Perks of Being a Wallflower

In the Perks of Being a Wallflower, there are many important symbols. Some of the most important symbols are the drives that Charlie takes. There are a few important scenes where he drives, two while he is with Sam and Patrick, and one where he is alone with his family. Charlie's drives symbolize the journey he has taken growing up, and how he will end up in the right place.

Charlie drives three times throughout the book-twice with Sam, the girl he loves and Patrick, his best guy friend, and once by himself, on his way back from his grandparents house. The first time, he's with his friends, although their friendship is very new. He's pretty unsure of himself and quiet, but he feels like he can open up to them, and he feels happier than he has felt in a long time. It quotes "five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way." Charlie is learning how to live for the first time, and it's because of the people he is with. The second time, Charlie is driving for his family. They are all in a car together and there is a lot of tension because of a fight they had. Charlie is not the best driver, and he is extremely nervous. It quotes "I haven't sweat that much since I played sports." Charlie is at a very difficult time in his life, and it is not helping that his family isn't able to support him the way he needs. The last time is at the very end of the book, when Charlie has finally started to recover from the traumatic experience he had as a child. He is with Sam and Patrick again, and he is finally happy again. It quotes "I was laughing and crying at the same time...and that was enough to make me feel infinite." He is also driving through a tunnel at this part, which symbolizes "the light at the end of the tunnel."

The drives that Charlie takes symbolize his emotional journey throughout the book. He starts unsure of himself, but gradually starts to accept his feelings and become a happier person.

Gaokao

The gaokao is a very difficult test that students in China take to be accepted into university, similar to the SATs. It causes many students very high stress levels. For some universities, it is the only determining factor on whether or not schools accept a student. I believe that it is unfair for everything to ride on the gaokao, for many reasons.

The first reason that the gaokao is unfair is because it requires vigorous preparation, and many families do not have the means to get that. Wealthy families are able to afford private tutors and classes, so many rich kids can get into prestigious schools. However, many poorer or middle class families are unable to afford that, therefore the kids are unable to get accepted into the schools. It is unfair to less fortunate students who can be extremely smart, but are only being judged on one test and cannot train properly for it.

Another reason the gaokao is unfair is because it puts a lot of pressure onto the teenagers who are taking the test. Students lose a lot of sleep, and are so exhausted that they are forced to take extreme measures, like hooking themselves up to intravenous drips. They are also banned from computers, cell phones, and dating, forcing them to study. The stress is so extreme that  suicide rates tend to go up during the time of the gaokao, which shows that this test is far too hard for students. It is unfair to force teenagers to study so hard for one test, and it is unfair for that one test to determine so much of a student’s life.

Some people argue that the test can be helpful to students who need a last resort to get into university, like students who have failed their classes and cannot be accepted into college on their grades. While the test could definitely be helpful for some students, it should not be the only determining factor for acceptances into college, because some people are very smart, but have trouble with tests.

In conclusion, the gaokao should not be the only determining factor in college acceptances. It is far too stressful, it puts rich kids at an advantage, and it is unfair that this one test should determine students’ whole lives. The gaokao is a very unfair test.

Martin Espada

The three poems by Martin Espada “The new bathroom policy”, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, and “Two Mexicanos” all explore the theme of racism. In each poem something is taken away from Hispanics by Americans. All three poems express the hardships of being Hispanic through different experiences.

The first poem is called “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School”. It goes “The boys chatter Spanish...while the principal listens...the only word he recognizes is his own name...so he decides to ban Spanish. Now he can relax.” This poem explores the theme of racism in simple, everyday life-a non Hispanic principal believes that he is more entitled to comfort then the boys are to their language. This shows how white people believe that their own well being is more important than people of color’s. The principal knew that there was a chance that what they were saying was bad, so he completely took away their rights of expression. This was extremely unjust, and shows how white people believe they are more entitled to their rights then minorities.

The second poem is called “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”. It goes “Whenever my name is mispronounced I want to hijack a bus of Republican tourists...and force them to chant anti American slogans in Spanish. The Americans are stripping him of his identity and importance by mispronouncing his name, and it makes him angry enough to want to threaten and punish them. He also wants to teach them how it feels to hear their culture being criticized, (wanting to teach them “anti-American slogans”). This shows how furious it makes him to hear his identity be dismissed by people who believe they are better than him. He presents the issue this way because it may seem like a trivial thing, but being stripped of his identity is a big deal for him.

The last poem is called “Two Mexicanos lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877.” It is about the lynching of two Mexicanos by Americans who then took a photograph of themselves behind the men. This poem shows how the Americans dismissed the lives of the two men very easily. It says that they “cheered the rope” that killed them. They did not care that they were taking the lives of the two men. It also says that they were “all crowding into the photograph”. They were not ashamed of the cruel act that they committed, and they even took a picture of it. This poem is about how the lives of people of color matter very little to white people, and they are not at all ashamed to kill them.

All three of these poems show racism. Some of it is seemingly small and unimportant, and some is life threatening. Martin Espada expressed the hardships of being Hispanic through all of these poems, and he showed all the things you can lose because of your identity. As a reader, I have learned to never diminish someones identity because I can’t understand it.