Entry #2

During my research on abuse I found several very interesting articles about physical abuse. However, one of the articles mentioned something I'd never quite heard of before. The subject it mentioned was 'emotional abuse'. I'd never heard of it before, so I did some research. When I looked it up I found a number of shocking articles on the neglected, but very important, issue of emotional abuse.

Through research, I learned all about the dangers and affects of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is when someone is abusing someone emotionally by making them feel unsafe and trapped in a relationship. People who emotionally abuse others do not use physical violence. Instead, they psychologically abuse others by making them feel like they are nothing. This type of abuse slowly hurts people by breaking their self-confidence and love for themselves. In many ways, this can be as or even more harmful then physical abuse. This type of abuse affects many people across the world, especially women and young children. 

An example of how damaging emotional abuse can be is a story I read about earlier in an article. A young woman was emotionally abused, but not physically abused, to the extent that she was suicidal. Luckily, she didn't kill herself, but the story is still shocking. The fact that someone can damage another person to the extent that they want to kill themselves is beyond belief. 

After reading several articles similar to this one, I realized how damaging what you say to people is, and how much people affect others without realizing it.

Research Entry #1

When I first began brainstorming for topics to write my picture book on, my first idea was to write a book about sexism. I got pretty excited about the idea, and so I went to look up sexism to see if it could help me with my story. I skimmed through several articles until one caught my eye. 'Outraged Moms and Trashy Daughters' was the title. It looked interesting and opinionated, so I began to read it. 

The article illustrated the life of a woman named Leanne who was brought up in the ultra feminist 70's. Also in the article was her daughter, Olivia, who was less the excited about feminism. She thought  it was disgusting how women never wore makeup or perfume, and stated that they would 'never marry'. When I read this I was extremely surprised that anyone could be so closed minded, but the article helped me to understand Olivia's views. It explained that in America today, our culture is so hyper sexualized that many girls have given up and feel that feminism is dead.

For example, one of the most famous and popular celebrities in Hollywood today is Kim Kardashian, who became famous by putting out a sex tape. Now, she's a fashion icon in Hollywood, and many girls around the world are trying to look like her. In fact, since her sex tape scandal, many girls have tried to put out their own tapes in hopes of getting famous. There was even an interview where a girl said that it is now 'the only way to get into the business'. 

Also, another issue mentioned in the article was the way women are beginning to use plastic surgery and botox more then ever. The way women are altering their faces and bodies is making young girls these days think that its okay to do that. 

The article on the lack of feminism in our world today surprised me and made me sad, but it also inspired me to change the topic of my short story. Instead of doing a broad subject like sexism, I decided to narrow it down to todays hyper sexualized culture. 

Social Injustices

   At first,  I wasn't sure that the books that I'm reading right now are quite based on social injustices. But, when I looked deeper, I found that I was wrong. There are, to some level, social injustices shown subtly throughout both books that I was reading.
   In a book I'm reading called 'An Abundance of Katherine's" I realized an injustice in society. The book is about a child prodigy who has been dumped by nineteen times by nineteen girls named Katherine. The main character, Colin, is trying to figure out why each of the girls dumped him by going on a road trip with his best friend. On the way, he finds out more about himself and understands his feelings more then he ever had before after meeting a girl named Lindsey Lee Wells. In the book, Colin meets to characters named Katrina and Colin (whom they called TOC for The Other Colin). Both of these characters take advantage of Colin, Hassan (his best friend), and Lindsey. This is because Katrina decided to date Hassan to make TOC, who was dating Lindsey, jealous. TOC ends up cheating on Lindsey with Katrina. Colin finds out and TOC attempts to manipulate him into not telling Lindsey. The way TOC and Katrina manipulate and use the main characters in the book is a perfect example of social injustices that occur everyday. When I was in elementary school, everything was a lot easier. There were no complications with friends or relationships. Things were just... better. But, as soon as I got into middle school I realized that things were different. Suddenly, everyone had changed. You had to be careful what you did and said, who you trusted. People gossiped and manipulated others, it was everywhere. I had no idea who my friends were anymore, or who I could trust. In many cases, people who were best friends in middle school, weren't talking anymore because one of them gossiped about the other. A social injustice in todays society, in my opinion, is the way others are manipulated and used for someones gain. Like in "An Abundance of Katherine's", TOC and Katrina didn't even care about Lindsey or Hassan's feelings, they only cared about themselves. I think that the way people treat others as if they are worthless is a social injustice on the behalf of everyone. No one should feel mistreated or used, yet it happens all the time.

  Ever since I was really young and first began reading, my teachers have asked me one question. What is the authors purpose? When I was in kindergarten, we read the book 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. Everyone already knew the story, it was the one about a caterpillar who eats through all these different types of food, and then gets really fat and turns into a butterfly.

Reading Entry # 11

    Recently, I started reading the book 'The Burn Journals' by Brent Runyon. The book is about a young kid, about thirteen years old, who attempts to commit suicide by setting himself on fire. He fails in his attempt to kill himself, but does suffer from third degree burns and has to stay in a hospital for several months. Reading about a kid my age who wants to kill himself, and hearing the story about a teenager who jumped off a bridge, made me think more about suicide in teenagers.
   In the book 'The Burn Journals', the reason why Brent Runyon attempts to commit suicide is because he thinks he is going to get expelled from school, and therefor his life would be over. This got me thinking about what it would take for me to take my own life. Personally, I don't think I ever could end my life, not only would I have ruined my life, but I would have affected the lives of the people around me. I know that my parents would always wonder what they could have done differently, and my sisters life would never be the same. I just don't see what could make me kill myself, it would just affect and hurt the people I care about the most in the world.
   It also made me wonder about kids my own age, and what it would take to push them  to commit suicide. Just getting expelled, or something bigger? An eighteen year old boy commit suicide because he was bullied at school for being gay. A young irish girl, about fifteen, hung herself because kids at school were taunting her. These two deaths made me not only sad, but also a little bit confused. How could taunting and bullying drive someone to suicide? It made me wonder if they thought nothing would ever change in their lives. How intense were the taunts that these two people took there own lives? Are there kids around me going through the same thing? It made me wonder, is there anything I can do to help?

Media- Entry #10

Day 1- October 23 2010
  Today, while on the internet, I found an article that caught my eye. It was called, "The Way We Treat Our Troops" by Bob Herbert, and it was located in the 'opinion' section of the New York Times. The article started out with a strong statement about human rights and world peace. At first, I thought the article was going to continue this way, speaking about world peace and justice. However, I was mistaken. The article continued by talking about human decency instead. It spoke of how we, as people, care more about the lasted scandal in Hollywood, facebook, and manicures then about the people who are out in Afghanistan dying for our country.
  Although I thought the article did come on a little strong, it made some good points. We, as Americans, do spend a shocking amount of our time wallowing over celebrities scandals and unimportant tweets. Now, even on the news, Lindsy Lohan's drug scandal got more attention then any other story that day. It made me think, what gave we come to? Do we care more about manicures and hair products then we do about a human life? Whenever anyone brings up the subject of death, people shrink away and begin talking about something else. Is it the lack of interest, or are we just un-comfortable? In any case, our troops deserve more justice and appreciation then they are currently receiving.


Day 2- October 24
  Today, I saw a report about a man who was 'dragged by a taxi' on the news. To find out more about it, I looked it up and found an article called 'Man Claims He Was Dragged By Taxi Who Refused To Go To Brooklyn' by Ben Yakas. The article stated that the man who was dragged asked the driver to take him to Brooklyn while opening the door, and the driver refused and  began to drive the taxi away, taking the man (who was halfway in the door) along with him. The dragging caused several injuries to the front and back of the mans head. This story made me wonder more about human decency. I just can't understand how, or why someone would do that to another person. And it was just because he didn't want to take the man to Brooklyn! Maybe the taxi driver did not know that he was injuring the man, or maybe he just got scared, but even so he should at least have had the decency to apologize. Honestly, what are we coming to?

Day 3- October 25
    The article I found today was unlike any of the others that I found. Unlike the previous articles that I covered, this one was about animal cruelty rather then human decency. The article was about a young girl, about twelve years, who was attempting to kill puppies by throwing them into the lake. If it had not been for a woman near by, the puppies would have died. Even though this was animal cruelty, the girl was not charged at all, for she was too young. I couldn't believe this when I first saw it, what kind of a person kills puppies? Do we, as humans, really not care about animals?

Day 4- October 26
    Today, I found the most upsetting and distressing article that I have found yet. The title caught my eye  as it was 'Mom Kills Baby for Interrupting Farmville'. The article was about a mother who shook and hit her baby over the head with her computer because that baby was crying while she was playing 'Farmville', a game on Facebook. Although the woman pleads guilty and states that it was an accident, the evidence is mounting. This article horrified me, I just don't understand how a woman could do that to her own baby! Was she insane? The baby was only three months old, it couldn't help itself. She murdered her own child, and based on the interview, she barely seemed to care. What have we come to, killing our own children, and all over a Facebook game!
Day 5- October 27
    I came upon a shocking article today while doing research for a social studies project. It was an article about two teenage girls who were shot by Somali militants under false accusations. The two girls were supposably found with an un-named 'enemy' by the Somali militants. After interrogating the two, the girls were led to be kneeled against a wall blindfolded, and then shot. They were executed in front of hundreds of people, including several family members, all of whom claim that the girls were falsely accused. This article not only outraged me, but it also made me feel increasingly empathetic for the two girls. First of all, I could not believe that the Somali militants would be so quick to make a decision like that without further interrogation, or at least more evidence! There actions ended the two lives of young girls, and most likely affected the lives of there relatives forever. How could they be so careless, there is more evidence that the two were innocent then guilty! I just don't understand how they could have been so sloppy and careless with someones life. Second of all, I can only imagine the fear and anger the two girls felt right before they were shot. How could a government do this? Were they trying to make others fear the same result if they betrayed the government? How could they throw a life away like that?

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair. 
-Langston Hughes 

When I first read the poem 'Mother to Son' by Langston Hughes, I thought the writers outlook on life was negative and rather lonely. Like when the poem states; 'Life for me ain't been no crystal stair, it's had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor, bare.' This particular part in the poem made me think that the mother, who was talking to her son, was bitter and putting him down by telling him that life was hard and not worth it. But, after reading the poem again, I realized that I was completely mistaken. The poem was not at all a negative outlook on the journey of life, it was actually more of a realistic pep talk. The mother figure, the one the point of view the poem is written from, was saying that even though life had wasn't easy, you can't give up.

Like when it states 'So boy, don't you turn back' and 'Don't you fall now, for I'se still climbing, and life for me ain't been no crystal stair'. These parts made me realize that she was telling her son to keep going, because in the end, life was worth it. Realizing this and reading those parts of the poem completely changed my outlook on the rest of the poem. I read it over again, and realized the way the author beautifully weaved the words to create a perfect metaphor for life. The use of vivid descriptions of darkness, and bare splintered stairs, but with the occasional turn of a corner of landing made the poem all the more meaningful in my eyes. I like the description of a life with change, turning corners and landings and the occasional splinter, rather then an on going and repetitive crystal stair.

Appreciation 2

    You could read "The Phantom Tollbooth" a thousand times, and never get sick of it. The funny writing style, the dynamic characters, the originality! The book is a classic fantasy story. Yet, there is something so unique about it that pushes you to think and question life in a way other fantasy books do not. 
   One of the things "The Phantom Tollbooth" is most well known for is the crazy writing style and world. The author, Norton Juster, completely thinks out of the box while creating a world of extremes. The book begins with sending Milo to world called 'Dictionopolois', where people think that words are the most important things in the world. He meets the most wild characters, including a Spelling Bee (a literal bee who spells), a whether man (a man who tells you whether it is going to rain or not rather then the weather), and a sleepy bunch of creatures called the Doldrums (a play on words referring to a zone in the world of complete calmness in weather). From then on, Milo is sent on a quest to find Rhyme and Reason, two princess who are locked away, to restore peace to their world. He continues to go through many different and interesting worlds while on this journey. Reading about Milo traveling through the different worlds really made me think about our life. Seeing Milo travel through 'The Land of Illusions' (where no one was really living, they only thought they were) made me realize that so many people today live in a similar to this world. People live in denial, refusing to deal with issues that they begin to live a lie. The way Norton Juster cleverly put this detail in the book really made me think more about the world.
    When you think of 'fantasy books', you may think of books like The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings. All these books have things like magic, princes, princesses, quests, dragons in them. Although these books can be very entertaining, they never make you think very deeply. 'The Phantom Tollbooth' is different, reading it makes my own mind whirl with ideas and questions. I think the reason that this book is so fascinating is because it subtly taps into emotions and ideas that everyone feels by creating Milo, the protagonist. Reading Milo's thoughts made me realize things about my own life and the people in it that I'd never even realized before.

"When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, bad coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered  why he'd bothered. Nothing really interested him-least of all the things that should have." 
    This particular paragraph about Milo  was from the first page of the book, and it really pushed me to think. I compared Milo's feelings to my own and those of the people around me. I had never really realized it, but it was true. As people, we never are truly satisfied with our lives, we always want more. From that realization onward, I was hooked by the original world and how the writing made me think.

       Books like, "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" or "Harry Potter" never have very dynamic characters either. They are all too one note. The way "The Phantom Tollbooth" brings fantasy characters to a whole new level makes the book much more interesting to read. The author, Norton Juster, comes up with characters no ones ever even heard of before! 

       Like in the book when Milo meets the 'Doldrums'. The Doldrums are a group of small creatures that do nothing but waste time all day. These characters are really fun to read about, because not only are they  absolutely hilarious and  completely original, but they also pushed me to think more about the world. All they do all day is sleep or waste time. Reading about this made me think of people in the world today, who just waste there lives away. 

      All in all, I adored the 'Phantom Tollbooth'. I loved the characters, the original writing, and the way it made me think in a way I never had before.

Social Awareness

An Appreciation

I could read "The Phantom Tollbooth" a thousand times, and never get sick of it. The writing style, the characters, the originality! The book is a classic fantasy story. Yet, there is something so unique about it that pushes me to think and question life in a way other fantasy books do not. (add more)

When I think of 'fantasy books', I think books like The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings. All these books have things like magic, princes, princesses, quests, dragons in them. Although these books can be very entertaining, they never make me think very deeply. 'The Phantom Tollbooth' is different, reading it makes my mind whirl with ideas and questions. I think the reason that this book is so fascinating is because it subtly taps into emotions and ideas that everyone feels by creating Milo, the protagonist. Reading Milo's thoughts made me realize things about my own life and the people in it that I'd never even realized before.

"When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, bad coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered  why he'd bothered. Nothing really interested him-least of all the things that should have." This particular paragraph about Milo (the main character) was from the first page of the book, and it really pushed me to think. I compared Milo's feelings to my own and those of the people around me. I had never really realized it, but it was true. As people, we never are truly satisfied with our lives, we always want more. From that realization onward, I was hooked by the original world and how the writing made me think.

       Books like, "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" or "Harry Potter" never have very dynamic characters either. They are all too one note. I like the way "The Phantom Tollbooth" brings fantasy characters to a whole new level. The author, Norton Juster, comes up with characters no ones ever even heard of before! 

      Like in the book when Milo meets the 'Doldrums'. The Doldrums are a group of small creatures that do nothing but waste time all day. I like these characters because not only are they are absolutely hailarious and  compleatly original, but they also pushed me to think. All they do all day is sleep or waste time. Reading about this made me think of people in the world today, who just waste there lives away. 

      All in all, I adored the 'Phantom Tollbooth'. I loved the characters, the original writing, and the way it made me think in a way I never had before.

   Reading "The Phantom Tollbooth" a second time really changed my opinions and ideas on the plot and characters of the book, and really made me appreciate it more. But, I still had some questions even after reading it again. For example, what was at the base at the book? What was the authors purpose? Did Milo really understand the importance of life in the end? So, to answer all my questions, I went online and found an interview (http://www.underdown.org/juster.htm) with Norton Juster. Although he interview did help me to understand certain aspects of the book in a better way, I was a little surprised with some of the information I found out. 
   While reading the book, I was constantly trying to decipher what the authors purpose was. In the end I came up with about a dozen different ideas, (to help people to understand the importance of life, to make people see things from a different point of view, etc.) There was so much going on in the book, I just couldn't decide! What with all the different characters Milo meets, his lack of interest in life fading as he travels through the land, and the apparent battle between the land of words and numbers. But, in the interview Norton Juster states that he didn't write the book with any specific message, it was written for everyone to interpret on their own. "I had no message and I have no idea what specific things kids will get from the book. I think it comes in all different ways -- special ways." After reading this quote by Norton Juster , I saw the book in a completely new light. Before, I was so focused on finding one idea that might have been the authors purpose, but after seeing that part of the interview I decided that there was no one right idea.
   I was most likely reading into things a bit too much while re-reading The Phantom Tollbooth, but I was also constantly trying to figure out who Milo is. What are his motives? Is he being affected by the journey? Why was he so fed up with life? These were just a few of the questions that I could not find answers to. So, I was very interested to find this quote by Norton Juster while reading through the interview. " [The Phantom Tollbooth] has enough of an adventure going on, so they like that part of it. The characters I think are kind of colorful enough so they can relate to those. And I think they relate to Milo as a kid who has some of the same problems -- well, "problem" is probably the wrong word -- craziness, perhaps, that they have." Although this did not answer my questions directly, it did make me realize that Milo was just a kid, and that is how Norton Juster wrote him. He was merely a kid who was lonely and bored because he was young and didn't understand life yet, thats how most children are. 
  All in all, reading the interview was very interesting for me, although I'm not sure that I would do it again with another book. I'd rather make  my own ideas and opinions about the book.

    "Everything happens for a reason"- pg. 113

     At first, as I read the book 'The Phantom Tollbooth', I couldn't make many text to world connections. But, whilereading a familiar phrase caught my eye that really made me think. 'Everything happens for a reason'. I must have heard the words about a thousand times in my life, but I never thought about my own opinion on the words till reading the book.
   Reading those words in the book made me think about first, what my opinion on 'everything happens for a reason' was. I've never been one to belive in fate and destiny, but for some reason I do belive that everything happens for a reason.

The Theme of Love in Charlotte's Web

   Recently, I read the book Charlotte's Web for the first time since I was about five years old. The book was very different from what I remembered. This time as I read it I noticed how elaborate the descriptions were, how dynamic the characters were, and how there were so many different themes and ideas in the book. Among all the different themes and ideas that were involved in the book, as I read it I began to observe that the main theme of the book seemed to be love. The book, I realized as I read it, was a story about the love that these three friends had for each other and how it affected them.
   I  began to notice how important love and friendship is in the book from the very first chapter. In the chapter, Fern defy's her father and protests against him to save the life of Wilbur, the newborn pig. As I read the book, I could already see what kind of relationship the two friends were going to have. Later on in the book, you see the relationship grow between Fern and Wilbur when E.B. White describes how Fern takes Wilbur everywhere with her. Even though Ferns parents are concerned about her, Wilbur was truly helping Fern by giving her friendship and love. I think the bond between the two shows how important it is to have someone there for you throughout your life, no matter who it is.
  As the book continues, the theme of love continues to be a huge part of the book. After Wilbur is sent to Ferns uncles farm, he feels lost and lonely without Ferns love and friendship in his life. He is miserable, his life has changed completely. Then, Charlotte (a spider who lives in the barn) gives him comfort and friendship after seeing him crying. After finding a new friend, Wilbur's life becomes once again filled with happiness and meaning. This chapter really showed me how much love and friendship can affect someone, and how important it is. It also made me think about how lost I would feel if I didn't have my friends and family by my side. I'm not even sure if I would be able to function without all the people I have in my life. When I first read the book, I don't think I could quite grasp the concept of how important family and friendship was because I was surrounded by it. When I was younger, I doubt I ever even imagined losing someone in my life, I always just assumed they would be around forever. Now that I'm older, I know thats not true. I understand that people come and go in your life, and you won't always feel loved. This particular part in the book really made me wonder how I would feel if I was Wilbur, if the only person I had ever loved was gone. Some of my peers in my class thought Wilbur was being dramatic, but I disagree. If I thought I had lost someone who was as important to me as Fern was to Wilbur, I would have had no reason to live. The people in my life are everything to me, and this chapter made me realize that. 
  Later, Wilbur is faced with a crisis and friendship helps him get through it. Wilbur finds out that he will most likely be killed when Christmas comes around, and this causes him to become hysterical. While he is crying, Charlotte decides to help her friend by using every ounce of energy that she had to weave a web of words describing how wonderful her friend was. She saves his life many a time, and continues to do so even when her life is at risk. At the end of the book, Charlotte becomes very weak and ill. She can barely move, but because she cared for Wilbur so much, she wove one last web to insure his safety. Her love for Wilbur saved his life, and ended hers, as the next day she dies. This part of the book really showed me how powerful love really is, and how much it can affect lives. It made me realize that anyone can be happy as long as they feel loved. I think that this is one of the messages that E.B White was really trying to convey through Charlottes Web to children. I'm glad he wrote this book, because I hope that it is teaching people all over the world how powerful and important love is.