Red

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Red. The novel was very honest and very touching. Reading stories from all these adolescent girls makes you realize that you are not the only person going through certain things and even that some people have it even worse than you. I feel that this was a very good book to have in the reading for the class. If anything, I think it was the best. The only problem I had with the book was that after a while it seemed to become redundant and seemed as if the stories were written by the same person. I realize that this is because they were all edited by the same person, however, as I reached the end of the book, the stories had the tendency to almost drone in my head. Despite that, however, I feel that people of all ages should read this book. I feel that adults sometimes forget what it’s like to be young and often don’t realize how hard it can be sometimes. This book also reminded me of Post Secret where secrets from people of all ages and walks of life are written on postcards and published anonymously. I liked the feel of this book and would not mind reading others like it. I also feel like this book has helped many young girls.

My Book

Writing a book like Alexie’s is something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. I grew up a little too fast due to my Father’s heart condition and never really enjoyed being an adolescent. While everyone I went to school with were at football games and pep rallies, I was hanging out with people almost twice my age. Since my father had been having heart complications since I was nine, and I had to take care of him most the time, I really did miss out on being a kid. I matured significantly faster than my peers and by the time I reached high school, I couldn’t stand the level of maturity (or lack thereof) in my classmates. During high school I wrote often, in diary form. I always told myself that I would one day try to publish and have one book for every year of high school. The things that I wrote covered everything from petty fights, to sex and drugs, to losing my father. Everything I felt, saw and experienced was recorded. I suppose that would make it part memoir, but if I were to write a book, I wouldn’t want to do it any other way. I feel that writing in this manner gives the material more truth, it keeps things honest. Writing in this way gives the reader more reason to read, to believe and to learn. Being honest is one of the most appealing factors to a reader, so why sway that?

I believe that if this book were to become a reality, it would greatly help at least one person. All it takes is one small step to change someone’s life. When you take something honest, and believable and apply universal truths, people feel for you, they become you, they understand you. I feel that the relationship between a reader and an honest character is a very intimate and valuable one. Over time it becomes almost tangible and always non-judgmental. I feel that if I were to write a book, the previous would hold true.

Junior and Rowdy

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I feel that this novel was the easiest to relate to. It encompassed a good variety of the things that adolescents deal with in varied extremity. The one topic that the book focused on that interested me was that of friendship. It was interesting to read about how Junior and his friends interacted. For instance, at the beginning of the novel when he and Rowdy were friends, they had such a close but distant friendship. They were the only ones that each other could turn to, but at the same time, Rowdy was almost afraid to get too close to Junior. More interesting than that was when Junior was playing against Rowdy at the basketball games. The fact that he truly still loved Rowdy as a friend, despite what Rowdy had done to him was a completely selfless act. Junior being able to look past what Rowdy being mean and abandoning him and truly still care about Rowdy over himself was very noble. At the end of the novel, when Rowdy and Junior become friends again was something else that I found interesting. The fact that Rowdy finally saw that Junior wasn’t really abandoning him, and that he was just trying to not only better himself, but try to forge a path for other tribe members was truly enlightening. I feel like Rowdy coming back was one of the only ways he could show Junior that he truly cared about him as well. I also believe that the fight that Rowdy and Junior got into was a common truth for most adolescents. Many teens fight with each other over things because they either aren’t able to understand an action (or situation) or just aren’t able to cope with it. The friendship between Rowdy and Junior really made the book more believable to me.

Betsey Brown

After finishing Betsey Brown, I was a little upset that it had ended. Of the books that we have read for class so far, with exception of my individual presentation book, it was the easiest to relate to. I find that to truly be involved in a piece of literature one must be able to relate it to their own lives. In Betsey Brown, the reader is exposed to a normal girl with normal problems. Though today we don’t face the same magnitude of segregation and racism, we all have our own problems that seem that big. We all feel that sometimes we carry the weight of the world and in Betsey’s case, the weight of the world was literally her race. I felt for Betsey when she ran away. If someone were to tell me that there was never a time that they felt left out or worthless, I wouldn’t believe them. The other books that we have read still had the same concepts and portrayals of adolescence, but it’s refreshing to read a book that you can stop from time to time and realize, “Wow, I’ve felt that way before”. Nobody wants to go through life alone and sometimes, we feel like we have to in a sense because we think that nobody understands how we feel, or knows what something we’re going through is like. Seeing Betsey going through the same things as other adolescences gives people a sense of realization and in a sense brings them back to reality. Also, this is the first book that we have read that takes a look at a functional but dysfunctional family. I understand that there is a such thing as a broken family, or no family for that matter, but in all honesty, when every book you pick up is filled with tragedy and parents who are unbelievingly dreadful, it’s hard to take it seriously. Yes, not every family is perfect, and not every family gets along all the time, but Betsey Brown had a happy medium. It showed a typical, honest perspective of an American family, which is also refreshing.

Essay

The Effects of Teen Friendships

I will be looking mainly at Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Everyone knows how hard being a teenager can be, but imagine enduring it alone. Though friends are one of the most important aspects of a teen’s life, could they also be their greatest downfall? From sex to drugs, the effects of teenage friendships are always apparent whether they are positive or negative.

Charlie: Observer. Wants to make everyone happy. Feels bad about things that aren’t necessarily his fault. Very honest about things, but sometimes too honest. Best friends are seniors Sam and Patrick. They fully accept Charlie for who he is.
Influences: Sam, Patrick,

How Sam Influences Charlie: Charlie likes Sam and truly cares about her and what she feels. If he feels there is anything he can do to make her happy, he does. Also, she and Patrick introduce him to their way of life ex: drugs, sex and alcohol however do not pressure him.

How Patrick Influences Charlie: Patrick is the first person to connect with Charlie and to become his friend. He invites him to parties, talks to him in school and shares his secrets with him. When Patrick is trying to deal with his breakup with his boyfriend, he drinks a lot and Charlie tries to comfort him. When Patrick drops Charlie off at home, Patrick tries to kiss him and Charlie kisses back because he thought that’s what Patrick wanted. He is later told by Sam that this moment was one in which he shouldn’t try to make other people feel happy.
Both Sam and Patrick know that Charlie is a little “odd”, but they also realize that he is a wallflower. However, despite knowing this, they accept him as a friend and offer their friendship in return.

Though teen friendships can have both positive and negative effects on teens, it is ultimately up to the individual to make up their own mind.

Huck Finn

While reading Huck Finn (for the second time) I couldn’t help but feel the same amount of displeasure toward America as I did the first time I read it. I realize that today we still face racism and prejudice, but since I was not alive when this was written and didn’t experience it for myself, I still can’t believe how people in our country used to treat other humans. I find it to be disgusting how common and accepted slavery was. Throughout the book, Huck is in a constant battle with society in which he doesn’t know where to stand. He has been brought up to believe that he shouldn’t associate closely with the slaves just because of their skin color. I find it incredibly upsetting that when Huck is trying to save Jim from being sold into slavery, one of the first thoughts he has pertains to what people will think of him trying to help a black man. The fact that he had to think twice about helping a man who was like a father figure to him just because of his skin color makes my head spin.

Though the book did upset me in that way, it also made me appreciate what I have now. Looking at Huck, I value my education, friends, family and lifestyle so much more. I appreciate the fact that I can show affection for just about whomever I wish and for the most part, it is fully acceptable in society. By the end of the novel, though his society still was not ideal, I believe that Huck too appreciated what he had and who he had in his life.

I feel that if Charlotte Temple were written today, the story would take a completely different turn. I believe that with all the technology that teens have at their finger tips Charlotte would have been able to more easily take herself out of the situation that she was in. I feel that she would be better connected with her over protective parents and that her meeting Montraville would have been noted online. With that being said, I also believe that the message of the story would be lost if it were written today. When it was written, people were used to not having the same means to contact each other. Families and friends could go for days, months, and sometimes even years without speaking together or knowing what was going on in each other's lives, while today, our friends and family have a play by play of what we are doing with the help of facebook status updates and text messaging.

I feel that in a modern Charlotte Temple, there would have been facebook/twitter/myspace updates of her meetings with Montraville as well as text messages. Also, with the help of cell phone gps systems, she would have been able to be tracked down more easily. Though there are many things that would change in a modern Charlotte Temple, the greatest change would be that of the theme. If all the technological advancements today were implemented, the end of the story would change completely and the moral would be lost.

Why we feel bad for Charlotte

As I finished up the book, I couldn't help but think about our discussion on who should be to blame throughout the book. Though I do not wish to put blame on any of the characters in this post, I still feel that it is interesting to see how much blame is put on Charlotte. While reading, Charlotte kept reminding me of the horses from "All Quiet on the Western Front." When we read this book in high school, we had a discussion on how we didn't necessarily feel as bad for the soldiers as we did for the horses. The horses in the book were naive, innocent, and had no consent as to being in the war. In terms of Charlotte, though she did want to run off with Montraville, I feel bad for her. She was so innocent and had no idea what she was getting herself into. She had no idea of any of the evils of the world because she had been sheltered for too long. I'm not saying that Charlotte should not receive any blame, because she most definitely does. All that I'm saying is that I just feel so bad for her; like I felt bad for the horses. Charlotte's life just keeps spiraling downwards and there is no one there to help her, only people who want to bring her down. Even when she did have one friend, she was abandoned by her. Also, with the time period that this was set in, being a female wasn't exactly in her favor. I definitely thought that the most interesting idea in the book was how Rowson made everyone sympathise with Charlotte.

Essay

Though I'm not entirely sure what I would like to write my essay on, I do know that I want it to pertain to my individual presentation book, "The Perks of Being a Wall Flower." I feel that this would be the best book to write my essay on because out of the books provided, it is the one I can relate to best. I fell that this is very important for this essay. I have been thinking about the things I could write about, and they range from the impact parents can have on teens to how much peers influence others. Throughout my brainstorming, I have narrowed it down to a few in particular.

One of my ideas are to write about the effect of friends have on teens. I feel this would be interesting because, as we all know, people can make huge impacts on an individuals life, especially a teen. In the book, the main character tries drugs, experiments with sex and relationships, and does certain things to try to please his friends. I feel like I could get a good, concrete essay out of this topic.

Another topic I am thinking about for my essay is music in the youth culture. In the book, music is as big a factor to the main character as his friends. I feel that even in my youth, I have used music to express myself as well as to vent. The character in the book realizes the impact that music has on situations and I believe it will make for an interesting paper.

Of the two topics I have narrowed it down to, however, I feel that the stronger essay would come from the topic of friendship. Though I believe that I could write an interesting paper on the effect of music on teens, I don't think it would be as stable as I would like it to be. Though I still have a decision to make, I still believe that these are two very good topics and that I would be able to confidently write my essay on either of the two.

Chapter 1: The Teenage Mystique

While reading Hine's book, I keep seeing connections to the first chapter entitled "The Teenage Mystique." I find this chapter to be the most interesting part of the book. From the assumptions that people have about both past and today's teens to the standards to which they are held.

In the beginning of the chapter, some of the contradictions of the teenage stage are expressed. I find it interesting that adults do indeed find teenagers to be the root of many of today's problems and fear them to great extents, but at the same time, hold them to considerably high standards and say that they are the greatest hopes for the future (pg 11). The fact that the "teenager" was created to more easily group individuals is also interesting. By doing this and then making the assumptions that many adults do, feels almost like discrimination if one were to really think about it. Also by reading this chapter I feel that part of the reason that teenagers are seen as such horrible "creatures", if you will, is because of envy and intimidation. It was said that adults often see teenagers as the "[awareness] of [adults] own mortality" (pg 11), and also that "[adults] respond with wonder, envy- and alarm." (pg 11). I find this to be one of the greatest problems in society. To me, this envy, intimidation and discrimination is what drives some teenagers to be as rebellious as they are. It was stated that since adults feel this way they don't know how to, and don't bother to, handle situations and tend to neglect or ignore teenagers because it is believed to be easier. Just like any problem, it can't be solved by sweeping it under the rug.

Another interesting point is concerning only a portion of the teenage population. When one sees headlines in the newspaper or hear a story concerning a tragedy involving a teenager, it is believed that most teenagers act or think in the same way. I find it to be disgusting that because some teenage girls get pregnant, it is assumed that all teenage girls in that age group and from the same demographic region will more than likely get pregnant as well. I feel that these assumptions also contribute to rebellion. Think of it as a form of a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is something I have noticed in my own life. Though I have never been in trouble or done anything reckless or harmful to other people, I have often been approached with caution and not trusted by members of the adult society solely because I am young. Despite that, I have still been expected to act maturely and like an adult. This is just one example of some of the contradictions pertaining to the teenage mystique.