Real-world Mudbloods

Harry Potter is perhaps the most realistic fantasy book, ever. I know what you're thinking- I'm crazy. And though I do love Harry Potter with all my heart and though it pains me to say this, no- I do not believe that dragons exist, or hippogriffs, or giant spiders or 3 headed dogs. And though I pray to be proven otherwise everyday, neither does Harry. He's not real, Ron's not real, Hermione's not real, and Hogwarts is not real.

So, you're now you're thinking "ok, she's not crazy but, I still don't get it, if none of this is real, then what's the realistic part?". The realistic part is the people (and no, I don't mean that werewolves or giants or wizards are realistic) but, the realistic part is that the basic way that their society works is so similar to ours, especially as young people. Which is what, I think, make this books so universally loved- everyone can connect to it.

The feelings that go on in adolecents are similar to those of the ones in real-world teenagers. Fame still exists, stores and banks and schools still exist. It is our world, with an added element- magic.

But what makes it the most like the world we know is perhaps, discrimination.

The discrimination against muggles or "mudbloods" perpetrated by certain pureblood wizards throughout the series is similar to the discrimination that has been going on in our own world since the beginning of time. The thinking that they are superior to muggles is the same thinking Hitler had with killing so many jews, it is the same thinking Americans had in enslaving African Americans. It is the same thing that went through the settlers minds when they invaded and took over the Native Americans' land and resources, and when the English colonized America. J.K. Rowling took something very true and used it to make this book more human, more... well... real.

I turned page 607 and prepared to read the next word- I remember feeling so wonderful at that moment, curled up in a sleeping bag beside my fellow classmates on the hard but inviting floor of Ms.Wexlers 6th grade ELA classroom. I was the only one really reading in the reading marathon- it had just begun and i was already deep into my book while everyone else scanned magazines and ate starburst. My eyes searched the next page- nothing. There was nothing. Nothing at all. That was it. Then it hit me.

Harry Potter was over.

For good.

And that's when I started to cry.

In the middle of 7th period ELA I started to cry like a little girl.

I'd hit the end of the line- there would be no more long nights just reading Harry Potter for hours on end, there would be no more opening fresh pages and fresh books with words and and themes and ideas just waiting to happen. No more running out of rooms and hiding in closets with my ears between my knees singing Jingle Bells as loud as possible when my mom and brother talked about The Deathly Hallows to avoid accidental spoilers.

And at that moment- in my dorky flannel pajama's and L.L bean sleeping bag, in school with all the tears and running mascara and strange looks- my heart just broke into a million pieces. I've never quite been satisfied with any book I've read since that day. Nothing has ever had that strong of an effect on me. Don't get me wrong- I still have books I like and books I love, and reading remains on the top of my facebook list of hobbies and interests- there has just never been a book that touched me in the way that Harry Potter did.

So naturally, you would think that as soon as The Tales of Beetle The Bard came out I would, like every other devoted Harry Potter fan, snatch it up, ecstatic and devour the stories that were as close as I would ever get to another Harry Potter book. However, I did quite the opposite- since my brother bought it, it was on our living room bookshelf right next to the rest of the series- but, I avoided the book at all costs. I hated it. I really really hated it. It felt like a fake book. Like one of those books that are written by other authors once the original one is dead (even though J.K. Rowling wrote it). The kind that are written when everyone knows the book cannot continue and that's the next best thing. It felt like that book was just created for money, which disgusted me- I thought that Harry Potter was an amazing piece of literature and if it was over, it was over. It shouldn't be stretched out for more money. But, more than this, it felt like a tease- it wasn't Harry Potter- he wouldn't be in it, and neither would Hermione or Ron or any other character that I missed having the company of. It was just stories from their world- there would be no mention of how they were doing or what had become of their friends- it was just there to tease me.

The other day, however, rushing out of the house in the morning, impulse made me reach up to that shelf and take down The tales of Beetle the Bard. I'm not sure what or why but, something inside of me kept saying "why not? go for it! give it a chance, just a chance". And now, I'm about halfway through it, giving it a fair chance, and I'm honestly so glad that I did. I'll admit that about this one thing, I was wrong. This book is not a tease, not really. And it is, in a way about the characters that I love- not directly but, about their childhood. When I read these stories I can see them being read to Ron by Mrs.Weasley, Hermione studying them as a teenager, and Harry reading them to his own children, giving them the magical upbringing he never had and remembering his journey as a kid and young man.

'The World's on Fire' response

I've never cried at a music video before. That is, not until I watched 'The World's on Fire' a second time.

Honestly- at sad movies I'm a wreck. But, songs? Music videos?

Never.

I guess it's just that music videos are usually no more than 5 minutes- I don't have enough time to get connected enough to the character to make me upset when something happens to them. And that's what was different about this video. I was already connected to the characters and the people and the issues in a sense. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm so familiar with the topic of poverty or maybe because these themes are so much deeper and more urgent and important than most you see in hollywood music videos theses days which was the entire point of the whole thing.

The images and footage of the people and places in poverty combined with Sarah McLachlan's writing, and ideas, and just the point about how the world is so corrupt that the amount of money spent on average music video can really make a difference in the world and on individual peoples lives, all together make such an affecting image that I am not likely to forget.

Lyrics are something that cannot stand alone, as we discovered last year in ELA. They need their matching music, they need what makes them what they are, what gives them meaning.

In this case, the lyrics needed it's video which is the whole purpose and inspiration of the song. When we first glanced at and annotated the lyrics, they didn't mean much on their own- there were so many theories as to what the words were meant to say in that context. Until, of course, we watched the music video and it became abundantly clear. It's amazing how the meaning can change like that- one moment we had people thinking it was about her own world falling apart due to heartbreak and the next, it meant so much more because of those three minutes of inspiration.

This song was written sung and presented beautifully but, the thing that made it really truly unique was the idea that this song really was giving back to the world, materialistically, financially and emotionally.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

This book is so real. I've never seen a book that's truer to teenagers relationships or parents vs. kids. It always monitors what is going through the 15 year old boys head which some people might think is crude or gross but I love it because it's so right on. The thought about how teenagers all want to be like each each other- like if one boy is depressed they all think "hey that sounds cool, I want that, I can have that, I can do that" or if one kid has asthma or low blood sugar or a broken arm they all do because "he can miss gym class" or "eat during school" or have people write all over his arm". I experience this practically every day and that is why I love this book- because i honestly believe that any teenager could turn to any random page and make a connection.

Craig's character is normal. He is not an Ellen Hopkins character, he is real. He's just a normal guy who lives a normal life and suffers from some depression. He thinks normal teenage thoughts and does normal teenage things which is what makes this book so brilliant- it's serious and sometimes depressing but, always light-hearted and funny. One night, Craig almost kills himself which gets him checked into the mental ward. There, he meets so many people who change his life, including Noelle, a girl who cut her face with scissors. Craig, like most 15 year old guys, is unpredictable and confused. Just when you think he's over Nia, just when he thinks he's over Nia, he's not. Just when you expect him to make a move on Noelle, he doesn't. Just when you think he's getting worse, he gets better or just when you think he's getting better, he gets worse. This book may be one of my new favorites, I really rushed through it because I wanted to see the movie but, I'm looking forward to reading it a second time with annotations and much more time. It really does require it's own category- I've never seen anything so depressing by nature but yet, so funny.

I just wanted to apologize for the giver post, the format is being all messed up so it sort of looks like a blob right now, I'll try to fix it when I'm not half asleep :)

The Giver

I could talk about memory. I could talk about pain. The givers pain, Jonas's pain- both emotional and physical. I could talk about my empathy- my sympathy for Jonas's character- for all his frustration and loneliness. But, I feel this has all been covered before- I feel I've written and thought about all these topics before, whether in fourth grade or in seventh.

Every single person who writes one of these entries or essays talks about Jonas, talks about the giver. But, more interesting than their characters almost, more heartbreaking than them, I think, is the rest of the community.

They do not feel.
They do not feel pain or hate or stress.
They do not hug or kiss.
They do not see colors.
Everything is the same- Everyone is the same.
Spouses are chosen, children are given, jobs are assigned.
Feelings of passion are prevented with a pill.
There is no hurt, but in return, there is no love.

To deprive so many people of these things is, I think worse than to let one feel it all. And although many people will argue the point that they don't know what they're missing- so it's not so bad, I think that that makes it even worse because, at least Jonas can feel the good in addition to the bad, at least his life was not a lie. There is a point at which Jonas is talking to The Giver about his parents life once Jonas and Lily grow up and move out of their house-
"They'll go and live with the other childless adults and they won't be part of my life
anymore. And, after that, when the time comes, they'll go to the house of the old. And they'll be well cared for and respected and when they're released, there'll be a celebration"

"Which you won't attend" pointed out the giver.

"No, of course not, because I won't even know about it. By then, I'll be so busy with my own life. And Lily will, too. So our children, if we have them, won't know who their parents-of-parents are either"
This quote broke my heart into a million pieces. It, to me, is worse than anything else in this
community or this book. The fact that they would simply forget about their family without a
second thought. The fact that they would erase the people they have spent their entire lives with from their from their future, forever, and never look back. Many people in our world today do the same, including my own dad. Many people, like the people in Jonas' community, never talk to their family again, try hard to forget. The difference is, they have to try hard, the difference is it's not the automatic thing to do, the difference is, they have the choice. The people in The Giver were taught to do this, they were told that it was the way- the only way- anything else was dangerous. These poor people are trapped in this tiny world, there are so many things that they don't know and never will.

Some say that ignorance is bliss. It's a trade off, though, when you think about it- all or nothing.
Personally, I would chose all- the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the mad and the
glad. And, maybe the people in The Giver would chose nothing, maybe they would chose all but,
that's not really what matters- what matters is that they didn't get the choice.

Where to begin?

I'm not really sure how to start this sort of thing, since I've never successfully kept a blog before, in fact I've failed every attempt at a diary as well, but that's another story. Technically speaking, this is a homework assignment, I'm required to keep this blog for ELA class, and I highly doubt it would even exist without Ms.Robbins but, now that it does exist I hope it can be more than that. I'm hoping that there will, at times be more than just the required entry per week on here. I hoping that there will be a poem here and there or an essay or entry or a random thought or feeling. I'm hoping that this will be kept up long after eighth grade ElA class as a place for me to keep in touch with middle school friends, compare old work with new, let my thoughts be released and most of all, write.