To Kill or Not to Kill? by Patricia Smith

Capital punishment is a controversial topic. More commonly known as the death penalty, some people favor it, while others oppose it. In the article To Kill or Not to Kill by Patricia Smith, the author talks about the decline in the use of the death penalty in the US. She wants readers to know, despite it being legal in the majority of states, the use of the death penalty isn’t as high as its use in the past.

            Smith uses words like “terribly wrong” and “lethal injection” to express her opinion. She also says “high costs.” Smith says “the high costs of carrying out death sentences has been a factor,” while describing why the use of the death penalty has gone down. I think that both opinions on the death penalty are represented. Smith includes opinions that represent why the death penalty shouldn’t be used and opinions on why it should. For example, the article says, “Other death penalty supporters say that capital punishment serves as a deterrent, stopping would-be killers, since they’d fear the possibility of execution.” It also says people who oppose the death penalty say killing is wrong, no matter the crime.

            I think Smith is trying to get readers to think about the use of the death penalty. In my own opinion, I think the death penalty is wrong and isn’t justice. I think no one should play God, meaning they shouldn’t decide who gets to live or die. I also think that killing the committer of the crime would be much easier than for them to go to jail because there are worse things than death. I think the author leans more to the side that the death penalty shouldn’t be used since she uses words such as “terribly”, “lethal”, and “high costs.”

            After reading this article, my opinion hasn’t changed on whether the death penalty should be used or not. I think New York did the right thing by choosing not to use the death penalty as punishment. I would like to research more cases on botched executions (executions that went wrong) and how they went wrong.

Museum of City of New York: Activist Exhibit

            Goings to the Activist Exhibit made me think about the different ways to protest causes. You can boycott for causes, do something as simple as walk for your cause, you can become more violent, and you can do something comedic. I think for the protest for New York City bike lanes that it was a smart idea to do something comedic. Comedy captures everyone’s attention and people wouldn’t really pay attention to their cause if they didn’t do something comedic. It was a good way to bring attention to the cause.

            The exhibit also made me think of some causes that I didn’t really think were issues. I knew gay rights and gay equality was an issue. I didn’t know that getting more bike lanes and enforcing bike lane laws was an issue. A lot of drivers feel that there should be less bike lanes and that they rule the road. However, there’s also the side of the story for the bikers. There are cars parking in the bike lane which cause bikers to go out into the road. This can cause serious accidents that effect everyone and is a serious issue.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Banning books from schools is a controversial topic. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a book that has been put on the list of books that should be banned. The book is about a boy named Charlie and his journey through high school trying to find himself and dealing with some hidden issues within. One of these issues is being molested. Charlie being molested isn’t the only reference of sexual content in the book. This is why perhaps parents and adults have tried to ban this book from schools. However, I think teenagers, meaning ages 13 and up, should be able to read this book because I think we should be mature enough.

            Charlie being molested is an example of a sexual reference in the book. Sam and Charlie were about to have sex, when something Sam did made Charlie freak out. He soon says “’I can’t do that anymore. I’m sorry,’ I said…But I wasn’t talking to Sam anymore. I was taking to someone else.” Then on page 204, Charlie is dreaming about watching TV with his Aunt Helen. “My brother and my sister and I were watching television with my Aunt Helen… And she was doing what Sam was doing. (End of Dream)… But I kind of figured out that everything I dreamt about my Aunt Helen was true.” Parents and adults might not want children reading this because of the reference of being molested. However, I believe that this scene itself is not graphic. It does not go into descriptive details about what was happening. Therefore, I think teenagers should be able to read this book.

            Another example of a sexual reference is Sam being molested. Sam was asking Charlie if he had ever been kissed and ends up telling him about her first kiss on page 70. “She told me about the first time she was kissed. She told me that it was one of her dad’s friends. She was seven.” Being that the man was her dad’s age, Sam was molested. Parents and adults might not want their children reading this because it does mention and reference possible underage relationships. However, teenagers should be able to read this because it is already implemented into most of our minds that child-adult relationships are wrong and illegal.

            The last example of a sexual reference in the book is a graphic rape scene. Charlie’s brother and sister were throwing a party when a boy named Dave and his girlfriend came into Charlie’s room. One thing led to another and this was what happened, “…but it kept going on, and they kept doing other things and she kept saying ’no.’ Even when I covered my ears I could still hear that.” Dave had just raped his girlfriend. There is a more descriptive part that goes into more detail on the page before. This scene is an example of why adults might not want children reading this. On the other hand, teenagers should be allowed to read this because we should be mature enough. Adults expect a certain type of behavior from us. They expect us to be mature enough to not laugh at certain texts if it’s not for comedic purposes. I think the same type of maturity should be extended in this case as well.

            From reading this text, I have learned that there is content that is not meant for the immature to read. There are adult texts out in bookstores and libraries. On the contrary, teenagers should be allowed to read such texts as well because we are mature enough to read these types of texts. Teachers and parents encourage reading into our lives, and yes, there are texts meant for adults in bookstores and such, but the choice should remain with the student of what he or she wants to read.