Final Reading Response: The Fault In Our Stars

     "Without pain we couldn't know joy."(Green 272) This is a quote that Hazel says in The Fault in Our Stars when she learns a lesson from Augustus when he dies.The book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is about two teenagers, Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster who fall in love despite the fact that she has cancer and his cancer is in remission. They met in a support group for people dealing with cancer, Augustus having had his leg amputated, but supposedly "cancer free" and Hazel who has to breathe with the support of an oxygen tank since the cancer in her lungs has caused them to fill with fluid. They are both friends with Isaac another support group member who is now "cancer free" but blind due to his second eye having to be removed. All three of these teenagers are coming of age, but with cancer as an extra obstacle they have to overcome in their lives.
     Hazel and Augustus are star-crossed lovers, their love is fated to end tragically due to Augustus's death from cancer. When Augustus dies Hazel learns that pain is necessary which Augustus teaches her throughout the book. One example of this is where Augustus says "That's the thing about pain,'...'it demands to be felt."(Green 63) Another example of this is where Hazel reads the letter Augustus wrote to the author of  "An Imperial Affliction" and he says "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you."(Green 313).
     By the time Augustus accepts his impending death he learns to overcome his fear of oblivion. He admits he has this fear where he says "I fear oblivion,' he said without a moment's pause ' I fear it like the proverbial blind man who's afraid of the dark." (Green 12) Hazel teaches him to overcome this fear when she explains how to ignore it. she says "There will come a time ,' I said,' when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species did anything...And it inevitability of human oblivion worries you I encourage you to ignore it. God knows thats what everyone else does."(Green 13) Throughout the story Hazel teaches Augustus this lesson  and he learns that he doesn't have to affect many people to be noticed before he dies, he only has to affect one person, Hazel.
     In conclusion, Augustus, Hazel and Issac along with other young cancer survivors in The Fault in Our Stars have to deal with many obstacles and learn many lessons when coming of age, including the physical and emotional challenges of having to live with cancer.

Non-Fiction Reading Response 2

     After reading "Growing Up Saudi" by Karen Elliot House, I believe that the author wants readers to learn about young people in Saudi Arabia and how they are increasingly questioning the very conservative society. In this article the author discusses the strict rules that restrict youth in Saudi Arabia and how they push the boundaries to these rules. Young people are breaking rules such as the ban on womens' right to drive by protesting and posting videos of women driving on the internet.
     I think the author wants readers to think about the rights of young people in Saudi Arabia and how this conservative society should be changed. The author conveys this message by including statistics and pictures to persuade the readers of this message. The author supports the idea that young people should be able to work by including statistics showing the population and unemployment rates of young people in Saudi Arabia.
     One element of this article that shows the author's bias towards the restrictive society is the abundance of quotations stated by people in favor of changing this society. The author includes a quote from a young saleswomen living in this area. The quote she states is "It's nice to get out and work and get paid." This quotation supports the idea of change in Saudi Arabia. There are many quotations like this throughout the article. The fact that there are not many quotations from people who want to keep this society shows the authors bias because of the author's lack of representation for the opposing side.
     In conclusion, I believe the author of "Growing Up Saudi" is in favor of changing the restrictive rules of the conservative society. The author conveys this message by including an abundance of  quotations, statistics, and showing pictures that show how the youth of Saudi Arabia want and need change from this conservative society.

Poetry Reading Response: "Photography" by Nikki Giovanni

     "if the eye is a camera and the film is the heart then the photo assistant is god."(Giovanni 26-27) This is one way that Nikki Giovanni, author of "Photography" expresses her idea that life is like photography. In this poem, the author uses phrases like this to show the importance of these symbols in life. The author's use of metaphors, imagery, line breaks, and symbolism illuminates the author's idea that life is like photography.
      In this poem, the author uses symbols and metaphors to explain the relationship between life and photography. Some of these symbols and metaphors are: the camera to represent an eye (sight), the heart that represents film (memory), and the brain to represent knowledge. Some of these symbols are shown where the author states "if the eye is a camera and the film is the heart than the photo assistant is god"(Giovanni 26-27) This means that in life, if the camera is an eye or sight then the heart holds those memories or 'pictures' and the photo assistant is god because he/she controls those memories.
     The author uses line breaks to emphasize her opinion about photography and ideas of life.
In this poem, the author uses line breaks especially in the second stanza to explain her ideas about life. This is shown where the author states "it's easy sitting in the sun/ to forget that cold exists/ let alone envelopes/ the lives of people."(Giovanni 8-11)The line breaks help show the reader the author's idea that when a person's life is going well, this person will believe that others' lives are going well even though this is not always true.
     In this poem, the author also uses imagery to show the comparison between life and photography. an example of this is where the author states "watching the red sun bleed into the ocean."(Giovanni 23-24) These lines show a vivid description of sight which is compared to a camera in this poem. This symbol is important in this poem because it shows the similarities between life and photography.
     This poem, "Photography" by Nikki Giovanni makes me realize the similarities between photography and life. The author portrays these similarities using symbolism, line breaks, imagery, and metaphors. 

Monday Muses Poem

I am the color red.

Of bricks
that make up buildings
before the sun lets them fade.

The color that escapes
 when cuts bleed.

Of heart shaped balloons
that escape from girls' hands
before they fly free.

The color of the ocean
when the sky turns orange
and the sun sets
down behind the water.

Reading Response on Flawless

     After reading Flawless by Sara Shepard, I noticed that the author tries to show that death is an important issue in this book. The author portrays this by basing this story on the death of a friend of four girls in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. This book is about the lives of these girls after their friend, Alison's death and how her death has unearthed the secrets that they told her.
     This book is the second book in the Pretty Little Liars series. Overall, these books are about the lives of these girls after their friend dies. This series is also about people who are determined not to let their secrets die along with their friend. Some of these secrets include stolen homework, crimes against neighbors, body image, bulimia, stealing boyfriends, homosexuality, shoplifting, and love affairs. 
     One reason I think death is an important issue in this text is that the author represents the idea of unanswered questions through a character, A that torments these four friends, Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna about the secrets only Alison knew. The author explains this where she states "Over the past week, each of them had gotten e-mails, texts, and IMs from someone who went by the initial A. The notes had mostly been about stuff from seventh grade, the year Ali went missing, but they also mentioned new secrets...stuff that was happening now."
     The author also explains this issue and how it is important by repeating this issue throughout the book. The author explains this with Ali's memorial and with the friends' new secrets and issues. The author also includes death throughout the story by including things about Ali's life. An example of this is where the author introduces the issue of homosexuality in Emily's life. The author includes things about how Emily was secretly in love with Ali before she died and how this affects her possible new love interest with a girl, Maya who  currently lives in Ali's house. The author also explains this issue by bringing up how Ali was involved in Aria's issue. This issue was that they both found out about her father's affair with one of his students, Meridith who went to the college that he works in. This became a problem when Aria decided to keep her dad's secret, but Ali tried to destroy Aria's family by trying tho convince her father to tell her mother. This becomes a current issue when her father's affair resumes two years later.
     In conclusion, death is an important issue in this text because this story is based on the death of a friend of four girls in Rosewood. This becomes a reoccurring issue when she is remembered throughout the story. I believe that she and A represent death and how it leaves many unanswered questions and secrets.

Non-Fiction Reading Response 1:Upfront Article

     After reading "The High Price of Cheap Fashion" by Patricia Smith, I think that the author wants the readers to realize the terrible working conditions of the workers that make Americans' clothes. This article is about the unsafe working conditions and low pay of workers in places like Bangladesh and China. The author writes about one factory in specific in Bangladesh where a building collapsed. It collapsed because the owner illegally added extra floors and let heavy equipment be installed that the building could not support.  This caused 1,100 deaths and 2,500 more workers to be injured.This factory was used to produce clothes for companies like Benetton and Children's Place to be sold in the U.S. and Europe.
     The author states in the text, "As recently as 1990, 50 percent of the clothes in the U.S. were made in the U.S. Now it's just 2 percent." This shows that the author wants readers to know that the amount of clothes made in the U.S. has decreased. In the article the author also states that the minimum wages of workers in Bangladesh are lower than any other in the world and this does not change because fourteen million people depend on this industry. This shows that the author wants readers to know about where their clothes come from and how much workers there are paid.
     The author's bias is also shown in this article. The author quotes from books and companies such as the National Consumers League that are also addressing the issue of unfair pay and unsafe working  conditions in other countries. An example of this is where the author quotes the N.C.L.,"We're hoping this will be a game changer in the way the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire was in the U.S." The author also discusses the Triangle fire in 1911 that also shows bias. The author also quotes many sources that show this as an issue, but misrepresents the opposing side. I think the author does this so this topic is clearly shown as an issue in this article.
     After reading this article, I have concluded that this clothing industry can be unfair to it's workers and it might even be a danger to them. I believe that Americans should be more aware of what clothes the buy and look past the price. This article has made me more aware of this issue and even though I knew these workers were paid unfairly I didn't know that these jobs were potentially dangerous to them. I believe this article will make other readers more aware of what they buy and might make them purchase fair-trade certified clothing instead of the alternative the next time they need new clothing.