Post #9 -- Nonfiction

In the book I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, Malala writes about how the Taliban devastated her formerly peaceful and quit Swat, into a violent and outrageous religious chaos. In a time where many women's rights where neglected and very violently forbidden, Malala Yousafzai stood up and demanded women's rights. On her way to school one morning with her friends, a man with a gun boarded her bus, and asked her friends if Malala Yousafzai was on the bus. He then shot Malala in the head, and injured two other girls. Malala Yousafzai is a powerful example of women's rights, and a determined humanitarian. She has taught me to not only be thankful for what I have, but to stand up for my rights as well as others, man or women.
Malala has taught me to stand up for my rights, and for others as well. Malala saw an injustice, and she also saw that the army was not going to help when the Taliban struck out with acts of violence to prove their point that women do not deserve rights such as education. Instead of laying low and dropping out of her fathers school so as to remain safe, she began to speak out publicly against the Taliban. Even after the Taliban not only tracked her down, but shot her with the intent to kill her, she still continued to speak out for women's rights. She showed true courage and determination, and continued to fight for her rights.
Malala Yousafzai has not only taught me to stand up for the rights of everyone, but she made me realize how lucky I am to be able to go to school everyday without real issues repressing me from getting an education. Just because Malala claimed her right as to education, she was nearly murdered. She has to really fight to get an education, where as it is a governmental requirement for me. She made me realize how lucky I am to go to school every morning, and to get to wake up early every morning and stay up late to write reports and do homework, because I get to go to school and get an education.
In conclusion, Malala Yousafzai is a determined humanitarian, a powerful leader, and a very determined student. She has taught me to be strong and stand up for what I believe in and to appericiate everything my educational right and other women's rights give me. Reading this book has made me want to become active in this struggle for women's rights. Malala is a powerful and beautiful example of everything I hope I can become in the future, both in her courage and her determination.

Post #8 -- Chosen Text for Mini-Project

The book Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas is about Anke and her family experiencing the push and pull of their abusive life with her father. Anke finds refuge in playing volleyball, a distraction from her very difficult life. Anke finds her voice in volleyball, and soon she finds her voice and her courage at home. Symbolism is a very big part of this book, and almost every little thing has a big affect. Volleyball is not only a distraction and a refuge from Anke's turbulent life, but a symbol of her growing confidence.
One example of the confidence that Anke is developing through volleyball is during practice, when the coach is telling them to claim the ball. "When he turns to me, the heat I'm just discovering screams, 'MY BALL!' Hair on my arms stands up and about to burst into flame. My lungs are claiming expanding territory. This is my voice. It is MY BALL." This line is so powerful and beautiful because it shows how Anke's sensations are burning up in this glorious sensation of discovering her voice. She realizes she can be strong and powerful. That it is her life she has to reclaim with her voice. It is her life, and it is her ball.
Although Anke's confidence is growing and she is becoming happier, her father wants her to quit. Anke expresses her concerns that her father has noticed the change in her behavior. I think that her father does not want her to play volleyball because he is slightly scared of her newfound confidence. He doesn't want her to speak up; to voice her opinion and maybe have some power over this ausive situation. I think this shows how weak Anke's father really is in comparison to Anke speaking up for herself. This shows me that Anke's father really isn't as big and strong as Anke thinks him to be, and Anke's father is scared of her realizing that.
In conclusion, I think that the symbol of volleyball is a very big symbol in this story; it affects the lives of not only Anke and her father, but her entire family. When Anke has her big outburst at the end of the book, that was a shear result of the confidence gained from volleyball. I think that the symbol that volleyball is not only shows that Anke has always had the confidence in her that she needed to break out of this really horrible situation, but that the abuse she was experiencing daily in her life was only a result of fear. This connects to the poem Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Maya Angelou; in the poem, Maya is saying how she won't give the power of being the source of fear to anything in life, because she knows that fear is what makes this fearful. This connects to Anke because she finally stopped fearing her father, and he was then no longer anything scary. She found the courage and confidence to stop being afraid. Volleyball is much more than a sport in the book Because I am Furniture, it is a symbol of confidence and fearlessness.

Blog Post #7 -- Fox

      The picture book Fox by Megan Wilde is a bitter, heart-warming story about Dog and Magpie. In this book, Magpie has burnt her wing and can no longer fly. Dog is blind in one eye and cannot see to the best of his abilities. Magpie sits on Dogs shoulders as Dog races through the woods, and this is the substitute to flying for Magpie. As Dog and Magpie sit outside one night, Fox arrives. Dog invites Fox to take shelter with him and Magpie, and Fox agrees to stay. Fox then tells Magpie to come with him, because Fox runs much faster, and promises Magpie that she'll be happier with him. Fox convinces Magpie to leave Dog after 3 requests. Fox runs through the forest at break-neck speed, leaving Magpie awed and speechless as Fox stops to catch his breath. Fox tells Magpie she'll now know what it truly feels like to be alone, and then leaves her in the desert. Magpie stops for a few beats, and then begins her "long journey home."

      Although every character in the book has an adept personality, Fox's is the most complex and compelling. When Fox first comes into the book, it reads: "After the rains, when saplings are springing up everywhere, a fox comes into the bush. Fox with his haunted eyes and rich red coat. He flickers through the trees like a tongue of fire, and Magpie trembles." The part of this that reads that Fox flickered through the trees like a tongue of fire to me seemed like a connection tot eh past reference to Magpie and her burnt wing: just like fire destroyed Magpie's wing, Fox (the tongue of fire) destroyed Magpie's friendship. This is one idea of what Fox represents-destruction.

      Another thing that Fox represents is loneliness. When he abandons Magpie, he says: “Now you and Dog will know what it is like to be truly alone.” This statement not only tells readers that Fox planned to separate the two, but also suggests that Fox himself has experienced what it's like to be lonely, and maybe what it's like to be separated from someone you love. Fox spread the feeling of being alone to Dog and Magpie, and attempted to make them feel as lonely as he has/had felt. This shows that Fox represents loneliness. 

     Finally, Fox represents is jealousy. Fox has experienced so much pain and grief, and then he finds Dog and Magpie. Although Magpie has a burnt wing and can't fly, and Dog has lost sight in one eye, both are happy. Fox feels jealousy that he does not have the happiness that Dog and Magpie have. I think that that also connects back to the previous paragraph, were he's so jealous and bitter he separates the two, believing it will bring him happiness.

      In conclusion, I find that I am both sorry for and angry at Fox. I feel pity for Fox because of his baggage and pain. He is loneliness and pain, and it so bitter that he enforces his pain on others. I feel a stronger sense of anger toward Fox. This is because while he may have pain and sadness and represent loneliness, he also represents destruction and jealousy. Fox did not have to enforce his misfortune on others. I also find that although Fox brought much destruction and damage, he also brought a bit of good. In the beginning, Magpie was unhappy she could not fly, and in the text it reads: "Days, perhaps a week later, she wakes with a rush of grief." Magpie feels grief because she cannot fly. After Fox abandons her, it says, "Magpie huddles, a scruff of feathers adrift in heat. She can feel herself burning into nothingness. It would be so easy just to die here in the desert.

But then she thinks of Dog waking to find her gone. Slowly, jiggety-hop, she begins the long journey home." This shows that although Magpie wants so badly to give up - something she's been doing all through the book - she thinks of Dog and how much she loves him and walks home. This small thing shows that Magpie accepts that she can no longer fly. I can connect this book to the real world, because, like Fox separating Dog and Magpie, there is always good with bad. 

Blog Post #6 -- Favorite Books

Reading is a very big part of my life. I find comfort and consonance in mutual issues I share with characters. I build a sense of empathy with main characters, both protagonists and antagonists. When I read a book, I connect with it. That's why favorite books of mine have the ability to stir up deep, sincere feelings and beliefs and teach me important lessons that largely affect my decisions.
For example, the book the Anne Of Green Gables made me feel frustrated when Anne acted vain and valued her pride over Gilbert's friendship. This book taught me that I can follow my dream and still help those that I love. I also learned to pay attention and care into everything that I do.
Another one of my favorites is 13 Reasons Why. From this book I drew powerful, deep and bitter emotions. I felt like I really could plunge my hands into the book, and into the story, and pull out Hannah Baker from her inevitable suicide, even though my conscious recognized that she wasn't real. I felt like I was the one listening to the tapes she left. I learned from this book the consequences of being inconsiderate. I learned to value everybody, and that someone always has a story to tell, and something that is paining them.
Finally, from the book I Am Malala I got righteous feelings of rebellion. I get angrier and angrier every time I read about the insufferable negligence that woman's rights receive, but I also become more appreciative I am able to live in a clean, warm home with clean water and am able to get an education. This book taught me to value everything - small and big - that I have and have encountered. It taught me that I should always fight for my rights, no matter who stands in my way and what they attempt to do to me. This book told me that I have a voice that deserves to be heard.
In conclusion, my favorite books have taught me, have made me feel strong emotions and cause me to see my world differently. My views are constantly changed by the literature that I read - be it a book, and article or a poem. In the future, I look forward to finding a new book in which I can relate. Even more though, I look forward to finding a book that will change the way I see the world.

Blog Post #5 -- Social Justice Issues

Recently, we have been discussing social justice issues. Social justice issues range from getting cut in front on in a line, all the way to civil rights issues. These issues are also everywhere in our daily lives. One inquiry that connects to social justice issues is: How does society push teens into having a one track mind?
When I say society, I'm talking about our overall community as a whole - from babies to elders and everything in between. We are constantly being pressured and influenced by society, even if we may not recognize it. This influence almost always has an effect or consequence. If a little boy wears a pink shirt, and a few boys in his class make fun of him, that is society's pressure. If that boy doesn't wear the shirt again, that would be society's impact or influence.
Sometimes, society creates a negative impact and affects people's mindset. For example, in many classes I have, teachers push us to accept that there is only one right way to do things. They are a very important part of society, because they teach children and teens what they need to know. So when they insist that there is only one right way to do things, they are creating an impact on teens and making them have a one-track mind.
 Another way that society pushes teens into having a one-track mind is through social acceptance and a standard of beauty. For example, our society (human-beings as a whole) has become infatuated with this standard of beauty that is exceedingly hard to reach. Teens boy or girl have become one-track-minded in the sense that anything that is not up to society's standard of beautiful is "ugly" or unpleasantly different.
In conlusion, society influences how we think of things daily. Even if we don't notice it,  society changes the way you view something. Whether it's a little boy in a pink shirt, or a girl not feeling beautiful, the affects of society are apparent in our world and in our community's. Try thinking about how society has changed you, think about how it's changed everyone else.

Blog Post #4 -- Social Justice

            In our daily lives, there are many examples of social justice as well as social injustice. Justice is something that creates fairness and equality. Social justice is the matter of justice occurring among social classes and/or communities, which is something that is not the government can completely control. This means that its up to people to make their community a more just place. The recent reading inquiry we had was to take note of the world around us, including social justice/injustice. This inquiry made notice how much social justice and injustice goes on around us everyday.

            One example of social justice I saw is when I was on the train and I saw a woman with many children give a homeless man $2. This to me was social justice. I think this was social justice because the woman had many children to look after, she found money to give to someone less fortunate than she. If everyone in our community did what this woman did and found just a little money to give to the needy, we would have less hunger and   our community would be a better place.

            Another thing that I noticed was when I was walking my little sister to her friends house, we passed a man on his phone who was yelling and cussing at the person on the other end. In my eyes, this was a social injustice. I think this is an injustice because you need to be aware of the people and things around you. This man did not notice the 9-year-old in his midst, and said words that I believe to be inappropriate for her to hear. My little sister actually repeated one of the milder words that this man said later that night, quickly apologizing and taking it back. This shows how great an affect surroundings have on people.

            In conclusion, social justice is really a responsibility that everyone in a community needs to fulfill in order to create a community that everyone is happy to be a part of. If we all create one social justice a day in our lives, I community would be greatly improved. Everyone should be aware of what they are doing and saying, and should also be aware of what they can do to make their community (and society)  a better place to be.

Blog Post #3 -- Banned Books

            In the literature world, the latest debate has been over whether or not some YA novels with darker themes are appropriate or/and should be banned. Many newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal have voiced multiple opinions through articles. Books such as Captain Underpants by Dave Pilkey, the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, all three of which I have read, have been banned in some schools. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Indian and Thirteen Reasons Why are both books that I have intensely loved and thought about long after I returned them to my school library, and that is because of one simple reason: they connected to my life.
            When I pass by people in the hallways and hear bits and pieces of gossip-y conversation, I think of Hannah Baker in Thirteen Reasons Why and wonder how much of the gossip is true. When I see my dog when I go home and think of how much I love her, I think of the kind of pain Arnold in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian must of have felt when his father killed his dog. These books make me a more sympathetic person and connected to so many other people's lives, so when I learned that they have been banned in many schools and public libraries, it angered me.
             In the real world, much like in worlds we read about in the dystopian novels that have been banned, many people are struggling to censor art and filter what we read. To me, that is almost unjust. We should have the right to read about the topics we want, no matter how raw and dark they may be. Because the fact is, by not being allowed to read these types of topics we are put in a sort of bubble, where we are kept from recognizing the reality of these situations. Having connected the reality of these books to how much they open up my eyes about the realities of my own world, I believe that books with darker themes that affect teenagers should be permitted in middle school libraries, because they connect directly to our lives.
            For example, in an article Sherman Alexie wrote for the Wall Street Journal about the banned book debate, he stated, "I spoke to sixty students who'd come from sixteen different districts and had survived depression, attempted suicide, gang warfare, sexual and physical abuse, absentee parents, poverty, racism and learning disabilities in order to graduate." All of these teens have clearly endured somethings that would be too horrible for many people to even imagine happening. Books that have teens going through many difficult things show these teens who have survived horrendous affairs that they are not alone, and that it is possible for a teen to make it through difficult times.
              If parents are worried about their child's emotional reaction to these books with darker themes, they should censor their children, but not drag everyone down along with them and make the decision for their child's school, as if they were that entire school's parent. Because if one parent decides that a book with a girl who is bullied is not only inappropriate for their child, but for the whole school and bans it, that entire school will miss out on an opportunity to learn about the dangers of bullying and how to stop it. Because that one parent prevents everyone from reading a book, students remain ignorant to the bullying occurring in their lives and how to stop it.
             YA novels keep us from becoming callous and unsympathetic, and help us to recognize the things that need to be fixed in this world. The more books are banned, the more students are missing countless opportunities to learn about the world around them, and how they are not alone in the struggles they are enduring.