Candy’s dog is old and can’t take care of himself. He relies on Candy to feed and house him. Just how George takes care of Lennie. Lennie is a very skilled and hard worker but can’t funtcion without someone elses help. Candy’s dog was also once a very skilled laborer but with old age it slowed down. Not everyone likes the dog kinda how Curley dislikes Lennie.

Having friends and family that support and tell you what you need to hear is what it means to belong. It is very important to belong somewhere otherwise people can grow lonely and depressed. The best way to grow as a person is to surround yourself with good people that lift you up. Being somewhere were everyone hates you will tear any person down and set them back.

There was mass hysteria in Limetown during the panic. The old schools were fed up with the new schools. They had advanced technology that the old schools didn’t and they didn’t have a chance on weather to get it or not. However, someone got the technology that shouldn’t have. This caused anger in the old schools and mass hysteria. They fought to destroy everything the new schools had built and killed one of there leaders. They didn’t care who got hurt or what they were doing, they just kept destroying Limetown.

There’s a part of the book when two disabled guys are going door to door trying to sell magazines as a scam. They have someone that hired them and there making money off selling fake magazines. I think this scene shows that this book isn’t afraid of sugar-coating real-life. It shows the harsh realities of life and I really like this scene. Billy didn’t even talk to them and just let them keep ringing the bell.

The one thing about this book is that it’s a little confusing. It is constantly switching places in time. The book gets a little weird and quirky. I just got to the part where they started talking about flying saucers and his daughter might have gone missing. The book also doesn’t like explaining everything which can leave so creativity for the reader. Some parts of the book have historicaly events that the book doesn’t expalin and expects you to already know.

Through out the book “Grenade” one of the main topics was courage. The main character had a curse that would make him a coward. However, he fought back against the curse and proved to himself and his sister that he did have courage. He also learned that the definition of courage isn’t so black and white. sometimes people have to go against everyone else to do what is best for them.

When the main character of the book Hideki turned himself and his sister into the American solider he was showing his courage. Most Okinawans kept fighting because they feared what the Japanese would do to them. However, Hideki went against society and his fears to do what would be best for him and his sister. Another sign of courage is when Hideki had to move past a bomb to escape the Japanese soldier’s.

Some benefits of technology include heat and or ac. Technology allows us to communicate with someone from an entirely different part of the world. Phones allow people to transfer information and allows shops to sell there products to people over the phone. Many people shop for food with there phones. However many people rely on technology too much. For, example, many people have poor hand writing because they can just type on a computer. Many jobs are online and if the power were to go out a large amount of people would go without jobs. Many people use technology to plan out there day. They set alarms to wake up in the morning and use the weather app to decide what they want to do that day. Many medical procedures rely on technology.

Zit’s father waiting in the hospital makes him remember the abuse he endured when he was younger from his father. Perhaps he thought he would have been just as bad or worse at raising Zits and chose to run away instead. Zits losing his father causes him to be alone in his life and miss out on family. Zits also developed anger toward his dad for leaving him and he pushed his poor emotions onto others. Zits was forced from a young age to fend for himself. He believed that getting too close to someone could have been hurtful to him later on. Like, the pain his mother had to deal with after zits dad left.

I have probably only read 2 or three books that have been challenged. The main reasons for the books being challenged are that they use offensive language or in-depth details of gore. Another reason is that some books challenge authority and speak out against different governments. The book Flight could be challenged because of the offensive ideas against various races and the harsh language used in the book. One topic Flight describes that is still relevant is loneliness which many teens experience. Another issue is that teens still experience racism from their peers.

Theme: Regrets make people learn from their mistakes.

1. Pg81 Zits realizes that he deserves to be punished for what he did.
2. Pg93 Zits tries to save a small native boy showing that he has grown from the past and wants to help people now.
3. Pg53 He doesn’t want to shoot an already dead body showing his improvements from just shooting up a bank.

Zits has grown apart from the person he was. He never really knew why he killed, but he does regret it and learn why killing is bad.

TIQA Paragraphs

Similarities

Emotion

Teen Anger Statistics

“63.3 percent of adolescents reported lifetime anger attacks that involved destroying property, threatening others, or engaging in violence.”

Like Zits, many teens are angry at the people around them and even how the world operates. Most teens don’t know how to deal with their anger properly and lash out. For example, Zits talks back to his foster parents and even shoves his foster mom. Zits isn’t alone in this 63.3 percent of teens have done anger attacks and broken other property just to deal with their anger.

Loneliness

Loneliness in America: How the Pandemic Has Deepened an Epidemic of Loneliness and What We Can Do About It

“Of American adults, 36% of respondents reported serious loneliness… This included 61% of young people aged 18-25 and 51% of mothers with young children.”

Just like Zits, many young Americans feel lonely and depressed. On average, young Americans are more lonely than full-grown adults. This might be because of their changing bodies and hormones. A lot of teens also have stressful lives between school and work. Some teens might relate to Zits in not having a family to fall on when times get tough which can cause some to feel lonely.

Rebellious

Why Do Teens Rebel and What Can Parents Do?

“The prefrontal cortex is responsible for rational decision-making, weighing consequences, understanding outcomes, controlling impulses, and regulating emotions. Because it is not fully mature in adolescence, teenagers are more likely to act without thinking”

Teens by nature are rebellious it is due to their developing brains and prefrontal cortex that leads many to make rash decisions. Teens also make mistakes trying to be popular or falling into peer pressure. Combining the two can cause certain teens like Zits to rebel from family and authority figures trying to form their own identity based on the surrounding people.

Differences

Emotion

Report Highlights U.S. Teens’ Perceived Social and Emotional Support

“Approximately 3 in 5 teens (58.5%) always or usually received the social and emotional support they needed… Teen boys (64.8%) were more likely than girls (52.0%) to have always or usually received support.”

While not all teens require emotional support, most of those who do, receive the help they need. If Zits received or looked for help his life could have been different but he pushed everyone away instead. As the brain develops and teens receive support, they begin to grow emotionally and feel better. Males are more likely to receive help, while women are more likely to develop their brains sooner, leading them out of an emotional blockade.

Loneliness

Teens, friendships and online groups

“98% of teens say they have one or more close friends, 78% say they have between one and five close friends… Just 2% of teens say they do not have anyone they consider a close friend.”

The vast majority of teens have what they consider a close friend. They have people they can rely on and trust. Zits never had a friend like that and the one person he thought he could trust turned on him. While only 2 percent of teens say they don’t have any close friends. While not all teens are popular, they at least have someone close to them. Not every teen has a close group of friends many do that can help them feel less lonely.

Rebellious

Number of serious violent crimes committed by youth aged between 12 and 17 years in the U.S. from 1980 to 2021

“In 2021, there were about 123,000 serious violent crimes committed by youths… decrease from 1994 levels, when violent crimes committed by youths hit a peak at over 1.05 million serious crimes.”

While many youths still partake in rebellious and violent crimes, the number of youths who do these acts has declined tremendously. Zits is one of the few teens that still commits violent crimes but he is the exception for most teenagers. In as little as 30 years teens have changed to be more peaceful or at least don’t act on their rebellious nature. Crimes committed by youths are still on a downward trend.