1st installment of The Hunger Games

The following is a letter that I wrote to Katniss Everdeen shortly after she volunteered to be a tribute in The Hunger Games.
Dear Katniss,
I know that you do not know me, but I feel compelled to write to you. I admire the courage that you have to volunteer for the Games, taking your younger sister's place. I'm sure that you felt obligated to protect your younger sister from the brutality of the Games and possible death. I have two younger sisters myself and so I can relate to your position as an older sibling. You made the best possible decision in a situation that is dark and dismal. As the next few weeks and months come to pass, I encourage you to keep up your courage and remember what an important decision you have made for your sister. No matter what the outcome of the games, your sister will always remember your love and sacrifice for her and will touched by this her entire life. I'm sure you will face much loneliness and confusion about what is happening with you, and much worry about what is happening at home in District 12 with your family and friends. Your willing sacrifice for your sister is an inspiration to me and I'm sure that it is an inspiration to many other people as well, especially other young people. I hope that the outcome for you is favorable so that you can be a living inspiration for all of us in District 12. I will be praying for you.

Your friend,

Will Hoerr

10-20 assignment

I realized shortly after I began reading To Kill a Mockingbird that the title of the book, and hence the story as well, was not literal, because the book is not a hunting story. That observation led me to realize that the title and text of this book was figurative. That sent me on a quest to discover the meaning. I knew that I had to figure out what both "kill" and "mockingbird" meant. By the conclusion of the book, I noted that there were multiple meanings of the words "kill" and "mockingbird". One of the meanings of the title is the death of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a young white girl. A mockingbird, as defined in the book, is someone who does not do anyone any harm and is innocent. Tom Robinson is as innocent as a mockingbird of the crime he was accused of and then is killed. His character is actually "killed" by the false accusations even before his physical death by a gun. Another example of the figurative meaning of the title is the "killing" or death of Scout and Jem's childhood at an early age. Scout and Jem were eight and ten years old, respectively, when the story begins- mere children, yet they had to face adult sized issues of prejudice, hatred, death and lies, just to name a few. The meaning of the killing of the mockingbird in this example is the death of Scout and Jem's childhood innocence, a "harmless" period of life. There are many other examples that I observed, and I am sure that there are many more examples that I did not take note of. I think that the figurative illustrations in the book make the book so meaningful.

midterm project: Magazine Interview

World magazine was able to get an exclusive interview with Clay Jensen from the top selling novel Thirteen Reasons Why. We were able to catch up with Clay in his hometown of Crestmont at Rosie's Diner (which is E-5 on the map). While we splurged on a hot chocolate, in memory of Hannah, Clay was able to give readers never-revealed-before information. Clay Jensen was a junior at Crestmont High School when he received in the mail a shoebox full of cassette tapes with the sad last words of Hannah Baker, his classmate, co-worker and friend. As Clay is listening to the thirteen sides of the seven tapes, he is walking around his hometown, looking at the landmarks that Hannah Baker has highlighted. Clay is initially shocked when he hears Hannah's voice on the tape, and then has a growing sense of dread when his name will be mentioned on the tapes and Hannah addresses her thoughts to him.

WILL: Clay, if Jay Asher would write a book about your life story, would it sell as well as Hannah's story?

CLAY: My story would not be about suicide that is for sure. My life story, up to this point in my life, would be a story about an ordinary guy. It is only through Hannah that any of my life story would be in a book. I don't think I would make the best-seller list.

WILL: Do you think Hannah perceived her circumstances correctly?

CLAY: I think that Hannah made a lot of wrong conclusions about her circumstances. I am not trying to minimize her feelings and thoughts about her daily life, but she was not clear in her thinking. Hannah made a life and death decision about things that were not worthy of taking her own life. Hannah's suicide has made me think about my own life. I want to make sure that I don't have suicidal thoughts about problems in my daily life that really can be resolved. 

WILL: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

 CLAY: Oh, come on, only one word? Let me think, since I can only say one word. I guess I would choose 'trusting', but let me explain what I mean. I have chosen to trust in my faith- trusting in a higher power than myself. My faith has changed my life.

WILL: What one word would others use to describe you?

CLAY: Only one word again? Maybe you should help me out here, Will. I would choose 'courageous'. I only say that word because there have been many people that I have talked to since Hannah's death that have told me that they are amazed with my courage in dealing with Hannah's suicide.  I have actually been quite surprised that people have thought that! People have told me that they admired my courage in facing this tragedy without falling apart and looking for the good in this bad situation.

WILL: If you were given an opportunity to talk to Hannah for two minutes, what would you say?

CLAY: Boy, how many times have I wished for this? Many, many times, Will. I would tell Hannah that she needs to talk to someone and not like what she did with Mr. Porter, where she talked, but did not really say anything about what she was thinking - suicide. I would want her to know that there is hope for her and that God has a plan for her life that is far beyond these high school problems. I wish I could give her a message of hope.

WILL: The author considers this story a suspense, but I did not see the suspense at all. The ending was completely expected. What was your intention when you called out Skye's name at the end?

CLAY: Well, she was my eighth grade crush, you know. But something had happened to her between then and now- acting like an outcast and wearing strange clothes. I realized that I could not have another friend go down the same path- suicide. I could not let her slip through my fingers. If she needed help, or to talk about things, I wanted to make a greater effort- I wanted to be there for her. So when I called out her name at the end of the book, it was to show the reader that I was changed by Hannah's death and was going to see and handle people differently.

WILL: Oh, OK. Now I understand the ending better. I can see the suspense now. What are your thoughts on suicide?

CLAY: Well, Will, I believe that with the right help, it can be prevented. It is the waste of a human life.

WILL: Do you believe in life after death?

CLAY: I had not given this question much thought until after Hannah's death. I definitely believe in life after death.

WILL: What advice do you have for people, especially teens, who are facing circumstances similar to yours in the book?

CLAY: Reach out to people. Be willing to listen to people, even if what they say is disturbing. Don't be judgmental. You never know when you might be instrumental in saving a friend's life from suicide. It really is not as hard to do these things as it might seem to be. Skye and I have had some real heart to heart conversations and she decided that she needed to talk to our school counselor about some things she was struggling with.

WILL: Now that you have experienced this ordeal, do you have any plans for raising awareness about suicide?

CLAY: Thanks, Will, for asking me this so that I may have an opportunity to share what I have been working on. I am working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to have an "Out of the Darkness Walk" in Hannah's memory. The event will take place on October 23 at Eisenhower Park in Crestmont. Additionally, I have worked with Mr. Porter to begin a suicide support group at Crestmont High School. Both of these projects have been healing for the student body as well as the faculty of the school.

WILL: Clay, I want to thank you for taking time to talk with me and give our readers further insight on suicide and the impact that it has on every person's life.

Clay Jensen considers himself to be an ordinary high school aged guy. Ordinary? I think that it is quite evident that he is far from being ordinary. He found himself in the middle of his high school years in a heart-wrenching situation- dealing with a friend's suicide. By the time Clay found out what Hannah was thinking prior to taking her life, it was too late for Clay to intervene for her. It left him with a lot of regret and more questions than answers. He knew that he had let Hannah down. But rather than shut down and lose his hope as well, he has been able to look at this tragedy through the eyes of his faith in God. Clay has learned through this difficult experience to look beyond himself for his purpose in his life. He has learned to trust in his faith and courageously speak out for suicide prevention. What is courage? Isn't it going ahead with something even when it looks impossible? Nothing is impossible with God. Clay has most certainly reached beyond his comfort zone to reach out to hurting people in his community. Clay has been able to take a situation that was tragic beyond words and use it to shed light to other hurting people. He has found that a kind word or gesture can make a huge impact. And then by bringing the services of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to his community, he is making an impact now and for years to come. 

10-6 assignment

The use of language in a novel can add significantly to the understanding of the setting. Harper Lee uses this technique to a great extent and quite creatively in To Kill a Mockingbird. The narrator of the book is Scout, who is ten years old when she is writing this story, so that gives the reader a unique point of view. The story takes place in the South in the 1930's, which is a much different time period than today, and which is reflected in the language of the text. Scout's manner of speaking is more mature (than the manner used now) and quite observant. The use of language that brings the story to life is the dialogue between the characters. The choice of words and the way they are spoken never lets the reader forget for a moment that the setting of the book is in the South (America). There are also words used that are not socially acceptable today. The first four pages of the book are narration by Scout and then, the first dialogue of the book appears and is between Jem, Scout's older brother, and Dill, their six-year old neighbor friend.
"How old are you," asked Jem, "four-and-a-half?"
"Goin' on seven."
"Shoot no wonder, then," said Jem, jerking his thumb at me. "Scout yonder's been readin' ever since she was born, and she ain't even started to school yet. You look right puny for goin' on seven."
Very quickly in the book, the reader is drawn into the setting by this choice of language. If Harper Lee had chosen not to use language specific to the setting, a great impact would have been lost and the book may well have not been so engaging and moving to the reader.

9/29 assignment

The interesting thing about the protagonist of Thirteen Reasons Why is that she is already dead (and this is not an autobiography). The book is actually the long suicide note of Hannah Baker. She decided to tell thirteen people why she committed suicide, but the really sad part of the story is that she is telling them after she has already taken her life. No one can help her anymore. The story is also written from first person omniscient from Clay's perspective. From the information that the reader is able to gather from Clay, he is agonizing about the fact that Hannah did not tell him that she was hurting and contemplating suicide, despite having multiple opportunities to tell him. That fact alone is tearing Clay up inside. Is Hannah worthy of praise of criticism? I am not able to find anything worthy of praise for her. My main criticism is that Hannah did not tell anyone her feelings and suicidal thoughts when someone could have helped her. Maybe Hannah should have added a fourteenth reason telling why she did not tell anyone these reasons before she died. Throughout the book, Clay is asking Hannah questions, which will never be answered, because he REALLY cared about her! She made a life and death decision based on assumptions. Lots and lots of assumptions. She didn't have to open up to all thirteen people, just one. Opening up to one person could have given her the courage to open up to other people. I hope that the author is able to portray that it takes much more courage to deal with our daily problems, big and small, than to take our life and think that the problems are solved.

9-22 assignment

Although the story of To Kill a Mockingbird  is set in the 1930s, the message is still as vibrant today. The message that Harper Lee was telling was that of prejudice, which has been around for thousands of years and no real hope in sight of eradicating it. According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, prejudice means, "to injure or damage by some judgment or action". Does that sound like something that happens in this day and age? Yes, most certainly, which makes this message timeless! The crux of the plot line is based on the racial prejudice that was aimed at Tom Robinson. Tom was accused falsely of a crime, but when he went to trial, he did not stand a chance of being acquitted due to the pre-judgment of the town and the court. Throughout the book, there are other examples of prejudice. One of those examples is the opinion that Scout and Jem, the narrator and her brother, have of their adult neighbor Boo Radley. The children are convinced that Boo is either dead and has been stuffed up his chimney (yikes!), or if he is alive, he could cause great harm to them. The irony of their prejudged ideas about Boo is that Boo is not only alive and well, but he ends up saving their lives and killing their dangerous stalker! The timelessness of the plot is that our society is so steeped in prejudice that we don't even see it. How many times do I prejudge people based on things that don't tell me anything about them? Things such as the color of their skin, the color of their hair or how many tattoos they have. The first step in dealing with prejudice is identifying it in myself.

9-15 assignment

If I was in my local book store, browsing for my next book to read, the title Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher would certainly catch my attention. My first thought would be "Thirteen reasons why...WHAT?" That suspense alone would prod me to open the book and read the front inside jacket. I think that the author purposely left off more information in the title so that people would be intrigued, impelled, and ultimately interested enough by the title to do as I did and read the summary inside the book. The author's choice of the number thirteen is also a technique to try to seize the attention of readers. Although I do not believe in luck, the number thirteen is certainly considered unlucky. The number thirteen in the title gives probability that the outcome of the thirteen reasons is an unfortunate event. The numbers twelve and fourteen would not have the same effect as the number thirteen. As I am now partially into this book, I know clearly that the author is telling the story of a high school aged girl who has committed suicide and she has left behind thirteen reasons (on tapes) why she has committed suicide. Each of the "reasons" is addressed to a certain person from her life so that they can know why she chose suicide for her life and so they can bear the guilt. One last thought on the title is: why did the author choose to leave the word "suicide" out of the title, when that is the underlying core of the book? Having the word "suicide" in the title may cause the reader to focus too heavily on the suicide itself, rather than the real point of the book which is the reasons why she committed suicide.