SHOOT!

[Noelle Lurie]

With spring in the air, what could be better than blogging about the summer reading list? Sounds amazingly interesting, right? Actually, it is. The main thing I want to talk about is how books can influence people just as easily as violent TV shows and video games can. Should the school, perhaps, be more selective in their reading list?

Last summer, I chose to read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult because it sounded the most relevant to high school. Now, I’m not much of a reader. In fact, I’ll take it one step further, and say that I HATE reading!!!!! But the synopsis said…

In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents.

So, I was like, if I have to read something, I guess this will have to do.

Well, Peter Houghton’s act of violence turns out to be a school shooting, probably inspired by the Columbine shootings. This book delves into Peter’s psychological issues including sexual orientation, suicide, peer pressure, self –esteem, bullying… just to name a few. In the way it was written, I think the author was trying to make the reader sympathize with Peter by making them understand what it was that drove Peter over the edge. In doing so, I believe that the author could actually excuse his behavior in the minds of some people.

The issues that Peter was dealing with are all things that we, and our peers, come across. And it’s no big surprise that teens can be going through a lot of stressful psychological issues themselves. Throw in a shipload of hormones and … what else? We don’t know. That’s the problem, and that’s why putting this on the summer reading list was a bad idea, in my opinion. Common sense tells you that there would be some kids with emotionally charged issues in the targeted reading group. After reading the synopsis above, doesn’t it make sense that these kids would pick this book because they could identify with it? And if just one kid sympathized with Peter, if just one kid was like…”Yea, they deserved it for doing that to Peter.”, if it excuses Peter’s behavior in the mind of just one kid and he did something about it… it is one kid too many.

The 1999 Columbine shootings in Colorado started a storm of studies suggesting that violent video games, violent TV shows, and violent music can cause violent behavior, so why not books? Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were influenced by the pirate books Tom read! (I had to throw that in to make sure I tied this in to American Studies.)

Well, that was the topic I wrote about in my paper about Nineteen Minutes. Mr. Anderson wrote one of his cute little notes in red on it, and asked if we should avoid teaching about the Holocaust because it might influence a deranged person. First of all, there was no teaching involved with this book. We read it and wrote a paper about it. No one stood up there and examined the behaviors in the book. Secondly, I certainly would not give a book that excused Hitler’s atrocities to a group of White Supremacists. Nor would I give a book entitled “How to Commit the Perfect Murder” to a bunch of serial killers to read in group therapy.

It’s not that every teenager would be influenced in a bad way by this book. In fact, most wouldn’t be. What I’m saying is that there is a greater potential that it would be read by someone that would sympathize and identify with Peter. And if video games, music, and TV shows can trigger violent behavior, than just maybe this book would too. Which brings me back to my original question… ahem, slightly rephrased… Can we PLEASE get some better stuff on the summer reading list????? Also, is anyone else out there a little creeped out that this book could trigger something in someone at Fremd?...especially with more and more movies and video games that seem to be increasing in violence!

[Aricela Marquez]

Like most I think about what would I do if there was a shooting at our school. I mean we know there is a possiblity, but do we actually acknoweldge how big of a possibility there is. If we think about it, I am sure the student at NIU were not expecting a shooting, but it happened and I for one would not know what to do. I would try to come up with a plan, but that does not mean it would be executed well. It's scary to think about how ONE book could influence to the death of others.

[Joaquin Zuniga]

There are a lot of books that can have devastating influence. The "darkest" book I've read are the Dexter series. It makes you sympathize with a serial killer and at some points, I actually felt lonely just like him and thought what he was doing was good, but it's not. It's fairly easy to relate to a character in a book, and if you happen to relate with a killer then you better watch yourself and not do what they do.

[Won Jun Choi]

Yes, I totally agree on your point. In 2002, There was a shooting rampage in Virginia Tech, and everybody remembers about it. He was a Virginia Tech student and he was addicted to the video games and violent movies. Yes, anything could possibly set off someone's mind to go in a shooting rampage. It is a scary thing to think about and I hope this kind of terrible situation does not happen here!

[Matt Benson]

Yeah i think it is scary that just a book could possibly set off someone to go in a shooting rampage. I also think that they could maybe be more careful about what they put on the list because it could set someone off and I don't want to be here when it does happen.

[Noelle Lurie]

Good point, however, all it takes is for one kid to respond the wrong way. While I think the book has valuable life lessons for the person who reads on a daily basis, I just think the school shouldn't be endorsing it by putting it on a list that we MUST pick from, you know?

[Anna Badovinac]

I have read nineteen minutes so many times between when I first picked it up for a book to read, until i read it for summer reading, until now, when I read it when I think my life can't get any worse. Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors because in all of her books she makes you open your eyes and see the story from EVERY ONES perspectives. In this book you see it from the victim's side, Peter's side, Peter's mom's side and so many more. I can see where you're coming from by saying that some kids mights respond to this book in the wrong way but I also think it would help those kids who debate it everyday realize the consequences of their actions. If I was in Peter's shoes everyday and had the chance to read this book I think it would help me to not make the decision he did. You see how it hurts the people he cares about... how it hurts his mom, his dad, how is family is treated, how there are people who will never be the same, and how he has to live the rest of his life. Yes, in this book he is shown as a victim to bullying but he is also shown as a murderer. So you may think that this book is going to influence some people in the wrong way but if we look at things that way we would live in a bubble. I think that this book portrays high school at its worst and although it didn't help you, it has opened my eyes and has changed me into a better person. And even though I hate summer reading books, I think this one should stay.

[Joey Marasco]

i read this story and for me the book openend my eyes a little bit, i'm not saying that the events of tha book were justified, but to a certain extent i could believe the fact that those kids had what was coming to them, no one deserves to be treated the way he was, but then again no deserves to be killed for doing it