Friar Lawrence - His Decision

There are many complex themes and emotions in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that lead to certain events.  There are also characters that aren’t exactly two-dimensional and don’t have just one constant emotion, showing that they change as the story moves on.  This play has a storyline that changes dramatically and shows how life back then could have been.  Many actions that were considered alright back then can be considered terrible and even unethical these days, though, which brings up Friar Lawrence’s decisions in the play to marry Romeo and Juliet.  As said before, times have changed, so young people marrying was common, but now is not considered normal.  Friar Lawrence’s actions, however, are still ethical in my opinion, as he does not force Romeo and Juliet to marry each other.

Whether or not it’s right or moral to marry two kids, one of them not yet 14, is a debate that has changed over the course of time, as things that used to be normal centuries ago are not anymore.  Friar Lawrence, however, did not rush to marry them, and did not force Romeo nor Juliet to go along with the marriage.  All he wanted to do was have the rivalry end between the Montagues and the Capulets.  For example, he says, “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear so soon forgotten?” (2.3.69-70)  Friar Lawrence did mention that Romeo’s love is being paced too fast, and even tries to restrain him from going into things too fast.  He does not force Romeo to marry as quickly as Romeo wanted to, and reminded him constantly of his unrequited love with Rosaline.  Friar Lawrence did marry Romeo and Juliet, but they both agreed to it and asked him for it.  This would help him with ending the rivalry as well, but it was still ethical as he did remind Romeo many times of how he was rushing into this situation.  He also told Romeo, “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (2.3.101)  He is once again trying to remind Romeo to take his whole marriage business slowly as it will not end well later on, and it seems like this is foreshadowing.  Friar Lawrence married them, however, under their pressing requests.  He did not force them at all and him agreeing to marry them was ethical.

His actions were ethical in that time.  Today, marrying two young kids would be immoral and completely wrong, but, back then, that was an extremely common occurrence.  However, he did not do anything that Romeo nor Juliet didn’t want to, and was actually reluctant and hesitant to marry these two as they were rushing into their marriage.  He only thought of the impact that their marriage would have on the rivalry between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s, hoping that the union concerning their love for one another would end the fighting and let Verona be in peace.  He just wanted everything to have a positive end and did not want anything to go wrong.

In conclusion, Friar Lawrence’s decision to marry Romeo and Juliet was ethical in my opinion.  He did it upon request from Romeo and Juliet, even hesitant to marry them at first, and realized that this marriage would help end the rivalry between the two households.  Times have also changed, so marrying children today is immoral, but back then, it would have been normal.  Other than the age, the marriage was ethical and was only meant to do good for everyone.

Reading Response - It's Kind of a Funny Story

        School and stress both mix really well together.  These days, students are getting stressed left and right, and they worry about tests or due assignments.  This applies to Craig Gilner,  an ambitious teen from New York from the novel It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini who worked his way to get into the high school of his dreams, studying nonstop for exams and having no other priority than getting accepted into the school.  It all goes downhill from there, though, when he realized that this school really worked him day and night, never letting him have a break.  This leads to him getting into a severe depression which makes him think of killing himself, which causes him to check himself in to a hospital.  The changes that he undergoes in this hospital caused a real shift in his head.

From the beginning, Craig is shown to not be totally stable.  The first lines that he narrates are, "It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself.  That's above and beyond everything else, and it's not a mental complaint-it's a physical thing, like it's physically hard to open your mouth and make the words come out."  Those are the first lines of the book.  It's obvious that he is not okay.  He hangs out with people that he believes are friends and goes to school, stressing out even more.  His emotions change when he decides to finally kill himself.  He thinks to himself, "Yes, I'm okay.  I'm okay because I have a plan and a solution: I'm going to kill myself.  I'm going to do it tonight.  This is such a farce, tho whole thing."  He really feels worthless.  Before he was just having thoughts and now he had a full plan, which is a scary thought.  "It's going to be tough on my parents.  So tough.  And my little sister.  Such a beautiful, smart girl.  Not a dud like me, that's for sure."  He honestly wants to go along with his plan.  He fortunately changes his mind, though, saying to himself, " It's such a silly little thing, the heart.  Badoom.  It feels good, the way it cleans me.  Badoom.  Screw it.  I want my heart."  This shows that he wants to live, but he also wants to die.  He calls a suicide hotline and gets ordered to go to the nearest hospital, where he realized and was in shock to be put in a mental ward.  In that hospital he undergoes many changes.  He meets people that inspire him and make him wonder, he breaks ties with his supposed friends, meets someone that he really likes and decides that he will transfer schools.  He does what he deserves.  He tries to make his life better, and as he leaves the hospital on the final day of his stay there, he realizes that there is so much that he can do.  He really becomes a new person.  His brain goes through the Shift that Craig always wondered when it would come.

This book represented and showed the internal struggle of someone with immense pressure put upon them, showing how they broke and needed to heal.  The author themselves stayed in adult psychiatric in Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, Brooklyn for five days.  This book shows Craig's unexpected road to his happiness, to the Shift he was waiting for.  It shows how someone can fight and look at life through the same eyes as before, but see something completely new, different, and better.  "So now live for real, Craig.  Live. Live. Live. Live. Live."

Nonfiction Response

Vladimir Putin is described as a, "ruthless dictator trampling on democracy," by other people around the world while being the current president of Russia.  He became president in 1999 and his, "increasingly authoritarian rule has some calling him Czar Putin."  In, "Czar Putin?", written by Patricia Smith, it says that most Russians, (87%), support and remain on Putin's side, seeing him as a man who brought Russia to, "its former glory as a world power."  There have been rising problems with the U.S.A. and Russia though, since relations have dropped extremely low and it is now difficult for both countries to cooperate.  Citizens and others around in other nations also want to see how Putin deals with the economic crisis in Russia, and his supporters still stand by his side.

The author is trying to show that the president might be a bit power-hungry, as she explained how long he might be in office for and how he set up some more years in office for himself.  She also explains how much power Putin really has, and how he might even start another war similar to the Cold War.  She explains what the Cold War was and how Putin might have the power to cause even bigger problems.  She also explains, however, how the citizens look up to Putin, "…relieved to have a strong leader."  There are some economic issues right now in Russia because, "…Putin has become more aggressive on the world stage, bringing to mind Soviet tactics during the Cold War."  Everybody would want to know how he handles these issues, and the author adds in Vladimir Ryzhkov's prediction, an opposition politician in Russia, that, "If [Putin] prolongs the policy of greatness, of expansion, of confrontation with the West, he will be popular and supported by the people despite any economic crisis."

This article makes me wonder about the people living in the neighboring countries, and how they will act if Russia attacks and/or threatens them.  These countries all have long histories with each other, so it's interesting to think about what Putin finally decides to do with his never-ending power.  How many people are affected by his actions, negatively and positively?  I would also like to know how he will act upon the economic crisis in his country right now.  He has too much power, and he has had it for too long, and nothing is known when he is involved.

Reading Response - The God Box

  Mostly everyone grows up with a person they look up to, a higher power, maybe a family member or an idol.  Someone can be inspired by someone to live their life a certain way, follow a way of life, or just believe or look at things with a different perspective.  But, sometimes all these beliefs can be ruined or destroyed by a threat of some sort.  Maybe someone has a different perspective than others, and it changes the way of life for others.  This is the case for Pablo, a Christian teenage boy in his senior year of high school who is struggling to accept his sexuality in the book The God Box by Alex Sanchez.  He is very religious and believes that he is sinning when he thinks about the same gender in a certain way, he believes that he is hurting 'God', or the thing in higher power.  One day, a new kid named Manuel arrives at the school, totally open about being gay, which concerns Pablo.  Manuel changes Pablo's whole life his perspective on his religion.

  We follow Pablo throughout the story, starting off with the introduction of a new character named Manuel who just moved to Pablo's school.  Pablo already has had some feelings for guys since he was younger and he didn't want some new kid announcing that he was gay out of the blue.  Since Pablo's girlfriend, Angie, felt bad for Manuel since he didn't really have any friends, invited him over at lunch and it seems that like Manuel already suspects that Pablo is secretly gay.  In the text, "During Bible Club, should I have joined Angie and Dakota in speaking up for gay people? Or should I have joined Elizabeth and Cliff in speaking out against them? Was I resisting evil by at least trying to keep my distance from Manuel? Or was I turning my back on him?"  Manuel is discriminated against and Pablo is conflicted if he should help Manuel or not.  He doesn't know if he should side with his homophobic friends or the friends who are trying to help out the new kid.

  Following all these conflicts, Manuel invites himself to Pablo's house and they start hanging out.  Pablo starts developing feelings for Manuel, but he starts questioning how Manuel can be Christian if he's gay.  Manuel opens up a whole new world to Pablo and it leaves him thinking if he can really love someone for once.  "When I got home that night, I prayed again: 'Please, God. Please make me feel the only thing missing in my love for Angie.' But when I climbed into bed and closed my eyes, it was Manuel's face I saw leaning over me, and his wavy hair."  It seems like he can't get Manuel to stop enveloping his mind, yet he thinks it's still wrong to like a guy.  He wants to love his girlfriend Angie, but he just can't seem to.

  After all of Pablo's thoughts, he realizes that he really does like Manuel, and he can't do anything about it.  However, he still couldn't accept it when it was too late.  Jude and Terry, the huge and terrifying homophobic jocks in the school attack Manuel right after Pablo left him in the lot of the mall.  Manuel gets a shattered knee, broken ribs, brain damage, vision loss and goes into a coma.  Jude and Terry get charged for attempted murder.  Finally, when Manuel gets out of his coma, Pablo kisses him, and he knew he found the one for him.  Pablo finally accepted that he was gay, and he says so in the text, "Our eyes met and locked, taking me back to that first morning in homeroom. Suddenly I understood the pull I had felt that day - and ever since. It was love, beyond all reason."  He was truly in love with Manuel and he wasn't going to let anything hurt Manuel ever again.  Later on he prayed and thanked for Manuel and Angie for understanding, and it really shows how Pablo changed in that one year.

  In conclusion, Pablo really did not deal well with higher power, or 'God', but everything turned out pretty well in the end.  Pablo had to deal with himself, trying to not be gay, when he couldn't change that, and Manuel with the people in school.  Pablo believed that 'God' would hate him for being gay, yet Manuel convinced him that love was love.  "Sometimes I grow impatient and ask, "What's your will for me now, Lord?"  If the answer doesn't come, I remind myself of Psalm 46: Be still and know that I am God.  And I try to wait patiently, taking hold of Manuel's hand."

Reading Response - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

        People make new friends, lose old friends, or have both.  When you go to a new school, it can be fun making new friends or it can be the ultimate hell for you trying to relate to these strangers that seem like they will attack you at any second.  This applies to Arnold Spirit Jr. a fourteen-year-old who started going to a new school in a town that was much different from the school in the town in which he lives in, Wellpinit.  He left his best friend in that town, Rowdy, and he was enraged.  He did not treat Arnold with that much respect anymore.  Arnold did make some great friends at his new school, though, but Arnold does but made up with his long-time best friend, Rowdy in the end.  I think that their relationship changes drastically over the course of the book and their characters change as well.

One of the reasons why I believe that Arnold's and Rowdy's relationship drastically changes is that they don't know what to feel about one another.  For example, when Arnold first told Rowdy about his plans and decision to go to another school, one which his old school detested, Rowdy was angered.  "My heart broke into fourteen pieces, one for each year that Rowdy and I had been friends.  I started crying."  This text shows here that Rowdy was disappointed in Arnold.  Arnold started crying right after Rowdy said some hurtful things, which I believe should have even more hurtful coming from someone protected him and someone that he trusted for all his life.  Next, Rowdy starts screaming and crying.  "He wiped his eyes, stared at his wet hand, and screamed.  I'm sure that everybody on the rez heard that scream.  It was the worst thing I'd ever heard.  It was pain, pure pain."  This text shows that Rowdy really loved his best friend.  He was in pain.  His best friend who he relied on and cared for was leaving him to the school that he hated, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

Another reason that I believe that their relationship changes is that when they first played basketball against each other, Rowdy and Arnold had an odd encounter.  "I jumped into the air, heard the curses of two hundred Spokanes, and then saw only a bright light as Rowdy smashed his elbow into my head and knocked me unconscious."  I believe that Rowdy is extremely angered by Arnold at this point, since he feels as if Arnold betrayed him by joining the opposing basketball team.  Their relationship does take a turn for the better though, when they suddenly mutually decide that all this rivalry needs to stop, and Rowdy visits Arnold's house by surprise.  They started discussing Rowdy and him going to Reardan with Arnold, but Rowdy says, "I'm not nomadic.  Hardly anybody on this rez is nomadic.  Except for you.  You're the nomadic one."  I feel as if Rowdy is referring to the way that Arnold has always wanted to go ahead and explore what he can.  He moves around, in search for something.  After that, they play basketball until it was late at night, not keeping score.

I believe that their relationship drastically changes throughout the course of the whole book, and it shows that everything does get better eventually.  This took a whole year for their friendship to go back or become even better than it was before.  This change really develops the characters.  Rowdy realizes that his best friend needs to be independent and Arnold realizes that he wants to move on, but he will always remember his greatest friend.  Others can connect to this book because it relates with loss/grief, loneliness, partial racism, and everyone can relate with the comedy and just everyday issues of a teen.

Upfront Response

     
        "No Job? Get Lost!" written by Andrew Higgins, is about Svalbard, Norway, the most northernmost territory in the the nation.  This territory has extreme weather, and temperatures are very low.  That is not what is so particular about this small area, though.  Unemployment and homelessness is illegal.  The author includes reasons why Svalbard is, "Europe's closest thing to a crime-free society," according to others and why they believe that banning was a good action on their part.  People do carry around guns, though, and it's still practically a crime-less area.  Higgins adds proof that the obedience for the law is caused by strict gun laws and the banned unemployment and homelessness.

     In the article, the author mentions the governor of Svalbard, Odd Olsen Ingero, and how he said, "If you don't have a job, you can't live here,".  After that, the author explains why this rule has been put into motion.  "Banning homelessness and unemployment - a problem plaguing much of Europe - is meant to ensure that none of Svalbard's nearly 3,000 residents freezes to death."  This was a good piece of evidence because the governor is a trustworthy person, so most people should believe him, and it shows that this banning was only for the good of the people residing in this area.  Next, the author mentions that there are barely any attacks from others, but from polar bears.  "Polar bear attacks regularly make front-page news.  That's why nearly everyone in Svalbard owns a gun."  This shows that there is such little crime there, that they only really take big precautions for bears.  These people only use the guns for the animals if they ever attack and know that the government wants the best for them, seeing that they don't want anybody to die from the weather conditions.  

    In conclusion, this article really made me think.  It must be really peaceful in Svalbard, excluding the polar bear attacks.  Everyday there is something going on in New York, or even in Manhattan alone.  There is a lot of crime here, and if everybody was allowed to have a gun, we wouldn't be here today because of constant shootings, even more robberies, etc.  For people living here, it would seem very small and possibly too quiet there.  I'm just glad that things are the way they are now, not too quiet, not extremely loud where I live.  I consider this place home, and others consider Svalbard home.  There's not much of a difference.

Darkness Too Visible Response

   Megan Cox Gurdon, author of the article, "Darkness Too Visible," published on The Wall Street Journal, states her opinion on youngadult books and their content, and how terrifying they can be.  The author claims that young adult literature these days have dark themes, problems too grotesque or vulgar for teens to read, and topics that can be triggering to some.  Also, according to Gurdon, literature is much darker than they used to be years ago.

  In the article, the author states that fiction is getting extremely dark.  For example, she writes, "How dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear: So dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part of the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking, at children from the ages of 12 to 18."  She is comparing books from modern times to books from a while ago, when the times were different.  She seems to be talking to adults because she wrote, "Darker when you were a child, my dear:…"  Next, the author writes, "The novel "Scars," a dreadfully clunky 2010 exercise by Cheryl Rainfield that School Library Journal inexplicably called "one heck of a good book," ran into difficulties earlier this year at the Boone County Library in Kentucky, but not because of its contents. A patron complained that the book's depiction of cutting—the cover shows a horribly scarred forearm—might trigger a sufferer's relapse."  The author makes a good point by discussing how this book cover may trigger the person that used to self-harm, or was self-harming at the moment.  She didn't want any more suffering because of these book covers.  The author does add the perspective of an editor who seems to disagree with her claim.  ""I don't, as a rule, like to do this on young adult books," the editor grumbled, "I don't want to compromise on how kids really talk. I don't want to acknowledge those f—ing gatekeepers."" The editor of Horn Book, does not believe that people should put restrictions on the content in young adult books.  The author, of course, quickly changes the perspective and continues to add details that support her claim.

  In the end, I don't agree with Gurdon.  There shouldn't be any banned books, unless it really has stuff that is unacceptable.  Books should include subjects that are a bit touchy so teens or young adults can learn more about these situations.  They might want to learn how to cope with a certain issue, or what to do if something terrible has happened to them.  They can learn from books, but only if they look at them from the right light/perspective.  But then again, if they misinterpret the information from books, they can still learn some good lessons.  Also, not all young adult books include subjects like these!  Of course, now more books do include this, but it's only to add some light to the subject.  I believe that anyone can read whatever they want, wherever they are, and whenever they are.