Give a Boy a Gun- Reading Response

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, in the year 2010 guns slaughtered 31,076 American citizens in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. “Give a Boy a Gun” a novel by Todd Strasser, addresses the disagreements towards gun control laws due to all the deaths caused my guns. The story takes place at Middletown High school where two boys are victims of continuous bullying, and one day seek revenge by trapping their peers at a school dance with the help of guns and bombs. The young adult novel makes readers question who is to blame for gun incidents; the bullies, gun laws, or the kids using guns against others.

The book is focused around two boys named Brendan and Gary, and is told through quotes from acquaintances. Through these quotes you are able to gain an understanding of the emotional and physical torture the two boys suffer. Ranging from punches to exclusion, Brendan and Gary are in pain everyday at school and quickly become angry and suicidal. One teenager, a friend of the two boys, described the bullying they face everyday by explaining when someone calls him a faggot, “to him [the bully] it’s nothing...but it’s burned in your brain. It’s a permanent scar.” The words from the teenage boy give the reader a sense of how crude nicknames can affect a person forever. After a year of bullying from football players it’s described Gary doesn’t “...really care. He was the past the point of caring. He wanted them to die.” Quickly after the bullying begins, Gary and Brendan become tired, and search for a way to make their bullies feel pain like they do. Additionally, another teenager in the book describes an event where a football player attacked Brendan including “Sam was definitely going for Brendans face”. The same kid even adds “...If I’d had a gun…, I would have shot Sam myself.” This teenager proves how terrible the bully is, because even though he isn’t the target of the attack he feels rage like Brendan and Gary do. If it wasn’t for the teasing and pushing in the hallways the two boys suffer, they wouldn’t have had the depression or rage they deal with throughout the novel. If they hadn’t been wounded by words or fists, they wouldn’t have had the rage that led them straight to guns.

The terror in the Middletown gym was caused by guns, and the gun manufacturers could be at fault for that reason. Gary and Brendan wouldn’t have been able to disable a peer permanently, or hold their grade hostage if they hadn’t gotten their hands on guns. The gun laws in the US are very lenient. A fact in the book states, “more than 50% of male youths say it would be easy to obtain a gun.” Brendan was able to buy a gun for $100 from “...this kid in school.” These proves any person (even a child) with cash could obtain a real gun with real bullets, that could cause real damage. Someone could kill others or themselves, because they don’t know how to property use a gun. Or some people could purposely kill or harm others (like Brendan and Gary) due to personal problems. A quote in the book supports this by saying, “I’ve heard the argument that it’s okay to give guns to kids as long as you make sure they’re trained on how to use them safely. I have to disagree. These are children, and they can be extremely emotional or impulsive and not always completely in touch with reality…” Lastly, many people have guns to hunt animals, or to protect their family (which doesn’t always come to use). But, the book explains how the guns Brendan and Gary got their hands on “...are pretty much the same thing the army uses. They’re not made for hunting or target practice. They’re just made to kill people…” This fact makes the reader wonder why stores would be allowed to sell these guns, or why they could even be obtained by the public. If military weapons couldn’t be given to hands of any age with a few hundred dollars (like they are now), the tragic accidents events occurring all over the Nation could be prevented. If Gary and Brendan couldn’t have gotten the right weapons for their plan, they wouldn’t have made newspaper headlines.

Finally, the blame could fall down onto the two boys holding the guns, Brendan and Gary. A gun’s trigger needs been pushed by a human hand to fire the bullet, a person fires a gun. In the story Brendan says, “Gun[s] don’t kill people. People kill people.” A gun is only a tool used in Brendan and Gary’s “revenge”. The two teenagers are the ones who created the plan, held the guns to students heads, and hit three people with bullets. “At lunch [Brendan would] put his arm on the table and plant his chin behind it so it looked like he was peeking over a wall...he’d stick his thumb and point his finger at the kids he hated. He’d go “Point and click, point and click. Die suckas.” Like he was picking them off one by one.” A girl describes how Brendan would practice shooting a gun at classmates around him. This portrays how Brendan was ultimately the one pointing and shooting the gun to harm people, and he had the motive behind it to make it an easy task. The two teenage boys were the ones who ultimately set the plan into action, and if they hadn’t created the hostage plan, or even set it into action, the events at Middletown High could have never happened.

Bullies, gun laws, and the teenagers, all contribute to the tragic story of what happened at Middletown High. Each side of the story has compelling reasoning for being the cause of the incident, and leaves the reader wondering who to blame. Are the people giving Brendan and Gary the anger and sadness, the reason why the high school class was taken hostage? Did a teenage boy become disabled, because Brendan and Gary were able to shoot military type bullets into his knee? Or were the actual people behind the idea of the attack, the ones who should be punished? The choice is yours. Is there anyway to actually punish whoever is behind the violence? Is there anyway to stop the innocent shootings? It’s up to us. We have to take charge and do what we can to preserve the innocent lives that could be taken in gun violence.

Young Adult Essay

The Giver Book Response

In our society today, being unique is what makes us human. Our personality is what separate us from the billion of others around us. However in the young adult novel, “The Giver” , the government, known as Community of Elders, in a dystopian future prides themselves in making sure no one is different. The story is told through the life of a boy named Jonas, and his interactions with the rules of the  government. They make their choices for everyone in the city, which makes it nearly impossible to have a personality. The government in “The Giver” has complete control over every aspect of their citizens.

The Community of Elders decides when and how you grow up. For instance, the protagonist Jonas explains how he was given a “comfort object” or a stuffed animal, until the Community of Elders decided he didn’t need it. In the story Jonas’ sister, Lily, wanted her stuffed animal and her mom explains how, "you're very close to being an Eight, and when you're an Eight, your comfort object will be taken away. It will be recycled to the younger children. You should be starting to go off to sleep without it." Children may still need their comfort object for psychological reasons, but it will be taken from them anyway. The kids are forced to grow up, instead of doing it at their own pace. Also, the kids are not allowed to go onto a bike until they reach a certain age and are presented with bikes of their own. The text says, “The children all received their bicycles at Nine; they were not allowed to ride bicycles before then.” The children do not get to decide when they feel they are ready to ride a bike, or whether they even want a bike, the decision is already made for them. These examples prove that the authority shapes the lives of their citizens, instead of letting them create their own.

Also The Community of Elders decides who you would spend the rest of your life with through a process called, “The Matching of the Spouses”.  In the novel a character explains, “...sometimes an adult who applied to receive a spouse waited months or even years before a Match was approved and announced. All of the factors--disposition, energy level, intelligence, and interests--had to correspond and to interact perfectly.” Jonas explains how his parents balance each other out and “match perfectly.” The government of the futuristic society give the people being paired no say in who they will have to share their life with.

Finally the leaders of the future society control the details involving a couple’s children. The couple (that is paired) is only allowed “Two children--one male, one female--to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules.” The children are also not blood related to the parents, the children are birthed by an assigned “birthmother”.  At a ceremony ,the family is given a random child already named, nurtured, and some children are even already walking. Jonas tells the time of when his “family unit” received another kid, “...he remembered his mother taking the newchild, his sister, into her arms, while the document was read to the assembled family units. "Newchild Twenty-three," the Namer had read. "Lily.” This demonstrates that the citizens in this near future world are given a family by the government instead of making their own.

In our lives we are faced with decisions everyday, and some affect our entire lives. We choose our afterschool activities, schools, occupations, every detail that can shape our life.  The young adult novel “The Giver” shows a world where none of these decisions exist, and shows how miserable these citizens are. The government thinks they’re protecting them by controling them completly, but most people in this future socieity don’t know happiness, and never will.

"Ashes" Essay Response

Many teens face the issue of divorce, and being divided between parents. Susan Beth Pfeffer’s short story, “Ashes” descibes a teenage girl named Ashes who struggles with the complication of divorce. The protagonist is put in a situation where she is forced to choose between her idealistic father and her pragmatic mother. Through Ashes relationship with her parents, the story demonstrates the concept that it’s hard to choose between what you want and what you need.

Ashes’ father fills her with promises, and tells her to dream big. She looks forward to seeing him and describes it as, “the sun cast[ing] off a little more warmth than the day before.” However, she quickly learns her father cannot carry out the commitments he makes. For instance, Ashes’ father tells her he goes to sleep every night wondering, “Is the world a better place because I exist?” He tells her of times he helped someone fix a tire, or helped a lost person find their way. These experiences show how Ashes’ father is a dreamer who wishes to make an impact on the world. But, Ashes explains that the “child support checks don’t always show up on time,” and “no one ever got rich helping blind people cross the street.” Ashes’ father doesn’t factor reality into his dreams. This causes the responsibility to fall onto Ashes’ shoulders. When Ashes gets to her father’s house she folds his laundry as if she’s taking care of him. Ashes does “the mental arithmetic of diner verses pizza,” when her father suggests going somewhere different for their annual dinner, proving she concentrates more on her father’s budget than he does himself. When Ashes is with her father she enjoys being with him, because he focuses on what he wishes to accomplish instead of focusing on what he is likely to accomplish. He avoids his problems, while Ashes’ mom does all she can to stop them.

Ashes’ mother focuses on being ready for anything. Ashes describes her by saying “there are a lot of rainy days and she takes a grim sort pleasure being prepared for them.” Ashes mother would "never be caught without batteries or tissues..." However, being ready for anything leaves little space for dreaming. Ashes continues by saying, "she [Ashes’ mother] never promises me anything".  Ashes mom is a responsible adult who knows how to take care of Ashes. But she isn't the most lively parent, and doesn't encourage Ashes to dream big, like Ashes’ father does.

        When Ashes' father asks her to steal her moms money for him, Ashes is inevitably forced to choose between her parents.  In our own life we deal with smiliar situations to Ashes. Whether it’s choosing between a healthy carrot or a sugary candy bar. Or deciding to watch TV versus starting your homework. Eventually everyone is faced with this complication, choosing between what you want, and what you need. The short story “Ashes” accurately displays how family issues relate to choosing your desires, which is Ashes’ father, or choosing what is best for you, which is Ashes’ mother.

Response to "The Maze Runner" by James Dasner

I read The Maze Runner by James Dashner recently. The novel follows a teenage boy named Thomas who wakes up with his memory erased (except for his name) inside "the Glade", a village run by teenage boys (who call themselves Gladers surrounded by a gigantic maze of stone. Inside the maze, deadly mechanical creatures known as "Grievers" hunt the teens. Even though the Gladers  are forced to deal with a lot of problems they stay strong because of friendship. 

For example, Thomas wakes up in an unknown place full of strangers with nothing but his name, and a group of boys help him. He is terrified and confused, but a few boys help him understand what's going on.  They guys could have worried about themselves and left him scared and alone to figure things out like had been, but they decided to explain everything and make sure he is comfortable in his new home. Thomas' new friends helped him keep calm in a time full of madness.

Also, when a boy attacks Thomas, he is saved by a new friend. A crazed boy accuses Thomas of being a "traitor" and tackles him to the ground with a knife. One of the leaders shoots the kid with an arrow without hesitation because Thomas was in danger. Thomas' new friend saved Thomas from possible death, even if it meant hurting one of the Gladers.

Finally, at the end of the book Thomas must go through a group of Greivers to disarm the maze. A group of boys volunteer to fight off the deadly machines to get Thomas to where he can destroy the maze. They are all willing to fight to save Thomas and Gladers who survive the battle in the end, even though they know to many will survive. Many are willing to sacrifice themselves for their friends.

As you can see in the Glade friendship was very important to the boys. They were all loyal to each other and they were the closest thing to family. They would risk their life for the other.