Lord of the Flies question

I do not agree with the author of that blog post. I do believe that 9th graders should be reading these types of books. As a 9th grader you should be able to grasp the ideas of novels/books like Lord Of The Flies, and if you do not fully understand the whole point of the of the novel/book then as 9th graders we should have the ability to ask to get a better understanding. Once you enter into high school whether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or a senior you are supposed to be challenging yourself. If the author of this blog post says that not even seniors in high school who are preparing for college should be reading a book as “mature” as Lord Of The Flies, then when should we be challenging ourselves to reading books like that? As a 9th grader myself I was able to grasp the meaning of this book and I am not any smarter than any other 9th grader in America.

Students should read these books because of the important ideas they have. You said you’re worried about students taking these ideas in the wrong way and they lack life experiences to understand these ideas. However, how are they doing to be exposed in the first place? Reading these types of books in high school are supposed to challenge you and make your mindset grow. Completely forbidding these books from a curriculum is a mistake. Under guidance, 9th graders can have a different perception of the world.

I believe that 9th graders should be able to read these types of books. Adam C. Zern states, “ I don't trust that students, even seniors in high school, have the reading comprehension skills to understand anything much more complicated than the most basic young adult fiction”(1), at the end of his response. He states multiple times in his response that books like Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm are too mature for 9th graders and that they deal with some very mature topics. He points out that the children will not be able to grasp the concepts of the stories but says that To Kill a Mockingbird is an okay book for 9th graders to read. I understand the viewpoint that he is coming from; he is trying to say that children should not be able to read these book because the book will influence them be mature things. However, children are already being exposed to mature concepts on a daily basis. Because of that, I believe that it is alright for 9th graders to read this book even though the books might influence mature ideas.

The Thousander Club wrote: "I've recently been pondering the books that many 9th graders read and whether or not it's wise for them to read them. I vacillate back and forth between believing it serves a valuable purpose that ..."

How can you mature when you don't know how to? Ninth graders are more than qualified to read dark themes that show the other side of the world that parents and society want to keep away from the youth. However, later in life it is expected to know that yes there is murder in the world, or yes there is bad people. So how can you know something you have not been exposed to? Sure there are problems with introducing children to new ideas like these, but honestly it is the best way to be introduced to it rather than seeing violence and having a major culture shock. In The Lord of the Flies it states, “The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.” This is a major comment to develop thoughts about fear and being scared. Books only add plot and connection to themes like evil in humanity.

I believe that books like the OP mentioned are ok for students to read, integral even. There is definitely a connection between literacy and maturity and the reading and discussing of books like this only add to the reader's resources and knowledge. Being a ninth grader I am currently reading TLOTF and at first glance the sheer violence of some scenes shocked me however through further discussion the point the author was trying to make through his manipulations of the characters was revealed.In particular I found the scene where the boys on the island murder Simon disturbing, chanting “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!” they don't realize they are murdering one of their own. After in depth analyzing I found that the author did that to demonstrate how insane and savage the boys had become after being on the island and also about how evil comes to the surface in a person. Books like TLOTF expose a lot of human nature that isn't often considered by the common 14 year old and for that I think they should be read.

I personally disagree with the author. What he said about books that 9th graders should read was very controversial. In the blog post, the author said,”believing they're reading and comprehension skills, to say nothing of their maturity, are not sufficient to actually provide them the ability to appreciate those important ideas.” Who is he to say that we aren’t mature? A fine majority of the 9th graders at our school are mature enough to read these kinds of books. Even if they aren’t mature enough to understand the concepts, that’s what the teacher is there for. In the blog post, he wrote,”Although I wander between those standpoints I've never felt confident in either.” This shows that the author has a biased opinion on the maturity of teenagers today.