Critical Question #5

    *contains spoilers*

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Everything is labeled in groups. If you don't fit in one group, find another. When Junior decides to leave his school on the Rez, everyone hates him. He is purposely leaving their group and joining a new group that has never been kind to Indians. At first Junior is an individual on the Rez because he abandoned them, and at his new school Rearden he is a individual because he is the poor Indian in the middle of a white rich kids. Everyone has to be in a group, and everything has to be a competition.

    When Junior starts being accepted at Rearden, thats when things get worse on the Rez. On the Rez everyone hates him, because he left them. The only ones Junior has are his Parents, his Sister Mary,his Dad's best friend Eugene, and Grandmother. When his Grandmother, Mary, and Eugene all die The Rez briefly allow him back into their group.
                             
                                  We held Grandmother's wake 3 days later...Almost 2000 Indians came, and no   one gave me any crap. I mean I was still the kid who betrayed the tribe. That couldn't be forgiven.  But I was also they kid who lost their grandmother. Which was horrible. So they all waved the white flag, and let me grieve in peace. (Alexie, 159)

This quote shows how big a deal groups are. How big a deal sticking together is. But it also shows us that we can work together, and everything doesn't allows have to be a competition. This quote really defines that. It also shows us that a competition doesn't have to be all the time. That it's ok to take a brake once and awhile.


In the book Junior is on the Rearden basketball team. When he has to go to his old school gym on the Rez, to play his former classmates, friends and family all hell brakes loose. Everyone is booing him. Someone throws a quarter at his head causing him to get stitches. They make him pass out and go to the hospital, because he has a concussion. This shows how on the Rez competition is everything. How sticking with one another is super important. Since Junior transferred schools, he betrayed his own tribe. They pushed him out of their group and into the Rearden group. Except no one really wanted him their at first. He was an individual hidden in a group.

This is a really good book, that takes teamwork to the extreme. Everyone gets categorized in all these groups, inside other larger groups.  Everything has to be a competition. You have to have the right people by your side in order to survive.

Arguement Essay Draft 2+Work Cited Page

In Middle Schools everywhere kids are being exposed to inappropriate things, and are being peer pressured. Looking for Alaska by John Green is a very mature book, with lots of heavy issues. Looking For Alaska should be banned from middle school libraries because it contains adult content.

One example is  from Looking For Alaska. Lara Pudge’s girlfriend is talking to Pudge about taking their relationship to the next level: “Have you ever gotten a blow job?’..’No.’...We;; I’ve never given one.’” (Green, 126) Because it contains sexual content middle schoolers might feel uncomfortable reading it because they aren’t used to hearing or dealing with it. Middle school is the age where children are being exposed to inappropriate material and start relationships, so this quotation makes kids feel uncomfortable because it is a situation they don’t know how to deal with.

Another example is the characters do lots of illegal things. it says “We’re all gonna puke if we don’t slow down [the drinking]!’....’Let’s slow it down with a drinking game!”(Green 114) This shows how this could influence pre-teens and teens that drinking is ok. Or drinking is fun. Pudge gets peer pressured to start drinking, and middle schools. Also the article Sick-Lit talks about how books will influence kids to do what the characters do. A girl was reading a book about a girl who harms herself to cope with pressure. This girl says: “I finished reading, and immediately reached for my blade.” (Carey 2) This book will set the wrong example for lots of kids.

Some may say that middle schools are at the age where they are learning about everything and that they are mature enough to read about it. Looking For Alaska deals with smoking, drinking, suicide, bad language, porn, stealing, failing school, eating fast foods. Many Middle Schools say that they are mature enough but since that is the age where they start learning about and handling situations like these, it could set them on the wrong track, or even teach them about things before they are ready or mature enough to know about them.

Looking For Alaska is a very good book but it is aimed at a much higher audience then middle schoolers. Kids nowadays are learning about things before they are ready and it can have a negative effect or make them think something is ok when it isn’t. Many Kids don’t know personally whether they are mature enough to handle certain issues, although they say they are. Thats why these books should be banned from middle school libraries.

Works Cited

Carey, Tanith. "Sick Lit." MailOnline. N.p., 3 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Green, John. Looking for Alaska. New York: Dutton Children's, 2005. Print.

Monday Muses Prompt

I have tons of favorite children books. I've always loved to read, even when I was younger. Some of my favorites were Goodnight Gorilla, The Princess and the Pizza, Sanji and the Baker,Two For Stew, The Gardener, and My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes, too name a few. I have memories of every night picking out these books and reading them. One memory I have of My Cat Likes To Hide in Boxes, is while we were packing up to move into our house from our apartment, we were packing up books and we kept stopping to read them. I remember sitting on the ground with my Mom and Sister reading My Cat Likes To Hide in Boxes while we finished packing. Afterward me and my sister were dancing around in the kitchen and we found to boxes. We climbed in and covered ourselves with blankets. We said we were never coming out and laughing about it. My Cat Likes To Hide in Boxes is relevant to life today because some people can do all these great funny things, and love to be out in the world having a good time, and others just don't do anything and just hide a way, not enjoying life.

Arguement Essay Draft 1

Looking for Alaska by John Green is a very mature book, with lots of heavy issues.Looking For Alaska should be banned from middle school libraries because it contains adult content.

One examples is on page 126 it says “Have you ever gotten a blow job?’..’No.’...We;; I’ve never given one.’ Because it contains sexual content middle schools might feel uncomfortable reading it because they aren’t used to hearing or dealing with it.

Another example is the characters do lots of illegal things. On page 114 it says “We’re all gonna puke if we don’t slow down the drinking!’....’Let’s slow it down with a drinking game!” This shows how this could influence pre-teens and teens that drinking is ok. Or drinking is fun. This book will set the wrong example for lots of kids.

Some may say that middle schools are at the age where they are learning about everything and that they are mature enough to read about it. Looking For Alaska deals with smoking, drinking, suicide, bad language, porn, stealing, failing school, eating fast foods. The truth is many middle schools aren't mature enough to read books like these, because they are unfamiliar with some of the content, and it could set the wrong example.

Looking For Alaska is a great book, but should be banned from middle school libraries because it could set the wrong message, and many kids won’t be able to handle the content.

Monday Muses:Childhood Memories

I had many great and not so great childhood memories. Many good memories, like going to my sleep-away camp for the first time, or going to my first baseball game, meeting my cousin for the first time, and going to texas for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Or the bad ones like when my close friend died in 3rd grade, or when my friends and I got in a huge fight. One of happiest memories is the day I found out I was a big sister:

I remember walking into the hospital clutching my dads hand, bubbling up with excitement. My dad pushed open the big door to my moms room and I ran inside. My mom looked up grinning and waved me over from her hospital bed.I ran over and and put my arms around her.
   "Where's my little sister?!" I asked dying of curiosity
.My mom reached over and picked her up from her bassinet, as my dad lifted me up on my moms bed. My careful placed her in my arms, then placed a hand nuder her head to help me hold her. I held my little sister close and beamed.
    "What are gonna name her?" I asked, still holding her.
My reached over and plucked her out of my arms and put her back in her bassinet. She then put an arm around me.
   "We were thinking Ruby." My mom said looking at my dad, then down at me.
    "Hmmm..." I thought about it for a second. "I wanna name her Rosa! We can call her Rosie for short!"
   "I think it's gonna be Ruby." My dad said smiling.
    "I think Rosie!" I argued.
     "We really like Ruby." My mo cut in.
I let out a big dramatic sigh. "Alright fine. As long as you promise your next baby is named Rosie!"
My parents laughed knowing there would  be no more babies. "Ok we promise."
Nothing could crush my spirit. I had a little sister!

Push

In the book Push by Sapphire, Precious has a very hard life. Precious is an obese, pregnant with her second child by her father,dumb, 16 year old who hates life. Through out the book she learns very important lessons. Sh learns to stand up for herself, to do what she loves, and to live her own life. The main theme in the book istkaing charge of ypur life leads to many positive things.

One example you have to take charge of your life is Precious gets sexually abused, hurt, and pushed around at the beginning of the book. She's been told and treated she's worthless so she believes it. She is 16 but in the 8th grade. She finally decides to start to go to a school where she first takes a pre-GED class then will later on take GED class. She meets people who change her life such as her teacher, Ms.Rain, and her friends.She learns to read and write, and starts to write poetry. She learns to have a real relationship with someone.Taking charge of your life leads to many good things.

Another example how taking charge of your life leads to good things, is when Precious finally leaves her house. She leaves her abusive mother and father, her mother stops getting money for her and kids and she goes to live in a half-way house. Everything is going uphill for her. Whent she decided to take charge and move out and leave all the bad things behind so many new options opened up for her.

Taking charge of life leads to something good. Precious had a horrible life and with one decision everything turned around. Push gives many good lessons but the real theme of the book is taking charge of your life leads to many good things.

Shiver

*SPOILERS*

In Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater there are many great characters who develop throughout the book. One of the characters who has the biggest character change is Sam. Sam starts off as this sad, confused werewolf who knows his days are numbered and is in love with a girl who he's never talked to. By the end of the book not only does he the get the girl he is able to think of a future since he no long as the wolf gene in him. Sam feels like he has no purpose in life but when he finally meets Grace it shows him he has to fight and take charge if his life.

In the beginning Sam is a werewolf in the winter and a human in the summer. He knows his time as a human is ending because after certain number werewolves stop shifting and become wolf for the rest of his life. One of the times when Sam was a wolf his pack attacked a girl(Grace). They bit her and were going to eat her. But Sam stopped them. He watched her for the next 5 years. Sam doesn't have much to live for except for this girl. He's very mopey and bitter because he's going to become a wolf for the rest of his life. He had dreams of music and just life but now he's just not a happy person because he can't have any of it.Grace shows him that although he doesn't have much time left instead of moping around and being upset that he should make every second count Being a werewolf is the cold and darkness of winter. The hibernation from warmth and colors and life.

When he finally meets Grace after watching her for years his old self comes back. Every year when he stayed a wolf for a longer time a little more of Sam died. When he meets Grace everyday a new bit of him comes alive again. So when Sam becomes a human permanently, Sam is reborn.. Since he fought and found away to stop him from being a werewolf, he now can have a life. He can go to college, he can start a music career, he can be with Grace -- basically he can have a life. Sam finally has to think about things and how it will effect his future. Sam comes alive and opens up and just lives.Winter is finally gone.