I am Malala Interview

Although I haven't finished I am Malala, I am enjoying it a lot.  I found this interview with Diane Sawyer from ABC News very intriguing.  It reveals so much about who Malala is as a person.  I think it's astounding how brave she is.  In 2009, the Taliban shut down girl's schools in Swat Valley, Pakistan.  At only 11 years old, Malala wrote to a BBC blog to spread her ideas that girls should be educated.  When the blog ended, she was asked to do a New York Times documentary.  Malala became so well-known for her activism for girl's education that she gained attention from the Taliban and although she knew they may come for her, she refused to stop fighting.  Instead of hiding and staying quiet, she continued to spread her ideas.  She has so much strive and confidence, which I admire a lot.  I think Malala will continue her activism and help fight for positive changes for women.  There are 31 million girls in the world who cannot receive education, and girls like Malala can work towards a change.  

Overview and Final Thoughts

     


      Overall I enjoyed reading the book Mortal Instruments: City of Bones , I thought it was a great book and I plan to read the remaining books in the series. I think the author does very well in evoking emotion in every scene from the reader and writes the book in such a way that a normal teenager can relate to with some of the situations, but can also go into this other fantasy world. The author is effective in causing the reader to feel as they are in the scenes with the detailed descriptions and although some of the language is new, for example words like shadow hunter, rune, steele, and clave; you are able to catch on to the language. I also think the major twist in the end of the book when Jace and Clary are told from Valentine that they are siblings is disheartening for the reader and brings in this awkward tone to the novel because they are in love with each other. However it also gives the reader some hope that it is not true because Valentine could be possibly lying for his own personal motives.
      A quote from the last scene also stands out to me because Clary says how she sees the world now is different and Jace responds by saying the world isn't different that she is. I think this is a great conclusion to the book showing that this other world exists and that Clary discovers it and on the way of her journey her entire life changes.

Seeking Revenge

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/06/revenge.aspx


     An article is linked above that explains revenge and the psychological reasoning behind someone seeking revenge. Revenge often serves as the driving force for ones actions in the plot of a novel. One seeks revenge to recover what they have lost or been hurt by. The one that seeks revenge goes by the principal do unto others as they do unto you. The article explains the characteristics of a person seeking revenge:
"Social psychologist Ian McKee, PhD, of Adelaide University in Australia, studies what makes a person seek revenge rather than just letting an issue go. In May 2008, he published a paper in Social Justice Research (Vol. 138, No. 2) linking vengeful tendencies primarily with two social attitudes: right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance, and the motivational values that underlie those attitudes. People who are more vengeful tend to be those who are motivated by power, by authority and by the desire for status, he says. They don't want to lose face."  

      Revenge plays a major role in the novel because it is the main driving force for the characters. For example, Valentine seeks revenge from other shadow hunters for betraying him and stealing the mortal cup. Valentine fits the description of someone wanting revenge explained in the article because  he is motivated by power. The mortal cup gives him unimaginable power, which leads him to seeking revenge. Another character seeking revenge is Jace because of his father's death. Revenge for his father's death causes Jace to want to go after Valentine and his men. Revenge plays a major role in the plot of the novel.

     

Malala Yousafzai To Obama's Face: Drones Fuel Terrorism

This is part of the conversation that Malala and Obama had on drone warfare.

Malala's pro-west attitude

Once Malala and her family left Pakistan, she began to give interviews to major media sites. When asked who her favorite politicians were she listed; Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Benazir Bhutto and President Barack Obama. Malala explained in the book that she admired Obama's spirit as he came from nothing, built a name for himself and is now the president of the United States. Although Malala's explanation is reasonable and educated, the Taliban took it as an attack on the Pakistani government. A spokesman for the group stated, "Anyone who sides with the government against us will die at our hands" (257). Malala, however, did not retract her statement, instead she has met with Obama and has given him advice on the drone usage in the Middle East. Malala does not apologize for what she believes in and this is one of the many reasons people respect her a believe in her.

Malala's family

In my last few blogs I have been raving about how extraordinary Malala is, although this is true, as I read further in the book I realize that her entire family is equally extraordinary. Malala's father founded the Women's School that Malala attended. He believed that all people deserved to be educated. Moreover, Malala explains that in the Pakistanis culture, if you are the first born is a girl, it is a sign of being unlucky. Malala goes on to say that when she was born, her father not only did not believe this, but he encouraged everyone that came to see the baby to put dried fruit and rice in her crib, which is customarily for boys. The rest of Malala's family has moved to England to help her pursue her dream of bettering the world.     

Malala's love for education

Malala discusses within this book her love for learning and going to school. School became her refuge as the rest of her city was overrun by the Taliban. She explains that she would look forward to school because it was a place of learning and she didn't have to worry about any outside problems. As the Taliban does not support women's education Malala and her friends were forced to hide their school books under their shawls. Although this was very dangerous, she and her friends did not care because they wanted to learn. This is one of the primary reasons that Malala has now devoted her life to supporting women's education. I think that her and her friends eagerness towards learning is remarkable. In the US we take education for granite whereas these girls must work hard for it.

Entangled Love Triangle

        The book City of Bones contains an entangled love triangle that slowly unfolds as the novel continues. For example, Clary and Jace, shown by the yellow arrow, are in love with each other. Clary's best friend Simon is in love with Clary, Jace's shadow hunter friend Alec is in love with Jace, Isabelle likes Simon, and finally the warlock is in love with Alec. This love triangle evokes jealousy among the characters and causes tension that leads to fights and arguments. These entangled love triangles also shows the characters' age by the display of young teenage drama often associated with teenager's relationships. The otherwise dark and serious tone of the book, these love triangles bring a light attitude to the story line and  familiar actions seen with teenagers.

Appearance

        Appearance is  important to ones self and is how the world views us from the outside. The main character Clary in the novel is insecure with her own appearance, often describing herself as short and not beautiful. Clary even says her mother is more beautiful than her. Clary describes Isabelle throughout the book as a very attractive girl with long black hair that all the guys spoon over. Clary is critical about her own appearance, but complements others on their own appearance. She also describes the other character's appearance in much detail and pays a lot of attention to describing their eyes and hair. Clary seems like a shallow character on the surface because of her great attention on appearance, however her attention to appearance depicts a typical teenage girl  

Religion in City of Bones

       Religion is a theme in the book because the plot contains this world of angels and demons. The shadow hunters are half angel half human and they kill demons on earth. The novel also shows the shadow hunters living in churches and cathedral type buildings. Their weapons can also be found in churches, synagogues, or temples under the alter. Although  a specific type of religion is not mentioned in the book, the theme of religion is depicted through the references to Christianity throughout the book. One of the main characters Jace is confronted with his religious beliefs in the novel when Clary asks him if he believes in God while they are in a church. Jace responds by saying he is not sure if he does believe in God because in all his years of killing demons he has never seen an angel. He says that whether you believe in God or not you are on your own in life. This shows how religion plays a role in the shadow hunter world and is depicted in the novel.

Love is to Destroy

               

                     Love is a motif in the novel,  City of Bones as it is the driving force for the relationships depicted in the book. The main character's love for her mother causes her to go on this dangerous and unknown journey to find her. Clary's relationship with Jace leads to love, which causes tension among the characters. In the novel love is problematic and it obstructs the character's mission of being a successful shadow hunter. Love is also depicted as something that leads to disappointment. For example, Clary falls in love with Jace but later finds out that he could possibly be her brother. Although love leads to disappointment, it is inevitable and this is shown in a passage in the book when Jace talks about a falcon his father gave him when he was six years old to train. Jace tamed the falcon and began to love it, but his father broke the neck of the bird because Jace was supposed to train the bird, not teach the falcon to love him. This passage shows love is depicted as an obstruction to obedience and to one's mission. The quote "love is to destroy" by Jace holds true throughout the novel. 

Swat Valley

Swat valley is a administrative district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This is where Malala and her family lived until Malala was shot by a member of the Taliban. In the book, Malala describes the area as tremendously beautiful and compares the peaks of the mountains as Kingdoms of Heaven. She describes this place as her own personal heaven and her favorite place on earth. After doing some research on this area , I realized that it is quite beautiful and full of history as there is a story about Alexander the Great fighting his way through Swat Valley as he crossed the Middle East. The more I read about this area, however, I realized that the people in this area are facing a great deal of oppression. Much like many areas in the Middle East, the Taliban has taken control. Prior to the Taliban's rule, however, Swat Valley had a weak infrastructure and Religious conflict. I find it interesting that although Swat Valley has political and social problems , Malala is still proud of her town. Malala explains that if it were all possible for her to leave England and go back to Swat Valley she would. I think its amazing that even though Malala was shot in this area she still loves her nation.    
 

I am Malala

Like Jenny, I began reading I am Malala, an autobiography by Malala Yousafzai.  She lived in the Swat District of Pakistan, and is an activist for girl's education.  Malala was shot on her bus ride to school at just 15 years old by the Taliban.  She had gained attention for spreading ideas of peace and education for girls, which the Taliban is against.  The book is very inspring.  It makes me incredibly grateful that I live in a country that gives equal education opportunities to girls.  We complain about having to go to school, but we don't realize how lucky we are to have the ability to receive an education.  I'm not saying that school doesn't sometimes bore me and make me stressed out, but I understand that receiving public education is a gift. Malala almost died from being shot in the face just for wanting to learn.  It's horrifying that something like this would happen at this point in time.  Over the years, women have made incredible strides to gain equality, but we clearly still have a lot of work to do.  Malala is 16 years old now, and living in Birmingham, England.  She is truly a symbol of inspiration and bravery.  

The Story of My Life

I've always taken particular interest in Helen Keller, but I haven't had the chance to read about her until this year. Now, I'm reading her book, The Story of My Life.

The book starts from the very beginning of her life. This is a photograph of her when she was a child. Unfortunately, although she was born with all of her senses, she suffered through some type of disease, possibly scarlet fever, that caused her to lose her sight and hearing at nineteen months. I'm finding this book to be absolutely remarkable and sweet at the same time, since it discusses her extreme happiness at discovering the simplest facts of nature. She had a difficult time to connect words with objects, but eventually, she was able to touch water and realize that it was called water, and she could touch her doll and know that it's called "doll." It's quite impressive for me that she managed to learn words fairly quickly simply through touch.

While reading the book, I pay particular attention to how Keller describes everything. Since she was deaf-blind, obviously she never saw or heard anything that happened. This is demonstrated in the book, since when she was outside, she gave wonderful descriptions of the smell of the flowers and trees, and the texture of the different types of flowers. She felt the wind as it blew through the tree she sat in, she smelled the food that her mother cooked in the kitchen, she felt the quiver of the ground as a train passes by, and so on. Keller never failed to impress me with how she managed to be such a delightful child and an intellectual adult later on.

One part that made me feel more sympathetic towards Keller was when she mentioned how children who can see and hear can learn language much more quickly. They hear people speak all the time and can catch idioms. Keller, however, can only learn when people talk directly to her with sign language, so the only time when she learns is when someone who already knows sign language comes to her and speaks to her. Luckily, however, she remembers learning how to speak very quickly before she became deaf-blind, and therefore she was a quick learner of sign language.

Girl, Interrupted: Insane Asylums

http://weirdnj.com/stories/pennhurst-asylum/

I found this article interesting.  It talked about Pennhurst Asylum, a Pennsylvania insane asylum that opened in 1908.  The article describes the horrors that went on at Pennhurst.  By the mid-60s, it housed 2,971 people, most of them children.  The buildings could only comfortably accomodate 900.  Although many of the patients were high-functioning, only 200 were in any kind of art, education, or recreation programs.  Instead of rotting away in the asylum, the residents could have been treated.

Pennhurst is different from McLean Hospital in Girl, Interrupted because it is a state institution.  Mclean, however,a is an expensive private facicility.  Because of this, the conditions were much better than the state hospitals.  Despite the differences between the two, the systems have some similarities.  Like many of the patients at Pennhurst, Susanna and some of the other patients at McLean could have been treated instead of being institutionalized.  Based on Susanna's behavior in the book, I think she would benefit more if she was a part of society.  She could have easily been treated with medicine and therapy outside of the mental hospital.

The Daily Show: Extended Interview: Malala Yousafzai

This interview of Malala on The Daily Show was the first time that I had ever heard her story. I think that is a very good interview because Jon Stewart asks good questions and of course her story is amazing. I enjoyed the way that Jon reacts to a lot of her answers because you can tell he is blown away by her compassion.

Words of Wisdom

This passage in I Am Malala that really moved me:
                    "I'd imagine that on the way home a terrorist might jump out and shoot me on those steps. I
                     I wondered what I would do. Maybe I'd take off my shoes and hit him, but then I'd think if I
                     did that there would be no difference between me and a terrorist. It would be better to plead,
                     'OK, shoot me, but first listen to me. What you are doing is wrong. I'm not against you                                   personally. I just want every girl to go to school'" (71).
Malala is the truest definition standing up for what you think is right through peaceful protest. Even after Malala was shoot by the Taliban she still believes that it is better to try and reason with someone in order to get what you want rather than using violence.  I think that it is amazing that someone can go through being shot and almost dying and still want to reason with the people that did it.

I Am Malala

 
     I am truly inspired by the autobiography, I Am Malala: The Girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. Malala is a 16 year from Swat Valley in Pakistan. Within the last two decade the Taliban has slowly taken control of many areas in the Middle East. In 2007-2008 The Taliban gained total control of Swat Valley and many people had to change their way of life and way of thinking. Malala, however, refused to let them dictate whether women should be educated.
    Malala's father founded the Knushal School for girls around the time she was born and Malala went on the attend. As the Taliban is against women's education, Malala's father was a sure target, however, On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot by a member and almost killed. Malala miraculously recovered and now at the age on 16, she has become a symbol of peaceful protest and has decided to dedicate her life to women's eduaction in areas under Taliban rule. She is the youngest nominee in history for the Nobel Peace Prize.  I am truly inspired by Malala's actions and I look forward to reading more of this book.