Category: Book Review

Written in 1976 by Richard Dawkins, ‘The Selfish Gene’ discusses key concerns related to evolutionary processes. Initially, Dawkins, introduces the reader to the most prevalent theories at the time, notably the group centered theory of evolution proposed by various academics. The book proposes the alternative theory of a ‘gene centered’ view of evolution as opposed to the former theory. Lastly it also discusses a new form of replicator known as the ‘meme’.

The book begins by introducing the reader to various examples of selfish and altruistic behavior. The selfish behavior is presented using the example of the female praying mantis while the example of the self-sacrificial behavior of the worker bees is used as an example of altruism. From a group selectionist perspective, the altruistic behavior of the worker bee occurred for the good of the species. Throughout the book, similar examples of altruism and the example of the worker bee itself are effectively described and interpreted from the gene centered view of evolution. These examples shall be discussed further down below.

Immediately the book disputes the notion of humans being completely different from the rest of the animal kingdom. This is done by the introduction of primeval molecules called replicators. Initially these replicators floated around in a primeval soup with abundant resources. As the replicators increased, competition emerged for resources. In order to ensure their survival and reproduction, these replicators built survival machines (Wade, 2006). These replicators evolved into the genes we know today and the survival machines are animals, plants and humans ourselves.

As mentioned in the second paragraph, Dawkins mentions numerous examples of altruism frequently used to support the group theory of evolution and interprets it from the ‘gene centered’ view. An example of this is the apparently self-sacrificial behavior of the worker bee. Its behavior contradicts with the evolutionary notion that the function of the body is to preserve and pass the genes inside of it. However, since the worker bee never produces any offspring itself, its behavior is beneficial and essential for the genes in its relatives’ bodies which are preserved by the worker bee’s sacrifice (Ridley, 2016). Dawkins also explains the morally congruent parental altruism from this perspective. Throughout all species, parents nurture their offspring oftentimes at a great cost to themselves. Generally, this applies even more so for the mother. From the gene centered perspective this is done in order to ensure that the offspring lives long enough to reproduce and continue to transmit their genes inherited from the parents. This also explains why parental altruism is more common than offspring altruism due to the fact that parents have already passed on their genes as opposed to their young offspring. All the examples above refer to altruism between kin and do not explain altruism between individuals who are not related. This form of altruism is also known as reciprocal altruism. This form of altruism can be exploited by cheats who will accept altruistic acts but will not give them back. Since reciprocal altruism was and still plays an important part in everyday life, Merton referencing Dr. Robert Trivers’ theory argues that man developed emotions like envy, guilt and gratitude for the purpose of being able to cheat and detect cheaters.

The first 10 chapters treat mankind as though he is no different from the rest of the species inhabiting the earth, be it plants or animals. However, the last chapter presents us with a process unique to mankind. Compared to evolution from a genetic perspective, evolution from a cultural perspective is much faster (Workman & Reader, 2014). Language cannot be said to evolve by genetic means due to multitude of different languages in different countries, with each country harboring numerous dialects specific to a particular region. Dawkins suggests that there is a new form of replicator, which he coined the ‘meme’. Instead of floating in the primeval soup which the original genes floated in, this replicator or meme is floating in ‘the soup of human culture’ (Dawkins, 1976, p. 192). A gene is replicated over and over again if it provides a biological advantage. A meme, however replicates itself over and over again if is carries with it ‘great psychological appeal’ (Dawkins, 1976, p. 192). An example of this is the ‘God meme’ which has been pervasive and a fundamental part of human culture for centuries. This lies due to the fact the notion of God provides answers and solace to unknown and intimidating questions about existence. Behavior which is beneficial to memes may be not necessarily be beneficial to genes. An example of this is a priest who remains celibate. Undoubtedly, celibacy will not be beneficial to his genes however it will be beneficial to memes as it will ensure that the priest has ample time to pass on the ‘God meme’ to the followers of the particular religion. While memes may be seen through a negative light, they offer man the change to contribute something to the world like music which can wholly replicate and last far longer than any of his genes would.

Although the book may present a pessimistic and possibly deterministic account of human nature, at the end of the book Dawkins posits a more optimistic view of mankind. Humans differ greatly from replicators due to one aspect; consciousness. It is not uncommon to hear of an act of pure altruism and while there is the possibility that it can be interpreted through some evolutionary perspective, Dawkins leaves this open to the reader’s interpretation.

References

1. Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
2. Ridley, M. (2016). The Selfish Gene. Nature, 529(7857), 462-463.
3. Workman, L., Reader W. (2014). Evolutionary Psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press.
4. Wade, N. (2006 June 6). Inspiring Evolutionary Thought, and a New Title, by Turning Genetics into Prose. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/06/science/sciencespecial2/06dawk.html.

‘The Outsiders’ is a book by S. E. Hinton which was made published on April 24, 1967, and the setting in the book is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This book is about a 14-year-old boy named Ponyboy Curtis and his two brothers, Soda and Darry. They are orphans who are struggling at the low class of the community. There are also two rivals who always want to fight each other due to their differences. One gang is called the ‘Greasers’, while the other gang is called ‘Socs’. The Greasers rule the poorer East side of the town, while the Socs rules the West side of the town. Due to these longstanding beliefs, people say that you have to be on one side or the other. There is no middle ground in that area to stay to be safe. The main event that happens in the book is when a greaser named Johnny kills a member of the Socs. After he kills the kid, Ponyboy and Johnny run to an abandoned church in a place called Windrixville. They were staying there for a whole week until the atmosphere cooled down in their community. There are some themes in the book which will be mentioned in this essay. The three themes that I would be speaking about are violence, isolation, and society and class.

The first theme topic I will speak about is violence. The is physical and emotional violence. Not much emotional violence was shown in the book but a lot of physical violence was shown. In my opinion, I think that violence was pretty predictable in the book. The main reason violence was predictable was because the book was about two rivals with different backgrounds. The teens and the young men used violence to show who is better. Rumbles happen between the two gangs and were only allowed to use their fists. Gang violence, child abuse, and stabbing are what cause this. “Big deal. I busted the end of my bottle and held on to the neck and tossed away my cigarette. ‘You get back into your car or you’ll get split’” (Pg. 148). In this case, Ponyboy was threatening them with a weapon to make them leave and he was serious. The main reason he was able to do what he did with the bottle and threaten them was because of what happened to Johnny. He was very mad at the Socs because they were the ones who caused all of this to happen. Another example of violence is when Darry slaps Ponyboy on his face while they were having an argument. The lack of love and affection from the Socs’ families was the main reason why they would want to take violence to the greasers.

Isolation was also demonstrated in the book. Isolation was used in the book to show what would happen if something goes wrong and how they deal with it. They would isolate themselves from society so that they cannot be found. An example of isolation was when Ponyboy was slapped in the face by Darry and told Johnny that they were running away. “Darry wheeled around and slapped me so hard that it knocked me against the door…I turned and ran out the door and down the street as fast as I could. ‘Johnny?’, – I called and started when he rolled over and jumped almost under my feet. ‘Come on, we’re running away’” (Pg. 46).

Another example of isolation is when Johnny killed a Soc member with a switchblade because he was drowning Ponyboy. After that all happened, they went to Dally for some money and a gun and ran to Windrixville where they stayed for a whole week. They were completely isolated from society and they did that until the atmosphere of the scene cools down. There was also isolation when Dally heard that Johnny had died. He fled from the hospital and headed somewhere which wasn’t mentioned in the book. A while later, he robbed a gas station and ran back to his gang, during the process, he turned around and held a gun which wasn’t loaded and the cops opened fire at him. Johnny was also isolated but from his parents. They think that he is useless to them and they always beat him. When this usually happens, he isolates himself from them and either goes one of his gang member’s house or just goes to the park and sleep there instead.

The last theme that I will be speaking of is society and class. This is theme topic is the main one for the book. This is the reason why everything in the book happens. Unlike the Socs who came from the Westside and are rich, the greasers came from the Eastside and is a poor family. Both the Greasers and the Socs are separated by wealth, and opportunities to succeed in life. “’You know what Greasers are? White trash with long greasy hair’” (Pg. 48). The Socs thinks that they are better than the greasers because they have a higher chance of succeeding more than the Greasers. Greasers are seen as trouble-causing teenagers. Although they are not like what they seem, the greasers have good intentions. “‘Greaser…greaser…greaser…Steve singsonged. ‘Oh, victim of environment, underprivileged, rotten no-count hoods’” (Pg. 116). Because of theme, fights or ‘rumbles’ occurs once in a while because of their class in the world. The Greasers fight them back because they cannot be pushed around by the Socs and wants to show them what they can really do.

There are more themes in the book but in my opinion, I think that these three are the most important. In conclusion, violence is a major part of the book because of all the ‘rumbles’ they have from time to time. Isolation is also an important theme in the book. Isolation was used to show what they would do when they are in trouble. An example of this was with Johnny killing a Soc member. Lastly, class and society played a vital role in the book. It shows where both gangs fall under in the world. The Socs are on the Westside and are rich, while the Greasers are on the Eastside and the poor side of the world. This book is a good book to read and the author did a great job of catching the reader and making the reader continue reading.

Beginning: It all started with Buck and his owner Judge Miller who lived in Santa Clara Valley. Buck is a very muscular dog which is worth lots to gold rushers, some men came to beat Buck and threw him on a train to Seattle. The men deprived him of food and water for 2 days, when they arrived he attacked his handler, who was in a red sweater. The handler sees Buck pull out his clubs and beat the poor dog. That’s where Buck learned primitive law, after his handler beats him, he gives Buck food and water.

Middle: Buck’s handler sells Buck to a Canadian government worker named Perrault. Perrault takes Buck to Dyea Beach, which is a complete nightmare, dogs and men here are savages. Buck watches Curly, a dog who was shipped with him get killed by vicious dogs. This experience is his first lesson in the law of club and fang. Francois, who works with Perrault puts Buck to work, he puts him in a position to haul firewood. As a sled dog, Buck learns fast, when they return to Dyea Beach, Buck soon discovers that Perrault has bought another dog, his name is Solex and he has one eye. That day, Buck has to sleep outside in the cold, and Dave another dog teaches him how to dig a hole to stay warm. They travel to Lake Lavar and the environment is awful and there are no places to hide from the elements, Buck finds a nice overhang and decides to go find food. When he comes back, Spitz is lying there, growling to defend the spot, this turns into an all-out fight, and Buck wins and leaves Spitz with broken legs and many injuries, Due to those injuries, the wild huskies kill the dog.

End: Buck thinks this is how he will get into the lead harness, but they move Solex up instead of Buck and Buck jumps to the front again and Francois moves Solex into the lead harness. Buck would not take it and moved back. They finally let Buck into the lead harness and he turns out to be an amazing leader. He pushes everyone to their max until they reach their destination. They were expecting a long rest but no, the Canadian government wants the letter delivered now. So they sent out Hal,  Charles, and Mercedes. They fed the dogs too much, packed wrong, and went over the lake that Thortan told them not to go on but they still did and they and their dogs died. Buck loved Thorton and even tried to jump off a cliff when Thortan said to do so. While sleeping, A raiding party of yeehats raid and kill Thortan and his friends. Buck goes mad and kills lots of yeehats, The yeehats tell a tale of a large wolf that led a huge pack that protected the ones they were with.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second installment of the Harry Potter. This book begins with a visit by a house elf named Dobby during a dinner party back at his horrible relative’s house, the Dursleys. He warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts. Harry tells Dobby that he is going to return to Hogwarts and Dobby creates a scene of havoc that upsets the Dursleys. They punish Harry by imprisoning him in his room for the remainder of the summer. Ron Weasley, Harry’s best friend, steals a flying car breaking Harry out of his room and he spends the rest of the summer with the Weasley family.

While staying with the Weasleys, Harry goes shopping for school supplies with them. He runs into one of his teachers, Professor Lockhart who demands a photo with Harry. Then, he encounters his enemy, Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy. He tries to start a fight with Mr. Weasley. Something strange happens when Ron and Harry attempt to board the train to Hogwarts, they are unable to enter the magical platform. So, Ron and Harry fly the car to Hogwarts. They have a horrible landing and both boys are given detention by Professor Lockhart who believes they flew the car for fame and attention.

Once at Hogwarts, Quidditch practice begins. Malfoy is a Slytherin and is arrogant and insulting. He calls Hermione, one of Harry’s best friends, a Mudblood. Mudblood is an insult to Hermione referring to her heritage of half witch/wizard and half human. When all this is happening, the caretaker’s cat is petrified. Because of Malfoy’s behavior, he is the prime suspect. There is also a written message left. Everybody is on edge. After some research, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that fifty years ago, a chamber was opened at Hogwarts and a student was killed.

With all of this happening, Dobby is worried about Harry’s safety. To get him sent home, he enchants a ball hitting Harry during a Quidditch match causing Harry to lose all the bones in his arm. More petrified bodies are found. Harry speaks to a snake in Parseltongue frightening everyone because only the heir of Slytherin should be able to speak to snakes.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione continue to be determined to find out who opened the chamber. They brew a potion and take on the form of Slytherins. They discover Malfoy is not the Slytherin heir. Harry finds a diary that belonged to Moaning Myrtle who is a ghost who haunts the girls’ bathroom. Harry writes in the diary and receives a response from a boy named Tom Riddle who accused Hagrid of opening the chamber years ago.

More petrified bodies are discovered. This time it’s Hermione and a Ravenclaw girl. Dumbledore and Hagrid are removed from Hogwarts. This is very upsetting. Hagrid tells Harry to follow the spiders to find out about the chamber monster. Harry and Ron follow the spiders and find out that a spider did not kill the girl found in the bathroom fifty years ago and that Hagrid is innocent. They discover that Moaning Myrtle was the girl killed. Harry and Ron find a piece of paper in the petrified hand of Hermione. They believe the monster is a basilisk. Before they can do anything further, it is announced that Ginny Weasley, Ron’s sister was taken into the chamber. Ron, Harry, and Professor Lockhart take a secret passage to the bathroom where Lockhart accidentally curses himself. Ron helps him and Harry enters the chamber to find Ginny’s body and Tom Riddle. Tom is a younger version of Voldemort who has been enchanting Ginny in his journal. Harry tries to get help from Dumbledore. A phoenix and a magic hat appear. Tom calls on the basilisk but the phoenix punctures its eyes. Harry pulls a sword from the hat that he uses to kill the basilisk. Harry stabs the fang of the basilisk through the diary killing Tom and Ginny wakes up.

Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock freeing him. He explains everything to Dumbledore and all is well.

What I found most interesting about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was all the new characters. As in The Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry spends his summers and life outside of Hogwarts living a miserable existence with the Dursleys. He always tries to remain humble despite the situations he is forced to encounter. Harry is more aware of his wizarding skills but uses them only for good. This second book introduced us to Dobby, the loyal house elf, and Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who erased his memory. Mostly, an all-new mystery of discovering who opened the chamber of secrets. Like the first book, Harry wants us to always believe in magic and the good. We are once again, immersed in the world of wizardry, magic, and fantasy.

As in the first book, I learned from Harry Potter that there is always hope and you can always find a way. A lasting impression was Dobby. He was one of my favorite things about the entire book. He was the bravest house elf. He tried warning Harry, although unwanted, many times that he was in danger. He banged himself in the head, created chaos, and took a huge risk defying the Malfoys but was the truest and most loyal friend.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was Dobby. He tried warning Harry repeatedly that something bad was going to happen at Hogwarts and for Harry to stay away. He wanted the boy who lived to stay alive. Dobby made it interesting because it set up the plot for the reader. He knew that something bad was going to happen. I also knew that Harry wasn’t going to stay away from Hogwarts and that if he did, Dobby’s prediction would be right. Dobby went to any extreme to keep Harry away and safe. He would bang his head, he caused chaos during the Dursley dinner party causing Harry to become imprisoned in his room and he risked his life defying and betraying his owners–the Malfoys. Dobby was a turning point. Without his warning, there wouldn’t be any intensity in the book. He set the plot and started the new mystery.

The inciting incident is when Ron and Harry try to gain entry to the train on the platform but can’t get through. Something or someone is trying to prevent Harry from returning to Hogwarts.

To get the plot moving, they steal Ron’s father’s car and fly to Hogwarts because they couldn’t gain entry on the platform landing on a wamping willow at Hogwarts that just about takes their lives.

The problem is getting Harry to Hogwarts. Dobby warns him and tries to prevent him from going, the Dursleys place bars on Harry’s bedroom window preventing him from what they thought would be any escape and he and Ron can not gain access to the train on the platform. More specifically, the plot thickens when Harry discovers a written message in the blood and that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The danger that he was warned about.

The Climax was when Harry found the cavern with a huge basilisk and the memory of Tom Riddle. Tom Riddle was Voldemort before he changed his name. Tom Riddle was trying to steal Ginny Weasley’s life force so he could return from the dead.

The resolution occurs when Harry calls Dumbledore for help and a phoenix and hat appear. The phoenix plucks the eyes from the basilisk and Harry pulls the sword of Gryffindor from the hat killing the basilisk and saving Ginny. Harry frees Dobby, Hermione is unpetrified and Hagrid is released from prison.

Exposition: Exposition is a way to give background information about the setting and background characters.

Harry: Harry is a young wizard and very famous. He tends to get in trouble and has a lightning scar on his forehead.

Ron: He is a young wizard who comes from a poor family. He has hair, is skinny, is brave, and is a loyal friend.

Hermione: Hermione is brilliant—really smart, she loves academics and is a muggle. She is the brains of the operation and completes the trio.

Harry returns to Hogwarts for a second year. He hears voices in the walls. But, as time goes on, it becomes more bothersome and questioning.

The setting takes place in London, the Dursley’s home, the Weasley home, the flying car, Hogwarts—classrooms, hallways, great hall, Quidditch Pitch, the spider lair, a cavern, and surrounding grounds.

Suspense: The definition of suspense is the intense feeling the audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events. The suspense is what makes it hard to put down a book.

When Dobby appears warning Harry not to return to Hogwarts is the first sign of suspense. His uncle imprisons him in his room placing bars on the windows in hopes that he can never escape followed by not being able to enter the platform. He then discovers the writing in blood and that the chamber of secrets has been opened. Students are petrified including Ginny and Hermione. Ginny is taken into the chamber by Voldemort who is controlling her through an enchanted diary. All of this build-up to the climax.

Mood: The mood is the tone of the story. It is the author’s feeling towards the character rather than the reader’s feeling towards the character. It is the general feeling or atmosphere.

While Harry Potter does deal with his friends being petrified and has some dark scenes, it is a children’s fictional, fantasy book. It is a little darker than the Sorcerer’s Stone. It starts dark with Harry being stuck with the miserable Dursleys once again. But soon, Dobby appears and he is rescued by the Weasleys in a flying car and he spends the remainder of the summer with them. From the friendships formed, Dobby’s loyalty, the enchantment of Hogwarts, the danger and suspense in the cavern and forest to the amazing phoenix and the downfall of the basilisk and Voldemort, Harry’s journey of friendship, loyalty, and his determination to risk all to stop evil ensue fantasy and magic throughout the book.

I would recommend this book to a friend. The book kept my interest because Harry is so humble and kind. From the very beginning, you want him to return to Hogwarts despite the warnings. The friendships bring out the personalities of the characters and the bond formed keeps you cheering for them. There are so many magical characters and settings from Dobby, and Lockhart to the unlikable Malfoys and the many secrets of Hogwarts. There are wizards, basilisk, phoenixes, spiders, flying cars giants, muggles, magic, and fantasy. The entire series is an amazing read and I would recommend it to any reader of any age.

I chose this book for my report because I love Harry Potter and all the characters in the series. It is the second installment of the series and a book that can be read over and over with the same excitement as when you read it the first time. It never gets old and it is a fun read that is so enjoyable it reads quickly and you just can’t stop reading it once you start.

I would have read something by the same author because all of the books in the Harry Potter series are amazing and I plan to continue reading the series. Anything she writes is full of fun and fantasy and I hope she continues writing about Harry Potter.

Margaret Mead, one of the leaders of the Culture and Personality school of Thought was a leading lady anthropologist of Columbia University. She was a student of both Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict. Configurationalism, the identification of salient cultural characteristics, representing the patterns of culture, and their presentation in a familiar psychological idiom, was the forerunner of reconciliation between historical particularism of Boas and psychoanalysis of scholars of culture personality school.

‘Coming of Age in Samoa’ is Mead’s first book published in the year 1928. The book has been republished four times in 1939, 1949, 1953 and 1961. In each preface of the book, the author has discussed the difference in the world of readers for whom it would be published. The book launched Mead as a pioneering researcher and established her as one of the most famous anthropologists in the world.

The book ‘Coming of Age in Samoa’ bore sub-title, ‘A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization’. The major point of study among the inhabitants, particularly the adolescent girls of the three little villages of Luma, Siufaga and Faleasao of the little island of Tau was to answer questions such as: 1) “Are the disturbances which vex our adolescents due to the nature of adolescence itself or to the civilization?”; 2) “Under different conditions does adolescence present a different picture?”.

The author concentrated on the individual’s reaction to her social setting. Mead’s mission was to emphasize the existence of bio-psychological plasticity in human affairs sufficient to permit the cultural conditioning of adolescent behavioral patterns along the lines which contrast with the stereotype of adolescence in middle class Euro-American culture.

The book comprises of fourteen chapters and five appendices, the chapters are ethnographic description of Samoan life and adolescence among the Samoan girls, their adjustments and reactions to it. The appendices consist of methodologies used in the study, the Samoan life in contemporary context, the behavior and life of mentally challenged persons and the materials and data on which the study is made. Mead selected the people of South Sea Islands because of the radically different culture, and with a deep understanding of the Samoan culture she attempted to compare and contrast it with the Western culture. Mead’s attempt was to understand that the difficulties of adolescent was due to the phase or due to being of a particular place.

History shows evidence that childhood and adolescence did not hold much of importance, but in the last hundred years child centric education has gained utmost importance in the eyes of teachers and parents. Child centric education was spurred by two factors – growth of psychology and difficulties of youth. Problems of youth were widely discussed particularly of adolescents in modern society and the various approaches to understanding these problems. Adolescence was characterized as the period in which was marked by rebellion in nature, conflicting standards of conduct. The titles of the chapter are self-explanatory in nature.

Mead begins with the description of a typical day in Samoa. There is no privacy in birth and it is celebrated with grand feast. She then describes the education of a child, various methods of disciplining children. Punishment among them is mostly ritualistic and not meant to inflict serious harm. Children are expected to contribute meaningful work from a very early age. The boys are educated in fishing, while the girls focus more on child care. If a girl is inadequate in domestic tasks, her chances of getting married is damaged.

Structure of Samoan village is described by Mead, which comprises of thirty to forty households, headed by the headman called a ‘matai’. The ‘matai’ has ultimate authority over the group. Relatives of opposite sex have a most rigid code of etiquette prescribed for all their contacts with each other. Strict avoidance applies to all individuals of opposite sex within five years above or below one’s own age, with whom one was reared or to whom one acknowledged relationship by blood or marriage. Rank not of birth but of title is very important in Samoa. The status of a village depends upon the rank of its high chief, the prestige of a household depends upon the title of its matai. The household also provides freedom for children including girls. According to Mead, if a girl is unhappy with the relatives she lives with, she can simply move to a different home within the same household.

Mead describes the psychology of the individual Samoan as being simpler, more honest and more comfortable with issues such as menstruation and more casual about non-monogamous sexual relations. The moetotolo (rape) is the only sex activity which presents a definitely abnormal picture.

Mead devotes a whole chapter to Samoan music and the role of dancing and singing in Samoan culture. Through this, Samoans express their individuality. Dance helps in the reduction of the threshold of shyness. In Samoan culture, excessive emotions, violent preferences, strong allegiances are disallowed. Preference in Samoa is a moderate amount of feeling, a discreet expression of a reasonable and balanced attitude.

The childhood in Samoa is very different. Most children had seen birth and death. There is no convention of keeping children away during such occasions. Individuals between whom sexual relations are prevalent, there is a notion of shyness. So, no Samoan child is accustomed to seeing father and mother exchange casual caresses. But lack of privacy within the houses, custom of young lovers of using the palm groves for their rendezvous makes it inevitable that children should see intercourse. Scouring the village palm groves in search of lovers is one of the recognized forms of amusement for ten-year old children. Samoan children have complete knowledge of the human body and functions. Little children go unclothed, adults with scant clothing, habit of bathing in sea, lack of privacy in sexual life is seen among the Samoans. They have a clear understanding of the nature of sex, masturbation is a universal habit. There is no privacy and no sense of shame. The adolescent girl in Samoa differed from her younger counterparts in one chief respect, that the earlier had some bodily changes. No other great differences could be seen among the group that was passing through adolescence and the group which would become adolescents in next few years. Samoan background which makes growing up so easy, so simple is the general casualness of the whole society.

The entire book depicts a kind of story, the Samoan life and their customs and habits. The author has basically given a detailed description about the Samoan life and tried to compare it with the Western civilization that she has been a part of. Mead’s picture of Samoan free love is persuasive, but this is not the whole picture. The author has mentioned it in the appendix “But it is only fair to point out that Samoan culture, before white influence was less flexible and dealt less kindly with the individual aberrant. Aboriginal Samoa was harder on the girl sex delinquent than is present day Samoa” (p.273). On one hand, we are shown licensed freedom precluding mental derangements, on the other we see all girls of rank originally subjected to the defloration rite and the taupo liable to the death penalty for unchastity. It is one thing to have a community treat the individual’s sex life as an individual matter when the society is in a normal state; quite another, to find it unconcerned with his amours when abnormal contacts destroy old standards and fail to impose substitutes. The reformer must face the question whether any normal society can and will practice that lofty detachment found in Samoa nowadays. Mead’s solid contribution to ethnographic fact and method is commendable. The child fleeing from a cruel parent to the sanctuary of a nearby relative household (p.43), the six-year-old girl impressed into nursery service and bullied into indulgence by her squalling ward (p.22-24) – these will linger in memory. Many important details are brought out incidentally, such a brother-sister taboo (p.174), the bonds created between boys circumcised at the same time (p.69) etc.

Mead’s ‘Coming of Age in Samoa’ is an attempt to answer the question of the effect of culture and social environment in the attitude of adolescents. She tried to give a description of Samoan life and how the simple way of growing up without any restrictions in expressing themselves help the children to have a peaceful phase of adolescents. Mead tried to point the view that due to the Western culture and its taboos regarding sex, death and birth issues the children don’t get a free environment to express themselves and thus an attitude of aggression, delinquency develops. Although the author claims the study to be an understanding of the differences of Samoan culture with that of ‘Western culture’, the fails in providing the larger picture of the contrast as no instances were given in the book itself. The reader gets an ethnographic account of Samoan culture only. This is maybe due to the author’s perception of the readers. The intended audience for the book is the Western people, which is maybe regarded as the major flaw of the book. It cannot be reached easily by the larger audience.

The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is about a teenage boy named Christopher Boone with a developmental disorder in a hunt to find a portrayed animal killer. This book takes place around Swindon, England in the year 1998. Christopher walks into his front yard one day to see a dog, belonging to the neighbor, murdered on the lawn. The plot of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time revolves around the internal and external conflicts that arise from this death. He starts his detective-like adventure to find the killer of the poodle and is helped by others and even his autism. This adventure starts when Chris goes to the crime scene to hold the dog in disbelief. The neighbor, Mrs. Shears, walks out and is quick to assume that Chris is the criminal for this act. She continues to call the police who show up and take Chris to the station for eventually hitting one of the officers in a misunderstanding. Christopher’s father later arrives to clear up the chaos and the policemen decide to let Chris off with an austere warning, as long as he stays away from looking further into this murder than he already has.

Chris doesn’t let this stop his exploration to find this killer. He tracks all his steps in a book, the one we are reading now, as a school project even after he received threats to not

continue from his father and the police. His next step in this investigation was interviewing his neighborhood for any answers to his questions about Wellington, the murdered poodle, but later found out that his father and Mrs. Shears had an affair. This plays an important part in the story because of the backstory it holds. The real reason this affair occurred was that Mrs. Shears’ fiance and Christopher’s mother also had an affair before her vanishing from her own child’s life so abruptly.

Chris continues to work on his book, but accidentally leaves it in an open setting practically letting his father find it. This makes his father very upset which results in him confiscating the book. Chris decides to go and look for it when his dad is gone but finds something else to his surprise. He finds letters hidden in his father’s closet from his mother. This surprises Chris because Ed, Christopher’s dad, tells him that his mother is dead and that’s why she’s been missing his whole life. Mr. Boone comes home to find Chris passed out with all the letters surrounding his body. His father breaks down and apologizes for everything he has done which leads to him telling Chris that he’s the one who killed Wellington after he got in an argument with the neighbor. This makes Chris extremely upset at his father which causes him to run away to London, where his mother lives. This caused an unsettling feeling for his mother and Mr. Shears resulting in their split and causing Mrs. Boone to move back to Swindon. She gets frequent visits from Chris’ father, who got him a puppy for his birthday. Chris goes on to get perfect scores on math exams and a future at a university.

A character that inspires me from the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is Christopher Boone. Christopher has autism, but this doesn’t stop him from being extremely talented in the mathematics field. The book doesn’t directly state that he has autism, but key details can be seen as symptoms of this disorder. For example, Chris cannot emphasize things, he has trouble comprehending metaphors, and many more signs that give us the strong assumption that he may have a mild form of autism. The things Chris went through in this book show me that times get hard but we need to just push through them. He traveled across the globe, solved a crime, almost got hit by a train, got lied to by his father to an excessive extent, and still managed to pull through everything. It inspires me to see that someone mentally disabled can do so much and makes me want to test my capabilities. At the beginning of the novel, we see Chris as a very tight-to-himself type of person who doesn’t enjoy other conversations, and towards the end, we see how much he’s been through and how it’s doing him good. He starts to become more and more independent throughout the story and it develops his whole character.

There are some interesting symbols in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time placed throughout the novel. One symbol I noticed multiple times is the stars in the night sky. Chris would always look up at the stars and remember how small he was compared to the entire universe. This comforts him because it makes him feel distant from the world and all of his struggles seem to disappear. Another symbol I see in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is plain and simple dogs. Dogs in this book show emotional and physical safety and are placed in spots throughout the book. We see this symbol used in the book when Wellington dies and Chris feels emotionally broken. He ended the story feeling stronger than he had ever felt and, again, a puppy was brought into the story. All these symbols plus much more that aren’t mentioned here are all represented in this novel.

I felt attached to this novel in a way that I have never before and I highly recommend it to anyone. It has all the components a good book needs and never had me bored through any of it. The author had a keen use of suspense put into the story that hooked me and made me never want to stop reading. After reading this book, I rate it a final 10 out of 10. I hardly ever find a book appealing to my interests and this one hit all the spots I look for in a good book. In conclusion, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a fantastic book. It had me so addicted to it as soon as I started it and I didn’t want to put it down ever since I started reading it.

The purpose of this writing is to dissect Franklin E. Zimring’s academic literature, ‘The City That Became Safe: New York’s Lessons for Urban Crime and Its Control’. This book is about the New York City’s decline in crime and the reasons behind it. This book is broken down into three sections, consisting of eight total chapters. The main idea of this book is to draw a closer look at the major decline in crime from the 1990s to 2009. The author presented and argued about several factors that may have contributed to this drastic decline, however, it remains as an unsolved mystery. There are several factors presented in this book that aims to find the reason for the crime decline in urban New York City.

In one instance, the author noted in Chapter 3 of the text, that population redistribution may have had an impact on the crime rates. Even though some of Zimring’s theories are inconclusive, he presented data and statistics that challenges our conception of New York City as a whole. He also argued that policing may have also been responsible for the long decrease in crime through hotspots policing, targeting areas in the drug world in comparison to nationally.

To support his arguments, he presented a plethora of statistics, facts and data collected and reported from various sources, not to mention an abundance number of graphs to visually display the statistics. This is very helpful for any reader to quickly grasp the portrayed information. When reading a book consisting of high numbers of facts and statistics, it can quickly become incomprehensible. However, the author addressed this by presenting the data through graphs and pictures. With the data presented, Professor Zimring went on to answer questions that his readers may have such as why, how, when and where. The empirical data that Zimring provided showed just how the rates of crime dropped and how it can stay like that. New York City went through drastic decline in crime rates that shows the effectiveness of the city’s policing system.

This is definitely a concise, thorough and eye-opening phenomenon, strictly academic and data driven in nature, consisted of large amounts of data to analyze. Professor Zimring’s book should serve as a ‘must- read’ for all students studying criminal justice, because of its mastery of policy analysis and reforms of crime for the past 19 years. The concepts of this book set out to show how crime dropped by 40% across the United States by exploring factors such as population change, social factors, and policing that may have played a role in the unprecedented decline. Franklin E. Zimring is an eloquent writer who divided the book into three structured sections. Within each section are chapters, where he lays out a foundation and summary of what the chapter entails. The facts presented and explained by Zimring systematically describes the unprecedented drop in crime in the four major boroughs in NYC (The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan) by presenting variables that may have been responsible, such as population density.

The first section of the book consists of chapters 1 and 2. In the very first chapter in his book, Professor Zimring lays out his first of many arguments on what sets New York City apart. New York City is one of the largest cities in the United States carrying the largest crime drop rates in the early 1990s and 2000 to 2009. The question, “How big of a drop and how long of a drop?”, was also answered by focusing on three important features of a statistical portrait: the magnitude of declining crime rates, the breadth of the drop and the length of the decline. Chapter 1 of the text explores the New York City Crime decline in the early 1990s in the urban areas of the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn (Kings County), Manhattan (New York County) and Staten Island. The author explored the decrease in crime rate by presenting his argument with substantial statistics. Zimring answered the big question early in his book that anyone will have when reading it. Throughout part one of the book, he presented statistics that needed careful and comprehensive interpretation to wrap your head around the numbers. However, he then summarized in clear, concise answers, apart from the numbers that what really sets New York City apart from other urban settings is the extent of its documented changes over a short period of time for criminal violence. New York underwent physical, economic and social structural changes which occurred from 1990 – 2009 altering the changes in crime rates, hence the decline.

The next section of the book sets out to explore the security of New York City in comparison to other cities in the United States by analyzing the comparison of crime rates and risks in current circumstances to other major cities. The author also provides a comparison of the city’s former self in the four major boroughs. “Is New York a safe city now? If so, how does its current conditions compared to other major nations such as London, Paris and Tokyo?”. Professor Zimring presented statistical data that shows that New York City is indeed safe now, if we were to compare its former delinquent self in the 1990’s. When comparing New York City to its metropolitan counterparts abroad, it has a very low crime profile.

Part 2 of Professor Zimring’s book consisted of chapter 3 to 5 showed statistical comparison of crime rates, ‘before’ and ‘after’ between two precincts: 42nd street and Canal Street where 42nd street underwent major redevelopment. The statistics showed that even though there has been a decline in the white population since the 1990s, the two races that seemed to move in this area in 2009 were Asians and Hispanics. According to Professor Zimring, in 1990 the white population were 42.1%, the black population were 27.6%, Hispanics were 23.7% and Asians were 6.6%. In 2009, the white population decreased to 33%, while the black population is 23.9%, Hispanics 27% and Asians at 11%.

Along with these changes, the police department has undergone a few drastic changes as well. Due to structure organizational changes, police man power has increased. The development of data analysis through CompStat helped officers to plan ahead to tackle crime neighborhoods. This approach to policing was also used and may have played a dominant role in crime reduction. Zimring went in depth about several factors such as immigration, economic indicators, population trends and social indicators that may have played a role in the Manhattan crime decline, not the entire NYC decline. This part of the book sets out to test the impact of the several factors mentioned above. Part 2 is an enjoyable read because it presents a statistical image of changes throughout the clustered boroughs of New York City and it shows how the population changed from 1990 – 2009. The author presented his hypothesis that population trends, economic indicators, immigration, stop and frisk and crackdown on drugs may have impacted the decline in crime. He presented ways to measure and test these hypotheses.

Furthermore, part 3 of Zimring’s studies opened with a series of unanswered questions, a priority for future research. This is a critical part section in this study because it shows that even though Professor Zimring conducted an in-depth study of the factors behind the dramatic crime decline, it shows that it is an ongoing process and there is no concrete answer specifically as to what contributed to it. Professor Zimring presented information and discussed the perceptions of crime control methods that Americans have had for decades.

Professor Zimring concludes that slight changes in the structure and characteristics of the various factors such as immigration, economic indicators, population trends, social indicators, crackdown on drug and change in police methodologies have contributed to a significant crime drop in New York City from 1990 to 2009. It is out of the scope of study pinpoint the exact reason or reasons as to why this phenomenon occurred. New York City is deemed a safe place to live because of the changes that took place. This academic literature fulfilled its purpose to educate its reader on the drastic decline of crime in the last 19 years. It definitely advanced the students of criminal justice who have read this book, if not, at least developed and advance my knowledge of the subject matter. Learning the different terms and methods of societal interactions, the economy, crime and policing is not effective if there is no understanding of the history and transformation of the society as a whole. The book accomplished its purpose sharing knowledge about crime decline in New York City by using statistical and clear language of expression, leading to an in depth understanding of the context on urban crime control.

References

1. Zimring, F. E. (2014, November 5). City That Became Safe: New York’s Lessons for Urban Crime and Its Control – Oxford Scholarship. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199844425.001.0001/acprof-9780199844425.
2. Zimring, F. E. (2013). The City That Became Safe: New York’s Lessons for Urban Crime and Its Control. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

‘Emerging Voices: Women in Contemporary Irish Society’ by Pat O’Connor focuses on the roles that Irish women have embodied in the past and how these roles have changed or been altered over time. The book was published in 1998, twenty-one years later, in 2019, many of the problem’s women faced back then can be still seen in Ireland today. Many of the ideologies faced in the book and those of 1970’s Ireland and in 1998 she is comparing the changes to the past and present. The running themes of the book are patriarchy and oppression of women, as they are highlighted in every chapter. Something which is highly impressive is the authors evidence and knowledge on the topics she covers throughout the book, many of the topics will be covered in this review.

Many of the roles and perceptions of women have not changed. It can be seen throughout the book that O’ Connor has a great insight into how women have been unfairly treated throughout the years. She suggests that patriarchy “refers to male control” (O’Connor, 1998 p.6). It is hinted that patriarchy has played a huge role in the position of women in Irish society. With male influences such as marital violence, rape, gender paid employment and the marriage bar. Chapter one of the book suggests that “the concept of patriarchy is a key element in understanding the experiences of women in Irish society” (O’Connor, 1998, pp.29-30). O’Connor highlights the mistreatment of Irish women in a fantastic manner throughout the text. The way in which she goes about it highlights her own knowledge on the matter and her passion towards equality in Ireland and is something to be admired about her writing.

O’Connor presents the role of women in 1970’s Ireland, they were known for working in the home and raising the children. This can still be seen in Irish society today, although it is certainly not as common as before. It was not uncommon for women to have to leave work after marriage, in fact this was normal back then. Again, we can see the influence of a patriarchal society as women have to retire to the home, men can continue to work and get paid. It is said that women in the 1970’s did not feel discriminated against, everything they went through was part of “the cultural tradition out of which Irish women weave the fabric of their own identity and the meaning of their lives” (O’Connor, 1998, p.81). The lift of the marriage bar in 1973, shows the reader that more and more women were interested in perusing a career before settling down for marriage. The reader has to question, if the marriage bar was not in place, would women in Ireland have more opportunities to get a higher position in the workplace? O’Connor highlights the way that the state has done wrong by them in an effective so that it is clear to the reader and it is easy to understand which can be applauded.

The control of which the state has had over women’s bodies has been an issue for Irish women for many years now, “Contraception and abortion illustrate the many attempts made by the Irish state to maintain control over women’s bodies” (O’Connor, 1998, p.51). The view on contraception and abortion has been heavily influenced by the Catholic church throughout history. O’Connor states, while talking about conservative groups that “agendas were not centrally concerned with women” (O’Connor, 1998, p.53). The Irish state has never truly been concerned with women’s rights, even in today’s society. Irish women have been seen as an accessory to a man for centuries. The mistreatment of women is the focal point of many chapters of this book, showing the importance of this theme in the book.

O’Connor also focuses on some more disturbing realities for women in Ireland: sexual harassment. Chapter six displays a case of sexual harassment in school, the results of which are alarming. Sexual harassment is a reality for women of all ages around Ireland. According to a study done by Hanafin (1992) and shown by O’Connor, 40% of girls in their leaving certificate year had come in contact with inappropriate touching and/or groping from their male classmates. Here it can be seen that boys from a young age believe they have the upper hand on women. It is as if young boys are taught that they overrule women, regardless of how it will make the woman feel. As a result of this, women from a young age will have a negative disposition of men, “the view that is ‘natural’ for girls to be intimidated by boys” (O’Connor, 1997, p.178). This is not what young girls should feel like and the author highlights this, the statistics shown are awfully surprising. Young women should not have to feel this way anywhere, let alone in a classroom, this should be a safe place.

The strengths of this book outweigh the weaknesses massively. It is easily said that a lot can be learned from O’Connor’s book that a reader has not known before. The authors use of tables and real-life statistics through each chapter effortlessly shows the audience exactly that message she is trying to convey. O’Connor’s opinions remain neutral from start to finish which is admired hugely. It is mainly based on facts not opinions, which makes it much easier to understand the points she is trying to get across. She manages to always stay on topic and focus on the issues on hand. The contents of the book can sometimes be heavy yet O’Connor deals with the topics in a skillful way that allows the reader to focus on the issue on hand and not to dwell on the disturbing histories of Irish women. In saying that, this book certainly is one to remember as the authors writing style and content is unforgettable and leaves the reader wanting more. As previously stated, the weaknesses in this book are few. Some can say that the views are bias given the fact that O’Connor is female and may relate to the issues more. The repetition of some of the issues can be seen as a weakness in O’Connor’s writing as towards the end of the book this can become tedious. Finally, the depressing nature of the history of Irish women could become overwhelming, particularly to younger readers as the author touches on upsetting cases such as domestic violence and rape so should be avoided by younger children.

Peter Fritzsche’s Life and Death in the Third Reich gives personalized accounts of the Nazis’ different approaches, rationales, and justifications for their actions in their relationship with the German people between 1933 and 1945. Rather than blaming the German citizens for allowing Nazi ideology, he focuses on the complex relationship between the German population and the Nazis. He argues that it was the broad German desire for a Volksgemeinschaft, which was not a new or imposed idea, and the Nazi’s deliverance of it that enabled the Nazi regime to win popular support. Fritzsche demonstrates German reactions to Nazi decisions through diaries, letters, and journals. These first-hand documents raise broader questions about how political pressure encroaches on people and conform to public opinion to bend to the desires of the few. Fritzsche uses only written accounts rather than providing photo evidence to make this more effective on the reader through narrative coherence.

Firstly, Fritzsche uses the first section of the book to explain and analyze the Volksgemeinschaft using a variety of first-hand accounts that show a wide range of feelings towards the Nazi regime. The Volksgemeinschaft is the German expression meaning people’s community. He reveals in this section called “Reviving the Nation” how the German population slowly began to conform to Nazi ideals through the idea of Volksgemeinschaft. The Nazis created a false sense of community through their ideology. Fritzsche uses three different narratives to show the range of acceptance of the Nazis’ ideology: one embraces the Nazi regime fully, one resists it, and the last one conforms to it. Edwin Erich, who was anti-Nazi, becomes captivated by the way that the Nazis were able to promote a community through their ideology. All he wanted was national unity and the Nazi regime was promising this to the German population. He was not the only one, many Germans desired this sense of national unity and community to redress the wrongs of the Versailles treaty that would make the German population and country strong again (Fritzsche 38-39). Fritzsche compares two of these narratives and explains, “Unlike Karl D Dürkefälden, who remained an outsider, at crucial moments, Erich willingly surrendered himself to the embrace of the national community” (35). Fritzsche does not use harsh words that imply blame or that Erich was weak for accepting the Nazis’ ideology. Fritzsche uses words like “surrendered,” “embrace,” and “crucial” to show Erich’s awareness of himself conforming to the Nazis’ ideology and that he was not necessarily a victim. Fritzsche goes on to explain that many Germans conformed out of fear, social pressure, and distrust but here we see that many Germans believed that the Nazis’ ideology would heal German’s past and improve the country (37). This is a prime example of taking an ideal that the majority of a population wants and a political party bending it to fit their ideology that has the population conforming to that party’s belief under empty promises. This kind of approach is very common in today’s politics and the way that Fritzsche phrases these observations makes it easier for a modern audience to understand.

Fritzsche goes on to demonstrate the German’s reactions to the Nazi regime twisting the idea of the Volksgemeinschaft to further develop their desire to separate the Jews from the rest of the community. Firstly, Fritzsche explains how the Nazis took the want for a Volksgemeinschaft and put restrictions on who were considered comrades in this community and who were the enemies (43). They did so by expressing their idea of what the ideal Volksgemeinschaft would look like within films like Triumph of the Will that justified the need for labor service camps to form a people’s community by working together and relaxing together (Fritzsche 101-102). These training camps were fundamental to the Nazis’ racial project. These camps structured the new German person through education of comradeship and bourgeois elements (Fritzsche 98). Through these camps, the Nazi regime was able to subtly create the idea of falling into order through the actions that they had available for these communities like marching around. Many did not realize the sort of military training that was taking place in these communities but rather wanted to fit in. The desire to fit into these communities was strong as Elisabeth Brasch’s brother demonstrates by saying, “people came together before they realized it” and that he “took pride in fitting in” (Fritzsche 103). Here, Fritzsche emphasizes her brother’s pride in being able to fit in. So, as time went on, more and more wanted to fit in as it was something to be proud of to be able to be a part of the strong community. As time continued, and the killing of Jews was more established, Fritz Jacob, a SS soldier, shows how the killing was not easy but he felt that it needed to be done to meet the goals of the German people through Nazism: “We will clear the way without pangs of conscience, and then the world will be at peace” (Fritzsche 202). At first, he talked about how upsetting it was but as time went on, he believed it was for the German people towards building an even stronger community. He emphasizes that all this work would establish “peace.” The German population accepted the Nazis’ ideology because of how they delivered their ideology through the idea of a strong community. As explained by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s chief strategist for propaganda, the Nazis emphasized to the German population that since so many bridges had been burned, the only solution was to keep fighting (Fritzsche 265-266). And many followed this ideal since they had built such a community and it was too late to turn back. Throughout the book, Fritzsche is demonstrating how the Nazi regime was able to take a simple idea of Volksgemeinschaft or community, modify it and add elements that slowly got the German population to accept their ideals. This is very common in all politics across the world today. The Nazis took propaganda to a whole different level by manipulating the population with false promises and disguising these promises to fit the Nazis’ ideology.

As shown above, Fritzsche offers these accounts of individuals that struggled with conforming to the Nazis’ ideals in a relaxed and non-accusive tone that helps modern readers relate to a modern political climate. This usage is different from Hobsbawm and Gerwarth, as Fritzsche uses quotes to add narrative coherence and as evidence. Hobsbawm and Gerwarth used a mix of quotes and photos in their texts to emphasize evidence that supported their arguments. Fritzsche goes beyond using these first-hand accounts as evidence but also uses them to connect with his audience, so they can understand why the German population seemed to accept the dynamics established by the Nazi regime. Most of the accounts he provides do not give evidence of a survey of Nazi Germany but rather emphasize the complexity of individual experiences in terms of community and survival. This book provides a very different narrative than what modern audiences are used to blaming the German citizens or seeing them as victims but empathizing with them. Lastly, Fritzsche acknowledges the limitations of his arguments as this subject is so complex that it is not easily or fully explained by himself (307).

In the book ‘The Giver’, the community is a perfect place, where everyone lives a safe and fun life, without feelings of pain or love. Jonas is our protagonist. A very brave, strong and smart man who undergoes a huge adventure for the good of mankind.

In this world, instead of having an age, you just have a number, and live your entire life within the community with the same people of your number group. If, once born, you aren’t fitting, you get released into the world outside.

Jonas has always lived a fun life, even with some of the strict rules. Whenever he made an unclear statement, or bragged, he would be chastised. He followed the rules very carefully so as to never have to be chastised, because in school they got taught by the teaching wand. At home, in the morning all family units must tell their dreams to their families, and after school or work, they are forced to say how they felt during the day, and whether or not it was a good day.

During the ceremony, each number group receives their own new thing. Little kids wear jackets that are closed from behind, and they get in a line to close their jackets and learn interdependence. After they turn 5 (not age), they get jackets that are closed from the front, to learn independence. At 9, they get their bicycle, the main method of transportation in the community. This is what they all look forward to. At 12, they are each assigned an assignment (no pun intended) where they must work until they become elders and must leave their family unit and live for the rest of their lives in the elder house, where they are cared for and pampered.

Jonas is skipped at the ceremony, and in the end, they give him the assignment of ‘Receiver of Memory’. He goes to where he should for his assignment, and it’s revealed that the receiver is a person chosen to carry the burden of all of the memories of the world before it turned like this. At first the memories are nice, but since he feels them in his own body, the bad memories are incredibly painful.

Having this assignment allows Jonas to ask of anything and receive it. He wishes to see how it looks like when someone gets released. He watches the release of an unfitting new-born. He is terrified, as it is actually lethal injection that is hidden from the world. The one who does it is his father.

He comes up with a plan to release the terrible memories into the communities. His master (the giver) helps him. In the ceremony, Jonas runs away with a new-born about to be released. All of Jonas’ memories are released into the community. Jonas goes through a very hard journey. He reaches a mountain and remembers a memory about going down a hill on a sledge. He hears music, and thinks it might’ve just been an echo.

I love this book. It’s a book fitting for me, and it is scary, as it could actually happen to us. The book is similar to others like Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451’. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great book and an interesting read. In general, I adore dystopian world books, and this one is great.