Argument Essay

           Rape, abuse, and bullying. All the things that adolescents all around the world may have gone through. These are all the things that are included in the book Carrie, by Stephen King. The book is about a teenage girl named Carrie who is oft She is often bullied by her peers up until the point when she goes on a rampage using her telekinesis power and kills almost her entire high school. This text should be removed from middle school libraries because it contains many graphic sex scenes as well as promotes violence with murder and abuse.

            To start with, one of the most “challenged” authors, according to ALA, is Stephen King, mostly for expressing both explicit sex and rape scenes. Specifically, a part in his book that shows this is when Carrie’s mother was talking to her about the time when she was raped by her father; “It wasn’t until he came in that I smelled the whiskey still on his breath. And he took me. Took me! With the stink of filthy roadhouse whiskey still on him he took me… and I like it!” (248). After this scene, a parent may not want their children to read this book because of the vocabulary in it and the way that a person could be raped. What makes it even worse is that the person could potentially like it. Having a book that shows scenes like this is not appropriate in middle schools, especially if the teenager’s parents don’t know that a book with sex scenes is on the shelf in their children’s school.  Another particularly compelling piece of evidence for this is when the West Lyon Community School Library in Iowa had stated that the book “does not meet the standards of the community.” Many schools all around the country think this too, a book by Stephen King normally has many sex scenes such as his other book, “Different Seasons.” The community may be a peaceful society in Iowa and after reading Carrie, a child may be influenced by the book and potentially think rape/sex is okay. High schools are already banning Stephen King and if adolescents during that age are written off as being not mature enough to read Stephen King, then middle school students may not be mature enough either.

            Furthermore, this book features many sex scenes, but it also presents many scenes of abuse to Carrie which may frighten adolescents or maybe even provoke a bully to do the things expressed in the book such as teasing and making fun of others. In particular, a scene where Carrie’s mother became really mad at her she reacted in a very violent way, “She was whirled into the closet head first and she struck the far wall and fell on the floor in a semi daze. The door slammed and the key turned.” (67). This shows how abusive Carrie’s mother had become. If a parent was to see this in their child’s book they might not want their children reading this either because it may create children to become quite wary and paranoid of their own family. To see what a fictional character could do may also give young teenagers in middle school potential nightmares about this type of thing and could scar them. Another piece of evidence that suggests provoking bullying was when Carrie’s peers were throwing napkins and tampons making fun of her, Carrie described it, “Then the laughter, disgusted, contemptuous, horrified, seemed to rise and bloom into something jagged and ugly, and the girls were bombarding her with sanitary napkins…”(9). This reveals how badly Carrie was being bullied, and to other teenagers it may be seen as a way to make fun of/ bully a person in need. The way that Carrie reacted to being bullied was by being violent which may portray the fact that the easy way out of bullying is to be violent rather than telling an adult.

            On the other hand, although it is a very inappropriate book doesn’t mean that other readers can’t read the book, if they believe that they are mature enough. It is true that after reading Carrie, a high school student, Suzanne Plunkett, wrote, “I don’t recall killing any prom kings after I finished it,” but, just because one student didn’t act out in a violent way doesn’t mean that others won’t.  The book contained a violent act in which Carrie murdered her entire school because she was being bullied. According to ALA, Carrie was rated #81 on the top 100 most challenged books ever since it was created. What this makes clear is that not only parents believe that Carrie should be banned from both middle and high schools, but people who specify in books and who make up that list are experienced adults that come from ALA. If ALA believes that Carrie is a challenged book out of the millions of books out there, then it should be banned. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that this book is fiction and that none of it actually happened, but although some students know that, they still might be influenced by the book subconsciously because of the murder that Carrie did. This was the way she had acted out because of bullying and it can potentially provoke other people who are being bullied to hurt the bullies and not go to an adult or their parents. Many students believe that Carrie shouldn’t be banned, but there are so many parents out there who know their kids and so many adults who research the way books affect a persons mind and they have the right to choose the books that get banned for the safety of young teenagers. Telling your child to simply not read the book will not stop them from finding it on their own and read things that they may or may not be mature enough to read.

            Therefore, even though the text is fiction, middle school students should not have access to it because it may provoke them to do violent things, have sex, and be more wary of their own family. Carrie’s story not only shows how she became so deranged and violent but she also includes a message saying that the best way to get back at someone hurting you, is revenge and violence. Carrie’s life was not easy and instead of giving a better way to deal with it such as, speaking to somebody, she teaches that violence is the answer not the other way around.

Works Cited

"CHALLENGE/BANNING FACTORS." THE CENSORSHIP OF STEPHEN KING. Weebly, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://thecensorshipofstephenking.weebly.com/challengebanning-factors.html>.

Driscoll, Molly. "California High School Considers a Ban on a Stephen King Book." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

<http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2012/1015/California-high-school-considers-a-ban-on-a-Stephen-King-book>.

King, Stephen. Carrie; a Novel of a Girl with a Frightening Power. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974. Print.

Writing Project for Social Awareness

Prompts

1.Write a reading response on a social issue in a literary work (your independent reading book, short story, essay, or poem/song). Be creative, detailed, and specific. Also write 1-2 paragraphs describing your process in writing the poem and what problem/issue is it about?

2.Writing/Creating - Get inspired for your writing project. Do 1 or both of the following.
Brainstorm and plan. Write a response to 1 or 2 related works. You can follow the reading response structure or the following:

• Introduction: brief objective summary of what you see in the work
• 1-2 body paragraphs focusing on specific parts and your interpretation of what they mean
• Conclusion: what has the work of art made you think, feel, and wonder about social issues in the world.

3. Observe your surrounding (school, home, neighborhood, media). Write a list about all the scenes or situation you come across on a daily basis that you think are unfair and/or not right in some way. Pick one of the ideas from you list and write a longer entry about it – 2-3 paragraphs. Describe the problem whats wrong with, cause and effect, and possible solutions

Original Poem

Why?

I will never forget about them.

I will never let myself forget about them.

I will never forget their short young lives.

Especially how fast their life ended.

Not a thought, not a blink, not even a beat.

Just the sound of a crash.

I will never forget to look both sides.

I will never forget to say, “I love you.”

I will never cross a red light.

Because I will never forget about them.

I will never not be scared.

I will never forget how many people died around our community.

This world will never be safe.

I will remember and carry on and remember them.

I will never even begin to understand.

You don’t even get to say goodbye.

This life just steals you away.

I will never forget the dead look in that reporters eyes.

I will never stop saying that this life is hard.

One question always pops up, why?

I will never stop looking for them in that big blue sky.

            I wrote this poem thinking about all of the people in our school, community, and all around the world, how people are being killed because of reckless drivers. The number keeps rising and to me, it wasn’t that surprising. I remember looking at the TV looking for the news and I can recall hundreds of stories about people being hit by cars. I wrote this poem to express my feelings toward the topic about how unsafe our world is becoming. Writing this poem, I thought back to how I felt every time I got an email or a letter containing the fact that someone I knew was dead. It scared me how teenagers who pass by me in the hallways would pass away the next day. Even if I didn’t know them that well or talked to them a couple of times, it still hurt. While writing this poem, I expressed my feeling of anger towards people who had let our community and our world become so unsafe. I could never believe that a child who had so much potential to become a wonderful adult could have their life take away so quickly. I realized while I was writing this poem that you don’t get a letter a week before saying that you will die that day. You never know if it could be you next or someone you could really care about. I tried to get the message that you should be careful of the streets and to treat those people around you knowing that they could be gone in the blink of an eye. This poem was written using my mentor poem, “What I Will” by Suheir Hammad. I used the poet’s technique of repetitiveness and climaxes throughout my entire poem. I was really inspired by that poet to turn my own poem that reflected my own feelings similar to how that poet showed her feeling toward her own topic.

Social Awareness in Art/ Photography

Most people in America feast on their “MacDonald’s” or take food for granted but, photographer James Nachtwey has a way of traveling to the world’s most hostile countries to try and photograph the issues that are happening in the world. This photograph named, “Somalia, 1992 - Child starved by famine, a man-made weapon of mass extermination,” presents an image of a victim of famine in Africa. It shows a little starved boy and his mother and in the background their community is poor.

One of the main features of this photograph is that of a little boy and his mother. I believe that the photographer is trying to show us how bad it really is in Africa. The little boy has his ribs literally showing through his skin. I think that the fact that this boy is leaning over on the ground really shows how bad famine can get. His mother is standing next to him and not doing anything. I think that Nachtwey photographed it this way to show that famine was a really common thing in Africa and that it can really have a deep effect on the child’s life. The little boy also has no clothes on and I think that that also represents how poor Africa’s economy had actually got. Even in the title of this photograph shows how much famine has affected Africa and their lifestyle.

The other thing being featured in the photograph is that of the overall background and of the man holding a gun. The house in the back a long with the ground and the streets show how little money and help Africa is getting. Not only are they being victims of famine, but they are also not being treated the way some other people do in the world. The house is cracked and broken interpret how bad their lifestyle was too. The man holding the gun also represents how violent and how hard life is in Africa. It shows the things that some people have to do to survive in this world while others take it for granted. Africa isn’t being treated the way that they should be is what this photographer is trying to make the world see. The life is hard because of their lifestyle and their people and the things that they have to do in order for them to try and make the best out of their sad lives.

This photograph really made me feel great pity for Africa and what is happening over there. Seeing the child there starving made me think twice before I would throw leftover food in the garbage can. Seeing this and their economy made feel angry towards America and how we aren’t doing as much as we could to help Africa. I couldn’t help thinking about all of these people who take food for granted, who take so many thing for granted when there are so many people who need help in order to survive. It made me want to push toward giving money to charities that help kids in Africa. So, although this photograph made me really sad, the photographer to me really inspired me to help Africa by giving them donations and not throwing out leftover food. It made me really appreciate what I have and try to give back more to all of the people who are less fortunate around me.

Observing my Surroundings

Community

Homelessness

            Every day when I walk to school or anywhere in general, I see different kinds of people who are sifting through the garbage or curling up in a blanket to protect themselves against the cold. I see people who are homeless everywhere including the train. Every time one of them asks for money it breaks my heart to look up into their sad eyes and say, “sorry” when I don’t have any money to give. I feel guilty every time I see a homeless person. Homeless people are suffering from so many things outside of our own houses that some people don’t even see it.

            People who are homeless often become homeless because their short on money, they get kicked out from their apartments, or even if they have a drug or alcohol problem. When people become homeless they can’t always get anything to eat so they go through garbage which can cause diseases and infections, they can’t shower and be clean because they have nowhere to do it, and they don’t have much money to get warmer clothes for winter so they might end up getting many diseases from that. Homelessness is very serious because there are some kids out there who are homeless and that’s not good for their health.

            In order to solves homelessness we need to raise money from all around the community to create more homeless shelters so that people who are in desperate need of help will be able to get the help that they truly need from these shelters. They’ll be able to pick themselves back up and get out there for a job so they can get more money to support themselves. If one person raises money to give the government so that they can help the homeless, then more people will reach out to their own families and friends to raise money. Homeless people are in desperate need of help, we need to start helping them so that we can save so many people. If one person starts helping then more will follow them and before you know it, the percentage of homeless people will go down. Also, next time you see a homeless person, donate a dollar to them because for all you know that dollar could be their entire dinner. If you help one person, you’ll not only give him help but you’ll also make someone who has been wronged happy. Homeless people don’t deserve to be on the streets, they are people, just like us.

  

Works Cited

“What I Will” by Suheir Hammad. – Mentor Poem

"James Nachtwey." James Nachtwey. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/>. - Photograph

Nonfiction Upfront Article Response

                 According to the article, “Guess Who’s Looking at Your Facebook Page?” by Alessandra Potenza, the internet really isn’t as harmless as you might have believed it to be. The author talks about how when some people post things it could potentially be seen by other people and could get you in some deep trouble. The author wants us to be aware of what we post and to think ahead before we post something that we might later regret. The author interviewed people such as Emma Sullivan and Jeff Olson to review their stories on times that they regretted to post something on the internet.

                In this article, Alessandra Potenza wants us to know that we should be really careful when we decide to post things online. She gives portrays this by giving examples of when something bad happened to other people after they posted things. For instance, the article interviewed a 20-year old student, Emma Sullivan, when she states, “Your tweets and your Facebook posts and whatever other social media you have is really out there, it’s out there permanently, and it’s out there for everyone to see.” She said this right after she wrote a tweet regarding Governor Sam Brownback almost got her in deep trouble because her principal deemed it offensive. I think that the reason the author wanted us to know this was because something like this could happen to us if we are not careful enough and it might even hurt us in the future. I thought that reading what happen to this student was really scary and the fact that something that seemed so harmless might happen to me makes me want to second guess myself next time I decide to put something on the internet. Another example is when the author interviews a school and she writes, “An applicant was denied admission because of offensive comments he had posted on Facebook about one of his teachers.” This shows how your future can also be affected because of things you might do online. The author used all of these things in her article because she wanted us to see what might happen to our daily lives and even our future.

                The author wrote his article in order to have the chance for us to see the types of outcomes that might occur if we are not careful with what we put on the internet. I believed that this author did have a bias, I thought that she was for being careful. The author focused on only why things like this happen and therefore had a positive bias which I heavily agreed with. She only included interviews that started with what went wrong to how they changed themselves because of what had happened to them.

                After reading this article, I have come to understand that I should always be careful of what I write on the internet. This article has also really deepened my thinking about my future and really made me revise on what I do from now on. I wouldn’t want to not get into a good college for instance all because of one bad post or one bad comment. From now on, this article has made me change myself to become a both better and cautious person at the same time.

Museum of New York

        After I visited the Museum of New York, I learned a lot about the things that goes on around the world. I learned that issues such as feminism, gay rights, and bicyclists are really hard to deal with. Activists are everywhere, they try their best to prove a point in the world no matter what the consequences are. They are willing to break the law to stand up for something that they believed in. Learning these types of things in the museum I found it in myself to be courageous and stand up for things that I too believe in.
       Feminism, women stood up for themselves in order to get the chance to become part of their community and have rights. They were brave and it worked, women weren't undermined anymore and they had the chance to vote. Because of these activists, today women have jobs that would seem for a man but they earned the chance to be someone  special and unique. Even things like gay rights was fought for and succeeded in so many different states. I thought it was very inspiring for a museum to incorporate things that are so important to New York Cities history. Because of those people who stood up for themselves we are who we are today, equal.

Carrie By Stephen King Reading Response

Many kids all over the world are often being bullied both at home and in school, and because of this the outcome can range from suicide to murder. Carrie by Stephen King gave an example of a child who was being hurt, Carrie White. Carrie White is a misfit high school girl, who gradually discovers that she has telekinetic powers. Repressed by a domineering, ultra-religious mother and tormented by her peers at school, her efforts to fit in lead to a dramatic confrontation during the senior prom that involved killing all the people who wronged her. Although Carrie looked like she didn’t care about what was going on in her life, she was actually being subjected to social abuses such as bullying, abuse, and religious discrimination which led her to more brutal reactions.

Initially, Carrie is frequently being bullied by her peers in school that would affect her later on. For instance, while Carrie was writing in her notebook during class, she noticed that there was graffiti scratched into her desk that said, “Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but Carrie White eats shit.” This expresses how even when Carrie was not around, people in her school still made fun of her finding other ways. This also gives some insight on what might happen later on because just as some kids in the real world act out violently, Carrie was doing the same thing. Carrie was being bullied in school quite often. Moreover, when Carrie had just gotten her period and didn’t know what it was, kids in her gym class were making fun of her and she recites, “Then the laughter, disgusted, contemptuous, horrified, seemed to rise and bloom into something jagged and ugly, and the girls were bombarding her with sanitary napkins…” This part makes me think that Carrie was not only being bullied verbally but also physically. When the students were throwing napkins at her no one bothered to stand up for her. That showed how some schools all over the world have society’s that are so bad that people won’t help others. Sometimes on the news I hear about a school whose students were being bullied so much that they finally reacted in either suicide or violence such as shootings.

Subsequently, Carrie was not only being tormented at school but she was being abused at home by her own mother. For example, when Carrie told her mother that she was invited to prom her mother reacted, “She was whirled into the closet headfirst and she struck the far wall and fell on the floor in a semi daze.” This proves that Carrie was being abused physically, Carrie had never gotten self-confidence from her mother all she got was abuse and that made me realize that Carrie may have reacted so violently because of this. She was constantly being abused by her own mother. Correspondingly, when Carrie was talking about the things that her mother was doing she said, “There had been times when Momma had kept her in the close for as long as days at a stretch.” This made me feel sympathy for Carrie because the person whom she thought she could trust would lock her in a closet for hours. This also gives some insight that Carrie had no safe place to go, because she was being abused at home a place that was supposed to give love to her but instead; Carrie had a good reason to act out so brutally to the people who wronged her. There are people in this country who are being abused not only by their parents but also strangers and these people can often relate to Carrie because of the things that were happening.

Finally, Carrie was also being subjected to religious discrimination in her life which affected her in her life. Namely, in the book when an article was writing about Carries family they said, “Due to the White’s near-fanatical fundamentalist religious beliefs, Mrs. White had no friends to see through her period of bereavement.” This explains how because of their deep religious beliefs Carrie’s mother ended up with no friends who would then also show that because of religion Carrie had also been affected by it and also had no friends which would eventually lead to bullying. Today, a lot of people have taken toll on religion and have acted out because of it just as Carrie and her mother did. Also, after Carrie told her mother that she had gotten her first period, her mother freaked out and yelled, “Go to your closet. Pray in secret. Ask forgiveness for your sins!” This shows how Carrie‘s mother’s crazy religious beliefs in the fact that having a period is a sin, made Carrie have no idea what it was and therefore embarrass herself. There are religious families around the world who take things to the extreme and their children would have to suffer for it.

Consequently, Carrie is an example of one of the people who often gets abused not only at school but also at home. There were articles on children who have been bullied so much that they went suicidal to violence. There are stories on how some people are so driven out of their mind about bullying that they will go to the extreme and shooting occurs. Carrie was like that and acted out because of these three things, bullying, abuse, and religious discrimination. She went along and killed all of the people who had wronged her.  She may have seemed like a girl who wanted no harm but then at the end, she was pushed up until the point when she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to become violent.

Julia Nowak 811

Synthesis Page

Carrie by Stephen King

This book gives great detail on how Carrie is being subjected to child abuse, religion, and abuse.

Bullying

 “Graffiti scratched on a desk in Chamberlain Junior High School: Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but Carrie White eats shit” (Page 22)

This shows how Carrie was being abused by people in her school. Things like this were posted everywhere in the school and it was the reason that Carrie had felt so isolated and broken on the inside when on the outside she appeared like it didn't bother her at all. Today, a lot of kids are being subjected to this kind of bullying and that this can affect them deeply just as it had done to Carrie White.

“Then the laughter, disgusted, contemptuous, horrified, seemed to rise and bloom into something jagged and ugly, and the girls were bombarding her with sanitary napkins...” (Page 9)

This shows how bullying can also turn physical rather than just using verbal bullying. Nobody had even tried to help Carrie when she was being hit with napkins and yelled at because nobody cared, this happens in many other places besides a made up book. Girls all over the world are being hit with this kind of bullying that can result in suicides and girls hurting themselves, Carrie White is just one example of it.

“This girl, Carietta White, was called ‘a dumb pudding’ and was told to ‘plug it up’” (Page 81)

This shows how Carrie was being bullied by girls and was being called names. I think that with all of this bullying that was done to Carrie just may have resulted her in feeling bad about her and actually kept her from making any friends. She simply tolerated it and kept down like many girls do so.

Abuse

“There had been times when Momma had kept her in the closet for as long as a day at a stretch” (page 68)

This shows that Carrie wasn't only being abused at school but she was also being abused at home by her own mother. This reminds me of how some kids in this world are being abused by their parents. Carrie must have been feeling completely depressed because she was being abused both in school as well as at home.

  “She swung her whole arm into the blow ,and the sound of her palm against Carrie’s face was like that flat sound of a leather belt being snapped in the air” (Page 113)

This happened right after Carrie’s mother had found out that Carrie was asked to the prom. This showed that Carrie’s mother never supported Carrie in anything. In a way this was abuse too besides the fact that Carrie’s mother resolved everything with violence. Carrie had never gotten self-confidence from her mother; instead all she got was abuse.

“She was whirled into the closet headfirst and she struck the far wall and fell on the floor in a semi daze.” (Page 67)

This showed how Carrie’s mother always forced Carrie into everything whether or not she wanted to, such as going into the closet. Carrie always was abused like this which over time probably developed into hatred for her mother. There are many example of Carrie being abused in all kinds of ways, this is just an example of many.

Religion

“Go to your closet. Pray in secret. Ask forgiveness for your sin” (Page 66)

After Carrie had told her mother that she had gotten her first period, immediately Carrie’s mother freaked out and told her to pray. Throughout the whole book religion was focused heavily on because of Carrie’s mother. She believed that God made a sin and if you break it then you get a period. She believed her own crazy thoughts on religion even when the bible said otherwise. She influenced Carrie a lot based on religion as well.

“Due to the Whites’ near-fanatical fundamentalist religious beliefs, Mrs. White had no friend to see her through her period of bereavement” (Page 15)

This showed how heavily focused Carrie’s mother was on religion. She didn't have any friends because of this and also prevented Carrie to make friends too. Because of Carrie’s mother, Carrie didn't make any friends and therefore was constantly abused because of religion.

“Momma seemed in the throes of some great revelation which might destroy her” (Page 114)

This showed how deeply infused Carrie’s mother was with religion. She had let it take over her life and let it guide her instead of her own personal instinct. This had affected Carrie greatly because she was often abused by her mother in the ways of religion. As of many children’s lives,  religion takes a great toll on their lives and for Carrie, it had taken her on a path of abuse.

Julia Nowak 811

The Great Gatsby, Reading Response

                Many books contain symbols that give deeper meanings to the story to make them good. The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald, was one of them. This book portrayed characters with the names of Jay Gatsby, Nick, George Wilson, and many others. This was a story of how these two different men became friends and how both of these men seem to fall in love with the wrong people. Fitzgerald included symbols on the rich peoples live in comparison to poor people using symbols. The symbols that were found made the story unique in its own way and created an in depth conclusion on how the characters thought in the1920s world that they lived in.

                One of the symbols that were found in the pages of this book was the green light. In the book, the green light was attached to the end of Gatsby’s dock; this light represented the hopes and dreams for the future. For instance, when Nick was looking at Gatsby, it quotes, “—he stretched out his arm toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light...” This shows that Gatsby had deep feelings to the light at the end of his dock. He might have been hoping for something for his hands had been trembling, many people in the world do have a keen eye for things or objects that hold deeper meaning for them. Also, towards the end of the book when Nick is looking at Gatsby’s lawn, mourning his death, he says, “I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he picked out the green light at the end of the dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have been so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.” When Nick thinks that, it showed to the readers that Gatsby had held onto the spark of the green light and that he believed in it. He used the light to think about the future before him and he followed his dreams. The symbol of the green light represents dreams and how people can hold on to them as long as they keep that light glowing brightly.

                One of the very important symbols that were discovered in the book was the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes was a place where all the characters in the book had to pass through in order to get into town. It represents the moral and social decay hidden by the West, and East Egg, the place where the characters live. For example, in the book, Nick passes by the valley of ashes and describes its look, “This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” The figures that were mentioned in this quote were most likely written to represent the main characters in the book. The ashes represented the dead with self- centered and arrogant bodies that were rising within. Also, the book had many horrid things take place near the valley of ashes, including the death of George Wilsons’s wife and arguments between the rich and the poor. The valley of ashes and the constant trouble that brew down in there represented how the moral and social things started to decay, and how that place is full of life’s bad moments.

                The last symbol that was infused with the book was the eyes of Dr. Tj Eckleburg. The eyes symbolized God, through George Wilson. It represented how God seemed to look over Wilson. For example, in the book when Wilson passes by the billboard with Eckleburg’s eyes, he recounts to Michaelis what he said to Myrtle after finding out about her affair, “and I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!’… ‘It’s just a billboard.’” As you can probably see, Wilson looks up to the billboard of Dr. Tj Eckleburg’s eyes and thinks of God who apparently knew everything and sent a sign to Wilson about it. This symbolizes how a simple billboard can have so much meaning to a person and can’t be brought down by another. In a way, when Wilson thinks of the billboard as the eyes of God which also shows how he always thinks and needs someone to rely on even if it was indeed just a billboard. Also, in the book when it writes about Wilson passing by the billboard, it mentions that it was located in the valley of ashes. Even then, Wilson had still believed that God was there looking down to him and protected him by warning about Myrtle who was about to die. The eyes kind of represented Wilson’s savior and comforter. In the real world, the billboard would have acted as a conscience of Wilson’s that looked over him.

                All in all, this book held three symbols that represented characters thoughts that led to deeper meanings throughout the book. One of these symbols was a green light that represented the hopes and dreams of both Gatsby in the book and America in the real world. The other was the valley of ashes which represented the moral and social decay of rich people to poor people in both the book as well as the real world. And lastly, the eyes of Dr. Tj Eckleburg had represented God that can be looked upon as a conscience to people inside the book as well as people who seek reassurance in the outside world. This book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, represented many symbols and current life issues that were hidden in deeper meaning that were resolved by the characters throughout the whole book.

Julia Nowak 811

If I Stay, Reading Response

 In the story, If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, contains many emotional scenes that shape a girl’s life. Mia Hall, a teenage girl who had everything, a family, a loving boyfriend, and an assured future in music. Yet all of that is taken away right after a massive car crash that left her in a deep coma. Her brother, sister, and mother immediately die and the outcome is destructive. Throughout the whole story, Mia is in a coma but writes the story through her own eyes as a ghost. In the beginning of the book Mia feels as though there isn't anyone who can give her a reason to stay or not, but at the end she realizes a deeper meaning that family isn't just blood.

In the beginning of the book, Mia’s close family dies in the book and she doesn't care about anything else and just wants to die. She believed that nobody cared about her and that life wasn’t worth living. For example, in the book it says, “I’m staring at myself, at the “live” Mia now, lying in her hospital bed. I feel a burst of fury. If I could slap my own lifeless face, I would. Instead, I sit down in the chair and close my eyes wishing it all away.” In this quote, Mia doesn’t care about her own life and just wants it to go away. This relates to many people who also want life to go away. She is in a coma and she’s completely oblivious to herself and her life. Also, in the book when Mia was watching her grandparents, boyfriend, and her best friend, she completely ignored and told herself that life wasn’t worth living. She didn’t care that all of those people appeared for her, she just ignored them and stopped thinking about how her life might end if she doesn’t stop caring. As the story progressed Mia changed and realized many new things.

At the end of the book, Mia had changed her feelings and attitude towards others. She realizes that having a family doesn’t just consist of blood relatives but of other people as well. For instance, in the book, Mia watches her boyfriend, Adam, and her best friend sit by her side, reassuring her. The sat by her and kept on talking about their love for her. Mia had watched them the whole time and felt welcome and for once, she thought that her life might be just bearable even though her parents and little brother died in a car crash. I thought that Mia was really strong in this part of the book because even though she felt like her whole world was falling apart, she came out strong and realized who part of her family was too. Also, in the book, after her grandfather told her it was ok to let go, she says, “This is the first time that anyone had acknowledged what I have lost.” I think that this shows how Mia is finally realizing that if she decides to wake up, somebody will be there to take care of her and actually take in the fact that she had lost a lot. This part also explains how Mia believes again in her other family, the ones that she hadn’t lost.

Overall, this book, by Gayle Forman, represented the way a person can see that there will always be a person there for you and how family isn’t just blood relatives but also friends that keep you close. In the beginning, Mia believed that dying was the better option because nobody cared for her, but towards the end she finally realized that there are people who will stick by her side and people who truly care for her in time of need. This book really relates to other kids who have gone through this and have also realized that there may be a lot of people who will stick by them the way Mia’s family did. This book, was a representative of the meaning of true family and how Mia realized that friends are family too and will always love you.

                                                                                          Julia Nowak 811