Social Action/Independent Book

The short story “A friend on the Line”comes out of the novel, Chicken Soup for the Soul. It is about a woman who changes a life over the phone with a couple phone calls. It started when she accidentally called a number. When the 89 year old man picked up, she was confused and even more so when he yelled at her and slammed the phone down. Right then, the women knew that something was up. Every day after that she would try to call him and after a couple of days, he finally held out a conversation. That one conversation sparked many more and before they both knew it, they were both close friends. In the end, after making many calls every week, for about six months, the friend on the line dies.

The theme in this short story is to always live life to the fullest. This is shown by the 89 year old’s surprising death because be died so unexpectedly, it could happen to anyone. In addition, another theme that is in the story is that being kind to everyone is important. Doing a kind act could change a person’s life, forever. This also leads to not judging a book by its cover.

There are a couple things that the author leaves out. For example, author never tells the reader how the old man died. I think that the author doesn’t want the reader to know that because the reader doesn’t really need to know how the old man died, it doesn't add to the story. Also, because the story is very symbolic, having the scientific reason for why the old man died would in a way make the story more black and white or simple. It wouldn’t help give the reader an opportunity to think any deeper about the story. It wouldn’t leave the reader wondering. In addition, the old man’s point of view is never in the story. I think again,this is because though it may not seem like it, both the woman (the caller) and the old man both had somewhat of the same experience. There really wouldn’t be any point to putting it in.

The social issue in this book is that people treat others poorly so often so it is important to try and be kind to everyone. This story seems like it doesn’t convey an issue at all but how people treat one another is a huge social issue. The woman could have hung up the phone too and never called the old man back. But, she didn’t because she knew that there was obviously something that was bothering him. Instead of judging him, she helped him change into hating the world, to loving it.

Argument Essay--Should YA books be banned?

Imagine you’re about to buy a book after hearing so many great things about it but when you pick up the book at the bookstore you read the blurb, and it looks more dark and violent than you had anticipated! How would you know if you are mature enough to read it? An age suggestion would be the perfect way to address if this book would be a good fit. The rating would be made by the publishing companies that would specifically concentrate on making age suggestions. If a reader is sophisticated and old enough, a dark book could provide great opportunities for readers to learn about the world. However, this same book could have many negative effects on younger students. YA books should have an age suggestion for reading these books to prevent any possible danger to young readers, let mature readers grow, and make the process of deciding on a book a lot easier.

Older kids tend to benefit more from reading YA books because they are both more mature and usually have more experience with the topic. If librarians and teachers were to banish books, many important lessons wouldn’t be taught to these older kids. For example, Sherman Alexie, the author of  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, writes about an encounterment with an older boy of 17 who was destined to be in the military, by his father. However, he says, “‘I don’t want to be like my father, that young man said. ‘I want to be myself. just like in your book.’” Many librarians and teachers have attempted to ban Sherman Alexie’s book in the past. If they had succeeded, this young man wouldn’t have had the experience of reading the book and learning the valuable lesson of following one’s intuition, and he might have ended up fighting in a war he didn’t believe in.  Because he was mature enough he was able to benefit positively from the book and is now currently happy with his own life leading it the way he chose.  On the other hand, many proponents argue that not all older kids, or any kids in general, may be emotionally mature enough to read these books. For example, the article “Darkness Too Visible” states, “A patron complained that the books depiction of cutting--the cover shows a horribly scarred forearm--might trigger a sufferers relapse. “ It is true that reading a book may trigger a reader to go back to old habits however, it could also teach readers who harmed themselves before that there are bad consequences to doing these things. This could cause them to hesitate when thinking about harming themselves in the future.  In addition, a reader who started cutting again after reading a YA book is someone who seriously needs help because they are not strong enough within themselves.  If a book reminds a reader of past mistakes, then something else could have affected them just as easily as an innocent book -- like a movie or a video game.  An age recommendation would prevent a reader from picking up a book that is too dark for them if the recommended age is older than they are.

Some kids simply aren’t old enough to read these books because their minds are still growing and it could cause them to harm themselves. An age rating would stop them from checking out a book too old for them.  For example, In the article “The Sick-Lit books aimed at Children…” by Tanith Carey States, “I know a girl of 12 in whose class the book was spread like wildfire--several of them also started cutting themselves,’ she said.” The twelve year olds that read this book may have been too young to process the gory and depressing content in the book. Most likely, they had never been aware of how real the issue of the book actually is and it came as such a shock to them that they started to harm themselves. When an issue like suicide is in the content of a book, certain readers may be influenced to experiment. If there had been an age recommendation on this book however, the students may have been responsible enough and may have realized that this book would be too shocking for them because it wasn’t recommended for their age group. Proponents argue that it would be unfair to ban the book because not only does it go against the first amendment, which states freedom of speech but it also doesn’t gives younger kids the opportunity to read these books. For example, “When I think of the poverty-stricken sexually and physically abused, self- loathing Native American teenager that I was I can only wish, Immodestly, that I’d been given the opportunity to read The Absolutely true Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” Like Sherman Alexie, many young teens are old enough to read these books and benefit from them. An age recommendation may “scare off” some of these kids that could benefit. This argument doesn’t acknowledge the fact that an age recommendation would stop readers who would be too young and inexperienced to be able to benefit from reading these books, like the twelve year olds, and instead they could hurt themselves. However, the people that these books could help could still access these books.  An age recommendation is simply a suggestion, not a ban.

Lastly, an age recommendation could be an easy way for anyone to see if there is disturbing or mature content in a book. Parents and librarians could easily confiscate a book after seeing that the age for which the book is recommended is older than their kids are ready for. For example, the article “Should Young Adult Books Have Age Ratings?” states that “For children, we’ve got to be really careful. We’ve got to have a guide for parents.” The age rating would be an easy “guide” for parents to look at the age recommendation and see if it is suitable enough for their child to read. On the other hand, many people believe that kids are old enough to tell when a book is too violent or old for them and they don’t need a recommendation or a parent to tell them what they can and can not read. Though this is true, certain kids lack the ability to self censor, so the recommendation would help them. Putting an age suggestion doesn’t harm anyone who is able to self censor, whereas it could benefit  those who cannot. In addition, they believe that a recommendation, or their parents, won't stop them from getting inappropriate content. For example, “If it’s [an adult book] got an 18 certificate for adults, than younger children will look it out when their parents aren’t around.” (from “Should Young Adult Books Have Age Ratings?”) This lacks validity because the author doesn’t consider the fact that nothing can stop kids from looking at inappropriate content on the internet, in movies, or in books. Not even an 100% ban of this said website, movie, or book. There are simply too many ways to learn “bad” lessons and no one can ensure that their child won’t see inappropriate content. The age suggestion is there to ensure that a kid buying a book will make the right choice when in a bookstore.

This proposal will benefit everyone who reads because deciding on a book will be an easier experience. The age recommendation will help kids test if they are ready to read the book. It will take away the risk of choosing the right book that might cause harm to a reader. Putting an age suggestion will be a great compromise on the debate of whether YA fiction should be banned or not. An age recommendation will prevent younger kids from harm, and will ensure that older kids will get the learning experience they need.

Stolen blog post

The book Stolen by Lucy Christopher, is about a girl, Gemma, who gets kidnapped and brought to a desert in Alaska by a young man named Ty. There are many symbols incorporated in the book. The author does this to show the mood of the book. In addition she does this to show the theme of not everything is always as it seems. Christopher uses the windows, setting, what Ty looks like, and Boulders as a symbol.

In this novel, windows are brought up a lot in the description of the house. For example, at the beginning of the book, the narrator says, “You sighed and went over to the window instead…[opens curtains] light flooded in, making me shrink back again into the sheets.” The windows symbolize Gemma’s freedom. It shows her only way of escape, out. But, when Ty opens the windows, it shows how he is manipulating her freedom and making it literally hurt her. Also, the author out this in to show early on, that Ty has a lot of power over Gemma and can really hurt her. The author also does this to make the reader fear Ty as well.

Secondly, the author uses setting as a symbol. The nobel takes place in the middle of a desert in Alaska. A desert is usually thought of as a dry and hot place so the setting would be thought of a symbol because like a desert, the situation is uncomfortable. However, this is not the case. Unlike the typical desert story the main character is pretty safe. Meaning, she has enough food and water to keep her healthy. This helps show the symbol because it means that Gemma is safe but she feels unsafe.

Ty’s description and the boulders outside the house are also symbols. They are linked together because Ty is often near the boulders. Ty’s description shows that you can’t judge someone by the way that they look. “Those blue, blue eyes, icy blue, looking back as if I could warm them up.” From the very beginning, Ty is described contradicts itself and really shows the complexity of the characters. just by the description the reader can interpret that Gemma isn’t actually safe. The Boulders represent something that Gemma wants, but can’t have. They were brought up in the book so much, that it forces the reader to think more deeply about them. The boulders outside the house represent or symbolize Gemma's hope of return. The boulders are visible, but just out of reach. Ty in a way, taunts Gemma with hope.

In “The ‘Sick-lit’ Books Aimed at Children: It’s a Disturbing Phenomenon, Tales of Teenage Cancer Self Harm and Suicide”, by Tanith Carey, Carey wants the reader to know that books about sickness can cause certain readers to feel depressed because they are so dark and sad.  One way the author does this is by giving an example of one of these books. For example, she writes about the Fault in Our Stars, “Diagnosed with stage four thyroid cancer at the age of 13, Hazel spends most of her time tethered to an oxygen tank and is running out of hope.” The dark summary of this book is somewhat bias in itself because it only shows the darkness of the book, and doesn’t touch on the important aspect of love in this book. Also, the author explains how these books are “aimed at children as young as 12.” The author wants the reader to know that certain 12 year olds simply can’t handle the book.  Lastly, the author gives an example of a book expert who is on the author’s side and thinks that these books should be something to be concerned about. The author does this to show that she isn’t the only one who feels the way she feels. These examples show that the author feels like these books should be limited.

Carey wants to convince the readers that YA fiction about illnesses could have a really bad effect on readers. One way she does this is by using strong word choice. For example, she uses the word “terminally” to show that some of the sicknesses that some characters have could go on for as long as they live.  She does this also to show how little hope everyone has of recovery. In addition the author uses figurative language. One example of this is the author uses alliteration. For example ,”Bubble burst, depression and death, terminally ill teenagers.” Carey does this to create a dramatic tone in her writing. It sounds almost scary and it might upset readers even more.  Lastly, the author chooses her quotes very wisely and with purpose.  Carey quotes a reader of a YA novel about sickness, “I’d finish reading and immediately reach for my blade.” Harming yourself is clearly the worst outcome after reading a book. These things really can happen and this girl quoted was proof.

Though Carey made very strong arguments, I still disagree with her claim.  I feel that sick lit books can be very educational and they can even help certain kids with sicknesses get better. They believe that if a character in a book can do it, so can they.  One thing that didn’t sway me was that Carey used a lot of strong language and used many absolutes. This made it hard for me to trust her opinion because I felt like some of it wasn’t factual.