Sonnet

You’re something like a runaway balloon.

You keep climbing and climbing to the clouds.

You are waiting, for you know you’ll pop soon.

So, you fly for as long as it’s allowed.

You dream of the sun, and the moon, and stars.

You go up, and up, and up in the sky.

But, you know that you won’t make it that far,

so for now, you just continue to fly.

You do not think about what is to come.

About your broken shards on the pavement.

Lying on the ground, from which you come from,

shattered all across the cold, hard cement.

But for now you will fly, up with the birds.

So, please disregard this long string of words.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

      Victims of rape are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression, 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 time more likely to abuse drugs, and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. So, you can only imagine how Melinda Sordino was feeling after getting raped at a party in the book Speak Laurie Halse Anderson. But, Melinda comes out newer and stronger than ever before. Her transformation is amazing, and there are many factors to it, but one of those factors includes her drawing, especially trees.

      Melinda goes through many important changes, both physical and emotional during this book, and one of the things that helps her get there is her drawing. At the beginning of the book, Melinda is given an assignment in art class to focus on drawing a tree. At first, she thinks that it is simple. But, she struggles with drawing it. This relates to how she is struggling with depression at the time, and expressing herself with drawing. As the year progresses, her trees become stronger, and more detailed, as she herself heals. In the book, Melinda’s art teacher says on the first day of class, “‘This is where you can find your soul, if you dare. Where you can touch that part of you you've never dared look at before.’” I think that this shows how we could see at the beginning of the book the changes that Melinda was going to go through that connected to her drawing. She digs deeper and deeper into herself, and into her depression, but she comes up and she lives, and part of her healing is thanks to her drawing.

      All in all, Melinda goes through an amazing transformation, one of the factors to her transformation is her drawing. One of the things that she draws, trees, is a symbol for her struggles, and her healing when dealing with depression. She has such a hard time, but she comes back, better, and stronger than ever.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    The woeful story of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is known by many throughout history. After committing adultery with the minister of her Puritan village, she is cursed with two items of shame; A letter ‘A’ embroidered on the chest of her clothes, as well as a child. Not to mention her vengeful husband who manages to finally find her at the exact time when she is being publicly shamed for her sin. But, Hester worked with what she had. She made a better life for herself, and her daughter, Pearl. Through the many hoops she has to jump through, I think that Hester shows a lot of character change throughout the book.

    In this book, Hester Prynne has gone from an impulsive, passionate girl, to a caring, maternal figure. For instance, in the beginning of the book, it is suggested that Hester is quite reckless because she married Roger Chillingworth, of whom she did not love, as well as had to be restricted time to time by her parents, who were described as loving and fair. After Hester moves away to the house in the woods, she becomes more independent and speculative. She helps care for the sick and poor, and raises a daughter. She is thought of more as individualistic and caring. Another example is the ‘A’ on her chest. In the beginning, it stands for its literal term, ‘adultery’. She is impulsive and has an affair with the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. In the end, it comes to be thought of as ‘able’. For, she has coped with her bad decisions, and has learned from her mistakes. As stated previously, she helps the poor, and the sick, as well as cares for a wonderful daughter, who gives her a reason to get back on her feet. She becomes a symbol of perseverance and strength in the book.

     Hester Prynne had many challenges in her life, and she handled them all, with the help of her daughter, Pearl, who gave her a reason to continue living, and to continue fighting. But, the townspeople never truly forgot about her sin, no matter how much she had changed. In the end, during the installation of the new governor, all of the townspeople turn around and look at Hester while Dimmesdale is giving his speech. They stare at the ‘A’ on Hester’s chest, and she realizes it is not really over, it would never be over. The wound had healed, but there was still a scar.

Banned Books Letter Essay

Dear Ms. Berner,
    Authors are finding that they can write more freely about dark situations, and kids are eating it up. One by one, parents and teachers are pulling young adult (or YA) books off the shelves of places where kids can reach them, and for all different kinds of reasons. Some think kids will follow the example of characters doing nasty things, some think the books are poisoning the minds of kids with inaccurate portrayals of life. But, I think that the minds of kids who are reading these books are being underestimated. Banning books keeps kids from learning and growing, and relating to characters that can help them understand situations in their own lives, which is why I believe that banning books is wrong.

    Firstly, banning books is wrong because kids need to understand situations like in these books in order for their minds and imaginations to grow and develop. One example of this is, in the article “Reading fiction ‘improves empathy’, study finds” by Alison Flood in the Guardian, Keith Oatley, a published novelist and professor at the University of Toronto in human development and applied psychology, says, “‘If I read genetics or astronomy, I get more expert at genetics or astronomy. If I read fiction, this kind of social thinking is what I would get better at.’” This helps me to know how these books and characters affect kids. They grow to become more empathetic and socially pleasurable through the examples and situations of these characters. Another example is, Oatley says in the same article, “‘It’s a result that shows that reading fiction improves understanding of others, and this has a very basic importance in society, not just in the general way making the world a better place by improving interpersonal understanding, but in specific areas such as politics, business, and education.’” This really made me think about the different uses there are for empathy and social adeptness, not just in a social life, but in a career. It is an important part in succeeding in any career path someone takes, including in school, and without it, kids would be lost. 

    Secondly, banning books is wrong because kids can easily relate to these characters, and they make them feel like they are not alone. For instance, Maureen Johnson, in the article from The Guardian “Yes, teen fiction can be dark, but it shows teenagers they are not alone” writes, “If subjects like these are real, they have happened to others, and they can be survived.” This makes me think about people who commit self-mutilation, or have suicidal thoughts, and how these books have characters that might have saved lives because teenagers see examples of how they can get through their issues. Furthermore, Maureen Johnson writes in the same article, “For teenagers, there is sometimes no message more critical that: you are not alone.” Like stated previously, this makes me think about how many lives books might have, and continue to, save. Or, just how much better kids feel about themselves when they know their situation is a known one, and that other people have felt what they have felt.

    On the other hand, I can understand how some people would think that these books are maybe to frightening or sophisticated for some kids. For instance, the book “Go Ask Alice” by an anonymous girl about her life for a few months, and her struggle with drugs, does include some parts in which some people might think that she is glorifying drugs. She describes her “trips” as wonderful things. I can see how people would think that this book encourages kids to follow her path, and do drugs. But, this book is also very informative on the effects of drugs. The girl in this book runs away from home, becomes a victim of theft and rape, and eventually dies of a drug overdose. Overall, books like this one helps to give kids life lessons and inform them on different situations so that they don’t have the desire to go out and try it for themselves.

    Everyone has their own reason for banning books. Some ban them for religious reasons, some because they want to protect their children, or maybe they just don’t believe in what the book has to say. All in all, I believe that banning books is wrong because these books help to educate kids about real world situations. And, yes, they are dark, but that is what is in the real world, and banning these books is almost like shielding children from what they are eventually bound to see. The adults are calling the shots, but the kids are taking the bullet.

Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking at the World Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 4

      I recently watched a news story on television about the Ferguson shooting and the protests caused by it. I then watched an interview with the parents of Michael Brown, the person who had been shot by the police officer in the shooting. I thought about what it would be like to be in their situation and I thought about how hard this must be for them. If my child died, not only would I be devastated just as the parents of Michael Brown are, but I would be furious. And then, these parents who are mourning the loss of their child have to go on nationwide television and talk about their son dying. I can’t imagine how hard that must be. And, not only did he just die, but he was murdered. And, he was murdered by someone of authority who was supposed to be protecting him. I remember seeing another interview with Officer Darren Wilson, the killer of Michael Brown, and he said he had a “clear conscience.” This would make me extremely angry because how can someone have a clear conscience after the killed someone, even if it was by accident, or to protect themselves? They still committed murder, and took someone’s life. 

This really made me think about how the protests started. I understand how this has angered people, and made them think that Michael Brown was shot because of Officer Wilson’s racism, thinking that because he was black, he would hurt him. It is unclear to me what really happened, because I feel as though I cannot trust the story of Officer Wilson, since eyewitness accounts have contradicted his story. This made me feel like it is unfair how people are mourning their losses, and are shattered by the recent events, and its impossible to tell what really happened during this incident. Overall, I think that the parents of Michael Brown must be having a tremendously challenging experience, and they deserve to know what really happened when their son was murdered.

Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking at the World Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 3

I interviewed my mom about her views on what was good and unfair about our world, and this was the result:

“What do you think is good about our world?”

“I think that there are so many good things about our world, it’s kind of hard to pick a few, but one I think would be the fact that there are so many interesting differences in our world.”

“Can you give me some examples?”

“Okay, for instance, landscapes, you can constantly learn new things by going to different places, cultures, religions, foods, types of people, kind of nature, and so much more.” 

“And what do you think is unfair about our world?”

“Wow, another hard question, but I think that it’s unfair how power is wielded to hurt people a lot, in unjust ways.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“Well, the fact that there are rich countries, and there are poor countries, racism, sometimes governments treat their people very badly. Also, it’s unfair that women don’t make as much money as men in their jobs, and it’s unfair that rich people have ways they can keep most of their money and people who are poorer don’t have those same benefits. There is so much that is bad about our world, but I think a big thing is how power is manipulated.”

This makes me think about how people use these differences that are so good, to gain power, and develop classes, and social hierarchies. These things lead to discrimination, prejudice, and bias towards cultures and ethnicities that are very different from one that is familiar to a majority of people. This then helps me to understand how some ethnicities and religions are not ridiculed because they have come to be most well known and familiarized with. For instance, Christians are hardly ever discriminated against because they are a very large group and are familiar to many around the world, while a less known religion might be discriminated against more frequently. I feel as though many people are afraid of new things, so they don't want to accept them into their everyday lives. That they are uncomfortable with different kinds of people, and different ways of life, so they try and shut them out, and drive them away. I think this is why this kind of power is gained, to keep people in their comfort zone. But by doing this, they are keeping people from benefitting from what they could learn from these other cultures and ethnicities. Overall, people can benefit and learn a lot from all of the differences in the world that are one of the things that makes the world such a good place, but power over different cultures and religions leads to people being kept from learning these things, and I believe that is an unfair aspect of our world. But, that is only one side to it, there are so many unfair parts of the world, but also so many wonderful parts!

Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking at the World Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 2

Scences/Situations going on in my neighborhood:

-Food stand venders standing outside in the dark, and the freezing cold

-New expensive/classy businesses opening up

-Reconstruction on buildings

-People waiting for buses in the dark, and the freezing cold

      There are a few things going on in my neighborhood that I think are unfair to someone’s human rights, but I think one of the most interesting ones is all of the new fancy businesses that are opening up. There has been a very expensive wood fire pizza place, a coffee shop full of young people and pricey coffee, and a classy bakery. This may sound fantastic, but it is these kinds of places that attracted the attention of people of a richer class, and they are driving poorer people out of the neighborhood. I am glad that the neighborhood is becoming more high class, but this is causing a lot of families to have to move out of their houses because the rent is too high, or they can no longer afford the services of the stores around them because they are too expensive. 

      This makes me think about the wealthier neighborhoods such as Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, and it helps me to know how all of these places probably got to be as wealthy as they are now. Perhaps it was because of businesses, but there are probably a number of reasons why neighborhoods become that wealthy. I feel like one day my neighborhood might become like Park Slope, and it will be littered with little kids being taken to the park with their nannies. There is a start to that in my neighborhood though, after all, I live directly across the street from the Parade Grounds, and a block or two from Prospect Park. Overall, it would be great if my neighborhood became like Park Slope, or Cobble Hill, but it is also forcing families with less money to move out of their homes.