Theme Book Study
How are people changed by their relationships with others?
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The Compound
The Compound is a book about Eli and his family, which are in an underground bunker. Eli has long hair that he uses like a cocoon to block others out. His dad says that they are in the compound to keep them safe, but he as weaved a web of lies about it.The Compound addresses this question by showing how Eli changes his mind about the supplements, which are children that they would eat if they ran out of food in the compound. For most of the book, Eli tries to stay away from the supplements, but eventually is asked to help care for them. This quote is him realizing that he should care for them more and not eat them, "As much as I'd tried to remain detached, unaffected, I'd been touched. Touched and affected. Because no matter what I might call them, no matter what unholy reason for their creation, the simple fact remained. The supplements were a part of me,"(137).
Bodeen, S. A. The Compound. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2008. Print.
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Butterfly Cocoon. Digital image. Photoage. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016. <http://www.photoage.net/butterfly-cocoon-7/>.
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Godless
Godless is a book about Jason, who creates his own religion because he doesn't like his parent's religion, Catholicism. Jason's religion worships the town's water tower. He also converts some of his friends to his religion, including a kid called Shin. Shin is a skinny, weak friend of Jason's. This book shows how people are transformed through their relationships with others by showing that people can have their ideas and opinions changed by their friends. An example of this in the book is this quote in which Jason is trying to convince Shin to join his religion, "'You're saying the water tower is God?' 'Think about it,' I say. Shin thinks about it. 'Prove me wrong' I say," (19). Soon after this event Shin becomes the most devoted and most invested in the religion, almost dying.
Hautman, Pete. Godless. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2004. Print.
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The Declaration
The Declaration is a book about a world where immortality has been achieved. The Declaration addresses this question by showing how Anna's opinions on surpluses and violence are changed and transformed by Peter. In Anna's boardroom, the other girls play a game where one can make the other do anything they want, it is in this quote that Anna realizes why she no longer participates in the games, "The real reason that Anna could not bear to watch the tormentor or the tormented was that recently, she had begun to lose her appetite for the infliction of pain," (75). The reason that Anna had begun to lose her appetite for the infliction of pain was that she is becoming friends with Peter, who is a new arrival trying to get Anna to escape. By running away and joining a resistance movement, Anna and Peter are in a way declaring their independence of being Surpluses. The image of a phoenix reminds me of the book because the old generation needs to give up immortality and have the world be reborn with the new generation.
Malley, Gemma. The Declaration. New York: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's, 2008. Print.
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How it effects people in the Real World
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Emmanuel was a malnourished boy in Uganda. He is transformed by his relationship with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). Emmanuel was about to die but he is found by FMSC and is fed and cared back to health. So Emmanuel was transformed by FMSC from an unhealthy and almost dead boy into a healthy, energetic boy.