Influ-text-ual (Halle)

9/14/2023

When reading the right thing, anyone can have their life changed by the perspective brought on by a book. So, what book have you read that has been the most influential on your life?

Novels can offer such a huge impact on the lives of others, a novel that has brought this experience for me is, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Rankin. This novel was the first novel I truly digested in a analytical matter, which was eye opening for me. It illustrated to me that writing is much more symbolic than I considered beforehand. Moreover, this novel showcased a scenario of true poverty and how it can effect children so heavily. I sympathized with the characters and questioned things such as, “How could parents be so neglectful? How did the system not catch this? And, could I make it through a situation like this?” Overall this read was incredibly eye opening for me, I compare it to nearly every other novel I read or have read.

11 Comments

Zackeryah Schwartz

9/17/2023 10:05:05 am

To me the book that changed the course of my life was "Anthem" by Ayn Rand. First reading this story as a 14 year old freshman really opened my eyes to the ways an author can show such symbolism in writing, even when incredibly subtle. Rand also was able to bring her characters to life without breaking the rules the book had given her. No other kid in my year liked this book actually liked this book, but throughout the years I still call "Anthem" my favorite book.

Shaylee Turner

9/17/2023 07:50:30 pm

Zack, even though I haven't read like book I glad you found something so eye opening. I feel like teachers have always tried to get it into our head about how symbolism works, and it wasn't until high school that me myself actually understood it. Theses authors really some ideas when it comes to their writing..

Shaylee Turner

9/17/2023 03:02:20 pm

The book that really affected my life was "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. I read this book sometime during middle school and it really showed me how important it is to live life, feel emotions, and not to be controlled by society to fit in. To give a little background on the book, the main character Jonas, a 12-year-old boy, lives in this perfect community that is completely controlled to be perfect. Until he gets his assigned job as the Receiver of Memory, and he gets to experience emotions, and colors, and even more sensitive topics. He sees just how messed up his perfect society is. Reading this book during the hard times of middle school and wishing that we were all the same, or that myself as an individual wasn't good enough, because middle school is harsh and judgy. This book made me realize how grateful I am for difference between each and every one person. If the world was exactly the same, there would be no creativity, no spark. The world would be boring. It was just an eye opener to see that as much as one would wish for a perfect world, it may not be as great as one could imagine.

Halle Peets

9/17/2023 04:32:00 pm

I remember reading this book Freshman year in Mr. Dickerson's class. I enjoyed the read, but I recall that many of our classmates did not. This novel got me very familiar with the term dystopian which made me consider topics that I had not before. Overall, it was a very worthwhile read!

Zackeryah Schwartz

9/17/2023 07:18:48 pm

Although I've never read this peice of work the way you described the feeling of relief that you're different than others around you. While living in a world such as our own we experience a multitude of different people and I believe you summed that up quite expertly.

Sidney

9/17/2023 07:50:54 pm

I really enjoyed this book also! I agree with your opinion on it, and how the world would be boring if it were perfect. Even in small schemes like our English class, it would be very boring if all of us thought the same way, because there would be no contradicting opinions. I am very thankful to have my own personality.

Sidney

9/17/2023 07:17:48 pm

Halle I too thought of The Glass Castle when I read your prompt. It was very inspiring for me to see somebody that went through a portion of life that I did too, make it out successful. People often think that kids who grow up in unfortunate circumstances will turn out the way they were raised, but if we always think in that perspective, people are not going to give us more than that. The world needs to raise the expectations put on people, and this book is a great example of how to do that.

Halle Peets

9/17/2023 07:39:05 pm

The fact the you had the same experience as me because of this novel, tells me that, kids in rural towns do feel misunderstood. Or just not as highly valued in the grand scheme of things. When I went to Chicago, all of the kids that I met had all AP classes and just seemed like geniuses overall. It was daunting. It made me feel misplaced and less important because I lack the knowledge and opportunities that other kids our age have. But, by the end of my trip I found that just because I am not as well studied as these kids, does not mean I am less valuable. Thinking back on this book reinforced that for me.

Shaylee Turner

9/17/2023 07:55:09 pm

I feel like those of us who took AP last year with Braswell really liked and got a lot out of "The Glass Castle". Jeanette really had a hard life but made what good she gets out of it. I love how this story tells us to take the good with the bad. But also, to make what you want with your life. Jeanette was poor so she got rich but rich didn't give her the happiness she wanted, so she met in the middle. And now she is living the life she wants while telling the world her story..

Sidney

9/17/2023 11:08:49 pm

I would argue that the fact she is making money telling her traumatizing story from childhood is the coolest part of her life story. I say this because most people who experience what she did, bury it inside themselves their whole lives and try to hide it. It is because of people like Jeannette, who are willing to share their story, that are the changing factor in a lot of peoples’ lives.

Zackeryah Schwartz

9/17/2023 08:04:55 pm

Though I never read this story hearing two of my peers talking about how great it is really brings me into the connections between the world and the story. I also love your take on nature vs nurture and how we as a society need to raise our expectations when it comes to others.

Influ-text-ual (Halle)

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