Published Banned Books Essay

William Goldberg 813 Published Draft

        The debate of whether books should be banned or not has been around for years. There are many people who think that there are books that definitely need to be banned, that need to be locked away from the eyes of the public. Others believe that no book should ever be banned., that it is a crime to ever try to steal knowledge from a human being. I agree with the latter of the two. I believe that no book (specifically young adult book) should ever be banned.

        One of the reasons that no young adult book should be banned is that it's not one person's duty to tell another person what they should and should not read. The only person who can decide what a teen can read is their parents or guardian. As said in “Teen Fiction Plots Darker and Starker,” “The parents' job is to help children decide what they should read”. This shows that it's not one person's job to decide what one should read and not read, only the parents' job (at least for teens). I completely agree with this statement since it's a parent's job to watch over their children, not a stranger's job. Also, when a book is brought up into the eyes of people who want to ban it, it's usually started by one person who didn't think this book was appropriate for teens. This shows that usually a ban is brought on by a single human being trying to force their opinions on others.

        Another reason why young adult books should never be banned is that it actually helps out teens in stress. This is shown by the fact that in an article by Sherman Alexie he writes that a girl who dealt with problems discussed by Alexie's book said she was helped by the book. She said that the book helped her deal with the problems she was facing. In fact, other teens from all around the world with different problems have said the same thing about different books, that some novels actually help the deep-thinking mind of the modern teen. They have said that reading these books have provided tips for getting through these dark problems. Other teens have said that these books provide a connection, that they let them share their pain with an imaginary charcter. This shows that instead of darker young adult books being bad for a teen, it actually helps the teen and gets rid of stress.

        Some might argue that these kinds of books actually introduce teens to these terrible subjects and causes them to want to partake in them. However, for the most part, this is incorrect. As people become more open with their children, more and more teens already know about these subjects. Most teens know about everything an adult would know about these days. This shows that these books do not (for the most part) introduce teens to these dreaded topics. Teens are already familiar with these situations and are being helped by these books everyday through tips given by the author and/or connections to the characters in the book.

        In conclusion, I believe that no young adult book should ever be banned. In fact, I think that the blocking-off of books actually prevents teens from gaining knowledge. Without these kinds of books, some teens won't be able to live just because they have nothing to help them get through the pain they feel everyday.

Returned I.B.R

   William Goldberg 813

     The book "The Returned" features an organization called "The International Bureau of the Returned" who try to keep the world orderly when people start to "return" from the dead. Many people are a part of this organization making it so that many people that deal with returned people have differing points of view.
     There are some people in the organization who decide to deal with the supposed zombies as if they're terrible creatures that need to be dealt so appropriately. One of these people is Colonel Willis. He talks to them only to get the information he needs, not to help them in a time of great need. He also patrols the town of Arcadia for the Returned specifically to be the one that puts them in jail. In this case, jail would be a school in Arcadia that was taken over by the army to be used as a prison for the Returned. He takes his job too seriously and doesn't take in the matter of specific circumstances. For example, when Jacob (a returned kid) and his father, Harold, are sitting by the lake and not doing anything, Willis captures them and after a trial takes place, puts them into the prison. Willis is one of the top men in the Bureau, proving that others think like him.
     Then there is the other, more preferable side (in my opinion) to the situation. Some in the organization actually treat the Returned like human beings. One person who does this is Agent Martin Bellamy. Bellamy tries to help the people he interviews about their death or the death of their loved one. This includes when he talks to Jacob's family, he doesn't just interview them and then leave their lives forever, he still talks to them and still tries to help them with their struggles. He understands normal people and their problems. He doesn't go out and try to find Returned to imprison. He's one of the few people like this in the Bureau. At least, it seems this way.
     In conclusion, I believe that people in the International Bureau of the Returned have opposing views on how to handle the Returned. If people just always acted like Martin Bellamy in the book, and in real life (no prejudice towards a group of people), then somethings in the world today would just evaporate, some for the good, and some for the bad.

Samuel Cohen-Eckstein

   William Goldberg 813

     Recently, in the small well-off neighborhood of Park Slope, a tragedy almost too saddening to describe occurred. At roughly 5:15pm on October 8th 2013, 12 year old Samuel Cohen-Eckstein was struck by a van at the intersection of Prospect Park West and 3rd street. Needless to say, many in the area are grieving for this unlucky child. Sam was running into the street in order to get a ball that had rolled away from him. Supposedly, when he got to the ball he tripped and fell on his back right when the dreaded van decided to come along and drive over his body. It was not a hit and run, the driver stayed there and didn't drive off. It's depressing to think that if Sam hadn't tripped he'd most likely still be here with us today. But death found its way, and it always will. Sammy was bouncing the ball against a Prospect Park monument near the entrance. He was only a month away from having his bar mitzva for which he had been preparing for months. He was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital on arrival from excessive torso damage. As a once close friend of Sammy, I too am one of the grievers.
     It's hard to believe how quickly a bar mitzva can turn into a funeral. How one second life is there and is under your grasp, and then another it slips away and leaves you in the darkness. What were his final words? His last thoughts? Did he think that he was going to die? If so, what did he think the effects would be on his friends and family as well as the community he was a big part of? These are all questions that are left in the mind of people who knew him and need to know these things for closure. He was kind, intelligent, and funny. Qualities you'd love to see in every person you see. The unfairness of a 12 year old leaving this world too early is still lingering in the air and will always stay there. Why him? Why so young? "God works in mysterious ways." I hope that he's where I believe he belongs up in Heaven. I've shared many cherished moments with him and I'm sure that many others have as well. I would just like to say to his family...sorry, his friends...sorry, to everyone who has ever known or seen Sammy...sorry. Unfair things happen in this world way too often and sadly, it seems there is no way to prevent those kinds of tragedies. So all I have to say for now is I hope he's happy where he is right now.

     I will leave you with this...

Returned Inquiry Question

     William Goldberg 813

     In the book "The Returned" by Jason Mott, the main issue is how the dead are mysteriously coming back to life in different places from where they died. People are silent when it comes down to answering the question of what are they going to do with these "Returned". Many people decide to just kill them, while others try to act as if the Returned never died. The International Bureau of the Returned decide to place them in prisons around the world. This has made me believe that the many different people in this book view these issues very differently.
     There are many people in the book who'd prefer that the dead remained dead. One of these characters is Fred Green who decides to stand up in church and argue with Pastor Peters over how the Returned should be treated. He thinks that the Returned "...are devils..." should be dealt with appropriately. There are also other people in Dallas who actually did murder all of the Returned that popped up there and left their corpses in the streets. These people aren't the only ones who wanted to deal with the Returned in such a violent manner. The Returned were signs of the end of the world for some people.
     The International Bureau of the Returned later on in the book decide to keep all of the Returned they can find locked up in prisons until they can find out what to do with them. They have these prisons everywhere showing that they are prepared for any amount of Returned returning to our world. The Bureau eventually treated them like criminals, herding them into prisons and interrogating them to find out more about the creepy reappearances of human beings. The Bureau treated the issue as if they were dealing with a world wide epidemic. This is a drastic view on how to deal with this issue, but at least it wasn't violent...most of the time. Even people in the town of Arcadia with a prison can see Returned being lined up into the school-prison. The Bureau was just trying to do what they thought was right, sadly, it involved creating prisoners.
     Then there are the others who try to act as if the Returned are miracles brought by God to help relinquish the pain felt by loved ones and friends of the Returned. Some of them try to even act as if the Returned never left. Out of all of these three, I believe that this is the most reasonable of these choices. A woman named Lucille (mother of one of the main Returned) first thinks of the Returned as devils just like in the 2nd paragraph, but once her son Jacob returns she truly becomes a believer in this miracle and starts treating Jacob as if he never died. This is proof of some people enjoying the returning of these dead beings. Harold, her husband, acts the same when Jacob arrives at their doorstep. These are people who decided to treat the situation in a warm and mature manner. These are the people who thought of the Returned as a gift, rather than a bad omen.
     In conclusion, the book "The Returned" by Jason Mott, has a very serious and unrealistic issue treated in many different ways. The ways are violent, cold and formal, and accepting and loving. Sadly, it has come to my attention, that in the real world when the U.S is faced with something they don't understand or know, they act in the only way they know how to, violence.
     

     

Faithful Elephants Themes Essay

    
 William Goldberg 813


     The short, picture book "Faithful Elephants" written by Yukio Tsuchiya, is a tale of a devastated Ueno Zoo during the bombings of Japan near the end of World War II. In the book, three elephants (John, Tonky, Wanly) plus a multitude of other animals in the zoo are brutally murdered by the zookeepers in order to make sure the animals wouldn't be let loose upon the streets if the zoo was bombed. Because of this and more, "Faithful Elephants" has become a very controversial book. There are many reasons to this, but I think that the many not so child friendly themes easily found in this book have made this outcome.
     One of the themes that made this book controversial war, a naturally disliked topic for parents. Although war is not mentioned constantly, it's always in the background of the story. It's the reason for the animals' suffering so many adults didn't like war in the book. War is mentioned when an employee at the zoo says "...At that time, Japan was at war...". He also mentions that if bombs were dropped on the zoo animals would get loose and rampage through the city. Because of this, war is seen as a controversial theme in the book.
     Another theme in "Faithful Elephants" found to not be suitable for kids is animal abuse. And by this I mean the terrible starvation of innocent animals. In the story, all of the animals in the zoo have to be poisoned except for the elephants. The elephants' skin was proved to be too hard for poisonous syringes so in turn the elephants were each tortured for at least two weeks by not being given any food for that time period. In fact, the book describes in depth the terrible ending of their lives. This could easily cause adults to not want younger people to read this story.
     In conclusion, the book "Faithful Elephants" written by Yukio Tsuchiya, is a controversial, more serious, kids book for a number of reasons but mainly for its daring themes. "Faithful Elephants" allows us to truly understand the effects war can have on anyone, anywhere.
     

From Baghdad, with Love Character Change

     William Goldberg 813

     The book "From Baghdad, with Love" by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth follows the story of a member of the Lava Dogs marine squad who finds a stray puppy in an     abandoned and decides to keep it as a "mascot" for the squad. As the story progresses, Kopelman and the Lava Dogs become infatuated with this lovable new furry friend. The squad finds itself taking care of the tiny beast.  Eventually, Kopelman decides to get Lava (the name of the puppy) out of the country and into the U.S. While going through this entire journey, Kopelman experiences a change in personality that only someone who found a new love (in this case a dog) could possibly hope to acquire. I believe this change in personality turned Kopelman from a serious and dangerous marine into a soft and caring man.
      In the beginning of the book, it is easy to view Kopelman as nothing but a hard-working robot fighting for his life in Fallujah. This is shown by the fact that during the entire first five pages of the book all Kopelman can think about is war and how he might be killed. This shows that at this point he thinks and breathes warfare. It is also shown that he is extremely cautious and jumps to the most dangerous assumption that he could make. For example, when he hears a clicking in the deserted building, he automatically thinks it's a frag grenade. This depicts a clear picture of a war-hardened marine who has fought a fair number of fights. All of this points to the fact that Kopelman was a stern Lava Dog at the beginning of the novel.
     During the middle of the book, it is shown that Kopelman is changing from his former self. As the book develops he becomes more attached to the group's new little friend. He spends more time with Lava then he ever did and really starts to care for him. He decides to let Lava sleep with him and in his boots. In fact, he stays calm even when Lava rips up and destroys numerous things inside their bunkers. This shows that the connection between Lava and Kopelman has strenghtened and that Kopelman is letting go of his past ways.
     At and near the end of the book, Kopelman practically falls in love with Lava and risks everything in order to get him into the U.S. Kopelman is constantly contacting anyone he knows who can help him save Lava from the military. Because of a list of codes all marines must follow, Kopelman isn't  allowed to keep any pets, and because of that code, Kopelman is forced to have to sneak Lava into the U.S. Kopelman even "...cries for the second time in his adult life...". He cries over the stress of trying to safely into the country. This all shows that Kopelman is now willing to give up everything for his canine best friend. He has now become caring and sensitive.
     In conclusion, in the beginning of the book "From Baghdad, with Love" by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth, Kopelman is a loyal and serious marine fighting to survive, as the book develops, Kopelman starts changing his ways and is becoming emotional, and finally as the book finishes, Kopelman becomes a softer more loving man. This story of triumph teaches all of how strong the bond can be between a man and his dog.