Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

By Lewis Carroll

Summary:

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, more commonly known by the Disney title Alice in Wonderland, is a book of fantasy and the minds imagination. The book takes us on the fanciful travels of a girl named Alice as she follows the proverbial white rabbit down a hole and into a whole new world. In this new strange land Alice experiences and meets a variety of odd characters including talking flowers, Humpty Dumpty, various live chess pieces, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The main purpose of the story is to thoroughly confuse the reader into trying to make sense of the nonsense. The book is a satire on man’s attempts to understand what is truly meant to be gobbledygook. For example Carroll satirizes the “white man” when he has Humpty Dumpty attempt to interpret The Jabberwocke – a nonsensical poem full of made up words.
The story begins when Alice is playing with her kitten and suddenly beings to realize that the chess pieces on the chess board are moving around and talking like human people. As she leans into further explore she finds that they are growing to her own size and she encounters a new land that she has never known. In the beginning she encounters a group of talking flowers – who find the petals of her petticoat fascinating but plain – and introduce her to the Red Queen. It is here where she finds her true purpose in this strange land. Alice wishes to become a Queen and the Red Queen then informs her that she can be a queen too, all she must do is follow a set of directions to cover certain “squares” (here is a reference to the chess board that has inevitably turned into this fanciful world) and she will become a queen. Alice sets out to follow these instructions along the way and through her adventures meets a rather peculiar crew of characters. She meets with a white knight who makes lots of inventions which make no sense and hears a tragic tale of a Walrus, Carpenter and some baby oysters from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. In addition she meets a rather pompous Humpty Dumpty and a very sad frightened White Queen.
In the end Alice finally manages to make it to the 8th square and finds herself crowned a Queen. However things take a turn for the worst as she is seated at a massive banquet in her honor between the two Queens – white and red – who make the dinner increasingly difficult and confusing. She begins to get flustered and just as everything seems to get out of control she is awoken by her kitten – Her Majesty – meowing and patting her face. She then finds herself dreadfully silly and thinks that it is all a dream but then as she looks at the chess board she begins to doubt that it was a dream. Here Carroll blurs the lines between imagination and reality by having the main character doubt the reality of her situation.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

The Book Through the Looking Glass has been criticized and critiqued throughout the ages despite its widespread popularity among children and adults. There are three main arguments circulating about the flaws of the book. One major problem that many libraries and esteemed authors had with the novel is that it is “too strange and full of nonsense.” Even famous fantasy writers such as Terry Pratchett and L Frank Baum both have openly stated that they disliked the book. Baum says that his books were “fantasy with purpose” while Alice stories were just nonsense.
The second major criticism that was responsible for widespread challenges and several bannings across the United States is the association with drug highs. In society Alice in Wonderland has been associated with acid and LSD trips. In fact artwork from the book (and in more recent years the Disney cartoon production) have been printed on the acid papers. Because of this association many schools have construed the book as having drug references and a promotion of using the drug by showing a somewhat “pleasurable” experience as the outcome. For specific examples, in a small town in New Hampshire it was challenged in 1980 for references to drug trips, and they said that it was inappropriate because it was suggestive to students to experiment. In a similar case in the early 1900s it was suspended from the classroom use at Woodsville High School in Haverhill, NH because it contains “expletives, references to masturbation and sexual fantasies, and derogatory characterizations of teachers and of religious ceremonies.”
The final major criticism came from an international source. In 1931 Through the Looking Glass was banned by the Chinese governor of Hunan Province. The reasoning behind the banning was that “Animals should not use human language and that is was disastrous to put animals and humans on the same level.”
Personally after reading the text I could see some potential beliefs for the drug references especially when it comes to the Knight that Alice encounters walking through the woods. The Knight is clearly unstable and his nonsensical talk far outstrips some of what is read up to that point in the story and could definitely be interpreted as his being on a drug trip. However, in my opinion, in our present day society it has become so common to refer to anyone acting in a strange manner as “being on drugs” that I hardly think that unless a small children’s book is explaining the art of rolling a joint that it will make that much of an influence on whether the child experiments as an adolescent. And in reference to the China Ban, I think it is completely preposterous to say that animals can’t be portrayed with humanistic characteristics because if that is the case then they must have a universal ban on all Disney movies.

Read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on Google Books

Read Through the Looking-Glass on Google Books

 

 

The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

Summary:

Robert Langdon is a professor of symbology at Harvard University in Paris on business when he is awoken in the middle of the night by the French Police. Jacques Sauniere, the curator of the Lourve, has been murdered, and a mysterious cipher has been found near his body. While with the police, Langdon meets Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist with the French Police, who informs Langdon that he is actually a suspect in Sauniere’s murder, and Neveu helps Langdon escape through a bathroom window. Neveu helps Langdon escape because she believes that he is innocent, and has a personal interest in finding the real killer because Sauniere was actually Neveu’s estranged grandfather. Together Neveu and Langdon discover that Sauniere was a member of a secret society, the Priory of Sion. The Da Vinci Code follows Neveu and Langdon in a race through Paris, discovering century-old secrets while uncovering secret messages hidden in Da Vinci’s artwork.

Review:

I found The Da Vinci Code to be a very fast paced and interesting novel. The prologue starts off with Sauniere being murdered in the Lourve, and as he dies, trying to find a way to leave behind a secret message. The prologue sets the pace of the entire novel and immediately leaves the reader wondering what is happening. As one continues reading, Brown answers the question by following Langdon in his adventure to discover the truth behind Sauniere’s secret life. In The Da Vinci Code, Brown brings up various conspiracy theories about Leonardo Da Vinci’s artwork and the life of Jesus Christ. I found these theories interesting, for example, the theory that the figure to the left of Jesus Christ in Da Vinci’s “The Last Summer” is actually Mary Magdalene. While the theories in The Da Vinci Code are interesting, one must remember that they are only theories and not proven fact. In addition, The Da Vinci Code follows Brown’s standard plot formula: a murder in the prologue, a main character with an attractive ally, and a villain that was previously thought to be a friend. While The Da Vinci Code is no great work of literature, it still manages to be captivating and interesting to read.

Why is this book “dangerous?”

The Da Vinci Code is a controversial novel because many readers believe it is an anti-Christianity novel and that the message it conveys is that Christianity is a hoax. The novel makes the claim that Jesus Christ married and fathered a child with Mary Magdalene, and that the Catholic Church has been covering it up, while Sauniere’s secret society protects the members of Jesus Christ’s family. Some argue that The Da Vinci Code can be potentially dangerous if the readers forget that it is fiction, and begin to believe the claims in the book.  In the book, a character says that he knows a secret that would “devastate the foundations of Christianity”. The Da Vinci Code is seen as dangerous because readers may start to believe the claims made in the book as truth.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

By Hunter S. Thompson

Summary:

Journalist Raoul Duke and attorney Dr. Gonzo travel to Las Vegas in 1971 to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race for a sporting magazine and decide to make it more of a vacation. “We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, laughers, screamers and some other goods”. They walk around the city of Las Vegas extremely buzzed on many different types of drugs. They have many different encounters with the city and different people around them. As the duo prepare to flee the city, Duke gets another assignment to cover a Narcotics Convention organized by the National Association of District Attorneys and the two simply book a new hotel room across town and begin the process anew. Eventually, they begin to mistrust each other, and the two leave Las Vegas separately.

Review:

When I read this book, I found the book extremely hilarious because the entire book is describing an insane drug frenzied journey of two men in the craziest city in the world. The book started with a bang when it drops you down directly into one of the drug induced hallucinations of Duke, which kept me glued in from the start. However, once the book goes on and you start to understand what Thompson is trying to say it soon becomes apparent that nobody really knows what Thompson could be trying to convey. Many people have tried to say that it is a political satire on the period but I do not know much about that periods politics so I could not really notice that. Nevertheless, I did happen to notice another thing that I believe Hunter S. Thompson was trying to say as well. I believe he was actually talking about his inner demons, and how they relate to the United States. He keeps trying to say that he used to have high ideals and morals until all of a sudden he started to crash and not care anymore. I believe that when you look at the American people in the time period this is when they made the switch from being very polite and conservative to being sort of the hippy liberal types that were around in that time period.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

When the novel was published in the Rolling Stone magazine, in the summer of 1972, many critics did not appreciate the novel’s lack of a cohesive plot and the excessive drug use of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. However, those reviewers understood that, while the novel lacked a plot, Thompson had written a work that was going to become a very important part of American literature. The major concern of people who did not like the book was just two things. The first is that the book has an intense amount of drug use and a lot of bad language as well, which never is received extremely well. The other concern is that this book is an example of Gonzo journalism, which is when the reporter or writer throws himself into that story or environment and just tells an autobiography about it. The major critics and reviewers of his time did not appreciate this type of reporting. Thus, they did not give it very good reviews until the seventies when people opened up their minds a little bit.

Unhooked

Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both

By Laura Sessions Stepp

Summary:

Laura Sessions Stepp is a journalist for the Washington Post who specializes in issues with children and families, more specifically teenagers and sexuality. Stepp is a frequent public speaker around the country. Outside of writing, Stepp served on a panel for the U.S. Surgeon General focusing on adolescence. Unhooked is the second of two books she has written.

The book discusses Stepp’s two-year study of nine ambitious high school and college students, aged 15 to 21. Through meetings, lunches, and emails, Stepp follows these young women as they explore high school and college. What she found was a dangerous new culture unlike the one she had experienced in high school and college- one based around hooking up. Stepp argues that the term “hooking up” is “deliberately undefined by this generation so that when you tell a friend you hooked up with someone, you’re not really telling them anything at all.” (Stepp, 1) When exploring the student’s backgrounds, Stepp finds enlightening information. Many of the women who are involved in the hooking up scene have parents (more specifically mothers) who encourage their daughters to be perfect in school and to not waste time developing relationships with boys. These students were raised to have careers, not become housewives. While several of the parents in the book prefer that their daughters get involved in hooking up rather than developing dependent relationships and see it as the lesser of two evils, Stepp disagrees. She believes the hook up culture is not only emotionally damaging to students, but that it also deters them from developing the relationship skills necessary in marriage. Her argument develops as the reader follows the students through several one nighters, failed attempts at relationships, and their ultimate feeling of loneliness.

Review:

The primary problem I have with Unhooked is the students Stepp chose to study. The college students she followed were Duke University and George Washington students. As this is not a random sample of students, it is difficult to say that Stepp’s findings are true of all college campuses. There probably is a hook up culture of some kind on every American college campus- which in some ways hurts Stepp’s argument. Stepp believes, more or less, that “the combination of post feminist liberation and pressure from parents to “do it all”- as one kid puts it- has led girls to confuse the need to be independent (which they associate with success) with the need to be invulnerable.” (O’Rourke, 2) But what about the kids in the hook up culture who do not have pressure from parents? If there is hooking up in many colleges, and only a portion of those involved have pushy parents, where does the desire to hook up rather than have a relationship begin? Stepp often tries to relate her information to the larger mass of American college students when in fact she may not be able to. While I agree with her point that lasting relationships are more rewarding than hook ups, Stepp sometimes goes too far and comes off as antifeminist (something she is not). Stepp writes that feminism has gone too far: “it needs to revisit its assumptions and expand its vision of what it means to be a woman.” (Aronowitz, 1) She continues this idea by suggesting that women should admit that bars are not a place for ladies, and instead they should stay home to bake cookies, because guys, she confides, will do anything for homemade treats.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

Any book that criticizes the way things are is bound to raise some controversy. Similarly, when a book discusses sex or any other “taboo” topic, some may find it easier to avoid the issues rather than discuss the topics that the book brings up. Some found the book to be controversial because it reveals scary and threatening information about what the current teenage generation is doing. Others found the book threatening to the feminist movement that has come so far over the years. One critic wrote that the book “is an odd throw back- not only in its point of view, but also out of sync with the current climate of high-achieving girls who are usually applauded for focusing on their careers and their female friends, rather than on finding Mr. Right.” Another critic wrote that Stepp “resurrects the ugly, old notion of sex as something a female gives in return for a male’s good behavior.”(Rosenbloom,1)

It is a dangerous book- but for a different reason than other dangerous books. It is not trying to change something old and traditional, but change newer ideas that mean more to us because of their more recent founding. It does not denounce Christianity or inspire Communism. Instead, it undoes something that many women have worked for

Rather than accepting progress, the modern feminists believe Stepp is encouraging young females to change back to the 1950’s mentality of women being housewives, not presidents.

Also see:

Rosenbloom, Stephanie. A Disconnect on Hooking Up. 1 March 2007. The New York  Times. 15 April 2008. www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/fashion/01hook.html

Willis, Nona. Come Home With Me, Baby! 18 February 2007. The New York Observer.  15 April 2008. http://www.observer.com/node/36723

O’Rourke, Meghan. In Defense of “Loose” Women. 20 February 2007. Slate. 15 April  2008. http://www.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2159995

Stepp, Laura. A Conversation with Laura Sessions Stepp. Laura Stepp’s Website. 15  April 2008.  http://www.laurastepp.com/unhooked/qa.html

We The Living

We The Living

By Ayn Rand

Summary:

Kira Argounova arrives in Petrogard as an 18 year old girl living under the Communist grasp. She struggles to find a way to make ends meet for her self as well as provide enough to help her family. As a teacher she spends her time at the school and only is able to obtain whatever is given out by the Communist party. She falls in love with a man named Leo whose father was of a counter revolutionary and were both wanted by the Communist police. They live together for some time until the government determines who they are and they are dismissed from their jobs as well as from their education programs. Leo is diagnosed with incipient tuberculosis and they have no way to pay for his treatment. Kira begins having an affair with a Communist Officer named Andrei who she met while a student at the institute of technology. Kira tells Andrei who is in love with her, that she needs the food for her family when in reality it is being used to help Leo with his TB. Leo finds out about the affair and leaves Kira to live with a rich woman who agrees to pay for his treatment as Kira attempts to find a way to leave Russia. She uses a fake travel permit in order to take the train to the border where she must then sneak across. In the process of this she is shot and fatally wounded and dies before making it across.

Review:

This book dives into the world of not only the ideals of communism but the struggles that many of those who found themselves trapped within the system faced on a regular basis. From the challenge to survive on minimal food and necessities for an entire family or being watched constantly and guarding your thought each of these slowly crushed hopes, dreams and spirits. This book sends a very powerful message focusing on what Communistic society is really like in the way that people are forced to live. It does not focus necessarily on the politics alone but on the individuals, their struggles to survive, and what happens to those who do not follow along the same ideals.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

This book is considered dangerous because of the in depth look that Ayn Rand takes into the world of Communism as a collective as well as the struggles with each individual. This book clearly is in argument with Communism as it constantly points out the hardships and struggles that go along with this collective ideal that was so sought after for so long in the USSR as well as other parts of Asia. This book was more than likely encouraged by people in the US due to its view of the red scare of communism that was considered to be everything that the United States was against although it was also more than likely not allowed at all in any country that followed any sort of ideals of communism.

Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea

By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Summary:

Greg Mortenson, a 36 year-old American from Montana, attempted to climb K2 in 1993. After spending more than two months on the second highest mountain in the world, Mortenson realized that he lacked the energy to complete his journey to the summit and began his descent. Lost in the mountains of Pakistan, Mortenson survived only because of the generosity and hospitality of the inhabitants of a village called Korphe. The villagers nursed him back to health, and Mortenson promised to return the favor. Three Cups of Tea follows Mortenson’s struggles in Korphe and other villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan to bridge a wide cultural gap and return the kindness he received with the gift of education. During his time in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mortenson was kidnapped, sent death threats, and terrorized by groups such as the Taliban. He survived all of these troubles, and succeeded in founding 55 schools under the Central Asian Institute in some of the most hostile territory of these two countries.

Review:

In a post 9-11 world, Three Cups of Tea provides a refreshing view of life in Middle Eastern countries. The media tends to present a negative two-dimensional view of all Middle Eastern cultures and those who belong to them. Mortenson reveals the unique personalities of Korphe’s inhabitants as well as their strong familial and hospitable customs. The “three cups of tea” are part of a custom the people of Korphe have for all their guests. The first cup of tea is offered to all strangers and guests who enter the village. Once offered the third cup by a village elder, one is considered an ally of Korphe and part of the family.
Mortenson uses his story to counter the effects of cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism, which is the idea that the best way to help an impoverished society is to impose on them the culture of a wealthy society, characterizes the attitude of most Western people. Mortenson’s message is one of the possibility and hope of world peace achieved through his brand of outreach. He succeeds in helping the people of Korphe and other villages to advance in the world by means of education, while retaining all aspects of their culture. Mortenson hopes that through education, extremist views can be eliminated.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

Though Three Cups of Tea has not been banned in schools on a large scale, Greg Mortenson has had two fatwas (any order by an extremist Muslim official, usually for anyone who is able to kill the person against whom the fatwa is declared) issued against him. Sher Chaco, a mullah in the Baldur valley, issued a fatwa to have Mortenson banished from Pakistan forever. After seeking advice from a senior Islamic Shi-ite cleric, he wrote to and was summoned by the Shi-ite Council of Ayatollahs in Qom, Iran. The council agreed with Mortenson’s intensions to educate Pakistani children, especially girls.
The second fatwa was issued against Mortenson by a conservative mullah in northern Pakistan. As an “infidel,” Mortenson was to be prohibited from building schools, especially if girls were to be educated in them. The community, which disagreed with their mullah, brought the issue to high Islamic court, which ruled in Mortenson’s favor.
There are schools for girls and boys throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan built by Mortenson, including the areas which attempted to exclude him with fatwas.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

By Roald Dahl

Summary:

Charlie Bucket is almost starving to death, but his luck changes for the better when he wins a lifetime supply of candy and a chance to visit Willy Wonka’s top-secret chocolate factory. This novel is one of Roald Dahl’s best written pieces yet, and has fascinated children for more than thirty years. Five lucky people who find a Golden Ticket wrapped in one of Willy Wonka’s wonderful candy bars win a visit to his mysterious chocolate factory. Charlie Bucket is too poor to buy more than one candy bar a year, so when he wins a ticket, his whole family celebrates. The four other lucky children are not as nice as Charlie, and they’re punished for their bad behavior. Greedy Augustus Gloop falls into the chocolate river he’s trying to drink from and gets sucked up a pipe. Chewing-gum addict Violet Beauregarde grabs a stick of gum that blows her up into a giant blueberry. Spoiled Veruca Salt is deemed a “bad nut” by Wonka’s trained squirrels and thrown in the garbage. And Mike Teavee demands to be “sent by television” and gets shrunk in the process. But there’s a wonderful surprise waiting for Charlie at the end of the tour because he was so nice and followed the rules, unlike the other four children.

Review:

I think that this book is great for children, as is brings imagination and creativity to the table as well as candy, a child’s’ favorite. The book is filled with mind boggling illustrations and a world that kid’s dream about. I recommend this book to all children and even to teens as they find humor and interest in the naughtiness of the children in the book. I think that this is definitely one of Dahl’s favorite books and surprisingly I found that the book was very similar to the movie.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

In 1988, a librarian in the Boulder, Colorado public library was discovered to have placed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a locked reference collection (upon discovery it was returned to the general library) because the librarian believed the book described a poor philosophy of life. The racist descriptions and illustrations being the only things changed in the revision, Dahl obviously stood by everything else he wrote in the book. One frustration many critics shared is that Charlie is the hero because that is his role in the plot, not because of any positive good of noble qualities, but because he is poor, quiet, and polite. A phony representation of poverty is Charlie’s only character and being.

Speak

Speak

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Summary:

Speak is a novel that follows a girl through her first year of high school. Freshman year is hard enough for a “normal” teenager, but Melinda Sordino has an even tougher time overcoming obstacles that are thrown her way. Melinda is treated as a utter and complete outcast for her actions at the biggest party of the summer. As a reaction to what happened between her and Andy Evans, Melinda broke up the biggest party most of the school had ever seen.

Now, Melinda is forced to face the consequences. She is tormented with names, glares, and is cast aside by even her former best friends. The only two people who know just what happened that night, won’t even look Melinda in the face. Melinda, lost, confused and haunted by memories of what happened that summer night, can’t even speak anymore. Every time she opens her mouth, she finds herself completely unable to speak, or just a few mumbled syllables will escape.

Making the janitors closet her personal escape space from the grim realities of school. Her other escape that she finds is through her art and writing. She slowly begins to heal and eventually speaks out to the school about her physical and emotional wounds that have built up through the year.

Review:

Speak, though written rather coloquially, has a hard message to deliver. It shows the troubles that rape victims deal with everyday, how harsh your peers can be and it forces the average high school reader to assess their words and actions. In order to show the consquences of rape and the troubles of high school, the novel has to speak in a manner that relates to the target audience, of the high school youth. The novel is an easy read, with a hard message.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

This book has mainly been challenged and banned by overprotective parents. These parents do not want their kids to read about drinking, getting out of control, rape, bullying and other topics that the book addresses. These parents, PTAs and school boards that try to protect their kids from problems that every high school faces, are living in a dream world. By trying to shelter their kids from these things, they are only doing them a disservice. Laurie Halse Anderson has produced a novel that makes adolescents think about their actions and about the actions of their peers. Why any parent would want to protect their kids from examining their actions and the obstacles many teenagers face, is a protective measure we should all question.

Bringing Down the House

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

By Ben Mezrich

Summary:

Kevin Lewis was living his father’s dream. Sailing through his coursework at M.I.T. and researching at Boston’s top hospital, he was well on his way to a successful career in medicine. Yet, Kevin needed something more than test tubes and school books. Fittingly, his wish came to him in the form of two M.I.T. dropouts, Jason Fisher and Andre Martinez. While both had excellent minds, Kevin saw their ability wasted in Vegas, living the weekend high life in strip clubs and bars. Yet, even with this extravagant, seemingly jobless, lifestyle, their money never seemed to run out. It was finally in June of 1994 that Kevin was let in on their secret: M.I.T.’s Card-counting Blackjack Team.

Initially questioning the team’s legality and worrying about the approval of his father, Kevin soon succumbed to the glitz and glamour of Vegas and began learning basic strategy in the vacant classrooms of M.I.T. Starting as a workhorse Spotter, Kevin quickly moved up the playing ranks. As his love of the game grew, the card counting became second nature. In next to no time, Kevin knew the lingo and learned to play the part, acing every test thrown at him and joining Fisher and Martinez as one of the team’s Big Players.

In Vegas, Kevin learned to shed his stereotypical M.I.T. appearance and live every man’s dream as the cocky high-roller, winning thousands at the tables each night. He partied with celebrities in penthouse suites and got front-row tickets to the city’s biggest shows. Yet, back in Boston, the second half of his double life suffered. He found it hard to lie to his family and friends, but could not bring himself to tell them about the team. Straying from the path set for him by his father, he found he had less and less to do with Boston, and everything to do with Vegas. From Kevin’s point-of-view, his Boston-life was only holding him back in Sin City.

After graduation, Kevin accepted a lack-luster banking job in Chicago, unwilling to make blackjack his full-time profession. As the team continued to play, Fisher quietly coerced them into an expansion. Three new members were initiated and Kevin, Fisher, and Martinez all got their own working teams. Profits soared and Kevin quit his job, moving back to Boston.

Despite the team’s success, Kevin noticed tensions growing between Fisher and the team’s leader, Micky Rosa. In reality, Micky and the team’s shady investors were the only ones standing in the way of their profit. In addition, it became obvious that Micky had more than one M.I.T. team playing in Vegas. Fisher decided that the team was giving away too much of its hard-earned money and broke away from Micky’s protection.

As Vegas profits continued to rise and Kevin joined a lucrative start-up in Boston, he thought life could not get any better. Then, unexpectedly, hell broke loose in Vegas. The team nearly lost thousands after the MGM Grand Casino was looted on fight night. Then, Kevin and Martinez were banned and nearly “back-roomed” by some of the Strip’s largest casinos. Shaken by this, the team decided to hit a lesser known casino in Chicago. The outcome was no different – the team had officially been blacklisted.

While Kevin feared their streak had ended, Fisher and Martinez would not give up without a fight, investing in the best disguises on the market. However, the gambling world was not to be fooled. The team was banned from yet another casino in Vegas and two riverboats in Louisiana. This streak was topped off by Kevin’s IRS audit and subsequent legal troubles.

Simply put, the team had been sold out to private investigators and Kevin, Fisher, and Martinez soon found their pictures and information on a circulated wanted list. While Kevin wanted out, Fisher and Martinez took their action to the Bahamas. Yet, even out of the country, the counters could not escape. Despite the threats, it took a brutal beating by a private investigator’s Bahamian thugs for Fisher to realize that things had to change.

Back in Boston, the team split. Being professionals, Fisher and Martinez could not settle with people treating card counting as a mere hobby, and took the more serious players onto their side. On the other hand, Kevin wanted to play only because he enjoyed the challenge, and knew that money would never be a problem. In the end, he vowed to never again let blackjack and Vegas run his life.

Review:

Ben Mezrich’s true-to-life thriller, Bringing Down the House, pulses with the energy of Vegas’ most vibrant casinos. It grabs hold of its readers on the first page and dares them to put it down until the last. With his familiar, yet careful, style, Mezrich perfectly captures the attitude of the collegiate blackjack team, and displays Vegas in all its glamour. In this way, he draws the reader into novel, sitting him down next to Kevin as he wins big at the Mirage, and throwing him into the backroom with Martinez and the casino’s oversized thugs. In addition, Mezrich’s underground interviews and own card-counting experience give historical, political, and social background to the action, and give his book a larger-than-life feel. The reader cannot help but crave the cards, and dream of the inconceivable wonders that await him in Vegas. As the Las Vegas Review-Journal said of the book, it “brings to life every gambler’s dream.” The reader can see himself in Kevin and somehow believes that he too can break the bank if given the chance. Simply put, Mezrich’s style and fast-paced plot make Bringing Down the House an addicting read.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

In 2004, as the number eighteen book on The New York Times’s paperback nonfiction best-seller list, Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House was challenged in one Beaverton, Oregon school district. The parent challenging the book, which her son had individually chosen as supplemental reading, and which the teacher herself had never read, objected to the text’s abundant profanity and frequent references to prostitution and gambling. Specifically, she proposed that Mezrich’s alluring novel would increase “curiosity about gambling and pornography” and give students “ideas on how to smuggle [things] past security.”

While this parent’s fears were certainly warranted, I believe that the book is far more dangerous for other reasons. This begins with the way that it promotes gambling. It clearly displays blackjack as the casino’s weakness, a game that can, and will be beaten. In this way, it gives the “everyman” the false impression that he can break the bank on any given night. While he expects to efficiently turn his fifty dollars into five thousand, he does not realize that counting only succeeds with extreme patience and a large bankroll. This misconception isn’t helped by the book’s recent film adaptation or the “how to” section on card counting that follows the text. As best-selling author Michael Capuzzo said of the novel, “Ben Mezrich takes us where every man dreams of going but precious few ever have – beating the casino.” This makes it clear that card counting and bank breaking are not meant for the greedy “everyman”; they will only ever be his unattainable dream. Simply put, counting is not as easy as Mezrich makes it out to be. Hence, Vegas’ enticing version of the American dream – “get rich quick” – will never be a reality, and the average reader-turned-gambler will only fall flat on his face at the tables. As Damon Zimonowski, a retired casino host, told Mezrich in the novel, “most people who say they can count cards…end up losing more than civilians…and sooner or later, Vegas finds a way to fuck [them] back” (65-67). Clearly, the danger of Bringing Down the House lies in its prostitution of the American dream, every man’s secret hope to strike gold. And it is Mezrich who sells this “dream” short, referring to it as a one of Vegas’ superficial perks, while hiding its true danger behind the glamour of the casino strip.

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

By William Golding

Summary:

Lord of The Flies is a novel about a group of young boys stranded on an island. While they were on a plan evacuating from their school, it gets shot down by enemies and burns up. Only the young boys are the ones who survive, unfortunately all the adults die. The older boys elect a leader and create a system to live by. They attempt to live as civilized adults by voting and always consulting with the group. But this way of living does not continue throughout the book. One of the boys who is one of the strongest and boldest decides to challenge the leader; This turns the group into a mob. The new leader’s commands become more irrational and savage until the group/mob begins killing former leaders. But once a passing ship comes to the island and there is adult authority due to seeing smoke of the fires they set the savage, wild boys turn back into obedient school boys. But ironically the ship turns out to be a “navy destroyer” trying to hunt down enemy ships.

Review:

I think that Golding created a very creative and intense novel. I believe that it was very apparent to see Golding’s philosophy through this novel. His philosophy being that mostly all humans are born evil which is simple to see in this novel due to the transition the boys make throughout the book, from nice school boys to a wild, tribe-like mob. Overall I do not think that this book was as dangerous as perceived. The novel would not have been as successful or entertaining if Golding did not include the “dangerous” elements like violence or profanity.

Why is this book “dangerous?”:

It was challenged in Dallas, at Sully Buttes High School, at Owen High School (NC), at Marana High School (Arizona), at Olney Independent School Distric (TX),  in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in the Waterloo schools (Iowa). It is banned because of profanity, violence, cruelty, striking parts about sex and statements insulting to minorities, God, women and the disabled, and it does not represent values at home.