Group Reading Inquiry

 How are people in power represented in Book?

In books like 1984 and V For Vendetta people in power/ government officials are portrayed as nosy and controlling groups or individuals. One of the examples is a book called Fahrenheit 451. In this book the government has banned books and have "Fire Men" whose only task is to burn books. this book was made at a time where book banning was sadly an event that took place pretty often.

Another example of power being represented in books is in the novel I Am J. In the book a transvestite lesbian girl is constantly aided by the officials around her, including shelter employees. This book shows that sometimes in books people of power are portrayed as being helpful and kind.

Both of these represent people of power in different ways. These books show that people in power are not always "evil".

A Social Issue I Noticed While Reading "Speak"

In the book, Speak, by Laurie Halse, there is a girl named Melinda who messes up during the summer and it causes her some trauma. Because of this, she talks very little and is often picked on because of it and her summer mistake. This book focuses on the social issue of picking on others because they don’t act or are a certain way. This is shown a lot in many books but I think it is presented really well here.

            Melinda speaks very rarely to anyone her own age and when she does she’s very quiet and reserved. Because of this, she gets made fun of and ridiculed. Ridicule because of difference is quite a large social issue, but it’s narrowed down in this book to this kind of quirk, speaking rarely, specifically. Melinda’s parents think her silence is her way of getting attention and don’t try to help her.

During the course of the book, the author shows how different people react to Melinda’s mostly silent personality. The overall effect that the author conveys is that people can be cruel and judgmental even without knowing it, towards other people’s differences.