Works Cited For Argument Essay ~

Carey, Tanith. "The 'sick-lit' Books Aimed at Children: It's a Disturbing Phenomenon. Tales of Teenage Cancer, Self-harm and Suicide..." Mail Online. Mail Online, 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2256356/The-sick-lit-books-aimed-children-Its-disturbing-phenomenon-Tales-teenage-cancer-self-harm-suicide-.html>.

Hopkins, Ellen. Crank. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004. Print.

Argument Essay Draft #2 ~ Should Crank be Banned in Classroom and School Libraries?

     Reading is something that we are taught to do at a young age. Some of us read everyday, but do we all consider the negative in these books? Books like Crank, by Ellen Hopkins is a book that I've recently finished reading. The content in this book is basically, sex and drug use, but mainly drugs like Crank. The sexual content in this book was disturbing to many readers such as myself and a few of my peers. The main character Kristina doesn't realize what sex and drugs are doing to her. She has transformed into a whole new person, Bree. Bree is her dark and odd side. Maybe her reason for doing things like this is because she is mad at the world and the fact that she doesn't get the attention she wants. Even though some may disagree, Crank should be banned in classroom and school libraries because the content inside the book is very inappropriate for many teens.
In the book, Crank, the main character interest herself in drugs, and sex, which leads to so much more than expected. When going to live with her father for a few weeks for the first time,  she learns from his ways. He comes home high the majority of the time and uses terms like, “Never been laid? Tell the truth little girl,” (Hopkins 24) and says things in reference to considering having sex with his boss to lay him off the hook for not doing his job. “Think I could convince her to try a line? I'd love to get her in bed,” (Hopkins 104), which was disturbing for me to read. What type of dad talks to their daughter about stuff like that? Then soon after, she meets Adam and they do things together. They have sex a few times even when she doesn't want to. She realizes that most of her choices are stupid because the chapter title is, “So of Course I Did A Really Stupid Thing.” (Hopkins 161) She takes the crank from Adam and gets high, and soon after they have sex, which in my point of view seemed a bit forced, and the fact that her monthly friends had came around. No teen at all needs to experience something like that. The more she does things like this, the more it seems okay to do, and it's obviously not, but a reader who is easily influenced would do the same as her
After awhile, the drug use and sex was less frequent, but it came back again when she met two guys back at home with her mom, Brenden and Chase. She was trying to see how many guys she could interest herself in, and how many would have a mutual feeling towards her because of the way she presented herself. At first she was playing them. She was messing around with their minds, but she was a little too fast. She started talking about having sex with Brendan, but in reality she was just messing with his head. He took her seriously, but when they finally got together, she refused and he raped her even though her monthly friend had came around, which made him even more furious. He thought she was lying to get out of it. And then after that, he made her pay $250 worth all the drugs she got from him for free. That shows how addicted she was to it. No teen should ever have to experience being raped and used. Th worst part of it all is that Brendan got her pregnant, but of course has no intention of helping her. It was hard enough to read the book, but even worse to see Kristina suffer even though she put all this stress on herself. 
If you disagree with the fact that this book should be banned, then most likely you're considering the fact that books like Crank can show readers the negative affects of drugs and having sex at a young age and prevent you from advancing themselves in these things. My problem with that is that no student in middle school and elementary school should read about the reaction of drugs and what happens when you have sex at a age like Kristina, even if she is 17. If you're looking for a book to teach a lesson, then you should look for a book that focuses on the negative affects of drugs and not a character who continuously gets into trouble because of drugs, sex, and relationships in general. Kristina already knows her choices are stupid, but she continues to do them anyway. Thats a negative influence, and as stated before, a kid who is easily influenced would most likely make the same choices as Kristina. They may not even realize the wrong in their choices, because they're not focused on that. I myself was disturbed a few times reading different parts of this book to the point where I couldn't even read it. Even an author agrees with me. In an article by Tanith Carey, “Sick Lit,” she states, “Most are liberally peppered with sex and swearing.” That's all you read throughout this book along with drug use. There are a few scenes without these things but they just lead to the same topic consistently. The content in this book just isn't appropriate for kids 13 and under in my opinion. 
In the end, many people get influenced just by what they see on the street. So imagine how many people get influenced from the books they read on a daily basis... So imagine someone close to you telling you that they've developed an interest in alcohol and drugs. Imagine that the reason was because they read it in a book and they thought it was cool. I mean you could talk them out of it, like Chase, Kristina's new boyfriend tried to do with her, but what if that doesn't work? It obviously didn't help Kristina even after she had the baby by Brenden. She said it herself, “ Crank is more than just drug. It's a way of life. You can turn your back. But you can never walk away. The monster will forever speak to me,”(Hopkins 537) on the last page of the book. She's obviously tried and had the intention of quitting, for the sake of her child, but it never really happened. It didn't work for her, so would it work for that person who is close to you? 

Monday Muses ~ In Response To Prompt #1

     You never realize how good you've got it, until you see someone a bit less fortunate than you are. 


     A movie that always leaves me thinking around this time of year is, " A Search For Santa Paws". In this movie, Santa Clause travels to New York and gets hit by a cab, leaving his sleigh in Central Park unattended. Until Willamina believes in Christmas, Santa won't be able to deliver gifts for Christmas because his crystal has been stolen. Quinn and Paws need her help Willamina's help. Quinn and Willamina are orphans who live in a orphanage where the lady who runs it all, doesn't believe in Christmas and decorating, and toys. She burns all the children's toys every year, leaving them with nothing. It's not really the Christmas part that leaves me thinking, but it's the fact that a lot of people take the things they have for granted. For Christmas plenty of kids get pairs of Jordan's, brand name clothing, several electronic items and more. Kids in orphanages and kids who don't have homes don't really get to have these things. When we get things like a new shirt or something, of course we are thankful, but we don't think much of it. When someone homeless and/or less fortunate gets something like that, they're more than thankful. They take care of the things they have. I mean it's bad enough that they don't have families exactly how some of us do. The kids in this movie don't have much to do because don't get to celebrate anything,go anywhere and nor do they get to play with toys and have much fun. 
     So we should be more than thankful, like they are when they get things. There are plenty of families out there who can't afford half the things some of us have. We should all take care of our gifts and possession's,and lastly, we should cherish the stuff we have because if we were to switch roles, we wouldn't enjoy it so much. 
    
     

Should "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins Be Banned In Classroom And School Libraries? (Argument Essay Draft #1)

  Many books that are read on a daily basis include varieties of topics; friendship, moving, bullying, survival, and more. The inquiry book that I recently finished, Crank, by Ellen Hopkins, includes a variety of drugs, alcohol use, and sexual content, which is disturbing to many readers. Many characters in books learn from their mistakes in these books and why they should stop doing what they're doing, but in my opinion, Kristina doesn't learn at all. She doesn't realize what drugs and sex are doing to her, and how she is transforming into a whole new person. Even though some may disagree, Crank should be banned because the content inside the book is inappropriate for many teens.
  In the book, Crank, the main character interest herself in drugs, and sex, which leads to so much more than expected. When going to live with her father she learns from his ways. He comes home high the majority of the time and uses terms like, “Never been laid? Tell the truth little girl” on page 24, and says things in reference to considering having sex with his boss to lay him off the hook. “Think I could convince her to try a line? I'd love to get her in bed,” on page 104, which was disturbing for me to read. What type of dad talks to their daughter about stuff like that? Then soon after, she meets Adam and they do things together. They have sex a few times even when she doesn't want to. On page 161 she realizes that most of her choices are stupid because the chapter title is, “So of Course I Did A Really Stupid Thing.” She takes the crank from Adam and gets high, and soon after they have sex, which in my point of view seemed a bit forced, and no teen at all needs to experience something like that. The more she does things like this, the more it seems okay to do, and it's obviously not, but a reader who is easily influenced would do the same. 
  After awhile, the drug use and intercourse was less frequent, but it came back again when she met two guys back at home with her mom. She was trying to see how many guys she could interest herself in. At first she was playing them. She was messing around with their minds, but she was a little too fast. She started talking about having sex with Brendan, but in reality she was just messing eith his head. He took her seriously, but when they finally got together, she refused and he raped her even though her monthly friend had came around, which made him even more furious. He thought she was lying to get out of it. And then after that, he made her pay $250 worth all the drugs she got from him for free. That shows how addicted she was to it. No teen should ever have to experience being raped and used. Th worst part of it all is that Brendan got her pregnant, but of course has no intention of helping her. It was hard enough to read the book, but even worse to see Kristina suffer even though she put all this stress on herself. 
  If you disagree with the fact that this book should be banned, then most likely you're considering the fact that books like Crank can show readers the negative affects of drugs and having sex at a young age. It can teach you what not to do and why. My problem with that is that no student in middle school and elementary school should read about the reaction of drugs and what happens when you have sex at a age like Kristina. If you're looking for a book to teach a lesson, then you should look for a book that focuses on the negative affects of drugs and not a character who continuously gets into trouble because of drugs, sex, and relationships in general. Kristina already knows her choices are stupid, but she continues to do them anyway. Thats a negative influence, and as stated before, a kid who is easily influenced would most likely do the same,and make the same choices as Kristina. They may not even realize the wrong in their choices, because they're not focused on that. I myself was disturbed a few times reading different parts of this book to the point where I couldn't even read it. In an article by Tanith Carey, she states, "Most are liberally peppered with sex and swearing." That's all you see throughout this entire books. There are a few scenes with arguments without these contents, but right after, it leads to the same things consistently. The content in this book just isn't appropriate for kids 13 and under in my opinion. 
  In the end, many people get influenced just by what they see on the street. So imagine how many people get influenced from the books they read on a daily basis... So imagine someone close to you telling you that they've developed an interest in alcohol and drugs. Imagine that the reason was because they read it in a book and they thought it was cool. I mean you could talk them out of it, like Chase, Kristina's new boyfriend tried to do with her, but what if that doesn't work? It obviously didn't help Kristina even after she had the baby. She said it herself, “ Crank is more than just drug. It's a way of life. You can turn your back. But you can never walk away. The monster will forever speak to me,” on page 537, the last page of the book. She's obviously tried and had the intention of quitting, but it never really happened. It didn't work for her, so will it work for that person who is close to you?