City of Bones; Character Change

Inquiry: how do characters react when facing problems and how does this change them?

     In the book, "City of Bones"by Clarisssa Fray, the main character, Clary, discovers that she is infact part of a whole other world filled with magic, monsters, and shadowhunters. She becomes part of the Clave, a whole organization filled with her own kind, shadowhunters, who kill demons. Clary's mother, Jocelyn, has been captured and despite the fact that Jocelyn kept the whole shadowhunter world hidden from Clary, she must help her mother. The story follows Clary on her adventures with new people and places throughout New York City. At first, Clary doesn't realize how much her family and friends do for her, but as she learns their true intentions, she can do for them what they have done for her.
     In the beginning of the story, Clary is unaware of what her friends and family do for her, when she learns what they have been doing to protect her, she fully appreciates thier love. Simon, Clary's bestfriend did anything for Clary, when he found out she was a shadowhunter, he becomes part of magic world for her. In the book Simon follows Jace and Clary to a house that has murderers and deadly weapons, he risks his life to help Clary learn about her mother. Simon stays a part of the dangerous daemon and vampire world to be with Clary, he has done so much for her, but Clary passes over him and his obvious hints that he has a crush on her. Finally, when Simon gets taken hostage as a rat, Clary realizes that he would try to save her, so she should save him. She follows vampires to their lair and procedes on a life threatening mission just to get him back. Clearly, Clary has realized what a good friend Simon is, so she should do whatever it takes to rescue him. After ignoring him all the time, she is put in a life or death situation and picks Simon because that is what she needs to do for her bestfrind. Also in the book, when Clary finds out her mother has lied about the magic world her whole life, she is mortified, her mother kept it a secret for all these years. She feels betrayed, her life was one big lie. later, Clary learns that her mother kept the magic world a secret to protect her. As she learns that there are people in the magic world that would want to kill her, she also learns her mother had her memory erased. On page 226, Magnus Bane says: "what you saw you wouldforget, even as you saw it.   No image of pixie or goblin or long-leeged beastie would remain to trouble your blameless mortal sleep. It was the way she wanted it... your mother". After learning this, Clary knows that even though her mother didn't have the right to take away her memory, she had the right intentions. Jocelyn only wanted to keep Clary safe from the magic world, it had people who would kill Clary and it was her mother's job to take care of Clary, no matter the cost. Clary reveals her appreciation to her mother on page 322. Clary thinks; "maybe this is my punishment for the selfishness of being happy, even for just a moment, when my mother is still missing." Clary feels guilty for being ok without her mother. How can she experience happiness when the person who has done everything for her and protected her is in danger. Clary has finnaly learnt to appreciate her mother and what she has sacrificed.
     In the end, Clary realizes that she should love and appreciate the people who care for her. This is so important in real life because true friends or family would go to great lengths to take care of us. Someone may not know it, but their loved ones are always looking out for them, no matter the circumstances.

Response to Clary from "City of Bones"

Inquiry: How do Characters feel when they face problems with other characters?

     You may often wonder why many people shut others out or are not very friendly. This could be just their personality but many times people act this way because of something that has affected them in their life. In the book, "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare, Clary's mother mysteriously disappears and Clary has no clue where she is or why she is gone. Clary meets many people, some of which try to help her but Clary can only trust herself, especially with her secrets. Clary doesn't trust anyone in her life because over her years she has learnt to fend on her own.
     In the book Clary only trusts herself because that is what she is used to. In the book Clary's mother has lied to Clary her whole life, kept secrets and told Clary lies. In the book, Clary's mother, Jocylen, tells Clary that they were just normal people, when infact, they are shadowhunters. Also in the text, Clary tells her mom that she doesnt want to go on a vacation because her mom isnt thinking of what she wants and needs. Clary had planned her whole summer and her mom wanted to take this away from her even though it meant so much, her mom couldn't be trusted. Clearly there is a reason for Clary to shut others out, the person she was supposed to support her told her lies and kept secrets. If she couldn't trust her own mother, then who could she trust others? Clary responds to these lies by telling herself that she can't trust anyone; on page 74 Clary doesn't want the Shadowhunters to see her emotions, "I will not cry, she thought, not in front of these people". It is easy to see that Clary shuts others out, she would rather keep to herself than risk being hurt by others. Another time, Clary doesn't even trust her best friend, on page 17 the text says, "She wondered why she was not telling him the truth" and "something about his voice when he'd said have you talked with the night children? that she wanted to keep to herself." Obviously Clary doesn't trust the people who are closest to her because the last time she did that, her own mother lied to her. It is hard for Clary to let people in on what is really going on in her life because a huge part of her life was false.
     Finally, Clary chooses not to let people into her life because she has been betrayed before by someone who was meant to always make the best choices for her. This is so important because it portrays how one friend's honesty and loyalty can change the other's social comfortabiliy and relationship with so may other people. A person should be able to rely on friends in their life without worrying if they are fake.

Upfront Response to "No Job? Get Lost!"

Tait Berwick           class 809

     Many countries all over the world suffer from problems such as gangs, stealing and violence. But little town; Svalbard seems to have eliminated all these problems.The article "No Job? Get Lost!" by Andrew Higgins, from Upfront Magazine is about how a small town in Norway has set strict rules that set their town apart from the rest. Svalbard does not allow unemployment, homelessness and requires that citizens carry guns outside of the city borders. The author shows both sides of the argument by giving detailed examples.
     The author shows the good side to these strict rules by providing evidence. the text says, "Nobody has been locked up in the capital, Longyearbyen, since the summer of 2013. and that was for just two days." Higgins also compares this safe and almost robotic community to others by showing how one person, Mark Sabbatini, felt about it, " 'I used to be a crime reporter in Los Angeles,' he says. 'I can't say I enjoyed it.' " It is clear to see that Higgins uses real evidence to support one side of this topic. He states one side clearly by using solid evidence that only supports that side.
     On the other hand, Andrew Higgins uses evidence that goes against the idea that such a controlling place is good. all these laws means higher prices too; "25 percent sales tax, the ninth-highest in the world" and "A local newspaper ran an 'expose' on what it called the world's most expensive milk(nearly $27 per gallon, compared with the average of about $3.70 in the U.S.)". Obviously, Higgins uses evidence to support the other side of the topic. this way he can show both sides of the argument using objective examples that aren't biased to any opinion.
     Overall, Andrew Higgins gives factual evidence to both sides so the reader can see the pros and cons to this topic and form their own opinion based on what they have read. This is important to give people the space to take a side on their own (or not any side at all) because our society is pushing more and more to have people be one way and all the same. This is a chance for opinions to spread without pushing in one direction.
     

Hate List

 Tait Berwick                                                                                                                                                   10/19/14

Reading Response: Hate List                                                                                                              809                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

      “I never once said, this is not who I am. Because, maybe, I didn't know who I was” –Eric Kahn Gale, The Bully Book. this quote portrays how Valerie felt in “Hate List”. Everyone around her was targeting harsh opinions at her and she felt extremely alone and abandoned. The page turning book, “Hate List” by Jennifer Brown is about a girl named Valerie, who was involved in a school shooting that was committed by her boyfriend, Nick. In the shooting that Valerie had no idea about, Nick targeted people on his and Valerie’s hate list, a list of people they hated for one reason or another, before turning the gun on himself. The story focuses on Valerie’s struggle after the shooting on being accepted by others. Throughout the book, Valerie is in a mentally vulnerable place, until she finds new friends who support her and give her hope.

       At first, in the beginning and middle of the book Valerie feels judged and isolated. She feels uncomfortable at school because the students at school blame her for the shooting, for what Nick did to everyone. Yet she still defends herself when she is labeled the culprit. In the book, Duce keeps blaming Valerie for the shooting Nick committed, but Valerie defends herself; “ ‘I didn’t want anyone to die,” I practically whispered. Duce gave me one of those raised eyebrow looks. ‘He was you best friend, too, you       know.’ ”(page 42).  This makes Valerie feel lonely and judged even though she knows the massacre was not her fault. Even though Valerie knows what people are saying about her isn’t true, she still feels this way because everyone is shutting her out. This isn’t the only time Valerie feels judged; in the book Valerie’s mom is moody the first few days after the shooting. She had mood swings from comforting Valerie to saying she “couldn’t believe she gave birth to such a monster”(page 141). Valerie’s mom even accuses her of trying to commit murder, page 223; “Are you joining up with them so you can finish the job Nick started?” Obviously, at this point, Valerie feels even more isolated because her own mom is ashamed of her and thinks her own daughter is the cause of the shooting. She even thinks her daughter would plan to kill her classmates! All of these feelings build up until Valerie finally snaps on page 182, Valerie is angry at everyone, herself, Nick, her friends, her parents, because they are not there for her. She feels so unloved and insignificant because the people are supposed to be there for her are judging her. Without the support from the people who were close to her, Valerie had every reason to feel looked down upon and depressed.

       Throughout the book, Valerie works her way out of the dark place. On pages 280-285 Valerie makes it through the first semester. One of the reasons for this is that Jessica and Meghan are there for her and aren’t embarrassed to be seen with her. On page 285 Jessica and Meghan invite Valerie to a party. This boosts Valerie’s self-esteem and mental health because they make her feel like she is one of them, not the murderer everyone else sees her as. The reason Jessica and Meghan want to be Valerie’s friend is because Valerie saved Jessica’s life. Jessica was on the hate list from previously bullying Valerie, calling her “sister death” and picking on. During the school shooting, Valerie leapt in front of Jessica, taking a bullet to save her, she didn’t really want her hurt. This opens Jessica’s eyes to see that Valerie was a good person and didn’t deserve what she had been doing to her. This was such a special connection because it gave Valerie true friends, ones who wouldn’t abandon her after a horrible event. Also throughout the book, even though Valerie didn’t feel like the massacre was her fault, she couldn’t help knowing that so many students and parents blame her. This has been digging into her, deep inside, so appoligizing to the families really helped Valerie mend this scar. Close to the end of the book, Valerie goes to the victim’s houses and apologizes to the victims and parents. At the hospital Valerie apologizes to Ginny, page 372, “And I’m sorry. I mean I’m really, really sorry for what happened to you. Not that it matters, but I still think you’re pretty.” This let Valerie let go of the guilt she had by fixing what the parents and victims thought of her.

       Lastly, Jessica and Meghan help Valerie get better by giving her support and letting her feel like she was a hero, no a murderer. One of the reasons Jennifer Brown made the plot start out with Valerie being in such a dark place to getting mentally stable is to show how much a friend’s support can help a person be more self confident. She also shows how greatly effective judging and targeting someone can be, in terms of bringing them down. I think this lesson is very important for people, especially teens, to know because I know what it feels like to live in this time where all your actions are magnified. In the teen life, when one mistake is made, everyone uses that mistake to define who you are and instead, you should actually support that person. And in “Hate List” this is what really breaks Valerie. So we should take this story and put it in our own life, that one mistake doesn’t make someone a bad person and the best thing to do is to be there for them.

Darkness too Visible

Reading Response: “Darkness Too Visible”                                                                                10/23

         The article, “Darkness Too Visible”, by Megan Cox Gurdon, is about how contemporary young adult novels have changed from the past. The author expresses her opinion on young adult literature being too dark for teens to read. Megan Cox Gurdon manipulates her evidence to support her claim, and only her claim.

         Megan Cox Gurdon gives evidence that only supports her claim. She first states her opinion: “How dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear”. She also says that modern authors are writing texts that “can’t be reprinted in a newspaper” and that just because teens can find many deep, disturbing things on the internet, it doesn’t give authors an excuse for more envelope-pushing”. To support her claim, Megan Cox Gurdon only uses evidence biased to her opinion of young adult literature is too disturbing. She uses examples from modern Young adult novels, but doesn’t quote the text; “By contrast, the latest novel by this ‘this generation’s Judy Blume,’ otherwise known as Lauren Myracle, takes place in a small Southern town in aftermath of an assault on a gay teenager. The boy has been savagely beaten and left tied up with a gas pump nozzle shoved down his throat”. Megan Cox Gurdon paraphrased, but did not use actual text evidence from that book, or any of her examples, for that matter, which leads to think that that book may not have been that brutal. Another example of Megan Cox Gurdon doing this is “for example, young Jack is drugged, abducted and nearly raped”. With out actual quotes, it seems as if Megan Cox Gurdon is exaggerating the awful drama in the books and using imagery to make them seem worse than they actually are.

         So even though Megan Cox Gurdon writes her article by using only what seems like dramatized summaries, is contemporary young adult literature really this “horrendous”, “lurid” and “nightmarish” and she makes them out to be? I think not. Megan Cox Gurdon clearly stands against modern teen fiction because she thinks it is too emotional for teens, but I think young adults have the right to decide what they want to read. Teens need to know about all the events that are happening in the real world, and we cannot be kept in a bubble to one day find out about this things by surprise. Teens can also choose not to read a certain book, and we should be able to have that choice.

reading response

Tait Berwick                                                                                                 9/10/14

Reading Response: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before                            class 809

            In the book, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” by Jenny Han, Lara Jean’s sister, Margot moves to Scotland for college. While she is gone Lara Jean feels them slipping apart, she can’t go to her sister and role model, who she loves dearly anymore. To Lara Jean, having her sister is more important than anything, which emphasizes a theme in the book, and she would do anything to keep her.

            Through out the whole book Lara Jean is worrying about her relationship with her sister, as they grow apart, but Lara Jean always wants what is best for Margot. On page 123, Lara Jean explains how Margot has barely being paying attention to her emails. She can feel her and Margot slipping apart and is annoyed at Margot’s effort, “the least she can do is e-mail back one a day.” Also, on page 249, Lara Jean is talking to Margot’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. He says from when he has talked to Margot that she seemed homesick. Lara Jean, however was completely unaware of this from what Margot had been telling her. She feels as Margot is drifting away because she can’t open up to how she really feels. Both of these parts o the book show how Lara Jean notices her and her sister growing apart because Margot isn’t honest with her and they aren’t as close as they used to be. One last example of the two sisters growing apart is at the very end when they finally split, Margot finds out that Lara Jean has been keeping a secret. Margot won’t speak to Lara Jean and she is worried that she might lose her sister forever, “There is a wall between us now, and I can feel her moving farther and farther away from me. Sisters are supposed to fight and make up, because they are sisters and sisters always find their way back to each other. But the thing that scares me is that maybe we won’t.” Lara Jean says on page 341. This evidence really shows how much Lara Jean loves her sister and that she really cares about their relationship because she is so scared of what will happen. After this on pages 344-347, Lara Jean and Margot have a huge argument and let out what they were keeping from each other. This resolves to them realizing how much they needed each other, “I needed you, Lara Jean.” Margot says in the text. This shows that nothing can come between the two, and helps reveal to Lara Jean that her and her sister can always go to each other and will always have each other, no matter what.

            Overall, I can really relate to this because no matter how many times I and my sister fight, we always have each other to go to because that is what sisters are for. This is a really great message for the world because I think people often let little things come between them when they should resolve those problems for what is worth it, the friendship that you have with some one.