The Value of Family (Life As We Knew It)

Life As We Knew It is the story of 16 year old Miranda, who must learn to survive in a post-meteor-hitting-the-moon world. She must learn to survive with food shortages and drastic climate fiascoes. But most importantly, she must learn the importance of family.

At the start of the book, Miranda's family is presented like any other. Her mom helps her with her homework and gets mad when she gets an 80 in history. She likes her younger brother but does not pay him any special attention. Nothing is out of the ordinary with them. But as the book progresses, the reader can see some hints at a greater message. In their world, each family must learn that they can only look out for themselves when it comes to food. Miranda disobeys this ground rule directly. Her mother is furious. The reader still sides with Miranda, seeing as all she was trying to do was help. I believe that though Miranda's mom is going a bit over board, the author in some ways agrees with her. They can only look out for each other. What other reason would the author have for staging a huge fight between Miranda and her mom?

The best moments in the book are when their family is all together and happy. When things start to get really rough with food, the mom pulls out some old board games and they all begin to play poker together. They are all so happy that this is one of the most elating moments of the book. Miranda even says that what she never would have considered a fun night before had now become the highlight of her month. On Christmas they all work really hard to get each other heartfelt gifts. Miranda finds her mom a box of chocolates, and she gets her brothers baseball cards and colored pencils. In return she gets a journal to write in. This is also one of the high points of the book.They are all so touched by their gifts. Miranda compares this night to a Christmas around the time of  her parents divorce. She says that her parents felt so badly that they let the kids get basically anything they wanted. She used to consider that an amazing Christmas.

I believe that through this story, the author is making a comment about how family is these days. We can barely stand to be around each other, and we don't appreciate each other the way we should. Miranda learns the importance of her family so clearly in the hard, hungry months that they struggle through together. And she loves them so much more because of it. It really makes me think about how much my family means to me, and how it would feel if I lost mine, like Miranda almost does countless times.

Surviving (Mockingjay SPOILERS)

In Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, Katniss must make a decision between which guy she would like to be with. This is not exactly her highest priority, because of the war, but nonetheless, the reader knows  that she is going to end up with one of the two guys in the end. There is Gale, who she's known for a long time and is her best friend, and then there is Peeta, who she got stuck in the Hunger Games with and they bonded. When discussing which of them Peeta and Gale believe she is going to choose, Gale says,"Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without."

I thought this was an interesting way to put that. Katniss herself is shocked at how selfish that makes her sound when she overhears them talking. I actually believe it fits her character perfectly. All throughout the series, that is what she has had to do; survive. She interprets what Gale is saying as saying that she will pick whoever can offer her more or extend her life. In a way this is what he means. But not in a bad way. Katniss has gone through so much. First her dad died, then she got thrown in the Hunger Games and had to fight to stay alive. Then her little sister, the person she cared about more than anyone else in the world, also died. She still made it through all of that. So maybe when saying that there is some one that she cannot survive without, that really does mean a lot.

Katniss comes to the same sort of realization in the end of the book, when she states that she will pick the peace that Peeta offers. That is what she cannot live without. It's not about how she will literally survive. She can do that very well by herself. It is about what will really keep her going and make her want to survive. So in the end, what Gale said could not have been truer.

In a way, this can apply to everyone's life. There are always those things that we do not believe we would be able to survive with out. Maybe it's family or friends. Without these things, we could not survive. If Katniss lost Peeta, she would not have the peace or promise of life that she needs to survive. And those are things we all need.

Possible Interpretations of (The Lorax)

In many books, the theme is hidden, and it can be interesting to work out what it is. However, with The Lorax, it is the complete opposite. This book is about a natural paradise that slowly gets destroyed by the oblivious Once-ler who starts up a detrimental business. In the end, it is left up to a young boy to bring back the paradise that once was. I have always wondered about this theme. It is so obviously pointed at polluting companies in our world, and so obviously reprimanding them. But what about the story line makes it seem so black and white? These companies must be stopped. What makes a person want to single handedly bring back the nature in our world?

For me, this book was an inspiration. I've loved it since the third grade, when I was struck by its flat out honesty. Some of the things that really resonated with me were the incredible paradise Dr. Seuss shows. Then there is the barren wasteland it gets turned into. There is also the way the story is told from the destroyers point of view, and how deeply he regrets his decisions. What I think is extremely effective is the way the reader can relate with the Once-ler. Though we are inevitably going to end up being the little boy that gets handed the seed that could save the world, he's not our protagonist. We get pulled into the world with the paradise, and watch the Once-ler make all of his mistakes. In a way, the Once-ler also represents every single person who isn't doing something to stop the destruction of nature. He is us if we don't start to change. So this book with a straight out message does have a deeper meaning... Maybe the reason it affected me so strongly was because of the realization that though I am not trying to do bad things, like the Once-ler, I am hurting the environment. It is slipping away from all of us.

Another character in the book is the Lorax, the book's namesake. He is the one who warns the Once-ler to stop his business. Something that has always bothered me, is that if the Lorax saw what was happening with the environment and was obviously upset by it, why didn't he stop him. The easy answer would be that he wasn't strong enough, or didn't know how to, but I don't think that's it. One possible interpretation is in league with the idea that the Once-ler represents our factories and businesses. The Lorax could be our society warning to stop, and the Once-ler bad polluters not listening. That could be the reason the Lorax is seemingly flaky at times. Because our society's passion on the subject wavers. My other idea is that the Once-ler and the Lorax represent the greed and the conscience with in every single person. When we litter or drive our cars, we know what is happening, as the Lorax does, but the side of us that wants to do whatever the harmful thing might be, can argue and win over the other side of ourselves. As the Once-ler says: "Business is business and business must grow." Our conscience can't put up much of a fight once the argument is won. But as the Lorax does, it still resurfaces from time to time.