Alternate Perspective

I have been familiar with Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress for a long time. Whenever I visit my grandma's house, the book is sitting on its usual spot on the coffee table. I have seen this repeated image of the red shoes since I was a little girl. I always wondered about the book's plot. Was it a love story? A riveting tale of adventure? Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is much more complex than I could have imagined. 

Before reading this book, I had little knowledge of communism. I had never learned about it in school so I decided to do some research. Everything I read about communism did not appear to be too awful. Some academic websites painted communism to be an "ideal society" in which people work together as a community and no one person (with the exception of Chairman Mao, of course) has power over another. From the perspective of academic sources, communism sounded decent to me, it even sounded like a smart idea but the lack of intimacy in the description did not allow me to truly grasp the horrors of communism. This book offers an entirely new perspective; it features raw emotion, true suffering, and the struggles that we go through as developing teenagers. The book puts "a name to the face" so to speak. It gives those who suffered through re-education a voice. Academic descriptions of re-education do not feature intimate details of the great struggles that these oppressed adolescents persevered through. 

I am so grateful to Sijie for enlightening me on this topic. I think this book exemplifies the importance of first-hand accounts as academic sources can sometimes be almost too neutral and inhumane. Sijie's work and exceptional writing allows me to be immersed in the struggles of the characters. I feel connected to these characters, even though we come from extremely different backgrounds and situations. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is an educating work but it is also an intimate and raw account of re-education.

Room to Improve

English II so far has been successful thus far. I think that I have been successful in several aspects but there is still room for me to improve. Similar to English I, I continue to make an effort to contribute to class discussions, even if my thoughts are not well-articulated. Also, this year I have improved in analyzing text. Last year, when I analyzed text, I usually only looked at the literal meaning. This year, I have looked beyond the literal meaning of the text and I have started to further analyze the deeper meaning. Lastly, I think I have performed well on quizzes because I am almost always prepared for class. With all this said, there is a lot for me to improve upon. This year, I hope to improve my writing skills but specifically my thesis writing skills. Writing theses is something that I struggle with because when writing an essay, I start with one thesis and I tend to stray away from my original thesis which forces me to write an entirely new thesis which better fits my evidence. I am hopeful that I will improve my writing this year! 

Knowledge is Power

When reading over the "banned books" list, I was shocked to discover that The Complete Persepolis was on the list. I read over the allegations made against the book, "Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: 'politically, racially, and socially offensive,' 'graphic depictions.'" I was in shock. I immediately recollected my memories of the book. I asked myself, "What could possibly be inappropriate?" The only minor reason that this book could be deemed inappropriate was the minor drug use that Marjane participated in. However, "drug use" does not appear on the list of reasons deeming this book inappropriate (which makes no sense as the other reasons are irrelevant to the book.) 

Seeing this book on the list reminds me of how important it is to explore controversial topics as adolescents. For example, if a teenager is sheltered and is not exposed to mature topics of the world, how will this individual fare in the real world? Will this individual be appalled at the sex, drugs, and crimes of the world or will this individual embrace the changes? Seeing this book on the list also reminds me of how grateful I am to attend a school which celebrates more controversial topics. I also appreciate how open the teachers are to exploring these topics without judging their students. When discussing typically uncomfortable topics in class, I feel comfortable because I have faith in the open-mindedness of the students and teachers. Reading controversial works reminds me of the lengths I would go to if my freedom of reading was limited. If reading banned literature resulted in serious consequences, I would still read. I believe that knowledge is power. When I read controversial  works, I feel more knowledgeable because I am exposed to new topics that I would not typically discuss in everyday life. Ultimately, I think it is imperative to explore uncomfortable topics because it leads to individual growth.

Can Equality be Harmful?

I never thought I would say that equality is detrimental to our society but after reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," it makes me fear the consequences of complete equality. In theory, complete equality sounds marvelous: all citizens are equal and there isn't gender or social inequality but when there is extreme complete equality like in Vonnegut's story, individuals are no longer able to properly express their free thoughts and opinions. They lose the essential drive for creativity. 

In this day and age, there is an "everyone wins" attitude which is appears to be a good idea in theory. Everyone should be rewarded for their effort, right? For example, what if someone studies really hard for a test and receives a well-deserved perfect score and someone else does not study but also receives a perfect score. Is this fair? Should one have to justify their success by saying, "Oh well everyone got a perfect score on this test?" When this justification is made, the true winner does not feel validated. He or she may feel that all the studying put in was not worth it.

We all strive towards a common goal: success. But when success is achieved and there is not validation, what was the point in trying in the first place? Unfortunately, inequality must exist in order for creativity to blossom. Inequality must exist for true validation.