Chicken Soup makes for a tastier book.

Whats interesting to me is that in the introduction to this book the Author seems so proud to have this amazing compilation of teen written work. This idea is not new. Chicken soup for the teenage soul has been around forever. The stories in this book seemed incomplete and often times lacked information that would have aided in understanding the point. I was actually excited to read the book RED because I thought it would be a lot like the Chicken Soup books. I was sadly mistaken and pretty disappointed. I had a very difficult time paying attention to the stories. A few of them were touching and very insightful and I really appreciated the authenticity of the actual teens using their own writing to express themselves. I just felt like this concept had been done before and it was done better by a different author. I felt like a few of the stories would make really good novel plots. It would have been a good assignment for us to imagine one of the short pieces into a full length novel. I felt like the girls were really whiney and would probably look back at what they had written and smack themselves in the forehead in shame because OMG the teen years are so trivial in the grand scheme of things. Most of these girls whine and moan about things that wont even matter to them ten years down the line, and the stories that did have some substance were so short it was hard to really understand what the girl is feeling. All in all I felt that RED will get sold back as soon as the final is over, but my Chicken soup books will forever own a spot on my self.

if at first you don't succeed....

If I was going to write a novel based on my own adolescence it would be pretty dull. I might focus a little on how I wish I had paid better attention and gotten better grades in high school. Other then that I didn’t have any kind of extraordinary experience or any kind of message to portray. It was only after I turned twenty that a good story began. I would probably write a novel on the last years of my adolescence and the first years of my supposed “adulthood.” It’s my belief that kids today don’t actually leave adolescence at twenty. I know I didn’t. My story starts at age 19 when I got engaged. I thought I was so grown up. I had moved into a new house with my fiance, and was setting up house and going to school. Everything seemed fairy tale perfect. I got married a week after turning twenty-one. Life was great for about a year and then everything fell apart. He cheated, and suddenly I was 22 and about to be divorced. Life kinda sucked at that point. I spent a year going out and partying with my friends while the divorce proceedings were happening. It was an extremely time in my life, but I did have an insane amount of fun also. The divorce was finalized and I got a crappy office job, and a cute apartment. It was tough because I was not really prepared to do everything on my own. I had to pay bills and manage money, and while it might not sound so sad it was a tough time for me. I didn’t really have a support system. I learned a lot in the years between my 21^st and 25^th birthday’s. I tried out a bunch of jobs trying to find what I wanted to do with my life. I was a receptionist, a flight attendant (which could be a story of its own), a daycare teacher, and a veterinary receptionist/attendant. I might not have a story that reveals some great truth or insight, and my story never had a terrible tragedy although it was an extremely difficult time for me. The moral might be that you have to have many different experiences in life to really find yourself, or maybe that it’s important to stay positive because this to shall pass. In any event my novel would certainly never be a best seller, and definitely not turned into a movie. It may not be a compelling story, but it’s all mine.

The Absolutely True Diary with a Part Time Ending

I thought it was interesting how The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian ultimately ended. There was no happily ever after in this story and after I finished reading I sat and thought about it and it kind of bugged me. There was a feeble attempt at closure in that Rowdy and Junior became friends again, but really the ending upset me. This kid looses his Grandmother due to a drunk driver, his “uncle” figure gets shot, and then his sister dies when her trailer home goes up in smoke. It’s a wonder this book didn’t end up with the kid committing suicide after all the loss he has. I wonder how an epilogue for this story would read. Could it be that Junior is so split between the two lives that he becomes a teacher on the reservation and never actually leaves. Or does he leave and become an award winning cartoonist and never return. Or does his hydrocephalous kill him before he ever makes anything of himself. I’d love to read a continuation of this book. I think that Sherman Alexie does a great job of writing in a language that matches the way that this character would actually talk. Children in middle school would be able to relate to this story regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. I think that every child no matter who they are feels a bit like Junior does. An outcast in some respects. Nobody is ever just content. We all have goals and dreams and ideals that we would like to achieve. Even the kids who seem to “have it all” have insecurities. Juniors story is inspiring to the underdog in all of us that we can get through it and that we can achieve the things we want to, but really I would have loved more closure to his story.

Essay Rough Draft

Adolescent Sexuality

Although parents and other adults often seek to shelter adolescents from sexuality, this approach typically backfires and causes adolescents to explore sexuality without knowing important information about the dangers of what they are doing. It also leads the adolescent into rebellion against their parents, usually in a sexual nature. An example of this situation can be seen in the American book Charlotte Temple. However, parents who are open about sexuality seem to have children who grow up well rounded and without any major sexual or emotional issues. An example of this can be seen in the Judy Blume book, Forever. Furthermore, the typical American teenager is a blending between the old school way of thinking and parenting and the more progressive way of parenting. With high school health class being of litter to no help what-so-ever. As for my own personal experience, I believe that it more closely resembles Katherine’s experience from Forever more so then it does Charlotte from Charlotte Temple. My experience is an example of how literature has changed to reflect more current times.

The story Charlotte Temple, written by Susanna Rowson in 1791, is an example of societies past views on teenage sexuality. Charlotte is a total innocent, a picture of perfection. I doubt that she even knew exactly what sex was before LaRue pushed her into a relationship with Montraville. She trusts Mademoiselle LaRue implicitly, since she is an authority figure and Charlotte has never been placed in a position to mistrust or question an adult. The story goes on to have Charlotte leave England and her family due to her relationship with Montraville, explore sex, become pregnant, get betrayed by Montraville, and eventually die. The story, however tragic, is an example of the societal views of Rowson’s time. People were more proper and terrible things happened to women who disobeyed their parents. The only socially acceptable way to have an intimate relationship was through marriage. I don’t believe that Charlotte intends to be rebellious, nor does Rowson portray her in that way. She is simply a victim of circumstance, and that is way readers embraced the story. People felt bad for Charlotte, and hopefully learned from her mistakes to prevent their own misfortune.

The novel Forever, is the polar opposite of Charlotte Temple. It provides the teen reader with an often criticized liberal view of teen sexuality. The moral of the story being, it’s ok to have sex as long as you’re responsible about it. The main character Katherine, has family and friends who all discuss teenage sexuality regularly. Her grandmother encourages her to obtain extra information by attending a session at Planned Parenthood, and her boyfriend Michael, is supportive of her decision to wait awhile before having sex. The characters in the story do experience misfortune, but not directly. They observe the situation of other teens, particularly one who becomes pregnant, and a boy who is exploring his sexual orientation. Judy Blume’s Forever is an example of an extremely liberal viewpoint, and although Katherine is highly responsible, some parents of teens refuse to acknowledge that sexuality is going to happen, and that they can actually help their teen do the responsible thing. In my opinion it is close-minded parents like these that have children who experience “tragedy”. Maybe not to the extent of Charlotte Temple, which resulted in death, but in other ways like pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Sarah Palin is a prime example of this conservative type of parent.

The novels Charlotte Temple, and Forever represent the two polar opposite ends of teenage sexuality. Today those polar opposites still exist, and schools have been pushed to take the place of parents in informing teens about the dangers of sexuality. Unfortunately, this system is biased due to politics. Schools can educate students about sexually transmitted diseases, and can scare them with videos of pregnancy and birth, but that is as far as teachers can go. Students aren’t given pertinent information like how to protect themselves from these monster STD’s, they are only taught abstinence, which is extremely unrealistic. There are multiple problems with the current system. One is that students take health class as a joke. Nobody pays attention because the information doesn’t relate to them. Another problem with our current system is that teens tend to “teach” each other the random and often inaccurate information about sex that they have learned from other teens. It’s like a gigantic game of telephone with everyone losing because they are misinformed.
The family is rarely as perfect as the Danzingers in Forever. Most parents either won’t talk about safe sex and healthy relationships, or simply forbid relationships altogether. One of two outcomes happen to these teens. They either rebel and sexual relationships move to quickly, sometimes ending in STD’s, sexual abuse, or pregnancy. Or they make it through their teen years safely and nothing bad happens.
My own experience is more like Forever then it is Charlotte Temple. I didn’t end up a teen mom, or with an STD, or abused and scarred for life, but I also had a parent who didn’t really talk to me so much about sex. The absence of discussion was ok because I was one of those rare kids who actually paid attention to the minimal information presented in health class. Also my mother didn’t forbid relationships or make me feel guilty for having completely natural feelings. She allowed me to date, and was tolerant when the guys I dated were sometime kind of alternative. My rebellion was minimal, although I’m sure I came close to pushing her limits with the guy who had blue spiky hair and a few piercings. Despite all of this I came out alright. I had a few relationships in high school, and none of them ended so terribly. I’m sure if I had wanted to talk to her about it my mother would have listened and helped as best she could, but I was pretty responsible. I’ve seen my fair share of irresponsible teens, who end up in bad situations. During my time at John Carroll I experienced the stereotypical catholic girl gone wild. The girls there had generally been oppressed during their early teen years and went hog wild as soon as they left their parents homes. Binge drinking to the point of alcohol poisoning, sexual promiscuity, and extremely provocative dress was a typical friday night there. It’s due to this observation that I think its important to present more then just abstinence as an option in high school health. Knowing how to take care of yourself and that you have options is a huge factor in teenage sexual responsibility.
In conclusion I think the parents and their parenting style is the biggest factor in the outcome of a persons teen years in regards to sexuality. After parental input the schools have to update and modernize their teachings in regards to sexual health. I doubt this will happen because of religious views on the subject. It’s a shame because religion shouldn’t be a factor in public education. Schools may not have prayers or teach creationism, but religion has reached out and totally influenced what can be taught in health. Parents and education are important, but in the end its up to the actual teen how they will manage their own sexual experiences.

Whore House or Beauty Parlor?

In this blog I’d like to explore what happened at Mrs. Maureen’s when Betsey ran away. To me it sounded like Mrs. Maureen ran a beauty shop up front for all the well to do black ladies and then as soon as you passed through the swinging door, or if it was an odd hour it was like she was running a bordello. When Betsey mentions all of the money that the people keep putting onto the table. She also mentions how people are strolling around half dressed. It’s unclear to me why Mrs. Maureen gives people back some money after she picks it all up off the table. Are both the men and women prostitutes? My other theory is that they could be a drug den in addition to a whore house. I think the entire part about Mrs. Maureen was kind of a strange interlude in the story. I think it was fitting that Betsey ran into Regina again and that Regina had fallen into hard times. Betsey LOVED Regina, and I don’t think her view of love or kissing was altered by seeing Regina’s hardship. I think Betsey truly believed that Roscoe was going to send for her. I also think it was interesting that Jane followed Betsey’s example and ran away when the going got tough at home. I really wonder where she went all that time. Was it like in The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and the mother went to a mental hospital to calm down? That was the first thought that came to mind. Overall the book left me with more questions then it did a feeling of satisfaction.

Outline of Essay

Although parents and other adults often seek to shelter adolescents from sexuality, this approach typically backfires and causes adolescents to explore sexuality without knowing important information about the dangers of what they are doing. It also leads the adolescent into rebellion against their parents, usually in a sexual nature. An example of this situation can be seen in the American book Charlotte Temple.

However, parents who are open about sexuality seem to have children who grow up well rounded and without any major sexual or emotional issues. An example of this can be seen in the Judy Blume book, Forever.

The typical American teenager is a blending between the old school way of thinking and parenting and the more progressive way of parenting. With high school health class being of litter to no help what-so-ever.

Charlotte Temple: (The character of Charlotte)

Knows nothing about sex or relationships

Asks LaRue, the authority figure in her life

Explores sex without pertinent information and under false pretenses

Goes against parents wishes by leaving England

Gets pregnant

Dies

Forever: (The Character of Katherine)

Has parents who talk to her about sex

Strikes out in a responsible way to learn more information (planned parenthood)

Has a responsible sexual relationship with Michael

Eventually has feelings for another boy, and ends her current relationship

Moves on with life

Has no major emotional or physical scarring from her experience

Typical American Teenager:

Learns false information about sex from peers

Learns unrealistic information in high school health class

Has parents that wont talk about sex or relationships

OR

Has parents that wont allow ANY relationships

Child rebells against parents by moving to fast sexually

One of two outcomes presents itself:

Child gets through adolescence without any major problems

OR

Child gets pregnant, an STD, or somehow abused before the end of adolescence.

A good conclusion that wraps it all up.

Huckleberry Finn

I think that Huckleberry Finn is a lively tale of a boy making his way in the world. Like the river the story flows from place to place, con to con, and character to character with only Huck and Jim being constant. I think that Twain captures the time just like a good painting or movie. His descriptions are vivid and bold, and hold the readers attention throughout. I think that Huck is the quintessential adolescent boy. He is brave and strong and adventurous, but still naive about the world around him and the injustices that many people faced. His relationship with Jim is so important to his development not only as a character in the story but also his growth from being a boy to being a man. Society would have viewed Huck as better then, or worth more then Jim. It is interesting then that Huck did not perceive himself as having greater worth or being better or high class then Jim. He viewed Jim as his equal. The mental struggles that he faces throughout their journey down the river show how Huck fought against common perceptions and ideals and created his own path, both by way of thinking and of actions. I don’t believe that either could have survived the journey without the other. They were entirely codependent, yet Huck still looked up to Jim as a father figure. I found the sections of the story when Huck and Jim were separated, possibly forever to be the most fascinating in terms of what each was thinking. Huck might have helped Jim to freedom, but Jim freed Huck from the constraints of societal norms and ideals, and that is what the journey was all about.