About Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto

         After reading Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto by Ellan Hopkins I learned somethings about her life, her books and how they were related.  I learned that one of the reasons that she writes all of these dark books with a lot of drugs is because he daughter is addicted to methamphetamine.  She wrote one book, Crank, and she started getting fan mail from drug addicts about how this book changed their lives and got them off of drugs.  Since she was changing so many peoples lives she started making more books about these topics and she was changing even more peoples lives.  This article was about how this process happened and that her books shouldn't be banned from school libraries because they can teach people things and change peoples lives.

Mockingjay

 

         In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest says, “Life was like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get.”  This quote reminded me of Katniss in the book Mockingjay because who would guess Katniss would have a life like that.  Katniss is a tribute in the Hunger Games. The Capitol hates Katniss and is trying to capture her so a war starts.  Katniss is faithful, and trusts her friend that is she saves them, they will help her because she knows that her friends will help her out one day.

          For example in one part Katniss saves her friends from being tortured in a cell by the government and they are very thankful.  After that all of the friends that she saved help her fight in the war against the Capitol when she needs help.  In Mockingjay the book says,“ The stink of unwashed bodies, stale urine, and infection breaks through the cloud of antiseptic. The three figures are only just recognizable by their most striking fashion choices: Venia’s gold facial tattoos. Flavius’s orange corkscrew curls. Octavia’s light evergreen skin, which now hangs too loosely, as if her body were a slowly deflating balloon,” then it says,“ ‘Unchain them.’  The guard shakes his head. ‘It’s not authorized.’  ‘Unchain them! Now!’ I yell.” And after all of that the “guard leaves to make a call. He returns with a set of keys.” And that shows how Katniss saves her friends from being tortured.

          This is important because your friends are your friends and you should always help them out because in the end they have your back too.  In other words you should always help out your friends because they will help you too.

                  

                                           -Daniel Lentini