Gaokao Essay

Every year, 9 million students all over China take a single test, the gaoko, over the course of several days.  This test determines where the students go to college, eventually their life, and the success of their teachers.  In preparation for the test, many high schools become places of cram memorization and strict punishments.  The gaokao is unreasonable because it puts so much pressure on students and teachers.

One reason the tests are unfair is that it turns schools into sole test preparation.  School's go to extreme measures to keep up their student's good grades.  The article, "China's Cram Schools, by Brook Larmer, states that, "Critics say it stifles creativity and puts excessive pressure on students.  Teenage suicide rates tend to rise as the gaokao nears.  Two years ago, a student posted a shocking photograph online: a classroom full of students all hooked up to intravenous drips to give them the strength to keep studying."  Schools focus more on protecting their reputation than an educating, stimulating environment.  By having the gaokao be worth so much in terms of a teacher's success it affects their goals in helping the students.  The article states that, "teachers dole out lessons, and frequently punishments, with military rigor; their jjob security and bonuses depend on raising their students' test scores."  Teachers loose sight of working towards their students improvement when they are constantly trying to help their selves.  The gaokao causes schools and teachers to have the wrong intentions as educators.

Another reason the tests aren't justified is that the test determines whether they become successful or a manual laborer.  Many of the students in the "cram schools," have parents who hope for their children's lives to be better than theirs were.  The article states that, "The rent on their tiny room was high, rivaling rates in downtown Beijing, and it represented only part of the sacrifice Yang's parents made to help him become the first in his family to attend college.  Yang's father is a peach farmer in a village 45 minutes away; his mother quit her garment-factory job to support Yang in his final year of cramming."  Parents risk everything in hope of their children doing well on the gaokao.  Also, the students fear a life of poverty and manual work if they fail the gaokao.  The article states that, "The boys knew that manual labor would be their fate too, if they failed to do well on the gaokao.  Yang and Cao would have to join the ranks of China's 260 million migrant workers, who have left their homes in rural China in search of construction or factory jobs in the nation's booming coastal cities."  After all of their preparation, the boys either get into a school that will put them on the right track for a life of education and hopefully prosperity or they will end up as factory or construction workers.  A single test that occurs once a year determines the life of the 9 million student that take it every year.

In China, millions of people are affected by the gaokao every year.  Unlike the ACT and SAT, which offer chances for make ups and redoing it, with opportunity's for economic success  despite failure on the test, the gaokao is the sole determiner of success.  Because of the pressure on it the gaokao leads to uncreative schools and stressed students hoping to live up to their parents expectations.

Martín Espada Essay

In Martín Espada's poems, "The New Bathroom Policy at English High School," "Revolutionary Spanish Lesson," and "Tw Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877," all explore ideas of racism in the United States.  The first shows the discomfort of a principal, the second shows the anger of the speaker at his name's mispronunciation, and the final is the story of a lynch mob "executing" two Mexicanos.  All three poems involve discomfort and often the transfer of it.

"The New Bathroom Policy," tells the story of a principal who bans spanish in the bathroom because of his  discomfort.  The principal fells that he must know what all of the kids are saying in order to fell in control.  the poem states that, "The only word he recognizes/ is his own name/ and this constipates him/ So he decides/ to ban Spanish/ from the bathrooms/ Now he can relax."  The principal is uncomfortable in the bathroom but by taking away the use of Spanish in the bathrooms, he isn't allowing students to speak their first language with their peers.  Also, in reading this poem, the use of the word, "constipates," makes the reader feel discomfort, bringing them into the setting of the tension in the bathroom.  While the principal believes he is justified by making himself more at ease, his students are forced to speak a language that they may not know well or speak fluently, causing a sense of alienation in them.

In "Revolutionary Spanish Lesson" the speaker transfers his annoyance of the mispronunciation of his name to people who he sees as racist and don't make an effort to assimilate.  In the poem the speaker fantasizes going out of his way to make others uncomfortable by personifying their view of Latino men.  The speaker imagines going to, "put on dark eye glasses/ push my beret at an angle/ comb my beard to a point."  The speaker feels that he should represent the stereotype of how racists perceive latino men.  Another way the speaker fantasizes about bring discomfort on the racists is by forcing, "them to chant/ anti-American slogans/ in spanish" The people he imagines doing this to consider themselves patriots and the representation of a true, "American" but being put in a position of being forced to speak an unknown language is similar to immigrant children in America schools.

In "Two Mexicanos," the speaker feels uncomfortable looking at a photograph of people crowding into a photograph after a lynching.  Thee poem expresses how the speaker looking at the picture is most disgusted by the fact that all of the lynchers are trying to get in the photo after their actions.  The first three stanzas are spent, "more than," one sad part of the picture, but the  last stanza explains how the part that makes the speaker most uneasy is how the lynchers are, "all/ crowding into the photograph."  Discomfort is also shown by some people in the photo graph.   the poem states that in the lynching party, there were, "a few stunned/ in the blur of execution," showing how after lynching two men, some feel possible remorse, or don't want to be captured into a photo.  In this poem the discomfort is mainly felt by the speaker, who is disturbed by the photo.

In his poems, Martín Espada, uses the ideas of discomfort to show the feelings of people both latino, and conservative, predominately white.  Often times, in order to regain power and a sense of ease, someone who feels threatened tries to put others in discomfort.  The principal takes away the comfort of language from students in the bathroom, a man angry about the mispronunciation of his name fantasizes about forcing Republicans into an uncomfortable position, and someone viewing a picture is disturbed by the eagerness of people to get in the shot after a lynching has occurred.  But most of all, Espada tries to evoke discomfort in the reader causing strong feelings in them.

Dracula Book Club Essay

In Victorian England, everyone was forced to repress any sexual ideas or feelings they had.  Woman were either considered good and clean, or were seductive.  Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, expresses the two-dimensional view of Victorian society as a group of young adults quest to kill the vampire, Count Dracula.  Throughout the story, society's fear of sexuality is presented through the perversion of purity.

One example of the perversion of purity is shown through the contrast between what the society believed woman should be and what woman became when they became vampires.  Throughout the story, the woman are put off, in an effort to keep them decent and "good."  While the men are trying to figure out where Dracula is and how to get to him, Mina is left out.  The men tell her that, "You are too precious to us to have such risk. When we part tonight, you no more must question. We shall tell you all in good time. We are men and are able to bear, but you must be our star and our hope."  Women were expected to be proper while men had much freedom to do as they pleased.  On the contrary, when women became vampires they became voluptuous and seductive.  When Jonathan is in Count Dracula's castle, three women come to him, trying to seduce him.  In describing them, Jonathan states that, "All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips."  What is considered the most evil when they made men feel sexually attracted a s Jonathan does here.  Also, in his interaction with the three ladies, Jonathan has more sexual contact then he does in the entire novel with his wife, Mina.  Women in Victorian society were either virgins or married, otherwise they were impure.  When Dracula preys on women, he turns them into perverted counterparts to their former selves.

Also, all of the actions of vampires are perverted images of the purest most innocent actions, while the pure men are forced to twist impure actions for the greater good.  Dracula takes what are considered good and distorts them.  When Dracula is attacking Mina, he forces her into nursing blood from his chest.  Dracula's "right hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her face down on his bosom. Her white nightdress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man’s bare chest which was shown by his torn-open dress."   Nursing is giving nutrients o the most innocent people, babies, so when Dracula twists the image of nursing to sucking blood from a chest he is attacking their ideas of goodness.  Too counter Dracula's actions and destroy the vampire in Lucy, her fiancee, Arthur Holmwood, drives the stake through her body, returning her to her original goodness.  The description of this action is very sexual and forceful giving the imagery of rape.  Arthur was, "driving deeper and deeper the mercy-bearing stake, whilst the blood from the pierced heart welled and spurted up around it. His face was set, and high duty seemed to shine through it."  When Dracula preys on the women he is looked upon as disgusting, but because Arthur believed he was attacking for the greater good, it was considered acceptable.  While Dracula perverts innocent ideas and twists them into his evil world, the protagonists take the imagery of perversion and warp it into a good action.

In, Dracula, Bram Stoker shows the two dimensional world of Victorian England and how there was pure and impure but no middle ground.  This story relates to the modern world because often, we try to categorize people as friendly and nice, or mean and jerks, while rarely one person is either one or the other.  Bram Stoker's community a very small view of what society could include.  In Dracula, both sides of good and evil are represented, but there is no acknowledgement of anywhere between the two.

Censorship or Unconfident Society?

  Dear Ms. Berner, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Potter Stewart is quoted with saying, "Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself" and I strongly believe in this.  For centuries, religious, political and social leaders have taken advantage of their power and tried to control what books people read, what music they listen to and many other activities people find enjoyment in.  It has also become common for parents to ask the school to remove certain books from classroom and school libraries, believing they know what is best for every student in the school.  I believe that books should not be banned as students should be trusted with what they choose to read and teachers should be respected enough to be trusted with instruction.

Restricting what children can read can limit their views on the world.  Sherman Alexie explains in his article, "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood," how reading books about controversial topics won't damage kids.  The article states that how, "I have yet to receive a letter from a child somehow debilitated by the domestic violence, drug abuse, racism, poverty, sexuality, and murder contained in my book."  Overprotective parents need to realize that when limiting their children's view on the world, they are causing the kid to be naive and not know the real dangers of the world.  By reading books with dark themes, teens learn more about the real world and not the perfect world that they are told exist.  Also, by reading about darker themes, teens will understand them more and be able to help those in need, as explained in the article, "Reading literary fiction improves empathy, study finds," by Liz Bury.  The article states that, "reading literary fiction enhances the ability to detect and understand other people's emotions, a crucial skill in navigating complex social relationships."  By reading stories of situations, we as readers can learn how to handle or help someone else manage similar circumstances.  If someone reads a story of someone who cuts their arms, and then find out a friend self-injures, they will be better prepared to help them.  Not only does banning books limit someones view on the world, it can also prevent them from important social skills.

Another reason why banning books is unreasonable is that when banning books, a select group of parents, teachers or social leaders are deciding not just for their children but for all of the children that use a specific library while there are parents who encourage their kids to delve into darker subjects.  In the article,"Man from ministry bans Potter," Tania deLuzuriaga writes about the pastor of a catholic school who banned the immensely popular Harry Potter series from the school library.  The article states that  "Rev. Ron Barker, removed the books, declaring that the themes of witchcraft and sorcery were inappropriate."  Following the removal of the Harry Potter series, some parents showed their support while other expressed their frustration with the school.  I feel that in this situation, if parents feel that their children shouldn't be reading certain books, they have a right to prohibit what books their children read, but for the parents who disagree with the ban, their children have a right to read what they want to and should not have what one man deems inappropriate affect all of the students in the school.  It is unfair for the children who have the permission of their parents to read certain books to have that freedom taken away from them.  Also, the article, "Teen fiction plots are darker and starker," by William Porter, explains how there are many parents who want their children to read controversial and thought provoking topics.   The article states that, "At 17, Kristina Palmer of Arvada reads at a book-a-day pace. 'My parents always supported my love of reading and let me read whatever I could get my hands on,' she said."  Had her school library banned certain books that Kristina couldn't get her hands on, she might not have read the wide variety of books that she has and might not have been as empathetic as she is.  By having parents who allow her to read anything and everything, Kristina is able to be more empathetic and excepting.  By putting the power of censorship into one person's hands, they are able to control a whole community of children, making decisions for other parents.

Some may argue that some young teens may not be able to handle books with dark themes or that they may bring back trauma of rape victims or veterans.  Meghan Cox Gurdon writes in her slanted article, "Darkness Took Visible" about how she believes that youth fiction is too focused on dark topics.  She states that "Now, whether you care if adolescents spend their time immersed in ugliness probably depends on your philosophical outlook… It has to do with a child's happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart. Entertainment does not merely gratify taste, after all, but creates it."  Gudron believes that teens on a deeper level are disturbed by these books and get distorted views on the world because of reading dark books.  She implies that children can't be trusted to choose what they read because they gain an entertainment in unhappiness after reading dark books.  Another alternative to banning books while still protecting kids is explained in Jennifer Medina's article, "Warning: The Literary Canon Could Make Students Squirm," which is about the idea of "trigger warnings," or notices in books that something could be offensive or upsetting, and their newfound popularity in certain colleges.  The article states that in response to the call for "trigger warnings" some people believe that, "Trigger warnings, they say, suggest a certain fragility of mind that higher learning is meant to challenge, not embrace."  This also applies to banning books.  Academically, we should learn to learn from what is uncomfortable to us.  While I agree that for victims of sexual assault or war veterans, images or books containing rape or war could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, I feel that bombarding any books containing violence or any controversial topic with trigger warnings is futile.  Both banning books and excessive trigger warnings are putting people in a position where they can avoid an uneasiness that many authors strive to achieve in their writing and teachers use to provoke thought.

Banning books prevents students from reaching their full academic potential.  Reading books with themes of darkness can help readers learn how to react in their own life when they encounter troubling situations.  Also, by banning books, all children, not just the ones with parents who are against controversial themes, are affected.  Finally, while many argue that books can damage teens, a level of discomfort can actually be helpful in academic discussions.  Banning books is a part of our society which represents the distrust of people to make decisions for themselves.

Works Cited

Gurdon, Meghan Cox. "Darkness Too Visible." Wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal, 4 June 2011. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

B, Liz. "Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy, Study Finds." N.p., n.d. Web.

Bury, Liz. "Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy, Study Finds." Theguardian.com. The Guardian, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

DeLuzuriaga, Tania. "Man from Ministry Bans Potter." Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 25 Oct. 2007. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Medina, Jennifer. "Warning: The Literary Canon Could Make Students Squirm." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 17 May 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Porter, William. "Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker and Starker." Denverpost.com. The Denver Post, 7 May 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Reading an Writing for Social Justice: Looking at at the world through a lens of justice and fairness

Article

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-clean-copy?id=S44-4241H-0-3044&type=ART&artno=0000367627&key=Immigration%20reform&shfilter=U

The article, "Obama's Immigration Action Addresses 'Huge' Uncertainty for Many Students" by Stacy Treicher Khadaroo, is about Obama's immigration reform policy.  The article addresses the choice of students to come out of the shadow or stay in hiding.  I believe that the fact that their are so many students in our education system who are afraid of admitting that they are undocumented immigrants because they are afraid of deportation is incredibly unfair.  In the early 1900's the U.S. accepted thousands of immigrants from Europe, and the as a country, we would not be the same without them.  But now that the immigrants are coming from Mexico and Central and South America, people are against immigration.  I believe that there should be an equivalent of Ellis Island mad along the border of U.S. and Texas which would have the U.S. continue to be a nation of immigrants.  In my life, I think about how so there are so many people too set in their ways to reach out to others and they want everything to stay the same, and will try to go out of my way to be more accepting of others.

School/Neighborhood observations

•  Homeless people asking for money on the street.

•  Two drug addicts who spend time near my school.

•  An alcoholic who hides his flask and is always drinking next to the nearby deli.

•  Domestic violence (I don't see it but I know it's out there).

•  Untreated mental illness.

The issue I would like to talk about is homelessness.  I feel that it is wrong for the government to put money into criminalizing the homeless, such as making it illegal for people to sleep in public or in cars, as many cities and states have done, while they could be putting money into shelters and programs to help people get back on their feet.  There are so many people, particularly children, who are homeless through no fault of their own.  Whether they were abandoned, kicked out of their home because of their sexuality, or their whole family lost their home but the rest found a place to stay.  I feel that there is so much that people can do to help, but they stick up their noses and walk away.  Anyone can volunteer for a soup kitchen, donate money to programs and shelters, or do something as simple as giving your spare change to someone on the streets or buying them a bagel or coffee.  It's important for people not too ignore the homeless and those in poverty, otherwise there will just end up being more and more people in need.

An interview with my mom, Vicki Sher, about what is good and what is unfair about our world.

What is good about our world?

     There is so much that is beautiful. Nature for instance is constantly arrestingly beautiful and up lifting.  I can be moved by the smallest moment, a cloud over a hilltop, or a bigger thing like a huge waterfall.  And music, and poetry, and sports-what the mind and body can do are amazing.  I'm amazed at the human spirit and capacity to make things, or do things that have never been made or done before. A recent football catch by a rookie named Beckham was such an achievement, and as impressive as any scientific, or artistic achievement to me.

What is unfair about our world?

     Hard to choose just one thing.  Obviously torture, poverty, discrimination, mental illness,  and the willful ignorance of those in power, and their reluctance to  make changes.  But maybe all of these are examples of stubbornness and the weakness that is part of human nature, a fear of others.

The point is, humans are the true beauty of the world as well as the main cause of grief.  We, as humans, are almost never content with what we have.  This is what brings out the best and worst of us.  We always want to have more and to be better.  Even if we are happy with what we have, if given the opportunity, we would get more.  The best of human nature is shown when someone strives to achieve something and then succeed or even fail but put their best effort in and beat expectations.  The worst comes out when people strive for something, but end up hurting others, intentionally or unintentionally, in the process.  There are people who are too focused in making money for themselves to see the people's lives they're destroying.  Then there are people that feel that the world they were given is unfair and they want to make a change but the way they do this involves intentionally hurting others, physically, economically and emotionally.  In life I feel that it's important to strive to both make yourself happy, but in doing so help others achieve their goals.

News

On November 24, I watched the news coverage of the results of Darren Wilson's indictment and the protests and president's speech that followed.  A newscaster was talking about hearing gunshots when President Barack Obama gave his speech urging for "peaceful protests." Sadly enough, along side his speech, the riots were escalating and images of tear gas and smashed police car windows were shown, along with the cameraman being threatened by a protester who had just smashed a car window.

I have no idea what it feels like to be a minority in this country where despite the progress we've accomplished, there is still much racism and stereotyping.  Among the police, whether it be "stop and frisk" or shooting under questionable circumstances, racial profiling is a problem.  I try to put myself in the shoes of the protesters and see how frustrating it must be to feel that the very same people who are meant to protect you, are out to get you.  Had Michael Brown been a white preppy boy and the other circumstances been the same, would Wilson had shot him?  I sincerely doubt it.  On the other hand, I feel that the protesters are going too far.  Smashing car windows will not make a change, while peacefully protesting might.  Also, the news coverage seemed to be provoking the protesters instead of condemning them, which Obama referenced  in his speech when he spoke about the protests making "good TV."  As a country, we've come so far, but there is still so much that needs to be done to end the racial divide.

Interview with someone who you feel makes the world a better place

Is there any one person who you feel that you made a really important impact on their life?

Yes, possibly-I don't want to take credit.  There was a defendant in my court, who in my opinion clearly needed drug treatment.  She refused treatment. Her attorney asked me if I might make a jail offer to her.  I said, I would give her one year jail, which is the maximum- in other words I wasn't making an offer to her because I wanted her to go to treatment. I looked through her rap sheet, and I noticed that there was a long period of time without any arrests.  So I brought that up, and asked her what happened, what led to her getting addicted again because I saw that she knew how to live a crime free life.  She burst into tears and told me about a crime that she was a victim of.  She said she'd been in drug treatment before and was willing to try it again.  And that was the breakthrough, she decided to give it another shot.  I'm waiting to see how she does in treatment but at least she's trying again, which is better than jail.

My dad, John Hecht, works in the domestic violence and prostitution part of in the Brooklyn judiciary system.  Often times he sees prostitutes who are the victims and aren't criminals.  In this case he was able to convince a prostitute to go back to drug treatment and hopefully get her life back on track.  Also, not only did my dad help her drug problem but he also dealt with her prostitution case.  This story, as well as other similar ones, inspire me to keep trying when I see someone who refuses help.  There are so many people who want help, who need help, but are too afraid to ask.

Song

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People

Robert's got a quick hand.

He'll look around the room, he won't tell you his plan.

He's got a rolled cigarette hanging out his mouth, he's a cowboy kid.

Yeah, he found a six shooter gun in his dad's closet hidden with a box of fun things.

I don't even know what but he's coming for you, yeah, he's coming for you.

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run, outrun my gun.

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run faster than my bullet.

Daddy works a long day.

He be coming home late, he's coming home late.

And he's bringing me a dark surprise.

'Cause dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice.

I've waited for a long time.

Yeah, the sleight of my hand is now a quick-pull trigger.

I reason with my cigarette

And say, "Your hair's on fire, you must've lost your wits, yeah."

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run, outrun my gun.

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run faster than my bullet.

Ru-ru-run, run, run, run

I believe this song is about a kid who feels isolated and lost and wants shoot the kids with the nicer shoes.  The first verse is in the third person while the rest is in first person, which makes me wonder whether Robert is a school shooter and the speaker is influenced by Robert and decides to shoot the richer, most likely more popular kids in an imitation shooting.  The speaker also seems to have a hard life at home with a father who is often not there for him, but the speaker still is waiting for him for dinner. The song is meant to put the listener into the shoes of what it feels like to think that there is no one out there for you and mindset of a school shooter.  This song brought out the ideas that there are people that need to be reached out to, that need someone to help them not feel so isolated.

TV

One of my favorite TV shows is Freaks and Geeks from 1999.  This is one of the few shows that I feel realistically and respectfully shows teen life.  In Freaks and Geeks, not all of the main characters are good looking and rich unlike many shows where everyone has perfect features.  However, one thing that annoys me about the show is that all of the major characters, and most of the minor, are white.  For a show that is prided as one of the few shows that is fair towards teens and it lacks any racial diversity.

     However, some people may find this show less offensive than Glee, a current popular show, another show that doesn't depict teens as perfect children.  On the outside looks like an incredibly diverse show, but is filled with incredibly offensive stereotypes.  These include, the dumb blonde with a negative GPA, the Jewish girl who considers getting a nose job, the gay boy with a great fashion sense, the sassy overweight black girl, and the two overachieving asians, one of which gets an "Asian F" more commonly known as an A-.  It angers me that often shows have no people of color, or have incredibly stereotyped ones, when in the real world very few fall into their stereotypes.  Because these stereotypes are constantly reinforced in TVs, movies, video games and commercials, people begin to make assumptions about others in their life.

Reading Response on Animal Farm by George Orwell

In the world, persuasion and influence is necessary in the pursuit of power.  George Orwell's novel, Animal Farm, is the story of a group of mistreated animals who revolt against their owner, Mr. Jones, and take over the farm.  Through the ability of the pigs, who become the ruling class, to exert influence over the other animals, it is made clear the power of persuasion on the vulnerable.

Early on in the story, the animals first agreed to the idea of rebelling against Mr. Jones because of the pig, old Major's influence on them.  Before his speech, old Major was already well respected on the farm and had stature that gave him authority over the other animals.  The book states that, "Old Major … was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say."  Looking back on it, I find it very interesting that so early in the book the seeds of pigs being viewed with distinction are coming through.  Had one of the other animals gave a speech, I presume that they would be considered insane.  When oId Major does give his speech he gives the animals hope of freedom and utopian society.  In his speech, old Major states that " 'Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. AImost overnight we could become rich and free.' "  Old Major is speaking of a utopian world and persuading the animals by giving them hope.  At this point all the animals on the farm strongly believe in the ideas of the Rebellion, due to old Major's ability to persuade.  Old Major ends his speech with the singing of a song that he vaguely remembers from his childhood and recently rediscovered, The Beasts of England. The singing of the song represents the first use of propaganda in the book.  It is made clear early on in the story that in order to gain the support of the animals a strong influence is needed.

The pigs use different forms of influence to gain the animals' support both before and after the Rebellion.  After old Major died, his ideas were composed by three pigs, Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer, into the principles of Animalism.  The animals soon begin the teaching of these principles to all animals.  By spreading their ideas through education the pigs are able to force all of their teachings onto the animals, young and old, they normalize their ideas.  Particularly in the less intelligent animals, who don't think for themselves, the pigs gain easy support for the rebellion.  After the Rebellion occurs the animals throw materials that were used to maim, kill or harness the animals as well as clothing (the mark of man) were thrown either down the well or onto a fire.  When one horse, Mollie, asks to keep ribbons that go in her hair, Snowball states that " ‘Ribbons,’ he said, ‘should be considered as clothes, which are the mark of a human being. All animals should go naked.’ "  Mollie is the first, and one of the only, animals in the book to be dissatisfied with the farm under the rule of the animals.  But because of their superior intelligence, the pigs are able to govern the animals over what is and isn't allowed and gain the support of almost all of the animals.  Without their influence over the animals, the pigs would not have been able to effectively institutionalize their beliefs.

When the pigs become power hungry and their original prospects fall apart, they continue to exert their power through propaganda.  After its creation, the ideas of Animalism are reduced to seven commandments.  To compensate for some less intelligent animals', namely the sheep, inability to grasp the commandments, Snowball created the maxim, "Four legs good, two legs bad."  When Napoleon ends the tradition of Sunday-morning meetings in which all of the animals vote on questions concerning the farm and replaced it with a special committee of pigs, four young pigs protest but are drowned by the sheep's bleating of "Four legs good, two legs bad."  Every time these four pigs protest they are drowned out by the same bleating.  This form of propaganda not only increases support for Animalism, it also represses any protests the animals may have.  Napoleon realized that as he grew more powerful it was necessary to get rid of any thing that got in his way, this included both protests and Snowball, who Napoleon has chased off the farm.  As the pigs begin to break the original seven commandments, they write in changes to them.  The first of this is the commandment stating that "No animal shall sleep in a bed" being replaced by "No animal shall sleep in a bed with covers," when the pigs move into Mr. Jones' former house.  This is followed by the replacement of "No animal shall drink alcohol," with "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess" and many subsequent changes in the commandments.  When Napoleon realizes he wants more than what he originally wanted, he and the other pigs change the rules that the other animals so closely follow.  The destroying of the commandments signals the complete totalitarianism.  Towards the end of the story, the pigs walk on their hind legs and Squealer teaches the sheep to now bleat, "Four legs good, two legs better."  At the same time the seven commandments are replaced with "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."  By playing on the sheep's inability to think for themselves, the pigs are able to control all of the animals and subdue the animal's free will.  The pigs are able to have total authority by the end of the book by suppressing the previous ideas of autonomy.

In  Animal Farm, George Orwell makes it clear that to gain power, an ability to sway the opinions of a group of people, or in this case animals, is necessary.  This story which parallels the rise of the Soviet Union, is a message to many people around the world to not just do what their told but to think for themselves.  While the Soviet Union was in power, the government used different forms of propaganda to persuade its citizens to blindly follow their rules and ideas.  But around the world people achieve power by influencing others.  Everyday we see billboards and ads all over, which are all ways of influencing people to buy a product so the company can get economic power.  This book teaches readers to not accept what they're told and become independent people.

Reading Response on The Perks of Being a Wall Flower by Stephen Shbosky

Eli Hecht 802

For many teens, high school involves a struggle to figure out identity, and understanding who they really are and how others view them.  Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, paints a riveting picture of life for Charlie and his group of semi popular friends.  Through the endeavor of Charlie and his peers, it is made clear that the need to classify and group teens into stereotypes impacts many teens.

One example of this is the realization of Charlie that he is considered an outcast by his peers.  At a party a few weeks into his meeting Sam and Patrick, his new found friends, Patrick says to their friend, Bob, "He's a wallflower."  In response to this, Charlie states, "I didn't know that other people thought things about me. I didn't know that they looked."  This is interesting to me because it shows how even though Charlie is a silent observer, people do notice him, and that while he was watching he didn't realize that they even noticed him.  This also shows how despite their awareness of Charlie, many of his peers don't make an effort to involve him because he didn't try to be involved or break the standards of being a "wallflower".  Another example of Charlie's discovering his identity as an outcast is when his teacher, Bill, whom he has a close relationship with, tells him to "participate" more and be involved with social activity.  Bill says to Charlie that, "sometimes people use thought to not participate in life."  Bill is making an effort to push Charlie out of his comfort zone and be more involved in the world around him.  In telling Charlie this, Bill puts Charlie in a place where he sees himself in new ways, and helps him try to break the boundaries he's set for himself.  Many people in Charlie's life see him as a social pariah and they help push him to see that, so he can help himself change.

Another example of teens struggling to figure there lives out, is the secret relationship of Patrick and Brad, the schools' football quarterback.  Brad takes many measures to hide his relationship with Patrick, including having a "girlfriend," who he goes to school dances with.  In explaining their relationship to Charlie, Patrick tells Charlie that, "Brad doesn't want people to know … because he's scared."  Brad worries about turning from being classified as the football quarterback to being known as a homosexual.  Because of this he buries himself in his lies and only allows a select group of people to see his true identity.  Also, Charlie states that "They only fooled around at parties on Fridays, but Patrick said Brad couldn't even look at him in the hall, let alone speak with him. And it was hard, too, because Patrick really liked Brad."  Patrick wants to be open about his relationship but outside of parties, Patrick means nothing to Brad, who wants to preserve his social status and friend group.  This quote made me feel sorry for Patrick because even though he has come to terms with his homosexuality and is open about it, Brad's fear of being classified as "gay" is still affecting him.  Brad is afraid of his identity so he keeps his friends from seeing who he really is, which also directly impacts Patrick.

In addition, both Sam and Charlie's sister have low respect for themselves because of the way the boys in their life view and treat them.  Charlie's sister and her boyfriend fought a lot and she was very bitter towards him until he physically abused her, and then they were suddenly happy together.  When Charlie spoke to Bill about his sister's abuse he replies with, "Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve." In modern society, we believe that many of the gender roles in relationships no longer exist, but Charlie's sister's boyfriend was discontented when she was classified by their peers as the stronger of the two, but they were both accepting when he was in control.  This quote also shows how if you accept the stereotypes others fit you into, you are often limited to them for had Charlie's sister broken up with the boy after he hit her, she would be asserting herself and breaking down his perception of her.  Also, when Charlie is talking about his friend, Sam's, relationship with her boyfriend, he says that "It's very hard for me to see Sam feel better about herself just because an older boy sees her that way."  Sam satisfies her need to raise her self-esteem by dating a boy that's older than her because she is unhappy with who she is without the reassurance of others.  Sam is unsatisfied with how she perceives herself so she seeks out others to give her what she thinks is an authoritative opinion and makes her feel important.  In the book, both Charlie's sister and his friend, Sam, accept the ways their boyfriends perceive them.

In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky explains the attempts of teens to discover, and in some cases hide, their identity.  This story and its message connects to me and many teens in the world because even in middle school, everyone feels the need to classify or be classified into certain groups.  Many teens don't affiliate with the group they're classified into by their peers or don't feel that they fit into stereotypes. This novel is an important message to many teens in that it teaches them to be themselves, and not expect the standards others limit us to.