Over the last two weeks, a few members of our book club and I have been reading Sold by Patricia McCormick. I feel like it is one of the strongest books I have read, next to The Giver, which is my favorite book. Sold sends such a strong message. This message, I feel, is the power of knowledge and choice. In this book, a number of girls have been sold into prostitution, including our stories narrator- Lakshmi. Lakshmi is only 13. She is a young child from the mountains, who has never in her life seen anything digital or anyone American, basically she had never left her small home in the mountains. When she is sold, she is the sweetest, most innocent girl, your eyes have ever seen. She trusts EVERY SINGLE adult in her life, including her step father who gambles away the little money they have. She trusts the rotten women who brought her to the city, and the horrid man that brings her to the 'happiness house' which is just the opposite of happy. It is one of many prostitution houses, filled with dirty air and dirty people. Her fate is now in the hands of a greedy 'mango faced' woman named Mumtaz. Mumtaz will only let Lakshmi leave when she has paid off her debt of 20,000 rupees plus interest.The girls there did not choose to be there, yet they were treated like dirt. One night with a girl costs the same amount as a bottle of coca-cola. She was sold for 10,000 rupees, which is about the same as 333 bottles of coca-cola.
This brings up the other issue of trust. Lakshmi trusts everyone, and this characteristic trust she has ends up getting completely ruined by her year in the 'happiness house'. She once trusted Mumtaz, but that left quickly when she realized that Mumtaz was only out for money and used her for a job no one should go through. She found a man once that hugged her after they had sex, and she trusted he would come back and not leave her a lone with nasty old men. He didn't come back. She trusted the police officer, but he didn't save any of the girls. Once in the book she even says "I don't understand this city. It is full of so many bad people. Even the people that are supposed to be good." This line moved me, because it makes me realize that you can't trust EVERYONE, like Lakshmi did.
The true intentions of some sick people in this world are just disgusting and I feel like it is most unfair that Lakshmi had to experience this so harshly. What Lakshmi faces during this time, is social injustice. She cannot chose her future and she cannot leave what future that has been decided for her. This story really makes me feel so glad and so so thankful that I have the things I have and that I am so fortunate to live in such a wonderful and great city!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Perspective
I have to admit, I haven't been reading as much as I should. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is not really grabbing my attention. It had a somewhat dull beginning and middle but such an enrapturing transition in between them. Now I am on page 71, and two lines in the book have really stood out to me.
The first line being, "On the face of it, Bullhead City doesn't seem like the kind of place that would appeal to the adherent of Thoreau and Tolstoy an ideologue who expressed nothing but contempt for the bourgeois trappings of Mainstream America. McCandless, nevertheless, took a strong liking to Bullhead." This line uses strong vocabulary and gets its point across bluntly. I am pretty sure anyone who has been to the suburbs has seen the desert of fast food restaurants and carbon copy stores, like Abercrombie and Fitch. We cannot say what the appeal of Bullhead City is to McCandless because we don't know a whole lot about him. Maybe McCandless grew up in a similar setting. Perhaps it reminded him of home. It felt familiar and he wanted to spend some time there. But sometimes, I am drawn to the suburb culture because I never grew up in such a setting. So perhaps he was drawn there because it was different. He might have been drawn to either its feelings of familiarities or to its foreignness. I think the appeal of the character Alex McCandless is that he is a little unknown and mysterious. We don't know a whole lot about him. But we know he's a bright person and generally free of all emotional attachments.
The 2nd line I found interesting shows the character differences between McCandless and a friend he meets on the way named Franz. Franz was an old man who was the last line in his family and was dreadfully lonely. When McCandless and Franz's paths cross, Franz is changed by the whole experience. He creates a new friend who he cares for and wants McCandless to settle down. Franz becomes very attached to McCandless and says "Somebody needed to convince him to get an education and a job and make something of his life." This line triggered a lot of thought for me as a reader. It reminded me that perspective was a huge issue in this book. What Franz thinks "making something of his life" is different than what McCandless thinks. McCandless began his adventure on purpose, he believes this adventure is "making something of his life." The whole book is his perspective and how he follows his beliefs out, even if it means dying for it.
So I guess I could say that I love the different perspective this book gives me, but sometimes I find it a little dull.
The first line being, "On the face of it, Bullhead City doesn't seem like the kind of place that would appeal to the adherent of Thoreau and Tolstoy an ideologue who expressed nothing but contempt for the bourgeois trappings of Mainstream America. McCandless, nevertheless, took a strong liking to Bullhead." This line uses strong vocabulary and gets its point across bluntly. I am pretty sure anyone who has been to the suburbs has seen the desert of fast food restaurants and carbon copy stores, like Abercrombie and Fitch. We cannot say what the appeal of Bullhead City is to McCandless because we don't know a whole lot about him. Maybe McCandless grew up in a similar setting. Perhaps it reminded him of home. It felt familiar and he wanted to spend some time there. But sometimes, I am drawn to the suburb culture because I never grew up in such a setting. So perhaps he was drawn there because it was different. He might have been drawn to either its feelings of familiarities or to its foreignness. I think the appeal of the character Alex McCandless is that he is a little unknown and mysterious. We don't know a whole lot about him. But we know he's a bright person and generally free of all emotional attachments.
The 2nd line I found interesting shows the character differences between McCandless and a friend he meets on the way named Franz. Franz was an old man who was the last line in his family and was dreadfully lonely. When McCandless and Franz's paths cross, Franz is changed by the whole experience. He creates a new friend who he cares for and wants McCandless to settle down. Franz becomes very attached to McCandless and says "Somebody needed to convince him to get an education and a job and make something of his life." This line triggered a lot of thought for me as a reader. It reminded me that perspective was a huge issue in this book. What Franz thinks "making something of his life" is different than what McCandless thinks. McCandless began his adventure on purpose, he believes this adventure is "making something of his life." The whole book is his perspective and how he follows his beliefs out, even if it means dying for it.
So I guess I could say that I love the different perspective this book gives me, but sometimes I find it a little dull.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Weekly Music Artist: DARWIN DEEZ
okay
so i thought that it would be cool if i started sharing music artists((weekly)), that i find amazing!
Here is one I found over the summer, DARWIN DEEZ.
Nylon magazine says he is the "best mustached pop artist since Hall&Oats". His happy, romantic, head bopping tunes are just unique and beautiful. His voice is imperfect, making the music even more unique. His hits include the hand clapping Radar Detector, Bad Day, Up in the Clouds, and Constellations. His lyrics are so real and you just wont be able to stop smiling. Not to mention, the music videos he has out are exceptional.
so i thought that it would be cool if i started sharing music artists((weekly)), that i find amazing!
Here is one I found over the summer, DARWIN DEEZ.
Nylon magazine says he is the "best mustached pop artist since Hall&Oats". His happy, romantic, head bopping tunes are just unique and beautiful. His voice is imperfect, making the music even more unique. His hits include the hand clapping Radar Detector, Bad Day, Up in the Clouds, and Constellations. His lyrics are so real and you just wont be able to stop smiling. Not to mention, the music videos he has out are exceptional.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
lets escape :)
*Spoiler alert for The Giver*
During the last few years of my life, I've become fascinated by the idea of escaping. To escape the boring repetition and schedules of daily life was always an idea I kept in mind while starting this years ELA class. I've always wanted to write a story about a person who escapes their boring lives, just like in Coraline, The Giver, or Alice and Wonderland.
Christopher Johnson McCandless, the main character in the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, was longing for an escape just like me. He went "into the wild" and roughed it for a very long time living of a sac of rice.
I admire this book's strong sense of character. The book is written with a narrator telling Chris' story, but somehow it allows the reader to peak into Chris' mind even more.
While you read this book, you would notice that it is written like a document. It is filled with facts about Chris. There are journal entries about an abandoned car((which turns out to be his)). The narrator presents the facts and all the facts seem to show how one person's actions can affect the people around him. If one person breaks free, than people around that person are affected. This reminds me a lot of The Giver, which was my last entry. When Jonas left his community, all of the villagers got the memories and were affected a lot! When Chris left home, all his family was scared and all the fellow hitchhikers were inspired by him.
Since we can't emerge ourselves in Chris' head, I often wonder if he misses home. Whenever, other characters see him, they always describe him as free, great and blissful. But is he really though? Is he that happy far away from home? Doesn't he miss the small moments and memories of home. Little moments filled with joy are what I think life is worth living for. Great adventures are wonderful, but coming home to small things are really what makes it for me.
To conclude, I love my small life and I don't think I would be able to or like to escape just yet...
During the last few years of my life, I've become fascinated by the idea of escaping. To escape the boring repetition and schedules of daily life was always an idea I kept in mind while starting this years ELA class. I've always wanted to write a story about a person who escapes their boring lives, just like in Coraline, The Giver, or Alice and Wonderland.
Christopher Johnson McCandless, the main character in the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, was longing for an escape just like me. He went "into the wild" and roughed it for a very long time living of a sac of rice.
I admire this book's strong sense of character. The book is written with a narrator telling Chris' story, but somehow it allows the reader to peak into Chris' mind even more.
While you read this book, you would notice that it is written like a document. It is filled with facts about Chris. There are journal entries about an abandoned car((which turns out to be his)). The narrator presents the facts and all the facts seem to show how one person's actions can affect the people around him. If one person breaks free, than people around that person are affected. This reminds me a lot of The Giver, which was my last entry. When Jonas left his community, all of the villagers got the memories and were affected a lot! When Chris left home, all his family was scared and all the fellow hitchhikers were inspired by him.
Since we can't emerge ourselves in Chris' head, I often wonder if he misses home. Whenever, other characters see him, they always describe him as free, great and blissful. But is he really though? Is he that happy far away from home? Doesn't he miss the small moments and memories of home. Little moments filled with joy are what I think life is worth living for. Great adventures are wonderful, but coming home to small things are really what makes it for me.
To conclude, I love my small life and I don't think I would be able to or like to escape just yet...
Monday, October 4, 2010
"To Deny Our Own Impulses is to Deny the Very Thing That Makes us Human."
*Spoilers: the ending of The Giver and a little of V for Vendetta*
The world of The Giver is so complicated and confusing. Lois Lowry is trying to send us, as readers, so many messages and thoughts! But while I was reading the book, a few things stood out to me. One of them is that even though the characters in the community are technically human, they don't display qualities of human nature. The way they were brought up just prevents them from changing and really growing up. In the book, Jonas gets "Stirrings" which are basically just hormones and normal feelings for an adolescent boy. But in his community, when children get the Stirrings they also receive a pill to stop them. These Stirrings are just normal for a boy his age, why would anyone, let alone an entire village, try and stop them? Well you see, I think that the community wanted to stop ALL strong feelings, wants and desires. I think they are doing this out of fear. They fear that hurt and self destruction will occur with the existence of feelings. This is forcing them to destroy all feelings, good and bad. Such feelings as love and happiness. With ALL feeling, ALL color, and ALL choice gone no one in the community has had a problem. And this system has been working out for them for quite sometime. Why would the community want to stop the Stirrings? This seems unnatural or non-human. It reminds me of the film The Matrix. There was a scene where Mouse says to Neo, "to deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human." This is just what that small community is trying to do. But there is one person in the community who receives all the memories, good and bad. This one person would have to take on the whole communities ignorance to feelings. So that's where Jonas our main character comes in. He and he alone must face all of these feelings, along with his own feelings of growing up. But there is the character that the book is named after, the Giver. The Giver really helps him cope with his new found feelings.
Another thing that stood out to me was how the whole community seemed to have a format. What I mean is, that whenever a member of the community does something wrong, they have a standard apology and acceptance of apology. This was a small thing, a micro idea, that bothered me, and made me really realize that something was weird. I think that they do this because they don't have any creativity, or feelings, to express themselves. So using these standard communicating phrases, doesn't bother them. And neither does using stiff vocabulary. The vocabulary that most characters use is official and formal sounding. For example, instead of using the word "family" they say "family unit", "home" is "dwelling" and so on. Lois Lowry's decision to use this official language really allowed me and all her other readers to be fascinated by this small community of no feeling, no color and no choice.
A book that I really like and that I have read is V for Vendetta. In both of these books, there are mysterious characters, with strong histories and passions. In The Giver, it is the Giver himself. The Giver can see color, which casts him aside from the rest of the community. Also, he has so many books, where as family units like Jonas' only have a few books of rules and textbooks. So, of course when Jonas meets the Giver, he is enraptured by the culture he holds. In V for Vendetta, the character V is a masked stranger who anyone would love because of his strong character and his strong beliefs and passions. So in this book, the main character, Evey, loves V for who he is, not who he appears to be- which is a masked killer. I love both V and the Giver, which is something that I wouldn't be able to do if I lived in Jonas' world.
Do you feel that feelings are dangerous?
The world of The Giver is so complicated and confusing. Lois Lowry is trying to send us, as readers, so many messages and thoughts! But while I was reading the book, a few things stood out to me. One of them is that even though the characters in the community are technically human, they don't display qualities of human nature. The way they were brought up just prevents them from changing and really growing up. In the book, Jonas gets "Stirrings" which are basically just hormones and normal feelings for an adolescent boy. But in his community, when children get the Stirrings they also receive a pill to stop them. These Stirrings are just normal for a boy his age, why would anyone, let alone an entire village, try and stop them? Well you see, I think that the community wanted to stop ALL strong feelings, wants and desires. I think they are doing this out of fear. They fear that hurt and self destruction will occur with the existence of feelings. This is forcing them to destroy all feelings, good and bad. Such feelings as love and happiness. With ALL feeling, ALL color, and ALL choice gone no one in the community has had a problem. And this system has been working out for them for quite sometime. Why would the community want to stop the Stirrings? This seems unnatural or non-human. It reminds me of the film The Matrix. There was a scene where Mouse says to Neo, "to deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human." This is just what that small community is trying to do. But there is one person in the community who receives all the memories, good and bad. This one person would have to take on the whole communities ignorance to feelings. So that's where Jonas our main character comes in. He and he alone must face all of these feelings, along with his own feelings of growing up. But there is the character that the book is named after, the Giver. The Giver really helps him cope with his new found feelings.
Another thing that stood out to me was how the whole community seemed to have a format. What I mean is, that whenever a member of the community does something wrong, they have a standard apology and acceptance of apology. This was a small thing, a micro idea, that bothered me, and made me really realize that something was weird. I think that they do this because they don't have any creativity, or feelings, to express themselves. So using these standard communicating phrases, doesn't bother them. And neither does using stiff vocabulary. The vocabulary that most characters use is official and formal sounding. For example, instead of using the word "family" they say "family unit", "home" is "dwelling" and so on. Lois Lowry's decision to use this official language really allowed me and all her other readers to be fascinated by this small community of no feeling, no color and no choice.
A book that I really like and that I have read is V for Vendetta. In both of these books, there are mysterious characters, with strong histories and passions. In The Giver, it is the Giver himself. The Giver can see color, which casts him aside from the rest of the community. Also, he has so many books, where as family units like Jonas' only have a few books of rules and textbooks. So, of course when Jonas meets the Giver, he is enraptured by the culture he holds. In V for Vendetta, the character V is a masked stranger who anyone would love because of his strong character and his strong beliefs and passions. So in this book, the main character, Evey, loves V for who he is, not who he appears to be- which is a masked killer. I love both V and the Giver, which is something that I wouldn't be able to do if I lived in Jonas' world.
Do you feel that feelings are dangerous?
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