Thursday, March 8, 2012

Matched Together, In A Dystopian World

    My dystopian novel is Matched by Ally Condie. This book is the perfect example for a dystopian society. The main character, Cassia Reyes, lives in a place called the Society. It may sound great, but its anything but that. In the Society everyone is the same. They live the same way and follow the same rules. The Society comes with many rules and regulations. The ones that are the worst make this a dystopian society. In this place everything you do is chosen for you the moment you are born. These decisions are made by a group of superiors they call The City Officials or just Officials. They chose who you marry, how many kids you have, what you can and can't do in public, what you learn, what your job will be, and most importantly; what age you die at. Nobody is an indivual in the Society. They tell you who to love and what to do your entire life. Nothing about this life is perfect.
    The satire of this novel is the process of marriage. In real life you're suppose to find someone you love and have a real wedding. All of this happens on your own decisions. In the Society, when you are old enough to make the decision you can choose to be single or matched. Then, when you're seventeen and older you're in the process to be matched. Then, when you are matched, a whole bunch of people are matched at the same time. In real life, you get married and have a whole wedding. In the Society multiple people get matched at the same time. The have this ceremony called a Match Banquet. Multiple girls get their matches at these. Also, you are usually married to someone you've known for a long time. Instead, the Officials match you with a person you have never met all the way across the country or even across the world. The minute you are matched with this person, they have decided that this is who you are going to love for the rest of your life.
    An allusion in this book is in the beginning. It says, "White wings, blue sky, gold circles above their heads,..." (Condie 3). She is making a reference to angels. This allusion is a well known reference to the bible. In the bible there were people that could fly, watch over you. She said she once heard of people that could fly. That was before the Society came. She saw a picture of them. This is where her day dreaming came from. Cassia, on her way to her Match Banquet, is day dreaming. She is day dreaming that she learns to fly. Her wings and not like any other, they're made of green silk. Once she starts flying she doesn't know where to go. That doesn't scare her, she is calm about the fact that she is flying. She breaks out of her daydream and realizes how foolish she is. She knows the story isn't true, since a long time ago the Society had demolished any evidence of religion. Now all that citizens hear of it is a myth.
    There are multiple allegories in this story. One of them is the Match Banquet. This basiclly symbolizes a wedding. It's where you agree to love this person forever. Another, is being matched. This symbolizes being committed. When you meet someone you commit to them. When you get married it is a committment for life. Also, another allegory is the Society. The society is like the president of the United States. Except for this presidency is ran like a dictatorship.
    Have you read Matched by Ally Condie? What did you think of it? If you haven't read it, did this blog make you want to?
   

Monday, March 5, 2012

Do All Bullying Situations Have to End the Same?

    In the movie we watched, it was about a boy who stood up for his rights. His name was Jamie Nabozny. He wasn't afraid to admit his sexuality to others. Before the sixth grade, he had told his family that he was homosexual. During his childhood years no one really knew until an incident happened. He had revealed some very personal things to a boy he liked that thought he felt the same way. Soon the whole school had found out and that was the beginning of his terrible life. Everyday he was bullied by a group of boys. They would say and do inappropriate things to him. It wasn't just bullying about his sexuality, they would beat him whenever they saw him and whenever they got the chance.
    Jamie had lived his life in fear. He finally seeked the help of the principal who wasn't much help at all. This was at his middle school, when the principal told him that she would try to help him. That help didn't come soon or later. Jamie's mom made a meeting with the principal and the bullies with their moms. She told Jamie ,"..if he was going to be so openly gay he would have to deal with it". That literally broke my heart to hear that. He thought he could trust her and she would help him and she was saying this to him. It kept happening all through high school. Jamie ran away a few times but that didn't stop him from getting his justice.
    When Jamie won his case, I was really happy for him. No one should ever suffer this type of abuse no matter what. Whether they're gay or straight, or black or white, it doesn't matter. When I hear about kids that commit suicide because of bullying it really breaks my heart. Nothing should be so sad as to where you would end your life. At the beginning of Bullied they showed a picture of a boy. He was only ten or eleven and he had committed suicide for being bullied because he was "gay". Either way he was really young and that should have never happened. Bullying is something we can prevent. Thats why at the end of the movie when Jamie won his case I was so happy. He chose to fight back instead of just giving up. My heart truly goes out to those who are bullied and those who stand up for themselves.
    What's your personal opinion on bullying? Do you see it happen at your school or somewhere around you? If you could, what would you do to stop it?