It’s Kind of a Funny Story Blog Post

SPOILER ALERT!!!

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is an intriguing book about Craig, a stressed out New York City high school-er and his experience in a mental hospital. Craig suffers from teenage depression because of all the stress he’s experiencing at his school, “Executive Pre-Professional High School”, a fictional high school in the book. Though it’s fictional, it’s quite similar to many high schools in New York City. Craig has been yearning to get into Executive Pre-Professional since the seventh grade, when he began studying like crazy to pass the entrance exam. He studied for hours every night and barely made any time for anything other than studying. He passed the exam with a perfect score, but when he got to school, he realized he wasn’t nearly as smart as the other students there. This book had a clear message; that you need to be the best person you can be. You are good enough for anything, and if you find that you need to change yourself for something (like changing your life to study everyday for two years just to pass an entrance exam) it’s not worth your time and might end up hurting you. However, I also found hints at another message directed towards the educational system that what they’re demanding of their students might be hurting them instead of helping them.

            What Craig did to get into his school was drastic, but it’s not too far from what some students do to get into the high schools of their dreams. Some students have private test prep tutoring, go to test prep classes at school, buy test prep books to do at home, get private coaching for auditions, etc. just to nail their test, audition, or interview. It seems extreme to someone who’s not used to it, but it’s pretty normal to someone applying to high schools in any major city. This winter I went through the high school process myself, and it really was stressful and extensively thorough. There’s a lot you have to do, and as a 13/14 year old, it can really take a toll on you. You doubt yourself a lot, and with the mindset that your high school can determine the rest of your life that’s implied by many of the adults surrounding you, it’s easy to become obsessed with the high school process. This being said, the majority of kids don’t get so depressed that they end up in a mental hospital, but the process can really be crazy and unfair when you think about all the incredibly intelligent and dedicated kids who try so hard to get into the schools they desire to get into and don’t.

Craig ends up switching schools at the end of the book, which reinforces the clear message that you shouldn’t waste your time on something you need to change yourself for. Since Craig needed to change himself to succeed in Executive Pre-Professional, he started to get depressed because he wasn’t enough for the school. After his stay in the mental hospital, Craig realized he wasn’t happy at Executive Pre-Professional and decided to transfer. This is one major hint of the message Ned Vizzini is sending the educational system, that the requirements of their students are too much for them to handle, and that their students are beginning to change themselves for a school. Ned Vizzini is writing this book in the hopes that powerful people in the educational system will hear of it and read it, seeing what possible future consequences of their actions will occur sooner or later. This, along with other, subtler hints, will hopefully influence these powerful people to limit their expectations, and to remember that these students are only children, and that they need to enjoy their childhood while they can, not waste it on worrying whether they will get into this high school, and whether they’re doing enough extra curriculars for that college.

The Book Thief Blog Post #3

The Book Thief Blog Post

            I am currently reading The Book Thief, and the last thing that happened was that Rudy and Liesel left their group of friends that they stole with. The group’s leader left, and was replaced with a boy that was really rude to both Liesel and Rudy. The last thing Rudy did was spit on the boy’s shoes, after the boy had beaten him up. However, while Rudy was getting beat up, Liesel told the boy to stop, that he was hurting Rudy. I think this shows how much Rudy and Liesel’s friendship has grown since that first soccer game on their street.

            After Liesel defended Rudy, he denied that he was getting hurt. Of course since Liesel and Rudy are still pretty young, Liesel will defend her friend, and won’t care what people will think of him, or her. Since Rudy is also young, he’s going to try to act much older than he is and pretend he’s not getting hurt. I think it’s so cute to see how a girl and boy’s perspective on an issue differ. Not just that, but you can tell that Rudy and Liesel are really good friends. For Liesel to defend Rudy meant for her to stand up to the “big kids”, which shows she really cares about him.

            I think that Liesel is very lucky to have Rudy by her side. He’ll stick with her through thick and thin, and he’s really helped Liesel transition into life in Munich. It was hard for Liesel to make such a quick switch to Munich, and I think she really benefited from Rudy being there to tease her, which in a way I think made her relax and ease into her new life.

Drummer Boy of Shiloh Blog Post

In the "Drummer Boy of Shiloh", a short story by Ray Bradbury about Joby, a drummer boy who realizes his self worth and importance in battles, through a speech given to him from the general of the army.

In the "Drummer Boy of Shiloh", throughout the course of the story, not only does Joby realize his importance in battles, but also Joby matures drastically in just a few short minutes because of the general's inspiring speech.

Before the general's speech, Joby was dreading war and battle. Not only was he scared, but he was also a bit annoyed. In the beginning of the story, a peach stone fell and woke Joby up. The story goes, "In silence he listened to his own heart ruffle away, away- at last gone from his ears and back in his chest again." If just this small peach stone caused Joby so much fear, he must be terribly anxious for the battle before him. He gives off the impression that he's annoyed because in the story it says, "Me, thought the boy, I got only a drum, two sticks to beat it, and no shield." He also feels like his family is leaving him behind, "leaving him with this drum which was worse than a toy". The fact that he thinks the drum is worse than a toy, really shows what little importance he thinks he is in battle.

During the general's speech, Joby was very quiet. You can tell he was quite impressed by the general, and carefully processing his every word. At times, you hear Joby's interpretation of the speech, like when it says, "But if he beat a sure, steady, ever faster rhythm, then, then, their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill, one knee after the other, like a wave on the ocean shore." You can practically hear the excitement rising in the tone of voice. When he repeats the word, "then" you can tell he's practically jumping out of joy and excitement. He also learns that he's the heart of the army, and that if he beats slowly, the soldier's hearts would beat slowly, but if he does beat a "sure, steady, ever faster rhythm", then their march would be in sync with the rhythm of the drum, like waves on the ocean shore. I like that Ray Bradbury compares the drumbeat to a heartbeat and the ocean. The ocean takes up most of the Earth, and the drum affects most of the performance of the army, which affects the loss or victory of the battle, which affects lives. Without a heart, or a heartbeat, you can't survive, so the drumbeat and obviously the drummer boy are essential.

Near the end of the general's speech, the mood gets calmer. It went from a huge crescendo, to a very quiet decrescendo. The tone and beat of the story calms down, as well as Joby. When asked if he knew he became general when the old one is left behind it says, "The boy nodded mutely," This makes me think he's trying to process the information he received, a bit in shock, a bit in gratitude. When the general leaves, Joby says, "Goodnight, sir," in a very sophisticated and respectful manner. Then, when the general is gone, Joby faces the drum toward the moon. This gives off the impression he's giving the drum the respect it needs. In the beginning of the story the drum is described as having a great lunar face, and at the end he faces the drum's great lunar face to the moon, kind of putting everything right back in its place, which is a big step from saying the drum is worse than a toy.

I can relate to this because sometimes I feel like I can't do anything. I'm too intimidated or afraid to do something, and all I really need is someone to help boost my confidence. Sometimes all you really need is help, and someone to tell you that you can do it. I always feel more "grown up" because I know something I didn't before, and did something new as well. I think this might be how Joby felt after the general's speech.

These examples obviously show how Joby's attitude changes, but if you dig deeper, you can tell the general's speech was a wake up call for Joby to "man up". It also helps Joby realize that no matter your age, role, or responsibility that we all serve a purpose, and they are all important. When you're young you never really realize that, but as you grow up it becomes clearer. It seems like what Joby got out of the general's speech was a boost of maturity.