Banning Books Argument Essay

   There is no such thing as a perfect world, so why should we hide these imperfections from kids? Perfect by Ellen Hopkins portrays some of the imperfections in life such as drug addiction, which is why adults such as parents have challenged both the book and the author many times. Although it is understandable that some parents may disapprove of their child reading this book because of the controversial issues portrayed in the book, that does not justify banning the book entirely. This book should not be banned from school libraries because it shows that the world has many issues people should be aware of such as suicide, drug addiction and anorexia.
   
    Ellen Hopkins and her work have been challenged and banned multiple times. Ellen Hopkins herself has even been banned from a school festival at Creekwood Middle School because of content in her works such as “...crystal-meth addiction, teen prostitution, suicide and incest.” (Bildner 1). These topics are viewed to be unsuitable to teens and many think teens should be shielded from these issues. Even Hopkins’ critics “...apparently saw little value in young people reading about such edgy and unpleasant topics.” The issues Hopkins writes about is controversial because the topics are not only disturbing by itself, but Hopkins portrays them vividly and bluntly. She portrays these issues such as self-harm and drug addiction without holding back, which is a turnoff to many. For example, in Perfect there is a character, Sean, who gets so addicted to drugs and gets so jealous of his ex-girlfriend that he went insane. The disturbing aspect of this part of the book was his thoughts because he starts talking to “The Guy Behind My Eyes”. “‘No way. Don’t be ridiculous.’ [Guy Behind My Eyes]: You never know. Deputy Rossiter: Who in the hell are you talking to back there? ‘No one. Sorry. Just processing.’ GBME: Maybe Aunt Mo is a lezbo too. Maybe she’d like them. ‘Aunt Mo is so not a lezbo.’ GBME: You never know. Deputy Rossiter: Did you know crazy people talk to themselves? ‘I am not crazy.’ GBME: You never know” (Hopkins 514). The disturbing content in this book means that this book is not meant for everyone. However, this in no way justifies banning the book for everyone.
   
    Banning this book and any book is wrong because everyone has different limits and these books can also make us more aware of certain topics. Everyone’s limits are different which means that something one person can handle another person cannot. Just because one group of people can’t handle something doesn’t justify banning it all together because there are people out there who are okay with content like this. Everyone should know their limit and nobody is forcing them to read these books. Teens are also more responsible than kids in elementary school and should be allowed some say in what they read. If teens feel that they are able to read about these issues without it doing any harm, then they should be allowed to. These books can also teach us about these issues. The world isn’t perfect and it will most certainly never be. However, we can make the world better by acknowledging these issues and figuring out ways to solve the problem. It is impossible to solve a problem without knowing about it. For example, Perfect contains issues such as anorexia, homophobia, and drug addiction. This book not only raises awareness about these issues but also may motivate teens to figure out solutions and help people they know who are dealing with issues like these. By banning books like this, we are “...diminishing a young person’s ability to go off into the world and interface with people from all walks of life” (qtd. in Bruni 2). By letting books containing this type of material to stay in school libraries, we are raising awareness of these issues and teaching teens that these issues really exist. Reading this book helps to inform teens of such issues and be openminded to certain topics such as GLBTQ.
   
    Although these books seem like one gruesome description after another, these books can actually teach readers life lessons. In Perfect, all of the characters narrating the book long to be accepted by parents, friends, or the people around them. Despite all the hardships that these characters go through, the characters had gone through a transformation throughout the book, just like any other book. Each character either learned how to accept themselves and found someone who accepted them, or learned how to deal with the pressure and the hate. These books are not just about drug abuse, alcohol abuse, self-harm, or suicide. These books are about how these characters learned to cope with the conflicts they faced just like any other book that is considered “appropriate” for teens. This book teaches that not everyone is going to like you, and sometimes you can’t be accepted by the one you wanted to be accepted by. However, there will always be someone out there who will accept you for who you are, someone who won’t make you change. It also teaches that in order for you to see how loved you are, you have to love yourself first and accept yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then others won’t be able to love you either. You shouldn’t beat yourself down because one person doesn’t like you and you shouldn’t change for them. Kendra, a main character in the book, became anorexic because she believed nobody would like her unless she stayed skinny. And even though she was skinny, she still saw herself as fat because she failed to recognize how much other people cared about her. Instead, she let the mirror dictate how she needed to look. “But that stinking mirror doesn’t lie. Every time I walk by it shouts out, Hey. Chub. When are you going to lose those fifteen pounds of ugly-ass flab? Do you want to stay size four forever?” She believed that she needed to be skinny in order for everyone to like her. “If I can...make myself as thin as I need to be, the rest of my life will turn right again. Maybe, if I can make Daddy proud enough, he’ll come see me cheer or watch me vie for Miss Teen Nevada. Maybe, if I can make Mom really look at me, she’ll have something to think about besides Patrick...And maybe, when Conner gets out, he’ll decide I’m the one he wants, after all.” It was only when she finally learned to live with herself that she was able to see that things weren’t as bad as she had thought they were. In reality, her dad actually was paying attention to all her pageants. She didn’t have to change in order for people to love her. These types of books are not what many people think they are and these books teach valuable life lessons as well.
   
    It is true that the content in books like these is not for everyone. It is understandable that adults will want to protect their child from content like this. However, it is not fair to take away everyone’s right because a parent thinks it is inappropriate for their child. Maybe it is inappropriate for their child, however that does not necessarily mean that the same goes for the twenty other kids who use the same library. It is okay to prohibit your child from reading certain texts, but it is unfair to ban the book entirely for everyone else as well. We must also keep in mind that although “...parents exist to rear children...” it is unrealistic to believe that they will remain children for the rest of their lives (Gurdon 5). They too must one day become adults and may have to deal with these issues. That is why it is important to teach them or at least make sure they are aware of these issues now so that they will be able to better handle an issue if faced with an issue such as anorexia or alcohol abuse. Instead of banning the book, parents can restrict their child and only their child from reading the certain book. Parents can also teach their child to put down a book if they feel it is too graphic or inappropriate for them instead of reading on, because nobody is forcing them to read the book. These alternate solutions will allow parents to still have some say without restricting those who can handle material like this from reading the book.
   
    Although the issues portrayed in this book are far from pleasant, it is important to be aware of these issues. It is impossible to solve these problems if we choose to ignore them. If a student perceives a book to be too graphic, the student should put the book down. One student’s inability to do this does not represent everyone else’s ability. And although parents have very right to restrict their child from reading a book, they have no right to restrict other children from reading a book. By allowing teens to read the book, they will become more aware of issues such as anorexia and drug abuse as well as learn valuable life lessons. Although a perfect world does not exist, it is still possible to make the world a better place. The first step to solving any problem is to acknowledge it is one. By banning these books we are preventing these problems from being solved; banning books do more harm than good.

Works Cited

Bildner/Austin, Phil. “Texas: If You Can’t Ban Books, Ban Authors.” Time. Sept. 2010: 29. Print.

Bruni, Frank. “The Wilds of Education.” New York TImes. 28 Sep. 2014: SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Gurdon, C. Meghan. “Darkness too Visible.” Wall Street Journal. 4 June 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Hopkins, Ellen. Perfect. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011. Print.

Social Awareness Project #3: Poem on bullying

I feel them staring at me
I don’t have to be a mind reader,
to know of me they think poorly
I don’t have to turn my head,
to know that they are whispering
Echoes in my mind, the words they said
I don’t have to hear,
to know they are calling me names
It makes me want to cower in fear
I don’t have to be there,
because they just
don’t care

But what they don’t know
is how much I remember of what they say
They don’t have to show
for me to know they hate me
It’s how I cry at night
until I sleep,
with nobody in sight
It’s how I try
to prove to myself,
that someone cares and it’s not a lie
And then it’s how they disprove
and break my efforts,
showing there’s nothing to prove
It’s how sometimes I feel
that all I am is a useless person,
which turned out to be real
It’s how I often wonder if they
would miss me if I was gone,
But they would rather have me gone they say

Then I think
Wouldn’t it be easier to just jump?
Or to lay my bleeding wrist in the sink?
Or to pull the trigger of the gun,
and destroy my own heart for them?
Because it’s much less work than having to run
and my legs have tired
I have nowhere to run
and my heart is no longer admired

But then I stop
Maybe I can prove myself wrong
Maybe I think and I let my hand drop
and put my knife away
I know I’m lying to myself
But there might be another way
And until I rule out the other paths
I promise I will stay
So tell me how to endure their wrath.


    When I was writing this poem, I was thinking about self-harm and why somebody might be pushed to inflict self-harm or even committing suicide. Bullying is a common factor of self-harm or suicide. Being insecure and lacking self-confidence also leads to self-harm. I put myself in the shoes of someone who was being bullied to the point where they were thinking of self-harm or committing suicide. I listed the factors of why somebody might think about this in the poem as well as in the end, the person trying to seek help. I feel that nobody deserves to feel that they are so useless that they would harm themselves or think about killing themselves. In some cases, if somebody had noticed or helped them, the person wouldn’t have killed themselves. This inspired me to write this poem.

Social Awareness Project #2: Reading Response-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn By Betty Smith

                   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: By Betty Smith

    Poverty has always been a huge social issue. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith portrays the everyday life of a poor family perfectly. It is about a girl, Francie Nolan who struggles with her family to survive everyday. She does chores such as going to the recycling shop or the “junkie” to get money from the hoarded items such as rags and paper. Although Francie is poor, she and her family make the best of everything. Francie and her family also have their thoughts and opinions on poverty and the issues they face connected to it. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn explains the hardships as well as the thoughts and issues connected to it.
    Most of us don’t, and hopefully will never understand the hardships of poverty. Francie must do chores that a normal young girl such as herself would most likely never have to do. For example, Francie and her younger brother, Neely, collect “junk”: Paper, rags, iron, and copper. This hoarded material is taken to the “junkie” where they can sell it for a small amount of money. Francie must also go grocery shopping instead of her mother because her mother must clean houses to earn money for their rent. However, this grocery shopping is no easy task. She must haggle and sometimes trick people so she can buy food at the lowest cost. She sometimes must fight with others to get food. In one scene of the book, she goes shopping and must fight with others to get a semi-week’s supply of stale bread. “ “I want bread!” Francie called out.A big girl gave her a strong shove and wanted to know who she thought she was. “Never mind! Never mind!” Francie told her. “I want six loaves and a pie not too crushed!” she screamed out.” She also goes to the butcher, and must trick the butcher in order to get freshly ground meat and not the ground meat off the “plate”, which is implied that the meat on it cannot be trusted to be fresh. “ “Lady was just in. Bought a quarter’s worth of round steak ground. Only I ground too much and here’s the rest on the plate. Just ten cents’ worth. Honestly. I only just ground it.” “No. My mother said ten cents worth of round steak.” Furiously the butcher hacked off a bit of meat and slammed it down on the paper after weighing it. He was just about to wrap it up when Francie said in a trembling voice, “Oh, I forgot. My mother wants it ground.” ”
    Francie and her family have different feelings about being poor, and their actions reflect this. Although they are poor, they purposely waste sometimes. Francie loves the smell of coffee. “As she ate her bread and meat, she kept one hand curved about the cup enjoying its warmth. From time to time, she’d smell the bitter sweetness of it. That was better than drinking it. At the end of the meal, it went down the sink.” Even though they are poor, Francie’s mom allows her to do this because she believes that when they are poor, it’s nice to have the luxury of wasting something. She says that if it makes Francie feel better than drinking the coffee, she can do that. The coffee symbolizes that the poor have pride too, and sometimes feel wasting something makes them feel better. Francie has pride, and sometimes feels embarrassed that she is poor. On Thanksgiving, her school had a small pie, and said that someone could have it. Francie didn’t want the teachers to pity her because she was poor, so she made up a story in order to get the pie. “ “I’m glad someone wants it,” said Teacher. “I don’t want it for myself,” lied Francie proudly. “I know a very poor family I’d like to give it to.” “Good,” said Teacher.” Francie’s actions show that like others, she also has pride and is often ashamed of saying she is poor. Instead, she pretends that she isn’t and lies.
    Francie and her family show that there is more to being poor than just the literal meaning of not having money. There are everyday struggles and issues that may not come up in someone’s life if they are not in poverty. Francie also shows us that being poor can cause someone to become self-conscious about it. Accepting charity even when you are poor is sometimes hard because of pride. The text made me feel that being poor doesn’t just mean you have no money, there are more complexities to it. It made me understand the issue from a perspective of somebody who is poor and know that it’s not just about getting by but also about pride and how others perceive you.

Social Awareness Project #1: Daily News Diary

Daily News Diary:

Entry #1:
11/26/14
The New York Times “China Asks for Help Identifying and Returning Fugitive Officials” By Didi Kirsten Tatlow
Posted Nov. 26, 2014
    Everyone knows about the death penalty, and it still happens today. But China is one of the most well-known for the frequent “...use of torture and the death penalty.” It is estimated that “China executes about 2,400 people each year, more than the rest of the world combined”, although the Chinese government does not officially release the number of executions.
    Recently, Chinese officials who have been suspected of having fled the country with purloined assets are being searched for. China has requested that other countries help with their search of the fugitives. However, because China lacks the extradition treaties with countries that these fugitives most likely fled to, it requires these countries to “reform their laws” and “reduce the burden of proof required for extradition.” These countries include Australia, Canada and the United States. Several Western countries such as the United States, have already refused signing extradition agreements with China because of China’s frequent “...use of torture and the death penalty.”
    When I read this article, I thought about how unjust it is to execute so many people. The fact that these estimated numbers are more than the rest of the world’s annual execution rate combined is sickening. China has many citizens, which could affect those numbers, but even then it should not be necessary to kill that many people. It made me resist the idea of helping China find these fugitives, even if they did do wrong. On the other hand, I do understand why China would want to find these fugitives. However, execution still seems a bit harsh.

Entry #2:
11/27/14
CNN “Who else remains captive by ISIS?” By Michael Martinez and Mariano Castillo
Posted Nov. 19, 2014
    ISIS is well-known for taping videos of them beheading hostages. According to the article, ISIS has beheaded a total of five Westerners, which includes two Americans, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. There are many journalists who have gone missing, about 20 are still missing in Syria. Many believe that they are being held by ISIS. ISIS has also collected a lot of money through ransoms. In 2013, ISIS collected about “$20 million from ransoms generated through hostage-taking.”
    When I read this article, I was horrified by the number of beheadings that had occurred. Killing these people was unjust because these people had most likely never done anything to their killers on a personal level. It was also unjust to take these people and hold them hostage for the interest of money. This made me think about how much people will do to get money. Apparently, ISIS would take many for hostage to get it.

Entry #3:
11/28/14
CNN “Ferguson shooting a tragedy, U.N. torture panel member says” By Jason Hanna and Susanna Capelouto
Posted Nov. 28, 2014
    The jury has finally decided to not prosecute police Officer Darren Wilson “in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.” Although the events in Ferguson, Missouri are a tragedy, comittee member Alessio Bruni of U.N. Comittee Against Torture said on Friday that U.N. Comittee Against Torture “has to respect the decision.” The United States recently got a periodic review of “compliance” with the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The report included a section on police brutality and criticizes “excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular against persons belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups.”
    I definitely agree with that statement in the report. This reminded me of the Ferguson shooting, and I also agree with Alessio Bruni’s decision on “respecting the jury’s decision.” I still believe shooting Michael Brown was wrong, even if he did do something wrong. The guns given to the police are there for last resort or in self-defense. I also, however, must take into account that nobody is really sure of what happened. There is no strong evidence that Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown because of his ethnicity. This means that there is not enough evidence to prosecute him. However, he should not have shot Michael Brown in the first place.

Entry #4:
11/29/14
CNN “Israel charges 3 Palestinians in Alleged Plot to KIll Foreign Minister” By Tal Amir and Ben Brumfield
Posted Nov. 21, 2014
    The fight between Israel and Palestine still goes on. Recently, the Israeli military arrested three Palestinians from the West Bank and charged them “in alleged plot to assassinate Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.” According to court documents, the scheme involved a plan to “purchase rocket propelled grenades and fire them on his convoy.” Israeli leaders are targets because Israeli soldiers “killed Palestinian children and women, and they entered Al Aqsa mosque and attacked Palestinians.”
    This article made me think about the whole concept of revenge. It is a never-ending cycle because each side refuses to forgive the other and instead causes harm, which in turn provokes the other side to get revenge. I can’t point to one side and say that it’s all their fault, even if they started it, because at this point both sides did equally bad things. They both injured or killed people that had done nothing to them directly. It also made me think that violence never solves anything, even if you won a war. There’s always going to be someone seeking revenge for a loss.

Entry #5:
11/30/14
The New York Times “Police Break Siege of Government Offices in Hong Kong”
By Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy
Posted Nov. 30, 2014
    Students in Hong Kong are currently demanding democratic elections. They experienced a setback when “their attempt overnight to besiege the government offices collapsed and the police thrust into the protesters’ biggest street camp.” The police had arrested 40 people in Admiralty, the site of the largest remaining protest camp. However, the students are still determined to win even though some believe this will end in a Pyrrhic victory.
    I admire their determination to win as well as their courage to stand up to the government. I believe that you should fight for what you believe in, especially if you are fighting for a right. This also made me realize that some countries don’t have democratic elections, even if they wanted to. It made me thankful that America has democratic elections and freedom of speech. It also made me realize how many things we take for granted everyday.

Reflection:
    Doing this assignment really made me aware of the kinds of things happening in the world. I realized how much happens each day that most of us don’t know about. I also realized from this experience that when I read these articles sometimes I think about these things a lot, and don’t even realize it. Writing what I was thinking about really helped me organize my thoughts and actually realize my opinion on these topics.
    Writing summaries also helped me get the main ideas from each article and sort out the facts as well as understand the article itself more. This allowed me to think more about the article and develop more thoughts and opinions about the topic.

"Proofreading Thomas Jefferson" Response

    In important documents, punctuation is very important, especially in a document as important as the Declaration of Independence. According to “Proofreading Thomas Jefferson” by Veronica Majerol, a stray period was found in a sentence that could change the whole sentence’s meaning. The author is unbiased to some extent, although she shows how a stray period could change the meaning of the sentence and the “meaning of American democracy”. The author supports this claim by showing examples of how the stray period being a period or comma would affect the sentence.
    The stray period is in the paragraph that begins “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” The stray period in question follows the phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Majerol uses Professor Danielle Allen’s quotes to help the reader understand why this punctuation change can affect the sentence. Professor Danielle Allen is a professor at the Institute for Advance Study in Princeton, New Jersey, which makes her quotes have more impact. “The period teaches people that that’s the end of the thought,” says Allen, “and then you’re starting a new one.” By explaining what the period symbolizes, the author makes it clear why adding a period after this phrase would change the meaning. The phrase after this is “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...” The author then explains that assuming the stray period is a comma means that to Jefferson, the government securing people’s rights were just as important as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” “You lose that connection when the period gets added”, says Allen. It is still an ongoing debate on whether it is a comma or period.
    Majerol also shows why getting this right is so important, by adding the opinion of another and then ending with a quote from Allen. She adds a quote from Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He claims that the distinction between commas and periods “almost certainly didn’t exist when the Declaration and the Bill of Rights were drafted. It was a more oral culture back then, he notes, and punctuation was used primarily to capture the rhythms of speech.” The author adds this quote in to capture the perspective of someone else’s point of view and compares it to Allen’s point of view by ending the article with Allen’s quote. She does this to make the reader think and compare the two opinions on their own in a subtle way. Allen states that even though it might not seem important, it is because this document is connected to our government and “We should get right what’s in them.”
    Although I understand both sides of this argument, I agree with Allen’s point of view more because I believe that information is important, no matter how it may look. It is part of our history and since it also relates to the government, it is important we know what the Founding Fathers thought. After reading this article I realized how much this matters, as well as how much of a difference punctuation makes.

Reflection on Trip to Museum

    This trip was a very fun and interesting experience for me. Although I had known about some of the famous activists such as Martin Luther KIng Jr, however, I haven’t really given the topic much thought. When I went on this trip I realized the types of social issues that are faced in our society and realized the extent people will go in order to get their rights. For example, for female suffrage, women stood outside and walked with sashes which was unusual in those days because women would stay home to clean. Another example is when the bicycle clowns tried to prove their point about people parking their cars in the bicycle lane.
    Going on this trip also made me aware of the issues that were in our past as well as some that are still going on. These include bicycle lanes and gay rights. I realized that since our community is so diverse, there are so many issues we run into. The issues are also varied. We probably won’t solve all of these issues right away, and I know that these issues will probably never stop coming up. However, I wonder if we will be able to solve the issues we have now.

The Catcher in the Rye

   
    Everyone has probably heard at least once in their life that planning is a vital part of life. Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the perfect example of someone who has insufficient planning. Holden is a kid who’s choices are greatly influenced by his emotions which causes him to have insufficient planning. He runs away from his school, Pencey, and faces many conflicts and problems such as losing money, being scammed, and being forced to pay for otherwise unnecessary things are all causes of Holden’s lack of planning. Ultimately, Holden’s lack of planning holds many consequences.
   
    Holden’s lack of planning is the main reason why all these problems and events keep happening to him. It all starts with him deciding to run away. When Holden decided to run away, he decided on a whim, which meant that he did not really plan things out which led to him not seeing the possible outcome of his actions. “But all of a sudden I decided what I’d really do, I’d get the hell out of Pencey―Right that same night and all.” Here Holden decides to leave on the spot because all the “phony” people annoy him. Making decisions this way can really affect you and your life because you may not be able to see the possible problems that could lie ahead. For example, Holden faced conflicts such as running out of money. He also may not see the impossibility of what he decides on. For example, at one point in the book, he decides to go out West. “But I really decided to go out West and all.” He doesn’t even consider the fact that he’ll need money to get there and the fact that he’s broke.
   
    Holden’s lack of planning holds many consequences and causes many problems as mentioned in the paragraph before. One of the main conflicts is running out of money. He treats money as if it doesn’t matter, and lacks planning that could help him save money. For instance, he gives a donation when he really cannot afford it. “They let me give them ten bucks as a contribution. They kept asking me if I was sure I could afford it and all.” Had he been planning from the beginning, he would have not run out of money so rapidly. Near the end of the book, he only had “...three singles and five quarters and a nickel left...” and is eventually forced to borrow money from his younger sister. Besides giving donations, he also went out on a date with Sally Hayes. “But the thing was, I’d made that date to go to a matinee with old Sally Hayes, and I needed to keep some dough for the tickets and stuff.” He spent extra money on unnecessary things that he could live without, which caused him to not have enough money for things that are necessary such as food. Another conflict was getting scammed. In one part of the book, he decides on a whim to hire a prostitute. However, the next day, the pimp(Maurice) claims that the price was ten dollars, not five like he had originally said. “...Five bucks a throw...” In this way, Holden was forced to pay five more dollars than he originally had to. Had he planned, he would have foreseen the many dangers involved in being alone as well as saved money.
   
    Holden has many flaws such as being judgmental and not knowing when to stop talking, however, his most biggest flaw would be his lack of planning. His lack of planning was the main reason why he faced most of the conflicts in the book such as losing money and being scammed. All or most of Holden’s problems could have either been avoided or solved in a simpler manner had he planned what he was going to do once he ran away. Lack of planning made it easier for him to lose money as well as become an easy target for scammers.

Synthesis Page: The Scorch Trials-By James Dashner: Emotions

And Then There Were None: By Agatha Christie

People like to think about themselves as better than animals, and caring for others. However, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie says otherwise. The book is about ten people who are tricked into going to a secluded house on an island, and end up trapped. As each day passes, more and more people are murdered by someone on the island. As more people get killed, they realize the killer is among them and start to turn on each other. In dire situations people lose their pretentious and civil mask to reveal the ultimate goal of mankind: Self-preservation. 

After five people had been killed, the remaining five people were tense and scared. They knew that the murderer had to be one of them. But they didn’t know who. “And all of them, suddenly, looked less like human beings. They were reverting to more bestial types. Like a wary old tortoise, Mr. Justice Wargrave sat hunched up, his body motionless, his eyes keen and alert. Ex-Inspector Blore looked coarser and clumsier in build. His walk was that of a slow padding animal. His eyes were bloodshot. THere was a look of mingled ferocity and stupidity about him. He was like a beast at bay ready to charge at his pursuers. Phillip Lombard’s senses seemed heightened, rather than diminished. His ears reacted to the slightest sound. His step was lighter and quicker, his body was lithe and graceful. And he smiled often, his lips curling back from his long white teeth. Vera Claythorne was very quiet. She sat most of the time huddled in a chair. Her eyes stared ahead of her into space. She looked dazed. She was like a bird that had dashed its head against glass and that has been picked up by a human hand. It crouches there, terrified, unable to move, hoping to save itself by its immobility. Armstrong was in a pitiable condition of nerves. He twitched and his hands shook. He lighted cigarette after cigarette and stubbed them out almost immediately. The forced inaction of their position seemed to gall him more than the others. Every now and then he broke out into a torrent of nervous speech.” The way they are acting was indeed not human, as if their only thought now is to survive and figure out who the murderer is so that they can kill them and be safe. Nobody is even trying to pretend that this isn’t happening, they have all completely switched to survival mode. “Three little soldiers walking in the zoo;  A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.” This is from the poem at the beginning of the book, which indicated how each person was to die(although you didn’t know who was next) in a riddle-like way. This line indicates how animal-like they all were. There was no zoo on the island, however, the people acted enough like animals to make it seem as if the house was a zoo. 

Not only did they start acting like animals, they also became suspicious of one another and refused to trust one another. “Vera said: ‘Does anyone―want tea?’ There was a moment’s silence. Blore said: ‘I’d like a cup.’ Vera rose. She said: ‘I’ll go and make is. You can all stay here.’ Mr. Justice Wargrave said gently: ‘I think, my dear young lady, we would all prefer to come and watch you make it.’ Vera stared, then gave a short rather hysterical laugh. ‘Of course! You would!’” They were so tense and suspicious of each other, that they wouldn’t let Vera out of their sight to even make tea. They were so afraid that they would die; that Vera might be the murderer and poison them all, that they didn’t want her to go by herself and make it. Another example is when Vera screams because she mistakes dangling seaweed for a hand; the doing of the murderer to frighten her. They bring her brandy to calm her down. “She was just about to gulp the spirit gratefully when, suddenly, a warning note―like an alarm bell―sounded in her brain. She sat up, pushing the glass away. She said sharply: ‘Where did this come form?’ Blore’s voice answered. He stared a minute before speaking. He said: ‘I got it from downstairs.’ Vera cried: ‘I won’t drink it...’” Even though Vera wanted the brandy, she was so distrustful that she refused to drink it, later having someone get an unopened bottle of brandy. 

The saddest part of it all, was that they were ready to kill anyone if they saw them as a threat. This unfortunately happened to Vera and Lombard, when they were the last people on the island, as far as they knew. “Lombard laughed. He said: ‘So that’s it, is it Vera?’ Vera said: ‘There’s no one on the island―no one at all―except us two...’ Her voice was a whisper―nothing more. Lombard said: ‘Precisely. So we know where we are, don’t we?’ . . . She had moved a yard or two away and was facing him, revolver in hand. Lombard said: ‘So that’s the reason for your womanly solicitude! You wanted to pick my pocket.’ She nodded. She held it steadily and unwaveringly. And then he sprang. Quick as a panther―as any other feline creature...Automatically Vera pressed the trigger...Lombard’s leaping body stayed poised in mid-spring then crashed heavily to the ground. Vera came warily forward, the revolver ready in her hand. But there was no need of caution. Phillip Lombard was dead―shot through the heart...” Vera and Lombard were actually the ones who had the closest relationship to each other out of the relationships of the ten people(Besides two of them, who were married). However, Vera killed Lombard in the end, regardless of any friendship that was there before. It was because she believed he was the killer and she had the instinct to survive that she killed him. 

This book portrays people in an honest and straightforward way, showing what the drastic measures are that people will take to survive. They had almost no emotions towards the end of the book, the only emotions they showed throughout the book being fear, guilt and suspicion. It was as if they had truly transformed into animals, living only to survive. I believe that it is quite depressing to see how people will not think twice to kill someone if they might potentially be trying to kill them. But the thing was, they never knew if that person they killed was the killer. They were going on a “might be”. However, this book is interesting in the way that it portrays the animal side of all human beings, the will to kill to survive...Would you?

This Lullaby

Scientists graph the pollution the air. Remy graphs the love in the air. In This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, Remy knows everything there is to know about love. She even has a whole set of rules to prove it: From which boys with what profession not to date; to how long until you need to break up with them. Not one boy has ever gone too far off what Remy has predicted. Until Dexter crashes into her and her life. Dexter doesn’t follow the rules at all, and Remy is no longer in control over the situation. Remy is an interesting character who has many layers.

Although Remy, as a teenage girl, should be the one being supported by her family, it’s the total opposite. Her mother, Barbara Starr, has been supported by Remy for a long time. Barbara has been married four times, marrying as if she were changing her clothes. This is one of the reasons why Remy feels that there have to be rules in love. She has witnessed so many stepfathers come and go, she believes love can never last. But if it isn’t going to, it’s at least better to be the one in control. “I’d always prided myself on having the upper hand.” Remy is also not the strong, down-to-earth and confident girl she appears to be. She is afraid of love, afraid of being hurt, afraid that someone will break her heart. So she built a wall made of rules about love. That is why Remy feels uncomfortable when she meets Dexter, because he’s different than the rest of the boys she’s used to dealing with, which scares her. In other words, Remy doesn’t trust love, much less others.

Remy shares her rules with her friends:Chloe, Jess and Lissa. Remy is like the leader of her group of friends, always reinforcing the rules by following them. However, her friends notice a change in Remy’s behavior after meeting Dexter. Chloe notices this when she helps Remy give Monkey, Dexter’s dog, a bath. “‘I still can’ believe how low you’ve stooped,’ she said. ... ‘This is total girlfriend behavior.’ ... ‘No,’ I said, steering Monkey away from the grass before Chloe had a chance to freak out. ‘This is a humanitarian act. He was miserable.’ ... ‘I thought you weren’t getting attached,’ she said as I pulled the clippers out of my pocket and sat the dog down again. ‘I’m not,’ I told her. ‘It’s just for the summer. I told you that.’ ... ‘And anyway, what happened to our wild and carefree summer? Once you dumped Jonathan I thought we’d just date our way to August. No worries. Remember?’ (This is Chloe speaking.) ‘I’m not worried,’ I said.”

Dexter is unpredictable, which means Remy can’t take control of the situation. This means that she is vulnerable to anything and everything Dexter does, which scares Remy. She also hates admitting that she has truly become Dexter’s girlfriend. “‘If you must know,” I said, as if it was absolutely no big deal whatsoever, ‘it’s just this plastic ware I got at Linens Etc.” He thought about this. ‘Plastic ware.’ ‘Yes. It was on sale.’...‘Plastic ware,’ he said slowly, ‘like knives and forks and spoons?’ I brushed a but of dirt off the back of the car―was that a scratch?―and said casually, ‘Yeah, I guess. Just the basics, you know.’ ‘Did you need plastic ware?’ he asked. I shrugged. ‘Because,’ he went on, and I fought the urge to squirm, ‘it’s so funny, because I need plastic ware. Badly.’ ‘Can we go inside, please?’ I asked, slamming the trunk shut. ‘It’s hot out here.’ He looked at the bag again, then at me, And then, slowly, the smile I knew and dreaded crept across his face, ‘You bought me plastic ware,’ he said. ‘Didn’t you?’ ‘No,’ I growled, picking at my license plate.” In this scene, Remy denies buying Dexter plastic ware because she considers it girlfriend behavior, and she of afraid of opening up to someone.

Remy was a very intriguing character, who had more than one facet to her, which made her all the more interesting. It was also interesting how she developed and changed. Overall, I enjoyed both reading this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about teen love.