Non fiction response

In the article “escape from hell” by Hania Mourtada is about a girl Named Amna al-khodr it talks about a girl who had a bright future ahead of her that ended because of the civil war going on in her town In Syria.  Amna was insulted and rapped by officers and that’s when her family took action and left.  Amna told stories about just how bad it was during the civil war.

Amna mentioned how rude officers were to her.  One thing she says is “Some rebel groups stole from people and harassed them.”  She also goes on to say about how they stole her bread to feed her family so that their troops can be feed.  The article states “to buy bread for her family each day, Amna had to cross government checkpoints:  Soldiers set up barricades, looking for rebels wanted by the regime.  Often, the soldiers insulted her and took away her groceries to feed their forces.”  This showed how bad it was especially when their own protection is hurting them

Amna also mentions how a girl had also been raped by the same checkpoint.  “In the summer of 2013, the shelling of Yarmouk intensified.  At the same time, the khodus heard that a young girl was raped by soldiers.”  This is another example of how bad it was over there because even the good guys were bad hurting their own kind.  To fix this issue many families moved to refugee camps which aren’t any better.  The article states “they’re crammed together in a 10 by 10 foot room, lit only by a flickering candle.”  These camps are really messed up and no better than the things going on in Syria.

In conclusion this article really changes the way I think about other people’s lives because where I live I don’t get to witness this type of things (not that I want to).  The war in Syria was one to two years ago and I would like to know if it’s still messed up and if there are still many fights.  After I read this article I’ve realized how much better my life is and how lucky I am to be in safer places.

Non fiction response

In the article “escape from hell” by Hania Mourtada is about a girl Named Amna al-khodr it talks about a girl who had a bright future ahead of her that ended because of the civil war going on in her town In Syria.  Amna was insulted and rapped by officers and that’s when her family took action and left.  Amna told stories about just how bad it was during the civil war.

Amna mentioned how rude officers were to her.  One thing she says is “Some rebel groups stole from people and harassed them.”  She also goes on to say about how they stole her bread to feed her family so that their troops can be feed.  The article states “to buy bread for her family each day, Amna had to cross government checkpoints:  Soldiers set up barricades, looking for rebels wanted by the regime.  Often, the soldiers insulted her and took away her groceries to feed their forces.”  This showed how bad it was especially when their own protection is hurting them

Amna also mentions how a girl had also been raped by the same checkpoint.  “In the summer of 2013, the shelling of Yarmouk intensified.  At the same time, the khodus heard that a young girl was raped by soldiers.”  This is another example of how bad it was over there because even the good guys were bad hurting their own kind.  To fix this issue many families moved to refugee camps which aren’t any better.  The article states “they’re crammed together in a 10 by 10 foot room, lit only by a flickering candle.”  These camps are really messed up and no better than the things going on in Syria.

In conclusion this article really changes the way I think about other people’s lives because where I live I don’t get to witness this type of things (not that I want to).  The war in Syria was one to two years ago and I would like to know if it’s still messed up and if there are still many fights.  After I read this article I’ve realized how much better my life is and how lucky I am to be in safer places.

Blog #4

Peter Seda      Class 812

No one wants to read a book about people killing each other, especially if its 12 year old boys.  Lord of the flies by William Golding should be banned because of the dark killing, sexual content, and graphic language and scenes.  This book has been challenged by many school libraries for many reasons.

There was two deaths in the book that were both caused by murder, one was Simon and the other one was piggy.  Simon was killed because he thought the lord of the flies (the mother pig) couldn't really talk.  The nine year old, Simon, came out of the woods and told his group of people that the lord of the fly couldn't actually talk.  All the kids charged at him with their spears.  they started stabbing him yelling “Kill the Sow, Spill the blood!”.  this part really showed how ruthless this book can be because oh how young Simon was and how easily he was killed.  They also killed piggy who was only trying to stop the killing, but the kids wanted no part in it.  They threw rocks at him nailing him in the head sending him 40 feet off a cliff killing him.  This is two huge examples of ruthless killing over peace and reality that two young boys just wanted to help.  “It was considered “inappropriate reading” in a Marana, Arizona, high school in 1983 and a year later challenged in the Olney, Texas, Independent School District for “excessive violence and bad language” states the banned books awareness

This book also had sexual content in the book.  Many parents don't want their children being introduced to sexual content by other people.  in the beginning of the book the author states talks about piggy blowing on the conch and with Ralph replying with “Why don't you blow on this?” as he holds his groan, but that's not even the worst part.  In chapter eight the kids kill and torture a mother sow.  All the boys jumped on the sow.  Many articles believe that the boys were torturing her in a sexual way, because there were no girls on the island so this is the only thing they got.  Rodger also said “Stick it up the ass” which he did do with his spear as the mother sow squealed with pain.  This caused many problems with schools because it was rape

Another Huge thing in this book was the graphic scenes the kids encountered.  "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee: the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went. Piggy fell 40 feet and landed on his back across the the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pigs after it has been killed"(Golding 181).  This moment in the book really set a deep dark image in everyone head.  The thought of piggy falling and smashing his head open really made many people think how insane these kids have become.  the kids also sang around the pig when they were trying to kill it yelling "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood. Bash her in." These are two good examples on how these kids were blood thirsty.

In all the killing, rape, and graphic scenes shouldn't be in a book that is meant for kids to read, because it can cause kids to do bad things and think they are ok to do, for example rape animals or kill other people.  This book should be taken off of libraries in every school.