Actions & Relationships in Sold by Patricia McCormick

Each year, nearly half a million children are trafficked into the sex trade according to the U.S. State Department. To you and me, this number may just seem like a statistic, but after reading the groundbreaking story, Sold by Patricia McCormick, I became aware of the daily lives these children lead. Things like responsibility, hope, and trust, were all apart of the main character Lakshmi’s coming of age experience. Even before Lakshmi was sold into slavery, she was the victim of an abusive relationship. Negative actions towards the other person in a relationship can result in an abusive relationship no matter the situation.

To begin, it was Lakshmi’s stepfather that sold her into slavery in the first place. Back in Nepal, Lakshmi lived in a male dominant culture, and was used to giving up her power over the relationship to her stepfather. He would often gamble away all of the family’s money, even though they couldn’t afford to buy a proper roof for their house. Also, in the text it says, “My stepfather looks at me the same way he looks at the cucumbers I’m growing in front of our hut.” Trusting a foolish man with your financial situation is scary, but Lakshmi’s voice is useless compared to his. This caused their relationship to be unequal due to the lack of respect.

Similarly, as the head of a prostitution ring, Mumtaz used physical punishment against Lakshmi as her strategy to gain loyalty and obedience. She often beat her with a strap. In the book Lakshmi describes the experience saying, “Her strap has left raw sores on my back and neck, my arms and legs. So she hits me on the soles of my feet.” Mumtaz weakened Lakshmi, and stripped her of her once innocent childhood. This caused their relationship to be a battle over power, testing whether or not Lakshmi would give into Mumtaz’s harsh demands.

In conclusion, I realized in my own life, out of all of the relationships that I’ve had, the bad ones always ended for the same or similar reasons. When there is a struggle over power in a relationship, the balance between two people is broken, making respect harder to give and harder to receive. As humans, it is impossible to demand complete control over someone’s mind, since really our first priority in a relationship is to feel that we are the ones being satisfied first. As selfish as that may seem, a healthy relationship can only be maintained with the support of both people, no matter the time or place.

How Powerful is Putin? Upfront Article Response

From shirtless horse rides to posing with tigers, there is no doubt President Vladimir Putin’s masculine image has spread all over Russia, and other parts of the world. The article, “Czar Putin?” by Patricia Smith talks about how Putin’s aggressive leadership techniques have made Russia’s economy thrive and become a threat to other countries over the years. However, with the recent price of oil sinking at home, his leadership skills are put to the test. The Russian economic crisis will either make or break President Putin’s career.

Firstly, the ongoing economic crisis in Russia might potentially make Putin the imperial ruler he sought out to be. One strategy Putin uses to gain power over Russia is by silencing his opponents. According to the article he, “Jailed members of an all-female punk band for singing anti-Putin songs.” As you can see, destroying freedom of speech takes out anyone rebelling against him. But will this strategy continue to work with Russia’s sagging economy? In the article the author discusses how actually being more aggressively hostile of a ruler could actually benefit in drawing the attention away from the economy. Therefore,

On the other hand, Putin might potentially lose his powerful influence on Russia due to the crisis. When the economy was back on track and better than ever, it was easy for Putin to take away freedoms from Russians. The article states, “But as Russians begin to feel the pinch of the economic crisis, that could be harder.” Silencing opposing views is an important part of how Putin maintains his power; without that he cannot move forward with his policies. The article states, “The other question is whether Putin’s mounting problems at home will force him to tone down his aggression against the West.”

All in all, I realized after reading this article the power of freedom of speech. Putin, one of the most powerful leaders in the world, signed a bill criminalizing repeated street protests. Living in a democracy, it’s easy for me to take for granted the amount of freedom I have as a teenager to express my opinions and ideas. This makes me think about the rest of the world, where some teens my age don’t even have the right to an education. One voice can have a huge impact on what other people think, and to me, that is the greatest power one can possess.

Emotion vs. Belief in The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Have you ever made a bucket list? Let’s face it; in our lives each and every one of us has had a memorable experience, for the better or for worse. Even if those experiences are small compared to the rest of our life, like picking up a piece of trash on the sidewalk, they still have an impact on our emotions and beliefs. In a time of racial violence, tension, and change, to say America in the 1960s was an overall tranquil place would a misrepresentation. To say the Civil Rights Movement didn’t have an effect on Americans today would be denying the obvious. In The Help by Kathryn Stockett, complex characters like Celia Foote experience the emotions that occur in reaction to an event, and the beliefs that are ingrained in us over time.

Through a chain of events, Celia develops feelings of embarrassment, resentment, and confidence. For example, at the annual Benefit for the Jackson Junior League in Mississippi, Celia arrives overdressed wearing a scandalous hot pink ball gown that steals the attention of all of the other husbands in the room. Next, after getting drunk and into a heated argument with her husband’s ex-girlfriend/League president named Hilly Holbrook, she vomits all over the carpet floor. All Celia wanted after moving to Jackson was to join the League and become friends with Hilly Holbrook. However, after weeks of hiding under the covers of her bed, Celia finds out Hilly’s biggest weakness: the time when she ate by accident a pie made out her former maid’s excrement. After calling Celia a liar, this discovery not only boosts Celia’s self esteem, but also gives her the courage to keep the information as a weapon to use against Hilly.

Through a chain of emotions, Celia changes her beliefs on the ladies in the Jackson Junior League. To begin, she learns they will do anything and hurt anyone in order to keep their high standing social status. In the book it states, “Johnny’s wife is d-r-u-n-k.” In order to show their loyalty to the League, the ladies have to insult those who are not accepted. In this case, Celia is the outcast and the ultimate target. Secondly, Celia learns she doesn’t have to instantly become friends with every human she comes in contact with. After attempting several times with many failed phone calls to Hilly Holbrook, she finally realizes Hilly isn’t worth her time, and that although she has a lot of power and influence in the town of Jackson, Mississippi, doesn’t mean she’ll share any of it with her ex-boyfriend’s wife.

All in all, experiences lead to emotions, which lead to beliefs that can change your original view on a matter. That’s why a lot of the time after making mindless decisions we feel regret, or remorse, because our emotions are telling us to. We try to forget the mistakes we made in the past, but how can we in the future decipher what is wrong or right? Think about it, if there was a machine that erase every bad thing after it happened, history would likely repeat itself because we have nothing to learn from. The only way we can effectively move on from our past is to forgive and accept that is happened.

The Help Inquiry Reading Response

Seg·re·ga·tion noun \ˌse-gri-ˈgā-shən\: the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separates from each other. This term, segregation has been spoken and put into action in our country for over a century from 1849 to 1964. The book The Help by Kathryn Stockett, tells the perspectives of African-American maids and the white people they worked for during the Civil Rights Movement in Jackson, Mississippi. Based on the events taking place, Aibileen, one of the maids, changed her views on racial inequality.

               
              Firstly, because of the racial injustices that happened in Jackson, Mississippi, Aibileen became more determined to protest her rights. Born in segregation, she learned at a young age she was powerless to those with a lighter shade of skin. In the text it states, “Lost my own boy, Treelore…tractor trailer didn’t see him and crushed his lungs before he could move. By the time I found out, he was dead.” When other innocent African-Americans were killed in her community, she felt like another Treelore was lost. For example, in the text Aibileen said, “I don’t want to think about a colored man dying. It’ll make me remember Treelore.” Also, since the shooting of Medgar Evers by the KKK, Aibileen became even more determined to write the novel with Skeeter. For instance, “If I say I don’t want a do it anymore, then everthing I been writing and still have to write ain’t gone get to be said. No, I think. I don’t want to stop.” Lastly, Aibileen said, “For the second time in two months, Jackson, Mississippi’s in the Life magazine. This time though, we make the cover.” I think segregation has forced Aibileen to identify herself more by her race than as an individual.

                 In conclusion, because of the events that have taken place, Aibileen has changed her views on racial inequality. The way you are raised can form your view on a topic, while different events can change them. Without even realizing it, calling someone “fat” as a joke can have a huge impact on how that person sees his or her body throughout life. As much as we don’t want to be the victim of a traumatic experience, we have to stop ourselves from being the cause of someone else’s.

“How the Murder of Four Teens Started A War” by Patricia Smith Response

 

The article, “How the Murder of Four Teens Started A War” by Patricia Smith, is about the territory conflict between Israel and Palestine, and the quest for peace. The author uses an objective tone for readers to gain knowledge that there is an opportunity for peace.

Firstly, the author used specific craft moves like loaded words, specific quotes, and imagery to get readers to feel a certain way. For example, in the article she uses words like, “bludgeoned” and imagery so as, “set on fire” to describe the devastating murders of the teens, and to make the reader feel anger towards the murderers. Secondly, the author used the quotes, “It’s now or never for the two-state solution,” and “In that sense, this opens up an opportunity.” To elaborate, both sides have been shaken by that war and the effects of it, and need to come to an agreement before more lives are taken away, and another war is started. The author uses these quotes to end her article on a hopeful and promising note.

Therefore, after reading the article, I realized one of the reasons Israel and Palestine are not coming to a peaceful solution is because of trust. It’s such a delicate situation, both sides have to be cautious. One wrong move, and Israel or Palestine could be destroyed forever. But if no communication is made between the two, will there be progress towards peace?

Reading Response to "Darkness Too Visible" by Megan Cox Gurdon

The article, “Darkness Too Visible” by Megan Cox Gurdon informs readers about the conflict of book censorship. The author claims that the themes in young adult literature have evolved to be “dark” and “immersed in ugliness” since the genre was created. Therefore, Gurdon explains the horrors of young adult books.

Firstly, the author used narratives and imagery to make the reader feel a negative bias toward young adult literature. For example, Gurdon summarizes a young adult book by using imagery so as, “The boy has been savagely beaten and left tied up.” The author manipulates the text by picking out the harsh content in attempt to get readers to imagine the book a whole, just on that snippet of information. Gurdon also includes a narrative of Amy Freeman, a mother choosing a young adult book for her daughter stating, “Nothing, not a thing that I could imagine giving my daughter.” However, the voice of the thirteen-year-old daughter, or anyone in that young adult age group was excluded from the article.

Overall, I was on the verge of taking sides with the author’s very convincing article, until I came upon the very last line. “No family is obliged to acquiesce when publishers use the vehicle of fundamental free-expression principles to try and bulldoze coarseness or misery into their children’s lives.” To me, this line offends so many people on different levels. It offends the Constitution, by saying that publishers are using the right of freedom of speech as an excuse to terrorize children’s lives. It offends publishers and writers by saying their intentions are to cause harm to children. I think that if that were true, many people wouldn’t be reading young adult literature right now. Lastly, the line offends children by saying by forcing an opinion that young adult books are bad for us, even though the author didn’t actually have proof of this from children, who are the targeted age group for the books, and are the ones reading them.

 

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff Essay

Blog Post Essay

I used to sleep with my bedroom door open and the adjacent hallway light on. Back then in childhood, my fears only consisted of scary monsters that lived in darkness and would only disappear if I ran into the hallway of light. Nowadays, I have to turn the hallway light off before I go to bed to avoid ridicule for keeping such childish routines. It’s like there’s a train of maturity separating us from the comfort and sanctity of our childhood, and if our departure too early or too late, it’s as if you’ll miss out on important life experiences. Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff tells the story of LaVaughn, a fourteen year old who takes a babysitting job for Jolly, a teenage mother of two, struggling to get by. The characters throughout the book show how society’s ‘one size fits all’ standard of growing up is actually not suitable for everybody.

 To begin, society’s standard suggests we all grow up around the same point in our lives. In Make Lemonade, the main characters’, LaVaughn and Jolly, lives are incapable of meeting this standard. For forever, LaVaughn’s mother has stressed saving up for college and the importance of homework as her ticket to a better life. In the text it states, “Homework is a completely required thing like a vaccination. You meet my mom you’ll see why,” (4). On the other hand, society would say parents who take close notice to their child’s education, are pushing them to hard. But not all of us have the luxury having of a childhood where we can roam free knowing we’ll have a secure future, some like LaVaughn have to prepare ahead of time no matter what society has to say about it. In addition, society would disapprove teen moms, saying they’re too young. But that not the case for all of them. Jolly came from a background of poverty and a lack of education. Becoming a mother at seventeen was the best thing to ever happen to her. For example, she enrolled in a Moms Up Program to finish high school. Also, Jolly hired LaVaughn, a babysitter so young, yet her care giving skills were far better than Jolly’s. Jolly even admitted to saying to her, “I’m not good enough for you, go on home!” (132). Sometimes I think about how many judgments I encounter in a day, a week, and month. I think about out of all of those judgments, most are not even valid. This just goes to show how easy it for society or someone on the outer edge of your life to come in and criticize your most personal and intimate life choices.

The development of the characters in Make Lemonade changed my view of maturity from the idea of it happening in a simple straight line. In reality, there’s no train that can dictate when you grow up, it just happens, in the messiest most complex way possible. Imagining a world where everyone matured in the same way would be like watching how processed food is made in a factory. How you mature as an individual is completely unique to you.