Daydreaming and Stuff

In this essay I compare 2 texts:”Maggot Moon” and a “Daydreaming” poem.
“Maggot Moon”,written by Sally Gardner,is a book about Standish Treadwell,a teenager,living in an alternate 1950’s Britain,where the Motherland is a Nazi like government which wants to launch the first rocket to the moon,however there is something more to it and Standish discovers it...And it is big.The poem on the other hand is written by Laurena Pamela Willetts,and it is just about her dreaming about an exotic quiet place,where is calm and silent,where she forgets about stress and busy life.

Both texts share the idea that some people don’t like the world they are living in, and want to be lost in an imaginary world,in a daydream. For example in “Maggot Moon”,Standish constantly lives in a terrible country. When he is in school class he is not listening to the teacher who doesn’t like him. Gardener shows us that his teacher doesn’t like Standish when he says, “ Mr, Gunnell didn’t like me.” We also see that Standish is not comfortable in his world when he says, ”I wasn’t listening to the lesson when the note arrived from the headmaster’s office.” The fact that he is not listening, shows that he wants to be anywhere but school. He would prefer to be, “in the city across the water, in another country where buildings don’t stop rising until they pen the clouds of the sky.” He uses his daydreams to escape his world. He would prefer to be, “where the sun shines in Technicolor.” In his real world he is considered stupid,other teenagers bully him,the government is ruthless and constantly thinking that Standish with his grandfather are hiding an astronaut.In the poem,the speaker thinks the everyday life is busy,crowded and noisy.For her daydreaming is sort of relaxation from real life.She doesn’t really like her busy and noisy life.“Maybe I’m wrong and its city bound dusty, noisy plagued with sound,overcrowded, busy teeming with life,all seeking to bring stress and strife”

I think that these are the differences in the these texts-in “Maggot Moon”,
Daydreaming is sort of necessary,as Standish lives in a world,where he lost his parents-”Mum and Dad were gone”,friends-”But this was the best daydream I’d had since Hector and his family vanished”, and where almost everyone doesn’t like him except his grandfather and his friends.Also Standish has lots of problems,such as,that he was expelled from school,or bullied by the other teenagers.In the poem,however,the speaker neither really have any problems,neither the world she lives in is terrible.For her daydreaming is a relaxation from the busy and noisy modern life.She just dreams about “Some faraway place exotic in flavour,some distant shores whose spices we savour,silvery beaches with white capped waves lapping,tall upright palms bowing and swaying”

In conclusion.These 2 texts show,that daydreaming is sometimes very important,especially in case of Standish in “Maggot Moon”.In “Maggot Moon” Standish is constantly facing problems,from other teenagers and government,so for him daydreaming is essential,as his world is very bad.As for standard people with a normal life,like the woman in the poem,daydreaming sometimes helps to get rid of stress or forget about problems.

Way of Kings and Dragons

Some might say that history is written by the winners, and that is most definitely a reality in Brandon Sanderson’s epic, the Way of Kings. However others can say that history can be forgotten if those in power try hard enough, as a case in Christopher Paolini’s own epic fantasy book, Eragon. Eragon shows us that history and the past are the important fundamental building blocks of the future and our choices. Eragon follows the story of a boy(of the same name), who hatches a dragon, the last of her species and sets out to redeem a lost golden age a century before. To recreate the Dragon riders. Differently, the Way of Kings are about three very different characters. Kaladin, a very unique slave, Shallan, a nobleman’s daughter looking to save her family and Dalinar, a prince of Alethkar seeking to avenge his brother’s death. This trio through their past become the Knights Radiant, a group in the deep past who protect the world. The Way of Kings is similar in the emergence of old history long forgotten starting with the protagonists, but reveals more on the topic. The book shows in many ways how even if history is important to the choices made now, history is ‘never set in stone’ and the book showcases that the real past hides in the shadow’s of too many lies, too many betrayals. History is always written by the winner’s, and too find the answers of a problem seen last in the deep past, the protagonists are searching for the truth behind the myths and legends. The history of our past is important to the opportunities of the future and while the past is useful for the choices you make, it is important to realize that the winners write history and the whole story is never revealed.

In Paolini’s debut novel, he uses Eragon and his dragon Saphira as a symbol of hope and an opportunity for those around the world to take back their homes and inheritance. The symbolization takes on many forms, of those being the possibility to change the world again in a new fashion. Taking into account the wrong choices and achievements of the past in the hopes of not making the same mistakes again. However the Way of Kings expands into the past and it’s importance to the future. The Way of Kings also uses symbolization in a number of ways. Similarly to Eragon, the main protagonist for this book, Kaladin, opens the way for new hope and opportunities. The hope sparks first in the most unlikely of groups, the bridgeman. The bridgeman are the worst of slaves, but are given hope through the miracles Kaladin performs. He is their role model. But he uses and adapts, with the experiences of his past and accepts what he once was. This gives the bridgeman the incentive to take back their previous identities before becoming a slave and with their past, to move forward into the future and never making the same mistakes they once made. However Kaladin was different to Eragon in that he inspired people through his actions to face their past behind them. Eragon inspired people to move forward into the future while taking the past into account.

The past is also quite important to building people and their personalities and events in the past can affect them for years to come. Eragon has never known his parents and that history has haunted him since he was born. His dragon Saphira has never known another of dragon before and she has to live with strangers, ‘aliens’ for her whole life. However, even if their past has built them as a person, they change and adapt, by not making the same mistakes they did ages back. With inner thinking, the author shows that adapting and living with the reality of the past is an important step to moving towards the future and without the past, we walk ‘as blind as a bat’. When it came to Eragon, “the realization that Garrow and Marian were not his real parents had disturbed him greatly. Eventually he had learned to live with it.” He had adapted but at first, a change in the real truth of the past changed the way he lived and thinked. “Things that had been permanent and unquestionable were suddenly thrown into doubt.” Kaladin used to be a surgeon’s son, but when a noble tries to hurt Kaladin’s father, Kaladin and his little brother Tien are sent to the army. The author shows Kaladin’s past in grim and gritty moments with dialogue and tone to build a mood. Kaladin is betrayed by his commander, sold into slavery and ends up as a bridgeman. Kaladin learns to adapt through his experiences of his past, in caution when it came to the nobles, referred to as lighteyes, and the powerful. “I’ve seen plenty of lighteyes with that same reputation, and I’ve been disappointed by them every time.” His experiences affect him years later, guiding his actions and opinions. Kaladin’s past haunted him throughout the book, not being able to save his little brother Tien. But, viewing the past in a different light can help him empathize and understand. Kaladin came to a moment when making a decision about saving or destroying a disillusioned king, Dalinar’s nephew Elhokar. The realization that “Elhokar is Dalinar’s Tien!” spurred him into choice and action to not let someone else have the same mistake as he did. The author boldly state that inner thinking of someone’s experiences and past can help move that person forward.

However things just get more complicated further in the book. In Eragon, the world is built around oppression, civil war, racial tensions and the tyranny of a mad king. The whole world at that point is under the control of the ‘mad king’, Galbatorix. The whole story is based around how Galbatorix destroyed the order dragon riders who kept peace in the past and built the world again through his empire. But the plot goes deeper and Galbatorix built the world in his image, completely ignoring the society and order of the past that had brought a golden age of peace and prosperity. The world was changed without the print of the past and has left it in a lot of uncertain chaos. On the other hand, Way of Kings is quite similar, but also different. In the land of Roshar, the world is very much the same as it was thousands of years. The same wars and problems continually appear and no change has been made through learning the mistakes of the past. However the world is now plagued with new problems that could herald a long lost evil in the deep past. Using dialogue and inner thinking, Sanderson has illuminated the fact that the past is definitely important to the choices you make now, but cannot be left without any thought. The past is never written by the normal people or people who don’t exist anymore but by ‘winners’, those who survived and have a lasting legacy. But looking at events of the past through one perspective gives too much power too them. They can control how the past is perceived by the ‘now’. The whole book revolves around secrets in the past that have been buried through lies and deceit, by those who had a lasting impact on history, but very important to how the world would be shaped now. The author utilizes flashbacks and dialogue to reveal those secrets and how they came to be ‘secrets’ and the impact those lost pieces of history have on the world at the moment. “ ‘But the legends lie about one thing,’ Jasnah continued. ‘ They claim we chased the Voidbringer off the face of Roshar or destroyed them. But that’s not how humans work. We don’t throw away something we can use.” The book shows us that the whole story is never revealed when it comes to history, you need to interpret and study the context, even if the past is important to the decisions and society of the present.

Kaladin and Eragon have been presented with “a legacy of tradition and heroism stretching back to antiquity” with the emergence of the Knights Radiant and the Dragon Riders respectively. Their stories though are an example of the past and it’s profound effects on the present. History are the important building blocks of society as Eragon highlights in the legacy of it’s golden age and the mistakes of the mad king. However that past is never certain and the whole story is never revealed. The individual person is also affected. Through experiences of the past, people learn to adapt, empathize and face the mistakes they might have made. Spurring them forward into choice and action. Individually and as a group of humans, the past affects albeit differently. In experience or in learning through the past. The history of our past for the individual is important to the opportunities of the future and while the past is useful for the choices you make, it is important to realize that in society the winners write history and the whole story is never revealed.

The Battle of the Hierarchy of Hogwarts and Westeros

     In the top 0.01% of the world, the population of the earth competes for power in our world today. Esteemed authors JK Rowling and George RR Martin have written the well-established books series Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire. Both books series explore the themes of the upper class’s power dynamics and relationships within complicated worlds and characters, just like in our world today. Martin writes about the families in control of Westeros, the threat of the beings behind the ice wall and the rise and ambition of Daenerys Targaryen and others in their pursuit for the Iron Throne. The upper class of Westeros long for the Iron Throne, the magic of Dragons, the strength that comes with these objects. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in written in the eyes of protagonist Harry Potter in his 5th year at wizarding school Hogwarts. While he explores becoming his own person and his relationships with his friends, he has to deal with notorious, professor Umbridge on her pursuit to take over Hogwarts and kick Dumbledore out of power. A prominent theme which stands out throughout both books is the idea of what woman have to rise to power within the dominantly male hierarchy. As accomplished authors both Rowling and Martin use craft moves such as first person narrator, multiple plot lines and metonymical symbols in their books. They both use metonymical symbols, like the Iron Throne and the Ministry of Magic to show woman antagonists motivation as well as elevate the theme of a woman rising to power. Characters such as Dolores Jane Umbridge and Cersei Lannister use innocence and female stereotypes to gain power and authority. Strong headed woman such as them can be compared to women in the 21st century today such as Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton. You may be thinking, but these women aren't crazed for power and insane, but just like Professor Umbridge and Cersei they have the ambition to get to the top, be the best, and become powerful in the world. They may not take extreme measures like Cersei and Umbridge but they push the limits and work to gain power and the highest level using their smarts and achievements.

     Martin and Rowling both explore the world in which women struggle to gain importance, which in turn leads them to use their seen innocence as woman and sexuality to gain what they want. In “A Game of Thrones” Cersei Lannister uses social expectation, in this case, woman is sexual objects, to gain what she wants. Similarly in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” Umbridge uses physical exaggeration of girlishness, which makes her seem innocent, to gain what she wants within Hogwarts. Sexuality and innocence are facades for both the woman to eventually achieve their goal of power within the hierarchy. Cersei is a proud woman who won't stop at anything to get what she wants, to protect her children. Umbridge is a powerful woman who will do anything in her power to get what she wants, what's best for her. Professor Umbridge is described as “Somebody's Maiden aunt” with a “Horrible pink alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan”. Rowling describes her with classic woman stereotypes right down to the constant use of pink, the original stereotypically colour for a woman. Her clothes are used a physical facade for her true intentions. Who would ever expect an innocent woman dressed in pink to have such cruel intentions. “In “A Game of Thrones” Cersei sleeps with people to not only gain power in Westeros but also to protect the mistakes she made and the people she loves. She made the conscious mistake of having children with her brother, instead of the king. Due to those mistakes, she has to work even harder. That again was a choice she made because she could have chosen to not protect her brother and her children, but she wants to keep the power. If she came out with the truth she wouldn’t be in the upper level of the power of hierarchy. Cersei is described as “blonde hair, brilliant green eyes, fair skin, and a slender, graceful figure”, beautiful as well as cunning. She resents the customs put on her because of her gender but uses her beauty to fight those stab those customs in the back. Cersei often a hypocrite as she disapproved of Robert Baratheon hedonistic lifestyle, she as well uses sex and alcohol to avoid true leadership. Which is ironic because she both uses sex to gain what she thinks is “power” but as well as uses it to avoid her true leadership and power. Her and Umbridge are similar in the way they both want more and more, ignoring what they already have. They're trying to reach the highest cabinet without a stepping stool. They only want the most, whether it's hand of the king or minister of magic, they are ignorant of anything in between and feel weak in other positions. Even though both women are in places of power they use further femininity and copulation to reach the highest point in power, evidently failing and falling behind.

     Both characters, Cersei and Umbridge and books, A game of thrones and Harry potter and the order of the phoenix, have their similarities as well as their differences. The world of Westeros and Hogwarts are very different places with different societies. The books being set at different times to have different expectations for women and what their job is in the world “A game of thrones” is set in a magical era in which women are seen as unimportant and sexual objects. “I swear, women lose all modesty in the heat.” Every chance for fewer clothes or modesty, even due to something such as heat, is seen as an opportunity for men or done for men. Men are supposed to be strong and fierce “while women sew dragon banners” Sewing, cooking, and being there to sleep with are all woman are seen good for. When women do anything other than that, they are ridiculed and banished by society. Men are also superior even if a woman is better, they get priority. Nothing in the wizarding world has ever seen to be primarily male eccentric. Woman and men educators are of equal balance at Hogwarts, and at Harry's Trial “Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister” And Amelia Bones proceed over the trial. But just like in today's world women never have the opportunity to be in the highest positions of power, always one step down. Having a society, such as Westeros, which limits what woman can do puts barriers in front of the steps woman such as Cersei have to take to gain the highest form of power. Which is also why Cersei never achieves to gain power, she is always seen as lesser whereas Umbridge ends up gaining power within the ministry of magic. Which is why Cersei has to take more extreme measures like using her sexuality, unlike Umbridge who can get away with just using her girlishness innocence. Umbridge as well is dedicated to the values of the ministry of magic and is loyal whereas Cersei hates king's landing and everything it stands for, which is ironic because she is in a way the embodiment of king's landing corrupt and rich, but she pretended to like it in order to keep her children safe. Cersei cares about her children more than anything else, which in a way legitimizes her reasons for her actions. Whereas Umbridge has no one mentioned that she cares about. Someone may say that how can caring about someone being legitimate reasons for being crazy and controlling people. But even though Cersei may be controlling and insane, caring about children makes you do crazy things. People say you love your children more than anything else in the world, they are born from you and are a part of you and us as a society do everything possible to keep them safe. So why if that wrong when done to the extreme, she lives in a society of extremes. Umbridge controls her position of the power from the front lines like a general whereas Cersei controls the power from backstage. Even though both women are controlling and evil they are not the same, they have different opportunities and are placed in different places of power. 

     Rowling and Martin both use places and objects metonymically to show symbols of hierarchy and power. In Harry potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it's the first time we have a glimpse of the Ministry of Magic and what they are capable of. As well as in ‘A Game of Thrones” we learn about the Iron thrones and it's capabilities. Martin uses the Iron Throne to symbolise power within Westeros, and how it destroys people's relationships. In the beginning, the Iron Throne is talked about as a superior object. What everyone in Westeros aims to be near or be on. “At times, he even sat upon the Iron Throne to dispense king’s justice” Martin uses language such as “At times” which makes it sound like an honour to be seated on this object of elite authority. It is seen as the ideal source of power. “Let them make their case before the Iron Throne” like the person on the Iron throne is irrelevant put the throne itself is the source of judiciary and establishment. "Rebellion against the Iron Throne" Not against the king or the Monarch but against the Iron Throne, an object. We see this similarly used by Rowling when she talks about the Ministry of Magic. “How much power did Dumbledore have to override the Ministry of Magic?” Rowling uses the words “override the ministry of Magic” not a specific person but the source of the power. She consciously doesn't say the Minister of Magic but the ministry of magic as it gives us the idea that the ministry has a whole has the power, not just the individual human being. In other scenarios as well, the Ministry of Magic like it was written as a person has done things. “the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith.” Unlike in “A game of Thrones” where the Iron Throne is metonymically used to symbolise the person on the Iron Throne and the power they had to dispense, the Ministry of Magic is metonymically not only as a singular person's form of power and what they can do as an individual but what the system can do in terms of power. Within these contexts the symbols help us understand who and what is the highest on the food chain within these societies. And when comparing the two helps us understand the differences in society. While the Iron Throne is used as a singular object, which in turn shows us that the power is held by one person, the Ministry of Magic is used as a whole, which shows us that it's a system as a whole, not an individual. A system of bureaucracy versus a system of Monarch. Even though Bureaucracy and Monarchy are very different systems of government they both don't put any power in the hands the people. Since Westeros in a monarchy, it makes it even more difficult for Cersei to gain power as there is only a singular source, whereas in the system of bureaucracy everyone has a chance to have control. 

     You may be wondering how on earth does this matter in the 21st century we live in now. What do power-crazed women who use innocence to gain power have anything to do with our society today. Even though it may not be obvious because we are not in that hierarchy, but the top 0.01% of our society compete for the reigns of power every day. Woman politicians such as Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton sign documents, do interviews and voice their opinion every day in order to gain control of the power from the predominantly male population. Without power in our world, what would we do? Where would we be? No matter how much we don't want to believe it without those power struggles in our world, our society would get nowhere. The reigns of power are always moving from one hand to another in the world. It's constantly changing, moving and flowing like a river. You may be thinking, why do I matter, I’m not in that top 0.01%, What different does it make in my life. The people who have the reigns of power affect the way in which you live your life. They control the actions you take and the things you are allowed to say. You can support your community by being involved and integrated into your local population. Voting and supporting the leaders you think will improve your society and the way in which you live your life. Unlike “Harry Potter” and “A Game of Thrones” we have the opportunity to live in a system of democracy where we matter. Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, Dolores Umbridge, and Cersei Lannister and strong and powerful women, you often have to take extreme measures and risks in order to protect those they love and gain rank in the system of hierarchy. Women matter in this world, they make up half the population of the world. Support women leaders who want to change the system of male dominant hierarchy and voice their ideas and opinions to the world.

Flowers for Katniss

People want to be loved, people want to be looked after. At the bare minimum we all deserve to be treated as equals. “Flowers for algernon” by Daniel Keyes is a book about Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded 32 year old man, is chosen by a team of scientists to undergo an experimental surgery designed to boost his intelligence. Algernon, rat with a high IQ that scientists had done surgery to improve his intelligence, starts to deteriorate. Charlie remembers his past and comes to the realization that life is now what he thought it was like, and that not everyone will accept him. The entire narrative of Flowers for Algernon is composed of the “progress reports” that Charlie writes.

Suzanne Collins future dystopian story ‘The Hunger Games’ takes place in Panem (North America). In Panem there are 12 districts, each providing resources for the capitol and the people of Panem. The actual hunger games takes place in an arena inside the capitol. Primrose Everdeen, a 12 year old girl from district 12, gets chosen for the 74th Hunger games. Katniss Everdeen (Prim’s sister) volunteers herself to take Prim's place in the hunger games and now has to fight for her life in the arena with 23 other tributes. In “Flowers for Algernon” and “The Hunger Games” we see two characters being controlled and manipulated, they are being treated as animals, something less than. Collins and Keyes show how Carlie’s and Katniss’s identity’s change and what makes them realize that they are not being treated fairly.

At the very start of “Flowers for Algernon” Charlie Gordon is being treated as if he was below the scientists “If only Nemour would look at me as a human being” Charlie is never treated as a human being, he is always being treated like an animal, no matter how much intelligence he gains or how much he tries to change himself he is never accepted. He feels trapped, in a way the scientists take away his happiness, his innocence. A more extreme version of this would be in “The Hunger Games” “after the war, the capitol destroyed all the [tracker jacker] nests surrounding the city, but the ones near the districts were left untouched. Another reason to keep inside the fence of district 12” The capitol is keeping the people who live in the districts behind fences and bars, almost like a cage. They are unable to escape their never ending starvation and sadness. The title the hunger games could possibly show how desperate the people of panem are. Putting their children's names in a ballot. If the child gets picked he or she will have to fight to the death in an arena with gamemakers moving the children around like chess pieces, all in exchange just for food.

Before “I was determined to feed us. I stole eggs from nests, caught fish in nets, sometimes manages to shoot a squirrel or rabbit for stew and gathered various plants that sprung up beneath my feet. I kept us alive.” Before katniss volunteered to take part in the hunger games her whole life revolved around her family and keeping them alive, so far in her life that was all she knows and the way she saw herself.

In Progress Report 7, Charlie thinks about what life will be like when he's smart, and he says he'll never be lonely again. Before charlie had an average IQ he thought that he had a lot of friends, although his relationship with his family was rough he got by on a day to day basis and was generally happy. He saw himself as happy, he had goals but was willing to work towards them. After he became smart, so smart that his knowledge bypassed the scientists charlie realizes that he was being treated unfairly, who he thought were his friends never actually liked him, instead they made fun of him. Now that he realizes this he becomes sad, depressed no longer innocent (no longer innocent meaning that he has come to the realization that life is hard and is not easy, that being happy takes work) 

Charlie gordon starts to surrender and accept that he feels inferior to the scientists and lets them keep him from being happy “The lines and boxes are too straight and I thought you’d join me in erasing them” Charlie is letting the scientists put him down and he is trying to cope with not being happy. Only later in the book charlie “wanted to get up and show everyone what a fool he was, to shout at him: I'm a human being, a person — with parents and memories and a history — and I was before you ever wheeled me into that operating room!” It’s only later when charlie finally understands that he is more than what others think of him, he is more than an experiment.

In “The Hunger Games” Katniss starts to rebel back against the capitol “I want to do something, right here, right now, to show them, to make them accountable, to show the capitol that whatever they do or force us to do that there is a part of every tribute that they can’t own. “ Katniss is fighting back against the capitol and the game makers. She is showing the people of panem that she is more than “a piece in their games”.

Collins and Keyes have shown through their work that everyone isn’t just what others think of them, everyone is unique and should embrace that. No one should have to change themselves for anyone else. Whether it’s to show the capitol why you should win the Hunger Games, whether it’s to impress some scientists so they can use you as an experiment or if if its for some new people you want to make a good impression on. Everyone should embrace who they are, if the people do not like who you are, they just are unable to see how special you are.

Everything I Never Told The Help

Parents, friends, peers, society. Everyone, everywhere is constantly processing thoughts, ideas and emotions. We are constantly picking up on social cues and consequences of not adapting to accommodate for them. Choosing to indulge other’s desires rather than what is best for yourself is often easier than going through the pain, social disgrace and disappointment of letting down your parents, family and community. “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett and “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng both deal with this issue. “The Help” is a story based in a highly segregated and restricting community where everyone has the same rigid principles and ideologies implanted into their brain. Newcomer Celia Foote finds adjusting to life difficult and struggles with being good enough. “Everything I Never Told You” is a story set in the 1970’s in Ohio centered around a mixed race family with mountains of social stigma. Marilyn appeased her mother’s expectations of becoming a housewife even though she always had dreams of becoming a doctor. After her failure, she pushes her dream onto her favourite child, Lydia. In both The Help and Everything I Never Told You the lesson that it can be hard to make your own decisions and have your own opinion when society and your parents are constantly telling you what to do, think and believe is revealed using Ng's and Stockett's use of 3rd person narrator and the symbol of eggs and Skeeter’s book respectively.

Living up to your parents and society’s expectations is a natural instinct. As teenagers especially, we thirst for a feeling of belonging and will usually do whatever is needed to be considered this way. From the start, Stockett portrays Celia to feel like she isn’t good enough for Jackson because she came from sugar ditch and, “even the white people look like they haven’t eaten in days.” She doesn’t come from much and it constantly bothers her now because of all the riches she is living in. If that wasn’t enough, Celia can’t have any kids, she has several unfortunate miscarriages because she wants to live up to the definition of a successful woman. To overcompensate for this, she hires a maid so that her husband will think that she “can do it on [her] own. [She] [wants] him to think [she’s]...worth it,” because if she can supposedly cook and clean it makes up for her child bearing shortcomings. On one side, Celia wants to be good enough for her community, whereas on the other side, Lydia is doing everything out of obligation to her mother. She doesn’t want to be a doctor at all but because she is so scared of her mom leaving the family again, she doesn’t have a choice. Infact even her mother, Marilyn realizes that she is vicariously living through her child and forcing her childhood dreams on her child. She figures this out precisely when she looks back on old times,“Five years old, standing on tiptoe to watch vinegar and baking soda foam in the sink,” Lydia kept on doing what her mother wanted because her mother simply didn’t know that when Lydia had, “[said], “Show me again, show me another”,” It had been purely for her mother’s satisfaction. Truth is, Marilyn had not known Lydia was unhappy and Lydia had believed that Marilyn wouldn’t care if she didn’t want to be a doctor. Lydia has simply done whatever her mother told her to, regardless if she wanted to or not or liked it or not. It didn’t matter to her mother if she, “didn't feel like smiling? Then what? Force [herself] to smile. Act as if [she] [was] already happy.” It never mattered to Lydia either, she calmly satisfied their wants and needs as if she was truly happy. She just had to become okay with the fact that, “You never got what you wanted; you just learned to get by without it.” And much like Marilyn who only realized the harsh effects of her actions, Celia realized that trying to please her husband and society wasn’t worth it. Celia was trying so hard with no reward. Both the characters want to prove something. Lydia wants to prove to herself that she doesn’t need to be a doctor for her mother’s love and Celia wants to prove to herself that a baby and becoming ‘adequate’ in society is all she needs to be happy. It’s unfortunate actually that they and so many teenagers base their worth and importance on how they satisfy desires from their parents or society. And because of this, many teenagers can’t make the decisions they want to because they feel that they are letting down or disappointing their parents and society. Disappointing parents or society seems like a much harsher punishment than simply being unhappy. Teenagers and adults alike are so caught up in fulfilling others expectations they can’t even think about what they actually want and if they are genuinely happy.

Pleasing other people and meeting their expectations can spin out of control quickly and understanding that happiness matters more than satisfying other’s superficial desires is very important. Ng used the symbol of eggs, both literally and figuratively to show how Marilyn is satisfying her mother’s expectations even if she doesn’t want it and then how she pushes it onto her daughter who doesn’t want it and Stockett used Skeeter writing her book as an act of rebellion and to show that she didn’t care what was expected from her, she was doing what she wanted. Marilyn was never comfortable with the idea of being a housewife and her whole world revolving around a man. This is revealed from her mother’s Betty Crocker Cookbook and how it tells her that,“The man you marry will know the way he likes his eggs.” This affected Marilyn greatly because it meant to her that all her use was to please and satisfy her husband’s wants and needs, but Marilyn didn’t want or believe this. She wanted to be more than a wife, more than children, more than her mother. But somewhere along the line, Marilyn got caught up in her mother’s mess and became exactly what was wanted and expected out of her, she became the expectation. And then pushed her literal egg, her daughter to complete her dream for her because she couldn’t even if, “It had not been science that Lydia had loved,” even if, “everything that [Marilyn] had wanted for Lydia. Lydia had never wanted but had embraced anyway,” even if Marilyn could never quite got over her failures. Much the opposite of Skeeter living in Jackson, Mississippi. Her passion also being for something that wasn’t expected or wanted from her community or her parents. And unlike Marilyn, Skeeter actually got her dream. Skeeter realizes that she’s been told her entire life what to think about everything and when she finally understood that, [she] actually had a choice what [she] could believe,” it became simpler, easier for her to do what she believed was right for herself even if it created social disgrace and shame. Writing a book with the help of coloured maids who were telling stories about white people was unheard of and unthought of because of it’s sheer perception as a sin. The difference is Skeeter had a choice to do what she wanted, Marilyn didn’t. After she became pregnant it became more difficult for her to follow through with her plans. Juggling fulfilling expectations and what you want can be extremely challenging at times because it is almost always impossible. And because of this fact trying to be ‘perfect’ or accomplishing everyone’s expectations is absolutely useless and a waste of time if you aren’t happy because in the end happiness matters the most.

Often times though, this unfulfillment of expectations can happen because of unhappiness. This unhappiness is not expressed which results in a lot of secrets and lack of communication. Stockett and Ng both use 3rd person omniscient narrator to reveal secrets about characters. Ng reveals how pressure and expectations from parents can lead to bad decisions and negative whereas Stockett uses 3rd person narrator in chapter 25, to reveal the struggles, misconceptions and eventual acceptance of failure complying with society’s expectations. The narrator in “Everything I Never Told You”, often reveals the theme through opinions from other characters. The way Marilyn still thought of her mom as something she, “will never end up like,” and the way Nath is, “amazed at the way [lydia] can lie without even a raised eyebrow to give her away,” Nath is surprised about how good Lydia is at lying to her parents, this shows the lack of communication in the family and also foreshadows that Lydia can lie about other things and might be hiding bigger, more important things from her family, such as the fact that she doesn’t actually want to be a doctor. This is fully revealed later in the story, when we are in the actual scene of Lydia’s supposed suicide. She is so overwhelmed and stressed about pleasing her parents that it was just all too much for her. Lydia was truly fearful for how her mom would react and instead lied and hid from the truth, “She will tell her mother: enough. If she fails physics, if she never becomes a doctor, it will be all right.” Lydia finally believes that if she can magically learn how to swim, she will tell her mother that. “From now on, she will do what she wants.” She will change everything. But, it’s not only if she can swim. She wants to be as brave the neglected child, Nath. “Lydia thinks that, If he can be brave, so sure of who he is and what he wants, perhaps she can, too.” What Lydia doesn’t realize though, is that her parents don’t expect anything in specific from Nath. Lydia is expected to be the doctor her mother never go to be just because she expects it. It never mattered what Lydia wanted. On the other hand, in the Help, the sheer severity and strictness of the expectations from the Jackson community leaves Celia helpless to be her own person. She tries so hard to fit into the community even, “[ordering] a book in the mail to learn [Bridge],” But learning alone wasn’t enough for her, She wanted to connect with the most prestigious members of her community, Hilly Holbrook and Elizabeth Leefolt and constantly “calling again to see about a bridge game.” It never mattered to Celia whether she actually enjoyed Bridge much in the same way it didn’t matter to Lydia if she wanted to be a doctor because both of them were satisfying expectations put on them. And these expectations can come from anywhere, like your parents to your general community and these all lead down to one root cause. If nothing more, humans inherently want to feel adequate, feel like we belong and like we are good enough. Often doing minor and important things are a main consequence from this need.

Even the smallest of actions can mislead people. Mislead people into believing you are happy and believing that you actually want whatever they are forcing you to do like career choice or Stockett and Ng both want us to learn that it can be hard to make your own decisions and have your own opinions when your parents and society are constantly telling you what to do, think and believe. As teenagers this idea is extremely relevant to us to understand that it’s going to be hard to make your own decisions and have your own opinion but it is vital to have them. We are all just trying to figure out who we are and what we want in life and it’s important to know that making other people happy isn’t always the same as being happy. Because in the end, if you aren’t happy, what’s the point? What’s the point of being praised for something you don’t care about? This simple idea of trying to do what you want, rather than what everyone else expects you to want is eloquently portrayed in Kathryn Stockett’s, “The Help” and Celeste Ng’s, “Everything I Never Told You”.

I am Leviathan

Girls are unfairly restricted from doing certain things. Sometimes, it’s really important, such as education; other times, it’s things such as dreams and passions. However, both of these things are significant and in some situations, girls are expected not to have these opportunities. This theme of gender inequality is prominent in books “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld, and “I am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai. “Leviathan” follows Alek and Deryn, who meet by accident on board the airship called Leviathan. Deryn is a girl disguised as a boy so that she can join the British Air Service. “I am Malala” is a true story about Malala, a girl who stood up for girl’s rights to education and was shot by a fundamentalist Muslim movement. Both “I am Malala” and “Leviathan” bring up the subject of stereotypes and expectations preventing girls from following their passions. Girls being restricted from doing things can have a big effect on their life; usually, it pushes girls to take action, either on a large or small scale, which sometimes has life-threatening or simply humiliating consequences.

A theme in both texts is that girls are confined due to expectations, which urges them to protest against it. Deryn, in “Leviathan,” dreams about joining the British Air Service. However, it is illegal for girls to join the Service, preventing her from following her passion. “Leviathan” describes how it was unfair to Deryn, where other, less qualified boys are able to join the Service. She comments on how “the tallest hardly came up to Deryn’s shoulder. They couldn’t be so much stronger, and she didn’t credit that they were as smart or as brave. So why should they be let into the king’s service and not her?” Since girls aren’t allowed become ‘midshipmen’, Deryn disguises herself as a boy and is recruited into the Service. Although this does not affect anybody drastically, her resilience signifies rebellion in order to allow girls to follow their passions. Likewise, in “I am Malala,” Malala finds it hard to go to school and receive an education because girls in her culture aren’t supposed to go to school. A man who is part of the Taliban, a Muslim movement, voices his opinions, saying that “[he is] representing good Muslims and [they] all think that [Malala’s father’s] school is a blasphemy.” The Taliban believe that “girls should not be going to school.” In Pakistan, girls are “expected to cook and serve [their] brothers and fathers.” Malala protests against this by standing up for girl’s rights to education. Both “Leviathan” and “I am Malala” show how girls object to following unreasonable restrictions and insist on change, just in different ways.

Although both texts express the theme of gender limitations and girls protesting against this, there are differences in the consequences that they face. In “Leviathan,” Deryn wants to join the Service because it’s her passion. If she doesn’t join the Service, there are no extreme effects. The most that would happen to her is that she would simply be forced to wear skirts and corsets. “No more dreams of flying, no more studying.” Despite the fact that this would still affect the way that she lives her life, there are no serious, life-threatening outcomes. In addition, Deryn’s protest is small and secretive. The results mainly had an effect on Deryn alone. Furthermore, Deryn’s act of defiance didn’t lead to many consequences except for the fact that the Service would be humiliated if anybody reveals her secret profile. Deryn took action on a small scale, which simply resulted in the possibility of embarrassment.

"I am Malala" shows how Malala openly protested for girl’s rights to education, which provoked life-threatening consequences. Malala is prevented from going to school. This means that she doesn’t get an education. This is a serious issue. Education should be a basic right for everyone because everybody deserves to be able to learn things about their world. Malala is being restricted from something that should be a basic human right. If she doesn’t go to school, she would “be ignorant” to the world around her. School is an important part of children’s lives. If a girl has no education, she wouldn’t be able to work to earn money. Without money, the girl would have to “be dependent on a man.” Malala stands up to this openly, publicly voicing her opinions, unlike Deryn in "Leviathan". This results in a Taliban shooting Malala, showing how her protest leads to a large, life-threatening consequence, dissimilar to "Leviathan". Malala took public action on an important issue, which caused a huge effect.

In both of the texts "Leviathan" and "I am Malala," the authors bring up the important theme of gender inequality. Readers would conclude that sometimes, having expectations and restrictions for people have large consequences, on their health and their lifestyle, for girls especially. "I am Malala" is a true story about Malala Yousafzai. It shows what girls really go through in real life, specifically in Pakistan. "Leviathan" also truly shows how girls are restricted as well, in a different situation. Either way, gender inequality is a real issue that should be solved, or large consequences to girls may be unavoidable.

Hunger Games & Safe and Sound

Everyone has felt they needed someone to tell them that everything is going to be okay. That they will survive and will feel safe again. Suzanne Collins and Taylor Swift use this universal human feeling in the book “The Hunger Games’ and the song “Safe and Sound”. In “The Hunger Games”, Katniss is lonely in the arena and doesn't feel safe, like she won't ever see daylight again. In the song “Safe and Sound”, it’s trying to teach us all a message that even if nobody comes up to you and says that everything is okay, you can reassure yourself that it’ll be alright. You have the power inside you. In both “The Hunger Games” and “Safe and Sound’” we learn that everyone has felt scared in their lives, but sometimes we need to know that everything is going to be alright, even if nobody tells us.

A common theme between both texts is the feeling of doubt and not being safe. The feeling of, if no one says something, anything, it’s wrong. In “The Hunger Games”, Katniss is continuously doubting herself. She doesn’t think she is good enough to win the battle against the other tributes, but mainly the fight between herself. ‘I can’t win. I know it in my heart’. She tells herself no because no one said yes. Yes, that she was strong and capable of winning for her family, for her district, but mainly for herself. And in the song “Safe and Sound’ the speaker says ‘The war outside our door keeps raging on. Hold onto this lullaby.’ These two lines suggest that someone is scared about the war which has started. Either physical or mentally. The speaker knows something big is going to happen but says it’s going to be all right. Even if someone doesn’t mean it when they say yes, it still has an impact on the person receiving the message as they believe that it’s possible.

Although both texts show us that we can tell ourselves things are going to be okay, there are differences between how the theme occurs in the two texts. In ‘The Hunger Games,” Collins shows us that the tributes in the arena, especially Katniss were scared because no one said yes but it was just for the public. A country tradition that gave the public a good show to talk about until the next annual Hunger Games. ‘It’s just for fun.’ In contrast to ‘The Hunger Games,” and the song “Safe and Sound” made it seem like from the speaker's perspective that people were doubting themselves still because of the people in charge but it’s not a joke. ‘The war outside’. From the context of the song, it seems like this person who the song is talking about has been fighting a battle either physically or mentally for a long time and need reassurance that everything will be alright.

In both the book “The Hunger Games” and the song “Safe and Sound,” I can surely say that the theme can mean the same thing as it’s trying to teach their readers or listeners the same message, the outcome of the messages on the characters himself in the text, are different. Whether it’s just for fun, or something that could potentially be life threatening. I think that the message Suzanne Collins and Taylor Swift are trying to teach their readers is a very important message but the way the readers read or listen to the text, can interpret the message in different ways. Some of those ways could include if you don’t say yes, it could be life-threatening or something that they would take in their stride and potentially make them stronger.

Why Kids Need to Bond?

Order. That's what makes us human. Every teenager in our generation has lived in a world with rules and regulations, where we are able to separate ourselves from savages and learn how to live with order. The society we live in today has been established following this crucial rule. Though life was not always like this and will not always be like this. In any world there will be savages like Jack from the Lord of Flies, or the ex-Sudanese army from What is the What. You may even find some around you! Maybe in your basketball team, maybe in your math class. In both “Lord of the Flies” and “What is the What” we notice authors representing similar themes - the lead characters in both books are looking for a way to maintain order and reclaim peace.

In "lord of the flies", Jack tries his best to maintain order but is unsuccessful to do so as he and the other boys in the group are unable to bond. At first Jack may have sounded like a strong and confident leader - as Golding describes him, “he stood with the conch in his hand shoulders upright his hair shining” Golding does not explicitly say that he is confident, but the reader is able to imply this because of the descriptions used for example “shoulders upright” it makes the reader infer that he is confident and strong and suitable for a leader because that's the type of gestures leaders use in our world, and that's what made the kids think he was suitable. However he is unable to enforce order in a way that encourages the others to work with him, one of the key parts of this problem is in the Signal Fire “Ralph glared at the group and whispered silently you let the fire go out then screamed you lot let the fire go out” Over here we notice the tone used by Ralph, though he is definitely trying to enforce order but with the incorrect tone, leaders need to make people around them cooperate and sometimes have to be strict, but Ralph did not know how far he could take his anger before he started to lose people and that's a key value leaders anywhere need, the knowledge to know when to stop being as aggressive. This brief dialogue by Ralph starts driving the kids from working together. An example of this is “the kids look awkwardly at Jack as they are coming back from the forest, even Ralph notices the looks he receives from everyone” This is a powerful description used by William Golding. It shows the shift in emotion for Ralph, it starts to show them trying to be away from Ralph, and since Ralph is the only person on the island trying to enforce order this is a problem. And this is the last thing the kids want because now the kids are unable to bond with one another and especially Ralph, and cooperation is essential whenever anyone or group is trying to maintain order, but in “Lord of the Flies” we are noticing that there are people trying to fight for order, but when we see that people are not bonding with them there is positive effect it only goes down and we start noticing negative impacts until finally there are two groups established and there is absolute chaos, and readers notice this when “by evening the beach looked less crowded all they had left were a couple of little nuns and Samneric” This is the climax, what Golding is trying to portray from this is that when you can't bond to maintain order there are groups that are going to be formed and chaos is going to be an effect of it. We know this because of the emotion Golding used in that dialogue “Ralph's shoulders slumped” they are all implying that something's wrong and something bad it going to happen and we do see bad things happen as chaos is spread.

On the other hand in “What is the What” readers understand that when Valentino is trying to maintain order the initial effects include, more death, kidnaps, and chaos but we notice that overtime Valentino finds youngs boys like him who he is able to bond and cooperate with to maintain order in the long term.

Initially, we notice that there is a lot of chaos, as the Sudanese army turns into savages. One of the key scenes when there was utter chaos was the point in which Valentino's loses his father and short after his mother, “I sat down in the wild, the world was falling apart for me I did not know what to do” this vivid detail makes the reader think that only bad things can come, this is because of the emotion used here “the world was falling apart for me” the author here used the craft move of tone to stir empathy and raise the stakes of the reader, that phrase make the reader feel for Valentino and infer that things can only go badly from here as Valentino is just a kid. However as readers progress through the book they notice things starting to change as Valentino finds a group of boys who are facing the same situation as him - torn away from their families- once Valentino joins these boys they start to bond unlike the boys in “Lord of the Flies” we notice they first start to bond after Dut introduces them to each other, the kids most bond at night, an example of this is “hey do you miss being home? Yes but we will get there soon we just have to work together” this is a powerful conversation between Valentino and his friend, it starts raising the stakes for the both character and reader, it starts to give hope that the kids will bond and everything might just work and become better, and this is what we see, overtime these kids bond and work together they try to bring back order. Though it's not the easiest thing to do, many of Valentino's friends die in the process of restoring order but the fact that no one gives up and still worked together restored the order, if they had not worked to together they would have ended up just like the boys from “Lord of the Flies”

Golding used dialogue and description usefully throughout the book to help support the theme and raise the stakes.  “You let the fire go out Ralph spoke in quiet tone” “We can start the fire again Jack replied with hope in his voice” over here as we can see the levels of communication completely falls from the previous example. Golding used this halfway through the book to start raising the stakes so the reader starts thinking about the theme. The reason this dialogue was raising the stakes here was because the readers felt like this scene was going to be when the group broke up and chaos started as we had never seen this part of Ralph, but Golding waited for dialogues too get more intense before starting the real chaos and this is noticed the last parts of the book. “Ok who's with me? No one? Well you will regret staying with Jack and if you do want to join me I’ll be north of the island, I am not playing Ralph’s game anymore spoke Jack” This is one of the climaxes of the book, this shows the reader how someone speaks when they go all out savage, there is no way to stop them at this point, and we can see this because after Jack made the decision he stuck with it, teaching us that once someone's brain goes savage it's very hard to turn it around. Another point this quote is portraying is kids not bonding together, it's because Jack could not bond with Ralph or the others that he had to leave, and break one large group into two groups and this created chaos.

Nonetheless, dialogue was not the only craft move that Golding used to raise the stakes and support the theme another craft move as mentioned before Golding also used description effectively.

This was the move he used to throughout the book to make the theme more and more apparent as the reader progresses through the book. Reader’s notice that at the beginning of the book Golding describes the island as “beautiful, faraway land, away from adults, leaves bright green filled with energy” which is very strange and starts to get the reader thinking why the author is using such language in a time when the children are away from home, shouldn’t it be darker? Golding does this too give us some false sense of temporary security to raise the stakes of the boys surviving life on this island, he does this by using words to describe the forests, examples of this include “beautiful, bright green leaves filled with energy” Nonetheless we notice the descriptions of the forests get darker throughout the book and one of the darkest climaxes is when Simon is murder. “Now out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind as they chanted Kill the Beast Cut his throat Spill the blood!” William Golding uses such fresh and vivid detail to really bring out the theme of order vs savagery, this is the turning point for the boys where we know they are completely savage and can't come back. We understand this because of the choice of words used by Golding particularly “desire, thick, and blind” these words imply that their lust for blood is going thicker, blinding them from order. Another way William Golding uses description to support the theme and raise the stakes is showing how Jack starts painting his face “dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else,” this is a major scene because this scene implicitly tells the reader that Jack and the other have gone completely savage and there’s no more turning back. Readers understand this because of the phrase William Golding uses “Like things trying to look like someone else” and another reason we know Jack and the others can't come back now is because at the beginning of the book Golding described them as a “prefects, wearing clothes” but now he described them as “shirtless, face-painted savages” making it extremely clearing there was no more turning back.

Similarly in “What is the What” Dave Eggers used the same craft move as effectively to support the similar theme. Though he used both dialogue and description, the more powerful craft move used was dialogue. This is because the communication between Valentino and his friends really stirred the reader's emotion as well as helping to support the theme. An example of this is at night time when all the boys have to sleep Valentino is always helping the boys feel secure so they have a good relationship in order to bond, an example of this is “Valentino I don't feel well, I want to see my mom, we will soon just sleep tonight okay?” This is a prime example of the communication that a leader should have, and this is why the other kids bonded with Valentino because he was nice caring and understanding, he stayed up with kids when they felt bad he did everything.

All in all as well as having similar themes both authors also used similar craft moves, however “What is the What” relied heavily on the use of dialogue to expose theme and stir emotions instead of “Lord of the Flies” which relied heavily on the use of dialogue and description to highlight the theme.

At the end of the day, both Dave Eggers and William Golding wants us the readers to learn the same message. That we the kids, the next generation have to bond so that our world does not crumble and lose civilization so that our kids can have a better tomorrow, a secure tomorrow. William Golding shows a prime example of what is going to happen if we don't bond and work together, and Dave Eggers shows us the opposite, what happens if we do bond and work together. This is not just relevant for the world, but something everyone should remember while doing everyday things, may it be working on a debate, a science project, in your basketball team anything. In order to have a successful end project or product, we need to work together. So next time you have to work in a group learn the skills leaders need, skills Ralph was lacking and Valentino had because teamwork and cooperation are the only thing that will let you achieve your goal. Cooperation between humanity that's our only hope.

Lord of the Flies - Wolf Brother

Ralph, Torak, Wolf, Piggy, Renn, have all fought in the spirit of their heart. Ralph and Torak, fighting to do what they believe is right. Wolf being a guide, with Renn, a companion.


We see the same things in pretty much all the characters. But what makes them different from each other, especially Piggy and Torak is the fact that one of them lives, and the other dies. Torak, with his goal to defeat the Bear whatever way necessary, and Piggy with his goal to aid himself and Ralph, and solve solutions, but with the same big idea, take very different paths. Let’s explore each character and analyze what happened. Torak, along with wolf has been trying to get to the Mountain of the World Spirit in the north. However there is something about what he does, and how he does it that lets him live to tell the tale. He always had a trusty companion like Renn, and Wolf. Someone who knew what they were doing, and he also had skills already taught to him for that situation. Piggy on the other hand, was overweight, didn’t know how to survive, and only had one person that could barely help him. Ralph.


Torak first started his adventure by himself. Later finding Wolf, and then understanding more about the Prophecy. As he found the Raven Clan, he thought they were going to kill him. But Fin-Keddin had another plan in mind. He was actually testing him. He let him have wolf next to him. He left him alone. He let him escape. Because he was testing Torak’s wits and courage. Not to see if he was the listener. After Torak escaped, with Renn there to help him later, he finds the Nanuak with the help of wolf, falls into ice holes, but he has the wits, the mindset, and the skills to get himself out of almost every situation. The only thing that Torak had to worry about was the Raven Clan finding him again, and the bear. He swore an oath to his father that he would do it. And he wouldn’t let anything or anyone stop him. He would die trying.


Piggy was just ‘Piggy.’ He didn’t know what to do. He was just smart and payed attention in class. He didn’t have the skills, he didn’t have the wits. He was scared all the time. Relying on Ralph to do things for him that were too burdening. And in the end he died. No one can say that it was his fault, but he did influence it upon himself in a way. He wasn’t fit, he probably didn’t care about survival since you know, if he stayed at home, he would be safe. But in this world, anything can happen. He just wasn’t prepared.


These aren’t the only major characters in each story. Oh no. Because all these characters had a cause and a reason for what they were doing. The Beast, and the Bear. The only thing is that the Bear was real. A demon trapped in a bear. Only purpose is to kill the forest and everyone in it. The Beast on the other hand was not real. It was a parachuter that died, but they didn’t know that. They let it get to them. And they didn’t let it out. It was a fate they brought upon themselves.

The Liars Weakness

Teenagers. When adults describe them, they’ll say things like ‘obnoxious,’ ‘rude,’ ‘self-absorbed.’ That just isn’t the reality of the situation. In actuality, teenagers are on a road to find themselves. This road is infinite and on fire. It is hell. So, when they reach the end, they are bound to have learnt some vital lessons. E. Lockhart’s poignant novel ‘‘We Were Liars’’ and Ryan Padovani’s poem ‘‘I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’ is quite possibly the story of a teenager's life. The narrators, through the use of metaphors, are demonstrating one running from their weaknesses and failures, convincing themselves that they’ll be alright, even if it is not true. But how does one go their entire life without an inch of doubt haunting them? In ‘‘We Were Liars’’ and ‘’I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’, through the use of metaphors, we learn that when we feel like failures and feel the weakness that comes with it, we must remember that it is only a barrier on the road we are taking to find ourselves.

86400 seconds in a day, 1440 minutes and 24 hours. Your mind is never at rest. The emotions you hold captive in your head are completely your own. So, how do you expect anyone to understand them? Lockhart and Padovani use metaphors to help the reader understand the captive thoughts. Lockhart uses this technique to help reader delve into Cadence’s intricate mind and fully understand her. We are able to acknowledge how crucial moments in Cadence’s life impact her. When her father left her, trampling on any pride or strength she had left and he ‘pulled out a handgun and shot [her] in the chest. [She] was standing on the wall and [she] fell. The bullet hole opened wide and [her] heart rolled out of [her] rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood rushed rhythmically from [her] open wound, then from [her] eyes, [her] ears, [her] mouth. It tasted like salt and failure. The bright red shame of being unloved soaked the grass in front of [their] house, the bricks of the path, the steps to the porch. [Her] heart spasmed among the peonies like a trout.’ The pain Cadence feels, in this extended metaphor, is so immense that it resembles a bullet in the heart. The immense pain and ‘shame of being unloved’ is eventually what built up Cadence’s personality and the inner conflict she faces on a daily basis. It sprouts the idea of her tendency to run from anything that may make her vulnerable, which carries through the entire book. None of us are truly able to express ourselves in a way that makes perfect sense to others. We are angry, sad, confused, excited, irritated. And we just do not know how to explain what we are thinking. If an explanation meaning having an expressive outlet. Padovani and Lockhart use metaphors to help readers relate. Padovani’s speaker feels a ‘war within, moves [moving] around with nowhere to hide.’ This is supporting the idea of inner conflict. A war is essentially two or more sides fighting for something they believe in. A war inside one’s head is two or more contradicting thoughts fighting to influence one’s actions. The speaker and Cadence both have so many thoughts crossing their mind and they can not seem to push it away. Much like you, the reader. The metaphors in both of these texts represent the complex thoughts individuals have that do not seem to make sense to others, but they also represent the light at the end of the tunnel. When people finally understand you, through the use of universal emotions.

Failure : Noun
Lack of success.

We have all been there. That dark place where our self-doubt takes over our mind. There is no way to control it. Musky echos that poison our poise. Failure feels like regret, disappointment, and an incompetent performance. In both texts, the speakers share this common feeling of failure. In Cadence’s life, ‘no one is a failure.’ Except Cadence feels like she is. While they both share this idea of being a failure, what is different is the way they both handle it. Ryan Padovani's speaker feels like it isn’t necessary to acknowledge it. The speaker thinks it is best to just ignore that feeling. ‘Anger within, but no need to look back.’ The speaker is filled with regrets, frustration and ineffable emotions and doesn’t want to even acknowledge the mistakes they have made. On the other hand, Cadence, like any other teenager, is on the road to accepting feeling despite it being very hard. When she says ‘I [She] will prove myself [herself] strong’ she wants to convince herself that she can overcome the feeling she has of being a failure in the Sinclair family. The feeling of failure is incredibly common amongst teens, whether you feel like you failed your mother, your sibling or yourself, teens need to remember that like Cadence, accept it and prove that your are more than that mistake you made. Despite what people say, one or two mistakes doesn’t make you a failure.

As mentioned earlier, teenagers are on a road to find themselves. So while they are travelling they are simply confused teenagers feeling the aftermath of external pressure. Pressure from peers, parents, media are all elements that shatter teenagers confidence and cause the weakness that is ever so present in their life. Looking at Cadence’s story, we see the progress she made from being closed off and sensitive to ‘not actually caring.’ When teenagers pass the part of the road that, like Ryan Padovani’s speaker is passing, is filling them with the thought that ‘controlling [yourself] will keep [you] from being weak.’ They learn important morals that ultimately stick with them throughout their life. At the end of ‘’We Were Liars’’, Cadence, after reaching the end of her road, learns quite possibly the most important lesson in her life. That is to ‘be a bit kinder than you have to.’ Whereas, in the poem ‘’I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’, by the end of it, all the speaker has learnt is ‘controlling [yourself] will keep [you] from being weak.’ Which is not the right thing to take away from everything that you’ve dealt with. We are human. We have struggles in life. We have regrets, fears and haunting memories but after you let go of your past, come to terms with it, you are going to reach the end of your road much faster.

In both ‘’We Were Liars’’ and ‘’I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’, the authors, E. Lockhart and Ryan Padovani show the conflict teenagers face daily and by reading the end of both texts, you can see the difference it makes when you finally accept who you are, mistakes you’ve made and lies you’ve told. As a teenager myself, I’m still on the road to finding myself and letting go of my past. It is not easy. But what I hold onto is the hope that the end of my road will teach me as many things as it did to Cadence. Ultimately, no one can tell you if you’re reaching the end. The end of your road depends on the kind of person you are and the actions you choose to do. Even though we all want to reach the end of the road, only you can decide if like Ryan Padovani’s speaker, you want to be stuck with a closed mindset or if you want to be like Cadence and reach the end a better person.

Time to Say Leviathan

In both “Leviathan” and “Time to Say Goodbye”, the themes of deception and responsibility appear throughout the texts. The responsibility always involves protecting the world and deception is lying about who you are and what you’re doing.

In “Leviathan”, deception is used by Deryn Sharp to hide the fact that she not only is too young to become a midshipman but also a girl. She uses this deception against everyone including her best friend, Aleksander. Despite all this, she is not discovered and remains so throughout the rest of her career.

In “Time to Say Goodbye”, deception is used to fool the warriors into fighting for the wrong side. It’s also used to take victory from those who actually fought, as stated ‘or are we weapons…so someone else can a victory?’ Eventually, these warriors reach a ‘point [they] just can’t take anymore.’ They turn on those who used them as weapons and take back victory.

In “Leviathan”, Alek’s responsibility as a prince becomes less and less until it’s no longer there. He spends the first half of the book worrying about his princely duties but he soon realises that it’s not what he wants. He’d rather be with Deryn then ruling the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He throws away the scroll that announces his ascension to the throne.

In “Time to Say Goodbye”, the responsibility falls to the main warrior. The responsibility is to protect the world from the ‘evil that just grows closer’. They also have to have the maturity to deal with the fact that they’ve been ‘sacrificed for one huge lie.’ The warriors are responsible for their own deaths but more importantly, the deaths of others.

These two texts show how closely intertwined deception and responsibility is, with one lie changing how everything works. It shows that deception can lead to foregoing responsibilities which can end with a terrible fate. “Time to Say Goodbye” shows that deception can cause you to blur the line between right and wrong and it can cause you to become a weapon against those you love. Responsibility in the song is shown as life and death. On the other hand, “Leviathan” shows that deception can let you do the things you love and responsibility can change over time.

Liars with Eyes Shut

Everyone, Everywhere is constantly pushing away reality. Parents, Peers, Friends, Teachers. Whether it be the reality of ourselves or the people around us. We always have those moments in our lives where everything feel right, like it is meant to happen, or meet people who we instantly click with. We want to hold on to those precious moments or people forever more because they make us whole, they make us feel like life can’t get any better. Both “We Were Liars“ by E. Lockhart and “Eyes Shut” by Olly Alexander delve deeply into the concept of pushing away the realities of life. Lockhart's ravishing novel “We Were Liars” is set on Beachwood Island, where the “beautiful Sinclair family” lives. They are strong, perfect, and untouchable. At least that’s how they depict themselves. The family that everyone strives to become. They are the epitome of the “all American white families, and Alexander’s phenomenal song “Eyes Shut” explores the idea that nothing will ever hurt us if our eyes are shut, but the fact that we can never hide from our reality forever. In both “We Were Liars” and “Eyes shut,” we learn (grasp the fact) that in life we cannot shut our eyes towards reality because we will have to face it in one or another way. We will have to eventually be strong enough to face the reality in front of our eyes, both authors display this theme by using metaphors to exaggerate their characters way of thinking.

Everyone is constantly pushing away reality. The reality of life; reality of relationships or just the reality of who we are in general. Both Lockhart and Alexander explore the concept: why do people push away reality? For Cadence it is the idea of pushing away the reality of loving someone. In “We Were Liars” Cadence knows that “ I [she] shouldn’t love him,” referring to Gat (her love interest). She is pushing away the pain because she fears he won’t be there when she needs him most. She always says “It is what I [she] [is] afraid to do.” To lose Gat. Some might argue that Cadence is just afraid to love him because she knows that it is going to be bad for the family, but the truth is that it is much deeper than that. They both know that it's wrong Gat keeps emphasizing that “You don’t know me.” She feels enslaved not to love him because he’s not there. She is so terrified to lose him that she imagines him. She is trying to hide from the fact that he’s dead. Cadence is trying to hold onto the last thread of hope for her, which is Gat. If he slips out of her hands it’s all over. While in “Eyes Shut” the character states that “nothing’s gonna hurt me [him] with my [his] eyes shut. This clearly depicts the fact that with his “Eyes shut” Meaning that when he is closing himself of from the reality he believe that nothing is going to hurt him nothing will be able to get to him as long as his eyes are closed. Both authors talk about this theme in very contrasting ways as in “We Were liars”, Cadence eventually learns that she is not going to benefit by pushing away reality as we have to face it at some point, learning to accept the fact that there are not always going to be people who are there for us in our worst times, we have to learn to be there for ourselves. While in “Eyes shut” the character clearly doesn’t change his mind about the fact that his eyes will always be shut to reality as that's what he thinks is best for him. This is also acceptable because some people like living by themselves where they know that no one can hurt them. People are always trying to find easier ways out of problems in their lives. For Cadence and the character in “Eyes Shut” it is pushing away reality. That is their shortcut to an easier life.

The human brain is the most complex organ in the human body and probably the most complex creation present in the world today. This is clearly why it is so hard to understand other people's feelings and emotions as it is even hard to understand your own. Both Lockhart and Alexander show the exaggeration of emotions in their characters using metaphors to reveal to the readers the characters inner thinking. In “We Were Liars”, Lockhart uses this craft move only in very momentous scenes of pain for instance here Gat “wrapped my [her] wrists in soft white gauze” (pg.30). The white Gauze representing Gat taking care of Cadence when she was going through the toughest of times, the word soft referring to his touch, the way he holds her and when Cadence talks about her dad who “pulled out a handgun and shot me [her] in the chest.” The handgun referring to the look in her dad’s eyes as he was leaving. The overwhelming sadness she felt like a “handgun shot me [her].” In “Eyes shut.” Alexander uses this craft move in the first verse of his song. He says “throw your heart to me” to “let it fall and hit the ground, let it go.” Putting this into context he says “throw your heart to me” meaning if you give me your heart it will “fall and hit the ground.” He is so closed off from reality that even when people are trying to care for him, show him that he does still matter. No one can get through to him he says that “You're [everyone’s] timing was so wrong.” They missed the time to actually get through to him, they waited to long before going to show their love. Everyone just want’s to be found sometimes. People hide and disconnect totally from the world to find out who are our really friends, who are the people that really care about us. This can be a very hard by hard I mean tough to get through process because what if there is no one that really cares about us? What is no one comes to rescue us? Wouldn’t that be the most heartbreaking things. This is the contrast between “We Were Liars” and “Eyes Shut”. In “We Were Liars” there are people that really care about Cadence like the liars Gat, Mirren, and Johnny but the only problem is that none of them are alive and that is why she is having a really hard time finding love in the world. While in “Eyes Shut” there is no one for him in the world. It is too late now for him to be found. All he wanted was “to be found” but no one found him. Pushing away reality all connects back to the fact that both characters are pushing away reality to find out who really cares about them. To find out who will be there for them in the very end.

All these points come together to help us readers understand how everyone in the end just wants to be found. Both “We were Liars” and “Eyes Shut” are written in first person narrative. In “We Were Liars” it is written In Cadence’s perspective giving us readers an even harder time trying to figure out what's going on as all the other supporting characters already know what exactly happened the night of the fire. Lockhart’s goal was to get us readers inside her mind, teaching us that we all need to be found by someone, or be strong enough by ourselves even if nobody finds us. Cadence SInclair was found by Gat but after his death no one was able to find her making her want to hold onto him even more, leading to her pushing away the reality of loving someone so deeply. Alexander’s Goal was to send a message that we cannot have our “Eyes shut” because we will eventually “see through them.” There is no point closing our eyes when something is right in front of our faces. He wants us readers to learn that we are all better off facing our reality today rather than tomorrow because as much as we push it down it will keep rising up and up higher each time. So why not just keep our eyes open all the time?

Lockhart and Alexander want us to learn that we don’t need people to always care for us because we are strong enough alone to take care of ourselves. As a teenager myself, this is an issue that is very relevant to me and the people around me because we are all going through the hardest part of life - Adolescence. This is where we learn everything we need to take away for adulthood. One of the biggest things we learn is that we are not the only ones that matter in the world, everyone matters. So we can’t always have people by our sides every step of the way because everyone is going through the same journey. We need to learn to take care of ourselves. As long as we believe in ourselves, that is all that is needed to get us through the hardest parts of life. When you start loving yourself, other people will admire for that very factor will want to be around you more because you release a sense of positivity and wholeness. Which is something they lack. These few simples things are what shine bright through both E.Lockhart’s novel “We Were Liars” and Olle Alexander’s beautiful song “Eyes shut.”