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Ignorant authoritarians naturally want their children to turn out just like them - undereducated and utterly lacking in critical thinking skills.
I don't know how reading about drug-induced orgies, whether they be straight or gay helps "critical thinking skills"...
I don't know how not knowing or wanting to read this stuff makes you "undereducated"?......
if we placed this much emphasis on math, science and history as we do about "sex exploration" or whatever this is...we would be unstoppable..
but it's kinda been said that liberals tend to get degrees in "philosophical meaning of hotdogs during medieval times" and other "liberal arts"...so of course they find stuff like this "educational"....and without it you're "ignorant"....and then wonder why they can't get a job....who the hell told you to major in 16th century art?.....(I was in highschool when my lab teacher told me his niece couldn't get a job, despite her having a degree in photographer)...you may not be as wealthy as that guy with a major in business and a minor in mathematics, but at least you're "smarter" then him...
Well, there is a reported depiction of a 31 year old woman (near middle aged?) having sex with a 13 year old girl...
No thanks. Only heterosexual material. Like a 45 year old woman entertaining 3 or 4 neighborhood guys at one time.
Shucks, for years I've been trying to convince mom that she should write her life story...good reading material for high school kids.
Some reader reviews even worry that kids would be drawn to act out what is so graphically and enticingly depicted in certain sections of the book.
So far in "Norwegian Wood" the sex is anything but enticingly depicted (same for the suicide). Rather, the protagonist realizes the hollow meaninglessness of the sex he has. It's quite a bittersweet book with a prevailing sense of emptiness, so far.
As far as "too many suicides" goes, that would rule out Shakespeare. No Hamlet. And murders galore! Bowdler tried sanitizing Shakespeare ages ago, but the real works are taught in high school.
Well, there is a reported depiction of a 31 year old woman (near middle aged?) having sex with a 13 year old girl...
So you are outraged because the relationship is homosexual, is that it? Because I haven't seen you protest Lolita's presence in schools. You know the 40 year-old man with the 12 year-old girl. Or how about the age-old classic about the father who tries to marry his 12 year-old daughter off to a 25 year-old man. The daughter then has sex with her 14 year-old boyfriend.....you know Romeo & Juliet.
Are you protesting against the presence of all these books, or just the ones with homosexual content?
Are there still adult bookstores around? I haven't seen one in years. If so, I'm surprised as I'm sure more and better stuff is available online. Maybe you can direct me to the one you frequent... ... since you seem to be so knowlegable on the topic of what's inside.
LOL! I haven't been inside one in ten years, minimum. But I do know a couple of people who do go inside... I was scared off by the 3 foot dildos.
I would probably question why a teacher needs to assign a book that deals with suicide and adult/child sex when there is so many fabulous books in the world.
From the summary, one of the characters commits suicide fairly early in the book and another commits suicide at the end of the book.
Teenagers are very impressionable. I don't see a reason for them to be reading books about suicide. 500,000 teenagers attempt suicide every year
You yourself mention how many suicides among teens there are. So don't you suppose that teens know about suicide without having read about it in fiction? There is a very good chance that a teen has heard of a kid committing suicide, or personally known a person who committed suicide (a teen, a friend's parent, et al), counseled a friend with suicidal thoughts, or has even thought about suicide in their teen moments of despair. Suicide is not a secret. I knew of two suicides of people under age 20 in my town before I was 10 years old.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brentwoodgirl
It seems crazy to require or encourage books that include suicide.
Even if suicide is depicted as an event that has a devastating effect on the living? Should we keep suicide hush-hush? Tell kids that if their friend talks about it, to ignore them? I'd rather teens be prepared to deal with the messy parts of life that they're growing into instead of pretending it doesn't exist.
And believe me, the one suicide I've encountered reading "Norwegian Wood" is not in any way depicted as a positive thing; it messes up the life of the surviving girlfriend (and perhaps she's the one who kills herself later - thanks for the spoiler!)
EDIT: looks like someone already brought up these points.
Last edited by robbobobbo; 08-24-2011 at 07:55 PM..
You yourself mention how many suicides among teens there are. So don't you suppose that teens know about suicide without having read about it in fiction? There is a very good chance that a teen has heard of a kid committing suicide, or personally known a person who committed suicide (a teen, a friend's parent, et al), counseled a friend with suicidal thoughts, or has even thought about suicide in their teen moments of despair. Suicide is not a secret. I knew of two suicides of people under age 20 in my town before I was 10 years old.
Even if suicide is depicted as an event that has a devastating effect on the living? Should we keep suicide hush-hush? Tell kids that if their friend talks about it, to ignore them? I'd rather teens be prepared to deal with the messy parts of life that they're growing into instead of pretending it doesn't exist.
And believe me, the one suicide I've encountered reading "Norwegian Wood" is not in any way depicted as a positive thing; it messes up the life of the surviving girlfriend (and perhaps she's the one who kills herself later - thanks for the spoiler!)
Just a brief OT aside that your post reminded me of:
Talking about suicide doesn't make someone suicidal. Even talking about suicide with someone who is suicidal doesn't make them act. It's a big myth that somehow if people hear or think or read about suicide, it will make them more likely to act. Research actually shows that talking about it can make it less likely for a suicidal person to act. Ok, done with my former-therapist-to-the-chronically-suicidal-PSA.
Or Forever by Judy Blume! I was a library regular as a kid. The Librarian knew I liked to read so she always had a long list of books for me to look at. I would leave with a HUGE stack of books. My parents never questioned what I read since they were huge readers as well.
I read that book when I was ten...and oh my goodness, I survived! Alert the media!
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