The Bravest Girl in the World by Unknown

How different are people allowed to be in this text? Does it assume everyone is happy and good in the same ways?

          In the text The Bravest Girl in the World, a girl is shot in the head because she supports education for girls in Pakistan. Her dad built a school for the girls and according to her description of first day of school, she was excited. She described learning as if it was interesting and that she loved it. The Taliban then came and shot her in hopes to shut her up. It didn't work.
          People, or in this case girls, are not allowed to be very different. To be specific, they are not allowed to learn. So when Malala dared to speak out, they tried to eliminate her. But she survived and is still talking. This is a very sexist topic, women are not allowed to learn because well, they're women.
          This text does not assume everyone is happy, in fact everyone is scared. Girls are scared that they will be next being shot. They are scared that they will not be able to learn anymore. But there is hope, because Malala is now in a different place and still speaking out against the Taliban. She even got a Noble peace Prize or her purpose. And she will keep speaking for as long as he needs to get her point across.

And Tango Makes Three By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

How different are people allowed to be in this text? Does it assume everyone is happy and good in the same ways?

                People or in this case, penguins, are allowed to be any way they want to be. Roy and Silo, the main characters are gay, and are okay with that. No place in the text suggests that having a different sexuality is frowned upon. If anything, being different is encouraged. This shows that everyone accepts everybody even though they are different.
          The story does assume everyone is happy at first. The authors say "...they did everything together" then later goes on to say that Roy and Silo are in love. And if you are in love, then you are probably happy. They also say that Roy and Silo didn't pay much attention to the girls and vice versa.  This, to me just shows that everybody is content with the way they live.
            But the authors also show a sad side of the story, which is the conflict. Roy and Silo see the other couples laying eggs and getting baby penguins. But they cant do that since they are both males. So the author gives a sense of hopelessness of Roy and Silo's problem. But then the author resolves this problem by letting the penguin keeper intervene and give them an egg. This story shows acceptance and being what you want to be.


         

Terrible Things by Eve Bunting

How does this text deal with individuals and groups? Are the people acting alone and in competition with one another, or does the text help us imagine people working together?

           In the story Terrible Things by Eve Bunting, there is a lesson of standing up for what you know is right. Every time the terrible things come, the animals look out for themselves and not the animals that are getting taken. The big rabbit even tells the little rabbit to, "Just mind your own business..." Every time a animal is taken, the others just say they were annoying and rude anyway, and turn the other way. This story is just and allegory of the Holocaust.
          This text shows that every group is different and the terrible things don't like anything different from them, so they take them. The animals in this story are definitely acting alone and in competition with one another. Every time the terrible things ask for one characteristic everyone else says, "We don't have that" or, "I don't have this". And the animals never try to help each other, they just ignore the ones getting taken away. And just like in Eve Bunting's foreword, the animals ignored their cries for help.
          The text most certainly does not lead us to imagine people working together. The animals are very selfish and don't care about anyone else but their species. It even says in the text that, "The rabbits and porcupines looked everywhere, except at each other." Showing that if one or the other got taken , the free animals would not lift a finger to help. And at the end of the story, all the animals were taken except the little rabbit because they did not work together.

Social Justice Research Project

Choose an Article Dealing With Injustice from a Newspaper, Magazine, or Online News Website.

Justice Denied by Dan Barry, Campbell Robertson, and Robbie Brown. Upfront Magazine pg. 8

I chose this article because it shows how racial prejudice affects people’s lives. These two men, Charles Moore and Henry Dee, were tortured and then drowned because they were African- Americans. Most of the people did nothing except be who they are. Groups such as the KKK and the Nazis are wrong for discriminating against races other than theirs’. Their thoughts and actions are twisted and disgusting. This makes me think, why should I judge people on how they look? Why not get to the person first and then judge them on their personality.

Letter To Ms. Berner About Banning Books

Dear Ms. Berner,

Young adult fiction is just that, young adult fiction. Adults cannot try to understand something that is meant for kids. And if they do read a YA book, they have to get the meaning, not just the "bad references." When these adults want to ban books, they are censoring kids' views of the world. Young adult books that have "inappropriate" content help kids get over their problems, and therefore should not be banned from 6th grade libraries.

Bill Moyers said, "A lie can be exposed, but censorship can prevent us from knowing the difference." Simply meaning, a lie can be discovered; but if the lie is censored, you will never know the truth. If you take away the plot, the improper topics, we will never know the whole story. 6th graders need to read books to get the knowledge of our world. But if we try to read these books without the "dark subjects" we miss the true meaning of the book.

According to Ellen Hopkins, author of several NY bestsellers, her books help people turn their lives around. Hopkins explains in her article, Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto, "...straight down into the same hell my book represented so well. But one day, she found that book. She saw herself in those pages, and suddenly knew she didn't want to be there.” So this lady read Ellen Hopkins' book, Crank, and turned her life around. Because she didn't want to end up like the character in the book.

             Meghan Cox Gurdon claims in her article, Darkness Too Visible, that, “teen fiction can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors, constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is.” Basically saying YA books portray life disgustingly and lie about what life really is. But this is not true because the issues in these books happen in real life. William Porter, another person supporting banning books even admitted that, “these darker books reflect what today's faster-maturing teens routinely see in their multimedia world,” in his article, Teen Fiction Plots are Darker and Starker. Confirming that teens see these “horrible” topics almost every day.

            So banning books would not be helpful at all. “I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters.” Sherman Alexie says in his article, Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood. Kids going through traumatic times don’t have to be protected and won’t have anything to connect with. The bad and vulgar topics make the story. The books that are “inappropriate” can help kids get though their problems and shouldn’t be banned from 6^th grade libraries.

                                                                                                               Respectfully,

                                                                                                                               Rachel Duke

"Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie

       The article "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie, is a counterargument to Megan Cox Gurdon's, "Darkness Too Visible". Gurdon's article claims that Young Adult fiction is too vulgar and inappropriate for young adults. While Alexie's article claims that the topics of these "inappropriate will not traumatize an already abused kid. I agree with Alexie's proposal, because he gives examples of his claim, Gurdon does not expand on her thoughts.
       In Alexie's article, he says "Does Ms. Gurdon honestly believe that a sexually explicit YA novel might somehow traumatize a teen mother? Does she believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will somehow shock a teenager whose life has been damaged by murder and rape? " To show that many kids have already went through these experiences. He goes on to use himself as an example of this claim. "They wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil though a future serial killer had already abused me." This proves his claim and is an example that he gives supporting details to his argument.
       On the contrary, Megan Cox Gurdon does not support her claims with examples. When she says "It has to do with a child's happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart." But then she never expands on this idea. She goes on to ask what do you think is a child's mind when reading a YA novel. As if she knows, but in Alexie's article, he recounts a real story of a teenager telling him what was on his mind.
       So, is YA fiction too dark? Is a good inquiry, but the way Gurdon explains it is not good enough to compare to Alexie's argument of the benefits of these books.

"Where Your Cellphone Goes to Die" by Leyla Acaroglu

     
        I don't think it would take a lot for the U.S. to recycle e-trash in a safer, more healthy way. The article talks about how countries like China and India have to deal with U.S. waste. The author also explains why sifting though e-trash can be unhealthy. And why coming up with a different way to dispose of  e-trash is really needed.
        The article says, "...covering their hands and feet with toxic flecks of it as they work." This shows that toxic things have a way to get into these boys' bodies. And that it is unhealthy to dig through e-trash, because of the chemicals. The author also said, "...lead, cadmium, and mercury... can cause neurological damage..." The author explains how the toxins affect the children and women in India.
        According to the author, the U.S. has tried to lower the amount of e-trash that we send to other countries. The article says, "The Responsible Electronic Recycling Act... would make it illegal to export toxic waste from the U.S." So they have tried to change their ways., but apparently it isn't enough. For the quote goes on to explain that congress never voted on it.
      This is the author's argument, change the U.S. e-trash ways. I agree with her, the government should try harder. People are suffering from sickness just to get a little bit of money. We need to at least help them in some way.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

         In my book, there are alot of issues around violence. The characters must find a way to deal with them. And sometimes they're not always dealt with in the right way.
         On page 28, Tessa had to escape the Dark Sisters. But she might have been too violent to Miranda, the clockwork maid. "... and swung it with all her might at Miranda's head. It connected with a sickening sound." Tessa might have done too much here.
        Then, on page 31, the Dark Sisters are very cruel to Tessa. They use Nathaniel's, Tessa's brother, life to get her to do what they want. "Nathaniel will not be so fortunate." They bribed Tessa using the death of her brother.
         So, problems in my book are dealt with using brutality and cruelty. I think the way the characters deal with things to rashly and could be dealt with better.

"Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya

        War effects more than Just the soldiers on the battlefield. In the story "Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya, the three elephants at the Ueno Zoo payed with their life at the war's expense. Their trainer suffered because of the elephant's pain. And the people in the zoo lost three close friends.
        The elephants, John, Tonkey, and Wonley, all suffered greatly because of the war. "'By and by, it came time for the elephants to be killed.'" John was first, the elephant keeps tried to poison him; but when that didn't work, they starved him to death. Tonkey and Wonley were then, also starved to death.
        The trainer who trained the elephants, did not physically suffer. But he had to watch 3 things he loved, die. "'You poor,poor, pitiful elephants!'" These elephants were killed because the army thought they were dangerous. So the trainer had to watch these elephants die over a thought.
        Finally, the people in the zoo suffered just like the trainer. They had to watch 3 innocent elephants, die. But the people had to also watch a person who loved them very much, mourn over them as the died, everyday."'...then stroked the elephants' legs and trunks in sorrow.'"
        "Faithful Elephants" encourages the reader to see the deaths of civilian animals, and also to show how war affects soldiers as well as innocence.

"City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare

                Over the summer, I read "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare, again. Clary Fray, the main character, is thrown into a world of monsters and death but is still able to appear steady. She finds out she was never who she thought she was. Inside she feels scared and overwhelmed, but outside she stays cool. This happens throughout all parts of the book in different ways.
                On page 12, it says "'I'm not going anywhere,' Clary said. 'If i do you'll kill him.'" This shows that even though she is in the middle of three killers, and might be really scared, she'll still stand up to them. She is raging with emotion inside, but cool and collected on the out side. Also, on page 167, "She said nothing, biting the inside of her lip. She hated the idea of someone reaching inside her head..." This sentence shows that on the inside she hates an idea, but on the outside, she only expresses nervousness because of biting her lip. Two different emotions at the same time.
               The book was great. So much detail put into the character's emotions makes it seem like you are Clary inside the book. Clary's emotions really helps the reader understand how she really feels about things. Even though her emotion is totally different on the outside.