Visible and Necessary: Response to Gurdon

In the article, “Darkness Too Visible,” by Meghan Cox Gurdon, the author argues that “Young Adult” books are too depraved for the audience that they target. She provides examples of YA books corrupting the minds of the collective youth by showing them a world of grotesque exaggerations of life experiences that they have not yet imagined or experienced. Although Gurdon expresses genuine concern for teens and the sensitive content they are taking in, I must disagree with her views that YA literature is too dark for adolescents.

When I was a young teen, I read many YA books; although they did include some graphic violence and suggestive themes, they gave me a better perspective on a world I was beginning to understand. Gordon describes the YA genre as a funhouse, “reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is” (Gurdon 2). Life is not always pretty. Teen minds are definitely not all sunshine and rainbows. Young adult literature provides the opportunity for adolescents to explore fantasy, sci-fi, and real world coming-of-age stories. When children grow up, they will not be faced with anything less grotesque than what is in YA books. Even in the fantasy genre, books help to broaden the minds of the youth, expanding their understanding of the world around them. They help solidify understanding and empathy, allowing teens to enter the minds of others.

Gordon rebuts Sherman Alexie’s point that what teens see on the internet is much worse than what they find in books by stating “that's a failure of the adults around them” (Gurdon 5). If this is true, then parents should read through and investigate every books their child ever picks up. I believe, on the contrary, that parents should encourage to read widely and if there are sensitive topics, discuss with them. This is a much better model than trying to protect teens from the inevitable. If it is true that teens should not have to deal with difficult or grotesque topics, then they were born into the wrong world. Look at the news. It is full of truths that are for more terrifying than could be dreamed up in books. In books, there is a controlled environment in which young adults can safely explore thoughts and ideas in the world around them, preparing them for life and adulthood.

Ruben Review:

As I sat in the audience tonight at Castaneda's presentation/Q&A, I was appalled at the audacity of the student body. I was interested in what he had to say. He discussed the troubles he had writing the book, gave details on how he got bits of information, gave advice to those aspiring to be writers of any kind, and then proceeded to be grilled by a good portion of the student body.

I think that it is right to discuss and question an author's work in the proper context. I do not, however, think that the appropriate time is when the author is speaking in front of a group of thousands of students in front of his friends, colleagues, and subjects. Being accused of being a misogynist putting yourself on a self-righteous pedestal are no light matters. I think it was inappropriate and wrong. It was also wrong for the other students to snap and clap at a pointed question or quip with the intention of cornering a distinguished speaker.

I thought that Mr. Castaneda did a good job responding to all of the remarks and defended himself very well. Although I do not think that he should have had to spend his time on the defensive, I have an updated respect for the man now that I heard him speak about his experience and saw some of the people that he was writing about.

Reading Response:

Alexie Article: I thought that this was an incredibly powerful piece. I remember my dad getting me this book a number of years ago and I never got around to reading it. Now, I want to. I think it is important to allow teens access to as much reading material and knowledge as possible. As Alexie said, teens are living these scenarios. They do not need to be hidden from them. I also think that Native Americans are an extremely underrepresented demographic. It is refreshing to hear the point of view of Native Americans, even (especially) when it points out the contemporary cultural struggles, systematic issues, and daily plight on reservations.

Morris Article: I thought that Morris had some good points about the de-racializing and de-genderizing of the United States. Although I agreed with much of what he said, I wish he would have stopped spoiling shows and movies that I haven't finished yet. I did appreciate his references to Classic Rock.
      It is interesting how quickly the country is speeding towards all of these social barriers and binaries being broken down. It will be interesting to see how everything plus out with the current political climate and in this time where everything must be so politically correct. Will there be a backlash?

Bunn Article: When attending my Christian high school, I had to take a theology course every year. During my junior year, while studying the Old Testament, we were taught to use the "circles of context" in order to better understand the reading. Looking back, I see that we were being taught how to RLW. It is important to know the author, the purpose, the author, and the genre to fully understand the work.
      I also liked how the author of this piece taught that a reader should take into consideration how the author chose to write and to question it. Would I have done anything differently? I have never really thought of reading in this light, and I plan on trying it out to improve my literary comprehension and my own writing ability.

Questions for Ruben Castanedas:

1: Why did you decide to write your memoir at this point in your life?
2. This book covers some pretty sensitive topics. Were you worried about a public or private backlash after writing this book? Did you receive any backlash?
3. How is writing a long form memoir different than writing journalistic articles? Did you have a similar mindset?