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Hashem_Yaazor
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 10:55 am
Yes, Things Fall Apart is about the missionaries who come to Africa. I actually enjoyed that book, despite my assumption that it would be completely boring.
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Chayalle
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 11:00 am
Hashem_Yaazor wrote: | Yes, Things Fall Apart is about the missionaries who come to Africa. I actually enjoyed that book, despite my assumption that it would be completely boring. |
I did too, but I doubt the OP would find the first few chapters to be appropriate, what with the whole taking someone else's wife once he got richer thingy.
OP, Light in the Forest has no male/female scenes. Plenty of violence in terms of whites struggling against Indians.
As my high school English teacher said "What's wrong with murder? No knees......"
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Sherri
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 11:15 am
Fahrenheit 451 has plenty of language issues.
IIRC there is subtle hint of bedroom stuff, will most likely fly over kids' heads.
Lord of the Flies is also controversial- violence and I think in the back of some paperback editions there is discussion of something being symbolic of s-xual something or other (sorry for being vague, read that edition a long time ago)
I advise you to read the books yourself if you are very sensitive, different parents are sensitive about different issues.
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Hashem_Yaazor
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 11:19 am
Chayalle wrote: | I did too, but I doubt the OP would find the first few chapters to be appropriate, what with the whole taking someone else's wife once he got richer thingy.
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My bad, I really don't remember that!!
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anon for this
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 11:35 am
Sherri wrote: | Fahrenheit 451 has plenty of language issues.
IIRC there is subtle hint of bedroom stuff, will most likely fly over kids' heads.
Lord of the Flies is also controversial- violence and I think in the back of some paperback editions there is discussion of something being symbolic of s-xual something or other (sorry for being vague, read that edition a long time ago)
I advise you to read the books yourself if you are very sensitive, different parents are sensitive about different issues. |
According to commensesensemedia, the language issues consist of "d*mn", "g-dd*mn", and "h*ll"
I don't recall any reference to "bedroom stuff" in the book, though it's possible. Any reference would be rather subtle indeed, given that the book was written in the early 1950's.
The book is rather violent, though.
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syrima
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 1:07 pm
anon for this wrote: | OT but I found this book so irritating. About halfway through I wanted to push both Gene and Phineas off a branch. |
I reread a Separate peace recently and found much more to it than I remembered. I love how the author shows you the jealousy that Gene harbors which is never expressed verbally - boys are not so verbal esp. about feelings and here it leads to tragedy. If only Gene had spoken up and said no let's not jump off a tree/ ditch class etc. I think it speaks to all of us who have been pulled along by extroverted charismatic friends to places we do not want to go. Then the backdrop of war is developed and the school is supposed to be a haven of peace, a separate peace where boys not yet in the army can relax before joining the real world. but it doesn't work that way because the competitiveness of the boys itself leads to violence which makes them grow up.
This is so relevant to all of us mothers - can we really shield our kids in school from the outside world? Or is our task to make them aware of the darkness that resides in their own hearts and to master it. One day each of our kids will be in a position of power - what will their conscience tell them to do then?
I think we should all reread it, I totally did not appreciate it in HS.
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m in Israel
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 1:15 pm
syrima wrote: | I reread a Separate peace recently and found much more to it than I remembered. I love how the author shows you the jealousy that Gene harbors which is never expressed verbally - boys are not so verbal esp. about feelings and here it leads to tragedy. If only Gene had spoken up and said no let's not jump off a tree/ ditch class etc. I think it speaks to all of us who have been pulled along by extroverted charismatic friends to places we do not want to go. Then the backdrop of war is developed and the school is supposed to be a haven of peace, a separate peace where boys not yet in the army can relax before joining the real world. but it doesn't work that way because the competitiveness of the boys itself leads to violence which makes them grow up.
This is so relevant to all of us mothers - can we really shield our kids in school from the outside world? Or is our task to make them aware of the darkness that resides in their own hearts and to master it. One day each of our kids will be in a position of power - what will their conscience tell them to do then?
I think we should all reread it, I totally did not appreciate it in HS. |
I also found A Separate Peace remarkably annoying when we read it in high school. I was a voracious reader and usually finished whatever book we were reading the first night we got it -- and I remember forcing myself to read the required pages each night with this book. Now you are making me consider rereading it. . .
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amother
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 1:36 pm
anon for this wrote: | According to commensesensemedia, the language issues consist of "d*mn", "g-dd*mn", and "h*ll" |
This post reminds me of when I was in 3rd grade and we had to read Johnny Tremain out loud. The teacher said that she called on me because the sentence had either the word d*mn or h*ll and she knew I'd just read it without second guessing if I should or should not and wouldn't laugh. I wonder how many of the other students even realized we said a bad word.
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amother
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 1:39 pm
OP here. Teacher just told me he gave ds a copy of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I will not complain about that one, I just hope ds wont be too mad at me for not lettinghim read the other book, as Dickens is quite heavy going. I read it in high school too...
Thanks again all of you
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anon for this
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 2:00 pm
syrima wrote: | I reread a Separate peace recently and found much more to it than I remembered. I love how the author shows you the jealousy that Gene harbors which is never expressed verbally - boys are not so verbal esp. about feelings and here it leads to tragedy. If only Gene had spoken up and said no let's not jump off a tree/ ditch class etc. I think it speaks to all of us who have been pulled along by extroverted charismatic friends to places we do not want to go. Then the backdrop of war is developed and the school is supposed to be a haven of peace, a separate peace where boys not yet in the army can relax before joining the real world. but it doesn't work that way because the competitiveness of the boys itself leads to violence which makes them grow up.
This is so relevant to all of us mothers - can we really shield our kids in school from the outside world? Or is our task to make them aware of the darkness that resides in their own hearts and to master it. One day each of our kids will be in a position of power - what will their conscience tell them to do then?
I think we should all reread it, I totally did not appreciate it in HS. |
Thank you for offering a different perspective. If anything could convince me to reread that book, your post might be it.
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Sherri
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 2:23 pm
anon for this wrote: | According to commensesensemedia, the language issues consist of "d*mn", "g-dd*mn", and "h*ll"
I don't recall any reference to "bedroom stuff" in the book, though it's possible. Any reference would be rather subtle indeed, given that the book was written in the early 1950's.
The book is rather violent, though. | Yup.
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Chayalle
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 2:34 pm
amother wrote: | OP here. Teacher just told me he gave ds a copy of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I will not complain about that one, I just hope ds wont be too mad at me for not lettinghim read the other book, as Dickens is quite heavy going. I read it in high school too...
Thanks again all of you |
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
boy, that was hard to get thru. I don't think we did it in 9th grade.
BTW, I also had a hard time getting thru A Separate Peace. I should reread it, shouldn't I.
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amother
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 2:36 pm
amother wrote: | This post reminds me of when I was in 3rd grade and we had to read Johnny Tremain out loud. The teacher said that she called on me because the sentence had either the word d*mn or h*ll and she knew I'd just read it without second guessing if I should or should not and wouldn't laugh. I wonder how many of the other students even realized we said a bad word. |
We once read a story that included something about the Niger River. And the kid who was called upon to read got to it, realized that he had no idea how to say it, then proceeded to get it very, very wrong. Our African American teacher corrected him, and the sky did not fall. Although I do remember that moment well.
Literature is rarely vanilla. Its beautiful and its ugly. It includes bad words and violence and z3x and, well, life. I don't know how anyone can expect to give their kids a strong background in literature while avoiding all of those things. But I do wish the OP luck. Me, I loved A Tale of Two Cities.
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imasinger
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Wed, Oct 22 2014, 2:43 pm
I also enjoyed "A Tale of Two Cities."
Another good choice is "Wish You Well", by David Baldacci. Plenty to think about, no scenes that are problematic.
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Raisin
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Thu, Oct 23 2014, 8:19 am
I don't think Dickens is hard. I read them all as a teenager and enjoyed them, even though I find it hard to get through other works.
I wouldn't call it contemporary though.
If it is really hard maybe he can switch for another of Dickens works, there are many that are far easier to read. Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, etc.
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boysrus
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Thu, Oct 23 2014, 8:35 am
I love Biggles! But I have never seen it in the USA, I wonder if any of our American friends have ever read it.
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DrMom
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Thu, Oct 23 2014, 8:36 am
amother wrote: | hi, my son is in 9th grade in a school that is much more modern than we are. The english literature book that the teacher chose for hte class to read has some graphic s-x scenes in it, I complained and they offered 4 my son 2 read a different bok instead and sent him home with a book that is a lot better but still not what I want 4 my sheltered son. The teacher has now asked me to suggest some 'contemporary fiction titles' that would be more appropriate for him asap! My mind is a blank
Can anyoene suggest some titles for me please?TIA |
Granted it was a while ago, but I attended a public high school and don't recall ever being assigned a book with "graphic sx scenes."
What the heck did they assign him???
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DrMom
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Thu, Oct 23 2014, 8:41 am
Not contemporary, but modern classics:
George Orwell's Animal Farm
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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