Looking For Alaska

* CONTAINS SPOILERS

           The book Looking for Alaska by John Green is divided into two sections: before and after. The "before" section covers the part of Miles Halter's (A.K.A. "Pudge") life before Alaska Young's car crash, effectively ending her life. It begins before Miles even leaves for Culver Creek (the boarding school he will be attending), and it goes on to when he meets the Colonel, Alaska, Lara, and Takumi, all of whom change his life. The "before" section ends when Miles received the news that Alaska had died. The "after" section covers the time in Miles's life when he tries to absorb the fact that Alaska had died and get over his grief for her. There are many major themes that pop up in unexpected places throughout the book. The themes are death, expectations vs reality, romance, and the Pursuit of the Great Perhaps.
           In the beginning of the book, we learn that Miles is obsessed with memorizing the last words of famous people. He values the moment of the person's death rather than their life. Alaska is in a similar situation. She said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." (page 44). Death is one of the most important themes in this book, and it presents itself in many forms: from Alaska's death to Miles and his friends smoking in the woods.
           As a new student at the Culver Creek school, Miles has many expectations about how his new life at the school will be and how different it will be from the life he had at his old school. He conjures up scenarios in which he makes countless amounts of friends, but his expectations crumble when the Colonel announces himself to be unpopular and unwilling to help Miles make friends. One of the most important set of expectations that Miles makes is his relationship with Alaska. After her death, he struggled to understand her actions and to redefine his relationship with her. He idolized her when she was still alive, but he only comes to understand her complexity when she is gone.
           In the book, romance is presented as a further exploration of the complexities of human relationships rather than actual love. No one is in love, although Miles thinks he is, but in reality, they are a group of teenagers trying to figure out who they are and what they want to be. When Miles and Alaska kiss and then Alaska dies, Miles was unable to understand that he loves Alaska for everything she brought into his life, but that he was not in love with her.
           As he transitions from his old school to Culver Creek, Miles goes searching for the Great Perhaps. Since he is constantly unsatisfied with his current condition, the Pursuit of the Great Perhaps gives Miles hope for a better, more exciting life. The Great Perhaps is appreciating the moments you have, but the Pursuit of the Great Perhaps prevents Miles from experiencing it as it happens. After Alaska's death, Miles realizes that the Great Perhaps has always been there and will continue to be there because he is alive.
           In conclusion, Miles is more interested in finding his own personal purpose, which he calls "the Great Perhaps". However, because of the friendships he develops, Miles realizes that he needs friends and family to support him and to make his goals and desires mean something. It takes time for Miles to come out of his shell and become a functioning member of society. It is these realizations that allow Miles to grow as a person. He understands that it is his relationships with others that really matters, not his idealistic goals. While he may never become someone famous, as long as he has friends that he matters to, he will never be forgotten.

Cross-Dressers of the Civil War

           The article "Cross-Dressers of the Civil War" by Veronica Majerol is about the many women in the 1860's who fought in the Civil War. The women disguised themselves as men to be close to their family, for the money, or for patriotism. The article quoted many women who fought in the war through their journals or letters to their families. It talked about the situations women went through in order to get what  they want. The article also talked about how most women went undetected. The author provided many statistics that showed how the women were superior to men in some cases. The  article shows that the women who fought were brave, strong, and determined people who were willing to sacrifice themselves for their country.
           Throughout the article, the author is trying to say that women can be just as strong, brave, and determined as men. She supports it by giving quoting excerpts from women solider's journals or letters to their families. Sarah Edmonds, under the name of Franklin Thompson, said "I can only thank God that I was free and could go forward and work and I was not obliged to stay at home and weep." The words "... I was not obliged to stay home and weep..." made Edmonds seem strong. It shows that Edmonds was too mature and internally strong to act as a typical 1860's woman would: to stay at home and weep for their husband, brother, or father who went to war. This proves a part of Majerol's claim, which was that the women soldiers could be strong. 
           Later on in the article, Majerol gives another example; this time of a woman who proved the "brave" part of her claim. The woman's name was Martha Lindley. She was a Union soldier who joined the war solely to be close to her husband. The article says, "'I was frightened half to death,' she said about joining the 6th U.S. Cavalry in Pittsburgh, 'but I was so anxious to be with my husband that I resolved to see the thing through if it killed me.'" Lindley demonstrated bravery by getting over her fear of joining the army to be with the person she loved the most. By saying this, she proved Majerol's claim about soldiers being brave.
           Mary A. Brown was one of the women who enlisted because they believed in the Union or Confederate cause. The article said, "Mary A. Brown said she fought with the 31st Maine Infantry because 'slavery was an awful thing, and we were determined to fight it down.'" Brown displayed determination by proving that she was not going to back down from fighting against the wrong morals. She showed that she resolved to finish the fight, no matter how long it took. She showed determination and no fear which is something that Majerol wants to pinpoint. She finishes proving her point by giving this example that illustrates a woman with determination.
           In response to what I read, I feel that it was unjust and sexist that women were considered  second-class compared to men. Right before the Civil War time period, there was the end of slavery, which not everyone agreed with. There were many problems with the nation, government, and citizens, such as racism in that time. It was wrong that beside discriminating blacks, the white men thought themselves to be superior to women. By reading this article, I thought about how far our country has come since the mid-1800's. It made me realize how lucky each and every non-white and female is, being that the Union won the Civil War so that slavery was forever abolished, and that women later became equal to men. By just reading this one 3-paged article, my eyes became more open to the world around me and the history and reason behind prejudiceness, racism, and sexism.

The Nine Lives of Chloe King

           The book The Nine Lives of Chloe King, by Liz Braswell, is about a 16 year-old girl named Chloe King. In the beginning, she seems to be your average teen. However, as you get deeper and deeper into the book, you pick up more and more clues to her true identity. The story starts off with Chloe deciding to skip school with her two best friends, Paul and Amy. She falls off the Coit Tower on her head, and to everyone's surprise, she survives. That was the first hint. Then, she finds out that she's a cat, and that a group, or cult if you will, called The Order of the Tenth Blade, is trying to kill her. She becomes the leader of her Pride (remember, she's a cat), and she escapes death a bunch of times. That really means that she dies, but she comes back to life. The story is about her adventures with her friends, her trying to find out who her mom is, and her struggling with three different relationships. Braswell uses her eyes (which are featured on the cover of the book), among other objects, to symbolize who Chloe really is. 
           In the book, there are many symbols. Chloe's eyes, when she is in cat form, is the first symbol you encounter, because it is on the cover of the book. Her eyes are a very important symbol of Chloe. There is a saying that says, "eyes are the window to the soul". I think that this applies to Chloe, because her eyes reveal who she truly is inside. Her eyes are different from most people's, and she is different from most people. 
           In conclusion, Liz Braswell uses Chloe's eyes to symbolize "her inner self" or who she really is. There were some other symbols in the story, but they were minor compared to her eyes. Symbolism plays a very important role in any story, because it gives readers more insight into the characters. It helps shape the story is a "show not tell" way, and it keeps the reader thinking deeply about the story.

The Glass Castle

           "No matter how many times he hurts me, I always forgive him. Some call it stupid. Others call it love." - Unknown
          
           The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, is a memoir that takes an in-depth look at her unique childhood. Her parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls, have three other children named Lori, Brian, and Maureen. Bad parenting and poor life decisions cause the Walls family to endure many hardships such as no food and a poor place to live. The book follows the family as they are constantly moving from place to place, and all of the troubles they encounter. Two of the main problems are Rex's drinking problem, and Rose Mary's not putting her intelligence to use by getting a job. The children, and eventually Rex and Rose Mary, all move to New York. As each child starts to take their own path and find peace; both parents continue their destructive behaviors as homeless people. Over the course of the book, Jeannette realizes that the Glass Castle symbolizes her relationship with her father; when the idea of it comes up and they are ready to plan it out, their relationship is solid and happy. However, when Rex is drinking and/or his promise of building the Glass Castle becomes empty, their relationship crumbles a little bit more.
           In the book, Jeannette's father keeps on promising Jeannette that when they build the Glass Castle, then it will be more extravagant than any apartment in New York, Jeannette's dream city to live in. "All of Dad's engineering skills and mathematical genius were coming together in one special project: a great big house he was going to build for us in the desert. It would have a glass ceiling and thick walls and even a glass staircase. The Glass Castle would have solar cells on the top that would catch the sun's rays and convert them into electricity for heating and cooling and running all the appliances. It would even have it's own water-purification system... He carried around the blueprints for the Glass Castle wherever we went, and sometimes he'd pull them out and let us work on the design for our rooms" (page 25). In this scene, Jeannette was describing what Rex had planned for the Glass Castle to look like, and during this time, she and her father had a strong relationship. The Glass Castle was acting as one of the few things they had in common, and it kept them in good terms with each other.
           However, when the plan of building the Glass Castle doesn't seem to be working out, Jeannette and her father don't seem to get along as well as they usually do. "Dad's hands trembled slightly as he unrolled different blueprints... I stared at the plans. 'Dad', I said, 'you'll never build the Glass Castle.' 'Are you saying you don't have faith in your old man?' 'Even if you do, I'll be gone. In less than three months, I'll be leaving for New York City.' ... 'Dad', I said, '... Go ahead and build the Glass Castle, but don't do it for me'" (page 238). In this scene, Rex was attempting to convince Jeannette to stay and to not move to New York by saying that he would build the Glass Castle with her. By this time, Jeannette had learned that her father was excellent at making promises and then breaking them. She understood that if she stayed back and believed that her father would actually build the Glass Castle, then she would be losing a huge opportunity to start a new life and to become successful. She realized that a glass castle would do no good for her anymore and that her father was full of empty promises.
           In conclusion, in The Glass Castle, the promise of building a Glass Castle becomes a symbol. Every time Jeannette's father promises her a life in the Glass Castle, he and Jeannette have a wonderful relationship, but towards the end of the book, Jeannette realizes that he isn't an promise keeper. This shows that she no longer cares about the Glass Castle, or if she does, it's only a little bit. This also shows that she realized that it was going to take more that the promise of a dream to make up an entire relationship with a person.

How the Murder of Four Teens Started a War: Response

           In the article "How the Murder of Four Teens Started a War", by Patricia Smith, the article talks about the killings of 4 teenagers, and how it was the start of a seven-week battle between Israel and Hamas, a militant group that controls Gaza. Smith starts the article off by describing how the three Israeli boys, Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach, were killed. She then tells of the Jewish extremists who took the life of the fourth boy, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian. Over the course of the article, Smith describes the history between Israel and the Palestinians. She then ends by talking about what might happen next and what people hope will happen next.
           The pictures right above the beginning of the article show the four boys all smiling, days before the killings. I think that this is meant to show their innocence and how horrible it was to have them being killed off. Throughout the article, Smith uses loaded words, when she says "Israel launched devastating airstrikes in Gaza." The word "devastating", in my opinion, is a very powerful word. I feel that devastating isn't the right word, and that the sentence would sound better without it. Also, the author uses heavy words to express her point of view. For example, she said "... for surviving Israel's military onslaught." This quote caught my eye, because she uses "onslaught" to show her feelings on the casualties from the seven-week war. This makes the reader think that she is more sided with the Palestinians, because the way she worded this sentence makes the Israelis look like horrible, mean people, while the Palestines are innocent and a victim.
           Overall, the idea that killing innocent teenagers makes me feel unsafe, because if this can happen in a situation like this, it can happen anywhere. This also makes me realize how self-centered and selfish countries can be, because they are not thinking about all of the trouble they are causing and how many people they have hurt, physically and emotionally. 

“Darkness Too Visible” Response

In the article, “Darkness Too Visible”, by Meghan Cox Gurdon, is about the negatives of young adult literature and why they are not appropriate for teens. In the article, Gurdon provides excerpts from many “gruesome books”, including The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith. Additionally, the author expresses her dislike for the millions of young adult books that are being published each year. Finally, Gurdon compares authors such as Judy Blume and Lauren Myracle, saying Myracle was “this generation’s Judy Blume”.

Meghan Cox Gurdon uses loaded words to try to make me feel disapproving of the current young adult literature and their content. For example, she says, "The argument in favor of such novels is that they validate the teen experience, giving voice to tortured adolescents who would otherwise be voiceless" (Page 3). This quote alone has two loaded words, which are tortured and voiceless. By reading these two words, Gurdon paints an exciting picture, where teens who are usually afraid to speak up are no longer afraid because they read a book about it. She wants us to feel that this idea is silly and that you can't get helpful support from reading a book. Another use of loaded words is when Gurdon talks about Amy Freeman, a mother of a 13 year-old, who was trying to get her a book, but decided against it because she felt that the books were "all vampires and suicide and self-mutilation, this dark, dark stuff" (Page 1). This quote is designed to make you feel that all of the young adult books are too advanced for teenagers to be reading. The author mainly supported her own opinion, giving only quotes that supported her side of the argument.

In conclusion, I believe that the article "Darkness Too Visible" is an argumentative piece, however, stating only one side of the argument. I disagree with the author on most notes, such as how all of the books on the shelves are all vampires and suicide and self-mutilation. In fact, many of the books I read are not about any of those topics. From reading the article, I realized that there are many people who are stubborn and who refuse to look at the other side of things. Meghan Cox Gurdon is one of those people who forgets or doesn't realize that there is another side to their argument.

Reading Response

Marta Brennan                    October 20, 2014

Class 806       ELA Reading Response

“The terrified mother perched on the roof of Eva’s hut and called to her baby all day. I watched that mother and wondered what she would have done when her new babies came the next year. Would she have kept the older baby or pushed it out of the nest to make room for the perfectly formed new ones?”

- Whisper

The book Whisper, by Chris Struyk-Bonn, is about a sixteen year-old girl, Whisper, who has a cleft palate and lives in an encampment with three other young rejects and their caregiver, Nathanael, all of whom are outcasts from a society that kills or abandons anyone with a physical or mental disability. When Whisper’s mother dies, she leaves Whisper a violin, which Nathanael teaches her to play. Whisper’s father comes to claim her, and she becomes his house slave, her disfigurement hidden by a black veil. But when she proves rebellious, she is taken to the city to live with other rejects at a house called Purgatory Palace, where she has to make difficult decisions for herself and for her friends. Throughout the book, the author uses Whisper’s violins to represent how she handles her emotions.

One example of Whisper using her carved violin to represent her emotions is when she says, “Closing my hand around the violin at my neck, I brought it out of my shirt and pressed it against my cheek. The coolness of the wood soothed my hot face” (page 153). This quote shows that the thought of Jeremia, one of the rejects who lived with her in the woods that gave her the violin, calms her down. She uses his love and support for her to hold her down and to stay sane. She uses the violin to help her when she is not feeling in control of her emotions, actions and thoughts.

Furthermore, Whisper says, “I sat up in the chair, lifted the violin to my shoulder, lowered my chin, closed my eyes, and played the song of Whisper when she had known who she was and where she belonged” (page 117). This quote is meaningful, because music is the one thing that Whisper had that made her feel that she belonged and that she was wanted, and slowly, she was losing that too. Whisper’s violin was represented to show how she was feeling lonely and empty, because she was losing the peaceful and safe emotions she had when she played her violin.

In addition, Whisper says, “Too late, I felt the string around my neck stretch taut and snap. I let go, and the hand-carved violin dropped through my coat to the carpet of the hallway and I stepped on it, snapping the carving in two… and I stumbled, crying out. I sobbed and leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath” (page 271). This quote shows that Whisper believed that there was nothing left to hold onto, because the violin symbolized the love and support from her family in the woods, but she snapped it in half.

In conclusion, the author used Whisper’s violins to express the single thing she had left that was not broken in her life and that she shouldn’t give up, and she should have hope. The violin was a symbol to hold on to what you have and even in the darkest of times, you always have someone or something there for you. Teens can relate to this story, because many have felt lonely and felt that they ruined something, such as a bond or relationship or a gift, between themselves and someone else.