The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict Blog Post 2

I’m still reading The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, and I’m not thrilled with it, but at least some new things are happening in the book. I chose to write about Nicholas’ relationship with John, one of his only friends at the orphanage. Nicholas is a really nice and friendly person, he’s sharp and witty, and he’s able to come up with smart and funny things on the spot. Despite all his qualities, Nicholas doesn’t seem to have many friends in the orphanage, other than John, and a few very young children, and he only knows them because they’ve been “forced” to interact with him. I’m going to dig deeper into why Nicholas doesn’t make friends easily in orphanages.

            Nicholas is very smart, and he’s able to use his intelligence to come up with witty remarks on the spot. This would give him an advantage in school-like environments, but in orphanages, where you’re not being “judged” on your intellect, this doesn’t really help him much. There hasn’t been any evidence of any educational classes yet in the book, so as far as we know the children don’t go to school. This might mean that they’re not particularly “book-smart”, rather smart in the ways of navigating the orphanage. Seeing Nicholas with an abundance of knowledge and him not being ashamed of it might set off the other orphanage children. They’re obviously not very happy with the situation they’re in, being in an orphanage and all, and they probably wish they had some sort of education like Nicholas does. When Nicholas tries to charm his companions with his knowledge, or just him being himself (a genius), the other orphanage children probably think he’s showing off, and don’t want to hang out with someone who makes them feel like less than they are.

            On the other hand, the children he’s “forced” to hang out with, like John who was told to look after Nicholas upon his arrival, and the young children he sat next to when the Spiders took away all the empty chairs away from the young kids, seem to like spending time with him. I think that if given the choice, like the other children, they probably wouldn’t have chosen to hang out with him, but since they have to, they’ve seen the side of Nicholas that’s enjoyable, and they seem to like him as a friend. After enough time with Nicholas, not just seeing his personality from afar, these kids are understanding that Nicholas is smart by nature, and not trying to show off, he’s just trying to be a nice person and make friends. They understand that this is the way he is, and when you see that, you see all the good aspects of his personality.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict Blog Post

            I’ve been reading The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. It’s the prequel to the Mysterious Benedict Society books, by Trenton Lee Stewart, one of my favorite series ever. However, this book isn’t half as good as the Mysterious Benedict Society was, and I’m finding myself dreading to even open this book. I think it’s something about the slow moving pace of the plot, and the abundance of details.

            This book is moving very slowly. There are plot twists, and there are many new events taking place, but nothing drastic is occurring that’s helping the plot move forward. The setting is always the same, which is understandable since he lives in an orphanage, but some kind of outing would really help move the story forward. New characters aren’t being introduced, and the same kinds of plot twists keep happening. Nicholas keeps beating the Spiders at their pranks, and he’s always a step ahead of them. After about 3 of the same plot twists, it’s getting a bit repetitive.

            This book also has an abundance of details. I actually like when there are a lot of details that benefit the story, but in this book Trenton Lee Stewart has added in very repetitive details about the same thing that just drag the book along- slowly. For example, when Nicholas was waiting in the hallway and going from his room to the bathroom, there were details upon details about the lighting and the feeling of the hallway. After a while, I couldn’t even follow what was going on because I kept hearing about the lighting of the hallway!

            I’m really disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to reading a book that was as good as on of the Mysterious Benedict Society ones! Hopefully it gets better in time!

February Non-Fiction Blog Post

February Non-Fiction Blog Post

                   This week, I read “Censorship and Book Banning in America” by Melissa Kelly. The main idea of the text was why some books were banned, and whether book banning was a good or bad thing. In the article is says, “More recent books that were challenged according to the American Library Association include the Twilight saga due to its ‘religious viewpoint and violence’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ because it was unsuited to the age group, sexually explicit and too violent.” There’s also a group, just for America, that reads the “questionable books” and decides on whether it’s educational enough to overshadow the reasons for its ban. An elementary school in Hillsborough County, Florida, isn’t buying two books from the Harry Potter series since the topic of “witchcraft” is relevant. The principle was convinced they would receive complaints about the books, so they simply did not purchase it. These details show how books are banned, as well as the individual reasons why.

                   The author wants readers to think that book banning has been taken to a whole new level, and that if this continues, in the future we might completely ban all old books because of the smallest details. They also want us to feel frightened that all the books that this generation and generations before it have grown up with may all be banned for the smallest, and most irrelevant details. The author says, “The question that faces us in the future is 'when do we stop?' Do we remove mythology and Arthurian legends because of its references to magic? Do we strip the shelves of medieval literature because it presupposes the existence of saints? Do we remove Macbeth because of the murders and witches? I think that most would say there is a point where we must stop. But who gets to pick the point?” This technique of ‘flash forwards’ and giving us a glimpse of what we might be in for in the future worked really well for me as a reader, because it helped me side with the author’s opinion. The author wasn’t very bias, but by including a possible negative future, they sway you towards their visions and opinions without you even knowing.

                   From this article, I will take away the “fear” of losing all the books I love because of them being banned. I now know how books are banned, and some of the reasons why certain books are banned. I still think book banning is good and bad. I definitely think certain books should not be read to a young audience, unless the children have been given permission by their parents to read the books. But after a certain age, I’d say middle school and high school, depending on the maturity of the students; books shouldn’t be banned for them. Teachers can thoroughly explain the use of “questionable” words or themes, and they can benefit the students’ understanding of the time period and perspective from which the book was written. I’d like to know if there have been any book bans on a specific grade, and if any students have protested against book bans.

http://712educators.about.com/cs/bannedbooks/a/bookbanning.htm

An Abundance of Katherines Blog Post

An Abundance of Katherines Blog Post

            I’ve been reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, an amazing book about two friends who take a road trip and end up in Gutshot Tennessee. Recently, in the book, Hassan and Colin, the two main characters, have gotten into a fight. Hassan has been hanging out with people his age who live in Gutshot, and is making new friends, and Colin doesn’t like that, because he thinks that Hassan will “dump him” (as a friend) just like every Katherine he’s ever dated has (Colin has only ever dating 19 girls, all named Katherine, who’ve all dumped him.). I’ve been trying to figure out who’s to blame in this situation, but it seems to me as thought both characters have a point.

            Hassan has always been there for Colin. Every time he gets dumped, Hassan is always there to pick up the pieces and make Colin feel better. He’s been a great friend that way, because if it weren’t for him, Colin would only have his parents to cheer him up. Hassan does, however, make jokes about Colin, and tease him whenever he talks about things Hassan doesn’t find interesting. For example, if Colin states a fact that he finds fascinating, and Hassan doesn’t, Hassan will say “Not interesting.” Hassan also calls Colin names, which seem friendly enough, but might not amuse Colin as much. On the other hand, friends tease each other and call each other names, Hassan just seems to do it rather frequently and Colin is pretty sensitive- but that shouldn’t over shadow his faithfulness to always being there for Colin.

            Colin has never found it easy to make friends. Hassan was his first friend, and other than Lindsay, and possibly other Katherines, Hassan is Colin’s only long-term friend. Being dumped seems to be really hard for Colin, and to have that happen repeatedly, 19 times, is probably not the best for his self-esteem. It probably helps to have Hassan try to comfort him, but I can imagine that when you’re really feeling sad, Hassan’s humorous and sometimes demeaning attitude isn’t the best medicine. Colin also talks about how he’s disappointed in himself for not being able to quite reach the high standards his dad’s set for him, and for only being a prodigy, and maybe not a genius. I think when Hassan tells him he’s not interesting it affects him more than it would other people.

            In conclusion, I think both Hassan and Colin have a point. They are certainly opposites, but opposites attract, which I think is what makes them such great friends. I really hope they’ll be able to get over this fight and focus on what’s really important, which is their strong friendship.