Darkness Too Visible

      Megan Cox Gurdon wrote the article “Darkness Too Visible” to inform people about her opinion on young adult literature.  In the article, she shows her opinion through examples of books written in the past and books that were just published.  She knows her reader how inappropriate and violent some books are, but she also explains that she doesn’t agree that they should be banned.  “How dark is contemporary fiction for teens?  Darker than when you were a child my dear.”  Says Megan Cox Gurdon.

      To show her opinion she comes across sarcastic and sometimes uses a mocking tone. In her article, the author really shows her belief that books should be judged but not banned because people are allowed to read what they want.

      When someone wants to prove a point, they show their opinion through examples but also through personality and the way they write or speak.  The author of he article uses words like “lurid” and “grotesque” to make me feel what she is really trying to say.  She gives examples from young adult books by Lauren Myracle and describes a certain scene where the character was “savagely beaten.”  Examples like these really put an image in my mind of how disturbing these books can really be.  I got to understand and realize that some books are very inappropriate for young adults and should be judged. 

      Furthermore, to reinforce the author’s voice and how it comes across, only her opinion was really shown in the article.  In the article, the only opinion that is voiced is her own.  There are a few minor counterclaims put in, but she always tries to prove how they are wrong.  I think the reason she only really uses her voice in the article is to really prove a point and to have readers only thinking about what she is saying.

      In addition, Megan Cox Gurdon only includes adult opinions in the article and not young adult opinions.  This is to show how adults feel about these books because most adults feel the same way the author does. 

      Many of the points Megan Cox Gurdon uses are very valid and some I disagree with.  Some young adults books should be judged and discussed because of the disturbing topics, but I don’t believe any should be banned.  Some of the books the author mentions, like “Shine” by Lauren Myracle, are very gruesome and I agree that the content could be inappropriate for many people.  On the other hand, books like Judy Blume, like “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret”, are books that I think young readers should read because the content maybe a little inappropriate or provocative, but it contains messages opinions that people need to learn and know about and form their own opinion on.  

A decision can change your life

Divergent

She cuts her hand open and drips her blood on the dauntless rock.  She made her decision, the decision that changed her life.  In the book "Divergent" by Veronica Roth the characters are put into factions according to their personality and characteristics.  When Beatrice (or Tris) took the test to see which faction she would be in, she got inconclusive results, meaning she was “divergent”.  She didn't belong to any faction, she had too many personalities.  In her society this was very dangerous.  People have to keep secrets and make decisions throughout the book to keep themselves safe. In life everyone has to make decisions and some lead to disastrous things. Even small decisions can have a terrible outcome. When someone has to choose left or right, they don't know where it's going to take them and if they choose the wrong direction they might struggle like Tris does in the book.

In the beginning, when it's time for Tris to choose whether she wants to stay Abnegation or switch factions to Dauntless, she chooses to switch, which causes tension between her and her family.  Her big choice affected everything that happens in the book.  She couldn't see her family and had to live her life without them.  Tris’ father became furious causing him to do poorly at work and also make bad decisions.  He was one of the Abnegation leaders and the fact that his own daughter switched factions caused him to look weak to the other people who started criticizing his job.  While the erudite faction didn't like Abnegation in the first place, Tris switching and being divergent contributed to the outburst of war.  As you can see, one decision can change many things at once and change someone's life.  There are times where I have to decide, do I want to be friends with that person or not?  Should I say yes or no? Everyone has to ask themselves these questions and it all depends on the decision you make.

Also, choosing Dauntless meant having to go through their initiation process.  In order to become Dauntless, Tris had to fight against her enemies, but also against her friends.  Fighting against each other in training started fights outside of training too.  People got competitive and started turning against each other without distinguishing the initiation process from every day life.   Tris and her friends even turned against each other at one point.  This caused deaths and heated arguments.  People were offended when they lost and too proud when they won.  The choices that they made to fight against each other were decisions taken without thinking about the consequences.  Veronica Roth is trying to show that when people start to fight, they become angry and they make poor decisions without thinking before taking action.  When you are angry or upset your feelings take over and you make choices that you might regret after.

In conclusion, the decision to join Dauntless affected Tris’ life and relationship with her family and her friends.  Similarly, small or big, the decisions you make have consequences in your life and in other people’s life. Tris’ decisions might have been right for her, but they led to a war and had an effect on her family and friends.  When I look around I see people making choices everywhere and all the time.  When you make decisions sometimes you end up where you want, but sometimes you end up somewhere you had no clue you would be, and it's hard to get yourself out.  The author wants to show that where you end up in life is all based on the choices you make.

“One choice can transform you.”

“One choice can destroy you.”

“One choice will define you.”

A Family Affected by War

No Man’s Land by: S.T. Underdahl

Dov is an Emo kid who has a hard time at school and making friends.  His brother, Brian, has always been the opposite. He was a star on the football team and he was the town hero.  His family falls apart when Brian leaves for Afghanistan to fight in the war.  His mom is in tears all the time and his dad is always gone and absent from the family.  Throughout the story Dov tries so hard to care for his mom and comfort her about her son who is gone.  However, they didn’t know that soon Brian would be coming back from Afghanistan as a different person.  The family rejoiced and made a huge welcome for their son, but Dov was the only one who saw through all of Brian’s fake smiles.  He saw he had changed and it seemed like he was still back at war where he nearly escaped death and was hurt in an explosion.  Dov saw his brother as tired and confused after returning home. Brian would also yell war commands and sleep with a gun in his hand. No one said anything or realized anything until Brian went to the extreme.

            This book was so inspiring and just kept me on my feet.  It taught me so many new things I didn’t know about and I learned so much about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  PTSD is when people get anxiety and stress because of an extreme trauma.  In Brian’s case, it was coming home from war after seeing people being killed right in front of his eyes.  I learned this disorder can change someone into another person. The book was a great mix of dealing with family problems but also fitting in at school. Dov’s relationships with his friends are also very inspiring because of their connections and the support they gave each other.  This book was great to also learn about how tough it is for families who have members serving in the military who are fighting and risking their lives for everyone.  It gave a great realistic description of what it’s like in that type of lifestyle.  After reading this book I realized how much a war can scar a person. I really recommend this book for everyone. It was one of my best summer reads and I really learned a lot from it!