Nonfiction Critical Analysis

  In the article, "Smoke Signals" by Alessandra Potenza,  they talk about the new e-cigarette.E-cigarette is an electronic cigarette that doesn't include tobacco, unlike the regular cigarettes, therefore, its healthier. Potenza talks about how some e-cigarettes are unregulated and are becoming more popular among young people. She talks about how some U.S officials are very worried that the e-cigarette is becoming popular among young people because they contain nicotine, which is the same addictive chemical in tobacco cigarettes. They are worried because more than 1.8 million middle and high school teenagers have tried e-cigarettes, and that the amount of young people using these have doubled in 2012 from the previous year. They are afraid that they would become too addicted to these cigarettes, especially because they come in different flavors. Adding on, they don't trust these cigarettes because 1.7 billion electronic cigarettes remain unregulated. I understood this text because Potenza keeps saying how the cigarette has bad chemicals, many young people use it, and  how people have been trying to ban it. For example, she says, "In 2009, after finding several toxic cancer-causing chemicals-including an ingredient used in antifreeze- in various types of e-cigarettes, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to ban them, calling them unapproved drug-delivery gadgets", meaning that they should be banned because they may have some chemicals that are unhealthy for you.
   While reading this article, I noticed that Potenza is trying to make us feel as if e-cigarettes aren't as good/healthy as they seem, that we are being lied to. For example, she says, "Because most e-cigarettes contain nicotine-the same chemical found in tobacco cigarettes- they have stirred debate all over the world." Adding on, her attitude throughout the article proved that she didn't approve of the cigarettes. For example, she says, "Part of the issue with e-cigarettes is the way they're being marketed: They come in flavors like chocolate, bubble gum, or vanilla, which are known to appeal to young people". Overall, Potenza feeds us facts to make us think that e-cigarettes are bad, therefore, making us feel betrayed in a way. 
    After reading this article, my whole perspective on e-cigarettes had changed. I no longer believe that e-cigarettes are healthy, that it can really help some people when it just makes them addicted to some other drug. In addition, I no longer want to try it, I used to see kids my age, or even younger, smoking e-cigarettes, which made me want to try them, to see how it feels, but now I know that it wouldn't be good for me. Instead, I believe that e-cigarettes should be banned because they are addictive, unregulated, and are making some young teens smoke. However, I do want to know a little more about why the e-cigarettes aren't regulated and how they got through without being regulated. Also i would want to know why they would put nicotine in the cigarette if they wanted people to stop being addicted to smoking. Overall, I think that e-cigarettes should be banned or at least stop from being sold to young teens, like they should have an age limit, like regular cigarettes.
   All in all, i think that e-cigarettes are as unhealthy as regular cigarettes are. Moreover, I think that they should be more cautious about who they are selling it to and what they have in the cigarette. 

What Difficult or Complex Things Happen In the Text?

   I am currently reading the book, "Forever in Blue" by Ann Brashares. This book is about 
four friends named Tibby, Carmen, Bridget, and Lena. They all go to college in different 
locations so they are always mailing each other things, especially the "Traveling Pants". The 
traveling pants are jeans that they all wrote on and they all share it. Adding on, they all are studying different things in college, Tibby is and Lena both have an apartment, Carmen is moving on with her job of helping backstage fir the drama club, and Bridget is in Turkey studying bones. However, a lot of difficult and complex things occur in the text.

  The most difficult thing to understand is why they were all in a room, except for Carmen, with candles and snacks surrounding them with the jeans in a big triangle in the middle of the floor. Its difficult to understand because I don't know why they did that or what was going on. In addition, I was wondering if the jeans were good luck or magical to them because they made the jeans seem so sacred. I also wondered why they wrote all over the jeans, was it a new trend in school? Is it a tradition? Did they write on it by accident and then just kept writing on it? All these questions made me think about how they started this tradition or whatever it is. I think that they probably started this by themselves, like one of them bought the jeans and kept getting good luck or something. In addition, whichever one bought it probably came up with the idea of writing on it, to claim it only theirs so nobody would still this good luck from them. Or they could just be witches with magical powers, which could explain why they had candles everywhere. They could have been doing some spells to make the jeans even more magical or powerful. Overall, this was difficult to understand because it was very confusing to understand because i didn't know what they were doing and why they were doing it.

  In conclusion, a lot of difficult and complex things happen in this book because there is no reason for why they do this or what they are doing. In addition, it makes me thing about the many different possibilities of why they do this, which makes me even more confused because I get mixed up with everything. Overall a lot of difficult an complex events occur throughout this fascinating book.

What Difficult or Complex Things Happen in the Text?

 I am currently reading the book “Twilight”, by Stephenie Meyer. The book is about a seventeen year old girl, named Isabella Swan (but prefers Bella), that lived in Phoenix but soon moved to Forks to live with her father. She had to move because her mom’s new boyfriend, Phil, travels a lot, so ended she up gong with him to Florida, leaving Bella to move to Forks for a little while. However, Bella hated Forks because it always rained there and she didn’t want to go to a new school, but did anyway because she wanted her mom to have a good time. While in her new school, Bella eventually gains a lot of new friends and crushes. One of her crushes is Edward Cullen, an eighteen year old teen that was adopted, with four other teens, by a doctor and his wife. Another crush of hers is Jacob, a Fifteen year old teen that is the son of Bella’s dad’s best friend. In fact, Charlie (Bella’s dad) bought Billy’s (Jacob’s dad) old truck for Bella. However, many difficult and complex things occur when she is with them.

            When she is with Edward, difficult things occur because he is so different compared to everyone else. For example, when he saved her getting hit by a van, he left a dent on the front of the van and also lifted it away from her, which would be impossible for a human being. Adding on, before he saved her, he was at his car, which was two spots away in the parking lot, but then was right next to her before the van even got close to her, which is pretty much too fast for a human being. He also didn’t get hurt when he left a dent in the van and lifted it. It seems like he is different, like not human, because he is doing things that is impossible for a seventeen year old teenager.

            In a similar way, when Bella is with Jacob, difficult and complex things happen too. For example, when he tells her about the cold ones story, he includes that his great-grandfather met them and made the treaty for them. I thought that this was difficult to understand because there was no explanation of why his great-grandfather did it, or how he knew them. In addition, Jacob made it seem like the Cullens family were vampires and he was a werewolf. I also thought that it was difficult to understand why Bella believe him when he said that the Cullens were vampires, I thought she would be smart enough to realize that he was probably tricking her or messing with her mind. Overall, I thought that Jacob made it difficult to understand because you couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or not when he said that the Cullens were vampires and he was a werewolf.

            In conclusion, a lot of difficult and complex things occur in this book because you never know if Edward or Jacob is lying. In addition, you can’t tell if they are serious when they talk about how dangerous they can be or how different they are. Overall, the book contains a lot of complex and difficult events. 

Young Adult Books Should Be Banned?

            Young adult books are a very controversial topic today. Many books such as, “Go Ask Alice” or “Wintergirl”, have been discussed many times before. People like librarians, parents, and teachers have been wondering if these books should be banned or not. They believe that these “dark” books are inappropriate for their kids. However, authors of these dark books have been trying to keep them out there. They believe these books can truly help troubled teens, and I agree with them.

            I believe that young adult books should not be banned because they can help troubled teens. For example, “Wintergirl” by Laurie Halse Anderson talks about a teenage girl named Lia that is anorexic and cuts herself. However, she slowly overcomes her problems and eventually gets better and stops cutting herself and eats normally. This can help a teen that is in the same situation, it can slowly help them get better over time, like Lia did. In addition, young adult books can help them learn new things, which can most likely help them in the future. For example, I the book “Go Ask Alice” by Anonymous, tells a story of a girl who becomes addicted to drugs from her friend, can teach teens about drugs and how they affect you. Also they teach you how to hang out with the right kind of people, the ones that will not lead you through the wrong path. Furthermore, teens love young adult books. For example, Gurdon even says, “A number of young adult books made the top 10 in 2010, including Suzanne Collin’s hyper-violent, best-selling ‘Hunger Games’” (Darkness Too Visible), meaning that it is so loved by teens that she got a best-seller.

            However, supporters of the ban claim that young adult books are too “dark”. People like parents, librarians, and teachers, are trying to ban these books because of the content. Parents claim that children shouldn’t be reading these books, however, children aren’t reading these books, teens are. In addition, it is the parent’s responsibility to keep these books away from their children. Additionally, librarians and teachers tried to get a rating system for young adult books, thinking it would stop young children from reading young adult books. However, it would just make kids want to read it even more. In addition, Charlie Higson tweeted “Why was GP Taylor on BBC new suggesting gov’t to introduce measures to keep books out of the hands of teens who want to read them?” (Husna Haq), meaning that it would just take away the opportunity of teens reading books. Also librarians and teachers believe that young adult books could influence kids to do something wrong. However, even Gurdon admits, “Reading about homicide doesn’t turn a man into a murderer; reading about cheating on exams won’t make a kid brake the honor code” (Darkness Too Visible). Moreover, teens wouldn’t be influenced at all by these books but will be educated by them because of their life long lessons.

            Overall, I believe young adult books are more helpful than harmful. They can actually help people and could save the lives of kids who are in a sticky situation. Anyway, even if you take away young adult books from libraries, schools, or stores, teens will most likely get them back somehow because they love them so much. As Williams says, “Darkness isn’t always the enemy, but ignorance always is” (Has young adult fiction become too dark?).  

Paper Town, John Green

  I am currently reading the book, “Paper Towns” by John Green. This book is about a senior named Q, who has two best friends, Radar and Ben. Q is the average high school kid, good grades, doesn’t get into trouble, has friends, not very popular, etc. However, one night, his crush, and most popular girl in school, Margo, came up to his window and asked him to help her on an eleven- step mission. At first, he was hesitant to go with her on a mission at night, but eventually, she convinced him to go with her. He thought it might make their relationship better, wishing that it might result in him taking Margo to prom. However, he never saw that it might change his future, or maybe even himself as a whole.
  Before the night with Margo, Q was a good, intelligent, and kind guy. He never would stay awake on a school night, or even on a weekend. He got good grades, and never broke the rules. He did everything he could to stay on top of his work and keep everything going for just a few weeks until school officially ended. However, he eventually changed after that night with Margo. He broke the rules, didn’t do his homework, went to bed late, and didn’t even study for his final government exam the next day. For example, Q took his mom’s car without permission and left with Margo to help her with the eleven- step mission. In addition, him and Margo broke into three houses, Jason’s (Margo’s cheating boyfriend), Becca’s (Margo’s ex-best friend), and Chuck’s (the bully that bothered Q everyday) and spray painted their cars and house. Adding on, they broke into one of the most popular buildings in Orlando, Florida. Q even ran from a guy shooting a shotgun and the police. Clearly, Margo has made him do things he usually would never even think of.
  But why did Q do all of this? Q did this to prove to Margo that he is good enough to be her boyfriend. He wanted to make Margo fall for him that night, so they can be together, and go to prom together. In addition, he wanted to know more about Margo so that he can impress her. However, he didn’t notice that she was just using him to help her with her mission.
  Overall, I think Q could’ve made the right choice by not going with her because he could get into so much trouble, which could make his future worse. For example, he wouldn’t get into Duke, his dream college. Also he would have a criminal record if he gets caught with all of the crimes he did with Margo that night. I think he should’ve just stayed away from her because she is a bad influence on him.
      

Young Adult Fiction Too Dark?

Young Adult Fiction Too Dark?

            This article, “Has Young Adult Fiction Become Too Dark”, by Mary Elizabeth Williams, is a response to Megan Cox Gurdon’s recent article, “Darkness Too Visible”. Williams mostly talks about how young adult fiction can and cannot be bad for teens. She mostly proves Gurdon’s claims wrong, like how she exaggerates when she talks about the content in young adult books. In addition, Williams explains how Gurdon can be misleading throughout her article. Adding on, Mary gives honest opinions about what she thinks of young adult fiction, and if teens should be reading it or not. For example, she admits, “YA section of your bookstore can be a pretty damn grim place, rife with everything from angsty vampires to sex abuse to bullying. And no, not all of it is great literature.”

            Throughout the articles, Williams gives little hints of what she wants us to think or feel. In the article, she makes Gurdon look so misleading; making us think that she is giving out false details that we shouldn’t acknowledge what she claims about young adult books. For example, Williams says, “And when she clumsily insists, ‘publishers use the vehicle of fundamental free-expression principles to try to bulldoze coarseness or misery into… children’s lives’, she fails to acknowledge the coarseness and misery already inherent in adolescence. She assumes that coarseness and misery- and profanity, and violence, and sex- are in and of themselves unsuitable subject matter, regardless of the quality of the writing. That’s where she goofs up big time.” In addition, she proves Gurdon wrong by using better and truthful facts. For example, she asked her daughter what she thought of Gurdon’s article and she said, “Does she get it that they’re not called ‘children’s’ books? They’re ‘young adult’ Adult.” In addition, Williams wants us to feel like we can trust young adult books, she explains how most young adult books can relate and help troubled teens.

            Overall, this article has changed the way I look at YA books and how I feel about them, I feel like I can relate to the books more. Adding on, I changed what I thought on this issue, I now support young adult books because they change most teen’s life and they can teach memorable lessons for us in the future. However, I would like to know more about how many teens had there life changed from a young adult book.

Faithful Elephants Blog Post

            The story, “Faithful Elephants: A true Story of Animals, People, and War,” by Yukio Tsuchiya, is about three elephants named Tonky, Wanly, and John. These three elephants lived in a zoo called the Ueno Zoo during world war two. These three elephants had to be killed, sadly, because the army commanded them to, they were afraid the elephants were going to run wild through the city. When the time came, each elephant was starved to death. It was a very hard time for the zoo keepers.

            It was very hard for the zoo keepers because they cared for the elephants for so long. For example, when it was john’s turn to die, they just wanted to get over with it by poisoning his food so he didn’t have to suffer from starvation. However, John was far to smart to eat poisoned potatoes, so the zoo keepers decided, “As it seems to be no other way, we must inject poison into his body.” They brought a syringe and tried to poison him with a needle, however, that didn’t work either because his skin was too thick. Thus, they ended up starving him to death. The zoo keepers were heartbroken.

            When it came to Wanly and Tonky, the zoo keepers were devastated. Tonky and Wanly had to also be starved to death. The zoo keepers loved them so much that they were willing to send them to Sendai, but they were afraid bombs were going to be dropped there too.  In addition, their trainer loved them so much that when they did their famous Bonzai trick he fed them food because he couldn’t stand to see them suffer anymore. “Oh, Tonky, Oh, Wanly!” he wailed, “Here!” he said sobbing, and clung to their thin legs, “Eat your food! Please drink. Drink your water!” Moreover, the zoo keepers pretended not to se anything, nor did they try to stop him, they too wanted them to survive while they could. Furthermore, they and the trainer could no longer bare to see the elephants suffer anymore, in result, stopped visiting them. Consequently, the elephants died while doing the Bonzai trick. “Stop the war! Stop all wars!” implored the zoo keepers when they found elephant’s thin bodies in their cage. This proves that they didn’t want the elephants to die, not like this. In addition, the zoo keeper telling the story also felt the same way because he was also crying.

            In conclusion, the zoo keepers did care for all the elephants very much. They did all they could to keep them alive, fed them, gave them water, even tried to let them die painlessly with poison (instead of starving them). In addition, they did what the elephants would’ve wanted, to be buried under the monument, peacefully. I also think that their death was probably really hard for not only the zoo keepers, but the visitors that came to the zoo just to see the elephants. I think that they would miss them doing the Bonzai trick. Adding on, I think their death was taken the hardest by the trainer because he trained and took care of them for most of their life. In the same way, I would have felt broken too if my cat, Bella, was forced to die of starvation. Overall, their death was very devastating to everyone.