Book 3 'First Love', 'Forever' Judy Blume

The book I have read this week is 'Forever' written by Judy Blume.

My first impression of the book was that I would probably found it hard to read because of the fact that the writing style is quite old-fashioned, since it was published in 1975. Luckily this was not the issue and it was an enjoyable book to read.
In class we discussed aspects that go side by side with the theme of this week 'First Love' and one of them was identification. Now the book was so enjoyable to read and I believe this was due to the fact that we 'readers' could identify ourselves with the main characters Katherine and Michael. The young adults that fall in love and share their first intimate moments with each other. We could identify ourselves with the characters because the characters have inner lives. This means that the story would not have been so intense without this aspect; it is the foundation of a good romantic novel because people need to identify themselves with characters that experience the same everyday insecurities that we do. This is also called intense emotional involvement.
These insecurities are mostly shown throughout the character called: Artie. Artie is Michael's friend and he is fighting against the struggles that show up when growing up, such as sexuality. In one chapter it gets so intense but Judy writes in a way that makes it sort of funny as well: "
On Thursday morning, Michael’s birthday, Artie hung himself from the shower curtain rod in his bathroom. Luckily, the rod broke and he fell into the tub, winding up with a concussion and an assortment of cuts and bruises.”  (Blume J, 1975,Forever, page 144)
Individuals that make wrong decisions or may find the world dark and dangerous make a book more realistic. Since tragedies occur in every day life and this book takes that into account as well.
These struggles are present in the whole book, the struggle with sexuality for instance when you experience your 'first time' and finding out who you really are. This book intrigued me mostly because Katherine and Michael grow so closely while they are still young and have to survive the phases that are accompanied to life. Losing one's virginity and the feeling of having a first love is one we all experience so it is most interesting to read about it and find out how Katherine and Michael find their way on their own manner. This is another reason that makes the book very realistic.
I understand why this book was very controversial in the 70's ( for instance because Katherine is on birth control pills) ,which again made it popular but nowadays this book can still draw the readers into the lives of Katherine and Michael to experience all the insecurities about sexuality  that all young adults have to face now or later in their lives. In an interview  held with Judy Blume thirty years after the book is written she admits that at that time it was very controversial. ( Crown, S. (2005), 'Teen Spirit', The Guardian)

One tiny thing that I would like to mention before ending this blog is the fact that the title made its way beautifully into the book. The necklace is typical for young adults to give each other but the 'forever' ithat is carved in it is really something to suggest when you are that age. That makes the ending so vague because Theo sort of spoils this young love (from my point of view at least).
Additional source beside class discussions and notes made during the PP:
Crown, S. (2005), 'Teen Spirit', The Guardian.Word count: 561

 

Book 2 of the 'Imperfect World' by William Golding

This week I have read Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

The philosophy that was present throughout the book and that I found most interesting is that these children get so savaged when they are torn from their natural habitat. At first it seems like a real adventure story but then there comes in a realistic twist that makes it barbaric. The realistic part is that human beings live by rules and laws, but when they fall apart the only quality humans possess is human instinct. The way I interpreted it was that Ralph represented this civilization and that Jack becomes everything but civil.
Another fact that is valuable to this book is that William Golding writes this simple story in such a way that it becomes very interesting to read.
In class we discussed what it is that creates a literary environment for young adolescents? The fact that the boys go through a psychosocial development is in my opinion one of the reasons why this is suitable for young adolescents. Civilization plays a significant role when growing up and therefore this book is precisely the kind of book young adolescents should read. The next quotation shows the mental state of Jack after he has murdered a pig, it shows the first sign of the loss of civilization: 'His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink.' ( Golding W., Lord of the Flies, Chapter 4,1954)  The start of becoming a savage is an important sign that Golding uses to try and make clear that his attempt to savagery is to object against Governmental, parental and other obligations children experience while they're growing up. ( see sources)
Another aspect that I noticed while reading this book was that the term 'Lord of the Flies' is in fact a pigs head (covered in flies) on a wooden stick as an offering to 'the beast' (again from the savage Jack). Although later on it becomes some sort of symbol when Simon sees the Lord of the Flies in his dreams and that it is telling him that evil lies within everybody. How cruel it is that Simon gets killed by the other boys when he wants to tell the other boys that 'the beast' does not exist.
I believe I can identify myself with Piggy, although this may sound strange as Piggy is a chubby boy who gets picked on. Piggy is the one boy that stays rational and is clever enough to understand and tries to fix the situation instead of playing in the lagoon. When 'the hunters' take Piggy's glasses I felt really bad for him since he cannot see anything without them and that makes Ralph's group helpless because now they cannot make fire.
The ending in my eyes was a bit strange since the fire ( that was set by Jack and the hunters to scare Ralph away from the woods) also found the eye of the officer. So it was both a good and a bad ending because Piggy and Simon were both already murdered by the other boys, but the naval officer did find them and the other boys luckily survived this. The only part I liked about the ending was that
Ralph was rescued since he was the (civil) leader from the beginning on.
Wordcount: 523

Appendix: Photograph of the word web we made about 'The Lord of the Flies'
Additional source beside class discussions and  notes made during PP:

Rosenfield, C.(1961) 'Men of a smaller growth, A Psychological analysis of William Golding's Lord of The Flies' , Gale Literary Research Centre.

Book 1 of the 'Classic Texts': Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

This week we get the opportunity to read  'Classic Texts' and I read Peter Pan from J.M. Barrie.

I have read Peter Pan when I was 7 years old and I have seen the movie when I was about 9 years old, so I knew what the story was about but I had forgotten the details that make the story so special.
In class we talked about aspects that make a novel a good novel for children, one of those aspects was that the story should have an intriguing character. Peter Pan is a boy who is very intriguing, he is a bit cocky and careless but about one thing he does care about and that growing up. That is the one thing he fears. After we talked about this in class and having read the book I realized that Peter stands for eternal youth with his island Neverland and the 'Lost Boys' who spend most of their time living adventures. Peter Pan intriguings children because he is against adults ( which most of the children are) and of course because he can fly! Neverland on its own is an imaginary place, individual to each child, that is what makes the Island so special.
One thing I did notice while reading this book is that there are no parents involved in the book, only the parents of Wendy, John and Michael Darling but they were hardly present during the story. The idea of growing up scares Peter, but I think that the overall lesson that can be learned from the book (after having read it almost 10 years later) is that growing up does not mean that you have to lose your energy or excitement.
What interests me the most is that after reading it again it becomes clear that the book has many thoughts and ideas about adults and children's views that are hidden between the lines. One line expresses what Peter's role is throughout the book and that is his answer when Wendy asked him if he wanted to stay and live with them in London as well and that is: “I’m going to stay in Neverland where I never have to grow up.” Peter is stubborn and does not want to lose his youthfulness , I must say I have experienced the same when I was younger. Afraid of what might come when you are an 'adult', so in some sort of way I believe that every child can identify itself with Peter. Except of course for the fact that he can use magic :)
There is one event in the book which I did not understand and that is the fact that the 'Lost Boys' went to live with the Darlings in London. I thought that they were part of Peter Pan, Neverland and his fight against growing up. Of course it was obvious that the 'Lost Boys' needed a mother/home since they had asked Wendy if she wanted to be their mother the first minute of their arrival in Neverland. I was happy of course for this happy ending but I still thought the idea of the 'Lost Boys' staying at Neverland with Peter Pan was a good ending as well, but maybe I believe that now I myself have grown up.

Wordcount: 527
Extra sources besides class discussions, the reader and notes made during the PowerPoint:
Barrie, M. J. (2006) 'Peter Pan In and Out of Time' , Edited by: White,D and Tarr, C. The Scarecrow Press Oxford.

Autobiography ( Why reading is special to me)

When my mother started reading to me, I was about the age of 6. A world full of adventures opened right in front of me. She read Pinkeltje, Puck en de Petteflet and Jip en Janneke to me and my twin sister. While she read Pinkeltje to us, I imagined I was Pinkeltje and that I was the one who experienced all those adventures. You can imagine that my dreams had no boundaries and that I had the wildest dreams after my mother read such stories. Those dreams and the creativity, which I developed during those reading sessions, have become very valuable to me.
Nowadays I love to read, but I must be drawn into the book immediately or otherwise I will put the book away, and never start reading that book again. This is because all children books start,most of the time,with a lot of adventure and so you get drawn in the book right away.
My twinsister and I both pictured ourselves to be Jip en Janneke, when we played together we often had Jip en Janneke at the back of our minds and tried to be the same as them. The bond we have and will always have is so close and I believe that our adventures, while playing together that were based on our reading behaviour,are the foundation of this relationship .
That is why reading is so special to me.