics discussed in YA books at young ages, they will not grow up with dark ideas imprinted in their mind, potentially causing them to be emotionally damaged as teens or adults. Age-ratings would also allow older and more educate teenagers to read the books that help them cope with things in their lives. Age-ratings are a non-extreme way to limit children’s access to YA literature. 

"The Shadow of the Wind" Reading Response

“The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon tells the story of one boy, one book, and one complex mystery. The story follows Daniel Sempre, a boy growing up in Barcelona in the 1940’s. 10-year old Daniel discovers a special book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, which he loves as soon he lays eyes on. The book is by an author named Julian Carax, who Daniel immediately tries to find out more about. As Daniel attempts to discover more about the enigmatic Carax, a whole story of love, loss, and horror is slowly uncovered. While Daniel is discovering Carax’s story, he is also weaving his own. He finds love, friendship, and cruelty in his own life along the way. Throughout “The Shadow of the Wind” the author emphasized Daniel’s coming of age in many ways.

The author emphasizes Daniels maturing by showing his attitude towards women as a child, and then as an adult. When 11-year old Daniel takes The Shadow of the Wind to his father’s college, Gustavo Barceló, to talk about it, he is introduced to Barceló’s 20-year old niece, Clara. He is immediately smitten.  Daniel goes to her house at least twice a week to talk, take walks, and read with her. Even when his father and Barceló tell him they are concerned he’s not spending time with other kids his age, he continues to try and see her, still convinced he could make something more out of their relationship, despite that she is nearly twice his age. It is only when Clara stops wanting to see him that he gives up and leaves them alone. This shows how young and naïve he was in his years with Clara. This is compared to later on in the story when Clara and Daniel meet again, but Daniel is now 18 and has a girl friend. Daniel now acts coolly to Clara, and avoids talking to her about what happens, except to apologize. He is now more mature and accepts what he did was wrong and has realized Clara is not for him.

Another way the author shows Daniels growing up is him finding friendship in unexpected places. Daniel learns to let go of and accept new friendships. At first he only has one friend, Thomas Agulair, but their relationship begins to fall apart when Daniel begins to see Thomas’s sister, Bea. Thomas does cannot tolerate this, and their friendship ends roughly and not on a good not. Despite this, Daniel is able to deal with it, and accepts it instead of trying to win Thomas back over. This shows that he is now more mature and can now accept loss when it comes. He makes up for the loss by finding a new friendship. Daniel convinces his father to employ a homeless man he met on the street, Fermin Romero de Torres, in the bookshop they own. As Daniel spends more time with Fermin, he opens up to him. He tells him all about his quest to find Carax, and Fermin begins to help him. They become very good friend, and confide in each other. Daniel is mature enough to open up to other now and meet new people.

In conclusion, a large part of “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is about Daniel growing older and maturing. The author shows readers he does this by comparing how Daniel feels about Clara when he is a kid versus when he gets older. The author also shows that he is coming of age by including Fermin to show that as he gets older, Daniel is more mature and open to new things and people. “The Shadow of the Wind” shows readers that it is important to become more mature and grow into a better person throughout your life, through things like love, friendships, and learning. 

Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

                 In the article “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood” by Sherman Alexie, Alexie wants readers to know that although young adult books deal with dark and serious topics, many of the teens reading these books go through these issues in their everyday lives and  can relate to them. Throughout the article, Alexie tries to convince readers that there is no need to keep YA books out of reach of teens, and that taking away teens books will only make them suffer more. He does this by adding in details about his own struggles as a teen living in poverty and abuse, and telling readers how he wished he had a modern YA book back then to find safety in. Alexie also mentions to readers the tons of fan letters he gets from teens, telling him of their own struggles, and how they relate Alexie’s own YA book, “The Absolutely True Diary if a Part-Time Indian.” The details show readers that it is not a good idea to keep YA books out of the hands of children.

                Alexie convinces readers that there should be no limited access to YA books by making them feel sympathy towards the kids seeking refuge in the YA books, and also by giving examples of his personal experience with the issues. He mentions one time went to a high school to speak about his book, and heard many teens’ stories. “A young woman recalled the terrible moment when indifferent high school administrators told her that she couldn’t possibly be a teen mother and finish high school.” Alexie makes the reader’s realize what kinds of situations the kids reading to YA books are coming from. He talks about his own upbringing as well, and the struggles he faced. “When I think of the poverty-stricken, sexually and physically abused, self-loathing, Native American teenager that I was, I can only wish that I’d been given the opportunity to read “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” By telling readers about his own experiences, Alexie shows that teens are able to take refuge in YA books.

          Although I agree with Sherman Alexie that YA books shouldn’t be banned from teen’s libraries altogether, I do believe that certain age restrictions to YA books should be applied. Alexie stated why YA books helped kids, but he did not include what might happen when a young child that has never been exposed to these ideas reads and dark and serious teen novel.  Some children might be influenced to start doing the terrible thins mentioned in the books, instead of finding therapy in them. Despite this, “Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood” raises a convincing and interesting argument against the banning of YA books.

YA Book Reading Response

            “Tales of the Madmen Underground” by John Barnes follows the life of a seventeen year old boy, Karl Shoemaker, living in the made up town of Lighstburg, Ohio. Karl yearns to be a normal teen-yet his life is far from normal. He has to live with his crazy, unruly, mother, work five jobs to make enough money from him and his mom, and also stop himself from going crazy. He barley manages all this, but with the help of his friends-the people in a therapy group at his school known to them as the Madmen Underground-he learns to cope. But as senior year rolls around Karl realizes he has a sudden wish to not be in the group anymore. To be “normal.” Karl learns that this is very hard without any friends there to ground him. The author of “Tales of the Madmen Underground” wants readers to know that life can be a struggle, but friendship can help you get through it.

      The main thing Karl has to deal with in his throughout the book is his family issues. His dad died when he was little, and his mom resorted to drinking, drugs, partying, and conspiracy theories. The money he made was always taken by his mother to do these things, and many times in his life he was locked out of his house and had nowhere to sleep. Whenever this happened, he knew he had friend who could help him. “‘Where does a locked out kid sleep in this town?’ ‘Well you can sleep here if I’m working. Paul can hide you in his basement sometimes, and Bonny and Darla are home alone a lot and will let you have a couch’”  Whenever he has no place to sleep, the Madmen help him because they got his back, and are always willing to help him. Another thing that helps him deal with his home life is talking to the Madmen  about it. He talks to his new friend Marti about his problems with his dad’s memory, and she tells him about her family issues.“ I kind of forget that other people have troubles, too, and that everyone has the biggest troubles in the world.” Karl can talk to the Madmen about his family problems because they relate and understand them.

      Not only do the Madmen help each other out, they also stand up for each other. When there is a nasty rumor going around the school about Marti, the Madmen take control of the situation and work things out together. “Then we started figuring out what to do, which basically came down to three things: One, the other girls would look out for Marti and straighten out the gossip.” Even when it’s difficult, the Madmen find ways to stand up for each other. They also defend each other when they get in fights or bad situations. When their English teacher, Gratz, begins yelling at Marti, the Madmen step in to try and defend her, which only makes him madder. “‘What do they do,’ Gratz snapped at me, ‘teach you to talk like that in therapy? You people really stick together, but I’m not running this class based on what students think their physiological needs are.’” In the end all the Madmen go down to the principal’s office for defending Marti. They stand up for and defend each other even when they know it won’t end well.

     "Tales of the Madmen Underground” by John Barnes tells the story of teens trying to get through high school with many difficulties. Despite their troubles, the members of the Madmen Underground make it through the year with help from each other. They have each other’s backs and know when and how to stand up for and defend each other. Karl Shoemaker, the main character in “Tales of the Madmen Underground” succeeds in senior year because of all the help from the Madmen, his closest friends. This books shows close friends can help you get through anything. 

Should Internet Profiles Decide Your Future?

Have you ever put something up on the internet that you regret? Many people today who have or had media profiles on the internet can answer yes to this question. Since the internet and media play such a big role in our lives, it sometimes feels natural to post your thoughts, feelings, and what you are doing at a given moment, on the internet. But there has to be a drawing line, doesn’t there? For some adults of teens, things or comments they posted publicly on the internet have come back to haunt them. Many colleges and employers are now using the internet to check on applicants before admitting them. Some may call this an invasion of privacy, while others have found it effective in deciding who should be allowed in. Looking at applicants media profiles is a good way for colleges and employers to decide who to admit.

When a high schooler gives in a college application, they expect most colleges to just check over the application and the students grades. Nowadays, however, other things can decide if you get into a school or not. Colleges all over use the internet to decide who to admit or not admit. They look on students Facebooks, Twitters, and wherever their name pops up online. According to a recent survey, over a quarter of colleges use the internet to check students, and of those, thirty percent said they found negative things about applicants that made them not want to admit them. Thirty percent is a large amount of teens considering how many high schoolers apply to colleges. Or those thirty percent, one particular case was of an applicant in California, who had previously posted a negative comment on Facebook about his teacher. Pitzer College found this post and denied him admission.The Facebook post helped Pitzer to realize what the student was truly like as a person, not just how he looked on paper. If not for checking the internet, they might have admitted the wrong person.

Colleges aren’t the only ones looking up names online. Employers looking at people applying for jobs check the internet for negative things as well. The director of talent inquisition at a ZanderMax Technologies, a California placement firm, says that looking applicants up on social media is the final step before calling someone in for an interview. Although looking up applicants online could be seen as a invasion of their privacy, adults and teenagers should not be publicly posting things online that they do not want certain people to see. If they have a negative opinion or idea about someone or something, the internet would be the the last place to put it. An example of this is 22 year old Kristen Kelly who waited on tables at a restaurant in Ohio. She posted a negative comment about not getting enough tips, and two days later she was fired because of it. Though it was harsh, Kelly’s boss needed to find out about her attitude towards her job. Seeing the tweet helped him realize she wasn’t suited for the job.

When many students of young adults post things online, they don’t think about the consequences. Nobody will see this tweet, they think. They won’t possibly be able to find that. However, in modern times, many colleges and even employers have been doing online research about applicants. This helps them to find out about their true personalities, opinions, and actions. These searches help directors to pick out who they want and don’t want, and who is most suited towards what they are looking for. It uncovers shocking and negative things they may never have known about applicants. Looking up applicants on social media and the internet helps colleges and employers to find out important things about students and adults. 

Faithful Elephants Reading Response

“Faithful Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya begins on a cheerful day in Tokyo at the Ueno Zoo, and ends with a sad and depressing picture. The story takes the reader back to the zoo during World War II, where three devoted elephants must be killed by the trainers for fear that bombs will drop and set them loose from their cages. As the story continues, the bond between the zookeepers and the elephants grows stronger, and killing the elephants becomes harder. The story ends in love, loss, and defiance. In the short story “Faithful Elephants,” the setting descriptions symbolize important ideas and themes.

In the very beginning of the story, the main character, who remains unknown throughout, comes upon a cherry blossom tree with a zookeeper under it. The zookeeper is stroking a gravestone. Even at the beginning, it is clear that the cherry blossoms symbolize something important. “The cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the Ueno Zoo. Their petals are falling in the soft breeze and sparkling in the sun.” The setting description here gives you the picture of a beautiful, peaceful day, with many possibilities for an amazing story. It symbolizes the mood of the character at the beginning. They are serene and open to anything. This differs greatly from his mood at end of the story, once they have heard the tale of the three elephants. The cherry blossoms pop up here again, to show their feelings. “He was still patting the gravestone tenderly as the cherry blossoms fell on the grave, like snowflakes.” The story ends in the same setting, but here it is described differently. The cherry blossoms are now falling on the grave, symbolizing the mood of grief and loss. The blossoms are also being compared to snowflakes, showing the cold and sullen feelings of the character.

Throughout the tale, there are numerous mentions of the sky and the clouds. It came to my attention that these showed deeper meaning in the story as well. Towards the end of the story, when it is finally time for the elephants to die, the sky is mentioned in a meaningful way. “At last, Tonky and Wanly could no longer move. The just lay on their sides, hardly able to see the white clouds floating in the sky over the zoo.” The sky was clear during the time that the elephants were dying, symbolizing the release of the elephants from their grip on life. The bright and beautiful sky shows that Tonky and Wanly have peacefully decided to let go. The sky was mentioned again at the end of the story, but it showed something completely different.  Just as the elephants die, the zookeepers are reminded of the war. “Above them, in the bright blue sky, the angry roar of enemy planes returned.”  This setting description shows that a once peaceful place, such as the sky, or the zoo, was ruined by the war. The amazing and bright sky is now blackened by bombs because of the war, just as the zoo is now filled with sorrow and death because of it.

“Faithful Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya is a meaningful story full of symbolism and defined word choice. It tells the story of three elephants, faithful to one zoo, and what happens when they must be killed. The death of the elephants tests the zookeepers and their views on the war. Symbolism in this story is shown through the cherry blossoms at the beginning and end of the story, showing the mood of the character and of the reader. The sky and clouds also showed meaning, but in different ways. This story clearly uses setting descriptions to symbolize ideas. 

Summer Reading Response

                

Animal Farm

              The book Animal Farm by George Orwell at first depicts a seemingly normal farm- until it is shown that the animals are plotting and rebellious. The animals on the farm soon overthrow the farmer and take control of the farm, making it the first ever animal-run farm. At first, things go great. The animals work cooperatively together to maintain the farm and to create new rules and customs. But soon enough, the most intelligent animals on the farm, the pigs, begin taking advantage of the other animals. They take control of the farm and treat the other animals worse than ever before. The farm in the book Animal Farm symbolizes life in the real world in many ways.

               In the middle of the book, as the pigs begin to take full control of the farm, they start lying to the other animals about many things. I thought that this was a symbol for corrupt government in the real world. In the book the leader of the pigs, Napolean, lies to the animals about his enemy, Snowball. For example, when the windmill that the animals had built was torn down, Napolean lied to them and said it was Snowball who knocked it down. He also told them that Snowball was stealing food and vandalizing the farm in the middle of the night. He said these things to plant the idea in the animal’s heads that Snowball was bad, and Napolean himself was good. He made them think he was a good leader, when in fact he was a horrible one. This was meant to symbolize corrupt government or leaders, planting untrue ideas, or propaganda, in citizen’s heads to make them support that leader or government. This happens with governments all over the world.

                Animal Farm by George Orwell portrays real life in many ways. It mostly shows corrupt governments and bad leadership. It does this symbolically, by using the scenario of animals running their own farm. It shows how bad leadership, like the pigs were running, can lead to horrible situations and conditions. Animal Farm teaches a very valuable lesson about the real world.