The Fat Kid By Berry College

In “Censorship: A Personal View”, the author, Judy Blume, argues that the censorship is the biggest restrictions that turn young people away from books that they are interested in. Blume first indicates that the censorship already existed while she was a kid. She provides her personal experience as a kid toward the curiosity about adult world that she wanted to read from books, but her parents and school were very careful and selective about what books she could read. Blume then expresses her own views on censorship while she likes to write the controversial topics as a writer. She provides her own experience while many of her books were banned because the topics in her book were dangerous to young people, and the censorship proposed the alternative

Because of offensive language and ideas that are represented in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, it has been banned in many school libraries and lessons. One of the main reasons that it was banned in school is because of offensive words like the n-word and also because of the fact that the plot is centered around rape. One of the school board members, Kenny Holloway, said, “We can teach the same lessons with other books.” Many people agree with Holloway’s opinion, saying that the same ideas that are represented in To Kill A Mockingbird could be taught with a less controversial book. However, other people say that students are tough enough to handle the story. While many people don’t think that this book is appropriate for school, some people

Sabrina Rubin Erdely's "School of Hate” and Chris Heath's "18 Tigers, 17 Lions, 8 Bears, 3 Cougars, 2 Wolves, 1 Baboon, 1 Macaque, and 1 Man Dead in Ohio” has the most depressing essays that shown that people are being disrespect to the innocent human beings or creatures. The society is really cruel because they didn’t accept anything that they think it is different from others. Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote about a girl who is in seven grade named Brittany Geldert has the most unique outfit and had a deep voice that lead to outcast. The worst part is the society didn’t protect the young teenagers who is having a hard time, “She would have been shocked to know the truth behind the adults' inaction: No one would come to her aid for fear of violating the districtwide policy requiring school personnel to stay "neutral" on issues of homosexuality”, (254). Chris Heath wrote about desperate man named Terry Thompson who sent freed the animals and killed himself which it is tragic. A lot of

Censors typically feel as though the subject material of controversial books in the high school English curriculum is too much for teenagers to handle (Shen, 2002).

First, the author argues, “When engaging in critical literacy, readers question reality and entertain multiple perspectives about particular topics, attitudes, and behaviors” (Graff). Challenged and banned books are beneficial to readers. These banned books help students evaluate more difficult pieces of literature, which could be used in the future. Jennifer Graff states, “...Book censorship helps us think critically about the power of the written word as well as the relationships between individuals, texts, and contexts, to paraphrase Lawrence Sipe (1999)” (Graff). Banned and challenged books allow readers to see the truth--from the past, future, or present--written by the author. Readers can apply these ideas to real-life situations successfully. In the article, On Reading and Sharing Banned Books, the topic of “...heightened sensitivity about what and how we say things,” and needing, “ongoing conversations about how literature can be part of our lives without undue stress and controversy” is exposed (Graff). Books are written for many reasons, to inform persuade, entertain, and relax; however, with books censorship, finding relaxing or entertaining books is extremely difficult. Without censorship, readers could easily discuss these now controversial topics without worry. The purpose of the book, good moral, and potentially

Most people know the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the personification of teen rebellion and independence. It illustrates the free-spirit disobedience that lies in the hearts of teenagers. In T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” and Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland,” the reader is given a glimpse of the turbulent times encompassed during teenage years, including the questioning of authority. Through the authors’ style of writing, the theme of both stories are almost identical; the reader can conclude that both authors have diverse tactics in the way they tell the stories. Both characters in each story go through teen rebellion but have different perspectives on how to approach these issues.

Her first non-children’s book was Fever 1793, although she took a yearlong break from that book to write Speak (Lew 23-25), her first true young adult novel. As she began writing for teens instead of children, she also began writing about more controversial issues, such as the rape and depression in Speak. Anderson has become “knownfor writing realistic books about controversial subjects for teens” (Deutsch). Not only does she write about these difficult topics, she approaches them with “humor and sensitivity” and “her work has earned numerous national and state awards, as well as international recognition” (“Laurie”). Speak itself was a National Book Award finalist and is a Pritz honor book the year it first came out (Lew 34). Despite this recognition, Wesley Scroggins, a Missouri State University professor, called the book “soft pornography,” and demanded that it be taken out of school curriculum (qtd. in Lew 35). Judy Blume, Anderson’s favorite author, backed Anderson in this situation, calling the claim “outrageous” (Lew 35). Clearly, Blume and Anderson won the battle because “[Speak has] been used in schools in order to not only teach literary analysis but also to teach and give students tools against sexual harassment” (“Voice”). The response to Speak can be better understood by learning about the time it was written.

It is expected for arguments to arise when writing about controversial topics. Many times the meaning of a book is not as obvious as the author intended, which may lead to problems. Other times, books are challenged because they contain sexual or inappropriate material. When Kurt Vonnegut released Slaughterhouse-Five critics were quick to judge his peculiar way of writing. Although Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse-Five was oftentimes misunderstood, interpreted as inappropriate, and judged for the peculiar point of view, critics seem to appreciate and accept one aspect of it: the structure of the book.

I recently read an excerpt from an article by Brett Martin, called “Good Food Everywhere”. It is a short, yet funny piece written about Martin’s journey finding amazing food in different and random places. Making a statement, he ends his article with, “How to square the seemingly unstoppable upward trajectory of our eating lives with the supposed downward trajectory of nearly everything else?” (Martin 263). This quote here is the most powerful part of the whole entire piece, as it is stating a much bigger idea than simply eating good food at places throughout a trip. I’m sure the meaning behind this question can be interpreted differently amongst others, but overall, I’m sure we can all get a gist of the big picture. Martin is clearly asking how can we manage to reconcile the impossible, yet positive course of good food in our lives, with the negative path of everything else. For “everything else”, that might be where some opinions differ.

When looking at the many pieces of artwork that were in the Georgia Museum of Art, Playground by Paul Cadmus was the only one that was able to fully grasp my attention and make me want to come back to view it. The piece had many characters performing different actions and poses, each individual with their own characteristics. The first thing that I noticed in the piece is a young, white male with bleach-washed hair in the foreground. The pants that he is wearing are unbuttoned and slightly below his waist. The boy’s arms are positioned behind him bending back with his hands underneath his undergarments. He stares back at the viewer with a blank look on his face. Scattered on the ground, trash and crumpled pieces of newspaper can be found on the ground. Behind the young man, there is another man with black hair and a ripped shirt, his chest exposed and his back against a metal fence. He holds a cigarette in his left hand and has his right hand in his pocket

The author’s purpose in the letter “You Have Insulted Me”, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is to persuade the school board to reinstate his book by using the rhetorical techniques ethos, pathos, and logos. First, Vonnegut embeds ethos into his letter when he writes, “I have six children... They have all turned out well” (Vonnegut 3). This is an example of ethos because the author is referencing his parenthood to validate his discretion. Vonnegut recognizes his successful children to affirm that Vonnegut understands the boundaries associated with school appropriateness.

different countries’ policies on legal drinking ages to prove that it is safe for teens to

Another useful tool in analyzing a poem is to identify poetic devices, meter, and a rhyme scheme. Through her deft use of extended metaphor, Bradstreet weaves an intricate web of parallels between parent and author and between child and book--both relationships of creator to creation. This use of metaphor allows the reader to relate emotionally to Bradstreet’s situation. In line seven, we see the uses of litotes, “At thy return my blushing was not small,” to express the depth of her embarrassment. She also uses metonymy in line eight to express her pain more clearly, “My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.” The simile used in line nine stresses her objection to the published work, “I cast thee by as one unfit for light.” Then in line 19, the poetic device of consonance is used which provides emphasis on her warning, “In this array ‘mongst vulgars may’st thou roam.” In this poem, through the use of personification and apostrophe Bradstreet conveys her feelings and emotions. Anne Bradstreet ensures her poem’s success by linking the triumph and tragedy of authorship with the pain and pleasure of creating and nurturing human life. The meter used is

“It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer. The children are the real losers because they are the ones that are not able to read the classic works of literature which are the backbone of classroom discussions all across the United States.

One reason why the story, The Child by Tiger, is so plausible is because of the story’s setting. The physical setting that the author has portrayed helps you fully understand the emotions that his character are feeling. In 1912 the blacks had little to no rights, they lived in little shacks that had no electricity or nearly enough room in them for every family member that occupied the shack. They had one communal phone that was located in the only grocery store they had, they had a drugstore, barber shops and poolrooms. Everything was located on Gulley Street, which was almost like Broadway to the African Americans. Gulley Street then turned into South Dean that lead to the Square on the white side of town.