Critical Analysis: "Fields of Honor" by Edwin C Bearss

     Fields of Honor by Edwin C. Bearss is about the key, pivotal battles of the Civil War, and what made them so important to the outcome of the war. One example of this in the text is when its' stated that "Gettysburg proved to be the bloodiest battle of the Civil War... Lee's invasion of the North had been a costly failure." This shows that the author is explaining why Gettysburg was very important- it was bloody, and it was very costly to Lee. Another example is "Lee's incursion into the North had been decisively turned back. Five days after Antietam... Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation... The war to save the Union was now also the war to free the slaves." In this quote, the author explains why the battle of Antietam is important by telling the reader that it led to the Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the purpose of the war. Finally, every battle has a explanation at the end proving why the battle is important. These examples connect to the focus by proving how each battle explained is pivotal in the Civil War.

     In Fields of Honor, the author wants you to feel like you're at the battle, so that the information that is given seems like you're getting it when it happened in the Civil War, and it helps to see how important some battles are. One way the author makes you feel like you're in the time is by writing in the present tense. For example, he writes "Chamberlain orders his men to fix bayonets and to sweep down on the Confederates..." This is an example of the author's use of the present tense. This makes it seem like it's happening in the moment. Another thing the author uses is statistics. An example of this is "the Yankees have about 28,000 me on the line... the Confederates have perhaps 20,000 engaged..." This is an example of a statistic, which would help make it seem like you're there by giving more of an image of the size of things in a battle. Overall, the stats and tense make you able to get an image of what it may look like at the time, and make it feel like you're there.

     When I was reading this book, I did feel like I was in the time period, mostly because of the tense. I really liked the way it was written, it was really engaging and fun, and it covered a wide range of topics and information, with understandable and deep content.

Critical Analysis: "Why The Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie

     "Why The Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie is an article defending the necessity of "Dark" YA Fiction. The main idea is that from Alexie's personal experiences, and experiences he's had with teenagers that have had dark experiences in their lives, dark YA fiction can be a tool for teens experiencing dark issues to help deal with the issues and stop them from occurring again. Alexie supports this with anecdotes within the story explaining his experiences. One anecdote he writes is about himself: "When I think of the poverty-stricken...self-loathing Native American teenager that I was, I can only wish, immodestly, that I'd been given the opportunity to read "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian..." Aside from anecdotes, Alexie uses other ways to support this claim. Near the end of the article, he says that he writes to give teens that have to deal with these issues a weapon, not to make sure they never experience these horrible things, because they already have, but to help them fight their "monsters". Finally, he states why people would read such dark fiction. He says "there are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged. They read because they believe..that books-especially the dark and dangerous ones-will save them". These supporting details all connect to the main idea because they follow a similar thread. Since, as the anecdotes tell readers, Alexie grew up the way many teens who might want to read dark YA did, he understands why teens read YA, what benefits it will give to them, and how it will help them. This is why he is able to put himself in the teens' shoes. In his own words from the article, "I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed". The other supporting details mentioned, the tools and why teens read dark YA are easy for Alexie to understand, so he can slip into the shoes of people he understands and write about it for them.

     In this article, Alexie makes readers feel empowered, by the effect that the reader's  mind has on the reader's life, but also sorrowful and frustrated at how little control others have on their lives. He really makes people look at their life compared to the peoples' lives that he looks at in the article, and really makes you believe that his argument is superior to opposing sides' arguments. He uses a lot of techniques to accomplish these feelings and thoughts in the article. One technique he frequently utilizes is the use of anecdotes. This gives the reader an insight into Alexie's mind and past, and so the readers can really see how bad some of the lives described can be by looking into Alexie's life as a teenager. This makes you feel for those people, and put your life in perspective. Another technique used is how Alexie criticizes things in a mocking way. An example of this in the text is "When some cultural critics fret about the "ever-more-appalling" YA books, they aren't trying to protect..."  These mocking parts of the article make Alexie's point sound much better and formal, while making opposing arguments sound weak and unorganized. That makes you start thinking in the same way as the article.

     When I read this article, I felt that Alexie made me think even more on the side of dark YA being beneficial. When I read over the anecdotes and quotes from teenagers, I really felt that the article was very well balanced. It had the perspective of the people who dark YA fiction would affect- the teenagers. It had firsthand experiences from the author, who understood the life that some of the quoted teenagers were living, and that really made for a strong argument. The presentation of the article was also very good. It made me feel bad for the experiences of some people, then understand how this type of book would really be a tool or "weapon", as stated in the book, for these teens- or any, to get through dark events in their lives. It really got me thinking for quite some time on the matter of dark YA in a deeper meaning than in other articles I read.

Response to "Faithful Elephants"

     Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya, is a story about a zoo in WWII Japan, where the zookeepers are being forced to kill their beloved elephants against their will, under orders from the Army. A big idea in this is that sometimes you can't go with what you think is right, for the sake of others, but what was right can still be remembered. I think the setting was very important to bring the theme to the reader's attention more clearly.

     The main setting of the story is the Ueno Zoo in Japan. Because bombs are falling, and could possibly allow the elephants to escape the zoo, the zookeepers are ordered to kill the elephants. The setting is important because the zoo is in an urban area, where wild elephants could be very hazardous to people and things alike. The text says "What would happen if bombs hit the zoo? If the cages were broken and dangerous animals escaped to run wild through the city, it would be terrible!" The author shows the reader with this portion of the text that the conflict-which is that the elephant must die, but the zookeepers don't want them to die-is caused by the setting.

     The cages in which the elephants are trapped is another setting that is key to showing the theme. One reason why is that the cages-which trap the elephants-are also showing the similarities between the elephants and the zookeepers, because the elephants are trapped by the cages, and the zookeepers are trapped by the Army into having to kill the elephants when they don't want to. Another reason why the cages help make the setting show the theme is that the elephants are starved to death in the cages. The text states "Both [elephants] died leaning against the bars of their cage". This is the climax of the story, and the setting, once again, is important. The cages are a metaphor in the story that means freedom. If the elephants could escape the confines of the cage, they'd be free. However, they die leaning against those bars, which have kept them away from freedom, and ultimately, survival.

     A final part of the story that shows the importance of setting to show the reader the theme is close to the end. The text says "seeing his [the elephant trainer's] beloved elephants die this way, the elephant trainer felt as if his heart would break... they [the zookeepers and trainers] too stayed away from the elephants' cage". Later, the text says "These three elephants - John, Tonky, and Wanly- are now resting peacefully under this monument". The first quote shows character change and how the characters in the story realize the theme. At first, the zookeepers tried to do all that they could to get the elephants to survive. But, they realized that they couldn't, and that the best they could do is what is described in the second quote, making a monument for the elephants, so everyone, in the present and future, could remember them, even though they're dead. The setting shows the theme in these quotes by giving the reader an image of the theme, in this case the monument. The monument is how the zookeepers, in a way, kept their beloved elephants alive.

     In conclusion, throughout important parts- such as the moments of character change, when the characters realize the theme, important metaphors and comparisons, as well as when the conflict is described- and ideas- like the theme- of Faithful Elephants, the setting shows to the reader one of the big themes in the text. The setting shows to readers that in their lives, in the real world, you won't always get what you want, and in some cases, like in the text, the issues could be serious, but there is always a way to memorialize the past.

//: Summer Book Reading Response: The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty :\\

This summer, I read The Young Carthaginian, by G.A. Henty. It's a Historical Fiction book that is based in the time period of the Second Punic War (219 - 201 BC). It focuses on Malchus, a young Carthaginian noble and cousin of the great Hannibal Barca, who lead the Carthaginians in the war. It starts with Malchus and his father, Hamilcar, and a small army suppressing a revolt in North Africa, then moves on to Carthage, where the people are split between the Barcid faction, who support another war with Rome and more militaristic actions, and the faction of Hanno, who support trade and no war. As the political scene is intense because the Elections for the new commander in Spain is coming soon, Malchus is swept into the heat of it all by his father, a prominent member of the Barcid faction. There is a fight on election day between masses of Carthaginians voting for either side, but the Barcids gain the upper hand and are able to get Hannibal elected. Malchus is then sent to Spain as a member of the Carthaginian cavalry, and throughout the rest of the summer, they campaign in Spain, which under Hannibal's superb leadership abilities, is a huge success. Hannibal then appoints Malchus as the head of a small scouting troop for his next idea: To invade Rome and Italy by crossing the dangerous Alps. Through this march, Malchus is separated from the Army, but him and a small group of his companions are able to find their way back after fighting of Native warriors. Malchus and most of the Carthaginians come out of the Alps starving and cold, but they are welcomed by Gallic tribes (French/Northern Italians hostile to Rome). Hannibal then sets off on a string of victories at River Trebbia, Lake Trasamine, and most famously, Cannae. After Cannae, Hannibal instructs Malchus to go to Carthage and ask for more soldiers. This is a huge turning point and character change, as after he is imprisoned by the new Sufette (Leader) Hanno, he sees that Carthage has become corrupted by the rich and no longer a glorious city or empire as it once was. After escaping via elephant, he is able to return to Hannibal by ship, but is captured by the Romans and sent to work in the mines of Sardinia, where he turns the native slaves at the minds into a rebellious army, and escapes into the woodlands, avoiding attacks by the Roman army. He realizes, though, that he does not want the life of an outlaw, and comes to terms with the Roman commander in Sardinia, and he is sent to Rome to be a slave instead. He is bought by a noblewoman in Rome, and is randomly in the same household as one of the Gallic women who had cared for him after they exited from the Alps. They run away, and are able to meet with Hannibal once again. Seeing what Carthage has become, however, Malchus decides to leave the army, and go north to Germania (Germany), where the Gallic woman's mother's tribe is found, electing a simple life over the complex and corrupted life he had in Carthage.


This book is probably my favorite Historical Fiction book, because it is very well written, has a complex plot arc, and covers a lot of important issues, including corruption, difficult choices, and loyalty. It has a lot of ups and downs in it, and is very exciting to read. It is also very realistic to the facts of this war, and that adds a lot to it by making seem very real. The writing really brings you into the book, and you feel like you're there. You can relate to the characters easily because they have similar issues to issues today. Overall, it just has an excellent combination of fiction, fact, writing style, themes, and plot. It's definitely in my top 10 best books ever.