English 485: Expedition Adolescence

The novel by Mark Haddon, the curious incident of the dog in the night-time , was an easy and very interesting read. I was probably most intrigued by Haddon's extremely realistic depiction of Christopher. Writing or attempting to display a character with ASD is not an easy job to tackle because the disorder is such a broad spectrum and looks very different on a case-by-case basis. However, I feel as though Haddon did a wonderful job finding a median that depicts common traits in ASD that anyone who is familiar with can relate to. For example, without even looking at the content you notice unique characteristics about the structure of the novel, the most obvious being the chapter layouts. Christopher is particularly gifted in numbers and counting so therefore the novel is broken up by prime numbers in their chronological order. In addition to the structure of the novel, Haddon has Christopher explain his reasonings behind a few of his quirks and this gives us, as the reader, a grea

I was super excited to able to write a blog post about this book because many of the issues displayed in the book connected to my life as well. I think that this is a great book for students to read because many may also connect with the storyline behind the book. We see in the book  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time  that Christopher Boone has a hard time dealing with the separation of his parents. My overall reaction to this book was that it was a great one to read and it talked about problems and trials that many have faced and are facing today. A big issue that numerous people are faced with is living in separate homes with two different parents. In some cases, like Christopher's we see that he is first living with his dad and had little knowledge of his own mother's life at this time. Instead of his dad telling him the truth about his mom, his dad tells Christopher that his mom is dead. It was so sad to read about that in this book because I had an early ch

Divorce plays a major role for Christopher in Curious Incident. Parenting a child with Autism seems tough for two parents working together, but Christopher's father has to parent by himself after the mom leaves for London. I think the fact that the mom gets burned out by the stress of raising a child with Autism shows just how tough it can be. One thing I have learned from the book and other research in class is that parents must show patience in these situations. Christopher is hard to deal with at times throughout the book, but his father tries to understand why is he is acting the way he is and work with him. It was very sad to see Christopher not understand the dynamic at play when his father lied about his mom's death. Even though it wasn't a great decision, the father probably didn't know how Christopher would take the news of his mom leaving. He knew he wouldn't fully understand it, but it was tough to read the latter part of the book when the father was u

Christopher never mentions that he has any friends that he hangs out with on a daily basis. He is introduced in the novel as being extremely consumed about Wellington being killed. When he arrives at school he is greeted by one person only. I learned later that he attends a special school for his disability and has a helper with him. Although Siobhan is doing her job, she is presented in the novel as his close friend. He has someone to talk to every day and discuss with about what is going on at home. Siobhan’s role as her being his instructor and advisor at school comes out when she is curious if Christopher is afraid to go home after his dad hit him. Siobhan really helps Christopher when he is overwhelmed and begins groaning. He recalls that he should count prime numbers or do some math problems in his head to calm down. Christopher’s other “friend” is Toby, his pet rat. Of course, they cannot talk to each other but, Christopher takes extremely good care of him. Christopher ris

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time  by Mark Haddon follows a young boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder as he tries to solve the murder case of the neighborhood dog. I think that this book works well because it manages to tell a compelling story without making the point of the novel solely pointing out that the main character has autism. Haddon shows the thought process of someone with autism in a realistic and believable way but also has Christopher deal with problems in life that anyone could be struggling. The fact that any adolescent could be dealing with the divorce of their parents makes this such a good book to teach teenagers. This novel shows not only the struggle of someone dealing with ASD but also how parents of a child with this syndrome have to learn to live with it. Christopher's father knows that it would be difficult for Christopher to understand that he can't see his mother anymore, so he tells him that she's dead. Is that the best way to deal

After reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time for a second time, I now have a better understanding of the autism spectrum and some insight as to what could go on inside the mind of an autistic person. I initially read this novel in my 12th grade English class, but we skipped around so much because of the language used by adult figures in the book that most of us didn't really get anything out of reading it. The only aspects I remembered were Christopher's hatred of yellow and brown and that dad killed Wellington. Other than that, the plot, themes, character development, and other major aspects of this novel did not stick because my teacher, who was not one of my favorites, picked and prodded at the novel so much that it began taking away the bigger picture as to why we were reading the book in the first place. I feel like the language of the adults in this novel adds to the characterization of Christopher. His father especially has a terrible tongue and curses

     For my blog post on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time , I decided to focus on the way the parents in the novel treat Christopher.  I found the portrayal of these characters to be fairly accurate to life.  Most adults are uncomfortable when dealing with children with disabilities, if only because they are not sure what to do.  This is true of even Christopher's parents, such as his mother, who tells him "I was not a very good mother, Christopher.  Maybe if things had been different, maybe if you'd been differant [sic], I might have been better at it.  But that's just the way things turned out.  I'm not like your father.  Your father is a much more pacient [sic] person.  He just gets on with things and if things upset him he doesn't let it show.  But that's not the way I am and there's nothing I can do to change that (106)."  This attitude is hard to swallow, especially considering how much care Christopher's father puts into

Reading Speak broke my heart.   It wasn’t so much the writing or the characters that had such a strong emotional impact on me, exactly.   Instead, it was knowing that there are people all across America, and all around the world, that experienced what Melinda went through in Speak .   Knowing this, Melinda’s story hit me so much harder because for millions of people, it’s not just a story in a book.   It’s their story.   They are Melinda, and they share that same horrifying experience.   Thus, Speak is an incredibly important book for adolescents to read.   It’s not just a story for many teenagers across America.   Instead, it may reflect their own lives and experiences.   If Speak can encourage just one victim to stand up for themselves or to feel as if they aren’t alone in their struggles, I feel that it is a novel that must be taught to adolescents, despite the heavy subject coverage. Despite agreeing with the overall message of Speak , one issue that I had with Speak was t

     For my blog post on Speak , I decided to focus on the narration in the novel.  Many works of adolescent literature are in the first person narration style, but I think it is especially significant in Speak .  Normally, this perspective is used to give the reader a better impression of the protagonist's thoughts and feelings, as well as better explain the premise of the book.  However, in Speak , the narration becomes one of the only ways Melinda can express her feelings to the reader, as she feels that she cannot communicate with anyone after she is raped.  This is brought to the forefront whenever the book moves into the "script" sections, where dialogue is reduced to names and quotes.  Melinda in these situations typically says nothing, despite offering many different opinions and reflections over the course of the novel.  Even towards the end of the novel, when she finally starts to find her voice, Melinda's main form of communication is writing, whether it is

Speak was a very hard novel for me to read. Every day I struggled to sit down and find the courage to actually read the words. Sometimes I would sit down, book in hand, and find myself staring at the pages without registering anything that the text was saying. It wasn't because of the text itself but because of my deep and personal connection to the meaning of it. Being homeschooled my whole life I was thrown into public high school for the first time in my senior year. Like Melinda, I was thrown into a new school with extremely heavy baggage on my shoulders and I had absolutely no idea the appropriate way to handle it. I suppose that the largest area we differed in, was the fact that she entered a school that was filled with people whom she has known for some time, and her baggage was directly tied to these very students. Me on the other hand? Mine was 600miles away, but it didn't seem to matter. I had no idea how to be social or how to connect to the "normal kids."

I thought that Speak literally spoke volumes to adolescence and finding one's voice when it's been lost. I think that kids, especially girls, around this age can learn a thing or two about the power of speaking up from this novel. Each situation definitely varies from person to person, but I found Melinda's stubbornness and isolation from the situation extremely frustrating. It was probably due to my own stubbornness and impatience because I wanted her to progress faster than she did. I personally have underwent an unfortunate situation similar to Melinda's, so I connected with the overall story and Melinda's story especially. I know from experience that it can be extremely hard to talk about things like this to people who have no idea what it's truly like to be taken advantage of and even talking about it brings back painful memories that you seriously want no recollection of, so that makes talking about it even harder than it should be. Unlike Melinda, I am ve

Once I started reading "Speak" it was tough to put down. I feel that the author gave Melinda a unique voice that portrayed a lot of emotion despite the fact that she doesn't do a lot of talking to other characters in the book. A lot of Melinda's dialouge is inside of her own head, and it was interesting to see her progression throughout the book. One question I wondered as I read the book was why the author decided to have a negative portrayal of the teachers, except Mr. Freeman. When thinking about it from Melinda's point of view, it further explains her feelings of isolation, but I wasn't sure if Laurie Anderson was also trying to make a point about the disconnect between teachers and students. I felt a personal connection to this text because I am a quiet person that doesn't usually open up about my feelings. I keep stuff bottled up to myself, and while I haven't gone through anything as traumatic as Melinda, I can still connect with the way in wh

After reading Speak, I had a chance to reflect on my own life and how my experience in grade school was. Some of Melinda's habits and behavioral changes resemble my fourteen-year-old self. A few days I felt invincible while most days I could not even comprehend why I didn't feel like doing certain activities anymore. I began to put the pieces together on why some days I did not like to look in the mirror, or why I would never talk to my parents unless it was asking them to go somewhere. I was not ostracized and ridiculed how Melinda was but, the home life and depression is familiar. I believe that this novel is powerful enough that not only high schoolers but, some kids preparing for high school should read it. They may or may not can relate to Melinda's sexual assault yet, more of them can recognize that their habits are changing. That could either be in relation to depression or anxiety. In addition to Melinda clearly expressing that she is depressed to her family and te

Speak  is a realistic look on the high school experience through the eyes of a girl that seems to have lost all of her friends and is being victimized by some of her peers. The novel deals with intense subjects such as rape and abuse in a very sensitive way that allows younger readers to learn about these subjects without being horrified. Laurie Halse Anderson recreated the realistic feeling that many adolescents go through by making it feel like everyone is out to cause harm Melinda. Even her parents seem to gloss over the fact that she is harming herself and could potentially be suicidal with her mother saying, "I don't have time for this". I enjoyed this book because it has the potential to show young readers that are potentially dealing with similar situations that they are not alone. In the novel, you watch as Melinda's situation goes from bad to worse and to her, all of her classmates and teachers hate her. There are a few exceptions to this like Mr. Freeman a

Even after reading this book for the second time in the same year, I still really love it.  Something I focused in on this time was the dynamic between Arnold and Rowdy as foils of each other.  I found that (obviously) Arnold's face is in many drawings, whereas there's a sketch of Rowdy missing a face.  That made me think about the idea of what showing one's face means.  To me, it seems that Arnold, being our protagonist, is open and honest about his feelings, if only to the reader.  We can trust what Arnold is saying because he's not afraid to show his face, literal and metaphorical.  Meanwhile, Rowdy is eager to push people away, and for good reason often.  It's shown throughout the novel that he does have a sincere side, such as when he tells Arnold the truth about Dawn's feelings for him, or whenever Arnold e-mails him for advice, and especially at the end of the novel, but all of these emotional moments are undercut by his brash personality, as if he's

My initial reaction to the book  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was that this was a book of truth. The topics of family, poverty, alcoholism, education, violence, and grief are all things that we all battle on a daily basis. It was sad to hear the battles that Alexie and his family faced while living in America. This book is controversial and brings light to issues that not only Native American's have had to face but also things that other cultures and ethnicities tend to face. This was definitely a book that I truly enjoyed and wanted to hear more even after reading. The only question that I really have towards the book was what happened to Alexie and his life after he finished school since the book is based on his life. Also another question that crossed my mind multiple times was does he still feel as if he is a "part-time" Indian. I can relate to the story at this point of the book because I have sometimes felt as if my life was so different at ho

When reading Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , I most often felt disappointed and upset at the grave and ongoing injustice committed against Native American populations in the United States.  Alexie’s blunt and sincere narrative captures the hardships of life for Indians on reservations in regards to addiction, violence, and a lack of educational and career opportunities.  That Native Americans are not afforded the same opportunities as white people today is one of America’s greatest continuing failures to native populations. Being a white woman born in the United States, I have never been the target of racial injustice, and, as a result, it is difficult for me to make a connection to Arnold’s experiences as a person of color in a majority white school.  However, I can relate to Arnold’s experience of having to change how he acts among different groups of people.  I am a lesbian, and I’ve lived in South Carolina my entire life.  As a result, I’ve lear

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was an enjoyable book for me to read. I really like sarcasm, so the dark humor stood out to me when Arnold was describing his situation on the reservation and comparing it to life outside of the reservation. One question I have been thinking about is what caused Arnold to gain so much confidence once he got to Reardan. We see this with how he talks to Penelope and basketball mainly, and he seems like a different person. I think it's because of the hope and opportunity that Reardan offers, but it seems like he is two different people once he leaves the reservation. This book resonated with me personally, because I have often felt trapped in my own little town. I see the world as an opportunity, and there's a big part of me that wants to get out of Spartanburg and start over somewhere new. This isn't exactly comparable since Arnold still lives on the reservation, but seeing the courage it took for him to make a school change r

Reflection on Diary Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian  was a beyond enjoyable to me with it's real world issues being mixed with the dark humor of the main character. The novel feels like an upgraded version of the Dairy of a Wimpy Kid series since they both follow a young adult protagonist and features illustrations drawn by said protagonist, but Alexie's novel feels more real. I felt that I related with Arnold in many ways as I often felt like an outcast in freshman year as well. One aspect of the novel that I find to be very emotional is how it deals with death. In the novel Arnold loses his grandmother, a father figure, and his sister and has to deal with the emotional trauma that comes with that; especially since Arnold loses his sister and the death of a young family member is always harder than that of someone who is much older than you. Alexie did an excellent job with how a fourteen year-old kid would think and feel about many subj

My overall opinion of the reading is quite vast. There are a few elements that really stood out to me as very well thought out and put together. First, the tone of the novel was very fitting for the story. While reading it, I felt as though I could hear the voice of Junior telling me everything that had happened to him and I sympathized with him. In addition to this, I believed the author did an amazing job at embodying the tone and vernacular of an adolescent. He expressed this train of thought in an especially ingenious way using all of the graphics and drawings that Junior had sketched. These sketches helped portray the emotions and attitude of Junior which provide insight for the reader. I felt a very personal connection to the book because of Juniors' traumatic search for identity. Although I could not begin to fathom the struggles that goes along with growing up on the reservation, I can relate to the deep emotions that comes along with trying to transition into adulthood  

Since I have read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian prior to this course, I read it this time while keeping a closer eye on Arnold and how his environment affected him in almost every aspect of his life. Reading it a second time really opened up my eyes to the issues that Native Americans face on a daily basis, like the high unemployment rates or the alcoholism phenomenon. Coming from Native American descent, I had a few connections with the issues faced by Native Americans and similar situations seemed to make more sense to me. My dad's side of the family has a history of alcoholism, which is a huge issue among Native Americans and made me ask questions relating to our family's history to my dad and grandma. I liked how Alexie portrayed adolescent Arnold in this novel, especially with all of the issues he was forced to face and how he coped with those issues. All of these issues mentioned in the text can also be applied to other adolescents across literature a

My overall reaction to reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is quite complex. A part of me is inspired to try and reach my goals and dreams. Nothing should feel impossible to me after reading this. This novel serves as an inspiration because I did not grow up with nearly as many treacherous roadblocks and obstacles such as Junior. The other part of me is truly saddened that not only Junior but, real Native Americans go through these situations daily. It is heartbreaking to think that the government has thrown away an entire culture onto a reservation and left the people with ancient resources. The only one being renewable is alcohol. I can only slightly relate to the topics Sherman Alexie discusses in the novel. Junior mentions over and over that he feels since transferring schools he feels half-white on the reservation and half-Indian while he is in class. Growing up around the years of elementary school, I attended school in a really small town filled with p