The positive and negative effects of rebellion.
In the novel Nineteen Minutes, one of the main character Peter Houghton rebels. Peter spends all of his life being relentlessly and brutally bullied. Finally, after years of being tormented and alone, Peter snaps. He goes to school with a gun, and ends many lives. Obviously there were many negative consequences, but I also believe there were a few positive ones as well.
After Peter is locked up for murder, he obviously has to deal with the hard consequences, which he deserves. First of all Peter has to deal with the regret and pain of ending young lives and hurting families in his town. He also has to spend a lot of time in jail, "He'd be brought back to the jail only until the sentencing hearing; then he would be transferred to the state prison in Concord. Serving out eight consecutive murder sentences, he would not leave it alive" (447). Peter also has to live with knowing the fact that he mentally destroyed the one girl he ever loved- Josie. Because of what Peter did, Josie also ended up going to jail because she tried to protect him during the school shooting by killing her boyfriend Matt. Josie always stood up for Peter their whole lives, and it still ended up hurting her in the end.
However, as unbelievable as it sounds, I think Peter made a small difference. In Peter's school, he received no help from the adult authority there. When Peter was de-pantsed in front of his entire cafeteria, or pushed around, or blatantly humiliated in class, there was no teacher there at his aid. In gym class when Peter was violently beat up, his teacher simply shrugged with a "boys will be boys" attitude. After the school shooting incident, I think it made a lot of people wonder, "how could this have happened?" Peter became the voice for a lot of kids across the nation who were bullied like he was. He also received a lot of letters saying things like, "'I would've liked to be your friend'" (416). So in the long run, I think that the actions of Peter's rebelling may have had a positive impact on society, because it got people thinking. It got people wanting to stop the monster that started this, so incidents like Peter's could be prevented.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Nineteen Minutes- Outside Reading Post 4
In the novel Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult describes high school life and the quest for popularity. I think that Jodi Picoult does some of this well, and some of it seems unrealistic. I think that Picoult stereotypes too much and some of her characters only fit into the typical high school kid molds- art kids, jocks, quiet loners, nerds, cheerleaders, etc. I think that some of her characterization is unrealistic at times because I don't think that kids are only strictly in one group of friends at high school- I think that a lot of people bounce around from group to group and that a lot of people are friends with a wide variety of kids.
I think that she labels some high school kids as extremely cruel. In the novel, the main character Josie struggles with being in this clique, and watching her friends bully her old best friend Peter. Josie is in the popular crowd, so therefore Picoult makes this crowd out to be very mean and snobby. Josie is friends with the cheerleaders and the jocks. I think that her depiction of these characters is too embellished. I find the actions of some of her characters unbelievable. For example, Josie's "best friend" Courtney decided it would be funny to send a love note that picked on boy Peter Houghton sent to Josie to the entire student body. Courtney was snooping through Josie's emails and came across a sweet but slightly pathetic email from Peter, "The email opened, and Courtney started to read. 'Oh my God,' she murmured. 'This is too fucking good.' She swiped the body of the email and forwarded it to RTWING90@yahoo.com. Drew, she typed. Spam this out to the whole wide world" (316). I find it very hard to believe that any girl would find this funny. I find it so extremely cruel and I really cannot imagine any girl in my grade who would've even thought about doing that. I feel like there is a certain line that some people just don't cross, and the characters in Nineteen Minutes do. Another example of the over cruelty of the characters in this novel is when Josie's boyfriend Matt comes to visit Josie at work- where coincidentally Peter works there as well. When Matt is talking to Josie, he all of a sudden turns to Peter and says, "'Stop looking at me, homo'" (204). While Matt continues to verbally abuse Peter, Josie just stands there and watches Peter shrink down in embarrassment. I think that any other teenage girl would've told her boyfriend to knock it off, after all , Peter and Josie were best friends when they were younger. But Josie just watches it happen. I think that ignoring the issue of bullying is just as bad as being the bully himself.
While I read this novel I became frustrated and was so shocked by the way Picoult depicted these cruel kids. There was not one nice person in the entire student body that befriended Peter or even stood up for him. This, I find hard to believe. I think that out of all those kids, there would've been one girl or boy with enough courage to stand up and say, "stop".
I think that she labels some high school kids as extremely cruel. In the novel, the main character Josie struggles with being in this clique, and watching her friends bully her old best friend Peter. Josie is in the popular crowd, so therefore Picoult makes this crowd out to be very mean and snobby. Josie is friends with the cheerleaders and the jocks. I think that her depiction of these characters is too embellished. I find the actions of some of her characters unbelievable. For example, Josie's "best friend" Courtney decided it would be funny to send a love note that picked on boy Peter Houghton sent to Josie to the entire student body. Courtney was snooping through Josie's emails and came across a sweet but slightly pathetic email from Peter, "The email opened, and Courtney started to read. 'Oh my God,' she murmured. 'This is too fucking good.' She swiped the body of the email and forwarded it to RTWING90@yahoo.com. Drew, she typed. Spam this out to the whole wide world" (316). I find it very hard to believe that any girl would find this funny. I find it so extremely cruel and I really cannot imagine any girl in my grade who would've even thought about doing that. I feel like there is a certain line that some people just don't cross, and the characters in Nineteen Minutes do. Another example of the over cruelty of the characters in this novel is when Josie's boyfriend Matt comes to visit Josie at work- where coincidentally Peter works there as well. When Matt is talking to Josie, he all of a sudden turns to Peter and says, "'Stop looking at me, homo'" (204). While Matt continues to verbally abuse Peter, Josie just stands there and watches Peter shrink down in embarrassment. I think that any other teenage girl would've told her boyfriend to knock it off, after all , Peter and Josie were best friends when they were younger. But Josie just watches it happen. I think that ignoring the issue of bullying is just as bad as being the bully himself.
While I read this novel I became frustrated and was so shocked by the way Picoult depicted these cruel kids. There was not one nice person in the entire student body that befriended Peter or even stood up for him. This, I find hard to believe. I think that out of all those kids, there would've been one girl or boy with enough courage to stand up and say, "stop".
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Nineteen Minutes- Outside Reading Post 3
Nineteen Minutes and The 400 Blows- Comparisons
After watching The 400 Blows, I can see many comparisons between it and my outside reading book Nineteen Minutes. Both of the pieces have the common theme of rebellion. Antoine from the film and Peter from the novel both deal with rebellion, although through many different ways, they both have dealt with very similar things in their young lives.
Peter and Antoine both rebel at a young age. However, the rebellion is for different reasons. Peter rebels because of brutal bullying he has tolerated for most of his life, while Antoine is dealing with the neglect from his parents. However, one could argue that Antoine has to deal with the bullying of his teacher. When Peter is asked why he decided to start a school shooting, he replies simply with saying, "They started it" (317). When Antoine is asked why he has stolen, run away, etc, by the shrink at the Juvenile Facility he replies with stories of how he was angry with his mother or teacher, or simply bored and looking for something to do. I would have to say that both boys rebel out of anger though. Peter is angry at the kids who bullied him, and Antoine is angry at the authority figures in his life who ignore him or provoke him,.
Peter and Antoine also both lack structure in their lives. However this comes to them in different ways, they are both left alone by their parents. Peter grew up mostly in his room, playing computer games and building experiments such as bombs. "'He was on his computer,' Lacy said. 'Almost always'" (175). The mass amount of time Peter spent on his computer left hours of unstructured and mostly unproductive activity- which most often involved violent games. Antoine spent most of his time with his friend Rene causing trouble and cutting class. Antoine cut class repeatedly and his parents did not suspect a thing for the longest time. The lack of parental involvement in these boys' lives contributed to their desire to rebel.
I found it very interesting that I could tie these two very different pieces together, but through analyzing the characters, I saw that rebellion is a common theme in both the film and the novel.
After watching The 400 Blows, I can see many comparisons between it and my outside reading book Nineteen Minutes. Both of the pieces have the common theme of rebellion. Antoine from the film and Peter from the novel both deal with rebellion, although through many different ways, they both have dealt with very similar things in their young lives.
Peter and Antoine both rebel at a young age. However, the rebellion is for different reasons. Peter rebels because of brutal bullying he has tolerated for most of his life, while Antoine is dealing with the neglect from his parents. However, one could argue that Antoine has to deal with the bullying of his teacher. When Peter is asked why he decided to start a school shooting, he replies simply with saying, "They started it" (317). When Antoine is asked why he has stolen, run away, etc, by the shrink at the Juvenile Facility he replies with stories of how he was angry with his mother or teacher, or simply bored and looking for something to do. I would have to say that both boys rebel out of anger though. Peter is angry at the kids who bullied him, and Antoine is angry at the authority figures in his life who ignore him or provoke him,.
Peter and Antoine also both lack structure in their lives. However this comes to them in different ways, they are both left alone by their parents. Peter grew up mostly in his room, playing computer games and building experiments such as bombs. "'He was on his computer,' Lacy said. 'Almost always'" (175). The mass amount of time Peter spent on his computer left hours of unstructured and mostly unproductive activity- which most often involved violent games. Antoine spent most of his time with his friend Rene causing trouble and cutting class. Antoine cut class repeatedly and his parents did not suspect a thing for the longest time. The lack of parental involvement in these boys' lives contributed to their desire to rebel.
I found it very interesting that I could tie these two very different pieces together, but through analyzing the characters, I saw that rebellion is a common theme in both the film and the novel.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Memoirs- Why? Third BB Post
Why do people write memoirs?
What power is there in telling our own stories?
I think people write memoirs for entertainment and to share stories that they believe others should read. Memoirs can shed new light on certain subjects (i.e. racism in Black Boy) and can give the readers a whole new view on things. In Black Boy, Richard Wright's point of view and completely different life story give readers a whole new look on racism in the south and the struggles for an average African American Boy. For example, one struggle that Richard has is one I will never in my life have to deal with, "'What the hell,' Harrison said. 'They look at you and laugh at you ever day, nigger.' It was true. But I hated him for saying it. I ached to hit him in his mouth, to hurt him" (Wright 241). People write memoirs to show readers their side of the story.
There is great power in telling our own stories. Telling our own stories means we can show readers exactly how we saw it. Telling our own stories allows us to use our own voice and own descriptions to enhance the story. Richard Wright is a great example of this, he uses powerful descriptions to tell his story, "There was the disdain that filled me as I tortured a delicate, blue-pink craw fish that huddled fearfully in the mud sill of a rusty tin can" (Wright 8). Our own stories are often deeply personal and have effected us so greatly that when we share it to others, they can feel the same things that we have felt. Memoirs are powerful because the author can tell their story, and even enhance it, to entertain and perhaps teach a lesson to readers.
What power is there in telling our own stories?
I think people write memoirs for entertainment and to share stories that they believe others should read. Memoirs can shed new light on certain subjects (i.e. racism in Black Boy) and can give the readers a whole new view on things. In Black Boy, Richard Wright's point of view and completely different life story give readers a whole new look on racism in the south and the struggles for an average African American Boy. For example, one struggle that Richard has is one I will never in my life have to deal with, "'What the hell,' Harrison said. 'They look at you and laugh at you ever day, nigger.' It was true. But I hated him for saying it. I ached to hit him in his mouth, to hurt him" (Wright 241). People write memoirs to show readers their side of the story.
There is great power in telling our own stories. Telling our own stories means we can show readers exactly how we saw it. Telling our own stories allows us to use our own voice and own descriptions to enhance the story. Richard Wright is a great example of this, he uses powerful descriptions to tell his story, "There was the disdain that filled me as I tortured a delicate, blue-pink craw fish that huddled fearfully in the mud sill of a rusty tin can" (Wright 8). Our own stories are often deeply personal and have effected us so greatly that when we share it to others, they can feel the same things that we have felt. Memoirs are powerful because the author can tell their story, and even enhance it, to entertain and perhaps teach a lesson to readers.
Nineteen Minutes- Outside Reading Post 2
What are the major struggles and conflicts that your characters encounter? How do the characters face the conflicts and how does going through these conflicts help the characters to learn more about themselves?
In the novel Nineteen Minutes, one main struggle is how to manage grief. Another struggle is dealing with bullying. Characters also struggle with staying true to themselves and being real. Each character faces these conflicts in different ways but they all manage to learn more about themselves.
Josie Cormier struggles greatly with her grief of losing some of her best friends and her boyfriend from the school shooting. She can't believe that those significant others in her life are officially gone and that she has to continue on living while they aren't. However, Josie finds this experience a little freeing. When Josie was in this friend group, she was with a group who felt superior to the rest of the school and went to the extent of bullying others- which ultimately led to Peter Houghton's shooting. Josie's boyfriend Matt was also physically and mentally abusive to her, "'You made me look like an idiot,' Matt said. 'I told you it was time to go.' Bruises bloomed on her skin where he held her fast, as if she were a canvas and he was determined to leave his mark. She went limp beneath his hands: instinct, a surrender" (Picoult 227). After the whole incident, Josie becomes more truthful with others about herself, and she becomes more real. Although the school shooting was horrifying, it really helped Josie in the long run. She got a chance to start over and do things her own way without fearing the judgment of others.
Peter Houghton struggles greatly with bullying. He is tormented at school and physically abused, but it's the mental abuse that hurts him the most. Peter grows to hate himself and others. Finally, he plans to end it all, so he comes to school with a gun and shoots all those who bully him. Peter spends a lot of time in his jail cell waiting for the verdict and reminiscing, and reflecting on why he did such a terrifying thing. Peter has many flashbacks and the anger and hurt flood back to him, but through learning about the past readers learn a lot about Peter. Peter feels great regret during the trial, when he hears the stories of the many people and families that he has so brutally effected. We learn that Peter really is not a killing monster, but is just a scared boy who wants to end the pain. Peter realizes that he is not alone during this process, and that bullied kids across America support him. Eventually Peter regrets the deeds, and regrets the extreme pain he caused, but he also is glad that he could help make a difference in bullying.
Through such tough conflicts, characters learn more about themselves and their struggles. They realize that they at first they handled their problems without thinking things through or realizing the consequences or effects it had on them and others. In the short run, it caused a great amount of pain to all, but in the long run, these conflicts had helped develop characters and make them stronger.
In the novel Nineteen Minutes, one main struggle is how to manage grief. Another struggle is dealing with bullying. Characters also struggle with staying true to themselves and being real. Each character faces these conflicts in different ways but they all manage to learn more about themselves.
Josie Cormier struggles greatly with her grief of losing some of her best friends and her boyfriend from the school shooting. She can't believe that those significant others in her life are officially gone and that she has to continue on living while they aren't. However, Josie finds this experience a little freeing. When Josie was in this friend group, she was with a group who felt superior to the rest of the school and went to the extent of bullying others- which ultimately led to Peter Houghton's shooting. Josie's boyfriend Matt was also physically and mentally abusive to her, "'You made me look like an idiot,' Matt said. 'I told you it was time to go.' Bruises bloomed on her skin where he held her fast, as if she were a canvas and he was determined to leave his mark. She went limp beneath his hands: instinct, a surrender" (Picoult 227). After the whole incident, Josie becomes more truthful with others about herself, and she becomes more real. Although the school shooting was horrifying, it really helped Josie in the long run. She got a chance to start over and do things her own way without fearing the judgment of others.
Peter Houghton struggles greatly with bullying. He is tormented at school and physically abused, but it's the mental abuse that hurts him the most. Peter grows to hate himself and others. Finally, he plans to end it all, so he comes to school with a gun and shoots all those who bully him. Peter spends a lot of time in his jail cell waiting for the verdict and reminiscing, and reflecting on why he did such a terrifying thing. Peter has many flashbacks and the anger and hurt flood back to him, but through learning about the past readers learn a lot about Peter. Peter feels great regret during the trial, when he hears the stories of the many people and families that he has so brutally effected. We learn that Peter really is not a killing monster, but is just a scared boy who wants to end the pain. Peter realizes that he is not alone during this process, and that bullied kids across America support him. Eventually Peter regrets the deeds, and regrets the extreme pain he caused, but he also is glad that he could help make a difference in bullying.
Through such tough conflicts, characters learn more about themselves and their struggles. They realize that they at first they handled their problems without thinking things through or realizing the consequences or effects it had on them and others. In the short run, it caused a great amount of pain to all, but in the long run, these conflicts had helped develop characters and make them stronger.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Nineteen Minutes- Outside Reading Post 1
Who are the main characters of your book? Describe their personality and what seems to motivate them.
In the novel Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, I have found that within every chapter of the book, she tells the story from many different characters' points of view. This makes it hard to narrow it down to just a few characters. But the most significant characters in this novel seem to be Josie Cormier, Peter Houghton, and Judge Alex Cormier.
Josie Cormier on the outside is a sweet, uber popular, carefree teenager. She was the girlfriend of popular jock Matt Royston and friends with all the right people. She seems to have the perfect life with the perfect friends. However, on the inside, Josie is struggling. She feels like a fraud in her social group, and doesn't agree with how her friends treat others who aren't as "cool" as them, "Sometimes she had nightmares in which Matt realized she was a fraud- that she wasn't beautiful; she wasn't cool; she wasn't anyone worthy of admiration" (Picoult 216). Josie spends a lot of her emotional energy worrying about what others are thinking of her, how she looks, and impressing her "friends". Josie really isn't as shallow as she appears to be. Josie's motivation right now is to keep her status as High school's Perfect Girl. It's what she cares about the most and strives to be.
To put it bluntly, Peter Houghton is an outcast. He is brutally picked on at school, mainly by Josie's popular group of friends, "'Get away from my girlfriend, homo,' Matt said. 'Go find a nice little boy to play with.' Peter had landed face down on the pavement" (Picoult 217). He isn't particularly smart, extremely nonathletic, and strange. The boys at Peter's school call him "homo" and "faggot", which makes Peter worry a lot about his sexuality. Peter's thoughts turn very dark and morbid as he grows older and continues to get picked on. Peter begins to completely hate himself, and wants to end his life. Peter's extreme hatred towards himself and others is what motivates him. It motivates him to create violent computer games, think morbid thoughts, and eventually cause a deathly school shooting.
Judge Alex Cormier is the mother of Josie. Alex is extremely sensible, wise, and fair. Alex likes being in complete control of her life, and when life gives her a curve ball, she becomes alarmed. Alex also believes in complete justice and is very devoted to her work. She is so devoted, that sometimes she forgets to be a good mother. When Alex's daughter Josie is affected by the school shootings by Peter, Alex becomes extremely motivated by her love for her daughter. When Alex sees her daughter struggling with the death of all her friends, Alex is motivated to become the best mother ever, and make up for lost time. This new act put on by Alex is foreign to Josie, "'You want chocolate chip cookies then?' Josie blinked at Alex. "Are you on crack?' Alex sounded ridiculous even to herself, but she was desperate to show Josie that she could and would take care of her, and that her job came second" (Picoult 107).
The characters of Nineteen Minutes all seem to have an exterior shell, that sometimes hides the way they truly are on the inside. Jodi Picoult shows the truth to all these characters through first person narration which really gives the reader a deeper look into all the complex characters.
In the novel Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, I have found that within every chapter of the book, she tells the story from many different characters' points of view. This makes it hard to narrow it down to just a few characters. But the most significant characters in this novel seem to be Josie Cormier, Peter Houghton, and Judge Alex Cormier.
Josie Cormier on the outside is a sweet, uber popular, carefree teenager. She was the girlfriend of popular jock Matt Royston and friends with all the right people. She seems to have the perfect life with the perfect friends. However, on the inside, Josie is struggling. She feels like a fraud in her social group, and doesn't agree with how her friends treat others who aren't as "cool" as them, "Sometimes she had nightmares in which Matt realized she was a fraud- that she wasn't beautiful; she wasn't cool; she wasn't anyone worthy of admiration" (Picoult 216). Josie spends a lot of her emotional energy worrying about what others are thinking of her, how she looks, and impressing her "friends". Josie really isn't as shallow as she appears to be. Josie's motivation right now is to keep her status as High school's Perfect Girl. It's what she cares about the most and strives to be.
To put it bluntly, Peter Houghton is an outcast. He is brutally picked on at school, mainly by Josie's popular group of friends, "'Get away from my girlfriend, homo,' Matt said. 'Go find a nice little boy to play with.' Peter had landed face down on the pavement" (Picoult 217). He isn't particularly smart, extremely nonathletic, and strange. The boys at Peter's school call him "homo" and "faggot", which makes Peter worry a lot about his sexuality. Peter's thoughts turn very dark and morbid as he grows older and continues to get picked on. Peter begins to completely hate himself, and wants to end his life. Peter's extreme hatred towards himself and others is what motivates him. It motivates him to create violent computer games, think morbid thoughts, and eventually cause a deathly school shooting.
Judge Alex Cormier is the mother of Josie. Alex is extremely sensible, wise, and fair. Alex likes being in complete control of her life, and when life gives her a curve ball, she becomes alarmed. Alex also believes in complete justice and is very devoted to her work. She is so devoted, that sometimes she forgets to be a good mother. When Alex's daughter Josie is affected by the school shootings by Peter, Alex becomes extremely motivated by her love for her daughter. When Alex sees her daughter struggling with the death of all her friends, Alex is motivated to become the best mother ever, and make up for lost time. This new act put on by Alex is foreign to Josie, "'You want chocolate chip cookies then?' Josie blinked at Alex. "Are you on crack?' Alex sounded ridiculous even to herself, but she was desperate to show Josie that she could and would take care of her, and that her job came second" (Picoult 107).
The characters of Nineteen Minutes all seem to have an exterior shell, that sometimes hides the way they truly are on the inside. Jodi Picoult shows the truth to all these characters through first person narration which really gives the reader a deeper look into all the complex characters.
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