Is Justice Served? Of Mice and Men

    I am reading the book Of Mice and Men, and while reading it I see that there is an angle in the story that shows injustice. The injustice right now is that Lennie isn't as smart as everyone else and is being penalized for it. He gets yelled at by George and even people who don't know him like the farmer/rancher.

    The first time we see Lennie being penalized for being mentally challenged is when he finds a mouse and wants to keep it. This wouldn't be as bad as it was if George hadn't already told him not to. Lennie is very forgetful and I think that's because he has the brain capacity of a child. To be penalized with something that you have no control over isn't fair.

    The second time we see Lennie being served this injustice is when George doesn't even allow him to speak for himself and on top of that, blames Lennie for not talking. This happens when the rancher asks Lennie what he could do and George steps in and tries to do too much for them. The rancher gets suspicious and George blames Lennie when it was clearly his fault.

    I don't think that Lennie sees all of this as injustices because he has never been normal. I don't think that justice can be served until George and Lennie get their own piece of land and Lennie is allowed to take care the things he wants like rabbits and mice.

What really difficult or complex things are happening in your book?- Of Mice and Men

In this book two people George and Lennie have a friendship. They are friends that dream to eventually own an acre of land that they call their own. George is a small framed man, and sharp enough in the head. Lennie on the other hand, has the mind of a little kid and it's ironic because he's such a big guy. Anyways, in reading this book and following their journey so far, a complex and difficult issue that is occurring is that dealing with someone who doesn't have as sharp of a mind as everyone else can really effect a life.

One way that we see that dealing with someone like this can effect a life is in the first scene where we see them in the woods and Lennie has a mouse. Anyone with a right mind knows not to mess around with rodents let alone a mouse because they carry harmful diseases. This is hard for George because he tries his very hardest not to get mad with Lennie because he knows that he isn't as sharp up top as everyone else. In this case I feel for George because as we see, it's not an easy task to deal with someone like this.

I can connect the situation that George is in to real life because it's almost as if he is a parent to Lennie. The problem with all of this, as you may have already figured out, Lennie is mentally touched. I think that by having Lennie's character be this way we really do see all of the sacrifices someone makes for a person like this especially if they are like a parent. George doesn't have to lose his jobs because of Lennie but if he didn't Lennie would be all on his own and just the way a parent would be, George is not going to abandon his friend.

In Conclusion I think that a really complex and difficult issue that this book is showing us is how people live with mentally challenged people because with Lennie the way he is, it restricts George's freedom by forcing him to make sacrifices. The same way parents would make sacrifices for their children is the way George is making sacrifices.

Reading Response: The Outsiders S.E Hinton

    In reading this book about a kid, Ponyboy, who is in a gang we see all of the relationships that he has with the rest of the gang members. I'm mentioning that he has relationships with other people because I think that the relationship you have with someone  could determine the action when they are the subject.

    One thing that I think effects the social action you take on a person is the reputation or respect level you have for them. For example, in my book Pony comes across another gang member who he doesn't really like but says:"I didn't like him, but he was smart, and you had to respect him." This shows that who someone is/social status affects ones social action towards him if Pony will respect him even if he knows he doesn't like him.

    As you can see Pony is a good example for what I am trying to say. Just because society says that he has to respect someone who he doesn't think deserves it, he still has to. I think that the least he could do in terms of social action is to at least say something.

Blogpost: The Outsiders S.E Hinton

   I have just started the book 'The Outsiders' by S.E Hinton and it is about a boy named Ponyboy who lives with his brothers and is in a gang. Ponyboy is fourteen years old and is actually very confused. I think he is confused for a number of reasons that I will explain now.

   The first reason why I think that Ponyboy is confused is because he lost his parents and his older brothers are working. You may not see what I mean just yet, but without a father figure who is his role model? Ponyboy is left alone and doesn't have anyone to go to unlike the way we do in our lives. Sometimes I feel lost and confused even though I do have someone I can  go to, so for him it must be a lot worse and a lot harder to figure things out on your own. 

   I think that this  whole thing can lead to an emotional toll that we see in the form of him being in a gang. Being in a gang is like having another family or at least, trying to get one. I think that the whole concept of his gang is just his own community, even if it is just a life of fighting and trouble. All of this is just showing how confused this poor boy is.

   After looking at Ponyboy like this, I think that all of the things that he is doing and going through, is just him attempting to find himself. He's trying to find himself through the things that he knows; streets and gangs. The streets and gangs are just a substitute for his family, so what I really think he's trying to do, is find his family.

Reading Response: Things Get Hectic #2

In the book, "Things Get Hectic," we as the reader follow different stories about abuse. I think that one main thing that we see in almost all of the stories told from victims or witnesses, is that there is guilt.

The first time I sensed that someone was feeling guilty, was when a witness said they felt as if they should have done more to help her friend. This means that she feels like she didn't do enough to stop a murder. I think that even though it wasn't a witnesses fault they're going to feel bad just because he/she was there. When something bad happens, we as humans, just naturally feel bad about it. So I think that if you were an actual person to see someone get hurt or die, and you being the only human able to do something makes you feel like you should've even if it could've put you in danger. One thing that this makes me wonder about is that, if someone would put their life in danger for that friend that is in danger, and get killed, how would the friend that was involved cope with the fact that their friend died for them? Wouldn't that just send them into a guilty stage themselves? I'm not so sure how I would go about saving a friend.

Another thing that I think happens in this book is that, people feel guilty not for being a witness or anything but feeling bad about being the victim. This is especially common in sexual abuse stories. I think that the reason the victims feel guilty is because they feel like this happened to them because they did something wrong, even if they were a saint. They feel like any random good person wouldn't have had anything like this happen to them, but what they don't understand is that it's okay and its not their fault. Someone took advantage of them and it's not their fault.

All in all, I think that in this book and as we follow these stories, there is an overarching feel of guilt. To be reading these stories and to feel guilty that these people had to go through things like this, and that had to suffer, just makes us feel bad. We should just all be grateful, and hope that nobody ever has to be one to have to experience this guilt.   

Reading Response: Things Get Hectic

   In the book I'm reading Things Get Hectic by Phillip Kay, the book doesn't focus on just one kid, or teenager. The book follows different kids and tells their stories of abuse and rough life experiences that they have had. Through all of the things we see in this book, I think that the biggest thing the author wants us to realize, is that we should remember that we have it good. We have good lives and we shouldn't forget that many others have it worse than us.

   One way I think that we are lead to feel like we should open our eyes and see we have good lives, is based on the structure of the book. The whole book is composed of how people had to live through these traumatic abuse experiences throughout their lives. Although the experiences usually get solved, they still end up needing something from the victim. For example, in one kid's story his father was his abuser. In order for his situation to end and for him to feel safe he had to wait until his dad died. This makes me feel like the situation must've been so much worse than what the author could have shown because, how bad does a situation have to be if in order for you to be safe, the person who was supposed to make you who you are, dies? As a result of reading this story, you feel sympathetic and grateful for the lives we have.

   Another way that this book makes me realize how good of a life I really have, is when you compare it to people in way extreme situations and it matches up. For example, when I was reading this book, I couldn't help but be reminded about the article "Armed and Underaged." I think that these two texts relate because although their situations are different, they are both child victims, kids my age, that are undergoing these traumatic experiences. The experiences range from being sold into child warfare by your parents (Armed and Underaged), to abuse by your own parents (Things Get Hectic). These young people are my age and here I am, on my computer writing about how I feel bad for them, on the internet. I have all of these things and opportunities and reading Things Get Hectic, really did help me realize it.

   In conclusion, I have realized that my life isn't bad at all compared to the lives of some kids my age, and some people in general. So if you are in a position like me, ask yourself, how bad do we really have it?

Reading Response: Am I Blue?

In reading, "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville, we can see Bruce Coville speaking his mind through his character, Melvin. We see Bruce Coville make a statement about homosexuality. All of this is said by 'Melvin' as he helps Vince, the main character, get through the bad parts of being/trying to figure out if you are gay.

One time we see Bruce Coville stick up for homosexuals is when 'Melvin' tells Vince he's been through it. "Listen honey, I have nothing but sympathy for you. I had to deal with my share of troglodytes when I was your age, and i know its no fun." I think this is really not just the character Melvin telling Vince that he's been there but really Bruce Coville letting everyone who has this problem that he's been here before, and that they aren't alone. He's letting them know that they aren't alone when it comes to being called things and beaten up, whether you are gay or not. Bruce Coville is also saying that it's okay to be different and that the people who are bullying kids about liking the same gender, should cut it out because it is NOT okay.

Another time we see Bruce Coville stick up for gays through Melvin is when he says, "I met him at a party on the other side once. Nice guy." I think what he is saying here in disguise is that gay people go to heaven too, which means it's not a sin. I think Bruce Coville is saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being attracted to the same gender. Many would disagree and many would agree, but here I think it is clear that Bruce Coville is giving himself a voice to say this, through Melvin.  I think this shows yet another time. 

In conclusion, after reading "Am I Blue?" we can see several instances where Bruce Coville comes out through his character and sticks up for what he thinks is right, in this case a non-prejudice towards gays.