Symbolism in Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

In the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman a very prominent theme is seeing life with “blinders” on or seeing life with these “blinders off.  Horses have these blinders to keep them from seeing everything. On people these blinders are nonexistent, but in ways they are much more powerful than the blinders on a common horse. As Brontë, one of the main characters explains, “Most of the time we don’t even know they’re there. Maybe we need them though, though, because if we took in everything at once we’d lose our minds.” Brontë is trying so hard to keep her blinders on and shutting her eyes away from the horrific truth, whereas Brewster (another main character) has seen the world for what it truly is. This theme kept on popping up discreetly over and over again in Brontë’s and Brewster’s actions and thoughts. So I think that the theme of living life with the blinders on versus off is very important in the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman.

A way that this theme shows is through one of the characters, Brontë. Brontë tries so hard to keep her blinders on and in doing so she completely denies all her problems. “‘No! They’re not getting divorced! They worked things out! They’re happy!’” The “they” that she is talking about is her parents, and they are on the verge of divorce and her mother is already seeing another man. Also, Brontë never fully realizes the consequences of her actions. For example,  Brontë will introduce Brewster to all her friends and he will begin to care about them, causing him agony because he takes other people’s emotional and physical pain away from the people he cares about. So you can see two ways of how the theme of having the blinders on versus off is shown in Brontë because she is trying so desperately to keep her blinders on and seeing reality.

            A different side of the blinders theme is shown in Brewster whose blinders are fully off. He sees the world in an entirely realistic perspective and he realizes reality while others, like Brontë, refuse to accept it. “… Who have devolved into Play-Doh pumped through sleazy suburban press, stamped into identical molds, all bearing chunks of bleak ice, comet-cold in their chests.” He sees straight through all the heartless people while other people will worship them as if they were magical, filled to the brim with mystical powers of only good. The theme of the blinders is also shown in another way through Brewster.

              In conclusion, the theme of living life with these protective blinders on and on was a reoccurring theme in the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. As Brontë will state, “Can you imagine how terrifying it must be to suddenly realize that everything you believe about the universe was wrong? Most people don’t realize how terrifying that is until their world is the one being threatened.” Brontë clutches her “blinders” tight to her face whereas Brew’s blinders are off and he sees straight through every phony thing. So I believe that the theme of having blinders on versus off was a very prominent theme in the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman.

The Theme of Love in Born Confused

              In the book Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, the theme of love is seen in three different perspectives. Dimple's mother believes that love is something that will connect you to that person for the rest of your life and it is a sacred holy thing. Dimple believes that love is a powerful and terrifying thing that sweeps you off your feet into a whole new world for the better or the worse of you. And Dimple's best friend Gwyn believes that love is something that barely exists and it is very rare. She also believes that false love is found all around. The way the book showed love in these three perspectives made me think about love in my life. I love my family and my friends, and I agree with all three of these perspectives. I believe that love can change your life and it is sacred, I believe that it is a terrifying thing that can switch your world upside down for better or worse, and I also believe that love nowadays is a rare yet beautiful thing. These three characters are all very different and their ideas on love are very different, yet I believe that one thing that all their beliefs have in common is that love is powerful. Love alters so many things in a person's life that it's breath-taking. Born Confused really expresses that in a wonderful way.
         Gwyn in Born Confused is Dimple's best friend. She and Dimple are so close that they are practically sisters. Yet Gwyn and Dimple are very different in the way that Gwyn has been used all her life for her body, and not her soul. Gwyn is a gorgeous girl, being described in the book to have lustrous blond curly hair and radiant blue eyes. Yet in the story, Gwyn dates guys who just use her for her body and she falls for every single one of them. And when they leave her, she gets extremely upset because she felt as though she has given something up all for a waste. She is anti-love, and sometimes even feels that love itself is a complete waste. Yet in spite of that, she continues to search for love, giving up her body and soul only to have it being used and wasted in the end. Dimple and her mother have both never been used like that, so obviously they have different perspectives about love comparing to Gwyn's view on love. Gwyn's perspective made me very sad, because she is only 16 and is a full grown woman in her soul because of the way she has been treated all her life. I think that possibly, sadly, Gwyn will have this outlook on love for all her life because of the way she acts.
            Dimple is the main character in Born Confused and she has just turned 17, which means she is thinking an awful lot about the life she has ahead of her. Part of that life includes getting an arranged marriage, which Dimple will comply to even though she may not be entirely happy with it. Dimple believes that as part of her womanhood, she should fall in love. This scares Dimple though, because Dimple has never been in love because her strict Indian parents forbade her to have a boyfriend or any type of companionship with a boy at all. Dimple is always surrounded by love: her parents love each other deeply, Gwyn falls for practically every boy around her, and her cousin Kavita has fallen very deeply in love with her roommate, Sabina. Dimple kind of reminds of Juliet in the beginning of  Romeo and Juliet in this way. Juliet sees love all around her, and when her parents arrange her to marry Paris, she agrees, because she is naive in the way she has never been in love before. Dimple wants love to happen to her so she can continue on with her life and be happy, yet love terrifies her because she has so little experience with love and she sees how powerful love can be.
          Dimple's mother always wants the best for what she thinks for Dimple. She wants Dimple to get good grades in subjects like math and science so she can be successful one day, and she wants Dimple to have an arranged marriage with another Hindu Indian boy. She wants Dimple to be confidant about being Indian, to have pride for her nationality, and to be a faithful Hindu also. Dimple's mother has an amazing relationship with Dimple's father that even though their relationship may not be shown as much or be as physical, their love is overpowering enough to last across an ocean and raise a child. Because of this love Dimple's mother shares with Dimple's father, she believes that love is a sacred holy thing that will connect you to that one person for the rest of your life. Dimple's mother believes that even if you stopped loving someone years and years ago, the love will still be there because once, that spark was special and it was sparkling. I personally think this is the best perspective of love to have. To know that love is something so special that it is holy and that love never runs out no matter how you may feel about the person is something so beautiful and tender. I wish all people could have that belief.
           In conclusion, three very different perspectives on love are shown in Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier. The first one is by Dimple's best friend, Gwyn, and her perspective on love is that love is very rare and it barely exists. False love is also found everywhere. The second perspective on love is from Dimple's mother, and that is that love is a sacred hallowed thing in which you are connected to that specific person for life no matter what. And the third perspective on love is from Dimple herself, in which love is a terrifying powerful thing. I agree with all three of these perspectives and I love how the author incorporated all of them into the book. I personally love Dimple's mother's view on love the most because it is so moving and gentle. If all people could see the wat Dimple's mother does about love, the world be a much better place.

The Issue of Identity in Born Confused

           In the book Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, the main character, Dimple Lala, is an Indian girl who has an extremely strict Hindi family. But living in New Jersey and seeing the "American" lifestyle makes her wonder about who she really is as a person. Her parents want her to be an obedient desi girl who gets good grades and will go into an arranged marriage, yet Dimple does not wish to do that at all. Also, Dimple is very insecure of her ethnicity, with her large hips and brown skin. Dimple idolizes her best friend, Gwyn, for she is blond and pale and skinny. Dimple has trouble accepting herself, and she is struggling to identify herself as an American or an Indian. The American part of her is rebellious and free, yet the Indian part is bone-crushing reality, in which Dimple has to abide by her parents strict rules. Dimple knows that not all American people are good people, but there seems to be such a glamorous quality about the people to her. Dimple isn't quite sure what category she falls under either, considering she is Indian, but living permanently in America. Yet all in all, the book Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier says a lot of the issue of identity.
          The first part of Dimple Lala's identity crisis is that Dimple wishes to be American so she can fit in in New Jersey at her high school. The so-called "All-American Golden Girl" is a girl with blond hair and blue eyes plus a slim figure. There are only 2 Indian kids in her entire school, so Dimple is often sadly an outcast among her peers. On her birthday, Dimple goes shopping for clothes with her mother as a tradition. Dimple insists on going into a trendy new store called Style Child that her best friend Gwyn often goes to. In Style Child, Dimple sees a white studded miniskirt that she falls in love with. But when Dimple tries on a size 0 and does not fit into it, she gets very upset and keeps telling herself that she has to fit into a size 0 although it is completely unrealistic for any 17 year old to be able to fit into a size 0. When Dimple finally discovers that she will not be able to fit into the skirt, she breaks down crying and gets very displeased. Dimple's situation is something many girls everywhere have experienced, yet Dimple's was to be a certain race. This shows Dimple's confusion with her identity and her longing to be something else but knowing that she can't.
            Another problem Dimple has with her identity is that she struggles figuring out whether she is Indian or American. She visited India when she was little but she can barely recall any memories from those trips. She has lived in America all her life and is friends with American people and has dated American men. Yet both her mother and father are Indian, so she is biologically Indian. She is expected by her parents to be an Indian girl who follows all Hindi customs. This makes Dimple understandably very confused about her life and who she really is as a person. The other Indian in her school is proud of his heritage and wears a turban to school with his head held high. Dimple labels him a freak and refuses to acknowledge him. Yet when Dimple goes home and away from her school and her extremely American best friend Gwyn, she is Indian again. It's almost like Dimple is living a double life because she is so confused with her identity. She doesn't which one to choose because one is the life she was born with and the other is the life she wants so badly.
          In conclusion, Dimple Lala is a girl stuck between the confining yet familiar world of her Indian home and the so-called exciting and new world of being an American teenager. She is on the verge of an identity crisis and wants to be an American but knows it is impossible. She expects herself to be an American teenager, because, after all, she was born in the United States, yet she is Indian because both of her parents and the rest of her family is Indian. One thing that shows Dimple's lost identity is how she desperately wants to be an American girl like her best friend Gwyn, but her all-real Indian side is holding her back. Dimple most definitely knows that Americans are not the perfect people, but she wants to fit in with the rest of the kids at her school. Another thing that shows Dimple's identity crisis is that she is frustrated being stuck between two worlds: her Indian one and her new American one. Yet all together, the book Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier teaches a lot about the issue of identity.

Thoughts on Homosexuality and Religion in Sing You Home *Spoiler Alert*

            In the book Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult, the main character Zoe Baxter discovers that she is a lesbian after falling in love with her best friend, Vanessa. Before finding love with Vanessa, Zoe was married to a man named Max Baxter. After Max and Zoe split, Max becomes an alcoholic and gets into a terrible car accident. Yet after the accident, he finds religion and gets "saved" by Jesus Christ and Pastor Clive Davis. While he is in the church, he learns that homosexuality is a sin, and if a man lies with another man he will condemned to the fiery pits of hell. When Max discovers Zoe is a lesbian, he becomes terribly distraught and forces himself to believe that Zoe is just going through a phase, even though he full well knows that she is not. And when Zoe and Vanessa go very deeply into their marriage, they realize that they want to have a child. Zoe is infertile and had two miscarriages and one stillbirth, but Vanessa can still bear children. Zoe wants to use the embryos from her in vitro fertilization that she underwent with Max, but as a homosexual couple, they have to get consent from the other biological parent, Max, to use the embryo. This obviously causes feelings of tension and a trial is formed with Max wanting to give the embryos to his brother and his brother's wife, yet Zoe and Vanessa wanting to keep the embryo so Vanessa and Zoe can care for the child. This made me think about homosexuality and religion. Zoe, Vanessa, and their lawyer constantly refer to the Bible banning and allowing crazy, terrible things (like homosexuality) that is completely outdated now. It also made me think about it is not one's fault to be homophobic. It is incorporated into almost all religions that being gay or lesbian is a sin, and since the majority of the world believes in some sort of higher power, many people are against gays and lesbians. The book Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult really made me think about the issues of homosexuality and religion tied in together.
         The first thing in Sing You Home that made me think about homosexuality and religion was how the Bible bans and allows crazy things. For example, the Bible allows people to stone a girl to death if she is not a virgin and unwed, yet forbids people to eat shellfish. The Bible was also written 3,000 years ago, and this made me think about how blinding religion is. Sadly, in some religions I feel as if people follow some rules of their religion but not all. Especially with the religion of Christianity. In that specific religion, it sometimes feels as though someone read over the entire Bible and made a list of what the Bible says not to do and to do, but made their own version, leaving some of those things out and some in. Christians obviously will not stone a woman if she is not married and has had sex, but they will go ballistic if someone is homosexual. I believe that the Bible is extremely outdated and should not be used as a code to look up to because times have obviously changed in the past 3,000 years. And in the actual Bible, the sin of being a homosexual wasn't this huge overacrching theme. It was mentioned only a couple of times, yet people follow it so devoutly that I find it mind-blowing and very upsetting also. Zoe and Vanessa should have to jump through "1,168 legal hoops" to get married and have a kid of their own. Religion is something deeply rooted into American society, yet it allows terrible things and bans the tiniest things. I believe being a gay or lesbian is a tiny thing.
         Another thing that Sing You Home made me think about in terms of homosexuality and religion is that most of the time, homophobia is not someone's fault. Many religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hindu just to name a few, consider homosexuality a sin. Many many people all over the world practice these religions, which explains the extreme pushes against gay marriage and against gay and lesbians in general worldwide. No one is born homophobic. The people who are are taught something, whether it's in religion or not, and it's not how to be tolerant and accepting like people should be, it's how to hate. Many religious people dismiss being homosexual as something someone should choose to be, yet it is not. People can choose to be homophobic, but they can't choose being homosexual. I'm straight but I am accepting of gay and lesbian people. I hate how everyone seems to hate the gays all because of an age-old custom that happened 3,000 years ago. I know that it is most definitely nobody's fault, but it bothers me. In Sing Me Home, it upsets me how Vanessa and Zoe have to go though an entire trial just to have a baby. Same-sex couples take that for granted.
        In conclusion, the book Sing Me Home by Jodi Picoult made me think about many issues in the world, but it made me think about religion and homosexuality specifically. One thing it made me think about was how outdated the Bible was and how people pick and choose things they follow in their religion. Unfortunately, one of those things was homosexuality, and it prevents Zoe and Vanessa, who are completely in love with each other, from getting married. Another thing the book made me think about was how homophobia is not someone's fault because they are taught it in many religions all around the world. The movement against gay and lesbian people is so huge, but all because of religion. In a perfect world, Zoe and Vanessa could get married and no one would question it and no one would oppress them for it.
         

To Kill a Mockingbird Metaphor Analysis

           In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there is a metaphor of killing a mockingbird that connects to two characters in the book: Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.  The metaphor is first introduced when Jem and Scout get their first air rifles and Atticus says to them, "'I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but it's a sin to kill a mockingbird". Scout, confused, goes to ask her friend Miss Maudie about it: "'Your father's right," she said. 'Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird'". I think two possible characters in the story can represent the mockingbird. First, I think Boo Radley could represent the mockingbird because even though the entire town fears Boo, all he wants to do is "sing sweetly". He wants seclusion and just to go about his life. At the end of the book, after Boo saves the children from Bob Ewell by killing Mr. Ewell, and Atticus expresses how he thinks the case should go to trial. But then the sheriff, Heck Tate, says that if it did, all the woman of Maycomb would bring cakes to him and he would almost become a celebrity; thus killing the mockingbird because all Boo wants is seclusion and to be, really. And I believe Tom Robinson is also the mockingbird because all Tom wants is peace and to get by with his children and his wife, Helen. The mockingbird represents innocence, and innocence is killed by racism when Tom gets convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, a crime he did not commit. This is why I believe both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson represent the mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird.
          Firstly, I believe that Boo Radley is a mockingbird. Boo Radley is some kind of legend in Maycomb; he is basically the bogeyman of the town. One of the biggest rumors in Maycomb county is that Boo Radley stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors, and the public response from the townspeople is overwhelming. Many more stories of Boo Radley surface, many sounding outrageous and false, and the children become fascinated with Boo Radley. Atticus knows Boo is an innocent soul who just wants to "sing" freely, because he constantly reprimands the children whenever they want to stake out Boo or reenact his so-called assault on his father, Nathan Radley. Scout, in the end of book, realizes that Boo is just yearning to be left alone from the scared yet prying eyes of Maycomb. "'Yes sir, I understand,' I reassured him. 'Mr. Tate was right.' Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. 'What do you mean?' 'Well it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, won't it?'". Mr. Tate doesn't want Boo to go to trial because he would then become a celebrity, killing the mockingbird. It would be a sin to deprive Boo of this simple right.
         I also believe that Tom Robinson is a mockingbird because all he wants to do is be free and live as he pleases, happily, with his wife and children. Yet the mockingbird is wounded when he is falsely charged with the rape of Mayella Ewell and racism is the final blow that kills the mockingbird. The town of Maycomb is the South in the 1940's; a place plagued with racism at the time. In the town, the white people live in luscious ample houses and other whites may live on lush farms. While the white people live these extravagant lives, the black people are pushed into plebeian cabins in the far stretches of the forests. There, they are often persecuted by whites anyways, such as the Ewells. Yet all Tom is yearning to do is to "sing" as he would wish, yet racism is an iron fist that pulverizes Tom, killing the innocent mockingbird. "'The state has not produced one iota of evidence that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has flatly been contradicted by the defendant". Before all of the courtroom drama took place, Tom Robinson was just another man wanting so badly to sing as he would like, yet killed by the cruel force of racism. That is a terrible sin, as Atticus said.
        In conclusion the metaphor of the mockingbird and it's death is a very powerful metaphor in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I believe that there are two possible characters that represent the mockingbird, and those characters are the terrorist of the town, Boo Radley, and a simple black man who ends up a situation that was very unfortunate: Tom Robinson. Both characters just want to "sing" freely, yet forces such as racism and gossip chain these birds and choke their throats. Tom Robinson is eventually killed, metaphorically and in actuality, yet Boo Radley's need to sing is recognized and respected by Scout and her father. I found it interesting how Boo, the most feared man in town, lived and got what he wanted, yet Tom Robinson, a hardworking black man faced his untimely death. Either way I still believe that Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are innocent mockingbirds in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The Theme of Childhood Innoncence in The Catcher in the Rye

           I just finished the amazing book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In the book, there is a very prominent theme of the main character (Holden Caulfield) and his feelings about childhood, how he cherishes childhood, and detests all adults, calling them "phonies". Firstly, when Holden is discussing a song (it turns out to be poem) but the lyrics Holden believes them to be are "If a body catch a body comin' through the rye". When his sister Phoebe asks him what he wants to do with his life, he answers, "'You know what I would like to be? I mean if I had my goddam choice?... anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all...and I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start going off the cliff- I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them. That's what I'd do all day". I think this represents Holden wanting the children to stay playing in the rye, and not have to fall off the cliff into adulthood. Another reason why I think Holden loves children and childhood is because when he goes to visit his little sister's elementary school and he sees "F**k you" written on the wall and he gets very upset. I believe this is because he sees the beginning of the corruption of children that sends them into adulthood. There are many other things that show how Holden loves childhood, but these two stood out to me.
        First of all, I believe that Holden cherishes childhood and children because of how he quotes a song that he heard that turns out to be a poem that says "If a body catch a body comin' through the rye". Holden then expresses to his little sister that he wants someone catching little children all day before they fall off a cliff. I think falling off the cliff symbolizes going into adulthood. This shows how much Holden hates adulthood also. I think Holden wants the children to stay in their innocence forever, playing in the rye. I think it's interesting how Holden says that the children would fall off the cliff if they don't look where they're going. I think the author J.D. Salinger was saying that childhood to adulthood happens unknowingly. We have no idea as the responsibility of being an adult keeps piling and piling on our shoulders. Holden wants to prevent the children from falling, but the cliff will always be there for the children to sadly fall off of.
       Another reason I think Holden loves childhood is because one day when he is visiting his little sister Phoebe he sees the words "F**k you" written on a wall. Holden immediately runs over to the wall and tries to wipe it off so the children won't see the profanity that was there. I think Holden acted the way he did because he wants to conceal all corruption from the children. Seeing those words on a wall for a child may be a little upsetting, but the child eventually gets over it. Yet Holden doesn't want to risk even that because any corruption makes them older and older. But soon Holden realizes that he couldn't erase all the "F**k you"s in the world and he's going to have to accept adulthood. This made me think about corruption makes us so much older. We could be only 6 years old for example, but we could have seen so much despair and wrong in the world, we could really be looking through the eyes of an 10 year old. Holden wants to stop that, but he can't.
         In conclusion, I believe Holden Caulfield wants childhood to last forever; he truly cherishes it. I know this because he fantasizes about saving children from falling off a cliff and watching them play in the rye forever. The rye, I believe, is the wonderful world of childhood. Falling off the cliff represents falling into the world of adulthood, which you are stuck in for the rest of your life. Another reason I think Holden loves children is because when he sees the words "F**k you" on a wall at an elementary school, he tries to erase it so the children don't have to see. The character of Holden Caulfield made me think about how corruption can make us grow older without time and how children must go into adulthood no matter what. Sadly, we cannot do anything to stop time. Holden Caulfield is a truly amazing character who understands the importance of time and being a child.

Review to Isabelle in 807's Blog Post

            Isabelle's blog post about the book Crank by Ellen Hopkins really stood out to me for a number of reasons. Personally, Crank is one of my favorite books so it was interesting to see how she saw it. I agree and disagree with her on many points, and disagreeing makes the post even better because disagreeing with her makes me think even more in depth about the book. I read this book in the 5th grade which was slightly traumatizing to me because I was so new to all the harsh issues this book presented, but now I can look back on this book through her blog post and realize all the hidden messages this book has. Her post also makes me think about the world issues in this book on a huge scale and how it affects me. The issue of drugs and split personalities with love still there is something Isabelle connected all together, and it is written simply yet eloquently at the same time. I truly enjoyed reading this post, because it was so well written and thoughtful about some things I would never think of.
         I agree with Isabelle that Bree was a very dominant force in Kristina's life because of all the terrible things "Bree" ultimately made her do. But Isabelle insists that she could have won over Bree and she was weak. Isabelle also says that Kristina made the worse possible choices, but I disagree with both of these statements. I think Bree was the monster who Kristina really can't win over. Addiction is a terrible disease that controls the mind with an iron grip, so it's perfectly understandable how Kristina keeps sleeping around and abusing drugs, because no matter how hard Kristina tries to wean herself off crystal meth she will always be addicted. Yet Kristina loved Bree, because she was daring and flamboyant and everything quiet, studious Kristina Georgia Snow wasn't. Kristina was weak but Bree was strong, and as I recall at the end of the book Kristina says that Bree will always be there, which shows that Kristina can never ever win over Bree no matter how hard she may try.
        Another thing I disagree with Isabelle about is how Kristina made the worst possible choices. I agree, the things Kristina did were terrible, but in retrospect it was all perfectly normal teenage behavior that is so common all over the world. I imagine how pious somber Kristina must have felt so trapped in her own skin. Teenage sickness is catching and when Kristina went to visit her absent father in Albuquerque, she was caught in whirlwind of teenagedom, and everything was so new and beautiful, almost because she felt like this was like living. I feel like all teenagers feel like making bad choices; it's universal. It's part of the American life. I don't want to say this, but I feel this takes off the edge off the choices she made. She was living, but she couldn't stop.
        In conclusion, Isabelle's blog post, while I disagreed on some points, was very good. It changed my view on Crank and made think about the book in general. Ellen Hopkins is also my favorite author so it made this post even more enjoyable. This post also made me think about the world, which is a very beautiful thing when writing can move someone to do that. All in all, I look forward to seeing more of Isabelle's blog posts in the future.