Banned Books Week 2010: A Response to Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins so titled "Manifesto" is really journey of self discovery into the deep dark world of others minds and others opinions. She begins by talking about a book talk she had given in Columbus, Georgia and when she was done and the room had emptied a young women had come forward a told her story about how Ellen Hopkins first book, Crank, a book about meth addiction saved her from her own downward spiral into addiction and helped her save her life. She then talks about how it hurts her when she is dis-invited from speaking engagements because a small short sighted minority is too afraid to talk to their own children that they stop everyone else from having a chance to read, learn, and grow. Ellen Hopkins the talks about other times she was dis-invited and how when she was dis-invited from the Teen Literature festival 5 of the 7 other authors left in protest. She concludes by saying that one size, one world view does not work for everyone.

I definitely agree with Ellen Hopkins on this one. Both my parents work full time jobs but when ever I need to talk they are there for me. They also let me read just about what ever I want to and I think that reading a wide variety of things has given me a better understanding of the world. Now of course every one is different and has a different set of circumstances. But even if someones parent doesn't want them to read a book that doesn't mean that they can decide for everyone. Censorship and misunderstanding are a real danger; ignoring a problem won't make it go away. The only way to fix a problem is to face it whether it is censorship or substance abuse and knowledge is always a good way to face something. That is why reading is such a important privilege and cannot be decided by the few for the many.      

The Mortal Instruments

How much difference is there really between fantasy and reality? In the series the Mortal Instruments by Clarissa Clare, not as much as you would think. The Shadowhunters are society of magical warriors that keep the world safe from demons. But magic doesn't mean perfect, they have quite a few moral problems. The interesting thing is that the moral problems the Shadowhunters face are similar to a few of the moral problems that plague us today.

One similar problem is homophobia. This is a problem that we are just starting to get over in the U.S. It is a big problem for the Shadowhunters though. Alec, a central character is gay, but he has to hide it from his parents and almost everybody else except his sister. In the end of the third book he comes out and is largely accepted. I think that this is similar to what is happening on a larger scale in the U.S. right now, with gay marriage now legal in many states and gay rights are now federally recognized. However in later books Alec hints that he still has trouble with many Shadowhunters about his sexuality. This reminds me of a time I was web surfing and I went to bored button, a website that sends you to a random URL every time you hit the button. Thus time it sent me to a website called "How Far We Have to Go," it showed stats on homophobia. I think it is a good reminder that we aren't done yet.

Another problem that we share with share the Shadowhunters is racism. In our world it is Stop and Frisk, and the Supreme Court striking down color blind college enrollment and regulations to make voting fair while allowing unfair regulations to sprout up around the country. In the Shadowhunters world it is faeries, vampires, werewolves, and Warlocks who face discrimination and profiling. Collectively they are called Downworlders, they are subject to unfair laws and a lack of representation in the government of the magic world. They can gain respect only through power and fear. This has a mostly happy ending in the books as the Downworlders and Shadowhunters team up to fight of a demon army and then the Downworlders gain representation in the government. However in the real world we have not yet had a breakthrough like this and it seems that we have taken steps backwards. This is a stark reminder that we always have to fight for social change.

What I am really trying to say is that if you look past certain elements fantasy can be a good allegory for the real world. I think that this book is a very good example of this because it deals with big, contemporary issues. I think books like this are also good because they teach tolerance and respect, two characteristics that often seem in short supply nowadays.

City of Ashes

I just finished City of Ashes and I really liked it. It was inventive and exciting keeping just enough from the first book in the series, City of Bones, but also adding brand new things to keep it fresh. The theme of City of Ashes is that sometimes water can thicker then blood. The main characters father separates her from her brother, kills her grandparents and puts her mom into a coma. But the kicker is that he expects to be forgiven and loved even after all of that. Another thing that keeps the main character, Clary, from accepting her father and joining him on his plan to take over the government is that she grew up without him and that her brother is against him as well as a close friend of her mother who acted as a father figure.
All in all, the theme is that the title parent is not taken freely, it has to be earned.