Victor Kelleher's book Taronga is an inspiring book about a boy barely a teenager who manages to find his style through the 'Last Days'. The 'Last Days' is as what the title displays, all the same, it will have the teen readers wanting more. Kelleher's book Taronga exhibits the life of a young teenager who learns to discover himself through the dangers around him. Taronga firmly discusses the fight for survival of not just the main character, but also another character, his teenage friend Ellie. Kelleher’s book ‘Taronga’ engages teenagers through the dangers that lurk in the book, showing the subject of ‘survival’ through the darkness and mystery of the adult characters. Kelleher displays how young teenagers can have such powerful voices …show more content…
The crucial point of divergence between the supporter and nemesis throughout the novel is the gap about how the adults are dealing with the danger and survival in this horrid world differently to the teenagers. The author has clearly placed the adult characters of Molly, Steve and Chas as villains in the novel by reading quotes such as 'what he knows or doesn’t know won’t help him that much' although stating this Kelleher shows how the adults are also shallow and have no depth in them. 'We thin them out - cull them, the way we do the animals here in the zoo when numbers go out of hand.' The adults are as so very stubborn and think about only themselves or think that they know best, 'really, I'm disappointed in you Ben. I thought you'd do better than this in a crisis.' Kelleher has purposely placed teenage characters against the adults in the novel because it shows the supporter and the nemesis in Kelleher's book 'Taronga' and how the adults handle danger and endurance compared to teenagers. Kelleher shows the faith between the teenager in the book and the positive way they answer to the dangers and survival with lay in the depths of the darkness compared to the bitter
Teenagers are seen as the most apathetic age group time and time again; with growing problems in today’s world concerning politics, the economy, and social issues, it’s no wonder the youth of today are they way they are. There is little to no hope for them to completely change everything for the better without help from the older generations. The youth should be able to live freely, as they choose without the restriction of older generation’s strict standards like the absolute necessity of a good reputation. Some choose to live their lives to the fullest, like John Grady from All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy. He and Alejandra risk overwhelming prejudice to be together. The passionate environment of the lake scene is reflected using
After getting tormented continuously, it suddenly stops but Marshall - her best friend becomes the new target. The police gets involved after Avalon confesses to her parents about her suffering. Marshall decides to end his life surprisingly, which changes the whole story.The bullies are unknown but Avalon suspects it is Alice the popular girl, but in the end the person who is the bully is unforeseen. This captivating book has an unexpected ending due to the dramatic plot twist - death and not having the stereotypical bully. “When I was on that roller coaster....” suggests that the events taken place were very eyeopening and abrupt. Every parent and teenager should be compelled to read this text because of the thought-provoking plot structure.
Ben and Ellie take refuge in an abandoned apartment block. When Ben has second thoughts about realising the zoo animals into the wild, Ellie reassures him that it was necessary for a new beginning. As they both make plans to leave the city and head for the bush, Raja makes a final appearance. Ben is convinced that Raja is going to kill him, but instead he pats him affectionately on the
This novel was set during the post war period, this was a time when independence and rebelling against parents and law was more important than doing the right thing, during these times of independence, and teenagers needed friendship more than anything else.
Tyler, Anne. "Teenage Wasteland." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. 188-95. Print.
The moral message apparent in this coming-of-age novel questions each of the teenage boys, who in various ways show us what it's like to grow up in rural Australia if you are smart or poor or of a different race. This moral message makes me question the past of the Australia I have came to
People who enjoy realistic-fiction novels that include sibling rivalry, sports, making life changes, and the tension of a dysfunctional family environment will be interested in reading this journal writing from the first person perspective of Paul Fisher. This novel includes characteristics of middle school encounters ; therefor, ages 10 and up will appreciate this
One way that Kelleher creates the impression that teenagers can cope with danger in life-threatening events are through the employment of child and adult protagonists. Teenagers are engrossed to the novel through this suspenseful plot, which places Ben in
Often times readers desire for works that they can relate to on a personal level. With that in mind Billy Collins wrote a poem entitled, “On Turning Ten” discusses the hardships experienced from growing up. The poem is written from the perspective of a child who has turned ten years old and is looking back at their great life as a very young kid. The child sees the world in a different way and feels sad that he has grown up. Collins, through his poem, displays the emotional hardship of growing older and causes the reader to relate to the child as they remember their own experiences growing up.
In Conor Grennan’s “the little princes” a young man by the name of Conor Grennan is bored with his typical day to day life and decides to spend his life savings on a yearlong trip around the world. Before he begins his worldwide trip, he volunteers at an orphanage in Nepal named “the little princes” mainly out of a sense of guilt rather than an actual desire to help. Expecting it to be a short and meaningless time he soon finds himself on a long and difficult journey that will change him in ways that he never expected. Through his time with the children of the orphanage Conor finds himself changing in ways he did not expect as he experiences the world outside of his own country, develops a genuine desire to help others before himself, and eventually gaining a new sense of purpose. This change brought on by his time spent with the children is apparent throughout his journey as he is tested again and again to see how far he will go and just what kind of man he will be in the end.
Craig Silveys remarkable novel Jasper Jones succeeds in its intention to address real issues facing young readers today. To a certain extent, significant life topics including the hardships adolescents face through a coming of age, the deep rooted fear of prejudice and the dark, struggle that is fear and courage are all expressed around the central protagonist Charlie and the small country town of Corrigan. In this essay I will give and insight to these issues, discussing how it involves and affects today youths.
In coming of age stories, the protagonists often experience a pensive and dramatic moment where either they break through to adulthood or retreat to childhood - it is this moment that unveils the magnitude of growing up for the reader.
In western Australian author Tim Winton’s book, The Turning, the large collection of short stories are aimed towards teenagers and other people who have been teenagers. This is so, because each story uses a similar theme to do with finishing high school, how people decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives and the character’s journeys along the way.
Junior’s discovery of identity and place within his world is a predominant theme in the novel and one with which teens can relate; however, several other young adult characteristics and developmental issues are addressed as well. Junior and his peers are experiencing a time of rapid physical, hormonal and cognitive development as are the most likely readers of the book. Like many adolescent girls, Penelope is concerned with her body appearance and popularity. She is a bulimic attempting to keep up her “pretty and smart and popular” (108) image. Junior is concerned with appearances in a more internal way - hiding his
Psychologists usually agree that the teenage years are among the most difficult periods in one’s life. Most teens are trying to figure out who they are, what they believe, and how they fit into the world around them. Beginning in the late 1970’s, a whole genre of fiction, referred to as coming-of-age literature, emerged and serves, at least for many teens, as believable presentations of young people learning to navigate the difficulties of their lives, often fraught with feelings of rejection, seemingly unresolvable personal turmoil, social problems, school and family issues, etc. Indeed one value of reading is to see and better understand some aspect of ourselves through studying others. The reading of SPEAK, a somewhat controversial book