Argument Essay- Draft

            As children get older, they are beginning to be exposed to the imperfections and issues in our world. Even though these issues may be scary or threatening to some, sooner or later children need to learn about them and what better way to learn about some of these issues than good literature. The book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a coming of age novel that discusses social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, suicide, and other issues that take place in real life. Many parents feel that this book should be banned because the content is too mature for middle schoolers, however this book shouldn’t be banned because children have the right to be exposed to this literature and learn more about these topics if chosen to do so.

            One reason why this book shouldn’t be banned from classrooms is because students can be exposed to much more inappropriate content through the internet and it is their decision whether or not they want to have access to this content. For example, literacy teacher, Lynn Bruno, states “Like it or not, your daughters and sons in eighth grade have heard the word blowjob… What they are exposed to in terms of dialogue, in terms of media…I don’t like it any more than you do, but its (out) there.” This quote shows that a lot of the content found in the book, children may have already been exposed to because it can easily be found online or found in peoples everyday conversations. Another example is that “Per the school’s (Hadley Junior High) literacy curriculum, students could choose to ready a book and put it down at any time.” This shows that no student is being forced to be exposed to this content and that if they are curious in the topic, they can choose to continue reading it without having to ban the book from classrooms altogether.

            Another reason why this book shouldn’t be banned is because it teaches many life lessons and can be a helpful guide to students going through issues similar to what the characters go through in the book. For example, literacy teacher Lynn Bruno states, “Books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower are valuable because of the lessons students can learn from characters’ decisions in difficult situations.” Bruno also argues that, “While many Hadley (Junior High) students have supportive and caring parents…there are students facing issues similar to those depicted in the book and don’t have supportive parents to look to for guidance.” These quotes show that this book can actually be a positive influence for students growing up who don’t have adults for look to for guidance. It can supply knowledge on mistakes and challenges and how to overcome or deal with them.

            It is important to acknowledge that some of the content written about in this story may be too mature or questionable for kids in middle school. A parent from Hadley Junior High states, “I didn’t want to have this conversation with my daughter in eighth grade…our innocent child has already been tainted.” This shows that parents feel that by reading this book, their children are being exposed to things they are too young to handle. However, children do need to be enlightened on these issues, as they are present in our world and this is the age where kids start to become responsible enough to handle it.  

            By banning this book and others similar to it, children are being deprived of knowledge of certain social issues in our world that they are old enough to be exposed to. Children should be indulged in these topics so that they will gain knowledge that is crucial to growing up through an interesting and accurate source.

Table of Contents

·      Project option #2- list of social issues and an elaboration on one . . . . . page 1

·      Project option #4- reading response to a social issue in the news . . . . . page 2-3

·      Project option #5- write an original literary piece about a social issue . . . . . page 4

Social Awareness Project- #2

Social Issues List:

·      Age Discrimination- at home

·      Death Penalty- in my Up Front Magazine at school

·      Illegal Immigration- in social studies class at school

·      Bullying/Discrimination- at school

·      Alcoholism- at local bar in my neighborhood

 Elaboration on Alcoholism

            I have lived in Windsor Terrace my whole life and after 13 years I have come to feel very safe in my house and in my whole neighborhood. However, there is a very popular bar right on the corner of my block and quite recently I had witnessed something a bit frightening happen there. It was around 12:00 am when suddenly I heard bottles breaking, much yelling and police sirens. It all happened very quickly but a few men strongly under the influence had started to fight each other in a drunken rage, right across the street from my house. This experience was a bit unsettling for me and made me feel slightly unsafe.

            I believe that this experience was wrong and unfair for my community and I for many reasons. For example, my neighborhood is full of families with children and adults of many ages and to have to hear and see this fighting caused by alcohol can be frightening for any age group. Hearing this disruption can cause people to feel unsafe in their neighborhood, which is a very negative thing to feel and something should be done about it. Something that can help to improve the situation is to put an earlier time limit on the bar so that the people at the bar wouldn’t cause disruption to as many people. Something else that can be done is moving the bar location entirely so that it isn’t disrupting families.

Social Awareness Project- #4

               In the article To Kill or Not to Kill, the author, Patricia Smith, is trying to portray the conflict of the death penalty around the world. After very recent executions by the lethal injection, new debate arose around the death penalty due to the fact that many Americans were disturbed by seeing the executions take place. The author goes on to discuss many other unsettling examples of the death penalty and how many things could go wrong if we were to keep turning to it, for example, taking the life of an innocent person and not being able to change anything. The author has strongly sided against the death penalty and is trying to teach readers how it is the wrong form of punishment.

               One way the author shows the readers that the death penalty is wrong is by telling of all the different methods of execution to give an example of how disturbing the death penalty is. For example, there is a whole section of the article that tells in depth about how the Hanging, Electric Chair, Lethal Injection, Gas Chamber, Burning/Shooting and other obscure methods work to kill criminals and exactly how many criminals each method has exterminated. This part of the text helped to paint a picture of every quite sickening method that prisoners can be killed and how it can be inapt even for a criminal who has done something very wrong. In the article, another way the author opposed the death penalty is by showing that sometimes it can go wrong, not only just killing their victim but also harshly torturing them on the way. For example, the text states " “Everyone watching the execution of Clayton Lockett last April knew instantly that something had gone terribly wrong. Lockett was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and had been given an injection when he started kicking, twitching, and then writhing and moaning in agony.” This piece of text showed that no mercy is given to prisoners by their executers even when something so horrible like this happens. This quote used by the author can have a strong effect on the reader because it shows how harsh and brutal the death penalty can be and can draw even sympathy out of someone for the victim.

               Another example of how the author argues against the death penalty is that in the text, the author talks about how the death penalty can actually be viewed as a very hypocritical punishment. For example, "Opponents say that killing is wrong no matter who is doing it, even the government, and that it's too final a punishment in a world where mistakes can happen." This piece of evidence made me think that people are being punished by death after committing crimes such as murder which ironic in a sense because regardless of who is doing the killing, the crime at hand is really being punished with only more crime, which is unfair.

               Before reading this article, I didn't really think much of the death penalty because I felt that if someone was sentenced to death, it had to have been for a good reason. However, after reading this article, the author has able to gear my opinions towards being against the death penalty. I realized how sick and disturbing the ways criminals were killed and it made me feel that no matter the crime, nobody deserves to be put through torture like this, as many mistakes can occur. The whole death penalty itself is very risky and unsettling and there are plenty of other methods that could be more suitable as punishment.

Social Awareness Project- #5

“What About Fair?” by: Sophia Stelboum

Should any kid

Have to be put down

Just because of their looks or interests

What about fair?

Should any kid

Have to come home crying

Because they feel they aren’t good enough

What about fair?

Should any kid

Have to feel the need to change

Because of standards set by their peers

What about fair?

It’s not fair

Reflection

            The social issue that inspired this poem was bullying. Every single day, kids are unfairly judged by their peers and are casted out because of their personality, looks, interests, grades and any other aspects that do not fit the standards that society has set for them. No kid deserves to feel that they need to change to receive anybody’s acceptance because the people that don’t accept them are the ones they do not need in their life. Bullying someone can cause permanent damage and insecurities that last a lifetime. It is truly wrong and unfair to put someone through that is what I hoped to portray in my poem.

Nonfiction Blog Post

               In the article To Kill or Not to Kill, the author, Patricia Smith, is trying to portray the conflict of the death penalty around the world. After very recent executions by the lethal injection, new debate arose around the death penalty due to the fact that many Americans were disturbed by seeing the executions take place. The author goes on to discuss many other unsettling examples of the death penalty and how many things could go wrong if we were to keep turning to it, for example, taking the life of an innocent person and not being able to change anything. The author has strongly sided against the death penalty and is trying to teach readers how it is the wrong form of punishment.
               One way the author shows the readers that the death penalty is wrong is by telling of all the different methods of execution to give an example of how disturbing the death penalty is. For example, there is a whole section of the article that tells in depth about how the Hanging, Electric Chair, Lethal Injection, Gas Chamber, Burning/Shooting and other obscure methods work to kill criminals and exactly how many criminals each method has exterminated. This part of the text helped to paint a picture of every quite sickening method that prisoners can be killed and how it can be inapt even for a criminal who has done something very wrong. In the article, another way the author opposed the death penalty is by showing that sometimes it can go wrong, not only just killing their victim but also harshly torturing them on the way. For example, the text states " “Everyone watching the execution of Clayton Lockett last April knew instantly that something had gone terribly wrong. Lockett was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and had been given an injection when he started kicking, twitching, and then writhing and moaning in agony.” This piece of text showed that no mercy is given to prisoners by their executers even when something so horrible like this happens. This quote used by the author can have a strong effect on the reader because it shows how harsh and brutal the death penalty can be and can draw even sympathy out of someone for the victim.
Another example of how the author argues against the death penalty is that in the text, the author talks about how the death penalty can actually be viewed as a very hypocritical punishment. For example, "Opponents say that killing is wrong no matter who is doing it, even the government, and that it's too final a punishment in a world where mistakes can happen." This piece of evidence made me think that people are being punished by death after committing crimes such as murder which ironic in a sense because regardless of who is doing the killing, the crime at hand is really being punished with only more crime which is unfair.
  Before reading this article, I didn't really think much of the death penalty because I felt that if someone was sentenced to death, it had to have been for a good reason. However, after reading this article, the author has able to gear my opinions towards being against the death penalty. I realized how sick and disturbing the ways criminals were killed and it made me feel that no matter the crime, nobody deserves to be put through torture like this, as many mistakes can occur. The whole death penalty itself is very risky and unsettling and there are plenty of other methods that could be more suitable as punishment.

Trip Reflection

               After going on this trip, I learned a lot about society and how they deal with their rights. Regardless of the issue, people have found ways to fight for what thy believe is fair in sometimes violent and sometimes non-violent ways. After learning about different ways of protest, I feel that people should be able to protest without violence and get a chance to speak their opinions. This way, there would be less conflict and more of a chance to come to a compromise or solution. Seeing this exhibit also made me upset because I had gotten to learn more in depth about how hard things were for certain groups of people. People like gay people and black people were discriminated and segregated for things that they couldn't help and also shut out when they tried to stand up for themselves.

               However, I do believe that protests make an impact and influence many people. Something so big, loud and meaningful can cause people to have a realization about how people are treated and they have helped peoples causes in the past. After seeing this exhibit, I also began to wonder many things about protests and how they work. What happens after every protest? How is word spread about protests? How are protests organized? Even thought the process of a protest seems complicated, hopefully every protest turns out to be worth it in the end.

             

To Kill a Mockingbird

by: Harper Lee

               As you read any book, the author is constantly dropping little indirect hints at something. Maybe by mentioning a location multiple times or the same or having a character listen to the same song throughout the story. Either way, these little hints are just symbols, or an object that represents a deeper meaning in the story than what is portrayed. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by: Harper Lee, the symbol that stood out most to me was actually the title of the book itself. I believe that the title is a symbol because it connects directly to the aspect of becoming mature and taking away innocence in the story, where the "Mockingbird" represents innocence and "To Kill" represents the taking away of innocence.

               One example of the title connecting to "killing innocence" in the story is that in part two of the story when Tom Robinson is falsely accused of rape and then murdered, Mr. Underwood describes it as "The senseless slaughter of songbirds." This is because Tom, who is innocent, is being punished for no reason. This showed that Tom Robinson represents the Mockingbird in the title and that his death and punishment represents the Kill in the title. 

               Another way that the title connects to maturity and taking away naiveté is that in the story during Christmas, Jem and Scout receive guns as gifts. As Jem and Scout are being taught to shoot the guns, Ms. Maudie says, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but...sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." This quote showed that as the kids grew up and received very mature gifts that took away their innocence, they shouldn't be killing other very innocent creatures because it is wrong. 

               The last example of how the title represents taking away purity and innocence is that after Atticus decides not to take Boo Radley, Scout tells Atticus "It'd be sort of like shooting a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" This is because even thought Boo Radley starts off as maybe being a threatening character, as he becomes more of a real figure throughout the story, it is realized that he has only been protecting the kids the whole time and leaving very mysterious gifts for them. Like killing a mockingbird, arresting Boo would serve no useful purpose, and would only harm someone who never caused any trouble. So over the course of the novel, killing mockingbirds is associated with the sinful, the pointless, and the cruel.
               As you can see, the meaning of the title was subtly incorporated throughout the story, portraying different scenes where characters innocence was killed or they were harshly punished or accused of things they did not do. Just like a symbol in a book, there can also be things in your everyday life that actually have a lot of meaning. All you need to do is take a closer look at the things that are right in front of you and you may find yourself learning a lot. 

               

Eleanor and Park by: Rainbow Rowell

In the novel Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, the story of Eleanor and Parks unique and unanticipated relationship is unfolded with many twists and turns. While Park is a seemingly very shy and simple character, Eleanor is quite the opposite. Eleanor fits under the archetype of the out casted, misunderstood new girl in school that nobody truly knows or gets to know except for Park.

One example that Eleanor fits under this archetype is that after Eleanor shows up on the bus going to school for the first time, she is immediately judged and disliked due to the fact that she doesn't look like everybody else. Her clothes aren't considered "trendy," in fact quite the opposite, and her out-of-control red hair and weight earned her many nicknames such as "big red" and "rag head." After seeing Eleanor for the first time Park was in shock, "She was dressed like...like she wanted people to look at her. Or maybe she didn't get what a mess she was." he thought to himself. This shows that Eleanor was quickly out casted by her new peers seeing that she stood out from everyone else right away, and not in a good way. 

            Another example that proves that Eleanor out casted and misunderstood is that in the story, Eleanor is constantly bullied at school for many reasons. One of the most common causes of the bullying is her wardrobe. However, her peers may think that she chooses to dress in patched up jeans and men’s sweaters and shirts because she is a strange girl, when really she has no other option. During just another day in gym class, Eleanor has a rude awakening when she discovers that all of her clothing has been dumped into and unsuccessfully flushed down the toilet. Instead of being able to just throw out these clothes though, she grudgingly keeps them because she knew that these clothes, even though soaked in toilet water, were quite valuable to her because for someone like Eleanor who had to share one room with four other siblings and brush her teeth with her finger and salt, these toilet-water clothes were a privilege. This shows that Eleanor is treated terribly for things that are out of her power to fix.

            My last example that shows that Eleanor is an outsider is that she is not only rejected by her peers, but by her own family as well. Even though Eleanor did used to have an alliance with her siblings against their stepfather and a strong connection with her mother, that had all been put on hiatus after she was kicked out of the house and left with family friend’s for over a year. “Eleanor had spent so much time thinking about what it would be like to come home…but when Eleanor walked in the house, it was like her siblings didn’t even recognize her.” This showed me that even Eleanor’s own family didn’t even seem to appreciate her homecoming and that she was an outcast to them.

            In conclusion, it is clear that Eleanor fits the archetype of the outcast in this story because of the way she is treated both by her family at home and her peers at school.  She may seem like just another quirky new girl, but she does have her own story and baggage hidden under her red-hair and ripped jeans, only nobody knows. 

               

Everyday By: David Levithan Response 

By: Sophia Stelboum 811

               So how far would you really go for love? Probably not as far as main character, A, in the novel "Everyday" by David Levithan. A's life is incomparably different to others because of the fact that everyday of his life so far, he has woken up in a completely new body than as the day before. However, though A is always different on the outside, his/her thoughts, feelings, and entire persona remains the same. As well has having his/her own thoughts, A also has access to all of his host's thoughts, feelings and any other information about their life. A tries to lead a simple life, regardless of these circumstances, and not get involved with his host's life until one individual, Rhiannon, changes everything. After a day spent with her, A instantly starts to fall quite hard for Rhiannon. As the story continues, their love grows stronger yet harder to maintain as A is never the same person twice. This doesn't at all cause A to give up hope for his love with Rhiannon, which shows how much of a dedicated and hard-working person A really is.

               One example of A's dedication is that after he meets Rhiannon, he stops caring about the person who's life he has control of and will screw up things for them just to get to see her. For example, in the story after A has met Rhiannon for the first time, he finds himself in someones body that is not too far away from her and decides to take advantage. However, it becomes a little extreme when A drives all the way to the party of a stranger, lies about his true identity to everyone he meets, and then to top it off leaves the body of his host asleep in his car on the side of the road to wake up the next morning terrified and confused. This shows that A would even risk the life of others just to see Rhiannon. 

               Another example that shows how A is very devoted person is that no matter how far away A is from Rhiannon, he almost always makes the effort to go and see her unless he/she is in a completely impossible situation. For example, every time that A wakes up in a new body, one of the first thing that he accesses information to in his host's head is how far away he is from Rhiannon and how he will get to her. Once he figures this out, he finds a way to get out of whatever his host has planned for the day and makes the trip to Rhiannon. Even if he only has to walk a couple of blocks to her or drive 5 hours, A makes the commute every time. This lead me to believe even more that A did not care what it would take as long as he got to see Rhiannon that day. 

                My last example of why I feel that A is a very committed character is that even though having any sort of relationship with Rhiannon has proved to be near impossible and problematic in many ways, A does not stop pushing to come to some sort of resolution with her. For example, even tho Rhiannon repeatedly tells A that she doesn't want anything romantic with him/her, that doesn't stop A from making plans with Rhiannon, constantly dropping his plans to visit her and sending out countless emails to her. Rhiannon always finds herself not being able to resist due to A's devotion to her. This shows me that A will stop at nothing and continue to fight for this love no matter how difficult it is.

               In summation, it is clear that A is very committed and persevering person and if he/she wants something, he/she will cease to give it up without fighting for it. Even though A's issues were unique and unlike any other individual's, that didn't stop him from trying to come up with solutions that would let him and Rhiannon be together. Throughout the story, A never once gives up hope which portrays a very powerful moral to this story's reader. After reading "Everyday," I am now very inspired to fight for anything that believe in if it is important enough to me. I have learned that I am lucky to be in a situation very different from A's and that I shouldn't take my life for granted when A is having problems much more severe than my own. If someone like A can fight for love, than anyone else who really wants it can too.