"More Than This" Blog Post

“More Than This”

By Lucas Peterka

While reading Patrick Ness’s “More Than This”, I found the main character, Seth, was constantly represented. But the other two characters, Regine and Tomasz, were almost absent. However, Regine’s personality was highly opinionated and she was always sharing her ideas with Seth, so the reader would notice her more. Tomasz’s opinions were regularly left out of the book and Ness did this for a reason.

At the end of Ness’s book, Tomasz ends up as the server of justice. The reason this is important is because that was an unexpected and surprising outcome. Ness repeatedly left out, and made sure the reader noticed, Tomasz’s opinion. Ness purposely makes Tommy almost a background character that doesn’t have as much substance as either Seth or Regine. This is deceptive, however, for Tomasz is actually just shy and dismissed by the older characters, and we see this when he kills the Driver. That role was probably the most important in the book, and was expected to be reserved for our “hero” (Seth). So it could not be given away lightly to some secondary character with no personality. With one act, Ness reveals the depth in his character and exposes some of the wrong actions performed by the other characters.

When Tomasz kills the Driver, Ness tells us all about his personality, and how the other characters oppressed his opinions. By excluding this opinion, Ness intended to surprise his readers and made the most important character hide in the shadows.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" Blog Post

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”

By Lucas Peterka

               In “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, Reardan High School is an allegory for the American education system. We know Alexie’s book contains this allegory because of Alexie’s mission, to make the American public realize the restrictive effects racism still has on millions of people. This tells us right away that Alexie intends for the issue to feel widespread, giving us the major metaphor, Reardan as the entire education system.

               Junior is used to represent the low-income, minority students attending most public schools. Discriminated against and oppressed by their peers and teachers. We can deduce this by the repetitive message that occurs throughout the book, the fact that most Indians won’t receive an adequate education. I stressed throughout the book that teachers and even the students themselves are the reasons for this. And if you recall from earlier, these are the exact oppressors who restrict Junior, and in turn, all low-income minorities.

              Alexie, however, is careful to express the idea that adults are the bulk of the problem, making the white kids befriend Junior. Alexie does this to represent the school and government leaders who work with the education system in his allegory. We know this from Junior’s rez teacher, Mr. P, who admits to destroying kids’ lives. He tells Junior of the role teachers and the government played in the destruction of Indian hope. This scene is a hint from Alexie, who is trying to get the reader to realize his allegory.

             Although it may not be the most obvious allegory, Alexie’s book still contains one. There were many hints Alexie sets throughout his book to guide us readers, however, letting us navigate the many metaphors that make up his allegory.

Should Access to YA Books Be Limited? Argument Essay

Should Access to Young Adult Books Be Limited?

By Lucas Peterka

                Young Adult literature has become a highly debated topic due to the dark themes appearing in their contents. Arguments have broken out across the world about whether or not these themes should be available to all readers. Are some to young and naïve to handle these topics that plague millions in the real world? Many believe the average YA reader not able to grasp these issues. But YA literature should be accessible to all who want to read it because children have the level of maturity necessary to comprehend and interpret the darker ideas introduced in YA fiction. And while many read to understand, large numbers of children, teens, and young adults read YA fiction to find comfort in the similarities they share with the characters.

                Many teens who have been “damaged” by traumas that appear in YA fiction, read about the same topics and find inspiration in those books. We can see this inspiration affecting readers in Sherman Alexie’s article “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood”. “After the ceremony many of the graduates shook my hand, hugged me, took pictures with me, and asked me questions about my book and my life.” Sherman Alexie is the author of YA book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and routinely speaks to graduating seniors at different high schools across the nation. The seniors in this particular Seattle high school have been affected by the many dark themes featured in Alexie’s book. These graduates, as we see in the quote, have been deeply touched by Alexie’s YA book. The warmth and admiration can only be explained by a positive, lasting, impression. This welcome shows us that YA fiction and authors have been received warmly by the teen YA reader community. Alexie’s book has helped many “damaged” readers with dark themes existing in their own lives. Counter arguers, however, say the dark content of these books is giving the teen audience “bad” ideas. But the content of YA literature is not negatively affecting the ideas of teens, for Alexie states “kids… have sent me autobiographical letters… as dark and terrifying, and redemptive as anything I’ve ever read.” We can see from the quote, that the dark themes many complain about, are embedded in the lives of readers, sometimes even more severe than depicted in literature. How can you prevent ideas from forming in the minds of teens, due to YA fiction, when their lives constantly influence their ideas worse than a YA book could?

                Authors of YA fiction realize how important YA novels are to many teens. Either from personal, traumatic experience or from working with teen readers. According to Husna Haq’s “Should Young Adult Books Have Age Ratings?” Patrick Ness, YA author of “A Monster Calls”, told BBC Breakfast “Children are great self-censors. They know what they can read and they know what they want to read, and if you don’t give it to them, they’ll find it somehow.” Ness, having worked with the readers of his YA novel, sees the important role YA fiction serves in a teen’s life. Teens know the ideas they want to read about and what they don’t. If it’s something they do want they will read it. Bans may be proposed, maybe passed, but because of its importance, YA novels will still be read by teens because of the critical role it plays in their lives. Supporters of the limits, however, find the author opinion void because they don’t understand teens like the way parents and teachers do, the main population of “pro-banners”. That claim though, is bogged down by the fact a very important group of people is left out of their argument. Teens. Sherman Alexie, having been a teen reader of YA fiction, stated in his article “As a child, I read because books- violent and not, blasphemous and not, terrifying and not- were the most loving and trustworthy things in my life.” Sherman Alexie, his “dark” books being an autobiographical story, grew up in conditions that were not ideal. We can see from his quote were incredibly important to him as a young teen reader. In a world where nothing was for sure and monsters attacked every minute of the day, Alexie found peace within the pages of YA literature. “They taught me how to battle the real monsters in my life.” Alexie says in his article. Alexie shows us that while YA fiction may have affected him, and many others with similar stories, it was for the better. Helping Alexie overcome the monstrous obstacles standing in his way. “And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing every day and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s too late for that. I write to give them weapons.”

                YA books help the more privileged teens realize the realities that plague their less fortunate peers and may even help them fight off monsters in their own life. Some supporters of the banning, however, claim that by exposing teens to YA fiction, trauma and immature ideas are introduced. One especially gruesome excerpt from Andrew Smith’s “The Marbury Lens” is used by Meghan Cox Gurdon in her article “Darkness Too Visible” to represent all YA novels. “Covered with impaled heads and other black-rot body parts: hands, hearts, feet, ears, penises.” Many argue that all YA books contain gruesome enough material to make the less exposed to the world to go “crying to their mommy”. This argument, while being true in some cases, is not true for so many more instances and is not representative of all YA literature. We can see this argument being disproved in Alexie’s article, when he writes about a conversation he had with a millionaire’s child. “He quietly spoke to me of his agony. What kind of pain could a millionaire’s child be suffering?… ‘I  want to be a writer.’ He said ‘But my father won’t let me. He wants me to be a soldier… ‘I want to be myself, just like in your book.’” While some YA books may contain some disgusting details, so many more inspire teens to stand up for themselves. YA books help them realize relationships between themselves and the world around them. That teen, seeing a poverty-stricken boy rise up and claim what he wanted and deserved, inspired him to search himself and find what he really wanted to do. A YA book, changed his life.

              The themes in YA books can be dark at times, sometimes even incredibly gruesome and disgusting. But most times, the scenarios YA books depict are reality for millions of people. When you compare the gain of knowledge and hope YA books provide, to the delusion that YA books inspire horrible ideas in the malleable minds of teens, we can see which one is more logical. The teen and young adult readers have a right and need to learn about all the monsters that roam the earth, and draw inspiration from those who conquer them. The contents of YA books provide the best lessons, lessons from life, to all who read them. And for those who don’t, well… They’re missing out.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" Book Response

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-TIme Indian”

By Lucas Peterka

After recently finishing YA book “The Absolutely True Diary of  Part-Time Indian”, by Sherman Alexie, through the lens of a “banner”, I’ve noticed the themes and topics many oppose. Racism, cursing, illness, and certain sexual themes are some of the many topics argued against.

Racism is a big theme that repeatedly turns up throughout the entire book. The divide between the Native American and White race is remarked upon by almost all the characters. The opportunities that are available to the white kids at Reardan that the Indians on the rez don’t have. The segregation between the two is also extremely evident. The fact the kids at Reardan make the racist comments directed towards Junior, shows how separated the two races have been there entire life. Even the Indian kids on the rez know that they don’t have the same rights and hopes the white kids of Reardan have, as junior describes hope as “white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white.” Some supporters of the banning of this book use the offensiveness of the terms used as a way to justify their ban. Claiming the material too offensive to groups of people to be available to all. The use of these terms, however, is completely justified, due to the fact millions of Americans use them every single day. The segregation depicted in Alexie’s book is the truth that plagues many communities across the nation. To deny the public the knowledge of this racism is shunning the Indian communities so horribly affected by this racism. With no knowledge of the issue, how will help be organized?

Illness and addiction also appear a great number of times too. Alcoholism affects the masses on Junior’s rez and Penelope, one important character in Alexie’s book, is afflicted with bulimia. Many argue their presence in the book because they claim it encourages teens and other susceptible readers to imitate the behaviors of those characters. But the truth is that these two issues, and many others like it, alter millions of people of people across America. Self-esteem inflicted illnesses, like bulimia, have been put off by the American public as a “selfish” issue that does not require any real medical attention. Bulimia, however, is not only a physical, but mental defect that has to be repaired, otherwise problems similar to bulimia will resurface throughout their entire lives.

These two issues are only two of many more that are “problems” with Alexie’s book. The lessons and truth that these themes provide, however, outweigh the possible negative effects that may occur. The American public needs to open their eyes and help those out there who need it.

"Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" Critical Analysis

  "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood"

Critical Analysis

By Lucas Peterka

In "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood", by Sherman Alexie, Alexie wants us to know that YA books provide "damaged" teens with the weapons they need and desire to fight off whatever evils exist in their own lives. Alexie uses a speech he gives in Seattle to show us how YA books touch and affect the lives and emotions, in a positive way, of the "damaged" teen.

Alexie also uses his personal experiences as teen growing up in tough circumstances to establish the idea that YA books, being the "trustworthy friend" they are, help inspire kids to become something immensely greater. Alexie then talks about the hundreds of letters he receives from his teen readers to illustrate the impact YA fiction has on teens.

Alexie is attempting to persuade his readers to feel outrage at people who want to censor and limit YA fiction. One way Alexie tries to sway us to his side is by using personal experience to make him seem more personable. "As a child, I read because books... were the most loving and trustworthy things in my life.", was one sentence Alexie wrote to establish himself as an expert and to bring his readers closer to him by sharing his life. Another thing Alexie does to prove his point by asking rhetorical questions to the counter-arguers. He asks Meghan Cox Gurdon, author of "Darkness Too Visible", questions that were not intended to have answers. "Does she believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will somehow shock a teenager whose life has been damaged by murder and rape?", is one of these questions with the purpose of representing Gurdon and other censor supporters as dumb with multiple rhetorical questions.

After reading this article, I know YA fiction should not be limited because with the almost excessive representation of teens from all social classes and points of views, it's obvious that YA fiction does NOT affect the teen negatively. I've only further realized that even though YA fiction may be dark, teens need YA fiction to fight off whatever monsters exist in their lives even when those monsters aren't the worst ones out there.

"Gone" Book Response

“Gone” Book Response

By Lucas Peterka

Michael Grant’s “Gone” is a loss of innocence story set around a character, Sam, who has had the harshness of the world revealed to him in an apocalyptic situation. Sam is a teenage boy faced with the responsibility of leading his friends against known and unknown enemies. Grant focuses on the courage and maturity that can be found in any child; the courage and maturity that usually goes unnoticed by the rest of society. In the traumatic plot Grant has put before his teenage characters, we find truth in their actions, thoughts, and feelings.
                Even in the beginning of the book, we can see Sam’s courage and maturity start to develop. When the adults disappear, a fire almost instantly starts in a building in the town square. Sam, seeing the danger, takes charge of his peers. Many of the older kids get to the abandoned fire station to retrieve hose while Sam himself dives into the burning building to save a trapped child. With this small little scene, we can see Grant introducing courage, determination, and leadership in these kids. Sam taking charge shows us that inborn leadership. And the kids running to the station to cart that hose over to the building shows us the determination in those kids to save their town. But most importantly was Sam’s courage, jumping into that burning building to save a girl he didn’t even know.

                We can even find this courage and leadership in other characters. Caine, for example, even as the book’s “bad guy” has shown incredible maybe even stupid and frightening amounts of courage and leadership skills. Caine and his followers came down from Coates Academy, a school for “troubled kids”, to Perdido Beach. Soon after Caine enters town, he has practically taken over the entire town, with one speech. Grant uses Caine and this scene to express his idea of maturity and leadership, but being used in a different way. Because Sam obtained his leadership through his courage, he shows us Caine using his maturity and understanding. Caine manipulates the public with this maturity in the same way a politician may do so with ads. With this scene, Grant shows us that with these attributes, children can be both honorable and manipulative.

                With this book, Grant hoped to inspire in the rest of us that certain traits are found in all ages and sizes. And just like in adults, they can be used for, simply put, good and evil. Because maturity, courage, leadership, and determination are in everybody, even the bad ones. These traits give people power and how they use it is up to them. But in “Gone” people not only use this power however they want, it’s the kids who are using it. And to Michael Grant and me it is important that everybody is equal no matter how old they are.

"Can Your Phone Testify Against You?" Argument Essay

Baseline Argument Essay:

“Can Your Phone Testify Against You?”

By Lucas Peterka

                A recent Supreme Court ruling has law enforcement agencies up in arms. “Can Your Phone Testify Against You?” by Patricia Smith, offers both sides of the story. Long before the ruling, people have been wondering about the privacy they deserve and how it connects to law enforcement searching our phones, warrantless. But the Supreme Court’s decision to free David Riley, a man convicted of attempted murder, due to privacy invasion, has people picking sides. Let’s face it though, our entitled privacy has been considered void by certain law enforcement officials, until now. And if you don’t believe me now, you will believe by the end of this piece.

                The Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.” It requires law enforcement to collect warrants to search a citizen’s personal and private belongings. The question most, though, is whether or not cellphones are classified as “private” belongings.  According to Patricia Smith, Upfront author, “Today, people’s most private information, from bank records to personal correspondence and intimate photos, is all accessible from a device that leaves home when they do.” Most people would consider these examples completely private and immensely personal. With information like this, certain people could ruin your entire livelihood. And with warrantless searches allowed, law enforcement offices would be able to access all of this information, freely without any consequence. Do you want a stranger looking at your bank account? Do you feel okay having your privacy invaded to an enormous degree? Are you okay with losing a Constitutional right?

                Some criticizers of the Supreme Court’s decision say the Framers did not have mobile technology on their minds when writing the Bill of Rights. However, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that “The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought.” Our interpretation of these older documents that set our country’s basic principles must be modified to fit with the modern era we live in. While the Framers may have been thinking of the British soldiers invading the houses of colonists and searching their belongings, that is simply not how the American life works anymore. People’s most important information can be located on their cellphones and the police searching our phones without a warrant, is the equivalent to the British soldiers invading the houses of colonists.

                One main point many criticizers bring up is the protection. Courts have allowed warrantless searches of evidence before, to avoid the destruction of evidence and to protect officers from armed suspects. They wonder why it is not applied to cellphone searches. The Supreme Court, however, said that “Neither justification made sense in the case of cellphones. The possibility that evidence could be destroyed or hidden by ‘remote wiping’ or encryption programs could be addressed by an officer turning off the phone or placing it in a special evidence bag that blocks the signal until a warrant can be obtained.” Cellphones can be treated differently from other types of evidence because it can be so easily protected. It will require a change in all law enforcement offices, yes, but some sacrifices must be made for us to get the privacy we deserve.

               Cellphone privacy has become a hot topic in America. And with the Supreme Court, one of the most recognized groups in the country, taking a stand, more and more people are picking sides. And while some may not agree with the ideas the Supreme Court and I share, they should have consolation that there are always exceptions. The Fourth Amendment allows warrantless searches in emergencies and evidence contained in cellphones can be protected. And with the same technology that is causing the most strife in this issue, cops can acquire warrants in sometimes fifteen minutes via email. Some people might argue against, sometimes with fairly good reasons, but the fact remains the same, the Fourth Amendment extends to the information in our cellphones, and law enforcement has been infringing on our privacy rights for years. But now, the people have reclaimed their rights, and rightfully so. 

"Faithful Elephants" Response

Faithful Elephants Response

Lucas Peterka 804

                Is war bad? In the story Faithful Elephants, by Yukio Tsuchiya, that is the question the author asks us as readers. Tsuchiya’s story is about three elephants and a group of zookeepers in World War Two. The elephants, however, are not really characters. They are used to symbolize hope. And Tsuchiya uses this symbolism to express his answer to the question he asks all his readers. He sees war as force that will eventually kill off all hope, even when we try to save it.

                The author starts to really delve into war affecting what hope we have and what we do when we start to lose it in these couple of lines. “Then, raising their trunks high in the air, they did their banzai trick… The trainer could stand it no longer ‘Oh Tonky! Oh Wanly!’ he wailed, and dashed to the food shed. He carried food and pails of water to them and threw it at their feet. ‘Here!’ he said, sobbing, and clung to their thin legs. ‘Eat your food! Please drink. Drink your water!’” We can see how Tsuchiya is demonstrating war’s effect on hope. The trainer reacts the way he does because he can feel his hope start to slip away. But if Tsuchiya’s claim is correct, the trainer’s attempt at saving his hope, will be for naught.

                In the line “But everyone was hoping that if the elephants could survive only one more day, the war might be over and the elephants would be saved.” we can see an almost direct connection between the elephants and hope. The zookeepers have this hope that the war will end if the elephants can stay alive. But it’s a desperate hope as if they’re losing it because the author says “hoping and praying” as if they’re losing control and grasping at things like God or plain luck. We can see war beginning to take a toll on not just the trainer’s feelings and emotions, but all the other zookeepers too. Tsuchiya is furthering is claim that war ravages hope.

                Tsuchiya ends his short story on a powerful and claim-proving scene. “Still clinging to the elephants, the zookeepers raised their fists to the sky and implored, ‘Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!’” With the death of the elephants, all hope the war would get better in any way was extinguished. Tsuchiya shows us that even though the zookeepers wanted to and tried to save the elephants and their hope, the war finally brought about their end. Hope turned to anger and powerlessness, the war still destroying their country and the hopes of countless others.

                This story, at first glance, is a short sad story. But when examined further, layers and layers of themes and conflicts are revealed. The most prominent, though, were hope and war and how they connected. Tsuchiya manipulated these themes masterfully to back up his claim; that war will eventually snuff out all hope we have, even when we try to hold onto it. And after reading his story, I have been led to wholeheartedly agree with it.

                

"Pathfinder" Book Response

Response to Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

Written by Lucas Peterka

When I first began reading Pathfinder, it felt like a fantasy book. With it’s royalty over peasant caste system, sprawling farmland, and magically powered main characters, fantasy seemed a perfectly reasonable assumption. But then the book got into the science of time travel. The book took a turn towards sci-fi, which was up Card’s normal alley. But sci-fi’s my alley too and that turn made me like this amazing book even more.

One thing I loved about this book were the characters. And not just because they were likable, but because they were unlikable too. They all demonstrated our human emotions to points where we might question ourselves about them. Umbo, one of the main characters, is filled with such a great  jealousy of Rigg, another main character. To us as readers it seems childish and we want to say “Don’t do it Umbo, I want to like you!”, but all of us at times have been stupidly jealous or stupid in general. It’s one flaw in our humanity, one Card used to his advantage.

As with Ender’s Game, Pathfinder discusses many complicated and abstract scientific theories. But unlike Ender’s Game, Card decided to tackle time and time travel in Pathfinder. And while it could be confusing at times, I loved learning about different theories and seeing how Card both used and challenged them. But science isn't used to confuse only us, it’s used to confuse the characters. That’s right, at multiple moments throughout the book, the character’s heads spin around giving us a reason to sympathize with the characters and bringing us closer to the book.

Needless to say, I liked this book. Orson Scott Card managed to write another amazing story and I was lucky enough to read it. It was a great summer read and great read in general. So if you want a great book try Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card.