Reading Response

    One cute and one weird, but their relationship is extraordinary. In the book, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell,  Eleanor is a red haired girl that wears wrong clothes, and Park is a cute, half-Korean guy. Their relationship is objected by both of their families, but Eleanor is living a harder life than what Park could have imagined. Appearance and being the same doesn't matter, but what matters is the kindness and understanding shown to one another.

    Most people look at Eleanor as a misfit for a girl, or is different from most girls. She's bullied frequently because of her appearance. For instance, the book states that "And she was dressed like... like she wanted people to look at her. Or maybe like she didn't get what a mess she was." on page 8. Eleanor was a new student, and she wears men clothes and has red hair. Also, she's treated like a slug, or as if she as a disease. For example, on page 8, the book stated that "They pushed past the girl, knocking into her, and dropped into their own seats." and "That girl--all of them--hated Eleanor before they'd even laid eyes on her."
    Even though Eleanor is being bullied, Park understands Eleanor. They are alike in some ways, for example music and comic. They are both outsiders, although Eleanor is more of an outsider than Park is. For example, "She was the only person in class who'd read her poem like it wasn't an assignment. You couldn't look away from her as long as she was talking." (Page 9) That showed how Park notices Eleanor in a different way than other people. Also, "When she got on the bus that morning, she immediately lifted her head to find Park. He was looking up, too, like he was waiting for her. She couldn't help it, she grinned." (Page 58) Eleanor is living a complicated life, and Park was one of the few people who can make her smile.
    Ever since Eleanor and Park met each, they both showed interest in one another. Although their parents refuse them to be together, they were still, star-crossed lovers. When Eleanor got bullied by Steve, Park got into a fight with him. That showed how much he cared about Eleanor and her feelings, even though she didn't like what had happened. Eleanor and Park are living different lives. Richie, Eleanor's step-father, refuses the most for Eleanor is have boyfriends, or even have boys over at their house, and is very violent. Although they barely have time or somewhere to talk about personal things, they tried their best to communicate with each other.
    The issues happening in the text also happens frequently in the real world. Bullying happens mostly in school, which is where bullying takes place in Eleanor & Park. This issue makes me wonder if there will ever be a solution to it. Judging others is a common thing that happens to everyone. Although it happens frequently, it could be controlled by the people themselves.

Author's Note For Picture Book

   Bullying has been a very common issue everywhere, mostly in schools. Most people are bullied because of their appearance, race, etc. Most people bullies others, not knowing how much it can hurt someone, or not realizing that they're acting like bullies. Bullying not only happen in the outside world, but it also happens on the internet, called cyber bully.
   Almost everyone has been bullied some point in their life. Even though I don't have much experience on being bullied, I have seen many people being bullied or being a bully in school. In my middle school, there is a girl being bullied internally because of her appearance. Even if the bullies don't say the words out loud in front of her, they tend to ignore her or look embarrassed being near her. But, there are always other people out there, not judging others by their appearance, race, etc. It's not the end of the world when you have no friends or your friends left you. There's always an opportunity to make new friends, or even better friends that understands you.
   I wrote this book to show how much bullying can hurt someone, and how you shouldn't keep your feelings to yourself. Find new friends if your old friends are bullying you, and don't stay with them and act like they're not hurting your feelings.

Synthesis Page

Crank by Ellen Hopkins 

Critical Thinking Question: How does this book help you to think about social issues you care about or causes you are committed to?

1. Drug Addiction: Kristina was a straight-A high school student and a perfect daughter. Ever since she tried Crank, she became addicted to it, and started becoming the monster side of herself. For example, she started hitchhiking, and was caught by a cop and sent to Juvenile hall. I think that drug addiction is a common issue for teenagers and adults. It can cause someone to change a lot in many horrible ways, and it's not easy to control this issue. Drug addiction seems to be really strong once you tried drugs for the first time, and you may continue to get addicted to it.

2. Raping: At first, Brendan seemed like a good boyfriend for Kristina, but, he only used Kristina for raping. I think that raping is a serious problem, and can be really harmful to people. It can ruin someones life, make someone suicide, etc. Raping seemed to be common in some books dealing with social issues, and mostly happens in unexpected love.

3. Helping someone with their social issue in a bad way: Kristina was addicted to Crank, and she was desperate for more when she ran out. She would mostly do anything to get more Crank. Brendan offered Kristina more Crank in exchange of raping her, except that Brendan didn't actually state that he wanted to rape her. Drug addiction is a serious issue, and Brendan is helped Kristina getting more Crank, making her more addicted and crazy. I think that people shouldn't help others, when they know that it would destroy them, or even more. It's a common social issue in this world, and most people don't care about it, since it doesn't affect themselves.

Why Should The Book, "Thirteen Reasons Why" Not Be Banned?

    There are many books out in this world being banned because of several reasons. It is my position that the book, "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher should not be banned. One of the main characters, Hannah Baker, committed suicide because of bullying and others being bystanders. Although the book has inappropriate text, the book gives a strong message to the readers on their social life, especially the teenagers.
    The text helps readers realize that being a bystander can lead to consequences. One of the characters, Jenny Kurtz, knocked down a stop sign while she was driving. Instead of calling the cops or asking for help, she drove away, thinking that it doesn't matter. Of course, it did matter, because an old man crashed his car and died because there was no stop sign there. This demonstrates that even small problems can cause big consequences, when it's not fixed. Another event is when a girl got raped during a party, but no one helped her. Two characters, Hannah Baker and Justin Foley, both saw and knew what had happened, but they were being bystanders, so the girl's life was ruined. Hannah stated that, "We both could have stopped it. We could have saved her. That girl had 2 chances. And both of us let her down." What this evidence suggests is that when there is someone in trouble, there should not be any bystanders, because there is no going back once one regret what they did not do. Many teenagers were being bystanders, and the book shows how being a bystander can affect other people.
    In addition, the book helps comfort some readers on their feelings. When Jay Asher was signing autographs for his book, a woman came and stated that after reading the book, she felt she could let go of some of the guilt about her son. Her son was 14 years old when he had taken his own life, and her mom was under a lot of pressure, but now, she can finally let go of the pressure. Most importantly, the text helps comfort readers that are experiencing what Hannah Baker is going through. There are many readers that can reflect on Hannah Baker's experiences, and that is what is strong about the meaning of the book.
    There are cases where the book has inappropriate or extreme text for some young readers, but the text also helps young readers understand more about the features that happens, while they're growing up. For example, Hannah Baker stated that, "Instead, you rubbed back and forth, gently, along my waist. Your pinky made its way under the top of my panties and rolled back and forth, from hip to hip" and also "I did not say no or push his hand away. All I did was turn my head, clench my teeth, and fight back tears." That text shows readers what they should not do in a situation like that, and also how to handle the situation better than what Hannah did. In particular, the book shows how bullying can lead to fear, drinking, physical touching, raping, lose of self-esteem, and suicide. As young people are growing up, they will experience more social issues, and the book shows them how to handle some situation, to prepare themselves for the future.
    Overall, it becomes clear that the book, "Thirteen Reasons Why" should not be banned, because the book helps readers understand the importance of not being a bystander and how bullying affects people. If some people are uncomfortable reading the book, then they can just not read the book. Anyone should have the right to read what they want to read, and refuse to read what they do not want to read. The book has a powerful effect on the readers' feelings or thoughts, and that can have a big impact on their lives.

Overview

   The presentation is about different kinds of bullying, and how it works in this society. The interview is about my mom's experience of being bullied in her childhood. The response is on a film that's about cyberbully. You should stand up for yourself and others, and remember that even the small issues can cause big problems.

Response on "Cyberbully"

   The film "Cyberbully" directed by Charles Biname, makes me think how even small issues can have big consequences, like cyberbully. In the film, a teenager tried to suicide because she was cyber bullied. I realized that very little people care about cyberbullying and many people thinks that cyberbully is no big deal. I think that the society should focus on all social issues, not just the huge ones, and that there should be more people that stands up for themselves and others.

Interview

Question: What problems have you faced when you were in school?

Mom: I was bullied in middle school, but only for a short while. Also, my parents died when I was 13, so life was hard.

Question: What did you do to solve your problems?

Mom: I stand up for myself and others when I was bullied. Eventually, the bullies got bored and stopped bullying me.

Question: How do you feel about the bullies?

Mom: I think that they don't care much about others, except themselves. I think that the reason they were being bullies were because they were bullied once, or abused.

   I think that my mom can handle being bullied really well. There isn't much people who stands up for themselves and others. She had a tough childhood, but she worked through it and overcome her fears. Even though her parents weren't there to support her, her brothers and her worked togther to live on.