Great Gatsby reading response

I just recently read The Great Gatsby for the second time, and I think this time I noticed things that I didn’t notice or pay much attention to the last time I read it. I feel like most of these characters are fake and take advantage of the people around them. Daisy, who is cheating on her husband, doesn’t really think about how her husband may feel. Gatsby surrounds himself with people who are happy, making them think he is important and his life is fulfilled- whereas he feels the complete opposite on the inside. People look at Gatsby from the outside, but nobody even really sees who he is until he finds a true friend, Nick Carraway. These characters create a show for outsiders and nobody really knows who they are. Daisy lies to everyone except Nick and Gatsby. Gatsby lies to himself and the public.

I found that not only does Daisy fool her husband Tom into believing she loved him this whole time, but she also cheats on him and makes it obvious by flirting with Gatsby. Although Nick and Gatsby are the only ones who know Daisy has feelings for Gatsby, she is lying to everyone else by making them think her and Tom are happily married. He may not show it, but Tom cares for Daisy and when she admits to not loving him, he gets upset. Daisy was selfish and only cared about what she wanted for herself, not how it might have made others feel. Tom tries to convince himself that Daisy loves him and always has, but I can tell that he knows what is happening when Gatsby confronts him about it. “You’re crazy!” he exploded. “I can’t speak about what happened five years ago because I didn’t know Daisy then- and I’ll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that’s a god damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now.” (Fitzgerald, 131) Daisy knows shes hurting Tom but choses Gatsby because she was selfish and didn’t realize Tom would be hurt as well.

Another character who lives a lie is Gatsby. I found that the first time I read this book, I thought of Gatsby as someone with many friends and lived his life to its fullest. However, after reading it over again I formed a new perspective on Gatsby’s life. He doesn’t really have friends who he sits with and talks to at his parties. Most people don’t even know what he looks like. He is a figure. Not a someone, a something. You could say that he is popular because everyone knows his name but nobody really knows who he is. He surely doesn’t open up to people, either. When he met Nick, he didn’t tell him anything about who he was, what he did for a living. Nick didn’t even know who Gatsby was until he told him. Everyone saw something special or magical about Gatsby but nobody really knew why. I think it was because nobody knew him. There was nothing to say about him other than that he had parties. He may have been a rich man but he was still a lonely man- and nobody knew that. The impression he gave was a confident, rich oxford man who was always keeping people wondering about his past. Thats why he was a lie. He surrounded himself with people, but nobody knew him. He was used by strangers for his popularity and parties and he used them to build on his reputation. He was living his life as a lie and nobody knew it.

In conclusion, these characters were putting on a show for others and they knew it. These characters were lying to others and thats what made them stand out. Gatsby lied to the public and to himself, and Daisy lied to her husband. Although they lied I still love these characters because they keep the story interesting and make you think about who they really could be or how they actually feel.

Banned Books essay 2nd Draft

Over the past few years, there has been much controversy over banning books in young adult libraries, due to some inappropriate topics or details. After reading my inquiry groups book, “Sold”, by Patricia McCormick, I realized which side I was on.  I think that these books that might be considered inappropriate for the minds of young adults should be introduced to these kids through guided reading.There was lots of inappropriate content that can affect the minds of young adults. The detail and gore made it harder to read and made me uncomfortable. Some may say that these topics like sex, drugs, violence, or other issues make the books interesting (which could be true) but I feel it is not appropriate for the minds of young adults. This kind of material should not be harshly exposed to adolescents, and I have found that books are casually approaching these serious issues. However, where I stand on this topic is in the middle.I hope that others can realize that students should not be casually exposed to these topics through grim novels that can cause them emotional damage.

During this unit on book banning I have developed my own opinion on the books that contain controversial topics such as sex, drugs, and violence. Personally I feel that the question to ban should be based on the book and the level of exposure to these types of issues. For the books that incorporate as some may call, ‘inappropriate topics’ that are put into lots of detail or will go so far as to make the reader uncomfortable; I feel they should be introduced using a more thoughtful approach.  In my book (Sold) I found that the amount of gore and detail was extreme and I surely wasn’t expecting it. Although this year wasn’t the first time I had read the book, I was still surprised at how the author decided to illustrate this real world issue. Because it wasn’t the first time I was exposed to this literature, I was able to put a critical lens on the way McCormick decided to introduce the topic. For example, the excerpt, “I hurt, I am torn and bleeding where the men have been”. For some readers that may not be educated on anatomy or rape or even violence against women, this passage might be confusing, misleading, or terrifying. Without an adult to help guide you through the text or answer any questions the reader/student might have, these young adults are left with their imagination and possibly scarred minds.

This debate has gone on for years and many classic books have been banned. Many teachers who appreciate this young adult literature and want their students to read these books have been fighting back against the concerned public.  As stated in an article “Banned Books We Have Loved”, “They stand out as important books that we have read because they dealt with important, hard subjects”. However, they may be important but that doesn’t mean they aren’t affecting the minds of young adults who have never been exposed to these difficult issues. “If you think it matters what is inside a young person’s mind, surely it is of consequence of what they read”, the article ‘Darkness To Visible’ states. How do you think these adolescents will handle the dark topics they have never heard of before? Writing gory details (like in Sold) will not give them a good image or a good understanding on what is happening. As I stated before, a more supervised or thoughtful approach is needed when dealing with impressionable young minds. Giving harmful details that can come off as scary to middle school students can really affect them. “Lets hope publishers do have young adults interests at heart- and they are not selling books by sensationalizing children’s suffering.” As ‘Sick-Lit’ declared. In other words, we hope that these authors or publishers are putting themselves in the minds of young adults and considering the fact that some of their content might be emotionally harmful to the reader.

Although these topics are very important for young adults to be aware of, there must be (and there are) other ways to convey these messages and show these kids what is happening in the world in a safe way. Such as reading a book that includes these kinds of conflicts with your teacher, so they can made sure there is no misguidance from the students. It could also be read with a parent or guardian- as long as its with someone who is there to clear the issues up and help you understand these topics. Reading about these controversial issues at an age where you are just learning about it now, can lead to misunderstandings. We want to avoid misguidance when kids are learning about these harsh subjects in the world.

In conclusion, where I stand in this debate is in the middle. Do I feel these books should be completely banned? No, not at all. These books are a great source of information for young adults who should be exposed to this material at this time in their life. But unless they are absolutely sure they can manage on their own, supervision and guidance should be provided to these adolescents who could possibly be scarred by some of the content included in these books. Misguidance is what we are trying not to have and that is why if young adults want to read these books, it should be with an adult who is there to guide them through the text, not leaving them alone for their minds to wander or maybe misinterpret information given in the important novels.  Its important to know that your children/ students are learning in a safe way which teaching them things they will need to know.

Sources Page

-Carey, Tanith. "Sick-Lit." Mail Online. N.p., 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

-Doll, Jen. "The Banned Books We Have Loved." The Atlantic Wire. N.p., 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013

-Gurdon, Meghan Cox. "Darkness Too Visible." Wall Street Journal. N.p., 4 June 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

-McCormick, Patricia. Sold. New York: Hyperion, 2006. Print.

My Thirteenth Winter

In the book, “My Thirteenth Winter” by Samantha Abeel, the author shows a very important message to reader. In this memoir, Samantha struggles with her learning disability for math. As she grew older, math connected to many things in her life, making it harder to get through her day. Although this disability was a burden on Samantha in many ways, it didn’t make her give up or hold back. She learns she is a strong and smart person and she still has hope. This memoir shows how life is full of obstacles and things that you have to try and cope with, and try to get over. Samantha’s obstacle would be her math disability, but she learns to understand she has to live with this obstacle and she gets around it, one way or another.

One step toward getting over an obstacle, would be to accept it. As Samantha started to get older, she realized she had a hard time understanding math in general. She was already in seventh grade, and she couldn’t tell time, remember her locker combination, or even count money. A seventh grader should know these things, and Samantha knew she had a disability. It wasn’t until her thirteenth winter until she admitted to herself that it was real. On page 18 Samantha and her mom are doing math flash cards so she can try to understand. She says, “Eventually, mom decides to go back to the problem 5-2=_____. She wears a look of determined expectation. “Ok”, She says. “Here is one you will get for sure”. I look again at the symbols on the card and feel my brain working, searching to access the information, but no answers come.” This shows how Samantha Abeel finally realizes she has a learning disability and it shows how she struggles with this. She knows that this is her disability and that this is how her brain will work for the rest of her life. It was important for her to realize and admit to herself that she will have to get around this.

With a learning disability, there are many hardships that come along with it. In school, its socially challenging since you might be the only one in the seventh grade who can’t tell time. I can see how Samantha may not want to admit to herself that she has this problem. As a young student, telling time was something that kids had tests on, and not always would kids get it right. When Samantha was in third grade, she has a test on addition and subtraction. Everyone else was done and she was left back, having to correct her answers. “I watch as she checks off my problems. I have added when the sign said to subtract. Others I have subtracted when I’m supposed to add. In some, I forgot to include certain numbers. My answers aren’t anywhere close to correct. Mrs. Kendall points out these errors, goes over them, and asks me to go back and make corrections”. This shows how Samantha knows she has made a mistake in these problems but it also shows how she really has a disability that will cause her great hardships and burdens. However, Samantha has to go through this every day and it can be hard. Especially going to a public school for kids who don’t have disabilities, Samantha handles the problem.

Having a disability can put you at many disadvantages. It could be socially or physically, and those types of disadvantages can be really hard on you. Samantha learns to handle this disability of hers, and even if it may try to hold her back, she eventually gets over it. For example, when Samantha and her friends were seeing if they got into the TAG program at school, Samantha was prepared for the test scores and wasn’t too upset when she found out she didn’t get in. “I did not make it into the TAG program. My test scores for math were not high enough”. This shows that these disabilities hold you back and can limit opportunities in life, but that’s ok because you know that somehow you can get over this. Samantha’s life was full of obstacles that all revolve around her math disability, but she shows us that even when you feel as though all hope is lost, you can figure it out somehow.

In conclusion, a very important theme was captured in this memoir. Life is full of hardships and obstacles, which you have to get over and cope with. Samantha has a math learning disability, and this caused her disadvantages and limited her as a growing girl. However, she gets over the problems that this disability causes her. This shows how you can get over hardships and obstacles that life brings you.

Monday Muses

This song really speaks to me because it shows you that you can be anything you want to be and you should never doubt yourself. I think everyone can really relate to this song because on the inside we are all insecure but this song is saying that you don’t have to be insecure because you are beautiful just the way you are and nobody can tell you different. Insecurity is a big problem in our society and the competition to be better than everyone else is prioritized in the minds of a lot of people. Whoever shows the most skin, whoever has more friends. But I feel like everyone is forgetting who they really are and covering their real personality up with the expensive clothes and fake attitudes.

This song portrays the real definition of natural beauty. As it says in the song, “I’m no beauty queen I’m just beautiful me”. Showing what true confidence is and it should encourage everyone all over the world to embrace their own internal and external beauty because we are all worth it.

Personally I feel like this song speaks to teens around the world because specifically at this age, we struggle with our emotions and find ourselves doubting who we really are and wondering if we are really good enough. This song is telling us that we are good enough and we are all special in different ways.

A way of gaining confidence is through music. I know that when I hear a song and I can relate to it, I feel like if they can have this confidence then I can too. By relating to people we look up to (like singers or artists) we feel like if they feel the same way, we must be good enough. Some of these songs show us that we can build up the courage to be who we want to be and have the confidence that everyone should have.  

One of the verses of ‘Who Says’ stands out because its giving a specific promising message. “Who says you’re not star potential? Who says you’re not presidential? Who says you can’t be in movies? Listen to me, listen to me, who says you can’t pass the test? Who says you can’t be the best?” This verse displays the idea of having morale and courage, to believe in yourself and never doubt who you are. You can be anything you want to be and no one can tell you different. I love this song because it gives the listeners a reason to love themselves for who they are and not to get caught up in impressing other people.