End of the Year Reflection

This class has really been enjoyable. I have learned and accomplished many goals as both a reader and a writer. This class has taught me so many new things, from annotating in books all the way to Shakespeare.

                 One unit I thoroughly enjoyed was the Romeo and Juliet unit. I liked this unit because, I got a chance to be introduced to one of Shakespeare's greatest works. It was fun to read something that was in a different language and structure, than what I was used to. I have never read and put my effort into reading a play before, so reading this literary work was a truly amazing experience for me. In the beginning, I had trouble understanding what some of the texts actually meant, but of course, our classes together helped me cope with that. Another thing I greatly enjoyed, was our performance. It was interesting to watch how other people acted , everyone seemed to have a different way of representing their character. I noticed that when two people had the same character, they seemed to all act differently based on what they thought of their character.  So I found that really interesting.

               Another activity I really enjoyed was when our class did book clubs. From my point of view, I thought book clubs were a great way to acknowledging other people's thoughts and perspective about the book. It showed me how readers reacted to different topics and styles.Our unit with book clubs opened me up to different explanations and insights that I may have missed. Book clubs also allowed my to read books that I normally wouldn’t have chosen, expanding my choice of books to a wider variety.

                Looking back, this year has been truly amazing. After I graduate, I hope to accomplish more goals in English and remain intact with the ones I learned this year. I hope to read more plays like the one with Romeo and Juliet in high school English classes and thoroughly understand the text and meaning. Another goal for high school is to try write more poems of different variety.

2015 Summer Bookshelf

Cinderella Six Feet Under by Maia Chance

Beauty, Beast, and Belladonna by Maia Chance

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Paper Towns by John Green

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

Poetry Project

   Poetry Project

Original Poem

The Sound of Morning

The morning’s rush

The gentle breeze

The uplifting rush of birds on trees

A child’s yawn

The dew on grass

Finally, the break of dawn

At last

Reflection:

I wrote this poem because, I realized that, all my other poems generally described how things look like. For instance, in my sonnet, Another Sonnet for Sunrise, I mostly used only sight to describe the objects that are presented in my poem. In this poem, I tried to take a different approach, and tried to use more than one sense to describe something. Another reason why I wrote this poem, is because I really liked the idea to write about something that describes how stilled peace slowly goes away. There’s always that time of day, where the peace starts to wear away, and so will everyone’s sleep. Everyone will start to wake up, getting busy. So, I chose to do something in between peaceful and busy. The literary devices that I have incorporated in this poem are end and near rhymes.  Lines two and three rhyme :breeze and trees. The same goes for lines four and six: yawn and dawn. And lines five and seven: grass and last. I have also incorporated imagery to create a vivid scenery and a soothingly calm tone. Line break in this poem seems to be composed of end-stopped lines. However, they still need the other lines to complete the thought.

Original Poem

A Collection of Haikus

Nature’s first bloom                                            

gold instead of green

winter’s icy breath no longer here

Birds gossip among

tall tangled limbs

towering over me

Shattered glass on the floor

broken wings yearn for flight

the apocalypse

The gray sky filled with dark clouds

everyone so miserable

except me

Reflection:

I decided to write the first haiku based on a picture I took at Prospect Park last year. It was a picture of the very few flowers that were blooming that early spring. Because it was under direct sunlight, the flower seemed to look more golden than the pale green it usually presented. For this haiku, I followed the traditional haiku format of three lines. For my literary devices, I used imagery to describe the blooming flower under the sunlight, and how the cold wind had felt like before spring hit: its icy breath. For this haiku, I used enjambment so my readers would have to read the whole poem to fully understand the message I’m trying to convey. The tone of the poem would lean towards hopeful and relieved that winter is finally gone.

The second haiku is based on another picture that I took in Prospect Park that day. It was a picture of a tree. The branches in the tree looked really tangled, and they reminded to me of uncoordinated limbs: tall and awkward. Another thing I had remembered that day, were the extremely noisy birds. It was as if the birds couldn't stop chirping. Whatever they were chirping about seemed to get them pretty excited, and that reminded me of  a bunch of girls gossiping. Like the first haiku, I followed the traditional haiku format of three lines. For this haiku, I made sure each line was incomplete without the other lines. If those lines were read all together, only then, would they make sense. I also used metaphors to describe and compare the branches of the trees and tall tangled limbs. Imagery is also used in my haiku. I used imagery to express how loud the birds were, and how the tree looked like. The speaker of this poem would be the perspective of someone looking at that tree. I used enjambment in this poem, and a tone with a sense of wonder.

I wrote the third poem with a post-apocalyptic view, and that would cause a tone of despair and a sense of hopelessness. I did this poem inspired by a artwork I had done along with my classmate Ayane Naito. It was a 3-D bird attached to a painting. This bird was falling down, about to die. And there were shards of glass surrounding the bird, suggesting its impact once it hit the ground. I felt as if there was no hope for the bird. This haiku would be an illusion to the artwork that was mentioned before. In this haiku, I used end stopped lines.

This fourth haiku was based on a personal aspect of myself. I love the rain. But my friends don’t exactly feel the same way. Like all the other haikus, I have only three lines. But in this haiku, I decided to follow a feature where the third line of a haiku is a surprise. The first two lines had a tone of gloom and misery, but the last line went towards happiness and pleasure for that one person who liked rain. The speaker of this poem, is in first person narration. I also used enjambment.

Sonnet

Another Sonnet for Sunrise

I have to see the morning light today

The break of dawn is not something to miss

Oh, nature leaving golden hues to play

This light illuminates the land, sun-kissed

Confused of why I find the sight unique

The golden sight is why my heart just soars

I know those woven waves, the molded streaks

I soon sat there and hoped for time to snore

Below, the straight way down, my city home

Inside a stranded place that does not sleep

A maze, concrete, will overflow with souls who roam

Besides those lifeless souls, will soon be me

Next thing I saw invades my heart with dread

The sight was gone, and now my soul is dead

Reflection:

I wrote this poem inspired by a small aspect from Starry Night by Anne Sexton. When I read that poem there were these two lines that I thought was thought-provoking. Those lines were ‘’The town does not exist’’ and ‘’The night boils with eleven stars’’. These lines made me think that the starry night was the only thing alive in the speaker’s world. This aspect inspired me to write a poem about a person who thinks the sunrises and the  colors made by nature is the only beautiful and ‘’alive’’ feature about the speaker’s city. The first stanza describes the sunsets the speaker is seeing, and the second stanza shows what the speaker is feeling when the sunrise was gone: dead. Like having no purpose in life, and that sunrise is what kept the speaker up everyday. For my literary devices, I used end rhymes using the Shakespearean  rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG, a rhythm: iambic pentameter, which were necessary for a sonnet. I also used stanzas to organize my writing, personification describing parts of the sky and the city, imagery to describe the sunset, a speaker’s point of view: first person, and a tone of both admiring and sorrow.

Reading Response on Heart Poem

Hanging Fire by Audre Lorde

I am fourteen

and my skin has betrayed me

the boy I cannot live without

still sucks his thumb

in secret

how come my knees are

always so ashy

what if I die

before morning  

and momma’s in the bedroom

with the door closed

I have to learn how to dance

in time for the next party

my room is too small for me

suppose I die before graduation

they will sing sad melodies

but finally

tell the truth about me

There is nothing I want to do

and too much

that had to be done

and momma’s in the bedroom

with the door closed.

Nobody even stops to think

about my side of it

I should have been on Math Team

my marks were better than his

why do I have to be

the one

wearing braces

I have nothing to wear tomorrow

will I live long enough

to grow up

and momma’s in the bedroom

with the door closed        

Reading Response:

                    Our society faces many issues. These issues range from racism all the way to neglection . Although our society’s social issues can be experienced by anyone, teenagers seem to experience them more than any other age group. The poem ‘’Hanging Fire’’ by Audre Lorde is a particularly compelling example that represent the few of many issues that teenagers face.  This poem by Audre Lorde represents this issues from the eyes of a disoriented fourteen-year-old girl. This girl is constantly repeating the issues that she has to deal with, and it gives the reader a sense that she hates her life. Furthermore, this poem provides a good example towards what teenagers face in their young adult life.

                      Neglection can come in many forms. Whether its from society or from your parents, it can greatly impact someone’s life. The speaker in this poem seems to have experienced neglection from her mother.  The poet uses repetition to show importance towards two specific lines, that represents the issue that the speaker is going through. At the last two lines of every stanza it repeats, ‘’and momma’s in the bedroom with the door closed.’’ These two lines indicate that the mother of the speaker is neglecting her child. The mother shuts herself away from the world, away from her daughter, and away from her responsibilities as a mother. Neglection from her mother greatly impacts the speaker. In each stanza, she states all of her concerns first. And then, the last two lines seem to remind herself that there’s no one that could comfort her. Those two lines show how important a parent can be for a child. They establish the thought that the speaker needs her mother to cope with the problems that she is going through.

                        Depression in teens is another common issue that many of the world’s teens face today. And many know that depression can lead up to suicidal thoughts. These suicidal thoughts appear in every stanza of the poem. In the first stanza its says, ‘’what if I die before morning’’. In the second stanza it says, ‘’suppose I die before graduation they will sing sad melodies’’. Finally, in the third stanza, it says, ‘’will I live long enough to grow up.’’  These lines show that the speaker is constantly thinking about death. The second line implies that the speaker is having thoughts about how her death may affect other people. This aspect  suggests that the speaker is self-conscious about herself, and she thinks that opinions thought by other people are greater in importance than her own opinions. Her need in pleasing other people may be the cause of her depression. For instance it says, ‘’There is nothing I want to do and too much that has to be done.’’ This line signifies that she doesn't want to be self conscious but she can’t help it. Since she doesn't admire or appreciate anything in her life, there’s nothing left for her to do that at least be admired. This poem describes the speaker’s hopelessness: she was so pessimistic about her life that she couldn't stop to enjoy the joyful things that she has right now.  And that is probably why the speaker is having suicidal thoughts.

                    This poem reminds me of myself as a teen right now. The poem talks about the speaker’s early teen problems that I myself can relate to. I had so many questions about life, on why some things were fair and others weren't. I found like life very confusing and frustrating, like the speaker. But I had my mother to help me cope with my problems, unlike the speaker. This poem gave me a new visual about people who may experience problems like the speaker. (Isolation, self consciousness, depression, etc.) Although this poem gave me a better view on how other teens think and their troubles, it still left me with a few questions. One such question that I would like to answer is how would teens cope with these kinds of situations? What kinds of ways are there for that? I wondered how anyone could cope with this part of a young adult’s life without having someone to guide you through it. Overall, ‘’Hanging Fire’’ Audre Lorde, is a great way of viewing someone else’s perspective about teen life. Original Poem Inspired by Heart Poem I am a teenager and my skin has betrayed me the people I cannot live without forbid my pathway to freedom how come I always get blamed for the mess he did it, not me and I’m in my bedroom with the door closed I have to learn trigonometry in time for tomorrow morning’s test I’m too ugly how come I can’t go out with my friends Theres so much to be done and not enough time and I’m in my bedroom with the door closed No one really cares they’re just pretending I should be the one who gets the last cookie I’m older than him Why do they always think I’m rebelling I’m not and I’m in my bedroom with the door closed Reflection As said above, I decided to write this poem based on my heart poem. I started with ‘’I am a teenager’’, and focused mainly three aspects like my heart poem. In ‘’Hanging Fire’’ by Audre Lorde, her poem was mainly about was the speaker’s death, the speaker’s self-consciousness, and the speaker's neglection from her mother. In my poem, I tried to focus on vanity: ‘’and my skin has betrayed me’’ and ‘’I’m too ugly’’. I also focused on how my family ( ‘’people I cannot live without’’ ) always thinks I’m rebelling and limit my freedom. And like the author, I repeated the last two lines of every stanza, ‘’and I’m in my bedroom with the door closed’’. Not to get confused with isolation, these two lines actually represent a teenager’s growing need for independence. In my poem, I basically just mixed in my personal experiences as a teenager. The literary devices I have incorporated in my poem stanzas to organize my writing, represented the speaker as a teenager and wrote in first person, used enjambment, had a tone of despair, and made sure that my poem was in free verse.

Independent Reading Response: Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

*WARNING: THIS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS                      

                        Justice is defined as the process or result of using laws to fairly judge
 and punish crimes and criminals. Many people, in modern day, try  their best to establish justice, but few actually succeed. The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks is particularly a compelling example of this scenario. This book, The Road of the Dead, is about two brothers, Cole and Ruben, and how they try to find their sister's killer, taking the matters into their own hands. Furthermore, looking on to this book, justice in the book and in modern day might just not be enough and it might not always be what police, judges, or the government want it to be: fair.
                 
                      The book represents some of the social issues our world is facing today.
For instance, murder and rape. In the book, a man named Vince payed people to scare his wife into selling her mother's property, only so he could have plenty of money. But Vince's men though Cole and Ruben's sister, Rachel, was Vince's wife. In the book, it says, ''But instead of just frightening her, he raped her and killed her and left her on the moor.'' This shows how willing  people are when motivated by greed. Vince was willing to have his wife possibly hurt all for money, and because of his greed someone else got raped and killed. This also indicates that there are more social issues going around in the world, than the number of cases actually justified. Some cops don't even know some of the situations behind these murders. For example, the cops in the book had no idea that that all the bribery about money was behind all of this.  Because, sometimes,  the real story isn't discovered, justice may seem unfair. The main person who caused all of this, still doesn't get punished.

                 Because justice may not be something people usually want, or if it doesn't
go as expected, people may try to take matters into their own hands.  For example, in the book, it states that Cole wanted to find Rachel's killer only so the cops would release her body, and his family would be able to bury her. In the book, Cole's mother says, ''I want to bury my daughter because she's dead. She's my daughter. She's dead. I want to bring her back home and put her to rest. Is that so hard to understand?'' And Right after, Cole says, ''I'm going to get Rachel back. That's my way of looking after Mum.'' This shows that Cole  and his mother don't care about Rachel's killer, nor do they want anything to do with him. Knowing Rachel's killer and punishing him, won't do any good for Rachel's family. Because of cops and justice, Cole and his mother won't get to do what they yearned for, to bury Rachel and put her to rest. This leads to Cole talking the law under his own hands, which may not have been the best since that resulted to Ruben's kidnapping.  This indicated that justice in the world is not always perfect and not always what people want. It can result in people taking matters on to their own hands, just like Cole.

            The book, The Road of the Dead, is a good example of our society's definition
of justice. It shows us that the government may believe that justice is only fair and necessary for all crimes. But citizens or people living under the government may disagree. They may think that justice won't help them in their situation. This book also makes me aware of all the injustice going on, there are alot of murders and rape that most police don't even know about. As a final point, The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks, represents justice in our society and how people think about it today.

Draft on Author's Note

Bullying can take forms from name calling, theft of someone’s property, and being beaten up. Bullying someone can allows the victim to feel insecure about themselves. Some of these victims feel shy and scared, like they always have to be on guard. Bullying can affect everyone—those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying. Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide. People try to stop this, both the influences and effects of bullying,  they want people to stop bullying others.  But I think the problem is that people are not speaking up.

                                       

                   I was severely bullied in elementary school, and I did a mistake for not

speaking up for myself, or for anyone else. I chose to stay quiet thinking that if I didn’t, I’d only make it worse. I want this book to teach kids to speak up, and not do the same mistake I did years ago. In the article, Interview with a Bullying Victim by Carrie Goldman, it says, ‘’Kids tend to focus on something that stand out being ‘wrong’ ‘’. In other words, bullies focus on other people’s flaws, flaws that make them who they are. They say insults to you over and over again, and soon you start to believe them, thinking you’re not good enough. And then people start believing that covering up these flaws or even changing them is the only answer.This is what bullying leads up to: insecurity and self consciousness. But what many people don’t realize is that, bullies only focus on the flaws of other people to distract them from their own. They do this to feel good and so others won't suspect that its really them who's different. I also want readers to know that telling someone about it may not be the better option. You should tell someone if you are being bullied, but that option may not always work.  For example, in a speech given by  Natalie Farzaneh, it states that whenever Natalie went up to the teachers to try to get help, they kept saying  ‘No Natalie, don’t be ridiculous, everyone loves you’ or they’d say ‘Natalie, are you telling me lies just to get the other kids into trouble?’ . Some even say  ‘Go find some friends your own age, leave me alone to have my coffee.’  In the article, Interview with a Bullying Victim by Carrie Goldman, it says ‘’my parents told me to just ignore them, but ignoring name calling is very different from ignoring flat out violence to one's self.’’ This shows that speaking up and defending yourself is just the better option with telling someone about it.  

                     I want my readers to understand that bullying is not okay and neither is

staying quiet. You have to speak up, stand up, do everything in your power, to show them that hey have no right to hurt you. Speaking up is the answer for bullying, people will only treat you one way, and that's the way that you allow them.

Synthesis Page on The Grimm Conclusion by Adam Gidwitz

Synthesis page on The Grimm Conclusion

Critical Thinking Question: At what points do you notice yourself resisting the book, characters or      author? What does resistance say about the book, and what does it say about you?

Isolation and Neglect:

These two topics were focused on alot. In the book, when Jorinda and Joringel were born, the father had died, and the mother locked herself away in her study room because she was afraid that she might not raise them well. In the book it says ‘’She would feed them and clothe them and then she would retire to her study and pore over her ancient books in dead languages and try not to think too much about the babies who cried for her from the room upstairs.’’ This part just completely shocked me, a mother just completely neglected her children because she was afraid of not raising them well. Right after reading this, I thought that she should have at least tried to raise them. This just adds more to the fact that she should have done something. Later on in the book, she married a chef because she thought that ,being a chef and all, her kids would never go hungry. She married him also because he had two daughters, and because of that she thought he was a good father. When Joringel and Jorinda came up to her study to complain about their stepsisters, she said, ‘’Anger is a weed, Jorinda. It grows up through the soil, choking every other plant. You must stamp it out. Don’t let it enter your garden. Stamp out your anger until it never comes back.’’ This is the only thing she teaches her kids. And its not even good advice, its not good to stamp out your anger, choke back your tears, or smother your pain. This isn't at all how you find peace.

Decapitation and Murder

In the book, Joringel wanted a apple from his stepfather from his chest of apples. When the stepfather opened the chest’s lid, Joringel bent down into the chest to smell the apples. Right there the stepfather slammed the lid of the chest down on the boy’s neck. It said, ‘’The stepfather stood stock-still over the chest. The boy’s small, headless body lay on the floor. Blood pooled under his severed neck. His head, of course, was still in the chest of apples. Then the stepfather said, ‘’Oh no! His mother will be furious with me!’’  This passage just completely upset me. He just killed his own son (well, stepson), and he was only worried of what his wife will think. To cover up his tracks, he somehow made Joringel think that she was the one that killed her brother. And that just shocked me even more, a man killed his own son and let his daughter burn with guilt. This text just bothered me. Why would he kill Joringel? What ever did Joringel do to make his stepfather decapitate him?

Tyranny

Because Joringel couldn't stand her home and the guilt, she ran away with a prince. But prince suddenly left her to rule an entire kingdom, and with no one to teach her how to rule a kingdom, and all her feelings she locked, she transformed into a tyrant. In the book it says, ‘’So whenever someone bowed to her, she frowned and pushed her feelings down. And whenever a subject waved and smiled, she jerked her head way so as not to see, not to feel. And whenever anyone complimented her at all, she sneered at herself, and at them, and fought, fought, fought the pain within . . . the little girl monarch became colder and crueler . . .’’ I was slightly surprised by this, how could such a little girl be so cruel and distant? This  also shows that she followed her mother’s advice, which was to lock up your feelings. But I also think that it just proves my belief that locking up your feelings is just not right. It seemed to me that the more ‘’locked up’’ she became the more crueler she was. It was like she couldn't see the real world because all that pain she kept in was blinding her.

Child Abuse

When Jorinda left the throne, people heard a rumor  that she’d come back and taking all the children with her to raise an army and take over the kingdom since she made a law that parents who abuse their kids, would also be abused. And because of that people in that kingdom treated their children like slaves in fear. For example, it says, ‘’The little girl motioned down at their ankles. Then she stood up. A shackle was buckled around her little heel, and to the shackle was clamped a heavy iron chain.’’ This was just completely incomprehensible. People in the kingdom chained up their children just because of a rumor.

                        There were a few parts of the book that I noticed myself resisting, they were

usually all the gory and grim details, but all the other situations (like the ones that is listed above), just shocked me. One situation can lead up to another, and that can lead  up to another one, and so forth. This type of of resistance may show that this book may not be suitable for young kids, but compared to other books I think they can handle it. Although it was a bit upsetting in the beginning, I thought it turned out okay at the end.

Argumentative Essay

Growing into a young adult is a complicated part in someone's life.

For example, Holden Caulfield from the book, The Catcher in the Rye  by J.D. Salinger, often has to face what he believes is the harshness and loneliness of reality. This book is about Holden and his struggles as a young adult throughout his days in New York after being expelled from his private school.  Because the author focuses on Holden's perspective about reality and its ''disturbing details'', many parents want to ban this book. But banning books is a disputable topic and it even defies the constitution. This book is along the list of most debatable books. If fact, its debates are usually between the parents and teens. The parents usually want the book banned and the teens don't. This book should not be banned because it causes awareness, teaches lessons, and it gives teens something to relate to.

                   The book, The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned because

it depicts and draws out what teens usually do in their stage of life. For example, the main character in the book, Holden Caulfield curses alot. He’s constantly saying ‘’goddam’’, ‘’for chrissake’’, and ‘’sonuvabitches’’. But Holden curses so self-consciously and consistently that the words lose a lot of their vulgar meaning. This aspect also gives teens something to relate to since so many them curse, it wouldn't be anything new to them. And as for the people who do not curse, this just makes it more aware of this kind of situation. It would just make them aware that they share a world where there are other people who do this. It also just might make them less comfortable when they read this book, become aware of it,  and then hear someone curse. Many people especially parents want to ban this book because of this type of language content. They say that kids shouldn't be exposed to this. But many of these kids already have, and cursing in this book is almost nothing compared to what other people can find on the internet. Basically saying that, The Catcher in the Rye isn't very strong in this kind of language content. But even without the curses, it still wouldn't be the same. Holden’s curses make them who he his, and changing that, would mean that they would have to change him. Which is why books like these are so amazing. In fact in the article Darkness Too Visible, Sherman Alexie says, ‘’It almost makes me happy to hear books still have that kind of power.’’ The language content makes the book unique, so it should not be banned.

                 Another reason why The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned

is that it teaches great themes, and it allows readers to have a chance to find out the hidden symbols in the book. For example, one of the symbols included was the museum that was mentioned in the book. The museum represented Holden’s thoughts innocence. In the book, it said that he liked it when he had a innocent childhood, he wished he never grew up. Which explains why he liked the museum so much. He said that nothing changed in the museum. The exhibits and dinosaur fossils all stayed the same, and every time you visit it, the only thing that changed is you. Thats a bit like innocence, you first turn out to be innocent, but as you get older and change, so does your innocence, it slowly erodes away. But that's what parents are afraid about, their kids losing their innocence. They think that kids shouldn't be exposed to harsh or complicated themes.  But parents had to lose their innocence sooner or later, so why couldn't they expect that from kids? Its a simple part of life that bound to happen. In the article, Readers Respond: Would You Ever Challenge a Children;s Book? , guest Esraa says,  ‘’I'm not a parent, but I believe that we have the responsibility of protecting a child's innocence because far too many times this innocence is stolen away. Whenever it's in our power, we have to preserve it and preserve the child's right of childhood’’. This indicates that many parents think that banning these books also means protecting them and their innocence, but what they do not know is that this restriction might just harm them.  If kids are not aware of this, and their parents are no longer there to ‘’protect’’ them anymore, then who would?  Adding on to this, not only students learn from these themes, but its also great for in class discussions where students can strengthen their ability to recognize and describe the themes. When people, especially students, share their opinions with other people in a book club or just for class, it makes them a stronger reader. They would start to recognize and interpret symbols and thought that could lead up to a deeper understanding of the book.

                  Many people, especially parents think that The Catcher in the Rye should

be banned because of its content. They say that the book has sexual content, and they should have a say on whether or not kids should be reading books like these. But its the children, that should have the say not the parents. They should have the choice to read whatever they want. The article, ‘’Board Bans ‘The Catcher in the Rye, from High School English Class’’, says that ‘’We restricted it, that's true. But the book is in the library. More kids are going to read it now as a result all this.’’ So if teens want to read it, even after knowing they restricted it, why should anyone stop them? Another significant reason is that the sexual content in the book isn't even that graphic. In the book, it only mentions it, it doesn't describe it in depth with any details.

                    The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned. It teaches great lessons and

morals, it causes more awareness, and its great for in class discussions. If this book, can have so many positive results, people shouldn't have the right to ban it. Banning such a book like The Catcher in The Rye is just completely unlawful. This book shouldn't be banned, but be in the category of one of the best books ever written. It just has so many great themes for people to focus on, and it relates to so many young adults, and it opens people’s eyes to see what life is really like . Each word, thought, or object in the book, means so much more to each scene. Its a book filled with great depth and meaning that just may affect our lives.                   

Works Cited:

•  Kennedy, Elizabeth. "Readers Respond: Would You Ever Challenge a Children's Book? Why or Why Not?" About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fchildrensbooks.about.com%2Fu%2Fua%2Fcensorship%2Fchallenge.htm>.
• "Banned Book: The Catcher in the Rye." Banned Book: The Catcher in the Rye. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.csun.edu/~kjs26872/Banned_Book___The_Catcher_in_the_Rye.html>.
• Gurdon, Meghan Cox. "Darkness Too Visible." WSJ. N.p., 4 June 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038>.
• Rotella, Sebastian. "Board Bans 'Catcher in the Rye' From High School English Class." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 12 Sept. 1989. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-12/local/me-2089_1_school-board>.

Social Awareness Project

   

`Social Awareness Project

 

Reading Response on a Social Issues in a Literary Work

 

The shooting of an unarmed teenager, that took place on August 9, led

to many disputes in Ferguson. This is what Patricia Smith wrote about in her article,Outrage in Ferguson in the Upfront Magazine. Her article was about how Officer Darren Wilson, had stopped black 18-year-old Michael Brown and his friend for walking in the middle of the street. Blocking traffic, witnesses say that Wilson shot Brown multiple times as he got out of his car. This is set off many protests and riots full of angry people who were heavily affected by this shooting. The author, Patricia Smith, wanted her readers to know how people in Ferguson feel about this shooting, police brutality and how racism played as a factor.

                        

                 In the article, Smith says that the shooting reinforces the feeling that the

government and police weren't looking out for them. Patrice McHaskell, a nursery school teacher in Ferguson, says, '' They're just outraged, and they're tired of the police messing with them . . . It brought out all the anger and tension everybody's been holding in.'' This suggests that things like these were happening more than once. And its true, another unarmed black teen, Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The person was later tried and acquitted of wrongdoing.  In Ferguson, many people believe that its racism that was causing all the havoc. In the article, it says that black people who were currently living there, felt as if they were ''unfairly viewed with suspicion by police . . . and felt persistent discrimination''. Many of the people were often pulled over when they were driving their cars, and when they asked the police for a reason why, they didn't get any. Because this was so common and had happened so many times, people now call it DWB or Driving While Black.  Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin are just two examples of the millions of black teenagers that get killed and affected because of race each year.

                       

                   This type of social injustice, more specifically, police brutality is one of                        the topics that the author of this article wants us to learn. As said in her article, many people are killed just because of their skin color. Although, the author of this article wasn't exactly bias towards her writing, she still made it clear on the topic she wanted her readers to know about. She  wants us to know that there are still people who make wrong and biased decisions about black people, and she tries to explain that racism and police brutality is not the answer, unlike of what was shown in the article. In the article she stated all those facts, what had happened and who had been killed. And she then elaborated on how the victims or family members of these victims reacted with this event, showing how awful it can be for someone's life to be taken away like that because of someone else's emotions toward black people.

                         

                  After reading this, it made me realize that, although slavery is banned

and African Americans have more rights than they had previously, people are still being biased and racist about them. It made me realize that this type of police brutality can happen almost anywhere. It also made me realize that so many people have to go through this everyday (which is in a form of bullying), so many people get teased at, laughed at, and arrested for something they can't have control over, their skin color. This article also made me question about our society in Brooklyn. Are there people being bullied because of their skin color? Do people get arrested because of that? Does anything like that happen in our school? As you can see, this article made me question and acknowledge things at the same time, from social issues to events that take place in our society.

A Social Issue Seen in Everyday Life

One social issue I see everyday are homeless people. Almost everyday,

I see homeless people on subways, on the streets, sometimes I even see them in rags. Homelessness is a big issue in New York City. In fact New York City is the one of the most homeless states in the US. This is a very important issue. Everyone deserves a safe home, protection and care. Homeless people are victims to violence and weather. Alot of people die because of this simply from the cold or some sort of illness.

 

Alot of things can cause homelessness. One example of the causes is drug

addiction. In the United States, it has been shown that when parents find out that one of their relatives have been using drugs or if their use in alcohol gets out of control , they throw them out of the house. Most of these people have nowhere to go. Another cause is job loss. People who lose their jobs and can't find another one, can cause them to not having money to pay the rent, which can eventually lead to homelessness. People can also become homeless through natural disasters. Unexpected disasters can destroy someone's home, and everything they have in it. Usually, rebuilding houses can take a long time, and costs alot of money, and many people cannot afford that. These are just a few of the many causes of homelessness, and they all result in the same thing. So many people have to deal with no showers, no safety if you are sleeping outside, hunger and wondering about the next time you will eat, these are just some of the things homeless people have to bear with everyday.

Although our society has taken many steps to lower the rates of homelessness,

there are still many other solutions that can take place. Our society can create more programs that gives shelter and food to homeless people, and helps them find jobs. Another possible solution is that we can raise money to buy food and cans to give to the homeless or just give the money to them and the programs so they can still keep running. Looking at reality, alot people already tried to establish these solutions. Although rates of homelessness is still increasing, so are homeless prevention strategies.

 

Original Literary Piece

Here I Am

 Here I am

giving a speech

its the greatest moment of my life

What could be better

than inspiring people’s heart

telling them not to be afraid

‘Our skin color shows who are’ I say

We shouldn't be scared of them

for something we have no control

we can’t just let them arrest us

we can’t let them shoot us down

we just can’t be scared

we gotta be brave

we gotta show them who’s brave

No more hiding

no more withering at their approach

no more obedience to their command

So tonight, we must fight!

Tonight, we fight

not with violence though

but with our words

Here I am

walking on the streets

shouting the words that described my life

a supporting crowd behind me

plunging farther and farther into the dark streets

but then

they came

with their guns and all

pointed at us

but we weren't afraid

we just rose higher and higher

and soon no one could reach us

Here I am

on the ground

blood soaking my shirt

emerging from my chest

That's when I realize

I've been shot

So what

I will not cry

sure it hurts

but for a good cause

I fought for our rights

So I lay there

with a smile remaining

knowing

there will be more

to where this spark came from

                         This poem  was inspired by the article, Outrage in Ferguson by 

Patricia Smith. When I looked at the title page of this article, I saw many people protesting for the shooting of a teenager, so that's what I decided to do my poem on, protesting. But more specifically, I decided to do it on protesting racism under the eyes of a young leader who's leading the protest. Adding on to this, its about how someone is trying to encourage other people to stand up for themselves, since they have rights too, and they refuse to be pushed around by the cops. I decided to write it in this format because I wanted each stanza to have a different mood, emotion, and setting. That's whats great about poems, people can write it in any format, about anything, display twists and have one line mean so much more, which is what I attempted to do.

                      This poem just constantly kept reminding me of what people are dealing with in Ferguson. The way they're being treated just completely upsets me. People shouldn't get mistreated because of their skin color, they should have all the  rights as everyone else. I guess my passion and for this topic just inspired me the most. This was just so wrong that it had to be expressed into a literary art, so others can see what other people think about this.

                                             
Works Cited:  
Smith, Patricia. "All Classroom Magazines." Outrage in Ferguson. N.p., 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.  "United States Interagency Council on Homelessness." Homelessness Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.  "State of the Homeless - Coalition For The Homeless." Coalition For The Homeless. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.