Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

In Mike Tyson's book "Undisputed Truth"Tyson speaks about his incredibly tough upbringing. I think there is one main lesson that comes out of this book and that is that even the toughest still have a heart. I think that is the overall main lesson of the book and even though I am not finished, you can tell that all he wanted was to be loved and he would do whatever it took to receive love.
Mike Tyson grew up in Brownsville, and with no real father and a drug addict mother. He committed 38 felonies before he was 13 and he was just involved with gangs and fighting and with all kinds of bad influences around him. In the prologue, he mentions that he was in such a search for love that when he was famous, he would give so much money to charities and people around him thinking that they could love him. Not the image of Mike Tyson you think about when you hear his name. When you hear his name it's one of the strongest, craziest boxers and people to ever live. But this man didn't know what love was and had never experienced it. It seems ironic that a man who punches another until they fall unconscious was in search of love, but that was the only way he could find love. By winning fights, by winning money, and then using money as a way for people to love him.
In conclusion, I think that this book on Tyson not only reveals his inner, more gentle-hearted self, but also shows how even the toughest and baddest of all people, still have a heart. And that heart may be the only thing they've been looking for, and will do anything to find it.

Open by Andre Agassi

In the book "Open" by Andre Agassi, Agassi's relationship with his dad is what Agassi speaks most about. He talks about how much he hates his dad and tennis, yet his dad is the reason he has become the legend he is today. This is contradictory, and the real lesson that comes out of this book, is to pursue what you love.
One way Agassi gets this message across to the reader is by showing his relationship with his dad. His dad forced him to play tennis because he saw the real potential Andre had, but Andre hated tennis. What I find incredibly interesting, is that still to this day, Andre doesn't like tennis. The game that brought him money, fame and glory and that he was at one point the best in the world at, he hates. It shows his character and the independent person he was, but was not allowed to be due to his father's overshadowing and decision to make him pursue a career as a tennis player. Also, you can tell he was unhappy and wanted another life. For example, he rebelled against his school when he was shipped to Bollettieri's academy, he would not listen in school and go against the rules. It shows how unhappy he was. Even if he knew that tennis would be the key to success, he didn't want to go down that road.
All in all, my admiration for Agassi is endless, because as I am still young and play tennis, and know all the frustrations that come with the game, I can't imagine what it would be like to play it everyday, especially when you don't like it. To overcome his hate for tennis, and play because he loves his dad and wants to please his dad is above all the reason he played. And I am still amazed at how one person could hate a game that brought them everything they have.

Social Issues Response: The Help

In the book "The Help" written by Kathryn Stockett, the main social issue, racism, is treated in many different ways based on the point of view of the characters. More specifically, it's not just racism that's the issue, it's the way the characters in the book interact based on what they should believe and what society asks of them, and how they morally feel about the issue.
One way the characters interact based on what society says you should believe in is the relationship between the white owners of the homes, and the cleaning ladies. For example, Aibileen gets along with Ms. Skeeter extremely well because Ms. Skeeter is different then what the stereotypical white lady of the house that is expected from everyone in that time period. What's expected from society is that black people are treated poorly and should be given no attention by the whites. But as Ms. Skeeter treats Aibileen with respect, and talks to her nicely, it shows how much stronger and independent she is then the rest of society during that time period. Even when you see how she talks and interacts at her bridge games with all the other plantation owning white ladies, she's different. She's more independent, she doesn't let society bully her into treating blacks the way the rest of them do. It shows that she's smarter, and has the guts to decide for herself what's right and wrong. It shows heart and awareness and even though she is just 22, she can already distinguish what's right and wrong.
In conclusion, the social issue of racism is treated differently then a stereotypical book written in the South during that time period. The relationship that Aibileen and Ms. Skeeter develop is a beautiful and inspiring relationship that teaches everyone to rebel against society, especially when deep down, you know what society is doing is morally wrong.

Someone Who Inspires Me - Research Project

Someone Who Inspires Me

I’ve been playing tennis with this girl named Brittny for about 2 years now and every time I see her play I’m always amazed. I’m amazed to a point that if I hat to make only one bet for the rest of my life and put my house on it, I’d bet that she will become a professional tennis player. I always love to compete with Brittny, even though she beats me most times, because I know I’ll be able to say “I played with that pro tennis player when I was young.” I watch Brittny every time it’s her turn to go when we’re drilling and amazed at how hard she hits the ball and how clean her swing is. She puts so much effort into each ball and plays it like the last. But I think this inner-drive came from somewhere else. I know that Brittny doesn’t come from a very wealthy family at all, needless to say her father is always present and is one of the greatest people I’ve met. Recently, she got a 95% scholarship to Poly Prep for Tennis and went 11-1 in her Freshman Year to cap off an undefeated season for Poly Prep. I always wonder how such an unprivileged girl coming from an unprivileged neighborhood, plays tennis (which is an expensive game), is so good at it, stays so focused, and can fit right in with upper-class private school kids and take over as Captain in her first year their. It’s because she has a drive. She has a drive that no one else has. I’ve gotten to know Brittny very well as we see each other twice a week and talk. Never has her ego gotten in the way despite all of her recent success. She is a year older than me but treats me no different. When me and her play a close match and she edges me out by one point we just have a nice handshake and she goes off and tells me about something other than tennis. But what I don’t do, is tell her that she will become pro even if it is obvious in everyone’s eyes. Because I want her to get their. And by telling her, it’s un-necessary because it may throw her off. I know she’ll get there one day and hopefully I’ll be able to tell her how she’s inspired me and how even though she started out at the bottom, she’ll make it to the top. I know it. 

Ms. Berner Banned Books Letter

Dear Ms. Berner,                                                                   November 10^th, 2013

            It has come to my attention that you have been debating whether or not take some books out of the 6^th grade library, particularly books that have banned in other libraries across America. You should not ban any books in the 6^th grade library or any library. When incoming 6^th graders enter Middle School, they are one step closer to entering the real world and exploring real-world issues. And by sheltering them and taking out some of literatures’ most fantastic novels is just yielding them away from topics that they could learn about. You should not take any books out of the 6^th grade library. As Bill Moyers says “Censorship is the enemy of truth.”

            One reason you shouldn’t remove any books from the 6^th grade library is because some kids who may be going through a particular hard time may not know how to express themselves and seek help. As Sherman Alexie, author of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” writes, in the article “The Best Books are Written in Blood” would have loved to have a book such as his to help him cope with some of the serious problems he felt and it was a way for him to help him deal with his emotions. He then brings up a good point. He says “Does Ms. Gurdon (the author of an article accusing Alexie of writing inappropriate content in his books) honestly believe that a sexually explicit YA novel might somehow traumatize a teen mother? Does she believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will somehow shock a teenager whose life has been damaged by murder and rape?” This shows that people who are living something are not spontaneously going to be scared or traumatized by the book, it’s just another way of expressing their emotions and knowing that they aren’t the ones going through one particularly hard time in their lives.

            Some people may argue that it is necessary to take some heavy content books out of libraries because they may feel it is too strong for a young adult to handle. First of all, they are books, Young Adult Fiction books are Fiction, so for the most part they are not true stories and some may have an influence from someone who did go through a particular event, but they are mostly fictional stories. The question that should be asked is: why should these stories be taken out of a library just because one or two people may feel uncomfortable whereas there may be someone shy who needs this story as a way for themselves to feel better about a particular problem they may face? In Texas, on channel ABC13, there was a student who attempted to ban the book Fahrenheit 451 because she personally felt uncomfortable with it. And selfishly, her father attempted to get it banned throughout the whole school just because she didn’t feel comfortable with it. That’s what is scary about book banning, it’s people who want to  ban books who then get other people to look deeper at vocabulary that could potentially be something hateful and end up censoring or banning some of literatures most historical stories. As Alexie writes “They are simply trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature is and should be. They are trying to protect privileged children. Or the seemingly privileged.” This is just upper-class people or people with some kind of power that want to shelter kids and not expose them to the real world because they are afraid they won’t be able to handle it. But part of entering 6^th grade is about growing up and coming into a more real-life environment and growing as a student and a person, and this comes with learning about heavy real-world issues. As award-winning author Ellen Hopkins writes in an article about book banning  “they bring young adult readers a middle-aged author's broader perspective. They show outcomes to choices, offer understanding.” This quote is a great example of what books can bring to one’s life. These books do not tell the readers to do what the character is doing, but simply understand the different possibilities the character is facing and which is the best choice in order to overcome that problem.. Chris Eakin, from the Fairview Post, writes “One thing about books and other printed material is that you can pick it up, put it down, open it and close it and where ever you leave it, it stays there, it doesn’t follow you around.” Eakin makes a good point here, if you feel uncomfortable reading something, then stop reading it. This goes along with taking books away from the 6^th grade libraries. If someone feels really uncomfortable reading something, they can just put it down and stop reading it, but taking it away from everyone Is wrong.

            In conclusion, you should not ban any books from the 6^th grade library, and if you really feel that it must not be there you can simply tell the teacher so she can warn the kids before they read it. By leaving it in the libraries you give the opportunity to a kid who may face a similar tough problem in their life, to read it and help them with their emotions. As Alexie said “I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.”

Sincerely,

Felix Levine

Upfront Magazine: The End of America's Car Culture?

In the Upfront Magazine article "The End of America's Car Culture?" it shows how recent studies have shown the decline in usage of cars in the last few decades. It shows that younger people have used less and less cars and instead other forms of transportation such as bikes or buses. It also poses a question of whether or not this could be the end of the cars era in the U.S. because of the decline of how popular they've been used as a mode of transportation.
One debatable question about this article is: Why do people today seem to have less interest driving and owning cars than their parents and grandparents did at the same age? There are many factors into the decline of using cars. The ages in which this decline has hit more powerfully is between 16-19. Back in the 20th century when cars first came out, gas was cheap, cars were a new invention, and it was a great way to interact with other people because you could just drive to their house. Nowadays some teenagers feel that the web is a much simpler and cheaper way of communicating with their friends instead of seeing them in person. For example it says in the article "Instead of driving to meet friends, young people use the Web to feel more connected" this may be one cause to less and less teenagers driving. Another example of what may be the cause to the decline in cars is "the resurgence of cities where shops and activities are within walking or biking distance-and where bike-sharing programs have sprouted in places like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco" this quote shows that bikes are becoming ever-so popular and as cities grow and progress, there are more activities to do in small areas so there is no need to travel long distances in order to get something. These two examples may some of the reasons that cars have become less and less popular in the last few years.
Another debatable point is: In the text, researcher Thilo Koslowski says, "The iPhone is the Ford Mustang of today." What does this mean? This is an analogy to compare the popularity of social media and inventions such as the iPhone to how popular the Ford Mustang first came out. This statement is accurate because it shows the two biggest inventions of both time periods. When Fords first came out, they were extremely popular and driving was extremely popular but over time as new inventions such as the iPhone let you interact with your friends within seconds, driving became less popular because you didn't have to go drive to talk to them.
In conclusion, driving has become less and less popular due in part to smart phones and how easier it's become to interact with people. Will driving be unused anymore? Of course not, but for shorter distances and in big cities, cars are un-neccesary because in the rise of popularity of bikes, bus and trains. Also due to the rise of iPhones and electronics, cars have become less popular, but it will be interesting to see how car's will play a role in the future with daily life.

Syria: Who decides who goes to War?

In the UpFront Magazine article "Going to War: Who Decides?" the author writes about the War in Syria and President Obama's decision to attack Syria. It also speaks about the past decisions that were made about who decides whether or not to go to War. Most of these decisions were based off interpretations of the Declaration of Independence. The author separates this information into 5 questions and gives some extra background information to fully understand the whole picture. There are a few main points in the recent decisions of attacking Syria that are heavily debated.
One question that is debatable is: Why did the Framers of the Constitution split the nation's powers between the executive and legislative branches? Is the system working out the way they envisioned? The Framers of the Constitution divided the powers between the executive and legislative branches to balance out the powers. Also known as the Checks and Balances system, this was used so that not only did the government have to work together, but it gave no one branch too much power. It is working out mostly as they envisioned. To their credit, they could not predict the certain circumstances that the U.S. would be in 250 years after the document was written. They left much of the document to be interpreted by the leaders of the following time period. But they wrote it in such a way that the main came across and they would have to distort the words in some way to make them apply to each particular situation. So yes it is working out as they envisioned, because they could not exactly know what kinds of problems the U.S. would be involved in the future, but wrote it so that it could be applied to it in whatever way it needed.
The second heavily debated question is: By asking congress to authorize an attack on Syria, did President Obama strengthen and unify the nation-or make himself and the nation appear indecisive? With President Obama's decision to ask congress about whether or not to go into Syria, it showed that the U.S. works together as a nation. Even though Obama is commander-in-chief and technically could've just made the decision by himself to go into Syria, he asked Congress because not only is this an extremely hard decision to make, but it's dealing with peoples lives and the future of the U.S. It did not make him look indecisive because this was a very tough decision to make, and it showed he is a real leader who isn't all about using his power, but making sure that it's the right decision for his country.
In conclusion, President Obama's decision to go to Congress and talk about going into Syria unified the country because it showed that Obama is all for making sure that the country is making the right decision and they are working together in the best interest of the U.S. This relates back to the Checks and Balances system, and it shows Obama respects that because he is making sure to incorporate the other branches even in a situation like this when he could just not listen to them all because he of his commander-in-chief position.

Where Things Come Back

In the book "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley, the author addresses social issues by showing the effect it has on the characters. When Cullen's brother goes missing, the author does an incredible writing job by making Cullen show how he feels instead of directly saying how he feels. It makes me able to imply how Cullen may feel and what it might lead to next in the book.
One way shows the issue of his brother missing and the impact it has on Cullen is by showing the lack of energy Cullen starts having. For example one powerful quote that shows this is when he says "and she asks me the same question I've heard for the past few weeks, and I give her the same answer I gave everyone else." This shows how he's starting to sulk and get down about his brother's disparition and the author does a good job of implying that Cullen may be going through some kind of depression that could potentially continue on in the book.
Cullen also handles his issues in a teenager-like way. As most stereotypical people handle a depressing situation such sleeping through it, Cullen is the same way. The author described it as "never getting out of bed". This is a sign that because of Cullen's brother being missing, Cullen has given up hope. He wants to try to put this issue to the side and try not to think about by staying in bed and trying to sleep through it. That is Cullen's way of addressing an issue and confronting it.
In conclusion, the author does a spectacular job on describing how his characters confront and address issues. Cullen has a way of confronting the issue of his missing brother in a way that most people who are handling a very depressing case do. It may not be the most effective, but it's the way that he does it. This leads me to believe that further on in the story, Cullen might deal with some more depression.

Reading Response: Faithful Elephants

In this emotional short story "Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya, the story speaks about three elephants in a Japanese zoo during World War II. The Japanese government had ordered for the animals to be killed in case the zoo were to be bombed and they didn't want to risk these big animals out of the zoo. The author of this short story provides very powerful and generational themes that can be applied to all people of all ages. The most important of these themes is that it is okay to rebel against what the majority of people may think.
One example of these generational themes that can be applied to anyone in any particular situation is that it's okay to rebel against the majority of people if you know that it's right. For example, in this story this theme was applied when the zookeeper was supposed to starve his three elephants and could not resist looking at them dying, and fed them. One example of this in the story is when he feeds his elephants "Eat your food! Please drink. Drink your water! All of the other keepers pretended not to see what the trainer had done. No one said a word." This is a very powerful quote from the text because it shows that the zookeeper not only had the courage to pull this act and feed the elephants, but out of all the zookeepers who wanted to feed the Elephants, he was the only who was brave enough to do it. This can also be known as an act of rebellion even though it isn't against the zookeepers, it's against the Japanese government which is a more powerful group of people.
Another generational theme that can be applied to any generation is to make sure that there is no war. As simple as it may sound and sometimes obvious, still today there are wars all around the world. One example of this theme in this story is "Above them in the bright blue sky, the angry roar of enemy planes returned. Bombs began to drop on Tokyo once more. Still clinging to the elephants, the zookeepers raised their fists to the sky and implored 'Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!" This is an extremely powerful quote because it shows how war not just affects people directly, but it also can affect animals.
In conclusion, this very short story provided many themes that will be held onto for generations. Rebellion and stopping war are lessons that are still trying to be applied today. Wars in Syria and rebellions against dictators in Libya and Egypt over the past few years all started because a group of people didn't agree with the majority, and they knew what they were doing was right. Maybe the way they approached trying to solve their problems could have been modified, but it was the only way to act. People still are trying to constantly stop all wars. And this story is a great example of how one day, maybe we can all be in a world of peace and no war. The author incorporates these themes into a simple short story about three elephants.

Million-Dollar Throw

In the book "Million Dollar Throw" by Mike Lupica, Lupica comes through and provides strong themes to teach the reader. Some of these strong themes include how to handle pressure, and wanting to provide for your family in whatever way you can. It teaches that a kid as young as Nate who is 13, can help his family in the only way he can, with his very good football arm. This may be considered a sports cliché but it doesn't just speak about sports, it relates it back to everyday life.

One way this book teaches a mental lesson and how to handle pressure is when Nate is under pressure to make the million-dollar throw. Since his family is in desperate economic needs, if he were to make this throw, he would solve all the problems to their financial needs. But it teaches a big mental lesson in how to overcome his fear of missing the throw and not bringing back the money. This shows that someone could be very capable of doing something but out of fear of messing up, they do not achieve that goal. It's a big mental fear to overcome but Nate knows it is something he will have to over come.

In conclusion, it shows how mature Nate is because he knows there is pressure on him, but by knowing this, he knows how to deal with it. That shows great maturity for such a young boy who has a lot to weigh down on his shoulders. This book has many themes, but it's most important are overcoming fears and handling pressures.