Annika Wahlsten

807

11-30-14

Inquiry Questions

1. Whose perspective is missing

My independent The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray is the third book in series. Its about three girls exploring their powers in a magical other realm. The book is set in the late 1800s and the main character Gemma is the only one with magical powers, this leaves resentment from her friends Felicity and Ann who rely on Gemma to enter the realms. The book is shown through Gemmas perspective for many reasons. For example if it were shown through Anns perspective there would be less of a plot because most of the events in the book take place around Gemma and her magic. Also if the book was Felicity's perspective you would get the outlook of blind frustration towards Gemma for holding all the magic. With Gemmas perspective you see how much pressure she has with all her power and your have more insight, thats why the author choose Gemmas perspective.

Annika Wahlsten

807

11-15-14

Argument essay draft

Precious young adult literature has been under fire in the last decade. Parents and teachers claim that the contents of Young Adult books (YA books) have grown far too dark and access to these books should be limited. I believe banning those types of books sends a horrible message to kids that they should be kept in the dark about anything hard or gruesome.

School faculty and parents claim books with questionable content like abuse, self harm, and violence could damage and scare kids. Therefore those books should be banned because it’s teachers and parents’ jobs to protect children. But there’s so much in this world we can’t protect kids from.  So maybe it’s best if we let them read these stories with characters they can relate to even if they aren't in the same position, that's the amazing thing about literature. It gives them so much more empathy so when they encounter these hardships in the real world, they’re prepared. In the article “Darkness Too Visible,” Meaghan Gurdon, the author, states: “Yet it is also possible—indeed, likely—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 might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures.” These issues and hard things teens are going through won’t go away if we stop writing about them, teenagers will be less informed. If parents were to ban sex ed books, no one would stop having sex. In fact there would be more unsafe and unprotected sex. It’s the same thing with YA fiction.

In the article “Has young adult fiction become too dark” the author writes, “Good literature rips open all the private parts of us — the parts people like you have deemed too dark, inappropriate, grotesque or abnormal for teens to be feeling — and then they stitch it all back together again before we even realize they’re not talking about us.” .Teens need these relatable stories, gruesome or not. It helps them prepare for the rest of their life.   

Parents and book critics often make  an outrageous and flawed argument that YA book banning wasnt an issue 40 years ago because books were not as dark, although 40 years ago was a completely different time, black and white people weren’t equal, gay marriage was completely unheard of . So the comparison is illogical. In the article “Has YA Fiction Become Too Dark?”  the author writes: “Critics like Gurdon are forever holding the dregs of the present up against the best of the past, which is an unfair and highly loaded argument. You can’t compare what’s crowding the shelves now with a tiny handful of classics that have endured. Times have changed incredibly in the last 20 years, so shouldn’t literature have too? Williams also adds, “I grew up on Judy Blume too. I also loved V. C. Andrews. Believe me when I say that the latter’s books, with their themes of brutal family abuse and incestuous rape, are trashy as hell — and there was not a girl around for 3,000 miles who could keep her hands off them.” This shows the adults like Williams who grew up with the first of the “dark YA fiction” have turned out ok after reading about heavy topics. So there’s no reason YA books shouldn’t be read kid might even be better after reading the modern young adult literature.

Some parents reasons for banning teen fiction is the stories of rape and beatings and violence might damage teens, so there is absolutely no reason for reading it which is an ignorant response to YA.  The intended audience of YA fiction that is being challenged is middle through high schoolers. Teens are learning about the Holocaust, slavery and the destruction of Native American culture in school, and nobody would try to stop teachers from teaching about plantations. And the topics in history class are far more gruesome because they're real. If books containing violence or the persecution of innocent people then should be banned then why teach kids anything violent in history class? We need to learn about history so we aren’t doomed to repeat it and also to value everyone who died in concentration camps or as a slave. It is the same with YA fiction. In “Has YA Fiction Become Too Dark,” the author asks her daughter what she thought, “They’re not called ‘children’s’ books? They’re ‘young adult.’ Adult.” This is absolutely true, if teens are old enough to learn about the horrible aspects of slavery they should be mature enough to read all of YA fiction. In “Darkness too Visible”  Gurdon quotes “The book business exists to sell books; parents exist to rear children, and oughtn't be daunted by cries of censorship.” Also its educators job to see what's best for children and if educators are teaching this harsh historical topics then no young adult literature should be banned.

Taking away young adult literature is far more damaging than anything these books could have in them. YA fiction has changed and helped so many teen lives. If parents limit access for teens to YA fiction, they’re taking away opportunities. Like in the article, “Has young adult fiction become too dark?” Williams says “Darkness isn’t always the enemy, but ignorance is.”

Annika Wahlsten

807

11-16-14

Response on Synthesis Page

In books and book series it’s interesting to see how the protagonist evolves throughout each book. In Libba Bray’s series A Great and Terrible Beauty the main character Gemma Doyle goes through so many internal and external changes in the books. Setting has a huge influence on Gemma’s character evolution in addition to contributing to the plot development. The setting moves the story forward driving the changes in Gemma throughout the series.

The first book in the series A Great and Terrible Beauty, introduces Gemma as a young girl in the 1860s who is uprooted after her mother dies from possibly supernatural causes.  She is removed from her comforting yet constraining childhood home in India to a strict girls boarding school in England called Spence academy. At Spence,  Gemma is introduced into the confusing world of grief and lust and the harsh realities of female friendships. On top of all of this,  Gemma also is discovering supernatural elements within herself. In the second book of the series  Rebel Angels,  Gemma is just getting used to life at Spence and has befriended two classmates, Felicity and Ann.  The girls travel through a mystical world called the realms that only Gemma can access. Gemma is going to her first series of balls  and is being courted by a handsome lord, but her mother’s death still haunts her and she’s been betrayed by so many people she trusts.  At the same time, the dark spirits of the realms grow restless Gemma hasn't yet found herself as she works to protect these magical worlds and tries to bond with her distant grandmother and her father who is her last connection to her deceased mother.  By the third book, The Far Sweet Thing, Gemma’s character is tested and she binds all the magic of the realms to herself meaning the magic is now tied to her. Gemma battles demons in the realms with her growing power and at home where her father spirals into drug addiction and her entire future rides on her London debut. Gemma is tested in many different ways through the series, she is forced to grow up in the first book, in the second book any stability she had built up was thrown into turmoil then in the third book when Gemma herself is tested in her responsiclities  in every world magical or not. Setting affects Gemma greatly in the first book gemmas lack of a secure home affects her then in the second book she  finally finds her place then then she life puts extended pressure on her, then in the third book she is responsible for multiple worlds showing how much setting changes characters.

When authors choose to write books in a series so much plays into the plot and the characters are more complex because the author must now have three unique stories tied together through the main character. I believe Libba Bray doesn't just show how the character changes each story but also how each story and setting changes the main character. In my writing I want to use the same idea even if i'm not writing a series.

Annika Wahlsten

807

11-5-14

Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

The article, “From the Department of Petty Controversies: Schools Cancel Halloween.” Is about the absurd schools that have decided to cancel halloween festivities in school. The author Nick Gillespie goes into how flawed and illogical the reasoning for these bans are. Some of the schools reasoning for banning festivities are safety hazards and insensitivity. Nick Gillespie although has a strong argument has a very strong bias making his article less logical.

 Gillespies claims the schools “small minded” approach to banning Halloween activities in school are “vague concerns” without reasonable reasoning. For example in the text the author quotes, “Consider Sporting Hill Elementary School in Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, the school sent parents a note explaining that wearing Halloween costumes was was canceled because, well, you know, “safety is a top priority.” A spokesperson further explained, “We recognize that the education about, and celebration of, seasonal festivals is an important aspect of the elementary setting…[but] we must do so in a manner that is safe and appropriate for all children.” You’d think it would be easy enough to craft basic guidelines on what’s safe – only fake blood, no trailing ghost or ghoul fronds that might get tripped on– but such a simple task is apparently beyond the powers that be in Sporting Hill.” The author clearly shows the flawed reasoning in this quote. The evidence is presented to show the ridiculousness of these schools argument. The author also shows the other aspect of the schools argument which is that Halloween is highly offensive to religions.

The author shows a lot of bias in this article. For example in the vocabulary and word choice clearly expresses the author's opinion on the issue. Using words like small minded, killjoy, loftier, and obtuse the author shows clear disdain in the vote to ban Halloween activities in schools. For example in the article Gillespie quotes, “Given the heated arguments even over something as ultimately inconsequential as celebrating Halloween,” The definition for inconsequential is something of no significance, the author is calling the other argument of no significance representing clear bias. Another example in the text is, “In the latest example of small-mindedness plaguing our educational system, schools around the country are attempting to ban costumes and candy on what is surely one of most kids’ favorite days of the year.” Making the kids to be victims and explaining the issue as ignorant people banning something harmless that children love is all the authors bias.

This article has many good points, but would be a lot more convincing if there was less bias. This piece is mostly opinion rather than actual fact. The author has a clear claim that banning halloween festivities is ridiculous and unethical. This piece has taught me claim is very important but if there isn't strong evidence and far too much bias the piece becomes lacking.

Annika Wahlsten

807

10-18-14

Censorship on An Abundance of Katherines

        An Abundance of Katherines by John Green is a very popular and likeable book, but should it be banned for certain audiences? An Abundance of Katherines is about a teenage prodigy named Colin who has dated 19 girls named Katherine. Him and his best friend Hassan go on a road trip to Tennessee. It’s a coming of age story about Colin and his obsession of Katherines. I believe that a lot of the material in the book is not suitable for young kids in elementary school, also the complex themes in the book would go over most young kids heads.  

An Abundance of Katherines has a lot of risqué content that could influence young kids. For example on page 174 John Green describes a very graphic sex scene. “She Was facing away from them, her back arched, her butt bobbing in and out of visibility. Colin had never seen actual people having actual sex before. From his angle, it looked a little ridiculous, but he suspected it might appear different if he were in the guy’s position.

Hassan laughed silently, and he seemed so amused by the situation that Colin felt okay laughing, too. “This is some fugging snow globe of a day,” Hassan said. And then he raced forward about ten paces, cupped his hands over his mouth, and screamed, “I AM BREAKING UP WITH YOU!” Still, though, a goofy grin was on his face. Hassan takes so little seriously, Colin thought. As Katrina turned back toward them, her face shocked and scared, her arms crossed over her chest, Hassan turned away.” This scene is essential to understanding the plot so if a child weren’t mature enough to read it the whole plot would go over their head. There are also scenes of drinking between the two main characters that would take away from the book if not read. An Abundance of Katherines should be banned from elementary schools because the kids would not understand the book.        

The books nuanced themes would take an at least 7th grade perspective to understand. In the book Colin creates a theorem to explain why Katherines always dump him. This theorem becomes his obsession and its clear that Colin finds odd things so he wont be forgotten. For example on page 150 Colin says, “Don’t matter. I don’t matter.” Being a child prodigy Colin can do remarkable things like learn new languages in a month but nothing he feels will matter. Someone in grammar school most likely could not grasp these complex ideas. Also the mature content could change impressionable readers for the worse.

Annika Wahlsten

807

10-10-14

Argument Essay

Syria is in the midst of a brutal civil war. Some people of Syria are in support and others are rebelling their tyrannical dictator Bashar al assad. Air strikes are being conducted to protect people but they may be doing more harm than good  hurting not only terrorists but innocent people. It is not ethical to conduct air strikes.

The article “Escape from Hell” in Upfront magazine centers around Amna al-khodr, 17, who used to be a normal teen before the air strikes. Amna studied computer science liked hanging out with her friends until in 2011 when the war broke out and neighbors turned against each other for political views. Assad's military ravaged her home town and set up barricades looking for rebels but often these soldiers harassed civilian like Amna and took her groceries. Amnas family found out a girl had been detained at a checkpoint and raped by the soldiers so they finally decided to move from their home to seek refuge. There was constant bombing in Syria and after Amna moved her hometown was in ruins. In the article she quotes “Airstrikes do not discriminate between civilians and militants.” This shows airstrikes can help the situation in syria but also hurt innocents.

The question whether airstrikes are ethical or not is very complex. It brings up the question are innocent lives more important than a countries peace. Airstrikes might help the fight with the terrorist group ISIS but unjustified death is never right. But whose to define what's right or not, the government conducting the airstrikes thinks choosing nations peace over civilian lives is the right decision. But until airstrikes completely fix the nation I don't believe they're worth these lives.

Annika Wahlsten

807

10-2-14

Reading Response to “Faithful Elephants”

“Faithful Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya depicts amid a war torn country, a zoo in crisis. For the safety of the citizens the government forced the zoo keepers to put their animals to sleep, because if the bombs hit the cages of the animals then they could run free and hurt people. It it especially hard to humanely kill three beloved elephants but eventually the zoo keepers must. The story tells a grim tale about war through three tragic animals. Tsuchiya also uses setting to express mood.

This story isnt really about elephants but about the sacrifices people make for war. For example in the story at the end when the beloved elephants are all killed  the zoo keepers cry “Stop the war, stop all wars!” This shows the authors purpose to the story to express the true meaning of the death of the animals to show hardships of war.

The setting in “Faithful Elephants” plays a big role in expressing the mood. The setting shows destruction and  peaceful resolution. For example years after the catastrophe at the zoo it’s all rebuilt and restored with animals, the author describes vivid scenes of of sunshine and beautiful cherry blossoms. Then during the climax of the story the author describes the bombs as rain falling this comparison shows the bombs as hard and unstoppable like rain and like the war.

“Faithful Elephants” is more than a depressing story about elephants. The author shows deeper issues through this story. Showing as authors we can express tough problems through simple stories like “Faithful Elephants.”   

Annika Wahlsten

807

9-13-14

Reading Response

“The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold, is the heart wrenching tale of Susie Salmon. Susie was a young girl who was raped and murdered in 1973 when she was fourteen. Susie watches over her family from the afterlife. She witnesses the livings reaction to her death and watches her killer cover his tracks. This thriller deals with everything from grief and the afterlife to a suspenseful murder mystery narrated by the victim.

     “The Lovely Bones” really portrayed how a family mourns a loss. For example the Lindsey Susie's sister,  sits in her dead sister's room and cries. This shows how when someone dies their possessions become so precious because its the last connection to the person they lost. Also after days of Susie being missing  and no body showing up her parents know shes dead and desperately want her body to be found. This really shows how Susie’s parents need confirmation of her death even if it's gruesome. This book depicted grief in such an accurate and heartbreaking way it was difficult to put down.

This book affected me personally because I can relate to the idea of a death changing everything about your life. For someone who hasn't lost anyone “The Lovely Bones” provides perspective and empathy for those who have lost loved ones, yet it never ceases to stop being a page turning suspense novel.