The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, should NOT be banned

      Books teach us about what goes on in the world we live in, so why would we want to take that away from the growing teens willing to learn about their surroundings?  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir about the author’s life.  Throughout the story, she faces many challenges.  Her family struggles from financial difficulties.  As a kid, Jeannette was sexually abused, and her father was an alcoholic.  This was her life, and believe it or not, it was all true.  This book should not be removed from middle school libraries because it contains real world issues.  Although the text includes sexual abuse, financial conflict, and alcoholism, middle school students should have access to it because these are important issues to be aware of.  Teens can learn how to deal with these kinds of problems just in case they have or ever do encounter them.      
      There are many negative events that take place in Jeannette Walls’ life.  Her family dealt with major financial difficulties, she had been sexually abused more than once as a kid, and her father was an alcoholic and constantly took his anger out on the rest of the family.  One part of the book states, “He’d popped open the first Budweiser before breakfast, and by the time midnight mass rolled around, he was having trouble standing up.”  He was a very irresponsible father and was not a good role model for his children. Some parents might object to their kids reading about behavior like this, but it represents what Jeannette’s real life was like.  In another part of the book, Jeannette claims, “One night when I was almost ten, I was awakened by someone running his hands over my private parts.  I recognized the voice.  It belonged to a scraggly guy with sunken cheeks who had been hanging around North Third Street recently.”  When children read about subjects like these, it can make parents feel very uncomfortable.  They may think their kids aren’t ready for such mature subjects.  However, the author has a right to express herself and share her experiences with the teens who want to read about them.    
      Sexual abuse, financial conflict, and alcoholism are all real life issues.  Even if you haven’t experienced these events, it’s important to be aware of them.  An article on Banned Books Awareness affirms, “It’s been seen time after time when someone objects to these topics wrapped inside literature and fiction and wants to prevent it from being read, but this is historical fact.  It did happen.  It does happen.”  This may seem scary, but it’s not meant to make teens afraid of what happens in the world.  It’s meant to open their eyes and teach them about real world events.  These things can happen, and children can’t be shielded from them forever.  Parents may think they are protecting their kids by not allowing them to read books containing these issues, but in a way, they are harming them.  How will these kids protect themselves when their parents can’t be there to take care of them anymore?  The article “Can Book Censorship Save our Children and their Innocence” adds, “Parents and educators must keep in mind that books are quite often the first to the fray in social advancement.”  The Glass Castle advances our knowledge about certain social issues, it’s important to learn about these subjects.  If kids aren’t exposed early enough, they may become very naive about the world around them.  It prepares them for life and events that they, or someone they know, may face.     
      In addition, many teenagers can relate to these issues.  If kids have access to a book about a problem they are going through, it can help them deal with it.  Banned books Awareness makes known, “Parent Billie Jo Clark says The Glass Castle is a book about overcoming the most incredible obstacles in your life.”  It can help kids deal with their problems and encourage them to be strong.  Jeannette had a harsh life, but she found a way to get through it.  She started as a poor nomad and eventually became a successful writer.  She accomplished so much for someone who started out with so little.  The article also reads, “When a book comes along that can make a reader who faces a similar situation or past, not feel so alone, or provide an opening awareness to others, then everyone everywhere, and of all ages, should read it.”  The Glass Castle can show teens that they aren’t the only ones with these situations and that there is a way to solve them.  They may even feel a connection with the author.  Jeannette’s words can comfort and guide kids who have something in common with her life experiences.       
      Overall, The Glass Castle is important to keep in middle school libraries.  It brings up problems that can occur in everyday life and happen to real people.  It shows how Jeannette Walls, a real person who faced many struggles, overcame these obstacles.  Her story is an inspiration to many teens around the world.  She had been through so much as a child.  Her life was not easy, but she was brave and dealt with it.  Jeannette Walls is a survivor, and by sharing her story with the world, she is giving teens hope for a better future. 

My Social Awareness Project Reflection:

This Social Awareness Project has taught me that it is important to let people know there is a lot going on in the world around us.  It has made me aware of these events as well.  Specifically, one common event I have learned a lot about from this project is youth homelessness.  There are over one million homeless kids in the United States who are out on the streets.  Whether they were kicked out of their homes or ran away, there are reasons behind why they are living on their own.  Sad, scary, shocking reasons.  These kids are forced to face many challenges.  Sometimes it’s finding a place to sleep at night, or getting at least one meal into their day, or the fact that they are trying to keep their struggles a secret.  They have no one to turn to, they have no place to go.  We can help them by making people aware of their situation.  By letting people know what these kids are going through, we can save them one step at a time.

The Challenges They Face 

So many kids,

so many places.

Searching for shelter,

with familiar faces.

On a park bench one night,

on the subway another.

Looking for money,

some food and some water.

Then it gets cold,

but what’s there to do?

The shelters are filled,

there’s no space for you.

Struggle to find,

a place for the night.

You have to keep looking,

you just have to fight.

I wrote this poem to show how youth homelessness is important to be aware of.  There are so many kids in the United States who struggle everyday to find shelter and food.  They are completely on their own, they don’t have anyone to support them.  I want to show people that these kids are living a very challenging life and they need to be noticed and taken care of.        

Dear journal,

It all started with her addiction.  She couldn’t stop, pill after pill, everyday.  Then came the hitting and yelling, she blamed me for everything.  She called me a mistake.  But the day I saw that eviction notice on our front door, that’s the day everything changed.  It said we had 30 days left.  When she saw it, she just went inside, packed up her stuff, and left me.  Just like that, she was gone.  I stood there, staring at that little piece of paper, hoping that all of this was a bad dream, but it wasn’t.  This was real.  So I spent the 29 days I had left in my house.  On the 30th day, I took with me whatever I could carry and left.  I had no plan, I didn’t have a home anymore.  I couldn’t tell my teachers at school, everyone would find out.  I sat on a bench in the park, trying to look as normal as possible.  I walked around with my backpack containing one sweater, a few pairs of clothes, and my toothbrush.  What was I going to do?  Where was I going to go?  I just kept walking and thinking, hoping I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew.  Then it got dark, I went into the playground and crawled under the slide.  There I spent my first night, homeless.  It’s not an easy life, although I am getting used to it.  Believe it or not, stealing food isn’t as hard as it may seem.  What have I got to lose anyway?  The hardest part is keeping all of this a secret.  I wish I could tell somebody, but I feel like that would just make it worse.  I don’t know why, I just do.  I go to school as often as I can.  Sometimes I get weird looks, but no one ever says anything.  To be honest, I really don’t know how long I’ll have to live this way, but I have to try.

-Sam       

I've Been Homeless For Six Years, by Alessandra Potenza

    There are so many homeless youths who are abandoned and have no place to go.  With no home or family, they are forced to fend for themselves.  They go to school, trying to keep their personal lives a secret.  At the end of the day, they must search for a place to spend the night, not knowing what or when their next meal will be.  This is a huge issue and Alessandra Potenza proves why in the article, I've Been Homeless For Six Years.

    The author explains the life of 18 year old Brianna DeMaio and how she had been homeless for six years.  DeMaio, her older sister, and their mother were evicted from their house in Portland, Maine.  Her mother struggled from alcohol abuse and couldn't keep up with the bills, so she moved in with her boyfriend.  Her older sister went to live with some of her friends, leaving DeMaio to survive on her own.  So she continued going to school as often as she could, avoiding telling anyone about her situation.  At night, she spent most of her time on the street, struggling to find food.  Sometimes if she was lucky, she would eat at a shelter.  Other times, she had no choice but to steal.  But her worst experience was the first night she spent on a park bench during the winter.  DeMaio said, "I was scared out of my wits.  I didn't know what was going to happen...I never thought it would get that bad for me."  DeMaio is just one out of over 1 million homeless youths in the United States, living in fear.  For them, there is no backup plan, they have to live life as they go along.  This shows that homelessness is a big deal in America.  These kids are scared and desperate and they need help.

    According to the article, homeless youths are not getting the support that they need.  Many homeless advocates are saying that not enough resources are devoted to rescue young Americans from homelessness.  Too much money is being spent on criminalizing homelessness with laws that ban sleeping in public spaces, rather than investing in affordable housing.  The author wants the reader to see that this is a very serious problem and that something has to be done about it.  Not enough money is being spent on shelters for homeless youths.  Not enough people are taking action to improve the situation, and these kids can't do anything about it.  They don't have a choice.  21 year old Apple, another homeless youth, said, "We come from situations that often times we have no control over."  Many are forced out of thier homes because of financial issues, or run away to escape poverty, abuse, violence, or alcohol and drug problems.  Some have even come out as gay and been rejected by their families.  These kids need to be cared for, they need to be loved.

    After reading this article, it has made me realize how common homelessness really is.  It's frightening to think that so many kids in the U.S alone are living this way.  How could their parents just leave them like that?  What do they do if there is no room for them at a shelter?  Do they tell their friends or adults at school about it? How can these kids survive out on their own?  Life is so difficult for them and they don't deserve to live like this, no one does.      

        

                               

The Museum of the City of New York, Social Activism in NYC 

    At the Museum of the City of New York, we learned about Social Activism from the 17th century up until present day.  We specifically learned about segregation between the sexes and how women did not have the right to vote, unlike men who were allowed.  So those women fought for their rights to have a say in government decisions.  They went out on the streets with sashes stating, “Women Suffrage" and they proved that men and women should be treated equally.

  Another type of segregation was between races.  After the Reconstruction period, the Jim Crow laws were enfored in the Southern United States.  This meant that colored people were not allowed in the same public facilities as white people.  So they boycotted against racial segregation by not taking any form of public transportaton or going to any public facilities requiring them to pay.  This way, the government began losing money since the majority of citizens in the South were black, and African Americans began to gain more rights.

    These are just two examples of events causing activists to take a stance.  There are many other social issues causing people to take action, such as gay rights and even making city traffic safer for bikers.  There are also many forms of activism, such as writing petitions, boycotting, and creating convincing advertisements.  It’s definitely a group effort.  Although it always starts with one determined person, it takes a group of devoted people to make a difference in the world.

Extra credit:

To be an Activist

Women sufferage, 

it was a big deal.

They stood outside,

with sashes and signs.

Women are citizens,

how long must they wait

for liberty?

Racial segregation,

it had to stop.

Blacks couldn't go

to restaurants and parks.

If white people were there,

they couldn't be.

So they boycotted,

and the government

wouldn't get their money.

Social issues,

there are so many.

but we have to be strong,

we have to take a stance,

we have to be brave.

We have to say the things

that others would be afraid to say,

we have to be activists.

     

        The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

    Sometimes it's hard to grasp the concept of a book if you are not old enough to understand it.  The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, takes place during the time of the Holocaust.  It contains many horrific events that can be difficult for children to read about.  It is narrated by Death and is about an orphan, named Liesel, who witnesses many fearful and depressing happenings.  At the time, there is a lot of violence going on between Germans and Jews.  Wars, suicide, harsh punishments, and many deaths take place.  This can be very intense for young kids and hard for them to understand.  It is meant to be a novel for the eyes of young adults, not children.
    In the book, Liesel's adoptive father was whipped for giving bread to starving Jews.  It states, "Wading through, a solider was soon at the scene of the crime.  He studied the kneeling man and Papa, and he looked at the crowd.  After another moment's thought, he took the whip from his belt and began.  There was an image, fast and hot, and there was blood and bread crumbs on his hands." This could be confusing for young children, because a man was just giving another man a piece of bread, how could that be a crime?  They may misinterpret this event and think that it's not right to help people who are different from you in any way.  They wouldn't understand why the man is being whipped.  In addition, the fact that he's being whipped at all is a very violent idea.
    In another part of the book, the son of Liesel's neighbor, who was in the army, committed suicide.  It says, "When Himmel Street woke later in July, a returned soldier was discovered to be dead.  He was hanging from one of the rafters in a laundry up near Frau Diller's.  Another human pendulum.  Another clock, stopped." The idea of people killing themselves could be hard for young children to handle.  They may wonder why a person would ever even want to kill himself in the first place?  How could something so terrible happen that it could drive someone to want to be dead?  Suicide is a very serious matter and it's definitely a lot for kids to take in.
    Finally, the story is told in the perspective of death.  In the book, Death says, "Here is a small fact, you're going to die.  Reaction to the aforementioned fact, does this worry you?  I urge you, don't be afraid.  I'm nothing if not fair." This can be hard for young children to understand, because it's not like death is a real person.  It can't literally talk to you.  Also, by making death narrate the story, the author is trying to show how during the Holocaust, many people were killed and that it was a scary time in history.  Death isn't usually a subject that young kids want to be thinking of, in fact, it could really worry them about the future.  Everybody dies at one point, but it isn't something for children to be reading about.
    Overall, The Book Thief should not be on a recommended reading list for young children.  It contains violent content that is too mature for a younger audience.  If children read these types of nonfiction books at an early age, it can be challenging for them to comprehend what's going on and why.  It's important to learn about certain times in history, whether good or bad, but you have to be grown up enough to understand it.