The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore is a book in the series I Am Number Four. In this book all of the Garde are finding each other, and finally become the army that they are destined to be. The story deals with a lot of relationships between members of the Garde, and with humans. I think that one big issue that appears in this book is love, and whats really love, and if its okay to be in love with more then one person.
Out of all the Garde, I think that Four is the one that has most issues surrounding true love and loving multiple people. One example of this is with Sarah and Six. Four feels that he's in love with Sarah, but then is physically attracted to Six. He hates himself for being untrue to Sarah, and feeling attracted to another girl. I think that it's okay to be attracted to other people because thats how people are, but true love is a different thing. In the book Four's feeling of love is unspeakable devotion, attraction, and passion for Sarah, while for Six he wants to make out with her. I think that Four needs to realize that thinking other people are attractive doesn't make him any less in love with Sarah. I think that you can't help what you feel with things like that, and it's fine unless you act on it.
Another time problems with love show up is with Marina and Eight. Marina's problem is her jealousy. She really likes Eight, and every time she sees Eight and Six fooling around she gets upset. I think that a problem she has is that she makes to much of little things between guys and girls. I think this is really true today also. I think that she needs to relax, especially because she and Eight aren't even in a real relationship at that point. I do think that they are going to be a couple though after she kisses him.
All in all, love is one of the biggest reoccurring topics through out the books. I think it's really interesting to see all the characters relationships grow. I think that one of the messages of the book is to teach lessons about love and problems that come along. I think all these things are really related to real life, and can't wait to see how the story unfolds.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
NF RR
The article "Cross-Breed to Avoid Inbreeding" by James Serpell is about talks about how selective breeding in show dogs can lead interbreeding which may result in deformities. It explains that in order to be considered “pure bred” a dog must have two pure bred parents. In order to keep the breed line pure, many show dog owners use selective breeding. The problem with this is that there are so few dogs that are pure bred, that many dogs are accidentally interbred. This means that two dogs of close relation are bred, creating mutation, which can lead to deformities in the offspring. Another problem with the AKC standards for breeds is that they lead people to look for dogs with deformed faces just so that they can fit the breeding standards.
One example of deformities these dogs could suffer from is "defects ranging from anatomical problems, like hip dysplasia, that cause chronic suffering, to impaired immune function and loss of resistance to fatal diseases like cancer"(Serpell 1). I don't think its worth having these pure bred dogs when they are at risk of this much. An example of how the AKC absurd standards is, "As written, this description seems to require breeders to select for the shortest and most deformed face and muzzle possible, and for show judges to award their highest accolades to the dogs that best exemplify this trend"(Serpell 1). This just shows how people are being pushed to have dogs that are at high health risks because of their appearance. I think that its not really that important to have a “pure bred” dog if it is going to be detrimental to its health. I think that in the case a good answer to the problem might be cloning. This would create identical dogs to the standards, but not risk the mutations of interbreeding. I think the breed standards are gross, and people should make sure their dog is healthy rather then look a certain way.
All in all, I think that people need to find another answer for pure bred dogs besides selective breeding.
One example of deformities these dogs could suffer from is "defects ranging from anatomical problems, like hip dysplasia, that cause chronic suffering, to impaired immune function and loss of resistance to fatal diseases like cancer"(Serpell 1). I don't think its worth having these pure bred dogs when they are at risk of this much. An example of how the AKC absurd standards is, "As written, this description seems to require breeders to select for the shortest and most deformed face and muzzle possible, and for show judges to award their highest accolades to the dogs that best exemplify this trend"(Serpell 1). This just shows how people are being pushed to have dogs that are at high health risks because of their appearance. I think that its not really that important to have a “pure bred” dog if it is going to be detrimental to its health. I think that in the case a good answer to the problem might be cloning. This would create identical dogs to the standards, but not risk the mutations of interbreeding. I think the breed standards are gross, and people should make sure their dog is healthy rather then look a certain way.
All in all, I think that people need to find another answer for pure bred dogs besides selective breeding.
Works Cited
Serpell, James. "Cross Breeding to Avoid Interbreeding." New York Times. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/02/12/the-ethics-of-raising-purebred-dogs/cross-breed-to-avoid-inbreeding>.
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