Close Reading: The Peanuts

     The text I chose for the close reading assignment was The Peanuts, one of my favorite comic strips. I chose to look at several strips from different months to see whether there were any similarities between them. My inquiry was: What do I notice about either the power/resistance situation or the real life issues in The Peanuts?
     The first thing I noticed was a real life problem. In this strip, Lucy is worried about over-population. My first thought on this was that by making the characters talk about certain problems, the author raises awareness about it in an entertaining way (it is a comic strip, after all!). Another problem I noticed was mentioned is religious intolerance. This is mostly brought up when Linus speaks of the Great Pumpkin. Because he believes in something Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of them don't, he is made fun of or insulted. This reminded me of times in history (unfortunately, even now) when certain groups were bullied, insulted, and attacked, and sometimes even wars were started because they didn't share the same beliefs as other people. Again, by making this problem into an entertaining story, the author gets people to think about it more. He also makes people angry at that problem, and compassionate towards the victim. Who doesn't like Linus?
     The other part of my inquiry, the power/resistance situation, was also quite apparent in the comic. However, this does not mean that the power had to be obvious. For instance, there is a strip in which "Pig-Pen" offers Charlie Brown a piece of candy. Though this may not seem very powerful, he has the power to give a nice thing to someone else, which may cause them to like him more. In the same way, resistance does not have to be a full-out revolution or a dramatic argument. Resistance can just be saying "no." Resistance really only means not agreeing or going with the power, and a small thing like "no" can be very effective. There is also a kind of quiet power, one that implies what it can do if provoked. One example of this is when Snoopy decides to be mad at everyone, but as soon as Lucy walks by, he pretends that he was never doing or thinking anything. He knows what the consequences of angering Lucy will be, making her the power, and he prefers to not resist her, all this without Lucy saying a word. This shows that there does not always have to be resistance.
     As I was reading and analyzing this wonderful comic strip, I decided that exploring problems in a humoristic fashion is a very efficient way of doing it. While it may not fully explain them, it says just enough about them to interest the readers. Also, when problems are communicated in a very obvious, often depressing way, people often turn away and pretend it doesn't exist so as to not think of the horribleness of the situation. But when the problem is accompanied by a joke, it's less hard to face it and it is easier to think about it. The same goes for power/resistance: if there is a bully, or a leader who takes advantage of his/her position, a comic strip shows ways of resisting.

Synthesis Page: Fox

     The story Fox is what we could call an XYZ picture book. Despite its deceptively simple story, the book contains many hidden messages and themes.
     One of these themes is loss. In the beginning of the book, Magpie burned her wings and will never be able to fly again. Dog also is missing an eye. These two are the most obvious examples of how loss plays into the story. When Fox appears, he tempts Magpie to come with him. Magpie then refuses, thinking of the loss that Dog would suffer if she left. This is a more subtle mention of loss in the book.
     Another theme in Fox is friendship. There is, of course, Magpie and Dog's friendship, which is a vital component of the story. When Magpie is injured and in a state of depression because of her wings, Dog offers to fly for her. Their trust and dependency on one another unites them into one creature, the new creature that Magpie sees in the water. There is also Fox's lack of friendship, which drives him to sever Magpie and Dog's relationship. This shows how strong a friendship can be, and how not having anyone to have one with can lead to the destruction of others' because of the envy.
     This brings me to a third theme: envy. While nowhere in the book does it say outright that Fox is envious of Dog and Magpie and their unison, his actions betray his feelings. By luring Magpie away from Fox with the offer of flight, he shows his interest in killing their friendship. And when he leaves her in the middle of the desert, telling her that now she and Dog will know what it is like to be truly alone, his envy breaks through and reveals itself in a not completely obvious, but still noticeable way. His motives for doing such a thing are directly linked to his envy. Because he himself has no friendship and is completely alone, he cannot stand to see anyone have what he does not.

Best 2013 Books

     2013 was a long year filled with many books. But if I had to choose, the top three would be: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall, Boy by Roald Dahl, and Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. These three books were very fun to read, were interesting, and taught me many things.
     The Penderwicks at Point Mouette is the third book in the Penderwick series. The story is about Jane, Skye, Batty, Jeffrey, Hound, and Aunt Claire who go to Maine for summer vacation. While on the vacation, the sisters and their friends deal with Love Surveys, Firegods, music, and the beach. I loved this book, and the whole series, because they showed life as 12 year olds and younger kids see life. Although the end of it deals with more serious problems, most of the story talks about the little annoyances and stresses as well as the little joys which make up a child's life. Something I've noticed over the years is that the older the characters are, the more intense their lives are. I found this book refreshing because it isn't like that at all. It focuses more on everyday life, which is something I always like to read.
     Boy is the story of Roald Dahl's childhood. In case you have no idea who that is, he is the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and many other books. The story starts off with how his parents met, his father's life (to make it more interesting, it involves his father's arm being amputated), and then his own birth. Because this is an autobiography, the character does truly develop and although there are some considerable losses and tragedies, once again the book focuses more on a child's perspective on life, which mostly involves his own little problems and joys. This book taught me that there are always ways of making your life a little better.
     Elsewhere is about a girl who dies and goes to an afterlife. This book is different from the other two in the sense that it is a lot heavier and has deeper conflicts than the others. It is a wonderful book, though, that s funny and sad and a million other things all at the same time. The first time I read this I couldn't stop reading and I read the whole book from cover to cover without stopping. If you like sort of realistic fantasy (if that makes any sense) books, you should definitely read it.

Reading Inquiry: How are minorities portrayed in books?

      In The Westing Game, there are several different minorities portrayed in different ways. The story is about some people who are invited to play the Westing Game, a game found in the will of a rich relative. One minority shown are children. Because Turtle, the daughter of one of the players, is a child, she is treated worse by her mother. This is because she is the second child, after her perfect sister, Angela. Turtle gets a room the size of a closet and gets the clues that are given to her for the game taken by her sister. Children, in this case, are portrayed as not fully respected and sometimes taken advantage of. However, Turtle knows how to defend herself, mostly by kicking people in the shin. In this way, children are shown to be able to protect and defend theirselves.

      Another minority shown in this book are African Americans. Judge J.J. Ford is a judge, the first black judge in the court she works for. She is very smart, able, and is one of the most sensible people in the book. I think this shows that the author is completely against segregation or anything along those lines (this book was written in the seventies.) African Americans in this book are portrayed very well, in a way that tells that race does not dictate ability.

      Finally, the "perfect" young woman is a third minority shown in the book. Angela, Turtle's sister, is her mother's favorite, engaged to a medical intern, and never does anything that might go against her mother's wishes. At least, until she bombs the apartment. The fact that Angela is often refered to as a pretty, sweet, young "thing" shows that women are (or were) considered more as pleasant things to have around than as people. However, the fact that Angela bombs the apartments, and then herself to throw people off her track, suggests that the author thought, similarly to the previous paragraph, that gender does not dictate ability.

Social Issues in Fiction

     In the Chronicles of Narnia series there are several social issues that are translated into a fantasy version, but that when they are analysed come down to the same thing. One of these is in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, where the evil queen turns anyone who dares defy her to stone. This represents what happens in some dictator-run governments where anyone who thinks differently from the leader is put in jail or otherwise punished. It is also like WWII, when anyone who was a different religion or who was against Hitler were severely punished, and often killed. These kinds of problems, although happening less, are still occurring in today's world, although many people are trying to stop the tyrants.

     In another book, once again fantasy, The Divide, there are several neighborhoods which are pretty much split up in poor vs. rich, dangerous vs. safer areas. Unfortunately, this is a problem in the real world, which I suppose could be called class systems. Having neighborhoods, or even countries, that are classified like this can make people less or more likely to live there. If someone knows there is a very poor country that doesn't have basic survival materials, they probably won't live there, but someone who can't live anywhere else will, where they will most likely stay in those conditions. This is one problem shown in The Divide.

   One last book which has social justice problems is The People of Sparks. In this book, people who have lived underground for centuries and are running out of supplies make it to the surface, and ask for shelter in a small village. Suspicions start to become apparent against them, resulting in an almost war. This isn't exactly racism, because technically both peoples are human, but the fact that they come from underground makes them different, which somehow, in the minds of the villagers, makes them more suspicious and likely to create trouble. This is also kind of like what happened when people fought because they came from different countries, or like when immigrants who came to the US were treated less well.

Potter Banned Nonfiction Article

     I am choosing to write about the article "Man From Ministry Bans Potter" by Tania deLuzuriaga which appeared in The Boston Globe. This article is about a Massachusetts Catholic school that banned the Harry Potter series because of the witchcraft in it. The author of the article doesn't present a clear opinion of this. The entire article is pretty much unbiased, except when the author includes quotes from various people, but those aren't her own thoughts. She keeps the article free of opinions by adding quotes of people on both sides of the issue. For example, she writes what was written on a class page on the school's website in favor of the series, but also adds something a parent said which, while not completely for the banning, shows understanding for it.
     There are several craft moves used by Tania deLuzuriaga. Although her tone does not reveal much, and is neither for nor against the argument, there are other things she uses to make the article more interesting and impactful. One is that she includes a brief history of book banning in Massachusetts, starting very early in its history and moving forward. This makes her article stronger because it shows previous happenings of the same kind as the story she is writing about. She also starts off with something that happened before the book was banned that was definitely pro-Harry Potter.
     Because the author doesn't have a clear claim, it's hard to agree or disagree with her. However, I disagree with the banning itself, mostly because I am a fan of the series being banned. I also think, that since  in the books there are two sides of witchcraft, one good and one evil, banning it for mentioning witchcraft seems extreme. I did think, though, that adding a quote that was somewhat for the ban was a strong part that made me understand more why the book was banned.

Zoom!

     Is growing up quickly a bad thing? Or a good thing? This issue comes up often in the book A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, a book set in the 1910s. More precisely, the author often mentions it in reference to the children in a poor neighborhood, where they often have to take care of their selves and their younger siblings. This also applies to Francie, the main character, who regularly takes care of herself as well as her little brother, Neeley. This has both advantages and disadvantages.
    One disadvantage is that if children grow up too quickly, they'll be treated like adults too soon, and zoom! There goes their childhood. Why rush growing up until you have to? For instance, when Francie goes to work for the first time, she's only fourteen, but says she's sixteen. Although at home she's still allowed to be fourteen, at work she loses two years of her life.This is meaningful because it means she doesn't have the same time other kids do to be a child and not have too many responsibilities. Another disadvantage is that they have to help their parents out as soon as possible, for example when Francie minds Neeley when she's four and should instead be learning how to take care of herself. However, there are several advantages to growing up quickly. One is that these children learn to be independent and can do things without too much surveillance. Francie and Neeley go around their neighborhood alone when they're still quite young, and do fine, which makes them more capable of doing things on their own. Another advantage that goes with being independent is that they learn to handle money wisely. For the first part of their childhood, Francie and Neeley trade scraps of metal or paper in return for money. Though they were young when they did this, half the money they received went to their family's tin bank, and the other half was split fairly between the two of them. This is important because it can make them good with money when they're actually adults, which is a good thing to be able to do.
    These advantages and disadvantages apply almost anywhere. Although nowadays you can't pretend you are two years older in order to work, growing up quickly can still have both good and bad effects on the children it's happening to.