A lot of the time, you may read two really good books on different topics. What you might not notice is that many books have a similar theme. With the books Shine by Lauren Miracle and Sources of Light by Margaret McMillan this is true. Cat, the main character of Shine, works to bring justice to the person who beat up her friend Patrick, because he was gay. Sam, the main character from Sources of Light, deals with trying to fit in and her moral beliefs after she moved to 1960 Jackson, Mississippi. These two books both have the issue of trust in them.
In Shine, Cat’s issue with trust is that she questions herself. She questions her sense of who she puts faith in. Cat had been raped by her brothers best friend, her brother saw it happening, and he didn’t do anything to stop it. “Several minutes passed, and I started crying. Christian wasn’t going to beat the crap out of Tommy. Christian wasn’t going to do a thing.” pg. 258. Here in the text, it capture the moment in which Cat realizes that her brother, the one who’s the world to her, isn’t going to help her, even when he sees Tommy raping her. I don’t know in what world I wouldn’t run to help my sister if someone was hurting her, and if it was one of my friends I would murder them! Her brother leaves her alone at her most venerable time, which he could have actually changed. I think that Cat does have a reason to question who she trusts, who if there to protect you, if the one who you care about most chooses not to. I think it’s amazing that Cat finally gets over it, I would have been scarred for life. This really shows how strong Cat is.
In Sources of Light, Sam also deals with the issue of trust. Sam is in a relationship with Stone. He’s the rich white boy with the perfect family, or so she thinks. It turns out the Stone’s father is a raging lunatic when it comes to civil rights, he’s all against it and part of a KKK type organization. Stone tells her to trust him, that he isn’t like his father, but she doesn’t know what to think. It would be really hard to believe that anybody who is seen with their father at anti-civil rights events, is not racist. I think that Sam is partly blinded because she really likes Stone. In the text you see Stone yelling at peole who are sitting at lunch counters, arresting people at civil-rights protests and Sam becomes unsure. I think if I were her I wouldn’t trust Stone. You can’t believe what everybody says, sometimes your faced with the facts, whether you like what they look like or not. Sam needs to learn to trust herself, and then she would know if she should believe Stone.
Sam and Cat’s battles both revolve around trusting the ones you love. With both of them, they see some one they love letting them down. Trust is a very tricky thing. It depends on the people you are dealing with, and you really never know the truth. I think trust is the most important virtue, because with trust you can open yourself up to others and be able to count on them. Sometimes you put your trust in the wrong person, it happens. It can result it server damage, like with Cat. I think the only thing you can do is be careful who you trust, and put trust in the ones who you can count on, and do your best to keep the trust of others.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Reading Response On HP #4
I have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series many times, and I've found myself again reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. In this volume Harry's name has been entered, by someone unknown, to compete in the very dangerous "Tri-wizard Tournament". I think that a major issue in this book is trust.
In one part of the book Harry has trust issues, with his best friend Ron. Ron had earlier requested that the two of them try to sneak their names in when it wasn't aloud, but Harry denies. When Harry's name is pulled from the goblet, Ron is very angry and hurt thinking that Harry put his name in with out him. Ron says "It's okay, you know, you can tell me the truth,' he said...'but I don't know why you're bothering to lie"pg. 287. I think that this quote is really showing how obviously upset Ron is with Harry, he is talking very sarcastically. You can really see that they are having issues with trust, because even though Harry keeps telling Ron he didn't put his name in, Ron refuses to believe it. I think that they need to work on trusting each other to avoid conflicts like the one in this chapter.
In another section of the book the issue of trust is shown between Mad-eye Moody and Harry. In the end of the book it turns out that Moody isn't really who he says he can be. One quote supporting that is "No,' said Moody slowly. 'No, he didn't. It was I who did that.' Harry heard but didn't believe"pg. 675. When you read this you can really see how much faith Harry had in Moody, he openly denies the truth, when it is put in front of him. I think that some times it can be hard to tell truth from lies when something that seems so true, is suddenly untrue. I can see where Harry is coming from, all this time Moody has stood up for him, been someone he can lean on, and now he is saying he's the bad guy. It would be disorienting.
I think that trust is really important when it comes to friendship. With Harry and Ron you can see how the lack of it can cause arguments. Then, with Moody and Harry, you can see that too much trust can shield a person from the truth. I think that overall this is telling us that it's important to trust the ones you love, but not put too much trust in a person you have just met. I think that this theme is very true to real life also. Think about who you truly trust, not just with a secret, but something more important. I think that Harry was a little too quick to trust, and sometimes it can be to late to turn back.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Reading Response on The Drummer Boy of Shiloh
"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by is a great short story about a 14 year-old-boy, Joby, who runs away from home to join the army to fight the civil war. He is a drummer boy, and once alone is overcome with a wave of emotions relating to the war. I think that in any war it's important for soldiers to have some one to look-up to and to motivate them. I think that in the drummer boy the general is the one who influences Joby's.
In the story, one reason Joby looks up to the general is as a father figure. One quote from the text supporting this is "You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same last night" pg. 52. I think this quote is really showing how the general cares about Joby. I think that what the general is saying is really comforting because he's saying it's alright to cry. The reason I think that what he's saying is important in a war in particular. This is because a lot of soldiers feel like they have to be men and can't cry, and the general of all people saying it's okay really gives Joby confidence. Also, saying this shows that the general is trying to connect with Joby by saying that he cried too. I think that Joby really needed a father figure because he isn't with his family, and the general really provided this for him.
I think that another way that the general helps motivate Joby, is that he helps him find his purpose in the war. An example of this from the text is "Do you know that you are the general of the army, when the general is left behind?" pg. 53. I think that this excerpt communicates how the general is showing how influential Joby can be as a drummer boy. I think that this is because the general is such an important role, and the general himself is saying that Joby is strong enough to be like him. Here again we are seeing how the general is trying to connect with Joby on a personal level. Joby can now see how important he is to the army, which really makes him more confident and not as scared of the war.
I think in the end the general really ends up influencing Joby, so that he feels important, and proud of his role as the drummer boy. I think that if Joby feels this way he can make a bigger impact on the army. One example supporting this is "Then even though shot or torn, those wounds got in hot blood- blood he'd helped stir- would feel less pain." pg. 53. In this quote you can really see how confident Joby is with himself. I think that Joby's job in the war is really important, and it makes a big difference in his work if he feels proud and committed. I think that the change that Joby went through is really inspirational. I think that here Joby is proving that a small boy can make a big difference, and the general helped him realize this.
In the end I think that the general is a very important figure in Joby's life. He is the one who can turn him in to this amazing person who can affect the lives of the soldiers. The general as a father figure has the comforting affect, while he helps him realize who he is and how he can help the army. I think that in my life my dad plays this same role. I think that this is the most important connection and everyone should have it. The passage really made me cherish the connection I have with my dad, and makes me want to make it last.
In the story, one reason Joby looks up to the general is as a father figure. One quote from the text supporting this is "You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same last night" pg. 52. I think this quote is really showing how the general cares about Joby. I think that what the general is saying is really comforting because he's saying it's alright to cry. The reason I think that what he's saying is important in a war in particular. This is because a lot of soldiers feel like they have to be men and can't cry, and the general of all people saying it's okay really gives Joby confidence. Also, saying this shows that the general is trying to connect with Joby by saying that he cried too. I think that Joby really needed a father figure because he isn't with his family, and the general really provided this for him.
I think that another way that the general helps motivate Joby, is that he helps him find his purpose in the war. An example of this from the text is "Do you know that you are the general of the army, when the general is left behind?" pg. 53. I think that this excerpt communicates how the general is showing how influential Joby can be as a drummer boy. I think that this is because the general is such an important role, and the general himself is saying that Joby is strong enough to be like him. Here again we are seeing how the general is trying to connect with Joby on a personal level. Joby can now see how important he is to the army, which really makes him more confident and not as scared of the war.
I think in the end the general really ends up influencing Joby, so that he feels important, and proud of his role as the drummer boy. I think that if Joby feels this way he can make a bigger impact on the army. One example supporting this is "Then even though shot or torn, those wounds got in hot blood- blood he'd helped stir- would feel less pain." pg. 53. In this quote you can really see how confident Joby is with himself. I think that Joby's job in the war is really important, and it makes a big difference in his work if he feels proud and committed. I think that the change that Joby went through is really inspirational. I think that here Joby is proving that a small boy can make a big difference, and the general helped him realize this.
In the end I think that the general is a very important figure in Joby's life. He is the one who can turn him in to this amazing person who can affect the lives of the soldiers. The general as a father figure has the comforting affect, while he helps him realize who he is and how he can help the army. I think that in my life my dad plays this same role. I think that this is the most important connection and everyone should have it. The passage really made me cherish the connection I have with my dad, and makes me want to make it last.
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