Neal Shusterman's Unwind

All But My Life, by Gerda Weissmann Klein, is an absolutely amazing autobiography. Gerda tells about her childhood and how she grows into an adult in many German labor camps. Gerda’s home town has been taken over by the Germans during the holocaust. Her wealthy jewish family is forced to live like slaves until they are separated and moved to different German camps. Gerda tells her story like the reader is there with her. Gerda makes and loses many friends and finds her true love. All but my Life will make you laugh and cry. This book is best for anyone over the age of 11. All But My Life is a terrific page turner.

Equality is such an important thing in our everyday lives. Every person is born to be different. No one is exactly like another human on this planet. Our society thrives off of each person being unique from everyone else, but still being treated equally. In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, we are introduced to this society that has fallen back into the times of the Great Rebirth. In this society we meet Equality 7-2521 who is cursed with being different from his brothers and sisters. The World Council is in control of making of the rules of all of the societies. These rules were created to restrain individuality, to ensure an equal society.

‘Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future.’ -Lauren Oliver.

Everyone has depression, but did you know on October 29, 1929 the whole US went into depression. People lost their jobs, people lost their homes and lot’s of other things. Every bits and piece was super valuable at that time.

Aristotle once said, “The worst form of inequality, is trying to make unequal things equal.” A major example of this concept of inequality displays itself through humans. Although people may seem similar and equal, each personality and talent differs from one another. Now one might wonder what it would be like if every single person were truly equal. This theme is developed in the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, and also in the film 2081 directed by Chandler Tuttle. Tuttle’s film is based off of Vonnegut’s short story, however, through the portrayal of individualism, humanity, and a corrupt government, 2081 depicts a more realistic society than the short story “Harrison Bergeron.”

A convict and a grandmother are more alike than the common one may think. In Flannery O’Conner’s story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, demonstrates a similarity between the Misfit and the grandmother showing that good and evil are not the same in all individuals. O’Conner uses these certain characters to show the difference between good and bad, but in the end both the grandmother and the Misfit show a change in character. Flannery O’Conner’s catholic background has influenced all

The people of the United States fight and strive for an absolute “equal” society, but is it what’s really wanted? “Harrison Bergeron,” a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut, uses satire to describe the deficiency in our idea of a truly “equal” society. Throughout the story, Vonnegut describes the torture and discomfort the government administers among the people, and though they were “equal,” they were not balanced. Vonnegut uses characterization and word choice to warn his readers of the potential drawbacks of a truly “equal” society. He warns normalcy would become the base of thought, and people would become incapable of emotion.

“For Life?” the question that just kept replaying in Lionel Tate’s head over and over again. He never thought he would be sitting in a courtroom at the age of thirteen. Tate had just been sentenced to life without parole. He did not really know what to think as he was charged with murdering a six year old. Tate was only twelve at the time of the murder and was now thirteen. The rest of his life, his future, will be in the same place each and every day. No change what so ever. He would not be able to live his childhood dream. Nothing. To some this is what he deserved. They might believe that Tate should suffer the penalty of his actions. This is how they feel towards thousands of adolescents that are getting charged with life without

In the Novel Fahrenheit 451, one way that the government controls their society is by outlawing owning and reading any type of literature. There are a couple reasons why the government does this. One reason they ban books is because they want everyone to be equal, so everyone is more comfortable with the way they are. There are no more labels, such as “Genius” or “Stupid” or “better”. As Beatty states in the book “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.” Captain Beatty compares a book to a “loaded gun”, the government sees books as a weapon because books contain ideas and knowledge, they inform and lead to a comprehension of life, a comprehension which can be a huge threat to the control the government has on society. It’s much easier to control a society that’s dumb and ignorant. With the ideas and knowledge people get from books, they would be able to see what the government is truly doing to the world around them. Books promote individuality and go against conformity. The people who

To This Day is a Poem/short story by Shane Koyczan. It is about bullying and the lifelong effects it has on people. Shane tells the story of many people and how they reacted, and responded to being bullied. Within the text we see the effects of being bullied and this theme was shown as a spoken word poem. It is amazing the way he captures the different emotions and it really makes you reflect on life and how valuable other people are.

In our society, crimes are being committed not only by adults but by juveniles as well. By law as soon as a person turns 18 they are considered to be an adult. So what if an adult and a juvenile were to commit the same crime yet were sentenced differently simply based on the fact that one is a child and one is an adult? Juveniles are committing violent crimes just as adults and should be given the equal treatment and sentencing as adults receive. Juveniles aren’t completely ignorant as everyone seems to think. In fact they are quite clever. If juveniles are capable of committing heinous crimes who knows what else they are capable of. Yet not all crimes juveniles execute aren’t evil crimes and should not be treated in such a harsh way. Juveniles should be tried as

In the Novel “Homecoming” a family of children, the Tillermans, are having a rough time finding a place they can call home. There is many definitions for the word home, but to the Tillermans a home is place where they can not be separated. The children have been through and have thought about four homes, Cousin Eunice, foster care, Will and Claire, and their grandmother’s home. They chose to stay with their grandmother, but the children could have went to any of the other three homes. Each home offers something in both a positive and negative way, and the Tillermans prefer one home of the others.

In 1975, Michael Shaara wrote one of the most classic Civil War books ever, The Killer Angels. In The Killer Angels, Shaara portrays the perspectives of many soldiers who fought in the Civil War including those from both sides, the North and the South. Civil War soldiers fought for something more than just manhood, duty, government, and their country. They fought for and against slavery, which for most soldiers was their primary motivation beyond defending their home. Slavery for many was more than just an institution, it was the fabric of their economic society that provided the wealth and opportunity to the South. Without slavery the South could not operate and prosper which made it impossible for the notion of emancipation. However, those in the North did not immediately rely on the institution of slavery in such dire manner. For Northerners, empathy was easier to practice. As the notion of emancipation became more widely discussed by politicians during the abolitionist movement tensions between the North and the South rose. The idea that the nation could eradicate the lifeblood of the southern plantations was deemed unacceptable and the southern states felt helpless. The South fought for state’s rights which is synonymous with slavery as that was the most important right they were fighting for, and the North fought to keep the South from seceding, largely due to South’s interest in maintaining slavery as

We all know the outcome of the Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in 1865, meaning the North defeated the South and won the treacherous war over slavery. In Michael Shaara's historical fiction novel The Killer Angels, the reader follows the disastrous three day course of the Battle Of Gettysburg; the battle of which many historians believe was the downfall for the Confederate Army and the turning point of the war. In addition to the recent loss of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, the absence of Jeb Stuart and his leaving the entire Rebel army blind, and General Lee's heart condition, the biggest factor for the loss at Gettysburg was Lee's order to make a frontal assault

Connor has always been one to hide in dangerous places. His favorite spot to get away is behind an exit sign on a freeway overpass because for Connor, life on the edge is home. He constantly searches for ways to find an adrenaline rush, such as getting into fights with everyone he can. Never one to get good grades, or make his parent proud, he tests their limits by constantly pushing their buttons and causing them as much stress as he can. Upon finding out that he was to be unwound, he made it his goal to make them feel as guilty as possible about making this irreversible decision. He strived to get good grades, and even went as far as bringing his mother flowers, knowing full well it would make this process a living hell for them. Connor completely disregards authority and disrespects the people in charge of his life, even though he understands that this could ultimately be his